An Overgeared Fiction(VRMMO Theme) [Saharan Successor]

[Morpheus146]

Chapter 1 – Getting the beta access rights​

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Have you ever thought about an era where technology could lead people to live a second life?

It was indeed possible after many years had passed while the advancement in supercomputers and V.R. technology developed to reach the state of such a second reality, which would let people experience life for a second time.

One case was of a young adult who was living alone in a small apartment in the capital city of Romania, Bucharest, who was reading some forums on the internet about a particular big announcement.

This young man had a decent appearance, where one would even call him handsome on his good days. He was somewhat tall for a latin person, having 1,80 meters, while his hair was long with a dark brown colour that fitted well with his green eyes.

This young man's name was Mathias Dumitrescu, and he was currently living alone in the capital city, in simplicity day by day. He worked as a hotel cleaner, but he still found himself struggling to afford expensive things or other forms of entertainment with his monthly wages.
Yet this didn't mean that he didn't have enough to save for the future.

He saved pocket money, scholarships, and other part-time jobs from his adolescence years, for five years until he moved out from his hometown that was a great distance from the capital city, two years ago. Everything was with the intent of finally buying himself an apartment of his own in the capital city and living a good life.

With his saved money prepared for such a life-changing endeavour, it came that the internet was assaulted by the announcement from a group of renowned scientists claiming to have built a second world in the form of a game. This new V.R. technology appeared on the market like a storm, a VRMMO game entitled Satisfy.

Mathias was skeptical about this game at first. Still, as he was reading the data from the alpha phase, he found that the game setting was somewhat relatable to the book he was writing, an interesting game set on his world's middle-age time frame. The system was also intriguing, giving the player freedom while relaxing in the gear used to enter this virtual reality. His thoughts would get translated into actions inside the game. Even the days would feel like normal days to the player playing the game.

All those news sounded well for Mathias or even the rest of the guys interested in the aspect of living a second life. Yet for Mathias, who was working in the service industry being the cleaner, it was hard for him or, better say, his heart. To pay the sum for the equipment. His pay was fine to let him live a decent life, but if he wanted to afford something expensive, he would only be able to pat his shoulder and think of something else, maybe because he liked to gather money and not spend much.

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"Should I really bet my savings on this game? Would this turn out like the other big games from the past? Sigh, if mom finds out I spent half my savings on a game, she would sure strangle me and remove me from their small inheritance."

There was a great conflict about buying or not buying the equipment for the game in his head. He thought he would use all the savings for a new apartment in a better zone of the capital city, and the idea of buying this V.R. technology sounded so stupid and unreal for him.

The company that developed this technology assured its future users that they were legit and even would refund unsatisfied clients on their beta access and future official release of the game.

Yet Mathias was so skeptical of this information that even those reviews of the so-called "experts" or the company developers' insurance were in his eyes just a form of scam coming from some smart people. Or the fact that this company was offering a honey trap to dry the people's money.
Yet as he read along the alpha data given to the public, the reviews from particular game industry news articles, even listening to the interviews given by the CEO of the company, he tapped the small table that he was sitting around his old laptop thinking.

"This doesn't sound bad. I can see this V.R. technology as a way of becoming more creative with my project and increase the rate I write my story while relaxing in a new world, and if this game is successful, maybe try it seriously even earn some money along the way?

But my savings will go down the hole, which means I will have to endure staying in this apartment block for more years to come.

Sigh, those reviews and excitement of the Western Countries and even the Asian ones makes me believe this will be a great thing. I have waited for such a V.R. thing to appear for a long time, at least in my lifetime, to experience another world. Ahh, I almost sounded like grandfather and his rants. I wonder what that old man is doing right now? Probably reading some historical books."

As Mathias was contemplating his choices as he watched some interviews and articles about Satisfy with a serious face, he accessed the S.A. Group's official site that had a well-done website design with a trailer for the game appearing first in his sight.

Looking around the website, he entered the entry register. He began writing his information for joining the beta access, and as he was typing on the cracked keyboards of his old laptop, he heard, aside from the constant gypsy music, a loud scream from a man's voice.

"FUCK YOU, HOW COULD YOU BE SO DUMB TO DO THAT!"

"THAT WAS THE DEAL, MAN. I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG EXCEPT DOING THE USUAL BUSINESS!"

"YOU CALL THAT BUSINESS YOU FUCKING RETARD? WHAT IF THE COPS ARE ON US NOW!"

"THERE'S NO WAY THEY WILL BE ON US. RELAX."

Mathias stopped a bit from typing to look a bit up from his chair as the men argued. His shoulder-length hair flowed down.

"Are those fucking bastards yet again arguing at 12 midnight? Don't they have to sleep too? Well, fuck them, it's already been 1 year since moving to the capital city and into this cursed apartment, so probably nothing will change anyway."

"I'll even thank god if some police actually come to bust them, but I doubt. Those petty officials are hand in hand with those criminals. They will not even look in the criminal's direction."

Turning away from the roof, he went back to read the English entry form in a patient manner. Even reading a bit about the terms of the agreement before finishing the registry for beta access. "

"Now, all I have to do is wait for a reply and the contract for their V.R. equipment, which I think will take a bit to happen."

Saving the username and password for the site, he opened a document containing many files named with different names, chapters, ideas, characters, and references. Clicking the chapter file, he created a new chapter on the file he opened, named "Basileus against the Nika Revolt".
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While listening to music in his headset, he began writing on his chapters until the clock passed to 1:15 AM. Getting on his feet, he walked toward the small kitchen to drink some tap water. He looked down the window from the 5th floor with a glass in his hand to see a big surprise. A lot of black vans being pulled in front of the apartment complex.

"Ohh, the police is here? There's not even a bit of police alarm in the zone. So what's going on? Is there someone they target around this neighbourhood?

Damn, they entered my apartment block. Don't tell me, are the cops finally going for those damned loud bastards? Hehe, let's check the show."

Saying that he walked to his door hall, and picked his ear on the door, and sometimes even looked down the eyehole seeing men covered in special forces uniform and with assault rifles in their arms.

"Wow, I've only seen the SIAS on the television and on the internet. Phew, it seems they have no problem with me. They are going straight to the upper floor. Haha, you damned bastards, finally karma hits you."

Pushing his hair to the side, he listened carefully to the door, as the policeman was loudly speaking while knocking hard on the door.

"Open the door. It's the police. I repeat again, open the door."

The bastards above Mathias's roof began panicking as they said something he could pick from the walls.

"Hide all dangerous stuff and leave only the ones with lesser effect."

But not long they said that that the policeman began smashing the door with their ram. The ram continued for a bit more before the metal door gave in and got opened.

"ON THE FLOOR. POLICE. ON THE FLOOR, I SAID. ON THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW!" yelled a policeman while pointing his rifle at three gypsies-looking guys who held their arms in the air.

"What happened, boss? We didn't do anything bad." said one of the guys as the policeman pointed his rifle at him and pushed him with force on the ground.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU PARASITE. EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAY WILL BE AGAINST YOU IN COURT!" yelled in a high voice a policeman as he put down the other guy's cuffs.

The rest of the policemen began searching the apartment for weapons or any incriminatory stuff.

As the search was going upstairs, Mathias said to himself.
"Goddamn, that was brutal. I even heard one of those guys hitting the floor hard. I take my words back. There's still some future in this country."

Then he heard the policeman ask in a high tone one of the bastards who didn't let him sleep at all with his loud music and arguments.

"Where's the rest of the drugs?"

"Fuck. Boss, that's how you do your job? hitting citizens?"

"Hmph, if I was me doing the orders, I would just round you parasites and shoot you dead since you are just scum of this country."

Time passed, and the time on Mathias's clock already reached 1:35 AM. The voices of the policeman were heard by Mathias, saying to a man that was the investigator.

"We found the drugs with the dog, Sir, even their preparation equipment and scale."

"Good. Now get those bastards in the main room, and let's question them a bit."

Minutes passed, and the clock already turned out to be 1:50 AM when he heard people climbing downstairs. While looking at the eyehole, he saw the three bastards being handcuffed and led by the policeman.

"Hah, it's finally silence. No music, no arguing. Let's close the laptop and go to sleep. Sigh, my sleep schedule got a bit shifted. I hope I don't mess up something in the hotel."

Walking with slight tiredness in his eyes toward his laptop, he closed it without thinking much about the V.R. game he just signed on before walking to his bed and shortly after beginning to sleep profoundly.

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The clock began alarming for him to wake up, which made him reach for his phone with a tired and half numb hand movement. Looking at the clock, it was 5:50 AM.

"Phew, I thought I overslept for a moment." said Mathias while closing the alarm on his phone clock.

Looking at his cracked old phone, he walked to the bathroom, showering and preparing himself for a new working day. Drying and combing his long hair, he changed his clothes and looked again at the clock on his phone, which showed the clock being 6:15.

Nodding his head, he placed some cheap salami slices on some white bread, packing it up with some white napkins before taking off to his job.

When walking out of the apartment, he saw nothing going on, such as the media or anything of that sort. After some minutes of walking out of the neighbourhood and arriving at the metro station, he began his commute with the rest of the rushed working people.

Looking at the clock as he exited from the metro station, he saw that he still had 20 minutes before his shift started.

Lucky for him, his job as a hotel cleaner was close to the central part of the city, around the old town. Moving quickly around the people, he arrived in time at the hotel he worked, even meeting some of his coworkers, primarily girls.

Greeting them, he walked toward the worker's dressing room and took the hotel's uniform. After changing himself in his working clothes, he walked toward the male receptionist, who also seemed to have just arrived.

"Do you know where I can find the manager?"

"She should be here. Right, she's in the staff room."

"Thank you, if you need any help with foreign people, call me, and I'll help." ended Mathias saying while moving toward the staff room.

Entering inside the room, he saw a mature lady who looked to be around 30 or more years old drinking some coffee. She turned her head and asked Mathias.

"What's the problem, Mathias? Do you need the keys for the rooms you have to clean?"

"Yes, madam, you know the procedures. I can't just simply go to each room at random."

"Hah, correct. Go to Alex and ask him for the rooms on this list. When you're done cleaning, you can help at the bar with the serving."

"I understand. Thank you, madam."

Mathias nodded his head while moving to the equipment room after taking a set of keys from the receptionist Alex while taking his cleaning cart full of clean towels and cleaning equipment.

"Sigh, such a hard-working kid. It's already been 1 year, and he didn't even complain about his wage or working load." said the manager after Mathias left the staff room.

Mathias began his working day, bringing the cleaning cart in all the rooms he had to clean. Time passed, and the clock already showed that it was 11:50 AM.

After taking his break and eating what he prepared himself at home. In those moments of break time, in what seemed a dull moment in anyone's working life, his telephone suddenly started ringing with a number unknown to him, as if the person calling was from overseas.

Responding to the phone, while finishing his sandwich bite, he heard the voice of a woman with a weird English accent saying to him.

"Hello mister Mathias Dumitrescu. This is Yeon Baek from the S.A. Group calling you concerning your appliance for Beta Access. Can you confirm that I am talking with the right person?"

Coughing a bit while listening to this Korean lady talk in English with him, he said to her in an English that had a slight bit of an Eastern European accent, or how most people call it the "Russian accent".

"It's correct, lady Baek. This is Mathias Dumitrescu speaking with you."

"Good. Well, sir, I hope you've read the procedure on the website. We will confirm your beta access application, but before that, to fully complete this step, you'll have to complete the contract we sent you in your email and also deposit the money for the V.R. equipment that we will send to your address in the following weeks."

"I understand, miss. However, I don't have access to my laptop right now since I'm at work on my break. However, I will call you again after I'm out of my work time. Does this work, miss Beak? Ahh, I have a question, if I may.
"Sure, sir. Go ahead."
"Do you guys receive internet calls since it's a slight problem for me to call overseas?"

The lady behind the other line giggled a bit before saying to Mathias. "There's no problem, sir Dumitrescu. However, our program has been messy since this beta announcement, so probably there will be another colleague of mine talking to you."

"It's unfortunate. Well, I'm sorry, but I have to get back to my shift. Take care of yourself."

"Thank you for the kind words, sir." replied the woman with marks of tiredness in her voice.
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Ending the phone and looking at his clock that showed 12:05, he said to himself.

"Damn, I only have 5 minutes of break. Good that I finished cleaning the rooms, now I only have to serve the hotel clients at the restaurant before looking for more details on the game."

 

[Morpheus146]

Chapter 2 - Money vanishing like ash​

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After taking the break, Mathias quickly went back to the restaurant of the hotel and began eying the clients who were at the tables and seeming to wait for someone to take their command.

Yet before he could go instinctively to ask what they wanted to command, a coworker of his from the server staff moved to the table and began talking to them, asking for their picks.

"It seems they can handle themselves since it's not a busy day. I should go see the manager and ask if other parts of the staff have problems."

Saying that, Mathias walked calmly to where the manager room was, and after knocking on the door and receiving the okay of the manager lady, he entered and heard her say.

"What happened, Mathias? Are there any problems with the rooms?"

"Huh, no, madame. The rooms are all cleaned out, along with the windows on my designated part."

"Ahh, you already finished cleaning everything? You sure are fast." said the lady while looking at Mathias, an awkward smile.

"Indeed, madam, I'm sorry if I disturb you by chance." replied Mathias while looking around the office.

"Well, this seems to be a calm day, so you should take a break. If anything arises, you'll be on the frontline for sure." said the lady with a smile on her face.

"Well, can I stay here? Until I am summoned to clean a room?"

"Yea, why not. It's better to have company when I have to calculate all these spendings and earnings. Right, Mathias, do you know how to work on Excel?"

"Ehh, Excel? I am decent enough, I remember having an exam in that regard that I passed with full grades, but that was 4 years ago. Lady Leonor, if you tell me what I should do, I might be of help."

"Good, come closer to me. I have a spare computer for you, where there's the data from one month ago, with wages of people, spendings and so on. What I want you to do is a total calculation of all the spendings, from staff wages, utilities, equipment spending, and other ones."

Mathias looked a bit surprised at this job change and moved slowly to a seat next to the manager lady, then looked at the laptop in front of him that seemed out of a science fiction movie to him.

"Are there any problems with the laptop?"

"No, it's just my first time actually seeing such a laptop. "

Getting out of his trance, he shook his head and, using an attached wireless mouse, got to the folder that contained the file in question that required him to do the calculus.

'My God, there's so much data here. How the heck do I calculate all of those? Right, that trick, but my hand for sure will ache in pain from all the scrolling down.' thought Mathias while figuring out how to calculate the data.

Like this, he began to type on the keyboard like some possessed demon, like he was playing some shooter game or a MOBA game, which made the manager look a bit at him, only to notice his focused expression that looked around the data on his screen.

'The kids these days, for sure, know how to use computers without even getting that much guidance. He also seems to not be troubled by the program."

In 30 minutes of typing and clicking, Mathias suddenly stopped and said to the manager.

"Lady Leonor, I finished what you asked of me. Can you check to see if I didn't make a fool out of myself?"

Leonor stopped from her work and got up from her chair, moving closer to Mathias. Taking the mouse in her hand, she began checking on the mathematical formulas used on the equations.

As she checked Mathias' work, she tapped on his shoulder and said while pointing at a big string of equations.

"See this. While it is indeed the correct answer to the problem, you could have used the shortcuts and cut from your workload here. So this is why you were typing like some crazy gamer kid?"

Looking a bit embarrassed, he only replied to her comment. "I forgot those shortcuts for that function."

"Haha, don't worry too much. These problems were easy anyway. I'm just lazy and flooded with work from the bosses. Thanks for the work, Mathias, surprisingly, you did well on your first try." said Leonor while moving back to her computer."

Getting up from the seat, he excused himself, walked out of the office, and walked to a bench inside the hotel, where he sat there alone, taking his old smartphone and opening the browser using the hotel's Wi-Fi.

"Wait, aren't those my neighbours from upstairs?" asked Mathias while scrolling some news sites on the internet.

"Damn, those guys are really messed up. The article says they are part of an infamous gang that traffics people, drugs and even have a prostitution chain. It says here, those 3 might face 15 to 20 years of jail time. Gosh, don't tell me I can finally sleep peacefully at night without someone to disturb me with that music."

"I can finally relax without having to listen to music all the time. It is about time my ears go on vacation. Now that I also brought this VR technology, my writing references should be boosted even more. Haha, my humble readers will for sure love this new change I will bring to my story. Still, I need to do some research on the next plot. I hope this game is really, as they say, with a realistic middle-aged era, that contains an intricate system of the world trades, politics, mercantilism, even the gaming elements."

Like this, Mathias spent a little break before he was asked to clean a room that wasn't on his designation. He did it without much fuss, taking his cleaning equipment that had some weight on it. He started cleaning until his working shift ended.

After the work was done, he changed his cleaner clothing into his walking clothes and began his journey back home. It was something dull that happened almost every day, except Saturdays and Sundays that were free days.

Once home, he noticed the floor's silent atmosphere along with the upper floor where his noisy neighbours would be wasting their life on useless things.

"Hah, I can't believe it myself. This sure will not last for long." said Mathias as he took his walking clothes and arranged them in a clean, orderly manner, at which he later moved to take a shower to clean his sweaty body.

With his head under the mild temperature running water of the shower, he thought to himself about the contract the VR game company possibly sent him in the mail.

There's no need to hurry, this is still the beta access, and from the terms of the agreement, I don't have to pay the subscription fee until the game enters the live phase. There's also not much information outside the talks discussing the trailer.'

As soon as he got done with the shower and changed into some comfortable clothing, he moved to his old laptop and pressed the boot button. Later once he heard an annoying sound to his ears, he moved to his tiny kitchen.

"Ahh, good, I still have some of the food, mother sent me last month. Good, until the laptop finishes booting, I can eat mom's food."

Taking a glass jar from his fridge that had some stew on it, he moved to a small induction stove and began heating up the food contained in the jar on a cooking pot. Finished with the process of heating the already cooked food, he took a seat on a wooden chair at a soviet styled wood table, and taking some white bread from a corner of the table, he began wolfing the food down with a satisfied face.

"Compared to eating junk food, this food is unmatched by anything."

Once done eating the food and cleaning his cooking pot and plate, he moved to the laptop that seemed to just now be finished with the system booting.

"Come old pall, we have a business to attend to. Don't crash on me or give me that stupid blue screen error of yours, okay?" said Mathias in a sarcastic tone to the old laptop as he got on his chair at the table and began to open the browser that ate most of the laptop rams.

After another waiting time, whenever he would open the browser on the laptop, it would feel like someone came to strangle the poor old man that was his laptop, finishing his days to come.

"Phew, finally. Let's see what's on my email and start reading that contract and the bank info for the transfer."

Entering his email, he spotted one new update on his recipes from the "S.A Group - Satisfy". Clicking on it, he took note of a lengthy letter in English that mainly congratulated him and assured him of the company's commitment to guaranteeing a quality experience for their users.

However, he didn't linger too much on that and downloaded the files attached to the email, at which he later started calmly to read them. It contained the first parts of the contract, which seemed to be filled by the company with the signature of the executive director Yoon Sangmin.

It was a name unknown to him, but after doing some search on this person, he is one of the lead scientists that worked along with the CEO of the company Lim Cheolho, at developing the supercomputer Morpheus that would control the game system.

"Seems this is no scam and actually genuine people. Let's get down to filling the contract. I think it is already close to midnight at their time."

Taking his time to complete the contract, he stopped at the signature, and from his computer, he pulled an already signed signature that he needed to use for other contracts he had to sign online.

Finished with the contract, he moved to the bank file they sent, at which they detailed the amount he had to put, that could be translated at about 6.500 € on the European market?

"Ahh shit, isn't this the amount of money one would spend for their cars? ARGHH, this is so annoying to even run your thoughts on." said Mathias, a bit frustrated about the amount of money they were asking for their capsule technology.

Yet, while tapping on the table with his finger, he said with a better expression.

"Well, I should think of this as an investment. From what those forums say, the market price of this game will increase along with the time, so if I keep being patient, this will be a good investment. Just like how in the past, before the crashing of the cryptocurrencies, the early investors managed to make a good life for their kids and grandchildren."

Going to the link they attached on the file, he began filling in the full details for the transfer of money, and after he did the final check-ins, he confirmed the transfer of money from his bank account.

Ignoring the notification on his old phone, he said with a confident tone, almost believing in his guts that this was the future and rise of a new technological era.

Simple people would in the future call this the Industry 5.0, or for simpler terms, the Fifth Industrial Revolution.

"You only live once, Mathias. I'm still young. The money can be made back. My grandparents experienced the rise of the crypto and also watched the downfall of it, while I will be one of the guys to be the first in line for the VR rise."

Taking the phone in his hand and reading the notification from the central bank he was saving his money, he did a rundown on the message and closed the phone. After this, he went to a new forum recently created by some people who smelled like Mathias, a chance at a great future.

Moving around different posts of people, which seemed to be excited about the game, he felt a bit in his heart, not having to feel bad about such an expensive purchase.

Suddenly his phone ran next to him with a foreigner number, which looked like the one that called him at 12:00. Picking up and responding to the call, he heard the voice of the Korean lady he talked to not too long.

"Mister Mathias Dumitrescu, we are calling you to confirm that your transfer of money reached our account safely."

"Ahh, I see, that's good." said Mathias in English, feeling a bit weird when thinking about the large sum of money he spent.

"Is everything fine, sir?" asked Yeon Baek, who from her slightly small office room, picked that Mathias's tone was a bit down.

"I am all good. It's just that I don't have the stupid habit of spending my money over things which still seem a bit skeptical."

"Sir Mathias, you worry too much, I assure you, since the game developed by Sir Lim Cheolho along with the team of scientists is something legit. Haven't you watched the game showcase posted today on our official site?" asked Yeon Baek in a professional manner?

Mathias felt a bit weird and didn't respond for some seconds while he was accessing the site, on the News section, and while saying in Romanian, he commented on his overlook.

"Damn, I didn't expect this."

Going back to the phone, he replied to the Korean representative of the company. "I haven't seen the news. However, I will do it after this call since it seems quite long. Thanks for notifying me on this aspect. Otherwise, I would have been going to sleep with a hole in my stomach from my pent up stress."

"Haha, for nothing, sir. Also, another piece of information that might be important to you. The capsule device will reach you in one week, so don't consume yourself too much, okay? We got many complaints from those rich guys about why their products don't arrive fast. So please understand that our team is formed by humans, except for Morpheus."

"I understand, don't worry, miss. From where I am from, waiting in line is in our blood. Thanks for your time."

"Likewise, sir Mathias. It has been a pleasure talking with you, especially with people who approach us calmly and do not demand too much from us, the support team."

Ending the call, Mathias smiled a bit and played the video of the game showcase, while on the other side of the world, on the small office of the fledgling company S.A Group, a decent looking Korean girl that had black hair and light make-up on her face, who seemed to be in her mid-twenties took a breath and relaxed a bit on her chair.

Looking at the time on her phone, which indicated 22:45, she heard one of her colleagues saying to her a bit jokingly.

"So how was your talk with your client Yeon? I heard he is from Europe. Did you manage to talk with him?"

"To my surprise, his English is quite good, but he has this small Russian accent that makes him a bit interesting when he talks. He shouldn't be a problem like those guys from China or USA."

"Right, those arrogant guys, don't bother with them too much, Yeon. Do you have your report about the people you talked to and who would join the Beta stage for lady Yoon Nahee?"
"I still have a bit until 23:20 when she is expecting them. There shouldn't be problems, right?" asked Yeon Baek.

"I doubt we only just started the operations. Yet, don't forget to make it because I have a feeling we will go on overclock soon." replied one of her female colleagues, with a tired expression.

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On the other part of the world, Mathias, who had a pen and notebook in his hand, seemed to note down some information while he was watching the 35 minutes video that showcased some footage from inside the game, where 4 guys played the game. A group formed by three developers and the leader of this project, Lim Cheolho, who had a fisher hat on his character, looked like his own real counterpart.

He watched without taking a break as those 4 moved around a city that made Mathias mesmerized by the architecture and vibe of the settings.

"That's what I was looking for. Ohh, these NPC's of the game seem to also have realistic settings and dialogues. Are they random, or is there another system implemented for the characters?"

After watching everything, and finished drawing out a game plan for his future beta access. With a grin, he said to himself.

"I will go to Titan and actually see how the empire looks like. My story will progress so fast that I can't even fathom."

Moving back to the other part of his daily life, he went to his project writing a novel and began filling his chapters from where he left last night.
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Like this, Mathias began filling his hours and continued on with his everyday daily life, until the sixth day after he completed the contract and sent the money, he received a call from an unknown number to him, yet which was based in his country.

"Sir Mathias Dumitrescu, we brought you the item you purchased from the company S.A Group, a VR capsule, to be more specific." said the voice of a man to Mathias.

Mathias was home since it was Saturday, a resting day for him, quickly got up from his couch and replied back.

"Yes, that's me? Did the item arrive?"

"That's right sir, we are currently in front of your apartment block, but we need some help in bringing your item up. Can you get down?"

"Immediately." replied Mathias, a bit impatient from all the waiting and thoughts that run in his mind since he purchased the VR capsule.

Storming his way down the apartment, he saw the guys contracted by the S.A Group to bring his capsule, and after greeting them respectfully, he began guiding them toward his apartment while a group of 3 men took a decent-sized packaged device and began climbing up the stairs while cracking a joke with Mathias and their boss.

"Hey man, next time, get your apartment to the 10th floor."

"Sorry guys, if you want, I can offer you some wine for the hard work. It is homemade from out of the province."

"HOH, that's more like it, man. Let's go. We still have 2 more floors to climb with this shit. Hey, can you tell us what's this stuff exactly?" asked one guy who was handling the VR capsule from the front.

"That is a capsule used to play a VR game."

"VR game? Like that headgear stuff that kids use to play around and dropping headfirst like retards?" asked back the guy who asked Mathias about the capsule.

"Haha, my son has one of those headgears. Tsk, his mother whines so much to buy that little brat of hers that toy of his, and I tell you this. It is so satisfying seeing that brat dropping on the floor like some idiot. However, things are fun until he breaks something in the house." replied another delivery man while laughing a bit.

"Well, this one is a bit more complicated to explain. If you want, you can remain to see it."

"Sure thing we will. I've never seen such stuff in my life." replied the guy who talked about his son owning a VR headgear.

In no time, the group composed of Mathias and the delivery men got inside his apartment, and with careful handling, the delivery guys placed the capsule on the ground, while Mathias signed something from the head of the team that confirmed the delivery of the gear.

"Get going, man. We still have some other stuff to deliver."

Mathias nodded his head while quickly going back to the kitchen and taking a 2L bottle of homemade wine from his father back home, along with some plastic cups.

"Here, guys, thanks for bringing this up. Now, let's see what we got here."
As Mathias ended saying that, and after giving the 3 guys, except the head of the team who was the driver, he got busy unsealing the package.

In no time, the figure of the capsule was brought to light, making all the guys inside the room look amazed, like some prehistoric guys seeing for the first time fire.

---

A/N: Leason of the chapter? Don't spend your money like Mathias.
Another one should be this, alcohol can entice anyone to work harder.

 

[Morpheus146]

Chapter 3 - Setting the avatar & Accommodation Time​

---

Having the delivery men help as much as they could with the installation of the capsule, one of the guys took some steps back and told Mathias with an awed tone.

"Young man, I feel like I am looking at some rockets that were used to launch people into space."

"No, man, you are wrong. This stuff looks like some airplane. Hey, young man, are you sure you can handle the electricity bill for such a thing?" asked another delivery man, with an amused expression.

"I can handle it. The developers say it would eat less than what your average AC device would consume. It's about the same as any computer." replied Mathias while taking in his hand the instruction guide for installing the connection of the capsule.

"Wow, if the consumption of that spaceship isn't that high, then you will most likely be able to handle the bills. Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Mathias. Also, nice wine, tell your father our appreciation, hehe." replied one of the delivery men who tasted Mathias's dad's wine while moving to grab his hand into a shake.

"Likewise. Thank you a lot for helping me out with the capsule. Other delivery guys would probably leave me alone with the capsule in the front of the apartment block." said Mathias while shaking their hands with a genuine smile on his face.

The delivery guys chuckled a bit, and the team leader said as they started moving out.

"Mathias, if you need any help with carrying stuff, deliveries and so on, this is my number, so don't hesitate to call since our price compared to those greedy bastards that you might think is at the overall European market price, to maybe lower."

Taking the business card from the team leader, Mathias nodded his head and guided them out.

After the delivery guys left his apartment and he saw them off, he got back to the capsule and read the instructions on the note attached to the package.

[ Dear Customer, the VR capsule is one of the first models implemented for our game, but this wouldn't mean your comfort isn't assured. The capsule itself is built using quality material, and the cushion on your body support is made out of quality material that would simulate the feeling and sensation of high-quality natural leather.

The installation steps are straightforward. You will have to connect the capsule to your internet connection along with the power source.

After this, once you enter inside the capsule, you will have to configure its internal settings. Think of it just like setting up your computer in a way. Just follow the internal system guides if you are unsure what's the best option for your gameplay.

Hope you like your new spaceship, dear customer. Sincerely S.A Group team.]

"Hah, good one. Even you guys believe you built a spaceship here.
I guess that's all I should have done for the installation of cables. This capsule needs an internet connection and a power source supply. It will run by itself when I am seated inside the capsule."

Saying this, Mathias moved to the capsule that was placed in a "spacious" side of his main room, and after double-checking the connection, he opened the top part of the capsule that began raising up like the hood of a car.

'This really feels like some science fiction technology, just like what the delivery guy said.'

After the capsule hood opened up, he could see a place that seemed like a comfortable deluxe chair. Entering that chair, he noticed some buttons next to his right hand that read "OPEN" "CLOSE" "START-UP".

Making himself a bit more comfortable while inside the capsule, he pressed the "CLOSE" button that began activating the hood in such a way that only the part of his head closed, enveloping his head entirely.

"Good, I still can breathe fine here." said Mathias while checking to see if he could still breathe like in normal conditions.

After he was done checking, he pressed the 'Start-up' button that finally began powering up the capsule, and slowly he could see how his vision shifted and right in front of his eyes began playing a giant "Loading" interface.

'Wow, this sensation is really unique.' thought Mathias as he waited for the loading to finish.

He didn't have trouble keeping himself calm in the face of waiting since his old laptop would do something cliche for hours to no end. Actually, he felt the capsule was running so smoothly that he couldn't complain about a single thing.

"Welcome, dear user. My name is Morpheus, and I will only help you along with your character creation and game settings. After that, you will be required to wait 26 more hours before the server for the game enter in its initial stages." said a friendly voice of a young man that belonged to a fly moving around Mathias's face.

'Huh? This is the game system the developers have been talking about, who administers the entire game?"

"Do you wish to start now?" asked Morpheus, like he was set to follow a certain protocol.

"Yes, please." replied Mathias with a confident tone.
Suddenly, after some seconds, his vision changed yet again, and this time, he was looking from an omniscient perspective at a human who didn't seem to have features, a blank puppet.

"How would you want your features to be? You have three options. The first one being automatic customization that would use your exact features as in reality. The second one is a manual feature option, where you as the user have the rights to customize your character in whatever manner you want. The third option is a combination of automatic and manual, where you can select the features you don't want on your avatar up to a certain point. If the options you choose on the third pick contradict your overall appearance, it will be denied."

"There's also something else to clarify when you select the automatic option. Your features will fluctuate along with your real body. So if, for example, you are an overweight person, you will also be overweight inside the game. If you are slim, you will be slim in the game too. If you change your appearance over time, they will be corrected by the automatic feature you enabled."

Explained Morpheus to Mathias in an orderly manner before turning quiet as if waiting for a response from him.

It didn't take long for Mathias to choose his approach, and looking around this world, he said calmly.

"Enable Automatic customization features." replied Mathias to the world.

A mechanical voice replied back with. "You have enabled the automatic feature. Be aware, this feature can't be revoked once it's fully accepted? Do you accept it?"

"Yes."

After he replied to this warning, his vision changed again, and he found himself looking at a greenfield with a mound, and suddenly he noticed that he was in control of things. He panicked a bit until Morpheus came for assistance.

"Don't panic. You are right now inside your avatar, and all your brain neurons and brain activity are in charge of controlling your motion function. Think of it as an extension of yourself." said Morpheus in his young man tone, which did wonders for Mathias, who began doing some breathing exercises.

Slowly he calmed down and brought his arms to his face, next he unveiled his long hair from its tie and said with an impressed tone.

"This is my hair. Morpheus, do you have mirror features?"

A mechanical sound came back after the question was asked. "Request accepted. Be aware, user. This is just the accommodation process for the Beta users. After the servers enter live phase, everything will be in the hands of the users."

Ending that reminder, a body-size mirror came from nowhere in front of Mathias, who saw his reflection to the fullest.

'This is me. Ahh, my hair really moves like it does in reality. This game actually managed to capture this. How?? Look, I can move my body whenever I think of doing an action. Heh, this will be fun. I can't wait to try it in action.'

'Wait, what am I even thinking? The first thing on my list is to start writing my novel, and if my head goes blank, I will try a bit of the game, check some bugs and exploits if there are any. Since this is a beta stage, my progression will be reversed anyway. No need to stress myself.'

"Morpheus, this is enough. How long can I stay inside the avatar currently without entering the game?"

"To not overflood the servers too much until the servers get balanced out and optimized for the general players, it is recommended for now one hour of accommodation." replied Morpheus in a human tone."

"This is the supporter talking with me, right?" asked Mathias, a question that kept him pondering.

After what seemed like 30 seconds of waiting, the young man's voice came back at him, which told Mathias something surprising.

"Indeed. Because of certain settings inside Morpheus, we will need for him to register all the possible questions and responses from his data flow. Actually, you and some certain individuals are lucky because us developers are also playing a bit with the game, and once someone connects to the server, we receive the notification."

"I see. Nice to meet you, sir. You don't need to reveal your name if you don't want to. So far, I don't have any complaints about my experience. It is truly like what the showcase video showed. Usually, those types of videos are forged and over-edited, but it seems not the case here. The grass I am stepping right now really feel like the feeling I would get when stepping on my grandparent's property barefooted."

"Glad to hear that man, you don't want to know how many unslept nights we went by just to set those settings. Go on play around while I check other beta players. If you want something from me, tell me, I will get notified and come back." replied the developer to Mathias, who began getting busy.

Moving around the defined place that was something like a mound, he began climbing down and up the mound to check more on the movement system conferred by the game.

'Truly like in reality. This starts getting scary a bit.' thought Mathias after settling down, getting a seat on the green field.

'Hmm, what should I do now? I checked the movement and got used to the feeling. How much time do I still have until I can exit? Morpheus didn't specify. He only said the recommended time for accommodation is 1 hour. I think I will stay for a bit more.'

Thinking that, he looked around himself, and out of curiosity to see if the developer who he thought for a bit actually could come back, he asked.

"Sir, developer. Can you check a bit with me? Sorry for the disturbance in advance."

After one minute of waiting, an avatar appeared from nowhere, of a young man that seemed in his early twenties.

"I'm here, don't worry about disturbances. This is technically still a working day for me. Imagine a working day where you have some relaxing time. So what do you want to ask?"

"Do we, as players, really can do whatever we want?"

"Ahh, this one. Technically you can do really anything, but this freedom you players have also has consequences. There are also certain limitations to players, like if you die, for example, in a game, you can revive at the closest respawn point in your area, which would usually be cities. But here comes the limitation, that usually one would find the hard way if you die twice in the same day your access to the game is automatically stopped, and you would be out for 12 hours real-time."

"I see, so does anything work inside the game, even writing inside?" asked Mathias again for confirmation of his most sensitive problem.

The developer looked weirdly at Mathias and scratched his hair a bit before replying back, with an 'I have no idea' expression.
"I guess that's right."

Breathing out relief, Mathias thanked the developer for his time, and after he disappeared from his location, he also logged out from the accommodation platform.

Still, inside the capsule, he waited a bit to adapt to the reality check. Only after a minute or two passed did he rise from the comfort of his capsule and moved toward his laptop that was prepared ahead of time.

Entering the popular forums that appeared not too long ago, he browsed some threads who expressed how impressed they were by the experience.

--- I tell you guys, this game will be the future of the gaming industry. --- said a user called Dais on the forum.

--- Totally agree with the person above me. While the game assistant seems a bit weird, like he is a bit bugged from the robot to human-like tones, it was still nice. I can't wait for the beta release to go live. Also, do you guys know kimchi? Try it. It is healthy and very delicious --- said a user called Peak Sword.

There were many more of those comments, but Mathias chuckled a bit to himself when he saw the Korean guy comment, also adding a bit about his food.

"What a crazy guy. Who even cares inside a forum about what you guys eat back home."

Yet, for sure, Mathias comment to himself wouldn't even reach that person who made him stop at his comment.

.

From another part seated behind his computer, a man that seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties looked at one person who came into his small office.

"Boss Kang-nim, are you sure we can afford this investment on the game released by S.A Group?"

"Don't worry, Changsal, we only bought 5 capsules. It is a small investment for the Korean Patriotic Association and the act of supporting our brethren and spreading a good product to a wider audience." said the man seated at the computer.

"I understand Kang-nim."

.
.

There were many players just like him from around the world who gained beta access and who couldn't wait to enter and try the game, from simple gamers to people with medical problems who couldn't wait to escape from the reality they were living and even those who were advanced in age and wanted to try a new experience before meeting their maker.

In such a similar situation was Mathias, who was now focused on writing his story to take away his boiling excitement.

"I wonder what weapon or play style I should approach the game with. Close combat, long-ranged combat or caster?"

"I shall see what works the best in the game since everything is up to us players. Probably we can use both combat systems, yet it remains to be found out."

---

A/N: A brief showing of what the inside of the game will feel like in this chapter.
Also, quite nice developers, to interact so openly with their players.

 

[Morpheus146]

Chapter 4 - Beta Stage Starts​

---

​

Waiting for something that you expect the most could be your worst enemy at times. It was like the feeling of someone punching you in the stomach. A feeling, or better said, is something that probably anyone experienced once in their lives, and even has to combat it to this day.

Sunday was the day that this feeling was running amok in the fledgling community of new players of the upcoming VR game Satisfy, which showed promising results even before being released to the general public. However, this day wasn't the one where the general public would enjoy the experience of playing in another reality. It was up to a selected 50.000 people to check the early version of the game.

Mathias was one of those selected people to test the game and report any possible bugs or glitches to the development team.

Yet what was he doing currently on this awaited day? He was cooking some food as if this wasn't that big of a day.

What was he cooking exactly? There seemed to be tomatoes sauce with tuna in the pan. While the other pot contained water.

Mathias looked at the pot and made an expression as if he forgot something essential. Quickly he took some salt and used an old meme's movement. He sprinkled the salt on the boiling water in one smooth move.

"This should be better now. I always forget the salt before the water starts boiling. Let's taste the sauce to see if there's a need to drop a little bit more black pepper."

Tasting the sauce, he let it cook for a bit more before turning the heat off.

Not long after that, after he boiled his pasta for the right amount of time, he moved to drain the water from the pasta pot, and only after that did he put the sauce into the pasta pot and along with a stir using a large spoon, he mixed the sauce with the cooked pasta.

"Good enough, now let's let it rest. What time is it now?

As Mathias asked himself, he looked at his phone clock, and when he saw that the time indicated 12:20 PM, a run went in his mind.

"The game is supposed to be live at 14:00. I have enough time to eat before entering the capsule."


It was only when Mathias finished eating, and the time was 13:25, that he moved to his laptop, checking his emails and the new information about Satisfy around the forums, that he began preparing to enter the capsule and tag in the standby interface of the game.

Placing his laptop in sleep mode so his electricity bill wouldn't skyrocket too much, he moved to the VR capsule, and after making himself comfortable, he pressed the "CLOSE" button that began sealing his vision and enclosing his head, the most essential aspect of the technology.

Only after that did he press "START-UP" which shifted his vision toward the loading interface of the game, slowly fully immersing him into a character standing in a gray room that only had a big timer counting the minutes passing.

[13:56:35]

"Huh, I guess I still have to wait a bit before the server is live. No problem, we got all the time in the world."

Mathias walked around the plain grey room that was empty except for the ticking clock, reminding him of the passing of time.

[13:58:25]

Looking at the time, he gripped his fits a bit as if to exercise his movements, he tightened his muscles a bit to feel their sensation and from nowhere, without even noticing that the clock showed 14:00, his vision changed, and he could see a blue sky. Not too long after that , he could see a large piece of land that had many pointers on it.

Staring at this continent, he later heard a mechanical voice, which belonged to Morpheus, speaking to him.
,.

"Welcome to Satisfy user. You have already created your avatar, granting you direct access to the starting point spawn location. The highlights shown on the continent are the kingdoms users can choose. From Titan of Saharan Empire that sits at the center of the world responsible for the users to the 16 kingdoms. Gauss on the North West of the continent, Eternal at the North Central part of the continent, Rottemon, Arc, Glusian, Hakken, Murrey, Ultima, Belto, Media who sit at the eastern part of the continent, along with Greenich, Kaysang, Ulterna, Pault, Violet who are close to the Empire.

User take your time to choose your location before looking carefully at the locations highlighted on the map. Those are your only choices as a user of Satisfy. Each one of those locations will have their bonuses to deliver the best playing experience to any type of user." abruptly ended Morpheus after explaining and showing Mathias all the starting locations available.

'So I have 16 locations to choose from? Plenty of freedom, I guess, where there wouldn't be a single location flooded by the players. From what Morpheus said, each location would guarantee the user a bonus and unique experience. The developers especially wouldn't want their game to be centered only on one place such as the Saharan Empire.'

'Still, my target would be Titan because it is the only starting zone that could be like the Roman Empire. I always liked to see how the Roman Empire looked at its glory days, the time of Emperor Augustus. Probably the devs who designed the Saharan Empire took inspiration from the Empire in its glory.'

'The rest of the players will probably spit the beans and talk about the rest of the kingdoms, so when the beta stage ends, I will carefully choose my start. Until then, I'll mess around in the game.'

Looking at the continent from a great altitude, as if he was standing in the realm of gods, Mathias told Morpheus. "I select Titan as my starting point."

"Registered. Prepare for your journey, user." ended Morpheus' with his seemingly standard protocol.

Suddenly Mathias could see his vision darkening, and quickly enough in that darkness, a bright light appeared like a bright sun that continued to engulf his vision.

'Damn, there was no need for such an overdramatic start of a game. Do the developers intend to get the old people or little brats to have a heart attack?' thought Mathias as he closed his eyes in the face of this bright light.

Not long after that, he felt that the atmosphere around him had changed, and the voices of many people assaulted his senses.

"WOW. This game entrance was so extraordinary for it to create such an entrance for us beta players." commented someone close to where Mathias stood.

"You are right man, I felt the sun was going to eat me alive." commented another player who spawned in Titan.

"Let's go, guys, get some information on Titan and maybe start questing around. Right, check your status interface. I have all my stats at 6-8, you?" asked another player feeling excited by the game so far.

.

On another side, Mathias, who still had his eyes closed, slowly began opening them and his green eyes turned, shocked all of a sudden.
"My God, this square is close to how the Roman Forum used to be. Wait, it seems even bigger and seems to have medieval elements on it." said Mathias while looking around the square.

When hearing Mathias said this, the players looked a bit weird at him. One even said a bit scornfully.

"What is with this nerd? Dude, did you buy the game to look around places?"

Turning to that player wearing the beginner's clothing, which consisted of simple rags, he said while looking a bit calmly at him.

"Is there any problem if I actually did that?"

"Haha, this guy even got access to the beta? Tsk, hey devs, if you listen, take his access and give it to someone else who really would like to play the game." replied the guy who made fun of Mathias.

Meanwhile, Mathias shook his head and moved away from that group of players which made them curse him behind their teeth. "Loser." or "Nerd," and all sort of badmouthing.

Yet, all of their attempts at disturbing his first day in the game was simply a failure. Mathias was now into a state of excitement like a little kid who couldn't contain his joy.

"This is what I was looking for. Look at those columns and even the podium. Ahh, there seems to be a person on the podium, where people are gathered."

Just as he spotted the square forum, he walked curiously to the crowd of people that seemed to be formed out of NPC's. When he got closer to the crowd, he touched the shoulders of the NPC's who reacted just like an average person.

"Sorry for disturbing you. Can I also join here?"

"AHHH, the cursed ones have appeared just like the Archbishop was prophesied it would happen." screamed a woman that was first aborded by Mathias.

Not knowing how to react, Mathias tried to calm that woman who was wearing decent clothing that was far apart from his rags.

"Please calm down. While I am indeed from lands far away, I come with peaceful intentions."

More NPC's turned to Mathias, and some who looked at him with real emotion. Some were curious, others scared. Even the person who was wearing wealthy clothing saw Mathias and told the crowd.

"Calm down, everyone. The Archbishop said that the cursed ones are just like us, people with intelligence who follow common sense. They are just cursed or rather said blessed by Great Goddess Rebecca to never die, holding their existence to the world."

"So they don't want to hurt us?" asked another woman from the crowd.

Mathias quickly responded to her question. "No, madame, do I even have a reason to hurt you? Please act normal with me. I was just interested in the speech the sir on the podium was delivering to you."

"I see, then come join. The speaker brought an interesting subject to the podium." said a male NPC called Wells.

"No need to bring me to the front if I make it hard for the others to see and listen you. I can listen from here, just fine."

.

Settling down, he began listening to the NPC Reid speak about his advice for a better life. On how to make better choices in spending their money, or how to educate their children. He moved from subject to subject until he prepared to end his speech, which was slightly a warning for the rest of the public.

"Just now, I thought a bit about friends after meeting Mathias, but we shouldn't expect every cursed one to be the same. Am I right, Mathias? Most of the cursed ones wouldn't be like you."

Being asked such a tricky question, he thought to himself. 'These people seem so real as if they can comprehend human emotion and also show their emotion to me. It seems they received some news from this Archbishop that warned them about our coming. I guess it wouldn't hurt to warn them that the guys who came with me only think of this as a game and might kill them without even a second thought.'

"Sir Reid, to be honest with you. I don't really know what others think about you, but you should still be a bit wary of them because there are also bad people among them. People who wouldn't hesitate to kill you all, just because you said something they didn't like."

Compared to Mathias, Reid, a small stature man, nodded thankfully, understanding what he said, yet he still said his part.

"Don't worry, Mathias, we are protected by the Imperial Knights, the Red Knights, along with the Black Knights. Not to forget the mighty Dukes and Five Pillars overlooking Saharan. All those criminals would find their end at the hands of our guardians."

[You have learned about the forces of Saharan Empire]

[Inteligence has risen by 1 point]"

"I hope you are right because it would be sad to not see you in the future here, speaking to people about their concerns, advising them on what to do, and talking from your experience in life."

The speaker Reid, laughed a bit, giving off a genuine smile before saying to the crowd.

"Let's end this meeting, friends. We will gather here again in two weeks, okay?" said Reid as he prepared to move away from the podium.

"Yes, Lord Reid." replied the rest of the people who began moving out of the square.

When Mathias began moving away from the square, another notification appeared on his face.


[Your reputation inside Titan has grown by 5]

[Affinity with Speaker Reid has risen by 5]

[The people who took part in the forum led by Speaker Reid have their affinity increased with you by 10]

'Hmm, what is this? Does the game have an affinity system that concerns the NPC's? But why give me so many points? I only talked and behaved normally with them. Is there something wrong with the people? Or does it mean that because I am the first among the users to participate in a small event, I get some bonuses?'

'Well, I don't know. I will look at the forums to see what others think of the game so far. Now let's see where I can go now. I should try writing a bit on my story if I can do it on my computer.'

'Where can I get paper to write? Library? Tavern? No, I doubt a library would exist in such an era, aside from keeping books. As for a tavern? What would some drunkards give me, except for alcohol? What's on the list? Right, a church. Let's see where the church is located in the city.'

Moving on his journey, a new adventure for Mathias of discovering Titan and its hidden wonders. Yet, not even a minute passed since he moved toward another location except for the square. He saw a group of 5 people wearing rags like him that were running with scared faces.

They quickly passed him, ignoring him, but he noticed that this group was one of those who badmouthed him. After some seconds, he found out who was after them. Two guys were wearing black guard attire, almost similar to the knight attire in the fantasy stories.

"You cursed one. Have you noticed 5 criminals who killed an elderly person to take his belongings?" asked the guards who were running in the direction of the ones who used the streets of the city to hide and get away from you.

"Huh, those 5 split up, 3 on the right side of the street while the other 2 on the opposite side."

"I hope it is as you said cursed one. Otherwise, we will remember you and place a bounty on you for assisting the criminals." said the other black attired guard without even giving a chance for Mathias to said something back.

A bit surprised by this unexpected situation, he continued to where a regular guard who was wearing a bit of a simpler attire compared to the black ones, and when he got to him, a new notification appeared in his eyes.

[You assisted the Black Knights in catching 5 criminals who murdered a citizen of the Saharan Empire. Reputation with Titan has risen by 5]

"A cursed one? What do you want from me?" asked the guard looking at Mathias a bit sharply.

"Sir guard, please don't put me in the same place with those bastards who already caused trouble in the city. All I wanted to know was if you could help me if it is possible."

"Ohh, sorry for my reaction. It's just that there have already been many cases of people among the cursed ones who committed crimes. Tell me, what do you want to know?"

"I want to go to a church. Does Titan have a church?" asked Mathias, at which the guard started laughing a bit.

"Hah, we the people of Saharan have the biggest Cathedral dedicated to her divine light, Goddess Rebecca. You have a bit more to walk to reach Light's Cathedral situated at the city's center. Look here, Mathias, you have to walk straight ahead using the main road, and you will slowly see the figure of the Cathedral and another point for you since you just arrived in Titan. If you look to your right, you will see the Imperial Palace when you get to the center, while on the left, you will see the Celestial Palace belonging to the Grandmaster.

Out of the periphery of the city, you will see the Mage Tower of Magician King Goldhilt."

[Your understanding of Titan and Saharan Empire has increased ever so slightly. You will not get lost while wandering the streets of Titan]

"Thank you for your guidance. Take care of yourself and if you meet any criminal among the cursed ones, don't kill them, just capture them. That would work the best on them."

"I see. Thank you for the information." replied the guard in a slightly grateful tone.

Mathias nodded his head and began moving towards the center of Titan, where he could see many people walking on the streets wearing clean clothes, from simple to extravagant, a show of the wealth of the Empire and its citizens.
Slowly, while looking around the city like a little kid fascinated by what he saw for the first time, he also said in his mind, [Status], which brought out his character information.

*

Status Window
.
Name : Mathias / Class :Beginner
Level : 1 (0/400) / Title :none
Health : 126/126 / Mana: 20/20

.
Strength : 7 / Stamina : 7
Agility : 5 / Intelligence: 9

*
.
"Hmm, I don't know what's with those stats. Are they similar for each one of us, or will they fluctuate according to their life experience?"

"My class is even Beginner. I guess this will change when I choose a path for my character. Haha, not now. I don't care about this now."

Closing the status window, Mathias, who still walked like a regular citizen of Saharan, stopped in place when he noticed what was in front of him.

"This is incredible. I don't know a cathedral that could even run a competition with this one in terms of beauty."
...........
A/N: Let the game start! However, in Mathias version of fun.
Hope you liked the feeling of the characters and NPC's. Indeed, the NPC even in the original story are lifelike characters. So you will not see any puppets from me..
.

 

[Morpheus146]

Chapter 5 - Emperor Juander reminiscence about past emotions​

---

Mathias could barely explain the beauty of this church that was larger than Rouen Cathedral using a gothic style along with renaissance elements. There were even some ancient roman architecture elements into it.

Moving closer like a bee drawn to honey, he could see how small he was in the face of such a behemoth. However, he still kept moving forward toward the Cathedral until he began climbing some stairs leading to the main area of the Cathedral of Light.

Step by step, he became even smaller than the church that seemed to release some bright light from its surface.

"This is a church blessed by the Goddess Rebecca herself. I think so. I can't explain this aura I just saw when I finished climbing the stairs."

Looking around himself, he could see that the area around himself was empty. There was no step of ordinary people moving toward the Cathedral or outside of it. Only a giant statue of a beautiful woman with long white hair that almost cascaded down the ground.

She had a white dress that complemented her beauty even more.

Even if she was just a statue with life-like colors, it was enough to make Mathias gulp his saliva when standing in front of her, gazing at her warm expression that almost made him feel that she was staring at him.

'No way in hell that a statue can actually be alive? Right? Well, let's do something preventively if she isn't just a concept of the game and is a goddess, like any NPC. She for sure would like me to do that for a "cursed one" who barged into her world.'

Taking some steps back, he did a cross and bowed respectfully to her, as if he was doing a small prayer to Rebecca.

"Ohh, Goddess Rebecca, while I don't know any prayers to sing for your glory and beauty. I offer you this respectful bow from this humble man."

While not looking at Rebecca's face when doing his prayer, the eyes of the statue seemed to be shining with light, and her face shifted, gaining flesh all of a sudden, at which she smiled at Mathias in a warm, gentle manner, even so, more lovingly.
.
[Goddess Rebecca has warmly received your prayer. She opens up to you in a gentle manner.]

"Cursed one, you surprise me. Among the cursed ones who came into my world, you are the only one who actually believes in my status. Blessed may your journey be and wise your choices in life.

After she ended saying that, another string of notifications entered his vision.

[You have been blessed for one month with 15% bonus EXP]

[Intelligence has risen by 1]

.
.
'I was right about that. This warm light, don't tell me she is looking at me right now?' thought Mathias.

As he ended thinking that, he raised his head a little bit to look at Rebecca's face, and he could see that it was the still sculpted expression, only that it had a bit of light dissipating.

'Ahh, this is a bit creepy, not going to lie. But knowing she is a beautiful lady at least helps me a bit. There were some famous pictures with statues that turned all demonic and smiling creepily at unfortunate characters.'

After waiting for a bit more, he got up and started walking toward the Cathedral entrance that was closed from outside.

Getting in front of the gigantic door, Mathias spotted a smaller door inside the bigger one. In this awkward moment of staring at a door inside a door, he gentle knocked on the door and stood in place, waiting.

"Don't you know that Sunday's are special days when the Cathedral would remain closed for purification?" said a man that looked like a priest from his attire while opening the small door.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Huh, you seem to be a "cursed one". What do you want from Rebecca's Church?"

Feeling the question being passed at his net, he only asked the priest.

"Father, can you help me with some sheet paper and an inkwell where I could write something? It doesn't matter what quality of paper you give me. I'm fine with anything, as long as I can write."

"You want what? Sheets of paper? You didn't come here to ask to join Rebecca's Church?"

"Unfortunately, it isn't my calling to be a priest or person that would serve under the brilliance of Goddess Rebecca."

The priest seemed to be taken a bit by surprise, he expected those cursed ones to be drawn by power and influence, yet this black-haired young man, who had calm green eyes, only seemed to want an ordinary commodity.

"Sigh, fine, I will help you a bit."

Saying that the priest entered back in the church while also closing the door, and soon after making Mathias wait for some minutes, arrived while holding a stash of paper. They had words written on it, while others seemed to be a bit roughed up.

Mathias, who saw this suddenly, had his expression brightened and could only thank the priest.

"Thank you, father. I can't express in words how thankful am I."

After Mathias said that, he took that stash of paper from the priest along with the inkwell that had a quill pen inside and sprinted towards a bench close to where the central statue of Rebecca was.

The priest saw all of this and could only shake his head and say to himself while entering the Cathedral.

"That young man is amusing. Don't tell me he only wanted to write something? Is he some sage or composer? Also, why did I feel a slight divine light coming from him? Did he receive Rebecca's Blessing? Or is it because of the emperor who is inside the Cathedral?"

"Hah, whatever, I hope the Emperor doesn't get upset about the boy that he would imprison him."

"As for Archbishop Julius, as long he doesn't exit the cathedral, he wouldn't have to be bothered with this kid."

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It didn't take long for Mathias to make himself comfortable at the bench. That was all for his taking. However, there seemed to be a slight miscalculation in his plans. The wind wasn't helpful while writing and keeping in check the manuscripts.

"Tsk, not now. All I got is about two weeks of paper material here, I can't afford to lose it. This place is my gold mine."

Saying that Mathias took one of his shoes off his feet, the game system alerted him that he was barefooted and unprotected.

He took the laces and started enveloping all the paper he wasn't using in a tie, later using another tie to keep them safe and close to him.

"Let's start writing something and check how writing here compares with outside."

Following that thought, Mathias placed the quill pen in the inkwell and, taking a sheet of paper from the bundle attached to his body, he began writing on his historical novel that was based upon the times of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian.

Mathias, who was writing like a possessed ghost, couldn't feel the hours pass at all like he was in a trance hard to break. The priest who helped him with the tools exited the Cathedral walking to the courtyard where he could still see Mathias writing with smooth movements.

After approximately 2 hours since he began writing, Mathias took a break, slowly halting his fast running thoughts that flooded his head, and with the pause he did was an end at the moment between Justinian and Theodora after the end of the Nika Revolt, along with talking about Belisarius and his killing spree.

[Disposing of the Green's]

'With these series of chapters done, I should take a break. To think I would be faster here, how long have I been standing here?' thought Mathias while looking at his creations with a satisfied expression.

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What he didn't know was that inside the Cathedral, a man in his late 40s with snow-white hair was seated in a praying position while his crimson eyes looked a bit lost in his prayer.

"Aria, if you can hear me. I pray for your peace in heaven while you are besides Goddess Rebecca."

As this man was praying in a silent state for a woman called Aria, someone walked toward him. It was a middle-aged man who had jet-black hair, and his features made him look cold.

"Your Majesty, it is time to go. Your schedule is busy as always, especially with the appearance of the cursed ones."

"I understand, Bain. Let's go. I have to settle the problem with the cursed ones."

Hearing this, the white-haired man slowly rose to his feet. With a slight nod towards the man who reminded him about his schedule, he began moving toward the cathedral exit.

His clothing was quite simple, but there was also splendor to the ornaments on them. While his body was releasing a red aura around himself when walking.

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Getting out of the Cathedral without seeing a single person in his path, the white-haired man noticed a young man with jet-black hair seated on a bench in the vicinity of Goddess Rebecca church who was wearing rags, but his features made him look very clean.

'This young man seems to be one of the cursed ones from his appearance and behavior. I thought they would go hunting monsters and wild beasts, but it looks like there are also exceptions.'

The white-haired man kept moving forward, not being bothered by Mathias's presence at the court of Cathedral of Light. He even looked at him for a short time with his crimson eyes, intrigued by his behavior.

Keeping his path forward in a stable manner, he later heard the man next to him say in a cold tone.

"Your Majesty, should I eliminate that person? He seems to be a cursed one, those that Archbishop Julius and Pope Drevigo have warned about."

Hearing this request from his close bodyguard, the white-haired man shook his head lightly, and while moving forward without disturbing Mathias's concentrated self, he said.

"Don't bother with this, Bain. Do you see that boy as a threat to my safety? They are not threats for us, at least not now. Let's go to the palace before more people see me and a commotion happens in the city."

"Understood, Your Majesty. However, I will still put Eclipse to watch over these cursed ones, and monitor their behavior, at least the ones inside Saharan."

"As you wish. I think it will be a good idea to have a good grasp on those newcomers and check their weaknesses." replied the white-haired man in a calm tone.

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After the white-haired man and his bodyguard left the Cathedral zone, Mathias raises his body slightly from the strained position that he used to write while on the bench.

"Huh, why do I just now got the feeling someone passed past me and looked at my work?"

"It might be just me, or is Goddess Rebecca interested in my work?"

Asking himself that, he turned his head to look at Rebecca's large statue overlooking this small plaza and could see that she wasn't releasing bright warm light from her body.



Suddenly, when he had his head turned, a wind blew harder from nowhere which took Mathias by surprise. He quickly grabbed hold of his sheet papers, yet before he could catch the last one, it got out of his grasp and began drifting away in the air.

"Nooo, that was the last part where Justinian and Theodora had their intimate moment! Sigh, good that I at least activated the recording when I finished those parts of the chapter."

'Ahh, this is so realistic. Even the wind blew like in reality, I didn't expect this. While it is indeed my fault, I didn't think that the wind would blow this hard at such an elevated part of the city.'

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Mathias could only sigh at losing his last work for today, but in another place, that moving paper drifted around and climbed down from the high platform that the Cathedral was situated toward the lower ground of Titan City.

This piece of paper that was moving aimlessly and seemed to be floating smoothly toward the ground did some weird turns rising to the sky before dropping down on the floor. This sheet of paper was drifting in the direction the white-haired man was taking.

This person was moving in the direction of a large palace and sensed this sheet of paper drifting, using a swift movement, he grabbed it in his hands, later starting to look at the writing with curious eyes.

He looked for a bit before his expression seemed to shift to a serious expression, and later gently packing this sheet of paper and later placing it in his pocket.

"Your Majesty, what was that sheet paper?" asked Bain, his close bodyguard, looking a bit confused at Juander's action.

"Nothing much, just a small reminder for myself." replied the white-haired man as if nothing important happened for him.

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This white-haired man kept moving toward the palace that looked magnificent, showing the status of the person sitting upon the throne of this palace as ruler of the world.

As he moved in the palace's proximity, some guards in red armor stationed at the entrance of the palace that, when seeing this white-haired man, quickly dropped in one knee and bowed down.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty."

Nodding his head at the guards, he kept moving toward the palace where a young man who seemed to be about 11 years old, had black hair and brown eyes, appeared in front of him and did a respectful bow.

"I greet you, father. Where have you been? Mother has been worrying about you."

The white-haired moved toward this young man and ruffled his hair a bit. "Son, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be at your classes with Jean?"

"I don't like Jean that much. He seems to be teaching me something useless."

When the white-haired man heard that and looked at his son's eyes and face that resembled his mother a lot, he told him with a harsh yet calm, cold tone.

"Edan, you should respect your schedule and responsibilities as Prince of Saharan. We are the rulers of this world, and any mistake shown to our people and subjects would be viewed as a weakness. Do you understand, Edan? If you do, go back to Jean and start listening to what he has to say. He is the brightest tutor in the entire Saharan Empire."

When the young man heard the white-haired man say that in a serious and even a bit of coldness in his tone, he could only lower his head and still ask him. "I understand, father. Yet, what about mother? Will you see her in the future?"

"If my schedule allows for such a thing, I will see her. Now go, son, we Saharans don't have time to waste around."

After he ended talking for a bit with his son, the white-haired man ignored his son's expression and began walking the stairs toward his private chamber.

"No need to enter inside Bain. I want to be alone for a bit." said the white-haired man to his bodyguard that followed him until the entrance of his private room.

"Understood, Your Majesty."
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Entering inside, the white-haired man moved to his large desk and sat down on a luxurious chair. He put his hand in the pocket and took the stuffed sheet of paper that flew toward him and brought from his desk the portrait of a beautiful woman with golden hair.

He slowly began reading the letter, and along the way, he would release some chuckles while stroking the portrait of that beautiful woman. Juander experienced many emotions he thought were lost to him and said with a melancholic tone while looking at the portrait of the blonde woman.

"Isn't this just like how we were, when young Aria? Before our sons came into our lives? Always quarreling about small things, yet always returning to embrace each other after calming down."

"You are Theodora of this story, while I am Justinian. Who would have ever thought that someone would know my life in such a way? Those two went by so many harsh moments in their lives together, but their love for one another keeps them closer, just like us two.

Yet you are no longer close to me, dear. I can't even face our sons properly, be a father to them, just like when you were together with me."

The white-haired man kept reading the letter while his crimson eyes began shedding tears. After he was done, he looked at the beautiful golden-haired woman, caressing it with a loving expression.

He took that portrait along with the letter and brought them to a safe location, a hidden compartment inside his desk that had a lock mechanism. After placing them in the locked department, he extended his hand and said something in an unknown language that later developed into a red energy wave enveloping the lock.

Whipping his tears, the white-haired man got up from his chair and began moving toward a balcony. Once inside the balcony, he had a perfect view of the entire city of Titan, and with a dignified and firm tone, he said while staring in the direction of the Light's Cathedral.

"I don't know who you are, young man from the Cathedral, you who managed to bring tears into my very being who I thought was dried of them. You who brought a jolt in my heart after my eternal love disappeared from my side, know that I, Juander von Saharan, will watch you."

 

[Morpheus146]

Chapter 6 - Starting Quests Sequence​

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Mathias, who was prepared to move toward the Cathedral and thank the priest, suddenly had a new notification appearing in his eyes, but this one was with a red writing and a big exclamation mark that instantly gave him a scare.

[You have impressed The Absolute with your story, and he will be watching your progress. This will transfer other people's unwanted attention and hatred for The Absolute to your own person.]

[Affinity with The Absolute has risen by 10]

[Reputation inside Saharan Empire raised by 1000]
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"What? But how? I was only writing and minding my own business, since when did I participate in an event? Ahh, damn it, an important person has read the page that drifted away. This is so embarrassing."

He tightened his grip on the bundle of paper he worked on and still thought to himself while reading the notification.

"This is really unexpected, but having an increased affinity with this person means he liked that chapter. Yet, it seems his attention will stir up some problems for me in the future. Haha, who cares. I am just a level 1 newbie. I can't lose anything anyway."

Moving toward the closed Cathedral door, he knocked it and waited for someone to come up. After one minute, the priest who helped him with the paper opened the small door, and with a confused expression, he asked.

"Do you want something else, young man?"

Mathias, who by now learned the priest's name, Gabrils, looked straight in his eyes and said with a humble and especially thankful tone.

"Father, thank you a lot for the paper. If you need my help in any shape or form, please tell me. Cleaning the entrance of the church, inside the church, trimming the weeds and trees. I can do all of them."

The priest's confusion ended with Mathias' proposal for help, and following that, he began laughing a bit, finding what Mathias said hilarious and also something he hadn't heard since becoming a priest and paladin of Light's Cathedral.

'Huh, it is clearly these cursed ones have other standards compared to the citizens of Saharan who view themselves as a superior race. If he knew that we priests are required by the Archbishop to clean the church and surroundings, I wonder how he would react?' thought the priest Gabrils while looking at Mathias's young face with two small scars around his eyes as if he suffered from being hit in the face.

"There's no need for that young man. However, if you are still looking for paper and ink. I think it should be right for you to fulfill some tasks, isn't this right young man?"

"Father, my name is Mathias. Use it if it's awkward for you to address me. So there's no problem if I come to you when I need paper to write on my story?"

"No, the Archbishop probably wouldn't even care or be bothered by your presence. There's at the lower ground next to the church, the place where the priests would rest before climbing toward the Cathedral and starting our days. You can find me there at night while during the day I will be here."

"Ohh, those shacks before climbing toward the Cathedral were for the priests. These guys sure are cheap to build you such shacks, but I guess you have a warm place to sleep. Once again, thank you for everything, Father Gabrils. Now I will go around Titan, maybe explore the outside a bit and grow in strenght."

Father Gabrils, who was wearing the standard clothing of a priest, faintly smiled at Mathias before touching his head and blessing him, which made him shine in a gentle white light.


"May your journey be smooth, young Mathias. Be blessed by Goddess Rebecca."

[High Paladin Gabrils has used his divine power to boost your health by 20% for a week]
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Seeing the notification appearing in his eyes, Mathias looked at the priest, who looked to be in his late forties touching his head and showering him with a wave of warm light, that was in fact, a blessing.

"Father Gabrils, there was no need for that. Wouldn't this use of your powers so casually affect you?"

"Don't worry, young Mathias, I might look like a normal priest, but I am, in fact, a Paladin and on top of that very close to reaching the rank of Bishop. Now you are ready to journey out of the city, but you shouldn't forget to go to a trainer and have him teach you some basics." replied the priest while removing his hand from Mathias's head and casually reminding him of those things.

"A trainer? Does Titan have people willing to train amateurs like me? Wouldn't they ask for money that I don't have?" asked Mathias back, with a pondering expression, while also not forgetting to check on the priest.

Gabrils scratched his long beard with some white hairs on it as if showing that he was thinking about the problem. After a few seconds, his stern expression turned back to normal, and he said to Mathias

"I got some guys who I healed when they were close to death. They are still indebted to me, never paying their treatment that consumed almost half a year of my divine power. What weapon do you think fits you on your journey?"

"Father, no need to do this for me. I can take care of this minor problem by myself."

"No problem, young Mathias. It's not like I would even have a use for those indebted people, but debts should be fully paid. Now, go on, say what weapon you want to use."

"Hah, fine. I am thinking about using a spear since it is the strongest weapon since ancient times." Stopping to look a Gabrils, who only smiled kindly, he continued and asked him. "However, besides the spear, I also want to learn magic. Do you think it is possible?"

"This is rare, but it's not impossible. I know of some guys who specialize in combining spear arts and magic, but they are not indebted to me and also are people who wouldn't even put me in their eyes. But for starters, let's do this, Mathias, wait for a bit. I need to fetch something."

As the priest said this, he entered the Cathedral and left Mathias standing there with a surprised expression.

'He probably has a lot to clean inside the church. This is most likely a trick to have me under his hand so I would be worked to death. No, I doubt it. He really seems genuine about helping me.' thought Mathias while standing and looking around the Cathedral and the surroundings from the side.

Gabrils swiftly exited the church with a troubled expression. "Here, take this Mathias, I also left you a note where to find someone who knows the spear at an advanced stage and a magician lady who I treated for a nasty curse. Check on them, and be sure to hand this seal to them. This is my unique seal."
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[Start of a Road]

Difficulty: Unique

Paladin Gabrils has taken notice of you and saw inside you and found out about Goddess Rebecca's Blessing, and now after learning of your hardships inside Titan, extends his hand to help you.

Go to Corvus, a person healed from close death by Gabrils, and hand him the seal and state your request. Also, understanding your wish for your future Gabrils gives you the location of Fayrene.

Quest Clear Conditions: Deliver Gabrils's Seal to Corvus and Fayrene.

Quest Reward: A high chance of finding your own trainers to guide you forward.

Quest Failure: Depending on your performance before the receivers of the seal and in the scenario of failing, unknown side-effects.

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This quest notification appeared in Mathias's eyes when receiving the small coins from Gabrils hands, along with that letter that contained a guide and two locations.

"Here you go, young Mathias. Now I wish you good luck and don't forget to meet me again. I might need your help after a month."
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******************************************************

[Meet Gabrils again]

Difficulty: B

Paladin Gabrils asks for you to meet him after one month so he could task you with something still unknown.

Quest Clear Conditions: Meet Gabrils after one month of time

Quest Rewards: ???

Quest Failure: ???

******************************************************
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Mathias barely got used to the notification alert and the feeling of reading the quests, and this one was something he would for sure do without feeling forced.

Then before Gabrils could continue with his speech, Mathias heard a strong old voice that seemed to be slightly annoyed.

"Gabrils, you little brat, get your ass to me. I got a job for you. Duchess Basara requires your help in her Duchy. Some sort of undead appeared from nowhere, also from what she said, there's also a Lich controlling things from the shadows."

Gabrils face turned serious, and while patting Mathias's head, he moved to the Cathedral before saying to him.

"Do you see, young Mathias? That old man doesn't even know when to give me a break."

"I heard you little shit. Do you still want to be Archbishop after I go to Goddess Rebecca's embrace? Then execute yourself, stop chatting with the cursed one, even though he is an interesting young man." said the old voice targeting Gabrils and Mathias.

"Take care of yourself, Father. I heard that Liches are powerful mages or necromancers who turned themselves undead in their search for more power. They are scary for sure."

Gabrils only gave a slight smile before turning toward the Cathedral, leaving Mathias alone.


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He didn't linger too much around the Cathedral and began walking down to the location indicated on the note he received from Garbils. However, when opening the "MAP" interface, he could only see the places explored by himself thus far, which looked almost like an L from the square he spawned.

'I need to ask the people here for guidance. Raven's Tavern and Night Jewels Tailor Shop. After I get some skills, I might check the combat system and how fluid it goes.' thought Mathias while checking the other game interfaces, besides the "Status Window".

He began checking the Ranking Ledger with half focus on the road, and he could see it was already filled with lots of people.

[1. Hurent - Lv. 25
2. Chris - Lv. 24
3. Kraugel - Lv. 24
4. Red - Lv. 21
6. Mihara - Lv. 20
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There was a notification when he entered the Global Ranking window of the interface that was asking.

[Do you wish to disclose your level to be registered in the rankings?] – [(Yes/No)]

'I mean, do I need to disclose my level to others? I think there's no need. It is up to each player and their preferences.' thought Mathias while pressing on the interface response [No]

[Your answer has been registered. Whenever you decide to disclose your status and level, make sure to check on the option again.]

'Yeah, sure. As if I would spend my time like those guys who already reached that high level in about two-three hours. Just look at them starting to push in levels. Wouldn't they be suffering when the server resets? I bet they would do for sure.'

'I would rather play the game casually, for now, explore things in Titan, and it seems my approach is good. Thanks to NPC's like Gabrils who are willing to help me out at the start, I might be just fine level-wise.'

'Right, something I noticed that I need to look up at the forums, the colors on their name bars, why do they differ? The guard I talked to had a green name, Reid had a silver name, while Father Gabrils had his name golden. Probably it means they are stronger. The weakest is green and strongest is gold?'

Moving on from the ranking interface, he checked out the bustling road with people, who mostly had green names, which proved to Mathias that his theory was correct.

After getting close to the square, he moved to a guard and asked him for guidance about the locations he was looking for.

"You want to reach Raven's Tavern and the Night Jewel Tailorshop? You took the wrong route. Hah, you cursed ones sure get lost a lot around Titan and cause a great deal of mess in the city.

There's already 32 of you placed on trial and soon to be executed for assaulting the citizens of Saharan."

"Ahem, sir guard. I know it must suck being you right now, but I can't change anything in that regard. If those braindead fools like to behave like that, just imprison them, you'll see how much they would suffer like this." replied Mathias with an evil smirk, thinking about the time those guys would have to waste after being imprisoned while the guard nodded his head.

"Indeed, this is also something my superior told me, to not kill them but capture them. Here, let me tell you where to go for Raven's Tavern and the Night's Tailor Shop."

Mathias waited patiently for the NPC to tell him the route he had to take, which needed him to move to the periphery of Titan, in a zone that was infamous because many bandits, thieves, and assassins liked to room around there.

Thanking the guard, he began his new journey that took about 20 minutes of walking and constant stares from the curious citizen. He arrived at the periphery who had a slightly not maintained appearance.

The alley of this zone of the city was still bustling. The only change in scenery was that most people here were wearing simple clothing and even rugs.

Keeping everything to himself and not disturbing anyone, Mathias spotted a two stories high building that had a crow's head on the building's front placard, along with the nameplate of "Raven's Tavern".

"Finally, I got to the right place."

When he was done checking on the placard, Mathias received a notification from the quest and the map that was filled on the zones he explored with shops included, yet restricted for those he got the name of.

Entering the tavern, he was assaulted by the smell of alcohol, just like in the real world, and a loud atmosphere that buzzed in his ears. All the tables of the pub, with the counter of the bar included, were occupied.

"Boss, do you by chance know someone called Corvus?" asked Mathias after arriving at the counter where a middle-aged man with a big black beard and bald head served the people with alcohol.

The middle-aged man turned his attention to Mathias and, only after checking on him for a bit, did he point toward the direction of some tables in the backside.


"You can find him there. I think he should still be awake by now."

Nodding his head at the tavern server, he still seemed a bit confused.

'Awake? You think? Don't tell me Gabrils wants to introduce me to some drunk guy?' thought Mathias in a confused manner until he turned his head and noticed a middle-aged man that seemed to be in his mid-30s. He had short jet-black hair and an unkempt beard filled with bread crumbs.

Yet what was the most striking to Mathias when he approached this guy, aside from that he looked a bit drunk, was that his nameplate was golden, just like in Gabrils case.

"Ahem, sir, can I bother you for a second?"

The person called Corvus didn't even bother to look at Mathias, who got next to his seat by the table and continued to drink, undisturbed.

"Sir, I got a recommendation from Gabrils. He told me you can help me with the spear." said Mathias calmly without feeling offended by this treatment.

"The fuck do you want, kid? Can't you see I am drinking? Huh, Gabrils, where did I heard that name?" said Corvus, a bit slow and in the end asking himself that.

"Right, I think I remember."

As he ended saying that, he quickly turned to look at Mathias and said with a bit of clarity.
"Kid, what did you just say? That cheap bastard Gabrils pointed you toward me? How the fuck? After I paid him fully for his treatment, having to sell a part of my belongings on the black market, he still wants more from me? Damned priests and their stupid requests.

"That's right, sir Corvus. It was Gabrils who pointed me toward this location to find you. You shouldn't hit me for whatever past you had with Gabrils."

"Screw you little shit, I don't want to fight that monster. Damn it, can you prove it?" asked Corvus while picking some of the bread crumbs from his beard and starting to eat them along with drinking from his mug of beer.

Mathias nodded his head and took out the required quest item from his item's interface, [Gabrils Seal].

Corvus took the sigil, looked at the circular coin size sigil, and began checking the authenticity until it shined a bit in a golden light.

"Tsk, this is real stuff. Hey kid, how are you called?" asked Corvus after tossing the coin sigil back to Mathias.

"You can call me Mathias, sir."

"Aha, I get it, kid. You'll follow me after I finish this mug of beer, okay? I'll teach you something, and you can scram and tell Gabrils that the debt was fully repaid this time."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 7 - The Basic Spear Skills & Raven's Movement
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Corvus took his time to drink his beer and didn't even bother with Mathias. After finishing his beer, with alcohol dripping from his beard, Corvus got up from his seat and began walking out of the tavern

Yet before exiting for good, Corvus looked at the tavern owner at the counter and said in a bored tone.


"Brother Edmon, don't cut the pay yet. I'll come back in a few minutes and continue drinking until I fall asleep."


"Sigh, brother Corvus, you should take it slow with the alcohol. It's not your fault your brother Piaro got in that mess along with the rest of Red Knight's and the Welf House."

Corvus didn't bother to talk back, but his expression turned slightly frosty when the tavern owner said that. Later he turned his head to Mathias, and with an angry tone, said.

"Get moving, you little shit. I don't have all the time in the world to waste it with you."

'Yet you can do it while drinking?' thought Mathias to himself while moving toward Corvus, who was at the door, exiting the tavern.

After that, Corvus walked towards the tavern's back, where there was some sort of courtyard that had at its centre an old tree like it was a space used to store things.

'That's the training place? I didn't expect to see such a big tree. It also seems quite old and has lots of marks on the bark.'

Corvus went towards the tree and swiftly moved his hand, grabbing a long branch and snapping it off, tossing it to Mathias, who is watching, confused.

After that, he also snapped another long branch that looked like a spear, just like Mathias' and with a lazy and annoyed expression, he said.

"Kid, tell me why you want to learn the spear?"

"Because it is the king of weapons?" replied Mathias while holding the large stick that felt like a staff.

Corvus still looked annoyed at Mathias, waiting for him to add more to what he just said.

"Compared to the sword, that so many stories and everyone's views are on, just because the ones with status and power used them, and were the center of many stories, doesn't mean I have to use them, right? Also, compared to the sword, spears are better by far. I could simply pierce the throat of a sword-wielding idiot and win the fight."

Then as he said that, he felt that something hit him in the head that struck him to the ground.

[You've suffered an unexpected hit and lost 15 HP]

'Motherfucker. That hurt like one of those bastards in the neighborhood hit me at night.'

Raising his head to look slightly angry at Corvus, he noticed that the drunkard started laughing as if he found something funny.

"Little shit, you talk big, but you know just a small truth. The spear has many shapes, from halberds, polearms and the usual spear, and many other variants. It is a weapon created for the sole purpose of killing the enemy in the most efficient manner and without using fancy moves like how those sword users try to pull."

'I know that. Just get started already and teach me some moves because I doubt the stuff I learned from the internet will help me.'

Mathias, while thinking that, could only nod his head and fully agree with what Corvus said.

[You've suffered another hit and lost HP 15]

He was struck once again by Corvus's stick however this time in his chest, that hit sent him to the ground.

"I don't want your approval, you smartass. You just stay there silently and only watch and listen. I will not repeat myself at all. You learn what you can before scramming to Gabrils."

"I understand."

The instant Mathias said that, he was struck once again by a fast strike that went straight for his stomach.

[You've suffered a hit and lost 20 HP]

'Damned crazy fuck. Stop hitting me for no reason. Do you have a problem with people and can't behave like a normal human?' thought Mathias angrily when he found himself once again on the ground and with his body hurting all over the place.
.
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'Status.'

******************************
Name: Mathias / Class: Beginner /

Level: 1(0/100) / Titles: None

Health: 76/126 / Mana:20/20
******************************

'If I get hit three or four more times, I am dead. Damn asshole, just give me a break and teach me some basic skills.'

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Corvus, who was only focused on moving the branch he took from the tree, looked at Mathias' face and when he saw the serious, cold, green eyes, he nodded his head and began taking a few steps back. Next, he increased his presence with a heavy step forward.

His energy began increasing around himself, making Mathias think he saw the Super Saiyan transformation, yet he kept staring at Corvus. Simultaneously he also opened the recording interface, so he could have a reference for the future.

Right before Mathias's eyes, Corvus began doing a series of slow footsteps, as if showing him the manner they should be placed on the ground and the manner he held the stick, which was interesting to him.

Sidestepping around the empty zone with the stick held forward, he introduced another variation of steps to the simple footstep that had Mathias full attention.

'Huh, the kid seems to be still following me after introducing [Raven's Movement]. Interesting, let's see what you can pick up from me, kid.' thought Corvus while stopping in place after doing his footwork.


Mathias took his spear in the basic guards that any spearman would learn, [High Guard], [Middle Guard] [Lower Guard], which Mathias followed closely without missing much of his movements. He felt that the spear art was quite simple and basic, but he didn't show it on his face.

Corvus took his spear in the basic guards that any spearman would learn, [High Guard], [Middle Guard] [Lower Guard], which Mathias followed closely without missing much of his movements.

Following those guards, he began demonstrating something unknown to Mathias, it was a raise of a spear that followed the same technique the sword guard [Wrath] would follow and, with a quick movement placing the large stick back to a [Middle Guard].

Like this, he used many techniques Mathias didn't expect to see, which quickly made him think while still watching closely what Corvus was doing.

'He just used a sword guard? Wait, what? But why?'

After those guards, Corvus went to show Mathias what the basic strikes of a spear were like, from the basic thrust to the most basic spear strikes, a downward slash from the upper guard. Slowly like he was showing a baby, he began increasing the intensity of his moves so that Mathias could barely see what the drunkard was doing."

'Ohh God, this guy really is good. I need to focus. I need to focus, or the recording will not even be taken properly.' thought Mathias while he felt total admiration for the skills Corvus was showing him and how smooth his movements were.

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The moment Corvus sensed that Mathias lowered his focus towards his movements, he used one of those movements he demonstrated and did a strike that sent Mathias flying straight to the old tree.

[You've suffered a devastating hit and lost 100 HP]

'What happened? Did this drunk fuck throw another tantrum? I am not dead? Ahh, yes, my HP recovers 1 per 30 seconds when I am not in combat.'

"Focus, little shit. I bet one strong wine you didn't understand a single thing from what I did here."

"Hmph, do you think I am some retard who can't follow by example? I might not be able to pull off such fast spear movements and footsteps since I am just a beginner, but the basic ones, I got them."

"Then why don't you use your spear to block my strikes, you stupid kid? Do you enjoy being hit so much? If this were a genuine spear with a blade point, you would be dead with each of the strikes I hit you with."

"Huh, you hit me with a purpose? I thought you were just a drunkard who likes to throw those drunk tantrums."

The instant Mathias said that, he saw Corvus looking a bit irked, moving to hit him with a slightly slower strike that his eyes could pick up.


'This one can be blocked with the [Middle Guard].'

Thinking that, he quickly grasped the large stick in his arms and pointing the end of the stick toward Corvus at a middle point. Mathias advanced and moved a bit his stick to deflect the strike.

'I've done it. I always knew my visual memory was good.'

"You said you want to bet on a strong wine? You got a deal. I'll show you what managed to pick up from your dancing moves." said Mathias with a confident tone to a Corvus who still looked at him annoyed.

However, when Corvus heard that, he smirked at Mathias and took his spear and attacked him with another slower piercing strike that was targeting his legs.

With a [Lower Guard] Mathias used one of the simple footsteps he picked from Corvus, and with a raise of the branch, he blocked the piercing strikes.

"How was that, you drunkard? Quite good, right?"

"You are still just a little inexperienced shit that tries to mimic someone. Just like a little dog trying to do tricks for his master."

Saying that, Corvus increased his rhythm and had Mathias go all tense and sweaty from all the movements he had to do and think in his mind.

To counter the rapid strikes, Mathias uses the odd footsteps [Raven's Movement] showed to him earlier, forcing Corvus to stop his assault and even land a few of his own attacks in.

[You've dealt 1 damage.]

[You've dealt 1 damage.]
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Only landing two light strikes on Corvus, one on his chest area and the other one right on his arm. He knew those hits amounted to nothing against this drunkard, but he was smiling proud of himself, of what he managed to achieve.

"Piss off kid. Your hits couldn't even scratch my back or ass."

As Corvus said that he used an upper guard strike from the wrath that sent Mathias flying yet again into the old tree.

[You've suffered devastating damage. Beware, you are near death.]

Hearing this notification, Mathias said behind his teeth with a pained tone and expression. "No shit, Sherlock. You think I don't understand that I am in a deep mess?"

Just after he said that, he opened his eyes and could see that Corvus was approaching him with a casual face, which made him try to raise on his feet, but he received another notification.
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[Your stamina has depleted, your movement are impaired.]

[Stamina will recover over time.]

"Little shit, it seems you've lost the bet. You need to get me a strong wine, otherwise I will hunt you down, regardless of you being a cursed one."

"Do I even have a choice?" asked Mathias from where he was while looking at Corvus approaching him.

"Weren't you the one who accepted the bet, feeling confident that you learned the spear? Anyway, this is all I had to teach you to put some basics in you. What you do with those skills, it doesn't concern me. I honoured my end of the bargain with Gabrils."

Mathias could only sigh and stare as Corvus approached until he was a foot length next to him.

"Here, kid, take this coin. It will be enough to buy a cheap spear from the Weapon Shop in the zone. So you don't say I am really a piece of shit that would let you with the wooden stick."

As Corvus said that he tossed a golden coin to Mathias that landed straight to his opened shirt pocket which he caught.
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[1 gold has been acquired.]
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After that he turned away from Mathias and started to move toward the tavern, one could see a small smirk on his face, as if he didn't expect much from Mathias, and yet he delivered plenty of surprises.

Seeing Corvus leave, Mathias could only sigh and take the gold coin in his hand, staring at the imprinted face of a man with a mature face, he received a notification from his quest.
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[Your performance was decent in the eyes of Corvus, deeming you mediocre in the attempt at using some of his intermediate skills. As a result of watching and learning from an advanced spear user, you unlocked and learned the following skills.]

[Basic Spear Mastery - unlocked - Lv.1]

-Increase attack power and attack speed by 0.5 when a spear is equipped.

[<You gained the skills, [Basic Guards], [Basic Spear Control], [Sweep Thrust], [Piercing Rain], [Basic Spear Attacks], [Basic Footsteps], [Raven's Movement]>]

"Raven's Movement? What's this? Are these those steps I copied from the drunkard and used against him to land those strikes? Let me check since I can barely move my limbs from the lack of stamina."

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**************************
[Raven's Movement - Lv.1]

Rating: Unique

Skill Type: Active Skill

Skill Effect: Special Skill

< A footstep that tries to emulate the way of a raven and the speed it would have in flight along with his cunningness. >
*** During the cast and until the cancelling of the ability, your movement speed is increased by 10%, your agility by 3% and dodge chance by 10%. ***

Mana Consumption: 5 MP per second

Skill Cooldown Time: No Cooldowns.

********************
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"Wow, this footwork is a unique rated skill? But how? From the outside, it only looks like some stumbling of feet, in and out, or around your enemy, trying to make him guess wrong.

Looking toward the tavern, Mathias said to himself in an impressed tone. "Corvus, I'll take my words back. You aren't really a shitty drunkard. Your skills are actually worth studying over. So glad that I recorded everything."

"Now I'll have to check on a spear? Or should I check on the mage lady, Gabrils recommended?"

'Map' thought Mathias in his mind, and at the same time opened the city map interface where his location was highlighted with a red dot, along with the parts he explored or knew about.

"Hoh, I didn't expect the blacksmith those guys on the streets talked about to be this close to me. Let's check there first, and I'll seek out the mage later."

.

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 8 - Ancient Weapon, Ragnius
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After checking [Raven's Movement] description and the other basic skills such as [Basic Guards] that conferred him with the three basic guards [Upper] [Middle], [Lower Guard].

The [Basic Spear Control] was a passive skill that granted him a 1% accuracy rate in his attacks and 1% attack speed, while the [Basic Spear Attacks] was a general passive skill that granted him the basic attacks of thrusting and striking.

[Basic Spear Attacks] - Lv.1

Grants the general knowledge of spear, unlocking the [Thrust] and [Strike] attacks.

Depending on the spots attacked, the [Thrust] will deal more than 2% [Critical Damage] and has a chance to proc the 'Bleed' abnormal status. [Strikes] deal damage according to how much attack power the user has, with a 1% chance of dealing [Critical Damage]

Skill Type: Passive
************************************

Reading the descriptions of those simple skills, he took a bit more to read the [Sweep Thrust] skill and [Piercing Rain], which were Active Skills, that were combo attacks.

[Sweep Thrust] - Lv.1

One of the basic attacks of a spearman that shows your efficiency in using the spear. A diamond-shaped sweep movement that has an AOE range attack that deals 60% of your physical attack power and the thrust that deals 100% of your physical attack power.

Skill Mana Cost: 35 MP

Skill Cooldown Time: 25 seconds
*************************************

After Mathias ended reading the description for [Sweep Thrust] from where he was seated, supported by the large tree he said with a satisfied tone.

"This skill has an AOE effect? Pretty good, and even a finishing sequence with the thrust. Man, I doubt other newbies who just entered the game, like me got lucky to get an entire series of skills. Hah, I even got one gold coin from this quest chain."

The [Piercing Rain] was also a decent skill that allowed him to strike the enemy with a three-attack combo in rapid succession dealing 91% of his physical attack power for each strike.

"Piercing Rain is also a good skill, for only 40 MP to be able to do a rapid combo like the ones Corvus was showing. I have no complaints about this quest chain. I'll not even argue if it gets me killed since I will not die for good anyway."

Ending saying that he stood there, without moving for two minutes, enough time for him to figure out a battle strategy with his new skills. Gradually he felt his stamina recover, and the tiredness leave his body.

Raising himself on his feet, he opened the map interface and began walking toward the blacksmith like some cripple forcing his steps forward.

The people in the streets turned their attention to Mathias whispering some things he couldn't hear. But those weren't the only ones who took notice of Mathias, the lowly thieves and bandits of Titan didn't care how much money he had on him, but seeing his rugs specific to the cursed ones who appeared today, they chose to ignore him.

'Hmph, it's not like I care about what you think of me. This is all Corvus' fault that I walk like a cripple. I haven't told him to strike me so hard that I couldn't walk properly now. Tsk, I hope this problem is solved once my stamina is fully regenerated together with my health.' thought Mathias while walking on Titan's periphery roads that were as dirty as some alleys from the provinces badly developed in his country.

'Hmm, even those guys who look like bandits stopped looking at me? I
Am I some scourge, or do they pity me for just starting this game and looking like some beggar?'


Mathias' thoughts went in split directions when looking at the people staring weirdly at him, but his mind cleared when he arrived in front of the blacksmith shop.

This place looked exactly like he expected, a decently sized building that released a lot of fire smoke from the forge inside, and with a slightly burned exterior, signaling to Mathias that it suffered quite some burns.,

Entering the shop's door, the first thing that he felt was the hot temperature blasting on his face, making him feel a bit awkward. After the first heat blast, he heard the voice of an annoyed guy saying to a 12 years old boy seated at the counter of the shop.

"Boy, go already and tell your father I want to buy a weapon from his shop. Now, boy, now. I've already wasted so much time waiting around for him to finish his weapon. I will lose my ranking soon in this way."

Mathias looked sharply at the guy who screamed at the young boy and noticed that he was a player like him, someone with a white name template, [Samuel].

'Interesting, let's see who this guy is to whine about his progression. 'Rankings'.' thought Mathias to himself while opening the ranking list and searching at the top rankers for the guy in front of him. Only after a brief search, he spotted that he was decently high on the list, being level 16 himself.

While walking toward the shop counter, and seeing the boy's features with his green nameplate [Ralph]. The boy had heavily tanned skin, with short black hair and brown eyes. He had a serious expression while staring at the player yelling at him.

"Sir, my father is busy with the forge. Even if I go there to tell him you are here and want to talk with him, he will not care. You either tell me what you want or go to another shop."

'Well done boy, stand your ground in the face of bullies and don't give them a chance to react.' thought Mathias when hearing the boy say that while walking to a section of the shop that had spear-type weapons.

"You little shit, you'll regret it." said Samuel while staring at Ralph with furious eyes.

"Shut up you moron. This is how you behave outside of your safety bubble?"

Samuel, someone who was quite tall, standing at 1,87 meters, with a tanned skin similar to latin americans, quickly turned to where Mathias was standing, to the spear section, and shifted his fury to him.

"What's your problem, you scumbag? You are still in the rugs those developers threw at us to insult us? And you have the guts to talk shit to me? Be careful that you are not hunted down in the city for talking when not being asked."

Mathias ignored those threats, feeling this guy's attempt at scaring him pathetic. He, who had quite the experience with the gypsies who dealt with drugs and all sorts of illegal things could only find it funny and that was visible on his face.

"That was a good try, not going to lie. Now turn your head and mind your own business and piss off after getting your weapon without bothering the server boy."

Samuel, hearing this from Mathias, tried to use a skill he acquired while leveling outside of the city, but was denied by the system, with a simple notification warning infront of his face.

[Fighting isn't allowed inside Nelmon Blacksmith Shop]

'Tsk, stupid game. I could kill this newbie in one strike and that would teach him a good lesson. Fuck, I'm wasting time with this stupid NPC and that big mouth. I'll never get to the top 10 rankings in this way.'

"Kid, show me your swords. Something around the range of 30-80 silvers."

The boy complied with the request, visibly angry at how this person talked with him, and disdainfully he took some swords and placed them in Samuel's view.

"These are the swords you are looking for."

Samuel took a look at the swords, and after finding a sword his level, and seeing the price tag directly in the interface, he took 70 silver coins and placed them on the counter.

"Here little shit. This sword will do its job."

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[Sharp Beast Sword]

Rating: Normal

Durability: 120/120 | Attack Power: 15-35

Accuracy Hit: 1%

User Restriction: Level 15 or higher. More than 60 strength. More than 35 agility. Basic Sword Mastery Level 1 or higher.

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Taking the money from the counter the young boy looked hatefully at Samuel, who scoffed and spit in Mathias' direction while saying.

"I will remember you, big mouth. Don't think that opening your mouth doesn't have consequences."

Yet Mathias just ignored him and by the time Samuel was at the door he flickered a middle finger, as a sign he couldn't care less about this idiot who created a ruckus in a shop. When Samuel was out of the shop, the boy breathed out relieved and said to himself.

"I thought that guy would punch me in the face."

"He can't do such a thing inside the shop, so don't worry about your safety." replied Mathias while searching around the spears put on display.

"It was still scary. Can I help you with something big brother?" asked the boy from behind the counter, while moving toward Mathias who was searching with a pondering expression.

"Not really. But if you got a better spear and something even a newbie like me could use, I would appreciate it a lot."

Ralph got to where Mathias was and began touching the spears and looking at them carefully while saying to himself. "Spear for newbies. Spear for newbies. I doubt father even bothered making one for newbies."

"Big brother, can I ask how much money you have on you? Each weapon here has a price tag, but I also need more details so I know what to search for."

Nodding his head at the boy next to him, Mathias spoke with an awkward tone, like he didn't know how much his money was worth. "I only got 1 gold coin and 50 bronze coins on me."

"That's plenty enough for a spear since they are cheaper to make compared to swords. Can you wait for a bit? I will go to the warehouse and look for the work my father has accumulated."

"Okay, take your time." replied Mathias in a casual manner, nevertheless before seeing the young boy off, he asked. "Do you mind if I use your counter to write something?"

"Write? Sure, I don't mind it. Just don't steal anything. I warn you, dad has a contract with the thugs in the district to watch over the shop. In case any thief would try to steal from the shop."

"Huh? Protection fees?"

"What?" asked back the boy confused by what Mathias just said.

"Ahh, nothing. It is just me thinking out loud. Go on, search for my spear."

The young man nodded his head and walked to the backside of the shop, while Mathias took some paper from the inventory, a feature he learned to use along the way that proved to be quite handy in travels.

'Sigh, I should have checked the inventory feature earlier so I wouldn't have lost my chapter like an idiot. At least it had someone enjoyed reading it.'

While thinking that to himself, he took the inkwell and quill, along with one sheet of paper, and after some minutes of thinking, accompanied by the sound of a hammer hitting metal, he started writing down some ideas, until he got caught in the process and even forgot about the boy who went to look for a spear.

After 20 minutes the young boy came back to the main part of the shop holding a spear in his hand that was longer than himself. Its shape was a mix between glaive and spear and could be simply described as something too difficult for a new spear wielder to use., yet this boy came along bringing that spear with some difficulty walking around with it.

"Argh, this heavy spear is annoying to move around. I don't even know why father keeps this lame spear in the warehouse."

Mathias stopped what he was doing, placing the equipment for writing back into his inventory, he later moved his eyes to the spear the boy was holding.

The first thing he noticed was the dark red color of the spear blade that was shaped similar to Poseidon's Trident, while the shaft of the weapon was made out of a material similar to wood, only that it was fully black.

"You've come back at last. That spear is for sale?" asked Mathias carefully while admiring the spear from a distance.

Ralph the blacksmith's son, got to the counter and placed the spear on it with some effort for Mathias to look at.

"That's right. This spear has been sitting in the warehouse collecting dust for no reason. I don't see anything special about this spear aside from the pointy tip that looks more like an ornament."
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Just as Ralph said that while pointing at the spear, Mathias touched the spear, and instantly the information of the weapon appeared in his vision which gave him a scare.
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[Ragnius]

Rating: Normal(Growth)
Durability: 450/450
Attack Power: 100-240 | Critical Chance: +2% Attack Speed: +2%
Defense: 15
* 2% increase in physical attack power.
* 5% increase in maximum health.

* Attack speed will increase by 0.5% for every attack that connects.

* There is a very low chance of the spear releasing the skill "???"

A spear forgotten from the annals of history, yet it still gives off small fragments of its splendor and glory.

A spear that was once thought to be the sole weapon of a saint brought to the status of a scrap weapon ignored by everyone and looked down upon, however without the rightful master, the spear will never break off from its past.

It will be the symbol of fear to the enemy and a symbol of protection to its master.

Conditions of Use: Chosen by Ragnius' slumbering ego.

***************************


Reading the spear description carefully, he could feel his hand going cold for a bit as if something reacted to his grasp, but there was no notification from the system about him suffering any abnormal status.

He quickly released his grasp, but he found that he couldn't let go of the spear, as if someone was holding on to him.

'What is going on?? I am dreaming right now? There is something inside the spear? Ego? Arghh, let go of me spear, I don't want to spook this kid.' thought Mathias while trying to drop Ragnius on the counter.

"Big brother, is something wrong? You don't like the spear? Hah, and I spent so much time looking around the warehouse." said the boy with a disappointed voice, and a sad expression.

"No, no. You are wrong kid, I actually like this spear quite a lot, but I don't think my money is enough for this spear."

"What do you mean? This spear is sold for one gold coin." replied the boy with a relieved expression, which made Mathias feel even more awkward. Or the spear costs one gold

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, big brother. Does my face look like that of a fool? I have already been selling my father's weapons for one year."

'Fine, I'll buy it. It is not like I have another choice because of this cursed spear. Let go, already!" thought Mathias while looking at Ragnius in his hand.

Placing his hands in his pocket, he activated the inventory feature and took all his money and placed it on the counter, and before taking off with Ragnius he told the boy.

"Young Ralph, I will come back to give you more money. Right, does your father also repair weapons?"
Taking the money placed by Mathias with a smile, the young boy nodded his head and said with an advertising tone. "That's right big brother. Father can make weapons, armors, and even repair them."

"I see. Good to know, it means we will see each other plenty of times."

"Haha, big brother if dad makes any interesting armor I will tell you."

Mathias just smiled and extended his hand to ruffle Ralph's hair, before with Ragnius grasped in one hand he walked out of the shop.

As he did that, another notification appeared infront of his face, which made him slightly confused.

[Ragnius's ego looked inside of you and is pleased by what he observed. He will bind himself to you.]

[Item 'Ragnius' is bound to you. You can't share ownership of the item or lose it in death.]

'Are you for real? I did nothing to be haunted by ghosts at this age.' thought Mathias felt this situation even more creepy than the one with Rebecca's statue, and along the way, he felt the spear shaft tremble a bit before turning silent.

'Go sleep. If you are really are what I think you are, a ghost inside a weapon. We'll be able to talk when you recover, all I need to do is to build you up to your former status.'

This time he didn't receive any signals from Ragnius, and to not attract the attention of unwanted eyes, he placed the spear in his inventory.

Mathias chooses to move out of the blacksmith shop zone and check out the location of Fayrene's shop, the last check before moving out of the city, and start hunting some monsters.

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Inside the blacksmith shop, some minutes since Mathias left, a man with a strong body, with black hair that had some white hairs, along with a long black beard, walked to the warehouse of the shop to get some materials for his work.

While searching, he also looked to the location where some spears were stored in a vertical position.

As he looked around the spears carefully, his expression immediately got restless and he called out to Ralph.

"Ralph, do you know what happened with one of the spears inside my collection in the warehouse?"

"I sold it to a nice big brother." replied Ralph from where he was at the counter.

Instantly he heard that answer he got to the front of the shop and looked with shock at his son.


"Do you even know what that spear was? Tell me how long has it been since you've sold the spear?"

"Huh, why are you so nervous dad? It's been about 10 minutes I think. Why? Have I done something wrong? You told me that when customers don't like what's in the front shop I can check your warehouse for weapons."

"Arghhh, I did say that, but I never thought you would actually check on that spear. Come tell me how this guy you sell the spear to looks like?"

"Calm down father, that big brother told me he would come back to repair the spear."

"Sigh, I hope you are right son. Otherwise, I will make you forge so many weapons that you will only dream about hitting metals."

"What? Dad, did you eat something bad this morning? Shouldn't we be glad we still got customers to sell our weapons to?"

"Tsk, you don't get it, son, that spear is a bit more special. The material and craftsmanship is something unworldly, I've never seen such materials or manner of crafting a weapon, combining art with utility. I don't even know who made it or how the weapon is called. Yet you quickly decided to sell it. Shouldn't I be angry at you, Ralph?"

"No? I did nothing wrong. You should have told me and I wouldn't even touch that spear. It felt so damn heavy and cold, just like raising a boulder, yet that big brother picked it up so smoothly from the counter."

"What did you just say? He picked it up smoothly? He didn't express any difficulty at picking it or coldness on his hands?"

"No, he seemed to try to put the spear down, but whenever he would do that, his grasp on the spear would tighten."

The man who had his nameplate in gold color, with the name 'Nelmon' stared with astonishment at his son, and walked back to his workstation, while his mind was conflicted by what he just heard.

.

'The dwarf masters from Talima tried their best to find who the maker of the spear is, search all their vast history on the weapon shape and form, yet they found nothing. There are also many deaths on that spear, of craftsman who tried to smelt the weapon. They got blasted apart the instant they tried to smelt the weapon. Yet now you tell me someone managed to pick it up and use it?'
..................
A/N: Badum. What do you think the ego inside the spear is?

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 -Chapter 9 - First Death
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Mathias didn't bother himself to think too much about his new weapon and its mysterious past, opting instead to explore around the periphery district of Titan, which seemed like a city of its own in a way.

Many interesting shops appeared in his sight, which enabled him to fill up the unknown locations on his map interface. From taverns to clothing shops, moving randomly toward the shops spread around the district. All of these locations gave Mathias the feeling he was alive right in this place.

The children moved around the alleys cheerfully, playing various games unknown to Mathias, to the older people who were too slow to react to their surroundings.

As he traversed those streets, he had this sensation that the people welcomed him. Even the thugs let him walk past them without finding a problem with him.

In this way, he kept his path steady, undisturbed by anyone, and arrived in front of a small building that had several decorations on the windows, but nothing extravagant like in Titan's center where every single building emanated splendor.

Looking around the building to check if the location was right, he spotted a placard with the name of the place [Night Fay Tailorshop], and with this discovery, he also received the system notification about his Quest Progression.

[You have arrived at Night Fay Tailorshop.]


'This is the place I was looking for. Now, all I can hope is not to encounter someone as crazy and annoying as Corvus. She should be a wizard, so her class and etiquette should be above Corvus', yet I can't say for sure.'

Getting himself mentally and physically prepared for a new questionable meeting with someone he had small information, to none. Following his preparation, he knocked slowly on the door because of the closed sign he noticed on the door.

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Along with the knocking of the door, inside the tailor shop, in a small room, a woman was reading a book shining with a white-purple light until she heard the door knock.

This woman raised her head, and her snow-white face showed a visible curiosity for the newcomer. Next, she extended her slender milky hands that began giving off white-purple energy, which slowly morphed into a small mirror showing a person, precisely Mathias, who was waiting at the door quietly, for something to happen or a response.

Seeing Mathias, who she had never met before, made her slightly confused and asked herself what the reason for Mathias's visit was.

"Why didn't anyone tell him that I only open my shop for business on Mondays and Fridays? Sigh, I have to stop from my studies to see what this guy wants from me. A break once in a while is good for my mana."

Ending saying that, she extended her hands, and the white-purple energy began appearing in her hands. Quickly after their appearance, they moved to the door, unlocking it.

She called out to Mathias outside with a resonant tone that seemed to contain a mild derisive undertone.

"The door is open. Make your way inside." said the woman while walking toward the counter of the shop and taking a seat on a wooden chair.

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Hearing this voice that belonged to a woman, which matched his quest description, he carefully entered inside the building, leaving his worries outside.

While inside, he could see this woman with raven black hair, milky white skin, and violet eyes watching him closely. A pair of eyes that made Mathias feel a bit awkward, as if they were familiar to him.

'This girl, why do I feel like she is someone familiar? She looks very similar to a character from "The Witcher". Yennefer? Did those developers really put her in their game because she is right in front of me now.' thought Mathias while observing this woman closely.

Aside from her face that held a slightly long nose and thin, soft lips, covered in faint lipstick.

She had pronounced cheekbones, natural perfectly trimmed eyebrows emphasized with charcoal followed by long eyelashes, and petite hands.

With each moment Mathias took to look at her with surprise, he could see that Fayrene wasn't tall, having an incredibly thin, slender waist and legs. He took his time to approach the shop counter, where Fayrene was as if he was doing it on purpose.

"Will you stop looking like at me? If you only came for this to check on my looks, then you are all done here. You can get out." said Fayrene to Mathias in a slightly displeased tone while looking at him from her shop counter.

"Ahhh, wait, sorry if I offended you. You look like someone I know, and this caused my sudden surprise. Hence it looked like I was staring at you. Ahem, I assure you. I have no bad intention on you, lady Fayrene.


"Am I familiar with you? Oh my, how cute. Is this a new pickup line that appeared in Titan to get me to react? You too are not half bad." said Fayrene with a giggle while staring at Mathias's face that showed calmness and seriousness.

'Weird. This guy didn't even react to my compliment? Also, he doesn't seem to be trying to pick me up.' thought Fayrene while giggling on outside.

"Lady Fayrene, I didn't come to make a fool of myself and pick you up without even knowing you for one day. I came to you with the request of you helping me learn magic."

Mathias said that he walked to the counter, and while observing Fayrene's golden nameplate and the black dress that accentuated her body curves, he placed Gabrils Seal gently on the counter.

Fayrene's demeanor instantly changed with the revelation of Gabrils's Seal. Her earlier playfulness when talking with Mathias vanished instantly, and with a serious tone, she asked him.

"Where did you get this? Don't tell me you are the nephews or a son of that crazy paladin? No, you don't seem like his son, you are about twenty, and he is in his 40s." speculated Fayrene, questioning Mathias' background, holding the seal carefully so she doesn't destroy it.

"You are mistaken. Gabrils gave me his seal to help me on my journey of learning magic. He told me you are indebted to him, and when he listened to my story, he had me meet you to learn magic from you." replied Mathias while smiling at her, finding her overreacting interesting, along with her mesmerizing eyes.


"This is good. I don't wish to meet Gabrils. After I failed my experiments and almost lost my life, I took it slower with my research. This is why I am indebted to him. The treatment he offered me is just too expensive, even for me as an arcanist, consequently, it seems I am indebted to him. Hah, you made me remember that cursed day." explained Fayrene while touching her right shoulder and most of her slender arm, covered by her black clothes.

"I am sure Gabrils wouldn't come finding trouble with you over a treatment. He probably wouldn't even bother with your debts if I haven't talked with him about my struggles with my starting journey. You don't have to worry about him or me. I am a fast learner, and any magic spell suffices. So, can you help me with this problem?"

Fayrene tapped with her red fingernail on the wooden counter, thinking of what Mathias said and his request, along with the opportunity to clean her debts with Gabrils. After thinking for a bit in silence, she nodded her head and suddenly looked directly into Mathias's eyes.

'This guy wants to be an arcanist? Does he even have the talent to become one? He seems more like a fighter rather than a bookworm. However, according to the Archmage, every human can awaken their mana core and start practicing magic. If he gets an A graded core, he might even get far in arcane magic.'

'Yet here comes the important question, I learned magic alone, can I even teach him what I learned from the ancient tome I've stumbled upon while searching around the old ruins near the village I grew up in when I was young?'

'There is so much I don't understand about arcane magic that I don't wish to kill him if he messes up the incantation or loses focus. *Sigh* I will give it a try, but I better remind him of the risk of learning arcane magic.'

"Are you sure you want to learn magic from me?" asked Fayrene while giving off a long sigh.

"Gabrils mentioned you, so it means he knows you are powerful." said Mathias with a calm tone when watching Fayrene's conflicted expression.

"I don't know? Am I powerful? I can barely use arcane magic to an amateurish extent, compared to the ancient mages of the first…" stopped Fayrene from continuing her phrase with a fearful expression.

"First what?" asked Mathias, while feeling puzzled about the change in her behavior and sudden break in her speech.

"It doesn't matter. It is just me blabbering about something from my magic tome. Do you really wish to learn from me, even though I am also at the start of my road in learning about the Arcana Arts?"

"If I don't try, how would I even know the answer? Just tell me what to do, and I will try my best." responded Mathias with an honest expression.

Fayrene took a bit more time to stare at Mathias, and with a sincere expression, she explained to him once again.

"I can't make sure you will not die in the process of awakening your mana core. I got lucky and awakened it on my first try. The book talks about many people killing themselves in the process of unlocking the power of pure magic."

"Hmm, death? Lady Fayrene, don't you know I am a cursed one?"

"A cursed one? What's that? Did a hag curse you when you were young?"

"Haha, no, not like that. I am cursed never to die." said Mathias with an honest tone, keeping a lookout for any changes in Fayrene's expression.

The instant Fayrene heard that, she brought her hands toward Mathias, and with the appearance of a white-purple light in her hand, preparing something for Mathias, she said to him.

"If you truly are immortal, can you prove it to me? Can I use one of my abilities on you?"

"You what? Do you wish to kill me? Why? Are you crazy?" replied Mathias. Feeling threatened by this sudden change in Fayrene's behavior, he began walking toward the shop's exit.

"Wait, don't run! If you are truly immortal, someone who can never die, I want you to help me with my studies. How can you abandon your wish for knowledge so quickly? Would that be a shame? I can help you with your desire, while you can also help me in my study.

Stopping his retreat, he stared at Fayrene's beautiful face, along with her hand that gave off a white-purple energy light, and asked after some thinking.

"If I help you with your studies, does that mean I can have access to that magic book you talked about?"

"That… If you swear not to share the information about my magic tome and keep assisting me in my studies, I can let you learn arcane magic alongside me. What do you say? Right, I didn't even ask you for your name."

"I am Mathias."

"Mmhm, what do you say, Mathias? Will you join me in my studies?" asked Fayrene again, while her violet eyes started to give off the same purple lights like in her hand.

[Join Fayrene in her quest to arcane knowladge]

Rating: Secret

Fayrene, a simple girl from the Rural Village of Cicadrian who had the lucky chance of finding an ancient tome shrouded in mystery, studied this tome's content for two years, but her progress is still lacking, not being able to teach anyone about this lost art of magic.

After receiving Gabrils Seal, she agreed to let you study along with her to remove the enormous debt that she failed to settle with Paladin Gabrils.

Reward: ???

Failure: ???


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'What?? I don't even know the rewards or the consequences of failing the quest. Is this a bug or something?' pondered Mathias on this question before he responded to Fayrene's mad idea.
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"I don't know what to say. We are talking about death here. While I might be cursed to never die for good, I will probably still suffer some nasty side-effects." replied Mathias after not backing away from the quest, not that he had a choice.

"Don't worry, Mathias. I will pay you back fully. I will tell you from the start, the magic tome I have is something ancient, predating the start of everything. The knowledge inside about pure magic is something even I can't comprehend. I am just an apprentice in terms compared to the master who wrote this tome."

'Sigh, should I do it? We are talking about magic here and a powerful one at that. I profited greatly from Corvus and his spear skills, and now I might profit even more from this woman. She even looks similar to Yennefer, something I can't complain about. The developer who made her character even buffed her various features, giving her many things to be proud of. My childhood dream was to be a magician. At least I will achieve it here.'

"Fine, I will do it, but you better don't force me around. Me dying for your studies because everything will crumble in this quest." replied Mathias at last while thoughtfully staring at Fayrene's face.

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[You accepted Fayrene quest]

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Hearing his acceptance, she gave him a sweet smile with her soft lips before the energy in her hands began increasing even more, emitting an intense white-purple light scaring Mathias into waving his hands in defeat.

"Wait, wait. You didn't even agree to my reminder. Let me prepare a bit. It is my first time."

"Mine too." said Fayrene with her sweet smile before the energy flew out of her hands in the shape of a missile before she called out the skill name.

"[Arcane Missile]"

'This chick, don't tell me the developers put Yennefer personality in her too? My little soul will suffer this year to learn magic.' thought Mathias while watching this missile moving straight for his heart.

[You suffered catastrophic damage!]

He felt a stinging pain that was worse than a migraine. His eyes kept watching Fayrene, who moved quickly toward him to grab him in her embrace with a worried expression.

"Wait, you don't seem to be an immortal at all! You lied to me. If I knew it would be like this, I wouldn't do it! Ahhh, what have I done?! I killed someone! I am a monster!"

With his last remaining strength, Mathias moved his hand to touch her delicate face, and with a pained tone from the hole he had in his heart, added.

"Don't worry, Fayrene, I am indeed immortal, so don't stress yourself too much. I will come to meet you again soon, so don't cry. Ahem, while I am away, can you prepare some food for me, okay? I think I will be done in some seconds."

Fayrene, who held Mathias in her hands, heard his words and nodded her head, and soon, she could see him disappear from her embrace like starlight scattering. Moving her hands to tighten her grasp on Mathias with a scared expression, as if she was just a traumatized girl.

Yet, Mathias's body began evaporating like a white mist formed by light, scattering inside the room until nothing remained of his body.

This mysterious disappearance filled Fayrene with hope, and she felt slightly better hearing Mathias's reminder about his curse of immortality.

"Will you not run after I killed you?" asked the lonely girl to herself while looking around the tiny particles of light gently landing on the ground and disappearing.

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Mathias, held by Fayrene, could barely keep his eyes open from the sheer pain he endured, and after he found the strength to remind her of his curse and place her heart to rest, he closed his eyes.

After that, his body began feeling lighter until he felt nothing, no pain or body movement coordination, just an awkward sensation of blankness that continued while a black notification appeared in his eyes for an unknown duration.

.

[You died]

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 10 - Arcane Awakening
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The pain he felt while dying was substantial, but with the notification of his death, the pain dispersed, and he felt nothing anymore, then he arrived in a dark world. Here he could feel his body and walk around, unrestrained by some unknown rules.

'So this is how the death mechanism works? It wasn't as bad as I imagined. The pain is something I could get used to with time. I think it would be a good idea to familiarize myself with the feeling of dying until the game goes live, then I will move like a fish in a river among the bunch of beginners.'

Slowly the dark world started getting illuminated by a bright light, and quickly he could hear the voices of many different people.
Opening his closed eyes, he found himself in a large square in Titan, to be exact, it was the place where he first spawned with the game start.


"Hah, this feels much better than the dark place. Should I go directly to Fayrene or let her sob a bit? Maybe by waiting, I can give her enough time to cook something for my return?"

"Hey newbie, how was your first death?" asked a player who wore leather armour that looked kind of cheap, but compared to the rugs beginners had, it was pretty decent.

"Decent, a bit weird, but is not something to be left awed by." replied Mathias while looking at the player that asked him, who was surrounded by two other players. (E/N: so this is how you describe your first death J lol)

"You called it decent? Damn, are you some masochist who enjoys pain? This is one of the worst experiences I ever felt. It is like the developers made this process as painful as possible. Not even the attacks of the monsters are that painful." recalled a player among that group, looking weirdly at Mathias, who uniquely described his death perception.

"Brother, it might depend from person to person. It is all in our heads with this VR technology. Maybe you are just a little bitch crying from the smallest wound." said the third player in the group while looking at the first one who talked.

"Piss off. If you make fun of me again, I'll make my way to Spain and beat you up." said the first guy to open the discussion.

"Ohho, I am so scared." laughed the third player with a funny laugh.

Meanwhile, Mathias smiled briefly at their funny interaction without taking too long to interact with them, leaving for their hunt.


After talking with those players, where he asked them about the monsters outside of the city, he found that there were primarily wild beasts roaming around the forests surrounding Titan and some points about specific farming locations that drop some items.

Leaving the square, he walked through the wealthy streets of Titan and looked around at the shops and sights of the city, from the Opera House to the Theatre Amphitheatre used for people to stage plays. He saw many fascinating buildings, such as a University or Hospital, but everything was only from a distance because the guards didn't allow him access because of his low status.

It could be said that they still didn't treat him as a Saharan Empire citizen.

Not feeling offended by such treatment, he was glad to admire these grand buildings from a distance. Like this, minutes passed for Mathias, who filled the map with the newly discovered places in the Empire's capital city. There were some buildings that were off-limits for the common citizens of the city, The Imperial Palace towering over the city, The Celestial Palace where the mysterious Grandmaster resided, The Tower of Eternity where the Great Mage protecting the empire lived, and last but not least the Garrison of the Knights.


Nevertheless, he still adventured towards the Garrison of the Imperial Knights since it was close to his location. While walking toward the garrison, he couldn't see a single person stroll around, but this didn't discourage him from finding out more about this location.

As he got closer, he could see a complex of buildings and a big gate denying people's access. Getting closer to the entrance, for a short peek inside, he noticed many people training, swinging their swords and weapons in an orderly fashion.

"Hey you, this place isn't allowed for citizens. Go away before you get in trouble!" called out a man standing on the top of the gate after noticing Mathias peaking inside, visible suspicious of his act.

"Okay, I will leave. No need to get agitated." responded Mathias before turning away from the garrison.

Along with his departure, just when he was about to exit this alley, he encountered a young lady wearing red knight armour, who had long dark blue hair accompanied by an entourage of knights wearing the same type of armour.

"Lady Vaintz, that person is suspicious. Could it be that he is an enemy spy, a Yatan zealot planning something in Saharan?"

The young lady who had golden eyes shining a bit with the knight's reminder. She later turned her head to look at Mathias's straight back and rag clothing. She felt something slumbering inside of Mathias and decided to stare deeper with her gaze.

Quickly, her eyes began hurting a bit with the vision of an icy shadowy figure of a being unknown to her, that instantly pressured her from stopping looking at Mathias back.

"No, you are wrong. That person isn't a Yatan member. There's no darkness inside of him, similar to those who are embracing Yatan. Let's continue. It's been two years since Captain's betrayal and his banishment. We still have a lot to work on, especially now that Duke Limit has taken over the role of Captain."

"Understood, Lady Vaintz," replied the knights following her in a serious tone.

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Meanwhile, Mathias had a weird notification and felt someone stare at him intensely.

[Lilian's deep eyes have looked at you] – (A/N: I added another name to Mercedes character and she will be called Lilian from now on because, Mercedes is not a name for a woman, it feels like she is some gypsie woman)

[Some of your stats and skills are forcibly revealed to Lilian.]
[You can't resist.]

'This is weird. So that girl with blue hair is Lilian. She seems to have an ability that allows her to inspect people's skills and stats. Impressive, but none of my concern. I have my lady mage to worry about.'

'I should go back to her by now, or she will think I forgot about the promise and what we talked about. I started a dance. I will make sure I got to end it properly.'

After shorting out his thoughts, he followed the route to the periphery, and after 20 minutes of walking, he arrived back at Fayrene's home.

Knocking on the door once again, this time rather than waiting, he got welcomed by Fayrene, who got hold of his hand, and with a firm grasp, she took him to her private room.

"Wait, wait. Isn't that quite early?" asked Mathias, taken by surprise by this bold move coming from Fayrene.

"Shhhh, there's no time for jokes here. Come, let me seal the house and room, so no one can spy on us. There have been already four gazes that search around my house from a distance with bad intent." replied Fayrene with a faint blush, letting go of Mathias's hand after taking him to her room.

Next, she began chanting a spell in a language, language unknown to him that covered the entire house in the white-purple light from inside.

"Good, the spell didn't backfire like it used when I learned it. Come to my desk, Mathias. I made some eggs for you, eat while I prepare the home and notes. Also, you should brace yourself because we will spend a lot of time here."

Hearing her comment while staring at the room shining with a purple light, impressed by the sight. He later murmured slowly, as if asking Fayrene a question.

"Will I be able to do this in the future?"

"What? [Isolation] this is something any apprentice of arcana arts should learn first to hide from those dangerous people gazes. To quote the Archmage, "We are just pups who need protection until we grew into dangerous predators." which I fully agree with him. How fast will you be able to learn this spell? I don't know, I learned it in one week. Maybe you will do it faster since you seem smart."

"So that spell is called [Isolation], it uses that energy to protect the house?"

"Indeed, I still don't understand the entire process, but the Archmage the tome belongs tells that it is used to protect us, apprentices, once we start our study. You should eat something before starting to read the tome."


"Ahem, thanks for the meal. But if you feel awkward because of me, I can move to the front of the shop and read the magic tome there."


"You still need my guidance because many things are ambiguous, such as the world's energy surroundings us and the energy inside us humans."

He could only nod his head and settle down on a chair on a smaller desk that had a lot of scattered paper along with a fairly large book with a cover made out of a mysterious(?) material on it.


"Is this leather?" asked Mathias while touching the book cover and some pages.

"Yes, but I don't know exactly what kind of leather it is, since the one who made it didn't talk about it. However, from my experiments, it feels similar to lizard's skin, but way smoother and also has some magic attributes to it."


"Dragon skin? No way, dragons are mythical creatures, only in stories, you might find about their existence and their downfall at the hands of saints. But those are just that, stories." claimed Mathias while touching the tome, where later Fayrene agreed with his theory.

" No, maybe you could be right. But this isn't something we have to focus on. Come, let me show you the incantation for awakening your magic core."


Fayrene got a seat next to Mathias and took hold of the book. She began turning pages until she got to the book's last page and with her slender finger with red-painted fingernails to point at the content that wrote the following.

[Arcane Awakening -

This is one of the spells I created for my young apprentice's to awaken their mana core because most humans can't awaken their mana core like us High Elves, who are magically gifted from birth.

Yet, I am one of the last of my kind, and I am obliged to share my vast knowledge around the world until the next reset happens. I might not be so fortunate to enter the astral dimension and escape this second reset because of some stupid humans who got scammed by the parasites and now decided to revolt, making a mess in the Middle Earth.

For this is why I wrote the tome using this leather, to be everlasting even after the godly reset.

Listen, whoever might read this book, the arcane is the purest form of magic in this world. It symbolizes "Order" but at the same time "Chaos", and because of that, every step you make in the study of the arcane has to be balanced.

The magic cores have been categorized along eons in different types, but the most befitting one I choose to write is the following. From the letter of F symbolizing a low chance of the person who awakens the magic core to progress in his path to magic to the SSS, which only might happen to one person in one eon.

(A/N: F, E D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, similar to items rating)

With all said, you should follow this incantation and say each word exactly as I wrote it down. Otherwise, you will have an arcane infusion collapse with a significant chance of killing yourself. To word it in human language, you will die if you mess up.


<I never said the study of arcana was easy, but to achieve the pinnacle in magic, this is the only path to stop those parasites who watch over everything. Ahh, I hope you didn't read this out loud because it will alert them and then they will send their creations over to you and buzz you off.


I had to kill many Archangels and Great Demons in the process of making this book since I have the habit of saying what I think out loud. Even after being an Archmage, these small habits can't be changed.

Ahem, don't worry, I will be fine since it will take some minutes for those parasites to sent their creations for me.

There is a spell in the tome that seals off anything from them for one day. Wait, FUCK. I didn't use it.

Remember the incantation by heart, future arcane apprentice.]

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Reading the incantation slowly for himself, a notification appeared in his eyes with a new skill he unexpectedly learned.


[Arcane Awakening]

Rating: ???

The incantation uses the purest form of magic energy surrounding the Middle Earth, drawing energy from the Realm of Gods, Realm of Demons, Realm of Elements along with the earth's magic energy to infuse your nascent mana core and awaken it.

*** According to your affinity with mana, you will awaken one type of mana core without the possibility of redoing the process.

Condition of use: Citing the incantation in the purest form possible.

Effects: Ancient Mana Core Awakening

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"I need to prepare myself for the incantation. Do you have any advice to be as precise as possible?" asked Mathias, turning his head at Fayrene.

"Not really, just take your time and when you are ready tell me. I will brew a calming tea so you are relaxed on the entire process."

Hearing her, Mathias began studying the incantation and each of the words it contained. He read in his mind those words so many times they got stuck in his brain. Even if the words were in a foreign language, he had the luck to have a latin based script to guide his intonation.

It was about two hours that Mathias made other movements except for reading the Arcane Tome, quietly.

Fayrene watched from the side and asked him patiently. "Do you want me to brew that tea I talked about?"

"Hah, yes, please. I think I got the incantation down to the last word, something soothing could be the final nail for me." replied Mathias while changing his reading position to a straight one.

Without filling Mathias with questions Fayrene moved to another room in the house and after 20 minutes she came back with a hot brewed tea in her hand and gave it to Mathias to drink.

Taking the cup of tea, he noticed something on Fayrene's left arm that got unveiled by her black shirt.

'What happened with her arm? That visibly a heavy burn scar. Right, the treatment that Gabrils had to do for her should be her failed experiment. Sigh, a pity but this doesn't change who she is.'

Blowing softly on the tea, to chill it a bit, Mathias took the first sip, and all of a sudden he felt a refreshing and relaxing sensation run among his entire body.

[You've drunk a tea made from <Ellyssian Leaves>. Because it is your first time drinking a tea made by <Ellyssian Leaves> you gain the following rewards.]

[Intelligence has risen by 15]

[Increased focus by 50% for 30 minutes]

'How much is that? Did I gain 15 INT points because of drinking some tea? What are those leaves exactly?!'

"How is the tea? Made you relax enough to be able to recite the incantation without failing?" asked Fayrene from Mathias's side with a calm tone.

"Yes, but remember even if I fail, nothing will happen to me, just suffer some bad effects."

"No, Mathias. You don't have to think like this. You should always aim for the top, even if we are some commoners." said Fayrene with an encouraging tone, that had some effects on Mathias.

Nodding his head, he placed the empty cup on the table and stood silent for one minute with closed eyes.

Slowly, under the careful watch of Fayrene, inside the white-purpled lighted room, Mathias opened his eyes all of a sudden, and exhaling a deep breath he began citing the incantation.

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< With my call I summon you, Order.>

<The power who brought everything to stability. The one who watched everything and knows everything from the first moment of creation. I summon you!>
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<With my call I summon you, Chaos.>

<The power who brought everything to its end. The one who watches everything collapse and looks down on worlds since their creation. I summon you!>

<Since the creation you have surrounded them all, passively watching them in their destruction and ordering. Hear me out and heed my call!!>

<By the power of order and chaos, I, this soul awaits your judgment>

As he said that in the foreign language with great intensity, the atmosphere around the room changed drastically. The room began to tremble and the white-purple light that Fayrene used to surround the house began to wain down under this spell.

She was forced to walk a bit back because the pressure around Mathias was something that affected ever her, someone who passed the judgment of order and chaos.

'So this is how I looked when I awakened my mana core? No, I think it was calmer, smooth and soothing.' thought Fayrene, watching the process of Mathias, mana core awakening silently.

Meanwhile, Mathias waited as per instructions, and he could feel something stirring inside of him, giving him a chilling and at the same time, burning sensation right in his chest.

His body started to release a white-purple light barely distinguishing, it was minuscule, but with minutes it began growing a bit.

<If you have deemed my soul just for wielding this power, then I will awaken from my slumbering sleep to be eternally basking in your presence!>

As Mathias said that, the pain inside of him began intensifying even more, that even the process of dying felt like nothing. He instantly let out his screams of pain that made Fayrene shake around, questioning if Mathias was fine.

'What is happening? Why is he suffering so much from this incantation? Did he fail the incantation? No way, he said everything as the Archmage wrote down. Then why? I didn't feel any pain in my awakening process. The awakening was a smooth process."

Yet, Mathias could barely think straight in this agonizing pain. His vision began to slowly drift away, dropping down on his knees, exhausted and dripping with sweat.

While he screamed in pain, his body intensified in the energy it released until something inside of himself was heard breaking, like glass.

[Congratulations you awakened your Mana Core (Grade C)]

'Finally, I will go sleep after this. I suffered enough for today, no more pain, please.' thought Mathias as the pain he felt began to lessen.
.......
A/N: Gosh, those leaves are crazy good if they can increase your INT stat by 15, imagine creating a farm for those exact leaves and then sell them to players.
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Also, no cliche awakening. You thought he would have gotten F or E like how the Solo Leveling has his MC go, not here.

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 11 - Fayrene's Mana Core & Mana Devourer
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[Congratulations you awakened your Mana Core (Grade C)]
'Finally, I can sleep after this. No more pain please', Mathias thought between the respite from pain, 'I've suffered enough for today.'
Mathias closed his eyes and slumped on the warm floor, body prepped for rest. However, before he could feel the sweetness envelope him, Fayrene shook him awake.

"Are you still alive? What is the result? Do you need anything else?"

Mathias grit his teeth, struggling to not fall back into a stupor. "One question at a time, my head's aching from the ceremony. Could you get me some water? No need for tea--it might be expensive."

Fayrene still insisted on checking Mathias for any side effects, and only after that did she walk away from the private room to get some water for him.

Mathias utilized the time in-between to inspect his character window, checking for the new addition, [Mana Core](C).

'It seems I am so-so concerning magic affinity. Nothing to cry about. The Archmage who wrote the book said that only those at the lowest grade couldn't aim high. I'm at least better than that case.'

Following that, he opened the stats window with anticipation for the [Mana Core].

[Mana Core]

Rating/Grade: Rare/(C)

A modified and enhanced mana core that was awakened with uncommon methods long forgotten in history

* Passively increased Intelligence by 4% >

* Increase spell damage, spell hit rate by 2%, magic spell casting by 2%, and your focus by 5% of not failing your spells>
* The mana increase will adjust to your level [150MP bonus]>
* Effect: Passive Skill

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'This is not bad at all. An increase in my Intelligence stats and mana is always welcome, but I hope I don't get too many magic-focused quests. I can't imagine myself standing around casting spells from set positions like in MMOs--it'd be a boring fight.'

'Spell damage, casting speed, focus, and hit rate are also important stats for me. Argh, I hope I don't turn my character into some disgusting mage build.'(E/No you dislike mages Morph?)

'Stat Windows.' thought Mathias while checking his stats.
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STATUS WINDOWS
Name : Mathias / Class :Beginner
Level: 1 (0/400) / Title :none
Health : 169/169 Mana: 202/202
Strength: 13 / Stamina: 10
Agility: 7 / Intelligence: 25(+1)

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'That INT stat makes me feel uncomfortable. Don't I have a clear advantage in the mana aspect? I can cast my skills without even fearing running out with my starting skills. I could use [Raven's Movement] more often with this mana addition. It should be one minute per fight.'
While Mathias was immersed, thinking about his skill set, Fayrene came back with a glass of water.
"Mathias, what core did you awaken?"
Turning his eyes at Fayrene, who was standing close to him, he slowly raised his body from his seated position and took the glass of water. Quenching his thirst and watching Fayrene's curious expression closely, he replied with a disappointed tone.
"I got the (C) graded one. I thought I could get more, especially after suffering that much pain. Well, it is what it is, nothing to lament about. What about you Fayrene, what Mana Core do you manage to awaken?"
Fayrene, when hearing Mathias' slightly disappointed tone, shook her head, also disappointed, and before telling him about her mana core, she told him something that might lift his spirit.
"You know, Mathias. The Archmage wrote a spell concerning how one could nurture his mana core to increase the rank, but it is something that always failed for the people who tried to nurture their mana core. You can read the spell in the tome called [Mana Devourer], but I suggest you don't use it. Your core is good as it is.
Right, now, regarding my mana core. To be honest with you, Mathias, your awakening scared me because I never expected one to suffer any pain. If I knew it, I would have warned you. My awakening went gently, and I got the core the Archmage graded as (SS).
While drinking the water and listening to her, he felt he drowned a bit while drinking and spit some water on Fayrene's face and clothes while the rest went to different places.
"Ahem, ahem. Sorry for this overreaction. I can't believe what I heard. You are one of those who were almost unique in the world to be the owner of the strongest core. Amazing Fayrene, this means you are a genius."
Cleaning her face of the water with a napkin, not offended by Mathias's blubber, she confirmed to him again.
"Don't view me so great. It's only been one year since I have awakened my magic affinities. I am just like you, an apprentice who can barely use some spells from the magic tome."
"Hah, you don't need to belittle your abilities. You could kill me with only one spell. This shows how talented you are compared to someone like me."
"No, look. Aren't you belittling yourself now? Regardless of what mana core you would have gained, I wouldn't look down on you. We are the only ones who study this form of magic, which makes us unique in the world." replied Fayrene with a small smile on her soft lips.
"Still, Fayrene, you will probably progress faster than me, so you better help me out in the future." chuckled Mathias a bit after cleaning his wet face with the lower part of his shirt.
This moment was noticed by Fayrene, who watched Mathias fit body quietly who revealed his stomach that had visible abs muscle, not heavily defined, but they were there sticking out.
When Mathias was done cleaning his face and placed down his shirt, Fayrene quickly took her eyes away from him and moved toward the Magic Tome as if nothing happened.
''What's wrong with her? I guess she got a bit embarrassed about me cleaning my face with the shirt. She is still a girl with real emotions. This isn't just a monotone game. Everyone here has real emotions. So, Fayrene, who is probably in her early twenties or late teens, would be feeling awkward.'
Moving toward the desk and taking a seat next to her, Fayrene started turning the pages until she stopped and pointed her finger at the page.
"Read it yourself. The content is something that might interest you, but I hope you never use it because it is risk heavy and taxing on your mana core."
Touching the tome and moving it closer to him while Fayrene's finger was still on it, which shifted position along with his grab. She only took her finger off the book after checking that Mathias started reading.
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Focusing on Fayrene's finger that pointed with her nail on the spell he should read, he started studying patiently.
[Mana Devourer -
Little Apprentice, you might be unsatisfied with your mana core, but you don't have to be discouraged and view your lower grade as a failure. It isn't something to despair over. You would be a fool thinking this right now.
'Hmph, I am not really upset, even after all the pain I suffered. It is just what Fayrene thinks and wants me to feel a bit better knowing there is a chance to grow my mana core.'
Listen, apprentice, you can still find success as a conventional mage that isn't heavily focused on the Arcana if your mana core is lower graded. However, it would help if you still learned the elemental spells of an Arcane Mage, <Arcane Missile>, <Arcane Intellect>, < Arcane Shield >, <Incanter's Flow>. These spells will be your way of protecting yourself from your enemy. Also, you will not have to worry about encountering enemies hunting you because of your low core that might feel like the regular spellcasters.
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Now concerning the <Mana Devourer>. It is a spell I constructed after many foolish kids took extreme moves, such as even trying the <Arcane Awakening> again and killing themselves in the process. It is an understatement, "killing themselves", they just angered the arcane and got blasted into nothingness, soul, and body. So you better open your eyes and read the following spell properly, any mistake, and you will follow in their suit.
It is a spell that uses the mana of the ones you killed to nurture your own mana core to slowly break its limits. This spell doesn't work on human beings, so you better don't make the mistake of slaughtering people to grow your mana core. If things were so simple, every single Arcana Mage in history would be a legendary being or mythical being. In conclusion, this spell should work on every other creature of this world holding mana inside them.
Risks. You can shatter your mana core and stop your magic progression altogether. Benefits. You can enhance your core to the next grade, but this is a long, tenuous process that will make you question your convictions.
Reminder: This spell theoretically can work until the S tier. I don't suggest using this spell trying to reach a higher tier than S. However, if you are a bigger genius than me and can restructure the spell structure and formula, sure go ahead. Don't use this spell to try to reach a higher tier than S
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Following this detailed guide and even what spells he should learn as an apprentice, he began learning the spell formula, and after 3 hours of strenuous reading and memorizing. He got a notification in front of his eyes that made him sit straight in surprise, scaring Fayrene, who was reading a book close by.
"Finally! I thought my head would collapse if I spent one more hour."
"Mathias, are you okay?" asked Fayrene after seeing his red eyes, tired of reading.
"I am fine, Fayrene. Thanks for asking. It's just that this spell formula is so annoying to memorize and understand that I had to restart so many times that I don't want to talk about it."
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He calmed himself and checked the skill spell description.
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[Mana Devourer]
Rating: Legendary
A dangerous spell created by a lost Archmage to give a window for the ones desiring power, fully knowing the risks they would take in partaking in this route.
* Strip the dead you have slain of a portion of their accumulated mana. You have 0.5% of stripping the enemy of a small part of their mana that will be converted in INT stat and [Mana Core] experience, up to the amount of mana stripped.
* If the ability is overused, there is a 50% chance of your [Mana Core] shattering and losing all your gained INT in the process of mana devouring.
Mana Consumption: 1000 MP
Skill Cooldown Time: No Cooldowns
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'This spell feels like you are playing the Russian Roulette, but it isn't your brain that flies splashing the ground, instead, it is your mana core. Either way, my core lives to bask in the benefits of my nurture, or I destroy it having too much greed.'

"Fayrene, now I understand why you said this spell is risky to use. However, only an idiot would risk himself to overuse this spell. You can slowly build up your mana core and improve on the other parts of your spells."
Fayrene stopped reading and smiled at Mathias softly before she said to him.
"You really took your time to learn the spell. Do you even know what hour it is?
"Should I even care? Worse comes, I will just sleep on the streets until I find a place to stay." said Mathias back jokingly, making Fayrene chuckle a bit.
"Why are you so harsh with yourself? You can sleep in the front part of the shop."
Mathias could only shake his head when hearing this kind proposition and said to her with a slight smile.
"Fayrene, you have already done enough for me. I don't want you to feel burdened by me and for you to take care of me."
"Sigh, do you even know how harsh it is to live outside? There are all sorts of criminals lurking in this area and even in the inner part of the city. You'll be at their mercy. Listen to me. I know what I am talking about because I was almost like you when I came here from my village."
They will look down on you just because you wear simple clothes from outside of the region, making your life hard for you. This city isn't as grand as the stories tell you."
"Then why have you come here, Fayrene?" asked Mathias looking at Fayrene's expression that was a bit conflicted, calmly, waiting for her answer.
"This is because I need money to help my family. I have three little brothers, while I am the eldest among them. My parents are also starting to get old, and the land work doesn't help this at all. I will grow as an arcanist and improve my family situation."
Hearing that made Mathias' eyes turned soft, and he also started remembering his family. While they fared better, there was always room for improvement.
Why are you looking at me that way? Is there something on my face? Or do you not believe my story?" inquired Fayrene, feeling confused by the look Mathias gave her that she saw for the first time since meeting him.'
"No, you are mistaken. I fully believe your story. Your story made me remember my family situation. I will help you out, Fayrene. With the smallest thing and support I can give you, I will be there to watch you."
"So this means you will not sleep outside?"
Mathias laughed out loud, making Fayrene wonder what problem he had now; however, when he was done laughing, he stared directly into her violet eyes, and while moving closer, he said.

"If you are fine with me staying here, and you don't find me repulsing, I will gladly stay here. It is a man's dream to laze around and have warm food and shelter over his head. Ahem, I was joking there, don't take me seriously. However, I will add this. I will move out a lot to grow powerful and probably come back only at night to sleep. Will you be fine with this?"

"I don't mind, but before that, I will also add some conditions. You can't enter my private room without asking. You don't peek at me while I bathe and use the bathroom. You will help me out with my side job, which is tailoring. You will also have to bring some money home, as rent for staying inside." explained Fayrene with a serious voice while gazing at Mathias smiling face, which seemed to not wave at any of her conditions.
"We got a deal, my lady." said Mathias while extending his hand for a handshake which confused Fayrene, leaving him with his hand extended.
'Ahh, this is a bit awkward. The customs here might vary compared to reality. This one stings a bit, but it is not the end of the world.'
However, as he started to move his hand back, Fayrene, who understood the meaning of the handshake, grabbed his hand with her right hand that revealed the scars on the right arm for Mathias to see.
When she noticed that, she quickly took her arm away, scared, and pulled on her black shirt sleeve even more to cover the entire arm.
"You saw it, right? Those disgusting scars."
Mathias, seeing her pale face, shook his head slowly and commented on what he saw.
"Don't worry, Fayrene, the scars mean nothing to me. With or without those burn scars, this will not change who you are. Only fools would judge you for your scars, so don't stress yourself. That would affect your health. We can always look for a cure in the future, which means you don't have to be afraid that you'll have to live with those scars."
Hearing his calm voice, Fayrene slowly released her grip on the right sleeve that she was pulling, and her panic attack began to lessen. Seeing Mathias' calm expression and listening to him made her feel better about the scars, but she was still visible, holding the right arm as if she wanted to bury it somewhere.
"Thank you. Since that accident, and even with sir Gabrils divine powers, my scars are still the same. They are always stinging me when people react like they saw the hand of a monster, but you are different."
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'Sigh, poor girl. I can imagine the stares of disdain, their dumb expressions as if they saw something disgusting. Even in reality, it is common to see idiots look at those suffering from burns like they are some disgusting people. This event should be even more intense here, where the middle-aged morons can't even think properly.'
"For nothing, Fayrene. Take some breaths, and if it helps you, we can take a night stroll to calm down."
"No need. Remember, the streets are infested with criminals and bandits at night."
"I guess. Then I will prepare my sleeping place in the front. If I need something, I will check on you, okay?"
"Yes, please do so." replied Fayrene with a small smile while watching Mathias move toward the front part of the building.

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 12 - Opening the Bestiary
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The first night spent inside Satisfy was a unique experience for Mathias, especially the sleeping part.

'Do I really need to sleep like a normal person? Hmmm, my stamina bar is quite low, but it should recover without me actually sleeping, correct?'

Walking out of Fayrene's private room, he arrived in the shop's front room, which was used as a reception. After getting here, he looked around using the candle lights and could see that this room needed some cleaning.

Like this, without waiting for someone to put him to work, he started cleaning up the counter that he deemed perfect for a bed.

After cleaning the counter and laying on it to check its strength and resistance under his weight, he moved around the room, looking for something.

"Good, this counter is strong enough to not collapse with me. Now, I need at least something soft for my head. The rest should be important. Lucky it is spring, and the weather isn't so bad."

As he said that, he began searching for something to use as a cushion. Doing his digging around the shop, he found a closet that had cut fabrics and all sorts of clothes that had an amateurish seam. However, this seaming on those fabrics gave a stylish feeling to those clothes thrown in a buddle.

"Are these her failures? Why would you throw them away? Aren't these clothes just fine? The seam can be fixed. Sigh, why do I remember now mom telling me that I shouldn't throw away good fabric clothes made out of cotton and silk."

" Well, for now, I will use them as a sleeping pillow."

He began taking the ones that seemed the worse from the bunch and started forming a roll shape. Finishing that, he moved towards the counter, climbing on it. He placed the made-up pillow on it and took a sleeping position while arranging the pillow.

"This pillow is so soft." (*Sniff* *Sniff) "Ahh, such nice fragrance, smells of lilac and roses. Don't tell me she wore those clothes? Hmm, my bad. Well, some weeks, this wouldn't hurt anyone."(A/N: He refers here to the pillow made out of Fayrene's clothes – Normal reaction for any human male, don't deny you would most likely do the same)

Slowly his eyes began closing, yet he found himself not being able to sleep at all. His mind activity was similar to someone who drank 10 coffee cups. It felt like his brain was throwing a party, but he wasn't invited to it.

Yet not feeling like disconnecting himself from the game, he was checking the interface that stocked his recordings, to the point where he began rewatching Corvus' lecture.

Corvus moves were played out infront of Mathias's eyes, starting slow before it reached an intense level of speed where his eyes couldn't pick up his movements, feeling like the recording was bugged.

"The last part of his movements seems like the recording got a virus or something because I can't figure out what he did there. Tsk, I need to go out and take some fresh air and settle this inactivity problem."

His ingame clock showed that it was 01:20 AM and the one that told him how many hours he spent inside the game, which was displaying 5 hours of playtime.

Getting off the counter, he turned his gaze in the direction of Fayrene's private room before leaving the shop using the spare key he received from her.
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Once outside, he could feel the vibrancy of the place and the activity of the pubs and other locations relatively close to Fayrene's shop. Closing the door with the key, he started walking around the streets of this notorious district of Titan.

He walked towards the central part of the district, where the people were still gathered, talking while drinking beers from wooden mugs. Others were coming out of the tavern nearby, holding mugs of beer in their hands.

The atmosphere in the district was a view he didn't expect when he heard of Fayrene's story on how dangerous this place was at night. Yet what entered his sight was something familiar, like the feeling of a nightclub, only that it was outdoor and had a medieval flavour.
Yet what entered his sight was something familiar, it felt like a nightclub, only that it was outdoor and had a medieval flavour.

"Kiddo, come drink some. It is on me!" said one middle-aged man with scars on his face and a hunter's attire.

Mathias looked around himself as he walked and could see no one in proximity. Still, he pointed at himself while asking the man.

"You are referring to me?"

"Yes, kiddo, come here. I just came back from a successful mission and have some money to spend for my brothers in the neighbourhood." replied the middle-aged man while downing a mug.

"Haha, what are you staring so weirdly at us, kid. With brother Michael back in town, those bastards will not even dare acting up. Enjoy the night with us." said another man, standing close to the guy who had a silver named tag 'Michael'.

Mathias scratched his head a bit before nodding, approaching the group of men seated on the stones of a run down fountain. Once he got there, the one named Michael looked at him for a bit, smiling with a mark of drunkness in himself, after that saying to one guy who just came back holding 4 mugs in his hands.

"Helber go back to the tavern and buy another round of beers. We got another friend who joined us."

"Ahh shit, again? Boss, I think we should also save some money from the Griffin hunt. The Count only paid us so little."

"Why bother? Hunting that monster was easy, and I even got some money doing that. Now stop whining. It is not like you did the actual fighting. You only carried my equipment and journey supplies."

No longer commenting on Michael's orders, he walked to the tavern again. While doing that, the hunter asked Mathias some things.

"Kiddo, you are new around here. I haven't seen you in this neighbourhood before."

"Boss, that's because he is a 'cursed one'. They are said to appear at the will of Goddess Rebecca."

"Hoh, really? Then this means you are someone special if someone as grand as the goddess willed for your appearance." said the hunter with a curious expression while looking at Mathias.

"I am still the same as any other human, apart from receiving the blessing from the goddess. There's nothing grand about me. On the contrary, I think you, Michael are greater than me."

"Tsk, a bunch of you 'cursed ones' created an entire mess. There's even been a decree from the Palace ordering for the increasing alertness of the Black and Red Knight's in the peripherical districts. Some of your kind got killed by the knights and later appeared like rabid dogs to strike back. I saw it with my own eyes how those bastards died and later appeared attacking the knights." commented one guy close by with some annoyance in his tone.

"Wait, wait. Don't generalize and put me in the same pot with those idiots. I am someone like you. I breathe like you, spend my time like you. There are many others like me, but it seems the scoundrels who made a mess caused you to have a bad impression of them and in so also creating a bad image for me."

Michael started laughing and patting on Mathias's shoulder before saying with a smile.

"Kiddo, you are worrying too much. No one cares if you are one of the gods or a saint in this district; it is a matter of money here. Power and money, to be specific."

As he said that, the subordinate he sent to buy beer for Mathias came back holding 5 mugs in his hand.

"Here, man, be careful. It is strong." said the man, handing the mug to Mathias.

Looking inside the mug, he could see the liquid's golden color and the foam and bubbles at the top thanks to the large torches placed around the square. The smell was also something unique only to beers.


He felt the gazes of the men on the square who seemed to want to see Mathias drink that beer.

'Don't tell me there's something wrong with the beer? Nah, they won't bother to put something in it just because of me.'

Thinking that Mathias looked at Michael and bumped his own mug into Michael's before saying.

"Cheers and thanks for the free beer."

"Cheers, kiddo." replied Michael back while downing first the beer mug.

Mathias didn't postpone it and took a mouthful of beer that began working on him from the first contact with his tongue until he passed his throat and went for his stomach. His face instantly changed compared to the calm expression he was sporting, turning into something contorting in disgust.

"Argh, how the heck is this a beer? This feels like whisky. Damn, and you guys are fine constantly drinking this stuff?"

"Haha, this is the old man's unique beer. It will put any dwarf to sleep after 15 beers." said Michael with an easy-going manner, laughing at Mathias for his reaction along with the rest.

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Then slowly, Mathias began hearing more stories from Michael and the others as he drank the strong beer from his mug. They opened up to discussion under the effect of alcohol. Even Mathias, who finished his first mug of strong beer, began asking questions like a curious kid.

"Hah, you want to know about my journey toward the winged beasts? Listen here, young Mathias, the journey from Titan to the County of Chiritinas is quite long and annoying. We got the letter from the Count himself stating that he would pay us well if we could get rid of the pesky beasts damaging the surrounding villages close to his capital.
I had to start from Titan, after accepting the quest from the Count, and slowly make my way towards the Duchy of Toulmont, the territory of Duchess Basara, by walking the route through the Silverpine Forest.

An annoying place infested with pests, impish monsters called 'Edemp' and 'Graesp'. Ahh, even now, I am tired when thinking about how many of those rats I had to kill on my way out of Silverpine Forest. I feel the knight has done nothing for adventurers. Is like they expected that we would clear those nasty pests.

"Imps? You mean demonic monsters?" asked Mathias while taking a mouthful of beer.(E/N: are u drunk Math, he used the word "impish", he didn't say "Imps")

"Not really, but I feel like they are related. In a sense, they look similar to the legendary imps from the stories of Hell. However, those ones we have here are cowards who only attack the weak using dirty tactics."

"Boss, just like the goblins." completed another guy close by, helping out Michael.

Michael took a mouthful of beer from his jug, burped, and shook his head.

"No, no. You are bad-mouthing the goblins. Those sneaky green bastards are smart creatures and actually have a decent civilization in Alterac Mountain. I've seen it with my two eyes. They even fooled Duke Limit to not be dried down by taxes they have to pay to the Imperial Treasury. However, that tribe is only one exception. The rest of the goblins I encountered aside from those are indeed like those pests, creating a disturbance in unprotected villages Now shut up and don't butt in. Let me tell Mathias my journey."

*Burp* "Aye, boss." added the guy while burping, looking visibly drunk.

Michael turned his head to Mathias, but not long after that, he said to his aid. "Helber, go fetch some more beers for us."

His aid, who was holding his head as if the world was spinning, next he raised his head and not long after that he turned to walk to the tavern.

"Now, let's get back to the story. Where was I?"

"You passed the Silverpine Forest after dealing with the Edemps and Graesps." reminded Mathias, who felt the alcohol kick in his mind, along with the alerts of the game.

[You consumed a quantity of alcohol that your body can't take]

[You will enter the 'Drunken' state]

'Okay, no need for you now. Turn off notifications.' Thought Mathias, annoyed of seeing so many notifications windows popping up in his vision.

[You have turned off notifications]

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"Right, so I killed many of those bastards, but they are breeding faster, just like the orcs from the Whiterocks Mountains, so if you make a journey there, you will still encounter lots of those rats. After I passed Silverpine forest, I entered the region of the Duchy of Toulmont, where I finally could take a break without having to worry about being ambushed.

Not lingering too much on the Duchy, I began moving to the County of Chiritinas using the new route made by the knights after the main road was attacked by crazy mages.

This path was through the Weeping Forests, a creepy place where I had to fight off giant spiders that could eat you whole. Aside from these spiders lurking around and spreading out their web traps, there were also other dangerous creatures such as Ogres, Grunters, a strong species of battle hogs, Troggs, and lastly, a pack of mutated wolves called Dark Worgs in the forest.

Luckily I haven't encountered those dangerous ones. but I spotted a camp of ogres from a distance, at that moment, we started rushing towards the county, not wanting to risk a fight with the Ogres, who had a decent understanding of magic and could fight us equally.

"I see, you got lucky, Michael." said Mathias when hearing about all those beasts mentioned.

"You think so? Maybe you are right. Things seemed stable, and the monsters there didn't jump us. However, the group of wolves took notice of us and could be heard surrounding us when we were about to exit the forest."

"Wow, you got out without a scuffle against a pack of mutated wolves. That's really something."

*Burp* "Indeed. I am that good of an adventurer and hunter." added Michael, boosting about his accomplishment.

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Then Helber came back with mugs of beer in hand, barely walking straight while behind him was an old man walking with a wooden cane after him, looking at his back with a stern expression.

Other guys came to take their beers. The same was for Michael, who got up, taking his and Mathias's mug while greeting the old man moving slowly to them.

"Pops, you are still able to walk?"

"Hmph, compared to you drunkard kids, I am faring far better than you can imagine."

Helber, who was left without a single mug in hand, looked at Michael and said to him with some effort.

"Boss, my head is spinning too much. I think I will go to sleep."

After he said that, he dropped to the ground and started puking, making everyone on the square laugh like idiots at the unfortunate man. Even Mathias was among the group intoxicated by alcohol tagged in to make fun of Helber.

"Tsk, I knew he was weak with alcohol, but for him to be such a sissy to collapse and puke. If he was in Talima, those dwarves would have stripped him butt-naked and then strapped him on the statue of their ancestor to hang in the view of everyone." added Michael as he gave Mathias the other beer mug.

" Those dwarfs, are they tiny like in stories?" asked Mathias when he heard the mentioning of the dwarfs.

"Yea, they are like kids with bodies of adults. Hah, they can beat the crap out of you. I even lost at arm wrestling against one of those drunk bastards. Damn, I remember a saying around the streets of Toulmont, those idiots talk about how some messed up guy drank the piss of one dwarf and got put to sleep from drunkenness."

When Mathias heard that, he looked with big eyes at the hunter while the other guys were laughing as if they heard the funniest thing ever.

"Damn, disgusting fucks."

"That's also what I thought when I heard it. *Burp* Still, I believe it is a cheap method of getting wasted. Just as the dwarf to piss for you and done, enjoy the drunken state. Even Duke Diworth, who is praised as the drunkest person alive, would feel disgusted by those idiots drinking the piss of dwarfs as an alternative to booze."

"Bah, disgusting. Continue with your story Michael." said Mathias feeling like puking after all the dwarves fiasco.

"Right, so I got away from the pack of Worgs. Nasty beasts, I hope you don't encounter them. Moving a bit more on a safe route, I entered the territory of the count. There were still some days I had to walk until I got to his capital to get more details from him and also negotiate the sum of money I would receive for killing the Griffin making a mess in his territory."

"How much?"

"The sum of money was 20.000 gold on paper. Tsk, that cheap noble after boosting he was the richest noble in the empire, boosting that his son is the Pope of Judar Church and other bullshit. I had to do the fight of my life against that monster, for guess what?"

"Half the sum?"

"Nah, if it was that, I would be so annoyed and disgusted by that Count. I got 4.000 gold."

"That bastard. Really? That noble was so scummy to sign the contract for 20.000 gold and yet not deliver."

"Don't worry, young Mathias, I got repaid fully by my plunder. Who does that snobbish noble thing that I, Soul Sword Michael, am? I am no slave or lapdog to any noble bastard. Heck, I even refused the offer of getting a high ranking in the Red Knight order serving under Emperor Juander."

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From a corner of the square, a man with black hair that seemed drunk heard Michael say that and raised his sharp eyes to see who he was and only commented under his breath.

"So that boosting fool came back to Titan? How long was it since he departed? About half a year."

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Mathias was impressed by Michael's story and adventure, which filled his desire to explore this world even more.

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"Hich* "Mathias, if you want to explore the empire, you should go toward the Nivermar River and climb the Gravelmark Heights. Is relatively close to Titan and also offers quite a nice view since it is the starting tributary of the Saharan River." added Michael after listening to Mathias plans to explore around for a calm place to relax.

Nodding his head, Mathias looked around himself and saw as the other guys were in a murky situation like him, drowned by alcohol.

"I think I should also go home. Bye guys, thanks for the good company."

"Aye, are you already going, home kid? Right, what time is it now? Pops, do you know?"

"Tsk, you stupid kids, it's already 03:25 AM. Just go already to sleep since I will close my tavern. I need my sleep; otherwise, I will have you guys dig my hole."

"No way, pops. Let's go guys, time to get home. Let the rats also breathe some air. They could barely breath in our presence." said Michael, while raising on his feet, teetering a bit.

"Mathias, I hope I hear more of your name in the future." added the hunter while looking at Mathias, who was holding for dear life on a bench.

Feeling like puking when he got on his feet, Mathias only waved his hand to the guys and started the arduous path back to Fayrene shop.

Step by step, his world started to shake even more, and when he got to Fayrene's front door, his shaking reached a pinnacle. Then from nowhere, a puke came along right at the front of Fayrene shop.

"Fuck, I think I will go sleep."

Dropping on the floor beside the door while not far away from him, the marks of puking were clear, like some wasted guy. His world started darkening before not long after he found himself back to his apartment inside the VR capsule.


"To be damned, to think I will get wasted in a game and still feel the after-effects of it in reality."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 13 - Finding how to cheat
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After exiting the capsule, Mathias, who suffered a headache from all the drinking he had done in-game, walked to the kitchen and opened the window wide open. He felt the breeze of the wind blowing on his face while admiring the sky that slowly was losing its brightness. He took a deep breath before walking to the sink to get himself some water.

Getting back to the window, he started to drink the water slowly until he could notice that the headache was starting to lessen.

"I wonder what caused me to get a headache. I clearly didn't drink anything before starting to play the game. I only drank in-game. This is really bizarre. Could it be a bug? I should note this experience somewhere and make a report to the support team."

Waiting for a bit more to recover from the effects that the game induced. Next, Mathias took some simple biscuits from the cabinet, he stored his pastries away to prevent them from molding, and started wolfing them down while sitting down in front of his laptop.

Mathias started writing down his experience with Michael and how he woke up with a headache, similar to one a drunken state would give, so he could make a report to the support team later. Stretching his body a bit after finishing the report, he focused on the forums flooded by people of all sorts of origins who praised the game's immersion and all different aspects of this new reality.


---- "This will be the game of the century! Mark my words, you bums, you better promote the game around your dumps so more people can join because this is the L.T.S killer. Leave the Tzedakah and Giant Guild kids to their thing in L.T.S because it is no longer enticing." posted a member of the decently sized new community who was called Katz.

---- "The one above is probably some noob who couldn't even reach the late game content of L.T.S is butthurt and jealous of the biggest guilds in the game." commented a person with the name tag 'Atlas'.

Mathias scrolled down to check other comments but come back to the Katz guy's comment, who replied to the one who tried to make fun of him, with a screenshot of what seemed to be a Character Status Screen along with the Equipment bar.

The character's name was Katz, and he was max level, capping at level 300 while his equipment was composed of end game content legendary equipment.

--- "Tell me, you scrub, who is the noob? You better keep your mouth shut if you don't even recognize my in-game name."

--- "Heh, so you are that big ass whale who enriched the LTS company? How much did you pay for those legendary items? A million dollars? Whale, sucks being you. I heard from a friend who has connections inside S.A Group that they will not offer any features such as letting people buy end game items from shops and other boosting items. I will wait for your comments when the game turns live.

Meanwhile, as those guys had their online war, in Tokyo inside Toranomon Hills Hotel, a young asian man in his twenties was staring at a big screen with the same forum page opened that Mathias was looking at and felt his anger accumulating.

"Motherfucker, you dare to make fun of me? 'Atlas' is your name? I will keep that in mind, you bastard, and once I stumble upon you inside Satisfy, I will crush you."

.

Mathias moved past the forum thread since he knew nothing about the L.T.S game, only hearing that it was a popular VRMMO that used the old technology of headgears and was very successful for about 5 years before it slowly started to get less popular, yet maintaining a big following of loyal players.

He saw all sorts of different forum threads as he looked over the players' responses, from the most infuriating reviews that would poke fun at the LTS players to those who discussed the potential of 'Satisfy'.

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After 30 minutes in front of the laptop screen, he turned it off and entered the capsule to start another session until it was 1 AM, then he would go to sleep.

After the game's loading sequence, he started to feel his body going numb the moment his senses were linked to his avatar. This numbing sensation was similar to what you would feel if you slept in one position without shifting for hours. Apart from this, he also felt his headache and some dizziness.

The floor was cold, and he could hear the sound of roosters crying out, signalling that a new day had started. Because of the roosters crowing, some citizens situated close to where the roosters were located started swearing at them.

"SHUT UP, YOU CHICKEN! I WILL ROAST YOU ALIVE. JUST YOU WAIT!"

Many other voices, some were familiar to Mathias, some weren't, kept cursing the rooster.
.

He slowly raised his body from the porch, but he felt unbalanced and grabbed hold of the shop's wall to keep himself straight.

"Wew, don't tell me I am still under the 'Drunken' state. Also, why does my body hurt so much?"

While balancing himself using the wall, he started to think of what happened, and shortly after, things began to make sense to him.

"So, when I am disconnected, my body doesn't just vanish like smoke, instead it is forced into a slumbering state where the environment I am in will affect me. I've slept on this stone porch for like what, 3 hours."

'Turn on notifications.'

The instant Mathias opened the notifications again, he was assaulted by the warnings that he was drunk.

However, as he cleared the notifications, he started noticing another round of notifications.

[Successfully kept your balance under the effects of Poison Beer]

[Stamina has risen by 1]

[Stamina has risen by 1]

[Stamina has risen by 1]

[Stamina has risen by 1]

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"Wait, what? I gained stats for drinking beer? This game is bugged for sure. Should I report this to the team or keep it to myself? Mmm, they will for sure fix it, so let's leave it like that. I am a proud Romanian, alcohol runs in my veins, so I guess that is my reward for staying awake after drinking this 'Poison Beer'?"

Clearing those notifications, he reached the last part of the notifications that reminded him of who he talked with and how he viewed him after their talk.

[Affinity with Michael has risen by 10]


"I guess we hit it home when it comes to beer and talking about magical creatures and other crazy stuff that I barely imagine opening about to talk."

.

The route toward the Gravelmark Heights was fresh in his mind, along with the various dangers it held in store for him and other people who were daring enough to adventure there. The drunken state didn't affect his memory of the route towards the mountains or what monsters he might encounter there.

Slowly regaining his body functions, he walked around the courtyard a bit to stretch his body before deciding to enter Fayrene's shop.
Getting to the door and taking out the key from his inventory bag, he moved to open it but soon heard the door opening itself.

'Fuck, she is the early bird type. I haven't even got the chance to clean up the vomit, and it is a mess to behold.' thought Mathias when he saw the door opening from inside.

Then he saw Fayrene look at him with a perplexed expression without donning any make-up on her face. She looked at Mathias' haggard appearance, then looking past him, she noticed the vomit puddle at that point. Her expression changed slightly.

Before she could say something, he interrupted her.

"I thought you were a sleeping beauty. Why are you up so early?"

"Hmmm, you know that I used to live in a rural village before moving out. I am used to waking up early to help out on the farm, which is still ingrained in me. Any problems with that?"

"What problem? No, no problems here. I think it is perfect. I also wake up early in the mornings. I just imagined you doing stuff noble ladies would do." explained Mathias, while visible still affected by the 'Drunken" Status.

"I'm not that rich that I can afford such expenses. But enough of me, you tell me why do you reek of alcohol? I thought you were broke without any money in your pockets. Did you go into debt to buy alcohol?"

"Aghh, no, it's not like that. I couldn't sleep and got out to take some fresh air and see for myself how "dangerous" the district truly is at night." explained Mathias to Fayrene's question.

"I see. You still haven't explained how you got money to drink."

"I met a returning adventurer Michael, he was the one who offered me some shots."

When Fayrene heard about Michael, her expression softened a bit before pointing at the vomit, saying with disgust.

"You better clean that up, otherwise, you will really sleep on the streets. Also, once you clear your head and that filth, we will go to buy some fabrics for my shop."

"Aye, my Lady. Don't worry, all is good with me. I am not drunk or anything." said Mathias standing straight while facing Fayrene. (A/N: Just a tiny bit)

Fayrene turned her gaze back at Mathias and saw that his body was swinging with each blow of the wind hitting his body, to the point where she started giggling while departing inside.

"Phew, I was almost thrown out the first night in the game after finding a home."
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Slowly entering, he moved to the counter, and he noticed that his made-up bed was still in place, only with a slight difference. The pillow he made from Fayrene's ruined clothes was moved a bit from the position he remembered.

'Hmm, she noticed the pillow. Well, if she didn't comment on it, it means there's no problem with it.'

.

After he took the made-up bed down, placing the components in the closet that contained discarded fabrics, next he had to clean in front of the shop, so he started to search for a shovel and a bucket.

Fayrene, who was in her room drinking tea and casually eating some cookies, used her magic to create a mirror that showed Mathias and what he was doing in the front part of the shop.

"What are you looking for, that it caused you to desperately search around the shop? This isn't funny at all. Just ask if you need help since I can't imagine that you know where I placed all the common tools."

This continued the entire period Fayrene was drinking her tea. Mathias searched for about 10 minutes like he was looking for gold.

Fayrene, who observed Mathias all this time, finally had enough and got off her chair. She moved to the front part of the shop and asked the searching treasure hunter.

"Stop looking around everywhere for no reason. Tell me, what are you looking for?"

Mathias stopped in place, turned his head at Fayrene and with an embarrassed tone, he said to her, as he was fixing his long hair.

"Fayrene, can you tell me if you got any shovels in here? I found a bucket, but there are simply no gardening tools here."

She looked dumbfounded at him and asked back, perplexed. "Shovel?"

"Yes, shovel. Do you have any?"

She felt speechless when Mathias repeated himself. Her face turned left and right, and she slowly walked around the places Mathias was looking through in the first place.

'Have I ever bought a shovel since I moved here? I can use my magic as a substitute, so I probably never bothered to.'

"I think I never bought a shovel. But why do you need one?"

"Well, I need to dig a hole to cover that mess I made before I wash it away. That's the ethical way to clean such a mess."

"Really? Why don't you use your magic to substitute the shovel? This is the way I do when I need some gardening tools for the courtyard." calmly replied Fayrene to Mathias, revealing how she was taking care of the courtyard garden.

"Magic? I doubt I can do such advanced stuff yet. Sigh, stop looking at me like that. I will try doing that because I believe buying a shovel might be a bit expensive here. Pleased? Also, this is my mess to clean. Ahh, before I take off, is there any water source in the vicinity where I can fill this bucket?" asked Mathias with a resigned face.

"If you want freshwater, there is a fresh spring outside of the walls, not too far from here. But the one used for daily activities, you can use the one from the fountain." (A/N: Freshwater – something you use to drink / the one in fountain could be translated as one you would use to wash clothes and other stuff)

Getting his answer so directly from her, he remembered the fountain in the square he was drinking all night long, which made him facepalm himself.

"That is right. I might still be drunk after all."

"Indeed."

"Hey, don't make fun of me because who knows when I will see you in an uncomfortable situation." reminded Mathias as he was moving outside with a bucket in hand.

Fayrene gazed at Mathias's face, and with a broad smile, she replied back.

"You wish. You have already seen the scars. Something more uncomfortable than that can't happen to me. So good luck. Now, hurry up because the market will turn busy if I wait for you." (E/N: What market?)

Fayrene clapped her hands while Mathias could see her left arm around the loose white blouse she was wearing.

She noticed his gaze but didn't hide it and react like last night, appearing much more relaxed this morning.

Nodding his head after Fayrene clapped her hands, he moved to the fountain and could see that the people here also started going to the fountain with buckets in hand. To his surprise, the vomit left by the guys last night, on the square, was already cleaned up.

"They took care of their mess. Now it's my turn."

Saying that, he walked back to Fayrene's shop with the bucket filled until it was spilling. Placing the bucket down, he stared at his mess and began to think of how to use his magic.

As he was standing there silently, he imagined a shovel in his head, and while concentrating his mind, he could feel some energy being stirred up inside his body, coming straight from his chest.

"Huh, there is a response from my chest. Is it the Mana Core? Let's see if it wants to move from my body."

Extending his hand, he stared at his palm and concentrating on this energy moving inside his body. He could feel that it reacted to his wishes and slowly began to move to his arm.

"Come, buddy, help me out. Do you want me to look like I am some idiot?"

Still, this energy that was gathering around his arms didn't budge at all and kept stagnating. However, Mathias could feel the mana inside the arm, and after condensing it more, it slowly began moving to his right palm.

It stagnated again after reaching his palm. It got to a point where the palm began shining with a light purple color which surprised him, almost scaring him to the point of making him lose his focus.

"Just a bit more."

.

Five minutes later, Mathias was sweating like a drenched dog, turning his rags into a wet mess.

Fayrene, who was by now watching Mathias from the shop's window and looking at his first arcane experience without any guidance, showed a smile.

"Only a bit more, and you will succeed. Don't give up now, Mathias."

Meanwhile, Mathias, who detached himself from any distraction, concentrated on the feeling of the mana being gathered in his palm that came from the Mana Core, until another minute later, he said to himself.

"Shovel"

When he said that, the mana started discharging from his palm and created a white-purple shovel smaller than what he envisioned in his mind.

[You consumed all your mana]

[You succeeded in using your mana to cast a primitive magic construct. It will hold in proportion to the mana spent]

Seeing the notification appear in front of his face, he could feel as if something was missing inside his body before the notification even came up.

Yet, he ignored it and grabbed the white-purple shovel and waved it in the air, exclaiming like he won the lottery.

"This is what I am talking about! First, attempt, and it was a success. I shall be called Merlin from now on!"

"Haha, congratulations, but don't let it get to your head. You still suck at magic. It already took you about 10 minutes to make that small shovel. Here let me show you how it is done right. Watch." said Fayrene, congratulating Mathias for his small success in arcana, while she walked toward him.

Mathias turned his head at Fayrene and could see the black-haired beauty move in his direction while her hand started shining with a white-purple light that felt far stronger than his own.

While she was slowly walking to him, the white-purple light around her right hand started to fly off like fireflies and start gathering around one another to morph into the shape of a shovel that was precisely what Mathias had in mind, while it only took her one minute to make her's.

"Here, use this one." added Fayrene after finishing her spell, with a sly smile on her face.

"Hey, are you trying to taunt me again? I shall use my own creation." replied Mathias, a bit annoyed and at the same time impressed by Fayrene efficiency.

'She is a magical genius and gifted with the SS ranked Mana Core. No wonder she leaves me in the dust when it comes to these magic feats.' thought Mathias, while masking his emotions with a smile.

Fayrene noticed Mathias' attempt at smiling, but her expression didn't change. She only kept watching him from the side as he dug a hole close to the mess he made.

As he was digging, suddenly, the stability of the shovel and its shape started to shift/change, and when he was halfway finished, it suddenly scattered in the air, making him almost drop into the vomit.

"Huh, I didn't expect this so early. I take my words back, Fayrene, give me that shovel."

"Haha, sure, there you go." said Fayrene while hanging the shovel to Mathias while laughing softly at him, revealing a bright smile.

'What am I doing man, I am embarrassing myself too much lately. Should I turn like those sages in fantasy stories and train myself until I am unmatched?'(E/N: Of course you should do that ^_^)

Thought Mathias while finishing to dig the hole, next he used the same shovel to start cleaning the mess, then with the dug out dirt he covered the hole again and with the water, he had in the bucket he began to wash the leftovers and then level the ground.

"Here, take the shovel back. It is all clean now." stated Mathias while giving the shovel back to Fayrene.

Fayrene looked at the tip of the shovel that had some vomit on it, and with a disgusted expression, she waved her hand, making the construct shatter in the air.

"Clean yourself, change your clothes and follow me. After we buy the fabrics, I shall teach you tailoring. No question asked."

"No, wait, you are moving too fast. I don't even know how to sew a button properly."

"Hmph, excuses, and yet again excuses. Don't worry, you will learn it whether you like it or not. Having free workers for my shop was always my dream." replied Fayrene, with a grin on her face, to Mathias, whose face turned pale.

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 14 - Sparks of conflict & Negotiations
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After getting another bucket of water from the fountain, Mathias started cleaning himself, and when he returned to Fayrene's shop, he saw various clothes lying on the counter and Fayrene standing behind it counting gold coins.

"Are those for me?" asked Mathias while pointing at the white silk shirt, black trousers, leather boots, and the belt.

"Yes, now stop staring at them like you have never seen good clothes. Go change your clothes first, and then follow me outside."

Seeing Fayrene walk out of the shop, Mathias got closer to the counter and touched the clothes. They disappeared, entering his inventory. Once they got there, he placed them on his body by dragging them on his avatar window.

Looking at them, he was visibly surprised by the quality of the clothes.

[Elegant Cidarian Shirt]

Rating: Rare

Durability 150/150 Defense: 10

* Intelligence increased by 5

This is a work made by the aspirant tailoress Fayrene, as practice for her passion while reminiscing about the teachings of her mother, that she sewed with steady hands and good quality silk. The wearer of this work can feel Fayrene dedication to her craft.
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Condition of Use: Level 1

Weight: 140

************************************

[Elegant Cidarian Breeches]

Rate: Rare

Durability: 150/150 Defense: 10

* Intelligence increased by 5

Description: -//-

Condition of Use: Level 1

Weight: 125

***********************************************

[Saharan Hunting Boots]

Rate: Epic

Durability: 125/250 Defense: 50

Movement Speed: +7%

Evasion Rate: +1%

An item designed for the nobles of the Saharan Empire found by Fayrene inside a dumpsite. They were crafted with the utmost care by one of the Empire's Craftsmen using the leather of a basilisk and mythril thread. It greatly boosts the speed of the wearer.

The design of the Boots is unmatched even among the nobles.

No user restriction

Weight: 340

***************************************************************

'These are the clothes we should have received from the start. Not the rags with 0 stats, defence, or anything spelling decency in them.' thought Mathias when looking at the new clothes he was wearing with a satisfied expression.

'Okay, I shouldn't make her wait any longer. I will surely pay her back for everything. I don't like being indebted to someone. It's even worse if it's to a woman.'

After putting on the belt and settling his trousers, arranging his shirt and boots, he exited the shop and noticed Fayrene nod while saying to him.

"They seem a bit oversized, but you have to deal with it for now because those are the only male clothes I possess. You also better not ruin that shirt because it is intended to be a gift for my younger brother, for him to wear when growing up."

"Nothing to worry about. They will be safe with me." replied Mathias, patting the clothes.

Fayrene didn't say anything and started moving, followed by Mathias, who was walking by her side, looking around the city with sharp eyes. He looked at the map and could see that she was taking him to a place he hadn't explored yet.

He entered another district that looked like the one he settled on the first day of playing. It looked almost identical to the place he came from, only that there seemed to be a decent amount of people wearing expensive clothes.

Passing many alleys while following Fayrene lead, Mathias finally arrived at a gate with "Grand Market" written on it.

Keeping quiet, he followed Fayrene inside, who was looking left and right while inspecting the stalls set up by many different traders. Each time she would visit a stall, she would first ask for the prices before even checking the quality of the items.

.

"Too expensive, can't you go lower?" was something Fayrene would ask the merchants when hearing their prices.

"Young lady, it's you again? How many times do I have to tell you that I will not lower my prices? There are so many shops in the market. Try your luck in another place if you can't afford my prices." said the trader disdainfully to Fayrene while staring at her in contempt.

Mathias's gaze, who was standing next to Fayrene, frowned a bit when he saw how the merchant was treating her.

Fayrene didn't get intimidated, and without wasting any words on that merchant, she moved along the stalls with fabrics on display. The process was the same with most traders who didn't want to lower their prices.

.
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At one point, Mathias felt that things would turn dangerous when one trader ordered his lackeys to move Fayrene away from his stall. Without knowing if he should fight back or not, he brought Ragnius from his inventory, seeming magical for the thugs who walked toward him and Fayrene.

"You better keep your distance away. I don't want any trouble with you." declared Mathias coldly while walking in front of Fayrene with his spear brought close to his body.

"I haven't seen you around this peasant girl before. So, who are you to take out your weapon in front of us, the Eagle's Mercenary?"

"Someone who doesn't want to get hurt. I think the same could be said to you? However, if you want to play with me, you will regret it."

"Could it be, you are a 'cursed one'?" asked the merchant, looking at Ragnius giving off a strong presence and at Mathias calm, cold expression.

"Why bother asking me that? You want something from me?"

The moment those thugs heard Mathias respond to the merchant in that way, it confirmed to them that he was indeed one of the crazy people who appeared in the world, the 'cursed ones'.

They stepped back and whispered something to the merchant, who walked forward to face Mathias.

"To think this peasant girl would get her hands on a cursed one. No need to escalate things. I don't want to be harassed by you crazy bastards, so move away from my stall."
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"Mathias, no need for that. There are still many more stalls around the market." said Fayrene, grabbing on Mathias' shoulder.

He turned his face to see her shake her head sadly, signaling that he didn't need to overreact, Yet at the same time, when hearing Fayrene, Mathias brought Ragnius closer to him and shook his head, looking at her with a saddened expression, annoyed by how the people treated her.

After that, she started to walk on the market streets accompanied by Mathias, who had Ragnius at his side.

Fayrene glanced briefly at Ragnius and later at Mathias, whose face turned stoic, always on guard when walking beside her.

"You never told me that you are a spear user. Also, where did you get that spear from? It seems quite expensive."

"That's because there was no need for me to talk about my other path. As for the price? Ragnius' price can't be converted into a sum of money because it is an heirloom. Anyway, what matters is that I can protect you and myself if those bastards would even dare to attack us."

"There was no need for that. That's how those merchants act when someone asks for a lower price." said Fayrene to Mathias before she looked at him, adding in a quiet tone.

"Thanks for having my back. I hate buying things from the market because of people like that, who raise the prices of the goods just because this is Titan and people should be able to afford it."

"You are welcome. I'm just repaying your kindness to me. Also, aren't we apprentices together? I should protect you even if I wasn't indebted to you."

She chuckled a bit, whispering to herself. "I haven't really done that much."

"You said something, Fayrene?" asked Mathias, hearing some murmuring from her side.

"No, nothing. Let's look at the other stalls, and don't blindly point your weapon at those people. It will leave a bad impression on them."

"Hey, I have to protect myself. I don't really care if others are getting scared." stated Mathias, as they were getting closer to another stall.

Getting there, he kept quiet while staring at the merchant and his assistance. She started asking for the prices of the fabrics, but they directly denied her requests, not wanting any price changes.

Like this, Mathias saw Fayrene getting reject from stall to stall until even he had enough of it, stopping in place and asking her.

"How much money do you have on you?"

"I only have 40 gold coins on me. These are all my savings just so you know. It is normal I will negotiate for any coin. It is impossible that I don't find a merchant willing to negotiate with me and drop his prices a bit."

"Sigh, can you let me negotiate?" asked Mathias as he stopped in place in the center of the alley.

"Can you do that? I mean, do you even have any experience in that regard?"

"I've read some books that talk about the "Art of Negotiation". Maybe I will write it down for you so you can learn some tricks from those experienced people."

"There is such a thing?"

"From where I am, there is, and many other interesting things. Come, give me that bag you are holding and let's see how I'll fare."

Saying that, he also stored Ragnius into his inventory and focused at Fayrene's skeptical expression. Her gaze focused on Mathias, turning serious, and with shaking hands, she timidly handed the pouch.

After taking her coin bag, Mathias saw Fayrene move her hand to quickly take it back, but he brought it to his system inventory, magically disappearing from her face.

"Calm down. I will not steal your money. In fact, I might make you some more. Watch and learn."

"Give my money back!" shouted Fayrene, in a desperate attempt to take her money back, grabbing hold of his hand.

"Ahh, come on, don't make a scene right now. Easy, arghh. Hey! What was that for?" cried Mathias a bit when Fayrene scratched him with her nails, making a mark on his skin.

Grabbing her hands so she wouldn't be able to attack him, he walked toward a close stall while Fayrene just followed along, trying to get her hands away, seeming to calm a bit from what looked like some trauma.
Arriving at the merchant stall, which had all sorts of fabrics and goods spread on the counter, Mathias later heard the merchant say to him as if he targeted Fayrene.

"Lad, you don't need to bother with me. I will not lower the price if you are trying to help that girl."

"Wait, mister, if we already get to such a start, how can I even check on your goods? Can you show me the fabrics that at least pass a quality check?" asked Mathias calmly while moving closer to the stall, along with Fayrene, who he dragged.

"Ohh, you are looking to buy? Here, in that part, are the fabrics I just brought from Typhon Duchy, all the way to Titan. Silk, cotton, velvet, best quality sheep wool, damask, linen, fur, leather, hemp, you got everything there, young man. Look at it how much you want." pointed the merchant to Mathias, a part of his large stall full of materials.

"I see, no problem, sir." Replied Mathias calmly, moving to the stall closer and checking on the fabrics prices with a careful expression.

After a while, he turned to the merchant and asked him humbly.

"Mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Ask away."

"It says here you sell the meter with silk at about 550 silvers? But if I may, I am aware that the route from Typhon to Titan might be troublesome for you. Having to deal with thieves and all sorts of bandits, I am fully aware. So for that, I am willing to trust you on the authenticity of the fabrics."

"What are you going about, young man? The price is fair, those weavers of the fabrics also started getting greedy and making plans for themselves, but they simply don't know how hard it is to sell the fabrics, and like idiots, they ask for more. Young man, this is why traders are reluctant to lower their prices. We buy at about 400- 450 silver a meter for silk. I am only talking about silk here and also adding about 100 silver for our journey."

"So it wasn't a problem with you merchants. It was the supply chain that started asking for more. Understandable. So I will not make your life harder. I am willing to buy more from you, but if I do this, can I do it while lowering the price. Listen, sir, don't hurry to call our talk off." said Mathias when seeing the merchant's face turning sour and a bit angry.

The merchant nodded and let Mathias talk, listening with a serious face, entirely focused on what this young man had to say.

"If I buy more from you at a reduced price, compared to just a small quantity with a reduced price, you sir will make a profit and cover your expenses, and also my friend and I will be able to continue our business and make clothes. It is selling in quantity to cover the expenses, compared to hopping for a single good sell."

"It is hard, young man. Give me some time to think." said the merchant moving with his assistance at the back of the area they set, talking with serious tones.

The younger ones even started raising their voices, unsatisfied with what the older merchant was saying. However, he grabbed their shoulders and said to them in a calm tone something that quieted them.

"Boss, are you crazy? We will go bankrupt if we sell our goods at a lower price. We are still in debt from our journey."

"I know, you two, but listen here. Do you see the other fabric traders? Tell me, do they have any sales?"

"Ahhhh, no boss, but you have to think. What if he scams us?"

"No kid, if we want to survive in this business, we have to think of other ways to sell our goods. I will see how much this guy wants to buy and how small the price reduction is. If he asks for a really small price, I will not sell."

"Okay, boss. You are in charge."

.

After that, he walked back to Mathias and said with a calm voice.

"How much are you willing to buy?"

"I am willing to buy about 25 gold coins worth of materials. Here let's calculate how much would be worth in your fabrics, and we shall negotiate after. Sounds good?

"Sure, young man. Wait, do you know calculus?" asked the merchant, surprised when Mathias brought a sheet of paper, inkwell, and a quill.

Getting to the table, he let go of Fayrene hand, saying to her.

"Take how much fabric you need, and this mister and I will settle on the cost."

Fayrene was also in foreign territory when hearing Mathias talk so calmly about prices, quantity buy, and so on.
Meanwhile, her little heart was only thinking about her small pouch. But not wasting Mathias's time and the merchant's time, she walked to the section with medium to good quality fabrics.

In about 10 minutes, she started to say to Mathias, in a shaking voice whispered to his ears, and he started writing on the sheet of paper.

"Twenty meters of silk, 15 meters of linen, 15 meters of cotton, 5 meters of leather, three kilograms of fur, and 10 meters of velvet fabric. This is what I need, Mathias."

While writing on the sheet paper the quantity of materials, he patted her hand and said to her.

"This is enough, now just wait a bit, so I calculate the price. Mister, can you come here? We'll do the calculus together, so you don't think I cheated you."

"Okay, young man. Let me get my glasses and the abacus."

.

Mathias, in the meantime, started spreading out the prices of each fabric Fayrene wanted in an orderly manner while she watched with big eyes at him.

'He even knows to calculate? I barely learned a bit of calculus from my mother."

Then when the merchant got to Mathias with his abacus and glasses over his nose, he turned his eyes on the sheet paper and looked at how fast Mathias was calculating the prices.

Mathias remained quiet as he pointed his quill on each number as if to show the merchant from where all the numbers he multiplied came to existence.

Only after some minutes of patiently showing the merchant the calculus and how each number got multiplied, he said to the merchant.

"Sir, the total I have to pay is 24670 silver, converted in gold, about 24 gold, and 670 silvers coins. Take a look and confirm it if you don't believe me." said Mathias in an earnest tone.

The merchant looked at the orderly written sheet paper and the explained multiplication and the sum of each material price. And could only sigh, telling Mathias.

"No need, I trust you will not cheat me after explaining the calculation so well. This is the first time someone buying from me can actually calculate the prices. Only the Imperial Administrators and Tax Officials can do it so orderly. So, how does the price reduced at 5% sound, young man?"

'That would make a reduction in about 2 gold coins. Modest reduction, but I still think my employer would want some more gold in her little pouch.' thought Mathias while looking at the merchant with a severe face, making the merchant believe the price reduction was too little.

"Sir, a reduction of 10% and I buy it and I might also come back here in the future with my friend. The price would be 22 gold and 203 silver coins."

Taking some time to think, the merchant nodded his hand and moved to shake Mathias' hands, which the latter returned in a welcoming manner.

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Gathering all the materials in his inventory bag, making all of the four around look shocked, making him say with an awkward tone. "I learned a dimensional gap spell that helps me store things."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 15 - The Opening Tailoring Quest
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After finishing all the fabrics' transactions, Mathias took the route back to the shop while Fayrene was fiddling her fingers, saying to herself.

"This is, I suppose, my luckiest day in the market. I wasn't scammed or pickpocketed by any thief. I only had to spend 23 gold for everything."

Mathias just smiled, saying to her.

"You have to understand that bargaining too much wouldn't lead you anyway. You have to make a smart investment that would let both sides profit. The merchant has his profits while we got most of it."

"Most of it? How come we profited?"


"Well, that merchant for sure invested a lot to get his goods all the way here. If I were him, I would have asked far more, but because of the competition between sellers, the prices are kept to a decent low. Sucks being a merchant these days. You should diversify your businesses, so you make profits, like one great banker Jakob Fugger who financed emperors in their wars and spendings. He was said to be the richest man of his era. The noteworthy aspect was that he comes from a commoners ancestry."

"Was this Fugger really so wealthy?" asked Fayrene beside Mathias, curious about the figures he was mentioning.

"Just imagine it, Fayrene, an emperor, someone holding such great presence having to bow his head to a commoner and ask for money, clothes, jewels. Even when he wanted to get rid of that banker, he just couldn't because he lacked money."

Fayrene listened to what Mathias said, and while walking beside him, she seemed to be impressed by the banker's backstory.

"I might not even be able to count all that money if I ever get to that point in my tailor shop."

"No worries, don't you have me to do your accounts? For now, before I start my journey around Saharan, I will teach you the basics of mathematics, economics and how to administrate your business correctly, so you can make higher profits. Also, here, take your little pouch."

Ended Mathias saying that, later bringing Fayrene's leather pouch in his palm from the inventory and placing it in her hands.

"Ahhhh, my sweetheart!" cried out Fayrene when holding and weighting the pouch in her hand before counting all the coins inside.

Her violet eyes were shining with excitement and relief when she saw that she still had a decent amount of gold coins. She turned her gaze at Mathias, who stared at her with a calm expression and some lurking smile.

"What? Do you want my pouch back?"

"No, not at all. You remind me of myself when I first started earning money. So, will you ever tell me the reason you reacted like that in the market?" added Mathias while having his hand up and down to deny her question, filling her with more information about himself.

Fayrene expression soured a bit, and as she walked back to the shop, she kept her quiet.

Only after they got to their district did she say to Mathias. "It was something that happened when I just arrived here in Titan two years ago. I didn't know anything about this place, only hearing stories about how grand and fascinating it would be. I only had my Mana Core awakened when I arrived here. I couldn't even use spells, so I was easy prey for those thieves who attacked me."

Mathias frowned a bit, and with a calm tone, he inquired. "They took only the money or?"

"Only the money. Lucky that person, Michael intervened and saved me. Otherwise, I can't imagine what could have happened to me. This is why I told you to not go out at night because of those bastards." said Fayrene with a stable voice, turning her gaze at Mathias after she told him that she could see his green eyes becoming a bit cold.

"I see, so this is the reason for the warning. Nothing to worry, I shall see who those people are and deal with them if they are left to their own laws."

Fayrene thought of stopping Mathias, but she understood something about him in the market. He was someone with a deep view of things and could keep his calm in the face of adversity.

Meanwhile, Mathias, who listened to Fayrene's small story, had a notification appear on his face.
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[Thieves and Bandits lurking in the shadows]

Difficulty: Unique

Fayrene shared an event of her life that marked her about the bandits and thieves who attacked her. She doesn't want revenge on them. However, she believes that no person should be subjected to such a mishap.

Quest Clear Conditions: Solve the problem of bandits and thieves in Wallmor District

Quest Reward: [5] levels + 500 Reputation points in Saharan Empire
Quest Failure: Marked by the thieves and bandits in the entire Saharan Empire

**** Accept[Yes/No] ***

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'Are you kidding? What question is this, if I accept it or not?'

[Yes].

' I never liked scums lurking behind buildings and attacking you from the back. How many punches haven't I got from those bastards, yet the police did nothing whenever I would make a complaint. This situation seems similar. Those highly regarded knights are blind or corrupted and don't care about the periphery district and the people living here.'

'I might not be able to do much in real life, but here? When I come back to town, they will be first on my list.'

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Getting back to their shop, Fayrene went to cook some food while Mathias began arranging the fabrics on a table at the backside of the front room.

Soon, Fayrene called him to eat with her, where some porridge was made steaming hot in his face. He took a bite and was pleased to find that it had a taste, not being just a bland porridge.

"Good food, Fayrene. Thank you for taking care of me."

She didn't answer back, continuing to eat, nevertheless, her face started lighting up a bit.

After both finished eating, they walked back to the materials bought, and immediately Fayrene walked to her private room to take a bundle of paper that she was spreading out on the counter.

Mathias also got to the counter and peeked at the paper, where his eyes turned big, something Fayrene noticed.

"Hey, what is that expression? You don't like my drawing?"

Taking a sheet in his hands that had a lady dress with many detailed decorations and delicate finishes sketched on. The draw had more pieces of the same dress that complemented each other, all being done with unimaginable talent.

"I think this might be too hard for me, Fayrene."

"Hah?? Do you think we will make such an advanced dress with the materials I got? Those sketches are for the noble ladies who can afford to pay for my work. Look, we will do this one." explained Fayrene, later showing Mathias the dress she chose to create with the materials at hand.

It was a dress similar to something he saw on medieval shows, worn by most ladies who could afford some good clothes. The colouring on the sketch wasn't something detailed, but Fayrene described the colors she would choose according to flowers names.

"Will you do it or not?" asked the young woman again.

"Fine, I will do it, but again I don't even know how to sew properly." replied Mathias with a defeated tone.

"I will teach you, come, let's get started. Can you get me the silk, leather, scissors, the ruler, chisel, white chalk and measuring tape, please?"

Mathias put down the sheet and walked back to the table where all the materials were placed. Without asking any questions, he grabbed them along with the equipment she asked for on a cabinet under the tailoring table.

When he grabbed the materials, he received another quest from the system.
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[Assist Fayrene in her tailoring work]

Difficulty: Rare

Fayrene is looking forward to creating new clothes for her clients and will require your assistance in the tailoring process.

Quest Clear Conditions: Assist Fayrene until the completion of the dress.

Quest Reward: [1] level + 'Unlocking' Tailoring Technique Lv -Beginner

- You can't reject the quest

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'Not a problem. While it might be annoying at first, who was born and learned from the start? Let's do it. Maybe I will finally be able to sew my underwear and socks properly.'

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Getting the equipment to Fayrene, she took a deeper look at the sketch and later spread out the fabrics and diligently placing the equipment close by.

Mathias was by her side, looking at her serious face as she started working on the dress planned to be tailored.

Like this, the process of creating a dress started for Mathias as he watched the careful movements of Fayrene, who was marking the silk fabric with the chalk after she measured the proportions of the cuts.

She would take some breaks to explain to him what she was doing and the reasons for the measuring, which surprised him by how detailed she could be.

They worked until the night when they started to clean up and prepare for another day of working.

When they were cleaning, Mathias opened up to Fayrene, saying with a calm tone.

"I would never expect that you would know this work so meticulously. It is really a pleasure to my eyes seeing your work. Also, who knows, maybe after we end this dress, I might have some tailoring skills to boast about."

When hearing this, Fayrene started chuckling. Arranging her hair and removing some sweat from her forehead, she said to him with a grin.

"Don't say to future people that I was the one who taught you to sew. It will drop my image down immediately."

"Haha, you still haven't seen my steady hands in action. Just you wait." laughed Mathias, with a wide smile.

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Then, as night settled, he arranged his bed on the counter and placed himself in a sleeping posture, disconnected from the game.

He looked at the clock and saw that it was 12 AM, the moment he walked to heat up some food.

After finishing eating, he turned to walk to the bathroom and take a shower.

From the hot water, he slowly began to turn it colder until he was under chilling water that made him tremble. However, his body soon calmed down, and he could feel invigorated and clear-minded.

"I need to prepare for work tomorrow and sort of my schedule. Still an enjoyable game. I could never believe if someone would tell me that there is a virtual reality game that is so realistic you can't even tell the people inside."

"From Reid and the simple citizens of Titan to Gabrils, Corvus, and to not forget. Fayrene. I don't even feel bad for spending my money on the game after encountering them."

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After finishing his shower, he walked to the capsule entering inside and searching for the recordings of the writing he had done inside the game. He had a transferring feature of the files linked to his 'Satisfy' account on the web platform with recordings taken from inside the game.

Opening the videos he took, he started to transfer the writing of the video back to a word format. He did this until the clock showed 01:10 AM, and he suddenly stopped, closing the laptop with a pleased expression.

"To think I could write 3 chapters inside the game. I edited them a bit, but they still need to be proofread when I get some time."

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With everything closed, and the capsule giving off some lights from the LED which were on standby, he walked to his small bedroom and with the alarm fixed to wake him up, he started sleeping, unperturbed by his noisy neighbours above him. (A/N: I almost wrote here LSD instead of LED)

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 16 - Sleeping Mechanics Patched
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Following a working day where nothing interesting happened, he moved according to an imprinted schedule where he would wake up at 6 AM and be at work at 7, then leaving at 15:00 PM.

Everything was well structured in his schedule.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened to him at the job, the hotel was still not in season, and it remained at half capacity, giving him an easier life when it came to cleaning the rooms.

Once home, he prepared some food while the laptop was trying not to die on his own accord.

"Come, buddy, it is not your time yet. You still got some years in you, so don't you dare to give me the blue screen." commented Mathias as he walked into the main room with some plates in hand, placing them on the table where the laptop was located.

Mathias moved with his plate at the small table at the laptop, and by habit, he first checked his emails that seemed to contain one notification.

<[New observation and updates]>

"Ehh, this mail is from S.A Group. Did something happen with the game?" pondered Mathias on an absurd thought.

<Dear Players, we are writing this to inform you that under the consideration of a vast majority of testing players, we changed the process of log out so that the avatars will also disappear in the process.

We observed that the safety of the players is jeopardized by the initial system by leaving the avatars exposed, in so affecting your playing experience.

This change proposal was agreed with the majority of the developers and chairman and has been introduced in the system mechanics.

Thank you for your understanding.

S.A Communication Team / [sent at: 4:20 AM]>

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"They really listen to their players? But what is up with this change? Isn't this, in a sense nerfing the game and the realistic aspect of it?" asked Mathias while considering the benefits and disadvantages of this change.

"Wait, but how would we be able to explain to the NPC's our absence? Isn't this unsighted from their side to not have this aspect fixed too?"

While eating he started to browse through the forums. He started looking for threads that discussed this topic and when he looked at the most popular thread, he saw the eye-catching caption "I solved the mystery of the change."

Glancing at that title, he was attracted by the idea of knowing first hand what happened and opening this page created from the moment of the mail arrival, at 4:30 AM.

It had the author of the thread who by now had his forum account boosted to the "Respected Community Member" rank, describing how he first reacted and solved the mystery of this system change with his friends.


< Listen, guys, I think I figured out what the devs did with the game. They only changed our mechanism of logging out that would make us disappear from the field of view of the NPC's. The logging out animation is similar to the one where we die, scattering around with light.

One of my friends moved back to Reinhardt with me and log out inside a tavern. Those NPC didn't overreact at all, like they usually do when we first started playing, cursing us and calling us all sorts of shitty names. (A/N: Reinhardt – is the capital of Eternal Kingdom)

Then when I asked one of those guys to describe what happened, he told me without much consideration that my friend returned to the underworld, the place for us 'cursed ones, ' meaning the resting place for the player.

Thank me later with some points after you get to see for yourself.>

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"So they introduced a concept to the NPC's system about the player's resting dimension. Probably is a similar place as the death waiting room. I guess this might solve some inconveniences even for me."

"It would have been awful to wake up from my hunting ground straight to the spawning location because I died. Or worse, lose an important item worth a fortune."

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Ending with his search and also eating, he stretched his body a bit before walking toward the capsule, starting the game.

The loading part remained the same, along with the warm, welcoming message, before turning the engines on him to direct him on the game itself.

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Subsequent to that, he had his eyes open and could see the same awakening like the ones from death.

'This part of the logging isn't half bad. I might get used to it.'

Then as all processes ended, he heard a scream all of a sudden coming from a woman.

"AHHH, a ghost has come to haunt me after reciting that spell! No, wait. It is just you, Mathias, but I thought you went out for a walk again."

He gazed around himself and could see Fayrene backed away, and lying down on the counter, he rested his avatar last night. Sensing the soft fabrics of the dress they worked on, he quickly jumped off the counter and explained to her.

"No, I haven't. It seems Goddess Rebbeca had something else in store for us 'cursed ones', making a dimension for us to linger there until waking up. Not disturbing the people of this world."

"It is this so? Phew, in the future, you better don't rest your body in weird places. You almost made me start sending my [Arcane Missiles]." expressed Fayrene, breathing at ease, getting closer to the counter and arranging the fabrics back.

Mathias just smiled awkwardly and turned his eyes on the game's timer, indicating the hour 18:34.

'It seems days have passed inside the game since last night. Sigh, she worked alone on this work?'

"Let me do the cleaning, Fayrene." said Mathias as he got to the counter and started arranging in order the fabrics he messed up.

She wanted to stop him, but he was shrewd and bypassed her hands that tried to push him away.

After he was done cleaning, he asked her with a calm tone. "Did you have something to eat since morning?"

Fayrene just gazed at Mathias as she moved her hands around her work, ignoring what she was asked. At that moment, Mathias walked to the kitchen and took some eggs from a shaded space she used to store food, along with some vegetables.

As if he was doing his cooking for himself, he started beating the eggs on a wooden bowl with a metal spoon, later moving to prepare the vegetables that he mixed in the egg mix.
The fire was heating up the room at the fireplace, and while Fayrene was focused on her work, Mathias started cooking an omelet.

Minutes later, he placed the omelet garnished with fresh green parsley on a plate and walked back to the workstation, saying to Fayrene.

"Fayrene, let's take a break. I made you something to eat."

"Immediately, just a bit more, I am starting the sewing process." responded Fayrene focused on her work, before Mathias shook his head, moving to put a stop to her work.

"This is what you said last time we worked. A break is good once in a while to relax a bit and take your mind off work. Believe me, the progress you will make in 10-20 minutes of continuous work on an empty stomach will not be compared to a well-relaxed mind.." explained Mathias after he placed his hand on her shoulder, saying close to her.

Fayrene sighed and slowly stopped her work. When she did that, her stomach released a sound, signaling that it was empty for a long time, making her face turn red from embarrassment.

Patting her shoulder, Mathias walked with her to the kitchen, presenting her his cooking.

.

"Hot, *blowing air*. Ahh, it almost burned my tongue. Still, delicious food Mathias. I never expected you to know how to cook food."

"Fortunately for me, I have a nagging mother who keeps reminding me that I have to learn to cook otherwise I will starve because girls nowadays can't even cook." said Mathias with a chuckle while looking at Fayrene, gazing at him as she was eating.

"She is wrong. Most girls learn to cook from a young age." replied Fayrene, a bit offended.

"Sadly not from where I am. Actually, I was shocked to taste your food because it reminds me of my moms." told Mathias with a smile on his face, in doing so, having Fayrene nod her head pleased by the compliment.

"Compared to my mother's food, my cooking is bland." confessed Fayrene with a warm voice.

"I see. I'm sure over time, your cooking skills will improve if you continue to work on them."
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After Fayrene finished eating Mathias's omelet, she started discussing with Mathias about the spells she began experimenting around.

She wanted to use a powerful form of [Arcane Missile], called [Arcane Orb], but she stumbled upon a block. She was losing control whenever she tried to accumulate power.

"This is what happens for about 3 days. Whenever I try to cast [Arcane Orb], my mana starts heating up, making me collapse the spell. What should I do?"

"Interesting. But, aren't you worrying too much? Look at me. I can't even cast a proper spell. I was about to make a joke of myself not too long trying to make that shovel. Meanwhile, you are doing fine, casting your spells in about one minute or less."

"This doesn't count. I have been studying arcane spells for one year. It is normal I cast those spells faster and have better control over the mana." explained Fayrene as she rested on her chair.

Mathias just shook his head and reminded Fayrene. "You remember what the Archmage wrote in the book? We can't hurry with this type of magic. If we take a wrong step, we will turn to ashes, and all of our progress will amount to nothing."

Hearing Mathias says that she touched her right arm and kept her silence was enough to tell Mathias that she understood what he alluded to.

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Then with their break over, they walked back to the workstation and started working on the dress, who slowly started getting life until night came knocking on their door.

Mathias, who assisted her from the side, started cleaning the workstation, giving Fayrene a well-deserved break.

When she went to sleep, Mathias was still active, starting to write on his story with a concentrated self. What he failed to notice because of his focused mind was that Fayrene went to walk to the kitchen, and in doing so, she saw for the first time this side of Mathias, who was writing like a possessed demon.

She stood there frozen in place when she exited her room, not knowing if she should move normally toward the kitchen.

'Is this really Mathias? What happened to him? His face is so serious. I have never seen him like this. It reminds me of the market incident.' thought Fayrene to herself before starting to walk on her tiptoes to not cause any disturbance.

'What time is it that he still writes? It should be 3 in the morning. Does he not sleep? Hah, he nags me about overworking when he is awake at this time? Well, he probably knows what he is doing.'

As she moved to the kitchen to drink some water, she later walked back to her room, going straight for her bed. Placing herself in a comfortable position, she tried to sleep but found trouble going asleep.

'Something is wrong with me. I can't sleep.'

Turning around in her bed, she kept doing this for about 40 minutes until she went to the dream space.

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Meanwhile, Mathias was still focused on writing until the clock showed 05:20 AM, the moment where he stopped suddenly, placing all the sheets of paper, inkwell, and quill pen back in his inventory.

Getting up from his chair, he walked outside of the building and took in the night scene of the district. The silent atmosphere was welcoming for Mathias, who walked into the courtyard and bringing Ragnius from his inventory. He began to train his spear attacks, drilling them like a diligent student.

.

As he began moving his spear, he checked his stats, and a smile appeared on his face, seeing that his HP finally overtook the MP that made him feel like a wizard.

'Status Window'

Name: Mathias : Class: Beginner
Level: 1(0/400) : Title: none
Health: 221/221/ Mana: 202/202
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Strength: 13 / Stamina: 14/ Agility: 7 / Intelligence: 25(+1)

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"Hmm, I should wear my new clothes since they give me some more INT stats that can boost my mana."

Saying that, he quickly put on the new clothes and boots and looked at his new INT stats and MP, which made him frown again, dissatisfied by how things turned out.

*Intelligence: 35(+1) / Mana: 222/222

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"This is annoying. No worries, after Fayrene advances with her dress, I will go outside of the city to look for monsters and wild beasts to hunt. For now, let's drill all of Corvus's moves into my body until I have them in my reflexes."

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Bringing Ragnius in his hand, he remembered the buffs he was getting from him and took a peek at his HP that grown with 5%, becoming 232.

With an eased mind, he started drilling the spear stances he learned, from [High Guard] to [Middle Guard] and [Low Guard], followed by attacking the air with [Piercing Rain], the three attack combo, flowing in rapid succession.

However, each use of the [Piercing Rain] attack consumed 40 MP that began to quickly take a toll on his mana resources.

Following this inability to use skills, he started drilling the basic attacks of the spear, [Thrust] and [Strike].

Then after three minutes of not casting any spell, he looked at his mana bar and saw that it was full again, which surprised him, making him contemplate on the rate of recovery for his MP.

"This was fast, I never bothered to check it, but this made me curious."

Saying that he activated [Raven's Movement] that boosted his movement speed, agility, and dodge rate, and started to move around the courtyard and unleashed his spear strikes, from [Piercing Rain] to [Sweep Thrust], consuming his MP immediately after just 30 seconds of drilling those skills.

The dark smoke that flowed around his feet like the raven's feathers stopped, along with himself.

He felt his breath shortening, accompanied by the notification that he was out of Stamina.

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With eyes placed on the mana bar, he waited 10 seconds and noticed that each 1 second, his MP began recovering 5 points at a time, propping him to calculate the formula for the MP recovery.

"For 5 points recovery speed, with the amount of intelligence I have and my level, should be something along this lines, my entire INT stats divided by 6 or 7 added with my level. If it is like this, it is really basic. However, the simplistic mechanics are the best in a game, no need for complicated formulas that even mathematicians can't calculate." (A/N: 36/(6+lvl) this is the formula for the MP recovery – 36 is the INT stat)
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Finding out the rate of his MP recovery, Mathias began to train the skills he had and also improve his control over the [Raven's Movement] that he found quit outstanding.

The flowing raven feathers coming off his feet was something that activated the childish side of himself, making him excited to see what else the [Raven's Movement] could do.

Then, with the coming of the sun, accompanied by the annoying cries of the roosters, he stabbed Ragnius on the ground and took got on the green field, laying on the ground, staring at the sun rising in the sky.

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Closing his eyes and welcoming the sun illuminating his face, he felt a shadow on his face, along with hearing her voice.

"You really are weird. Did you really stay up all night to train with the spear?"

"Thanks for the compliment. I am preparing myself for my journey outside of the city. I have an interesting location I want to reach, but I heard it is filled with monsters."

Fayrene, who stared at Mathias's face as he was closing his eyes, talking to her with a smile, inquired about his departure.

"When will you leave?"

"After you are half done with the dress, I will go around the forests and test myself against the wild beasts and the lurking monsters."

"Ohh, this is good. I thought you would leave when I just hit the hardest part of the tailoring process."

Hearing her voice filled with emotion, Mathias finally opened his green eyes and gazed at her quietly before saying to her.

"I might look like a bandit running from responsibilities, but trust me, when I start dancing, I finish my dance."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 17 - Caught by Thieves
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Finishing his first training session, Mathias went to the square fountain nearby to get a bucket full of water and use it to clean his body covered in sweat, after that, he went back to the shop.

Eating some freshly baked pastries made by Fayrene to fill his stomach, the two went back after eating to continue their work on the dress, which began to take shape like the sketches Fayrene has done.

Mathias observed and studied all of Fayrene's movements and actions like he was Neo downloading the Matrix, while at the same time assisting her with the equipment she needed, and at the same time starting to do the handwork himself.

Cutting the fabrics that she would later use for other projects and placing the thread on each of Fayrenes needles to ease her work. In this manner, she would be fully efficient with her movements while Mathias was beside her, feeling the process of making the dress so enjoyable compared to her making it alone.

"Mathias, I need another thread on the needle. Bring the purple thread, please." said Fayrene after taking a needle that had the wrong threat placed on it.

"Aye, mistress. I got them ready just for you." chuckled Mathias next to Fayrene while quickly moving to the tailoring table and picking a roll with purple-coloured thread that he later placed on the workstation.

Fayrene kept on sewing on the fabrics with delicate movements while Mathias was there assisting her with cleaning the chalk marks, straining the fabrics so she could cut them precisely, and so on.

He really enjoyed himself, doing all this work, especially when she would let him cut the fabrics and even try to sew the parts that didn't require much skill.

'Ohho, if I don't show off to my mom at Christmas when I come back home with those smooth sewing movements, I can't consider myself a bragger.'

'What else should I learn? I know cooking, I know how to wash clothes by hand, cleaning my place, so I don't get intoxicated by mushrooms and spores, and now with this new ability of sewing. I am complete! I reached my final form. Hah, easy, I start sounding edgy again.'
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Fayrene, who watched Mathias wide smile as he was sewing, also gave off a smile before giggling.

"Is something on my face?" asked Mathias, who was sewing some straps of the dress calmly.

"No, I just found funny how happy you seem to be able to sew. Remembering how pathetic you acted just 6 days ago, this is a large step forward."
"Ahem, you know, Fayrene, there is something from where I am called needlepoint tapestry where you can create drawings and pictures by sewing with different collared threads. It is like how an artist would draw on a canvas, only that with this form of art you would use the sewing techniques and a unique canvas."

"Really? There is such a thing? Do you think it could sell well with the people in the city?"

"You bet, Fayrene. Probably if we do that, we will be the first ones on the market. We could take commissions from people about what pieces they want, and we would start sewing the tapestry. What money you would make from creating clothes, doing tapestry would yield the same if not more until other competitors appear on the market."

"I don't know, Mathias, I don't even know what you are referring to. Can you try making an example for me, and maybe I might consider?"

Hearing her soft agreement, Mathias nodded his head and said to her calmly.

"However, while we might do the tapestry, don't forget your roots. Your clothes and ideas are dazzling and could make any wealthy lady jealous of your creations."

Fayrene blushed a bit, remaining quiet. Lucky for her, Mathias was focusing on sewing the fabrics at that moment.

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Mathias finished his work and left Fayrene to take over. Both worked until night approached, point where they stopped and prepared for another day.

Following this, Mathias took the opportunity to read a bit the Arcane Tome and pick up the basic spells mentioned by the Archmage, something that Fayrene had no complaints about, knowing that he wouldn't put her in danger.

Standing at her chair while she went to the bathroom to prepare herself for sleep, he began reading on the Archmage spells, starting with the [Arcane Missle].

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<Arcane Missle -

A spell formulated to guide and enhance your control over the mana while releasing a projectile conjured by mana.

The more control you have over your mana, the easier it will be for you to concentrate and release the projectile.

For you to utilize the spell, it requires you to have a complete understanding of the spell structure and formula. >

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<Arcane Intellect -

This spell porpoise is to strengthen and amplify your mana and intellect for a period of time, undefined, being something that is standardized by your Mana Core and intellect.

Compared to [Arcane Missle] or [Arcane Barrier], this spell requires more time to study and understand the spell structure and formula.>

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<Arcane Barrier>

This spell little apprentice, along with Arcane Missle, should be your closest friend while fighting against someone.

The fundamental usage of this spell could be said to be coming from my primordial ancestors who became the High Elves, and it is the lifeline of any arcanist.

For what use would be the attacking spells if your defense is similar to the newly bred Kobolds, creatures serving that Dragon Queen Tiamat. This is why you have to get used to this spell.

Learn and study the spell formula diligently, my distant apprentice.>

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The spells formula as they were shown in the book were, aside from being written in a foreign language that he or Fayrene understood, also contained a complicated activation formula that he had to understand to cast it.

Then, when he saw Fayrene get back in her sleeping clothes, he asked her while massaging his head.

"Fayrene, how did you manage to learn [Arcane Missle], [Arcane Intellect] and [Arcane Barrier]? I can barely make sense of these spell structures and arrangements, not to talk about the language I have to cast it."

Hearing Mathias, she coughed a bit while moving to the table and gazing at the spell he was reading and said with an awkward tone.

"I don't know how to explain to you how I learned those spells. I just read the incantation in my mind and then concentrate on my mana core and later cast the spell."

"Wait, what? This means you didn't even have to figure out this complicated diagram and how each node of the spell is positioned?" asked Mathias, feeling baffled by what Fayrene confessed, while turning his head at her, seeing her laugh awkwardly.

"Hey, haven't I told you I am not really capable of teaching you and that there are also many things I don't understand? Well, now you should know why I told you that."

"Then can you show me how you do the [Arcane Barrier]? Maybe I will get some inspiration." asked Mathias while staring right at Fayrene's face.

Fayrene pondered for a bit before nodding her head, agreeing with his request, and with a long breath and exhale, she turned serious from her awkwardly laughing state.

Mathias composed himself and gazed at Fayrene, whose face turned serene, and slowly he could feel some mana appearing around the room. Later, in one minute of silence, her body began to slowly emit a gentle white-purple light that started to deepen with each second she had her eyes closed.

It was when Fayrene opened her eyes that shined with a white-purple light around her body, an aura of white-purple enveloped her in a protecting sphere.

"I don't know if you understood what I did there. But in a sense, I try to focus on the incantation and cite it in my mind, and then guide my mana core to carry the power for the skill." explained Fayrene, while her body was inside a white-purple sphere, radiating with intense energy, a visual effect that made Mathias believe that these spells weren't regular.

"Sigh, I doubt I will be able to mimic that. My visual memory is only good for exterior images, not things going inside me. However, many thanks for showing me how the spell works. It means a lot in reassuring my commitment in trying to learn those spells at a faster rate."

"Mathias, no need to rush. I will let you read the tome for as long you wish. Just don't do something stupid like me that you will regret." rushed Fayrene to remind Mathias about the consequences of rushing himself with the arcane magic.

Nodding his head and thanking Fayrene for her patience, he let her sleep while he continued reading the arcane tome and finding many empty pages that had him pondering.

'How could this be? Empty pages, is there a mechanism for those pages to fill up? My INT stat is too small for me to read the blank pages? Or I don't have the right Mana Core for this?'

'Hah, that Archmage sure thought of many things to keep his magic existing after all this time. Who is he? He talks about some reset and not being able to escape into the Astral Dimension. That he is the only one of his kind to be alive. This information should be important for the later part of the game. Most likely. I am holding on a rope, but how long it is, I have no clue.'

'Parasites? Archangels? Archdemons? The parasites should be the Gods of this World, but why call them as such? There's even the humans who got scammed by the parasites, Gods in this case, triggering the second reset?'

'By the Lord, this is really complicated, so I will try to solve this puzzle when I reach at least half of their level and power.'


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Mathias put his worries and lingering thoughts at the back of his mind, and after he got enough of reading, he closed the tome and moved out of the room with the smoothest steps he could possibly walk around. Why? Because he didn't want to wake Fayrene, who was sleeping so gently in her simple bed.

She was at her weakest in those moments, even revealing her burnt right arm that was slighty covered by bandages

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Back at his quarters, he looked at the game timer showing 2:10 AM and felt that he had nothing better to do since he wrote the chapters for his story in his first session.

Once outside, he looked at the bright moon and walked to the courtyard, taking a seat on the green field.

"Should I try moving outside the city and try myself against some wild beasts? By normal standards, they are supposed to be active at night."

This thought stuck hard in his mind, making him unable to plan another schedule for this night. Moment where he finally got on his feet, changed himself in the [Cidarian Clothes] and [Saharan Hunting Boots] and began walking to the South Gate, relatively close to his district.

Getting off from his close neighbourhood, he could feel the stillness of the district sink in silence. It looked like only Mathias was the one strolling on the dark streets of Titan districts, but as he was approaching closer to the gate, he heard all of a sudden the sound of sprinting people close by.

This sound was getting closer and closer to him, having Mathias alerted, contemplating the next set of action.

'Don't tell me? Are they after me? Thieves? Isn't this too fast for me to encounter them? I am still weak and can't face strong NPC's. Let's hide for now.'

'[Raven's Movement]'

The moment Mathias sorted out his plan, he activated [Raven's Movement] and began running to another alley of the district, leaving in his path some shadowy raven's feathers to drop on the ground.

Mathias's speed was something that even he got shocked. He never imagined he could run so swiftly as if he was an Olympian, but it only lasted for one minute when his MP hit the bottom of his MP vessel since [Raven's Movement] consumed a considerable amount of MP for each second.

He peeked from where he was hiding under the cover of some wooden boxes, seeing minutes later some hooded people, amounting to 3, wearing only black.

They stood in place to where Mathias was standing not too long and said to each other.

"Why do I get the feeling we encountered Crow? But why would he choose to move off?"

"No idea, but if the one we saw really is Crow, we shouldn't follow up. The boss told us to keep our hands in the pockets when it comes to high profile people inside the periphery."

"Tsk, you are right. Let's move and search for another target since that bastard Michael seems to have taken another contract. Where was that one?" inquired one of the hooded guys, who pronounced the name 'Michael' with a hateful tone.

"I heard from other hunters in the city that he choose to go for the Fold Kingdom and fight some Mummy Lords."

"Damn, that desolate kingdom? Do they even got money to hire that bastard?"

"Probably not, but are profiting over that idiot."

As the third hooded person said that, they moved from their place, making Mathias exhale at ease.

Waiting some minutes more at his hiding spot, he exited from his hiding and resumed his path to the South Gate. Not encountering any obstacles in his way, he got to the tall gates made of solid stone blocks.

Staring around, barely seeing some guards in this night time, he moved to the gate to exit the city, but immediately he heard some guards yelling in his direction.

"Hey, you! Where do you think you going at this hour?"
Looking up at the gate, he could see 4 guards looking at him, with one of them yelling at him.

"I wish to hunt some wild beasts, is there any problem?"

"Arghh, you are one of those crazy guys. Do as you wish, but be warned, if you go to the forests at this hour, you will be met with all sort of lower races lurking there creating trouble for us city guards and the noble knights."

,

"I see. Thanks for telling me this, but you guys should view me and my other brethren who go outside as a welcoming thing. We are getting rid of the beasts giving you a hard life without asking for much. Don't you think I am right?"

The four guards looked at each other, and their faces seemed to shift in agreement with what Mathias just mentioned.

"Well, all we can do for you, young man, is to give our prayers and for you to not die too fast." said one guard, who moved back to his station, along with the other guards.

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Mathias, who settled the problem of the guards, started to move on the stone road leading outside of Titan, for which Mathias could see similarities with how the roman roads looked like. The difference between this road and the old roman stones that still kept their form was that this road was levelled so flat that you could walk barefooted on it and not feel any sharp stone digging into your flesh.

Soon, Mathias saw in the distance the forested zone that the road he was taking traversed, point where he moved in the direction of the forest, and suddenly stopped in place when he heard the shrieks of some boars.

Bringing Ragnius in his hand, he started to saunter inside the forest, and as he was doing that, he only commented with a 'YOLO' mentality, while around him, all sort of beastly sounds could be perceived.

"Here comes nothing. Let's see how fast I get killed by those beasts."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 18 - The Hunt has begun
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With a proper mindset adjusted, he entered the dark forest, fully equipped with all his gear. He stared at his stats and his attack power and could notice that thanks to Ragnius, it reached a great number.

His AP was sitting at 103-243, something that conferred him some confidence in his exploration, but at the same time preparing for the unexpected. (A/N: AP = attack power)

Each step he would take in the forest barely illuminated by the moon felt like he was sidestepping some land mines, each step full of tension.

The forest itself showed itself to Mathias's eyes, where he could spot the tall trees from fir, redwood, and pine trees, making him feel a dwarf in their presence and shadow. These trees looked larger than their real counterparts, signalling Mathias that this was still a fantasy world, and he should be aware of any dangers.

"This place is really creepy at night." remarked Mathias, feeling that his surroundings were constantly flooded by large trees.

Dark trees, or so they looked in his untrained eyes as he moved past them. The cries of the owls and other animals resounded in his ears, making him grasp on Ragnius' shaft even harder.

Getting deeper in the forest, from above him, there was a larger owl, far bigger than the lifelike owls, who began flying down toward Mathias like a silent assassin, preparing to strike his prey down.

Because of his silent dive, a mark of owls, Mathias couldn't even guess what was coming in his direction, and so the owl used its sharp talons to slash at his shoulders.
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[You have suffered an aerial attack and lost 25 HP]
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'Argh, from where did that attack come?' thought Mathias while composing himself, looking in the air and at the tree branches.

It was when he turned his eyes on one tree branch that he spotted a black owl that had fresh blood on its talons.

"You want to eat me, owl? Come attack me face on if you dare." said Mathias coldly while staring at that owl.

He only got an owl cry and not another response such as an attack.


"If this is how you like playing, you should mind your own things. Go hunt some rodents if you are hungry. I have other plans for tonight, and you are not in them." said Mathias before moving away from this location, worried that a legit predator would come after him because of the split blood.

While he turned his back on the owl, this predatory bird did what its instinct told him to hunt down the wounded prey.

Mathias, who still focused on that owl, heard the branch movement when the owl went in the air, and while strengthening his grip on Ragnius, he waited patiently for the right moment.

Some seconds later, he activated the skill [Raven's Moment], and when the owl was about to strike again, he dodged and followed with his own response, by triggering the [Piercing Rain] skill, in doing so consuming [40 MP] and also [5 MP] from the movement skill.

Using the motion of the skill, he unleashed the three rapid combo attacks on the owl that tried to slash at his flesh with the dagger-like talons. Mathias's patience proved its worth, and all the attacks landed on the owl that shrieked in pain.

[You have dealt 160 damage.]

[You have dealt 192 damage.]

[You have dealt 130 damage.]

Looking at the owl health gauge as it was shrieking, he could now see its level and the name [Divebeak Owl], indicating level 7 and with an Elite mark. The health gauge got to 70%, which made Mathias ponder how much HP did this bird actually had.

'This bird, don't tell me it has 1500 HP. I need to end it fast before other beasts show up to gang on me.'

Not giving the owl a chance to escape in the air, Mathias did a strike from [High Guard] and wounded the owl again, pinning it down on the ground, crying in pain.

[You have dealt 223 damage]

"That strike looked so clumsy. No wonder Corvus made fun of me for how I tried to fight back his attacks. Good that I roll decent attacks with Ragnius and that this beast doesn't have a fighting intellect. Otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to kill it with a normal weapon."

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The owl shrieked while on the floor, trying to get up and fly in the air, but whenever it would try to get on its feet, he would dash at it while activating [Raven's Movement].

Each second of this usage cost him 5 MP, but it matters less after checking his MP bar, showing a decent [157/222].

When his kick landed on the owl, pinning it down again, he saw how tiny his attack was actually without Ragnius, making him frown in embarrassment.
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[You have dealt 4 damage]
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"It's just a number, the CC of my kick is all that matters for now." said Mathias as he kicked the owl again in its large body while taunting it. "What is wrong, chicken, weren't you like a predator looking down on me in the air and daring to end me?" (A/N: CC = crowd control )

[You have dealt 3 damage]

Yet, the owl who kept trying to get on the air finally snapped and, with red eyes, used its talons while laying on the ground to slash at Mathias's leg, making him release a cry of pain.

[You have suffered 60 damage]

"Damn, this owl can get me to half HP in just two hits!" yelled out Mathias, barely restraining his cry of pain, so he wouldn't alert more beasts in the surrounding vicinity.

[Health: 136/221]

When the owl lashed at Mathias's leg and got on its feet, it didn't try to fly in the air. Instead, it moved toward Mathias with the head forward, prepared to pierce him with its sharp beak.

"Hah, you wish. Piercing Rain!"
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[You have dealt 120 damage.]

[You have dealt 190 damage.]

[You have dealt 94 damage.]


Suffering those strikes, the 'Divebeak Owl' still kept advancing in an 'Enraged' state, making Mathias panic a bit, thinking that he would die with this incoming attack.

"Fucker, you are at 15% HP. Just die already!"


Nevertheless, the 'Divebeak Owl' didn't even realize what he said and kept advancing while its body and feathers were covered in blood. Without even giving Mathias the chance to block the attack, it pierced his chest with the sharp beak, delivering such a pain that it rivaled the death process.

[You have suffered catastrophic damage and lost 130 HP]

At that moment, the system's alerts began turning themselves on, alerting Mathias that he only had 6 HP left.

"I can see it, so calm down already, you, system. I know what I am doing. Arghh, damn, this hurts so badly. These developers need to tone down the pain amplifier because it is really not fun, crying in agony and almost pissing from pain."

The owl, after it got away from Mathias, charged back at him while moving its wings to propel in the air for a bit and later descend at its hateful enemy that didn't even let it escape the first part of the fight.

Instead of panicking, Mathias looked at his MP bar and could see that he still had about 50 MP, just enough to deliver a skill to this resilient owl.

"It is time, abomination. This is your end. Piercing Rain!"

Saying that, he unleashed the three combo attack in the air, piercing with each attack the owl that released his final cry.

[Critical!]
[You have dealt 242 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 165 damage to the target.]
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 444 damage to the target.]

With the last strike of Ragnius, the owl had his chest pierced, splashing its blood on Mathias and other organs.

Using his hand to clean his bloodied face, he commented to himself while taking some deep breaths to calm his racing heart with a sarcastic tone when looking at his bloody clothes.

"Hah, this is quite the overkill."

Then, when the dead owl landed on the ground, it gradually turned into a grey light. Not long after, numerous notification windows popped up in front of Mathias's eyes.
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[You have killed the Elite monster 'Watcher Divebeak Owl' of the Empar Forest]

[500 silver coin has been acquired]

[10x Pristine Owl Feathers]

[An damaged sapphire has been acquired]

[5 pieces of sharp talons.]

[5,500 experience has been acquired.]

[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]

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"Hah, at least my hard work and pain got repaid fully by the loot and experience from this owl. I am already level 5. Let's get out of here before any other beast makes their way here."

As he said that, he walked in another part of the forest with hurried steps, while not too long since Mathias got away from the place he battled the 'Divebeak Owl' a Black Bear made its way to the place Mathias got pierced by the owl, right in the chest.

It began sniffing around and also opening its large mouth, revealing the sharp teeth under its arsenal. It started weirdly using its tongue to pick up Mathias's scent. Getting his scent, it began moving quickly after his back. (A/N: Sounds weird, yea, but besides sniffing hard, like he does cocaine, he uses his tongue to catch on Mathias blood)

Moments later, it released a roar that shook the branches of the trees and turned to move in the direction Mathias took.

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While this murderous beast took an interest in Mathias and was following his path, the person in question heard the beastly roar, yet his expression was still the same. Calm and collected, he looked at his Stat's Window that changed, giving him 40 Stat Points and freedom to do whatever he wanted with them.

Looking at his meager HP, he quickly began using his free hand to add the free points on the primary stats. With a fast left hand that added the stat points on the opened window, leaving one stat untouched, saying to himself with a contended tone. (A/N: I will add here a reference for how MC puts his stat points)

"Phew, I can fight that beast moving after me. I no longer have to be wary of any hits coming from those beasts."
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[Status Window]
Name: Mathias / Class: Beginner
Level: 5(240/2800) / Title :none
Health: 388/388 / Mana: 222/222

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Strength: 31 / Stamina: 24
Agility: 14 / Intelligence: 35(+1)
Stat Points: 0

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"Still, I should still hunt some beasts before fighting that roaring one. Some rodents or wild boars should do the job. I don't mind even the deers. Just not a predator."

Continuing his sprint while also keeping in check his 'Stamina' bar that was at half [56/100] after fighting that 'Divebeak Owl', he suddenly heard movements around himself before the galloping of a beast could be felt.

Soon, the shrieks of a pig enraged were ringing in Mathias's ears, who stepped back with a severe expression on.

'This is fast. Did I enter the territory of some pig herd?'

Then when Mathias saw the wild boar with the tag 'Bristling Boar - Lv. 7' that had bone spikes protruding from its hide, making this boar a first even for him.

The boar shrieked again, opening his mouth where his tusks created a disgusting sensation for Mathias.

Not giving the beast a chance to attack him, he unleashed [Piercing Rain], stabbing the boar three times in 2.5 seconds, with the respective [165 DMG], [226 DMG], [190 DMG], in doing so also enraging it more than it actually was.

With the health gauge at [75%] after being pierced by Ragnius, the boar didn't break his charge, and with his tusks and protruding bones, he tried to return the favour.

"You think I don't know what you want to do? Raven's Movement"

His feet started giving off shadowy feathers, and as the boar entered Mathias's range, using his spear to control the range, he moved from harm's way, leaving the boar alone in his beastly ram.

"[Piercing Rain]"
His body instantly moved to deliver the three combo attack at the boar's side covered in his bones, that were snapped once Ragnius hit them, however they still played an effect in blocking the skill

[Bristling Boar protruding bones absorbed half the power of your attacks]

[You have dealt 85 damage.]
[You have dealt 64 damage.]
[Critical] -> [ You have dealt 220 damage.]

"Tsk, to think those bones would serve as armour for this boar. No problem, I still got MP in me to fight. However, better to keep the skills on break for a while.

[Mana: 127/222]

Bellowing with a pained cry, the boar began hitting on the floor, point where Mathias' ears picked the galloping of other beasts coming in his direction.

"Fuck, he summoned his friends."

Without letting those beasts gang on him, Mathias rushed at the wounded boar while the Raven's Movement was activated, and using a basic spear trust, he stabbed it right where an open wound caused by [Piercing Rain] was located.

[Critical]

[You have dealt 280 damage.]

"Wait, did I find something new? This spear attack felt different from the rest. This one got more momentum under it. Don't tell me I am doing more damage if I target the opened wounds on the beast?"

Drawing Ragnius from the hide of the boar, he was met with the appearance of 3 other 'Bristiling Boars' that bellowed immediately when they saw their wounded mate.

Still calm in the face of those beasts, he unleashed another Piercing Rain that stabbed harder into the boar, with the average numbers that Ragnius gave him, [170], [127] and a critical hit that got into the beast [440], following the notification of its death.
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[You have killed the 'Bristling Boar' of the Empar Forest]
[You were witnessed by his species and will be hunted until your death by the respective species of boars]

[35 silver coins has been acquired]
[A ragged boar tusk has been acquired
[5x Boar Hide]
[650 experience has have been acquired.]

"Decent EXP for the hassle of killing those boars." said Mathias while spinning Ragnius in his hands after the boar he killed started turning gradually into a grey light scattering in the air, later shifting his focus on the upcoming 3 boars.

Those boars, when seeing the dead boar turning into light, growled in rage as they started dashing for Mathias with their large tasks, ready to pierce him.

Mathias looked left and right at the boars coming at him, and with eluding movements, he started taking the flanks of the boars.

As he got to their flanks, he started his onslaught, beginning with an [Thrust] attack going straight for the ribs of one boar.

[Critical]
[You have dealt 369 damage]
['Bleed' debuff has been induced to the target.]

"Bleed? That's the continuous damage to the target debuff? First time seeing it, but it should be this one." commented Mathias while he kept himself busy by getting out of the boar's range.

Then after he got away from the boar's range, he kept watching the health bar of the boar under 'Bleed' debuff and saw that it suffered [15 DMG] each second.

"Hoh, good stuff. I can really play dirty if I proc my debuffs all the time."

Like a matador, he kept dashing left and right while his spear was flying at the boars that were infuriated more by each second they couldn't hit Mathias, making him instead look like their archenemy.

Squealing loudly that it made Mathias look around himself for possible enemies lurking in the shadows, yet as he was doing his preventive check, he heard the sound of something flying at him.

Quickly turning his eyes, he saw a bone spike flying at him like it was a thrown javelin that instantly entered his chest, causing him to grunt in pain.

[You have suffered 100 damage.]

Looking at those boar's that were squealing so loudly, his eyes turned cold, and looking at his mana vessel that showed [84 MP], he moved quickly without using the [Raven's Movement] getting right at the center of the beasts, he called out the skill name [Sweeping Thrust] and followed by executing the skill assisted by the game system, making a fast sweep attack targeting their legs causing them to collapse on the dirt.

[You have dealt 149 damage to all three 'Bristiling Boars'.]

Then with a follow up of his skill, he moved to the direction he could attack all those boars, and grasping hard on Ragnius shaft, he unleashed the [Thrust] of the skill, impaling all three.

[Critical]
[You have dealt 496 damage to all 'Bristiling Boars' in your attack.]

The boars shrieked in pain and began moving about while Ragnius got them impaled, in doing so also shaking Mathias, who watched their health gauge slowly deplete.

However, in a moment of primal instinct, the boars released a loud grunt before all their bones started flying in Mathias's direction, taking him on lousy footing.

Seeing the bones flying in his direction, Mathias used Ragnius, and with all his strength, he jumped, tumbling along with the boars as the spearhead supported his jump.

[You have suffered 30 damage.]
[You have suffered 30 damage.]
[You have suffered 30 damage.]

Barely escaping with his life thanks to his ingenious and crazy plan of jumping over the skewered boars, he still suffered the impact of three bone spikes piercing his body.

"Hah, hah, crazy beasts. Can't you just die already?"

Saying that he has drawn Ragnius back, starting to make the last attacks to the boars, who were at 20% HP. With short spear slashes and thrusts, he could see those three boars turn in the gray light, scattering in the air, followed by the notifications of his victory.
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[You have killed the 'Bristling Boar' of the Empar Forest]
[You have killed the 'Bristling Boar' of the Empar Forest]
[You have killed the 'Bristling Boar' of the Empar Forest]
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[75 silver coins has been acquired]
[A good quality boar tusk has been acquired]
[15x Boar Pelt]
[1950 experience has been acquired.]
[You have acquired the item 'Boar Hunter's Cloak']
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[You have levelled up]

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Exhaling some deep breaths, Mathias stabbed Ragnius on the ground, holding himself on the spear, calming his tense heart.

"These boars are worse than that Owl. They even got some skills up their sleeves, yet I received less EXP from them, isn't the game too hard levelling wise?"

"Ahh, I should get moving if I don't want to be hunted by some herd of wild boars or another blasted beast." reflected Mathias, in his fight, before he drew back Ragnius from the ground and took off, walking in another direction of the forest.

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 19 - Raiding the Lone Dire Wolf
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After he took off from the zone, the boars were slaughtered, he opened his status window and began to put the free stat points into the stats he found lacking.
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Status Window
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Name: Mathias / Class: Beginner
Level: 6(100/3600) / Title: none
Health: 393/393 (+78) / Mana: 222/222
Strength: 35 / Stamina:28 / Agility:16 / Intelligence: 35(+1) / Stat Points: 0
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"Ohh, great. Did I just reach the perfect balance with my INT stats? Should I keep my stats balanced like this or keep my STR higher?" asked Mathias while moving around the dark forest with careful steps, using the cover of the tall trees to check out for any dangers.

"It depends on how the magic spells I will learn looks like. If they give me an advantage in fighting, I could try a consensus and balance physical attack with magic power." continued Mathias contemplating on his character path while also taking the chance to examine the new item he picked.

[Boar Hunter's Cloak]

Rating: Rare

Durability: 75/75 Defense: 10

* Masking your presence against boar species
* Cold resistance will increase by 2%

A cloak used by the hunters to mask their presence and get closer to the Boar species for hunting.

The wearer can feel warmth wearing the 'Hunter's Cloak' because of the resilient boar hide it was made from. You will not feel cold in the cold seasons while wearing the cloak. The leather is thick and stiff.

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"Does it mask my presence against the boars? This means that debuff I got on me after I killed that boar is negated while I wear this cloak?"

As soon as he asked that, he tried the cloak himself, and on the top of his status window where all buffs and debuffs were gathered, Mathias saw the one he referred to in question having a red X crossing the icon as if negating the effect.

"This means I could hunt more boars without fear of being ganked by an entire herd because of having an unnoticed presence?"

No longer asking himself that obvious question, he used his ears to guide him in this large forest and less his sight that was disrupted by the darkness of the night. Where he was in a deeper part of the forest, the moonlight was blocked by the tall trees, which seemed to create a prison around their range.

After walking for some minutes without encountering any beasts, he heard the sound of pigs seeming to call out in the distance.

Mathias moved like a hunter in the direction the pigs were calling out, and as he got closer, he saw a lone wolf attacking a herd of 6 boars, 'Bristling Boars' at one, who were covered in their bone thorns.

Keeping his distance, he stared at the wolf with the name 'Dire Wolf', which was an ELITE- Lv. 10 monster that was currently trying to use his sharp teeth to bite at the throat of a weaker boar.

However, whenever this lone wolf would try this, two boars of the herd that seemed to be the males came to the rescue of the weaker one, using their bone thorns to shoot at the wolf.

The wolf moved swiftly in another direction, evading the thrown bone spikes, and after that, he used his claws to dig into the flesh of the boar he got hold of.

Those beasts kept fighting, but mainly with the 'Dire Wolf' holding the advantage of power and size, yet he could see that it lost some health while fighting those boars, getting to [65% HP] while the boars fighting the attack of the wolf, were lower at 30-40% HP, entering their enrage phase.

'Calm, be calm and keep waiting. Once the wolf gets those boars at 20% or lower, I will spring into action and do a kill steal with [Sweep Thrust] following the hunt of the 'Dire Wolf'' thought Mathias, calming his heart that was beating fast, his body being influenced by his adrenaline rush.

'Without a doubt, the 'Dire Wolf' is one of the top predators of this place. Otherwise, I can't see how he can take on a herd of boars by himself.'

In another two minutes of waiting, keeping quiet while those beasts had their showdown and with the boars reaching 24% HP and the 'Dire Wolf' getting to a [58% HP], he left his hiding place, activated Raven's Movement, covering his footsteps in shadowy feathers as he was moving toward the 'Dire Wolf' and the 6 'Bristling Boars' Mathias didn't even get noticed by the boars who were in their enraged state fighting the wolf.

Only the wolf sensed Mathias's presence and howled. Before he killed the boar, he was initially focusing, and after that, he moved a bit away, getting away from the spearman.

'Tsk, this beast is decently smart.' thought Mathias when he failed to get the 'Dire Wolf' in his sweep range.

"I heard you guys wanted to hunt me down? Here I am before you. Let's see who hunts who! Sweeping Thrust!" called out Mathias when he got to the 5 boars who looked left and right for the wolf, only noticing Mathias when he unleashed his attack.
(E/N: Pretty arrogant for someone hiding in the dark, sneak attacking with an stealth item specifically made for boars, as their health is low and to top it of, their currently fighting something -_-)

Shrieking with all their power, they sensed the danger of Mathias's attack and started unleashing their bone thorns on him.

Yet, it was late because all of them dropped on the ground when Mathias lowered himself, attacking their legs with a spinning sweep.

[You have dealt 145 damage to the five 'Bristling Boars'.]

Ending the spin and getting quickly on his feet, he impaled 2 boars close by using the [Thrust] of the skill, which killed the beasts, turning them into grey light.
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[Critical]
[You have dealt 428 damage to the targets.]
.

[You have defeated one 'Bristling Boar' of the Empar Forest]
[You have defeated one 'Bristling Boar' of the Empar Forest]

.

Ignoring all the notification windows popping up in his eyes, he turned to the other three boars devoid of much HP, and using his fastest skill, [Piercing Rain], he began slaughtering the remaining boars, who turned to grey light without much resistance.

[You have defeated one 'Bristling Boar' of the Empar Forest]
[You have defeated one 'Bristling Boar' of the Empar Forest]
[You have defeated one 'Bristling Boar' of the Empar Forest]

.
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Then as he was taking a breath from all the attacks he unleashed in rapid succession, he heard the movement of the 'Dire Wolf' dashing at him and attacking with the intent to bite his limbs off, but with the effects of the Raven's Movement that boosted his agility and movement speed, it was just in time for him to block the predator.

Taking the [Middle Guard] stance, he used the blade and the higher part of Ragnius's shaft to defend against this fast attack.

Nevertheless, even after he blocked the 'Dire Wolf' attack, he was still pushed by his strength, suffering some damage along the way.
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[You have suffered 56 damage.]
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'This wolf strength is bigger than mine by a lot. Even after I blocked successfully, I suffered some damage.' thought Mathias looking at the grey wolf face that looked at him with predatory eyes, not showing any signs of fear.

As the wolf moved past him, after failing to wound Mathias, it began circling around him, checking on his weaknesses. Doing this, it constantly had Mathias on the back leg, with his mind going overclock to calculate and guess the sequence of attacks the wolf would do after seeing him fight the 'Bristling Boars'.

He used a [Low Guard] stance and calmed down, and after 5 seconds that the wolf began circling around, it gave Mathias a chance to refill his mana, but simultaneously the health gauge of the wolf started to fill up, faster than his MP was refilling.

"Ahh, isn't this like cheating? You want to wait to regenerate your strength? No way in hell, you'll see such saintly act from me." cried out Mathias when he figured out what the wolf's plan was, then starting to charge after the wolf.
(E/N: As if anyone expected you to wait,duh?)
The wolf immediately howled as if displeased with Mathias's sudden movement, and decided to move after him, showing his bloody teeth to his enemy.

"That's more like it, beast. Let's dance."

"Piercing Rain!"

When Mathias said that, he started doing a three-combo piercing attack that targeted the incoming wolf. Yet when it came to hitting the target, he saw a graceful movement of the wolf who dodged the first spear attack, then following another swift evasion, dodging the second attack.

At that moment, Mathias looked surprised at the wolf and then focused on the last attack that nailed the beast's body perfectly.


[Critical]
[You have dealt 228 damage to the target.]

'Bad roll on the damage. This beast has a lot of HP compared to the owl or boars.'

Then drawing his spear back, he saw the wolf look enraged and him, no longer choosing to fight, evading his strikes. Instead, it quickly dashed toward him.

After it got in his range, the wolf used his claws to slash at Mathias's body, successfully bypassing his guard.

[You have been hit by the 'Dire Wolf' 'Rend' skill and suffered 190 damage.]
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"AHHH! How did this attack bypass my guard?!"
(E:N: idk perhaps the skill "Rend", Einstein /s)
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Mathias let out a scream of pain, questioning himself and how the wolf's attack succeeded in damaging him. He suffered from a nasty attack, where his chest was opened up, starting to bleed at the claw wounds.

Then, sensing that Mathias was close to death, the wolf howled excited, and with his top speed, he began to encircle Mathias and start testing his guard.

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After 30 seconds of circling around Mathias and feinting attacks, the Dire Wolf dashed toward him and seemed to use the same attack, [Rend], but when the wolf got right in front of this aspirant spearman, the first thing he noticed was his cold green eyes and steady spear stance.

Roaring at Mathias, he unleashed the 'Rend' placing all its bestial strength into it.

.

Meanwhile, Mathias, who fought with the pain, was so pissed by how much pain he had to take in from a move that seemed like a bug that he only wanted to rip the flesh of this beast.

It was when he saw the 'Dire Wolf' try the same attack on him that he no longer tried to defend. Rather, he moved with a basic attack, thrusting the spear toward the legs of the wolf with the idea that it would disrupt his dash.

"You want to make the same bugged attack? Here let me see if you can reach me."

The wolf was taken by surprise, and the spear attack landed cleanly on the front right leg of the wolf, making him tumble on the ground, wailing in pain.

[You have dealt 175 damage to the target.]

Thenceforth, seeing the wolf fall as he had in mind, he drew Ragnius back and unleashed the [Piercing Rain] on the beast that was left open for attacks, dealing [227 DMG], [165 DMG] and respectively [106 DMG].

After those fast attacks pierced his body, the wolf howled madly in pain, and it started puffing his body, increasing his size by one time while using his claw to attack Mathias.

Getting away from the still struggling beast, he quickly checked his HP and MP and instantly felt the tension of fighting to a straw end type of battle.
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[Health: 143/393 / Mana:7/222 ]
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[Stamina: 24/100]
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"Hah, I have one more try at 'Raven's Movement' to dodge a grim moment that could endanger me." remarked Mathias, after checking how his status fared compared to his mental state.

It was the same, both his mental and character stats looked bad, strained from all this fight and intense, nerve-racking moments.

Mathias entered his [High Guard] and started to circle the enraged wolf, whose HP gauge was sitting at 18% HP and used the same dirty tactic the wolf initially tried on him.

Feinting with fast spears strikes that had the wolf flinch, a subconscious move of his body which started fearing the power Ragnius was holding in each of Mathias strikes.

Continuing the same strategy, Mathias saw an opening in the wolf and did a fast spear jab that stabbed a bit the wolf's skin and did half the damage the fully committed attacks would do.

[You have dealt 93 damage to the target.]

Yet, even this small attack was enough to take 1% of the Dire Wolf's health, which had Mathias increase the rhythm he kept the wolf in check.

[You have dealt 72 damage to the target.]

Another jab connected, piercing halfway the wolf's flesh that immediately reacted to strike Mathias back but missing him because of his defensive stance.

Hence Mathias maintained the strategy to a perfect momentum, always keeping himself busy, striking and feinting the Dire Wolf, until a red notification window popped in his vision, warning him of something he felt was a liability for a player, especially for someone like him who was fighting using basic attacks.

[Your stamina reached [10/100]. Once the stamina is depleted, your body functions will be disrupted!]

Then, he turned his gaze on the wolf's health that showed a 10% HP, point where he suddenly shifted his defensive stance, entering an attacking stance.

"The countdown has begun, beast. Let's see who collapses first, me because of my lacking stamina, or you? The last act of our dance has commenced! ROAR TO LIFE BEAST!" shouted Mathias, delivering a fast spear thrust that he fully committed.

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[Dire Wolf dodged your attack.]
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Still moving on instinct, the wolf dodged the first attack and rushed to end Mathias for good.

Not panicking, he unleashed another spear attack that grazed the beast's flesh, causing it just [37 DMG] but at this stage of the fight, all the attacks that connected, even if it was slightly, counted.

Nevertheless, the wolf also entered into a final stage, that he was throwing at Mathias with everything he had, but hardly connecting his attacks because of the way Mathias started using Ragnius to keep his range.

Howling, he moved, charging at Mathias, who began unleashing some spear jabs that slashed his flesh yet failing to connect fully.

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The things started to deviate from the plan when his Stamina started to drop low. When it reached [6/100], he felt his movements turning slower, feeling impaired, and that was a gap enough for the wolf to get to him and slash at his body using his claw.

[You have suffered 135 damage.]

The 'Dire Wolf' howled victoriously and turned to deliver the last blow to Mathias. The latter used his last second of 'Raven's Movements' and dodging the final attack of the wolf. He thrusted his spear with everything he had, not wanting to die and be eaten by the beast straight for the throat.

[Critical!]
[You have dealt 496 damage to the target.]

.

With that spear attack stabbing into the wolf's throat, Mathias saw the beast's health gauge turning to 2%, an amount that he could take using just a direct attack.

However, his archenemy, the stamina status, had another idea in mind, dropping after he unleashed that attack to [4/100], making him feel like he was nauseated, barely moving his body.

"Damned Stamina system, not now. I need to connect just once more strike!'

Barely standing on his feet, he felt the pressure of the wolf moving toward him with red eyes and with a grey fur that turned crimson from all the wounds it suffered from his relentless attacks.

"After all this pain I have to endure fighting this beast, I'll be damned if I lose against it. DIE BEAST!" shouted Mathias with all the energy he got, turning his body to strike the wolf down.

[Stamina: 1/100]

When he made that move, his stamina dropped to the absolute limit, making his movement slow, but this slow, steady move connected right on the forehead of the rushing wolf.

[You have dealt 180 damage to the target.]
(E/N: wasn't that kind of cliche? "Last point of stamina") (A/N: Shh, boy. This how you tell a story. When you start writing, you'll also drop in the same vicious circle of adding things that seem cliche)
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[You have defeated the 'Dire Wolf' of the Empam Forest]
[900 silver coin has been acquired]
[3x Dire Wolf Fangs]
[15x Tender Wolf Meat]
[You have acquired 'Direwolf Handler's Gauntlets']
[8,500 experience has been acquired.]
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[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]

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Basking in the flood of notification windows popping up, Mathias dropped on the floor, recalling Ragnius to his inventory, and along with blasting on how stupid the stamina system was, he started to check his status window.

"This stamina system is so badly implemented that I bet you can't even play solo to raid bosses because of this exact problem. My mind can keep up with the pace of the fight, but this blasted system doesn't coordinate with me."(E/N: Thats because you shouldn't solo raid....)

"Hah, maybe I should add a ticket in this regard. Or, wait, what if those will make it worse than it is now? I need to consider this."

However, as he was standing there recovering his stamina at a snail pace, adding more salt to Mathias's problems with the stamina, he heard the movement of a beast in the vicinity, approaching more and more his location.

"Fuck, I am really not in the position to escape or fight." added Mathias, with a long sigh, trying to get on his feet.
Yet before he could do something, he heard the roar of a bear resounding around him, followed by seeing the giant claws of the beast attacking him.

[You have suffered 260 damage]

Once he got hit, all his pain sensors got activated, sending him into yet another hellish experience.

Looking up with his eyes wide open, he saw the large bear who looked to be mutated, his appearance really out of the ordinary.

Still, the beast didn't offer Mathias any chance to study him, as it did the laying man another devastating hit that sent him down the nirvana path.

[You have suffered 360 damage.] -> [You are dead]

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Entering the dimension of the death, standing alone in this dark room quietly contemplating on what just happened now that he calmed himself.

"Did I record this hunt?"

Checking his options, he saw that he was still recording, causing him to nod and pat himself on the shoulder while saying.

"Good for me, now I will study that beast's appearance, and once I find it, I will butcher it. I still haven't checked if my items are still in my inventory. If I lose any of Fayrene's clothes that she intended to gift her brother, I will probably slaughter all the beasts to get to that bear and repay the debt." (A/N: Meme- I will find you, and I will kill you, kind of tone on Mathias)

Waiting for about one minute in this dark room, he finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel that began increasing, turning his vision blind to the incoming light, until he found himself again in his spawning location, the main square of the Saharan Empire's capital, Titan.

"Hoh, you look angry, man. Are you fine? Did you lose any item?" asked a player that also respawned, seeing Mathias's cold frowning face.

Ignoring the guy, he checked his inventory and could see that Ragnius, Fayrene's clothes were still on him, with the only piece missing being the rare cloak he got.


"Argh, I lost an item." thought Mathias out loud.

"What rarity was the item?" inquired the player, who was resting, seated on the fountains rock construct.
"It was a rare graded armour piece." replied Mathias, massaging his forehead to ease his situation.

"Fuck, sucks on you, man. Those drops are tough to get at the starting levels, especially armour pieces.

"Hah, whatever, it is just the beta stage. We can't do much about it." commented Mathias while calming his gaze as he looked at this unknown player with the name 'Red'.

"Indeed, I heard from a close friend who has connections with the developer's team that they will turn down their game to work more on certain elements of the game. They will let us just get a tease of the game, so we beta players don't hold a big advantage over the starting opening players."(E/N: not like jesus -kun "the beater" , yeah that's right I'm looking at you kirito)

"Fair, I guess. If I was a normal player at the live version and knew that the beta players hold much more information than them, doing some monopoly shenanigans with the starting players, I probably would be pissed. So, yes, a good approach for the developers. Yet, I still hope they work on that flawed stamina system of theirs in the meantime."

"Is there something wrong with the system? I think it is well developed."

Mathias looked at this person's face as if he asked the stupidest question possible, asking him back.

"You found the stamina system enjoyable? Don't you lack stamina when you fight lots of monsters?"

"No, not really. I usually team up with others at my level and start clearing the zones as a party. Why ask, is there a problem on your side?"(E/N: Thats how you should do it 'nods head')

"Nevermind."

'I think I was right on my first presumption. It is only my playstyle that is heavily restricted by this flawed system.' thought Mathias, confirming his earlier presumption he had after killing the wolf.

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 20 - Sapphire turned into a gold

Moving from the central square, finding some answers to his questions along the way from this 'Red' guy who was level 25 among the first top 10 players of this beta stage.

While walking on the streets that welcomed the brightness of the day, moving back toward Fayrene's shop, he was pondering on the information he got.

"So, the devs set the level limit for the beta stage to 25. This is why even after one week of playtime, those top guys all got stuck at level 25. They even foresee a shutdown of the server after one month, to do the last checks and in the summer release the live version."

The citizens of Titan looked at Mathias a bit weird when he moved past them while talking to himself, but he didn't care and kept moving alone.

"This means I shouldn't get so petty to fight my way to that bear who killed me and just relax a bit, learn to sew, maybe continue drilling the spear movements in my reflexes, and when the live version turns online, I can storm my way toward that bear."

"Sounds good, theoretically, but practically? What if I don't get the same quests, starting area and so on? That 'Red' guy told me that every player gets a random location of Saharan, meaning I could spawn in Typhon, Zievra, Chiritinas, Toulmont and other duchies of the empire or counties, heck even a small village couldn't be excluded from the spawning list. This is all random, not like how I thought at first."

"Sigh, if I really get unlucky in the live version to get into a far location of the empire, I will probably never have the chance to encounter Fayrene or the others, Gabrils, Corvus, Reids and especially the blacksmith boy."

Mathias' expression seemed saddened while thinking about how all the relations he built with these fascinating personalities would all turn to ash, yet he also understood that it wasn't the developers' fault.

They were only doing their job to test the game before releasing it to the greater masses, acquiring the help of beta players like him. However, there was still the lingering feeling that things wouldn't so bad for him after the beta stage ends.

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This state kept only for a bit more, breaking when he reached Fayrene's house, turning calmer and collected. He looked at the time and could see it was already 8:16 AM.

Entering inside the shop without using the key, since he knew Fayrene was awake at this time, he indeed saw her start spreading out her work materials on the tailoring table.

"You went outside again? Are you fine?" asked Fayrene, turning her head a bit to check on Mathias's face.
"I am fine. I went to the forest to hunt some wild beasts." mentioned Mathias, walking toward her with slow steps since his Stamina still had to recover, being only at [26/100].

Fayrene stopped all she was doing and asked him softly. "Did everything go according to plan? Didn't you rush going now for those dangerous beasts lurking at night? You should learn the basic arcane spells at least."

"I can't say that everything went according to plan since I got killed by a powerful beast. So for now, this should have calmed my desire to go outside and check the wilderness."

He then proceeded to tell her how he moved toward the forest, after almost bumping into dangerous thieves, which hand her react all of a sudden.

Mathias waited for her to calm down before he started to narrate to her how he got to the forest, the impressive scenery of the forest entrance illuminated by the moonlight, soothing her mind a bit before he began mentioning his encounters with the beats.

From the 'Divebeak Owl' that attacked him from the air, and the brutal manner he had the predator bird defeated, then going to the 'Bristling Boars' who had spikes of bones all over them and with some suspense telling her about his last encounter in the forest, the 'Dire Wolf' and the boars. (A/N: Roll the drums for the tension)

Not getting too lost in details, he told her he defeated the wolf, but when he was about to try to get out from the forest, the black bear ended him, sending him back to Titan.

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Fayrene's hands trembled a bit when hearing Mathias mention he died again, but she kept it to herself, and with a calm tone, she inquired, feeling Mathias changed a bit.

"You are sure everything is fine?"

Gazing at Fayrene's violet eyes, Mathias just gives her a wide smile, saying with an excited tone.

"Obviously, come let me show you what I got from my hunt. I even managed to get some money in the process."

Grabbing her hand, he walked to the counter and began spreading out all the items he gained from killing the beasts.

Slowly, he started revealing to Fayrene the giant black owl feathers, the [Pristine Owl Feathers], the [5 pieces of Sharp Talons], the [Ragged Boar Tusk], all the pieces of [Boar Hide] that began flooding the counter, numbering at 40 pieces, perfectly cut and treated, the damaged sapphire also made its appearance right in front of Fayrene's eyes.

She trembled next to Mathias while grabbing into his shirt as if she wanted to say something, but he kept putting more items on the counter.

What followed next was the 'Dire Wolf Fangs', the 'Tender Wolf meat', followed by the two gold coins.

Turning his head at her and giving her a large smile, he asked her, wanting to hear her confirmation.

"How is it for my first hunt outside? Everything I put on the counter is yours, Fayrene, especially the gold coin."

"You… Are you sure? Once I put it on my little pouch, they will stay there with me." reminded Fayrene, shocked by the amount of meat, pelts, tusks, and fangs Mathias managed to get.

"It is fine. This is nothing as long as it can help you." replied Mathias, patting on her soft shoulder while continuing by pointing at the meats he got that looked fresh.

"We should start smoking those meats or cure them in salt, so we don't miss on food. While the pelts from the Dire Wolf and Bristling Boars should be stored accurately. For the rest of the fangs and tusks, I have no idea what we could do with them. Any idea?"

Fayrene was still processing all the new things Mathias brought and wasn't focused on what he just mentioned. After being patted again on the shoulder, she shook her head as if waking up and only nodded her head like a little chick.

She took the gold coins rapidly and dashed off to her private room, making Mathias laugh out loud.

"She is so bound to gold that it looks like she is a dragon who found her lost treasure."

Looking at her back, he said to her. "Fayrene, easy, so you don't hit yourself. It is only two gold coins for the Lord's name."

"No, no, even the smallest bronze coin counts." replied Fayrene from her room.

'I think I can craft some ornamental daggers using those fangs, talons and tusks. If it was a rhino tusk, I could scam people, like the Chinese, telling how it can work as an aphrodisiac. Wait, it is worth a try. Still, there remains that sapphire. I have no clue what it is worth.' contemplated Mathias while tapping his fingers on the counter.

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After getting back to the front room, her face turned embarrassed when she got back to Mathias. "Ahem, let's forget that you saw me like that."

With a wide grin, Mathias just did an "OK" sign before he pointed again at the meats, tusks and sapphire.

"That sapphire, I don't know much about jewellery, but it should also have value if we take it to a specialist. Do you know any place where we can check?"

"There are some jewellery places in the trading district and the central district. Argh, I'll rather not walk to the central part of the city. It is full of idiots who view themselves above people on the periphery or outsiders."

"I see. Do you want to check it now?" asked Mathias while taking the sapphire in his hand that was the size of a smaller swallow egg that had a small crack on its left side.

"Sure, let's go. We will work on the dress once we are back."

With an enthusiastic reply, the two began journeying to the trading district, where the 'Grand Market' and many other shops were located.

In about 20 minutes, the two arrived in front of a jewellery shop guarded by a group of 3 guys, all looking tough in appearance.

Those guys stared intensely at Fayrene but didn't act on her, keeping to their guarding job.

Entering inside, Mathias was assaulted by the sight of many pieces of jewellery made from gold, ivory, gemstones and other premium things he only saw on TV. He barely kept his composure in this environment while Fayrene kept her silence, sometimes hearing her gulp her saliva.

"Fayrene, let's not embarrass ourselves. Okay?" said Mathias while whispering to Fayrene, reminding her to stay calm.

"I will try." whispered Fayrene back, timidly walking after him.

Once they began walking closer to the shop counter, they were welcomed by a middle-aged man wearing a monocle on his right eye and wearing stylish clothes for the medieval setting.

"Welcome to my humble shop. How can I help you? Is the gentleman looking for an engagement ring for this beautiful young lady?" ended the middle-aged man saying that with a smile on his clean, shaved face.

Waving his hand to deny such affirmation while Fayrene, who was following him from the back, got her cheeks turning rose, and the jeweller saw her expression change fully, humming a bit interested at this duo.

"Sir, I brought a gemstone for you to check. Maybe you are interested in buying it."

Ending that, he took the sapphire from his inventory and presented it to the specialist, whose expression changed, turning serious at the sight of this swallow egg size gemstone.

Taking a sight amplifying equipment, he began to inspect it with full professionalism. Still, while he was locking with this vision magnifying equipment that confused Fayrene, asking Mathias, who watched calmly what the jeweller was doing.

"What is that thing he put on his right eye?"

"It is something jewellers use to enhance their vision and see the crystalline structure of the gemstone."

"That is correct, young gentleman. This gemstone is called saphirus, or how the commoners call it sapphire. There is a small crack on the gemstone, but if it is polished, we can repair that damage. Royal blue colour sapphire with a 7 carat, quite the rare beauty, also of decent size." commented the jeweller as he took his amplifier off his eye, putting the monocle back on his nose.

Continuing to admire the gemstone, he then turned to gaze at Mathias, who looked calmly at him, not nervous at all, as if he was indifferent if he rejected him.

"So, you are looking to sell this?"

"Yes, how much can you offer me. Also, can you tell me the price of the sapphires?" inquired Mathias while placing more intonation on the 'price' word.

Getting a book from the corner of the counter, he opened it and showed it to Mathias, where many gemstones were listened to, with their prices depending on quality and color and a detailed description of them, which Mathias found intriguing.

Fayrene took a peek while those two were starting a showdown on how much money to get for the sapphire, but when she started to read in her clumsy manner out loud.
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<Sapphire of premium quality -> Colour 'Royal Blue' -> Natural Formed -> Impeccable crystal formation -> 10.000 gold>
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"How much is that gold? Ten thousand?" she started to ask herself while counting using her fingers the amount of gold one of the gemstones in the description matching a bit the one Mathias found.

Then when she realized how much money it was, she turned scared out of nowhere but kept her quiet, watching Mathias back.

"I see, so my gemstone value is about 1.700 gold from what your encyclopedia describes." mentioned Mathias after studying the book carefully on the sapphire section.

"About that amount, however, this is without taking into account the amount of work required to turn the sapphire into a presentable shape. I will offer you 1150 gold for this gemstone." placed the jeweller his offer on the table.

Mathias, hearing that, remained quiet for a while, looking sharply at the jeweller. He started to negotiate, climbing the price a bit. "Sir, 1400 gold, and we shake hands."

The jeweller tapped his finger on the counter, thinking of the proposal, and after one minute, he opened his mouth and said. "Let's go with 1200 gold kid. Remember, I have to do the most work to turn this sapphire around."

"Because of that, I wasn't a fool to raise my price too much. How does 1350 gold sound?"
Subsequently, waiting for the jeweller's response, who fiddled with the gemstone in his hand, it even fits well in his hand because of the egg shape. He nodded at last his head and gave Mathias his hand for the shake.

"We got a deal, young man." shook the middle-aged man Mathias's hand with a wide smile on his face.

Then after that, he turned his eyes on Fayrene, studying her for some seconds, and then turned to Mathias, saying to him with a merchant offer.

"Young gentleman, if you are interested in buying something for your lover, I can offer you jewels quite nice for the range of 400-1000 gold."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol.1 - Chapter 21 - Defeating the Syndicate Thugs
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Mathias, hearing the jeweler's insistence while they were shaking hands, looked a bit embarrassed, turning at Fayrene, who was gazing intently at him with slightly red cheeks.

"Show me what you got in that range. However, we are still only friends." said Mathias to the jeweler after he coughed a bit.

"Worry not, young man, after you gift her my jewels, she will be all over her heels with you. Trust me, this is how I got married."

"Not interested, sir." quickly added Mathias, not feeling like hearing a story of how this person got married.

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The jeweler walked to the storage room at the back of his shop, leaving Mathias and Fayrene alone, who kept their quiet, not talking to each other for some reason. Only after the middle-aged man got back holding an exquisite box filled with jewels, he called the two closer to inspect the jewels.

"This one is with items in that range, all made of pure gold, by yours truly." boosted the middle-aged jeweler while bowing a bit his head, revealing some noble-like etiquette.

Gazing at the man for a bit before checking the jewels, he then started taking them in his hand to admire the intricate craftsmanship of the jeweler, from bracelets to earrings, it contained all types of jewelry one woman would desire.

However, he felt awkward not letting Fayrene choose what she truly wanted from this bunch.

"Fayrene, come here, don't stare like that at me. I buy this necklace because I care for you, and I am thankful for everything you did for me."

Keeping her quiet, she walked to the counter and took the box to her. Distancing a bit from Mathias, she began to look at the jewels with big eyes.

"She likes you, boy. I can see it from how she moves and behaves around you." whispered the jeweler to Mathias, making the latter turn a bit red-faced.

"Are you sure?" whispered Mathias back, not believing in what the middle-aged man mentioned.

"Yes, young man. Whenever I would tease you two, she would respond the most to what I was saying. So congratulations, don't mess up your chances if you are alone."

"Sigh, I better have you not telling me this." sighed Mathias, remembering that this was only the beta version and that everything he did here would be reset.

There were some emotions that if he would invest too much, would all be nulled, denied. However, he still looked with a warm gaze at Fayrene as she was looking carefully, almost trembling hands at the jewels.

"She really is cute, young man. Where are you guys from, outside of Titan?"

"I am a cursed one, while she comes from the village of Cidarian." explained Mathias calmly to the jeweler, and continued explaining where the village was really located because the middle-aged man seemed to be oblivious.

"It is one of the distant villages under the Duchy of Grenhal. It sits in the middle part of the Gravelmark Heights and the main road leading to Titan from the Duchies Heart."

"Ohh, I think I got what you mean. I don't know where that one could be, but it probably is one of the rural villages you pass by going to Grenhal's Capital."

"I guess, never visited the place, but I sure wish I did."

.

As those two murmured, letting Fayrene in her own world, the young lady was in a pondering state, contemplating to herself while touching and looking at the jewels.

'Why would you do this? It is not like I saved your life that you are indebted to me. We are just friends, apprentices under the archmage who wrote the magic tome. Why?'

This was one big question, she was asking herself while silently looking at the jewels.

'Does he like me? No way, with that monstrous arm of mine, who would like me? Yet, he always acted so calm and gentle around me and even jumped to protect me from those bandits. He helped me without questioning me with my tailoring. He now even sold this gemstone for me to help me with my financial situation.'

Her heart was beating a bit faster, but she took some quick breaths to calm herself, maintaining her attention on the jewels at hand. It was when she stumbled on a petite necklace with a delicate gold pendant that seemed to have an opening mechanism that she took it in her hands, putting it around her neck to check if it was fitting.

'Ahhh, such gorgeous jewelry. Mom has something similar, but it is made of silver. She always holds the picture of father inside the pendant. Yet, father doesn't even know about that.'

'This one should be cheaper than the rest of the jewels here since it is smaller.'

Placing the jewel in her hand, Fayrene closed the jewel box and walked toward Mathias and the jeweler, saying with a calm voice, while her heart was beating rapidly.

"This is the simplest and probably the cheapest. If you really want to buy me jewelry, I am fine with this."

The middle-aged man took the necklace to see which one it was, and with a small smile, he said to Mathias. "You really are lucky, young man. I will give you this necklace at an offer since you seem to match well together, 650 gold coins, from the initial price of 850 gold."

Fayrene's expression instantly turned sad, and she moved her hand toward the jewelry box while thinking.

'How can this one cost 850 gold? Such a large sum of money!'

"Wait, young lady, don't hurry to search for something cheaper. This one has a small compartment in the pendant. You can store something dear to you." said the jeweler with a smile on his face to Fayrene, making her stop what she was thinking of doing.

.

"I heard from this young gentleman that he is one of those 'outsiders', from what birds have told me, they are often out in the wilderness fighting with beasts and monsters. This one is perfect for the young lady to keep her warm in the moments the gentleman is away."

"Ahem, sir, let's cut the flowery words. You can take 650 from the 1350 gold coins. I will take the necklace."

"Splendid, let me pack it for you and come with your money."

Once the jeweler returned to the storage room, leaving Fayrene and Mathias alone, she kept fiddling her fingers, only saying to him. "You really shouldn't have done that. It is a waste of money buying such expensive things."

"It is fine. You deserve it."

She kept quiet when Mathias said that, and once the middle-aged man brought a large bag full of coins and an ornate jewelry box holding the necklace, he suggested to Mathias with a grin.

"Won't you put the necklace on the lady's neck? Let me admire how my work enhances her face."

Hearing this suggestion, Mathias wanted to strangle this guy for talking too much nonsense, making his budding relation with Fayrene already too awkward. Yet, he still opened the box and took the necklace, turning to Fayrene and saying with a tone that contained some awkwardness.

"Will you let me put this necklace on you?"

She looked at Mathias' calm expression holding the golden necklace, ready to put it on her neck. She turned her body at him and raised her raven black hair, revealing her neck.

Then when he walked and brought his arms around Fayrene, he felt her increased breathing, while he too had his heart rate increase at that moment. Placing the necklace on her, he still needed to lock the necklace, and that was probably his most intense moment.

'Fuck, what is wrong with me? I am trembling as if this is my first time around women. Calm down, you dumbass.' thought Mathias, trying to calm himself, but visibly not effective since his hands were trembling a bit as he was trying to lock the necklace.

Fayrene, who was feeling his trembling while being at her back, also had her face reddened, saying to herself.

'Hurry already! Ahhh, this is too awkward. I never experienced such a thing in my entire life. Stop beating my little heart, don't give me away right now.'

After what seemed an eternity, Mathias finally locked the necklace, a point where Fayrene didn't even wait for Mathias to take the bag with gold, that she went out, hurried.

The jeweler chuckled while saying to himself, with a nostalgic tone. "Ahh, it is so nice being young. Just look at her, rushing out because she couldn't contain her embarrassment and happiness."

"Mister, can you please shut up?" asked Mathias while taking the bag of gold and placing it on his inventory, instantly checking the sum of money, which indicated 700 gold.

"Hahaha, worry not, kid. Also, good luck."

Snorting annoyed, he walked with his arms in his pocket, exiting the shop still frowning, he encountered the thugs surrounding Fayrene, saying to her with disdainful voices

"Peasant girl, didn't you by chance steal that necklace? Let us check it."

"N-no, my friend brought this necklace for me. I just got outside, waiting for him to finish his talks with the jeweler." said Fayrene, trying to walk back, a bit scared.

"Ohh, really. I don't buy your story. Don't worry. We will interrogate that peasant boy too."

When Mathias saw them trying to grab hold of Fayrene's necklace he gifted her, he brought Ragnius out and activating 'Raven's Movement' he got right in front of that thug and said coldly with grazing his throat skin.

"Piss off if you still want to live."

[You have dealt 210 damage and caused 'Bleed' debuff to the target.]

Getting away from Fayrene and from Ragnius's blade that created a small wound on his neck. Following that sudden attack from Mathias, the two thugs next shouted out enraged.

"You dare to attack us, you piece of shit? We'll kill you. No one insults or hurts one of us, Clark Gang! NO ONE!"

Then from his other direction, those two thugs took out their swords and moved to stab Mathias, scaring Fayrene even more into screaming Mathias's name.

"Mathias! Careful they have weapons!"

Mathias looked at those Lv. 15 thugs, and seeing their name turn red, signaling they become his enemies, he noticed the notification windows popping up, showing him a new quest appearing on the spot.

*******************************************

[Defeat the Bandits of Clark Gang]

Difficulty: B

The Bandits of Clark Gang are one of the groups who terrorize people and extort their money, while the knights and city guards do nothing to stop them. They think they have the right to control the Trading District and Wallmor District.

You encountered them trying to act their will upon Fayrene, and in the act of protection, you triggered their spineless actions.


Quest Clear Condition: Defeat the bandits as soon as possible

Rewards: [1] level + 150 Reputation in Saharan Empire & Leads toward the leadership of the Clark Gang -> Advancing the [Thieves and Bandits lurking in the shadow] questline.

Failure: [-5] levels & The chance of Fayrene being kidnapped or killed.

- [You can't reject the quest] –

*****************************************************
Briefly reading the quest, his eyes turned even colder when the failure of the quest could lead to Fayrene's mischief, and took some steps back, pushing Fayrene a bit back, saying to her.

"Don't worry, I will protect you."

'Let's put the free stat points, give myself a small boost.'
**********
Name: Mathias / Class: Beginner
Level: 8(300/5400) / Title: none
Health: 708/708 / Mana: 254/254

Strength: 40 / Stamina:34 / Agility:20 / Intelligence: 40(+12) / Stat Points: 0
***********
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Spinning Ragnius quickly, he entered [High Guard], raising the spear and later thrusting at the thug, moving with the fastest speed ready to strike him down.

The thug tried to block the strike, but it was apparent that swords had no chance to fight a fair fight against the spear, and the was shown by how Ragnius bypassed what guard the thug tried to put when seeing the fast spear.

[You have dealt 165 to the target.]

After that attack connected, he drew Ragnius while cutting more flesh off the thug with the hooks of the second and third blade, which also caused damage.

[You caused slashing damage to the target, dealing 106 and 120 damage]

This type of attack was the first time he experimented with the secondary blades of Ragnius, him only using the primary blade.

Looking left and right alert, he activated [Raven's Movement] with had the bandits when seeing him do this scared, saying while roaring.

"YOU ARE ONE OF CROWS MEN! IF SO, HOW DARE YOU ATTACK US?!"

Mathias didn't stop to respond to this thug. Instead, he used [Piercing Rain] to unleash all his potential on those thugs that were higher level than him.

[You have dealt 220 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 145 damage to the target.]
[You have dealt 127 damage to the target.]

'Tsk, no debuffs from the piercing attacks. Those guys also seem to be close with the 'Dire Wolf' health-wise. It will be hard to kill them, but I need to get rid of them as fast as possible, so there are no reinforcements.'

Ending the skill combo, he began unleashing basic attacks that started to raining faster on the thugs that started to use their swords to block this storm of spear thrusts.

As the fight continued, even the thug that had his throat grazed by him and suffered the 'Bleeding' debuff joined the fight with rage in his eyes.

"Damned bastard! Fight us fairly if you dare! You keep fighting like a bitch from a distance. Aren't you, though? Come at us at a fair range."

When hearing that comment, he scoffed at them, and after activating [Raven's Movement] for a brief moment, he dashed toward them, right in their sword range, making those 3 thugs laugh arrogantly.
"He bite the bait! End him, guys!"
Yet Mathias had something better for them, and while taking a quick lower stance, he attacked them with [Sweep Thrust] targeting their knees, making them drop on their knees, and along the way, moving to target the weakest thug with [Thrust], who had his throat wounded a bit.
"WATCH OUT! THE BASTARD IS TARGETTING YOU!"
"Too late." remarked Mathias with a cold tone, while he pierced with full momentum the throat of the thug, making him drop on the ground motionless, void of any life signs.
[You have defeated a low thug of Clark Gang! Kill the rest of the thugs who saw you kill their comrades otherwise you will incur the wrath of the gang.]
[1 gold has been acquired.]
['Rusty Saharan Sword' has been acquired.]
[2500 experience has been acquired.]


'Wait, what? This thug is level 15. How come he gave me less EXP than the 'Dire Wolf' or even the 'Giant Owl'? This means that even the game recognizes them as trash, worthless.'

"AGRHH, BASTARD! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

Turning his cold gaze at the two thugs rushing toward him after getting up from the [Sweep] attack, they were met by Mathias unleashing another [Piercing Rain] that had them stop in place, not daring to enter his range.

[You have dealt 213 damage to the target.]

Only one of the three attacks connected before they backed away, glaring at him, while blood was spewing from the wounds Mathias created.

The thugs looked at one another and said something between one another, yet they quickly split after Mathias thrusted his spear, not giving them any chance to rest or scheme on him.

Nevertheless, this is precisely what they did in that short spare time, now dashing toward Fayrene with crazed eyes.

"If we can't get to you, we will have you surrender willingly after we get your lover! Just you wait."

"Trash!" swore Mathias, quickly activating the movement buff again, rushing to stop them from harming Fayrene.

.

Fayrene managed to calm herself a bit after seeing Mathias win against the thugs. Looking with big eyes at how smooth his spear movements were and the ability that unleashed shadowy feathers from his feet, she extended her arms toward the thugs readying her spells.

' I will not be a weakness. [Arcane Barrier]' thought Fayrene to herself, managing to shield herself right at the moment the thugs got to her and tried to get her.

Their sword slashed on the [Arcane Barrier], unbalancing and pushing her some steps back, but aside from that, she was safe.

"What??? What is this? This slut is a mage? NO WAY?!" said one of the thugs with shocked eyes, not believing what Fayrene managed to pull.
However, he was woken by Mathias' cold voice, who said with a disdainful tone. "She is far stronger than anyone of you. She only needs to be confident in herself and be prepared at all times. Die! [Piercing Rain]"

Unleashing the three combo attacks that moved faster than all attacks he did so far, thanks to Ragnius buff, he added to his attack speed whenever he would connect his strikes with enemies.

Pushing him on his back, and wounding the thug's hand, dropping his sword, he finished the thug too, using a basic attack that pierced the thug's heart.

Ignoring all the notifications he received about the death of the thug, he dashed toward the last thug, who tried to escape like a fleeing rat, abandoning his dead comrades. Still, as he began running, Fayrene, who stabilized herself, began concentrating, and while extending her arm, the mana began gathering in her right arm.

'No, you will not escape here and start making Mathias's life hard.'

"[Arcane Missile]"

From her hand, a purple-white shaped arrow started flying toward the back of the fleeing thug, later piercing him in his back, then falling on the ground, screaming in pain and anguish.

The thug felt Mathias' presence getting closer and closer, to the point where he started pleading for his life! "Master!! SPARE ME! I WAS A FOOL TO DISTURB THE LADY!"

From where he was, the thug heard Mathias's cold voice, saying. "Indeed, you are a fool. But this changes nothing."

As he said that, he pierced Ragnius on the heart of the thug, killing him, turning to grey light scattering in the air.

[You have defeated one thug of the Glark Gang.]
[1 gold coins have been acquired.]
['Rusty Saharan Sword' has been acquired.]
[The map of the Glark Gang hideout.]
[3,000 experience has been acquired.]
.
[Your level has risen.]
.
[You have finished one team of the Glark Gang and stopped the spread of the news about you killing one of them. By killing the thugs of the Glark Gang, you have cleared the quest 'Defeat the Bandits of Clark Gang']
[You have earned the rewards of the quest.]
.
[Your level has risen.]
.
'Ohh, two levels already. Quite dangerous quests, but the rewards compensate for the high risk. Hmph, stupid system, stop adding Fayrene in my quests. I hate it when someone close to me is threatened.'
****
[Ding!] [Having the map of Glark Gang hideout, you can proceed in advancing the questline 'Thieves and Bandits lurking in the shadow']

[Enter Glark Gang hideout and put an end to their ploy]

Difficulty: B

Seeing first hand the cowardly acts of the Glark Gang, one of the gangs of Saharan's underworld, you put an end to just a small team of them.
However, their numbers are significant, and their influence spreads in the entire Trading District and Wallmor District, extorting people, asking protection fees, and creating a chaotic environment for the citizens of the periphery. Your challenge will not be easy.

Quest Clear Condition: Destroy the hideouts and put an end to any bandit you deem guilty.

[Your choices will affect the questline]

Reward: [2] levels + 1500 Reputation in Saharan Empire & The Hideout belongings
Failure: [-5] levels & The possibility of your action being linked with Fayrene existence and endangering her.
-Will you accept the quest? [Yes/No]
*************
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'Fucker, can't you listen to my thoughts? STOP PUTTING FAYRENE INTO MY PROBLEMS! She just mentioned her hardships to me and never hopped for me to fight those bastards. Where is her fault for my actions?! Stupid administrator AI can't you hear my thoughts?'
"Hah" "You know what? I will not endanger her. [NO]"
[Are you sure you want to deny the quest?] -> [Will you accept the quest? 'Yes/No']
Mathias frowned hard, and pressed on the 'No' button, declined the quest, a moment where the same question was asked again. Where he gripped the shaft of Ragnius hard that it looked like his palm would start bleeding.
'NO'
After he pressed again 'No' on the interface, there were no longer any quests appearing in his mind. However, the quest items he received were still in his inventory, not disappearing.
'I'll rather do my things alone without putting anyone at risk. The initial quest will only affect me and only me. So stop risking the lives of innocent people, you stupid administrator.'
.
Taking off from where he was, he noticed some people looking with big eyes at him. They seemed to wear adventurer clothes, while others had the rags of beginners.
Not bothering with them, he still heard them talking, saying not believing what they saw.
"Bro, did you see that guy with the spear? His name is white, meaning he is a player."
"Yes, crazy skills with the spear, he even managed to wipe those thugs of the city by himself. We probably would be dead if we tried to fight them, and heck, I am level 17."
.
It was at that point Mathias distanced himself from the players, getting toward Fayrene, who was sweating hard from the tension she had to take in this fight.
Yet they continued, by saying to one another. " I managed to record the fight. I might do some editing to remove the guy's name and upload it on the forums. It will for sure get upvoted, reaching the top of forums feeds."
"Why remove the name?" asked another player, pondering on why his friend would do that.
"I don't want to get sued or have the video taken down if that guy finds out he is on the forum without his consensus."
"Smart, you can also make some money that way."
"Exactly."
.
.
Outside of his interest, Mathias heard Fayrene ask with worry in her voice, after canceling her [Arcane Barrier]
"Did those thugs harm you with their swords?"
Gazing at her, he moved to clean her face of sweat before he said calmly. "Such people can't even fight against Ragnius and me even if they look though."
Blushing a bit, seeing him clean her face and also caressing her face a bit, she moved a bit shyly back and said, trying her best to sound calm. "We should get home. Otherwise, those thugs will see that something happened to those three."
"Indeed."
Nodding her head softly, Fayrene got closer to Mathias and made him sign to get his head lower. Compiling since he had nothing better to do, he felt something soft and warm on his cheek, touching him softly.
"Thank you for the necklace."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 22 - Gabrils in a precarious state
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Still maintaining his emotions in check after being kissed by Fayrene, Mathias continued his day inside the game, helping Fayrene along until it was night and they had to go to sleep, Mathias included.

Standing in the front of the main room, he exited the game with a serene expression and vanished from the room, leaving only Fayrene, who sensed that Mathias disappeared from the house.

She raised her knees and hugged them, unable to sleep.

.

Meanwhile, Mathias got out of the capsule and stretched his slightly numb body.

The room was already dark, but like a vampire, he moved toward the laptop table, taking his phone that showed 11:25 PM. He then proceeded to awake his sleeping laptop, which slowly roared to life.

"Today, I didn't write anything, hah. I got drawn in the game and fought those monsters. Getting to level 10 in one day, I guess it is possible if you try hard and kill risky mobs. It is fine. It is not like I got contracted by that publishing website, so I can be flexible with my releases."

As the laptop was heating up, readying itself to operate at normal parameters, he moved toward the kitchen and took 3 eggs from his fridge along with a packaged small box with cheese.

Placing the eggs in the kettle, he filled it with water and boiled them for about 6 minutes before he took them away. He waited for about 2 minutes, leaving them in the still hot water before taking them away in a separate bowl next, pouring them cold water, cutting the cooking process.

Seated at the small table, with some slices of bread and his cheese box, he began peeling the egg and cutting them into halves.

He started eating, and after 10 minutes, he was done, leaving only half of the cheese in the box, moving to put it back in the fridge.

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Mathias moved to the laptop that had the browser open, and after checking his emails, he checked his works, rereading it to verify any mistakes, and with a big yawn, he entered the platform where he was publishing his story.

Copying the contents of one chapter, he did a skimp of the chapter to not by chance make any big mistakes and published them online.
Not even two minutes have passed since he did that, and already two guys commented on the chapter with 'First' respectively 'Second'.

Shaking his head while chuckling a bit, he said to himself. "This new arc might be a bit too gory for you guys, but it can't be helped. The Nika Revolt was just a massacre of plebs. Poor Belisarius to be named Plebius Maximus, that title must be stinging even after 1500 years. Still, what I set up might put even Procopius to shame."

After that, he closed the website he was publishing his story, no longer caring about what others might say or bitch about, and moved out to read some wikis about historical figures, almost feeling like a boomer.

Yawning again, he laid back on his chair and pondered a bit on what happened to him.

"It feels like I have more free time? No longer having to spend hours in front of the laptop writing my story like I usually did, leaves me with about 1-2 hours of free time before I go to sleep."

"I should start shifting up my schedule. Hmm, should I start training out again? But going to the gym wouldn't really help that much. Should I join an MMA club? Kind of hard, managing everything. Going to work in the morning, then possibly going to the club and later playing around and also writing at the same time?"

Like this, he was contemplating his choices for a bit, but he abandoned that thought and decided to train out at home to tone his body since he lazed around quite a bit, gaining some weight in the process.

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He spent his time watching some documentaries, then when it was time to go to sleep, he closed the laptop and went to take a chilly shower. In the shower, as he was cleaning his body, he remembered the soft sensation of Fayrene's kiss.

"Hah, it felt so real, like it was coming straight from my ex-girlfriend. These developers want to turn the new generation of kids into those bums who only stay in the house. How were they called "hikikomori'' or some jap terminology? Ahh, wait, that's the term for reclusive kids."

"Whatever, I have no time to worry about such stuff. None of my business. Those developers also need to eat bread by selling a good product."

Getting out of the shower with a refreshed mind, he walked to drink some water, set up his alarm before going straight to the bed.

The silence of his apartment still felt new for him, and he entered the dream realm faster than usual.
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Sleeping his usual sleeping hour, he rose and started his monotone life of a working young man, who was like an ant working along with the other ants to turn the cogwheels of society that was the giant anthill.

Like this, one week passed in his life where he would usually start his morning by going to work and later end his day posting what he worked on inside the game for his story.

Between the hours when he was home, he would begin by connecting to the game and playing a bit before exiting to stretch his body and start working out, keeping his body in shape. He didn't lack activity even in the hotel, but working on the job, cleaning, and carrying luggage was a thing, and working specific muscles were totally different.

While in the game, he started to see with naked eyes the advances the dress he worked so tirelessly with Fayrene. It was astonishing, simply as that.

He couldn't believe that he even contributed to the work and actually doing the minor sewing details by himself.

It has already been one month inside the game, and he got used to Titan's atmosphere and the nightlife itself.

When the one-month mark appeared, the notification windows popped up from nowhere while he was eating with Fayrene, reminding him of Gabrils quest, which required him to return to 'Light's Cathedral' and see what the Paladin required him to do.

**************************

[Meet Gabrils again]
Difficulty: B
Paladin Gabrils asks for you to meet him after one month so he could task you with something still unknown.

Quest Clear Conditions: Meet Gabrils after one month of time
Quest Rewards: ???
Quest Failure: ???

****************************

"Something on your mind Mathias?" asked Fayrene gazing at him at the table on the opposite side.

"Did you by chance start reading my mind already?" returned the favor Mathias while chuckling a bit, taking a spoon of porridge with boar meat that tastes similar to hunted meats, especially now being smoked by his truly.

Gazing with her warm violet eyes at his face, she giggled, reminding him. "My head would grow too big if I would start reading your mind, so no thanks."

"Ohh, really? You don't know what you miss. There was also a secret I held there, a big one."

This reply made Fayrene tap her finger on the table while looking at him with a warm smile, she told him with a bold tone.

"Well, aren't you inviting me to take a peek? There is a spell in the tome about reading minds, so I might quickly go learn it and see for myself what are you hiding from me."

"Heh, good luck. I will not block you. Who knows, it might excuse me for teaching you all those boring subjects." said Mathias while winking, which made Fayrene blush a bit.

"They aren't that bad, mathematics. I still have to practice multiplying and dividing the way you taught me. Also, when will you give me that book of 'Art of Negotiations' and the other ones you talked about? I want to learn more. I don't just want to be the peasant girl from Cidarian who is only good at sewing clothes and barely knows some magic spells."

Looking at her calmly, as she said that with a determined expression, he finished his last spoons and said to her while making a tired expression.

"If I would start writing those books for you, wouldn't you cry to me that I don't help you with the clothes? 'Wahh, Mathias please help me! Mathias, give me the ruler and chalk. Mathias, hold the clothes' and many other demands. It has been one month since we met each other, but you are still the same demanding girl."

Fayrene teased a bit, saying with a low voice. "You sound as if you hate it."

"Ohh, none at all. I had a blast helping you and learning how to sew. I no longer have to worry about having ripped socks or underwear, with the grace of the Great Tailoress and Future Grand Arcanist Fayrene." started Mathias laughing warmly, making Fayrene a bit embarrassed, but nonetheless also joining in laughing gently.

"Hey, this is all I taught you? Sew socks and underwear?"

"Hmm, I guess there is a difference between fancy clothes and socks. I retract my remark."

"That is right. Now chop-chop, don't make Sir Gabrils wait. Also, you shouldn't worry about the dress, since I probably would finish it in 4-5 days. We also have sufficient money for another project that requires expensive materials."

Mathias quickly got up from where he was and started laughing while saying that he was preparing to leave.

"Take a break, maybe we do the tapestry work next, so no more "Mathias, help!" I'll be off." ended the young man while giving Fayrene a warm smile as he was saying those things.

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Fayrene nodded her seeing him off from the kitchen. After that, she quickly put her left hand on her chest, trying to calm down her beating heart.

"What is wrong with me? Don't tell me I started feeling something for him? But it's only been three months since we've known each other. Does he even feel the same for me? Ahhhh, what should I do?"

.

Outside of Fayrene's house, Mathias began moving toward 'Light's Cathedral', his second visit to this large Cathedral since the beta stage started.

Getting there, he encountered some players who looked at him with big eyes and pointed at him, whispering something between one another.

'What is their problem now? Is something on my face? I've been working out only one week, so there shouldn't be anything wrong with me. Hah, whatever.'

Moving casually toward the Cathedral, he started climbing the stairs, and when getting to the mound the building was built, he was met by many players pleading with some priests.

"Please, priest, let me join Rebecca Church. I also want to serve the Goddess."

"We received the maximum number of applications that the Archbishop allowed for the Cathedral. We can't do anything in this regard." said one priest to the players who wanted to join the church.

Those players kept pleading, making Mathias look strangely at them.

He began moving toward the church, but before doing anything else, he offered a deep bow towards Goddess Rebecca statue, which remained unchanged. After that, he began walking toward the gathering of players, but standing distanced, and when he got closer, one priest told him, with some annoyance in his tone.

"If you are here to join the church, don't bother."

"You are mistaken. I am here to find Gabrils. Did he come safely from the mission he was sent to in Toulmount Duchy to fight the Lich?"

"Lord Gabrils? Kid, who are you to know about Lord Gabrils?"

"I am a friend. Here, he even gave me his seal." said Mathias while giving the golden seal to the priest, who began checking it carefully and taking a seal of his own which was closely similar but shining with dimmer light.

"Are you by chance called Mathias?" asked the priest while looking at the seal.

"Indeed, it is I. So can you tell me where Gabrils is?"

Hearing that question, the priest sighed, and with a sad expression, he told Mathias. "He is healing at his residence at the lower grounds. His mission wasn't as the young Duchess has explained in her letters, and Lord Gabrils had to fight alone against a Higher Lich."

Mathias' expression soured a bit as he asked the priest. "Is he heavily wounded?"

"Sigh, just go to his residence, and you will find out. Now, if you would excuse me, I have to settle down with those people that keep annoying us."

Getting his seal back, Mathias nodded his head at the priest and gazed at the players who were adamant about joining the Church. However, as he was moving out of the mound, some players who retreated noticed Mathias and started talking with one another.

"This guy, doesn't he look close to the one who fought those high-level thugs on his own and even killed them?"

"Yes, now if I look closely, it seems to be close to the trending video. However, he is irrelevant. I just watched the video because of that beauty at his back. Hah, he even got a kiss on his cheeks, lucky him. Have you found who that NPC girl is?"

"No idea. Anyway, let's start pleading again. There has to be a chance for us too. I heard that Rebecca Church is the strongest sect in the game along with Yatan Church."

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Mathias didn't pick on the conversation those players had. Instead climbed down the mound and moved toward the shacks at the back of the mound, and as he got closer to them, he heard the voice of a middle-aged man, cursing out loud, before an old man's voice resounded.

"Curses, old Julius, can't you do this quicker? This pain is too much even for me. Those blasted Yatan Followers are such a pain in the ass."

"Shut up, little shit, can't you see what shape you got? How are you even alive?"

"By the grace of the goddess, I am still breathing. ARGHHH, you crazy old man, easy. Fuck, fuck, why does it burn so much?"

"Because those scum tried to corrupt you infecting you with the 'Yatan's Essence' coming from Yatan itself."

"No way, but I am just a simple Paladin."

"Simple, my ass."

Mathias got to the front door as those guys had their conversation, and the old man, while treating the wounded Gabrils, said with his loud old voice taking him by surprise and slightly worried for what to expect.

"Enter, kid, no need to stay at the door."

"Ahem, excuse me then, sirs." said Mathias entering inside, freezing in place when smelling the pungent smell of decay.

Peering around the room, he noticed an old man wearing a simple white priest robe that had a healthy look about him. He held a staff in his hand that was shinning with a bright white light while his other hand was touching Gabrils, who was in a precarious situation.

He had his right arm and left leg turned into something similar to a demon, while his chest had an opened wound that was the source of the pungent smell.

"Get closer, young Mathias." said Gabrils while gritting his teeth, suffering in agony.

"Sir Gabrils, how can I help you in your situation?" asked Mathias, after he got closer to the bed before he was stopped by the old man, saying seriously.

"Kid, don't approach so closely. This idiot is still infected by Yatan's corruption. It can spread around."

"Fuck, that cursed Tallos and Aliburn to think they would appear while I was about to end that Lich phylactery."

"Who are those guys?" inquired Mathias, having absolutely no idea about the people Gabrils was talking.

Then the old man who was touching the demonic right unleashing his divine power said calmly.

"Those two are the first servant, respectively the third servant of Yatan. Think of them the same status as Archbishops of Rebecca Church, with Amoract being their Pope. They are powerful people of this world who command great power and can easily unleash chaos on the people under the name of their master. You are still too weak to be concerned about them."

"That is right, young Mathias. Don't worry about me. I will live to see the next day." commented Gabrils releasing a roar of pain, but there were visible changes in his leg that started to regain the human form.

Pressing his golden staff on Gabrils chest, the old man moved to touch his legs and unleashing his divine power that, for some reason, had Mathias sweat and with his hair raised from a fear sensation.

'This old man is a strong person. Stronger than Gabrils or Corvus or anyone else I encountered.'

Gabrils, in the process of having his other limb healed from Yatan's curse, started tearing up in pain, and when the old man got the leg back to the human form, he left his staff on the middle-aged man's chest and turned to look at Mathias.

"Kid, go to the left corner of the room and bring me a bottle of wine. It should be hidden well, so keep your eyes together to find those bottles. I am thirsty after all this work."

[Ding!]

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[Settling Archbishop Julius thirst]

Difficulty: C

After spending 3 days suppressing the spreading of Yatan's corruption in High Paladin Gabrils, the old Archbishop carves something to drink. Yet not being able to move away from Gabrils because this would accelerate the spreading of Yatan's corruption, he asks you to help him.

Quest Clear Condition: Find Gabrils hidden wine bottle and give it to the Archbishop

Reward: Affinity with Julius raised by 5 & ??? possible rewards

Failure: Can't estimate a way for the quest to Fail. You would be an impaired fool to even fail it.
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<Accept[Yes/No] >

'Hey, mind your tone. Aren't you discriminating against retards? The age changed, people became more sensitive to these subjects, so don't add your comments, okay, system?
'Ahem, still this quest is more like home. Easy quest for finding boose.'

"Wait, old man, how do you know about my boose?" asked Gabrils, gritting his teeth in pain but still having the clarity in his mind to hear what Julius asked Mathias to do.

"Heh, little shit, what don't I know about my Church? A little bird told me that you know how to brew strong boose."

"Ahem, weren't you priests supposed to not drink?" asked Mathias, feeling a bit awkward by this quest.

"You crazy boy? Maybe those little girls at the Vatican might not drink, but this is my Cathedral, under my jurisdiction and autonomy. Also, I am a Paladin, not a priest, so I can drink all I want. Get going kid, my throat is dry after spending 3 continuous days to heal this little shit."

"Understood, sir, don't worry. I'll find them fast." said Mathias, with a clever smile on his face that had the old man start laughing.

Gabrils, hearing that, cried, feeling betrayed, and commented. "No, don't do it, Mathias. You don't know how much I worked for those bottles, don't let this old bag drink them."

"Sir Gabrils, I have no choice. The old man is stronger than me."

"Haha, I like you, kid. You remind of my younger self when the old pope was trying to have me do his chores." laughed the Archbishop with a bright expression.

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[You accepted the quest.]

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With the quest accepted, Mathias moved in the direction the old man directed him and began searching, removing some junk that was placed suspiciously in a place. Then with that junk removed, he noticed a compartment on the ground.

Raising the small wooden door of that compartment, he noticed 10 bottles of wine placed in an orderly manner.

'Wow, is this some wine cellar? I'll take just one Gabrils. I'll not give you off.'

"Sir Julius, there are only two bottles here. Do you need two? Or is it fine just one?"

"It is fine. Let this poor man also have one bottle, so he doesn't hate me for some dumb reason."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 23 - A Task? Doing Gabrils Chores
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Gabrils, who heard Mathias said that along with the Archbishop, he wanted to release a broad smile and thank Mathias for having him in mind.

"Old man, you still have a soul. If you took even my last bottle, I wouldn't be able to go to the mound and pray for the Goddess."

"Yeah, sure. Come, kid. Do you know how to open that bottle? If you do, unseal that bottle for me since I have my hands full."

Nodding his head as he walked toward the old man, he took the keys from Fayrene's house and stabbed them on the cork in such a way that he didn't push it inside the bottle. Later he started to unscrew the cork with careful movements, and after a brief moment, the sound of the bottle releasing its pressure was heard.

"Sir, you need a glass?"

"Nah, give me the bottle already."

Complying with the old man's request, he passed the bottle of wine. Then, seeing the old man down the bottle of wine, leaving only half of the bottle, reminded him of his grandfather.

Especially with the manner he spoke and acted, it was like a mirror of his old man.

"Good wine. Tsk, hey Gabrils, did you really brew this?"

"No comment, old man." said Gabrils, looking with some desire to drink too, but the old man took another sip from the bottle before tossing it to Mathias.

Receiving the bottle with some surprise, he then heard the Archbishop telling him.

"You can finish the bottle. I will start healing this brat. Back away."

As he said that, he pushed his staff deeper in Gabrils wound that was pulsing with darkness, and he began giving a prayer to Rebecca that was instantly responded, increasing his divine power in the process.

Mathias, who was at the door by now, could see the fight between light and darkness taking part right in front of his eyes.

[You have encountered the clash between concepts you don't understand of transcendent power. In this clash, you learned a precious lesson for the future]

[Your intelligence has risen by 10]

'Gosh, that light power is divine power, and the dark is the dark power of demons and Yatan?'

Quietly observing from the sidelines the fight of the Archbishop who began saying another prayer that Mathias tried to remember, he saw his old face sweating a lot, making him worry a bit about things escalating.

However, this worry faded when he heard the old man speak with an annoyed voice.

"How much 'Yatan Essence' did those scumbags wasted on you, Gabrils. For fuck sake, I wasted 20% divine power resources on this bugger. Prepare for the last push brat, I will exterminate all the remaining darkness in the wound. You do the rest."

Then gathering more divine power in his staff and hands, he pressed them on the chest wound, later making Gabrils groan in pain and roar in agony, but slowly in this hellish atmosphere, the middle-aged man began to loosen up, and his initial pain to lessen.

After 5 more minutes, the Archbishop withdrew his staff from the wound and smacking Gabrils face, he told him with a tired tone.

"Brat, you will for sure kill me at this rate. You tell me, how could I pass the Cathedral in your hands if you can't even deal with some Yatan dogs? Who would protect our Cathedral prestige and glory in Saharan? The royal family? Hah, Juander is most likely using us for his own prestige and schemes."

"I know, father Julius, this was because I spent most of my powers in dealing with the Lich and was assaulted by the two Yatan servants. This won't repeat anymore."

"So be it, recuperate for now. Your divine powers are so low that it makes you just like a normal person."

As the old man said that, he moved out of the house, but before doing that, he looked at Mathias and patted his head a bit, saying with a grateful tone.

"Little boy, we will meet for quite a while in the following week, so here take this seal of mine, and if any priest or paladin starts annoying you, just show them this seal of mine. They will scram immediately at first glance.

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[You have cleared the quest 'Settling Archbishop Julius thirst' successfully gaining the following rewards:]

[Affinity increased with Julius by 5 & 'Archbishops Seal of Passage']

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Looking at the platinum seal in his hand with surprised eyes and later at the old man who just smiled at him warmly, he could only bow his head and thank him.

"Father, I don't understand what you meant when saying that. Nevertheless, I am thankful for the seal."

"Don't worry, little boy, Gabrils will instruct you what you shall do today while he is recovering."

Saying that he exited the house, leaving only Gabrils and Mathias inside.

The middle-aged man looked with vigilant eyes around the room, making Mathias also be vigilant, but after 10 minutes, he took a deep breath, saying to him.

"Mathias, you really are a good friend and even managed to trick the old man. My booze stash is still intact and alive. Can you get me something from my room?"

"Sure, Gabrils. What do you want?"

"Come closer, and get underneath my bed, be careful because there are some rat traps and maybe some spiders."

Mathias was executing under Gabrils instructions and got down underneath the bed and began looking for what the middle-aged man was looking for.

"Move slowly, and don't get caught in the traps or spiderwebs. After you get to the center, try the planks. If you find a plank that is weaker, this one is the key, remove the wooden plank and get me one of the bottles from there."

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Coordinated by Gabrils instructions, he stumbled quickly on that plank he pointed out, and barely able to move his arms, he removed that wooden plank and brought it inside the opening. The first sensation at a touch was of glass texture and after blindingly touching around the bottles trying to get a grip on one of them.

He brought his hand holding a glass bottle, and placing back the plank he took off, he got out from underneath the bed and while covered by spider webs and a lot of dust.

"Found them, Gabrils. What do you have here?"

"Booze from the lands of the Dwarfs. It is so strong that it can drop anyone on their butt once they taste it. This will help me handle my healing process and the pain from my wounds."
[You have cleared the quest 'Meet Gabrils again' and gained the following rewards:]

[Affinity with Gabrils increased by 15 points & 5500 experience]

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After he got the bottle of alcohol from Mathias, Gabrils grabbed the head of the bottle, and using his divine powers, he began heating up the bottle head, and in just some seconds, the cork was sent flying.

"You liked that trick I did to open the bottle? Compared to your old-fashioned method, mine is smoother and mysterious."

'I know that trick too is just that I don't have a heat source.'

Ending that, he dropped some alcohol on his wound, that he released a funny yell, and after that, he took a mouthful of that alcohol.

"Hah, this feels much better. Those Talima Dwarfs really know their stuff. Want some Mathias?"

"No, from what the old man said, I should expect some work from you, correct?"

As Mathias asked that, Gabrils took another mouthful of alcohol. After that, he nodded his head, saying to him with a helpless expression.

"Can't you see in what state I am? Aside from having my bones broken needing recovery time, I also have to heal the wound those Yatan bastards did to me. Still, this doesn't excuse me from work in the church, but gladly I got you around. Do you want to help me out with my job while I recover?"

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[Covering the chores of Gabrils]

Difficulty: B

After coming wounded from a mission, High Paladin has been bound to his bed, recovering from his wounds. Yet this doesn't remove him from the requirements of each priest and Paladin of the 'Light's Cathedral' required to clean the Cathedral grounds, its interior, and exterior.

Because you have cleared the first quest, and he views you as if you are similar to a son, or nephew, he plans to have you clear his tasks for the period he is recuperating.

Quest Clear Conditions: Clear all the tasks Gabrils was supposed to do in his absence.
Quest Rewards: [2] levels & Possible Positive Events & 'Gabrils Blessing'.

Quest Failure: [-2] levels & Continuing Gabriel's job for an extended time without benefiting from any events.

<Accept[Yes/No]>

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"There is no problem with the task. Cleaning is something I can do without much fuss," said Mathias to Gabrils, who gave a warm smile while quickly shifting in pain after the alcohol attacked his wound.

[You accepted the quest.]

"This is great. Then I shall no longer keep you busy. Go search for Jeanne. He will tell you what to do and guide you a bit on the job. Don't get scared of him when you meet him, he is a pure person that suffered a lot in his life. But, I will tell you from the start, so you don't curse me later. Jeanne is suffering from a curse, so when you meet him, you will understand the situation.
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"Understood. There's no problem, I want to believe that I am an open-minded person."

"Right, then it should be even easier. Go on already, or that old man will punish me even more."

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Getting back on the Cathedral's mound, he still could see the players trying to join the church but were rejected by the priests.

Seeing Mathias come back, the priests frowned, but the one he talked with noticed him and went to greet him.

"Did you manage to meet him?"

Nodding his head at the priest, he then asked the priest for Jeanne. "Gabrils said I should talk with Jeanne about the job Gabrils was supposed to do at the church. Where can I find him?"

This green named priest looked at Mathias with big eyes before he composed himself and gazed at the players and then him, he said simply. "Follow me."

The players who saw Mathias enter the Cathedral pointed angrily at him while saying to the priests. "This is not fair. Why can he enter inside the church? He is the same as us, a cursed one."

"It doesn't concern you, people. Back off if you don't want to be punished." said one of the priests, already annoyed by the pestering players.

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Once inside the 'Light's Cathedral', he could see the grandiose frescoes and mosaics similar to real life, using religious motifs of saints and angels on the ceiling. The arches and supporting beams of the cathedral were all made of marble stone decorated with various sculptures.

Moving slowly after the priest who guided him, he watched the golden chandeliers with burning candles, making him realize how small he was compared to this building. Looking at the frescos and decorations, he suddenly bumped into the back of the priest.

"Ohh, sorry. It is my first time inside the Cathedral."

"No worries, it is understandable. We should go to the right-wing of the church. There is the managing section of the Cathedral where the Bishop is located."

Not saying anything, he arrived following the priest Andreas in front of a wooden door that leads to a part of the cathedral he didn't expect to see.

"Enter."

Hearing this feminine, angelic voice coming from outside, after Andreas knocked on the door, he was stared at by the priest who whispered to him.

"Don't say or do something stupid in front of Bishop Jeanne. You'll understand once we enter inside."
'This is weird, Gabrils also mentioned something about Jeanne being cursed. She really has a mesmerizing voice, as if it is one of those masterpiece movies played by the best actresses.'

Getting inside the small section of the church, he could see that it was almost like a medieval room where at the back of this room, a person that was closer in height with him, slightly taller, about 1,84 meters in height, gave him the vibe that he had a beautiful actress in front of him. Yet as he was staring at his name, he could see apart from the golden plated name 'Jeanne' made him ponder, if he had a woman, or a man.
'Gabrils, what curse is this? You called him a he, but what I see is a woman, a gorgeous one at that.'

However, he still couldn't believe his eyes, and thought to keep Jeanne as a 'her'. This Jeanne was so feminine that it made him remember the high models of his real life.

Jeanne had long curly blonde hair, milky white skin that seemed delicate to the touch, warm hazel eyes shielded by a pair of glasses. He was wearing the robes of a priest, but this didn't mean much to his eyes, so Mathias still wanted to believe Jeanne was a girl.

"Oh, it is you? What was your name? Well, whatever, I am too busy these days. Who could this young man be? Didn't Archbishop Julius order to no longer let the newcomers join the church so randomly?" asked Jeanne in his angelic voice, which had Mathias gulp down his saliva because this situation was so awkward.

"Bishop Jeanne, let me explain. This person will do Lord Gabrils chores until he recovers from the wounds he suffered because of the Yatan Church."

"Is he the one called Mathias? Oh my. Gabrils's friend. How can you stay there, come step forward, let me greet you." rose Jeanne on his feet to receive Mathias, revealing the slim silhouette that made him identical to a woman in man clothes.

'What curse could do this? Even in fantasy stories, authors rarely even pull this. Only those creeps that have weird fetishes make such scenarious of having boys turned into women. The developer of this character is for sure a pervert and a creepy person. It could be a woman who pulled this? No, I doubt. They are usually into men-to-men relations.

"Something wrong, Mathias?" asked Jeanne with a worried expression, looking with his hazel clear eyes at Mathias.

Shaking his head to awake from his stupor, he stepped forward, facing Jeanne before he bowed down to him, and with a calm expression that had Jeanne pleased, he said..

"I greet you, Your Grace. I am indeed Gabrils friend, and he asked to help him out with the chores until he would recover from his wounds."

Nodding with a warm expression, Jeanne extended her hand to caress Mathias' face, which the latter just took in quietly, sensing the delicate touch that was similar to Fayrene.

Then as Jeanne was caressing his face with a warm smile, Mathias could feel his body covered in a warm white light that began entering his body.
[Bishop Jeanne has healed your body and fatigue and done a 'Minor Blessing' granting you 10% of your stats.] -> Stamina [100/100]

"Such a beautiful gesture to help your older friend. It makes me happy knowing that Gabrils managed to make himself a friend after his seclusion from outside of the world. Sigh, you don't know how many nights I have cried whenever I would see him all alone." said Jeanne with a feminine angelic voice, making Mathias' look up at her face.

'I am conflicted. I don't know what to believe. Your touch felt so good that I couldn't even feel crept by him. Heck, if this continues on, he might even turn me on. Tsk, why did those guys have to tell me you are a man? I wouldn't mind at all if you were a woman. Let's get done with this quest too.'

"Bishop Jeanne, thank you for the blessing, but you really shouldn't waste your divine power on me since I come to work, not be blessed without even doing something."

Receiving Mathias's words, Jeanne looked at Andreas a bit before he turned his gaze at Mathias.

"This was nothing for me. I hope you liked the blessing I gave you, I heard outlanders such as you love those types of blessing."
"I can't really say I don't like it, it's just too wasteful for someone like me."
Jeanne patted Mathias head softly, while saying to him gently.
"Right, I should assign you some chores because Father Julius will for sure take it on Gabrils. However, you need to change your clothes before that. Only the ones wearing the specific priestly clothes can clean the Sacred Cathedral of Light." ended Jeanne saying in a serious voice before he walked to the back of the room, opening a compartment.

After searching casually, giving his back at Mathias and Andreas, left Mathias staring at Andreas, who seemed to look with infatuated eyes at Jeanne's back.

'Man, don't tell me you are some gay? In what scenario did I get stuck into? Not that I don't like this Nicolas, he is just too pure of a person as Gabrils said.'

"AHEM." coughed Mathias next to Andreas, having the priest break his gaze to turn with an annoyed expression at him.

"My, my, this is it. This size should match perfectly with you, dear Mathias."

Seeing Jeanne turning toward him, holding at his chest some priestly clothes all in black, he handed them, saying with a bright smile.

"Go on change and get ready for work. You low priest, you can leave. I will take care of Mathias."

Taking a bit to say something, Andreas bowed his head and exited the room.

"Hmm, Lord Jeanne, is it fine changing here?"

"Just Jeanne is fine when we are alone. You are Gabrils friend. This makes you also my friend." ended Jeanne saying while moving slowly toward his desk, seating on the top, looking at him from there.

[Affinity with Bishop Jeanne has increased by 10 points]

'Don't tell me he likes me or something?'

"Go on, don't be shy."

'Well, I am not really shy, but if you pull something on me, I might be a bit, hmm, scared.'

Gazing at Jeanne' smiling face, who removed his glasses placing them on his pocket, the feminine priest stared at him as if encouraging him for no reason.

Then, when Mathias began changing his clothes, slowly removing the clothing pieces, getting only to socks and underwear, Jeanne gazed intently at his body, especially turning to look at his abdomen muscles and chest.

His eyes shined a bit with bright white light, and slowly he began placing his slender, delicate finger on his lips, pressing it a bit with a fingernail that looked to be similar to women, but Mathias couldn't notice since he was changing his clothes.

[Affinity with Bishop Jeanne has increased by 5 points]

'What now? I only changed my clothes and showed my body. Man don't tell me I have a woman next to me? You know what? Fine, whatever. I will go with the flow. As long as he or she gives me good quests, I'll play along with all your fantasies.'
'Probably many people would wish to get in such a situation, so I will not whine, one bit.'
Getting in the priest's clothes, he saw Jeanne approving gaze, and stepping closer to him, he moved to tidy up his robe with a serene smile. He would also firmly touch his muscles along the way, and whenever Mathias would look at him back, he would just smile back at him.

"This fits you so well. But I heard from Gabrils that you don't want to become a paladin or priest of Rebecca's Church. Sadly, I would have taken you under my wing and taught you my divine skills."

"It is not my calling Jeanne, to be a priest."

"Sigh, understandable, not everyone chooses the light, but you are not so far away from it, dear Mathias. I can feel Rebecca's Blessing on you. This means a lot for us, priests of Rebecca Church, to see an outsider being graced by her splendor herself.

Now let me guide you to the places you should start cleaning, before that we will move to get the cleaning equipment. Follow me closely."

As he said that, he walked side by side with Mathias wearing the priest's clothes, and as Mathias was moving next to Jeanne, he encountered some players who managed to join Rebecca's church, who stopped in place when seeing Jeanne.

"Wow, is the angel herself. Bro, look, she came out from her office guiding that guy. Ahhh, lucky him, look, they are shoulder to shoulder."

"Argh, I am so jealous. I joined because I saw the video of her from one guy who encountered her, transmitting the message that Rebecca Church would only take a small number of players."

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Mathias could hear those guys being all jealous of him, but he walked calmly. Instead, Jeanne was the one giving off a bright smile when hearing all of those comments about himself. Giggling, he giggled, saying in an angelic voice.

"They think I am a woman. How funny don't you think, dear Mathias. But they are not half wrong on that."
'More hints… So are you a man or woman? I bet all my money you are a woman, from how you act. Damn, those devs really like to play with me throwing such unique character on my way.'
"Well. It is undeniable that you are very… angelic. But what is on outside is totally different compared to what is inside. Many people might look okay on outside but are demons inside. You seem to be all out an angelic person."
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"Ohh my, you think so, even comparing me with the pure beings? I can't take such a compliment."

'Man, just leave me alone. I just want to work. The picking up is a secondary act unavoidable since he already has 15 affinity with me.'
[Hearing your compliments, Bishop Jeanne secretly appreciates what you have complimented. He only opened up to a few people in his life since being cursed and having his life destroyed. He who was secluded for most of his life only opened up about his tragedy 3 times and you reached that list of possible true friends.]
[Your affinity with Jeanne increased by 5 point.]
[There is a chance for Jeanne to give you hidden quests and reward you.]

'Reward me? Hidden Quests? This sounds suspicious.'
Thinking that, he gazed at Jeanne who blushed like a woman, stealing some gazes at him before shily avoiding his gaze. As Jeanne did that, he would fiddle his curly long blonde hair while keeping the silence between one another.

' Ohh I know this feeling. I am in danger.'

'At this rate, Jeanne will for sure take me to his bed forcefully if I keep on interacting with him. But is not like I am a jerk who ignores people for no reason if they talk with me. I grew up respecting people around me and also not judging the ones around me. If worse comes, at least he got holes.'

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 24 - Goddess Bless Me!
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Getting his minimalistic cleaning tools, Mathias could be seen following Jeanne holding in his hand the large bucket with water that had some soap substance for the cleaning, a cloth fabric used to clean off dust, a mop made from sheep wool, and a brush made of pigs hairs.

Along the way, he kept his quiet while Jeanne was talking, mentioning the locations he was supposed to clean. Nothing out of the ordinary because the locations were the floor of the main hall, cleaning the rows of banches for the parishioners attempting the church services.

It was until the two reached the Cathedral's main hall, and Mathias could see forward the considerable number of seats on the sides, along with the opening to the dome rising up that Mathias stopped.

Staring with an overwhelmed mind, he later heard Jeanne's voice telling him something with a demanding tone.

"For now, you shall clean the floor of the main hall along with climbing the dome and cleaning that area."

Staring up at about 50 meters in the air, he could see the opening of the dome, and after keeping his composure, he asked while his eyes were on the dome.

"Jeanne, is that even possible? I don't see a way to climb up."

"Oh my, wait a minute. Now that you mentioned, this job was Gabrils's, so I didn't really check to see how he was cleaning the dome. However, it shouldn't be a problem for you, right, Mathias?"

Staring at the dome and around the other locations nearby, he could see there were some openings for him to climb up, but it looked too dangerous.

"I don't know Jeanne, did Gabrils really climbed that high to clean there? Are there any scales so I can help myself?"

"Yes, there is at both sides until you climb up the platforms above, but after that, it seems those cheap constructs left us without any scales."

'You could build one yourselves. Bah, it feels like something Ezio would do in those old games grandfather still had around, but the setting would be something akin to a mix of Hagia Sophia and Cologne Cathedral on steroids.'

"Mathias, I know you are capable of doing that, so don't get scared. If Gabrils entrusted you with this job, he knows you are capable of doing it. I'll be here to give you my support if you need it. Also, if you do it without leaving any marks on the mosaics and statues, there is bound to be rewarded for you." mentioned Jeanne with a sweet smile on his face, while pointing with his slender finger toward the dome and the ceiling that was covered in mosaics and statues.

It was at that point that Mathias received the notification of a new quest appearing in his eyes which had him remember about the mentioning of possible unique quests from Jeanne since he got to reach [20] affinity with him/her.

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[Clean the High Dome]

Difficulty: A

Bishop Jeanne encourages you to clean the glass mosaics on the dome platform along with the marble statues. A job that High Paladin Gabrils was entrusted to do by Archbishop Julius, it got handed to you as a precursor to the questline 'Covering the chores of Gabrils'.

Quest Clear Condition: Finish cleaning the dome without destroying the mosaics or any of the statues.

Quest Reward: 5,500 experience / [10x Intermediate Health Potion] / [+10] Affinity with Jeanne.

Quest Failure: [-5] Affinity with Jeanne & [-1] level.
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[Will you accept the quest] -> [Yes/No]

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'Health Potions? That's something new, I guess. You want to buy me with such candies even though you have placed some affinity for me to gain? Tempting.... Fine, I'll do it since it is something from the main questline.'

"Jeanne, it is fine. I don't need an incentive to work. I will first start with the easy work, cleaning the benches and seats. After that, I will go climb toward the dome."

[You accepted the quest.]

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Jeanne nodded his head pleased and moved a bit back to give Mathias space so he could start working. He walked toward the right side of the main prayer hall and got seated on a bench, turning to watch him.

'Don't you have work? I am not some monkey that dances around doing shows for people to watch, okay? Go do your work.'

Yet even after he made this comment in his mind, Jeanne just stood there like nothing busy was on his schedule, watching Mathias, who, after settling down his thought, began to use his cloth rag to clean the benches.

Row by row, minute by minute, Mathias felt his stamina starting to deplete. His archenemy was once again hitting him from the shadows, hindering his progression.

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<Stamina[60/100]>

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"How long has it been since I began cleaning in 4 hours? I did only this small part of the hall? Hard to imagine. Did Jeanne went to do his work?"

Turning his head to look for Jeanne, he couldn't see him around the hall, meaning he also took his leave, resuming his initial work.

Supported by the mop in his hand, he took a breath and began his cleaning once again, and as hours passed, the naturally lighted Cathedral started to dimmer, point where a lot of priests began to walk with lit torches and beginning to light the candles at the base floor where he was seating.

One of the priests who saw Mathias cleaning the benches and floor turned to look with a surprised face, asking.

"You are a new recruit of the Church. I haven't seen you around."

"No, I am just a cleaner, doing Gabrils work in his absence."

"Ohh, my respects to you, friend, I didn't know you were Gabrils's friend. You should take a break. No servant of Her Blessed Light works at night." said the priest, while touching his heart, releasing some divine light, dimmer comparable to the illuminating light Jeanne released or the vibrant one of Gabrils, and lastly, the pressuring light coming from the old man that was similar to being drowned. (A/N: Similar to being submerged in abyssal part of the ocean, reaching pressure that could pulverize bodies)

While stopping from his work, Mathias looked at this priest who had his torch put out, but with a thankful expression, he replied simply.

"While I can still work, I will not stop just yet. Thanks for the warm words, priest, but I will continue on."

"I see. If this is your choice, we priests will slowly start descending the light's Cathedral. Stay safe, and may the light be with you."

'If it is advantageous to me, I might be with Rebecca, but knowing those hidden stories from the Archmage, I shall wave carefully around the influences of Gods in this game's story.'

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After ending this brief interaction with the priests, Mathias went back to work, cleaning the main wall and benches and only stopping after his stamina hit [12/100] of his resources.

As he stopped, he looked around himself and could see he was the only one in this large hall where gothic arches and chandeliers made their mark, a dark mark combined with the candles that tried their best to keep this Cathedral illuminated.

"Hah, I am the only one inside the church? Wait, no, don't I have Goddess Rebecca around watching with her grace? I am a bit exhausted from all this work. To be honest, not even at work did I got to clean so much in one go, and I still have the dome and upper levels of the Cathedral."

"I might not be a religious person, but Goddess, if you hear me, can you bless me with some energy blessing, so I don't have to take so many breaks in between my work?"

Waiting for a bit for an answer, there was only the silence and some of his voice echoing in the main hall, which made the atmosphere a bit creepy. With a long sigh, he commented while taking a seat on one of the benches he cleaned close by.

"It seems you are busy too, but weren't gods supposed to be everywhere, especially in their house? So was I taught when little."

With that said, he closed his eyes and leaned back his head, relaxing. At this moment, while his eyes were closed, he started making up the image of a beautiful lady with milky white hair smiling and moving her lips, saying something he couldn't hear.

Only after some attempts at trying to read her lips did he muttered the words "Be Blessed."
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[Ding!] [Goddess Rebecca saw your dedication to fulfil your task even when you could take a break, and while sitting in her '???' she overheard your troubles and responded on her own devices.]
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['Blessing of Atlas' has touched you from '???']
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Opening his eyes quickly breaking the vision of Rebecca, he felt his body hair quickly crawl up, especially when seeing the candles swaying in-between states.
'She really listened to me, like how a 'God' is supposed to do with their followers. But I am not a follower of her belief in the game? I am just complaining like a foolish man about a visible weakness of myself, the stamina system.

It is not like I expect a heavenly hand since I will probably lose all my progress from what the other beta users speculated. This is one of the reasons the players don't even try to explore the game that much anymore, feeling that their progression would be wiped if they stopped their advances outside the world.'

Opening the window for the new buff he received from Rebecca, he could see the effects of the blessing that halted a grin that slowly turned a bit evil.

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[Blessing of Atlas]

Type: Blessing/Passive

Duration: Two Months

Effects: Increase stamina by 20 points, reduce the consumption of the stamina while executing stamina-consuming movements.

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'Interesting. Haha, there exists ways around the stamina system? Twenty points are more than enough for me, and that reduction is ambiguous, so I'll pass it over. I need to think of a way to constantly get this blessing when the live version kicks in.

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Finishing his thought, he felt that something wasn't good with himself since his expression and smile turned into something creepy. Quickly enough, he corrected himself, not showing his bad side for the goddess to see.

Getting on his feet, feeling energized by the blessing received. In this barely illuminated Cathedral, he turned toward the statue of Rebecca inside the Cathedral, and getting on one knee, doing a royal bow, he blurted.

"Goddess of Light, you really know what I lack and opened a small window for me. My prayers to you, as insignificant as they might be, I hope they reach you."

This time, Rebecca's statue didn't show any changes along with his bow and remained the same lifeless form. However, there seemed to be some changes inside the church, as the wind was blowing from nowhere, putting down some candles, leaving only the main hall kindled.

Mathias didn't shift any expression and kept his calm along this creepy atmosphere, and after a minute or so, the extinguished candles were ignited by themselves. It felt as if Rebecca was excusing herself for putting down those burning candles.

Standing straight after things calmed down, he heard the opening of a large door, coming from behind the statue, revealing an old man wearing a white priestly dress that was shining with a pure white light, who asked around with a disinterested expression.

"Did Rebecca send out an oracle by chance, and I didn't receive it when I was sleeping? Bah, she shouldn't be upset that I drank that bottle of wine when I was supposed to do the prayers? Oh, someone is here at this hour? A thief? Nah, I doubt they are so stupid to bother stealing something from the Cathedral."

The old Archbishop kept talking to himself until he passed Rebecca's statue and turned his eyes on Mathias, and seeing his surprised expression, he put a serious expression while extending his hand, spreading out some divine light toward him.

"Really? I thought you didn't care that much about the outsiders and seemed to ignore them even after they kneeled and hit their heads like some morons. Blessing of Atlas? Interesting. Kid, did you step on some shit that you managed to have her throw around blessings like she's doing beggar feedings?"

"Wait, what?? I didn't step on any dejection. Old man, what do you mean?" asked Mathias, whose surprised expression turned completely on its head, morphing to confusion.

"Didn't she play that mimicking game with you? Where you had to say what she was trying to say to you?"

"Stop jesting, Lord Julius. I don't even know what you are talking about. What could a mere mortal like me amount to a goddess? I might be just a mere ant in her eyes, a little kitten or puppy trying to please its master for some benefit. Or simply a beggar like you mentioned."

The Archbishop, hearing Mathias vent that, began laughing out like he heard the best joke ever. Yet as he was laughing, he looked seriously at Mathias, releasing his divine power that pressured onto his body, sending off the alarm for the system.

[You are under the pressure of a being you can't measure, all stats dropped down to 99%]

Dropping to the floor on his stomach, Mathias raised his head and looked at the old man with a confused yet furious expression. He tried to talk with the old man, but he found he couldn't say a single word.

At that moment, he saw the old man move his lips while looking down at him, trying to say something.

'Y.O.U … S. H. O. U. L. D … N.O.T. … G.E.T. … C.L.O.S.E.R … W.I.T.H. … H.E.R.' this is what you want to say, old man?

'Are you some hostage that you can't speak? Wait, the Archmage… parasites. The old man knows something?? But why even bother telling me this? I know what I am doing anyway. I am just like a beggar trying to get rich on a scammer's expenses.'
Once he thought that, his skin crawled up, but this time his skin was like a chicken once he tried to put together those puzzle pieces. (A/N: Quite the mysterious chapter, I shall say)

'Is she like a loan shark? Who once invests in you will slowly take everything from you once you don't get in line? A possible scenario, seen many movies of that type, read books in that regard.'

Looking at the old man, he said while moving his lips so Julius could pick up the signal. 'U.N.D.E.R.S.T.O.O.D'

He could see the Archbishop's eyes flicker a bit, and yet he was still under pressure he was released. Only after a while did he got to relieve the pressure.

"Kid, you shall go home and return in the morning to continue your cleaning. You weren't picked up by those brats who saw fit to take advantage of you."

"No, so far, everything went fine. Jeanne also asked me to clean the dome."

"Ohh, the little doll asked that of yourself? She talked with you?" asked the old man as he moved along with Mathias toward the Cathedral's exit.

"Little doll? You old man sure have your way with words. Can I ask you something if I may?"

"No problem, as long we don't touch a sensible subject." reminded the old man calmly.

"I couldn't ask Jeanne himself because it would seem rude, but is he a girl or a man?"

"The little doll? He is a man … but at the same time, she is a woman. Nature really has its way of cursing and blessing people. Destroying people and making people. Sigh, you made me remember in what shape she arrived at my monastery. If she approaches you, don't turn your back on her, she is a sensible child who suffered enormity under this curse she was born.

To be turned from a healthy young boy to a woman with each year passing. Just imagine the effects it would have on your mind and confidence. There have been many cases going around, but it is my first seeing one such as Jeanne's."

"I see, don't worry, old man. Thank you for telling me this."

"Haha, did it clear your mental blocks, and now you can approach the little doll without feeling strained back?"

*Cough* "That was an unnecessary remark, old man."

"So what kid, Jeanne is like my little princess since being under my supervision. I watched her grow to become a splendid priestess. I have to also watch her personal life, so her happy life isn't destroyed by those bastards lurking like shit flies around her."

Mathias hummed a bit at the old Archbishop's words, making his mental enter in a weird state concerning Jeanne, who seemed to suffer some genetic mutation at birth, or going the fantasy route, a magic curse.

'It is still confusing to me how I should address Jeanne, as she or he? Ahh, man, unnecessary troubles are piling over my head. I will go with SHE, if she doesn't like it, it is none of my business. Once I finish all those quests, I will take it slow and prepare myself for the live version.'

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With that said, Mathias separated from the old man and walked back home to Fayrene's warm house.

Placing his keys in the lock slowly and opening it, he entered inside before closing it and seeing that it was dark inside, could only figure that Fayrene went to sleep. He moved to the kitchen and took some tools to light up a lamp for the shop front.

Doing that, he walked toward the work station taking some fabrics that he knew Fayrene wouldn't use, and along with some pins in his hand, a ruler, and chalk, he started doing the groundwork for the tapestry.

An hour passed, and he had the canvas ready for a petite tapestry. He went to take his threads and needles, along with drawing a sketch for what he had in mind, two kittens, one orange with white colour, while the other one was silver, both gazing at you with their shy feline eyes.

"My drawing skills sure got a bit rusty since I last played out with Cristian and Alex back at home, but this should do it. Let's get started doing the tapestry since I still have a long way to go until my time is over here."

Placing the threads on his needles, he began doing the tapestry following the sketch he drew, and assisted by the lamp's light, Mathias finished in 4 hours the outline of the two kittens and also coloured their faces a bit, to the point where he stopped to take a break.

"Tsk, this sure progresses slower than I expected. Let's take a break for some food since it has already been 5 hours since I entered the game."

He logged out, leaving all his work on the workstation, and while he existed the capsule from Fayrene's private room, she existed rubbing her eyes a bit which seemed to be losing sleep, and while moving like a ghost toward the kitchen, she passed by the workstation and noticed the new changes.

"Mathias returned home? But where he is, did he went out again? Hmm, what is this?" inquired Fayrene while walking in her nightdress toward where, not long sat, Mathias.

Getting on the seat, she could feel that it was still warm, and with her curious violet eyes, she began to check Mathias' work.

"Owww, such cute kittens. Did Mathias really draw this?" asked Fayrene while taking the sketch from the table and bringing it closer to the lamp.

After that, she looked at the still progressing tapestry and could only make out the outline of the kittens and their shy eyes that seemed to peer into your soul.

"This is what Mathias referred to when we discussed ways to diversify the business?"

Checking the needlework on the canvas, she quickly figured out how it was done, and taking the needle in her hand, she continued on some rows following the sketch and Mathias example with a bright smile on her face.

"This is really fun and easy compared to making clothes. Maybe I will try it too after I finish the dress."

She stopped continuing Mathias's work and gently placed everything in the order they were before she came. Fayrene using her sneaky hands cleaned the incriminatory work that would give her away for interfering with Mathias's work, a point where she walked to the kitchen to drink some water before walking back to her private room and going to sleep like a little girl that met Santa Claus.

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 25 - Being discovered by a friend
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On the other side Mathias, who got out of his capsule and looked at the clock on his old phone, showed that it was 13:35, and along the way, he noticed some missed calls from a work colleague coming from 13:15 and 13:20.

<[Vlad]>

Looking at the name, he said to himself, pondering what happened for his colleague to call on Saturdays, and with that curiosity in mind, he called back, and immediately he heard the voice of a young man along with the voices of a small group.

"Ohh, Matei, you are alive? Hey guys, shut up for a bit. I am talking with a friend from work."

From the line, he could hear the voices of other young guys not caring much about what the one called Vlad said.

"Big brother, did you really get your hands on such high-tech stuff? How much was it?"

"Buzz off, I am serious." said the one called Vlad, while from the phone line, the sound of something being hit was heard.

"ARGH, I will tell mother."

"Yeah, sure. I dare you to say something to mom, you will instantly be sent back to the province, and I'll also talk with dad to let you inherit the farm."

"N-NOOO! Okay, big brother, I will not disturb your talk."

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Getting back on the line, Vlad asked again with an awkward voice.

"Sorry for the small disturbance. I just got my hands on the newest product on the market, the capsule for the game 'Satisfy'. Wanna come to my place, hang around a bit? Maybe eat something in the 'Old Town' since I will check the game at night."

Staying a bit to think, he replied to this work colleague of his with a calm voice. "I'll be done with some pizza. We don't have to go to the 'Old Town'. The prices there are killing my heart and pockets."

"That is right, let me check with the kids." pausing, Mathias could hear Vlad ask the kids a question.

"You two, do you want to eat pizza at home?"

"No problem, big brother, since you bought this VR game, maybe you let us enter the game while you talk."

"Bah, maybe? I shall check with the customer service staff to see if I can let other people enter the game using my capsule."

"YAYY! Did you hear it, Ian? We can enter the game and be like that big brother with the black spear."
(E/Nid Mat get famous so fast?...)

"Let's watch the video of the black spearman again." said the voice of another young man that Mathias picked up on the line.

"Matei, you hear them? We will probably eat at my place. I'll do the orders, so when you get to my place, we can start by eating and later talking."

"Sure, I will buy some beer on my way. See you in 20 minutes."

"Ciao, don't buy some cheap beer, okay? I know you don't like spending your money or going out partying when the rest ask for partying in the clubs." reminded the one called Vlad, making Mathias chuckle a bit before ending the call.

Checking the clock, he prepared himself and went outside of the apartment, moving toward the metro station that was about 5 minutes away. He checked the right of access using his magnetic pass ticket, and after climbing down for a few more minutes, he got to the base level of the station.

Looking up at the timer displayers for each tram, he nodded, seeing that he only had to wait for about 2 minutes. Standing silently at a safe distance, he looked around himself as other travelers waited, staring at their phones screens.

'At least take a break here and straighten your bodies.' thought Mathias seeing those people, but his mind went in another direction after feeling a gust of wind that blew on his jacket.

'The temperature is chilly since it is autumn already. Right, in about two weeks, those two little rascals will start their 9th grade and 11th grade. I will call mom after I go back home and check how the situation back home is and how those brats are doing.'

Finally, after waiting two minutes, the tram arrived and entering inside. He walked to a corner of the tram and didn't bother to check his phone, only holding on to a supporting holder.

The journey was swift, only having to take the metro for 3 stations, and once he began ascending, he felt the wind blowing on his face, blowing his long hair.

Annoyed by this, he picked a hair tie from his pocket and quickly tied it down in a man bun, and after that, he continued his journey out of the station and stopped at a pedestrian sign accompanied by a traffic light.

Stopping once again for one minute, he passed the pedestrian and walked in the direction of a boulevard, but taking a detour when encountering a market.

Inside the market, he walked directly to the alcohol section and took a pack of local beer that was of good quality that he enjoyed drinking, and after paying for them, he walked with a bag containing the 8 beer pack on the boulevard, moving straight ahead, only turning right on a small alley that led him to a residential area.

Getting in front of one apartment block that was only four stories, he called on the interphone so they would unlock the door.

"Who is calling?" responded the voice of a young man.

"It is me, Matei, open Gabriel." replied back Mathias, before the entrance door of the block was opened.

Entering the block, he started climbing the stairs arriving on the second floor, and at the door '11' he knocked on the door, that a young man about 12 years old, with dark hair and brown eyes, responded. "Big brother, did you buy something for me?"

"Only beer, can you handle it?" asked Mathias, with a smirk on his face entering inside the apartment while ruffling the hair of the boy.

"Don't even think about it, you brat. When you turn 14, maybe I will let you drink some weak stuff."

"Bah, I already tried some wine from dad bottles. It is not a big deal. Right, big brother Matei, let me introduce you to my classmate, Ian." said the young boy, after he closed the door, moving close to Mathias, who took his shoes off, entering the main room to see a young adult the same age like him working around a device that was exactly like his own, the 'Satisfy' capsule.

Around this young man who had short blonde dyed hair with brown eyes, a fit body, and slightly taller than Mathias, was a young boy the same height as Gabriel, who, when noticing Mathias, looked with big eyes as if he saw a ghost.

"Ian, what is with that face? Did you go dumb for no reason? I told you, he is the cool big brother who likes to talk about interesting things." said Gabriel trying to make some sense into the other young boy.

"No, is not that? Let me pick my phone and show you something." said that boy, walking toward the couch in the main room, and picking his phone.

He quickly typed something on the screen and showed young Gabriel a video.

Mathias got curious about the video and walked closer to the boy to look at the screen, and when he saw the video, he felt that something was familiar.

In that video, he could see a person wearing clothes similar to the [Cidarian] Set and wielding a spear resembling Ragnius. That person whose face, eyes and name were blurred fighting from the perspective of some else was exactly what his character looked like.

"Hey, kid, what is this video about? Where is it from?" asked Mathias, not disturbed or affected by the video, while standing behind the young man.

"Matei, I wanted to ask you, what is with that video? Don't tell me you are playing 'Satisfy' too?" asked the young man, who moved away from the capsule, later going for a firm handshake with Mathias.

As they were shaking hands, Mathias just shrugged his shoulders, saying to Vlad.

"It was probably some kid from the game who recorded me fighting when I was doing a quest. Don't stare like that at me. I might look like a cheap guy, but I have my reasons for playing the game."

"Sure, sure. Let me show you the video at a better quality."

As Vlad said that, he walked to his desktop station, which worked so smoothly, it could short circuit Mathias's laptop just by giving some of the RAM's this desktop was running at.

Gazing at the large screen in front of him, he could see the same forum he was checking when he was bored with new information on Satisfy and updates from the developers.

"This kid who took this video of you got promoted to "Respected Community Member" by updating this video of you fighting the gang members of Saharan." said Vlad, while pointing at the frame the profile of the uploader had, letting Mathias sit on the expensive gaming seat and look at the uploader.

"Do you want to report this guy? He is using your video to get some quick profits. I am sure the mods of the forum will delete this guy thread."

Seeing that this forum thread already hit 12 million views in about one week, he shook his head and told Vlad with a calm voice. (E/N:Now thats a lot of views for a game that isn't considered "Mainstream" yet) (A/N: The game is supposed to have 2 billion users, playing along with numbers here)

"Why should I do that? Can't you see that it generates the attention of the general public? When I joined the forum community, we were only 60.000 members, simply put, a small bubbling community. The views on the forum are per unique IP's so they can't be manipulated by bots. In the span of about one month, the game grew to 12 million possible players. However, I shall send this boy a message, a small reminder." (E/N: IMO isn't this way to fast ?)

Getting his cracked phone from his pocket, he used the lightning-fast connection of his friend Vlad, and accessed his forum account on the mobile version.

He didn't even watch the video on the forum but directly sent a private message to the user who recorded him and posted it online.
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< This is Mathias writing to you, Maple Mist.

While you should have asked me for the 'okay' in order to release this video, I will not follow any procedures that will affect you. I don't know your motives for posting the video, but it doesn't affect me. Be it for monetary reasons or you purely wanting to help the 'Satisfy' community grow bigger, I can only say that's good for you. This shall be a small jolt for this great game that needs our support.

P.S: Next time if you encounter me in Saharan and record me, try covering all the face when editing. >
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Sending that private message, he heard his friend ask him with an inquiring tone.

"What did you write to that guy?"

"Nothing much, just reminding him that if he sees me again and records me to edit my entire face."

"Tsk so like you. You really are not angry for being used by that guy? If it was me being recorded and posted on Ytube, I would be angry and copyright strike that video."

"No, I don't care that much. At most, it will help out that person a bit, financially wise if he gets anything from it, but I mainly think of how it helped out the community get together."

Saying that the two watched the video, where the brats also joined to watch. He could see himself moving smoothly using the range of the spear to keep the thugs away, causing them to be unable to land a hit on him.

It could be said to be a flawless performance from the outsiders' standpoint, but Mathias, who knew what he was doing in the video, shook his head when seeing the two thugs rushing toward Fayrene.

"Big bro, why are you upset?" asked Gabriel, noticing Mathias shake his head.

"That part could be ended faster, and maybe she wouldn't be put at risk at all. I could throw the spear like a javelin toward the last one and end the fight. Hah, but I guess it is a decent performance from me. I still have to train more to get the hang of the spear, but I'll get there one day."

"Wow, Matei, I never thought you would be so ruthless with those guys. Seeing you on this video and knowing you at work and how you always are helping everyone, hard to imagine."

"Is not really so mind-boggling. That's just me when someone is trying to hurt me and those close to me only that outside of the game, I can't hold a spear or sword because the police will instantly handcuff me on first sight."

"Haha, probably they will think it is some toy and leave you alone like those cosplayers who got on the news not too long ago in the U.S."

The two laughed before the young boy, Ian, touched Mathias's hand a bit and asked with a shy voice.

"Big brother, that beautiful lady that released that purple missile on the thug, is she your friend?"

Turning his gaze on the boy and seeing how he was interested in Fayrene, he nodded his head, thinking to himself while replying. 'Horny kid, aren't you young for those things?'

"Indeed, she is my close friend I made in the game."


The discussion turned toward his spear skills until they were disturbed by the interphone calling in the apartment.

"Ohh, finally, the pizzas are here. Let's eat before we get back to Satisfy."

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While the group was welcoming the pizza order, and also opened the cans of beers, only Mathias and Vlad. However, as they were eating and drinking, Mathias saw Gabriel looking at him as if wanting to try some beer.

"Kid, get yourself a small glass cup. I'll do some trick for you that might settle the curiosity."

"I knew big brother Matei is the best." replied the kid before drifting toward the kitchen.

"Wait, Matei, no. If mom hears that brat touched his lips on alcohol, I shall say adios to my money."

"You worry too much. Just watch."

Vlad kept his quiet, and when seeing his younger brother coming with a glass cup, he then saw Mathias open a new can of beer and starting to pour a bit of beer. It mainly was beer foam. Noticing that, he barely held his chuckle and thought to himself.

'Man, I haven't thought of doing that. No wonder. He has two younger brothers and knows the tricks.'

The young boy's face was satisfied as he was boasting to his colleague, but he mostly drank the foam and a small portion of the actual beer.

Mathias gazed with his green eyes at the boy and grinned a bit when staring at his friend's face while doing a silent sign before going back to eating.

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In another part of the world, a young man about 16-17 years old lived with his parents in a house in Texas, who had in his room a VR capsule, but now he was standing at the computer.

He noticed the new notification of a message he received on the principal forum for Satisfy, and wondering who it was, he clicked on it.

Not long as he was reading the message, his face got a bit scared, saying to himself.

"Could it be the person who fought the gang members in Titan? Mathias? What was his name? Let me check again."

Saying that he went to some files on his computer that contained the video recordings of his playtime in Satisfy. Clicking one video that had a description on it, he ran the video until a young adult, Mathias, appeared in sight.

The name on the screen matched with the message he received, which had him ask himself.

"Don't tell me he wants to delete the video? But I even turned down the monetization and cancelled the gifts option of my account on that video I posted after I saw it skyrocket in views. I read online that I can get in trouble for such things, especially with the laws that got harsher with things going online."

It was only after he thoroughly read the message Mathias sent that he relaxed.

"Phew, this guy really is cool. He didn't even care if I was taking money from the video and only thought about the game doing good. No problem, next time I will see you in Titan fighting, I will record and post it, with the edits thoroughly done this time.

"Bro, you will for sure be one of the giants of this game as long as you don't quit. I saw those LTS players and how they play the game, but none were like you, moving using something similar to the martial arts movies. Those guys only know to follow the game system and use the ingame skills, unlike you."

Ending saying that, he went to type his response to Mathias, that was as humble as the young guy could be. After that answer was sent, he checked the forum's top threads and could see that his own was still leading by a lot and was still growing.

Clicking on his own thread and checking the newer comments, he saw this [Katz] person give a mean comment, bad-mouthing Mathias and his skills for being low level and uncoordinated. That he could beat those Titan gang members with his eyes closed and one hand behind his back.

Annoyed by this comment, he moved his mouse to block this toxic guy, but just when he was about to block him, he saw the comment of another guy that was sent fresh, [Atlas].

<Big whale, you wish you had the skills of this guy in the video. You can spend all your money on items and boosts, but here in Satisfy, you will be shit. Get your toxic ass from here and respect the guy in the video for showing the future new players how the game actually looks like and behaves. His performance was even flawless for the starting levels. I am talking from the standpoint of a beta user who barely could get to level 16.

Those Titan thugs are elite monsters that can stomp on your giant ass whale as quickly and efficiently.>

"Well said, man, but you too are toxic. If you keep going back and forth, I might have to block both of you because I don't want admins or moderators to delete my post because of some idiots."

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Somewhere in Athens, a young adult about 23 years old whose skin tone was Mediterranean, with dark hair and brown eyes, full beard, laughed at his computer screen while reading the reply of the user [Katz] that was cursing him in the most pathetic manner he could hear.

"Hah, what is with this spoiled shit? Learn to insult you, idiot. Maybe if I was having an argument with a Turk, it might be interesting since they have solid arguments to diss on my face, but this spoiled rich Asian brat doesn't even know to throw insults."

Quickly typing something under the name [Atlas], he found out that he was blocked.

"Ahh, blocked? Did the mods get inside the thread? Crap, I hope I didn't mess up the thread, and they deleted it. Such a video should be seen by all starting beginners."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 26 - Calling home
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Mathias, who spent his time with Vlad and the other younger guys, talked about the game, mostly them asking him about how it feels and about hunting and questing.

Not finding this aspect troublesome, he told them his hunting experience, omitting the boring details.

Eating the pizza, he heard his friend ask him something surprising.

"Matei, once the live version kicks in do you want to team up with me, maybe form a guild together?"

Hearing that question, Mathias stopped munching on his slice of pizza, and after gulping down and taking a sip of beer, he looked to be pondering on the question.

"What kingdom do you want to play in?" asked after ending his thoughts, feeling like not changing his starting location because of his apparent reasons.

"Eternal or Gauss, I haven't settled on those two. But those two will be the ones to give me the most benefits compared to the big locations such as Saharan."
Getting a confirmation about Vlad's starting location, he didn't take long to tell him, with a dull voice.

"Well, your choice conflicts with mine because I will play on the Saharan side. Strictly because it goes hand in hand with my small project."

"Tsk, do you force me to play in Saharan too? What's there even to play for, being already in the strongest starting zone? Where is the fun in this? That's some cheap tactic to do this to one of your friends."

"No, you are wrong there, Vlad. All the locations give an equal chance to the players, you think Saharan is all great, but it is the same start even for the players there. Furthermore, I wasn't the one wanting to team up that much. Sometimes I will not even play that much for levels and stay inside the city to explore and look around, getting my references from around."

Vlad just waved his hand and seemed to be contemplating his choices after hearing about Mathias explanation that every player, regardless of location and a fair chance at the game.
'This bugger knows something, and he doesn't want to share? Nah, I doubt he is the type of person who will tell you in your face what he feels about you. Ahh, and I wanted to become some noble of the Eternal Kingdom or the Gauss Kingdom, now my plans will go to drain, thanks Matei.'
However, as he was contemplating, another thought runs in his mind that suggested another plan.
'Wait, wait. I could still achieve the same feat in Saharan. Just imagine the accomplishment feeling when I become a noble in Saharan, compared to a noble in the other kingdoms. I could look down on everyone, hmm, with exception to Matei since he is obsessed with history and might actually try to become bigger in nobility.'
'I can imagine him pulling something akin to the characters he kept telling me from history, Justin, uncle of Justinian the Great, a peasant who become Emperor, Basil, Ivaylo the Cabbage? The heck, why do I even remember about those guys right now?'
'This bugger is a bad influence for me. He might turn me into a nerd interested in history stuff.'
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Only after some minutes did he nod his head and said to Mathias, who was eating his slice of pizza.

"You know what, you lazy bastard, I will join Saharan too. Rather than playing alone, I'd rather have someone around, so I don't get crazy from loneliness. I shall challenge myself to see if I can rise to a nobility status there."

Mathias just smirked a bit and said a bit sarcastically. "I pray for your success, friend. However, you know that in the first levels, we might not encounter ourselves because of the randomized spawning of the game. Meaning, we will group up after we reach level 15-20, passing the starting zones."

"Man, I hope we get spawned in the same place. I really want to get carried by you, the 'pro'."

"I will not mind it if you give me all the loot that the monsters drop."

"Hey, hey, I am not that big of a noob, and that's really a cheap tactic."

As those two were talking, discussing their plans for the game, the two younger ones just listened quietly to their talk, digesting the information spread out, planning also in their minds for when they will try the game.

Two hours passed since Mathias got to his friend, but when he looked at his phone for the clock and noticed the passage of time, he explained to them he also had to go, having other plans on his schedule.

"No problem, Matei. In the meantime, I will try the game, but I need to make some connections before this, so those brats can also watch what I see in the game."

"You can do that?" asked Mathias, confused.

"Yea is like a stream feature. I just have to tune some settings and link the capsule with a program the devs released on their website and bind it. That's how people will stream this game in the future. Those devs sure are smart to think of things in advance."

"Argh, something probably I will never touch in my life. Anyway, have fun boys, I will take my leave. Bye, you little snots, enjoy the watch of Satisfy, for now. The legal age for playing the game is 14, just around the corner for you two."

"That's what sucks, big brother, but it's fine, we can learn the game from Vlad, and once we get inside the game, we will smoke those noobs, right, Ian?"

"I still have to have mom agree to buy me the capsule." said the other boy, with an awkward tone.

"Same, but we will figure out something. Maybe getting the best in class and top grades will soothe mom into buying this after two years?" commented Gabriel, taking a peek at his older brother.

"Maybe." said Vlad, as he was at the computer.

Then after that, he turned at Vlad, and getting up, he shook his hand and guided him to the apartment's hallway.

"Bro, you should accept my friend invite when you enter the game. Take care, also, tell me if you have problems with those gypsy bastards."

Getting his shoes on his feet, he raised his head to look at Vlad and shaking his head, he told him, casually. "Those idiots got arrested for about one month. By now, they should be sent to prison for all sorts of crazy stuff. Drugs, human trafficking, and all other bullcrap. It's on the news. Check it if you are curious."

"Nah, waste of time. So this is why you were so fresh lately."
'That and other things. Mostly because I have more free time since using the game to write my story.' thought Mathias to himself, but he chose to keep quiet and only nod his head.

"Ciao, stick to what we talked about. Don't bother with the creation of fancy avatars. It will most likely cost you in the long run because of the devs adding some other restriction."

"Haha, I will not cosplay as a woman, don't worry." said Vlad, when Mathias reached the door, while the latter cracked a hearty laugh, saying before exiting the apartment.

"You can't pull that there. Anyway, see you in the game."

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Mathias took the journey back home, moving toward the metro station that wasn't so full he waited again, this time a bit more than 5 minutes. Nothing of the ordinary happened to him on the way back as he arrived back home.

Moving toward a small couch in the main room, he searched for a number in his call history. [Mom].

Dialing that number, he took a while waiting for the line to be picked, and finally, after about one minute of waiting, he heard the voice of a woman calling back with a worried voice.

<Hello, Hello, yes, dear. Did something happen?>

"Hello, dear mother. Nothing bad happened, don't worry, I just called to hear your guy's voices. It has been two weeks since we last talked. Sorry for not calling too often."

<Don't stress yourself, dear. Dad and mom can understand you are working hard in the capital, trying to make a living on your own. Also, don't worry. We can understand your situation since we were once in the same situation, always busy with the work. We are fine back home. With the same job, nothing changed in our lives. Cristian should soon start his 11th grade, while Alexandru is getting all excited to begin his 9th grade.>

"I see. I am glad to hear that you guys are doing fine. Unfortunately, I doubt I can get to Alex's 9th-grade entrance ceremony or Cristian's since I am planning to take a break using all my break days from work on Christmas and also the New Years' Eve."

<That's fantastic, dear. But are you sure it will not create trouble at your work? You know, patrons like to do scummy things when it is close to holidays.>

"I think it will be fine, mom."

The son and mother duo continued to talk on the phone until 50 minutes passed, with Mathias telling his mom about how his regular working days are, his endeavors at work, and funny moments with clients of the hotel, running butt-naked on the hallways of the hotel telling him they got stuck outside because they forgot the magnetic card.

They laughed, and even Mathias's mom started telling him about how her work usually went. Later reminding him that he should be careful of his body with a sad undertone, focusing on the aspect that she was ageing.

<Sigh, Mathias, usually young men like you are by now in University. Won't you think about enrolling in a good university in the capital? Your exam at the high school, I remember, was among the best overall. When you will be needing that cursed university degree, you will find out too late, in your late twenties or thirties.>

"I will think about it, mom. You know how the situation with those university degrees is. Most of those kids getting that piece of paper are primarily incompetents who can't do their job right and yet have the arrogance to boast about their degrees. Still, I might be generalizing saying that since there are also people who know what they want in life and pursue that something.

The situation in the country doesn't help this aspect either. The government once again does their shenanigans, trying to get more money from taxpayers because they can't support their flawed pension system."

<I know, it's been like this for a long time. But let's not talk about politics, dear. We are simple citizens who can't do anything about those ingrates sitting on their warm chairs. Only with our vote can something be changed.>

"No problem, mom. That university thing, I will consider it. Once I get more experienced at work and get maybe a promotion in another sector, I might enroll next year, or when Cristian finishes high school and wants to enroll in a university. I can help him out with my place, so tell him that since he seems to be upset with me."

<Leave it to me, dear.>

"Thank you, mother. Have a good evening, and greet the boys at home." said Mathias with a bitter smile on his face, preparing to end the call with his mom.

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Looking at the long talk he had with his mother, he walked to place his phone to charge, and changing his clothes, he opened the laptop from its sleep.

Checking his email, he saw a notification from the forum page, and accessing the site, he read the message of the user [Maple Mist], who humbly thanked him for not trying to have the video cancelled, and also seeming to look forward to more of his appearances online.

"Haha, kid, don't make me into something I am not, a popular person. One video of me is enough to circle around the internet. I doubt I will let any other guys record me like that."
As Mathias said that, he moved to check the comments on the forum out of curiosity to see what the people were thinking about him, and once there, he could see all sorts of different opinions.
Gazing at those comments, some made him crack in laughter, especially at the one online war between one guy who speculated he was a cheater.
--- He is a hacker. Can't you see the amount of damage he does to those elite monsters? I am sure he is a hacker.
--- Imagine this idiot accusing this spearman of cheating in a new game that should be cheat-proof. How dumb can someone be to directly accuse people of cheating when they didn't even try the game.
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Mathias could see that they had a beef right there, a bit toxic, but done in a sarcastic manner, so he just scrolled past them to look around, and after some minutes, he could see that most of the people who commented had a good vibe for the upcoming game.
Laying back on his chair, he smiled to himself and said. "I did my part as a beta player. I can't rebuke myself for not letting future players know about the game. Even though there are better videos than mine, about users fighting monsters, attempting starting level dungeons and being wiped out and so on."
"The atmosphere itself it will get louder with each month it passes."
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Then after stopping from looking at the forum threads, he moved to the stash of chapters left hanging on a folder for his novel and set one chapter to be released automatically by the platform, point where he closed that tab and put the laptop to sleep, preparing himself to enter the capsule.

However, along the way, right when he settled on the capsule, his body signaled that it was time to release the valves of his pipe. The beers he drank started brewing in his stomach, and now he could barely contain the pressure accumulating down his pipe.
In a moment of life and death, or better said, a mental war, he jumped off the capsule and dashed off toward the bathroom, and immediately released the flood.
"Drink two beers, piss the amount of 6 beers. Our body is really smart, not going to lie." commented Mathias while gazing at the flood he was unleashing.
After that, he flushed the toilet, washed his hands, and only after finishing that, he moved to drink some water to calm his thirst.
"Is not like I even drank that much. Still, I better hydrate myself while my body releases the alcohol from the blood. It is nice knowing that the capsule has a warning system for the body's needs."
Taking a bit before entering the capsule, he moved to eat some crackers before he returned, starting the game, and with the intent to finish most of his quests that were lying down, waiting to be pursued and completed.

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 27 - The Fated Encounter
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Entering the capsule, he began the loading sequence that woke him standing next to Fayrene on the decently large seat that allowed two persons on it.

Turning his gaze on her delicate neck and seeing the golden necklace, he could see Fayrene doing the finishing touches on the dress, and before she could react to his sudden appearance, he looked at her face, saying with a calm voice and warm smile.

"It seems you really are as a working bee, constantly adding more to your dress."

"Is that a compliment?" asked Fayrene, who didn't feel repulsed by Mathias's magical appearance, next by.

When she asked that, she smiled, feeling herself calmer while standing around Mathias. Sensing his warmth on her skin, her heart started racing, making her job even harder to complete.

"Mathias, can you help me with some threads?" inquired Fayrene, trying to mask her emotion and having Mathias move from her proximity.

Meanwhile, Mathias, who was remembering the annoying comments of the jeweler, looked at her face, which seemed to drop a bit lower, with her cheeks going a bit pink.

'I would be a dense idiot to not understand those signs from her, but what should I do? I like her a bit, but I don't know if it is to the extent I would view it as real. What if my worry about the beta reset really happens and everything is deleted from the inhabitants of this world, even the smallest correlation of my existence?'

His heart was also beating next to her, which gave him away because Fayrene could hear it fully.

She continued her work, with her face a bit lowered, masking her face that was going bright red. Her thoughts were nothing but on the dress, as Fayrene thought to herself.

'His heart is beating rapidly, and he seems to tremble a bit. Could it be? He likes me too? No way, once he sees all my arm, he will for sure get scared and run.'

Yet, in those moments, in her mind, all the moments they spent together were playing out, especially the one in their first encounter, when Mathias saw a small part of her uncovered forearm.

It was since then that she chose to bandage her right arm fully, so Mathias couldn't see her curse.

'No, I am wrong. Even back then, Mathias still was the same, acting the same and even encouraging me. But how do I tell him that I like him? I never did this before.'

When her heart began racing, it was the moment Mathias got up and walked to the back of the room to take the bundles of threads, but along the way, Fayrene noticed that Mathias held his hand on his chest murmuring something she couldn't quite understand.

'I will wait. Maybe he knows what to do.' thought Fayrene, as she wasn't unsure what to do with her storming emotions.

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At the moment he went to take the bundle of threads, he took his time, calming down, and only after a while did he turn out and leave the threads on the workstation and distanced himself.

He checked the game time, which showed 10:25 AM, and with a calm voice, he said to Fayrene.

"I need to be at the Cathedral and finish the cleaning job. You will be fine with the dress?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I should be done by next the following days, also you shouldn't forget about your little project." reminded Fayrene, pointing her finger at the tapestry he began.

Nodding his head, he walked to the workstation, and using his inventory system, he got the canvas, the sketch, and some bundles of threads he used for the kitten's body.

"What do you think of it?"

Hearing Mathias' question, she looked at his face and openly expressed her thoughts.

"The drawing is pleasant to the eye, while the canvas, it seems you just started working on it. You better finish it, so I can see for myself what piece of art you had in mind."

Listening to Fayrene's warm voice and gazing at her violet eyes, he smiled before moving out of the house with a brief notification.

"You will for sure see it done."

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Exiting the house, he took the route toward the Cathedral, yet, as he was walking down the periphery streets, he saw some people with scars on their faces and rundown clothes, arms on their sides.

Moving slowly compared to his normal speed, he heard some of those guys talking with each other, seeming to inquire for some lost people.

"Did you notice that team 26 didn't report back to the hideout after one week? Could it be that they were taken out by Crow's Syndicate?"

"I doubt those idiots would be so daring to annoy Crow or his members. We need to investigate this incident and eliminate the one who caused us trouble."

"Should we ask those 'cursed ones' about noticing any incident that implicated those idiots?" asked one thug, the one that seemed to be in charge.

Mathias, who started increasing his speed, making it seem he was a simple citizen, overheard their conversation, and looked coldly at their backs, gazing at the names and levels of those thugs.

This group was of a higher level compared to the Lv. 15 he fought, being fronted by an elite that was level 23 and the lackeys that were level 18 respectively 19.

'I doubt I can take them out since I am only level 10. Maybe once I am level 15, I could start hunting them down and clear Fayrene's quest.'

Opening his status window, he increased his stats with the opened stat points from his level ups and looked pleased with how his character started to look.

****************

Name: Mathias / Class: Beginner
Level: 10(5800/7600) / Title: none
Health: 856/856/ Mana: 276/276
Strength: 50(+5) / Stamina: 36(+4)
Agility:23(+2) / Intelligence: 55(+18) / Stat Points: 0
*******************

'Indeed, I have a chance to strike down at the gangs of the periphery once I learn the arcane magic and reach level 15. It should be around the corner.'

'Today, I will clear Jeanne's little quest of cleaning the Cathedral Dome and gain the experience of that quest, followed by later Fayrene tailoring quest and Gabrils quest. I should be at level 14 at that point if I don't hunt or defeat any of those thugs trying to make life hard for others.'

'I sound like some hero wannabe, but at the end of the day, it's a quest that I have to finish. A game, even though it is realistic.'

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Finishing his thoughts, he saw the thug not agreeing with the proposal to check on the players and instead moved toward a random location that split away from his path.

Choosing not to pursue them, Mathias entered the main part of Titan and began approaching the Cathedral.

Getting to the stairs, he climbed them, getting to the base of the Church building, and he could notice that there were no sign of players or even a priest in proximity, which had Mathias ponder on what happened around.

"This feels weird. Does the church always get closed on Sundays? I remember my first encounter with the church was on a Sunday, and there was no sign of priests. Barely Gabrils was there to help me around."

As he said that, he walked slowly toward the entrance that was closed down, and remembering the door Gabrils used to check-in and out, he entered the Cathedral using that small door.

Once inside, he got surrounded by some priests who, at Mathias sight, went pale, and with a rushed whispering tone, they told him.

"Outlander, you are not allowed inside the Cathedral. You have to leave."

Getting welcomed by such an approach, Mathias frowned and stopping in place. He used the priest clothes he got from Jeanne, changing into them, later saying to them.

"I am Gabrils substitute for this week. Even then, I can't enter inside the building and do my job?"

The priests scoffed at Mathias and said to him. "Can't you understand that outlanders are not allowed inside today?"

"Man, give me a break. I am here to work. Do you want to find trouble with me? I don't understand what your problem is."

"We can't tell you anything. Those are Bishop Jeanne's orders."

"I see, then here, if I show you this will you leave me alone to do my job?" asked Mathias, not bothered by who the person inside the church building was while showing the 4 priests surrounding him the 'Archbishop Julius Seal'.

"This holy light! From where did you get His Holiness Seal? Are you some thief?" asked one priest that almost got in Mathias's face, questioning his legitimacy.

Mathias's eyes turned colder as he started getting annoyed by how those priests were treating him, without even having a reason despite a special someone being inside.

'Keep shoving your face into mine and see what will happen. Even showing the old man seal, those fools don't let me inside.'

"I got the seal from the old man himself. Find trouble with him. Now, will you let me inside, or do you want to make this into a drama?"

"Yeah, sure, who would believe you, a punny outlander? That seal is for sure a fake one. How could His Holiness even lower himself to grace you with his presence." commented the priest who got into his face, while the other 3 moved closer to him as if readying to push him out of the church.

It was at that moment that he could see their levels, being level 100 NPC's.

'I can't really fight those guys. I am out leveled by a lot, despite having Ragnius with me. I will also break my relation with Rebecca Church if I try to resist those jackasses. Are they really priests? It feels the opposite, looking similar to those thugs.'

"Outlander, you better get out of the Cathedral. Don't make us get physical with you."

Mathias still kept his quiet and asked the priests again. "Are you sure you have the right to get me out of the church when I am substituting Gabrils? I am even wearing the priest clothes given by Bishop Jeanne."

"You are not Gabrils but an outlander. That means you don't have the right to negotiate with us."

Giving a long sigh, Mathias nodded, and calmed his gaze, and started walking out of the Cathedral building with a resigned sentiment. However, when he was about to exit the building, he heard an angelic voice calling out.

"Mathias, I have been waiting for you. Why are you leaving when you still have so much work to do?"
The four priests' expressions crumbled a bit, and when they turned their bodies, they noticed Jeanne walking toward them, looking at Mathias with a gentle expression.

Nevertheless, it was when Jeanne noticed those priests that tried to get Mathias out that had her expression shifted, immediately releasing a cold divine light from her body that pressured the priests in a similar manner the old man did with Mathias.
Jeanne walked toward them and inquired with a cold voice while her body kept releasing divine light.

"What is the meaning of this? Haven't I told you patrolling priests that once Mathias comes to the church, to guide him to me? You just tried to take him out, even though it wasn't required?"

"Your Excellency, we didn't know this person is called Mathias. He didn't introduce himself to us, right guys?" said the one who was most vocal in the group of priests when he sensed the pressuring divine light coming from Jeanne.

Jeanne still looked coldly at the priests and said coldly to them. "So be it, I will not find trouble with you incompetent fools. However, if I see you making trouble again on the Cathedral grounds, I will demote you to monks and send you to the monastery. If you don't like that idea, I might even demote you to simple civilians. I doubt His Holiness the Pope, Devigro, or Archbishop Julius will even care."
"Your Excellency, please don't do this. We really didn't mean it. We thought he was like the rest of the outlanders trying to join the church. If we knew he was the person Your Excellency was waiting we would have guided him to you." said the head of this group, the one most vocal, trying to curtail Jeanne from her anger.
"Enough with your excuses. If you keep spewing your nonsense, I will really demote you."
The priests kept their quiet and looked down, however, their eyes turned colder, feeling humiliated by how Jeanne treated them for only an outlander.
"Let's go, Mathias."
Moving past the priests who had sulking faces, Mathias heard them, saying with anger in their voices, which had him almost draw out Ragnius and stab those bastards in their hearts.
"Damned abomination slut. You think just because you are the daughter of old Julius, you can do as you wish in the Cathedral? Hmph, no wonder you were cursed to become the manner you got, whore."
"There will come a day in the future where we will screw your brains out, whore."
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Getting toward Jeanne, still, under the effects of what he heard from the priests, he heard Jeanne said as if she also heard those priests.
"Don't bother yourself with those idiots. It is their freedom to call me whatever their mind chooses to, but everything will end for them once they act. Also, it seems they no longer bother keeping my curse a taboo subject, and it spread out around the church." ended Jeanne saying in a cold voice, a tone that Mathias was enjoying more, feeling intrigued by such coolness rather than the angelic tone.
"Jeanne, I am sorry." apologized Mathias, remembering his talk with the old man.
"About what? You did nothing wrong with those fools who tried to stop you." asked Jeanne,
"No, is not that. Heck, do you think I give a crap about those fools? It is about your curse. The old man told me about it last night after I finished cleaning the praying hall."
When Jeanne heard Mathias, she shook her head, and with a calm voice that sounded colder, added. "Dad also told me about you staying all night to clean the praying room and mentioned that he told something to you about me. I don't care how you address me, but since I look like a woman, act like a woman, it might make you uncomfortable."
"Hah, it seems you noticed my awkwardness."
"Mathias, because of this curse I've been born with, my male body turned into a woman's. As we speak, I am nearing the late stages of this curse, fully becoming a woman, barely having some remanence of my male side in my mind."
Keeping his silence, Mathias just walked side by side with Jeanne, who opened up a bit about her situation. Telling him how she was born a boy, and after she grew up to be a healthy young boy until the age of 12 when from nowhere his body started suffering changes with each year, she was celebrating.
"I don't know who my parents are, I grew in an orphanage, and when I started seeing those abominable changes to my body when I turned 13 years old, I thought I was under a nightmare spread out by Baal himself.
The people around me started to look at me as if I was a monster, point where I left the orphanage and wandered aimless, without a target. Feeling abandoned by life, I tried to end my life."
Saying that, Jeanne raised her priestly dress sleeve and showed Mathias her delicate white arm that had a cut on her wrist, a big one.
She seemed to be in a trance as she walked next to Mathias, and after feeling Mathias's hand on her back and him saying.
"I can't imagine what you went by, but if you ever think about making such a foolish choice as to end this "suffering" without even trying to face it forward, know that I am here to help you, whenever you wish to talk about your hardship, I will be here to give you my ear."
"Thank you, Mathias, but I am fine right now. When I thought I would die in my attempt to end my life, I slowly closed my eyes waiting for me to join hell. However, my fate didn't seem to be so bleak, as Father Julius appeared to heal me. Father Julius was the one to offer me a new home, a new calling, help me fight my demons.
"Each year, my body would change more into a woman, but he would be there to support me, like the father I never had. Now, you have that person who fully embraced the curse being thrown at him, or better said her."
Still with the hand on her back, as he felt her tremble a bit, she turned her beautiful face at Mathias, who was calmly listening to her story, giving his support, and asked a bit afraid.
"You really are not disgusted by this shape I turned into?"
"No, not at all. Sometimes, the exterior of our body is just a shell, and what is inside the person matters the most. Imagine Jeanne, you encounter the most beautiful person in the world, something akin to a goddess, yet that person is a monster inside. You would be bound to a vicious relation if having such a partner. Just imagine the nightmare you would have to suffer."
"Indeed, even when I was a boy, I never wanted to get associated with such people who have dark souls. Even here, I only have Gabrils to talk with, someone who can understand me, and now you. Thank you. Does this mean we become real friends?" asked Jeanne, with a cute voice, gazing at Mathias green eyes with her hazel ones.
"Haha, if you are fine with me. I might not be the best friend, but I am good at listening to people talking."
Jeanne wrapped her arms around Mathias and said to him. "This is something I am not good at, listening to people since I like to talk a lot. Anyway, I am really blessed to meet you."
After that, she broke her embrace, and moving past her intimate talk, she told him with a quiet tone.
"Mathias, we got a guest inside the main hall, and all the extra work you did last night proved out to work out fantastically since the guest was stunned by the cleanliness of the main praying hall."
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"Ohh, to think someone would notice and appreciate my work. My little heart beating increased a bit."
*Giggling* "You might not think much about it, but it really did a good impression on that person."
"Regardless, I still have to clean the dome, remember?" reminded Mathias, with a slight chuckle.

"That is correct, so I will not guide you since I have some paperwork coming from the Vatican that dad doesn't want to deal with.It seems Father is in bad relation with Devigro. However, you can't start just yet because it would disturb that person's prayer. Begin when he leaves the Cathedral.
Can you do it, Mathias? Not disturbing that guest?" asked Jeanne in her angelic voice, making Mathias smile a bit and replying to her.

"Is there even a need for such a question? You can take care of your work, while I will get busy with something else until that person leaves."

Jeanne nodded, and with a smile, she split up with Mathias, who walked slowly toward the praying room.

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Once he got there, he saw a white long-haired middle-aged man standing at a bench and seeming to have his eyes closed and with his hands bound together into prayer.

He could hear the man murmuring something, but he didn't bother to eavesdrop and getting to a bench at the first row, not too far away from the white-haired man. Mathias took some sheets of paper, inkwell, and writing quill.

'So, you should be the guest of the church? I wonder who you are. From your clothes, it seems some big noble. Whatever, it is none of my business to care about you.'

Like this, Mathias began to write on his historical novel, in an atmosphere that was best suited for his endeavor, a warm silence, sometimes accompanied by the murmurs of the white-haired man, but he wasn't disturbed at all, as he continued his writing.

One hour passed since Mathias started writing, and he had on his right side a lot of sheets of paper he completed, fully written.

He was no longer bothered about his surroundings as he was spell drawn by the plot of his story. However, in the meantime, he wasn't focused on his surroundings.
The white-haired man walked silently and got next to him, masking his presence with some unknown magic.

Like this white-haired man was reading Mathias completed pages, and a smile seemed to perk up on his dignified face.

It was only after some minutes that Mathias stopped from writing and, feeling the presence of someone else next to him, he slowly turned his head to meet the crimson eyes of the middle-aged man who gazed at the same time at him.

"Greetings, Your Excellency. Do you require something from me?"

The white-haired man did a small smile, and pointing at the sheets of paper next to him that were arranged diligently, he said to Mathias in a calm, dignified voice, exuding nobility from the manner of speech.

"Greeting, young man. You really are as direct as your writing. not sparing space for empty talk, but this is also good since I also don't like empty talk. I have some questions for you if you are so kind as to respond to me."

'Question for me? That's really coming from nowhere. Did I disturb his prayer or something, and now he is angry with me? Want to punish me?'

"Sir, did I disturb your prayer by chance? If it is so, I am really sorry."

Juander, who heard Mathias' question, shook his head and replied calmly. "On the contrary, my Aria probably is smiling right now in Heaven, knowing that I managed to meet the great artist who immortalized her in a story. I just want to have a talk with you if you don't find it troublesome."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 28 - Juander's Request & Cleaning the Dome
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"On the contrary, my Aria probably is smiling right now in heaven, knowing that I managed to meet the great artist who immortalized her in a story. I just want to have a talk with you if you don't find it troublesome."

Looking straight at this man as he mentioned that, he felt even stranger, starting to ask himself about this man's identity.

'Aria? Is she your wife? Hmmm, why does this sounds familiar to me? Let me think, those chapters have Theodora in the spotlight. My only female protagonist is Theodora, the Greatest Empress of the Roman Empire. No way. I, a peasant? Am sitting next to the Emperor of Saharan, Juander von Saharan?'

As Mathias was formulating his guesses, on the other hand, Juander just gazed back, no longer saying with a calm voice, filled with dignity.
"I don't if you managed to find out, but I am the Emperor of this country, Juander."
Mathias nodded, seeming to talk to himself. "That's right, otherwise how would you make my Theodora familiar."
"Ahh, sorry, Your Majesty, I was thinking out loud for a moment."
"No offense taken, young man. Right now, I am just a simple man praying for his departed wife's soul. Act freely around me."
"Still, Your Majesty. I shouldn't be behaving casually around you." said Mathias trying to lower the pressure on himself that Juander just pinned on his back.
"Haha, don't worry. You can act casually like I am a nobody."
*Hisss* Like he was releasing the pressure on his body, turning to a deflated ball, he asked the latter, with a quiet voice.
"Sir, what did you want to ask me?"
Juander peered with his crimson eyes at Mathias, and with a voice sounding a bit more serious, he asked him.
"Young man, can you tell me from where did you get the inspiration to write those persons of your story?"
"This… Do you refer strictly to Justinian and Theodora?" checked Mathias to be sure he understood the Emperor's question.
"Those were their name…" said Juander to himself before taking a sheet of paper from the bench and looking to be reading it before focusing back on Mathias.
"That is right, young man. I am curious about those two persons in your story. Can you tell me, how have you been able to come up with such a concept and personality?"
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Finding this question thrown at him a bit person, he coughed a bit to clear out the feeling pending in his chest, and while checking on Juander's expression that remained a serene calm, he explained to him, as if he wasn't holding any secret.

"Sir, you know that I am a cursed one or how others might call me and my brethren, outlanders."
Seeing Juander nod, he continued on.
"Those persons in my story are inspired from the history of where I am coming from. However, I shall confess that their personality is centered on my vision of those important persons in history. They are Justinian the Great and his almost the same status wife, Theodora. Emperor and Empress of the Great Roman Empire."
Juander stood there next to Mathias, contemplating what he heard, and after a while, he asked Mathias something unexpected.
"Do you have this book you are writing finished? I would love to give it a read and admire your work.".
"Sir, I am sure you will dislike my story. It is not for such cultured tastes. Also, I am just a writer doing this for fun, an amateur, no one big, to entertain the taste of an emperor. The quality also might feel questionable, even still. Will you ask for my book?"
Juander smiled at Mathias's humbleness and said unconcernedly by what he just heard.
"Young man, If I ask you for the book, it means I enjoyed your writing thus far. While there might be some writing mistakes on some points is not hurtful to the eyes. I've seen worse in the letters of my nobles. Hah, can you believe it, young man? I have 2 dukes that can't even write properly. Reading those sheets of paper is quite a nice passing of time. So will you do this to me? This request coming from Juander, not the Emperor."
"You will not be left unrewarded."
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[Juander's Unexpected Request]
Difficulty: Secret
Juander, the Emperor of the Saharan Empire, had constantly wished to meet the artist who managed to immortalize his deceased wife, Empress Aria, and bring his scattered emotions back to light.
Since finding the small torch, the source of light for his soul, he secretly, without arousing the suspicion of his enemies, began looking for the mysterious artist, yet after three months, he was left without success.
However, not giving up on his attempt at finding the mysterious artist, he returned to where everything started, the Light's Cathedral, in the end, successfully finding you, the mysterious artist who left a big impression on Juander's heart.
Quest Clear Condition: Let Juander read your creation.
Rewards: Affinity with Juander increased by [???] & RIght of access to '???'
Failure: Losing all affinity with Juander & Uncertain Disasters occurring for the player.
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<Do you accept[Yes/No]>
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Still remaining shocked by such proposal and a bit affected by the confession of Juander about him losing his wife, Mathias, stared down, wondering if he could pull such endeavor. Only after a minute or so did he respond to Juander, saying to him.
"Sir, all I can do is give you the manuscript, a complete one, to the point I got where I am writing. I can't simply rush myself to write something that might not satisfy me as a writer."
"This could also work, write for me this book to the point you are, and you shall be rewarded."
"Well, sir, I am not really enticed by rewards, meaning I am doing this for you. Hehe, for an admirer of such caliber and prestige, I will pull it off."
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[You have accepted the quest]
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Juander, after getting this response shifted his expression, doing a genuine smile, and getting a hold of the stash of sheet paper, placing them later on his coat pocket.
"You still haven't got me as an admirer, maybe after I get to read the full story, I might sponsor you."
"No, no. Sir, Lord Juander, don't bother with such fancy words as sponsoring me. I am doing this for my own enjoyment, not for money. Maybe a bit for my ego, so please don't praise me too much, or my head will grow bigger than my neck can handle."
"Haha, sure, young man. I will remember this for when we meet again. Here, don't lose the key and map."
As Juander said that, he got a key and a folded piece of paper and handed it to Mathias, continuing by reminding him.
" The keys and map here lead you to a small house nearing the Palace. That is a place I usually go to relax after my head is full of dirty politics. My small reclused place where no one will ever bother me, absolutely no one. No one knows that I own that little shack or that I frequent that place. I have my own tricks for remaining anonymous young man. Don't ask."
Ended, Juander saying, chuckling a bit, looking at Mathias, who stared with some confusion and surprise at the key and piece of paper.
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Receiving the map and keys from Juander, Mathias estimated the time it would take him to write the book.
"It shouldn't be a problem if I am seen in those locations? In about one week, I will be able to write all the book, excepting the part I still have to write."
"Heh, you wouldn't even be worrying when you see the house. I will keep it as a surprise for you to find out."
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As Juander finished his instructions, he got up and, leaving Mathias without his work for today, he started backing off, moving toward the exit of the Cathedral.
"That is right, I almost forgot something since I got my schedule full. What is your name, young man?" asked Juander, after stopping in place not far from where he left.

"I am called Mathias, Lord Juander." told Mathias, lowering his gaze a bit when seeing the deep crimson eyes that were shining with a red light.
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"I see. Good name. It reminds me of the names my ancestors would have. Anyway, it is time I take my leave, for now, young Mathias. I shall await your creation."
Saying that he started walking away from the praying hall directly out of the Cathedral.
On the way out, his gaze passed the group of priests who were at the door, still with sulking expression, and even when he got near them, they didn't react, blocking his way.
"Pardon me, can you make way for me to exit?" asked Juander with a serene voice.
"Hah, give us a break, you peasant. Can't you see we are thinking?"
He didn't put to heart those words, and from his body, an intense crimson red aura was released that immediately struck the 4 priests to submission like they were dragons attacking some sheep.
Staring coldly at the priests that were foaming on the ground, shaking like dead fish, he withdrew his red aura and walked out undisturbed from the Cathedral. Later, he was met by his personal guard, Leader of the Eclipse, Bain, which showed up from the shadows of the trees nearby.
"Your Majesty, do you wish for me to eliminate those parasites?"
"Don't bother with some pathetic priests who don't know their path." replied Juander, with a cold voice to his personal bodyguard.
"Understood, Your Majesty." said the black-haired man, as he turned into a shadow that blended with the environment and following Juander, who cast a magic spell that shifted his appearance.
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Meanwhile, after Juander left the Cathedral, he got up on his feet, stretched his body, and moved out of the bench rows, walking toward the center of the praying hall.
"Let's get the cleaning tools for now and start making my plan for how to climb the dome."
He followed the route back and walked toward the room Jeanne guided him yesterday, where, not long after, he quickly arrived with all the cleaning tools in hand, getting to the center of the praying hall, where the statue of Rebecca at a smaller scale was placed.
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Staring at the large room, especially at its encompassing roof full of gold mosaics and marble statues, accompanied by shinning glass windows, he later turned his attention on the platforms leading up.
After some minutes of contemplation, he finally got moving, walking in the right direction, the praying hall, toward one platform that had a ladder.
"Wait, wait, I don't have to strap those cleaning tools on my back, right? The inventory bag, I haven't tried to see if those tools can be placed there."
Checking his assumption, Mathias opened his inventory window and could see a new feature appearing where he has the cleaning tools as questline items with addition windows, of [use] or [unuse].
Canceling the usage of all those items, he could see them disappear from where he was holding them.
"That was unexpected. With this, I will climb the ladders freely and get the items needed from the bag."
Placing his hand on the wooden ladder and doing a resistance check with his foot, he discovered that it was stable, letting him freely climb up toward the first platform, leading to the dome.
With one ladder done, he saw himself as if he climbed an apartment block floor, reaching the first level.
Moving on the platform and looking around with vigilant eyes, he saw that another ladder was on another platform on the same level but a bit distanced. Some wooden planks were connecting those platforms, about the width of some two feet standing bound.
"Wow, how cheap those constructors must be to do this. Was this on purpose? No joke, I feel like Ezio in the assassin's games from grandfather's collection."
Feeling like he was walking on a rope, he walked on the planks and got the the the platform that had a ladder to an upper platform.
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The path was smooth until he reached an equivalent to the 4th floor since the constructors had conscious of making a path toward a high level of the Cathedral's walls.
Looking around himself, he whistled, impressed by the view, and as he looked above his head, he could still see that he had one more floor to climb before reaching the top platform.
"Here comes nothing."
Clutching on the wooden ladder, he began rising up, but he noticed the ladder wasn't anchored down or secured in any shape.
The instability of the ladder could be felt on his hands and legs, as it was shaking a bit.
"Ahh, Lord. Why I feel this isn't the fault of the workers, instead of someone else. Gabrils, you bastard, why haven't you secured your ascension path?" cried out Mathias, who barely managed to stabilize the ladder.
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Passing this hurdle, he moved even slower on the ladder, balancing out his movements, and as he was climbing up in such a manner, he received a notification window, making his mind feel a bit better in the face of this suicidal job.
[After repetitive movements of your body and finding your balance on the high ladder that was risking your life, your body adapted ever so slowly.]
[Agility has risen by 1]
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"System, please shut up. Can't you see I am busy right now? Trowing my life and playing the assassin game at the same time?" demanded Mathias, half ignoring the notification.
After some minutes of balancing himself on the ladder, he reached the uppermost platform, where his view changed to an enthralling scenery worth a capture.
Sitting down on the platform, and with the desire of capturing this setting, he searched around the settings for the capturing option.
"Found you, bugger. Let's immortalize this view."
Looking around, he could feel the view of the large dome, as if it was closely related to Hagia Sophia.
"Nevertheless, the devs sure are professional world crafters. To include such details and sophisticated elements to a building that most players probably wouldn't even bother to explore. It is simply breathtaking, looking from this high around the statues, column, mosaics, and the intricate manner the benches are arranged and how each marble stone placed on the floor connect making this sun."
"It should be the symbol of the Goddess."
Waiting for a bit, looking at the notification windows, he saw that no events appeared on his face. No events about discoveries or puzzle solving.
"Tsk seems I still haven't discovered much about the Cathedral. From those games, after getting to certain checkpoints, you could find some treasures. Meanwhile what I got is just a nice view. Sad."
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After his rest, he sprawled up and looked for ways to start cleaning the mosaics.
"How do I climb more? Do I touch the walls? Too risky. Probably that's what Gabrils pulled, but me? I can't do such crazy acts. I need a hook so I can wrap a rope around me and rise up."
Mathias entered a state of meditation as he was thinking about his options.
"The bucket has a wooden handle… Not good. I have a rope, but I can't use it for fishing the rope hanging… Wait, a hook? How can I be so narrow-minded when I am half a magician?"
After doing a soft facepalm, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his [Mana Core] that was mostly unused by him for lack of arcane spells. Yet, remembering about the shovel incident when he just awakened his mana core, he had his fair share of experiments since then.
He wasn't as graceful and masterfully as Fayrene when it came to pure arcane, but it wasn't like he was an idiot that couldn't figure some tricks of his own.
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Like this, he was stirring up his [Mana Core] that started to release a dim purple light that was warming his chest before gathering toward his right arm.
The rate he was gathering the mana compared to when he first tried to cast a pure form of magic was changed, taking him about 5 minutes to prepare the spell, half the time it took his in the past to cast only a shovel.
"Come, buddy, let's see if I improved my control with the magic."
After he felt he concentrated enough mana, he released it toward the rope, looking like a white-purple ray, touching the rope. Then with his mental control, he envisioned something akin to a metal hook, a point where this purple-white light touching the rope morphed in the shape of what Mathias imagined.
[You consumed 70% of your MP]
"Sure, but this matters less after I succeeded the control of mana."
Grasping the white-purple chain-hook that was bound to the rope, he quickly pulled it in his direction, and like a desperate person, he moved to grab the rope.
"Nail it!"
As he said that, the white-purple chain-hook started to scatter around, leaving Mathias with the rope in his hand.
Securing his hold on the rope, he began to use it to climb toward the high dome, and along the way, he would tie his own rope to secure himself even better.
Hence his cleaning job began.
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Minutes passed, and Mathias was there, stranded and cleaning using his cleaning cloths, moving slowly so he wouldn't damage the mosaics in any shape or form.
"Hah, this job isn't so boring as I thought. Don't tell me I started enjoying extreme things with this new experience?" asking himself that question, Mathias still kept himself busy.
He stopped from cleaning after one hour when he heard the voices of many people bellow him, along with Archbishop Julius, who was doing a religious service.
The chores singing resounded even at the dome ceiling, where Mathias was cleaning up.
"Is like I brought the music player with me when cleaning at the job."
Not disturbed about the religious services or even bothered to stop his job, this was felt by the parishioners who noticed that dust was falling like dust on their clothes and bodies.
They still focused on the Archbishop conducting the religious service, but with each minute the service was going on, they would feel more dust falling on them.
"What is the meaning of this? Did we anger, Her Splendor, Rebecca to be dirtied up?" whispered one parishioner, another one, a woman.
"I feel the same, I even cleaned myself fully to come to His Holiness service, but my hair and clothes kept being dusted for unknown reasons." said the woman to the man, who was moving his hands to dust himself off.
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Such whispers kept going, on the entire process of the old Archbishop, conducting the service, that even himself felt the effects of the dust reaching his pure white with golden thread sewing.
'What is this dust? Since when did my clothes get so dusty? What is going on here?'
Looking around the parishioners, who were also dusted, he then heard a little boy looking up call out to his mother.
"Mommy, look up! A fallen angel has been wounded and is stuck on the dome!"
This child's comment created an entire commotion, where even Julius looked up, only to have his face crumbling when he noticed who was making all this mess.
"Crazy brat, how did you manage to get there? I thought I cut down all the access to the dome. Barely that little shit, Gabrils, could get up to clean the dome in the past, but it isn't required cleaning that part. Hah, I have to let it dust off again, another waiting time for me to set my plans."
"Did you said something, Your Holiness?" asked one of the priests that were not far by, conducting the religious service along with himself.
"Ahh, no, no. I am just shocked but what I am seeing."
"Indeed, Your Holiness, who is that person? He doesn't seem to be brother Gabrils since he is still healing after being wounded by the Yatan Church."
"Don't worry, I know who that crazy brat is." mentioned the old Archbishop to the priest before turning toward the talking crowd and telling them with a warm and vibrant voice.
"Ahem, my dear children, please calm down. The one on the dome is one of Rebecca's servants who is entrusted with assuring the cleanliness of the Cathedral."
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Mathias, who felt all his job was done, heard the old man and the commotion made below and only looked down after he received the notification of Jeanne's quest being completed.
[Congratulations, you have cleared the quest 'Clean the High Dome' and received the following quest rewards:]
[5,500 experience / [10x Intermediate Health Potion] / [+10] Affinity with Jeanne has been acquired]
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[Your level has risen.]
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"Finally! I started getting dizzy from this high after such a long time."
The parishioners heard Mathias saying that. He looked at each other dumbfounded and kept watching him as he was moving toward the platform of the adjacent wall.
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"Ahem, dear children, let's resume the service, less we anger Her Splendor."
Tried Julius to take the parishioners' attention away from Mathias, and with success, they got their focus back on him.
"Yes, Your Holiness. Sorry for disturbing the service." called out the parishioners, apologizing to the old man, followed by Mathias, who was calling out with a loud voice from the ceiling.
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In the meantime, Mathias, who got back to the platform, could see on a bench at the back of the gathered parishioners Jeanne giggling with a bright expression on her face, as if what she watched was a quality comedic show.
"You better have my back against the old man. I don't want to be handled around by him. I'll instead stick around with the beauties, as long it is possible."

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 29 - 'Malakai' makes his appearance
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With Mathias climbing down the platforms, getting past the ladder that caused him most of the troubles, he finally managed to find himself on the ground once again.
"Phew, I think I could make any assassin proud with my parkour skills in the game." said Mathias taking a deep breath as he calmed down his adrenaline.
Looking in the direction of the parishioners and Archbishop, he chose not to disturb them more than required and instead walked down toward Jeanne, who waved at him to get closer.
As he was walking in her direction, Mathias could hear her laughing, barely containing her amusement.
"What is so funny? Hey, cut it off. Stop laughing like you are some crazy woman."
"Hah, such a good scene. You should have seen the old man's expression when he saw you hanging on the Dome, priceless. Nonetheless, you finished the cleaning as you promised me."
"Jeanne, you better protect me. That old man, I feel he will beat me up."
*Giggling* "Unfortunately, I am still weaker than father Julius. My divine powers dwarfs in comparison to his own. I'll tell you a small secret, dad was supposed to be the Pope, but for some reasons unknown to me, he never made that final step, ascending to the throne."
"I see. That's really some interesting information about old Julius."
"I can tell you more, but you better follow me back to my office. Right, while we are at that, I will give you the reward I promised you for clearing the Dome."
Then, with Jeanne getting up from where she was standing, they took their leave, moving toward the secluded zone of the Cathedral and later turning for her office.
Along the way, they encountered some priests and players that joined the Church that followed behind the priests.
They completely ignored Mathias, like how he, too, reacted. He had his own path while they made their own.
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Minutes later, Jeanne unlocked her room in the Cathedral and welcomed Mathias inside before making her way inside.
"Make yourself comfortable. I have to search for those potions."
Nodding, Mathias noticed an additional couch inside her room that wasn't there when getting to meet her. Getting on the seat, he watched her back as she was searching around her office.
"Intermediate Potions, the Potions... Where have I placed them?? There should be a box down here. Maybe it is here."
Saying that, Jeanne lowered herself even more, in doing so, making Mathias feel awkward for the show in front of his eyes. He later heard the treasure huntress call out with excitement.
"Found them. While my body turned like this, it seems my memory and other girlish aspects morphed my mind. You know how they say it about women. They know to find anything from their house. Maybe they are smarter than men? Lucky me, I guess." said Jeanne, getting herself straight while placing a box containing 20 flasks holding a red liquid that symbolizes life.
"Ahem, I doubt it is related to that. Intelligence is something universal that can be inside of a woman or man, alike. Statistically, men are the ones having a bigger intellect." commented Mathias from where he was seating, making Jeanne gaze at him with a curious expression.
"You think so? But I feel that compared to when I was a man, my thinking process is faster. While influenced by some stupid feelings I can't explain, compared to the past, I feel there is progress in that regard."
"Maybe it is something related to the curse. Or it can depend on your surroundings and lifestyle. For example, constantly reading, training your mind, exercising, and so on might have an effect. I am not a professional, just stating some things from books I've read."
"Interesting thinking you have Mathias. Now, come here and pick up your reward. I told you I would give only 10 of those flasks, but I changed my mind. Women, right? Changing on the wimps of the moment."
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[Because of a high affinity with Jeanne, she changed the reward of the quest 'Cleaning the High Dome' giving you 20x 'Intermediate Health Potions']
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Mathias, who got on his feet, stared at Jeanne's face with surprise and asked her, uncertain.
"Are you sure, Jeanne? Don't they require a lot of money to buy?"
She smiled warmly at him, shaking her head, before brushing her long blonde hair behind her shoulders.
"Do you need me to force you? Just take them without worrying about my money. I make more money than you can imagine just being the Bishop of the Cathedral."
"Fine, fine. I will no longer complain. You are the boss here. Also is bad manners, refusing the goodwill of others when they are sincere."
"Indeed. Don't be shy around or think you will be indebted to me. *Giggling* I am not weird like Gabrils, having the interest of binding people to me, placing debts on people I heal or help."
With her cheeks going a bit pink, she also said. "Also, aren't we friends? It is only normal for friends to help each other."

Nodding his head, he noticed Jeanne turning a bit embarrassed, but he didn't put a lot of thought into it. Picking up the box with flasks, he brought it to his inventory bag, making Jeanne gaze at him with surprised eyes.
"Wow, isn't that Dimensional Magic? Can you teach me that?"
"I doubt I can teach you anything as I am speaking to you. Still, do you have magic talent?
As he asked Jeanne that, he took a look at the potions he gained and what they did.
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[Intermediate Potion]
This is a potion that has been formulated with five or more herbs.
Restores 1,500 health.
The cooldown time is 20 seconds.
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'Ohhh, this one is perfect. Having such things when fighting the thieves and bandits in the future will come in handy. Sigh, I feel I am just profiting over her kindhearted intentions. I will need to pay her back, regardless of what she thinks.
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Nevertheless, after hearing Mathias question about her magic talents, she extended her delicate white hand and created a small flame in her hand, showing Mathias some of her magic talent.
"Impressive. To think you are also talented with magic, you remind me of my friend."
"Ohh, a woman?" asked Jeanne, gazing intensely at Mathias, who felt that one straight to his heart.
'Wait, don't tell me, you are a possessive one? We only know for about one week…"
"Well, that is right. Anyway, that conversation in that regard is unnecessary. Can you show me what else you can do with your magic?"
Jeanne changed her gaze back to a tender one along with Mathias' request to see her perform the magic she knew.
"It is not much. When I was younger, I wanted to become a mage, but since that curse kicked in, I lost my focus on the magic path, and with Father's Julius guidance, I studied and learned the divine power. Is a system closely related to the magic system."
Saying that, she created some small ice shards in her hand, and after one minute, she created a gust of wind that blew gently at Mathias's neck.
"Hey, are you playing with magic just now?" asked Mathias, feeling that Jeanne was teasing him too much with the wind spell she knew.
"Oh my. Why do you ask that? I am not doing anything to you."
Ending that, she blew another gentle wind toward his ears and neck tickling him.
She messed around with him until Mathias got enough and, using his arcane magic, placed a primal barrier around his face, shining around his face with a white-purple barrier.
"Wow, what is that? White-purple magic form? I never saw it before, not even with the great mages I ask for spells when visiting dad. Also, sorry for teasing you."
Mathias looked with serious eyes at Jeanne, and ending his primal barrier that consumed about 20% of his MP, he told her.
"It is fine. I understand that you are mostly alone, and having someone around to spend time with might feel like a new experience. Not that I blame you or anything. In fact, I am impressed by your magic talent. I would have taught you my magic if I was a tiny bit more talented."
"I see. I am glad you are not angry with me. You still haven't responded to my question. What is that magic you used, the white-purple one."
Gazing at Jeanne's curious face, which started getting closer and closer to him, he placed his finger on her soft lips before saying with a mysterious tone.
"It is a secret. When I truly master it, I might tell you."
Being stopped in place by Mathias' bold move, she took a shy step back and said to him while pouting. "Friends don't hold secrets."
"What you are doing is blackmailing. Are you sure a priestess is allowed to pull such schemes? What if I tell the goddess?"
"Hey, that is blackmailing. Argh, fine, I will not pester you with that question. What will you do for today? Do you have plans?" asked Jeanne, a bit shy, after stopping from annoying Mathias with questions about the arcane magic.
"Nothing much for today. I would probably go to a corner somewhere and start writing for a reader of my story and later start training my spear."
"You are also a spearman? Not only a magician?" asked Jeanne, surprised by this new information about Mathias.
"Can you stop? It is not like it is unheard of for a spearman to use magic. "
"I don't know. You are the first one I heard about. No, wait, there is Lord Kirinus, who also combines magic with his spearmanship. Lord Kirinus is told to be the strongest spearman reaching a higher level even compared to Duchess Dehakel Rachel. But I believe you will also reach their levels as long as you work hard. There's this saying of Father Julius, 'You can achieve anything as long you work hard for it.'."
"The old man isn't wrong at all." commented Mathias with a calm voice, pondering a bit on the two persons Jeanne mentioned, Kirinus and Duchess Rachel.
"Indeed, father Julius has quite the way with the words. But, let's not detour from what I wanted to ask you, please. If that part of your schedule isn't as important, will you join me not too long after to go somewhere in the city?" asked Jeanne with a serene expression on her white face.
"Where exactly?" inquired Mathias, feeling cornered by a predator.
"Secret. All I can tell you is that we will have fun."
'I doubt she is an easy woman. So it isn't that. Hmm, it piqued my curiosity for sure.'
"I see. Then, if you don't have any more work to do, we can go now, less, that old man comes after me, trying to squash his problems with me."
*Giggling* "You are worrying too much. Father is a good person. It is an underestimation calling just good. He is one of the holiest men of this era. As for when we can go? Right now. Come, follow me to my house."
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Getting out of the Cathedral, Mathias, who followed Jeanne close by, started asking himself questions about where she actually lived.
'Isn't this the wealthy district, where only people with status or money could buy a residence here?'
The houses on the alleys couldn't even be compared with the periphery residences. It was like comparing a wolf with a chihuahua. It was the same species but totally different worlds.
It was precisely what Mathias thought at that moment but told more pathetically.
"Mathias, is something wrong? Just a bit more, and we reach home."
"Ahh, no. I am fine. I just didn't expect you to live in this area of the city."
"Hehe, working as a priest really pays well. There's all sort of clients coming to my doors, from black knights to red knights, wealthy nobles, and so on."
Soon Mathias could see Jeanne walk slowly after getting closer to a two stories high building, and to his expectations, she opened the gate of the entrance and stepped inside the courtyard.
Keeping his silence, Mathias gazed calmly at his surroundings. He noticed that the courtyard was maintained, with grazed green field, while the house was simply a medieval-style mansion.
"Welcome to my home, Mathias." said Jeanne with a smile after she opened the door, welcoming the young man inside her house.
Getting inside after she entered, he checked his surroundings since entering the hallway of the house.
"This one is a gift I gained from Duke Rigal for curing his ill son, a cute child nonetheless. Unfortunately for him, his mother died in childbirth while his father is constantly busy with the administration of Gelder Duchy and also defending the frontier against the other races in the North."
"He will be fine. As long the boy is patient, and his father manages to build up a relationship with his son, they will be fine." commented Mathias as he stepped forward, following Jeanne that was leading him in her main room.
The main room was fully equipped with furniture of ornament and masterfully crafted. At the center was a round table where two expensive armchairs were placed.
"Make yourself comfortable. I will go change my clothes, and after that, we will go to the location secret to you."
Before she dashed toward the upper level of the mansion, she looked at Mathias that went to sit on one chair with an embarrassed expression as she told him.
"It will take a bit since I also have to clean myself. So don't get angry if I take a while."
"Sure, don't worry. I am good with waiting."
Then Jeanne, not wasting any further time, climbed the staircase toward the first level of the mansion, leaving Mathias to stare around the main room.
"This house makes me feel weird. It's like I am one of those millionaires, relaxing in a million-dollar house. However, the truth, I am staying in a single-room apartment. That's the saddest truth. Even the people of this world can live better lives than us, outlanders."
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[Ding! You received a friend request from player 'Malakai']
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"Who?? Don't tell me is that bum who managed to enter the game?" pondered on who this 'Malakai' could be, and without waiting much with the notification windows popping up, he pressed [Accept].
Then from nowhere, a ringtone started ringing in his ears that made him get on his feet, visible scared to heck out of him.
"Motherfucker. What's this? Hah, hah. I almost got heart failure."
Another window appeared in his face, similar to how a call went, with the system asking him for [Answer/Decline] with the specific green and red colours scheme.
"Sup, Matei. This game is awesome. I feel like I am tripping on LSD. Everything around me looks so real." said 'Malakai' or how Mathias knows him, Vlad, after Mathias accepted the call.
"Lower your tone, you bastard… My ears are hurting right now. So, what's with that name, 'Malakai'? Do you even know what it means?"
"Dah, obviously. It's from those old ass religious texts, the Bible. It means Messenger."
"Okay, congrats, you did your homework. So, what's the name theme, something you want to achieve in this new world, to tell the world?"
"Bro, I tell you, this name will scare the crap out of kids once I get big. I want to become an assassin, so when people mention my name, I will become synonymous with the Messenger of Death." replied Vlad with a serious voice that also had Mathias take him seriously.
"It seems you are dead serious. So, where did you spawn? Eternal or Gauss? Let me guess, Eternal?"
"Bastard, do you read minds or something? Indeed, I spawned in the Eternal Kingdom, straight to Reinhardt. Now I am looking for quests, but they are so damn rare. Whenever I ask those NPC's for quests, they just move away from me. Isn't this a bug or something?"
"Idiot. Haven't I told you that this game isn't like those shitty games of the past. Maybe in those games, you could get quests without much hassle, but here? You have to work for everything, even the smallest quest."
"Fuck. Then how do you get your quest, Matei?"
"Simple, I behave like a human being and treat those people of this world as equals. Try it, curse me all you want if it doesn't work. But I assure you, it will work. I have a theory in mind. This is the intended way to play this game, connecting with the NPC's finding their life stories. Is like reading a book when you listen to those NPC's talking, sharing their grief, troubles and happy moments."
"Ohh. You haven't told anyone this info, right?"
"Why should I? I am not some Saint to help those stupid kids who can't figure out the game. I mean, you can play the game however you like, playing for the levels and going for hunts or simply going with the flow."
"Man, listen. If this method works, let's keep it our secret. Wouldn't we be able to raise in levels as fast as those crazy gamers if we play for quests?"
"Vlad, I don't care, just go enjoy the game. A last reminder, train the body movements of the attacks until they flow like a reflex. Once we start the live version, we'll have the advantage over other players."
"Yes, brother, thanks for guiding this noob. Last question, in what stats do you think I should focus?"
Hearing Vlad's question, Mathias lowered himself down on the luxurious armchair and pondered.
'Should I troll him? No, since we might play together, let's help him out.'
"Vlad, think, what does an assassin need?"
"Attack power to DPS idiots, kill them in one blow or two if I really suck, and agility to escape if the situation gets nasty?"
"Indeed, so there you go, your answer. Spec into Strength and Agility, have them balanced out to a 1:1 ratio if you can. Nevertheless, don't forget to put some points in the Intelligence stat too. You will feel the pain of being a literal idiot in the game when you don't even have an MP to use your skills."
"Now, I will close the call. I got some business inside the game to do. Leave a message if you want help, don't call me. I almost had a heart attack because of that stupid ringtone going in my brain." mentioned Mathias, with an annoyed expression on his face, before moving to close the call.
"Thanks, bro. Worry not, I will call you after notifying you with a msg."
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[Call ended]
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"Such goofball. To think he would try the assassin route. Interesting."
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As he finished his talk with Vlad, only some minutes passed, and now fully knowing that Jeanne would take her time to prepare, he took out the canvas from his inventory and soon after started to fill the empty spots with color.
The small table next to the armchair became a workshop to him, and slowly but surely, the kittens began gaining life under his careful hands.
About an hour went by, and the body of the silver kitten took life, with only the remaining 10% of his body.
It was when he was about to shift on the orange-coloured kitten that he heard an embarrassed cough from behind him.
"Ahh, you finally finished your preparation? What took you so long?"
Slowly he turned his head to glance at Jeanne, and suddenly when he had his head fully turned, he said with a surprised voice.
"By Mother Teresa's name, who are you? Did you barge into my friend's house without permission?"
Surprise could be sensed in his tone, a bit overwhelmed by the sight his eyes took in. Placing his canvas from his hands down, he started inspecting this gorgeous woman in front of him.
She was wearing a pair of black trousers that fit perfectly with her long toned legs, along with some hunting heel boots. Those boots were similar in style to his own, just that they were probably crafted for women, while her upper body simply left him shocked.
A white buttoned shirt revealed some of her cleavage, while her lips held black lipstick, making them more luscious than ever. The eyes were left untouched, revealing her natural hazel eyes, but a slight touch of makeup was still there around her cheeks.
Her long, straight blonde hair was left cascading down her white shirt.
"Cut it off. Stop staring at me like that. Don't tell me, you are one of those perverts on the streets?"
"Well, well. I can't even be surprised nowadays?"
"That's too much. I look bad, right? I still try to wear manly clothes, but they don't match with my body. It is also a bit tight on my chest." said Jeanne, a bit shy, seeming to walk back to her room to change herself.
Then Mathias grabbed her hand, stopping her from dashing off, later calming her down.
"What are you doing? I might be a really patient guy, but one hour was enough, don't you think? Also, you are looking good in those clothes, you truly do."
"Really? Don't you find me distasteful?" asked Jeanne, with her voice trembling a bit.
"Not at all, you are really gorgeous. Hah, you will understand once we start walking on the streets, you will feel how envious those ladies can truly be of you." said Mathias with an evil smile as he released Jeanne from his grasp, knowing that she calmed down a bit.
"I don't know. What if they recognize me and start looking down when they see me at the cathedral."
"Haha, I barely recognized you, and you think some fools will do it? Let's go to this secret location you've been trying to go to, and you will understand."
Grabbing her hand, he moved her a bit around the main room, but as Jeanne made a step while she was wearing her heeled boots, she lost her balance and started panicking, grabbing on whatever she could before landing.
"Ahhhh, help me!" cried out Jeanne as she landed straight on Mathias's chest.
Seeing herself on his chest, she almost began crying from embarrassment as she apologized.
"Sorry, sorry. I can't believe I can't even walk properly using those shoes."
"Argh. It is fine. Calm down, before going somewhere, we'll practice walking wearing those shoes." said Mathias while patting her head from where she was holding onto his clothes.
Along the way, he also felt her body curves and gifted body but kept his cool, not giving to degeneracy and taking advantage of her.
"Mathias, I can't imagine being a woman was so hard." confessed Jeanne, as she calmed down, being helped a lot by Mathias's touch.
"Well, wait until you give birth to a child. It is said is 100 times worse than being kicked in the balls."
She looked with big eyes from where she was standing on his chest before trembling a bit in fear.
"It is still too much for me to comprehend. Can you please not mention the fact that I will have to do that in the future?"
"Is all good. Can you stand up, or do you need my help?"
"I will try, but to be safe, stay beside me." mentioned Jeanne, as she began pushing herself up using Mathias chest as support, slowly but surely getting on her feet.
"Well, this is the first step. Now, let's walk outside." said Mathias after getting on his feet and moving to walk toward the hallway.
Meanwhile, Jeanne, who tried to keep her balance, looked at Mathias and said with a pleading voice.
"Help me out, I am stuck here." she tried to fish for his arms, where later she hooked onto his arms tightly and slowly starting to make progress to outside.

 

[Morpheus146]

Vol. 1 - Chapter 30 - The Hippodrome
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Holding onto Jeanne's soft arm, Mathias walked her outside of the house, with some struggles since she was so clumsy that it made her think something strange.

'Come on, it isn't that hard to walk on high heels, not that I tried, but I guess it is similar to ice skating. I need my patience now and also to keep my hands in check.'

Getting out of the mansion, Jeanne took a deep breath whispering to Mathias with an embarrassed voice.

"Can't I just go take my normal shoes?"

"Well, you could have done that, but now? No. Let's train you to be more like women, starting with walking on high heels."

"Arghh, it is easy to tell this from the sideline." pouted Jeanne while holding onto Mathias, afraid she would drop on her face.

"First, we will try to keep our balance while walking some steps forward." said Mathias, not buying into her complaints, as he left her standing at the courtyard road alone.

"Y-You, come back here immediately. I think I will lose my balance and drop down."

"No, you won't, so let me see you walking. Chop-chop, do you want to spend all day here?"

"I don't mind." mentioned Jeanne while smiling at Mathias, who facepalmed himself.

"Okay, okay, I will try." said Jeanne, figuring that she jumped into this situation on her own by trying to check on Mathias if she wasn't hideous wearing women's clothes.

Minutes passed, and with a lot of struggle, she managed to make some steps without losing balance. Then feeling encouraged, she went further, trying to walk normally, point where everything went down the drain hole.

"Ahhhhh, I am losing balance!" cried out Jeanne, slowly but surely losing her balance, lucky not breaking her ankles.

Yet before she landed on the ground, Mathias appeared behind her, holding her up. She was surprised to see that Mathias got so fast to her from where he was, and looking around herself, she noticed that his legs were releasing black feathers that disintegrated when touching the ground.

"Phew, that was close. Please, don't get reckless to try things I haven't told you. How are your legs?" asked Mathias, exhaling a deep breath at Jeanne's ears.

"I am good. I think I got the gist of things." said Jeanne while blushing a bit.

"You think? Hah, okay, we will check it in a moment, but before that, calm yourself."

Jeanne nodded her head while her cheeks were still rosy. Slowly after her break, she was left once again alone with Mathias watching her like he was a fashion creator watching his models walking on stage.

She started with balanced and steady feet, walking patiently, and with Mathias telling her to increase the rhythm of her walking, she kept her calm and did as she was told.

Her start was good, but slowly she seemed to get tired and lose her balance again.

"We will repeat again, don't get discouraged." said Mathias, who was behind her, to keep her safe from falling and losing courage.

Lowering her head while being held up by him, she felt a bit better seeing her progress.

It was only after 30-45 minutes of patience that Mathias no longer was there to help her.

"I can finally walk on the heels. To think I could do it. Mathias, are you some Sage to be able to teach me this fast?"

"No, not at all. I just have some experience skating on ice. The major problem with those, or in our case, high heels, is the balance of the feet. Ahem, do you want to hear an interesting thing?"

"Yea, I am all ears." responded Jeanne, wanting to hear what Mathias had in store for her.

"You think heels are made for women, correct?" At which Jeanne nodded her head and so made Mathias chuckle, confessing to her.

"That is a wrong conception. The heels were designed at first for men, specifically for warriors who would want to have a better balance while riding their horses and for aristocrats who wanted to appear taller and show off their status."

"Really?? Wait, if I think about it, it makes a bit of sense. This means women copied this style from men? But why, these heels are so stupid, why would they choose to harm themselves?"

Laughing seeing her perplexed expression, he walked to her and grabbed, placing his arms around her waist, he told her.

"That's most likely the case, but I have no clue as to why. However, maybe it is because they want to stay at the same level as the men? Or maybe it makes their legs more beautiful. In each case, I could agree. So, are you ready to go to that secret place?"

"Yes, by the Goddess, how much I wanted to go there, but because of my status as Bishop, and because of my hideous appearance, I couldn't make my way there. Now with this new look, I am confident no one will notice or know me."

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Prepared mentally and physically, Jeanne started walking on the wealthy part of Sagletius, side by side with Mathias, who was wearing the 'Cidarian' set along with the 'Saharan Hunting Boots'. The people always had their heads turned at Jeanne, making her uncomfortable, saying worried to Mathias.

"Do they stare at me because I am ugly?"

"Not at all. Remember what I told you before you wanted to dash like a wounded deer?"

Then with what she said, she remembered what he told her, and it seemed to change her expression a bit, turning her even so brighter.

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As they walked, he could see a building similar to the Hippodrome that had him gaze like an excited kid that saw a superhero. It was him who led Jeanne toward the building, grabbing her hand.

"What happened with you, Mathias? Do you know the place already? I thought you outlanders don't know much about our customs. Ahh, I'll lose my balance."

Before she could even say anything, Mathias grabbed her in his carry, and while looking around the gathered people mainly wearing Green, Red, Blue and White clothes, he said with full excitement.

"The Hippodrome. By the Lord, I can finally see it with my two eyes in his glory!"

"Calm down! We are making a scene, and we will be thrown out." shouted Jeanne that was in his carry, feeling embarrassed by how childish Mathias turned out to be at this moment, later pinching on his cheek.

"Arghh, what was that for? Wait, I got too excited now. Sorry." excused Mathias while placing Jeanne down, right when they were about to enter the entrance of the ancient-looking stadium, which was in pristine condition.

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Jeanne walked first toward the guard standing at the entrance, followed by Mathias, and after she took out a golden medallion with a gryphon head imprinted on it.

"My lady, my lord, you can enter inside and take your respective seats at the lord's lounge." said the guard respectfully after staring at the medallion and later at Jeanne and Mathias, who were wearing beautiful clothes similar to nobles.

Jeanne did a lady bow, while Mathias also played along with the noble act, nodding his head with slight arrogance.

When entering inside the Hippodrome, Mathias asked Jeanne with an intrigued tone, still wondering what that medallion was.

" What is that medalion?"

"Ohh, nothing much, just the sign of Duke Gelder that represents his authority in the Empire. I can use this medallion for sitting at the Lord's lounge. We. *Giggling*. Aren't you happy you can see from up-close the races?"

"Are you still asking me? Do you want a kiss or something for doing me such a favour?"

"No thanks. I am good without any." said Jeanne, weaving her hand playfully at Mathias.

Not long after this, they got to their seats really close to the ground itself, sitting side by side on some free chairs decorated in a lavish-styled marble stone with a soft leather cushion.

Mathias looked around himself, gazing at the upper floors of the Hippodrome, where the commoners started making their way down. While to his level, on his right side was the box of the Imperial Family.

On that designated lounge, there was seated Juander and three boys of ranging ages, from the smallest that seemed to be 9-11, to the oldest one that appeared to be 18, while the middle one seemed to be in his 16.

Apart from those boys that were next to him, there was also a beautiful woman that was in her mid-late twenties giving a smile as she was telling something to Juander that he couldn't hear. Yet, Juander didn't even talk back and left the woman to talk.

'So this is your family, Juander. But why are you so detached? Don't you have a beautiful wife sitting next to you, and from whom it looks, caring for you?'

As Mathias was staring at Juander with a curious expression, the latter feeling someone observing him, he turned his crimson eyes and gazed back.

Juander stoic expression suddenly shifted a smile, followed by a lingering surprise.

"Interesting. Don't tell me he sneaked inside? I doubt the Red Knights would let people pass so randomly to the noble lounge. Regardless, enjoy this evening, young man."

"Dear, with whom are you talking?" asked the woman, confused that Juander, who mostly remained quiet when they would go out in public, suddenly talked to himself.

"With my younger self, Marie. Now stop disturbing the boys and me because the chariots will soon appear."

She bit down her lip, wanting to say more, but with the younger boy touching her leg, she calmed down. After that, she turned her head around. Looking at the various lower nobles attending the race this weekend, she noticed a woman with blonde hair standing side by side with a man that seemed to talk with excitement in his tone.

'Hmm, those two, I have never seen them before at any noble events. Whatever, I don't like that woman because she seems to be on par with me when it comes to beauty.'

'I'll solve her before she could get Juander enticed.'

Thinking that, she looked at one of her maids at the back of the imperial lounge and made her a sign while pointing at Mathias and Jeanne.

Nodding her head, while bowing and kissing her hand, the maid went out of the lounge, moving outside of the Hippodrome.

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As the schemes, without much reason, were staged by Marie, Jeanne, who was for the first time at the Hippodrome, asked Mathias about all sorts of things, while he could only speculate from the historical references.

"That statue row at the center of the track is called Spina. Its role is to delimit the track acting like a barrier, where chariots are supposed to race around."

"Those statues, I have no clue about them, but that Obelisk caught my attention." mentioned Mathias staring at the obelisk, the first time even for him.

Jeanne, who also stared intently at the statues, noticed some that felt familiar and informed Mathias.

"Those are statues from the different races of the Empire. Look, that hammer is probably from the Dwarfs, those giant dragon teeth are from the Draconians, the Wardrum is most likely something from the Orc Tribes."

"I see. Good to hear about it. Get tight on your seats. The chariots are coming."

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Slowly as Mathias envisioned in his mind when writing his story, four chariots were making their way to the arena, going for a starting line, a point where everyone in the Hippodrome started cheering. A whole building where 250.000 people were present made Mathias shiver in excitement.

"Can you feel it, Jeanne?" asked Mathias to Jeanne's ears, barely audible because of the noise.

"Yea, it is nosy as if a dragon descended upon us." confirmed Jeanne feeling overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

Slowly the cheers ended, turning the Hippodrome quiet. Everyone was looking toward the Imperial Lounge, especially the chariot racers.

Going along with the procedures nominal for any Imperial House member, but with him being the most senior, Juander opened the races after addressing the public and wishing them an enjoyable watch.

When the racers got the start from Juander, they did their magic, whiplashing their two horses harnessed at their chariots.

From the silence from not too long, the people roared back to life, cheering for their favorite team, whites, reds, greens, and blues.

"Mathias, for whom do we cheer for? Should we go with the Reds? They seem to be ahead of the rest."

"I am blue for life. LET'S GO BLUE!" said Mathias with a loud voice to Jeanne, so she could hear him, before roaring getting on his feet, shouting for his team.

Jeanne didn't go overboard as Mathias, however as the crazed fan was the sole person on the noble lounge to chant like a commoner for his winning team, everyone could hear him, especially the Imperial Family.

"Brother Roland, since when did the nobility of Saharan drop so low to chant like some peasants?"

"I have no idea, Dulandal. However, it's a bit comical, don't you think. It makes me also want to tag in with the rest of the people and cheer. Still, that guy is delusional. The reds will win all day long."

"Do you want to make a bet, brother? Who will win?" asked Dulandal, his older brother Roland.

"Nah, go make one with that crazy noble. I don't have any money on me since I didn't expect much to happen today."

"Fine, watch and learn. You will understand how easy it is to make money. You can join if you want to see the action up-close."

"Haha, after you, little brother. Sorry father, we will go out a bit. Hope you have a nice watch. Also, you too, Marie." said Roland, while bowing toward Juander, who just waved his hand, saying with a calm voice.

"You are already big to do as you wish without having my approval. Still, don't make a scene if you lose, understood, Dulandal?"

"Yes, father. Don't worry, I am not a sore loser."

"Not yet." replied Roland, laughing behind his brother's back.

"You!! Come, let's go, brother."

Then, Marie, who was holding onto the youngest prince Edan, told him with a motherly tone. "Go along with your elder brothers, Edan."

"Yes, mother." said the young boy, who dashed toward his elder brothers that exited the Imperial lounge.

Seeing his sons interact with each other, not treating themselves cold, especially the eldest he made with his true love, Aria, left a melancholic smile that soon vanished with Marie's touch.

"Dear, let me get in your embrace."

Not caring much, he allowed her to sit in his lap, snuggling on his chest and looking at his stoic face. She asked him with a tender voice.

"Juander, why do you like those boring races? There's nothing fun in seeing some peasants whiplashing horses to run around that abomination at the center of the stage."

"I see, then if you didn't like it, maybe you shouldn't have come."

"That's harsh dear, isn't it obvious why I attend this boring event?"

"Yea, I got it. Now keep it lower. I want to see my Blues win."

"Blue, like what that peasant kid roars like there's no tomorrow?" inquired Marie, feeling the name that stuck in her mind following Mathias chants, like he was an ultras.

"Indeed, so better not come with your excuses to get on the bed when I am spending my free time."

Hearing Juanders response, Marie kept quiet as she placed her head on his chest. However, her inner monologue was something intriguing and dark at the same time.

'It is bizarre. He usually would accept all my demands and would fiddle on my fingers. Having sex whenever I wished, but now? It's been about 5 months, and I didn't even get a chance to see him eye to eye.'

'Juander, you are mine and only mine. Don't tell me you are cheating on me? Only I can do such a thing! Could it be, he found about Asmophel and me, about the schemes I played against Duke Piaro?'

'No, no, there's no way he could find out. I did everything to have you, everything, even killing that whore Aria. There is no chance you will slip by me until I have Edan's crown secured.'

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Meanwhile, outside of Marie's crazy and dark thoughts, Mathias calmed his enthusiasm a bit when seeing the Blues in the second position on the 2nd lap, feeling that they would have a chance to take the overall first ranking of the race.

Nevertheless, Dulandal's voice could be heard traveling in his direction.

"Hey you, the lower noble seated next to the blonde girl. Do you want to make a bet with me?"

Turning his head after hearing such proposal, he saw a silver blonde-haired young man with blue eyes, looking to be around the same age as his younger brothers, while being accompanied by another young man with the same colored hair, but having green eyes, and a smaller one that seemed to be only 9 or 10 years old whose hair was black.

"Do I know you? Usually, I don't bet, especially with strangers."

Jeanne, who turned her head from the race, noticed the three princes, and after almost tripping off because of her heels, she got safely to him later, whispering to his ears.

"Those three are Prince Roland, Prince Dulandal, and Prince Edan."

"Indeed, gorgeous. Still, to think someone from the Empire doesn't know us is a bit insulting. Well, what can we do? I told father I will not make a commotion here." commented Dulandal, hearing what Jeanne said to Mathias.

"Ahem, thanks, Jeanne. Still, it is not like I should mind them too much." whispered Mathias straight to Jeanne's ear, and this one couldn't be heard by the 3 princes, ignoring the prince a bit.

"Now that you know us, do you dare to bet against me on who will win the race?" asked Dulandal with confidence in himself.

Looking at Dulandal with his green eyes attentively, he later threw a simple question back.

"Overall scores or individual races?"

"Hmm, so you know about it. Let me think. Let's do it overall since it's more enticing and more fun to see your face when the race is over."

"Overall, you say? Interesting. How much do you bet?"

"One thousand gold." said Dulandal with a smile on his face, while Roland chuckled at the back.

"I have only 700 gold on me. Do you still want to bet with me in that case?"

"Tsk, you really are a lesser noble. Fine, since I am royalty, I will not fuss too much on a 300 gold difference."

"Wait, Mathias, I took my money bag with me. I can give you the rest of the 300 gold coins. Here, take them." ended Jeanne saying to Mathias while taking a pouch from the pocket of her trousers and giving Mathias the required gold coins.

'Not needed, I could have scammed this kid of his money. Nevertheless, this is still risky because the Blues don't seem to be as legendary as in Justinian's era.'

"It seems I have all the required money. Overall score bet it shall be." said Mathias extending his hand to seal the bet.

Dulandal was taken by surprise by this strange gesture, looking perplexed at Mathias, but going with the flow, he grabbed his hand, sealing the handshake.

"Good, you guys come next to my seat since people seem to be avoiding me. Haha, I'll better have you close by so you don't run after all this bravado." invited Mathias, the young princes, to sit next to him and Jeanne.

Dulandal nodded his head and walked next to Mathias while the rest of the princes sat closer to their brother. They kept their quiet when the chariots reached the 3rd lap of the course, and things seemed to end quickly, with the red team being victorious.

"That's it! This is one win out of 3 for me. No way my Red's losing this race." commented Dulandal with confidence.

Mathias remained quiet without saying much. However, the Hippodrome's Red Team fans were cheering intensively, only turning quiet after 15 minutes had passed and the second round of races were played.

After preparing their chariots and strapping the horse harnesses, they followed suit with the Emperor's signal, starting the second race.

The people erupted in cheers and chants, only the noble lounge this time was quiet because Mathias was watching the race with a serious face, the problem on his mind? Money was at play this time."

The race started slowly since the Hippodrome was large, big as a sizable park, a 230 meters track from point A to B. The sound of the horses neighing as they were whiplashed by the races resounded in the area, as two teams were fighting for the first place, the Reds and the Blue's, with 3rd place being for the Greens 4th for the Whites.

Two laps passed like this, with Red and Blue being shoulder to shoulder, and this time even Dulandal and Roland kept their quiet when staring at the track.

"Come on, guys, take the win." said Dulandal, gripping his fist with emotion in his tone.

"No, watch, this is my blues win. The horses entered in synchrony with one another, and the blue racer lowered the center of gravity with greater mastery, removing the weight on the horses." commented Mathias, who was observing everything that was happening on the Hippodrome with keen eyes.

Dulandal snorted, not wanting to accept this, but when the third lap arrived, he saw the Blue Chariot detach from the Red Chariot, the horses neighing, and the racers roar that entered in a dimension of their own accompanied the cheers of the public.

"NOOO, what happened!? They were winning." cried out Dulandal after the Blue team won the race.

Meanwhile, Mathias grasped his fist to celebrate his favorite's victory. The same could be said for Juander, who only said while nodding "Good."

"This is the last race. Prepare your money, Mathias." said Dulandal, awaiting the 4 horse chariots to arrive, the final showdown of this chariot race.

"Bah, the same could be said for you, Prince Dulandal. Four horse chariots are totally different from the two-horse chariots."

Minutes passed, and after 15 minutes, the chariots, having harnessed four horses each, made their appearance, waving their hands at the public and bowing respectfully to the Emperor.

Getting ready and having the emperor signal, the race began, quieting every spectator in the tribunes. Everyone was waiting with their breaths captured for who the winner of the race would be.

Compared to the two-horse quicker starts, the four-horse chariots were chaotic and had a slow start.

Things seemed to be good, with the Green and Whites distancing from the Reds and Blues, but as there were about to switch directions, turning, the green and white chariot collided with each other, which had everyone on the Hippodrome get on their feet, and shout from the top of their lungs.

"SHIPWRECK!!! THE GREENS AND WHITES ARE OUT!"

.
Mathias, who saw this and noticed the panicking of the Blue chariot racer, could only curse out loud, not caring about the young prince Edan or the rest of them.

"Motherfuckers, they sabotaged the race with this shipwreck. Now what?"