Kevneth shouted loudly, with all the air in his lungs, trying to make himself heard. And he was succeeding. The surrounding crowd was only getting bigger, except that the subject of the evil spirit had been bothering the residents of Pavagar for so many weeks that it was starting to change them.
"Did he say 'evil spirit'?"
"Is this adventurer one of those stubborn ones who tried to hunt down the creature even when C-Class adventurers couldn't? After all, I think his friends deserved the end they got."
"Yeah... the evil spirit dominates the forest."
"More and more die every day in this hunt. Stop being selfish!"
"That's it! You were selfish. That's why your friends died!"
"Calm down, guys, I don't know if they're really dead!" Kevneth said as he gestured with his arms. "I just need help to get into the forest again to look for them!"
"And who's going to go into the forest knowing that the evil spirit has claimed more victims?"
"Give up on them! They've probably already been torn to pieces, just like my neighbor was!"
However, in the middle of that crowd, angry at the audacity of Kevneth and his group, was Willow, and when he reached the front row and realized the situation, he was noticed by Kevneth.
The eyes of the blond-haired archer of medium height stared at Willow from head to toe, as if he was making sure that this man was the same man that his group had given a ride to. The clothes were the same, and the face too, but Willow's body was a little more muscular, and his countenance was no longer as confused as before.
"Hey, you!" Kevneth exclaimed, approaching Willow.
The people around Willow immediately moved back a step or two so as not to make it obvious that they were together with him.
Willow crossed h arms. "What do you want?"
"Tsk! What kind of attitude is that? My group gave you a ride to Pavagar. Now it's time for you to give something back! Go into the forest and look for them!"
"And why would I do that? I didn't expressly ask you to give me a ride. I asked Aria."
Kevneth put both hands on Willow's shoulders. "And you don't care a bit about your traveling companions? We were attacked!"
"Actually, no, I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, you're just secondary characters. No, seriously, you're far from even being supporting characters." Willow was as cold as he thought he should be, because Kevneth was basically asking him to run to his death.
"Are you kidding?! What about the elf? She helped you, fed you, and even gave you shelter! If you care about her at all, you should look for her!"
As much as Willow hated the idea, now he had to admit that Kevneth was partly right. Willow owed Aria Valenwood a lot, perhaps much more than she owed anyone in real life.
"Okay, I can help, but I'm only a level 7, and I won't be able to do much if the monster shows up." Willow agreed.
"What? This man says he's level 7, and yet he goes into the forest? It's suicide..." Someone in Willow's crowd pointed, which made a vein pop out of Willow's forehead.
'Hurh... I know it's silly to do this, but my father taught me that when I owe a debt as a person, I have to pay it.' Willow thought, frowning. "Okay, archer, you go ahead and I'll follow. The faster we go, the more chance we have of finding them alive."
"Huh? Me?" Kevneth pointed to himself.
"Huh? Why are you surprised?"
"Of course, I'm not going back into that forest! It would be suicide!"
"WHAT?!!" Willow grabbed Kevneth's shirt collar and pulled him close with an angry expression. "Where did all that talk of gratitude and companionship go?!"
Kevneth looked away and muttered in a slurred voice: "I was just doing my bit, so I wouldn't come off as the adventurer who ran away during a battle and didn't even get help..."
"Oh, you..." Willow pushed Kevneth away and loosened his collar. "It doesn't matter. I'm going anyway. Just point me in the right direction, and I'll look for them."
"We were in the forest to the north! It'll be impossible for you not to notice when you get to the evil spirit area, because there's a thick mist in the area."
"Mist?"
"Yes, that's how the paranormal manifests itself to the naked eye."
"Argh. Okay, I'm going. However, if I don't come back alive, I'll come back in spirit form to haunt you for the rest of your life!"
Normally, Willow was not a man who liked to take risks. He preferred a more comfortable life. However, in Ether's world, comfort and the comfort zone were the privileges of a select few.
As he walked towards the forest north of Pavagar, Willow grumbled to himself about how foolish and reckless what he was doing was. Luckily, this walk was long enough for him to exploit a new resource that the Grimoire of Valendoor had granted him while quickly reaching the area of the evil spirit.
[Opening Secondary Skill Tree].
Willow had never heard of a player possessing two different skill trees. This was completely new ground and, surprisingly, when this Secondary Skill Tree appeared to him, it was quite different from the Divine Seducer Class Skill Tree.
While the main skill tree had dozens of branches and skills that were still hidden, the secondary one was almost empty, except for a circle in the middle that represented a skill that had not yet been unlocked. At the top left of the skill tree, where the number of Skill Points was usually displayed, there was something similar with a different nomenclature.
[Arcane Points: 1.]
"I remember hearing Maga Valendoor say something about that..."
"... If you want more power or answers, look for the... Arcane Points left by me... all over the Aethoria Kingdom..."
"So that's what he was talking about. Apparently, unlike the Skill Points that I get through quests, the Arcane Points I'll only get when I find them in Valendoor's crypts, dungeons, and vaults. Of course, it's just a guess, but that's what it looks like."
Willow tried clicking on that single circle in the secondary tree, but the screen didn't expand and reveal what that skill did, so he could decide whether to unlock it or not. Only the option to unlock it appeared.
[Do you want to spend 1 Arcane Point to unlock this skill? YES/NO].
"Well, it's not like I can use that arcane point for anything else, is it?"
It was then that Willow, still walking, clicked YES.
The magic circle glowed purple and revealed the icon of an open hand. Willow frowned and clicked on the icon of the new ability to find out what it did.
+
[Skill: Magnetism Magic.]
Description: Controlling magnetic fields is within your grasp.
Effect: You are now able to attract, push, move, and squeeze iron.
Rating: Unique.
Consumption: proportional to the time and amount of metal manipulated.
Cooldown: none.
+
"That's what we're talking about! Wait... but how exactly can I use this magic?"
Willow was a complete noob on Ether Online when it came to magic. He didn't know exactly how it worked, but he was glad to have the first of what he hoped was a vast arsenal.
At that moment, the leather-bound grimoire came out of his inventory on its own, which startled him a little. Still on its own, the grimoire opened and began to leaf through the hundreds of pages, until it finally stopped and strange, cursive runes began to be written on one of the pages from beginning to end. In the end, these runes glowed, and the grimoire closed, falling to the ground afterward.
When Willow touched the grimoire, he felt a strange sensation. From one moment to the next, his senses were heightened to a much greater degree than he had ever felt before. He could feel what was happening around him, from the rustling leaves of the trees that lined the dirt road to the stream of water that was not far away. For the first time, Willow was feeling mana, and he was curious about it, curious to test his new magic.
However, this unsettling feeling of curiosity was blown away when a desperate cry resounded from somewhere in the forest. It was a male scream, like a shout, but covered in visceral terror.
Willow didn't recognize the voice to which this cry belonged. At least it wasn't Aria's or the talking C-Class Adventurer called Petgeon, but he imagined that the evil spirit might be responsible for causing this scream. So Willow started running in the direction of the scream in the hope that Aria, whose mission it was to kill this monster, had also heard the same scream, and so their paths would cross.
*
[Status Screen]
Nickname: Willow Age: 23
Class: Divine Seducer
Level 7:
4500/5300 EXP
HP: 100/100
MP: 25/25
Attribute | Value
Strength: 30
Intelligence: 15
Agility: 10
Charisma: 5
Constitution: 10
Wisdom: 12
Dexterity: 10
Perception: 10
Attribute Points: 40 Attribute Points
Skill Points: 2
Arcane Points: 0