Game of the Universe: Zenith

Arthur didn’t hesitate as he clicked ’Yes’ again.

Then, he froze. The stone in his hand pulsed as if it was alive and a strange pressure began to fill his chest. It was as if a restless current was rapidly seeping into his fingers and straight to his veins, spreading through his whole body. For an instant, Arthur even found it hard to breathe.

It was... a peculiar feeling.

Then, the sensation broke open, and his body instantly felt lighter. It was as if the faintest draft of air around him was something he could grasp as long as he so much as willed it.

But as expected, that feeling only lasted until the marble in his palm turned to dust, just like the others before it.

And then...

[Elemental Affinity Gained: Wind (Minor)]

Arthur stared at the new system notification in front of his eyes.

Just like that, he’d gotten two more elemental affinities!

For a moment, he just stood there, taking everything in.

The sensation that enveloped him each time was... unique. So unique he wanted to feel it again and again, as if he couldn’t get enough of it.

The fire stone had filled his body with that oddly natural warmth, while the water stone carried that soothing coldness. The earth stone had made him feel like the ground itself wanted to shelter him. The only one that felt somewhat off was the wind stone, but even that discomfort lasted for less than a second before giving way to that feeling of lightness.

Arthur’s gaze dropped to his storage bag again. He glanced at his remaining elemental stones and considered whether it was worth trying to push his fire or water affinity up to (Lesser).

He had around a hundred and twenty fire stones left, and about as many water ones. The rest were split between earth and wind elemental stones.

He thought it over for a bit before he shook his head and let out a breath.

Putting aside the fact that he didn’t even know whether his remaining stones would be enough to push any of his affinities to (Lesser), it wasn’t like he desperately needed to do so right now.

[Water Arrow] didn’t require more than a (Minor) affinity, and it’s not like he had the leisure of spending more after buying the storage bag.

For now, gathering more elemental stones was his priority.

So Arthur tied the leather pouch securely at his waist and stepped back out of the alley. The plaza’s noise washed over him again as he began to make his way to the distant city gates.

By the time he arrived, John was already waiting there for him. The big guy leaned against one of the massive stone pillars, his arms resting behind his head as he watched the flow of people moving through the archway.

When he finally spotted Arthur, he straightened his back and grinned,

"About time! I was starting to think I’d been abandoned!"

"Aren’t I early?" Arthur asked.

"Eh. Details." John said as he pushed himself off the stone pillar. "Anyways, you hear about the whole money thing? The government swapping cash for elemental stones? My whole family’s been going crazy over it!"

Arthur nodded. "I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t."

John shrugged and let out a breath as he continued,

"I mean, it’s not too bad for me, if I’m honest. I’m a police officer and I didn’t have that much saved up, anyway. It’s my little brother who’s been losing his mind over it. He’d been saving for an apartment, but now it’s all useless."

"Yeah. It’s gonna be messy for our restaurant, too."

"Restaurant?"

Arthur nodded. "Me and my grandpa. It’s a small place, but pricing things in elemental stones is going to be a hassle. Our suppliers will start charging in elemental stones too, I suppose, so sorting it all out is gonna be a headache for a while."

John didn’t say anything for a second.

He just stood there, as if some of the wider implications Zenith held for Earth’s economy were only now sinking in for him.

Then the big guy changed the subject to something more lighthearted. He pointed at the city gates behind him and said,

"Right, if you’re ready, let’s get going. I could barely sleep last night after getting [Roar]. First goblin I see, I’m using it right away."

Arthur gave John a smile of schadenfreude that for some reason, sent a shiver down the big man’s spine, before the two of them stepped through the city gates and headed for the familiar forest ahead.

..

As they walked, John kept looking around while rolling his shoulders, like a man begging for a fight to come his way. It was obvious he could barely contain his excitement.

The moment the shade of the trees swallowed them however, Arthur saw no reason to keep quiet about the storage bag anymore. He turned to John and patted his new leather pouch as he said with a satisfied grin,

"Ah, right. I stopped by the old dwarf earlier and grabbed a storage bag."

John’s feet froze on the spot. His head snapped towards Arthur, his eyes instantly falling on the small pouch tied at his waist,

"Seriously? Since you refused to buy a skillbook yesterday, I thought you were planning to save your stones for the tribute at the end of the month. Didn’t know you were planning to buy one of those!"

After a moment, John scratched the back of his head and continued before giving Arthur a thumbs up,

"Either way, it was a good choice if you ask me. I’m planning to buy one too once I gather enough stones. A thousand elemental stones don’t seem that hard to get anymore. It only took us a day to make that much, and we started that day at level 4! If we’re lucky, today’s hunt will be just as solid. Hahaha."

Arthur didn’t say anything right away. He just mulled over John’s words.

Truth be told, John’s reasoning wasn’t exactly wrong. They were level 7 right now and were still stuck in this ’tutorial’. By the time they left this place, they’d be able to gather even more elemental stones... logically speaking.

At the same time, however, Arthur didn’t think that finding a skillbook every day was something they could bank on.

Still, seeing John burst into laughter as they continued forward, his eyes sparkling as he looked around for goblins, he decided not to be a killjoy.

..

The two of them didn’t have to wait long before the first imp showed up. They’d only been walking a few minutes when a level 3 goblin stepped out of a brush, a small white fang in its hands as it looked around warily. It blinked, saw the two humans, and hissed as it lunged forward.

John didn’t miss a beat.

The goblin was already charging at them, but he was planning to use [Roar] anyway.

Arthur watched as John stepped forward and planted his feet on the ground, his eyes locked on the figure of the incoming imp. Then he drew in a breath and shouted.

"RAAAAAHHHH!!!"

His voice hit the clearing like a tidal wave. It was so loud even the leaves on the nearby trees trembled.

The goblin’s eyes popped wide as it stared at John.

Then... it turned around and sprinted into the bush behind it, so fast its figure nearly turned into a blur.