Will’s outfit was sturdier than usual—brown leather jacket with matching boots, gold stripes at the cuffs and collar, the kind of practical gear that always appeared on his closet shelf when the day required it.
Kellan kept a steady pace beside him, armor bright, grin brighter. “First time you’ve taken the cliff road yourself, Your Highness? They say the air tastes different down here—sharper, like it hasn’t touched the city yet.”
Brat walked a few steps ahead, casually pretending to swat at overgrowth with a baton of conjured light. “That’s because the devs never updated the particle filter. These cliffs are leftovers from the base build—Haven 0.9. Pre-Elysion. Less polish, more teeth.”
Will adjusted his cuff. “So you’re saying I should worry about falling through the world.”
“Only if gravity gets bored.”
Will snorted. “Comforting.”
The path wound between rock outcroppings crusted with saltgrass and tiny white blooms catching droplets of mist. The sea whispered only a few yards below, blue and endless. As they stepped beyond the city boundary, a faint shimmer touched the upper left of Will’s vision—the minimap unfurled into neat gold lines, tracing coastline and cliffside in real time. Belhaven shrank behind them while new terrain sketched itself ahead.
When the trail finally leveled, the entrance appeared: a dark mouth where the cliff bowed inward, rimmed in pale crystal that glittered in the half-light. Cold air breathed from within, carrying the metallic tang of deep earth.
Brat’s voice dropped. “Boundary trigger ahead. Solo instance. Once you step in, party locks.”
Kellan, unaware of the deeper protocols that governed the game and his behavior, only straightened instinctively. “I will stay and guard this entrance to prevent anyone from following you, Your Highness.”
“Hold the path,” Will said. He clapped the young guard’s shoulder. “If I’m not back by sunset, send a watch party.”
Brat smirked. “Or reload the last save.”
Will shot him a look that managed both affection and warning. Then he faced the cavern, exhaled once.
“Now, my prince,” Brat said, tone half-instruction, half-tease. “Might be a good idea to fetch that Bag of Holding from your inventory.”
Will glanced at him, half shrugged, and summoned the bag.
[ITEM RETRIEVED FROM INVENTORY SLOT 2: BAG OF HOLDING]
“It’s full of survival and camping gear,” Brat said. “Put your hand inside—it’ll recognize you.”
Will slid his hand into the bag. The space inside felt impossibly deep, cool air brushing his wrist as a familiar grid pattern appeared in his mind’s eye—rope, field rations, flint, assorted tools… but expanded well beyond the limits of his normal inventory.
“What am I looking for?”
“The Explorer’s Globe. Top-right slot.”
Will focused; the icon brightened. Weight gathered in his palm as he withdrew a smooth glass sphere the size of an apple.
[ITEM RETRIEVED: EXPLORER’S GLOBE]
“To activate,” Brat said, “say its name and choose brightness. Low output.”
Will murmured the command. The globe flared softly and drifted upward, hovering above his right shoulder, washing warm gold across the cliff face.
“Runs on ambient mana,” Brat said.
“Seems obedient enough.”
“For now. Most things are—until the patch notes catch up.”
Will let the satchel dissolve back into motes of light.
[ITEM STORED IN INVENTORY SLOT 2: BAG OF HOLDING]
He summoned the Royal Sword of Valcairn; the familiar weight pooled into his hand. At his wrist, the bracelet unfurled with its crisp metallic click, expanding into the Royal Buckler, the crest catching the morning sun.
Brat’s expression sharpened. “Ready?”
Will nodded. “Only one way to find out.”
He stepped forward. Boots struck stone.
A gold pulse swept across his vision.
[QUEST ACTIVE: “Echoes Beneath the Cliffs”]
Behind him, mist folded shut like a curtain, muffling the world to hush. Only his footsteps—and the slow drip of moisture—echoed in the dark.
The cavern received him with a faint, low tremor in the stone, subtle enough that he couldn’t be sure it was real.
But something deep inside the cliffs seemed to shift in reply.
Sounds from outside fell away. Water dripped from somewhere high above, steady and patient, falling into black pools that mirrored the soft glow of the Explorer’s Globe. The cavern walls were slick with condensation, threaded with faint veins of blue moss that pulsed like slow breath.
Will stepped into ankle-deep water. His leather jacket and boots shed the surface damp easily, the treated hide beading droplets. A soft blue-green flicker pulsed once from the Traveler’s Sigil Band on his right hand—then faded as the enchantment balanced temperature and humidity. He stayed warm and dry beneath the constant hush of dripping water.
The air had weight and a mineral taste. Brat stood just beside him atop the surface of the shallows—his bare feet resting on the water as if it were glass, without so much as a ripple to mark his weight. He glanced at the ring and nodded. “It’s working. You’d be shivering without it.”
The space widened ahead, lit only by the drifting orb of the Explorer’s Globe. On a nearby wall, beneath patches of moss, faintly carved patterns emerged—angular, deliberate lines partly swallowed by time. Will brushed the moss away.
[SKILL CHECK: ARCANE LITERACY (BASIC)]
[SUCCESS: 37% INTERPRETATION ACCURACY]
A few fractured words surfaced—ashes… remember… waste—before the rest blurred into shifting gibberish.
“Not sure what they’re doing here,” Brat murmured. “Old code—data fossils from a scrapped zone. Someone wanted this place to remember.”
The faint scrape of metal on stone cut through the quiet. Once. Then again.
Will raised his sword. The light behind him threw his shadow long against the wall as he moved forward, shield close at his side. Water brushed around his boots in a low, steady hush.
Iron-colored scales slid into view at the edge of the light—slick as tempered plates, catching dull orange reflections. The first juvenile drake emerged with a low hiss, the size of a wolf, a stubby horn jutting from its brow. It hit fast and low. Will pivoted, caught the strike on his shield, and answered with a short, neat cut across the neck—not fatal, but enough to stagger it.
Two more slipped from an outcropping behind it.
The fight tightened instantly. Shield. Blade. Breath. Will kept his stance narrow on slick stone, timing each block, letting attacks skim away while returning precise cuts. Training-yard rhythms settled into his muscles—steady, controlled.
A claw slipped past the rim of the shield and kissed his forearm. Heat, then sting.
[HP –12 | SURFACE LACERATION]
“Breathe,” Brat said. “You’re fine—keep the blade short.”
Will was already moving. He drove steel up beneath a jaw, felt the creature buckle and dissolve into pixel ash. The next leapt. He met it mid-air, pivoted, and finished it cleanly. The last one darted for his knee—he intercepted, dropped low, and put the sword through its skull.
Silence reclaimed the cavern. Water dripped in patient intervals. The shallow cut on his arm was already sealing; faint runes along his sleeve pulsed as the tear re-stitched itself.
[ENEMIES DEFEATED — JUVENILE DRAKES ×3 | +1,800 XP]
[LEVEL UP → 10]
[LEVEL UP → 11]
[+30 HP +20 SP +10 MP]
[COMMON SKILLS RANK UP → INTERMEDIATE]
[INVENTORY CAPACITY EXPANDED: +2 SLOTS]
[ATTRIBUTE POINT AVAILABLE — ASSIGN 1 POINT TO ANY CORE STAT]
Brat grinned. “Look at that—clean sweep. You’re actually getting good at this.”
Will exhaled, flexing his fingers as the globe’s light drifted across the scattered scales—each one holding a faint ember-glow before fading. “Those prompts,” he said. “Common skills upgrade—what’s that about?”
“System housekeeping,” Brat replied. “Combat skills evolve with class quests. Common ones just tick up every ten levels.”
Will nodded. “And the other one? Attribute point?”
“That one’s manual. You get one every ten. I’d wait till the quest’s done before you spend it. See what you actually need.”
They moved on.
The tunnel sloped deeper, water thinning to a sheen across smooth stone. The chill faded, replaced by a slow, rising heat breathing from somewhere below. The blue moss dimmed. Red radiance rippled faintly across the ceiling.
The ring on Will’s hand flickered once—its work against the damp finished.
The passage opened into a vast chamber. Heat shimmered in the air. Molten pockets of ore glowed within the stone—slow, bleeding rivers of red light. The smell of metal thickened until it sat sharp on the tongue.
A scrape rolled through the space—low, deliberate.
“Bigger,” Brat murmured. “Older. Two of them.”
Shapes shifted in the heat shimmer, massive and deliberate. When they came forward, their outlines solidified—each about the size of a small bear, broader through the chest and heavier across the shoulders than the juveniles, scales dulled and scarred from old fights. Short, hooked horns jutted from their foreheads, dull metal catching the dim red light. Small, withered wings folded tight against their backs, twitching as they moved. Their claws scraped against the rock with a rasp like drawn metal, tails cutting slow arcs through the haze. Every step left shallow grooves in the stone.
The first charged.
Will braced. The impact smashed into his shield, shuddering through his arm.
[HP –26 | IMPACT TRAUMA: Left Arm Numb (3 sec)]
The green HP bar flared beneath the crest. The yellow stamina bar pulsed with each breath.
He countered, steel slipping beneath a raised plate—but the drake twisted, slamming him bodily into the wall.
[HP –42 | STATUS: Dazed (2 sec)]
“Move!” Brat shouted. “Don’t let it stack!”
Will shook himself mentally and rolled aside just as a tail strike shattered stone where his ribs had been. Dust and heat burst across the floor. The second drake lunged; he met it with a shield-bash across the snout, steel screeching against scales.
A vicious rake tore down his side.
[HP –48 | MODERATE CUT | BLEED 5DPS / 6 SEC]
Breath ragged, he steadied. Both drakes circled. Heat shimmered around their movements.
They moved together—one feinting, the other committing. Will answered the real strike, turning in and shearing a deep cut across the first drake’s shoulder. It screamed, orange light pulsing in its throat, but the second lunged from his blind side before he could reset.
[HP –63 | DEEP LACERATION: Right Side]
The world flared red with the impact. Will braced the shield, catching the next follow-up hit, and shoved forward with a roar of his own. The blade drove upward, finding the narrow divide between the scales of its chest and punching through with a burst of heat and resistance.
[CRITICAL HIT]
The drake convulsed, staggered, and collapsed.
The surviving drake circled once—hesitated—and charged. Will stepped aside, pivoted, and drove the sword through the exposed throat joint. The body jerked once and stilled. Its shattered horn clattered to stone before dissolving with the rest.
Quiet returned—broken only by Will’s breathing and the flicker of heat in the chamber. His energy pool bars steadied, regeneration kicking in. Warmth slid beneath his jacket as the lacerations knit closed.
A warning groan trembled through the floor. Pebbles skittered down the wall.
“Not good,” Brat said sharply. “We’ve got instability—geometry’s collapsing.”
Cracks raced across the stone, glowing faint red. The ceiling buckled with a deep, rolling shudder.
“Will—move! There!”
Brat flickered ahead toward a narrow gap between two boulders.
Will sprinted, lungs burning. A tremor slammed him sideways—he caught the wall, shoved off, and ran. A tunnel entrance yawned ahead.
He dove through as the ceiling gave way. Dust swallowed the light. Gravity took him, and he tumbled down a steep incline, eventually slamming flat onto his back. The roaring collapse faded into muffled quiet. The crest pulsed faintly in the corner of his vision.
[QUEST PROGRESS UPDATED]
[LEVEL CALCULATIONS PENDING]
Dust still drifted in slow spirals around him. Will remained where he’d fallen, back against the wall, the taste of iron and grit thick on his tongue. He unbuttoned his jacket against the heat, the air close and heavy. The world still shuddered faintly beneath him, echoes of the collapse fading into the deeper caverns. His sword lay a few feet away, its edge dull in the shifting pale golden light from the Explorer’s Globe hovering nearby.
Brat’s voice cut through the ringing in his ears—sharp, authoritative. “Potions. Now.”
Will didn’t argue. He summoned a Health Potion from his inventory. The glass was cool in his hand. He pulled the cork with his teeth and drank; the familiar taste of apples cut through the stale air, and the vial dissolved to dust as he dropped it. Heat spread through his chest, threading down his arms until the ache in his shoulder eased. The HP bar rose in soft, steady increments before fading from view as it reached full.
He followed with a Stamina Potion—bitter and fizzing, sharp with lemon-citrus bite. Energy flooded back; the heaviness in his limbs lifted, replaced by quiet steadiness.
“Systems stabilized,” Brat said, tone easing from command into something like approval.
Will exhaled, head tipping back against the stone. That’s when he noticed it—the Crest icon in the upper-right of his vision, pulsing faintly gold. “It’s been glowing since the cave came down,” he said. “What’s it doing?”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“The system paused your level-ups,” Brat replied. “Too much chaos. It won’t push new data while something’s actively trying to kill you. You’re clear now.”
At his words, the prompts bloomed across the display, soft light spilling over the walls.
[ENEMIES DEFEATED — MATURE DRAKES ×2 | +3,000 XP]
[LEVEL UP → 12]
[LEVEL UP → 13]
[PROGRESS: 500 / 1300 XP → LEVEL 14]
[+30 HP +20 SP +10 MP]
[INVENTORY CAPACITY EXPANDED: +2 SLOTS]
[PLEASE SELECT ‘ACCEPT’ TO LEVEL UP]
He focused on the glowing button. A soft chime sounded, and energy rippled through him—clean, ordered, structural. Not restoration, but adjustment; strength rebalanced, thresholds raised. His pulse steadied with the interface’s rhythm, then the light faded away.
Will braced a hand on the rough stone and pushed upright. The Explorer’s Globe drifted upward as he stood, its pale glow scattering dust motes into slow sparks.
Brat glanced at the sealed passage behind them. “Geometry’s stable. No retreat trigger. The system doesn’t want you chickening out.”
Will bent to retrieve his sword, the hilt warm against his palm. “Then we keep moving.”
Brat hesitated. “Before we do—there’s something else. I’m picking up an old tag in the local data. ‘Gareth.’ That name shouldn’t exist here.”
Will’s grip tightened. “We’ve heard it before.”
“Yeah,” Brat said quietly. “That’s what worries me.”
The air ahead trembled with heat. Old inscriptions lined the tunnel walls, their grooves catching a faint glow from the light of the Globe.
[SKILL CHECK: ARCANE LITERACY (INTERMEDIATE)]
[SUCCESS: 81% INTERPRETATION ACCURACY]
the Waste calls… Gareth returns
Brat’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not corrupted texture. Someone left this on purpose.”
Will adjusted his stance, sword angled low. “Someone wanted it found.”
They shared a look, then started down the corridor. The floor sloped beneath their boots. A low metallic rumble stirred from somewhere ahead—slow, deliberate, like breath drawn through molten stone.
The Explorer’s Globe floated alongside them as they followed the heat, Will’s footsteps steady as they moved into the waiting heart of the caverns.
They followed the pale circle of the Explorer’s Globe into a wide chamber. Heat pressed close around them, thick and metallic. A single river of molten metal cut the floor in a crooked line, light trembling across broken pillars and slag heaps. The ceiling hung low, catching smoke and heat in a heavy haze. The globe dimmed against the furnace glow but held steady over Will’s right shoulder.
Brat’s voice drifted up behind him, soft but alert. “Mid-tier boss. Level eighteen. Don’t get cocky.”
On a mound of shattered ore, an iron-scaled shape uncoiled, plates flexing as seams pulsed with ember light. A hooked horn rose first, curved and heat-dulled at the edge—the prize Thane needed. Two eyes opened like coals, and behind them a long, ridged tail unfurled across the slag, scraping sparks as it dragged through the dust. From its shoulders, fractured wings spread—metal spars without membrane, glowing faintly where heat bled through their seams.
Will raised his sword and buckler, weight settling instinctively into his stance.
The Iron Drake answered with fire.
A focused stream of white-hot fire lanced across the chamber, tracking from one wall to the other in a blinding horizontal arc. Will dove behind a fallen pillar as the blast struck, the concentrated pressure colliding against the stone with a thunderous crack. The air turned molten. Heat bled through the surface, and molten dust hissed down the pillar’s face, leaving trails of dull orange light.
Brat’s voice stayed even. “Watch for patterns. Time it—he pauses about three seconds after each burst.”
Will waited, heartbeat steady, the roar fading to a low rumble. He exhaled, counting. “One… two… three.” He edged partway from cover.
The drake’s head snapped toward the movement, eyes flaring bright. Another burst of fire erupted.
Will jerked back, the stone shuddering under the force. Stone cracked, sending chips and ash skittering around his boots.
On the next lull, he leaned out again—just far enough to see the drake’s head turned away now, scanning the far side of the room.
He moved.
Three quick strides through the haze, and his blade cut across the exposed neck, sparks scattering where steel met scale. The drake roared, molten light flashing along the seams of its plates, and twisted with terrifying speed.
Its tail swept low across the ground. Will brought up the buckler, the impact slamming through his shoulder and numbing his arm.
[HP –34 | IMPACT TRAUMA: Shield Arm Strained (3 sec)]
He dropped into a roll under the returning arc as the tail smashed the wall behind him, stone splintering in a shower of slag. Then the floor heaved—tail slamming down, shockwave rippling through the ground. The blast lifted him off his feet and hurled him into the pillar.
[HP –40 | SHOCKWAVE IMPACT]
His vision wavered. Brat’s tone sharpened. “That’s the sequence—fire, tail, slam. You’ve got a pattern now.”
Will flexed his hand, breath steadying. “Then I just have to live through it again.”
The drake’s chest ignited, orange light leaking through seams. Will dove behind a jagged mound of fused slag just as the next torrent of fire tore across the room.
“One… two… three.” He sprinted low through the haze again, striking from the side while the drake searched the opposite flank. The edge bit deeper this time, metal shrieking.
The returning tail cut a wild arc. He ducked—but his boot slipped on loose slag.
[HP –22 | STUMBLE: Knee Impact]
Will hit the ground hard, pain flaring up his leg. Before he could rise, Brat shouted—
“Will—the brooch! Speak the command: Verdant Bind!”
Will snapped a look toward him—confusion flashing for a heartbeat—then his eyes widened as the memory hit. Right. The brooch from the vineyard.
He sucked in a breath and shouted—
“Verdant Bind!”
[BROOCH OF VERDANT GRACE: ACTIVATED]
Vines burst from the cracked stone, whip-fast and luminous, coiling around the drake’s foreleg. They held for only a few heartbeats, stretching and groaning as if the creature’s sheer mass exceeded the spell’s capacity to hold, before finally tearing free—but the stagger they caused was real.
A window. Small, but his.
He reset his angle, slashing the wound again. Cracks spidered through the iron scales, molten blood hissing across the floor.
[ARMOR INTEGRITY BREACHED]
[STRUCTURAL FRACTURE DETECTED]
The drake screamed, tail carving destructive crescents. A glancing edge clipped his flank.
[HP –28 | GRAZE CUT: Right Flank]
He crouched behind the mound, breathing hard. HP hovered near sixty percent. Brat’s voice dropped, almost impressed. “You’re in now—keep pressure. Don’t overrun it.”
He nodded, flexed his arm, and prepared.
With the rhythm understood, he made another full run. As he reached the drake, the creature was already building another fire burst. Will’s sword plunged into the fractured plates at the neck, molten light spilling from the seam.
The drake spun, tail smashing stone. The edge clipped his shoulder.
[HP –26 | IMPACT TRAUMA | BALANCE LOSS (1 sec)]
He staggered but kept moving, heat rolling over him as flames raked the air.
[HP –42 | SCORCH DAMAGE]
He came up inside its guard, buckler deflecting a claw, and thrust upward beneath the jaw where molten light leaked through.
[CRITICAL STRIKE — VITAL POINT]
The roar fractured into static. The Iron Drake convulsed, molten veins pulsing once before fading to black. It collapsed, dragging smoke and heat with it. Slag hissed and cooled across the ground.
Silence followed.
[BOSS DEFEATED — IRON DRAKE]
[+4,350 XP]
[LEVEL UP → 14]
[LEVEL UP → 15]
[LEVEL UP → 16]
[+45 HP +30 SP +15 MP]
[INVENTORY CAPACITY EXPANDED: +3 SLOTS]
[ATTRIBUTE POINT AVAILABLE — PENDING ASSIGNMENT]
Breathing hard, he pulled a Health Potion and drank. Warmth spread through his limbs, his HP rising in steady pulses. He exhaled slowly, the weight of the fight settling.
The molten light around the corpse shimmered, revealing a curved item along with an oblong form amid the slag.
He crouched.
The horn was warm and heavy, etched with faint runes.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: IRON DRAKE’S HORN]
[RARITY: EPIC]
[TYPE: QUEST ITEM]
[EFFECT: Key component for weapon reforging.]
[ITEM STORED IN INVENTORY SLOT 3]
Next, was an egg—veined with emberlight, warm in his palm.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: IRON DRAKE EGG]
[RARITY: LEGENDARY]
[TYPE: UNKNOWN]
[EFFECT: ???]
Brat’s voice went soft. “That… wasn’t scripted.”
“Then it’s ours now,” Will said, storing it.
Finally, beneath where the egg lay, a lone scorched scale.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: IRON DRAKE’S SCALE]
[RARITY: RARE]
[TYPE: TROPHY]
[EFFECT: None]
Will exhaled, his chest heaving as the last burn of adrenaline faded into the heavy quiet of the cavern. The silence didn't last long; a faint tremor rolled through the floor, followed by the heavy, rhythmic groan of stone shifting against stone. Ahead, a jagged seam in the far wall split open, sliding aside to reveal a narrow passage. A draft of cool, dusty air spilled into the chamber, cutting through the furnace-heat like a mercy.
[ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGER — QUEST EXIT UNLOCKED]
Brat nodded toward the opening. “Door just popped. Quest wants you topside.”
Will rose, rolling his shoulders as the Explorer’s Globe brightened in the new airflow. “Let’s get out of here.”
Brat’s grin softened into something human. “Good work, Will. That one was earned.”
They stepped into the light.
The passage ended at last, the air cool and sharp with salt.
By the time Will stepped into the open, dusk had already laid its hand across the sea. He stopped, squinting against the soft light, his mind still calibrated to the morning sun he’d left behind. The sky burned a deep, bruised orange, fading toward indigo where the harbor lights were just beginning to shimmer.
He’d gone into the earth at dawn; he was returning at the death of the day. The wind carried salt and the faint metallic tang of stone dust, cooling the heat that still clung to his skin. The hours had vanished somewhere between the ring of steel and the suffocating weight of the heat.
Serah waited near the pathhead, her posture rigid, eyes alert. The moment she saw him, her shoulders eased—relief and reprimand sharing the same breath. “I heard the cliffs shaking,” she said.
Will wiped dust from his sleeve, managing a tired grin. “That was me winning.”
Serah exhaled through her nose, half a laugh, half an accusation. “Next time, maybe win a little quieter.”
Brat was already alongside him, hands tucked in his pockets, his tone light but amused. “Perfect time to run system maintenance,” he said. “Wouldn’t want our prince falling apart after a good fight.”
Will arched an eyebrow. “System maintenance?”
Brat focused on Will, then resumed talking. “You’ve got that unspent attribute point burning a hole in your stats. Might as well check the readout before we head home.”
Will sighed, but the smile stayed. “Fine.”
He called the interface open with a thought.
Golden light gathered before him, folding outward into his status display.
[NAME: WILLIAM VALCAIRN]
[TITLE: PRINCE OF AELORIA, LORD OF BELHAVEN]
[DESIGNATION: THE DREAMER PRINCE]
[CLASS: CHAMPION]
[LEVEL: 16 | XP: 0 / 1600]
[SOCIAL SYNC: 28.25]
[STATUS: ACTIVE]
[VIP BUILD: ACTIVE]
[HEALTH: 435 / 435 (100%)]
[STAMINA: 295 / 295 (100%)]
[MANA: 180 / 180 (100%)]
[REGEN: 10% PER HOUR | ROYAL SIGNET BONUS (+50%) → 15% PER HOUR TOTAL]
[ARMOR CLASS: 40 (PASSIVE) | 50 (MAX ACTIVE)]
[DAMAGE MITIGATION: 40% | 50% WHEN SHIELD ACTIVE]
[ELEMENTAL RESISTANCE: FIRE 0% | WATER 40% | AIR 0% | EARTH 0% | ARCANE 0%]
──────────────────────────────
[ATTRIBUTES]
STR: 15 | DEX: 15 | CON: 15 | INT: 15 | WIS: 15 | CHA: 15
Champion Gain per Level → +15 HP | +10 SP | +5 MP
──────────────────────────────
[CLASS SKILLS]
LIGHT BLADES (INTERMEDIATE)
SHIELD DEFENSE (INTERMEDIATE)
CHAMPION’S RESOLUTE — Ability Locked (Unlock @ Lvl 25)
[COMMON SKILLS]
INSIGHT (INTERMEDIATE) | RHETORIC (INTERMEDIATE) | PERCEPTION (INTERMEDIATE) | ARCANE LITERACY (INTERMEDIATE) | COMPOSURE (INTERMEDIATE)
──────────────────────────────
[EQUIPMENT]
MAIN HAND → Royal Sword of Valcairn (Rare, Rank 1)
+2 Damage | Upgradeable → Legendary (Rank 5) | Soulbound
OFF HAND → Royal Buckler of House Valcairn (Shield) (Rare, Rank 1)
+10 AC (Inactive) | Upgradeable → Legendary (Rank 5) | Soulbound
SECONDARY → Royal Dagger of Valcairn (Rare, Rank 1)
+1 Damage | +1 Dexterity while wielded | Upgradeable → Legendary (Rank 5) | Soulbound
ARMOR → Royal Issue Shirt of Mithril Mail (Rare, Rank 2)
+15 AC | Auto-Repair | Weightless | Upgradeable → Legendary (Rank 5) | Soulbound
SET → Royal Garb of Belhaven (Attire Set)
Passive: +25 AC while wearing official royal attire (any two pieces)
ACCESSORY 1 → Signet of the Prince
Regeneration +50% | Active
ACCESSORY 2 → Traveler’s Sigil Band (Uncommon)
Passive Temperature Adjustment | Water Resistance +40% | Active
ACCESSORY 3 → Brooch of Verdant Grace (Rare)
Effect: Once per day, summon living vines to entangle nearby enemies for up to ten seconds. (Resets at dawn.)
UTILITY → Bag of Holding (Legendary, Rank 1)
Expanded Storage Capacity | Auto-Sort Enabled
SPECIAL ITEM → Drake Egg (Unhatched)
──────────────────────────────
[OPEN QUESTS]
- THE WHISPERING TREES — Investigate disturbance in the Forest of Lirane. (Edras)
- ECHOES BENEATH THE CLIFFS — Return the Iron Drake’s Horn to Thane for Reforging.
[CLOSED QUESTS]
- RATS IN THE VINEYARD — +2,700 XP | Champion Skill Rank Up.
- EXPLORE BELHAVEN — +100 XP | Quest Complete.
- MAINTENANCE OF THE CROWN’S STEEL — +50 XP | Hidden Quest Complete.
A faint golden pulse appeared beneath his attribute grid.
[ATTRIBUTE POINT AVAILABLE: 1]
He focused on strength, staying true to the primary trait of the Champion.
[ATTRIBUTE UPDATED → STRENGTH +1]
[RETROACTIVE HP ADJUSTMENT: +6]
[HP PER LEVEL INCREASED TO 16]
A low, steady current ran through him—tendons tightening, breath settling into place as if the body remembered something it had always been meant to do.
Brat tilted his head. “A little more iron in the veins. Not bad.”
Will closed the display. “You almost sound impressed.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Brat said. “I have a reputation to maintain.”
Will chuckled softly, the tension from the cliffs finally easing from his shoulders. The narrow path wound along the cliffside, opening at last onto the lower docks where the harbor lights bobbed on the water. The smell of brine and smoke thickened in the air.
Mage lights burned low along the piers, their glow catching on damp stone as the steady ring of hammer on metal guided them toward the forge at the far end of the quay. Its sign bore Thane’s emblem — a black anvil on a gold field — catching the lanternlight with a muted gleam.
Thane looked up as they entered, arms bare to the elbow, dark hair damp from heat. A grin split his face. “You made it back. Thought the cliffs might’ve eaten another hero.”
Will set the Iron Drake’s Horn on the anvil with a metallic ring. The curved fragment caught the forge light and gleamed with faint iridescence.
Thane leaned closer, eyes narrowing in appreciation. “Hard metal with soul. It still remembers the creature’s fire.”
“How long will it take to work it in?” Will asked.
“Two days if the temper holds. Three if the horn fights me. It’ll need to be melted and folded into the Royal Sword’s core.” His tone softened. “It’s persuasion, not polish.”
Will nodded slowly. “You’ll need the sword, then.”
Thane held out his hand. Will summoned the sword from his inventory, the familiar shimmer of gold light folding into steel. He slowly passed it over, the weight reluctant to leave his fingers.
Brat muttered beside him, “He’s sentimental. Try not to break it.”
Will gave the faintest glance toward Brat but kept his focus on Thane, who was already studying the blade’s balance. Turning it in the light, Thane ran a thumb along the fuller and nodded appreciatively.
“Good steel,” he said. “Worn in all the right places. I’ll temper it with the horn’s alloy—it should carry a sharper resonance once reforged.”
He hesitated, his tone softening. “When it’s done, you’ll have to stop by to reclaim it,” he said, a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. “Maybe after we test the edge, we share dinner. I know a quiet place that just recently opened.”
Will’s lips curved. “That sounds dangerously like an invitation.”
Thane’s grin sharpened. “Only if you live long enough to accept it.”
Brat rolled his eyes. “Romance at the forge. Very immersive.”
A familiar prompt appeared.
[QUEST COMPLETE: “Echoes Beneath the Cliffs”]
[REWARD: COMBAT SKILLS RANK UP → LIGHT BLADES (ADVANCED) | SHIELD DEFENSE (ADVANCED)]
Brat nodded approvingly. “Not bad. Clean run, no reloads, and only minor trauma. Almost professional.”
Another pulse shimmered.
[SOCIAL SYNC: +5.00]
[CURRENT: 33.25]
[THRESHOLD REACHED → TITLE UNLOCKED]
[TITLE EARNED: THE FIRST CHAMPION]
[TITLE EFFECT: +5% XP BONUS | WORLD RECOGNITION ACTIVE]
Brat gave a low whistle. “Well, there it is. Haven’s registry just blinked awake. You’re officially the First Champion.”
Will’s hand settled on the dagger at his belt, thumb brushing the edge of the hilt. His sword was gone, but the familiar weight at his side steadied him. “Then I’d better start acting like one.”
“Please don’t,” Brat said. “You’re much more interesting this way.”
He paused, brow furrowing slightly. “That’s strange. This title should require full class completion at level 25. Haven runs on the same code as Elysion...nothing is configured to recognize partial progression. It seems as if you are the first to nearly complete the full champion progression inside Haven. Something has decided that is good enough to grant you the title which is frankly a bit bonkers.”
A faint smile tugged at Brat’s mouth. “Maybe being a prince really does have its benefits.”
Will tilted his head at Brat. “What does five percent XP gain really mean here?”
Brat shrugged. “Not much, really. The Champion class quest line is set, and with the level cap, you can’t proceed past 25 anyway. But hey, nice to be acknowledged for your efforts, right?”
Thane looked up from the anvil, the drake horn and sword now side by side under the forge light. “Once the reforging’s done,” he said, “you’ll need its balance. The royal pair needs to match — blade and buckler working as one.”
He brushed metal dust from his palms, studying the horn as if already seeing what it would become. “There’s mention in the old records of an artifact called the Aegis of the Crown — a royal shield shattered during the fall of Belhaven’s first dynasty. What remains of it is rumored to lie within the Ruins of Selen.”
Will raised his eyebrows. “Fragments... not the full shield?”
“Right,” Thane said. “The old Aegis is long gone, but its heart crystal endures. Bring me what remains, and I’ll give your defense the strength to match your new edge.”
Brat tilted his head, smirking. “Ruins again. Fantastic. Maybe this time the geometry stays in one piece.”
A new system line appeared before Will’s eyes, cool and precise.
[NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: “The Aegis of the Crown”]
Objective: Recover the ancient shield fragments from the Ruins of Selen.
Reward: Experience + Class Ability + Buckler Upgrade
Thane had already turned back to his work, murmuring measurements under his breath as the lamplight caught the sharp line of his jaw.
Will watched him for one last moment before stepping out into the cooling night.
The harbor lights shimmered on the black water. The hiss of the tide filled the quiet.
Brat looked up at him. “And so ends the tale of our victorious prince, breaker of cliffs, slayer of drakes, and accidental heartthrob of blacksmiths.”
Will let out a breath that was almost laughter. “Add ‘Champion’ to the list.”
“Obviously,” Brat said. “But where’s the fun in the obvious?”
The forge’s glow faded behind them as they started up the mage-lit road, the sound of hammering dimming into the steady rhythm of the sea.
The First Champion walked on.