[{Merging requires 25,000 black shards}]
The sight made her heart sink however recalling that it was an epic item, she couldn't fuss to much about it. Glancing at her balance for currency, she found it be laughable with the amount demanded from her.
[{6,000 black shards}]
With a flick of her fingers, she looked at her statistics.
[{Player: Lyssara}]
[{Level:1}]
[{Innate skill: Black flame- A flame that burns through eternity with no pause, reminiscent of the abyss once before}]
[{Weapons: Estoc}]
[{Active Skills: Echo Step}]
[{Passive Skills: Predator's Calm}]
[{Utility Skill: Vampiric Mark}]
[{Charm: The Abyss's reminiscent}]
[{Artifact: Ember veil Sigil I - Epic}]
[{Favor: Personally favored by the Creators of the world}]
[{Black Shards: 6,000}]
She tilted her head in amusement, a faint smirk forming on her lips as she saw her growth come to be. 'It's not much now but I'll be a monster by the end of this game.' She muttered to herself before glancing at her own hands. 'However will I still be the same person?'
A question that lingered in her mind alongside many others that she wishes Jarren would answer and yet he flashed his smile rather than answer her. "Well thank you..." Her tone turning quizzical. "The name is Eamon." The man mused with a whimsical tone to his voice.
"Well thank you Eamon." Lyssara chuckled awkwardly before she made her way to the final elite of the floor. What Eamon had said stayed in her mind, unsure whether it was one of his games or Eamon was truly a man who had managed to survive and outwit the horror in his own game.
The more she thought about it with her mind recalling of Callista, the less likely it seemed to be. 'With Clomere and Callista, it's unlikely however the chance of him being valid still exists.' Torn between to help the man with the mask or not, she chose to pause for now before revealing the matter to Jarren.
*Shriek*
The death of a rat jolted her back to the game, not from her estoc or crossbow but from her artifact. 'It's a very useful artifact in close quarters combat however if I managed to fuse this with Vampiric Mark, it would have been far better.' The image of the outcome playing out in her mind alongside Coagulated Shard.
However as much as she wished, she knew that the past was nothing more than a memory, she had to focus on what was to come. 'Since it would seem that these elites recall of who I am, I should take it that the last elite will be more problematic than the bat.'
Gritting her teeth, she could already imagine how the fight would play out. 'However given that it's the Gnaw back, it won't be as hard as the Brood mother.' Had it been the Broodgnaw, then she was unsure with the outcome of the fight.
A bat screeched through the air, her face beneath the mask unfazed before a thought crossed her mind.
*Whoosh*
The bat met it's end with a Black Bolt seering through its chest and a lesser mimic came to be. Her gaze intensified and the next second, the bat was no more in the cave.
[{The summon has been vanquished}]
The notification dampening her hopes. 'Looks like that won't work.' Her plan of storing her summons in her inventory a failure as she was sure that she could use such a mechanic as a surprise tactic in heated battles. 'However I'm sure that this skill is far more useful than the highlighted ones.'
With the vagueness of the game, she was sure that her skill had more purpose but so far, nothing had stuck out to her.
[{Player Seryn has died}]
The voice, cold and metallic echoed through the entire halls which made her remember about Seryn. 'I should end this battle fast.' With some summons for the next fight, it wasn't long before she faced the Gnaw back. This time the arena had shifted but not in a way she had expected.
The venue of the cave was back to it's original state which made her guard rise far more than before. 'With such a system, it'll be difficult to foresee any stealth attacks from the damned beast!' She cursed brandishing her tuck from her inventory.
Unlike the Brood mother fight, her summons were still available assuring her that the Gnaw back had no darkness skills to make her flames falter. But this didn't make her loosen her guard as she waited for the Gnaw back to make it's move.
Minutes elapsed and yet the Gnaw back had yet to appear which unnerved her the more it was absent from the fight. 'Where could it be? Or did Jarren overhear the conversation?' That too was a possibility she wasn't sure she would have to keep from him or divulge should the time come.
'I'll ask him then.' She found herself giving in as much as she wanted to know more about Jarren. 'But not so soon.' Still, she wanted to see just how much she could get out of Eamon before his use was done and she used him for points. She hated that she had to validate herself for a monster like Jarren or Callista and yet there she was.
On the stage as the two kept on tugging on her strings to keep on dancing. Just as she was about to lower her estoc, a rumble from the ground drew her attention back to the fight. 'Hiding are we?!' Using her rats to prod the tunnels that would be small for her, muffled explosions began to ripple through the cave.
'Come on out!' Her gaze intensifying as dust began to fill the cave. Still she persisted till she was all out of rats to use as explosives. 'Let's see how long you last in there.' With the tunnels now full of dust, she would be able to fish out the Gnaw back out of hiding.
*Shriek*
It began with a low defiant before followed with a cry for help. Eventually the Gnaw back had no other choice but to come out of hiding. It's frame wheezing from the dust it had inhaled before shooting glares at Lyssara who was ready for a fight, her bats flanking her sides with her eyes locked onto the beast.
Still, the Gnaw back didn't take the initiative as it resorted to watching her with a hateful look before drawing back. 'Is it...is it actually conceding?' The fact taking her by surprise however never once did her guard drop.
*Boom*
She used on of her bats as proxy, the Gnaw back though flinching didn't bother making a move on her.
[{The elite has conceded, you will receive double the experience and shards from this fight}]
The Gnaw back crawled back into its nest as the door opened.
[{Player: Lyssara}]
[{Level:1}]
[{Innate skill: Black flame- A flame that burns through eternity with no pause, reminiscent of the abyss once before}]
[{Weapons: Estoc}]
[{Active Skills: Echo Step}]
[{Passive Skills: Predator's Calm}]
[{Utility Skill: Vampiric Mark}]
[{Charm: The Abyss's reminiscent}]
[{Artifact: Ember veil Sigil I - Epic}]
[{Favor: Personally favored by the Creators of the world}]
[{Black Shards: 12,000}]
Her shares had shot up from six thousand to twelve thousand, a noticeable improvement which brought her closer to her goal.
[{Congratulations on completing the first floor}]
The notification came once more however similar to the last time, there was no more to it confirming her belief about an invisible progression bar the more she fought with tougher opponents. 'Looks like I'll have to go to the second floor however...'
With her mind drifting back to Seryn, her figure flashed back to the entrance of the first floor.
...
"Arghhh!!!! Damn it! Damn you Jarren! Curse you Callista and whoever made this purgatory of a game!!!" That was the first thing Lyssara was exposed to, Seryn lashing out on the weapons rack, her face sour as she sent weapons flying to the ground. Seryn now noticing Lyssara eased a bit however her rage could still be felt with the annoyance in her tone.
"Hello Lyssara." She started off, her chest heaving from the pent up rage brooding inside of her. " I'm fine however I don't take it that you are okay." Silence confirmed her suspicion as she watched Seryn reach for her hair and pull it. "Fuck! Why do those bastards have to make it so hard?! I bet that they are enjoying every second they get to watch me suffer!"
Gnashing her teeth, she tipped the rack forcing herself to take a seat on a nearby rock. Lyssara sat next to her seething frame, her eyes drifting to the weapons haphazardly thrown about before letting out a sigh. "Seryn, you of all people know how they are. This shouldn't be a surprise to you."
Her calm tone greatly contrasting to Seryn's. Silence, not that of peace but the one on the horizon of a storm. "That's easy given that you have to walk around with Jarren across the kingdom while I'm trapped in a cage like an animal forced to play this stupid game for any form of escapism!" Lyssara parted her lips and yet no words came through.
She knew that a sorry wouldn't do much for her, in the end, she could only place her hand on Seryn's back which forced the latter to break from her pants and into something softer. "I just wish... that I would die Lyssara. Why did he give me this curse called consciousness?!" Her words slurred with tears and whimpers.
Still, Lyssara at a loss for words could only keep om comforting Seryn till her tears ceased. "How about I help you to clear the first floor? Would that make you feel better?!" Her words however had the opposite impression with Seryn. "Have you been able to beat it?!" Lyssara could only nod.
"How?! I've been trying and yet it only gets harder each time!" The day prior she was all alone and now Lyssara was making progress while she was still on the first floor. It felt like an insult from Jarren and Callista, watching from the veil beyond to see just how easily she would be able to crack at the absurdity of it all.
"You know that raging won't accomplish much so how about you calm down and let's clear this floor." Lyssara persisted with her calm tone. "How did you beat it?" Seryn's question taking her by surprise. "..." Halting herself from divulging, the silence was more than enough to tell Seryn all she needed to know.
"Tell me Seryn, what part of this is fair?!" Seryn began with her rant once more, Lyssara was sure that another episode would ensue. Lyssara didn't have the time to interject as Seryn went on. "I'm here trying to beat the game as they intend and look at what they reward me with!" Her hands gesturing at her tattered clothes.
Be it in the game or in the real world, both of them left much room to be desired and those responsible barely paid any attention to her. No words, hints, dreams or anything, as if they had forgotten that she existed completely waiting for her to rot. "I'm sure that it'll get better the more you play." Lyssara chimed in however the daggers Seryn shot at her made her fall silent once more.
[{Favor: Mildly Disliked by the Creators of the game}]
The notification felt like a punch to the gut that elicited a helpless chuckle out of her. "It would seem that day is the only way, means that they've ensured I can't take as well." Seryn began to break into slow maniacal laughs that made Lyssara pause at the person seated next to her.
The calm and intrigued beauty was gone, and what took her place was nothing more than hatred, bad luck and post suicidal ideation. "Remember what I said about helping you-" A system notification intercepted her halfway.
[{With the first floor cleared twice, the player Lyssara can no longer go to the first floor again}]
Lyssara now completely speechless paused waiting for some form of reaction out of Seryn. However the lack of left her disturbed than any monster ever would. She looked at her hands before glancing back at a nearby rock.
*Thud*
Without hesitation, she drove the rock into her eye an in an instant the injury healed automatically. Not just the eyes but other parts of the body as well which drove Seryn deeper into her hole of disparity and helplessness.