Haru: Apprentice 1/Acolyte 1
Optifex: Legionnaire 1/Initiate 1
Haru brandished her staff at the mob, her arms trembling. She couldn’t muster the willpower to attack the boar which Opti had engaged. She was fearful that she’d spontaneously cast her normal attack, that the game would draw from her original design rather than her surrogate’s stats.
The mob struck Opti with its auto-attack and brought him down another 5%, he was down to 90% total HP.
“Roo, what’s wrong?” Opti called out over his shoulder. “You can attack this one, we claimed it.” His auto-attack triggered, and he dealt 10% damage to the boar, bringing it down to 90%.
Haru considered just standing back and casting Mend, which was available to her after equipping Acolyte as a subjob.
The boar smacked Opti for 5%, bringing him down to 85% HP.
“You should have your first level spell already, what’s going on?” Opti called out.
Forcing herself to speak, Haru faked a cheerful tone. “Yeah, j—just a second, still getting used to this job…” As she spoke, her trembling grew more forceful.
The legionnaire’s auto-attack went off and brought the boar down another 10%. It was at 80% total HP.
Haru closed her eyes and took a deep breath, still shaking where she stood. Letting her mind wander, she tried to focus on what made her so fearful. It was important for her to succeed and save the game from being shut down. And if somehow her mob abilities crossed over, it could ruin everything.
But the more she thought about it, if she could summon her powers as a player then things would be solved. She could waltz right up to the demon and finish him off for good. Why was she so worried?
Haru opened her eyes, having reassured herself. She aimed her staff at the boar. Now she wanted her abilities to come forth, to be able to fix things right now.
The apprentice began casting ice bolt. A glow formed at the end of Haru’s staff. She gasped as it brightened.
Red orbs then began to circle around the boar, and it emanated a deep growl. It suddenly burst forth and slammed its tusks into Opti, having used its charge ability. The legionnaire was struck for 10% damage and was stunned. He was down to 75% HP.
As Haru’s spell finished charging, she couldn’t hold back the cry that welled within. “Normal Attack!”
The light dimmed, and an icicle formed at the end of her staff. It soared across the field and slammed into the mob for 15% HP, bringing it down to 65% health.
Around Haru, players clamored, a cacophony filled the field as people wondered why she was shouting and what she was doing. She hugged her staff and let off a meek chuckle, then tapped her fingertips together and cowered.
The boar auto-attacked Opti, hitting him for 5% and bringing his health down to 80% total health.
“Nice one, Roo!” Opti called out. “But I won’t be showed up, even if I’m not a DPS right now.” He triggered Pummel, which was usable because he had Initiate equipped as a subjob. Instead of up to five attacks total with his fists, he had the potential for two main attacks with his sword. It procced, landing both attacks, bringing the boar down 20%, to 45% HP.
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They finished off the mob and Haru took a knee to recover mana.
Opti walked over to Haru and also knelt to recover his HP. “Phew. Subjobs really make a difference, don’t they?”
“I’m surprised that I’m doing almost twice as much damage as Alara was doing when we partied.” Haru said.
“She must have been in a rush and forgot to equip her subjob. I’m pretty sure she’s already at the endgame.” Opti nodded. “Which, I’m more surprised she didn’t just level sync instead of bringing a whole new job.”
“What’s level sync?” Haru looked at him.
“It’s so that experienced players can play with lower-level people. Players can’t gain experience when there’s a difference in levels greater than 5. So we added in the ability for higher level players to temporarily match their level to their friends in a party so they can play together.”
Haru looked at him. “We?” She was getting the sense that he was somehow involved with the creation of the game.
Opti sputtered. “I… don’t know why I said it like that.” He stood up as he hit full HP. “Let’s try and claim another one.”
The apprentice also got to her feet after hitting full mana. She tilted her head as she watched him roam around the field. It would make sense that the demon would be interested in consuming someone who worked on the game. Maybe it would give him more knowledge about the inner workings, or maybe he could somehow have control out of game.
A sudden chill prompted Haru to open her key items menu. The Mark of Potentia, was beginning to dim. Up until this point, it was a bright, shining orb, almost overpowering in its luminance. But now it had noticeably less of a shimmer.
From high above, a raven glided in. It soared downward, swooping across the field and landing next to a pumpkin and pecked at the ground. It was Oracle.
“I see that you’re finally paying attention to the important things.” The sage rang out in Haru’s mind.
Opti targeted a boar. “I got you now!” Then he hung his head as another player claimed it before he could charge.
Haru looked to Oracle. “I don’t understand. Why is it suddenly growing dull?”
“That, my dear protégé,” Oracle started, “is the key to sealing away Irae for good.”
Staring at the key items screen, Haru blinked. “Am I doing something wrong?”
“Unfortunately, it seems you were acting against that which gives it power: patience.” Oracle hopped.
“Patience…” Haru thought for a moment. “But I am being patient. Isn’t leveling up to the maximum needed in order to get into Irae’s growing fortress just that? What about helping her friends? How could I be any more patient?”
Oracle pecked at the ground. “It’s not just what you do, but your intentions that it feeds from as well. You can be self-serving while feigning to act virtuous. A pure heart must accompany good action.”
Then Haru realized it was her hopes of being able to cheese her way to the demon that caused it. Using her mob powers instead of doing the right thing by making sure everyone got there by the rules. She sighed. “I see. That explains why it’s losing its luster then.”
Oracle hopped and nudged a pumpkin with her beak. “Rage demons not only gain power through deception, but fear. It’s like wood to a termite for them. They whittle away at one’s spirit once they sense such a weakness.”
Haru swallowed hard. She’d been terrified of many things ever since encountering the demon. Discovering she’d been so vulnerable to Irae this whole time made her even more uncomfortable.
“Courage comes from patience, you know.” Oracle looked at Haru. “Being steadfast in the face of overwhelming danger means not giving in to fear or doubt. That’s courageous.”
The apprentice tilted her head. “Courage means waiting?”
Oracle crowed, as if to chuckle. “It’s not only just sitting around and waiting. Of course it comes in part with action. But knowing when to act and when to wait, especially when pressured, is certainly courageous.”
Opti locked onto a boar and used Line Breaker. “I got one!” He laughed as he charged.
The raven spread its wings and then took flight. “Your foe is multi-faceted. There will always be pitfalls, especially at zero hour. Don’t worry about the blunders but work on rectifying them when they happen.”
Haru watched Oracle fly away. She then looked at her key items menu and prodded the orb which was no bigger than her fingertip. “I’m sorry little one. I didn’t mean to be like that before. I hope you can forgive me.”
While the mark didn’t brighten or dim, a growing sense of contentment resonated from its glimmer, where it once periodically scintillated, it began to produce a smooth and soothing glow once more.
“C’mon, let’s get this one!” Opti called out. “It’s still stunned!”
Haru now had more to think about, how to be patient while also pushing toward the goal of defeating Irae for good. The demon’s looming presence began to permeate every facet of the game, and the harder Haru seemed to push to finish things, the more difficult they became.
It was only going to get harder from here.