Origin ARS 4 (25 page)

“This… This is great, right?” asked Sharde. She was clearly uncertain whether this was great or not. The various expressions on their faces made it seem more complicated than that.

“Yes. It is.” said Scott gently.

Rhea nodded slowly, and Ero smiled at the sight of it. Sharde noted the interaction and tried to determine its meaning.

“How did it happen?” asked Sharde.

“Well, when a fairy and a boy really like each other, they hug in a special way and then proceed to have hardcore tentac-” began Ero. Rhea reached over and gently encapsulated the fairy in her palms before she could finish speaking.

The elf maiden glanced over to Sharde. “We’re not even sure if she’s pregnant.”

Sharde tilted her head and looked at Rhea closely. “Really? That’s easy enough to check isn’t it?”

Rhea closed her eyes and nodded. “Yes, it is.” she said, before releasing Ero.

Ero fluttered up and then landed on Rhea’s head. She sat down with her ankles crossed then placed her hands in the space between her thighs. She leaned forward and smiled warmly. “It’s OK, there’s no rush. We’ll find out in time.”

Rhea smiled slightly. But the smile did not quite reach her eyes.

“Right, OK.” said Sharde. They did not seem like they wished to be pressed for information, and she was not
completely
clueless about such things.

Scott decided to change the subject. “How did community service go?”

She turned around and smiled at him warmly. “It went well, thank you. There have even been rumblings about promoting me.”

“A promotion, Shara?” asked Rhea curiously.

“Yeah. I’m not sure what they might intend. The first noticeable changes to the world won’t start for a few more months. I’m just getting things set up to move back to the town that I grew up in, now.”

“The time-difference hasn’t been set definitively yet, has it?” asked Rhea.

“No, not yet. Sometimes a day there is a few minutes here, and sometimes it’s a day or more. I think they aren’t sure what to set it at, though it’ll probably end at a four-to-one ratio since that’s standard.” said Sharde.

“Sounds like you’ll be busy for a while?” asked Scott.

“No need to sound so sad, big guy. I’ll always have time for you.” said Sharde with a wink.

Rhea did not make a comment about that, but her teeth did grind together slightly. “Still planning to help us out on the classic server?”

“Yeah, I’ll reincarnate and catch up to you guys once things settle down a little. There will be a lot of updates to deal with before that world goes live and the beta testers join the alpha testers.” said Sharde.

“You sure that’s the only reason?” asked Rhea, this time with a smile that bespoke actual warmth.

“Well, you know…” said Sharde, a goofy grin rising up upon her lips. “There
might
be another reason.”

“Oh? Like what?” asked Scott.

Sharde turned to him then smiled. “Just a reason.”

“Fair enough. Not sure what we’d do about it, but if there’s a problem let us know.” he said. If she did not want to tell him, it probably wasn’t worthy of his notice.

Sharde’s smile brightened considerably. “So, you’re concerned about me, are you?”

“Well, yeah. You’re going to be family.” he said.

Her face became slightly flush. Her voice became deeper, huskier. “Oh my. It’s so nice to know that you care, Scott. You really know how to make a girl feel
special
.”

Sharde’s expression changed to one of surprise when she was pulled back by her ponytail. “Down girl.” said Rhea.

“All he has to do is ask.” said Sharde shamelessly, before she unleashed a goofy grin.

Rhea frowned at her. Her nostrils flared slightly and she stared at her sister. “Don’t you have a
reason
?”

“I really hope so.” said Sharde softly, the mirthful expression lessened even as the words left her lips. There were many uncertainties in her near future.

Rhea’s expression softened. She reached out and gently embraced her twisted sister. “Me too.”

Sharde slipped her arms around Rhea then hugged her tight. This was something she had wanted for over twenty years, even more than she had wanted her
reason
. Her sister had always been there for her, not as much in the last fifty years or so, but twenty of those years were not really Origin’s fault.

Ero fluttered over to Scott and settled down on his shoulder. “Dude.”

“I know.” said Scott.

The two BFFs watched as the divine siblings cuddled and lightly petted each other on what once had been a battlefield. Sometimes people had to take comfort wherever and whenever they could get it.

Chapter 19: Revelation

Rain dripped down from bright green leaves. A rocky dirt path cut through the mountains was trod upon by the confident feet of an uncertain man. One month of hard training, and nightly tenderness, had passed since arrival in the final hunting ground that Scott would see on the casual server.

They had moved to the new location that Rhea had suggested, but between a sudden influx of work that she had been forced to attend to and a few death related set-backs for Scott, they had ended up spending more time on the process of leveling than they had wanted.

Rhea had remained behind to hunt the higher level monsters in the area. She wanted to force herself to level faster despite the dangers inherent in fighting second-tier monsters. Close to her goal of reaching level one hundred, she wanted to attain it by the time that Scott finished his final business.

Ero had stayed behind with Rhea, as she could not be with Scott during his profession quest. He had to go alone.

He raced along the mountain road, the wind whipping his hair. He had to reach the first stage of his profession quest at exactly the right moment. That was all that he knew.

In the distance Scott could see a mountain. Halfway to the top of that impressive sight there was a massive cathedral-like structure. It was the Dawn Call Citadel, an ancient home for the sorcerers who followed the path of balance. Stationed at neither the base, nor the summit, of the mountain they lived in a way native to their ideals.

His bare feet were not stung by the rocks along the way despite their loose and jagged nature. His flesh was far too tough for such mundane hindrances. However, not all was simple for him. The highland mist that clung to him did not keep his body cool and he sweated heavily during his run. The speeds that he ran at currently were taxing beyond belief.

The journey had begun at midnight. He had only one hour from the moment that false-dawn appeared to reach the base of the mountain. That way, he could greet the sentinel who barred the way forward the moment that the sun rose above the horizon.

The distance that he had to run was one thousand miles. Early in his career, his speed had matched directly with his strength and agility. However, over time his top running speed had ceased to match up in that way. He could outrun a sports car on the highway for a few minutes, but that speed could not be maintained long term. He would not be able to meet that requirement at his fastest steady running speed if he relied on his stats alone. However, upon reaching level one hundred he had acquired a new skill. It was a skill only available to those who had chosen consistently to follow the path of enlightenment and balance when choosing upgrades.

At first he had thought it would be impossible. He knew that ordinary people from Earth who trained for ultra-marathons had run hundreds of miles in a few days’ time. There were even people who had run for several days straight without sleep. Even so, he was not certain that he could run one thousand miles before dawn despite that fact. Distance was not an issue. He was certain that he could run one thousand miles without a problem. At this point he could literally fight all day long and not even breathe heavily. He rarely even broke a sweat during combat anymore.

He was far beyond the basic human norm at this point. Anyone would be if they were at his level. The problem was the speed that he had to obtain and maintain.

Scott ran till his sides began to burn and his heart thundered in his chest. He ran without cessation until he could use his skill once more. He felt the cool down period end and instinctively activated his new ability, Soul of the Hummingbird.

The world seemed to stop even as he ran forward as fast as he could go. He passed leaves that floated in mid-air after having fallen from their rain soaked branches. Rocks flung backward by his toes were hurled away like bullets fired from a machine gun. For one glorious minute he moved at speeds far beyond what his body could normally attain. Anyone who might have seen him in passing would have heard something akin to thunder, as he broke the sound barrier and then moved beyond even that speed.

In order to meet his goal he had to stay on the Phoenix Trail from the Mountains that he had trained at to another mountain near the sea on the opposite side of the continent. It had taken quite some time to get used to his new ability once he had learned it. Any attempt to fight with it activated had caused him to lose concentration and waste the mana that he used.

Scott hurdled a fallen tree that blocked his path and continued on. The mountain that had seemed to be in the far distance before loomed ominously close only a few seconds into the usage of his skill, but he did not slow down. He knew that it had nearly been an hour.

The naked sorcerer blurred to a stop just before the stone gates that barred the path to the steps. Scott walked forward, sweat pouring from his body, his thighs chafe and raw from the run. Various masculine parts of him ached from the forces that had been exerted on him by the mechanical motions of his body. He was tired, exhausted really. However, he had made it. Now he only had to knock on the gate using the ornate ring attached to it at precisely the right moment. If he failed to do that, he would fail the test and be forever denied the right to take the rest of the test.

As he waited for the sun to rise above the horizon, a surprising development occurred. An old man stumbled out of the woods!

Scott glanced at the old man. “Hey! Are you alright?”

The old man gasped loudly then clutched at his chest. “Please…”

Scott wasted no more time and ran over to the man. He knelt down and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been bitten by a serpent. The poison attacks the heart.”

“Shit! I don’t have any antidotes! Is there anything else I can do?” He’d been forced to empty his entire inventory for this quest. He took nothing with him but his determination and willingness to endure the shame of running naked for one thousand miles.

The old man slapped at his thigh. “Please, if you remove the poison… I… I might recover on my…” The elder fell silent and went limp.

Scott quickly removed the man’s pants and inspected him for a snake bite. What he found was a large bite mark on the man’s calf muscle that looked like the snake had tried to tear his leg off!

The sun could peek over the horizon at any moment, but Scott did not care. This old man was probably a local. He had only one life. How could he choose to abandon him for a profession quest?

The wound was already open, so there was no need to cut it. Scott sucked out some of the blood from the man’s wound then quickly spat it out and started again. He had never done that before, so he was not certain if he was doing it right.

After the fourth time, the old man’s eyes fluttered open and he whispered, “Thank you, my son.” Scott blinked as a message appeared before him.

[Message]

You have been deathly poisoned by the venom of the Greater Shadow Cobra! You will die in ten minutes without the antidote.

[--]

“Damn. Now I’m poisoned.” said Scott. The poison was serious too, there was not even hit point loss mentioned. He was simply going to die in ten minutes if the antidote was not administered.

“I am sorry. You tried to help me and now you too will die.”

Scott shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’d rather die helping someone than live by abandoning someone who needs my help.”

“Such noble words.” said the man cryptically.

Scott glanced at the man. “Maybe there is someone up at the citadel that can help?”

“Maybe, but I doubt it. They only admit sorcerers to their citadel.”

“I’m a sorcerer. They should let us in.”

“Should? You’ve never been here before, but you’re a sorcerer?” asked the man weakly.

“Yes, but we really need to try and get some sort of antidote.” said Scott.

The man nodded weakly. “There is one thing. We can eat the fruit of the Holy Mongoose.”

“Holy… Mongoose?” asked Scott. What kind of name was that for a plant?

“Yes, it is nearby. You could get there quickly.”

“Where is it?” asked Scott.

The elder pointed weakly toward a bush that grew a short distance away. It was in plain sight, but also clearly had but a single fruit.