MMA: Chapter #44 (Patreon)

Striding through the fog, Alph easily cleared a hill with each step. He was in a hurry, and was trying to gain as much ground as he could before the [Fog Giant] potion wore off. When it finally did, he drank a [Fog Form] potion and continued to flit through the fog, heading for the Elder’s Barrow. Ever since the Greater Devil had appeared, Alph had been picking up a disgusting smell from it. Most of the other players didn’t seem to be able to smell it, but Alph’s nose was incredibly sharp. The strangest part, however, was that he felt as if he had smelled it before.

It wasn’t until Gweraleth died that he remembered where he had smelled it before. Both of the elven spirits in the tomb had faint hints of the Devilish scent. Combined with the bad feeling that he had gotten when he took the [Guardian Tablet], Alph was pretty sure that something bad was going on in the barrow. Thanks to his [Fog Form] potion, it only took him about an hour to arrive at the Elder’s Barrow, and he plunged into the dark hole without waiting for the effect to fade.

As he flitted through the tunnels, Alph’s mind couldn’t help but drift to the potions he had just created and used. Shaking his head, he tried to refocus on the issue at hand, but it was genuinely hard. The main effect of his mental seal was that his insanely overpowered intelligence stat was impossible to use in the game for anything but alchemy, but one of the side effects was that his mind constantly drifted to thoughts about potions, making him easily distractible.

Arriving at the tomb where the three large coffins were, Alph looked around but didn’t see Elder Var’Ilyri anywhere. The bad feeling in his heart was growing stronger as he rushed through the dark tunnels, not helped by the fact that the devilish smell had entered his nostrils. Slowing down as he approached the tunnels arranged like a wheel, Alph suddenly stopped when he entered the outside ring.

The stench was nearly overwhelming by this point, and Alph could see a dozen gross looking slug-like creatures crawling along the walls. Little more than a tube with a ring of sharp teeth, they left a smear of slime wherever they passed. As he entered the room, they appeared to have noticed him and quickly began converging on his position with a half crawling, half hopping movement.

Trying to stay calm, Alph took out a fire bomb, but quickly put it away, not wanting to accidentally bury himself down here. Instead, a [Flame Breath] potion found its way into his mouth, and he blew a wide arc of fire across the passage, scorching the tube monsters. At the same time, he backed up and drank down a [Stone Skin] potion. Half way through drinking it, he realized that he could upgrade the [Stone Skin] potion to a [Steel Skin] potion without much trouble, but the feeling of sharp teeth scraping against his arm brought his attention back to the present.

Shaking off the worm-like monster, Alph roasted it with flames, gagging as the stench of burning flesh flooded into his sensitive nose. Scrambling backward even as more of the tube bugs launched themselves at him, he escaped around the corner and then lobbed a frost bomb at the spot where he had just been standing. With a blast of arctic temperature, the potion coated the entire passage with white frost, and froze the advancing bugs solid. However, there was no way to guarantee they had been killed without unthawing them, so Alph got out another potion and threw it among the ugly statues.

Hissing, the potion cracked and a cloud of acid spread, eating through the ice covered skin of the monsters and beginning to chew through their frozen muscles. Figuring that would at least slow them down, Alph carefully picked his way past them and advanced into the outside wheel once again, only to freeze when he saw five more worms. His bad feeling grew stronger, and Alph got another potion. The [Wind Walker] potion was swallowed, and after taking a deep breath, Alph dashed ahead.

His speed was unbelievably quick, and he could walk on air as simply as he walked on the ground, allowing him to bypass the new worms before they could react. Dodging through the passages, he was heading for the main room in the center of the wheel, but as he got closer, his heart fell further and further. Every time he entered a new part of the tunnels, there were more and more bugs crawling around. Many of the tunnels had caved in the last time Alph was here but the bugs appeared to have chewed their way through the fallen stone, and in many cases the tunnels were now wider than before.

Coming to the central room, Alph saw a sight that caused his breath to catch. A veritable sea of the tube bugs were writhing on the floor and walls of the room, digging it out to expand it further. Moreover, there were different types of bugs as well, from monsters that stalked forward on bladed legs to others that buzzed through the air. In the center of it all, was the small stone building that contained the world tree that Alph had liberated. Even from where he stood, Alph could sense the damage that had been done to it. As his heart trembled, a familiar sight popped up in front of his eyes.

*ding*

Quest: Contain the Devil Bug Infestation

For eons, the Devils of the Abyss have tried to worm their way into Angoril but have been blocked by the power of the World Tree. Unable to manifest fully, the Devils were forced to tempt natives to open up cracks for them to send their corrupting influence over. With the coming of travelers, however, the Devils have found a new, potent source of pawns who they can bend to their will.

After paying a great price to discover the location of the World Tree, the Devils were thwarted by a barrier that could not be passed. With twisted words and promises of power, they convinced a group of travelers to remove the [Guardian Tablet], clearing the way for the corruption of the World Tree.

With the World Tree weakening, the barrier around the world weakens as well, allowing more Devils to sneak in, spreading their corruptive influence further. Around the world tree, an infestation of Devil Bugs has taken root, and begun to spread. Unless the World Tree is cleansed by an Elven High Priestess, the infestation cannot be removed, and will continue to expand until it overruns Rasyn, destroying all life on the island.

Requirements:
Prevent the spread of the Devil Bugs to keep them from overrunning Rasyn until an Elven High Priestess can cleanse the World Tree.

Rewards:
Various

“We did this,” Alph said to himself, his expression terrible.

“If it had not been you, it would have been someone else,” Myst said, walking out of the air to stand next to him.

Unsurprised to see her, Alph shook his head and lifted his hand to accept the quest. Before he could, he felt Myst grab his arm. Surprised, he looked over at her.

“Is something wrong?”

“You don’t need to accept this quest. In fact, it would be better if you didn’t.”

“Better? Better for who?” Alph asked, a smile on his face.

Sensing there was more to his question than he was letting on, Myst stared at Alph for a moment and then snapped her fingers. With a flash, the world went white and they stood in his lab. The thick bands of mana that surrounded it cast gentle light into the space, and Alph breathed a sigh of relief, some of the tension in his forehead and shoulders bleeding out.

“Thanks. It's a lot easier to think when I am in here.”

“Alph, you’ve probably already caught glimpses of it, but the infestation of Rasyn is supposed to happen,” Myst said, her expression grim.

“So that the one who this is built for can come in and save the day, right? Yeah, I know. I saw it in the system. But that would mean a lot of people dying,” Alph said, with a shrug. “Instead, why don’t I just stop them?”

“There will be ripple effects. In his fight against the bugs, he is supposed to develop a weapon capable of destroying the bugs for the final battle. That will not happen if you get involved.”

“I can deal with those too,” Alph said, grinning. “In fact, I’ve already got some great ideas for it.”

“But it will ripple in other ways too. The Devils will redouble their efforts elsewhere if you interfere here.”

“Sure, but I’m here, not there. I made this mistake, so I’ll be the one to deal with it. Besides, weren’t you worried about me dragging my potions all over Angoril? This will give me something to do while I wait around for the right time to ascend.”

Falling silent, Myst stared at Alph with narrowed eyes. Realizing something, her eyes went wide.

“How much did you see?”

Alph’s smile slowly faded and his eyes drifted to the wall of mana that surrounded the lab, as if he could see beyond it.

“I saw a lot. In retrospect, it was probably a foolish choice to drink the [True Sight] potion while boosting my intelligence above two thousand. But don’t worry. I don’t know any of this when I’m in the game so I won’t ruin any of your plans, Eve.”

The air froze as Myst’s face twisted into a scowl. With a shimmer, she transformed into the brown haired woman who had first approached Alph outside his apartment. Staring at Alph, she sighed, clearly annoyed that he had guessed who she was.

“How did you know?”

“The [True Sight] potion allows me to see everything as it is. My intellect allows me to sense and handle mana with absolute control. Your transformations use mana.”

Tracking with his logic, Eve snorted.

“Anything else you want to reveal?”

“No,” Alph said, shaking his head. “Not right now. For now I want to focus on keeping this problem I made contained, and working on my potions. I feel like I’ve gotten a peek at the top of the mountain but it's covered in fog once more.”

“Think carefully before you make your decision, Alph. You’ll be stuck here alone for a long time,” Eve said, her expression serious. “I’m talking decades.”

“I won’t be alone at all,” Alph replied, a sly grin on his face as he grabbed Eve’s hand. “You’ll be here too.”

END