The mansion stood grand in the middle of the expansive land in the western part of Twilight City. Behind the mansion lay an extensive forest, all of which belonged to the Cross family.
A man emerged from his room with a smile on his face. For him, this morning felt quite pleasant. There was nothing particularly special happening, but he had been feeling content for the past few days.
'Father looks pleased with all the treasures I brought back from that Sacred Tomb.' Donovan observed the gardeners from the window of the spacious corridor.
They were going about their usual tasks, taking care of everything he owned to scrape together every penny that meant nothing to Donovan. Just like any other peasant.
He continued his stroll through the mansion. A few minutes later, he headed to the backyard that faced the forest, where his father usually spent his time.
And it turned out his assumption was correct. His father, a tall and sturdy man, was gazing at their forest while sipping his coffee, as usual.
Donovan approached his father with a smile. "Good morning, Father."
His father turned slightly and glanced at him briefly, then returned his gaze to the forest.
"What are you doing here?" his father asked in a cold tone. But his father always sounded cold, so it was no longer an issue for Donovan.
"I just wanted to greet you. May I ask you something, Father?" Donovan replied.
There was no reply from his father, which meant Donovan could continue. Donovan was accustomed to silence being the answer.
"What's in that pile of treasure?" Donovan asked.
His father took a sip of his coffee before answering. "As you've seen. There's gold, artifacts, books, weapons. What do you need?"
"Do you want me to take what I want, Father?" Donovan looked puzzled.
"You're the one who found it, after all."
But then he shook his head. "I don't need anything from there, Father. I'm giving it all to you."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Donovan saw his father nod. He thought his father was satisfied with his answer.
"Something strange has been happening lately. You should investigate," his father said.
"What is it?"
"Some guild leaders have told me that a new type of Ghosts has appeared. Their appearances have happened several times, so it might not be a coincidence. Look into it."
"Yes, Father. I'll go now."
Donovan turned and walked away from his father. Actually, there was something else bothering the head of the Cross family. The Sacred Tomb had produced something other than those treasures.
Richard, Donovan's father, went to check the Sacred Tomb again a few hours after Donovan returned. He and a few Hunters were puzzled because the Tomb was sealed again.
After hours of digging, they finally found the entrance to the Sacred Tomb. There, Richard found something quite concerning.
There was a protruding stone platform that had traces of scattered blood. Richard recognized it as some kind of altar. Several people had been sacrificed there.
Richard didn't particularly care if Donovan had to sacrifice a few people to open his way. He knew something like that was bound to happen in a Sacred Tomb.
However, Richard sensed something different from the altar on the first level. There was a pulse there, a pulse that had significantly weakened by the time Richard arrived, but it used to be a powerful one.
'What kind of power awakens there?' Richard sipped his coffee again, stopping when he realized his cup was empty. He gazed back at the forest. All the bodies placed on the altar had disappeared since they had become sacrifices. So he couldn't recognize the person.
All his friends said it was probably nothing like he had thought. The power pulse he felt might be because it was a Sacred Tomb that hadn't been touched for hundreds or even thousands of years, causing the Mana energy to uncontrollably spread from all directions. This allowed Richard to sense the pulse from one of the altars.
Richard decided to trust that, as he had no other clues to lead him elsewhere.
The man went to the kitchen with the conclusion that nothing significant had occurred. He intended to refill his coffee.
~~~
On that day, Rama had no desire to take on any missions. He had decided to spend the entire day practicing sword mastery because he was aware of his lacking skills.
Now, his mastery had reached Intermediate Level 2 after practicing from five in the morning until nine. It turns out that increasing his proficiency level at the Intermediate Level was much more challenging than at the Beginner Level.
Rama was panting on the floor while still holding his sword. "I didn't read about this on the game forums."
After hearing Anthony's explanation, Rama had delved deeper into his powers. This allowed him to better understand his Soul Fusion power. The forms he saw in his stats window and everything within it were indeed very similar to the game. Rama thought that the being that had created it was fascinating.
However, there were some differences between his power and what was in the game. There was nothing called a 'tutorial' to help him understand this power, and Rama had to figure it all out on his own.
As he was daydreaming while recovering his stamina, Rama saw the translucent blue text appear in his vision again.
< Main Quest! >
'Oh! A quest! It's been a while since I got a quest. Let's see what it is.'
< Main Quest: Investigate the Appearance of the Specter Behemoth (I) >
< Description: The appearance of the Specter Behemoth is becoming more frequent. You must investigate the appearance of the Specter Behemoth in an area to the east of Twilight City. >
< Reward: 350 XP >
Rama furrowed his brow. "That's new. There was no description for a quest before. And at the end of the quest, there's a '(I)' indicating that this is just the beginning."
Rama immediately got up to sit and read the quest description again. So, he had to go to the eastern part of Twilight City. Rama planned to find a mission that would take him there.
~~~