19***The Church of Axis

HOBSIDE VILLAGE

Nylon

"So can you get me a new shield or what?" I asked Robert after he gave me the rundown of the cost of making a new one.

"Mmmmmm.... I could, obviously, but it might take a few days as getting the materials is going to be difficult." He replied before he turned around and went back inside. Sadly, if he thought I was gonna let this one slide, he had another thing coming!

"What are you talking about! It shouldn't take more than an afternoon too do!" I yelled back at him, "If you need resources, then I can easily run out and get them for you. Your just being lazy!"

"That's easy enough for you to say, but you're going to have to go to Area5 in order to get everything needed to make back your shield." He retorted calmly.

"Wait what? Why?!!" I was fully confused at this. I personally saw to the stuff that was being put in that shield and I saw nothing over even Area2 go into it.

"Well, for one, the wood used was from the Sacred Forest in Area5, and you would need to post a quest to an adventurers guild to get that for you. However, members that would be strong enough to do such a quest hardly look at quests of this nature due to the low amount of money achievable. So it could take up to a week for someone to do it for them.... Oi! Are you listening?!!" He finished, but he lost me when he said the wood used came from the Sacred Forest.

By the time he realized I stopped listening, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, deep in thought.

'Hmmmm..... That doesn't make sense at all. Although it does clear up the misconception that there was a tree in the Grasslands, it still leaves the question, how did that hunk of bark get there anyway? Maybe it was a drop from an Area5 player, though I can't see that happening in the weakest stage in this world. So maybe someone put it there on purpose, though as to when and why, I have no clue, thus that argument gets shelved. Next up is probably the most likely, that a glitch occurred in the system. Although, this game has been around for 7 years now, so one would think that such large glitches would have been cleaned out by now. Plus, fail-safes would have to be applied to take care of a glitches as they could very well cost a life! Though seeing as an X-Gremlin managed to get into Area2 from Area4, the integrity of said fail-safes are to be questioned. Another option would be.... "

I was currently going through all the other ways that this could have occurred when a sharp *crack* reverberated through my skull. I couldn't even get surprised at the assault before my assailant made herself known.

"Oi, you're the one who wanted to come here, stop spacing out!" Angus very near shouted as she scolded me.

She was probably still pissed at the fact that I'm the reason why we lost all our loot, and yet I'm the reason why we haven't set out to cover the losses yet.

That hit helped me though, surprisingly, as I got an idea after that.

"Why don't you go for it yourself? You're like level 35 at least right?" I asked, remembering seeing his level when he brought out the Alfa Bow to Mr Macebee.

"Sorry, but that level is just the product of my Blacksmith and Crafting Masteries. And as I'm an NPC, my programming restricts me to this village, so I can't leave." He replied.

Well that was to be expected I guess. He might have the intelligence of an actual player, but the game must have its limits. I've heard that Monster Souls collected and merged can interact like players anywhere you go, and even have their own personalities, so it would be a serious stretch to code regular villagers to that extent.

"So can you make him a shield until we get to Area5. We need to go resource hunting, and this one has no other weapon type Masteries." Angus asked him in my place. The irritation in her voice was quite evident, and I could hear her foot tapping in impatience, so I quickly got up and stood a few steps behind her, just in case.

"I can make a pair of grip gloves and leather boots and a classic shield but that's just about it." He said instantly.

"Then we'll take those." She replied, "Gear up. We have monsters to hunt." She said to me before storming out while I hurriedly grabbed my stuff and equipped my stuff while running out behind her.

_____

"Oi, can't you wait for a while Angus?!" I call to her as she fast walked (apparently that's a feature in the village) away and out towards the entrance of Area2. I had to run to catch up to her by the time I finished equipping all of my gear!

"Oi, Angus! Look, I know that you have a right to be angry at me, but can you please slow down?" I tried, but she just powered on, fast walking it to Area2 with me fast walking in stride...

...Well, not quite in stride as her speed was higher than mine and she was greatly outpacing my fast walk! Dang, Angus why must you be so fast!!!

Needless to say, it wasn't long before I had to start running again to catch up to her.

"Angus. Can you at least just say somethi... *Clank**Oof!!!*" That was the sound of me colliding head first into a wall.

And now cue Confusion.

"???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Huh?!!!!" What the heck did I even hit! Last time I checked (And I have checked a lot over the past years) there weren't any iron walls in the villages below Area5, let alone random ones just sitting around. So just what the hell did I even hit?!

"Nylon? Nylon!!! Are you ok?!!" Angus rushed to by side as the rebound sent me sliding across the floor! Though I didn't slide far and the collision wasn't that damaging, it was still nice to see that Angus wasn't mad enough at me to ignore me completely. Not that I'll tell her that least she gets pissed again!

"*sigh* You inconsiderate idiot! Least you could have done was watch where you were going." She continued reprimanding me, the confusion leaving me unable to do nothing more than look around like a frantic mad man, and just nod at everything she's saying.

After I few seconds though, I found my wall.... A Barrier Mage. That would have made me even more confused were it not for the petition booth with the logo of on of the most high ranking Guilds in this game, The Church of Axis!

"Wow, sorry there kids. It's my job to ensure the protection of the representatives of our clan while we're here. My name is Dangroff, a Barrier Mage. What are your names?" Dangroff greeted as he walked to us. If anything though, that just sounded like a cheap way to get new members. Especially since Mark told us to avoid these guys for no clear reason. And judging by the look on Angus' face, I wasn't the only one who thought this.

Sadly, my enthusiasm won out first.

"Yeah I know you! Your the Attacking Wall!! The player to hold the most damage type barriers in game history!!! One of the first people to start playing the game since its official release!!!! One of the Founders of The Church of Axis!!!!! And most importantly of all, the main reason why attack type defense items got introduced into the second update of the VR version!!!!!!!" This dude is my role model. And was my hero up until I knew about the Duo. He was a Barrier Mage, a strictly supportive role, and yet, through using nothing more than his wide barrier variety, he managed to reach the top ten out of hundreds of players in the Battle Olympics. (a battle tournament + battle royal that was in the first versions of the game. It is now called the Battle Orchestra in the VR version)

"Wow, you sure did your homework." He said, slightly embarrassed as he changed his name when the game rebooted for the VR, so he doesn't expect many people to relate him to the barrier legend he is.

"Yup. It has been my dream to join you guys since you debuted 5 years ago and held the top spots fro then on!" I was just rambling away at this point. I never would have imagined meeting such a figure so early in my adventure, so I was prematurely shocked!

"...Hmm... You're hair..." He mumbled so lowly I barely heard him.

"Sorry?" I asked, thinking I heard him wrong.

"Hmm?! Oh, no, nothing." He replied smoothly, brushing the comment off to the side.

"So why don't you join us then?" He asked. This made me stop in my tracks! Why? Because only players that have proven themselves through world know game play could get even a chance at joining their clan. This means that there clan is filled with either popular BMOVers (Battle Master Online Vroggers) or people how take part in events spanning the world get recruited!!!

So him asking me this now, when I've barely done anything, is suspicious to say the least.

So, instead of asking why and getting a completely generated excuse tailored to convince anyone who hears it, I went with this approach....

"Um.. I'm grateful, don't get me wrong... but... I, um... I can't accept that." I decided to politely decline. And judging by how fast Angus relaxed her hand, I guessed I chose right. Jeeze, she's scary!!!

"Why? Didn't you just say that this was your dream?" he asked with an eyebrow raised (the game pays attention to detail so just roll with it).

"Yes, it is. But, I want to adventure with my mom for a bit, then adventure with a squad of my own before I join a clan." Honestly, had this been any time before yesterday, I would have jumped to the chance. But Mark's warning was reverberating in my head, and I was felling sentimental due to my... yeah.

Speaking of which, I never did get back to Mom did I??

"Well, nothing to be done about that I guess." He replies, moving out of the way to let me pass.

"Alright! If the offer is still available, you can expect to see me in a month or so?" that was a statement of uncertainty.

"The offer still stands," he replies, "though, there is one thing I'm wondering."

'And that would be?' I thought to myself as I turned to face him.

"Did any known players speak with you before you came here?" he asked, a little tense this time.

"Nnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooo, why would you.... ask?" At then, Mark's and Elenora's faces flashed across my memory, and he must have caught the shift in my expression because he took a while before answering:

"No real reason. Just asking." He replied without a single change in his expression.

"Okay, we'll see ya!" We bolted out at that, not even looking back to witness Dangroff pull out his text screen shortly after we left the area.

John

'Hmmm, the materials should be coming in soon for my upcoming orders.' I thought to myself as I crafted a Bone Dagger for a new player.

Then a thought occurred to me:

'Wait, the Round Shield Series special isn't available until lvl15!!!'