Chapter 48: The Mountains of Helda I

{I have changed the look of the stat panel this chapter, let me know if you guys like it. I want to say thank you to Aeternabilis, he is the one that gave me the general look for the new stat panel. I hope many of you will stay even though chapters will have to be paid for soon, even if you don't want to stay, I say thank you for reading anyways!!}

I have decided to pull an all nighter in game. I shouldn't waste this time by getting off, so many players are leveling up and all I have done is stay at level 19. If traveling long distances wasn't such a problem then I would be the highest leveled player. The mountains I am heading to are notorious for high leveled creatures that are tough to kill. Well, maybe for a normal player with a normal class. I think I'll be able to dispatch of any creature I come across. Speaking of plans, I haven't heard anything from the world announcements about the Arch Grove and the battle happening. They may have already joined forces and are whittling down its massive health pool. I recall that its health is in the 10s of millions, impossible for a low leveled normal player. On the other hand, hundreds of thousands attacking the same target will eventually win against Arch Grove. Pretty much every major guild will come out of this worse for wear. Players levels will be lost faster than someone can say 'Well, shit on me.'.

I'm only a few minutes away from the entrance to the forested mountains and I'm excited for some combat, its been a long time since I got to fight monsters of a higher level than me. The half exp debuff sure is a pain in the ass, but I have no plans for anything other than Ancients World. The value rises by the day in the real world and nobody will be able to stay away for long. I can feel that more and more problems will arise in the future, but not specifically for me. I have altered the timeline and I don't know what my actions will bring. I can be sure some things have already changed, Ancients World has been effected by my actions already. In truth this is a curse from a divine class, if I use it right I can make great changes. If I use it wrong, it can cause disaster. Time has passed and I think I should focus on the up coming battles.

I arrive at the entrance to the forested mountains of Helda. I can feel monsters inside the forest, some are fighting over territory right now. I wonder what type of creatures are fighting each other, they have to be stronger then the rest in this place. I don't know the exact strength of the monsters, but they are very territorial by the feel of it. All I definitely know is that they are a higher level than me. If I play my cards right I can kill the 2 that are fighting and reap the exp for both, its uncommon for weaker monsters to fight each other. I start moving towards the conflicting energies and stay out of the line of sight. I just want to observe for now. I use inspect on both of them to see what the current situation is.

[Crimson Striped Spider Beast Lvl.35]

70,019/400,000

[Yellow Dotted Super Wasp Lvl.35]

66,705/395,000

These are some strong monsters. They are tougher then that earth elemental I fought, however they are both almost dead. It wouldn't be to difficult to kill them if they were at full health. This situation though, all the work is already done and all I got to do is use a couple of slash attacks and they are both done for. A 16 level gap means I'll die in 1 hit and these guys aren't pushovers, I should strike while the iron is hot. I draw my swords and launch my attack at the Wasp first, don't want it trying to fly away. I activate my slash skill and start doing damage.

[Yellow Dotted Super Wasp Lvl.35]

66,705/395,000

[You have dismembered the targets thorax]

[You have ignore armor]

-63,455

[You have dismembered the targets metasoma]

[You have ignored armor]

-63,455

+4000 exp

+800 slash exp

[You have leveled up]

[Slash has leveled up]

Now that the flyer is taken care of I can focus on the Spider Beast. I look over at it and see that its lunging at me and baring its fangs. Its very fast, probably has a higher speed stat than I do. Although, I've had years to practice my dodging, I twist and turn my body barely dodging the powerful jaws and legs of the spider. I feel the wind that the limbs create as they pass me. Now I have a gap since I pulled away. I begin my assault with slash and start eating its health.

[Crimson Striped Spider Beast Lvl.35]

70,019/400,000

[You have dismembered the targets 2 front legs]

[You have ignored armor]

-63,455

Its losing a lot of blood and looks ready to just stop and die. No point prolonging this so I quickly put it out of its misery and slash its head.

[You have hit a vital point]

[You have dismembered the targets head]

[You have ignored armor]

-126,910 critical

+4000 exp

+800 slash exp

I'm missing out on lots of player level exp, but Inheritor of the sword perk is coming in handy. It has doubled my skill exp gain and I'm close to level 12 for my slash skill. The best thing about this fight is I have finally made it to level 20, and that means I can see more information on characters around my level instead of just their names and health. I want to check my stats and see where I'm at now.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.20]

[Exp: 5,280/22,000]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden),+3 more]

[Stats]

[Strength - 850] [Endurance - 800] [Dexterity - 805] [Speed - 920] [Focus - 7300]

[Health: 6,600/6,600] [Mana: 73000/73000]

[Stat Points: 10] [Armor rating: 475]

[Inventory]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.4 325/400] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.4 225/400] [Slash Lvl.11 900/2000] [Parry Lvl.1 80/100] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A]

Looking at these amazing active skills I have noticed a small problem, I'm lacking any attacking skills other than slash. Next time I get a chance I should see about any skills I can learn from vendors. The slash skill is the basic skill for blade oriented classes when you start the game, anything should be equal to it or better. The 2 monsters didn't drop anything super good, but the spider did drop a silk ball. I can sell this to a clothing merchant for about 60 gold. I feel kind of bad now that I realize how hard everyone else is struggling to get gold. Most players probably only have about 10 to 15 gold by now.

I can continue to kill monsters while I search these mountains for Flint, I'm sure that he is deeper in. That's good for me since the deeper you go the better it gets, and I'm capable of hitting the end of this place. I will probably get a few more levels considering how strong everything is in here. There is no time to waste since I'm spending the night in game. I should keep my guard up in this place, you never know how tight it can get and when you find yourself in a sticky situation. As Cera is fighting and searching for The Hermit Flint the battle with the Arch Grove is lasting into the night. The leader of Willow Tree, Wilted Rose, is talking to the other guild leaders now that they have come to understand the strength of the roaming world boss.

I listen as multiple leaders yell their concerns and casualties in this battle. My guild didn't suffer as much as others did. I noticed the eerie feeling it gave off, and my instincts led me to far less casualties than the other guilds. Willow Tree is sure to come out of this stronger if we beat this thing. Dark Blade raises his hands to silence everyone in the meeting room. The tent goes quiet as we all listen to what he has to say. "We have all gravely underestimated the strength of the roaming world boss, despite only being level 30. It has more health than anything I have ever seen in this game, its safe to say that we thought this battle would go the same way others have in different games." I can agree with that statement. Not only did it overpower us, it learned as it fought. This doesn't just tell us Ancients World is truly different, it tells us that NPC's, bosses, and everyday creatures have the same, if not greater, intelligence as us.

This has caused many veteran gamers who are used to dumb A.I.'s or scripted fights to feel overwhelmed and defeated. Nobody in this tent was prepared for this game and all the changes and features it brought. Dark Blade continues talking and everyone is making sure they listen. "The only way we are taking this monster of a boss down is if we all join forces." As soon as he said that protests and arguments broke out. A lot of the guilds here have bad blood with each other, and aren't willing to share the rewards.

I completely understand where they are coming from, however many people in this tent also want to be the ones to take down the first roaming world boss. The glory is just as good as the rewards, everyone in this tent will have their names etched on the achievement board. The only person on the achievement board right now is The Son of Arch-Angel Michael. All the present guild leaders and their commanders would join him, many are hoping to get noticed by the mysterious man. I only want to draw more attention to my guild and improve growth potential in Ancients World.

The arguments don't plan to stop anytime soon so maybe I should give it a shot since the peaceful communications didn't work. I approach the table and look over to Dark Blade, I nod my head for him to take a step back and he allows me to speak this time. Everyone has noticed that I have taken the negotiations and are now prepared to listen to my idea since the other one didn't work. "Instead of fighting over the rewards now, how about we all agree to fight for them at a later date." Some look as me confused, and others know exactly what I'm talking about. Ancients World lets you put rewards in a collateral damage space, gamers refer to it as the black hole. The basics of the mechanic is all the guild leaders agree to put the rewards in a safe place held by the system, and then fight for them in a tournament at a later date. "We can settle who gets what the way gamers always have, this is the only solution I see." All the guilds in this tent are neck and neck in terms of power and money, it really just comes down to what you want and who you are fighting for it.

There is silence at first, but many begin to warm up to the idea. Many of them are willing to do this course of action, so I call up the system and set up a collateral damage space. Everyone in this tent eventually agrees and now that the system knows what we are doing we can combine our efforts and beat this damn thing.

There are many things happening in Ancients World right now, but the only person the gods of light and the dark ones are focusing on is Cera. Its not to say that they aren't interested in what's happening to the players fighting the Arch grove, only that Cera's journey is more detailed and intricate. This leaves more of the higher beings to be interested in his choices in the coming days. However, some of the dark ones are showing interest in certain players in the battle against Arch Grove.