A group of people shuttled outside the church, where a priest still yelled despite hours having passed since starting.

"What the hell was that? Bonnie, I thought you said he was level three!"

The man wielding a shield rubbed his throat as he glared at the green-haired archer.

"He was! With a team of four, we should have easily beaten him. Unfortunately, our tank decided to get two-shotted right off the get-go!"

The shield user grit his teeth as the memory replayed in his head.

"Stop."

The archer and shield user immediately turned to their leader.

Plop.

The previously burning fervour in Cain's hazel eyes was now replaced with a far away coldness. Thoughts of the battle floated into his mind as he sat outside the revival church.

"Let's take a while to analyze the battle. This is good. The battle with the vampire raccoon made us think we were the strongest on the island."

The shield user and archer both smiled, then their smiles staled.

"That's likely the mystery player who defeated Favur, all by himself too. He wasn't unbelievably powerful, though. So, I doubt he was the one that beat the wind wolf. So that means there are at least two players of that calibre here on the island. One more powerful than even him if the strength of a predator carries over to game logic. After all, a Fox loses ten times out of ten against a wolf."

A brief flare of desire tinted Cain's eyes before resuming their stillness.

"It felt like I was fighting against my own party. How did he sense it all so clearly? Bonnie's arrows..."

The archer frowned.

"…and how did he deal so much damage to the player with the most health out of us all…?"

The shield user frowned as well.

The group was locked in their head as one final thought made them all feel a chill in their bones.

"…and what the hell was that crimson fire around him?"

They all remembered the overpowering feeling of the crimson-haired man's presence. Very, very clearly.

"Magic."

A whispering voice suddenly appeared near the group.

Gah!

"Goodness, Ezekial! Warn us next time."

The sudden intrusion of a young man dressed in rogue-like garbs nearly sent Bonnie into a fit of surprise. In contrast, Cain's calm eyes latched onto the new arrival.

"You're sure?"

Ezekial's mischievous smile straightened solemnly.

"We aren't the first, it seems. Others must have picked it up like me."

Cain hummed and garnered the party's attention.

"We have less time than I thought. Call the guild administrators. Recruit from the island players for the raid quest. And let's get some replacement gear."

"I've already put forth the orders."

Cain pleasantly smiled at Ezekial's foresight and turned to his thoughts.

Maybe if I try it like that crimson flame, I'll be able to pull off the trick with my spear.

 

---

 

Huff. Huff.

On the outskirts of town, a cloaked figure was dashing between alleyways. Their cracked lips struggled to speak with clarity.

"I can feel it. A vitality like those plants. It's close by—"

Ack!

Suddenly, a purple-tinted white flame emanated from the figure's sword. The figure's hand clenched tighter, and then, with a rapid downwards slash, a sizzling groove formed in the ground that slowly broke apart like concentrated acid.

It wasn't until the mumbling, cloaked figure raced off that the sizzling groove slowly returned to normal.

 

---

 

Avalan was like a pizza loosely split into three slices by three main roads. At the center of it all was the pizza saver of a town square that held the town hall and church.

A bustling port shipped goods in and out of the island to the south. The port, made of warehouses, inns, and shipyards, was a haven for the avid anglers and salty sailors.

To the northwest, the glamour district held the rich taste of many nobles, prosperous merchants, and the otherwise wealthy. The wealth they brought kept Avalan economically afloat. As a result, many guards—usually privately hired—roamed around the area.

To the northeast stood the largest and currently the most densely populated trade hub of town. Initially, this area favoured the many shopkeepers, merchants, artisans, and civilians. Now there was another breed of people altogether: the players.

Now deemed the 'player hub,' this was the area where the players chatted, crafted, and partied before heading out to the wilderness.

Novus whistled at the sight of players running amok.

They're more numerous than I thought.

A grilled rabbit leg appeared in Novus' hand as he relished his inventory's ability to keep things as they were when they entered. Speaking of Novus' inventory, there were a few more additions.

 

 

 

The items had dropped from the swordsman and Cain, respectively. They were of a decent quality compared to Novus' beginner armour rags. So, he decided to switch out his carving knife for the dagger and immediately put on the shin guards.

With each step, Novus felt like a weight was attached to his legs. But the shin guards would no doubt prove useful once he held enough Strength to be free of their weight.

Novus sighed as he thought of Cain's overgrown stats.

He held at least twice my stats in all three aspects. I've got to find a method to increase them.

Novus pulled up his status window.

 

 

Oh. How did my soul aspect…? Nope. Don't think about it, Novus. Only more questions you can't answer.

Novus bit into his grilled rabbit leg in frustration. Then, winced as pain shot through his roughly bandaged arm and side.

Damned gods and their system.

"Abyss Off!"

Novus' cursing attracted the attention of a local townsperson.

"Umm, mister?"

"What!?"

Novus' harsh tone quickly softened as he recognized the townsperson.

"Oh. It's you. Where's your mother?"

It was the little girl who had gifted him a flower before her mother dragged her away. Curiously enough, the girl was holding more flowers. However, this time her flowers were in pristine shape instead of burnt.

The flower girl shrugged off Novus' question and then looked concerned.

"Are you okay, mister?"

Novus looked at the little girl and hesitated.

"Ye—yeah. I'm fine. Sorry, it's been quite the day. Days? It's been rough."

Novus sighed as he revealed another grilled rabbit leg and stashed it in the little girl's hand.

"Here. Thanks for the flower. Also, do you know where the best blacksmith is around here? I need a new weapon."

The flower girl looked curiously at the grilled rabbit leg before munching on it. Her eyes lit up in glee as she talked with her mouth full of rabbit and accidentally eaten flowers.

"Ish show tayshty! Shanks, Mishter!"

The flower girl ate with a gusto unbefitting her small stature; within moments, she was wiping her mouth free of grease.

"Blacksmith Anderson is down that way. There's also the new mister beside the rocky platform. Mama says not to talk with him, but he seems nice whenever I say hi. His wife likes my flowers."

Before the flower girl could say anymore, Novus silenced her with another grilled rabbit leg.

"Thanks! Bye!"

"Ah! Mister, wait! I forgot to— Oh, he's gone now. Well, he'll figure it out. Why was he so fidgety?"

The flower girl looked at Novus' disappearing figure for a moment and then towards the steaming hot meat in her hands.

Munch, munch, munch.

"Sophie!"

The flower girl quickly threw away the food from her hands and turned to see her mother's tapping foot and crossed arms.

"Ah, mom. Listen..."

 

---

 

Street after street passed Novus as he headed in the vague direction the flower girl had pointed out.

It should be close now.

Novus turned a corner before hearing the unsuccessful chipping of tools and frustrated shouts.

Clink! Clink!

Novus blinked with each clink. Then, he blinked some more. But, the sight didn't change.

Is that Dragon Glass?

Novus rushed to what the flower girl had called the 'rocky platform' and used Identify on it.

 

 

Tempered!? It's been tempered!?

Novus' thoughts jumbled as he heard the players trying to chip off a piece of the valuable material.

"Hey, enough is enough. This platform is just breaking tools without anything in return. Why don't we investigate the house?"

Another player instantly went pale and hushed his voice.

"Are you crazy? The last guy that tried that revived while shaking! He said an old witch lived there and practically ran away when I even mentioned it. Forget it. We'll come back when we have better tools."

The conversation ended as the two players packed up their things and left.

Novus looked around. The only building that dared to stay near the obsidian platform was a quaint house. It boasted a rooftop greenhouse and a side area with a chimney emitting puffs of smoke.

Could it be Masika?

Novus shook his head.

No, she hardly looked witch-like. Or old, for that matter. It could be one of those hidden quest locations like Percival mentioned. Maybe they know why the obsidian platform is here.

That was a question with an answer. At least, a potential answer. At this point, Novus just wanted to find the answer to something! Anything!

Needless to say, it didn't take long for Novus' fist to meet the door.

Knock, knock.

…

Hearing no response, Novus knocked a little louder. After all, old age isn't kind to hearing, even to a witch.

Knock. Knock.

…

Novus waited a moment and then a moment more. Then, his patience gave away.

Knock!—

BOOM!