Origin ARS 5 (18 page)

For instance, a level ten sorcerer could
equip a level ten light leather vest. However, if they wanted to
have a higher-level piece of equipment they would need a higher
level of light armor skill. If the sorcerer had a light armor skill
level of forty, they could not equip anything higher than level ten
equipment. However, if they had a light armor skill level of eighty
they could equip level
twenty
light leather armor.

Alternatively, if the level ten sorcerer
wanted to equip steel field plate that was restricted to level one
hundred they would need to have a heavy armor skill level of four
hundred even if their class level was one hundred. They would need
to train their miscellaneous heavy armor skill at the slower growth
rate as though it were a class skill just to maintain relevance at
the same level.

Acquiring higher level items did not only
allow for better item stats, but a better chance of acquiring and
using unique items with special options at an earlier level. His
blue silk shirt, passionate red harem pants, and yellow silk sash
each had special options, though his other lower level purchases
did not.

[Clothing]

Blue Silk Shirt of the Starry Skies
[
Proof-Tested
]

This shirt woven from the silk of the
[
Shatterpillar
], a common insect monster in the Valkovian
region, is of medium quality and fineness. It is sleeveless in
design and makes quite the bold fashion statement.

Item Type:
Clothing (Light Armor)

Material:
Cloth (silk)

Level:
5

Restriction:
Sorcerer, Monk, Fighter

Durability:
24/24

Quality:
Medium

Fineness:
Medium

Defense:
8-14

Value:
2600

Special Option:
Improved Elemental Control:
Lightning

[—]

[Clothing]

Yellow Silk Sash of the Elusive Wind
[
Proof-Tested
]

This sash woven from the silk of the
[
Shatterpillar
], a common insect monster in the Valkovian
region, is of medium quality and fineness. It is simple wrap-around
design that is the perfect accessory for the discriminating monk or
sorcerer.

Item Type:
Clothing (Light Armor)

Material:
Cloth (silk)

Level:
7

Restriction:
Sorcerer, Monk

Durability:
16/16

Quality:
Medium

Fineness:
Medium

Defense:
4-9

Value:
1700

Special Option:
Increased Agility [+2]

[—]

[Clothing]

Passionate Red Pants of the Fire Dancer
[
Proof-Tested
]

This set of pants woven from the silk of the
[
Shatterpillar
], a common insect monster in the Valkovian
region, is of medium quality and fineness. It is a harem style
design and makes quite the bold fashion statement for the agile and
evocative.

Item Type:
Clothing (Light Armor)

Material:
Cloth (silk)

Level:
6

Restriction:
Sorcerer, Monk, Fighter

Durability:
25/25

Quality:
Medium

Fineness:
Medium

Defense:
9-14

Value:
3300

Special Option
: Flame Dance

[—]

Scott looked over the proof-testing of his
items for a moment. His other purchases; the underwear, socks,
boots, and gloves did not have anything special about them. They
also did not provide much additional protection. Their only good
quality was that they were not particularly expensive.

He had a little over one gold coin left that
he could spend since he needed to buy his license, so he looked
through a few other shops while chatting with Mid. He noticed that
items such as the bag that he had before were easy to buy in
stores, but they were rather expensive. A simple space bag cost
five gold Fayth. He settled for purchasing a money pouch for
forty-five silver. It only held five hundred coins of any
denomination, but it was better than walking around with an arm
load of money.

Scott decided to save his money after that.
If he needed anything else he could buy it in a store. There was
also the fact that he needed to live off of what he had in his
pocket for a while. He spent some time chatting with Mid then shut
down his Crysta-com.

A few minutes passed as the naked man made
his way over to the mailbox on the first floor. It was close to the
exit, but not close enough that he could not resist the urge to
tempt fate by opening the door.

Scott found several small boxes sitting next
to the mailbox, each of which was addressed to him. He opened them
up and donned his attire. After he finished getting dressed, he
glanced at the double doors that led outside, but he opted to
return to the salvation mirror first.

Inside his safe room Scott gazed upon his
himself in the mirror. He blinked twice then placed his hands upon
his hips. He then threw back his head, flashed a smug manly smile,
and laughed like a barrel-chested he-man from an old adventure
novel. "I look like a circus freak. Ah. Ha-ha-ha.
Ha-
ha
."

The colorfully clad man checked his stats and
skills one last time before he headed out.

[Status]

Scott Jacobs

Race:
Lunarii |
Class:
Twilight
Master

Age:
18 |
Max Lifespan:
Ageless

Level:
5 |
Title:
The
Reborn

Attack:
140[193-199] |
Defense:
141[232-250]

Strength:
100 |
Agility:
100[102] |
Vitality:
100

Intellect:
100 |
Charisma:
100
|
Attunement:
100

[—]

[Class Skills]

Unarmed Combat:
32

Twilight Sorcery:
31

Primordial Magic:
1

Sense Life:
30

Arcane Lore:
1

Arcane Mastery:
30

Light Armor:
30

Analyze:
31

[—]

[Miscellaneous Skills]

Survival Lore:
30

Boomerang Mastery:
1

[—]

"Colorful... and a badass." said Scott with a
grin. His grin faded after a moment then a slight sadness overcame
him. He sighed loudly then left the safe room for the final time.
He had become strangely attached to the place. It was his immortal
refuge from the hellions outside his door.

He strolled through the tutorial dungeon and
headed for the front door. Once he reached it, he took a deep
breath then slowly released it. "This is really happening, huh? I'm
really leaving this place?"

Scott turned back one last time in order to
give the tutorial dungeon its proper consideration. He could not
know the exact amount of time that he had spent there, but he felt
as though he had made something of a life for himself within the
confines of the subterranean transit authority building.

Nostalgia was a funny thing. The building and
everything in it had sucked big hairy demonic ogre balls. Yet, he
could not help but feel a little odd when he walked through that
door. He might still be a noob, honestly he probably would be a
noob in the world to come long after whatever happened with the
Lords of Destruction, happened. He was an outsider, a non-entity
who had crossed worlds. His place was not set, nor was it something
that could be decided easily. His purpose was to become strong,
have fun with his friends, and possibly save the world.

The blue-haired master of the twilight smiled
softly as the door closed behind him. He walked forward a few steps
then he faded away. Not long after, the world itself faded away and
it became as though it had never existed in the first place.

When Scott next opened his eyes it was in the
strange black void that he experienced whenever he had died
recently. In front of him flashed the words
important
message
. He tapped the air before him to open up the message
and he smiled broadly.

[Message]

It's about time you finished playing with those
hellions. How long do you expect a girl to wait, huh? No
consideration at all! Well, I'll have you know that I'm fine with
that.

I'll see you soon, Scott.

Oh, and I made a teensy, tiny, little mistake with
the time-dilation. It's nothing major, but Ero and Herbert won't be
joining you for at least nine hours if not a little longer. Time
has to resync properly.

Anyway, I have a few other things to tell you but
they can wait till we meet up in a few hours.

I love you, Scott. XOXOXO

~ Origin – Also, Rhea and Aria. Uhm... and a few
others you might meet... If you're a good boy.

PS:
Enclosed is something I thought that you
might like. Don't forget what you're fighting for. Hee hee.

PPS:
Drink some water. I know you'll be
thirsty.

PPPS:
Sorry, Shara wanted me to say that last
part...

[—]

Scott tapped on the attachment that came with
the message. His eyes immediately widened and he thought that his
heart might stop for a moment. "Rhea and Aria in low-cut wedding
dresses..." Apparently, Origin did not mind sharing if it was with
herself. That was good to know for future reference.

The image before him was of Origin in her
Rhea and Aria guises. The two forms of his goddess love were
wearing wedding dresses and hugging each other in a passionate
embrace. Their cheeks were pressed together as they looked out at
him longingly.

His face reddened slightly. Whether it was
because of the mind-altering effects of ARS or because he had just
seen the most absurdly beautiful sight in the world, he did not
know. He lifted his Crysta-com and pressed a crystal. "And now
you're my background image."

While he fiddled with his phone to set the
background he discovered that he had a music folder. He opened it
up and found a few musical selections were pre-downloaded.

"Ero's theme...? The High-Elf's Lament?"
Scott looked through them then blinked. "The Ballad of Fat
Scott?"

He clicked on the last one and listened for a
moment as a female voice that he was absolutely certain had to be
Shara began to sing. She sang out sweetly in a heartbreaking voice,
but the content of the song was ridiculous.

"Our love went away, the day you went to
your: Big. Fat. Grave..." The song rose to a powerful crescendo and
the music crashed all around him. "Oh—Oooh... Fat Scott, why did
you not: Eat. More. Fruit..."

He listened for a moment as she continued to
sing and then zeroed in once more when her voice started to rise.
"Couldn't you hear the heart behind my bountiful and lonesome
breasts...? It was crying out, oh It was
calling
."

The voice grew somber and sweet at the same
time. "Now, soft and lonely, they quiver everyday... here on my
chests." The song stopped suddenly and she spoke normally in a soft
and questioning tone. "I'm sad, so I can make chest plural
right?"

There was a quiet moment followed by a
lonesome sigh just before the music started once more. "And in the
darkness of my lonely heart... My tears... Won't stop
falling
..." sang the sweet voice of Shara.

Scott blinked then gazed at his Crysta-com
with a flat expression. "Seriously, Shara. What the hell." He kind
of wanted to find Shara and give her a big hug, but he also wanted
to laugh his ass off. He was so conflicted.

"This thing is fun." said Scott. Sure, it was
basically just a smart phone from a fantasy world, but it was still
fun.

The message floating in the air disappeared a
few minutes later and a glowing doorway appeared. Scott put his
Crysta-com in his pocket and then walked through the door. He
walked out onto the scene of a back alley. There was a dumpster
nearby and an overly large rat currently taking an equally large
rat crap off the side of said dumpster. He also saw what looked
like a guy who had the head of a bear passed out against a stone
wall. He had a bottle of something in his hand that Scott could
tell was alcoholic and incredibly sweet from the smell alone, even
at the current distance.

"Welcome to the fantasy life." he remarked
sarcastically.

He slipped past both rat and drunken
bear-headed man, and headed out toward the street beyond. Scott
looked around in fascination at the buildings and people around
him. The city looked like a strange fantastical version of a
near-future Earth. Just down the street he saw a couple of people
arguing while standing near a massive elephant-like creature.

He could not hear what they were saying, but
the huge elephant-thing sat down on top of what looked to be some
sort of vehicle. There was a loud sound that followed immediately
after. One of the arguing men started to scream in a high-pitched
tone while he pointed at his crushed vehicle.

Scott and several others watched as someone
in heavy armor rode up on a vehicle that looked a lot like
motorcycle that had no wheels. It hovered like something out of
science fiction, though there was the skitter and skirl of
electricity underneath the body of the machine.