Zenith Affinity

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Would you like to invite [Sword Souls] to the Zenith Star Guild [★]? Y/N.

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“Yes!”

Ren laughed as they walked through the tunnels of the stadium, but he accepted all the same.

‘Ren Tidecrest, Blade Dancer [★]’

“At least it was a good fight.”

“It was a great fight! I can’t wait until we have our guild hall and can host our own PvP tourneys!” Sky said with a bit too much enthusiasm.

“You really like fighting that much?”

“I love a good fight, who doesn’t? Dread is the same way, and to be honest, usually Dark Hero is as well. I’m not sure why he didn’t want to join this time, though.”

“Maybe he didn’t want to deal with your stupid flight thing,” Ren said.

“Psh, amazing flight thing. You mean amazing flight thing.”

“Sure, I do.”

They turned into a public corridor where more than just workers and participants were moving around, buying snacks and drinks during the quick intermission between fighting tiers. Sky found the section that the rest of the guild was in, and they walked up the stairs.

“Heyyyy, there she is!” Dark yelled out.

“Great fight, Sky!” Salazar Dread said.

“Well done!” ”Cheers!” ”Way to represent!” The people of Zenith Star, and even a few others from the stands, cheered for Sky.

“Thank you, thank you, far too kind!” Sky said with a goofy smile on her face.”Hey! Raze and the rest of [Nature Green]! You guys made it back! And you’re level 24! Grats!”

Raze and crew were sitting behind Salazar’s party, whom Sky hadn’t met just yet.

“Yeah, we just made it before your fight with Zed. You haven’t been looking at Guild Chat, huh?” Raze replied.

“Ah, no, I was meditating between fights, especially after everyone was gone from the waiting room. Also, we haven’t found a fifth for you guys just yet, but hopefully we will soon enough!”

“Actually, I was thinking, you guys need a front liner, right? One that fits the…aesthetic and whatnot?” Zaria asked.

“Yes?” Sherafane replied.

“Well, I fought this monk who might fit well with you guys, as long as you enjoy weird fortune cookie facts and stuff.”

“Zaria! That’s a great idea! Can you message him?”

“Uh, no? I could try to find him, though,” Zaria kept talking with [Nature Green] as Sky’s attention was drawn away.

Dread stood up, “Hey, Sky, come meet the rest of my party!”

“Of course!”

“This is Jace TheMighty and Immortal Jack, Mage and Fighter, respectively.”

“Great to meet you both, thanks for joining!”

“Hey.””Aye.” They both replied.

“This is our Cleric, Heals OnMe,” Dread said. He then put his arm around a cute elven lady, “And last but not least! This is my girlfriend, Lyssa!”

“Great to meet you both! I heard so much about you from before the server reset! You guys were all in….the Saints? Was it?”

“We were! Dread here would never join cause we spent so much time RPing, but either way, we are excited to finally meet his long lost PvP partner!” Lyssa said. She had a very relaxed and heartfelt tone about her, making her seem like a genuinely good person.

“It’s too bad the tourney wasn’t duo’s! It would have been great to take on tier 2 with you!”

“I know, right? Would have been epic!”

A passing vendor was selling some kind of roasted nuts, and Sky was immediately distracted. “Ooh! I think I need to talk to that person for no particular reason. Anyone else hungry?”

She bought a few bags and handed them out to the guild, just as the 3rd tier’s tournament began down in the arena. Sky had a seat next to Zedra and Atticus as the rest of her party all congratulated her.

The tier 3 tournament had 16 fighters in it, scaled down in number but up in power from the previous division. Everything the players and spectators saw in tier 2 was now heightened, as power sets began to come together.

In tier 2, one could expect the outline of what a full build could look like, but there are a myriad of choices that could change anything, including their level 50 ascension ceremony.

In tier 3, two affinities have been attuned, and the totality of a tier 4 build is nearly in sight. The potential of any build has yet to be realized, but the core was visible. Since no players had yet reached level 50, there were none in the tier 3 tournament; it would just be NPCs.

Each fight was a little longer than the tier 2 fights, but half as many fighters meant that it took less time because of the downtime between fights. The final fight was between a Wizard and a Witch, both from the same guild that seemed to be tied to the Adventuring Association with the tag [Adven] at the end of both of their names. Both NPCs were at level 74, the cusp of their third and final Ascension. The Witch had the Curse and Fire affinities, where she was casting green-cursed fire that applies a deluge of afflictions and debuffs if it hits. The Wizard was almost disdainfully casual as he cast giant windy barriers and reflecting shields, sending the fire away from him and back at her.

“He’s got to be wind attuned, right? But what is his second attunement?” Dark Hero asked about the Wizard.

“Maybe Arcane or something?” Kesa guessed.

“I think it’s Spirit, actually,” Zedra said.

“Oh, what makes you think that?” Dark asked.

“The way he is casting, without a spell tome, which Wizards need for casting. I think he has the [Spirit Grimoire] skill, which lets a wizard have their grimoire open and accessible from within their soul. It’s kind of dumb to get in-game since there wasn’t an actual disarming feature, but having the spell active greatly increases casting speed. Though just spec’ing into Spirit for that alone is probably not worth it,” Zedra said.

“Do we have any Wizards in the guild?” Atticus asked.

“Not yet. I am sure we will get a few. It’s not a weak class by any means, but I don’t know how that will translate in real life. I bet we will get one at some point, hopefully before we go to the other continent,” Zedra replied.

The Wizard ended up striking out with his staff, calling out some spell that they couldn’t hear over the roar of the crowd. It caused invisible Spiritual damage to be dealt to the Witch that had her stumbling back in obvious pain. He swiped several more times, blocking a single retaliatory wave of green fire, before spinning into a more powerful thrust, causing her opponent to fall unconscious.

The Wizard, Anras Delmont, won the third-tier tournament.

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

“Ladies and gentlemen! It is with great pleasure that I introduce the final combatants of the final division of the tournament! Since there are only 2 fighters left, we will hold a single match for them to showcase their abilities. However! It shall be the best of three fights to claim victory!”

Cheers from the crowd filled the stadium, and he waited until it died down before continuing.

“After the tournament is over, make sure to stick around for the awards ceremony, where each of our tiered champions will be given their awards! Now then, it is with great pleasure for me to introduce the Captain of the Royal Guard, one who has personally put his own life on the line several times to ensure the safety of the royal line. Join me in welcoming Captain Baylan Gage!”

The crowd erupted in cheers once again as the massive form of a high-level Shield Guard strode onto the field. His silver, purple, and gold armor matched the colors of the House of Ostantia, the ruling family of the Kingdom of Ostbury. Nothing besides armor and the chainmail underneath could be seen on him, a walking tower of metal and a huge shield to match.

“And meeting him on our field of battle today is none other than the Court Sorceress Estelle Valen!”

The crowd went wild once again as a beautiful woman with long, straight black hair entered the field. She had an aristocratic aura about her, not her magical aura ability, but the way in which she moved and held herself all spoke of a noble woman. She stopped a good distance away from the Captain, and they both nodded their heads at one another.

“As I said, this is the first of three fights, and without further ado! Fighters, are you ready?”

They nodded once again.

“FIGHT!”

Estelle started with some kind of illusory spell that created a few clones of her, all of them casting different spells. Arcane light began to fall from the sky like some sort of cobalt meteor shower. Slashes of blue arcane light appeared all around the Baylan as if someone from another overlapped dimension was trying to cut through by slashing as much as they could.

The final spell came from Estelle herself, a huge beam of the same arcane affinity launched forward at Baylan, and it was somehow growing larger as it travelled.

The Captain did not seem phased as he slammed his tower shield in front of him, causing a massive ethereal version of the shield to form in front of him. It was nearly 20 feet tall and half as wide, standing out as an aegis to anyone he would protect behind him.

Unfortunately, Estelle seemed to have Spatial as one of her affinities, and she easily teleported behind him, leaving a clone of light to continue casting the unnamed beam spell. As she appeared behind the guard, she swiped her scepter in a devastating angle, causing a huge tear in reality to slash through the back of Baylan.

He tensed up in pain, pivoting and stomping a foot on the ground. He yelled something inaudible from the stands, and a cascading wave of stone rippled from the floor of the stadium.

Estelle dodged it by floating up into the air, continuously casting different spells. Her clones continued to rain down on him, the same sort of spatial and arcane affinity spells as before. Each of them had devastating damage, and the lingering energy almost caused the arena below to warp, as if the audience was looking through a veil of warped light.

Eventually, Baylan had the opportunity to go on the offensive, despite having a defense-focused build, and he launched upward at the Sorceress, disappearing and reappearing behind her as he entered a strangely spiritual state. It was as if he had left the plane of the living and entered the realm of the spirits. He could interact with this world, but not the other way around. His short sword pierced through her back, and he became visible a second later, becoming corporeal once more.

Estelle’s shocked face disappeared into a smile. Her body collapsed into particles of light, and no blood remained on his sword.

Then he was surrounded.

A hundred clones of Estelle seemed to appear around him, each of them multi-casting a spatial spell that tore through Baylan. He had an insanely high defense and even a reflection ability, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the barrage.

In the end, Estelle won the next fight as well, taking the best of three. Both of them shook hands with respect for one another. It was either a good act or they truly respected the other, as they both appeared to be sincere. It was Baylan’s job to protect the Queen, which meant that doing damage wasn’t his priority. It was a one-sided fight from the start.

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

“Sky, don’t you have to go somewhere?” Kesa asked.

“Oh, like to the awards ceremony? They said it would be announced….I guess I can go back to the staging area?”

“Yeah! Go!”

Sky hustled out of the stands and made her way down to the staging area, ignoring the laughter from her guild at the panic of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The event security guided her to the right place, and she found three others already waiting for the ceremony.

“Ah, it seems I have made it to the right place!” Sky said.

The tier 3 winner, Arnas Delmont, laughed, while the tier 1 winner, Selena Blackmore, snorted.

Estelle didn’t even look up from the book she was reading.

“Well, congrats, everyone!” Sky said, trying to brighten the room a bit.

“Thank you, thank you,” Anras said, bowing from his seat.

Selena just shrugged her shoulder. The silence stretched for a bit until Sky broke it again, “So, you and your party are ready to ascend. What affinity are you going for?”

Selena raised an eyebrow, but she still answered, “Curse or blood.”

“I guess that makes sense, afflictions and all that.”

“Mhm, and you are Solar…the name is a giveaway.”

Sky smiled. “So, looking for a guild?”

“Is your guild going to be based out of Ostbury?”

“No, we are headed to the Crystal City, once the majority of us are level 40.”

“Nice.”

She didn’t answer besides that, and before Sky could ask again, an event organizer came in.

“Alright, winners! We are almost ready for you!” She was part of the Adventuring Association and seemed to be running most things about the tournament. “We will start with tier 1 and work our way up to you, Lady Estelle. You will hear your name called; just head out onto the stage. You will then be given the winning gold, a thousand for the first tier, and another thousand for each tier above that, and after the quick ceremony, you should come back into here so we can allow you a pick of the items that the Adventuring Association has approved of.”

“An item?” Anras asked.

“Yes, we have something like a couple dozen items, magical and enchanted or just interesting as well.”

“Interesting.”

The event organizer, who hadn’t introduced herself, left, and the announcer could be heard between cheers of the crowd.

“So? Do you want to join us?” Sky asked Selena.

“Sure. Let me ask the rest of my party, though.”

“Of course.”

The Association official poked her head in, “Selena, you are up!”

She nodded and walked out the door into the loud arena. Soon enough, it was Sky’s turn, and she walked out and onto a stage that had been built after the fights. She was surprised by how many people stayed for the ceremony, thinking that it was possibly the least interesting aspect of the tournament. Either way, she climbed the steps to the stage and shook the announcer's hand with her right hand, while accepting a plaque with her left.

“Congratulations, Solara Sky! On behalf of the Adventuring Association and the wonderful Royal Family of Ostbury, you are awarded the total of two thousand gold pieces and a choice from the Adventuring Association's magical storage!" The Announcer said, his voice still amplified to echo through the stadium.

Sky was handed a comically large brown bag filled with gold, and she nearly dropped it before managing to put it into her inventory. While the other participants from the next two tiers were invited on stage and congratulated, Sky inspected the plaque. It was a beautiful purple metal with golden inlay that made up the words on it. It essentially just stated the tournament, the date, the tier, and Sky’s full name. A trophy to hang on her wall.

“These are our champions! Join me in celebrating their victory!” The announcer said, and the stadium shook with the efforts of the roaring crowd.

Just as promised, the Ceremony was quick, and they were ushered to a different spot on the Adventuring Association’s campus.

“Alright, just as promised, here is a list of things that can be acquired. For things such as essence, we will give you an appropriate amount to count as a single item. For everything else, for the most part, you will only be allowed 1. Sound good?”

“Yup!” Sky said.

“Of course,” Anras replied.

The others didn’t say anything.

Selena searched first, prompted by the event organizer lady. It didn’t take long, “How much Zero Afff metal can I get?”

“Enough for an ascension disc, if you like.”

“We can sell them to you for super cheap, if you still wish to join us,” Sky said. “We have a bunch.”

“Really? But still, won’t it be pretty expensive?”

“Not for fellow guildies.”

“You truly offer discounts for fellow guildmates?” Anras asked.

“Of course! We are a growing guild, and getting more metal is easy.”

The Wizard snorted, “It is most certainly not easy.”

“Heh, give me a thousand gold, and I’ll tell you where to get it,” Sky said, mostly joking.

That was until he took the giant bag with his three thousand gold winnings from the tournament and held it out to her. “If you are serious, then I will hand this to you right now.”

“Are you serious?”

“Tell me right now, and it’s yours.”

Sky shrugged, leaning in to whisper to Anras, “It’s mineable in the dungeons that have spawned when the players arrived. This secret will soon spread, so hurry and go farm it.”

His eyes went wide, “Truly?”

Sky nodded with a smile. He made to pass the gold to her, but she shook her head, “Don’t worry about it.”

“No! Gold is easy to come by. If what you have said is true, then information is worth much, much more! This is the least I can do.”

“Are you sure?”

“Take it!”

“Alright…”

“Right, well, if that is the case, then I will take this staff here, the [Blackstone Heart Staff]. It has a unique enchantment!” Selena said, showing a smile for the first time since the end of her last match.

“Of course! Great choice!” The organizer said. She walked off and grabbed the staff from somewhere in the back. It was a gnarled black staff with a glowing red crystalline heart grasped at the tip.

“Good choice!” Sky said.

Selena smiled down at her evil staff and stepped back.

“Solara Sky, if you would take a look at the list?”

Sky searched for a time, thinking about grabbing another ring that would enhance the bursting damage of Solar light, but then she noticed something interesting. One item was listed as ‘Broken Crown’, a Tier 4 item, but it was also listed as a legendary item that was unidentifiable. That didn’t matter, though, since Sky immediately recognized the item.

It was one of three pieces to form the ‘Crown of Light,’ a relic that had to be forged inside a 25-person tier 4 raid. The problem was that the only part of the crown that was available within the raid was the final piece, the crown jewel, for lack of a better term. The other two pieces had to be found to even access the raid, but once they’re found and remade within the raid, the unique item could open it indefinitely, allowing other people to access it. This Broken Crown was one of the two items.

“I want this,” Sky said. Immediately choosing the Broken Crown. Even if they had to go searching for the other half of the broken crown, it could end up being a huge asset for the guild in the future. One that could grant experience and loot for her guildmates, while also providing currency for other guilds and their raiding parties to access the raid.

“Really?” The official asked.

“Absolutely.”