The sound of rustling parchment fills the room. This time the Holy Daughter of the Red Sect is alone at a desk. The desk is entirely covered with scrolls. The variety of different sigil types is alarming.

It makes no sense how a nobody that the sect had abducted could have this wealth of knowledge. Even masters with decades of experience would be unlikely to have this level of professional knowledge.

And, Koll Luna doesn't look to be over 20 years old.

A thought stirs in the Holy Daughter's mind. Perhaps it isn't the boy at all.

Traditionally, the initiation process summons a demon to inhabit the vessel of the acolyte. A melding occurs where the demon can be summoned or used to augment the acolyte's body.

From the moment Koll Luna completed his initiation, she had assumed that, as she could barely sense the demon, it must be weak. But, perhaps she had deceived herself.

It seemed likely that the entity that had been summoned might not be a traditional demon.

The most likely otherworldly entities that could be captured by the initiation were low-level demons. Anything higher than that would have the means to escape the soul, unless they wanted to be captured.

Koll Luna had only shown some combat potential according to the red priests. But, after an early hunt for simple gophers, he hadn't ventured into the wilds as most acolytes would. Somehow he had managed to manipulate the Immortal Braves into procuring resources for his practice.

His relationship with the Immortals and his innate understanding of inscriptions make him an outlier among the disciples of the Crimson God.

Added to these aspects is his understanding of the forbidden knowledge of the sect. Were he a member of rank there might be some small chance of having gleaned knowledge of the kings of corruption. And she would be inclined to punish him for distributing the knowledge freely. But, even she felt some hope that his claim of the 4 tombs existing was true.

Reviewing the scrolls repeatedly, she recognizes their uselessness for her. Her power far exceeds the potency of the inscriptions. But, they would be a game changer for even the red priests, not to mention the acolytes.

She thinks for a moment before stacking the scrolls and setting them aside. She stares at her doorway for a long moment. Despite her power and privilege of position, she's at a loss for how to deal with a single acolyte.

The following day, Koll sets up shop and begins working on his craft. At some point, the boy logs in and silently begins to work a little ways off from Koll.

The comings and goings of the players carries on until the woman from the day before returns with hopeful eyes.

Koll sees her approach.

"Hi, Koll," she says fawningly.

"Hey," he says in return.

She hesitates for a moment, "You said you might have something for me today?"

Koll nods and pulls out one of the tomes he had prepared the day before.

He thinks for a moment about what he should request in exchange, settling on a relatively small amount of gold coins.

The woman's excitement cools for a moment. But, she grits her teeth and uses her life savings to buy [The Rudimentary Laws of Engraving].

After getting the tome in her hands, she seems to instantly forget about the loss of a few pieces of gold.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she says excitedly.

Koll warns her again, "Engraving isn't a conventional combat class. Be sure that you want to do it before learning from the tome."

She collects herself and nods solemnly, "I know."

Koll watches her walk away to begin learning from the book.

Koll turns to the boy for a moment and sees that the stones he's worked on are only partially mangled instead of outright hideous.

With peace returned, Koll opens an empty tome and gets to work.

Word of the magic class change books spreads through the thousands of Red Sect players, with many coming forward to buy one from him. The speed at which he prints each tome increases, but he has difficulty supplying enough for the demand.

The saving grace for Koll is that most of the players recognize engraving as a high-skill class. Most players would rather just hit things till they die.

The days carry on peacefully. Koll has more materials than he needs and his wallet is heavy with coin.

While the man is musing over his current situation, a familiar figure approaches.

Wu Lan has long forgotten her resentment over the dancing incident and regularly approaches him to chat and take on quests.

She beams at him with a smug look on her face.

"Koll, I have something you might like."

He raises his eyebrow, and an inkling of expectation stirs in him.

"What is it?" he asks curiously.

Wu Lan lingers for a moment in her supremacy, "Proof."

Her single word confirms his expectation.

"Great," he says. "May I see it?"

The young woman pulls a round shield from her inventory.

Handing over the item, Wu Lan looks expectantly at him.

Koll looks over the shield until he finds an engraving on the inside lip of the object.

[The King's campaign against the sun led us to the Cursed Oasis.]

Koll thought for a moment. Undoubtedly, the clue referenced the desert to the Northwest. Where the valley's red dust turned to golden sand. A notable respite from the hot sun should be this king's resting place.

"Good work," he says as he confirms her quest completion.

Giddy with expectation, Wu Lan asks, "So, when do we go?"

Koll looks at her and smiles enigmatically, "Not yet."

"Boo," she groanes. "You used to be fun, you know."

Koll looks at her oddly. He doesn't recall such a time.

"When the 2 other tombs are found, I will have work for you if you want."

Wu Lan smiles brightly, "It's a promise."

The woman decides as much unilaterally.

In truth, he only needs a 5 man team to escort him to and through the tombs. Wu Lan and Dancing Dagger are at the top of his list of helpers. So, he doesn't mind the young woman's decision.

Koll stores the shield and carries on with his Rudimentary Law books.

In the quiet spaces of the Red Sect's temple whispers are being spread.

The night of the red moon is fast approaching. Every year an event takes place in the Crimson Valley. Aberrant energies touch upon the leylines of the land, opening portals to the twisted hells.

Demons of every variant come forth from the portals with an appetite for flesh.

The Red Sect has long planned for this yearly occurrence.

While the event is dangerous and has led to the death of many disciples of the sect throughout its existence, there is also opportunity.

Every part of a demon has use for the sect. And, with the yearly occurrence of so many demons coming to them, they don't have to sacrifice their enslaved demons for parts.

The blood, hearts, horns, and.... more sensitive parts of demons have been used in both the demonology and blood magic specializations.

Every year the acolytes and priests fight desperately. But, a new element has miraculously manifested. The Immortal Braves.

With the undying players present, the sect can avoid sending the precious disciples into the jaws of death.

This event also promises perks to Koll.

With demon blood available, Koll will have a rare substance to work with. The beasts of the field suffice, but they lack the arcane energies found in demon blood.

Of course with a higher quality material, the difficulty in its use would also increase.

Koll's eyes gleam with excitement.

The red priests are preparing the temple for the demonic incursion. The vendors are temporarily forced to pick up and move into the safety of the temple.

Koll stows his table and chair but remains standing in his usual spot. Other representatives of the Red Sect take up their positions throughout the forum. Though, Koll is the only acolyte to do so.

Each red priest has quests for culling and harvesting the demons. But, Koll knows from experience with events like this, that each quest was a one-off. Reach your quota and you're done.

Fortunately, Koll had control over his quests and could set them to reset on completion. Allowing the player to complete a quest as often as they were able.

Koll wrote up a few new quests for the occasion.

[Quest Name: Imp Blood]

[Quest Name: Felhunter Blood]

[Quest Name: Succubus Blood]

[Quest Name: Felguard Heart]

[Quest Name: Pitlord Heart]

[Quest Name: Soul Shards]

[Description: Kill demons to collect soul shards. Return to Koll Luna with 10 soul shards.]

[Rewards: 10,000 XP, +5 Reputation with Koll Luna, 1 random inscription]

The quests he offers are largely in competition with the quests offered by the red priests. But, he knows that the players will perform the tasks set by the priests with priority. Because, they need to gain a reputation with the Red Sect and not just Koll.

That said, Koll stands to gain a lot from this event.

The players fill the forum as if it were a festival. They talk excitedly among themselves and run to and fro speaking with the quest givers.

The largest group of players hanging around the forum is, of course, gathered around Koll.

He's able to eavesdrop on the conversations of the players.

"Is this event related to the kings of corruption?" one player asks.

"I don't know. Could be. But, I'm more curious about Koll. The red priests offer 2 or maybe 3 quests. But, the man himself offers half a dozen. Do you think he secretly rules over the Red Sect and just pretends to be a mere acolyte?"

The question causes a stir in the gathering.

"That's what I've been saying," another player says with emphasis. "He's a hero character. Maybe even the Red Sect's champion."

Others chime in with their theories until one brave player stands before Koll fearlessly.

"Koll," he says. "We've all been wondering. What's your role in the sect?"

Koll looks at the man and to the numerous expectant faces behind him. For a moment, he thinks of how he should answer the question.

"I'm..." he pauses for effect, "the loremaster."

Odd expressions appear on the gathered faces. They had been prepared for him to admit to being the sect master or even the Holy Son. But, loremaster?

It was somehow... disappointing.

Not everyone was disappointed though. Some appreciated the value of a good loremaster. Others had suspicious expressions on their faces, obviously doubting Koll's humble claim.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Only Koll knew that there was no such role in the sect. He simply used the claim to misdirect the greedy players.

As the gathering waited for the event to begin, Koll casually engaged with the players. A few of his students in engraving were particularly interested in having his ear so that they could discuss the array structures of the sigils they engraved.

The boy, Jake Snow, silently stayed behind Koll, dutifully carving a stone in imitation of one of the engraved stones Koll had given him. The boy was making noteworthy progress and had successfully attained the official class of Engraver.

He didn't speak a lot. But, he was very committed.

On the horizon, a thunderstorm was building. Purple and black clouds would momentarily be illuminated by white lightning as it cut through them.

A few brave, but mostly stupid, Immortals left the safety of the temple forum, hoping to get the first kills. Koll knew from experience that this was not a tactic for surviving a beast tide. Or, in this case, a demon tide.

"Woot woot," a young voice carries over the gathering. "It's starting."

The player's right. Green currents of energy begin coalescing all across the wide Crimson Valley.

Fissures cut the soil at irregular intervals. And, tears of fel green seem to rip open holes in space.

For a moment, time stands still. The wind dies. And, the players go silent.

But, a scratching sound grows progressively more audible. And gross ripping noises disturb the soul of any mortal who hears them.

First one demon steps out from the tears in space. Then another. Then a hundred. Before the players can get their bearings, thousands of hideous abominations infused with the corruption of fel green energy fill the valley before them.

The demons catch a whiff of a pleasant scent, mortal souls.

En masse, the demons charge the base of the temple.

The thousands of players outnumber the demons for now. But, ever more demons breach their gates and enter the human realm.

The initial shock of the demons' entrance passed. The wind turns up to a tempest as screams and cries leave the lips of the excited players. They charge forth to meet the monstrosities with swords, shields, arrows, and magical attacks.

Members of both forces bleed out hundreds at a time.

The dead players simply wait for their respawn cooldown to come up and appear in the temple. They have to descend the long stairway and cross the forum to rejoin the battlefield.

For every demon slaughtered by the Immortal Braves, 10 more quickly gate in to wage a bloody war on the humans.

As the fighting spills out over the valley, a defined battlefield manifests with flanks and bulwarks staving off enemy intrusion.

For the moment, the players are holding out. But, every death costs time before the player's return.

The demons are spawning into the zone too quickly.

If the line of players falls, the disciples of the Red Sect will have to face the threat. It's an acceptable eventuality. But, NPCs don't return to life.

It doesn't take long for the first batch of quests to be completed.

The battlefield became increasingly ragged as players run back to the forum to collect their rewards.

There are enthusiastic smiles on the faces of every player. The event is a boon to them. And, very exciting to be a part of.

Koll has set the quest turn-ins to automatic so that all a player needs to do is be within a few meters for the quest prompts to show up. The same was done for them to accept the refreshed quests.

Koll waits patiently for the first wave to pass.

This first wave includes small fry demons who can be killed relatively easily.

The next few waves wouldn't be so easy as elites would start appearing in increasing numbers.

After the elites were added to the mix, then came the subboss lieutenants. And finally, to end the demon tide, a boss would warp into the battlefield.

A lull in the battle comes and the players are given several minutes of reprieve.

The enthusiasm is still there. However, some who had died in battle weren't as happy as the more successful players.

The gap between waves gives the players a chance to turn in quests and recover their health and mana.

Koll patiently observes as the red priests congratulate the valor of the players and offer them rewards. The process is much faster for Koll who had automated the process.

He notes the odd looks on the faces of players as they look from the red priests to Koll. But, he doesn't care about their suspicions. He just watches the players rush back and forth.

It doesn't take long for the second wave to begin.

This time more elite demons like the humanoid felguard and 6 armed Shivas walk out from the twisted realm they were born in.

The players for all their valor are still new to Cosmos and most have simply adapted their playstyle the best they can. In-depth analysis of class attributes and styles are only beginning to educate the Immortals on how to play.

Still, they're eager. And they push back the line of demons time and again.

The stream of players reviving in the temple grows thicker as the battle takes its toll on the Immortals.

Koll continues to patiently observe.

The red priests had already handed out the easy quest rewards and the number of players seeking them out is less pronounced than during the first wave.

But, Koll is more popular than ever as hundreds of players at a time seek out rewards and renewed quests.

The last of the elites of the second wave fall and so the wave ends.

The battle grows more difficult and the expressions on the faces of the players are growing somber.

The players do what they can to rest and return to the battlefield ready for the hell that is to follow.

As the first demonic cry cuts across the battlefield, Koll leaves his place in the forum and casually walks into the valley behind the line of Immortals.

Koll looks around and casually pulls out a stone he had engraved with the [Iron Will] inscription. The spell would boost in combat health and mana recovery for up to 5 players within 50 meters for 30 minutes.

He sets this stone with care on the ground and moves off to another location on the battlefield.

Koll alternates the buff stones at regular intervals. Some stones will enhance the survivability of players while others boost the damage the affected players can dish out.

The battlefield is narrowed by the shape of the valley and comes like a funnel up to the base of the temple. So, Koll doesn't worry much about the range of the effects on his buff stones.

But, the number of characters his buff stones can affect is between 5-10 at a time.

In a battle of thousands, the number is trivial. Unless one has hundreds upon hundreds of buff stones in their inventory.

His efforts don't go unnoticed. As soon as he began moving, many eyes were on him.

The players were ecstatic when they see what he's doing.

As the number of buff stones begins to grow by the dozen, a shift in the battle takes place. The terror and dread of vicious demons seems trivial in the face of an NPC boosting their army's combat proficiency.

While Koll places stone after stone, players continue to turn in quests. And, since he came to them, they don't even have to run too far.

The elites of the waves fall under the power of the Immortal army.

When the current wave ends, Koll remains on the field. Perfecting an array of stones in a way that optimizes the proficiencies of the Immortal army.

While Koll goes about his business, he overhears the whispers of the players.

"He's participating."

"I thought the Red Sect would only act if we fell back too far."

"Well, duh. He's a hero character. Of course, he's fighting with us."

"He's not fighting, though. He's just dropping stones. I would have expected a hero character to dive into battle with the toughest enemy around."

"He's an engraver, idiot. He's just playing to his strength."

"That's true. But, I never thought an engraver would be of any use in an actual battle."

"Dude, he hasn't even used any of his scrolls. He doesn't even give out the blood inscriptions. Imagine if he released those."

The gossip stirs all around Koll. But, he pays it no mind.

The next wave sees the release of the lieutenants of the demon horde on top of all that came before.

Massive pitlords like ugly lizard centaurs with mighty horns and flat faces charge the Immortal line with giant glaives.

The Immortals buckle under the ferocity of this new threat. Hundreds die by the minute.

Even with Koll's assistance, things are looking bad for the defenders of the Red Sect.

Koll doesn't mind though. He has enough experience with these things to judge the tides of a battle of this scale.

He just minds his stones.

But he makes a change when he reaches a certain threshold with the buff stones.

Instead, he lays down area of effect trap stones close to the front line. When the Immortal defenders inevitably fall back under the might of the demon horde, the demons will stumble upon the stones igniting explosions that will only damage hostile units. It would not affect the Immortals unless that Immortal attacked Koll.

The stones are one-off mines. When one is triggered it will disintegrate. So, Koll isn't stingy.

Stone after stone is laid down. While the demons push the defenders back.

Suddenly a chain of explosions erupts, startling the many players who hadn't noticed his actions.

The demon line cares nothing for their losses and recklessly enters the minefield.

Even the pit lords, with their massive bodies, are steadily shredded by the explosive power.

As the last pitlord falls, the wave ends.

The surviving Immortals stare blankly at the busy engraver. There just isn't any logic to it. His combat power is ridiculous.

Koll ignores everything and throws down another hundred or so stones with both offensive and support effects.

Before the final wave begins, Koll makes his timely exit from the stage.

He might have been confident on the field before. But, against a whole wave of weak demons, elites, lieutenants, and of course the boss, there's no sense in him remaining on the battlefield.

As an NPC, he knows better than most that there is no coming back from death.

He still doesn't know if, perhaps, in death he would go back to his old life. But, he isn't willing to test the theory.

The players who had died come running down the stairs and through the forum, often throwing Koll odd looks.

The quest runners come and go like the wind. Everyone is tense before the next wave comes.

High above the forum, the Holy Daughter of the sect looks out on the battlefield. She had expected much worse results. Even with the Immortals fighting through death, she had expected her priests and acolytes to be brought into the fight. But, they hadn't...

Except one.

Her keen eyes can capture every aspect of the battlefield even from such a distance.

She'd watches Acolyte Luna as though he were the center of the entire event.

The Immortals seemed obsessed with him, following him like a swarm of flies.

The man himself seemed indifferent. He acted of his own accord. But, his actions carried more weight than any of her red priests.

This alone was baffling. But, what followed shocked her immensely.

His confident stride into the battlefield and odd tendency to drop a stone at regular intervals was confusing to watch. But, wherever he went. Wherever he placed a stone, the immortals fought stronger than before.

And then, the explosions came. A series of deafening blasts rocked the valley. Their origin was the same stones Koll Luna had been placing the entire time.

A deep disquiet settled over the Holy Daughter's soul.

Had she created a monster?

Unaffected by the concerns of the Holy Daughter, Koll relaxes in the forum.

Jake Snow, Koll's apprentice, doesn't say much. But, he's heard a lot.

The players were talking heatedly about the shocking display of power their favorite NPC had just shown.

"Dude," one man says to another. "I heard about how Koll's selling class change manuals. I didn't think much of it before, but..."

"Yeah," his fellow comments. "I've played a lot of games before. But, I've never seen anything like this. [Engraver] shouldn't be this powerful, should it?"

"I mean, it's gotta be because he's a hero character, right? Could a player use the engraver class like that?"

The gathering has more questions than answers.

But, Jake knows the answer. He knew before any of the rest that Koll's engraver class was powerful.

The boy isn't prone to emotions. But, a certain sense of pride comes over him.

Even if the rest of them manage to get a class change manual from Koll, only the boy gets to be Koll's apprentice.

Koll himself was aware of the shift in public sentiment towards him. But, it doesn't mean much.

Players are naturally ephemeral beings. Of course, they'd think his class was powerful if he used his resources well. But, then they'd see a powerful warrior go toe to toe with a dragon and everyone would want to be a warrior.

Still, there's no harm in printing more class change manuals for any who want to follow his path.

Confident of the course of the battle, Koll takes his table and chair out from his inventory and begins writing a fresh manual.

His display of indifference causes the red priests who are nearby to feel awkward. They hadn't seen his actions on the battlefield and can only think of him as a reckless acolyte.

The course of the battle is tenuous, but far from dire.

Most of the small fry and elites were devastated by the explosive stones. The lieutenants faired better. But, with the players freed up from dealing with the small fry, the pitlords and their like were easily handled.

The danger comes from the boss. The exceedingly tall humanoid figure casts magic upon the defending humans, cursing them with weakness. Hundreds of players at a time are enfeebled, crippling their abilities. At least, that's how it should have been.

But, with the wide variety of buff stones, the buffs and debuffs merely cancel each other out.

That's not to say that the battle is easy. The boss is far tougher and stronger than the lieutenants before.

The stream of Immortals descending the temple stairway finally stops.

Victory has been achieved. The boss, like the rest, falls under the combined onslaught of the Immortal army.

The demon tide had ended. Tens of thousands of corpses litter the field beyond the temple forum.

Players collect the last of their resources and turn them in for quest rewards.

Looking at the mess, the players don't know what to do. The scene is like a hellscape, with mangled monstrosities oozing green blood into the soil.

But, they worry for nothing. This is the Red Sect. They specialize in demons.

Red priests lead an army of acolytes into the field and begin collecting the demon bodies for transport into the heart of the temple.

Koll is oblivious to the task of cleaning up. He favors drawing up more class change manuals.

The books are fairly short and he can draw the sigils quickly with his proficiency.

"Koll," a group of enthusiastic players greet him with friendly expressions. "You were a godsend out there."

"Yeah, your buffs are better than anyone else's. You saved our asses multiple times."

Koll nodded, "I'm glad I could help. Even as undying immortals, I'm sure you'd prefer to not taste death."

The gathered players nod their heads.

"Koll," one of the players says. "Do you have any more engraver class change manuals for sale?"

The gathered players all look at him expectantly.

Koll looks at them for a moment, "You do realize that the class isn't technically a combat class right?"

They nod their heads enthusiastically.

Koll nods, "I have a few. If you want one, just ask."

Most of the players just stand back, preferring not to give up their current classes. But, a few among their ranks step forward with gold in their wallets.

Koll finds it remarkable how adaptable humans can be. Cosmos has a very large number of potential classes to play. But, most of these stem from a few base classes. Warrior, priest, rogue, mage, ranger, and a few others.

Players who focus on crafting professions tend to have a double weakness of needing to kill monsters for the materials of their profession and being too weak to kill those monsters. This is why crafting professions are considered money sinks.

Engraving starts as a cheap profession to learn. But, the cost of materials grows prohibitively expensive as one advances.

The fact that Koll has progressed so far so fast is because he exploits the players. Without them hunting for his materials, he would still be carving rocks.

As the last of the players return from the battlefield many turn in their quests to Koll.

In addition to the wealth of materials he's gained, Koll earned a cut of all the experience he distributed. His current XP is over 3 million. Flush with XP, he decides it's time to buy some potential points and improve his stats.

[Name: Koll Luna]

[Class: Engraver]

[Evolutionary Rating: F]

[Evolution Meter: 0/3,500,00]

[Strength: 5]

[Agility: 5]

[Stamina: 10]

[Mind: 13]

[Spirit: 7]

[Dexterity: 12]

[Potential points: 0]

[Sharpen: 6]

[Identify Weakness: 6]

[Steady Hand: 8]

The cost of potential points has grown exorbitant. But, it's worth the price. With his increased stats, particularly in Mind and Dexterity, he can achieve greater feats in his art.

Koll closes the menu and looks around. The majority of the players are caught up in the post-victory celebration. Some even bought some expensive alcohol from one of the vendors, who's returning to the forum, and are throwing small parties for their friends.

While Koll is looking around, he sees the familiar Wu Lan approach with a lightness to her step.

"Hi, Koll," the pretty young woman says in greeting.

"Hello, Wu Lan."

She tilts her head as she looks at him, "You're keeping secrets again."

The woman states plainly.

Koll can't help but find the notion funny. He just gave up a lot of secrets by participating in the battle.

"I don't know what you mean."

Wu Lan laughs a light but humorless laugh.

"You're not fooling anyone, Koll. We can all see it."

His eyebrows raise in confusion.

"You're not a slave of the Red Sect cult."

Koll's eyes shake at her revelation of his secret.

"We Immortals fall under the Red Sect faction. But, the indoctrination doesn't work on us. But the acolytes, of which you are one, are all enslaved. Except you of course."

Koll shifts on his feet, suddenly uncomfortable.

Wu Lan continues.

"I've talked to every member of the cult that's accessible to us Immortals. There are certain traits common to them all. Aberrant behavioral patterns. A demonic influence. And, a fanaticism for the Crimson God and the Red Sect.

"You don't demonstrate any of these behaviors any more than is required.

"It's not hard to see that you are free from their indoctrination."

Koll looks at her evenly. If the Holy Daughter catches a whiff of Wu Lan's theory, he doesn't want to know what will happen to him.

He realizes that he's been reckless and complacent.

The Holy Daughter's evolutionary ranking is much higher than his. It doesn't matter how many points in his stats he has if he doesn't get the qualitative modifier of the ranking. As he is, he would be crushed by the Holy Daughter if she had any reason to suspect his disloyalty.

He needs to grow stronger.

Koll thinks for a moment before looking deep into Wu Lan's eyes.

"And, what if I told you you were correct."

The woman's eyes widen in delight.

"I'd ask if you needed any help?"

Koll hears her answer and understands that she as a player holds no loyalty towards the Red Sect. But, does hold some level of loyalty to him. Because he's interesting.

"I'll let you know."

Wu Lan smiles softly before turning.

As she walks away, she says, "You better."

Feeling fatigued, Koll returns to his room and lies down to sleep.