by Scar, Rick
“Do you know what I’m ready to pay? Do you? Well, I’ll tell you… ahahaha… I’ll say thank you! Ahahaha! Is that enough for you? That’s my… my price! Do you know who you are asking to pay? Ahahaha!” The monstrous Will was hysterical. Flying down at a dashing speed, he laughed out loud.
“Say thank you?” the voice was confused. “But you want your revenge! I see it. I feel it. I expected you to answer: take anything you want. That’s what almost everyone taking this challenge said. I’ve brought your greatest secret desire out, and it was vengeance. I can give it to you! I can relieve your pain. Then why? Why are you offering me nothing but ‘thank you’?” The utterly bewildered voice was no longer scary.
“Whoever you are, you’ve said the word to wake me. My heart craves vengeance—I won’t deny that—but my goal is different. And it is far more important. My mind…” Will wanted to tap a finger against his temple, but his handcuffs prevented that. “My mind is much stronger than my heart. Sorry. I’ve lived all my life by mind and not by heart. And now my mind wants money. Lots of it. I need it for my goal. And my heart is nothing but a blood pump. It is not allowed to rule me—if only on very special occasions.”
“Do you know you’ll hit the ground at a terrible speed unless you go back to the platform?” The voice tried another argument.
“Yes, and I hate it.” Raven sighed. “But I can put up with it.”
“I can give you wings to fly, but I need your price.”
“Eh? Two ‘thank yous’, maybe? You’re insatiable, whoever you are. No one has ever heard two ‘thank yous’ from me.”
“Um. So, you choose death?”
“I do.”
“Not their death but your own?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you give up your grudge?”
“Sort of.”
“Your revenge?”
“My answer to all your stupid questions is yes!” Will yelled.
The voice didn’t seem to pay any heed. “All the rage and humiliation you’ve experienced, every day, from those nobodies?”
“You’re trying to make me angry again. I see it.”
“Why should you die, and not them? It’s all because of the price, yeah? You don’t want to pay?”
“You’re right. There’s no damn way for me to afford it.” Will looked down at the rapidly approaching earth. In less than a minute, he’d experience a truly unique sort of death.
Calming down, he realized what this challenge was about.
Almost everyone holds a grudge against someone or something, an anger secretly corroding them from inside. Few people in this world are completely honest with themselves. The rest would rather not admit they have envy for anyone. That they hate and fear those who have a higher standing and lots of money.
It’s almost impossible to forgive those who bullied you, laughed at you, and made your life miserable.
Almost everyone has dark spots like these in their heart. Whatever the reasons, their color is same.
Can they ever be cleaned? That greatly depends.
If not for the word ‘price’ uttered by the voice, on purpose or not, the rogue would probably have submitted to another of his demons and found his bit of relief, bathing in his enemies’ blood. But what about his goal? His father? His sister? The one whose tiny, unstained hand had once pulled him out of the dark.
His heart belonged to the dark, but he would do anything to keep his sister’s one pure as long as he could. That’s what his goal was about.
“Hey, you!”
“Did you change your mind?”
“No. I just have a question.”
“…”
“My heart is dark, but I want to save another person.”
“…”
“Light and Darkness have always been two sides of the same coin, haven’t they? I’m ready to be the dark shadow cast by her light. Forever.”
“So what your question is?”
“Have I passed the challenge or not?”
“…”
Before Will could hear the answer, a powerful blow came to his whole body with a flash of crazy pain turning him inside out. It lasted but for a moment, then he stood in complete darkness. Unable to see anything, he could still feel someone’s presence by his side.
“Are you still watching me?” Raven shouted to the void. Then he lay down, putting his head on his paws.
“…”
“You are not really talkative.”
“I’m watching.”
“Why?”
“That’s all I can do.”
“Who are you?”
“Me? I’m the other part of the Shadow Order founder’s soul.”
“Why are you here?”
“To run the challenges.”
“Why am I here?”
“You? You can help me.”
“Maybe you’ll answer me now? Have I passed the challenge?”
“If I answer, you’ll leave without hearing me. Will you help me?”
“What do I get for that?” Will sighed, closing his eyes. Lying down, he was taking a bit of rest. His old memories were hard to bury again. He couldn’t even give a careful thought to what he was being offered right now.
“My gratitude,” the voice said, a bit surprised.
“I see. But I’m not doing it for a ‘thank you’. It’s only my thank you that has value.” He smiled into the dark.
“Um. I will teach you a very strong skill. Will you help?”
“That sounds better. But what exactly should I do for you?”
“Find my body.”
“Find in what sense? Could it be anywhere? Or in any specific location?” Will asked with a mental moan.
“The second is closer. But it’s still much like the first.”
“What does that mean?” Will opened his eyes in surprise but, seeing nothing but complete darkness, he closed them again.
“It can be found in a specific location. A very, very large one.”
“Your reward is too small for a mission like that.”
“What else do you want?”
“First tell me: why did you choose me?”
“I’ll tell you that once you agree.”
“Um, well. I’ll answer your question then. I want many things, but most of all I want… power. A unique kind of power. Like that you once had.”
“…”
“Does that mean ‘no’?”
“I’m not telling you no. You’re just not strong enough to accept such great power.”
Attention! To receive the Shadow Order founder’s power, you need to be Level 150 or higher.
“Um. What if I become strong enough for it by the moment I find your body?” Will raised himself a bit as he asked this question.
“Find it first. Only then will I decide if you are worthy of it.”
You’re offered a hidden epic quest chain: Walk into the Void.
Note: You meet all the conditions to start on this quest:
1) Game sensitivity level: 100%;
2) Pure Heart challenge: 100%;
3) You are the first player to attempt this challenge;
4) Your premortal words aroused interest in the part of the founder’s soul.
Part One: The founder’s body is in the Khalafay desert. Locate it.
Rewards:
350,000 XP
A skill unique to the Shadow Order members: Death by Shadow
Active skill: Master
Description: Enables you not only to walk in shadows, but also to make one attack from the shade.
+300% Critical damage
Energy required: 400
Cooldown: 10 min
A skill unique to the Shadow Order’s founder: ??
Accept? Yes/No
“Before I accept it, may I ask just one more question?”
“You may.”
“How will I recognize your body?”
“You will. Once you see it.”
You’ve completed the Pure
Heart challenge!
Now you can join the Shadow Order. To get this reward, talk to the order head.
Awarded the title: Entrant to the Dark
+5 Agility
+10% Secrecy
+5% Critical damage when attacking the target from the back
You have attained a unique hidden specialization: Demon-Releasing Shadow
Description: Allows you to release your inner demons, taking their shape. The higher your level, the more demons are available.
Inner Demon Form I: Golden Dragon
Active skill: Apprentice
+ 20 Agility
+ 20 Strength
+ 80 Endurance
+ 10% Finding stashes, chests and doors
Duration: Depends on spending.
Spending: 100 gold/min
Note:
1) A new demon is unlocked with every 50 levels you gain;
2) To avoid spending all of your gold, you can set the time limit for the demon form when activating it;
3) Unlock the development tree of your demon form to upgrade its stats, skills, and appearance.
“A hundred gold per minute!” Will gasped for air, suddenly lacking it.
Chapter 115. Welcome, Brother
L ooking at the cost of using his demon form, Will cursed his bad luck, again and again.
100 gold. 100 gold. 100 gold!
How could he ever afford to use this skill? A mere glance at this description was making him anxious. How would he feel with gold literally flowing away through his fingers?
Calming down a bit, he opened the development tree and scrolled it for any skills reducing the cost. Soon he discovered the one he needed:
«Demon Tamer» → «Demon Tamer II» → «Demon Tamer III» → «Demon Tamer IV» → «Demon Tamer V».
The skill was available immediately. Along with nine others, it was part of the first development stage.
Each new skill branch became available after the player unlocked all skills in the previous one. Starting with the second branch, you needed not only skill points to unlock skills, but also various resources and ingredients that were challenging to collect for sole players and small groups not associated with guilds.
When reaching Level 250 or higher, a lucky (or skilled) player could unlock the very last stage of character development. Titled Messenger of Gods, it provided opportunities unknown to any of the players. All the information available from the website was:
Only a few will become true Messengers of Gods. The rest will not be able to learn the unique skills of this stage—even upon achieving Level 250 or higher. Whether you become a Messenger of Gods or not, will depend on your luck, game proficiency, or…
Reading that in the first week after release, some players tried to protest, pumping the company for more info. The devs kept silent, making them even angrier. But, gradually, everyone calmed down, getting immersed in the world of Ascension.
Examining the Demon Tamer branch, Raven discovered that every unlocked stage of this skill reduced his spending by 5%, which meant 25 gold off for a fully developed skill. But that required spending 5 skill points! This idea made Will uneasy. During his search, he also discovered a range of other skills that could be of great help, which complicated his choice. Having only eight skill points available, he had to use them wisely. The specialization he’d got was not really appropriate for a rogue; rather, it was a total mismatch to his skills.
“How long are you going to keep standing like this?”
The speaker was Daltaro. With his back leaned against the wall and his arms crossed, the archer watched Will. The brim of his regular hat was hanging loose over his face, so Daltaro lifted it with his finger at times.
“Are we in a hurry?” Raven retorted.
“Um. Judging by how fast Rinnah dashed off once she saw your result, I think we’d better follow her.”
“Sure. That’s 100%,” Will remembered, glancing at the table again. “I must see the head.”
***
Taking hints from the map, Will walked towards the hall where Umbra had met him, pondering over his next steps as he walked.
If nothing special happened again, he’d rather go to the princess. Forest cleaning was taking too much effort and time because of the strong mobs guarding the cursed places, so Will decided to postpone this charitable activity and, instead, he would focus on securing his future. The faster, the better. His intuition screamed that, even if Nanel accepted his proposal, some courtiers would surely oppose their marriage. Although his relationship with Adamarona’s people was Admiration, that might not apply to special NPCs who had the power to change the game.
And his main obstacle was the system. It probably had some algorithms preventing any player from ascending to a throne.
The hall door was flanked by two senior adepts in red robes. Seeing Will, one of them entered the hall to inform the Great Shadow of his arrival. By the time when the rogue reached the door, the adept had returned and opened the door to him.
“So this is what the messengers are made of.”
Upon entering the hall, Raven heard Umbra’s voice. Sitting at the table with him were human-like creatures robed in gold and black. The room was rather dark, just as usual, and lit only by a few candles.
That’s why they are called the Shadow Order. Seeing Rinnah among those at the table, Will took a seat by her side.
“Congratulations,” she said.
Congrats! You’ve completed the challenge of joining the Shadow Order.
You are the first Messenger of Gods to join a non-player community.
Awarded the title: At Home among Strangers
+3 Luck
+5% Chance to get hidden and epic quest chains from the characters whose attitude status is Neutral or higher
Bonus: Easier to establish relationships with anyone (+10% to any attitude points you collect).
Shadow Order attitude up
Current attitude status:
Shadow Order 105/400 − Trust
“The messengers like me are few. We are as easy to come by as rare collector’s coins,” Raven replied as he read the system message.
“So modest,” a lady in the black robe of a Master said and then she smirked. “Completing the challenge at first attempt, and scoring 100%? Where do boys like you come from?” Her glowing yellow eyes had genuine curiosity.
The hall contained about thirty creatures. Almost everyone’s eyes were on Will as the order’s newest member.
“So, White Raven,” Umbra spoke. “Those present here are the members of the council responsible for the initiation of new members whose scores are below 50. But what’s happened today is another reason to bring the complete council together.
“Although you have obtained a top score, you are not strong enough to become the Great Shadow, neither is your reputation high enough. So, the question is: what rank should we assign to you? In the case of any other new member, the answer is simple. The initial rank is assigned according to the table. You could take the challenge once again every six months to try to increase it. In other words, we’ve obtained our ranks in the challenge room created by the founder. Did you hear a voice at the end of your challenge?”
“Do you mean the founder’s soul? Or its part, to be more accurate?” As Will said it, Rinnah by his side gaped in utter bewilderment. The other adepts in golden robes were shocked the same. Some of them eyed Will with suspicion, others coughed, chocking on their drinks. Those in black robes just exchanged glances with the Great Shadow and continued to listen.
“So you have heard it. Not just heard, but talked to him. What did he tell you?” Umbra was apparently fascinated, craving for more details.
“Er… not really much. He just said it was him running the challenges…”
With every word Will said, the faces of all adepts, including the Great Shadow, were becoming more and more serious.
“…and that he’s just a part of the founder’s soul. Also, he gave me a quest
to find his body.”
“Huh?” The scream coming from all adepts at once bounced off the walls and came back as an amplified echo, restoring composure to many.
“Find his body?” Umbra frowned. “No one heard this voice say so many words for ages! Why did he become so eager to reveal his secrets?”
The other adepts whispered, discussing what they’d just heard. When the Great Shadow looked at them, they fell silent at once.
“Is that all?” the head specified.
“Er… I got a specialization too,” Raven said, pulling closer a glass of dark-red liquid.
Is that blood? Whirling the glass and sniffing its contents, the rogue wondered if he should taste this strange, completely odorless drink. Or perhaps he would be better to ask Rinnah about it?
“What specialization?” the order head asked in complete silence.
“Does it really matter? We’ve gathered here to discuss what rank I should get in the order. So let’s discuss that.” Will decided to ask Rinnah about the drink later; he could not ignore the Great Shadow.
“Your specialization can become your rank,” Umbra said.
“Um. I see. My specialization is Demon-Releasing Shadow.” Raven looked at the head with expectation.
“One of our brothers had it before, as far as I can remember,” the yellow-eyed lady said. “What was his name?”
“Rain Adalius,” said a short, sturdy man on the head’s right, rocking his glass of red wine (or blood). “A good fellow. A pity this specialization killed him.”
“Yes. I remember him now. Was he a Sardath priest?” the adept on the man’s other side joined in.
“Enough,” the Great Shadow said in a soft but powerful voice, calming everyone down. “Then it’s what you’ll have for now. After you complete the founder’s mission, we will decide what rank you get next. That’s your only mission with the order. You are prohibited to take any other missions from the board in the main hall until you complete this one. Anyway”—the head raised his glass—“you’re now one of us. Welcome, new brother! From light to shade!” So calm had Umbra’s speech been before that his raised voice came all of a sudden to Will.