Path of Light Read online

  “Village lord, can you really heal the damaged soul?” Garret asked, his tone full of greed.

  Jon sighed. “I can try.”

  Garret dropped from his horse and stepped closer to Jon. “Lord, if you can do that, I’ll put a word in with the mayor to go easy on your villager. And if you can come to the city in four days, I’ll set up a meeting with the mayor for the negotiation.”

  System: Quest Alert.

  Heal the Soul I

  Quest Class: Uncommon

  Garret suffers from soul damage. Heal it to gain his favor.

  Reward: Reputation with Garret. Reputation with Chinari. A meeting with the mayor. Reduction in Maggie’s prison time by 1 month. 500 EXP.

  Do you accept? Yes/No.

  Wow! Healing one person would reduce prison time for Maggie. He could at least do that for her.

  He selected yes, and Garret’s face burst in a grin.

  Jon cast the vine, and white smoke jumped out of his body and wrapped around Garret’s neck.

  Turning cautious, Garret tried to pull the alien object away from his neck, but the vine didn’t budge. A white stream flew inside Garret’s neck from the vine, and his eyes glazed over.

  For a moment, Garret’s eyes swirled inside his eye sockets, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead, but soon a wave of ecstasy spread over his face like he had touched something divine.

  While Garret enjoyed the fruit of Jon’s labor, Jon dropped on the ground, his veins bursting inside his body and blood oozing out of his hands.

  Damn, how could he forget the death aura. He only had 220 usable spirit, and the vine required 500 spirit. The f-ing vine bridged the gap with his blood.

  Jon grasped his trousers as the pain shot through his heart. It felt like hundreds of needles stabbing his veins as the blood vanished from his body. The worst part? Every 3 points of HP converted into 2 points of spirit. And for every point of HP, he felt eternity of pain.

  It ran for a few seconds and stopped, leaving him only 45 HP.

  F-k the game developers. Why did they design a sinister system like this? They must have been bloodthirsty vampires. Did they lose their minds while designing this system? Why couldn’t they just refuse spell casting when Spirit was too low? Why suck HP instead?

  “Lord...” Jacobson’s worried voice pulled Jon out of his dizzy state.

  “What?” Jon groaned. Even after the pain faded, he still suffered from the hallucination.

  Breathing hard, Jon sat on his butt and waited for his spirit to replenish. Once it filled to the brim, he cast Healing Space below him and basked in the ecstasy of healing waves rejuvenating his life.

  Suddenly, his heart shivered. Despite having a high level of Pain Attunement, he still felt so much pain. What if he didn’t have that?

  Damn!

  Sweat beads formed on his neck despite the rainy weather.

  “Lord...” Garret choked out, and the white vine detached from his neck and vanished. “This is...”

  Jon cast perception on him.

  Garret

  Level 42 NPC guard

  Third-in-command of the 1st company of City Imperial Guards.

  HP: 13000/13000

  Other stats disabled due to level difference.

  “Lord...” Squatting, he grabbed Jon’s hand and squeezed it with all his f-ing might.

  “Ow!” Only after Jon shouted did he loosen his grip. Thank God, the healing effect was still active, so the -20 to HP was instantly replenished.

  Even a normal guard could squeeze him to death.

  “I apologize, Lord. This is too good to be true. I’m completely cured from the devilish soul bite.” A profound smile occupied his face.

  System:

  Quest update: You have successfully healed Garret from his soul damage. Heal the Soul I is complete.

  Quest Reward: 1000 reputation with Garret. 50 reputation with the town of Chinari and 1 month in Maggie’s imprisonment reduction. 250 EXP (500/2 for Divine Punishment)

  Jon frowned when he stared at the experience penalty.

  “Jacobson, do you want to get treated too?” Jon asked, looking at Jacobson who just stood there, dumbfounded, but with Jon’s question his eyes too shone with greed.

  “Yes, Lord.”

  Jon received another quest with the same name and the numeral II. Apparently, it was a chain quest.

  Jon waved his hand to call the Vine of Light, but this time he drank the Water of Darkness first, increasing his Constitution and Wisdom by 20 each. So, though he lost some life, it didn’t put him on the verge of death. And with the pre-cast of Healing Space, he healed in no time.

  As a result, his reputation with the town of Chinari reached 600, as he had gained 500 reputation for triggering the expansion earlier. Along with that, Maggie’s imprisonment reduced to 4 months, and he had a meeting set up with the mayor in 4 days.

  Afterward, Jacobson handed him a white insignia with two red stars on it and told him it was the Imperial Guest insignia.

  However, he didn’t have a way to reach the town in 4 days.

  “Respected guards, can I have a private conversation with my villager before you take her away?” Jon asked.

  They nodded and continued talking among themselves.

  “Maggie.” He pulled her aside. “What was that about?”

  Pulling the jacket closer, she sighed. “Well, I got you a rare temple print. Upgrade the village, and use your special one-time insta-build option on the temple.”

  Jon shook his head. Why was she talking about the temple? “But why did you do that?”

  Maggie blinked her beautiful blue eyes. “I had to. It’s a horde of architectural blueprints. I had to get a rare temple from there.” She bit her lip and moved a little closer to him. The fragrance of lilies wafted from her curvy body, enticing his senses. “That imperial tomb is full of low-level blueprints. We should plan on raiding it one day.” She winked. “One more thing, learn the blueprint after you upgrade the village so it will replace the standard temple that comes with it.”

  Jon gasped, unable to decide if he should cry or laugh at the crazy woman. Why wasn’t she worried about her prison term?

  “What about your prison term?”

  Maggie smirked. “Why did I ask you for 50 gold?” A mischievous smile played on her lips. “However, I’ll be spending at least a week in the prison. So, see if you can get me out before. There are rats there, and I hate them.”

  Now Jon wanted to cry. The woman had cheated him out of 50 gold like that. What if the rare building wasn’t worth it?

  “Upgrade the village.” He whispered under his breath.

  Chapter 3

  The sound of the horses’ hooves had faded away by the time Jon opened the option to upgrade his village to level 1.

  His blood pumped, curiosity spiked, and mouth parched as he clicked on the upgrade button.

  System: Upgrading Epic village to level 1

  A golden light shot from the resident hall like a rocket, and after reaching thirty meters high, it spread its wings over the whole village like a phoenix, encapsulating everything in a bright light.

  A loud bang echoed from the residence, and all the workers resting there ran out to see the spectacle. Players working in their farms or resting in their huts ran to the middle of the village to watch the show.

  Jon bet these people hadn’t seen something like this in their whole game-life. Heck, it was his first time too.

  Golden light bathed the buildings one by one and changed their appearance. Technically, not heavy changes, only cosmetic once. The upgrade didn’t add a single point of HP to any building, but it improved their appearance a lot. Earlier, they’d looked like the work of a novice painter. Now a master painter had added a bit of his magic to enhance it by ten times. With a new paint job, the buildings got a new lease on life. The huts sparkled in the new grey-brown color from outside, and the palisade shone a darker shade of brown. It didn’t look like a noob’s job anymore, and
the paint hid patches and cracks running through the wooden blocks in a perfect manner. It even smelled like a newly painted house.

  Though other structures remained the same, the residence received a big upgrade. The pre-existing five-room and one hall structure upgraded into a two story, ten-room building with marble tile and a red and blue paint job. Yet, the HP remained same. At least now there were enough rooms to put 2 workers in one. Or should he keep one room for Maggie? She was using a hut for herself, but the rooms inside residence were much better. They had brick walls and a comfortable wooden floor in the bedrooms.

  Jon rubbed his neck as he accessed his Town Management interface. Warmth ran through his body as he spotted so many new options opened for him.

  Town Management (Epic Village): Level 1 settlement.

  Next Level requirement:

  1 Unique building.

  100 Population.

  1 Defense buildings.

  2 Food Buildings.

  Next level traits:

  Insta-building production available for uncommon buildings.

  Second Town Management skill tree become available.

  Unable to contain his excitement, Jon accessed the buildings menu. Many new buildings had been added to the previously small list. Seeing the new list, he felt like a strategist for the first time. A village’s growth depended on him.

  Available Buildings:

  Core Buildings:

  Residence: The home of the village owner/lord. Allows access to the Village Management skill tree. HP: 1000. Cost: 200 wood blocks, 50 stone blocks. BP:50.

  Small Palace (Unique): A place where the king lives. If built, can act as an alternative council hall. Provides specific bonuses on town management skill tree choices. Upgrades become available as town level increases. (Disabled, as a Residence is present.) HP: 7000. Build Cost: 1500 stone blocks, 1500 iron blocks, 1500 wooden blocks, 100 Iron-3 type crystals. BP required: 4000. Worker required: 10 Master builders. Instant build cost: 4000 BP.

  Entertainment Building:

  Inn: An inn where tourists can rent a room for a night or two. Entertainment place. Increases town’s morale. HP:400. Cost: 300 wood blocks, 200 stone blocks. BP: 200. Worker required: Novice builder. Instant Build Cost: 400 BP.

  Defense Buildings:

  Palisade: Small fence around the village. Allows protection from small insects and dogs. HP: 1000. Build Cost: 500 wood blocks. BP: 200.

  Watch Tower: A watch tower enables the town to survey the area and detect any incoming attack in advance. Radius: 10 Miles. HP: 500. Cost: 100 wooden blocks, 50 iron blocks, 50 stone blocks. BP: 200. Worker Required: Novice builder. Instant build cost: 200 BP.

  Production Buildings:

  Small Warehouse: Small warehouse to store food. Can store and preserve food up to one hundred days. HP:100. Storage: 250 pieces of food. Cost: 100 wooden blocks. BP: 40. Instant build cost: 40 BP.

  Food Mill: Research on food can be done here. When built, all food will remain usable for 2 more days. Can be used as a storage. HP: 500. Cost: 200 wooden blocks, 50 iron blocks. Worker Required: Novice builder. BP: 150. Instant build cost: 150.

  Lumber Pit: Small space to store wooden blocks. Can store and preserve wooden blocks from humidity and keep them dry. HP: 200. Cost: 50 wooden blocks. BP: 40. Instant build cost: 40 BP.

  Attack Buildings:

  N/A

  Food Buildings:

  Small Warehouse: A small hall used to store food. Can store and preserve food up to thirty days. HP: 250. Cost: 100 wood blocks. BP: 100. Instant build cost: 100 BP.

  Farm: An area of land to use for farming. HP: 50. Cost: 10 wood blocks. BP:20. [Unavailable for building. Maximum number reached.]

  Housing Buildings:

  Small Hut: A small one-room house to live in. Can accommodate 2 people.

  HP: 100. Cost: 50 wood. BP: 50. Instant build cost: 50 BP. Occupants: 2.

  Small House: A shelter for 4 people. A single-story house with four rooms and a kitchen.

  HP: 100. Build Cost: 100 Wooden blocks. BP: 50. Worker required: Novice builder. Occupants: 4.

  Religious Buildings:

  Temple: A place to offer your prayers. Increases the morale of the villagers. HP: 800. Cost: 600 wooden blocks, 200 stone blocks. BP: 200. Worker Required: Novice builder.

  Damn, the upgrade needed one unique building to be built. Why was it so tough to advance the village to level 2? And the only available unique building for him was a small palace, which was disabled. Even if it was enabled, he had no way to gather enough resources.

  Jon’s insides churned as the resource question freaked him out once more.

  Anyway, he was more interested in the Town Management skill menu that came with the level 1 village.

  Town Management Skill Points

  Available TM points: 4 (3 from level up and 1 from owner’s class bonus)

  Wow! His class. If he could, he would kiss that ugly elder druid. He had received the world’s best class.

  Defense Tree:

  Town management skill points can unlock defense bonuses. Initial requirement: 500 BP. Only one tree can be selected for a level 1 town.

  Defense tree provides defense bonuses to town residents and all buildings. Unlocks unique buildings upon reaching higher levels in town management.

  Passive Bonus: For all town buildings, +5% chance that an attack will miss.

  Boon of the Defense I: Lowers the cost of building materials needed by 5% for normal buildings and 10% for defensive buildings. +5% to defense buildings HP. TM skill point: 1. BP: 400.

  Boon of the Defense II: Lowers the cost of building materials needed by 5% for normal buildings and 10% for defensive buildings. +10% to defense buildings HP. TM skill point 1. BP: 600.

  Boon of the Defense III: Lowers the cost of building materials needed by 10% for normal buildings and 20% for defensive buildings. +15% to defense buildings HP. Defense buildings gain Thorn damage: 1 Damage reflected for every 10 damage taken. TM skill point: 1. BP: 800.

  (All bonuses work in additive manner.)

  Offense Tree (Locked as no offense building present in the town):

  Town management skill points can unlock offense bonuses. Initial requirement: 1000 BP. Only one tree can be selected for level 1 town.

  Offense tree provides offense bonuses to town warriors and offense-specific buildings (Archer Tower, Barracks). Unlocks unique buildings upon reaching higher levels in town management.

  Trade Tree (Locked as no trade building present in the town):

  Town management skill points can unlock trade bonuses. Initial requirement 1000 BP. Only one tree can be selected for level 1 town.

  Trade tree provides trade-specific bonuses to town residents and trade buildings (Ex Market, Auction House). Unlocks unique buildings upon reaching higher levels in town management.

  Production Tree:

  Town management skill points can unlock production bonuses. Initial requirement: 500 BP. Only one tree can be selected for a level 1 town.

  Production tree provides production bonuses to village residence and production buildings (farms, food mills, quarries etc). Unlocks unique building upon reaching higher levels in town management.

  Passive Bonus: Farm yield increases by 5%.

  Boon of the Yielder I: Lowers the time required for the production of crops, weapons, potions, and all production-related items by 5%. 5% HP to all production buildings. TM skill points: 1. BP: 400.

  Boon of the Yielder II: 5% chance to improve the quality of the produced item by 1 level. 10% HP to all production buildings. TM skill point:1. BP: 600.

  Boon of the Yielder III: Lowers the resource cost of all production related products by 5%. 15% HP to all production buildings. Production related items have a 1% chance to gain a new property upon completion. TM skill point: 1. BP: 800.

  There was no choice to be made. The bonuses for the production-related buildings blew Jon’s mind. Too bad it had a 500 BP initial requirement and then consecutive BP neede
d. He couldn’t afford a skill with his current resources and BP, and he still had the pressing matter of building a temple to deal with.

  His halved stats had been haunting him like a ghost, so the temple took priority.

  System: Cannot allocate a free skill, as the BP requirement is not met. Unable to allocate a skill for the player.

  Error. The system is behaving in an unregistered manner because of player’s unique class bonuses. New branch added. Player is rewarded with 1 TM point instead of allocating a random skill.

  TM points available: 5

  Wow! What a blessing.

  Jon tried to wave the error message away, but no matter what he did, the message remained in his vision. Though it allowed him to look through it, it still annoyed him.

  Those bastard game developers, they must be taking revenge on him for cursing them day and night.

  Sighing, he pulled out the worn-out book Maggie had given him, hoping he would satisfy the requirements for the temple, at least.

  Chapter 4

  The worn-out yellowish book quivered in Jon’s hand when a strong breeze blew from the east.

  Glancing at the Abomination Forest to the east, he cursed in his heart. The four-yard tall, thick forest always sent chilling wind toward his village, like it was trying to scare him off.

  Staring at the lush green forest, Jon slipped the book back in his Bag of Holding, afraid of the air current might destroy the book before he opened it. Turning back, he went inside his hut to open it in peace.

  His eyes widened. A surprise waited for him inside. Painted light brown, the inside of the hut had turned into something more comfortable to the eyes. A table had been. It must have come from the upgrade bonus for the town. Now he could practice his remaining formation symbols and use them on the new blank formation flags Grimish had bought for him on his last trip to town a couple days back.

  Grinning, he cast perception on the book.

  Blueprint of Temple of Atrizi

  Building Class: Rare

  Atrizi, a demon goddess of darkness, stood on the corpses of two dragons in the War of Faith. From that day onward, her fame increased with no bounds in the whole demon realm and nearby continent. Though a cheap replica, this temple blueprint provides the town with increased faith toward the darkness gods and enables the village to walk on the path of darkness.