Nexus was standing atop a guard tower, towering over 200 feet of the ground. Together with him are other adventures, from mages to rangers, of all levels. All of them are hurling their best attack down onto the incoming army. Chants of spells and names of attacks were spoken over and over again. Just like what Nexus was doing.
“Holy Blade!”
17 blades appeared around Nexus. At his command, the blades flashed forward.
The blades disappeared between the mass of creatures.
Insignificant…throwing it individually does nothing!
Nexus guzzled down in another mana potion. Reforming the blade, he compressed the power of 17 blades into one.
This better work!
Throwing it once more, the blade exploded upon impact. A blast of Holy energy obliterated a portion of the Army. Grinning, Nexus readied himself to throw another blade.
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Tyle stood neck to neck with 500 other paladins, his arm tensely holding his shield. Reading themselves, they activated their skills at the command of Baron.
“Holy Aura!”
A golden aura glow forth from the army, swirling around them.
3…2…1…
*Baam!*
The mass of golden aura clashed with the dark seeping corruption of the undead army. In the midst of that chaos, battle has began.
“Shield Bash!”
His shield glowed a bright yellow as he bashed his shield forward. The skeleton in front of his was blasted away, crashing into another creature.
Behind!
Tyle turned around in a flash.
“Shield Throw!”
His shield left his hand and smashed into the incoming undead, before returning to his hand.
The battle is going to be a long one…
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Shortly after the conversation with Caldecius, an paladin of Freya rushed into Pope Taloni’s quarters. Panting heavily, he, in his hand, held a scroll.
“What is it?” Taloni’s frowned upon seeing the scroll clutched in the paladin’s hand. He could see the unholy power radiating out of it.
“It is a declaration of war from Bar-Khan.”
Silence reigned in the room at his declaration. Bar-Khan, the legendary necromancer, had just declared war on them.
“I thought he is currently entangle with the sculptor?”
Pope Taloni questioned the authenticity of the scroll in the paladin’s hands. As far as he know, Bar-Khan was currently fighting with Morata’s lord. Church of Freya has also send assistance to him, via those Freedman.
Unless, of course, the attack was a divergence and the real aim was the stronghold of Freya. Bar-Khan aim perhaps was to take down Vaticius all along.
“Pass me the scroll.” He suspect something was wrong.
Pope Taloni took over the scroll gingerly from the paladin’s hands. Gathering holy energy in his hand, he slowly dispel the unholy aura from the scroll. The aura slowly leached out of the scroll, bit by tiny bit. When Taloni was sure that all the aura was gone, he opened the scroll.
Taloni felt his holy energy slowly being leached into the scroll. Words, previously unseen, appeared.
“The day of revenge is nigh,
For the thousand years battle we have fought
Shall reached a conclusion with your death
-Embinyu”
“It is them, again…”
Taloni stifled a sigh. It was not Bar-Khan but Embinyu church. For how long have the good and evil churches fought, yet there was never a conclusion in sight. This battle would just be one of the many fought. Perhaps someone would bring down Embinyu church in time. Perhaps.
“Sound the alarm. We would crush them, like we did before.”
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Nexus and Tyle were walking along the corridor in which Avalon once tried to use to trap them.
“How long ago has this been? Since Avalon tried to trap me…”
“Two days?”
“What about you Tyle? Are you still a repentee?”
“Technically, yes. But I don’t think I ever need to swept the hall of Freya again though…brrrrh…”
Just then, they bumped in Priest Baron, walking along the hallway to the Divine Sanctuary. Nexus could still remember what the fairies told him yesterday.
So Baron had such a history, huh? Maybe he heard about the Nixis Altairius Dominion.
But before he could ask the question, Tyle ran forward first. He had a look of someone who was going to die if he don’t get his questions answered soon.
“Baron! Good to see you! I need to know something! What is the difference between Faith and Holy?” Tyle questioned.
Ehh…wait…that question…Yeah! What is the difference between the Faith stat and the Holy attribute?
“Oh? That question? You are not the first to ask anyways. Faith stat is the stat that governs your relationship with the divine. The higher Faith you have, the better your relation with the Gods. Therefore, favours can be asked from them much more easily. Holy, however, is the energy from the Gods itself. The higher Holy stat, the closer you are to being a god. Some priest and paladin use Faith to call upon blessing from the gods. For us, however, we use our own holy energy. It is two fundamentally different things. Frankly speaking, being a Faith-based priest or warrior is easier although a Holy-based priest or warrior would be stronger in the long run. That is why our best warrior, Angelius Ray, is a Holy-based warrior. Also, being a Faith-based warrior means that your powers are based on the Gods. As such, you are at the mercy of the gods.”
Oh…so Faith is like relationship points with a God. More faith, the better chance of them helping you. Less, and they ignore you.
Hmm...then what is my relation points with Freya?
“Then is it possible to be a God? In the truest sense?”
“...Yes, but don’t try. To be a god, you need to have a ridiculous amount of Holy energy. So much that you become the energy itself. Legend says that the Gods we serve now are also once like us.”
“Okay…? Thanks!”
Tyle, having his questions answered, walked away, deciding not to bother Baron any longer. Nexus, however, still had one query left.
“Baron, do you know about the Nixus Altairus Dominion?”
Baron quieten down all of a sudden. He leaned forwards and whispered into Nexus’s ears.
“There are some questions best left unanswered. Do not seek the Nixis Altairus Dominion.”
With that warning, Baron walked off, leaving a genuinely afraid Nexus behind.
Nexus stifled a shudder.
What exactly is the Nixis Altairus Dominion?
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“Oh, have Avalon being bothering you recently?”
Avalon, who was suppose to be Nexus’s master, had not bothered Nexus since asking him to bring the three books to him. Considering that old man’s personality, it was not like him to not bother Nexus. Not that he minded that, though.
“No…? Speaking of which, I have not seen him around nowadays…”
Tyle also had not seen Avalon since 2 days ago. Avalon, who was famous for being a complete douchebag, was not bothering them. That in itself was unsettling. The question of Avalon was thrown to the back of the mind as both of them head towards a secret passage situated in the courtyard of the Church.
“Nexus, reequip your beginner clothes. It would attract too much attention wearing these Acolyte outfits.”
Nexus and Tyle both unequipped their Acolyte clothes and re-equipped their beginner armour. Tyle pressed on a certain block on the walls of a courtyard. A slight groaning sound was heard before a passageway slid open in front of them.
“Lo and behold! I found this passageway during one of my courtyard duties. This passage goes all the way to Vaticius City, Commercial District. Want to enter?”
“Yes please.” Nexus entered the dark and claustrophobic passageway without query. Their Shimmering equipment illuminated the pathway in front of them, allowing them to proceed along the pathway smoothly. Nexus could smell something rotting, almost putrid, in the distance as they moved through the passageway.
“Don’t mind the smell. This passageway is linked to the sewers.”
Tyle did not seem affected by the smell, as if he is already used to it.
“By the way Tyle, I have not seen your shield since you gotten it. Mind showing me?”
“Didn’t you see Caldecius give it to me?”
“All I saw was a red huge rectangle.”
*Sigh* “Display to Nexus Caldecius Legacy.”
A 3D figure of the item appeared in Nexus's vision, accompanied by a status window.
Caldecius Legacy
Durability: N/A
Defense: 30 +
A shield once wielded by Caldecius, his spirit now resides in it. The shield is forged from a unknown material by a skilled blacksmith and will never break nor rust. Technique to forge this shield has since been lost in time, however. The material absorbs Holy energy from the user, and its defense grows as the user improves
"Now Nexus, speaking about that, why don't you show me your sword? You know, the golden one that you throw around?"
"Fine...Holy Blade!"
A golden blade appeared once more in Nexus hands. Nexus recently have been using the Holy Sword more and more often, to the point where the sword was summoned before the spell was activated. With a flick of the waist, the sword shot towards Tyle.
"Wow...does it have stat window?"
"Show Holy Blade to Tyle"
*whistle* "100 damage, that is ridiculous."
"I could not use it for more than a minute anyways."
"True. The mana consumption is high. Can you summon two blades?"
"Two Blades? I never thought about it before. Holy Blade!"
A second blade appeared in Nexus's hands. Shaped almost identically like the first, the second blade glowed with holy aura.
"Hmm...the mana consumptions seems doubled when I do this. At most I can keep only keep two blades active in one go."
"Return!"
At his command the blade jerked out of Tyle's hand back to Nexus. Nexus caught the holy blade with his other hand. However, during the process, one of the blades scratched against the other, releasing a short burst of Holy energy. Nexus took note of that and an idea began to form in his head. It was too risky to try it out now, though.
Nexus dispelled the two blades and followed after Tyle, who was leading the way. The rest of the journey when uneventfully by as they emerged in one of the alleyways of Vaticius City. Tyle did not hesitate and took Nexus down a dark and dingy path that eventually lead them out of the alleyway right into the Commercial District. Or more specifically, the street with 5 tailoring shops arranged in a row.
"Yesterday we stopped here before we got sidetracked, right? Don't you want to see more?"
"Tyle, why did you look as if it is the first time you saw the city yesterday?" Nexus was curious. Tyle, who seems to be familiar with Vaticius, looked as if he had saw the city for the first time yesterday.
"Haha...it was because every time I sneaked out it was already at night. The city is completely different in the day and night. Lets not talk about that any longer, shall we?" Tyle seems to be avoiding the question. Nexus did not force him though. He keep quiet and followed Tyle.
What is Tyle hiding?
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After going pass Fairies Delight and greeting the fairies, the saw the next tailoring shop. It was perhaps the most normal shop of them all, with a down-to-earth design. A honest looking sign hanged over the shop saying: "Barris Tailoring Shop". Perhaps intrigued by the plain design amongst the strange and quirky building, Nexus and Tyle headed in.
Inside they found hoards of beginners waiting the shop while a busy looking NPC, or maybe a player, handle each and everyone of their orders. Nexus and Tyle walked forward to the counter through the crowd, interested to find out what is going on.
"You two a beginners right? What do you want? We have a Leather Tunic +1, a Cloth Bandana and a...oh. You two are rich guys right? Wearing those expensive fairy cloths...peh!"
The man made a disgusted sound as Nexus and Tyle realized that they in fact look pretty "outstanding" amongst the beginners, with their Shimmering Bandana and Belt. Some of them even got a strange look on their face, as if they are evaluating pigs at a supermarket.
Oh shit...we forgot about the bandana and belt! Wonder how many people saw us...
"Sigh...you two better come in. Robin, handle the shop."
"Yes, Ribuis!"
The man, called Ribuis, lead both of them into a back door.
"Both of you better leave now before some of them outside got impatient and tried to mug you in my shop."
"We are just curious as too why your shop is so...normal."
"My shop is opened to cater to beginners who just came to Royal Road. We sell cheap and low-levelled equipment, which none of the other shops sell. Now, get out of my shop!"
Ribuis eject Nexus and Tyle out of his shop without mercy, into the back alley. Following that, he slammed the door in their faces.
"Don't come back and cause trouble!"
A muffled voice call from beyond the door, filled with irritation.
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Nexus and Tyle looked at each other, then looked around. Apparently, 10+ people are already waiting outside the door, ready to assault them at a moments notice.
"Hand over your valuables before we kill you!"
Nexus send a whisper to Tyle:
Fuck....do we attack?
I will stall them while you equipped you armor. Then you stall them while I equipped my armor.
Agreed.
Tyle took out his shield from <
Nexus navigated quickly to his menu and equipped his Holy Armor from there. Tyle was barely managing to block all strikes from the 10+ people. They are all unable to attack at once due to the narrow alleyway. After Nexus had equipped his armor, he threw a blade towards the guy attacking.
Critical Hit!
And another one.
Critical Hit x2! Bonus Damage!
You have gained 50 infamy!
The attackers do not seem to mind the death of one of them though. They stepped over the corpse of the fallen warrior, not caring for his death.
"Return!"
The two swords flew back to Nexus's hand. Unfortunately, or fortunately, they were blocked by the attackers. The blades skewered one of them from the back, stabbing him on the abdomen.
You have gained 50 infamy!
Nexus waved his hands and dispelled the two swords, before, summoning three more blades and hurling them towards the attackers. Before any of them had reached him, three was already dead.
Critical Hit!
You have gained 50 infamy!
Now, the attackers are getting a little afraid. However, Nexus did not care and continue to hurl his blades at them. He was keenly aware that he need to either frighten them off or kill them all before his mana runs out. Even with the bonus of his Acolyte robes and Bandana, his mana was running out. Tyle was almost ready to back him up soon though. Even if he joined, the battle was still a balanced on both sides once his mana runs out.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The battle have continued if not for the sound of a thousand bells clashing, signaling its end.
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Battle of Vaticius
Embinyu Church has signaled its intent to destroy the Church of Freya.
Assaulting with an army of 10,000 foul beast, it marches on to your doorstep.
Take up arms and protect your city!
Time till battle: 3:00
Quest Difficulty: C
As a member of Church of Freya you cannot decline.
Quest Accepted! Desertion will result in severe retaliation from the Church of Freya
Proceed to Battle Station 1!
Nexus and Tyle look at each other for the numerous time today.
Racing out of the alleyway, they run towards the location of battle, clothed in Holy Armor.
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"You two? Tyle, go to the front lines and form the shield. Nexus...you just go to the top of the guard tower and stay there."
Baron was the person manning the battle stations. Apparently, in Baron's eyes, Tyle was a capable tank while Nexus is just a...useless person. That thought made Nexus somehow feel pathetic at himself.
For the utmost time, he thought to himself why he had not gotten a class like Tyle...
Also, it appears as if the both of them were the last to arrive. After getting into their positions, Baron stood upon a makeshift podium.
"Dear Brothers of our Faith, Embinyu Church once again threaten our lands. However, those foul beast are no might for the power of our paladins! Priest, you would be responsible for debuffing and healing our warriors. Paladins, you would form a shield line to hold the line. The rest, head to the various fortifications and towers and RAIN HELL ON THOSE BASTARDS!"
"YEAH!"
Morale increased by 10%
Gain 10% increased damage due to high morale
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10,000 undead creatures versus 1000 players.
It was to be a fight of the century.
If not for the fact that each paladin was at least over level 100, wearing the highest quality gear by Freya
And the fact that out of the 10,000 creatures, 80% are trash mobs.
Tyle could only say that they were weak. Very weak. Tyle slashed yet another creature from attacking him.
"Holy Smash!"
"Divine Strike"
"Blessing of Freya!"
Powerful skills rang about Tyle. Short bursts of holy energy could be felt all around. Meanwhile, Baron was holding a gigantic hammer, smashing mobs by the dozens. He and a group of paladins, more higher level than the rest, are taking out the high level mobs.
Priest also chanted a mass debuff skill, "Freya's Might", debuffing all mobs agility and strength by 10% over a wide range.
Occasionally, a explosion of holy energy can be felt near him, obliterating the mobs nearby.
Tyle could feel that it was their victory already.
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Nexus, from his vantage point, saw the entire battle.
He watched as the Paladins fought as a united front, driving the army away.
He also saw Baron fighting, his spirit raising the power of nearby paladins.
He also saw spells raining down upon the mobs.
"Thundercloud!"
"Firestorm"
"Gale Blast"
He also saw a pillar of white light burst forth from the Church of Freya.
And the coming of a black shadow.
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Pope Taloni XIV stayed in his room, being constantly relayed the news of the battle.
The battle is too easy...
Taloni could not help but feel that something was wrong.
He clenched both of his fist together and gather holy energy. His body start to glow with a golden light.
He look forth at the door. Sounds of battle are coming from behind the door.
So they plan to assassinate me. Do they think it will be so easy?
However, as a precaution, Taloni chanted a spell. One that would release all the holy energy he had upon death, or near it.
The door bursted open in a flash of light.
What Taloni saw was the person he least expected to see.
Avalon stood on the doorway, a maniacal grin on his face.
Taloni did not hesitate. His fist accelerated forward. Infused with holy light, it crashed against Avalon's shield. Avalon grinned further.
The shield started to glow with evil energy. Seals of power crept up Taloni's arm. He withdrew his hand in lightning speed. However, it was too late. The seal had been activated and was starting to seal his holy energy.
In that instant, he stabbed his other arm into his heart, forcing the activation of the spell he had activated earlier. Rush forward, he grabbed Avalon. Both of then were enveloped in a bright light.
A pillar of holy energy burst through the roof of the Church of Freya.
The end has begun.
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Far off in the distance, the black shadow knew that Pope Taloni was incapacitated.
"Move."
The army, the true army, started to move. It was also a army of 500, except that their demeanor was completely different from the weak creatures that were sent. Cloak in shadows, they radiated danger and death.
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The first one to realize the trick was Baron. He felt he seal on his hammer being undone. The seal was set over 10 years ago, by Pope Taloni, as part of the bargain. Even though it felt good to regain his full strength, he knew that the battle is going to go horribly wrong. He could sense the incoming darkness.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
The Paladins, although confused, retreated to the Main Gate. There, they shut the door. Baron had priest chant the strongest sealing spell at the door.
"O Freya, Protect Thee from Evil, Thy Soul from the Demons..."
Baron meanwhile stood behind the gate, reading his holy energy for battle.
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Francis woke up from within the Divine Sanctuary. He felt his magical powers returning to him.
"Summon Eldrtich Tome!"
He felt the power radiating from the tomb, intoxicating him like it did when he first saw it. The seal on it was undone.
"Vision!"
He activated one of the spell from amongst the tome. He felt the wisdom expanded to include the room, the Sanctuary, finally the whole of Church of Freya. What he saw shocked him. Without hesitation, he activated teleportation to the Pope side. The Pope lied amongst a rubble, with a blacken corpse. He was still alive, only by a thread.
"Damn...Life Transfer!"
One of the forbidden spells from the tome, he transferred his life force to the tomb directly. He felt as if he is getting weaker and weaker as moments go on. Until finally, it stopped. Francis collapse on the ground, exhausted. The Pope slowly awoke, barely keeping conscious.
With ragged gasp, he whispered to Francis.
"It is him...the fragment...of Embin...yu"
Francis look changed to one of shock. The fragment of Embinyu, the church of evil.
Without ado, he knew the danger and activated his teleportation spell, teleporting to Baron side.
Other priest that have survived the destruction arrived at the location just as Francis went. Seeing the situation, the Pope was immediately carried to safety as priest continuos chanted healing spells.
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Baron felt a familiar energy approaching.
"Francis, what is wrong?"
"The Pope has been attacked, presumedly by one of our own. The one attacking us is the fragment of Embinyu."
"...Teleport to Kallamore. Tell them we need aid. Request the help of Angelius Ray to come over too. I could hold for 20 minutes max."
"...Agreed."
Baron looked on at the gate once more. His eye burned with a silent fire.
Here he comes...
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Nexus watched as the paladins retreated to behind the gate. He watched as the shadow slowly approach the gate.
The mages and rangers are bombarding the approaching figure with spells and attacks, yet it did not affect it one bit.
Nexus withheld his attack for some unknown reason.
He felt if he attacked he would draw the attention over to him.
He did not want to.
He felt afraid.
The shadow smashed against the gate. A flash of light bounced the shadow off. The shadow did not falter. He struck again. Yet, the gate still hold. This continued on for minutes. The shadow attacked, and was thrown back each time.
Then, the light got weaker. And weaker. Nexus watched on in horror as the gate splintered from the sheer force of the attack. Behind that gate stood a figure. Baron held his hammer and smashed in into the shadow. The shadow at that time split into numerous different shadows. Each paladin rushed forward to intersect the shadows before they disperse.
Flashes of light can be seen from the battles taking place. The long-ranged attackers are no longer attacking, for fear of hitting one of their own.
In the chaos below, one figure can be seen. Baron was dueling the greatest shadow, one-on-one. With each swing of his hammer, a bright flash of holy light can be observed.
"Freya's will!"
A massive shockwave that can be felt from Nexus position happened. The hammer blasted right into the shadow, sending it flying.
Don't be afraid...
Freya?
No more was said.
As if moved by a indomitable force, Nexus summoned his blade. More and more mana he poured into this blade, before throwing it from his hand. Towards a certain shadow battling a certain figure.
The sword pierced a shadow through the heart before exploding. The shadow bursted apart into nothingness.
Critical Hit!
Fragment of Embinyu [1/501]
Throw reached intermediate mastery!
+50% accuracy and +30% more damage
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Tyle was battling a shadow. He managed to block all of its attacks, but he could not deal enough damage. He was stuck in this stalemate, until the shadow was pierced by a sword. A familiar sword.
"Nexus!"
Behind you...
Caldecius warned him in a bored tone. Tyle turned around just in time to block another attack from another shadow.
"Shield Charge!"
He repel the shadow by charging forward in a massive surge.
"Divine Stomp!"
Following up with a stun, he took the chance to
"Shield Throw!"
Hurl his shield at the shadow, damaging him twice, once when it hits, another when it returns.
"Might of Freya, banish this evil!"
A priest them chanted a spell, banishing the shadow. However, she did not notice another one behind her.
"Duck! Shield Throw!"
Tyle quickly threw his shield, hitting the shadow upon the torso. Following that, he drew his sword and attacked.
Tyle, Guardian of Light suffer a penalty for using swords
Emergency!
Tyle stab forward, striking the shadow upon the chest. The shadow does not seem affected by the attack and struck back.
Tyle took the attack with his armor before another sword pierced from the heaven into the shadow.
Tyle, be careful!
Yes...
The shield flew back to Tyle's hand and struck the shadow one last time before it too, dissipated.
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The battle between Baron and the huge shadow was not going well, however.
Baron recognized that he was fast running out of holy energy. His attack were getting slower and his strikes are not as deathly.
It could not be faulted though, as they have been fighting for close to 15 minutes now.
Looks like you are almost dying Baron....How long has it been?
"Shut up, you servant of Embinyu! Die!"
Even as he said that, he felt his arm slowly draining of energy. The shadow easily blocked the attack with one hand before striking forward with another. Grasping Baron's neck, he slowly lifted Baron up.
Playtime is over. With the Pope down, who else can stand against me? You?
"Me."
One of the shadow's hand slowly slid off, before dissipating.
Angelius! How did you get here?
"Thanks to the magician over there"
Francis was pale as a sheet and panting for breath. It had been a long time since he used magic. And casting spells like "Life Transfer", "Long-distance Mass Teleportation" and such do take its toll even for someone who was one of the strongest mages in the continent.
"Since I am here, lets finish you off."
Angelius was not the only ones who arrived. Kallamore Knights, 10 of them in total, arrived too. With their help, the number of shadows decreased rapidly. Each and every one of those knights was equivalent to a group of paladins, and their overwhelming power was on full display.
How?
"Who knows? Blessing of Freya, be upon your warrior. Let me your might and lead me to victory!"
At his chant, Angelius's sword glowed a bright gold.
"Holy Strike! Holy Wave!"
Two simultaneous attacks hit the shadow at the same time, cleaving the shadow in a X-shape. The shadow, who was fighting Baron so easily just now, drew back.
I will return!
No you would not!
Nexus threw his Holy Blade at the fleeing shadow just as Angelius fired a white ray from his blade. The holy forces clashed at the shadow and burst apart in a bright blast.
Slain Shadow of Embinyu! Gain 50 fame and Title: "Slayer of Shadows"
Title: Slayer of Shadows (Beginner)
+50 Holy attribute
+5 to all stats
Shadows will wrap around you
You did not receive the full title because of your limited contribution to the battle.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Angelius looked up at the person who threw the sword
"Interesting..."
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{[999baw}]