A ringing noise flew throughout the world of Aether Online as a couple dozen figures received a similar notification [The second coming of the King’s Path has begun, You must choose your incarnations from among the (players) anyone who fails to meet this expectation shall be ◾◾◾◾◾◾◾ .
Most wore a look of surprise as they began to search for candidates, though one released a sigh of contempt.
“So you're the first incarnation? Color me surprised, you killed Myrmidon right? That irritating bastard. ”
Hecate tried to reply but her words were unintelligible, “I like you. how ‘bout this? If you succeed in walking the king's path- then I'll give you whatever you want.” The one sided conversation quickly fell into a deep silence as the space around them started to distort, the empty vacuum filled with color as Hecate shot out of her hospital bed. Covered with sweat, her breathing labored as she confirmed her surroundings. A single chair, a large mirror and the subtle beeping of her heart monitor.
“I know you're on the other side of that mirror, I'm not a fool.” Hecate spoke aloud.
A speaker system made a strange noise before Imperiums voice resounded throughout the small room, “It's just a checkup, we’ve got no way of knowing what might be happening inside your body right now- so we're just trying to ensure the safety of our employees.” her tone changed slightly, “Luckily, it seems nothing is wrong. though the higher ups were so insistent on having you in our ranks that I wasn’t able to punish you the fun way…”
‘What’s wrong with this bitch??’ Hecate questioned in her head. “Unfortunately the event is scheduled for tomorrow, which means that you don’t have very much time to raise your proficiency with your combat skills.”
“!” Hecate looked at the mirror, “You still want me to compete?”
“I feel like a broken record, how many times have I said that the higher ups are demanding for you to join our ranks.” Imperium replied. “Can I decline?” Hecate tried to say, “Considering the amount of audacity you have, I'd say you're doing perfectly well.” Imperium paused before exploding in a bubbly tone, “Now that we know your fine, that means you get to go kill some shit! Aren't you excited?”
“Stop that, it's creepy.”
“Your no fun” Imperium started, “Now, show me your status- you can hide whatever you want just know that this is to find the correct way to increase your proficiency in such a short time.”
Hecate sighed, “Fine.” Imperium’s eyes grew wide, “This! How are your base stats so high? I'd expect this from someone on their second revision, but the first? And such a low level at that…”
“Is something the matter?”
“Ah, No- It’s nothing.” Imperium buried her surprise. “So for most of these skills you'll just want to use them repeatedly until you master them, but for some you'll need to do something more specific. Let's look at [Slow Area], this skill is best when used in small areas because the smaller the area designated then the more evident the effects will be, that means that you'll have to practise using it on one part of a monster's body to raise its proficiency. Similarly, you should try to push [Body Manipulation] to the absolute extreme to see if it has a limiter.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“I see… is there anyplace that matches those specific challenges?” Hecate questions. In response Imperium chuckled “I can think of one off the top of my head, it’s a dungeon that's been locked since the game started. Nothing special- only E-rank.” Hecate quickly interjected, “if it's nothing special than why is it locked?”
“Some player stole the key and died IRL with it in his inventory, don't worry though- you have the means to open the door, all you need to do is figure out how.”
“...”
“That conniving woman… How is she so convincing?.” Hecate sighed as she approached a narrow cave entrance hidden deep inside a cliffside. ‘Am I putting on weight? Why was that so difficult for me to squeeze through?’
It took a few moments for her to realise what she was looking at.
“Whoa!” Hecate stared in awe at the sight in front of her. A giant arch made of pure white marble accented with a purple crystalline glass-like substance. The glass-like substance spread from each corner of the archway and all met in the center to create a small keyhole.
“She said that I ‘Had the means’, so the first order of business is to figure out exactly what those means are.” Hecate mumbled. A small panel appeared and all the items she had previously deposited into her inventory fell out onto the ground in front of her. First came the familiar items, the pistols connected by a chain, and the two leather books that she had stolen from Null, though familiarity is a fickle ideal. Hecate separated the items she recognised from what she didn't, what that meant was 4 objects lie on the ground in front of her.
A small glass bottle filled with dust, a red pill capsule, a red ring with the caricature of Myrmidon scratched into the base, and a bloody heart.
“Yeah… none of these would help me open a locked door” Hecate sighed as she began throwing the objects back into her inventory, suddenly an idea struck her mind. She tucked the last object into her shirt and approached the crystalline door.
‘Inspection’
[Locked Dungeon Entrance- Locked entrance to the E-rank dungeon “Crystalline Cathedral” the key to this door has long been lost.]
“How did I not figure this out earlier?” Hecate berated herself. She activated her skill and the entirety of her left arm started to become softer. “This is more difficult than I’d expected…”
Hecate had her soft arm pressed directly against the keyhole as she tried to fill it with her flesh, after maneuvering a good amount into the hole, she hardened the flesh and tried to turn her arm like she would a key.
“Nothing.”
[Understanding of the skill (Body Manipulation) has increased. Proficiency has increased very slightly.]
“It feels like I suddenly understand the basics involved with this… how odd.”
Her attempts at opening the door went similarly until a breakthrough occurred. [Your proficiency with the skill (Body Manipulation) has reached 3%. Based on current playstyle two new paths are available. Please choose wisely as this will very much affect future endeavors. (Hard as Steel) and (Soft as Slime).]
“Ah… now this is concerning. Should I choose something that will benefit me now or something that will benefit me in the future… This really is a trial of mankind.”
After giving it some thought Hecate announced her answer, “Make me as soft as slime!”
[Confirmation acquired, your ability to harden your body will decrease and your ability to soften your body will increase.]
Her arm which had previously been acting like a Non-Newtonian Fluid quickly lost all form before returning to the half fluid state it was in prior to getting the system message. Now, when she thought about softening her arm, it would become noticeably more fluid and soft, as a test she forced the now extremely fluid appendage into the keyhole before hardening it as much as possible and turning her arm. “Yes! It moved more than last time, it seems I've made some progress.”
Failed attempt after failed attempt continued to take place as Hecate struggled to create a key that fit the oddly shaped keyhole. That is until a small clicking noise made itself apparent and the key turned.
[You’ve entered the Crystalline Cathedral.]
Next Chapter Title: The Crystalline Cathedral