After breakfast, Langa finally used the lucent carriage that the other players had used to get down to the valley yesterday.

It looked like a bigger version of an old-school medieval closed carriage, but also like a cabin, similar to those used as gondola lifts. He had used one of those once when he was visiting Cape Town, and this reminded him of it. The difference was that the lucent carriage was not connected to any wires or cableways; it just travelled in the air, not tethered to anything. There were different sizes of the lucent carriages, each with a specific number of passengers that they could carry. The one that Langa chose had multiple seats for the passengers, about twenty in total, and he went to sit by himself upfront, pointedly ignoring any of the other players who tried to speak to him. He sat behind the driver so that he could see what made the lucent carriage fly. Instead of a normal steering wheel, the controls were two steering wheels, shaped like a ship's helm, each of them with two different colours of lucent crystals all over them, that the driver seemed to be controlling. One colour was purple, meaning that the crystals at the helm were emitting mainly gravity mana, while the other was colourless, emitting air mana. Did this thing fly because the driver maintained a balance between gravity and wind while it was in the air? That was fascinating to consider.

Once Langa entered the lucent carriage at the valley's base, the sturdy cabin swayed slightly as it took to the air. He looked out the window to see the beautiful backdrop of nature. As the lucent carriage went up, the valley below gradually disappeared from the eye, becoming nothing more than a distant picture of greenery. They moved steadily, not nearly half as fast as the falcon yesterday, giving Langa ample time to look out the window and see the three mountains that surrounded the Valley of Guardians better.

The higher they went into the air, the more noise from below the mountains died down, with whispers between the players in the carriage being the only things disturbing the gentle sound of the wind outside. Sometimes, when the carriage went past the trees peeking out of the mountainside, Langa could see the small forests teeming with wildlife and what looked like monsters roaming around as well. As they passed the various fields, he could see some players already fighting against the monsters. It seemed that they had taken Alfsol's advice to heart. The carriage took a sharp turn, flying towards the highest peak in this series of mountains, and there, sitting on the large mountain as if it belonged there, was the great city of Risa’s Plateau.

Reaching the summit, the carriage arrived past the transportation bay from yesterday and docked gently in what looked to be a lucent carriage rank. This short journey, a seamless transition from the Valley of Guardians to the mountain city of Risa’s Plateau, was both fascinating and a true sight to behold. The best part about it was that Mesala had covered Langa's fare, so he didn't have to part with his coin. Langa alighted the carriage, moved quickly to ignore the other players, and focused on his map. He was going to pass through the marketplace to reach the place that Mesala had marked for him. Thankfully, it was not far from the lucent carriage rank, and he could walk there.

In the busy city marketplace, narrow graphite streets wound through a series of market stalls decorated with colourful banners as well as guild symbols or paintings of different deities. Merchants of various races peddled a wide array of odd-looking trinkets, from ornate rings and amulets to mysterious potions and pills promising unbelievable effects. Langa had no idea if any of these products were able to do what the merchants claimed, and he wondered if he should have brought that young Guardian with him after all. Still, he pushed past the overcrowded streets of the marketplace, heading towards the general shop that was marked on his map. His leather armour had been torn to shreds in the final tutorial battle, and he also wanted to buy some throwing daggers and javelins if he could find them.

He could not help but look around as he walked, though. Shrines dedicated to multiple deities that he’d never heard of stood at street corners, and believers were praying to them, asking for Blessings and making offerings. He turned the street, and this one was filled with numerous small shops with wooden signs showcasing their products. He even saw some fortune tellers holding crystal balls with long queues of people waiting to see them.

Langa finally arrived at the shop that Mesala had marked for him, Rekona's Assorted Wares. It was a medium-sized shop, hidden behind a dark alley, and he wondered if the kid had sent him to some shady criminal hotspot. All over the alley were various temporary shelters, filled with people of different races protecting themselves from the cold with well-worn blankets. A dwarf with scaly skin and tattered robes held his hands out to Langa, his hollow eyes pleading for help. When he scanned him, Langa discovered that he was a level 9 player. In fact, all the other people sitting around the dimly lit alley and begging for help were all players, their levels ranging from level 8 all the way to level 17. One of them had even climbed as high as the 3rd Floor. They all had one thing in common, though, Langa noted as he checked them with his title skill: all of them were not bound to any deities. Langa chose to ignore all of them. If he gave even one of them a copper coin, he'd only be inviting trouble.

He Flash Stepped into the little shop that he was going into. Immediately, he was assaulted by the needlessly bright lucent crystal lights that illuminated the shop. There were multiple isles of shelving, with separate banners for separate products. There were only two other customers in the shop when Langa came in, so it was very quiet. He looked around and saw that the owner sat at the pay counter, a bored expression on his face, and there were no shop assistants. There was a weapons section filled to the brim with various weapons hidden behind lucent tiles, from swords, spears, and staves to bows, crossbows, and even various ranged weapons that looked like guns. There was also an aisle for potions, and displayed on the lucent tile were mana potions, health potions and attribute potions among others. The section for armour was at the very back of the shop, and Langa headed over there first. Once he reached that aisle, he looked through the different armour from heavy plate armour to chain mail, cloth armour, leather armour and other light armour.

Langa blanched at the prices. He had a total of 11 silver and 50 copper coins in his inventory, and, looking at the costs of these products, he could not afford them. The cheapest common light armour leather set cost 5 silver, and all it did was provide defence and gave +1 to strength and +2 to vitality. At least the daggers were cheaper, at 30 copper for a set of five common throwing daggers. He then checked the potions, and he was very surprised to see that the health potion that he'd been given as part of the tutorial kit was actually quite expensive, since it was an uncommon rank item, at 3 silver per bottle. He could only shake his head, remembering how he'd squandered the ones he had. Now he was only left with one. He ended up picking four common-rank health potions at 25 copper each. There was one more potion that he elected to buy since he needed to boost his speed, for 1 silver.

 

[Inferior health potion

Rank: Common

Restores 10 Health Points per second for 5 seconds.

Cool-down: 30 seconds]

 

[Basic Agility booster potion

Rank: Uncommon

Bestowes +1 AGI for 30 seconds

Cool-down: 10 minutes]

 

Langa was depressed as he headed to the pay counter with a lacklustre leather armour set, an agility potion, and an inferior health potion. This would not help him at all against his backlash from Thunderbird's Stunning Strike. After buying this, he only had 4 silver and 20 copper remaining. He was poor now—not that he used to be super rich back on Earth, but ever since he'd started running, and winning prize money, he had not been poor. Once he started running for the country and modelling for various sportswear brands, he had never lacked money. Now, he was stuck in a whole new world, with no money and nothing to his name... it put into perspective how much he had taken the perks of his previous life for granted.

"I'd like to buy these, please," Langa said in a low voice to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was an old goblinkin with dark green skin and an unnaturally long nose.

The goblinkin glanced at his wares, "7 silver and 30 copper," he said.

Langa placed the coins on the counter, and asked, “I didn’t see any items or armour with resistance bonuses on the shelves. Do you have anything at all that can increase mental resistance or lightning resistance?”

Rekona processed the payment and shook his head, “Good luck finding anything with resistance bonuses on the shelf of any store, especially here in the Ground Storey. Maybe they have them on the higher Floors, but I doubt it. You can only get those types of items from area bosses, unclaimed dungeons or Challenges.”

This surprised Langa. Since he had gotten his headband as a reward in the tutorial, he’d thought that it wouldn’t be hard to get items that offered resistance bonuses, but evidently he was wrong. There went that idea. Just as he was wallowing in misery, a flashing red sign caught his eye behind Rekona, a sale. Four round-shaped orbs that could fit into the palm of his hand were displayed there.

"What are those?" he asked.

Rekona followed his gaze and then gave a derisive snort. "Short-dated exploding orbs. Normally you would only be able to buy them for 3 silver each, but I'm damn near giving them away, ain't I? The enchantment expires tomorrow," he eyed Langa curiously. "How about it? I'll give them to you for a silver each, hmm?"

This guy was not the least bit trustworthy in Langa's opinion, so he scanned the orbs just to make sure. There were only two types.

 

[Enchanted Exploding Wind Orb

Rank: Common

Upon explosion, deals 250 air discipline damage in a 3-metre radius.

Infuse mana to activate. (May scale with affinity)

Enchanted By: Amoroda C Assenta

Enchantment Expiry Date: 11/04/12 MDCCLXXIII]

 

[Enchanted Exploding Ice Orb

Rank: Common

Upon explosion, deals 250 water discipline damage in a 3-metre radius.

Infuse mana to activate. (May scale with affinity)

Enchanted By: Amoroda C Assenta

Enchantment Expiry Date: 11/04/12 MDCCLXXIII]

 

That was interesting, these orbs seemed to be some kind of bomb. Langa liked watching things explode in movies, so he was tempted to buy these orbs just so he could hold a bomb in his hands. But he needed to be practical. He was going to have to fight against Grion Fidser tomorrow, and he was not sure about how many members of the Accari Crows would be with him at Theria's Hollow as well. An AOE attack like these orbs could come in handy if he had to battle multiple foes at once.

"The enchantment is expiring tomorrow, though. If I don't buy them, you'll lose money," Langa reminded him. "How about you give me all of them for a silver coin?"

"Hmph! You players must think that I was born yesterday. All I gotta do is look for the enchanter and she can renew the enchantment for a silver coin. It's a bother, but not impossible," Rekona said with a huff. "All four of them for two silver coins, and that's my final offer!"

Langa grumbled, but he paid the money. He was sure that these orbs were not 3 silver coins normally; the shopkeeper must have been trying to overcharge him. It would be worth it, he told himself, putting the orbs in his inventory. He only had 2 silver coins and some change left now. Despite himself and his empty wallet, Langa asked, “Do you sell any healing skills? If so, how much are they?"

Rekona looked down at Langa with raised eyebrows, "I have Healing Circle, an AOE skill that heals yourself and a maximum of three others at a time for 20 gold, and I have Staggered Heal, which only heals others and not yourself for 15 gold. You want them?"

Langa almost laughed. 1 gold was a hundred silver, and Langa had not even held fifteen silver coins in his hand before, so he could not fathom 1 gold at all. "Forget it, do you know if there's a place to farm them?"

"You tryna put me out of business? Why would I tell you that?" the goblinkin asked crossly.

Langa took his new products from the counter and placed them in his inventory. "Oh, I'm sorry. This kid, Mesala, said that you know all the best places in this region to farm skills. I must be confusing you with another, more knowledgeable, Rekona," he said, pretending as if he were about to leave.

"Aye, that little fella is still alive, is he? Bless the kid, he has a good heart. Nasty business joining the Guardians like that, he'll get himself killed, I tell you. Alright, if you are friends with him, I can help ya out." Rekona's ears twitched in happiness as he seemed fond of Mesala. "I'll take 10 copper for my information, yeah?"

Mesala had been right, this guy liked money. Langa had no choice but to give him another ten coppers. "It better be worth it."

The goblinkin grinned a gap-toothed grin, pocketing the coins. "You can't farm healing skills on the 1st Floor," he said, and Langa was ready to shout at him to give his money back. "But, you can allegedly get an even more precious skill in a certain hunting field. All I know is that if a god of life looks favourably on you, you can be able to farm the Regeneration skill by killing like a hundred trollimps or something."

A hundred trollimps, whatever that was? That sounded like a lot of work, and where the hell was Langa supposed to gain the favour of a god of life anyway? He might as well just resign himself to suffering Tonare’s backlash forever.

"So, where do I find that field?”

”Em, I don’t really know,” Rekona said scratching his head. “All I know is that the field is in the south of the province, and that area is controlled by the Retessa Guild. Apparently, they have their Tier 1 members trying to enter the field, but they can't go in, even though their patron deity serves a saint god. They don’t let non-guild members into their territory.”

Langa rolled his eyes. What had he expected? “Thanks for nothing, Rekona,” he snapped, and he walked out of the shop.

*

Disappointed in his armour, and his failure to procure a skill, Langa headed back towards the marketplace. As he went past a dark alley, he once again felt like he was being watched, but this time it was not by deities.

“Are you going to follow me all day, or will you come out?” Langa asked in annoyance. His mind stat wasn’t that high, but he could still feel that there were people following him. Metal clinked as none other than the troublemaker from the transportation bay, Aquila, dressed in gleaming magic armour, swaggered towards him.

His entourage, three fellow players similarly clad, trailed behind him. On top of the two spiderkin from yesterday, he was now joined by a young dwarf.

Aquila stood proudly in front of Langa, a crooked grin stretching across his face. "Well, well, if it isn't the famed Langa. Me and my team have confirmed that you are in the top ten, and we've decided that you could use a bit more... flair in your group."

Langa raised an eyebrow, uninterested in whatever this guy was selling and annoyed that they were making him late to see the Seers. "I'm busy, Aquila. I'm in the middle of something, and I’m not looking to carry any extra baggage. Stop following me."

Aquila frowned, gesturing to his entourage. "We're not baggage; we're all strong. Join us, and we will put in a good word for you with The Breaker of The Self. We’re going to the level 9 hunting field, Munyara Swamp, to hunt a bunyip. The lower-level fields are already full of players."

Langa shook his head, pushing past Aquila. "Like I said, I’m not interested."

They were clearly trying to recruit him, however, Langa remained composed, offering only a final piece of advice before stepping away. "You're not ready for a level 9 hunting field. Go level up in a level 6 hunting field before you needlessly risk your lives." He was no saint, but he also wouldn’t let them throw away their lives for nothing.

“What, are you scared of a level 9 field? I knew it, you must have made the top ten by luck. Look at your armour, it’s pathetic, just like you,” Aquila sneered, and his entourage laughed. He, fuelled by either his pride or arrogance, signalled his companions to surround Langa. "We're offering you the chance of a lifetime, and you'll regret turning it down."

Langa's eyes narrowed, these guys were only level 6 to 8. He could kill them with a single strike from Tonare. One of the spiderkin was even raising his staff as if to attack. "Step aside. This is a safe zone, you can’t attack me even if you want to." He put a note of warning in his voice and felt his karma respond inside of him. For a moment, he felt as if there was power in his karma, and it oozed out of him effortlessly. Since he was a Tier above them, the authoritative tone in Langa’s voice forced the little team to step back, and for some reason, they also cowered.

With that, Langa left the alley, and Aquila called after him, “We'll catch up to you soon, you arrogant bastard.”

"Isalakutshelwa sibona ngomopho," Langa muttered. It was an old IsiZulu saying, which roughly meant that some lessons can only be learnt through experiencing hardship. Well, it seemed like Aquila and his posse would have to bleed first before they learned their lesson.

*

The weather in the city of Risa’s Plateau was cold, and the crowded, dreary, narrow, and winding streets were unstable, as the old stone buildings all over the town seemed to be on the verge of collapse, while still somehow managing to stand tall. There was only one building in the entire city that seemed to be well taken care of. It was an ancient building, tall, with blue stone running up its walls endlessly. Its door was wide open and inviting. Looking at it, Langa discovered that it was a shrine to the great constellation that watched over this world: Okypete The Swiftwing. The large shrine dwarfed every other building in the city, and the majestic statue of a male eaglekin with his wings spread wide to cast a shadow over the rest of the city stood proud in the city centre.

Langa returned to the area where he’d seen the various fortune tellers. The booth of the Seer that Mesala had marked for him was inside a dark red tent. While the other tents had long lines of people outside, this one was virtually empty.

“Hey, you don’t want to go in there, man,” one of the people waiting in line at the next tent said to Langa. It was a female owlkin with bright red hair.

“Why not?” Langa asked, wondering if Mesala had sent him to a charlatan after all. “Are her prophecies not credible?”

“I don’t know about credibility, but that Seer never gives good predictions. Her predictions are always death and gloom, and sometimes they come true, but people generally avoid going to her," the owlkin explained.

Langa nodded, thinking that he might as well forget about this. He did not have a good experience with people who had spiritual gifts, anyway. But here, in the Tower, they were supposed to actually be gifted. Should he leave?

“Enter,” a voice said from inside the tent, just as Langa prepared to leave. He hesitated. “Come in, luck-pilferer. I mean you no harm.”

Luck-pilferer? Langa froze, how did this Seer know about his curse? Could she really See the future, or was she one of those people that he'd been warned about, who could read minds and then use that information to scam people? He hesitated once more and then walked into the tent, deciding to take the risk in order to find his family.

Inside the tent, there were vibrant light lucent crystals, giving light to the space, and casting dark shadows over the background. There were thirteen various fabrics, each colour representing a different mana discipline hanging from the top of the tent. Langa could smell incense as well. In front of a pink crystal ball, a woman wearing a feathered headdress sat looking at the cluster of bones on the table in front of her. She was surprisingly human, but her face was painted all over with weird pink and white paint. She also wore red robes with yellow flower petals, and when he entered, her blue eyes fixed on Langa.

He tried to check her status using his title skill, but no matter how hard he tried, it would not activate.

“Do not attempt to pierce through my master’s Shroud. It is a futile effort,” the Seer’s voice was hoarse and quiet. “I am Tibuana, Disciple of Dinitias, The Eye of Sinitian Darkness, a high-tier constellation. Sit down, please, and let me know how I can help you.”

Langa sat down on the chair opposite from her, there were tarot cards in front of him as well as some weirdly shaped trinkets. That always puzzled him about people like this. Shouldn't they know why he was here? Well, whatever, he needed to know if she could help him. “I’m Langa Zulu. Can you help me find my family? I don’t know if they are players or not.”

“Two silvers,” she said, holding out her hand. Langa bit his lip, did she somehow know that that was nearly all the money he had on him? If he paid this much, he would only be left with enough money for the lucent carriage ride back to the Valley of Guardians.

He gritted his teeth. His family was more important than money. He placed two silver coins on the table, and they disappeared.

“Face the crystal ball, think deeply about your family, and I shall try to search for them,” she said, her eyes turning white as she looked at the crystal ball.

Langa looked at the pink ball, and thought about the three people that he loved the most: his sister, Neo, and Khaya. He spared a thought for his brother-in-law and his mother as well, not because he wanted to, but because he could not control his thoughts. They were his family, too. A pink mist flowed around the crystal ball and Tibuana gazed pensively into the ball.

“Two are dead, two are in mortal peril, and one is Shrouded,” she said, and her eyes returned to normal.

Dead? No. That couldn’t be. Langa’s head spun in panic, as his thoughts descended into chaos. The thought of losing his sister, niece or nephew sent him into a panicked frenzy. He could feel it as his chest tightened, breathing quickened, and his heart heaved with fear. At this rate, he might activate his attribute. She had to be wrong, he told himself.

“Who’s dead…is it my sister, Khaya or Neo?” Langa asked, trying to breathe.

“I can’t…” the Seer closed her eyes, and the air in the room swirled like a mist and surrounded her. “I can’t See the others, but your sister… I can See her, someone is hunting her… her life is in danger, she’s in mortal peril.”

“So she’s alive? Where is she?” He asked desperately. He needed to know. "Can you divine that?"

“I need more tribute. In order to See more, I must make an offering to my master,” she said, opening her eyes once more. “Give me 5 silvers, and I’ll be able to See more. But yes, your younger sister is still alive.”

Langa had been about to rush to Theria's Hollow to capture the voident so that the Guardians could pay him. He wanted to get the money and pay Tibuana so that she could find his sister, but at her words, he stopped short. “What did you just say?”

“Five silver coins,” she repeated.

“No. You said my younger sister. I don’t have a younger sister, I have an older sister! You are a fraud, aren't you?! I almost believed you!” Langa shouted, standing up in outrage. He couldn't believe that he had let his emotions take over and almost fell for a simple scam like this.

Tibuana's face clouded. “Th-that’s what I Saw, okay! You don’t know, your parents could have had other kids.” Surprisingly, she had lost her mysterious and ethereal, hoarse voice and was shouting normally back at him. “To insult me is to insult my master, and my master’s master!”

“My father’s dead, and my mother is too old to have any more children. Insult? You’re the one who insulted me by playing with my emotions, you... You fucking charlatan!” Langa snapped back.

 

[The Deiwos Clan goddess: The Uninhibited Lone WitchSeer of Kally, has her Eye on you.]

 

Just as Langa stood up, angry at himself for even coming here, a clawed hand grabbed his wrist. He looked down at the charlatan, and her eyes had gone completely black, and a red aura surrounded her. When she spoke, her voice echoed throughout the booth, as if multiple people were speaking at once.

“Follower of the corrupted thunderous lightning, receive your warning for insulting me. You are as disrespectful as your future master, and just as aggravating. Open your ears, and do not shun your impending doom. This is your future,” she said, those vacant eyes staring into his soul. “You will cling to revenge as a crutch to fill the emptiness in your heart. You will desperately wave loyalty as a shield to commit unspeakable works and abominations for the tyrant you call a friend.”

For some reason, Langa knew instinctively that it was not the charlatan speaking, it was something stronger, more powerful, and try as hard as he might, he could not wrench his hand from her grip. There was a pressure holding him down, and he could not escape its aura.

"In the dominating ruler’s grip, you are bound tight, thunderstorms in your path, corruption cursing your very existence, all of it veiled in the Void. Seeking to bind the thirteen forbidden cruxes, propelled by an heirloom to shake the very depths of reality. The doomed knight of deep blue waters, in your hands shall fall, a sacrifice deep, at the tyrant's call. The sweetest kin, the bitterest liar, nurtured by the whispering wind, interlaced with power: to the tyrant she is pinned, her karma destined to be consumed by her connection to him. But from the flames, his beloved emerges bold, consuming phlogiston, and your tale unfolds. These three women's fate in your hands, three demons and two elves’ vengeance in your path, the slithering temptress in your heart, and a duplicitous king’s commands leading you back to the unspeakable one. Thus commences your tale, Devourer of fortune, an ending brought forth by the choices you will make, the fate of the adversary coming undone," the woman said, and a sardonic laugh escaped her mouth, and she let him go. Then, the woman laid her head on the table and did not look up.

Once the karma pressure stopped pinning him down, Langa fled from that tent, completely shaken. What the hell was that? A god had just spoken to him through that woman, he was sure of it. The Uninhibited Lone WitchSeer of Kally. Why the hell had she done that? Had she been offended when he insulted her constellation’s Disciple? But what on Earth was that prophecy? Was it real? For some reason, every word of it was clear to him, he could remember what she said, word for word.

What did all of it mean? It gave him a headache, and he was scared because it seemed to insinuate that he was going to kill some people and work for a tyrant. He did not like it one bit, and as the fear in his heart continued to grow, he was worried that it would consume him again. Suddenly, the busy marketplace seemed small. There were no walls, and yet Langa felt it starting again, the world closing in on him, suffocating him. He knelt down on the ground, clutching his head. There were too many people here, and it all stifled him. The darkness was coming again, red and burning, trying to pull him in, and he couldn't breathe, it would swallow him, and he-

 

[The Deiwos Clan god: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, is watching you.]

 

The world cleared, and he breathed again. ‘I am in control,’ Langa thought, repeating the mantra. He placed his hand on Tonare hanging from his waist, as he wanted something to tether him to reality. ‘I am in control.’ His heartbeat slowed down, and he opened his eyes. He was in the marketplace, by the fortunetellers' tents, and it was an open space. He was not going to suffocate.

He stood up again. Damn it! Why was it that whenever things got too much for his mind, this happened? How long must he suffer like this? The trigger was always things that made him worry, and when he felt too much emotion at once. So, Langa did what he always did when he encountered things that stressed him or threatened to disrupt his broken mind. He locked it away deep in his mind, along with all his other traumas, and calmed down.

The Lackadaisical Herald had pulled him out of his psychological struggle again.

That charlatan had scared him for nothing and made him worry about his family when she wasn’t even a real Seer. Her only power seemed to come from being a mouthpiece, a vessel for the deities. Langa was pissed that she had tried to scam him for money using his emotions. Still, the prophecy lingered in his mind, the grim tale of what his future might hold, but refused to believe it. No god would map his life for him, he would live according to his own rules. Right now, what he needed to do was to run, to forget about everything else and to focus on the thrill of speed. He needed a distraction.

And what better distraction was there besides hunting a voident?