Chapter Five

Disclaimer

I don't own Mabinogi nor any NPC's connected. Either Devcat or Nexon does.

A/N

In this chapter you will see the full scope of my knowledge of Mabinogi history. I have played the game almost since the beginning of its introduction after beta. I know how it was and I know how it changed over the years. I still love the dream but some things changed for the worse as you will see.

"To change the subject, you mentioned that there are other things you done for me. Could you please expand on those?" I ask while taking a seat on a nearby couch.

Nao looked at the Goddess who nodded her head. "Well for starters you saw your inventory earlier. Did you notice the Nao stones and the Bombs?"

Indeed I did so I nodded affirmatively.

"Well from now on you will or shall I say can have a maximum of three Nao stones in your inventory at one time period. As you might have guessed, the store is unavailable to you since you are not being able to procure any Karma Koin cards to purchase any NX. To compensate for this we have given you free premium membership. As you realize the service has changed over the years to it being barely a joke. We have given the best it has ever been. With it, you can earn up to a maximum of three Nao stones at a time. If you use one, you will earn it back by staying online for one game day. Since you cannot log off and constantly online, that means you have free access to Nao stones all the time without paying for it. The bombs in your inventory work the exact same way."

I was flabbergasted when they explained this to me. It was the late great premium service they had when Mabinogi first started. I was upset when they changed the service around so the Nao was not part of the service or the bombs for that matter. What good was the service without the best part of the service ripped out? Now the Militants had to pay extra if they wanted Nao to resurrect them and for the bombs. Now I was told I had that part of the service back. Again, I realized it was only for me and not for the other militants.

However, something about their wording was bugging me. Those words were it was free to me. I know nothing is free. There was a catch coming. Instead of waiting, I had to asked, "What do I have to do in exchange for this service. Surely you don't expect me to really believe that all this is for free?"

Nao sighed, "When you crossed over in the Soul Stream it caused a bug to surface in the programming that the programmers will never truly be aware of. The bug happened because of how you got here and also by your actually being here. They only way to purge the bug is to get rid of the source meaning…"

"Meaning my very existence would be eradicated," I finished. Nao nodded I guessed right. That was a very scary thought. I would no longer exist. Already I am feeling the emotional pain of my existence in rl is gone, now my existence in the fantasy life would be gone as well. I teared up thinking about the worse.

After I composed myself I stated, "I suppose it's my responsibility to eradicate these bugs. Let me guess, they take the form of mutated fomors?"

The goddess voice seemed saddened as she said, "Not just fomors, the bugs could be a mutated NPC of a majestic and sacred animal. In most cases, once the system resets itself during maintenance the eradicated NPC will be reinstated. However there will be rare instances where the eradicated infected entity will not be reinstated."

I caught what she was not wanting to say, "You are talking about infected militants or players. I will have no choice to eradicate them but once done they are eradicated for good."

"Unfortunately yes, Jack. However the Oracle that predicted these events said that infected militants will be extremely rare," clarified Nao.

"Wait! All this is some sort of prophecy. It can be up for interpretation?"

The goddess got angry at this, "Unlike in the militant's world, Prophecy here is extremely accurate. From what I know of that world there is hardly any magic left. Prophecy there is merely guesswork outside of Nostradamus. Here Prophecy is serious business."

I decided to change the subject, "I need some time alone to think." I bowed to the Goddess. "Thank you for your time, milady." I turn to Nao. "Will you please return me to Erinn if it is alright with the Goddess?"

The scenery shifted again and I found myself in the exact same spot I was in before hitting the rebirth button. Geez I have to fight unbelievable tough monsters now, the existence of which I am sure must remain a secret. Talk about pressure. I said I needed time alone but if Danster is on then all the better. I checked and he was.

I touched this name and the IM box popped up. I was at a loose since I still was without a keyboard. I then remembered that some of this stuff is verbal now. I tried to speak a few words but nothing. Then I wondered if I should be touching the box as I said a few word. Well that worked perfectly. We were able to have the following conversation:

Jack: Hi!

Danster: Hi! It looks like you figured out a few things. Congratz! : )

Jack: Yep : ) . I spoke to Nao and the Goddess

Danster: YOU ACTUALLY GOT AN AUDIENCE WITH THE GODDESS! We all see her in cut scenes but to actually have a one on one conversation with her, You got to be pulling my leg.

Jack: I am not, hehe. If you are not doing anything currently, come to my homestead and we can talk.

Danster: Sorry : ( I just stared a daily SW.

Danster telling me this stilled my heart. I sometimes join him on these missions for they are a source of AP as well other goodies. However, there is a huge reason I can't do that so I cut my transmission short with Danster. Big mistake on my part though for when I exited my homestead I was instantly teleported into his Shadow Mission.

I looked angrily at my friend, Danster. "You jerk! You friend teleported me, Didn't you? I still don't know how to fight in my new situation. I bet this is hard mode too. Man you really done it to me this time."

Danster just took a step back, "Sorry about that but you did not answer me so I took that as meaning you would like to join in on the fun. Why don't you exit and wait for me?"

Suddenly Nao appeared in front of Jack. I quickly glanced at Danster and noticed he could not see her. "You can't leave Jack."

I did not like the tone Nao took, "Don't tell me …"

"In this very Shadow Mission a glitched fomor will appear. It is your duty now to take care of it."

My heart did flip flops, "Nao, I am not prepared to do this yet. I still don't know how to fight in my new situation much less take care of something that by all indication would be invincible."

Nao laughed, "Who said it would be invincible? Your spirit weapon will be able to kill it. In fact, only your spirit weapon will be able to kill or cleanse such creatures. As for knowing how to fight you better figure it out quickly." She then disappeared.

Danster noticed my blank expression, an expression he seen before on people who was scared to death. "What is it Jack?"

Somehow, I found the strength to speak, "Nao was just here. She told I can't leave this Shadow Mission. She told me this Shadow Mission difficulty level just went up ten levels."