Equipment Searching

Opportunity felt the wind flow through her hair and fell back onto Ryolu, "That was great."

Ryolu snorted in amusement as she tilted downward, "Still reflecting on the fight?"

"I finished, excluding the difference in Stages I don't think I could've performed any better."

"There's always room for improvement."

"Speaking of! What happened to you? What kind of performance was that? Your daughter was outshining you.", Opportunity teased.

"The restrictions of this Link were tighter than I had originally thought.", Ryolu steadied her flight to become straight.

"So you're not a peak Third Stage fighter?"

"My peak no, I'm tied to a level somewhat similar to your own."

"Are you blaming me??", Opportunity scoffed and pretended to be offended.

"Negative, I just hadn't expected the restrictions to be so tight. I believe I too will have to practice to fully understand my capabilities currently."

Beaming Opportunity asked, "So we can train together yeah? I think I can do more than a few scratches nowadays."

"I concur."

"This is gonna be great!", Opportunity sat up, "Although I really need some new equipment."

"Is it time we found those weapons?"

"It's the easiest thing to do currently. We couldn't finish it before the Raid, better now than never hmm?"

Opportunity raised a finger and opened a quest she received upon reaching Third Stage.

[God's Chosen: War God's Test]

The War God Juro is pleased with your progress. As a reward for your ascension Juro offers you a test. Complete this test to obtain a suitable reward!

Objective:

Defeat 15 unique 3rd Stage Enemies (7/15)

Defeat 50 unique 2nd Stage Enemies (46/50)

Defeat 200 unique 1st Stage Enemies (122/200)

Deal 1,500,000 damage (1,500,000/1,500,000)

Complete the War God's Trial! (0/1)

Difficulty: A

Time Limit: None

Reward:

Carving Scarlets

War Torn Breastplate

War Torn Greaves

War Torn Gauntlets

War Torn Helmet

-End-

A unique quest given to her thanks to her God's Chosen Blessing! It clearly was giving her a unique set of armor along with the proper Carving Scarlets she used to mimic with [Weapon of War]. If anything she was slightly grateful she hadn't completed the quest prior to the raid. There was a chance that such equipment would've wasted away thanks to the Rot.

Although she couldn't recall if any of the available Third Stages had Third Stage equipment. Excluding the rare weapons of course. There was still the possibility that Third Stage equipment could have lasted against the Rot.

The words of "War Torn" made her think of old equipment. The kind you would find during the tutorial of an RPG or similar. Even if they were tutorial level equipment the Carving Scarlets were more than worth completing the quest. Although Opportunity didn't really think that the quest would award poor equipment.

Especially not regarding her God's Chosen Blessing.

She had made some progress already. Although finding Third Stage enemies was somewhat difficult. With such a small portion of player reaching Third Stage there wasn't any dungeons regarding that level. Without a player base to find Third Stage Dungeons the first requirement of "Unique 3rd Stage Enemies" was a troubling ask. The rest of the requirements were easily fulfilled though, there was a substantial amount of Second Stage dungeons she had yet to complete, and even more First Stage ones. The damage requirement was long since completed, her carving through the various Undead significantly helped and even completed this objective. 

The Trial itself wasn't known. Currently she believed it would reveal itself after all other requirements were filled. Since it was the last in the list this way of thinking wasn't too far fetched. If it was anything like her original trial to obtain the God's Chosen Blessing she had confidence in completing it. 

Worse case scenario she'd have to find some other set of equipment to make up for the power gap.

All in all everything currently felt like a win! 

Leaning sideways Opportunity looked towards the ground. Treetops flew past at a blinding rate with how quickly Ryolu was soaring through the skies. Spinning in a barrel roll Ryolu asked, "So where to first?"

"Wherever the wind guides. If we stumble across a Third Stage creature we can tackle it, otherwise we have time. No deadline this time around!"

"Very well."

~ ~ ~

"Honestly Givale, I can see why Akiol never bothered with a mount! This speed is ridiculous!", Tilia exclaimed.

"This isn't very fast though! Akiol could outpace this!", Givale remained humble.

A frown formed on Tilia's expression. She watched the coordinates move and asked, "Seriously?"

"He said that it costs a lot of Aura though so he doesn't use it very often."

"So he beats you in speed with his Aura?"

"Nope! I can go far faster than this!"

Portals manifested and the two began to cross over the distance at a far greater pace. Tilia laughed helplessly, "I suppose teleporting is faster!"

It took mere minutes for the two to arrive at The Gated Arena. Givale landed a distance away and morphed into her human form. The entrance to The Gated Arena was still bustling with players. According to your average progression guide The Gated Arena was a must visit once you reached Second Stage.

Here the general playerbase could obtained lost or abandoned 'Paths' to allow their progression into Third Stage to be easier. Additionally if they were lucky they could obtain a 'Path' that vastly improved their strengths.

Thus a lot of players came by to attempt their trials to enter The Gated Arena. It was a highly populated area despite the lack of teleport scrolls to the location. Tilia and Givale pushed past the group of players. A few player side eyed Tilia's lack of equipment, but many recognized her as a member of Six Lights.

Occasionally she had to stop and respond to a few fans who were overjoyed. A handful of screenshots and meets later she eventually appeared at the entrance. Givale looked back and viewed the happy players, "You guys are becoming more popular by the day!"

"I blame Akiol and his shenanigans.", Tilia joked.

Entering The Gated Arena was easy. It was simply a portal you had to pass through once you completed your trial. Absorbing the sight of The Gated Arena for a moment she recalled just how far this place pushed everyone. 

A faint smile broke her lips as she moved forward. Setting aside the Provinces there was numerous locations and groups responsible for the improvement of other side jobs. Cooking, blacksmithing, tailoring, magic studying, taming, just about every occupation you could think of. The Gated Arena was solely focused on self improvement in all regards.

Finding a large building with smoke billowing out of several chimneys Tilia walked in. The sounds of hammers ringing immediately assaulted her ears. Givale even twisted her nose, the smell of sweat, fire, and smoke was unpleasant to the nose.

Tilia knew better than to interrupt. Not only was it considered rude, but it would make for an incredibly unfavorable first impression. So Tilia casually leaned against a wall and studied the sound of blacksmiths at work.

The once ear ringing sounds of metal against metal now turned rhythmic. There was a hidden pattern in the noise. Givale didn't notice this kind of pattern. Instead she was more attentive to the actual physical work. She had watched the process that had forged the daggers she used. It had garnered a slight interest in blacksmithing. 

It felt something close to magic how these skilled blacksmiths could morph materials into armor and weapons. The two became absorbed into the atmosphere for roughly half an hour before a blacksmith approached them.

Their face was stained with soot. Their long hair tied back looked both black and pink, but it was likely the black came from soot. A stubble was barely visible on their face, a few pink spots revealed themselves through the thick soot. Taking off a pair of worn gloves he hung the pair on his belt. Yet despite the appearance he approached happily, "Good evening! I noticed you guys were waiting about, was there something you needed?"

Tilia smiled in response, "I'm here for some advice regarding good Third Stage materials."

"In general or are you asking for a personal quote?"

"Personal quote, I'm doing some research for a custom set."

"If it's just advice you need that's easy!", the blacksmith was overjoyed.

Pulling out a notepad he whipped out a pencil, "Talk with me as we walk. I know a few people who'll be finished here soon so we can meet with them as well."

Givale raised a hand, "I'll wait here!"

Tilia nodded towards her in response and followed the blacksmith. They maneuvered skillfully through the bustle of various other blacksmiths. Occasionally the blacksmith looked towards Tilia before returning to his notepad.

Nearby a blacksmith tripped and liquid metal was sent flying outwards towards another blacksmith. Just as someone cried, "Watch-"

A semi-translucent bronze kite shield manifested and blocked the molten metal. It slid towards the ground and failed to harm anything. The almost-victim blacksmith turned around and took a moment to comprehend the sight, "Jakob! What did we say about carrying molten metal around?! We have a dedicated place for that!"

"S-Sorry! It's occupied and I'm almost finished!"

"Someone could've gotten hurt! Like me clearly!", the blacksmith irritably shook their head.

Looking about for the individual who saved their skin from being burnt they found nobody. Unsure on who to thank they asked other blacksmiths, but none had an answer. Puzzled by the situation they instead returned their focus to Jakob, "You're cleaning the slag tonight for this!"

"That's only fair.", Jakob sighed.