Spiteful Healer-Chapter 329: The Last One

Spiteful Healer-Chapter 329: The Last One

Aegis took up Lina in his arms, leapt from the tower, and began flapping his wings elegantly, soaring through the skies above the city. He caught a few players and NPCs in the streets below, gawking up at them and pointing. Within a few seconds, they’d cleared the airspace above the city and made their way towards the mountain overlooking it, with the Monastery of the Stars constructed on its side.
From high up, they could see players lining up outside of the golem dungeon on the upper portion of the mountain, one group in particular having lured one of the golem monsters out of the dungeon to battle it on the rocky hillside. They narrowly passed by the tall altar of Eirene at the top of the Monastery, catching a glimpse of Great Prophet Clara kneeling in prayer to Eirene before the statue there.
Lina was comfortably snuggled into Aegis’ chest, feeling safe despite how high up above the ground they were. He’d had a lot of time to practice using the wings in the last eight in-game months and had gotten extremely good with them, allowing him to quickly travel to any location that was within a 15-minute flying distance of Rene.
It was a good thing, too, as Aegis’ destination had him testing the limits of his Avatar of Eirene’s skill cooldown. They continued north west, far away from any established settlements of Kordas on the island of Kalmoore. The number of players they could see adventuring on the lands below them lessened the longer they flew. Eventually, they came upon a long mountain range extending across the landscape in front of them, to which Aegis flew straight towards.
“All of the other advanced crafting quests were hinting at it being somewhere amongst these mountain tops. I won’t have enough time with wings to check them all, though,” Aegis shouted to Lina, his voice competing with the winds he was soaring through as it whipped their cloaks and hair around.
“Okay, no problem. Put me down, and I’ll shadow dance through the mountains until I find something.” Lina replied. With a nod, Aegis eyed the nearest mountain and found a good spot for landing.
The mountain tops had a light coating of snow, with fir and pine trees scattered across the rocky landscape. He touched down gently on a small flat clearing near the top of one of these mountains, eying a few iron ore deposits and moderately valuable herbs in the vicinity. He put Lina down on the ground beside him as the wings from his skill vanished.
Lina stretched her arms and peered around at the view. “What exactly am I looking for?”
“Anything that looks like it might be crafting-related,” Aegis said.
“Got it. Be back as soon as I can!” she exclaimed before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Alone, Aegis eyed the herbs and ore and wasted no time in harvesting them. He pulled out his mithral pickaxe, and with a few hits, he retrieved all the ore from the deposit, ranging from 80 to 95% in quality.
Level Up!
Mining has reached
Level 152!
The notification flew by, reminding him to check up on his character sheet.
Name:
Aegis
Title:
Lord of Rene
[
Land Rank: 5 (City)
]
Race:
Human
Gender:
Male
Marriage Partner:
Lina
[
+25% Experience While Grouped
]
Level:
155
Class:
Harbinger of Light
(
Unique
)
Health:
85,319/85,319
Mana:
24,147/24,147
Stamina:
3020/3020
Hunger:
100/100
Armor Rating:
25,950
[
59.22% DMG Reduction
]
Strength:
115
Agility:
95
Constitution:
201
Intelligence:
212
Spirit:
352
Charisma:
17
Spell Damage Bonus:
497
Casting Speed Bonus:
13%
Favor:
Eirene:
51,350
Aphrodite:
4,260
Odin:
3,500
Shiva:
2,500
Equipment
Chest: Royal Salamander Leather Armor of the Voidreaver [
3410 AC
][O1:
+250FVR(Eirene)
][O2:
2.5%
M.SP
][O3:
+74 S.DMG
]
Legs: Royal Salamander Leather Leggings of the Voidreaver [
1766 AC
][O1:
+250FVR(Eirene)
][O2:
2.5% M.SP
][O3:
+52 S.DMG
]
Feet: Royal Salamander Leather Boots of the Voidreaver [
1393 AC
][O1:
+250FVR(Eirene)
][O2:
2.5% M.SP
][O3:
+45 S.DMG
]
Hands: Royal Salamander Leather Gloves of the Voidreaver [
1012 AC
][O1:
+250FVR(Eirene)
][O2:
2.5% M.SP
][O3:
+36 S.DMG
]
Back: Vestments of Eirene [
1 AC
] [O1:
+623MP/m
]
Accessory[1/3]: Simple Ring, Aegis' Bane[ENCH:
MindShell
]
Mainhand: Claws of the Envious(
Modified
) [
3,531-4,164DMG
][O2:
+1,153-1,26
7SHDMG]
Offhand: Star of Light [
12,305 AC
][O1:
+1000FVR(Eirene)
][O2:
3% M.SP
][O3:
+290 S.DMG
][ENCH1:
Spell Ward
][ENCH2:
Healing Wind
]
Class Skills [Harbinger of Light(Unique)]
Greater Heal(Advanced):
Level 157
[
+30,029HP, 815mp
]
Smite(Advanced):
Level 151
[
4,931-5,104HLYDMG
]
Cleanse(Advanced):
Level 31
Bless(Advanced):
Level 155
[
15m, +315-324HLYDMG, 370mp
]
Aura of Healing(Advanced):
Level 158
[
+3,523hp/3s, 91mp/3s, 41m
]
Aura of Light(Advanced):
Level 154
[
74mp/3s, 50m
]
Avatar of Eirene(Advanced):
Level 155
[
16m, +41.0%AC, 41.0%HE, +20.5%Aura
]
Resurrect(Advanced):
Level 2
[
4995mp, 0.99lb Souldust, 48h CD, 9:59cst
]
Path of the Stars:
Passive
[
Eirene
]:
Passive
[3/3]
->[1/3]Aura of Beauty(Advanced):
Level 155
[
18st/5s, 110mp/5s, 13m
]
->[2/3]Challenging Roar(Advanced):
Level 150
[
31,830threat, 225mp, 25m
]
->[3/3]Varibhadra(Advanced):
Level 155
[
81%dmg, 3100mp
]
Holy Mastery(Advanced):
Level 155
[
4 Targets, -37% Effectiveness
]
Resurrect(Advanced):
Level 2
[
4995mp, 0.99lb Souldust, 48h CD, 9:59cst
]
Gentle Touch:
Passive
[
Eirene
]
Harbinger of Light:
Passive
[
Eirene
]
Light's Reach:
Passive
[
1000% Aura Range
][
Eirene
]
True Form(Unique):
Passive
[
Eirene
]
Divine Aid(Unique): [
30d CD
] [
Eirene
]
Purifying Light: [
3s Cast, 100% MP, 100% Healing, 20% Allied MP Recovery, Cleanse(Bleed, Disease, Poison, Curse, Petrify, Slow, Morph, Burn, Mental, Fear), 1h CD
] [
Eirene
]
Basic Skills
Shield Mastery(Advanced):
Level 160
[
+52%
]
Abilities:
Brace, Reflect, Greater Shieldwall, Greater Guard, Shield Slam
[
7,235-7,442dmg
]
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Sword Mastery(Beginner):
Level 3
Abilities:
Parry
Unarmed Combat(Intermediate):
Level 31
Leather Armor Proficiency(Advanced):
Level 155
[
+62.5%AC, +10.2MS
]
Shadow Resistance:
Level 15
[
15% DMG Reduction
]
Fire Resistance:
Level 75
[
75% DMG Reduction
]
Nature Resistance:
Level 11
[
11% DMG Reduction
]
Acid Resistance:
Level 25
[25% DMG Reduction
]
Poison Resistance:
Level 25
[
25% DMG Reduction
]
Void Resistance:
Level 10
[
10% DMG Reduction
]
Cold Resistance:
Level 25
[
25% DMG Reduction
]
Riding(Advanced):
Level 150
Land Vehicle Mastery(Intermediate):
Level 41
Leadership(Advanced):
Level 150
Taming(Advanced):
Level 150
Dancing(Beginner):
Level 10
Crafting Skills
Mining (Advanced):
Level 152
Proficiencies: [
Copper
][
Iron
][
Mithral
]
Woodcutting(Advanced):
Level 151
Proficiencies: [
Pine
][
Birch
][
Ironwood
]
Herbalism(Advanced):
Level 151
Creature Harvesting(Advanced):
Level 152
Proficiencies: [
Scale
][
Bone
]
Weaving(Advanced):
Level 151
Sewing(Advanced):
Level 151
Refining(Advanced):
Level 151
Proficiencies: [
Mithral
]
Blacksmithing(Advanced):
Level 151
Proficiencies: [
Mithral
]
Woodworking(Advanced):
Level 151
Alchemy(Advanced):
Level 151
Proficiencies: [
Delayed Release
]
Tanning(Advanced):
Level 151
Leatherworking(Advanced):
Level 151
Artistry(Advanced):
Level 151
Architecture(Advanced):
Level 151
Scribing(Advanced):
Level 151
Cooking(Advanced):
Level 151
Enchanting(Advanced):
Level 151
Abilities: [
Enchant Object
]
Stone Cutting(Advanced):
Level 151
Proficiencies:
[
Obsidian
]
Farming(Advanced):
Level 151
Crafting Mastery(Intermediate):
Level 150
“Just Crafting Mastery left.” He said, eyeing a nearby herb. He got to work on stripping the nearby vegetation of everything valuable, and when Lina still hadn’t returned, he pulled out his mithral wood-cutting axe and chopped the trees down too.
It took an entire two hours for Lina to return, and by the time she had, Aegis had stripped the area of all plantlife and ore. She stepped out of the shadow of a large boulder using her shadow dance skill and eyed the damage he’d done.
“What’d you do to this place?” She giggled.
“You took so long, so,” Aegis shrugged innocently.
She gave him a look with her lips pulled to the side. “I had to scout an entire mountain range.”
“Find anything?”
“A bunch of dungeons, a tribal orc village, a raid boss that looks like a rocky snake… level range of everything seems to be between 70 and 130. There was a guild raiding party progressing through one of the dungeons, and they told me they found some old ruins with a strange NPC that wouldn’t talk to them. I found the ruins, tried talking to him, and he said I couldn’t help him and I should bug off,” Lina said.
Aegis dusted the dirt off his armor from all of his harvesting. “That sounds like what we might be looking for. Which way?”
“Follow me!” Lina replied excitedly.
Together they headed off into the mountains. A few strange-looking mountain lions tried to ambush them using ice magic, but their levels were too low to pose any real threat to Aegis or Lina, and they were all killed in a single hit.
When the sun began to set in the Shattered World, the mountain air got cold, reminding Aegis of the cold winter air outside of his sim-box. Even in-game he could see his breath leaving his mouth as white mist.
They didn’t arrive at the ruins until midnight, with clear skies allowing the moon and bright stars to shine down on them.
The ruins were built on a plateau at the top of one of the tallest mountains in the range. There were dozens of structures scattered about, but none were in-tact. Most of them had only a few walls standing, nature having done away with the finer details of the craftsmanship that created the buildings.
At the center of the ruins, where multiple decayed paths through the structures converged, a campfire was set up with a tent. A small, occupied stool was next to the campfire, with an NPC looking down at an open textbook in his hands, studying it intently.
So intently, in fact, that he didn’t notice Aegis or Lina approaching until they were standing right over the campfire staring at him.
[Dantor(Elite) – Level 150]
sat above his head in white font, the white font indicating that he was an NPC, and the Elite tag indicating that this NPC had a fully activated AI behind it and would behave just as a real person would.
“He’s a higher level than everything else in this area,” Aegis whispered to Lina excitedly.
“Might be what?” The NPC lowered his book to stare at them. “I already told you,” He eyed Lina specifically, “I’ve no use for a sneaky assassin, so please leave these ruins before you damage them further.” The glowing red light on his face from the campfire enhanced his tone, but he otherwise looked very non-threatening.
“Not me, my friend here,” Lina motioned to Aegis beside her.
Aegis waved.“Hi.”
Dantor rose from his stool and sized Aegis up. “You’ve made a name for yourself, even I’ve heard the name Aegis, the crafter.”
“That’s not my usual nickname, but I’ll take it.”
“What I need is far from usual. Not a simple day at the forge, or a few chopped trees. You’ve no doubt noticed these ruins we’re standing in. Not much left of them, right?” Dantor motioned to the structures all around them.
“Nope, would be completely unreasonable to expect someone to rebuild them,” Aegis replied with a hint of anxiety.
“Yes, precisely. These ruins predate even the Shattering. Very little is known about the ancient beings that once resided here. Luckily, I found a well-preserved tablet hidden within the rubble of these ruins.” Dantor put his book away and pulled a thin but large stone tablet from his inventory, which looked rough around the edges. “Take a look,” Dantor turned it for Aegis’ eyes to see, but Lina peeked as well.
The tablet had a worn image on its front. The paint had faded, but the outlines of the objects in the ancient painting were still clearly visible. It showed one of the village's structures standing as it would have thousands of years ago. The front door to the building was open, offering a view of a table inside with a warm meal and dishes being served on it, along with other furniture. Beyond it were stairs, leading up to the building's second floor. The exterior of the structure was detailed with delicate decorative carvings in the stonework depicting symbols and creatures Aegis didn’t recognize.
The top of the building, however, was the worst part. In an instant, Aegis could recognize it as a large, ancient telescope pointing up at the night sky.
“Looks like an observatory of some kind,” Lina whispered.
Aegis threw the NPC a death stare. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“If someone were skilled enough to recreate the scene on this tablet, as accurately as possible, I would finally be able to do my job as an archeologist and learn more about who lived in these ruins all those years ago. A task like that would only be possible for a crafter skilled in every trade, though. Perhaps you’d be up for it?” Dantor grinned at Aegis.
Quest:
Reconstruct the ancient structure depicted on the stone tablet for Dantor, making use of all of your crafting skills to the best of your ability.
Objective:
0/1 Dantor Satisfied
Quest Giver:
Archaeologist Dantor, Kalmoore
Reward:
Crafting Mastery(Advanced)
Difficulty:
Extreme
Aegis let out an enormously exaggerated sigh as he reluctantly hit the accept button on the quest. Lina watched the finger movement of him pressing his interface. Even though she couldn’t see the quest prompt in his UI, she knew what it meant.
“Is it the right quest? Crafting Mastery advanced?”
“Yeah. It’s the right quest.” Aegis grumbled back.
“That’s great!”
Aegis raised his eyebrows at her. “Great? Did you hear what he’s asking me to do?”
“I meant, the finding it part. We could always skip it, you have everything else advanced,” Lina shrugged.
“No way, I’m tired of these news casters telling everyone I’ve retired, and I’ve just been lazing about Kalmoore the last eight in-game months. I’ve been working my ass off to do all these advanced crafting quests. I wanna see the dumb looks on their faces when the world notification pops up,” Aegis explained.
Lina giggled. “So you’re going to do this quest out of spite?”
“As is tradition,” Aegis retorted, yanking the tablet out of Dantor’s hand and adding it to his inventory. He turned and stomped off towards the remains of the structure that was depicted in the image, but his grumbling continued.
“Here’s a 50% quality iron ore chunk, please process it into an 80% quality bar or higher,” Aegis spoke to himself using a voice that mocked one of the many advanced crafting NPC quest givers that he’d encountered over the past few months. “Please prepare a meal fit for our noble guests using this uncookable, disgusting meat,” he continued with a new voice. “I want a statue made that depicts an image of purrrrrfect beauty. Meow,” He mocked a cat demi-human NPC as his voice trailed off.
“He’s going to take this task seriously, right?” Dantor asked Lina worriedly.
“He loves a challenge,” Lina reassured the NPC.

.
!
Chapter 329: The Last One