“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”

Michelangelo

The massive blade of ice and stone fragments struck the back of the harpy’s neck, lodging half-way through and severing its spine. It gave a final, feeble squawk as it plummeted out of the air.

Milly – drenched in sweat and bleeding from half a dozen wounds after the frantic fight – teleported beside its head and slammed her Obsidian Fists into the monster’s skull. Bone shattered as the blow dislodged its head from its body and sent it soaring off into the distance. The headless remains crashed into the mountain next to the half-dozen other corpses that had fallen to Milly that afternoon.

“There…,” breathed Milly, utterly exhausted. “Was that unique enough this time? No traps. A cool Ice-sickle. Come on, give this to me…”

Congratulations! You have defeated Talon Strike Harpy x 1.

You have been awarded 100,000 experience points.

You have leveled up and received a general talent point and a class talent point.

You have reached level 40. Mastery-level magics have been unlocked. Next tier talents have been unlocked.

Items Received: Harpy feather x 5, Harpy talon x 2, Harpy-hunter bracelet

Gold: 15,400

“Finally!” Milly exclaimed as she landed on the mountain. Exhausted, she didn’t even try to stick the landing this time. She hit the stone and slumped down, panting as she tried to catch her breath. Her legs and arms burned from hours of exertion and her magic was dangerously low.

She hissed in pain as she sat up, her wounds bleeding onto the rocks beneath her. She used what little magic she could spare to stem the blood, but she didn’t dare use more, lest she no longer have the magic to ascend back up the mountain.

“No sense waiting,” Milly decided, as she opened the talent web and spent her general talent point on Regeneration (advanced).

The sense of relief was immediate, as if she’d just settled into a warm bath. The soreness in her muscles began to immediately fade, and her wounds started to close. She even felt her magic recovery accelerate.

Curious, Milly pulled up the description for her new advanced talent.

Regeneration (advanced)

Survive the battle, and you’ll live to fight another one.

At advanced level, Regeneration greatly speeds up all recovery outside of battle. Muscle fatigue and minor wounds heal in minutes. Major wounds will be healed in a few hours, though life-threatening wounds still require intervention. The player will recover faster from disease and illness, and magical regeneration is accelerated by 50% outside battle. The aging process is slowed by 50%, effectively extending the natural lifespan of the player.

Milly’s eyes grew wide with surprise as she read that final benefit.

Wait… wait, wait, wait. Holy shit, it extends my life! If that’s the advanced level, what happens when it reaches master level?

Milly grew giddy as she pictured centuries of life beside Calista, but the elation faded as quickly as it came.

But… that only matters if we survive the God Contest, something that seems more impossible as the contest goes on. So don’t get ahead of yourself Milly. Stay focused.

“The magic regeneration will help with that,” Milly added, already feeling her magic reserves quickly refilling. “It’ll be under an hour before I’m back at full strength. Next, the bracelet.”

Harpy-Hunter Bracelet

She who conquers the skies knows no equal!

The owner of this bracelet has fought her way past the aerial predators of the world and emerged victorious. In addition to the +10 increase to both agility and strength, the player receives the Aerial Combat (beginner) talent, which increases damage dealt to flying monsters by 20%.

“First new equipment I’ve received in a while,” Milly said gratefully, slipping on the bracelet. “And it’s a good one. Now, onto the real reason I fought all afternoon.”

Milly added her four attribute points to magic, pushing her base over seventy-five. She scrolled to the Elemental talent web, zoomed in on Air Magic (master), and, her hands trembling with excitement, locked in her choice.

Her vision exploded in white light as her new talent took hold, bombarding her mind with the knowledge from her first magic mastery. It felt like when she’d earned Salem’s Fury – a short but intense surge of power that entered her blood and flooded every corner of her body.

Milly fell to her knees, overwhelmed, and took a deep breath to calm herself.

The magical vacuum created by her breath caused a car-sized boulder to rip away from the mountain and launch straight towards her.

“Shit!” Milly swore. Channeling her teleportation, she disappeared right before the boulder struck her. She reappeared twenty feet above it, and watched the slab careened down the mountain, shattering into fragments as it bounced its way down the slopes towards the jungle.

“Woah, that was…”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Milly fell silent. She was twenty feet in the air, but she wasn’t falling. Instinctively, she’d created a sheet of air beneath her that was churning so quickly it kept her aloft.

This isn’t like the imprecise blasts of air that let me fly like a rocket. This is so much more refined. I wonder if I can control it.

Milly drew upon her new power, willing the churning air to surround her. Like a thin, invisible film, it spread over her legs and chest before encasing her arms, neck, and head. She had to make some slight adjustments as she went – a secondary, gentler current that let her breath, void zones for her eyes, and stabilizing winds for her neck – but it was surprisingly easy to control.

As instinctual as… well… breathing.

It was night and day compared to the advanced magic. The air felt like an extension of herself, as if it were a willing partner rather than something she needed to command.

Milly stared at the peak of the mountain and knew her stone escalator had just become an outdated mode of transportation. She grew giddy.

“Let’s see what this magic can do,” she whispered, launching herself off the sheet of air and soaring into the sky.

A giggle of pure elation escaped Milly as she flew through the sky, propelled by the film of air around her. She dipped and dived with perfect precision, adjusting her movement by modulating the direction of the minute currents all around her. It was as instinctual as running.

She twirled, taking in the island from high above. As her hair blew in the wind, she found herself unable to quell the joyous smile plastered on her face.

This wasn’t crude rocket blasts – this was actual flight.

As she looked down on the mountain, now hundreds of feet below her, a moment of panic broke through her joy, and she looked inward to her diminished magic reserves.

Her reserves held – the boost from Regeneration compensating for the magic spent to maintain her flight.

Incredible. This magic is on a whole new level! Powerful and efficient. Let’s see if I can find its limits.

Milly took off, whizzing straight up the mountain as fast as she could fly. The ground grew distant below her – three, four, then five hundred feet - as she flew as fast as a hawk. It wasn’t the speed of the dragon – not even close – but it was incredible nonetheless.

She zipped straight into the cloud layer with an uncontrollable smile and emerged completely soaked.

“Right, clouds are made of water,” Milly laughed, as she siphoned the water from her dress and let it fall as a gentle rain. “Next time I’ll channel a tunnel through it. The basics are instinctive, but I’ve still got a lot to learn.”

She soared higher and higher, beyond the peak of the mountain, and gazed down upon the research complex below. With her improved perception, she spotted Bestian in the garden harvesting this evening’s supper, and Apoi and Geta snuggled together on a bench, watching the volcano.

Enzel clung to Coco’s back as the undead capybara took her on a ride around the courtyard. Coco had grown used to the child and now seemed to delight in the play as much as Enzel did. She ran though the bushes and around the statues, until Enzel finally fell off with a laugh. Coco spun back and nuzzled the child until Enzel climbed back on board and they took off again.

Milly felt a touch of guilt in her heart.

“I can’t leave you behind, Coco,” she whispered, her words carried away on the breeze. “The magic doesn’t work like that. You and I… we’re headed away from this place in the morning. And I don’t know what we’ll find out there when we do.”

Coco slowed her charge for a brief moment and looked towards the tiny dot in the sky that was Milly. Sensing Milly’s emotions, she gave her a tiny, accepting bark, and resumed her play.

Milly gave her a forlorn smile. “Thanks Coco.”

She let herself drift down onto one of the complex’s roofs, careful to stay out of sight of the research station residents, as they didn’t know of her magic. She leapt down into an empty courtyard and walked through the unused residences towards the main building.

Unused for now, but if the orb keeps spawning new residents, these will fill up quickly. Two years… Cizen is playing a long game.

This thought had been rolling around in Milly’s mind since she’d first seen the black orb’s timer.

If Cizen is the puppet master – and I can’t see how he isn’t – he was the one interfering with the previous God Contests. Making them fail. Straining the Nexus to its breaking point, so he could steal its life energy. Cracking open an egg to steal its yolk.

But the thirteenth God Contest isn’t like the others. He went out of his way to design and hide this Archipelago within this game, where he implanted the souls of those he cares. If this game fails, they die along with us. So he needs us to win… doesn’t he?

Milly had her doubts. There were more layers to Cizen’s plan – she just couldn’t see them. But whatever they were, she didn’t believe it would benefit her and her family in the end.

“Well, I’m not going to find the answers on this island,” she muttered as she strolled into the main building’s courtyard. Coco barked with excitement and altered her course to charge up to her witch, Enzel still clinging to her back.

Core Station. If I’m going to find answers – and a way home – it will be there.

“Hey Enzel,” Milly greeted the child, scratching under Coco’s chin. The capybara leaned into her skritches with utter delight. “Did you have fun?”

“Yah! Coco is the best,” Enzel said, but then her face fell. “Apoi said to tell you that your ballon is ready. You and Coco can… can leave in the morning.”

She sniffed, and Milly patted her gently on the head. “Coco will miss you too, Enzel. She had fun, but now we’ve got to resume our journey. I’ve got a daughter of my own to get home to. A daughter who will love Coco just as much as you do.”

“Will she play with Coco?” asked Enzel, concerned for the capybara’s happiness. “Tell her… tell her Coco likes tummy rubs and the red berries that grow at the edge of the volcano.”

Milly glanced at Coco and pictured the handfuls of berries – berries she was quite sure were poisonous – sloshing around in the undead creature’s internal cavity, her stomach having been absorbed during healing. Coco gave her a guilty look, and Milly chuckled.

I’ll remove the berries tonight so they don’t rot. I’ll keep them for Rain though – she’ll get a laugh when I tell her where they came from.

“I’ll be sure to tell Passi, Enzel,” Milly promised, as she saw Apoi and Geta approach.

“Ready for your instruction?” Apoi asked, towering over her.

“I guess so,” Milly answered. “Come on, Coco. Let’s go scope out our new ride.”

Mildred Persephone Brown

Level: 40

Specialty: Survival

Class: The Scarred Witch

Sub-class: Her Inquisitor

Strength:

Base: 40

Enhanced: 61 (+ 4 from Collar of the Victor, +7 from Obsidian Fists, +10 from Harpy-Hunter Bracelet)

Agility:

Base: 26

Enhanced: 51 (+15 from Gown of Moon and Stars, +10 from Harpy-Hunter Bracelet)

Toughness:

Base: 50

Enhanced: 54 (+4 from Collar of the Victor)

Magic:

Base: 76

Enhanced: 97 (+15 from Gown of Moon and Stars, +2 from Milly's First Witch's Hat, +8 from Luna’s Pendant of Guidance)

Talents:

Elemental Magic - Fire (advanced), Earth (advanced), Water (advanced), Air (master)

Healing Magic - Healer's Touch (advanced), Regeneration (advanced), Healer’s Aura (beginner)

Psychic - Telekinesis (advanced)

Necromancy – Reanimate beast (beginner), Reanimate rodent (advanced)

Spatial - Teleportation (advanced)

Combat – Hand-to-hand (advanced)

Exploration – Improved Perception (advanced), Detect Life (#error#)

Sexual – Enhance Performance (beginner)

Unique Talent: Salem’s Fury

Class Talents: No limits, Weaver, Relentless, Outcast, Consequences

Sub-Class Talents: Oracle’s Avatar, Ceaseless Skepticism, Explorer, Warrior Witch, Incorruptible

Equipment Benefits:

Reanimate Rodent (beginner, Witch's Hat)

Oracle’s Divination (beginner, Luna's Pendant of Guidance)

Mana Absorption (beginner, Obsidian Fists)

Improved Perception (beginner, Milly’s Gothic Boots)

See the Unseen (#error#, Spectacles of Hidden Design)

Locate Corruption (#error#, Spectacles of Hidden Design)

Aerial Combat (beginner, Harpy-Hunter Bracelet)