Fate Online: Shadow

- You have leveled up!

"Nice, another level up" Michael felt happy when he heard those beautiful words after he rose to Level 38.

And the Undead Wizard that crumbled beneath his feet slowly turned into motes of light and disappeared, leaving some japtem lying on the ground before his feet.

Michael bent down and picked up the coins, a white bone, and an ordinary-looking Wizard Staff that it looks like it was made from a tree branch with a violet gem embedded at the other end of it, as finger-like roots wrapped around the gem.

Necronomicon Staff [Rare]

Magic Damage: 130~150

Durability: 150/150

A staff soaked in the miasma of the dead, making it unsuitable for most creatures who wield the power of magic. A powerful malefic force is locked within its embedded gem.

Requirements:

130 Intelligence

Level 40

Effects:

Mana usage for Undead Summoning is reduced by 30%.

Increases Mana regeneration by 10%.

Magic spells have a 30% chance of inflicting poison damage.

Consumes three times the mana for spellcasting for non-black-magic users.

"I can probably sell this for three hundred gold, but what are black magic and undead summoning? Is that voodoo or some shit?"

Michael was confused because the only known magic element to players right now are Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Ice.

"I better ask Solitary Tempest later, she might know a thing or two about this"

Then Michael just decided to bring this topic up to Solitary Tempest later as his knowledge of game mechanics so far is still far too limited.

"The light always shine upon us, Purification!"

"Huh?"

Michael was just about to continue exploring when he suddenly a woman's voice and an undead howling in pain below the cliff that he's on.

Michael quickly got down in the ground and slowly crawled his way forward and looked down at the spacious cavern below him, where he saw a red-haired woman in white and green healer robes confronting a Dullahan by herself.

The woman intertwined her fingers together in a prayer and started chanting when she noticed that the Dullahan was about to attack her again.

"Light always prevails, darkness vanquishes, Holy Hammer!"

"Roar~!"

A huge hammer made of golden light materialized above her and shot towards the charging Dullahan, and the hammer flew like how Thor would throw his hammer towards his opponent, and the holy hammer struck the Dullahan on its chest, sending it stumbling backward while howling in pain.

"Receive thy judgment! Ray of Judgement!"

A golden magic circle appeared above the muddled Dullahan, and a beam of light appeared from the magic circle and struck it from above, the light encompassing the monster whole.

"Roaar~!"

The Dullahan started roaring in pain as steam started emitting from its body like it was being boiled alive.

"The gods are forgiving, Blessed Healing!"

"Roaar~!"

"The light always shine upon us, Purification!"

"Roaar~!"

The woman didn't give the Dullahan a chance to get near her, as she would spam spell after spell, and every time the woman chants her skills, Michael noticed that the two bracelets on the woman with three chains connected on it, and with a sigil of the God of Sun on the other end the chains would always float up and would shine in a golden light, where they would beat like a heart.

"The gods are forgiving, Blessed Healing!"

"ROAR!"

The Dullahan issued one final roar while standing up, and its body started to become hazy, and Michael surprisingly witnessed a human's apparition appearing before the woman, and the man smiled warmly at the red-haired priestess.

"Thank you, young priestess. My soul can finally rest at peace"

The woman just nodded with a smile in reply, and then the apparition slowly disappeared into motes of lights, dropping a sword and skill book on the ground.

"This place is really the best hunting ground for players like me" the woman giggled.

Then she sighed in relief and took out a mana potion from her bag and drank it before wiping the sweat on her face.

"Miya!"

The woman had just taken the japtem into her storage bag when she suddenly heard someone calling her, and she quickly turned around towards the direction of the voice and saw a man jumping down from a hole that could fit two people together near the cavern ceiling.

The woman quickly became wary and alert. After all, her class is not meant for fighting other players, unless they are undead.

"Shadow!"

The woman quickly sighed in relief when she finally recognized who the person was.

"What are you doing here?" the woman said.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Michael smiled as he quickly walked over to her with a huge smile on his face.

The player before Michael is the priestess he met before in Timor Village, and Dylan's fellow guild member in the Flame Rose Guild.

"But man, it was nice meeting you here" Michael sighed in relief as he finally found his answer for his current problem.

"It is, I didn't expect that I would see you in this place," said Miya, and she also wasn't expecting that there would someone here beside her.

"Enough about us, are the others with you? And did you know that this dungeon is located in a Forbidden Zone?" asked Michael, eager to know if the others are also here with her.

"Forbidden Zone?" Miya grew startled after hearing the term for places considered as unhabitable places for humans.

"Yeah, Everwinter. A land covered in snow and with a never-ending winter all year round, does it ring a bell?" Michael was suddenly confused by Miya's startled reaction.

"Wait..what?" Miya was in disbelief for a couple of seconds before her expression returned to normal.

"You didn't know? Then how did you even get here?" Michael quickly realized that Miya clearly didn't travel to Everwinter just like he did and instead arrived here in another way.

"Well…"

Then she started telling Michael how she had ended up here.