Second World

"Council of Twenty-four? What's that?" Jack asked.

"It's… sorts of like a league faction. However, it's a faction that is unique, as it only has twenty-four members at most," Peniel answered. "I thought this faction is just a myth. There has never been any evidence of its existence."

"Oh, you bet it is real, miss!" Majus exclaimed. "My real self used to be one of its members. When my real self passed away, I was left behind to oversee his legacy. To make sure that someone worthy takes over his mantle."

"You used to be a Time Sage? A member of the Council of Twenty-four?" Peniel asked. Her eyes were wide again.

"You bet I am. Are you impressed now?" Majus expressed a proud face.

"I still don't understand what's so great about that faction," Jack said.

"I can't believe my successor is someone who is unaware of the greatest faction in existence. Fairy, enlighten this uneducated ruffian," Majus uttered.

Peniel gave Majus a look that said, "Why me?"

"The greatest faction? Isn't that title held by the divine factions?" Jack said.

"The divine faction is considered the greatest because they are backed by a God or a Goddesses," Peniel said.

"Duh," Jack uttered.

"The Council of Twenty-four, although doesn't possess such endorsement, it is not considered less than the divine faction," Peniel explained, ignoring Jack's sarcasm. "This is because the twenty-four members of the faction are beings that possessed power close to divinity. When the twenty-four of them combined their powers, they have the power to rival a divine being."

"Or even triumph over a divine being," Majus added.

Peniel shrugged, "So the myth said."

"It's not a myth. It's a fact!" Majus insisted.

Peniel rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the council only has twenty-four members because this council required mortals who possessed specific special classes. These special classes are only owned by one mortal at any one time. As long as the owners of these special classes are still alive, no one else will have the chance to get these classes."

"And my Time Sage is one of the powers of this council?" Jack asked.

"MY Time Sage which I bestowed upon you," Majus uttered.

"By bestowing then it has now become mine."

"No, it is still mine, which I granted to you."

"She said only one person can have this special class. If it is in me now, then it is mine already."

"No, no, I am still the one and only Time Sage."

Jack's mind was still feeling tired. He decided to not entertain this meaningless debate anymore. He asked Peniel instead. "The council has twenty-four members with specific special classes. I can't help but notice it's the exact same number as the existing elite classes."

Peniel nodded. "Exactly. The twenty-four members of the council possessed special classes that are the pinnacle of each elite class."

"You mean, this Time Sage is the best special class there is for Archmage?" Jack asked in astonishment.

"The tale says it to be so," Peniel said.

"I can tell you for a fact that it is so!" Majus uttered.

"Yeah! End-game content!" Jack exclaimed.

Peniel and Majus looked at one another. Peniel shrugged, while Majus said, "It takes time to heal from the Time Sage trial. It's not for the faint of heart."

"You don't say! That trial is crazy! I thought I'm truly gone old and about to die already," Jack said and sat on the ground. His body felt well, but his mind was still drowsy.

"Actually, if you fail to comprehend time and come back, you will truly die of old age in that time realm," Majus said.

"What?" Jack said with wide eyes. Doesn't that mean permanent death? Wilted said they will still die of old age in this game world. He felt a cold sweat rolling down his forehead as he thought about how he had brushed true death so close.

"What's the trial about anyway?" Peniel asked.

Jack recounted his experience when he was in the trial. Peniel listened with amazement.

"Wow, you truly came close to dying," Peniel said after Jack finished his tale.

"You don't say! I can feel myself at the end already at that time. Damn! I feel shiver now just thinking about it."

"I'm glad you make it. So, how do you feel now?" Peniel asked.

"I don't feel like a seventy-year-old geezer, if that's what you are asking," Jack replied.

"Well, now that my duty is done, I guess it's my time for me to depart already," Majus said. "I'm glad you made it, kid. Otherwise, I'm really in a pinch of finding another candidate since no one can take the first test anymore."

"I'm glad as well, you eccentric ghostly coot," Jack replied. He then thought of something and said, "Before you go, since you are a member of the twenty-four, can you tell me where I can get the council's special class for Blade Dancer?"

"Unfortunately, although we are one faction, we don't truly keep a tab on one another," Majus replied. "I'm sorry to say I don't know where that sword maniac left his legacy."

'Ah, too bad,' Jack thought. Never mind, if it's not his fate to get the council's blade dancer special class, then it's not his fate. He didn't bother about it too much.

"Thank you, old ghost, for giving me the chance for the trial. Even when I almost lose my life for it," Jack stood back up and said to Majus.

"The pleasure is mine. I hope that special class serves you well as it did me," Majus replied. He then turned to Peniel and gave a goodbye nod, "Miss."

Peniel did a curtsey in the air.

Majus gave the two a warm smile as his apparition slowly turned more transparent, then vanished altogether.

Jack sat back down. His mind was still a little bit hazy.

"You okay?" Peniel asked.

"I'm not sure… When I'm at the end of my time during the trial, everything is sort of inconsequential… Don't get me wrong, I will give everything to meet and talk with you, with Grace, Jeanny, John, and the others, even if it's just for a minute. But what I'm saying is, I feel at peace. All the struggles that everyone seemed so concerned about, Master and his plan to rule this world, it's all felt pointless."

"So what? Are you telling me you are going to leave everything behind and be a hermit?"

"Haha," Jack laughed. "No. I'm just saying that experience truly put things into perspective. That being said, I am still going to kick Master's butt and keep this world a free world where all players and all natives can live together freely."

"That's the Jack I know," Peniel slapped Jack's arm.

"All right, let's check this special class," Jack said and opened his status page.

He had to wait until the next level up before he could check the attribute increase provided by this class, but the same as the elite class, a special class also provided inherent abilities upon acquiring the class. He also gained one new spell. He first checked his new inherent abilities.

*

Intelligence, Dexterity, Reflex +20%.

All recovery speeds +30%.

All hostiles within a 50-meter radius are slowed by 5%.

All allies within a 50-meter radius are sped up by 5%.

All ranged attacks are increased to 300% of their original speed.

*

"Ho… As expected of a pinnacle special class. These passive abilities are killer," Jack remarked.

The percentage boost on the stats was significant, considering his base stats were already high due to the combined attributes from his three classes.

Jack chuckled. "Even my magic class enhanced my speed. No one is going to rival me in terms of speed now," he said while checking his Dexterity and Reflex stats. His Dexterity had now gone past a thousand points.

Jack asked Peniel what it meant by all recovery speeds. Did it mean HP, stamina, and MP? Peniel answered those and also the recovery speed from debuff. So, if Jack was hit by a movement restriction spell, it would last only 70% of its original duration.

The two abilities that slowed hostiles and sped up allies were as if there was an active AOE spell around Jack all the time. He didn't even need to do anything and his friends were already faster while his opponents were slower than they should be. The affected area was even very large despite this being a passive effect.

For the last inherent ability, Jack did an experiment. He cast Mana Bullet. The spell indeed traveled at triple the speed than usual. Jack then swung his sword and used his Sword of Light. The crescent light appeared to hit the wall he was targeting at the same time his swing ended.

"Cool! It also affects my physical skills, not just the magical ones," Jack uttered with delight.

Sword of Light's speed was godly when everyone was still at low levels. But as players' levels increased, so did their dexterity and reflex. Hence, some expert players at this stage had no problem dodging the speedy attack. Now with the increase of his projectile speed, many of his ranged attacks would be deadly again even against fast opponents.