As promised, Uncle Yuriy taught me everything I could handle at the moment. Although no changes will happen to my body outside, I will retain the knowledge. Not to mention I also have the logbook which will act as my auto populating journal. By the time I finally reached my limit, 100 Earth years inside the inheritance realm had past,
“Mmm, you truly have proven yourself, Little Yuriy. Although you have not been able to receive everything I know, you were still able to handle more than I anticipated. Now for what comes next.”
Finally! I can leave this place and the never-ending abuse uncle calls “education.” Perking up to what he just said, I wait for my final instructions,
“Upon leaving this place, you will notice approximately 12 hours would have gone by. By now there should be people by your side. Divulge only to the most trustworthy what has occurred here. If they are not trustworthy, then simply tell them this; the soul of your ancestor decided to deliver unto you their blessing given you have not yet become a novice or pawn stage powerhouse. They will understand what that means.” Nodding my head, I was about to say something, when I stopped.
“12 hours? Didn’t you say seconds or minutes would have passed?”
“I lied.” Uncle Yuriy shrugged,
“It was the only way to get you to devote the time and concentration needed for the task. Don’t worry, it’s not like many sols went by. Anyway… Looks like our time’s up. I am really proud of you, my boy. Get stronger, fulfill your tasks and one day we will see each other again.”
Finished speaking, Uncle began to fade, and I was sent out of the realm without getting the chance to say goodbye or ask other questions. I didn’t dare to ask anything outside of what I was learning since he said we did not have a lot of time for a chat, but 100 Earth years went by in the realm, and I still never asked what I originally wanted to know about the demonic dragons and the Elder Spirits of Light and Darkness. Man! I missed the best opportunity… sigh oh well. As I began to come back to reality a message sounded,
“Congratulations! You have completed the Main Quest: Old Roots, New Soil.
-Descendent, prove your worth and earn my inheritance! – Grand Enchanter Yuriy
Requirement:
None
Objective:
Complete the trial of inheritance
Reward:
Crystal Vessel of Ancestral blood (Mythical) Sword of Forlorn Demise: One-Handed (Mythical)
Gem of the Doom Bringer (Mythical) Armor of the Doom Chaser: Full set (Mythical)
Gem of Soul Atonement (Mythical) Robes of the Penitent Soul (Mythical)
Greaves of the Eternal Pilgrim (Mythical) Gloves of the Eternal Pilgrim (Mythical)
Wow, the quest rewards are worth the pain and suffering. I can’t wait to use them since I’m gonna be OP fresh out the gate. When I tried to redeem the items, I was presented with another message,
“User’s power level is too low and has a neutral moral affinity. Items will remain locked until the user reaches the required power level and or moral affinity level. Please note depending on the user’s moral affinity level, one set of items will not be available for future use.”
Well, Shiii… That sucks. Then again, only those who are at least 14-sols-old and are either Knight or Apprentice stage can begin the trials, with passing causing one to enter the Blademaster or Journeyman stage. I’m not even a Novice or Pawn stage but have insider trade secrets, so I can’t complain. What interests me though is this moral affinity stuff. Opening my user info, a new entry appeared,
~User Info~
Location: Ancestral Glade – Dark Elf Settlement – Monarchy of Duxley…
Incarnation: Yuriy Markov XV
Age: 6 sol, 145 days
Race: Mixed (Human 82%, Dark elf 15%, Dark Angel (Kaliharda) 3%)
Attributes
HP: 300/300 Stamina: 150/150 MP: 275/275 SP: 12/12
Strength: 4 Charisma: 7 Endurance: 9 Dexterity: 10 (9) Vitality: 10 (9) Intellect: 18 (33) Luck: 3(15)
Moral Affinity
↓
Good --------------------------Neutral----------------------------Evil
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Elemental Affinity (Scale of 1 – 10 with ten being the greatest)
Earth: 3 Fire:7 Water:2 Air:2 Light: 3 Dark: 7 Lightning: 3 Nature: 5 Ice: 2 Null: 10
Special
Soul of Misfortune (- 12 Luck) Guardian Angel(?) (+1 Dex. and Vit.)
Soul concussion (- 15 Int.) Inheritor of Ancient Blood (Incomplete)
With this new area, I can now see where I stand in terms of how “evil or good” I am to others and the world around me. This reminds me a lot of the RPG games that make you say and do certain this to make your character either super good, or super evil. In those games, I always aimed for the good character even when the “good thing to do was actually really “evil.” I hope nothing like that happens in real life. Also, I noticed my elven blood content increased and I have a new special situation which must be the reason. I will figure that out later.
As I regained awareness towards reality, I find myself in the same glade as before but sitting cross-legged. I glanced to the side to see two sleeping children and three adults who appear to be meditating. The children were my two sisters Katya and Saphire, while the adults were Andy, Elder Alamdarra, and what appeared to be the lady elf teacher from before. Noticing my glance, all three adults stop meditating and nod towards me. It was the Elder who broke the silence,
“Young Yuriy, you have indeed surprised me. When I noticed your yelling, I came back only to find you in a trance. The same trance someone undergoing the Rite of Inheritance would experience. Tell me what happened?” The Elder inquired, fear, worry and a few other emotions filled his face.
“To be honest, I am not sure what was going on until it happened. However, I don’t think here is a good place to speak.”
I said glancing at my sisters’ direction. Understanding my intentions, the elder nodded, and had Andy and the lady teacher carry my sister back to rest while me and the elder spoke. Soon, the Elder spoke a few words in the celestial language which later caused the air to vibrate, creating a small portal to what appears to be an office space.
“Please, follow me.”
Without waiting for a response, the Elder walked through the portal with me right behind him. In but an instance we had returned to the Elder’s house and were sitting in an isolated office on the top floor.
“Here is a safe place to speak. Everyone in the clan knows only two people are allowed here. Myself and some I guide; no one else. Please tell me what transpired.”
Looking into the Elder’s eyes, I saw someone who truly worried for my wellbeing like a grandfather for their grandchildren. Taking a deep breath I said,
“Elder, what I am about to tell you may change the way you view my family. Please hold your judgement, until we leave the settlement if possible.”
Confused by what I meant, he made an odd face, but let me speak. To which I told him what Uncle Yuriy told me save the Nexus, and Earth bits, and the system menu… just about everything not related to Ohmdorra was withheld. It took about an hour, and by that time it was morning. Still the Elder waited until I was finished before letting out a great emotional sigh.
“I had my suspicions regarding Grand Enchanter Yuriy’s origins but never thought he was the lone survivor of the “Doomed clan.” To be honest, I wasn’t even born when those demonic fiends enslaved our race. Yet I was an adult of 157 sols when your ancestor died.”
“I remember the last time I saw him alive he looked like the shackles my father said slaves wore had been transferred from us onto himself. His steps burdened by the world attached to the chains slowing his steps. I do not blame him or his descendants for the sins of your forefathers. What I do blame him for is living a life believing he was the reason for the worlds near destruction.”
The Elder said, reassuring me he was indeed a trustworthy person to relay this information to. He continued,
“With what you have told me, it makes everything somewhat clearer regarding the “Doomed clan.” There is a story verbally passed down from clan chief to clan chief of an ancient clan of elves who deviated from the rest. This clan is known as the 1st clan of dark elves. The ancient clan the “Doomed clan” are supposedly direct descendants of.”
“They were nomadic never staying in the elven continent like their sister clans. Instead they tried to aid all as a form of reverence to the Celestial dragons who aided all life. However, the way they aided their patients could be considered... macabre at best.” Elder Alamdarra said, raising a question mark in my mind. To which he answered saying,
“Their own clan members mysteriously harbored the sickness and disease of their patients, causing many clansmen to die. At some point, the clan leader decided they and a select few approximately sixteen people, would perform a ritual to channel this “taint” as they called it into themselves until a solution could be found…
“Sadly, much of their story is lost, but one thing remains. Many thousands of sols had passed since that very clan leader took on the taint when the clan came upon a strange being from one of the deathly forbidden continents. Here the clan leader proceeded to heal the being and took on their “taint”. However, this “taint” spread to through the clan, infecting all as it radiated off the clan leader. In response, the leader and the select few performed the ritual again only this time the entire clan had been changed.”
“Those who had the taint removed began to have darkened skin and hair as dark as a moonless night. They experienced a change in their ability to use magic with fire and darkness being easier to use and all others require more effort. As for the few who took on the “taint”, they too experienced physical changes, but they had ancient markings all over their bodies from head to toe. It is believed at this point, the clan leader and a select few no more than 16 others, created the dark elven race”.
Finishing his story, the elder sat down and called the illusion away. His story answered how the dark elves are believed to have come to be, but something does not add up.
“What of the ones who took on the “taint”? What happened to them? And which of the forbidden continents did the stranger come from to have made it all the way to a clan that never stays in the same place? This can’t possibly be a coincidence, right?” I asked, needing more.
“The story only says they left the newly changed clan and commanded those left behind to settle in new lands while growing in numbers. They continued to remain nomadic, but nothing else is mentioned. Sadly, not much was recorded at that time. And what was recorded stood little chance surviving the demonic dragon’s dominion.” The Elder replied. He too seemed to want to know more about the topic.
“Even the story I have now told you was relayed by mouth to me by my father and his father to him. There are few who would know more, but I don’t think they still live since only dark elves live to be at most 30,000-sol old. Unless you try speaking with the fairyfolk or demonkind since they are spirits made flesh. I don’t recommend it though, given they typically kill anyone who enters their territory.”
I should have known it was way too soon to get the answers I was hoping to hear from someone who’s 10,000-sols-old, but I guess that’s the point really. Too much knowledge may bring a swifter death than knowing nothing at all. Not to mention I’m 6-sols-old! It would seem I forgot my age in this world. Settling my mind, I now need to focus on the task at hand. I continued to speak with the elder until it was time for me to get some rest. When I wake up, I will need to work my butt off if I want to come close to being able to wear the new equipment.
-End of Chapter