Eternal Empire Online: The Rise of the Mythical Detective

Chapter 4: The Castaways, The Sword Apparition, And The Recipe For Survival 2

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What is a [Hidden Profession]?

A [Hidden Profession] is a unique profession that is only attainable through special quests and achievements. The requirement for these professions are expected to be extremely hard and not easily known due to that it allows the usage of special privileges, unique skills and stats that are unavailable to Normal classes.

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“A Hidden Profession?”

“Yes. That’s why I said that it is not a wise idea to hide in the real world while waiting for the next training. If this quest truly leads into a Hidden Profession, then we needed to increase our level in order to accept it. Hidden or not, the level requirement for a job change is Level 40. If that level is not reached during the job proposal, the job change will be cancelled until the required level is met. But in the case of Hidden Professions, cancellation means refusal. And if you refuse a Hidden Profession, it will be unavailable for you for good. You won’t be able to receive the offer ever again even if you repeat the same quest.”

What Gambit just mentioned is the very core why Deidre is going through all these troubles to establish the group despite the risk. There’s a high chance that the quest might lead into unearthing a Hidden Profession and she lacks the level requirement to accept it. She needed to level up but she can’t do it on her own.

That’s the purpose why she organized the introduction so that she can know their names and levels. And fortunately, it turns out that none of them is on or even near that level so forming a party with them is possible. “None of us is level 40, so levelling up is necessary. However, doing it alone proves to be extremely hazardous. So I’m proposing that our enmity to one another should only be applied during training. But once we are left to tend on our own, we must work together as a team and help each other to survive.”

******

Gen logged out after their meeting ended with a unanimous decision of going through with Deidre’s proposal.

In addition to that, they also come into an agreement to share the details to some of their skills in order to identify the suitable role for them in the party.

Gen as Grimm, shared his [Cooking], a skill that can enhance the quality of consumable items.

Basche has his [Bandaging], a semi-curative skill that reduces Bleeding and increase the rate of health recovery.

Through working as a receptionist at the Ranger’s Guild back in Latona, Deidre manage to acquire the skill called [Life Trace], which allows her to sense the presence of living beings within a 30 meter radius.

Gust’s big brother is a veteran player, and when he started playing, he gave him the [Break Room] skill as a gift.

The [Break Room] allows Gust to build a campsite that is designed to completely remove its presence from any form of predator as long as their level is lower than his.

Gambit, the highest levelled in the group presented his [Bragging] skill, a roar type that increases his and the entire party’s Strength Stat by +1 multiplied by the number of people that heard him. At Beginner Level 5, its effect last for 18 seconds and is very effective when fighting in a horde.

After Gambit, Ecks presented his [Encourage], another roar skill that raises the morale and defense of the party. It’s at Beginner Level 4 and provides 19% increase in defense for 30 seconds.

And then last but not the least was the Trio of Trevol, Kylo, and Louie. They revealed that they are close friends in real life and had started playing Eternal Empire together. And before meeting Basche and the other three members of their original party, they once participated into a Chain Quest where they received the Unique Combo Skill [Unite] as a reward upon its completion.

When [Unite] is activated, 30% of their combined attack and defense are added to their individual stats for the entire duration of the Battle Mode. However, the activation of this skill requires the three of them to initiate it together. They can’t also separate for more than 10 meters away from each other or else, the effect of [Unite] will be cancelled. It’s a powerful yet a very inconvenient skill that literally forces the three of them to stay together.

“We should call them the Three Amigos,” Gambit suggested.

Everyone gave a laugh and agreed to the suggestion which annoys the three people involved.

Afterwards, once everything was finally presented and settled, the assigning of role was then made.

Grimm and Basche will act as the Medics where their role is provide first aid and recovery items especially to the heavily injured.

Gust, despite not having an Active Offensive skill is equipped with the best set of armors in the group. So he was placed on Support-Defense and his main responsibility is to protect Grimm and Basche.

Deidre is currently equipped with bow and arrows. And with her [Life Trace], she will be their watchtower, responsible for destination and the overall safety of the party.

Then, there’s Gambit and Ecks. Their armors are almost as good as Gust’s and they can use roar skills that can increase the defensive and attacking power of the party. Therefore, they were placed for the Tanking and Luring job as well as for the second Attack Team next to the Three Amigos.

And lastly were the Trio of Trevol, Kylo, and Louie, the Three Amigos.

Equipped with Two-Handed swords and the Combo Skill [Unite], they consists the main attacking force of the team.

With that, the settling of the party had then ended and everyone finally logged out and went their separate ways. Their next meeting as well as the start of their hunting will be held a day before their second training.

However, Gen has something else in mind and cannot stay long in the real world. He will just take a few bites from the fridge and then login again after an hour.

******

It was past midnight in Eternal Empire when Grimm returned to the now empty training ground.

“Alright, I’m finally on my own.”

Grabbing a wooden sword, Grimm immediately stood in front of the nearest statue and repeated the sequence that Bart instructed to them during the training. However, this time around, his purpose is not to hoard stats or to increase skill masteries but to quench a kindled curiosity regarding a vague incident that emerged to him during the latter part of the 24 hellish hours.

The unexplained experience occurred to Grimm for a total of three times. But feeling tired and dizzy, he immediately dismisses what he saw as mere deliriums caused by hunger and fatigue.

However, when the training ended and Grimm checked his Stat Window, he noticed something weird on his Mana Bar. He doesn’t have any active skill, his passive skills do not consume mana, but from 85, his mana was reduced to 25.

It was then that the experience he initially dismissed as deliriums caught his interest. He wanted to be sure but does not wish to do it in front of the other disciples.

Call him overly skeptical but as long as the nine of them are competing against each other to become the winner of this quest, trusting them is never gonna to be an option.

And even though unlikely, he might dig something neat out of this. If that happens, then he must keep it to himself if he wanted to gain a lead.

“I might end up wasting my time here but who cares, I got nothing to lose anyway.” Grimm said as he repeatedly struck the statue.

The first 500 to 1000 sequences were fruitless, the succeeding thousand and a couple of hundred were the same. When Grimm had already invested four hours of doing the routine, he almost gave it up.

Fortunately, on the third strike of the 4,567th sequence, the thing that he was aiming for finally occurred.

When he executed the strike, a faint apparition of 8 swords, one from each direction, materializes and simultaneously stabs the statue. And due to the combination of the thick darkness of the forest and the bright moonlight, the ghostly swords gave a more distinct luminous glow that convinced Grimm that it’s real and his eyes are not just toying with him.

But just to be certain, he also opened his Stat Window. And just as he suspected, his mana really declined by 20.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The turn of events finally confirms it. There’s a secret sword technique hidden behind Bart’s Sequence. Regrettably, it is still inadequate. It’s also hard to grasp and despite its incomplete state, it consumes mana.

Grimm then mused. “In order to learn it, I must grasp how to execute it first. And after that, I need to have a sufficient amount of mana to execute it repeatedly until it’s refined and registered to my Skill Tree.”

‘Damn! It’s going to be a pain.’ Not to mention that he must do it in secret too. He then exhaled a frustrated sigh. “I guess I have to start hunting without them.”