A New World, an immersive game experience

Chapter 135: Zamia's Plan (2)

'My plan?' Zamia feigned ignorance but after seeing that Eldrian was not taking the bait she continued. 'Simple, I want to see if you are up to what the gods think you are. If you are then it might also be a good idea to send Cephaphyr with you.'

'Why?' Eldrian asked, failing to understand how she thought this was a good idea.

'I understand your confusion. My reason is simple though, you Chosen are special and won't die. No matter what, right?'

Eldrian nodded, this was what he believed to be true. He did not mention that he lived only a short time, not knowing how to bring this up. He already knew that Zamia was thousands of years old, meaning Alicorns live really long. Eldrian did not want to ruin the mood by saying that he would only live to around a 100 at max.

'It is a dangerous time during an invasion, no matter who you are. No place will truly be safe and guarantee Cephaphyr survives. But if he becomes your partner, then there might be a way to make the impossible possible.'

'I still don't understand.'

'If you were to link your souls, then Cephaphyr would become like you. Unable to die. I believe this is the best chance he would have to survive the coming times.'

'This was actually a common tactic in the later stages of invasions. All beings; be they magical creatures or beasts, humans, elves, dwarves, or any type of demi-human. They all used this tactic.'

'Doing so will allow either partner to revive the other should one of them die. This naturally isn't the easiest, especially if the other's body is missing or destroyed. But even in such cases, it would still be possible.'

'The only true limit to it is if one of your souls gets destroyed. There is no way to come back from that.'

'You can also only bond with one person throughout your entire life. If they were to die from age, their souls would leave willingly and there would be no way to revive them. Hence why people generally try bonding with beings who have similar age limits.'

'I and Agamemas are in fact bound in the same way. Allowing us to always revive the other, especially since destroying our souls would be extremely hard.'

'There is a slight problem though. To bind with someone you have to have equal strength. Meaning you need to reach Tier 3 before I can help you and Cephaphyr link your souls.'

[Dungeon stage two clear reward: Have Zamia bind you and Cephaphyr, making him your tamed beast.]

[Requires player to reach Tier 3]

This... This is certainly one heck of a reward.Eldrian thought, even knowing that he would not be able to control Cephaphyr since this game was far too realistic. Eldrian still felt that this was an amazing reward. Cephaphy was an Alicorn, a Mythical Beast which ranks as one of the strongest races in the entire world of this game. Eldrian certainly felt this was worth the effort this dungeon would be.

Even if it takes me months to clear the cave, it would be worth it. Eldrian thought, thinking back to how many goblins had charged at them. He was certain that those were the outcasts, the weakest of the bunch. Even knowing this, he felt motivated to give it a try.

Bringing others with him, this Eldrian did not feel comfortable about. Thinking further he wondered if he should post that he found a dungeon.No, no one will be able to make it here. Eldrian realized after thinking of it a little longer.

Then should I go at it alone? Eldrian did not like this option, feeling that he would be unable to do much if he did this. He was limited to ten or so goblins. More than that and he would start struggling to defeat them.

He also knew that even with more people, they would not be able to simply rush into the caves. Yet he seemed to have little of a choice. He needed to find Vivian as soon as he could. He had no idea if she had a water source.

'Zamia, would it be possible to make a shrine or temple to the goddess of life?' Eldrian asked, realizing that he would be dying a few times. He certainly did not want to have to travel all the way back here.

'Asteria... That won't be a problem. This fountain is actually a sacred place of hers, so it might already be enough.'

'Really?' Eldrian wondered, turning towards the pond he started walking into it. Once he was halfway in he received a system prompt.

[Sacred fountain discovered. Would you like to set spawn point?]

Eldrian promptly replied yes.

At this time Margit was wondering just what was going on. The two had only asked her a few questions and then started leaving her alone. They were clearly still talking, but she had no idea how. They made no sound, heck she was still wondering how the horse had talked to her. She did not want to interrupt them though, feeling that this would be too dangerous.

Coming out of the water Eldrian smiled widely. "It worked!" Eldrian said happily as a smile grew on his face, forgetting to use telepathy. This made everything else far easier.

He did not care much for his levels, sure the bonus attributes were nice. But he did not feel they were a must for him. He would also be able to get an insane amount of XP from the goblins. Eldrian felt he might even manage to trade even or ahead.

"What worked?" Margit asked, unable to keep herself from talking.

"Oh, I just..." Eldrian paused, realizing that she might not follow if he did not explain something critical. "I am a Chosen and just chose to revive here should I die."

Margit nodded in confusion. She had not had much exposure to Chosen and found Eldrian's words extremely strange. She tried to understand using the stories she had heard.

"Are you going to try and become stronger before heading to the caves? Or will you go right now?" Zamia asked, making sure to talk through air magic. Allowing Margit to also hear what was going on.

"I would like to become stronger, but I don't know how long Vivian would be able to survive." Eldrian replied, firmly stuck between these two points. The former would allow him to do more, while the latter might be the only way to actually save Vivian.

At this time their peace was broken as two of those who had followed Agamemas returned, bringing two humans with them. Eldrian and Zamia left Margit and quickly headed to the two Alicorns who were both carrying one person.

"Terlas, Floyd. They survived?" Eldrian looked at them, wondering why they looked to be in such a sorry state. Floyd he understood since he saw him losing his arm. But he did not understand why Terlas actually looked worse than Floyd.

'What are we to do with them?' Xaxus asked Zamia, who quickly added Eldrian to their conversation.

'They did not know of the devil between them. And I have some work for them.' She replied, making sure Eldrian understood her meaning.

He was grateful, having two more would certainly help him in clearing the caves. But he knew they stood no chance if they did not make some plans. His mind was already starting to think of how he could make the best use of their skills and his undying property.

'Go place them with the other two humans. They will all help Haru clear the caves.' Zamia said after making sure Eldrian had followed her meaning.

'Why not just send one of us?' Telalios asked, Eldrian felt grateful for him voicing it and hoped that Zamia would agree.

'A trial for the Chosen, to see if he really is such.' Zamia joked, the other two thinking that she was serious.

Eldrian grumbled on hearing this, following along as they placed everyone next to the river.

After the Alicorns left Margit asked Eldrian, "What are they planning to do with us?"

"They don't really care about you. But..." Eldrian faltered, not knowing how to explain that he had dragged them into a crazy situation. He decided to skip that for now, "They want us to clear the caves."

"That can't be that bad, right?" Margit asked, fearing that Eldrian's paused had greater meaning. Her fears soon confirmed.

"There are thousands upon thousands of goblins in those caves. So it is bad..." Eldrian replied, understanding the look which was growing on her face.

After a few seconds, Margit asked stumbling over her words. "Do you really think that Vivian is there?" She received a sound nod from Eldrian. "Then I don't mind!"

Eldrian smiled as he heard her child-like optimistic promise. "I am glad to hear that, but you do understand how dangerous this is going to be. Right?"

"She saved my life before, so I must repay her!" Was Margit's honest and quick reply.

Eldrian nodded and used Observe to figure out what Margit would be good for. Glad that he had a willing helper already.

[NPC: Margit]

[Class: Magic]

[Subclass: Melee]

[Tier 3; Level 11]

Eldrian was happy to see that she did not react to him using Observe, telling him that only really strong people like Old Sword did that.

On the other hand, Eldrian was not really happy seeing how weak she was. The information he was given was limited due to him being a lower Tier. But Eldrian did not think she would be able to do all that much. He knew from experience that humans before Tier 5 were truly weak.

Most of the difference in Tier did not matter. Their gear would be what determined their strength at such a low Tier. Knowing this Eldrian used Inspect, finding that her armor was all normal. She did not even have a weapon anymore.

Well, this sucks.Eldrian thought, looking at Terlas and Floyd who both also did not have weapons anymore.Goddamit!

Calming himself Eldrian tried to stay focused on gathering Margit's information."What type of magic do you specialize in?"

"Umm. I mostly focused on fire magic, like many in Phallos."

Eldrian sighed as he heard this,Okay, so she is not going to be good in caves. He reasoned, knowing that flames would not be a good thing inside a cramped space.

Then again, if we can catch them unaware...

Eldrian started planning on how they would deal with the thousands, maybe even close to a million goblins inside those caves. He did not wish to wait, but he had no choice since all but Margit were unconscious.

After a few minutes, Eldrian shelved his brainstorming and headed to Zamia. Telling Margit to inform the others of what is going on should they wake.