by Rick Scar
Things like these had always had a strong impact on us only because we looked at them too closely. When they were right in front of us, it was easy to become obsessed. And only when time put some distance between us and them, we could tell for sure how much they really mattered.
What could you have become if you had arrived in time for that meeting?
How different of a person would you have been if you had made a different choice?
Where would’ve this path taken you, had you had a bit more experience?
Raven stood amidst a rocky wasteland, holding a ring.
The ring he had been ready to refuse, but that had, for some obscure reason, still been bestowed upon him. It was one of those moments when he looked too closely at what was right in front of him. Only years later would he come to understand the true meaning of this apparently nonsensical decision.
And although the name of the entity that had placed the challenge here remained unknown to him, Raven still remembered who Wagraf was, which made him realize the significance of the memories he had just relived.
However, the bit that confused him still was the reason behind not putting these memories as a part of the tablet challenge. This made him wonder if all the tablets were indeed connected to particular heroes.
In order to try to shed some light on this mystery, he activated Identification. The head portrayed on the ring seemed ready to leap out of it how life-like it was. Raven couldn’t deny that the piece of jewelry was as powerful as it was beautiful.
THE MONARCH’S RING
Rank: Epic
Usage Requirements: Complete the challenge.
Description: One of the five rings that Lord Wagraf created and gave to his disciples. War-born but craving peace, Wagraf sought a way to preserve the hard-achieved balance. After he disappeared, someone continued his mission by creating the Monarch’s Door.
Characteristics:
The Confined Observer
A spirit created from Light and sealed inside the ring. Wagraf had imbued it with his will, giving it the power necessary to evaluate those who came after his biggest treasure.
Skill:
ANCIENT LAW OF POWER
In times of discord and pointless feuds, when the ruler is unworthy and oblivious of their people’s suffering, or when the throne lays unoccupied, you can appeal to the ancient law to lead the citizens who want a change.
Activation: Select one of the available regions and read this oath:
I appeal to the Ancient Law
Forged in the times of war
Give me the power and the right
To lead the way to peace and light.
In this land where a tyrant reigns,
And where the people are bound with chains,
Where the air is soaked with lies,
I want to fight for their rights.
I am a stranger, but I speak the truth.
I swear on my blood that I will settle disputes
As Hero Wagraf would have done.
I am the new hero. I am the one.
Duration: 2 years
Note: You will be able to communicate with the Observer after you confirm your choice of the region.
Keep the item? Yes/No
Since Raven had first heard about this ring, he had been curious about how exactly it’d grant power to its owner. This description provided him with some clues.
He made a note to himself to look up more information about this “ancient law”. This message also helped him realize what the statue had meant by telling him that he had enough time to become worthy. There was no requirement to activate the Ring immediately.
He clutched the little item in his fist and selected yes. Then he looked up at the statue.
“Let’s see how wrong you’ve been.”
Having put the Ring away into his inventory, he browsed through the system messages — and was relieved to see that the quest had been marked as completed. He hadn’t been sure if he’d manage to complete it when he had been deciding to refuse the Ring.
Congratulations! You have completed an epic quest: The Monarch’s Will
Rewards:
+The Monarch’s Ring
+1,000,000 XP
+10,000 Will Points
+epic item
THE ANXIOUS FIEND’S AX BLADE
Rank: Epic
Description: A part of the two-handed ax that had once belonged to one of Lord Wagraf’s captains. Renowned as a berserker who led his soldiers into battle with his awe-inspiring silver-and-ruby weapon, he perished under the ice in the battle of Pelevy Lake. The great ax was rumored to have disappeared with its owner as no one has seen it since then.
Having read the description and then the usage requirements, he sighed in disappointment and tossed the item into his inventory. To be fair to the system, he hadn’t been promised a class-appropriate epic item when he accepted this challenge.
Another reward was reaching level one hundred and nine, but he was still far behind the new leaders, ranking twentieth on the list. With each day wasted, he faced a greater risk of leaving the TOP fifty.
Closing the messages, he looked back at the book. The statue’s eyes were now closed, as if Wagraf’s unknown disciple had gone back to his ages-long sleep.
“I’d better go home.” Raven glanced around and, taking a walk around the statue’s palm, discovered a door right behind the book. He stopped in front of it and, hesitating for a while, walked over to the palm’s edge.
Looking down, he discovered that the city had once more sank into oblivion. He looked at the door, then down, then back at the door.
I ought to take a better look around this place before I leave.
He took a step off the edge and plummeted to the ground. When about sixty feet separated him from the sand, he spread his Wings and, flying a bit up, landed smoothly at the main square of the unknown city. Once his feet touched the paving, a system message popped up.
Congratulations! You have discovered a fragment of one of the many ancient worlds that had once been connected to the world of Ascension.
+40 Influence Points
+2 Endurance
+2 Luck
Congratulations! You are the first player to visit the hidden ruins of Lurk.
+25 Influence Points
He had to read the message twice to understand that he was on a fragment of another world.
So this piece of land is floating in the air for a reason. But why did I get these messages only now? he wondered but got no answer to this question. The reason could’ve been the city’s recent resurrection or literally anything else.
However, what made him even more curious were the players he had met in the hallway.
Someone has found a way to connect the Floors... Didn’t Daltaro mention that this location can be accessed from any Floor? I think he said something like that when we were discussing the Ring... he thought. And then an idea crossed his mind, making him open his eyes wide and run to the edge of the floating island.
If his guess was correct, he’d be able to return anytime. And if it was wrong… Well, he’d use this time to deal with the things that were already on his plate. The negotiations, among other things.
He’d be putting the treaty at risk if he stayed here for too long. Even if this place had a secret worth discovering, he’d rather leave it to someone else than neglect his royal duties.
I hope Nanel’s okay and that she left immediately after completing the challenge... He took out the Locket and, putting it on, changed the save spot. Done. Now he no longer could return to Floor Three (unless a player from there opened a way to his Floor), but… You never know till you try, do you?
As he finally reached the distant edge, he pushed off the ground, and did what any other curious player would’ve done: a leap of faith.
Since Ascension’s release, almost every player had at least once wondered what could lie outside its Floors. But everyone who tried to sneak a peek behind the misty veil envel
oping the Floor edges had either been killed by powerful monsters or consumed by a natural disaster plaguing that border.
As Raven started his long fall, hoping to pass the boundaries of the unknown, he saw a dazzling flash of light. In a split second, his body was incinerated. It had happened so quickly that he didn’t feel any pain.
Respawning, he tried to figure out what had happened, but the only thing he could see in the logs was the following message:
Attention! Your sensitivity level is too low.
Access denied.
“Um… Okay?” He closed the message and opened his character window – and got struck by his new sensitivity level.
105%?!
“When? How?” He was at a loss for words. It took him a couple of minutes to calm down enough to realize that the pain he had experienced recently had actually been a little bit stronger than usual. Before, he used to feel even an extra one percent as an acute change. His tolerance must’ve improved.
His attempt to get some answers only gave rise to more questions. Approaching the misty veil again, he watched the rising puffs of smoke for a while, then came back to the book.
I’d better leave this mystery for another day.
He stepped into the portal and re-appeared at the Monarch’s Door. Removing the Locket, he took a look around.
Nanel?
The place was silent. No one answered him. There was no one around but for little wind that pulled weakly at his snake-like hair.
He activated the palace teleport — and almost bumped into Nanel who was pacing up and down the room nervously. She jumped back in surprise, preparing to activate a skill, but once she realized it was her husband who had arrived, she ran up to hug him.
“What happened? You’ve been away for so long!”
“Hi.” Raven kissed her and headed for the exit, oblivious to the fact that his recent tension was now gone. “It took more time than I planned, but,” he wheeled around and handed her the Ring, “I managed.”
“You… You did!” she exclaimed and, having had a look at his trophy, handed it back. “Are you going to use it?”
She waited for an answer while Raven took the Ring and put it back into his inventory.
“How was your challenge?” he asked instead of answering. “Did you get anything?”
“I was really, really close, but… At some point, I got kicked out.” She looked down. “And… And that’s all. I wish I knew why that happened.”
She sighed with annoyance and nodded at the passing guard who greeted the royal couple by putting his fist to his chest.
Raven knew why, but he didn’t want to bring down her mood even more so he decided to distract her instead.
“I’m sorry to hear that. But, since you’ve come back earlier, you must know how the treaty is going. A week has passed, yeah? The Holy Empire’s envoys are coming in a few days. Are there any news?”
“Actually, that’s why I was waiting for you at the teleport for the past ten hours. Roxana has convinced the council to join the alliance. It’s up to us to choose the next meeting’s location.”
“I see...” Raven nodded as he entered the reception hall and opened the menu. “I hope you remember that Radermin and Insanity are coming soon. This battle is going to take all of my attention.”
“I remember. How much time do we have?”
“Less than twelve days,” he said, checking the quest timer. “I’ll work on the treaty tomorrow and clauses that’d be best for us.”
Nanel gave him a confused look.
“But we’ve already gained much from it! Don’t you think that putting too much pressure on the other parties might turn them against us?”
“It’s not like all the terms will be dictated by us. I’m aware that they wouldn’t like it. But we can get more benefits, such as lower export taxes for Adamarona. Why shouldn’t we use that?” He shrugged and sat down at his desk, opening the state management menu. “By the way, do you know where Emin is?” he asked as he switched between the windows, studying Adamarona’s progress.
“He decided to use this time to work on developing our military. He’s been at it for the past few days.”
“Should I remove him from the commander-in-chief post?” he asked pensively as he stopped his gaze on the treasury window.
Thanks to the war ending so quickly that it barely deserved to be called one, Adamarona had avoided massive spending. A longer conflict would’ve required lots of provisions. Raven was happy to see this reserve untouched. The sight of the full treasury and warehouses was wonderful. The two newly made allies had opened their markets to Adamarona’s goods, removing all the trade embargos.
I still have to convince them that they have no other choice but to accept my leadership. But I’m not yet ready for that.
Raven’s eyes flashed golden. An hour later, he exited the game, still unaware of the fact that he wasn’t the only player with the plan of conquering an entire Floor.
Chapter 274. I Wanna Play, Too!
F loor Four, dubbed by players as Waterworld
Once Rollin’ Dice opened a way to this Floor, many players were astonished by its large bodies of water and lack of dry land. The scarce islands and archipelagos were barely usable as bases, and were separated by tremendous distances. This had given rise to many clan wars and minor skirmishes until the TOP clans had worked out the rules of land division that the smaller clans had no choice but to accept. It was either that or being destroyed.
The players whose characters belonged to aquatic races soon discovered underwater ruins. Although the sales of gear and other items that allowed for prolonged stay underwater had been booming, making their sellers rich, all this equipment was still insufficient for proper underwater play. Exploration was slow, threatening to last longer than anyone had planned.
Berserker, the champion of the first tournament in Ascension’s history, was still choosing his Floor. Fortuna’s members had already spent many days debating on where their leader would be the most useful.
“Let’s ask the devs if he can go to the hundredth Floor. They can fix the settings to allow that,” said one of the players as he squatted, letting a ray of dark-violet energy that would’ve paralyzed him for five seconds pass over his head. He then shot his arm up, grabbed a spell mid-air, and sent it back at his opponent. His enchanted hook sword enabled him to deflect smaller magic attacks.
“I’m sick of your nonsense,” said a sorceress, activating an AoE spell that pulled the enemies toward its center, covering their bodies with lacerations like those left by fangs and claws. “Can you imagine the levels of those mobs? Didn’t you see any of Raven’s videos? Or those posted by the Brotherhood? What about the last one? Of Raven fighting that… that Observer if that was its name.”
“Observer? It was no stronger than the Nosferatu we’ve dealt with. Just a bit taller, and with a bit more HP.”
“With a fuckton of HP. Did you not notice how much more HP they have than similar monsters on our Floor? Even with their levels being roughly the same,” she argued and cast a spell to shield her teammate.
The cultists whom Berserker and three other players from his clan were now fighting were based in a temple on Floor Three. His clan hadn’t yet started conquering Floor Four because of its current impracticability. And although they had sent several thousand players there, their main forces remained on Floor Three.
The construction of the ship that’d take them to Khau’Krash was nearing completion. Berserker really wanted to see the place from where the Bloody Ifrit had come. That — and his quarrel with Kate — were the reasons why he delayed using his tournament reward and visiting other Floors.
Kate insisted on him choosing a Floor in the range between ten and fifteen because mobs there would be easy to deal with, and because that’d give him enough time to form a good relationship with one of the local states. Their clan was lagging far behind Rollin’ Dice in this aspect. And Rollin’ Dice was behind the Brotherhood of Enlig
hteners or, as players called these Floor-hoppers in chats, the Columbus Club.
Another problem was their slow search for keys. Rollin’ Dice had been holding the first place for many weeks in a row, strengthening their position by opening the gate to Floor Four. Even Berserker’s victory in the tournament hadn’t been enough to restore Fortuna’s fame.
That was why Kate, and many other clan members, were begging him not to overcomplicate things. And although their compromise was Floor Twenty, Berserker was still hesitating. A chance like this one wasn’t to be wasted. He wanted to weigh all pros and cons before ripping a page from the book, but he hated the possibility of other players getting ahead while he was making up his mind.
He gritted his teeth and focused on killing his enemies but then he realized that all of them were dead.
“Berserker? You alright?” His teammate came up from behind and, spitting blood, gulped down a potion.
Berserker turned to him.
“Do you think I’d manage the hundredth Floor?”
“Why not?” He shrugged and ran his gaze over the bodies of the dead cultists that were scattered everywhere around the temple. He continued with a shake of his head. “If there’s anyone who can solo Floor or a tough location, it’s you. I think you’d be able to get far if you put your mind into it. Just imagine killing a level-five-hundred mob!” Berserker’s brows shot up. “I’m asking you to imagine,” his friend hurried to explain, “not to kill. But if that’s too much for you…”
“As if it isn’t far too much for you,” the sorceress said sarcastically while collecting her loot.