Chapter 77: Chapter 75: Four Heroes

“Where…am I?” Anala groaned. A minute ago, she had been fighting monsters on the outskirts of one of the frontier towns, desperately training in preparation for the upcoming war, and now she was…lying on a cold stone floor.

“Wondering the same.” A gruff voice to her right said. “I’m assuming you got suddenly teleported here too?”

Anala sat up and turned to see a dwarven man climbing to his feet. “Name’s Raesn.” He said. “And who are all of you?”

All of you? Anala looked around and saw that there were indeed two more people, an elf woman and a human man. “I’m Anala.” She said. “And, yeah, I was teleported here without any warning, I was fighting monsters and then…”

She trailed off, seeing understanding in the remaining people’s eyes.

“Same.” The human said. “Ava and I were training and just…were here suddenly.” The elf, Ava, nudged him, and he started a bit. “Right, I’m Bruce, sorry.”

“Right, so…anyone have any clue why we’re here?” Anala asked. “Because I don’t even know where here is, much less what I’m doing here.”

“No idea.” Ava said.

“And I have no answers either.” Raesn added. “Though, something about this place is giving me the creeps. I…don’t know what, but it just feels…off.”

“That’s because you’re in my dungeon.” A new voice said. “Everything here is made using dungeon tools, so the stonework should be much more…uniform than you’re used to.”

Anala whipped around to find the High Arbiter herself standing there. She hadn’t been there a moment before, and Anala hadn’t heard any doors open or footsteps approaching, felt any magic, or…anything. It was like the High Arbiter had been standing there the entire time and Anala just…hadn’t noticed until now.

“Yeah, now that you mention it, that is true.” Raesn said. “So, am I to assume you’re the one that brought us here? To what do we owe the pleasure?”

The High Arbiter nodded. “That is correct. I’m here to offer assistance in your fight against the Queen of Monsters.”

Anala frowned. “I thought you said you weren’t doing that?”

“Publicly, no.” The High Arbiter said. “But, as things currently stand, I don’t have much confidence in the ability of the people to ward off the Queen of Monsters. I cannot give public aid without becoming a crutch on which people will lean the moment any dangerous thing comes, but I do not want to see my work with making Haven more accessible go to waste.”

“So…what are you going to be doing?” Bruce asked. “And why us? Why not the other Perfect Chimeras? Surely they would be better suited for this task.”

The High Arbiter shook her head. “No. The Queen of Monsters has prepared extensively for conflict with them, so I’m afraid they will not be of much assistance in this fight. Furthermore, my assistance is not something that can be easily withdrawn. Were I to help them now, I fear it would have great ramifications in the future.

“But, more than even that, I wish to show people that they are capable of more than just hiding in their fortified cities. Once the Queen of Monsters is defeated, monster activity will settle down for a time, and I want people to feel free to expand, not to cower in terror of the things outside their walls.

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“So, I decided to choose people from among the general population to extend my offer to. You four were chosen for your strength of character, and as representatives of both Earth and Haven. Should you accept my aid, I will grant you a powerful ability as well as fine equipment, in return for leading the charge against the Queen of Monsters.

“In her arrogance, she has written off ‘normal’ people as insignificant and unable to hinder her plans. I want to show her and everyone else that that is not the case. Do you accept?”

“I’ll do it.” Anala said. She barely even had to consider that; she had been planning to fight on the front lines anyway, and she would take any help she could get.

“Me as well.” Raesn said. “I’m not about to let my work go to waste, either.”

“We were planning on helping anyway.” Ava said. “We’ll do it.”

The High Arbiter smiled. “Very well, then.” She turned to the side and there were four tables there that most definitely had not been there moments before. “These tables hold equipment that will help you in your quest. The moment you pick them up they will be bound to you, and no one else will be able to use them.”

She motioned to the first table. “For Ava, I have a pair of swords, one enchanted with deep cold and the other with scorching heat. In addition to dealing extra cold or fire damage, anything struck by one will take much more damage from the other for quite some time. There is also a set of leather armor, designed to aid your stealth while providing excellent protection.”

She walked over to the next table. “For Bruce, I have a set of robes and a staff. The staff vastly increases damage dealt with magic and reduces Mana consumption, while the robes increase your Mana regeneration and automatically remove the need for you to chant your spells while not increasing the Mana cost.

“For Raesn, I have something slightly…different. I have decent armor and a good spear, yes, but I also have a special set of tools. They will allow you to manifest some of my ability to create…otherworldly material, which can be used to great effect in many situations.”

She stopped at the last table. “And, finally, for Anala, I have plate armor and a tower shield I’ve made myself. They’re far stronger than anything you’re liable to see for a long time and lighter, too. Furthermore, I have a sword enchanted with my justice, which deals massive damage against those who have killed another.”

She stopped, looking carefully at the people before her. “I am now going to give you Blessings. Each of you will receive a different one, but they all will share the benefit of doubling any experience you earn, allowing you to grow more rapidly than you should.”

She walked from the tables to the group, then placed a hand on Ava’s forehead. “I bestow upon you the Blessing of Stealth, allowing you the ability to render yourself unnoticeable by almost anything at the cost of a large amount of your Stamina and Mana while you are doing so.”

She placed another on Bruce’s forehead. “For you, the Blessing of Understanding, allowing you to intuitively know how magic you see works, and allowing you to replicate it with no extra effort involved.”

She withdrew her hands before walking over to Anala and placing a hand on her forehead as well. “For you, the Blessing of the Protector, which increases your stats while you are protecting another.”

There was the sensation of something filling Anala, a sort of electric feeling unlike anything she had felt before. And then it was gone, leaving her feeling energized and stronger than she had just a moment earlier.

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