NOVEL WEB V2 Chapter 84: Win
- 1st Person POV (MC)
-Present Time-
(“I win, I win... Who won? Yep, that’s me. Hehe...”)
If someone sees my face right now, they’ll think I’m weird but thankfully, I am at Home having a small dance or simply wiggling as I’m bad at it.
My grin is as wide as my cheek as I was finally able to walk from <Meditation> penalty and not shine brightly while checking the loot I’ve gotten from them.
(“Ahhh... I see... I see...”)
I’m reading the description of the clockwork-looking bow the archer had.
Well, my artefact is correct. It is designed for PVP against non-human players and I will store them in my Safe Inventory. There’s no way I’ll let this thing circulate in the market or drop if I die.
Aside from their clockwork weapons, the other thing they have in common is their necklace. It is not player make, that I can tell by glancing at the description.
This necklace has a small hexagonal pendant, engraved in sophistry and beautiful gold filigrees with words representing all six elements; water, fire, earth, wind, light, and dark. In the middle of it lies a carved image of a human.
Upon reading the description of the necklace, now I understand why they’re targeting non-human players.
They have an incentive to do it!
This necklace has an effect that gives a massive amount of EXPs to the PKers when they kill non-human players but they cannot gain EXPs normally like in PVE. The higher the LV of the killed non-human players, the higher the EXP given and! This necklace also served as a way for them to get ‘PK Quest’.
I see... I see...
It is one way to bypass the crippling EXPs gain from normal hunting but though? That’s kind of mean.
(“Where did they get this?”)
That question sprung into my mind as I let my artefact hover on top of the necklace.
“[All There Is To Know]”
*CLICKS* *CLACKS* *CLICKS*
All parts of my artefact began to realign themselves to make a somewhat telescope shape with the orb at the end acting as lenses facing the necklace.
Then information courses through my mind in the form of a video. I’m watching a replay of some sort...
--
It’s a well-furnished study chamber as I can see stained windows decorated with the designs of the 6 Gods & Goddesses of O.w.O world, shelves filled with books to the top, and the main desk is polished hardwood which shines attracting my eyes.
I see a figure sitting behind the desk dressed in a long white robe adorned by golden filigrees wearing a Mitre hat. Certainly, they exude the feeling of ‘Religious’ type especially that’s the robe of Priests in Saintear.
I don’t recognise his face, so he is not the Cardinals or The Saint of Saintear.
(“Who’s this person? And come to think of it, I do have a post-rebirth quest in Saintear, right? Better ask Siegfried and Booba to do those together”)
“Come in.” -Mysterious Priest-
His voice resounds in the chamber as the Archer and his group enter his study.
In an instant though, curtains drape over the windows as lights inside the room dim.
“I have heard that you wanted to listen to our teachings?” -Mysterious Priest-
The archer and the rest nod as he then begins to spout off some nonsense arranged in the form of preaching.
From their expression, I can tell they’re not interested but still watching the mysterious figure finish his preaching.
Occasionally, I listened to his words as he emphasised the values of humans with the creation myth. But he twisted it...
He honed in on why humans are the purest brings made by the Creator while the rest have been tainted by sins resulting in their hideous form.
(“Huh... When will this end anyway?”)
My brain automatically tuned his words out until he finished his preaching as he brought out the necklace and gave it to them.
“From today, you’ll be an *Initiate* of my faith. Cleanse those sinners in His name...” -Mysterious Priest-
(“Ahhh... So it’s a kind of ranking system? I didn’t know there are factions in O.w.O”)
I mean it sort of makes sense to have factions right? I’m going to post this information to Pochi Mochi’s forum.
(“Maybe with this, non-human players will be more cautious. Plus, I hope someone will be able to deal with them”)
With that, I went to the ‘Browse’ section of the system and searched for O.w.O Wikia as Pochi’s forum appeared at the first.
Immediately after, I quickly began to write all of this information to one discussion titled ‘PKers targeting non-human’ and post it as ‘Guest’.
“Alright! Done.”
Now what should I do next?
(“Ohhhhh... I forgot.”)
Right at that moment, I face-palmed myself. I was so in a hurry to go back that I forgot my initial goal in the first place. Which is to explore the Frozen Field and discover any new alchemical materials...
With that, I simply kissed Gaia goodbyes and waved to Oreo then moved to Frontera again.
“[World Teleportation]”
As soon as I uttered those words amidst the cluster of NPCs, my worldview promptly changed into a land surrounded by snow and ice with constant blizzards.
Looking up, the weather returned to its usual conditions instead of the clear night sky. [Realignment] doesn’t have a long duration since it is been an hour plus a few minutes after I used it.
“[Widen: Discover]”
A wave of invisible energy coursed through the entire Area and several dots of varying colours appeared on the System’s map.
So, it begins...
I searched this Area’s nooks and crannies discovering several dungeon spots that I noted in my players' journal. Including some dot points regarding equipment, players will get after conquering them.
“Haaa...”
I sighed in slight disappointment, throughout searching all of the revealed dots. Only 1 new alchemy material exists besides the normal ones found in Snow Field.
-System-
[Frozen Root (Rare)]
Description: a ginger-like plant that seems to be completely encased in a block of ice swirling in unstable water Mana. When thrown, it will explode dealing water element magical damage in an area.
-System-
(“Eh? That’s... Uh... Something I guess?”)
Based on the description, I think this alchemy ingredient will allow me to make a bomb-type potion.
(“Huh... I guess, I’ll sell the potion super cheap cause I didn’t see the use unless it deals a nice amount of damage.”)
With that, I searched a bit more to find if there were new alchemical ingredients besides this one only to get nothing.
Sighing and not finding any more, I left Frozen Field and returned to My Home as usual to give the seeds to my golems for replanting.
I then begin to experiment with Frozen Root by mixing it with poisonous ingredients like Death Bell resulting in a bomb.
I’ve already tried it with a training dummy with Rebirthed LVs and all that jazz. It dealt a somewhat good amount of D.O.T. and initial ice burst damage from Frozen Root so I guess I’ll sell it more expensive than I previously thought.
(“You know what? I’d name it M&M peppermint bomb”)
After registering that name, it is displayed in Players Market for sale as I close the window while the rest is still in ‘Auto’ craft.
(“Right! Time to tell Sieg about the halted unique quest and I still need to find the rest of the papers for this necromancy book.”)
Sending the notification, I packed my stuff only bringing the essentials like potions while still ‘naked’ in terms of armour before teleporting to Astera.
-Astera-
Upon arrival, I bask in the familiar environment of this place. Carriages powered by magic crystals steadily move from one part of the city to another, NPCs wearing tailored suits or body-hugging dresses each with their accompanied hats, and in the distance lies several towers spiralling above the skies so far up that the end of it blurred by the clouds.
Looking to my left and right, I can see every so often guards unique to Astera patrolling the streets with their characteristic rapier and sleek wand strapped on their hips.
“[Teleportation]”
I whispered as a slight breeze brushed my face and in doing so as if reading my intention. I was transported right in front of a massive tower that served as a library.
Signified by numerous mages both young and old visiting the tower for further studies or looking for reference.
Entering the library, I am still in awe of how massive this place is. Bookshelves reached high above the ceilings which were impossible to browse unless one used magic to do so.
In the form of crystal orbs in the middle of this tower where the receptionists are.
(“Now, if I remember correctly... the places are...”)
I quickly scroll the ball as it functions so similarly to a touch screen but in spherical form as I browse sections of bookshelves.
This... This... And this...
Upon confirming my decision, parchment scrolls viewed in the orb shine in blue light before vanishing. Each piece was then automatically combined in my inventory changing the icon into a more ‘Bookish’ shape.
...
...
...
(“Hmm... the last piece which is the book itself comes from the basement of this place if I remember correctly... it’s a dungeon.”)
I waved my hand while uttering ‘system’ as the familiar blue panel greeted me.
Glancing at the corner of it, the time is listed as 2:00 PM so it’s afternoon-ish still ways to go before the usual time for grinding.
(“I guess I’ll solo this dungeon.”)
I stretched my shoulder joints by spinning them around as a warm-up then waving my hands, the system’s panel shut off as I began walking down the magical stairs to the underground part of this library.
It constantly rearranged itself from one to another in a frightening manner and speed but sometimes if one has keen eyes, one can see a clear path leading much further below.
A mix of parkour and wait until the time is right kind of thing...
I capitalize on that chance to finally reach the basement part of this library.
It is dark and dingy with cobwebs and layers of dust spread everywhere. The only sources of light are sconces where dim globules shine their dying luminescence
Overall, the ambience of this place gives the vibe of ‘Abandoned’ as I scour for an entrance point to the dungeon.
(“Ah... There you go.”)
Suffice it to say it’s easy to spot as I see many players currently standing in front busily waving their hands in mid-air like operating an invisible screen.
(“Huh... The majority of them are wearing Astera’s robes. I wonder what drops the dungeon gives...”)
Before entering, I quickly opened the browser part of the system and searched for this dungeon. Joining in on the gestures of many players outside of this dungeon.
(“Let’s see...”)
I began scrolling through a myriad of dungeon names before giving up and using the ‘Find’ function typing in the name ‘Abandoned Library’.
(“Hmmm... They listed the enemies here too including the dungeon drops.”)
Ahhhhhh... I see why there are many Mage players here. One of the [Rare] drops in the dungeon is a ring that greatly reduces casting time with the penalty of reducing maximum HP. Fortunately and unfortunately, wearing another ring doesn’t add more reduced casting time so 1 ring is enough.
It's Pochi Mochi’s recommended ring for casters...
(“I understand why there are many Spell casters here.”)
“Hey!??? You’re an Astromancer right?” -Mage Player-
“Wah!”
I jumped a little bit then quickly turned to my side seeing three players each with their characteristic gear.
There’s a tall man dressed in white garb with golden embroideries having a symbol of Saintear stitched in. Judging by the non-armoured version of it, I can safely assume he’s a Cardinal class. He also wore a Mitre hat and black rim glasses as he noticed my glance and then faced me. I can see he has whiskers and cat-like eyes but his ears and tail are hidden beneath his gear. So... he’s a beastkin player, he waves before returning to chat with the smaller figure beside him.
Short and Stout akin to a dwarf decked out in padded metal armour is a Knight-class player but looking at the engravings, I presume she’s wearing Gran Fortia’s insignia... maybe she is a Royal Guard class or the higher version?
Ah! Guardian class.
That leads to the one in front of me, buzzing with electrifying energy and sometimes fidget is a young human male with spiky blonde hair and striking yellow eyes while constantly having a mischievous smirk on his face. Even in idle, he seems to be buzzing with energy waiting for me.
“Yeah. I’m an Astromancer.”
Upon hearing my answer, he gleams in infectious joy clapping his hands together.
“Yeyyyyyy!!!!! Then, can we party up? I really, realllllyyyy need that ring. [Guidance] helps with Loot RNG right?” -Mage Player-
He whipped to his teammates at the back who had their characteristic nods.
(“Huh... I guess, I have a better chance of getting it too by doing Group dungeon rather than solo.”)
“Sure!”
The mage grinned ear to ear then began fiddling something in mid-air and then I heard the tell-tale notification noise from the system as I accepted his party invite.
(“So... We have an Archmage, Guardian, and Cardinal.”)
“Let’s Go???!!!!” -Archmage-
He raised his eyebrows to both of his teammates plus me as I chuckled and gave a handout gesture suggesting that I was on board.
Receiving that, he tapped his finger mid-air then in an instant my worldview simply changed...