As I made my way through Brothersteel, I had to ask myself how it was that Diane was able to get so much information so quickly. From what Nuoda had told me, there wasn’t much to be known about the dragon that had once been my player. Was it a simple difference of circumstances in the world of players? Was Diane simply better connected?
Though, for that matter, the way that she behaved was also different from other players. Even when she was still burdened by her negative trait making her draw more attention than others, she was remarkable as a rogue. For a while, the leveling speed of her skills even surpassed my own, which I didn’t believe was possible at the time.
Compare that to Nuoda or Ennolf, who didn’t know how to fight with their chosen weapons. Do they have rogues in their world, as well? I thought to myself, before naturally thinking of Ella, the fire mage that I met back in Athua, or even Karlson. Both of them fit into their roles far more naturally than the two foxfolk.
I’d like to ask her when we meet up. I thought to myself. Would it do me any good to know all of this? Not particularly, but it would be better than not saying anything.
Shaking my head, I turned my gaze to the nearby shops, looking at the goods on display. Here, in the city, I was able to see the true difference between various types of players. There were Chosen that were enthusiastically walking around, while others seemed incredibly despondent, worse than if they had been a Failure.
For instance, there was a young man, an elf by the look of him, whose eyes had lost their luster. The brand on his forehead was dim, but not burnt out, so his player should simply be logged out. I’d like to say that this individual was an isolated incident, but I could see several others in similar situations even on the same street.
Just how poorly do some of these players act? I thought to myself, eyes twitching in annoyance. I couldn’t help but remember the guild that I had left behind, who were essentially torturing their Chosen for their own profit.
Part of me considered staying the night in the city, just so I could have a soft bed to sleep on before heading out, but I quickly changed my mind on that. I still had most of what I saved from the bank in my inventory, so it was better for me to continue on my journey.
Diane said to head west, right? I wondered, unsure if she knew exactly where I was somehow. Then again, if I had only just arrived in Farro, it would make sense that I would need to go further west, especially if Shadowbane was on the other side of the country.
Once I made up my mind, I stopped by a general goods store to pick up some dried meat, spending ten silver for twenty portions. I still had some of my bread, but it would probably be better if I had at least some variation.
Aside from the meat, there wasn’t anything else that I critically needed from this area. Furthermore, the last time I spent in Brothersteel, the better. Once I left here, there would be less to be suspicious about in regards to the local guards.
That said, I activated my Ghost-X skill, making my way towards the western gate. Maybe in the next city, I would be able to take a teleport directly to Shadowbane to wait for Diane.
Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice me as I left the gate, though I did overhear several players talking about dungeon raids, or marveling at how large the world was. Of course, there were also those that complained because it took so long to move from one city to another.
What did they expect? If they wanted to travel quicker, all they would need to do is pay for a teleport. The only reason that I didn’t do so was because I didn’t want a record of my travel for the time being. Especially after what Diane had just told me.
Thus, I made my way out of the city, taking the dirt path heading to the west. This was clearly not a well-patrolled road like those typically found in Athua, but I could only assume that was because Brothersteel handled its own defenses, or because they had their hands too full with the nearby dungeons. I could imagine there being some kind of armored boss that inhabited the area.
Part of me wondered whether it was really a good idea to travel solo like I was doing. My skills certainly enabled me to do so, but… it was quite lonely without anyone to talk to. The most that I could do was open my friends list, debating over who I should message.
Ultimately, I settled for Diane. I didn’t want to further disturb Nuoda and Ennolf during their time together, and I couldn’t be sure what Ella was up to. Only Diane was someone that I knew was logged in at the moment. Do you have a map of Farro? I’ve just left Brothersteel, but want to make sure that I don’t miss Shadowbane.
Brothersteel? You’re further than I thought. After she sent that message, she sent me an image of a map, one that displayed the territory of Farro. In order to reach Shadowbane, I would need to pass through both Ardenveil and Sullenveil, as well as three smaller, unnamed villages.
How far are you right now? I asked, if for no other reason than to keep the conversation going.
I just left Ardenveil this afternoon. I was expecting it to take another two days of travel to reach Shadowbane, if I don’t find a dungeon along the way.
Looking at the map, I began to calculate the distance in my mind. Are you camping in the mountains just west of Ardenveil?
If I can’t make it to the village soon, I will.
I took a deep breath, my legs tensing as I typed out another message. Give me about two hours, and I should be caught up with you. The sun was starting to set, but I could run past sundown, so long as no monsters above level one hundred emerged.
There was no response for a moment, and I couldn’t be certain what she was thinking. However, Diane soon replied with a simple, Got it.
With that, my legs kicked off the ground, and I began truly sprinting. Before, I had been moving at roughly two steps per second, a brisk pace but not one to be considered running at all. Coupled with my Flicker Step able to carry me twenty meters in a single step, this had resulted in traveling a hundred kilometers in under an hour.
However, if I truly ran, using my full enhancements, I could almost double that speed. At more than three steps a second, that meant my total speed was almost two hundred and fifty kilometers an hour.
At this pace, I had to keep my eyes focused ahead, maintaining my Scout skill simply to see where I was going and not trip over a small bump in the road.
Granted, it was distracting, using my Flicker Step like this. It wasn’t a toggle skill like my enhancements, but rather an active skill. That meant that I had to activate it every time I took a step forward. On the plus side… this made what I was doing excellent training for that skill, its experience rising drastically as I ran.
I couldn’t be entirely sure how long had passed after I started running. The sun hadn’t finished setting yet when I passed around a small village, or the first city, which I assumed was Ardenveil. The flat plains had become more hilly, forcing me to slow down, and there was a small mountain range off to me left.
My feet skidded along the ground as I slid to a stop, looking around. I’ve just passed by Ardenveil, where are you?
Already? I haven’t finished hunting dinner yet. I’ll fire off a shadow bolt into the air so you can find me. When I read that message, I looked upwards. Thankfully, the sun hadn’t completely gone down, so it was still possible to make out a shadow spell flying into the air, without it being too conspicuous.
Sure enough, I saw such a bolt off to the left from the road, and began walking in that direction. Because the terrain was more uneven here, I needed to move a bit more slowly, but it still didn’t take me more than five minutes to find Diane, still in her ninja attire. She was currently in stealth, slowly moving along the ground towards a large serpent, one three meters in length.
The closer she came, the more cautious her movements. Out of curiosity, I appraised the monster, finding it to be level seventy-five, while Diane herself was level ninety-three. She probably didn’t need to exercise this much caution when fighting something so far below her level, but this was her style.
By the time she was within ten meters of the large serpent, she placed her hands together. Her shadow spread forwards to ensnare the creature as if made of thick ropes while an identical clone of herself appeared behind it, severing its head with twin daggers.
I watched Diane approach the monster, looting it hopefully… only to have the entire corpse dissolve into nothing. “No luck?” I asked, disabling my Ghost-X skill. Her shoulders flinched slightly, but she turned to face me with her typically passive expression.
“This was the sixth one. So far, I’ve only managed to get one meat drop from them.”
I thought that was probably what she was up to, glancing through my inventory. “I’ve got two pieces of Dragonewt Meat still, if that’s good enough?”
Diane thought for a moment, before nodding her head and holding a hand out. “I’ll prepare them.” She said, and I passed over the large chunks of meat to her.
“I’m surprised that you haven’t learned how to butcher monsters, if you regularly hunt for your meals like this.” I pointed out, but she simply shook her head.
“Too many variables. A lot of monsters have their own special requirements for butchering them. I tried to learn in Arisdrum, when I arrived here in Farro. However, in order to maintain my skill, I would need to visit every city’s library to learn the particular methods of handling the local monsters. It would slow me down too much, so I decided to simply do it this way. At worst, it gives me more experience.”
As she spoke, she pulled a simple cooking kit out of her inventory, as well as a spare dagger. Using the dagger, she started to cut up the meat into smaller chunks, adding various vegetables she had in her inventory. “There’s a spring nearby to collect water from, if you don’t mind?”
Shaking my head, I pulled out my enchanted wand, casting Create Water on the pot that she was using to prepare the food. A small clump of water began to form over the pot, falling into it, and I simply continued casting until the pot was full.
Diane blinked, her one visible eye looking at me. “You learned water magic?”
“I’m guessing that you never went to Aureakeep.” I said with a chuckle, putting the wand away. “It’s another border city, and they have what you players call Lifestyle magic. It’s Clean, Purify, and Create Water, if you’re interested.”
Diane gave a firm nod when she heard that. “I don’t use magic much, but… it would be nice, if you can teach them?”
I let out a small laugh, nodding my agreement. “Of course. I’ll think of a quest for them while you cook.”
I could feel the tension leave Diane’s body when I said that, turning her focus to cooking the stew that she had planned.
