Ding!
The resounding chime echoed through Thalion's skull, jolting the young half-Elvar up from bed.
'What the fuck?'
In the world of Torkval, Continent of Morhale.
Inside a tree house in the capital of the Ah'Vaialum Elvari of the Everdew Forest.
There lie a young half-Elvar of Royal blood whose parents were exiled to another continent when he was three years old.
>>>Closed Testing UI synchronization complete.
Detecting Native body...
Analyzing...
Detected NPC-player duality...
Automatic NPC player system now synced.
Name: Thalion Ah'Vaialum
Race: Half-Elvar
Age: 20 (juvenile)
Potential: Mythic (+10% Stats)
Level: 10 (100/5,000) [Low-Tier]
Class: None (class selection available)
HP: 100%
Stamina: 97%
Mana: 100%
Stats: STR 12/DEX 14/END 12/INT 12
Free Stat Points: 0
Stat Bonus: +10% (Mythic Potential)
Final: STR 13/DEX 15/END 13/INT 13
Innate Stats: Charm 96/Luck 50/Will 100
Equipment: "From Mom", "Enchanted Mythril Inner Armor", "Steel Khopesh", "From Dad", "Ah'Vaialum Recurve Bow"
Skills: No class
Endowments: (Racial) - [Nature's Blessed], [Elvar Elegance], [Adaptive]
(Personal) - [Dense Soul]
No quests available<<<
[Message: 1.0 launch is scheduled to happen in 15 years, 2 months, 18 days, and 11 hours of in-game time.]
"???" Thalion was feeling many emotions at this moment.
'This is a game world? Where has this information been all this time? I've been here since the tender age of 3, took you long enough to sync, fucker.' He settled on being kind of pissed, suppressing his shock.
'So, what kind of game is this? This feels pretty real to me, the VR I know isn't even close to the this level. Did my soul get glitched into an extremely high-tech game world?' Thalion even checked if he was hallucinating or going insane, but he seemed normal.
'Maybe my soul was in limbo for some reason and I'm in the future? Alternate universe? Who knows?' Thalion decided to give up and investigate his UI.
He not only found information about himself, but he also found a lot of information about the game. (A/N: Check Chapter 0 for important info dump.)
He knew his Khophesh made from a branch of Yggdrasil was the "From Mom", but he had no idea what "From Dad" was.
What Thalion knew about his parents was that his dad was a royal Ah'Vaialum that stole their only Yggdrasil Fruit to heal his mother's illness and give her Elvar longevity.
He escaped with her for several years, until they were randomly found with a three year old child—Thalion.
The Ah'Vaialum couldn't execute their own when they intended no harm to their kin, but they couldn't let his father go scot-free and raise a child with royal Ah'Vaialum blood outside Everdew Forest—even if he was a half-Elvar.
They then decided on a fair judgement, continental exile—the main reason they attached any importance to young Thalion was that he had two parents with Mythic Potential.
Half-Elvar inherit their parent's lowest Potential, meaning they need a power couple like Thalion's parents to be as strong as a pure royal or even normal Elvar.
Potential is divided like this:
[Mortal] = Lvl 99 Cap
+0% Stat Bonus
[Ascendant] = Lvl 129 Cap
+Current Lvl/4% Stat Bonus
[Heroic] = Lvl 159 Cap
+Current Lvl/2% Stat Bonus
[Mythic] = Lvl 189 Cap
+Current Lvl% Stat Bonus
(Only NPCs have Potential, players do not.)
NPCs also don't gain EXP or Free Stat Points, they train and grow normally.
So Thalion has been raised for the last 16 years to be a part of the Evermorning Guards, the elite who guard the capital and the Royal Palace—he would be given the Epic class [Everdew Elvar Hunter] tomorrow as he unlocked Mana today.
Apparently, unlocking Mana was the equivalent of reaching level 10.
But then he checked "From Dad" with the system UI—it was a class scroll!
And "From Mom" was Epic growth equipment!
'Holy shit! Fuck these Elvari, my parents are the shit! Actually, the Elvari are nice, but they definitely don't spoil me like this!' Thalion was ecstatic, he immediately selected his golden necklace left by his dad that turned out to be a class scroll and used it.
>Class: Legendary [Yggdrae Hunter]
Available Skill EXP: 0
Basic Skills:
Lvl 0 [Dawn Heavenpiercer] (0/50)
Fires a critical shot that ignores 20% of both physical and magical defenses while dealing 200% damage.
Cooldown: 8 seconds
Lvl 0 [Uprooting Slashes] (0/50)
A sequence of 4 slashes realized with 200% movement and attack speed, each dealing 120%, 140%, 160% and 180% respectively.
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Lvl 0 [Dew Mist Flicker] (0/50)
Does a spatial blink within a 200cm radius that grants 220% movement and attack speed for 2 seconds after use.
Cooldown: 6 seconds
Lvl 0 [Twin Rend] (0/50)
A critical sequence of two slashes that deal 220% each and deal 10% true damage.
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Unique Mana: [Ambrosia Yggdrae Mana]
Level 0 (Lowest Skill Level)
[Yggdrasil's Sheltering]
Grants 220% HP and Stamina regeneration.
[Elvar Ambrosia]
Grants 220% Mana regeneration.
[Bark of Yggdrasil]
Grants 200% Physical and Magical Defense.
[Yggdrasil's Breeze]
Grants 160% movement and attack speed.
[Divine Canopy]
Protective Mana aura that grants damage immunity to one instance of damage.
Cooldown: 11 seconds
[Ambrosia Chalice]
Cleanses all debuffs and over time effects.
Cooldown: 15 seconds
[Divine Guidance]
The next three arrows maintain initial velocity and home in on the target with a sure-hit effect while phasing through any non-target objects.
Cooldown: 12 seconds
[Swift Switching]
Shuffles owned or unclaimed weapons within a 200cm radius as the user wishes.
Cooldown: 2 seconds<
"Hehehe... hehe... HAHAHAHHAHAHAA! I AM... oops", shutting up, Thalion though, 'I am invincible, baby! Hell yeah!'
'Dad, I underestimated you, the inner armor, this Legendary class and my royal blood—totally Elite father, honestly, don't even come back, I can't repay you all... and they do say not to meet your idols.' The truth was that he didn't mind either way, he never met them, so he didn't miss them, but it'd also be nice to meet the two people that supposedly love him the most.
As he thought of these things, Thalion felt better than ever before. 'It's this Unique Mana!' He felt like he was getting hugged by a lukewarm marshmallow.
'It seems like it's really a Hunter class, it's focused on kiting and timing crit skills properly with some life saving abilities. Also, the movement options are absurd, I'm gonna fly!' Thalion was very satisfied with his class, it must be one of the few Ah'Vaialum Legendary classes that would take some bureaucracy to get directly even as a royal.
'I bothered the family for nothing, I don't even need a class anymore. Hm, I'll just tell them tomorrow, it's already late.' Thalion started to ponder which path he should take now that he was a player and knew about the game launch.
'Well let's check what the UI says about my gear, the family said the wooden Khopesh my mom left me is forged from the branch of the Yggdrasil fruit. It's weird, they say the Yggdrasil exists in another dimension, but the ancient Elvari connected with it and got it's blessing, so we can sometimes gain gifts from it like that fruit. Anyways, Mom's Khopesh and Inner Armor should be pretty good. Nepotism is amazing.' Thalion loved starting already halfway there.
'Let me rename "From Mom" to Motherly Reaper so it's half a proper weapon name at least.' Thalion adjusted the names of his items for clarity.
Equipment: "Motherly Reaper", "Fatherly Protector", "High-Tier Khopesh", "Grandmaster Recurve Bow"
"Motherly Reaper" [Growth/Legendary]
Type: One+Half-Handed Khopesh
Effects: Grants 300% physical damage and +10% true damage. 20% Life Steal effect. 100% chance to apply bleeding.
Skills:
[Rootbound Execution]: Insert into the ground to activate. Sprouts roots and binds enemies within a 10m radius for 3s, if the target's HP is at or below 15%, activates Execution effect. Otherwise, deal 5% of target's Max HP as true damage.
Cooldown: 60 seconds
[Mother's Gaze]: Reduces the movement speed, attack speed, all defense and all regen of one target within 50 meters in the user's line of sight by 50% for 5 seconds. If the target dies during the Skill duration or up to 5 seconds after, the user recovers 25% of full HP and resets the cooldown of [Rootbound Execution].
Cooldown: 45 seconds
[Crippling Thorns]: Reduces all regen by 75% for 3 seconds on contact.
Cooldown: 1 second
Growth Requirement: Enough Yggdrasil material infusions and/or blessings.
"Fatherly Protector" [Growth/Epic]
Type: Upper Body Mythril Chainmail
Effects: Grants 250% All Defense and 250% All Regen.
Skills:
[Second Breath]:
Recovers HP, Stamina and Mana by 20%.
Cooldown: 90 seconds
[Water Substitute]:
When under 5% HP, automatically teleport 50m away and gain 10% HP, Stamina and Mana.
Cooldown: 12 hours
Growth Requirement: Orichalcum ingot and either Yggdrasil Bark or Legendary Dragon Scales. 50/50 weight division between the two upgrade materials, total weight should be 40% of the chainmail's.
"The bow has an 8 second cooldown arrow duplication skill. The steel khopesh is just [High-Tier] so it has no skill, I see." Thalion had read the entire user manual and game guide, he was a truly responsible adult.
'I should also check out my innate personal Endowment.'
[Dense Soul]: Minimum Will stay of 100. Dexterity greatly increases reflexes, reaction speed and coordination. Strength increases knockback resistance.
"That's also very nice. I guess I need to actually do stuff to get quests or find enemies to level up. I should also find a Dwarf or Gnome that can make me a Bow-Khopesh that can switch from one to the other. Yggdrasil branches would once again be great for this, but who knows when I'd get the awesome Divine Tree encounter, it has its own whims. Maybe I can get a bow and Khopesh fused and switchable with a mage's enchantment." Thalion wasn't dissatisfied, though, he was already in a very good position, it's just really difficult to take the last steps to greatness.
"I should sleep, I'll ask Grandpa Martherion and Grandma Alvassa for some advice later." The couple could never have a child, so they raised Thalion in this life, he was grateful and trusted their goodwill towards him—even though "Thalion" did technically die once as a baby, that was an accident.
---
The next day.
At daybreak, Thalion opened his eyes and immediately went through a quick morning routine before leaving the house to visit the palace—today was the day he was going to get his Epic class!
Or at least it was supposed to be.
'Why did no one ever get a good look at that necklace? Am I too much of a loner?' Thalion had arrived at the palace by this point. 'Well, it's also my fault for not sleeping so much. But the soul merge took years, it's not my fault.'
Thalion finally arrived at the Evermorning Guard treasury in the palace, "Hey, I'm Thalion, the one that applied for the [Everdew Elvar Hunter] scroll. I'm here to cancel and refund that. I have the 5% fee here." Unfortunately, he lost some decent money this time since this scroll is expensive even if the prices here are minimal and only for formalities and logistics.
"Thalion, let me see... yes, today there was a scroll for one Thalion Ah'Vaialum, it can only be you, right? 5 gold coins, just right. Are you going to change to another class or did you find another one? No matter what, you have to report to the Guard Captain today, you know that, right?" The treasurer was a calm and considerate person.
"Thanks for the reminder, I know. I coincidentally found a class scroll yesterday that I didn't even know I had. At least I found it before wasting time with another class. Anyways, silmaveth." Silmaveth was the Elvari version of Ciao, used both as a casual greeting and farewell.
"Silmaveth, Thalion."
Then Thalion made his way through the beautiful corridors inside the Ah'Vaialum Palace, before finally reaching the Guard Captain's office.
He knocked on the open door and saluted, "Silmaveth, Guard Captain Aelron, I'm here to discuss my enlistment. The name's Thalion Ah'Vaialum."
Aelron looked up at the young half-Elvar and greeted back, "Silmaveth, Thalion. You've just awakened Mana, right? Have you gotten a class scroll already? Which one did you get? You can sit, by the way."
Thalion took his seat and answered, "I actually had the [Yggdrae Hunter] left for me by my father."
"That's a rare royal Ah'Vaialum inheritance, you're lucky, kid." Aelron was glad to have another Legendary class in their forces, he had seen Thalion's information just now, and he believed with such impressive parents, Thalion had a good chance of being one of those rare half-Elvar with great potential— unlike most, who were simply weaker than pure-blooded Elvar. "You aren't actually obligated to enlist, you just have to report for service and swear allegiance to the Ah'Vaialum and swear to never betray the Elvari of Everdew Forest. Come on, read the oath."
Thalion wasn't surprised, he had heard of this, but he thought the enlistment could be forced upon him, so he had been a bit anxious.
He looked at the oath and read solemnly, "I swear to never harm the Ah'Vaialum and all those affiliated with them, I also swear to never betray and harm the Elvari of Everdew Forest and never shame the honor of the Elvar race!" Even though he wasn't pure-blooded, Thalion still had some of that distinct Elvari pride like a bona fide Elvar.
"Good job, young lad, you're now officially an Elvar under the Ah'Vaialum, your enemies are our enemies. With that out of the way, are you not interested in joining the Guard? I saw that you seemed relieved when I said enlistment wasn't obligatory. I know service is something us Elvari don't take lightly and that you might not feel the same natural belonging as a pure-blooded, but I'd still be happy to see you in my Guard." Aelron was sincere, he loved to have young Elvar grow in his Guard.
"Thank you for the sentiment, but I don't think it's for me. I've always wanted to see the world and I like freedom, I'm simply not compatible with the Guard." Although Thalion wouldn't mind training and even working in the Guard, he wasn't ready for the life commitment required to serve like an Elvar—loyalty and service were extremely important for them, and they were supposed to be permanent in regular circumstances.
"That's fine, we're not short on men. Each person has their calling and their preferences." Aelron already expected such an answer and truly wasn't so disappointed. "I don't know of any [Yggdrae Hunter] that isn't a royal with a position, so I can't recommend a teacher for you, but since you've got royal blood and a Legendary class, I can assign you as city lord in a neutral territory if you want. It's a border town in a valley south of the forest with mostly humans, we have the town deed and the city lord position has been vacant for a decades, what do you think?" Not every town had a city lord, it wasn't practical for the Elvar that didn't have a significantly spread population.
"A border town, huh... what's it like there? Do you know?" Thalion didn't mind becoming a city lord at all, it seemed like a solid NPC job.
"Oh, I've been there, it's called Myrrdell. I know I said it was in a valley, but it's almost like a canyon with how steep the two mountains are. There's a river that runs through the town, so water is accessible and they can farm just fine. The town itself is pretty great, there might be some mines in the surroundings too, but when I was there, I only heard about a depleted iron and mythril vein, it seems like they didn't explore too much. Since it's very isolated, there isn't much trade and the surroundings might have beasts and some orc tribes. It shouldn't be dangerous, though. Just don't provoke the surrounding factions or warmonger with the other neutral territories and you should be fine." That was pretty much all Aelron knew.
"Hm, alright, it sounds nice. Do we have any forces allocated there? What's the population? What–" Thalion was interrupted right then and there.
"Stop right there, I told you everything I knew, and that might be outdated. You better ask in the library or look for people that went there recently. Since you agreed, I'll immediately assign you there. Here's the assignment order for you to get the city lord badge, don't lose it. Alright, silmaveth."
"Silmaveth, and thank you." Thalion stored the letter in his pocket and went back home to prepare for traveling, this was his first step to becoming a Legendary NPC.