End Online: Volume 6 Read online

  This is the sacred weapon of the Religion of Grael. The swords resonate with the religious 'Belief'. The higher your 'Belief' is, the stronger the weapons. The swords cannot be dropped or stolen.

  The blades are 47cm long.

  Requirements:

  ~ Level 110

  ~ Dex 52

  ~ Belief 10

  Class 5 (Class up: Belief 170)

  Weapon Type: Double Edge/Twin Short Swords

  Attack: 117 - 132, 117 – 132

  Durability: Indestructible

  Weight: 3.4 lbs, 3.4 lbs

  Abilities:

  ~ Increase movement and attack speed by 11%.

  ~ Mana cost of religious skills is halved.

  ~ Cannot be dropped on death or stolen. Any attempts to steal this weapon will result in receiving the curse of the dragon.

  ~ The swords can be used as wings to glide for up to 20 seconds.

  ~ Strength + 15

  The new spell, ‘Dire Starburst’ uses an obscene amount of mana, but thanks to my god-tier weapon halving the mana cost, I can manage to cast it three times with my mana. I have been having difficulty increasing my total mana pool as my level is the slowest thing to grow. I can only admire the leading players who have managed to get their levels in the late 300’s and early 400’s.

  ***************************************************

  A couple of days later, our party has explored the majority of the eastern section of the city, which also includes the docks. Even though the players with ship building skills haven’t made any impressive battle ships just yet, CaptainGordon excitedly spends an entire day giving these players guidance and helping them. It is a shame his ideas are completely different from theirs, since he ends up being chased away from the docks by several irritated people.

  Our current task is a detailed search of the markets and what is available. Splitting up into teams of two or three, I travel alone with Fen while looking at weapons, armor, and herbs. I purchase a hundred new throwing knives several grades higher than my current ones. They are called ‘Black Iron Throwing Knives’ and while being twice as heavy and traveling more slowly, they do three times the damage.

  I have a large amount of gold stored away, and collectively our party has enough gold to officially form our guild. We haven’t done so yet, and have stored the money as we don’t know where to set our base. We intend to set the base somewhere outside the main cities, on land we can build upon. The construction will be CaptainGordon’s role as he is currently the poorest of us all after spending his money on his ship, the Bastion.

  Passing by one particular stall among many selling various weapons and armor, I see a familiar face standing behind it.

  ‘No, it can’t be,’ I deny the possibility and continue walking past.

  “Hey, Lost! How can you ignore me just like that?!” The player selling the goods suddenly calls out with an exaggerated expression.

  Fen looks back at him and tugs on my cloak, confused. I stop in my tracks and hurry back to stand in front of the store, “Mouse, you stalker! Why do you keep popping up everywhere I go?!”

  “What are you talking about? Stalking? I have been here for two weeks already. Why would I stalk you? Although I barely recognize you with your new look,” He says with an innocent smile, unperturbed at being called a stalker.

  “Every market I go to, you are there. Twice is a coincidence. This is the fifth time! Wait, you don’t have seven identical brothers, right?”

  “Of course not, it is just a coincidence, haha. Well, I was hoping to find you after all.”

  “So you are stalking me. Who’s going to appear next, Chronix?”

  “Chronix? Who’s that? Ah, the guild leader of the ‘Swords of Light’. I recall they recently had a massive change in members a couple of months ago.”

  “You’re too well informed, it is completely suspicious. So how did you know I would be here?”

  “Oh, I didn’t know if you would be here or not.”

  “Then how were you hoping to find me?”

  “Don’t you know? When lost, stay in one location and wait for someone to find you. I have waited two weeks for you.”

  “No, that kind of situation is when lost in a crowded public location, like a shopping mall. There is no way something like that would work, especially since I wasn’t looking for you.”

  “That hurts my feelings, Lost. A shopping mall? I’m not sure what you are getting at, but this is a crowded public location, isn’t it?”

  “For some reason, I’m having difficulty refuting that… No, this is still beyond coincidence.”

  In the middle of our conversation, a handsome man selling extravagant weapons inlaid with gems and standing at the stall next to us joins the conversation.

  “Mouse, is this the person you have been waiting for the past two weeks?”

  “Indeed, this is the Lost I was telling you about. He’s quite famous, but many people who merged from the other servers don’t recognize him.”

  “Impressive. I will look you up later when I log off, Lost. Say, that girl with you is a stunning beauty. Princess, would you like to come have a look at my wares? I may have just the sword to match your eyes.”

  His voice has a gentle tone and his smile seems like it could capture the heart of any woman. He may be Sir Laurence’s greatest rival.

  “Regilus, you philanderer. Can’t you see Fen already has a man? Not like you have a chance anyway, she only has eyes for Lost.”

  Fen, the girl who currently has their attention, leans on me and doesn’t even seem to realize they are speaking about her. A few other stall owners who don’t currently have any customers turn to look at Fen as well, lewdly staring at her cleavage exposed by the bikini-style ‘Segral Royal Top’.

  “Fen,” I ignore Mouse and Regilus as they start their own argument about Fen and her availability, “How about we go clothes shopping? I can get you a new dress.”

  “What’s wrong… with these… clothes? You don’t… like them?”

  “No, it isn’t that I don’t like them.”

  To be completely honest, I am just upset that everyone keeps staring at her like hungry wolves.

  “Then… it’s fine.” Fen replies nonchalantly, dragging me away from Mouse and Regilus.

  As we are heading off, Mouse suddenly calls out behind me, “Hey, Lost! Regilus and I can’t agree on something. What size are Fen’s breasts?”

  Everyone within thirty yards becomes silent and turns to look at us.

  “You! Go away! Somewhere we won’t coincidentally meet again!” I shout at Mouse, inwardly feeling incredibly awkward when confronted by so many piercing stares.

  While hurriedly leaving the area, no longer looking at weapons or armor, my own curiosity overpowers my common sense and I turn my head and also glance at her cleavage, ‘Actually, what size are they? Perhaps a D-cup? I’m sure Verde would know– no way I could ask her that!’

  Noticing my gaze, Fen blushes and averts her eyes. I also turn completely red in embarrassment at being caught, ‘You ignored everyone else when they looked!’

  “Lost…” Fen looks directly at me, her cheeks still flushed.

  “Y-yes?”

  “Tonight… stay with… me.”

  “…Perhaps another night?”

  “No.”

  Fen’s lips quiver and a small smile forms as she grabs onto me and pulls herself tight against my chest, attracting a lot of attention from the public display of affection.

  “Fine, I will stay with you tonight! Just let go, everyone is staring,” I hurriedly say as I try to pry her off of me.

  Following my agreement, she parts from me.

  “Everyone… doesn’t matter… Just you.”

  ***************************************************

  “So, did everyone get what they needed?” Mason asks once we regroup at the city’s easternmost gate.

  “Well, you could say there were some difficulties, I guess,” I awkwardly ph
rase my response as the others all look suspiciously toward Fen and myself.

  Sir Laurence puffs his chest out, drawing a golden sabre that glows with a majestic aura. “Indeed! This knight has been needing a new sword. With a maximum damage of 215, and a fifteen percent chance to halve the enemy’s defenses for one minute, I have found my ‘Excalibur’!”

  The weapon looks incredibly expensive, and I am confused as to how he got it.

  “Verde, did you buy this weapon for him? I find it hard to believe he bought it when you are constantly stealing his money.”

  “Ah, yes, I may have bought it for him,” Verde coquettishly says with a guilty expression.

  “Speaking of which, what level is your ‘Class Skill: Thief’ at now? I mean, you steal his coin pouches quite frequently, I’m surprised his armor hasn’t rusted from poverty.”

  “… It’s level 54.”

  “That is impressive.”

  The victim of poverty, Sir Laurence, is suddenly talking with CaptainGordon about his new sword while pretending he can’t hear us.

  While joking and teasing each other, we exit the city and travel northeast along the coast. The smell of salt assaults my nose but the ocean breeze is refreshing. Seabirds flock above the waves and caw at low-level sea monsters that often come ashore.

  Hundreds of players are spread out on the beach as far as the eye can see. Most are in parties of two or three hunting down the monsters, while others are taking advantage of the enemies being engaged to peacefully swim in the ocean.

  To avoid my auto aggravation skill attracting the attention of these monsters, we steer clear of the beach and walk parallel to it. Other than the beach, everything else around the city is a grassy plain. It is strange though, as the ground is broken and uneven everywhere. Small cliffs of two or three yards are formed by sections of the earth being pushed up. Our vision is limited to the nearest jutting pieces of land, and what is beyond them remains unknown.

  ‘I don’t blame everyone for hunting on the beach, these small cliffs are everywhere! Thankfully our agility is high enough to jump up… Well, except for Prince Charming and his ridiculously heavy armor,’ I silently muse to myself while taking my turn in helping Sir Laurence climb one of the cliffs before jumping up myself.

  Scaling the next wall of land, I see four ash-colored monsters with eight legs and hard carapaces like an insect. One immediately falls under my auto-taunt skill and skitters toward me with its foremost two legs poised to strike.

  “Creature Analysis,” I breathe out quietly.

  Name: Stone Dweller

  Level: 56

  Health: 390

  Magic: 0

  Stamina: 150

  ??

  I stare at the screen in front of me, unsure how to proceed. I had thought it would be a strong monster given its menacing appearance, but should have known better considering how close we are to Kano City.

  “Everyone, leave this to me. I want to try out my new skills,” I say to the others who are drawing their weapons.

  “Partial Draconic Transformation!”

  I can use this skill not once a day in the game, but in real life. It has a duration of fifteen minutes and cannot be dispelled before then. My swords are automatically unequipped as my hands become covered in scales, my fingers extending and forming deadly claws.

  The snow white scales on my body also grow, covering about fifty percent of the skin beneath my armor and clothing. From my back, two wings, each as large as my body, grow and glisten under the sun.

  Partial Draconic Transformation has been activated.

  ~ Attack: 161

  ~ Defence +200%

  ~ Strength + 30

  ~ Movement Speed +20%

  ~ Immune to fire and poison damage

  Shocked, I read the information several times. I had looked at the skill information previously, so I know the attack damage is the value of my strength, but the other bonuses are completely new to me.

  Losing track of the ‘Stone Dweller’ while reading the information, I am hit by a surprise attack. Both of its front legs stab my chest, but are blocked by the scales. I slide back three feet from the direct impact, but only take twenty points of damage.

  ‘This is incredible!’ I exclaim in my mind, thrilled at the defensive power I have. ‘If only I could use this skill more often!’

  The others are also stunned at my resilience.

  Initiating my attack, I intend to dash to the side of the enormous critter before slashing it with my claws. A truly embarrassing scene follows. With the extra agility and movement bonuses from my new race and this racial skill, I am not used to this new speed. The world flashes by me and I overshoot the distance by an entire three yards and swipe my claws through empty air.

  Trying to cover up my actions, I ignore the failed attack and immediately start doing small dashes around the enemy to get used to the speed. The ‘Stone Dweller’ starts turning around in dizzying circles while trying to keep up with me.

  Once I am confident using my draconic speed, I close the distance to stand next to the creature. I am a little closer than planned, but it is still acceptable. With a single swing of my clawed hand, my fingers tear through the hard carapace as if it was paper. Four large red gouges are traced in the wake of my attack and the ‘Stone Dweller’s health drops by ninety percent.

  Shocked by the attack and damage, the enemy stumbles back several steps. It doesn’t exhibit fear, however, as one of its legs emanates a dull yellow glow before abruptly stabbing toward me. I am outside of its normal attack range, but the leg extends and pierces the distance between us.

  I immediately jump to the side and easily dodge the attack before closing in and killing it with a final slash of my claws.

  By now, two more of the ‘Stone Dwellers’ have fallen under my aggravation status effect while the final one is heading toward the party. Rather than wait for the enemies to reach me, I flex what feels like an additional muscle on my back and extend the pure white wings. I can clearly see the white, tattered leather membrane of the wings, which should have originally been black, and the scale plated bones supporting them.

  With a single flap of the wings, gravity seems to reverse and I am lifted off the ground and seven feet into the air. These wings have some minimal flight and gliding capabilities, but it still isn’t true flight. If this wasn’t a game skill guided by the system, there would be no possibility of me achieving this on my first try. I shakily manage to hover over the ‘Stone Dwellers’, before dropping down and relentlessly attacking them.

  Mason, unwilling to wait for me to take care of it, rapidly shoots several arrows with pinpoint accuracy and quickly kills the final enemy while it is still approaching them. His skill with a bow has increased significantly since becoming an elf, leaving me in awe at his speed and efficiency.

  “Verde, what are the benefits of becoming a Nekomata?” I ask, unable to withhold my curiosity after seeing Mason.

  Her ears twitch at my voice before explaining. “I have a permanent twenty percent bonus to my speed, and my agility is easier to raise at the expense of my strength. Not only is strength harder to train, I lost a third of what I had as well. If it wasn’t for your fame showing people how effective agility based builds can be, everyone would still be the heavy-armored strength based build and very few would choose this race.”

  “I suppose that’s not bad, but it doesn’t seem like much. Is there more?”

  “Of course! My hearing and sight are improved by ten percent, I can partially see in the dark, and I have a racial skill called ‘Nine Lives’ that can be used once a week to revive me at half health if I die. Once I get a little more skilled, I can also use my tail to grab objects.” Verde giggles lightly and curls the end of her tail as if to grab something.

  Mason laughs before adding, “Verde, I don’t think that last one can be considered a skill. But you, Lost, you haven’t told us about your new race. Spill the beans about that transformation of yours, it’s inc
redible!”

  Everyone’s eyes become harder as they stare at me intently, waiting for my response.

  Clearing my throat and deliberately extending the silence by not saying anything, I gratifyingly watch everyone becoming more and more impatient. Eventually, when everyone seems unable to hold back anymore, I explain.

  “Well, the race itself is called ‘Eternal Draconian’. All my stats are increased by ten percent. The draconic scales give me a twenty percent defense boost and have an effect similar to a shield. I gain twenty percent more experience than normal and I’m completely immune to illusion magic.

  “This transformation is my racial skill, ‘Partial Draconic Transformation’. It increases my strength by thirty points and triples my defense. I can’t wield any weapons, but my damage is equivalent to my total strength. I move twenty percent faster and am immune to fire and poison. There is no mana or stamina cost, but it can only be used once per real life day and disappears after just fifteen minutes.”

  Everyone listlessly stares at me for some time before they speak almost in unison, “That’s completely broken!!”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  Mason, the first to recover from shock and disbelief, explains the issue. “Lost, all races are supposed to be relatively equal to the original Human race. Some aspects are amplified, while others are reduced. Your race, the ‘Eternal Draconian’ as you called it, has none of these balancing reductions. Adding on top of that, your bonuses are far beyond what others have; the only possible conclusion is that your race is unfair.”

  Not knowing how to reply, I absentmindedly scratch my jaw. All of a sudden, Fen, who is standing beside me, whips her head around and looks at a nearby ridge.

  “What is it, Fen?” I ask, confused because she has never shown interest in others.

  “There was… someone.”

  Unfurling my wings and nearly hitting Fen, who moved to the side just in the nick of time, I flap them several times and climb fifty feet into the air. This is the apparent limit of how high I can fly, but it is enough of a vantage point to see all the way back to the city and beyond the plains to the forest on the other side.