“That was you!” I exclaimed, the connection finally being made. “You’re the buyer those assassins mentioned. You’re the one who sent them to the Kurc Woods to come after me.”
He laughed. “Those poor idiots didn’t know what they were getting into,” he grinned. “They thought they had to capture you, while all I honestly intended for them to do was find out how strong you were.”
“You disgust me.”
“It’s the way I do things, Eternal. You’ll learn to get used to it.”
I clenched my fists, anger surging within me.
“Rage will not serve you well,” he chuckled. “If you haven’t noticed, there is no way out of this situation for you,” he said. “However, I’ll provide you with a simple solution. Join the Dark Alliance, and I’ll let you go.”
“You can’t be serious,” I stared at him.
“Oh, but I most certainly am, young man,” he grinned. “All I need from you is a pledge to serve the Dark Alliance. One small thing and you can be free.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because this is an order that comes from the very top of the Alliance,” he said. “I’m looking out for you, Zoran. Deny my request and you’ll have the Emperor of Dargonia bearing down on your neck,” he grinned. “Surely you wouldn’t want that.”
“You’re looking out for me?” I muttered. “Don’t make me laugh.”
Suddenly, a disk of bright white shone beneath me, as though a portal was opening up. A leather-gloved hand shot out and grabbed onto my arm.
“STOP!” Asterion yelled lunged at me, just as the hand tugged my limb.
The world around me shifted into colors, all of them swirling into more and more shades with every moment. One second I was in this rainbow of light, and the next I found myself in the darkness once more, completely disoriented.
I looked around me, wondering what had just happened. I was on a flatland, the surface below me hard and dry. I heard the sound of footsteps crunching soil and turned around.
A man dressed in familiar grey stood there, a longsword strapped to his back.
I squinted, the image familiar to my mind. “Frey?” I asked, and the figure nodded.
My body immediately went into attack mode, unsure of what his intentions were. “Why are you here?” I asked him. I knew that he’d just saved me from Asterion’s tower, but I couldn’t help doubting a man from the Lumina Knights. I was starting to understand my position a little better now, and trusting someone blindly was definitely going to be a hazard.
DING!
You have received a conversation request from: Frey. Would you like to Accept it?
I blinked, a little surprised that it was possible to send messages through the Ga’em. I looked warily at the hooded man, and tapped the ‘Accept’ button on my screen, still keeping an eye on him.
A new screen popped up, with a single message on it.
I trust you.
“You trust me?” I asked, a little suspicious. “Why would you trust me? I’m the guy that wreaked havoc on your Lumina Knights head council. Who in their right mind would trust someone like that?”
That wasn’t you.
I blinked. “What do you mean it wasn’t me?”
I know it was the voices.
My eyes widened, my demeanor changing from those words. “You know about them,” I said softly, a part of me relieved that I didn’t have to keep this to just myself anymore. A part of me however, still felt suspicious. “How do you know about the voices?” I asked.
I felt an odd presence within you right before that attack happened.
I stayed silent for a moment, wondering if that was reason enough. Frey had hit the situation right on the dot though, and that seemed to be enough of a reason for me to trust him, for now.
“Do Viola and Raffyr trust me?” I asked.
They are confused. Viola still trusts you, and Raffyr does for the most part. However, they are forced to act against you at the moment.
“What? What do you mean?” I asked.
The Lumina Knights Head Council has put a bounty on your head. They're meeting the current leader of the Alliance of Light, King Markus Goodfield of Aingard, to alert him of your existence. They plan to tell him you’re an Eternal that has joined the Dark Alliance and lied to them about it. That whole shadow thing that happened back there has convinced them you’re from the Dark Alliance. The entire Lumina Knights faction has also mobilized in an effort to find you. That is why Viola and Raffyr are forced to act against you, since they cannot disobey the orders of the Lumina Knights.
“But how are you here then?”
I am not part of the Lumina Knights.
I stared at him for a second, confused. I felt like there were a ton of questions I could ask, but I subdued my curiosity for now. I’d gotten answers to the questions that mattered and I was satisfied with that for the moment.
I looked to Frey. “Thank you for coming for me,” I said. “I honestly don’t know how I was going to get out of that tower otherwise.”
Frey nodded.
DING!
The man with the scar. What did he want?
“His name is Asterion,” I said. “He wanted me to join the Dark Alliance.”
Typical. I knew the Dark Alliance would come after you soon, but I did not think it would happen this soon.
“I’m worried though,” I said. “I initially respawned in a Goblin tunnel, and that man was able to figure out where I was.”
He hasn’t come after you so far. It’s likely he can only trace your position right after you resurrect. Does he know you’re an Eternal?
“Yeah,” I nodded.
Intriguing.
Frey touched my wrist with his leathered gloves and pointed towards a lone grove of trees ahead of us, their branches and leaves swaying in the wind. He walked ahead, gesturing to me to follow and I did as he told.
“How come you’ve never used the Ga’em messaging service to talk to people before?” I asked. “Viola made it seem like you never communicated.”
DING!
It’s costs a lot of Sol to send messages through here. And I never found the necessity to do so with Captain Viola. This situation however, is different, so I am fine with spending my Sol to communicate with you.
“Thank you for that,” I said. “Oh also, how did you find me?”
I have my ways.
“Ah,” I said, as we reached the grove, not pressing him for an answer.
Frey walked a few steps into the line of trees and opened his Ga’em menu. He pressed a few options at razer fast pace and a circle of glowing light formed on the ground between us, condensing into a piece of armor and a weapon.
I stared at it, wondering if this was what I thought it was. “Is this for me?” I asked.
Frey nodded.
“Sweet!” I picked up the first object, a sword. Its blade was shaded a common silver, nothing fancy, and its hilt was a matte copper-red. I looked closer at the weapon and its stat screen quickly popped up.
Title
Steel Sword of Haste
Grade
One Star
Damage
80-93 ATK
Rarity
Uncommon
Durability
30/30
Quality
Great
Special Effects
+5% Agility
Value
15,000 Sol
“Nice!” I squeaked, a little giddy that I finally had a solid weapon, one with an agility boost at that. I gripped the handle, lifting the blade and giving it a swing. It whooshed as I sliced through the air in a nice, satisfying arc.
What that did, however, was remind me of the Forest Scimitars that I’d lost through my resurrection penalty. I was still quite sore about that, but I consoled myself by promising that I wouldn’t lose this weapon in a similar way.
DING!
You have obtained new equipment: The Steel Sword of Haste. Do you wish to
equip it?
I hit yes. The sword melted away into stardust, and floated over to the side of my waist, where it condensed and reformed once again, only now it was a full sword set with a scabbard that was already secured around my hip.
I bent down and picked up the next object, this one a piece of chest armor that was shaded a deep, rustic grey.
The stats screen opened up as I looked at it.
Title
Chest plate of the Adventurer
Grade
One Star
Defense
+21 DEF
Rarity
Not common
Durability
50/50
Quality
Very good
Special Effects
+5 Max health
Value
20,000 Sol
“A 21-point increase in defense,” I nodded in approval. “Nice!”
DING!
You have obtained new equipment: The Chest Plate of the Adventurer. Do you wish to equip it?
I hit yes once more and the plate dispersed into a stream of light, condensing around my torso and forming the chest plate over my Forest Tunic.
Frey tapped on my shoulder, indicating it was time for us to go. I nodded and followed him out.
“Where are we going exactly?” I asked.
DING!
To see a friend who can help. We need to see what that presence around you is about.
“Okay,” I nodded, excited about finally getting some answers again.
I opened up my Ga’em menu again, and selected the map option, curious about where we were at the moment. I tapped on field map and an image popped up in front of the menu.
The first thing I noticed was that I was no longer in the Kingdom of Aingard. The words ‘Dargonian Empire’ were written on the map in dark, faded letters. Honestly though, I wasn’t that surprised that things had turned out this way. Considering I’d just been captured by a man trying to induct me into the Alliance, it made sense I was within the Empire.
I looked at the pulsating blue dot on the map and saw that we were almost at the border of what was called the Viridian Forest. I looked around, trying to see where it was in relation to the places I had been. The Kurc woods and Langsdale City were far north of the forest, about a hundred miles or more. I put my finger on the image and scrolled south. The word ‘Earth Goblin Tunnels’ showed up at the bottom, and I could tell it was more than five hundred miles away from us. I eased up at that, because that meant we were that far away from Asterion as well.
As long he doesn’t teleport right to me, I thought.
I closed my Map screen, breathing easy, and looked up, hoping for stars but seeing dark clouds instead. Maybe the skies in the Dargonian Empire are always like this, I thought.
The Viridian Forest was closer than I had expected and fifteen minutes in we had entered its first row of tall trees. The sounds of rustling and insects immediately filled the air, unnerving me. I left my hand over my sword, not in concern, but more in comfort. We’d walked for a few minutes more when a light blue glow appeared before us.
What is that? My eyes gleamed as we walked closer, and a spring of glowing blue emerged.
DING!
You have found a Spring of Healing. The water from a Spring of Healing is said to hold mystical powers that can enhance an individual’s physical and/or mental prowess.
“A spring of healing,” I chuckled, recalling that I’d found something similar when I’d woken up for the first time.
Frey took off his longsword and laid it down by the ground.
“Wait are we settling down here for the night?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Fine,” I said, standing for a second as the warmth of the spring’s steam passed through me. “I’m going to go see if I can find any scraps of wood to start a fire.”
DING!
See if you can find some berries too. And don’t go too far.
“Gotcha,” I said and walked away, my arms gripping my sword, my mind drifting to Frey. He was an odd character but I felt quite certain he was on my side now. I could trust him. I honestly didn’t know what I’d have done if he hadn’t rescued me from Asterion’s tower.
Asterion, I mumbled, realizing that I still had that problem to deal with. There was no doubt in my mind that he was going to come after me. Especially since he said I was wanted by the Emperor of Dargonia himself. The only question that remained now was how he was going to come after me, and how I was going to stop him.
I walked around the trees for a while and found a good spot with a lot of broken branches on the ground, taking a minute to pile them up into my arms until I could hold no more.
“Time to head back,” I mumbled and turned back to the spring, the thoughts of Asterion still occupying my mind.
I was nonchalantly walking back when I heard a feminine voice, her words of song archaic and melodious. I looked ahead to the spring and noticed a woman standing at the edge, in the stark night. I quickly pulled my body behind the closest tree and held my branches tight, panic setting in immediately.
What the hell is going on? I thought, confused. Where’s Frey? I peeked out, trying to sneak a glance at who the visitor was.
The woman had a certain gracefulness about her very presence. She looked up to the night sky, her fair skin glowing in the ethereal light, her big moonsilver eyes radiant in the blue hue of the water. Obsidian-black hair flowed down her back, with a streak of starry-silver glittering majestically within it.
I couldn’t help feeling mesmerized by her beauty. It felt bewitching, as it were too surreal to be true.
Snap out of it, I shook my head. One of my branches slipped out of my arms and fell to the ground, cracking loudly against it.
Dammit, I jerked my body back behind the tree, crouching down to make myself as small as I could. Did she see me? I panicked, already trying to think of what I could do to get out of this situation.
I heard a whoosh and the tree trunk behind me snapped, falling to the ground with a thundering crack. The woman emerged from behind the fallen tree, her hair flowing gracefully in the wind. I looked at the longsword in her hand, my heart beating crazy fast.
A longsword? My eyes widened, recognizing the weapon, the stunning connections becoming apparent in my mind.
I looked to the woman, disbelief on my face. “Frey?”
***
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I stared at the woman in front of me, gazing into those mystical eyes of silver.
“Dammit,” she muttered.
Frey’s a woman,I froze, my mind stunned into silence.
Meanwhile ‘Frey’ had put her longsword back in its sheath and walked back to the spring. She sat down at the edge, letting her feet casually dip in the water, as though nothing had happened. I stayed where I was for a moment longer and then headed over as well. I dazedly sat myself a few feet from her side, letting my feet dip in the water as well. The soothing heat calmed my body. But my mind was still active, going rabid with questions.
A moment of silence passed between us. And sustained for longer. I glanced at her, wondering what I should do. Was it okay to ask her what was going on? Should I wait for her to tell me of her own accord? What was the right thing to do? There were so many questions I wanted to ask, and so much confusion over what to do with them.
I looked at her face and the analyze screen automatically popped up.
DING!
Name
Freya
Race
Moon-Elf
Level
45
Health
540
Mana
770
Stamina
470
Freya, I told myself, a little amused that her male alias was but a sole vowel away from her actual name. She was a strong level 45 and her mana levels were really good. One look at the race tag and I could see why.
Moon Elf, I read. I glanced at her, noticing the p
ointy ears peeking out of her luscious black hair.
“What are you doing?” she asked, finally noticing the screen I was looking at.
“Nothing,” I yelped, quickly closing the prompt, realizing that more than five seconds had passed since I’d generated it.
Freya looked at me, her expression void. “You used your Analyze skill on me, didn’t you?” she asked.
“Uhh….no?” I said, immediately realizing I sounded like the worst liar ever.
She stared at me for a moment and then sighed. “I don’t blame you,” she said. “There is no normal way to react to…this.” She looked at herself, and then at me. “Just for the record, I don’t owe you or anyone else an explanation. But since we’re going to have to stick together from now on, I’m going to tell you anyway.”
I nodded. I didn’t care what her motivation was for telling me, so as long as she told me what was going on here.
“As you can probably tell from your analyze screen,” she began, sounding annoyed already. “My real name is Freya. I’m a Moon Elf from the kingdom of Iskaeil. I’m an Assassin by profession and have no Alignment to either Alliance.”
An Assassin? I was taken aback. Did not expect that to be her profession. Her choice of wearing a hooded tunic made more sense now. I silently wondered how many people she’d killed as an assassin, but didn’t dare ask her. I didn’t want to be added to the list, and based off how annoyed she was already, I could tell I wasn’t that far away from being put on it.
The Eternal: Awakening - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 1) Page 10