Civilization

"It's nice to meet you as well, Nina. Let me do a brief introduction to everyone here. The one healing your friend is Solar, next to her is Stellar. Over there is David, Kingston and Gibing. Kingston is another player and yes, Gibing is a hobgoblin. They are allies. Other hobgoblins include Gyumi, Gewari, and Gopopo. There are so some goblin scouts and archers.

Moving on, that is Celine, Sylvia, Yor, and the other shield bearers. There is a mix of humans and demi-humans as well as wolves, which you have already met." - Ian

I take my time, pointing out each different individual as I introduce them to Nina.

"It's nice to meet everyone, as you know, my name is  Nina and my friend's name is Lynn." - Nina

"It's nice to meet you, too. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Ian and Solar. " - Lynn

"Are you feeling better?" - Solar

"Yes I am, thank you, Solar." - Lynn

I turn toward Nina after introducing everyone.

"If you don't mind me asking. What happened prior to when you posted on the forum?" - Ian

"I don't mind talking, about it. I was originally in a party of Travelers and NPCs. There were a total of 5 Travelers and 5 NPCs, with each Traveler having an NPC that was loyal to them. We were roaming around the mountain range further down, fighting monsters as a team and gaining loot and ancient ruins together.

We were getting along very well, until one night we got into a fight with spiders. It started off okay, with us pushing the spiders back, but then Lynn got kidnapped by a spider. I obviously wanted to go save her which I did, however, everyone else was against it. They were saying, oh it's just an NPC you can let her die, or it's too hard to go into an unknown cave to save her we should wait awhile before going in.

They constantly made excuses to not go into the cave to save Lynn, and I couldn't take it. I ventured in myself to save her. It was hard, but I got lucky. Lynn had fought against the monsters around her and was trying to escape. We met up in the cave, but she was already injured at that point.

I didn't want to go back to those selfish people, and Lynn didn't feel comfortable being around them either, so we went deeper into the cave. There were many forks in the cave, and luckily we were able to make it out. Doing our best to get away from the spiders, we kept moving even though Lynn was injured.

Eventually, we head down the mountain towards the grassland here and kept walking along. We found a cave to rest up, and then all that stuff that happened yesterday happened. I felt insecure and tried to reach out to people in case there was someone nearby. That person just happened to be you, Ian. Thank you again for agreeing to come and help my friend." - Nina

"It's fine, I'm sure you would have done the same if I was in that situation. I have to ask, though, did you or Lynn see the leader of the spiders?" - Ian

Nina closes her eyes and her brow furrowed in confusion. She opens her eyes and looks at Lynn, who has been listening in on the conversation, and sees her shake her head.

"No, I didn't see anything. Lynn also agrees that she didn't see any leader type spider." - Nina

"Hmm, that's okay. What is your plan now?" - Ian

"Huh? Plan? Umm, what do you mean?" - Nina

"Like, what are you going to do after Lynn is healed?" - Ian

"Umm, I haven't thought about it. Is it okay if we keep following you and your group? We don't really have anywhere else to go, and monsters are only going to get harder since we are just 2 people." - Nina

I give Nina a smile and place my hand on her shoulder.

"Of course, you can come with us. We were about to head back to the main village since the reason we traveled here to was to find a treasure. That mask that Stellar is wearing was what we found, and now we are on the way back to rest." - Ian

"That's great! Don't worry, both Lynn and I aren't dead weights. I'm sure you have noticed, but we have these 2 books. They are items that allow us to cast magic." - Nina

"I have been curious about them. Am I allowed to hold yours to see the information?" - Ian

"Sure! Go ahead." - Nina

Nina pulls the strap over her head and passes me her red book.

[ Beginner Fire Mage Book (Bound - Nina) (Upgradeable)

This book is bound to the user who touched it first and allows for simple fire spells to be cast.

Fire Bolt (Active) 1MP - Cast a small ball of fire that flies towards a stated direction. ( Dmg: 5 + 10% INT) Cast time 1 second. Cooldown 10 seconds.

Ignite (Active) 3MP - Create a spark on a target, igniting them and causing damage over time for 30 seconds. ( Dmg: 15 + 10%INT) Cast Time is instantaneous. Cooldown 1 minute.

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"This is AMAZING! An item which gives you 5 spells altogether." - Ian

"YEP! Lynn has a similar item, and while we haven't fully unlocked all the spells, it's better than nothing." - Nina

"What do you mean better than nothing? You can instantly set something on fire as well as cast a Fire Bolt at an enemy. So long the creature you are dealing with is susceptible to fire, then you would be able to deal big damage to it just by setting it alight." - Ian

Nina's face beams with excitement as she comes closer to me.

"I KNOW RIGHT! I'M ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THIS ITEM!" - Nina

"How did you get it?" - Ian

"Ancient ruins. In fact, it was 2 ancient ruins that were next to each other in a cave. They gave me the Beginner Fire Mage Book and the Beginner Ice Mage Book. Afterward, any ancient ruin I found I pray for an increase in Intelligence, so I do more damage." - Nina

"Isn't increasing stats hard in this game? How have you been doing it so far?" - Ian

"Well, we have been doing alright so far because of these items. We have fought against a couple of kobold magicians with the party and since the drop was Intelligence focused, we were able to hold onto them." - Nina

"Were there a lot of kobold magicians?" - Ian

"No, I think they were an outlier since they were the only ones we saw. The rest of the monsters we fought were primarily goblins and orcs, which drop things we don't use." - Nina

"So the robe was the item you both acquired?" - Ian

"Yep. It gives us +5 Intelligence and +2 Defense. Not the best armor but since we want more Intelligence it was all we could use." - Nina

"What are your stats? If you don't mind sharing." - Ian

"It's fine. I don't mind.

Name: ArchWizardo

Race: Human

Health Points (HP): 20/20

Mana Points (MP):  10/10

Strength: 5

Vitality: 10

Intelligence: 25

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 10

Luck: 5

Equipment: Tattered Robe, Beginner Fire Mage Book, Woven Shirt, Woven Pants

Lynn has 30 Intelligence, while the rest of the stats are the same as mine. I'm not sure about other people, but it is definitely hard getting stats in this game since there is no level system. I can cast Fire Bolt 10 times before running out of MP, and lucky for me spiders are afraid of fire." - Nina

"This is fine. Don't worry, you will eventually raise your stats one way or another. Plus, the fact that both of you are mages, which are already in a territory that people are just starting to discover. For now, we should rest up, Solar is finished healing Lynn. Tomorrow morning we will be beginning our move towards HavenFall, our home." - Ian

"Got it! Thank you again, Ian." - Nina

"Don't worry about it." - Ian

I stand up and walk toward Gibing and Gyumi, making sure that they have set up a schedule for the night watch. After confirming everything was okay, I walked toward Sylvia, who had just gone off to the side after talking with Celine. She had told Celine she was going to sleep but when I approached her, I see that she was huddled up in a corner, holding her knees close to her chest.

"Sylvia… Tell me what is wrong." - Ian

"Ian. I told you before, losing Luke is my fault." - Sylvia

"It's not. You couldn't have defeated Casper and Rautt. They are just too strong." - Ian

"I know, even with the power of the gods, I can't do it." - Sylvia

"Power of the gods? What… Tell me what happened after I disappeared in that cave. I never got the full story and tell me about yourself, I don't think we have had this talk yet." - Ian

"I'm… I'm an apostle. I serve the god of war, Ares." - Sylvia

Sylvia looks up at me as she finally tells me about herself. At the same time, I was able to finally see her stats. She was the last NPC in HavenFall to open up herself to me and allow me to look at her stats. I had always been curious about the girl that helped Luke from the start of his adventures outside HavenFall. Curious about why she helped him and at the same time curious about her knowledge since it seemed like sometimes she had more knowledge than even Stellar or Solar.

Name: Rhea Sylvia (Apostle of Ares)

Race: Human

Health Points (HP): 50/50

Mana Points (MP):  10/10

Strength: 20

Vitality: 25

Intelligence: 20

Dexterity: 20

Agility: 25

Luck: 5

Skill: Minor Awakening, Mystic Palm

Minor Awakening (Active) 50% HP + 50% MP - Awaken the sleeping power of Ares within you. Doubling your stats as well as gaining enhanced reflexes. Cooldown 1 day

Mystic Palm (Active)  2 MP - Can only be used in an Awakened state. Gather the fiery power of Ares within your palm, covering your hand in flames. Duration 10 minutes. Cooldown 30 minutes