Polaris Dark - Arc II: Particle Physics

  Arc II - Start

  The realism and curiousity for the virtual world got the better of me and so, in just two days of being afraid of Ascendancy, I hestitantly entered the world again two days after the traumatizing experience. In the end, the game's fun factor overwhelmned my fear and I started to enjoy my surroundings as well as conversing with the NPCs.

  Over the past month in the world of Ascendency, I have been busy with helping out in both the commercial and the artisan districts. By the end of the one-month prohibition period, I have gained a good reputation with the NPCs in the area.

  During this month, I have received quite a few quests for helping out mundane tasks such as collecting materials for shops, delivering packages as well as fighting against rat infestations in certain food storage warehouses.

  Before I began the quests though, I checked over my new abilities again and finally opened my inventory. I found three items that I have gotten after changing to the profession.

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  The Divine Laws Scroll is probably given so the player can equip the two basic profession-related items immediately. Maybe it's just that this profession requires the player to start at level 10. The altering of the base stats, modifiers and growth values are very intriguing, there is a boost in growth in certain areas while a reduction in stats in others.

  As a magical technology researcher from this profession, I wonder if it would be possible in the distant future to create some sort of Divine Laws Scroll....

  After using the scroll and completing the various quests from the NPCs, I have sufficiently acquired enough experience of how NPCs and basic combat works and I have collected sufficient money to start my journey out of the city. Instead of a newbie, and I now officially classify myself as a beginner in Ascendency.

  According to the stat window, it looks like my elemental modifiers have decreased to an average base of 90% with only light and darkness at 80% each due to my racial attribution. So I am more resistant to elemental damage when the Divine Laws altered the modifiers.

  In total, I have completed 23 quests, each with its own set of difficulties and interesting parts. The first quest after leaving the library was a material gathering request from Melissa Claude, the resident Blacksmith's daughter. I needed to collect 10 from .

  This was fairly easy to complete as the Armadillos have weak offensive capabilities and are fairly slow. The only reason the the job was a bit tedious is the high physical defenses the Armadillos have. This was made a bit easier with my technique as well as the ability of the battle gauntlets.

  The second quest is from the commercial district's Inn and Restaurant. The owner, Maria Rieze and her husband Joaquin Rieze, wanted the cooks to make a specialty dish but are missing three essential ingredients. I accepted the request and collect the ingredients easily.

  The items required were 10 leaves from the

  plant, 3 small crystals of

  and . All three of this items can be found in Emilia Forest and are abundant in supply.

  The third quest was actually a small chain quest of five requests. To simplify this encounter, I had delivered a packed lunch from a woman to her husband that worked as a guard. In turn, the man gave me a parchment scroll to deliver: this scroll is to be given to the guard headquarter's supervising officer and to no one else.

  When I completed this, the officer asks me to help quell a small rat infestation in one of the granaries. I accepted and finishes this request fairly easily as it is naturally a combat mission with Level 5 as the enemies. There was also a more tedious Level 7 rat variant called

  . It has a high defense and a special trait that prevents debuffs to its defense.

  The fourth quest was given after I reported back to officer. This request is to deliver an official document to the guard captain whom is currently at the military barracks located within the inner wall, just outside of the castle. I managed to get the document delivered without running into trouble. The guards at the inner gate do not allow anyone to enter without permission. Since the document I had carried has the official stamp on the package, the soldiers let me in without another question.

  Completing the fourth quest raised my intimacy with the to the point the guards have a good impression of me. The intimacy rating is high enough that the guard captain started talking to me in a casual way. His name is Ashton Kordova, son of a minor noble - a baron to be exact - and an esteemed Master Knight of the Kingdom (*A. note: Knight rankings and nobility rankings will be placed in the glossary later on).

  The fifth quest was nothing like the previous four: the guard captain asked me if I would like some combat training since, as a pioneer, he deduces that I would leave the city soon or later. He says that; "as a pioneer, you will face a lot of difficulties in your travels. I know this sounds a like stereotypically, but this is especially true since you are a woman."

  The guard captain had a rather concerned look on his face that denoted his true feelings. I agreed to his invitation and so he and I worked out a training schedule for the times I am free that coincides with the fresh guard training program. The schedule ended up with me attending the basic combat training days of the program for three hours each day (in game) for the next twenty days. During those days, I would go and accept requests for smaller jobs then train with the guards.

  Most of the guards-in-training were quite friendly; they were happy to see a pioneer within their ranks, especially a female like myself. Although there are woman in the city guard and guard-in-training, the men to woman ratio is about 5:1. It's like seeing a fresh, new flower bloom in a desolate wasteland where only a few flowers can survive in.

  When fighting, one cannot judge the opponent's total strength simply by looking at his or her stature. While most of the male guards-in-training did not have this sort of problem, some of the more arrogant ones that are stronger than their peers learnt this the hard way. One of them called me a dainty rose and was rather haughty; saying that fighting is not for . He quickly learned that this "rose" has thorns that hurt him when he tried "picking it" during a sparring match. The others, including the guy who got his hands pricked, soon learned to be modest and we all started to get along well after that.

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  During this time, my stats increased from the vigorous training as well as combat practice. Guard Captain Ashton Kordova had also taken my physique, strengths and weaknesses into consideration when he gave me the training. As a result, not only have my base stats improve fairly well, I also gained two new stats as well as three new skills to add to my list of abilities. In total, I gained 6 strength, 8 dexterity, 5 vitality and 10 agility over the past twenty days.

   is the first of the two new stats I gained. Reflex is an extension stat of agility and dexterity. Normally, reflex is a hidden stat that is improved upon increasing agility and dexterity. When unlocked, one will be able to improve this stat directly. Reflex is the innate, involuntary, nearly-instantaneous response to a certain stimulus. In a game like this, this is the response in combat to incoming attacks and other movement.

   is the second of the new stats I acquired. Endurance is an extension of strength and vitality. The hidden endurance stat is improved upon increasing strength and vitality. When unlocked, you will be able to improve this stat directly. Endurance is the ability to withstand external pressure as well as remaining active for long periods of time. This stat directly affects stamina as well as damage reduction properties.

  The three skills I received from the combat training are , and .

  Unarmed combat mastery is self-explanatory: it improves the attack speed, accuracy and damage for unarmed strikes as well as increasing muscle memory of offense and defense, allowing for greater efficiency when fightin while unarmed. Wearing battle gloves or a cestus is considered as unarmed combat due to having no additional extensions from the body.

  Slipstream is actually an unintended skill that was created while Ashton was trying to teach me his personal movement skill called . Wind Strafe is a skill that utilizes a small amount of wind magic increase one's natural agility and dexterity. This skill works by directing wind at a certain vector to control the movement.

  Slipstream is a variation of his Wind Strafe skill that uses less magic. Where Wind Strafe uses wind magic, Slipstream simply uses magic to raise and/or reduce air friction to control the direction of movement without any other kind of external interference. This skill is a trigger-type skill that allows the user to activate or deactivate it at will. Enabling this skill uses a small amount of mana while it is active.

  Shadow Chaser Form II sounds fancy but is simply the name given to the standard close-combat skill taught to the guards. This form is named for its technical aspects and specialty; Counter and Pursuit. Shadow Chaser Form II is for unarmed combat; focusing on quick-reaction counters as well as not allowing the target to escape.

  After the twenty days of training, my intimacy with the Arvenus City Guard was greatly raised. The guards and guards-in-training were already fairly friendly before the program; now they pretty much treat me as close friends, if not family. At the end, the fifth quest was completed and I received a badge indicating my status as a "Honorary City Guard", changing my rank/social status to the same name. I also acquired a new title called: Friend of Arvenus City Guard.

  Bringing up the status and skill screens I check them once over before getting ready for my new journey...

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  [td4]Status Infomation

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