Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 21: The Birth of Darkness, Part One

{Lianna}

As she and Enverna walked out of their dorm room, Lianna was reminded of her quest.

{Quest: Protect Enverna during the Birth of Darkness on August 20, 239 2E}

Reward: Lover’s Intuition (Spell)

[Yeah, I know... I know.]

Lianna inhaled sharply, understanding that the System was giving her a not-so-subtle indication that things were going to go terribly wrong today.

How that would happen, she had no idea. But, in between hearing about it and this moment now, when she and Enverna made their way to Telvan’s Neon Gates, she’d tried to prepare to the best of her ability.

[Will what I got be enough?] Lianna wondered, looking at the tools available to her. Due to her close proximity to Enverna, both of them were currently buffed.

Lianna Velcross

MP: 125/125

RP: 10

---

STR: D+

END: D+

DEX: D+

MYS: D+

L: B-

---

Traits:

Child of Mana

{Born from a mana storm. Gain a boost to mana.}

Lover’s Connection

{While near Enverna Alteri, both your attributes are boosted.}

---

Instinct:

Target Analysis

{Allows the user to see the Statuses of other living beings}

Love Conqueror

{Gain rewards from completing System quests. The harder the quest, the greater the reward}

---

Spells:

Reconnaissance - 25 MP

{Spell}

{Lesser}

{Class: Scout}

{Desc: Identify every Fiend and Human in a 10-meter radius}

{Note: This ability works through walls}

---

Techniques:

Ambush - Passive

{Technique}

{Lesser}

{Class: Scout}

{Desc: The first attack you or your allies attempt on an enemy that has not seen you specifically yet has a 25% higher chance of landing and deals 25% bonus damage. This passive is maintained for every attack you or your allies attempt until the enemy sees you.}

{Note: Passive only activates when within 5 meters of an enemy}

She’d tried to get some training in as well. Not to get her stats up, of course, as such a thing was pointless with her potential, but to get used to the feeling of exertion. Depending on what happened, she could be running a lot today.

The Neon Gates were a Player-exclusive way to leave Telvan, built so that if some mission popped up that prompted every Player in the city to go want to take part in it, the streets wouldn’t be quite as clogged. They were named as such due to the line of neon lights forming a path to those metal gates, where Enverna’s teacher, Instructor Vara now stood next to two things.

A truck and a sear.

Lianna’s eyes widened. It was her first time seeing this creature in person.

Sears were bird-like animals that almost resembled small dragons, with bright, red scales and massive wings. But, they had colorful, short, curved beaks like parrots as well.

"You flew here on the back of that thing?" Lianna couldn’t help but ask.

"Indeed, I did. It was rather fun, honestly... Maybe I could take you on a ride someday."

[Oh, I wish you would.]

Instructor Vara turned toward them, walking forward wearing black robes and a witch’s pointy hat.

"Lianna Velcross, Enverna Alteri. Quite the peculiar situation you two have. Not many others know about your Instinct’s condition, do they?"

"No," Enverna replied.

"Be sure to keep it that way," Vara told them. "Information is a precious thing in the world of a Player. It is why the strongest Players don’t just subjugate the entire nation. Why law and order are possible. Because of the benefit of the doubt. The moment you let people know how strong you are, however, you give them the opportunity to take your humanity away. So, don’t let them."

Enverna and Lianna both looked at one another, equally surprised by the sudden lesson.

"Lianna, there’s some armor from that crate," Vara said, pointing at a box on the back of the truck. "You can put it on once we arrive. Although, you can go on the mission dressed as you are now if you wish. You will not be fighting much at all."

[I uh... I doubt that.]

"Get in."

Listening to Vara’s instruction, the two Players hopped in the back of the truck while Vara went atop her sear.

Enverna chose to sit next to Lianna instead of across. Lianna was left with very little space, and yet she didn’t mind.

The sear then took off, drawing gasps from the nosy citizens around them, and the truck’s engine started, the vehicle quickly taking them both out of Telvan.

For Lianna, this was the first time she’d left Telvan’s walls. The landscape all around her was vast and barren, with tall grass and distant storms decorating the horizon. Storms like the one she was born in. A small amount of anxiety she felt now came from that, from being that much closer to the source of her own existence. Most of her tension, however, came from not knowing just how badly this mission was going to go.

A calloused hand fell gently atop one of Lianna’s own. The girl looked up to find Enverna giving her a reassuring smile.

"We’re going to be fine," Enverna told her. "Relax."

"I... I dunno," Lianna sighed. "I just have a bad feeling, is all."

Enverna squeezed her hand a little.

"That is just called being nervous, my dear. It’ll be fine."

Lianna couldn’t even allow herself to enjoy this moment of Enverna being so sweet. Mainly, because she had it on very good authority that she was wrong, but simply couldn’t tell her due to those restrictions.

[All I have to do is protect you, though,] Lianna thought as she looked back at Enverna’s silver eyes. [I’ll do my best.]

---

The truck arrived at a field by the base of a hill. From here, a dirt road led to a massive, misty forest, where several figures waited. Instructor Vara and her sear stood before the trees. As the truck approached, Vara turned her head toward them.

Beside her and her animal partner was another group of players. Most of them, however, did not look like rookies.

"Here you are. I’ll be waiting for ya," the driver let them know and both girls hopped off, landing on the dirt and pulling all of those people’s eyes to them.

Four Players. A woman wearing priestess robes and carrying a white staff, a man with two swords at his back, an archer like Lianna, and a boy who wasn’t carrying anything at all.

All of them had one peculiar symbol on the brooches they carried. That of a green-eyed eagle.

[... What is this?]

The guy with the two swords waved at them. All four of the players completely disregarded Lianna, staring instead at Enverna.

[I’m guessing they all know she’s the Rank 3 Watchful recruit...]

Given that a tragedy was set to happen today, the first thing Lianna did was check all their statuses.

They were all fairly average. But, as Lianna tried to scan the weaponless boy, she found:

Jack Caldwell

MP: 10/10

---

STR: C-

END: D+

DEX: D-

MYS: F

L: D-

---

Traits:

???

[Error: {Target Analysis} is not yet powerful enough to reveal this Player’s Trait.]

[What?] Lianna squinted at that. [That’s... That’s never happened before.]

That bad feeling in Lianna’s gut only grew stronger.

Instructor Vara walked up to the four of them.

"Excuse me, but what exactly is the Hunter’s Guild doing here? I’m fairly certain the Watchful set up a reservation. Explain yourselves."

"Yes! Um, yes ma’am," the boy with the two blades said, "but, our guild’s administrator contacted yours and we were given permission to come today so we could do an evaluation of our own. James, over here," he pointed at the boy with no weapons, "has a pretty neat ability that we want to try out." He walked up and Lianna did not miss the way Vara stiffened. "It’s all in this letter."

"Yes, ma’am. We don’t mean to intrude but, you see, we’re all very busy pretty much every other day," the Priestess-class Player stated. "This was the best day we had for our schedules."

The entire time, both groups sized each other up as Vara read the letter.

James gave Lianna a fleeting glance. He was the only one out of the four who’d even so much as looked her way but, even then, he didn’t look particularly impressed.

"... Fine," Vara said. "You four go in first. We’ll head in once you’re done."

"Thank you, ma’am. Everyone, come on."

Excitedly, the four players went into the forest, disappearing beyond the mist.

Enverna walked up to Vara. Before she could even ask anything, Vara said:

"The letter was real. It carried the Hunter’s Guild administrator’s personal System-made seal, a method the System provides for verification that cannot be falsified."

"... So, we are to wait here, then?" Enverna asked.

"Indeed. If they’re just looking to test out a few abilities, they shouldn’t be in there for long... That said, I do find myself feeling quite cautious. That boy without any weapons, he carried an odd type of mana."

"What do you mean?"

"My Mana Sense," Vara replied. "Have you not wondered how I can see through my blindfold?"

[I have, actually, yeah.]

"I do so through Mana Sense. After becoming a Fourth Star Sorcerer, one gains a passive ability that lets you see in 360 degrees, through your magic. Part of that also means that I can sense others’ mana. And, yes, that boy’s mana was incredibly strange. It was..."

Vara tilted her head.

"Well, it was a lot like yours. Both of you. Bright and powerful. I have not felt mana like that in... well, ever."

Hearing that, Lianna’s "bad feeling" turned into downright dread.

[... Something is absolutely not right.]