-chapter seventeen-

FINN

"None of your business, Kai-ngit." Depore replied, rolling her eyes.

Sumama ang timpla ng mukha ni Kairo nang dumapo ang tingin niya sa katabi ko. He frowned.

"Anong ginagawa mo dito, tanda?"

Magka-kilala pala sila? Bakit kaya palaging may koneksiyon sa isa't-isa ang mga nakikilala ko? I'm a victim of such familiar coincidences.

"Siyempre, naglalaro." Depore's mocking stare became a glare. "Kapag ikaw nakita ko pang lumapit dito kay Finn, isusumbong kita sa Kuya mo."

"Tch." Kairo went back to his seat with a defeated face.

Meanwhile, Depore is celebrating her victory. Napamaang lamang ako sa kanilang dalawa dahil wala akong naintindihan. Mahina kong tinapik si Depore at magtatanong na sana pero nauna siyang magsalita.

"I'm his brother's fiancee."

Napaawang ang labi ko do'n. Ang liit nga ba naman talaga ng mundo. Depore smiled and slightly messed my hair. Hindi ko pa pala sila natatali.

"Don't worry. Hindi ka na no'n lalapitan. Takot niya lang masumbong sa Kuya niya at mawalan ng allowance." nakangisi niyang dagdag.

Tumango ako at mahinang nagpasalamat. May mga kinakatakutan din pala itong si Kairo. Mabuti naman. Akala ko kung ano lang ang sinasalihan niyang kalokohan o di kaya'y parati siyang 'G' sa mga plano.

Hindi nagtagal ay dumating ang isang NPC. Her hair was braided into three layers and black orbs flew around her skirt. May isang hazy-black na coat na nagf-float sa likuran niya. Naglakad siya papunta sa gitna ng silid at pumwesto sa harap ng itim na bato.

I briefly wondered kung kakainin ba namin ito at may isisigaw kaming pangalan para magkaroon ng mahika.

"Greetings, rogue." came her monotonous voice. "This is the Cave of the Dark Arts, a special place for learning black magic. You can choose to master it or not, this will only serve as an orientation or a showcase of what Dark Arts is all about."

Tumango-tango ang mga players. Parang nateleport tuloy kami sa isang classroom na kakasimula pa lang sa isang bagong subject.

"As what the name implies, this magic centers around darkness, which is greatly assumed as evil. That doesn't mean you're all evil players, though. Here, you have to develop a certain connection with darkness. You have to be able to hide your presence in the shadows or use the dark to your will." ipinresenta niya ang bato. "Touching the stone will grant you Energy. This energy can be either of the five forces, and can be taken by touching their respective stone. Following that logic, this stone will give you Dark Energy."

The NPC waved her hands in the air, forming a smoke of black that followed her hand movements. Mukha itong isang anino na sumasayaw sa kamay niya.

"Dark Energy can be considered as your Mana. The higher it is, the longer you can keep using your magic. Kapag ito'y bumababa na, you have to stop or else you will burn out. If that happens, your body will be in great danger." biglang nawala ang mga anino nang pumalakpak siya. "How so? Because the energy feeds from your body. We installed a special system that connects the two. Whatever you eat and how much you've rested can affect your energy. Your training, also."

The NPC then snapped her fingers. May lumabas na isang kulay dilaw na bar sa tabi niya. Itinuro niya ito.

"The yellow bar that will appear once you've picked your magic is called your Stacked Power or SP. The higher your stack power is, the stronger the impact and damage of your magic. Your SP can increase by using your magic daily or training it by mastering skills and fighting other players. However, it will go down once you've burned your energy out. So you should always be careful."

Tumango-tango kami. Ang dami naman palang dapat tandaan sa paggamit nito. Kaya ba kapag mage o may kinalaman sa magic ang role ko noon, kailangan talagang ingatan ang intelligence na attribute?

"That goes for all magical forces. Their only difference resides in their abilities and types."

"Types?" tanong ng isang player.

The NPC nodded and produced four symbols in the air. Ang nauna ay multiple na anino na naglalakad, ang ikalawa ay limang mga magic balls, ang ikatlo ay isang cross sign, at ang ikaapat ay mayroong gate.

"Each magical forces have four types, and these are what the players should master. Only one out of the four is needed, but if the player desires to master all four, then they are permitted to do so. However, once you've mastered a type of a magic force, you can no longer learn other magical forces. For example, if you mastered Shadow under the Dark Arts, you can't learn Heavens under the Air Magic."

May tumaas ng kamay. Nakilala ko siya bilang si Aisaka.

"Ang ibig mong sabihin, if we decide to learn Dark Arts but haven't mastered it yet, we can still learn other types of magic?"

Tumango muli ang NPC. "Yes, you are permitted to learn each magical forces as long as you have not mastered one."

"Then, what's the point?" nagkibit-balikat si Aisaka.

"Time." simpleng sagot ng NPC. "Would you delay your stay in the city and mindlessly learn every type of magic or focus in one and go further? Keep in mind that you are only in the sixth city. The last city is still far from your reach."

Napaiwas na lamang si Aisaka ng tingin. Tama nga naman siya. We have about twenty cities to complete and we have no idea what quests lies on them. If our stay here gets longer, what will happen to our loved ones outside?

Muling pumasok sa utak ko si Gavin. I know his family would be really worried by now, lalo na't hindi siya ang tipo ng lalaking hindi umuuwi. What would Baste and Renèe also do if hindi namin sila makasabay sa pagpasok sa school? Kailangan na naming makaalis.

Kailangan ko na ding makausap at makita si Gavin.

First of all, I need to talk to Kairo about him. Kailangan kong sabihin sa kaniya na ipakausap si Gavin sa'kin.

"Let me explain the four types of magic under the dark arts. First is Shadow." pumataas ang simbolo na may tatlong anino. "It's simple. You can freely manipulate and control the shadows of other people or yourself. You can hide yourself in the dark by becoming a shadow too. It's recommended for rogues who has high stealths or are planning to ambush others."

I studied the symbol. Mukhang mayroon na akong makukuha na type. If this one is recommended for rogues that deals with stealth, then it's the perfect partner for my benefit. It would also be quite helpful for me to escape risky scenarios. That involves a lot of people, such as crowds, or even just certain players who have no concept of space.

"The second one is called Chasm." sabay pauna niya sa ikalawang simbolo kung saan may limang magic balls na nakapalibot. "It deals a lot of magic damage, but also consumes greater energy. The player can create magic balls that will explode upon contact with enemies. The level of damage depends on how high your stacked power is."

Depore shifted beside me. Napasulyap ako sa kaniya. Mukhang interesado siya dito sa type na 'to.

"The third one is called Death." sunod na pumataas ang ikatlong simbolo na may cross. "A player's attacks places a target towards their enemy. That target is called Death Guard. As long as it is attached to your enemy, you can see where they are and their level of energy. It will also decrease the player's life day by day if the Death Guard is not eliminated."

"Paano siya mae-eliminate?" tanong ng isa sa magkakambal na babae.

"A Death Guard can be eliminated through purification or divination which can be done by players with water or air magic."

"Can they see it, too? The target?" Depore asked next.

Umiling ang NPC. "The Death Guard can only be seen by its caster or a fellow dark magic user with higher stacked power than the caster. It can also be felt by an air or water magic user but they have to posses high energy."

Biglang may isang maliit na parang multo na lumabas sa kamay ng NPC. Unlike the scary ghosts with large mouths or droopy eyes, the Death Guard looked like a small, adorable, flying slime shaped as a ghost. Kahit ang ingay na pinapalabas nito ay parang bata. It keeps on floating around in circles and saying 'Chu!'.

"Waah! Ang cute!" manghang sabi ni Depore na kumikinang pa ang mata.

Tumango ako. Cute naman talaga.

"Cute pero nakakamatay." komento ng nasa likod namin.

Nang lumingon ako'y, isang nakangising Kairo ang aking nakaharap. Depore glared at the man and shooed him away.

"'Di ba sabi ko huwag ka lumapit sa'min? Napaka-feeling close mo naman!" reklamo ni Depore.

Kairo only chuckled at her. In front of us, the NPC decided to explain the fourth type of magic.

"The fourth is called Underworld. This is the player's ability to open the gates and either send their enemies in there or teleport themselves in that place. They are in full use of their own Underworld and can use it at any time they like. It only requires speed and agility. They can also cage other players inside the Underworld. Only players with the same magic type can counter them."

"Wait-" muling tinaas ni Aisaka ang kamay niya. "Does that mean we can't escape from their skill?"

"Of course you can. But that's up to you. What skill will you use to leave their Underworld?" tanong nito na kahit isa'y hindi nakasagot. "Underworld is the weakest of all types and Death is the strongest. Out of all these four types, if you are interest in any, step towards the stone and touch it to gain your energy. If still in doubt, you are free to check other magical forces."

Pagkatapos niyang sabihin 'yon ay biglang nawala ang NPC. Nagkatinginan kami ni Depore at kahit ang mga ibang manlalaro ay napapa-isip din. Aisaka was the one who stood up and walked straight to the stone.

"I don't see why we have to hesitate here." tugon niya habang naglalakad. "We can still learn other type of magic as long as we haven't mastered one, right? So, we should just do it."

Mukhang maraming sumang-ayon sa kaniya dahil nagsi-tayuan din ang ibang players. Kairo snickered behind us.

"She's just wasting her time." anito.

Bumaling ako sa kaniya nang maalala na may dapat pala akong itanong.

"Kairo..." tawag ko na biglang nagpahinto sa kanila ni Depore.

He raised a brow. "Bakit?"

"Kasama mo si Gavin?"

He stared at me for a few seconds before crossing his arms. "Mukha ba akong may kasama?"

Nabatukan tuloy siya ni Depore. "Hoy, tinatanong ka ng maayos, sagutin mo rin ng maayos."

"I mean," tumikhim ako. "He's in your alliance?"

"Bakit ba?" may inis na tanong niya.

"Need to talk to him. Can you-" napakagat ako sa ibabang labi. "Can you tell him that we should-"

Biglang tumayo si Kairo kaya hindi ko natapos ang sasabihin. "Wala na siya sa alliance namin kaya hindi ko alam kung saan nagpunta 'yon." tumalim ang mata niya. "By the way, kitten, I think you have our roles reversed. You're the one who owes me and not the other way around, so you can't ask me for any favor." sabay lakad niya paalis.

Napanguso ako dahil doon. I won't owe you if you didn't just make me a bait! Siya naman nakaisip pero bakit parang ako pa ang nagdadala ng responsibilidad. Disaster ka, Kairo...

"Hayaan mo na 'yon. Tulungan kitang hanapin si Gavin mo." Depore reassured me. "Tara na't pumili ng gusto mong magic. Ano ba sa'yo? Feel ko chasm pipiliin ko. Ang sarap marinig ng pagsabog ng mga taong malalaki ang ulo at arogante."

Tumango na lamang ako at sumunod. Maybe I can find Eura and ask her why Gavin left. Or maybe I should just use my free time to look for Gavin.

For now, I have a magic to learn.

-chapter end-