71: Vol. 1 - Epilogue

Vol. 1 - Epilogue

{Charlotte}

"After a couple of weeks now of the current 100 players attempting to clear the Final Challenge, tell me, has the Player's Administration gotten any ideas as to what could, potentially, be the reason behind the delay in the outcome?" 

As Charlotte poured some coffee into her mug, the frost of the morning air settling in, she heard an interviewer on the tv ask a high-level government official yet again about one of the hottest topics online recently. 

That being, of course, The Final Challenge, but, more specifically, the fact that this attempt had yet to conclude. 

"Well,"  the voice of the tired, apathetic guy on the tv replied, as Charlotte looked through her phone. "We're certainly hoping that the delay means that this attempt is faring better than the 9 previous attempts, but we have no way of knowing that. Our thoughts and prayers are with the players, though."

On her phone, Charlotte scrolled past several clips of players dying, players living through terrible situations, and players fighting against unimaginable horrors.

The usual.

"But, if it turns out that this group was unsuccessful, what will that mean for future attempts? Should there be any more attempts made at it if it's decided that this is just suicide?" 

"Maybe, but it is important to remember that no one is being forced to participate. At the end of the day, all of this is strictly voluntary. And, of course, our thoughts and our prayers are with every player who chooses to participate." 

Charlotte turned the tv off. 

Starlight City buzzed just beyond her windows, with everyone here waking up just now to go through the same routines as always. Whether it was to fight for their lives or to try desperately to make enough money to pay the bills, it was surprising just how little had changed, besides the occasional outbreak. 

[It's all the same,] Charlotte thought. A smile tugged up at her lips, though, as she thought of one thing that could end up changing things.

One person who had worked wonders to do away with her boredom. One person who, if the plan Charlotte had cooked up recently ended up working out, she could end up speaking to soon. 

[... Maybe things will be exciting in the near future. Who knows?]

---

{Ahlakan}

In truth, Ahlakan had no idea how long she'd spent in Rorvan. 

She was born, grew up, and then... Nothing. 

Just like everyone around her, at one point, she had simply stopped developing. Food was non-existent, and yet the starvation that she'd learned about from books failed to occur. The air that she breathed should have run out years ago, according to her mother, but Ahlakan had continued breathing all the same. 

Throughout that time, after going through every book in her home and making just about every kind of potion that she could, there came a point where all that Ahlakan could do was imagine.

Imagine the world she could not see. Imagine the world her people missed, cried over, and sang about. 

She'd heard it be described in many different ways, but words had a tendency of turning hollow when they weren't attached to anything tangible. Ahlakan had been told things were bright, but how could she know what a bright world looked like? Ahlakan had been told that food existed, things you'd put in your mouth that would bring sweet, sour, bitter, soft, and strong flavors. But, the only thing Ahlakan had tasted over the course of her life was her own saliva. 

Now, though, all of that had changed overnight. 

All thanks to the human dressed in the strange robes, standing beside her. 

"So, uh, yeah, this is called pizza," Neve said, as the two of them sat on a bench together. Try as she did to pay attention, in between every word she spoke, Ahlakan's eyes would drift toward the nearby scenery. "It's good, but if you eat too much of it you'll get fat, so this is all I'm giving you for now. Not that it's a problem or any- whatever," she waved a hand in the air. 

So much green, light, and... Brightness. It was so bright that Ahlakan's eyes hurt just from looking around. 

[Was this what mother told me about?] She wondered, before taking another bite out of what Neve had given to her. [This stuff is melting in my mouth. There's more light around me than I ever saw in Rorvan. And... this scent of "nature" is overwhelming.] 

"You okay?" Neve asked, then, finally bringing Ahlakan's eyes back up to her. 

The woman who had saved her. The woman who'd rescued her people and brought them out from that cavernous prison. The woman with a bit of "sauce" from this "pizza" on her chin as she spoke. 

An easy smile came to Ahlakan's face.

"I don't know how I can repay you," she muttered. 

"For what? This? No, no, it's a gift." 

"No," Ahlakan chuckled. "For everything. I don't know what I could do for you."

How exactly could one return a kindness like this? To have had their entire species rescued... Even if Ahlakan couldn't recall many of the details surrounding that rescue, she could recall Neve. 

The time they'd spent together, the way Ahlakan's heart ached whenever she saw the human enter the Infested Hall, the way her actions gradually increased the hope of those around her. 

She could remember all of that. Not where they'd gone after the Infested Hall was cleared, or how, or why her mother had separated from her, but none of that really mattered.

What mattered was that she could recall this girl sitting next to her, who was about to press a gross, greasy kiss against her cheek

"Agh," Ahlakan squirmed as Neve laughed. The food tasted good, but having it anywhere that wasn't in her mouth felt gross. 

"You don't have to," Neve then told her, and Ahlakan paused. 

"What?"

"... I didn't do anything worth thanking me for," Neve stated, sounding strangely distant. "You don't have to."

Ahlakan blinked as she looked back at her. 

"... Is that so?" She asked. Neve didn't respond. 

---

Info Dump:

(A/N: Literally, this is just a section full of information. Just in case you forget anything, you can come back here and remind yourself. Also, we haven't seen many of these classes I'm about to mention in the story yet, but we will in the future!)

Paths:

The Warrior Path - Characterized by high Strength and Endurance, these classes offer

the highest amount of classes and overall variety, but is the most limited in terms of 

capabilities. 

Classes: 

- Knight 

- Paladin 

- Battlemage

- Lancer

- Blacksmith*

- Monk

The Mage Path - Characterized by the use of magic, these classes sacrifice most attributes

for the sake of being able to use reality-altering sorcery. 

Classes:

- Warlock

- Priest/Priestess

- Summoner

- Alchemist*

The Assassin Path - Characterized by high Speed and Precision, this path offers the least

amount of variety but are incredibly efficient in regard to securing kills.

Classes:

- Thief

- Archer

- Scout*

* = Supporting classes. These classes are not meant to participate in fights directly but are, instead, meant to help prepare allies for future battles.

---

Neve's current status:

Level 75

MP: 1290/1290(+300)

EXP: 250/750

AP: 3690

WS Tokens: 28560

---

Endurance: 30

Speed: 40

Precision: 30

Strength: 34

Arcane: 99

---

Skills:

---

Alchemy: 5

Archery: 5

Blade: 5

Blunt: 5

Blacksmithing: 5

Blocking: 5

Dual Wielding: 5

Unarmed: 5

Healing Magic: 50

Combat Magic: 25

Utility Magic: 25

Lance: 5

Summoning: 10

Sneaking: 15

Speech: 10

Scouting: 5

---

Spells:

Sacred Ground - 50MP

{Reduces a small amount of damage taken within a zone}

Healing Ground - 25MP

{Heals for a moderate amount within a zone}

Hard Target - 75MP

{Briefly reduces damage taken from projectiles on a target}

Fireball - 10MP

{Launches a sphere of flames that deals low damage and burns targets}

Waterball - 10MP

{Launches a sphere of water that deals low damage}

Iceball - 10MP

{Launches a sphere of ice that deals low damage and slows targets}

Candlelight - 10MP

{Creates an orb that can provide a small amount of light in darkness}

Call of the Warrior Princess - 300MP

{Summons forth Erin Leynall for 1 minute. The duration timer begins once combat is entered.}

Great Healing Dart - 10 MP

{Fires off a dart of divine energy that heals the target for a small amount.}

Field of Brilliance - 75MP

{Creates a zone that increases damage and effectiveness of all Spells and Techniques cast 

inside by 10%. The zone lasts for 1 minute.}

Rorvan's Spirit - 50MP

{Increase mana regeneration the lower the user's HP gets Maximum mana regeneration of 100% is achieved when HP reaches 20%. Lasts 2 minutes.}

Barrier - 50MP

{Erects a barrier of pure mana that defends against spells and magical Techniques. The

amount of damage the Barrier can defend against is determined by the user's Utility Magic

skill}

Equivalent Exchange - 25MP per second

{Select two targets. Activating the ability afterward will heal the first target selected, 

dealing the same damage healed to the second target. This ability can be canceled prematurely. It is automatically stopped when the transferred damage reaches 100%. 

The user can choose themselves as the damaged target, should they choose to do so.}

---

Traits:

Dexterous Hands

{Spells are activated 10% faster}

The Undying Coward

{Focus increases with low HP}

---

Equipment:

Priestess Hood {Lesser}

Priestess Garbs {Lesser}

Priestess Gloves {Lesser}

Priestess Leggings {Lesser}

Priestess Shoes {Lesser}

Staff of the Righteous {Rare}

Ring of Aptitude {Common}

---

Erin's status:

Erin Leynall (Unique)

Level 50

MP: 100/100

EXP: N/A

Activity Points: N/A

WS Tokens: N/A

---

Endurance: 40

Speed: 40

Precision: 50

Strength: 35

Arcane: 10

---

Spells:

Freezing Gaze - 50MP

{Paralyzes an enemy for 3 seconds}

The Lamia's Hunt - 50MP

{Increases Speed for 10 seconds}

---

Techniques:

Rorvan's Flurry

{Cooldown: 30 seconds}

{Skill Req: Dual Wielding - 50}

{Become a whirlwind of steel. Attack all nearby foes with a series of slashes, 

dealing more damage with each hit that lands. The technique ends with the first miss.}

---

Alchemy: 10

Archery: 402

Blade: 40

Blunt: 35

Blacksmithing: 60

Blocking: 35

Dual Wielding: 60

Unarmed: 60

Healing Magic: 5

Combat Magic: 5

Utility Magic: 5

Lance: 35

Summoning: 5

Sneaking: 5

Speech: 25

Scouting: 40

---

Charlotte's status:

Level 5

MP: 10/10

EXP: 24/50

Activity Points: 0

WS Tokens: 950

---

Attributes:

Endurance: 1

Speed: 9

Precision: 5

Strength: 4

Arcane: 1

---

Skills: 

Alchemy: 5

Archery: 10

Blade: 10

Blunt: 5

Blacksmithing: 5

Blocking: 5

Dual Wielding: 5

Unarmed: 5

Healing Magic: 5

Combat Magic: 5

Utility Magic: 5

Lance: 5

Summoning: 5

Sneaking: 5

Speech: 15

Scouting: 5

---

Author Note:

Hello! I won't bore you with too many words, but I just wanted to say thank you to anyone who has made it this far and has given this tale a chance. I hope to provide you with a story that satisfies you. That is all.

Thanks again for checking this out!

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