Forced to Change the Story

Kyle and his group guided Abel around the guild, showing him what everything was for. Abel already knew how the guild worked, but he didn't say anything.

"Now that we've finished all the extra stuff, let's talk about the only thing that really matters the raids," Kyle said. Vince let out a relieved groan clearly bored out of his mind.

"Bro, let me do the explaining. You're dragging this out for no reason," Vince said, stepping forward and taking the lead.

"There are 100 floors in the guild, each with its own quests and rewards. To get into a floor, you need to find one of the teleportation circles that's lighting up—it means it's open," Vince explained.

The reason the guild spanned for miles was that most of the teleportation circles were in use, with most groups staying on a floor for a week to finish their quests. Some even stayed for months, depending on what was required.

The group hopped into a vehicle provided by the guild, designed to transport teams quickly down the long hallways and find an open teleportation circle.

After 5 minutes, they finally found one.

"This part's the easiest. Once you find the circle, you press this screen, select a floor, and you're good to go," Vince said as he tapped the first floor on the display.

Everyone stepped onto the teleportation circle, and soon they were engulfed in a blue light, their bodies vanishing from where they had been standing just a moment ago.

Somewhere on a desolate land, five streams of blue light shot down from the sky. As the light faded, Abel and the group stood there.

"Oh yeah! When you use a teleportation circle for the first time, it messes with your body, causing you to—" Jess started, but she was cut off by Abel throwing up. "—throw up…"

Jess shot a glare at Vince. "You did that on purpose!"

Vince shrugged. "It's been a while since I've been around a newcomer. It just slipped my mind. Guess everyone else forgot too," he said casually.

"Jess, you know this dimwit and his perfect memory kept that information from Abel on purpose," Valerie chimed in.

While the others argued, Abel's body felt completely off, causing him to keep throwing up.

He knew it was coming, but he thought that if he knew what to expect, he could somehow minimize the effects. Turns out, that wasn't the case.

After two minutes, Abel finally felt well enough to continue.

"You good?" Kyle asked, glancing over.

"Yeah, just a little lightheaded."

Kyle tossed Abel a ring. It was simple looking, but Abel recognized it immediately. This was a spatial ring. As the name implied, it had its own space, allowing you to store things inside.

More expensive versions had more space and could even preserve items, keeping them from aging or going bad.

Abel stared at the ring, both in awe and a bit shocked. After all, it was worth millions—even if it was a cheaper version.

'This ring alone is worth more than everything I've made in my life… and everything I would've likely made in the lifetime.'

That realization hit Abel hard, giving him a whole new perspective on how valuable money was in this world. Even something worth millions was treated like it was nothing.

"Inside is armor with defensive runes and a sword. If you want something else, just let me know. I removed my Blessed Energy so you can add yours," Kyle said.

"I haven't picked a divine artifact yet, so I can't use Blessed Energy," Abel admitted.

Blessed Energy was the source of power in this world. Humans gained it through Divine Artifacts—items imbued with certain powers. To access the artifact's power, you had to be blessed by it.

Being blessed by an artifact was simple, you just had to touch it and say, "I wish to be blessed." The only way to be rejected was if you'd already been blessed by another artifact.

Once you were blessed, you gained Blessed Energy, which allowed you to control the artifact's abilities.

One artifact could bless an unlimited number of people, and some artifacts even had multiple copies.

Most people who found an artifact either kept it, depending on its rarity, or sold it for a high price.

There were three key factors that determined an artifact's grade, the ease of learning, availability, and power potential.

(Read the power system chapter for info because this is mainly an info dump)

Common Artifacts are rasy to learn, requiring little training. They are easy to find, but their power was limited and predictable. They offered consistent abilities with little room for growth.

Rare Artifacts are more complex and harder to master, requiring time, practice, and dedication. Rare artifacts were harder to find, often in dangerous locations or only revealed to certain people. They could be bought, but the ones available for sale were usually bottom of the line (still better than common).

Legendary Artifacts are extremely difficult to master, usually taking years, sometimes a lifetime. These artifacts required high intelligence and willpower to control. The chances of finding one depended entirely on whether the artifact chose to reveal itself. Legendary artifacts had limitless potential, and those who mastered one could stand at the very top of the world.

(Info dump finishes here)

"If you still haven't been blessed by an artifact, I'm guessing you're waiting for a rare one instead of just taking a common?" Kyle asked.

Abel nodded, about to respond with a simple "yeah," but Vince cut in. "Or you could just buy him a rare one, right?"

Kyle hesitated, about to answer, but was cut off by Valerie. "Don't answer that, and Vince, shut the fuck up. You're always putting Kyle on the spot to say yes."

"Kyle, you really need to stop being such a softie and start saying no. You won't get punished for it," Jess said with a sigh.

Abel handed the spatial ring back to Kyle. "Can you take out the armor for me? And instead of a sword, could I get a bow?"

Jess squealed with excitement. "I told you! A bow is the best weapon! Why risk getting close when you can just run and shoot?"

Vince pulled out his spear from his ring, gently jabbing it in Jess's direction. "It's all fun and games until someone gets in your face."

Valerie drew her sword. "Once we're close, you're fucked."

"Get close?" Jess scoffed. "Only a beginner would let someone get close. But if things go south, anyone with a brain would carry a concealed weapon and be trained in hand to hand combat."

As the debate over the best weapon raged on, Abel was deep in thought about his future. He'd chosen a bow to avoid close combat situations.

Of course, he knew he'd have to get close sometimes, but with the right artifact, he could remain out of reach while using the bow.