That night was the most uncomfortable Kael had spent in Godpath since he started playing. With his character in a comatose state, his own consciousness was trapped in a hazy limbo. He didn't dare log out, terrified that his character's departure would interrupt the Moonlight Revel.
So, for the first ti since his return, he spent the entire night sleeping in his ga pod.
The next day, Kael’s eyes fluttered open. The first thing he saw was the Eye of Elunara, refracting the soft morning light. He slowly sat up and looked around.
The vast chamber was completely empty.
Instinctively, he patted himself down. He wasn't injured. Nothing was missing.
Did those bastard elves just knock out, do their thing, and take off?
Just then, a system notification chid.
Congratulations! You have received [Blessing of Elunara].
A jolt went through him. A buff? I had actually gotten a buff?
He imdiately pulled up his character sheet, his eyes scanning for the details.
[Blessing of Elunara]:
All five core stats 1000. Grants Mastery of Ancient Elvish. Relationship with World Trees becos [Intimate].
Kael’s heart skipped a beat. A full one-thousand-point boost to all five core stats!
Then there was the Mastery of Ancient Elvish. It was an exceptionally rare skill, as difficult to obtain as a Divine Artifact.
Kael wasn't entirely sure of its application in the current expansion, but he knew that when the Arrival of the Gods expansion dropped, only players who knew Ancient Elvish could enter the Sanctum of the Elven Gods and undertake its legendary quests.
As for what an "intimate" relationship with the World Trees did for him, he had no idea.
He stood up and walked down to the lower level. What greeted him was a vast, open space that felt like a small forest. For a mont, he felt a wave of vertigo. Was this really the inside of the World Tree? How could it have changed so much?
He looked around, searching for any trace of the old Aelindale, but found nothing. The architecture and layout were completely alien, and he could barely see any elven NPCs.
When he finally spotted two elven won, he was surprised to see they were level 45. The normal elves of Aelindale had only been in their mid-thirties.
Did they teleport to the Elven Capital? he wondered.
Just then, the two won approached and bowed. "Greetings, Dawnbreaker."
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That title answered his question. He was still in Aelindale.
"Where are Elder Caelthas and Priestess Isilwen?" he asked quickly.
"The Elder and the Priestess are communing with the World Tree," one of them replied. "It is unlikely they will erge for so ti."
Kael nodded and decided to wander around. The few other NPCs he found gave him the sa canned responses as before, and using his newfound mastery of Ancient Elvish yielded no new dialogue options.
Unable to find any more clues, Kael left the World Tree. Outside, he saw that it had grown even taller and thicker, its roots digging more deeply into the earth. The surrounding forest had been flattened, and crews of elves were busy clearing the debris.
Rembering the buff, Kael walked up to the massive trunk and placed his hand on the bark.
A system ssage appeared.
System: The World Tree of Aelindale is currently busy. Please try to commune with it later.
Kael nodded. While it didn't trigger a quest, it confird that he could, in the future, communicate directly with the tree. And judging by the wording of the buff, it likely wasn't limited to just this one.
Still full of questions, Kael left Aelindale. It was only when he returned to Starlight Town that he noticed the flashing notification on his friends list. It was Orion.
"My guild leader is back online."
Kael ssaged back instantly. "What's his socketing level?"
"Grandmaster! He’s been on a three-day grind without any sleep."
The answer startled Kael. Is this guy going to die of exhaustion?
Gilded Hand was a complete maniac. It was no wonder he attracted such a bizarre following.
Kael switched to his ssage window with Hazel.
"Where are you?"
"Fighting the big ants."
"Give your coordinates. I'm coming to you."
"Oh, okay. I'm at 3132.2255."
"On my way."
Kael teleported into Tydrisa's Quarry. The Hidden Realm was imnse, dozens of tis larger than the Land of the Behemoth.
He left the nexus and headed for Hazel's coordinates, passing nurous teams grinding along the way. Because the ants sward, every team had at least thirty players. Most were tackling swarms of Carrion Ants led by a single Elite. Very few were bold enough to challenge the Leafcutter Ants.
When Kael arrived at Hazel's location, he found her leading a 20-person team against a swarm of fifteen Leafcutter Ants and their Chieftain. She was level 34 now; clearly, she hadn't been slacking off. Lila was absent, likely leading another team elsewhere.
The Chieftain's razor-sharp leaves were nearly depleted, and only three of the smaller ants remained. Kael stood off to the side, watching with interest, making no move to intervene.
The Leafcutter Ants' normal attacks couldn't even scratch Hazel's defense; only skills or critical hits could damage her. With her anchoring the fight, the team had been able to swap out extra tanks and healers for more DPS, dramatically increasing their clear speed.
Soon, the last ant fell. Hazel casually sifted through the boss's drops, picking up a level 30 Epic shield and staring at it with a sigh before handing it off to soone else.
Just then, she caught sight of a familiar figure. Her eyes lit up, and she sprinted over.
"Sir Dawnbreaker! You're here!"
Hearing her, the other girls from Crimson Bloom turned and waved.
"Hi, Dawnbreaker!"
"Hey," Kael replied with a nod.
Hazel reached Kael and launched herself at him, clinging to him like a koala. Kael gave her a light flick on the forehead, set her back on the ground, and held out his hand.
"Give the Dragonscale Bulwark. I need it."
"Okay..." Hazel reluctantly retrieved the shield from her inventory and handed it to him. Even after he took it, her eyes never left it.
"Can you save that shield for ? Please?"
Kael gave her a mysterious smile. "Don't worry. You two will be seeing each other again very soon."
Hazel didn't understand what he ant, but she just blinked her big eyes, her expression full of longing.
Kael didn't linger. He went straight to Gilded Hand, finding him already hard at work in his private forge.
Seeing him, Kael wasted no ti. He walked over and slapped the Dragonscale Bulwark down on the anvil.
"Socket this."
Gilded Hand had looked up excitedly when Kael entered, but the mont his eyes fell on the Dragonscale Bulwark, he forgot Kael even existed.
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