Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 436: Come Help

Ethan, Morgan and Vivian all felt extremely awkward when they logged in and gathered in the main square inside of the Beginner Village.

The reason was because of the fact that despite being in the rankings for the Highest Level, they hadn't even stepped out of the village before. It also meant that they had no idea where they were or where they were supposed to meet the others.

Of course, asking for directions was entirely possible but Ethan was already directionally inept and Vivian had too much pride in herself to ask for help from anyone. She was of the opinion that as a former mercenary, she should be able to handle herself in any situation she might find herself in.

Morgan on the other hand was more concerned about what the consequences could be if he asked someone random for directions and inadvertently revealed Leo's and the others locations. His guild and by extension, the three of them were famous.

That was when he heard a soft ding in his ear as a small screen appeared in front of his eyes.

Player: [Princess Aracher] has sent you a friend request.

It was like his prayers had been answered. Jamie was far more familiar with the game than them and would definitely know where they would have to go to meet up. Quickly accepting the friend request, he was immediately met with what he could only describe as the ringing of a phone.

Furrowing his brows a bit, he merely thought of answering when he felt something connect.

"Brother! I could really use your help!" Jamie's voice echoed in his ears. Morgan looked around in search of his little brother but he wasn't anywhere he could see. The voice sounded clear, like Jamie was standing right next to him, yet there was no sign of him anywhere in the square. Players were coming and going, chatting, trading, preparing for their quests, but none of them seemed to notice that Morgan was talking to someone invisible.

"Jamie?" Morgan asked cautiously, turning around to make sure he wasn't missing something obvious. "Where are you? Did you already leave the village?"

"No. I am still here…it's just I feel like I am going mad here. Do I need to go see a doctor? I'm….I'm hearing a voice in my head!"

"A voice?"

"Yeah. It's claiming to be some sort of Goddess. Wait! No! Don't cry!"

Jamie started panicking as it seemed like he was talking to someone else at the same time that he was talking to him.

"Oh so you have contact with a God already?"

There was a moment of silence as Jamie seemed to be stunned.

"I'm….I'm not going crazy? She is real?!"

"Very much so, I think. We all have our own god as mentors and guides. We have actually met all of ours in person. Oh and if you were at the dormhouse, you met one of them.

"...What is that supposed to mean? Are you trying to tell me there was a god at the sleepover the girls were having?!"

"Yes?"

Jamie's voice practically exploded through the link. "You mean to tell me I was in the same building as a literal goddess and no one thought to mention that?!"

"Well I would have told you if you disrespected her. She is Adam's mother apparently."

Morgan could already imagine his little brother freaking out on the other side even without him speaking a single word.

"So Adam…..The prettyboy, The Playboy Scumbag, Ouroboros, the literal top ranked Rogue is a fucking DEMIGOD?!"

"Yes." Morgan said simply.

There was a long pause, followed by the sound of Jamie's disbelief leaking through the connection. "Morgan. Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not. His mother is apparently a goddess. I met her myself."

Jamie made a strangled sound. "You mean to tell me that while I was sitting there thinking she was just some weirdly intense woman, she was actually divine? I was in the same house as an actual goddess?"

"Yes." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Silence followed. Morgan could almost picture Jamie sitting on the ground, eyes wide, trying to process everything. When he finally spoke, his voice came out shaky. "This is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I need a moment to sit down before I start screaming."

"You might want to save that energy," Morgan said quietly. "You'll need it when you hear the rest."

"Oh great," Jamie muttered. "There's more, isn't there? Of course there's more. Go ahead, ruin my day completely."

Morgan sighed but decided to get to the point. "Could you come meet us in the village square? Ethan, Vivian, and I are stuck here."

Jamie froze. "Stuck? What do you mean stuck?! You guys haven't left the village yet?"

"No."

Jamie's tone jumped an octave. "You guys have been playing this game just as long as me, if not longer, haven't you? What gives?!"

Morgan replied "Well from your perspective that might be true but we haven't been playing that long."

Morgan heard the disbelief in Jamie's voice and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "We just logged in recently. We haven't exactly had time to explore."

Jamie's voice went flat. "You mean to tell me that you, Vivian, and Ethan are all still in the starting area. The same Beginner Village that everyone leaves within the first month of playing?"

"Yes," Morgan said with no hesitation.

Jamie groaned loudly. "Unbelievable. You three are somehow ranked among the Highest Level players, yet you haven't even killed your first slime."

"Well, technically speaking, that's true," Morgan admitted. "But it's not like we did nothing. Our gods helped us out."

There was a sharp pause. "I'm sorry, what do you mean your gods helped you out? What did they do, Morgan?"

Morgan hesitated. "They gave us fruits."

"Fruits," Jamie repeated slowly. "As in, actual fruits? Like apples or something?"

"Sort of," Morgan said. "Divine fruits, apparently. They tasted strange, but after we ate them, we leveled up. A lot."

"How much is 'a lot'?" Jamie asked, though his voice was already laced with dread.

Morgan glanced at Ethan and Vivian nearby. Ethan was still spinning in a slow circle, trying to figure out where the village gate was, while Vivian stood off to the side pretending not to care that she was lost.

"It's how we reached Level 20."

The line went dead silent. Morgan thought the connection might have broken until he heard a faint sound that resembled quiet, strained breathing.

"Jamie?"

"I'm here," Jamie said through gritted teeth. "Just trying not to scream. Level twenty, you said?"

"Yes."

"You three… ate a fruit. And went straight to level twenty."

"Yes."

"While I," Jamie said slowly, "spent three entire months grinding wolves, slimes, and every godforsaken dungeon I could find just to reach level twelve."

"Well, when you put it like that—"

"Morgan," Jamie interrupted, his voice shaking between disbelief and outrage. "Do you have any idea how much effort that takes? How many hours I've sunk into this game? I nearly died to the Slime King twice! And you're telling me you three just ate fruit and skipped all of that bullshit grinding?!"

Morgan winced, unsure of what to say. "It wasn't our idea. It happened when we just logged in. They spoke to us and then left us a gift when we woke up again."

"Well that's just another load of horse shit!" Jamie snapped in annoyance.

"You could have actually helped me catch up with the strongest people here and you choose to become a voice in my head instead? How is that helpful?!"

"Umm…Jamie?"

"No. Don't you click your tongue at me, you cry baby goddess. Where is my divine fruit that levels me up, huh? Goddess of Purity? More like the Goddess of Stingy!"

Morgan blinked. "Jamie, are you talking to me or your goddess right now?"

"Both!" Jamie shouted, clearly furious. "Do you know what she just said? She told me that 'patience and faith are the truest forms of devotion.' Are you kidding me? Lady, I've been patient for three months! I have faith! What I don't have is a single divine snack that makes me level twenty overnight!"

Morgan sighed quietly and rubbed his temple. "Maybe she has her reasons."

He could practically feel Jamie rolling his eyes on the other side as he replied sarcastically "Suuuuure."

Unable to bare it any longer, Morgan snapped "Are you going to come and get us or not."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there in five minutes. Look for the prettiest archer you will ever see." The line suddenly went dead as Jamie abruptly ended the call, leaving Morgan exasperated at how his little brother could always be so different from himself.

Jamie was always the type of person to go at his own pace, the only problem was that his pace was treading the line between eccentric and psychotic!