The priests returned to their positions once all the candles had been lit, and they immediately resumed their prayer. None of them had any idea that Ezra was right there in the room with them, but one wrong move could give him away. As the priests closed their eyes and folded their hands to ask the Goddess for forgiveness, a heavy voice echoed within the walls of the inner sanctum. “I see your sad plight, and it breaks my heart, children. But fear not, for light shall always drive out the shadows and cleanse the land of all evil!” Startled by the unexpected voice, the priests opened their eyes and stared at the idol of the Goddess. “Who…who are you?” one of the older priests finally asked, gathering his courage. “I am Aranya, the God of Creation!” the voice replied. “As Ishani’s elder brother, it is my duty to protect her and guide her followers when they stray from her path. But I am afraid her light is dwindling from your world.” Ezra quickly unleashed two controlled bursts of
Headstrong and determined, Ezra set off to look for the last missing component without paying any heed to Marlin’s repeated warnings. As the night darkened, the clouds gradually drifted away, letting the moon bathe the streets in its dim glow. Most of the patrolling guards had retired to the barracks by now, and the few who were still on active duty were starting to yawn. Since Aranor had not come under any direct attack and the undead hadn’t been spotted on the nearby roads, the guards had become complacent. The prophecy meant little to them, and many even thought it was another lie to keep the people faithful to Ishani. Ezra stuck to the shadows, carefully avoiding the street lamps and bright windows as he traversed the dimly lit streets with the wind still howling outside. As Ezra finally reached the old part of town, the last of the patrolling guards disappeared in the distance. Most of them preferred not to go near the merfolk, and the only ones posted to watch over this gate
As the night darkened, fleecy gray clouds drifted over the Erubean Plains, and the restless wind whistled from the east, carrying with it the damp stench of rotting mushrooms. Ezra had a tall task ahead of him, with no one to rely upon except the Gunsmith bound to his arm. Unlike the town guards patrolling the streets of Aranor, the Skeletal Warriors looked vigilant and prepared. And since they had been tasked with guarding the tomb by a higher entity, there was no way to lure them away from the area. Ezra peeked around the rock he was hiding behind and carefully observed their patrol routes for a minute. The Skeletal Warriors seemed to be moving back and forth at regular intervals and occasionally turning to their left to observe the area outside. Meanwhile, the Skeletal Archers were standing still with rusty iron-tipped arrows drawn over their longbows, ready to let loose at a moment’s notice. Though threatening in a large group, these lowly undead were the least of Ezra’s con
[New Shooting Objective Acquired: Eliminate the Beholder while under the effect of a dark curse!] [Note: Contracting multiple curses will provide a greater reward!] The throbbing red eye darkened as it glared at Ezra and the Beholder’s twisted black lips parted to reveal a slippery red tongue dripping with saliva. Ezra fired his weapon without a second thought, unleashing a volley of magic bullets at the enemy. But the Beholder’s psionic shield absorbed the flashy blue projectiles, rendering Ezra’s attack utterly ineffective. Without giving Ezra any chance to retaliate, the Beholder rushed at him. “Magic Burst!” Ezra shouted, pointing his right palm toward the Beholder. But his skill failed to activate. Thwack! A slimy green tentacle lashed out at Ezra, smacking him away and sending him flying into the marble pillar behind. The impact from the blow nearly broke his back, leaving him groaning in pain. Blood trickled from the corners of Ezra’s mouth as he tried to get back on
The fight with the Beholder had left Ezra bruised and battered, but he quickly put all that behind as the newly acquired skill piqued his interest. “Use skill: Shadow Gun!” Ezra exclaimed, raising his right hand, but a searing pain made him clench his fist and drop to his knees. “What the…hell is happening.” “I believe the curse is still active. You cannot use any skills before cleansing your body. The shackles will tighten their grip every time you try to use a skill,” Marlin explained. “You need to visit a shrine and seek the aid of a priest. Only they can dispel dark curses like these.” Ezra swiped to his Gunner profile and tapped on the ‘status effect’ panel. [Two curses contracted:] [1. Shackles of the Fallen.] [2. Trembling Trauma.] [Effects:] [1. All shooting skills are disabled.] [2. Accuracy reduced by 60%.] Ezra was surprised by the last line displayed on his system panel. “I remember my accuracy took a 50% hit. How did that number suddenly increase?” “That was qui
Never in his wildest dreams would Ezra have thought about raiding an elven tomb in the middle of the night. But his perilous adventure had been fruitful. Not only had he acquired all the crafting components for the new weapon, but also managed to get his hands on a rare soul gem. “Congratulations, my dear Lord. Your persistence finally paid off,” Marlin greeted Ezra as he gazed at the items in his inventory. This nightly escapade had turned out to be quite rewarding for Ezra. Now all he needed to do was find a way to cleanse his body and get rid of the curses before returning home. Ezra returned the dagger to the elven king’s corpse, and drew the lid over the coffin, closing it shut. Putting the dead elf back to rest, he headed up the stairs and climbed out of the tomb. By now, the clouds drifting across the sky had disappeared, and the crescent moon was visible again along with its retinue of twinkling stars. As Ezra walked out of the ruin, he felt a tremor run along his spine.
By the time Ezra and Aurelia returned home, Lord Sebastian and the others had already gone to sleep. It saved Ezra the trouble of having to explain himself to his father, but Aurelia still remained cold to him. “Good night, sister,” Ezra wished her, hoping she would return the courtesy, but her words remained measured. “Night,” she replied curtly as she walked back to her room. Marlin was starting to enjoy this family drama, and he could not help but mock Ezra. “Oh, the poor little boy…Losing his only friend in the world. Must feel sad?” “Aurelia still loves me and cares for me,” Ezra replied. “She’ll never give up on me.” Marlin wanted to amuse himself a while longer by taunting Ezra, but he once again proved to be more mature than Marlin had expected him to be. As soon as Ezra was back inside his own room, he shut the door and set to work on his Gunsmithing workbench. Retrieving all the crafting components from his inventory, he put them on the table. He selected the blueprint
In the dead of the night, when the clock was about to strike three, Ezra woke up with a start, feeling a searing pain in his right leg. As he parted his eyelids, in the dim glow of the night lamp he spotted something black and slimy squirming on his wooden door. “What the hell!” Ezra sat up straight and tried to pull his leg free, but something pulled it back. He quickly threw his quilt aside, and his eyes widened in horror as he discovered a writhing mass of tarry black tentacles wrapped around his leg like vines. “Let go of me!” Ezra kicked the squirming tentacles with his free leg, but a second pair of tentacles grabbed his left leg as well, binding him in place. The more Ezra struggled, the more the tentacles constricted. Soon, they cut off the blood flow to his thighs, and Ezra felt his legs going numb. The squirming mass of slimy black tentacles covering the keyhole, spread all across the door, blocking Ezra’s only exit. It slowly spread to the surrounding walls, growing new