Ch. 4: The Test of Unity
A Warrior, wearing a Bronze Platine, Bronze Platine pants, Dark Carzen Shoes, Dark Husk, and Bronze Planet, walked into the house of the 3rd job instructors. He had a Red Katana in his belt of the left side, which he recently bought from a Free Market stall at a higher than usual price, and a Steel Ancient Shield hitched across his back. Noting the equipment the Warrior had, Tylus stepped forward and said "I take it that you wish to take the 3rd job advancement test?"
The newcomer nodded. "My name is Brent. I am currently a Fighter." He glanced at the fire burning in the fireplace. "I wish to become a Crusader," he finished, kneeling in front of Tylus.
"Get up, soldier. Kneeling on the ground won't do much good to you when it comes to battle." Brent got up, and Tylus handed him a scroll. "Take this to Sitting Bull in Perion, and you will then receive further instructions for your advancement."
Brent nodded, and then took off in a blink of an eye. "He's fast, isn't he?" Tylus asked the other four instructors, watching him through the door from where he was just standing.
"Yes," replied Arec. "He's almost as fast as some of the Bandits and Assassins that have come."
"How can you gauge this Fighter's abilities when you have just seen him?" asked Tylus, turning around.
"I haven't just seen him this time," replied Arec. Tylus gave him a puzzled look. "He's often trained in El Nath these days. I have seen him rushing through training grounds killing monsters like a Bandit with double-haste. Not only that, he's often been training in the middle of the night. I hear a blade slicing through monsters and I see Brent. I doubt if he sleeps more than 5 hours a day."
Tylus lifted an eyebrow. "So you think that he's a Warrior by accident, and should be a Bandit?"
"No. I'm saying he is a Warrior with the speed of a Bandit."
Rene stepped up to the two. "If you don't mind me saying so… when he turned to leave, I remember seeing a Chrono on the right side of his belt".
-X-
"Cold Beam!" A massive spear of ice slammed into a Barnard Gray, freezing it for a few moments. The power of the attack had been greatly amplified by the Evil Tale.
"Thunderbolt!" The following burst of lightning decimated the Gray that was still trapped in ice.
"Not bad, Phil. Oh, and look out for the other aliens from behind."
A few other Barnard Grays had come up behind him. Spinning around, he cast Invincible just in time to block the energy blasts of the new aliens. Although the original Barnard Gray was frozen, Agent Marco had told him that these aliens communicated by sonic waves or something, whatever that was, using the antenna on top of their heads. He waved his Evil Wings as another series of lightning bolts descended toward the gray figures, and they were no more.
Another pair of Barnard Grays had rushed up behind him and struck Phil with rays of energy. He stumbled forward and nearly fell flat on his face. He was able to quickly regain his balance as he sheathed his Evil Wings and produced an Asianic Bow. With a roar of "Soul Arrow, Double Shot!" and "Final Attack!" and defeated the two with 3 arrows. Looking around, more aliens had come against him and began firing beams of energy at him. Shouting "Power Knock-Back!" he slammed his weapon into the lot of aliens and sent them flying backwards.
"Arrow Bomb!" Releasing the bowstring, he sent an arrow soaring across the grass of Kulan Field as it struck the mob, exploding them and as a result stunning them. Wasting no time, he grabbed his Neocora and with a cry of "Ground Smash!" sent a shockwave toward the aliens, eliminating them.
"Well done," said Agent Marco, walking up to him. He looked around the Field; there were no Barnard Grays in sight, for the moment. "You seem more than capable of fighting these aliens. Perhaps you want to try some Zeta Grays?"
"How powerful are those?"
"Well, they look almost exactly like the Barnard Grays, except that, from what I have seen, wear a cape and have a long ranged attack. Oh, and they can also fly around, to some extent."
"Alright. Let's go see them," replied Phil, curious to see some flying aliens, and they entered Kulan Field II.
Where did Sitting Bull say it was? The Door of Dimension…in the Ant Tunnel Park? Brent strode along the Sleepywood Dungeon, eager to get the fight over with. Finally reaching Ant Tunnel Park, he sheathed his sword and shield and climbed about the place, looking for the Door of Dimension.
When he entered the portal on the other side of the so called "Path of Glittering Crystal," he saw a figure of Sitting Bull standing on the opposite side of the place. It had a ghostly look, but no doubt formidable. He thought about what Sitting Bull had told him. You will be fighting a clone of me. Although it only contains a fraction of my true power, it is not to be underestimated. He heard a voice say "Prepare yourself." He drew his Red Katana and Steel Ancient Shield, and cast Rage.
"Begin."
The next few seconds was a confused melee, as the two were engaged in a fierce dual, as the two slashed at each other. Propelling himself backwards, he slammed his weapon against the ground with a shout of "Ground Smash!" This delivered a shockwave that hit the clone with a force enough to stun it. He dove forward and screamed "Power Strike!" and delivered a slash at it. However, as he attempted a second strike, his enemy brought its shield around and concurrently struck Brent with its own weapon. The attack had not pierced his armor, but had enough force to cause him to stumble backwards. The ghastly figure followed him, raising its weapon and shouting "Combo Attack…Panic!" Brent had just enough time to bring his shield around and counter "Power Guard!"
He charged at his opponent and shouted "Power Strike!" However, it only ended being deflected by his target's weapon. Quickly spinning around, he commanded "Final Attack!" managing to strike a powerful blow against his target. His opponent retired into the darkness for a moment and Brent heard something he could not decipher. All of a sudden, he saw a pair of Tauromacis charging at him. Completely unprepared, he was swept of his feet has he was struck by a potent blow. Staggering to his feet, he brought his weapon around as he saw the monsters that had run past him had now turned around and were once more charging at him from the other side. He raised his Red Katana and slammed it against the ground as a shockwave traveled toward the beasts, stunning them. He suddenly heard a roar of "Combo Attack, Panic!" and fell to the ground, nearly unconscious. He heard another shout of "Power Strike!" However, that blow struck the hard ground as he managed to turn over with what little energy he had left. Quickly downing a Barbarian Elixir, he got back up with his recovered strength, only to realize that he had been inflicted by Darkness, and the beasts and the clone had him surrounded. Dang it…I forgot to bring Eye Drops or All-Cures with me. Rapidly spinning around, arm and weapon outstretched, he managed to deal heavy blows to his 3 opponents. He then delivered a roundhouse kick to Sitting Bull's clone, buying himself a few precious seconds. With a shout of "Slash Blast!" he sent the killing blows to the beasts.
Watching his work with grim satisfaction, he once again forgot about his major target as the clone knocked his Red Katana out of his hand, and it landed several yards away from him. Then it raised its weapon for the final blow.
Out of nowhere, a Chrono appeared in the Fighter's hand and struck a potential blow into the clone. Brent shouted "Power Strike! Final Attack!" and he slashed at it twice. Although it had been badly injured, the fight was not over yet. The clone somehow managed to summon another pair of beasts. However, this time he was ready for them.
Leaping upwards, he hurled his Chrono at the leading Tauro and it struck true, killing it instantly. It landed short of killing the second, but no doubt wounded the other Tauro, to some extent. He saw the second Tauromacis thrust its spear downward. He leapt out of the way as a bolt of lightning struck the place where he once stood. Rushing to the other side, he scanned the area for the red glint that signified where his sword was to retrieve his Red Katana, all the time running in a zigzag pattern to evade the lightning bolts, running so fast that none of the bolts come close to hitting him. When he got back his sword, the effects of Darkness had worn off. He charged at the Tauromacis and slashed at it so intensely that it died in just a few hits. Now for the big prize. Hitching his shield on his back, he held his Chrono in one hand and the Red Katana in the other. Sitting Bull's clone charged at him and slashed at him, but he easily parried it with his sword. Almost immediately he struck his opponent with his Chrono. With no time to bring its weapon around, he delivered dozens of slashes and stabs with his pair of weapons, so fast that he himself could barely see the weapons swinging through the air, raining blow upon blow on his opponent. Finally, the figure stumbled to the ground, and vanished, leaving behind only a dark charm with an eerie glow.
-X-
Phil was rapidly leaping and teleporting all over the place and firing arrows and bolts of energy in every direction. The Zeta Grays were more powerful, and their ability to fly (or rather, levitate) was much of a challenge. He dodged another sphere of energy as he sank another pair of arrows into the attacking alien. Whipping around, he dealt six consecutive hits into another Zeta Gray that had sneaked up against him with his Deadly Fin.
Sheathing his dagger, he aimed at a mob of Zeta Grays and shouted "Arrow Bomb!" all the while he himself was flying through the air.
Turning to his right, he shot at another Zeta Gray that was flying towards him, but missed and pierced its cape instead. Suddenly, the Zeta Gray launched a sphere of energy at him which missed him by the width of a hair. There was suddenly a knife flying through the air, with red trailing it, as the Steely killed the Zeta Gray.
"Very good. I think we can advance to the Ultra Grays now, though perhaps you are a bit tired of seeing all this gray. Maybe we should try Mecateons?"
"Do Mecateons fly?" asked Phil.
"No. They don't fly at all. They're basically those octopi encased in a robotic suit. The robots have feet. They have these laser guns equipped to them, and the attack is extremely hard to avoid, to the point where it is labeled as unavoidable. However, judging from your dexterity and agility, you should be able to dodge a number of them."
The two headed back to Off-Limits, then took the path to Boswell Field. There were the usual Plateons sliding all over the place. However, they were able to bypass them, and quickly reached the Boswell Field with the so called Mecateons.
Agent Marco was right—the attacks did come fast, and at first he was not able to comprehend the speed of their attacks, compared to the ones the Grays and Plateons had, as the aliens zapped him over and over again. However, he soon discovered the time interval between when they charged up their attack with the sound of static and when they would actually launch the attack. Knowing this, he could teleport away from the position that he would have been hit and sometimes even having the said attacker hit one if its own teammates that was behind him.
After several minutes of leaping, dodging, teleporting, and attacking, Marco came over and said to him, "That's enough for now."
Phil turned towards him, released a pair of arrows that destroyed a Mecateon, and jumped down from a ledge.
"You are level 68, correct?" asked Marco.
"I think so."
His teacher nodded. "Since you are nearing level 70, I feel that it is time for you to go against two specific aliens."
"How…powerful are those?" There was a sudden sound of static as Phil whipped around and, Asianic Bow raised, shouted "Iron Arrow!" The spinning arrow short-circuited the machine and it died down, unable to work its weaponry.
"The first one I want you to go against is known as MT-09. They sort of look like these, but are slightly bigger."
"How powerful are its lasers?"
"For some odd reason, they do not have lasers. Instead, it fires a small missile." Phil gave Marco a strange look. Finally, Marco added, "Consider this a small quiz." The two headed to Boswell Field IV. Stopping halfway, Agent Marco led him to a concealed entrance. When they entered, there was a field of Plateons, Mecateons. There was also an MT-09.
The MT-09 really did look a lot like the Mecateons, just more…complicated. And stronger. "Keep in mind that this is what you would call a 'Boss'. Like King Slime or Mushmom. And be careful of the Plateons and Mecateons around here." Phil nodded, and took off.
-X-
Finally! thought Brent. I can become a Crusader! He had just received a Necklace of Wisdom from a talking rock and was now headed back to the 3rd job instructor's residence. The rides between Ossyria and Victoria Island seemed to take forever. They always felt to be so fast…but of course, I guess time flies when you're playing Omok and Monster Match Cards. He climbed into the 3rd job instructor's house. "Ah…I see you have both the Necklace of Strength and the Necklace of Wisdom." said Tylus. Brent nodded. Tylus walked over and placed a hand on his head. "You have been judged worthy to become one of the 3rd job, protector of the weak. I now promote you to…Crusader." There was a flash of light as Brent felt a sensation, a rush of energy that he had never felt before, leaving just as quickly as it came.
"Here you are," said Tylus, reaching for a book and handing it to him. "This is the skill book to the Crusader's techniques. Study them, learn them, and you will gain the power."
Brent nodded, said "Thank you," and left.
"How did you ever talk me into fighting Eliza?" Evelyne asked Celina as they walked towards the Garden of Darkness.
"Because of the fact that you've been so lazy for the past few days, I thought this was the best way to boost your experience."
"I saved us from all those Pixies!" Exclaimed Evelyne.
"Exactly. That's where I got the idea. You gained a level from killing all those Pixies. Eliza, I've heard, gives a lot of battle experience."
"You should be the one fighting it," muttered Evelyne. "It summons Lucidas, which are weak against Holy."
"That's why I'll be standing around there. If you get overrun by those weaklings, I'll be there to save you."
"Thanks a lot," Evelyne said, totally offended. "Anyway, you still haven't answered my question."
"Oh. I said it dropped a White Nightfox, which will replace your crappy Identity. It would be useful to you when you hit 70; it would help you when you take the job advancement, as well as Red Mystique Shoes."
Evelyne sighed as she drew a pair of Ilbis. Looking around, she saw Eliza in the distance. "Let's see how well your 'idea' works. Haste. Lucky Seven!"
The pair of throwing stars hit Eliza, and its attention was turned toward the Assassin. What followed was a blur of black, red, and gray as Eliza constantly charged, lunged, and fired beams of black energy at her, and Evelyne leaping away, barely dodging the attack. A minute or so after this, Eliza summoned several Lucidas, some of which were scampering all over the place, while others charged at Evelyne like mad, firing discharges of dark energy at her.
Evelyne quickly took them out with a chain of Lucky Sevens. However, one of the Lucidas that had been wandering aimlessly suddenly decided to charge at her, catching her by surprise. This gave Eliza the chance to ram into her, inflicting serious damage. The action of the original Lucida also seemed to influence the others; all the others began running towards her to get in attacking range.
For a moment, Celina was strongly inclined to blast the field with Shining Rays, but then saw Evelyne quickly recovering and firing a dozen Drains at the surrounding monsters, including Eliza. Jumping over a group of newly summoned Lucidas, she released a hail of metal against the dark kitties, eliminating about 80 percent of them. Returning her attention to Eliza, Evelyne flung a storm of shurikens to her main target, severely wounding it. Just then, she was caught by surprise as she was struck by a beam of dark magic from behind. She immediately spun around and shouted "Lucky Seven!" and, without stopping, was suddenly back in her original position, and resumed her attack on Eliza
After a few more rounds of shuriken-do, she finally defeated Eliza, and as a result, leveled up.
"Yes! 70 at last!" Evelyne exclaimed.
"See?" asked Celina. "What did I tell you?"
Evelyne just smiled, and replied "You said we'd find some good stuff. Now let's see if there are any."
She stopped abruptly when she noticed something shimmering on the ground. Picking it up, she realized one of the Lucidas had dropped Kumbis. She placed them into her vest pocked with the other stars.
Walking over to the spot where Eliza previously was, the two rummaged through the lot of items to see what they could find. After pocketing several mesos, Celina found a White Nightfox.
"Well," said Celina. "Looks like this is your lucky day." Celina handed the hat over to Evelyne. The Assassin took off her Identity and replaced it with her new headgear, feeling a new kind of power enter her.
"Guess it's your lucky day, too." Evelyne said as she picked up a number of scrolls. One of them was a scroll for Earring for INT, with a 60% success rate. She handed that to her friend.
"The others are only useful to you," Celina pouted. The second one was a scroll for Dagger for Attack, 60%. And finally, the third was a scroll for Cape for DEX, also with a 60% success rate.
Other than the loads of Lucida Tails, there were also a handful of Wizard Potions, which Celina stored in her pack.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," Celina said.
At the bottom of the pile was a pair of Red Mystique Shoes. Celina picked them up.
"You said your favorite color was red, right?" Celina asked as she handed them to her. Evelyne replaced her Blood Moss Boots with her red shoes.
"Not bad," said Evelyne. "We should do this more often." Celina just gave her a wink.
-X-
Just as Phil dodged another missile, he released his bowstring as an exploding arrow sailed across the area and blew up the MT-09. He then heard Agent Marco say "Well done. You have improved."
Phil turned around to respond to his teacher as he saw a Mecateon from his peripheral vision aiming at him and about to zap him. He shot it down with another Arrow Bomb, and he heard Marco say "see what I mean?"
Then he heard him ask him, "You still okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you still in fighting condition?"
Phil shrugged his shoulders. "I guess."
"If that's the case, I say you should kill a few more aliens, for a bit more experience. If you want to rest, then you may leave. Your choice. However, I will be teaching you something else later this day, because you are very near the time for the 3rd job advancement."
Phil nodded, said "okay", and continued attacking aliens.
After about 15 more minutes of fighting Mecateons, Plateons, and MT-09s, he got bored of using the same technique on them over and over on his enemy—they were the kind of monsters that rarely learned anything and were easy to kill. In this case, they still used their same fighting tactics all the time. When he returned to the Omega Sector, he saw Agent Marco talking to General Maestro and Jr. Officer Medin, with his back to him. Jr. Officer Medin said something inaudible and pointed at Phil, and Agent Marco turned around and walked towards Phil.
"I trust you had a good time training, no?"
"I guess you can say that," Phil replied.
Marco nodded. Then he said "Do you want to learn what I will teach you now, or do you want to rest up a bit?"
"I think I'll rest a bit. A few minutes or so."
Marco nodded once more, and said "I'll be waiting for you when you're ready."
'A few minutes or so' later, Phil came out and saw Agent Marco wielding a spectral-looking sword that looked like a katana, with a sort of bright orange handle plated with jewels that had an intricate design. Marco had one hand behind his back and was wielding it like an expert, slashing, stabbing, and fencing. When Marco saw him, he quickly put it away and said, "All right, now. Let's get things started." He didn't mention about the blade he had been holding.
Phil decided to follow along and not ask about the weapon.
"The thing I am about to teach you now is skill fusion. There are two types. The first is using an attack that was meant for one weapon with another. You have already begun doing so, by using Arrow Bomb with a Crossbow, and Iron Arrow with a Bow. There are many more. For example, you can use Savage Blow with a sword, or Drain with arrows."
Phil nodded, and Agent Marco went on.
"The other is combining the use of skills."
"But don't I already combine skills? Like, I use Double Shot immediately after Arrow Bomb."
Marco laughed as if he had known this would happen. "Yes. But this is different. What I mean is actually taking two skills, and forming them into one attack."
"How do I do that?"
"That is just what I am about to teach you. The easiest example is combining two different elemental attacks, such as fire and ice, holy and fire, or lightning and fire. The possibilities are endless. The Mages' skill, Element Composition, is basically that."
"But that's 3rd job!"
"Yes, but you know every skill in the book up to Second Job. Now, have you heard of a Ranger's skill named 'Inferno', and a Sniper's skill named 'Blizzard'?"
He nodded.
"Although you have not learned those exact skills yet, you have the ability to execute a weaker version of them, due to the fact that you already have knowledge of those elements. You know Cold Beam and Fire Arrow. All you need to do is apply those elements to your arrows, and you will have those abilities. And since you know poison brace as well, you can also apply poison to stars and daggers for an early Venomous Stab or Venomous Star"
"Higher Job abilities in the Second Job?"
"Well…I wouldn't exactly say that, since they will be extremely weaker than the conventional skills. However, this will make learning those actual skills easier when you become high enough level."
"Alright. So what do I do?"
Phil spent the next two hours in Off- Limits practicing fusing all kinds of different "artes," as Agent Marco had recently called them—"At a higher level, these skills, spells, are called 'artes'—no , not the drawing kind; this one has an 'e' at the end. It encompasses all kinds of spells, elemental, supportive, active, arcane; take your pick."
He combined ice with fire—with Agent Marco informally called 'Cold Fire,' which Phil liked the sound of the name, applied fire to arrows and stars, Lightning to axes, Holy to Swords, Ice to daggers, and everything in between. He would commonly plop down on the grass, exhausted, and take a drink of a Mana Elixir or Pure Water, and resumed practicing, combining ice and fire, lightning with ice, fire with lightning, poison and ice, lightning and poison, lightning with fire with poison, and whatever else he knew. Of course, along with fusing artes, Agent Marco reminded him to practice 'using an attack that was meant for one weapon with another.' In other words, Slash Blast with his Evil Wings, Power Knock-Back with his Tamus, and Savage Blow with his Neocora. After Phil felt he was competent enough with these new tactics, he moved on to the Plateons, which were in fact easier to battle.
Phil had once asked why he would have to use a skill such as Slash Blast with a weapon like a staff; it had very little effect compared to the swords. Marco's reply was 'so you don't have to pull out another weapon in the middle of a fight.'
That was certainly true. Carrying a bunch of bulky weapons with him was certainly cumbersome, and maybe an emergency like what Marco had stated would happen one day or another. But still…
After the fourth half-hour of (ineffectively) hacking at aliens with his Evil Wings using Power Strike, Slash Blast and a Double Stab that barely stabbed through the monsters, he finally left the aliens and returned to the general area of the Omega Sector.
Agent Marco, as Phil saw him when he returned, was once again having a quiet conversation with the two officers. When Agent Marco went over to Phil, Agent Marco said "I trust your training went well?"
"Yeah," muttered Phil sarcastically and almost in an annoyed tone. "Using Slash Blast with an Evil Wings sure is fun."
Agent Marco through his head back and laughed. "I know. It is boring. But it seems like that section of the training is over."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I believe you've become consistent in using skill fusion?"
"I guess you can say that."
"Very well." Agent Marco looked up at the sky, and there was a beautiful sunset. "It seems like we can stop for now. The rest can wait until tomorrow."
-X-
"Are you sure you want to take the advancement test today?" Celina asked Evelyne when they entered the Swamp in Kerning City.
"Of course," said Evelyne eagerly. She looked at her companion. "I don't wanna wait another day to become a Hermit. I want to learn the skills now."
"Well, when you become a Hermit, it may very well be night time; too late to practice any of the new skills."
"Night time is the perfect time to practice skills." The Assassin replied.
"Uh, huh. And this is coming from someone who once broke a window with Lucky Seven, set off an alarm, and woke up everybody, and caused a bunch of other Thei—Rogues, to come into action and start attacking wildly in every direction, thinking the place was under attack by a Crimson Balrog."
"What are you—eww, what is this stuff?" she said, noticing something green and slimy was sticking to her brand new shoes.
"That's part of the swamp," Celina replied coolly. Evelyne looked at her. She had virtually nothing sticking to her. "How come you have nothing on your clothes?" Evelyne asked.
"Magic," replied the Priest, grinning.
"Whatever." Evelyne muttered, just as she bumped into a tree.
"Hey, it looks like we've reached Monkey Swamp II."
Evelyne wiped some slime off her face, and then said "Hey. That looks like the Door of Dimension."
They hugged each other, as Celina said, "Good luck. Bless!" Evelyne could feel her friend's power surge into her, simultaneously raising her morale.
"See you when I'm done," replied Evelyne as she disappeared through the Door.
Evelyne reappeared on the Path of Glittering Crystal. She took her time as she walked casually through the path, as if this was nothing more than a walk in Henesys. Then she entered the portal, and saw a familiar figure in the distance: Dark Lord.
"Draw your weapons," said Dark Lords clone. She loaded a set of Steelies into her Black Scarab, which she and Celina had recently bought in light of her achievement, and cast Haste.
"Begin."
Evelyne responded immediately, screaming "Lucky Seven!" at the top of lungs and simultaneously hurling a storm Steelies at her opponent and moving all over the place. The clone did the same, as he jumped from place to place and returned fire, every once in while shouting "Avenger!" chucking a massive star at her. Evelyne was able to dodge most of the attacks. Her Weapon Attack, Defense, Accuracy, and Avoidability had been greatly enhanced by her friend's supportive skill. Even when she was occasionally hit by a smaller star, it had little effect on her. She was hit once by an Avenger, but she was able to quickly recover with a Drain.
All of a sudden, she saw a pair of beasts with their spears appear out of nowhere, charging at her. She tried to leap away, but, unfortunately for her, Haste and Bless simultaneously wore off, as the one on her left slammed into her. The one on her left stabbed its weapon into the ground as a bolt of lightning came down. Luckily, she was able to roll out of the way.
Casting Haste once more, she grabbed a pair of Kumbis and hurled them at the clone, stunning it for a moment before returning her attention to the Tauromacis. She struck the first one with a dozen more Steelies before it died. The second thrust its spear into the ground once more, but she easily dodged it and at the same time, sent a torrent of Ilbis (for she had run out of Steelies) at her foe.
When it had finally died, she swiftly turned around just to see another Avenger screaming at her. It whizzed by her hair, missing her by a fraction of an inch. Another pair of stars came flying at her, and she quickly dove out of the way, concurrently launching another torrent of her own stars.
She ran forward, stopping at the peak of the area, and rained more Ilbis upon her opponent. Dark Lord's clone returned responded to her attacks in a similar manner, until it decided to fire another Avenger. Misjudging the angle, the oversized star flew a little bit over her. However, she reacted in a more aggressive way. Jumping up, she seized the star, still spinning in midair, spun around, and sent it back towards the sender. The gigantic shuriken tore Dark Lord's Clone apart, and it disappeared in a flash of black light.
She jumped over to where Dark Lord's Clone originally was, and picked the so-called Black Charm.
-X-
When she came out, the moon was already up. Not a full moon, thankfully, for that would have called out the lycanthropes. But the place was definitely dark.
"So…" said Celina as the pair trekked through the snow of El Nath. "You still want to do it? I mean, all this can wait till tomorrow."
"If I stop now and go to bed, I won't be able to fall asleep" retorted Evelyne.
"Have you got a Dark Crystal?" asked Celina.
"I've dozens of them, considering how stupid us Thieves are, compared to Magicians," Evelyne said, half gleefully and half mockingly as she swung the Necklace of Strength around in her hand.
Celina sighed. "Very well. Let's just hope that the guys in the 3rd job advancement residence are still awake.
"Well, they may not all be awake. But Arec will definitely be awake.
When they got there, all four were awake. Evelyne handed the Necklace over to her 3rd job instructor, then went over to the Holy Ground for a Necklace of Wisdom. After getting through the whole ordeal of talking rocks, she went back to Arec and handed over the Necklace of Wisdom.
"You have done well," said Arec. "You are now worthy of the rank…" he paused for a moment, placing his hand on her head. "Hermit." There was a flash of light, and a kind of energy that Evelyne never felt before rushed through her.
Arec smiled. "You are now a member of the third job. Use your new skills wisely." He handed a book titled The Way of the Hermit. Evelyne took it thankfully and hugged it.
"Thank you," she replied
Evelyne and Celina quickly left.
The moment they got outside, Evelyne said defiantly "The first skill I'm gonna learn is Flash Jump." She turned to Celina. "That way, I can outrun you."
"I don't think it's smart of you to learn Flash Jump first," replied Celina. "Maybe it would be better to learn Shadow Partner or Avenger first. Or even Dark Flare."
"I don't care. I'm already good enough with Lucky Seven and Drain. Flash Jump will cover all my mobility needs. Shadow Partner, Avenger, and Dark Flare can wait another level or two. Besides, I have you"
Celina looked at Evelyne and sighed. She was still the child she knew her as, and didn't understand everything yet. Already Evelyne was flipping through her book, barely giving a glance at the other skills—alchemist, meso up, shadow partner, shadow web, shadow meso—and the moment she found the page about Flash Jump, she began reading intently. El Nath, Celina, everything—was closed from her thoughts. She continued to read the description of Flash Jump, already having dreams of flying all over the place and outrunning her friend. As she had heard, teleport at its maximum level was no match to flash jump even at its first level. She was so into it that she didn't even hear her friend say "Look out for the—" as she walked straight into a tree, hitting it, and fell on her back. Getting up, she resumed walking and reading the text, as if nothing had happened.
Celina looked at her and sighed a second time.
-X-
The sun shone brightly the next day; so bright, in fact, that as if it were an omen.
Phil, who was still in the dining room and eating breakfast, had already begun to wonder what this day would be like. As he was in the middle of drinking some water, he heard footsteps, and saw Agent Marco enter the room.
"Good morning, Phil."
Phil looked at him as he swallowed.
"Today, I have a very special assignment for you."
"What?" Phil asked as he wiped his mouth. "Killing more aliens?"
"That's part of it. Though not all of it." After that, Agent Marco turned and left.
When Phil came outside, Agent Marco was once again talking with General Maestro and Jr. Officer Medin. He could not see Agent Marco's face, but saw the other two nodding every now and then. After a minute of their discussion, Agent Marco turned around and walked over to Phil.
"Alright," Agent Marco said when he got to Phil. "This is going to be one of your last training assignments against the aliens. You are competent in your Martial Arts and Fusion Artes, correct?"
Phil gave a nod.
"You must now learn to unite your skills. As a pre-test, I want you to defeat the Chief Grays and collect the Chief Gray's Signs."
"What level are they?"
"At your rate, you should not be worrying about something as insignificant as their level. You will be skilled enough to defeat them."
The two walked out into Off-Limits, then went in the direction of Kulan Field. After passing the Grays that Phil had already fought against, they reach Kulan Field IV.
"Those walking around with the red capes and star on their forehead are the Ultra Grays," said Agent Marco. "They have an all-around attack, so the lightning goes in every direction, even behind. The Chief Gray, the one with the staff and hunchback, so to speak, has an area attack, and can summon Barnard Grays, thought those summons shouldn't be any problem for you. Remember to collect the Chief Gray's Sign."
Agent Marco looked around and saw three of them. "Just get those three, and your task will be complete."
Phil nodded, said "Yes, sir," then zoomed off to complete his task.
As he was running, one of the Zeta Grays noticed him, and summoned a sphere of energy. However, before it could release it, Phil shouted, "Lucky Seven!" and killed it.
An Ultra Gray had been near it, and sent shockwaves of energy in every direction. Phil was hit by it, though it did not hurt him severely. He brought out his Evil Wings and shouted "Cold Beam!" and struck his attacker with a spear of ice. Before he could attack the Chief Gray, however, another Zeta Gray came up behind him and hit him. The Ultra Gray then recovered and unleashed another shockwave of energy, hitting him. Out of his peripheral vision he saw a group of Ultra and Zeta Grays forming a sort of wall in front of the Chief Grays
The Chief Grays certainly seem to be their priority of protection, thought Phil.
He raised his staff and shouted "Thunderbolt!" and a number of lightning strikes rained down on the surrounding aliens. It seemed to be the ideal arte to use on these foes, but unfortunately, it had little effect on them.
Teleporting out of the way, he sheathed his staff and drew his Asianic Bow. With a shout of "Soul Arrow, Arrow Bomb!" he blew up some of the aliens and stunned the others.
Glancing at the Chief Grays, he saw they had summoned several Barnard Grays to their aid.
"Iron Arrow!" The rotating bolt tore through a number Grays that were teaming up against him. He then fired several Doubles Shots in succession, killing or wounding his targets.
He turned around to see one of the summoned Barnard Grays. He swung his bow at them with a shout of "Power Knock-Back!" and sent them flying backwards across the Kulan Field.
He turned back and saw a Zeta Gray charging at him. He evaded a sphere of energy and retaliated with "Double Shot, Final Attack!" as the 3 arrows killed the alien.
Finally clearing the immediate area, he finally turned his attention back to the Chief Grays. However, he could not see them; they were completely blocked by an ever increasing mass of aliens.
"Arrow Bomb, Final Attack!" The first arrow destroyed a portion of the aliens, and the second arrow managed to destroy another 3.
Putting away his bow, he brought out his Burning Hell. He shouted "Grenade!" as the bomb landed near the Grays. The explosion took out a considerable chunk of the aliens. He quickly followed up with "Invisible Shot!" as several bullets, flying faster than the naked eye could see, struck down more aliens. He now saw an opening to his primary targets.
Neocora and Silver Legend Shield in hand, he cast Power Guard and rushed forward, yelled "Slash Blast!" and "Power Strike!" cutting down the wall of aliens.
The Chief Grays had begun to separate by now, and when he reached one, it raised its staff and chanted something undecipherable. Numerous stars rained down around it, catching Phil off guard and stunning him.
Quickly recovering, he leapt backwards and slammed his sword against the ground, shouting "Ground Smash!" The shockwave had no effect on the Zeta Grays, but decimated the Barnard Grays and hurt the Chief Grays.
He switched his Neocora with his Deadly Fin, cast Haste and Dagger Booster, and screamed "Savage Blow!" delivering dozens of hits to the Grays each second. Destroying several of the monsters, the Chief Grays were now easy targets. Sheathing the Dagger, he produced a pair of Steelies and shouted "Lucky Seven!" The knives struck one of the old aliens, and killed it. He then brought out his Evil Wings once more.
"Fire Arrow!" The flaming spear sailed across the field towards another one of the Chief Grays. However, it was blocked by its area attack. He tried again, and this time it hit, killing the Chief Gray.
One more, he thought. He aimed his staff and shouted "Fire Arrow!" Just as he released the fire-made bowstring, a Zeta Gray came between the flame and the Chief Gray and took the damage of the attack. The flying alien then responded with a bolt of energy.
"Invincible!" The quickly created barrier managed to prevent any damage from the attack. He re-shifted his weapon and shouted "Cold Beam!" The ice attack froze the Zeta Gray, and it fell to the ground.
Holding the wand once again in the fashion of a bow, he realized that a single element alone could not end this fight. Already he saw another Zeta Gray ready to block it.
"Holy Flame!" A bowstring, half white and half red was formed, as well as an arrow that was half fire and half holy. He let flew, as the arrow tore through a pair of Zeta Grays, struck down the Chief Gray, and killed several more aliens in a massive explosion of red and white.
Panting, he took a drink of a Mana Elixirs and returned to his next task.
Searching around the heap of items and aliens, he found the 3 Chief Gray's Signs, one by one. He also found a number of mesos, which he pocketed immediately. Looking around, he didn't see his teacher anywhere. He was too surprised to be scared. Without thinking anymore, he returned to the Omega Sector.
"Finished your task, eh?" asked Agent Marco when Phil returned.
"Yeah," responded Phil as he handed over the three Chief Gray's Signs. "Why and when did you leave?"
"I left about halfway through the battle," replied Marco. Before Phil could say anything, Marco added "I had no worries about you. The question wasn't if you were going to finish or not. It was when; it was just a matter of time."
Phil nodded. He guessed that that would happen, and said no more.
"Now, here is the second part of your training. You have reached 70. Now is the time for your 3rd job advancement."
Phil looked at him, but didn't say anything.
Agent Marco continued. "Of course, it will not be any ordinary test. You are to take a special test, taking into account your abilities. Everything has already been arranged."
Phil nodded wearily. Agent Marco could see his student's tiredness, and then said "You may rest for a while. But I prefer it that you take the Third Job Advancement test today."
Phil nodded again saying "Yes, sir." He turned and went back to his room.
A half hour later, he came back out. "What's my Third Job Advancement Test going to be?" he asked.
"Unlike the conventional test, which you first go to El Nath, meet up with your appropriate 3rd Job Instructor, and so forth, you are to go directly to the Victoria Island. The reason others go to their 3rd Job Instructor is to receive a recommendation letter from them; you have been under my supervision the entire time, so you do not need one."
Marco continued on. "You will go through the Warp Portal in the Omega Sector Command Center and head back to the Nautilus. Kyrin already knows about all of this; you will receive the rest of the instructions from her." Agent Marco handed him a bag. It contained a number of weapons, all level 70. "These should help you in your fight."
"Thank you," said Phil.
"Hold on," Agent Marco said. "You need this, too." Marco produced a scroll. There was something written on it, but it was neither a Return Scroll nor an equipment enhancement scroll.
"You will need to show this to the 3rd Job Instructors."
"Yes, sir" said Phil, and he went into the Omega Sector Command Center. Getting a Warp Card from Dr. Kim, he passed through the Portal and reappeared in the Nautilus.
"Hi, Kyrin.
"Welcome," said Kyrin. "I've been expecting you. Dr. Kim has told me all about you, and your progress. Your progress has been quite remarkable."
Phil looked at her with a faceless expression and nodded.
"You are to head to Sleepywood. There, you are to head to the Sanctuary and defeat the Jr. Balrog."
"I have to defeat a Jr. Balrog!?" he asked, appalled.
"Yes," replied Kyrin. "After that…"
"There's more?!" Phil cut in.
"Yes. After that, the Jr. Balrog will drop a jewel. It will be the key to another room. Place it inside a lock, and the door will open. In the other room, you will fight clones of Athena Pierce, Dark Lord, Sitting Bull, Grendel, and I."
"So it's a five on one battle."
"Yes. You will then collect the five Dark Charms; one dropped by each, and bring them to me. You will get five Necklaces of Strength in return. After that, you will head over to the 3rd Job Instructors to give them the Necklaces. You will be told to go over to the Holy Ground, where you will need five Dark Crystals to receive five Necklaces of Wisdom."
Kyrin reached for something behind her, and brought out a bag. Handing it over to him, she said "There are five Dark Crystals in here. These should be sufficient enough for you, considering you don't lose anything."
Phil took it, and placed the bag she gave him inside the larger bag.
"Good luck." said Kyrin. She was beside herself with worry. This was the first time that anything like this was done in the entire history of the world; through Phil's reactions, it seemed that neither Agent Marco nor Dr. Kim had told him that. And that only added to her concern.
-X-
Freakin' Jr. Balrog, Phil thought as he wandered through the dungeon, hauling the bag of weapons with him. He had used Dark Sight to bypass several of the monsters; he figured he should save as much energy as possible for the fight against the Jr. Balrog and the five clones. Finally reaching the Sanctuary, he saw the Jr. Balrog wandering around, along with a Taurospear or two.
Looks like I'll be the one to attack first. He brought out his Asianic Bow and uncast Dark Sight.
"Soul Arrow, Double Shot, Final Attack!" he chanted in quick succession. A trio of glowing arrows flew across the Sanctuary and struck Jr. Balrog. The Jr. Balrog emerged unscathed, only angered. This also caused the Taurospears to take notice of the newcomer as well.
The Jr. Balrog launched a flame attack at him, but he simply teleported out of the way. He then fired another pair of arrows and the Jr. Balrog.
The winged monster moved out of the way as the attack struck a part of a wall. The arrow from Final Attack however, hit its target.
One of the Taurospears charged at him, but stopped short. Phil was puzzled. Suddenly, the beast thrust its weapon into the ground as a bolt of lightning fell down, catching him by surprise.
Quickly healing himself, he shouted "Arrow Bomb!" and the arrow exploded against the Taurospears, stunning them.
He glanced to his side and saw the Jr. Balrog coming up to him. It slashed at him, but once again he teleported to his side, only seconds away from being hit.
The Taurospears, recovering from the effect of Arrow Bomb, now refocused as a mob of beasts now charged at him with the intent of running him over.
He sheathed his bow and drew out his Red Katana and Steel Ancient Shield.
"Rage, Ground Smash, Slash Blast, Final Attack!" The Shockwave struck down a few of the beasts, and as they got closer, the last two killed the rest of them or caused considerable damage to them.
He stole a glance at the Jr. Balrog and saw the movement he dreaded. It was charging up for its signature attack: The Meteor.
Bringing his Steel Ancient Shield around, he commanded "Magic Guard, Invincible, Iron Will, Power Guard!"
The attack came flying at him at an incredible speed as he braced himself for the impact. It struck him with significant force and he was pushed back several feet. The support he had cast had managed to reduce much of the damage. But already he could see the Jr. Balrog coming at him again. It didn't have enough energy to launch a second Meteor at him immediately, but it had enough power to continue fighting as a potential threat.
"Ground Smash!" The shockwave traveled across the ground and hit the monster, catching it by surprise. Sheathing his sword, he grabbed his Evil Wings and commanded "Holy Arrow!" and released the white bowstring.
Looking around, he saw another group of Taurospears had arrived, but now were in a circle around him. The one gap was taken by the Jr. Balrog.
He instinctively cried out "Thunderbolt!" as lightning came down and struck the monsters. He escaped the trap by running past a pair of Taurospears and repositioned himself.
Once he got far enough, he threw several pairs of stars in a Lucky Seven fashion.
He brought his Doombringer and, holding it in both hands, gave several shouts of "Power Strike!" and "Slash Blast!" and cleaved apart most of the beasts. For the last one, he threw dozens of punches before it died.
Turning to the Jr. Balrog, he saw just in time as it slashed at him, throwing him backwards.
He looked at his armor. There was a deep gash in it, though luckily, the attack had not hit his skin.
Only one thing to do. Grabbing his staff, he commanded "Holy Flame!" He could feel the mana rush through his arms, one of holy magic and the other of fire magic.
He let fly. The arrow illuminated the entire place and finished off the Jr. Balrog.
He walked over to where the Jr. Balrog once was, and saw it had left behind a sort of black jewel. The top was completely flat, as if it was cut apart by a laser beam. The other said had an elaborate design. Walking to the wall on the other side of where he came in, he saw a hole in the wall. However, this was no ordinary hole. It too had a complex form. Looking back at the jewel in his hand, he realized that it would fit perfectly inside the hole.
He placed it inside. He barely pushed it in as hole and jewel disappeared at once, and was replaced by a rotating light. It grew larger, as he saw that it was a portal. Wondering what was on the other side, he stepped through it. Suddenly, he was on the other side.
On the other side, he saw five familiar, yet ghostly, figures standing side by side, and recalled Kyrin's words: you will fight clones of Athena Pierce, Dark Lord, Sitting Bull, Grendel, and myself.
They were the clones of each of the leaders.
Sitting Bull's clone stepped forward, and said "Prepare yourself."
Phil pulled out the Redemption and thrust it into the ground, face-up, as if to mark his position. He put the Red Katana into the sheath on his left side and the Kandine into the sheath on his right. He took the Gross Jaeger and slid it into its quiver that was strung across his back and the Steel Ancient Shield as well, as they made sort of an X shape. Placing his Abyss Shooter into his pocket, he slid one of the Beia Crash over his right hand and the Blue Scarab over his left. The rest of the equipment stayed in the bag behind him.
He then chanted a series of spells—Focus, Soul Arrow, Magic Guard, Meditation, Invincible, Iron Will, Hyperbody, Rage, Power Guard, Haste, and, of course, Booster, and everything else he knew—as he strung his Golden Hinkel.
"Begin."
What followed could either be defined as a mess or a sequence of intrepid attacks. Sitting Bull's clone took the lead, his sword pointed forward. Grendel, following closely behind Sitting Bull, already began chanting his own support spells.
Athena, Dark Lord, and Kyrin stayed in the back, as they fired arrows, threw stars, or shot bullets.
Phil teleported past an arrow and shouted "Double Shot, Final Attack!" The damage from all three of the arrows was taken by Sitting Bull. However, he seemed relatively unfazed, as he continued his advance.
"Arrow Bomb!" The arrow exploded forcefully against Sitting Bull, stunning him, as he stopped his movements. Grendel had been unaffected by the hit now moved in front of Sitting Bull, ready to attack.
Before it could cast a spell however, Phil ran up to Grendel and shouted "Power Knock-Back!" slamming his Hinkel into the ghostly figure. Grendel was forced several feet back, now near the other three.
Phil put away his bow and drew out his Red Katana and Silver Legend Shield just as Sitting Bull recovered from the effects of the Arrow Bomb. They were now having a fierce melee dual, neither side willing to give up any ground.
He heard a shout of "Mortal Blow!" as an arrow whizzed past him, missing him by the width of the hair. It slammed into one of the walls and left a sizable dent in it.
He then caught a glimpse Dark Lord rushing up to help its comrade, and Phil slammed his shield into Sitting Bull, causing him to stumble backwards. Unfortunately, Dark Lord was now in attacking range.
Phil heard Dark Lord shout "Savage Blow!" just as he had time to counter with "Power Guard!" A series of six dagger strikes bang against his shield, and he had to take a step backwards from falling over.
Dark Lord and Sitting Bull now changed places. Sitting Bull swing its sword at him and knocked his Silver Legend Shield out of his hand. Before he could retrieve it, however, a pair of shurikens struck him, causing him to stumble backwards. He then heard a cry of "Strafe!" and 4 arrows slammed into him, sending him spinning counter-clockwise. Even while he was in mid-air, he heard something indecipherable as there was a small cloud of smoke; as Shadow Kyrin summoned Kyrin's Clone. The next thing he knew, two pairs of bullets hit him, knocking the living daylights out of him and helped him continue his whirling journey to the rear end of the area. He then landed facedown. Hard.
Even as he was facedown, he heard another chanting. Looking up, he saw a pair of Tauromacis appear out of thin air. They stood for a moment, and then charged forward.
Quickly Healing himself, he got up. He had landed beside his Redemption. Seizing it, he hurled it toward the Tauromacis on his right. It speared it and killed it.
He teleported to his right and missed the weapon of the second Tauromacis by inches.
The group of clones was far away enough to not make an immediate threat.
Stringing his Hinkel, he commanded "Arrow Bomb!" and released the bowstring. However, he hadn't aimed at clones. Or even the Tauromacis. He had aimed upward. The explosion caused a massive hunk of rock to fall down. He was lucky. It fell just onto the Tauromacis, crushing the beast, and it disappeared.
Turning 180 degrees, he saw Sitting Bull rushing at him again. He fired a chain of Double Shots, each followed by a Final Attack. This did not eliminate him, but caused substantial damage, enough to make it stop whatever it was doing for few moments.
Grendel had now taken the lead, as he commanded "Thunder Spear!" The spear, cackling with energy, came at him. Phil dove out of the way as it increased the size of the dent in the wall.
"Ice Strike!" Dozens of icicles burst from where Grendel was, and Phil was caught by surprise as he was hit by a number of them.
"Double Shot, Final Attack!" The three glowing arrows sailed toward Grendel, and he scored three critical hits. He fired another Iron Arrow and it tore through Grendel. Then, in a flash of black light, Grendel disappeared.
Right behind him, however, came several arrows, shurikens, and bullets flying towards him. He only had a moment's notice to dodge them; however, one of the arrows caught him on the arm. Pulling it out, he quickly cast Heal as the flow of blood stopped.
Grendel was gone, but he was now occupied in a melee dual with Sitting Bull, parrying most of the attacks. He retaliated whenever he could with his sword or shield. Dark Lord hurled stars at rapid fire speed, so he had to face that problem was well. Salvos of arrows and bullets came in every few seconds; they were easier to predict and came less frequently. He also had to remind himself that there were two "Kyrins," though one was slightly weaker than the other.
Steeling himself, Phil struck Sitting Bull with his shield and sword at the same time, stunning the Warrior. Wasting no time, he stabbed through, and it disappeared like Grendel.
2 down, 3 to go. He thought. The pair of Kyrins came up to him now, and Dark Lord following behind. Only Athena stayed in the back, most likely due to the fact that she had no effective close-range attack, and had the farthest attack range.
He had no idea which Kyrin was the "real Kyrin" so he attacked the one on his left with Power Strike after Power Strike. He was lucky; he guessed right, and after 5 of them, it vanished into thin air.
The "real Kyrin" however executed a Somersault Kick attack against him and he staggered backwards, as well as knocking his weapon out of his hand. She brought up her gun and aimed at him. However, before she could fire, he grabbed his Kandine and threw himself forward, screaming "Savage Blow!" Kyrin was hit by Savage Blow after Savage blow. In a few seconds, she disappeared like her clone.
"Avenger!" The enormous star raced at him at an incredible speed as it threw Phil back several yards. The Thief then continued to throw more stars at Phil, but, being so far away, managed to recover in time and evade the shurikens. Phil threw his own shurikens and Dark Lord, all the time running forward. He shouted "Double Uppercut!" as the pair of punches stunned Dark Lord. He lashed out with a roundhouse kick, followed by a barrage of Flash Fist attacks. This caused Dark Lord to vanish into the air in a flash of darkness as well.
He hadn't heard Athena shout "Mortal Blow" but he sure felt the attack now. The missile slammed into him with the force of a battering ram, throwing him off his feet and making him drop his Hinkel as he was pushed the entire length of the area and crashed into the wall. The dent in the wall became even larger. The arrow had pierced his armor, making a hole in it, the tip; fortunately, had not pierced his skin; though it just touched his body.
"Strafe!" Four arrows, one behind the other, were aimed at him. He quickly dove out of the way as they deepened the dent even more with four explosions.
He Healed himself and got to his feet. In that moment, four Tauromacis appeared in a row, just like the arrows.
Unsheathing his Gross Jaeger, he shouldered it, stared through the scope, and took a deep breath. Then he spoke, in a cool, calm, and collected voice.
"Iron Bomb."
A spinning arrow pulsing with energy appeared on his crossbow, so bright that it was nearly blinding. He struggled to control the energy; it was the first time he dared to fuse the two skills together, especially one on a weapon that amplified it so much. Holy Arrow itself was not very powerful, so it was easy to fuse it with Fire Arrow to create Holy Flame. But this was different. All his focus was on controlling the massive amount of energy he had created; he paid no attention to the Tauromacis.
He let fly. The arrow soared across the field, piercing one Tauromacis after another, and with each it, it let out an explosion. The explosion didn't cause the arrow to disintegrate, however. Each beast was struck once when it tore through it, and once when there was an explosion. The explosions were so large that they even reached Athena Pierce. Finally it reached the Bowmistress. The arrow hit her, and she immediately disappeared into the darkness. And it didn't end there. It continued traveling past her. When the arrow hit the end, the wall, there was an immense explosion, so bright that he had to shield his eyes from it. When it was over, he saw the "dent" it had made. It was easily twice as large as the one behind him. Perhaps even three times as big.
He walked across the place slowly, picking up the Black Charms one by one and retrieved his weapons as well.
When the last Black Charm had been placed into his hand, he saw a glowing "hole" in the middle of the place. It was a portal. Placing everything into his bag, he hauled it with him and disappeared through the hole.
He reappeared in Sleepywood town.
There weren't many people in the area. The few people that were there didn't even notice his arrival and presence. Walking past a Magician, he continued to hauling the bag of equipment. When he got outside, it was only slightly before noon. He continued toward the Nautilus.
"Ah, you're back," said Kyrin. "I trust that the fight went well?"
"Sort of," replied Phil.
She laughed, and then asked, "Do you have the Black Charms?"
Phil nodded and took them out. She handed them to Kyrin, and she produced five Necklaces of Strength. Phil took them and placed them inside the smaller bag with the Dark Crystals.
-X-
A half hour later, he was in El Nath. He dragged the bag along, all the way to the 3rd Job residency. When he entered, he said nothing. The five began pondering amongst themselves what class he exactly was, until he produced the scroll.
Roberia gasped. He handed over the Necklaces. Without another word, he left for the Holy ground for the Necklaces of Wisdom.
Rene turned to Roberia and asked "Who was he? And what's that scroll?"
Roberia told her, as well as Arec, Tylus and Pedro.
Meanwhile, Phil gave the Dark Crystals, one by one, to the talking rock, and got a Necklace of Wisdom in return for each of the Crystals. He then headed back to the Residency.
Handing over the Necklaces of Wisdom to each of the Instructors, they moved to the back of the room where there was a safe. As each Instructor chanted a spell, a layer of the safe melted away—a total of five layers in all. Inside the safe was a book with the thickness of around 10 times what a regular 3rd job skill book would have been.
They handed the heavy book over to Phil, placing it on a table. There was nothing written on the cover; the cover was blank. So was the first page, and the second, and the third, and the…
Phil flipped through the entire book. Everything was blank. There was no writing whatsoever anywhere
"Is this some kind of joke?" he asked. He couldn't keep the scorn out of his voice.
Roberia looked over and realized their mistake. He called the other four over, and one by one they began chanting another spell. Slowly, words began to appear on the cover and the pages, as well as pictures. A few minutes later, the book was filled with words and pictures.
"Oh," said Phil, not sure whether to be astonished, thankful, or what.
He flipped through the book once more. He saw words and pictures for every skill and technique for all 12 3rd job ranks. However, they only occupied half the book. So what was the other half?
He reached the beginning of the next half. The first page had a title, just as if it was the cover of the book.
On it, there was an "A" with a cross-hairs. He flipped through that section of the book and realized they were the skills and techniques for an Agent. Most of them he didn't understand, but was sure that Agent Marco would clarify for him. He placed the book into the bag, and hauled it away, heading back to the Nautilus.
When he reached the Nautilus, he went straight to Kyrin and showed her the huge book.
"Did you have any trouble?" asked Kyrin.
"Just a little," replied Phil.
She laughed again, and then said "I have something for you, too."
As Phil wondered what it was, she inserted a key into a complicated looking lock. Inside were a screen and a number of keys and knobs that looked as complicated as the Nautilus Command Board.
Kyrin muttered something to herself as she began pushing the buttons and turning the knobs. She placed a hand on the screen as some sort of fingerprint scanning matrix was activated, examining the hand that had been placed there. There was a beeping noise as a number of the red lights turned green, and a second lock opened automatically. Inside was a rifle—it looked exactly like the one Agent Marco had, except it was black instead of silver.
She handed it to him, along with a Warp Card. "Here," she said. "I'm pretty sure you know what this is. And even if you don't, Dr. Kim and Agent Marco can tell you about it. See you around."
Phil thanked her, and then went through the portal once more.
"Ah, you're back," said Dr. Kim when he reappeared inside the Omega Sector Command Center. "Did everything go alright?"
"I guess you can say that."
Dr. Kim just nodded, and said "Agent Marco is outside waiting for you" Phil thanked him and went outside, bag in one hand and rifle in the other.
Agent Marco was, again, talking to General Maestro and Jr. Officer Medin. However, he stopped when he saw him, and went over to greet his student.
"Congratulations," said Agent Marco, shaking his hand. "There's something I want to give you." They went inside the Omega Sector where there was a set of cloth armor just like Agent Marco's.
"Before I tell you about the armor, let be explain what the Laser Rifle is capable of. The Laser Rifle has many functions and features. The right side has a rocket launcher, used with a specific kind. The rockets are quite small. The left side has a micro-ton bomb launcher. The bombs are very small, and are not very heavy either. This allows you to carry many with you."
"The top has a digital sniper scope with a light targeting system. The targeting system has an auto zoom-in, and a HUD, or heads-up display."
"Along with that light, it contains a floodlight as well, useful for illuminating dark areas. If you don't want to use the floodlight to give yourself away, then you can use the stealth light; it is an infrared light that sort of gives you night vision. More on that later."
"This here," he said, pointing to what seemed like a dent. "Is a laser pistol holder." He took out one of them. "These are small, and easier to carry around. Sometimes, in an emergency, you will not have time to pull out your Laser Rifle. The laser pistol is a quick-draw weapon. It too has a few functions. It will show you later."
"Along with the micro-ton bomb launcher," continued Agent Marco. "Is a grenade launcher. You may want to launch an explosive that has a bigger boom that a micro-ton bomb."
"The side opposite of the laser pistol holder contains a concealed buzz saw. It can spin up to a thousand rpm; that is, a thousand revolutions per minute."
"The rear end of the Rifle has a concealed drill. It too can spin up to a thousand rpm."
"Right in the front is a concealed bayonet. Good for stabbing things."
"Seems like there are a lot of concealed things here," replied Phil. Marco just smiled.
"And finally, the whole thing has a titanium-alloy cover. Lightweight, yet tough. At short range, you can use it as a battering weapon, thought I don't recommend you do it often, especially since you have all the other abilities at your disposal."
Agent Marco showed him the laser pistol. "It too has a light targeting system. However, its primary feature is the grappling hook. The hook has a hundred yards of wire. The hook is closed when inside, but will open when fired. Along with 'grappling,' it has a spike in the middle, so you can just fire it straight into a wall or something. Very useful in climbing; the rope is an extremely high-tensile material, capable of pulling weights up to 500 pounds." He glanced at Phil, grinned, and added "Not that it would ever have to pull a weight that heavy."
He now turned over to the rest of the equipment. "This," he explained. "Is an Ultimate Agent Suit. It has been magically and scientifically reinforced. And it looks good, too." He took down a pair off gloves. "These are Agent Gloves. They enhance your attacking ability, as well as providing a small HP boost." He removed a pair of shoes. "Ultimate Agent Shoes," he said. They enhance all of your abilities. Then he handed him a pair of receivers. "These two are an Agent Receiver and a Titanium Receiver. The Titanium Receiver contains the microphone and speaker, and the Agent Receiver receives and sends the signals. These have direct links to the Omega Sector and other Receivers. The range is very far, so it is hard for you to become out of reach. These enhance your abilities as well
Phil put them on. Each time he put one on—even the Receivers—he felt an energy that was almost equivalent to that of leveling up.
Then Agent Marco handed him a pair of sunglasses.
"This," he said. "May look like an ordinary pair of sunglasses. However, they have many functions. First of all, it ironically has night vision. This is the stealth light I was talking about; it helps enhance this item's night vision even further. Second, it has a scanning function that allows it to receive information about whatever you are seeing. The information will be displayed on the HUD, or Heads up Display, that it has. The targeting system also goes along with it."
"It also has X-ray, a heat sensor, and extremely high magnification. Lastly, it is wirelessly connected to that Laser Rifle. And of course, it has UV protection."
Phil weighed it in his hand. It didn't seem much heavier than an ordinary pair of shades.
"It's got more," added Marco. "But those are a lot more complex. What I said will do for now."
More? Phil looked at the sunglasses. So small, yet so powerful…
Agent Marco could see that his student was bewildered by all the new equipment. "Don't worry," Marco said. "You won't have to memorize everything today. And now…" Agent Marco turned around and picked up a sort of badge. "You are now an official Agent." He said, placing the item in Phil's hand. It had the same design as the "cover" the book had for the skills of an Agent. Phil put it on over the rest of the clothing. Even the badge gave him an energy that was similar to leveling up.
"There won't be anymore training today. I think you've done enough fighting for one day, especially that whole ordeal of 'five on one'. You may go rest up, or do whatever you wish. However, I want you to come out at 9:30 P.M.; there is something I want to talk to you about."
9:30 P.M. That was nighttime. Why on earth would he want to talk to him at that time? Probably a surprise quiz or something, thought Phil.
He spent most of his time reading the huge book, making himself look at the skills of the five classes before he went over to the second part. He fell asleep after a while, but woke up at 9:00. He looked at another few skills, then, looking at the clock, saw it was 9:27 P.M. He put the book down on his bed and went outside.
Agent Marco was already standing there, looking at the sky. This night, the sky was filled with stars. There was also a soft breeze. There was nobody else around; it seemed that everyone had gone to sleep.
"Ah, glad you could make it," said Agent Marco. "I was afraid you would be asleep."
"Well, I guess I'm the kind of person who does anything anyone tells me to do."
Agent Marco threw his head back and laughed. "Yes, you do seem like that kind of person."
"What were you going to tell me?" asked Phil.
"Well to start things off… do you see those stars in the sky?" Phil nodded, looking upwards himself.
"It takes millions, perhaps even billions, of years for their light to reach us. Whenever you look at the stars, you are looking into the past."
Phil tried to look interested. He was, really, but it didn't catch him like all that equipment did.
"Lasers are a type of light. Light is a type of energy, and it has been with us ever since the beginning of time. The speed of light is the fastest thing known to man, traveling at 299,792,458 meters per seconds; yet, it takes such a long time for them to reach us; the stars are that far away."
There was a soft breeze as the grass swayed in the wind.
There was a sad smile on the teacher's face; sad, yet filled with hope.
He looked at his student. "I was once the last of the Agents for a long time, extinct for eternity. There seemed to be no hope. After I was gone, the legacy of the Agents would be lost to the sands of time. Very little was written about them. They were once such a huge and power organization, and, as I have told you, a secret one. But now…I have you. Your courage, consistency, and optimism have often brought me back to my childhood years."
He looked at him. Phil was now absorbed in what he was saying while staring at the sky with a hypnotized look.
Phil finally broke away from his stare and asked him "What…classes are you? You must have at least two. You told me that the definition of an Agent was they were composed of at least two classes."
Agent Marco sighed, then said, "At first, I was a Bowman. I chose the path of the Crossbowman. However, I ended up liking speed more than power. So I…I managed to sneak into Kerning City and get Dark Lord's approval for becoming a Thief. He knew I was already a Crossbowman. However, he noted my speed and stealth, so he granted me the power of the Thieves. For the Thief, I chose the path of the Assassin, for had always favored long-ranged attacks over short-range. I was taken in as an Agent. In the end, I had learned the full extent of both of the paths' skills, all the way to Night Lord and Marksman. I made friends with the other Agents that were their. But they decided they wanted to have a normal life and settle down, so they eventually left. I was the only one who stayed behind. I then commenced to learn every single skill in every book. I may not be an expert for each of them, but I'm competent, according to General Maestro and Jr. Officer Medin.
"Why were you always talking to them? And what were you talking about?" asked Phil.
"About your future," replied Marco. "There were many things that need to be discussed and planned, such as your advancement, what you should be taught, and other things."
"Why are all the aliens still here? You're strong enough to eliminate them all yourself."
Agent Marco tapped Phil on the head as responded, "Because I knew someone like you would need to train on them."
There was another soft breeze, a zephyr, and the grass swayed once more.
On an impulse, Phil asked, "What level are you? And, if you don't mind, how old are you?"
"For my age, I am 72 years old." Phil was shocked. Marco didn't seem much older than 40; maybe his late 30s or early 40s. Marco could see the surprise of his student. "That is why I was so worried about the legacy of the Agents."
"As for my level…I lost count after I reached 450."
"450?!" Maybe he had heard it wrong maybe he said 150.
"Yes, 450," Replied Marco calmly, already knowing his student would be surprised. "An Agent is able exceed level 200. There have even been records of some reaching a thousand."
Phil was astonished for several moments, and then went back to staring at the night sky.
"Level 70 is a huge landmark in training, especially for someone employed as an Agent. The skills you will now learn are more powerful than any of the previous skills. And you will also learn skills that are to be used with the primary weapon of the Agents." He tapped his own weapon. "The Laser Rifle."
"Yes, sir," Phil said, nodding.
"Tomorrow, there will be a day of rest…the day after tomorrow…a new stage of training will start."