[Are you sure you want to log out ]
[Yes/No ]
[Logging out...]
Ray stepped out of his pod and started stretching on the warm carpet of his room. His body much needed the feeling of morning sunrays after sitting for such a long time in that dark basement.
'Although she has regained her strength, I must not let her be alone. God knows what she may do.'
Ray thought remembering the celestial princess who had drifted to sleep while still crying, feeling safe in his presence after weeks of being alone.
Ray checked the time on his phone to be 7am in the morning.Today his college was to reopen after the Christmas and the New Year break.
Earlier he had planned to resume his college from today only, but the encounter with Seraphine had changed his mind.
He went down to see his mom preparing breakfast; while his dad sat on the sofa sipping his morning coffee while watching the news.
As Ray stepped into the dining room, his dad glanced up from his coffee with a sly smirk.
"So, Mr. Ray Veylen, how was your long, hard grind last night? Did you finally… level up?"
He let the question hang in the air, his grin widening as Ray broke into laughter and muttered, "Seriously, Dad?"
His dad felt elated seeing his son laughing and cheerful after being depressed about his college all the time.
'Seems like the game did its wonder'
"So what do you think? Are you feeling well today? Do you want to resume your college from today?"
"Dad, actually... I think I need another day off. I have some important stuff to do in the game.
I think I will resume college from tomorrow"
"Ray if you are fearing those boys, don't be afraid we are always with you in your decisions okay?"
"I understand dad" Ray said suppressing the his welled up emotions. His mom walked into the room with 'Sophie Veylen's special sandwiches' as she called them.
Ray started indulging on the sandwiches postponing the start of the game after that.
"Ray are you also planning to start a guild in the game? The realism in this game is all over the news and some have even started advertising their guild before it has even formed!"
Mr Veylen said clearly amazed by how the time has changed from before but the news channels still shows everything other than the news itself.
Ray remembered his previous guild 'Holy Crusaders' which had the most playerbase in the beginning of the game.
Suddenly an idea struck him which could help him defeat Asmodeus which had never came into his mind before.
"Well dad, I had planned before to start one, but just now I got an even better idea. Thanks Mom, I will eat the rest of it in my room"
Ray said excitedly, grabbing the sandwiches and darting back to his game pod.
Both parents exchanged a smile, relieved to see their son finally reclaiming a spark of his former carefree energy he'd had before when he was a child.
"Wait where did my sandwiches go??" his dad called out, staring at the empty plate.
"Fuel for victory, Dad!" Ray shouted back from the hallway, his voice fading as he sprinted up the stairs.
*********
[Player has been verified ]
[Logging in]
The familiar smell of the metal arose as he re appeared in the familiar basement. He found Seraphine sleeping peacefully on the cold floor of basement.
Although there was no time difference between real life and the game, the pods which would come in near future would have a time dilation which attracted almost all of the population to the game.
Sensing there to be no remaining demonic monsters outside, he stepped out of the basement into the morning Sun and examined the ruined workshop.
He examined all the different weapons there till he found a sword in relatively good shape which had no level requirement,
[Basic Sword]
Level Requirement: None
Rarity: Common
Durability: 73/100
Ray stored the sword in his inventory. As he went down to wake up the unconscious paladin
"Princess Seraphine wake up, we need to escape this town before night"
As these words escaped from Ray's mouth, a ding sound erupted near his ears,
[Quest Notification]
[World Quest: Protector of the Celestial Princess]
[Unique (cannot be shared)] [Rank: S]
Description:
The Celestial Princess, Seraphine, is destined to ascend as the vessel of the goddess during the upcoming Ascension Rite in one month.
However, powerful forces seek to disrupt her path, and her very life is at risk.
As her chosen protector, it is your duty to ensure her safety from all threats, guide her through the trials ahead, and uncover the sinister plots surrounding the ritual.
Primary Objective:
• Ensure Seraphine survival until the Ascension Rite.
Optional:
• Investigate any conspiracies surrounding the ritual.
• Seek assistance from her uncle, the Grand Templar, for additional support.
• ???
• ???
Failure Condition: Seraphine's safety is compromised or she is unable to attend the Ascension Rite.
Rewards:
•Maximum favourabilty with the Dawnstrike family.
•[Friendly] Reputation in all of Elyndor continent.
• ??? (Dependent on the success of the Ascension Rite)
[Additional rewards may be given based on quest completion]
Do you accept this quest?
[Accept] [Decline]
Seraphine slowly awoke, her eyes blinking against the soft morning light. Disoriented for a moment but the urgency of the situation soon hit her.
She stepped out of the dull basement feeling the Sun on her skin after what seemed to her a lifetime.
Ray skimmed through the quest notification his eyes stopping on the reputation boost.
'Killing that angel has already made my reputation on [ Hatred ] in all of the continent.
This reward is a must if I wish to participate in future events of Elyndor'
'I have never heard of world quest being unique to one player only...I think it may be made available to all players after the Ascension Rite.'
'Until then I need to prote-' Ray then noticed the familiar golden shimmer of hair behind the translucent screen of quest notification.
"Princess, If I may ask what are you doing..?"
"What are you seeing here hmm.. Is this some kind of ability given by the goddess, only to the otherworlders? No wonder you all are called 'The children of goddess'."
[...]
[ The quest has been automatically accepted]
Even the system couldn't let the quest be rejected.
***
Both of them were currently en route to escape from the town of Virella. Serephine had to control her speed as Ray did not seem to be able to move as fast as her.
Direction was not a problem as Seraphine could sense the flow of mana in the air as easy as breathing.
As they were sprinting along the streets, Ray did not forget to find any spare money he could find inside the ruined houses. It was a waste letting the wealth be left for thieves and bandits.
Although what he was doing so shamelessly was no better than them.
Even Seraphine felt guilty seeing Ray not leaving even a single coin, putting them into his spatial space. Although she found it strange as she couldn't see any spatial ring on him.
[ Elyndor currency acquired ]
- 4x gold coins
- 12x silver coins
- 56x bronze coins
[ Elyndor currency acquired ]
-5x goild coins
- 32x silver coins
- 1x bronze coins
...
...
...
All in all Ray amassed the total wealth of about 124 gold coins if he converted all the silver and bronze coins into gold ones just from plundering the whole town.
1 gold coin = 100 silver coins
1 silver coin = 100 bronze coins
Seeing Seraphine's sadness, he assured her that they would definitely bring justice to the people of Virella,
"I.. I am not sure how we can accomplish that Ray. I don't think my uncle, Lord Aurelius, can know of my father's betrayal. If we somehow contact with him we may-"
"Don't be foolish princess. There's no way we can enter ever the periphery of capital without your father getting informed."
"I have another plan, princess by which we can even defeat Asmodeus but I need you help"
"Us defeating Asmodeus? Who's being foolish now, huh? You are clearly in a soul contract with him, how are you even going to reach him let alone killing him?"
"No worries princess, you will soon get to know in just time. But first we should arrive in the Trading town of Valltherion. If I am not wrong, it should not very far from here."
"Well it is not, but on foot, it will take still a day. Wait what if-"
"No, that town is not invaded yet, the adventurer guild is there and...it also a starting location for otherworlders too. Asmodeus wouldn't invade such a town where the whole of Elyndor would get informed"
Ray said that to persuade her although the real reason was that Valltherion was a town that he remembered existing from his previous life and thus could not have been corrupted.
"And what are we going to do there..?"
"Of course," Ray replied with a sly smile, "We're going to the Adventurer's Guild. We'll be creating a new guild."
Seraphine's confusion was evident, her brows furrowing as she tried to process his words. Ray couldn't help but chuckle before leaning in slightly, his tone almost teasing-
"Forgive me, princess. Let me rephrase that." He paused, his grin widening. "You will be creating a new guild."