Fantasy Realm – Infinite Worlds Adventure-Chapter 269: Morale and Motivation — Acting from the Shadows

June 24th, 1995, 3:44 PM

Alex impatiently stands at the edge, far away from the spectator seats of the newly constructed maze, slightly nervous. Aside from the giant hole in the ground close to them, there’s nothing out of place.

Around him are his teammates—the three other groups of players. They’re not strangers anymore, but not exactly true comrades either, at least in Alex’s mind. Tereza and Rishi are not yet present.

Is Princess Jewel’s Dearest Soulmate nervous? Jewel will protect him with her life!

Thanks for the offer, Jewel. I’m more worried about you than I am about myself.

Princess Jewel has caught up with her Soulmate and friends. She’s no longer a liability, in need of protection.

I don’t remember you EVER being a liability. The only thing that changed is that you’re now even stronger. Jewel, I’ve told you already—the most important thing is survival. It may sound harsh, but fuck the tournament, fuck this world, and yes, fuck the main mission. Our survival takes precedence. You are my family, Jewel. You’re as important as my real family… maybe, considering the Realm, even more important. I don’t care about anything else, but I order you to take care of yourself!

Princess Jewel is delighted that her Dearest Soulmate loves her so much. ❤️

Jewel… this is serious!!

Princess Jewel knows… she’ll never risk her brilliant future with her Dearest Soulmate. Her past, present, and future will forever intertwine with her Soulmate. She’ll never move her web away from him. She won’t risk anything for mediocre gains and will sacrifice anyone and anything to maintain her brilliant future with her Soulmate.

Good!

Maybe a bit dramatic…

Alex sighs as he remembers the surprise—the culmination of Jewel’s hard work over the last few months. His head hurts a bit now that he also has to pay attention to Jewel’s new skill, as it requires a lot of resources, similar to his own skills. Despite the possibility, Alex has decided not to upgrade Jewel’s newest skill Arachmagic Eight-Spear Style lvl 0, as Rishi’s [Mobile Skill Station] costs 10,000 FC to activate, and it’s not yet clear if Jewel, as a pet, can use it or needs access to a special facility in the Main Realm.

[Congratulations! Pet Jewel (Mutated Thornback Queen Hatchling) has increased its level from 3 to 4]

Jewel: Lvl 4

Relationship: Worshipped (Maximum - Can’t be lowered or increased)

Rarity: Gold

HP: 260/260, MP: 210/210, AURA 199/199

STR: 13 (+3), AGI: 13 (+3), PHY: 13 (+3), SNS: 13 (+3), CHA: 13 (+3), MNA: 13 (+3), INT: 13 (+3) SPR: 13 (+3), LUK: 13 (+3), NEN: 13 (+3)

Innate Skills: Thornback Conquering Trailblaizer lvl MAX, Nen Prodigy lvl 4 (Limitless Legacy lvl 4, Basic Nen lvl 4, Advanced Nen lvl 4)

Thornback Legacy: Thornback Poison lvl 4, Thornback Poison Spit lvl 4, Thornback Web shoot lvl 4, Thornback Burrow lvl 4, Thornback Bite lvl 4

Free Skill Slots: 3/4

Skills: Arachmagic Eight-Spear Style lvl 0

Special Skill: Telepathic Bond lvl MAX

But Princess Jewel is not alone in her growing power; her dearest soulmate has also increased his might significantly.

I raised all my stats by 1, Jewel. That’s not really a lot. I invested my precious [Upgrade Token (Light Purple)], though. In hindsight, it was a decent decision, as the new effect is not bad.

[Sealion's Might]

World: Final Fantasy 9 / Fantasy Realm

Quality: Light Purple

Type: Ring

Required Stats: MNA - 8, SPR - 10

Required Skills: Basic Meditation lvl 2, Basic Mana Control 2

Effect: Increases Max MP by 30 (Flat boost, not increased by skills)

Effect: Minor Frost Aptitude - Increases Frost Resistance and the Potency of all frost-related abilities by 10%

Effect: Frost-Retention: Decreases the consumption of Resources by 5%, when using Frost-related Abilities & Spells

Note: The gemstone that was placed on Sealions chest returned to it’s initial blue color but has decreased in size and potency. Embedded on a small bone ring it looks slightly evil but still carries a powerful magical enchantment that empowers the wielder.

Note: This item had its quality forcefully raised using an [Upgrade Token]

Frost-Retention is like an inferior version of the full Retention ability of my newly acquired [Skitterguard Bracers]. It only works for frost spells and abilities, but thankfully, I’ve got a suitable spell and a conjuration ability that can benefit from such an effect. I imagine once you stack a large amount of Retention effects, you’ll be nearly unstoppable, as you can spam your spells and abilities without holding back. In my case, that would make me nearly invulnerable with unlimited uses of Sealion’s Icewing Embrace lvl 4, whose only weakness is its insane Aura cost and weakness to fire.

Besides upgrading his item, Alex has also done a bit more hunting and spent all his Galleons, carefully strolling through Diagon Alley, buying any random item he could find.

Thanks to his efforts, he has amassed a staggering amount of items to trade or use if he makes it back to the Realm. He has also traded away his unneeded food items. The other teams liked them so much that they wanted to get more than just the five items he promised. Alex traded away all recovery items besides the newest batch made with dragon meat. He gave away the other various healing items to Menchi to train and experiment with—something she more than deserves, in his opinion.

Thanks to this, he has gained another 60,000 FC, a rather low amount for the sheer quality, but Alex has successfully gained the appreciation of the other teams this way.

Alex Kerber: Lvl 4

HP: 328/328, MP: 328/328 AURA: 218/218

STR: 16 (+3), AGI: 16 (+4), PHY: 16 (+7), SNS: 16 (+2), CHA: 16 (+5), MNA: 16 (+9), INT: 16, SPR: 16 (+5), LUK: 16 (+1), NEN: 16 (+1)

Available Stat Points: 0

Followers: Menchi (Purple) lvl 12

Pets: Jewel (Gold) lvl 4

Innate Skills: Nen Prodigy lvl 4 (Genius Conjurer lvl 4, Basic Nen lvl 4, Advanced Nen lvl 4), Statistical OCD lvl MAX

Arcane Medieval Armory: Annihilation Grenade lvl 4, Sealion’s Icewing Embrace lvl 4, Mustrano’s Malice Mauler lvl 4 (Claw Proficiency/Poison Resistance) / Toxic Breakthrough lvl 4, Magorian’s Rage Arrow lvl 4

Free Skill Slots: 0/3, Free Basic Skill Slots: 0/8

Basic Skills: Basic Close Combat Prowess lvl 4, Basic Footwork lvl 4, Basic Endurance lvl 4, Basic Long-Range Combat Prowess lvl 4, Basic Eloquence lvl 4, Basic Concentration lvl 4, Basic Meditation lvl 4, Basic Mana Control lvl 4

Passive Skills: Alexandrian Royal Swordsmanship lvl 4, Imbuement Archery lvl 4

Active Skills: Black Magic (Fire-Blizzard-Thunder-Series) lvl 4, Sword Magic lvl 4

Fantasy Coins: 203,000 Soul Crystals: Small x18 Medium x6

Galleons: 0 Contribution Points: 0 freewēbnoveℓ.com

Current Weapons: Magoroth’s Legacy (Gold), Enchanted Runeblade (Deep Purple)

Current Equipment: Sealion’s Might (Light Purple), Armor of Pluto (Blue), Visor of Pluto (Blue), Cuisses of Pluto (Blue), Gauntlets of Pluto (Blue), Sabatons of Pluto (Blue), Nimbus Cloak (Light Purple), Champion Belt (Blue), Destiny Watch (Light Purple), Sacred Emerald Copper Earring (Purple), Hunter License (Deep Green), Noble Shirt+ (Light Blue), Drakul’s Vitality (Deep Gold), Azure Flame Ring (Deep Purple), Skitterguard Bracers (Light Purple)

Recovery Items: Superior Dish (Dragon Skewer) x20 (Deep Green), Infused Exceptional Dish (Dragon Skewer) x10 (Blue), Wiggenweld Potion V2 x10 (Deep Green)

Miscellaneous Items: Jack’s Spare Silvery Mask (Light Green), Butchering Knife (Deep Blue), Basilisk Fang (Light Purple), Commander Shepard’s Dog Tag (Deep Blue), Quintessence of Blood (Purple), Blood Essence x8 (Green)

Special Items: Pluto’s Ceremonial Blessing (Deep Purple), Baroque Works Invitation (Purple), Destiny Supporter Token (Purple), VIP Invitation (Deep Purple)

Items marked for trading: 25 pieces of Green-quality equipment, 7 pieces of Blue-quality equipment, 3 Goblin Silver (Blue), 10 Goblin Steel (Green), Goblin Sword x9 (Deep Green), Rapier (Deep Blue), Harp (Blue), Legacy Of Fann (Deep Blue)

Alex stares at the others. He sees fear, anxiety, and even horror on the faces of the players of the youth team, their eyes clearly telling him all he needs to know about their current condition.

This is not good. We can’t have unreliable people in our midst. Everyone has a role to play, especially against wizards who can take advantage of such weaknesses, with possibly terrifying consequences.

Finally, he moves to Stefanie and pats her head. “Don’t get nervous now. After this, we’ll still have to take down Aragog’s lair… If you’re nice to me, I might even take you out for another date.”

Stefanie blushes and turns away, pouting just a little.

Alex then addresses her groupmates—two young males and females. “Rishi is also single, ladies. He’s not only good-looking but rich… If you get to know him, he can instantly make you wealthy, ladies. I’ll make sure he gives you his number before we leave, okay?”

The two girls giggle, not taking Alex seriously but strangely open to his suggestion.

“Sadly, I won’t offer you Tereza or Menchi, but if we make it through this, I might have a secret tip on how you can acquire your own Supporter,” Alex says to the young men.

“Really?!” they both scream in surprise, showing envious expressions, obviously having a secret crush they’d die to have as a Supporter.

With the group of youngsters a bit more cheerful, Alex steps away a little.

Dearest Soulmate is a little bit of a manipulator himself, carefully taking advantage of people's desires and exploiting them to increase their morale. ❤️

Princess Jewel wonders what he’s willing to offer his beloved Soulmate?!

This spider… she’s getting more and more clingy and demanding. Gone are the times when she just transmitted a single emotion…

What… do you want? We’re together every single day and almost inseparable. I frankly can’t think of anything. How about I take you to the zoo or something? Once we’re back, of course.

Zoo?

It’s a place where common and rare animals alike are housed. They’re not exactly prisoners, but they’re protected for their own good, as many couldn’t survive on their own in our society. It’s pretty interesting. I always loved going there as a kid.

❤️ Princess Jewel accepts!

Ben approaches him, commenting on his ways of cheering up the younger players. “You’re too soft in your ways of motivating your soldiers. You gotta be more strict and direct.”

“Ben, I’d agree with you, but these youths aren’t soldiers… neither am I for that matter. Not everyone is mentally strong like you guys, and it makes no sense to treat them as soldiers, which they clearly aren’t.”

“Hehe, I figure you’re right, and that’s exactly why you’re the leader,” Ben responds with a chuckle.

Alicia and her female comrades also approach Alex, surrounding him.

“Do you also need some motivation, ‘Leader’?” she says with a grin.

…This might be the last opportunity. I gotta take it.

“Just one question. I need to know… it’s for a… private bet. I didn’t come up with this topic, but I’ve been told that you are… lesbians?” Alex awkwardly asks.

The group giggles around him.

“What do you think, huh?” one says, breathing into Alex’s ear.

“Take a guess!” another one cheerfully yells.

“You really wanna know, huh?” two more giggle behind him.

“We’ll tell you after this task—that way, you have something interesting to look forward to!” Alicia says in a teasing voice.

Fuck, I want to know. Why do they tease me like that? Anyway, I can’t handle a group of women when I’m alone. Jewel, you weren’t very supportive. Next time, scare them away! Act like a scary spider!

Princess Jewel likes watching her Soulmate in different situations. She is also cute, beautiful, and awe-inspiring, and can’t act scary at will. ❤️

I swear, Jewel! Don’t even begin thinking like that. You’re not allowed to tease me. Ever!

Finally, Alex is pulled back to reality as Rishi, Tereza, and a lifeless-looking person resembling Alastor Moody approach the group.