Before you begin your read I would like to do two things:

1. Apologize for the long time between posting. However I'm pretty busy at school lately, as well as some weekends. It makes me unable to post more often.

2. Apologize for the messy chapter. I hope you don't mind tho! :;^^:

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Chapter 10: The Last Stand

As the quartet entered the doors to the cathedral, their eyes wandered in amazement looking at the sights laid bare before them. Until now, none of them entered this grand building.

On the walls was placed a myriad of varying cogwheels – from the size of one's nail, to giant one size of a two-story building. Of course the biggest one was placed at the altar. In the center of that gear was an image of some goddess – image, which was giving off the light which illuminated the whole cathedral.

The image of spawn point came to Neriehem, as he watched in amazement the scene he had set before him. He quickly shook his head. They served completely different purpose. One for getting used to the world, while the other as a holy residence to whatever deity was worshiped.

The group progressed through the center nave, when they were approached by a group of people. Seeing as they were dressed in white hooded cloaks with golden outlines on their hoods, as well as golden shoulders with the same-colored strings going down the sleeves until the elbow.

- Welcome to the cathedral of our holy deity, Lencraea, the goddess of Light and Life, as well as the patron of our city. What do you seek in our humble place, young otherworlders? It's not so often that your kind steps into the holy place – said the front-most priest, taking his hood off. He was an old man, looking to be in his fifties. However he had long while hair, as well as a beard of the same color.

Since others looked at Neriehem when priest asked the question, he could only sigh in his thoughts as he bowed slightly before answering the question.

- We have come here upon hearing that the bishop here possess the knowledge of the ancient runes. We have come here in order to ask him about... - Neriehem said as he was cut by the old man before him.

- What answers do you need, young one? - he asked.

Neriehem frowned upon hearing the question. After a while he said:

- Before I speak, I would like to confirm my doubt.

- Go on.

- Are you perhaps the bishop of Lacraea?

- That's correct.

- In that case, could we please go somewhere private? There's something I would like to discuss with you. This matter considers every person here in the city, my kind included.

Now it was turn for the bishop to frown, as he observed the party before him. After a while he nodded, as if confirming something and asked them to follow him.

As they were following the priest, he told about the history of the goddess, as well as the cathedral. He explained that this building is one of the few which are sources of the power inside the city.

It seems that the goddess in return for the faith and prayers she received, gave the residents technology beyond their imagination. From there on she was regarded as the patron of the city and this cathedral was build in her regard. Of course it contained every little bit of the knowledge passed to residents, not only as a monument, but also as the greatest place to preserve the passed down knowledge.

Of course there were other ones, however they weren't built using all the technology given. That was what made the cathedral the center of crafts district.

Finally everyone reached the chamber of the bishop. He asked the acolytes to return to their tasks, as he gestured party to come inside. After they took their seats, they brought up the topic right away.

The time was ticking away.

* * *

The party came out of the cathedral disappointed.

- Damn it, at this rate the quest's going to fail – said Neriehem. He felt it. He felt that he was close to solving the riddle of the puzzle. However there was something which prevented him from solving this problem.

- Bro, don't worry, we will find it – said Viricide, hugging him.

Neriehem turned towards his sister and pattet her in the head. - Thanks.

- All right, we're going to look for some other clues – said Aluna and together with Garoth they went off somewhere.

- Well then, let's walk around – suggested Viricide. Not having anything better to do Neriehem nodded and they went around the city.

She knew the reason he was down. It was that they were so close, however any hope they had was crushed by the bishop. He told them that after the appearance of the dmons every acolyte skilled in the knowledge of the ancient runes was set with a task to check every millimeter of the wall. However there was no gap in the runes. That turned the party back to point one.

Viricide knew that her brother needed to do something to take his mind off the quest. As she didn't know what to do, she asked him for a walk.

* * *

For the first time in a while Neriehem admired the city. The perfect movement of synchronized gears for some reason mesmerized him. He walked around enjoying the ever-changing nature of the gears when he realized something. And it filled him with dread of the designer.

The cause of demons appearing was on the gears themselves.

- Hey, Viri...

- Yeah? What do you want Neri?

- I think I know how demons are able to spawn inside the city now.

- WHAT? - screamed out Viricide.

- Look at the gears – said Neriehem nervously while pointing at them.

- What of it?

- Look closely. Don't they have some lines engraved into them?

- Yeah. What of... NO WAY?

- Exactly. The gears are the cause – said Neriehem.

- But who could... - mumbled Viricide as she took a closer look at the gears.

- I have no idea. But that person is damn terrifying for all I know. I found it out by sheer luck. If I wasn't appraising the movement of the gears...

- We have to go to the bishop right away.

- You're right. He must have missed this fact. I'm sure he will help us – said Neriehem as he rushed towards the cathedral.

* * *

They had cathedral in their sights, when suddenly darkness fell over the city, causing screams of surprise from people everywhere. Then the cathedral exploded, momentary blinding the siblings in a stream of light. After that they heard very loud scream. Following it the sound of other explosions came, as well as terrible roars.

As the siblings were on the rooftop at the moment disaster occurred, they had a clean sight on the hideous best which was making it's way out of the debris lying on top of him. People below were panicking, running away from it. However there were more and more of them coming from following explosions, which made the public panic.

Meanwhile the siblings were joined by Aluna and Garoth, who were nearby making purchases when it all happened. The quartet nodded heads to each other as they took their weights and other restrictions off. Especially Neriehem.

After taking off all the golden equipment and putting on the leather armor. He nodded in satisfaction seeing as it suited him perfectly, ever after all this time. Then he pulled out his katana from the sheath and turned to his comrades.

- I think it'd be better if we all split, taking down all those beasts. We have to make sure they don't reach the walls and destroy them.

- Got it.

- Aye!

- As always you're right...

And so the team split up as they rushed in four directions: Neriehem went north, Viricide took east, Garoth south and Aluna west.

Neriehem looked at the colossal monster before him. He decided to go full power from the beginning. He focused his thoughts, as he activated Crimson Blitz skill while charging at the demon before him. However he felt something was different.

As he was running he could feel a giant amount of power inside him. He decided to tap into it, and when he did he received an information.

Notice:You have reached the depths of martial arts. As of now, your Mana and Stamina have merged into another stat: Ki.

- Ki enables you to fight constantly without tiring yourself out.

- Your Ki depletes only when you use your skills.

- The regeneration of Ki is the same as regeneration of Stamina, as it is the force of the body.

- Regeneration depends on the state of the user.

- Upon acquiring Ki your existing skills have been changed:

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Crimson BlitzIntermidiate848%Skill awarded to the owner of Crimson Blitz title. Now increases movement speed, attack speed and reaction speed. Also increases attack strength.

Your every movements leave crimson red lines behind.

You are engulfed in a crimson energy.

With higher skill level more effects will be added.

Upon acquiring Ki energy, you can keep in for an infinite duration at the cost of halving your Ki regeneration.

You can adjust the power by increasing or decreasing amount of Ki used to strengthen your strikes.

Every strike uses up an amount of Ki adjusted by the fighter.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Ki MasteryBeginner10%You have gained mastery over Ki energy in your body. You can feel it's accurate amount all the time, as well as control it with your will.

You can also send it to your weapon, strengthening it's attack power.

Notice:Upon acquiring Ki, your Stealth skill has been swapped for Hazy Strides skill.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Hazy StridesIntermidiate10%Your movement is very hard to catch. When you move, your image is blurred making it hard to focus on.

Cost: 3% Ki / second

Additional info: When used in sync with Crimson Blitz skill, the cost of lowered depending on your mastery over the skill.

Those skills might be fused together upon reaching approximate mastery with each of them.

Neriehem was amazed. He was quickly reading through the notice boxes before him, as he was amazed by the power he felt. Right now he felt unbeatable.

However it seems like the colossal demon has noticed him, making an attack with his arm from overhead planning to smash Neriehem into the ground. However to him it seemed like the demon was standing still. That's how much faster he got during the usage of Crimson Blitz. However he waited for the attack to almost reach him.

When the giant hand was right above him, Neriehem dashed forward to the base of the demon. In a second he reached it and jumped up, cutting demon in half during the process. As well as everything 50 meters before him.

As he was surprised, another message popped before him.

Notice:Your actions have created a new skill for you to use:

[center]

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Ki SlashBeginner170%You gather Ki energy into the very tip of your sword. You can release this energy anytime you wish, releasing this energy out into the air under great pressure. With the usage of this technique you can cut things far away from you.

Distance and cost depends on the wideness of the swing as well as amount of Ki gathered.

- 'Now that's some pleasant gift!' - Neriehem thought. After using it once, he almost didn't feel any difference with when he didn't. - 'Guess that just means I am a total monster by now... not feeling any difference after firing an attack like that. Anyway, got to move!'

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

As he thought that Neriehem dashed towards the wall, sending Ki slashes to every giant demon he passed by. None of them survived.

* * *

After dealing with the colossal demons on his side Neriehem looked around. Others were fighting, however it didn't look as if any of them was in a need of assistance. Bored he went to the central part of the city, when he noticed a huge crowd of people around him. Everybody was looking at him wide-eyed.

- IT'S THE SAVIOR! THE SAVIOR HAS COME TO SAVE US! - yelled someone from within the crowd. That was the trigger. Everybody rushed to Neriehem, reaching out to him.

However the person in question received a notice.

New title gained: The SaviorYou have been recognized as the savior sent from the gods to lead this city to a salvation from demons. Everybody saw your heroic deed of fighting off colossal demons.

Title grants you + 5000 fame.

Your alignment is set to: Godsent.

- 'Wow, it sure is some neat title.'- thought Neriehem as he jumped onto the nearest highest point in the vicinity, seemingly disappearing from before the crowd. - 'But it's nowhere near the Crimson Blitz one!' - he thought, as yet another noticed popped up:

Notice:Because of your alignment, your light and dark resistances increased.

Your appearance changed as well.

- 'I'm really worried about this while appearance thing. Better check it out asap. But first comes first, I'll check out my stats.'

Status WindowName:NeriehemAlignment:GodsentLevel:---Class:NoneRace:AsyrianGender:MaleTitlesCrimson Blitz, The SaviorFame:5000Infamy:0-Health:100% / 100%Health Regen:1% / SecKi:100% / 100%Ki Regen:2% / Sec-Strenght:3914Agility:4782Vitality:2168Perseverance3074Intelligence:10Wisdom:10Leadership:142Willpower250-Attack:LethalDefense:MediumPhysical ResistancesSlashing:40%Piercing:35%Crushing:10%Elemental ResistancesFire:50%Water:-50%Wind:0%Earth:0%Light:90%Darkness:140%As Asyrian you have:

- increased starting strength, agility and stamina at the cost of losing Luck stat;

- increased rate of gaining increase to melee-related statistics;

- increased slashing and piercing resistance through the natural scales on your body;

- increased fire resistance at the cost of having lower water resistance.

By training you can nullify the effect of negative water resistance. Once water resistance reaches at least neutral level this message will disappear.

By receiving The Savior title, you have Light and Darkness attributes increased by 90% each.

Upon crossing the 100% resistance, you now can absorb damage dealt by the respective element.

Neriehem looked in surprise at his Darkness resistance, but then he remembered that it increased during his demon hunt.

He started making his way towards the center, when yet another explosion occurred. However this time there was no blinding light, only tons of rubble flying in the air.

But a few seconds later it all stopped falling.

However Neriehem barely took notice of it all. He was focused on a figure standing on top of it all.

He noticed how the man was engulfed in darkness. However what Neriehem noticed was that he wore white robe with golden shoulders and golden hood. That and white hair and beard which danced gently along with the dark aura around him.

- 'Impossible... the bishop was the one who caused all those demons to appear?' - thought Neriehem. And then he suddenly heard a female voice speaking to him, as he was engulfed in a white light.

- Brave adventurer... I have taken a notice of you ever since you braved through your fear. I watched how you got stronger along with your companions. I saw how you discovered the cause of the demonic invasion. I must say I'm impressed. So far you're the only person to impress me.

- Who are you? - asked Neriehem, looking around. The light blinded him, making it impossible to see what was happening around him.

- I am the goddess of the cycle of Life and Death, as well as Light and Darkness, known as Lencraea.

- But... aren't you only the goddess of Life and Light?

- I only made that side of myself known to the people of the City of Beginners. However the offer I am about to give you requires that you know full-well what's my domain.

- What do you mean by an offer?

- I wish to give you your class now. You will need it to defeat the evil before you once and for all.

- But don't I just have to kill the bishop?

- No... only killing him won't be enough. You see, he has formed a pact with the god of destruction, Ganteyr. I believe he was tricked to do it by the librarian of this city, however. They were close friends, and with the hate to otherworlders bore by that man, as well as the knowledge as the one who have read all the books in the library while fully understanding their meaning, it was inevitable. With the clever usage of friendship, librarian finally took over my bishop and together they planned the destruction of the city. All in order to cripple your kind.

- Really? How would they do that?

- Because with the City of Beginners gone, more of your kind would be unable to join our world. That's because of the temple of creation which is placed in this city.

- Then couldn't they destroy only the temple?

- There is a spell placed on it which ties it's state with the state of the city. That basically means that it can be destroyed only by destroying the city. And that's what they are doing right now.

With a sound two windows appeared before Neriehem:

[tr]

Notice:A quest information has been updated.

[td100]Quest: The Last Stand

Rank:8Time limit:15 minutesDescription:

The City of Beginners is under vicious attack by combined forces of the Lencraea's bishop as well as the librarian, both of whom made a pact with God of Destruction, Ganteyr.

Success: Experience, Fame

Failure: Destruction of Beginner's City, making it impossible for new players to play the game. Will make you wanted by the N.O.V.A. Corporation as the most wanted criminal.

- All right, I'll stop them – said Neriehem with stern look in his eyes. He will make sure to not fail this quest no matter what.

- All right, I guess you're all set – said the goddess. - Here I bestow the power to save souls onto this brave adventurer.

Notice: Class ChangeYou have been offered a change in class.

None => The Savior of Souls

Do you accept?

- I accept. - said Neriehem.

Immediately he felt power going through him once again. However this time it was a different kind of power. It felt more ancient and powerful.

Notice:Because of your class you have received a power to see and feel souls. No matter the distance, if you focus on a particular person you will be able to feel their soul and state they are in. You passively feel every soul in an adjusted radius. Keep in mind that certain amounts of them can be overwhelming.

Notice:You have received another resource: Soul Power.

It's the force of your soul. The stronger your will to do something, the better success you will have with it. Strength depends on Willpower stat.

When depleted you will die and receive 5 times the normal penalty. This includes the time forced out of the game.

You can use your soul power to affect everything you do while in-game. Cannot be used to create something out of nothing.

- 'What the... this is really bad, isn't it?' - thought Neriehem as he was considering whether to delete it or not. He was about to delete it, when the goddess spoke once again.

- Don't try, you won't be able to delete it. As the Savior of Souls it's necessary resource to have. However don't worry. You can increase it not only with your willpower, but by absorbing twisted souls. Like the one of librarian and bishop.

- Really? That's good to know. I'll going then, don't want to give them more time then necessary now – said Neriehem.

- Fine. Good luck, adventurer – said the goddess. - I shall be watching you.

With words which would leave anybody uneasy, the barrier of light disappeared. However Neriehem wasn't phased by them.

He fully focused on his task.

The EndPrevious ChapterNext Chapter

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EDIT: All right I believe I have fixed all those "Begginers" stuff I had.

EDIT2: Thanks for pointing out that I forgot to add 5000 fame in te last status window. ^^ Fixed now