《Second World》 Chapter 1: The YouTube Video That Changed the World?! It was a Wednesday evening in the Upper East Side of New York. George Young, a slender young man, walked out of a convenience store with a small bag of groceries. He propped up his coat¡¯s hood, and as he exited the store he saw an orange leaf falling. He looked up with miserable eyes and saw a somber blue sky, which faded into a grim grey in the distance. It¡¯s fall already, isn¡¯t it? He sighed and continued his way. While walking along the sidewalk, he noticed a giant TV in a store¡¯s window. It was broadcasting Dream World, the world¡¯s most popular virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game¡ªor VRMMORPG. Or VRMMO for even shorter.Dream World¡¯s player base was over 400 million, which consisted of people from all walks of life: the young, the old, the rich, the poor. Anyone you could imagine played it or knew what it was. ¡°And there you have it folks!¡± yelled one of the shoutcasters. ¡°The new world raid boss has just been taken down! Congratulations to all the guilds who participated!¡± The shoutcasters continued their commentating; to George, it seemed more like rambling. Disinterested, he continued on his way. Dream World, huh? George once played Dream World. It was considered pay-to-win, but that didn¡¯t stop players to use their income to buy gear for their characters, whatever that amounted to. Five dollars. One-hundred dollars. One thousand. Ten thousand. Hell, it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if some spent millions. George himself had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy high-end equipment for his own character, thinking of it as an investment. He even managed to get hold of some very rare and valuable items as well. Unfortunately for him, his game mechanics were terrible, both on the micro and macro levels. Adding to that, he was also in a small and weak guild, so players from stronger guilds teamed up and easily player-killed (or PKed) him. He eventually lost all his items due to this. But what was moreregretful were the circumstances that led up to this. George was gentle and lax, and ultimately, a spy got into his guild and betrayed him. Players had learned of his valuable items and that was why he was targeted¡ªit was the spy who always ratted out his location. And so, being unable to bear the loss, he quit.His deep regret was the reason why he¡¯d been in such a gloomy state for the past six months. George arrived at the bus stop. While he was waiting, he took out his phone to check his bank account balance. He gloomed at the number on his phone¡¯s screen. $12,589. That¡¯s all I have left. And I have to pay the rent on Monday, too. How much does that leave? ...$10,000? No... not even. He stared down at the screen for an extended time with a mindless expression. For George, it seemed to be only a moment, but when he looked up the bus had already arrived, and the driver had already yelled at him for the third time. George put away his phone and got on, ignoring the bus driver¡¯s remarks, too preoccupied with the things on his mind. He walked through a crowd of eyes and gagging noises and found a nice, lonesome seat by the window at the back. He quickly zoned out, ignoring the disgusted faces eyeing at him, gazing out the window the whole ride home. When he got back to his apartment he lazily placed the groceries in the refrigerator and went straight to his room. He turned on the computer screen and stared at it for a solid minute before finally deciding what to do. I guess I¡¯ll watch some YouTube videos. He scrolled through the video playlist, most of which he knew would be about Dream World. Tch. Why is there so much Dream World? He sighed but continued searching for a potentially watchable video. As he filtered the videos to the ¡°Last Hour,¡± he saw that at the top of the list was a video titled ¡°Second World: New VRMMO,¡± which had been uploaded two minutes ago. He thought it bizarre that someone would post a video with such a title. It was well known that very few VRMMOs had been released since the launch of Dream World. On top of that, following the surge of Dream World, virtually all developers who sought to make their own VR were bought out by Dream Corps, the company responsible for making Dream World. Of course, this was all a business strategy to shut down competition. The VR gaming world was essentially a monopoly, with Dream World being the face of it. George pondered for a moment. Eh, whatever. At least it¡¯s better than Dream World. He clicked the link and enlarged the video screen. Appearing on the screen was a dark-haired man wearing glasses, seemingly in his late 20s or early 30s. He stood face-to-camera in an all-white background¡ªa background which seemed to be glowing, looking like a kind of halo effect. He¡¯s cute at least. With striking confidence, the man spoke. ¡°Hello there. Thank you for clicking on this video. I am the developer of Second World, a soon-to-be-released VRMMO.¡± He then paused and smirked. ¡°Although, I wouldn¡¯t call it as such.¡± George had come into the video thinking about pressing the large ¡®X¡¯ button at the top right corner. He had been waiting for the opportunity. A moment where even the slightest mistake, however small, would have made him stopped watching. He was hoping to do just that. But when the man smirked at the camera, it captivated George in the most curious way. It felt compulsory to him to watch the video to the end, even if everything that would be said would be gibberish. Deep in his heart, he felt something important would come out of this video, and so he listened intently to what this mysterious man had to say. ¡°Before I begin, I want to make things clear to everyone watching this: I have made this YouTube account today solely for the purpose of uploading this video. And this video will be the only video that I¡¯ll be publishing online,¡± said the mysterious man. ¡°Furthermore, what you hear from watching this video will be the only information you¡¯ll receive from me about Second World.So, you all should listen closely to what I have to say.¡± What is he talking about? ¡°But before I get into the details, I will be upfront with you all: this game has never been tested by anyone but myself. The reason for this is pretty simple: I did not want players to experience the game before its release date. Moreover, there will be no patches or updates of any kind, or even expansions¡ªever. That is all I have to say about this.¡± And with a happy smile, he clapped his hands and said, ¡°But don¡¯t worry. There will never be technical issues¡ªof any kind. I promise.¡± Upon hearing the words ¡®never been tested,¡¯ George zoned out for a second, his only reaction: Huh? ¡°Now, onto the nitty-gritty,¡± the man said. ¡°Second World will be live starting this Friday at 6:00 PM Eastern Time.¡± And with the biggest grin, he added, ¡°And I will tell you now that it is and will be the greatest thing anyone in this world has ever experienced.¡± Upon hearing these words, George subtlety changed his posture, raising an ear. Because surely, the words ¡®best thing ever¡¯ had a nice ring to it and warranted careful attention. ¡°As for the VR equipment, there is only one thing you need. It¡¯s these,¡± he said, pulling out a pair of silver-black electrode pads into view. ¡°As you can see, it¡¯s only a pair of electrodes. But this isn¡¯t ordinary technology. It¡¯s something that I myself created, so it¡¯s extra special. All you do is place them on your temples, find a good spot to lie down, relax and close your eyes, and voila!¡± The man was smiling happily, as if he had just given his best explanation for anything, ever. ¡°There are other things about the equipment, too, but I don¡¯t need to go into detail about them. You¡¯ll eventually realize what those are.¡± He smirked. George, with his ear still raised, was still waiting for the punch line¡ªnow beginning to get bored with this insane man¡¯s speech. But nonetheless, curious. ¡°Anyhow¡­¡± the man went on. ¡°VR equipment packageshave been shipped to selling locations around the world, and they will be available for direct purchase starting tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM EST.¡± He paused for a second and smiled mischievously, pushing the rim of his glasses up. ¡°However, I have set up only five stores, and these stores are located in different cities across the globe, one for each city. The cities are as follows: New York City, Paris, Johannesburg, Beijing, and Tokyo. Furthermore, equipment that has sold out at a location will not be restocked, and once its stock is no more, that location will close. If that happens, you¡¯ll have to go to another store in one of the other cities to buy equipment.¡± The strange man¡¯s gleaming smile suggested that he didn¡¯t care if what he had just said was good or bad. He continued. ¡°And if you¡¯re wondering: No, there isn¡¯t an online store. At least, not yet. It¡¯ll only be when all equipment from the physical stores have sold out that the online store will become available. At that time, the link to the online store should magically appear down in the video description. But for now, I have included only the addresses for the physical stores.¡± And with an innocent face, he said, ¡°So all of you better get going if you want to get your equipment!¡± George rested his head against his fist in a bored manner, his face full of disappointment. ¡°Lastly, the only information about the game you¡¯ll receive from me, which is exactly and only this: Second World is whatever you want it to be.¡± He paused for the perfect moment, and with a smile full of mystery, he said, ¡°That is, of course, if you have the power to make it so.¡± He then clapped his hand and gleefully said, ¡°And that¡¯s it! That¡¯s all you need to know! Wasn¡¯t that just so simple? Hope that helped!¡± The man was silent for a moment, still maintaining his mysterious smile. He then changed expression and looked deep and sincerely into the camera. ¡°Now, go forth and claim this unknown world, my dear humans. I do not expect all of you, or even any of you to take part in this adventure. But I do hope that at least one of you will be curious enough to see what lies beyond.¡± The eccentric man smiled one last time, and then the video cut into black, seemingly ending. But suddenly, he came back onto the screen, laughing in embarrassment. ¡°Oops, I probably should have mentioned: I¡¯ve set up an auction house where you can buy, sell, and auction items for Earth money. Not that making money is the reason one should be playing this game... Also, don¡¯t die. You¡¯ll end up feeling very bad about yourselves. But I promise you¡¯ll have tons of fun. If you don¡¯t like the game, you can always return the equipment for a full refund at any time. Although, there are...certain caveats.¡± He let out a cartoonish laugh of mischief, then reverted back to his goofy character. ¡°Anyways, toot-a-loo!¡± And with that, the video ended. Finally. George calmly shook his head. I should have known this was clickbait. He turned off the screen and went to lie on his bed. He scoffed in skepticism. A new VRMMO¡­ Yeah right.
It was early the next morning. George lazily woke up and went into the kitchen. He scoured the sinkfor a cup and poured himself some milk.His eyes gloomed down at the almost-expired fluid. He then shifted his eyes tohis phone, whose screen displayed his dwindling funds. He gulped the milk down and dumped the cup into the heap of dishes in the sink. After, he put his coat on and headed out the door, unshowered and unchanged. Seven hours later, George walked out of an office building, dragging himself to the bus stop. When he sat down on the bench, immediately, the people around him moved away, catching his scent. But he didn¡¯t pay attention to them. He was expressionless, thinking about all the mistakes he¡¯d made up to this point. Fortunately, though, he didn¡¯t have to think long about his life decisions, as his bus soon arrived. When he got on the bus people started covering their mouths and pinching their noses. They pushed him away until he had no choice but to sit at the very back, right next to a larger-than-portly man who emitted a more pungent odor than George himself. However, George was oblivious to it all. After many of the passengers rallied to the driver to kick them off, George and the potbellied man were eventually forced off at Madison Ave. It was only eight blocks from his apartment, but George didn¡¯t seem to care, even if it had been twenty blocks. Or thirty. Or forty. Or fifty. While he was walking along Park Ave., he¡ªperhaps to his fortune, in the grander scheme of things¡ªoverheard two well-to-do teenage girls talking to each other. ¡°Is that guy kidding? $2,000?¡± ¡°I know!¡± the other girl chuckled. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s a lot less than Dream World¡¯s equipment. But still, I doubt anyone¡¯s going to buy one. It¡¯s a total rip off. Not to mention it looks lame as hell.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Yeah!¡± the first girl exclaimed. ¡°Anyways, do you want to go raiding tonight?¡± ¡°Sure. What time are you gonna be on?¡± Their giggling voices grew fainter as they walked away. George fixed his melancholic gaze at a tiny store that had been up for lease for several months. Oddly, the light coming through its windows was rather luminous, more luminous than any of the lights George saw on the streets. So that¡¯s where it is? He casually disregarded the idea of entertaining the new VR shop and continued walking. As he walked away, thoughts entered his mind. Vaguely fond memories of him and his friends playing Dream World¡ªmemories that brought happiness yet also sadness. After walking several steps towards the direction of his apartment, he stopped and looked back at the tiny store. He stared at it for a while, thinking. I guess I can go take a look. George turned around and walked to the tiny white-lit store. Upon entering, he saw a single clerk standing behind a white counter. He approached the counter and asked, ¡°Can I see the lowest-tier model?¡± ¡°There is no ¡®lowest-tier model.¡¯¡± ¡°Is that say so?¡± George said in a soft voice. ¡°Yep,¡± the clerk said. ¡°Shocker.¡± ¡°How much?¡± George asked, even though he already knew the answer, remembering what the two girls said. He just wanted to re-affirm the inevitability of all this. ¡°Two thousand,¡± the clerk responded. ¡°Can you tell me anything about the game??¡± said George. ¡°I know just as much as you. I¡¯m here only to sell equipment.¡± George sighed heavily and shook his head. ¡°Have a good day then.¡± He turned and walked away. But as he was walking away, now almost to the door, those distant memories from before came rushing back, and he remembered why he started playing Dream World. In truth, making money was secondary for George. The reason he had started playing was that he¡¯d loved the experience of it all: killing monsters, raiding, completing dungeons. It had been a real adventure for him. And now, all his fond and joyful memories resurfaced, and emotions began swelling up. George sighed. I guess it can¡¯t be helped. He turned back and approached the desk again. ¡°I¡¯ll get one.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± the clerk said. ¡°Just wait one moment.¡± The clerk opened the locked door behind him and entered the back room. He returned with a small white box. ¡°Here ya go,¡± the clerk said, placing the box on the counter, right by the credit card scanner. Before George finalized the purchase, he asked, ¡°Will I get a refund on the monthly fee too?¡± ¡°As far as I know, there is no monthly fee. At least, I wasn¡¯t told otherwise. I think this is all you need,¡± said the clerk, tapping on the little box. ¡°If you want to return it, there should be a slip of paper inside. You just fill it out, bring the required materials back, and you¡¯ll get a full refund for your purchase. But if you haven¡¯t opened it, you won¡¯t need to do all that. You can just return the package as is. If we¡¯re closed and gone by then, just ship the materials back to the address that¡¯s included on the receipt.¡± ¡°Ah. Okay,¡± George said, shaking his head. ¡°Thank you.¡± He then headed out and walked to his apartment. When he returned home he went straight to his room. He placed the box on the side table by his bed, then logged onto the computer. The first thing he did¡ªmerely out of curiosity¡ªwas revisit the YouTube video from last night. Much to his surprise, the view count had reached over 20 million. He scrolled down to check the comments. He read through them, and they more or less said things along the lines of:
"Total rip-off!"
"Swindler!"
"This guy''s a waste of time, and the game''s probably the same."
"Not going to even try this."
"#DreamWorld4Life"
After going through more comments, he began regretting his purchase. I made a mistake, didn¡¯t I? He sat still for a long moment, staring at the screen. Then he took out his phone: his balance was now just a little over $10,000. He set the phone down and contemplated in silence. I¡¯ve wasted so much time on these dumb things. Is it finally time for me to move on? Overcome with emotions, he fell back into his chair, seemingly coming to a decision right then and there. Yeah¡­ I can¡¯t live like this forever¡­ I¡¯ll go return it right now. He got up and put his coat back on, walking over to the side of his bed to get the package. He grudgingly drifted his way to the door. But just as his hand touched the doorknob, his phone rang. He held the phone up to check who was calling. It was Chase, his closest friend from Dream World.Although, that all seemed like a distant memory to him now. George hesitated to take the call but ultimately picked up. ¡°What do you want?¡± he said. ¡°Hey, George! How¡¯ve you been? You still aren¡¯t gloomy, are you? Me and the gang have been waiting for you. Well, me and the gang minus you-know-who.¡± George didn¡¯t respond. After a moment of silence, Chase restarted the conversation. ¡°Cheer up, buddy,¡± he said. ¡°Anyways, I was calling to ask if you¡¯ve seen the new YouTube video about that new VRMMO. Have you seen it?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± George responded. ¡°Why¡¯re you asking?¡± ¡°What do you think? Are you going to try it? We can start new and rise to the top together.¡± Silence from George, once again. ¡°Come on! Don¡¯t be like this. Don¡¯t you wanna play with us again?¡± George looked at the little white box he carried under his arm. A little white box that he was just on his way to return. He was just about to leave, too. Until this guy called. ¡°No,¡± George said plainly. Chase became silent and remained so because he knew George¡¯s situation well and how much pain George had suffered. He waited an appropriate amount of time before he responded. ¡°Well¡­If you change your mind, call me. Okay?¡± George continued looking at the little VR package, seemingly not caring for what Chase was saying. ¡°Yeah. Sure.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ Bye...¡± Chase hung up, a little torn. After talking with Chase, George was too stressed to walk back to the store. He went back to his bed and placed the box on his nightstand. He then collapsed down on the bed, stretching his arms and legs across, folding his arms behind his head, and stared at the ceiling. He thought about Chase, who was really someone precious to him. Together, they had formed a good duo in their early levels of Dream World and eventually managed to start a guild together. Albeit, a very small one. Nonetheless, they had an amazing adventure together. ¡°Tch. Chase, you idiot,¡± George said, stressed over the fact that it had been Chase who called. He sighed. ¡°Why you of all people?¡± He stared dully at the ceiling for well over half an hour thinking about what he was going to do. He turned his head to the side, gazing at the small package on his nightstand. A glimmer of sentimentality sparkled in his eyes. He turned his head back up and scoffed to himself. Aloud, he softly said, ¡°I guess it won¡¯t hurt.¡± George closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. Strangely, with the slightest smile on his face.
Friday, 6:00 AM. George woke up as soon as his alarm went off. He woke up brighter and more fresh than usual, letting out a healthy yawn. He had had a good night¡¯s sleep, something he hadn¡¯t had in a long time. He woke up with a smile on his face, and he didn¡¯t know why exactly, but he was a little happy, excited even. He got up and went to make himself a cup of coffee, a thing he considered a luxury. It was something he would only drink when he was in a good mood. He took a sip, and breathed deeply, fully appreciating the aroma. I think I¡¯ll take a run through Central Park today. Then I¡¯ll walk Mrs. Newmann''s dogs. I should probably go back to Downtown Manhattan and¡ªNo, I¡¯ll look for a job again on Monday. I should probably get some new clothes, too. I should be home before the game¡¯s server goes live. He sniffed his armpit. I should probably take a shower first. He finished his coffee, thoroughly rinsing the cup afterward, as well as washing the pile of dishes that had been stacking for the past week. Then, he went to take a nice, hot shower. After getting out of the shower, the first thing he did was open the window curtains, something he¡¯d left closed for a long time. What he saw amazed him: a beautiful sunny morning, and before him, a scenery of buildings and trees being accented by the warm light. The light that came through the window even glimmered in his eyes, highlighting his dark brown eyes. He took a good, deep breath. ¡°Today¡¯s going to be a good day!¡± he exhaled. After appreciating the view for a solid minute, he put on a nice windbreaker jogging suit and did some light stretching, then went out the door. Two hours later, George returned, all covered in sweat. He was gasping and breathing heavily. I¡¯m more out of shape than I thought. Although he was slender, seemingly ''healthy,'' George had not worked out or exercised for several months. Not since he quit Dream World. He also had starved himself because of his tight budget. As such, it was appropriate to call him "out of shape." ¡°I don¡¯t think I can walk the dogs today,¡± he exhaled. He felt a long drip of sweat run down the side of his face and wiped it off with his finger. ¡°I need to take a shower again, too.¡± He immediately stripped down and hopped into the shower. After coming out from a healthy, five-minute cold shower, he slid himself into a comfortable pair of pajama pants and a plain white T and lay on the bed. He exhaled, looking straight at the ceiling. Then, he looked over at the VR package. Curious, he brought out his phone. Chase lives in Oregon, doesn''t he? He probably doesn¡¯t have the equipment yet... I¡¯ll play a for a day or two, and if it¡¯s any good, I¡¯ll give him a call. He closed his eyes. I¡¯ll just take a short nap¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Some time later, George opened his eyes, blinking without a thought. He abruptly got up and checked the time on his phone.
5:55 PM
Shit! George looked at the package: a major facepalm moment. I didn¡¯t even open it yet! He ran to the kitchen to get a knife. He searched through the drawer where he usually put the kitchen utensils, but he couldn¡¯t find one. It was only after two minutes of rummaging the rest of the cabinets and drawers that he finally found the damn thing. He scurried back to his room, whereupon grabbing hold of the package, he swiftly but carefully sliced through the seal and tape. He opened it, ignoring all other miscellaneous things besides the equipment. He hurriedly unwrapped the equipment, which was a pair of black electrodes with silver lining, both of which were attached to a circular white dial that fit perfectly in the palm of the hand. He placed the electrodes on his temples and rested on the bed. George took slow, deep breaths. He checked his phone one last time to verify the time.
5:59:34: PM
He closed his eyes, and comfortably adjusted his resting position, taking one final breath.
6:00:00 PM
A bright light shone, and George drifted deep away. He soon found himself conscious again, but it was in absolute darkness. He couldn¡¯t see anything. He blinked multiple times to make sure he hadn¡¯t gone blind; he thought he had. It was then that he saw light. Something radiated from behind him. He turned around and saw a figure descending from above, silhouetted by a luminous light. As the figure drew closer, George could see that it was a tall, beautiful lady. She wore an ornate dress that was lined and laced with platinum. Her hair was silver-white and waved down arm¡¯s length. She had piercing grey eyes, and her skin was reminiscent of a white sand beach. This angel, as it would be more than appropriate to call her, gracefully landed before George. What is this feeling? This pressure¡­ ¡°Greetings, traveler. Welcome,¡± the angelic being said, in a calm, serene voice. ¡°Seeing as you have arrived here, I assume you wish to travel to Albamania." Albamania¡­? Is that the name of this game¡¯s world? Unsure of how to respond, George simply nodded. ¡°Very well,¡± she said. ¡°First, tell me your name.¡± I see. So she must be an NPC. I guess that means this is where I create my character¡­ This is completely different from Dream World. In Dream World, character creation also happened for the first time when a person logged into the game. During character creation, one would create their avatar¡¯s name. However, in Dream World, an NPC does not greet you. You simply entered your name into the virtual screen and then chose your race. Then, you¡¯d be transported to the game¡¯s world. George took a moment to think of his character''s name. Should I stick with my Dream World name? No... I shouldn¡¯t. Deciding not to stick with hisDream World name, he browsed through his mental catalog of in-game names. However, he realized they were all super lame and childish. Many of them were along the lines of ''Noobkiller.'' Or even worse, things like ''xXxSuperGamerxXx.'' But then, after delving deep into his memories, heremembered a name he had adored when was younger. And that was the name he was going to use for this new game. ¡°Traveler?¡± spoke the angel. George gulped. ¡°Ryu. My name is Ryu.¡± ¡°Are you certain?¡± And resolute, George nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± the NPC said. ¡°Now, Ryu¡­¡± She drew out a plain, dull orb from out of her robe. ¡°Place your hand on this.¡± George looked at the object and hesitated for a moment but did as he was told. When he placed his hand on it, it glistened with a pure white and sparkling luminescence. The NPC raised the corners of her lips just faintly as if she were delighted. She spoke in a soft manner, with an intrigued tone: ¡°Oh? So this is what you are¡­ Interesting.¡± It¡¯s so warm. No¡­ Not quite. But it has a warmth to it. Just what is this? The angel continued. ¡°I have only one question for you: Why are you here?¡± Why am I here? What kind of question is that? George briefly thought about giving the most objective answer, which was "Because this is a game, and I¡¯m here to play it.¡± Of course, that was such an obvious and idiotic answer that he dismissed it entirely. He even considered answering along the lines of "I¡¯m here to help rid of Albamania¡¯s lands of evil.¡± But that, too, seemed wrong. She¡¯s looking for a serious response, isn¡¯t she? George understood at that moment that this was a much deeper question than what it seemed to be. The question itself was beyond cheesy. Yet, there was an undeniable truth to it. ''Why?'' That¡¯s always the question, isn¡¯t it? He lowered his eyes, melancholic. Images of him standing over a mountain of players¡¯ dead corpses came to his mind. Images of wealth, fame, and glory. Of course, deep down, George knew all of those were just material things¡ªprideful things one would want only for the purpose of bragging. But he wasn¡¯t that type of person. George then saw other images entering his mind. Images¡ªmemories, rather¡ªof happiness, joy, and adventure. A group of laughter and smiles all around. Just thinking about it made his eyes water. He cleared his throat and restrained his emotions, then sighed with profound relief. But he was also sad. It was the kind of sadness one felt when they realized how helpless they were when faced with the inevitable. When they realized and saw their true self. And when George saw his true self, he felt pain. Most of all, he felt shame. But that shame was something he couldn¡¯t afford to dwell on any longer. Of course¡­ This is what she was looking for, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s always what they¡¯re looking for¡­ Always. ¡°Hmmph¡­¡± George scoffed, smiling and shaking his head, coming to terms with the truth¡ªhis own truth. ¡°I ask again, traveler,¡± the angel said. ¡°Why are you here?¡± George composed and straightened himself, and with the most confidence in his voice and sincerity in his eyes, he finally answered. ¡°Because I want to have fun!¡± Upon hearing these words, the angel¡¯s face appeared shocked, but only for an instant. ¡°Hoh?¡± she said, grinning. ¡°Is that so?¡± She looked at George, smiling with great curiosity. The sphere then glared, intensifying in its pure white brilliance. The light from the orb blinded George, continuing to grow in radiance, until finally, George re-opened his eyes, and the light dissipated. George saw that the orb was now just a dull, cloudy orb. The only light that remained now was emanating from the NPC, who was maintaining a calm face. Seeing that the angel spoke no further, George believed things had come to an end, and so took his hand off the orb. As he did that, the sphere disintegrated into the air. The NPC then raised her hand, and with an elegant waving motion of her hand, a portal appeared. ¡°We are done here,¡± she said. ¡°Go forth, traveler.¡± Dazzled, George approached the portal. ¡°Where will this take me?¡± he asked. ¡°You should already know,¡± the angel said, smiling. George gulped and walked before the portal. He was about to step through, but then remembered something. ¡°Wait! What about my race? We forgot about that! ¡­Is there no race selection in this game? Are there even...races...in¡­this¡­game¡­?¡± He paused, awkward, realizing that he was probably spewing nonsense to this NPC. The angel did not respond, maintaining only a half-smiling face. A little disappointed but still firm with his decision to partake in this new adventure, George nodded farewell to the NPC. He then stepped through the portal with an unshakable resolve. His adventure¡ªor rather, Ryu¡¯s adventure¡ªhad just now begun. Chapter 2: What Happens When You Step Into a Portal? Ryu found himself in the most precarious situation: He was falling from the sky. ¡°AHHHHH!¡± he screamed. The wind was horrifically beating against his face and his body was flipping about. After a mortifying ten minutes, he eventually crashed onto the sweet earth. POOF! He made a full, frontal landing on his face. Miraculously, he got up just fine.His only discomfort came from the dirt, dust, and pieces of grass that had entered through his nostrils. ¡°What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck! What the fuck was that portal doing there!?¡± he shouted. He felt his body and face all over, laughing hysterically. ¡°I¡¯m alive!¡± He shook his body vigorously to rid himself of the thick dirt that had covered him. As he was dusting off his arm, he noticed something peculiar about his shirt. These are¡­ my real-world clothes! Was I wearing them when I first entered the game? How¡ª Suddenly, he heard faint screaming. It grew louder and louder. ¡°AAHHH!¡± someonescreamed. Then shortly¡ªPOOF! Someone hit the ground on the other side of a hill not too far from his landing site. Ryu wiped the remaining dirt and grass off and went to investigate. The person, who turned out to be a tall, young man, also around the same age as him, was coughing and dusting himself. Hewore a blue t-shirt and grey sweatpants. He looked up and noticed Ryu walking toward him. ¡°Hey!¡± he waved, coughing. Ryu approached, carefully trudging down the hill. When the two finally came face-to-face, the young man extended out his right hand for a handshake. ¡°The name¡¯s Sexy Guy! What¡¯s yours?¡± he said, smiling with a dirt-covered face. Ryu¡¯s expression momentarily became one of embarrassment. He had no qualms with people and personalities like this ''Sexy Guy.'' In fact, Ryu remembered that Chase was the same. Although in Chase¡¯s case, his character name had been ''Hot Chase.'' When Ryu first met him in Dream World, he gagged with humiliation, as he believed people like Chase to exist as stereotypes in manga or anime. Basically, just a dumb brute. However, it turned out that he was a very sweet guy. Although, truth be told¡­hewas a little slow¡­in the head¡­. Ryu sighed, lips slightly upturned. Company¡¯s nice at least. It¡¯s probably best to party up anyways. Ryu accepted the handshake. ¡°Ryu.¡± ¡°It¡¯s night to meet you, Ryu!¡± said Sexy Guy, gleeful-faced. Sexy Guy turned his head left and right, sweeping around. But he couldn¡¯t see much since the hills were blocking the view. ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just got here as well,¡± said Ryu. The two of them hiked up one of the bigger hills and scouted the landscape. All around were endless fields and hills of crops, seemingly going on for miles, and a dirt road running through. But off in the distance, across a ravine, they noticed the horizon of trees and a hazy part in the sky, which signaled to them that there was fire¡ªa village. And so, the two of them set out in that direction.
While they had been walking, Ryu had tried to open up the in-game menus. He was stuck in thought, his finger to his chin. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he pondered aloud. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± said Sexy Guy. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to open up the character screen, but it isn¡¯t showing up. I can¡¯t even open up the communication or party menu. Not even the basic menu is showing. The only thing that I¡¯ve been able to open is the ¡®Log Off¡¯ screen¡­¡±
Would you like to log off?
Yes / No
¡°¡­But the ¡®Yes¡¯ button is faded. I keep tapping on it, but it¡¯s not doing anything.¡± ¡°Well, the developer did say there wasn¡¯t any testing done on this game. Maybe it¡¯s just a bug. They¡¯ll probably make a server announcement sooner or later. Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡± ¡°Yeah... You¡¯re probably right,¡± said Ryu. He was a little worried, but Sexy Guy¡¯s words re-assured him, for the moment. ¡°Look!¡± Sexy Guy pointed. He pointed to a horse caravan up ahead, which was just about to cross the river¡¯s bridge. The two rushed towards the caravan, waving their hands in the air and yelling, trying to get the attention of the elderly man who was riding on it. But the elderly man didn¡¯t seem to notice or hear them. It was then, as the caravan was crossing the river, that a section of the bridge collapsed. One of the back wheels fumbled betweena gap in the planks and caused the caravan to momentarily tip over sideways. This, in turn, caused a barrel from inside the caravan to roll out. It broke open and spilled its content over the area. The back wheel landed on the slippery mess and slid across the planks of the bridge. It created just enough momentum to knock the old man off and cause the back part of the caravan to slide over the edge. Several barrels and crates of goods slipped out, crashing into the water. ¡°Hey! Watch out!¡± Sexy Guy yelled, rushing to the scene with Ryu. ¡°You get the horse! I¡¯ll get the elder!¡± said Ryu. Sexy Guy nodded. The horse was right on the edge of slipping off, but Sexy Guy managed to grab hold of the reins. Fortunately, the caravan was still on the bridge, still sliding over, but slow enough so Sexy Guy could react in time. He quickly undid the reins of the horse and pulled the heavy creature off the bridge. Once most of the caravan¡¯s bulk was over the edge, the entire cart suddenly slipped. The vehicle splashed into the turbulent water some forty feet below. At the same time that Sexy Guy saved the horse, the elderly man had tumbled to the edge of the bridge. But because the bridgehad become slippery, he couldn¡¯t properly stop himself and ended up slipping halfway off. He tried to pull himself up, but the planks were too slimy.He fell. Zooming into the scene, Ryu leaped across the planks, grabbing ahold of the elder¡¯s arm. However, the old man was heavier than Ryu expected. Shit! I can¡¯t hold on! ¡°Don¡¯t let go!¡± Ryu said. ¡°I¡¯ve got y¡ª¡± The liquid on the elder¡¯s hands caused Ryu to lose hold. The old man¡¯s hand soon slipped away. But just as that happened, a long arm appeared from behind Ryu and managed to grab the old man¡¯s wrist. It was Sexy Guy, who after securing the safety of the horse, came to Ryu¡¯s aid. The two struggled for a bit, but they eventually saved the elderly man.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it In a strange language, the elder graciously thanked the two, bowing his head, to which Ryu and Sexy Guy responded by also bowing their heads. The elder then walked over to his horse, which was now safe from harm, and comforted it. As they were also stressed from the encounter, the two players went and rested under a tree next to the old man. ¡°That was close,¡± Ryu sighed. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Eh, it was no biggie,¡± Sexy Guy said, casually. It was at this time that a group of riders on horses was coming over the pass, riding towards the group. The elder stood up, signaling where he was. When the horsemen finally arrived, they greeted the old man in a respectful manner. One of the riders came down and helped him get on the caravan horse. Once he was straddled on, the elder gestured to Ryu and Sexy Guy to come over. He pointed in the direction beyond the pass and muttered in his strange language. The elder shook his head with a smile and left with the horsemen. Ryu and Sexy Guy nodded to each other and followed suit. On foot, of course. Just a short while after the riders left, Sexy Guy curiously said aloud, ¡°Don¡¯t you find it strange?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± muttered Ryu. ¡°The NPCs spoke in a foreign language,¡± Guy said. ¡°We won¡¯t be able to do anything if we can¡¯t talk to them. I for sure thought that languages would be automatically translated for us. Maybe it¡¯s a glitch?¡± Ryu remained composed. He had already been thinking about the oddities of this new game ever since entering it. He fixed his eyes to the ground, thinking. ¡­It really is too unconventional. Impractical, really. Could it really just be a glitch? He spoke softly, turning his back up, ¡°Yeah. Perhaps.¡± He remained vigilant as the two continued their way.
As the two players approached the village, they noticed the town¡¯s stone fencing and guard towers. They weren¡¯t defenses worthy of a king, but they seemed to do their jobs just fine. Although, it seemed like they weren¡¯t even needed, as the town had a warmth and a safe feeling to it. The encompassing pine forest complimented the cobblestone walls nicely, adding a rustic charm as well. The tower guards didn¡¯t have a mean grimace as you¡¯d expect, either. In fact, they waved at the two players when they came in sight. Upon reaching the village entrance, Ryu and Sexy Guy saw that the old man from before was waiting for them. He was waiting with an elderly woman who dressed most modestly: a well-knit beige gown that dropped just above her ankles; laced moccasins that were mildly worn; and vibrant grey hair that was tied in a bun to reveal the most gentle features of a well-aged woman. The woman approached them and spoke in the foreign language from before. Sexy Guy whispered to Ryu. ¡°I still don¡¯t think they can understand us.¡± Ryu nodded but did not stray his attention from the elderly woman. The elderly woman took out a pouch, and from it, she took out two brown crystal necklaces. She gestured to Sexy Guy. ¡°Me?¡± Sexy Guy said, pointing to himself. The elderly woman nodded. Sexy Guy went up to her and instinctively lowered his head, around which the elderly woman laid the brown crystal necklace. She then gestured to Ryu to do the same, which he did, and she gently lowered the other necklace over his head. ¡°There we go,¡± she said. ¡°I hope you two can understand me now.¡± The elderly man walked forwards and bowed. ¡°Thank you, youngsters,¡± he said, grateful. ¡°You saved my life. I¡¯m forever grateful. That old bridge, I¡¯ve been telling my grandson to fix it.¡± He laughed in embarrassment. ¡°Please do forgive me for the trouble that I¡¯ve caused.¡± ¡°It was no trouble at all,¡± Sexy Guy said, proudly. The elderly man chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m Roland. I¡¯m the elder of this village.¡± ¡°I am Sexy Guy.¡± ¡°I am Ryu.¡± ¡°Well, Sexy Guy and Ryu, please, if it isn¡¯t too much trouble to you both, why don¡¯t you stay for the night?¡± he said. ¡°By the looks of it, you two have traveled far. Please, I insist.¡± Both Ryu and Sexy Guy jolted out of surprise, but they were as subtle as possible with their reaction. He spoke our names! In Dream World, NPCs could inquire players about their avatar names via system logs. This was simply for book-keeping and system-keeping measures. It was common protocol for NPCs to record the names of players so that the system could keep track of all player-to-NPC interactions. However, in Dream World, no NPCs spoke the names of players. AI-voiced system messages sometimes included player names, depending on what kind of message and how lengthy the player name was. But for NPCs? No. Never. There are two reasons for this: first, there was no set maximum character length for avatar names. Therefore, if an NPC could speak a player¡¯s name, for those players with ridiculously long names, it would have taken loads of timevoicing the names. This applied to system messages as well. It would have been a huge inconvenience. And second, the most obvious reason: even though Dream World had been the most technologically advanced with its VR and AI, the developers could not fully program all the nuances of name pronunciation for every possible name and character in the world. Therefore, they decided not to include namevoicing into the NPC¡¯s coding. Simply put, the knowledge and technology didn¡¯t exist to make it available. Is this AI even more advanced than Dream World¡¯s? Ryu stopped with his thinking and continued on with the formalities. He addressed Roland with the greatest of formalities. ¡°Sir, we would be beyond appreciative if you let us stay for the night.¡± ¡°Hoh. You¡¯re quite polite, youngster,¡± he laughed. Upon hearing hislaughter, the woman casually hit his hand with hers. Roland stop chuckling when she did so. Roland coughed, composing himself in a respectful manner. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have duties to attend to. It was a pleasure meeting you both. This is my wife, Mirvena.¡± Roland gestured his hand to the elderly woman. ¡°She¡¯ll help settle you in.¡± He put up a broad smile and left. The elderly woman remained behind. She clasped her hands together and lowered her head. ¡°Thank you for saving that clumsy husband of mine,¡± she said. ¡°I am Mirvena. As part of our thanks, we have arranged for you to stay at the Buckwheat Inn. If you would please follow me.¡±
Mirvena brought the two players to the Buckwheat Inn¡¯s door, which was just about a block from the entrance. ¡°The innkeeper has left town to take care of business, but she should return tomorrow,¡± Mirvena said. ¡°The door has been unlocked just for you two. If you two would like, I could have someone come and give you a short tour of the town while the sun hasn¡¯t set.¡± Ryu raised his hand. ¡°We appreciate it, but we have walked a long way today. I think we will stay here and rest for now.¡± Guy respectfully gave an agreeing nod. Mirvena lowered her head. ¡°Please, let us know if you need anything. And thank you both again for your help.¡± She bowed gracefully and left. Upon her leave, the two players opened the door to see a spacious tavern. It was well-kept; the windows maintained a sheen to them as if they were scrubbed and cleaned every morning, and the chairs and furniture weren¡¯t splintered, a good indication of how well the patrons treated the place. There was a healthy basket of fruit on each table, each filled with exotic fruits the two men had never seen before. Across the room was an open hearth behind a long wooden counter with stool seating, almost looking like a bar. An aromatic steam was coming from the kitchen area. Sexy Guy¡¯s stomach growled. He dashed over to the counter, on which two generously portioned plates laid. They looked piping hot, as if they had just been prepared and served. ¡°Ah! This smells¡­*inhale*¡­so ¡­*inhale*¡­gooood!¡± He was drooling. He looked around to see if anyone was around but saw no one. Ryu was about to let out a stomach growl, too, but he stretched and tensed his stomach muscles to lessen the sound. He was quite the humble character. He gently pulled the stool to the side, sat down, and began eating. ¡°Wah?!¡± Sexy Guy said. ¡°Dude, that¡¯s just rude. You just stole someone¡¯s meal.¡± Ryu ignored Sexy Guy¡¯s remarks and continued eating. Sexy Guy surveyed the inn one more time, seeing no one. He gulped and hesitantly sat himself down, too. ¡°Well, if we get caught, I¡¯ll say it was your idea,¡± he said, pouting his mouth. He dug his face into the plate, munching on a slab of meat that tasted like steak. The corner of Ryu¡¯s mouth slid upwards, but he didn¡¯t bother commenting. Both players simply appreciated what was before them and appeased their appetites, thankful for the meal. After they were done, they settled into a medium-sized room that had been unlocked. There were two beds on each side of the wall, and a small oval window in-between that let just the perfect amount of moonlight through. Sexy Guy claimed the right bed, giving Ryu the left. Ryu didn''t care which bed he got though. Ryu checked the ''Log Off'' screen periodically,but to no avail, still nothing. ¡°You¡¯re still doing that?¡± said Sexy Guy, lying on his bed, yawning and looking at Ryu with tired eyes. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure the developer will make an announcement tomorrow. Go to bed,¡± Sexy Guy said and turned to the wall. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be worried?¡± ¡°Hmm? Why should I be? It¡¯s just a game¡­ Anyways, I¡¯m going to sleep now. I¡¯ll talk to you in the morning.¡± Ryu lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Just a game, huh? Suddenly, Sexy Guyyelled and stood up on his bed."Aahhh! Sleeping!? In a game?!¡± "...You realized that just now?" said Ryu, blankly. Both players looked at each other, Sexy Guy totally shocked, with a comic, baffled expression. Ryu turned away to his side of the wall."I''ll talk to you tomorrow," he said. Chapter 3: Token of Appreciation Ryu opened his eyes to the warmth of the morning light; Sexy Guy was still asleep, his blanket half-covering his bare chest. Ryu turned his head up to the ceiling. He blinked a few times and then rose up. As he did so, he heard a clanking noise coming from downstairs. Curious, he put on the brown crystal necklace and went down to investigate. As he closed the door behind him, Sexy Guy was slowly waking up, yawning out of his slumber. When Ryu came down the stairs he found a middle-aged woman working the kitchen. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re awake!¡± the woman said. ¡°I¡¯ve prepared breakfast. Please, sit.¡± She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Elaine, the keeper of this inn. I had some business outside of town yesterday, so I wasn¡¯t able to meet you. You must be Ryu. Roland told me about you. Quite heroic if I say so myself.¡± Ryu put up a humble half-smile. ¡°It was nothing.¡± Elaine warmly smiled back. A rumbling came down the stairs, and the two of them saw a tired Sexy Guy yawning and rubbing his eyes. He sat down on the stool next to Ryu. ¡°Look who¡¯s awake,¡± said Elaine. ¡°I assume you¡¯re the Sexy Guy who saved Maggie, Roland¡¯s horse.¡± Still in an early morning phase, it took a moment for him to process Elaine¡¯s words. After coming to a realization, he blushed. ¡°Uhh¡­.¡± He hesitated for a second to think of how to respond. Rather quickly, he came up with an ''appropriate'' response. ¡°Guy! Please, call me Guy!¡± ¡°Guy? Is Sexy Guy not your name?¡± Elaine said. Sexy Guy¡¯s face was red. Ryu shook his head in amusement. ¡°Well, you see, Guy is my nickname. It¡¯s what everyone calls me. So please, call me Guy from now on.¡± Elaine stood silent, blinking. ¡°Okay. Works for me!¡± She shrugged, smiling, and went back to tending the little cauldron over in the hearth. She sipped on the stew that had been cooking for several hours. ¡°Perfect,¡± she said, wiping her hands on her apron. She walked across the open dining area to the back counters and scrambled through the cabinets. While her back was turned Ryu snickered at Guy. ¡°Shut up. If I had known these NPCs could say my name, I would''ve never gone with it,¡± Guy whispered. ¡°I know it might seem a bit narcissistic, but I¡¯m actually a decent guy. It¡¯s not my fault¡ª" As Elaine returned with two large ceramic bowls in her hands, an embarrassed Guy coughed and lowered his voice, stopping mid-sentence. ¡°Here you go,¡± Elaine said, placing the two bowls in front of the players. She then steadily poured the stew into each of them until they were full. Guy¡¯s stomach growled, which embarrassed him quite a bit, seeing as he had eaten quite a large plate of food last night. Elaine laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back. Please, enjoy!¡± With no delay, the young men dove into their meal. Ryu ate in a decent and reserved manner. Guy, on the other hand, he was gobbling all he could fit into each spoonful. Elaine returned with a pile of clothes in her arms. ¡°Here. These are my sons¡¯. You two should be around the same size as them. They shouldn¡¯t mind.¡± She handed them each a set of male commonwear, the larger set to Guy and the smaller set to Ryu. ¡°Also, Roland would like to meet with the two of you,¡± she added. ¡°When you¡¯re done, I¡¯ll take you to the town hall. I¡¯ll leave you two at it.¡± She smiled and left. And with that, Ryu and Guy continued on with their morning meal, Guy still chomping away. After they finished, they went upstairs to change into their ¡®new¡¯ clothes and tossed away their old ones, whichwere lathered by the sticky ooze from yesterday''s bridge incident. The two players graciously tidied up their beds, and after, Elaine dropped them off at the town hall where Roland had his office. Elaine bid the players farewell and rode out of town in her wagon, as she had more out-of-town duties that day.
When Ryu and Guy entered Roland¡¯s office, they first saw how organized it was. It was like a mini library suite: shelves of books all against the walls, with a neat pile of them sitting on Roland¡¯s desk; red drapes that were well-kept and dusted; and a large window view of the rustic town life. It was a genuine scholar¡¯s chamber. Roland was sitting at his desk reading a scroll, but he stopped when the two players entered. ¡°Ah, there you two are! You must excuse an old man. My hearing isn¡¯t good these days. I didn¡¯t hear you knock. Please, come. I have some things for the two of you.¡± The two players approached the desk. Roland stood up, holding some items in his hands. He waddled to the two young men and handed them each a small parcel. ¡°It seems like the two of you aren¡¯t carrying much. This is but a small token of my appreciation. It isn¡¯t much, but I hope you¡¯re able to make do with it.¡± Both players looked into their pouches and saw that inside were gold coins. Ryu seemed to have no reaction at all, but Guy was drooling. Roland then handed them each a book whose cover and binding were made out of a smooth, black leather. ¡°Those journals are no ordinary items. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be of great use.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± both players said. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing,¡± Roland laughed. ¡°Is there anything else you need?¡± Ryu then added, ¡°Where can we get equipment?¡± ¡°Equipment?¡± Roland said.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Like swords and bows and arrows. Weapons.¡± ¡°Ah. Well, there are a few shops around town, but they have a very limited selection of items. You may also ask the blacksmith to make weapons for you. Although, that could take quite some time, maybe even some materials, which you two probably don¡¯t have,¡± he said. Roland stroked his chin. ¡°May I ask why you need weapons?¡± ¡°We wish to train,¡± said Guy, clenching his fist, excited. ¡°Train?¡± ¡°We wish to go hunting for monsters,¡± Ryu said. Curious by Ryu¡¯s response, Roland walked up to the young men, carefully observing them. ¡°Hmm. I see. I see,¡± he said, nodding. A lightbulb then went off in his head. ¡°Oh! I know someone who might be able to help you. But¡­¡± ¡°...Is there a problem?¡± Ryu asked. ¡°The thing is, this person lives in the Brown Forest. I¡¯m afraid for you two it¡¯ll be quite dangerous.¡± Ryu looked at Guy, and they both nodded at each other. ¡°We understand the risk.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Roland said, nodding. ¡°The man you¡¯re looking for is Bors. He served in the Moratian army several years ago. While he isn¡¯t at all the greatest fighter, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll teach you enough to get you both started on your adventure.¡± Roland went back to the drawer of his desk and grabbed something. ¡°You can tell him that I sent you. If he wants proof, show this to him.¡± Roland presented Ryu with a small bronze pin in the shape of a bear. Ryu extended out his palm and accepted it. ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing! You saved my life. I¡¯ll help you in any way that I can,¡± Roland said. ¡°Anyhow, the Brown Forest is quite some ways from here, so you two should head out as soon as you can. You don¡¯t want to be out alone on the western road after sunset. If you need supplies and weapons, check out the bazaar before heading out. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find some things you¡¯ll like.¡± ¡°Thank you. We appreciate all the help you¡¯ve given us,¡± Ryu said. Roland smiled. ¡°Good luck, travelers.¡± With that, the players gave one final thanks and left, and headed to the center of town.
The bazaar was a circular market of stalls in the center of town, many of which sold exotic produce and goods that the two players had never come across. The buildings around were all shops, stores, and bakeries, selling clothing and assortments of foods and baked goods. Even though there weren¡¯t many people strolling through, the atmosphere was friendly. At the heart of the market was a large statuary marble fountain of a warrior-like figure holding a spear. Ryu, strangely curious and drawn, stopped just for a moment to glance at it. ¡°Hey, look!¡± Guy said, pointing to a small shop with a shield sign dangling above the door. The two players headed to the weapons shop. Ryu looked back at the statue one last time before entering the door. Upon entering the shop, the owner greeted them with a warm smile, Guy happily waving back. The two players wasted no time and began looking through the items. While they were going through the display of weapons and armor Ryu tried looking at the items¡¯ stats, but nothing was showing up. He tried several methods, but none of them worked. This made him more curious about this new VR world. ¡°I can¡¯t see the stats,¡± Ryu said. ¡°It¡¯s fine, we can just ask the shopkeeper,¡± Guy said. ¡°Excuse me!¡± he yelled to the shopkeeper. ¡°What level andquality is this weapon?¡± Guy said, raising up a sword. ¡°I''m afraid I don''t know. All the items in this shop are Unidentified.¡± said the shopkeeper. "How come they''re all Unidentified?" asked Guy. "I don''t have the skill to Identify items. Nor can I afford to pay an Appraiser to Identify them," the shopkeeper said. "I''m afraid this is all that I have to offer you." Ryu was keen. Once the shopkeeper had responded, Ryu¡¯s suspicions were re-affirmed. "Alright, thank you," Ryu said. "Do you knowof any shopsselling Magic-tier items in this town," Guy asked the shopkeeper. "Magic-tier? What do you mean?" the shopkeeper responded. Just as Guy was about to comment on that response, Ryu interrupted. ¡°Please, don¡¯t mind my friend here,¡± said Ryu to the shopkeeper. ¡°It seems we were mistaken.¡± The two went off minding their own business, inspecting the gear. ¡°What was that for?¡± said Guy. ¡°This doesn''t seem tobe like Dream World or any other VRMMO we''ve played. It probably uses a different system of tiersfor items.¡± Ryu said in a low voice. Guy frowned, but his facial expression showed that he also agreed with that Ryu said. ¡°Ah...you''re probably right,¡± he said. ¡°What should we do then?¡± ¡°Keep playing. We need to find out more about this world.¡± Guy nodded. ¡°Gotcha.¡± Ryu inspected a sword. He looked up and down the blade for a while. This had been the first time that he had to inspect any item like this for any VR. Usually, for any VR, you would have the item appraised and identified by an appraiser or yourself¡ªgranted if you had the Appraise skill. He tilted the blade downwards, upwards, sideways, and all sorts of ways until he made sure he had inspected all the blade¡¯s angles. He eyed down every edge to check for any chips or cracks. Suddenly, he felt a strange surge of energy resonating in him. It was the faintest feeling, but he could feel it. He felt that it was as if his intuition and observation skills had become keener. He looked at the blade once more, and for a slight second, he thought he saw a very tiny glow about the sword. But he quickly dismissed any ideas he was having and recomposed himself. He continued observing the blade, wary of what just happened. He took a long hard look at the blade. ¡°Are you going to buy that?¡± said Guy. ¡°Oh,¡± Ryu said, coming back to reality. ¡°Yeah. It doesn''t seem too bad.¡± ¡°Great. Then let¡¯s go to the counter,¡± said a smiley Guy, carrying all sorts of weapons and goods in his arms.
Ryu and Guy approached the western gate and found Mirvena waiting for them. She gave the two young men a gentle look. ¡°Good day, travelers. I hope you enjoyed your stay, even though it was a short one.¡± Then she clasped her hands together, looking down as if she had somehow disappointed the two players. ¡°I know you two are about to embark on a long journey. But if I may, I have a favor to ask the two of you.¡± ¡°Anything, madam,¡± Guy said with confidence. Mirvena chuckled with a warm smile. ¡°Oh, please. I am but an old woman now. Such formalities should be left for the ladies and gentleman.¡± Guy scratched his head, blushing. Ryu stood collected. ¡°What is it that you need from us? If it is anything within our power to do, we will do it.¡± Mirvena extended her right arm, opening her palm in which she held a bronze badge. It was engraved with an image of a man holding a spear. To Ryu, it seemed to be the same man whose statue had been placed in the center of town, although he wasn¡¯t certain. ¡°When I was young, I traveled to many places in Moratia. Among my travels I met a mysterious man who gave me this crest,¡± Mirvena said. ¡°I do not know the history of its origin. And unfortunately, I have not met the man since then to ask its meaning, and I am afraid that he may be long gone from this world. I am an old woman now, so my adventuring days are over. If you would be willing, will you seek out the meaning of this token in my stead?¡± A quest? Ryu humbly bowed. ¡°We will do as you ask.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Mirvena said, and handed the token to Ryu. She then took out a brown book. ¡°What you have around your necks is a magic crystal. I do not know of its origin¡ªno one in this village does. Not even that cumbersome husband of mine who is always reading books. But the crystal allows us to communicate with others from foreign lands and nations. For travelers such as yourselves, it should be of great use. But in case you lose them, here is a book containing the language of Narn¡ªthe language of this town, and also the language of the kingdom of Moratia. I am afraid this is all the help that I can give you. I hope you are able to understand it.¡± She handed the book to Ryu. He accepted it with a firm hand. ¡°Thank you,¡± said Ryu. ¡°You are welcome back to Durn anytime. May the Lord of Protection keep you safe.¡± The pair gave their farewells and set off, a bright day ahead of them. Chapter 4: A Fortunate Encounter Guy rapidly tapped on the ''Log Off'' button. Annoyed, he shouted, ¡°Gah! I still can¡¯t log off! And where the hell is this so-called ¡®Brown Forest¡¯? All I see is the forest!¡± He turned his head, seeing trees and shrubs all around. The two players had already been walking on Durn¡¯s western road for three hours. Before leaving Durn, they had each bought themselves a small flask of water and some slices of white bread, which were wrapped in a green leaf. And now, they were on the last of their provisions. ¡°How long have we even been walking?¡± said a fatigued Guy. Out of breath, he stopped and dropped his equipment down. He collapsed under the shade of a tree. Ryu sat down, too, placing his sword down on the ground. Guy brought out the round canteen from his satchel and dumped the last of his water over his head. Breathing heavily, he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think a VR would be so damn hard to play! These things weigh a ton.¡± Ryu looked at all the equipment Guy bought: a sword and shield; a dagger; another dagger; a leather satchel¡ªmuch larger than his own¡ªand many more miscellaneous items. Then he looked down at his own equipment: his sword and a medium strapped pouch, which was just large enough to hold his canteen of water, some leaves of bread, and the items he had received from Roland and Mirvena. He looked especially at his sword. He¡¯s right. The weight of an item is having an effect on our stamina. In Dream World, an item¡¯s weight, be it armor or weapon, would affect a character¡¯s movement speed and attack speed. Therefore, the heavier and more items you had, the slower you would move and attack. However, this penalty only applied for equipped items. Items in your inventory did not affect your movement and attack speed since, of course, items were held in a virtual inventory. Yet, it seemed that in this game, both ¡°equipped¡± and ¡°inventory¡± items did not simply affect movement speed, but stamina as well. And unlike the penalty in Dream World that had only a flat or constant effect on movement and attack speed, the effect in Second World felt multiplicative. It seemed to represent the real-life notion of ¡®your body can only handle as much as it physically can.¡¯ In this case, it seemed that players could only carry as much as they could as long as they had the physical strength and endurance to do so. It was truly a shame¡ªmore of an inconvenience, really¡ªthat this new VR didn¡¯t have a virtual inventory. Not that it mattered since there wasn¡¯t an inventory window. At least, not to Ryu¡¯s findings. Ryu picked his sword up and unsheathed it, re-examining the weight of it in his hand. I¡¯m lucky I didn¡¯t pick a heavier one. It¡¯s pretty light. He then looked at Guy. It looks like he¡¯ll have to leave some things behind. Sweating, Guy took off his shirt, revealing a lean and athletic body. Seeing it, Ryu¡¯s face flushed with a light pink. ¡°Hmm¡­weird,¡± said Guy, who was checking his abs and arm muscles. ¡°My muscles seem a bit bigger than they were last night¡ªno, this morning.¡± Guy swung his biceps around. ¡°Mmhmm. They¡¯re definitely bigger. Just a little bit. Weird.¡± Guy saw that his black book had fallen out of his satchel, so he picked it up. While he did so, Ryu examined Guy¡¯s body. Strange¡­ He does look a little more lean from this morning. Ryu thought for a moment, trying to piece together all the information he had gathered so far. Maybe, if I¡¯m right¡ª ¡°Look!¡± Guy said, holding his journal. ¡°Something¡¯s written on the first page!¡± Curious, Ryu took out his own journal. He turned to the first page and saw that something had been written.
Find Bors
You have been advised by Roland to travel to the Brown Forest to begin your training. Find Bors in the Brown Forest. Failure is not recommended.
Category: Training
Time Limit: None
Reward: Unknown
Ryu then turned the page, to which he saw more writing:
The Token''s Origin
Find out about the mysterious bronze bade and report back to Mirvena.
You will fail this quest if one of the following conditions are met: The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The Token is lost, stolen, or destroyed.
Mirvena dies.
This is a Party Quest and must be turned in together with [Sexy Guy]. Failure of doing so will result in a lesser reward.
Category: Promise Sub-category: Party Quest
Time Limit: None
Reward: Unknown
This book¡­ It contains quests. No¡­ It records them. ¡°Woah!¡± Guy said, clenching his fists in excitement. ¡°This is sooo cool!¡± Ryu could only smile the tiniest bit. However, deep down, he was most curious and excited. But being that he was still suspicious about this new VR, he held it in. Suddenly, there was rustling in the shrubs. ¡°Guy!¡± Ryu quickly said. Both of them grabbed their swords. Then, two young women appeared, walking out of the shadow of the trees. They stood about 15 feet from the young men. One was caramel-skinned. She had dark wavy hair, shoulder length, and was equipped with owl round glasses. She wore an orange and black-sleeved t-shirt and khaki shorts, with a pair of laced sandals wrapping up her feet. The other girl, several inches taller, approximately the same height has Ryu¡ªjust a few inches shorter than Guy¡ªwas also skinny like the first girl, but a bit more voluptuous. She had dirty blonde hair and wore a tight pink shirt that had a kitten logo and Japanese characters written on it. Her jeans were bleached and fashionably ripped. The only thing she was missing was her shoes. Players? Noticing this, Ryu lowered his sword and gestured to Guy to do the same. ¡°Hello,¡± Ryu said. Hearing his words, the blonde stood with a blank face, almost dumbstruck. Suddenly, she jumped up in excitement and relief. ¡°Oh my god, Suki! They speak English! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! We¡¯re saved!¡± She violently hugged Suki and scurried to Ryu and Guy. ¡°Hi! Nice ta meet ya! I¡¯m Kawaii Kitten,¡± she said, smiling in a cutesy way. Upon hearing her name, Guy looked at the girl, carefully scanning her outfit. Then he broke into a hysteric laughter. ¡°HAHAHAHAHA!¡± he laughed, so hard that his stomach cramped. ¡°It¡¯s a weeb!¡± The blonde stood with a blank face, blinking, and thought about what Guy had just said. Then her faced turned red. ¡°WHAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU LITTLE SHIT?¡± she yelled. Hearing her say this, Guy¡¯s expression change, and he responded, ¡°WHO¡¯S THE LITTLE SHIT, YOU BITCH?¡± The both of them continued bantering and bickering. Meanwhile, the other girl walked over, standing next to Ryu. Both of them sighed from the embarrassing sight before them. ¡°Suki, I presume?¡± asked Ryu. ¡°Yeap,¡± she said. ¡°You?¡± ¡°Ryu.¡± Ryu and Suki awkwardly stood and watched as the other two people in front of them were fighting. It was like watching two kids fight. Suki sighed and drew her attention to the blonde girl. ¡°Kawaii. You can stop now.¡± Ryu gestured to Guy to do the same. ¡°Hmmpf! Fine!¡± Kawaii Kitten said, looking away from Guy. ¡°Sorry for earlier,¡± Ryu said. ¡°Please don¡¯t mind what my friend said. He¡¯s very blunt. I¡¯m sure he didn¡¯t mean to offend you.¡± Kawaii Kitten shifted her eyes at Guy for just a moment and crossed her arms. ¡°Whatever.¡± ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m Ryu. And this is Guy,¡± he said, extending his hand towards Guy. ¡°May I ask: How long have you two been online?¡± asked Suki. ¡°We¡¯ve been here since the server went live,¡± responded Ryu. ¡°So have we,¡± said Suki. ¡°Have you met any other players?¡± ask Ryu. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°We actually came across two groups yesterday, but we couldn¡¯t understand them. They spoke in a foreign language. The first group seemed to be speaking in French, and the other group was speaking in Chinese I think. We think the developer accidentally sent everyone to the global server, and that¡¯s why we were confused.¡± ¡®Global server¡¯? Hmm¡­ Normally, for any global VRMMO, there were multiple servers set up, dividing the world into regions. The purpose of creating these regions was to establish a community of same-language speakers. For example, Dream World had a Chinese-specific server¡ªthe Chinese region¡ªwhere the server was intended to be played by people who lived in the China region, or players who intended to speak Chinese in-game. This meant that the NPCs would speak in Chinese and the words and letters would also be all in Chinese. However, Dream World also had a global server¡ªthe main and most populated server¡ªin which there was no intended official language. Because there was no official language, the global server¡¯s default language was English, since the United States was where Dream World was hosted. Because of this, Suki surmised that everyone had been sent to the global server, seeing as how she encountered French players and Chinese players whom did not know English. However, Ryu suspected otherwise. If my hunch is right, this should be the only server. If that¡¯s indeed the case, then it¡¯ll be difficult to communicate with other players from here on out. Not to mention that there are probably other places in this world that speak different languages. ¡°I see,¡± said Ryu. ¡°Anyways, how did you two manage to get here through the woods all by yourself? You didn¡¯t encounter any monsters on the way?¡± ¡°Nope. It seems we were lucky, strange as it seems. I¡¯m quite surprised myself.¡± ¡°That is indeed strange,¡± Ryu said, stroking his chin. ¡°Perhaps this isn¡¯t a monster zone?¡± Suki said. ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Ryu. ¡°Anyways, you two should head that way.¡± He pointed in the direction of Durn. ¡°There¡¯s a small town, so you can get supplies there. There¡¯s a man named Roland. He¡¯s the village elder. Tell him that we sent you.¡± Suki looked in the direction of Durn for a moment, carefully thinking about her options. Then she looked back at the two men. ¡°Mmm, I think we¡¯ll stay with you guys,¡± she finally said. ¡°We don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll meet English speakers again.¡± She turned to Kawaii Kitten. ¡°Kawaii, what do you think?¡± Kawaii Kitten didn¡¯t immediately respond, as she thought how annoying it would be to travel with the two men, especially Guy. But she ultimately sided with Suki. ¡°Fine. But if this turd calls me a weeb one more time, I¡¯m kicking his ass,¡± she said, nodding to Guy. Guy¡¯s face twitching, he said very quietly to himself in a devious manner, ¡°Yeah right, bitch. Let¡¯s see who kicks whose ass first.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Ryu said. ¡°Let¡¯s get going then.¡± The two men grabbed their items, and the new foursome continued westward. Chapter 5: I Can Finally Log Off? As the group traveled through the Brown Forest they continued discussing what they had come across since entering Second World, as well as their experiences with Dream World. Whenever the group inquired Ryu anything about Dream World he kept it to a bare minimum or said nothing at all. Guy looked at Suki curiously and asked, ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t Suki a Japanese name?¡± ¡°It is. My father is Japanese, but my mom is Lebanese. That¡¯s why I¡¯m a bit tan-skinned,¡± Suki said. ¡°Ah. So your real name is Suki, too, then?¡± Guy said. ¡°Correct,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± Guy said. ¡°Mine¡¯s Jackson. How about you?¡± he said, turning to Kawaii Kitten. She initially didn¡¯t answer, turning her head away with her arms crossed, but eventually said, ¡°Jess.¡± Guy smiled at Kawaii Kitten¡¯s willingness to share a bit of her personal information, even if it was just her name. He then asked Ryu the same. After all, he believed it to be a basic courtesy for everyone to share equally. ¡°What about you, Ryu?¡± Ryu said nothing, almost seeming like he ignored the question, but eventually responded. ¡°George,¡± he said, softly. ¡°Speaking of which, we didn¡¯t get to choose a race when we created our characters,¡± said Kawaii Kitten. ¡°Maybe ¡®Human¡¯ is the only playable race. And maybe even the only race in this game,¡± Suki said. ¡°Oh¡­,¡± Kawaii Kitten said. ¡°That sucks.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Guy sighed. ¡°And here I wanted to be an orc.¡± Kawaii Kitten scoffed. ¡°Makes sense.¡± Annoyed, Guy¡¯s face twitched. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I¡¯m not an orc,¡± he whispered to himself. He was about to begin bantering again but managed to keep his cool. ¡°Orcs are strong,¡± he said. ¡°I thought I could get to the top easily if I played as one.¡± ¡°I wanted to be a beautiful elf,¡± Kawaii Kitten said, woefully. ¡°Of course you¡¯d say that¡­¡± thought Guy, his eye twitching. ¡°That reminds me. Was there an NPC there when you created your character?¡± Suki said. ¡°I was greeted by a tall, green-haired woman. Really beautiful, too.¡± Green? No.She had white-silver hair. Suki continued. ¡°She took out an orb that turned green when I placed my hand over it. Then she opened a portal. And then¡ª¡± ¡°You fell from the sky,¡± said a woeful Guy. ¡°Yes, we know. How sad. You aren¡¯t the only one, sis.¡± ¡°No¡­ I woke up tangled in vines in the forest,¡± Suki said. ¡°Pfft. At least you didn¡¯t wake up drowning in the middle of a lake,¡± said Kawaii. ¡°I had to swim all the way to shore! Not only that, but I had to get rid of my pink kitty converse sneakers to do so. They were limited edition, too! It¡¯s all just¡­ so¡­sad!¡± She grieved in the most melodramatic way. Suddenly the two women silenced themselves, taken aback, and thought about what Guy had just said. ¡°You fell from the sky?!¡± both of them shouted. Guy chuckled psychotically. ¡°Yeah. Me and Ryu both¡­.¡± Kawaii Kitten¡¯s face jerked with disbelief. ¡°That must have been terrifying¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t remind me¡­ I¡¯m still traumatized,¡± Guy said. ¡°Wait,¡± said Kawaii Kitten. ¡°Now that I think about it, my NPC was a guy. Probably middle-aged. He had blue hair, too, and wore an eye patch. My orb turned blue though.¡± ¡°Eye patch? Mine had one too. But she was a pretty lady and her hair was red. My orb turned red,¡± Guy said. ¡°What about you, Ryu?¡± Ryu remained silent, but he eventually spoke. ¡°I think mine was an angel.,¡± he said, remembering the white orb and its strange warmth. ¡°An angel?¡± all three of them said, in sync. ¡°Oh, stop being so dramatic,¡± Kawaii said. ¡°Tell me, was she really that pretty?¡± Ryu did not respond. ¡°Well?¡± Kawaii said. Ryu still didn¡¯t respond, and it was then that Kawaii Kitten took a moment to scan Ryu. ¡°Hmm¡­?¡± she muttered. And naughtily, as if she had discovered a secret, she said, ¡°Ah, you sly devil.¡± She drew close to him. ¡°You bat for the other team, don¡¯t you?¡± Ryu was silent, his cheeks turning bright red. ¡°Aha! My gaydar never lies,¡± Kawaii said, placing her arm on Ryu¡¯s shoulder. And in an innocent voice, she added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this¡¯ll be our little secret.¡± Of course, she said all of this aloud, but Ryu didn¡¯t refute the claim and kept walking. When Guy heard this he blushed a little but coughed and recomposed himself. ¡°It¡¯s alright, dude. You are who you are. I¡¯m okay with that,¡± he said assuredly. Suki sighed. ¡°Kawaii¡­Did you really have to do that?¡± Ryu spoke out. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± he said calmly. Kawaii put up a fake, broad smile, attempting to show her innocence. It was then that Ryu stopped. Once the others saw why they did the same. They had reached the edge of Durn¡¯s western forest. And on the horizon: a giant forest. Ryu gazed at the sight in front of him. Incredible. The Brown Forest was gigantic: dark-barked trees whose trunks were three to five times wider than redwoods, and a tree canopy that reached at least 500 feet. At the entrance, the western road had narrowed down into a smaller, dirt path running through, and all you could see through the trees was darkness. ¡°What the hell? You want us to go into that?¡± said Kawaii. ¡°We have to. It¡¯s part of a quest,¡± Ryu said, smirking. Suki and Kawaii Kitten opened their mouths, deciding on how to respond to ¡°It¡¯s part of a quest.¡± But they ultimately decided not to say anything. Ryu continued into the direction of the glooming forest that was before them. Guy followed suit, and Suki right after. Kawaii gulped and reluctantly joined them.
In the forest, the only source of light came from a small opening atop the canopy, which illuminated the dirt path. You could see ahead and behind you due to the stream of light coming down over the path, but anything off of the path more than 100 feet away was unseeable. It was complete darkness beyond that point, either because there was no light shining through in that area, or the trunks of the trees simply blended together with the dark background. Kawaii Kitten finally inquired about the words Ryu said as he entered the forest. ¡°You said you had quest? How? And why the hell is it in here? What if we get attacked by monsters?¡± ¡°An elder from the village recommended for us to come here,¡± Ryu said. ¡°And if we see any monsters¡­We¡¯ll have no option but to stand our ground.¡± He did not reply to Kawaii Kitten¡¯s question about how he got the ¡°quest¡± though, as the ¡°how¡± was still something that he needed verification about. ¡°But we have no weapons!¡± Kawaii Kitten said. ¡°I have two extra daggers on me,¡± said Guy. He took out the extra daggers from his satchel and offered them to the two girls. Kawaii Kitten¡¯s face became long and beholden. She pouted her face, giving in to the reality of the situation. ¡°Fine,¡± she said, taking one of the daggers, Suki taking the other. ¡°But if I die, I¡¯m never forgiving either of you.¡± ¡°It should be fine. We¡¯re here to train anyways, so fighting is inevitable,¡± Ryu said. Surprised, Suki said, ¡°Train? You two have already received your first skills?¡± ¡°Well, you see...,¡± Guy said awkwardly. ¡°We haven¡¯t found any skill books yet. So, I guess this is basic training. If we come across any monsters now, we''re probably screwed.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me,¡± Kawaii Kitten said. ¡°Just when I thought I could depend on you.¡± She sighed melodramatically. Guy¡¯s face twitched with anger and annoyance in response to her ungrateful remarks. ¡°We haven¡¯t found any either skill books either,¡± said Suki. ¡°We came across a few NPCs yesterday, but when we asked where we could get skill books, they couldn¡¯t tell us. They looked completely clueless and said they didn¡¯t know what skill books were,¡± Suki said. ¡°Ah, this sucks!¡± Kawaii Kitten sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I spent $2,000 for this.¡± Ryu doze off in contemplation after hearing Kawaii Kitten mentioning spending $2,000. He initially had his own issues about spending that money for the game. And now, although he had had some interesting encounters in Second World, it all seemed lackluster compared to Dream World. Although it had been an interesting experience so far, it was all underwhelming really, he thought. ¡°You were able to talk with the NPCs? They didn¡¯t speak in a foreign language?¡± Guy asked. ¡°They did,¡± Suki responded. ¡°But they gave us a strange crystal necklace, and we were able to understand them after that.¡± She took out a brown crystal from her back pocket. Guy pulled his own necklace up from underneath his shirt and showed it to the girls. ¡°So you have them, too,¡± said Suki. ¡°It¡¯s strange though. I wasn¡¯t expecting for the NPCs to speak a foreign language, especially if this is the Global Server. I thought English would be the default language set for the game. But it seems like that isn¡¯t the case.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Kawaii Kitten sighed. ¡°This game is a total bore.¡± ¡°Hey now!¡± said a proud Guy. ¡°This game is pretty fun. Right, Ryu? Tell them we had fun.¡± Ryu¡¯s response: none. Guy thought Ryu was taking his time coming up with a response, so he waited for a response, thinking it would blow the girls away. Several moments later: still nothing. In other words, what message Ryu was trying to send to Guy was ¡°Ummm. Yeah¡­ You¡¯re on your own, bud.¡± Guy¡¯s response: ¡°¡­¡± and a red face. Kawaii Kitten mischievously laughed, a ''huehuehue''kind of laugh. Guy, on the other hand, the veins of his temples seemed like they would pop out any second. ¡°This bitch. I¡¯m gonna strangle her ass,¡± he thought. Suki ignored the two narcissists, dispersing the tension by asking the young men, ¡°Speaking of which, you two haven¡¯t been able to open up your in-game windows, either, correct?¡± she said to Ryu and Guy. Guy nodded. ¡°Only the Log Off screen, but it hasn¡¯t worked.¡± ¡°Same. We thought that the GM would make a server announcement, but that hasn¡¯t happened,¡± Suki said. Kawaii Kitten yawned. ¡°I¡¯m tired. I just wanna log off.¡± Ryu kept walking, seeming as if he had disregarded the entire conversation thus far. But he had only kept quiet til now because he was thinking. Ever since meeting Guy, he had stayed low-profile and quiet, carefully observing and thinking about this world. It¡¯s why he hadn¡¯t interacted much. He thought especially about what had happened in the shop with the sword. Could it be that you have to¡ª He stopped mid-thought. He heard faint snapping sounds, probably coming from 40 or 50 feet away. They gradually got louder. ¡°Stop,¡± he whispered to the group. The group listened carefully and heard chattering coming from the darkness of the forest. A group of people emerged from the woods and stepped onto the path 40 feet from them. A girl from the group saw Ryu¡¯s party and alerted her party. ¡°Look, it¡¯s another party!¡± she said, and then waved her hand in the air, and beckoned to Ryu¡¯s group. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Guy said, smiling and waving back. ¡°Oh thank God! They speak English!¡± said a guy from the other party. The mysterious group approached Ryu¡¯s party and introduced themselves. A man with vibrant hazel eyes, probably a year or two older than Ryu, held out his hand for a handshake. ¡°I¡¯m Holy Dawn.¡± Ryu shook his hand. ¡°Spiritfire here,¡± said the girl from before, waving her hand. ¡°Toadstool,¡± said a plump, round man whose hair was mushroom cut. There was one more member in Holy Dawn¡¯s group, but he refused to introduce himself. He was grumpy and mean-looking, constantly giving Ryu and the others bad stares. Ryu¡¯s group ignored him and introduced themselves to the other friendly members. After the introducing themselves, the two groups agreed to stick together for the time being and continued through the forest, with Ryu and Holy Dawn leading the party. ¡°So, what made you guys come here?¡± asked Holy Dawn. ¡°It¡¯s pretty dangerous in these woods.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here to train,¡± Ryu said. ¡°You¡¯ve come to hunt?¡± Holy Dawn said, surprised. ¡°What about skills? Did find one?!¡± ¡°No. We¡¯re here just for basic training,¡± Ryu said. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Holy Dawn said, disappointed. ¡°The thing is, we¡¯ve actually been hunting for the past day. We thought this was a monster zone. But here¡¯s the thing: we haven¡¯t gotten any experience yet. And because we can¡¯t open up the character window, we can¡¯t check our stats or levels. We don¡¯t even know if we¡¯ve leveled up.¡± Suki and Kawaii were surprised; Guy only a little, as he had already come across strange things since he¡¯d been here. Ryu remained the same. They¡¯ve been hunting? Monsters? Holy Dawn continued. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there are no monsters here. At least, we haven¡¯t encountered any. Just local animal life. Mostly just foxes, rabbits, and deer.¡± Hmm. Just regular animals? ¡°Did you get your weapons from an NPC?¡± Ryu asked. ¡°No,¡± Holy Dawn said. He paused, and in a serious tone he said,¡± ¡°From the corpses of players.¡± There was a moment of silence. Holy Dawn continued. ¡°We originally met up and joined a larger party, probably 50 or so. But the majority of them died yesterday when we encountered a bear. It was actually a pretty tough fight. Almost seemed like we were fighting a monster. Luckily, we managed to kill it. What you see now is what¡¯s left of us.¡± ¡°Players have already died?¡± said Suki. Holy Dawn nodded in confirmation. ¡°However, their bodies disappeared soon after they died. Maybe 30 seconds after. The animals though, their carcasses remained.¡± ¡°Do you think they revived in town?¡± Guy asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t been to a town yet,¡± Holy Dawn said. ¡°And this is a new game, so we don¡¯t fully know how the mechanics work. There¡¯s still so much to explore.¡± It was then that the ill-tempered guy spoke out. ¡°No there fuckin¡¯ ain¡¯t. This game is shit and you know it. We all knew it, even before we played it. I just can¡¯t believe I wasted so much time on this trash game when I could¡¯ve been playing Dream World. Shit! My guild had a raid planned, too, and I probably missed it!¡± Guy stepped forward, confronting him. ¡°Hey, calm down, bud.¡± ¡°Shut the hell up, shitface. I wasn¡¯t talking to you.¡± Guy¡¯s face turned an angry red. ¡°You little punk! I should kick y¡ª" Suddenly, Spiritfire interrupted, breaking the mood. ¡°Yo, the ''Log Off'' screen! The ¡®Yes¡¯ button isn¡¯t faded anymore!¡± Upon hearing this, the mean-looking prick quickly gestured his hand in the air. His expression turned into relief¡ªan angry relief. ¡°Tch. Finally! I can leave this shitty game now.¡± He scoffed with contempt and gave everyone the most demeaning goodbye wave. ¡°See ya nerds. Hope you all die.¡± He tapped on the ¡®Yes¡¯ button with his index finger. It was then that a beam of silver light shone straight down from the sky and encircled him. The light engulfed him completely that you couldn¡¯t even see his silhouette. And when the light dissipated, he was gone. Seeing this, everyone was astounded and shocked¡ªastounded by sight before them or shocked by the crudeness of the prick''s words as he left. But ultimately, they were relieved. Kawaii Kitten even jumped up in enthusiasm upon seeing it, as it was a sign that she could finally log off. Holy Dawn sighed. ¡°I should get going, too. I¡¯ve been on too long,¡± he said. ¡°It was only for a short while, but it was nice meeting you all. If you guys play Dream World, my name there¡¯s the same, so just PM me any time. Maybe we can raid together.¡± Ryu half-smiled, signaling his farewell. Holy Dawn gave a warm farewell nod to Ryu and the group. He then pressed ¡®Yes¡¯ and a golden beam of light came down. Gold this time? Everyone remaining gazed at this sight, as it was much more intense and bright than the previous silver light. It took a little longer for the golden light to dissipate as well. ¡°Whew. That gave me goosebumps,¡± said Spiritfire. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m out, too. See ya!¡± She gave an amiable smile to everyone, confirmed the logout, and a yellow light came down. ¡°It was okay. You''re all okay,¡± Toadstool said in a deep, monotone voice. A brown light engulfed him. Now, it was only Ryu, Guy, Suki, and Kawaii Kitten left. ¡°Looks like this is it,¡± Kawaii Kitten said, frowning a bit. ¡°It was nice meeting you, Suki and Ryu.¡± Annoyed, Guy¡¯s face turned a bit red, as Kawaii Kitten didn¡¯t mention his name. ¡°It was nice meeting you, too, Kat,¡± Ryu said. ¡°Kat?¡± Kawaii Kitten said, stunned. ¡°It¡¯s alright if I call you ¡®Kat,¡¯ right?¡± Ryu said. Kawaii Kitten pondered at the thought. ¡°Hmmph. Fine. It probably won¡¯t matter anyway,¡± she said. ¡°If you guys play Dream World, my character name is the same as this one. I guess I can answer your messages if I¡¯m bored.¡± She looked at Guy as she said this, to which his expression became agitated, and to which she smiled with sweet cunning. ¡°Anyways, good luck!¡± A starry blue light beamed down and she was gone. Now it was only three of them left. Suki gazed at the canopy, with a wondrous, yet regretful look. ¡°I have an oral exam next week, so I have to leave, too,¡± Suki said. ¡°Exam?¡± Guy asked. ¡°You¡¯re still in school?¡± Suki nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m a Ph.D. student.¡± ¡°How old are you¡­?¡± asked Guy. Suki raised the rim of her glasses. ¡°Twenty.¡± Guy¡¯s mouth dropped. Suki smiled, almost like she was using her smile to rub her genius in Guy¡¯s face. ¡°This may also be the last time I see you guys. I also play Dream World, so I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be coming back here,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s a shame that we could never get the Friends list working. Otherwise, I would add both of you, even if I didn¡¯t return. It was nice partying with you, though.¡± She smiled. Before confirming her logout, she took a moment and looked sincerely at Ryu and Guy. She gave a final goodbye smile, and then she, too, disappeared as a brilliant green ray flashed down. It was only Ryu and Guy now, as it had been since the beginning. It was anawkward farewell for both of them, but also sad in a way. ¡°Whelp. I guess this is goodbye for me too,¡± Guy said. ¡°I¡¯m the vice-leader of a guild in Dream World, so I have a lot of duties. One of them was to come try this game and report back. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll have the time to come play again, but it was nice partying you with Ryu. I had fun.¡± And with a stern and confident look, his extended his hand out. ¡°The name¡¯s HotNSexy in Dream World, so just hit me up any time if you¡¯re on.¡± Ryu scoffed with a smile in response to Guy¡¯s Dream World name. It wasn¡¯t at all unexpected though. Of course. Ryusmiled, gladly accepting the handshake. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t play Dream World.¡± Guy¡¯s happy-go-lucky face turned into a frown. ¡°Ah, well... It was nice knowing you then.¡± He grasped Ryu¡¯s hand and shook it firmly and strongly, the kind of handshake a man gives another man withthe utmost respect. He smiled. ¡°You¡¯d better hurry up and log off before the monsters come,¡± Guy said, sarcastically. ¡°Ciao!¡± A fiery radiance burst down, Guy still visible to Ryu. He gave a gleeful smile and waved goodbye. Then he was gone. Now alone, Ryu looked up above, looking up at the tiniest bit of light that managed to pierce through the thick canopy. I guess this is it for me, too, isn¡¯t it? He sighed. His face was calm, but deep down he was very disappointed that this was what this VR had amounted to. It was an interesting experience, but it was rather dull. His hopes about this adventure had all boiled down to this. It was regretful indeed, but moreso unfortunate, as he had hoped this game would give him a chance to rekindle his passion for VR gaming. But moreso, for his love for adventure. Looks like I¡¯ll be walking the dogs tomorrow. Ryu opened up the menu to log off. But just as he was about to press on ''Yes,'' he heard a large ¡®Snap!¡¯ He jolted in surprise. Doing so inadvertently caused him to close the ¡®Log Off¡¯ menu. More branches were snapped, the sound coming closer. Shit! I have to log off! But then he heard a roar and looked up. The snapping had stopped, and there it stood. Just ten feet from him. A bear. Chapter 6: Bors Seeing the large grizzly, Ryu¡¯s initial reaction was bringing up the ''Log Off'' menu, which he manifested via mental will. But in that microsecond that the game window was opening, the furry beast charged. And at that moment, Ryu looked down in fear for the slightest second, avoiding eye contact with the creature that would probably be the cause of his demise. Shit! He looked back up after that brief moment and all that he could see now in his plane of sight was a massive, wide open, and drooling grizzly bear mouth. The bear¡¯s jaws were no less than two feet from his face. In a panic, and in reaction, Ryu drew for his sword. Of course, the bear was too close already, so it was useless. But just as he placed his hand on the grip of his sword¡ªSWOOSH! The bear¡¯s neck jolted and the large grizzly tumbled, tackling into him. Ryu¡¯s consciousness slowly drifted. His vision became more and more blurred until finally, he blacked out.
When Ryu woke up there was a large open fire burning several feet from him. Over the flame was a very large four-legged creature that had been skinned, now broiled and charred from cooking over the fire. Ryu got up, dizzy and his head hurting, but he collapsed back down. ¡°Careful,¡± said a deep voice. ¡°You were knocked out.¡± A man, middle-aged, was sitting on a log by the fire. His attire was simple: leather pants and no shirt other than an open leather vest. He was tall, several inches taller than Guy maybe, and had very muscular features. He had wavy brown hair that flowed to his shoulders and a stubble than ran across his jaw. Ryu forced himself back up, placing his right palm over the throbbing of his head. He bent down and grabbed his satchel lying down next to him and trudged over to the fire. He sat down on a log seat. As he did so, flashbacks of the bear attack came rushing back to his head. ¡°Where am I?¡± a dizzy Ryu said, inhaling and exhaling deeply. ¡°You¡¯re safe,¡± the man said. ¡°That¡¯s all you need to know.¡± The man looked at the necklace around dangling over Ryu¡¯s shirt. ¡°I see that you¡¯re wearing a Crystal of Understanding,¡± he said. ¡°You mustn¡¯t be from around here then. You don¡¯t look like the type of person who adventures out of the city. You should be more careful. These woods aren¡¯t safe for people like you.¡± Ryu, coming out of his daze, looked at the brown crystal hanging around his neck. Crystal of Understanding? ¡°Those crystals aren''t cheap,¡± said the man. ¡°You¡¯d better keep it hidden, or else someone might just snatch it from you.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ryu looked at the necklace with a blank expression, reminding himself of what value it truly held to him. He then remembered Mirvena¡¯s face. Then he remembered Roland¡¯s. And then he remembered why he was here. He asked the mysterious man, ¡°Excuse me, but do you know someone by the name of Bors? The man said no word at first, looking straight into the fire. ¡°You¡¯re looking at him,¡± he then said. Ryu took a deep breath and shook off the remaining of his head pain. ¡°Well, I was told to you for my training." ¡°Training?¡± Ryu nodded. ¡°I wish to hunt monsters.¡± Bors laughed. ¡°Ha! I can already see through those clothes of yours. You¡¯re as thin as a cutting board. You probably couldn¡¯t even kill a deer from this forest." ¡°I was advised to come to you specifically,¡± Ryu said. ¡°I trust the elder who gave me these instructions.¡± Bors raised his voice. ¡°What elder?¡± ¡°Roland,¡± Ryu said. ¡°He¡¯s from a town called Durn not too far from here.¡± ¡°Prove it.¡± Ryu took out the pin he received from Roland and extended his palm out. ¡°Tch. That old man. Always giving me trouble,¡± Bors sneered. He became silent, only looking straight at the fire. Then he stood up and took out a knife and began cutting off meat from the cooked animal. In a calm and serious voice, he said ¡°Come. Eat.¡± He handed Ryu a skewer of steaming hot meat. Ryu said nothing and did as he was told. The sizzling meat burned Ryu¡¯s tongue, but he bared with the pain and chewed on it, hoping to remain respectful. It was terribly unseasoned, though. More than that, it was extremely tough. ¡°Get used to it,¡± Bors said, commenting on the food. ¡°When you live out here, you make do with what you get.¡± Ryu didn¡¯t respond right away and only kept eating. But then he stopped, and said, ¡°You killed it, didn¡¯t you? The bear I mean.¡± And we¡¯re probably eating it right now¡­ ¡°I did,¡± Bors said. ¡°How?¡± Ryu asked. Bors took something from his back pocket and showed it to Ryu. It was a small, curved knife, probably no smaller than a pocket knife. It¡¯s so small. How did he manage to kill that bear? I don¡¯t remember what happened, but I¡¯m certain it died instantly. Bors then threw the knife at one of the gigantic trees across the small camp. When it hit, it shattered the bark and pierced right through, although Ryu didn¡¯t know to what extent. This man... He¡¯s strong. Maybe equivalent to a Lvl. 60 Dream World Warrior in terms of strength. With a stern look, Ryu asked, ¡°Could you please teach me how to do that?¡± Bors didn¡¯t answer; he continued chomping away but eventually spoke. ¡°I saw other tracks. You didn¡¯t come alone, did you?¡± ¡°I was traveling with a party,¡± Ryu responded. ¡°Where are they? I scouted the area and didn¡¯t see anyone,¡± Bors said. ¡°They had things to do, so they returned home. I don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°So they left you? You¡¯re lucky I was in the area,¡± Bors said,tearing off a chunk of meat from the bone with his mouth. ¡°Better hope your friends are safe. This forest becomes more dangerous after sunset. The road to Durn isn¡¯t safe, either.¡± Ryu lowered his head and looked down at the ground. He already knew they were safe. He saw his necklace dangling and stretched it out between his index finger and thumb, pulling it to Bors. ¡°You called this a Crystal of Understanding? Just what is it?¡± ¡°That? It¡¯s a magic crystal that lets you fully communicate with others regardless of what language you speak. It¡¯s quite a handy tool,¡± Bors said. ¡°However, it has its limits, as its power does not encompass all the languages of Albamania.¡± Ryu then took out his black journal from the satchel. Upon seeing it, Bors was a little stunned. ¡°You even have one of those with you? You¡¯re really lucky you didn¡¯t get robbed.¡± ¡°You know what this is, too?¡± asked Ryu. Bors nodded. ¡°Aye. It¡¯s a Scribe Tome. It automatically records things for whoever owns it. Think of it as a journal, or even an encyclopedia, that writes itself. I¡¯m assuming Roland gave that to you, as well?¡± Ryu nodded. Bors finished his slab of meat, slurping and licking his lips. Then he stood up and poured a bucket of water over the fire. He began walking away, into the forest. ¡°Follow me,¡± Bors said. ¡°What about the rest of the bear?¡± Ryu said. Bors, looking into the forest around him, turned his head right, then left. ¡°I¡¯m sure others will come and claim it.¡± He smirked. ¡°Now, come. You¡¯ve come to train, haven¡¯t you?¡± Bors walked into the darkness. Ryu stood up and followed thecrude man. Chapter 7: The Most Essential Skill A shirtless Ryu was doing sit-ups in a large, open area of the forest, probably as big as a football field. 498¡­ 499¡­¡­ 500! ¡°Another set!¡± Bors yelled. Ryu¡¯s face twitched, annoyed. He was sweating all over, panting. What the hell¡­ What kind of training is this?! For the past ten hours, Ryu had been doing rotations of sit-ups, pushups, pull-ups, and reverse pull-ups, with stretching in between. He had done hundreds of repetitions of each, as well ran dozens of laps around a designated area that Bors had instructed him to run, which had measured about two miles round. This would have been physically impossible for any normal person. However, Bors had given him a strange liquid to drink at random intervals of his training. Drinking this fluid restored Ryu¡¯s vitality and stamina, which had allowed him to continue this gruesome training routine. Although Ryu was heavily panting at this point, he was not completely exhausted. Seeing this, Bors continued with the ¡®training,¡¯ giving Ryu no choice but to do as he was told. It¡¯s dark again¡­ How long have I been in the game? The sun has set twice since I¡¯ve logged in. That¡¯s two days in-game... How long is that in the real world? While Ryu was doing his new set of sit-ups, Bors thought to himself intently. ¡°This young man¡­ I know I¡¯ve given him several portions of the elixir to rejuvenate his energy, but still¡­ The intervals at which I¡¯ve been giving them to him have increased. At first, he got exhausted after 150 sit-ups and a few laps. But after his first drink, he didn¡¯t become exhausted until 200 reps and a few more extra laps. Then after his second, he didn¡¯t become exhausted until 300 reps. He even did dozens of pushups to boot, even after doing his runs. Then he went to 500 right after¡­ It¡¯s been two hours since his last drink, and he¡¯s managed to do several hundred reps of each exercise as well as dozens of laps. All without breaking. I¡¯ve never seen such tremendous growth¡­Not even the Great Warriors of Calduun would have been capable of this when they were at this stage. Where did this young man come from? Moreover, his body¡­¡± It had only been less than 30 seconds in and Ryu was on his 70th sit up in this new set. He thought about his strange situation. This is so different from Dream World. In Dream World, a character could do similar exercises. However, it would have been much easier and simpler, as the only thing dictating whether a character could do the exercise was the amount of stamina they had. If an exercise cost ten stamina to complete, then it meant that doing 10 of those exercises would cost 100 stamina. So if you kept replenishing your stamina, 100 stamina at a time, you could continuously do 10 reps each time you refilled your stamina. However, as Ryu was experiencing firsthand, doing these exercises in Second World affected the character¡¯s body differently, as it caused a positive correlative relationship. That is, the more you exercised, the more your body grew and adjusted to your exercise routine. Thus it increased the maximum amount of reps you could perform in a routine each time. For example, doing 50 sets continuously would improve your body, allowing you to do 55 sets with ease in the future. And continuous reps of 55 would then improve your body once again, allowing you to do 70 sets after that. Etc., etc. Fortunately for Ryu, he was able to do this continuously, as every time he drank the elixir, his body was rejuvenated back to its prime state. Ryu looked at Bors. Those strange drinks he¡¯s been giving me... They¡¯re most definitely stamina elixirs of some kind. Without them I would have broken down ages ago. But what really surprises me¡­ He looked at his arms and abs. My body¡¯s transformed. Ryu could see that his biceps and abdominal muscles were much more refined than when he had started ten hours ago. His body had become visibly leaner and more toned, as he was not the scrawny and skinny guy from earlier this morning. ¡°Stop. You¡¯ve done enough,¡± Bors interrupted. Ryu stood up and was handed a small glass vial containing a yellow-green fluid. He gulped the contents down. ¡°It¡¯s time to move onto something else,¡± Bors said, leading the way to another area. The new area was much larger. However, unlike the previous area, this place had dozens of rocks and boulders scattered everywhere. They were of various shapes and sizes, ranging from the size of a coconut to the size of small car. Bors picked up the smallest rock he could find and handed it over to Ryu. ¡°Take this,¡± Bors said. ¡°Hold it for as long as you can.¡± Ryu had no complaints and accepted the rock with both his palms. However, he didn¡¯t hold the rock for long. Only 30 seconds had gone until the rock slipped out of his hands. It¡¯s heavier than it looks. Fifty, maybe sixty pounds? ¡°Your Endurance has improved. I¡¯ll give you that,¡± Bors said. ¡°But your Strength is terrible. Starting now you will begin Strength training!¡± Ryu started off his new training session by carrying a 50-lb rock from one end of the area to the other end, which was about 300 feet, all the while having to walk around or over all the scattered boulders. He continued doing this for two hours, and as always, Bors supplied him with a glass of the yellow-green fluid when he became exhausted. After the first two hours, he began carrying a 70-lb rock, which he continued to carry from end to end for three hours. He eventually moved on to an 80-lb boulder, but by this time, the sun was rising. The first streams of light began breaking through the canopy. Ryu was panting, lying on the grass with his arms and legs spread out. He looked up through the tiny sky opening. It¡¯s morning again. Exhausted, Ryu forced himself up and sat with his legs crossed. He closed his eyes and relaxed, breathing slowly and softly. The morning air surprisingly feels quite nice, a little warm even. I guess all this training wasn¡¯t so bad. My body¡¯s definitely improved. As he was in his relaxed stance, he began to feel something, a tingling sensation. Ah¡­ What is this? It feels wonderful. It¡¯s like I¡¯m at the top of a forest mountain, and below me is a beautiful green valley. Bors noticed what was happening, and jolted with surprise. Around Ryu was a pale twinkling aura. It was faint, but Bors could see it clearly. He exclaimed quietly, ¡°This is¡­!¡± Suddenly, several splintering noises came from the woods. Ryu opened his eyes, seeing what had appeared just 100 feet from where he was sitting. Brown wolves, twice the size of normal wolves. And dozens of them, all snarling. There¡¯s gotta be at least 80. Bors tossed Ryu¡¯s sword to him. ¡°Get behind me,¡± Bors said. As Bors said this, the wolves charged. Bors took out several knives and threw them at the incoming wolves. The wolves that were struck were immediately taken down. They had all been struck in the neck. His accuracy is amazing. And to think he could hit so many at once. Bors kept throwing knives, but the wolves kept coming. He walked forwards, closing the distance in case he had to go into close combat. If this keeps up, he¡¯ll kill them all. It looks like he can manage on his own after all. Me on the other hand¡­ Ryu firmly grasped his sword¡¯s handle. No. If it comes down to it, I have to give it my all. I won¡¯t die. Not again. Flashbacks of his Dream World death experience were going through his head. These memories were slowly on their way to becoming repressed and forgotten. But every time Ryu thought of death, he remembered that final scene: his last memory of Dream World where he lay there at the feet of dozens of grinning players. The moment of his final death. Then the face of his ¡®guild member¡¯ popped up into his mind, and he squeezed his hand on the sword handle evermore tightly. Bors soon ran out of knives, so he resorted to throwing the stones on the ground. He smashed a boulder against the ground, and it broke into many smaller pieces, using those smaller pieces as throwing material. However, as he was too busy with the wolves in front of him, he couldn¡¯t fully protect Ryu, and unfortunately for Ryu, a wolf managed to get past and was running towards the young man. Bors couldn¡¯t do anything to it because he had to deal with the pack of wolves charging at him. He had no other option but to let Ryu fend for himself Although he was scared, trembling almost, Ryu had no choice but to fight. He stood firm, maintaining a decent stance. The wolf was about ten feet away when it jumped, trying to pounce on Ryu. Barely, Ryu managed to evade it. The wolf then circled back and attacked again, pouncing once more. Ryu managed to avoid getting jumped on, but the wolf was able to scrape its teeth across Ryu¡¯s arm, gashing it several inches. Ryu looked at his sword as blood was dripping down the handle. I need to attack. This time he took the initiative to attack. He ran towards the wolf and swung when it was within his reach. The wolf tried dodging but failed. However, Ryu¡¯s slash was too weak¡ªor rather, the wolf¡¯s fur was too tough, so he did no damage. That attack definitely connected¡­ It¡¯s the fur, isn¡¯t it? Ryu gripped his sword. If I live through this, I¡¯m definitely going to continue with Bors¡¯ training. Ryu took a deep breath and looked at the snarling beast. He firmly adjusted the grip of his sword and engaged once more. This second time around, he swung with all the might he could muster. The wolf jumped to the side trying to evade, but Ryu managed to cut its leg. The wolf, now angry with a wound, growled viciously at Ryu. It charged at him, running faster than Ryu had seen it run before. It leaped to attack. Ryu was too slow to dodge at that distance. At that moment, all he could do was use his sword to guard himself. The wolf pinned him to the ground. But before the beast managed to get onto him, Ryu had turned his blade and grabbed both ends of the sword. When the creature leaped onto him, Ryu used the blade as leverage, using it as a bar to shove the wolf¡¯s face away by pushing the blade against its neck. He then twisted the blade sideways, hoping he would slice the wolf¡¯s neck, but the fur was too tough. Shit! It was then that wolf grabbed the sword with its mouth and shook it out of Ryu¡¯s hand. It tossed the blade several feet to the side, leaving Ryu with nothing but his bare hands. With no more options, Ryu used both his hands, his left hand used as leverage to keep the wolf from biting his face off, and his right hand used to forcefully lift the wolf up from its belly, in the hope that he could re-grab his sword. Unfortunately, the animal was much too heavy to be pushed away. It was in that moment that Ryu lowered his right hand, and with absolute resolve, he formed a fist. The strange energy that he had felt earlier surged through him. He felt power in that moment. With all his might he hit the beast in the neck. Crack! Ryu punched so hard that it broke the wolf¡¯s neck, killing it instantly. Full of adrenaline, he was breathing heavily. He pushed the dead creature off and got up, upon which he saw Bors walking towards him, already having killed the last of the wolves. ¡°Congratulations,¡± Bors said, in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°You¡¯ve killed your first Brown Wolf.¡± Ryu looked at both his hands, thinking about what had happened in that final moment. Bors looked at him and said, ¡°Natural energy.¡± ¡°Natural energy?¡± said Ryu. Bors laughed. ¡°You really do live under a rock, don¡¯t you? But I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised,¡± Bors said. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you.¡± Ryu followed Bors to the other end of the field where there weren¡¯t any wolf corpses lying around. Bors then stopped and stood in front of a car-sized boulder, turning to Ryu. ¡°First, just raw power,¡± he said. He inhaled and formed a fist. Then he punched the rock. Upon connecting, he dented it, creating a three-to-four feet wide crater. Bors then jiggled his hand, shaking off any rock fragments or particles that were stuck on his knuckles. ¡°Now, let me show you what happens when I imbue my attack with the power of natural energy,¡± he said. Bors inhaled, deeper than before. He seemed more focused, too. He clenched his fist, readying his strike. As Bors did this, Ryu saw twinkling specs floating around Bors and also a faint, but visible beige aura enveloping him, too. Bors did a swift jabbing motion, and the next thing Ryu saw was the boulder shattering to thousands of pieces. The impact itself blew against the grass in proximity and also a created little gust that brushed Ryu¡¯s hair to the side. Amazing. ¡°If you¡¯re amazed, don¡¯t be,¡± said Bors. ¡°I¡¯m not so good with utilizing natural energy, so what you just saw was nothing but a little spectacle.¡± Still clueless on the matter, Ryu drew a blank face. Bors laughed. ¡°Come, sit down. I¡¯ll tell you. But first, let¡¯s patch up that arm of yours,¡± Bors sat down a small boulder, with Ryu doing the same. Bors took out a vial filled with a red concoction from the pouch around his waist and poured it over Ryu¡¯s wound. As soon as the liquid touched Ryu¡¯s arm, Ryu¡¯s wound began to close up. It took only a matter of moments before Ryu¡¯s arm was fully healed. Ryu moved his fingers around and squeezed his arm to make doubly sure this was all real. ¡°Neat, isn¡¯t it?¡± Bors said. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°A healing potion,¡± Bors said. ¡°But it¡¯s of the lowest quality.¡± I wonder what a high-quality one would do¡­ ¡°You¡¯re lucky you didn¡¯t lose an arm or a leg. I definitely don''t have anything with me that would''ve patched that up.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Ryu. ¡°Thank you.¡± Bors scoffed. ¡°Anyways, back to natural energy. But before we begin we must go over the basics. First you must know that in this world there is something called natural essence, which is the essential unit of natural energy. Hence, why it¡¯s called ¡®essence.¡¯ Simply put, natural essence is natural energy in its purest form. That should be pretty simple to understand, I hope.¡± Ryu nodded for the sake of nodding, still unsure of what that meant, as Bors was really vague. ¡°Good,¡± Bors said. ¡°Anyways, when one harnesses natural essence, they are able to manifest this raw source of power as natural energy. And using that energy, they can perform inhuman feats.¡± Bors looked at the spot where he shattered the boulder. ¡°That last punch you saw was imbued with natural energy.¡± ¡°If I may ask, what exactly is ¡®harnessing¡¯?¡± Ryu said. ¡°First, you must know that there are two types of harnessing: attunement and absorption. When you harness natural essence through attunement, you integrate yourself with it. It isn¡¯t one simple action. It¡¯s a continuous process. Don¡¯t imagine absorbing essence into your body. That¡¯s not what integration is. Instead, imagine invisible roots from within your own body, slowly growing, extending outwards and out of your body, connecting with other roots on the outside. The roots, in this case, being natural essence.¡± Ryu nodded, agreeing with the logic. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that we all have natural essence, and that integration, or rather, attunement, is a kind of harmonization between our own essence and the essence of the natural world.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Bors said. ¡°However, absorption differs greatly from this. As you¡¯ve correctly described, attunement is when two sources of essence harmonize, becoming one. Absorption, on the other hand, is when one source of essence absorbs another.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°So then, based off of what you¡¯ve said, attunement should be more difficult than absorption,¡± said Ryu. Bors gave a rough smile. ¡°You¡¯re pretty smart, kid,¡± he said. ¡°But yes, you¡¯re right. Attunement takes time, dedication, and immense focus. There are very few people in Albamania who practice attunement nowadays. I figure that there are less than 10,000 people in all of Albamania who currently practice. Of those 10,000, maybe 100 or fewer are adept or masters at it. Absorption occurs in a sitting, or even instantly, which is why it¡¯s the more popular approach to harnessing essence. However, there are risks and drawbacks that come with it.¡± Ryu nodded. ¡°Now, when you harness essence, be it through attunement or absorption, two things happen. The first we¡¯ve already discussed, which is being able to utilize the power of essence, manipulating it in whatever shape or form as you see fit. The second, just as important, is that your body becomes stronger. What I mean by this is that, as a result of integrating with or absorbing essence, your body becomes strengthened. Essentially you become fused with it, thus making your body more powerful. After all, essence is pure energy.¡± ¡°Is that how you were able to kill the bear and wolves so easily?¡± said Ryu. ¡°Aye,¡± Bors nodded. ¡°It¡¯s also why you couldn¡¯t cut through the Brown Wolf¡¯s fur during that fight earlier. It had harnessed enough essence throughout its lifetime to toughen its own fur... Which, in your case, could''ve probably been just a few days or a few weeks.¡± Ryu furled his eyebrows and said, ¡°So that must mean other creatures can harness essence, too.¡± Bors nodded. ¡°All creatures can, and they do it naturally just by being alive. Scholars call this Passive Attunement. Humans passively harness essence, too, but only at a minute level. It isn¡¯t until they focus and attune themselves willingly that they are able to harness essence at a proficient level. But some creatures are better than others at harnessing essence. These kinds of creatures, they are the real monsters. At your level, pray that you don¡¯t come across one.¡± Ryu grabbed his chin. ¡°I think I understand it now.¡± ¡°I only explained the major points,¡± Bors said. ¡°If you want a thorough run down, you¡¯ll have to talk to a scholar, like that old man. They can explain it much better than me. There are numerous others in the cities just as knowledgeable, if not more.¡± He must be referring to Roland. ¡°Understood,¡± Ryu said. ¡°I¡¯ll make a visit when I get the time. Thank you.¡± Bors nodded. ¡°And with that, I believe we''re done here.¡± ¡°Already?¡± Ryu said, a little surprised. ¡°I¡¯ve helped you with the very basics,¡± Bors said.¡± And you might not know it, but you¡¯re a natural-born fighter. I don¡¯t think I can teach you anything else.¡± ¡°What about harnessing essence?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about attunement, that¡¯s something only you can teach yourself," he said. His lips turned upward, turning into a haughty smile. "But I see that you already have a talent for that." Bors was referring to the time when Ryu harnessed essence for the first time, which was probably beginner¡¯s luck. Or perhaps fate. ¡°As for harnessing through absorption, you can do that with potions and elixirs,¡± said Bors. ¡°However, refining essence into a potion or elixir, or any other form factor, requires extensive knowledge of alchemy. The number of alchemists in Moratia are few, and that¡¯s why the prices of potions and elixirs are extremely high.¡± Ryu looked down, holding his chin. Alchemy¡­ No, it¡¯s too soon to think about that. I need to focus on my fighting skills first. Ryu looked up at Bors. ¡°Could you at least teach me sword skills?¡± Bors examined Ryu, scanning him up and down. ¡°Hmm. I think I might be able to. Of course, I don¡¯t do favors for free.¡± ¡°You trained me, didn¡¯t you? You also used an elixir on me.¡± Ryu said nonchalantly. ¡°Tch. I did that old man a favor. Not you.¡± It was at that moment that a nonchalant Ryu took out a gold coin from his bag, waving it in Bors¡¯ face. Bors¡¯ face flushed with red, drooling almost. But he coughed, quickly composing himself. ¡°I¡¯m not too good with swords,¡± he said. ¡°But I might be able to recommend you to someone.¡± Ryu nodded. ¡°Is it alright if I use your training grounds for a few more days?¡± Ryu asked. Bors sat there silent. ¡°Fine,¡± he finally said. ¡°I¡¯ll only be here for another week, anyway. You¡¯d better make good use of it while I¡¯m still here.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Ryu said, nodding. With that, Ryu resumed his physical training. Meanwhile, Bors carried the wolf carcasses away to who knows where.
It was several hours later. Ryu was on a boulder, sitting straight with his legs crossed. He was in a meditative stance, his eyes closed. He tried entering the state he was in when he first harnessed essence. But nothing was happening. He almost succeeded again earlier, but he heard a slight breaking of a branch from the wind and lost his focus. It''s more difficult than I thought. He breathed in deeply, giving himself wholeheartedly away to the world. He meditated for several minutes, with nothing still happening. Then, after a while much too long, he felt something. It was a tiny feeling, much like the tingling from before. It gradually became stronger, until finally, Ryu felt a surging force within him. It feels similar to mana from Dream World. But it also has a strange warmth to it. It doesn¡¯t feel like much. Probably equivalent to a Lvl. 2 or 3 character¡¯s amount of mana. My Strength and other stats don¡¯t seem like much at all, either... I still have a long way to go. His eyes still closed, Ryu smiled, the most authentic smile he¡¯d shown. He didn¡¯t even think about it. It just happened. Exhilarated, he inhaled. Suddenly, a white light emanated from his body, beaming into the sky. A bright radiance flowed around him, but it quickly dissipated. Ryu exhaled and opened his eyes. It was then that he saw a virtual screen window. Oh?
Congratulations! You have learned the Natural Essence Harnessingskill. Learning the Natural Essence Harnessingskill has granted you access to the Skills Descriptions menu. You are the first player to learn Natural Essence Harnessing skill. As such, you have been rewarded with 10 stat points.
Congratulations! You have learned the Natural Essence Harmonization skill. Learning the Natural Essence Harmonizationskill has granted you access to the Passive Skills Descriptions menu. You are the first player to learn the Natural Essence Harmonization skill. As such, you have been rewarded with 10 stat points.
Congratulations! Youhave learned theSelf-Awareness skill. Learning the Self-Awareness skill has granted you access to the Character Description menu. You are the first player to learn the Self-Awareness skill. As such, you have been rewarded with 10 stat points.
Skills? Menus? Ryu gestured his hand in the air and opened up a new menu: the Skills Description menu.
Natural Essence Harnessing
Natural Essence Harnessing: Attunement You are able to harness minimal amounts of natural essence through attunement.
Natural Essence Harnessing: Passive Attunement As all things passively attune to the natural world, you have the basic ability to passively attune to the natural world. As a result, you passively harness natural essence through attunement. You are able to passively harnessminusculeamounts of natural essence through attunement. As yourNatural Essence Harmonizationskill increases, the amount and rate at which you passively attune to natural essence will increase. Your proficiency withNatural Essence Harnessingis affected by yourPerception.
Level: Beginner
Proficiency Grade (Attunement): S+ Proficiency Grade (Passive Attunement): F-
Natural Essence Harmonization
You are able to harmonize with the natural essence that you harness through Natural Essence Harnessing: Attunement and Natural Essence Harnessing: Passive Attunement. As a result of harmonizing with natural essence, you are able to transform natural essence into natural energy, enabling you to create or manipulate natural phenomena. Using natural energy, you can strengthen your body at will, as well as strengthen weapons by imbuing them with natural energy. As your Natural Essence Harmonizationskill increases, your body will passively become stronger, increasing your Strength, Stamina, Endurance, Speed, Agility, Quickness, Hardness, and Toughness. Your proficiency with Natural Essence Harmonization is affected by your Insight.
Level: Beginner
Proficiency Level: S+
Sword Mastery
You are able to use a sword at the most basic level.
Level: Beginner
Proficiency Grade: F
Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery
You are able to fight using hand-to-hand combat at a basic level, but you''ve had some experience with hand-to-hand combat, so you have some understanding of hand-to-hand combat.
Level: Novice
Proficiency Grade: C
He then motioned his hand again in the air and opened a new menu: the Passive Skills Descriptions menu.
Self-Awareness
You have a moderately-above-average level of self-awareness. As such, you have the insight to understand things about yourself. You are aware of some of your own basic character information. Achieving Self-Awareness has alsogranted you the ability to understand your skills better. You are aware of some basic information regarding your skills. As your Self-Awareness level increases, you will become aware of more information about your character and skills.
Level: Moderately Above Average
Strength
You have average strength. You are able to carry 50 pounds worth of objects on you without getting tired. TheNatural Essence Harmonizationskill does not yet have a passive effect on Strength.
Efficacy Grade: D-
Endurance
You have average endurance. You are able to do dozens of short routines of beginner-level exercises for a prolonged period of time without becoming fatigued. Your Endurance affects your Stamina. TheNatural Essence Harmonizationskill does not yet have a passive effect onEndurance.
Efficacy Grade: D
Stamina
You have average stamina. You are able to do a long routine of beginner-level exercises without becoming fatigued. Your Stamina is affected by your Endurance.
Efficacy Grade: D
Speed
You have average speed. You are able to traverse a league in an hour at a constant walking speed. You are able to traverse three leagues in an hour at a constant running speed. The Nature Essence Harmonization skill does not yet have a passive effect on Speed.
Efficacy Grade: C-
Quickness
You have above average reflexes. You are able to react quickly to any situation you find yourself in. Your Quicknessaffects your Agility. The Natural Essence Harmonization skill does not yet have a passive effect on Quickness.
Efficacy Grade: A+
Agility
You have slightly above average agility. You are able to change the direction of your body movement while already in motion... Sometimes. YourAgilityis affected by yourQuickness.
Efficacy Grade: A+
Hardness
Hardness: Physical Hardness You have basic physical hardness. You will be cut and pierced by physical objects. The Natural Essence Harmonizationskill does not yet have a passive effect on Hardness: Physical Hardness.
Efficacy Grade: F-
Toughness
Toughness: Physical Toughness You have basic physical toughness. You will suffer physical trauma that is not classified as a ¡®cut¡¯ or ¡®pierce.¡¯ The Natural Essence Harmonizationskill does not yet have a passive effect on Toughness: Physical Toughness.
Efficacy Grade: F-
Intelligence
You have profound intellect. Your Intelligence directly affects your Perception.
Affinity Grade: S+++
Wisdom
You have profound wisdom. Your Wisdom directly affects your Insight.
Affinity Grade: S++++
Perception
You have profound perception. Your Perception is directly affected by your Intelligence.
Affinity Grade: S+++
Insight
You have profound insight. Your Insight is directly affected by your Wisdom.
Affinity Grade: S++++
So many skills! It also seems that I had already learned skills. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t know about them. It seems you have to unlock the Skills Descriptions menu to see what skills you have. It even includes passive skills, likeStrength and Stamina. Upon seeing these skills, Ryu was excited, his heart rapidly beating. He then gestured his hand in the air again, opening the Character Description menu.
Name Ryu
Title None
Level 1
Affiliation Traveler
Alignment None
Race Human Profession None
Fame 5
HP: 50/50 Energy: 5/5
Physical Stats
Strength: 5 Speed: 3
Endurance: 10 Stamina: 5
Quickness: 88 Agility: 22
Hardness: 1
Physical Hardness: 1 ???
Toughness: 1
Physical Toughness: 1 ???
Mental Stats
Intelligence: 499 Wisdom: 749
Perception: 499 Insight: 749
Misc.Stats
??? ???
Unallocated SP: 30
He smiled broadly. This is incredible. ¡°Looks like someone¡¯s in a good mood,¡± a voice said, approaching from behind. It was Bors. His leather vest was splattered with blood. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing,¡± Ryu chuckled. ¡°I was just thinking of something, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°By the way, did you see a white light just now?¡± Bors said, a little curious with a hint of suspicion. ¡°No,¡± Ryu responded. His eyes were closed when his body emitted the light, so he was really telling the truth. Bors bore a blank expression, blinking. ¡°Hmm. Well, alright,¡± he said. ¡°Anyways, I have to go to Durn for some things, so I¡¯ll begone for a while,¡± said Bors. ¡°I think I should get going, then. I haven¡¯t been home in a few days,¡± Ryu said, getting up. Bors nodded. ¡°Do you need me to accompany you out of the forest?¡± ¡°I would appreciate that, sir,¡± Ryu said. He picked up his items, and the two left.
When they arrived at the edge of the forest Ryu turned to Bors. ¡°This should be it,¡± he said. ¡°I can make it back from here by myself. Thank you for everything.¡± Bors didn¡¯t say anything. He simply gave an understanding nod and continued on the path back to Durn. But before Bors fully turned his back, Ryu said, ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you, I¡¯d like to come back and train again. Just until you leave, of course.¡± Bors didn¡¯t stop when Ryu spoke. He had kept walking, with his back still turned. ¡°You have a week,¡± he said loudly. ¡°And don¡¯t keep me waiting.¡± Ryu spoke no words, only half-smiling. Bors continued on, his back still turned, waving two fingers as a goodbye to Ryu. It was, after all, the most appropriate way for the two men to say farewell. Ryu waited until Bors was out of sight before he brought up the ¡®Log Off¡¯ screen. But before loggingoff, he looked up at the sky and smiled a wondrous smile. I guess this game isn¡¯t so bad after all. A soft wind came passing by, gently blowing against his short, but silky black hair. He confirmed the log out and was gone. Meanwhile, still on the western road, Bors was walking, sensing the strange phenomena. Behind him was a dazzling white pillar of light, extending up to the sky. He didn¡¯t bother turning to check what had happened. He merely rolled his eyes, gleaning over his shoulder. He scoffed. ¡°So, he was a traveler, after all.¡± He smiled and continued on. The gust that had blown by Ryu earlier was now just passing Bors, and with it, a vibrant green leaf. The gentle gale carried it away into the sky¡ªinto the shining sun. Chapter 8: Discovery George opened his eyes and found himself back in his bedroom, wearing the same clothes he¡¯d worn before logging in. He blinked several times, making sure he was in the right place. He rose up and gently peeled off the gear from his head and placed it on the nightstand. He looked at his alarm, which read 7:55 AM. He then checked his phone for the date, but its battery had died. When he turned on the computer to look at the day¡¯s date his mouth dropped. It¡¯s Monday?! In Dream World and past VRs, the rate at which time progressed was always higher than real time. More specifically for Dream World, the rate of time progression was 5:1. This meant that five hours in-game translated to one hour in real time. However, in this case, it seemed that the rate was 1:1 for Second World. Therefore, one hour in-game equaled one hour in real time. This is what George concluded as 60 hours had gone by in real time; he also had the similar sense that 60 hours had passed in-game during his time in Second World. George placed his hand on his stomach. Odd¡­ I¡¯ve been gaming for over two days. Why am I not hungry? Suddenly, he noticed something strange. His body belt a bit different. Huh? He lifted up his shirt. ¡°What the hell?¡± he said aloud. When he lifted up his shirt he saw that his abs were showing. He also inspected his arms, which were clear to him to be more muscular than before. To anyone who could have seen him a few days ago, he would have just been skin and bones and no muscle. But now, his body was more athletic and lean. This is my body in-game! George was confused, startled even. After several minutes of intense psychological self-evaluation, he stroked the sides of his arms and felt his abs once more to make sure that it was indeed real¡ªand indeed it was. How is this even possible? He was scratching his head until something from the game came into his mind. He raised his head, extremely curious. Wait. Let¡¯s see if it works. He sat cross-legged on his bed, meditating, trying to go back into a state in which he could harness natural essence. He sat there for more ten minutes, but nothing happened. George sighed, laughing hysterically with relief. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t work. That would be absurd. He placed his hand over his pecs, looking down at his body. So, only the physical body is affected. I¡¯ll have to verify this as I keep playing. He spent no more time thinking about the game and quickly hopped in the shower. Once he got out he quickly got dressed and headed out to Downtown Manhattan.
George was on the bus on his way back home. Much to his surprise, or rather, non-surprise, he didn¡¯t find any openings today, not even at the gaming companies. It was New York, and especially with the prominent gaming culture he¡¯d expected to find at least something. It was commonplace nowadays for people to go into an office building and inquire about jobs or postings available. Most of the time, they got an interview right then and there. And those who had sufficient credentials and work experience were hired on the spot. Marketers, programmers, and especially game designers were highly valuable positions. Anyone with substantial experience in those areas was a priority to hire for any game company, especially for those who specialized in VR. George himself had a degree in programming and graphic design and had worked as an intern for Infinity Technology. That is, until Dream Corps released Dream World, which eventually led to the decline and shutting down of Infinity Technology. The rejections he''d suffered til now most likely attributed to the fact that he always confirmed that he worked for Infinity Technology. Interviewers and prospective employers always ended the conversation abruptly whenever he mentioned it. After all, it was known that Infinity Tech, as well as a few other game companies, was planning to rebuild and relaunch, so companies like Dream Corps and their affiliates were always wary of spies. George was on his phone, posting his monthly rent of $2,896 on his tenant¡¯s account. With a somber face, he looked at the 5-figure number in his bank account dwindle down to four digits. He sighed. I¡¯ll have to start cutting more corners. He sighed, his back falling into his seat. All I¡¯ve got right now is this game. Hopefully, it all turns out.
Upon entering his room, George collapsed on the bed. He lay there for a good minute, appreciating the fragrance of the bedsheet that somewhat relieved him of his stress. A bit rejuvenated, he went and logged onto his computer. He checked back on the YouTube video, scrolling through the comments. As he scrolled down the comments section he saw dozens of comments from players who had played it the day of release. Most of them were sour and filled with salt and bitterness.
¡°This game sucks. Save yourself $2,000 and some time. Don¡¯t buy it.¡±
¡°I couldn¡¯t fucking log off for a day. What the fuck was that about?¡±
¡°I literally wasted over a day playing this game. Literally. Logged off immediately when the menu was working.¡±
George scrolled further down and saw one comment that piqued his interest.
¡°Hey, everyone. I¡¯ve created a forum where we can express our opinions on the game. The URL is www.secondworldforums.com. Come and share your thoughts.¡±
Interested, he visited the forum. There were only three posts, all of which were uploaded a day ago, but they only had a few hundred views. Each of them summarized the following, respectively:
¡°I couldn¡¯t understand the NPCs. Is this a bug?¡±
¡°My character died, and I was automatically logged off the game. Now I can¡¯t log back in no matter how many times I try.¡±
¡°Where are you supposed to get skill books? This game¡¯s boring as hell without skills. Getting a refund ASAP.¡±
The second post especially caught George¡¯s attention. Someone died and can¡¯t log back in? I should PM them and ask about it. I need to know more about this game before I go back online. George created an account under the username ¡°Dragon¡± and sent the following message to the second poster whose forum name was ¡°Orchid¡±:
¡°Hello. I also play Second World. How long ago did you try logging back in since you died?¡±
George waited at the computer for almost an hour before getting a response, rotating between Minesweeper and Solitaire during that time. Orchid messaged back with the following:
¡°I died almost a day ago. I tried logging back in immediately after, but I couldn¡¯t.¡±
George replied:
¡°Have you brought your equipment back to the store? Perhaps there¡¯s something wrong with it.¡±
Orchid then replied:
¡°Already tried, and they said there¡¯s nothing¡¯s wrong with it. I tried getting a refund, but I can¡¯t because of their policy: If your character dies you can¡¯t get a refund. It¡¯s stupid, but it¡¯s true. Look in your VR package. There should be a slip of paper that lays out all the terms and policies. The clerk told me he would take back my VR equipment, but I wouldn¡¯t get a refund for it. He also said that I should buy a new set of equipment to see if that would solve my problem.¡±
Reading this, George asked:
How would they know if you died?
And Orchid replied:
Do you see the dial that''s attached to the electrodes? When you die, the ring around the dial will turn red. That''s how they know if someone''s died.
It was then that George asked:
¡°Have you tried with a new set of equipment?¡±
To which Orchid responded:
¡°No. I think I¡¯m done. There¡¯s just too much to learn, and it¡¯s really boring, and I don¡¯t really want to spend another $2,000 on this game.¡±
George sent a final response:
¡°Ah, well. Good luck then. Thanks for the information.¡±
George minimized the browser and fell back into his chair, sighing with a bit of worry. Looks like I can¡¯t be careless in this game. He sat there and spun his chair around several times, during which he was eyeing his phone, which was charging on the USB connector to his computer. He pulled the chair back into the desk and disconnected the phone from the USB plug. When the phone screen came on, he pulled up the contact list, hovering over Chase¡¯s number. He stared at it for a long moment but eventually placed the phone back down. Saying nothing, he returned back to his bedside, falling face forward onto the mattress, closing his eyes.
When George woke up, there was a dim light. His head was turned to the window, and he saw the sun rising. Shit. Is it morning? He forcibly got himself up, rubbing his drowsy eye. Yawning, he went out to the kitchen and made himself a quick cup of coffee and then went back to his room. He sat down on the chair and grabbed his phone from the desk. ¡­Should I call Chase? He looked down at his phone¡¯s screen, repeatedly scrolling up and down in his contact list, not sure of what to do. Maybe after. He sipped the remainder of his coffee, getting back on the bed, and logged straight back into Second World.
Ryu was finishing his 90th set of 100 sit-ups. He had now reached a stage where he could comfortably do dozens of sets of his endurance and strength exercises. It had been ten hours since he logged in and Bors had yet to be seen. He was rather fortunate not to have been attacked. During these ten hours he would occasionally get tired after a few rotations of exercises, but not to the point of exhaustion. So in between his rotations, he took incremental breaks, during which he practiced attuning to natural essence. It was invariably slow at first, but he eventually reached a point where he could integrate at a steady and consistent rate. It was still rather dull, but the feeling was now considerably more noticeable than the tingling sensation he had experienced prior. After finishing the set, Ryu fell, his back to the ground, and his arms stretched out. He took deep breaths. Whew. I¡¯m surprised I did all that. He drew out his hand in the air and looked and it, turning it palm-forward and palm-backward a few times, then clenching it into a fist. I guess it¡¯s a good time to start combat training. He rose up and walked over to one of the medium-sized boulders. Standing in front of the rock, he inhaled and exhaled calmly and loosened his shoulders. He entered a combative stance, readying a punch. Let¡¯s see if this works. He released his arm forward, with full force, making perfect contact with the boulder. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°What the hell!?¡± Ryu shouted, shaking his hand vigorously. ¡°God dammit!¡± There was not even the slightest dent, and now due to his oversight, his hand was now bulging red. I probably should have tried on the tree first. Ryu collapsed on one of the smaller boulders to rest and let his hand recover. After sitting down, he opened up his character menu.
Name Ryu
Title Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!None
Level 1
Affiliation Traveler
Alignment None
Race Human Profession None
Fame 5
HP: 50/50 Energy: 5/5
Physical Stats
Strength: 10 Speed: 5
Endurance: 16 Stamina: 8
Quickness: 88 Agility: 22
Hardness: 1
Physical Hardness: 1 ???
Toughness: 1
Physical Toughness: 1 ???
Mental Stats
Intelligence: 499 Wisdom: 749
Perception: 499 Insight: 749
Misc. Stats
??? ???
Unallocated SP: 30
Hmm. Some of my physical stats have changed since the last time I logged on. It must be due to all the training I¡¯ve been doing. He grabbed his chin, carefully processing all the information he¡¯d gathered. So... Physical training does increase your physical stats, after all. That makes sense. For all current VRMMO¡¯s known to the world, in-game physical training never affected one¡¯s own stats directly. Players could complete physical training and be rewarded with bonus SP, but that was it. So for Ryu, this was quite a discovery. He wasn¡¯t at all shocked, though, as there was sound logic to it. After all, if a person trains his or her body, it would be more than sensible for the corresponding body stats to improve along with it. Now that he had come across this, it now made sense why and how Guy¡¯s muscles had grown during their journey to the Brown Forest the few days prior. It seems that my suspicions have been confirmed. Ryu shifted his eyes to his unallocated stat points. When he first opened up his character information screen those some odd hours ago, he had immediately noticed the up-arrow indicators next to his stats, indicating that they could be increased. Since then, he¡¯d subconsciously been thinking about which stats to increase. I have 30 stat points. What should I use them on? Looking over his mental stats, he saw that his Intelligence, Perception, Wisdom, and Insight were all one point away from being either 500 or 750, so he opted to put points into those. He pressed the up arrow next to his Intelligence, and a small confirmation window appeared.
It will take 2 stat points to increase your Intelligence by 5. Would you like to use 2 SP to increase your Intelligence by 5?
Yes / No
Hmm¡­ Ryu pressed on the ¡®No¡¯ option to exit the confirmation window, and then re-pressed the up arrow icon by his Intelligence once again, only to be shown the same exact confirmation window.
It will take 2 stat points to increase your Intelligence by 5. Would you like to use 2 SP to increase your Intelligence by 5?
Yes / No
Interesting¡­ I can¡¯t simply increase my Intelligence by 1. Moreover, I have to use a minimum of 2 SP to increase it. Furthermore, the allocation rate is 2:5, or 1:2.5¡­ Normally in a VRMMO, when players increased their stats via stat points, or SP, they increased it by a ratio of 1:1. Therefore, one stat point would increase a given stat directly by one. So, if a player were to use 20 SP to increase a stat, they would increase the stat directly by 20. But in this case, the allocation rate of SP-to-Stat was higher, being 2:5, or 1:2.5. Let¡¯s check Wisdom. Ryu exited the confirmation window and tapped on the up arrow by his Wisdom. And upon seeing the new confirmation window, he became more intrigued.
It will take 8 stat points to increase your Wisdom by 21. Would you like to use 8 SP to increase your Wisdom by 21?
Yes / No
Ryu did quick math and found that the ratio was slightly different this time. The ratio is 1:2.625. The conversation rate is slightly higher. Upon realizing this difference, he exited the character screen and opened his Skills Descriptions menu. He checked back at the description of his Intelligence and Wisdom to re-verify the ¡°Affinity Grades¡± that he had noticed when he first looked at his skills.
Intelligence
You have profound intellect. Your Intelligence directly affects your Perception.
Affinity Grade: S+++
Wisdom
You have profound wisdom. Your Wisdom directly affects your Insight.
Affinity Grade: S++++
Intelligence has an ¡®Affinity Grade¡¯ of S+++, whereas Wisdom has an ¡®Affinity Grade¡¯ of S++++. And there is a 0.125 difference between the allocation rates between the two. That must mean each degree of positivity or negativity is a difference of 0.125 in the allocation rate for SP... I should calculate this. Using a small, sharp stone he found on the ground, he spent the next few minutes chiseling a chart onto the large boulder he couldn¡¯t dent. The charted displayed the following:
Efficacy/Affinity Grade SP-to-Stat Allocation Rate SP Required for Allocation Stats Obtained
F- 1 to 0.125 8 1
F 1 to 0.25 4 1
F+ 1 to 0.375 8 3
D- 1 to 0.5 2 1
D 1 to 0.625 8 5
D+ 1 to 0.75 4 3
C- 1 to 0.875 8 7
C 1 to 1 1 1
C+ 1 to 1.125 8 9
B- 1 to 1.25 4 5
B 1 to 1.375 8 11
B+ 1 to 1.5 2 3
A- 1 to 1.625 8 13
A 1 to 1.75 4 7
A+ 1 to 1.875 8 15
S- 1 to 2 1 2
S 1 to 2.125 8 17
S+ 1 to 2.25 4 9
S++ 1 to 2.375 8 19
S+++ 1 to 2.5 2 5
S++++ 1 to 2.625 8 21
This should be it. And furthermore, it seems that the game will only let you increase a stat by a whole number, given that I have to increase my Intelligence by a minimum of 5, therefore using 2 SP¡­ Let¡¯s see if this checks out for the other stats. Hopefully, there aren¡¯t A++¡¯s and the like. This chart would be wrong if that were the case. Suddenly four in-game windows popped up.
Congratulations! You have 500 Perception. As a result, you have gained the Identify skill. You are the first player to learn the Identify skill. As such, you have been rewarded with 10 stat points.
Congratulations! You have 500 Perception and 500 Insight. As a result, you have gained the Recognize skill. You are the first player to learn the Recognize skill. As such, you have been rewarded with 10 stat points.
Identify
As you are profoundly perceptive, you are able to identify items and determine their quality and provisional stats. As your Perception increases, so will your ability to identify items.
You canIdentifyitems up toSuper Rarerarity.
Recognize
As you are both profoundly perceptive and insightful, you are able to recognize others, discovering their character information. As your Perception and Insight increase, so will your ability to recognize others.
You canRecognizeothers who areLevel 100or below.
Upon seeing all these new skills regarding his Perception and Insight, he opened the Character Description menu. He saw that he now had 500 Intelligence and 750 Wisdom, along with 500 Perception and 750 Insight.
Name Ryu
Title None
Level 1
Affiliation Traveler
Alignment None
Race Human Profession None
Fame 5
HP: 50/50 Energy: 5/5
Physical Stats
Strength: 10 Speed: 5
Endurance: 16 Stamina: 8
Quickness: 88 Agility: 22
Hardness: 1
Physical Hardness: 1 ???
Toughness: 1
Physical Toughness: 1 ???
Mental Stats
Intelligence: 500 Wisdom: 750
Perception: 500 Insight: 750
Misc. Stats
??? ???
Unallocated SP: 50
My Perception and Insight have increased, and I didn¡¯t even increase it myself. They must have increased when my Intelligence and Wisdom increased. So, I guess the descriptions were right about them directly affecting each other¡­ So much like physical stats, if you ¡®train¡¯ your mental stats, they¡¯ll naturally increase, too. My Intelligence and Wisdom... They must have increased when I figured out the mechanics of SP allocation. Wasting no time, he went on to verify the chart by attempting to use SP to increase his stats. Remembering that his ¡®Efficacy Grade¡¯ for his Strength was a D-, he expected that he would be required to use 2 SP for a one-point increase. If I¡¯m right, I¡¯ll need to use 2 SP to increase my Strength by 1. He pressed the up-arrow indicator by Strength and a confirmation window appeared.
It will take 2 stat points to raise your Strength by 1. Would you like to use 2 SP to increase your Strength by 1?
Yes / No
Alright. Now to check the others to make sure this chart is accurate. He spent the next few moments checking the confirmation windows for his other stats, and indeed, the results confirmed the accuracy of the chart. Looks like it all checks out. I¡¯ll save my SP for now until I find the need for the stats. He let out a sigh and relaxed down on the rock. He was silently celebrating in the wake of his new discoveries, appreciating the world around him. He grabbed his brown crystal necklace that was dangling across his chest. Pinching the crystal between his thumb and index finger, he raised the necklace to the sky. It shimmered in the light, causing a twinkling in his eyes. Overjoyed with everything that happened today, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. This game is more amazing than I thought. ¡°Looks like someone¡¯s in a good mood,¡± said a deep voice. An approaching Bors was carrying a large sack over his shoulder. ¡°Yeah,¡± Ryu said, setting the crystal back down on his chest. ¡°I guess I am.¡± ¡°Well you should be,¡± said Bors. ¡°I brought you a few gifts.¡± He threw a leaf-wrapped bun and it landed on Ryu''s chest. Upon seeing the little food parcel, Ryu''s lips turned upwards. His stomach growled, and he chuckled lightly to himself. He looked back up at the sky. Yeah... This game isincredible. Chapter 9: Basic Training Graduation It was the next Monday. A week had gone by and today was the end of Ryu¡¯s basic training. Over the course of the past week, Bors had instructed Ryu minimally, as there was not much else he could teach Ryu in terms of physical training. Ryu had been intent on getting stronger, so much so that he hadn¡¯t even logged off since re-entering the game. He was like a child who discovered something new for the first time, fully immersed with everything around him. And so, not having logged off for a week, he satisfied all his basic human needs in Second World. When it was time to eat, he ate whatever Bors brought back from his daily hunts: rabbits, squirrels, deer. He even ate an adult Brown Wolf one night. When it was time to use the restroom he used the forest. And when it was time to sleep, he slept by the nightly campfire. Of course, Bors would stay half-awake to guard against intruders. At one point Ryu almost decided to log off once just to check the condition of his body in the real world. But he ultimately deemed it unnecessary and continued with his training. And now, thanks to this extreme determination and perseverance, his character had improved, and these improvements were reflected by the apparent increase of his stats in his Character Description window. An even greater milestone for Ryu was that on that previous Friday, he had finally managed to utilize natural energy successfully on his own. It wasn¡¯t until his Energy became 25 that he was able to imbue his attacks with natural energy. Previously, his only experience with natural energy had been the time when he fought the Brown Wolf, but that didn¡¯t happen with conscious effort. Now, he could use natural energy willingly. Ryu stood arm¡¯s length in front of a decent-sized boulder. He took one deep breath and pulled back his elbow as a pale white aura appeared around him. When he released his right arm he created a ¡®swoosh¡¯ of air¡ªhardly noticeable, but noticeable nonetheless. Upon impact, his fist created a 3-foot-wide crater. Ryu retracted his arm and shook the stone crumble off his hand, stepping back to take a good look at the result of his training. While the amount of damage he inflicted was impressive for someone of his level, in the much larger picture it was meager at best. He constantly reminded himself of how Bors easily obliterated a boulder much larger than this. As it now stood, his current strength using natural energy matched Bors¡¯ base strength. Ryu looked at his hand, clutching it in and out. I still have a long way to go. Bors, who was now approaching, carried over the large sack he had brought with him last week. He flipped it over his shoulder and onto the ground, upon which a plethora of weapons fell out. ¡°Pick one,¡± he said. Ryu looked around and saw nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. It was just a bunch of plain-looking daggers, maces, and axes. A few swords, too, but Ryu already had one. He didn¡¯t even bother to Identify any of them. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± he said. ¡°I have my own.¡± He patted down on his sword, indicating that it was already his weapon of choice¡ªwhich he hadn¡¯t identified yet, even after a week of having learned the Identify skill. ¡°Hmmph. Very well,¡± Bors said. ¡°Come. Follow me.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± Bors smirked, turning his back and walked in the direction of the dense forest, not responding. Ryu didn¡¯t say anything and followed. They walked for almost half an hour into the forest until finally, they reached an area that Ryu had never ventured into before. It had a grim and eerie feel to it. There was only a sliver of light coming through the canopy, so both men could only see maybe 100 or 150 feet away from them. After taking just two steps into the new area, a virtual message appeared to Ryu.
You have entered a Monster Zone: Brown Wolf Thicket [Area 1]. You are the first player to discover Brown Wolf Thicket [Area 1]. Being the first player to discover Brown Wolf Thicket [Area 1], you and your party will receive the following buffs while in Brown Wolf Thicket [Area 1]:
10% increasedEXP
10% increased quality of loot
10% increased rarity of loot
These buffs are divided equally among all active party members in Brown Wolf Thicket [Area 1].
Duration of buffs: 24 hours
Bors walked a bit further, stopping in the middle of the opening. He turned around to Ryu and took out a tiny capped flask filled with a yellow fluid. He uncapped it, and a heavy urine stench leaked out. Bors smirked. ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready.¡± Upon seeing Bors¡¯ action and keeping in mind that he had entered a monster zone called ¡°Brown Wolf Thicket,¡± Ryu figured that Bors had planned to lure monsters to them. I see¡­ He¡¯s planning to lure out Brown Wolves. Not so scared, but just a little anxious¡ªand even a bit excited¡ªRyu¡¯s lip curled upwards. This¡¯ll be a good opportunity to see how much I¡¯ve improved. It was not even a minute after Bors had opened the vial that about a dozen Brown Wolves appeared. They were all snarling ferociously, appearing to be more aggressive than the pack that had attacked Ryu and Bors last week. The canines didn¡¯t attack by creeping up to the two men. They charged, all at once¡ªand they seemed pissed. However, Bors was not in any battle stance or positioning. He casually stood still, crossing his arms, as if he had intended to stay out of the fight. Ryu instantly realized Bors¡¯ intentions and prepared for a solo fight. He spotted several hand-sized stones lying on the ground and picked them up. He threw them with his natural energy-imbued strength and shot half of the fur beats down. Some of the wolves went down instantly when they were hit, being hit directly in the head or neck. Others hit in body were crippled on the first hit. If this was the case, Ryu threw one or two more rocks their way to finish them off. He missed a few times, of course. Now out of rocks, Ryu drew out his sword, which he also began imbuing with natural energy. Two wolves sprinted ahead of the pack and jumpedat him. He evaded and slashed them at their sides in retaliation. One of them, more agile than the other, managed to move in time to dodge the complete slash, but it was still gashed on its hind leg by Ryu¡¯s sword. The other wolf fell down on the spot. After seeing that the wolf dodged, Ryu reactively swung his sword once again, striking it again, killing it this time. At this time the other four wolves had encircled both him and Bors, who was still standing ever so casually on the same spot. Ryu, on alert, footed his way closer to Bors, now maintaining an arm¡¯s reach from him. Suddenly, the wolf behind Ryu jump at Bors, and seeing that Bors made no movement signaling a counterattack, Ryu turned and swung his sword around. The blade broke right through the creature¡¯s vertebrae, and the wolf fell just three feet from Bors. When it died, the other three wolves, each just ten feet away from the two men, charged simultaneously. Ryu dashed to the wolf closest to him, and as it was about to jump on him, he moved to the side, dodging the attack. He grasped his sword with both his hands and swung down on the wolf¡¯s neck, killing it instantly. There was no moment of thinking or stopping at all. Ryu instinctively let go of the sword¡¯s handle as he killed the wolf and re-adjusted it into his hand, holding it like a javelin. He raised his arm, pulling it back, and hurled the weapon at another incoming wolf. He was not a master weapon thrower by any means, but he was either very lucky or very fortunate, as the sword impaled the creature straight in the chest as it was in its mid-air jump.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Now weaponless, Ryu maintained a more defensive stance and did not take the initiative to attack. As the last wolf sprung forth, Ryu moved to the side, only barely evading the creature¡¯s jaw. It did, however, manage to tear his shirt with the very edge of its jaw. As he was dodging, his own body just inches from the wolf¡¯s, he clenched his left hand and maneuvered his leg left to ground and support himself. He focused his energy into his left hand and released a devastating blow onto the animal¡¯s snout. Upon contact, there was a ¡®crack¡¯ that echoed through the air. The blow killed the wolf the moment it was struck, and the animal was sent tumbling ten feet away. After this spectacle, the ever-so-casual Bors change his facial expression, looking astonished for a moment, then reverting back to a normal-looking expression. He scoffed to himself, and thought, ¡°His reflexes are remarkable. His instincts even more so.¡± Ryu took a deep breath, and then looked up at the sight of dead wolves before him. If this had been any other VRMMO, without a doubt, I would have died at my level. In the real world, Ryu was a highly astute person and both book smart and street smart. However, although he enjoyed them, immersive VR games didn¡¯t come naturally to him. He was an introverted and passive personality, so engaging in active mechanics within VRMMOs such as Dream World felt clunky. He understood the mechanics thoroughly, but he was terrible at executing on them. This is why he was considered a ''mediocre'' player within Dream World. However, after having played Second World for more than a week, he felt the difference between Dream World and Second World. It was the most subtle difference, but it was the most significant difference. Ryu considered typical virtual reality an ¡®immersive experience,'' an experience that felt real, but was one of the mind. But now, after having played Second World, there was a level above ¡®immersion,¡¯ which he now considered ''real-dreaming,'' an experience which was both truly real¡ªnot just immersive¡ªand truly not. And it was for this reason that he was able to defeat the wolves so easily. All of his innate instincts and intuition he possessed in the real world were present in Second World. And paired with his in-game body, he could do things that he couldn¡¯t do in other VRs. So, mechanics like cooldown timers and skill restrictions, and all the other nuances of the typical VRMMO had very little or no meaning for him now. In Second World, he could just follow the flow of battle as it came to him. Ryu smiled, excited about the limits of this new world. As he looked back up he saw that the bodies of the wolves began to glow with an aura and started to disintegrate into the air, much like how monsters disappear when they die in other VRMMOs. He turned his head all around and saw small parcels and objects standing in place of each wolf corpse. He walked to the nearest pile of items and picked up a small copper bar. There were other parcels of copper, too, ranging from the size of a small nugget to a 6-inch long bar, as well as furs and canine teeth. Although it was just a small thing among the pile, he could also see a copper ring, as well. Didn¡¯t Holy Dawn say monsters don¡¯t disappear and drop loot? The bear and wolves we¡¯ve killed never disappeared, either. Ryu remained in thought but was shortly interrupted by Bors. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve noticed. This is a Monster Zone. Much different than our training area.¡± ¡°How so?¡± said Ryu. ¡°There are four categories of Zones in this world: City, Monster, Neutral, and Hybrid. A City Zone is a zone that is inhabited by people, such as a village or a town. It also includes farmlands. A Monster Zone, on the other hand, is a zone where monsters live, like this zone we are currently in. A Neutral Zone is a zone that is not inhabited by either. Like the Western Durn Road, for example. And finally, a Hybrid Zone is the hybrid of both Neutral and Monster Zones, where some areas of the Zone are Monster Zones and some areas are Neutral Zones. The Brown Forest is a Hybrid Zone, as you have probably realized. Some parts are Neutral, and some parts are Monster. My training areas are located in the Neutral Zones of the Brown Forest.¡± ¡°So in other words, you¡¯re also saying that Neutral Zones can be occupied by both people and monsters. ¡°Aye,¡± Bors said. ¡°Those wolves from last week, and also the bear, they came into a Neutral Zone.¡± ¡°What about the local fauna, like deer and rabbits? Where are they categorized?¡± Bors smirked. ¡°All creatures that are not people are considered monsters. After all, every single living creature harnesses natural essence. Even a sweet-looking rabbit. But don¡¯t be fooled, kid. Some of the most harmless-looking creatures are sometimes the most powerful. But to answer your question: For these parts of the Brown Forest, most of the local fauna like deer just happen to live in the Neutral Zones. And since they live in the Neutral Zones, it¡¯s not uncommon to see a Brown Bear or Brown Wolves venture into Neutral Zones.¡± ¡°So how does a Monster Zone play into this?¡± Bors continued. ¡°Monster Zones are magical areas that have an incredibly high concentration of essence, so much so that creatures spawn frequently out of the essence.¡± ¡°And when they¡¯re killed they become this?¡± Ryu said, gesturing to the items on the ground. Of course, Ryu was already aware of what this pile was, as he had played VRMMOS before. ¡°Correct,¡± Bors said. ¡°But only in Monster Zones. If a monster dies outside of a Monster Zone, their bodies remain intact. But if they die whilst in a Monster Zone, their physical bodies disappear, and they leave behind an assortment of items. These items may be slabs of meat, skins, and furs, as well as raw material like that bar of copper you have in your hand. There are rare occasions where parts of the essence of the creature will transmute into an already-refined item, like a sword, or even a potion or elixir.¡± ¡°Does the amount of loot depend on the monster?¡± ¡°Indeed it does,¡± said Bors. ¡°And not just that, but it also depends on the zone as well, as each zone has its own unique attributes.¡± He must be referring to the Monster Zone buffs. So it does seem that loot mechanics exist in this game, after all. It¡¯s only a matter of killing monsters in the right zone. Ryu bent down and picked up the ring from the pile of loot and Identified it. As he did so, two messages appeared, followed by a window with the ring¡¯s stats.
Congratulations! You have successfully used the Identify skill. You are the first player to use the Identify skill. As a result, you have earned the title, The True Identifier.
Congratulations! You have earned your first title. Earning your first title has granted you access to the Titles Descriptions menu. You are the firstplayer to earn a title. As such, you have been rewarded with 10 stat points.
Copper Interspatial Ring
Level Requirement: 1 Spatial Slots: 10
A spatial slot for this ring can store only one of the following:
1 piece of equipment or miscellaneous item
5 elixirs
10 potions
50 pills
25 pieces of a single type of food material
50 pieces of a single type of non-food material
1,000 pieces of a single type of currency
Weight: 0.025 lb
Quality: Poor
Explicit Rarity:Rare
Implicit Rarity (Hidden):Brown
This item isTrue-Identified.
An interspatial ring? I¡¯ve read about these in some Wuxia novels. I see¡­ I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s supposed to be a substitute for the virtual inventory that VRMMOs typically have. It looks like you have to work for everything in this game after all. Even the inventory. He looked down at the bottom of the ring''s description, noticing that the item was also marked as "True-Identified." True-Identified? I wonder what that means. ¡°You¡¯re quite lucky,¡± Bors said. ¡°A ring. That¡¯s quite an uncommon find. You should get it Identif¡­¡± Bors awkwardly stretched out the sound of the ¡®f.¡¯ ¡°¡­You can already Identify items, can¡¯t you?¡± Ryu nodded casually. Bors merely sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Of course.¡± After a moment of jealous thinking, he then asked, ¡°Well, what is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an interspatial ring.¡± Bors turned silent. ¡°How lucky can this young man get?¡± he thought. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± asked Ryu. ¡°No, no. Not really,¡± Bors said, humorously. ¡°It¡¯s just that interspatial rings are worth hundreds of gold coins¡ªeven for the lowest rarity ones, or even the lowest quality ones.¡± ¡°Is that a lot?¡± ¡°A hundred gold coins can get you a decent Rare piece of equipment,¡± Bors said. ¡°Tell me, what are the stats for your ring?¡± Ryu told Bors exactly what he had seen on the ring¡¯s stat window. He even mentioned the term ''True-Identified'' and the Implicit Rarity of the ring. Bors¡¯ reaction: ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Bors woefully sighed, but gradually returned back to his calm manner. "I guess somewere just bornto be great." He put his hand on Ryu¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Young man, you¡¯re quite lucky." He paused, and said in a serious manner, "But even luck can¡¯t save you from a fight.¡± He walked away, back in the direction of the main road. ¡°Come,¡± he said. "Pick up your loot and follow me." ¡°Where are we going?¡± said Ryu. ¡°You still have one more fight.¡± ¡°Against what?¡± Bors turned his head, a grin on his face. ¡°Me.¡± Chapter 10: Making a Man Fall While following Bors, Ryu hiked up a dirt path that forked off the Brown Forest¡¯s main road. Maintaining a steady 20 feet behind, he opened up his Titles Descriptions menu. A virtual window appeared, listing ¡°The Identifier¡± as the only item on the menu. He selected the title and a message appeared.
The True Identifier
You see through the nature of all items you Identify. As such, you will know all pertinent information for any item you Identify. Bearing the title of The True Identifier also allows you to reveal the Implicit Rarity of any item you Identify. All equipment items Identified by you will be tagged as True-Identified. Additionally, theyhave a small chance to gain an extra provisional stat or benefit upon being Identified.
Seeing these perks, Ryu was thrilled. He had never possessed a title in a VRMMO. He was one of the early players in Dream World, but he never obtained one during all the years he played. During the early days, he¡¯d been focused on leveling, so he spent his time grinding or questing. Meanwhile, title hunters had already been scooping up the early content titles. When he had finally reached a decent level the only titles left to get were from high-level content, which required multiple-person effort, like that from a guild. And by that time the major guilds had already been established, so there had been no chance for him. Coming into this new game truly was a fresh start for him, and he was happy it was turning out for the better. Ryu also decided to take this time to Identify his sword, which he had neglected to Identify for the most mundane reasons. ¡°It¡¯s just a sword. I¡¯ll get a new one eventually,¡± he had thought, or ¡°I can already tell it looks average. No point in Identifying it.¡± When he identified it, the sword¡¯s stats didn¡¯t impress him much. However, there was a line of text that piqued his interest.
Copper Sword
Level Requirement: 1 Agility: +2 Speed: +1
Item Innate Ability: Return
This ability allows the wielder of this item to recall the item back to its wielder''s hands. Return''s maximum threshold: 75 feet
Durability: 6/11
Weight: 2 lbs
Quality: Poor
Explicit Rarity: Common
Implicit Rarity (Hidden):Brown
This item isTrue-Identified.
An ability? Hmm... I wonder how useful this''ll be. He put the sword back into its sheath and followed Bors. He took a moment to think about the items in his possession and grew curious. He took out the bronze emblem he''d received from Mirvena. He went ahead and Identified it, but when he attempted to do so, he received the following message:
You do not possess the requisite stats and knowledge to Identify this item. And being that this item is Unidentified and is neither an equipment item nor a consumable, it has completely no use.
Seeing this, Ryu stared blankly at the little token in his hand. Do I more Intelligence? The small thing in his hand seemed to be just an ordinary item. There didn''t seem to be anything exuding or emanating from it. Ryu would''ve felt it if that were the case. All he could do was look at the dull thing. I''ll ask about this later. Heput the token back in his bag and continued on with his long hike. After ten minutes of walking, Ryu finally came out of the forest. Bors had led him into a large clearance located on the side of a cliff. There was a giant but gentle waterfall flowing down from an upper ledge and into a river, which in turn flowed down the cliff, turning into another waterfall. It seemed to be flowing endlessly through the forest. Below, Ryu saw a sea of endless green, which stretched for leagues. The forest canopy filled his entire view, and in the far distance, there were mountains. How high up are we? Seven hundred¡ªNo¡­ Eight hundred feet? ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Bors said. ¡°Quite,¡± said Ryu, amazed by the enormity of the landscape. ¡°And quite dangerous, too,¡± said Bors. The corner of his mouth turned upwards. ¡°But I guess it won¡¯t be as dangerous for you now.¡± Bors turned his back, casually trudging through the moving water. He hopped onto a large rock in the middle of the large stream. ¡°Now, come. Give me all you¡¯ve got.¡± ¡°Is this really necessary?¡± said Ryu. ¡°Of course,¡± Bors said. ¡°You have the advantage though,¡± Ryu said, eyeing around Bors to see water all around him. ¡°I know,¡± said Bors. ¡°But if you can¡¯t even overcome a little thing like this, how are you going to deal with all the things out there?¡± Ryu stood with no expression. He looked out at the vastness of this newfound world, thinking about the truth behind Bors¡¯ words. He¡¯s right¡­ Sooner or later I¡¯ll be putting myself in dangerous situations. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t use natural energy,¡± Bors said. ¡°And you only have to make me get off this rock. If you do that, you win.¡± He then smirked. ¡°You can even use your sword if you think it¡¯ll help.¡± He raised his arm, motioning his hand for Ryu to come forward and engage. ¡°Come. And don¡¯t hold back either.¡± Understanding the situation he was in, Ryu let out a sigh. ¡°Very well.¡± He took one deep breath, set all but his sword on the ground, and rushed towards the smug instructor. Ryu gave no thought as he stepped into the water, but he instantly realized he had made a mistake. The river seemed gentle by the looks of it. But in reality, the strength of the current was stronger than it appeared to be. When he stepped in, Ryu¡¯s right leg almost collapsed into the water. Had he not tensed his leg in time and fortified his position, he would have slipped into the river. I didn¡¯t think the current would be this strong. I need to be more careful. Bors¡¯ smug face grew even more smug. ¡°My regimen doesn¡¯t focus on leg muscle training. Besides the running portion, of course. But running can only tone the leg muscles. So, all the time you¡¯ve been with me you¡¯ve never properly strengthened your lower body.¡± A large grin grew on his face. ¡°Of course, this was all on purpose.¡± Figures. Ryu lifted his leg out of the water. He scooped a couple of stones out of the river, and wasting no effort, threw them using energy-imbued strength. Much to his expectations, though, Bors dodged or deflected them all. Bors yawned as if bored. ¡°You have to do better than that, kid.¡± Immediately in response, Ryu lowered his body forward and extended his right leg back, readying himself in a dashing pose. With all the leg strength he could muster, he lunged forward, jumping over the water. This move from him impressed Bors quite a bit, as Bors didn¡¯t think he would take this sort of action so soon. It was a gutsy move to get into your opponent¡¯s range. As soon as he was within reach, Ryu pulled back his right arm. He inhaled, and with full force, he swung forward, aiming straight for Bors¡¯ face. ¡°Hmmph,¡± Bors scoffed to himself. ¡°Aiming straight for the face. He¡¯s serious. That¡¯s good. He understands after all.¡± Bors, noticing the strength with which Ryu struck, adjusted his position firmly. As Ryu¡¯s fist was mere inches away from his face, he raised his right hand and caught the fist. Then he used his left hand to push Ryu back across the river. Powerless to counter it, all Ryu could do was let himself be shoved across the water. His body was pushed back exactly in the direction he came from, and he stumbled an extra ten feet from where he originally dashed off. The force of Bors¡¯ push was powerful enough that his feet skid across the ground as he landed. Ryu glimpsed down to his feet and saw that they were bleeding as a result of the friction. He wasn¡¯t at all phased by it and slowly approached the river once again. His slow pacing soon turned into sprinting, and once he reached the edge of the river, he dashed once again to attack Bors. Upon being two arm¡¯s lengths from the rock, Ryu kicked his legs forward with the intention of landing. Bors had no intention of letting him do such a thing, so as soon as Ryu was about to land, Bors kicked him in the abdomen with the intention of kicking him away. However, just as his kick landed¡ªand it landed in every sense of the word¡ªRyu grabbed ahold of his leg and maneuvered himself onto the rock. Shocked, Bors thought, ¡°He actually baited me into kicking him!¡± Ryu grunted in pain but bore through it. He lifted the grown man¡¯s leg and titled it as high as he could to set Bors off balance. When Bors¡¯ back was parallel to the water, Ryu pushed against the instructor with all his might. Bors¡¯ reaction changed from one of shock to one of grin. He smirked. ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re gonna have to do better than that.¡± He tensed his body and strengthened his position in place. Ryu tried several times to push him over, but Bors hardly moved. Not being able to push him off, Ryu swung his left leg across Bors¡¯ single-standing leg. Bors still had no reaction, so Ryu kicked again, this time much harder. Bors let out a faint murmur, which Ryu took notice of. Then focusing his energy into his leg, he kicked Bors¡¯ leg again. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± said Bors. All of a sudden, Ryu felt a force coming down on his shoulder. The leg he was holding up dropped down like a bulldozer onto him. He was about to brace himself, but he hadn¡¯t reacted quick enough. As a result, he stumbled back and fell off. As he was midair falling over, he saw Bors¡¯ body rise up with a grin on his face. The stubbled man extended his right leg back. What happened next happened in an instant: Bors swung his leg across and kicked Ryu in the side of the abdomen. Ryu felt a shot-gunning pain as if his ribs had cracked, and he was sent skipping along the water in the direction of the edge of the cliff. Bors¡¯ grinning expression turned grey, his eyes widened. ¡°¡­Oops.¡± Choking and in pain, Ryu¡¯s body flipped about over the surface of the water for a good twenty feet until it finally plunged into the water. He became dazed and lightheaded, all the while being carried away by the current. Having come so far, he couldn¡¯t allow himself to get carried away by the river, and so mustering all his strength, he unsheathed his sword and stabbed it straight down. The river wasn¡¯t deep at all. Maybe three or four feet. But considering that his body was centered by his grip on the sword¡ªwhich was now ground level with the bottom of the stream¡ªhe was practically drowning himself. Water continuously rushed in his face and he could hardly keep his head up to breath. He couldn¡¯t move much, either, because he was still recovering from the blow he¡¯d just received. He was like a fish stuck mid-stream swimming against the current. Unfortunately for him, fish don¡¯t have to worry about gripping onto the handle of a sword. Shit! His hand slipping and being too boggled from the earlier impact, Ryu could do nothing but struggle to maintain his hold on the sword handle. But he held on for only so long until ultimately, his hand couldn¡¯t keep it anymore and he drifted away. This damn current... If only I wasn¡¯t in so much pain. The river¡¯s gentle but strong current cascaded against Ryu, and bit by bit he was being pushed back further away. He tried standing up but suffered severe side cramps from his injury. All he could do was flow with the water¡­in the direction of the cliff. Drifting away, Ryu looked into the horizon of the tree-topped landscape, imagining a 700-foot fall to his death. Dying reminded him of his somber past, and he was bitter for being reminded of such things. Because dying now meant that he¡¯d lose his chance for redemption¡ªhis chance to start over. But what was more of a pressing issue for him¡ªand it was truly an unfortunate one at that¡ªwas that if you died in this game you wouldn¡¯t be able to play anymore. At least, that¡¯s not what Orchid¡ªthe forum user from last week¡ªsaid. This game turned out to be the most enjoyable game he¡¯d ever played. He was only beginning to scratch the surface of it, too. But now here he was, drifting towards his death. While this was happening, Bors stayed calmly on the rock looking like he had no intention of helping Ryu. It was then that out from the shadow of the trees that Roland appeared from behind. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you help him?¡± he said. ¡°Hmmph. Look who finally decided to come out,¡± Bors scoffed. ¡°You told me to train him, didn¡¯t you? This is me training him.¡± ¡°What is it? An 800-foot drop? He¡¯ll most certainly die,¡± Roland remarked. ¡°He will. But if he dies here, then he¡¯s not what I thought him to be.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still young. You needed to teach him better.¡± ¡°Look who¡¯s talking,¡± Bors said, implying that their past student-teacher history wasn¡¯t an orthodox one either. He smirked and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This one¡¯s strong. It was right to be hard on him. You were watching him earlier, weren¡¯t you? You saw for yourself.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. He does have a natural talent for fighting, just like you said,¡± Roland said. ¡°I can see that he¡¯s quick on his feet, judging by the way he engaged on you.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s smart, to boot,¡± Bors pouted, in slight disdain that Ryu was essentially the perfect combatant. ¡°Yes. He did have that impression when I met him,¡± said Roland. ¡°Does that bother you?¡± ¡°Tch. As if.¡± Bors puckered his lips and rolled his eyes to the side trying to his hide embarrassment and jealousy, to which Roland smiled. ¡°He does need help with his sword skills, though. You should send him to Voruna. I¡¯m sure there are plenty of schools who¡¯d be glad to take him in. I could even write a letter of recommendation.¡± ¡°Voruna? That city is full of prunes,¡± Bors snorted. His mouth then turned into a mischievous, devilish smile, and he said, ¡°No thanks. I already have somewhere in mind. And it¡¯s much closer to here than Voruna.¡± ¡°Oh? And where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The School of Li Lin,¡± said Bors. When he heard those words, Roland¡¯s face ashened, and in a nervous manner, he choked. ¡°D-d-did you say¡­Li Lin?¡± ¡°Why do you sound so nervous?¡± said Bors, sounding oblivious. But he knew full well of Roland¡¯s history with the aforementioned school. Still, he continued on to tease Roland. ¡°If I remember correctly, you and Madame Ying had a sort of¡­close relationship in the old days.¡± His smile broadened, as he knew he had struck Roland in a weak point.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Ah, shush, you!¡± Roland exclaimed. ¡°Don¡¯t bring up her name again. That woman is troublesome, and just hearing her name gives me a headache.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Bors exclaimed. ¡°Remember that you sent me there, too!¡± His face became pale like a traumatic memory had just resurfaced. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s scarred¡­.¡± Roland grabbed his chin. ¡°If I recall, you spent only half an afternoon with her¡­ And if I also remember correctly, it was to punish you for slacking in your studies.¡± ¡°Tch. I hated your studies.¡± Roland simply smiled at that remark. Annoyed by such a bashful look, Bors rubbed his pinky inside of his ear. ¡°Anyways, shouldn¡¯t you get going now? You only came to check up on the kid, right? Well, you¡¯re here and now you see he¡¯s doing well.¡± Bors looked back at Ryu¡¯s current status and re-evaluated that statement. ¡°Err¡­ Well¡­ Maybe not right now¡­ But he¡¯s been doing fine so far, so you can leave now. I¡¯m sure Lady Mirvena¡¯s wondering where you are, too.¡± Roland busted loud with a laugh. ¡°Ah,¡± he sighed. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I should be taking my leave now.¡± He started to leave but stopped in his tracks. Not looking back at Bors, he said, ¡°Make sure he doesn¡¯t die.¡± With a serious look, Bors replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that.¡± And with that, Roland¡¯s mouth turned slightly upwards and he continued his elderly walk into the shadow of the shrubs, disappearing into the darkness of the forest. With Roland gone, Bors turned his attention back to Ryu, and with a glaring smile he said to himself, ¡°Let¡¯s see how you get out of this.¡± Ryuhad drifted 65 feet from where he¡¯d stuck his sword. He gripped onto the side of his chest, covering his injury while trying to stand up to the current. But every time he rose up, his lower body wobbled like cardboard and he was pushed back. He tried grabbing onto the bed of the river but couldn¡¯t hold on for more than a few seconds¡ªnot to mention that it also drowned him whenever he tried. He did this over and over until he was finally brought five feet from the edge of the cliff. He looked out at his doom. Shit... Am I really going to die? Ryu looked back up the stream to see Bors, still smug. He isn¡¯t going to help me, is he? His eyes zoomed backdown to the part of the river in which he had stabbed his sword, now 70 feet from him, closing in on 75 feet.Now in a more recovered state, but still cramping with his side injury, Ryu had regained a bit of his stamina. If he had his sword at this very moment, he''d stake his way across the riverbed back to land. But all he could do was watch as he wasabout to fall to his death. In mere moments, he drifted off the cliff. Still watchingfrom the rock, Bors stood,expressionless. "Oh? So thisis all you can do?" He scoffed and began to move, finally making his move to saveRyu from his grave fate. But just as he raised his foot to step down, he noticed peculiar movement at the water''s edge. All of a sudden, an object flew out of the water and zoomed down over the cliff. Bors remained where he was and observed the curious sight before him. Moments later, he saw the object in a person''s hand as it was plunged back into the river. He sawa black-haired head creep up from the edge of the cliff, and an unwavering set of eyes. Ryu was on the very edge of the cliff, his lower half dangling off. He looked down behind him only once, seeing a daunting sight before him. He gulped and appreciated his good fortune, but he wouldn''t allow any thoughts or obstacles to perturb him at this crucial moment. He bore through the intense pain of his right abdominal injury andthe waterfall''s rushing water and pulled himself back over the cliff.There at the very edge of the cliff, he managed to grab hold of an old tree root that protruded through the bed of the river. It was just barely thick enough to leverage him to get his body over. But it quickly broke off and rushed down the waterfall, so he resortedto staking himself in a good position with his sword. The water before reaching the cliff wasn''t as raging as the water on the very edge. It was still the heavy current he had experienced, but it was enough for him to get a good deep breath in. Whew. That was close. Just moments before having fallen over the cliffside, and just when he hadgiven himself in, Ryu remembered his sword''s ability. In that breath of an instant, he had recalled his item. As soon the handle had landed in his palm he instantly jabbed it in deep into the cliff, which had left him dangling over on the side of the cliff. If it was appropriate, he would facepalm himself right now. It was foolish of him to forget such a thing as an item''s ability. In any normal situation, it would''ve never slipped his mind. This close-to-death encounter smacked him with a good lesson that he would never forget. Seeing this, Bors put his foot back down on the rock, crossing his arms. A proud smirk appeared on his face. "He''s truly blessed." Ryu struggled in the water for a bit, his wound still thumping with pain. But he slowlyapproached land, staking his sword inch by inch until he finally reached a water level where he could safely wade his way back onto land without being ravaged away by the innocent-looking current. As he got up, he staggered all the way to where the fight had begun and collapsed, his face planting into the ground. He lay there, breathing heavily. "Wohohoh! Impressive!" Bors blurted. "Didn''t think you could do it." Bors moved his foot with the intention of getting off the rock, signaling to Ryu that the fight was over. But before his toe touched the surface of the water, theweary young man on the ground interrupted. "Wait!" Ryu gasped. "It''s...not...over...I...can still...fight." Understanding Ryu''s resolve, Bors lifted his foot back up onto the rock. "Oh? You think you can do anything when you''re like that?" Exhaling, Ryu said, "Yeah. I think I can." He stood up, his legs wobbling at first, but they soon straightened firm, like the trunks of a good healthy tree. Bors'' curled his lips upwards, fascinatedby the young man before him. Ryu took a deep breath andonce moreapproached Bors. Learning his lesson from before, he left no room for error this time, and so he used the abilities he had on hand. It was his greatest lesson learned this entire fight. If he truly wanted to win, he had to use everything available to him. And now determined to, he dared not hold anything back. Recognize. A virtual window appeared before Ryu.
Name Bors
Title None
Level 25
Affiliation Albamanian
Alignment Moratia
Race Human Profession Special Basic Training Instructor
Fame ???
HP: 485/485 Energy: 102/102
PhysicalStats
Strength: 70 Speed: 14
Endurance: 60 Stamina: 30
Quickness: 48 Agility: 12
Hardness: 5
Physical Hardness: 5 ???
Toughness: 10
Physical Toughness: 10 ???
MentalStats
Intelligence:97 Wisdom:130
Perception:97 Insight: 130
Misc.Stats
??? ???
He''s only level 25? To think he''s this strong... I''m quicker than him, though. That will be the deciding factor in this fight. Ryu grunted with pain from the side of his chest. I have to finish it quickly. There''s no room for error. Ryu dashed from his original spot, jumping over the river once again. "Do you really think that approach is going to work again?" said Bors. "You need to rethink your strategy, kid." Ignoring Bors'' remarks, Ryu attacked, following the same approach he used last time. This time he drew out his sword and swung it at the grown man. However, Bors hit the hilt of the sword before the blade made contact and it flew ten feet behind him. Ryu used this opportunity to recall the sword, which Bors noticed, so he punched Ryu lightly in the stomach to destroy his balance. Then using his other hand, he raisedhis palm and shoved it against Ryu''s forehead, slamming it straight down. Ryu fell, but before his feet hit the surface of the water, he projected his natural energy to his lower body, all the way to the soles of his feet. Upon making contact with the surface of the water, his feet became repellant for just a mere moment, which allowed himto spring his feet off the surface of the water and back onto the rock. Bors was completely thrown off by this. "This is natural energy projection!" Seeing Bors startled, Ryu took advantage of the moment, instantaneously repositioning himself. He grabbed Bors'' arm and used it as a bar to loop himself up. He flipped himself over the man, hopping four feet up while at the same time kicking against Bors'' chest as a springboard to send himself up. When his body became longitudinal, he crouched himself mid-air and then ''bam''! He dropped both his legs down onto Bors'' face, still with energy-imbued leg strength, and Bors was sent plummeting into the stream. All you could hear was the large splash and distinct gurgling noises as the man hit thewater. Bors eventually got himself up, coughing and spitting out water. "Brat. I saw your feet repel the surface of the water. Where did you learn how to do that?" Ryu half-smiled. "Just earlier." "When?" "When you sent me flying across the river," Ryu said. "I figured if my body could skip across the water under specific circumstances, then under another set of circumstances, I could replicate a similar scenario of walking on it, or at the very least, springing against the surface. Using natural energy, of course. But it seems I still need to work on it." Bors laughed maniacally for a moment, then straightened himself, looking intently at Ryu. "He''s the real deal, after all," he thought to himself. "Come. We''re going back to the training area." Ryu nodded and recalled his sword. He went to pick up his items from the ground where he laid them, and then followed Bors back to the training grounds, stumbling in pain all the way back.
Bors sat down on a rock; Ryu lay down against one of the trees. Bors took a moment, staring intensely at Ryu with a furrowed brow. "I need to ask: Where did you learn martial arts? You don''t look like you''ve ever left the city, but based on what I''ve seen, you were clearly taught before." Verklempt, Ryu looked down for a moment, then spoke. "My grandmother was head of her own school. She''d drag to me lessons three times a week when I was young." "You don''t practice anymore?" "No. It''s been a long time.My grandmother''s been sick for many years, and I haven''t bothered to practice since." "Ah... I''m, sorry to hear. I hope she gets better." "Yeah... Me too," Ryu said, with a sad look on his face. Trying to change the topic and lighten up the mood, Bors opened up his waist satchel and tossed Ryu a vial filled with a red fluid. "Drink it," he said. Ryu did as he was told and gulped down the contents of the vial. It was almost instantly that his injury from Bors healed. "Quite a marvel potions are," Bors said. "Quite expensive, though. But Roland keeps me well stocked for situations like these." "He sounds like he''s a very important person. Roland, I mean," Ryu commented. "Not particularly. But he is well known among the Moratian scholars. There aren''t many who follow scholars these days, though," Bors noted. "It''s all aboutmonster killing and leveling and more monster killing and more leveling. These days not many people care about adventure." Hearing those words brought a closing discomfort to Ryu, as when he first entered this game, he came in with the expectation of hardcore grinding. But now that he had played for as long as he did and gotten to know the game a little bit better, he came to understand that it wasn''t all about all that Bors had just mentioned. And now, for him, the aspect of adventure came to be the most enticing thing about this new VRMMO. There was still so much to explore about this world. "Nonetheless," Bors continued. "Roland''s standingin the scholar community gives him a relatively powerful position. It''s one of the main reasons Durn has had such great business over the years. That and Lady Mirvena." "Lady Mirvena?" "You have no idea who she is, do you?" "She''s Roland''s wife," Ryu commented. Bors chuckled. "She''s much more than that." "Is she important?" Bors'' mouth turned into a broad smile. "Maybe. Maybe not. I''ll let you finditout on your own." Ryu simply nodded at that remark, now a little curious about Mirvena''s background. But that was the least of his curiosities for the moment, as there were still many other things he needed to explore. "Anyways,here." Bors tossed Ryu a gold coin emblemed with a dragon on it. Ryu caught the tiny token with both his palms open. "What is this?" Ryu asked. "You''ll need it when you get to your next training place," said Bors. "I thought I was done." "Pfft. Hah!" Bors blabbed. "You''re never done training. Ever. Besides, you said you wanted to train your sword skills, didn''t you? I''m sending you to a placewhere you can do just that." "Hmm." Ryu pinched his chin. "Is it far?" "Not very, no. As a matter of fact, it''s located here in the Brown Forest. However, it''s in a very special region." "Special? How so?" "You''ll find out when you get there." Bors smiled, ladened by a tone of mischief. He then tossed Ryu another object: a rolled up scroll. "You''ll need that, too." Ryu rolled the scroll open only to find that it was blank. He blinked a few times expressing his bewilderment. "Special region, special map. It''ll become active when you''ve entered said region," Bors pointed out. "Only a handful of people know about the place you''re about to venture to, so don''t lose that map. It''s more valuable that everything you have on you." Curious, Ryu took out the token he had received from Mirvena. "Even more valuable than this? Granted, I don''t even know what this is. I can''t even Identify it." He extended his hand out, which Bors tookand examined. "Hmm. I''ve never seen this before," said Bors. "...But it does seem to be a badge or an emblem of some sort with Meleander engraved on it." "Meleander?" "Aye. TheLord of Protection. Also, the patron saint of Moratia." "So a god?" "For all intents and purposes, and according to our belief, yes." So there are gods in this game after all. Ryu continued by asking, "Do you have any idea of where it was made?" "I''m afraid I don''t," replied Bors. "May I ask where you got this?" "Mirvena¡ª" Bors coughed. "LadyMirvena." "Yes...Lady Mirvena gave it to me. She told me to find out its origin." "Huh. Is that so?" Bors said. Upon learning that it was a gift from Mirvena, he examined the token again, zooming in closer with his eye. "It looks like it''s made out of bronze or copper, but I''m not too sure. But it may be made out of another material. I''d suggest consulting a craftsman. When you''re done with your sword training, you should head out to Voruna. It''s the crafting capital of this kingdom. I''m sure you''ll find someone that''ll give you some answers." "I''ll do that. Thank you." Bors handed Ryu back the token, and Ryu put it back in his small leather bag. Bors then stood up and looked up at the glinting light that shone down through the trees. He took a deep breath. "Anyways, you should get going now. Your training with me is done. For real this time." He paused briefly and his expression turned proud. Ryu stood up, as standing showed respect. Bors extended his arm out and placed his hand on Ryu''s shoulder. He patted Ryu and said, "You''re quite the fighter, young man. But don''t let that get too much to your head. I''m sure Roland''s told you this, but I''m not even that strong. At least, not compared to the ''monsters'' out there. Take your time through this area and keep training and leveling. Then move on to the next area and level there. Keep doing that to get yourself strong, and maybe, if fate has it, we''ll meet again." He then smiled wholeheartedly for the first time since he''d met Ryu. "...And if we do, I''d like to have a proper fight with you." Ryu straightened his posture and most humbly took a 70-degree bow. "Thank you. I won''t forget what you''ve taught me." Bors turned his back, not wanting to face Ryu. Hetossed a tiny sack up, which Ryu caught with both his palms. "There''s a map of theBrown Forest in there. Keep heading north on the main road. When you get to the crossroads, take the third path. That is all I can tell you. Now go." Ryu picked up his things and headed out. But before leaving, Ryu turned his head and gave a farewell salute, saying, "It''s been a pleasure, sir." And with that, he left, heading toward main forest road. As he did so, three virtual messages appeared.
Congratulations! You have completed your first quest:Find Bors. You are the firstplayer to complete a quest. As a result, you have earned the title,The Seeker.
Congratulations!Completing the quest, Find Bors has triggered a chain quest. You have triggered the chain quest, ???. Your chain quest, ??? can be located in your Scribe Tome¡ªif you have one.
Congratulations!You have triggered your first chain quest. Youare the first player to trigger a chain quest. As a result, you have earned the title, TheSeeker Who Seeks Beyond.
Ryu smiled, continuing on his way, turning another page in thisnew story of his. Chapter 11: Moving On From the Past George was in the bathroom coming out of a steamy shower. He wrapped his midsection around with a towel, as well as slinging one over his shoulder. He walked over to the sink and wiped the steam off. George stared at his reflection. Turning his head left and right, he studied his face and body, both of which seemed alien to him now. Just a little more than a week ago, he was a scrawny-looking guy with no muscles showing whatsoever. Then, after logging off Second World for the first time, he discovered that his body had become a version that reflected his in-game body, which was relatively athletic. Now, after training for a whole week, his physique was exemplary¡ªneither too bulky nor too lean. It was beyond surreal, he thought. He didn¡¯t know how to feel about it, either. He wasn¡¯t particularly thrilled, nor was he too shocked. George looked out the open bathroom door, eyeing the simple-looking pair of VR equipment on his nightstand. It isn¡¯t as simple as it looks. George then heard a beeping notification that came from his computer. Curious, he dried himself, swiftly patting himself down the chest. He slid into a set of clothes he had just washed and dried three hours earlier. When he hopped onto the computer, he saw that he had received a new notification on the Second World forums, a page he had left open prior to taking his shower. Orchid, the forum user with whom he briefly messaged last week, had sent him a message. He opened it up and it contained the following:
Hello. It¡¯s me again. I hope I¡¯m not bothering you in the middle of the night (it¡¯s 11PM in Tokyo right now). I¡¯m just letting you know that I bought another set of equipment for Second World a few hours ago. I tried it and guess what? It worked! I logged back into the game. Unfortunately, I had to create a new character, and when I got back into the game world all the items I had from before were gone. Basically, I had to start over¡­ Not that I had much to begin with. I did lose the magic crystal necklace one of the NPCs gave me, though. But I was lucky enough to get another one from another NPC this time around. Sadly, I ended up dying again. I came across these stupid brown foxes in the middle of the road and they killed me. It¡¯s the same exact way I died the first time. They¡¯re really strong for how small they are. If you see them, run the other way. Anyways, I think I¡¯m done with this game. Thanks for checking up with me last week. I can tell you¡¯re a nice guy. If you¡¯re still alive in the game, try your best not to die. You¡¯ll lose everything. Anyways... Thanks. I hope you have fun. - Orchid
Reading this message, George now gained some new insight into the game. But having read it, he became sympathetic, as he understood Orchid¡¯s loss¡ªalthough, it was probably appropriate to consider it a non-loss, as Orchid had literally only just begun. He thought for a minute and eventually sent a message back, simply saying:
I can help you.
It was almost midnight in Tokyo, so George didn¡¯t expect an immediate response. But he sat there, staring at the screen, waiting for a response, hopeful that he would get a new message notification¡­ And indeed, he did. And not even two minutes after. The message said only the following:
What do you mean?
To which George replied:
I can help you kill monsters.
After he sent it, a minute hadn¡¯t even gone by when Orchid replied back.
OMG. How? Did you get your hands on some skill books? Where? And do you mean you can kill them by yourself? That¡¯s awesome! And how many times have you leveled up?
So many questions, and such complicated answers for all of them, so all George could respond with was:
I¡¯d love to answer all your questions, but they¡¯re a little complicated to be answering via message. It¡¯s better if we could speak in person. Could you meet me online?
He tapped the key to send the message but then instantly remembered that Orchid had just died again. The thought had gone completely over his mind, as it was an inconsequential thought. He had experienced Second World, and it had become like breathing for him. In his subconscious mind¡ªas the person he was now¡ªhe assumed anyone with money would automatically be willing to buy another set of equipment. But given his own financial situation, he wasn¡¯t one to talk, either. He thought for a long moment how he would choose: keep the $2,000 or keep playing Second World. This hypothetical had two simple options, but they both had impactful decisions. It was a difficult hypothetical to answer, but George believed that if he had to, he¡¯d ultimately spend the money. He stayed in his seat and wondered just how someone else¡ªsomeone who possibly could have had just as little as him, or even less¡ªwould feel about this.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. George sat there, blankly staring at the monitor, and thought about this ordeal. He waited a while for a response, and after ten minutes, he finally got one. It simply said:
Is it fun?
George was going to send back a ¡®smart¡¯ response, but he backtracked and deleted it immediately as he typed it. Being true to his heart, he could only send back the following response, as this response was the only thing he thought to be the true but simple answer to Orchid¡¯s question:
Yeah.
A moment later, Orchid replied back.
Would you play it over Dream World? Be honest with me.
Dream World was in the past, a distant memory now. But he tried to remain as honest as he could, and so, he re-imagined himself back in Dream World and remembered all the good times he had. And indeed, he remembered the fun times it was, even with the tragedy he had experienced. But as he thought about Second World, the corners of his lips naturally rose, turning into a smile. Although both were wonderful games¡ªto the extent that he had known Second World¡ªthere was something captivating about Second World that he couldn¡¯t put his finger on. There was something special about it, George thought. He didn¡¯t know what it was or where it was, but it was there. It was something that could only be felt rather than known. But even not knowing what that special thing was, he still replied:
I would.
To which Orchid responded after a brief moment of hesitation:
I¡¯ll think about it. I¡¯ll message you tomorrow whether or not I¡¯ll give the game another go. Anyways¡­ Goodnight.
And with that, he fell back into his chair. For one of the longest moments of his life, he looked at his phone, which was just an arm¡¯s length away. After a reasonable time of contemplating, he grabbed it from its charging port and brought up Chase¡¯s number from his contact list. He hovered his thumb over the number for another moment to think about whether it was the right thing to do to call Chase. Whether it was the right for him. Whether it was right for Chase. Or right for anyone. But there and then he decided that it was time to move on and let bygones be bygones. He pressed the call button and the phone began ringing. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ ¡°Hey, George!¡± answered Chase, after the phone had only rung 30 times. ¡°How¡¯s it going, bud?¡± George didn¡¯t say anything immediately. He tried to gauge what kind of atmosphere he wanted the conversation to have, so just plainly said, ¡°Have you gotten your equipment yet?¡± ¡°For that new VRMMO? Yeah. I grabbed one while I was in Paris. I haven¡¯t opened it, though. My family¡¯s been on vacation for the last week, and we¡¯re at the airport right now waiting for our flight to leave. I¡¯ll be back home tomorrow¡­ Why do you ask?¡± George hesitated briefly, but eventually said, ¡°Do you wanna play?¡± ¡°Are you serious? Are you really serious, George? Really really serious?¡± George didn¡¯t respond, as his silence indicated that ¡®Yes. He was.¡¯ ¡°Ah, sweet! That¡¯s awesome! Woo!¡± Chase shouted, excited. ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ll let you get to whatever you¡¯re doing. I¡¯ll talk to you tomorrow,¡± George said. But before George hung up, Chase softened his tone dramatically, and sincerely, he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, George. For what happened to you¡­ It¡¯s all my fault.¡± To an extent, Chase was right. George had advised Chase not to let ¡®that player¡¯ join the guild. But Chase didn¡¯t listen, and using his power as vice-captain, he invited the guy in. From there, all that would eventually come to pass became history. And it was now a history that George intended to move on from. But it was also a history that he wanted to correct, as it pertained to something truly important to him¡­ Something he only recently realized was precious to him: his grandmother. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Chase,¡± Ryu said, softly. ¡°It¡¯s all in the past now.¡± ¡°Still¡­ I should¡¯ve apologized sooner. I¡¯m sorry¡­ Are you still mad at me?¡± Tch. Idiot. How could I be mad at you? If I should be mad at anyone, it should be at myself. I was the idiot. Not you. ¡°Whatever I was I¡¯m not now,¡± Ryu said. He half-smiled and sighed, now relieved that he could foreseeably move on with his life, hopefully with his good friend Chase by his side, too. ¡°Call me when you get back,¡± he said, his face brighter. ¡°Yessiree!¡± said a gleeful Chase. Happy that he had reconciled with Chase, but also deeply regretful, George walked over and dropped on his bed. He looked up to the ceiling with a somber expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, obaasan,¡± he softly said, tears beginning to stream down his face. He tried wiping them away, but they just kept coming. ¡°I was a fool.¡± Chapter 12: A Cry From Afar Having completed his training from Bors, Ryu was now a solo adventurer. Though, he wasn¡¯t all too anxious traveling alone. He walked untroubled through the murky woods as he followed his map of the Brown Forest. The map wasn¡¯t an extravagant chart by any means. It contained minimal information, which was just the layout of the region and the route of the forest roads. The forest drawing depicted the wooded area being in the layout of an inverted pentagon. There were mountains running along the northern border, and at each ''vertex'' of the ''pentagon,'' there was a road that pathed inward, converging into a circular route that ran around the center of the forest. Ryu scanned his eyes across the illustration to gauge how big the Brown Forest was. Pinching his index finger and thumb together, he made an inch-long increment, and using that as his base measurement, he moved his fingers across the sheet of paper to count how many times the forest measured down and across. Ten inches down and nine inches across. Ryu''s eyes shifted down to the corner of the map. There, he saw a map scale that indicated how far the forest measured in reality versus on the map. The scale provided a map measurement-to-map distance ratio of 1 inch: 10 leagues. Using that the provided ratio, Ryu calculated the approximate area of the Brown Forest. A league is, what, almost three and a half miles? Taking just a moment, he did some quick mental math and figured out the dimensions. So about 350 miles by 315 miles? Well, it should be a little less since it¡¯s a pentagon¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Wait¡­ WHAT?! Although his approximated calculation was less than the real calculation, he was flabbergasted by the numbers, as they accounted for an incredibly large area. He looked at the map one more time to make sure there wasn¡¯t any sorcery or visual error happening before his eyes. He even rechecked his math just to be doubly sure. But much to his dismay, it all checked out with his initial results. Geez, this forest is huge¡­ And I don¡¯t even know how far away my next training place is. All Bors told me was to head in this direction. Ryu sighed, stopping in his tracks. He turned his head to the left, looking out into the western region of the forest. He had only logged on for 20 minutes, so he hadn¡¯t traveled far. On top of that, he was relatively close to the monster area where he had solo killed the wolves, and that was exactly where he was looking at now. He turned his head back facing forward onto the road. Then back to left. Then forward again. Then left. Then forward. Then once more, he turned his gaze to the west. He considered his options: keep on the path and continue on¡ªto wherever that was, and however far¡ªor get off the road and blow a few hours training and hunting. It¡¯ll be troublesome if I run into a large pack of Brown Wolves. I might even die, especially if I come across a pack the size of the one that attacked us when I began my training... But I need to be prepared for what¡¯s to come¡­ It''s probably best that I use this time to train and hunt on my own. He inhaled deeply and walked off the path, heading into the western region beyond the road.
As he entered the familiar region, a virtual message appeared to Ryu.
You have entered a Monster Zone: Brown Wolf Thicket [Area 1]. You and your party will receive the following buffs while in Brown Wolf Thicket [Area 1]:
10% increasedEXP
10% increased quality of loot
10% increased rarity of loot
These buffs are divided equally among all active party members in Monster Zone: Brown Wolf Thicket [Area 1].
Duration of buffs: 3 hours
Upon seeing that the duration of the buffs was only three hours long, he understood why it had decreased from its original 24 hours. That must mean that party buffs run on a real-time clock. So even if you¡¯re offline, it¡¯ll still take away from the time. With that, Ryu wasted no time and got straight to grinding. He spent the next two hours killing monsters he encountered, all of which that attacked him on sight. It was strange, though. None of the monsters he encountered were Brown Wolves. For the two hours he¡¯d been grinding, he had only come across Brown Opossums, Brown Raccoons, and Brown Foxes. Coming into a Monster Zone named aptly as the ¡®Brown Wolf Thicket,¡¯ he expected that he¡¯d encounter the creatures the zone was named for. But after his wandering for a few hours, he still had no such encounter. Bored, he opened up his Titles Descriptions menu, checking up on the two new titles he recently received.
The Seeker
You have an innate curiosity and sense of duty that compels you toseek out help, either for your own sake or for the sake of others. As such, youventure out into the world, completing tasks that may be necessary for furthering your adventures through Albamania. Bearing the title of The Seeker allows you to receive quests from Albamanians, all without fail. As such, you will always be successful in receiving quests, shouldthey present themselves to you.
The Seeker Who Seeks Beyond
Your innate curiosity and sense of duty make you headstrong and determined. Being so,you are resolute to any cause you give yourself to.Should you be hindered during your travels, it shall only be temporary. For someone who is headstrong and determined as you, obstacles are but an inconvenience. Bearing the title of The Seeker Who See Seeks Beyond allows youto trek through your journeys unhindered by obstacles. As such, you will never fail a quest, forthere shall always be a way presented to youto guide you through your journeys.
These titles don''t really bring any extrinsic value. Hmm... But they could be useful later. I''ll have to wait and see. Ryu closed the screens. Shaking his head, he sighed. He brought his attention back to his grinding. Where did they all go? Ryu stopped moving, keeping silent. He turned his head around a few times, listening to his surroundings. He waited to hear something. Anything. Birds chirping. The wind breezing through the shadow of the trees. The silent creeping of a lurking monster. But he heard nothing. Cautious by such silence, Ryu headed back in the direction of the road. Might as well go back. But as he was walking away he heard a cry coming from behind. It was faint, but he heard it. Hmm? It was a moaning cry, and whatever was making the noise, it sounded to be in great pain. He could hear the sad cry echoing, reverberating through the woods. That¡¯s definitely not a Brown Wolf. In a normal situation, it would have been sensible for him to not bother investigating. His logical self told him, ¡°Just walk away and go grind somewhere else.¡± But there was a great intrigue gradually surfacing from within, and it compelled him to turn around and check where the noise was coming from. But most importantly to Ryu was: what was making it? Anxious but also curious, he took a deep breath and turned around, walking in the direction of the sound. I¡¯m gonna regret this¡­ Aren¡¯t I? He had totally given himself into his curious urge, so it was too late for him to force himself to stop and turn back. He simply followed his ¡®instincts,¡¯ letting the sound guide him as he marched through the forest.
Ryu walked for several hundred feet, trudging through the damp forest floor. The crying happened once every 10 to 15 seconds, but he knew he was getting close based on how much louder the sound became. He was also aware that he was now entering a different area, as he began sweeping aside darker branches and thicker shrubs. The trees grew closer together, too, many of them twining together like vines. Finally, Ryu saw light breaking through the intertwined trunks of the trees from up ahead. It was obviously a forest opening, he thought. Relieved he was now exiting the mesh of forestry behind him, he walked toward the light.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But when he entered into the clearance, all he could do was look at what lay before him. His eyes widened, and his expression turned into one of shock. The terrible kind. There were piles of bodies everywhere, human and animal alike. Hundreds of bloody monster carcasses were slowly disappearing, dozens of them being Brown Wolves. The human bodies, on the other hand, stayed; nothing happened to them. They¡¯re not disappearing¡­? NPCs? It was then that Ryu heard a grunting noise coming across the open area. A person was standing over a giant brown elk that had collapsed next to a tree. The elk¡¯s back left leg had been gashed by a sharp object and was bleeding. Its chest was covered in blood, as well. But what really drew Ryu¡¯s attention was the individual who stood over the animal. The NPC wore the kind of attire that would make anyone suspicious of him; he was dirty and smelly-looking. He had a rough-bearded look and his voice was gruff, too. Cautious, Ryu took cover behind a tree, observing from afar. ¡°Give me that stone, you damn animal!¡± the man yelled to the creature, who had an egg-shaped object between its teeth. He held a cutlass in his hand and swung it at the frail creature¡¯s neck with the intention to kill. But as he did so, a Brown Wolf came from behind, jumping onto him, biting him in the shoulder. ¡°GAHHH!¡± the NPC shouted. In pain, he tried shrugging and pushing the large predator off, but the creature¡¯s teeth were ingrained in his flesh. The wolf stayed put and remained grappling onto the man¡¯s back. With nothing else to do, the man tilted his cutlass downward, flipping it reverse-side, and he stabbed the sword backward into the beast. The creature fell down, dead. Desperately sighing and regaining his standing, the NPC once again placed his attention back onto the bloodied elk. But to his fortune¡ªor rather, the elk¡¯s fortune¡ªthree more wolves came and jumped the man, gnawing and biting him in the face. He let out horrific screams as he died. Now that the man had died, the fur beasts approached the dying elk. But to Ryu¡¯s surprise, their snarling faces turned into sad and compassionate ones. They went up and licked the elk¡¯s wounds and face; Ryu could hear their sad whimpers. Then swoosh! Three arrows plummeted into the wolves, one arrow hitting each wolf. They fell down instantly, not even making a dying cry. The arrows had pierced through the back of the neck, straight through the spine. ¡°I told these bastards to remain with the group,¡± said a well-dressed male NPC, appearing out of the shadow of the trees. ¡°Idiots.¡± He looked at the dying elk with a grim smile. ¡°Hmmph. I guess it means more for me then.¡± He raised his longbow, readying the arrow on the string. But as he was about to release, he heard a vicious growl coming from behind. Ryu saw clearly from his position what it was. It was a Grey Wolf, and it was almost threes time bigger than the Brown Wolves. Startled and frightened at the sight of this, the NPC jolted, inadvertently releasing and dropping his bow. ¡°Im-impossible! A Grey Wolf? In this region¡ªNo, in Moratia¡­ That¡¯s impossible!¡± The Grey Wolf gave the man no opportunity to pick up his weapon and it charged immediately¡ªnot that it would have mattered, as the NPC¡¯s bow skills were not capable of killing such a monster. ¡°Damn you!¡± said the man. He recomposed himself and hurriedly, he raised both of his arms together, forming a diamond with his hands, and exclaimed aloud, ¡°Ligno Lanceato!¡± When he said this, several large pieces of wood ripped off from the trunks of the neighboring trees and formed into spears. They hovered over the Grey Wolf, which had stopping charging when it saw the NPC using his attack. The Grey Wolf snarled at the man, its mouth receding upward to show its six-inch canines. Ryu observed this phenomenon, recalling the description of his natural energy skills. And remembering them, he correctly surmised what the NPC had done. ¡®Manipulating natural phenomenon,¡¯ is it? It¡¯s what I tried to do with my walking over water¡­ Although, I failed. So, this is also what you can use it for¡­ Bors probably wasn¡¯t capable of using natural energy to this extent. That¡¯s probably why he always relied on physical combat. The NPC motioned with his hand and the wooden spears flew at the creature. The wolf managed to evade the first few spears, but sadly, it couldn¡¯t evade them all. Once the first spear hit, another one came plummeting into the mad beast. The Grey Wolf stood back up every time, maintaining its original, snarling aggression toward the evil man. But every time it stood back up, another spear came hurling¡­ And then another, and then another¡­ Until finally, the animal realized it was going to die this day, so it charged, unhindered by its grave wounds. Seeing the reckless animal charge at him, the NPC¡¯s face turned grim. At that moment he knew he too would be dying this day. His couldn¡¯t move at all, pre-occupied by the image of him being mauled to death by the giant creature before him. He stood, jittering uncontrollably, as his floating wooden spears dropped to the ground and their brown auras disappearing. He watched as the giant wolf opened its jaws in his face¡­filling his entire view with darkness¡­ The wolf made quick work of the NPC, quickly tossing his corpse aside. Stumbling on its very last breaths, the spear-impaled creature approached the dying elk. Like the other wolves before it, it too licked up the wounds of the graceful animal. The egg-shaped stone fell out from the gripe of the elk¡¯s teeth and onto the ground, and when it did, the Grey Wolf licked it as well. And in the most loving manner. It continued comforting the elk, and especially the stone, until sadly, its time came. But before it humbly fell to its death, it gave out one last howl. A sad, but proud howl, which could be heard for miles around. It then lay down, lowering its head, slowly falling into an eternal sleep. Ryu waited a moment, making completely sure the Grey Wolf was dead before he appeared out of the woods. He approached the dying elk. Seeing a human approach, the elk kicked its legs struggling to get up. Alas, it couldn¡¯t and collapsed back down. Out of all options, its only thing left to do was to comfort the stone, a stone which shimmered ever-so-brightly in the light of the sun. It stretched out its neck in its attempt to collect the small thing. But even so, it could not get in reach. It even stuck out its tongue, too. But to no avail, that still did nothing. Ladened with much emotion, Ryu most gently picked up the stone, which was just a few inches out of the paws of the dead Grey Wolf. The egg-shaped thing was large for a so-called ''stone.'' It had an opaqueblack tint to it and was no bigger than a small pineapple. Using both his palms, Ryu delicately placed it by the snout of the giant elk¡ªwhich again attempted to struggle its way up and run away with the stone. But once again, it failed to get up, too weak and wounded. Ryu scooted himself up closer to the large creature, placing his sword on the ground, to which the animal jolted in fear. It wailed its front legs, trying to kick Ryu, but Ryu gently knocked them down. By the grace of some god, the creature looked at Ryu. Behind Ryu¡¯s somber expression, it saw a great sadness, which, strangely, calmed it for a moment. Ryu gently placed his hand on the dying creature¡¯s neck, softly stroking his hand up and down the creature¡¯s fur. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ It¡¯s okay,¡± Ryu said, softly. Being petted in such a gentle manner, the elk calmed down, sniffing and snuffing Ryu all about, even licking him all over and in the face, to which Ryu laughed with ticklish delight. The elk then lowered his head, nudging the stone to Ryu. A little taken by surprised, Ryu said, pointing to himself, ¡°You want me to have this?¡± The elk responded by moving its head up and down. This elk has intelligence. I wonder if¡ª Ryu heard a loud horn blowing off. He raised his head, turning to see where the sound came from, but he immediately felt a nudging at his hand. He looked down and saw the elk nibbling across his arm. It was then that the elk bit Ryu¡¯s arm, dragging his hand over the stone on the ground. Ryu understood and clasped the stone in his hand, but the animal continued to nudge the player away, ramming its snout up against him, pushing him away. What? What does it want¡ªWait¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Does it want me to leave? The horn blew again, sounding much louder this time. Hearing the sound getting much closer, Ryu understood what the elk was trying to do, and so he quickly grabbed his things. But sensing that the stone was an important object, he accessed his interspatial ring and placed it into one of the slots. After doing so, he scurried across the field and hid behind the trees¡ªfar enough away to see the open view, but also far enough away not to be seen from across. He kept his attention on the elk as it lay there alone¡­ It was only moments later that a group of people came into the clearance, with some even dropping down from the branches of the trees. The first thing the group took notice of was the Grey Wolf. ¡°No way! What¡¯s a Grey Wolf doing all the way out here?¡± they exclaimed. Not minding the Grey Wolf, one of the men, looking to be the leader of some sort, crouched down to the NPC that had been ravaged by the Grey Wolf. ¡°The fool¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Tch. Serves him right,¡± said another man. ¡°He should have led his party better. Damn idiot.¡± ¡°Does he have the stone?¡± said another, different man who was straight to the point. The crouched man checked the deceased NPC, patting him all over. ¡°No.¡± He stood up, looking at the lone elk, and approached it. He quickly eyed the animal and saw nothing of interest. ¡°And it seems that the elk doesn¡¯t have it anymore, either.¡± ¡°Damn!¡± shouted one of the men. ¡°We¡¯ve been chasing it for two weeks, all the way from the northern border. And now this. Captain¡¯s gonna be mad.¡± ¡°Why am I gonna be mad?¡± asserted a female, walking up from behind the group. This young woman wore a tight military coat, and she had brown thigh-high stockings running up herlegs, and boots just as high. Her long, dark hair gallantlydrifted along her back as she marched. She had a serious stature, but more than that, she had ¡°Danger¡± written all over her. And Ryu could tell she was just that. This woman isstrong. ¡°C-Captain¡­!¡± murmured the earlier guy. The dominant man from the group unsheathed a sword and killed the creature he stood over. He showed no remorse and plainly sliced the giant animal across the neck. He swiftly swung his sword to the side to get the blood off and re-sheathed his sword. ¡°My lady, it appears that we have lost the stone,¡± he plainly said. The woman dramatically sighed. ¡°That stone is a relic of Moratia. The viscount will be very disappointed to hear about this.¡± She turned facing the direction of Ryu. Ryu quickly turned his back against the tree, hoping she didn¡¯t see him. There were a number of twigs and branches by his foot, and he became completely still in fear that he would step on them. He lightened his breathing and continued to listen. ¡°All of you!" the lady exclaimed. "Spread out. We will not leave this forest until the stone is secured.¡± She turned over to the remorseless man, and said, ¡°Contact the other teams. Tell them to check everyone they come across. No one enters or leaves this forest until they have been thoroughly checked.¡± ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± the expressionless man said. Before taking her leave, she added, ¡°¡­And get Mordred. We need him to track the stone.¡± Hearing the lady utter that name, the expressionless man¡¯s face turned pale just ever-so-slightly. ¡°Mordred, you said?¡± ¡°Do you have a problem with that, Percival?¡± ¡°No, my lady,¡± he stuttered. The man took a 45-degree bow, crossing his left arm over his chest. ¡°I will do as you say.¡± ¡°Good. Then we are done here.¡± She walked for just a few short steps and stopped. Her eyes gleaned over at the dead Grey Wolf. "And get someone to pick up the loot from that Grey Wolf. I expect the items to be brought to my tent when we return to camp." "It will be done, Lady Guinevere." With that, she headed back into the shadow of the forest, the remorseless man following her. After witnessing all of this, Ryu carefully and quietly scurried away, back to the main road. He needed to get as far away as possible, and as fast as possible.It was imperative that he get to his next training placeto start working on his swordsmanship. Or else, if he ever encountered people like the ones he saw today, he¡¯d be in big trouble. But as he was running along, a shadow crept up from above. The mysterious figure dropped down from the canopy of the trees. ¡°Hey! Where do you think you¡¯re goin''?¡± a young light-armored man said. He smiled bashfully as he landed. Shit! Chapter 13: Fated Connections The youth who dropped from above stood as tall as Ryu, looking to be the same age as well. But although he seemed as old, he exuded a carefreeness like that of a child. Compared to the other NPCs from earlier, he was lightly armored, only being padded on the shoulders and knees, with leather bracers around his wrists. This happy-go-lucky stud stood head-high. ¡°Heya, there,¡± he said, his face full of glee. I should have logged off¡­ Annoyed by the situation he found himself him, Ryu attempted to lie to get himself out. ¡°Excuse me. I was training in this area until I saw that others were, too,¡± he said. ¡°Sorry if I caused any alarm. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­,¡± murmured the young man. He pressed his fingers on his chin, thinking for a moment. Then, with a happy smile, he said, ¡°Okay!¡± Ryu sighed inwardly, somewhat relieved that the person before him had an astuteness level of zero. Clearly, Ryu was lying, if not hiding something. The young man continued. ¡°But first, I have to check your things. I gotta make sure you don¡¯t run away with the goods. Or else Captain Guinevere¡¯s gonna be furious if she finds out.¡± He put up a broad smile. ¡°Hehe.¡± Ryu nodded in affirmation and allowed himself to be searched. The young NPC walked up to him and carefully inspected him. He patted Ryu on the sides and up and down the legs. But as Ryu found out, this ¡®inspection¡¯ turned out to be a little more than he was expecting. The clueless young man was rather ¡®thorough¡¯ with his search. After finding nothing suspicious from his ¡®frisk,¡¯ the smiley guy said, ¡°Alright! Looks like you''re clean. But I have to check your bag, too.¡± Ryu took the strap off his shoulders andhanded the satchel to the young man. The bashful lad¡ªwho showed no sign of shame¡ªkindly took the bag from Ryu¡¯s hands and placed it on the ground. He carefully combed through the satchel, taking each item out one at a time. During this, Ryu looked down at his left ring finger. He was relieved the NPC hadn¡¯t inquired about his ring. He breathed easy knowing that he would probably be found clean. At least I¡¯ll avoid trouble, I guess. The NPC continued scouring through Ryu¡¯s items, now reaching to the bottom of the bag. There were only three items left in there. The first of the three that he took out was the ¡®special¡¯ blank map. He opened and closed it a few times, looking it up and down, but found nothing suspicious. Seeing nothing but a blank piece of paper, he placed it on the ground next to the other items. The next item he pulled out was Mirvena¡¯s token. His eyebrows furled as he looked at the peculiar object, which made Ryu¡¯s ears jerk in response. But it ended up being of no concern, as the young man set it aside after a quick inspection. Finally, the NPC looked into the bottom of the bag and saw the last remaining item. His eyes grew wide. His face turned into one of surprise. It was the kind of look a person made when they encountered the unexpected. His normal, happy look turned into a curious one. ¡°Hey!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± He lifted the bronze badge engraved with a bear out of the bag. ¡°That? It was a token given to me,¡± Ryu said. ¡°Who gave it you?¡± the NPC said. ¡°A man by the name of Roland,¡± said Ryu. ¡°Roland¡­from Durn?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± After hearing these words, the young man carefully tilted his head toward Ryu. He thoroughly scanned Ryu up and down. ¡°Hmm¡­ Hmm¡­¡± He grabbed his chin and murmured to himself. ¡°Why would gramps give this to a guy like you?¡± Hearing the NPC utter the word ¡®gramps,¡¯ Ryu asked, ¡°I take it you¡¯re Roland¡¯s grandson?¡± The young man turned out a broad smile, nodding his head. ¡°Mmhmm!¡± Learning this, Ryu grew more relieved. Hopefully his familiarity with a family member¡ªthat is, Roland¡ªwould help him get out of this situation smoothly. Considerate, the friendly NPC put back all the items he¡¯d taken out, putting Mirvena¡¯s token back last. However, he kept Roland¡¯s badge in his hand. He gestured his palm out to Ryu, badge frontside up. ¡°You should take good care of this.¡± ¡°Is it that important?¡± Ryu asked, grabbing the small token. ¡°Wah?¡± the young man exclaimed. ¡°You have this and you don¡¯t know what it means?¡± He exhaled, and muttered woefully to himself, ¡°You mustn¡¯t be from Moratia then¡­ I wonder what you did to get gramps¡¯ attention¡­? He would never give this to me... Not even if I convinced grams to tell him to... Then again, grams isn''t easily convinced either...¡± The young man seemed like he would be continuing his monologue for quite some time. Ryu coughed noticeably to get his attention.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The young lad sighed. ¡°Anyway, this badge is a symbol of recognition throughout the Brown Forest region. If anyone sees you with this, they¡¯ll be sure to treat you well,¡± the young man said. ¡°¡­Or they¡¯ll steal it from you. Hehe.¡± ¡°How doesit relate to Durn?" ¡°Durn is charged with maintaining the southeastern region of the Brown Forest. Our crest is symbolized by the Brown Bear. Anyone who is recognized by Durn, or rather, by my gramps, is given this badge of honor.¡± ¡°So is it like a symbol for a knight?¡± ¡°Hehe. Nope. It¡¯s just a pretty little thing that shows you¡¯ve done something good,¡± the NPC said. ¡°But if anyone sees you with it, they¡¯ll be more than willing to give you help.¡± He smiled. ¡°You might even get some good deals when you visit shops.¡± The young man handed the satchel back to Ryu. ¡°Anyway, you should get goin¡¯ before someone else sees you. They probably won¡¯t be as nice.¡± He gestured his right hand for a handshake. ¡°The name¡¯s Galahad, by the way.¡± Ryuaccepted the handshake. ¡°Ryu.¡± ¡°Nice to meet ya, Ryu,¡± he said, smiling. ¡°Where ya headed to?¡± ¡°I¡¯m supposed to follow the main road until it forks into two.¡± ¡°Wah?! The southern crossroad?!¡± Galahad exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s dozens of leagues away!¡± The young man took out a peculiar blue-tinted scroll from his tiny waist pouch. ¡°Here. Take this.¡± He handed the scroll to Ryu. Ryu accepted the gift, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°A magic portal scroll,¡± Galahad said, a large smile on his face. ¡°It¡¯s the lowest grade one, so it¡¯ll only take you somewhere within 100 leagues. But it should be good enough to take you to the southern crossroad.¡± Ryu looked intensely at the item in his hand. ¡°Isn¡¯t this valuable?¡± ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry! It only costs a few silver coins. With my salary, it¡¯s not much at all,¡± said Galahad. He then smiled with kind eyes for the first time since Ryu met him. ¡°Besides, you must¡¯ve done something really good for my gramps for him to give that to you. It¡¯s the least I can do.¡± He gestured to the bronze badge now pinned on Ryu¡¯s shoulder strap. I didn¡¯t expect for this game to have portal scrolls¡­ That would¡¯ve been helpful from the start¡­ We should¡¯ve been more thorough with our shopping when we were in Durn. ¡°Thank you,¡± Ryu said. ¡°Anyway, I gotta get goin¡¯. The Brown Forest is huge, so I got a lot of work cut out for me.¡± ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Ryu asked. ¡°Hmm?¡± muttered Galahad. ¡°Are you looking for something with those people?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Galahad replied nonchalantly. ¡°Almost two weeks ago an expedition was carried out in the Brown Pass. I¡¯m one of the hired escorts.¡± The Brown Pass? Those are the mountains along the northern forest border. ¡°The excavators found a lot of items, but they were attacked by a huge horde of monsters, strangely,¡± said Galahad. ¡°The monsters fled with some of the items, but we managed to retrieve almost all of them.¡± ¡°How many more do you need to find?¡± ¡°Just one,¡± Galahad replied. ¡°It¡¯s a stone. A relic of some kind. An expert inspected it and said it had an extremely high concentration of natural essence, an alchemy material of the highest grade. If not used for alchemy, it¡¯ll most likely be auctioned off. Probably for a fortune.¡± ¡°I heard those people saying you¡¯ve been chasing it for almost two weeks.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­,¡± Galahad said, with an annoyed tone. ¡°The monsters of the Brown Forest just kept coming out and attacking us. It was weird. I never saw anything like it. Just hordes and hordes of Brown Wolves, Brown Bears, and Brown Elk. Not so scary in a one-versus-one, but man, if you¡¯d seen the numbers, you¡¯d have peed yourself¡­ Thankfully we had Sir Percival and Captain Guinevere.¡± ¡°Who are they?¡± Galahad scratched his head. ¡°How far away do you live? Are you not from the Eleven Kingdoms? Sir Percival I can understand, but not knowing who Lady Guinevere is? I don¡¯t get you at all.¡± With a casual look on his face, Ryu said, ¡°I¡¯m a traveler.¡± ¡°A traveler?! No way!¡± Galahad¡¯s eyes sparkled with wonder and excitement. ¡°You¡¯re the first traveler I¡¯ve ever met. Are you strong? Travelers are supposed to be really, really strong. Can we fight, can we fight? I¡¯d love to fight you. Please, please, please.¡± Ryu chuckled nervously to himself. ¡°Maybe next time. You¡¯re probably stronger than me, anyway. I¡¯ve just started my adventure.¡± Disappointed, Galahad frowned. ¡°Oh¡­ Okay.¡± His face then quickly brightened up again. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll let you to your travels, then!¡± He gestured his hand once again for a goodbye handshake. ¡°I hope we meet again, Ryu. When you get stronger, I¡¯d love to challenge you to a duel¡­ Just don¡¯t get too strong too fast, okay? I don¡¯t wanna get beat up that bad. Hehe.¡± Ryu half-smiled, accepting the handshake. He didn¡¯t say a word, as no words were necessary. Galahad gave his iconic ¡®broad smile¡¯ look before he parted ways. As he drifted into the darkness of the forest, Ryu Identified the item he had just received.
Portal Scroll
This is a magic portal scroll that will allow the user of this item to open a one-way portal to a designated location. Being that portals have a fixed size,those that exceed the size of the portal shall not be permitted to enter the portal. This is not a party-exclusive portal scroll. As such,the portal opened by this scroll will be available to all who wish to enter it.
Portal Size: 10 feet x 5 feet Portal Distance Threshold: 100 leagues Portal Duration: 30 seconds
Quality: Poor
Explicit Rarity: Common
Implicit Rarity (Hidden):Brown
It''s not party-exclusive? I can''t be using these often, then. I can''t afford to have someone random hop in with me. I''ll have to find party-exclusive ones, if there are any. Seeing that no one was around, Ryu used the scroll. A virtual map window appeared depicting a 100-league highlighted radius from his current position, which was marked as a red dot.
You canopen a one-way portal to anywhere in the highlighted area. If you would like to open a portal, please select anywhere in the highlighted area.
Ryu quickly analyzed the map and found the location he needed to get to. He tapped on the virtual window and a confirmation window appeared.
Please confirm the opening of a portal.
Yes / No
If you confirm ''Yes,'' you will consume this Portal Scroll, upon which a one-way portal will be opened to your specified location. This portal can be used by all creatures that can fit through the portal door.
Duration of Portal: 30 seconds
He selected ''Yes'' and confirmed the message. When he did so, a sparkling beige,rectangularportal appeared several feet in front of him. He exhaled and stepped in, upon which he instantly found himself in a new location. He was standing in the middle of the road, facing north. Two paths were before him: one heading west and one heading east. ...But where was the ¡®third path¡¯ Bors mentioned? Glossary-Index & Pronunciation Guide Second World Glossary & Pronunciation Guide
Characters
People from the Real World
George Young ¨C the real-world name of the protagonist of Second World (introduced in Chapter 1)
Chase ¨C George¡¯s close friend from Dream World (introduced off-screen in Chapter 1)
Jackson ¨C the real-world name of Sexy Guy (first referenced in Chapter 5)
Jess ¨C the real-world name of Kawaii Kitten (first referenced in Chapter 5)
Suki ¨C the real-world name of Suki (first referenced in Chapter 5) Pronunciation:Sook-ee
Orchid ¨C the name of a forum user on Second World Forums (introduced off-screen in Chapter 8) Pronunciation: Ork-id
Characters
Players
Ryu ¨C George¡¯s Second World name (introduced in Chapter 1) Pronunciation: Ree-you (Japanese pronunciation of Ryu)
Sexy Guy ¨C Jackson¡¯s Second World name (introduced in Chapter 2) Later shortened to Guy. (used in Chapter 3)
Kawaii Kitten ¨C Jess¡¯ Second World name (introduced in Chapter 4) Later shortened to Kat. (used in Chapter 5)
Suki ¨C Suki¡¯s Second World name (introduced in Chapter 4) Pronunciation:(refer to her real-world name pronunciation)
Holy Dawn ¨C aSecond Worldplayer; no further information as of Chapter 13(introduced in Chapter 5)
Spiritfire ¨C aSecond Worldplayer; no further information as of Chapter 13 (introduced in Chapter 5)
Toadstool ¨C aSecond Worldplayer; no further information as of Chapter 13 (introduced in Chapter 5)
Characters
NPCs
Roland ¨C the elder for the town of Durn (first introduced in Chapter 2) Pronunciation: Row-lund
Mirvena ¨C Roland''s wife (first introduced in Chapter 2) Pronunciation: Mer-vee-nuh
Elaine ¨C the innkeeper for the Buckwheat Inn (first referenced unnamed in Chapter 2; introduced in Chapter 3) Pronunciation: El-ayn
Bors ¨C an ex-Moratian military soldier who now lives in the Brown Forest (first referenced in Chapter 3; introduced in Chapter 6) Pronunciation: Borz
Madame Yi ¨C an old acquantaince of Roland and Bors (first referenced in Chapter 10) Pronunciation: Madame Yee (English pronunciation of Madame)
Guinevere ¨C the leader of the escort team for the Brown Pass'' expedition (introduced in Chapter 12) Pronunciation: Gwin-eh-veer
Percival ¨C one of the leading escorts for the Brown Pass'' expedition (introduced in Chapter 12) Pronunciation: Per-siv-ul
Galahad ¨C the grandson of Roland and Mirvena; also an escort for the Brown Pass'' expedition (introduced in Chapter 13) Pronunciation: Gal-uh-had
Characters
NPC Saints
Meleander ¨C the patron saint of Moratia; The Lord of Protection Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Pronunciation: Mel-ee-an-der (first referenced in Chapter 10)
Places
Albamania¨C the name of the game world of Second World(first referenced in Chapter 1) Pronunciation: Al-buh-may-nee-uh(think of Alba + mania)
Moratia ¨C one of the ElevenKindgoms (first referenced in Chapter 3) Pronunciation: Mor-ay-shuh(think of the country of Croatia)
The Brown Forest¨C an immense, inverse-pentagonal forest region that is categorized as a Hybrid Zone (first referenced in Chapter 3)
Durn ¨C a town southeast of The Brown Forest (first referenced in Chapter 3)
Calduun - no further information as of Chapter 13 (first referenced as ''The Great Warriors of Calduun'' in Chapter 7) Pronunciation: Kal-dune
Voruna ¨C the ''crafting capital'' of Moratia (first referenced in Chapter 10) Pronunciation: Vor-roo-nuh
Li Lin ¨Cno further information as of Chapter 13 (first referenced as ''The School of Li Lin'' in Chapter 10) Pronunciation: Lee Lin
Languages
Narn¨C the official language of Moratia (first referenced in Chapter 3)
Key Terms
Dream World¨C the world''s currently most popular VRMMORPG; userbase of 400 million (first referenced in Chapter 1)
Dream Corps¨C the VR gaming company responsible for making Dream World (first referenced in Chapter 1)
Traveler¨C the term used by Albamanians to address players ofSecond World(first referenced in Chapter 1)
Natural Essence¨C a mystical energy substance flowing all throughout Albamania(first referenced in Chapter 7)
Natural Energy¨Crefined Natural Essence thatis used to create or manipulate natural phenomena(first referenced in Chapter 7)
Harness¨Cthe ability to integrate with or absorb Natural Essence(first referenced in Chapter 7)
Attunement¨C the process by which Natural Essence is integrated into the body(first referenced in Chapter 7)
Absorption¨C the process by which Natural Essence is absorbed into the body(first referenced in Chapter 7)
City Zone¨C a zone that is inhabited by people(first referenced in Chapter 9)
Monster Zone¨C a zone that is inhabited by monsters; monster loot only drops in this zone (first referenced in Chapter 9)
Neutral Zone¨C a zone that is not naturally inhabited by people or monsters but can be occupied by said parties(first referenced in Chapter 9)
Hybrid Zone¨C a zone that comprises a Monster Zone(s) and a Neutral Zone(s)(first referenced in Chapter 9)
Quality¨C this refers to the quality of items;no further information as of Chapter 13 (first referenced in Chapter 9) Known tier(s): Poor
Explicit Rarity¨Cno further information as of Chapter 13 (first referenced in Chapter 9) Known tier(s): Common, Rare, Super Rare
Implicit Rarity¨C no further information as of Chapter 13(first referenced in Chapter 9) Known tier(s): Brown
True-Identified¨C a unique item tag that appears on a piece of equipment identified by the bearer of The True Identifier; no further information as of Chapter 13 (first referenced in Chapter 9)
Chapter 14: Why Must I Come Across So Many NPCs in One Day? Ryu stood at the fork of the road. He took out the special map, but nothing about it had changed. It was still just a blank sheet of paper. This should be the spot. He looked out to the left path, then out to the right. Obviously, there was no ¡®third¡¯ path, just left or right. Then, by intuition, he turned his head straight forward. Hestared at the huge gap of trees between the forked road. A hidden path? The forest in the middle of the fork looked just like the wilderness around. There wasn¡¯t the slightest hint of the extraordinary, and it gave no ominous or strange vibes. Anyone who ventured here would¡¯ve seen past it. Had it not been hinted by Bors, continuing straight forward would¡¯ve never crossed his mind. Still, Ryu was wary. He proceeded to enter the forest. But, as he took a step forward, a large bony hand came down over his shoulder, placing a knife to his throat. ¡°Move and I¡¯ll slit your throat,¡± said a weasel¡¯s voice. Ryu turned his head, shifting his eyes to see a tall, cloaked man standing behind him. Calmly, he said, ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Not if you don¡¯t want one,¡± the man said. ¡°Just give me what I want, and we can both go on our merry ways.¡± ¡°Do you want gold? I have gold.¡± ¡°Ooh. That¡¯s a nice offer, but I¡¯ll be nice this time and let you keep your gold,¡± he said. ¡°You have something else that I want.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know wh¡ª¡± ¡°You can stop,¡± the NPC said. ¡°I know you have the stone.¡± He grinned. This new foe whom Ryu encountered was one of the worst types of people to deal with. They were the scheming and conniving types who always seemed to have several tricks up their sleeves. Ryu recognized that, but he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to give in to such a person, even an NPC. Trying to change the subject, Ryu asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Is that really something you should be concerned about?¡± the man said. Ryu heightened his guard as subtlety as he could. At the same time, he thought of several possible ways of resolving this. There were a few ways in which he saw opportunities for getting out, but they all posed a great risk. He remained cautious and remained in conversation with the haunting man. The NPC continued. ¡°I have eyes everywhere, you see.¡± As he said this, Ryu could hear the cawing of crows echoing through the woods. ¡°And my little eyes showed me that you have the stone.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have it anymore. I gave it¡ª¡± ¡°Like I said, I saw everything. Even your little encounter with that buffoon. He¡¯s not very bright, that little Galahad¡­ And it seems that you aren¡¯t either.¡± The man raised down his other hand, holding a portal scroll in Ryu¡¯s face. Seeing this, Ryu realized the mistake he¡¯d made. After just stepping out of the portal, he had immediately suffered the downside of using his item. Shit. He followed me through the portal. The thought that someone had been watching him during his encounter with Galahad unsettled him a bit. Even worse, he couldn¡¯t even tell that someone else had been in the area. Ryu felt a chilly aura being in such close proximity to the man. The fact that he had failed to detect him back then made him suspicious.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Something seems off with this guy. ¡°I really hate getting my hands dirty,¡± the man said. ¡°So if you could just give me the stone, then we can both get on with our days. I¡¯d rather not bloody my hands. But if I have to¡­¡± He then laughed maniacally. While the man was laughing, Ryu looked at the bony thing of an arm around his neck. He focused natural energy into his hands, which were unseen by the man. He took the lightest breath so as to not alert the unsuspecting creep, and in an instant: BOP! Ryu grabbed the hand-held knife and spun around, twisting the man¡¯s arm in the process. The man let out a sharp ¡®Gah!¡¯, only to be punched in the jaw and once again in the gut, but much harder. The spiny weasel tumbled several feet back, his nose and mouth bleeding. He dropped his portal scroll, trying to cover his bloody face. ¡°Y-you can harness essence!¡± Fuming, he charged at Ryu, dagger in hand. When he was within reach, he extended his long arm forward, swinging it in an arc at Ryu¡¯s neck. Ryu, by some luck, slipped on a pebble as he moved his feet back, and avoided the slash. The tip of the knife was a mere inch away from gashing his neck, only managing to cut through the string of his necklace, which sent the brown crystal flying several feet away. Ryu unsheathed his sword, lunging it forward, releasing it by the handle. As the sword flew, the dark cloaked man jumped backward to gain some distance, sidestepping in the processing. In the Narn language, which was completely foreign to Ryu, he blurted, ¡°How foolish! Now you don¡¯t have a weapon!¡± But he instantly regretted his remark, as the sword immediately flew backward,gashing his leg. He cried in pain. Seeing that the NPC was momentarily distracted, Ryu took advantage of thisand opened his Log Off menu. I have to get out of here. If he catches me, it¡¯s over. However, upon pressing the log off button, a message appeared.
You are attempting to flee from this fight via logging off. If you flee from this fight via logging off, you will lose 5 Reputation. Knowing this, will you flee?
Yes / No
You''re shitting me. A new game mechanic in the middle of a fight? Fuck. Ryu knew in the back of his mind that losing five points of this so-called "Reputation" would be worth it if it meant preserving his life. But in that instant, his heart fluttered, and his finger just moved by itself, selecting "No." Having no time to regret his action, Ryu re-grabbed his returning sword and charged at the man. At the same time, the man hadovercome the pain. Hispainful expression suddenly turned into a long grin, his lips curling into an evil smile.He drew out a long belt from the back of his waist thatheld numerousblack knives. Seeing this, chills ran up and downRyu''s skin, but he didn''t back off. As soon as he got in range he swung his sword, aiming for the man''s arm. However, his attack was easily blocked by the grinning man. Ryu gripped his sword''s handle with one hand, and with the other, he pushed against the blade of his own sword and smacked it forward, propelling the man several steps back. But attacking had never been his objective. Ryu retracted his arms and swiftly struck the ground with a natural energy-imbued slash. Bits of dirt and soil flew upward, creating a mini wall in-between the two fighters. During the brief moment that the wall was up, Ryu rolled over, picking up the abandoned scroll on the ground, and quicklygot back on his feet. He swiftly consumed the item, prompting the item''s portal location screen. At this same moment, theNPC had already prepared his attack and lunged forward. His dagger, shrouded with a faint dark aura, pointed towards Ryu. He smirked and hissed in the Narn language, "Goodbye." But due to his premature celebration, he failed tonoticeRyu''s prior actions. Just feet away from being plunged by the man, Ryu randomlyselected a location on the map that was nowhere near his own. Simultaneously, a dazzling white light appeared, and when it dissipated shortly after, the NPC was gone. Ryu collapsed on the ground, taking a heavy breath. But he quickly got up and scurried off into the forest ''path'' in-between the crossroad.
Moments later at the crossroad, a portal appeared. The pale and bony NPC stepped out of it. At the same time, a new figure jumped down from the branch of a nearby tree. When he landed, he took a knee, sounding worried. "Lord Mordred, your leg." Seemingly not heeding any thought to the new figure, Mordred''s cold and blank expression turned into his notorious large grin. "Interesting." "Sire," the servant spoke, and as he did so, horses were galloping towards them. "Lady Guinevere has arrived, my lord." Chapter 15: Plum Tree Forest It wasn¡¯t long after retreating into the wooded area that the trees and vegetation started to become unfamiliar to Ryu. The trees became much smaller and normal-sized. The leaves were a deep, dark mahogany, and there were lush purple fruits ripening all throughout the crowns of the trees.Many of the fruits were already laying on the ground, plucked and pecked by what looked to be fromavian species. As soon as he stepped into this part of the woods, a virtual message appeared.
You have entered a Hidden Monster Zone: Plum Tree Forest. You are the first player to discover Plum Tree Forest. Being the first player to discover Plum Tree Forest, you will receive the following buffs any time you are in this Zone:
25% increased EXP
25% increased quality of loot
25% increased rarity of loot
These buffs are divided equally among all active party members in Plum Tree Forest. Plum Tree Forest has a moderate density of Natural Essence. As such, being in Plum Tree Forest will also grant you the following buff:
25% increased efficiency in Natural Essence harnessing
WARNING: Plum Tree Forest is a Special Hidden Zone.
Duration of Buffs: 120 hours
Justas I thought, a hidden area. He turned his head both left and right, seeing nothing but murky woods all around. He looked back behind him, seeing no one in pursuit. Observing that fact, it was strange to him that the NPC from before hadn''t followed him. Why isn''t he coming after me? His eyes gloomed at the words ''Special Hidden Zone'' on the virtual screen. Thoughts about what the phrase implicated rang through his mind, but he couldn''t be too pre-occupied with them. He then set his eyes upon the part of the message regarding Natural Essence harnessing. I might as well find a safe place and practice harnessing essence. He walked a few hundred meters into the forest until he eventually came across a seatable boulder under one of the larger plum trees. He hopped right up and began his meditation.
Back at the southern Brown Forest crossroad, a band of NPCs had gathered around. Guinevere stood at the center of the road, staring at the forest between the fork, her face expressionless. ¡°The person with the stone entered Plum Tree Forest, didn¡¯t he, Mordred?¡± ¡°He did,¡± Mordred responded, gulping down a healing potion, immediately after which his leg began to heal. ¡°Well, then we should get going and hunt him down!¡± shouted one of the NPCs. ¡°Yeah!¡± shouted a few others in unison. Percival walked up from behind the enthusiastic bunch. ¡°Fools. How long have you been alive to not know that Plum Tree Forest is a Hidden Zone¡ªand a Special Hidden Zone at that? Not to mention that it is known as ''The Chirping Forest.'' If it weren¡¯t for that fact, Sir Mordred would have sent his crows in.¡± After hearing Percival¡¯s words, the excited NPCs shut up and settled down. Percival continued. ¡°We have no choice but to wait here.¡± ¡°H-how long is that going to be?¡± said one of the escorts. ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Percival said, giving the ignorant NPC a serious look. ¡°Until he comes back out.¡± It was then that Mordred stood up, wiping off the excess red fluid from his mouth. ¡°Whelp! That settles that.¡± He began walking away from the rest of the group. ¡°Sir Mordred, where are you going?¡± said one of the other NPCs. ¡°Where do you think?¡± Mordred said. The NPC was dumbstruck for a moment. He knew by Mordred¡¯s response of what was being implied, but he was in disbelief that Mordred would be leaving now. Mordred yawned, stretching his arms. ¡°I¡¯ve done what I came here to do." Then, he put up a large grin. ¡°I had quite an interesting encounter today.¡± The concerned grunt interjected, "But Sir Mor¡ª" "Enough," Percival exclaimed. "The Round Table is meeting this afternoon. Sir Mordred must take his leave. Lady Guinevere must also leave us temporarily for that matter." Realizing this fact, the lowly soldier stopped talking. With that settled, Mordred took his leave. ¡°Come, Wilhelm,¡±he said. ¡°We¡¯re returning to Calduun.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± the squire said. Wilhelm took out a portal scroll from out of his side bag, using theitem on the spot. He selected the appropriate location on the brimming map that appeared, and then a large spiraling portal appeared. The attendant walked up to the portal, stepping to the side to let Mordred enter first. Before leaving, Mordred turned around, his eyes shifting to Guinevere who was still facing the forest. "I know you have other things to do. But if you''re late, Lance won''t let you off." Guinevere didn''t comment. She stood as she had, her expression all the same. Seeing this, Mordred took his leave, Wilhelm following right after. After they left, Percival approached Guinevere. "I''ll have the southern road closed." "We may be here for a while," Guinevere said. "Make sure signs are posted at the other crossroads lettingmerchants and travelers know." "Of course, my lady," said Percival. "Shall I also send a messenger to inform the viscount?" "There''s no need. If we fail to retrieve it, then that''s all there is to be said," Guinevere said. Percival nodded. "Very well. I shall have the men set up camp here and await your return." He bowed and went off to tend to his duties, the rest of the NPCs following him. Guineveretook one last moment staring into the dark woods. She then finally turned away, opening a portal, and left to attend to her own duties.
His eyes closed, Ryu kept a soft and steady breathing pattern. Essence was flowing through his body, integrating with every one of his cells. The feeling of harnessing natural essence was stronger than what he''d felt during his time with Bors.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The difference isgreater than I expected. Even though it''s only 25%, the buff helps out a lot. He opened his eyes, taking a deep breath. He then opened up his Character Description menu and viewed his stats.
Name Ryu
Title [You have numerous Titles. Please visit a Hall of Titles to prescribe yourself with a Main Title.]
Level 1
Affiliation None
Alignment None
Race Human Profession None
Fame 5
HP: 50/50 Energy: 9/10
Physical Stats
Strength: 11 Speed: 6
Endurance: 18 Stamina: 9
Quickness: 88 Agility: 22
Hardness: 1
Physical Hardness: 1 ???
Toughness: 1
Physical Toughness: 1 ???
Mental Stats
Intelligence: 501 Wisdom: 751
Perception: 501 Insight: 751
Misc. Stats
??? ???
Unallocated SP: 50
I haven''t trained since I''ve parted ways with Bors. All I''ve done since isgrindfor a few hours. Some of my stats have increased, but onlyby one point each... Ryu closed his virtual window, sighing. Curious, he took out the special map. Upon rolling it open, vibrant linings appeared on the scroll. An enchanted map? The lines squiggled all over the map until they formed a single and complex pathing system that led to an area in the middle of Plum Tree Forest. And on that unknown area, the words, "The School of Li Lin" appeared. And also, an image of a pagoda. Hell. That''s still so far away.Not to mention that if I have to follow this path, it''ll take me days. He let out a deep sigh and stood up. He gathered his things and continued on with his journey.
Ryu treked through Plum Tree Forest for three long, silent hours, following his special map before suddenly slowing down. Ever since he''d lost his brown crystal in hisshort encounter with Mordred, a great worry and curiosity had been gestating in the back of his mind.Relievingthis worry and curiosity, he took out the brown book he had received from Mirvena and opened it to the first page that had written characters on it. As soon as he laid eyes upon the characters, his head got slightly dizzy, and for a moment, he lost his balance. He quickly recollected himself and stood firmly back up. He looked back at the written symbols on the page, and what went through his mind surprised him in the most wonderful way. His conscious mind began to translate the symbols on the page, and in his head, he could begin to understand the words, or at the very least, the arrangement of the words. It wasn''t an instant understanding, but it came fast¡ªmuch faster than it would to a person trying to learn another language in the real world. And it wasn''t just the written words he began to understand, either. To his astonishment, he also began to understand the verbal pronunciation of the words, even though he''d never heard them. Seeing all of this, on the page and in his head, he closed the book. His head a little dizzy, he stopped and sat down against a tree, resting to collect his thoughts. His heart was racing a little, a feeling of both excitement and surprise. So... It does work after all. He inhaled, then exhaled, shaking off his Everything must be learned manually, after all. Not juststats and skills. Even inDream World, a game in which there were many different languages, players didn''t have to "read" a book on languages. Allthey had to do was use or consume language skill books, and they knew the language right then and there. Granted, there were varying levels of masteries for each skill book, so players had to acquire the higher mastery ones if they wanted to converse fluently. It was now apparent to Ryu, after all of his experiences so far, that players of Second Worldhad to work for everything that this game had to offer: stats, weapons, skills¡ªeverything. Strange, though... How did I learn that so fast? It was then thattwo virtual messages appeared.
Congratulations! You have learned the languageNarn!
Congratulations! You have learned your first language! Learning your first language has granted you access to the Language Skills Descriptions menu. You are the first player to learn a language. As such, you have been rewarded with 10 stat points. Also being the first player to learn a language, you have earned the title, The Master of Words.
Ryu closed the two windows and quickly brought up his newly accessed menu. He selected ''Narn'' under the said menu and the following description appeared:
Narn
Narn is the official language of the kingdom of Moratia. You have a pre-basic understanding of Narn.You can only hold up the most basic conversations with Moratianswith your limited Narn vocabulary. The speed at which youlearn Narn, as well as with any language, shall be determined by yourPerception and Insight.
Perceptionrequirement: 10
Insight requirement: 20
Mastery: Beginner
Reading the last sentence on the description, Ryu had just found the answer to his previous question. I see. There are even requirements to learn languages,too. Glad to be reminded of how wonderful and challenging this game posed, Ryu could only smile. He then continued on to check up on his new title.
The Master of Words
Your great curiosity for the world has led you to learn a language that is far different from your own. You shall continue to be curious throughout your journey, wanting to learn more languages, either through your eagerness or selfish volition. Should you attempt to learn anAlbamanian language, you shall learn it 50% faster than one would in normal circumstances. And throughout your journey, should you come across a language that you do not know, you shall be familiarized with it, learning the language at the most basic level. This basic familiarization shall bypass any Perception and Insight requirements that a language may have.
Wow. This title is actually more useful than it sounds. Just as he was about to continue in his silent celebration, Ryu heard the screeching of birds all around him. As he turned his head up,he saw dozens¡ªif not more than a hundred¡ªmockingbirds sitting on branches all around him. They were twice the size of real-life mockingbirds, and they were all chirping, tilting their seemingly innocent heads in curiosity. Chapter 16: Curiosity All Around Ryumade no sudden movements. Although the mockingbirds looked to be docile creatures, he couldn''tafford to make any threatening gestures. He subtly scoped the surrounding trees, then turned his head around, staring back to the way of the crossroads. The possibility of NPCs waiting in ambush for himkept ringing through his head. It''s several hours back... Ihave tostay here. He heaved a soft sigh and carefully rolled up his enchanted map, putting it in his bag. He brought up his log off menu and attempted to log off. But much to his dismay, the following message appeared.
You arein a Special Hidden Zone. As you have only recently entered this Zone for the first time, youmust wait a certain amount of time before you are allowed to logoff. If you would like to log off, you must exit the Zone to do so.
Plum Tree Forest has a six-hour [Log Off Restriction] for first-time entries.
Log Off RestrictionTime Remaining: 38 minutes
You''ve gotta be kidding me... Seeing that he had no other options, and obviously not wanting to stand there for the next 38 minutes, he calmly walked forward. He kept his head straight, daring not to give eye contact. As he walked by, the mockingbirds continued giving him curious looks, hopping and fluttering from branch-to-branch. Their sharp whistles, as well as the whistles of other birds throughout the forest, echoed through the canopy. Sensing no apparent malice, Ryu tilted his head up. The mockingbirds continued with theirwhistling and fluttering, seemingly playful. Some were perched,shaking theirfeathers, while some were playing and fighting over plums. Ryu saw a few of the purple fruits lying on the ground, untouched by the birds. He picked one up and Identified it.
Plum
This plumis made from a higher concentration of essenceof what it ordinarily would be. This plum is ripe and safe to eat.
Explicit Rarity: Uncommon
Implicit Rarity (Hidden):Grey
Curious about the possibility of its uses, he picked up two dozen more and put them into his interspatial ring. However,as he picked them up from the ground and from the trees, the mockingbirds screeched at him and fluttered about. And as he picked more, their screeching intensified, alarming him. He knew better than to keep going, but he just needed a few more to fullyfill one of his ring''s slots. But when he picked his last one, it was then that several of the birds attacked him, pecking his hands. Some flew in his face, scratching him with their beaks and feet. He swept his arm across to knock them away, but they flew back into his face and continued their aerial assault. Each bird peck was like atiny, sharp rockslamming into his body. His face and armsbecame bruised,with several bruised patches bleeding. He then drew out his sword and swung with natural energy. A few of the avian creatures fell on the spot, soon disappearing and leaving loot, but Ryu couldn''t be bothered by it. Seeing their friends die, the mockingbirds screeched louder than before. Those that had been watching curiously from the trees and those that had been playing just snapped in an instant, and they all assaultedthe player simultaneously. Ryu retaliated, but the little buggers kept coming. They poked at his arms and sides, and some were trying to get his eyes, so he had to cover his face with his arm. Out of options, he briskly brushed them offand retreated. The winged creatures attacked him in pursuit. Heran dozens of feet into the thick of the trees, but as he did so, the birds suddenly stop attacking. They cawed with a foreboding and flew away. Breathing heavily, Ryu retreated into the deep thicket, stumbling into an ominous atmosphere. He stopped mid-step, sensing a strange danger, but he continued on anyway.
Ryu treked through the thicket, stumbling his way forward. There was hardly any room to move freely at all. It was just shrubbery and trees in his path. Eventually, though, he came out of the thicket, and into a large opening. There was a waterfall falling into a clear pond, so clear he saw the pebbles and stones at the bottom.He couldn''t accurately determine the depth, though. He walked up to thepond and kneeled down, scooping a handful of water. He splashed it on his face and washed the blood off. He lowered both his hands back into the water, washing them, and then scooped up another handful of water into his mouth. He gulped down the water, letting out a sigh afterward. Hethen washed his arms, and after he was done, he fell back on his arms, tired from his previous encounter. He was not exhausted, but after that annoying experience, he needed a breather.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He looked out at the surrounding, which was nothing but the dense plum trees and the small waterfall and pond. He took out his enchanted map and viewed it. His eyes glared down at the shiny dot on the open scroll. His current location was now off the indicated path on the map. And to return to that path, there was no other option other than returning to the bird-filled area. It was strange he thought, seeing how there were no birds in this thicket. He could hear some faint bird whistling, but it was nowhere close. At least they didn''t follow me. Ryu took this time to comb through his items. He sifted through his bags seeing the book of the Durn language, one last piece of flatbread, an empty canister, and the token. That was all. Looking at his near-empty sack, his stomach growled. He took the remaining bread out of the bag, and ripped it piece-by-piece, stuffing each portion into his mouth. While eating, he became curious about his other items, one in particular. He brought forth his interspatial ring''s slots, which appeared before him as an ethereal stream of holographic images, each image depicting the item or items they stored. So far, he had two slots filled with copper bits, one slot fully filled with plums, and one that stored the stone. Curious, he reached forth, extending his hand into the open air, and plucked the stone out of the slot. To an outside observer, it would have seemed like he grabbed it out of thin air. For the first time, he inspected it. It really didn''t seem all that special. Doesn''t seem too special. He then attempted to Identify it. but surprisingly, he received the following message:
This item seems to be a stone. It''s egg-shaped and completely opaque, so you are unable to see through it. It seems to be made from an extraordinary amount of essence.
It was clear to Ryu that the item had not been Identified truly. The message had more-or-less repeated what he knew about the object, so he knew he had failed at his Identifying since no other pertinent information had been provided. Hmm... As another thought came to him, a sweet chirping came from above. A small amber-colored bird flew into the opening. It was small, around the size of a chickadee. It had a fluffy red belly and a black-tipped tail. The tiny bird flew onto a rock that had a small puddle of water in it¡ªa natural bird fountain.It gave no thought to Ryu, almost seeming like it didn''t even care about his presence at all. It splashed and fluttered about in the small fountain, chirping innocently away. Tothe player, it seemed completely harmless, like a baby who had just left its nest, oblivious to danger. It finally turned its back and made eye contact with Ryu. It tilted its little head curiously, chirping its innocent chirp. It then flew across the pond and landed onthe stone, which Ryu was holding. The bird continued giving its innocent look, tweeting cutely. It tilted its little head down to the stone, hopping a few times on its tiny black feet. It gave the stone a curious look too. Then it perched, fluffing down right on top of the stone, shaking its red belly and feathers. It shook its head, and a tiny bubble popped from out its nostril. It yawned, and its eyes started to close. It seemed like it was going to sleep right then and there. The little creature was cute in its sleepy state, and so Ryu took this opportunity to pet it. He rubbed his index finger over the tiny bird''s head in a circular motion. It didn''t seem to mind. In fact, it made it yawn even more. However, as Ryu was petting it, strong snapping noises came from behind. The branches of trees were being torn apartas if a bulldozer was running through them. This alerted both the bird and Ryu. The bird stood up. It hopped once and gave Ryu a curious look, looking straight at him. It gave two high-squeaking chirps and flew straight across the pond and into the waterfall. Ryu saw exactly what it did, but he couldn''t bear it in his mind at the moment. He placed the stone back into his ring and quickly picked up his things. As he stood up, the snapping finally came to a stop. Less than thirty feet from him was a monstrosity of a bear.The monster''s fur was dark and thick, its eyes a fiery brown. Even on all its four legs, it stoodtwice as tall as Ryu, each of which seemed to be like a person. Its snout was literally the size of the front of a car.But what was more concerning to the player was that it was drooling. What...the...hell...is that? The creature gave no warning at all, not even a roar, and charged. Ryu reacted the moment it did, turning away and jumping into the water. Ryuswiftly dove through the clear water, stroking as strongly and widely as he could. He wasn''t even halfway from the waterfall when a large ''sploosh!'' followed behind. The massive beast was tall enough that it didn''t even have to swim, it trudged right through the water. Frantic,Ryu imbued all of his swimming parts with natural energy and swam as hard and fast as he could. The grizzly was just mere feet from him, but as it took one more step forward it fell into the water. The depth of the pond had drastically fallen at that point, making it slip. Ryu minded none of this and continued his swift strokes. As soon as he got close to the waterfall, he dove right under, the bear right behind him. He dove up into a grotto behind the waterfall where there was a small cavern opening. He didn''t even think about the dangers. He simply kept to his pace and swiftly slogged his way towards the cave entrance. The bear came up right after, chasing him. Wet, Ryu rapidly trod through the shallow waters and ran right through the darkness. The cave entrance was large enough for the monster behind him. The creature was only a few feet from gnashing the player. Fortunately, though, the crevice became small enough where it couldn''tfit through. As Ryu fled,the monster snarled and roared,scratching through the space that it could fit its giant claws. Eventually, it stopped, realizing the player''s inevitable escape. It let thrashed about and let out a cry and headed back to shore. Ryu stopped. He laid against the wall and took a deep breath. It was dark now. Much of the light came from behind him, from where he had entered.He looked forward into the cave, and all that awaited him was a silent darkness. Then he heard it. A small bird chirping. Chapter 17: The First Dungeon At the entrance of the dark and narrow crevice, Ryu looked back. Behind the grotto and through the waterfall, he could faintly see a giant creature. It was apparent by the splashing that the grizzly was still out there. He let out a deep sigh and tooka few steps into the cave. Several virtual messages appeared as he did so.
You have entered a Special Hidden Dungeon: Plum Tree Forest Caverns [Southern Cavern]. You are the first player to discover Plum Tree Forest Caverns [Southern Cavern]. Being the first player to discover Plum Tree Forest Caverns [Southern Cavern], you and your party will receive the following buffs while in Plum Tree Forest Caverns [Southern Cavern]:
25% increased EXP
50% increased quality of loot
50% increased rarity of loot
These buffs are divided equally among all active party members in Plum Tree Forest Caverns [Southern Cavern].
Duration of buffs: 120 hours
I don''t have time for this... Too much had happened today, and although he wasn''t exhausted,Ryu was tired after today''s events. He attempted to log off again, but he received the familiar message from before. This time, with a corresponding log-off restriction of two minutes. Thank god. Waiting for the restriction to be lifted, Ryu sat down against the cave wall. He unsheathed his sword and held it straight up by the handle. He looked at the blade with an intense expression, then viewed the sword''s stats. It now read having a Durability of 2 instead of 6 like it did from yesterday. Just looking at the blade, it was clear that his sword was wearing from his battles. There were numerous chips on the edges and dark scratches all over. However, with all the information he''d gathered aboutSecond World, he had already expected it. But he didn''t think it would wear down this fast. Items inDream World also wore and degraded over time, but that was after thousands of encounters. Not to mention the base durability on items was also much higher. His sword started with a measly Durability of 11. Now, just a few hundred encounters later, it was at 2. It hasn''t even been a day and it''s already worn down by 4 points. And all I did was kill monsters. He glared down at the Quality of the sword, and by that, the word ''Poor.'' It''s the Quality, isn''t it? Ryu turned his head to the void. He sighed.There was absolutely no reason for him to venture forward at this point. He''d rather wait out the bear and return to his original path after spending some time offline. Out of sheer amusement, he took out his enchanted map. He was curious to see how far he''d gotten since entering Plum Tree Forest. But when he opened the map, something unexpected happened. As he rolled open the scroll, a tiny spot of light appeared on the map. It moved across the paper, and as if it were the tip of a pencil or a marker, it traced a path as it moved. Right where he was located, thewhite line started and swiggledits way across the paper. The line didn''t travel far at all; just about an inch and a half. The end of its path was marked by an even brighter white dot. But what was morecurious was that anotherbright dot appeared on the map, just on the outskirts of the pagoda, whichwas dozens of miles from the first purple dot. The two dots were not connected at all, yet the second dot had appeared just after the first. Ryu''s eyes zoomed back to the first dot, then back to the lonewhite dot by his destination. Is that... a portal? Just as he thought this, an echoing wave of sharp tweets rangthrough the air. His ears twitched, and then, he abruptly stood up. He faced the darkness. As he looked into the cave,his previous thoughts from justmere moments ago seemed to be fading away. The bird chirped once more. There wasa little voice in hishead telling him, "Follow it." The sounds grew fainter. The little creature seemed to be flying further into the cavern. Ryu swiftly brought up his log off menu, which no longer had the restriction on it. He could log off now. But there was somethingin the pit of his stomach that told him that this would be his only chance to follow the tiny creature. If he didn''t take it now, his only option wouldbe to return tohis previous path, whichwould take him on a several-day adventure. And preferably, he didn''t want to take that option. He gazed down at the piece of paper in his hands. He looked at the new path that had been just magically outlined. It seemedto be only a few hours worth of travel. It was his moment to decide: Log off and take the long wayafter he re-logging, or take the chance now and get to the dot at the end of the new path¡ªwhich would hopefully be a portal. The last of the echoes came through. Ryu gripped the map tightly in his hands. He took one deep breath and stepped into the darkness.
Darkness shroudedRyu''s path. Fortunately, the bird continued chirping from time-to-time. The sounds were faint¡ªand continued to become fainter¡ªbut they were enough to give him a sense of direction. He walked with one hand touching the wall and followed the sound. He re-opened the enchanted map, which emanated only enough light to illuminatethespace two feet in front of him. Based off of the diagram, he had several miles to go until reaching the end of the path. However, as he traveled deeper into the dungeon, the chirping came to an end. All thathe could hear was the continuousdripping of water. Drip... Drip... Drip... Oddly, even though it was otherwise silent, he felt nothing eery. The caveseemed completely empty. But this empty feeling did not give him comfort. Not in the least. It was the ''quiet'' places that one always had to be wary of. The dungeon was pitch-black, so he was most cautious as he ventured forward. If there were any sudden movements, he''d stop and hold his ground. And ifa moment came when he''d be in grave danger¡ªand he knew exactly what kind of situations those were¡ªhe would most certainlyretreat or log off. Ryu continued hugging the wall as he traveled through the dungeon, whichwas more-or-less a straight path. However, he eventually came to a point where the cave path forked into two. The right path was part of the path traced out on his map. If he continued in that direction, he would eventually get to where he was going. However, the left path gave him an unsettling feeling. The air coming from there was cold. He took a good moment, standing completely still. He could hear it: a light moaning coming from the left tunnel. It seemed to be a remnant for a much deeper echo from deeper within the cave. And obviously, that meant that a much larger tunnel or network of tunnels existed beyond the left path. But now wasn''t the time for that.He wanted to get out of the dungeon as soon as possible. But, of course, being the curious person he was,there grew a tiny spark of intrigue. I''ll come back here later. Maybe with a party. When the word ''party'' rang through his head, he realized that today was the day that Chase and Orchid would be logging on. He''d already been online for fourteen hours since talking with either of them, so it was possible that he had stood both of them up. I got so involved today I almost forgot... I need to get out of here fast. He could''ve logged out just to check if he had any messages, but he''d already started his endeavor through the dungeon. And it wasn''t that much farther, either. Another hour or two wouldn''t hurt, he thought. And so, he continued on.
The height and width of the cave tunnel grew taller and wider as Ryu persisted through the dungeon. He frequently shifted his eyes to each side of the tunnel, noting just how much the tunnel had grown. Ryuhad walked for over an hour already. By, now he''d traveled over two leagues into the dungeon¡ªa good seven or eight miles at least.After all this time, Ryu expected to come across a swarm of bats or seesome beetles ormoths, but he saw none of that. Fortunately, though, his journey was coming to an end. The dot on his map was just up ahead. It''s been so quiet... Where are all the monsters? But, as he headed up the tunnel, he finally heard sounds. There were two voices. But they were snarly, mean-sounding¡ªnasally and high-pitched. "Hurry it up, ya scum!" screeched one of the voices. "If we don''t get these goods to the Second Goblin Prince, we''re both dead!" "Shut yur trap up and help me!" screeched the other. "We hav''ta get outta here before another Brown-Fanged Spider Queen spawns." Ryu came to the end of the tunnel where he saw light again. The tunnel opened up into a large chamber, which was provided with light by an opening to the surface. However,the opening was dozens of feet high. In the center of the chamber was a white crystalline pillar, and in the light, it sparkled just as phantasmically as the portal he had opened earlier in the day. There two short, vile-looking creatures right next to the structure, and all around, at leastthree dozen bodies of similar beings. Theytwo were packing and sorting items into acart. Ryu couldn''t make out what all of the items were, but he saw some cloths, armors, and weapons. Cautious, he Recognized both characters, both of whom had thenearly the same stats, just different names.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Name Gerkil
Title None
Level 6
Affiliation Albamanian
Alignment The Second Goblin Prince
Race Goblin Profession None
Fame None
HP: 7/90 Energy:0/0
Physical Stats
Strength: 10 Speed:4
Endurance:10 Stamina:5
Quickness: 4 Agility: 1
Hardness: 1
Physical Hardness: 1 ???
Toughness: 1
Physical Toughness: 1 ???
Mental Stats
Intelligence:7 Wisdom: 4
Perception: 7 Insight: 4
Misc. Stats
??? ???
Name Gurkil
Title None
Level 6
Affiliation Albamanian
Alignment The Second Goblin Prince
Race Goblin Profession None
Fame None
HP: 14/85 Energy:0/0
Physical Stats
Strength: 9 Speed: 2
Endurance:12 Stamina:6
Quickness: 4 Agility: 1
Hardness: 1
Physical Hardness: 1 ???
Toughness: 1
Physical Toughness: 1 ???
Mental Stats
Intelligence: 7 Wisdom: 4
Perception: 7 Insight: 4
Misc. Stats
??? ???
They''re both Level 6 but have really low stats. Seeing such relatively low stats in comparison to his own, Ryu surmised that the goblins didn''t train much, or at all.And seeing their stats, he paidspecial attention to their current health, which was an indication that they had recently fought something. The two goblins bickered as they picked up the loot from their dead allies, and presumably from the monsters they had just killed. "Gah! This is such a mess!" Gurkilspouted. "Shuddup, you maggot. You didn''t do a thing to that Brown-Fanged Spider Queen!" Gerkil snorted. "What''dya expect? You crippled my leg in our last bout!" Gurkil said. "Ungrateful scum, I shoulda let you die!" shouted Gerkil. "We should just take the lot and run with it," said Gurkil. "We could make a fortune." "Do that, and the Second Prince''ll kill us," Gerkil said. "Did you forget what happened to Girkil? " As he spoke, he coughed up black Goblin blood. "Yur poisoned. Hurry it up so we can get back to the lair!" Gurkil said. "And what''d y''doto those two brats?" "They''re tied up by the cart!" shouted Gerkil. "Now shut yurmouth and pick up the pace!" The two goblins continued their looting. Ryu stayed by the tunnel, peeking carefully. He didn''t see them before, but now that the goblins had mentioned them, he could now see two young NPCs tied up by the feet and hands. They were chained to the cart. One was a boy, who had dark hair; the other, a girl with brown pigtails. The boy seemed just a little older than the girl, but they both looked to be teenagers, if not on the cusp of adolescence. Both of their faces and clothes were smudged with dirt. "Where''s the key?" shouted Gerkil. He searched the ground and all over his body, but he couldn''t find anything. "You lost it?"shoutedGurkil. He crawled over to Gerkil to inspect the careless goblin. He eyed Gerkil all over and the ground everywhere, but also didn''t see the key. "Idiot! How''re we s''pose ta open the chest now?" Annoyed,grunted at his goblin brother. "Come on! Help me lift the chest onto the cart, maggot!" "What for?" Gerkilsaid. "You lost the key! Now we gots ta carry it back!" said Gurkil. "How''re we s''pose to open it when we get back?" asked Gerkil. "Why''re you askin'' me?" Gurkil shouted. "It''ll be the Second Prince''s problem, not ours. Now help me, you scum!" Annoyed, both of the goblin brothers crawled over to the chest lying on the ground twenty feet over. Each of them carried it by one end and grunted their way back to the cart. The chest itself was about the size of an average drawer, and its keyhole was unusually tiny¡ªtooth-pick sized. Shortly after, though, they¡ªRyu included¡ªheard a bird chirping. On top of the white crystalline pillar was the tiny amber bird Ryu had encountered previously. And between its small beak was a small gold key. The bird lay the key down under its belly and looked at the two goblins with its signature curious look. "There''s the key!" Gurkil shouted, pointing out the obvious. "Don''t you think I see that?" yelled Gerkil, angry and annoyed. "Now get your bow out and shoot that bird!"Gerkil took out a hook and chain while Gurkil took out a short black bow, as he was instructed to do so. Gurkil pulled the bowstring, eyeing the bird. After a moment of aiming, he released. However, the arrow missed. The bird didn''t even move, too. Gerkil screeched, "You missed!" "Stop yer yappin'' andfocus on gettin'' the key!" said Gurkil. He aimed once more at the innocent little bird. He released and... swoosh! ...Still nothing though. He had missed again. Annoyed, he grunted. "Move outta the way, scum!" Gerkil said. He took the bow and arrow out of Gurkil''s hands. He steadily eyed the target, pulled the string back, and released. The arrow flew directly at the bird, seeming like a perfect shot. But no, it ended up being a miss too. The tip of the arrow had literally brushed the feathers of the tiny creature as it projected through the air. Even with that, the bird still didn''t move. In fact, it yawned as ifit were bored and tired. "Ain''t so easy, is it?" Gurkil remarked in a sarcastic tone. Gerkil let out a grunt. After their failed attempts, his only resort was to smash the bird with his hook and chain and knock the key down. He readied the hook, swirling it around. But just as he was about to chuck it, a loose rock from the tunnel wall suddenly broke off, tumbling into the chamber. Alarmed, both goblin brothers looked behind them, eyeing the area of the tunnel. "Who''s there?"Gerkil shouted. He motioned to Gurkil to investigate, and Gurkil did just that. Ryu initially had the thought of logging off. And really, it would have been the wise thing to do¡ªthe safest thing to do. But his deep curiosity for this game made him stay. And so, he stayed. He didn''t bother retreating momentarily, either. He walked right out into the open where the crawling goblin saw him. "It''s a human!" Gurkil shouted. Hearing this, Gerkil spit at the ground. "Kill him!" Gurkil drew out along and broad-bladed dagger. He scurried to the player, letting out a screech before bringing down his blade. Much to his surprise though, Ryu easily evaded his attack. The player cut both of his hands off with a clean slash, andthe goblin turned away, screaming. "Wh-who are you?" shouted Gerkil, having seen what had happened to Gerkil. Ryu did not respond. He had no reason to respond. He calmly stood his ground. Flustered, Gerkil drew out his own dagger. This time, however, he dipped it into a strange yellow ooze on the ground before going into his battle stance. Ryu glared down at the pool of vibrant liquid and took caution. Venom? Justlike the goblin before, this second goblin charged at Ryu. The player maintained calm and focus, allowing the creature the first move. Gerkil slashed down at the player, and with quite the force. But Ryu blocked it with his own sword. However, when he did that, a largepiece of the blade broke off. Not being able to be bothered by it, he counter-attacked. Surprisingly, the goblin parried the attack with his own. Gerkil sneered with joy. But his joy lasted for only a second, as Ryu quickly countered the parry with another attack, which was followed up with a succession of attacks. The swiftness of the player''s movements was too much for the already weakened goblin. Gerkil fell down, his dagger falling down just a hand away from him. "P-please, spare me." Ryu extended his sword out onto the goblin''s chest. Of course, this was a ruse, he thought. He wouldn''t let the goblin deceive him. But as he was busy making sure Gerkil didn''t grab hold of the dagger, a handless Gurkil came rushing behind. Ryu tried blocking him with his free arm, but the handless goblin simply bit down on it. And it was by no means a ''nibble.'' His own blood splattered on his face. He grunted with great pain. He changed his focus onto Gurkil, stabbing the monster in the gut, which relieved him of the goblin''s mouth hold. He gave Gurkil no chances and slashed straight across the creature''s torso. Black blood gushed out of the dying goblin''s wound, and the Gurkil fell down, dead. Seeing this, Gerkil turned feral. He grabbed his venom-soaked dagger, and with reckless abandon, swung carelessly at Ryu. Ryu calmly blocked or dodged all of the attacks, and eventually, he disarmed the goblin and plunged his sword into its chest. Gerkil''s raging expression turned into one of hilarity. He died laughing. And it soon became clear why.Ryu felt coldness from behind. Hepulled out his sword from the dead goblin, pushing the body away. Then, he turned around. Behind him, just thirty feet away, a gigantic brown spider loomed, its giant brown fangs protruding outward. Chapter 18: Brown-Fanged Spider Queen The eight-legged monster stood at least fifteen feet tall. Its body was covered with thick, long hairs similar to a tarantula, but its legs were dark and long like a black widow¡¯s. And as its name suggested, its most predominant feature was its fangs. To someone like Ryu, they were essentially two-foot long daggers. Ryu prompted to log off, but the following message appeared.
You are attempting to flee from a Brown-Fanged Spider Queen via logging off. If you flee from this fight via logging off, you will not be able to enter the Special Hidden Dungeon: Plum Tree Forest Caverns [Southern Cavern] for 168 hours. Additionally, you will appear at the place where you first entered the dungeon when you relog. Furthermore, you will not receive loot from any chests, mini-bosses, bosses, or anything equivalent from any dungeon for 84 hours.
Seeing this, he turned the corner of his eyes to the two young NPCs behind him. Being restricted to re-enter the dungeon for 168 hours was a great inconvenience for him. But it was the two young people behind him that posed to be a greater problem. They were only NPCs, and he could''ve left them to the Brown-Fanged Spider Queen. Sure, he would''ve been penalized for fleeing the fight, but escaping death would be worth the possibility of restarting a new character. But seeing their dirty, scared faces made him uneasy¡ªguilty even. They''ll die, won''t they...? The NPCs he''d come across inSecond World weren''t like any he''d come across before, not from any VRMMO he''d played¡ªnot even fromDream World. Those fromDream World were realistic characters in their own right, but they always had a certain artificiality about them, given their nature. But ifsomeone set aSecond World NPC side-by-side a ''real'' person, Ryu couldn''t tell you with certainty which one would be ''real.'' And there in the cave, an ill-advised decision was made¡ªat least, from a gamer''s perspective. Ryu took a giant risk. He turned his head back front and closed the log-off menu. His lips curled into a smile without him even thinking about it.It was the most foolish thing to defend these NPCs¡ªand strangers at that. Buthe felt no regret. He''d lost his courage a long time ago, but after playing this strange, new game, he remembered what it felt like to be alive. He took a deep breath. He gripped his sword with both hands. He was resolute with his decision to stay, but he was terrified also¡ªextremely terrified. He didn''t know what level this monster was, but it gave him chills, just as many chills as mid-level dungeon monsters from his previous gaming experiences. Nonetheless, hemustered the courage to face this new foe. I have to close the distance. If it comes too close, it''ll see them. He dashed midway across the chamber and took a defensive position on an elevated rock. Everything thatI''ve learned has led me up to this point. Ryu kneeled down and punched the earth, shattering the rock by his feet. He grabbed a few of the stone bits and chucked them as hard as he could with natural energy. The stones hit the spider''s legs and pierced right through. However, in response, the monster reared up and bore its fangs. The spider queen then lunged forward, striking the player with its front leg. It was a lightning fast jab, but Ryu managed to block it. He held his sword by both the handle and blade, using it as a shield¡ªa very thin shield. However, the weight of the creature was incredible. Ryu could barely keep himself up; his legs wobbled every time he tried to stand. He was even fortifying himself with natural energy, too, and that was all he could do. As he knelt in his spot, more pieces from his sword broke off. I have to do something, or else it''s over. Ryu gradually eased his shoulder under the blade, using his arm to leverage the weight. With a now-free arm, he grabbed small pieces of rock and chucked them at the creature''s eyes. Most of them missed, but those that hit tore through the spider''s eyes. It was only a few out of the several dozen eyes, but it was better than nothing. The spider lashed out and pounced on Ryu who reacted just quick enough to block its attack. The creature''s two giant fangs were just inches from the player''s face, with only a brittle blade in its way. Even more pieces of his sword broke off, and what remained was just less than half of the original blade. Such losses were detrimental in this fight. Not to mention his bite wound from that damn goblin earlier wasn''t helping either. Not much had happened in the fight, too. It had just been a large angry monster bullying a weak player. But it was already becoming an exhaustion for Ryu; he had to exert himself to the extremes. Rolls of sweat were coming down his face, which was now slightly red from his exertion.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. So this is what it''s like fighting a boss monster. Heh. Bors had taught him many important things, but theinstructor''s training was already being utilized by him at the moment. The training he''d received seemed totally insufficient for a monster of this caliber. ...So this is it, isn''t it? However, at that moment, the words of another instructor came into his thoughts. They were the words of his grandmother. "When facing an opponent, you should always take the initiative to strike first..." The Brown-Fanged Spider Queen sprung down, its weight taking its toll on Ryu. "...However...That''s if you''re a normal fighter." The giant spider backed up. It raised its body and front legs, preparing to strike. "If there comes a time when you meet an opponent unimaginably powerful, you must become the ''wise fighter.'' ...You must let them have the first move, always. Even if that means taking the first strike." That last part always bothered Ryu when he was younger, as it made no sense to let someone that powerful attack first. They could destroy you with the first move. That was his thinking, at least, at the time. But he now understood why. I see now, obaasan. Thank you. The spider queen lunged forward, its fangs outward. Its legs came down like a net, entrapping Ryu. Ryu lowered his weapon and stood up, seemingly giving up. He looked up to the great beast with glaring eyes. The monster also paused. And then in an instant, it plunged its fangs into Ryu''s shoulders. Ryu let out a grunt of pain, gushing blood from his mouth. It was the greatest pain he''d ever felt. The fangs just stayed there, like sunken knives, slowly sinking deeperand deeper. Yet throughout all this, He showed no fear. In fact, he smiled. Yes, smiled. He did not hesitate at all. He gripped his sword, and with all his might, he plunged the weapon from under thebeast into its head. Thetop part of the blade shattered as it entered the monster, but the broken piece that was still attached went straight through. In pain, the spider retracted its fangs from Ryu. It shook violently, thrashing about. Bright yellow fluid oozed out of its wound. The chamber ceiling shook as it continued in its tantrum. With nothing left, Ryu fell to his knees. The venom coursing through his body took its toll on him. He fell over, spitting out blood. The next several moments for him were moments of buzzing sounds. Everything slowed down, and his head became so heavy he just wanted to lie on the ground and close his eyes. And he did just that, but he kept his eyes open. He needed to see this to the end, even if the end was his own. Eventually, the spider stopped thrashing. It crawled up to the player, its giant body looming over him. It bore its fangs, and for the first time, Ryu heard its hiss. Ryu grunted, smiling. "Heh. Pretty angry, aren''t you?" He coughed out more blood, his head now wheezing with excruciating pain. Red flushed everywhere: his cheeks, his ears, the whites of his eyes. He curled up into a ball, hiccupping. However sad this death was going to be, it didn''t give Ryu pause at all. In fact, he was even a little happy that it turned out this way. He would be prepared next time, for it was more than certain that if he died, he would buy another set of VR gear and start again. And maybe next time, he would be victorious. I guess this is it. Damn. The ceiling of the chamber tremored, as a result of the spider''s earlier tantrum. Shards of stalactite fell down, some even falling a foot away from Ryu''s face. Ryu looked up above. Over the giant monster, there was a loose stalactite¡ªa giant one at that. Tch. If only I could use it to kill this damn spider before I go. His eyelids started dropping down. He was exhausted and in too much pain to leave his eyes open. But as he started to drift away, he remembered something from his final bout with Bors and from an earlier occurrence this morning: natural energy projection. It wasn''t something he was adept at; he hadn''t received any training for it at all. But he understood, intuitively, the theory of it. He raised a trembling hand up to the large stalactite, and with all the focus he could gather, he attempted to manipulate the loose formation. He focused for a long moment, mustering all the natural energy he could, but to no avail... Nothing. It was worth a try, at least. It was then that the ceiling above him shook. The large calcite shard broke off and impaled the monster. The Brown-Fanged Spider Queen let out a sharp hiss and thrashed about until finally, it fell over. Although it was probably inappropriate for the situation, two virtual messages appeared before the dying Ryu.
Congratulations! You have killed your 500th monster! As a result, you have leveled up! By leveling up, you have gained 5 stat points. You are the 3rd player to level up. As such, you have been rewarded 2 stat points.
Congratulations! You have defeated a dungeon mini-boss. You are the first player to defeat a dungeon boss-type monster. As such, you have been rewarded with 10 stat points. Additionally, you have beenearned the title,The Dungeon Delver.
Heh. So I finally leveled up, eh? Ryu''s eyes started closing, but as he started to go sleep, a bright light shimmered from behind him. He turned his head to look back, only to find a mysterious figure appear. He couldn''t make out who or what it is, but he could see a short silhouette of a person¡ªan elderly woman by the looks of it. She destroyed the chains on the two young NPCs, then turned to him. She walked over to him as his eyes were finally closing. Chapter 19: The School of Li Lin Ryu lay unconscious on a clean and well-tucked bed. The wounds from his previous encounter were gone, and he''d been dressed in a plainlinen shirt and pair of pants. The decor ofthe room was far opposite of ornate. The walls were painted a most simplistic white and were complemented nicely by oak floorboards. The windows were shutterless and open to the outside. There were occasional breezes that would flow through, but they came in the perfect frequency, temperature, and intensity so as to not put out the incense that burned on a stand by the bed. After a moment, Ryu¡¯s eyes gently opened. He calmly blinked to adjust his eyes, and as he did so the morning birds began their daily song. The aromatic of the incense streamed above his face, and his nose naturally sniffed to the distinct smell. After recollecting vague memories of past events, he rose up. He sat there inspecting himself. Seeing that everything had been healed, he looked around but saw mostly nothing butthe stand tohis side and a table to his right. His old cotton clothes had been placed on it; they had been washed and cleaned. There was also a brown crystal necklace set on the table, too. He got up and viewed the scenery outside. It was a bright and clear day. He could see small mountains in the background and the height of the forest beyond. After appreciating the view, he walked over to the table and grabbed the necklace. He equipped it, then continued his way to the door, which was centered at the other end of the room.There was a pair of leather-strapped sandals by the door. He slid his feet into them and ventured outside. Upon exiting the modest abode, he found himself in the most peculiar place. He had opened up the door to a great cobblestone courtyard. On either side of his viewwere buildings that seemed all too familiar. The architecture was similar to those of real-world China and Japan: dark-tiled rooves that slanted and curved downward; light exterior walls; stone footstepsleading up to a door at each housing complex. Straight across the courtyard, beyond a red gate, was a pagoda. It was at least twenty levels high, and leading up to its steps was a hard dirt path, which was lined perfectly with two rows of blossoming plum trees on its sides. The pagodawas a good sprint''s away, but he could see two young people each carrying a wooden pole over their shoulders, a bucket of water tied to each end. They were the two young NPCs he''d seen in the cave. He walked across the courtyard and through the gate. As he walked through the blossom path, he could hear their loud bickering. "This is all your fault, Tazuki!" the girl said, pouting her mouth. "It was your idea to use the cave portal!" said the boy. The girl murmured, "I just wanted to see a Brown-Fanged Spider Queen..." "What did you expect? To pet it?" Tazuki exclaimed. "We were lucky to get out of that. Who knows what those dumb goblins were going to do with us." "Hey! If it weren''t for those imbued chains, we would have gotten free! We''re pretty strong, you know! We would have totally beat their butts!" "Still, we got outnumbered and caught," said Tazuki. "Thankfully that man came... Madame Yi and Lady Yue Yi too." Mentioning those last two names brought his voice to a halt. "Hmmpf," the girl puffed. "Grandmother never lets us play outside the school. And Voruna and the other towns are just so boring¡­" Tazuki, being a sensitive person to his environment, sensed the approaching player. He turned his head and saw Ryu. He gestured to the girl, whispering to her. "Ling''er, look." They both turned their attention to Ryu as he walked over. The girl''s expression suddenly changed into a bright and happy one. Shedropped her wooden pole, both buckets spilling over, but she didn''t seem to care. She raised her arm and waved. "Hello! Good morning!" She then scurried over to Ryu and introduced herself. "I''m Ling Yi." Then she took a deep bow. "Thank you for saving us yesterday!" She scurried back over to Tazuki and pulled him over, his own pole dropping. She murmured to him, "Hurry and thank him!" She pushed him in front of theRyu. Tazuki let out a nervous chuckle and then bowed. "Thank you, brave sir, for saving us!" After rapidly bowing multiple times, he backed away to Ling''s side, whispering to her, "Lady Yue Yi''s gonna kill us for dropping the buckets." Looking at Ling''sbashful expression, his face turned grim with despair. It seemed she didn''t care for the consequences at all. Amused by their predicament, Ryu smiled. "I''m Ryu." "It''s nice to meet you, Sir Ryu!" Ling said. Ryu laughed. "I''m afraid I''m not a knight." "Oh, but you fought like one! You were so brave going up against that Brown-Fanged Spider Queen!" exclaimed Ying. Then she paused, pressing her finger against her lip. "Too bad you didn''t last long..." Tazuki whispered again to Ling. "Ling''er, we should get back to the buckets... If Lady Yue Yi shows up..." He gulped. "Ah, don''t worry! Big Sis isn''t even here right now. She should be in Voruna getting supplies, remember? We should be f¡ª" "LING MAI YI! TAZUKI MOTO! WHAT THE HELL ARE TWO DOING?!" a young woman''s voice screamed. The two young NPCs turned around. On the top steps of the pagoda was a young woman whose light brown hair was tied into a slick ponytail. She seemed to be only a few years younger than Ryu, and she wore a grey robe and cotton shoes to reflect the simplistic style of the school. Her current expression reflected a great and sadistic fury. She jumped into the air, leaping dozensof feet above the two young NPCs below. She bent her knees in the air, and as she wasclose to landing, she extended her legs forward and planted her feet straight into Tazuki''s face, landing on it. His head plummeted into the stone below. The young lady stood up, one foot still planted on Tazuki''s face. Tazuki mumbled out words, but they were discernable. "B-B-Big Sis!" Ling Yi stuttered. "Why are you still here?" Ignoring her every word, the lady raised her hand over Ling Yi''s ear and pinched it, vengefully pulling the earlobe in all directions. "Ow, ow, ow!" Ling Yi cried. "Okay, okay, stop! I''m sorry!" The young woman lifted her fingers off Ling Yi''s ear, after which Ling Yi puffed her mouth into a frown. "If Grandmother catches you two slacking off, I''ll be the one to get into trouble," the ponytailed woman said. Tazuki mumbled again and the young woman''s expression turned demonic. Like batshit-crazy demonic. She squished and rubbed her foot on his face. "And you... Just because you''re Lord Moto''s grandson doesn''t mean I''m going to show you an ounce of mercy. You should have watched Ling-Ling more carefully yesterday." Tazuki spoke, but once again spewed out nonsense. The young woman finally lifted her foot to let him speak. "Th-thank you, L-Lady Yue Yi...for removing your foot..." he exhaled, lightheaded. Seeing all of this, Ryu didn''t know what to say.Bewildered and amused, he remained a calm expression. Finallygiving Ryu her attention, Yue Yi humbly straightened herself and bowed gratefully to the player. "I am Yue Yi, and this is my younger sister, Ling." She then gestured her hand over to the young teenager NPC by her feet. "And this is Tazuki. Please don''t mind either of them." "I''m Ryu."He smiled lightly. "And it''s fine. I''m sure they weren''t looking for any trouble." "I''msorry for yesterday," Yue Yi said. "On behalf of the Yi family, I''d like to extend our deepest apologies. Thank you for protecting these two." She bowed once more. "I''m the one who should be thanking you," Ryu said. "You healed me." "That was all my grandmother''s doing. I was the one who only carried you here," Yue Yi said. "Well, thank you then. And your grandmother." "There''s no need," Yue Yi said. "It was the least we could''ve done for you." Now that the formalities had been taken care of, Ryu asked, "If I may ask: Where are we?" "This is The School of Li Lin," Yue Yi said. "...Although, I wouldn''t really call it a school, seeing that we have no students besides me and my sister." "Is he not a student?" Ryu said, nodding over to Tazuki. "No. He''s just a regular visitor. He goes back and forth between the school and his home every so often,¡± said Yue Yi. ¡°And your grandmother is the teacher, I presume?¡± Ryu said. ¡°She is,¡± nodded Yue Yi. ¡°She¡¯s been its caretaker for almost 60 years.¡± ¡°You live here, then?¡± Ryu asked. ¡°Yes and no. We live here most of the time, but since we¡¯re originally from the kingdom of Shu, we go back and forth from time-to-time. Just not as often as Tazuki here. He¡¯s from the kingdom of Mu, though.¡± Ryu shook his head in understanding. He thought back to his encounter with Galahad. How many kingdoms did he mention? Eleven, was it? I¡¯m gonna need to get a world map. I still don¡¯t know the geography of this world yet. ¡°I see,¡± Ryu said. ¡°Thank you.¡± Yue Yi followed the conversation up by saying, ¡°You¡¯ve been unconscious for over a day. You must be hungry. Come, I''ll make you lunch before I go to Voruna." Ling Yi jumped up and down. "Dumplings, dumplings!" But she was pushed to the side by her annoyed older sister. Ryu smiled. He raised his hand to reject the offer. "It''s fine. I''d like to go to Voruna, too. I need to get supplies, as well. Do you think I could join you?" "Of course," Yue Yi said, smiling. "There are things that I must do first. In the meantime, feel free to check up on your items in storage. We had Ling and Tazuki carry everything from the cave." "You don''t want any of it? I''m sure I can''t take it all," Ryu said. "Our family''s well off," Yue Yi said. "Whatever you don''t keep, you can put it up in the auction house. I''m sure you''ll find a buyer for everything." She smiled, knowing full well that would probably be the case. She then pulled up Tazuki''s collar, lifting him up, and pulled her little sister to her side. "These two will show you to our storage." She then smiled an innocent smile, but it was also menacing. "And if they happen to steal or take anything¡ªbecause stealing will put shame on our name, and those who stain the Yi family name will surely be punished¡ªjust let me know and I can take care of it." The two young NPCs gulped as she said this. Amused, Ryu chuckled. "Alright." "Well! I guess that takes care of that, then," Yue Yi said. "I''ll come over and get you when I''ve gotten everything I need." Ryu nodded. Yue Yi let go of Tazuki''s collar, dropping him on the ground. She left the group, walking around and beyond the left side of the pagoda. Tazuki dizzily got himself up. Ling Yi took his hand. "Come! Follow me!" "Ling''er, we should clean up the mess first," Tazuki said. "If Madame Yi sees it, she''ll¡ª" "It''s fine! I''m sure one of the servants will pick it up," said Ling Yi. Sheskipped in the direction where Ryu came from, dragging Tazuki''s arm behind her.
Ling Yi and Tazuki brought Ryu to a building similarly styled to his own residence. It was just around the corner of where he woke up, too.The young girl pushed open the double-doored entrance.As soon as the doors swung open, Ryu could see a hoard of items filling up his entire view. The room was completely filled. There were several chests and tables filled and stacked with an array of items. All the space in between was filled with anything that didn''t fit in the chests or on the table.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ling Yi walked up, putting fisted hands on her hips. Confidently, she said, "This is everything that those goblins had." She then pointed over to a large table by the right. "And over there is the loot from the Brown-Fanged Spider Queen." Then pointing to a smaller table next to that, she said, "And right over there is your bag." Ryu''s face twitched, mortified by the amount of loot. How the hell am I supposed to carry all of this to the auction house...? Ling Yigiggled at Ryu''s expression. "Don''t worry. We have interspatial rings. You can use them to transport your items to Voruna''s auction house." Ryu walked over to one of the tables. He took a plain-looking dagger and Identified it.
Copper Dagger
Level Requirement: 1 Agility: +1
Durability: 6/6
Weight: 0.5 lbs
Quality: Poor
Implicit Rarity: Common
Explicit Rarity (Hidden):Brown
This item isTrue-Identified.
After seeing the meagerness of the item, Ryu quickly scanned the visible items across the room. Looks like most of this is probably trash. Ling Yi walked up to him. "Is there a problem, Ryu? If you need an Appraiser to Identify these items, I can tell one of the servants to go get Master Toshi. He''ll Identify them for you." "It''s alright," Ryu said. "I can Identify items, too." Both Ling Yi and Tazuki appeared shocked. "Really?!" Ling Yi spouted. Ryu nodded. "Only Appraisers can Identify items," Tazuki said. "And usually they''re very old people. Some are hundreds or even thousands of years old. They charge per Identification, though, but I think Master Toshi wouldn''t mind in this case." Curious, Ling Yi asked, "What Level are you?" Ryu paused for a second before answering. "I''m Level 2." Both the NPCs'' jaws dropped, their eyes widened. Tazuki shook his head vigorously, coming back to his senses. "Master Toshi has Scrolls of True Identification. They''re pretty expensive, but I think he could spare you one. True-Identified equipment items are much, much more valuable." "How so?" said Ryu. "Because some crafting and forging materials¡ªusually the rare ones¡ªcan only be used with True-Identified items." Ling Yi smiled broadly. "Tazuki comes from one of the greatest forgingclans in the Eleven Kingdoms. He knows his stuff." Hearing the word "forging" sparked intrigue in Ryu. It also made him remember that his sword had broken during his miniboss encounter. Speaking of which, wherewas his sword? Curious, he asked the two, "Do you remember bringing back my sword? It broke during my fight with the spider." "Oh, that old thing. Yeah," Tazuki said. "It''s outside in the disposable bin. It''s going to get melted." He paused. "Would you like the melt returned to you? You can trade it in for probably a few copper coins. Although, compared to all this,that''s nothing." "It has an innate ability," said Ryu. "I was wondering if reforging it would preserve the ability." Tazuki went bonkers after hearing what Ryu said. "An innate ability?! Serious? That thing?!" Ling Yi giggled. "You should go retrieve ''that thing'' then, shouldn''t you, Tazuki?" Tazuki scurried away. Thirty seconds later, he returned with several sword shards in his arms. He wiped the junk off one of the tables and placed the sword pieces on it. He sighed, relieved that he could''ve potentially been the destroyer of a valuable item. Being the son of forgers, he would have brought shame to the Moto clan. "Yes, you can keep an item''s ability," he said. "So long as you have the hilt of the sword, along with at least a third of the original material. After that, you''ll preserve the ability, even after reforging or upgrading the item. I don''t have the necessary tools or skills to reforge your sword, though. But all the older men in my family do." "But we''re not going to the Moto estate, Tazuki!" Ling Yi exclaimed. Addressing Ryu, Tazuki said, "If you''d like, you can come back with me to my family''s estate. We can reforge your sword there. After you get back from Voruna, of course." "Imust stay here for my training, though. Do you think you can wait until I''m done? It may be several days." Tazuki nodded. "Of course." Ling Yi budged into the conversation. "Ryu, you''re going to be a student here?" Ryu nodded. Tazuki''s face turned grim. "H-H-Here? The School of Li Lin? Are you sure?" He gulped. "I am," Ryu said. "You did hear earlier that Madame Yi is the head of the school, yes?" Tazuki said, stuttering. "I did," said Ryu. He paused briefly because the mood of the atmosphere had suddenly changed. "Is there a problem?" Both of the two young NPCs began scratching their heads, laughing nervously. "It''s nothing. Don''t worry... Yeah... .... ... Don''t worry." Tazuki said that with a mindless look on his face as if terrible memories had just resurfaced. A male servant entered the room from behind and addressed Ling Yi. "Lady Yue Yi ordered me to bring these to you." He handed over several rings to the young NPC. "Since you can Identify items, we''ll leave you alone for a bit," Ling Yi said, smiling. "Here are interspatial rings so that you can takeyour items to the auction house." She placed the rings next to the sword shards. She then nudged Tazuki, and then both of them left the room, closing the door behind them. Ryu sighed. He turned over to the heaps of items. Aloud, he muttered, "I''ve got a lot of work cut out for me." Ryu spent the next two hours Identifying all the items, most of which were the most basic items. However, there were a few items that piqued his interest: abeachball-sized ball of spider silk; two ornate, curved twin daggers¡ªonewith a crimson red edge and the other whose edge was a pale blue¡ªand a brilliant, metallic spear with a shaft entirely engraved. Its head also seemed to be made of a completely different material. He couldn''t Identify the set of daggers or the spear, but he did manage to Identify the spider silk.
Pure Weaver Spider''s SilkBall
This ball of silk consists of silk made by a Pure Weaver Spider. Pure Weaver silk is the lightest of all spider silk. Not only does it have incredible resilience and resistance but it also regenerates and repairs itself.
Weight: 0.0001 lbs
Quality:Perfect
Explicit Rarity:Super Rare
Implicit Rarity (Hidden):White
This must''ve been from the hoards of loot that the goblins were taking... Not only that but the Quality... It was only until yesterday that he''d found an item above ''Poor'' Quality; the plums had been the only items he''d found that weren''t ''Poor.'' Now, he''d found a Perfect Quality item. It wasn''t an equipment item, but he couldn''t complain. He just didn''t know what to do with it. A knock came at the door. The doors opened, and Yue Yi''s head peaked in. "Are you ready?" Ryu nodded. "Let me just get my bag." "Alright. I''ll be right outside." Ryu grabbed his satchel and headed out. The chests and tables had all been cleared; all 268 items in the storage room had been put into the interspatial rings¡ªminus the spider silk and unidentified daggers and spear, which he had placed into his own interspatial ring. Outside, he found Yue Yi, Ling Yi, and Tazuki all waiting for him. Ryu spoke to Yue Yi who was still dressed the same. "You didn''t change?" "There''s no need." Yue Yi smiled. "Besides, students of Li Lin learn to appreciate the simple things in life." She hinted that she knew he would be a student. Ryu could only help but smile a little. He was anxious, both in the excited sense and the terrified sense. "Come. We''ll show you the portal gate," Yue Yi said. Ryu gestured his arm, telling them to show the way. They left with Yue Yi leading the group. Yue Yi brought them across the courtyard and beyond the back side of the pagoda. They crossed a red, wooden bridge over a silent stream. There was a larger courtyard across withjust a single residence behind. Ryu could see to his left a gigantic but gentle waterfall flowing down the mountainside. In the pond, he saw goldfish gliding about in the water. Further away, on a small hill, he saw a doorless, white, round gate. Next to it was a large stone that was engraved with strange symbols. Ling Yi pointed up to the hill. "That''s the Inner Gate of Li Lin. It''s a special portal gate that takes you to the Outer Gate of Li Lin, whichis an invisible portal gate right by the entrance of Plum Tree Forest. Both portal gates are only one-way ports, though, so you have to reactivate the Stone of Li Lin everytime you go back and forth. Only my grandmother and Yueknow how to activate the Gates." Yue Yi stopped before going up the hill. There was a short, slightly hunched elderly woman already on top of it. She was dressed just as simply as Yue Yi. Only, her robes were white.Her back was turned to the group. Yue Yi made a fist, placing a palm over it. She lowered her head. Respectfully, she addressed the figure above. "Grandmother." The elderly woman didn''t respond, and she didn''t turn around either. Yue Yi turned her head to the group. "It seems Grandmother is agitated." Both Tazuki and Ling Yi''s facial expressions turned into worried looks. "A-Agitated, you say?" Tazuki said, softly. "Maybe we should leave, Ling''er." Tazuki tried sneaking away, but Yue Yi pulled his ear before he could slip away. He struggled to get free, but he just couldn''t get free ofher hold. Suddenly, the elderly woman spoke, her voice hoarse. "Approach. All of you." When she spoke, subtle, but sharp echoes rang through the air. The birds stopped chirping. Even the wind seemed like it had stopped. This old woman... She''s a monster. Ryu tried to Recognize her, but he received the following message:
Your Recognize skill is not at the requisite level to Recognize such a person. Please try again when you have raised your Recognize skill.
Ryu''s throat suddenly became dry. He gulped, but the dryness didn''t go away. The group approached the old woman as they were told. They didn''t speak when they got up to her. They dared not to. After a moment,the old woman spoke again. "Boy," she said, addressing Ryu. "I heard you stole something from the Brown Pass Expedition. Is that true?" "No," Ryu said. "I did not steal anything. It was given to me." "Hoh? Is that so?" the old woman remarked. She finally turned around, setting her condescending eyes onto the player. "It is," Ryu said plainly. "Show me," the elder said. Ryu calmly took out the large egg-shaped stone out of his interspatial ring and held it out. The elder''s eyesshifted over to the object. She took not even two seconds looking at it before scoffing and turning her head back forward. "And you said that was given to you? By who?" "A dying elk," said Ryu. "And do you know what that is? In your hand?" the old woman said. "Most likely an egg," Ryu said. The old woman smiled, still retaining her condescending look. "Hmmph. Looks likeBors and that jerk were right this time. You''re smart. At least...smarter than those Moratian army brats." She spit in the air. "Couldn''t even tell an egg from a stone. How useless." "Do you want it?" said Ryu. "There''s no reason for me to have it. It was given to you by another creature. And by a different species from that egg, at that. That alone should tell you how significant your having it is." She placed her hand on the large engraved stone. "Come. We''re going to Voruna." The symbols of the stone lit up and a bright white portal appeared. The old woman walked through, the rest of the group following. Upon exiting the portal, Ryu found himself literally just a few dozen steps from the entrance of Plum Tree Forest (on Plum Tree Forest''s side, of course). A round, white gate was behind him, but it quickly vanished after the group came out of the portal. Ryu looked to his side, seeing a large stone, similar to the one the old woman just activated. He had completely overlooked it when he first entered this place, but he now understood what it was. To think that it would be right by the forest entrance. The group walked straight ahead,Yue Yi leading the way. The elder stayed behind for a bit to make sure the portal was invisible and the stone was active. Upon exiting Plum Treet Forest, Ryu found himself back at the southern crossroads. He took less than ten steps before arrows were shot at his feet. "Stop right where you are!" someone yelled. "Move and we will shoot you." Out of the forest appeared Guinevere, Percival right behind her. "I suggest you hand over the stone relic now, traveler," said Percival, drawing out his sword. "Before this gets out of hand." Ryu, Tazuki, Ling Yi, and Yue Yi all stood, back''s against each other. They each got into a defensive battle stance. They were ready to get into a brawl if need but the scene was abruptly interrupted by an angry woman''s voice. "Who dares to threaten my granddaughters?" said an old woman''s woman. The elder appeared from out of the forest, her hands casually behind her back. "Get out of here, you old hag, or you''ll get hurt!" said a random soldier. The elder stopped, and turned her head to the soldier who spoke. Her facial expression was demonic. "What did you say, brat?" Percival was about to interrupt, but Guinvere stopped him. Guinevere shook her, softly telling him, "No." Seeing this, Percival understood exactly what the situation was, and so he sheathed his sword. He coughed. Sweat started rolling down the side of his face. The elder shrugged off the first offensive remark and continued on her way, casually walking before and past the soldiers. "I said ''Stop!" Has your age deteriorated your hearing, old woman?" said the random soldier from before. "Fool!" Percival said. "Are you blind or just an idiot? Anyone who serves in the Moratian army should know just who that is!" Suddenly being yelled at by the second-in-command, the random soldier was taken aback. He was confused. Percival continued, a serious look on his face. "That is Madame Gao Yi." Hearing his words, all the other soldiers stopped breathing for just a second. Their hearts skipped a few beats, too. They''d made a terrible mistake. "M-M-Madame Gao Yi, the ambassador of the Grey Kingdom?!" shouted one of the soldiers. "Why is one of the Ten Grandmasters here in the Brown Forest?!" another soldier said. Among the commotion, only Guinevere and Percival remained calm. But underneath their composure, they were deathly terrified. Guinevere kneeled down. Percival instantly did the same. "Please, forgive us, Madame Yi," Guinevere said. "If you must lash out, please do so on me. Don''t take it out on my soldiers. They didn''t know." Madame Yi stopped in her tracks but didn''t bother to turn her head to Guinevere. "Get up. A Knight of the Round Table shouldn''t be kneeling like that. Lance would be embarrassed if he saw you like that. Your father, especially, if he were still alive." Guinevere stood back up. She couldn''t do anything but hold her head down. Percival stood up also but was too fear-stricken to speak. "You intended to trade the relic for Tristan, didn''t you?" Madame Yi. "That''s why the Round Table met." Guinevere said nothing. She looked down at the ground with a blank expression. "Lift your head up, child," Madame Yi. "Tristan is a strong fighter. One of the strongest Moratia has ever seen. He''ll do his best to stay alive, I''m sure. In the meantime, you need to get stronger for when the day he is to be saved." The corner of her eyes shifted to Ryu. "As for the matter of the relic, you don''t need to worry about that anymore. I''ll speak to Viscount Aaron about that matter when I get to Voruna. Take your men and go home." She directed her attention to Yue Yi. "Yue, open the portal." Yue Yi walked forward, unraveling a green portal scroll. A brilliant green portal appeared before everyone. "I''ll be going ahead, Grandmother," Yue Yi said. Madame Yi nodded in agreement, and when she did so, both Tazuki and Ling Yi followed behind. Before Madame Yi stepped into the portal, she gavethe shortest pep talk to the group of soldiers. She turned her head back to the soldiers, her eyes beaming. "Oh, and if any of you dare threaten my granddaughters again...I''ll kill you on the spot. All of you." When she said that, the air turned cold. Birds nesting in the nearby treesfluttered and fled. All of the soldiers gulped simultaneously. Madame Yi smirked as she went in the portal, knowing her pep talk worked. Ryu calmly walked through the crowd of soldiers,his head straight, but the corner of his eyes fixed on Guinevere. Her head was still held down when he was walking, but then she looked up and their eyes met. She had the same eyes Ryu (George) had just a few weeks ago. He didn''t stop or say anything and continued forward.Whenhe got to the portal, he stopped and looked back at Guinevere one more time. Only this time, her eyes were different. In that brief moment, they shared an understood message: "We will see each other again." Ryu turned his head and proceeded through the green light. Chapter 20: The Book That Devours Other Books Somewhere in the depths of a Moratian mountain, in a cold butdimly lit cave room, gold objects and gems piled inheaps along the walls and corners. A giant double-door was the only entrance and exit. Right from where it opened, a long, red carpet laid, rolling across the room to the steps of a tall stone throne. Sitting on that thronewas a muscular, pale blue figure draped in dark garments. His bald head layon a fist, and he crossed one leg over another, kicking his long, black cape over the seat. With his other hand, he spun a gold chess piece around on the throne arm. His earswere sharp and pointed, and his strong face seemed to make them even sharper. He sat there, bored,playing with his chess piece. However, his silent time for scheming was soon interrupted. The large, hellish door opened, resounding the room with its deep cranking noise. A green goblin with a grotesque hunch entered. The creaturescamperedtowards the figure. In a worried voice, it addressed him. "M-m-my lord...the caravan''s b-been...s-slaughter''d!" The strong-faced humanoid wasn''t fazed by the worried thing at all. "It looks like they r-ran into one of the S-Spider Queens," the goblin said. The small monster paused for an appropriate amount of time. It then lowered its voice, and with a cracking voice, it said, "Also your Highness...th-the goods...they''re gone." The seated figure stopped spinning the chess piece.He suddenly exuded a heavy, serious energy that permeated the atmosphere.He stood up, and furious, he shouted, "WHAT?!" He swung his arm across the chair arm, slapping the chess piece away. It flew and hit the wall, piercing through a few feet into the mountain. Pieces of rock crumbled down the wall, with more crumbling off as his shout echoed off the walls. He rose up and stomped his way to the shivering goblin. Standing right in front of the creature, he stood almost like a giant, dwarfing the small thing. He was huffing, trying his best not to explode. "W-W-We can raid more dungeons, my goblin prince!" the goblin said, putting his hands in his face, scared of what the giant blue goblin would do. "Imbecile!" the blue goblin shouted. "There were certain treasures with that loot! Do you know how much I spent to obtain them?!" Suddenly, he raised a brow, realizing something. "Wait... The Drows... They were supposed to be guarding the caravan. There''s no way they could have died to thosepuny Spider Queens." "Your sister pulled them out before the caravan set off, my prince! They were sent elsewhere!" The blue goblin raised his head. In a low voice, he grumbled, then turned away and proceeded to walk back to his seat. He waved his arm, dismissing the small goblin. "Leave. And send for the Black Captain." "Y-Yes, your Highness!" The green goblin scurried away,the doors shutting behind him. The blue goblin sat back on his seat. He tilted his head to the side, resting it on his fist. He sat with his legs open.His forehead was wrinkled, and his expression wasn''t the pleasant kind. He growled. "Gornella."
Stepping through the green portal, Ryu found himself coming out of a large portal gate. It was much like the ones at the School of Li Lin and Plum Tree Forest¡ªjust ten times larger. The portal gate was raised on a stone platform, with steps leading up and down all around it. The vicinity of the portal was fenced with tall, black metal fencing, encircling the portal gate completely. At each endof the enclosure¡ªnorth, south, east, west¡ªwas a large gate to allow visitors and tourists through.These gates were wide open, but each was guarded by two silver-armored guards. "Yue, I have some business to take care of," Madame Yi said. "Don''t wait for me. I''ll meet you all back at the school." Yue Yi nodded. "Yes, Grandmother." And with that, Madame Yi walked off towards the northern fence gate, disappearing in the crowd of people on the city streets. The group waited a moment to make sure the elder had left completely before taking off. "Well, I guess it''s time to go shop-sighting!" Ling Yi exclaimed. She grabbed Tazuki''s arm and dragged him away. As she walked down the steps, she turned and said to Yue Yi, "We''ll meet you guys back here, alright? See ya!" She dashed off, taking Tazuki with her. Tazuki shouted at Ryu as he disappeared into the busy southern marketplace. "Don''t forget to visit the Crafting & Forging District!" With the two younger ones gone, Yue Yi turned around to Ryu. "Shall we get going, then?" "Let''s," said Ryu, a faint smile on his face. He didn''t show it, but he was excited. "The auction house is this way. Come." Yue walked toward the eastern gate. Ryu followed her.
Traveling down the eastern alley vaguely remindedRyu of Durn''s market streets. The difference was night and day. Compared to the rustic marketalleys of Durn, Voruna''s marketplace was bustling. Not to mention that streets were five times wider, too, and lined completely up and down with stalls, seemingly going on forever. "This place is bigger than I thought," Ryu said. Yue Yi laughed. She wondered when Ryu would comment on the fact. "That''s how all first-time visitors feel when they see this place. It should be expected. After all, Voruna is not only the crafting capital of Moratia, but also the trading capital, as well. Not even Calduun''s market compares." "Just how large is this place?" Ryu asked. "Voruna itself spans a little over five leagues. The central part of the city¡ªwhich is just about a league in diameter¡ªis housed solely by market and trade-related buildings, with the portal gate being at the very center. That''s the case with most cities, as well," Yue Yi said. "All the buildings you see now are all stores, shopping complexes, item galleries, produce shops, production facilities, and all the like you can think of." "I see," Ryu nodded. "And just how many people are here in the city, you think? "Voruna has almostfive million residents. But that doesn''t even include the one million visitors the city has at any given time," said Yue Yi. "How do you know all this?" Yue Yi smiled. "My grandmother is the ambassador of Shu. I used to tag along, and she''d have meguide tourists through the city." Yue Yi tilted her head forward, turning it. She nodded to an open shop to the side. "There''s a Traveler''s Shop right there if you need a map of the city." "Do they sell world maps, too?" Yue Yi nodded. "Mmhmm." Ryu took out the pouch of gold he''d received from Roland, retrieving a gold coin. He held it out. "Will this be enough?" Yue Yi laughed. "You could buythousands of maps with that. Come, I''ll show you to the currency converter." She walked over to a short stone pillar in front of a shop. The pillar had a stone bear head protruding out of it. She took Ryu''s hand and placed it in the animal''s mouth. "Now drop the coin." Ryu did as she said and let the gold coin fall into the bottom pit of the stone mouth. Instantly, a virtual window appeared before him.
What would you like to convert [1] gold coin into?
Silver
Copper
Silver and Copper
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Ryu hesitated out of sheer ignorance. Yue Yi chuckled. "I''d suggest picking the ''Silver and Copper'' option." Trusting her word, he did what she advised. When he picked the ''Silver and Copper'' option, another window appeared.
Please enter the number of silver coins you''d like receive from [1] gold coin. The amount left due will be converted into copper coins.
Enter silver coin amount and confirm conversion below.
Confirm conversion:
Yes No
Ryu stood still, his finger up on the screen, still not sure what to do. Yue Yi laughed at his baffled expression. "I''ll give you a hint: one Gold coinconverts into one thousand silver coins, and one silver coin converts into ten thousand copper coins." Hearing that, he put in the number 999 in the window and confirmed ''Yes.'' Nine hundred ninety-nine silver coins and 10,000 copper coins... That should be enough, I hope. Immediately after confirmation the currency conversion, the gold coin dissipated into thin air. Sparkles of gold trailed the air, and what appeared in place of the gold coin was apalm-sized silver coin. He took the silver coin out of the stone head, inspecting it. He Identified it.
Silver Token
A Silver Token represents Essence Value in the amount of Silver and Copper coins. This Silver Token has an Essence Value of:
999 silver coins 10,000 copper coins
I see... So this is basically like a credit card. Never before had he seen such a game mechanic. He thought he''d have to carry all those coins everywhere. He was given a break in Durn when he and Guy first roamed the market streets. They didn''t have currency converters in Durn.Thankfully he didn''t need one then. The items he gotfrom the citizens of Durn were gifts of gratitude for saving Roland. I didn''t think they''d have this sort of technology. This is far more advanced than anything I''ve seen in a fantasy VRMMO. He turned his head to Yue Yi. "I could convert the rest of these gold coins into Tokens if I wanted, yes?" Yue Yi nodded, smiling. "Mmhmm. For the number of coins you have, this currency converter should be fine. But if you ever have to convert coins in the thousands or more, I suggest going to a bank. Every bank has a giant one that converts basically an infinitenumber of coins. If you want to store your items, you can do that there, too." "I see. Thank you." "Thank the scholars and alchemists. They invented the currency converter," Yue Yi said. "But you have to remember that you can only convert if you have the minimum amount to convert." "What about raw material, like copper bits or bars?" "You can go to the foundry and convert them into coins with a material converter. And with the coins, I"m pretty sure you know what to do with them now." She smirked. Ryu nodded. "I''ll visit when I have the time." "Alright, then!" she sighed. "I have errands to run. I''ll meet you at the auction house if that''s alright with you." Ryu turned his head to the Traveler''s Shop. He looked back at Yue Yi and nodded. "I''ll see you there." "Alright! See ya!" Yue Yi waved goodbye and headed back in the direction the two came from. After she left, Ryu converted nine more gold coins into Silver Tokens, all of which were the same value as before. He kept the remaining ninety coins as they were, then proceeded into the Traveler''s Shop. Walking in, Ryu was met with racks of adventurer''s bags, side pouches, and satchels.Along the right wall was open cabinets with rolled maps and hardcovered books. Above, there were various maps all rolled open and pinned against the wall. On the left side of the shop was a wall-length shelf, completely stacked with tomes and pocket-sized books. He went through the bags on the rack. Some seemed like much better options than his current one. But he didn''t mind his semi-tattered satchel, and so he moved on. At the cabinet of maps,a bin with rolled up maps of Voruna had already been placed on a side table for the convenience of city tourists. Ryu was about to take one but then took another look at the giant cabinet in front of him. There are too many...I can''t take them all. His eyes then shifted to a large, white-covered book set on the middle of the cabinet. He walked up to the cabinet and picked up the book. He opened it and skimmed its contents, only to find pages upon pages of maps. A world atlas. Ryu turned his head around to the counter. "Excuse," Ryu said to the shopkeeper. "How much is this?" "That''s a Grand Atlas. It''ll be twenty gold coins." That''s pretty expensive, isn''t it? "It''s pretty expensive for a book, I know," the shopkeeper. "But it''s the best I have." Ryu couldn''t be bothered by the price. He nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll fine.¡± Happy to hear that, the shopkeeper¡¯s expression into a bright one. ¡°Thank you, traveler.¡± Ryu then walked across the room to the bookshelf. There were dozens of different books stacked on each row of the shelf. All of them were language books and dictionaries. He scoured through all of them, finding them to be variations of dictionaries for the multitude of languages of the Eleven Kingdoms. Yet again, there were too many things to carry with him, and he only had two free slots left in his interspatial ring. Left with no options, he took decided to take only two books off the shelf. One book contained the language of Shunese and the other the language of Munese. Satisfied with his ¡®shopping cart¡¯ he went up to the counter. He placed the three books in arms on the counter. ¡°I¡¯d like to buy just these three.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be a total of 20 gold coins and 40 copper coins,¡± the shopkeeper said. Ryu opened up his satchel, feeling around for the pouch of gold coins. It should¡¯ve been at the very top of the bag, but it must¡¯ve slid beneath everything else, seeing as he couldn¡¯t feel it. He placed some of his items on the counter as he sifted through the contents. Upon seeing one particular item Ryu set on the counter, the shopkeeper¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Th-that¡¯s a Scribe Tome!¡± His expression was of a delightful surprise. Ryu raised his head, slightly confused by the shopkeeper¡¯s reaction. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Young man, you have a Scribe Tome!¡± ¡°I do,¡± Ryu said, plainly. ¡°Is something special about it?¡± ¡°Hohoh! You don¡¯t even know what it does, do you?¡± Ryu shook his head sideways. The shopkeeper laughed. ¡°Scribe Tomes have the ability to absorb texts.¡± ¡°How exactly?¡± Ryu asked. ¡°Just open up a book or an inscribed scroll and press it against a blank page of the Tome,¡± the shopkeeper said. ¡°The text or scroll will be consumed and its contents will be transferred completely to the Tome. Try it!¡± He gestured to Ryu to transfer a text to his Tome. Ryu grabbed his brown Moratian language book. He opened up the Scribe Tome to a blank page and pressed a page from the brown book on it. Instantly, the Moratian book disintegrated. Its leftover brown essence particles dissipated into the air. Ryu looked down at the previously blank page and found the Durn language inscribed on it. His eyes gleamed with fascination. Naturally, he could only smile. Incredible. Then his expression turned a little sour. ¡­Why didn¡¯t Roland tell me this before? ¡°Hehe. Pretty amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡± the shopkeeper said, rubbing his nose. Ryu recollected himself. He smiled. ¡°Incredibly.¡± ¡°Those things are extremely rare. And very expensive,¡± said the shopkeeper. ¡°How did you come upon it?¡± ¡°It was a gift,¡± Ryu said. ¡°Oh? You must have done an incredible thing to have gotten that as a gift,¡± the shopkeeper, and then realized the answer to that concern. He saw the Durn token clipped on Ryu''s strap. He smiled. "I see now. Thank you, traveler." Ryu smiled, scratching his head in modesty. The shopkeeper stood confidently. ¡°So, do you still want just these three?¡± The keeper turned up a broad smile, showing the full of his teeth. ¡°How much for one of each?¡± Ryu said, nodding to each spot of text in the store. ¡°One of each? Just for you: all for twenty gold coins and 500 silver coins.¡± The shopkeeper smiled, raising a thumb up. Ryu took out his pouch, getting out twenty coins. He slid them, along with one of his Silver Tokens, up to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes shifted to the Silver Token. ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Ryu said, smiling. He winked. The shopkeeper¡¯s face brightened up. He raised his arm up over the counter. ¡°Thank you, traveler.¡± Ryu gladly accepted the handshake. ¡°You too.¡± The shopkeeper proceeded to place the gold coins and Silver Token into the mouth of a small bear-head statue on the counter. All the currency disintegrated as they did from when Ryu used the currency converter outside. Behind the man, a larger stone bear head was placed, and from out of its mouth, currency spewed out. It all spilled into three separate large glass containers underneath. Each bin contained the appropriate currency accordingly: gold, silver, and copper. Ryu smirked. This game never ceases tosurprise me. After the transaction was completed, the shopkeeper gleefully said, ¡°Take your time!¡± He then moved to the side to deal with another upcoming customer. Ryu put his things back into his bag and proceeded to copy all the texts and books in the store into his Scribe Tome. There were so many that he didn¡¯t finish until an hour later. Before exiting the shop, he waved a grateful goodbye, the shopkeeper responding with his own happy goodbye. Alone on the busy marketplace, Ryu opened the Scribe Tome to a newly formed table of contents on the first page. He scrolled through the names of contents until he came upon ¡°Voruna¡± and tapped on it. When he did that, the Scribe Tome¡¯s pages turned by themselves until they landed on a two-fold page depicting a map of Voruna. There was a blinking white dot on the map at his current location. He recognized instantly that it was him and couldn¡¯t help but smile a little. It was an amazing thing to discover new things, and he was delighted. He scanned the layout of the marketplace, quickly finding the auction house. It was about five blocks from his current location. But since he wanted to venture through the city a little more, he shifted his eyes up to theCrafting and Forging District, which was ten blocks up north. He decided to take a detour. Chapter 21: Threads of Fate Ryu walked through the northern market streets, chewing on anindeterminate meat, a skewer in his hand. He''d taken a meat sampler from a food cart vendor. He didn''t know what meat it was, but he was hungry so he didn''t care. Although, he was sure the sign read "Tri-Horned Bison and Mudwater Lamb Skewers." He held in his other hand his Scribe Tome, which was open to a map of Moratia. The streets were just as crowded as the eastern market district, but he was careful enough not to bump into any of the marketgoers. His eyeswere set upon the expanse of the Brown Forest. Although a massive region, it was just a fraction of the country. To his calculations, the kingdom was roughly one and a half times the size of the United States. This surprised him, as he had never expected the overall geography to be on such a large scale. He was surprised the first time just finding out how large the Brown Forest was. Now, finding out how expansive the rest of the country was, it complicated things more for him. But that wasn''t even the most startling part. When he was transferring texts back at the Traveler''s Shop, he had glanced at a map laying out the Eleven Kingdoms. He saw very well without close inspection that Moratia was the smallestcountry. Ryu glared down at the map, scanning the other Monster Zones across Moratia. There were a great number of them, some of which were even larger than the Brown Forest. In the back of his mind, he imagined the Zones from the other countries. But he didn''t need to open a map to any of them. It was now well within his realm of expectation and imagination just how massive they could be. This world... It''s enormous. Knowing this, he became a little concerned about traveling through the rest of the world, not that he hadn''t been already, especially after venturing through the Brown Forest and Plum Tree Forest. He turned the page back to the map of Voruna. He pressed two fingers on the page,treating the page like a computer tablet, and gestured to zoom in. Indicated by the map, he was only two blocks from the Crafting and Forging District. But right up ahead was a store called ''Munsy''s Portal Scroll Shop,'' and so he decided to stop by. He slid the last piece of the skewered meat into his mouth and dumped the wooden stick into a nearby garbage bin. He put his Scribe Tome away in his bag and proceeded to the shop. Ryu entered the store to find the inside minimally furnished. All the ''furnishing'' the store had was a large oval rug in front of the clerk''s counter, behind which was an open wall of cupboards that expanded across the back wall. In each cupboard space was a nicely stacked pile of rolled up scrolls, and given the name of the shop, it was obvious what kind of scrolls they were. At each of the side walls were similar-looking cupboards, only just smaller. There were customers in line already waiting,a few of them with scrolls piled up in their face. Most, however, carried only one or two in their hand. Ryu walked over to one of the side cupboards. He picked out a scroll at random and Identified it.
Portal Scroll
This is a magic portal scroll that will allow the user of this item to open a one-way portal to a designated location. Being that portals have a fixed size,those that exceed the size of the portal shall not be permitted to enter the portal. This is not a party-exclusive portal scroll. As such,the portal opened by this scroll will be available to all who wish to enter it.
Portal Size: 20 feet x 10 feet Portal Distance Threshold: 200 leagues Portal Duration: 60 seconds
Quality: Poor
Explicit Rarity: Common
Implicit Rarity (Hidden): Brown
This is better than the one I used. However... His eyes glared down at the phrase ''This is not a party-exclusive scroll.'' Reading those words brought back memories of his encounter with Mordred, and they were memories he didn''t want to have any more of. He did not want a single non-party-exclusive scroll, especially after that incident; they posed too great of risks. He scoured the other shelves from his side of the shop but couldn''t find party-exclusive scrolls.After not finding any, he went to the other side of the room, but the results were the same. Coming out empty handed, he turned his attention to the shopkeeper, looking at the array of scrolls behind the counter. With no other option, he stood in line, waiting for his turn to come up at the counter. It wasn''t as long a line as others he''d seen, so he didn''t have to wait long. When he finally came up to the counter, he asked the shopkeeper, "Do you sell party-exclusive portal scrolls in your shop?" The middle-aged woman replied, "Of course." She turnedto the shelf behind her. "What kind of portal scroll would you like?" "Do you have anyfor a one or two-way portal to Voruna?" Ryu said. "Also, any one or two-way portal scrolls for general use, too, if you have them. The distance doesn''t matter to me." The shopkeeper nodded. "I do. How many would you like?" "How much for one?" "It''ll vary for the general-use portal scrolls, but the Voruna scrolls will be one gold coin each, or the equivalent of course." Ryu wasn''t the hoarding type, especially when it came to game currency. After all, what would be the use of it if you didn''t spend it? He had nine Silver tokens worth of gold coins left, and an additional seventy gold coins still not converted. He had nothing else to spend them on, so purchasing some portal scrolls weren''t an issue. "What''s the farthest porting scroll you have?" Ryu asked. "My best party-exclusive scrolls port up to 1,000 leagues away," said the shopkeeper. "They''re two hundred silver coins each, but they''re two-way portal scrolls." Ryu nodded. "I''ll take five of them and four of the Voruna scrolls." "Alright, that''ll be five gold coins." She grabbed five scrolls from a bottom cupboard and four more from one of the top cupboards. She laid them on top of the counter. Ryu handed her five Silver tokens. The shopkeeper placed them into her small currency converter on the counter, and just as it had happened back at the Traveler''s Shop, thousands of coins came sliding down the mouth of a bigger currency converter in the back. The shopkeeper smiled. "The name''s Munsy. Please come back any time." "Will do," Ryu said, a half-smile on his face. He nodded goodbye and left, as there was a line of customers behind him. Outside, Ryu dug into his pants pocket. He opened up his hand, showing his four remaining Silver tokens, the pouch of gold coins at the back of his thoughts. Party-exclusive scrolls are quite expensive... I may need to farm a lot in this game, then... Farming wasn''t at all a problem for Ryu. But it was boring, especially if he had to do it hours upon hours on end. When he first played on Dream World, that was all he did¡ªforover three months. Until, of course, he spent real money to "speed up the process." But even after, things weren''t as easy as he had imagined. He still had to hunt thousands of monsters for certain crafting materials. That was when he only had Chase to play with, too. But Chase wasn''t online as long as him, so he had spent most of his grinding alone. He didn''t mind being alone, but he also didn''t mind company. In fact, although he didn''t prefer company, he enjoyed it. It was fun playing with others. However, if there were simpler or more interesting methods of earning in-game money, he''d definitely prefer them over farming.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He put his Silver tokens away and continued his way to the Crafting and Forging District.
The Crafting and Forging District streets weremoderately populated. Not as much as the general marketplace, but they were crowded enough that not even the horses and caravans got easily through. As Ryu traveled through, he discovered it was divided into three distinct sub-districts: blacksmith, accessory, and textiles and leather. The buildings of the blacksmith sub-district, despite being workplaces for the hammer and anvil, were well maintained.There were those that may have needed some light repairs, but nothing too serious.The workshops were open to the full view of the public. Marketgoers could see the blacksmiths working the anvil and hammer, hitting metal pieces in the furnace. After a blacksmith forged an item, they placed it in a cold bath. After being cooled, items would be hung up on metal hangers or put up on display on a wooden wall. In the jeweler shops of the accessory precinct, workers were chiseling away on crystals and gems, socketing them into a variety of rings. Afterward, they handed the product to the customers in line or placed them into a little black box to be transferred to a jewelry shop. Of the Crafting and Forging District shops, they numbered the fewest. But theyhad the most customers. The textile and leather sub-district, while having the most shops of the three sub-districts, had the least visitors. Most people went to the armorer''s workshops for equipment instead.There were a few grandiose clothes-making stores, but most of their patrons were of noble and aristocratic backgrounds. Ryuwas walking in the textile and leather sub-district when he came upon a small weaving shop at an unpopulated corner. An old woman was working on a wooden loom. It was an ancient-looking contraption, but it had been given the most care over the years. The woman wore her long, gray hair in a bun. Her attire was just a simple beige dress and cotton shoes. She wore no jewelry of any kind.She didn''t have many textiles on her table, and currently, she was weaving menswear. Based on her light smile, it seemed to be for an important man. Ryu walked up to the shop and knocked on a wooden pole. "Excuse me." The old woman stopped what she was doing, raising her head to the player. "Oh, why, hello dear. What brings you to this little shop?" "I came by to see what you have." The old woman laughed lightly. "There aren''t manyvisitors nowadays. I don''t have much, but feel free to look around." Ryu scanned the shop, seeing only a few pieces of garments hung up on a tight string. The old woman only had a sliver of a rug of textile left. She was probably only barely making by with what she had. The player turned his head back to the old woman. "Your pieces are simple, but they''re very beautiful." "Oh, you don''t have to say such things!" she said, blushing. Ryu smiled. "I would like to buy a piece from you." The elder paused, looking at Ryu with sincere eyes. She knew just by looking into his eyes what kind of person he was. And seeing what she saw, her eyes lit up. "This is all I have, my dear boy. And I''m afraid I don''t have much material left to make you anything." "That''s okay," Ryu said. He then took out from his interspatial ring his giant ball of Pure Weaver silk. "I hope this will do." Upon seeing the shiny silk ball, the old woman lightly gasped, "This is..." She looked back at Ryu whose expression showed no sign of surprise. Seeing only a sincere young man offering up a ball of Pure Weaver silk, she smiled warmly. "It will do." Ryu smiled in affirmation. The old woman then continued. "However...That material in your hand is extremely difficult to process. It would require a needle made fromvery specific materials. The thread used for fashioning it must also be made from a certain material, which I do not have on hand." Ryu nodded. "Whatever you need, I''ll get it for you." The old woman understood his determination. She nodded, smiling. "Very well. I''ll get you a list of what you need." She walked to a small desk at the back of the shop, taking out a slip of paper and inked feather. She scribbled some stuff down and returned to Ryu, handing the paper to him. "Once you have the materials for the needle, feel free to visit my husband in the market. He''s a blacksmith and will craft it for you. You should be able to find the required materials in Voruna''s market. As for the thread...I''m not sure if Voruna''s market may have the material for it." "You''re certain?" said Ryu. The old woman nodded. "To fashion that silk, I need a certain type of thread, and there are only three known species of monsters in the Eleven Kingdoms that drop materials needed to make it." Ryu knew exactly what she was implying. "If the market doesn''t have it, I''ll have to hunt those monsters down, won''t I?" "Correct," the elder said. "But the problem is: you may not be strong enough to face those monsters." "Hmm," Ryu said, grasping his chin. "The alternative would be to go to other markets then." "Yes. But these materials are rare and highly sought after, especially by the elves." Elves? Damn. I don''t have the funds yet to go into a bidding war. Back on the streets of the general marketplace, Ryu had seen a general information panel regarding the ''wealthiest kingdoms.'' Loreen, the country of the elves, ranked third. And, of course, Moratia was ranked last. Ryu sighed. "It looks like it may take me a while to get the materials then." "Perhaps not. While two of the three species are in other kingdoms, the other is purportedly a Moratian species, right in our very backyard: the Brown Forest," the elder said. "However, it''s said to dwell deep in the caves and is a rare species to come across. It''s also said to be a Boss-level monster." It must be beyond the Brown-Fanged Spider Queen, considering that was only a mini-boss... Ryu exhaled, clenching his jaw. Looks like I''ll have to train that much harder. Ryu asked the elder, "Do you know of anyone who has come across it? Maybe they can guide me through the caves." "Unfortunately, I do not," the old woman said. "However, there is one person currently in the kingdom that may be able to help... Although, I''m not sure if you''ll be able to get an audience with her." "And who might that be?" "The Royal Ambassador of Shu, Madame Gao Yi," the elder said. "If I recall correctly, she served as Assistant Chief Monsterologist of the Monsterology Association." Ryu''s body reactively twitched hearing that name. That old woman? The old lady continued. "Although, she doesn''t appear in public much, and her whereabouts are generally unknown. Rumors say she teaches somewhere in the Brown Forest." Perhaps Yue Yi might know something, too. I''ll ask her before I go to her grandmother. "I see..." Ryu said. "I think I know what I have to do now. Thank you." The woman smiled. "I will let my husband know you''ll be visiting soon. I am Charlotte. Please stop by any time." Ryu nodded farewell and left. Charlotte stood standing, looking at him as he walked away. She took out abright white napkin from her dress pocket and held it in her hand. She whispered aloud with a smile on her face, "I didn''t think I would see Pure Weaver silk again in my lifetime."
Ryu''s Scribe Tome was open up to the map of Voruna. The auction house was just around the block. He was done with his detour in the Crafting andForging District. He''d visit the blacksmith precinct again once he''d gotten the materials he needed. He looked down at the piece of paper with Charlotte''s notes.
Needle materials: 1xGolden SpiderFang 1x Orichalcum Ore 1x vial of Flame Tarantula Venom Thread materials: 2x Monarch Mothworm Silk Threads or 1x White Lavender Cotton Tail or 3x Deathstalker Spider Silk Threads
Just looking at the material names, Ryu knew this was going to be an expensive endeavor. That, and he also needed to get stronger for when he needed to hunt for certain materials. I have a lot of work cut out for me... Turning the corner, he saw Yue Yi, Ling Li, and Tazuki all lying against the wall of a colossal building entrance. The structure extended out several blocks; he couldn''t see the end of either side. It was front-gated twice, one gate for each of its two entrances, the second of which he could see only by its size at the other end of the building. His gate, in particular, was guarded by soldiers, and most of the people coming in and out were dressed in very proper attire. On the other hand, even though he couldn''t see the entire line, mostly normal-looking folk were going to and coming from the direction of the other gate. Still, the grandeur of the structure was awe-inspiring. It''s like a palace. WhenLing Yi caught sight of Ryu, she waved. "Hey! How was your shopping adventure today?" Ryu smiled. "It was alright." Ling Yi smirked. "I hope you haven''t had your fill of fun yet because the real fun''s just about to begin. Come, come!" "Ling-Ling," Yue Yi said, warning her little sister to control her rowdiness. Yue Yi guided the group through the left gate, walking in the crowd of proper-dressed individuals. When they came to the door, the guards stopped them because they didn''t recognize Ryu. "Stop," said one of the guards. "It''s okay. He''s with me," Yue Yi said. She held out a brilliant, silvery token. The guards nodded and let thegroup through. Ling Yi grabbed Ryu''s hand and ran up to a large, black double-door with gold handles. Sheswung open the doorway and said, "Welcome... to the auction house." Chapter 22: Word of Contract The black doors opened up to a wide, spacious corridor. Doors ran along the sidewalls, all the way to the end of the hall. A long, red carpet led down the center where at the other end of the room there was a line of booths, all of which were lined up with visitors. As the group walked along the red carpet, they were met with constantrun-ins from aristocrats whoweremuch too pre-occupied with their purchases. Therewerecommon folk, too, who were busy making sure they had enough money. Some of them seemed quite well off and hurried in line. Ryu looked at the long queues, his expression turning a little sour. This is going to take forever. The corner of Yue Yi¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°We won¡¯t be going in those lines.¡± Straight ahead, centered in the middle of the booths was a larger, black counter-top booth. An elderly gentleman occupied the stand, dressed appropriately for the atmosphere. Yue Yi, leading the way, approached the lone booth. The old man noticed her immediately. ¡°Why, Lady Yue Yi, what brings you to the auction house today? You¡¯ve even brought the Young Miss and Young Master Tazuki along.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve brought a new member, Alfred,¡± Yue Yi said, smiling. The booth keeperraised his brow. ¡°Oh?¡± He shifted his eyes onto Ryu, quickly scanning him up and down. But there wasn¡¯t much to see. Ryu was dressed insimple linenwear. He paused and grabbed his chin. ¡°Is he eligible?¡± Yue Yi smiled and nodded. ¡°Look closely.¡± Alfred took another glance at the player and quickly realized his error from his first examination. He now saw the small bronze badge pinned on Ryu¡¯s shoulder strap. ¡°Ah¡­the Badge of Durn,¡± he muttered. His short-lived surprise turned into a light smile. He gestured to Ryu to approach the booth. ¡°Please, come forward.¡± Ryu walked up to the counter whereupon Alfred asked, ¡°What is your name, young man?¡± ¡°Ryu,¡± said Ryu, plainly. ¡°Mister Ryu,¡± Alfred said. He took a proper bow and gestured his hand out. ¡°If you would.¡± The counter began splitting in half, each half sliding away to open up the black counter. Ryu turned his head around, looking at the crowd of people behind. A fewheads in the back turned in his direction with curious looks. He turned his head back around, seeing a platinum door ahead. This must be a special booth. He felt a nudge from behind. ¡°Psst. Go on, silly,¡± Ling Yi whispered. The groupcontinued forth, Ryu leading the way. Alfred nodded to a middle-aged man who stood at the side of the booth. ¡°Take care of the front, Horace. I will be back shortly.¡± The man nodded and walked into the booth, which was now closing to its original state. Alfredturned away, following right behind Ryu and the others.
Ryu walked into a dimly lit room with a crystal pillar in the center. The object was glowing brightly, the inscriptions on it even more. It emanated a strange aura, seeming to be out of this world. Just what is this? He stopped in front of it and reached out to it, but felt a tap on the shoulder. ¡°Not yet,¡±Yue Yi said. ¡°Wait for Alfred.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Lady Yue Yi,¡± Alfred said, walking up from behind. ¡°You three can go ahead to the gallery. I¡¯ll get him situated.¡± Yue Yi nodded at Ryu. ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting. Don¡¯t keep us too long.¡± She turned around and placed her hands behind Tazuki and Ling Yi, scooting them out of the door to the right. With them gone, Alfred spoke to Ryu. ¡°If you would, pleaseplace your hand on the Pillar of Word.¡± Ryu did as he was instructed. He placed his hand on the crystal structure, whereupon the inscription on it glowed a bright, luminous white.The inscription was astrange text that had unknown characters and symbols on it, but it quickly translated into a familiar language before him. It¡¯s being translated into English, almost instantly too. He quicklyrecalled the description of his title, The Master of Words. It allowed him to learn any foreign language on sight on first encounters. Only at the basic level, of course. As the text was being translated, he hissed. A throbbing pain came into his head and he almost lost his balance. Two virtual messages appeared before him.
Congratulations! You have learned Al-ba-maani.
Congratulations! You have learned the primal language of Al-ba-maani. You are the first player to learnAl-ba-maani. As such, you have obtained the title of The One WhoKnows The Word.
Ryu recollected himself, regaining his balance. What the hell was that? That hurt even more than when I learned Narn. Alfred saw Ryu''s pained expression. "Are you alright?" Ryu only nodded. "You may lower your hand now," Alfred said. Ryu took his hand off the pillar, which was now glowing brighter than before. He looked up at the text. What he could make out of it was roughly the following:
The Word of Contract
The Word is the bond, and the bond is The Word. Your bond is your Word, and you shall see it through. If you fail to, the way of the Word shall ruin you.
What the hell is this archaic language? ¡°Quite dazzling, isn¡¯t it, the Ancient Language?¡± said Alfred. Ryu maintained aserious expression, a hand over his still-throbbing head. It was starting to ease, though. Alfred chuckled. ¡°It is the one language that no one truly understands. The only reason we are able to make use of it is due to the crystal. No one knows its name or origin, but it is clearthat all language in this world originated from it. Everyone simply calls it ¡®The Word.''¡± Ryu lifted his head up, staring at the language. ¡­Does that mean I¡¯m the only one who knows it? Alfred continued. ¡°Anyhow, it holds vital significance and influence over all of Albamania.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Ryu asked. ¡°Because it is mystical in nature. Divine, probably,¡± said Alfred. ¡°The Word has power over everything in its jurisdiction. Andthat, young man, isalloflanguage. ¡®Language is The Word, and The Word is language.¡¯ At least, that¡¯s the scholar¡¯s saying.¡± ¡°What bearing does that have then?¡± Ryu said. ¡°It means that anything you say, any action you perform with regard to language¡ªwords¡ªwill be bound by the power of The Word.¡± Abstract language and concepts annoyed Ryu. He studied computer programming and mathematics in college but had to take several literature and writing classes. And he hated them. Nonetheless, he was keen in understanding the content. He understood Alfred¡¯s explanation perfectly. So, words have meaning then.Iwondertowhatextent. He recalled the incident back in the Brown Forest when the party of mercenaries and escorts were hunting down the Brown Elk. ¡®LignoLanceato,¡¯ was it? A skill name, obviously. In most VRMMOs, players could perform skills without saying the skill names out loud. Of course, there were some that required it as part of the gameplay, but it was tedious and annoying. Preferably, gamers liked it when they didn¡¯t have to say out skill names, especially repeatedly. Ryu grabbed his chin. Theories were already forming in his head. His primary theories involved The Word and its relation to skills. I¡¯ll need to look into this later. Alfred coughed and continued on. ¡°So, do youintend to join the Auction Association.¡± ¡°Is it required to participate in auctions?¡± Ryu said. ¡°No,¡± said Alfred. ¡°But you are granted a few key privileges in the auction house. For example, you will be exempt from paying commission fees or buyer premiums.¡± ¡°And what are the rates of those?¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Twenty-five percent for both..¡± Ryu¡¯s face turned sour, his face twitching. Why are they so high? Alfred raised his hand. ¡°The numbers are alarming, yes. That is why it is a good reason to join the Auction Association.¡± Ryu found the choice obvious. ¡°I¡¯ll join,then,¡± he said. ¡°There is a membership fee, of course.¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°For first-time members, the trial fee is fifty gold coins for the first month.¡±Alfred coughed. ¡°Thereafter¡­ five hundred gold coins every month.¡± That¡¯s so expensive.Even if I use fifty gold coins now, I don¡¯t have enough to retain membership anylonger than a month. Ryu only had seventy gold coins and four Silver Tokens left. He needed to secure materials for the needle and thread, too. He had 268 items to auction off, and he had no idea what prices they would fetch. He had a lot riding on them. Even if it¡¯s just a month, it should be a good test run. Ryu let out a deep sigh. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll do it.¡± Alfred put up a light smile. ¡°Please sign the Pillar of Word and I¡¯ll get you situated.¡± The current text inscribed on the pillar disappeared, being replaced by new text. This time, however, it wasn¡¯t inAl-ba-maani, but in Narn. It read the following:
This is aWord of Contract. All terms are in agreement between the Member and the Auction Association. The Member agrees to pay [50] gold coins for a one-month trial membership, and [500] gold coins every month thereafter. The Member must provide satisfactory proof or referral to be considered eligible for membership. And in providing proof or referral, and after agreeing to pay the membership fee, the Member shall be granted the following privileges: 1. The Member shall beexempt from paying commission fees and buyer premiums for the items he puts up for auction and for the items for which he successfully wins the bid. 2. The Member shall be exempt from paying penalty fees resulting in withdrawing items from open bids. 3. The Member may blacklist anyone whom he deems unworthy of being a bidder at any time and anywhere. The blacklist is effective immediately and its duration remains in effect until otherwise noted. 4. The Member may stipulate all terms in his Auctioner-Bidder Agreement. 5. The Member shall be given a Platinum Token Pass in recognition for his Member status.
I, _____, have read the terms of this Word of Contract. I agree to the terms and agree to pay the required fee to become a Member of the Auction Association. I also understand that I must continue to pay a membership fee on a monthly cycle, [50] gold coins for the first month and [500] gold coins thereafter. If I fail to deliver on my part of this agreement, the terms stipulated by this Word of Contract shall be null and void, and I shall have my Member status revoked. If such is the case, I also understand that I must wait [3] months before re-joining the Auction Association. By signing this agreement, I also understand that should I change my name, I shall be required to sign a new Word of Contract using my new name, and that any and all conditions stipulated in this agreement must be met to form a new contract.
As thisWord of Contractconcerns the Auction Association, the Auction Association must do its due part in this agreement. Should the Auction Association not make good onits terms, it shall return all investments and profits associated with the Member to the Member since theeffective date of the contract.
These terms, they''re pretty incredible. Ryu turned his head right and left, looking for a writing utensil. It quickly struck him that there was none. And so, intuitively, he lifted his finger up to the crystal pillar. On the blank line, he signed his name, "Ryu." He had no ink of any kind dabbed on his finger. His name was simply spelled out as he moved it. He gasped. Magic. No, not quite. I can feel essence is involved in this, too. I don''t know how though. It doesn''t feel quite like natural essence. The name appeared in white lettering. As soon as he finished signing his name, it intensified along with all the other text on the pillar until everything radiated brightly off the crystal. As it did so, the mysterious aura grew stronger. Ryu squinted his eyes, covering his face with his arm. Alfred did the same. After a moment, the light dissipated and the message faded away. The Pillar of Word returned to its previous state. What was left was a silvery coin floating in the air in front of the pillar. It was identical to the one Yue Yi presented outside to the guards. Alfred took the coinand walked up to Ryu. He presented the coin cordially. "This is your Platinum Token Pass. If you are not granted passage through the doors of the Platinum Gallery, show this to the guards. And do not worry about having it stolen. It has been engraved with the signature of your essence. No one may be able to steal and use it for their benefit. If you need to replace it, please visit any Platinum Gallery." Ryu opened up his palm, and Alfred respectfully placed it in his hand. "Thank you," Ryu said. He took out fifty gold coins from his interspatial rings and handed them in exchange. "And thank you," said Alfred. He took a humble bow and proceeded to return to the front booth. Before exiting, he turned back and said, "Before you enter the gallery, I suggest you stipulate the terms of your Auctioner-Bidder Agreement," said Alfred. "Otherwise, the agreement will default to the gallery''s own agreement until you''ve made it otherwise." "What''s part of the agreement?" "The Auctioner-Bidder Agreement is a Word of Contract. It lays out all the terms and conditions for the Auctioner and Bidder in order for a transaction to proceed." Ryu nodded. "Will I be using the Pillar of Word again?" Alfred nodded back. "Aye." "I think I can do it by myself." Alfred took another bow. "May you be fortunate in your travels." He politely exited the room. With Alfred gone, Ryu turned to the Pillar of Word, placing his hand on it once more. It shined again and appeared with a message in Narn, which was all understood since Ryu had the brown crystal necklace equipped.
Greetings, Ryu! This is your first time as a member of the Auction Association using the Pillar of Word. Please formulate your Auctioner-Bidder agreement. If you do not formulate your own Auctioner-Bidder Agreement, you will default to using the Platinum Gallery''s Auctioner-Bidder Agreement. Since you are a Traveler, your Auctioner-Bidder Agreement will also by default consider transactions regarding [Earth]. Would you like to formulate your own Auctioner-Bidder Agreement?
Yes No
Ryu was stunned. All because of the one line mentioning Earth. Thiscan¡¯tbe,canit? He recalled that in the Youtube video forSecond World, the game developer mentioned an auction house. He figured it would be some virtual-windowed menu available to view to sell and bid for items or some website online. But he¡¯d learned that things were not coincidental in this game. A potentially magicalauctionhousesystemwithadirectrelationshiptotherealworld.Thisisabsurd. He looked down at himself; his body was already proof of ¡®the impossible.¡¯ He was still recovering from the discovery of his physical changes. But now, he¡¯d just been met with possibly a new discovery. In this case, the problem wasn¡¯t so much the auction house itself. It was a living, breathing system, which was fantastic. But that wasn¡¯t the problem. The real problem was that he was just made aware of The Word. And if the auction house system was tied to The Word, it could have some major repercussions that could be overseen by players. And for someone like Ryu, a member of the Auction Association, who could stipulate the terms of his own contract, it could mean that he could create an in-gamecontract that could be enforceable in the real world. How though? He didn¡¯t know. Ryu gulped. He pressed on the ¡®Yes¡¯ option, and new text appeared on the pillar. The first message that appeared asked the following:
Would you like to retain your anonymity as an Auctioner and/or Bidder?
Yes No
Ryudidn''t even think about and pressed over the ''Yes,'' after which the following message appeared:
Auctioner Bidder Both
He selected ''Both," and the prompt quickly disappeared.The contract appeared before him.
Please stipulate all terms and conditions for your desired Auctioner-Bidder Agreement. Please bear in mind that this is a Word of Contract, and all Words of Contract must be upheld.
This is a Word of Contract. All terms are in agreement between Auctioner [###] and the Bidder. The Auctioner [###] agrees to place items up for auction with the intention of selling. These items shall be placed in the open gallery, which shall be made accessible to view for all auction house visitors. Open gallery items can only be purchased with moneys. In addition to the open gallery items, the Auctioner [###] also has the right to place items in a private gallery, which will also be made accessible to all auction house visitors. However, unlike open gallery items, private gallery items may be traded for items. All persons who seek to buy or trade for the Auctioner''sitems will be seen as Bidders who are subject to this Auctioner-Bidder Agreement, as well as the General Auction Mandate. The General Auction Mandate: In the case of open gallery items, the winning Bidder must pay the full listed price to the Auctioner [###], and the appropriate fees, if applicable, to the Auction Association. Failure to do so will result in theautomatic withdrawal of the bid, and the next highest bid will be made the winning bid. Should the winning Bidder withdraw from the auction, he or she will have to pay a penalty fee of 25% of thewinning bid price. In the case of private gallery items, the winning Bidder must see through to the successful transfer of offered items. Failure of transferring offered items to the Auctioner [###] will result in a nontransaction. Items offered by a Bidder through the private gallery are exempt from auction fees. In addition to the General Auction Mandate, the Bidder also agrees to the following terms:
This is an implicit agreement. Thus no signatures are required. All Bidders are advised to read this Auctioner-Bidder Agreement prior to engaging in an auction with the Auctioner [###].
It''s really blank.Is it really gonna let me write whatever I want? Ryu had to be incredibly careful for this. He had to make sure the terms seemed fair or else people wouldn¡¯t bid on his items. Also bearing in mind the potential repercussions of the terms, he had to be as crafty as he could when devising them. It took him a while, but he eventually came up with the following list of terms:
1. In the case of open galleries, if an auction price is listed, Bidders may not bid less than 50% of the listed auction price. 2. In the case of both open and private galleries, all persons who wish to make an offer must not remain anonymous. They shall provide their true names upon bidding on an item. 3. In the case of both open and private galleries, no Bidder may find retribution in a failed bidding attempt by way of interfering or stopping an auction. Attempting to do so will result in an automatic blacklist. 4. In the case of both open and private galleries, Bidders are prohibited from manipulatingthe auction through conspiracy. Any Bidder who attempts to conspire with others shall be automatically blacklisted. 5. In the case that an item is lent to a Bidder as part of private gallery arrangements, all Bidders must uphold all verbal and written negotiated arrangements.Refusal to return borrowed items at the request of the Auctioner [###] will result in an automatic blacklist unless other arrangements are made. 6. In the case of any private galleries with offers including itemsof no assigned monetary value, the Auctioner [###]shall determine which offer to accept. 7. In the case of any failed transaction or delivery, all items shall be returned to their respective owners, immediately.
Ryu stared coldly at the list. This game is far beyond what I could¡¯ve ever imagined. As far as the in-game trading went, he was confident everything would turn out well, even without these conditions. But the issue lied not in-game, but out-of-game. In particular, with real-money trading. It had been months since Ryu dealtwith RMT. There were some trustworthy traders, but for the most part, it was an ugly business. He¡¯d lost well over $25,000 from scammers. Having playedSecond Worldfor only this long, he wasn¡¯t sure of what was possible. Out of sheer paranoia, he wrote the terms down. He didn¡¯t know how they could affect RMT. It was just a game after all. However, with the experiences he¡¯d had, he anticipated the impossible and farfetched. And he needed to be preparedif the time came¡­ Or rather¡­when. He took a deep breath and exhaled. I need to log off and take a break after all this is done. He put his thoughts aside and brightened up. He walked out of the doors to his right and into the gallery, finding Yue Yi waiting for him. Ling Yi and Tazuki were looking at items on display in the gallery. ¡°So, are you ready to make some money today?¡± Yue Yi said, smiling. Ryu put up a warm half-smile. ¡°Yeah.¡± Chapter 23: The Worth of True-Identification The gallery was an open-floor design, stretching several blocks back. The width of the gallery was no joke either, measuring about a football field long. The ceiling was several stories high and curved up to a gigantic dome. The floor was completely tiled with white granite, and all throughout the auction house were rectangular glass display cases, which were inside perimeters of gold bollards and red rope. Ryu looked across the ¡®room¡¯ but couldn¡¯t see the end. There were half walls and pillars everywhere. It looked like a museum or a very fancy warehouse. Only, there were hordes of people walking around. Geez, this place is huge. ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Yue Yi said. ¡°The auction house is the heart of the market. And being such, it has to be at least like this, don¡¯t you think?¡± Ryu looked all around. There were many items that also hung on the gallery half walls and pillars. He turned to Yue Yi. ¡°This can¡¯t be every item listed for auction.¡± Yue Yi smirked. ¡°Come.¡± She walked toward a marble bear head statue, one of many in the gallery. Ryu followed her. When he came up to the statue he saw Yue Yi interacting with a graphic panel, which was reminiscent of the holographic panels from other VRs ¨C or even his own in-game windows. But this graphic panel seemed more mystical in nature, similar to the inscriptions from the Pillar of Word. I don¡¯t even know if I should call it ¡®UI¡¯ at this point. Everything I know about VRMMOs has been redefined since I began playing this game. Yue Yi was scrolling down a list of items. Ryu looked at the graphic panel and saw numerous items listed up for auction. They ranged from portal scrolls to potions to equipment. It¡¯s exactly the kind of in-game ¡®UI¡¯ he imagined when he thought of the term ¡®auction house.¡¯ However, all the items listed seemed expensive. He saw no listing lower than 100 silver coins. He turned his head, staring at the great wall that was far to the right. It¡¯s what separated the gallery from whatever was on other side of the building. Based on his previous observations, he assumed it was another auction gallery. There were giant corridors connecting both sides of the colossal building. ¡°That side is the Brown Gallery,¡± Yue Yi said. ¡°I¡¯m assuming the difference is the price of items.¡± Yue Yi nodded. ¡°Everything in the Platinum Gallery is listed for at least 100 silver coins or placed here specifically to catch open bids from Platinum Gallery visitors.¡± ¡°Can people from the Brown Gallery come here?¡± ¡°Not without a Platinum Token Pass,¡± said Yue Yi. Ryu looked back at the giant corridors, each guarded by armored soldiers. ¡°Only those who have special privileges may enter the Platinum Gallery freely,¡± said Yue Yi. ¡°I¡¯m no exception.¡± Ryu said softly but aloud, ¡°But your grandmother is, I bet.¡± Yue Yi simply smirked, saying nothing, to which Ryu could only do but scoff. Talk about being ¡®VIP,¡¯ sheesh. With a casual look on her face, Yue Yi gestured her hand to the bear head statue. ¡°The rings.¡± Knowing what she meant, Ryu put his hand into his bag, and out of it, he took the handful of borrowed interspatial rings and placed them into the mouth of the statue. They dispersed into essence particles and vanished. ¡°Where do the they go?¡± Ryu asked. ¡°Everywhere in the Platinum Gallery,¡± said Yue Yi. ¡°¡­But also nowhere. It¡¯s all essence now, just waiting to be transfigured back into items.¡± ¡°And they¡¯ll stay that way until I take them back or auction them off, I¡¯m assuming,¡± Ryu said. Yue Yi nodded. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°And no one else can get access to them?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± said Yue Yi. ¡°Your items are bound to you by the Word of Contract. This goes for anyone in the Platinum and Brown Galleries.¡± She put up huge grin. ¡°And I don¡¯t need to explain The Word to you, do I? ¡°No. I think I understand.¡± A graphic panel appeared in front of the statue.
Greetings Ryu. You have submitted [268] items to be placed in the Platinum Gallery. Would you like to place any of these items in a private auction?
Yes No
I don¡¯t think it really matters at this point if they¡¯re up for public or private auction. He selected ¡®No,¡¯ whereupon a new graphic panel appeared before him.
Your [268] items shall be stored by the Platinum Gallery until you withdraw them or until a transaction has been fulfilled. You may access your items and auction transactions at any Platinum Gallery throughout the Eleven Kingdom An item will be listed in the public gallery as soon as you select a Minimum Bid Price for it. You may transfer an item from the public gallery to the private gallery at your leisure and at any time, at any auction house kiosk, and at any Platinum Gallery throughout the Eleven Kingdoms. Please take your time to select a Minimum Bid Price for each of your items. If you wish to not select a Minimum Bid Price for your items, simply confirm this item submission notice to immediately list your items with a Minimum Bid Price of [0]. By confirming this notice, you hereby bind yourself to the terms and policies set forth by the Auction Association and by the Auctioner-Bidder Agreement, which you yourself have crafted. Thus, by extension, you bind yourself to the Word of Contract, and by even greater extension, The Word. All parties¡ªincluding yourself¡ªinvolved in transactions concerning your items will be subject to the terms and ramifications of these policies and contracts. Please select a Minimum Bid Price for your submitted items:
Select Minimum Bid Price [individual]
Select Minimum Bid Price [all]
Confirm Submission (Select Minimum Bid Price of [0] [all])
I¡¯d rather not sift through all these items. I¡¯ll just confirm to set the minimum bid prices to zero, and I¡¯ll gauge the market from there. He selected ¡®Confirm¡¯ and the panel disappeared. Immediately after, the interspatial rings he placed into the kiosk rematerialized into the mouth of the statue. He cupped them out of the statue¡¯s mouth and handed them to Ling Yi. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°You wait,¡± Yue Yi said. As she said this, Ling Yi and Tazuki came back from their short wandering around the gallery. The young lady held a stick with white, sticky string. She offered it to Ryu. ¡°Want some? It¡¯s Glazed Spider Thread.¡± Tazuki grabbed a piece of the sticky string and shoved it in his mouth. Chewing on the candy, he said, ¡°It¡¯s really good.¡± Ryu shook his head, waving his hand. ¡°No thanks.¡± Ling Yi frowned but brightened up her face just a moment later. ¡°Found anything you liked?¡± ¡°I just finished putting my items up, but I¡¯ll start looking now,¡± Ryu said. ¡°We¡¯ll leave you be, then,¡± Yue Yi said. ¡°Will you be alright by yourself?¡± Ryu nodded. Yue Yi pointed to the large, raised structure far away in the Platinum Gallery. ¡°The basement stairs. They¡¯ll lead you to the auditoriums where the private galleries and auctions are held. I have some things I need to check out, so we¡¯ll see you there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you there. I just want to scroll through the public auctions for a bit,¡± Ryu said.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Have fun,¡± Yue Yi said as she pushed the two younger NPCs away. Ling Yi stuck her tongue out at Ryu as she was scooted away. The player lightly scoffed, shaking his head. When they finally faded into the crowd of people, Ryu turned back to the kiosk. He opened up the panel listing of items, and began searching for the items on Charlotte¡¯s note. He found numerous entries for Gold Spider Fangs. The items with the lowest bids appeared first.
Listings for: Golden Spider Fang
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 80 gold coins Auctioner: Marvin Bordath II
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 98 gold coins Auctioner: Marvin Bordath II
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 150 gold coins Auctioner: Marvin Bordath II
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 374 gold coins Auctioner: Helena V. Silverspoon
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 380 gold coins Auctioner: Helena V. Silverspoon
Ryu¡¯s face turned sour. They¡¯re so expensive¡­ As he was scrolling through down the list, he heard a few male NPCs gasping and whispering at the auction kiosks just next to him. ¡°Am I seeing this right? A True-Identified dagger?¡± a visitor said. ¡°No. I see it, too!¡± another person gasped. ¡°I found it, too!¡± another person exclaimed in a low voice. ¡°Should I bid on it?¡± said the first visitor. ¡°What¡¯s the Implicit Rarity?¡± the third person asked. The first visitor paused for a moment, carefully looking at the item¡¯s description. He blinked several times just to make sure he was seeing things right. ¡°It¡¯s¡­Brown.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± the third person said. He raised his head in disbelief. The second NPC leaned into the first person¡¯s auction interface. He, too, saw exactly what the first NPC had seen. ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth.¡± Hearing this, the third NPC huddled in. ¡°It must be a Moratian item.¡± He raised his brows and noted, ¡°Why would anyone True-Identify Moratian loot? That¡¯s completely idiotic. It¡¯s guaranteed to be a Brown-tier item.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be such a sap,¡± said the second NPC. ¡°You know there are plenty of valuable Moratian items. Besides, this item¡¯s already True-Identified. Isn¡¯t it already much better than a normal one?¡± ¡°Sure it is,¡± said the third NPC. ¡°But normally it costs, what, a few thousand or tens of thousands of gold coins to get something True-Identified? Or even more.¡± ¡°Those items are expected to be at least Yellow-tier though,¡± the first NPC said. ¡°Exactly. Which is why it¡¯s such a waste,¡± the third NPC said. ¡°Even if it¡¯s True-Identified, this dagger¡¯s still Brown-tier. Whoever got it True-Identified was an idiot.¡± ¡°It¡¯s True-Identified, nonetheless,¡± said the first NPC. ¡°It still has enormous value.¡± The third man crossed his arms. ¡°Eh. I guess you have a point.¡± ¡°I only have a few gold coins left on me,¡± said the second guy. He looked at the first man. ¡°How much are you going to bid?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much, either,¡± the first guy said. ¡°I spent most of my money already.¡± The third NPC turned back to his kiosk. He took a few moments searching for the True-Identified dagger. He was only expecting the one dagger to show up in the list of entries, but when he saw a full list of items, his eyes glared up. He spoke aloud, softly, ¡°There are¡­so¡­many¡­.¡± The other two NPCs leaned their heads over, and they, too, were astonished. Right in there faces was a listing of over 200 items ¡ª all of them True-Identified. And as they stared at the screen, other people who were searching through the kiosks began murmuring similar things too. Even after hearing the NPCs babble about, Ryu retained his relaxed attitude. He calmly accessed his submitted list of items. Forty-one of his items already had bids on them: 16 equipment items, some of which were loot from his hunting and some from the hoards of loot from the goblins, and all 25 plums he¡¯d picked up in the Plum Tree Forest, which all had the same bid of 1,200 silver coins each. He looked at the list of equipment items that currently had bids.
Items with Open Bids:
Item #37: Copper Dagger Current Highest Bid: 13 gold coins
Item #38: Copper Dagger Current Highest Bid: 9 gold coins
Item #65: Copper Dagger Current Highest Bid: 10 gold coins
Item #71: Copper Dagger Current Highest Bid: 8 gold coins
Item #73: Copper Dagger Current Highest Bid: 6 gold coins
Item #74: Copper Dagger Current Highest Bid: 8 gold coins
Item #75: Copper Sword Current Highest Bid: 19 gold coins
Item #65: Copper Sword Current Highest Bid: 12 gold coins
Item #69: Copper Sword Current Highest Bid: 26 gold coins
Item #76: Copper Sword Current Highest Bid: 18 gold coins
Item #77: Copper Shield Current Highest Bid: 10 gold coins
Item #104: Copper Earrings Current Highest Bid: 32 gold coins
Item #265: Bronze Dagger Current Highest Bid: 28 gold coins
Item #266: Bronze Sword Current Highest Bid: 53 gold coins
Item #267: Bronze Spear Current Highest Bid: 35 gold coins
Item #268: Bronze Axe Current Highest Bid: 26 gold coins
As he looked up and down the list, the bid prices changed on the screen as people were bidding. The list gets updated immediately when a new bid comes through. It was startling, really. Ryu didn¡¯t expect people to be bidding in gold coins. Silver coins was what he initially thought, if that. Even knowing the benefit of True-Identified items, the items were completely trash and run-of-the-mill. At least, in his eyes. In mere moments, more items got bids and so they popped up on the list. And within seconds, the items that initially had single-digit bids now had low, two-digit bids, and the items that had low, two-digit bids now had mid, two-digit bids. And those that started off in the mid-to-high, two-digits were now close to 100. As far as additional stats go, they don¡¯t provide that much¡­ And my sword isn¡¯t any better. Ryu walked up to the cruder of the three NPCs who were chatting earlier and tapped him on the back. ¡°Excuse me, could you please tell me about True-Identified items?¡± The young male NPC looked at him with a baffled expression. As he seemed mildly confused at Ryu¡¯s inquiry, he didn¡¯t respond. The more mature NPC next to him politely joined in the conversation. ¡°True-Identified items are items that have had their Implicit Rarities revealed. On top of that, equipment items that have been True-Identified can be used with certain crafting materials that are exclusive only to True-Identified items. These crafting materials usually increase the potential of True-Identified items tenfold, even a hundredfold. It¡¯s why True-Identified items are so valuable.¡± Of course, Ryu had already been informed of the latter by Tazuki. However, he¡¯d been curious about the term ¡®Implicit Rarity¡¯ ever since identifying his first item. It was a good opportunity now to inquire about it. ¡°Could you tell me more about Implicit Rarities?¡± Ryu asked. The nice gentleman smiled at Ryu¡¯s naivety. ¡°The Implicit Rarity of an item indicates the essential composition of the item. In other words, it¡¯s how concentrated and how pure the makeup of the item is, in terms of essence.¡± He paused momentarily. ¡°I do hope you¡¯re familiar with essence.¡± Ryu nodded. ¡°I am.¡± The NPC continued. ¡°By revealing the essence concentration and purity of an item, its essence color can be determined. So for example, a certain item with a certain level of concentration and purity of essence may have a Brown sheen or color to it. In contrast, another item with a different level of concentration and purity may have, say, a Yellow color or aura to it. In either case, the extent to how concentrated and pure the essential composition of an item is will determine its color. And by simply knowing the essence color of an item, we can determine how good or powerful it is.¡± Ryu grabbed his chin. ¡°I see¡­.And True-Identifying is the only way that reveals the essence color of an item. I¡¯m assuming,¡± said Ryu. The man nodded. ¡°Indeed. But there are only a few people capable enough to correctly identify an item¡¯s essence color. Of course, they need certain materials to do so.¡± ¡°Sages,¡± said the third NPC who had been listening in. ¡°And they charge an exorbitant fee.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because the items used to True-Identify are so rare and expensive,¡± said the young man who was baffled, seemingly snapping out of his bewilderment. ¡°So what then about the True-Identified items listed up for auction currently?¡± Ryu asked. ¡°In any normal situation, they¡¯d be considered run-of-the-mill and probably sell for a few dozen copper coins,¡± said the polite NPC. ¡°But because they¡¯re True-Identified, they¡¯re much more valuable, simply due to the fact that their Implicit Rarities have been revealed. Knowing that, people can gauge their usefulness and can upgrade them accordingly with appropriate crafting materials.¡± ¡°Still doesn¡¯t help that they¡¯re only Brown-tier, though,¡± the former bewildered man said. The young gentleman casually elbowed the crude young man. He gave Ryu a warm smile and simply said, ¡°Don¡¯t mind what my brother says.¡± ¡°I think I understand now. Thank you,¡± said Ryu. He gave the NPCs a nod and turned back to his kiosk. Ryu opened up his Titles menu, bringing up the description for ¡®The True Identifier.¡¯ Geez. Isn¡¯t this broken? Players who are the first to do and discover things get such huge advantages¡­ Was that the developer¡¯s intention? Second World seemed so unbalanced. Not that other VRMMOs weren¡¯t as well. Dream World itself had unique titles and traits, too. But they didn¡¯t grant powers and abilities to this extent ¡ª compared to the rest of the player base, at least. More so than other VRMMOS, Second World seemed to heavily favor the first players. At least, those who were successful in their accomplishments and adventures ¡ª accomplishments and adventures which were arguably mundane, like meditating to gain ¡®self-awareness¡¯ or being the first player to visit a new area. Ryu sighed deeply. It¡¯s as I thought. We¡¯ll be the pilgrims of this world, won¡¯t we? The Lewis & Clarks and the Newtons and the Einsteins¡­ It really is a whole new world. Ryu re-opened the auction interface to begin searching for more of Charlotte¡¯s requested items. And there¡¯s still so much to do. He turned his head, finally taking a good look at the auction house visitors for the first time ¡ª or any marketplace visitor for that matter. He¡¯d been so pre-occupied with ¡®player business¡¯ that he forgot to see the world for what it was. Looking at the NPCs around, there were some races of people he¡¯d never seen. He put up a light smile. ¡­And still so much to see. He closed the auction interface, and he continued his way through the gallery, taking a short break from ¡®being a player¡¯ to just ¡®being a visitor¡¯ for once. Chapter 24: Why Money Can Sometimes Be A Problem Ryu spent a good hour walking through the gallery. He took a look at some of the items on display, all of which belonged to private galleries. These items were set up for the purpose of getting private offers and weren''t listed in the public auction. If anything, it was more of an opportunity to show off, he thought. Just the display fee of 10,000 gold coins was in and of itself an opportunity to show off. The items themselves were exceptional for their given level. Many had relatively good stats, but they were all beyond Ryu''s current level. Had he had more money, he might''ve bid on some. But mostly, they were flashy and fancy equipment, especially the armor; they were a little over-the-top for him. Adding to that, he felt that lighter gear would be best for his fighting style. There were numerous swords on display, too, but none of them were to his liking. Having his fill of adventure, he went back to search for the items on Charlotte''s list. Ryu stood in front of an auction kiosk. He began searching again for Golden Spider Fangs. Scrolling through the listings, it became clear that it was going to be a financial stretch for him. He no longer saw any Golden Spider Fangs with minimum bids lower than 300 gold coins ¡ª and those were all Poor quality. It astonished him that the next tier of Average quality fangs sold for double, or even triple the prices of Poor versions. And the next tier after that, Good, sold for three to five times that. He took out his Scribe Tome which had been inscribed with a ''Tiers of Quality'' pamphlet. Reading down the tier list, he grew incredibly anxious.
Poor
Average
Good
Very Good
Great
Excellent
Outstanding
Superb
Pristine
Perfect
And I thought Dream World''s list of tiers was excessive... This takes it to a whole new level. Currently listed for auction, the highest quality for Golden Spider Fangs was Great, and those were selling in the 10,000 to 50,000 gold coin range. Geez. The price difference is insane. Out of curiosity, he abruptly ended his search for the fangs and searched for the next needle material, Orichalcum Ore. He selected the first entry to see the details. His face twitched after seeing the results.
Orichalcum Ore
Weight: 1.28 lbs Quality: Poor Explicit Rarity: Rare Implicit Rarity: Unknown Current Highest Bid: 10,000 gold coins Auctioner: Gorb Ironaxe
What the hell? Ten thousand? He then looked up the last material for the needle, which was a vial of Flame Tarantula Venom. Seeing the current bid for the first entry, he didn''t even need to look into further detail; seeing the number ''26,500'' was all he needed. But to his woe, his eyes curiously glanced down to the next listing and saw the number ''75,000'' somewhere in the line of text. After seeing it, he wanted to smash his head in. Hell, it''s going to take me ages to accumulate that much money. He didn''t even want to think about the ingredients for the thread. And she thought that acquiring the thread materials was going to be difficult. Sheesh. Ryu was wary of the fact that he had the luxury of auctioning off numerous items at once. Had he not had the inventory for them, he would''ve submitted only a few items, plus his plums. My interspatial ring only has 10 slots. If Yue Yi hadn''t lent me her rings, I wouldn''t have had space for all those items. Ryu sighed heavily. At this rate, hunting will be worthless. I won''t be able to carry much loot. He quietly entered the words ''interspatial ring'' into the kiosk''s search menu. And as he expected, the results only further added to his distress. The first interspatial ring listed displayed the following:
Listings for: Interspatial Ring
Interspatial Ring Current Highest Bid: 100,000 gold coins Auctioner: Herald von Ottenbeard
He didn''t bother commenting and checked the listing to look at the description of the ring.
Copper Interspatial Ring
Level Requirement: 25 Spatial Slots: 25
A spatial slot for this ring can store only one of the following:
1 piece of equipment or miscellaneous item
25 elixirs
100 potions
200 pills
100 pieces of a single type of food material
100 pieces of a single type of non-food material
10,000 pieces of a single type of currency
Weight: 0.025 lb
Quality: Average
Explicit Rarity: Rare
It''s several times better than mine. He figured that interspatial rings were luxury items at this point. Gauging everything he''d seen so far, he reckoned that his ring was on the lowest end of the spectrum. The one he was currently viewing was probably the same as well, although maybe a little higher. There were undoubtedly better ones that existed, he thought. Much more expensive, as well. Ryu groaned. The cheaper ones must''ve all been bought out. He sighed, shaking his head. I''ll come by another time. He closed the auction house interface and went on his way to meet with the others.
The main hallway of the private galleries was a long tunnel, walled with white marble. Red carpet laid the entire path; extravagant lamps were posted on the walls; and great, black doors lined down the corridor. It wasn''t crowded like the marketplace upstairs; only a handful of people were walking here and there, with an occasional person or two walking across the hall, going from one private gallery to the next. At the far end of the hallway were large double doors; Yue Yi, Ling Yi, and Tazuki were standing by the entrance. Seeing Ryu approach, Ling Yi stood up from leaning against the wall. She waved, and out loud, she said, "Ryu! Over here!" When he got to the end of the hall, Yue Yi smiled and asked, "So, did you find anything?" The player scratched his head. "Not really." Tazuki covered his mouth and chuckled to himself, "You probably couldn''t afford anything, could you?" Ling Yi mischievously laughed alongside him, but she was met with a knuckle on the head by her big sister. Ryu casually smiled at the amusement, then he directed his attention to Yue Yi and asked, "Are you done here? We''ve been in the city for a while now, and I should probably get going soon. I haven''t been home in almost two days." "Home? But you just arrived at the school," Ling Yi said, curious. "There are things I need to take care of," said Ryu. And with a twitchy expression, he thought, "And I completely forgot about Chase and Orchid...I was supposed to meet up with them, but because of what''s happened these last two days, I didn''t have the opportunity..." Yue Yi nodded. "I''ll speak with my grandmother and see what arrangements can be made for you." She then opened the giant double doors, putting up a grin. "But before you go, you should at least see the private galleries." The doors opened up to a large auditorium that resembled a great concert hall. There were red seats going down the middle and numerous balconies surrounding the entrance and upper floors. Almost all of the 500 lower seats were occupied, with the balconies filling up as well. Before stepping any further, the group was met by a greeter who sat at a black-clothed table. He coughed and straightened his posture upon seeing Yue Yi. "Why, Lady Yue Yi, what brings you to the Grand Exhibition today?" He also recognized Ling Yi and Tazuki on the spot but not Ryu. "I see you''ve brought a friend." Yue Yi smiled. "I''m just running a few shopping errands. I heard about some of the items being exhibited today, and I was curious to see what they were." "Ah, well, the gallery will soon commence with today''s presentations," the greeter said. "Shall I find you some seats on the balcony?" Yue Yi raised her hand. "No need. We''ll be fine." The greeter gave a respectful nod, then gestured his hand down to a black jar filled with white wooden paddles. "Please, take an auction paddle." Yue Yi took a paddle from the jar and moved her way down the steps, both Ling Yi and Tazuki trailing her. Ryu followed suit, glancing down at the black jar as he stepped down the auditorium. The group found an empty section at the top of the lower seating area and made their way there. After sitting down, Ling Yi puffed, "Why do we have to sit down here? We should''ve gotten balcony seats." "And did you bring money to pay for balcony seats?" Ling Yi said. Ling Yi crossed her arms and murmured, "No." "Then this is where we''ll sit," said Yue Yi. Ling Yi continued muttering to herself. Ryu gave her a warm smile of amusement to which Ling Yi pulled her lower eyelid down and stuck out her tongue. Ryu''s smile widened and shook his head.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Moments later, a well-dressed middle-aged man walked out onto the hall''s stage. He stood confidently in front of the podium and said, "Greetings, my dear guests. Welcome to the Grand Exhibition. It is our third gallery presentation today, and as always, we have many exciting things to show you. If you like anything you see, be quick, for it may get snatched from another bidder." He chuckled. "Without further ado, let us begin." The man extended his arm out to the side, whereupon a part of the stage lowered down and a glass display case emerged. A blue pair of boots sat in the display, making some of the auction guests gasp in awe. "Our first item in the gallery: a pair of Sea Mithril Boots, crafted by one of the best blacksmiths in the Eleven Kingdoms," said the auctioneer. "They are a level 48 piece of equipment and provide exceptional defense to the wearer. Our chief Appraisers have identified them to be of Good quality and Uncommon Rarity. The starting bid set forth by the auctioner is 3,000 gold coins." Upon hearing the starting bid, someone from the second row raised his white paddle, verifying his offer of 3,000 gold coins. "Three thousand. Do I hear thirty-one hundred?" said the auctioneer. "5,000!" shouted someone from the second row, which was then followed by "5,500" from another. "Five thousand five hundred. Do I hear six thousand?" the auctioneer said. The white paddles kept going up until the final bid of 17,500 gold coins was placed. Ryu, curious to see the extent and range of his Identifying skill, inspected the pair of boots and Identified them from where he sat.
Sea Mithril Boots
Level Requirement: 48 Endurance: +3 Hardness: +5
Weight: 6.8 lbs
Quality: Good
Explicit Rarity: Uncommon
Implicit Rarity (Hidden): Brown
This item is True-Identified.
Immediately after Identifying the item though, the pair of boots began to glow in a brown hue, which was visible to everyone. It was only momentary, as the brown aura soon dissipated into the natural light. Uhhh...Oops. Everyone looked around and to each other, confused and a little worried. "What just happened?" said someone in the middle section. "Why did the boots glow brown?" said someone else. The auctioneer, just as confused, attempted to calm the room. "Calm down, ladies and gentlemen. Everything is alright." He nodded his head to one of the auction house staff to check on the item. A young woman hurried onto the stage and inspected the item. She looked up and down as much as she could through the glass barrier but saw nothing amiss. She then drew up the info panel of the boots and was instantly struck with both confusion and amazement. "Oh dear..." she whispered. She scurried up to the podium and whispered to the auctioneer while everyone was chattering about. The auctioneer raised his brows and awkwardly marched to the glass case. He brought up the info panel and upon seeing the item details, his eyes widened. He walked back over to the podium with a morbid expression, and then he coughed several times before speaking. "Excuse me. It seems I have made a mistake. It seems that this particular pair of boots has been True-Identified with an Implicit Rarity of Brown. As such, we will redo the bidding. Please forgive me for this error." Hearing the announcement, many of the auction house patrons gasped. "Impossible!" shouted a young nobleman sitting on one of the upper balconies. He ran down the stairs and up to the stage. After seeing for himself the truth, he was even more astonished than anyone in the auditorium. He quickly turned his head to the auctioneer and said, "I''m withdrawing this item from the auction." "And I presume you''re familiar with our withdrawal fees?" the auctioneer said. "Of course!" the young man exclaimed. "Now just take the item off the stage!" As the young noble said that, a middle-aged man stood up from one of the balconies and said, "I will buy that pair of boots for 100 Gold Tokens!" A woman then stood up, and in response to that, she said, "I''ll pay 110 Gold Tokens!" "120!" said another bidder, followed by "150!" from another. Ryu turned to Yue Yi and asked, "How much is a Gold Token?" "One thousand gold coins," Yue Yi said. "Yup. And a thousand Gold Tokens is worth one Platinum Token. The highest form of currency," said Tazuki. So, that means one million gold coins is basically a Platinum Token. Geez. What would that even buy? Ryu sat silently in his seat. He, Yue Yi, Ling Yi, and Tazuki could only stare as the NPCs below and above were yelling in this bidding war. The young noble on the stage, who was previously determined to keep the item, was now ripe with greed from hearing all the bids. "Do I hear any more?" "I should start bidding, too!" said Tazuki. "You''re only level 9. What could you possibly do with them?" said Ling Yi. Tazuki chuckled lightly, embarrassed. "I would hold on to them of course! ...Until I''m the right level." Ling Yi scoffed, and with a mischievous smirk, she said, "You''re too much of a baby to go hunting or train. You''d never get to level 48 in your life. You should just stick with blacksmithing." Tazuki pouted his mouth, his face turning red. He was too soft to bicker with Ling Yi. "In any case, I''m surprised the auctioneer made such a huge mistake," said Yue Yi. "They''re supposed to know everything about all the items in the gallery." Ryu''s eyebrows twitched. Yeah. That''s kinda my fault... He looked intensely at the boots on display. I didn''t think the aura would be so noticeable... It''s been hardly noticeable every time I''ve Identified an item... It must be the item composition then. His eyes gleaned at the pair of boots. I have to learn how to control my Identifying to a finer level. Hopefully to where I can consciously True-Identify an item or not. The bids continued on for several minutes until it stopped at a steep price of 460 Gold Tokens. The young noble had a greedy grin on his face, seemingly filled with victory. You''ve gotta be shitting me... I didn''t think the price was going to go up by that much. He turned to Tazuki and asked, "Is there something special about Sea Mithril? The price has gone up dramatically." Tazuki nodded. "Sea Mithril is one of the more uncommon ores that can only be found in the Rainbow Pearl Sea. And because it''s aquatic in nature, it''s very compatible with water-based crafting materials." "And I''m assuming it''s good for people using water-type techniques?" said Ryu. "Yep," nodded Tazuki. I figured there would be elemental components to this game. He let out a sigh, a light smile on his face. I wonder how many more things there are that I have yet to see. Ryu was more than anxious to venture out into the this new gaming world. He was ecstatic that there were so many possibilities and things to see. But he needed to be prepared, or else death would be the end of him. And ''starting over'' wasn''t an option for him, especially since he''d come this far already ¡ª however far that was. Once the boots were done being auctioned off, the auctioneer continued on with the next item without delay. It was a level 60 sword, and while it looked cool, it didn''t catch Ryu''s interest; it was ultimately auctioned for 40 Gold Tokens. The item after that didn''t attract as much buzz either, selling for just 55 Gold Tokens. The exhibition carried on, with numerous items being displayed. However, they didn''t garner the attention as the pair of boots...until the final item was presented. "Dear Platinum Gallery visitors," said the auctioneer. "I am honored and delighted to present this next bundle of items." He extended his arm out, and emerging from the stage was a glass display table with three white threads in it. "Three threads of Monarch Mothworm Silk!" The room lit up and all the auction guests began chattering. Many stood up with their hand over their chests. "Now," the auctioneer began. "Each of these strings has a different weight, quality, and explicit rarity, so please be mindful of individual pricing. The first thread on the left is Common, weighs 0.02 pounds, and is Poor quality. The middle thread is also Common, weigh 0.05 pounds, and is also Poor quality. The last thread, however, is Uncommon, weighs 0.01 pounds, but it is Good quality. The starting bid for the first thread is 250 Gold Tokens." The auctioneer wasn''t able to let any more words out of his mouth, as a seemingly wealthy man stood up and shouted, "I will buy the first thread for 500 Gold Tokens!" "750 Gold Tokens for the first thread!" a woman shouted. "800 Gold Tokens for the first thread, and two Platinum Tokens for the second!" said a man from the balcony. Before anyone else placed another offer, a young elf lady who hadn''t participated in any of the bids so far stood up and casually exclaimed, "I will buy all three for 100 Platinum Tokens. If anyone here raises up on my offer, I''ll raise it to 500. And if anyone dares to take up on that bid, I''ll raise it to 10,000." Hearing that, everyone lowered their heads. They dared not make a commotion, especially since an elf had just entered the fray. Ryu wasn''t worried about the elf at all; he was flabbergasted by the price. You''ve got to be kidding me.....For three single threads? His face turned sour, turning more sour as he thought about Charlotte''s list. This is going to be a nightmare. Yue Yi had wanted to raise her white paddle, but seeing the competition, she backed down and stayed quiet. "Aw, I really wanted one, too." "Didn''t grandmother say you could use as much as you want for it?" Ling Yi said. "No. It''s our loss this time," Yue Yi said, calmly. "Of course. It''s an elf," Tazuki said. "And look." He nodded up to the balcony. "She''s wearing the Ervelda crest." Patched on the collar of the elf lady''s dress was a green crest of a hawk. Ryu had come across it while reading some passages about Loreen. In this case, the emblem was the crest of the Ervelda family, elves who had direct marital ties to the Elven Royal Family. And being such a high-status family in Loreen, they were bound to have great financial ties. Yue Yi stood up. "It''s time to go home." She walked to the auditorium steps and proceeded to exit the gallery. Ryu said no word and immediately followed suit, Ling Yi and Tazuki close behind. The group took no detours and headed straight back to the portal gate. They returned to the fork in the Brown Forest where Madame Yi was already waiting for them, her back turned to them. "All of you, go on ahead." She verbally singled out Ryu without having to turn and said, "You. Stay." Saying no word and turning no heads, the young NPCs entered Plum Tree Forest, with only Yue Yi giving Ryu a short glance as she walked past. Once they were gone, Madame Yi chucked a small bronze coin in the air, her back still faced to the player. Ryu saw the object in the air and extended his hand out, catching it perfectly in his palm. "That is a pass to the school. A visitor''s pass," Madame Yi said, her voice stern. "You''ll use it to access the gates. But be warned, for this is your one and only warning, lose that pass and I will break your legs. Bring someone along, and I will break your legs. Any creature who enters the Gates without my permission will be destroyed, and I will find you, and I will break you to such a point that no healing magic or technique will be able to save you. Do you understand?" Ryu didn''t say anything and only nodded. He knew his silent affirmation was all that was needed. "Good," Madame Yi said. "I will give you one day''s rest. Training will start the morning after." She then turned her head. "Do not be late." She then walked into Plum Tree Forest, disappearing in the shadow of the trees. Ryu had been clenching his jaw the entire time, but seeing her finally gone, he opened his mouth. "Geez, that woman is scary." Before logging off, he sighed and looked up to the sliver of sky. "I have a long road ahead."
The pale blue goblin sat ever-so-comfortably on his stone throne. Countless gold pieces and treasures had been thrown and smashed into the cave walls. He''d calmed down after beheading several unfortunate and uninformed goblin peons who died right as they came through the colossal doors. He was calmly ¡ª at least seemingly so ¡ª tapping his foot, but it was apparent by the speed of his tapping that he was agitated. He was about to rage again until the doors opened unexpectedly. Annoyed, he tossed a gold plate across the room, but the black-cloaked individual who entered swiftly and calmly side-stepped it. "My prince," the cloaked individual said. The person knelt and took down their hood, revealing himself to be a youthful goblin, who was even more pale in complexion than the goblin prince. "I called for you hours ago," the goblin prince snorted. "I was away, your highness," said the slim goblin. "Gornella?" The pale goblin nodded. "Yes, my prince. She sent me to the north to escort one of the troll kings." The goblin prince scoffed. "Trolls. Ugly creatures. Not sure why she even bothers with them." "They are our allies, your majesty." "Useless allies," the goblin prince said. "The war in the north still continues. My blood boils to the fact that we have allied with the other races. Especially the humans." "It is only a temporary alliance, my prince. And a necessary alliance." The goblin prince snorted. "We shall see." He flicked a gold chess piece off the throne armrest. "Anyway, I need you to find something for me. The transport we sent through the Brown Forest Caves, the useless scums died and the items were all taken." "I will find the missing goods, your highness," said the Black Captain. "Yes... You will," said the goblin prince. "And you will kill anyone in possession of them." The Black Captain lowered his head. "It will be done, Prince Gorkul." Author Announcement: Returning to RoyalRoad [Not a Chapter] What''s been going on? The last time I was writing for Second World was around May 2019. It''s been almost a year since I''ve physically typed/written for the story. (Actually, I''ve been writing bits and pieces here and there, but nothing complete.) At the time, I was only working part-time, but I soon got a full-time job soon after. My priority at that time was just paying my dues and helping my mother as much as I could. Second World fell from my list of things to do, sadly. Adding to that, if any of you were following me, I also mentioned things about my physical conditions. My scoliosis won''t ever go away, so that''s just something I have to deal with on an on-going basis. As far as my fingers are concerned, they''ve actually improved. They aren''t as stiff they were a year ago.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. In any case, I was just recently let go from the company I worked for, so I have nothing to do at the moment. For the time being, I''m returning to RoyalRoad and continuing the story. I would just like to apologize to the people who followed the story. Moving Forward: As for my writing schedule, I honestly have no idea what it''s going to look like. If I don''t get another full-time job, I might get some temp/part-time work or whatnot, so I''m not going to be guaranteeing anything. As much as I love this story, it isn''t a priority for me given my current situation. My life is a bit complicated right now, so I can''t commit to Second World. Anyway, even though I haven''t put out any content for the past year, I still appreciate you all for reading and following. Thanks. Chapter 25: Family Matters George was standing by the door to a patient¡¯s room in a hospital. His arms were crossed, and he was mindlessly staring at the floor. A moment later, the door opened and a female doctor exited from the room. George stood up straight as she came out. ¡°Is she alright, Dr. Hope?¡± The doctor patted his shoulder. ¡°You can see her now.¡± He gave George a nod and left. George took a deep breath and entered the room. George came into an all-white room. Aside from the regular hospital equipment and devices, there was only a single chair in the room. The room was clean and tidy for the most part, but it was clear from George¡¯s view that there was dust accumulating on the chair¡¯s armrests. An elderly woman sat on the hospital bed, hooked up onto several machines. She seemed drained but her face lit up as George entered. But not in the way George expected. She turned a confused face, raising her hand to up her chest. ¡°G-George?¡± she said. ¡°Is that you?¡± George put up a big smile and said, ¡°Yes, obaasan. It¡¯s me.¡± The woman¡¯s eyes widened. She gasped. ¡°Come here. Let me take a look at you.¡± George walked up to the bed and sat beside her. The old woman placed her hands on his shoulders, gripping them to make sure the person in front of her was real. She felt his face, turning it side to side, checking his jawbone and cheeks. She then pulled his head straight forward and looked right into his eyes. She sighed. ¡°Yes¡­it is you. You have your mother¡¯s eyes. Thank goodness. You look healthy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been eating well,¡± George laughed. He thought to himself, ¡°Albeit, food from a virtual game¡­¡° His grandmother smiled. ¡°I can see that.¡± She then suddenly changed mood. She pulled his cheek to the furthest extent. ¡°Brat, after I woke up, the doctors told me you haven¡¯t visited for over six months.¡± ¡°Ow, ow, ow!¡± George blurted out. His grandmother let his cheek go. George placed his hand on his very red cheek. ¡°I was busy.¡± ¡°Busy?¡± his grandmother said. ¡°Too busy to check up on your comatose grandmother?¡± George dared not come up with a lie, but he didn¡¯t want to be too specific either, and so he said, ¡°These past several months weren¡¯t too good for me. I had to take some time to get myself together. I didn¡¯t want to visit you the way that I was at the time. I¡¯m sorry. Will you forgive me?¡± His grandmother seemed a bit disappointed but didn¡¯t take anything to heart. It seemed reasonable she thought. ¡°Fine," she said. "At least you¡¯re doing fine now.¡± She brushed her hand over his hair. George put up a light smile. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± she said. She paused for a second before continuing. ¡°What are you doing now? Have you found a good job? Are you seeing anyone?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for one, don¡¯t worry,¡± he said. ¡°For a job or for a girlfriend?¡± his grandmother said. George laughed. ¡°A job.¡± ¡°Good,¡± she said. ¡°But you should start finding someone soon. I¡¯d like to see you get married and have children before I go.¡± ¡°Obaasan!¡± George exclaimed. He knew he was being teased. ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± his grandmother said. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much time I have left. It would be nice to know that you¡¯re in good hands.¡± George took his grandmother¡¯s hands and held them tightly. ¡°Let me worry about that.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± she scoffed. ¡°But she has to be pretty. And kind. And respectful.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, I understand. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± she said. ¡°In any case, if you can¡¯t find a job, you could always re-open the dojo. You still haven¡¯t forgotten what I¡¯ve taught you, I hope.¡± George¡¯s face turned to dread when she uttered those last words. He stood frozen for a long moment and lowered his head. His grandmother stared at him as he drew a cold, blank expression. ¡°George?¡± ¡°Obaasan¡­¡± George murmured. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Tell me,¡± she said. ¡°The dojo¡­I sold it,¡± said George. ¡°What?¡± she said. She was momentarily paralyzed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, obaasan.¡± ¡°You sold the dojo?¡± she said in a soft tone. George had no response. He kept his head lower, in shame. She turned her head away. ¡°I¡¯m sure you had your reasons. I won¡¯t ask why. But it must have been important.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Of course, George knew the truth. George had been left the dojo in his mother¡¯s will after her passing. As such, he had been entitled to do anything with it. And so, he sold it¡ªhis own home. At the time, he told himself that it was solely for affording his grandmother¡¯s hospital care. But deep down he knew the real reason: Sell the estate and rent an apartment, get strong in Dream World, and make enough profit to make back the money and re-purchase the property, all the while paying for grandmother¡¯s healthcare. It had seemed like a win-win situation. But it was all just fantasy in the end. He initially only used some of the money for Dream World, buying a few items that he didn¡¯t have the time or money to obtain. They were very expensive, but he was confident he could make a profit in the game; he believed he would just make it all back. But unfortunately, as he continued playing Dream World, he became more invested and more greedy. He himself didn¡¯t see it, though. And so, he continued making purchase after purchase after purchase. He thought he wasn¡¯t spending that much, but by the time he quit the game, there was only about a year¡¯s left of funds to pay for his grandmother¡¯s care. And when he looked back into the dojo, the value of the property had skyrocketed. It had gone from a value of $1.2 million to $5 million. As a last resort, he sold his mother¡¯s ring to make sure he had the cash to survive. The remaining money from selling the estate, he placed it all into a trust fund to pay for his grandmother¡¯s condition. Dammit. You¡¯re such an idiot, George. ¡°I¡¯ve heard enough for today. I¡¯m tired now,¡± his grandmother said. ¡°You can leave.¡± She turned her back and laid crouched down on the bed, facing the window. George said nothing. He looked at his grandmother''s turned back with eyes of shame and self-disappointment. He wanted to place his hand on her back to comfort her, but he knew it was grossly inappropriate. And so, he got up and left. It was a simple departure, but one that spoke a thousand words.
George waited for the bus. He stood several feet from all the other bus goers who were all huddled under the hood of the bus stop. It was raining terribly, but the bus was already coming up ahead. He was at the end of the line, but he didn¡¯t mind. He didn¡¯t mind anything at all, really. He stood in the rain with a dreaded look on his face. Even in the downpour, he kept his umbrella closed and left only his raincoat to protect him from the water. The people around him thought he was an idiot. And he thought he was as well. A terrible idiot. Perhaps he should¡¯ve kept his mouth shut, he thought. As the bus came in, an elderly woman approached from his side. She wore tattered clothes with holes in every piece of her clothing. Having no raincoat or umbrella, she faced the full torrent of the weather. She tried stepping under the hood of the bus stop, but the entire space had already been occupied. She squirmed her way through but was met by a businessman. Off-put by her presence, the man elbowed her away, pushing her down onto the pavement. George snapped out of his blank-minded state, disgusted by the behavior of the grown man. However, he dared not to cause a disturbance in front of so many people. He simply gave the man a serious look to which the man cleared his throat and scurried on the bus, cutting the rest of the line. After the businessman left the scene, George turned around and opened his umbrella. He hovered the umbrella over the felled woman and lowered himself. He wrapped his arm around her and helped her up. After getting up, he took her hand and passed her the umbrella. ¡°Take it,¡± he said in a melancholic voice. Then, he took his wallet out and handed her all the cash he had with him. ¡°It isn¡¯t much, but I hope you can do something with it.¡± After handing her the money, the elder¡¯s eyes turned watery. George saw her face and wanted his eyes to become watery as well. But he knew it best if his eyes remained dead. He spoke no word to the old woman and went back in line. As he turned away, the old woman grabbed his arm. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. George gave her a nod and proceeded to board the bus.
When he got home, George head straight his room and plopped onto his bed. He didn¡¯t bother taking off his drenched coat. He lay on the bed staring at the computer. Bzz. Bzz. George picked up his phone and pulled up the text message he¡¯d just received.
Hey George, I got your last text. I should be online in a few hours. I hope everything went okay with your grandma. See you soon. ??
George sighed. He turned his phone screen off and placed it on the nightstand. He hopped back up and got on the computer. He logged back onto the forums, upon which he saw multiple messages. He opened the oldest one up:
Hi, it¡¯s me again. I thought about it and I¡¯ll give it one last try. I went and got another set of equipment. Please message me when you get back on. -Orchid
He then read the next one:
Okay, so I went online and started a new character. But this time I spawned in an area where the NPCs didn¡¯t have a brown necklace to give me. I can¡¯t understand what they¡¯re saying. Do you think you can help me? -Orchid
Then he opened up the last message, which was sent just a few minutes ago:
Hey again, it¡¯s Orchid here. It¡¯s really difficult to play this game since I don¡¯t understand the NPCs. I don¡¯t know what to do, so I¡¯m just staying in town. I don¡¯t think there are any players where I¡¯m at either. Please message me as soon as you can.
George typed a response:
Do you know what town you¡¯re in? I can meet you today, but it¡¯ll have to be in a few hours. I have some things I need to take care of.
He waited a bit, hoping she would be offline and at her computer to respond. Fortunately, she was and sent back the following message:
Yes, I do¡­I think. I came across an NPC who was wearing a brown crystal necklace. I didn¡¯t understand him, but hopefully, he was able to understand me. It sounded like the town was called ¡°Menridge.¡± Have you heard of it? Will you be able to find me? -Orchid
Menridge? She''s in the same town as Chase? George replied:
I have. My friend also happens to be in that town as well. Just get to the center of town. I¡¯ll meet you both there in a few hours. I¡¯ll be getting online now to take care of some things.
He clicked the ¡°Send¡± button, and with that, he let out a huge sigh and fell back onto his chair. George glanced at a half-ripped photo that was placed right under his computer monitor. It was a framed photo of him when he was a little boy, his mother, and his grandmother. All three of them were smiling. His eyes keened on his mother, then shifted to his grandmother. I¡¯ll make this count, obaasan, okaasan. I promise. Chapter 26: One Must Learn to Climb Without Ones Hands Ryu came out of the Inner Gate of Li Lin. He walked into a breeze that blew plum blossoms across the school, right into his face. He brushed the flowers off, seeing Tazuki and Ling Yi clearly on the other side of the stream. The two were friendly fighting with wooden swords. It seemed to be an even duel, but Ling Yi eventually gained the upper hand and knocked the boy down. "Okay, you win!" Tazuki said. He dropped his sword and raised both his arms. "What did I say?" said Ling Yi. "The fight''s not over until it''s over!" She let out a growl and crossed her arms. She turned her head away and saw Ryu. Upon seeing the player''s arrival, her face lit up. She waved. "Ryu!" Ryu waved back. Ling Yi scurried across the bridge. Once she got up to him, she grabbed his hand and tugged him away. "Hurry. Grandmother''s been waiting for you." She turned her head back to the boy on the ground and yelled, "Get up, Tazuki!" The young girl dragged the player across the courtyard, past multiple buildings. She pulled him all the way to the grand pagoda at the center of the school. Yue Yi was practicing with a sword on the court while Madame Yi sat cross-legged at the top of the steps, her eyes closed. "You''re late," said the old woman, her voice coarse. Ryu''s body shivered, a coldness filling the air. He laughed nervously, scratching his head. "I had something I needed to take care of. Sorry." "I don''t care what excuses you have," Madame Yi said. "I''ve invited you to this place. You must obey my every word." Ryu cleared his throat. The old woman continued. "However, since it''s him, I''ll let it go. Just this once. Don''t be tardy every again." She opened her eyes, revealing a piercing gaze. "Now, take to the other side of the court. I need to see how much work is cut out for me." Ryu didn''t comment and did exactly as he was told. "You will spar against Yue," the Madame said. "Pick a weapon of your choosing." Sheesh. I just got here and she''s already having me fight... Ryu glanced at all the weapons from the rack on his side. There were wooden swords, spears, and staves. He looked in particular at the swords and took a moment to think. Without choosing anything, he turned his back and faced Yue Yi. "Hoh?" Madame Yi remarked. "Hand-to-hand combat? Are you sure?" Ryu nodded in affirmation. Proficiency in unarmed combat was a necessity, and it was a life lesson learned for Ryu. Under the tutelage of his mother, he''d learned the way of the sword. But it was under his grandmother that he''d learned unarmed martial arts. Of course, he''d always been a reluctant student, so his skills in either were utterly subpar. However, he did have some moves in his arsenal that were ingrained in him through repeated training sessions¡ªvery harsh training sessions that resulted as punishment from his laziness. "Very well," the old woman said, a smirk on her face. Yue Yi stood at her end. She was also weaponless, having put her practice sword away. "Are you ready?" I''ve gotta test my hand-to-hand skills first. I need be proficient before moving onto any weapon skills. The player nodded. "Then let the fight begin," said Madame Yi. As soon as the sparring started, Ryu took a defensive stance. However, Yue Yi didn''t take a particular stance at all. She stood straight, her hands down at her sides. She''s leaving herself wide open? Yue Yi extended her arm out and motioned her hand. She put up a light smile. "Come." Tch. She''s not going to come, is she? Ryu didn''t want to engage. There wasn''t anything to rely on beside his fists and feet¡ªand he wasn''t confident about either of them. But having no choice, he took the initiative. He dashed across the courtyard. As soon as he was in arm''s reach he threw out a fist, straight at Yue Yi''s chest. Madame Yi saw this scene and smirked. Good. He doesn''t discriminate... However, attacking your opponent head on like that. That''s the peak of naivety. Ryu''s punch was inches away from hitting Yue Yi. But at the very last moment, the young NPC caught it with a single hand. With her other hand, she formed a palm and struck him in the chest, sending the player dozens of feet away. Ryu crash landed on his feet and stumbled down on his butt. Immediately, he got up and began dashing across the court. Ling Yi saw this from the sideline and exclaimed, "Ryu, that isn''t going to work against big sis!" Ryu didn''t mind Ling Yi''s cry and carried on with his attack. Once he was at the appropriate distance, he drew in his hand and readied a punch. He struck once more, but Yue Yi caught his hand and pushed him back as before, making the young man fall again. Ryu stood up, wiping the dirt off his pants. He positioned himself for another dash. "Ryu! What are you doing, you big dummy?" Ling Yi shouted. Ryu sprinted again toward Yue Yi. Madame Yi looked down at the player. Her gaze intensified. As Ryu approached, he empowered his body with natural essence. Both Yue Yi and Madame Yi observed this. However, Yue Yi didn''t falter. She stood her ground, but she didn''t strengthen herself with natural essence. As Ryu crashed onto her, she motioned her hand to perform another catch. But right before Ryu came into contact with her, he released his fist and caught her wrist. When he did this, Yue Yi threw her free hand out and formed a fist of her own, jabbing at the player''s chest. Much to her surprise, Ryu lifted his leg backward and swung it straight up, knocking her punch away.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Madame Yi''s expression livened up. He was able to kick with the opposite leg? And from that position? Ryu used the force of his kick to re-maneuver his body. He pulled Yue Yi forward, and in a jujitsu-style movement, twisted her arm and used his body weight to collapse onto her. He slammed her onto the ground, pinning her down. Whew. I almost screwed that up. Thankf¡ª Ryu wobbled and found himself being raised from the ground. Yue Yi stood up and shook him off. As he lost his grip, the young woman elbowed him in the abdomen. He attempted to block it, but it was to no avail. The power with which she struck was beyond his expectation. He was blown back, all the way to his end of the court. Ryu didn''t immediately get up. He lay on the ground, his body stretched out. She stood up from that hold, geez. Ryu took a few moments to recover from the blow, placing his hand over the bruised area. Damn, that hurt... He lifted his hands up to his face and looked at them. They were shaking¡ªa result of blocking Yue Yi''s blow. If I hadn''t trained as intensively as I did with Bors, I would have been knocked out. I''m not her match in terms of skill, and I don''t think the things I''ve learned from obaasan will help me this time. He wiggled his fingers. I wonder... He recalled his encounter with the Brown-Fanged Spider Queen, revisiting the motions and mentality of the fight. He vaguely remembered his tattered body being pierced by the monster''s fangs. But what he focused on was the very end of that experience. He recalled concentrating his natural essence all into his arm, with the aim of breaking the stalactite above the spider. He tried to recollect his memory after that moment, but it all came as darkness to him. Ryu got up. He shrugged his shoulders a few times, loosening them. He readied himself for another head-on attack. Then, he charged. Madame Yi saw his action, her face filled with slight amusement. He''s persistent. As Ryu came to the midpoint mark of the court, he stopped and grounded himself. He pulled in his arm and with every once of energy he had, he swung forward. Yue Yi stood calmly, only turning a baffled look. What is he do¡ª Before she could finish her thought, a draft came behind the Ryu. Madame Yi''s eyes widened. This is...! As the player''s fist flew out, a bullet of energy propelled forward, following the trajectory of the punch. Yue Yi was in momentary shock and didn''t do anything at first, but she quickly came to her senses. She stood firm, crossing both her arms in front of her. When the attack landed, it pushed her back by more than twenty feet. She maintained her balance, skidding across the cobblestone ground. Ryu collapsed on one knee. He scoffed in disbelief. Geez, she even blocked that? "Stop!" Madame Yi exclaimed. She stood up, a grin on her face, and paid her attention to Ryu. "To be honest, I wasn''t expecting an attack like that from you. I can see why that rascal, Bors, wanted you here." Ling Yi and Tazuki galloped to the pagoda steps. Yue Yi wiped the bits of dirt off from her spar, then also approached the steps. "Grandmother... That was natural energy projection." Madame Yi looked at her and nodded. Then she shifted her attention to Ryu. "How long have you been training?" "It''ll be two weeks today," Ryu said. Tazuki''s and Ling Yi''s mouths were wide open. Both of them simultaneously exclaimed, "T-Two weeks?! You''re kidding!" Ryu shook his head. "It''s the truth." Yue Yi''s eyes were especially filled with incredulity. "That can''t be..." she softly uttered. Madame Yi gave the player an acute look. She was stirred in disbelief. Impossible! It should take at least ten years to reach that stage, even for a prodigy. Unless... The old woman''s gaze intensified. "You''re a traveler, aren''t you?" Ryu nodded in affirmation. Ling Yi''s and Tazuki''s eyes widened, their mouths dropping even more. Yue Yi, on the other hand, let out a gasp. She placed her hand over her chest, in light astonishment. Madame Yi''s eyes remained focus on Ryu. That damn brat, Bors. He knew didn''t he? That old man must have known as well. She then put up a broad smirk. "Interesting." Yue Yi shook off her awe and smiled. "Grandmother, does this mean you''ll accept him?" The old woman scoffed. "I''ve seen enough." She paused for a moment. "Everyone except the young man, leave." Yue Yi spoke no word. She gave a humble bow and left, dragging both the two younger NPCs with her. Ling Yi could be heard mumbling as she was being taken away; Tazuki himself was crying and begging Yue Yi not to do anything suspicious to him. Madame Yi continued staring at Ryu but eventually spoke. "Come," she said, appearing right beside Ryu. Ryu was beyond startled. He looked at the top of the steps where Madame Yi had been standing. He shook his head vigorously, thinking he''d just dozed off and hadn''t been paying attention. But his eyes were not playing any tricks. Madame Yi had indeed appeared right by his side. How did she get down here? I was looking directly at her. He gulped and looked wondrously at the old woman who was now strolling away. His mind was coming up with a multitude of rational explanations. But in the end, he had no remarks. Speechless, he followed her.
Madame Yi took the most casual steps, leading Ryu across the garden bridge to an area of the school that he hadn''t seen before. They walked for several minutes, traversing across many courtyards. This place is much bigger than I realized. Many thoughts were going through his head, but the one that bothered him the most was how the person in front of him did exactly what she did back at the courtyard. That speed was insane. Ryu cleared his throat and finally asked, "Back there, how did you do that, if I may ask??" Madame Yi did not initially respond to the question. She simply kept her pace and continued. But after a moment, she spoke. "You''re a slug." "Is it teleportation?" said Ryu, curious. Madame Yi scoffed. "Teleportation is a rudimentary skill. Don''t think my skills to be of such a low caliber." I''ve never seen anything like it. It didn''t even seem like she moved. I didn''t blink, so I''m certain I would''ve seen her move... One moment, she was standing before me, then the next, she''s standing right next to me. Madame Yi continued. "In any case, we have much work to do. Your senses are pathetic. Absolutely intolerable." She then stopped. The two had come to a gigantic waterfall, at least two hundred feet tall. The water was streaming down from a rocky cliff with numerous sized boulders mounting up to the top. "I don''t know what kind of training you did with that little rascal, but your body is weak," Madame Yi said. "I''ve seen your skills, and they''re impressive¡ªif you want to entertain for theater, that is. But out there, they''re nothing. You''d die on the spot." That''s what Bors said, too. Madame Yi raised her head, looking at the waterfall. "There. That''s where we''ll start." Ryu was baffled by this. "What are you talking about?" "One must learn how to climb without one''s hands," she said. "Your training has begun. So get there," the old woman said, pointing to the top of the waterfall. She paused. Her lips formed a broad grin. "All without using your hands." The words didn''t immediately go through Ryu''s head. ''''Top of the waterfall.'' ''All without using your hands'' What did that even mean? But he quickly understood, as unbelievable as it sounded. ...You''ve gotta be kidding me. If he''d been giving some sort of flying skill, Ryu could''ve performed the feat within the minute. But this game wasn''t Dream World. It was a whole new frontier where he''d need to learn everything himself, all from the ground up. Ryu paused and pondered for a second. He looked up to the waterfall. Wait... Without much thinking, he strengthened his legs with natural essence. He bent his knees, slightly lowering himself, and rubbed his feet on the ground to station himself. And with the most power he could muster, he took off into the air. Sadly, he lifted only ten feet off the ground and fell straight into the pond. "Your legs are weak, but at least you know how to use your head," Madame Yi said, smirking. "But that head will only get you so far. Against true monsters, you''ll need not only your head but your entire body as well." She then turned away, and in a cool and calm manner, walked back in the direction of the pagoda. "Come see me when you''ve completed the task." Ryu came out of the pond. He collapsed onto the ground and stretched his body out. He looked up at the sky and sighed. A light smile came upon his face. "This is going to be quite a long journey, isn''t it?" Chapter 27: Meeting Up With Friends Ryu was in the Platinum Gallery in Voruna. The place was bustling as usual, but he paid no attention to the noise. He stood at an auction kiosk, staring with great incredulity at the screen. The prices of his items had increased since he''d last seen them. The plums now had bids for a few gold coins each, from 1,200 silver coins earlier in the week. Even more impressive was the bids on the rest of his items. His lot of equipment, such as the Copper Swords and Copper Daggers, now had bids ranging from 100 to 200 gold coins. The accessories were especially on the higher end of that scale. I didn''t think they''d get this high. He thought just for a moment about how wealthy he could become if he farmed nonstop. But it was only a thought; he shrugged off the idea. Right now, he had other priorities, so mindless grinding was off the table. Even if I farm for several months, I won''t be able to make enough to buy the thread materials. He''d seen firsthand the extent to which the elves would go. Going to an auction wasn''t a viable option right now. Ryu grabbed his chin. He searched up the materials for Charlotte''s needle.
Listings for: Golden Spider Fang
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 2,200 gold coins Auctioner: Marvin Bordath II
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 8,700 gold coins Auctioner: Marvin Bordath II
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 10,000 gold coins Auctioner: Helena V. Silverspoon
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 33,500 gold coins Auctioner: Boar Brownbeard
Golden Spider Fang Current Highest Bid: 91,900 gold coins Auctioner: L''eau LeChantille
...They were in the triple digits just a few days ago. He quickly followed up by searching for vials of Flame Tarantula Venom. Much to his dismay, the lowest price for a vial currently sat at over 200,000 gold coins. He then searched for Orichalcum Ore, which was now being bid at for half a million cold coins, up from the original listing of 10,000 gold coins. Ryu gaped at the screen, a bit in despair. Damn, they''re so expensive... All to make a damn needle and thread. Out of curiosity, he re-opened the search menu and entered in "Pure Weaver Silk." Immediately after performing the search, he was met with the following message:
There are no listings for Pure Weaver Silk. Please try your search again at a later time.
Figures. Ryu closed out the screen. He scoffed lightly and put up a smidgen of a smile. It must be some incredible piece of silk if just these items are worth this much. Ryu took a giant breath. After his mood mellowed out, he re-activated the kiosk. He brought up his Auctioner panel to accept the current bids for his items. He could''ve let them sit for a few more days, but it was going to be his first meet-up with Chase and Orchid, so he was fine with it.
Please select the item(s) for which you would like to complete transactions.
Select individual item
Select items by item type
Select items by name or key word
Select items by bid amount
Select all items with bids
He tapped to select all items with a bid amount, upon which the following screen appeared:
You have selected to accept the current bids for all your items with a bid amount. You have [268] items that currently have bids. The total bid amount for these items is:
36,750 gold coins
Would you like to accept current bids for your selected items?
Yes
No
Ryu glared at the amount of currency, which was an astronomical amount for someone who''d only been playing two weeks. Monsters he''d been hunting up til now had only dropped copper currency, either directly in copper coins or in copper pieces or bars. He knew if he didn''t have the title of ''The True Identifier,'' this wouldn''t have been possible. It was beyond unfair, he thought. But for someone who left a game full of terrible experiences, it was truly a redeeming moment. Ryu half-smiled and accepted the prompt, to which another prompt followed.
Thank you for your transaction! All currencies and items will now be sent to all appropriate parties. You have accepted the following currencies and items:
36,750 gold coins
Please visit the Grand Kiosk Station to receive your items. Have a good day!
Ryu looked to the far right side of the Platinum Gallery. He''d seen the map of the auction house the first day he visited the gallery. There were several hallways on the right of the Platinum Gallery, which led to the central part of the building: the Grand Kiosk Station. Ryu closed out the panel and headed for the connecting hallways.
The Grand Kiosk Station was just as the name indicated: grand. That and beyond. The vaulting of the station domed a colossal section of the building, up to an opaque glass ceiling. The station expanded a thousand feet in diameter, and rounding the entire edge were black-topped counters, all occupied by auction house staff. There were numerous square pillars raised, all mounted with giant marble bear heads, all of them spread symmetrically and evenly across the station. At the center of the station was another round setup of black counters, above which market boards hung. The hanging signs were labeled with "Member Service Center." When Ryu entered the station there were lines of people, all waiting to get serviced. He walked toward the central counters, as the lines there weren''t as long as those on the outer rim. The central counters must be for Auction Association Members. He approached the table where a gentleman had just finished collecting his items. There was a lady representative that was now available at the counter. Ryu walked up and politely said, "Hello. I''m here to collect my items." The young woman smiled. "Of course! May I see your Platinum Token Pass?" Ryu took out his Platinum Token Pass and handed it to her. The lady quickly inspected it, seeing nothing wrong, and placed the coin into the mouth of a bear head statue on the counter. Immediately, an essence panel appeared in front of her. She scanned the information on the screen before getting back to the player. "It looks like you have 36,750 gold coins from your recent auctions. Would you like to collect it all?" Ryu nodded. "Yes." "Alright, give me one moment," she said. She began scrolling through a few essence panels, a frown coming on her face. She raised her head back up. "It looks like you don''t have a bank account in our system. Would you like to set up direct deposit? It would make for an easier transfer." Ryu waved up his arms and chuckled. "I don''t have a bank account to do that, I''m afraid." "No worries!" the lady said. "We also serve as a branch of the Grand Bank here in Voruna. We can set up an account for you. Would you like that?" "Of course," Ryu said, in a soft manner. "Just one moment," she said. She opened up another essence panel and scrolled down the screen, tapping on numerous options. She took a few moments before getting back to Ryu. "Would you also like to set up automatic payments from your account to pay for your monthly membership fee?" "I''d appreciate that." The auction representative then tapped on one more option. "Your account is all set, sir. Would you like to withdraw anything before I transfer your funds to the bank?" Ryu nodded. "Ten thousand gold coins should do." The representative tapped on a few more buttons, after which ten large gold coins dropped from the kiosk. She took the membership token and the coins and handed them to Ryu. "Thank you," Ryu said. "And thankyou for supporting the auction house," she said. "Please do visit again." "Will do." Ryu nodded, giving her a wave, and went on his way.
Ryu arrived at Menridge. The town didn''t have a central portal gate like Voruna. Small towns probably didn''t have the resources to construct one, he thought. He ported directly in front of the eastern gate where several soldiers stood guard. They greeted him amiably and let him through. As he walked the streets, he turned his head right and left, looking at the buildings. The architecture was a different style than Durn''s¡ªprobably due to the town being located by the mountainside¡ªbut it still had a rustic charm to it. The streets were just as small, and they weren''t crowded with horses and carts. This and Durn must be ''beginner'' towns. Although ''beginner'' towns, the two places were terribly far apart. Durn was located about twenty miles south of the Brown Forest''s southern path, and Menridge was located by the northeastern path entrance. To Ryu''s estimate, the two towns were almost 300 miles apart.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Without fast travel from portal scrolls, it''s practically impossible to meet up with others in different areas. It''s basically a solo game unless you meet with other players. The size of this world makes it even worse. I was more than lucky to have met Guy and the others. Ryu continued on the main street, eventually making it to the center of town. By the town center''s fountain, he saw an enthusiastic blond man who had on a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He was holding up a sign in English: "Hot Chase." The passerby were mildly confused by his glee and the foreign sign; they gave him an odd look and turned their heads the other way as they walked by. Next to him was a short young lady who would''ve stood out with her light purple hair. But she was dressed in the game''s commoner clothes, so it helped her to not stand out so much. She held her arms to her back and stood with her legs very tight together. She continually shifted her gaze so as to make it look like she wasn''t associated with the lad beside her. Ryu was in slight embarrassment by this little reception. I forgot to tell Chase about names in this game... In any case, this was the Chase he''d always known. But it was a relief. His lips genuinely curled up seeing that his friend hadn''t changed. He waved out from across the court. The blond stud saw his waving and pulled out a broad smile, yelling across the square. "George!" "Do you have to be so loud?" said Ryu, a smile on his face as he approached the pair. "And don''t call me by my real name. On here, it''s Ryu." "Okay!" said Chase, smiling. He walked up to Ryu and gave him a big hug...which lasted a little too long. "I think that''s enough, Chase" Ryu said. Chase backed off, letting out an innocent laugh. "Right." Ryu regained his posture after receiving Chase''s bear hug, after which he directed his attention to the young woman by Chase''s side. "Orchid, I presume?" The girl nodded and murmured, "Mmhmm." She turned her head away, her face a little red. Ryu half-smiled. "No need to be shy. We''re teammates." Chase went up to Ryu''s side, putting his arm around his shoulder. "Yup! And you can always count on us!" Orchid turned her head forward. "Okay." Her eyes were still mostly looking at the ground, but her expression was genuine. "Anyway, wh¡ª" Ryu said before Chase began feeling his shoulders. "Oh wow," said Chase. "Your shoulders are pretty strong." He moved his hand over Ryu''s chest, feeling his upper body. "Have you been working out?" Ryu''s face twitched.He lifted his hand up to Chase''s nostrils and pinched them. Then, he began shaking his friend''s face. "Okay, okay! I''ll stop," Chased exclaimed as he let his arms go. Ryu sighed aloud. "I really don''t have any normal teammates." "I''m not normal?" said a soft voice from behind. Ryu turned his head, seeing a young woman standing right behind him. She had a calm and poised statur, and her grey eyes reflected a gentle optimism that seemed never-fading. And it was these eyes he''d never forget. "Grace," Ryu softly said. The girl smiled. "It''s been a while." Ryu''s eyes were widened for a moment, as he was caught off guard. He looked at the girl with the face of someone who hadn''t seen his good friend in many years. After seeing the reality, his face naturally came to a smile. "Yes, it has." "Hehe," uttered Chase. "I thought I would surprise you." Ryu scoffed. "Chase, you big doofus. You shouldn''t have." To that remark, Grace gave him a warm smile. Chase could only put up a gleeful expression, seeing as how he''d just pulled one on Ryu. "If you don''t mind me asking: All three of you were guildmates in Dream World, weren''t you?" Orchid said. "Mmhmm!" Chase exclaimed. "Grace, aka Calm Grace, and I, aka Hot Chase, were lieutenant captains. And George¡ªI mean, Ryu¡ªaka Dream Dragon, was our captain." "Dream Dragon?" said Orchid. She grabbed her chin. "That name sounds familiar..." Ryu and Grace momentarily froze. Realizing his blabbermouth, Chase tried to change the subject. "Uh, anyway...we should probably get going. I''d like to see what this game''s made of!" Ryu sighed. It''s fine. It''s all in the past now. A half-smile on his face, he gave Grace a reaffirming nod. "Yes. Let''s move on." Grace nodded back in full understanding, happy to see that he''d turn a new leaf.
The group had entered an equipment shop. Chase, Orchid, and Grace were looking through the weapons while Ryu was looking at the armors. Ryu identified one of the leather armors. Thankfully, when he did, it didn''t glow as brilliantly as the boots he''d identified in the auction house. The shopkeeper would have definitely noticed it.
Studded Leather Armor
Level Requirement: 1 Agility: +1
Durability: 8/8
Weight: 3 lbs
Quality: Poor
Explicit Rarity: Common
Implicit Rarity (Hidden): Brown
This item isTrue-Identified.
Ryu looked up at his party. I''ll take them to Voruna next time, but this''ll have to do for now. He inspected the leather vest closer, then took another look at his teammates. It''s too big for Orchid and Grace. It should fit Chase, though. He raised his head to the shopkeeper. "Excuse me, do you have anything smaller than this?" "Of course," the shopkeeper said. "What size armor do you need?" Ryu turned his head to Orchid and Grace. "Do you have anything that''ll fit them?" The storekeeper looked at the two girls. He grabbed his chin. "Let me see what I have. Give me one moment." "Thank you," Ryu said. As the owner went to check his inventory, Ryu approached his friends. "See anything you like?" "Where''s all the magic items? These just seem like ordinary weapons," said Chase. "That''s because they are," Orchid said, examining a dagger in her hand. "Huh? Why are we here then?" said Chase. "Let''s go somewhere else." "This should be fine, right?" Grace said. She held a crossbow in her arms, aiming with it. Ryu identified the weapon.
Oak Heavy Crossbow
Level Requirement: 1 Strength: +1
The draw-weight for this heavy crossbow requires the least draw power out of any heavy crossbow. Users must have at least 5 Strength to pull this heavy crossbow.
Durability: 10/10
Weight: 10 lbs
Quality: Poor
Explicit Rarity: Common
Implicit Rarity (Hidden): Brown
This item isTrue-Identified.
Ryu frowned and grabbed his chin. "Try pulling the string, Grace." Grace pulled the string but failed to draw it completely down. She grunted a few times before finally being successful. Ryu Recognized her to check her stats. Her Strength was revealed to be 5, the bare minimum to draw the crossbow. The rest of her stats were just as mediocre as his own stats when he first started. Granted, his Wisdom and Intelligence were above and beyond normal. Grace''s Stamina, however, was 25, and her Endurance was 50. She has more Stamina and Endurance than I do. He then Recognized Chase and Orchid. The majority of their stats didn''t stand out much either. Chase''s highest stat was Strength, which was 30. Orchid''s highest stats were Speed, Agility, and Quickness, which were 25, 25, and 100, respectively. He turned over to Grace and asked, "Are you sure you want to stick with a crossbow?" "I''m not sure," said Grace. "I was a mage in Dream World, but I thought I''d try something different this time." Ryu grabbed his chin. That shouldn''t be an issue, but... He looked at Chase, who was now holding a sword, and Orchid, who held two daggers in her hands. His brows furrowed. "Is there something wrong?" Grace asked. "No," Ryu said, lightly. This is a completely different game. And they''re inexperienced with weaponry. A thought in his mind prevailed. ...I wonder if Bors has returned to his camp. Thud! The shopkeeper dropped several leather armors on the counter. "This should do!" "What did he say?" Chase said. Ryu nodded to his female companions. "Grace, Orchid. Go take a look at the armors. I''ll help Chase." "Alright," said the two girls simultaneously. As the two young women walked to the counter, Ryu approached Chase. He carefully examined Chase''s physique, then Identified the sword that his friend was holding.
Copper Sword
Level Requirement: 1 Strength: +1
Durability: 14/14
Weight: 10 lbs
Quality: Poor
Explicit Rarity: Common
Implicit Rarity (Hidden): Brown
This item isTrue-Identified.
Hmm. Ten pounds. "It''s not too heavy, is it?" Ryu asked. "Not really. Feels like a small dumbbell," said Chase. "Why?" Ryu scanned the weapons on display and Identified all of them, looking only at their weights. He came across a sword that weighed 100 lbs. He went to the rack, empowering himself, and picked the sword out with a single arm. He walked back over to Chase. "Hold out both your hands." "Huh?" Chase said, confused. He hesitantly drew his arms out, upon whichRyu handed him the weapon. Upon receving the weapon, his arms immediately dropped, and he almost collapsed. But managed to stay standing."What the hell? How much does this thing weigh?" "One hundred pounds," Ryu said. "Bull! You didn''t even sweat." Ryu smirked. "I have something you don''t." "And what''s that?" Chase asked. "I''ll tell you later," said Ryu. Ryu extended his arm out and nodded, to which his friend handed him the heavy spear. He placed the weapon back on its rack and returned.By this time, Grace and Orchid had settled on their armors and approached the two young men. Grace had a leather vest and pair of shorts in her arms, while Grace held cotton variants instead. "Did you find something for Chase?" Orchid asked. "Nah," Chase said. "You don''t like any of the swords here?" Grace asked. "I want to try something new as well," said Chase. "I can use a sword til I find something." "Let''s get going then, shall we?" Ryu said. He turned over to the shop owner. "Please add that armor and sword to the bill. That''ll be all." He nodded to a duo of equipment on display: a studded leather body armor and a copper broadsword. The shopkeeper smiled. "Very well." Ryu went to the counter and paid for group''s items. He gave the shop owner an amicable farewell, and then the group departed.
After leaving Menridge by the southern gate, Ryu tossed a brown crystal necklace to everyone. "What''s this?" Chase said. Ryu turned to Orchid. "You didn''t tell them, did you?" "No...Sorry," Orchid said. "It''s okay," Ryu nodded. He then turned over to Chase and Grace and explained the necklace to them over the next few minutes. "Wah?" Chase exclaimed. "You need these to understand the NPCs? I thought it was a glitch." Ryu shook his head. "It isn''t." "That''s such a drag," Chase said. "You can bypass this by learning the language yourself," Ryu said. "Who has time for that?" said Chase. Grace gathered her thoughts, and after a moment she asked, "You''ve already learned it, haven''t you?" "Only a little," said Ryu. "I can fill in some parts under assumptions though." "That''s because you''re smart," Chase said. "And you''ve been playing longer than us." Ryu said with a plain look on his face, "There are at least eleven major languages in this game, one for each of the eleven countries. It''ll be a while before I learn more languages." Chase scoffed. "Pfft. Dream World has over a hundred countries. Eleven is nothing." "Moratia, the kingdom we''re in right now, is the smallest country...and it is one and a half times the size of the U.S.," Ryu said. When he said this, all three of his party jolted his surprise. Orchid''s mouth gaped wide open. "O-one and a h-half?" Ryu nodded. "How big is the largest country, if I may ask?" Grace said. "I haven''t done the math for that yet. But if my calculations are correct, the next largest country after Moratia should be at least ten times the size of the U.S.," said Ryu, plainly. "No way!" Chase shouted. Ryu retained his calm expression, simply shaking his head. "That''s....That''s..." Orchid murmured. "That''s insane," Chase said. "And that''s speaking for only one country," Ryu said. "Beyond the northern-most kingdom, there''s uncharted territory that isn''t part of the Eleven Kingdoms. Even more, there is uncharted land beyond the oceans. For all intents and purposes, we''re basically on a massive island. I honestly can''t tell you how big this world is." Hearing this, Chase''s face turned stupified, his mouth dropping low enough to make his face ugly by just a tiny bit. Grace was stunned, and Orchid looked like her heart had just skipped several beats. Chase poked Ryu''s cheek. "He''s a robot, I swear. No reaction. No emotion." Ryu smirked. "It took me some time to digest all of this, too." "Will we be able to find other players?" Grace asked. "I was fortunate to meet some people on launch day," said Ryu. "But I think that''s part of the design of the game. I don''t think I would have ever met them otherwise." "You haven''t seen any others since?" said Grace. "No one," Ryu said. "Only NPCs." "Then what have you been doing all this time without a party?" said Orchid. Ryu smirked. "Come. I''ll show you."