As he approached the small little cluster of homes, Nikolas saw a familiar face. It was Emir, his buddy that helped him escape the vampires during the tutorial. Once that whole ordeal was over, the two of them plus their third compatriot, Skye, were all sent to different areas. Since then, Nikolas had been wandering through the middle of North America. His pace picked up as he neared the compound.

”Yoohooooooo!!! Emir is that you?~” He called out hoping to catch the young man’s attention. How lucky was it to run into a familiar face in this world of chaos. What was Emir doing out here though? “Emir, what are you doing out here?” as he approached the man, he slowed down and started to try and catch his breath.

Emir Nebu

Nikolas tried to laugh off Emir’s comments but they were truer than he realized. After they left the tutorial, Nikolas was dumped in the middle of the USA. He had to fight off some hill goblins and traverse through the Hollow Hills. It wasn’t the best experience, but it did help him get a better grasp of his class. Still, he found the best use of the class was to be in parties. There, his support skills really shined. “You have no idea how right you are. I thought I was going to die a time or two. Guess I’ve got some good luck, else. I suspect I’d be dead. “

Emir shared the missions’ details and the two partied up. No sooner did he hit the accept button that a new screen appeared before him.





”Woah, I didn’t know about this synergy thing. Seems pretty useful. Especially around fire breathing cows” He snickered at his parter. Looking around, all he noticed was grass lands and hills. Where were they going to wrangle up these animals? ”any clue which way to go?”

Emir Nebu

Nikolas shrugged Emir’s comments off about being weak. He was weak. Mentally at least.

Nikolas wasn’t really programmed to be a fighter on the front lines. While he had some useful attack skills, he’d probably feel more comfortable being in the backline aiding when needed. ” I’ll pretend to not take offense to that. And no, I’m not some priest just your friendly cheerleader.” He said while giving his companion a playful smile. ” At least we’re both familiar with each other’s skills and limits. Though, I have to say since we last parted I’ve gained some useful items.”



He gripped his forearm tightly. Underneath his clothing, he could feel the warm sensation of his new tattoo. Its power pulsated up and down his arm. Not only did he have the tattoo but his new little bird would be very useful in a mission like this. ”So, we’ve got to get some animals that escaped? I think I might have something that can help us find them a bit quicker.” Nikolas caused a screen to pop up. He selected a button before him and out came a small raven carved out of golden wood. He stroked the back of the bird’s neck. What was wood then seemed to liven up and begin to move about. After a second of hopping around on Nikolas’ hand, the bird flapped its wings and took off to the sky. ” He should be able to scout some of them out for us but let’s keep going this way for now.” Nikolas still wasn’t totally used to the way the information came to him from the bird but he was able to start to see a clear picture. “Okay, I think I see some cattle-like creatures just over the hill.” He said while pointing at the direction the bird was showing him.



Emir Nebu

”I can probably figure something out to keep its attention to a while but do you think you can actually hold out before the beast summits? Didn’t the mission information mention tiring or even forceable submitting the beast to our will?”

The pair’s pace slowed as they made their way up the hill, Nikolas was a bit nervous about the whole situation. While he did have some offensive skills, he wasn’t sure how well they would work in the case of the beast rushing him. “You know, you’re pretty fast and slippery. Maybe we can bait the beast to chase us down and wear them out?” He pushed a bit of the hair in his face out of the way. The day was still young and the breeze from the late fall was surprisingly warm for this time of year. If he had nothing better to do, Nikolas might have just laid amongst the grassy fields for a nap. He doubted Emir would have stopped him. The two seemed to be of somewhat similar personalities. Perhaps when this mission was done, they could find somewhere nearby to relax and unwind. This new world was stressful and unfamiliar. It would be nice to have an actual friend.

Emir Nebu

” Okay, I think we can handle this pretty easily with your shadow skill.” The two hatched their plan before summiting the hill. While Emir was to go and draw the cow’s attention, Nikolas was to lay in wait and spring his trap. He made his way to the cave and found some rocks to hide behind and wait. A screen had appeared giving him and Emir the option to boost one of their stats yet again. Nikolas selected his [MAGI].



While he stood there, he could do nothing but watch and listen. The sounds he heard made him get a bit nervous. The stampede of hoofs and the blast of fire made him second-guess this plan. There weren’t many options though. Emir used his shadows and slipped past the cow. Nikolas activated his held skill [Desert Shadow]. A rush of darkness came over him as he melted into the ground, weaving himself around the cave like a snake, Nikolas emerged near the entrance. He held out his hand as the beast turned with a fiery glow in its mouth. Before he could launch that fireball, thirteen golden rays of light sprung from Nikolas. A magic circle had formed before him and from it the rays of light lashed out at the cow. The cow attempted to step back to avoid the rays but was cornered. ”Ah ha!” Nikolas was all too excited about his show of power. ”Take that you fire-breathing hamburger!” He was too engrossed with his own display of power to follow up with Emir to seal the deal. He had to hope that his protegee was more level headed and on task than he was.



Emir Nebu

As Emir dove from the ceiling, Nikolas reeled the light tentacles away from his partner and seemed to coil them around the cow to prevent it from struggling too much. He let out an audible gasp as Emir slammed into the cow’s back. It did not look as smooth as he was sure that Emir was hoping it to be. Still, the shadow man came through and the collar snapped onto the cow and within moments the look on the cow went from anger to a docile look.



Nikolas canceled his light beams and walked forward timidly toward the cow. “That wasn’t so bad.” Noticing Emir’s posture and offering to take a moment, Nikolas nodded. “Take all the time you need. I don’t think we’re too far from the farm anyways.” He walked back outside the cave and the cow began to slowly trot after him. In the sunshine, Nikolas's face could be seen with a large smirk. He was starting to get the hang of this world and was beginning to not be so scared. He turned back to Emir and gave a smile. ”Let me know when you’re good to go and we can head out!”



Emir Nebu