CHAPTER XXIX: HALO
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TRIAL TIME 13:36
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WANCHI
CLYDE
They walked for another four hours before entering another zone. Even with Clyde’s stats, it was a brutal pace. The Island was beyond massive it was probably the size of Australia. This made a lot of sense because it would have been conquered a long if it was the size of Tobago.
He read the new zone prompt.
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< YOU HAVE ENTERED A RARE MANA ZONE >
{Respawns are active again.}
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Princess Maria led the party down a well-traveled path through a lush, beautiful forest. Waterfalls of all kinds peppered the area, causing a constant wet mist to permeate the whole zone. Clyde had contemplated asking Peck Joy about the faith tab, but frankly, he wasn’t too excited about it. But it seems he found another path to power, the path of deities. He smiled. ‘Soto is always going to call me a cheater.” He chuckled, shaking his head.
The trees around them were tall, like hundreds of meters tall. They were almost perfectly placed, like the whole area was designed more than being formed naturally. He absently thought that magic was the new natural. “This place is really amazing.” The Colonel said when he saw the first of many floating Islands off in the distance where the waterfalls were ‘falling’ upwards.
Princess Maria smiled at the Colonel from next to Gunther. “The Council lifted these Islands hundreds of years ago. They are our scouting outposts, allowing for long-range reconnaissance and communication.”
“They are also where the Council lorded over the people,” Sheela said.
“Sheela!” The princess admonished. “They aren’t that bad.”
Everyone flatly looked at her, including Clyde, who had already heard so many stories on their journey away from the battlefield.
“Okay, they are at times.” She conceded, looking wearily at the Colonel.
Colonel realized something about his surroundings. He could feel it differently. He thought back to when he felt it at first, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. Once they entered the waterfalls’ mist of Wanchi, the feeling spiked. Every droplet of water that floated near him, every wet leaf that he passed by, every slick rock with moss on it, he could feel them all.
He had been organizing his thoughts on the walk, enjoying the majestic views and curious creatures. He was also cleaning up his notification page.
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< STEEL PAN MELODY >
{YOU HAVE GAINED A TITLE}
TITLE NAME: Progenitor
TITLE TIER: Ascendent(Non-Upgradable)
DESCRIPTION: For creating a new race of players, and the first-ever Nascent race, you have gained this title.
TITLE EFFECT: Automatic upgrades to all strongholds.
World First EFFECT: Immortality.
Game First EFFECT: Active Presence
RARE BONUS: Shared power
PLATINUM BONUS: Stat gain; +4 to all stat expect magic times tier per level
DIAMOND BONUS: Magic Stat gain: +1 per tier(Retroactive)
EPIC BONUS: UNLOCKED at Tier 10
LEGENDARY BONUS: LOCKED
RUNIC BONUS: UNLOCKED at completion of Road to RUNIC quest.
MYSTIC BONUS: LOCKED
ANCIENT BONUS: LOCKED
ETERNAL BONUS: LOCKED
ASCENDANT BONUS: LOCKED
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The Colonel had already seen the immortality prompt and hadn’t really looked beyond it until now. He had seen the power of a World First effect, and he believed that a Game First Reward would be even more powerful. He didn’t even want to tell the mermaids about it. He was beginning to figure out some things about the Game that were true for him but not for everyone else.
Reading through the Tooltips put more truth to that fact. He was just different from other players.
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< TOOL TIP >
< GAME FIRST REWARD >
{Ability NAME: Active Presence(Active/Triggered)
Ability Level: MAX
Everything in the GREAT GAME has a Presence. From the smallest rock to the mightiest of wyverns, a Presence is a part of every entity. The Presence is the magic within everything and how it all connects. A Presence grows denser as someone ages and grows in power. For all things in the multiverse, the Presence is a constant, while there are skills and Abilities to read them and or hide them. They are just a constant representation of one's power; the higher a player's power, the heavier their fully relaxed Presence can be. Most have some control over how dense they can and would not make it, but not much other than that.
You are a different case, Legacy. For creating a Nascent race, the first ever created in the GREAT GAME, you have full control over your Presence(Not just making it lighter or denser). All information that enters your Presence helps you see the world around you without having to look directly at it. You can manipulate your Presence anyway you like as long as the total volume stays the same. Active Cost: 100 mana per second per tier.
MAX EFFECT:
Significant chance of instantly gaining information from anything that enters your Presence. Your Presence grows denser and bigger with Tier, stats gains, and followers.}
< GAME FIRST NOTE >
{Game First rewards are broken, period. Find ways to exploit them and make the game more fun for us all.
LIVE WELL or DIE FREE.
Let the games begin.}
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Colonel’s mouth was dry again, reading the Game's first reward. The GREAT GAME had to be around for trillions of years. How could he be first at anything? His mind was spinning, but he still went on. He was not one to dwell on world-changing, or in this case, game-changing events. Clyde was great at compartmentalizing his issues. Some may say he was too good at it, which is why he wasn’t a great father to his only daughter after he lost his wife. He shook those thoughts off. ‘Focus Jake!’ He looked at the other bonuses.
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RARE BONUS:
Shared power: Companions, Teammates, and your people gain a potion of your bonus powers. They will all level faster and have better chances at more unique Specialization choices of Classers, Unique Trade Choices for Professionals, and Unique Skill Effects for Skill-trees. This can be retroactive for the player who has already made it to the peak of power.
PLATINUM BONUS:
Stat gain: +4 to all stat except magic times tier per level.
DIAMOND BONUS:
Magic Stat gain: +1 per tier(Retroactive)
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Colonel winced at remembering the Diamond bonus.
His Presence was Active now. He would have to experiment, but not now. Everything he did seemed to be world-shattering to his new people, and he didn’t want to break them on the first day. He looked at the other bonuses and completely forgot about one of the first quests he received in the GREAT GAME. While he was looking at it, he checked out his other Quest that had been updated.
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EPIC BONUS:
UNLOCKED at Tier 10
LEGENDARY BONUS: LOCKED
RUNIC BONUS:
UNLOCKED at the completion of the Road to RUNIC quest.
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< QUEST >
{Quest Name: Road to RUNIC
Quest Type: RUNIC (World)
Description: Your world is new and, as such, has many directions to go, many paths to walk, and many options to take advantage of. But that is not your concern. Your concern is POWER. Power beyond that which anyone on this growing Celestial body can even fathom. Powers beyond even that of the LAWs. But you must seek it nonetheless because without a world becoming RUNIC, it is susceptible to being lost to history. Know this one truth of the multiverse. Legends can be lost to time, but RUNEs are indestructible.
Requirements: Increase the average level of Players on your world’s Mortal Realm to tier 4. (T-1)
Protect the Legacies.(13/7)
Prevent tyranny.(50%)
The time limit is 1000 years.
Temporary bonus: Universal translator. (Speech-craft paused.)
Rewards: Permanently cement your place in your world's history. Learn RUNEs. Earn the path to immortality.
Failure: Being lost to history and Unknown}
< ALERT >
{YOU CAN NOT REFUSE THIS QUEST AS A LEGACY; AS SUCH NEITHER CAN YOUR SOUL BROTHER}
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< QUEST UPDATED >
{Quest Name: The Adventurers Guild I
Quest Type: Legendary+(MULTIVERSE)
Description:Adventurers are the players of THE GREAT GAME that live the game as real life. Even when all signs point to the game being real life, adventurers ignore that silly thing called logic, and lean into living in the moment. What is the sense in caring if its real anyway, its all an Adventure!
Objective: Become a hero(Complete)
Objective: Save 100 or more people(144/100)(Complete)
Objective: Complete 10 events(12/10)(Complete)
Objective: Clear 3 Dungeons(1/3)
Objective: Get 3 Powers to Expert(1/3)
Time limit: None
Temporary bonus: Tier disparity bypass.
Rewards: Adventurers Guild title, signet ring, salary, and four horsemen QUEST line.
Failure: None}
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This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
< QUEST UPDATED >
{Quest Name: The SOURCE
Quest Type: TRANSCENDENT (MULTIVERSE)
Description: The mysteries of the GREAT GAME are numerous, but their is only one Source. The Alpha Phoenix will rise again soon...???
Objectives:???
Time limit: None.
Temporary bonus: Increase the frequency of High Tier EVENTs, QUEST, and rewards.
Rewards: ???
Failure: ??? True death for all of your bloodline and teammates’ bloodline.}
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A lot had changed. He needed to clear two more Dungeons and upgrade two more of his ‘powers’ to Expert. Both of these could be something he worked on once he got out of the trial. He couldn’t wait to get back to the real world to relax and maybe go fishing or something. He was tired of fighting already. Maybe he would be able to do some base building or something.
He didn’t even want to think about his Transcendent Quest update. It was problematic before he could read it, and now that he could read some of it, he sensed that it was going to be ridiculous for sure. The temporary bonus was dope and answered why his rewards were so powerful.
But it was Road to Runic Quest that had him a little stumped. ‘How do I get everyone in the world to an average of Tier 4?’ He thought. ‘The only way I can think of is by leading them and creating an environment for them to grow, build, and excel.’ He was sure there were other ways, and he would have to ask Peck Joy and the other knowledgeable mermaids about the best way to get the Quest requirements cleared.
The Colonel knew that he would have to lead by example. He was a little disappointed with himself on how he handled Gunther. Not for killing him. He knew he would be resurrected, but for making him suffer. Suffering is a part of life, but Colonel never wanted to add to the suffering of others unless that suffering made them stronger, but that is called tempering.
He understood that struggle was normal in life and the Game wasn’t going to give his people very many layups. He used to watch Nat Geo as a kid and saw an episode once of the life cycle of a larva becoming a butterfly, one has to struggle out of their cocoon in order to have the strength to fly.
The Colonel was going to build an environment where players could grow and struggle together. He knew humans were at their best when they were focused on a mutually beneficial project and healthy competition. His plans were starting to form.
He looked at his people as they walked. They weren’t ones to fill the silence with idle chit-chat. Them being in their second and third century of life put a lot into perspective. The quiet said a lot.
As someone ages, the less they need people. It is subtle at first; sometimes, it manifests in a bad attitude to things that hadn’t ever bothered the person before. Sometimes, it was the opposite; things that used to bother you no longer affected you because you found peace. But most importantly, as people get older they start valuing their own thoughts more.
At around forty for humans, they realize that time will keep marching on no matter how good or bad of a day you are having, and you can either ride the wave, or fight it. Both options have merit.
This attitude seemed to be ramped up even more by a long-lived race like the mermaids. They would not say a thing for thirty minutes at a time, often only to talk about scanning their sectors.
Clyde saw what looked like a stingray ‘swimming’ through the mist towards them before two of the Princess teammates peeled off and ran to kill it. The fight had taken a long time, and the Colonel was beginning to see why everyone looked at him as an outlier.
Beasts and monsters were supposed to be tough to kill, especially as they tiered up. He had Analyzed the creature before they could kill it and was not impressed with his people’s fighting ability.
‘It doesn’t seem that strong.’ He thought.
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< ANALYZE >
{Beast Name: Mist Manta Ray
Beast type: Ray
Level:58
HP:18,000/90,000
MP:50/500
DR:0/30000
Highest ATTRIBUTES:
Physical; Dexterity
Mental; Charisma
Bane: Fire Damage
Weaknesses: lack of mist
Description: Rays are water-affinity beasts that come in many shapes and sizes. Mist Manta Rays are the largest species of out-of-the-ocean rays. They can grow to a wing span or fin span of 100 meters. They are fast for their size and have potent mist and water-based attacks, being more of a caster than a melee fighter like their other brethren. Mist Manta Rays’ stingers are not barbed like other rays. Instead it is hollow and funnel water through it into a cutting weapon.
EFFECTS: Semi Cripple. Bleeding, Internal bleeding.}
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The beast was on its last leg as the two mermaids kited it. They had used all their spells and Skills and were just keeping it busy until it bled out.
Clyde’s thoughts started to slow down as he observed the thrilling conclusion to the fight, and he knew something was very, very wrong.
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< ABILITY LEVEL UP >
{Ability NAME: Legacy Perception(PASSIVE/TOGGLE/TRIGGERED)
Ability Level: Apprentice 9
Description: The ability to see the legacy’s surroundings like never before. This perception allows the Legacy to know where all the pieces on the game board are as long as he has observed a similar type of enemy, ally, and neutral party. This Perception can be toggled on to see things he couldn’t see such as skills being used as well as a plethora of other applications.
STUDENT EFFECT: Instinctually feel the flow of battle beyond what the legacy can see with his eyes alone, synergizing all bonuses, skills, and senses and quantifying it in his HUD. Range: 40 meters per level of ability
NOVICE EFFECT: Slows time when the ability is toggled. Time continues to slow to a crawl while Active Presence is toggled on.
Cost: 100 Mana per second
APPRENTICE EFFECT: You can look forward in time and see how your current actions will play out. (Be advised if you change one action the future could change as well.) Information can be shared with Teammates within 100 meters per Ability Level.
Cost 300MP. Cool down: 1 common period. (6D:8H:43m)}
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Clyde created an Ice Shard, pumping a good bit of Mana into it, and launched it into the sky just as the Manta Ray’s tail whipped around, glowing with glyphs on it, and blasted a concentrated water ability at one of the mermaids who was shocked by the speed of the wounded creature.
His head became a bloody mist at the sheer power of the attack, cutting it into a thousand pieces in an instant. Peck Joy tried to heal him, but the man died so fast that the spell chant was too slow and dissipated in his hands since he no longer had a target.
The second mermaid was not prepared for the death of her teammate and panicked. She used her escape-style tattoo that glowed on her legs through her armor. Her speed increased tenfold. As she made to move a line of water from the Mist, Manta Ray’s tail cut off one of her legs, causing her to scream in pain and fall over with momentum that she couldn’t control. She rolled to a stop, unconscious.
The others were on alert and ready to defend themselves but hadn’t moved to defend their battle buddies yet. The Colonel toggled on Slow Halo as he put his hand on Kekere’s head, then quick-stepped to the Mist Manta Rays' back by its dangerous tail.
The Novice effect of his perception ability was still going as everything moved in slow motion, and his Mana fell at 100MPs per second. He assessed everything as his Mana ticked down.
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{CLASS G-SPELL NAME: Grand Slow Halo (Active/Toggle)
SPELL LEVEL: Student 0
SPELL EFFECT: When any enemy enters a certain range of the Advance Warlord+, the Warlord and his allies gain +2 Dexterity per enemy. In addition, any enemies in Halo have their attack speed reduced by -2%+CL (where CL is Class Level).
Halo range: 100 meters radius from Advance Warlord. Cast time: 5 seconds. Cost: 3 mana per second. Duration: until out of Mana or toggled off. Cool down: none. Requirements: Chant, be part of a team or party with at least one other member within range
STUDENT EFFECT: Spell can be used without allies at 25% effectiveness. (50% on targets higher Tier than you.)}
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At class level 20 the speed of the Ray was slowed by almost a quarter. Even so, Colonel could see that the slow alone was not going to be enough to help the last mermaid, so he activated his other halos in succession. His Mana Sight showed him the colors of his Halos overlap in his vision.
“Death Halo!” Dark purple energy rippled out of him.
“Regeneration Halo!” Light green energy followed the purple.
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{CLASS G-SPELL NAME: Greater Death Halo (Active/Toggle)
SPELL LEVEL: Student 9
(Skill Quest: Kill a tier 5 beast in your halo while protecting your allies)
SPELL EFFECT: When any enemy within a certain range of the Warlord+ is killed by the warlord and/or allies, the player regains +1%HP, +1%MP, and adds .1+CL(Where CL is Class level) to DR for him and closest allies in addition, any enemies in the Halo take an additional 10%+I (where I is intelligence) damage.
Halo range: 10-meter radius per level from Warlord. Cast time: 5 seconds. Cost: 10 mana per second. Duration: until out of mama or toggled off. Cool down: 120 seconds. Requirements: chant, be part of a team or party with at least one other member within range.
STUDENT EFFECT: The Spell can be used without allies at 25% effectiveness. (50% on targets higher Tier than you.)}
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As the second Halo ramped up, Clyde activated his third Halo, which was an instant cast, thankfully. In his Mana Sight, he can see them stretch out to their own individual ranges.
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{CLASS G-SPELL NAME: Minor Regeneration Halo (Active/Toggle)
SPELL LEVEL: Student 9
(Skill Quest: Save 10 players from death by stabilizing them in your Halo. (0/10))
SPELL EFFECT: Regeneration (Toggle): Accelerate the regeneration of other creatures.
Halo range: 2 meters radius per level from Warlord. Cast time: Instant. Cost: 1 Mana per 5 seconds. Duration: until out of mana or toggled off. Cool down: None. Requirements: chant, be part of a team or party with at least one other member within range.
STUDENT EFFECT: The Spell can be used without allies at 25% effectiveness. (50% on targets higher Tier than you.)}
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Kekere flew off his shoulder and pecked at the Mist Manta Ray‘s tail, causing the shot of water to barely miss the hurt Mermaid, leaving behind a bloody line across her frightened face.
Clyde had to prepare his Bombardment Spell in advance, and it had paid off. As Kekere flew away, explosive frozen fire projectiles crashed into the flying beast with concussive force.
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{CLASS G-SPELL NAME: Lesser Bombardment (Active/Toggle)
SPELL LEVEL: Student 0
SPELL EFFECT: The Warlord+ fires into the air, after 5 seconds the rounds come down with explosive results. Each round of the bombardment does 10%+CL weapon damage.
Round count: 100. Range: 260 meters to 1000 meters. Cast time: 10 seconds. Cost: 250 mana. Duration: 15 seconds. Cool down: 1 hour. Area of Effect: 500 meters. Requirements: chant, range weapon, be part of a team or party with at least one other member within range
STUDENT EFFECT: Burning: Any enemies struck twice by the spell have a 10% chance of burning, which increases with each consecutive hit.}
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Every other hit caused burning, crippling the Manta ray even more. It crashed into the ground when its wing burned off.
The Colonel Analyzed it.
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< ANALYZE >
{Beast Name: Mist Manta Ray
Beast type: Ray
Level:58
HP:800/90000
MP:0/500
DR:0/30000
Highest ATTRIBUTES:
Physical; Dexterity
Mental; Charisma
Bane: Fire Damage
Weaknesses: lack of mist
Description: Ray are water affinity beasts that come in many shapes and sizes. Mist Manta Rays are the largest species of out-of-the-ocean rays. They can grow to a wing span or fin span of 100 meters, they are fast for their size and have potent mist attacks, being more of a caster than a melee fighter. Mist Manta Rays’ stinger is not barbed like other rays, instead it is hollow and funnel water through it into a cutting weapon.
EFFECTS: Semi Cripple. Bleeding, Internal bleeding. Frostbite, Burning.}
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The combination attack broke the Manta Ray finally. Clyde looked over his prompts as he saw the remaining Mermaid fighter heal from the Regeneration Halo Effect.
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< BATTLE LOG >
{Level 58 Mist Manta Ray has died EXP +116,000}
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The EXP was superfluous at this point, but it felt great to use his spells and level up some of his powers.
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< ABILITY LEVEL UP >
{ABILITY NAME: Mana Sight(Passive)
ABILITY LEVEL: Novice 9
ABILITY DESCRIPTION: The ability to see the flow of mana in the world, which includes creatures and beings. Being able to see the flow of mana gives the Specialists a better understanding of their environment. Levels when seeing new types and uses of mana.
STUDENT EFFECT: See high concentrations of all mana types.
NOVICE EFFECT: Get basic idea of what the mana is being used for.}
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< SPELL LEVEL UP >
{CLASS G-SPELL NAME: Greater Ice Shard (Active)
SPELL LEVEL: APPRENTICE 5
SPELL EFFECT: Create a shard of ice the length of a long sword.
Cast Time: Instant Cost: 1 mana. Damage: 30 for every level of the spell + I and 5% chance of slow per level of the spell. Range: 20 meters per level of the spell. Cool down: None. Requirements: Chant and hand gestures.
STUDENT EFFECT: Use extra mana to enlarge the shard to do AOE damage.
NOVICE EFFECT: Shard has a Minor chance for more perpetrating power per level of spell.
APPRENTICE EFFECT: Slight chance of freezing.}
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His command over the Ice shard was becoming more fluid, not even needing to throw with his hands anymore. His Mana Sight was very similar to his Trade Sight, but was more about Mana movement than identifying creations and durability.
He looked at the Trial Objectives since they had been updated. He wanted to finish this Trial quickly so he wasn’t stuck in a Dungeon within a Dungeon forever. His life was getting out of hand. But he was going to take the time to learn about the GREAT GAME while he was here.
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< DUNGEON COMPLETION OBJECTIVE LIST >
{1. Make a Stronghold.
2. Win the war.
3. Gain access to the respawn system. (Complete)
4. Choose a side in conflict. (Mermaid side)
5. Solve the puzzle.
6. Face the final boss.
7. Don’t Die more than once.}
{100% Completion Bonus is a rank upgrade.}
< 25% Completion >
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“Why didn’t any of you help?” Colonel asked after about another two hours of walking and thinking.
Peck Joy was about to answer when Princess Maria beat him to it. “It is tradition.”
“What is Tradition?” Clyde asked her, confused. They were way inside of the mist now, and everyone was more relaxed. A few more Manta Rays probed them, but Colonel killed them all while he thought about how they handled themselves. Each time, they would only send two people to fight the massive Rays, but it was always the same two people, the youngest ones, and no one ever helped them outside of healing afterward or saving them from a brutal death if they could but mostly failing at that.
“We believe the young must die first to truly become warriors. One must know the consequences of death in order to be great.” The princess said with pride.
“That sounds wasteful,” Clyde said.
“You just killed a Mermaid to prove a point.” The Princess deadpanned.
“Fair enough.” The Colonel walked up to Gunter. “I am sorry for taking my rage and confusion out on you, Cavalier Gunther.” He offered the mermaid his hand to shake. “Thank you for being a good sport about it.”
Gunter held Colonel’s hand and kissed it. It took everything in him to not just pull away. People’s customs were not always your own.
“My lord, you may kill me any time. I am blessed by your ETERNAL power.” Gunther said with zeal in his big, bright eyes.
“Enough of that.” Clyde pulled the bowing man up. “I do not own your life.” He looked at all of them. “None of you will ever be owned again. Freedom is a word we throw around a lot in my world. But we know it is an illusion. At any time, some entity with more power could come to take what is yours. You can be killed for just having a dollar more than the next guy, sometimes even less. Freedom is just another word for peace in my society. If you are a peaceful country, or at least if you are not fighting wars within your own lands, you have freedom.” He smiled.
“Until today, I didn’t understand, but I get it now. The strong and powerful can make their own rules in this new world, so the only way to prevent evil or tyranny from rising is to make everyone strong, make sure we are all on the same page, and that everyone contributes to the building and maintenance of society. I don’t deify anyone or thing, and neither should you, as you have already seen, gods have many flaws. But I will promise you. That I will make you strong. As long as you watch my back, I will protect your front.” He held out a Pink glowing Mana Stone in his left hand as he pulled Gunter to his feet.
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1 Perfect Platinum Mana Stone(Equal to 1,000,000 Platinum mana Crystal (1/1,000)
Rare Bonus: Times 3 for mental Attributes
Platinum Bonus: Adds plus 4% per level to any skill that uses Mental Stats.}
{Item Name: Platinum Mana Crystal
Item Type: Consumable, Ingredient
1/1000 ratio on Mana Pool 10 uses daily.
1/1 ratio on XP 10 uses per level.
100/1 ratio on Attributes 10 uses per attribute per level
Mana crystal can be used by Any Class and for many different rituals, Activities, and Skills. It can be used to refill your Mana Pool but that is the most basic use of mana Crystals and has major debuffs if overused. They are the currency of The GREAT GAME.}
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“All eyes in the mist were on the glowing crystal that shined white with sunlight reflected off of it.” The Narrator began. “Gunter and all of the Mermaids look at the Mana Stone with the understanding that it could be used for a million EXP, which would get most players at least a Tier of power, or ten thousand Stat points, which would make Gunter the most powerful Mermaid currently in pure attributes, it could even be used to power a permanent formation for decades even centuries if tweaked. Factions would fight wars over an item like this.”
A horn blasted through the mist, clearing it away with a ripple of sound Mana that could be seen through Colonel’s Mana Sight. As it cleared, a valley was revealed, and Clyde’s breath caught in his chest at the view.
Waterfalls of all kinds cover the sprawling valley. They flowed in all directions, and Mermaids could be seen swimming through each of them like they were commuting to work at high speeds on a 3D highway.
The patterns seemed random, but as the Colonel looked on he could see that it was seamless. Each water path looped back around and had magical off-and-on ramps.
The crown jewel was the palace in the middle. It was the size of a city with seven large spires equally placed apart. The entire structure was made completely out of what looked like glass. It shone in the sunlight like a beacon of hope for the mermaid people.
They had arrived at the Capital city, Wanchi.