by John Nest
Smoke found an unconscious Adder sprawled over a glowing green boulder. The Condortlian was covered in blood, but what caught the his attention was the green virile arm that was growing out of Adder's amputated limb.
Chapter Two: Common Goals
Sherry cranked open her game pod and stepped out. She stretched out her slender arms and legs to loosen up her muscles. She took out her brown yoga mat and turned on her favorite jazz artist, John Coltrane.
With her long red hair tied into a braided bun, she started her exercise. She took up yoga to prevent herself from getting muscle atrophy. With her life now revolved around Zectas, Sherry wanted to stay healthy and ensure more hours of game time.
She loved how Zectas made her unleash her inner child that was always being repressed deep inside her. She knew she acted immature and selfish at times, but she wanted to discover her true self.
Her self imposed strictness and forced maturity alienated her from pleasures of getting into trouble. The virtual reality world of Zectas had taught her what it was like to have real friends even if they were Zectians.
It had been two years since Zectas was released and there was an alarming rate of players who did not follow the Zectas' guidelines and have gotten muscle atrophy.
Before they were allowed to create a character, the players were given an explicit warning which stated that playing straight for over forty-eight hours could lead to various health risks.
Even the Zectas game pod installers said the same thing to the persons who were in charge of the gateway device. They also made them sign an 'Assumption of Risk Agreement' document that would protect Zectas from any form of lawsuit.
There were still many players who tried to sue the company, despite of these warnings and documents. In the end none of the complainants won.
However, due to this incident a Zectas patch was uploaded and enforced an hourly health check on the players. If the player's health deteriorated, a system notification would pop out and the player would be logged out for twenty-four hours.
Of course, the patch was coded to notice the special-abled players who were paralytic or otherwise. Each player's health parameter was catered to fit them individually.
This move by the Zectas Company was accepted well by the world in general, but there were players who rallied against it. They didn't care if they became paralyzed just as long as they could stay longer inside Zectas.
After Sherry finished her yoga exercise, she grabbed a towel and dried herself up. She opened the Zectas forums while she waited for fifteen minutes before she took a shower.
She scanned for any updates about Smoke creating a guild. Thankfully, there was none. The Sonstwelters in Verbrannt were true to their word and kept their guild creation from the public.
After she searched for Smoke's potential guild, she decided to read the longest running thread in Zectas. The thread entitled, 'Tristan vs. Amahan vs. Smoke'.
UrLogicSux: Man that was amazing! The unexplored lands of Grand Malodorant Dragonis are unexplored no more!
FastInFastOut: @UrLogicSux, are you a part of Dracoricco's main guild? Tristan still hasn't released his video inside the land of the dragons, and I'm so curious what it looks like?
UrLogicSux: Sure am! It was difficult, but I stuck through all of it. I was almost drafted into our second string but my perseverance held on.
cutey4you: A Gorgeous Priestess Saves a Noob and gets Harassed by Some Jerk. You Won't Believe Their Reasoning. Click on the link to find out why.
Dark_AvEngER: Noooo! Not another click bait that leads to another player's video feeds. Argh, but I have to find out why...
PentaKiller: First there were the Lioumerean fanatics and now this. I'm reporting you @cutey4you if you don't send me a pic of you in real life.
TriTank: Let's all get back on topic. Even if Amahan still has the highest level and Smoke has his fight against a city, Tristan still made the most progress. He's made the most powerful guild and is now currently in Grand Malodorant Dragonis. I can't wait to see what kind of items he's going to get.
Atiman: Hey, this isn't a click bait or anything like that but you guys should check out Amahan's latest video upload. It'll blow your minds.
CatatonicKing: Wow @Atiman, you're right. Fellow Lioumereans I order you to watch Amahan's latest video.
Sherry's curiosity made her click on Amahan's video feed that was only uploaded five minutes ago.
Amahan and his entire Decane guild stood in front of an ice temple embedded on the side of a blue mountain. The back of a female Aero Magus lead the way as she kept on a wind shield that protected the Decane from the icy wind.
The female Aero Magus looked very familiar to Sherry. It was Magikera. The friend she had made near Centeo city, before she got her werebear curse.
Sherry remembered Magikera mention that she belonged to a famous guild, but she never thought that it would be the Decane guild. Magikera was the one who taught her about stat inflation, when it reached over 600 points.
She resumed watching the video. Magikera was followed closely by two burly men named Baskog and Ligon. Decane's heavy tanks. A great crystal statue was revealed after all ten members crossed the ice temple's entrance.
It was five meter tall and made out of ice crystal. The statue of the legendary Djinn, Gahoul Comataz. The Djinn had a black feathery humanoid body, with the head of a black falcon and a silver beak.
Comataz had long talons for fingernails and storm colored wings that was twice the length of his entire body. His ice armor glistened as it covered his black feathery body.
Amahan went near the statue and a notification popped up.
Djinn of the North: Gahoul Comataz
This monstrous ice Djinn guards the tomb of Aquilo, King of the North!
+Gained 1/4 map to Aquilo's tomb.
+Gained 1/4 piece of Comataz's essence
The Exorcist raised his first Comataz piece into the air, as his guild cheered him on. Not only were they nearing the tomb of King Aquilo, but they were most likely going to have Comataz join their ranks if they could find the missing three pieces.
Sherry felt proud as she watched her good friend Magikera frolic around with her guildmates. She thought that Nash was the only famous person she knew in Zectas.
She made a mental note to call her when she could get some free time inside Zectas. At the moment, her mind was focused on improving Verbrannt village.
'What was that Djinn? I've never seen or heard about Djinns in Zectas.'
Sherry couldn't help but wonder what kind of abilities did Gahoul Comataz possess and to what extent Amahan could use them.
However, she pushed out her theories about the Djinns. She had more pressing matters to research on. Aside from an impregnable defense, Verbrannt also needed to be self sustainable.
She analyzed what she had to do for her village, in order to better itself. She was sure that Nash would keep his end of their bargain, which was why she needed to be two steps ahead of him.
* * * * * *
The moment Sierra logged back in, she immediately called Gandiva, the tigress Lioumerean.
"Did you get goods?" asked Sierra.
Gandiva quickly nodded. "Yeah, of course I did. I've got the fifty quails, twenty ducks, ten pigs, and I even got the Guildium right here beside me."
Sierra shook her head. "No, no, I'm not talking about that. I meant the special ability."
Gandiva's eyes lit up as she understood. "Oh, that... I don't know how you met that old Priestess, Nenek, but she sure is well connected in Centeo. Thanks to her I managed to acquire the ability."
Sierra grinned. Her hours of scouring the net paid off. She was glad that she kept in touched with her old Mentor.
"Good job! How long til you get here?"
"Umm... About an hour?"
"Alright, I'll see you then."
Sierra then called over Sharur and Thyrsus. She wanted to see the progress that the two of them had done.
Thyrsus
was placed in charge of the residential area, agricultural land, and the business district, whereas Sharur and Jinggu took command of redirecting the river and training the militia.
Presently, Jinggu was out with his battalion. It was their turn to train inside their private dungeon, the secret exit of the labyrinth.
As they stepped outside of the castle, she instantly noticed that the castle ground was now free from tents and small shanties.
"I see that the Dernier family finally moved to a new home?"
Thyrsus smiled and nodded.
"They were the hardest one to persuade but setting them up as the main fish vendor eventually convinced them."
Thyrsus patted Sharur's back. "Sharur, Jinggu and the Maneators did a great job on channeling some of the river to flow into our village."
The almost two-meter tall OrkElf gave a small bow, as he acknowledged the Hunter's compliment. "Thanks, but it was Smoke who dug most of the trenches with his wand. We just made sure that the river flowed through it."
The handsome OrkElf proceeded to say. "But all in all it was Sierra's suggestion of making use of the river to serve as a natural moat and a source of food that made all of this possible."
"Nah, I'm sure Smoke or anyone else would have came up with the same idea. I just happened to have raised it first." Sierra said modestly.
The red werebear admired the newly finished stone road as they headed into the residential area. The gray stones were neatly flattened and created a smooth road to travel on.
The three of them kept on walking through the quiet residential area and into the busy business district. The Zectian refugees from different villages became a united front. There were minor disagreements here and there, but nothing that the platoon leaders of the militia couldn't handle.
"What about the Sonstwelters? Are there any problems with them?" asked Sierra.
"None, both sides are adjusting nicely." replied Thyrsus.
As their conversation went on, an eight year old girl carried a basket of fresh fish for the Lady of Verbrannt who walked along the man-made river, which passed through the business district.
Sierra called the blond Hunter's attention. "Thyrsus, we've equally distributed the different businesses, right? We have someone practicing all the basic trades..." she paused as she saw a young girl walk towards her. "Oh, what do we have here?"
The shy girl raised her basket and meekly said. "My father just caught these fish from the Sierra River."
Sierra looked at Sharur and Thyrsus.
Sharur walked closer to Sierra and whispered in her ear. "The residents have named the man-made river circling around Verbrannt as Sierra River, in honor of you."
The little girl handed her basket of fishes to the red werebear.
"How did you know that I love fish? Tell your dad thanks for me." said Sierra with a big smile. Despite her werebear appearance, the girl looked unafraid and smiled back.
Sierra then gave her a pat on the head. The smiling girl ran towards her father immediately after. The red werebear waved at the girl's father as he watched them from the fishing pier.
Sharur took the basket from Sierra's hands and carried it for her and said. "By the way, Jinggu took my battalion to the labyrinth. Weise, Rasant, and Stark are also there with him. So, you don't have to worry about the militia. They're scheduled to arrive at any minute now."
Sierra gave Sharur's shoulders a tight squeeze as she stood beside him. This sudden gesture jolted the OrkElf as it took him by surprise.
"Everything seems to be in order. Sharur, Thyrsus, when Jinggu arrives assemble the entire battalion over to the training grounds, and make sure that only the militia members are there." said Seirra.
Sharur and Thyrsus bowed their heads as they left to follow her instructions.
An hour and thirty minutes passed before the entire militia units were gathered. Thyrsus placed scouts to keep a lookout for outsiders. Sierra stood in front of her militia and addressed them. "The past few days of continuous hunting in the mausoleum had been a great success. Sharanga, if you please?"
The WoodElf Huntress brought out the gathered loot. In the past five days they amassed a total of six-hundred-fifty composite bows, one-hundred wooden rods, and twenty skull helms.
Aside from the weapons and equipment, their militia's level also greatly increased. The lowest member of their militia was now at level 72.
With everything prepared, Sierra proceeded.
"I know what you're all thinking. What are those items for? Well, the skull helms are equippable to melee based fighters. That's why I've decided to give each platoon leader a special helm as a symbol of leadership."
Then, she signalled Gandiva to stand in front of the composite bows.
"Now, let me turn your attention over to commander Gandiva."
It was a rare sight for the tigress Lioumerean to be serious, but there she was with a stern straight face. She was accompanied by four Fishermen from her militia battalion.
"I've trained these four brave men just minutes ago, and I'd like to show all of you the results of their newly gained ability."
Gandiva gave them a nod, and the four Fishermen picked their throwing spears and aimed at the targets that were twenty meters away from them. All of them released their fishing spears and hit their targets dead center.
"For most of you, this is your maximum distance. It is impressive, but we could get more shots in if we could fire at a longer range."
The Lioumerean then pointed to a new set of targets that had a distance of forty meters. This time, the Fishermen went over to the pile of composite bows that Sharanga had prepared.
They switched out their fishing spears for the composite bows. They went back to the target site and aimed at the new targets.
All four of the Fishermen released their arrows and hit their marks that was twice the distance as before.
"I was sent over to Centeo city to gain this ability called, Bowfishing. With this it will guarantee our increase in offensive power."
Sierra found this special ability online. There was a post about two Zectian friends who were a Fishermen and a Hunter who polished this hidden ability together.
She was glad that Gandiva was able to learn the ability and was now able to teach it to the Fishermen in their militia. The tigress Lioumerean went on with her demonstration.
"The five of us will teach four persons at a time. I estimate that by the next three days, all the Fishermen will be able to use our gathered composite bows."
Their militia cheered as Gandiva finished her demonstration.
Sharur whispered over to Sierra and asked.
"Gandiva also got the Guildium, right? So, why aren't we making a guild yet?"
"I'm still thinking of a name and I want to hear Smoke's opinion. After all he will be the guild leader, even if its just in name."
* * * * * *
Adder was still unconscious. Smoke was about to apply first aid on Adder's chest wound. He propped up his injured friend against the glowing green boulder. Before he could do anything else, Adder's wound began to close all by itself.
"Igniz, can you brighten the place up?"
The dark ember sprite increased his luminance. Smoke and Adder had fallen into a jagged pit. He was surprised that they weren't impaled by the deadly stalagmites that stuck out of the floor.
Adder's new virile arm kept on growing and drew Smoke's attention.
"Just what is this thing? Igniz, can you come closer to Adder?"
With his purple hue, Igniz came closer and illuminated over the injured Condortlian.
The virile arm was almost the same length as Adder's right limb. The green hands and fingers were still small and disproportioned, but it was still growing.
He examined the peculiar looking stone and was equally surprised when he read the stone's information.
Matera Vitalis
This rock sends out energy waves and transforms ordinary rocks within a hundred meters into vitalis stones
.
Other Info: [LOCKED]
???
???
???
This stone was the reason why the Condortlians were enslaved. Smoke thought that Adder's recreated limb may have been caused by the Matera Vitalis' unknown information.
'If this Matera Vitalis has such a small reach then that would mean there are other Matera Vitalis scattered all over this mountain.'
He wanted to learn more about the Matera Vitalis, but there was no other helpful information. So, he decided to focus on returning to Condortl.