Chapter 17: Chapter 17- The Ruins of the Past Eternal Forge.
"...And in today’s top story, Myth Online continues to dominate the headlines. The game which appeared overnight when the sky cracked across the globe still remains a mystery. As per the analysts and census from across the globe, the active players in the game have surpassed two billion."
"Reports show many players have been logged in for extended sessions for more than 24 hours. The players have reported not suffering from any fatigue even after extended gaming for so long."
The news anchor shuffled her papers and continued.
"Meanwhile, the governments are trying to respond to the situation. The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Friday night, but no official statement regarding the conclusion and decision from the meeting has been announced.
Military forces still remain on standby across the globe, in case of any alien invasions though the nuclear alerts have been downgraded from DEFCON 2 to DEFCON 3."
A graphical chart and line graph appeared showing increasing player activity.
"The game remains an unexplainable anomaly. Scientists from MIT and CERN have published a paper stating that the fracture in the sky does not particularly correspond to any known natural phenomenon. Dr. Elena Vasquez of MIT states and I quote. ’The energy signatures we’re detecting are inconsistent with geological, meteorological, or any terrestrial source. Something seemed to have opened a crack and a strange energy has permeated into the atmosphere slowly spreading worldwide, but we have no way to detect or identify this energy.’"
The image shifted and showed an increasing line graph of money increasing within the banks.
"In the business sector, the economic impact from Myth Online has brought a massive change in the world’s economy. The in-game currency exchange rate has stabilized at 500 dollars a coin, creating an overnight sensation. Players who are doing well have managed to earn a good amount of money, some even became millionaires overnight. Many companies from different sectors have reached a decision to invest in the game. Militaries of different countries have also been dispatched to the game."
"That’s all for today. We will continue to bring all the updates regarding Myth Online. Stay tuned."
The morning news ended. Some advertisements started playing.
Leo pointed the remote and pressed the power button on it.
The television flickered and went dark.
Leo was sitting on the counter. A cup of coffee in his hand and watching the TV.
He checked outside the window to see if the black sedan was waiting. He had already checked twice since dawn. But the memory from the day before remained in his mind. The sense of being watched lingered.
He sighed in relief after making sure no suspicious-looking car was parked outside.
Leo finished his coffee and leaned back on the chair staring at the ceiling thinking about the news.
Two billion players huh.... Economic shift. World is changing...
Leo closed his eyes.
"CONNECT"
The world dissolved.
.....
He was back in Ironhaven.
The night had passed. He sat on his bed feeling his body which felt no different from the real world. He placed his hand over his heart and the eternal flame hummed in response.
He raised his palm and the eternal flame materialized, dancing and flickering on his palm. Leo smiled and put it away.
He checked his inventory.
[ EQUIPPED ]
- Ember-Touched Longsword (Rare, Runic-Infused)
- Forgeheart Bracers (Uncommon, Growth)
[ INVENTORY ]
- Beginner Smithing Recipe Book
- Iron Longsword Master’s Notes
- Cinder-Hide (Rare Material)
- Bear’s Heart Core (Crafting Reagent)
- 45 Silver
He stood up. Stretched and cracked his neck before walking out of the inn.
Leo grabbed a bread bun from the countertop of the reception while making his way out.
He ate as he walked the street that was coming alive for the day.
Leo arrived at the smithy. He could already see Shen standing at the door of the smithy from 2 blocks away.
His robe was clean, unlike before and cinder guardian sword resting across his shoulder.
"You’re up early," Leo said.
"So are you." Shen looked at the half eaten bread in Leo’s hand. "Tell me you have another portion of bread for me."
"Hmm you mean this..?" Leo raised the bread and pointed at it before swallowing it all in one gulp. "No, I don’t have any extra."
Gulp.
Leo could literally hear Shen swallowing his saliva hard.
"Okay, let’s get going."
They bought the necessary supplies, potions, checked their gear and made their way to the quest location.
.....
The same old worn out paved road stretched ahead, dissolving into the forest. They walked in silence for the first few minutes, morning dew dropped from the leaves on the sidewalk. A gentle cool breeze blew past them.
Leo didn’t mind but Shen had an awkward expression at this silence.
He decided to break it.
"Leo, you said you saw someone in that forge when you visited last time?"
"Yes, I think it was the previous Forge holder. Golden eyes and golden fire. The fire was almost similar to mine." Leo replied as he brushed past the dew-covered bushes with his hands.
Shen listened to Leo as his hand unconsciously reached for the pendant around his neck. "My pendant started glowing around the same time."
The pendant pulsed with green light faintly like a heartbeat.
"I have been wearing it since I got it. Although it does not provide any attribute boost or skill." Shen said holding it in his palm. "The quest description called it a relic of a forgotten era. It’s supposedly from a guardian clan that protected the ancient forge."
Shen paused. "I thought this was just some tale with some background story for the quest to make it feel ancient."
"Guess it’s not just folklore anymore."
"Yeah." Shen said as he recounted. "The moment you saw the vision, my quest log which had been silent finally updated and pointed me to Ironhaven."
Leo had an understanding look. "So you were already searching for me when we hadn’t met?"
Shen shrugged. "I guess so."
He added, "I’ve been running this questline since Level 1. Every step - the first talisman, the first ink recipe, the guardian’s pack rune..... everything seems to funnel down here."
They were deep inside the woods, the surroundings was growing darker.
Leo suddenly got curious about Shen’s real life. "So what were you doing, before the game and all....?"
Shen paused for a brief second and continued his steps. "A literature student, specialized in calligraphy. For three years, I studied the ancient brush arts, ink grinding and learning to make a perfect stroke." His lips twisted into a smile that didn’t look like a smile.
"My teacher used to say I had patience but no passion. My works were perfect but they had no soul." He touched the pendant. "Well, none of that matters anymore. I quit a couple of days ago..."
Leo looked at him. "I don’t know anything about calligraphy, but your works at crafting talismans are definitely the best I’ve seen so far."
Shen smiled mischievously. "Have you seen anyone craft a talisman before?"
Leo froze. "Ha..ha...haha. But you’re definitely the best."
Leo pondered for a while and thought about his own experiences, years of hammering, working with metal, all translated into the blacksmith class in the game. Leo looked at Shen and expressed his thoughts. "If you are skilled in the real world, you will also be skilled here. I think because you were skilled in calligraphy, the system translated it into talisman forging."
"So you are a Blacksmith in the real world? Woah, in this era, Blacksmiths still exist?" Shen asked curiously.
"I don’t know if I can be considered as one. But my father was a Blacksmith. I just run the shop."
"You are a blacksmith."
Leo didn’t argue back. They were not far from the ruins.
The treeline thickened. The paved road dissolved into packed earthen roads. A canopy of trees covered the path blocking the light, only allowing some filtered light in a green-gold pattern on the forest floor.
The eternal fire stirred within him, feeling excited.
"We are close." Leo voiced.
Shen nodded. His pendant was glowing brighter now. "Yes, I can feel it too."
...
They pushed through a screen of tall grasses and trees into a clearing.
A ruin lay before them. The same vitrified building and stone. Collapsed walls devoured by moss. A massive pillar stood at the center of the collapsed forge with a hairline crack that ran along the center of the pillar.
Leo stopped at the edge of the clearing.
Did I remember wrong or is the ruin looking bigger than before?
Leo stood before the central forge in front of the pillar. Shen walked up beside him. The pendant blazed casting shadows through the ruins.
"This is it." Shen breathed with excitement.
Leo nodded. "Ready?"
Shen looked at him and cracked his neck. "Ready as I’ll ever be."
.....
Leo placed his hand flat on the stone pillar. His eternal flame erupted setting the pillar and Leo ablaze in fire.
Soon the pendant within Shen’s chest glowed even brighter, matching the eternal flame’s heat lighting his whole body up. He followed Leo and placed his palm firmly on the blazing pillar.
The stone hummed. A low vibration. Leo and Shen both felt it in their bones and marrow. The small hairline crack on the stone pillar started to vibrate intensely until it split open wide.
Leo and Shen stood there stunned at what appeared.
The hairline crack had turned into a large opening leading to tunnel stairs that went deep underground. Leo and Shen took a step forward and entered the opening, staring down at the spiraling staircase whose end could not be seen.
[Ding!]
[ QUEST UPDATE: Memory of the First Fire ]
Two keys have been offered. The forge accepts.
The path is open. Descend together.
"After you." Shen said.
Leo nodded and stepped forward. He took a first step. The stone stairs were covered with dust but as they stepped on it, it revealed a smooth surface worn out by centuries of use.
[Ding!]
[ QUEST-LOCKED ZONE DETECTED: Memory of the First Fire ]
The forge holds its own time. Use it wisely.
Time distortion active: 1 real-world hour = 6 in-game hours.
"... What the??"
"Time distortion.. Man, this is hard to believe. How can a game even make this possible?"
Shen couldn’t believe it after reading the notifications.
Leo remained silent and walked deeper. Shen followed.
The walls were smooth - obsidian, polished to a mirror finish. As they walked down the stairs in this tunnel, the torches on the wall lit up on their own. The air grew warmer the further they walked. Leo’s hand was already on the Ember-Touched sword, ready to fight at any moment.
This place seems like it’s alive.
They finally reached a door at the end of the stairs. Leo pushed the door open.
It was a chamber.
A circular area, twenty meters wide, walls same as the tunnel, made of obsidian. An iron gate stood at the far side of the chamber. Black metal, cold and rusted, crank mechanism at its center broken beyond repair. The gate was similar to a grilled gate with the black iron fixed at certain spacing. The things on the other side of the gate were clearly visible.
Beyond the iron bars of the gate, a stone anvil stood alone looking ancient. On it, was a blade.
Broken.
Two halves lying parallel, edge to edge. As if waiting to be repaired.
Leo’s breath caught.
That’s the blade I saw in the vision, held by the mysterious blacksmith. The previous forge holder.
He moved towards the gate. The chamber was silent with nothing but the sound of their boots hitting against the floor.
Leo surveyed the surrounding walls. He couldn’t help but notice a few scorch marks along with some sword marks on the wall.
This place seemed to have been through some battle.
Leo reached out with his hands and touched the iron bars of the gate.
The moment his hands made contact with the bars, the air in the chamber shifted.
The temperature dropped.
Leo felt something moving in his vision. He turned to check only to find that the obsidian walls within the chamber were moving. Then slowly, translucent figures started to materialize. Weathered and carrying the same cold ash smell that filled the chamber, but with no faces. Their posture seemed wrong, non-human.
Leo inspected the figures.
[ SPECTRAL ECHO - LEVEL 8 ]
HP: ???
The echo of a raider who breached this chamber during the invasion while the forge was still alive. Bound here when the forge sealed itself against the invasion. Cannot be killed - only delayed. They still carry the orders they were given.
...
