Not being able to stay for the whole tattoo, the other members eventually left for their jobs; but before Shurtyrr left, I inquired about some questionably illegal items I wanted to obtain from the black market. “Would those be hard to find?” I asked him, hoping otherwise.
“Quite the opposite actually." I was happy to hear that, but Shurtyrr mentioned "Though the price could greatly differ depending on the quality, rarity, condition, and type; as well as if others are currently in the market for them.”
“I’m okay with that.” I told him, not having an issue with the price, “I'll make plenty of coin when I’m done learning the Styles and find work at the Adventurer's Guild.”
“Then I shall go to see what I can find currently in the market. I will even reach out to my contacts in the other Kingdoms to locate some.” Shurtyrr gave a smile and bow, “Now if you will excuse me, Lord Eyes, I will take my leave.” and he quietly left the room.
“You have some odd interests, my Lord.” Odelia commented, continuing to hammer the ink into my skin.
“Quite odd indeed.” Verana agreed, sipping her tea while she stayed to watch.
Ignoring their judgments, I asked “How much longer did you say this was gonna take, Odelia?”
“Around 8 more hours.” Odelia reminded me.
“Ugrhhh…” I groaned, already extremely bored from just laying down for 2 hours
“I told you creating the foundation always takes the longest—not to mention I am also creating the Magic Style you already learned; so please bear with me, my Lord.” Odelia asked, clearly working hard to push herself to completing the tattoo as fast and as perfectly as possible.
Acknowledging her efforts, I settled down and thought “Well I guess if I’m stuck like this for 8 more hours, I should catch up with what the other Players are doing.”
Scrolling through the past messages in World Chat, I learned in the last few days all the surrounding areas around Asheton were already completely turned into a dangerous zombie-filled forest. Everything from the animals to the monsters, to the unknowing Npcs and the careless Players; they all became undead wandering zombies of themselves. However, thanks to Global following my instructions to use my name, Asheton was generally safe and free of most of the danger.
Captain Dayla was able to warn the guards and townspeople before anyone was unknowingly infected—heavily increasing the security at the gates and the walls. The Guild’s Branch Manager, Thaddeus Crane, was able to get a message to the Guild's Headquarters about the on going circumstances, and not only received early permission to authorize Iron and Silver-Rank Requests to exterminate the zombies, but the news also drew in other adventurers from other towns and cities looking for work. And finally with the knowledge of any Healer Class with the Cleanse Skill could cure anyone infected, the Players who could became coveted and invaluable to Asheton and the other Players.
World Chat
Fin- Can’t believe my party was actually about to leave this town, think about all the Exp we would’ve missed with all these zombies around.
Oscar Otting- Looking for Cleanse Healer to fill our Party!
Jo Mama- We were about to leave too. Glad we didn’t.
Carol- Ya but u better watch out 4 the Zombie Players 1 of them was almost enough to kill 3 of my members so we would’ve died if there were 2 of them
Gugu- Lf Cleanse Healer! 2 people in my party got infected!
Nessa Locksley- <—Cleanse Healer for hire (1 Gold per Cleanse or 5 Gold per joined Request).
“Looks like the Players might be settling in Asheton for a while.” But after scrolling back a little more, I did learn a few hundred Players had already left Asheton days ago; some left for the capitals, others for smaller or remote towns, and a few who simply wanted to explore the new world.
Declan- Doesn’t finding a hidden oasis in the desert sound awesome? Any1 wanna join me?
IRL Troll- No but u shud definitely go by urself
Capulet- I’m not particularly fond of the thought of dealing with sand and the desert heat, so I think I’ll have to pass.
Simp- U obviously just heard a rumour and ur gonna die if u leave the starting town at our Levels
Zipporah- I wouldn’t mind joining you, Declan.
Declan- Yes! Any1 Else?
Sayonara- I have a Quest to deliver something to the city of Sya, so if we stop by there first I’ll join you.
Declan- Of course, we’ll need 2 get supplies anyway!
A1- If my boy Brutus can join we’ll come along
Declan- Hell yeah! Let’s meet in front of the Sleeping Forest Inn to talk details!
Only judging the Players by the messages I read, I found that a majority of them were only trying to get by or get stronger, unsure what to expect or prepare for in this new world—these were the Players below the Top 5000. On the other hand, Players above the Top 5,000 seemed to be more driven and ambitious, not afraid of anything and ready to jump into the unexpected and unknown world.
A majority of these Top 5,000 Players also seemed to be associated in some way with the 3 big Player Guild Factions; Deicide, Elseworld, and The Guided. The only exceptions being people who were kicked out, people who didn’t care for them, and any of the Tutorial Top 10. Though apparently there was a lot of drama circling around the Deicide and Elseworld Factions for allowing known Player Killers to join them; but I couldn’t be bothered reading that crap.
Moving on from the Players, I read Mako’s message and she told me that Mr.Hensley and his wife were both safe, as well as everyone from the Sleeping Forest Inn. Mako also mentioned after she teleported back to Castle Creedmor, she and Gyrphon did check up on the goblin corpses Goblex disposed of, but that they were completely untouched, leaving no explanation how the zombie infection could have spread. However Gryphon theorized an animal may have been infected before the formation of the dungeon and barrier, but that ultimately that fact didn’t matter since the infection had already spread, and then out of caution Gryphon incinerated all the corpses anyway.
Mako Nomura
Mako- Hey, this castle of yours isn’t half bad.
Oh yeah, it’s your first time there, right?
Mako- Yup, and I think with another few days of Goblex cleaning it up, it’ll only look like a cleaned ruined castle.
Yeah, I don’t know what to do with it, it’s just a broken down mess I own.
Mako- Well you know, there’s a mysterious Player going around constructing and rebuilding almost all the houses and buildings that were burned down during the night of the Goblin Attack, so maybe you could get her to rebuild your castle?
There’s a Player actually building houses? Why?
Mako- Who knows, but what’s weirder is the Players I’ve talked to all think she’s the reason there’s moving murals depicting all the events that have happened so far to the Players and the World, since a lot of them are painted near the houses she constructs.
What? Moving murals?
Mako- Yeah, they’re absolutely beautiful to behold, and you should definitely see them for yourself when you come back.
Wait, what was this Player’s name?
Mako- No one has seen her face, but all the Npcs have told the curious Players that her name is Da Vinci. And now that I think about it, wasn’t she also in the Top 10 of the Tutorial, like you?
Oooh, she definitely was.
I smiled, thinking “So that’s what she’s been doing, building houses and painting murals, huh? Sounds like she’s taking her Subclass and Name to heart then.” I then decided to send her a message.
Da Vinci
Hey, Da Vinci. I hear you’ve been rebuilding the burned down buildings around Asheton, but what do you think about rebuilding a ruined castle in the middle of a lake surrounded by mountains?
Da Vinci- \(?_?)/
7 hours later...
“And...that should do it.” Odelia said, finishing with a last tap of the hammer on my back, “I am done tattooing for now, Lord Eyes.”
“Huh?” Half asleep with my head down, I realized what Odelia just said and immediately sat myself up, “Wait, really?! You’re done?!”
“For now at least.” Odelia replied, setting her tools aside.
“Okay, what now then?” I tried to touch the tattoo on my back, but Odelia swatted my hand away, “Ouch. Isn’t the tattoo supposed to do something though, ‘cause I don’t feel like it is, is it?”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Of course not, we have yet to finish, my Lord.” Explaining to me “That was simply the Magic Ink which becomes the conduit for the Pure Essence to be permanently imbued within your body and forcefully awakening one of your dormant Magic Cores to be drawn upon at will.”
“W-W-Wait, what? You lost me, what about a Magic Core?” Completely clueless to what she was talking about.
Odelia sighed, “Lord Eyes, how did you even learn Wield Mana and the Elemental-Type Arrows without fully grasping and understanding what I told you about Magic Cores? In fact, were you even listening to me when I explained them in the first place?”
“Uhhh…look, I’m more of a visual learner, and I only really paid attention to your demonstrations.” Justifying myself, “And to be honest, what you were going on and on about was really boring compared to all the new Skills I wanted to learn in my mind at the time.” Odelia glared at me intimidatingly, and I couldn't help but nervously laugh.
Though distracting the both of us, Verana entered the room again and said, “Oh, I see you finished an hour early! You have not finished the First Trinity Ritual already, have you Odelia? I was really looking forward to witnessing it once again.”
Odelia let out another sigh, “No...we were about to start if you would like to take a seat.” and as Verana took a seat, Odelia told me “I will lecture you again about Magic Cores another time, Lord Eyes. For now how about we begin your First Trinity Ritual.”
“Sure thing, but I don’t have to learn this too, do I?” Inquiring whether I should be paying attention or not.
“Those who choose to learn the Trinity Ritual are those who wish to teach and pass on their knowledge.” Odelia stated, while grabbing 2 bottles of the essences she searched all over town for, “But no, it is not necessary to learn if you do not wish to.”
I only witnessed her buy the Pure Magic Essence yesterday, but ever since I saw the mesmerizing glowing liquid inside the bottles, I was very curious about them. And indulging my curiosity now, I grabbed 1 of each 3 different types of essence on the table—from the 9 total bottles—and saw the Stats for them.
Bottle Of Abyssal Dark Essence Bottle Of Pure Magic Essence Bottle Of Tempest Wind Essence
Unique
Harnessed and extracted from a pure source of Darkness, the essence contained within holds the properties of the Endless Abyss itself.
Craftable
Unique
Harnessed and extracted from a pure source of Magic, the essence contained within holds the properties of both Magic and Mana itself.
Craftable
Unique
Harnessed and extracted from a pure source of Wind, the essence contained within holds the properties of the Ravaging Tempest itself.
Craftable
“Interesting, and I can see where the colour of the tatoo comes from.” Noting that Pure Essence was blue, Dark Essence was violet, and Wind Essence was green; I then asked “Are you sure I shouldn’t reimburse you for these, Odelia? I know the 3 bottles of Pure Essence alone was 6000 Gold when you haggled it down, but I can’t imagine how much the other 6 would add to the cost.”
“You are too kind, my Lord. But as I told you yesterday, it is completely alright.” Odelia smiled, telling me “It has always been my custom to take upon the price of the Trinity Ritual for my students, as my Master once did for me, and I will always choose to uphold that principle in his memory.”
“Though endearing it may be, I would not worry about Odelia’s coin, Lord Eyes.” Verana chimed in, “10 million of what you saw in the treasury was her’s after all.”
“Huh?! 10 million?! Who are you people!?” I exclaimed, shocked by the amount.
“Oh, has it gone down that much since I gave up teaching?” Odelia acted surprised to hear it was that low.
“Well that is what a century of accepting only odd jobs and spending coins to search for clues will do to someone.” Verana stated, looking slightly disappointed in Odelia.
“Ah, do not look a me like that, Verana.” Odelia averted her eyes and mentioned, “Zebey has already offered 100 thousand a year for teaching young lady Myeyl privately, and even offered a bonus 10 million if I can help her become a Trinity Archer before she turns 110 in age." Verana relaxed her gaze.
“100k a year!? What the hell is this House? Who knew they’d be this loaded!” I exclaimed to myself.
“Okay, now back to the matter at hand. Lay back on your stomach, Lord Eyes, and I will begin the ritual.” Odelia instructed me, holding a bottle of Pure Essence in each hand; and following her instructions, I lay back down and turned my head a little to watch what she was doing.
Uncorking one bottle with her mouth, Odelia brought it towards my back and began slowly pour the glowing viscous liquid out of it; then the moment the essence made contact with my back, I instantly felt a strange sensation of something exploding as an intense blue and red magic bursted out and illuminated the entire room—causing me to look away.
Health: 1,624/5,595
Mana: 1,809/4,140
“Huh!? Why the hell did I just lose more than half my health and mana!?” I then asked Odelia “Hey, what the hell just happened?” and noticed the shock and blood on her face, as well as Verana standing in concern.
“Uhhh...here is the good news, my Lord; thanks to Verana’s earlier nullification, you are not feeling any of the pain you should definitely be feeling right now.” Odelia nervously informed me, unable to look away from my back.
“What? What does that even mean? Did something happen? What’s that blood on your face?” I questioned, now getting slightly worried from their reactions.
“Well, to put it simply—”
“Save the explanation for later, Odelia.” Verana calmly interrupted in Elvish, “Go get me my staff just in case while I take care of Lord Eyes' grievous wound.” Odelia didn’t question Verana and immediately sped out of the room.
“Verana, what’s going...on?” When I turned my head a little more to see what happened for myself, I saw an enormous splatter of blood directly behind me and on the walls, with my back being a red mess illuminated by the blue magic. “Wh-wh-what…” My head suddenly became light and my sight began to blur.
“Lord Eyes, the essence exploding inside you has caused you to have lost a lot of blood all at once, so please refrain from moving or you will pass out very soon.” Verana carefully laid me back down and assured me, “And do not worry, my Lord, I promise on the House you will be completely alright.” My eyes began to close as Verana raised her arms and appeared to be glowing herself, “The astral heavens, hear my call! 2-Star Constellation, Absolute Restoring Regeneration!”
I began to hear Odelia’s voice reciting something, “I Odelia Ven’Thyl, the Master who taught you the Magic-Wielding Archery Style, have instilled in you my Student, Eyes Ven’Thyl, the knowledge instilled in me by my own Master, Iliveyl Fre’Nddare…” My eyes slightly opened to a blue magic enveloping my entire torso, “May this piece of my power help guide you on your own path to becoming a Trinity...” I could feel magic slowly seeping into my skin and body, filling me with an incredible surge of energy.
You have forcefully awakened your Mana Magic Core, and have greatly increased your Magic and Mana by 33% of its base Stats.
Magic-Wielding Archery proficiency increased by 25 Levels.
Magical Arrows increased by 2 Levels.
“Though to ensure the balance of your Magic Cores stays intact, so that one does not overwhelm the dormant others, I activate the Trinity Seal!” The surge of energy I felt completely disappeared all of a sudden.
You have been affected by the Status Debuff: [Multi-layered Seal]. You have been affected by the Status Debuff: [Sealed Magic Core]. You have been affected by the Status Debuff: [Sealed Skill].
“Urghhh...what the hell is happening now, Odelia?” Slowly waking myself up from the bed.
“Oh! Have you already awakened, Lord Eyes?” Odelia asked in surprised, helping me sit up.
“Yeah, but what exactly happened? Did you mess up the ritual or something?” I questioned, looking around to see the now almost dried blood on the bed and walls. “And is Verana alright?” Seeing her sleeping on the couch with a large staff wrapped in cloth and chains beside her—glowing brightly in my eyes.
“Verana is fine, she is simply resting from spending the last 3 hours using her incredible Skills to fully restore your body.” Hearing that relieved me, “And about what happened...I should have told you earlier, though you probably would not have cared either way, but there has always been a small chance for one’s body to reject the essence entirely and inflict a great amount of internal damage to the recipient.” Odelia revealed; then stated “Except I have never witnessed such a devastating rejection before, as you almost outright died from the essence reacting and exploding inside your body—it is likely due to your young age and your body being severely underdeveloped still.”
“You’re right, I would’ve taken the risk regardless, but what was all that stuff you were saying just now? I thought the ritual failed after my body rejected the essence?” Curiously reading the notifications.
Multi-layered Seal: The basis for placing multiple seals on anything, a seal placed on top becomes connected and must be simultaneously broken to be fully unsealed.
Connected Seals: Magic Core Seal, Skill Seal
Duration: Indefinite
Sealed Magic Core: A powerful seal specifically targeting your ‘Mana Core’, restricting you from being able to utilize any part of the Core’s benefits until the seal is dispelled or released.
Duration: Indefinite
Sealed Skill: A powerful seal specifically targeting the Skill ‘Magic-Wielding Archery’, restricting you from being able to utilize any part of the Skill until the seal is dispelled or released.
Duration: Indefinite
“The Natural Method for the ritual did fail, but the Forceful Method was a fantastic success!” Odelia happily expressed; then telling me “I realized you would have hated it if I wasted any more time, so I decided to finish it while you were recovering instead of waiting until you were up.”
“Great decision, but if the Forceful Method was such a ‘fantastic’ success, why didn’t we do that one first instead?” I reasonably questioned.
“Well besides it being terribly inefficient compared to the Natural Method, it also involves a very difficult process, even for me, of absorbing the essence myself and excruciatingly forcing the excess into you, then personally awakening your Magic Core with my own will.” adding, “And the pain you would have experienced would have been unbearable even compared to a failure from the Natural method. Though luckily Verana nullified that down side, or you would have felt like a hand was personally crushing your heart directly, to the point where it was almost just about to pop but never actually, and then repeating that torture for another 2 hours or so.”
“Oookay, that's horrifying to imagine." So I changed the topic, and excitedly asked "But that means we’re done here, right? We can move on to my next Style?”
“Well yes, but do not want to see the first part of our Trinity Tattoo? Or at least rest a little more after you just recovered?” Odelia suggested.
“No offense, but no.” Covering myself back up with my cloak and standing up from the bed, “We’ve already wasted two days on this Trinity Tattoo, and I’d rather not spend anymore time needlessly doing nothing.”
“You are relentless, my Lord.” Odelia grinned, “And the look in your eyes tells me there is no convincing you, so which Style do you wish to do next?”
“Combat.” I answered bluntly, feeling my body being extra rested and limber at the moment.
“If that’s what you wish, Lord Eyes.” Odelia said, walking to the door, “But be warned, the Combat Style is far more physically demanding than the other Styles, and it is also my preferred personal Style to use and teach.”
“Oh? Bring it on then.” I smiled confidently, “I’ll learn it just as fast as I did with the Magic Style.”
“Shall we go then?” Odelia gave me a mischievous smile and a sinister look.