Chapter 5
The Trail Of Ascension

~*~

"Alex," the hint of a woman's voice seeps into my consciousness.

I spin and spin to try to get my bearings, but there's nothing but complete darkness. W-What's going on? The fear of being buried alive causes my heart beat to double in speed. I gasp for air.

"Alex," the invisible voice utters again, slighter louder this time.

"Help me!" I want to scream, but no words come out.

"Alex."

What!?

"I've finally found you..." Her voice seems to possess some sort of mystical power. My body begins to relax. In the darkness, a woman carrying a crystal ball and wooden staff emerges. "It's me, Lady Vesuvia."

Lady...who?

As if my frustration is on full display, she tells me, "Do not attempt to voice your words. It's forbidden in Zephyria."

Zephyria...The game...That's right. It wasn't a dream after all.

She smiles. "You remember me, do you not?"

I nod.

"Good." She moves closer, her green eyes now the most dominant objects in my field of view. "You are doing well, my child. The girl in shining armor...it's her. It's her. The Zephyrion Sword. Help her! " Her voice reverberates in the void, growing more and more intense. "Your destiny...you cannot avoid it! Change history! Save Zephyria! Save the world before it's too late!"

The darkness begins to morph. The woman's face twists and bends, her words no longer intelligible. Then from out of nowhere, a blinding light explodes to fill my world. When it finally subsides, I find myself back at the inn, standing next to Cassis.

"Good morning," I see the innkeeper say. "I hope you had a good night's rest. Safe travels!"

I try to use my voice, but only manage to produce bizarre sounds. It's as if an invisible force is tearing my words apart as they come out of my mouth.

"Stop fooling around," Cassis tells me. "Let's get going."

With Lady Vesuvia's visit still vivid in my thoughts, I leave the inn with a foreboding sense of danger.

Outside, birds are chirping over a lazy morning tune. Some of the men from yesterday are hard at work moving what looks to be bricks around, while others are taking leisurely walks around the barren site.

"I'm taking a break today cause I strained my back."

"Until the kingdom delivers the next batch of bricks, the bridge can't be completed."

"Bob doesn't know anything about the Zephyrion Sword. He probably heard about it from one of the travelers in Fiddles."

I do a once-over of Bridge Point and manage to find some goodies lying around.

In total, I have 420 Gold, some Bread and Milk, and a bunch of items I have no idea what to do with. In terms of stats, I've channeled the energy I gained from reaching Level 3 into my attack. Level 4 is just a few more battles away. Being one with poor memory, I still marvel at how I'm able to keep track of everything.

"When we leave Bridge Point," Cassis says, "head west. We can stop by Eppery again if you'd like. There's a passageway through the Aniraco Ranges at the foot of the mountains just a bit further past town. That marks the start of the Trail of Ascension. You won't miss it."

My favorite ocarina melody welcomes us as we leave the construction area and start retracing our steps back west. I've noticed that since leveling up twice, my vision has improved. I can now better spot monsters roaming around the plains. About ten yards away, a Grasshopper emerges. Without hesitation, I march straight towards it, with Cassis following closely behind in support.

The world goes wonky. Once it settles, I see the over-sized monster wave its arm fiercely at us.

* BATTLE START *

Cassis goes in with an unrelenting attack.

The Grasshopper moans, twitches, then vanishes into the grass.

"Nothing to it!"

I watch Cassis swing her sword around, as the victory tune plays.

* BATTLE END *

We make quick work of a few more grasshoppers and bunnies along the way, harvesting their legs and droppings. I stop by Eppery to sell off those items, my useless stick, and the Kitty Pelt, before continuing the grind to Level 5.

Eventually, a light brown strip of land appears to our right. As I make contact with it, the world transforms, revealing a new zone with a new melody. The place is sparse with rocks and plants, but packed with people. I look around to see that it's mostly kids and their parents.

"Are we there yet?" I see some kid ask.

"Almost, dear," the mother replies. "Up we go now."

The two and several others disappear up the only trail in the area.

"The average age of Ascension is twelve," Cassis tells me. "I became a Knight when I turned ten. You're a late bloomer, but no need to feel embarrassed."

Who's feeling embarrassed?

We proceed up the Trail of Ascension with the crowd. Now and then, I see shiny things glittering on the ground.

In my reality, I'd never be cut out for this kind of hiking, but despite the thirty-degree incline, my legs are cooperating with relative ease.

Behind us, the Aniraco Plains shrink into a blurry patch of vomit, while directly in front of us, a grayish-white pillar not unlike the Washington monument begins to rise from the earth. As I marvel at the structure, I see Cassis say something. "Incoming!"

The world flips into battle mode.

* BATTLE START *

Two Mountain Bunnies flash their triangular tooth at us, between them, a Dirty Man is packing a pile of dirt with his hands.

"Don't be fooled by the one in the middle," Cassis warns. "It's not human." She flings her body towards the monster and lets it see steel. Right as her blade makes contact with its body, the dirty man disperses into a million pixels of sand. She leaps back into position with a frown on her face. "I missed!"

Now that's a surprise.

The pile of sand reverts to human form with a vengeful look on its face. It swings its hand in circles, sending multiple piles of dirt at Cassis. They hit her armor with three loud pops.

Nothing too serious, but I imagine if it were me, I'd take a lot more damage.

It's the Mountain Bunnies' turns and they make me their target. As the first edges closer towards me, I raise my shield to brace for impact. It plunges its tooth into the wooden object then gives it a good shake. The second one treats me to the same attack, resulting in a total of 52 damage.

I check my shield and find no holes or dents whatsoever. With over half of my health remaining, I reckon I can withstand a few more attacks. My eyes lock onto the bunny on the left, and body instinctively move towards its it. I stick my sword into the ball of fur, causing the creature to squeak in pain.

Its green panel drains significantly, but the bunny is still hanging on by a thread.

"I won't fail this time," Cassis announces. She springs into the air, igniting an aura around her long sword. "Wallop!"

The Dirty Man attempts to evade the attack, but its transformation is a bit too slow.

It roars and disintegrates into a pile of black ash.

The two bunnies target Cassis this time, taking her down a measly 10 HP.

I set my sights on the injured bunny and finish it off with another satisfying jab. Its collapses on its back, limbs in the air.

Cassis makes quick work of our remaining enemy. "Nothing to it!"

Time to try out my own victory pose!

I point my sword at the sky and jump up and down three times.

The battle music fades out, replaced by a victory tune.

* BATTLE END *

We continue up the Trail of Ascension, fighting more mountain bunnies and dirty men. The trail forks at times, at which point, more people join us on the climb. With level 5 just a couple battles away, I decide to save exploring more of the area until after my ascension.

Soon, the Tower of Destiny's full stature comes into view, its peak gazing down at us from beyond the clouds.

How high is this thing?

At its base, eager folks flood towards the entrance.

"We're here," the woman from before says.

"I'm going to be a Knight!" her kid declares.

"Hurry on now, prince charming."

The two push past us and march into the tower.

At the same time, a small stream of people starts to flow outwards, many of whom are kids from earlier. Some are wearing new class attire and a huge smile on their face, while others are in tears, their parents desperately trying to console them.

"It happens," Cassis tells me. "Some folks are simply not suited for any of the five classes. Asharia will decide..."

My body drops to below freezing.

I'd better not be one of those unlucky folks.

Everyone has disappeared into the tower, leaving just me and Cassis outside to contemplate my fate.

Looking around, I see a mountain bunny bouncing towards us and prepare for the battle that will take me to the next level. At a couple yards away, it suddenly stops, as if it's seen a ghost.

Cassis taps my shoulder and directs my attention to something charging our way in the opposite direction.

"MoooOOO!" the beast exclaims.

I hear the mountain bunny squeak and whisk away.

"Be careful. It looks strong." Cassis uses a few potions on us to restore our health to max.

My view turns turbulent.

An ominous tune erupts.

* BATTLE START *

A boss battle?

Through the cloud of dust, the Mad Cow emerges with fury in its eyes.

Reminded of a traumatic childhood experience on the farm, I scream, but no sound comes out.

"Pull yourself together!"

Just as Cassis finishes lecturing me, the beast slams into her with its head. It then flips around and kicks her for more damage, before retreating several steps backwards to prepare for another charge.

Unfazed by the attack, she launches a Wallop on the boss.

The Mad Cow snarls, as its health panel decreases by about a third.

I whip out my dagger and lunge at the beast.

It growls and charges at me with a double attack. I try to lift my shield to block, but the beast is too fast. Like a car going at seventy, it slams into my chest and sends me flying several yards backwards. When I finally land, I roll myself onto my hands and knees and cough out clumps of dark red sludge.

"Are you alright?" I see Cassis ask.

I inhale deep to get air back into my body, then cough some more blood out. My gasps turn into a mix of wheezing laughter, as my head tries to process what just happened.

So this is what it feels like to be hit by a ton of bricks...

"You should defend and let me take care of the beast."

She uses a Big Potion on me, restoring me to full health.

I rise to my feet with a new decision to make. If I don't follow her advice, I probably won't make it out of this battle alive. Our supply of potions are limited, and if she's constantly healing me, she won't be able to attack. With no other choice, I raise my shield and dig in my heels.

The cow charges and slams its head into my shield, followed by a powerful kick. My body slides back a couple yards.

I suppress the urge to spit and focus on the next move. My health is down to 53, and with a potion, I can raise it back to 103, which should allow me to take another attack fro the Mad Cow.

Cassis seems fully aware of this and wastes no time in unleashing her special attack.

The cow snarls once more, its health dropping by another third.

When it's my turn, I use one of my potions as planned. And just as I finish, the Mad Cow is already kicking dust and dashing towards me. With seemingly no time to raise my defenses, I simply brace for impact. My body flies backwards and lands with a thump. This time, I'm not coughing up as much blood as before, but the pain is still surreal.

"Hang in there!" She uses another one of her big potions on me, fully restoring my health.

With renewed energy, I lift my shield and stare down the beast.

Last chance. Do your worst!

But this time, it decides to go after Cassis.

Cassis dismisses the attack with a scoff and rips into the Mad Cow with another Wallop.

The beast lets out another snarl, but that quickly fades to silence. It's body plops onto the ground, then vanishes.

"Nothing to it!"

The boss music fades out, and a much welcomed victory tune plays.

I swing my sword around like a lame duck and rake in the EXP.

* BATTLE END *

We reappear at the top of the Trail of Ascension.

Cassis stretches her arms and and legs. "Looks like my job is done. I should get a load of karma points for this."

I do a little celebratory dance, as she shields her face from passersby out of embarrassment. Once I've calmed down, I focus on Asharia, then channel the newly acquired energy into my attack.

"Hey," Cassis says, "you should probably wait until you've successfully joined a class before using your growth points. Not everyone gets to be what they want, you know."

Now she tells me!

"In any case, I'll wait out here and keep myself busy with a little grinding. Go on. Become a Knight. Make me proud, hahahahaha!"

Her laughter trails off as she disappears back down the path we came from.

My eyes lock onto the Tower of Destiny.

This is it. The Knight class is definitely mine!

~*~