Chapter 24: The Royal Sword Meister

During our travel to the Royal Capital, we had seen thousands of other players entering the same map areas as we did. It was a new experience for me. Feeling curious, I went to ask a couple of players who were walking just directly in front of us.

“Hi, seems there are awful lots of people here. Is there anything going on?” I was straight to the point. The two looked at me and Elly with a weird expression. 

“New here?” One of them, an elf warrior asked.

I nodded.

“I see. This is usual sight within this place. Though there were more people now, it is always a busy place.” The elf continued talking as he greeted the other players around.

“I see.” A few of them waved back at me and I replied likewise. City of Asgardia and Brensberg were nothing like this at all. While observing the people around us, the other half began to talk. A female dwarf sporting a thick beard. If I never heard her talking, I would assume it was a male instead.

“Though we heard that there might be an update coming soon. Know what that means?”

“New event?” I rubbed my chin, looking at the two of them. The elf, looking at me with a wide grin answered my half-hearted question. “Yeah. A new event is coming up but I don’t know the details. Best ask the NPCs if you can find any that is willing to tell you.”

We exchanged a few more information before I bid the two farewell as we entered the huge main gate. Once I stepped inside the gate, I suddenly received a system message.

Capital City of the Kingdom of Asgard

Welcome to the Royal Capital, Aessirun. Besides being the capital and the biggest city within the Kingdom of Asgard, the Royal Capital also is the home to hundreds of thousands of players just like you. Take this opportunity to make new friends, explore the city or take on quests. Whatever you do, this place has it all.

To be honest, it was a nothing message really. What I was more interested in was to meet the Bunnian couple. They had promised to meet me at their temporary residence and I would not delay it any longer. With the map they gave me, I proceeded with Elly followed closely beside. Rose sat atop of my head acting like some sort of scout.

But the usual chirpy and cheery Elly was not herself at all.  She never once raised her head nor said any word even before we arrived into the Royal Capital. By the looks of it, she was definitely hiding something or perhaps scared of something or someone. If this was the case, it would be of no use as she would slow us down.

“Elly, wear my robe.” I gave her my equipment as I reequipped myself with my usual fighting attire. She gladly took my robe and wore it immediately. I did not want to ask her anything for now. She might have a secret and I was not the type to ask around about it.

“Sorry, Ghost.” Covering herself under the hood, she muttered as silently as she could.

“It’s alright. Just keep your head low and stick with me at all times.” I patted her head and we continue to prod on along as fast as we could towards our next destination. The number of players here was massive indeed and it made the journey a little more hectic than I would like.

*****

“Po! I never thought I would see you after that day!” Popo greeted us in front of his door, looking all cheery and happy. Perhaps he was expecting us.

“Well, took us some time to get in here. The usual stuff.” And his temporary house just looked the same as the one back in the City of Asgardia; full of potted plants and flowers.

“I see. Well, good to see that you three are back as a team. Come on in, po.” Elly and Rose immediately dashed inside, bypassing the surprised Popo. But he could not help to let out a chuckle seeing the two girls acting like that.

And I could hear the sound of their happy reunion even from the outside where I stood with Popo. Beckoning me in, I took the chance to scour around. It was indeed a carbon-copy of their house back at the City of Asgardia.

Far from the last time we saw them, the Bunnian couple now looked extremely relaxed and happy. However, I was not here just to play catch up with them. I had something important that needed Mimi’s help. Handing her the item, her look was all I needed to know how surprised she was.

“W-Where did you get this?” She asked me while rubbing her eyes a few times. I reminded her about the previous mission back at the farm. The rest just looked quite intensely as I recalled my adventures at the farm, especially Rose.

“I see. The world is just a small place indeed.” Mimi could say it 100 times over and I would agree with her every single time. Bill, the farmer’s great-granduncle was Mimi’s Master. And on her hands was his – albeit now updated – journal and memoir. Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she grasped both the book close to her furry chest. I never knew that these two books could mean so much to her. To me, it was just a weird old book given as a useless reward to an easily likewise useless quest. And it took her quite a while to compose herself before continuing her words.

“Well, to be honest, my Master had been studying about the Old Gods for his whole life. Legend says that once They left the world, their magnificent city, High Asgard was sealed off from us.” Mimi immediately devoured the book at once. Flipping each page with such intensity and passion, I could feel that every of her fibre was shaking with excitement.

Popo could not help but to poke fun at his wife but he was immediately dismissed by her with a cold stare and a silent hiss. By then, I knew right away who wore the pants in this house.

“Well, it’s what clearly stated there. But I don’t understand was the keys. What keys?” I asked Mimi, trying to keep our conversation back into the topic.

“The keys could be found at 7 Old Gods statues all over the Kingdom. As to what the manner of it, I am not sure. Perhaps you will find it there.” And voila, I got a quest message immediately once Mimi said that.

The Rainbow Bridge

The Legend of High Asgardia that was found within the pages of Royal Scholar, Grand Master Yamir Adrain journal had led his student, Mimi to a definite conclusion. There were 7 keys that would open a special gate towards the lost civilization found within the Hall of the Forgotten Old Gods. Find it and the Legend will once more live.

But beware, what awaits you will be the God’s Wrath themselves shall you prove yourself unworthy.

Quest Rank: Special Event

Time left: 06:23:59:35

Completion Requirements:

Elly and Rose must be in the party at all times.

Find all the keys and enter the gate within the time limit.

*Warning: If you reject this quest, it will disappear forever. The Legend would be left unsolved. -5 and -3 Affinity link to Mimi and Popo’s Affinity Link respectively. The quest will fail if you exceed the time limit.

Quest Reward:

Unspecified.

This was the first time I got a quest like this. I was not given a choice to think about it either. The word God’s Wrath was not winning my favour too. This would be a suicide quest. And there was no longer risk versus rewards factor since there was no reward at all despite the difficulties, risks and limitations. Giving Mimi the two books were all I could do.

With a heavy sigh, I decided that I wanted to reject this quest. I was about to risk my Affinity Link with the Bunnian couples. However, before I could do that, both Elly and Rose came up to me.

“Papa, please accept the quest. Please…” Rose spoke as she caressed my cheeks as usual. Elly seemed to nod beside her. Looking to and fro between the two of them and the Bunnian couple, I shook my head.

“But…” Elly seemed dejected.

“Papa, didn’t you say that you will always have our back?” I nodded at Rose. “Well, if that’s the case, is Popo and Mimi not your friend?”

I was utterly stumped. “I-I guessed so. Sigh… but with our conditions, what could all of us do? If that colossus is indeed our foe, and perhaps there might be more of them, what good could it do us? Can we even succeed given what’s on our hand?”

The time limit was the decisive factor. There was no way I could get to the level that could easily let me go toe to toe with a level 500 monster. But somehow, the two girls’ words got into me. I was reminded of my own ethics and could not help but to crack up a bitter smile at it.

“However…” I looked at Mimi. “Do you know the location of the Old Gods’ statues?” She nodded excitedly. I could do by finding the keys first. The rest would be left for later. I was thinking too much about what might happen.

I accepted the quest though with little hesitancy whether or not we could pull this one off. Once I accepted it, Mimi handed me a Key Item called Stone Jewel that could open us the way into the place through the waterfall entrance. And she even returned me both of the books. According to her, it would be wise that I kept the book for now.

And to my immediate surprise, Popo came out with something that was quite unexpected as if he was reading my mind.  “If you fear about your foe, perhaps I could introduce you to someone who could help even out the odds a little. Besides, I must insist that you two meet each other up.”

*****

“So, who have we here?” I was extremely surprised to meet the person Popo called his Master. Thinking that it might be an old bearded man with pompous clothing that would resemble a nobility rather than a warrior and a ton load of swords and weapons, the person in front of me was nothing like that at all.

In fact, she was sitting cross-legged in mid-air while meditating in the middle of the dimly lighted room. I could even smell some weird fragrances, like those of Indian incense used for aromatherapy. Once Popo greeted her, she opened up her eyes slowly. And with that, came the eeriest smile of a vixen that I could ever see. My blood seemed to freeze over a few times.

“My, my. Isn’t he a good-looking man?” Immediately, she relaxed her stance and put her feet on the ground in the most elegant and soft manner; totally in contrast to the way she was looking at us. It was like watching a dancer beginning her routine and I was beginning to get intoxicated and enthralled. Shaking my head a couple of times, I tried to return to my senses. Man, that felt so real.

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“Excellent job Popo! You decided to bring someone that fit my taste after all. Finally, you have make yourself a little more useful now!” She let out a laugh that filled the entire room as she walked towards us. Man, what sort of trouble did I get into with this little furry rabbit now?

Looking around, I was brought here alone with Popo inside a huge building that looked nothing like a place for a warrior. Called the Infinite Soul, I expected it to be a little... perhaps, warrior-ish mystical. Instead, it felt like a very mythical sort of Oriental and Indian fused together. To be exact, I could say it looked like an extremely high-class of aromatherapy centre with its dimmed lighting, peculiar scent and wooden finishing all over the place with some statues scattered around and a fountain just at the end of the room. I mean, really? A fountain? Why did a warrior need a fountain at all?

“Master, I present to you my very own student, Ghost!” The awkwardness of the situation was somehow made even worse by Popo as he introduced me to his Master.

“Oi, rabbit! I’m not your student!” I immediately rebutted it but he waved me away nonchalantly.

“I see. You are my useless student’s student?” She came at me and looked at me intensely. I was never afraid of any woman before, but somehow my wall was being broken. I did not know what she did, but her force was so strong that I was wilting.

“But you don’t look like a normal fighter to me. You… seems different.” She was awfully close to me and I could feel her breath tingling my face. “I could sense that you are a magic user. Hmmm… a supporter type. Am I right?” I just nodded at her. I thought she might be appalled by my appearance and choice of skills, but she looked at me with a delight on her face. I could not tell what she was thinking at all.

She smelled me a couple of times more before decided that it was enough. She then took her place on a platform as her attendant came and brought her a cup of water. I breathed a huge sigh of relief having endured all the weird moments up till now. No doubt, I had sweat a bucket load. I was never good with women since the beginning. What more of a powerful and enthralling existence like the one who was in front of me.

Royal Sword Meister, Grand Meister Carla Illiyasvielen was the strongest Sword Meister in the whole Kingdom. A Sword Meister was an advanced job, privy only to certain people. No one could ever come close to her in term of talents, skills, prowess and abilities in fighting techniques. And according to Popo before we came here, she was both ruthless and domineering thus telling me to be extremely careful with her.

But, it was not that that made me overwhelmed. Forget that she only wore skimpy armour, to the point of being naked barely covering her voluptuous breast and genitalia and the extremely perfect proportion of her body with her flowing white-silver hair that matched her slightly tanned skin. She was just like a Latin movie star who was at her prime; intoxicatingly beautiful, vivacious and might I add a vixen too judging by the way she licked her lips while looking at me.

What made me felt super uncomfortable and having a hard time was her aura and charm. She possessed what I could call powerful soul force that could render anyone paralyzed. I did not know how the game element could be made so real, but hell, if I never experienced it just now, I would laugh my arse off at anyone who said the same thing. And the circles below her feet were illuminating vibrantly. Popo was not kidding when he said I’d better be careful.

“Oh… are you curious?” She caught me looking at her intently at her feet. I just nodded silently.

“This is the Mark of Transcendence.” As she said that, all the four circles beneath her feet glowed even more brighter and engulfed her in some sort of multi-coloured light.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Ohho? Popo did not tell you?” I shook my head. She looked at Popo dismissively and he immediately hid behind my back. I could not help but to feel that the rabbit was indeed pitiful.

“A Mark of Transcendence is what you will gain if you received the Gods favour. For every 100 levels, you will gain one mark. Of course, provided if you have had what it takes. As you can see, I had four marks. Each with a different colour.”

“Y-You a level 400?” I was quite surprised. That was the highest level NPC or any PCs I had ever seen in the game. To meet and get into direct contact with them so early in the game was a pleasant surprise.

“437 to be exact.” She corrected me and gave out a chuckle before continuing her words. “However, what makes the Mark of Transcendence special is that not everyone will ever get it. The price to pay is extremely high. Besides, some people I know could not bear its responsibilities. Right, Popo?”

She looked at Popo and he hid his face behind my back.

“I-I know. B-But I-I could not pass the test.” Popo stammered whilst taking refuge, using me as a shield to protect himself from the piercing eyes of his Master. He was really a pitiful rabbit.

“Humphh!” She snorted and then turned away from both of us. “Come, boys.” She beckoned us to follow her. Feeling curious, I took the first step, leaving Popo behind. But that rabbit immediately recovered his senses fast enough to chase after us.

We followed Carla towards a courtyard surrounded by trees where there was a number of people who were practising. Fortunately or unfortunately – depending on how one would look at it – none of them were PCs. When she arrived, they took their bows and stationed themselves at around the courtyard immediately.

“Popo had told me a lot about you. However, since it came from him, I need to gauge you myself.”

Fair enough. A stranger in a warrior’s house. And that could only mean one thing.

“Take any weapon from those shelves and let me test you.”

Finally, I could do something fun. I was about to spar with a very high level and supposedly powerful NPC. The Master of this abode. The one Popo called his Master and the strongest character in the game.

Honestly, I’d never sparred with Popo before as he would always decline my invitation. But I could not pass over this chance. I did not know what to expect as I equipped myself with a single sword and a shield. She equipped herself in the same manner as I did. And there was only one rule here; we were to fight without using any skill.

“Come at me anything you are ready, young man.”

Heh. Calling me young man. I was way older than you, young girl. But I gladly accepted her invitation starting by dashing towards her immediately. With a couple of quick strike to her front, she easily dodged it to the left and then to the right. Once I had attacked her, she tried to slam her shield across my body. A good counterattack, but I immediately backflipped and using her shield as a platform, I gave it a kicked as I tumbled backwards.

“Not bad. You have some good movements.” I just smiled at her and it was now my time to urge her to come at me. Every time she attacked, I would dodge it all and sneak in a few of my own. The shield was not for me to block her attack but rather to strike her blindside.

But her movement was out of this world. I could not land even a clean hit on her, just grazing her hairs a little. But it was likewise for her too. And thus, we continued our sword-fighting dance for a good while. I could see those around us were enraptured. But it was not for me anyway as they were cheering for Carla’s name.

After a while, we arrived at an impasse. The two of us locked our eyes while waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. I had never met any fighter like her before. Perhaps I should be a little serious now. Or else, I was going to get my arse whooped if this went on longer. Carla was indeed a strong character.

Wiping my sweats away, I broke the impasse and continued to attack her relentlessly. She blocked all the attacks with her shield and I could now see a slight window of an opportunity. I continued to strike at the hand that was holding the shield. My reasoning was a simple one. I wanted to obstruct her view a little, away from my footwork.

The hits became even faster and stronger. I had delivered no less than 30 continuous blows when suddenly, I side-stepped her towards her blindside; her left arm that held the shield. She was caught by surprise. I immediately swiped her leg with mine and as she fell down, I gave a couple of quick blow towards her guts with the hilt of my sword.

And as I expected, even with the impending and nearly unavoidable attack, her movement was out of this world and she tried to twist her body away. But turning her back on me, even for half a second was not a wise choice. I kicked her back and she flew toward the front, landing awkwardly.

And it was game over. For her.

“Master!” Popo shouted for her. He ran towards her but immediately he was brushed away. Though my attacks connected well, she was not even hurt in the slightest. She was on her knee when I approached her. Extending my hand, I pulled her up as she wiped the dust away from her nearly naked body.

“You are an extremely good fighter.” She began to talk. “You had embarrassed me in front of my students.”

I shook my head. “I never met a fighter as good as you. If you had not given me the chance, I may never win against you.” In front of a super strong character like her, it was best to be magnanimous.

“Keep the compliments to yourself. You are indeed a good fighter. I have gauged you enough and I have no regrets having you win this round. You are the most skilful person I’ve ever come across. But…”

Without any warning, she immediately released her aura. A powerful wind coursed throughout the whole courtyard and it blew all the dirt and dried leaves away.

“In a real battle, your enemies will not keep their skills away!” Her eyes sparkled with blueish flame. The sky suddenly turned dark and cold wind now engulfed the whole area.

The lightning crackled above us as she looked at me in cold yet menacing eyes. Her earlier flaming blue eyes had gone and I got a really bad feeling about this. Everyone around us shuddered in fear. Popo who just stood at her side earlier was now missing.

“Saint Level Soul Shattering Technique: Rain of the Maelstrom Light!” Once she said those words, I was immediately struck with countless of lightning bolts that came out of nowhere.

*Critical Hit!* Lose 25,760 HP!

*Critical Hit!* Lose 23,367 HP!

*Critical Hit!* Lose 28,969 HP!

*Critical Hit!* Lose 24,331 HP!

*Critical Hit!* Lose 29,754 HP!

*Critical Hit!* Lose 25,787 HP!

What the feck?!

Looking at the numbers and more that appeared on my screen, I thought it was a glitch or something. But there I was, getting hit and watching my HP disappeared like it was nothing. In fact, I was supposed to be dead 10 times over just by one of the damage numbers alone. And I was hit with a dozen of those. Bloody hell! And the force was so strong that I was blown away, hitting the wall.

Fortunately, this was a practice session. My HP was left at 1. It took quite a while for everything to calm down, especially Carla. Once she returned to normal, everyone within the courtyard came out of their hiding place, including Popo who hid inside a barrel. All of them were congratulating their Master and ignoring me altogether.

“I never seen that technique before.”

“That’s our Grand Meister for you. She never ceased to amaze us.”

“Good thing that she was not serious. Or else this place would be blown to pieces.”

I sighed while looking at them. Her students came at her and congratulated her for that magnificent ‘win’. Guess she could never lose her face, after all. Popo came to me and extended his hands. “You are the first person outside our circle that had the privilege to spar with her.”

Grabbing his hand, I just nodded my head. “Yeah, and getting my arse whooped like that in return.” Both of us broke into a small chuckle. She was getting her face back alright. Could not have an outsider like me handed her arse on a plate in front of her own students. Carla sure could be a handful.

*****

“Are you sure about that, Elly?” Mimi asked the blonde girl who sat in front of her. She just nodded quietly.

“I-I never knew that.” She slumped to her seat and her face was dark. “We must never let anyone know about your true identity, Elly.”

“E-Even Papa?” Rose interrupted both of them. Mimi nodded at the Rose Alraune; the Queen of the Mandragoras who was still in her seedling stage of growth.

“No one must ever know. Or else she could be in grave danger.” Patting Rose on her leaves, the Bunnian looked at Elly. “I had my suspicions when you could read the ancient text faster than I could ever do. But I’d never guessed that…” Mimi paused for a while, looking around her surroundings.

“Best we said just once. You two must gather the 7 keys as soon as possible. The war is about to begin.”

“That and Rose’s next progression, right?” Nodding at Elly’s word, Mimi looked at the Rose Alraune as she danced around on the table. It had now reached that time.

“Yes, both of you must be ready.”

*****

“The answer is no.”

The Grand Meister told us her verdict. Popo slumped his shoulder. I gave him a few pats on the back to reassure him that everything was alright. It was a tall order after all. I could live with that, but Popo was still adamant that he was to get his Master’s cooperation. Once more he asked, “B-But why?”

“Because he had not passed the test yet. He is not even a swordsman.” The answer was always the same. Any way Popo wanted to ask, the answer would always come back to that point.

“But can’t you do something. He’s special!”

“Popo, listen. If everyone comes to me and begged me like you did, what will happen to our order? Ghost is extremely talented and strong. I give him that. But you know the minimum requirement to enter our circle?”

“Y-Yes. At least level 150, a minimum of 2000 fame and a Meister’s Edict.” Popo was finally defeated. I felt a little tinge of pity at him. He tried to enlist his Master for help but he failed. Thinking that I might bail out from the mission, I patted his back. “No worries, Popo. I’ll still help you. But, I want to ask your Master one thing, if I may.”

“What is it, Ghost?” Carla looked at me curiously. She might wonder why did I not persuade nor demanded to be accepted by them. But my question had nothing to do with it.

“How many other players had passed this test of yours?” Surprised by my choice of question, she did answer it after thinking for a while.

“You mean within this Kingdom? About 500 of them. Throughout the known 20 Kingdoms, I think the number is more or less 11,000 players.”

“I see. Well, if that was the case, it doesn’t matter then.” These were the Royal Swordsman; a special type of job that specializes in both magic and physical attack. I could do with some of their skills, but it was privy only to their members. They were considered to be among the apex of jobs when it comes to dealing damage. I was surprised that even that lazy rabbit was among the members. But to me, the Sword Meister was not unique. Nor one of its kind.

“Since you have not achieved the minimum requirement, I can’t do anything to help you, even though I’m set to lose a prodigious member.” And yeah, I was not qualified either just to rub salt into the wound.

“B-But…” Popo whimpered weakly, yet again trying to put his point across.

“Enough Popo. It’s time for us to make our leave now. You remember what you really came here to do, right?” Carla looked sternly at me after exchanging some glance with her student.

“I-I know.” Popo composed himself immediately. Adjusting his collars and then wiping his shoulders. It was like he readied himself for something important.

“But Ghost could come along with us. In fact, I insist he is to join us.”  I looked at them curiously. I knew that these two were up to something. Was the spar earlier on a smokescreen to something else? I reckoned that it could be so. But knowing how lousy was my quest reward to date, I decided to shrug it off immediately.

“Where to?” I asked. Carla just stood up and jerked her head, beckoning us to follow her. She took a cape from her seat nearby, covered herself immediately and exited through the main door.

“You will see,” Popo answered as shortly as he could and then followed her immediately. Well, might as well I join them for now. I wanted to see what interesting thing that these two were up to next.