77 || Returning to Eightsword

Tara watches with amazed eyes as Syringa turns into a beam of black and purple light that fires off into the sky. Confusion settles on her face as she turns her attention to Msiresta, whose eyes now glow with a cosmic purple light. The feeling that she's facing something ancient and otherworldly tingles the back of Tara's mind.

"Well that was unexpected! How fun!" Msiresta bounces towards the altar with excitement and energy. The glow is now gone, as if it were just a trick of the light, and whatever feeling has vanished. Tara stops and stares, uncertain of what to do for the first time she's begun playing.

A soft object touches her hand, pulling Tara from her stupor. Msiresta was nuzzling her hand.

"I promise I'll explain everything soon! Just trust me, please!" She promises and Tara can feel the sincerity. Tara exhales lightly before approaching the altar with Msiresta. Once they do, the previous scene of half moon half sun imagery appears on their backs, this time the same size though still different colors.

Tara's sun is amber orange while Msiresta's is black; Tara's moon is turquoise while Msiresta's is white; what binds them for Tara is the white energy of her aura while Msiretsta's is that same shade of lilac purple.

This was the compatibility portion of the Bonding Ceremony, which is different from the Awakening Ceremony that occurred moments before. It is to make sure the two entities had a similar Resonance with their aligned elements. Otherwise, there would be backlash at best and a complete devouring at worst.

This was partially why many aurators lost their very being to the resentment of a broken Soul Bead. A clash of Resonance would only hasten the negative effects. Balance could possibly heal or at least mend a broken Soul Bead to be more amenable. Unfortunately, many aurators who acquired Soul Beads in the wild only saw power instead of a partner.

For these two, the Bonding Ceremony goes on without a hitch. Msiretsta transforms into an octagonal shaped gemstone striped monochromatically except for some purple, connecting to Tara's Soul port.

Unlike Wolyung and Oorun, Msiretsta maintains her full autonomy. It is more like Tara is transporting her around with the Zolani able to enter the world as she wishes.

Msiretsa needs to rest a bit, as the Ceremony took a lot of energy on her part. As she returns to Ganesh and Smur's side, Tara can't offer an explanation as to Syringa's appearance. Luckily, the two chalked it up to a unique but auspicious incident. Tara then mentions having to return home. She has gained much but hasn't met her initial goal. Tara couldn't ask her new friend Smur to leave their life behind.

Luckily, there is more than one young twin tailed fox looking to explore. Even if it meant being a Soul Bead, it was not as if they weren't aware. A Smoke Corsac gladly transforms as Ganesh sees Tara off. Tara received a parting of Fire and Wind channeling materials for her crafting of Frae's weapon. Additionally, there are some Light and Dark energy cultivating herbs and meat as well.

As Tara is no longer searching for anything, she quickly makes it to Beiling's former training cave. Collectively, she has accomplished all her goals and even made gains within this week away. Her teacher greets her arrival with a sigh of relief and a look of curiosity if she had succeeded. Showing off the Smoke Corsac Soul Bead, Tara keeps what she had experienced largely to herself.

As soon as she feels settled, this virtual week was at its end and so was her session for today. Instead of exiting the pod, Tara enters their chatroom to message Pakeeja of what she saw. It is then Tara learns the full situation of the Trial Dungeon and what the group had faced. The Awakening Ceremony had allowed them to clear with flying colors and overturn a really bad scenario!

Both would have to wait to hear back what the gains were once the party returned. For now Tara made to exit the pod when she received a notification from the system.

[Current Virtuality Network Has Sufficient Energy For One More Session. Would You Like To Continue?]

Excited but cautious now, she sends a message through the interface of the pod. It was true! The pod was built especially for longer playtime and it's safe for her to continue. Tara doesn't hesitate to jump back into her Story!

Moments earlier still within the Trial Dungeon, Syringa freezes.

Everyone within the upper circles of Super Organizations and Ultra Guilds knew that name.

Dragon's Cross, the most popular game prior to Renovel, had run for a decade. By the seventh year, the Ultra Guilds and various Super Organizations had claimed their territories as hegemonies. Then came the Great Upheaval from the arrival of a sole young man.

A fifteen year old new to the world with only a shield as his starting weapon quickly became the most outstanding figure of his generation. In a matter of months, he conquered innumerable dungeons with the most random and mismatched players, all who were independent and barely above Apprentice standard. His level rose quickly due to this, but his leadership ability isn't what truly caught the attention of the upper powers, though it would later.

Instead it was his prolific talents in Alchemy and Forging, reaching Grandmaster Rank shy of two years. The amount of talent and time it took to reach that level among the millions of players from Dragon Cross was maddening! Many organizations tried to rope him in once they noticed his growth speed. After all, one more Grandmaster meant they'd be able to challenge neighboring groups, players and NPC alike.

Not only did he reject them all, instead he had armed the various independent players. Many had become his friends and acquaintances over time. Though he didn't form an official power, when united, his allies were no weaker than a top tier first rate Guild.

This was proven when he personally led them against a now disbanded first rate Guild. It had been revealed that this Guild, Angel's Sigh, had been running an Enforcer Guild in the shadows. This Guild had constantly oppressed and stolen from the independent players, many of which being people just trying to get by in life, over the last several years.

Arctic Shark proceeded to coldly and frighteningly use his connections to rapidly dismantle both organizations from the ground up. His astounding leadership abilities captivated everyone in the final stand, the whole event coming to be known as the Angel Liberation War.

Afterwards, the Frozen General, as he was now nicknamed, disappeared for about a month. Then in the final year of the Dragon's Cross Arctic Shark, with personally made high quality armor and the very shield he had started with, began a journey.

He trekked all over fighting a wide variety of experts of the game's Ancestry and Classes. From Elite Workshops to Super Guilds to Ultra Guilds, he would fight some of their top Master ranked fellows.

Arctic Shark even lasted a minute against Blood Thorn, Tara's Aunt! It should be known she is the peak among Speed Masters--not even Asuka's mother Royal Flame could last more than 10 minutes on equal ground without ample preparation beforehand.

This act solidified him as the strongest independent in Dragon Cross. Many had expected him to make waves in Renovel but he had remained silent. Now Syringa knows why.

"Wait a minute that means you're-"--releasing her hand and stepping back as she recalls a bit of information she heard during her years in Dragon Cross--"The Child of the System."

Alexandrite gives a small curtsy as a sly grin graces her beautiful face. "I also accept the title Luck's Daughter. Though most people then called me Oshun."

"...you were both already Experts three years ago." It's Storm Kitty who whispers this in awe.

She had witnessed Arctic Shark's fight against someone from Humility's Blade. Alexandrite looked so different back that she hadn't connected the dots. Many Super Guilds had tried to recruit her brother. On the other hand, Ultra Guilds had almost broken their peace treaties in the eighth year because of Alexandrite. This is because she was ridiculously blessed when it came to rewards.

She had famously taken a level 1 party of random noobs into the lowest level of a level 5 dungeon. Once they exited, not only were each wearing Class specific Equipment that they could wear for a long time, but their Physiques and Mentalies had undergone a change. Each one would later become a powerhouse in their own right.

"But...how did the Frozen General die?" Straw Monkey then asks, confused. If he was an Expert, it would have been impossible for him to lose his life so easily.

Alexandrite and Livid look at each other before twin expressions of embarrassment and shame cross their features. It turned out that the genius Arctic Shark had decided to solely focus on crafting in his Story! Therefore his virtual body was not strong enough to execute his full strength.

Syringa gave a genuine laugh before nodding. Everyone knew that Arctic Shark was a Artisan before he was a combatant. Even in his various victories he only asked to look over his opponents' Equipment to gain some understanding of how it was made. It seemed that was really where his passion lied.

"Okay I understand. I will apologize properly once we collect the rewards." Syringa promises.

A dangerous glint flashes in Alexandrite's eyes. "A 70/30 split then? For emotional distress?"

"Why split it when two of our members asked for us to save you? Besides, I consider Lil' Livid here as my student and as a member of Ruby Blade." Syringa responds unflinchingly.

Alexandrite blinks twice before pursing her lips and storming towards the pile of loot to investigate. "You think just because you're so handsome and dashing a girl will just throw away her little brother's freedom. The nerve!"

"She'll come around. Rosemary and Sage are her old friends from the natural world, so she was going to join whatever organization they were in after exploring for a while." Livid scratches the back of his head as he steps beside Syringa. Syringa smiles at him before turning her attention to a notification that popped up for her after clearing the Dungeon.

[You've Completed An Trial Dungeon! A Continental Announcement Is Imminent!]

The announcement rang out three times, shocking everyone on the Western Continent. Six hours after their streamed showdown, Ruby Blade had cleared a Level 25 Dungeon. Those who had fought tooth and nail to get into Renovel's Libraries posted information about a Trial Dungeon which sends all powers scrambling!

These were also called Core Dungeons of the various Field Areas, hidden from sight and full of powerful monsters and great rewards. Proof of Clearance meant players could become Minor Nobles on top of other perks!

They, however, wouldn't have the benefits that Ruby and Lapis did: They could bind these Trial Dungeons and their Fields to be protected by their Academies. This meant only their Workshops would have access to these leveling spots, Dungeons, and most importantly their Materials!