Chapter 25

  Ben couldn’t suppress a grin as he opened up his class advancement menu. Eve marveled at him. Even she forgot about that.

  She saw the menu that Ben was staring at and she immediately felt overwhelmed by the sheer list of options.

  Class advancement in the world of Eternity came in the form of a huge tree of options. The options seemed endless at first glance, especially for newer players. The class skill tree allowed players to customize their progression in many different ways.

  “You have so many options. More than anyone else I’ve seen. Even the beta players didn’t have so many options on their class skill tree,” Eve typed.

  Ben rubbed his chin in thought.

  “Yeah, that’s why I wanted to get a good night’s rest before choosing. I took a look at it early and it kind of gave me a headache. I never expected to have a God-tier class. I can see that that comes with a lot. I was actually hoping you could help me choose,’” Ben said.

  Eve looked at Ben in shock.

  “Me?” She typed.

  Ben smiled warmly at her and nodded.

  “Yes you. I know you have been using your Eyes of Truth to analyse my abilities. You have been observing me. You’ve seen me fight. You know my strengths and weaknesses. You pretty much know everything about me,” Ben said.

  Ben tried to hide how uncomfortable it was to admit that. He glanced away awkwardly. Eve did the same. That familiar blush stained her cheeks. Ben cleared his throat.

  “So I figured that you would be able to help me pick a class advancement path that would be optimal for me,” Ben said.

  Eve stared at Ben, dumbstruck. The gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on her. Once again, he was trusting her with a lot. She knew how important class advancement was. Once it was selected, it was hard to change. The penalty for respeccing was steep.

  Eve looked back at Ben’s skill tree and rubbed her arm nervously.

  “Are you sure? What if I mess up?” She typed.

  It was easy to see how nervous she was. Ben closed the distance between them and placed a hand along her shoulder. The physical contact successfully distracted Eve from her insecure thoughts. She looked up at Ben with a wide-eyed gaze.

  “Eve, I trust you. Plus, all I am asking for is your opinion. Ultimately, the final decision still falls on me. If I make a poor choice, that’s on me. So stop worrying. You’ve got this,” he said.

  Eve averted her gaze and bowed her head bashfully. Her cheeks burned an even brighter shade of red. All her insecurities were gone, to be replaced by a fluttering in her chest. He was still touching her shoulder!

  “Um…ok,” she typed.

  Ben pulled away with a subtle smirk.

  “So predictable,” he thought.

  Ben returned his attention to his skill tree.

  “Alright, so there were a few paths that stood out to me. Five in particular. The first path focuses on self enhancement. I would give up making my summons stronger in order to empower myself. The second path would actually syphon power from my summons in order to empower myself even more, but my summons would become weaker. The third path would allow me to summon more angels at once by increasing my maximum limit, but they wouldn’t get stronger individually. The fourth path would make all my angels stronger individually. The fifth path would syphon strength from me to make my summons that much stronger,” Ben said.

  Eve tried her best to focus as Ben ranted about all his options. She looked at his skill tree and saw the different directions he could go, as he spoke about them.

  Eve had no problem following along. As Ben noted before, Eve wasn’t a complete noob. She had always been able to follow along with lectures at school and maintain top grades.

  After a while of thinking outloud, Ben finally realized that Eve might have been overwhelmed.

  “Oh, sorry, I know this might be a lot,” he said.

  Instead of an overwhelmed look, he saw an expression of deep focus on Eve’s face. Well, what little of her face that he could see behind the wolf mask that she still wore.

  “It’s ok, I’m just thinking,” Eve said.

  Eve typed that sentence quickly. She didn’t even look at him. She was too engrossed in analyzing Ben’s class tree.

  “Cute,” Ben thought.

  The pair stood in silence for a few long moments. While Eve focused on the options, Ben was distracted. He stared at Eve for much longer than he intended.

  The way she stood was so familiar. She had one arm crossed over her belly, and used her other hand to tap rhythmically at her own cheek. It was a kind of movement and posture that he was very familiar with, just like a certain person that he knew.

  A flash of that person appeared in his mind and he immediately shook off the thought. It was as if his brain refused to think about her. Ben turned his gaze away to focus on his class tree. Anything to distract himself from such intrusive thoughts.

  “Rediculous. They couldn’t be more different,” Ben thought.

  A sudden text message snapped Ben out of his thoughts.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Eve typed.

  “Of course,” Ben said.

  Ben raised a brow when he saw Eve’s serious gaze.

  “What do you want?” She typed.

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  Ben was taken aback by the question.

  “What do I want? What do you mean?” Ben asked.

  Eve hesitated. She thought more about how to phrase her question. Her eyes wandered.

  “Yesterday when I asked you about why you want to be number 1, you avoided the question. But…I think if I know your motivations, I could help you pick your class progression better,” Eve typed.

  Ben averted his gaze in thought. There was no way he could tell her the real reason he wanted to get to number 1.

  “Hey Eve, I really need to become the strongest so I am as prepared as possible for the apocalypse that happens in a year. And the performance in the game will translate to strength during the apocalypse. Ridiculous,” Ben thought.

  Eve could see Ben’s hesitation. She huffed in annoyance and stepped in front of Ben. She typed a quick message and poked him lightly in the chest to emphasize her words.

  “You should be honest with me. Are Christians really supposed to be so secretive?” Eve typed.

  Ben was thrown off by Eve’s accusation. He looked at her incredulously.

  “You’re one to talk. Did you forget that you are wearing a mask?” Ben said.

  Eve looked away in embarrassment.

  “That’s…different,” she typed.

  Ben chuckled lightly and shook his head.

  “Alright, I get your point. I have my reasons for being so secretive but…I do trust you. It's just that…my reasons are very personal. For me, this is more than just a game. I hope you believe me, even if I can’t explain why,” Ben said.

  Eve looked up at Ben with a sympathetic and understanding gaze.

  “I believe you. Then, can you at least give a vague answer? I know you want to be number 1, but how do you want to do that? Like, do you want to lead a guild into raids. Do you want to solo everything? Do you want to sit back while your angels fight for you? What do you want?” Eve typed.

  Ben contemplated Eve’s words for a long while. Eve stood patiently while she waited for Ben’s answer. After a moment of thought, Ben looked up at the sky with an expression of reverence that Eve recognized.

  “I want to glorify God,” Ben said.

  Eve was shocked.

  “What? Glorify God?” She questioned.

  Ben smiled and nodded.

  It must have sounded ridiculous. They were in a videogame after all. Eve’s reaction confirmed how he must have sounded, but Ben didn’t care.

  Everything led to that. Ben wanted to grow strong enough to protect the people he cared about, once the apocalypse descended. He wanted to change things, stop his loved ones and friends from dying. He wanted to be number 1 to unlock access to special tools, items, and powers he could use during the apocalypse to defend himself.

  He wanted to be the bastion that stood in the way of the coming doom. But as a Christian, all of that was a given, it was expected of him. As a Christian man, he had the responsibility to put his body on the line to protect those he loved. A Christian responsibility that would lead to one more meaningful outcome.

  Glory to the God who gave him the strength to accomplish it all.

  “Yes,” he said.

  Eve was taken aback. She felt overwhelmed by the power of his faith. In a way, it was unsettling. Eve bowed her head and fidgetted with her skirt.

  Hearing Ben’s confession highlighted her own insecurities in her own faith. Of course she should have been thinking about God as well, but she hadn’t been. Ben’s faith reminded her of where her focus ought to be, no matter what she was doing, even when playing a videogame.

  Eve tried to shake off how inadequate she felt in order to focus on being useful to him.

  “Ok, well, if that is the case, then let's stick with that. Let's say that you accomplish your goal of becoming number one. Well, how could you best glorify God at rank 1?” Eve texted.

  Ben looked at Eve in approval.

  “Oh, that’s a good question. I never really thought about it,” he said.

  Ben waved a hand and summoned one of his cherubs. The Cherub Halberd Master stood at attention in front of them.

  “I summon angels. My class is an exclusive class. No one else should have anything like my abilities. The players in the top 100 on the leaderboard will get a lot of attention. Especially those in the top 10. If I were to be at rank 1, I would be put in front of the world. I could use those opportunities to give a personal witness of the power of Christ in my life. The fact that I summon angels may inspire others,” Ben said.

  Eve nodded.

  “That’s a good start. Though, I doubt most gamers would really be receptive to the message,” Eve said.

  Ben chuckled.

  “You are probably right, knowing the type. But…even if I can inspire one person. Even if this is just a video game, if I do something so amazing, well, how did you feel when I defeated the Eagle players?” Ben asked.

  Eve went wide-eyed and thought back to the moment when Ben stepped out of the forest in victory. She shivered.

  “It was amazing. Even now, I still can't believe you did that,” she typed.

  Ben nodded.

  “Exactly. So, what can I do to inspire that feeling in others?” Ben said.

  Eve tapped at her chin in thought. She looked at Ben’s cherub thoughtfully.

  “Well, maybe it is smart to focus more on your angels. I have this image in my head of your angels doing amazing things. If you profess God, while at the same time literal angels are helping you be the best, well, that sounds inspiring, I think,” Eve said.

  Ben chuckled at the imagery that Eve was describing. He shifted his gaze away in embarrassment.

  “That sounds like a lot. I was hoping to lay low, even if I hit rank 1.”

  Eve huffed, placed her hands on her hips, and stuck her tongue out at Ben.

  “Well it seems like God has other plans,” she typed.

  Even though Eve was being playful, Ben took her words seriously. He nodded resolutely.

  “Right. So, I should focus on empowering my angels. Maybe…I should have legions of angels that descend on the battlefield, like how Christ described.”

  Eve paused to consider Ben’s words. She thought back to the fight with the dire bear.

  “That’s an option, though it does worry me a little,” she typed.

  Ben frowned.

  “Why?”

  Eve’s eyes wandered in thought.

  “Remember when you fought the bear and your cherubs kept dying? Even though you are strong, your summons aren’t real angels. They can get hurt and die just like any other summon. If your angels die in a difficult battle, that might undermine your message,” Eve typed.

  Ben’s eyes widened in realization.

  “True. That would be kind of anti-climactic. So summon a legion and have them all be wiped out by a strong attack. Sure I could resummon them, but that does seem kind of…weak. They should be glorious. In the bible, there was never an instance of an angel dying or being defeated. Well, none that stood with God,” Ben said.

  Eve nodded.

  “Right,” she typed.

  Ben looked at his skill tree.

  “So I’ll choose the skill path that makes all my summons individually stronger. Maybe I should even give up some of my strength to enhance them further. Then my angels will be almost invincible,” Ben said.

  Eve frowned at that idea.

  “I don’t know if it is a good idea to give up your own strength. You are a summoner. The main weakness of a summoner is your own personal strength. If you put all your power into your summons, then smart opponents will just target you. I know you are really good at fighting, but maybe that won’t be the case if the gap between the enemy’s stats and your stats become too far. Plus, when you show your own personal strength, that is also glorifying. In fact, it might be just as effective because people won’t expect a summoner to be strong. I know how in awe I was when I saw your personal prowess,” Eve typed.

  Ben waited patiently for Eve to finish and then took his time to absorb her words. Even though he had a general sense of urgency, the conversation was too important to rush.

  Ben considered Eve’s perspective. Her perspective was exceptionally valuable. She mirrored how others would see him. She was the perfect spectator. Ben’s appreciation for Eve’s presence only grew more. She provided perspective and insight that he couldn’t have possibly gained on his own.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Eve was caught off guard by Ben’s words. She smiled sweetly and did her best not to blush too much.

  “You’re welcome. I just want to help as best as I can,” she texted.

  “I really appreciate that. I’ll try to make it up to you,” he said.

  Eve shook her head.

  “You don’t have to,” she texted.

  Ben nodded. Despite her words, he planned to continue to show his gratitude in the future. For now, he had upgrades to choose. He refocused on his class tree.

  “I’m going to choose to go down two separate paths. The path that enhances the individual strength of my summons, and the path that enhances my individual strength to a moderate degree. Since I am progressing along two different class skill trees, I won’t be as specialized as a player that only takes a single class skill tree, but I will be more balanced and have more diverse ways to fight,” Ben said.

  Eve nodded in approval. With Eve’s guidance in mind, Ben finally made his selection.