Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

Farewell

Moments later, Kawasha’s attendant returned with a scroll in hand. It was richly decorated with precious stones and the paper used was of such a high quality that it still hadn’t turned brown. This was unlike any of the scrolls they had seen before. It was certainly above the rare rank.

Taking the scroll from his attendant, Kawasha presented it to Zach and Aaron. “I request you to accept this humble gift as a token of our gratitude.”

As soon as Aaron touched the scroll, he felt a strange power emanating from within. Only Legendary items had this effect!

“This can’t be...” Aaron quickly unfurled the paper to see what it was. There were no letters or numbers written inside, but only strange symbols etched in silver. After a brief glance, he handed it to Zach. “What do you make of that?”

Zach was quite familiar with different types of scrolls, but this one left him perplexed. It had a powerful magical energy trapped inside, but it wasn’t a summoning scroll. All summoning scrolls contained a seal on top and the name of the creature being summoned. This thing was entirely different. He couldn’t make any sense of the symbols etched on the paper.

“Where exactly did you find this?” Zach questioned Kawasha.

The young chief pointed towards the west and began describing what sounded like an ancient ruin, located inside a forest.

“That’s the Temple of Shadows,” Aaron concluded. “This has to be a Legendary Scroll if he got it from that place.”

“But what does it even do?” Zach asked, turning the scroll in his hand. He meticulously analysed the scroll, checking both sides to see if it had any familiar markings, but ended up drawing a blank. This scroll was a recent addition.

To see if at least the scroll’s rank would show up, Zach placed it inside his inventory. When trying to access the scroll, it showed up under the ‘miscellaneous’ section, labelled as ‘unknown item.’

“I need to use identifying magic on this.” Zach held the scroll in his right hand and spoke aloud, “Activate ability: Greater Identification.”

Immediately, the scroll emitted a bright golden glow and the silvery symbols inside changed into the letters of an archaic language.

[*Magic Scroll Identified*]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Type: Alteration]

The identifying ability had removed the magic enchantment which was obscuring the scroll’s true nature. Zach had no difficulty reading it now. Though it was written in an archaic language, it wasn’t completely unfamiliar to Zach. He had come across this language while working with Gilbert. He had even included it in certain collectible manuscripts scattered across Solaris. As Zach read the scroll, his expression changed. There was excitement written all over his face.

“So, what is it? A level up scroll?” Aaron enquired.

“Nah, even better. This one’s a class change scroll. The player can use it to change to a different class instantly. And here’s the best part—there are no levelling penalties, which means you get to keep your previous level!”

“I’ve never read anything about such a scroll existing in this game.” Madeline sounded awfully sceptical about it.

Zach rolled the scroll back up and replied, “This was probably introduced in the recent update. Gilbert never really liked the idea of a rigid class system. He always wanted to make the game more dynamic and exciting.”

“You better keep that scroll safe. We are gonna need it, I feel,” Aaron said.

“It’s not for me.” Zach wrapped the red string around the scroll, securing it with a knot on top and handed it to Aaron. “I’m not much of a strategist. I wouldn’t even know when to change classes. You can make better use of it.”

“I’m not a wizard, bro. I can’t use magic scrolls.”

“You don’t have to be a wizard to use alteration scrolls. Any player above level 10 can use them.”

With no objections from the girls, Aaron kept the scroll for himself. He thanked Kawasha for this incredible gift and then introduced him to the two new members of his group. The young chief greeted them with kind words and welcomed them to stay for as long as they wanted.

Mawanko and Odolo arrived a few minutes later. They hoped that Aaron and his friends would spend a few days with them and participate in the summer rituals, but Aaron politely declined the offer.

When Aaron told them about Ashenfort, the tribal people were left utterly confused. They had always thought this was the only piece of land in the ocean. Kawasha realised that their world was a lot bigger than what they knew. He felt a strong desire to request Aaron to allow him to accompany him on his journey, but his chiefly duties held him back.

“May the sun guide you on your journey.”

With those final words, Kawasha bid farewell to Aaron’s group. Aaron promised to return again someday, if he had the chance.

As they left the Cayuga settlement and headed for the beach, Madeline couldn’t help but ask Aaron what he thought about those people. Though the Cayuga tribals were friendly and helpful, she considered them nothing more than NPCs. Aaron, on the other hand, treated them almost as if they were actual human beings.

“They maybe NPCs, but they are self-aware, sentient individuals with real emotions. In this world, they are more real than us,” Aaron answered.

Both Zach and Madeline felt as if Aaron was slowly losing his grip on reality. The way he was behaving back the settlement, it seemed like he truly believed the NPCs were real humans. And now his reply made them even more apprehensive. He was a great leader and a brilliant strategist; there was no doubt about it. But, his belief that the NPCs of this world were self-aware, rational beings was bound to create problems in the future.

Isabella was the only one who shared Aaron’s beliefs, but she was just a child. Madeline and Zach didn’t openly refute Aaron, but they felt worried about his mental health. Though Zach loved the idea of going on an adventure in a fantasy land, he could tell the difference between what was real and what was virtual. He only hoped that this was just a passing phase and Aaron would be able to come to terms with reality before it was too late.

As the group reached the southern beach, the great Sea-bridge came into view. It was a narrow structure made up of corals and sea-shells, connecting Solaris to a small red mound on the distant horizon.