n

n

n

"Why can't they make this game more normal?

" Nikki mumbled, knowing full well that that was unlikely to happen.

n

"Like they care, you heard their boast about letting the game end. We need to prove to them that they should not underestimate us.

" Therdul said.

n

"Therdul, do you think we can even make a difference?

" Elizabeth asked, directing everyone's attention to the thousands of NPCs around them.

"We aren't even able to do as much as the same number of NPCs. Adding insult to this, we do not even account for a fraction of the population.

"

n

"Elizabeth, we do not die. We can learn from all of our mistakes. I feel the real question is more whether or not the game will be up long enough for us to become useful.

" Eldrian chipped in, receiving nods of approval from the rest of the party.

nEldrian continued on, turning towards Therdul,

"You also can't say that the developers don't care. They are still making updates to allow us to play the game better. They only went a bit overboard with that statement of theirs.

"

nWhile many of those around him did not agree with Eldrian's last statement, they did take the rest to heart. Their peaceful reflection being ruined by Ilmadia.

n

"Hey Haru, can you show us that trick you did at the Adventurers Guild. Elizabeth said it is amazing.

"

n

"Ilmadia!

" Elizabeth shouted, wanting to scold her, but Eldrian interrupted before she could.

n

"Elizabeth it's fine. I did not tell you how I learned it since I don't think anyone would be able to copy me.

" Eldrian said, thinking that that was why Elizabeth had suddenly stopped Ilmadia from talking more.

n

"Why? Do you think we are stupid?

" Ilmadia asked in slight anger.

n

"No. It is just... According to Dave, it will not be possible for other races to learn as I had. He is still trying to figure out if his plan will work.

"

n

"But I am also an elf.

" Ilmadia countered, feeling cheated.

n

"But you are a Moon Elf, correct?

" Eldrian questioned, finding the answer to be obvious. While players could change their skin color when joining the game, this mostly went for human players. Other races were a bit less free to change their skin color.

nElves, for example, were quite hard limited. High Elves generally had white skin, Eldrian having found the darkest he could make his skin was to a sun-kissed tone.

nSun elves on the other hand could not go lighter than a dark tan. Wood Elves had the highest variance allowaned, being able to go from a tanned white to dark brown.

nMoon Elves like Ilmadia could not even change their skin color at all. All Moon Elves had pure milky white skin.

n

"I am. But that still does not explain why I can't learn it?

" Ilmadia asked.

n

"While we both are elves, we are not the same. I am a High Elf, so I could not use magic at all. Not until I had taken a great deal of time to learn how.

"

n

"You were able to cast magic from the start, correct?

" Eldian asked, receiving a nod in reply,

"That is the limiting factor.

"

n

"Then, would it be better if I changed to High Elves?

" Ilmadia asked, getting a firm no from Eldrian.

nHe explained to her what he had to go through to reach where he was, highlighting the effort and strain it had taken.

nIlmadia quickly backed off after hearing this. She had chosen to be a Moon Elf since she did not really want to be involved in the fighting. This race was an excellent choice for a healer, or at least that was what she had thought before finding out how little she could do at her current level and Tier.

n

"Show us what she asked!

" Judith suddenly interrupted, bringing the conversation back from where it had wandered.

n

"Alright,

" Eldrian replied, casting Floga. He had no reason not to use the flame, for some reason he wanted to show off a bit.

nEldrian then played a bit with the flame, letting it fly around him. Whirl, twirl and flick. His show leaving everyone entranced as they watched the flame which now seemed more like a wisp than a flame.

nAfter Eldrian ended his show it was about time to get moving again, the next bit of the travel continuing in the same manner. Since he could not try and learn how to cast Velona Pa, Eldrian tried some other things while walking. Like keeping Floga active, curious on how long he could manage this.

nAfter having kept the flame around for half an hour Eldrian got his first level of magic fatigue. Which told him that while keeping the flame took less mana, it seemed to cause fatigue to grow faster.

nDuring their travel Eldrian also joined the group in discussing other topics. All of them sharing their opinions on the developers and how they were treating their clients.

nThey could not truly curse the company since the headset would still be usable even if the game stopped, along with the company actually supporting players and updating the game. They simply complained about the manner in which the company was treating them.

nThis led to their conversation heading to the NPCs, The players all felt that the NPCs were the true victims. While some in the group still felt that NPCs were lesser than players, many did not share this opinion. Not after all the time they had spent in the game, many had started treating NPCs as true people.

nThis entire discussion devolved into a heated debate among the entire player base. All of them being all too happy to have something to talk about while walking, even if it turned into a shouting match every few minutes. This actually made it even better.

nThe players' debate garnered a great deal of disapproving glances from the NPCs. The NPCs feeling that the players were treating everything too lightly.

nFinally, as night neared the topic came back to magic. Eldrian curiously asking how those around him were using magic. What they were able to do and how it worked. Making sure to ask the melee fighters and archers too, since he really wanted to learn how to use skills.

n

"So, you are saying that you can't control your spells. Like not at all?

" Eldrian asked, finding this statement to be really weird. He could understand if it was their first time casting the spells, but them saying that they could not even after having cast it a hundred times left him a little wordless.

n

"No, we can control it right as we cast it. That is how we determine what we want the spell to hit or do. It is similar to aiming a gun. We can aim it, but after letting loose we can no longer control where the bullet goes.

" Ilmadia replied to Eldrian's question.

n

"That makes sense,

" Eldrian nodded, feeling that it was similar to his first few casts. Where he simply cast the spell to see what would happen when he did, trying to find the changes in mana. After which he would slowly adapt to these changes to take control of the spell.

n

"And skills, how do they work?

" Eldrian asked, finding the reply even weirder.

n

"It is like the system takes control of our body and finishes the movement for us.

" Therdul said, trying to explain it. This continued for quite some time, so much that they had stopped again and the NPCs were already setting up camp.

n

"Let's fight!

" Judith shouted, tired with the conversation that was going nowhere.

n

"Wait, what?

" Eldrian asked, completely caught off guard.

n

"You won't understand unless we fight. Don't worry, I won't kill you.

"

nHesitating Eldrian looked around, seeing no one intervene he sighed.

"Do you have training weapons?

"

n

"Of course not, why would we need that. I'll make sure to not kill you.

" Judith quickly answered.

nNot what I am worried about. Eldrian mumbled, leaving the group to find some. He felt certain that the NPCs would have brought some and they were in the right division to get some if there was any. Him leaving caught everyone off guard.

nEldrian returned after a few minutes, carrying a spear for himself and a greatsword for Judith.

nElizabeth was currently arguing with Judith but stopped as soon as Eldrian came back.

n

"Here, training weapons,

" Eldrian said, handing the sword to Judith.

n

"I said we don't need them!

"

n

"No, you do,

" Eldrian replied, shaking his head as he walked back to get some proper distance.

nHe did not want others to know that he had a magic weapon, while he felt everyone here were good people, he would rather be safe than overly trusting. More than that, he was afraid of accidentally killing Judith in the fight. Grace was simply too strong, one good hit and she would be dead.

n

"Are you looking down on me!

" Judith retorted, finding Eldrian's reply an insult to her strength. She had heard how Eldrian had not done much fighting. Sure he had seemingly been really strong during the first event, but at that time most people had not adapted to how the game's combat worked.

nIt had also been a long time ago, during which she had been training and fighting each day. Eldrian on the other hand had spent most of his time learning magic and blacksmithing. She felt confident that she would be far stronger than him.

n

"I am not. I just do not want accidents to happen,

" Eldrian replied calmly, taking his stance. Spear pointing towards Judith, feet spread and vigilant. From what he had learned he knew that skills could be really useful and unpredictable, he had no idea how good Judith would be at using mixing them into their fight. As such he was fully focused.

n

"Elizabeth, say when we start.

" Judith said, causing Elizabeth to feel bad. She had not invited Eldrian here to get him to fight them. She was still hoping to keep a good relationship with him, feeling certain that he would be of great help.

nA blacksmith for players was in short supply, Eldrian being the only one she had heard of to actually become a smiths apprentice. Most players could not get a real blacksmith to take them, and if they did then the blacksmith was only a Tier 2 or 3 smith.

nElizabeth knew that Boran was at least Tier 6. Many of the soldiers would often brag if they had gotten equipment from Boran, which made this knowledge quite widespread.

nTurning to Eldrian she was relieved to see him give her a nod of approval.

n

"Alright then...

" She paused for a few seconds before shouting,

"Start!

"

n