Haru: Acolyte, Level 10/20

Haru followed Oracle through the exit after taking the acolyte job change orb, which was placed in her key items inventory. The moment the acolyte stepped through the exit, a white light engulfed her vision. Around her, the wind picked up as a still morning would turn into a breezy afternoon.

As the overwhelming brightness subsided from Haru’s eyes, the sun, which was locked high overhead, revealed itself shining gently up on the land below. On a wide foothill the City of Gold glimmered in the sunlight. She found herself standing with Oracle on a winding path at the base of the incline, with various fruit trees flanking the trail.

“Almost there.” Oracle called out, moving at a measured pace with the aid of her crook. “Getting there isn’t always the easiest, but such is the nature of things.”

The two breached the tree line and ascended to reach the outer wall of the city. The dirt path led to the base of the three south-facing gates, its perimeter of which was paved with a translucent quartz brick.

Oracle inched toward a bench which looked miniscule against the backdrop of the wall that towered high into the sky. She sat down with care and nodded, satisfied. “There we are.” The sage looked around, taking in her surroundings. “We’ll rest here for a while. There’s still some time to wait yet.”

Folding her hands and opting to stand, Haru looked around. “What are we waiting for?”

Oracle motioned toward the gates. “They’ll open soon enough, but not just yet.”

As the two lingered in silence, birds chirped in the distance and fluttered from tree to tree along the dirt path they came from.

“You mentioned there was something you wanted to talk about before.” Haru broke their collective quiet.

Oracle looked lost in thought for a moment, then jolted. “Ah, yes.” She tapped her crook. “It’s about the demon.”

Mired in curiosity, Haru inched toward the open part of the sage’s bench and sat down.

“I wasn’t just twiddling my thumbs while waiting for you in the glade.” The Oracle shifted to meet Haru’s gaze. “I did a little bit of poking around. As with most things concerning demons, his intention was only a half-truth.”

“How could anything he said be true at all?” Haru shifted uncomfortably.

Oracle laughed. “If demons spoke only in lies, they’d never be able to deceive anyone. But it is true he’s harvesting the anger generated from frustrating players. Though, he left out an important detail. There’s one player in particular that he’s quite interested in.”

“A specific player? Why… and who?”

“You know who this person is quite well.” Oracle smiled.

Haru searched her thoughts, tracking her vision along the ground. It couldn’t be Emu, he was quite patient and she’d never seen any kind of outburst from him. Alara did have her moments but really those weren’t anything out of the ordinary. Taci… well Haru didn’t really know much about him, he was very quiet. So that only left… “Optifex?” She blurted out.

The sage nodded and hummed.

Haru recoiled her head. It made sense in hindsight. He was a player that couldn’t log out for some reason, and also managed to traverse into the demon’s copy of the beach somehow. By her account, Opti was as much a part of the game as Haru. “But why him specifically? I don’t understand.”

Gently tapping her staff on the ground, Oracle shook her head. “The human heart is one place my scrying eyes can’t penetrate. Optifex was sent here for a reason, and I suspect whatever purpose he serves in the game now is what makes him so desirable to Irae.”

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Haru scratched her head. “Then I need to keep him as far away from the demon as he could get. I was hoping Opti could help in taking down Irae, but now that seems like a foolish risk.”

“On the surface, that would seem correct.” Oracle stopped rapping her crook against the ground. “But there’s more to it than that. Think about your encounters with the demon.”

Haru recalled the fight in the cove. That’s where Opti saved her and Leonora from being slain. Then the encounter with the demon possessing the gryphon. Opti again drew it away. “For some reason it can’t seem to control itself around him.”

Oracle nodded. “I noticed that very same thing. Just as Irae couldn’t help but present himself to you when the opportunity arose, he’s drawn to Opti like a moth to a flame.”

“It seems like it wants to eat him.” Haru muttered.

“Perhaps it is simple hunger that drives him, but Irae is a rage demon not a gluttony demon. There’s something else that spurs him to action around Opti.” Oracle rested her staff against her shoulder. “It would behoove you to figure out why.”

Haru puffed her cheek in frustration. “You want me to spy on Opti for you?”

Oracle opened her mouth to speak, then it seemed like the sentiment struck her, and she burst into laughter. “No, that’s not what I mean.” With a deep breath, she calmed herself. “What I mean is, if you’re going to ever have a hope of taking down Irae, you need to figure out what the relationship is between Opti and the demon. Whether or not I’m involved is irrelevant.”

Haru slowly kicked her dangling legs. “Um…” She didn’t know how to formulate a question that didn’t sound foolish, so sat in silence for a little while.

The sage hummed, but didn’t move.

“Well, I… uh…” Haru turned to Oracle. “I don’t know how to do that.”

“You could start out by asking him.” Oracle nodded.

“Do you really think he would know?” Haru cocked her head. “He doesn’t even know how to log out of the game. Not that I’m calling him dumb or anything, but the nature of demons seems a little more… complicated.”

Oracle’s brow raised for a moment. “That is a good question. I wouldn’t go about asking directly, because there’s a good chance that he won’t actually have an answer. Instead, ask him about his life. Get to know him more. He is your friend, right?”

Considering Opti risked himself to save Haru twice, it was a fair assumption to call him a friend. “Of course.” Then a sudden regret swept over Haru as she realized she really didn’t know him all too well.

“Well, that’s good. You can figure it out by using what we know about the demon with what you know about your friend.” Oracle displayed her hand and gestured to emphasize her point. “Irae wants only one thing: to siphon energy off human souls. That’s how demons survive, draining people of their life force.”

Haru nodded in sudden realization. “So, the point of getting everyone angry is so that it can consume… people?”

“In a way, yes.” Oracle nodded. “But it wants something more from Opti. And knowing why will be the demon’s downfall.”

Haru grew worried for her friends. “Then I should get going. I don’t know if they’ll want to wait for too long.”

Oracle opened her mouth as if to speak, but then shut it and smiled with a nod.

The acolyte then departed for the dirt pathway, to return to the exit.

“Haru.” Oracle called out as Haru reached the trail.

Stopping, then spinning in place, Haru cocked her head. “Yes?”

“Is it everything you thought it would be?” Oracle gestured toward Haru from head to toe and back again.

Haru blinked rapidly. “What do you mean?”

Oracle bobbed her staff from one hand to the other. “Well, you’re used to helping players become something greater, giving them a chance to grow beyond their limits. Now that you’re in their position, is it what you thought it would be?”

Haru realized then that she’d outgrown even her old encounter and was now moving into somewhat of an unknown territory. She’d visited much of the continent that the starter area was on, but considering how long the alpha and beta versions were out, she really didn’t have as much time as she needed to truly familiarize herself with everything.

The concept was strange to her, as if she’d left behind her old life entirely. Would Vernal or Leonora ever look at her in the same way? Was she going to have a place in HomeRoom ever again? The closer she got to defeating Irae, the further she felt from the life she once lived.

But still, understanding the players through her party gave her a different perspective, and despite the growing solitude and disconnect from the way she used to do things, it made all the sacrifices even more worth it with each step forward.

Haru nodded. “Better than I could have hoped.”

Oracle smiled. “I’m glad. I remember when I was in your shoes, the change was distressing. Well, go on then.”

Without hesitation, the acolyte turned and continued toward the exit.

Then Oracle’s words hit her, and she turned to ask what she meant by ‘in her shoes’. But looking back, Haru found no sign of the sage anywhere. The acolyte looked around, hoping to spot a raven in the sky, but even the birds had dispersed by now and she found herself standing alone, with only the wind whispering in her ears.

With more questions than answers, Haru walked back down the dirt path, trying to think of ways to better get to know Opti.