“Ah, damn,” Nathen grumbled as he poked at his injured head. After downing the last of his healing water he’d mostly recovered but now that he was out of the fight the pain was starting to hit him. The whole fight with that other Ascender had been so exciting he hadn’t been able to view the series of popups he’d gotten. The first was relatively simple, saying ‘stun resisted.’ Presumably the other player had tried to hit him with a stun for crowd control, thankfully it seemed the ability from his Freedom Facet was enough to prevent it. Perhaps the stun ability was somehow weaker than the facet? That was the impression he got somehow.
The other popup was more impactful.
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ABILITY ‘LEARN TO FIGHT’ HAS EVOLVED INTO ‘PERSONAL SWORD STYLE: BEGINNER
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PERSONAL SWORD STYLE: BEGINNER
You have taken the first steps in creating your own novel combat style, it will be a tough road but you are undaunted
-Improved proficiency with swords when using your personal combat style
-Improved ability to see and fix weaknesses in your personal combat style
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His head was filled with new insights after that last fight, what that guard captain had said was brought into focus. Several times he should have dealt crippling injuries to the other Ascender, but he hadn’t stepped into the attack far enough, his cuts had been too shallow, as if he was expecting to deal with the thick hide of a beast. He’d been caught off guard several times by the reach of his opponent’s spear, and only the other player’s lack of apparent combat skill prevented him from suffering injuries of his own.
But then there were things that made no sense, after a blocked attack he’d followed up from an angle that the other Ascender shouldn’t have been able to see, his view cut off by the position of his arm, only for him to react to it as if it was easily seen. That he had no explanation for, even when he managed to step into a blind spot as his enemy had retreated he had been unable to land a blow. For someone with such apparently amateurish footwork and fighting abilities he’d been remarkably aware of what was going on. Then there was the surprise attack, the only serious blow the other Ascender had landed, and apparently came with a stun. Was his enemy more of a stealth type? Normally rogues used daggers not spears but Nathen hadn’t seen any evidence of any kind of hard class restrictions, nothing that would prevent someone from using stealth and ambush tactics with a spear.
“Ahh,” the woman he was escorting groaned, “looks like we left most of our supplies behind.”
“I can always hunt, like I did before,” Nathen shrugged.
“You aren’t likely to find many beasts this far from the World Wood,” she replied, “and hunting regular animals with a sword won’t be easy.”
“Shouldn’t there be more monsters further from the starting zone?”
“What?” she asked, looking confused, “I mean, there are other areas rich in vituss, like the World Wood, where you’ll find more beasts but the kingdoms do a good job keeping them confined to those areas.”
“Strange design,” Nathen shrugged, the woman giving him an odd look for a moment.
“In any case,” she said eventually, “our best option is to try and get some more supplies from another town. The father gave me some extra coin just in case, but doing that means we run the risk of being spotted by those knights again.”
“Well, if I can’t hunt we don’t have much of a choice.”
\*\*\*\*\*
For a long time Gregory simply sat on the ground, leaning against a tree, staring at the pouch of coins the count had thrown to him. What was he going to do now? Injured and cast out by a ruling power, was there anything he could do?
He had a decent amount of money, from what little he understood. The average weekly wage for a town guard was ten spark, with laborers earning only seven. A bolt was twenty-four sparks on average, though apparently it wasn’t a constant. A decent house could be bought for five bolts, though apparently ownership of land was a difficult subject. Unless you were a noble you could only lease land, not own it. Some very wealthy merchants who weren’t nobles sort of owned land, through some obscure legal reasoning, but for the layman the only way you could own your land is if you journeyed out into the unclaimed territories and carved some out for yourself.
Being an Ascender made things even more complex, some kingdoms liked to keep track of all Ascenders in their borders. Based on what Araman had said this was a largely futile endeavor, as tracking an Ascender who didn’t want to be followed was nearly impossible. But if he tried to buy a house there people would ask questions.
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But was that what he really wanted? To buy a home and settle down? There was some appeal to the idea, he had to admit. He’d found a land beyond the stupid prejudices of his home land, he might be an Ascender but that was considered a position of honor and power. Maybe it would be best to just find a quiet town, get a house and find a trade.
However, as soon as he thought about that his mind flashed back to the look the Count gave him. Should he just settle down would he ever have full control of his life? More than anything that’s what he wanted, to be in a position that others couldn’t look down on him and tell him what to do. If he was just some villager he would never reach that point.
With a sigh, Gregory pushed himself to his feet and limped over to where the coin pouch landed, picking it up with a pained groan.
No, what he needed now was power, strength. That other Ascender, Nathen, couldn’t have been in this world much longer than he had been, yet Nathen was so much stronger, faster. That’s what Gregory needed to become, but how to accomplish that?
His first thought was to chase after Nathen and join him, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Even if Nathen didn’t outright attack him again, he’d seemed… off. Gregory couldn’t quiet put it into words, but he’d gotten an odd feeling from the other Ascender, something that made him hesitant to join up with him.
He also couldn’t go back the way he’d come, if he did he was likely to run into that Count again and he wouldn’t put it past that man to try to punish him. Now that he had some money he was tempted to return to the church he’d first found and spend some time there getting advice from Araman and Penny, but the risk of running into that count again put an end to that thought.
For all he’d learned from the two of them there was still so much more he needed to know. What he really needed was an ally. Perhaps the gods? Supposedly they were both real and eager to recruit new Ascenders. But as of yet he hadn’t seen any evidence of them yet, not that he knew what to expect. He knew there was a holy city, Templeholm, where every god had a church or temple. But that’s where Nathen and the half-princess was going, if he simply headed the same way he was likely to run into them. But Templeholm was a big city, if he remembered correctly, if he cut east till he found another road then turned north he should be able to avoid those two while still making his way to the city of the gods.
Even if he was unable to find a god to be his patron, or whatever that relationship was called, it was as good a destination for a journey as any. So with a pouch full of coin and a beaten up spear Gregory took off into the forest, headed east.
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“That’s where we’re going?” Nathen asked in surprise. After days of walking through alternating forests and small river valleys they’d finally emerged into a large, flat grassland. Despite their fears buying more food hadn’t been any trouble, the locals more interested in speaking with the traveling nun and ascender than anything. Because of that they’d made better progress than Elizebeth had hoped, reaching the northern plains in only four days.
Of course there wasn’t much to see in the plains, they seemed to stretch forever in an unbroken nearly perfectly flat floor of grass. That was until Templeholm finally came into sight. The holy city was built upon a lone pinnacle of stone, the top flattened artificially so dozens of different temples could be built atop it. Around the base of the massive rock was a grand city that existed largely to support the temples. It served as a neutral ground for all sorts, being a hub of trade in the north as well as a center of culture and learning. What mattered to Nathen, however, was that it was controlled by a council of high priests, and not a king or queen. It had been like that for centuries, apparently, with no kingdom even being allowed to send troops into the city.
“There are extensive archives there,” Nathen’s escort target prattled, “if its possible to locate the Skyblade this is where we’ll manage it.”
“Skyblade?” Nathen asked.
“Did I not mention that?” she asked, “it was one of the rewards, since you’re a swordsman I figured you’d be interested.”
“I don’t know what it is.”
“The Skyblade is a weapon forged for and by the Tempest King at the founding of the Storm Kingdoms,” she replied as they walked, “no other weapon in this world is its match, if the legends are true.”
“And, what, the wielder is crowned the king or something?”
“What? No, nothing like that. While wielding it would give you quite a bit of sway, but it doesn’t automatically grant you any royal position or anything.”
“Not Excalibur then,” Nathen said.
“What?” Elizebeth said, restraining the urge to ask. The teachings as a priestess of guidance were very clear, don’t press Ascenders for information on their home worlds. Most people who managed to Ascend did it through great strife and hardship, making talking about where they came from often a sore point. Even if they Ascended through peaceful means it wasn’t a good idea to remind them of all they’d left behind, people they’d never see. There were, of course, historians and scholars who sought information like that, but few made it very far if they randomly questioned newly arrived Ascenders. Either they’d anger someone they shouldn’t or the Church of Guidance would politely, but strongly, ask them to stop.
“No, I mean,” she quickly added before Nathen took her statement as a question, “it takes more than a powerful sword to become king.”
“Right.”
“In any case, if you want to become a powerful swordsman the Skyblade is a good goal to have.”
Nathen nodded without replying, looking at the grand city in the distance. It was the most fantastic thing he’d seen since starting this game, he thought. The monsters were unique but not anything unexpected, a city of the gods built atop a massive rock, that was more what he’d been hoping for. He wondered how active the gods were in this world, in most fantasy games they were either very active, constantly interacting with the player, or absent to the point that it was unclear if they existed as anything more than lore. Everyone he’d met seemed to think they existed, but that was to be expected from non-players.
Even as they approached the massive city he only briefly considered the idea of picking a god to worship before dismissing it. He’d never been one for religion in his past world, and in games following a god was a good way to lock in your options. Unless he was playing a healer there was little reason to become a cleric, better to keep his options open and remain agnostic.