The next day, they were once again ready to set off. Before they did, however, Luke pulled Kyle aside, away from Caille and Igna. “A word?” he asked, shooting a quick glance around to make sure no one was listening. Kyle narrowed his eyes. What was this about? “Look, I heard from Caille that you were a solo player normally. Is that true?” Kyle nodded. “Yeah, I don’t have a group I play with.” Also, he was stuck in the game, but there was no need to bring that up now. Luke didn’t need to know that. “I assumed as much. That black knight who killed me before was your summon, right?” Kyle nodded, he was right. “I did some research last night since you seemed to be the strongest of us. Maybe except for Caille and Igna.” He sighed. “Summoners don’t have any healing spells, that’s what I found out. You need to find a summon who can do that for you.” Kyle nodded. “I’m aware, but we haven’t found any enemies that can hea

The cast metal doors towered over them. There was something eerie about them, but Kyle couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He shook his head and decided to ignore the doors and their odd eeriness. “I can summon the Fallen Knight.” He suggested, looking at Igna and Caille. Both women shook their heads. “It’s a boss fight. Let’s see how we fare, and you can decide during the battle.” Igna stretched her arms, then smirked. “Let’s give this a try.” She said with a cheerful voice. Caille nodded, then approached the door and put her hands against the metal. “Here goes nothing!” She said as she pushed the doors open. A loud, ear piercing creak sounded as the doors slowly swung open, revealing the grand hall behind them. At first glance, it looked no different than a usual hall of a usual cathedral. If they ignored the flaming altar, that is. And the unconscious man chained to a pillar off to the side. That had to be the fallen angel Luke had told him about!

“No!” A powerful voice echoed. Reality seemed to shatter before Kyle as a flaming portal appeared in the air. The Priestess of the Golden Flame stepped out of it, along with the Fallen Knight Aoris. “Sacred Flame’s Protection!” The Priestess spoke. Her voice echoed in the grand hall, it radiated with power and authority. A golden cocoon of flames enveloped Kyle and Caille, as well as his two summons. The Beast’s flames hit the cocoon, and while Kyle felt their heat, the flames themselves didn’t come close to getting though the protection of the Priestess’ spell. “I will deal with it, keep them safe!” The Fallen Knight Aoris exclaimed as she gripped the hilt of her claymore. She dashed forward, out of the cocoon. Her armoured steps echoed in the grand hall as she rushed at the Beast of the Golden Flame. She leapt into the air as the beast raised the sharp blade of its greatsword. She used its bent knee as a steppingstone and propelled herself even higher up. A

  About three days had passed since Kyle claimed the plateau as his own. The first day was a less productive day where the Priestess simply gave Kyle and Caille a tour of the cathedral. There were many secrets hidden within these walls still, but what they saw made them plenty happy. On the second day, help arrived. Mainly, a certain loud Lich, and a shockingly large number of skeletons, along with a convoy of elves and a band of rowdy dwarves. Caille’s eyes nearly popped as she saw them arrive. “A Lich?” Caille had exclaimed. “How the hell do you have a Lich for an ally?!” She shouted. Kyle laughed, then told her of the first encounter between him and Cacophus. Caille was at a loss for words, though she did spend a lot of time with the lich afterwards. Now, it was the fourth day, and things were going as smoothly as they could. The elves had decided to settle down below the cliffs, in the forest where Caille, Ign

“Enough.” Caille’s sharp voice echoed. The Fallen Knight Aoris immediately pulled Kyle away from the tree, and as soon as she did, his draining mana stopped. He held onto the knight and took a few deep breaths as he waited for his light headedness to disappear. Only after he felt he could think straight again did he look at the tree. The Evertree, in fact. His own, little evertree. The tree had formed quite an impressive trunk. It was at least four meters in diameter, and thick, sturdy roots had broken through the slabs on the ground, penetrating deeper into the earth. Two such roots once again exited the ground not far from the tree, creating some sort of a vessel each. “That’s where you’ll put the cores.” Caille pointed at the vessels. Kyle nodded. He approached the first one and touched the sturdy wood. It was a beautiful colour; darker, yet beautiful. He reached for his inventory and took out the Horn of the Equine God. As he placed it on the vess