Chapter 79 A Farewell
"I am pleased to hear that." Zaddreus said once again with joy. "But for now, our time comes to an end."
Arthur heard the words of Zaddreus and felt a bit of a loss. He wanted to know more but he also knew that both of them had limited time right now.
"How long will it take me to meet you again? I know I'll have to do a quest but I do not know the contents of it?" Arthur questioned.
This was true since he didn't know anything about the class progressing quest for a Dragomancer. There was no information about it even if there was quite a bit for the class itself.
"It'll depend on you. However, I would say that you should just focus on getting stronger at first. Even if it takes a year, it'll still be fine." Zaddreus replied. "Though I think with your knowledge and drive, it might not take that long." He added.
Arthur felt good after hearing that. After all, he knew in a year's time he might hit level 100.
'I might even be able to do that earlier... After all, I now have the Dragomancer class with superior stats and skills. Plus if I hunt the Draconids, I should be able to get more stats too.' Arthur thought.
He reckoned he might have several more stats than others at the same level. After all, the Dragomancer class gave 1 Stat point to each Stat upon level up in addition to the 10 free stats. And this was without counting the stats that the Draconids could give him.
While the fear of pain was still at the back of Arthur's mind, the thought that he was not dying was keeping him above it.
"Also… There might be more surprises awaiting you than just the class." Zaddreus spoke in a mysterious tone.
"I'll look forward to meeting you again, Zaddreus." Arthur replied. "I guess this is goodbye for now."
"Farewell, Arthur Grey. And remember… to never falter." Zaddreus said, his voice fading away at the end.
Arthur could also feel the change, the presence of Zaddreus disappearing at that time.
'I guess this is it…' Arthur could feel his consciousness getting heavy.
A few moments later, he could feel a shift, and the feeling of his body returned. It was a strange feeling as he was technically still in a virtual world and was still feeling as if he had returned to his real body. It almost made him feel like he might get dissociated.
"AAAAAAAAAERRGH!" but his thoughts were soon interrupted by soul searing pain.
>Synchronization has risen to 74%<
The Synchronization stat was still increasing and the pain that had been paused rushed to Arthur all at once.
'I… have… to… bear… it…' Arthur remembered Zaddreus words and did not falter.
It was as if talking to someone who understood his situation had strengthened his will. He could now bear the pain without losing his mind.
'It… will… end!' Arthur kept on reminding himself.
Now that he had gotten confirmation that there was indeed an end and that he wasn't dying, the pain didn't feel as heavy. It wasn't a journey without a goal and he wasn't wandering aimlessly.
>Synchronization has risen to 75%<
"AAHHHHHHHH!" Another wave of pain racked his body, making it convulse.
Arthur's face was filled with veins, while his eyes were blood shot. The eyes had changed a lot though. They had turned into long slits, while the iris had taken on a yellow color. Black pupils and yellow irises looked striking with the bloody veins weaving around them.
>Synchronization has reached an acceptable level!<
>Class compatibility has been reached!<
>Synchronization stat has been successfully added to the player Arzhur!<
Then as if all was an illusion, the pain disappeared.
~thud~
Arthur's body fell back to the ground after convulsing one last time, his complexion plane. His eyes were still bloodshot and were staring at the multiple notifications that were still hovering in the air. They were the only reminder that Arthur had overcome all the pain and that it really had happened.
"It… is… finally… over…" Arthur said while taking deep breaths.
His lungs felt greedy for air, each breathing taking more than the last.
"Huu… huu…" Arthur simply breathed for a few minutes, watching the notifications that were appearing.
>Player Arzhur's Vitals have reached a stable level!<
>The player is no longer in danger<
>Warning shall be lifted<
'At least the system is responding appropriately… Now to see if the others will be gone too.' Arthur thought.
He rested his throat, feeling like he had screamed it hoarse. It was strange since there shouldn't have been a feeling like this before.
'Hoarseness of my throat?' Arthur realized something new. 'Even if one can feel pain in Morpheus Online, I don't think there was something like this in it.'
Physical exhaustion was a thing in the game, but finer effects like hoarseness of one's throat weren't present. Or at the very least, it wasn't at the level that Arthur was feeling. There were indeed some status effects that could make one feel like their throat was in pain, but it was a momentary thing.
'It almost feels like… like the immersion has increased.' Arthur's eyes went wide upon this realization.
Zaddreus's words echoed in his mind, reminding him that things were not as they seemed.
~DING~
——
Name: Arzhur
Level: 10
Class: Dragomancer
Title: 1. Dedicated Kestrel Village Adventurer
2. One who uncovered a secret
***
HP: 100%
MP: 100%
Stamina: 100%
Hunger: 100%
Experience: 1%
***
<Physical Stats>
Strength: 12
Toughness: 12
Agility: 12
Dexterity: 9
Vitality: 10
<Non-Physical Stats>
Wisdom: 11 (+3)
Intelligence: 7
Will: 15 (+4)
<Hidden Stats>
Synchronization: 75%
——
Feeling curious about something, Arthur took a look at his status.
'It was added at the bottom… And it's a percentage based stat instead of being fixed numerical…' Arthur thought before attempting something.
Arthur gazed at the Synchronization stat before using something for the first time.
"Dragon's insight!"