Frostbitten Wayfarer

Obai’s house was always on the back of Zoe’s mind while she was in Korna, though house was a bit of an understatement. It was an estate really, one of the sprawling mansions visible on the map was marked with Obai’s name, and Zoe had avoided it until now.

It had been over a decade since they last spoke, and it wasn’t as though they were particularly close anyway, she just saved him from a nasty zombie attack in the lower levels of Moaning Point. Asking about him was more of a passing interest in whether he was still alive more than anything else, much like the mark for Nora’s home. Though, Zoe did intend to stop by and say hello to Emma’s mom before she left Korna, to be able to tell Emma she was still okay if nothing else.

But seeing the massive estate that Obai lived in tempted Zoe. She couldn’t remember if he ever invited her over or not, or whether that still applied so long after the invite anyway. But after her experience at Oaniga, she just wanted to see what the rich nobles really lived like when they truly settled down.

And so she stood outside the front gate, debating over whether she should say hello or not when the gate seemed to speak to her.

“May I help you, Madam?” The gate asked.

Zoe blinked at the gate a few times. “I’m sorry?"

“You’ve been standing outside our estate for the past ten minutes. Is there something I may help you with?” The gate asked.

Zoe knew it wasn’t the gate talking, that would be silly. Probably. Or would it, in this world? Why couldn’t gates talk? But far more likely was somebody somewhere Zoe couldn’t see with a skill that let them speak from a remote location. But it still came as a bit of a surprise after she’d been standing there for a while with nothing, and it didn’t help that the voice seemed to be coming from the entire gate rather than just a single spot like a speaker.

“I’m sorry, I heard Obai lived here?" Zoe asked.

“Might I know who’s inquiring?" The gate asked.

“Zoe. I met Obai a while ago on Moaning Point.” Zoe answered.

“I will notify Master Obai of your arrival, though I do not promise he will be entertaining visitors at present.” The gate said.

“Okay, thank you.” Zoe said.

There was no response for the next few minutes as Zoe waited in silence. She started wondering if that meant there wouldn’t be a response at all and Obai was just not entertaining visitors as the gate said, but just as she was about to leave the gate spoke up again.

“Master Obai says he’d be delighted to meet you again, Zoe.” The gate said and swung open.

Dim lights shone light along a gravel walkway up to what appeared to be the main house of the estate, and Zoe followed along. Just before she got to the large black door, a butler opened it and bowed to her. His bright red suit had a deep neckline that revealed his muscular and rather hairy torso, with baggy pants draped over his legs that swung in the light wind and clung to his form.

“Welcome, Madam Zoe.” He said. “Obai is currently in his office, but has instructed me to bring you to him if you would follow me.”

Zoe nodded in silence, looking around the mansion. Everything was so clean and proper, paintings of Obai and who she presumed would be his family hung from the walls. A massive golden chandelier with crystal lanterns hung from the ceiling just above a set of double stairs that led up to the second floor.

The butler led Zoe through the mansion, dozens of hallways with glimpses into gorgeous rooms full of opulence and paintings that seemed so full of life. Like at any moment the people in them would jump out and join them in the real world.

They stopped at a door, and the butler knocked thrice.

“Come in,” a muffled voice from behind responded.

The butler opened the door and gestured Zoe in, and then closed it when she entered. A man sat behind a black desk adorned with patterns of sparkling red metal. His gray hair fell down to his shoulders, and thin blue glasses rested on his wrinkled face. He wore a simple blue robe that seemed out of place for a rich Korna citizen to Zoe.

Identify showed him as a bright red level two hundred thirty four.

“Hello, Zoe. It’s a pleasure to meet you again.” He said.

“Obai?" Zoe asked.

He laughed and then took his glasses off while he leaned back in his black leather chair. “Yes, I’m Obai. You don’t look like you’ve aged a day, huh?” He asked.

Zoe nodded, unsure what to say.

Obai laughed some more. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I always wanted to age you know? Everybody’s so scared of it, but I think it’s quite beautiful in its own way. Your hair thins and changes colour, your voice changes in ways you never expected. Everything feels so different, your skin seems weaker and thinner. It’s beautiful, I think.”

He chuckled. “Though, I think I’ll do away with the dying part. I’d like to find immortality now, I think. It seems you have, or perhaps you always did. I can’t remember, it’s been so long.” Obai gestured to the seat at the other side of his desk. “Come, sit. Do you have anything you like to drink? Eat?"

Zoe sat down on the matching chair. It was comfortable and seemed to form to her body as she sunk into it. “I’m fine, thanks though.”

“So,” he summoned a bottle of amber liquid and poured it into a crystal glass he grabbed from below his desk. “What brings you here today?”

“I lived near Flester,” Zoe said.

“Ah. I’m sorry to hear that. You’re here for assistance I take it, then?” Obai asked.

“What? No. They asked me for a list of people I knew in Korna and I put your name down to see if you were still around or not mostly. And then I saw you were apparently very rich and got a little curious about how rich people lived.” Zoe said.

Obai gestured around him. "Impressed?“

“No, not really. It took way too long to walk over here from the front gate.” Zoe said.

Obai laughed. “It’s all such a farce, isn’t it? I find it rather pathetic more often than not, but well we all have our responsibilities and this happens to be mine. I’d much rather be out exploring again, traversing dungeons and exploring the depths.” He sighed.

“But, at some point we all end up back home working on the family business, I suppose. But at any rate, what have you been up to? I hope life’s treated you well.” Obai smiled at her.

“Yeah, life’s been mostly well. Besides the whole Flester thing.” Zoe said.

“Yes, yes I’m terribly sorry about that. Do you require assistance? I’ve heard of a Foizo that has popped up nearby, I could hire a carriage to send you there if you’d be interested in returning?” Obai asked.

“No, that’s fine. I actually kinda helped start the village, I think anyway.” Zoe said.

“Oh, really? Is that so?” Obai asked.

“Mhm. I lived nearby so when things went down I brought my friends over to give them a place, then one thing led to another and a whole bunch of people came over. I left almost a year ago now though, so it’s probably changed a lot since I saw it. Didn’t have a name when I left, at least.” Zoe laughed.

“What brought you to Korna, then?” Obai asked.

“There was a caravan heading out here and I thought it’d be fun to come check the place out.” Zoe said.

“How have you liked it so far?" Obai asked.

“It’s nice. It’s different, but nice. Why did you go to Moaning Point instead of The Pit, anyway?" Zoe asked. ”If you just wanted an adventure, Moaning Point was so far away.“

Obai waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Plenty of dungeons around here I could have gone to, but they’re all so nearby. I wanted something I’d only heard tale of very rarely, and Moaning Point fit the bill. Are you looping?” He asked.

“Why do you ask?” Zoe asked.

He shrugged. “You were quite powerful back then, and even with all the benefits my wealth gives me I find it hard to believe you would only have made it to half my level by now.”

“Right. Yeah, I am. I just need a few more levels hopefully then I’m probably heading back to Foizo to check on how it’s going, honestly.” Zoe said.

“Hmmm,” Obai pondered. “If it suits you, I could invite you to the Jolgor dungeon to help you get those few levels. My thanks to you for saving me all those years ago.”

“The Jolgor dungeon?” Zoe asked.

“Yes, it should be much better than The Pit is, which I assume you’ve been using until now?" Obai asked.

“Yeah, but what’s the Jolgor dungeon? Where is it?” Zoe asked.

“I am Obai Jolgor, and it is my family’s dungeon. It resides below our manor, very few are permitted to spend its precious mana.” Obai explained.

“You have your own dungeon?” Zoe asked.

“Of course, most wealthy families do. Were you unaware of this?" Obai asked.

“Yes, I had no idea somebody could own a dungeon. Did you make the dungeon? How did it get below your manor?" Zoe asked.

“No, we did not make the dungeon. And you have it backwards. The manor was built on the dungeon. So? Would you be interested in my offer?" Obai asked.

“Yeah, that sounds great actually. Thanks.” Zoe said.

“No, thank you. Were it not for you, I would likely be dead on a mountain because of my foolishness. It is the least I can do for you. Return in three days time, I will prepare the dungeon for you.” Obai gestured to the door and the butler opened it, bowing as he did.

“Thanks a lot. And I’m glad you’re still doing alright, I kinda thought you would have died on the mountain at some point, honestly.” Zoe smiled.

Obai laughed. “Yes, as did I many times. May you prosper and flourish.”

“May you prosper and flourish,” Zoe said.

Obai smiled, and the butler led Zoe out of the mansion. The next few days she spent relaxing at The Weary Rest as her mind raced thinking about what the dungeon could be, and then she was back at the mansion being led through the mass of hallways towards the dungeon entrance.

“Have you ever joined a private dungeon like this before, Zoe?" Obai asked as he turned around a corner towards a large empty room with a single couch in the middle and another door on the other side.

“No, I’ve only been to Moaning Point and The Pit, honestly.” Zoe said.

“Really? Wow, that’s quite surprising.” Obai said.

The two continued chatting about their dungeon experience — Obai had only visited The Pit, Moaning Point and his own family’s dungeon so they didn’t have an awful lot to share. They arrived at a pair of heavy metal doors, and two servants who stood at either side opened it up to reveal a cavern with black stone walls, and a white walkway that led deeper into the ground towards a ledge with a white fence.

Below was a horde of formless slimes, sloshing around in the pit like a bucket of jello on a rollercoaster. Magic was launched from the horde, but splashed against a translucent blue barrier of electricity that sprung to life each time magic got close.

“You may get started.” Obai said.

“What?” Zoe shook her head in confusion.

Obai gestured down to the horde. “They are all around level one seventy, and we are perfectly safe up here. You may slaughter them to your heart’s content.”

It was an odd experience, Zoe thought on her walk back to the inn afterwards. Creating clouds of ash that drifted down on a harmless horde of mindless monsters and burnt into them with her Adaptive Cinders. In just ten hours with extravagant wealth, she managed to do what would have taken her two or even three weeks of delving into The Pit. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it, really. Was it right for people to have access to that kind of thing in a world where it directly correlated with magical power?

Zoe sat on her bed at The Weary Rest and looked at her stat sheet — her level had stopped progressing once it hit level one thirty eight, meaning she was at her current level cap. One push to the system was all it would take to give her the final Seasoned class, and she was really hoping they would just combine without needing another feat or skill. She took a deep breath, and urged the system to give her Seasoned Gales in her fourth class.

*Ding* You have unlocked the Seasoned Gales class. Your body and soul will be adjusted to accommodate the change.

*Ding* The classes; Seasoned Cinders, Seasoned Gales, Seasoned Frost and Seasoned Torrents have been combined into the Seasoned Persistence class. Your body and soul will be adjusted to accommodate the change.

Effects:

- Seasoned Persistence: Gain twenty stat points for each level in this class.

- Aura of Seasons: You radiate elemental energy.

- Temporal Continuance II: You gain experience through the passage of time.

- Regenerator: All regeneration effects boosted by 300%.

- Frozen Tempo: All elemental and time aligned effects are boosted by 150%.

Available Skills:

- Elemental Affinity: Increased Elemental affinity.

- Time Affinity: Increased time affinity.

- Elemental Manipulation: Manipulate the elements with your will.

- Time Manipulation: Manipulate time with your will.

- Elemental Arsenal: Command the elements to clad you in armour and weapons.

- Elemental Echo: Create an echo of elements that copies your movements.

- Adaptive Elements: Your elements will infect all they can reach with their destructive power.

- Restoration: Apply a regenerative effect that mends recent damage.

- Haste: Apply a buff that increases quickness.

- Alacrity: Permanently increases quickness.

- Eternal Elegance: Remove dirt and grime from objects.