'Who was he? Is this what a Golden Opportunity is?
Its meaning wasn't complicated and the phrase wasn't trying to imply anything deep, either. So, he only needed to interpret it as he heard it. However, the part with the demons didn't feel quite right. It was easier said than done but there are still so many variables that they didn't know about. Where did they come from? What was their objective? Do they really own 70% of the universe?
Anxiety haunted Zevrad's mind and gradually wore his mental state down. The deeper he thought about it, the more complicated and outrageous his theories became. It was a slippery slope and, in the end, Zevrad fell asleep and attempted to think of nothing. Nothing at all.
***
"...what are you thinking about?"
Two people, a man and a woman, a patient and their counselor, one haggard and the other healthy, sat across each other on leather seats. The stark contrast between traditional and modern society in a congenial room. Filled with plants, books, paintings, even a hearth.
Others would find comfort in being in this room the second they walked in. How could they not? It was designed this way, but for him, it was torture. A reminder of the things he refused to have.
Still, the man attempted to reply as courteously as possible, despite his disdain for modernism.
"Nothing."
"You want to know what I'm thinking about? The first time you came to me."
'I didn't exactly come to Kristina. I was forced here, but I do like her. Understanding her was simple. Though she's a counselor, she's really bad at reading people. I know that she went through a divorce four years ago. I know she was devastated by it and has been dating losers on blind dates. Her most recent suitor? A moron named Michaeln Stormshadow. I did some research on his background, but nothing came up. No birth records, no health history, nothing. Something about him irks me, scratching that part of my mind again. But I'll expose him soon enough, I always do.'
"I know you're not yelling like before…"
The continued words jolted the man from his inner thoughts, having him respond with a brief look to the woman in front of him.
"...which is good. But I can tell you're still holding on to it. We need to work on your anger issues. You're angry at everyone, at the world...'
'Fuck the world.'
"...I know you have a lot to be angry about. But keeping it to yourself and staying quiet like you're doing? It's not going to help you. There's pain underneath. That's where our work needs to go. What is it about the world that disappoints you so much?"
'Oh, I don't know. Is it that we collectively thought that Azshara was a great empress even when we knew she built her empire off the backs of children? Or maybe it feels that all our heroes must be punished. Shackled and bound by society despite their intentions on doing what's best for them.'
The man's mind was in turmoil as he continued to blame the world and everything around him. Including himself.
'The world itself is just one malicious deception. Oversharing with each other our naive morals masquerading as insight, the words 'I love you' no longer hold their original meaning as we overuse it, or is it that we created this? With our rigged and biased choices based on our self-indulgence. I'm not saying anything new. We all know why we do this. Not because stories make us happy, but because we want to be sedated. Because it's painful not to pretend. Because we're cowards, including me. So fuck the world.'
"You're not saying anything. What's wrong?"
The man was brought back from his thoughts with the sudden question and pretended to smile as he replied with one word.
"Nothing."
Frustration can be seen on Kristina's face as she makes a deep sigh and shifts her sights.
"Don't be frustrated."
Although the man was a pessimist, it didn't mean he didn't care about others, as he attempted to alleviate her annoyance.
"Why shouldn't I be?"
"You're different from most. You at least try. You at least understand."
"Understand what?"
"What it's like to feel alone. You understand the pain. You want to protect people from it. You want to protect me from it. I respect that about you."
"Why do you think I know what it's like to feel alone?"
It was at that moment that he messed up. He overshared details that he shouldn't. How could he explain his late-night activities of looking for the worst in people? His inn-keeping by day and vigilantism by night.
.
.
"ɭ̸̙̙̘͚̟̯̲̹͔̮̯̃̓̓́͌̀̄̈́͊̒͊͝๏̶̡̢͎̫̺̭͍͍̺͔͉͉̔̂г̶̗̭̼̺̩͔̍̒̂̿̊͂̄̅̄̉͘̕͠є̵͎̜͇̼͈͍͍͙̯̖̾̽, ?"
.
.
"I don't know. A feeling, I guess"
Kristina didn't fully believe him but didn't want to push him on the subject. Instead, she made a mental note about this detail. The man, on the other hand, placed his guard up as he reinforced his heart to prevent making another mistake.
"Let's talk about last night. Did you go to the birthday party?"
A memory of the man standing outside the door, in the dead of night and beneath the rain, appears in his head.
The man smiled, "Yeah, it was nice."
"Did you try to talk to anyone?"
"Sure. I met someone."
Kirstina was surprised, but it was a pleasant surprise, as a smile is seen on her face. Satisfied at the progress the man is attempting.
"You did?"
"I did, she's cute too. She even likes romantic novels."
The smile on Kristina's face disappears as she knows that the man is lying.
"You're hiding again. When you hide, your delusions come back. It's a slippery slope."
How did she know he was lying? Based on her discernment of the man's gaze, facial expression, and that a romantic novel was displayed on the table separating them. Those were what gave his lie away. The man felt a surging rush of indignation as his attempts to fabricate last night's event were exposed.
'I take that back, she's good at reading people.'
"Let's talk about the shadows you've been seeing. Are they still there?"
"No, I… I told you they're gone. The potions you gave me are working..."
***
Dawn.
Just like with anyone, the details of a dream quickly faded as soon as Zevrad woke up. With renewed vigor, he summarized the details that were shared with him last night by organizing them into quests of two categories, primary and secondary.
Primary had long-term goals but the payoff would be substantial as the rewards could help influence the path he walked. The secondary is the complete opposite with short-term goals and minor rewards, however, he had the option to reject and ignore it since it wouldn't be of personal importance, right?
Whatever the case, the quests would be labeled the following:
[1. Primary Quests]
Get stronger through experience.
Annihilate the Demons.
[2. Secondary Quests]
Join a party.
Aid in Loramus's development.
The longer one stayed in the Basic Realm, the harder it became to sense the hours passing by. Not only were there few clocks in this place, but most of the facilities also stayed open 24/7, which kind of made finding a spot without light shining on it a rarity. Only the clock in his room and courtyard kept track of the current date and time.
[06:17 AM]
Around this early morning hour, the always-crowded first-floor courtyard would be much quieter.
Wondering if Loramus was there, Zevrad came down to the first floor only to find someone else's familiar back, instead.
'Kor'vas?'
He was about to call out to greet her but stopped. His half-opened mouth slowly closed shut.
Kor'vas was in the midst of taking a halting glance at the noticeboard.
It didn't seem as if she was here for the running mission. A [Basic] difficulty mission could be repeated infinitely, so there was no need to worry about the mission parchments running out. If she was hesitating like that in front of the board, that could only mean that she was thinking of challenging a mission with a difficulty higher than [Very Easy].
Her shoulders drooped in disappointment, her head faltered, hinting that she was deeply devastated over something. Zevrad quickly walked over to her side.
"What should I do now?"
"Kor'vas?"
"Kyaaaak?!?!"
When he called out to her out of the blue, a rather peculiar scream jumped out of her mouth. She quickly turned around to face Zevrad. Her shocked expression calmed down quickly after seemingly losing ten years of her life through fright.
"Shan'do?"
"Good morning. Are you here to run again? It's been a while since we ran side-by-side, so how about it?"
"Oh, um… o-okay. Let's do it."
She sounded really unwilling. Zevrad didn't miss the fact that she hesitated ever so slightly before answering him.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Oh, no! Not at all. Uhm, it's just, I'm lacking in confidence. I haven't had the time to train lately so..."
Kor'vas stopped at the end of her sentence and smiled awkwardly. Her smile normally seemed pure and innocent, despite the setting they're in. But today, Zevrad picked up the hint of deception that she couldn't completely conceal. Her always-sunny complexion seemed very haggard as well. A look that he was all too familiar with.
'Mm?'
Zevrad carefully studied her appearance for a little while and tilted his head.
Now that he had taken a closer look at her, there were a few odd things about her. It had been slightly over a month since their specs Awakened, yet her attire remained the same as what she wore during the tutorial. And having met up with Belath and Allari earlier on, this oddness came across as quite bizarre to him now.
Kor'vas's [Aptitude] wasn't bad when he took a peek at her [Character Window]. Although it couldn't be called as desirable as [Brilliant], he did remember seeing the description of [Jack of all Trades] (Good at various activities) or something similar to that?
"Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
When he asked her while thinking, 'it can't be, right?', she hurriedly nodded her head.
"O-of course! I filled my stomach before getti-"
*Growl.*
With the exquisite timing, the loud cry of an empty stomach roared out for everyone to hear. And sure enough, it was not coming from Zevrad's belly. Kor'vas blushed in embarrassment as she attempted to make an excuse, "If I want to eat, I need to complete missions, you see..."
Quite unlike how Kor'vas sounded just a minute ago, there was no energy in her voice now. Her pinkish neck slowly reddened up in the shade of sunset. Zevrad dazedly shifted his gaze over to the noticeboard.
As expected, she wasn't here to do [Basic] difficulty missions. She was checking out the sections where [Very Easy] and [Easy] missions were originally located. Unfortunately, there were no parchments left there. That was because Zevrad ended up completely monopolizing what remained a few days ago.
'So it's true, Kor'vas is constantly helping out Loramus.'
Suddenly, Zevrad recalled Belath's words and right away, it felt like a hammer struck him in the head.
'Ahh…..'
Now he understood the truth.
It wasn't as if Kor'vas failed to earn enough silver coins for herself. No, it was more like she couldn't as she was trying to look after Loramus as well. That would explain why her attire was still despite being in the Basic Realm for two months.
In order to complete a mission that paid out enough silver coins for one to carry on living in the Realm, one would need to get the matching equipment and suitable abilities for one's spec. Attempting a mission without those would be akin to throwing your life away.
If one had to lower the difficulty through a sheer lack of choice, then the rewards on offer were too low. Even then, if one continued to persevere and complete them, it'd be possible to amass a few handfuls of coins. But for Kor'vas, those coins would have been spent in looking after Loramus, instead.
It'd only leave her towards a continuous downward spiral. On top of this, Kor'vas entered the Basic Realm with only 216 coins to her name. Since she had to support another person with their already struggling finances, their situation must've been on a downward slide for a long time by now.
'By Elune.'
Zevrad's hand clutched his spear tightly.
'And I had little to no reason to even do those missions either.'
He resolved himself not to succumb to his self-indulgence, yet he had done it again. He told himself to control his desires, yet, in the end, he thoughtlessly used himself as an example when making decisions.
If he could only change by learning from his mistakes. How could he fail so spectacularly to consider the possibility that the situation would be different for other survivors? To be considerate.
From her perspective, it must have been like him robbing her of the last lifeline she had been depending on.
"Apologies."
Hearing his sudden apology, Kor'vas's eyes grew wider and wider. Of course, she was aware of it, too. There was no way she didn't know since the stories about Zevrad were widespread around the Basic Realm nowadays.
"N-no! Don't say that!"
"I'm at fault. I'm the one who finished off all the easier missions."
"Shan'do, don't say that. Those mission parchments aren't mine, to begin with."
"..."
"More importantly, for the last two months, you didn't touch any of those missions, anyways. It's my fault for being lazy and not completing the missions more often... it's my fault."
Seeing her trying to console him, his hard-to-describe guilty conscience got heavier by another layer. She said that she had been lazy, but there was no way that could be true. No, it was far more likely that she was struggling desperately to survive.
"I heard that you are looking after Loramus."
"Oh, uhm…. T-that is…."
Kor'vas could only open and shut her mouth repeatedly as if she didn't know what to say. Her expression was asking him, 'How did you find out?'
"How long has it been?"
"After entering the Basic Realm… around ten days after that."
'So over a month, huh?'
Zevrad chuckled out bitterly.
She could've asked him for help during that time, at least once. But she didn't say anything, even when they met a few times to lap the track together. She didn't even show any signs of struggling, either. If no one told him of the Loramus situation, he might've never found out what was going on.
Seeing her helplessly lower her gaze, Zevrad's thoughts became very complicated.
'What should I do now?'
Although he didn't give a definite answer to that mysterious Night Elf, he was planning to help Loramus out, anyways. He thought that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to repay Loramus for aiding him back in the tutorial. However, adding Kor'vas to the mix was out of his calculations.
Of course, if he began supporting Loramus, the burden Kor'vas had would decrease considerably. But it was already too late. Others had leapfrogged far ahead of her by now. Never mind catching up to them, could the both of them even manage to gather 1000 coins before the end of the deadline?
While stewing inside the swirling mess of jumbled-up thoughts, Zevrad got to confirm his [Disposition] being [Disorder] one more time. Even though he thought he should aid them somehow, a big part of him didn't want to get involved and just wanted to concentrate on completing missions, instead.
'Should I help them or not?'
Encountering yet another crossroads in his path, Zevrad closed his eyes to contemplate. It was then, he suddenly recalled a scene from almost two months ago.
<"Allari and I admit, you're incredible.">
<"He's right, we can prevail if we work together. We're elves! Our people have done it before and we can surely do it here.">
Zevrad remembered a scene of a Kor'vas being the first to return and aid him against the demonic spider. Followed by Loramus who fought side-by-side with them. Their actions, their courage, gave him the start to get him to where he was today.
And then, he recalled the verse of Elune regarding the Golden Opportunity.
He then decided to look at things from their perspective.
What if he ran into a situation similar to what the siblings, or even, Loramus were facing? Without a doubt, he'd be wishing for someone to come and help him out right about now, right?
<"I've never really thought of those words as altruistic babble, though. Since it's much closer to seizing the day for one's self. Don't you agree?">
Although it was only by a little bit, Zevrad thought he could understand where that mysterious man's sentiment was coming from. Maybe, just maybe, there could be a future that might unfold in the way the man had been implying. A future where Zevrad needed to receive help from someone else.
Could this girl in front of him be an ally he could depend on?
No, that didn't matter. What did matter was Zevrad's feelings on the subject regardless of what might happen in the future? He didn't know why, but he wanted to help her. He wasn't dealing with those bastards from his past. No, knowing the struggles this kind-hearted and warm girl was going through, he couldn't turn a blind eye anymore.
'If I wanted to change, then I must change my [Actions], right?'
The moment he decided, Zevrad opened his eyes and spoke to her.
"Come. Let's go for a run."
***
Zevrad and Kor'vas began jogging on the track. He completed his portion of the allocated laps first and waited for her to finish. Seeing her slowly inch closer to the finish line, he waved his hands and cheered her on. She managed to get to the line, but before crossing it, she collapsed on the floor and began panting heavily.
Seeing this, Zevrad grinned softly.
"It's only 30 laps, you know. I didn't know you were this unfit."
"Stimulants are not allowed!"
Kor'vas protested the injustice of this situation.
"I'm telling you, they're not drugs."
While defending himself, Zevrad's lips formed a bitter smile. He remembered giving advice that she should buy [Excess Potion of Accelerated Learning] while being completely oblivious to her living conditions.
"How do you feel now that you ran?"
"I feel great, relaxed even."
Kor'vas smiled brightly on the ground as she regulated her breathing. Even though he forcibly dragged her in here, she wasn't dissatisfied at all.
"Well, then. Should I make you feel even better?"
"Hm?"
In the Basic Realm, one could lend out or transfer silver coins to another. Zevrad transferred 200 silver coins from his account to Kor'vas.
"Huh? Oh, uh? 200 coins?!"
"You've successfully cleared a mission, right? You should receive compensation for that."
Zevrad jokingly said that, but her expression showed how apologetic and at a loss she was.
"Even still…. if you give me so many coins, then I..."
Her words only managed to make Zevrad surprised and flustered instead.
'Just how difficult had her stay in the Basic Realm been for her to act like that over measly 200 coins?'
"What is your friend, Allari, doing?"
"Oh, Allari? She should be waking up soon, I think."
"In that case, go have a good breakfast with her. With 200 coins, you should be able to enjoy a hearty meal once."
"J-just once?! If I save up, I think we can stretch it out to ten days!"
"No can do. You will spend it all in one go. All 200 coins. Be sure to invite Belath and his friends too."
Zevrad resolutely cut her off. For a short while, Kor'vas didn't say anything. She simply stared at him with a dazed facial expression as if she hadn't finished processing this event quite yet.
"Once you're done eating, come up to my quarters with your brother. Oh, and by the way, do you know where I can find Loramus?"
"S-shan'do?"
Kor'vas unsteadily got up from the ground. She still looked like she hadn't been able to tell whether she was in a dream or not.
"But… but why?"
"Hmmm… to be honest, it's because I'm grateful to you."
"About what, exactly? I haven't done anything."
Zevrad sheepishly scratched his cheek.
"What do you mean, you haven't? You returned and fought with me back then, didn't you?"
When looking back, one could say that was indeed the case. Only by standing together with them, especially after he ran with Kor'vas, did Zevrad finally realize how weak he was. From that day on, he focused on improving himself like a madman. In a way, it was because of their intervention that he had begun making it to where he was at and began his intense training regime.
Kor'vas couldn't say anything for a little while longer. Only her lips parted and closed several times.
"Shan'do."
She somehow managed to squeeze out a word.
"Yes?"
"Can you… turn around for a second?"
"Sure, why not. But, why?"
"I… I want to cry, but it's embarrassing."
Zevrad smiled gently. She was probably trying to express how grateful she was in her own way.
"Do what you want."
However, as soon as he turned around, he heard her crying out loudly. His heart nearly jumped out of his mouth in fright, and he quickly looked back, only to find Kor'vas squatting on the ground in a fetal position while shedding thick tears of appreciation.
'She's really crying?!'
This time, it was Zevrad's turn to panic, instead.
***
After sending Kor'vas back to find the others, Zevrad headed off to the fifth floor. He'd never stopped by this floor before. According to Kor'vas's explanation, a sizeable lounge could be found there, and Loramus spent most of his time in that place.
Zevrad initially believed that, since that space was called a lounge, the facilities there shouldn't be so bad, but...
"..."
...as soon as he arrived there, he had to revise his thoughts immediately.
The circular lounge was indeed rather spacious and open, but there were only a handful of chairs to be found here. He couldn't even begin to call this place a lounge at all.
When he pushed open the glass door and entered, he spotted a lone figure lying quietly in the far corner of the room. He had a hood covering his head while his body was in a huddle.
Zevrad heard him cough that sounded very dry and scratchy. Zevrad placed his palm on the floor, and his body shivered slightly after sensing the coldness coming from the hard surface.
'It's really cold in here. He must be in a deep sleep.'
Zevrad walked towards him in loud-enough footsteps, but he still showed no signs of movement.
*Zzzz*
While listening to his soft, nearly imperceptible breathing, Zevrad looked at his face and became utterly speechless. Loramus's appearance too had changed a fair deal since the end of the tutorial. Unfortunately, it was for the worse.
His previously pale and defined elven cheeks were now yellowing and sunken. His exposed wrist was so thin, he mistakenly thought he was looking at bones. He thought he was looking at a corpse.
"Loramus?"
Zevrad called out his name and placed his hand on his shoulder. His body flinched.
"Loramus."
And when he gently shook him...
"….Ah-ahck!"
Suddenly, he sucked in a heavy breath; as if he was having a nightmare, a strained cry escaped from his lips, and he desperately hid his face with his left hand. He huddled even closer and began shaking like a leaf.
'What the...?'
He thought he was looking at an abused child trying to not get hit anymore. Zevrad took a step back in astonishment.
"Are you alright?"
"Ugh!"
"Loramus!"
"Uh, uhm?"
Abruptly, he raised his head but a groggy expression gazed back at Zevrad.
"Hua…?"
He let off a pained whimper, and his eyes slowly closed again. His entire body slumped, and when he called out to him again, he didn't respond.
'Is he unconscious?'
His current state seemed too precarious to simply say he fell unconscious.
Zevrad quickly lifted him up. He only used his arms, yet he could barely feel his weight.
Leaving the fifth floor lounge, Zevrad immediately went to his quarters on the tenth floor. He thought that, since his room restored one's stamina rapidly, simply being there would help him regain his consciousness and health.
After carefully laying Loramus down on the bed, Zevrad was overcome with a feeling of helplessness. Although he did bring him here, he hadn't realized how bad his conditions actually were.
'Let's confirm his status first.'
Zevrad activated his [Soul Inspection].
[Loramus's Character Window]
[1. General Information]
Sex/Age: Male/2020
Height/Weight: 6.43/86.2 kg
Current condition: Heavily injured
Class: Demon Hunter (Havoc)
Race: Blood Elf
Title: N/A
[2. Traits]
1. Temperament:
– Apathetic: He's not easily interested in anything.
– Despair: Has fallen into despair and has given up on himself.
2. Aptitude:
– Gifted: Highly intelligent as well as good overall talents.
– Observant: Carefully analyzes and studies items and events all around him.
[3. Physical Level]
Strength: (Intermediate)–> Low
Endurance: (Intermediate) –> Low
Agility: (Intermediate) –> Low
Stamina: (Intermediate) –>Low
Mana: (High) –> Low
Luck: (High) –> Low
Remaining Ability points: 1
[4. Abilities]
1. Innate Abilities (0)
2. Class Abilities (0)
3. Other Abilities (0)
[5. Level of Cognition]
-Actions: Depressed
-Emotions: Pessimistic
-Disposition: Despair
"By Elune."
Zevrad's brows furrowed in a deep frown.
Loramus's condition, confirmed through his [Character Window], was in a terrible state.