Book 1 Chapter 12: What is available?

The hand looked no different than before, just plainly that it was now ghost like and immaterial. It swept down towards the ground and was much faster than before since it had become at a least a fifth lighter to move for the rest of the arm.

It disappeared under the ground, and then reappeared as if it had gone through air before slapping down on the sword bladed man. He grunted, but didn't budge an inch as he flexed and slowly pushed the ghost hand back. As the pressure waned instead of continuing forward he dodged the other hand sneaking around to slice him into ribbons.

To say the least he wasn't as the creatures palm which was immaterial, thus when a wall of flesh came sailing towards him it was less a sucker punch and more of a brick-shit-house coming his way.

He weaved to the side allowing the ghost hand to pass out of his way, the other hand moved straight through that hand and continued to assail him. Jumping forwards, the hand that had come in from the side had no way to go through the real upper wrist of the right arm and so it stopped.

It swung its right arm in an arc, bulldozing the surrounding ice that covered the ground, but as the eyes of its body danced around no flattened body could be seen, or rather a bloody pancake version of the blade wielding man. The creature stepped backwards with thundering steps before swiveling its body to allow the eyes to glance around.

One eye shot down inbetween the legs of the creature and released a screech. The creature stomped down almost right after but the swordsman was already running up its other leg and cleaving its leg. Blood squirted out before freezing as the swordsman danced upwards trailing gore in his wake. He leapt off the hip as the creature bent down and sailed tens of feet upwards until he was met with an eye.

His swords crossed, and then a blade of light shot out and into the eye. It screeched before a massive X mark was left where it used to be.

The swordsman didn't stop there though, he hooked onto the creatures stomach with his blades and dashed to the left as its hands were flying down from the sky to his position. The creature slapped its own body causing the thin line that had appeared there from the golden sword, to rip open and shoot blood out.

It didn't have a face, but everyone guessed that thing was pissed!

While the swordsman was fighting on, the priest and the abjurationist were working on a spell. It seemed the swordsman was indeed fighting for his life, but also buying the two enough time to set the spell up. A golden sphere had surrounded the 4 others apart from the engineer within the fort, it was undulating erratically.

The brute of a man who could manipulate earth was spinning his weapon in a strange rhythm, each swing seemed to stir up dirt and dust before cycling it into the spin. It looked like a maelstrom of earth. The man with the ability over ice was adjacent to him, and molding ice within his hands continually. It became as large as his own body and yet floated off the ground as if it was as light as a feather.

The priest yelled out to the swordsman who in turn leapt up, kicked off the massive creatures chest and flew upwards.

The creature saw this as an opportunity, and yet hesitated as the eyes of its body flickered off towards the fort.

It clenched the left hand that was still intact, as if it felt fooled.

First was the spinning weapon of earth, the man sent it forward flying through the air following the ground. It looked like a wheel of death as earth was pulled continually into it to make it larger until it was the size of a 2 story building. The weapon as if it had a mind of its own, stopped and flew towards the ground as the giant wheel of earth went sailing into the creatures chest. The hammer itself, landed right inbetween its legs on the swamp and broke the ground apart. As the ground broke the creature lost balance as the wheel struck it.

To say the least, it got punched in the chest with a house while losing its footing, 'Well played' Jaeger thought.

It didn't end there though the 'cryomancer' as the ever informative man next to jaeger told him to call him in name, let forth his ball of ice. If the spinning hammer was a vertical maelstrom of earth, then the ball began to create a horizontal maelstrom of ice and water. The golems that had bunched together before, stood up straight and moved to the side as the ball passed by them, it drew the ice from the surroundings continually making the ball larger. The cryomancer hit his knees as it seemed he was using every ounce of his potential to keep the thing off the ground. It soon became as large as a house, but instead of staying together the ball broke into shards that fueled into the wave of ice around it. They were like glinting blades of cold as they spun around at high speeds.

The maelstrom stopped moving across the ground and lifted off like a plane before diving down towards the creature and exploding. All the shards of ice from before, as well as the watery gasses and snow, shot down like a hail of death and bombarded the creature. There wasn't an inch that wasn't left intact, and all over were lacerations that froze its body to the core. It wanted to get up, but as the blood close to the surface froze, it had to bend these ligaments to get the blood flowing again.

But it wasn't given the chance to.

How could they let it stop now?

The priest stepped forward and carried forward the glowing field packed with golden calligraphy and symbols. Any essence of death around him was washed away by the holy light. The swordsman who was slowly floating down towards the creature nodded his head from afar. The cryomancer lifted his hand and coalesced a disk of ice off in the distance which the swordsman shattered with a kick to send him flying downwards.

The creatures face slowly ripped open as a grotesque mouth formed between the ripped skin, letting loose a roar to the sky.

The swordsman wasn't thrown off by this though, and continued to fly down as his body glowed brighter and brighter. With a fierce swing his blades clashed and the energy drained from him, bringing darkness back around his body. Everything flowed into the two blades and sent 2 arcs of light downwards. It was like a sun had left his body as well as a great amount of vitality, but with the cost of both, the blades shattered the rib cage of the creature as large as it was.

They didn't stop there as they lacerated skin, and ripped open its chest sending blood flying everywhere. The swordsman watched on as his body fell slowly towards this abyss of gore and death.

A priest appeared with a book in his hand next to him, as fast as he himself travelled before. He grabbed his brother, and threw him off into the distance before flying towards the ripped chest that was trying to regenerate with the spirits of the dead.

He was the perfect counter; all his spells and abilities were tailored against the dead and spirits.

The light field around him was a twostep shield and weapon. It was packed with holy words and essence that would exorcise any demon and ghost, and with the abjurationist who had went into light abjuration it took these words and made them the life-force of the shield.

This spell was called Holy Hollow.

If the spirit, creature, or even man had ill intentions going through the field it would disintegrate them. It quelled against no man, regardless of friend or foe. It was a peak spell, but with very specific regulations in its use.

However…the priest was currently flying towards a creature who emanated death and murder constantly, which was perfect.

The priest would've landed on its chest, but instead continued to fall through it as if it was made of air. It wasn't that it was made of air, its body was disintegrating. The priest reached the area of its heart, but was met with the gruesome glare of countless eyes surrounding him within the chest. The moonlight streamed in through the 15 foot hole he created coming in, and showed the long path of flesh leading to where he floated.

The eyes seemed to be using the spirits of the undead to protect the creatures heart, because if it died then they died.

The priest didn't flinch, he began to chant fiercer and fiercer as the field around him began to expand until a much larger hole was created. Slowly, the eyes around the heart disintegrated. The heart was protected but they sure as hell weren't.

With a majority of the controllers of the spirits gone, the hearts dark shield slowly waned and shattered as the priest went through it turning it to dust.

The priest lightly touched earth, and with the last of his power pushed through the side of the creature and broke out through its right side.

A swordsman clutching his side was already waiting there, "You get the heart?" He asked with a smirk.

"Of course…that thing is…gross in there. Let's go back to the fort and wait for the drop." The priest brushed his clothing off and puffed up his collar with a laugh.

They walked over, and slowly met the others of their group, the swordsman looked at his brother with a sarcastic glare, "See that hole there…that was from you throwing me, if I didn't have my attributes increased…I may have died you little shit."

"By the gods blessing…you miraculously survived! Oh holy holy, gods almighty." The priest for someone so 'holy' didn't hold his own sarcasm back from his brother.

The creatures body slowly broke away into dust and flew off into the wind, everyone finally sighed as it was truly dead.

Everyone around cheered, "They did it! They killed the third boss!"

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Jaeger didn't feel right though, something…felt off.

As everyone was cheering he lit a smoke and stared at the screen before him, switching between views of the 6. He didn't look at the people they were talking to, but past them and into the distance towards the swamp.

'That…woman…could she…no, could she have been the third boss? The creature merely summons of her?' That would be a devious plot and conspiracy, and if the group thought they had just won and let their guard down they would be doomed.

"Hey! You, the guy we talked to!" Jaeger yelled over to the man who had told them all about this.

He came running over from his friends with a smile, but the smile slowly disappeared as he scrunched his brows, "Why…do I get the vibe something isn't right"

"It…has their ever been a sighting of a woman within the swamp? Black long hair, ghastly body…like a spirit and yet corporeal."

The man slowly reeled his mind, before his eyes shot open, "No!" His screamed stopped everyone from cheering.

His friends ran over quickly hearing him shout, "Whats up dude?"

"You guys remember a couple years ago…" Jaeger held a hand up, "A couple years? I just got here"

"Time passes differently in here then out there, think about it…when you go into a portal, months will pass and then bam your back two seconds later then when you left…any fucking way…do you guys remember a couple years ago that other team that got to the second boss? Remember what they fought?"

A guy with glasses was the first to speak as he moved his glasses, "Yes…it was a large creature with thousands of tentacles, it had…it had eyes across its body, like this one?"

"Yes…remember what happened to that group…"

"Yeah they mysteriously died before ever being seen meeting the 3rd boss, nobody has figured it out yet."

Jaeger turned to the man's friends, "I saw a woman with black hair…a corporeal spirit of sorts amongst the swamp, watching from afar…she was behind the creature, and not like an undead…no…she struck fear into me even through the screen. I know this is random, but I feel that creature isn't the main boss…its…it's a gut feeling."

People would've scoffed at this 'gut feeling' but in this new world, people litterly had abilities that tailored to the concept. If he said he didn't feel something right, why lie? If they just won, how could he unless something really wasn't right?

Everyone began to flick their watches to pull up the screens again, the group was still there and laughing. However, they all calmed down as they looked at their watches and didn't find any reward that popped up or a location of an item drop.

"Strange…" The priest scrunched his brows as he looked at his watch. The engineer shrugged as well, "I would know if these damned things broke…they haven't, it shouldn't have took this long to drop something and usually the body leaves something behind too."

The swordsman flinched, his 6th sense was telling him something wasn't right. This wasn't a skill, it was something he naturally had as someone who had gone through countless fights. Not everyone got it either, it was either honed or innate. Much like Jaeger who felt something wasn't right, and then correlated it with the woman.

As everyone saw the Swordsman looked around on their displays, they turned their gazes to Jaeger with horrified glares, "You must be right!"

Everyone whipped their heads back to the display, unlike Jaeger they could hear the inside.

"Janta, cast an evil detection field…" This was the name of the abjurationist, she gave him a strange look but didn't hesitate to cast her hand out and send out a whisp of energy that expanded around the room. Instead of the white light that showed the area was safe, it turned crimson which meant that something…was here!

"Fuck…that creature wasn't the boss…whatever is, if it can create that…it is powerful. It might be the caster type boss, but if it manipulated spirits and the undead…it should be a necromancer."

Necromancers, were always looked down upon as they used the horrors of this world to their own devices and were associated with killing players and using them to their own means.

Everyone hated them, especially when they met a creature or thing that used such powers as they were amongst some of the worst things to tangle with.

The priest began to chant, as golden words surrounded him and his brother. The earth manipulator and the cryomancer grouped together around Janta.

The Engineer looked around with fear, he wasn't that strong as all his skills and abilities were tailored towards magical technology and craft. For most purposes, he was an artificer and philosopher.

The swordsman grabbed him from the control desk and brought him over to the priest who chanted several words over him.

"Stay alert…we are within the fort and my brother layed down quite a few enchantment protections with Janta and yet it didn't stop this thing…" Even the swordsman felt wary, the worst kind of danger was the unseen.

Soon a night passed within, Jaeger and the group was allowed free lodgings for the first week they arrived, yet sadly it was a shared accommodation. Solomon, Jaeger and Malcom didn't mind though but the girls certainly were tight in the space they gave the three to sleep.

They didn't wait long to leave the residence though to go back to the fountain where everyone else was waiting or camping at to watch the group within.

The guy from before was sitting at the edge of the fountain mumbling between his friends when he saw Jaeger and his group walk over with inquisitive looks on their faces. This guy, Damon, wasn't a bad guy and had talked with Jaeger quite often while they watched the group the day before.

Albeit Damon knew that Jaegers sense of danger or intuition was hard to come by, and highly important in groups and so kept the bridge between them in high regard. Everyone else felt the same way after finding out that some newcomer had seen what was going on while the majority had not, and thought that the group had beat the 3rd boss instead.

"Nothing so far, they slept in shifts and then prepared for the day. No unforeseen black outs, It seems the engineer is a good one as everything has stayed functional without breaking even when it was supposed to." Damon smiled.

Jaeger shook his pack of vanilla smokes, "Hey anyone around sell specialty smokes?"

Damon thought for a moment, "Yeah…you can buy anything from the tavern, they set them up in each sanctuary as a form of entertainment. Alcohol, drugs, guns, ammo, all the trivial stuff ya know? Think about it, they can make your room into anything you want, albeit you have to procure your own ladies…" Damon looked past Jaeger two the two girls talking meters away, "Got that covered…so you just need currency for those"

"I see…" So it seemed that the gods gave them ways of entertainment as an outlet, this portal as well must be some form of training or otherwise. Although a lot of people could make it up to a year, only the greatest would pass the 7 bosses' or whatever they were.

"You say guns?" Jaeger remembered what he had said.

"Were mages…there are people that can turn into beasts, people with powers, others with mystical items, alchemists, telekinetics, telepaths, sages…hell I hear there are sanctuaries with the true gods like ours of magic…but of the mind, body, and spirit…with ours being energy…why in the fuck…WHO in the fuck, would care about a gun over a fireball, Eh?"

"I…was just wondering" Jaeger had a cheeky grin, but he did have a point. With all those powerful things weighing down, why DID he still want to use a gun? However, there was a god of craft that much he was certain of from the job in town related to crafting things for people. He made the magical items, he made the equipment, and all the great things that weren't skills, powers, spells, or otherwise.

"Why am I so confused on the whole genetic thing…I heard there was some god called Pan out there too."

Damon nodded, "Genome, or otherwise the god of genetics can indeed give you the DNA and certain latent abilities over that DNA to galvanize a temporary change into your beast of choice…I hear the more genetics you change, the more that becomes permanent. However…a god named pan grants different boons and traits, if there are things based around science like adding animal or celestial things to your DNA…what he could grant you would be the truest form of Lycanthropy within legend. He gives you a curse that makes you a werewolf. A supernatural form of the same change but with far greater effect and power…the whole god tier thing is complicated, and the more we learn about it the more we learn that this god does this and not that…just like genome and pan."

"So what are…the god of powers…you said there was a god of mind, one of spirit, and one of body…who are they?"

"Well…you can't just go to genome and raise your attributes, the change indeed does boost your attributes like strength or speed but that's it. The god Psyche, or Mind in simpler terms…he raises the vessel of your mind, and grants you power through it. The god of spirit…hey didn't you say you could summon a frog? Well he gives you stuff like that depending on who you are and is called Animus or Heart I think? The god of body or Corporis...he raises your attributes, speed, agility, strength, even others we don't know about. These three don't have a sanctuary, instead you must be chosen by them."

"What are all the gods…I need to write this down."

"You ask a lot of questions you know…Fine…" Damon took a couple deep breaths in,

"There are the Ten primary gods or 'Prime divinity' in this order:

Psyche: Goddess of mind, who grants abilities towards the mind like Telepathy and illusion.

Animus: God of spirit, who grants summons and the conjuration of spirit.

Entropy…that's it! Entropy or Corporis, the god of body who raises your attributes and the potential of yourself like speed, strength, to an inhuman level.

Genome: The god of genetics, who can give you the very foundation within DNA of other races and creatures, or a change in bodily structure like ice breathe by converting the nitrogen within the air into liquid nitrogen, changes your body is capable of like a dragon spewing fire from a sack.

Pan: The god of Beasts, who gives you curses and boons like that of ancient legends at a cost.

Spectre: The man who grants powers that defy the limits of space and the explanations of science like teleport, phasing, shapeshifting, unique powers and mighty powers…at the cost of never receiving things from certain gods he bestows them to you.

Enigma: Our god of magic and the elements regardless of their form or shape. He gives use spells, the schools of magic, the theory, the knowledge and the craft of magic."

Jaeger was writing like a speed demon as he recorded all this on his watch in a miscellaneous file. These watches were a true wonder.

"You mentioned 7, but said 10? What are the other three?"

Were they so mysterious? They were.

"It's a rumor…some even speculate that each of the portals in a sanctuary weren't set up by those gods, who don't deny it…by finishing them, you are granted access to one of three hidden gods. Not hidden like Psyche, Animus or Corporis…no…even the gods themselves know not of them or where they are…

Wish: The god or goddess…that grants anything you wish, regardless of what it is…nobody knows how to meet this person though, even the gods themselves want to.

Life: An enigmatic fairy goddess with great potential over life…that's all we know, but books in the magic library detail such a person.

Death…the opposing thing to life, and what we assume is related to the undead and all things vile and bad. If the gods didn't make those things, then who did? Someone would've had to…some even speculate this isn't just a game like we are told, but a breeding ground for each of the gods to make a soldier against Death… but of course it is only speculation."

"Okay…I don't mean to be a bother, but what about these other gods of craft and stuff I heard about?"

"Those…are what we call the subset gods, unlike the Prime Divinity themselves. See, some of them aren't holy or godly, they are merely the people of the past who reached great heights in certain professions or aspects and were granted their positions collectively by the Prime gods…that's why you see a tavern in every sanctuary, a crafting building in every sanctuary, alchemy, druidism, or other such groups…ya know?"

"Okay that makes sense now…thank you Damon" Jaeger brushed his watching pulling away the display.

Damon breathed out and nodded, and exaggeredly acted flustered before drinking some water.

"Currency…you need to make it to live properly in the sanctuary. You won't be thrown out but you can't grow as well without a full stomach."

Jaeger nodded, he couldn't deny such a thing. Even the room they stayed in was quite luxurious for the things he had lived in within the city. Maybe all this…wasn't so bad? Pff, no it was bad.