CLA.S.S NEUTRAL: Stranger Is Coming

Racing with the Keeper. Difficult way. Old friend.

Quest 'Race with the Keeper' is obtained.

Description: The Forest Keeper has suggested you pursue him, using the 'Silvanus's path' to develop your skills. Remember the mentor's warnings and be careful.

Terms: To catch the Keeper and improve your skills.

Optional: To complete the quest before tomorrow morning.

Class: very rare

Reward:

+ 1000 to the experience

+ 500 to the reputation with the Keeper

+50 to the reputation with Reena

Silvanus's skill

The message remained in the air, and Silvanus had already disappeared. How can I catch up with him? There are twelve paths here. Which one has he gone down? It was as impossible as trying to find a black cat in a dark room—especially when it wasn't there.

I decided to find the Keeper's traces, and after a brief search, I managed to do just that. The footprints, illuminated with golden light, led along the thirteenth path. Sly bastard!

I got on the salvin's trail, and my legs 'carried' me in the right direction, where the salvin had already absconded. The path soon appeared and revealed itself more clearly.

I didn't know that among the hidden paths there were even more hidden ones. I ran along it for ten minutes and fell out next to the larger oak. Immediately, I looked around, but the salvin had left along a hidden path of the second level. I called it so.

I went along the next path, which was twice as long, and fell out into a spot surrounded by Hellish Hounds of the eighty-sixth level. F.u.c.k.i.n.g bastard! Without hesitation, I rushed to a new path before the creatures came out of their stupor.

The Keeper seemed a high-levelled master— the hounds hadn't even noticed him, otherwise they would have attacked me immediately. How did they see me?

The next path led me to the demons again, but this time I got slightly bitten, losing forty life points in the process. If it weren't for the unnatural attacks that I had got from the epic achievement, then I would have headed to the respawn point.

But I managed to run away again. My health bar instantly restored as soon as I found myself on an ordinary glade, which looked like the starting point, except that it was quieter.

Now the Keeper began to use the usual paths, but he jumped like a rabbit on a giant, hot frying pan. Several times he left the paths without completing the transition, which put me in a stupor as I didn't even think about such a possibility.

Relaxed, I fell into a trap and came out right next to the Lord of the Bloody Legion. What the hell? Why is this salvin such a scam artist? What have I done wrong to him? Have I learnt too much or thought too much? I could stop easily. Or I'll try to continue, at least, as I'm very curious.

"The one who lived thousands of lives and millions of years has decided to visit me again?" the demon said in surprise as he bared his sharp teeth in an evil grin. His face resembled a dragon's mug. His eye was still red.

"How could I forget such an awesome Lord?" I replied to him with a sly smile and added, "The one who ran after an immortal, out of power, unable to harm the terrible hellish Lord. Who also pursued a small fox, whom he almost killed with an artifact sword. Do you still call yourself a Lord?"

"Fu...!"

"Shut up!" I shouted to the archdemon. "You were afraid to lose your stone and immediately attacked those who couldn't hurt you. Are you really a demon? Your task is to fight with other Lords and lead your own legion through the Hellish Abyss and fight to become its sole ruler."

"Don't you dare to teach me!"

"Or what? Will you show me how much stronger you are than me?" I continued to oppress the archdemon with an arrogant gaze, looking into his eyes. At the same time, I was looking for another path. "When my level is equal to yours, I'll be happy to show you which of us is stronger."

"You understand nothing, immortal!" the demon enraged. "If you die, you'll resurrect anyway in a couple of hours—maybe even earlier. But I'll go to the Great Nothing, to the Nothingness, which is the worst of all. This place will quickly destroy a soul, even mine. What can you know about this?"

"It is better to be in that place than in the world from which I've come! You would pray to all light and dark gods for death if you happened to live among the people, but no one could help you as that world kills even gods."

"Even gods?" I would never forget his face. The demon looked so surprised that I took a mental screenshot and used the path that I had finally discovered. Then I managed to say, "That's all relative, Khaas."

I was lucky: I'd chatted to the demon, left alive, and even made him think. Amazing! What an odious oldie! I would catch up with him in the future and tear the fly agaric from his mossy head.

The path I'd found brought me back to the salvin's trail and led me... to the top of a tree.

"Shit!" I shouted as I clung to a branch, then I cursed so badly that it surprised even me.

Well, at least now I knew that paths could even lead to high and rather inconvenient places. If I had a couple of hundred points of Dexterity, there would be a chance to jump down on the branches.

How else can I get down from here? I don't want to fall down from the height of a hundred feet. I feel pain as real in the game; that hellish torment will await me. I descended from the cedar very slowly, scratching myself badly as I went.

Covered with needles and very angry, I stood and thought about where to go: the salvin's trace led along two paths at once, which I didn't expect at all. Had he managed to walk along all the paths several times while I had been catching up with him?

Hmm… people tended to choose the left direction in circ.u.mstances such as these. What if it was a fake path? Had he known that I would go to the left and gone along the right path? Or the other way around? Damn! I would go down the right one.

Forest giants surrounded me from all sides, obscuring the light and covering the earth with darkness. There were twelve paths around me again.

The salvin coughed behind me, but this time I tried not to jump in surprise. "I've forgotten to mention something. You have to learn these skills by yourself, so I won't show anything to you. You should deal with all this before tomorrow, otherwise you won't have time to go to the village. See you."

Calm down. No need to waste my nerves on this fool. So, I have a double track, and it'll be easier for me. I think that the salvin wanted me to go along a new journey. No way. He wouldn't cheat me with such silly tricks. Having thought a little, I didn't want to fall into his trap again, and so I went to the right path.

Everything was marvelous: birds were singing, a breeze was playing with leaves on the tops of the trees, and a droplet fell from a blue strawberry-like berry. However, there was one 'but'. There were now twenty-four paths! He is mocking me! I hope he breaks his leg! Moreover, his trials were divided into six paths, leading to the passage which I had only just left.

How? How does he do it? It's impossible. Or can he time travel? Or maybe everything is simpler, and he has the skill of Teleportation? Then why does he need paths?

I sat on the grass and began to think. He hadn't been able to divide himself into six parts. Or did he use some kind of clone making skill? Then this test was initially unfair, and I could shout one word to his face 'CHEATER'!

However, I would certainly do it when I caught him. I couldn't understand how all the traces came back, but in the previous glade the trails led into the same passage.

Had he entered this passage and not left? But he had scared me in that glade. Was there a hidden path of the second level in this passage? Nope. I would have noticed it, because this skill had already been pumped up to seventh level.

I had to run a lot and turn on 'Marathon runner' several times. I wondered what would be available to me when this ability leveled up at least fifty points. Well, how could I find this salvin? R-r-r-r!