Chapter 14 - The Day Things Don't Work Out (3)

Lately, Hyun and Ain had been properly hunting for the first time since they began playing the game.

Level 110 elite monster 'Cursed Subject.'

According to common sense, it wasn't a monster that could be hunted down by users that weren't even level 50.

Just one hit could put their lives in danger. Not only that, but users of level 50 usually struggled to overcome the defense of monsters that were above level 100.

But what would happen if you could deal damage far above what an average level 50 player could?

[Critical Hit! You've dealt 2514 damage!]

Every time Ain's hand touched the 'Cursed Subject,' it burned while crying in pain.

Even considering that its body was made of wood and that fire was its weakness, it was a ridiculously high amount of damage.

"Wow... Is such an amount of damage even possible?"

The damage output of Ain's skill was above what a level 100 user could achieve.

'Ain currently has 170 magical power...'

The Close Range Magician's skill, «Flame Claws», dealt damage five times the user's Magic Power.

On top of that, you had to add the numerous bonuses of the weapon.

‘Increase Magical Power by 30%’.

‘Increase Elemental Damage by 50%’.

Also, Increase Critical Hit Damage by 30%’!

By using a weapon, she had increased the damage output 2.5 times.

A unique item was truly something amazing. It was worth the amount of gold they had spent on the item enhancement.

'Still, there's a clear weakness.'

Even though Ain's Magical Power was 170, she only had ten stats in vitality.

Since she only had 500 HP, only one mistake would be enough to kill her!

Ain played as a glass cannon: she could deal an amazing amount of damage, but her body was like a piece of paper.

'Well, it really doesn't matter as long as she doesn't get hit.'

The reason why Ain could grow in such an unbalanced way was thanks to Hyun.

Some elite monsters could deal AoE damage or targeted attacks that you couldn't avoid.

Even if you were a skillful player, you couldn't avoid heavy rain.

Some of the monsters' attack patterns affected the area around you, so you couldn't overcome them with your controlling abilities.

That's when Hyun's support shone.

Thanks to «One Second Immortality» and «Shield», Ain could focus on the offense.

One day after they began hunting elite monsters, they achieved their main goal.

[You've leveled up!]

[Since you've achieved level 50, you've fulfilled all the prerequisites! Now you can do the awakening quest!]

Hyun closed his eyes while a light that showed he had leveled up covered his body.

"Level 50... Finally..."

Hyun thought about everything he had gone through after getting the Support job.

It really was torture.

"Hyun, what are you doing with your eyes closed?"

Hyun was so focused that he couldn't even hear Ain's question.

He had decided to stick with the Support job and not raise a new character for that precise moment.

"Finally... I can learn the ultimate attack!"

After reaching level 50, everyone could learn something called an Awakening Skill.

In Asra, everyone called it an Ultimate Attack because of convenience.

It was a skill that was so strong that it could change the flow of the battle in your favor.

It was an attack that could create an overwhelming advantage.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that after level 50, most people's combat style was centered on the Ultimate Attack.

'I've saved up all my skill points for this moment!'

Because Hyun had played Asra Online, he knew about the importance of the Ultimate Attack more than anyone.

There was no information available about the Support job; that's why leveling up any skill would be foolish.

While playing with a job no one else had, what you should do is first learn about its ultimate attack, and then you could focus on the rest of the skills.

'Now, should I start the epic awakening quest?'

But Hyun needed to remember something.

After getting the Support job, things rarely went smoothly.

The system sent him more messages.

[The Support shines while playing with others!]

[You can't complete the awakening quest alone!]

[You need to do the quest accompanied by another person with similar conditions as yours!]

Hyun seemed confused by the messages.

"What's this...?"

"Did something happen?"

"It says that I need to form a party with another person to do the awakening quest."

Hyun tried to guess with the information he knew.

Hidden jobs usually walk a different path from regular ones.

From one point of view, you could say that it was the privilege of a hidden job. But on the other hand, it was a variable the hidden job had to bear.

The requirement of completing the quest with another person was probably because of the Support’s (Hidden) job characteristics.

"Should I help you?"

After hearing the explanation, a smile appeared on Ain's face.

"Just as I thought, you need me."

It was decided.

Ain reached level 50 after undoing the party and hunting alone. Her body began shining.

Because of the amount of experience that a level 110 elite monster gave, it didn't take Ain a lot of time to level up.

[You've leveled up!]

[Since you've achieved level 50, you've fulfilled all the prerequisites! Now you can do the awakening quest!]

[Once you enter the 'Awakening Room,' the quest starts automatically!]

- The process of awakening tests your abilities, but at the same time, it opens the doors for a plethora of opportunities.

- The 'Awakening Skill' you'll obtain depends on your decisions while doing the quest. It will change depending on your beliefs and possibilities.

- Face your new self at the end of the road after choosing from infinite possibilities.

<Reward>: 1 Awakening Skill.

Attention: The number of Awakening Skills you can choose from will depend on how well you clear the quest. So always do your best.

Hyun and Ain entered one of the buildings of the City of Loupra.

The Awakening Room.

It was a place present in every city that allowed you to obtain a new skill.

The interior of it was very luxurious.

"Hyun, are you nervous?"

"Not really..."

"I'm kind of nervous."

The two walked through a corridor that had candles illuminating the path.

They saw a strangely distorted space with a twisted door at its end.

"Well, let's go."

Hyun and Ain walked toward it.

The distorted space absorbed them.

Everything turned dark. Both felt weird. It was a feeling similar to that when you were about to fall asleep.

The sensation of fading consciousness quickly stopped.

A slight sensation of floating was left.

They felt that this sensation of being in a dream would last forever.

It was like drowning in a sea called subconsciousness.

'I can't see anything.'

He had never felt anything similar to it in Asra Online.

It was possible that the game, which tried to recreate a sensation similar to real life, wanted the users to feel the sense of awakening for real.

'It's definitely different from Asra.'

In the previous game, he hadn't felt anything similar.

But in Asrian Online, there were a lot of experiences that felt very real.

Hyun and Ain endlessly fell to a sea of darkness.

Suddenly, in the middle of that darkness, they could hear the message sent by the system.

[You've found a companion!]

[Get ready, both of your awakening quests will begin simultaneously!]

Hyun took a deep breath.

Hearing the system's voice in the middle of a dark place made him nervous.

[Extracting keywords from player Hyun's subconsciousness.]

[Keyword: 'Time']

Whish-!

He was surprised because, suddenly, a floor had appeared under his feet.

—It was a circular disk with a diameter of one meter.

Once he looked at it more carefully, he noticed something strange.

"A clock...?"

On the floor, he could see roman numbers that went from 1 to 12.

The fluorescent hands of the clock were rotating on top of it.

Beyond the clock, there was only darkness.

Hyun and Ain were standing on top of a clock located somewhere in the middle of the space.

The system's alert continued.

[Extracting keywords from player Ain's subconsciousness.]

[Keyword: 'Passion']

The moment the message ended—

Fwoosh-! The fluorescent hands of the clock and the numbers got devoured by fire.

Once the fire was lit, they were able to see the surroundings.

A spiral staircase.

In their surroundings, they could see a giant spiral staircase.

To be more precise, it wasn't giant… It was vast.

It looked like a giant spiral pedestal that connected the sky and earth.

Hyun and Ain kept descending through the spiral axis.

Endlessly...

It was like they were taking an elevator heading under the earth.

"Amazing..."

Hyun looked in the direction from which he suddenly heard a voice.

Ain was looking around with her mouth wide-opened.

She hadn't noticed that he was staring at her.

Was she impressed by how everything had been staged?

Well, it was normal for girls of her age to be impressed by atmospheres like that.

Although, he didn't know Ain's age.

Hyun was thinking about many non-important things when the disk stopped moving.

From that point onwards, the quest had officially begun.

[The stage customization has finished!]

- In order to bring out your maximum potential, you must reach the deepest parts of your subconscious!

- The deeper into the subconscious you reach, the more powerful the awakening skill you receive as a reward!

- However, the deeper you go, the more likely it is that you will be swallowed by the abyss that is your subconscious.

- Fortunately, you have exactly one chance to turn back time.

- Starting the awakening stage!

Fwoosh- In front of Hyun and Ain, a button made of fire that said 'start' appeared.

Before beginning the quest, Hyun took a deep breath.

'I must think carefully...'

Awakening quest…

The basic rules were simple:

The deeper you went, the more possible awakening skills you could choose from.

The amount from which to choose was very important, although you could only get one in the end.

Basically, the main goal of the quest was to get to the deepest part as possible.

'I can go back in time?'

That was the part that caught his attention the most.

…Going back in time after death.

At the end of your life, you get a chance to go back in time to relive your life and avoid committing the same mistakes—it was a story setup that was frequently seen in movies or novels.

Since the second time, one didn't make the same mistakes and could do things more efficiently; the previous life's experience and feedback were incredibly important.

'Is this possible because of the keyword, ‘time’? It's really huge if, after dying, I can go back in time and start all over again.'

The moment he stopped thinking and stepped forward, he got an unexpected system message.

[All of your stats have temporarily gone back to 10!]

[All of your skills have returned to their original state. All skill points have been removed!]

[Once you complete the awakening quest, everything will be reverted to normal!]

Hyun and Ain suddenly felt weaker.

It was a phenomenon that happened because their stats were close to those of a player of level 100, and then they had been reset.

Since Asrian Online could control your brainwaves, they really felt as if the strength had left their bodies.

"It feels like my body has become sluggish..."

Ain complained.

Hyun smiled bitterly.

'There was no way they would give us an amazing feature like going back in time for free! So the penalty is the reset of stats and skill points, huh?'

Hyun didn't get desperate.

It had always been like that: in order to gain something, you must lose something.

That fact had remained the same from the time when he used to be the number 1 in the rankings to the current moment when he was playing a Support.

Hyun looked at the notification at the top of the screen.

"Let's go," he said.

"Okay."

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