The Lone Healer-Chapter 216: Neve’s Announcement And The Global Reset
After talking it through for a while, Neve and Charlotte decided the best thing to do may have been what Neve had been doing all this time.
A stream.
Throughout her journey in the Final Challenge, Neve had taken the saying, "if it ain’t broke, why fix it?" to heart many times, and once again, she felt like this applied here.
That said, Charlotte suggested that the location that hosts this stream should still be a somewhat public space.
That was why Neve still found herself in front of the portal that had taken her to the Final Challenge, sitting beside it, on the ground. Cars arrived and players walked to the spot in droves to see and hear her.
Neve herself wasn’t particularly excited to receive the attention, but it was necessary.
So, Neve finally allocated all of her new levels as she waited for more people to come.
Level 92
MP: 1300/1300 (+300)
EXP: 410/920
AP: 0
WST: 157050
---
Endurance: 90
Speed: 70
Precision: 53
Strength: 10
Arcane: 100
[My AP reset after I left the Final Challenge,] Neve thought. [And here I thought I might have never walked into a dungeon again. I guess I’ll be doing one sooner than I thought to stop the debuff from happening.] She sighed. [Annoying.]
Her cold eyes left the status in front of her and instead scanned the rapidly growing audience. Players of all shapes and sizes, young and old, men and women, all here to see her specifically. And yet, Neve’s eyes fixed themselves onto one individual in particular.
Charlotte arrived in an old car, wearing a pencil skirt and a sleeveless white shirt, along with someone so much older-looking that she assumed it was her boss or something.
[At least, I hope it’s her boss. Hopefully, she’s single... Wait, what?] Neve stopped herself. [Why...?] As she locked eyes with the journalist from afar, it didn’t take long for Neve to receive her answer. [Shit...]
She shook her head.
[Never mind. Focus. This speech matters. Get it out of the way, first.]
The people who came remained a few meters away from Neve, without her having to say anything. It was like there was a barrier keeping them from getting too close. Like Neve was emitting a sacred aura that would disintegrate anyone who approached.
Finally, once she judged that there were enough witnesses, Neve got up off the ground, dusting her Angel Set off.
It was still torn in the middle, where Aphria had stabbed her.
[Aphria...] Neve thought, looking down at her chest. [Whatever. Focus.]
"I-" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Neve said that and then quickly realized that, without a microphone, no one would hear her in the back.
[Shit, let me-]
Charlotte walked forward. The pink-haired woman effortlessly broke through that divine aura Neve was giving off and walked all the way to her without a care, before extending a hand toward Neve holding one such item.
Neve reached forward to take it, noticing how the instant Charlotte’s eyes met hers, the journalist almost flinched.
[Hm? Is there something on my face?]
She quickly regained her composure, however, and then leaned in, whispering:
"May we speak after this?" Charlotte asked as Neve took the object.
Neve nodded and Charlotte walked a few steps back with a smile.
Flipping the switch on the wireless mic, Neve inhaled sharply.
Charlotte set up a camera in front of her. After a few taps on her phone, she gave Neve a thumbs-up.
"..." Neve stopped for a second, taking in the expressions on the players who’d come.
They looked tired. They looked worn down. They looked...
Hopeful.
[Hope... That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?]
"The Final Challenge is done," Neve stated. "There will be no more monster outbreaks for 10 years."
Instantly, the crowd cheered. A chorus of applause rang out so suddenly Neve almost covered her ears.
[Geez...]
Charlotte, who seemed to be aware of how out of her element Neve was, looked amused. Neve shrugged at her.
"However," Neve said, and the cheering died down a little. "There’s a lot that you need to understand about this 10-year break."
Slowly, but surely, the roaring audience grew quieter. That statement made them pause.
"You probably noticed this on your way here, but the dungeons haven’t gone away," Neve said. "They’re still there. The daily AP quota is still active. And, you’re still going to have to train and grind to get stronger."
Suddenly, the crowd did not seem all that excited.
While Neve understood their reaction, this was one area, just one, where Neve couldn’t really blame Tamira, as she’d been honest about the Final Challenge’s reward from the beginning.
[10 years free from monsters. But, obviously, there would still need to be dungeons to fight in otherwise people would get lazy, and as soon as the next wave of monsters comes in... You’d just have the start of the Unity Trials repeat themselves. A lot of people would die.]
"That said, there’s another reason you’ll have to train," Neve said. "I negotiated a deal with the Forces That Be. And... If we win the next Final Challenge in 10 years, all monsters and dungeons will disappear forever."
The gravity of that statement fell over the crowd like a 100-ton blanket, thrown over all of Starlight City.
"We’ll need to prepare. You’ll need to prepare," Neve corrected herself. "Because, unfortunately, as part of the deal I struck with them, I can’t participate in the next Final Challenge."
That statement made the audience even more hesitant.
The one individual who was proven to be able to complete the task was unable to re-enter the Final Challenge. That was, understandably, horrible news.
"But," Neve added, "I don’t intend to leave you all alone. To leave you to prepare yourselves for this task from the background, just because I can’t walk back in again myself."
Suddenly, curiosity sprouted.
"I still want to help," Neve said, inhaling sharply. "So, I thought about how I could do that. And, I’ve come to a decision."
Charlotte, still standing close by to the side, looked eager to know what she meant.
It was like the audience took a step or two closer to her.
Several players waited with bated breath to hear what she wanted to do.
"I’ve noticed that, in truth, there aren’t many support players out there. And, the few that are out there don’t have much of a clue of how to function. How to stay alive. So... I will be starting a guild," Neve said.
Charlotte’s eyes widened. People in the audience gasped.
"The Pillars of Unity," Neve said. "I dunno if it’s a good name or not, but it’s what I thought of. A guild for healers and support-class players specifically. So, you people can get your shit together."
---
Naturally, almost every sentence Neve made served as the fuel behind many different threads on the forums. People speculated about the different things she said. Some people doubted whether Neve was actually banned from participating in the Final Challenge again, and assumed that Neve’s trauma simply prevented her from wanting to go in once more. Others wondered if high-level dungeons would keep spawning or not. Or, if dungeons in general would.
Others lamented that they weren’t healers or other support classes like scouts and alchemists.
What they didn’t know was that Tamira had anticipated that sentiment.
And, she offered some help in that regard.
It happened as Neve made her way back to her old apartment. She didn’t plan to be here for too long, as she had more than enough money to buy a home that didn’t remind her of the events that kicked all of this off, but her feet had taken her here naturally.
As she walked in, a dusty scent filling her nostrils, she heard:
"Did you all like that speech?"
Neve froze.
Tamira spoke in her mind and, judging by her phrasing, every human being on Earth was listening as well.
"I hope you’ve all had a wonderful time lately! It certainly has been very eventful, hasn’t it? But, well, some of you are probably busier than others, so I’ll keep this brief."
Neve took a deep breath, calming herself down.
"My name is Tamira. I am humanity’s assistant, sent by the Forces That Be to watch over you. And, my superiors wanted to make you all an offer. Given that it’s been a year and some change, you all have a roughly decent idea of what life under the Unity Trials is like. Knowing that you are being given a choice to make."
A message popped up.
Tamira did not speak again, as the message said everything else she could need to say.
{Reset!}
{Accept, and you will be reverted back to level 1, but be allowed to switch Classes. You will also lose all Class items you had before, but be paid for each one you had in double its token value}
{Decline, and you will keep your current Class and levels, but will not be given the option to switch classes ever again.}
{You have 23:59:58 to choose!}
And, given that Neve had just made her announcement, the result was... rather predictable.
