:: Shiroe ::

I looked down at the large pile of direwolf canines and I couldn’t believe it. He would have had to farm most of the mobs in the forest to acquire that many teeth.

“W…What?!”

She reached down to see if they were actually real.

“How did you get all these direwolf teeth?” She asked with an astounded look on her face.

“I killed a lot of direwolves…how else?” He looked at me like I was an idiot.

“T…That’s ridiculous…unless you sat around and farmed here for days. Who the hell has that much willpower?” I yelled back.

I wasn’t actually mad, but somehow after seeing the look on his face I couldn’t just accept these from him willingly.

“I do, apparently.” He looked away from me and I couldn’t seem to tell what he was thinking.

“How much do you want for 20 of these?” I asked quickly.

I didn’t want to be in his debt, but I also didn’t want to spend to much as the amount I was making from this quest wasn’t that high.

“Hmm.” I watched as he thought it over.

“Teach me about fire magic.” He asked suddenly.

I looked at him curiously. He was obviously some sort of melee class by the way he killed the monster, but I did here some type of singing.

“Why fire magic and not body enhancement or blood magic like most warriors. You might not even have the aptitude for it.”

Melee type profession had a lot more limitations on the types of magic they could learn…unless they were a mixed class like a hybrid.

“I have an affinity for steam magic and since fire magic is one half of steam then I figured it might help me later.” He said.

I was confused. How did he know what his aptitudes were without having a magic-related class…unless…I don’t know? The magic affinity test was fairly expensive…he has to be hiding some form of magic.

“Alright I will tell you what little I know as long as you tell me your class.” I asked with a smile on my face.

“How about…no.” He turned me down immediately and started to walk off in the opposite direction.

I really wanted to know what class he had now. Everything about him posed more questions than answers.

His interest in magic despite being a melee class, tentative. His use of a lightweight weapon to fight and finish off a powerful boss and his ridiculously shabby clothing.

If I saw him walking down the street…I would think he was a beggar or some sort of beginner adventurer who fetched his clothes and gear from the garbage.

I almost pulled my hair out as I followed behind him. I didn’t want to lose him so I stopped asking him so many questions, but sooner or later he would crack…they always do.

:: Kai ::

I hadn’t the faintest idea where I was going, but I figured if I stormed off dramatically she would think I was mad.

I was actually more embarrassed about my class. I had made such a cool entrance and saved the damsel in distress, but the moment…if she heard my class it would all be for not.

Walking for about an hour I ended up wandering into a small cloud of fog or mist and couldn’t figure out where to go.

I looked around and the only thing I could here were the soft footsteps from behind me.

It was odd having someone tag along with me, especially someone so beautiful. She was a little bit demanding, but I was male and she was hot…so I could overlook almost anything.

“Your lost, aren’t you?” I could hear the admonishment in her tone.

When I had first rescued her…well she was like a princess that was admiring her prince. Overcome by my strength and offering me anything as thanks for saving her life.

But now she knew who I was and she developed a feeling of entitlement from that. Before I was the hero and now I’m just…some guy she knows.

I stumbled through the fog as I was lost in my thoughts and I could here the feint sound of giggling coming from behind me.

Savannah Maritel. I actually didn’t know much about her other than the fact that she was pretty and she belonged to the same group of friends as Gwen.

‘Maybe I should ask her a few questions…I might be able to found some useful info about Gwen.’ I thought.

I turned around in order to strike up a conversation, but a screaming girl greeted me.

“KYAAAAAAA!”

She threw her arms around me and wouldn’t stop freaking out. I wasn’t complaining because of the soft sensation on my chest, but the constant shrieking in my ear was driving me over the edge.

I looked to see what it was and saw that it was a small green slime. It left a trail of sludge behind it as it moved.

Booger Slime (M) Lvl 17

I pulled her away from me for a second and pointed at the small slime.

“Its just a baby slime. Its naming sense might be a little off, but it’s an easy kill.” I tried to reason with her, but the look on her face was of utter disgust and fear.

Rolling my eyes I went over to stab the small slime with my rapier, but my blade slipped right through it without causing any damage.

“Hit…core…no…physical.” I listened to her mumbling and figured out what she was trying to say.

I struck my blade forward and into the center of the slime and watched happily as the slime fizzled away.

Apparently slimes were completely resistant to physical damage unless you hit their core directly.

“Thanks.” I collected the loot and turned back towards my scared little Shiroe.

“It took you long enough…oh my god, what if that thing touched me….ew ew ew.” She turned back into her normal self fairly quickly.

The more time I spent around her the more I started to understand her strange personality.

She put up a guise around herself. I was guessing that her true personality was the one I encountered when I saved her…the same one as when she ran away from the slime.

But in order to protect herself she pretended to be something else. I didn’t know the reason behind it, but I was a little bit curious.

“There has to be an easier way to get through this fog.” I finally said out loud.

I figured if she was able to come to the Twisted Hollow from Lachlin, than she had to have some way of travelling through the Barons.

She looked over at me and smiled…the look on her face gave me chills.

:: Shiroe ::

I had a small lapse in judgment. That green disgusting blob touched the back of my foot and I just…

I can’t believe that I ran into his arms like a scared little girl, even though….no. I shook my head. It didn’t feel that good, did it?

Anyway I had him right where I wanted him. I finally had a piece of information I could lord over him in order to find out what I wanted to know.

“I might just happen to know a way to see and travel through the bog, but it’ll cost you.” I smiled deviously.

I watched him sigh as he started to think about what I was going to ask him.

“Is this about my class again?” He asked.

I danced over to him and summoned a ball of magelight in front of him to show him that I had the ability to guide us.

“Using the magelight skill I am able to disperse a bit of the fog and find the general pathway through. Now I could guide us to the edge in a few hours or you could tell me your class. Hu hu hu.” I laughed as I finished.

“I save you twice and this is the thanks I get.” He seemed to mutter the words quietly.

“I’ll tell you, but if you tell anyone else in school or in-game. I swear to the gods I will knock you out and leave you here…”

I shivered when I heard his threat. I knew he was physically capable of doing that to me. He could bend me over right here and take me…oh my god what am I thinking about.

I mentally slapped myself as my thoughts trailed off. Even if he threatened me I still had the upper hand. So I decided to go through with it.

“Okay…okay. I swear that I won’t tell anyone. So whats your class…I bet its really cool.”

I was extremely excited. He had to have some sort of rare or unique class to be as strong as he was.

:: Kai ::

I inhaled and then exhaled deeply. I was mentally preparing myself for the reaction that she would have the minute I told her what my class was.

“I’m a bard.” I exclaimed softly.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t hear you?” She asked.

“I’m a bard.” I muttered again.

“Speak up…Giddy.” She complained.

“I’M A BARD.” I practically screamed the words once I lost my patience. I hated when people called me ‘Giddy’…especially when they weren’t actually my friends or family.

She started to laugh just like Nate did the first time I told him what my class was. I couldn’t tell if she thought my class was funny or if she thought my reaction was.

“And my names Gideon, not Giddy…plus my name is Kai here.” I was a little but mad, but I was more flustered because of my class.

“Fine…fine. Gideon or should I say Kai. I won’t mess up your name, but honestly whats your actual class. Bard, ha-ha. That was a good laugh. I met a few of them in the elven forest and they are basically a joke. I’d rather be in a party with one of those useless druids than with a bard.”

My face grew darker as I listened to her speak. “I’m a bard. I wasn’t doing that in order to get a laugh.”

Every time someone laughed at my class I remembered the first time my teacher reacted about my class. ‘Hahaha…a bard hero.’

A mix of happy and sad feelings clouded my head…

:: Shiroe ::

I laughed when he first told me his class…mostly because of his reaction, but partially because of disbelief.

I knew that bards were a completely useless class. There support abilities were not as powerful as priests and their physical skills were practically nonexistent.

So I didn’t believe him and started to berate him about how useless bards are, but before I could continue his face grew dark.

I could tell he was getting extremely mad…the look in his eyes was pure rage. That kind of emotion couldn’t have just come from a few mocking laughs.

When he clarified that he was actually a bard I decided to back off a little. I didn’t want to pull the pin out of the grenade that was his emotional state right now.

“Alright I’ll believe you I guess. That explains your magic capability, but not your physical abilities. Can you even sing?”

I may have decided to back off, but I was still curious about quite a few things about his character.

“I learned about fighting from my master and inherited a few melee class skills. Some of which are E-skills.”

I wasn’t too surprised that he picked up a weapon mastery and a few fighting skills, but the fact that he had melee related e-skills without having a melee class was practically impossible. He would have to be either extremely lucky or spent an enormous amount of time training.

“That explains the physical part I guess, but what about the singing one?”

A look of indecision crossed his face and I knew that he was embarrassed about singing in front of me.

I knew that he wasn’t the type to hold back around his friends, but I wasn’t his friend and we had barely talked until today.

“Fine.” He gulped and then coughed a few times.

My heart wasn’t prepared for what happened next. This boy…no this man had the voice of…I would say an angel, but that would be underestimating the feeling that I had as I was listening to him.

I was in no way perverted or anything, but I had a little bit of a thing for musicians and right now Gid… no Kai made me wet with just the sound of his voice.

When he stopped singing I saw him in a completely different light. All previously negative thoughts in my head about bards had vanished.

Was his hair always that shiny and black…his muscles seem bigger…

:: Kai ::

I was a little embarrassed to sing in front of a girl for the first time, but I picked a familiar song and just decided to go with it.

I couldn’t tell if she liked my singing or not…she just seemed to be staring at me. It was like I was a strange anomaly to her.

Waving my hands in front of her face, she seemed to snap out of a trance.

“Believe me now? We have to get going before nightfall or else the monsters will kill us.”

I tried to push her along and she surprisingly didn’t resist. She was a lot more relaxed than she was earlier. The tense atmosphere was gone.

She didn’t say another word. She simply summoned a ball of her magelight and led us through the Bog of the Barons.

It was a little off-putting, but her sudden quietness had made the trip a lot faster and simpler.

We were approached by a few low-level mobs, but it was nothing the two of us couldn’t handle together.

A few hours and another level later we had finally made it to the end of the King’s Highway.

Just a little bit more and we would reach the trade post, Lachlin.

Chapter 17: Status

Status WindowName:KaiAlignment:NeutralLevel:20Class:BardRace:CherubGender:MaleTitlesSongscryerFame:120Infamy:950-Health:500 / 500Health Regen:4.5 / SecMana:650 / 650Mana Regen:6.0 / SecStamina:750 / 750Stamina Regen:6.0 / Sec-Strength:44 (+47)Agility:53Vitality:58Intelligence:59 (+5)Wisdom:69 (+5)Endurance:78Luck:37 (+47)-Attack:10-15Defense:40 (+70)Physical ResistancesSlashing:25 (+42)Piercing:25 (+42)Crushing:30 (+42)Elemental ResistancesFire:10%Water:10%Wind:10%Earth:10%Light:10%Darkness:10%

Skills/Abilities:

Spoiler : Iron Skin: Intermediate Lvl 4 (8%)

Willpower III: Intermediate Lvl 3 (33%)

Seven Pathways Meditation: Novice Lvl 9 (88%)

Mana Manipulation: Intermediate Lvl 1 (74%)

Voice Manipulation: Novice Lvl 6 (13%)

Music Mastery: Novice Lvl 7 (42%)

-Song of Renewal: Intermediate Lvl 2 (4%)

-Song of the Slumbering: Novice Lvl 6 (45%)

-Song of Sorrow: Novice Lvl 3 (26%)

Sword Mastery: Novice Lvl 6 (45%)

-Rapier Mastery: Intermediate Lvl 2 (73%)

+Rapid Thrust: Novice Lvl 6 (12%)

Illusion Magic Mastery: Novice Lvl 3 (47%)

-Disguise: Novice Lvl 3 (13%)

-Glamour: Novice Lvl 3 (17%)

-Clone: Novice Lvl 1 (0%)

Equipment:

Spoiler : Swift Iron Rapier (10-15) Atk – (16/30) Durability

Torn Leather Vest (+10) Defense (-2) Luck – (11/15) Durability

Mangled Cloth Pants (+5) Defense (-1) Luck - (5/10) Durability

Rugged Leather Boots (+7) Defense (+3) Agility – (9/12) Durability

Necklace of the Black King (+10%) Magic Resistance – (25/25) Durability