Part 1:
The following morning, Wraith was woken up by a system message.
In regards to the dungeon after the test, all relationships cultivated and events that occurred will remain as is. To enter the dungeon again, the entrance must be found in the continent of Versailles. The final test will occur at 12:00. Players will be teleported to the testing grounds.
This had serious consequences for Wraith. Because Andvare wouldn't teleport with them, he would be left behind when the test ended. Jumping out of bed, he raced towards his bed. He was still sleeping, so he pulled off the covers and shook him awake.
“Andvare, get up.”
“Wh-what?” He rubbed his eyes and yawned.
“We have a problem. After we leave, we'll be forced to leave you behind, and we have no idea how to get back here.”
“Oh is that all? I've already taken that into consideration” After swing his legs off the bed, he reached into the drawer by the side of the bed. He pulled out a blue crystal orb, about twice the size of his fist. “This is a teleportation anchor. I was thinking that you could take it with you and bury it in Jorenheim. Since our races' goals and troubles are similar, we thought we could help each other out. Besides, since we found out that other mortals could find this place, we realized that our home had been compromised. It's time to pull up stakes and go to a new home. In time we'll be able to raise a city in that realm. From what you said there's plenty of space.”
Wraith was amazed that Andvare had thought so far ahead. “I'm surprised you planned that out by yourself.”
“Well I am over three hundred years old. At least this much is expected from me. It'll take several months to prepare it, but eventually we will be reunited.”
“Months?”
“Well it isn't that easy to set up two portals and connect them just like that. Especially if they're on different realms.”
“But back in Jorenheim the portals were set up in a matter of minutes.”
“Well, that means that the portals were already set up and just needed to be activated, or they were temporary portals. The one we're building is meant to be large and kept open for large lengths of time. I suppose it would be more accurate to call them gates. Instead of opening for only a few people at a time, entire armies could walk through this one. By the way, shouldn't you prepare for the last trial?”
Wraith checked the time and swore softly. There was less than two hours left before he would be spirited away.
In the remaining time he had left, he packed all the items he wouldn't need for the battle in the large pack Andvare gave him, and put the potions and food in the other.
“Hey, would one of you wear this pack and carry it back home for me?” He didn't want to fight while bogged down by his items, so he decided to get one of his pack-mates to carry it for him.
After handing over the bag, Wraith said his goodbyes to Andvare and the rest of his pack. “I'll see you in a while Andvare. Take care in the meantime. Sarin and Vangar, I'll see you in a few days.”
Sarin bounded over to him and nuzzled him to say farewell.
Like before, Wraith was engulfed in light as he was teleported away. Like before he found himself inside a cavern. It was considerably bigger than the ones in the other tests, with ten large square platforms located around it. Above each of the platforms was a glowing number.
He could see that the other players had also been teleported to the same place, and they looked around to acquaint themselves with the place. Besides the platforms, there wasn't much else there. The floor was smooth and even, with enough space for the players to sleep on.
Since there was no information given, the players huddled around the upraised platforms and waited. Soon enough a figure appeared high in the air. It was the same face as the person who brought them there in the first place. The eyes of Jacob looked down upon the candidates and surveyed the field.
“Congratulations. From the fifteen hundred candidates, you are the final sixty-one players left standing. Now I don't have to explain to you what this tournament-style test is. Simply put, it's a fight to the death. Really, not that complicated at all. The only difference is that when your Hp goes to zero, you don't actually die. You'll be told when your turn comes up, so all you have to do is fight whoever gets placed before you. And with that, I think it's about time to see what you're made of.”
Jacob's avatar disappeared and the players were left by themselves. Several of the players made their way to the platforms, apparently having been notified by a message. After arriving onto the platforms, two players faced off against each other, trying to gauge the other one's abilities. Many of them charged against each other, bringing out swords, axes and spears. Wraith didn't bother with the fights between warriors, choosing instead to look at platform three.
It was the only platform with a mage. He had a simple wooden staff and was of a average height. His opponent on the other hand was massive. The mask and simple clothes couldn't hide the thick slabs of muscle on his seven foot frame. To suit his frame, he had a giant sword. It was much too massive to be called a broadsword, the blade coming at two metres in length and half a foot in width.
Seeing the sight of such a giant mass of flesh and steel hurtling towards the mage who seemed almost frail and delicate in comparison, made most of the players cringe for the mage's safety. However instead of cowering before the threat, the mage cast his spells fearlessly.
With a wave of his staff, a pale blue bolt of magic shot towards the giant's ankle. Within milliseconds, the ankle was covered by a layer of ice. With the joint frozen, the giant tripped and tumbled forwards. As if anticipating the fall, the mage cast another spell and made a thick icicle erupt from the ground. As the giant fell down, it impaled itself on the sharp spear of ice that went from the ground straight through its left shoulder.
Not wanting to take any chances, the mage created dozens of thin icicles that hovered in the air before flying forwards and embedding themselves in the giant's back. Although the giant tried to get up, it was pinned by the giant icicle and therefore helpless before the assault. Within minutes, it turned grey and died. However, as Jacob promised, he didn't stay dead. Immediately thereafter, he respawned at the corner of the platform.
Furious at losing to a mage, he threw down his sword and let out a stream of curses. After composing himself, he picked up his sword and got down from the platform. Two swordsmen took the place of the giant and the mage and began to fight. Wraith watched for a bit, but quickly lost interest. He walked around to the other platforms and took a look at the other players.
The vast majority of players were swordsmen. There were a few archers, but they were the minority. From what he could see, there were only about fifteen mages, judging by the staff and wands they held in their hands. Depending on how efficiently they used their limited skills, they could either be a formidable foe or an easy win.
From what he could tell, most of the mages fell into the latter category. Besides the ones that didn't show off their skills just yet, only the ice mage that first showed up held any real promise.
You will be fighting on platform six.
After an hour, Wraith's turn finally came up. A part of him was nervous about the upcoming fight. He had no idea what the abilities of his opponent were, and he didn't know how losing would affect him. Jacob didn't give any information beyond the bare essentials, so all he could do was strive to beat every single player that came for him.
While standing at a corner of the platform, he looked at his opponent. Although he tried to assess the enemy, the nature of the mask and clothing made it hard to differentiate between players. All he could see was an average humanoid shape. From the sword in his hand, Wraith could tell that it would be a straight-forward melee fight.
Although he had a ton of experience with fighting, this was something new to him. A swordsman was something that he wasn't used to fighting. The only time he did face off against one was with Calder, and even that was during training, not to mention the fact that it wasn't a weapon that Calder was used to using. Like Wraith, he preferred to use his fists.
While Wraith was suited for hand-to-hand combat, he had to respect the sword. It was a weapon that bestowed tremendous advantages on the wielder. The razor-sharp edge could glide through flesh, while the hard metal could be used to defend against mighty blows, but the biggest advantage it gave was reach.
In the hands of someone that knew how to use it properly, the sword could eviscerate him while staying well out Wraith's attack range. He would have to be careful in order to get close enough so that the sword couldn't swing properly. From what he could see, the confident stance and the way he held the sword indicated that he at least had some skill with it.
Fight!
The message popped up before Wraith, and from the looks of it his opponent as well. Wraith bent his knees slightly and prepared for the battle. The opponent also got ready, putting both hands on his sword and bringing it up before him. There were several metres between them, so they cautiously made their way towards each other.
Unsure about the extent of the other's strength, they inched forwards until there were only five metres between them. At such a close range, they circled around each other, waiting for an opening. Wraith dodged light flicks of the sword. They were slow and without any real power behind them, used to test his defence and speed.
He swayed side to side to ward off further slashes which grew in speed and power. With Wraith dodging every one of his strikes, the other fighter quickly grew irritated. His blows came at him harder and faster, straining to reach his skin.
Wraith was always only a hairs-breadth away from taking a blow, so he had to stay in control and use all of his skill. Because of the stat cap, all the players had an equal footing. For most players, the primary strategy was to overwhelm the opponent with strength. Swordsmen would rely more on the speed and power behind the sword rather than the skill it takes to wield it, and mages would blast away with magic, not thinking about a strategy to their attacks. They would spam skills in the hopes of destroying the enemy with every iota of power they had.
That was likely the reason the dungeon took all that away from them. With such limited options, they would be forced to demonstrate their own base abilities.
As he was side-stepping the downward slashes, he saw that the opponent was getting more aggressive, owing to the fact that Wraith had dodged every single attack that came at him. His irritation caused him to slip up, as he raised the sword high above his head so he could cleave Wraith in half.
Such an attack would be powerful, but that was only if he could land it. Raising it so high left an opening that Wraith could, and did, exploit While he lifted the sword up, Wraith moved forward until there were only inches between them. His right fist shot up into an uppercut, catching him right in the jaw. He couldn't completely evade the sword and suffered a large gash from his left shoulder to his right hip. It effectively cut his Hp down by a quarter, but it could have been much worse had Wraith taken the attafck full-on.
Although both attacks landed, Wraith's attack on the jaw managed to stun the opponent for a few seconds. Wanting to take full advantage of the moment, he pressed the attack. He drove his left knee into the opponent's groin and caught his head as he bent over in shock and pain. Using his right knee, he smashed it into the man's face. Because of the pain, he dropped his sword and fell to the ground, blood dripping from his shattered nose.
Wraith threw him onto the ground and kicked him repeatedly, whittling down his Hp until it was at a manageable level. Once Wraith felt that the battle was almost over, he grasped the opponent's head and twisted sharply. With an audible crack, the neck snapped and the player died.
Since he won the battle, Wraith stepped off the platform and went to look around some more before being called up again. The other players didn't give him much attention. While he did win, he was just another fighter to them, an unarmed fighter at that.
His not using any weapons was odd and, to their eyes, foolish. In their minds, unarmed fighters were weaker than their sword-wielding brethren. Unfortunately, there was some truth to that assumption. Even a training sword could increase the attack range and power of the person that was wielding it.
The only advantages fighting with bare hands gave were speed and mobility. Even the lightest blade slowed down the person that held it, and in the case of two-handed swords, keeping both hands on the hilt reduced their range of motion.
The hard truth was that even with those advantages, using a sword was a much better option. Fighting without a weapon required skill and finesse as opposed to raw power. While both required training to master it completely, even a novice swinging a sword around was rather capable.
One thing Wraith realized from this fight was that he was too experienced when fighting against weapons. A glancing blow from a punch or kick might do nothing more than leave a bruise, but a sword might disable a limb altogether. If he wanted to be a fighter that wouldn't lose to anyone else, he needed a hell of a lot more training and armour.
He needed arm-guards or gauntlets to defend against a blade, or he would have to keep dancing around the opponent and wait for them to slip up. While the test itself was quite fair in how it was set up, the inability to equip such items was a major disadvantage for Wraith. Unfortunately he was the only one that suffered from it, so he just had to make do as best he could.
He noticed that his wounds had healed completely since the fight. He supposed that like the fighter that was resurrected, his avatar was restored as well. Since he didn't know when he would be fighting again, he took a short rest. In this trial, his mental condition was much more important than his physical one.
Sure enough, within fifteen minutes his turn came up again. He fought another swordsman, though unlike his first opponent, this one was much less skilled. He seemed like another one of those players that relied on their stats and the power of their skills.
Within minutes he was dead and Wraith didn't even suffer a single scratch. Because of the experience from the first fight and the lack of ability of his current opponent, Wraith easily overwhelmed him. The opponents that Wraith fought next suffered a similar fate. Over the next fourteen hours, Wraith fought against twelve other people and beat them in a similar manner.
While they had varying levels of combat ability, they were all defeated. It was almost laughable at how easy several of those battles were. Without their stats and skills to back them up, they were helpless before Wraith. For every tiny cut they gave Wraith, they took ten hits head-on. There were only two players that gave him moderately severe injuries, while the rest barely touched him.
All of it couldn't be blamed on their lack of ability. One of the reasons Wraith did so well was due to the knowledge he gained through the battles. With each fight he grew a little bit better at counteracting the sword. Because he was already trained to some degree in combat, he was simply able to put it to better use.
It wasn't enough to take down someone that truly knew the way of the sword, but it was a good starting place. He could use the battles to develop his techniques, which would serve him well in the future. The higher one gets their level, the less effect stats and skills have when facing an equal opponent.
In total, Wraith fought against nineteen warriors that day. After so many fights, he was exhausted. It wasn't the physical exhaustion that came from hard work, but the mental one.
Fighting has been placed on hold for eight hours, after which it will resume once more.
The fact that they got a break was a godsend. Since he didn't have to wait in anticipation of another fight, Wraith could relax and fall deep asleep.
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Wraith woke up with a jolt. There was a bell ringing loudly like an alarm clock. Still disoriented and groggy, it took a while for him to notice the window that popped up before him.
Fighting will resume in one hour. Close the window to turn off the alarm.
Like the message said, once he closed it, the bell shut off immediately. He saw that the other players were also in various stages of waking up. Having closed the window, he took a few moments to stretch and exercise. While it wouldn't do anything for his virtual muscles, he used it to focus his mind and to wake up completely.
He used the time he had left to temporarily log-off and use the restroom. After using the facilities and grabbing a quick bite to eat, he logged back in just a few minutes before the fighting started up again. Just like the day before, the fights were over and done with quickly.
Wraith watched the fights while he waited to be called up. There was a chance he could learn something about fighting from all these players, and if not he could always find some of their weaknesses.
After observing a couple of the battles, he was called up to platform eight. This time his opponent was an archer. It was the type of enemy he wasn't used to fighting against. In fact he had never gone up against one before. Regardless, Wraith was confident that he could win easily.
It wasn't pride or arrogance but simple fact. There was only about twenty metres between them. The archer could only fire three or four times before Wraith came too close for it to be used. Even if he did shoot so many arrows, they would be useless unless they hit Wraith in the vitals.
By its very nature, archery wasn't meant to be used in a one-on-one battle, at least not at such a distance. Archers were sharpshooters, relying on patience and accuracy instead of speed. They were formidable from a distance or in a group, but it was difficult for one to be of use at so close a distance.
As Wraith suspected, this archer wasn't used to using only his own skills to fight. He only managed to fire two arrows before Wraith closed the distance, and they were shot wide. The battle was over within seconds and the archer was dead before he even knew what happened.
That day, Wraith fought three more archers. While they were more skilled than the first one, they still died quickly. When he couldn't dodge the arrows, Wraith took the hit in non-vital areas of the body. It would be painful, but it was still possible to fight with an arrow sticking through his biceps, and that's just what he did.
Like the others, all the archers had the same problem, in that they were helpless at close-range. There was only one archer that took one of her arrows and tried to stab him with it, though it didn't do any good. She was better that the others, in that she shot him in the leg to slow him down first. By that alone she gained enough time to fire three other arrows, one of which drove into his left shoulder and crippled it, while another shot through his right bicep.
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What was surprising was the speed and ease of which she drew and released her arrows, all of them flying true and fast. Most importatnly, they went where she aimed them. It was the smooth grace of a real archer that knew what they were doing. It was something that only serious training could give.
What was even more impressive was that she didn't panic even when Wraith came at her with three arrows stuck in him. That levelheadedness was impressive and vital in a real archer. Up to the very last moment, she fought back with all her might. When she saw it would do her no good, she tossed her bow away and took an arrow in each hand. Using the sharp blade of the arrowhead, she tried to slice Wraith's flesh with it and stab him in the throat and eyes. Unfortunately she wasn't as good at close-combat as she was at archery. Though he still beat her in the end, he had to admit a grudging respect for her ability.
It was so note-worthy that it made Wraith do something he never did before. Talk to another player.
After she stepped off the platform, Wraith followed after her. “Wait up.” From what he saw from the day before, he had at least ten more minutes before the next battle started. “Hi, I'm Wraith.” He was a bit nervous about it, given that he hadn't really talked to an actual player in-game before, and that he kept to himself anyway.
The girl turned around towards him and looked at him for a long moment. “Are you, hitting on me...after actually hitting me?”
“What? No! I was just-”
“Well why not? You don't think I'm attractive?” She cut him off before he had a chance to finish his sentence.
Wraith was quickly getting flustered as his cheeks heated up in embarrassment. He didn't know how to respond to such a question. While his mind was racing trying to think of an appropriate response, he saw that her lips were quirked up into a slight smile.
“You're making fun of me, aren't you?”
“Just a little bit. My name's Robin. So tell me, why did you want to talk to me?”
“Well...” Why did he want to talk to her? He thought for a second about why he did that. “There wasn't any real reason for it. I just thought that you were a good opponent, so I wanted to meet you properly.”
Though he couldn't tell for sure, he thought she was amused by him. “Well I have to admit, you're not so bad yourself. But you should know, if you were another ten metres away from me, I would have made you look like Swiss cheese.”
“I have no doubt that you would have tried to do that. So how did you get to be so good at archery?”
“I practised. I was twelve years old when I picked up a bow for the first time. Until my car accident, I thought I could even go to the Olympics.” Her smile held a hint of bitterness and regret. “Well, on the bright side, at least I don't have to worry about that in Royal Road. It's actually pretty nice to use my archery for something other than hitting a stationary target.”
“I get that. Fighting in tournaments and sparring against other people just doesn't measure up to real combat.”
They talked a bit more for the next several minutes, getting to know each other a little better. They didn't give too much information regarding their personal lives, after all they were still strangers, but they did share their likes and dislikes, as well as their thoughts on Royal Road. It turned out that they were both relatively solitary players. Robin preferred to hunt by herself, avoiding the messy and often uncoordinated teamwork of parties.
“You know, you should really get a dagger or a short-sword.”
“I have a bow, there's no real need for anything else.”
“Have you already forgotten what happened a few minutes ago? If you're fighting by yourself or with only a few other people, eventually the enemies will get too close to you. And what'll you do if you run out of arrows? It's best to at least have it on hand, even if you don't use it that often.”
After glaring at him for a moment, Robin burst into laughter. “Alright, fine, I guess you do have a point there. Oh, it looks like it's my turn to fight again. You know, you're okay. Can I add you to my friend list?”
Robin has requested to register you as a friend. Will you accept?
“Uh, sure.”
Robin has has been registered as a friend.
It was the first time either one of them used the friend function. For Wraith it was because he was isolated by necessity, and for Robin it was by choice.
“Good luck in the fight.”
“You too, I'll catch up with you later.” With that she hurried off to her platform. Wraith was about to follow and see her fight when his own turn came up. With a sigh, he got up and walked to platform seven.
While he wanted to talk to the new friend he just made, the frequent battles didn't give him any time to track her down and talk to her. In the short times between battles, he rested and reflected on his fights. After going against so many different opponents, his fighting style grew more efficient. He quickly discovered that certain attacks were more useful than others.
Using an elbow or a knee on parts of the body like the kidneys, heart and spine did massive damage as well as causing excruciating pain. They were best used to stun the enemy and prepare them for the end. They were a good set-up for his signature move of snapping the neck. Since he didn't have bladed weapons, snapping the neck was the most efficient way to kill someone.
By the end of the second day, he had greatly increased his proficiency at fighting against humanoids. That day alone he fought against twenty-one different people, each with their own style of fighting. As he was thinking about the fights and was getting ready to go to sleep, he received a whisper from Robin.
/Good luck tomorrow./
/You too./ He lay back on the hard stone ground and went to sleep with a smile of contentment on his face.
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The next day was just like the day before. The only difference was the sense of urgency that permeated the cavern. Everyone knew that it was the last day of the test, so they were all on edge. They got an hour less sleep than they did the days before, so that all the battles could finish.
It was fairly obvious that they were setting things up so that each player could fight against every other person in the room. So far Wraith was undefeated, so he just had to keep that streak going.
The first fight that day was against a swordsman. He was quite skilled, managing to give Wraith several cuts and chopping down his health to a quarter before succumbing to Wraith's fists. Then came a harder opponent. For the first time, he was going to have to fight against a mage.
Of all the different classes, mages were the most annoying. Unlike swordsmen who cannot attack from a distance, and archers who cannot attack from nearby, mages can do both. Although they prefer to attack from afar, if need be they do have certain abilities for when an opponent comes too close.
The trademark of a mage was to rain down death from afar and smite the enemy with massive bolts of lightning, pillars of flame, and spears of ice. To counteract those attacks, certain skills are required. It isn’t enough to wear heavy armour, for in some cases the wearer could be cooked inside of it.
Fortunately, the mages in this tournament didn’t have access to those massive spells. Like the warriors, they only had a small number of spells to use, all with reduced power. After observing the different battles, the type of magic and the different spells they had access to were worked out.
Although there were different elements that the mages drew their power from, there were only three spells that each mage had access to. There was the basic attack, such as icicles, fireballs and lightning bolts, long-range summoning like fire or ice rising from the ground, and a status-inducing attack such as freezing, burning or stunning.
In some ways, it was fortunate that the mages were used to one-shot KOs or overwhelming the enemy with power. Because they were used to such powerful spells deciding the battle for them, many of the candidates didn’t use the abilities they had properly.
Just as a good warrior knows when to attack and when to defend, the mages needed to know when each spell had their use. More often than not, they only used their basic attack and neglected the other ones completely. There were only three or four mages that Wraith thought were proficient and respectable.
The first mage he fought against was an earth mage. Unlike the other elements, earth magic wasn’t as popular among the general public. Most mages only found it useful at low levels, after which they would immediately trade up for powerful ice and fire spells.
However, this mage knew how to use the magic he had to its full potential. He used earth spikes in an attempt to corral Wraith towards the quicksand he set up, and then attacked with his earth lance. The combination of attacks were dangerous even for Wraith. Were he to step on the wrong place, he would have been stuck or lamed.
Whenever he was held fast by the quicksand, the only thing he could do was struggle and pull himself out, sometimes taking an attack or two in the process. Before he even got close to the mage, his health was down to about twenty percent.
This was because he used the quicksand as not only a way of holding him in place, but also to create an opening for his attacks. The pits of quicksand only appeared for about thirty seconds and were only a metre wide in diameter, but when placed in the right area, they forced Wraith to jump over or go around them. That was the prime moment for the other two spells to be cast. There were several times when he had to jump over the pit, only to see needles of stone shoot out of the ground and lance towards him. Since he couldn't dodge in that state, all he could do was protect his vitals.
He was bleeding out and steadily losing Hp, so all he could do was charge forward and punch the mage right in the throat. By breaking his windpipe, not only did it make it hard to breathe, but it prevented him from speaking as well. This bought him some time, since incantations were almost vital for casting spells. Although it was possible for it to be done by thought or gesture alone, they were complex and difficult to master. In fact, for tier two spells and up, it was impossible to cast them without the incantation.
Before he could recover or use his staff as a club, Wraith hit him with a high kick to the temple. It was hard to do given the nature of his injuries, so he had to use his injured foot to kick him with. After a few more blows while he was lying on the ground, Wraith managed to kill the mage with six percent of his Hp remaining.
Before the exhaustion had the time to set in and he bled out from his wounds, his condition was returned to normal. Since it was one of his most formidable opponents, he waited for him to respawn before going over to meet him. It seemed that the mage had the same idea as him, as he was waiting for Wraith to come for him. When he walked over, the mage introduced himself.
“I'm Gandelf, earth mage extraordinaire. I thought I had you until the end there.” He bowed grandly as he introduced himself, managing to somehow make even the cheap clothes they all wore seem majestic. “Since I was freed by Gaea and learnt the arts of manipulating earth and stone, never before have I fallen in battle. For that I thank you, I've learnt a lot during our fight.”
“Uhh, okay then, you're welcome?” Wraith was baffled at his manner of speaking. Although he was a player, Gandelf had the odd way of talking like an NPC. “So why are you talking like that, and isn't your name supposed to be Gandalf? If you don't mind me asking.”
“No worries friend, I've been asked that many a time before. The truth of the matter is that this is but one of my guises. In the other realm I am a faceless student, wandering the hallways of anonymity, yet here I am Gandelf, he who makes mountains tremble and canyons collapse! As to why I call myself by this name? It's because I've heard it said that in the other realm, Gandalf was a great and noble mage, and in his honour I have taken it for my own. Yet by taking his name as is, I would do him a great dishonour, for I am not worthy call myself by such a name. And I'm an elf.”
So you're basically a hardcore role-player, got it. Well, at least he seems harmless enough. “Right then, I'm Wraith.”
“Wraith, the name of a rogue and a scoundrel. Good sir are you a villain that skulks in the night and blows out the flames of life of the unsuspecting, or do you make away with the precious jewels of nobility?”
It took a second for Wraith to figure out what Gandelf was asking of him. “No, I'm not an assassin or a thief, I'm just a fighter.”
He almost seemed disappointed at that. “A shame, it would have been rather intriguing. All the 'dark' classes that I've encountered made the unfathomable decision to follow the path of light. Imagine that, an assassin famous for doing good deeds. Those men and women lack the soul and vision of their chosen professions.”
Wraith sighed and decided to throw him a bone. “Look, I don't know if this counts, but I'm not exactly liked by the church or most other people on the continent. I guess it's because I side with monsters instead of men.”
Gandelf's mouth split into a wide grin that extended past the boundaries of the mask. “Splendid! A fellow traveller on the path of darkness. Your tale is far more interesting than mine, I should like to hear it one time. May I call upon you and count you among my companions should the need arise?”
Gandelf has requested to register you as a friend. Will you accept?
Wraith sighed but had a smile on his face. “Alright. At least things will be interesting around you.”
Gandelf has has been registered as a friend.
“Farewell my good man, the next duel awaits.” With that he hurried off to one of the other platforms. Wraith watched him go while chuckling to himself about the strange new friend he had made.
After that fight, the rest of the day wasn't as interesting. Some of the other mages were quite skilled in their own right, but they didn't measure up to Gandelf. There was the ice mage that he saw on the first day, but even he was a bit rough and unpolished as compared to Gandelf. There were a few other swordsmen that Wraith fought against as well that day, but they weren't too much of a hassle.
There were twenty opponents that Wraith fought against that day, each one unique and different. From what he could tell, he had fought against every single candidate there and had remained victorious. As a result, he was almost certainly guaranteed to pass the test and get the job.
It appeared that both Robin and Gandelf were also basically guaranteed a spot as well. Robin only had three losses, and Gandelf only had one. They had all finished their battles ahead of the others and were waiting for the last fights to wrap up.
Wraith introduced the two of them to each other and they seemed to have struck up a friendship. After all, even with his odd manner of speaking it was impossible to dislike Gandelf. Part of the reason was because they were so close together in age. At twenty-two Gandelf was the oldest among them. Having just finished university he was looking for a good job when he stumbled upon this one, similar to how Wraith was drawn in.
Robin on the other hand was asked to try-out based on her previous athletic achievements. There were several other people like her that was asked to join the test based on their talents. All of them were either athletes who were forced to retire due to injuries, or they had already made a name for themselves in-game.
Like Wraith, Robin was one of the youngest participants in the test, only about two years older than himself. They all quickly grew closer, as they found that they had several things in common. In-game they had morally ambiguous characters and were solitary players.
Robin was an explorer and a hunter, roaming the plains and forests by herself in search of adventure. Gandelf, as suggested by his odd manner of speaking, had a more interesting story.
“The blasted kingdom of Jotundall exiled me, promising my execution should I return!”
Wraith was curious what he did to merit such a harsh punishment. It would have had to be extremely serious, but not quite as serious as treason or murder. “So what did you do exactly?”
“Nothing. All I did was use the old bones of some of their mages in a ceremony, and they label me a necromancer and a demonologist. Absolutely ridiculous. After all, there's no possible way for me to learn the magic of raising the departed. Well, not yet anyway.”
“Wait I can understand necromancer, but why a demonologist?” Robin asked of him.
“Well you see, the ceremony I performed was used to summon the presence of The Lady.”
“Who?” Wraith asked curiously.
“She's one of the Goddesses of Darkness that rules in the Underworld. She's holds dominion of the darkest sorts of magic, as well as knowledge that has been lost for ages.”
Wraith stared at Gandelf. “Isn't that a tad worse than calling a demon?”
“Well, they certainly thought so. I say, it wasn't as if I sacrificed a child to her, and it wasn't as if anyone was using the bones I took.” Gandelf snorted in disgust. “Mages are supposed to learn and experiment, they shouldn't be restricted by such petty things like public opinion. Still, on the bright side I did get what I wanted.”
“And what was it that you wanted?” Robin asked him.
“You see, that was a step in a quest bequeathed upon me by a mysterious and powerful mage. Should I complete the quest, I shall obtain power that those fools in Jotundall wouldn't even dare to dream of. I shall cease being a common mage and become an unstoppable force of power. The only thing I need to do is follow The Lady's directive once I return to Versailles.”
“Well. Good luck on that whole unstoppable power thing.” Wraith tried to say this as blandly as he could, but he couldn't keep a straight face while saying it. Gandelf opened his mouth to respond, when the last battle came to an end. Almost immediately after the defeated player respawned, Jacob turned up once more. As before, his avatar hung in the air, looming above the players.
“Well, I guess this is it. Good luck you two, we'll see each other later.” Wraith said his goodbyes to his new-found friends before turning to look at Jacob.
“I know that the past two weeks, four for some of you, were quite difficult. However, you should be proud. You all finished the last trial. Now all that's left is for us to decide for ourselves which of you made the cut. In a few moments you'll be teleported back to where you were initially taken from. We'll let you know about the results in about an hour. Please stay in your rooms until you're called. Transportation has already been prepared for you so I suggest you pack up quickly when you leave the capsule. The capsules will go offline after fifteen minutes of in-game time, so you should log-off by then. Ah, before I forget.”
Quest Complete!
Treasure-Hunter
The objects you have found in this giant cavern have been appraised and identified.
Quest rewards
A Gold Star
“The results of the quest will be taken into account for determining who among you passed. Now I know that a Gold Star isn't exactly something to cheer about, but this one's special. You can take a look at it when you get back. Thank you for participating and regardless of what happens, I hope you still enjoy playing Royal Road.”
Light engulfed every single player in the room, and they were taken away.