Hey guys, a small notice.
We're almost reaching chapter 100, and this also means we're reaching a major story change as well.
Because of some schedule issues, I've been having with my other novels, I was thinking about reducing the number of daily releases back to 1 chapter per day.
This was something that would eventually happen, it was just a bit sooner than before.
Editing these chapters takes around 1 and a half hours, less if I focus completely on it and take no breaks, as such, doing two chapters takes quite a bit of my time every day.
Because of this, I've been getting late in other Novels, and that is a big problem.
Overall, my idea is that I'll try to put more effort into each chapter edited to make up a little for the reduced chapter release.
Instead of 2 2.6+K chapters a day, something along the lines of a 3K chapter.
(This one was about 2.8K, not counting notes, 2.9K with them)
At least until we go back to where we stopped, that would be around chapter 150.
Suggestions and feedback are always welcomed.
Enjoy the chapter!
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[Logging in...]
[Welcome back to Azimuth player DareDevil]
As the soothing and gentle female voice of the game system echoed in his ears, Dale opened his eyes as he slowly raised from his bed in the Inn.
Another night had passed, another day had gone by, and it was time to work.
He slowly got up from the bed, stretching his body as he changed his clothes.
"..."
But he soon noticed something as he opened a small chest on the ground...
'Urg… This is bad…'
'The number of clean clothes I can use keeps decreasing…'
'Don't tell me I'll have to waste time cleaning them… Or worse... Will I have to ask someone else to do it for me?...'
Shaking his head, Dale put on a new set of clothes, throwing the dirty clothes on a pile in the corner of his room...
But after he looked at it, he let out a sigh and properly organized the clothes into different piles before turning around...
He looked at David, who was now resting on a small pillow atop the table next to his bed, and the latter looked at him as well, breaking his act as a statue.
"Good morning." David said with a complex expression as he looked at Dale up and down
There was confusion hidden deep within his eyes, had something happened? And if so, what had he seen to make him like that?
Unfortunately, Dale was not paying attention to him to notice those changes...
He only rolled his eyes as he already knew how things went.
If the little guy was speaking, then it meant that there was no one to overhear their conversation.
There was no point bickering with him to be cautious either.
So he replied:
"Likewise, David."
But as Dale grabbed him, David's expression eased up as he said:
"Today there's a lot to do..."
"Hm? How so?"
Dale already knew today would be busy, at least as busy as any other day.
And although he didn't have a proper schedule, he would just focus on his objective, getting stronger.
Although as always, if his presence is necessary, he wouldn't mind stopping to help.
"First, that alchemist girl, she should be cured already, so it might be a good idea to visit her."
"Yumi, huh?... If she's alright I'll visit her since there are some materials I need her to take a look at."
'Besides, being the only alchemist in the Village, her health is extremely important…'
'There might also have some things worth discussing with her.'
"There's also that old man, Edimund was his name, he passed through here some time ago but seeing that you were still sleeping, he left."
"I believe he had some urgent thing to discuss with you, probably regarding the books you and the other old man recovered."
Dale nodded, already expecting this.
There was a reward Edimund had promised him before any of that had even happened, maybe it was finally time for that.
He didn't expect much, and it likely wasn't anything impressive either, as the way he spoke was more about thanking him rather than rewarding him.
Regardless of what it was, it wouldn't be bad to check it out.
"Sure thing."
"These books are only rotting with me, so the sooner they're put into use the better."
'This must be the consequences of my choice as well.'
'The Event can't happen if they don't have access to the books… There must be a natural sequence of actions that must be followed before the conditions of the Event trigger into effect.'
'Otherwise, the books in my inventory would've all vanished by now.'
'This is good in a way as it gives me further control over it all, but it can also be bad in the sense that, if I lose my timing or the overall idea of what is going on, I could end up messing everything up, either in a large scale or in a small one.'
"Aside from that, it's imperative that you fix the Church as soon as possible." David said with a frown as he expressed his dissatisfaction
"I need to go back to my previous task of gathering power, this time, make sure to find a solution for the problem in regards to the offerings, I don't want to suffer in those coins again."
Dale nodded, he planned to do it regardless.
[DING]
[Your quest has been updated]
[Herb Chain part 2
With her motivation back on track, the alchemist will now resume her great work.
Even though many of the immediate problems have been resolved, the alchemist is still in need of a helping hand.
Find out what she needs!
>Requirements:
Wait for the alchemist to recover to receive an update. 1/1
Visit the alchemist and talk with her about further tasks 0/1
#Making the alchemist wait too long will result in your Intimacy dropping!
]
Dale expected this to happen, so his reaction was pretty normal.
But it was what happened next that drove him into confusion:
[DING]
[Special Quest has been triggered, A Light within the Dark]
[Something strange is happening with your friend, Testros…
>Requirements:
Go visit him in the training grounds before it's too late 0/1
>Penalty:
Failing to visit him in time will result in unforeseeable consequences!
]
"..."
'What?...'
"Dale?"
"I..."
Dale shook his head with a frown.
"I was just thinking, let's go." He said as he strapped the golden head to his waist as usual
/Creak.../
He opened the door outside, starting another day of adventures.
...
/Giggles!/
On the way down, he met with some of the children, but unfortunately today, he couldn't play with them.
He even skipped the food on the table, and even though the Buff was tempting, he had somewhere else to be right now…
He didn't see Illia though, something relatively unusual.
Upon asking the kids, they simply said she was called to the Guild for something. In fact, she had already returned, but she left again.
The kids seemed to debate whether she had left for the bathroom or something else… Making Dale smile awkwardly as he left the Inn.
…
As he walked on the streets, Dale couldn't help but notice how clean and tidy everything was.
But he quickly understood why as he watched the players all around him.
"Ha...!"
'Oops, almost lost my cool there...'
'It seems those miscellaneous quests are finally working their magic.'
'I never bothered to do them, as there were other options... Better options.'
'But that's not the case for them, competition must be extreme...'
'And even if they're almost endless, the good ones aren't.'
'Fix the roads, fix the fences, fix this and that… As the days pass, Resko will look a little more pretty to the eye.'
'With the increasing number of players, Resko is starting to change… As I expected from the beginning.'
'Unless Resko received a massive increase in its population, it would be impossible to assign a workforce to do those meaningless tasks, but with the players, things change...'
'And most importantly, it seems the players aren't hating this… And even if they aren't enjoying it, at the very least they aren't hating doing this sort of work.'
The reason for that would later be known to Dale the players were simply satisfied with the Experience and monetary rewards they could get by doing them.
Even if it's tiring, fixing the fences and other things didn't take long at all, and for many players, it was much better than digging sand or being sent to jail like the other Guild players Dale killed.
Even now they still can't log back into the game, a full 48-hour forced Logout, which under the time dilation was a total of 6 in-game days.
Besides, by doing these miscellaneous quests, they can increase their Reputation, even if slow, given 5-7 days, they'll rid themselves of this cursed status once their Reputation goes beyond +10.
On the way, by doing enough of those, they would increase their Ranks within the Guild as well, something that would prove to be very beneficial eventually...
Or so they hoped.
"Things are... Going well." Dale said after he thought for a while
'Besides that, I heard that some of the players that started with either random characters or managed to acquire crafting Skills are loving this setup because they can also raise their Skills' rating together with everything else at the same time.'
'Their numbers compared to the others is extremely low, but over time, once their Skills rise, they'll become some of the bigshots of the players, as the first generation of craftsman.'
...
As he made his way to the training grounds, many of the players gazed at him, as always, it was difficult to miss him, a tall and buff man holding a massive sword with a golden head tied to his waist, shining under the sun, wasn't something difficult to miss.
Some even tried to start a conversation with him…
But he quickly put them down, not because he was rude, but simply because he didn't have the time to waste.
And also because he was acting as per the rules, these low Rep players needed to know their place.
Go farm some Reputation points and then he could spare them a glance!
So... Within 5 minutes, he arrived at the training grounds…
…
/Trust… Swipe… Cut…/
"Hm?"
'Nothing much is happening…'
Once he arrived at the training grounds, the only thing he saw was the usual scene of an old man swinging his spear at a straw Dummy.
Sometimes, he stopped, grabbed a sword on the ground, and repeated a series of simple moves against it before going back to the spear and doing it all again.
Dale didn't know who to praise, the old man for having such stamina, or the straw Dummy for still standing despite the beating it was taking.
However, seeing as nothing had changed, he simply opened his mouth and…
"HE…"
[SHIU!] David suddenly exclaimed as he interrupted Dale
"Wh...?"
'That was damn loud... Ouch...'
Dale instinctively put his hands on his ears, complaining about the noise David had unleashed upon his mind.
[Phew... Thankfully, you didn't manage to break his concentration, that would've been a disaster…]
'You... What do you mean?' He asked as he calmed down
Dale wasn't stupid, something strange seemed to be going on, but he just couldn't tell why.
He looked around but saw nothing outside of the ordinary, he wanted to try and figure it out on his own, but nothing came to his mind.
And seeing this, David did not hesitate to mock him:
[How ignorant can you be? Pay more attention to him, he's in a trance!]
'??'
Dale turned his eyes to Testros, and upon a closer inspection, he did notice that his eyes were unfocused, and unmoving, no matter how much his body moved, they always stopped there, looking forward, fixated on something…
Which seemed to be the straw Dummy, but at the same time not.
What was he seeing, truly? It definitely wasn't the Dummy...
It was very creepy, and it made Dale think the old man was sick…
[Take a close look, Dale, this is something not many can achieve in their lifetime…]
[Imprint it within your mind, an opportunity of a Lifetime...]
[DING]
[You have completed the Special Quest, A Light within the Dark]
[Your reward is an opportunity]
[Make sure to mark this event in your mind]
The system's messages were rather eerie, very different from their usual tone and writing style as if someone else was behind it...
Of course, that was impossible. There was only one AI in charge of Azimuth.
"Wh…"
David's words and the system's notification made him even more confused as he raised his right eyebrow.
[SHIU! No. More. Sounds!]
He didn't know what was happening, but he complied.
"..."
Testros suddenly stopped his movements, however, something changed…
'The air… It's moving?...'
Something that would've normally just been brushed off in his mind seemed rather odd right now.
Well, everything was already strange, why not pay attention to this rather unassuming detail?
And with a closer look, he understood that something was very wrong…
/Tremble…/
The air started to rush to Testros, as if wanting to tear him apart!
But that was simply an illusion, instead, the chaotic wind started to revolve around him, shaking the sandy ground beneath him as if a hurricane was about to form.
Dale found it fascinating, he wanted to figure out how and why, so he paid even more attention... To the point he hadn't realized Testros had turned to him at some point in time.
The moment he did so, Testros' unfocused eyes closed, but his eyelids glowed blue.
The tip of his spear also started to glow.
He got into a stance and pierced…
"!"
[EVADE IT YOU FUCKING IDIOT!] David exclaimed, breaking Dale's concentration
/BOOOM!/
Dale barely had enough time to jump to the side as a column of air made its way across the ground like a meteor, cleaving a deep ravine on the rocky ground…
This Ravine was at least a person's deep and wide, and it made all the way from the center of the training grounds to him and a bit further, almost going out onto the streets.
A full 18M…
If his body had been hit by that, Dale would've been blasted into pieces.
"What just happened…" Dale complained as he got up from the ground, rubble falling from his shoulders
And his answer soon came:
[DING]
[A Sub Event, Character Growth, has been triggered]
[After many Decades of training the Basics he learned in his youth, Testros Palinar, a survivor of the fallen and disgraced Southern Corps has achieved Enlightenment upon learning of the fate of his superiors and recovering their legacy, his lifelong dream]
[With his shoulders now lighter, a worthy successor to inherit his will, and the path ahead made clear, he managed to grasp the meaning behind his training and integrate the Advanced Techniques he recovered into his own combat style]
[Arise oh warrior, take it onto yourself to achieve what your predecessors could not!]
[The birth of a Master!]
"..."
Dale was shocked, and impressed, a flurry of complex emotions traveled through his body, culminating in a single thought:
'So that is how it is done…'
[You have directly influenced the events that resulted in the birth of a new Master!]
[You have observed someone go through Enlightenment!]
[Adapting…]
Dale suddenly felt his mind clear, his shoulders lightened under the mechanical voice of the Green Box… But he did not pay it any heed.
[You've entered into a trance]
/Fwoosh.../
/Clang!/
In front of Dale, Caladgolg suddenly crashed, flying all the way from the Inn to where he was, glowing in its beautiful multicolor light as the sunlight fell on it.
It felt surreal but oddly fitting, it twinkled under the sun, itching him to grab it.
He raised his hand and grabbed it, the sword was as light as a normal hammer now, but this detail passed through his mind as well.
He felt as if he had understood something, he just had to make it clear in his head…
Like when someone loses himself in a mathematical problem, the answer was on the tip of his tongue, the formulas were all there.
He just had to put everything together and find out what lay ahead…
/SLASH!/
So Dale raised his sword and struck forward, a motion so very similar to what he had just watched… Albeit much more contained.
The air didn't listen to his movements, the earth didn't part to his will, it was a simple yet faithful sword slash.
And when he did so, he felt as if the answer momentarily appeared, giving him a feeling of euphoria and self-accomplishment.
But just as fast as it came, it vanished, plunging him into darkness once more.
So his hands moved once more.
…
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Notes
This chapter was pretty neat, it's also the start of the major plot points that will make Dale start to understand Azimuth is much more serious than he could've ever imagined.
Let's see what happens from here on.
I'll take a small break as I go to the Gym, and once I'm back, the next chapter will be posted.
Peace!
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