Daniel woke up drenched in sweat; heart pounding and head throbbing in pain. After a deep breath, Daniel realized he was sitting in the immersion capsule with the virtual reality visor retracted to its rest position.

  On the left side of the machine, a blue message flashed: “Hibernation Mode.” Daniel checked the time on the main panel. It was 11:02 a.m. on Sunday.

  He got up, dragged his feet to the kitchen, and grabbed the medicine box from the top of the cupboard. Then he popped a pill and put it in his mouth, followed by a few sips of water taken from a bottle retrieved from the refrigerator to help it go down.

  By then, the headache had subsided to a tolerable level. It was up to the medicine to do its part in ending the agony. Daniel returned to his room and lay down on the bed.

  The Druid Trials, he remembered. The four challenges were completed with less than 300 milliseconds to spare. A jolt of excitement spread through his body. He needed to find out what had happened. So, he got out of bed, returned to the immersion capsule, and logged back into New Avalon Online.

  ***

  Ragnar returned to the sanctuary, but unlike the last time, the pavilion where the arena was located was dilapidated, with fallen pillars, scattered rubble, and overgrown weeds spread through the cracks in the floor.

  I'm back to the present.

  Then he tried to remember the way back, but his memory was full of blank spots. However, he didn't hesitate and ran where he believed the exit was. The Iron Bears' Refuge was large and empty; it took time to find the first living soul in that place.

  "Torvell," Ragnar shouted the bear's name when he saw the big bear bathing in the river.

  The red-eyed creature stared at him, roared in his direction, and said in its powerful voice, "Druid, what are you doing here?"

  "I need to see Bjorn."

  "Again? You spent a whole day meditating..."

  In reality, it was hours in the real world, but time inside the game passed twice as fast; therefore, one day in here was equivalent to 12 hours out there.

  "I need to meditate." Ragnar spoke more to himself than to the bear.

  But it replied, saying, "In case you don't remember, the Circle of Natural Convergence is in that direction." Torvell pointed the way with its right front paw.

  Ragnar ran to the indicated spot, found the circle where he had meditated to meet Bjorn, and hoped it would work a second time.

  Before starting the ritual, he calmed down, as his anxiety was so great it made his heart race. Ragnar was desperate to know what had happened, as the mission "Bjorn's Legacy" in the Quest Log had not yet been updated.

  It took time and effort to ward off the thoughts bubbling up in his head, but he succeeded. Calm reigned in his mind. And even if a doubt popped up to torment him now and then, it was kicked right away.

  The wind rustling through the leaves, the birds singing, and the murmur of distant conversations were picked up by his ears. Ragnar opened his eyes.

  "I'm glad you came back. You worried me by disappearing like that..." a familiar voice said.

  Ragnar turned around, facing Bjorn's spirit.

  "Sorry. I ended up falling asleep; that trial was exhausting even for me." He preferred to tell the truth.

  The spirit walked toward him.

  "As promised, I will make you my successor."

  He pointed his staff toward Ragnar; the tip glowed with a golden light.

  You leveled up to level 12

  Ragnar could hardly believe that the mysterious man was right; there really was a secret legendary class quest.

  Everything was connected: the incident at the inn, Merwin appearing and rewarding him with a pass to the Sanctuary of Lilies; and Lina, the Sanctuary Protector, only entrusted him with the mission of the Serpents’ Den because of the baroness's letter.

  In the Den, he met Lady Plissken and befriended her using the druid class talent. Thanks to this, Najaha, the serpent woman, entrusted him with the secret to transforming into a snake.

  With the new animal form, Ragnar could enter the hole in the wall that led him to Najir's tomb, where he found the Viper's Ruin, the weapon that started the search for Bjorn.

  And, if it weren't for the strange man who mysteriously contacted him, Ragnar would have taken days to find the Iron Bears' Refuge.

  All this, just to finally be tested in a four-stage trial by fire.

  But Ragnar needed to see to believe, so he opened the information window and distributed the gained attribute points between Magic Power and Magic Talent. He was slowly transitioning from a physical damage avatar to focusing on spells and magical abilities.

  The legendary class evolution changed his animal form from a wild bear to an iron bear. This made Ragnar wonder if he was now capable of turning into a bear as large and intimidating as Torvell.

  Bjorn looked in his direction with a serene face before saying, "Aren't you curious to test your new bear form?"

  Ragnar concentrated and invoked the new transformation. His body began to gain mass and take shape. Thick black fur sprouted all over his body. His hands, arms, legs and feet transformed into large, thick, powerful paws; then the layers of iron emerged.

  He imagined that the metal would limit his movement, but to his surprise, it retracted and stretched with the same naturalness as the layer of skin. The mutation ended, and Ragnar was amazed at himself; looking at himself, he imagined he must have been the size of Torvell.

  "This is the true power of an iron druid," Bjorn said, nodding. "But you are still young; you have much to learn. What you are feeling is a fraction of your potential."

  Ragnar returned to human form before saying, "Thank you for making me your successor."

  Bjorn approached.

  “You’ve reached your goal. Use what I’ve taught you well… it’s been an honor knowing you, Ragnar.” He raised his staff and brought it down against the head of the younger iron druid.

  ***

  Ragnar opened his eyes and saw himself sitting cross-legged on a circle of stone. Around him were the greenish, worn pillars covered in climbing plants that only existed in the present.

  "Well?" a deep voice said beside him.

  Ragnar turned to see the imposing figure of Torvell.

  "I did it; I communicated with Bjorn and learned a lot from him."

  "Is that so? Like what?"

  The druid stood up, looked into Torvell's red eyes, and activated his new ability, transforming into a black bear with eyes as red as the one in front of him.

  Torvell took two steps back, growled, then grunted in disbelief, "It can't be, how?"

  Ragnar summarized his encounter with Bjorn.

  "He made you his successor... I can't believe such a thing, but what did Bjorn ask for in return? That you tend to his garden?”

  "Garden?" Ragnar didn't know if the bear was joking or telling the truth.

  "East of this sanctuary, there is a large garden where the druids used to cultivate their ritualistic plants."

  "Why didn't you show me this place before?"

  "There are only plants there... what the hell do you plan to do?"

  "Take me there," Ragnar said. "Please."

  Torvell grumbled but agreed to guide him to the garden. The two walked together through corridors, halls, passages, and trails through thickets until Torvell announced, "We've arrived."

  All Ragnar saw were weeds.

  "Are you sure?"

  "This is the sanctuary’s garden. Since I've done my part in bringing you here, I’ll be going now.”

  Torvell turned and walked away. Ragnar stared at the bush in front of him. On his sides, he found two narrow stone paths that led into the bushes.

  Returning to human form, he fought through the foliage to follow the stone path. After a while, the trail disappeared, and his right foot sank into mud.

  It was impossible to continue like this. Instead of finding another route, Ragnar smiled and thought, Activate Animal Form: Water Serpent.

  Ragnar slithered across the muddy ground and soon found himself diving into a pool of water. Relief washed over him when he spotted the opposite shore.

  When he reached solid ground, he returned to human form and was speechless at the landscape surrounding him.

  Roses, daisies, lilies, and other plant species adorned the small island surrounded by the waters he had just crossed. Ragnar pulled out his gathering knife and tried to cut all the plant species around him; however, to collect them successfully, the herbalism profession needed to be leveled up to the advanced stage.

  Only one plant remained to be evaluated, a species of Aloe Vera, but larger and whiter. The druid knelt before it and cut a leaf, already expecting to see the failure message.

  Aloe Veraluna Leaf successfully collected

  He blinked, touched his chin, and looked up — the same plant grew all over the garden. Ragnar grinned, gripped his knife tighter, and began harvesting like there was no tomorrow.

  Hours later, more than 286 Aloe Veraluna Leaves were added to his inventory. He stood up with effort; his muscles ached, his knees were scraped, and his clothes were dirty from the waist down.

  But his effort was rewarded when a notification appeared.

  Your proficiency in Herbalism advanced to the Intermediate stage

  Herbalism

  Stage: Intermediate

  Experience: 16%

  Benefits

  +10% health and energy regeneration

  +5 points in strength, agility, and constitution

  Unlocks the collection of Intermediate level plants

  Increase in the quality and quantity of items gained with each collection

  Now, all he needed was an alchemy recipe that used the Aloe Veraluna Leaves. With this much material, he could also level up Alchemy to the Intermediate stage. He just needed the proper tools — or access to a public lab.

  Ragnar analyzed the region map and saw that the city of Salem, also known as the Shadow City, was closer to the Iron Bears' Refuge than Bremer.

  So, he made up his mind; he would practice alchemy in the Shadow City.

  ***

  The front door of the Wolf's Lair Fortress creaked as it was opened. The two guards who opened it walked inside and remained on guard until the newcomer stepped onto the red carpet leading to the throne. The guards then withdrew and closed the door.

  The girl walking down the carpet wore a black leather outfit overlaid with a thin silver cuirass. A sword hung at her hip, its hilt and sheath gleaming like polished steel.

  Her long, slightly wavy blond hair brushed against her armored shoulders as she approached the throne, where a man with a hard expression awaited.

  "Lieutenant Havoc?"

  She took a deep breath before answering, "We couldn't locate them."

  The man’s brows drew together in fury. He rose from the throne; the black steel armor clattered in the process. Standing, his musculature was on display, from his thick arms to his well-defined calves, as expected of a level 50 warrior.

  The sight of the guild leader in a fury made Havoc apprehensive. But he relaxed his posture and spoke in a calm but categorical tone, “I’ll give you one more chance. You have one week to find the druid and the accomplices who wrecked our tavern. If you fail, I’ll have no choice but to demote you back to sergeant.”

  Havoc mustered the courage to protest, "But, Zed, I'm doing everything I can to find them. It's not fair to be demoted because I couldn't find a miserable druid."

  Zed displayed a provocative smile.

  "It will be up to me to decide if it's fair or not. It's good to remind you that this sword at your waist was a gift from me, from when you were promoted to lieutenant."

  Havoc gripped the hilt of the sword with her left hand.

  "No, please..." she pleaded, fearful.

  Zed walked until he stood in front of her. A beam of light passed through one of the windows and illuminated his face.

  "The Blade of Salazar is too precious to remain with someone incapable of finding a druid in a small town like Bremer."

  "He might not even be there anymore. He might have gone to Salem, or, who knows, even stopped playing."

  Zed rested his right hand on her shoulder. Havoc trembled.

  "Nobody simply decides to stop playing. And, if he is indeed no longer in Bremer... then I would recommend you try even harder." He removed his hand from her shoulder and stepped back.

  "All right," she resigned herself, but a sudden burst of boldness made her question: "The Blade of Salazar, what if I fail?"

  "You will have two choices: surrender it peacefully or be marked forever as a target of the Black Paw."

  Havoc bowed in respect.

  “Understood. I’ll find the druid within the week.”

  Zed returned to the throne.

  “We’re counting on you, Havoc. Don’t let us down.”

  Both will help the story get more views. which means more chapters for all of us!