Server Lost - Chapter 9 her Faith

Jack opened the chest, only to see a severe lack of good drops, not that he minded. There were already three good drops from the monsters he defeated. His eyes shifting over to Vivi for a moment before looking back into the box.

Three bags of minted silver coins, each holding eighty pieces, approximately weighing almost five pounds each accordingly. It’s worth in gold would be about forty gold coins as six silver is one gold in the World of Niria. Something that only one person in the party knew, Vivi, the Princess.

A single ring on the bottom of the chest, silver like the previous one. This time, it merely had elven glyphs inscribed on the exterior, it was the Minor Ring of Protection. There was no gem.

Reaching into the chest, he’d pinch the ring and toss it into the air, before letting it drop into his palm. Looking it over for a second he would reach over and grasp Vivi’s hand.

Like how she jumped before, her entire body tensed as he touched her hand.

Her lips parted, trying her hardest not to tremble. Her faith in him, given to her by the Divine Fealty that made her loyal, caused it to be possible for her to even stand her ground.

Faith was her comfort and it made it even easier to allow it to persist… As he was an Angel, a being that this world only believed to exist in Scripture or on another heavenly plane.

Vivi’s eyes shook with anticipation though, in her mind she was flashing back to when each one of her fingers were slowly plucked off one by one. How her toes were soon to follow. How they had rendered her unable to keep her balance should she have tried to run away. How she would die if she ran as she couldn’t use tools or climb.

Yet all that was gone, because of this man here before her.

He gave her clothes, somehow he was making her stronger which she hardly understood. And these actions were unknowingly unlocking a part of her that those superstitious Sun Elves feared.

The magical affinity of a Thirteenth offspring of a Moon Elf was so immense, that if it should reach a certain level, they’d far surpass the limitations of the vast majority of Sun Elves.

The moment he slipped that ring onto her middle finger, next to the ring she had already planted herself, she calmed down a bit. Her parted lips turned into a shaky smile her lower lip quivering.

Runa squinted her eyes slightly at Jack, curious of why he was giving this elf a bunch of items. She understood the clothes, kind of. They were definitely high quality, at least the top was.

While they had probably started better off than the elf, he was supposed to be watching after them right? They were in the middle of a crisis. They were in a world where they could die! And here he was Decorating a small Elf, when he could be ‘decorating’ her with these things.

She turned her head to look over at the other two men who were now peering into the next room. They dare not step in though, for the monsters which suddenly spawned when thy got close enough, would attack.

A slight frown crossed her lips as she looked over to Jack again, only for a five pound bag of coins to smack her square in the face. Stumbling back and fumbling the coins, she watched as two more bags would go flying at the other two players.

POW. Kaplunk.

“Ow! What the hell?” Turning his head after being hit in the back of the head, and almost stumbling into the other room. Nakajima turned as glanced over at a bag filled with coins on the floor.

KAPOW.

Kokei stumbled and his bones shuttered before he looked down at the coins that spilled out onto the floor around him. The skeleton chattered its teeth before looking over at Jack, its arms motioning out as if asking ‘Why?’ Before just squatting down and beginning to pick up each and individual coin.
for visiting.

Runa opened the bag and peered inside, pursing her lips slightly. There was plenty of silver in this bag. Whilst she didn’t know, it was worth at least thirteen, almost fourteen, gold coins.

Vivi would stare at the silver ring which was now donned on her finger before looking to Jack who was on one knee, looking up at her with empty eyes. “Jack?”

Jack placed a hand on her forehead suddenly, which caused her to flinch, but she stood still as he cast a spell calledMemory Meld: Grantwhich allowed him to share knowledge, skills and classes with other individuals. In the game it allowed the transfer of occupational and professional classes, as well as individual spells and skills. So when he used this on Vivi, he duplicated his knowledge of Fundamental Class magic spells and emplaced it within her mind.

Vivi’s mind felt as if it was briefly squeezed like a lemon, a quake of pain shot through her head, forcing her to shut her eyelids tightly. When she felt her extremities give out, warm arms wrapped around her lower body and she fell to her knees instead of onto her back.

Soon enough when she opened her eyes, she found her face planted in his shoulder, Jack’s shoulder.

“Good morning,” Jack cracked a joke before going to stand up, causing her to instantly cling to him. Her arms wrapping around his neck and shoulder. “Oh?”

“…Why…”

“Hm?” Jack’s eyelids relaxed slightly, drooping as he listened.

“…Why did you help me…?”

“Because you didn’t give me a reason not to,” Jack placed a hand on her head, letting it ferment there for a seconds before shoving her off of him.

Vivi stumbled back, blinking up at him several times as he stood his full height. Her mouth was agape, her hand reaching out for him as he went walking towards the next room.

“You want to get stronger don’t you?” Jack slowed his stride, “So you can forget?”

While he hadn’t been psychologically tortured or physically tortured in the sadistic and cruel manner as she. He knew the pain of losing the ability to walk. He knew the pain of losing everything he ever held dear. In the other world he was virtually alone and he shut everything and everyone out because of it. The only thing he kept was the games, the people who didn’t see his face.

Anti-social he had become, sociopathic in tendencies, but all humans had them. Some just more than others. As he had his attention on the path ahead of them, his eyes rested on the monsters, his blade at the ready.

The next room had three openings, the entrance and two other exits. One of them lead to a dead end with a chest at the end of it. Likely a trap to anyone who was paranoid, or knew how dungeons worked. There may be a prize, but there will always be a cost.

The other exit was leading down the corridor to more rooms. Some of them needing a key to enter.

So as Jack, Vivi and the three players made their way into the room after collecting themselves. It seemed the monsters that were spawned weren’t as strong as the wolves.

Mimics again, five of them in a semi-circle around the center of the room, flanking a normal chest on either side. They were not the only monsters present though.

Giant Red Spiders, about the size of an average human toddler, were scurrying about. At first, they ignored the party. They encircled them subtly, their movements seeming at random at one’s first glance.

Unlike the wolves form before, these Red Spiders would only drop Chitin, Red Eggs and Spider silk. They wouldn’t have anything extravagant on them, despite how high a level they were to begin with.

These Mimics weren’t the same as before. Even though they were flanking the normal chest, they didn’t look like the chest. They were larger by about a foot. They were what were known as Dire Mimics, larger and more powerfully evolved Mimics.

Jack stepped forward in front of the party, he wasn’t going to waste his time. The faster they got through this, the faster they’d be able to level up. That and the more items they’d get.

“Ger ready for a speed run,” Jack uttered as he raised his spear in the air, Artemis’s Huntwas currently his spell of choice. The basketball sized sphere of magical energy was quick to form.

Just as he was about to release it however, one of the spiders lunged towards him.

Although it wouldn’t do much damage, if any at all, Nakajima intercepted and slashed at the Spider. It would skid away, hardly was its carapace even nicked. “Freakin’ hell…” He muttered, he was really missing the enemy health bar which showed up in game.

“Good Job, cover me!” Jack uttered as he held it higher, putting more nana into the spell. Suddenly blue glowing circles began to appear under neath the hostiles present in the room. Then BAM! The orb exploded, magic arrows going in all directions over their heads, clashing with the monstrous forms.

The room filled with black smoke and quickly again it faded, leaving only alchemic and production related loot behind.

Nakajima collected Chitin, Kokei collected the Red Spider Eggs and Runa collected the Spider Silk.

Jack on the other hand took the one potion of Self-Polymorphic that appeared once more.

The stone doors would open and Vivi would begin heading towards the dead end.

“Don’t go that way,” Jack reached out and grasped at the hood of her jacket, pulling her back as if it was a leash causing her to gasp.

Almost panicking, she rested fingers on the collar of her jacket and stared up at him after turning to face him. “P-please don’t don’t.. Choke me..” Glossy eyed, she didn’t make eye contact initially before looking up at him with her head pitched down ever so slightly at an angle.

It looked like she was giving him the cursed puppy eyes.

Blinking in bewilderment, he reached up and pinched her cheek and held it. Then he began pulling on her cheek before swishing it around, rapidly, causing a wet and fleshy sound to fill the corridors.

“Wa…har…hu…huingu…?” She futilely tried to speak as he was messing with her face.

Kokei and Nakajima glanced over to see what he was doing and raised a brow slightly.

“Did he stop bullying Runa and start bullying the Princess?” Nakajima let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose slightly.

Kokei shrugged, tapping his skeletal chin with his left index finger.

“It’s how he bonds If you haven’t noticed, he’s made fun of both of you.” Runa folded her arms behind her head, knotting her fingers in her own hair. “Subtly of course.”

“He called me Cookie,” Kokei tittered through a telepathic wavelength to his two party members.

Nakajima pursed his lips, “When did he ‘bond’ with me?”

Both Kokei and Runa looked over the swordsman for a moment before each other. Did Jack make fun of the guy or try to bond with him?

Shaking his head, Kokei’s body rattled.

“You’re right. He didn’t try bonding with you,” Runa seemed to feel smug and arrogant about this.

“What’re you guys talking about?” Vivi inquired as both Jack and the Princess were now standing in front of the gathered trio, appearing with what they could only fathom to be extreme stealth.

Using Character AppraisalJack was able to see the levels they had reached. It was quite clear that the experience boost of the Divine Fealty was doing its job.

The regular members of the party, the players, were level thirty now. Vivi on the other hand had already surpassed them, being level thirty five.

While he hadn’t given her the chance to use the knowledge had given her, she was now more than enough suited for the next level spells, but he wasn’t going to give her more until afterward.

Once he got these guys up to at least level forty, he’d definitely have them take on the boss monster. Practical experience was what they needed in a world where he wouldn’t always be present.

Not that he was going to die.

He had taken them on in order to teach them. To protect them as his students. Though in this world, if he ever thought of some great machination, he was sure he didn’t want them against him.

So keeping them close, also seemed like a good idea.

He placed a thumb on his chin in thought as they were walking casually down the corridor. How was he going to disengage the party function if he couldn’t access it? Were the three of them permanently bonded to him!? At least it wasn’t that bad Right?