After the day's events concluded, Arlon returned to the Moonlight Potion Store. However, as he stepped inside, he was greeted by the sight of Charon looking visibly angry.
"You're finally here, kid!" Charon barked, his voice sharp.
"Sir, is there a problem?" Arlon asked cautiously. He could tell sothing was wrong but wasn't sure how bad it was. Charon's anger was not sothing he wanted to face directly.
"The old man in the Great Forest has been killed," Charon said flatly.
Arlon froze. The weight of those words hit him hard. He quickly pieced it together—Gellard. He had sent Gellard to take the quest, and now Gellard had killed the old man.
Arlon hadn't thought anyone would go so far as to kill an NPC, let alone willingly beco the enemy of all NPCs. This wasn't just a first in this tiline—it was a significant shift.
"The first NPC kill..." Arlon murmured to himself, still processing. In the past tiline, this hadn't happened until a year after the ga's launch.
"How did it happen?" Arlon asked after a mont, his voice tight. "That guy shouldn't have been strong enough. And the old man's level was high, wasn't it?"
Charon shook his head. "Level doesn't an everything. That man was no ordinary Trionian—he was a prisoner. He dabbled in dark magic, so I stripped him of his magic vessel and confined him to the Great Forest. He couldn't even leave that place. His death isn't the issue—the real problem is a savior killing a Trionian."
Arlon's stomach sank. This was a major problem. The saviors were supposed to aid Trionians, not harm them. In the previous tiline, the first NPC kill had been the catalyst for chaos.
After that, players began receiving offers from the Keldars to join their side. If history repeated itself, Arlon's tiline was accelerating—and not in a good way.
He clenched his fists. The ti I thought I had… it's shrinking.
Arlon had accepted Lady Rael's training offer because he believed he had enough ti.
In the previous tiline, he hadn't needed the training—he had already beco the strongest, perhaps even stronger than Zephyrion himself.
But now things were different. He needed mage training, perhaps even magic swordsman training.
He also needed to develop new warrior abilities. The escalating events ant he couldn't afford to waste a single mont.
Charon's voice broke through his thoughts, probably misunderstanding his wandering. "You don't need to bla yourself for this," he said, his tone unexpectedly soft.
Arlon looked at Charon in surprise. "But Sir, I'm the one who sent him there."
Charon sighed. "Kid, I send people to different places every day—hundreds of them. Do you think every single one of them is doing the right thing? I'm sure so of them are out there causing trouble, even committing cris. Am I responsible for their actions?"
Arlon hesitated. Charon had a point. Still, the guilt gnawed at him. "I see what you're saying, but I can't help feeling responsible. That old man may have been a bad person, but I wasn't in a position to judge him."
Charon crossed his arms, watching Arlon with a mixture of irritation and understanding. "I get it, kid. But if you want to fix this, wallowing in guilt won't help. We've got bigger problems now. Focus on what cos next."
Arlon nodded, though the weight in his chest remained. He wasn't soone who hesitated to kill enemies, but he drew a line at harming those who weren't a direct threat.
This was different—it wasn't just about a single NPC. It was about what this event would set into motion.
I need to be ready for whatever's coming next.
---
That night, Arlon didn't sleep. Instead, he imrsed himself in A Magician's Secret—and found sothing he hadn't expected to see in the book:
What are the differences between skills and abilities? I see you're asking yourself that.
No worries, I'll explain everything to what I'm assuming is my adorable disciple *Wink*.
Well, I said that, but we don't have "skills" anymore, so I can't claim to know everything.
As I explained earlier, casting a spell involves a few essential steps:
// circulating your mana → imagining the spell → supplying sufficient mana to the imagined spell → casting the spell. //
This is the formula for the most basic spell. Skills, however, skip the first three steps by using a pre-determined formula.
Even a brilliant, powerful, and beautiful mage like couldn't skip those steps, so I suspect there's a higher existence involved.
Ah, you're curious about the differences between skills and abilities? Let clarify.
Skills weren't exclusive to mages—they were available to every kind of fighter. But we're not helpless without them, are we?
Mages have spells, warriors have masteries, priests have holiness, and so on. These are what we now call "abilities."
Let's compare them:
Abilities require so prior preparation, like the steps in spell casting. They demand more thought and involve internal or external movents.
Skills, on the other hand, require no such effort. They can be executed instantly. Of course, you need to find them first.
I'd guess that skills ca from gods or so higher existences. Maybe people worshipped them to receive their skills? Who knows...
Arlon leaned back, his thoughts racing. This section revealed more than one new insight.
The first was about the history of Trion. No, perhaps "history" wasn't the right word—this clarified the world's tiline sowhat. It seed divided into four broad eras:
The Past Hereos' Ti - Agema's Ti - The Race War and Efsa's Ti - Current Ti
However, no dates were attached to these periods, making it difficult to piece things together fully.
The second revelation ca from understanding how skills functioned—and how this related to the Blink skill/spell he had "created."
Arlon realized his earlier mistake. He had created Blink by reducing the mana cost of Teleportation. However, Teleportation itself was a skill, aning its usage skipped the preliminary steps required for spellcasting.
By pure luck, Blink turned out to be a skill that could function as an ability, requiring no extra steps for execution. This ant he could use it in both ways.
So, that's why it worked… Arlon thought, his satisfaction evident. Understanding the chanics of skills and abilities gave him a clear edge.
He decided to focus on learning more abilities rather than relying on skills not only as a mage but as a magic swordsman and warrior.
Abilities offered flexibility and depth that skills lacked, making them far more useful in the long term.
Continue your journey on empire
He hadn't even bothered to learn the skills from the books he'd found—avoiding the habit of relying on them.
I should give those skill books to soone who needs them, Arlon mused.
The third and last thing he learned, or realized, was that Agema knew about the skills. How did she know about them? Skills belong to players but players have only now co.
This would need further investigation.
As he contemplated his next moves, Arlon checked the system—and noticed it was already morning.
Today was the day of The Quest, a group event requiring teams of two players.
While Arlon didn't plan to join, he still needed to make an appearance to keep up appearances as both Arlon the guide and Arlon the player.
Two-person groups... he thought, a faint smile crossing his face. Too bad I don't have friends— or at least, player friends.
He closed the book and prepared to leave.
---
When Arlon arrived at the tournant area the sa way he had the last two days, he was shocked to find that the arena was gone.
Just as it had been constructed with magic, it had been dismantled with magic.
He moved to a quiet corner and began waiting for the event to start. Most players were already present since this was where they had logged out, but a few had yet to log in.
While waiting, Arlon noticed June passing by. She spotted him as well and, after a brief pause, decided to approach.
Arlon hesitated. It had been a long ti since he'd spoken to a girl alone. Even during his interactions with Lady Rael, there had always been others around—Shirl, the innkeeper, or soldiers.
Man, I used to be cool. What happened to ? he thought, a hint of frustration at himself creeping in.
Back then, he hadn't needed courage to talk to anyone. Conversations ca naturally, and confessing to soone he liked had never been an issue.
But ten years of isolation had changed him, especially against beautiful girls like June.
"Mr. Arlon, good evening," June said, her tone polite but friendly.
For a mont, Arlon was confused by her greeting. Then, he rembered—it was morning in Trion but evening on Earth.
Thankfully, the mask hid his hesitation, and he replied calmly, "Good evening."
"Mr. Arlon, are you joining the event with soone?" June asked, tilting her head slightly.
"I'm not joining," he answered shortly.
"Ah, perfect!" June said, her eyes lighting up. "Our group has five players, so one of us would be left out anyway since we need two-person groups. Would you like to form a group with ?"
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