Seeds of Discordia

Liam stepped out of the portal and took a few steps away from it before hunching over and feeling the side effects of traveling via portal.

His stomach lurched twice, but luckily nothing happened.

He couldn’t say the same thing for Roman, Ariyana, and Avery though as they bent over and threw up.

Liam looked at Mercer who shook his head warning him not to do it.

Liam was feeling good, so he didn’t listen.

“Upchuck Roulette strikes again,” Liam said as he jumped to the side to dodge a sword strike from Avery who was glaring at him.

Ariyana scowled at him and stated, “Just for that you’re buying me the most expensive drink tonight.”

“We’ll see about that,” Liam laughed.

“Congratulations,” A gruff voice greeted.

Everyone turned to see Phorge approaching them with Adva who was giving them a warm smile.

The group was shocked as they saw the two looked different than how they did before they went into the dungeon.

Phorge was a full foot taller than before with grey skin. His muscles looked much bigger than before and a lot more chiseled.

Adva was the same height, but had blue skin with four webbed spike looking things that reminded Liam of fins on her forearms.

“I see you all made it through the challenge floor and have successfully integrated with your races,” Adva said as she looked at Ariyana, Roman, and Mercer. “A Nature Fae, Kitsune, and Tiefling.”

“Your Orc and Dragonkin appearances look nice and tough,” Phorge stated as he gave a nod of approval to Artem and Blair.

Adva and Phorge saw Avery and Liam and gave a confused look.

“A Crimson Elf?” Adva said with a look of confusion.

“Yeah…why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with who I am?” Avery asked as she started to feel uncomfortable.

“No, it’s just that your race is a rare one. There are many Elves, but a Crimson Elf is really rare to appear,” Adva explained.

“The odds for one to appear is…,” Phorge started to say until a snarky and annoyed voice finished for him.

“A thousand to one.”

Everyone turned to see who said it.

Liam’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Nalia who walked up next to Phorge.

She, too, looked different. Her ears were almost like Roman’s except rounded out more. She also had a short, short haired tail behind her.

“I see you lot are progressing. Slowly, but still progressing,” Nalia said with disdain in her voice.

She then looked at Liam and noticed his eyes.

She bypassed Adva and Phorge, who were about to say something, but were interrupted again as she said, “Hm, your eyes look weird. They look like one of a beast kin, but you have no other features besides the eyes. Tell me, what are you?”

“And why do I have to tell you?” Liam scowled.

“Because I said so,” Nalia bluntly said. “You can either tell me or I’ll get it out of you.”

Nalia’s eyes started to glow as Adva protested, “Nalia! That is quite enough.”

Nalia turned her head to look at her. “You can try to stop me if you’d like.”

A sudden pain started to form in Liam’s mind as he tried to fight whatever she was trying to do.

Nalia went to look back at him and was about to say something but was shocked as a golden light suddenly popped like a balloon and fizzed out.

“What the,” Nalia said with a very confused expression on her face.

“Your games are going too far Little Nalia,” a stern voice called out.

Liam turned to see Nabal approach the group.

“What are you doing here you clown,” Nalia questioned.

“I saw something interesting going on and decided to check it out,” Nabal answered as he stared at her. “You know its forbidden to use such abilities on the new people since it creates so much pressure on their brains.”

“It’s not forbidden, there is no rule stating I can not use this ability,” Nalia argued.

“You know there’s a chance you can kill them using it,” Nabal said as he narrowed his eyes at her. “Or did you forget what happened to Cecil who happened to ‘forget’ that rule?”

Nalia stood straight as she returned his glare with one of her own. “Why step in? You haven’t shown any interest in anyone since you came here.”

“I only came to the Tutorial Area since I lost a bet,” Nabal started before looking at Liam. “However, I’m glad I did because I found someone who caught my interest.”

Shock appeared not only on Nalia’s face, but Adva’s and Phorge’s as well.

Nalia turned her attention to Liam and asked with a bit of disgust in her voice, “You’re telling me you found someone as worthless of this guy interesting? I think your eyes are going bad if you are saying that.”

“Maybe it is you, who is blinded by her thirst for knowledge that she’ll resort to doing whatever she pleases to get it. Even if that obsession makes her turn to tormenting newcomers,” Nabal countered.

“Whatever,” Nalia stated as she turned around in a huff and walked away.

Liam turned to look at Nabal, appreciative of what he did, but confused at the same time. He hasn’t spent much time with the man so he was unsure why he would step in to stop Nalia.

As Liam stared at him, a few chime sounds echoed in his mind.

Something leveled up? I’ll have to check it out later. He thought as Adva’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Were you telling the truth Nabal?” Adva asked with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“Hm, oh good evening Mrs. Adva,” Nabal greeted before answering, “About what? Taking an interest in this guy?” Nabal hiked a thumb at Liam. “Yeah. I’m his Dagger Instructor.”

Adva’s and Phorge’s eyes widened.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Nabal questioned.

“Are you feeling alright?" Phorge asked. “You’re not sick are you?”

Nabal frowned as he stated, “I’m fine. Why would you say that?”

“Well, it’s because…I mean you…,” Adva tried to say, but wasn’t sure how to say it.

“You have this thing where you’re not interested in training anyone but that nephew of yours,” Phorge clarified.

“Gimmel?” Nabal asked. “Sure, I’d rather train him, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t find interest in training anyone. Especially, one who will take challenges head on.” Nabal turned to look at Liam and said, “Great job on standing up to her by the way. The woman can be a real bitch sometimes.”

“Nabal,” Adva chided with a smirk.

“My bad Mrs. Adva,” Nabal said giving her an apologetic look. He then corrected, “That damn Weasel can be a real bitch sometimes.”

“Weasel?” Liam asked.

“Yes, she’s a Weasel-folk Beast kin from the Arcadian Kingdom,” Nabal informed.

“Great, that means there’s a chance we’ll run into her there,” Roman groaned.

“I guess so,” Liam agreed.

“Why would you run into her there?” Nabal asked Liam, but then saw his eyes.

Curious by the way they looked, he stared into them.

“So that’s why she was acting that way,” Nabal stated. “You have the eyes of a Beast kin. From how they look, they must belong to one of the feline races.”

“Cait Sith, to be exact,” Liam informed, not realizing what he was doing.

 “What?!” Adva, Phorge and Nabal shouted.

Liam jumped back in response to their reaction and placed his hands over his ears.

“Ow,” Liam complained. “I really need to get used to this new heightened hearing.”

“Did you really say Cait Sith?” Adva asked. The tone of her voice caught Liam’s attention. It sounded like she was not only shocked, but amazed.

“Yeah, why? Is that bad?” Liam questioned, feeling a bit uncertain about himself now.

“Is it bad he says,” Phorge said with a booming laugh. “Cait Siths are even rarer than the Crimson Elves.”

“Are you serious?” Liam asked with a brow raised.

“Not one, but two rare races,” Adva muttered. “What the hell is going on here?”

Nabal looked at her and then at Liam’s group. He noticed how different they all were and then saw Avery.

He then looked back at Liam and said, “You keep an interesting group of people.”

“You should see them in battle,” Liam commented with a grin.

He looked at Nabal and at Adva and Phorge. “I’m curious. What are your races?”

Phorge let out another laugh as Adva shook her head at the man.

“I am a Merfolk,” Adva replied.

“This amazing physique of mine belongs to the Goliath race,” Phorge shamelessly said as he flexed his arms.

Nabal shook his head. “I’m just a plain human.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but…,” Artem shyly interjected himself as everyone turned to him. “I’m pretty hungry and need to eat something.”

Phorge let out a laugh at Artem’s proclamation. “The change can make you hungry since it works your body pretty hard. Go eat. You guys deserve it.”

Adva nodded in agreement. “Don’t let us keep you from celebrating your successful completion of the fourth floor.”

Nabal turned to Liam. “Come see me tomorrow. I have so tips for you to help adjust to the changes your body underwent.”

Liam nodded before turning and walking away from the three.

After the group came out of sight, Adva turned to Nabal and asked with a very curious tone, “What is it about the boy that caught your interest. It couldn’t be because of some small matter.”

Nabal slowly turned to her. He waited, contemplating what to say. After gathering his thoughts, he stated, “He reminds me of someone.”

“Who?” Phorge inquired, invested in wanting to know as well.

“A teammate of mine,” Nabal answered as he looked back at the direction Liam walked away in. “The way he looks at challenges, even if they are impossible to complete. He looks at the smaller details in order to create a bigger picture.”

Adva and Phorge scrunched their faces as they tried to think of who he was talking about.

“It was something he said when I gave him a challenge he was not supposed to win,” Nabal continued. “I told him, he had no hope of winning the bet. Do you know what he did?”

Adva gave him a confused look as Phorge shrugged.

“He smiled,” Nabal grinned as he remembered. “He smiled like an idiot and said he was frustrated by the difference in our power, but he couldn’t help but grin when facing a challenge. He said it was a habit.”

Adva’s eyes lit as a certain person appeared in her mind. “I remember a man appearing in a Tutorial group a couple years ago. I was trying to give him some advice on something he shouldn’t do,” Adva stated. “He grinned like an idiot and said just because it was hard or seemed impossible, it didn’t mean he shouldn’t challenge himself to complete it.”

Phorge realized who she was talking about. “I had two boys do the same thing,” he informed. “Except they argued and made it into a bet on who could do it first.” He looked at Nabal and asked, “Do you think he’s related to them?”

“If it was before he completed the four floor and got his race reveal, I’d say there’s a possibility,” Nabal replied. “However…”

“None of them were Cait Siths or craft loving idiots,” Phorge finished.

Nabal nodded. “However, if he were to say that he has a shadow affinity then the possibility can still be there.”

 

                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“That hit the spot,” Artem said happily as he leaned back in his chair, patting his belly.

The group sat at their favorite table at their favorite entertainment venue, The Dancing Baboon.

“I agree,” Ariyana stated with a wide grin as she nodded her head to the tune in the background.

Roman let out a loud belch and chuckled a bit.

“And that is a sign that the tank is full,” Liam said feeling nostalgic saying the line.

“Huh?” Blair asked.

Liam waved a hand to dismiss it as he said, “Never mind, it’s a saying from my world.”

“Ok,” Mercer started as he looked at everyone. “I know we just got back from completing the fourth floor, but we need to decide on our next move.”

“Seriously?” Roman asked. “Can we just skip the meeting tonight and do it tomorrow?”

Mercer shook his head as he answered, “No. It’s better to get it done now while its fresh in our minds.”

“I agree,” Blair said.

“Not you too,” Roman complained.

Artem placed a hand on Roman’s shoulder and said, “No use trying to change their minds. Once when Mercer gets like this nothing will stop it.”

“True,” Roman said the word with a hint of sadness.

“I think we should give ourselves a few days to adjust to our new…bodies,” Mercer started.

“It would be wise,” Liam said as he winced a bit.

His new hearing made the music sound louder than what it was. Even though the music was loud, he was able to pick up on people’s voices and conversations like they were right next to him.

“Are you alright?” Avery asked, looking a bit concerned.

“Yeah, it’s just my heightened hearing makes everything sound louder than it is,” Liam said. "The music is especially true for that.”

Mercer winced. “I’m sorry. Let’s make this short and then wrap the night up.”

Liam nodded.

“I agree with you on trying to adjust to the changes made,” Ariyana said. “I have new magic I want to try out and get familiarized with so I can use it on the next floor.”

“Same here,” Avery agreed.

At Ariyana’s words, Liam remembered the book Eri had given him. He also remembered the Field of the Shadows that unlocked.

“I have some magics I want to check out as well,” Liam agreed.

“Oh?” Mercer questioned. “What are they?”

“I’ll tell you later. Maybe we can meet up after I talk with Nabal tomorrow?” Liam suggested.

Mercer nodded. “Then how about those who have new magic they want to try meet up at the Mage Tower?” Mercer said. He then looked back at Liam and asked, “What time are you going to see him?”

“Don’t know, maybe in the morning?” Liam shrugged.

“Find me and we’ll gather everyone who wants to join.”

Everyone nodded at the plan.

As Liam sat there he remembered his talk with Eri about the path they were on.

I know I should tell them about what I learned, but maybe it’s too much right now. Although, if I don’t they might not be too happy I didn’t tell them. Liam thought as he felt torn about. It might bring their morale down if I tell them they can die in the Tutorial Dungeon. I don’t know what I should do.

Blair stared at Liam, who was caught up in his own thoughts. She saw Avery and Mercer noticed something was bugging him. She looked at Mercer who turned his attention to her.

He shook his head and mouthed, “Give him time.”

Blair understood Liam was someone who often overthought a lot of things. She also understood he would say something when he was ready to. However, she also knew he tended to hold on to something for a while and let it eat at him while holding it in.

She would wait though. If he waited too long she would get it out of him.

She nodded, giving him her response that she’d wait.

After thinking it over, Liam decided he was going to wait and see how things went. Hopefully, nothing got serious enough that they’d die. He’d do everything he could to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

One way of doing that was working on his magic, sub-stats, weapons, and alchemy.

Speaking of Alchemy. Liam thought as he looked at his internal clock. It was still early in the evening that Alicia and Galin would be at the Bubbling Potion. He nodded as he decided on what he was going to do next.

He looked at the others and announced, “I’m going to head out.”

“Where are you going?” Artem asked.

“I’m going to head over to the Bubbling Potion and see if Galin and Alicia are there,” Liam answered.

Mercer was confused at first, but then remembered their conversation from yesterday. He nodded and said, “Do you want any of us to come with?”

Liam shook his head. “He doesn’t know any of you. I don’t want him to feel like it’s a sudden intervention or he’s being personally attacked.”

“Smart,” Blair said as she could agree with Liam’s logic.

“Be safe,” Mercer said. “If you need us don’t hesitate to seek us.”

Liam nodded appreciatively as he said, “I’ll tell you guys what I learned tomorrow. You guys have fun and I’ll see you later.”

His group waved him off as he left the table.

Liam sighed inwardly as he muttered, “Let’s hope it goes well.”