Her Sculptures
Moving along the Gorge, Weed and Seoyoon exchanged no word with each other.
But at each stop they shared a meal.
The one cooking was of course Weed, but he didn't mind at all, since now instead of fleeing headlong, he was walking calmly and hunting Yetis.
At first they moved approximately 100 meters from each other. But the distance gradually reduced.
After another intense battle, Weed reduced it to 50 meters, as he feared an ambush attack from the Yetis.
After several joint dinners, the distance decreased to 30 meters.
Usually Seoyoon came, took the extended piece of meat and returned to her seat.
Each sat and dined alone, carefully observing their surroundings.
About a day later, they came as close as 20 meters. Thus providing Weed with a good opportunity to watch the girl.
-"..."
After one of the battles Seoyoon stopped and took off her equipment. The girl was wrapped from head to toe in good heavy armor.
Weed already admired their expensive gleam several times. But what he didn't know was that underneath them was a chain mail.
< That is truly a sign of a combat profession. > , he thought to himself in a fit of jealousy.
Knights and other combat classes had the option of wearing a variety of armor kits.
Wearing tree types of armor: iron, leather and - as a finish - fabric, would get you the most effective protection possible.
The only problem was, that due to the weight, you had to invest more points in Strength, Endurance and Agility. If not done so, one would tire too fast and lose mobility.
After hitting the Intermediate level in Blacksmithing skill, Wee too, was able to wear all forms of armor.
But because he lacked the characteristics, he hesitated wearing tree types of armor like the Knights.
Seriously thinking about it, he almost crashed into Seoyoon, still looking down at the armor.
< Is it time to repair it? >
Nearly the entire armor was covered with cracks and in a couple of places pieces just broke off.
-" Chwiik!"
Weed quickly came up and snatched the armor out of Seoyoon's hands. He did it without a second thought, because he always the gear of all who surrounded him.
At that moment he met Seoyoon's eyes full of murderous intent.
-"Chwi, chwiik..."
In her eyes Weed saw the reflection of a little green robber! So he had to quickly get out his tools, repair and return the armor back into the hands of the girl.
As if nothing had happened, Seoyoon took the armor and considered them. Their durability had increased and formally broken places looked like brad new.
Then Seoyoon removed her chain armor and gave it to Weed. He silently picked up and fixed the chain armor and then - also the leather armor.
When the girl removed her last set of armor, she remained almost without clothes.
As a man Weed couldn't help try get a look at her, but he changed his mind at the last minute and did not do that.
His life was more important after all!
Since then, he was responsible not only for the cuisine, but also the repair of equipment.
In fact skills such as cooking and repair were close to nonexistent in the Orc race. Among the elves, hobbits and even dwarfs the Intermediate level in Cooking and Blacksmithing could be found - but never among Orcs.
But Seoyoon did not seem to notice. Maybe she thought she had gotten some 'unusual' monster or maybe she simply wasn't interested in other creatures beside her.
Be that as it may, Weed himself was in no hurry to reveal himself and just silently strode forward.
But once Seoyoon left the game, he had nothing to do, since he didn't dare move on without her.
Seoyoon left Royal Road once every four hours. Probably for lunch or a rest. After leaving the game, she always reappeared two hours later.
Weed ate very quickly. In addition, to complete the job, he used all his spare time, which resulted in him not getting even two hours a night of sleep for the past few days.
< Since she logs out so ofter, I need to think of something useful to occupy my time. >
Weed began cutting sculptures.
If you add up all the time, the girl had spent outside the game, Weed could have single-handedly reached the end of the Gorge and fortress of the Elves.
But the risk was too great.
Sometimes the Yeti appeared in groups of two-three or even more and it would be incredibly difficult to handle them alone.
And in case you die, you will not be able to enter the game for the next 24 hours!
That amounted to four in-game days in Royal Road...
In this situation, the safe way was the shortest and best one. Sometimes Weed managed to choke his unreasonable inner voice of greed.
-"Yes, the creation of sculptures, as always, was the best way to kill spare time."
The level of Sculpture mastery had greatly increased and it gave more variants.
In general, that was not surprising, since he managed to cut many different monsters, castles, people, dragons and even the Tomb of Sphinx.
Nevertheless, Weed once again began to sculpt Seoyoon.
-"I must succeed in creating everything I was able to discern."
The first sculpture was full of movement. The icy image of the unfolding battle with monsters. He sculpted a female warrior with a sword.
Ring!
> Great job! You have completed the sculpture 'Beauty with a Sword'!
The Master, who produces fine works only, created in the Dark Lands a belligerent virgin! Her face is full of cold fury.
Artistic value: 260
Effects: For everyone who looks at the statue Beaty with a Sword, health and mana regeneration rate will increase by 4% throughout the day.
Movement speed is increased by 5%.
Strength and Agility are increased by 10, Intellect and Wisdom - by 3 points.
Use in sword battles increases the damage inflicted on the enemy by 10%.
Increases morale in men.
These effects cannot be combined with those of other statues.
Number of Fine Pieces created: 10
> Sculpture Mastery has improved!
Fame +19
Stamina +2
Art +1
Endurance +3
Sculptural skill mastery had improved again!
Weed yelled impatiently:
-"Skill Window! Sculpture Mastery!"
> Sculpture mastery: Intermediate Level 9 (46%)
You can create sculptures. And sell them at high prices. You earn the favor of ladies.
And although Weed had created a Fine Piece, the expertise rating only improved by 3%.
-"Failed work. The worst out of the Fine Pieces. Where did I go wrong?"
If the target is a Fine Piece, this does not mean that you can sculpt carelessly and get the desired result.
Even working on a small statuette, the sculptor had to invest all his heart and soul into the product.
For example, in battle, even when fighting without using your full strength, one could often win.
To the contrary, creating a sculpture, even the smallest possible, required at least 30 minutes, as to not botch a piece of work and decrease your fame.
Working on a statue of Seoyoon, demanded not half an hour, but half a day in-game time.
You needed to throughly engrave the details and features of a face, to convey an image of girl.
Well, and accordingly, creating huge sculptures - Ice Dragon, Pyramids, Sphinx already required a week or more.
< Maybe I´m missing some detail? >, thinking Weed asked himself.
Exactly four hours later, as soon as Seoyoon left the game, he started to carve the next sculpture.
And while it was once again a Fine Piece, Warrior with a Sword, his skill increased only by 4%.
-"Maybe I lack knowledge? Why so little?"
The next day as soon as he was alone again, Weed again begun to carve a sculpture. He once again tried to convey the unearthly beauty that made him go insane.
He thought of a picture, with the girl watching the sunset. A calm face and sad, almost tearful eyes.
He created a girl who was always upset about something.
-"Hmmm, tough."
Working on the statue, Weed experienced severe difficulty for the first time.
He already got used to the feeling, that thanks to his high skill, his hands were deftly working as if by themselves.
But at the same time, the higher the skill and the more knowledge, the harder it is to work.
-"Damn, why so?!"
Weed already created many sculptures of Seoyoon, but the work was getting harder and harder.
The more he watched her, the more he learned, the more he wanted to pass on her charm.
And that was incredibly difficult.
This time he created a Master Piece and the skill increased by 13%.
But the closer the next level came, the harder it got to receive experience points.
And to move onto the next stage in sculpture usually needed something special. For example, in order to move to Intermediate level he sculpted a Dullahan.
Now to move from Intermediate to Advanced level, it seems he needed to create something outstanding.
-"Yeah. Seems like I will never reach the Advanced level with Fine Pieces. With my 63%, I will need to cut 3 or 4 other Master Pieces."
Weed began to closely monitor Seoyoon's every movement. Not only in combat but also in daily life.
How she moves while traveling, which hand grabs the outstretched food, how and where she sits down - he engraved everything in his memory.
A small and ugly Orc watching Seoyoon!
If the girl knew he was a player, she would have immediately strode forward or, in the extreme case, killed the clingy pursuer.
Sometimes Seoyoon found it hard to even look at people and hurriedly ran somewhere far off from everyone.
Sometimes she failed to do so, men fought among themselves, showing off their strength.
But as she still did not talk to them, there were problems and in the end she became a killer.
If Seoyoon found out that next to her was a man, she would not have been able to be next to him.
But it was an Orc! A simple Orc did not cause rejection from her.
That is why Weed managed to see the real Seoyoon.
Who fought attacking monsters and slept under the rays of the warm sun. The expression on her face was still impassive, but her eyes...
She followed with sad eyes the falling tree leaves. Looked lost at the current trickle through the Gorge. Modestly sat in anticipation of the meal.
Once on the road, Seoyoon raised a flower from the earth and put it in her hair.
She didn't notice this, but Weed nearly bounced from surprise!
-"..."
Weed believed she was a killer, not capable of such gentle feelings. That action wasn't compatible with the attitude she showed the audience.
After a while he caught her looking two two playing squirrels with her sad eyes... He realized.
-"Yes, that's it!"
Weed again plunged into the job.
-"When creating sculptures it's impossible to think clearly. Even if it seems you completely understand a human being, you should stop and think again. Things are seldomly so simple."
Perhaps he was now committing another mistake. But this error would take him one step further toward the real Seoyoon.
-"I have to not only pass on the cool image, that catches your eye, but also her feelings. Instead of wasting time brooding over it, I better confide in my soul once. And try to create the Seoyoon that i felt."
Zahab's knife in Weed's hand started to flutter rapidly.
To pass on the girls appearance is a relatively easy job, but to create a harmonious combination of her facia features and to convey its originality - was awfully difficult.
Weed forgot everything he learned about Seoyoon and began to simply cut the feelings he encountered while monitoring her.
The main point of this sculpture would not be her looks, but those feelings and that humanity he spotted in her.
And only one sculpture of her would not be enough. The ground on which Weed was carving the statue was littered in rocks and fragments of stones, causing a dark mood. And he, if he wanted it to turn out alright, needed to fix it.
-"She's a lady and so she needs flowers. Many flowers."
First of all Weed put in great effort recreating explicitly the flower she put into her hair. Then moved on to the stones surrounding the future sculpture.
He wanted to cut a lot of flowers around and he needed to spend a lot of time on each one. It would be hard to find time to finish before Seoyoon returns.
-"No. I can't stop... Can't stop."
Weed continued to cut flowers, waiting for the return of the girl. But, to his surprise, two hours later Seoyoon never appeared.
-"Asleep? Probably..."
He was so engrossed into his observations and work, that he lost all sense of time.
In reality it was nighttime and most importantly, they almost reached the end of the Gorge and he could continue his travels alone.
-"Meaning, she won't be coming back soon. There is a lot of time, so I can just finish the sculpture and move on ahead. I can't just abandon an already started work..."
Weed started cutting out the next flower.
*********
Dr. Cha Eunhee from the Rehabilitation Centre, as always in the morning, checked on the condition of her most important patient.
-"Have you not gotten tired recently? Maybe you should take a break from Royal Road?"
-"..."
Seoyoon, as usual, remained silent, which didn't come as a surprise for the doctor.
But although the patient was stuck somewhere deep within herself and apparently did not respond, it did not mean that she denied everything.
After all Seoyoon usually followed the advice of the person who really cared about her.
< It seems that its time to admit to myself that I´m at an impasse. Seoyoon never spoke, in spite of all the treatments...perhaps its time to try something else? >
Dr. Cha Eunhee was thinking hard.
Royal Road was selected as one of the newest methods to treat people, hiding from the outside world, secluded inside themselves.
As soon as they started playing there and felt a taste of life, the conditions of the patients improved in reality and their desires began to awake.
But so far, in spite of Seoyoon's prolonged stay in-game, her status did not improve.
< Maybe I need to pressure her more? True, for strong-willed people like Seoyoon, it would be much better to push them to change on their own. At the same time applying drugs, hypnosis, and other means can only exacerbate the situation... >
As a very experienced psychologist, Cha feared most, that the patient will retreat too far into themselves, that it became impossible to turn back.
Seoyoon was already going down that road.
< She doesn't show anything, so it's very difficult to determinate the stage of the disease. Thank God, that I know her. Such a kind and sincere person as Seoyoon will not so deep so quickly. Only... why hasn't she still started talking?!"
It was dinner time and Seoyoon went into the next room, so to say the living room.
It was located in the best VIP-Ward of the hospital, therefore lunched in the next room. Of course, if the patient is weak, the food was brought into his room, but Seoyoon walked on her own.
-"Okay, meanwhile I should take a look at what happened lately."
Cha Eunhee led the recorded video of the capsule on display.
Almost all her time Seoyoon conducted in battles with monsters. It didn't give the desired psychological help, but Cha Eunhee still carefully reviewed each day.
The higher Seoyoon's level got, the scarier monsters she encountered along the way.
The battles grew more violent and longer. Sometimes the whole battlefield was bathed in blood and Seoyoon flew into such a rage, that she resembled the Goddess of War.
Thus was able to relieve stress for a time, but no more...
After each viewing each of these records, with great difficulty Cha Eunhee restrained herself from going to play with her own character.
-"Yes, Seoyoon really is at a high level, since she's out to hunt in the Plains of Despair..."
The doctor was a little jealous. If that was her, then she would have already died at the encounter of the first weak monster.
But Seoyoon fought and won most of the time. Not only because of her high level, but the vast experience she earned during many struggles.
-"So. Until she returns, I need to quickly view the rest of the time remaining."
Cha Eunhee set the record at fast rewind.
Seoyoon still traveled through the Plains of Despair and fought with various monsters. In general, all as usual.
And there... something strange happened.
The girl had a rest and admired the sunset, when two monsters began to approach her from behind: a Hunter of the Plains and some horrible midget.
-"Eh... She can be affected by simultaneous attacks."
Nevertheless Cha Eunhee wasn't concerned.
If the girl had died, she would have left the capsule, which would have certainly been reported to her at once. As that was not the case...
But the following shots startled the doctor even more.
When the hunter of the plains died, Seoyoon's eyes searched for the other monster, who belonged to the race of Orcs.
But nothing happened!
They simply eyed each other a bit, after which Seoyoon first lowered her sword and went on the road ahead.
But after a while she again ran into the same Orc. They soon began to hunt and dine together. The Orc even mended the broken armor!
Seoyoon loved to travel alone and didn't allow anybody near her. However, this Orc seemed to not confuse her at all.
-"The last time she was able to only make friends with the instructor at the training centre. Maybe Seoyoon has less difficulties befriending NPCs and monsters. This Orc ain't too bad. You can take him in as a servant. I wonder where I can find one too? Although...STOP!"
At that moment Cha Eunhee nearly jumped from the couch.
-"An Orc! What Orc has such skills? That is a human, a player!"
After battle he collected the loot from the ground, healed himself by applying medical herbs and bandages, prepared...
If you tried, then it was theoretically possible to find another such monster in-game. For example, enchanted goblins or special mini-bosses were famous for outstanding artificial intelligence.
But an experienced psychologist like Cha was not easily tricked.
She noticed the smallest details: the way he was moving, fought, what he watched, how he collected the loot.
All pointed to a living person obsessed with human obsessions.
-"That can't be..."
Cha Eunhee started to tremble as if struck by lightning.
They saw something similar in the video in the Hall of Fame!
More so, she was confident, that this Orc - was the same Orc from that video.
-"It's not possible for another Orc to exist in-game, obsessed with money to that degree!"
The doctors heart started beating fast.
Of course, the fact that Seoyoon traveled with someone - was great, but Cha Eunhee was a fan of Royal Road.
-"There are only two days left before the big battle. What does he think he's doing?!", she cried.
*********
Flowers blossomed on the stone platform.
Carved out of stones, they were incredibly lifelike. So similar that some of them had drew some butterflies out of stone to them and it seemed like the air was filled with a pleasant aroma.
But since the flower field was made of stones, it had an unusual color. Grey, white, black stones, with or without patterns.
All of them created a mysterious atmosphere on the stone platform, in which centre Weed plunged into creating the main sculpture.
-"Strange..."
The closer to completion the work came, the more it seemed like out of Seoyoon's fine eyes tears will fall out.
And while the rest of the sculpture didn't hint at it at all, the eyes overflowed with universal sadness...
Following his senses, trusting the gusts of his soul, he has created a very sad statue.
He even imagined that as a sign of agreement with the beauty the surrounding flowers too wilted and were crying.
Aware of this fact Weed's mood abruptly went bad.
-"I need to make her happier. I may not be able to change the eyes anymore, but I can still fix the rest of the facial features!"
Very slowly and neat Weed continued working and as a result sculpted a girl, who was sad, but was laughing contagiously at the same time.
Ring!
> Please name the finished sculpture.
-"Give a name?"
So far this had never happened. Weed thoughtfully tilted his head and said:
-"Seoyoon."
> You have chosen 'Seoyoon'?
Yes.
> Grand Piece! You have completed the sculpture 'Seoyoon'!
A Piece full of contradictions.
Depending on their feelings and mood, every person will see something of their own in it.
A young and incredibly talented master created a statue in these lands, containing ambiguous feelings.
Artistic value: 8700
Effects: Every onlooker of the statue of Seoyoon increases their Health and Mana regeneration by 40% throughout the day.
Increases movement speed by 30%.
Effects of two positive effects will increase by 30%.
During the day the damage inflicted on the monsters in the Plains of Despair is a little elevated.
The statue emits a special aroma that helps heal wounds.
In case of a transfer to a certain person all effects will increase by 20%.
These effects cannot be combined with those of other statues.
Number of Grand Pieces created: 1
> Skill Understanding of Sculptures raised by 1 level.
Handicraft Skill has reached Intermediate Level 2. The effectiveness of all handicraft works increased by 8%.
This affects various aspects.
Fame +1680
Art +65
Endurance +7
Stamina +4
Charm +40
> All rights belong to the Sculpture Master Weed. If you breathe life into the statue, it will serve you faithfully.
As a reward for a Grand Piece all features are added 3 points.
-"Grand Piece!"
Weed created a work, he did not even dare dream of.
-"Yesss!"
Many pieces of art were left from the ancient times!
And most of them were images of women. Probably because it's hard... and wonderful.
But Weed not only rejoiced because he managed to create a Grand Piece. More importantly - thanks to her, he finally achieved the long awaited skill level.
> Your sculptural skill has reached Advanced level 1.
Now you can create patterns and process all types of material.
> Your professional skill of Sculpture Mastery has moved to a higher level.
This affected all your other characteristics and skills.
> The effectiveness of Sculpting Blade technique increased by 30%. There are new abilities available.
The Mana cost is reduced by half when using Sculpting Blade.
> Sculpture mastery is associated with other craft skills.
Blacksmithing Skill: You can now create items out of bronze.
Sculptures, manufactured by pouring metal into shapes, are now stronger.
Cooking Mastery: You can now create more colorful and delicious dishes. They will also become more beautiful from the artistic perspective.
Sewing Skill: You can now decorate clothing. Create custom made models.
All features are raised by 20.
> Fame +600
Artistic characteristics +20
Enables the study of a new skill - Techniques of a Moonlight Sculptor.
This technique is only available to players with the highest level of skill.
Now in addition to Ordinary, Fine, Master and Grand Pieces, a hidden level of Sculpture mastery is available:
- Lunar Sculptures!
This type of sculpture, embodies the nature in itself, will help protect your friends from enemies.
This incredibly valuable ability will please the master, who wishes to save his beloved from all kinds of dangers.
You can learn about the techniques of a Moonlight Sculptor in the Art Guild.
Finally he switched from Intermediate Level to the Advanced.
-"Ha, ha, ha!"
Weed happily spun around.
What could be more joyful to a sculptor than to attain the Advanced level of Sculptural Mastery?
The profession of a Blacksmith was more popular and surely someone already reached the Advanced
level of the skill , but among the Sculptors he was the first.
The only sculptor with the Advanced skill level in the whole Bersa Continent!
-" Now... now I no longer regret stepping on the road of a sculptor!"
To Weed it seemed like the whole world was smiling at him.
But he quickly came back to his senses.
-"Now is not the time."
Seoyoon would be coming back soon.
The Grand Piece possessed special attributes and caught the eye. An unavoidable effect of sculptural craftsmanship.
When the girl returns, she would probably detect it and afterwards also all the other sculptures.
When she learns about them, she will certainly not just let it be.
-"It's time to run!"
For the last time, Weed admired his sculpture and then headed toward the exit of the Gorge.
The great Master Sculptor, who created the Grand Piece and reached the Advanced level of Sculpture mastery.
Weed ran like a streak.
**********
Late at night in-game time Seoyoon returned.
After logging in, as always, she looked around first.
Orc!
In these few days she became attached to it.
He sometimes fed her, mended her armor and covered her back. Useful Orc.
But no matter how much she looked, he was nowhere to be found.
< Gone. >
Though they traveled together, she never managed to open up to him. Seoyoon felt emptiness.
Alone again.
After checking the armor and sword she moved onward.
After leaving the Gorge she planned on finding new lands inhabited by as many different monsters as possible.
However, Seoyoon caught wind of a strange aroma.
-"...?"
She followed it.
Eventually she came out on an unusual floral glade amid which stood a sculpture.
The sculpture of a girl simultaneously crying and smiling. A statue very much alike her.
-"..."
Seoyoon froze in disbelief.
< Am I... crying? >
It was like staring in a mirror. Only in this mirror, she cried.
< No, it's not me. I never cried. As far as I can remember... >
Seoyoon already forgot the last time she shed tears. Recently she only aspired to become as strong as possible.
Starting from her childhood all the sadness remained somewhere inside her. She sternly avoided anguish and pain.
And the best way to avoid them was to avoid the people around her.
If you do not communicate, you don't get hurt, and you can spend the day quietly.
And then you needn't cry. No need to feel the pain which tears the world apart into pieces.
So she was always calm.
Yesterday, today, tomorrow.
She never opened her soul.
At some point it became hard to talk, she started getting afraid of the people surrounding her.
She stopped talking aloud even to herself. Hiding all feelings deep inside herself.
All, who came near her were treated with distrust and suspicion.
Starting to avoid sadness and pain, she also lost happiness.
But now, watching the tears of the sculpture, she couldn't keep the all-consuming melancholy inside her.
A cry escaped the depths of her soul and all the hidden emotions bottled up inside, started swirling around.
-"..."
**********
Hall of Fame at the site of Royal Road!
The tension grew as the time the quest took place approached.
-"Soon the battle with the Immortal Army takes place."
-"I wonder if the Orc is up for the job? It's difficulty level A, after all."
-"Look at his face. It's horrible! That one should be able to cope."
-"He can handle it. Must handle it. Because I'm a mage."
-"I'm also a mage. Chose the specialization on dark magic and had to endure so much... I want to become a necromancer so bad now."
-"Tell us about necromancers."
-"Waiting, simply calmly waiting..."
-"Is there anyone here, who knows some news?"
On the forum page all were lively discussing the upcoming event.
Already a lot of topics were created with a variety of issues and assumptions related to the battle with the Immortal Army and the opening of the new profession.
Hundreds of thousands of player browsed the topics and left their posts every second.
Every minute someone appeared and asked about news.
Because the task was directly related to mages, they were the most involved in the general discussion.
-"A-a-a-a! I want to know the result. All mages would agree with me, right?"
-"I'm not only interested in the result, but also how the battle will occur. A large-scale war with the Undead! This is a totally different scale, that has never been done before!"
-"Yeah, simple sieges are getting tiresome already. Many end too quickly and one is like the other."
-"Attack of the warriors! Long powerful magic spells after. All the same, getting sick of it all..."
-"Only if someone has more strength, things heat up a bit."
People switched to a discussion of the deficiencies of sieges.
Once a guild built up some momentum, the other guilds formed a temporary alliance and smashed them.
-"Want to see the sequel."
-"Where? There has been no announcement on any program."
-"Yeah...will we have to wait until it gets uploaded in the Hall of Fame?"
-"Not likely."
-"Ha! What the hell are the TV stations doing?"
And there a new panelist appeared on the forum.
-"Friends! In the Free City of Somuren the player Weed completed another quest. Just don't be surprised! It is the same Weed from CoM!"
-"Weed from CoM?"
-"Yeah, I heard he's playing in Royal Road and even entered the Order of Freya."
-"Yes, we thought the same.", the player continued. "But this time he has fulfilled a task associated with the liberation of necromancers!"
-"Wait. Turns out it is a serial quest after the expulsion of the vampires and the return of the crown of Fargo?"
-"Necromancers? Wait, you mean, the Orc in the video?"
-"Weed. Weed became an Orc and fights the Immortal Army!"
At this point the discussion beneath the video in the Hall of Fame simply exploded.
Within minutes, thousands, millions of messages appeared one after the other. Some were happy, some were angry, but no one remained indifferent.
The Hero from Continent of Magic.
Though the popularity of the game was gone, many carefully treasured the memories of it. Frequently remembering the past.
-"Yes... anyone witnessing him in action, will never be able to forget that charisma and strength shown by him in CoM."
-"Exactly. This is a real Dark Knight, hitting and killing enemies, like a hurricane."
-"The combination of ability, the competent use of his skills and the endless battles that took into account all peculiarities of the surrounding countryside. No compromises. Weed became an ideal for many."
-"Places that could not be opened up, opened thanks to Weed. He became a legend."
People who played CoM, left a bunch of messages. Others asked questions.
-"Who is this Weed?"
-"Is Weed that cool?"
-"You don't know Weed, because apparently he only joined Royal Road recently. All who played CoM know of Weed. He set up a record!"
-"I followed him once. I will tell now. We came to the Plains of Rozendy then. It was inhabited by the keepers of hell and Cerberus. And Weed annihilated them all! That was so cool."
-"I think that's not a problem with a high enough level?"
-"Yes. Surely. But nobody had hunted in that place yet. Weed was the very first to. All my friends playing CoM couldn't believe it. So I walked behind him, to find out if it was true. He crushed al the monsters, while not committing a single error. In battle he is like a rabid beast, leaving behind mountains of corpses. But that's not all."
-"What else?"
-"Just don't be surprised. One time he hunted continuously for 200 hours!"
-"200 hours?!"
In Royal Road had gathered a lot of players who devoted their whole free time to the game. Many of those who considered themselves good players, were proud of it.
And of course each of them experienced moments, when they got carried away, forgot the time and missed a meal or only had risen up from the table when the sun began its round.
But even for them, a 200-hour marathon - was something incredible.
Weed was not considered a legend for nothing.
And here yet another new player stepped into the discussion with new information.
-"We went hunting in the Plains of Despair. Maybe for players out of the Centre Kingdom it is not that difficult, but here in Rosenheim Kingdom, only a few dozen people dare go hunt there. So there we met a little, thin Orc..."
-"If you have not yet realized. We met the Orc Karichi! He is lean, but the face is the same."
-"The war with the Army of Immortals will take place in the Plains of Despair!"
All players in the Hall of Fame were looking forward as to how that whole ordeal will end.
Perhaps if someone uploaded the full information about the quest, nothing would have happened.
The absence of any news only fueled and sustained interest among a vast number of players.
*********
A new topic 'About the Continent of Bersa' started on KMC-media.
And today Shin Hemin and Oh Choowan broadcasted the first news.
-"Prices for Mithril increase. The Pirate Guild that owns the mithril mines, pushed the prize by 20%, which caused an uproar from other players."
-"How to strengthen a weapon? So far the effect of reinforcing stones was disappointingly low. But did you know? A blacksmith at intermediate level can significantly improve the strength and damage of a weapon."
-"Between the Kingdoms of Ruth and Thor opened up a new trade route. The road leads through the middle of the Forgotten Forest: the Red Wolf Guild annihilated all the monsters there and paved the way. Merchants using the road must pay a 10% tax on the goods."
-"Though you lose 10% of the profits, seeing as how the length of the road decreased, many players choose to use it."
-"True. For a while the Red Wolves will receive better revenues. There will be many people willing to join their ranks."
Stories about the Bersa Continent.
First information about monsters, hunting places and information about occupations. Followed by politics, society and economy.
When larger forces, like Kingdoms for example, experienced changes, there were new tasks.
Therefore, in the second part was performed by specialists in various fields.
Today was reserved to quest associated with the Immortal Army.
-"He has a very high level. Most players hope for victory, but most likely he will fail the quest.", throughly argued Li Eunhan, a military specialist. "In war numbers don't matter. Most important - is not how many soldiers you possess, but how they operate and follow your orders.
Orcs, Dark Elves and Humans - with such unlike races at his command it is simply impossible to win against the Army of Undead!"
Sitting next to him, Han Jilseo, was nodding his head in agreement. He played Royal Road and entered into the top-300 players.
-"True, true. To manage the different races leadership is needed. Who knows whether he be able to go into battle with them?"
-"I think so too. Fighting the Immortal Legion with Orcs and Dank Elves - that's a lost case. If I was in his place, I may have run."
-"And no one would have condemned you. This quest is difficult to accomplish alone. As far as I know, none of the 50 leading guilds received a request for support. In my Red Mercenary Guild none had heard of one. Because of that he will definitely fail the quest."
-"It is likely that after death all the Orcs and Dark Elves will become Undead and attack other Kingdoms. According to our investigation, until now the level B quests were associated with the destruction of small groups of monsters or finding a complex path. However, a level A quest must affect the structure of the entire continent."
-"Therefore, we cannot help but worry. When the Immortal Army appears, our Red Mercenaries Guild will stand in their way to human Kingdoms."
Almost all participants in the discussion leaned toward a failure of the quest. Many people grabbed the opportunity and recruited new members for their guilds, promising assistance in the coming upheaval.
Shin Hemin frowned.
-"So in short, everyone believes the quest will fail?"
-"Who knows... maybe it was already completed, or..."
-"Or the quest has already been rejected by him and he ran away."
All were harping about defeat.
Abruptly they were hit by a barrage of indignation from ordinary players.
People respecting Weed! Or those expecting an opening of the profession of necromancer.
They scolded them.
But at each stop they shared a meal.
The one cooking was of course Weed, but he didn't mind at all, since now instead of fleeing headlong, he was walking calmly and hunting Yetis.
At first they moved approximately 100 meters from each other. But the distance gradually reduced.
After another intense battle, Weed reduced it to 50 meters, as he feared an ambush attack from the Yetis.
After several joint dinners, the distance decreased to 30 meters.
Usually Seoyoon came, took the extended piece of meat and returned to her seat.
Each sat and dined alone, carefully observing their surroundings.
About a day later, they came as close as 20 meters. Thus providing Weed with a good opportunity to watch the girl.
-"..."
After one of the battles Seoyoon stopped and took off her equipment. The girl was wrapped from head to toe in good heavy armor.
Weed already admired their expensive gleam several times. But what he didn't know was that underneath them was a chain mail.
< That is truly a sign of a combat profession. > , he thought to himself in a fit of jealousy.
Knights and other combat classes had the option of wearing a variety of armor kits.
Wearing tree types of armor: iron, leather and - as a finish - fabric, would get you the most effective protection possible.
The only problem was, that due to the weight, you had to invest more points in Strength, Endurance and Agility. If not done so, one would tire too fast and lose mobility.
After hitting the Intermediate level in Blacksmithing skill, Wee too, was able to wear all forms of armor.
But because he lacked the characteristics, he hesitated wearing tree types of armor like the Knights.
Seriously thinking about it, he almost crashed into Seoyoon, still looking down at the armor.
< Is it time to repair it? >
Nearly the entire armor was covered with cracks and in a couple of places pieces just broke off.
-" Chwiik!"
Weed quickly came up and snatched the armor out of Seoyoon's hands. He did it without a second thought, because he always the gear of all who surrounded him.
At that moment he met Seoyoon's eyes full of murderous intent.
-"Chwi, chwiik..."
In her eyes Weed saw the reflection of a little green robber! So he had to quickly get out his tools, repair and return the armor back into the hands of the girl.
As if nothing had happened, Seoyoon took the armor and considered them. Their durability had increased and formally broken places looked like brad new.
Then Seoyoon removed her chain armor and gave it to Weed. He silently picked up and fixed the chain armor and then - also the leather armor.
When the girl removed her last set of armor, she remained almost without clothes.
As a man Weed couldn't help try get a look at her, but he changed his mind at the last minute and did not do that.
His life was more important after all!
Since then, he was responsible not only for the cuisine, but also the repair of equipment.
In fact skills such as cooking and repair were close to nonexistent in the Orc race. Among the elves, hobbits and even dwarfs the Intermediate level in Cooking and Blacksmithing could be found - but never among Orcs.
But Seoyoon did not seem to notice. Maybe she thought she had gotten some 'unusual' monster or maybe she simply wasn't interested in other creatures beside her.
Be that as it may, Weed himself was in no hurry to reveal himself and just silently strode forward.
But once Seoyoon left the game, he had nothing to do, since he didn't dare move on without her.
Seoyoon left Royal Road once every four hours. Probably for lunch or a rest. After leaving the game, she always reappeared two hours later.
Weed ate very quickly. In addition, to complete the job, he used all his spare time, which resulted in him not getting even two hours a night of sleep for the past few days.
< Since she logs out so ofter, I need to think of something useful to occupy my time. >
Weed began cutting sculptures.
If you add up all the time, the girl had spent outside the game, Weed could have single-handedly reached the end of the Gorge and fortress of the Elves.
But the risk was too great.
Sometimes the Yeti appeared in groups of two-three or even more and it would be incredibly difficult to handle them alone.
And in case you die, you will not be able to enter the game for the next 24 hours!
That amounted to four in-game days in Royal Road...
In this situation, the safe way was the shortest and best one. Sometimes Weed managed to choke his unreasonable inner voice of greed.
-"Yes, the creation of sculptures, as always, was the best way to kill spare time."
The level of Sculpture mastery had greatly increased and it gave more variants.
In general, that was not surprising, since he managed to cut many different monsters, castles, people, dragons and even the Tomb of Sphinx.
Nevertheless, Weed once again began to sculpt Seoyoon.
-"I must succeed in creating everything I was able to discern."
The first sculpture was full of movement. The icy image of the unfolding battle with monsters. He sculpted a female warrior with a sword.
Ring!
> Great job! You have completed the sculpture 'Beauty with a Sword'!
The Master, who produces fine works only, created in the Dark Lands a belligerent virgin! Her face is full of cold fury.
Artistic value: 260
Effects: For everyone who looks at the statue Beaty with a Sword, health and mana regeneration rate will increase by 4% throughout the day.
Movement speed is increased by 5%.
Strength and Agility are increased by 10, Intellect and Wisdom - by 3 points.
Use in sword battles increases the damage inflicted on the enemy by 10%.
Increases morale in men.
These effects cannot be combined with those of other statues.
Number of Fine Pieces created: 10
> Sculpture Mastery has improved!
Fame +19
Stamina +2
Art +1
Endurance +3
Sculptural skill mastery had improved again!
Weed yelled impatiently:
-"Skill Window! Sculpture Mastery!"
> Sculpture mastery: Intermediate Level 9 (46%)
You can create sculptures. And sell them at high prices. You earn the favor of ladies.
And although Weed had created a Fine Piece, the expertise rating only improved by 3%.
-"Failed work. The worst out of the Fine Pieces. Where did I go wrong?"
If the target is a Fine Piece, this does not mean that you can sculpt carelessly and get the desired result.
Even working on a small statuette, the sculptor had to invest all his heart and soul into the product.
For example, in battle, even when fighting without using your full strength, one could often win.
To the contrary, creating a sculpture, even the smallest possible, required at least 30 minutes, as to not botch a piece of work and decrease your fame.
Working on a statue of Seoyoon, demanded not half an hour, but half a day in-game time.
You needed to throughly engrave the details and features of a face, to convey an image of girl.
Well, and accordingly, creating huge sculptures - Ice Dragon, Pyramids, Sphinx already required a week or more.
< Maybe I´m missing some detail? >, thinking Weed asked himself.
Exactly four hours later, as soon as Seoyoon left the game, he started to carve the next sculpture.
And while it was once again a Fine Piece, Warrior with a Sword, his skill increased only by 4%.
-"Maybe I lack knowledge? Why so little?"
The next day as soon as he was alone again, Weed again begun to carve a sculpture. He once again tried to convey the unearthly beauty that made him go insane.
He thought of a picture, with the girl watching the sunset. A calm face and sad, almost tearful eyes.
He created a girl who was always upset about something.
-"Hmmm, tough."
Working on the statue, Weed experienced severe difficulty for the first time.
He already got used to the feeling, that thanks to his high skill, his hands were deftly working as if by themselves.
But at the same time, the higher the skill and the more knowledge, the harder it is to work.
-"Damn, why so?!"
Weed already created many sculptures of Seoyoon, but the work was getting harder and harder.
The more he watched her, the more he learned, the more he wanted to pass on her charm.
And that was incredibly difficult.
This time he created a Master Piece and the skill increased by 13%.
But the closer the next level came, the harder it got to receive experience points.
And to move onto the next stage in sculpture usually needed something special. For example, in order to move to Intermediate level he sculpted a Dullahan.
Now to move from Intermediate to Advanced level, it seems he needed to create something outstanding.
-"Yeah. Seems like I will never reach the Advanced level with Fine Pieces. With my 63%, I will need to cut 3 or 4 other Master Pieces."
Weed began to closely monitor Seoyoon's every movement. Not only in combat but also in daily life.
How she moves while traveling, which hand grabs the outstretched food, how and where she sits down - he engraved everything in his memory.
A small and ugly Orc watching Seoyoon!
If the girl knew he was a player, she would have immediately strode forward or, in the extreme case, killed the clingy pursuer.
Sometimes Seoyoon found it hard to even look at people and hurriedly ran somewhere far off from everyone.
Sometimes she failed to do so, men fought among themselves, showing off their strength.
But as she still did not talk to them, there were problems and in the end she became a killer.
If Seoyoon found out that next to her was a man, she would not have been able to be next to him.
But it was an Orc! A simple Orc did not cause rejection from her.
That is why Weed managed to see the real Seoyoon.
Who fought attacking monsters and slept under the rays of the warm sun. The expression on her face was still impassive, but her eyes...
She followed with sad eyes the falling tree leaves. Looked lost at the current trickle through the Gorge. Modestly sat in anticipation of the meal.
Once on the road, Seoyoon raised a flower from the earth and put it in her hair.
She didn't notice this, but Weed nearly bounced from surprise!
-"..."
Weed believed she was a killer, not capable of such gentle feelings. That action wasn't compatible with the attitude she showed the audience.
After a while he caught her looking two two playing squirrels with her sad eyes... He realized.
-"Yes, that's it!"
Weed again plunged into the job.
-"When creating sculptures it's impossible to think clearly. Even if it seems you completely understand a human being, you should stop and think again. Things are seldomly so simple."
Perhaps he was now committing another mistake. But this error would take him one step further toward the real Seoyoon.
-"I have to not only pass on the cool image, that catches your eye, but also her feelings. Instead of wasting time brooding over it, I better confide in my soul once. And try to create the Seoyoon that i felt."
Zahab's knife in Weed's hand started to flutter rapidly.
To pass on the girls appearance is a relatively easy job, but to create a harmonious combination of her facia features and to convey its originality - was awfully difficult.
Weed forgot everything he learned about Seoyoon and began to simply cut the feelings he encountered while monitoring her.
The main point of this sculpture would not be her looks, but those feelings and that humanity he spotted in her.
And only one sculpture of her would not be enough. The ground on which Weed was carving the statue was littered in rocks and fragments of stones, causing a dark mood. And he, if he wanted it to turn out alright, needed to fix it.
-"She's a lady and so she needs flowers. Many flowers."
First of all Weed put in great effort recreating explicitly the flower she put into her hair. Then moved on to the stones surrounding the future sculpture.
He wanted to cut a lot of flowers around and he needed to spend a lot of time on each one. It would be hard to find time to finish before Seoyoon returns.
-"No. I can't stop... Can't stop."
Weed continued to cut flowers, waiting for the return of the girl. But, to his surprise, two hours later Seoyoon never appeared.
-"Asleep? Probably..."
He was so engrossed into his observations and work, that he lost all sense of time.
In reality it was nighttime and most importantly, they almost reached the end of the Gorge and he could continue his travels alone.
-"Meaning, she won't be coming back soon. There is a lot of time, so I can just finish the sculpture and move on ahead. I can't just abandon an already started work..."
Weed started cutting out the next flower.
*********
Dr. Cha Eunhee from the Rehabilitation Centre, as always in the morning, checked on the condition of her most important patient.
-"Have you not gotten tired recently? Maybe you should take a break from Royal Road?"
-"..."
Seoyoon, as usual, remained silent, which didn't come as a surprise for the doctor.
But although the patient was stuck somewhere deep within herself and apparently did not respond, it did not mean that she denied everything.
After all Seoyoon usually followed the advice of the person who really cared about her.
< It seems that its time to admit to myself that I´m at an impasse. Seoyoon never spoke, in spite of all the treatments...perhaps its time to try something else? >
Dr. Cha Eunhee was thinking hard.
Royal Road was selected as one of the newest methods to treat people, hiding from the outside world, secluded inside themselves.
As soon as they started playing there and felt a taste of life, the conditions of the patients improved in reality and their desires began to awake.
But so far, in spite of Seoyoon's prolonged stay in-game, her status did not improve.
< Maybe I need to pressure her more? True, for strong-willed people like Seoyoon, it would be much better to push them to change on their own. At the same time applying drugs, hypnosis, and other means can only exacerbate the situation... >
As a very experienced psychologist, Cha feared most, that the patient will retreat too far into themselves, that it became impossible to turn back.
Seoyoon was already going down that road.
< She doesn't show anything, so it's very difficult to determinate the stage of the disease. Thank God, that I know her. Such a kind and sincere person as Seoyoon will not so deep so quickly. Only... why hasn't she still started talking?!"
It was dinner time and Seoyoon went into the next room, so to say the living room.
It was located in the best VIP-Ward of the hospital, therefore lunched in the next room. Of course, if the patient is weak, the food was brought into his room, but Seoyoon walked on her own.
-"Okay, meanwhile I should take a look at what happened lately."
Cha Eunhee led the recorded video of the capsule on display.
Almost all her time Seoyoon conducted in battles with monsters. It didn't give the desired psychological help, but Cha Eunhee still carefully reviewed each day.
The higher Seoyoon's level got, the scarier monsters she encountered along the way.
The battles grew more violent and longer. Sometimes the whole battlefield was bathed in blood and Seoyoon flew into such a rage, that she resembled the Goddess of War.
Thus was able to relieve stress for a time, but no more...
After each viewing each of these records, with great difficulty Cha Eunhee restrained herself from going to play with her own character.
-"Yes, Seoyoon really is at a high level, since she's out to hunt in the Plains of Despair..."
The doctor was a little jealous. If that was her, then she would have already died at the encounter of the first weak monster.
But Seoyoon fought and won most of the time. Not only because of her high level, but the vast experience she earned during many struggles.
-"So. Until she returns, I need to quickly view the rest of the time remaining."
Cha Eunhee set the record at fast rewind.
Seoyoon still traveled through the Plains of Despair and fought with various monsters. In general, all as usual.
And there... something strange happened.
The girl had a rest and admired the sunset, when two monsters began to approach her from behind: a Hunter of the Plains and some horrible midget.
-"Eh... She can be affected by simultaneous attacks."
Nevertheless Cha Eunhee wasn't concerned.
If the girl had died, she would have left the capsule, which would have certainly been reported to her at once. As that was not the case...
But the following shots startled the doctor even more.
When the hunter of the plains died, Seoyoon's eyes searched for the other monster, who belonged to the race of Orcs.
But nothing happened!
They simply eyed each other a bit, after which Seoyoon first lowered her sword and went on the road ahead.
But after a while she again ran into the same Orc. They soon began to hunt and dine together. The Orc even mended the broken armor!
Seoyoon loved to travel alone and didn't allow anybody near her. However, this Orc seemed to not confuse her at all.
-"The last time she was able to only make friends with the instructor at the training centre. Maybe Seoyoon has less difficulties befriending NPCs and monsters. This Orc ain't too bad. You can take him in as a servant. I wonder where I can find one too? Although...STOP!"
At that moment Cha Eunhee nearly jumped from the couch.
-"An Orc! What Orc has such skills? That is a human, a player!"
After battle he collected the loot from the ground, healed himself by applying medical herbs and bandages, prepared...
If you tried, then it was theoretically possible to find another such monster in-game. For example, enchanted goblins or special mini-bosses were famous for outstanding artificial intelligence.
But an experienced psychologist like Cha was not easily tricked.
She noticed the smallest details: the way he was moving, fought, what he watched, how he collected the loot.
All pointed to a living person obsessed with human obsessions.
-"That can't be..."
Cha Eunhee started to tremble as if struck by lightning.
They saw something similar in the video in the Hall of Fame!
More so, she was confident, that this Orc - was the same Orc from that video.
-"It's not possible for another Orc to exist in-game, obsessed with money to that degree!"
The doctors heart started beating fast.
Of course, the fact that Seoyoon traveled with someone - was great, but Cha Eunhee was a fan of Royal Road.
-"There are only two days left before the big battle. What does he think he's doing?!", she cried.
*********
Flowers blossomed on the stone platform.
Carved out of stones, they were incredibly lifelike. So similar that some of them had drew some butterflies out of stone to them and it seemed like the air was filled with a pleasant aroma.
But since the flower field was made of stones, it had an unusual color. Grey, white, black stones, with or without patterns.
All of them created a mysterious atmosphere on the stone platform, in which centre Weed plunged into creating the main sculpture.
-"Strange..."
The closer to completion the work came, the more it seemed like out of Seoyoon's fine eyes tears will fall out.
And while the rest of the sculpture didn't hint at it at all, the eyes overflowed with universal sadness...
Following his senses, trusting the gusts of his soul, he has created a very sad statue.
He even imagined that as a sign of agreement with the beauty the surrounding flowers too wilted and were crying.
Aware of this fact Weed's mood abruptly went bad.
-"I need to make her happier. I may not be able to change the eyes anymore, but I can still fix the rest of the facial features!"
Very slowly and neat Weed continued working and as a result sculpted a girl, who was sad, but was laughing contagiously at the same time.
Ring!
> Please name the finished sculpture.
-"Give a name?"
So far this had never happened. Weed thoughtfully tilted his head and said:
-"Seoyoon."
> You have chosen 'Seoyoon'?
Yes.
> Grand Piece! You have completed the sculpture 'Seoyoon'!
A Piece full of contradictions.
Depending on their feelings and mood, every person will see something of their own in it.
A young and incredibly talented master created a statue in these lands, containing ambiguous feelings.
Artistic value: 8700
Effects: Every onlooker of the statue of Seoyoon increases their Health and Mana regeneration by 40% throughout the day.
Increases movement speed by 30%.
Effects of two positive effects will increase by 30%.
During the day the damage inflicted on the monsters in the Plains of Despair is a little elevated.
The statue emits a special aroma that helps heal wounds.
In case of a transfer to a certain person all effects will increase by 20%.
These effects cannot be combined with those of other statues.
Number of Grand Pieces created: 1
> Skill Understanding of Sculptures raised by 1 level.
Handicraft Skill has reached Intermediate Level 2. The effectiveness of all handicraft works increased by 8%.
This affects various aspects.
Fame +1680
Art +65
Endurance +7
Stamina +4
Charm +40
> All rights belong to the Sculpture Master Weed. If you breathe life into the statue, it will serve you faithfully.
As a reward for a Grand Piece all features are added 3 points.
-"Grand Piece!"
Weed created a work, he did not even dare dream of.
-"Yesss!"
Many pieces of art were left from the ancient times!
And most of them were images of women. Probably because it's hard... and wonderful.
But Weed not only rejoiced because he managed to create a Grand Piece. More importantly - thanks to her, he finally achieved the long awaited skill level.
> Your sculptural skill has reached Advanced level 1.
Now you can create patterns and process all types of material.
> Your professional skill of Sculpture Mastery has moved to a higher level.
This affected all your other characteristics and skills.
> The effectiveness of Sculpting Blade technique increased by 30%. There are new abilities available.
The Mana cost is reduced by half when using Sculpting Blade.
> Sculpture mastery is associated with other craft skills.
Blacksmithing Skill: You can now create items out of bronze.
Sculptures, manufactured by pouring metal into shapes, are now stronger.
Cooking Mastery: You can now create more colorful and delicious dishes. They will also become more beautiful from the artistic perspective.
Sewing Skill: You can now decorate clothing. Create custom made models.
All features are raised by 20.
> Fame +600
Artistic characteristics +20
Enables the study of a new skill - Techniques of a Moonlight Sculptor.
This technique is only available to players with the highest level of skill.
Now in addition to Ordinary, Fine, Master and Grand Pieces, a hidden level of Sculpture mastery is available:
- Lunar Sculptures!
This type of sculpture, embodies the nature in itself, will help protect your friends from enemies.
This incredibly valuable ability will please the master, who wishes to save his beloved from all kinds of dangers.
You can learn about the techniques of a Moonlight Sculptor in the Art Guild.
Finally he switched from Intermediate Level to the Advanced.
-"Ha, ha, ha!"
Weed happily spun around.
What could be more joyful to a sculptor than to attain the Advanced level of Sculptural Mastery?
The profession of a Blacksmith was more popular and surely someone already reached the Advanced
level of the skill , but among the Sculptors he was the first.
The only sculptor with the Advanced skill level in the whole Bersa Continent!
-" Now... now I no longer regret stepping on the road of a sculptor!"
To Weed it seemed like the whole world was smiling at him.
But he quickly came back to his senses.
-"Now is not the time."
Seoyoon would be coming back soon.
The Grand Piece possessed special attributes and caught the eye. An unavoidable effect of sculptural craftsmanship.
When the girl returns, she would probably detect it and afterwards also all the other sculptures.
When she learns about them, she will certainly not just let it be.
-"It's time to run!"
For the last time, Weed admired his sculpture and then headed toward the exit of the Gorge.
The great Master Sculptor, who created the Grand Piece and reached the Advanced level of Sculpture mastery.
Weed ran like a streak.
**********
Late at night in-game time Seoyoon returned.
After logging in, as always, she looked around first.
Orc!
In these few days she became attached to it.
He sometimes fed her, mended her armor and covered her back. Useful Orc.
But no matter how much she looked, he was nowhere to be found.
< Gone. >
Though they traveled together, she never managed to open up to him. Seoyoon felt emptiness.
Alone again.
After checking the armor and sword she moved onward.
After leaving the Gorge she planned on finding new lands inhabited by as many different monsters as possible.
However, Seoyoon caught wind of a strange aroma.
-"...?"
She followed it.
Eventually she came out on an unusual floral glade amid which stood a sculpture.
The sculpture of a girl simultaneously crying and smiling. A statue very much alike her.
-"..."
Seoyoon froze in disbelief.
< Am I... crying? >
It was like staring in a mirror. Only in this mirror, she cried.
< No, it's not me. I never cried. As far as I can remember... >
Seoyoon already forgot the last time she shed tears. Recently she only aspired to become as strong as possible.
Starting from her childhood all the sadness remained somewhere inside her. She sternly avoided anguish and pain.
And the best way to avoid them was to avoid the people around her.
If you do not communicate, you don't get hurt, and you can spend the day quietly.
And then you needn't cry. No need to feel the pain which tears the world apart into pieces.
So she was always calm.
Yesterday, today, tomorrow.
She never opened her soul.
At some point it became hard to talk, she started getting afraid of the people surrounding her.
She stopped talking aloud even to herself. Hiding all feelings deep inside herself.
All, who came near her were treated with distrust and suspicion.
Starting to avoid sadness and pain, she also lost happiness.
But now, watching the tears of the sculpture, she couldn't keep the all-consuming melancholy inside her.
A cry escaped the depths of her soul and all the hidden emotions bottled up inside, started swirling around.
-"..."
**********
Hall of Fame at the site of Royal Road!
The tension grew as the time the quest took place approached.
-"Soon the battle with the Immortal Army takes place."
-"I wonder if the Orc is up for the job? It's difficulty level A, after all."
-"Look at his face. It's horrible! That one should be able to cope."
-"He can handle it. Must handle it. Because I'm a mage."
-"I'm also a mage. Chose the specialization on dark magic and had to endure so much... I want to become a necromancer so bad now."
-"Tell us about necromancers."
-"Waiting, simply calmly waiting..."
-"Is there anyone here, who knows some news?"
On the forum page all were lively discussing the upcoming event.
Already a lot of topics were created with a variety of issues and assumptions related to the battle with the Immortal Army and the opening of the new profession.
Hundreds of thousands of player browsed the topics and left their posts every second.
Every minute someone appeared and asked about news.
Because the task was directly related to mages, they were the most involved in the general discussion.
-"A-a-a-a! I want to know the result. All mages would agree with me, right?"
-"I'm not only interested in the result, but also how the battle will occur. A large-scale war with the Undead! This is a totally different scale, that has never been done before!"
-"Yeah, simple sieges are getting tiresome already. Many end too quickly and one is like the other."
-"Attack of the warriors! Long powerful magic spells after. All the same, getting sick of it all..."
-"Only if someone has more strength, things heat up a bit."
People switched to a discussion of the deficiencies of sieges.
Once a guild built up some momentum, the other guilds formed a temporary alliance and smashed them.
-"Want to see the sequel."
-"Where? There has been no announcement on any program."
-"Yeah...will we have to wait until it gets uploaded in the Hall of Fame?"
-"Not likely."
-"Ha! What the hell are the TV stations doing?"
And there a new panelist appeared on the forum.
-"Friends! In the Free City of Somuren the player Weed completed another quest. Just don't be surprised! It is the same Weed from CoM!"
-"Weed from CoM?"
-"Yeah, I heard he's playing in Royal Road and even entered the Order of Freya."
-"Yes, we thought the same.", the player continued. "But this time he has fulfilled a task associated with the liberation of necromancers!"
-"Wait. Turns out it is a serial quest after the expulsion of the vampires and the return of the crown of Fargo?"
-"Necromancers? Wait, you mean, the Orc in the video?"
-"Weed. Weed became an Orc and fights the Immortal Army!"
At this point the discussion beneath the video in the Hall of Fame simply exploded.
Within minutes, thousands, millions of messages appeared one after the other. Some were happy, some were angry, but no one remained indifferent.
The Hero from Continent of Magic.
Though the popularity of the game was gone, many carefully treasured the memories of it. Frequently remembering the past.
-"Yes... anyone witnessing him in action, will never be able to forget that charisma and strength shown by him in CoM."
-"Exactly. This is a real Dark Knight, hitting and killing enemies, like a hurricane."
-"The combination of ability, the competent use of his skills and the endless battles that took into account all peculiarities of the surrounding countryside. No compromises. Weed became an ideal for many."
-"Places that could not be opened up, opened thanks to Weed. He became a legend."
People who played CoM, left a bunch of messages. Others asked questions.
-"Who is this Weed?"
-"Is Weed that cool?"
-"You don't know Weed, because apparently he only joined Royal Road recently. All who played CoM know of Weed. He set up a record!"
-"I followed him once. I will tell now. We came to the Plains of Rozendy then. It was inhabited by the keepers of hell and Cerberus. And Weed annihilated them all! That was so cool."
-"I think that's not a problem with a high enough level?"
-"Yes. Surely. But nobody had hunted in that place yet. Weed was the very first to. All my friends playing CoM couldn't believe it. So I walked behind him, to find out if it was true. He crushed al the monsters, while not committing a single error. In battle he is like a rabid beast, leaving behind mountains of corpses. But that's not all."
-"What else?"
-"Just don't be surprised. One time he hunted continuously for 200 hours!"
-"200 hours?!"
In Royal Road had gathered a lot of players who devoted their whole free time to the game. Many of those who considered themselves good players, were proud of it.
And of course each of them experienced moments, when they got carried away, forgot the time and missed a meal or only had risen up from the table when the sun began its round.
But even for them, a 200-hour marathon - was something incredible.
Weed was not considered a legend for nothing.
And here yet another new player stepped into the discussion with new information.
-"We went hunting in the Plains of Despair. Maybe for players out of the Centre Kingdom it is not that difficult, but here in Rosenheim Kingdom, only a few dozen people dare go hunt there. So there we met a little, thin Orc..."
-"If you have not yet realized. We met the Orc Karichi! He is lean, but the face is the same."
-"The war with the Army of Immortals will take place in the Plains of Despair!"
All players in the Hall of Fame were looking forward as to how that whole ordeal will end.
Perhaps if someone uploaded the full information about the quest, nothing would have happened.
The absence of any news only fueled and sustained interest among a vast number of players.
*********
A new topic 'About the Continent of Bersa' started on KMC-media.
And today Shin Hemin and Oh Choowan broadcasted the first news.
-"Prices for Mithril increase. The Pirate Guild that owns the mithril mines, pushed the prize by 20%, which caused an uproar from other players."
-"How to strengthen a weapon? So far the effect of reinforcing stones was disappointingly low. But did you know? A blacksmith at intermediate level can significantly improve the strength and damage of a weapon."
-"Between the Kingdoms of Ruth and Thor opened up a new trade route. The road leads through the middle of the Forgotten Forest: the Red Wolf Guild annihilated all the monsters there and paved the way. Merchants using the road must pay a 10% tax on the goods."
-"Though you lose 10% of the profits, seeing as how the length of the road decreased, many players choose to use it."
-"True. For a while the Red Wolves will receive better revenues. There will be many people willing to join their ranks."
Stories about the Bersa Continent.
First information about monsters, hunting places and information about occupations. Followed by politics, society and economy.
When larger forces, like Kingdoms for example, experienced changes, there were new tasks.
Therefore, in the second part was performed by specialists in various fields.
Today was reserved to quest associated with the Immortal Army.
-"He has a very high level. Most players hope for victory, but most likely he will fail the quest.", throughly argued Li Eunhan, a military specialist. "In war numbers don't matter. Most important - is not how many soldiers you possess, but how they operate and follow your orders.
Orcs, Dark Elves and Humans - with such unlike races at his command it is simply impossible to win against the Army of Undead!"
Sitting next to him, Han Jilseo, was nodding his head in agreement. He played Royal Road and entered into the top-300 players.
-"True, true. To manage the different races leadership is needed. Who knows whether he be able to go into battle with them?"
-"I think so too. Fighting the Immortal Legion with Orcs and Dank Elves - that's a lost case. If I was in his place, I may have run."
-"And no one would have condemned you. This quest is difficult to accomplish alone. As far as I know, none of the 50 leading guilds received a request for support. In my Red Mercenary Guild none had heard of one. Because of that he will definitely fail the quest."
-"It is likely that after death all the Orcs and Dark Elves will become Undead and attack other Kingdoms. According to our investigation, until now the level B quests were associated with the destruction of small groups of monsters or finding a complex path. However, a level A quest must affect the structure of the entire continent."
-"Therefore, we cannot help but worry. When the Immortal Army appears, our Red Mercenaries Guild will stand in their way to human Kingdoms."
Almost all participants in the discussion leaned toward a failure of the quest. Many people grabbed the opportunity and recruited new members for their guilds, promising assistance in the coming upheaval.
Shin Hemin frowned.
-"So in short, everyone believes the quest will fail?"
-"Who knows... maybe it was already completed, or..."
-"Or the quest has already been rejected by him and he ran away."
All were harping about defeat.
Abruptly they were hit by a barrage of indignation from ordinary players.
People respecting Weed! Or those expecting an opening of the profession of necromancer.
They scolded them.
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