Afterlife Dream

That was surely careless and not a well-thought answer.

"And then what happened?" I gulped.

The others also leaned in with interest, wanting to hear what the NPC made Cecilia go through.

Cecilia's face turned sour. "The NPC said that I had not grasped the true essence of being a bow master, so he made me go to a practice field to shoot down 1000 dummy birds. Only after I completed the practice was I allowed to go back and answer the question."

"Oh. Well, what did you answer then?"

Cecilia shrugged.

"Something cliché. I praised the game to the ninth level of heaven and thanked the game creator for my immense growth within the Afterlife Dream realm."

"Oh. And then?"

"And then the real test will begin. The key to the test is to overcome your greatest fear. It is not the same for every player. I for example had to fight a mighty, giant tarantula."

I cringed.

I hated scorpions. Did it mean that I would have to fight a mighty, giant scorpion? I really, really did not want to do that...

ZhaoYun put an arm around my shoulder and grinned. "Antares, this is the last hurdle you will ever face in this game. Make it count. After level 120, the next milestone is level 150. Enjoy it, don't think or worry too much about it."

Aurendiria patted my arm in a soothing manner and cheered me up. "Don't worry, Antares. It will be fine. Once you are done, come back to Oakstone Tavern so we can celebrate!"

Yes.

I was going to pass the test and go back to celebrate with my friends.

I sucked in a deep breath and recited the passages that I thought of the previous night.

"I came here as an ignorant person whose life ended early in the earth. After I was reborn, I chose the path of the Healer and went through a lot of adventures together with my friends. I now stand before you, ready to go through the fourth job advancement."

A glimmer passed through the NPC's eyes.

"Very well. Dear Adventurer, are you ready to go through your fourth job advancement?"

[Yes] [No]

Yes.

A wooden door materialized in front of me, its edges were brimming with a blueish, mysterious aura.

"Dear Adventurer, please go through the door to go through the Fourth Job Advancement Test. We gladly await your safe return."

I slowly approached the door and pushed it open. There was nothing beyond it but a curtain of red light. Not unlike the one back at the modified Dark Fairy raid. I stepped past the curtain of red light and landed on top of a bunch of clouds.

I had to blink a few times to ensure that I was in the right place. How did I go from the middle of a staircase to the clouds?

But it was not an illusion. I was really standing on top of clouds. To be exact, I was standing on top of a bridge that was made of fluffy clouds. Behind me, the door already disappeared. Although the velvety feeling under my feet gave me a vague impression that I would fall through the clouds at any time, I still forced myself to walk, heading to the end of the bridge.

At the end of the bridge, a dark silhouette was waiting for me. As I came closer, I realized that it had the form of a human being. And it had its back facing me.

This was it. I opened my inventory and scrolled after a certain item that I bought from Kitty a while ago. The Fried Peach Ice Cream With Cashew Nut Sprinkles. As soon as I ate it, I felt a sensation going through my whole body, seeping into the ends of my fingers and toes. I was literally brimming with power.

After making enough preparation with buffs, I continued walking.

I stopped around ten meters away from the figure. It slowly turned around and revealed itself. I ripped my eyes open in disbelief.

Clothed in a shining black armor that covered every inch of his body was my brother from my past life. Jaden Weston stood in front of me with a blank expression. In his hand, he was holding a Dark Moon Staff. It was only then that I realized that he was wearing a High Priest's full Dark Moon set. Just like me.

"Jaden..." I whispered.

The boy in front of me did not react.

"Jaden!" I called louder. "What are you doing here???"

I was terrified. Afterlife Dream had kidnapped a few players. Could it be that it also did the same thing to those who were still alive on earth? Unless... Unless Jaden also died?

No. No, impossible.

It could not be. Jaden could not die!

He had to stay with our parents and accompany them!

"Jaden, you..."

I stepped closer, intending to grab my brother by his collar. Before I even touched him, he already raised his staff and launched an attack at me!

"Holy Arrow Barrage!" he shouted.

I gritted my teeth. It was one of the Bishop's Fourth Job skills, a modified version of the High Priest's mediocre Holy Arrow. "Holy Arrow Barrage" allowed the caster to summon tens of holy arrows that shot at the opponent at the same time. It was very difficult to dodge because it attacked from all directions.

I stepped off the cloudy ground. The Queen Spider Boots helped to boost my jump as I escaped to the sky using Angel Wings.

The holy arrows stabbed into the cloud and disappeared soon after in brilliant tiny lights.

A pair of Angel Wings also appeared at Jaden's back. He flew toward the sky and hovered in the air in front of me.

He also had Angel Wings.

I was speechless.

Thankfully, the game deigned to give me some instruction.

"Dear Adventurer, for so long Healers have been contributing a lot as a support class. You have fought alongside comrades with the common goal of beating the enemies, but you do not have the power to defeat the enemy yourself."

"The time has changed. Upon your appointment as a Bishop, you shall be granted the power to make a change. The entire Afterlife Dream realm will bow to you shall you wish for it to happen. Henceforth, you will no longer be a support class but a force to be reckoned with."

"In order to ascend to this new role, you must first beat your greatest fear. Purge all the weakness from your heart and be the master of your own. Only then are you qualified to advance to the fourth level!"

My fear.

Jaden was my fear? This game was ridiculous. If anything, my fear would be having him kidnapped into this game just for me to complete my fourth job advancement.

Alright. If this was what the game wanted to do for me to become a bishop, then I gladly took the challenge. Besides, all that I had to do was to defeat Jaden, right? In fact, this guy in front of me did not even look like Jaden. He looked like me, only with Jaden's face.

It would be an easy task. I would never lose to an NPC or a doppelganger. Let me show "Jaden" what I could do.

"Holy Arrow Barrage!!!" I shouted, using the same skill he previously used to attack me.

The same bunch of holy arrows manifested from the end of my Dark Moon Staff and flew at "Jaden", who very calmly stood there without any intention of dodging the attack.

"Jaden!" I shouted unconsciously.

Once an attack was unleashed, it was impossible to take it back. The arrows were going to turn "Jaden" into minced meat!

"Jaden" was there one second and in the next second, he disappeared. And by disappear I mean really disappear. Baffled, I watched as my holy arrows went past where "Jaden" stood a second ago. And then, the fine hairs at my neck stood when I realized that something... or someone was standing right behind me.

"Jaden" teleported right behind me!

"Holy Wings!"

I managed to dodge the majority of the attack, but my right arm got a few cuts from that one attack. Blood quickly gushed out and drenched my robe. I distanced myself away from "Jaden" in disbelief.

"Heal." I cast the healing skill on myself. My wounds healed at once.

"Mana Guard."

"Divine Guard."

In front of me, "Jaden" imitated me. He also cast Mana Guard and Divine Guard on himself. And then, without waiting for me to be ready, he flew toward me and pounced at me.

"Holy Arrow Barrage!"

I pointed my staff at him and shouted, "Prison!"

"Prison" was a bishop skill that served to lock the opponent in a cage. As soon as I cast the skill, bars of light appeared out of thin air and surrounded "Jaden", locking him effectively inside a cage of light. "Jaden" looked up at me and shouted, "Purification!"

My cage of light dispersed right away. I was speechless. So cages were considered buffs these days?