Zenith Affinity

Watching [Pink Lotus], a party of NPCs that were naturally from the Zenith world, was an eye-opening experience for Sky and Zedra. The handful of encounters they had jumped into had revealed a competent and powerful adventuring party.

“They are using abilities in ways that we don’t have access to, not necessarily stronger, but definitely more…customized?” Sky confirmed the sentiment.

Zedra nodded, “Absolutely. I was right to be excited about how you can manipulate your spells, Sky. It seems like people here have already done that to learn their spells in such a way as to customize them for their fighting styles.”

“It really isn’t that hard, Zed, you just kinda…” Skoy summoned a [Sun Bringer] and instantly controlled the size of the fiery sphere, bringing it down to baseball-sized, then a marble. She then let it spin around her as if held in her own gravity well. “See? It’s just natural.”

Zed shook his head, “I have been trying to control my stuff, better, but all I can do is slightly increase the speed at which I cast them.”

“I guess you don’t exactly have spells like I do, so that might be part of it?”

“Maybe, but both Kesa and Atticus have spells that directly manipulate their mana, and yet neither of them can do that. We will have to figure it out as we go,” Zedra said.

They turned their attention back to the fight that just finished, [Pink Lotus] was cleaning up and looting what they could from a group of nature affinity deer-creatures.

“Hey, Alisha!” Sky called out as she walked up to them. She dutifully ignored the scowl from the Celestial Valkyrie that was a part of that group.

“Yes, Sky?”

“You are all level 24, right? When do you plan on ascending?”

Alisha’s smile turned into a confused frown, and her eyes slightly narrowed at Sky. It wasn’t anger or frustration she revealed on her face, but an actual lack of understanding. She then inspected the other two parties as everyone looked at her curiously. The strange question made her wonder if they thought that ascending was just as easy as showing up to the Hall one day and doing it.

Ashariel scoffed as she looted the nature essence from her kills, doing it manually by digging through the pile of magical remains.

Alisha decided to ask, her eyes narrowed in serious question, “How do you think ascension works?”

It was Sky’s turn for confusion as she exchanged glances with Zedra, who decided to explain what he knew, “Well, once you hit level 24, which all of us are, including your party, you have an Enchanter create the [Attuned Ascension Ritual Disc], then just go through the ritual.”

Sky shrugged in agreement, “As simple as that?”

Alisha mirrored Sky, this time sharing a glance with Sera, her party's Ice Mage, “Well, yeah, but creating the ritual disc is obscenely expensive. Enough that after nearly 2 years of grinding, we can only afford to purchase 2 discs, and those are some of the cheapest affinities. If we all want to ascend at the same time…we are looking at years more of work before we can afford it without a sponsor. That is pretty standard.”

Helga, [Pink Lotus]’s Shield Guardian, laughed, “And we aren’t going to be beholden to any sponsor!”

The rest of their party nodded.

“I see…” Sky said, a smirk forming on her face as she turned back to Zedra.

The dark elf laughed and nodded, “Go ahead, Sky.”

“Thanks!”

Alisha stared at the exchange with incomprehension. What the hell was this crazy celestial talking about?

Sky nodded. “Tell me, Alisha, what would you say if we offered to create your Ascension discs with the only stipulation being that you join us in our future guild? No weird sponsorship or anything like that. What do you say?”

Alisha stared at Sky like she was a mad woman, “Do you even know how to make the Ascension discs? You know they are a closely guarded secret, right?”

Sky laughed, “They were a closely guarded secret. But now that players have come to Zenith World, it doesn’t matter. I just have to level up my Enchanting high enough, and I will unlock the recipe.”

“You really are a fool,” Ashariel said. “You know that you need [Zero Affinity Ore] to even begin creating them? The rarest metal in existence?”

Sky wasn’t phased by the hostility, “You mean this [Zero Affinity Ore]?”

She pulled a chunk out. As did the rest of her group, and so did the [Flamesouls].

Everyone from [Pink Lotus] quickly switched their expressions from slight derision to full-blown disbelief.

Alisha spoke up first, “You all have some? How is this possible?”

Sky laughed, “Dungeons! It’s the top resource they drop.”

“Not only that, but we have enough for maybe…10 full parties to ascend?” Zedra asked.

Ar’Gen entered the conversation, “Actually, we have enough for nearly 20 to ascend between our two groups, quite easily. Our bags are full of the metal, and we are planning on making a bunch of ascension discs to push those who join our future guild to the second tier.”

Sky nodded, “You ladies are awesome and powerful. Join us, and we will be in tier four in less than 6 months. I promise. I don’t know how things were before, but the players showing up here represent a paradigm shift for everyone.”

Alisha stared at Sky, emotions warring for dominance on her face. More than anything, though, she seemed to fight against hope. Like, it was too good to be true, and she knew it.

Ashariel also showed the same sort of emotional range, if slightly subdued. The surly Valkyrie was thrown off her game by the information, and it was clear she didn't like it.

It was the Ice Mage named Sera who finally spoke up, “Can we have a minute?”

“Of course, catch up with us down the road, yeah?” Sky said, and she led the rest away.

[Pink Lotus] huddled together, all of them watching these new ‘Players’ as they walked away.

“Is it true?” Amara asked, the peaceful wood elf cleric had tears building in her eyes as well. “Can it be true?”

Alisha gulped and shook her head, “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“They said they got here less than a month ago, right?” Helga asked.

“A week or so, I think,” Sera guessed. It wasn't that the information was hidden, but they had been out on missions, and the news hadn't reached Osten by the time they left. When they got back, they were requested by the local branch leader to go find [Reality Check].

“Something like that. They are already looking at breaking through into the second tier like it’s just another step in their progress. Just another hurdle they plan to jump over,” Alisha said. “How the hell did they get 24 levels in such a short amount of time? It’s unheard of!”

Ashariel was just as shocked as she stared at Alisha, “Do you think they can honestly help?”

Alisha was pulled from her thoughts, and she stared back at her oldest and closest friend, “Ash…yes, I do. But why do you hate Sky so much? You have been nothing but rude to her, and she hasn’t done anything besides try to get us to join them.”

Ashariel scoffed, “Sky…the name Solara Sky is the name of the missing daughter of the Celestial Goddess of the Sun, Solaria. It’s sacrilege to impersonate the daughter of a deity, intentional or not. She would be killed the moment she stepped into celestial territory with hair that color alone.”

The group exchanged glances and almost collectively decided to move back to the topic at hand, putting a metaphorical ‘pin’ in that topic for now.

“What if they could help us get stronger?” Alisha posed. Everyone looked to her, “What if they can actually help us tier up?”

“What if they demand everything like some shitty sponsor?” Ashariel replied. “What does being a guild even entail anymore?”

The all-female adventuring party was silent for a time as they thought about Sky’s offer to join their guild. Above all else, the temptation to join their guild meant a possibility to advance in strength and power.

“We stay around them for a week or so, but accept the offer to start. If they actually start ascending, then we join. We just need to watch and wait,” Alisha offered.

Sera nodded, “At some point, we need to trust someone, or we are going to be stuck wallowing here in tier 1 for years.”

Helga spoke up, “Screw that! Let’s get stronger!”

Ashariel looked to her closest friend and party leader, “What changed your mind?”

“I am sick and tired of being a victim. We haven’t known them for more than 2 hours, but Sky is right, these players showing up is a paradigm shift. We can stop taking these shitty fetch quests and actually do something! Don’t you want to see what’s up with these dungeons? Where did they find that much Zero Aff-metal in?” Alisha questioned her party, using the slang for [Zero Affinity Ore].

“Enough for multiple parties to ascend? That’s unheard of! A treasure trove!” Helga said.

“Indeed, and that was definitely Zero Aff-metal,” Sera said.

“I want to trust them. They are nice,” Amara said. The quiet cleric had a soft and sincere voice, and when she spoke, people listened.

“Heh, if ‘Mara likes them, that’s good enough for me!” Helga said.

Amara smiled at Helga, and Alisha nodded at both of them.

Sera sighed, “If they are telling the truth, then I am okay with it. But I have trouble wanting to fully commit to joining without assurances.”

“We will have them make those assurances after we talk to the branch leader in Osten. Sound good?” Alisha checked.

She then turned to the last member of her party, “Ash?”

The Valkyrie sighed and rolled her eyes, the white, nearly tribal tattoos on her forehead almost seemed to glow in the afternoon light, “We are going to have problems if Sky is the leader. That is all I am saying.”

“She seems like a good leader, but we can work on that and find out more about her. This is a chance to get stronger, Ash! Aren’t you sick of-”

“You know I am sick of being in tier 1! But we are going to have serious problems if Sky gets noticed...I don't think you guys understand.”

“You are right about that. We do not understand what the deal is with a blue-haired celestial with that name. But imagine it, Ash, we could ascend by this time next month if things go right! Let’s do this!” Alisha said.

Ash sighed but nodded, and the rest of the party seemed to agree.

Sera sighed, “Fine, let’s join them, but I want to know what their plans are for the future.”

Alisha pulled them down the road to meet the other two groups and continue the trek back to Osten. When they came into view over the next hill, Sky turned to them with a smile.

“Alright then, Sky, we will join you!”

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

It was a several-hour journey to make it back to Osten since they knew the route and just needed to follow the road to the south. They hit the small town just after sunset that day, and the groups got a good look at the nightlife of the small adventurer town.

Glowing yellow street lights illuminated the pink stone and beautiful dark green trees. The town was surprisingly active with townsfolk, adventurers, and more people just out and about, enjoying the warm weather and safe streets. Food vendors were in full swing as if it were mealtime, but many of them had desserts and delicious drinks that all sorts of people lined up for.

“Well, the branch leader’s office isn’t huge, so maybe just a couple of you could join?” Alisha asked.

“Sure, Sky? Zaria?” Zedra asked.

“Yup!” “Let’s go!”

Kesa spoke up, “We will go grab some rooms for tonight while you guys have your talk.”

“You should come check in with the Oaken Shed, an Adventuring Inn just a street over. You can rent a room for an extended stay or just for a night. It is also far enough out of the way that it usually has some vacancy to some degree, and also where we are staying,” Sera said, frosty breath coming out of her mouth as she spoke.

“Great!” Kesa said.

“And I will make us all dinner! There is a kitchen there, right?” Atticus asked.

Sera nodded, “Of course. Each of the team rooms has one.”

“Would you mind if I came to the meeting as well?” Ar’Gen asked.

“That’s fine with me, brother!” Zaria said with a huge smile on her face.

The three parties broke apart, some groups headed to find lodging while the rest went to speak with the local Adventuring Association's Branch Leader.

“So what was the branch leader’s name again?” Zaria asked.

“Revalore Fearthe, he’s very nice but sticks to rules a bit much,” Alisha said. Ashariel followed her party leader, while the rest of [Pink Lotus] was showing the others to the Inn.

Ashariel snorted, “He’s got a stick up his ass.”

“Ash!”

They entered the Adventure Association and made their way up to Revalore’s office. Alisha knocked, but Ashariel just walked in.

A handsome elven man was sitting behind the singular wooden desk, a pair of glasses sitting low on his nose. He seemed to be working on some paperwork and was about to invite whoever knocked in, before Ashariel barged in.

He sighed, “Ashariel, thank you so much for knocking.”

“Yeah, we have the groups you wanted.”

“Groups?”

“Reality souls or whatever,” Ashariel said. She walked over and leaned against the singular window’s frame to stare outside, ignoring the conversation.

“I am so sorry, Revalore, Ash, well…you know how she is. This is Solara Sky and Zedra Stone from [Reality Check] and Zaria Flamesoul and Ar’Gen Lightfist from the [Flamesouls],” Alisha introduced.

Revalore stood from behind his desk and walked over with his hand extended. He shook hands with everyone and offered the two seats available. Zedra insisted that Sky take one while Zaria plopped down in the other. Alisha stood off to the side near Ashariel, while Zedra and Ar’Gen flanked them.

“Thank you all for meeting with me. I have people going crazy in the branch from Ostbury, and it seems like every town around the City is blowing up with this wave of ‘Players’ as they are called. The number of adventuring parties in the entirety of the Ostantia Monarchy has caused the government to declare a state of emergency. Not only that, but there were problems with the royal family, apparently, though they have yet to make an announcement. The various guilds have been swelling like mad, and private guilds have been on the rise as well,” Revalore said.

“What the hell is the Ostantia Monarchy?” Zaria asked.

Sky leaned over, “That is the name of the kingdom where Ostbury is the capital. Osten is obviously part of it.”

“What has been happening with the royal family? Was the King found out to have been a slaver?” Zedra asked.

Revalore flinched, “That...is classified information. How the hell did you know that?”

Zedra nodded, “It is as I thought, a party initiated a storyline in Ostbury. I have to assume it is a singular group or guild.”

“What does that mean? What are you saying?” Revalore asked.

Zedra sighed, “Look, most of the players, however many there were that have joined this world, probably know at least the highlights of what is going to happen over the next decade. Most of us have seen the story of this world, how it works with the various city-states, and we have no idea how our presence will change things now that all of us are here.”

That was a knowledge bomb that no one was prepared for. Sky was surprised by how much information Zedra offered, and it didn’t stop there. Over the next hour, they revealed some of the main highlights of events that would happen in the Ostantia Monarchy and in and around Ostbury itself. Revalore kept asking questions, writing everything he could down for later meetings.

Sky noted that specifics were kept out of any answer. Anytime Revalore asked for clarification, Zedra flat-out evaded the question or refused to elaborate. The rest of the players let him run their side of the meeting.

Revalore sighed, “So, what are your plans going forward?”

Sky spoke up, “We are going to craft our way to the second tier, make enough ascension discs for everyone we need, then start an adventuring guild. We will then begin our journey west across the ocean at around level 40 and go on from there.”

Revalore’s jaw dropped.

Ashariel laughed and shook her head, “That was our response too.”

“What do you mean you are going to just…ascend? That isn’t something you can just do!” Revalore’s astonishment finally burst out.

Sky laughed, but Ar’Gen spoke up, “Actually, it will take approximately 2 to 3 days to reach level 24 in the various crafts that are required to create the [Attuned Ascension Ritual Disc]. At which point we will do just that, and Ascend. We already have what we need to do so.”

The small dwarf had a way of speaking that made his words as solid as stone. He would speak, and no one doubted the strength of his will.

“And [Pink Lotus] is joining us!” Sky said with a brilliant smile.

The Branch Leader’s head spun with force as he locked his eyes on Alisha.

Ashariel was smirking, and Alisha was sheepish as she made eye contact.

“Are you seriously joining them? You will die if you advance at that pace!” Revalore asked.

"Nah, they will be fine!" Zaria said, tired of listening to the conversation.

“What?” Revalore asked, his agitation apparent.

The topic switched to the spawning dungeons, events, legendary creatures, and more that had come along with the Players. There was more information than the poor Branch Leader was able to process at once.

“Alright, this is ridiculous, I need a break! You guys get out of here. Thank you for the information, but I need to process things,” Revalore said. The elven man seemed to have aged many years as he listened to what they had to say, the revelations having too much weight behind them.

One thing was clear to the man above all else: The players are a catalyst that is about to change the world.

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

“You should join us for dinner! Atticus promised an epic meal!” Sky said as they walked through the evening streets of Osten.

“Yeah, I am definitely in on that,” Zaria replied.

“I’d wager that our party is already there!” Ar’Gen said with a laugh.

Alisha nodded, “That sounds good, though a shower is in order first.”

Sky agreed, “Definitely, I can’t wait to get out of these clothes, it feels like it's been weeks since I have changed.”

A quick walk around two blocks away, and the small group arrived at the Oaken Shed Adventuring Inn. It was a large oak building with the same pink stone as a foundation that went up to 4 or 5 stories in height. The front had a huge window and what looked like an atrium on the inside, a beautiful antler chandelier illuminating the room through the window.

Alisha led the group with Ashariel just behind her, opening the large wooden doors like she lived here. On the inside was a reception desk with beautiful woodwork all over. To the left was a raucous tavern, and to the right a casual smoking room.

A bubbly human receptionist greeted them, “Alisha, Ashariel, great to see you both again. And who are your friends?”

“Hey, Meghan, these are the leftovers of the other parties that just checked in. [Reality Check] and [Flamesouls], did they check in?”

“They did! Your party name should be on your designated rooms already, on the 4th floor, West Wing of the building. Thank you so much for choosing to stay at the Oaken Shed!”

“Ah, we are also in that wing, follow us!” Alisha said. She walked to the side of the reception desk, where a stairway led up to the second floor and further.

Marching all the way up to the fourth, both parties quickly found their rooms. “Alright, we will come by your room then, Zedra, Sky?”

“Sounds good! Not sure what’s going on in there, but it seems fine to me!” Sky said.

Zaria and Ar’Gen were right next door to [Reality Check]’s room, while Alisha and Ash had to walk the rest of the way down the hall.

“I am surprised by how many rooms there are here. You guys think ‘Adventuring Inn’s’ are a common thing?” Sky asked.

Zedra shrugged, “Who knows? Let’s see what the room is like.”

He turned the handle and the door flashed with light, as if checking that he was a member of the party, and it opened.

Walking in, they found a large open room with all sorts of things to take in. Atticus was already in the kitchen, prepping to make a fantastical dinner, no doubt. Kesa and Dark Hero looked to have just showered in the surprisingly open showers. They had two walls and no doors or stalls, leaving the bathroom as a feature in the open room.

“I guess this room is all about team building?” Sky asked with a laugh, nodding over to the open showers.

“Oh my, did Kesa and Dark already break the showers in?” Zedra asked with a laugh.

Kesa heard them enter and rolled her eyes at Zedra’s comment, “Oh shut up, how was the meeting?”

“Did you want me to shut up, or did you want me to talk about the meeting?” Zedra asked, teasing her.

Kesa smiled tightly and looked over to Sky without saying anything.

Dark and Sky both laughed while Zedra acted hurt.

“It went well, they know a lot less than we do, it seems, as far as players go. Though I was surprised at how much you shared with them, Zed. I would have thought you would want to hold some of that back.”

Zedra dropped the act with a shrug, “They will find out soon enough, and we gain more from being straightforward about it…reputation if nothing else.”

“Did the branch leader seem worried? Like, he might have a response to us being players?” Dark asked.

Sky shook her head, “He seemed overwhelmed by the information, but nothing about anyone directly being players. They seem to accept us as adventurers more than anything else. That being said, there is some sort of state of emergency going on in Ostbury, something about a group starting the main storyline for the King's deal.”

“To be clear, that was just a theory, and Revalore didn’t have all the information on it, and obviously he didn’t use the word ‘story’. It sounds like things are going wild over there, but as long as the Queen is there, it should be fine. She was always stronger than the king and his party,” Zedra said.

"It also wasn't clear about which story it was, either. The King isn't evil until later on...or at least we don't know that," Sky said.

Dark looked thoughtful, “Do you think a single person is running the story?”

Zedra nodded, “I do. Of course, that has some implications.”

Atticus was concentrating on cooking, but even he looked up at that.

“What kind of implications? Something regarding us?” Kesa asked.

Zedra took a deep breath but nodded to Sky.

She took over, “We were thinking that we might have to be the first to make it to the Crystal City to start the events, or we might lose our shot at getting recognized by the city state as the ‘protagonist’ or whatever. We have to be the first ones there who start the local story.”

“And we have to show that we can finish that story in a timely fashion. Just in case,” Zedra said. “No cut scenes, you know what I mean?”

Dark spoke up, “Well, we have a plan, we just need to accomplish it. As far as I can tell, we are the first out of the gates. We hit level 40 and get our mounts, then head out. Did they say anything else?”

“They were surprised that all of us intended to Ascend and at how fast we planned on doing it. Apparently, the cost to create Ascension Ritual Discs used to be prohibitively expensive, and I don’t just mean for a normal party like [Pink Lotus],” Sky replied.

“Which means that the sooner we finish leveling our crafting to tier 2, the more money we stand to make as a future guild,” Zedra said.

Atticus was listening with half an ear as he was concentrating on the meal he was creating, but even that statement drew his attention, “You think we will have enough to purchase the guild hall?”

Zedra nodded, “It’s not just a single one-time fee for the guild hall, it’s more like we have to earn a few things…Faction merit, player count, and the proper resources for upgrades, along with the initial cost. Most of the gold will go to rebuilding the guild hall. At least that is how it was in the game. All the guild halls start in shambles and have to be refurbished essentially.”

The rest of them nodded, but Sky spoke up, “Let's just have a good night, because the next few days we are going ham on crafting! Once we are done with ascension, we make new armor and weapons, upgrading or discarding our current gear. Then we head back to Ostbury, get our guild sorted, get some more people to join, and make a boatload of money in the market off of the Ascension materials.”

“Uhh, Sky, what are you doing?” Kesa asked, her tone of pure astonishment.

“I am taking a shower?” Sky answered as she was pulling off her clothes.

“Yeah, I get that, but you are getting naked right now, and there are men in here…” Kesa continued.

Sky sighed, “Look, there aren't stalls, it's just wide open. I have no other choice, and I need a shower.”

Zedra looked away, and Dark pretended he was never looking as Kesa glanced at him. “Sky, you and I are going to talk about modesty. You are a gorgeous LADY now, you can just start stripping like that!”

“It’s fine, Kes! It’s just us here, and we are like family. So, don’t worry about it, okay?”

Sky's long, blue hair almost seemed to ignite like polished azure blue sapphires in the glowing light overhead as the water trailed down her body.

The druid turned from the naked and showering Sky with disbelief in her eyes. Her face turned to that of a question, and Zedra just shook his head, “I have no idea.”

Zedra did the gentlemanly thing and waited for Sky to finish before grabbing a shower of his own, which again astonished Kesa at the audacity of her fellow party members, but at least Zedra grabbed a towel.

They finished showering and had put on the clean resting clothes that Zedra created for them. They were simple, but soft and comfortable, almost a mix between robes and sweats. The party gathered on the bar-island where Atticus worked.

He was like a magician, fully in his element as he cooked some kind of amazing roast meat while simultaneously creating sides with fantastical ingredients. He made use of equipment that the rest of the party could only shake their heads in astonishment as his true prowess as a chef made itself known.

The salad was the last thing he prepared as the first knock on the door sounded.

“I got it!” Sky yelled and ran over to the door.

“Zaria and the [Flamesouls]! Come on in!” Sky welcomed them.

They were all in much more casual clothing, Zaria’s outfit showing more tanned skin than the rest of them. Kesa handed out drinks to all who wanted them. Sky realized that she no longer enjoyed beer in her new body and went for something a little more flavorful that Kesa was mixing up. The change in taste buds was just one more thing to add to the absurdity of being in a new body.

The meal was nearly ready to eat when the door clanged with a knock once again.

Zaria and Sky both yelled, “I got it!” Before running over together and welcoming [Pink Lotus] into the room.

Alisha was in front with Ashariel at her side. Sera, Helga, and Amara held up the rear as they waited to enter. Instead of the flimsy sleeping clothes that the players wore, the natural-born people of the Zenith world had actual casual clothes. A sign of having lived in this world for their entire lives.

“Welcome! You all look so good! Come in! You gals have perfect timing! Atticus is just about done!” Sky invited.

“And we have drinks over on the far counter!” Zaria said. The two celestials flanked the doorway, inviting them into the room.

“Thanks for having us!” Alisha said, stepping into the room. She got a good look at what was going on.

Ar’Gen and Dark were comparing weapons on a table as they finished cleaning them. Kesa was standing behind the bar mixing drinks as Asheera played a soft melody on her harp, an ambient tune that filled the room with warmth. The twins, Mia and Tia, were playing with knives at the same table as Ar’Gen and Dark. All the while, Atticus was a storm of movement in the kitchen.

Atticus showed his true strength that night as the players had the best meal they had had since arriving in Zenith World. At the same time, the locals had a meal worthy of nobility. Atticus had taken some meat that had dropped from a legendary bovine-type creature and had created a sort of beef stew with local equivalents for onions, carrots, and more veggies.

He had also slow-braised a series of venison steaks from a wind-attuned doe the party had killed, in a local red wine. The magical attunement made it feel like the meat was sending an herb-filled breeze through everyone's taste buds. It was a fantastic meal that made for a relaxing evening before everyone went to sleep.

The three different parties began to open up to one another as they made friends while sharing food and drink.