Truth is Power

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"...Nothing goes without punishment in this game." Says Valvesteen, coldly.

Nina. "...let me check how many points I have in total."

...

"95"

Valvesteen. "It's enough to have this happen few other times, before you can figure it all out..."

"I guess, but it will only make it harder. I'll figure it out soon." Her tone sounded a bit different this time around!

Valvesteen. "Alright, before I leave, I'll give you some suggestions. Yo..." Nina cuts him out and says. "Don't worry about it, I know what to do. You can focus on your own mission Valvesteen."

He was pretty surprised to get this kind of reaction from her, but he didn't make it of it much.

"Fine, you can pay me a visit in my place if you'd like." He turns his back and heads out. "See you later..."

On his way, he thought to himself... 'She's not the type to rely on herself when I'm around, I wonder what made her act that way?

Either way, It serves me good, she can be pretty annoying sometimes.'

While he's walking, he spots few citizens doing their best zombie like impressions, as usual.

'Although I got used to the scene a bit, I get a repelling sensation whenever I see it. Why are they this way? There must be a logic behind it, even back in Nina's place, for them not to speak with us, or express their needs... But they did get upset, and mumbled.

Ah, if only my skills never left me... I could've changed them.' He starts imagining them the way he would draw them if he had his talent still.

What's funny is that he ended up imagining a whole city of Valvesteen-like people!

He was so immersed in his imaginative world until he almost saw it manifest in reality, or maybe, it did...

"How great would it be? A city of artists, and not any artists, the exceptional ones of them all, a placid tranquil place where all humans communicate on a much higher level than the silliness and ordinariness of Babel's everyday life..." he so eloquently expressed. "After all, isn't reforming this miserable town the mission we're all here for?"

Grey goes inside his place, removes his fancy white golden cape-like jacket and puts it on top of the wooden chair.

After a moment of silence, he says. "For the first time here, I feel a certain desire, to draw something!"

He brings out all the material he has, stands in front of the canvas, and begins working on his first piece since the beginning of the game...

...

..

.

*Lor, North East Aedificium*

Zephyr Hanx has just completed yet another challenge, titled "Piercer of heavens". It is a fighting quest type of challenge, where he acquired a new fighting technique using his incredibly long and large sword.

"Hehe! Fighting challenges are always much more fun than the other ones. Who cares about collecting truth if you can simply steal It from your opponents by force? So far, this strategy has worked well." He says, with his usual ironic smile.

There are 2 different types of challenges in the Eraquest, one is called Quest challenges, which mostly deal with either fighting or the activities done within the realm itself. On the other hand, there are historical challenges, where a player gets teleported to a different setting in order to discover and learn a truth about a certain era, and overall, a universal truth.

Zephyr has been mainly focusing on powering up instead of undergoing historical challenges. In that regard, his stats are as good as probably anybody in the game right now.

"...I wonder how do I rank in comparison to other players? I tried to find some sort of ranking in the watch but there is none, I surely hope there will be at a certain point. So I can duel with the strongest of them, and take all of their powers and truth pieces!!"

He seems to be having a lot of fun doing so, clearly, because he hasn't suffered any loss so far.

His complete stats are as follows:

- Health: 85%

- Experience: 27,5%

- Truth: 5%

- Completed challenges: 10

- Duel Record: 5 Wins / 1 Draw / 0 Loss

- Number of lives: 2

- Level: 2 Star (60%)

And 4% of the truth pieces he currently possesses are war bounty from his defeated opponents. Slowly but surely, he's making a reputation for himself in the Lor region, the players recognizing who he is do not accept his duel proposals in fear of losing all what they have, especially their lives, he does not hesitate in finishing his adversaries if they are reckless enough not to give up prior.

And the player he had a draw with had slightly better stats than him at the time! Their duel was intense, so intense it lasted 5 full hours, until they both agreed that It is best to take a draw and have a rematch later on to decide who's stronger.

Zephyr roams the tight roads of Aedificium in complete confidence that when he thinks to himself, he does it out loud. "... It's a strange feeling, to walk towards the unknown, without any discomfort or fear. If there is any thing such as truth, it would be nothing else but ultimate power."

It's clear, that the path Zephyr is heading into is different than the rest.

"...Whatever is happening with Levon right now? He probably has comparable stats to mine, or maybe better...

Surely, the moment will come, when we'll face each other.

Whomever beats the other in a duel will win this whole thing. The smart thing to do is to delay it as long as possible, when the loser will have a lot to lose, and the gap between us will be impossible to cover.

It's alright, although I'm excited to meet him again, I am in no rush.

All I have to do, is keep on getting stronger, and focus on my goal.

Now, let's find a new prey."

Like a predator, he starts running at an incredible speed, disappearing in the far dark distance...