Monica rushed to Dotty's side, her heart pounding with a fear she hadn't felt since awakening in this world. The teenage girl lay unconscious where Machina had dropped her, and Monica immediately enveloped her in Golden Flame.
"Dotty!" she called out, cradling the girl's head. The healing magic washed over Dotty's body, erasing bruises and mending any internal damage from Machina's rough handling. Monica's hands trembled slightly as she worked - a reaction that surprised even her. When had she become so attached to this girl?
The memory shard that had shown her own daughter flashed through her mind. Perhaps that explained the fierce protectiveness she felt, the way her heart had nearly stopped when Machina had grabbed Dotty. The girl's eyes fluttered open, focusing slowly on Monica's face.
"What happened?" Dotty whispered hoarsely.
"Don’t worry," Monica replied, trying to keep her voice steady despite the mounting pain in her body. The borrowed strength from burning both Phoenix Feathers was fading fast, and she could feel her Vitality draining away at an alarming rate. "Everything’s okay, I promise."
"Get Dotty out of here," she ordered to Ted, who scooped up the girl in his arms. “Go. I’ll come back outside. I don’t Crystal Wolves to appear again and attack you."
"But-" Ted started to protest.
"NOW!" Monica's voice cracked like a whip, and they hurried to comply. Heidi preceded Ted as they made their way to the entrance. Monica watched them go, making sure they were safely beyond the threshold before letting herself collapse.
The pain was excruciating. Every cell in her body felt like it was being torn apart as her Vitality plummeted into negative numbers without Ted’s song to support her.
As darkness crept into the edges of her vision, Monica thought of what Machina had said while looking at Ted.
She knew Ted would follow me? Why Ted? Why was she saying that?
Before she could give any more thought to it, her body shut down.
* * *
Monica stumbled her way outside of the Crystal Wolf’s Dungeon.
"Monica!" Dotty broke away from the others and ran to her, dropping to her knees beside her. "Are you okay? What happened in there?"
"I'm fine," Monica assured her, though 'fine' was a relative term when every muscle felt like wet paper. "Just the aftereffects of burning both Phoenix Feathers. I'll be back to normal in a day."
“Ted told me it was an Old God.”
“Old Goddess,” Monica groaned, letting the girl help her reach their camp. “You don’t remember anything?”
“No, after I was dragged into the room, I lost my senses. I don’t know why.”
“Machina must have done something,” Monica coughed, feeling as if her ribs were about to crack.
As Ted and Heidi moved to assist her, Monica caught a glimpse of something in Ted's expression.
"How are you feeling?" Heidi asked.
"Like I died," Monica grimaced. "But that's not important right now." She turned to Ted, who was still looking pale from the battle. "We need to talk about what Machina said."
Ted shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know what she meant, dude. I swear."
"Your song, then," Monica said.
“It just came to me while I was watching you fight. I got a Skill from it, by the way. But… I don’t know what I did. I saw you, and it came to me. It got me Song of the Twin Phoenix. Maybe I can show you—”
“Later,” Monica said. “You’re sure, Ted, completely sure that you have no idea what Machina meant when she spoke to you? When she said that you followed me?”
“I swear, Monica. I have no idea,” Ted replied seriously.
“Ok, I believe you. Now, though, she also said we’ll meet again in Viscera. What’s that?”
"The Dwarven capital," Heidi replied. "But it's been lost for so long. It capitulated when the Old Gods were defeated by the New Gods."
“There’s a Wonder that leads to Viscera,” Ted added.
Monica shook her head slowly. "I have no idea what she meant, but I have a feeling we're going to find out."
Monica finally looked at the long line of notifications she had ignored so far.
*Ding*
Quest Completed - 'No Man's Land III/III'
You have successfully quenched the Crystal Wolves Lair.
Reward: Loot Chest (Epic)
Reward: Chain Quest - Corrupted Gods has been added
*Ding*
You have slain [Corrupted Metallic Wolf Boss - Level 60]
You receive extra experience and skill proficiency for killing a creature fifty levels above you.
You receive extra experience and skill proficiency for killing a creature empowered by Divine Corruption.
You receive extra experience and skill proficiency for killing a Boss monster.
*Ding*
Auto-loot is on.
You obtain:
Corrupted Metallic Wolf Boss’s Meat (Corrupted) x30
Corrupted Metallic Wolf Boss’s Shard (Corrupted) x40
Corrupted Metallic Wolf Boss’s Tendons (Corrupted) x10
Platinum Coins x50
*Ding*
Class – Phoenix Healer (Rare, Enhanced) reaches Level 11
+5 VIT, +5 END, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +5 WIS, +5 SPI, +5 INT, +5 CHA and 6 Free Attributes
*Ding*
Class – Phoenix Healer (Rare, Enhanced) reaches Level 12
+5 VIT, +5 END, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +5 WIS, +5 SPI, +5 INT, +5 CHA and 6 Free Attributes
*Ding*
Class – Phoenix Healer (Rare, Enhanced) reaches Level 13
+5 VIT, +5 END, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +5 WIS, +5 SPI, +5 INT, +5 CHA and 6 Free Attributes
*Ding*
Class – Phoenix Healer (Rare, Enhanced) reaches Level 14
+5 VIT, +5 END, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +5 WIS, +5 SPI, +5 INT, +5 CHA and 6 Free Attributes
*Ding*
Class – Phoenix Healer (Rare, Enhanced) reaches Level 15
+5 VIT, +5 END, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +5 WIS, +5 SPI, +5 INT, +5 CHA and 6 Free Attributes
*Ding*
Class – Phoenix Healer (Rare, Enhanced) reaches Level 16
+5 VIT, +5 END, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +5 WIS, +5 SPI, +5 INT, +5 CHA and 6 Free Attributes
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 21
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 22
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 23
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*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame reaches Level 24
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Flame reaches Level 22
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Flame reaches Level 23
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Flame reaches Level 24
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Flame reaches Level 25
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Flame reaches Level 26
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Flame reaches Level 27
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Flame reaches Level 28
*Ding*
Constitution Skill – Phoenix Feathers reaches Level 6
*Ding*
Constitution Skill – Phoenix Feathers reaches Level 10
*Ding*
Constitution Skill – Phoenix Feathers reaches Level 11
*Ding*
Constitution Skill – Phoenix Feathers reaches Level 12
*Ding*
Constitution Skill – Phoenix Feathers reaches Level 13
*Ding*
Constitution Skill – Phoenix Feathers reaches Level 14
*Ding*
Perception Skill – Mana Sense reaches Level 21
*Ding*
Perception Skill – Mana Sense reaches Level 22
*Ding*
Perception Skill – Mana Sense reaches Level 23
*Ding*
Perception Skill – Mana Sense reaches Level 24
*Ding*
Perception Skill – Mana Sense reaches Level 25
*Ding*
Perception Skill – Mana Sense reaches Level 26
*Ding*
Perception Skill – Mana Sense reaches Level 27
*Ding*
Movement Skill - Phoenix Step reaches Level 2
*Ding*
Movement Skill - Phoenix Step reaches Level 3
*Ding*
Movement Skill - Phoenix Step reaches Level 4
*Ding*
Movement Skill - Phoenix Step reaches Level 5
*Ding*
Movement Skill - Phoenix Step reaches Level 6
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Impact reaches Level 2
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Impact reaches Level 3
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Impact reaches Level 4
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Impact reaches Level 5
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Impact reaches Level 6
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Impact reaches Level 7
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Impact reaches Level 8
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Impact reaches Level 9
Weirdly enough, Monica got also the completion for a Quest that she had supposedly completed the moment she had seen her memory of Peggy while training Dotty.
*Ding*
Quest Completed – ‘Memories of the Flame II/???’
Uncover a fragment of your past.
Reward: Vitality +50
*Ding*
Quest Received – ‘Memories of the Flame III/???’
Uncover a fragment of your past.
Reward: ???
As usual, she received the third part of Memories of the Flame, with the reward still hidden away. However, the reward for getting her previous memory—and whatever had triggered the completion—was tremendous.
Without Ted, Monica wouldn’t have been able to activate Phoenix Feathers. Plus, she suspected that at some point, she would gain more feathers to burn, which meant she would need even more Vitality.
She checked out the Skill to see how much Vitality it currently consumed.
Skill List
Phoenix Feathers Lv. 14
The bonuses last while the Skill is active or until the rage-triggered secondary effect is activated.
#1 Base Effect: Increases your resilience, physical strength, and physical speed by 100%. The effect increases by 10% for each Level.
Current Bonus: 240%
#2 Base Effect: Increases all of your Attributes by 1. The effect increases by 1 for each Level.
Current Bonus: +15 to All Attributes
#1 Special Effect - Fury of the Phoenix: You gain +30 to All Attributes for each Phoenix Feather you burn. The effect increases by 3 for each Level. Your Vitality is reduced by 30 for each Phoenix Feather you burn. The Vitality cost increases by 3 for each Level. If your Vitality is negative after Fury of the Phoenix runs off, you will die. Resurrecting after dying because of or during Fury of the Phoenix will result in all your Attributes and Skill potency being cut by 80% for the next 24 hours.
Current Bonus: +72 to All Attributes, excluding Vitality for each burnt Phoenix Feather
Cost: 72 Vitality for each burnt Phoenix Feather
Current Number of Available Feathers: 2
Then, she checked her Akashic Record.
Name: Monica Monroe
Race: Earther
Title: Avatar of the Twin Phoenix (Unique)
1st Class: Phoenix Healer (Rare) - Lv. 16
2nd Class: None
Talent Class: None
Attributes:
Vitality - 149
Endurance - 80
Strength - 80
Dexterity - 115
Wisdom - 80
Spirit - 80
Intelligence - 80
Charisma - 80
Free Attributes: 42
Skills:
Golden Flame (Healing Skill) - Lv. 24
Obsidian Flame (Offensive Skill) - Lv. 28
Phoenix Feathers (Constitution Skill) - Lv. 14
Mana Sense (Perception Skill) - Lv. 27
Phoenix Step (Movement Skill) - Lv. 6
Obsidian Impact (Offensive Skill) - Lv. 9
Equipment:
Steel Talons (Uncommon)
Twin Phoenix Bracers (Divine) - Twin Phoenix Set (1/12)
Nightshade Battle Wear (Rare)
Racial Abilities (Earther):
Tutorial
Quest System
Inventory
Map
Myriad Tongues
The massive Vitality boost meant that Monica could finally use Fury of the Phoenix as more than a suicide move. As long as she didn’t die, she would be able to use it in multiple fights—well, as long as she didn’t get hit by an enemy. Fury of the Phoenix still tanked her Vitality, meaning she’d be much easier to kill.
I am a Vitality hog, she realized. If I have even more Vitality, would it make me stronger while using Fury of the Phoenix? I get the feeling that during that state, my Attributes ignore the reduced Vitality and behave as if it was unchanged. But what if I had more Vitality to expend? Actually, I better consult Ted. Just thinking about this makes my head spin.
And so, she finally looked at the Quest she had received.
*Ding*
Chain Quest Received - Corrupted Gods, Machina I/IX
*Ding*
Special System Message
The Old Gods have made a push to gain footing on this world.
They must be eradicated once and for all while they’re still weak.
But only an Ancient Beast can destroy an Old God for good.
As the Avatar of the Twin Phoenix, you are their Nemesis, Monica Monroe.
But the choice to pursue this extremely dangerous mission is yours and yours only.
Would you like to…
“I accept,” Monica said out loud without the slightest hesitation, startling everyone. “Point them to me, System,” Monica said with a barely contained fury in her voice. “Tell me where they are. I know they will be coming for me—what they don’t know is that I’m ready to come for all of them.”
*Ding*
Special System Message
Very well.
May Your Flames burn ever brighter, Monica Monroe.
“System,” Monica quipped before the System could liquidate her. It didn’t happen often to have a direct line to whatever entity governed this world and, perhaps, the universe. “What did Machina mean when she spoke about Ted following me?”
*Ding*
Special System Message
All will be revealed in due time.
*Ding*
Chain Quest Received - Corrupted Gods, Machina I/IX
Machina has penetrated into Viscera after finding the Bridge of Thraldrirlum.
Enter the Lost Capital of the Dwarves and put an end to her reincarnation.
Reward:
* Piece of Twin Phoenix Set (Divine)
* Loot Chest x3 (Legendary)
* Blood of Thrarildrum
* ???
* ???
“Were you talking about me to the System?” Ted asked from the side.
Monica nodded.
“Did it say anything good?” The Bard inquired carefully.
“That you need a shower, Ted,” Monica laughed, seeing the man's disgruntled expression.
“Hey, we spent so much time fighting. I sweated, ok?”
“Sure, buddy,” Monica winked. “Do you want to do something cool, now?”
Ted perked up.
“What?”
Monica took out of her Inventory the Epic Loot Chest.
“This,” she said with a large smile as she placed a hand on the delicate wood of the chest lined with gold all over.
Everyone’s jaw dropped to the ground.
“I guess you guys never saw an Epic Loot Chest,” she knocked the smooth wood of the thing.
"Well?" Heidi prompted, her regrowing eyebrows raised expectantly. "Are you going to open it?"
Monica placed her hand on the crystalline lock, feeling a slight warmth emanate from it. The chest recognized her as its rightful owner, earned through combat rather than mere chance.
Ding
Would you like to open Epic Loot Chest?
YES|NO
"Here goes nothing," Monica said, accepting the prompt.
The chest's lid swung open smoothly, releasing a soft golden light. Inside, nestled in the velvet of the deepest black, she found something that left her speechless.