《Dawn of the Gods》 1. [Revised] Tutorial - The Bandit Raid Dean blinked against the fading light as the sensation of falling stopped and his stomach slowly settled in place. He hoped that spawning wouldn¡¯t feel this way every time he respawned. Once his vision cleared, he found himself staring at wooden planks, supported by thick wood beams, through a hazy layer of smoke. A semi-transparent notification popped up in front of him. The smoke slowed visibly, the curling tendrils almost coming to a standstill, suggesting that time had slowed in game.
Please Choose an Immersion Level:
Level: Default Settings:
Amateur Recommended for First-Time Players, this setting is designed to acclimate players to the Dive system. *Required for Players 15 years old and under ¡¤ Pain Suppression ¨C Max ¡¤ Full HUD Display ¡¤ Enable All Notifications ¡¤ Enable Tips and Tricks
Novice Recommended for Players with some Dive experience, this setting is designed to acclimate players to game specific mechanics. *Must be at least 16 years old ¡¤ Pain Suppression ¨C High ¡¤ Full HUD Display ¡¤ Enable First Encounter Notifications ¡¤ Enable Tips and Tricks
Apprentice Recommended for Players with moderate Dive experience, this setting is designed to provide a balanced immersion level. *Must be at least 18 years old ¡¤ Pain Suppression ¨C Moderate ¡¤ Moderate HUD Display ¡¤ Enable First Encounter Notifications ¡¤ Disable Tips and Tricks
Journeyman Recommended for Expert Players, this setting is designed to provide a deep immersion while maintaining basic gameplay elements. *Player must be at least 21 years old and agree to the Health Monitoring Agreement. ¡¤ Pain Suppression ¨C Low ¡¤ Minimize HUD Display ¡¤ Disable Notifications ¡¤ Disable Tips and Tricks
Master Designed for players that want an authentic in-game experience. Recommended for expert level players only. *Player must be at least 25 years old and agree to the Health Monitoring Waiver and Full Immersion Indemnity Agreement. ¡¤ Pain Suppression¨C Off ¡¤ Disable Status Bars ¡¤ Disable Notifications ¡¤ Disable Tips and Tricks
He ignored the two higher settings completely. Even if this wasn¡¯t his first dive, there was no way he¡¯d want to play with that level of pain. He doubted that getting stabbed in game would feel like he was actually getting stabbed, even at the Master Setting where pain tolerances were set to zero. There was no way the game would allow that. Nobody would choose to play at that level if the pain was identical to real life. Except, maybe Will, but then again, Will was an adrenaline junkie, and might enjoy the rush. Dean selected the Amateur level, figuring he could change the settings later if the notifications got in the way. The screen winked out, and the speed of the game returned to normal, as several new objects appeared in his vision. In the top left were three different colored bars. He guessed red was for health, blue for stamina and green for mana, each one with a reading of one hundred out of one hundred. At the bottom left was a small map, detailing a small room with various pieces of furniture in it. Across the top was a bar with a large ¡®E¡¯ near the edge, probably a compass. The bottom right had a circle with a fist in it, and several smaller circles radiating out in all four cardinal directions. Considering he was currently unarmed, it might be some kind of favorite weapon or a quick equip menu. He had no way of knowing until he found a weapon. A moment later, his other senses returned, bombarding him with sensations that his brain struggled to process. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, giving himself a chance to focus on each of his other senses. He was laying on a something soft and warm, his head propped up. It felt like a bed, if a rather lumpy one. Next, he heard the soft crackling of a fire, probably in a fireplace somewhere nearby, and his nose confirmed the smell of woodsmoke. He tasted ash and thought that someone forgot to open the flue. So, this is what a full dive is like? It feels so real. He opened his eyes and studied the wooden beams. The graphics were still computer generated, but incredibly well done. The level of detail on the smoke¡¯s movements was beyond anything he¡¯d seen in a video game or movie to date. If the rest of the game was this detailed, he¡¯d could easily see how some people buried themselves here over the real world. He glanced down at his body, naked except for a pair of white boxers, and noted that his stomach was flatter, the beginnings of his beer belly gone, and his muscles were slightly more defined, similar to a swimmer¡¯s build with lean muscles. He was about to sit up when a notification popped up.
Tutorial: Movement
The Dive gear is designed to intercept mental commands, and translate it to in-game actions, such as walking, running, and crouching. Certain actions are dependent on in-game stats, such as Stamina or Endurance, and may be different from real world capabilities. Increasing the necessary stats will improve a player¡¯s ability to perform those actions.
He read the message quickly, briefly wondering who would need that information to figure out movement in the game. Did anyone actually log into the game without a basic concept of how dive gear worked? He wasn¡¯t an expert by any means, but he¡¯d read up on dive gear and the game as much as possible before logging in. If this is what the beginner setting looked like, he was going to have to switch to the higher level. There wasn¡¯t much out on the game yet, since it was brand new and Omnisense had kept a tight lid on it. Other than the name, The Demon King: Fallen Realms, there wasn¡¯t much else out there about the game. Even the plotline had been kept a secret with the developers only revealing the fact that the Demon King was the main antagonist. Otherwise, they¡¯d claimed it was a game with infinite possibilities and replays. They hadn¡¯t elaborated on it in the interview, not wanting to give too much away, but hinted that there were different areas in the world with unique settings and capabilities. He¡¯d seen a rumor that there were multiple spawn points throughout the world, and that each civilization had unique environments and gaming elements, but it¡¯d never been confirmed. The only thing he specifically remembered from the article, because he thought Ryan would be interested, was the rumor that players could purchase and captain boats around the coastal areas, upgrading them and hiring crewmembers with unique traits and capabilities. But he was finally in the game and could find out whether those rumors were true. He just needed to get moving so he could get past the tutorial. He sat up slowly, swinging his legs over the bed, as he tested how well his limbs responded in the game. Movement felt natural, no different than moving his own body in the real world. He jerked his bare feet off the floor in surprise. It was warm to the touch, hot enough to surprise him, but not enough to burn them. Or maybe it was, and the pain suppression software was stopping him from feeling pain. Prepared this time, he put his feet on the ground, checking his health bar to make sure it didn¡¯t move. Satisfied that he wasn¡¯t losing health points, he stood up to start exploring. His face hit a cloud of smoke, causing his eyes to water at the sudden sting. He ducked his head and wiped a hand across his face. Where¡¯s all the smoke coming from? Aside from the bed tucked into one corner, the room was scarcely furnished. There was a chest at the foot of the bed, opposite a wardrobe, and a small vanity with a water jug and washbasin on it along the wall with the door. No fireplace. He flung open the dresser doors, hoping to find some clothes, especially a pair of boots. Sure enough, there was a brown and black set, both made of soft leather, along with shirts and trousers of various colors. He went with an all-black outfit because, despite typically picking the good choices in video games, he always preferred the anti-hero. Not only were their outfits badass, they were more believable. He could understand characters like Batman or the Punisher, heroes fueled by vengeance and determined to beat the enemy at all costs, even if it meant breaking the rules. But a character like Superman? Was he really supposed to believe that Superman had never abused his powers? Hadn¡¯t used his x-ray vision to peek at the college cheerleader squad while they showered? Or win Lois Lane¡¯s heart by being a bumbling idiot? Bullshit. Yeah, with great power comes great responsibility and all that, but even Spiderman used his powers to impress Mary Jane and stage photos to sell. That was at least believable, but there was just something about anti-heroes that made them badass, in Dean¡¯s opinion. It wasn¡¯t his fault that most video games had choices resembling a decision between the Jedi or Sith. Of course, he¡¯d choose Jedi, who wouldn¡¯t? Especially when the Sith were stuck to red lightsabers and the Jedi could choose from multiple colors. Now, if the only way to get a purple lightsaber meant dancing with the devil in the pale moon light, then he might consider learning the tango. No, he totally would. He searched the rest of the dresser, finding a small coin pouch and a hunting knife. He attached both to his belt, a pop-up window at the bottom of his screen stating that he¡¯d ¡®Acquired ¨C Coin Pouch¡¯, ¡®Acquired ¨C 18 Copper Coins¡¯, and ¡®Acquired ¨C Hunting Knife¡¯. He was a little surprised that the knife didn¡¯t pull up some kind of item window to show him its stats. Maybe it¡¯s a utility item? He searched the chest and vanity, only to find them completely empty. He took one last glance around the room and opened the door to leave. A gust of hot air ripped the door out of his hands, smashing it against the wall, and whipped his clothes around. A raging inferno greeted him on the other side. Flames licked at the walls and rolled along the underside of the roof, which had collapsed at both ends of the hallway, as a soft rain of burning embers swirled along the hallway. At a second glance, he saw a small opening in the debris leading towards the stairs just large enough for him to crawl through.
Quest: Tutorial Pt. 1
Reward: 15 XP
Description: The inn is on fire, find a way to escape
He suppressed the well of panic surging up through his chest, reminding himself that this was just a game, and the tutorial at that. Nothing would happen until he triggered it, probably halfway through the debris while crawling to the stairs. Until then, he could explore the rest of the floor for loot.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. There were five other rooms that he could get to, and he started searching them one at a time, ignoring the fire and cracking timbers. Even the partial collapse of the ceiling in the next room, causing the bed in the room above to crush the one below, only startled him. He laughed at himself for jumping, amused that the programmers were trying to scare him into leaving, and moved to the next room. As he knelt to examine the chest, one of the beams groaned and cracked, then splintered apart. He glanced up just in time to watch it collide with his face. His vision faded to black and a single line of text appeared. You Died. Respawning in 60 Seconds. Thankfully, there wasn¡¯t a sensation of falling or the blinding white light. His body felt like it was floating for a few seconds, before he felt himself settle into the lumpy bed and shadowy outlines started to appear amid the black. The shadows gained shape and color as the room continued to brighten, until he recognized the wood planks and beam from his starting point. He climbed out of bed, changed back into his clothes and collected the coin pouch and knife. He opened the door to the same wave of hot air and went back to searching the rest of the rooms. He found a locked chest in the fourth room, and tried to unlock it using his knife, up until one of the walls collapsed on him. After respawning again, he searched the final room before going back to the locked chest, and spent another life trying to find a way to open it. While the respawn timer counted down, he decided that he wanted to test a theory. So far, the building had collapsed around him while searching the rooms. Obviously, there was some sort of time limit to how fast the fire burned, but was it programmed on some kind of trigger as he believed, like opening the door to the room, or was it timed to the moment he spawned. He spent the that life staying on the bed, waiting to see if the ceiling would eventually collapse around him. Waiting was boring and seemed to take forever, though it probably only a few minutes before the roof collapsed and he died again. Fine, he thought as the timer counted down again, time to get out of the inn. Not like I have any lockpicks for the chest anyway. He spawned, yet again, on the bed. He got up, dressed, and crawled through the debris. The stairs leading down had collapsed, so he worked his way up the stairs to the next floor. The damage was worse here, the flames had almost consumed everything, and each floorboard groaned and bent under his weight. He followed the only safe path through the fire into one of the rooms, where a partially collapsed beam provided a path into the attic. He was forced to crawl his way through the attic to keep the thatch from lighting his hair on fire, until he reached the other side of the building and found a hole in the floor. He swung himself over the lip and dropped onto the bed beneath it. He quickly searched the room before opening the door. The hall was blocked from this side, leaving only one other room to search, also empty, and a set of stairs leading down. He took the stairs, pausing at the floor below long enough to see that he couldn¡¯t get into any of the rooms there, before reaching the kitchen. ¡°Thank the Goddess, you made it,¡± A short, stout man with a booming voice said as Dean entered the kitchen, ¡°I was worried you wouldn¡¯t, what with the front stairs collapsed.¡± The man wiped his brow with a dirty kerchief, only succeeding in smearing the soot across his face. A name appeared over his head, identifying him as Cedric. There three others in the room, a woman and two kids, identified as Mariam, Godfrey, and Adam. Dean ignored them, since they were all huddled in a corner and didn¡¯t move. Another notification popped up in front of him as the man slowed down, his mouth still closing from the last word he¡¯d spoken.
Tutorial: Communicating
The Dive gear is designed to intercept vocal commands and translate it to in-game speech. Certain actions are dependent on in-game stats, such as Charisma, and may be different from real world capabilities. Increase the necessary stats will increase a player¡¯s ability to unlock new speech options.
Dean closed the tutorial notification, the thought of upgrading to the next level crossing his mind yet again. A second window popped up at the bottom of his screen, highlighting various suggested speech options.
Suggested Topics:
1. Who are you?
2. What started the fire?
Dean ignored the first option, considering that the game had already provided an icon stating the man''s name was Cedric, and was probably the Innkeeper. Still, Dean needed to play along to move the game forward and meet up with his friends after the tutorial, so he asked, ¡°What caused the fire?¡± ¡°Bandits,¡± Cedric replied bitterly, ¡°They¡¯re attacking the village.¡± He studied Dean for a moment, ¡°Say, you look like you could help.¡± A notification popped up, updating his current quest.
Quest: Tutorial Pt. 2
Reward: 15 XP
Description: Help the villagers repel the bandits
Dean closed the window and waited for a new set of speech options. After nothing appeared, Dean decided to try his luck anyway and asked Cedric, ¡°Do you have a weapon I can use?¡± ¡°Never needed one before,¡± Cedric said as he shook his head, ¡°Haverton has always been peaceful before today.¡± His body jerked oddly before he said, ¡°You have to hurry. The bandits are attacking the village.¡± Interesting, Dean thought. The game had recognized his question but hadn¡¯t provided suggested a speech option for it. Does that mean there are multiple speech options the game doesn¡¯t mention? Or is it generating a response to his question? He tried a few more questions but each one was answered with a unique statement, followed by the innkeeper asking him to hurry. Dean decided the game was generating the answer but keeping to the basic response of hurrying up. He only had a limited amount of time before the inn collapsed around him, and his friends wouldn¡¯t wait around all day for him to finish the tutorial, so he tried the backdoor. It only budged a few inches, a pile of burning rubble blocking the other side. The innkeeper said, ¡°The door¡¯s blocked and we can¡¯t get out. You have to help us.¡± Dean rolled his eyes, wishing the man had said something before he¡¯d tried the door, as another notification popped up.
Optional Quest: Save the Innkeeper
Reward: 20 XP
Description: After escaping the inn, find a way to clear the backdoor to rescue the innkeeper and his family.
Dean read the description a few times. It suggested that he couldn¡¯t escape through the backdoor and would have to find a different way out. Probably through the burning tavern, he thought. He walked over to the door leading into the rest of the building. The innkeeper said, ¡°Be careful, the tavern is on fire.¡± Dean ignored him and opened the door to another gust of hot air and embers. The next room was a tavern, with a long bar on one side, a staircase on the opposite wall, and tables scattered throughout. The entire room was blazing and crumbling as the fire consumed it, but Dean spotted the path he was supposed to follow. He worked his way along the path, ducking under fallen beams and around piles of burning wood. He stepped too close to one pile and his health dropped a few points, but he didn¡¯t have any other problems reaching the door. He laid a hand on the handle, expecting to get burned in the process, but only felt the same uncomfortable warmth he¡¯d experienced when he first stepped out of bed. Dean could only imagine how excruciating it would be for anyone playing on the master level difficulty and thought that the developers had to design the tutorial to keep players from choosing it. Even Will wasn¡¯t this insane. Dean took a deep breath of fresh air as he closed the door behind him, the roar of the fire being replaced by the sound of swords clashing and screams of pain, anger and terror. A few guardsmen in red and black tunics were fighting off bandits wearing various pieces of leather armor, each wearing a yellow sash around their arm, as villagers fled with terrified screams. There were several dead bodies littering the ground, and piles of debris. Dean saw a sword laying on the ground a few paces away and rushed to grab it. Another notification popped up as he did.
Tutorial: Combat
The Dive gear is designed to intercept mental commands and translate it to in-game actions. In order to fight, use a weapon exactly as if it were a real-world action, such as swinging a sword or firing a bow. Certain actions are dependent on in-game stats, such as Perception or Agility, and may be different from real world capabilities. Increasing the necessary stats will improve a player¡¯s ability to perform those actions.
Dean decided he was going to turn off the notifications as he closed the screen. Before he could, he heard roar behind him, whirled around to see a bandit charging him, and raised his sword just in time to block the attack. The blow sent a shiver up his arm, numbing it, and forced him to take several steps backwards. A series of smaller notifications popped up at the bottom of his vision, stating ¡®You¡¯ve learned the Skill: Melee Fighting¡¯ and ¡®You¡¯ve learned the Skill: Blocking¡¯ before fading away. The bandit squared off in front of him, and the two circled each other for a few seconds before Dean attacked, stepping forward as he stabbed at the bandit. The bandit flicked the sword away, but Dean pressed the attack, swinging his sword in what he imagined a trained swordsman would do. In the process, he learned the ¡®Skill: One-Handed Swords¡¯, but ignored the notification completely. He focused on fighting the bandit, attempting to dodge any attacks while stabbing and slashing at the bandit with his own. Several of the blows landed, and the bandit¡¯s health bar dropped as a small number floated above it with each strike, until the bandit collapsed to the ground. Dean stared down at the body, his breath coming in ragged pants as his health bar slowly recovered. To his annoyance, another notification appeared.
Tutorial: Looting
In order to loot a body, place a hand on it to pull up the loot menu.
Dean cleared the notification and immediately pulled up his status page in frustration. He didn¡¯t bother checking his stats just yet since he hadn¡¯t leveled up yet and switched over to the settings page. He turned off both the Basic Dive, speech suggestions and In Game tutorial notifications. He closed the menu and knelt beside the body. He placed a hand on it, and a small window appeared listing the bandit¡¯s equipment.
Bandit Inventory:
Item: Description:
Coin Purse Gold x1 Silver x3 Copper x10
Leather Breastplate Quality: Poor Rarity: Common Damage Resist: 10-12 Durability: 15/15 Weight: 5 lbs Attributes: None
Iron Sword Quality: Poor Rarity: Common Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword Range: Melee Damage: 6-8 Durability: 10/10 Weight: 3 lb Attributes: None
Iron Dagger Quality: Poor Rarity: Common Weapon Type: One-Handed Dagger Range: Melee Damage: 3-5 Durability: 10/10 Weight: 0.5 lb Attributes: None
Wooden Bow Quality: Poor Rarity: Common Weapon Type: Ranged Range: 200 Durability: 10/10 Weight: 3 lb Attributes: None
Iron Arrow (x16) Quality: Poor Rarity: Common Weapon Type: Ranged Damage: 3-5 Durability: 2/2 Weight: 0.1 lb Attributes: None
Yellow Sash A yellow piece of cloth
He looted everything, and equipped the leather breastplate and bow. They appeared on his body, the sudden feeling of added weight making him grunt. He closed the menu and glanced around. The rest of the bandits were busy fighting soldiers, so he raced around the inn. In the back, he found a small, cozy sitting area with a few tables beneath large, shady trees, nestled between the inn and a stable, surrounded by a waist high stone wall dividing it from the main road He climbed over the wall and spotted the burning debris blocking the back door. He sheathed his sword and tried to move it, but his health started dropping the moment he touched it. He searched for a way to put out the fire and found a small trough in the stable with a bucket on the ground. He filled the bucket and ran back to pour the water over the fire with a loud hiss and cloud of steam. He repeated the process until there weren¡¯t any visible flames and tried again. It still felt warm to the touch, but it didn¡¯t affect his health. He tossed each piece aside until he could wrench open the door. Cedric bustled out and before Dean knew what was happening, the innkeeper hugged him, squeezing his chest so tightly he couldn¡¯t breath as the innkeeper said, ¡°Thank you, good sir. You¡¯ve saved our lives. Thank you.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t breath,¡± Dean barely managed to say as his feet dangled a few inches off the ground. The innkeeper let him go and Dean stumbled to keep his balance. ¡°You should get out of here while the coast is clear. But be careful, there¡¯s probably more bandits around.¡± ¡°We will, I assure you.¡± The innkeeper said, ¡°And thank you again.¡± Cedric led his family down an alley, stopping at the corner to peek around it before moving on. Dean shook his head as he rubbed his chest. That brief exchange had felt natural, and while the hug hadn¡¯t hurt, it had certainly squeezed the breath out of him and that hadn¡¯t felt comfortable. Which, Dean realized, meant that the game didn¡¯t negate uncomfortable feelings, just painful ones, and he could still get stuck in a situation that would suck. He drew his sword as he ran back around the building and attacked the first bandit he encountered. The bandit was engaged with a soldier, so the blow took him by surprise. It scored an automatic critical hit and killed him instantly. The soldier glanced at Dean, taking in his raider armor before glancing down at the body, and shrugging. Together, they moved on, killing each bandit they encountered along the way and gathering soldiers, until the street was clear. ¡°Thank the Goddess you showed up when you did,¡± One of the soldiers said as he approached Dean, an insignia on his chest. Dean glanced at the man¡¯s name, Lt. Caldwell, and the man said, ¡°The bandits took us by surprise and had us on our heels.¡± ¡°Glad to help,¡± Dean said as he clasped arms with Caldwell. ¡°I take it bandits aren¡¯t normal around here?¡± ¡°No,¡± Caldwell said, ¡°Not this far north, at least. Most bandits stay further south where the loot is better and they¡¯re not so near the Boundary Wall.¡± ¡°What wall?¡± Dean asked. Caldwell looked at him in shock, ¡°You must be a stranger to these parts if you¡¯ve never heard of the Boundary Wall.¡± Dean nodded and Caldwell continued, ¡°It¡¯s the divide between the kingdom and the Badlands to the North. Not many people, bandits or honest folk, want to sleep that close to Orcs, even with the wall guarding the pass.¡± ¡°Then, I guess the question is what¡¯s different about these bandits.¡± Dean said. Caldwell smiled, ¡°Aye, you¡¯ve got a good mind on you. They¡¯re members of the Yellow Band, a rebel faction aligned against King Logan. They¡¯ve never been active this far north before, though. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m surprised, though, since most of the garrisons this far north have been stripped to support the war. I don¡¯t know what it means, but the Captain needs to hear of this.¡± He looked Dean over before saying, ¡°I can¡¯t spare any of my men since we need to search the nearby woods, but would you be willing to carry a message to the fort?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Dean said, guessing that this would update the tutorial quest. Sure enough, a notification popped up at the bottom of his screen informing him that the next part of the quest was to report to the Captain at Fort Blackwood. ¡°It¡¯s settled, then.¡± Caldwell nodded, ¡°But I would suggest changing armor, otherwise the guards might mistake you for a bandit and kill you on sight.¡± He glanced at one of his fallen men with a sad sigh, ¡°I don¡¯t normally condone disturbing the dead, mind you, but it can¡¯t always be helped.¡± He closed his eyes for a second before coming to a decision and gesturing at the body, ¡°Take Gill¡¯s armor. He won¡¯t be needing it now and it might save your life.¡± Dean nodded before bending down to collect the armor. He absently looted the body as he thought about what Caldwell had told him. Orcs to the north, bandits to the south and the kingdom was at war. All in all, Dean thought, it sounded like a bunch of conflicts for a game to exploit and a player to make a name for themselves as a hero. But before he could really start exploring the world, he needed to report to the Captain so that he could finish the tutorial and meet up with his friends. He just hoped his early deaths as he searched the inn hadn¡¯t delayed him too long or he¡¯d never hear the end of it. 2. [Revised] Fort Blackwood Caldwell marched off, barking orders as he went. Dean glanced at the nearby bodies, wanting to loot them all, but thought the lieutenant might take offense if he touched the dead soldiers. Deciding it wasn¡¯t worth potentially starting another fight, this one with trained soldiers, he stuck to the dead bandits. He collected an assortment of armor and weapons, bringing his arrow total to thirty-five, along with four health potions and two stamina potions. He chugged a health potion, bringing him back to reasonable health. He turned in a slow circle until the icon for the fort appeared on his compass to the northeast of his position. He debated cutting through the woods in a direct path to the fort or following the main road that wove a bit more to the east. Dean knew the road would eventually cut back towards the fort, it didn¡¯t make sense for the road to bypass the fort completely but wasn¡¯t sure which way would be quicker. Heading straight for the fort would be a shorter distance, but the rocky terrain meant he¡¯d probably spend half the journey climbing up and down outcroppings. As for the road, it would probably be an easier hike, but he had no way of knowing how far it went off course before changing directions. And that didn¡¯t include any monsters he¡¯d encounter. He wasn¡¯t against more encounters, they would give him the extra experience needed to level up, but he was anxious to finish the tutorial and meet up with his friends. He pulled out a coin and decided the cutting through the woods would be tails. It came up heads, so he set out along the road. After a hundred paces, Dean lost sight of the village and an oppressive weight of complete isolation sent shivers down his spine. He knew he was imagining it, but the trees seemed to loom down at him and the underbrush reach out to grab him. He shook his head to clear it. He didn¡¯t need his imagination to make the situation any worse, not with the underbrush thick enough that he couldn¡¯t see further than a few feet on either side of the road. It was the perfect cover to setup an ambush. He doubted that would happen, not in the tutorial at least, and besides, hadn¡¯t he read somewhere that wildlife would typically go quiet if something dangerous was around? He pulled up the menu to distract himself and to give himself a chance to get familiar with it. Time slowed mid-step, his weight in the middle of shifting from his back foot to his front, and it made Dean feel off balanced. He closed the window, and stopped walking before pulling up the menu again.
Status Skills Spells Alchemy Abilities Attributes
Status
Dean Adams
Health 88/100 Stamina 93/100 Mana 100/100
Level 1 Exp. 98/100
Stats
Strength 10 Perception 10 Charisma 10
Endurance 10 Intelligence 10 Poise 10
Agility 10 Wisdom 10 Constitution 10
Deterity 10 Fortitude 10 Luck 10
Reputation
Inventory
Quests
Map
Settings
Logout
Dean wasn¡¯t an avid gamer, not like his friends, but most were easy to figure out since they were identical to stats found in pre-dive games. Strength and Endurance typically tied directly to melee fighting, while Agility and Perception were usually tied to long rage weapons. However, dexterity was completely new to him. He knew that being ambidextrous meant a person could use both hands, so dexterity was about hand movement. The thought ¡°Pick a card, any card¡± popped into his head. Which made him realize that magic might require hand movements to cast spells. Dexterity might directly influence how quickly a person could cast a spell or be a requirement for casting more complex spells. If dexterity was about hand movements, and the developers had thought the stat through, then it might affect his abilities with the sword. While he¡¯d never used a sword in his life, aside from swinging a stick around as a kid while pretending it was a lightsaber, he assumed that a timely flick of the wrist could disarm an opponent. He hoped the developers had thought the stat through, and that this wasn¡¯t some barely conceived idea like Luck. He glanced at the next column of stats, usually the mental stats. Fortitude was the only stat that he didn¡¯t recognize there, and by breaking apart the word, he had a fair guess on what it meant, fort being a kind of stronghold and the rest meaning a state of being like attitude. As to how it was useful in game, he decided to just read the description.
Fortitude
An individual''s ability to maintain courage in pain or adversity. Directly effects magic resistance and buff duration
He cared more about the magic resistance part of the explanation. Having a buff last longer could come in handy, but being able to resist spells might make or break him in a future fight. That just left the final group, or what he thought were typically the social skills. Charisma and Luck were also pretty standard. Charisma usually included better trade prices and unlocking new dialogue. Luck, on the other hand, was always poorly defined. Curious, he clicked it.
Luck
An individual''s chances to find or succeed in different sutations. Directly effects the chance of a favorable outcome to randomly occur.
The explanation was on par with other game explanations, meaning it was vague and useless. But games were based on variables and equations, so thinking about it from a programming standpoint, Dean could take a guess on how it worked. Every time he opened a chest, the game ran an equation to figure out if there was anything in it. He didn¡¯t know the exact numbers, but the first slot would have a high chance of containing something, say a ninety percent chance, with the chances dropping for each consecutive slot until the equation returned an empty slot. Then, the game would run another equation to figure out how rare, from common to super rare, the item generated would be. It was possible that luck nudged the chances for rarer items, making them more common for a person with higher luck, but exactly how much was what really mattered. Since the chances were probably based on percentages, there was no way Luck would change it on a whole percent. If it did, a maxed out Luck skill would guarantee a super rare item every time. On the other hand, if it only changed the percentage by a small amount, say point one percent, then a maxed out skill meant a ten percent chance of a super rare item showing up. Designed like that, Luck was either an exploit for gaining rare items later in the game or was next to useless. Unfortunately, Dean had no way of testing his theory without dumping any points into luck, and he planned to spend them elsewhere, once he leveled up. Until then, the page was useless, so he flipped over to the equipment menu. The first page had a picture of him on the left, and his inventory on the right. Clicking on his chest filtered out everything except the breastplates from the inventory list. He selected the best option for each area, not that any of the armor was amazing, but it was better than nothing.
Equipped:This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Location: Description:
Head -
Chest Iron Breastplate Quality: Adequete Rarity: Common Damage Resist: 12-14 Durability: 12/18 Weight: 9 lbs Attributes: None
Shoulders -
Arms -
Hands Leather Bracers Quality: Poor Rarity: Common Damage Resist: 2-3 Durability: 3/8 Weight: 1 lbs Attributes: None
Thighs -
Shins Iron Greaves Quality: Adequete Rarity: Common Damage Resist: 5-6 Durability: 6/10 Weight: 4 lbs Attributes: None
Feet Leather Boots
He checked his weapons last, not finding anything better than the sword and bow he already had equipped and closed the menu. He started walking again, wishing the game would¡¯ve let him peruse it while moving. The woods didn¡¯t feel as oppressive, now that he had equipped better armor and was ready for anything the tutorial could throw at him. After a few minutes, the underbrush started clearing out, giving him a few of a few hundred paces in either direction, and small gaps in the canopy allowed brief glimpses of sunlight through. The road twisted and bent around large ,mossy boulders and steep rocky cliffs made of the same gray stone. After ten minutes, the road took a wide turn towards the direction of the fort icon on his compass, when a notification popped up.
Optional Quest: Protect the Refugees
Reward: 25 XP
Description: A group of refugees from the village are under attack by bandits Bonus: +15 xp Don¡¯t let any villagers die
Dean closed the window to the sound of shouting just ahead. He set out at a run, turning a corner around a large outcropping as the road dipped downward, before his stamina bottomed out. Below him in the road was a group of ten villagers circling a wagon and armed with various farming equipment holding off four bandits about a hundred paces away. Afraid that he might miss with his bow and hit a villager, Dean was forced to move at a fast walk until his stamina recharged. Halfway down, an arrow arced out of the woods to his left and hit him in the chest. The impact knocked Dean back a few paces, but he kept his feet. He turned to scan the woods and spotted the bandit among the trees just in time to duck beneath another arrow. Dean sighted as he stood and released. It struck the bandit in the shoulder, the impact knocking the bandit off his feet. Dean drew a second arrow and fired as the bandit came to his knees. The arrow killed the bandit. His stamina recharged, Dean drew his blade as he ran the last fifty paces. He bashed the nearest bandit with his shoulder as he passed and swung at the next. It caught the bandit off guard and the blow dropped his health by half. Dean turned and jumped at the bandit he¡¯d knocked to the ground. The bandit hadn¡¯t recovered, and Dean took the opportunity to attack. After a few strikes, the bandit¡¯s health dropped to zero. A blow from the side dropped his health by eight points, and Dean took several steps away as he turned to face the second bandit. Dean started walking forward, his sword swinging as quickly as he could. The relentless attack forced the bandit back until several blows made it through and the bandit died. With the other two bandits on the other side of the wagon, Dean switched to his bow as he climbed onto the back of the wagon. Armed with pitchforks, the villagers were able to keep the bandits at bay, giving Dean the opening he needed to fire arrows without the chance of accidently hitting one of the villagers. It took five arrows to kill them both. After hitting the second bandit with an arrow, he charged the villagers and killing one before Dean could finish him off. As Dean climbed down off the wagon, the oldest villager approached him. ¡°Thank you, sir, for saving us. I don¡¯t know what would¡¯ve happened if you hadn¡¯t helped.¡± ¡°My pleasure,¡± Dean replied absently as he glanced at a blinking icon beside his health. It was a green arrow, pointing upwards, with the words ¡®level up¡¯ visible beside it when he was looking at the arrow. ¡°I wonder, sir,¡± The man asked, ¡°If you¡¯d be willing to stay with us until we reach the fort?¡±
Optional Quest: Escort the Villagers
Reward: 20 XP
Description: Escort the villagers to Fort Blackwood
¡°Sure.¡± Dean said as he pulled up his status menu. The old man froze, his mouth slightly open to say something. Dean sighed as he glanced over the stats one more time, chewing the inside of his lip absently as he decided what to do. In the end, he went with his typical choice, leveling everything up evenly, and started two points in Strength and Endurance, and the last point in Agility.. His max health jumped twenty points, and his weight limit, already near max with the bandit loot, increased as well. Satisfied, Dean closed the menu and looked at the old man, named Anton according to the icon. ¡°-ank you, sir,¡± Anton said, ¡°Times being what they are, we could use someone like yourself.¡± The man signaled for the other villagers to start walking again and set out in the lead. ¡°Used to be that a man could walk the entire kingdom without fear of bandits¡­¡± Dean ignored the man as he started to loot the first bandit. He was able to pick up two more swords thanks to his improved carry limit but was forced to leave the rest. He also found two more health potions and several more coin pouches, before running to catch up with the wagon. The old man was still talking when Dean slowed beside him. ¡°¡­full of monsters. It¡¯s ill tidings, I tell you. Nothing like the ancient tales, thank the Goddess, of the time before the Gods, but something dark is stirring.¡± Curious, Dean asked, ¡°The old tales?¡± Anton blinked at him in surprise, ¡°The old tales. Didn¡¯t your parents tell you them as a child?¡± Dean shook his head, but the man¡¯s scripted dialogue continued, ¡°Not the Mad King, thank the Goddess.¡± The old man stopped talking long enough to kiss his palm and hold it out in front of him for a second. Dean suspected it was something done by rote. Anton continued, ¡°Why, I¡¯ve even heard rumors of kobolds being sighted down south in the glades, and I haven¡¯t heard of that happening since I was a young lad. Not since Lord Godric led the campaign against them as a young man.¡± Dean had to admit that the game certainly had a backstory to it. He didn¡¯t know the details yet, certainly had no idea what the timeline looked like, and in truth, he didn¡¯t care unless it was relevant to a quest or beating the game. ¡°I¡¯ve heard some say, not me mind,¡± The old man continued, ¡°That it¡¯s from all the soldiers off at the war, but it don¡¯t make sense, you ask me. And you are, aren¡¯t you?¡± Anton chuckled, ¡°Wasn¡¯t no monsters lurking behind every boulder during the Condrain war or the War of the plains. No, sir, it wasn¡¯t. And that makes me think there¡¯s something ill coming.¡± Dean stopped listening as a stone wall came into view in the middle of a small pass, with the road leading to a small portcullis. A dozen soldiers stood guard, pikes and spears in hand as they inspected the small line of refugees waiting for permission to pass through. ¡°Halt,¡± One of the guards said as Dean¡¯s party approached. The guard glanced over them, a bored expression on his face, as he said, ¡°State your business.¡± Dean replied, ¡°I have an urgent message for the Captain from Lieutenant Caldwell.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the message?¡± The guard demanded. ¡°Bandits attacked Haverton.¡± Dean said. A part of him hoped the quest would update after giving the message to the guard, since meeting the captain would take longer. By now, his friends were probably finished and waiting on him. He doubted Will or Ben had bothered to do the escort quest or had accepted it and left the refugees behind. ¡°Very well,¡± The guard said, ¡°Private Benson, escort this man to the Captain.¡± A young, freckled face soldier saluted, ¡°If you¡¯ll follow me, sir.¡± Dean sighed as he gestured for the young man to lead the way. They passed under the gate and into a courtyard on the other side. Dean glanced around as the young man led him across it. The courtyard was only a few hundred feet across, with a gate on both ends and a series of shops running between them. The guard led him through the courtyard towards a large, fortified tower near the center of the courtyard, built into of the cliff, nearly four times as large as the other buildings. The icons appeared on Dean¡¯s mini-map as they walked, allowing Dean to identify a blacksmith, potion shop, leather works and weaponsmith. There were a few others he didn¡¯t know, a sign with a quill and inkwell on it, another of a book, and the final was some kind of plant. The plant was probably an herbalist, Dean decided, but he wasn¡¯t sure about the other two, since both icons had something to do with writing. Dean resolved to check them out later. The tower was guarded by four more guards, who glanced curiously at the pair as they passed. Inside, the guard led him through a small room, a guard post by the look of it, and into a warren of rooms on the first floor to a set of narrow, steep stairs. The stairs led to the second floor, where the guard led him through another series of rooms before reaching another staircase. It dawned on Dean that the tower was designed for combat. An intruder would have to fight their way through each room before reaching the stairs, where they¡¯d have to ascend one at a time and with the defenders having a height advantage. On the sixth floor, the guard knocked on a door, and waited to open the door until hearing a gruff, ¡°Come in.¡± A group of four men stood around a large table of a map with several flags on it. All of the men were older, with touches of gray in their hair, and hard lined faces. Two wore armor similar to the guardsmen, except theirs looked as though they were a better quality. The third wore thick rimmed glasses and a plain, but well-made tunic. The final made wore mage¡¯s robes. Dean glanced at their names. Captain Hammond and Commander Aster were the soldiers. Agnus wore the glasses and Callum was the mage. Dean glanced at the map, hoping his own would update, and sure enough, he received a couple notifications informing him that new places were marked on his map. The Captain cleared his throat as Aster stepped around the table to stand between Dean and the map. Apparently, they didn¡¯t like the idea that he was studying it. ¡°Who are you and what¡¯re you doing here?¡± The Captain demanded as he walked around the table. Dean hesitated, not wanting to take his eyes off the looming Aster, before turning to face the Captain. ¡°Lieutenant Caldwell asked me to tell you that Haverton was attacked by bandits.¡± Dean reached into his inventory to grab the yellow sash. Aster growled and reached for his sword. Dean froze, not expecting the NPC to treat him as a potential enemy. Then again, if this weren¡¯t a game, the man had no reason to think of him as anything else. Dean might need to rethink how he approached characters. In response, Dean explained as he reached for the sash, ¡°They were all wearing the same kind of yellow sash like this.¡± Dean held out the sash. Aster glanced down at it, grunted and took it from him before handing it to the Captain. The Captain studied the sash for a second before nodding once, ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯m surprised, but this couldn¡¯t come at a worse time.¡± He gestured at Agnus, who fished out a few coins from his pouch and handed them to Dean. The Captain sighed, ¡°Thank you for delivering the message. If Caldwell believes you trustworthy, then I will as well.¡± A notification informed Dean that he¡¯d completed the mission. Dean wondered if he could leave now that he was done. He was about to leave when Aster moved out of Dean¡¯s way as the Captain walked over to a small cabinet in the corner, opened a drawer and pulled out a small basket. Dean saw that it was full of more flags. The Captain rummaged through them until he found a yellow flag and placed it on the map near Haverton. Dean studied the map. It took him a second to orient himself, since it was upside down. The bottom portion of the map was made up of plains, ending at a desert to the south, while the northern half was a series of highlands and mountains. A large body of water ran across western edge of the map, and a mountain range along the eastern edge. Dean spotted Haverton near the Northwest corner, with a road leading to Fort Blackwood a few inches away. The road continued on until it reached a town called Torial and separated into a web of roads leading northeast to Doman¡¯s Pass and south to a half dozen other cities. Most of the flags on the map were either blue, red or yellow. Most of the blue and red units were concentrated in the south, but several blue flags were located at each of the northern cities and surrounding pockets of yellow flags near the middle of the map. The Captain muttered, ¡°The rebels wouldn¡¯t strike if they didn¡¯t have reinforcements nearby. Probably have a camp or two, as well, to coordinate the attack from.¡± ¡°Not many places they could hide,¡± Aster said. ¡°Either the foothills or the bogs. At least, that¡¯s what I¡¯d do.¡± Captain Hammond nodded absently, ¡°Same. My guess is the bog, since it offers better protection and we can¡¯t attack them in force without losing men to the sinkholes, but that¡¯s no guarantee. We have to patrol both locations until we¡¯re certain where the bandits are.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the men, Captain.¡± Agnus said as he shifted through the papers he held. ¡°At best, we have three squads we can spare and that would mean double shifts for those remaining.¡± ¡°We need to be certain.¡± Callum said, ¡°Perhaps this man would be willing to scout the area for us?¡± The Captain glanced up at Dean questioningly. A notification popped up.
Quest: The Bandit Camp
Reward: 40 XP
Description: Find the Bandit Camp and report the location to the Captain at Fort Blackwood
Dean shrugged without noticing as he said, ¡°Sure. Why not?¡± At least it wasn¡¯t another tutorial quest. Dean hoped it meant he was close to finishing the tutorial. And, since both the bog and highlands were on the other side of the fort, it meant he would be moving forward with the game. ¡°It¡¯s settled, then.¡± Hammond said. ¡°I¡¯d also appreciate it if you¡¯d take a message to Torial about the bandits as well.¡± A small pop-up window indicated that the quest had been updated. Dean let it fade away as the guard led him back out of the tower and into the courtyard. He stopped by the stalls and sold all the bandit gear before walking over to the gate leading forward. The notification he was hoping for popped up.
End Tutorial?
I¡¯m Ready! Not Yet¡­
You¡¯re about to exit the tutorial and start the main game. The Demon King: Fallen Realms is a massive multiplayer online game, and personal experiences may differ based on gameplay. OmniSense Interactive, inc has complied with all National and Local laws concerning content and consent, but cannot guarantee any interactions with other players. *Game Speed will no longer slow down when utilizing Menus or Notifications.
Dean selected the ¡®I¡¯m Ready!¡¯ button, and his vision turned white. A screen appeared containing the game¡¯s logo, along with a note stating it was a ¡®Full-Dive MMO Experience¡¯ over top a video of a landscape floated by. After a few seconds, the video froze, and his vision faded back to white before slowly materializing again. Dean heard a familiar voice, and turned towards it as a smile spread across his face. 3. [Revised] The Road to Torial Dean was standing in a cobblestone square just outside the fort surrounded by wooden roofs with thatched roofs. At the other end, the square ended at a road leading down the pass and into a small valley of fields and pastures before being enveloped by a thick forest. The heady smell of woodsmoke and cooking meat permeated the air, reminding Dean that he hadn¡¯t eaten since spawning in the game. He wondered, for a moment, if he needed to eat in the game, or if his growling stomach was just a conditioned response. Either way, his stomach was rumbling now that it was reminded of food, and he resolved to get something to eat the moment he could. He spotted Will on the other side of the square, waving and calling out to him. Dean weaved his way through the other newly spawned players until he reached Will. ¡°Ho, Will.¡± Dean said. Will hopped down from the stone bench he was standing on. He blinked a few times before smiling. Dean knew Will remembered the greeting, and probably the reference, from when they were younger. I haven¡¯t heard that greeting in a long time, a long time, Dean thought. If only Will were inclined to say it. Unfortunately, Will either didn¡¯t think of the reference or chose not to use it. ¡°Peace, brother.¡± Will said instead. They briefly hugged, clasped hands between them in their brother hug, before Dean asked, ¡°We still waiting on the other two?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re the last.¡± Will pointed at a shop further down the road, ¡°They¡¯re both at the magic shop. What kept you? Don¡¯t tell me you actually did the escort mission.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Dean said defensively as they started walking towards the magic shop. ¡°I got extra experience from it.¡± He hesitated before continuing, ¡°And I died a few times trying to search the inn.¡± ¡°I did too,¡± Will shrugged, ¡°I never unlocked that damn chest. Gave up after the third try.¡± He shook his head ruefully, ¡°Was still the first one to finish the tutorial, at least of our group. Ben came second and Ryan third.¡± ¡°None of you did the escort mission?¡± Dean asked. ¡°We all did. Ryan walked with them too, but he didn¡¯t search the inn. Ben and I accepted it, but kept going. We still got the experience about halfway through the conversation with the Captain.¡± ¡°Really? Doesn¡¯t seem fair since you didn¡¯t actually escort them.¡± Will shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s video game logic. The refugees got to the destination safe, so we earned the experience points. And you could technically argue that we made sure the path was clear by going on ahead.¡± ¡°I guess so,¡± Dean said reluctantly, ¡°but I still think it¡¯s cheating. And you missed out on the conversation with the old man.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Will said, ¡°Anything interesting?¡± Dean started to fill him in on everything he could remember, but Will cut him off halfway through. ¡°Hang on,¡± Will said, ¡°You didn¡¯t choose the amateur level, did you?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± Dean asked. Will nodded at a passing player, ¡°Because of that.¡± Dean glanced at the player. She had two arrows sticking out of her back. Dean realized that she probably didn¡¯t even know about them, not with the pain tolerance setting off and asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we say something?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Will said, ¡°She¡¯ll figure it out if she tries to sit down, or they¡¯ll fall off on their own eventually. Until then, it¡¯s just funny to watch people walk around like that.¡± Dean rolled his eyes as he opened the door to the shop. A small bell chimed as they entered, and the frail shopkeeper smiled at them from behind the counter. ¡°Greetings, sirs. Welcome to my shop. How may I help you?¡± They ignored the man and focused on the two people in the shop. Ben was in the middle of saying, ¡°-basket over his head. He won¡¯t even know anything was missing.¡± ¡°No,¡± Ryan said sternly, ¡°We¡¯re not robbing him. I don¡¯t care if you think it¡¯ll work.¡± ¡°What¡¯ll work?¡± Dean asked. Ben started, wheeling around to glare at him. ¡°Don¡¯t sneak up on us.¡± He looked at Will pleadingly, ¡°But you agree with me, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°About what?¡± Will asked. ¡°We can put a basket over the shopkeeper¡¯s head and read the magic books. He won¡¯t know what happened.¡± Ben said. ¡°I doubt that¡¯ll work,¡± Will said dubiously, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it a glitch in some old game?¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Ben said, ¡°So maybe it¡¯ll work here.¡± ¡°And what if it doesn¡¯t?¡± Ryan countered, ¡°And we¡¯re arrested for stealing. We¡¯ll be stuck sitting in a jail cell.¡± ¡°Games don¡¯t work like that.¡± Ben argued, ¡°We¡¯ll probably just have to pay a fine before being released.¡± ¡°Probably being the key word there.¡± Dean said, ¡°I¡¯m with Ryan on this one.¡± Ben growled then glanced hopefully at Will. Will chewed his bottom lip for a second before shaking his head. Ben sighed, ¡°Fine. No stealing. I¡¯ll go figure out what I want to buy.¡± He grumbled under his breath as he walked away. Dean chuckled. ¡°I see he hasn¡¯t changed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just his gaming style.¡± Will explained. ¡°He¡¯s called chaotic neutral, though sometimes he prefers chaotic evil, depending on his mood.¡± ¡°You mean a villain?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°Not exactly.¡± Will said slowly as he thought it through, ¡°It¡¯s more like purposely choosing the option that creates the most chaos, just for fun. That¡¯s kind of the point of a video game. You can do things in it that you can¡¯t do in the real world.¡± ¡°Like I said,¡± Ryan said, ¡°a villain.¡± Dean tuned out the conversation as he browsed the shelves. Most of the books were magic spells, things like fireball or ice shards, but there were a few other books mixed in. He studied a book called Warrior¡¯s Aura.
Spell Book: Warrior¡¯s Aura
Cost: 40 Mana Duration: 2 Minutes Cooldown Timer: 1 Hour +1 Strength +1 Agility +1 Dexterity
Dean almost put the book back, the cost and cooldown timer dwarfing the benefits from it. Except, he knew that the spell would become more powerful as he leveled it up, either increasing the stat bonus or lowering the cost. And it wasn¡¯t like he had a lot of other spells at this point. He took the book to the shopkeeper. ¡°How much is this?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Magic books are five gold each.¡± The man answered. Dean checked his coin pouch, bringing up a small window above it.
Coin Pouch
Gold 7
Silver 16
Copper 32
He clicked on the small question mark icon in the corner, pulling up a new window displaying the conversion rate.
Conversion Rate ¨C Imperial Standard
50 Silver 1 Gold
50 Copper 1 Silver
The conversation rate was easy enough to memorize, which was probably done on purpose, but he was curious what ¡®Imperial Standard¡¯ meant. It suggested that there was at least one other currency in the game, and that it had different values. ¡°Hey, where are all the necro books?¡± Ben demanded as he walked out of the shelves towards the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper replied, ¡°Practicing the Dark Arts is banned in the Empire. It¡¯s punishable by death.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Ben gaped at the man, his wide eyes turning to Dean before saying, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The Mad King,¡± The shopkeeper made the same gesture that Dean had seen the refugee make. ¡°He used it to turn the nobles into wraiths. Of course, it hasn¡¯t always been banned. King Logan declared it shortly after being crowned five years ago. Not that blame him, not with what happened to the young prince, poor boy.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Killed by a dark wizard, he was.¡± The man replied sadly, ¡°The whole kingdom mourned for months, he was well-loved by the people. And so young, he wasn¡¯t even of age for the crown, not for another year.¡± Dean glanced at Ben, his eyebrows raised in question. Ben shrugged in reply before turning and walking back down the aisle, muttering to himself again. Dean laid the book and five coins on the counter, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± ¡°Excellent, sir. It¡¯s all yours.¡± The shopkeeper said. Dean opened the book to the first page and started reading. Before he was halfway through the first sentence, the page turned on its own. The next page turned faster than the first, and another after that. Soon, the pages were flying, stirring up a breeze that pushed Dean¡¯s hair back. The back cover closed with a snap, and the book broke in half. It fell to the floor, where it exploded into a cloud of dust. ¡°Cool.¡± Will said from behind him. ¡°And a little creepy.¡± Ryan said, ¡°At least we don¡¯t have to actually read the book to learn it.¡± The two purchased their own spells and quickly read them. A few minutes later, Ben walked out of the aisle, a maniacal grin on his face. He laid a spell book on the counter, the fireball spell, and read it. ¡°What¡¯re you smiling about?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Nothing.¡± Ben said as he rubbed his hands together. ¡°Everyone ready to go?¡± They were greeted by the sound of swords clashing once outside. A group of guards had surrounded two players, yelling, ¡°Surrender, thief¡± as they attacked the players. The battle didn¡¯t last long, the players were both level one and the guards were at least a level ten. Once dead, the guards dispersed leaving behind two countdown timers. ¡°What do you think happened?¡± Dean asked the others. A woman answered from a few feet away, her brown hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing basic gear starter gear said, ¡°They tried to kill a merchant and steal his stuff.¡± Ryan said with a glance at Ben, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± Ben laughed, ¡°They¡¯ll spawn in a minute and it won¡¯t matter. Just watch.¡± Once the players spawned, the nearest guards started yelling and rushed them again. The players, still disoriented from the spawn, were caught off guard and quickly killed a second time. Ben¡¯s smile slipped a little as he whistled. ¡°Sucks to be them. The wanted level is probably on a timer or something.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°That¡¯s my guess,¡± Will shrugged, ¡°And Ryan¡¯s right. Trying the basket thing wasn¡¯t worth getting stuck in an endless loop of dying and respawning.¡± Ben said, ¡°Yeah, whatever.¡± ¡°We should probably leave, guys. I don¡¯t think these two are the only ones causing problems right now.¡± Dean said as the sounds of a lot more shouts and fighting broke out all around them. They followed the road out of the village, dodging around any fighting, and made their way through the fields. The forest engulfed them, the same looming sensation creating a knot in Dean¡¯s stomach, as the underbrush obscured everything around them. The others didn¡¯t seem to notice, Will and Ben were still arguing about something. A few hundred meters in, a player stepped out from behind a tree. Dean was surprised to find his sword in hand, couldn¡¯t even remember reaching for it, but clenched it tightly as the man began to speak. ¡°Well, look what we have here?¡± The player said as he walked to the center of the road, arms crossed. He was tall and lean, with short black hair and a hawk nose. ¡°The name¡¯s Adam, and I own this road. There¡¯s a toll to pass, and you haven¡¯t paid it yet. Hand over all your money and we won¡¯t have a problem.¡± ¡°Yeah? Make me.¡± Ben challenged. ¡°Boys.¡± Adam said loudly. Six other players stepped out of the woods surrounding them, swords or bows drawn. ¡°Now then, easy way or the hard way? I¡¯ll give you a second to think it over.¡± ¡°Hard way.¡± Will responded immediately, his quiet voice carrying as it always did, a split second before throwing out his hand in a series of gestures. A pair of vines exploded out of the ground and started attacking one of the players. A fireball exploded on the other side of the clearing, engulfing a pair of the would-be bandits in oozing flames. Unsure of what would happen, Dean cast Warrior¡¯s Aura on himself as he charged the first bandit, feeling he quick surge of power flow through his arms. The would-be bandit flashed an excited grin as he drew his sword and met Dean¡¯s attack. Adam was faster and stronger than Dean, his blade swatting aside Dean¡¯s attacks before pivoting on his back leg to plunge the blade into Dean¡¯s side. Dean leapt backwards, out of immediate threat, and stood panting as he stared at the man. Behind him, Dean could hear the sounds of fighting. He ignored them and charged again. The second exchange fared only slightly better for Dean. Adam scored another hit across Dean¡¯s arm, but not before Dean was able to rake his own blade across the man¡¯s thigh. This time, Adam leapt back. ¡°Not bad.¡± Adam asked between pants, ¡°What are you, level two?¡± Dean didn¡¯t answer. After a second, Adam grunted, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, does it? See, I¡¯m already a level four and there¡¯s more of us. You¡¯re not going to win.¡± Dean growled but didn¡¯t answer. He risked a quick glance to either side. Will was on one side, dodging between three opponents and Ben on the other hacking at two. He couldn¡¯t find Ryan, probably somewhere behind him. Adam was smirking at him when he glanced back. Dean clenched his teeth. He was back down to three quarters health, and only a minute and half left on his spell, while Adam was still near full. Dean suspected the man had dumped his early points into buffing his health points. A sudden warmth spread through Dean¡¯s body and his health started ticking upwards. The sensation distracted Dean momentarily, and almost missed Adam¡¯s attack. He got his sword up in time for the first blow, but Adam¡¯s onslaught forced him backwards. Blows began reigning down on him, and Dean briefly thought about how much he missed the simple days of blocking, back when holding down a button on a controller worked. Now, he was trying to swing the blade around to counter and deflect the blows, missing half the time and only half succeeding the rest. His health started plummeting. From somewhere behind Dean, a high-pitched scream of rage echoed off the trees, and a moment later, a blur shot past Dean. A young woman barreled into Adam and plunged her sword deep into his chest. Dean stared, mouth agape, as two more players ran by Dean on either side to overwhelm the stunned Adam. For his part, Adam tried fending them off with his own sword, hacking and slashing at them with everything he had, but it wasn¡¯t enough. Adam died within seconds. The rest of the fight was over, three other players had attacked out of nowhere and helped to kill the rest of Adam¡¯s crew. The young woman that had first attacked Adam growled, ¡°Take that, you bastard.¡± She kicked dirt at the countdown timer. Dean¡¯s friends joined him as they glanced uneasily at the newcomers. The woman walked over to them, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her head as she said, ¡°That asshole has been trolling anyone that comes this way.¡± She gestured at the players in her group. ¡°We decided to team up to teach him a lesson, since we¡¯re all solo players and he trolled us.¡± ¡°Perfect timing, then.¡± Dean said. ¡°Not really,¡± She admitted, ¡°We saw you leaving the fort and decided to follow.¡± ¡°You used us as bait?¡± Will growled, his hands tightening on his sword. She shrugged, ¡°Pretty much. It worked out though, didn¡¯t it? None of us died and we were able to kill him. Why, you going to fight us about it?¡± ¡°Stop, Will. It¡¯s not worth it.¡± Ryan laid a hand on Will¡¯s shoulder. To the woman, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate what you did, but we¡¯re not going to fight another player unless it¡¯s necessary. And I¡¯m not going to travel with anyone that uses other people like that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± She responded, ¡°We¡¯re planning on sticking around here anyway to make sure he doesn¡¯t try to set up shop again.¡± They backed away, Ryan in the lead, until they lost sight of the other players. Dean took the lead, with Will and Ben on either side, and Ryan in the middle. They agreed that Ryan, as the group¡¯s healer, should be protected over the others. After another ten minutes passed without incident, Dean felt the tension in the group ease. He started looking around the area for small game to hunt, or plants to pick. The woods were teeming with life. The sound of birds and insects created a cacophony of noises that made the entire place vibrant with life. A few minutes later, Will called out, ¡°Over there, I think I see something.¡± Dean glanced in the direction Will was pointing, and spotted a small, scraggly plant covered in red flowers twenty paces off the path. As they trudged through the undergrowth, Dean asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an alchemy ingredient,¡± Ben said without glancing up as he bent down to stare at the plant, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just scan it?¡± ¡°Do what?¡± Dean asked. Ben glanced up with a look that clearly said ¡®Newb¡¯, before explaining aloud, ¡°It¡¯s a skill.¡± He sighed at the look of utter confusion on Dean¡¯s face. ¡°Study it for a couple seconds.¡± Dean looked at it for a second before glancing back at Ben. Ben shook his head, ¡°I said study it, not glance at it, newb.¡± Dean bit back his retort and looked back at the bush. After a few seconds, a small notification popped up indicating he¡¯d learned the Scan Skill and a small window appeared above the plant.
Red Thistle Flowers
Rarity: Common
¡°Oh,¡± Dean said aloud, ¡°Got it.¡± Ben said under his breath, ¡°Newb.¡± The plant disintegrated in Ryan¡¯s hand as he picked it. ¡°Just got a couple of skills, Herbalist and Herb Lore.¡± ¡°What happened to the plant?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Uh,¡± Ryan said as he flicked open his status page. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s a chance of failure until we upgrade Herbalist.¡± ¡°Does it say anything about the failure rate?¡± Will asked. ¡°Fifty percent on common items, higher on better stuff. Next upgrade reduces it by five points.¡± Ryan replied, ¡°Not sure about higher levels.¡± ¡°Then do we take turns or have one person do it?¡± Will asked, ¡°We¡¯ll lose more items now, but it might come in handy later if we can all do it.¡± ¡°They¡¯re common items, aren¡¯t they?¡± Dean asked, ¡°Won¡¯t there be a lot of them?¡± ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Ben said, ¡°Probably better we waste those now and not lose stuff later when it¡¯s valuable.¡± They took turns picking bushes, only finding various common ingredients. Along the way, they encountered a few small animals, squirrels and rabbits, that they tried picking off with their bows. Hunting small animals proved to be more difficult than Dean expected. Ben was the only one to hit on their first try, the rest firing off into the woods. ¡°I used to hunt with my dad.¡± He said by way of explanation. Will hit on his second try, while Dean and Ryan took a couple more tries before successfully catching anything. After successfully killing something, Dean each received the Hunting Skill, along with the subskills Skinning and Butchering. Dean¡¯s first hit was a rabbit, providing him with basic loot.
Rabbit Inventory:
Item: Description:
Rabbit Pelt Quality: Crude Rarity: Common Weight: .1 lbs Attributes: None
Rabbit Meat x2 Quality: Crude Rarity: Common Weight: 2 lbs Attributes: None
¡°Any idea what the crude quality means?¡± He asked. Ben bit his lower lip in thought before answering, ¡°It either means they¡¯re raw materials that need to be refined or that the animals we killed were of a poor quality. Of course, it could mean that we completely suck and need to level up to get better quality.¡± ¡°Probably the last one,¡± Ryan said, ¡°Have you actually looked at the items?¡± They shook their heads. Ryan, reached into his inventory and pulled a rabbit pelt out. Dean didn¡¯t see anything wrong with it, but Ben whistled and leaned down for a closer look. ¡°No wonder it¡¯s such a poor quality.¡± Ben picked at one side. ¡°Just look at how unevenly this thing was cut.¡± Ryan nodded, ¡°My guess is that they¡¯re all the same. Half of that isn¡¯t useable for anything except leather strips.¡± It took Dean a few moments to figure out what they were talking about, but once he did, he received another notification. Congratulations, You¡¯ve Advanced the Subskill Animal Skinning to Level 2 ¡°Hey, that¡¯s cool.¡± Dean said. ¡°What is?¡± Ben asked. ¡°My Skinning skill just increased.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ben asked. He pulled up his status page and grinned, ¡°Mine did, too. I must have missed it.¡± It took a little over an hour before they spotted Torial as they crested a tall ridge. At that distance, it was hard to make out details, but Torial had been built atop a large plateau overlooking a narrow river valley, the banks tilled into fields, winding through it. The massive, white walls, built along the vertical drop of the plateau, reflected the light making it glitter and shine. The road twisted down the ridge, cutting back on itself several times, before they lost sight of Torial behind the canopy. They caught glimpses of it through the trees now and again as the trees thinned, the castle growing in size until the glimpses revealed it looming above them. Dean noticed that something was different about the surrounding forest, but it took several minutes before he realized the trees grew in straight lines. The road straightened out, and several hundred paces further ahead, broke into out of the trees into the sunlight. Halfway there, Will said, ¡°Hang on.¡± He pointed deeper into the forest away from the river, ¡°I want to check out that building and those workers.¡± ¡°What workers?¡± Dean asked. He tried staring in the direction that Will indicated but couldn¡¯t see anything through trees. ¡°What building?¡± Ben said beside him. They looked at each other in confusion, shrugged, and followed Will as he set off. ¡°See those guys standing around outside?¡± Will said. ¡°No.¡± Ben asked. Will ignored him, ¡°There¡¯s only one reason a group of workers stand around like that.¡± ¡°They¡¯re taking a break?¡± Ben suggested. ¡°There¡¯s some kind of problem that¡¯s keeping them from work.¡± Will said. A hundred paces later, Dean caught the smell of woodsmoke. He was completely amazed that Will had been able to spot the building, since he still couldn¡¯t make it out. After another hundred and fifty paces, they reached the side of the building, barely discernible from the rest of the forest. It was a log building with a thatched roof, hidden by large bushes and thick vines that snaked their way over trellises erected along the side. Will led them around the side of the building where they spotted six men sitting around a small firepit. Most wore plain spun wool shirts and basic leather vests over tan trousers. Each had a thick axe by their side and grumbled to each other. They stood as Will approached and gathered together on the other side of the fire, where they eyed the approaching group warily. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± A tall man demanded. He was balding in front but the rest of his salt and pepper hair was tied back by a thick leather cord. Will held out his hands to show he wasn¡¯t carrying any weapons, at least none in his hands, ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but notice that your group is sitting around instead of working.¡± The man grunted, ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡± ¡°We want to help.¡± Will indicated his friends behind him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Wolves,¡± another man spat. He blinked and glanced around, surprised that he¡¯d spoken up at all, before haunching his shoulders and taking a few steps backwards. The first man grunted again, but nodded, ¡°Aye, wolves. One in particular, an Alpha Wolf.¡± He pointed in the direction away from the castle. ¡°It¡¯s taken to hunting these woods and killing beast and man alike. I won¡¯t risk my men dying for wood, not with that thing about.¡± ¡°We could help?¡± Will suggested, ¡°We can hunt it down and kill it.¡± The man eyed each of them in turn, ¡°You look the sort. For coin, I take it?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ryan stepped forward after giving the others a pointed look to keep them quiet. Ben gave him a sharp look, but after a moment, he sighed and nodded his assent. Ryan nodded in satisfaction, ¡°No, we won¡¯t take your coin.¡± The man¡¯s eyebrows shot up, wrinkling his forehead, and stared at them in shock and confusion. A thought struck him, and he glared at them, ¡°Then what are you asking for, instead?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Will shrugged as he glanced at Ryan, ¡°A quest, for experience.¡± The man nodded slowly as he thought it through, ¡°A quest is all?¡± A Quest notification popped up.
Optional Quest: Kill the Alpha Wolf
Reward: 50 XP
Description: An Alpha Wolf has taken to hunting the woods surrounding the woodcutter¡¯s lodge. Kill the Alpha Wolf so that the Woodsmen can return to work.
Will accepted the quest and glanced up at the man. ¡°Done.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± The man said before turning away from them and sitting down beside the fire. The other woodsmen followed suit, completely ignoring them. Will turned to the others with a grin, ¡°See, told you they needed our help.¡± ¡°Smart ass,¡± Ben muttered under his breath. ¡°What¡¯s with the ¡®no coin¡¯ thing, Ryan?¡± Dean asked. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to take their coin.¡± Ryan insisted. ¡°Why not?¡± Ben demanded. ¡°Because I¡¯m not going to, alright? They¡¯re laborers, so they don¡¯t make a lot of money to begin with, probably just enough to make ends meet as it is and I¡¯m not about to demand they go hungry just to start working again.¡± ¡°You do realize they¡¯re not real?¡± Ben said exasperated, ¡°They¡¯re just computer programs, nothing more. They won¡¯t actually go hungry and die.¡± Ben paused as he thought about that, ¡°I mean, unless they were programmed to, but even then, it¡¯s not a like real person will actually die.¡± Ryan said, ¡°I know that, alright. It still doesn¡¯t feel right to take from people that don¡¯t have money.¡± Ben threw up his hands. A thought struck him, and he said, ¡°Wait. If you won¡¯t take from the poor, then does that mean you¡¯re cool with taking from the rich?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not Robin Hood, Ben.¡± Will said, ¡°He never giggled when he fought.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t giggle when I fight,¡± Ben protested, ¡°If anything, it¡¯s a maniacal laugh of pure evil.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a giggle,¡± Dean grinned, ¡°Like a schoolgirl.¡± ¡°I do not.¡± Ben growled. Will replied with an accent, ¡°You like totally do. Like o-m-g, totally like a schoolgirl.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a little too good at that, Will.¡± Dean said as Ryan muttered under his breath, ¡°That boy ain¡¯t right.¡± ¡°So, alpha wolf quest or main quest first?¡± Will asked in his regular voice. ¡°Main quest.¡± Dean responded immediately. ¡°Side,¡± Ben said, still glaring at Will, ¡°I need something to kill and soon.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ben?¡± Will asked innocently, ¡°Did someone upset you? Did you¡¯re feely-weely¡¯s get hurt?¡± Ben turned away with a growl and started walking into the woods as he slashed at the nearby branches with his sword. Will raised an eyebrow at the others, ¡°Little overboard there?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ryan said, ¡°You should apologize.¡± ¡°No worse than he dishes out,¡± Dean said, ¡°He¡¯ll calm down once he kills something.¡± Will tilted his head as he thought about it before saying, ¡°I¡¯ll apologize if he¡¯s still mad after killing something.¡± They set out behind Ben, giving him a wide berth to vent his anger as he muttered. Dean couldn¡¯t catch most of it, but the few words he did forced him to stifle his laugh, probably breaking a few ribs in the process. Five minutes later, Ben had calmed down enough that he stopped to sheath his sword, letting the others catch up, muttering, ¡°I do not laugh like a schoolgirl.¡± Dean pretended not to hear him, making a point to look like he was scanning the nearby woods for danger. That¡¯s when they heard the howling. 4. The Alpha Wolf They followed the howling until they reached a small clearing. Eight wolves were circling a tree a little over a hundred paces away, snarling and snapping at something. After a moment, the sun broke through some clouds revealing a plump man clinging to a tree¡¯s lower branches. Dean assessed each wolf before crouching back down. All level one. ¡°Not too bad,¡± Will said, ¡°I think we can save him.¡± ¡°And kill some wolves.¡± Ben grinned. They notched arrows to their bows before moving out from behind the bushes and targeted a wolf. Dean loosed his arrow, hearing the sound of his friends doing the same and immediately grabbed a second arrow from the quiver. His first arrow flew true and struck a wolf in the haunch. The impact knocked the wolf over in a squeal of pain. He noted that two other wolves were struck with arrows as well. Dean vaguely wondered who missed but didn¡¯t have time to register the thought with wolves charging toward him. He targeted the closest wolf and fired. His shot caused it to stumble but failed to knock it down. A second arrow hit the one right behind it, knocking it off balance. Dean managed to get one more shot off before switching to his sword, seeing one wolf stumble as two arrows struck it. It didn¡¯t rise. He turned his attention to the nearest wolf that, a moment later, lunged at him. He twisted and stepped to one side to dodge the teeth and managed to bring his sword up in a counterstrike that bit deep into the wolf¡¯s side. The body flew past him and landed on the ground where it rolled a few times before coming to a stop. Dean rose to his feet as he glanced around. Ben was pulling his sword out of a dead wolf before he raced to the other side of the clearing where Ryan was holding three wolves at bay. Will was closer, surrounded by two wolves. Dean immediately lunged for the nearest wolf attacking Will, driving his blade down into its back. The strike sunk deep snapping the wolf¡¯s spine in two. It collapsed without making a noise. Will saw the creature die and the other wolf. He switched to an attack just as the wolf was preparing its own. Will¡¯s ferocity took the wolf by surprise and it fell back off balanced. Will used the opening to stab the wolf in the face, driving deep and hitting its brain. Dean yanked his sword out of the now dead wolf and looked around for his other friends. Between Ben and Ryan, the remaining three wolves were already dead. He checked the others health as they approached, seeing that none of them had taken any damage. Maybe the first quest had been harder than normal. He hoped that was the case. They made their way over to the tree, where the man was slowly climbing down. He was having a hard time of it. Dean suspected the man didn¡¯t climb trees all that often, probably didn¡¯t do much of anything active on a regular basis, if his thick rimmed glasses and the ink stains along the sleeves of his robe were any indication. ¡°Hello,¡± Dean said. ¡°Thank you for saving me,¡± the man said, ¡°My name is Barric.¡± ¡°Our pleasure. What were you doing out here anyway?¡± Barric smiled at them, ¡°I¡¯m traveling to Torial.¡± ¡°Are you a merchant?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Buying or selling?¡± Barric asked. ¡°Neither.¡± Dean said. ¡°Of course. Let me know if you need anything.¡± Barric said. ¡°Do you need help reaching Torial?¡± Dean asked. Barric looked at him, ¡°It should be safe now thanks to you.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Dean said slowly, ¡°Then we¡¯re going to leave now.¡± Barric said, ¡°Thanks again for helping me. Here, take this as a reward.¡± Barric reached into his robes and produced a small book. Dean took it and scanned it. Item: Spell Book ¨C Healing Uses: 1/1 Durability: 1/1 Description: Learn the Basic Spell ¨C Healing With that, Barric turned away from the group and started walking in the general direction of Torial. Dean gave the others a confused look. ¡°It¡¯s a game, remember?¡± Ben gestured towards Barric¡¯s retreating back, ¡°Can¡¯t I at least pickpocket him? He¡¯s not even in the city so no one else will see.¡± ¡°No.¡± Ryan said flatly. ¡°Take the fun out of it.¡± Ben mumbled. Dean handed the book to Ryan. Ryan took the book with a grin and immediately opened it. The book¡¯s pages began turning on their own, slowly at first then with increasing speed, until the pages were flipping so fast that Dean felt a breeze from it. When the back cover flipped over, the book immediately crumbled into ash. Ryan looked down at his hands in confusion and involuntarily tried to dust them off on his pants even though none of the ash clung to them. ¡°That was cool.¡± Ben said. ¡°Totally.¡± Will agreed. Ryan started healing them one at a time, waiting after each cast for the fifteen second cooldown timer to expire, as they skinned and looted each wolf. They gathered up after and were about to set off when Will said, ¡°Hang on.¡± He pointed deeper into the forest away from the river, ¡°I want to check out that building and those workers.¡± ¡°What workers?¡± Dean asked. He tried staring in the direction that Will indicated but couldn¡¯t see anything through trees. ¡°What building?¡± Ben said beside him. They looked at each other in confusion, shrugged, and followed Will as he set off. ¡°See those guys standing around outside?¡± Will said. ¡°No.¡± Ben asked. Will ignored him, ¡°There¡¯s only one reason a group of workers stand around like that.¡± ¡°They¡¯re taking a break?¡± Ben suggested. ¡°There¡¯s some kind of problem that¡¯s keeping them from work.¡± Will said. A hundred paces later, Dean caught the smell of woodsmoke. He was completely amazed that Will had been able to spot the building, since he still couldn¡¯t make it out. After another hundred and fifty paces, they reached the side of the building, barely discernable from the rest of the forest. It was a log building, with a thatched roof, hidden by large bushes and thick vines that snaked their way over trellises erected along the side. Will led them around the side of the building where they spotted six men sitting around a small firepit. Most wore plain spun wool shirts and basic leather vests, over tan trousers. Each had a thick axe by their side and grumbled to each other. They stood as Will approached and gathered together on the other side of the fire, where they eyed the approaching group warily. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± A tall man demanded. He was balding in front but the rest of his salt and pepper hair tied back by a thick leather cord. Will held out his hands to show he wasn¡¯t carrying any weapons, at least none in his hands, ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but notice that your group is sitting around instead of working.¡± The man grunted, ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡± ¡°We want to help.¡± Will indicated his friends behind him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Wolves,¡± another man spat. He blinked and glanced around, surprised that he¡¯d spoken up at all, before haunching his shoulders and taking a few steps backwards. The first man grunted again, but nodded, ¡°Aye, wolves. One in particular, an Alpha Wolf.¡± He pointed in the direction away from the castle. ¡°It¡¯s taken to hunting these woods and killing beast and man alike. I won¡¯t risk my men dying for wood, not with that thing about.¡± ¡°We could help?¡± Will suggested, ¡°We can hunt it down and kill it.¡± The man eyed each of them in turn, ¡°You look the sort. For coin, I take it?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ryan stepped forward after giving the others a pointed look to keep them quiet. Ben gave him a sharp look, but after a moment, he sighed and nodded his assent. Ryan nodded in satisfaction, ¡°No, we won¡¯t take your coin.¡± The man¡¯s eyebrows shot up, wrinkling his forehead, and stared at them in shock and confusion. A thought struck him, and he glared at them, ¡°Then what are you asking for, instead?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Will shrugged as he glanced at Ryan, ¡°A quest, for experience.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The man nodded slowly as he thought it through, ¡°A quest is all?¡± A Quest notification popped up. You¡¯ve been Offered a Quest Title: Kill the Alpha Wolf Reward: XP Description: An Alpha Wolf has taken to hunting the woods surrounding the woodcutters lodge. Kill the Alpha Wolf so that the woodsmen can return to work. Will accepted the quest and glanced up at the man. ¡°Done.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± The man said before turning away from them and sitting down beside the fire. The other woodsmen followed suit, completely ignoring them. Will turned to the others with a grin, ¡°See, told you they needed our help.¡± ¡°Smart ass,¡± Ben muttered under his breath. ¡°What¡¯s with the ¡®no coin¡¯ thing, Ryan?¡± Dean asked. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to take their coin.¡± Ryan insisted. ¡°Why not?¡± Ben demanded. ¡°Because I¡¯m not going to, alright? They¡¯re laborers, so they don¡¯t make a lot of money to begin with, probably just enough to make ends meet as it is and I¡¯m not about to demand they go hungry just to start working again.¡± They continued through the woods, continuing to crouch behind nearby cover before moving forward. They encountered several more groups of wolves along the way, neither as dangerous as the Barric encounter. After another hour, they spotted a large field riddled with several different types of flowers and herbs. They set about picking the nearest plants, slowly working their way across the field, when Dean heard a noise from the other side. He looked up to see several wolves emerge from the tree line staring straight at them. His stomach tightened as more continued to emerge into the clearing until eight wolves stood at the edge. A wolf twice the size of the others emerged from the woods. Dean scanned it. Alpha Wolf Level 5 Health: 250/250 Will licked his lips and took a few steps forward. He told the others, ¡°Take out the smaller ones first, then we¡¯ll work together on the Alpha. Stay together, don¡¯t let them surround you.¡± He looked at Ryan, ¡°Stay in the back. Use your bow when you have a chance but keep healing us.¡± Ryan nodded. The wolves growled and started running towards them. The Alpha was faster than the others, speeding well ahead of the others. Despite that, the group didn¡¯t target it with their bows, concentrating on killing a few of the weaker wolves before being surrounded. All four arrows struck home, dropping a different wolf¡¯s health by a third and knocking two of them off their feet. They got off three volleys, killing two of the wolves before they were close enough to attack and leaving the rest of the smaller wolves injured. Dean was a few paces ahead of the others, and the Alpha lunged at him as Dean rolled out of its way. The Alpha pivoted, using its agility to turn faster than Dean could react, and bit his arm before he could get back to his feet. Instinctively, Dean swung his sword wildly at its body, forcing it to dodge out of the way. Dean felt the healing spell activate on him, the quick burst of tingling warmth spreading across his skin for a few seconds before dissipating, leaving his health twenty points higher. Dean lost track of the rest of the battle as he concentrated on the wolf. It didn¡¯t stay close enough for Dean to engage it in a drawn-out exchange, instead dancing back and forth before darting in for a quick attack and leaping away just as quickly. With its higher speed and agility, the wolf was able to attack at will, while he was only scoring glancing blows before it was out of his reach. Thankfully, the creature¡¯s bites and claws weren¡¯t very strong, only five or six points of damage with each attack, but Dean was still losing health faster than the Alpha. Knowing he was losing the fight, Dean decided to change tactics. He let the wolf leap in for a massive blow, dropping his health by fifteen points, but it allowed him to recharge some of his stamina, so that he could lung at the Alpha the next time it was about to attack. The move took it by surprise and couldn¡¯t dodge in time. Dean¡¯s blade sank deep into its chest, but the Alpha retaliated by biting his thigh. It yanked hard and Dean was knocked off balance and thrown to the ground. He recovered enough to sit up and swing at the Alpha as it tried to bite other leg. The strike cut across its muzzle causing it to yelp and leap back. Growling, the wolf locked eyes with him. His own health was in the red by then, at less than twenty points, while the Alpha¡¯s health still remained at sixty. Dean noticed that it wasn¡¯t putting any weight on one of its front paws and knew he didn¡¯t have to worry about it flanking him. It was small blessing since he was pretty sure he wouldn¡¯t be able to put any weight on his own leg. A tingling warmth flooded his body, and he felt his wounds start to close. It brought his health back to thirty-six points. The healing stopped after a few seconds as the spell finished its course. Dean was still losing the battle and knew he couldn¡¯t defeat it without doing something different. He decided it was time to take a gamble and hope for the best. He positioned his sword so that it was almost flat with his leg, his knuckles white against the hilt. This was definitely a stupid idea, he thought. He locked eyes with the Alpha, then glanced away. It took the bait and leapt at him. Dean sensed the Alpha shift its weight, knowing it meant the Alpha was about to attack, and thrust the sword up and towards it. Unable to dodge mid-leap, the blade sank into the Alpha¡¯s stomach and the momentum caused the Alpha to impale itself up to the hilt. It thrashed around for a second as the last of its life leeched out of it, ripping apart Dean¡¯s chest piece and tearing out chunks of flesh. Luckily, his ribcage kept the wolf from hitting any major organs, but his skin turned to minced meat. Dean watched his own health bar drop from yellow to red. It started blinking a furiously at him as it dipped even lower. It stopped moving within a hair of emptying out. Dean focused on it to pull up the actual numbers. It read ¡®4/100¡¯. He started shivering uncontrollably as the thought of how close he had come to dying washed over him. His health dropped to three unexpectedly and he bit back a curse as he noticed the bleeding status icon beside it. He read the prompt and did curse then. Status: Bleeding -1 Health every ten seconds. Dean rolled the Alpha¡¯s body off of himself and turned to look over at his friends. All three were pretty beat up and still trying to hold off four wolves. He watched as Ryan tried to cast the healing spell at him, but a wolf darted in before he could finish it and Ryan was forced to dodge. Exhaling, Dean rested his head on the ground as he watched as his health dropped to two. His vision started becoming blurry and fading to black as it dropped to one. The familiar tingling warmth rushed across his body with a sudden intensity that jolted Dean. He sucked in a large, ragged breath of air as his vision cleared and he blinked against the returning light. His health jumped to twenty-one, before immediately dropping to twenty. A second later, he would¡¯ve been dead. The bleeding status changed to read: Status: Bleeding -1 Health every fifteen seconds. Dean slowly climbed to his knees and checked on his friends. All of their health bars were below a quarter health. There were still four wolves circling them, but Will and Ben were dashing back and forth between two wolves to give Ryan the necessary time to cast the healing spell on him. As he watched, he saw the wolves moving to put more distance between themselves making it impossible for the two to keep them distracted. Dean changed to his bow and sighted on the wolf with the least amount of health. His arm was still weak and he couldn¡¯t pull the bow back all the way, but he hoped it would be enough. It had to be. The arrow took it by surprise, giving him an automatic critical strike and killing it instantly. No longer contending with two different wolves, Ben rushed the other one, killing it with a few quick slashes. Ryan stopped trying to cast heal, drew his sword instead, and pulled one of the wolves away from Will. It only took a few seconds after that for them to finish off the wolves. Dean lowered the bow, sighing as he did so. Ryan immediately cast heal on him as his health dipped below fifteen points. The bleeding status icon disappeared. He sighed in relief. ¡°That was intense.¡± Will said as he sat down beside Dean. ¡°Definitely a close one,¡± Dean agreed, ¡°I almost died again.¡± ¡°We weren¡¯t that far behind,¡± ¡°My mana¡¯s tapped out,¡± Ryan said after casting another three more healing spells on the person with the lowest health each time, ¡°I have to wait until it¡¯s recharged to keep going.¡± Dean checked his health and experience points again. He whooped aloud at the notification that popped up after pulling up his status page. Congratulations, you¡¯ve reached Level 3 You have 5 experience points to allocate to your stats. He quickly allocated his points, dumping two into Endurance and Dexterity, and the fifth in Luck. He closed the page to find the others had already finished leveling up and were busy looting the wolves. At Dean¡¯s insistence, Ben and he searched the other side of the field to look for their missing arrows, as the other two picked the rest of the flowers. After collecting the arrows in the field, they headed under the forest canopy to search for any arrows that had flown that far. Once under the shade, Dean saw a large outcropping with a cave on its side. He walked over to the entrance and peered inside to discover the wolves¡¯ den. It appeared completely empty and Dean figured that all the wolves had come out to fight them but drew his sword just in case. The cave consisted of only one cavern about ten feet across, but deep enough that Dean couldn¡¯t see the back wall. The ceiling was only a few inches taller than him giving the cave a feeling of being oppressive and about to cave-in on him at any second, but he pushed those feelings down as he worked his way towards the back. Ben joined him part way, ¡°Do you think this is a good idea?¡± Dean just shrugged and said, ¡°Probably not.¡± Ben rolled his eyes and said, ¡°At least I know I can outrun you if something starts chasing us.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Dean replied, ¡°Glad to know you¡¯ve got my back.¡± Ben grinned, ¡°I do. See?¡± He took a few steps back and waited for Dean to start walking again. ¡°You can be a real dick sometimes.¡± Dean said as he started slowly exploring the cave. ¡°It¡¯s one of my many talents.¡± Ben said. Dean shook his head but didn¡¯t turn around. The cave took a turn twenty feet that had blocked them from seeing the back wall. The cave only extended another ten feet after that. The back area was littered with bones, rubbish and wolf droppings. They wrinkled their noses at the smell and started rummaging through everything. Dean found a couple deteriorating coin purses among the bones and several more gold coins littered across the ground amounting to forty coins total. Most of the equipment was moth eaten or rusted over, but he was able to locate two iron swords that looked like they weren¡¯t completely rusted through, an old wooden staff, and a bag full of iron ore. He scanned each item as he found them. Description: Iron Sword Quality: Well-Made Rarity: Uncommon Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword Range: Melee Damage: 17-20 Critical Hit: 8% Durability: 2/20 Weight: 2.5 lb Attributes: None Description: Iron Sword Quality: Adequate Rarity: Common Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword Range: Melee Damage: 12-15 Critical Hit: 7% Durability: 3/10 Weight: 2 lb Attributes: None Description: Elemental Staff Quality: Well-Made Rarity: Rare Weapon Type: Magic Staff Range: Melee, Ranged Damage: 15-17 Critical Hit: 5% Durability: 10/10 Weight: 2 lb Attributes: -5% Mana Cost for Elemental Spells +5% Damage for Elemental Spells Iron Ingot x5 ¡°Hey, look what I found.¡± Dean exclaimed as he held up the staff. Ben looked over and checked the staff, ¡°Not bad.¡± Dean said, ¡°Do you want it? I mean, being the Sorcerer and all.¡± Ben took the staff and stored it in his inventory before saying, ¡°You¡¯re not the only one to find something. Come look.¡± Dean followed Ben over to a pile of junk where he¡¯d had found a small chest buried underneath everything. Inside was a large coin purse, several gemstones and a cloak. Dean scanned them: Description: Cloak of Shadows Quality: Well-Made Rarity: Rare Damage Resist: 15-17 Durability: 6/8 Weight: 4 lbs Attributes: +10% Stealth +3% Ranged Attacks Moonstone x4 Garnet x4 Emerald x3 Ruby x2 Amethyst x2 Diamond x1 Sapphire x1 Gold x80 ¡°Not a bad day¡¯s work.¡± Dean grinned, ¡°Let¡¯s rejoin the others.¡± The other two were still in the clearing still collecting herbs. After they had finished, Ryan said, ¡°Alright, I need to log out. My wife and kids should be home pretty soon.¡± ¡°Not here.¡± Ben said, ¡°We need to get to an inn or something.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°It¡¯s not safe. You can still get attacked by monsters when you¡¯re logged out.¡± Ben explained. ¡°Alright,¡± Ryan said, ¡°But we need to hurry.¡± 5. Technical Difficulties Ryan Anderson Health: 100/100 Stamina: 100/100 Mana: 100/100 Status: Level: 3 Experience: 317/500 Rank: None Title: None Class: None Role: None Party: Unnamed Alliances: None Allegiances: None
Stats
Strength 10 Perception 10 Charisma 10
Endurance 10 Intelligence 15 Poise 10
Agility 10 Wisdom 15 Constitution 10
Dexterity 10 Fortitude 15 Luck 10
Skills: Herbalist ¨C Level 3 Herb Lore ¨C Level 2 Hunting ¨C Level 3 Butchering ¨C Level 2 Skinning ¨C Level 2 Looting ¨C Level 4 Melee Weapons - Level 2 One-Handed Sword - Level 3 Ranged Weapons ¨C Level 2 Archery ¨C Level 3 Abilities: Casting ¨C Level 2 Spells: Healing ¨C Level 2 Enchantments: None Attributes: None Ryan wished they would hurry so that he could logout and get dinner started before his wife and kids got home. Once he¡¯d mentioned their plans to spend the day gaming, she¡¯d immediately suggested taking the kids to her parent¡¯s house for the day while she ran errands. On the other hand, he really wanted to stay. It¡¯d been too long since they¡¯d had this type of chance to just enjoy some time together, as a whole group, without the responsibilities of life getting in the way. The last time he could remember the group together like this had been his wedding, over a decade ago. Had it really been that long? Instead, the other insisted on harvesting every plant, hunting every animal, and killing every monster they saw on the way back to the woodcutter¡¯s hut before heading to town. There weren¡¯t many of the latter, the death of the Alpha Wolf seemed to have cleared the area of immediate danger, or maybe the wolves had killed everything else and the death of the Alpha removed the wolves. Either way, they leveled up several more skills along the way, mostly the herbalist, hunting and the subskills of skinning and butchering, to level four. At first glance, most people didn¡¯t understand how the group existed, they were just too different. The group had given him the nickname Preacher when they were younger, claiming he always had a spiritual vibe about him. At the time, he thought it was just because he was a leader of his youth group and actively led a bible study. However, it turned out they had known him better than he¡¯d known himself at the time because none of them had been surprised when he received his calling. Ben, on the other hand, always rooted for villains in a story, claiming they were misunderstood, or the story was biased against them. Combined with his dark sense of humor and quick-witted sarcastic nature, Ben had always found it difficult to make many friends. Ryan always suspected some of it was to keep people at arm¡¯s length, to ensure the only people that weren¡¯t pushed away were those with the same sense of loyalty as Ben. And that was the thing most people didn¡¯t know realize about him. Behind his coarse personality was one of the most loyal people he¡¯d ever met. Then there was Will. His personality tended towards the ¡®work hard, party hard¡¯ mentality. Will was an independent contractor in the film industry, though he tended to have various jobs depending on the contract. Since Ryan didn¡¯t know the industry, he could only understand part of the titles, like electrical or lead. Words like busboy or grip might as well have been Greek to him, less so since he¡¯d taken a couple Greek classes during seminary. Will also partied hard. He claimed it was a part of the adventure web series he produced regularly. While it included visiting the mom and pop restaurant down the street, it also included things like scuba diving for lost treasure or racing vintage cars. In his opinion, Will was trying to be a real-life Dirk Pitt. Then again, he watched every single one of them, enjoyed every second of it, and regularly used them as visual aids in his sermons. So, he couldn¡¯t hold too much against Will for being an adrenaline junkie. Dean was the philosopher of the group, always had his head in a book or was trying to learn a new thing. Ryan knew that Dean had researched the entire history of dive gear and everything he could about the game, though that was probably limited considering the developers had kept a tight lid on leaks. He had looked it up himself out of curiosity but hadn¡¯t really found much since the developers had tried to keep a tight lid on it. If anyone had found something, it was Dean, who could somehow piece together various articles and developer quotes to discover some hidden truth. They arrived back at the woodcutter¡¯s lodge, and the men stood as the group approached. ¡°We took care of the Alpha Wolf.¡± Will said. The woodsmen visibly relaxed as their leader stepped forward. He eyed them warily as he nodded. ¡°Will you be wanting coin then, or did you mean what you said?¡± He asked. Ben grimaced at Ryan, letting him know that Ben was still pissed at the choice not to accept coin for the quest, but Ryan had spent too many days only eating a can of soup or instant ramen, bought in bulk because it was cheaper, while working his way through seminary to forget the feeling of gnawing hunger when he could barely pay his rent. Game or not, he couldn¡¯t do it. He levelled a hard glare at Ben in return. Ben rolled his eyes, sighed, ¡°We meant it.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± The man said as he offered his hand. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure I could trust you to do it, to be honest. The name¡¯s Moore.¡± Will shook it, ¡°Completely understand. Glad we could change your opinion.¡± Moore laughed, ¡°Most o¡¯ your kind demand coin before helping out or just cause trouble.¡± Dean leaned over and whispered, ¡°Do they seem different to you?¡± Ryan studied the group. They weren¡¯t doing anything strange, as far as he could tell. He looked questioningly back at Dean. Dean was also studying them, a pensive look on his face before his eyes shot up and he whispered, ¡°They¡¯re acting normal. Real.¡± Ryan glanced back at the woodcutters as realization dawned on him. They weren¡¯t staring off into oblivion. They weren¡¯t waiting for specific cues to talk. The woodcutters were watching the conversation between their leader and Will. Their leader wasn¡¯t waiting for some specific word or phrase before responding, wasn¡¯t freezing between comments. ¡°You¡¯re right. What do you think it means?¡± Dean shrugged, ¡°I read somewhere that the developers were trying to make the game learn from players, maybe that¡¯s what¡¯s happening here.¡± A notification popped up, declaring the quest closed. Ryan followed the others as they walked back to town. All the flowers close to town were already picked clean, probably from other players, so they didn¡¯t have any reason to stop. They emerged from the forest several hundred paces from where they entered. They headed towards the stone bridge, passing through the small cluster of farmhouses, and worked their way up towards the city walls.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The fields had cleared out, all the players frolicking in it either logged out or exploring the nearby countryside. Despite his hurry to reach the town, Ryan dragged his feet, not wanting to leave the pastural picture surrounding him. He would have to mention this in one of his sermons. A few people had mentioned the debauchery going on in dive games, how being there and feeling the experience led to sex, orgies, and other sinful acts, but right then and there, he saw the real potential that dive games offered. A new world, full of life and hope, that could serve as a reminder mankind to take care of the real world. Maybe more than one sermon. A whole series on the subject. That would widen a few eyes. He chuckled softly at the thought, causing Will to glance questioningly at him. ¡°A funny thought crossed my mind,¡± He explained as they stepped onto the drawbridge. ¡°Care to share?¡± Will asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± He said, ¡°Now, I think I¡¯m going to head straight to the inn to logout.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m going to keep exploring for a bit longer.¡± Dean asked, ¡°Anyone else game?¡± ¡°I can stick around a bit longer.¡± Will said as Ben nodded. ¡°Just don¡¯t get too far ahead of me,¡± Ryan asked, ¡°I don¡¯t want to get left behind. Speaking of which, when¡¯s the next time all of you are free?¡± They agreed on a date and time after discussing various conflicting schedules. After that, Ryan said his goodbyes before heading towards the inn. He ignored the notification about finishing the Tainted Fields quest and the next stating he¡¯d leveled up, figuring he¡¯d allocate the points when he logged back in. The inn was the largest buildings on the main road, with brick walls and clay tile roof. The sign on the front had a large pig head on it. He paused at the front door to read the sign, The Boar¡¯s Head Inn. So, he¡¯d been mistaken about the pig, not that it really mattered. Granted, he definitely preferred the name Boar¡¯s Head over Pig Sty any day, though he doubted either would work well for a motel in the real world, but maybe a bar. And that¡¯s exactly what he walked into after opening the door. The main floor had a tall roof, with wood rafters every dozen paces and large lanterns hanging from them. The floor was covered in a thin layer of sawdust to soak up any spills that had been packed down from foot traffic. A roaring fire burned in two different fireplaces to keep the place warm against the crisp evening breeze blowing from the North, but created a smoky haze to the entire room and the soft smell of woodsmoke that combated the reek of old beer, sweat, and vomit. He wrinkled his nose at the smell and headed towards the bar running the entire length of one wall. ¡°Greetings, sir,¡± The barkeep said as he approached, ¡°Can I offer you a drink or a room for the night?¡± ¡°A room, please.¡± Ryan confirmed. ¡°It¡¯s ten gold pieces for the night.¡± The barkeep answered. Ryan counted out the coins and handed them over. The barkeep handed him an old key and gave him the room number. Ryan worked his way over to the stairs, dodging a few drunk players along the way. He wondered why they were bothering to spend money on drinks. Not that he didn¡¯t drink, he planned to open a cold one while he cooked dinner. Then again, he stopped and looked around, the beer in game was cheaper than the real world, and he wouldn¡¯t feel the effects of drinking once he logged out. Not tonight, though. He needed to start dinner in the real world. He headed up to his room. It was a third-floor room facing the main road. The room itself was small, about the size of his old dorm room, with a single trundle bed against one corner, a wooden chest at the foot of the bed, and a small nightstand with a wash basin and mirror against the other wall. The thick wood door blocked out all but the loudest exclamations and shouts that filtered up every few minutes. He thought about unequipping his gear and crawling into bed before logging out, but decided against it because it didn¡¯t seem necessary and he didn¡¯t want to waste the time re-equipping everything when he logged back in. He pulled up his status page, scrolled down to the bottom, and clicked the logout button. A notification popped up in front of him. Are you sure you want to logout? Yes/No He pressed yes and waited. Nothing happened. He pressed it again without anything happening. He pressed it several times in a hurry, tried holding it down, even smashed his finger at the control as hard as he could, before giving up and staring at it. He stood numb for several minutes before his thoughts kicked back into gear. The logout button wasn¡¯t working. He couldn¡¯t log out. Was he doing something wrong? He didn¡¯t think so, since pressing the logout button made the most sense. Just in case, he laid down on the bed and pressed the button several more times. He tried unequipping everything to the same effect. After exhausting every idea he had, he gave up. He headed back downstairs and looked around for his friends. Instead, he caught snatches of conversation that he¡¯d ignored before. Several conversations were about how being unable to log out. He walked to the nearest empty table and sat down heavily. A waitress approached his table shortly afterwards, her beaming smile fading after seeing his face. ¡°Can I get something for you, sugar?¡± He ordered a beer. She laid it in front of him after collecting a gold coin. He stared blankly at it, losing himself in thought, before a familiar voice broke him out of it. He looked up to see the others heading towards him with confused looks on their faces. ¡°I thought you were going to logout?¡± Dean asked. ¡°I tried.¡± He answered, ¡°It doesn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°What doesn¡¯t work?¡± Will asked absently as he looked for the waitress. ¡°The logout button,¡± Ryan said, ¡°Listen to everyone else in the room.¡± Will jerked around in surprise. ¡°The logout button isn¡¯t working?¡± Ryan nodded. The others tried to log out. Ben whistled, ¡°Someone¡¯s going to get fired.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t change the issue right now.¡± Dean countered. ¡°True,¡± Ben shrugged, ¡°But it¡¯s still a major screwup.¡± ¡°It¡¯s got to be a bug.¡± Will said. ¡°You think?¡± Ben shot back. ¡°Hey,¡± Will warned, ¡°Don¡¯t get mad at me. I¡¯m not the one who screwed this up.¡± Ben growled but didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, Ryan asked, ¡°Is there a different way to logout?¡± Dean said, ¡°Wait, there¡¯s the manual override.¡± ¡°The what?¡± Ben asked. ¡°Like this,¡± Dean reached up to the sides of his head. He then lifted his hands in a gesture to remove an invisible helmet from his head. He grunted when nothing happened and tried again. ¡°The manual said something about trying to remove the headgear in game is a manual backup.¡± Ben rolled his eyes, ¡°You actually read the manual? And besides, you look like you¡¯re trying to remove a helmet, not your headgear.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± Dean argued. ¡°The difference is that the headgear doesn¡¯t sit on your head like that.¡± Ben explained. ¡°Yes, it does. At least, mine does.¡± Dean countered. ¡°That¡¯s the helmet you put on. The actual dive gear is the two visual stimulators in front of your eyes.¡± Ben reached up like he was flipping a pair of glasses onto his forehead. ¡°Like this.¡± He demonstrated before glancing around, ¡°It doesn¡¯t work. You sure you read that?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sure.¡± Dean said, ¡°I read the whole thing while setting it up.¡± ¡°Newb.¡± Ben muttered, though it didn¡¯t sound like his heart was really in it. All four of them made various gestures as though they were trying to remove something invisible from their heads, but nothing worked. ¡°Think they know about it?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Of course, they do,¡± Will argued, ¡°Someone¡¯s had to complain about this already.¡± ¡°Is there a way to lodge a help ticket?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Uh,¡± Ben said, ¡°Yeah, but only if you¡¯re logged out of the game.¡± Will argued, ¡°They have to know. Someone¡¯s family has had to complain about this already.¡± Ryan didn¡¯t bother saying anything to the three of them. They always argued when upset or confused about something. More than the usual, Ryan amended. It was really just a way to buy time until they had processed the actual issue at hand. It was a coping mechanism. He could already predict how his friends would react to the whole thing. Ben would start cursing the programmers, and it looked like Ben was already saying a few choice words under his breath. Will would spend the night drinking his worries away. Ryan watched him finish his first drink before everyone else and order a second. Then there was Dean. He tended to internalize things more so than the others. If he had to bet on it, Ryan guessed that Dean would become more focused, almost to the point of obsession, on figuring out how to beat the game. He blinked. His friends were gone. Rather, Will and Ben were gone, and Dean now sat in a different seat. ¡°What happened?¡± Ryan asked. Dean jerked his head around in surprise. He saw Ryan and relaxed. ¡°You¡¯ve been frozen for almost an hour. It¡¯s happened to several people.¡± He gestured at another player, a short blonde guy, a few tables down from them. He just sat there, not moving or even blinking. A statue. ¡°All I did was blink.¡± He licked his lips as he looked at each of them. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. What happened?¡± He jerked backwards in his chair as a semi-transparent announcement window popped up in the middle of his vision. Public Announcement from the Developers Subject: Technical Difficulties Players, It has come to our attention that players are experiencing an issue with logging out at this time. Obviously, this is a major issue and we are working to address it immediately. We want to assure you that this issue is our top priority and will work diligently until it is fixed. Attempts by players to manually override the dive gear have proven ineffectual and removing the gear by family and friends outside the game have failed to wake up players. Instead, they remain in a stable coma. We have already made a public announcement in the real world in an effort to contact the friends and family of in-game players concerning the issue, and not to remove the gear except as necessary to transfer your bodies to a medical facility. We will continue to keep them, and you informed of any updates in correcting this issue. We are also working with local authorities to have every player transferred to a local medical facility at this time and ask that every player remain in a safe location until they have been transferred. We want to apologize for any inconvenience or issue that this may cause our players and are dedicated to ensuring that your gaming experience is the best that we provide. Thank you, The Development Team ¡°Just get the notification?¡± Dean asked, ¡°It came out about fifteen minutes after you froze.¡± ¡°So, I was transferred to a medical facility?¡± Ryan mused aloud as he reread the announcement. ¡°That¡¯s what we think.¡± Dean replied. ¡°Where are the others?¡± The comment reminded him about Will and Ben. ¡°They made some new friends.¡± Dean pointed to a group of players. Ryan spotted them among the group singing something too garbled and off key to tell what song it was supposed to be. ¡°Have you been transferred?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°Not yet.¡± Dean said, ¡°The others haven¡¯t either. At this point, they¡¯re just partying as they wait for it to happen.¡± Over the next several hours, they watched as player after player completely froze at random before starting to move again. Some took less than twenty minutes before unfreezing, while others took a little over an hour. They ignored any frozen player, except for the unfortunate ones that froze while in the middle of a drink only to come back spluttering as they spilled beer everywhere. Those were met with raucous laughter and applause. Until the player that froze with his pants down in the outhouse. A few of those waiting in line discovered him and decided it would be hilarious to move him to the front courtyard. He stood there for half an hour with his junk hanging out before unfreezing. At first, he was pissed, but laughed it off once the pranksters agreed to buy him each a beer. After that, people started pranking the frozen players. At first, it started with players removing the chair from underneath the player so that they¡¯d fall back once they unfroze. It quickly escalated to frozen players being placed on the bar, so they¡¯d tumble off. The barkeep and waitresses mostly ignored the antics as best they could, but every once in a while, they¡¯d look wide eyed at the row lined up on the bar. When Ben froze, Ryan watched as Will and a few others in the group lined him up with the rest. He fell back, like the rest, and laughed as he rubbed his backside, swearing he¡¯d get Will back for it. An hour later, Will froze. The same group tried to line him up, but Ben pulled them in a different direction. Ryan watched as Dean, still sitting beside him gave Ben a confused look, who waved it away with a wicked grin on his face. They returned a few minutes later, stifling laughs as he sat back down at the table. Ryan gave him a puzzled look. ¡°Just wait.¡± Ben said, ¡°It¡¯s going to be hilarious.¡± An hour later, Will banged through the front door dripping water all over the floor. He yelled, ¡°Assholes.¡± The room went quiet as everyone turned to look at him. Someone called out, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°They put me on the edge of the fountain so I¡¯d fall in.¡± He fumed. The room burst into laughter and a few people raced to grab their frozen friends off the bar before it was too late to reach the fountain. Will stalked over to the table and stared daggers at Ben, ¡°I know it was your idea, Ben. I will get you back for this. I swear it.¡± Ben laughed even harder, but he waved down a waitress to order a round for the table. Will wrung out his shirt before sitting down, creating a puddle of water on the sawdust. The waitress didn¡¯t look at Will as she returned with a mug of ale, and deftly avoided the puddle without looking at it either. ¡°I hate you guys.¡± He enunciated each word, dripping venom. He plopped into his chair. By midnight, Dean still hadn¡¯t frozen. Will and Ben had wandered off again. Dean hadn¡¯t spoken in some time, so Ryan leaned over the table to speak quietly to him. ¡°Are you worried?¡± Dean didn¡¯t immediately respond. He stared down at the table, drawing circles with the condensation from the mug. ¡°The announcement said they were working with local authorities to get everyone to a medical facility. I¡¯m sure they just haven¡¯t reached your account yet.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ryan tried to reassure him, ¡°It¡¯ll happen any minute.¡± Dean suddenly stood up, slamming his empty mug on the table, ¡°I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea,¡± Ryan said cautiously, knowing his friend¡¯s anger was born out of frustration and not wanting to elicit a bigger reaction. ¡°We won¡¯t know if you¡¯ve been transferred during the night.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Dean said, ¡°If I am, then no big deal. And if not, then they freeze me when they get to me.¡± ¡°And if we¡¯re in the middle of a dungeon?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°Then leave me to die.¡± Dean growled, ¡°I¡¯ll respawn anyway.¡± Dean walked up to the barkeep and bought himself a room for the night. Ryan watched him leave, not sure if this had to do with not being transferred yet or being stuck in game. Either way, he resolved to watch Dean and try to help any way he could. 6. The Developer Once Dean was out of sight, Ryan turned his attention back to the room. Someone had found an instrument similar to a guitar, and started a round of Sweet Caroline, a large portion of the bar joining in on the chorus. But not everyone was joining in the reverie. He should¡¯ve noticed them earlier but had probably missed them as a result of worrying about Dean. A handful of players were sitting silently, staring into the mugs or gazing off in the distance. Some were jostled by their friends, being drawn back into the group¡¯s conversation, but a couple were by themselves. He worked his way slowly through the room, stopping to talk with each person. He startled most of them when he approached, but they were quick to explain their worries. He only stayed a few minutes at each table, but the other players thanked him for speaking to them as he moved on. Most of their concerns were pretty simple, a job they couldn¡¯t miss, a family member that needed their help, or fear that the game wouldn¡¯t be fixed, and they¡¯d be stuck in here forever. He was about to ask a short, Asian man with a mop of messy black hair that he kept running a hand through, if he could sit when the man spoke first. ¡°Here for a go, too?¡± The man said bitterly without looking up from the table. ¡°I was going to ask if you¡¯re okay.¡± Ryan said. The man looked up at him, his bleary, tear stained eyes scanning Ryan. After a moment, his shoulder¡¯s slumped and he gestured at a chair. ¡°My most apologies. Please sit. I am named Shiro. You are?¡± The game¡¯s translation software was better than the others Ryan had ever encountered, mainly in the online baseball league he sometimes participated in. The game was changing the man¡¯s words to English and adjusting his lip movement to match. Earlier versions took several seconds to work, enough time that saying ¡®catch¡¯ while throwing a ball would result in the other person hearing ¡®catch¡¯ as the ball hit them in the back of the head. It was a common enough occurrence back then to earn a nickname, speak gap, in the urban dictionary. In this game, the software took less than a second, fast enough that Ryan might not have noticed, or thought it was an oddity of the man, if not for nuances like ¡®most apologies¡¯ or the unusual lack of contractions, unless the specific phrase had been programmed in. Ryan sat in the indicated chair as he introduced himself. He then asked, ¡°A go at what?¡± ¡°Me.¡± Shiro said, ¡°I am one of the developers, so the other players are most upset with me. They think it is my fault that they are not able to log out, but I do not know what has happened. I am stuck in the game as well.¡± Ryan leaned forward in his chair. ¡°Can you communicate with the other programmers?¡± Shiro shook his head, ¡°We created a group chat before logging in so we could talk. I can see their messages and send my own, but none of those out of the game respond. Only those in game appear to see them.¡± ¡°How many of you are in the game?¡± ¡°Most of us. All interns were to remain out of the game. The rest of us drew straws.¡± ¡°So, what are they saying? Do they have any idea what¡¯s going on?¡± Ryan didn¡¯t realize he held his breath as he waited for a response. ¡°All I know is that The Demon King is not the only game with problem. All of OmniSense Interactive new games are not logging out.¡± Ryan whistled softly. OmniSense Interactive was the parent company behind the new dive gear, they¡¯re goal was to create a brand new, fully immersive experience virtually indistinguishable from the real world. They had bought out or licensed several gaming companies to create new games using their technology. The Demon King was this game, a classic sword and sorcery. The only other one he remembered the title of was Into the Black, a space western, since his friends had debated playing that one instead. Otherwise, he vaguely remembered a pirate game, a war game, and a bunch of sporting games. He planned on buying the baseball game at some point soon, and Ben mentioned he had grabbed the hockey game. ¡°That means the problem isn¡¯t the game, it has to be in the dive gear programming.¡± Ryan reasoned. Shiro shrugged, ¡°I should have noticed it.¡± Ryan realized Shiro was blaming himself for the issue, even if it was unfounded. He needed to relieve the man¡¯s worry so he wouldn¡¯t blame himself, it was part of his job description to help people in need. It was also the right thing to do. ¡°Really? How? Did you go through every line of code while making the game?¡± Shiro shook his head, ¡°No, but every game shares the same core programming. I worked on that.¡± Shiro must have seen Ryan¡¯s confusion because he explained, ¡°The dive gear is much like a operating system. The games are a program. I helped to make the program that lets them talk to each other.¡± Ryan understood that. ¡°Like the translation software?¡± Shiro laughed, ¡°Yes, exactly like that. They speak different languages. Even if the game menu does not work for logging out, the dive gear system should recognize this.¡± He mimed removing the dive gear to logout. ¡°The only explanation is that the game language is not translating correctly with the dive gear language.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you do a beta test of the program? Wouldn¡¯t you have caught it then?¡± Ryan persisted. Shiro¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, ¡°Yes, we did do a beta test and nothing like this ever happened.¡± He gasped softly, ¡°The last update we downloaded before playing the game. That has to be the issue.¡± He grinned as he bowed to Ryan. ¡°This is good. It will not take long for the others to realize this and change it back.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°You¡¯re sure? How long do you think it will take?¡± Shiro thought about it before replying, ¡°I do not know exactly how long, but not very long. I would be surprised if it took more than a day, maybe two.¡± He pulled up his status menu, ¡°I must tell the other programmers in game, they will be most relieved. Thank you.¡± Ryan¡¯s shoulders relaxed as a wave of relief flooded through him. He hadn¡¯t realized how tense he¡¯d been since discovering the issue. ¡°We should tell everyone. They¡¯ll all be relieved.¡± ¡°I will send a message on the world chat board once I tell the other programmers.¡± Shiro said absently as he navigated his status page. Ryan watched as Shiro typed something out on an invisible keyboard before pressing a few more buttons and repeating the process. ¡°Sent.¡± Ryan was about to excuse himself when his friends joined them. ¡°Where¡¯s Dean?¡± Will asked as he sat down. ¡°Did we miss him freezing?¡± Ben turned to Will, ¡°I told you we would miss it. I was looking forward to it.¡± ¡°He went to bed.¡± Ryan ignored Ben. ¡°And he hadn¡¯t been transferred to a medical facility yet.¡± ¡°Then how will we know for sure if he was?¡± Will asked with concern. Ryan shrugged in response, ¡°They said they¡¯re going through the list, they¡¯ll get to him. Won¡¯t they Shiro?¡± Shiro nodded, ¡°You have a friend that has not been unplugged yet?¡± He gestured at a few frozen players. ¡°He will be before morning.¡± ¡°See?¡± Ryan said, ¡°He¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± Ben asked suspiciously. ¡°He¡¯s a programmer.¡± Ryan explained, ¡°And shut it, Ben. It¡¯s not his fault.¡±Ben snapped his mouth closed, glaring at Ryan as he did so. Ryan asked Shiro, ¡°You know this game really well? Will you answer a few questions I have?¡± Shiro nodded. ¡°First, how many skills are there? It feels like everything in the game has one.¡± ¡°I do not know. The game creates new skills as needed based on a player¡¯s actions. It started with a thousand but has probably created hundred more by now.¡± A thousand skills? That explained it. ¡°But why create that many?¡± ¡°So that players can be anything. A merchant or woodcutter. Anything. Each job with quests to complete.¡± ¡°Why would anyone be a woodcutter? It¡¯d be boring.¡± Ben complained. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Shiro countered, ¡°Every job has quests to complete. Not just reach level one hundred but craft a named weapon or create a new enchantment.¡± Ben shrugged, ¡°That might be cool, at least for a while. I¡¯d love to be a Dungeon master. Played one in my last MMO and it was a lot of fun.¡± Shiro grinned at him, ¡°Exactly the point. There are hundreds of ways to play this game, thousands even. We wanted to make it so players would always want to try something else, be something else. We were trying for endless replays.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a dungeon master?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°It¡¯s a person that controls a dungeon.¡± Ben explained. ¡°It¡¯s like building a kingdom, really, except that you¡¯re creating caves and treasure, then stocking it with traps and monsters to defend it against other players.¡± ¡°That explains why there¡¯s so many different stats in the game. I thought that was just overkill.¡± Will said. Next, Ryan asked, ¡°What¡¯s the plotline for this game anyway?¡± ¡°It was in the opening seq-,¡± Shiro licked his lips, ¡°It did not play when we started. Why did it not play?¡± He sent another quick message, probably to the other programmers Ryan thought, before continuing, ¡°There was an opening sequence that explained the whole plotline of the game. The world was once ruled by a king, but he was cursed and turned to a demon. He fled to the center of the world where he opened a portal to the underworld and summoned demon lords. To win, a player must find all the runes and defeat the king before closing the portal.¡± ¡°How big is the dungeon and where¡¯s the portal?¡± Ryan asked. Shiro pointed to the ground with a smile, ¡°The size of the entire world and the portal is at the center.¡± Ryan glanced at the other two to find them grinning, Will actually rubbing his hands together before saying, ¡°Then we better get another round of beers and start discussing strategy.¡± Ryan just shook his head and excused himself to bed. Shiro thanked him one more time as he left. Dean was standing in the middle of an empty room. He couldn¡¯t remember how he¡¯d gotten there, or even where he¡¯d been before that. He turned in a slow circle to find a doorway but couldn¡¯t find one along any of the walls. A fleeting thought crossed his mind that the lack of a doorway was strange. He tried to concentrate on it, but it slipped out of his mental grasp every time he tried. What was I thinking about? The room looked vaguely familiar. A bar ran the length of one wall, with two fireplaces set in the opposite. A fire burned in each, but the flames didn¡¯t move at all and they produced no heat. Large wooden beams ran across the top of the room every dozen feet, with large lanterns hanging down every few feet. Otherwise, the room was empty of any furniture or people. Dean continued to turn in a slow circle until he spotted a small girl standing in front of a double door. She stared back at him in surprise. Something about the double doors seemed odd, but he couldn¡¯t place it. Dean called out, ¡°Who are you?¡± She fled through the double doors. Dean followed her, hoping to get an answer. On the other side of the doors, he stood in a large meadow with flowers in full bloom as the sun blazed above him. It didn¡¯t give off any warmth, and the flowers didn¡¯t smell of anything at all. He stared at his surroundings in amazement. How had he gotten here? Hadn¡¯t he just been somewhere else? He spotted the little girl still running from him on the other side of the meadow. He walked towards her, yelling to get her attention. She glanced back at him, fear in her eyes. She ran into the edge of the forest and disappeared. A few seconds later, Dean passed through the same spot. He jerked to a stop, almost falling off the side of the mountain. He stood at the edge of a small mountain summit, only a dozen paces wide. A thick layer of snow, almost knee deep, was the only reason he didn¡¯t plummet to his death. He stared out at the bleak landscape in front of him. As far as he could see, the entire landscape below was a wasteland. Only a few bushes grew among small streams of bracken water crisscrossed the landscape. The clouds above swirled and roared in an erratic frenzy he didn¡¯t think could be real. ¡°Stop chasing me.¡± A small voice said from behind him. He turned slowly to find the girl on the other side of the summit staring at him. He tried to guess her age but couldn¡¯t even begin to guess from her facial features. She was pale, with long blonde hair running down her back and wore a shapeless white slip. Her pale gray eyes stared at him with a mixture of fury and fear. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± He started to say. ¡°Stop.¡± She said. A hard gust of wind accompanied her command, threatening to toss Dean off the mountain top. ¡°Who are you?¡± He asked instead, ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°Go away.¡± She screamed. She flicked her hands towards him. He felt something hard smack him in the chest and push him over the edge of the cliff. He screamed as he fell. 7. Preparations Dean Adams Health: 115/115 Stamina: 100/100 Mana: 100/100 Status: Level: 4 Experience: 503/750 Rank: None Title: None Class: None Role: None Party: Unnamed Alliances: None Allegiances: None
Stats
Strength 13 Perception 10 Charisma 10
Endurance 13 Intelligence 10 Poise 10
Agility 13 Wisdom 10 Constitution 10
Dexterity 13 Fortitude 10 Luck 13
Skills: Herbalist ¨C Level 2 Herb Lore ¨C Level 2 Hunting ¨C Level 3 Butchering ¨C Level 4 Animal Skinning ¨C Level 4 Looting ¨C Level 3 Ranged Weapons ¨C Level 2 Archery ¨C Level 3 Scan ¨C Level 3 Abilities: None Spells: None Enchantments: None Attributes: None Dean woke with a start. He scrubbed a hand across his face, trying to remember the dream that had woken him up. The only thing he could remember clearly was falling from a cliff, but there had been something about a little girl. It was all a jumble in his head. He tried to go back to sleep but ended up just tossing and turning, until the need to relieve his bladder forced him out of bed. He sat up, the room tilting at the movement, and his head started pounding as the blood rushed from his head. It felt like he had shoved cotton balls and sandpaper into his mouth before going to bed and continued to chew on them throughout the night. He cautiously crawled out of bed and made his way to the water pitcher on the dresser. Aside from the bed and dresser, the only other furniture in the room was a chest at the foot of the bed where he supposed people could store valuables when they were sleeping. In his foul mood last night, he hadn¡¯t bothered to get undress before climbing onto the bed, laying above the covers as he stared at the ceiling before falling asleep, so he spent the night with his sword hilt jabbed into his ribs. While the game didn¡¯t count it as an injury on his health points, the ribs felt sore and were a bit tender to the touch. The thought of his foul mood last night reminded him of the reason for it. He hadn¡¯t been worried about being transferred, not really since the developers had announced they were working on it, though the delay in his own transfer had put him on edge the longer he waited. Had he actually been transferred? He had no idea and no way to check. Going to bed before it happened had been a stupid idea. He should¡¯ve let his friends prank him. At least that way, he¡¯d know for sure whether his body was now in a hospital somewhere, machines beeping as it recorded his vitals. What he¡¯d really been annoyed at was how everyone didn¡¯t seem to care that they were stuck in the game. How they¡¯d treated it as a chance to party, like an unexpected holiday. Actually, they treated it as though the whole affair was an announcement that school would be closed thanks to bad weather. More like college, with all the drinking after the announcement. Except, it wasn¡¯t a snow day. It was a glitch in the system, with no way of knowing when it¡¯d be fixed or what had happened. All they had was a promise that someone, somewhere was working on it. There was absolutely nothing he could do about it. That¡¯s what bothered him the most. He shook his head, trying to break out of his thoughts before settling into another foul mood, and almost vomited as the world tilted dangerously around him. The developers had screwed up the logout process, but they hadn¡¯t forgotten to program hangovers. Of course, the game had hangovers, why would anyone want to drink, get drunk, and not experience agony the following morning? He couldn¡¯t think of anyone that would want that. He poured a glass of water from the pitcher, swished a mouthful around before spitting it out into the basin, and repeated the process a few times before chugging a glass. It helped with the cotton mouth, but added to the pressure in his bladder. He spotted a chamber pot under the bed. The thought of using it, of the smell filling the room, made him gag. He was too used to modern amenities. Another ticket to pass on to the developers once they¡¯d fixed the bigger issue: Plumbing and no hangovers. He headed down the stairs and into the main room, where two bleary-eyed maids raised questioning eyebrows at him as he passed on the way to the backdoor. He barely paid attention to them, just enough to wave them away, as he weaved his way around the tables they were scrubbing. The sun hadn¡¯t risen yet, the first rays of false dawn painting the horizon orange, and a stiff morning breeze tugged at his clothes and raised goosebumps on his arms. Once done, he walked back into the bar where one of the maids directed him to the kitchens for food. Despite the early hour, the kitchen was already bustling with activity. A large fire roared as a young boy turned a spit of roasting meat and assistants scurried to prepare various ingredients under the watchful eye of the chef. The chef was a large woman with blonde hair, so pale it was almost white, and a foreboding stare that sent everyone in the kitchen jumping. She took one look at him as he entered and harrumphed. ¡°Nothing¡¯s ready yet. So you¡¯re out of luck if you want something hot. Best I can do if you¡¯re hungry now is some leftover bread from last night and some cheese.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be fine, ma¡¯am.¡± Dean replied quickly, not wanting to draw her ire. She pointed to a stool near the fire and barked at one of the assistants to fetch him a plate. He watched completely fascinated by the kitchen but couldn¡¯t place his finger on what was so odd about it. It looked like a perfectly normal kitchen as far as he could tell, though he¡¯d never worked in one before. But he¡¯d watched enough cooking shows to know that, aside from being a medieval kitchen, nothing about it was truly out of the ordinary. Giving up solving the riddle, he studied the actual food prep as the assistant¡¯s cut up various components. Thanks to the cooking shows, he knew the difference between slicing, dicing and mincing. Apparently, knowing the difference was enough to earn him a new skill. Congratulations, You¡¯ve learned the Skill Cooking He wasn¡¯t surprised that cooking was a skill, not with everything else he¡¯d already encountered, but was curious what value cooking could have in the game. He pulled up his page and found it. Cooking: The practice or skill of preparing food by combining, mixing and heating ingredients. Advancing this skill increases the healing properties of each prepared food item and can include additional benefits based on ingredients used. That was interesting. Instead of relying on creating or buying alchemy potions to restore health, he could use everything they butchered to do the same thing.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Deciding it could be a useful skill to level up a bit, he stood up, stretched and asked the chef, ¡°Anything I can do to help?¡± She leveled her gaze at him. He didn¡¯t flinch, at least he hoped not noticeably, and tried to give her a disarming smile. She didn¡¯t return it. ¡°You any good?¡± ¡°No, ma¡¯am.¡± He answered truthfully, ¡°But I¡¯m a quick learner.¡± "We¡¯ll see about that. No good letting you burn the kitchen down, so start by peeling those potatoes.¡± She pointed near the sink, where a small stack of potatoes waited for him. He grinned at her and nodded. She smacked him on the wrist when he started to pull out his hunting knife. ¡°You¡¯ll cut your own arm off with that. Use this.¡± She handed him a small blade, called a paring knife. He leveled the skill up once before finishing, then was instructed on how to dice them evenly, which leveled him to three. After that, he thanked her for letting him help, to which she rolled her eyes and jabbed him gently with the wooden spoon she carried around, apparently to hit people with instead of using it to stir, before shooing him out of the kitchen. His first stop was to buy his own set of cooking gear from the blacksmith, then the fletcher to buy fifty steel arrows, and stopped at the alchemy shop for ten potions. He still had a decent amount of money, but couldn¡¯t think of how he wanted to spend it, so decided to head back to the inn. He found Ryan in a conversation with a large group of other players by the now lit fireplace. Will and Ben were sitting at a table near the bar, eating a breakfast in silence. He joined them. ¡°Morning.¡± Will groaned, ¡°Not so loud.¡± Ben mumbled, ¡°Are you trying to kill us?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± He said cheerfully, stifling a laugh as they winced. ¡°How¡¯re you two feeling?¡± ¡°Like cutting someone¡¯s tongue out if they don¡¯t talk quieter.¡± Ben replied as angrily as he could in a whisper. Dean laughed but decided not to continue torturing his friends any longer. Instead, he watched them eat in silence until Ryan arrived. After a few minutes, the group by the fireplace broke up, and Ryan wandered over. ¡°Hey,¡± Ryan said louder than necessary as they approached the table. He glanced between the two as he said it, a small smiling tugging at the corner of his mouth. ¡°What was that about?¡± Dean asked as Ryan grabbed a seat opposite him, ignoring the other two as they muttered death threats. ¡°What was what about?¡± ¡°That group you were talking to.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Ryan shrugged, ¡°I sent a message out asking if there were any pastors or psychologists in town and arranged a meeting. That was everyone that showed up.¡± ¡°Why? Trying to start a religion in the game?¡± ¡°I figured we could start a group that helps other players who are upset about getting stuck in the game like you were last night. Feeling any better?¡± ¡°Had to process it, you know.¡± Dean said, ¡°I made a decision last night before falling asleep that I might as well use the time we¡¯re stuck in here and try to level up as much as possible.¡± Ryan shrugged, ¡°Might as well, though I plan on helping anyone that needs someone to talk to about this with the others I met this morning. At least while I¡¯m in town.¡± ¡°We ready to head out then?¡± Dean asked, mainly to the other two. Ryan chuckled, ¡°I doubt it. They stayed up drinking much later than either of us.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± Dean asked. ¡°I heard them go to bed sometime around three in the morning. They were completely wasted.¡± Dean wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the two had continued drinking after that in one of the rooms. ¡°It wasn¡¯t three in the morning.¡± Ben complained, his voice a bit steadier now that he¡¯d finished half his breakfast and drank two mugs of water. ¡°No, he¡¯s probably right.¡± Will said, ¡°I think I remember the barkeep complaining about how late it was.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t he just go to bed?¡± Dean asked. ¡°He owns a business,¡± Will pointed out, ¡°And there were a lot of people willing to buy a lot of drinks last night. He probably made more than he normally does in a month. Maybe a year.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a game.¡± Ben said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t know anything about economics.¡± It finally clicked. ¡°Guys,¡± Dean said slowly. They all glanced at him with puzzled looks on their faces, ¡°I had a weird encounter with the chef this morning.¡± He paused as he tried to figure out how to explain it. ¡°Just spit it out,¡± Will said testily. ¡°The chef didn¡¯t act like an NPC.¡± ¡°So? Maybe it¡¯s a player." Will suggested. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Dean replied, ¡°Why would anyone want to be a chef in game?¡± Ryan smacked himself on the forehead, ¡°¡°I haven¡¯t told you about Shiro.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°A developer I met last night. He¡¯s stuck in the game, too.¡± Ryan explained his conversation with Shiro. Afterwards, Dean leaned back in his chair with a grunt, ¡°So they¡¯re all in the game?¡± ¡°Not all of them.¡± Ryan corrected, ¡°But most are.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t change my decision. We¡¯re stuck, so we might as well do something useful.¡± ¡°We should buy some supplies before we go.¡± Ben said between mouthfuls, ¡°Some potions and spells.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already been out this morning.¡± Ryan explained, ¡°Bought an alchemy set.¡± ¡°Same.¡± Dean said, ¡°And cooking gear.¡± ¡°Cooking gear?¡± Ben scoffed. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s a skill.¡± Dean countered defensively, ¡°It replenishes health and can boost stats apparently.¡± ¡°A game full of magic and he decides to pursue cooking.¡± Ben shook his head in mock shame. ¡°That boy ain¡¯t right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my line,¡± Ryan replied, ¡°You don¡¯t get to use it.¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s a quote, so fair game.¡± ¡°That I use all the time, so it¡¯s mine.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t claim quotes.¡± ¡°I just did. I¡¯m invoking the right of the eldest.¡± ¡°The right of what?¡± Ben looked at the others for support. ¡°You just made that rule up.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no right of eldest, Ryan. It¡¯s bullshit and you know it.¡± Will shoveled a few more big bites into his mouth before pushing his plate away. ¡°And you can¡¯t use that quote, Ben. He¡¯s used it for years and we make fun of him for it.¡± He downed the rest of his drink, which Dean was surprised to realize was a pint of beer. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit early to be drinking?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Nah,¡± Will laughed, ¡°I¡¯m on vacation right now. Besides, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m driving anywhere.¡± ¡°Just make sure you¡¯re not too drunk for fighting monsters.¡± Dean chided. ¡°Yes, mother.¡± Will mocked. Ryan shook his head as he asked, ¡°What happens if you¡¯re too drunk to stand when a monster attacks you?¡± Will shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ll just stab him.¡± ¡°And if it doesn¡¯t die?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Then,¡± Will countered, ¡°I¡¯ll pull the sword back out, then I¡¯ll stab him again. It¡¯s called the stabby-stabby technique. It¡¯s very effective.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an idiot.¡± Dean said. ¡°Takes one to know one.¡± ¡°Maybe, but you¡¯re dumber than me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re dumber plus one.¡± Dean shook his head with a smile at the childhood reference. He couldn¡¯t help himself in replying, ¡°You¡¯re dumber plus infinity.¡± Will laughed, ¡°You¡¯re dumber times infinity.¡± ¡°You¡¯re dumber to infinity.¡± ¡°Both of you ain¡¯t right.¡± Ryan cut in. He pushed his seat back from the table and stood up, ¡°Now, if you two are finished, we can head out.¡± ¡°Anything else we need to buy?¡± Dean asked the others as he did the same. ¡°I¡¯d like to check out a few spells.¡± Ben stood up as he rubbed his hands together. They left the bar, heading down the main thoroughfare to the mage¡¯s shop, Ben practically skipping a few paces ahead of them. The shop was completely filled with bookshelves. All of them were filled with books, scrolls and strange objects, many of which glowed in the dim interior. The shopkeeper was a man, but it was impossible to tell much beyond that since he was wearing a thick robe that enveloped his body, and a raspy voice. ¡°Greetings, sirs. You¡¯re interested in the arcane arts? Please, take a look at my wares and let me know if I can be of any service.¡± Will glanced at the others, ¡°You don¡¯t want to know if we¡¯re buying or selling?¡± ¡°My goods are on display.¡± The man gestured at the bookshelves, ¡°And, if you¡¯re selling, please show me what you have so I can offer a price.¡± Will glanced at Dean. ¡°The chef isn¡¯t the only one, apparently.¡± ¡°Told you.¡± Dean said as he walked down the aisle that Ben had disappeared into. He found Ben near the center, his finger tracing each book as he went. ¡°Summon undead warrior, duh. And fireball because boom.¡± Ben muttered to himself as pulled each off the shelf, laughing in a sinister, evil genius way. ¡°Definitely Drain and probably should do Ice shard, just in case.¡± Dean turned to the shelf, glancing at each book as he decided on what to purchase. The books had different prices, but he could afford two of the basic spell books. He ignored all of the attack spells, knowing he hadn¡¯t leveled up his intelligence, so they¡¯d be less effective than his sword. He found a spell called Scaled Flesh, a spell that increased his armor rating by five as long as he had the stamina to sustain it, and another called Warrior¡¯s Aura, that provided a plus one to each of his physical stats for thirty seconds. It had a cooldown period of an hour, and cost forty mana to cast, but the bonuses were worth the price in his opinion. He purchased and read the books, then headed outside with the others as they waited for Ben to finish up, hearing him giggling between the bookshelves, calling out that he¡¯d only be a minute more. Ten minutes later, Ben emerged from the shop, rubbing his hands together gleefully as he said, ¡°We need to find some enemies.¡± Once past the city gates, they followed the road towards the farming community and stone bridge. A few hundred paces along, the ground beneath them shook and roiled. Dean jumped out of the way, drawing his sword in the process and spinning around ready to fight. Instead, he found Ben standing next to a shallow grave, a skeleton warrior half emerged, bent over double in laughter as he wheezed, ¡°You should see your faces.¡± ¡°Warn us next time.¡± Will growled, ¡°Or I¡¯ll kill it and you.¡± ¡°I know, I know,¡± Ben said between gasps, ¡°But I couldn¡¯t resist. It was too perfect.¡± The skeleton warrior had climbed out of its grave and stood, swaying slightly as he held a large sword in its hand, ¡°Guys, meet Fido. Fido, met the guys.¡± He patted it on the shoulder, ¡°They¡¯re friends, so be nice.¡± He checked his status page, ¡°Hey, that blows. Casting the spell doesn¡¯t level it up.¡± He pursed his lips as he read, ¡°Experience gain is based on the damage it causes.¡± He started walking towards the bridge, ignoring the others annoyed expressions, ¡°Come on, Fido. Let¡¯s go find you something to kill.¡± The passed through the farming community, or that¡¯s what Dean had decided to start calling it, and the villagers shied away from the undead warrior. Children ran, terrified, to their mother¡¯s aprons, who promptly ushered them inside where they stood at the door wielding a rolling pin or pot as they eyed the group wearily. ¡°I don¡¯t think they like Fido, Ben.¡± Dean said. ¡°They just don¡¯t know him like I do. They¡¯ll warm up to him.¡± Ben said cheerfully. ¡°I don¡¯t think they will. And you literally just summoned him for the first time, how can you know anything about him?¡± Ben scoffed, ¡°Because I summoned him. He¡¯s completely obedient to me,¡± He hesitated, ¡°Unless there¡¯s a spell out there that can take control of him. I didn¡¯t see one in the shop, but they didn¡¯t have a big selection.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying there¡¯s a chance someone could take control of it?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°Maybe,¡± Ben shrugged not worried by the possibility, ¡°Who knows, right? A million ways to play the game and all that.¡± Ben started humming. ¡°Ignore the villagers and let¡¯s find something to kill already. I need to try out a few new things.¡± They crossed the bridge, and deeper into the woods before Ben¡¯s stamina ran out, and Fido sank into a small sinkhole that formed at his feet, dragging him into the roiling dirt as it closed up around him. They continued exploring the woods, traveling in a Northeastern direction away from the town and river for most of the day, hunting small animals as they went and Dean using his new foraging skill to collect a few vegetables and plants, as Ryan collected alchemy ingredients before stumbling onto a small clearing in the trees at the bottom of a ravine where a camp had been setup. They approached, moving from tree to tree to keep from being spotted, until they reached the edge of the tree line. From his vantage point, Dean could only see the two nearest tents and the center of the camp between them, where a small fire of dying embers burned. They watched for any sign of movement, barely daring to breath until they knew who or what the occupants of the camp were, and what level they were at. After several minutes passed without movement, Will signaled for him to move into the camp. Dean crept forward, wishing he had a dozen more eyes, to the nearest tent. He tugged at the flap, just enough to peek inside, where he found an empty bedroll and a few items littered around the floor. He moved to the next and found the same. He moved along the side of the tent until he could see the rest of the camp. The sight raised the hairs at the back of his neck. There were eight tents surrounding the fire, with long slashes across their canvas. Two were completely shredded, the remnants fluttering lazily in the wind, and everything inside had been tossed out into the center of the camp. Then his eyes fell on the large spots of stained, flattened grass. The stains were the dark red, almost black, of congealed blood. He swallowed, glanced around the tree line in case the attackers were still nearby, but he didn¡¯t see any sign that they were hiding, before leaving the cover of the tent. He took a few tentative steps forward, waited to see if something would happen, before taking the dozen steps to reach the edge of the fire. He stood up, his shoulders tense and knuckles white on his sword hilt, as turned a slow circle. Ryan had moved forward, to the edge of the tent, and held up a hand for him to stay put. Easy for him, Dean thought, he¡¯s not in the line of fire. And wait for what? He heard a noise of someone walking through the brush. He whirled around to see Will and Ben emerging from the trees. Will said, ¡°There¡¯s no one here, but it¡¯s definitely the raider camp.¡± Will tossed a tunic at Dean. He caught it and scanned it. Raider Tunic Quality: Crude Rarity: Common Damage Resist: 3-5 Durability: 2/5 Weight: 1 lbs Attributes: None ¡°What happened to them?¡± He asked. ¡°They¡¯re probably dead.¡± Ryan answered as he joined them, ¡°That¡¯s a lot of blood.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Dean said sarcastically, ¡°I gathered that much. I mean who killed them?¡± He jumped as a notification popped up. Title: Bandit Raids, Part 2 Reward: Gold and XP Description: The Bandits are dead. Report back to Torial for your reward to close the quest. Or Investigate what killed the bandits. Completing may result in additional rewards and potentially more quests. ¡°I guess that answers that question.¡± He muttered, ¡°Finish the quest or press on?¡± 8. Orcs to the North They camped on a small ridge, lighting a fire just long enough for Dean to cook the meat they¡¯d collected throughout the day before dousing it, before full dusk to mask the firelight. They set a watch schedule as they watched a few campfires twinkle in the distance. They woke up the next morning at predawn, ate a cold meal before packing up the makeshift camp and heading out. Around noon, they were cutting through a deep ravine when Will, who was currently in the lead, signaled for them to stop. He waited for them to join him before saying, ¡°I think I heard something ahead. Wait here while I scout ahead.¡± He slowly worked his way forward and they lost sight of him in the underbrush. They waited several minutes before he returned. ¡°Four Orcs coming this way,¡± He whispered, ¡°levels one through three.¡± ¡°Think they killed the bandits?¡± Dean whispered. ¡°Now¡¯s not really the time.¡± Will urgently whispered back. Ryan pointed to a few outcroppings on either side, ¡°We could ambush them.¡± ¡°Two on each side?¡± Ben suggested as he pointed at Dean, ¡°We draw their fire and you two attack once we have their attention?¡± They made their way to cover, preparing the ambush. Dean notched an arrow as he moved behind a boulder. A few minutes later, he heard grunting that might have been some kind of language followed by the sight of four orcs coming out of the underbrush. Once they were directly underneath, Ben nodded at him and he stepped out of cover to sight the nearest orc. He released the arrow, as Ben flicked his hands in a series of motions. The ground erupted under an orc as a skeleton hand reached out and grabbed it. The orc screamed in terror, twisting around to slash at Fido. Fido didn¡¯t react to the onslaught, continuing to crawl out of the ground as he dragged the orc into the pit behind him. Dean notched a second arrow, targeted his orc and fired. The three remaining orcs had spotted them, the one he¡¯d hit charged him as it drew its sword, as another attacked Fido and the final one drew a bow. A second later, the two still in the ravine grunted in pain as a pair of arrows struck them in the back. Dean slung his bow behind his back and drew his sword as the orc charging him closed the distance to a few yards. Dean deflected the Orc¡¯s first swing. They exchanged blows, the Orc getting the better of him, and scoring a slash across his chest. The chest piece he wore deflected the worst of the blow, but it still left a thin line of blood dripping down his chest. Dean countered, feinting first high before flicking his wrist into a downward stroke. The Orc tried to block the first attack but couldn¡¯t adjust to the feint in time. Dean¡¯s blade sank deep into its stomach. Dean watched its life points drop to zero as he yanked the blade out. He glanced into the ravine just in time to see more orcs charging out of the underbrush. He called out, ¡°Incoming.¡± Ben must have already seen them because a fireball landed in the middle of the orcs, drowning out Dean¡¯s warning. It didn¡¯t hit any directly, instead exploding against the earth in a roar of debris and liquid fire that splattered the nearest orcs. The shockwave knocked them off their feet, tossing them in the air before they smashed into the ground. Two of them laid still, a third rolled around frantically to put out the fire. Dean cast Warrior¡¯s Aura as he charged, feeling a slight surge of power in his arms and a lightness in his feet. He saw Fido collapse into a heap of bones out of the corner of his eye, and a couple vines shoot out of the ground and latch onto an orc, dragging it to the ground. He lost sight of anything else as he plowed into the lead orc, locking swords with it. It shoved him back, knocking him slightly off balance, before attacking. He knocked it aside, sliding past it¡¯s defense and cutting it deep across the chest. It fell with a groan, and he turned to the next orc in line. Their swords clanged against each other as they exchanged blows. He lost track of the rest of the battle as he fought, letting the sound of screams and explosions pass through his thoughts in mild recognition of what was happening, concentrating each orc he faced. He didn¡¯t know how many he killed, barely registering when the Warrior¡¯s Aura spell dissipated except as a slight lag in his strength and speed, or when the warmth of Ryan¡¯s healing spell targeted him. He fought in a blind frenzy, not even realizing he was screaming at the top of his lungs in ragged breaths, until he killed the orc in front of him only to discover there weren¡¯t any others still standing. He collapsed to his knees as his limbs went limp, the rush of battle leaving him shaking and paralyzed. He wiped the blood and sweat from his face to clear his eyes and looked around. The ground around him was littered with dozens of dead Orcs, small craters filled with a burning liquid from Ben¡¯s fireball spell, and rivulets of blood running towards the base of the ravine.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it From somewhere, he heard Ben exclaim, ¡°There was a firefight!¡± Followed by an excited, ¡°Did you see Fido? Did you see how badass he was? This game¡¯s finally getting good.¡± Dean¡¯s head buzzed too much for him to say anything, otherwise he¡¯d have told Ben to shut up. Instead, he took several deep breaths before searching the orc directly in front of him, finding a small coin pouch and a few pieces of gear worth keeping. Iron Spaulder Quality: Adequete Rarity: Common Damage Resist: 20-23 Durability: 9/12 Weight: 5 lbs Attributes: None Iron Greaves Quality: Adequete Rarity: Common Damage Resist: 14-16 Durability: 6/10 Weight: 2 lbs Attributes: None He collected both, thankful that the game automatically cleared away any gore once they entered his inventory and equipped them. It wasn¡¯t much, but added to the leather chestpiece he had, it would add a little more defense. While in his status page equipping the items, he noticed the blinking Quest icon. He clicked it. Title: Bandit Raids, Part 3 Reward: Gold and XP Description: Orcs killed the bandits. Report back to Torial. Or Discover the extent of the Orc presence in Torial to unlock additional rewards and potential quests. To complete, collect Orc Clan badges. He continued searching the dead, ignoring his friends as they talked, until they¡¯d looted all the bodies, and Ryan had successfully healed all of them. Once finished, the group reconvened at the bottom of the ravine. His friends had found two badges among the dead, one that looked like a raven eating a corpse and another of a red fist. The game identified them as the Kal¡¯Torak clan and the Ja¡¯Noric clan badges. ¡°You alright, Dean?¡± Ryan asked as they left the battlefield, quiet enough that the others couldn¡¯t hear him, though they were talking loud enough about the battle that they probably wouldn¡¯t hear an elephant charge them. ¡°I¡¯m just not used to actually fighting yet.¡± He explained, ¡°It feels so real.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Ryan agreed, ¡°I get the jitters every time.¡± Dean shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± He thought better of it and said, ¡°A little, but that¡¯s not what bothers me. I¡¯m actually enjoying it. A lot. It just makes me feel alive like I¡¯ve never felt before.¡± He shivered slightly, ¡°Does that make sense at all?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the adrenaline. I wouldn¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s part of the game and you¡¯re just playing the hero.¡± Ryan said, ¡°Besides, look at the bright side, at least you aren¡¯t those two numbskulls. At this rate, they¡¯ll get the attention every Orc within a mile find them and we laugh at them as they get ambushed. Then save them if we feel like it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Dean grinned as he shrugged off his worry, ¡°I feel better already.¡± They left the ravine, passed where Will spotted the Orc patrol, and crested a small rise before discovering a camp where the rest of the Orcs had come from. ¡°I didn¡¯t think to look past them.¡± Will said sheepishly as he stared down at it, ¡°Didn¡¯t realize there was an entire camp behind them.¡± ¡°Dude, it was awesome.¡± Ben said, ¡°It was epic.¡± They quickly searched the camp, only finding a few coin pouches, a few pieces of rotted meat, and a pile of discarded junk. They encountered two more Orc patrols before noon but were able to finish them off without trouble. They gained a Ja¡¯Domani badge and the Kal¡¯Balric badge. Dean¡¯s Archery and Melee fighting both leveled up, along with his subskill One-Handed Sword Fighting. They had to stop hunting after a dying rabbit drew the attention of a third group of Orcs that were able to ambush them. The five Orcs scored critical hits with their bows before Ben spotted them and launched a fireball in their direction. The lead Orc was able to dive out of the way, but the ball landed between the others, spraying them in liquid fire. The lead Orc was still trying to recover its feet when Will¡¯s arrow knocked it back to the ground and the newly summoned Fido barreled into them. Dean grabbed the arrow in his arm and yanked it out before drawing his sword to charge. He felt the warm tingle of Ryan¡¯ healing spell flood over him just before he engaged one of the orcs. Fido killed the lead orc with a few swings of his sword, or was Fido a she skeleton warrior, while a pair of vines ensnared a third. Within seconds, both were dead. The remaining two Orcs led them on a chase through the woods, running a couple dozen steps before turning to fire an arrow forcing the group to duck before trying to fire back. It took fifteen minutes and a bad turn by the Orcs to corner them against a rock face where they holed up behind some boulders. Will quietly worked his way to flank them as the other three kept them pinned down with arrows. He reached a vantage point just above and behind them. He struck a critical strike, and the two Orcs immediately swung around to fight the new threat. However, their movement to get out of his line of fire put them directly into the other three¡¯s sights and it was over in seconds. All four of them were left with less than fifty percent health. While Ryan began the process of healing everyone, they collected the loot of those two before working their way back to the others and discovered they belonged to a third Orc Clan, the Dar¡¯Balic. Meanwhile, Dean realized he¡¯d leveled up in the process and pulled up his status page. Congratulations, you¡¯ve reached Level 4 You have 5 experience points to allocate to your stats. He upgraded his Strength and Endurance to fifteen, and Agility to fourteen before closing the window. It was midmorning before they caught a wasp of a light scent of woodsmoke on the wind, but after another twenty minutes a slight haze of smoke hung in the air. The group turned upwind, towards the Northeast, where the smoke thickened. They broke out of the forest ten minutes later into mayhem. The small village was nestled against a bluff that had been carved out by a river. The houses looked similar to the ones in Torial, except these were made of wood planks and thatched roofs. Several of the houses were on fire, billowing large plumes of smoke onto the wind. They could hear the sound of shouting, screams of agony, and metal clashing on metal. 9. The Shadow Wraith The group looked at each other, readied their bows, and started working their way towards the village outskirts. They crouched when they were about a hundred paces from it and surveyed the entrance. The area outside was littered with dead bodies, all of them riddled with arrows. Dean slowly worked his way towards the nearest and rolled it over. An Orc. The group looted the bodies as they went, taking turns on lookout as they moved forward. Several wagons and barrels had been stacked up between the first set of buildings, creating a makeshift wall, with several dead orcs creating a small mound in front of it. On the other side, more dead bodies littered the area, this time a combination of Orc and human. Dean was about to loot the body of a villager when Ryan rested a hand on his shoulder. Ryan just shook his head. Dean nodded in understanding and moved on to an Orc. It only took a few minutes to loot all of them, but Dean wished they hadn¡¯t wasted the time once they turned the corner. The villagers had created a last-minute makeshift barricade in the center of the village made of carts, boxes and barrels stacked on top of each other. The villagers themselves were on top of the barricade using anything they had on hand, pitchforks and shovels, to defend themselves from the Orc attack. Dean started scanning the backs of the nearest ones, mostly level one and two, but there were so many that it wouldn¡¯t matter, the villagers were incredibly. Outnumbered. ¡°Now this is what I¡¯m talking about.¡± Ben said, ¡°I¡¯ll take support.¡± Will drew his bow. ¡°You two want point?¡± Dean licked his lips as he stepped forward next to Ryan. ¡°Opening volley on three.¡± Will said. Dean notched his arrow and sighted. They released the arrows as a group, then Ben immediately raised his hand to launch a series of fireball spells until his stamina ran out. The surprise attack earned an automatic critical hit, killing two of the level one orcs, and dropping the other two in the red. Ben¡¯s fireball struck a second later a few feet down the line, splashing liquid fire across the group. Dean fired another round without bothering to target a specific orc, just aiming in their general direction. The explosions got the Orcs¡¯ attention. A large group near the back of the mob broke off from the main attack and turned to charge them. He continued firing arrows at them as they charged, hearing the twang of shots from his friends. He drew his sword as the nearest Orc came within a dozen steps of him and cast Warrior¡¯s Aura on himself. He rushed forward and ducked under the first Orc¡¯s sword as he used the Orc¡¯s momentum to flip it over his body. He deflected the attack of the next one as he heard the first one grunt in pain behind him. Dean swung a counterattack across the second orc¡¯s hamstring, forcing the orc to its knees. Another Orc smashed into him from the side, knocking him back and landing a glancing blow across his spaulder. Dean fell back into a defensive position as the rest of the Orcs joined the first. They spread out against him in a circle, forcing him to twist back and forth to keep them at bay. The one on his far-right feinted forward before pulling back as one of those on his left pounced. He fell for the feint, and couldn¡¯t get his sword around in time to stop the real attack. The orc¡¯s blow tore a large rent across his chest. Dean jumped backwards straight into a second attack. He cursed as it tore through his armor. His health dropped to less than a quarter. He tried to grab a healing potion from his belt but couldn¡¯t get away from the attackers long enough to look down. Desperation driving his actions, he went on the attack to push them off balance, hoping to gain himself a few precious seconds to grab the potion in the process. He took a few quick steps in one direction before immediately changing directions. It worked, though at a cost. Dean deflected the first orc¡¯s attack and caught the second on his crossguard, but couldn¡¯t stop the third from connecting across his thigh. His health dropped to the red as he twisted his sword with a hard jerk. It drove the Orc holding the sword to its knees. He twisted around it and gave the orc a hard shove. He was able to push his way out of the circle and take several steps away. He glanced down long enough to grab one of the healing potions at his belt as arrow struck the nearest Orc. Dean downed the potion in two large gulps. He glanced up in time to see another arrow strike an orc in the eye. The other two orcs fell back into a defensive posture and spotted Will a couple dozen paces away. One of the orcs rushed him as the second charged Dean. The orc was a lot weaker than Dean and didn¡¯t stand a chance. It died with a guttural scream. Without any enemies around him, Dean pulled four healing potions from his inventory and downed two, bringing his health back up to a decent level. He stashed the others on his belt and adjusting their position until he knew where to reach without looking. He took a quick glance around. Ben was fighting two orcs, Ryan finishing off a third, and Will had killed the one that attacked him. He walked over to an Orc attacking Ben and stabbed it in the back. The surprise attack killed it, and he engaged the other one, allowing Ben to step back for a second and heal.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°We need to give the villagers relief. See if you can draw some more with a fireball or two.¡± He instructed as he switched spots with Ben. ¡°Got it.¡± Ben grinned wickedly. He downed a potion before casting as many fireballs as he could at the Orcs attacking the barricade until his mana depleted. Dean charged into the back of one Orc, knocking it into several others that lost their balance. Two nearest the barricade were slammed into it and completely defenseless to the onslaught as five villagers stabbed them with pitchforks. A moment later, Ryan and Ben charged in on either side of him and started hacking at the orcs¡¯ backs. Within seconds, five more orcs were dead and six others in the red. They pushed the orcs to either side and finally made it to the base of the barricade. The villagers cheered in relief as a couple jumped down beside them. Together, they pushed an ever-widening breach in the enemy line. Dean stepped back from the fight in order to recharge his stamina as they rounded the other side of the barricade. There were twice as many orcs on the other side filling the rest of the square. The only reason the village hadn¡¯t been overrun was that all them were pressing forward as hard as they could, knocking the orcs at the front into the barricade wall, but only a few dozen orcs could attack. ¡°Help me up.¡± Ben said beside him. He grinned at Dean¡¯s confused look. ¡°I¡¯ll toss a few fireballs into the middle of them. It¡¯ll wreak havoc.¡± Dean laughed as knelt down and made a foothold with his hands. Ben placed a foot in it and put a hand on Dean¡¯s shoulder. Dean stood up as Ben pushed off. Ben grabbed the edge of the wall and started hoisting himself onto it. A few villagers on the top grabbed his arms and lifted him the rest of the way up. Ben ran along the edge of the wall as Dean¡¯s stamina finished recharging. Dean grabbed the arm of a nearby villager. ¡°Tell the others to grab a sword from the dead and follow me.¡± The villagers not on the front line raced to grab a sword. Dean led them down a nearby alley and around the orc¡¯s main line. He encountered a couple orcs in the next road, but they were weak and severely wounded. After killing them, Dean pointed at the nearby side streets leading to the square. ¡°On the signal.¡± He said to them. ¡°What signal?¡± One of the villagers asked. ¡°You¡¯ll know it when it happens.¡± Dean said, ¡°And stay in the side street.¡± ¡°Why?¡± the same villager asked. ¡°They¡¯ll overwhelm us in the open.¡± Dean explained. ¡°We just need to make them think they¡¯re surrounded.¡± They nodded and tightened their grips on their swords. A few seconds later, a series of explosions erupted in the midst of the orc army as Ben attacked with his fireballs. At the first explosion, Dean charged. A couple orcs turned around, but not in time to stop the attacks that rained down on them. Led by Dean, they pushed the orcs back to the street¡¯s entrance. The flank attack combined with the fireballs broke the enemy¡¯s resolve. Orcs turned to run away, attacking their own in the retreat. ¡°They¡¯re falling back!¡± someone called out. ¡°We did it!¡± The villagers started cheering. Dean decided this was their best chance to completely break the enemy and not just push them back to outside the village. ¡°Press the attack. Kill them all.¡± He roared. He then followed his own advice and charged. None of the orcs tried to fight him, instead trying to dodge out of his swings in their haste to escape. Dean lost track of the number of orcs he killed in the process. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Ben yelled from atop the barricade. Dean shoved the orc he was fighting before stepping back and letting a villager step in. ¡°Look out, Will.¡± Ben yelled. ¡°It¡¯s heading straight for you.¡± Dean ran over to the barricade and was helped up by a couple villagers. Once atop, Ben pointed at it. Dean scanned the creature. Shadow Wraith Level: 40 ¡°We can¡¯t beat that.¡± He breathed. The shadow wraith was taller than a normal human, at least eight feet tall and rail thin. It wore black metal armor that covered its entire body and carried a thin black blade that it used with deadly accuracy as it tore through the front line of villagers with one kill hits. It broke through the front line of villagers in a matter of seconds and reached Will. He hesitated before realizing that he couldn¡¯t escape the creature and decided to attack. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he charged. The creature deflected the blow with ease, casually flicking the sword aside and counterattacking. The blade stabbed Will in the stomach, embedding itself halfway to the hilt. Will stared at it for a brief second, a surprised look on his face, before collapsing to the ground. A glowing icon appeared above his body, with a timer counting down before his body vanished and he¡¯d be respawned back in Torial. The Wraith stared at the body for a moment, before turning its attention to the barricade. Ben growled beside him, and with a shout of rage and anger, threw a fireball at the creature. It vanished. Dean quickly glanced around, trying to find the creature, and yelped when he realized it had closed the distance by half, leaving the fireball to explode into the orcs behind it. A moment later, it vanished again and reappeared a dozen paces from the barricade. ¡°We have to run.¡± Dean tried to say, but it caught on the lump forming in his throat. Instead, Ben threw a second fireball at the creature, still yelling at the top of his lungs. The creature jumped at them, clearing the top of the barricade with ease. Dean scrambled away, falling off the barricade in the process. Ben wasn¡¯t so lucky. He was trying to cast a third fireball, but the Wraith reappeared niext him, sword buried in Ben¡¯s chest. His health points dropped to zero and he collapsed, a countdown timer appearing above him. Something grabbed Dean by the shoulders, and he struggled against it. ¡°Get up!¡± Ryan screamed in his ear as he hauled Dean to his feet. Dean stared wide-eyed at Ryan, the words not registering as he shivered uncontrollably, ¡°Move!¡± Ryan pushed him. The creature appeared beside them and drove its sword through Ryan¡¯s stomach. He died before he touched the ground. Dean ran. Dean made it four steps before something tugged at his back and the world went black. Words appeared in front of him, along with a countdown timer. You died. Respawn in 10 seconds 10. Unexpected Complications After the countdown timer ran out, Dean¡¯s vision flashed white, blinding him, before resolving into the Torial spawn point. A second after that, his other senses returned, flooding him with the sounds and smells of the marketplace. ¡°Son of a bitch,¡± Ben said angrily as he walked over to Dean. ¡°It got you, too?¡± Dean replied dryly, ¡°No, I got away, but tripped on a rock and died. Of course, it killed me.¡± ¡°Where did it come from? That¡¯s what I want to know.¡± Will asked from behind him. ¡°There¡¯s no way that was part of the quest.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ryan asked as he joined them. ¡°We followed the quest, found the orcs, and it showed up. Why else would it be there?¡± Ben replied, ¡°No, he¡¯s right, not unless the developers have a twisted sense of humor.¡± ¡°So, like yours?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Mine¡¯s not that messed up,¡± Ben complained. ¡°Really?¡± Ryan said flatly as he stared at Ben. ¡°What? It¡¯s not.¡± Ben said defensively. He tried to return the stare but kept glancing away. ¡°Fine. You¡¯re right. But you have to admit mine is funnier than theirs.¡± ¡°I need a beer after that,¡± Will announced, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the inn while we talk.¡± He started walking to the inn without looking back. Apparently, Dean thought, he really needed a beer as they hurried to catch up. Ryan asked, ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t drink this much. It¡¯s bad for your liver.¡± Will shrugged, ¡°Technically, I¡¯m drinking anything, so my livers fine.¡± ¡°You know what I mean.¡± Ryan said. ¡°Uh huh, you worry about those fighters, I¡¯ll worry about the towers.¡± Will glanced back at Dean. ¡°Why¡¯s he allowed to reference Star Wars and I¡¯m not?¡± Dean complained. ¡°Because that¡¯s not the only thing he references.¡± Ben said. They entered the now familiar Inn and found a table. It was still early in the evening, so only a few players had made it back from questing. One of the barmaids took their order and returned with their drinks. Will took a long pull on his mug before saying, ¡°It was one of the first quests we received, so it should¡¯ve been a simple one, like the wolves.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t that easy.¡± Dean said. ¡°For a level one player.¡± Will retorted, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have a problem with it now. Another five levels, and we probably wouldn¡¯t even get hurt. And that¡¯s the point I¡¯m trying to make. Quests don¡¯t go from level one orcs to level forty wraiths like that.¡± Will snapped his fingers. ¡°It¡¯s a guaranteed death. Players would get pissed and quit playing if that¡¯s all they encountered.¡± ¡°Except, we can¡¯t quit.¡± Dean pointed out. ¡°True,¡± Will conceded, ¡°But that¡¯s just a glitch.¡± ¡°Speaking of developers,¡± Ryan said. He waved at the approaching figure, ¡°Hey, Shiro. Grab a seat.¡± Dean turned to see a short Asian man approaching. The man looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn¡¯t figure out from where, just that he imagined the man standing with his arms up in triumph. Except, Shiro looked like he¡¯d been beaten down, and tossed aside. Shiro bowed as he said, ¡°Excuse the interruption. I did not mean to overhear, but did you say a wraith?¡± Shiro grabbed a seat from a nearby table. ¡°Yeah, we did,¡± Ben said, ¡°We encountered one north of here.¡± ¡°Were there any orcs?¡± Shiro asked. ¡°A whole army.¡± Will said, ¡°They were attacking a village.¡± ¡°You are certain it was a wraith?¡± Shiro asked, ¡°A shadow wraith? Very high level?¡± He slumped in his chair when the group nodded, ¡°This is not good. It is very bad.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Why?¡± Dean asked. Shiro looked at him, ¡°We have not met?¡± Dean shook his head. They introduced themselves before Shiro continued, ¡°We did not program any wraiths to be in the world right now. It was to be a DLC release.¡± ¡°So, a future event?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Yes. The wraiths are to take over the starting spawn points. But only after players have created new cities and new spawn points.¡± Shiro explained. ¡°You mean there¡¯s more than one spawn point?¡± Dean asked. Shiro nodded enthusiastically, ¡°There are thousands of spawn points, all over the world. We divided every player by how they interact with the world.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why nobody¡¯s killed the villagers.¡± Ben laughed, ¡°Or doing a bunch of PvP fighting.¡± ¡°Yes, this is one of the spawn points for players that will follow the story.¡± Shiro explained. ¡°Then you¡¯ve got me in the wrong area.¡± Ben said at the same time that Will asked, ¡°How do you know even know a players gaming style?¡± ¡°We used their previous game data.¡± Shiro said. ¡°Is that even legal?¡± Will responded. ¡°It was in the contract,¡± Shiro smirked, ¡°Did you not read it?¡± ¡°Nobody reads those,¡± Ben complained, ¡°They could say we have to sacrifice our first-born son or sign our soul to the devil, no offense Ryan, and nobody would know until it hit a forum somewhere.¡± Shiro shrugged, ¡°It is not my fault you did not read the contract and is perfectly legal.¡± ¡°Anyway,¡± Dean interjected, ¡°You were saying something about a future event?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Shiro said, ¡°Wraiths would be introduced with the DLC and take over the spawn points. It was to be a game event. If you saw a wraith, it means the game has started the event.¡± ¡°So? What¡¯s the big deal?¡± Dean asked. ¡°It means,¡± Ryan said slowly, ¡°Our spawn point is about to be overrun by Orcs. That¡¯s what you¡¯re saying?¡± Shiro nodded vigorously, ¡°It is. And it is a game event, it cannot be stopped.¡± ¡°What do we do?¡± Ryan asked. ¡°We must make a new city.¡± Shiro said. ¡°Won¡¯t they just attack it, too?¡± Ben said. ¡°Yes.¡± Shiro said, ¡°We will have to defend it and we do not have much time to do so.¡± ¡°How long?¡± Dean asked. Shiro thought for a few seconds before answering, ¡°I do not know. Maybe a month?¡± ¡°A month?¡± Dean said, ¡°Then it doesn¡¯t matter. There¡¯s no way it¡¯ll take that long to fix the logout issue.¡± Shiro didn¡¯t respond immediately, nor did he meet the other¡¯s eyes. When he did finally speak, it was slowly, and his words made them flinch, ¡°There have been complications with the update. It is not going as fast as it should and there is something happening to the code. I do not know when the update will happen.¡± He paused, ¡°I do not think it will take a month, but I do not think it is wise to wait. I would not want to spawn into a Orc camp with no escape.¡± Ben whistled, ¡°That would royally suck. And that¡¯s good enough for me. How do we start a new city?¡± ¡°We must find a city crystal. There is one in a dungeon not far from here, but it is most well-guarded and very difficult to reach. We will need many players to help.¡± ¡°Where are we going to get other players to join us?¡± Dean asked. ¡°I will take care of that.¡± Shiro said, ¡°But you will need to name your party. I will go and get others. We will leave in the morning.¡± ¡°Do you know what kind of monsters are in the dungeon?¡± Ben asked. ¡°Draughr and spiders.¡± Shiro said as he stood up to leave. ¡°So, what¡¯re we going to call ourselves?¡± Will asked. ¡°Thundercats.¡± Ryan said at the same time Dean announced, ¡°Rogue Squadron.¡± Will pointed at Dean. ¡°I veto that one.¡± ¡°And no on thundercats,¡± Ben said, ¡°We¡¯ll be nicknamed the thunder pussies and I¡¯m not okay with that.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s hear your suggestions.¡± Dean retored. Ben answered, ¡°Bad Company. Or maybe The Death Squad.¡± ¡°The Huckleberries.¡± Will said. ¡°I¡¯ll be your huckleberry.¡± Dean responded. ¡°Hey, you quoted a different movie.¡± Ben said. ¡°He was responding to my reference, so it doesn¡¯t count.¡± Will pointed out. ¡°From Dean? We have to take what we can get.¡± Ben said. ¡°Shut up, you two.¡± Dean fumed. ¡°No and no.¡± Ryan said to Will and Ben. ¡°I¡¯m not cool with a name that sounds evil.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Ben asked incredulously, ¡°That¡¯s the whole point of having a team name, to sound badass.¡± ¡°That, or to be funny.¡± Will said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Ben said, ¡°Nobody thinks it means anything.¡± Will started laughing. ¡°What?¡± Ben demanded. ¡°Nobody.¡± Was all Will could manage between laughs. It clicked. Dean started chuckling, ¡°Nobody attack.¡± Will nodded as tears started streaming down his face. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. What¡¯s so funny?¡± Ben demanded. ¡°Our team name.¡± Dean explained. Ben glanced between the two, confused, until it clicked and he barked a laugh. ¡°You know we¡¯re going to have to change it once Shiro figures out the joke.¡± Ryan pointed out. ¡°I know,¡± Will admitted, ¡°But it¡¯ll be hilarious when he does.¡± ¡°Or, we¡¯ll all die as a result.¡± Ryan said. ¡°I¡¯m good with that.¡± Will said. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Ryan said, ¡°And I vote no.¡± ¡°Three to one.¡± Ben said, ¡°Nobody it is.¡± Will raised his glass in a toast, ¡°To Nobody.¡± ¡°All three of you ain¡¯t right.¡± Ryan sighed before reluctantly clinking glasses with them, ¡°But what the heck. It¡¯s just a game. And don¡¯t get too drunk tonight. You heard what Shiro said, we¡¯re leaving first thing tomorrow.¡± ¡°Just watch me.¡± Will grinned before downing his glass. He ordered another round for the table. ¡°Now, let¡¯s change the name and celebrate.¡± Dean pulled up his status page to update the team name, where he realized he¡¯d leveled up twice while fighting the orcs. He debated bringing all of his physical stats, along with luck, to fifteen, but decided to stick at thirteen for the time being. It was his lucky number after all. Instead, he brought Perception, Intelligence and Wisdom to thirteen, and Fortitude to eleven. He pulled up the prompt for the team name and changed it to Nobody. He selected enter. The others received the prompt to vote on changing the team name. Ryan voted no, despite agreeing to it, but the others voted yes, and the name was changed. 11. A Call to Action Ben Striker Health: 125/125 Stamina: 100/100 Mana: 100/150 Status: Level: 5 Experience: 1,985/2,000 Rank: None Title: None Class: None Role: None Party: Nobody Alliances: None Allegiances: None
Stats
Strength 10 Perception 10 Charisma 10
Endurance 10 Intelligence 20 Poise 10
Agility 10 Wisdom 20 Constitution 10
Dexterity 15 Fortitude 10 Luck 10
Skills: Herbalist ¨C Level 4 Herb Lore ¨C Level 4 Hunting ¨C Level 5 Butchering ¨C Level 6 Animal Skinning ¨C Level 5 Looting ¨C Level 6 Ranged Weapons ¨C Level 4 Archery ¨C Level 6 Scan ¨C Level 4 Stealth ¨C Level 2 Abilities: Casting ¨C Level 2 Summoning ¨C Level 1 Spells: Drain ¨C Level 1 Fireball ¨C Level 3 Ice Shard ¨C Level 1 Summon Undead Warrior ¨C Level 2 Enchantments: None Attributes: None Ben¡¯s mouth tasted like ass, not that he knew what ass actually tasted like, but he imagined it couldn¡¯t be much worse than his mouth right then. He crawled out of bed, causing his head to throb from the hangover, and washed out his mouth until the taste was gone. He really missed toothpaste, might even have to create it in this world if the game allowed for inventing new things. Most games he played did, at least to a limited degree, especially since full dive games had come out. He made his way downstairs, hit the restroom, and ordered breakfast. At least that was good, what with two eggs, a couple slices of bacon, some oatmeal he barely touched, and a couple thick slices of buttered toast. A notification popped up halfway through, telling him that the Bandit quest had been finished, so he guessed either Dean or Ryan was already up and exploring the city. Either way, he earned enough experience points from it that he leveled up. He pulled up his status page and really wanted to throw them into Dexterity. The skill had helped with casting spells faster, but that hadn¡¯t really been an issue so far. He was hoping it would eventually let him dual cast, but that wouldn¡¯t be for quite a while, if it did at all. He missed his last character in a different game. He¡¯d been a level one hundred and twenty Warlock, that¡¯s what the game had called wizards, and a complete badass. There¡¯s just something satisfying about being able to throw enemies around like ragdolls, while one hit killing mobs, all with a couple hand gestures. Oh well, he¡¯d get there eventually. Instead, he looked between Strength, for the health bonus and Fortitude for the extra mana pool. Both provided a boost of five points per increase for their respective stats, and he¡¯d need it, if Shiro was right about the dungeon they were about to hit. Finally, he decided to go with Fortitude, since wasn¡¯t a front-line fighter. It meant he couldn¡¯t take a lot of hits in battle, but wasn¡¯t that the point of being a magic user? He didn¡¯t want anyone to get close enough to hit him. He wanted to blast them to a billion pieces before they got anywhere near him. Ryan and Dean returned shortly after that. Ryan asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Will?¡± ¡°Still asleep, probably.¡± Ben replied, ¡°You may need to kick him awake.¡± ¡°How much did you two drink?¡± Dean asked. Ben thought about it for a second, trying to remember everything from last night. It was a bit of a jumble, to be honest. ¡°I can¡¯t remember. Anyway, you two wake him up. I¡¯m going to head over to the shop and pick up a couple more spells.¡± ¡°Why do we have to wake him up? You two were the ones that kept drinking last night.¡± Ryan complained. ¡°Because it¡¯ll save time,¡± Ben said, ¡°If I stick around to wake him up, and then go buy more spells, it¡¯ll take longer. If you two wake him up while I go buy spells, we¡¯ll be done faster and can meet up with Shiro.¡± ¡°That¡¯s crap and you know it.¡± Dean said. ¡°I don¡¯t make the rules, I just break them.¡± Ben grinned. It¡¯s not that he wouldn¡¯t wake Will up, he just didn¡¯t have a water spell to make it fun. He headed towards the door as he waved back at their sour faces, holding back his laughter until he was outside. He headed towards the shop, ignored the NPC shopkeeper and started browsing. Thanks to the battle with the Orcs and looting a lot of their dead bodies before fighting, he had enough money for four more spells. He really wanted to pick up more attack spells, so that he could round out what kind of creatures he¡¯d be effective against. But Shiro had said they¡¯d be hitting a draughr dungeon, which were a kind of zombie that would be weak to fire, unless the developers had decided to go against the grain. He doubted it. Instead, he decided to focus on his defensive spells. He picked up Mana Shield, a defensive spell that allowed him to create a shield out of his mana. Then Mana Ward, a timed spell that reduced physical damage taken by ten percent for five minutes. And finally, Shockwave, a spell that would knock enemies away from him, and allies if he ever wanted to fuck with his friends. All of the spells sucked at this point, but that was expected. Once he had a chance to level them up a bit, say to level ten, their mana cost would drop, effectiveness increased, and the length they were active would last longer. He was still using the elemental staff Dean had found but decided to sell it in and replace some of his gear for something better.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Description: Magic Staff Quality: Well-Made Rarity: Rare Weapon Type: Magic Staff Range: Melee, Ranged Damage: 18-20 Critical Hit: 1% Durability: 10/10 Weight: 2 lb Attributes: -10% Mana Cost for Spells Sorcerer¡¯s Robes Quality: Well-Made Rarity: Uncommon Damage Resist: 13-15 Durability: 15/15 Weight: 5 lbs Attributes: +5% Maximum Mana +5% Magic Resist He equipped them and headed out of the shop, where his friends waved him down. ¡°Shiro stopped by to tell us we¡¯re all meeting in the square.¡± Ryan explained as Ben caught up. ¡°Did he say how many others were joining?¡± Ben asked. Ryan shook his head. They found Shiro standing on one of the small stone benches in the center of the square, surrounded by a bunch of players. Ben listened at first, but realized it was mostly a recap of what he already knew, so instead he started studying the other players, assigning each group a nickname. ¡°I am named Shiro, and I am a developer of this game. I know that you have questions about the logout issue, but I do not have answers. Instead, we are here about a different threat, the Orc invasion led by a Shadow Wraith.¡± First group Ben nicknamed were the frat asses, a bunch of college aged guys with identical haircuts and mostly wearing the clothes they had spawned in. It was really easy to figure out who the leader was, just look for the dumbest guy in the group without anything brown on his nose and he was the leader, who in this case was a tall blonde jock with a sharp nose and smug grin on his face. None of the others actually had shit on their noses, but seriously, they kept glancing at the leader to gauge his opinion before showing any kind of response themselves. ¡°We cannot stop them from taking over the city. It is a game event designed to force players to leave the starting point. It was not supposed to happen so soon. But it is happening, and we must act.¡± Then there were the Bullet catchers. There was no way that group wasn¡¯t a bunch of vets, not with a dozen people standing at parade rest in formation. Seven of them had buzzcuts, three others still cut short, and two women with long hair pulled back in a ponytail. They were all dressed in various types of metal armor, going for anything between a barbarian look to a full knight in armor. The leader standing in front had a buzzcut so short it was impossible to tell what his hair color was, a hooked nose, and eyes that scanned the square without resting in one place for more than a second. ¡°There is a dungeon east of here with a city crystal. It is a high-level dungeon, but we must make it to the boss room and collect the crystal. It is our only hope. Without it, we cannot build a new city and a new spawn point.¡± Then there were the bimbos, a bunch of chicks that were paying more attention to the guys in the audience than Shiro¡¯s speech. Like most games, the developers had included sexy female outfits that was designed to accentuate a female player¡¯s anatomy. It usually cost more than regular armor, despite having the exact same attributes, because it was purely fashion based. All of the bimbos wore some version of it, while twirling their hair or batting their eyes at one of the frat asses or the jock straps. ¡°We must work together to win. If we do not, we will not make it to the boss room. We will not get the crystal. We need to work as a team.¡± Maybe the name wasn¡¯t that original, but seriously, why come up with something creative when there was already a perfectly good name available? As for them, they were all cheering a little too loudly at Shiro¡¯s speech, kept jostling each other in their anxiousness to get going, and generally looked ready to beat the crap out of anything they encountered. They didn¡¯t seem to have a leader, just gravitated to each other because of their common interest. ¡°Now, I will assign each group to work beside another group. You must help each other and try to keep your team from dying. Some will, the dungeon is too hard for us, but it is the only way to make sure we make it to the bottom.¡± Finally, there were the nerds. Despite looking like the jock straps and frat asses thanks to the game, all of them stood self-consciously while staring at the bimbos, mouths hanging open. Ben wouldn¡¯t be surprised if a couple were drooling. They¡¯d gone full out costume for their roles, a barbarian wearing a loin cloth and not much else, a wizard completely covered in mage¡¯s robes, and an elf-boy wannabe wearing a green tunic, long cape and turned down boots. Ben didn¡¯t have much room to talk, since he was now wearing mage¡¯s robes, but that was for the stat benefits and he would never be caught dead in the pointed hat the mage wore. ¡°SuperFreaks, you will work with the Demonslayers.¡± The jocks straps and the frat asses exchanged looks. ¡°Badass Babes will work with the Fellowship.¡± The bimbo¡¯s started complaining, as the nerds realized they were gaping and shut their mouths. ¡°Rangers, you will work with nobody.¡± Will and Dean started laughing, which pulled Ben out of his thoughts long enough to realize the joke had worked. Shiro stopped. ¡°And Nobody will change their name before the fight.¡± Several other groups figured out the joke and started laughing. ¡°Everyone else will work with me as the Rogues. Understood?¡± There were a dozen other players not associated with the groups, which Ben guessed meant they were solo players, though one of the women looked like she might know the vets, and another was pointedly ignoring the nerds. The vet leader walked up to them and held out his hand, ¡°Hello, my men call me Sarge and sometimes call me God if asking for mercy. Looks like we¡¯ll be working together.¡± Ben wasn¡¯t sure what he thought of Sarge at first glance, except that he liked Sarge¡¯s sense of humor. Ryan looked like he was about to say something, but Dean stopped him ¡°Relax, Ryan. It¡¯s just a military thing.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with him?¡± Sarge asked. ¡°He¡¯s a pastor, so the God reference has thrown him off.¡± Will explained. ¡°Ah,¡± Sarge smiled as he held out his hand to Ryan, ¡°Preacher.¡± ¡°Pastor, not preacher.¡± Ryan corrected. ¡°Preacher works better as a call sign,¡± Sarge explained, ¡°So we''re calling you preacher.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t go by your real names?¡± Dean asked. ¡°God no, why would we?¡± Sarge looked aghast at the idea. Ryan frowned, but didn''t say anything. ¡°Well, the game didn¡¯t let us pick different screen names.¡± Dean explained. ¡°So?¡± Sarge said, ¡°why would that matter.¡± ¡°I guess it really doesn¡¯t. I just didn¡¯t think about it that way.¡± ¡°Well, then we¡¯ll need to give each of you a call sign.¡± He said, before gesturing at the woman standing beside him, the woman Ben had wondered whether she was associated with the vets or was a solo player standing beside them. ¡°This is my wife, you won¡¯t call her anything.¡± Sarge said as he stared daggers at them, ¡°Not if you want to live.¡± He grinned suddenly, ¡°I¡¯m just kidding, her name¡¯s Marie, but everyone in the party calls her Angel.¡± He switched back to daggers, ¡°I¡¯m not kidding, I can have you disappear with a phone call.¡± ¡°You realize there aren¡¯t any phones in this game?¡± Dean asked. Sarge glared at him, ¡°I don¡¯t need a phone to make it happen.¡± Marie, stepped past him, kicking him in the shin in the process, probably on accident, but she smiled way too sweetly at him, so maybe not. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him. He¡¯s being an idiot. I wanted to be called something cool like Black Widow or Lady Death but got stuck with Angel. I¡¯ve tried forcing them to call me something else, but so far nothing¡¯s stuck.¡± The vets introduced themselves, followed by Ben and his friends before forming a group. Ben saw the list of names and health bars appear on the side of his vision beneath his other friends, but was distracted when one of the vets, a guy that Ben thought had called himself Voodoo said, ¡°Hey, your last name is Striker?¡± ¡°Yeah, why?¡± Ben asked. ¡°Seriously?¡± Voodoo shook his head in surprise, ¡°I¡¯m calling you Striker instead.¡± Striker, formerly known as Ben, renamed the frat asses¡¯ leader after the bear attack later that morning. Now, Ben just thought of him as plain dumbfuck. The group had come across the bear, who looked like he was probably going to ignore them, but dumbfuck decided to charge it and in the process knock over two of his buddies. The bear had effortlessly knocked dumbfuck out of the way, before immediately clawing the two downed players to death. Unfortunately, dumbfuck had gotten the killing blow, so his buddies and the bimbos thought he was a hero. Looking around at everyone else, Striker knew the rest had reached the same decision as himself, dumbfuck was, well a dumbfuck. On the other hand, he ended up befriending Voodoo. They spent most of the morning walking together and chatting. ¡°So, you are all vets?¡± Striker asked. Voodoo nodded in reply. ¡°And you were all actually rangers?¡± ¡°Not all of us.¡± Voodoo explained, ¡°Sarge was a drill sergeant, Doc was obviously a medic, and a few of us were just infantry. But the rest were all special forces of some kind, we just picked rangers because most of us are ex-army.¡± ¡°I get Doc and Sarge, but what about the other nicknames? Like Sleepy and Blue Dog?¡± Striker asked. ¡°Oh, Sleepy¡¯s named after the Seven dwarfs because he slept through an entire mortar barrage and had to be woken up before the enemy charged us.¡± Voodoo explained, ¡°As for Blue Dog, I¡¯ll let him tell you.¡± Voodoo called to Blue Dog, who broke off from his conversation with Doc and joined them. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Blue Dog asked. ¡°He¡¯s asking about your name.¡± Voodoo explained. Blue Dog groaned, ¡°What did you tell him?¡± ¡°Nothing, I swear.¡± Voodoo said. ¡°Then why does he want to know?¡± Blue Dog growled. Voodoo gestured at Striker for the explanation. ¡°It just seems like an odd name when the others all kind of make sense.¡± Striker said. ¡°Voodoo makes sense to you?¡± Blue Dog asked. Striker shrugged, ¡°He¡¯s some kind of witch doctor.¡± Voodoo laughed, ¡°Sort of. I kept getting in trouble at bootcamp, but I talked my way out of most of it. A few people started claiming I was using some kind of voodoo to get out of trouble.¡± ¡°See, makes sense.¡± Striker said, ¡°So what about you?¡± Blue Dog sighed, ¡°I tried to pull a prank on Sarge when we were deployed. I added some blue dye to his body wash, trying to turn him blue. Instead, he washed the camp mutt with it one day and figured out it was me.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± Striker said, ¡°Why would you get the nickname?¡± ¡°Because he told me I had to either use the stuff on myself or get shipped to Greenland. Do you know what Greenland is like?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it backwards from Iceland? Where they¡¯re named for the others climate or something.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Blue Dog said, ¡°So I showered with the stuff and was blue, head to toe, for an entire month. Sarge made me walk the dog every day while I was blue, so everyone started calling me Blue Dog.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t find out from the dog,¡± Sarge said from behind them. ¡°Really?¡± Blue Dog asked. Sarge shook his head, ¡°I was just lucky and didn¡¯t start where you could see it but realized what had happened pretty damn quick. So, I toweled off and grabbed the mutt.¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t start on your face¡­¡± Blue Dog thought about it for a second, ¡°Are you saying,¡± He stifled a laugh, ¡°they were blue for an entire month?¡± ¡°I never said that.¡± Sarge said. ¡°And you never said anything? Can you imagine the nickname you¡¯d have?¡± Blue Dog asked. ¡°Yes, I can.¡± Sarge said, ¡°That¡¯s why I never said anything about it. And if you repeat this, I will make sure you get shipped to Greenland when we get out of here.¡± Blue Dog laughed hysterically, ¡°God, I wish you had said something? I¡¯ve hated that damn name for years, but it was totally worth it if it actually worked.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Sarge replied, ¡°Now, I need to talk to Shiro about battle plans. If you breathe a word of this, I will make you disappear.¡± Blue Dog nodded through his laughter, promising not to say anything. At one point later in the morning, Striker brought up his nicknames for the different groups. Voodoo asked him to explain, and by the end was laughing. ¡°I like it,¡± Voodoo said, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking of their leader as Poser, but dumbfuck fits him perfectly. As for his cronies, I¡¯ve been calling them dipshits.¡± ¡°Dipshits?¡± Striker asked. ¡°As in, they¡¯ve dipped their noses so far up his ass they¡¯ve got shit on ¡®em.¡± Voodoo grinned. ¡°I like it, we¡¯re calling them dipshits from now on.¡± Striker said. ¡°Probably shouldn¡¯t say it to their faces though,¡± Blue Dog mused, ¡°Not if we¡¯re going to fight alongside each other for right now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get what they¡¯re doing here. They don¡¯t exactly look like they joined the game to fight, you know?¡± Striker said. ¡°They overheard Shiro asking Sarge to help out,¡± Voodoo said, ¡°And they had to look good for the girls. You called them the bimbos, right? Anyway, they insisted on coming to get laid.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Striker grimaced, ¡°So we¡¯re about to face a bunch of pumped up monsters with a bunch of show-offs?¡± Blue Dog shrugged, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯ve been paired up with us, and we know how to fight. Just stick close and we¡¯ll make it out of this in one piece.¡± 12. The Catacombs It took three days to reach the dungeon. They were following a deep ravine that worked its way around a sharp, rocky outcropping when they came out the other side and saw it. They were standing on a small cliff, with a jagged path down into a small clearing before ending in a rock wall with the dungeon had been carved into it. Ben thought it looked a bit like the temple from Raiders of the lost ark, if Tim Burton had been behind the design. Or maybe Wes Craven. The entire thing was made of the same dull, dark gray rock as the cliff, with large columns and some kind of murals that Striker couldn¡¯t make out from that distance. They worked their way down the cliff. As they got closer, Striker started to make out the murals. They all depicted a single man at their center, probably the person buried there. Each of them was an image of some violent event. In the first, the man holding a sword aloft as he stood on top of a large pile of corpses, probably a battle of some kind. The one next to it depicted the same man, sword held above his head ready to swing downward, towards a figure kneeling before him, more headless bodies lie on the ground around them. In the third, the man stood in the same pose as the first, except bolts of lightning shot out of the sword towards figures surrounding him and a winged figure with horns stood above that. The figures being stuck with lightning weren¡¯t carrying weapons. They were carrying pitchforks, scythes and shovels. The murals got darker and more sinister from there. Striker shivered a little. He liked to play the darker character type, the one that summoned the dead and dealt with demons, but the images seemed to depict someone that had been taken over by them and forced to kill his own people. Sure, Striker didn¡¯t flinch at the random act of violence in a game, it was just a game after all, but something about the images made him wary. Was it suggesting that he could become possessed if he took this path? He¡¯d normally laugh it off, figuring he could just create a brand-new character, but he was currently stuck in the game and the idea of being taken over by a demon, dying as a result, and respawning still possessed wasn¡¯t on his top one hundred things to do in a game. It wasn¡¯t in his top million. Sarge pulled them all aside as they walked, explaining the battle plan in a whisper, the message being passed on to those further away. ¡°I spoke with Shiro, and he¡¯s agreed with me. This dungeon has ten floors, each one harder than the previous, before reaching the boss, some kind of undead king. We¡¯re going to let the other groups go in first and clear out the top levels. We¡¯ll play support roles only.¡± Someone must have grumbled at the news because Sarge said, ¡°I know, you want part of the action. You¡¯re going to get it. When the dungeon starts getting really hard, we¡¯ll step in and deal with it. I want Preacher and Doc at the center of the group since they¡¯re the healers. Protect them at all costs. Next, casters surrounding them. Then fighters on the outside. Keep it tight and play it by the book. Any questions?¡± Striker glanced at his friends after Voodoo repeated the message to him. They looked back at him with wide-eyed, frightened expressions. He was pretty sure his own expression was the same. He nodded at Voodoo as he asked, ¡°What book?¡± Voodoo chuckled softly, ¡°It¡¯s an expression. Means the way we trained. You¡¯re a caster, right? Stay beside me and follow my lead. I got your back. You¡¯re going to be okay.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Striker nodded, not entirely convinced, but wanting to believe it. They reached the dungeon entrance as the sun reached its zenith. Striker was forced re-evaluated his opinion of the Bimbos after the first level. He was still outside when it happened, but the aftermath left little to the imagination. The first floor consisted of a single large room, what looked like a large banquet hall, with an arched ceiling, tiled floors, and recesses on each side where sconces in the walls provided a flickering light that illuminated the chamber just enough that his eyes could adjust. The room was bathed in blood. It coated the floors and walls, and somehow, some had even reached the two story ceiling. It hadn¡¯t been a fair fight, that much was obvious, and the draughr hadn¡¯t stood a chance. It was a straight up slaughter. Glancing at the bloody remains, Striker wondered if all their kills looked like this. It would certainly explain the skimpy clothes, Striker thought. Any animal mutilated to this level wouldn¡¯t have enough of a pelt left for anything but a loin cloth. They definitely weren¡¯t the run of the meal bimbos he¡¯d mistaken them for. No, they were fucking she-devils and it was entirely possible he was falling in love. If not love, then he was certainly feeling something. And in a very specific part of his body at that. The lead She-Devil, completely covered in blood and gore, smiled sweetly at Dumbfuck as she said, ¡°You¡¯re turn to take point.¡± Voodoo shook with silent laughter beside Striker as Dumbfuck gulped, nodded and refused to look at her. He mumbled something under his breath and waved for his friends to join him. He vomited halfway through the carnage, and he wasn¡¯t the only one in his group that did. They progressed another four levels without a problem, only losing a few unlucky players in the process. He barely stopped himself from celebrating when Dumbfuck finally died on the sixth floor, caught in an ambush that killed most of the dipshits in the process. The party was decimated on the ninth floor, just as they were starting to feel overly confident that the dungeon wasn¡¯t as difficult as Shiro made it out to be. The floor was large catacomb laid out like a maze. They entire party had worked its way onto the floor when someone near the exit triggered a trap. A metal grate slammed into place at the exit, and nearly every corpse on the level came to life. The entire party was spread out as a result of the maze and the sheer amount of draughr warriors killed anyone that was isolated from the group. Once triggered, Striker started hurling fireballs down the corridors leading out of the room, hoping to buy those around him time to defeat the draughr coming to life. Dean cast a few spells on himself, one that made him glow and another that turned his skin into scales, as positioned himself at one of the entrances, staring down a dozen draughr coming from a nearby room. It was actually a pretty bad ass move, though he¡¯d never admit it to Dean, and a stupid one, which he¡¯d tell Dean the next chance he got. He almost summoned Fido, but the soldiers reacted with a deadly precision to defend the room and between the Doc and Ryan, or preacher as everyone else had started calling him, it wasn¡¯t necessary. Instead, he hurled a few fireballs over his teammates shoulders, charring anything that tried to head down the tunnels in their direction. The battle only lasted a few minutes, but it cost a heavy toll. The only survivors were the Rangers, his friends, Shiro, and two other solo players, a guy and a girl. It took him a second to remember their names, since he hadn¡¯t really been paying attention during the introductions, but he thought the guy had called himself Astorath and the girl was named Alice. Ass and Alice. After defeating the draughr on that level, he expected the final level would be harder. Then again, he expected to face a boss. The last thing he expected to find a room, a catacomb like the floors above, with an empty sarcophagus. He¡¯d never say it aloud, not within Dean¡¯s hearing, but he had a bad feeling about it. 13. Update at the worst time The room had a raised dais in the center with a giant stone sarcophagus atop it. The lid had been pushed off the top and lay in pieces along the side. The sarcophagus was empty. They searched the room but couldn¡¯t find any bodies. They searched the room but didn¡¯t find anything. ¡°There¡¯s another corridor here. It¡¯s different than the others.¡± Ryan said. ¡°One of these things is not like the others,¡± Striker sing-songed. ¡°You¡¯re really going there?¡± Will asked. ¡°Just did.¡± Striker said. ¡°That¡¯s just wrong.¡± Will complained. ¡°How?¡± Striker asked. ¡°It just is.¡± Will said. ¡°Stow it.¡± Sarge barked, ¡°We¡¯ve still got a job to do. Rangers, form up.¡± The Rangers quickly moved into position, tanks to the front and back with the spellcasters in the center. ¡°What¡¯s different about it?¡± Dean asked. ¡°It looks more natural than the rest.¡± Ryan said, ¡°The walls aren¡¯t made of stone blocks. They look like they were chiseled out of the mountain itself.¡± Ryan held up his light as the others looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, the corridor looked like it had been hand carved out of the rock. ¡°This is not as it should be.¡± Shiro breathed, feeling the walls, ¡°The dungeon should have ended at this room.¡± ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t,¡± Sarge announced, ¡°So we keep going.¡± ¡°It was recently uncovered.¡± Will said. He held his torch out to one side revealing a large pile of stone blocks. ¡°What do we do?¡± Striker asked. ¡°This isn¡¯t a democracy. We keep going.¡± Sarge growled, ¡°Now, move out.¡± Voodoo slipped passed Ryan to take point. Will followed directly behind him, followed by Blue Dog. The rest of the group followed as directed, with casters at the center, before Striker and Dean followed at the rear. They worked their way a couple hundred steps before the tunnel branched off into two different directions. ¡°Left or right?¡± Voodoo called back to the group. ¡°Flip a coin.¡± Will suggested as Sarge barked, ¡°Pick one.¡± Will fished out a gold coin from his pocket. Him and his damn coins, Striker thought. ¡°Heads,¡± Will flipped it over to show the other side, ¡°And tails. Call it in the air.¡± ¡°Heads.¡± Voodoo said as Will flipped it. Will caught it and flipped it onto the back of his hand. ¡°Heads.¡± ¡°Which way is that?¡± Voodoo asked. ¡°Uh,¡± Will looked back and forth. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°That¡¯s heads,¡± Blue Dog pointed down one path, ¡°And the other tails. Flip it again.¡± Will flipped the coin again, this time coming up tails. ¡°That way,¡± He said. They worked their way further down the tunnel until Dean called a halt, ¡°Do you hear that?¡± ¡°Hear what?¡± Ryan said. ¡°I don¡¯t hear anything.¡± Striker said. ¡°I thought I heard something.¡± Dean explained. They continued another couple hundred paces before Dean called another halt. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, there¡¯s something behind us.¡± ¡°We need to find a place we can defend ourselves.¡± Sarge barked, ¡°We can barely move in here. Is there an opening ahead?¡± ¡°There¡¯s one coming up.¡± Voodoo called over his shoulder. ¡°Then hurry it up, Voodoo,¡± Sarge called, ¡°And get us there.¡± Dean noticed a crevice in the wall beside him. ¡°Hang on, I have an idea.¡± Ben helped to hoist Dean up, who jabbed his torch into the crevice and waited to make sure it stayed. Once Dean was satisfied, he tried to equip a couple more torches, but his hand bumped into the wall before he could grab anything from his inventory. He turned sideways and tried again. He pulled out three torches and lit one from the torch on the wall. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Dean said, ¡°But warn me if you stop.¡± Dean walked backwards as they started up again. He said to the others, ¡°There it is.¡± The others stopped walking and Striker turned to look back. ¡°Uh, guys, there really is something there.¡± ¡°I told you.¡± Dean said. ¡°What is it?¡± Sarge demanded. ¡°How should I know?¡± Dean asked. ¡°It¡¯s just a pair of eyes.¡± Will asked, ¡°Did you try scanning it?¡± Dean replied, ¡°I did, but nothing came up.¡± As they were talking, three more sets of red eyes appeared at the edge of the firelight. ¡°There¡¯s more.¡± Dean said. ¡°How far to the next opening?¡± Sarge demanded. ¡°A hundred feet?¡± Voodoo said, ¡°Maybe two.¡± Dean said, ¡°I¡¯m going to drop off another torch on the way so we can see what¡¯s coming.¡± ¡°Hurry it up,¡± Sarge said, ¡°We need to get somewhere we can fight.¡± ¡°Just a second,¡± Dean replied. He looked around the tunnel until he found an opening a few feet behind him. ¡°Move forward a couple paces.¡± Striker took a few steps back, forcing the others to do the same, until Dean slipped the torch into the wall. ¡°We¡¯re good.¡± ¡°You heard him,¡± Sarge said, ¡°Move it.¡± The creatures stayed where they were, just outside the first torch¡¯s light, as the group made their way to the opening. Striker and Dean walked backwards, keeping watch on the eyes staring back at them. Striker glanced back at the others as they ducked under a large spiderweb along the entrance. He followed suit, turned back to the entrance. Once he was through the opening, he could hear the trickle of water from the other side of the cave echoing off the walls and the sickly, sweet smell of death flooded his nostrils. To the others, he said, ¡°Give us some more light.¡± ¡°Look, there¡¯s some torches already on the walls.¡± Ryan said as he lit the nearest one. All Striker could see was the ambient light in the room get brighter as they continued to light more torches. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of spiderwebs.¡± Ryan said. Not taking his eyes off the entrance, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Will came up beside him and drew his sword. All he said was, ¡°Look up.¡± Striker glanced up. He grunted in surprise. While they had only lit a small portion of the cave with torchlight, the room was lit with a faint ambient glow that was coming from some kind of crystalline clusters on the walls and ceiling. It wasn¡¯t bright, but just enough for him to make out that the cavern was huge, with large rock pillars scattered throughout the room, disappearing into darkness.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. It was difficult to tell exactly how tall the cave was since the entire ceiling was covered in spiderwebs. He noticed a tightly woven spider sac above the entrance to the cave and took a few steps to the side to try and see what was inside it. A dissected goblin corpse missing its eyes stared back at him. It was pretty cool, Striker thought, and would be absolutely badass if he wasn¡¯t standing in the layer of whatever had done it. He glanced down as his feet crunched on the ground and realized he was standing on a thick layer of old bones. This place would make an amazing Necromancer house, once the pests had been cleared out. Will said, ¡°What is this place?¡± ¡°A graveyard.¡± Striker said gleefully. ¡°You¡¯re happy about that?¡± Will asked. ¡°Dude, this is the perfect place for me to set up shop.¡± Striker explained. ¡°It¡¯s a lair.¡± Ryan said, ¡°A really big monster¡¯s lair.¡± ¡°Whatever it is,¡± Striker said, ¡°I¡¯m putting my lab right here.¡± Sarge asked incredulously, ¡°What is this? The DIY network? We¡¯re in the middle of a dungeon and you¡¯re acting like my wife.¡± ¡°Excuse me,¡± Marie rounded on him, ¡°They¡¯re acting like who?¡± ¡°Sorry, baby,¡± Sarge said, ¡°It¡¯s just a manner of speech.¡± Voodoo and Striker exchanged a silent laugh. He didn¡¯t know the man¡¯s voice could go that soft and sweet. ¡°Yeah?¡± She said, ¡°Here¡¯s another one: doghouse.¡± ¡°Yes, baby,¡± Sarge said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, baby.¡± She wasn¡¯t appeased. Sarge cleared his throat, and addressed everyone else, ¡°Alright, uh, form up and get ready.¡± They heard a loud clicking noise echo around the cavern. The smaller creatures in the tunnel immediately responded with their own noises before rushing into the torchlight. Dean scanned the first one to appear, a spider the size of a dog. Weaver Spiderling Level 1 Health: 20/20 ¡°At least they¡¯re weak.¡± Dean muttered. ¡°They¡¯re a mob.¡± Striker said, ¡°Strength in numbers.¡± Striker usually liked being right. This wasn¡¯t one of those times. Immediately after the first one appeared, a whole swarm of them started up the tunnel. Soon, the entire tunnel was a squirming mass of spiderlings charging towards them. He watched Dean cast Warrior¡¯s Aura on himself as Ryan started firing arrows into the cavern. Each shot killed one of the creatures, but it didn¡¯t matter. There were too many of them. The spiderlings reached the tunnel entrance and started pouring out in every direction. Dean and the Rangers formed a semicircle around the entrance, slashing at the spiderlings. With the way the spiderlings were swarming, each swipe killed three or four spiderlings. Striker turned back to the cave entrance, now hidden behind the sea of monsters, and cast fireball. The spell formed a small, swirling ball of molten liquid an inch above his staff. He pointed it at the spiderlings, targeting where he thought the entrance had been, and launched it at the creatures. He started to cast another before the first even hit. The spell hit the mass, exploding in a torrent of liquid fire, and coated a dozen creatures. They went up like a Christmas tree in January. He started to laugh maniacally as he tossed the second fireball at them. The spiderlings started popping, making the exact same sound as popcorn in the microwave, except each one resulted in a mess of bloody goo. It coated his face, and some made it into his mouth. He snapped his mouth shut, fought the urge to swallow, and almost vomited. He took several steps back, spitting as best he could with his teeth clenched. It wasn¡¯t enough, the mass of spiders at the entrance pushed the group further into the cavern, swarming to sides and forcing the group into a tighter formation. Two of the soldiers fell to the onslaught, buried under the spiderlings. ¡°Over there!¡± Shiro exclaimed suddenly after they¡¯d moved a hundred more paces into the room, pointing at a pedestal in the center of the room. He ran towards it without a second thought. Sarge grabbed Doc by the arm and pointed in Shiro¡¯s direction, ¡°Go with him.¡± Doc ran after Shiro, yelling at him to be careful. Shiro made it to the pedestal. ¡°It¡¯s not here.¡± He started looking around the pedestal, yelling, ¡°It has to be here somewhere.¡± Doc only made it halfway to Shiro before a large shadowy figure dropped from the ceiling, picked him up, and carried him up into the cobwebs. Doc¡¯s scream echoed through the room a second before cutting off, and a respawn icon starting glowing. The light reflected off thousands of eyes along the ceiling, and illuminated the creature just enough for Striker to scan it. Spider Queen Level 27 Health 2,000/2,000 ¡°Holy shit,¡± Striker breathed. ¡°We have to find that crystal,¡± Sarge mumbled beside him, ¡°before they kill us. We won¡¯t last long against all of them.¡± Ryan asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t they attacking?¡± ¡°You had to ask.¡± Striker said, ¡°You know you¡¯re not supposed to ask.¡± Despite being the size of a semi-truck, she moved with lightning speed. She bolted along the spiderwebs, dropped down and attacked Shiro. He died before he could scream. She landed on the ground, standing over his dead body and let out a scream. The spiderlings on the ceiling responded. They dropped from the ceiling, surrounding the group. ¡°Fall back!¡± Sarge bellowed at the top of his lungs, startling Striker. The soldiers reacted immediately, breaking from their line and running past him. Dean didn¡¯t react in time. He was buried under the mob within seconds. Striker ran with the others, dodging around the spiderlings as they attacked, and charged at the queen in what he knew was suicide. Sarge reached her first, leapt at her as he swung his two-handed sword in a wide arch. He gaped at her health points and swallowed a lump rising in his throat. He saw her health flash, but didn¡¯t see a discernable drop. Her health bar only dropped five points. The Queen attacked so fast Sarge couldn¡¯t react. Her fang dug deep into his shoulder. Striker charged a fireball and hurled it at her as he ran. Her health dropped ninety points and the explosion pushed her over several feet. The Spider Queen wheeled around and sighted him. She started charging. She was almost on top of him when he released the a second fireball. It exploded against her side and coated her back. She hissed in pain and skittered away to a nearby pillar, where she raced up the spiderwebs. The fire on her back acted as a beacon and he was able to see that she¡¯d lost almost three hundred points of health. The reckless charge left everyone isolated from each other, surrounded by a mob of spiderlings. He slashed at them with his staff as he tried to draw his sword with his other hand. ¡°Any good ideas?¡± Ryan called out from somewhere in the room. ¡°Any dumb ideas?¡± Will asked. ¡°I got one,¡± Striker said, ¡°But it¡¯s really dumb.¡± ¡°How dumb?¡± Will asked. ¡°It¡¯ll probably kill us.¡± Striker said. ¡°We¡¯re about to die, anyway.¡± Marie called, ¡°Just do it.¡± ¡°Hold on to your butts.¡± Striker said as he charged another fireball. He pointed it straight at a large spiderweb sac and fired. As he suspected, the spider sac was extremely flammable because it immediately caught on fire. Within seconds, a roaring fire covered the entire ceiling. The entire room was filled with the cacophony of spiderlings screaming and popping as they died. ¡°That was actually a pretty good idea, Striker.¡± Will called. ¡°Wait for it.¡± Striker yelled back. A web sac dislodged from the wall and exploded as it hit the ground in a loud crash, spraying the area with burning spiderweb. Another one fell a second later. Soon, the sacs were dropping all around the cavern as the individual strands floated down around them. The room filled with smoke, making it impossible to breath without choking and their eyes filled with tears obstructing their vision. Striker dodged the falling debris, wielding his staff like a baseball bat to club away any spiderlings that attacked him. He ended up on the other side of the cavern when he spotted a large pool of water. He dove for it, hoping it would keep him from burning alive. The water was waist high by the time he reached the center of the pool and noticed something odd about the surface. He scooped up a handful and peered at the shimmering substance on the surface. Sighing at his own stupidity, he watched as a strand of burning web landed on the surface. The oily substance caught fire, the flames racing across the surface with a roar. He took a deep breath and nearly coughed it back up as the smoke burned the back of his throat. He dove under the surface. He looked up in time to see the fire race across the surface above him. It was kind of beautifucl, in a ¡®I¡¯m totally fucked¡¯ sort of way. He just hoped the stuff would burn off before his breath gave out. A faint shimmering in the muck at the bottom a few feet away caught his attention. He slowly worked his way over to it, using his hands to push himself on the bottom while being careful not to let his feet break the surface. It caused a lot of the muck to swirl up around him. He tried to push it out of the way so I could see, but it took a forever before everything settled down. The shimmering was coming from a half-buried corpse. The water had worn away almost everything but the bones and rusted through the armor. It wore an old crown that disintegrated when Striker touched it. The same thing happened to the armor and ring it was wearing. The shimmering was coming from something beneath it. He gingerly reached down and felt around. His hand closed on an orb the rough size of a baseball. He tried to pull it out, but his hand stuck. He released the orb and tried again, but to no avail. Fighting back the panic welling up in his chest, he closed his hand on the orb and used the other to slowly make a paddling motion just above the muck. He kept at it until he had stirred up a large murky cloud, ignoring his burning lungs and spots starting to cloud his vision, before trying again. After a second, he felt the bottom give and let his hand go with a wet plop. The orb let off a faint glow as swirling white ribbons of light danced inside it. He quickly tried scanning it. Description: Settlement Crystal Rarity: Epic The burning in his lungs was becoming unbearable at that point. He glanced back at the surface and saw that the fire had burned itself out. He stood up slowly and took a deep breath as he broke the surface. The fresh air flooding his lungs felt amazing despite burning his lungs and making him cough uncontrollably for several seconds. His vision flared bright white, blinding him. He blinked several times until his eyes could adjust, and he could read the words floating in front of him. Game Update Downloading 2% Complete The update hadn¡¯t affected any of his other senses. He could still smell the smoke, feel it burning his lungs, and making him cough. He watched impatiently as the numbers slowly crept upwards. After reaching a hundred, the notification changed from downloading to loading, where the counter started over. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the update completed and his vision returned to normal. After the bright light, the room was extremely dark. He only had time to register the mass of moving shadows around him before something bit him in the shoulder. It hurt. Not the mild pain that he¡¯d set the game at, but an agonizing, mind numbing level that tore the breath from him in a grunt of surprise. His vision cleared enough to see that he was surrounded by spiderlings just before the rest attacked him. The only thought he had before he died, one that barely registered through the pain, was the hope that the he hoped he held onto the crystal. 14. A Plan for War Dean materialized back at the spawn point, his vision riddled with white spots, as he glanced around. His first thought was that the sun was in the wrong position. Hadn¡¯t they reached the dungeon in the early evening? So why was it dawn? His next thought was that there were a lot of players respawning. Not just his group, and definitely not the amount he usually saw spawning in the square. It looked every player was respawning at once. He heard someone nearby ask, ¡°Did that fix it?¡± ¡°Fix what?¡± Their friend responded. ¡°Can you log out?¡± He watched both players flicked their wrists in the motion to pull up their status pages, and though he couldn¡¯t see the windows, knew they were scrolling down to the logout option. They clicked it and tapped the notification asking if they were sure. Nothing happened. Dean wondered why they thought it would be fixed, until a woman beside them asked, ¡°So what did the update do?¡± ¡°How the hell should I know?¡± Something round was shoved into Dean¡¯s hand. He glanced back to see Ben. ¡°Take it, I don¡¯t want it.¡± Ben said gruffly. ¡°You died before the update, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What update?¡± Dean asked as he looked down at the orb in his hand. It pulled up as the settlement crystal. He gasped, ¡°You don¡¯t want this? Isn¡¯t this what we were trying to find?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Ben said, ¡°It was. And I don¡¯t want it because building cities is boring. I¡¯d much rather be a dungeon master.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be both?¡± Dean asked. ¡°No idea,¡± Ben shrugged, ¡°And I don¡¯t care.¡± Dean stuck the item in his inventory as he asked, ¡°What update are you talking about? And why does it matter if I died before it happened?¡± Ben visibly shook, ¡°You¡¯re lucky, then. I died right after it happened, and it actually hurt.¡± ¡°What hurt?¡± Dean asked, ¡°The update?¡± ¡°No, man,¡± Ben said, ¡°Dying. Haven¡¯t you heard what everyone else is saying?¡± ¡°Kinda,¡± Dean answered. Ben shook his head, ¡°Have you tried logging out, or checking out your stats?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± Dean said as he pulled them up without thinking. He gasped. Dean Adams Health: 100/100 Stamina: 100/100 Mana: 100/100 Status: Level: 1 Experience: 0/1,000 Rank: None Title: None Class: None Role: None Party: Unnamed Alliances: None Allegiances: None
Stats
Strength 10 Perception 10 Charisma 10
Endurance 10 Intelligence 10 Poise 10
Agility 10The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Wisdom 10 Constitution 10
Dexterity 10 Fortitude 10 Luck 10
Skills: None Abilities: None Spells: None Enchantments: None Attributes: None ¡°What the hell?¡± He muttered under his breath, ¡°How¡¯d I get back to level one?¡± ¡°Not just that,¡± Ben said, ¡°Where¡¯s the pain suppression option? And where¡¯s you¡¯re grear?¡± Dean flicked to the options page, scanned it and shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t see it.¡± He flipped to his inventory, everything was gone. All he had left was the basic starting gear, the orb, and his cooking gear. ¡°What the hell had happened?¡± ¡°It¡¯s gone.¡± Ben said, ¡°The update deleted it.¡± Dean licked his lips as he asked, ¡°Does that mean¡­¡± ¡°I told you,¡± Ben said, ¡°It hurt when I died. Like a motherfucker.¡± Shiro startled them as he ran up and asked, ¡°Did one of you find it?¡± Dean glanced at Ben before holding up the orb and saying, ¡°Yeah, We did.¡± ¡°This is most good news. Come with me. Come, Come.¡± Shiro grabbed them both by the wrists, dragging them across the square. He pulled them towards an out of the way corner, where Sarge stood on a bench calling out something to those around him, but Dean couldn¡¯t tell what it was over the sounds of the crowd. He spotted Will and Ryan already there, along with most of the Rangers. None of the other groups joined them. Dean thought he saw one familiar face walking towards the nearest tavern but couldn¡¯t be sure since he couldn¡¯t get a good look through the crowd. Shiro pushed him up onto the bench and gestured for him to hold up the orb. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled it out of his inventory and held it aloft. The Rangers let out a cheer that momentarily quieted the crowd, who turned to stare at them. ¡°Well done,¡± Sarge said in his ear, ¡°We need to get somewhere quiet to discuss next steps.¡± Dean only heard half of that but understood enough to point at the inn his group usually stayed at. Sarge studied it for a second before nodding and gesturing to his men to follow him. For a first, the tavern was quieter than outside. They shoved a few tables together and grabbed a seat, Sarge waving his men away, before asking Shiro, ¡°What the hell happened? Why did your friends do an update without correcting the problems with the logout button? And why in God¡¯s name did they disable the pain thing?¡± ¡°I do not know. Let me see what the other developers are saying.¡± Shiro said. He pulled up a window and stared at it for several seconds, his eyebrows climbing each time he read a line. ¡°They are calling it a rogue update. Not theirs. They do not know where it came from.¡± He licked his lips as he continued reading, ¡°They are posting different lines of code. It is¡­how do you say it does not make sense?¡± ¡°Gibberish,¡± Marie said. ¡°Yes, thank you. It is gibberish.¡± Ben gaped at him, ¡°That means they can¡¯t even read the code.¡± Shiro gave a resigned nod. ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°But why would someone do that? It doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± Ben downed his drink in frustration. ¡°Yes, it does,¡± Dean said, ¡°If someone¡¯s trying to keep us here.¡± ¡°Why would someone do that?¡± Ben asked. Dean could only shrug in reply. Shiro was intrigued, ¡°Why do you think that?¡± Dean swirled his drink idly, set it down and started tracing a finger on the table as he thought aloud, ¡°They were about to fix the logout issue, so someone ran a different update to make sure that doesn¡¯t happen. One that makes it almost impossible for the developers to figure out and fix anything. But the code is still there, it has to be, or the dive gear would trigger the automatic logout sequence. So, there¡¯s got to be some way to leave the game that works.¡± Shiro nodded in understanding, ¡°Beating the game.¡± Ben whistled through his teeth, ¡°And that¡¯s our only way out?¡± ¡°For right now,¡± Shiro licked his lips. He turned to Dean, ¡°But that doesn¡¯t explain exactly why you think someone is keeping us here.¡± ¡°Think about it.¡± Dean explained, ¡°Now that the developers can¡¯t just program a way out, we¡¯re stuck with trying to beat an almost impossible game. ¡°That most players don¡¯t know is possible,¡± Ben pointed out. ¡°Exactly. But that¡¯s not the only thing. Want to beat the game? Don¡¯t die because you¡¯ll have to start all over if you do. And you¡¯re going to need to level up, but you better be ready to feel every scrape and cut of pain along the way. Then there¡¯s the experience points needed to level up. Didn¡¯t you noticed that we now need a thousand points to level up instead of a hundred?? Shiro had leaned back in his chair, tilted his head back and stared wide-eyed at the ceiling while nodding along with each point. ¡°Beat the game to leave, but it is going to be harder to do and we have been given every reason not to try. What I do not understand is why someone would go to all this trouble.¡± Dean shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s what I can¡¯t figure out. I mean, keeping us here for a couple days before logging out would stop a lot of players from logging back in, so the game¡¯s already toast after this.¡± ¡°I hope your wrong about that.¡± Shiro protested half-heartedly, ¡°But I understand what you mean. And you are right, this has hurt any chance for future sales. So sabotage could be a reason, if that was the goal. There¡¯s no need for everything else.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Dean said, ¡°So the only other thing that makes sense is that someone wants us to stay in the game no matter what. I just can¡¯t figure out why.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Sarge barked, ¡°It doesn¡¯t change the immediate issue, or did all of you forget about the Orcs? I¡¯m not sure about the rest if you, but I don¡¯t want to respawn in the middle of an Orc camp.¡± Shiro said to Dean, ¡°Look on your map for the settlement location. It will have an icon.¡± Dean pulled up his status page and flipped to the map. He hadn¡¯t needed it before this, so hadn¡¯t paid attention to it. He found the icon to the south and tried to gauge how far based on the trip to the dungeon for the crystal. ¡°It¡¯s South of here. Maybe a week to ten days to get there?¡± ¡°Then we need to get going.¡± Will said. ¡°It¡¯s not going to work.¡± Sarge said, ¡°We only have three weeks before the siege is over and the orcs attack us.¡± Shiro said, ¡°That is not true. I must have explained wrong. We will have one month after the orcs arrive here and they will need to travel south to attack us.¡± ¡°Are we even certain they will continue south to attack?¡± Ben asked, ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll just stay here.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on it,¡± Marie said, ¡°Think about it for a second. Dean already explained that the update was all about keeping us from beating the game, and the orc invasion would mean we¡¯re all prisoners, so we can¡¯t level up at all. Do you think whoever is doing this is going to just let us build a new city that we can use instead?¡± ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Sarge said as he smiled at her, ¡°Tactically, we can¡¯t assume anything. Instead, we need to prepare for war and right now we¡¯re lacking three things. We need to recruit an army, supplies to arm and feed them, and defenses built at the new city.¡± ¡°Guess that means I¡¯m in charge of the defenses.¡± Dean said, ¡°Since I have the Settlement Crystal. I can also make sure we build farms and stuff there for food.¡± Shiro volunteered, ¡°And I will stay here to convince players to join the new settlement.¡± ¡°What supplies do we need?¡± Will asked. ¡°Weapons and armor.¡± Sarge said, ¡°And as many arrows as we can get. More than that. We¡¯ll also need food, even with farms, to feed a whole army.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Will said. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll stay with Will.¡± Ben said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m agreeing to this, or have you already forgotten that we¡¯re going to feel pain through all of this?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t forgotten.¡± Marie said soothingly, ¡°We just don¡¯t have a choice.¡± Ryan said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with Dean.¡± Sarge nodded approvingly at the others, ¡°At least you¡¯re worth your mettle. I¡¯ll tell my men we¡¯re splitting up.¡± He stood up and went to talk to his men. 16. An Ambushed Ambush Will Fitzgerald Health: 83/100 Stamina: 65/100 Mana: 100/100 Status: Level: 1 Experience: 237/1,000 Rank: None Title: None Class: None Role: None Party: Unnamed Alliances: None Allegiances: None
Stats
Strength 10 Perception 10 Charisma 10
Endurance 10 Intelligence 10 Poise 10
Agility 10 Wisdom 10 Constitution 10
Dexterity 10 Fortitude 10 Luck 10
Skills: First Aid ¨C Level 3 Field Dressing ¨C Level 3 Poultices ¨C Level 2 Herbalist ¨C Level 2 Herb Lore ¨C Level 2 Hunting ¨C Level 1 Butchering ¨C Level 2 Animal Skinning ¨C Level 2 Looting ¨C Level 4 One-Handed Melee ¨C Level 3 One-Handed Sword ¨C Level 4 Ranged Weapons ¨C Level 3 Archery ¨C Level 4 Scan ¨C Level 2 Abilities: None Spells: None Enchantments: None Attributes: None Three days had passed since he¡¯d parted company with his friends. Three days and seventeen raids later, and Will was still a level one newb. Not only did the game now require a thousand experience points before leveling up, the Orcs were only dropping half the experience points they would¡¯ve before the update. At this rate, it¡¯d take a year to reach level hundred, probably longer. At least skills weren¡¯t affected by the update.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. They hadn¡¯t spent much time hunting, only enough to keep themselves fed. Most their time had been spent tracking down and ambushing Orc patrols. The orcs were scouting the area in groups of five or six, a manageable number as long as none of them were above level four. They¡¯d tried to attack a patrol with a level five Orc in it on the first day, but it had almost ended in disaster. Ben and Voodoo had weathered the brunt of the level five Orc¡¯s attacks, each having their health drop to the single digits during the fight, and none of the party had made it out above fifty. Thankfully, they had enough healing potions on hand to heal everyone above eighty points, but the party had to stick to softer targets from then on. Will¡¯s attention was brought back to the present as the sounds of Orcs filtered up through the forest. He leaned his head back, enough to see around the large bush he was hiding behind, and signaled to Doc, who was hiding behind a tree a dozen paces from Will¡¯s hiding spot, that he¡¯d spotted the enemy. There were six Orcs on the path below them walking in pairs. They were talking as they walked, barely glancing around, and one was slashing at anything within reach. He couldn¡¯t understand them, he wondered if their harsh, guttural language even had a translation or if it was just a bunch of gibberish the programmers had given them to sound menacing. Once they were a few paces from the ambush spot, Will stood up and drew the arrow to his cheek. He sighted the front Orc nearest him, breathed out, and fired. He heard a twang as Doc fired beside him. On the other side of the path, he saw Ben and Voodoo step out and fire. Then, Raven and Ghost stepped out in front of the Orcs, weapons drawn and attacked the front two Orcs. Will drew a second arrow from his quiver, notched it and drew it to his cheek. A twig snapped behind him. He turned around, spotting an Orc a dozen paces from his hiding spot staring down at the broken twig underneath its boot. It looked up at him, their eyes locking for a split second, before it roared in defiance and charged. Will fired his arrow on instinct, striking it high on the shoulder. He dropped his bow, and jumped forward to grab the orc¡¯s forearms, stopping it from swinging the sword. The impact knocked them sideways in a full pirouette before they pitched over. Will held onto the Orc¡¯s arms as they tumbled down the hill, miraculously keeping the sword from hurting him, before they tumbled over a rock and separated. He slammed into someone at the base of the ravine before landing face first in the dirt. Dazed, he rolled over and glanced around. The Orc he tumbled down the hill with had been impaled on its own sword and didn¡¯t move. He¡¯d fallen into a different orc, that was starting to get on its knees. He grabbed his hunting dagger and fell on it, stabbing it repeatedly until its arms gave out and it stopped moving. Panting, he sat back on his heels and pushed himself to his feet. He drew his sword as he surveyed the scene. Ghost was dancing quickly around a group of Orcs as he wielded his sword in one hand and his hunting dagger in the other. He¡¯d deflect an attack with the sword, twist into a crouch as rolled past the Orc, slashing it in the side with the hunting knife in the process before turning to face the next Orc. He looked for Raven next, but couldn¡¯t find him anywhere, along with Doc up on the ridge. He heard swords clashing on the other hill, letting him know that Ben or Voodoo were alive, maybe even both. Will drew his hunting knife, flipped it so the point was facing down like Ghost was holding his, and hefted his sword in his other hand. He ran at the nearest Orc attacking Ghost, hoping he could distract at least one of the Orcs. He stabbed the Orc in the back, earning a critical hit, and twisted as he slammed the hunting dagger into the shoulders of another. He yanked his sword out, continuing to twist as he did so, and stabbed the second Orc in the back. He kicked it as hard as he could, dislodging both of his blades as it died, and turned to a third. The Orcs had spotted him, and three turned to face him. It was the opportunity Ghost needed. He feinted one direction, before racing at the three Orcs now turned to Will, and danced through them, his knife flashing in the midafternoon light, causing blood to spray. Meanwhile, Will launched himself at the Orcs¡¯ Ghost had just feinted, and caught them off guard. He tried using both hands effectively but could only concentrate on one at a time. It still gave him an advantage, but with nowhere near the same capabilities as Ghost. Will exchanged blows, feeling deep cuts across his chest and thighs opening as the Orcs pushed him back. The pain shot through him, a scream fighting to push past his clenched teeth, as he tried to ignore it. From nowhere, Ghost rushed past him and attacked the remaining orcs. He finished them off in a matter of seconds. Grinning, Ghost turned to him, ¡°Ah, hell kid. That weren¡¯t half bad. Keep it up, and we¡¯ll make a ranger out of you yet.¡± ¡°How do you do that?¡± Will asked as he tried to catch his breath. ¡°Do what?¡± Ghost asked. Will held up his hands, still holding both weapons, and mimed attacking with both. Laughing, Ghost said, ¡°Nah, it¡¯s easy enough once you practice it up a bit. Want me to teach you?¡± ¡°Please.¡± Will said. His stamina bar reached halfway. He still felt sluggish and tired, but he¡¯d be alright. His wounds stung, throbbed slightly as the adrenaline wore off, but he glanced at his health, just above fifty points, and knew he¡¯d be fine. Ignoring the pain as best he could, he asked, ¡°Do you know what happened?¡± Ben answered as he walked sideways down the steep hill to keep from falling over, ¡°They ambushed us. Ironic, isn¡¯t it.¡± ¡°How¡¯d they get past the other two?¡± Will asked. Animal and Digger were supposed to be keeping watch for a potential ambush, but neither had alerted them. ¡°They¡¯re both dead,¡± Voodoo said pointing back the way he came. ¡°Looks like they were taken by a couple of arrows.¡± ¡°And Raven?¡± Will asked. Ghost shook his head. ¡°Shit. That¡¯s three dead. Where¡¯s Doc?¡± ¡°Here,¡± Doc appeared a few seconds later, limping his way slowly down the hill. ¡°Almost didn¡¯t make it, but you falling down the hill with that Orc alerted me to the one about to stab me in the back. There were two more, actually. Two for each of us.¡± ¡°Same on our side.¡± Ben said. ¡°Fourteen total?¡± Doc said, ¡°We haven¡¯t seen that many together yet. They must¡¯ve caught on to us, it¡¯s the only explanation that makes sense.¡± ¡°You mean we can expect more of this?¡± Will asked. It was hard enough staying alive when they were doing the ambush. Another one like this, or even one with higher level Orcs, and they¡¯d be dead. ¡°This just keeps getting better and better.¡± Ben said, ¡°You haven¡¯t mentioned that we just lost all the supplies those three were carrying.¡± ¡°Do you enjoy giving bad news?¡± Will retorted. Ben shrugged, ¡°Just keeping it real.¡± Ghost replied, ¡°Don¡¯t go killing the messenger. Ain¡¯t his fault he telling the truth.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Doc said, ¡°It¡¯s not Striker¡¯s fault those three died, or that we¡¯ve lost their supplies as a result. We were being reckless, not going back to town to unload supplies, and now we¡¯re paying the price.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Will sighed, ¡°Then let¡¯s loot these bodies and head back to town. We can pass them on to some players heading south, and maybe see about picking up a few others to help us raid the orcs.¡± ¡°The othes can loot the bodies,¡± Doc said, ¡°First, we need to tend some of those wounds before you bleed out.¡± Will just nodded as he limped over to a nearby fallen log and lowered himself gingerly onto it. He sighed with relief when Doc applied a healing salve to them. They weren¡¯t as good as potions at restoring health, only five points each, but they cleared away the pain almost immediately, and started healing the wound within seconds. It was a small blessing, but right now, he¡¯d take whatever he could get. 17. Captured by Elves Dean Adams Health: 100/100 Stamina: 100/100 Mana: 100/100 Status: Level: 1 Experience: 13/1,000 Rank: None Title: None Class: None Role: None Party: Unnamed Alliances: None Allegiances: None
Stats
Strength 10 Perception 10 Charisma 10
Endurance 10 Intelligence 10 Poise 10
Agility 10 Wisdom 10 Constitution 10
Dexterity 10 Fortitude 10 Luck 10
Skills: Herbalist ¨C Level 2 Herb Lore ¨C Level 2 Hunting ¨C Level 1 Butchering ¨C Level 2 Animal Skinning ¨C Level 2 Scan ¨C Level 2 Abilities: None Spells: None Enchantments: None Attributes: None Dean kept his head ducked and shoulders hunched as he trudged drearily along, trying to keep the rain off. It was a lost cause. He was already soaked to the bone, and another gust of bitter cold wind set his teeth chattering. Thanks to the scouts surrounding the party, they hadn¡¯t encountered anything remotely interesting, unless he counted a couple rabbits and a poisonous alchemy ingredient. He didn¡¯t. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Sarge quietly barked, ¡°Hold up, do you hear that?¡± Dean couldn¡¯t hear anything over the rain as he wiped the rain dripping down his face and studied the nearby forest. Another gust of wind chilled him, but it also brought the sound of metal clanging against metal. Someone nearby was fighting. ¡°Stay put, I¡¯m going to check it out.¡± Sarge whispered as he slipped into the underbrush. Dean grabbed the hilt of his sword as he glanced at the others. Ryan looked back at him, the same puzzlement and excitement on his face, but Marie stared in the direction her husband had gone. The sounds grew louder, until it sounded like they were just ahead, when Sarge burst out of the underbrush with his sword drawn, already bloody from the fight, and turned to face his pursuer. A moment later, something burst out of the forest, snarling as it hurled itself at Sarge. Sarge caught its sword with his own and shoved it backwards. The creature fell over, knocking down another creature that burst through the underbrush. A third followed, jumping nimbly over the first two and attacked Sarge. Dean quickly scanned the two creatures as they climbed back to their feet. Goblin Scout ¨C Level 2 Health: 40/40 Dean was able to get a good look at the goblins as they stood up. They were both about four feet tall, with greenish black skin, stubbed noses and pointed ears. They hissed as they attacked. Marie jumped in front of Dean, defending him from the attack, as Ryan charged the other. Dean drew his sword and tried to move so he could help Marie. She kept herself between him and the goblin. Sarge yelled at him as he fought, ¡°Run, Dean. Get out of here.¡± He deflected the goblins sword, then flicked his wrist and stabbed it in the stomach. The goblin groaned as it died, ¡°Go.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°No,¡± Dean yelled back, ¡°I want to fight.¡± Sarge withdrew his sword from the goblin, stalked over to Dean and glared at him, ¡°There¡¯s about a hundred more back there,¡± He pointed where the noise was coming from, ¡°And they¡¯re coming this way. We can¡¯t beat them all and we can¡¯t run while you¡¯re in danger. Now, Run.¡± Sarge grabbed him by the shoulder, turned him around and shoved him. Dean stumbled a few steps, just barely able to keep his balance. He turned around, about to yell at Sarge, but stopped when he heard more noises coming from the underbrush. A lot more noises. Cursing, Dean angrily sheathed his sword, and ran. He hated it. Hated that he was running from a fight, that he had to run because his death meant losing the five-day journey to the new city. Mostly, he hated it because he knew the others were right. He ran, his feet splashing and sliding in the mud, until his stamina ran out. He stopped, hands on his knees as he gasped for air. He heard noises behind him, and he looked back just in time to duck beneath the arrow that embedded itself in a tree right behind him. He started walking as fast as he could, weaving between the trees to keep his attackers from targeting him. Once his stamina was almost full, he set off at a fast run, hoping his longer strides would put some distance between him and his pursuers. He lost track of the time and distance, just knowing that every time he thought he lost them, he¡¯d slow down to catch his breath, only to hear them again. The rain finally started to let up and a break in the clouds allowed the sun to shine through. His side splitting, he stopped and rested his hand against a tree trunk, bent over double as he gulped for air. He heard the sound of pursuit behind him and sighed heavily as he pushed himself off the tree. There was a muffled grunt of pain, then silence. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± A soft, melodious voice said directly behind him, ¡°Turn around slowly.¡± Dean licked his lips as he asked, ¡°Which is it? Don¡¯t move or turn around?¡± Someone to his left snorted, ¡°He¡¯s got you there, Aleria.¡± ¡°Shut up, Neva.¡± The first voice replied, ¡°Turn around.¡± Dean turned to find two arrows pointed at his chest. Aleria had long blonde hair down to her waist, braided to keep it out of her eyes, and almond shaped green eyes that were glaring at him. Neva was slightly taller than her, though he couldn¡¯t be over five foot five by Dean¡¯s guess, with short brown hair, tossled in a way that reminded him of the lost boys from Peter Pan, and matching eyes that seemed amused, despite the arrow pointing at Dean¡¯s chest. ¡°Who are you?¡± Aleria demanded, ¡°And what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Dean. My name¡¯s Dean¡± He replied, ¡°And I was running from some goblins.¡± Three more elves emerged from the forest. All of them were wearing the same mottled green cloaks, leather armor that was definitely a better quality than the chest piece Dean was wearing, and soft brown boots. The tallest of the three spoke first, ¡°We took care of the goblins. I¡¯ve had harder fights with snubworms. What about the human?¡± He eyed Dean carefully, ¡°Has he told you why he led those goblins into our land?¡± Dean studied the newcomer as he spoke. He had the same high cheekbones as Aleria, a similar tilt to his eyes, though his were brown, and dirty blonde hair he kept in a tight ponytail running midway down his back. Dean guessed they were siblings, and by the attitude, the new guy was the older of the two. ¡°I was just about to ask him, Famor.¡± Aleria muttered in response before looking at Dean and asking, ¡°So, human, why were you leading them here?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know this was your land.¡± Dean admitted, ¡°I was just trying to get away from them.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just kill them?¡± She asked. ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± Dean said as he weighed his options. He could tell them the truth, though he didn¡¯t like the idea of telling them about his friends or about the settlement crystal. They could decide to hunt down and capture his friends, and for all he knew, the settlement crystal was worth valuable enough to kill him. On the other hand, he had no idea if he could convince them of a made-up story. It would probably be a charisma check of some sort, and include a skill like deception or subterfuge. He had neither, and something about the Famor told him getting caught in a lie wouldn¡¯t be good. ¡°Then uncomplicate it.¡± Famor said. Resigned, he told them the truth, ¡°My friends and I are on the way to found a new city. We were attacked by a bunch of goblins,¡± He paused, trying to think of a way to hide the fact that he had the settlement crystal, but couldn¡¯t think of anything. ¡°And since I have the settlement crystal, they told me to run.¡± Voice dripping with scorn, Aleria said, ¡°You abandoned your friends in a fight? You¡¯re a Coward.¡± Dean shook his head, ¡°You don¡¯t understand. We have to build a new spawn point before the orcs invade Torial.¡± ¡°What orcs?¡± Famor asked. ¡°An army of orcs is about to attack Torial. They¡¯re being led by something called a shadow wraith.¡± Dean said. Neva gasped, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. They¡¯re just myths.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen it.¡± Dean said, ¡°It¡¯s not a myth. It¡¯s real.¡± Aleria glanced at Famor, her brows furrowed in worry. ¡°Mother will want to know about this.¡± ¡°He¡¯s lying.¡± Neva insisted. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Famor said, ¡°The Elders must hear of this. And they¡¯ll want to hear it first-hand.¡± He looked at Dean, ¡°What¡¯s your name, human?¡± Dean gave his name. ¡°Be forewarned, Dean. If you even think of trying something, I will know, and I will kill you without a moment¡¯s hesitation. Do I make myself clear?¡± ¡°Crystal.¡± Dean replied. ¡°Good,¡± Famor said, ¡°Then follow me.¡± With that, Famor turned around and started walking into the forest. Neva and Aleria lowered their bows, but kept them ready as Aleria gestured for him to follow. Dean followed and the two fell into step behind him. Over his shoulder, Famor commanded, ¡°Manu and Anya cover his tracks.¡± The other two elves immediately fell behind the group. Dean glanced down. With each step, his boots were sinking deep into the mud, leaving a clear trail behind him. Somehow, the elves weren¡¯t leaving any trace of their passing. A notification popped up. Congratulations, You¡¯ve learned the Skill Tracking. ¡°What¡¯s so funny, human?¡± Neva demanded. Dean realized he was chuckling and stopped. ¡°Nothing you¡¯d find funny.¡± He muttered. Famor walked ahead of him without glancing back. Either he was used to getting his way when he commanded something, or Famor was a complete badass that could kill him before Dean could attack. Dean suspected both were probably true. Dean tried to study the path they were following, hoping he¡¯d level up the tracking skill in the process, but it vanished fifty paces in either direction. After several minutes, he gave up and stared at the forest. The trees were massive, with thick trunks that disappeared into the canopy above. The underbrush was teeming with various plants and mosses that he yearned to gather, but didn¡¯t think the elves would let him stop to pick them. He could hear birds and other wildlife all around him, and caught sight of several staring at them as the group passed. There was never a break in the canopy that he could see, but the forest floor was easily bright enough for him to see through, almost like the whole forest was slightly glowing. The silence finally got to him, and Dean asked, ¡°Famor, is it?¡± ¡°It is.¡± Famor said. ¡°Aleria mentioned that your mother would want to know about the wraith and you said something about Elders. Is she one of them?¡± Famor hesitated before answering, ¡°She is, and a Truth Minder.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a Truth Minder?¡± Dean asked. ¡°She knows whether someone is speaking the truth or telling a lie. I suggest you only speak the truth to her. If you want a chance to live through today, it would be better to admit you lied to me about the wraith in order to spare your life than attempting to lie to her about it.¡± Dean gulped, ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m telling the truth.¡± ¡°We shall see.¡± Famor said. They walked for several minutes in another tense silence before Dean asked, ¡°So, does this forest have a name?¡± ¡°It does, but you wouldn¡¯t understand it. In the human tongue, my people call it the Divine or Sacred Forest.¡± ¡°Do humans have a name for it?¡± ¡°The Forbidden forest.¡± Dean bit back a laugh. He was suddenly imagining the forest filled with centaurs, giant talking spiders, and a wild Ford Anglia running around in it. Instead, he asked, ¡°Why do they call it that? Is there some kind of beef between humans and elves?¡± ¡°Elves don¡¯t eat meat, human.¡± Neva spat. Dean rolled his eyes, ¡°I mean is there a problem between the two.¡± ¡°Do you not know the history of your own people?¡± Famor glanced back at him. Dean didn¡¯t respond, figuring his silence was answer enough. After a few seconds, Famor continued, ¡°This land was once ruled by a powerful king. They called him wise and just because all creatures were treated equally and fairly under his rule. It¡¯s said that he could raise mountains or dry up an ocean with a single world.¡± Famor paused, his face furrowed in anger. He spoke the rest through clenched teeth, ¡°But it wasn¡¯t enough, he wanted more power. He wanted elvish magic. You have to understand, no human has ever mastered elvish magic. It¡¯s not possible. But the King came to believe he could, if he drank the blood of the True Mother.¡± Famor turned to look at Dean, his expression a mixture of anger and sadness, ¡°You would call her a Queen, but that isn¡¯t exactly the right word. There isn¡¯t a word in the human tongue to explain what she meant to my people. And that king, that greedy human, betrayed her. He murdered her and drank her blood. It didn¡¯t work, obviously. Instead, he was tainted by the evil act and succumbed to a demon.¡± Dean recognized the overlap with the game¡¯s plot line and asked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t that a thousand years ago?¡± ¡°Perhaps, but it will still be remembered a thousand years from now.¡± ¡°So, our people have been at odds ever sense?¡± Dean asked. ¡°There have been a few times of peace between our peoples. But it never lasts long. Elves have come to realize that humans are always greedy for power, and will stop at nothing to achieve it. That is the way of humans.¡± Dean suddenly didn¡¯t like his chances of getting out of here alive. He really wished there was a Ford Anglia running around out there somewhere. 18. The Start of a New Alliance They entered the elven village twenty minutes later. Dean didn¡¯t realize it at first since the houses were built out of actual trees, not logs like human villages, but as though the trees had naturally grown with front doors and windows. The villagers stopped to stare at him, clutching their children as he passed. More than few hid in their houses, slamming the door in the process, and peeking out at him from behind their curtains. Most began following him, at a distance, as they continued through the village. The city center was a massive tree, at least fifty paces across at its base, where the village elders stood before a set of double doors set into its trunk. With all the commotion his arrival caused, he wasn¡¯t surprised they were already gathered and waiting for him. The elders were, well exactly what Dean expected. There seven of them in all, with gray hair and wrinkled faces. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this, Famor?¡± The oldest and grumpiest looking of the bunch demanded angrily, ¡°You know humans aren¡¯t allowed here. Why have you brought him? Famor ignored the man. Instead, he focused on a woman standing behind the elders. She was half their age, with long blonde hair pinned in a bun. Dean glanced between her, Famor and Aleria, realizing this woman was their mother. Famor addressed her, confirming Dean¡¯s suspicion, ¡°Forgive me, Mother. I take full responsibility for bringing him here.¡± She raised an inquiring eyebrow at him, ¡°Very well. Now, tell me, Famor. Why is he here?¡± Neva blurted out, ¡°He claims to have seen a wraith. It¡¯s impossible though, they¡¯re myths. And it would¡¯ve killed him anyway.¡± Neva snapped his mouth shut as the Famor¡¯s mother glanced at him. He hunched over, trying to hide, ¡°Well, he does.¡± Famor glanced at Neva, licking his lips. Obviously, Dean¡¯s death hadn¡¯t occurred to him. ¡°Is this true?¡± She looked at Dean, her eyes locking him in place. Before he could reply, Famor hastily said, ¡°It is, Mother. He claims it leads an orc army.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± She said, ¡°And can he not speak for himself?¡± Famor¡¯s cheeks reddened. He glared at Dean, as though it was his fault. His mother addressed Dean. ¡°I am Eowyn. Do you have a name?¡± ¡°Dean.¡± He replied. ¡°And you know that I am a Truth Minder?¡± She asked. Dean nodded. ¡°Then know this, lie to me and you will not leave here alive. Tell the truth, and you may yet live. Now, speak true, Dean. Tell me everything of this wraith and the army it leads.¡± Dean took a deep breath, steadied himself, and started talking. He told her about abandoned bandit camp, the orcs they encountered as they investigated, and the attack on the village. She asked several questions as he went, mostly about when or where something happened, or for him to elaborate on something. He talked until his mouth was dry. Eowyn gestured for Famor to hand Dean a canteen, which Famor did reluctantly and with a grimace. He ended with his encounter with the wraith, snapping his mouth shut just before mentioning his own death. ¡°How¡¯d you escape, human?¡± Neva demanded, ¡°Did you run like the coward you are?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t.¡± Eowyn answered. ¡°That¡¯s impossible, he¡¯d-¡°, Neva began. Eowyn held up a hand. ¡°He died and respawned.¡± Dean spit out the sip of water he was taking, spluttering as he stared at her in shock. When his coughing subsided, he said, ¡°You know about players?¡± ¡°I became aware of them recently,¡± She smirked, ¡°there is much you do not know about this world.¡± Dean tried to comprehend how she could know about him, and the implications it could mean. Were all NPC¡¯s aware? If so, did they know about the outside world? That they weren¡¯t real? He glanced at the other elves surrounding him, but all of them looked confused.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Famor said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand, mother. What is this ¡®players¡¯ he speaks of?¡± She was the only one aware of players. Why? What made her special? Was it the Truth Minder ability, or something else? Or was she a player, just messing around with him? He didn¡¯t think so. For one, she was an elf and he hadn¡¯t been given the choice of a race when he joined, so it stood to reason that no player had been given the option. And another, it appeared that she¡¯d been in the village for a while, long enough to have children, and the game hadn¡¯t been out that long. His friends had logged in when it launched, so unless pregnancy was shorter here, a lot shorter than real life, then it was impossible. ¡°It¡¯s not important,¡± She waved the question away, ¡°And would take too long to explain. Instead, know that Dean is not like other humans we have encountered before. He is different, apart from this world. Now, Dean, where did you find the settlement crystal, and tell me of how you came to trespass in our forest.¡± It took him a few seconds to refocus his mind on the story, to stop it from reeling from her revelation, before he could continue. He told her about the journey to the catacombs, where she asked for him to describe the murals in great detail, and the spider queen. He told her about his journey south, the goblin attack, and how he ended up chased into forest on accident. By the time he was finished, he felt like he¡¯d been wrung through from her questions, and his voice cracked. He was surprised to find the canteen empty when he tried to take a sip. ¡°So?¡± The grumpy elder asked, ¡°Is he telling the truth?¡± Eowyn continued to stare at Dean for a few more seconds, until he felt uncomfortable and was about to speak. Before he could, she glanced at the elder and said, ¡°He speaks true.¡± The village broke out in gasps, intense whispers and a few shouts of disbelief. Famor didn¡¯t change his demeanor as far as Dean could tell, but he seemed to relax slightly as he nodded once at Dean. Neva, for his part, was muttering to himself. Dean wasn¡¯t a lip reader by any means, but he could make out ¡®impossible¡¯ and ¡®myth¡¯. Aleria was the only one that didn¡¯t react in shock, she just studied him intently, her head slightly cocked to one side just like Eowyn had when she listened to his story, frowning slightly. When she noticed him staring, she scowled at him. ¡°There is the matter of your presence here,¡± Eowyn said quietly, only loud enough for him to hear. ¡°No human has laid eyes on this village in five hundred years.¡± ¡°What¡¯re you going to do?¡± Dean asked. ¡°It depends on your intentions.¡± She answered, ¡°Will you give me your word that you will not tell anyone about our village?¡± ¡°Done.¡± He said immediately. A notification popped up at the bottom of his screen. You have Sworn an Oath You have sworn to keep the existence of Me¡¯lian a secret. Breaking this vow will damage your relationship with the Eowyn. She smiled, amused at his quick reply, ¡°Then it is settled. I will permit you to leave.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you need to talk to the other elders?¡± Dean asked. She smirked, ¡°They will agree.¡± Dean laughed. The village might have an Elder Council that told them what to do, but the Council had answered to Eowyn. She smiled at him, this time a genuine, warm smile, and not just one from a village elder trying to be polite. ¡°Though,¡± She mused aloud, ¡°With a wraith loose, we will not survive if it turns it¡¯s attention towards us.¡± She tapped a finger against her lips as she thought, ¡°I wonder.¡± ¡°What?¡± Dean asked. She blinked at him. Apparently, she hadn¡¯t known she was speaking aloud. She laughed softly as she shook her head. ¡°Would you be willing to help us?¡± ¡°With what?¡± ¡°A quest.¡± Dean hesitated. Not that he didn¡¯t want to help but doing so would put him at risk of dying. ¡°I¡¯d like to, but I can¡¯t risk dying and respawning back at Torial.¡± She nodded her understanding, ¡°What if you were allowed to set it here?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious, mother?¡± Famor demanded. He¡¯d moved closer as Dean and Eowyn had talked without Dean realizing it. ¡°I am.¡± She said placidly. ¡°Have you forgotten everything about humans? That they¡¯re greedy, petty, and evil? Have you forgotten the True Mother?¡± Famor said bitterly. ¡°I have not. And you should remember who you are speaking to.¡± She replied. Famor bowed slightly, ¡°My apologies. I still do not understand.¡± ¡°Desperate times call for desperate measures, my son.¡± She answered. Dean recognized the quote but couldn¡¯t place it. A thought struck him, ¡°Are you trolling me?¡± She arched an eyebrow at him, ¡°Are you saying I look like a troll?¡± Dean heard someone behind him snort. He glanced over his shoulder to find Aleria looking at him, an eyebrow quirked and entirely too innocent looking. He turned back to her mother, ¡°I meant, are you a player?¡± ¡°No, I am not.¡± Eowyn answered. Dean wasn¡¯t sure about it, but decided to drop it and said, ¡°This is perfect. If you let all of us set our spawn points here¡­¡± He trailed off. She was shaking her head, ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult enough to convince the rest of the council to allow you to set it here.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± He said dejectedly. ¡°But I will convince them to allow you to do so, if you agree to help with the quest.¡± She explained. You¡¯ve been Offered a Quest Title: Unknown Reward: Unknown Description: In return for setting your spawn point to Me¡¯lian, you agree to assist in an unspecified quest from Eowyn. ¡°I accept.¡± Dean said before realizing he should probably ask what the quest was first. 19. A Friendly Sparring Match A series of notification popped up in Dean¡¯s vision. He selected one, causing a new status screen to open. You¡¯ve started a new Relationship Name: Eowyn Status: Hopeful (+1) Description: Years of conflict between Elves and Humans has made Eowyn wary of all humans. She believes you may be different than other humans, but you have not yet proven it to her. Complete quests or interact with this individual to improve your relationship with them. Name: Amelia Status: Indifferent (0) Description: Years of conflict between Elves and Humans has made Amelia wary of all humans. Amelia doesn¡¯t have an opinion, and only tolerates you because of Eowyn. Complete quests or interact with this individual to improve your relationship with them. Name: Famor Status: Cautious (-1) Description: Years of conflict between Elves and Humans has made Famor wary of all humans. The only reason he is willing to give you a chance is because of Eowyn. Complete quests or interact with this individual to improve your relationship with them. Name: Council of Me¡¯lian Status: Distrust (-3) Description: Years of conflict between Elves and Humans has made the council wary of all humans. The only reason they are willing to give you a chance is because of Eowyn. Complete quests or interact with this individual to improve your relationship with them. Name: Neva Status: Hated (-5) Description: Neva believes that you will betray and hurt his friends. The only reason he won¡¯t kill you is because of Eowyn. Complete quests or interact with this individual to improve your relationship with them. Dean whistled softly after reading Neva¡¯s description. Definitely don¡¯t walk any dark alleys with the man, Dean thought. The rest made sense. Famor¡¯s explanation about the King betraying the elves would certainly account for the hatred between the two races, and years of conflict would¡¯ve only reinforced the hatred. He was surprised Eowyn would even give him a chance, considering, but her knowledge of players could explain the difference. He closed the window and glanced up at Eowyn to ask her about the quest, but she¡¯d left, along with the village council. ¡°Where¡¯d she go?¡± Neva snorted, ¡°Are all humans as clueless as you?¡± Dean ignored Neva¡¯s comment and looked inquiringly at Famor. Sighing, Famor said, ¡°The council is meeting to discuss Eowyn¡¯s proposal.¡± ¡°How long will it take for her to convince them?¡± He asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Famor shrugged, ¡°What she is proposing is unlike anything the council has ever agreed to. My mother said she can convince them, but I don¡¯t see how. You¡¯re a human, even if you are whatever it is she called you, and dealings with humans have never ended well. You recognized the word. What does it mean?¡± Dean nodded as he said, ¡°She called me a player.¡± Dean snorted, ¡°Where I¡¯m from, it used to mean someone that was good with women.¡± Famor raised an eyebrow at him, ¡°You do not look deformed, but I haven¡¯t met many humans to know if you are pleasing to the eye. Amelia, you¡¯re at least a female, is he pleasing to the eye?¡± Amelia tilted her head, studying him in a way that embarrassed Dean, making his cheeks redden. After a moment, she said, ¡°He is not displeasing to the eye, for a human, but I don¡¯t believe that is what mother meant.¡± Neva growled behind him. Dean turned, half expecting a sword in his back, to see Neva glaring daggers at him. So that¡¯s how it is. He turned back to Famor, ¡°It¡¯s not. I¡¯m not sure how to explain it. I doubt you¡¯ll believe me, even if I do.¡± Famor said, ¡°Try, at least.¡± ¡°Then, I guess, you could say that players are from¡­¡± He almost said from the real world but didn¡¯t think that was the best explanation. Instead, he finished, ¡°A different world.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such thing.¡± Neva spat. ¡°You¡¯re making it up.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your world like?¡± Amelia asked, obviously skeptical, but intrigued, about different worlds. Dean thought about it for a minute, trying to figure out how to describe the real world without hinting that this was just a game. It dawned on him that he could just tell them their world wasn¡¯t real, that it was just an imaginary place for players to have fun and get away from their own lives for a while. Except, they wouldn¡¯t believe him, and it would be unnecessarily cruel. Instead, he answered, ¡°There¡¯s a lot more cities than here. There aren¡¯t a lot of forests like this, most have been chopped down for lumber or to build on the land.¡± ¡°It sounds awful.¡± Amelia said, sadness tingeing her voice. She shivered slightly. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re falling for this,¡± Neva complained, ¡°He¡¯s obviously lying. There¡¯s no such thing as other worlds. He¡¯s just making it up, so we don¡¯t think he¡¯s a typical, stupid human.¡± Amelia sniffed, ¡°I never said I believed him, Neva.¡± Famor shook his head slightly, ¡°Nor do I. Unless you can prove it?¡± Dean shook his head. Neva smirked, but Famor ignored him as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are, but I agree with Neva. The only other world is the Demon Realm. But you don¡¯t look like a demon to me.¡± Dean shrugged, ¡°Like I said, you wouldn¡¯t believe me. Your mother might be able to explain it better.¡± Dean looked around the clearing, spotted a bench and walked over to it. The bench was actually a part of a tree trunk, the tree having grown in a way that provided a smooth seat and back for elves to sit on. That or, as Dean really suspected, elves had some kind of nature magic. He sat down, a little surprised that the bark gave a little like a cushion. The other three were still standing where he¡¯d left them, glancing at him as they talked. He didn¡¯t care that they didn¡¯t believe him, he never expected them to, but couldn¡¯t think of a way to improve his relationship with them. If he could improve his status with the elves, they might be willing to help out with the orcs in a more active way. At this point, he had no idea how to defeat them. He hadn¡¯t even founded the city, much less built a spawn point. And if Shiro was right, the orcs would eventually move on to attack the new city. After a few minutes, the group drifted apart. Neva walked to the opposite side of the clearing, where he sat on a bench and glared at Dean sourly with his arms folded. Amelia watched him go, shaking her head at his back, before stalking off. Famor, on the other hand, only took a dozen steps away from the tree, drew his sword, and settled into some kind of fighting stance. Dean watched as he moved slowly from one position to the next, pausing for a few seconds at each pose, before starting again. After ten minutes, Dean decided to walk over and ask, ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Without breaking his movements or breathing, Famor replied, ¡°It¡¯s called the Katori Technique.¡± ¡°And that is?¡± ¡°A sword technique.¡± Famor answered. That much was obvious. What Dean really wanted to know is if there were more techniques, one for each weapon, or maybe even multiple techniques for each weapon. Did they provide some kind of extra advantage in battle? Or, would Famor be willing to teach him? He had so many different questions racing through his head that he didn¡¯t know where to start. Dean settled on the most important question first, ¡°Can you teach me?¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°I can.¡± Famor said. Famor didn¡¯t say anything else. Dean realized his mistake, feeling like he was talking to an old English teacher he once had, ¡°Will you teach me?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Dean asked. ¡°It is an Elven technique.¡± Famor explained. ¡°I will not teach it to a human.¡± ¡°Do all elves learn it?¡± Then a thought struck him, ¡°Are there more elf villages or is this the only one?¡± ¡°There are more, though I do not know where they are located. And I cannot speak for other villages, but everyone in this village learns the basics of the technique. Only a few pursue it past that.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re one of them?¡± Dean asked. ¡°I am.¡± Famor said curtly, ¡°Now, I¡¯m trying to concentrate.¡± Dean walked a dozen paces from Famor and drew his sword. He tried to replicate Famor¡¯s movements, but Famor stopped the moment he realized what Dean was doing. Famor sat down with his legs crossed, sword across his lap and closed his eyes. Dean sighed, then decided he might as well practice his sword skills. He wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯d give him any experience, just swinging his sword around in the air, but figured it was worth a shot. He started practicing, feeling like a fool after Famor¡¯s steady, practiced movements. Dean stabbed and slashed his way around the field, twisting and turning as he did so, until he turned abruptly and slashed downward. Famor caught the blade against his own with careless ease. Dean gaped, taking a few steps back as he tried to figure out how Famor had crossed the thirty paces so quickly. For his part, Famor tilted his head calmly and said, ¡°Are all humans as clumsy as you with their swords? Or is it just you that has never learned to wield a blade?¡± Indignant, Dean growled, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with how I fight.¡± ¡°You think so?¡± Famor answered stoically, ¡°Then prove it. If you even scratch me, I¡¯ll teach you the katori technique.¡± Dean was about to blurt out an acceptance but thought better of it. ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± Famor waved the hand that wasn¡¯t holding the sword, ¡°If you don¡¯t, then you will know that you need to learn how to fight. It wouldn¡¯t be fair to demand anything else in return.¡± ¡°Asshole.¡± Dean growled as he charged. Without knowing how it happened, he landed on his back. He blinked a few times before rolling over, grabbing his sword and standing up. Famor raised an eyebrow questioningly. Dean roared in anger as he attacked, but Famor easily deflected every single blow. Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw that they had drawn a crowd. Neva stood at the front, a wolfish grin on his face. After a few exchanges, Famor did something, a flick of his wrist, that sent Dean¡¯s sword flying through the air. Dean walked slowly around the small circle, watching Famor as he moved to collect his sword. Famor stood there calmly, only moving enough to keep his body facing Dean. Dean lost track of how many times he wound up disarmed, on his back, or ended up staring at the tip of Famor¡¯s blade pressed against his chest. At first, he gave in to the rage of battle, letting it fuel his attacks. It was easy to remain angry, despite the fact that Famor wasn¡¯t goading him in any way. No, Famor¡¯s stoic, impenetrable self-assurance that Dean wouldn¡¯t score a scratch was more than enough to keep his temper hot. But he couldn¡¯t score a hit, couldn¡¯t get close to breaking past Famor¡¯s defenses. After another failed attempt, Dean grabbed his sword from the ground, and ground his teeth as he stalked back and forth. The damn Elf hadn¡¯t even broken a sweat yet, while Dean felt it pouring down his face and trickling down his back. But then he noticed something. While Dean was stalking around the circle, Famor stood perfectly still, on the balls of his feet, with both his knees bent. Dean stopped moving, and mimicked the stance, feeling his weight shift a little lower. He felt off balanced, so slid his foot forward a few inches to correct it. The stance felt weird, almost like he was completely grounded, while at the same time, feeling like he was ready to leap into the air at any moment. He felt the anger drain out of him. Not from the stance, but because he was concentrating on something other than fighting. It was replaced a queasy sensation in the pit of his stomach. He easily recognized it because the emotion had become a constant companion the entire time he¡¯d been in the game. Fear. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the dark side of the force. The quote crossed his mind before he could stop it. But he knew it was true. He¡¯d been hiding his fear behind his anger. Keeping it bottled up until he needed it. And that¡¯s my secret, Dean thought, I¡¯m always angry. But right now, for whatever reason, his anger had drained away and allowed the fear to boil up. Not from dying, his brain had figured out that death wasn¡¯t an end here, but from being a failure. Of being useless. His friends were experienced players, capable of holding their own in a fight. Sure, he¡¯d survived against the leechwings, had defeated the alpha wolf by himself, and fought the orcs during the battle, but all of that had been a mad scramble. He always took more damage than them, surviving by the skin of his teeth, and they were forced to heal him so the group could continue. He was the weakest link. Goodbye. The sensation spread slowly to the rest of his body. Once the feeling reached his fingers and toes, a second feeling started growing. It felt colder and harder, starting in his chest and working its way out. Except, it wasn¡¯t a feeling per se, but something just as powerful. Determination. It didn¡¯t ease the fear coursing through his body, just honed it in a way he could use. It might¡¯ve been a trick of the light, but Dean thought he saw Famor nod almost imperceivably. Dean approached a lot more cautiously this time, taking each step with deliberate focus, as he shifted his weight and moved his sword to adjust. He barely registered the notifications that flashed at the bottom of his vision, before attacking Famor. Dean still lost the exchange without scratching Famor, still had his sword wrenched out of his hands and wound up on his back staring at the tree¡¯s leaves, but it took longer this time for it to happen. Dean was startled to hear Famor approach instead of waiting for him to get back up. He wasn¡¯t sure what Famor was going to do, but didn¡¯t have enough time to react. He was taken completely off guard when Famor sat beside him and quietly asked, ¡°You realized something about yourself, did you not?¡± Dean climbed to a sitting position facing Famor. ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± ¡°When we first started sparring, it felt like fighting any other human. Until the last. What did you realize?¡± Famor asked. Dean almost replied with something snarky, but something stopped him. He didn¡¯t know why, but he decided to tell the truth. ¡°I realized I was afraid.¡± Famor nodded his understanding, ¡°I, too, am afraid every time I draw my blade in battle. Is it death that you fear?¡± ¡°No,¡± Dean said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid of not being good enough to help my friends when they need me.¡± A notification flashed across the bottom of Dean¡¯s vision. Your Relationship with Famor has Improved to Hopeful (+1). Dean grunted softly at the notification. He¡¯d somehow just jumped their relationship two entire levels by just telling the truth. He hoped he could persuade the rest as easily. Famor replied, ¡°That¡¯s an honorable fear to have. It ruled you, at first, but you have found a way to rule it instead. I¡¯m beginning to see what my mother sees in you.¡± ¡°Thanks, I think.¡± Dean said, ¡°Just give me a second to grab my sword and I¡¯ll be ready for another round.¡± ¡°No, that is enough for today.¡± Famor said, ¡°My mother has returned and she doesn¡¯t like to be kept waiting.¡± Dean glanced at the big tree. Eowyn was standing in front of it, watching the two, with her usual calm expression. Amelia stood beside her, having returned from wherever shed¡¯ gone, and watched them curiously. Neva stood a few steps behind them, clearly to stay out of Eowyn¡¯s eyesight as he stared maliciously at Dean. Any time Eowyn or Amelia glanced in his direction, he immediately changed his expression to something less cruel. Dean shook his head, muttering to himself, ¡°Seriously, what the hell did I do to piss him off so badly?¡± Famor followed his gaze. Neva didn¡¯t change his expression fast enough. Famor grunted, ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything. Neva is very fond of my sister, and overly protective of her. He believes it will win her heart, but I fear he is mistaken.¡± ¡°Yeah, I figured that much out.¡± Dean said, ¡°Still doesn¡¯t explain why he hates me so much.¡± ¡°Do you not see?¡± Famor said, ¡°You just told me of your fear for your friends. He feels the same fear, but for someone he loves. Unlike my sister and I, Neva hasn¡¯t encountered any human other than you. He only knows what our legends say. Yet, my mother and Amelia aren¡¯t afraid of you as he thinks they should be. He thinks they¡¯re mistaken, though he wouldn¡¯t admit it to them out of fear that she would be angry with him.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve met other humans?¡± Dean said, surprised. ¡°Only a few,¡± Famor admitted, ¡°But enough to know that not all of you are pure evil as the legends say.¡± ¡°But on the way here, you told me about the King. It sounded like you hate all humans because of what he did.¡± Dean said. Famor replied slowly, contemplating each word before speaking, ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain. I was raised believing that all humans are like that, but my mother is a village leader and a Truth Minder. She sees humans differently as a result and ensured that Amelia and I learned to judge humans individually. Our village trades with humans, there are a few things we can¡¯t make ourselves, but we meet them at the edge of the forest. My mother took my sister and I on several occasions, so that we could see humans for ourselves. From those trips, I learned that not all humans are evil.¡± He shrugged as he said, ¡°But if I¡¯m honest with myself, I believe a human evil until they prove otherwise.¡± ¡°And Neva hasn¡¯t had the same experiences with humans,¡± Dean said, ¡°So, he only knows about the legends. He thinks I¡¯m evil and can¡¯t figure out why your family trusts me.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± Famor said, ¡°And his fear of you, fear of losing my sister, is clouding his thoughts.¡± Famor chuckled, ¡°And it¡¯s partly my fault. I asked her if she found you pleasing to the eye, do you remember?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± Dean had forgotten about that. ¡°But all she said was that I wasn¡¯t deformed or anything.¡± Famor shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s more than Amelia has ever said about Neva.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± Dean said, ¡°Poor guy.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Famor said, ¡°I fear I may owe you an apology for that. Had I thought about Neva¡¯s feelings at the time, I wouldn¡¯t have said anything.¡± ¡°Sounds like you don¡¯t think I¡¯m completely evil anymore.¡± Dean said. ¡°No,¡± Famor said, ¡°Crossing swords with you has convinced me otherwise.¡± ¡°You learn about people from fighting them?¡± Dean asked. Famor laughed, ¡°It¡¯s one way. Probably the most straightforward way I know. It¡¯s impossible to hide your true self during a fight.¡± ¡°Does this mean you¡¯ll teach me that technique?¡± Dean asked. ¡°No,¡± Famor said. He hesitated before adding, ¡°But I will think on it. That¡¯s all I will promise.¡± A quest notification popped up. You¡¯ve Received a Potential Quest Title: The Katori Technique Reward: Training from Famor Description: Famor is hesitant to teach you the Katori technique. Improve your relationship with him to start this quest. Dean grinned as he cleared the notification from his vision. If improving his relationship with Famor was the only way to learn the technique, then he''d just have to do it. And since he''d already jumped two levels already, it was going to be easy. But first, he needed to change his spawn point and find out what this mysterious quest was all about. Oh, and found a new city, create a spawn point and defeat a horde of Orcs. When did RPGs get so complicated? Whatever happened to simple games, where all he had to do was defeat the boss and save the princess. Next time he got stuck in a game, he hoped it''d be a first person shooter. 20. The Heart of a City Famor helped Dean to his feet. Together, they walked over to join Eowyn and the others. ¡°The elders have agreed to let you change your spawn point to the village,¡± She said, ¡°Come, I will show you how to do so.¡± ¡°Of course, they did, Mother.¡± Famor said, ¡°Like there was ever any doubt.¡± She leveled a hard look at him, ¡°While the council is known to usually agree to my decisions, they are not mine alone to make. This decision was not lightly made, nor is it of small consequence, as you seem to think.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Mother.¡± Famor replied, ¡°He may be a human, but you said he was speaking the truth. Why would the council refuse with a Shadow Wraith in the kingdom?¡± ¡°No, Famor, you do not understand.¡± Eowyn said, ¡°But I think you will shortly. Come.¡± She led the group through the double doors and into a spacious room similar to the Magistrate¡¯s main room in Torial. It had a raised dais at the opposite end of the room, with enough chairs for the elders set at a chair. Rows of benches were carved, or more likely grown that way Dean thought, around the walls, allowing the village a place to sit during proceedings. Eowyn led them past the dais and through a small door set in the back, where a set of stairs leading up. Cracks in the bark provided enough light to see by, and Dean supposed, would also act as arrow slots if it ever came to a battle. She led them up the stairs. Each full circle of the tree led to a landing with a hallway branching off. The first few floors looked like various offices and administrative rooms, but the higher they went, the few open doors revealed a lavish living room and kitchen. After spotting one of the elders entering one of the floors, Dean realized these were the living quarters of the council. She stopped at one of the landings, pressed her hand on the door while saying something under her breath, and the door swung open. Inside, Dean found himself standing in a spacious, living room that he guessed belonged to Eowyn. There was just enough furniture to make it feel cozy, but still giving a feeling of a utilitarian design. There was a kitchen to the left, though Dean had no idea how they¡¯d light a fire without burning down the tree, and a dining nook overlooking two large windows overlooking the forest canopy below. He spotted what looked like a fireplace and mantel, complete with four chairs set around it for intimate discussions, but inside the fireplace was a strange green vein, pulsing with a gentle green light and radiating warmth. Eowyn crossed the room and started tilting books on a bookshelf against the opposite wall. The books were some kind of mechanism, since they didn¡¯t fall off, and set in some kind of combination lock from the looks of it, Dean realized. After moving at least a dozen books and objects, she pressed gently on the bookshelf and it swung open on hidden hinges. Behind it, was another set of stairs, these shrouded in complete darkness. Eowyn turned to the group, ¡°This is a secret only known to a few elders, and now you. You must swear to keep it secret, is that understood?¡± She glared at each of them in turn, not just Dean, until they had sworn an oath. When she spoke again, it was to all of them, but Dean had the feeling he was getting a tutorial on city building, ¡°At the heart of every settlement is a Hearthstone, and only a Settlement Crystal will unlock it. From there, the founder can govern their city.¡± She looked at straight at Dean and said, ¡°It¡¯s also where someone can take control of a city.¡± Neva gasped, ¡°And you¡¯re taking him there? What if he tries to take over the city?¡± Eowyn held up her hand to silence him, ¡°It isn¡¯t about trying to take over the city, Neva. It¡¯s about a choice to do so. Had I told the council about this; they would never have allowed to access to the hearthstone.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Amelia said, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell the council the truth?¡± ¡°I told them what they needed to know in order to make the decision.¡± Eowyn replied. ¡°And what if he decides to take over the city?¡± Neva complained. ¡°I don¡¯t believe Dean will.¡± Eowyn said placidly.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Nor I.¡± Famor agreed. ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Dean said, ¡°Torial had an obelisk for a spawn point. If this stone thing is so important and dangerous, why not use something like that?¡± Eowyn replied, ¡°It¡¯s possible to build one, and it is safer than letting strangers near the hearthstone. We¡¯ve never had a need before today. I fear we may need to reconsider. Unfortunately, you do not have time to wait.¡± She handed each of them a small, glowing crystal about the size of a pebble and led them down the stairway. They traveled back down, passing the main hall and into a hollowed room surrounded by the root system. The walls and floor were made of packed earth, and the room was empty except for a single pedestal in the middle. ¡°Has this been here the whole time?¡± Famor asked, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen this room before. I didn¡¯t even know it existed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the point, Famor,¡± Eowyn explained dryly. It sounded weird for her to express her emotions while speaking. She continued, ¡°The fewer that know this place exists, the safer the village is.¡± ¡°But why, Mother?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°As I said, this is the heart of the city. Watch.¡± Eowyn laid a hand on the pedestal as she looked back at them. A screen, visible to everyone in the group, appeared. Dean watched as Eowyn pressed each button on the pedestal. ¡°This is the city interface, called the hearthstone. The first is the construction map, allowing a founder to select and view each building on the map. The second is a list of each building and assigning villagers to it. The third is a list of villagers and their top skills. The fourth is a list of current resources available in the village, and the fifth is any laws currently enacted. The final is a list of the cities powers and magic abilities.¡± She looked at Dean as she said, ¡°You cannot hope to build your new cities defenses quickly enough to survive an attack, but I believe finding the right power or spell may be the key to your success. Do you understand?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± Dean said, ¡°And how do I change my spawn point?¡± ¡°Lay your hand on the hearthstone.¡± She gestured at him to do so. Dean approached the hearthstone. It looked a bit like the devices from Stargate, with one of the settlement crystals in the middle and a series of buttons surrounding it. At the base, was a smooth stone block that he laid his hand onto. A screen popped up. From the gasps of the others, he guessed they could see it too. Me¡¯lian¡¯s Hearthstone Warning, you are not the owner of this hearthstone, some options are not available:
  1. Edit the City ¨C Unavailable
  2. Activate a City Power ¨C Unavailable
  3. Change your Spawn Point ¨C Available
  4. Take control of this Hearthstone ¨C Available
Dean glanced at Eowyn, finally realizing the risk she¡¯d taken in allowing him to change his spawn point. The hearthstone was the literal heart of a city, the place where a player, or NPC for that matter, could gain control of it and rule. There was no way every single player in the game would agree to change their spawn point, and not use the opportunity to gain control of a city. It was already built, with resources and capable villagers. A player could easily become powerful with this kind of city under their control. Not only that, but it would immediately solve their problems with the orc invasion, allowing his friends a place to change their spawn points without having to race to build a new city from scratch. There was already one here. It would literally solve all their problems. Yet, it would also mean betraying the village. As much as he wanted to, he just couldn¡¯t do it. Instead, all he said was, ¡°Thank you.¡± She inclined her head slightly. Dean selected the option to change his spawn point. Are you sure you want change your spawn point to Me¡¯lian? Yes/No Dean selected yes. A series of lights circled him briefly, exactly like how he spawned just not as intense. They faded slowly, leaving him standing in front of the hearthstone. He removed his hand and stared down at it. After a moment, he looked up at Eowyn and asked, ¡°So what¡¯s this quest about?¡± He heard the others sigh in relief as she smiled at him, ¡°There¡¯s a barrow at the edge of our forest, with a puzzle my people cannot solve. I was hoping you might be able to.¡± A quest update popped up on his screen. You¡¯ve Accepted a Quest Title: The Necromancers Plan, Pt. 1 Reward: None Description: The villagers of Me¡¯lian are troubled by a strange barrow near the edge of their forest. Defeat the Necromancer in order to remove this blight from the land. Great, Dean thought, it¡¯s a multi-part quest. Like he didn¡¯t already have enough on his plate. He asked Eowyn, ¡°Is finishing part one enough, or do I need to do all of it?¡± She tilted her head slightly for a second before responding, ¡°I do not know. If finishing the initial quest removes the trouble from my lands, then I will accept that as payment. If not, then I will require you to finish the quest after you¡¯ve finished with the immediate threat to your friends. Agreed?¡± Sighing, Dean said, ¡°Agreed.¡± Not like he had an option. He¡¯d already set his spawn point to the elf village, and they could just as easily trap him here, if they wanted, as the orcs could¡¯ve trapped him at his original spawn point. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, he thought. ¡°I will join you, Dean, to clear the barrow. If you¡¯d accept my help?¡± Famor said. ¡°And mine.¡± Amelia said quickly. ¡°Definitely.¡± Dean replied just as quickly. ¡°Then, I¡¯m going to.¡± Neva demanded. Dean stared at him for a second, trying to figure out whether he could refuse without worsening his relationship with the others. Not that he didn¡¯t want help, he was just worried that Neva might decide to accidently stab him in the back. Or the front for that matter. 21. The Barrows Puzzle Unfortunately, Dean hadn¡¯t thought of a way to politely tell Neva to go to hell, and that¡¯s how he found himself standing in front of the barrow several hours later with all three of the elves beside him. The barrow was located just past the eastern edge of the forest, on the foothills of the mountains. It was a large, grass covered mound with a small stone opening on the side. They slipped inside, one after another, into a small cavern lined with shelves and littered with broken vases and urns. There was a small pile of torches lining the doorway that Famor passed around. The only other exit to the room was a small stairwell set leading down into the barrow¡¯s depths. Famor stopped him at the top step, ¡°There¡¯s two levels filled with a couple monsters before we reach the puzzle.¡± Dean drew his sword as he said, ¡°Thanks for the heads up.¡± Dean crept down the stairs with the torch held up in front of him. The stairs wound around as they descended, until Dean was certain he¡¯d gone a complete circle before they ended at the beginning of a series of caverns. He waited for the others to catch up, scanning the area in case anything was nearby. He thought he spotted movement a couple of times but couldn¡¯t make out anything in the gloom when he concentrated on it. Probably a trick of the light, he thought. He led the way deeper into the caverns, casting his light about as he went, until he spotted a creature. It looked more like a xenomorph than a gremlin, with an eloganted head and arms, scaly black skin and saliva dripping from its fangs. It stood on its haunches and hissed at him. Nothing like the creatures he imagined, though to be fair, he thought, this thing probably didn¡¯t spawn from feeding a mogwai after midnight. Just in case, Dean scanned it. Gremlin ¨C Level 1 Health: 20/20 He glanced at the others, who looked back at him expectantly. Dean approached cautiously, sword held ready, as the creature stood up and growled at him. He attacked, leaping at it while swinging his sword. The creature didn¡¯t dodge exactly, its body flowed out of the way, almost like it wasn¡¯t made of bones, before straightening up behind his sword. He tried again to the same result. The others burst out laughing behind him. Amelia snorted out, ¡°You should see your face right now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s priceless.¡± Famor bent over laughing, completely out of character. ¡°You look like an El¡¯forn caught by surprise.¡± He mimicked a shocked expression, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. When he caught his breath, he explained, ¡°We do this to every new warrior recruit as a kind of initiation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not funny,¡± Dean tried to hide his irritation. ¡°What if it attacks? Isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡± Amelia walked up beside him as she fished out a coin from her pocket. ¡°They won¡¯t attack unless you try to steal their treasure.¡± She tossed it at the creature, who snatched the coin out of the air and disappeared down a crack in the wall. ¡°Or corner them. Then, they¡¯re vicious.¡± Dean stared after it, mouth agape. There was no way the creature could fit in there. ¡°Come on,¡± Famor said, still chuckling, ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can solve this puzzle.¡± Famor took the lead as they continued, now that the prank was finished, and tossed a coin at the two gremlins they encountered before reaching the third floor. As they entered the new room, Famor gestured grandly, ¡°Welcome to the puzzle room.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The room lit up as they entered as crystals on the wall, similar to those Dean had seen in the Spider Queen¡¯s nest, started glowing. Aside from a door exactly opposite the one they entered, the only other object in the room was a chest high obelisk in the center with a stone sphere at its apex. Dean followed Amelia to the obelisk, where she explained, ¡°We think this is the clue, but don¡¯t know what it means.¡± ¡°And these are what we have to solve.¡± Famor said. Dean glanced over as Famor turned a small crank and a portion of the wall, only a foot by a foot, rotated on a hidden wheel. There was an symbol on it, a sphere with a portion of its interior etched out. Famor pointed further down the wall, ¡°There¡¯s seven in total. And one on the locked door.¡± Dean turned slowly in a circle. Now that he knew what to look for, he spotted four at the cardinal points, and another four halfway between them, including one a few feet above the door they¡¯d entered with a corresponding crank at chest level beside the door. All of them had a circle on them, with various parts etched out. Idly, he asked, ¡°Have you just tried every combination?¡± ¡°No,¡± Famor explained, ¡°A wrong answer shuts the door and floods the room with poison.¡± ¡°So, no guessing. Got it.¡± Dean walked up to their intended exit and studied the one on the door, a circle with the inside completely etched out, before turning around and looking at the rest of the room. ¡°He¡¯s not going to solve it,¡± Neva complained, ¡°There¡¯s no way.¡± ¡°Give me a minute to think.¡± Dean said, ¡°The answer¡¯s here somewhere.¡± Alright, he thought, a bunch of circles. He started thinking about every fact he could concerning circles. They have no sides. They¡¯re a basic geometric shape. Every point is equidistance from the center. And yet, none of those made sense. He¡¯s gaze fell on the sphere. Circles are a two-dimensional representation of a sphere. The sphere is the key. But what was it trying to tell him? Famor started walking around the room, casting a shadow across the sphere. ¡°Wait,¡± Dean cried out, ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± He looked at Amelia and Neva, ¡°Go stand in corridor. Famor, come here.¡± Dean put out his torch as Famor walked over. Once Famor was standing next to him, Dean glanced at the sphere and at the symbol on the door. Since the symbol on the door was completely etched out in the center, light had to mean the etched out portion. ¡°Famor, walk to the next crank.¡± Once Famor reached the next crank, Dean looked at the sphere and at the symbol on the wall. ¡°Famor, turn the crank until I say stop.¡± Famor started turning it slowly, while Dean waited until the symbol matched the light reflected on the sphere. ¡°Stop. Next one.¡± He repeated the process until every single one of the symbols matched the light reflected off the sphere. He asked Famor, ¡°So, now what?¡± Famor pointed at the door behind Dean, ¡°There¡¯s a lever beside the door.¡± Dean found the lever. ¡°You should probably wait outside, just in case.¡± Famor asked, ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m wrong,¡± Dean shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ll just respawn at the village.¡± He grinned, ¡°But I¡¯m not.¡± Famor nodded doubtfully, ¡°Still, I think I¡¯ll wait in the corridor. Just in case.¡± Once Famor was in the corridor, Dean took a deep breath. ¡°Hold onto your butts.¡± It was such a perfect reference. Shame his friends weren¡¯t here to appreciate it. He flipped the switch and immediately heard the other door slam shut. A hissing noise filled the room and a green gas started pouring in. His lips started burning, followed by his tongue and the back of his throat. It worked it¡¯s way down his throat and into his lungs. Each breath came in ragged gasps. He started coughing blood as his health bar turned purple and started dropping. He fell to the floor, his body wracked by convulsions. They stopped, finally, as a notification filled his screen. You died. Respawn in 10 seconds 22. Puzzle Solved Dean growled in frustration as he spawned beside the city pedestal. The pain subsided the moment he died and left a bitter taste in his mouth, but worse than that, was the fact that he was starting to get used to it. Not that he didn¡¯t feel the pain, it still hurt when he was injured, but it didn¡¯t leave him as shaken up as it had at first. He quickly found the stairs and stomped up them. He vaguely thought that anyone on the other side of the wall might hear him, and in his foul mood, hoped they thought the tree was haunted. He made him feel a little better, and a bitter grin spread across his face. He banged on Eowyn¡¯s door, the grin replaced by a look of determination. She answered it a few seconds later, took one look his expression, and said, ¡°Wrong answer?¡± ¡°No,¡± He growled, knowing it wasn¡¯t her fault, not really, but unable to temper his voice, ¡°I decided to die, thought it sounded fun to start all over, again.¡± She sighed and nodded at him before saying, ¡°I hoped you would be able to help, but if you don¡¯t know how to solve the-¡° He cut her off, ¡°I¡¯ll solve it.¡± She nodded, her expression completely neutral as she gestured for him to enter. Seeing the change in her demeanor, he softened his tone, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not mad at you. Just pissed off that I thought I figured it out, but obviously, I was wrong.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± She said softly, ¡°You should know that we let many of our scholars try to solve the riddle when the barrow first appeared. They studied it for months, and each one came up with a different solution. None of them worked. All of them joined the True Mother in the Eternal Garden, but you¡¯re a player, so you¡¯re different. When you die, your soul doesn¡¯t go to the afterlife. You return to this world.¡± She paused, gauging his reaction before continuing, ¡°I thought that you might be able to solve it because you¡¯re a player. Still, I would¡¯ve been surprised if you solved it on your first attempt, not unless it had something to do with your world. That¡¯s the reason I asked you to help.¡± She slowly shook her head, ¡°But, your friends are in danger, and you don¡¯t have time to waste on this right now. As long as you promise to return afterwards, I will give you permission to help your friends first.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ready give up,¡± He said, ¡°Not yet. There¡¯s still plenty of time to found a new city, and I must¡¯ve missed something, a clue of some sort, to help me figure out the riddle.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± she said, ¡°Then you should hurry to meet my children before they make it back to the village. Time is short, even if you don¡¯t believe it.¡± Dean hurried down the stairs at a fast pace, before breaking into a sprint once he was outside. A few villagers glanced at him cautiously, but now that the elders had agreed to let him remain, most of them seemed content with his presence in the village. More than anything else, even respawning after death, the fact that the village could just accept him at a word from Eowyn bothered him. It didn¡¯t feel real. There was no way a thousand years of fear and anger would suddenly evaporate just because she said he was different. Then again, they were helping him, so he shouldn¡¯t complain. And it was just a game, after all. He found the others partway back to the village, they¡¯re expressions of shock and confusion making him laugh. ¡°You¡¯re alive?¡± Amelia gasped, ¡°How?¡± Neva stammered, ¡°You were dead. We found your body.¡± ¡°Come on, guys,¡± Dean laughed, ¡°You can¡¯t get rid of me that easily.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°It¡¯s not possible,¡± Famor said as he poked Dean on the shoulder to check if he was real, ¡°We saw your body. Are you some kind of God?¡± ¡°No,¡± Dean said hastily, ¡°I¡¯m definitely not a god.¡± The last thing he needed was for Ryan to hear anyone claim that he was a god. He could just imagine the look on Ryan¡¯s face, and the lecture that would come immediately after that. No, definitely didn¡¯t need the rumor that he was a god floating around. ¡°Now, come on. We¡¯ve got a riddle to solve.¡± He led them back through the barrow until they reached the riddle room, as he¡¯d started to call it. He stopped just inside, seeing that the puzzle had reset, and all the circles were randomized. Makes sense, he thought. Otherwise, someone could write down each guess and move on to the next one until someone finally solved it. But Eowyn had said they tried different combinations, and none worked. Then again, the scholars had been working individually to solve the puzzle. Idly, he thought about just working his way through each combination, starting with all the circles empty and changing them one at a time. It¡¯d only take a few days to try them all. That¡¯ll be a last resort, he decided. Solving it that way would mean a lot of painful deaths until he hit the right combination, and he¡¯d prefer avoiding that unless absolutely necessary. He made his way to the pedestal. The orb had to be the necessary clue. He just couldn¡¯t figure out what it meant. He held up his torch and spotted something he¡¯d missed earlier. There was a faint line on the orb, barely visible under all the dust. He wiped at it with his sleeve, only obscuring it worse, before spitting on the orb and wiping it again. This time, the faint line became visible. He worked his way slowly across the orb, a smile slowly breaking out on his face as he started to recognize the patterns. It was the earth. The faint lines outlined the different continents. He glanced at the door and the empty circle. Was it the sun? He didn¡¯t think so. It didn¡¯t make sense. So, what else orbited the earth? The moon, idiot. He smacked himself on the forehead. If the circles were the moon, then that would mean that the blank circle was the new moon, and a full circle would mean a full moon. Right? He¡¯d done that though, hadn¡¯t he? No, he hadn¡¯t. He¡¯d moved the light around to each area, or had Famor do it, and changed the circles to match the orb. He needed to have the light fixed in one spot, and change the circles to match the circles to thephases of the moon. ¡°Famor, will you go stand by the door?¡± He asked. Famor glanced at the others before shrugging and walking over to the door. Dean said, ¡°Now hold your light up higher.¡± He first walked back to the door they came through and set it to a full moon. Then, he set both of the half-moons, before finishing with the quarter and three-fourths moons. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what we did before?¡± Famor asked dubiously. Dean glanced at them, trying to remember the original combination, before walking over to Famor and saying, ¡°Go stand in front of the next circle.¡± Once Famor was in position, Dean glanced at the orb and at the circle. ¡°I had it backwards. It¡¯s the exact opposite of what we did last time.¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯ll work?¡± Amelia asked from the doorway. Dean hesitated before nodding, ¡°Yeah, I am.¡± ¡°Still,¡± Famor said, ¡°I think I¡¯ll wait just outside.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say I blame you,¡± Dean laughed. Once Famor was in position, Dean flipped the switch for a second time. This time, the door didn¡¯t close. Instead, several rings on the floor started grinding and spinning in opposite circles. Each of them stopped with a loud click as they settled into place and a portion of the floor slowly started descending into a ramp leading beneath them. They followed the ramp to a small cavern, where a path led through the mouth of a rock formation that had been carved into a skull, it¡¯s teeth razor sharp. He song started playing in his head and he must have started humming it because the others hushed him. ¡°Sorry,¡± He whispered, ¡°Thought of something.¡± ¡°What?¡± Famor whispered back. ¡°Nothing important,¡± Dean whispered back, ¡°But just so you know, if someone starts whispering ¡®kali ma¡¯, you¡¯re on your own.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± Amelia asked, ¡°Some kind of spell?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡± Famor said. ¡°Something like that.¡± Dean sighed. He was starting to miss his friends. Any player for that matter. He was giving reference gold and it was lost on his audience. ¡°Come on, Short Round.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Neva said, ¡°Is that a supposed to be a nickname? None of us is short, or round. Or is it a joke?¡± ¡°Nevermind.¡± Dean said, ¡°Let¡¯s go meet the neighbors.¡± 23. The Necromancers Lair Dean led the party through the opening and down the narrow tunnel beyond. The air grew thick and musty, and a thin sheen of moisture lined the walls before running down them in small droplets and gathering into a small trickle of water down the tunnel. They¡¯re torches sputtered in the humid air, cast uneven shadows that seemed to jump out at them. After a hundred paces, the tunnel opened into a small manmade cave, the walls probably etched out centuries ago with pickaxes, containing a cot, three tables, a bookshelf and a few chairs. Dean paused at the entrance, lifting his torch up as he confirmed there wasn¡¯t anyone in the room. ¡°I think someone lives here.¡± Amelia said as she glanced around. ¡°Who would live this far underground?¡± Neva asked. ¡°A Dark Mage.¡± Famor whispered. The three elves fell into a grim silence. From the looks on their faces, Dean knew they were expecting a hard fight ahead. The quest had mentioned a necromancer, so he guessed that¡¯s what they were referring to with the term dark mage. While his only experience with a necromancer so far had been Ben, he knew a fight with an accomplished Necro would make for a dangerous opponent. If that¡¯s what lay ahead, and he¡¯d take that bet in a heartbeat, then this was about to get interesting. His stomach knotted up in fear, but his heart started racing at the same time in anticipation. I¡¯m afraid and excited about the fight ahead, Dean thought, because that¡¯s not at all messed up. Dean studied one of the tables, probably a workbench from the vials of various alchemy ingredients, two health potions and three mana potions. He pocketed all of them before moving to the bookshelf. Most had fallen apart from the humidity or were useless, but a couple caught his attention.
Spell Book: Lightning Bolt
Initial Cost: 12 Mana Maintain Cost: 2 Mana/Second Duration: N/A Cooldown Timer: N/A Casts a bolt of lightning at a target, causing elemental damage and AOE damage
Spell Book: Summon Fire Sprite
Initial Cost: 25 Mana Duration: 30 Seconds Cooldown Timer: 20 Minutes Summons a Level 1 Fire Sprite
Spell Book: Summon Undead Warrior
Initial Cost: 25 Mana Duration: 30 Seconds Cooldown Timer: 20 Minutes Summons a Level 1 Skeleton Warrior
Dean read the Lightning Bolt and Fire Sprite spell books. He saved the Undead Warrior book, thinking that Ben could use it if he ever respawned, and joined the others. A second tunnel of steep stairs curved deeper into the ground, its aged steps cracking at the edges. Dean noticed a faint light emanating from below after several minutes. It grew brighter as they went, until it was bright enough that Dean extinguished his torch a few steps from the bottom of the stairs. Another tunnel, lined with burning sconces and arched wooden beams, opened into a large cavern. Most of the floor was covered in ankle deep water, with the area near the entrance and a large island at the center the only dry ground. Water dripped in a steady rhythm from hanging rock columns, Dean couldn¡¯t remember what they were called, and crystals in the ceiling glittered and glowed in an assortment of colors, creating a shimmering mosaic on the water¡¯s surface. A robed figure stood on the island at a stone alter, surrounded by roughhewn monoliths, chanting something in a guttural language with a deep, resonating voice. Dean glanced back at a sound of rock¡¯s crunching underfoot behind him to find Neva, wide-eyed and mouthing ¡®Sorry¡¯ as the other two stared angrily at him. The chanting cut off abruptly. Dean turned back around in time to see the robed figure facing them, hand outstretched, and realize the mage was about to cast a spell. Dean ducked, pulling Amelia with him to the ground, as he screamed, ¡°Incoming!¡± The other two dove out of the way as a fireball shot out of the mage¡¯s hand and exploded against the wall behind them. Growling, Dean climbed to his knees and cast lightning bolt. He felt the hairs on his arm stand up as a static charge built up around him before a bolt of lightning shot out. It arched across the room before striking a newly constructed ward the mage threw up. The lightning sizzled as it danced across the ward. Dean cut off the spell as he drew his sword. Keeping the ward up with one hand, the Mage used the other to cast a second spell. The ground erupted as four skeleton warriors climbed out of the ground, armed with swords and shields, and lumbered towards the group. Once clear of the ward, Neva and Famor fired arrows at the two closest. The first arrow passed straight through the skeletal body without striking anything, while the second struck high on the sternum, the arrow sticking halfway out of the ribcage. Dean charged into the first skeleton, knocking it back several steps. Before it could recover, Dean attacked with a flurry of blows, each strike broke or splintered bone. The skeleton didn¡¯t react to the damage, instead raising its own sword high over its head before swinging downward with a mighty blow. Dean blocked the attack, but the power of the blow almost buckled his knees. Dean had no idea how a creature without muscle could have so much strength to it. A fireball exploded against Dean¡¯s shoulder, showering him in liquid fire. The pain caused him to inhale sharply, allowing the fire to race up his nose, down his throat and into his lungs. He blinked several times, trying to clear the pain from his eyes, as his whole body convulsed in small shivers. He snapped his mouth closed and the taste of copper flooded his throat from biting his tongue. Dean¡¯s vision cleared just enough to see the skeleton fall apart as its health hit zero before the liquefied fire burned his retina. Blindly, he fished a health potion from his belt as the liquified fire evaporated once the spell ended. He chugged the potion in two swift gulps. The potion cooled the back of his throat as it went down before the tingling warmth of the potion raced through his body, leaving behind a chill along his skin. He spotted Famor out of the corner of his vision, dancing around in the sword form against two skeletons. Famor¡¯s thin blade flicked around in controlled arches, severing one of the skeleton¡¯s necks with ease. The skeleton collapsed as the magic keeping it together winked out. The second skeleton jumped backwards, out of the way of Famor¡¯s blade, and raised its shield. Glancing in the other direction, Dean spotted Neva fighting the last skeleton. Neva¡¯s movements more erratic than Famor¡¯s dance. Watching the fight, Dean was reminded of an old anime he used to watch about ninjas as Neva flicked small throwing blades at the skeleton as he jumped and ducked around the skeleton. Each one struck, embedding themselves deep in the bones. Amelia was hacking at the ward with her sword while attempting to dodge any spells the mage threw at her. She was able to dodge most, but a few sharp bolts of purplish black energy connected. Each bolt sent her flying several feet where she¡¯d quickly recover before resuming her attack.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Dean stared at the necromancer, wondering how the hell the man, at least Dean thought it was a man from the deep chanting earlier, still had any mana left. Somehow, the mage was maintaining a ward, had summoned skeleton warriors and was still launching magical spells at the group. He had to have a huge mana pool and, Dean realized, that would mean every other stat was probably incredibly low. Dean cast a second lightning bolt at the ward, sending ripples of electricity flickering across the surface. He maintained the spell as he walked towards it, downing a mana potion in the process. A bolt of energy slammed against his chest, throwing him several feet. He made it to his knees before a second bolt slammed into his back, dragging him across the floor. Dean rolled over, grabbed a second health potion from his belt as he tried to climb to his feet. He drank the potion in large gulps as he strafed around the ward and ducked beneath incoming spells before casting the lightning bolt spell at the ward. The ward shattered a few seconds later while the Mage was uncorking a potion. He downed it quickly and cast a new spell instead of trying to erect a new ward. Inky black tendrils spread from the Necromancer¡¯s body, lashing out at the group. The first attack struck Amelia across the chest, throwing her across the cavern and into the wall. She collapsed unconscious on the ground. Dean ducked beneath the first one to attack him and leapt over the second. He heard a scream of pain from the other side of the tendrils. Dean thought it was Neva but couldn¡¯t be sure. Instead, he cast lightning bolt, hoping the light from the lightning would push the tendrils back, but the tendrils swirled around the incoming attacks. Dean slashed the nearest tendril in half as he ran through the opening it created before the tendrils snapped back together behind him. The tendril twisted around back onto itself and attacked him, but Dean predicted the attack and jumped sideways, slashing a second tendril to make another opening. He lined himself up in the direction he¡¯d last seen the necromancer and took a gamble. Dean hacked his way forward, jumping and rolling to openings in the spell. He touched a few tendrils as he went, barely scraping against them in the narrow confines, leaving his skin agonizingly blistered and burned wherever it touched. A blow against his back threw Dean halfway across the room, his body passing through several tendrils along the way. He landed on his back, sword flying out of his hand, and found himself staring up at the Mage¡¯s back. He blinked in surprise for a second before rolling over and looking around for his sword. He found it a foot away on the other side of more tendrils. He reached through them, biting his lip against the pain to keep from screaming and feeling the blood run freely down his chin. He yanked the sword back before pushing himself out of the way of tendrils that smashed the ground where he¡¯d been a moment before. The ground sizzled and melted. The mage must¡¯ve heard the noise because he turned towards Dean¡¯s prone body. Dean pulled himself up to one knee, fighting his muscles as they went between convulsing to seizing up. He held the sword with both hands as he felt his fingers shaking from spasms. Dean locked eyes with the mage for a split second. The mage opened his mouth, but Dean threw the last of his energy into launching himself upwards to drive the blade through the Mage¡¯s stomach, up through the chest and out the back of the head. Dean lost his grip on the sword and collapsed onto his knees. The mage coughed blood as the tendrils dissipated and his eyes dulled. The dead body fell to the ground, revealing Dean¡¯s friends on the other side. Famor was on his hands and knees, gasping and shaking in pain, while Neva had crouched over Amelia to hold a health potion to her lips. All three looked the worse for wear with large blistered covering their bodies and faces. Dean fumbled at his belt for another health potion, his spasming fingers slipping every time he tried pull the potion out of his belt. Luckily, his fingers clenched up a second later, grasping the potion causing several blisters on his fingers to pop. He yanked it out of belt and used his teeth yank out the stopper before spitting it out and downing the bottle. The blisters and welts along his body began to shrink as his muscles relaxed. He pulled up his status menu and blanched at his health points, thirty-six total. He¡¯d been down to sixteen points without realizing it. He used the final two health potions in his inventory one at a time before closing it. ¡°That was close,¡± Dean said as he helped Famor to his feet, ¡°And he was only a level three.¡± Dean had scanned the Mage when they¡¯d locked eyes but hadn¡¯t bothered looking at the information since he¡¯d needed to act. ¡°Aye,¡± Famor nodded shakily, ¡°That¡¯s why necromancers are killed on sight.¡± Dean chuckled, ¡°Then remind me not to introduce you to a friend of mine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re friends with a necromancer?¡± Famor asked incredulously. ¡°Yeah,¡± Dean shrugged, ¡°but it¡¯s different for players. For one, he only uses the spells on bad guys and monsters.¡± Famor shook his head, ¡°I truly do not understand this concept of players if necromancers aren¡¯t considered evil among you.¡± ¡°What I want to know is what he was doing here.¡± Dean said as the two walked over to the stone alter. There were symbols on the monoliths, each one different, drawn in something that had dried dark red almost black. Probably blood. A final symbol, bigger and more complex than the others was drawn on the altar. ¡°Any idea what these mean?¡± ¡°No,¡± Famor said as he stared at it, ¡°But it¡¯s far more complex than any other spell I¡¯ve seen.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen Dark Magic spells before?¡± Neva demanded as he approached with Amelia following behind, ¡°When? How?¡± Famor waved Neva¡¯s concern away, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Dark Magic before, just regular magic, and this is far more complex than anything I¡¯ve seen before.¡± ¡°So? Maybe Dark Magic has to be more complex since it goes against the laws of nature. Did you ever think of that?¡± Neva retorted. Famor shrugged, ¡°Maybe.¡± Dean didn¡¯t think Famor was convinced though, and neither was he for that matter. He¡¯d seen Ben cast several spells already, and none of them required complex symbols to perform. He was about to say something when he saw the look on Amelia¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this before.¡± She said barely above a whisper. ¡°Where?¡± Famor asked in surprise. ¡°In one of Mother¡¯s books.¡± She reached out to touch the symbol in a trance but stopped herself short and drew it back where she clutched it to her chest. ¡°I found it while looking for something else. I don¡¯t remember what now, but was curious because it was about the Mad King¡¯s disciples and I didn¡¯t know why Mother would have it. She found me as I was flipping through it. That¡¯s the maddest I¡¯ve ever seen her in my life.¡± Neva made the sign to ward off evil. ¡°The Mad King? You¡¯re certain?¡± ¡°Do you remember what the spell was?¡± Famor demanded. She nodded slowly. ¡°It was part of the spell to release him from his prison.¡± ¡°Obviously, the necromancer didn¡¯t finish the spell,¡± Dean said, ¡°Otherwise, the king would be here, wouldn¡¯t he?¡± Famor blanched at the thought, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it works like that. The Demon is trapped beyond the portal at the center of the world. If Amelia¡¯s right, then this spell would just open the portal.¡± He looked up pleadingly at the others. ¡°But it can¡¯t be this easy, not for a spell like that. This is just too easy. I don¡¯t care if the symbols are more complex than anything I¡¯ve seen. It can¡¯t be this easy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Amelia said with a start, ¡°It¡¯s not this easy. It takes hundreds of mages, not just necromancers, working across the world. I don¡¯t remember exactly how, but I remember that much.¡± Two new quest notifcations popped up. Dean quickly skimmed both.
Quest: The Necromancer''s Lair Pt. 2
Reward: 40 xp
Description: Amelia mentioned that the dead necromancer has allies trying to revive the Mad King. Learn more about this group of mages.
Quest: The Mad King''s Return
Reward: 20 xp
Description: Repeatable. Kill any mage you encounter that''s working to release the Mad King from his prison.
Famor and Neva sighed in relief. Famor said, ¡°Still, Mother needs to know about this immediately. Neva, go back to the village and tell her about this spell. Tell her what Amelia said about the book. She might remember it if she was truly that angry about it.¡± ¡°She will.¡± Amelia said ruefully. ¡°All the better, then.¡± Famor said. ¡°What about you three?¡± Neva asked. ¡°What¡¯re you going to do?¡± Famor glanced at Dean. ¡°Dean agreed to help us with this task if we helped him save his friends.¡± ¡°By letting him change his spawn point to our village.¡± Neva countered. ¡°I know,¡± Famor said before grinning at Dean, ¡°But I wish to help him more than that. I¡¯m going to travel with Dean to this new village and help him defend it from the orcs.¡± ¡°What? Why? He¡¯s a human.¡± Neva sputtered. He pleaded with Amelia, ¡°You¡¯re not thinking of doing the same thing, are you? Tell me you¡¯re not going to help him.¡± Amelia opened her mouth to retort something but stopped as she glanced back at the altar. She pointed at the alter as she slowly said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we can afford not to. There wouldn¡¯t be a point of doing all this without having others around the world willing to help him, and that means there¡¯s people out there is trying to restore the Mad King¡¯s dark reign.¡± She looked pleadingly at Neva. ¡°If that¡¯s true, we¡¯re all in danger.¡± Neva gulped several times before nodding. ¡°Fine. I don¡¯t like it, but it¡¯s better than what you¡¯re talking about.¡± He glared at Dean. ¡°If you so much as hurt-¡° ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Dean cut him off before Neva could finish saying something he¡¯d regret. Neva audibly ground his teeth but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°But first, I want to loot the mage, and then we need to get back to the surface.¡± 24. The Siege Begins Ben jumped over the fallen log without breaking his stride, the sound of the pursuing Orcs spurring him onward. He started casting fireball, turned just before it was finished, and yelled, ¡°Duck!¡± Ben targeted the nearest Orc, only a few feet behind Will. The fireball shot out of his hand as Will rolled beneath it and the spell slammed into the pursuing orc¡¯s chest. The impact knocked it backwards, where it fell in a burning heap. It didn¡¯t rise. There were at least dozen other orcs that Ben could see, and even more by the sounds of it, as he starting running again. Ahead, Will drew an arrow from his quiver, fitted it and turned to fire. The arrow whizzed by Ben¡¯s head and he heard a grunt behind him. He heard swords clashing in the distance and spotted a few random players fighting orcs as he ran. Through the trees, he saw orcs swarming the nearby forest hunting down any errant players still in the area. Ben ran, cursing under his breath. They took turns attacking as they ran, switching off the lead and keeping the orcs at bay. He broke out of the forest and skidded to a halt before falling into the river. Will came to a halt beside him. ¡°Where are the others?¡± Will panted. ¡°No idea,¡± Ben gasped between breaths, his side aching and legs trying to collapse beneath him. ¡°Lost sight of them a while back.¡± He glanced up and downstream, spotting the bridge and farms. He grunted at the distance as he pointed, ¡°That way.¡± They took off at a run, Will in the lead, as the orcs burst out of the forest directly behind them. Another group emerged a couple hundred yards ahead of them and Ben cast fireball at them when they were within range. The resulting explosion knocked most of them off their feet, but not all of them. Will drew his sword as he yelled, ¡°Keep going. I¡¯ll catch up.¡± Will charged into the lead orc, shoving it backwards into two others. Ben rolled past a fourth orc as it swung at him, dodging the blade by inches. He got back to his feet and kept running. Thankfully, he reached the bridge without any other orcs, where he glanced over his shoulder saying, ¡°We made it.¡± Except, he didn¡¯t see Will behind him. Ben skidded to a stop as he turned to look back. He spotted Will at least a two hundred paces away, running as fast as he could with the nearest pursuing orcs only a few feet behind. Ben cast Summon undead warrior and drew his bow as Fido climbed out of the ground. He commanded Fido, ¡°Stand guard.¡± Ben sighted the Orc closest to Will and fired, trying to judge the lead time. The arrow missed but was close enough to cause the Orc to lose his footing. It fell in rolling heap, tripping one of the others with it. Ben sighed in relief as the resulting turmoil bought Will several extra steps, but it was short lived. Ben swore as a new group of orcs emerged from the forest halfway between Will and Ben. Ben tried to cast fireball in time to distract them, but it was too late. Will ran into them, trying to duck and dodge his way past the first couple orcs without engaging them, but there were too many. Ben watched in horror, unable to do anything to help his friend, as an Orc¡¯s sword swept across Will¡¯s shins, tripping him in the process. The Orcs, joined by those pursuing Will, surrounded him and start hacking at the ground.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. A second later, the orcs separated leaving Will¡¯s corpse laying on the ground with a countdown timer ticking down above it. Ben finished the casting for fireball and sent it flying at the orcs in frustration. Orcs swarmed the riverbank, charging the bridge and wading through the shallower parts of the river. Ben left Fido at the bridge as he ran through the abandoned farmhouses, several of them billowing smoke and fire. He was forced down a side alley to dodge a large group of Orcs along the road. He passed them without being noticed and made it to the other side where he paused to catch his breath. He crouched as he made his way through the pastures, now empty of animals, moving as fast as he dared with the orc¡¯s roaming the countryside. He reached the base of the bridge and ran up it. Torial was already in lockdown, with the drawbridge raised and doors closed. Ben screamed at the top of his lungs for Will as he scanned the parapets. He spotted Will a few seconds later, waving at him. Will was yelling, ¡°Get out of here. Run!¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Ben yelled back. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Will called, ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out until you can come back.¡± Ben clenched his fists and cursed before yelling, ¡°They¡¯re going to overrun this place and you¡¯ll be trapped here.¡± ¡°I know that. But you¡¯re going to die if you don¡¯t get out of here.¡± Will called. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving without you.¡± Ben called back. He glanced back at the approaching Orc patrol and saw that they were only a couple hundred paces from the bridge. In a few seconds, he¡¯d be trapped on the bridge and killed. He looked back up and called, ¡°Can you find a way out of the city?¡± Will took a deep breath as he shook his head. He realized Ben couldn¡¯t see it from that distance, so he called out, ¡°No time. Go, Ben, I¡¯ll be okay. Just promise me that you¡¯ll figure out a way to free anyone trapped here.¡± Ben glanced back one last time, his shoulders slumping. ¡°I promise.¡± A thought crossed his mind and he grinned as he called, ¡°I¡¯ll catch you on the flip side,¡± before running down the bridge. He cast fireball at the approaching orcs to but himself time to run away. It exploded on the front ranks, killing one of them and disorienting the rest. Ben ran across the fields and to the edge of the forest where he found Shiro waiting with a group of players spread out to watch. ¡°Where are the others?¡± Shiro asked. ¡°They didn¡¯t make it.¡± Ben answered as he caught his breath. ¡°They¡¯re trapped in the city.¡± ¡°I am most sorry for that.¡± Shiro said. Ben shrugged, ¡°Nothing we can do now except prepare to fight back.¡± He hated saying the words out loud, feeling like he was abandoning his best friend to hell, but there wasn¡¯t anything he could do aside from plan ahead. He stared at Torial, watching as the orcs began surrounding the wall. ¡°We¡¯ll save them. Maybe not today, but someday.¡± Ben didn¡¯t want to ruin the reference, but couldn¡¯t help himself from saying, ¡°And soon.¡± Shiro said, ¡°We must save ourselves first or we will not be able to save them later. Come, we must reach the new city and prepare it.¡± Shiro glanced at Torial. ¡°We have one month before Torial falls. After that, they will come for us.¡± Ben took one last look at the city before leaving, silently swearing that he would come back one day, no matter what, and save Will. Until then, he would kill as many orcs as possible, make them suffer for what was happening. Stay safe, Will, Ben pleaded silently, don¡¯t you dare let them break you. He wanted to believe the game wouldn¡¯t be that cruel, couldn¡¯t be anywhere near that, but with the hacker in charge, whoever it was, he seriously doubted it. He followed Shiro into the forest and towards the direction of the new city. Dean still hadn¡¯t PM¡¯d them the new coordinates, and he hoped that didn¡¯t mean what he thought it did. Otherwise, they were royally screwed without some kind of miracle. 25. The Katori Technique - Level 1 Famor stopped them at the edge of the forest, and the three elves glanced around anxiously. Dean laid a hand on his sword hilt as he followed suit, though he didn¡¯t know what the others had sensed. Famor relaxed after a moment, saying ¡°It¡¯s just a messenger.¡± A few minutes later, an elf emerged from the forest silent as a ghost, making Dean jerk in surprise. He hadn¡¯t heard anything, yet somehow the other three had sensed the messenger before he was anywhere near them. The messenger ignored every except Famor, who he bowed to before saying, ¡°We found a group of humans near our border calling out his name.¡± The man tilted his head towards Dean. ¡°We¡¯re escorting them in this direction, but it¡¯ll be a few hours. They lumber about in the forest like horned elkorns.¡± Famor grinned at Dean, ¡°It appears we¡¯ve found your missing friends. While we wait, I can begin teacking you the Katori fighting technique.¡± Dean gasped in the surprise along with Neva and Amelia, before saying, ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t going to teach me since it was Elven.¡± Famor nodded, ¡°Originally, no. But I believe my mother is right about you. You¡¯re not like other humans, and you were willing to risk your life for our village. That alone should prove something.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you really sent Neva away?¡± Amelia started. Famor smiled vaguely, ¡°Perhaps. I suspect he wouldn¡¯t like it even knowing the risk we now face.¡± She chuckled, ¡°No, I don¡¯t suspect so.¡± Famor laughed as he drew his sword and stepped a few feet away into a small clearing. ¡°Follow me, Dean.¡± Dean did as instructed, drawing his sword as he walked over to stand beside Famor. Once in position, Famor said, ¡°First, bend your knees slightly and put your weight on the balls of your feet.¡± Dean tried, going on tiptoe and almost falling over in the process. Famor growled, ¡°Not like that. Look at how I¡¯m standing.¡± Dean studied Famor¡¯s stance and tried to imitate it. He bent his knees and leaned forward slightly onto his toes without taking his heels of the ground. It felt odd at first, almost like being off balanced, but without the risk of falling down. ¡°Next, step forward as you swing your sword, like so.¡± Famor demonstrated and Dean tried. ¡°No, you¡¯re swinging your sword like a drunken fool. Control it.¡± Dean growled in frustration but did as instructed. After a dozen attempts, Famor finally nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Good, now repeat it.¡± Dean did. ¡°Again.¡± Dean repeated the same action, swinging the sword as he stepped forward, over and over again. After twenty times, Dean swung widely as he growled, ¡°How many times do I have to repeat this?¡± Famor grinned mischievously as he moved in to face Dean. ¡°You¡¯ve learned it then? Prove it.¡± Famor held up his sword lazily against his side. Dean stared incredulously at Famor, who signaled for him to attack, before sighing. ¡°Fine.¡± Dean attacked. Famor¡¯s sword flashed, catching Dean¡¯s blade forcing it aside with ease, and twisting his own to knock Dean off-balance. Dean fell forward onto the ground, his sword buried halfway into the ground. Famor looked down at him impassively, ¡°Again.¡± Dean pulled himself up and tugged on his sword. It stuck in the ground. Dean tried several more times before the sword popped out, sending Dean sprawling onto his back. He climbed to his feet to find Famor standing there calmly, watching him. Famor raised his blade and waited. Dean hesitated, knowing this was about to turn into their last fight. Dean gripped his sword tightly, glaring at Famor, but refusing to let his anger control him like last time. He spent the next hour landing on his back before climbing to his feet. He finally kept his feet after an exchange, though completely unbalanced as their swords locked. He laughed in surprise and relief, only to have Famor gently push him. Dean fell over, shocked that Famor hadn¡¯t given him the victory. He glared up at Famor, who smiled down at him approvingly, ¡°Better. Now keep your balance.¡± After several more attempts, Dean succeeded and received a new notification.
Optional Quest: The Katori Technique Pt. 1
Reward: Improved Fighting Ability
Description: You¡¯ve earned the first rank in the Katori fighting technique. Improve your rank to unlock new skills and abilities.
Ability: Katori Technique ¨C Level 1
Bonuses: +1 Agility +1 Poise *Advance in the Katori Technique to unlock additional abilities.
Dean laughed aloud, only laughing louder when the others looked at him like he¡¯d gone made. Once he could get it under control, Dean turned to face Famor and settled into the Katori poise. It felt natural, no different than standing normally. Famor blinked in surprise before nodding approvingly. ¡°Now for the next form.¡± Dean practiced until Amelia called out, ¡°They¡¯re almost here.¡± In response, Famor immediately caught Dean¡¯s sword in a new maneuver and sent it flying across the small clearing.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Dean stared after it, realizing that he still wasn¡¯t in the same league as Famor with the technique, much less the same ballpark. Dean mentally berated himself for convincing himself into thinking he was really keeping Famor at bay. Sarge¡¯s booming voice filtered through the forest long before he appeared. ¡°Anytime you want, twinkle toes.¡± A deep, gruff voice responded, ¡°Bring it on, flat foot.¡± Sarge laughed, ¡°Anytime, pointy ears.¡± A short, bearded Elf emerged from the woods. He was wearing the same mottled clothes as the other elves. Sarge followed him into the clearing, both bickering with each other. Famor glanced at Dean questioningly, but Dean shrugged back at him in confusion. Marie and Ryan followed, holding back their laughter along with two other elves. Both were no older than Dean, one with long blonde hair and the other with short black hair. Blondie had a hook nose and what the elf probably thought was a smoldering smile. To Dean, Blondie looked like he¡¯d swallowed something nasty, but didn¡¯t want anyone to know. The black haired elf, on the other hand, had a slight frown on his long face as he surveyed Dean before nodding, satisfied that Dean wasn¡¯t a threat. Dean realized that Sarge and the new elf had established some kind of bond during the trip. He shook his head. By the large scar on the elf¡¯s face, he guessed the man was some kind of old soldier. It had to be some kind of soldier thing, becoming friends by challenging and insulting each other. For some reason, he wasn¡¯t surprised that Sarge, coarse personality and all, was the one out of his friends to befriend an elf, mortal enemy of humans. Sarge glared at him, ¡°Where the hell have you been? I told you to stay safe, not go off on your own.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been making friends,¡± Dean said as nonchalantly as possible, ¡°What about you?¡± Sarge growled, ¡°And if they weren¡¯t friendly?¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t at first,¡± Dean shrugged, ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°And if you¡¯d died?¡± Sarge demanded. ¡°Oh, I did die,¡± Dean laughed at Sarge¡¯s reaction. ¡°It¡¯s cool, though, my spawn point is now the elven village.¡± Dean laughed even harder as Sarge gaped at him. ¡°You what your spawn point?¡± Sarge demanded. ¡°It¡¯s no longer in Torial.¡± Dean smirked. He pointed at the forest behind him. ¡°It¡¯s with the elves. Pretty cool, huh?¡± ¡°You¡­you¡­¡± Sarge spluttered. Dean patted him on the shoulder and adopted a hippy accent, ¡°Hey, no worries, man. It¡¯s all good.¡± Sarge ground his teeth. Dean continued in his normal voice, ¡°Come on, we¡¯re wasting daylight when we¡¯ve got a city to build.¡± Dean started walking, stifling a laugh, as the others fell in step with him. He stopped himself from looking back for as long as he could. When he did, Sarge was staring at him in a mix of agitated rage and reluctant admiration. At least, Dean decided to translate it that way, since the only other option was that Sarge had a stomachache. One point for me. Famor pulled him aside that evening as the others set up camp, moving just out of eyesight to continue their lesson for a few hours, and again the following morning at first light. Midway through the second day, they reached the foot of a large cliff, the start of the mountains, and followed it further south. Midafternoon of the next day, they spotted a pass in the distance. They reached the start of it that evening and set up camp. They followed the pass through the mountains the next morning. It sloped steeply upward, enough to feel it in their calves after a while, as it twisted around jagged outcroppings of boulders and debris. As they walked, Jim kept up a running commentary saying, ¡°this would be a good spot to defend¡±, though they couldn¡¯t tell if he was saying it to them or himself. Dean thought might be directed at him. After one such comment, he finally asked, ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Jim looked at him, a puzzled expression on his face. ¡°Say what?¡± Apparently, the comment hadn¡¯t been directed at him. ¡°Why was that place defendable.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Jim explained, ¡°It¡¯s because that place was relatively straight, with two outcroppings on either side, so it¡¯s narrower than everywhere else.¡± He gestured with his hands, indicating an outcropping on the left in front of another on the right slightly further back, then drawing a line where he¡¯d indicated, ¡°Build a wall between the two, and with a few mortars on them, anyone trying to get through would have a bad time of it.¡± Now that Jim wasn¡¯t concentrating on the walk, he wasn¡¯t having as hard a time of it. Dean guessed Jim was probably not in military shape anymore in real life, since he¡¯d mentioned being out for a while, and that the heavy breathing while walking was more mental. Instead of mentioning anything, he kept the conversation going, ¡°There aren¡¯t any mortars in the game.¡± ¡°Not yet, there aren¡¯t.¡± Jim argued, ¡°But there could be. And then, we¡¯ll blow all those commie bastard orcs to hell.¡± He grinned wickedly, rubbing his hands together. ¡°I¡¯ll get right on that.¡± Dean shook his head, the sides of his mouth twitching up. Jim was starting to grow on him. Despite being a little egotistical and boisterous, he got the sense that Jim was pretty straightforward and deeply loyal to his friends. Sure, his stories were probably tall tales, or at least exaggerated for shock value and comic relief, but they were entertaining in their own right. And really, who didn¡¯t exaggerate a story at least a little? ¡°See that you do.¡± Jim responded. ¡°I want a report on my desk by the end of the week, or your next assignment will be in Antarctica. Do you hear me? Antarctica. With the penguins.¡± Knowing it would rile him up more, Dean responded, ¡°Aye, aye sir.¡± ¡°Aye, aye sir?¡± Jim responded, his voice thick with mocking scorn, ¡°What is this? The Navy? Go back to your kiddie pool and play with your rubber duckies, or whatever it is you kids do, and let the real men take care of this.¡± The walls on either side of the pass ended abruptly. The slope continued for another hundred feet, before cresting a small hill. On the other side, they found a large valley stretching for miles before ending in a large lake. ¡°It had to of been made by icebergs.¡± Jim spoke softly, barely above a whisper, not wanting to dispel the awe of the scenic view. ¡°Glaciers,¡± Mary replied automatically. Jim gave her a pained look. She patted him gently on the shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s okay, sweetie. You¡¯re right that it was made by ice, they¡¯re just called glaciers.¡± Jim huffed, the view forgotten, ¡°Iceberg. Glacier. Only scientists would think they need more than one name for giant block of ice.¡± Dean ignored them for the time, not wanting to get drawn away from the sight before him. The whole place was serene, almost idyllic, like something dreamed up from of a Bob Ross painting. The lake on the other side of the valley was fed by a cascading waterfall, with a small river running across the length of most of the valley before disappearing being a large forest of happy trees. The forest ran almost the entire length of the valley along to the left of where Dean was standing. On the other side of the riverbank, a wide, flat plain sloped gently upward until it butted against an escarpment with a raised plateau atop it, at least half a mile in length and half as wide. ¡°So,¡± He interrupted the couple, ¡°Any guesses on what we need to do to claim this place?¡± ¡°Do you have a flag?¡± Jim asked. ¡°No, why?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t have a country without a flag, those are the rules.¡± ¡°No, they aren¡¯t. Shiro said you had to have a settlement crystal.¡± ¡°You¡¯re killing me, smalls.¡± Jim replied as Mary and him started walking past Dean into the valley. ¡°You¡¯re killing me.¡± ¡°Seriously, what¡¯re you talking about? And I¡¯m not small.¡± Dean protested as he jogged to catch up to them. They were laughing by the time he did. ¡°What¡¯re you laughing at?¡± ¡°Nothing, man.¡± Jim waved the comment away, ¡°You seriously need to brush up on references.¡± Fuming, Dean marched past them, and headed towards the escarpment. He ignored their calls for him to wait up as he kept an eye out for anything that looked promising. Halfway to it, he saw a small cave at the base. He started jogging towards it. Outside, he paused to peer inside. The opening was large, the size of a castle gate, and the cave deeper than he¡¯d expected. It was too dark inside for him to see all that far, but he thought it opened up into a larger cavern twenty or thirty paces in. He glanced at the others once they caught up to him, Mary giving him an apologetic look, before leading them in. They waited just inside for their eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. 26. Founding a New Settlement The cave opened into a single large cavern with glittering walls lit up by some kind of gem reflecting the little light that filtered through the opening. It had a tall ceiling, at least two stories high, and holes in the wall large enough for them to crawl through. Other than that, the only two thins inside the cavern were both on a raised dias in the center, an ornate pedestal with a flat top and a large stone coffin with a sigil on the lid. Dean studied the coffin from the entrance as the others entered. ¡°Anyone want to bet that we have to fight whatever¡¯s in the coffin?¡± Jim snorted, ¡°Do I look like an idiot?¡± Dean opened his mouth to retort, but Mary beat him to it. ¡°Do you really want me to answer that, sweetie?¡± Jim blinked a few times in surprise before saying, ¡°I set myself up for that one, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± She laughed, ¡°You did.¡± She looked at Dean. ¡°And I¡¯ll take that bet.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Dean asked incredulously, ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Five gold coins?¡± She suggested. ¡°Deal.¡± Dean said. Ryan remarked, ¡°You realize she wins if anything else happens? It doesn¡¯t matter at all what it is from that bet.¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯re right.¡± Dean said before demanding, ¡°You have to pick something specific.¡± She laughed, ¡°Too late. You¡¯ve already agreed.¡± Dean growled at her. He looked back at the dais and mumbled, ¡°Probably the coffin, anyway.¡± He started walking towards the pedestal as he fished the settlement crystal out of his inventory. ¡°Wait.¡± Jim said urgently, ¡°You have the crystal.¡± Jim walked forward and put a hand on his shoulder to gently push Dean back towards the entrance. ¡°I¡¯ll go first, just in case something bad happens.¡± Dean took several steps backwards, until he was in line with the others. Famor and Amelia looked at him, then each other, and took a few steps in front of him. Ryan stepped up on his left as Mary moved to his right. Dean ground his teeth in annoyance at their overprotection but held his tongue since they were probably right. Jim studied the group for a second, nodded in satisfaction at their position, then walked up to the pedestal. He stopped in front of it, holding his breath, and waited for something to happen. He held out his hand, finger extended, and touched the top of the pedestal. He laid his hand on it. He barked out a laugh, ¡°That was anticlimactic. Dean, get over here and claim this place so we can start building up defenses.¡± Dean held the crystal in his hand as he approached. It glowed brighter with each step he took. The cave rumbled as he stepped onto the dais and a loud chittering sound filled the room. Dean shoved the crystal into his belt and gripped his sword with both hands. He mumbled to Jim, ¡°You had to say something.¡± The others ran forward to join them on the dais, circling Dean in the process and waited anxiously for an attack. The chittering grew louder as more creatures joined in, until it grated on Dean¡¯s nerves. An ant the size of a rottweiler emerged from one of the holes, followed closely by a second. It had large, glowing red eyes and a pair of mandibles as thick as Dean¡¯s wrist. He scanned one.
Burrower Worker Ant ¨C Level 1
HP: 10/10
Burrower Ants started pouring out of the holes in the cavern and locked onto the group. Mary shot an arrow at the nearest, striking it in the eye, killing it. She fired a second shot, hitting the next ant on the head, but the arrow bounced off its armor. She grunted and switched to her sword. ¡°They¡¯re armors too tough for arrows.¡± ¡°Then we do this the messy way.¡± Jim responded. Famor took a few steps forward before falling into the pose Dean now knew was part of the Katori technique. He waited until an ant moved within striking distance before moving into the next form. Dean studied the movements, hoping to level up his newfound skill, as Famor moved among the creatures. Famor¡¯s movements were smooth, almost a dance, as he worked his way through the creatures. A second group of ants attacked from the other side. Side by side, Ryan and Sarge met the attack and began hacking at the creatures. Mary and Amelia joined the fight soon after, leaving Dean in the middle. He ran up to the pedestal and tried to insert the crystal into a small hole on the top. A notification popped up.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Warning:
You cannot interact with this object while enemies are nearby.
Dean snatched the crystal and shoved it in back into his belt. He turned to see that a few ants had gotten past the others. He fell into the Katori pose and attacked. He wasn¡¯t as smooth as Famor or Amelia, not with only a few days of practice, but his actions were calmer and more controlled than his fight with the alpha wolf and necromancer. The ants were still able to score a few hits, making him wince in pain, and he was forced to leap away to keep from being overwhelmed him a few times. Still, he did much more damage than he received, leaving a small pile of ants behind him as he fought until the flood of ants trickled off. ¡°Is that all of them?¡± Ryan panted after killing the last one. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be a queen or something?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it.¡± Jim responded, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± ¡°Too late,¡± Mary said, ¡°He already did.¡± Nothing happened. They waited, expecting an attack at any second. Dean licked his lips as he walked up to the pedestal a second time, glancing around the cavern as he walked. He fished the crystal out of his belt and inserted it. A notification popped up a few inches above the crystal.
Do you wish to claim this land for your kingdom?
Yes No
Dean selected yes. A new page appeared, with a prompt asking him to name the new kingdom. He thought about it for a second, several ideas popped into his head but he rejected them almost immediately, until the perfect name popped into his head. He typed it in before hitting enter. A new prompt replaced it.
Are you sure you want to name your kingdom: Manetheren *You won¡¯t be able to change it later
Yes No
You bet I do, he thought, as he selected yes. Orc¡¯s might not be trollocs or the Wraith a Myrddraal, but he planned for this city to be a thorn in the dark one¡¯s side, or whatever evil mastermind was causing all this, by the time the fight was over. Besides, it was a cool name and people would get the reference. A loud grating sound filled the cavern as the lid of the coffin fell off. Dean jumped in surprise and quickly fell back to join the others. They surrounded him, gripping their swords as they waited for the corpse to rise and attack them. Except the body didn¡¯t move. Instead, a white, semi-transparent being rose out of the body and walked through the side of the coffin without issue. ¡°It¡¯s a ghost,¡± Ryan whispered to the others, ¡°Will our weapons even hurt it?¡± ¡°How should I know?¡± Jim grunted, ¡°Do I look like a psychic?¡± The ghost stopped a few feet from the pedestal and gazed around the room, its stare penetrating each with an icy chill until they rested on Dean. ¡°Greetings, Lord,¡± It intoned. ¡°I am Einar, known as the Just King, ancient ruler of this kingdom.¡± Realizing Einar didn¡¯t plan to attack, Dean relaxed the grip on his sword as he studied the man, or ghost-thing, closer. The man had long gray hair held back by the simple crown he wore cut to shoulder length, with a sharp nose and thin mouth, and had a face that was hardened and scarred from years of battle. His clothing was regal, if simple, of a fine cut cloth dyed a rich green. His armor was well polished, with no scrapes or marked parts to indicate it¡¯d been worn in battle and made from steel or some other shiny metal. ¡°In ancient days, long past and forgotten, this kingdom flourished from its ample resources and kind people. I fear years of neglect have allowed pestilence and evil to thrive. I have remained to offer my humble wisdom, to you and your new kingdom. Know this, heed your words and mark your actions well, young King. All that you say and do will affect your kingdom and its people. An errant word may undue years of hard work and patient planning. A king does not need know all, each of us have our strengths and our weaknesses. Know yours well. Seek advisors that will give you insight, challenge you, and help you grow. Entrust them to tend the kingdom where they are best suited.¡± The ancient king smiled, revealing ample lines around his eyes and mouth. The expression made him look gentle and kind, like a grandfather amused at his grandchildren¡¯s antics, not just a stately king. ¡°But above all else, listen to your heart. You are now tied to this land, heart and soul, let it guide you and you will do well.¡± The ghost disappeared. ¡°What did that even mean?¡± Dean asked, ¡°Seriously, what does ¡®listen to your heart¡¯ help with building anything?¡± ¡°It was actually really insightful,¡± Ryan rubbed his chin. Dean looked at him, clearly wanting Ryan to explain. ¡°First, he mentioned that these lands have lots of resources, but that there is probably a lot of monsters and stuff now lurking around. So, it means we¡¯ll have to clear out those monsters in order to reach the resources. Quests of some kind, I guess.¡± Dean nodded slowly as he followed along. ¡°Like an ant queen.¡± ¡°Possibly,¡± Ryan agreed. ¡°Then there was the part about watching what you say or do. I think it means that your words can become law.¡± Dean rocked back on his heels. ¡°You really think that¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°Maybe?¡± Ryan laughed, ¡°If this was all real, would it really be insane to think a king¡¯s words would affect the entire kingdom?¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought of it like that.¡± Dean acknowledged, ¡°But you¡¯re right. Anything else you gathered from the speech?¡± ¡°Just that part about advisors and being tied to the land. It sounded like you might be able to delegate responsibilities to people, so you don¡¯t have to deal with it.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Dean asked walked to the coffin. Ryan shrugged, ¡°Like assigning a trader to take care of trade negotiations or a warrior for defense.¡± ¡°I hope so,¡± Dean replied. ¡°I hate dealing with trading in games, it¡¯s too tedious.¡± Then, with a grin, ¡°Does that mean I can put you in charge of latrines?¡± Ryan ignored him, ¡°And it sounds like your spawn point is now tied to here.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Dean¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You mean I can start adventuring again?¡± ¡°Too risky.¡± Jim said sharply, ¡°We can¡¯t risk you dying and not respawning here.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Dean relented as he glanced away. ¡°But we¡¯re building a spawn point immediately.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the whole point.¡± Jim said. 27. A New Beginning Once outside the cave, Dean pulled up the status page for his new kingdom. He was inundated with different notifications. The first page asked about a tutorial, which would probably force him to build a few different buildings first. He skipped it so that he could start by building a spawn point and defenses against the coming invasion. The next set were several quests. Unlike typical quests, it didn¡¯t require him to accept them. They were already active.
City Quest: Build a Civic Center
Reward: 250 City XP
Resources Produced: Honor
City Quest: Build a Woodsman Camp
Reward: 150 City XP
Resources Produced: Lumber
City Quest: Build a Hunter¡¯s Hut
Reward: 50 City XP
Resources Produced: Meat, Hides
City Quest: Build a Farm
Reward: 50 City XP
Resources Produced: Crops
City Quest: Build a House
Reward: 25 City XP
Resources Produced: Increase Population Limit
Quest: A New Home, Pt. 1
Reward: 100 City XP
Description: Your people need homes. Build enough homes for your people and additional settlers to attract more workers.
Dean closed each of the windows after reading them before pulling up the building options to find out how to build a spawn point. He couldn¡¯t find it. Mumbling to himself, he flipped to the city¡¯s main status page.
Alert: Select Primary Building Resources
City Name: Manetheren
Rank: Camp City Experience: 0/5,000
Citizens 25 Refuges
Buildings None
Dean clicked on the alert, pulling up a picture of a house and a long list of resources. A window at the top listed his primary resources, wood and stone, and suggested he use those for construction. He was impressed at the amount of resources available for building, everything from wood and stone to marble and sandstone. He started clicking on different combinations, causing the picture to change. The full wood home looked vaguely Asian, while the mud home reminded him of the Indians that lived in the Grand Canyon. He tried various combinations for fun, but eventually settled on the game¡¯s suggestion. He clicked ¡®accept¡¯ and a new window popped up asking him to confirm the selection while pictures of sample buildings displayed what his city would look like. He confirmed and returned to the status page before musing aloud, ¡°What refuges?¡± ¡°Probably them.¡± Ryan pointed to a group of wagons coming through the pass. Even from a distance, it was obvious the wagons were straining against their loads and were in disrepair. By the looks of it, the refuges had loaded up everything they possessed. Dean wondered briefly if they were from somewhere else in the world or had been specifically created as a result of starting the city. He could ask them, but it was possible they¡¯d been programmed with fake memories and backgrounds, so it¡¯d be impossible to tell either way. And, in the end, it didn¡¯t really matter. They were now his people. It felt a little weird thinking about being responsible for other people. Going as slow as they were, it¡¯d be another hour before they¡¯d reach his location, so he decided to go meet them instead. He explained the situation as they walked, ¡°Looks like the city has to be upgraded before we can start build a spawn point or defenses.¡± Jim grimaced, but Dean cut him off before he could speak. ¡°I know, start upgrading. Why do you think we¡¯re going to meet our new neighbors? But, I¡¯m hoping we can come up with an idea on where to build everything before we reach the wagons. That way, we can start building immediately.¡± He looked at the others in turn, ¡°Ryan, I know we both used to play city building games, but what about you two?¡± They both shook their heads. ¡°Alright, Ryan. Let¡¯s start planning.¡± He quickly listed off every unlocked building, which was mostly the ones directly linked to the initial quests he¡¯d received. They dismissed the houses immediately, deciding that producing resources was the immediate need. ¡°Any restrictions on where the farms can go?¡± Ryan asked. Dean remembered that several games he¡¯d played restricted farmland to fertile soil, at least until irrigation systems or something similar had been unlocked. Dean clicked on the building tab. He almost tripped as the viewscreen in front of him zoomed out to an overhead map of his new kingdom. Most of it was fogged out. He tried clicking on a section of forest, but received a notification that he needed to unlock it. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out how, he selected a farm. The map changed colors, with areas highlighted in red, yellow and green. To Ryan, he said, ¡°Yeah, looks like the area by the river is the only fertile area in the valley we can build on right now.¡± ¡°Right now?¡± Jim asked, ¡°Are some areas blocked off?¡± Dean nodded, ¡°Most of the valley is, actually.¡± ¡°Most sim games are like that.¡± Mary commented. ¡°Is the forest over there open for building?¡± She pointed at the edge of the forest. Dean shook his head. ¡°Maybe it¡¯d be easier to ask what is available right now?¡± Dean studied the map and the area around them. Once he oriented himself and had a fairly reasonable idea where the borders were, he started pointing them out. ¡°We can build all the way up to the cliff wall where the cave is located. North and West to the edge of the river, and South¡­¡± Dean trailed off as he tried to take find a decent landmark. ¡°And somewhere around that big tree over there?¡± Ryan followed along, noting the edges. It was a generous build area, though that also depended on the size of each building. However, the designated area didn¡¯t include any of the forested areas of the valley. After reassessing the build area, they started conferring where to build everything. It didn¡¯t take long for them to come up with a plan. The only place with enough wood to make building a woodsmen¡¯s camp worthwhile was near the big tree near the south where several copses of trees grew. Next, they would build a hunter¡¯s hut to start collecting food, then a farm last, which obviously had to go on the fertile soil near the river. Surprisingly, the woodsmen camp didn¡¯t require anything to build. He selected it. The map changed colors again, this time none of it a dark green like the farms. Instead, he found a light green spot among the trees, receiving an indication that it would work at a seventy percent capacity, and clicked build. Nothing happened that he could see, except that an area of the map was marked off as containing a building. Next, he selected the hunter¡¯s hut, which required wood to build, and placed it further north, far enough away that the trees where animals would hide wouldn¡¯t be cut down by the woodsman camp. Finally, he placed two farms, requiring even more wood that he didn¡¯t have, and placed them near the riverbank, along an area marked as fertile with a hundred percent growth rate.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. At least the game allowed him to place buildings without having the necessary resources, he thought glumly, otherwise he¡¯d be stuck waiting for anything to get accomplished. Instead, a small exclamation point appeared above the buildings that he could click to reveal the missing resource for building it. They reached the refuges a few minutes later. A man with broad shoulders at the front of the wagons signaled for them to stop as he walked the remaining distance alone. He completely ignored the others, instead addressing Dean directly. ¡°Greetings, sir. The name¡¯s Darin.¡± ¡°Hello, Darin.¡± Dean introduced the others as he studied the man. His first thought was that the man was extremely tentative, glancing at his shuffling feet every few seconds, despite looking like he could pick up one of the wagons behind him with relative ease. Every time he glanced down, the man ran a hand across his bald crown, before grabbing at the scraggly strands of hair along the back and temples. ¡°What¡¯re you doing here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re refuges, my lord.¡± The man explained as he gestured at the others behind him, ¡°Looking for a new home to live in peace.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t find peace here.¡± Dean explained, ¡°There¡¯s an orc army on its way.¡± He needed the refuges to stay, otherwise he¡¯d have to start the entire village without anyone to help but didn¡¯t want to lie about the situation. He was still firmly resolved to treat everyone in the game equally, player and non-player alike, and his desperation wouldn¡¯t change that fact. The man grunted at that, his eyes widening in surprise. He licked his lips, thinking furiously before coming to a decision. His shoulders slumped, ¡°It seems nowhere is safe these days.¡± ¡°Still, you¡¯re welcome to stay here and make a home for yourselves. I plan to build it up as quickly as possible and defend it against the orcs.¡± Dean mentally crossed a few million fingers as he waited for a response. Darin studied him for a few seconds before nodding. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for the other families, but I¡¯ll stay and swear fealty to you, mi¡¯lord.¡± He glanced around the valley, a twinkle in his eye, ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful place to make a home. Not many places like this in the world.¡± His face hardened suddenly, ¡°Worthy of defending against any enemy.¡± He gestured over his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll speak to the others and see what they want to do.¡± Dean nodded. Darin walked back to the other refuges, who quickly surrounded him. Darin spoke quietly to the group. Even though he couldn¡¯t hear anything the man was saying, Dean could easily follow along the conversation based on the gasps a few seconds later, probably when Darin told them of the invasion, followed by furtive glances at Dean and the surrounding landscape. After several minutes, Darin returned and nodded. ¡°They¡¯ll all stay, Mi¡¯lord. How would you like us to swear fealty?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dean asked. ¡°Do you want us to kneel or bow? Or perhaps say something specific?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Dean could just imagine spending the rest of his time in game with people bowing to him everywhere he went. Not only would it be embarrassing, it¡¯d mean people would have to stop what they were doing every time he walked by or wanted to check in. ¡°Definitely not necessary. How about your word and a handshake?¡± Darin barked a laugh, ¡°Then I¡¯m your man, Milord.¡± He offered his hand and Dean took it. A few notifications popped up, informing him that he¡¯d unlocked a few city tenets. He waited to check on them until after the others came forward one after the other and swore fealty with a handshake. Once done, he pulled them up.
You¡¯ve Unlocked a City Tenet
Tenet: A Leader Among Equals
Treating your people as equals by not requiring any special reverence to your title has given them a greater sense of pride and increased their loyalty to the kingdom. Bonuses: +10% Loyalty Generated, +10% Production
You¡¯ve Unlocked a City Tenet
Tenet: On My Honor
By treating a person¡¯s word as binding, your people now value honesty as important Bonuses: +10% Honor Generated, +10% Trade Negotiations
Ryan was right about everything he said or did having an impact on his city. He¡¯d have to be careful not to accidently trigger any tenets that might have a negative effect. Granted, it¡¯d be easier if he actually knew what possible tenets were in the game. If skills and subskills were anything to go by, he suspected that there would be a ton of them. He was certainly happy that the first two he¡¯d unlocked were ones he agreed with. He closed the notification and told Darin, ¡°I¡¯ve laid out a few buildings for construction.¡± Darin nodded, ¡°Aye, mi¡¯lord. Just assign us and we¡¯ll get to work.¡± Dean scratched his chin as he pulled up the city screen and located the button to assign people. He ignored their names for the time and concentrated on their skills instead. He was just thankful it didn¡¯t create a new tenet. Each refuge had their name and profession listed, none over five, that Dean guessed were tied to their basic skills. He could assign them to buildings or to city roles. The buildings were self-explanatory, and he quickly assigned the four woodcutters, the two farmers, and two hunters, and watched as they split off from the main group with their wagons to the buildings plots he¡¯d laid out. Next, he checked the city roles, revealing builders and general laborers. He was only allowed two builders at that point, and four general laborers. He wondered if more spots or roles would open up later, but for the moment, he searched through the list of citizens and found only one person with the builder role. For the second builder, he found someone with the carpenter role. It wasn¡¯t an exact match, but he hoped it was close enough that they could fill it for now without a penalty, or a very small one at least. He then found four unskilled refuges and assigned them to general laborers. That left him with a dozen unassigned refuges, and nothing for them to do just yet. He closed the window and looked at his friends. ¡°We should probably explore the area to find any other resources we can use now.¡± Jim shook his head, ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere. You¡¯re going to stay right here, while we take a look.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an open field,¡± Dean said through clenched teeth, ¡°And we¡¯ll be together.¡± The others eventually relented after a brief side discussion that left Dean fuming. It took the rest of the day for them to explore the entire area, starting near the cave and working their way around the perimeter first, then moving in towards the center of the camp by forty paces and repeating the process. They found a stone quarry along one wall of the valley, a spot for a clay pit along the banks of the river, and an area of the field covered in herbs and alchemy ingredients. Once found, the resources popped up on the city map. The sun was setting by the time they returned to camp where a large fire had been built and several small tents had been pitched near the woodcutter¡¯s camp. All of the villagers were there for the night, which the group surmised was for protection against any wild animals. Villagers would probably start sleeping near their work buildings once something had been built. The woodcutters had a pile of logs started, plus a couple of downed trees partway through having their limbs cut off. The builders had stripped away the grass and top layer of soil where the hunter¡¯s hut and civic center would eventually be built. But from what Dean could see, the farms hadn¡¯t been started at all. Dean commented on it to one of the farmers when he arrived. The farmer shrugged, ¡°We don¡¯t know where to put the fields or what to plant.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Dean asked. The man considered Dean for a second, a look of concern on his face. ¡°You haven¡¯t told us.¡± Dean blinked at him. Seriously? Was the game designed for him to micromanage so that a farmer couldn¡¯t pick out a field or crops? He pulled up the status page on the game, figured out that each farm could have three fields, and selected a location for each. He gathered the other farmers around him, and asked, ¡°Any suggestions on crops?¡± ¡°Depends,¡± One of them said. ¡°On?¡± ¡°How much you want each farm to grow, how many mouths need feeding, and how many harvests you want per season.¡± The man shrugged. ¡°Alright,¡± Dean said slowly, ¡°We¡¯re going to have a lot more mouths to feed, probably close to two thousand.¡± That got their attention. Dean wanted to laugh as he saw their eyes bug out and eyebrows shoot up. One of them burst out, ¡°No way we can harvest enough crops for that many.¡± Dean nodded his understanding, ¡°I¡¯m hoping more farmers arrive soon, and we can build more farms for them. Until then, what do you suggest?¡± Dean tried to pay attention to the farmers, but lost interest as they debated water tables and rainfall, stuff he had no idea about. After a few minutes, he interrupted them to say, ¡°Look, I want you to figure out among yourselves, then go ahead and plant what you decide on. Work for you?¡± The farmer¡¯s nodded, barely pausing long enough for him to speak before debating what crops would work best. Laughing softly to himself, Dean left them to it. He didn¡¯t get far before a woman approached him. ¡°My Lord, may I have a moment?¡± ¡°Sure, what¡¯s up?¡± He asked. She glanced at the sky in puzzlement, but Dean cut her off before she could speak. ¡°I mean, what did you want to talk to me about?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± She said, ¡°It¡¯s just that there aren¡¯t any houses laid out yet. I was wondering if my lord intended to do so soon.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Dean explained, ¡°It¡¯s just that there are several other buildings that need the resources first.¡± She looked at him askance, ¡°But, my lord, we have the supplies to build a basic home from our wagons.¡± Dean was really starting to wish he¡¯d done the tutorial. In his hurry to get defenses and the spawn point built, he may have missed a few other things, possibly really important tidbits, then it could set the whole village back. Shaking his head in frustration, he pulled up the page again. Before placing any of the homes, he selected the option for dirt paths and laid a couple out, connecting the woodcutter¡¯s camp, hunter¡¯s hut, farms and the civic center together. Next, he selected a few homes, dropped them along the path where Ryan and him had decided to make the town square, and ran a couple roads out to form a small city block. ¡°Done.¡± He said to her, ¡°Do I need to assign the families?¡± She shook her head, ¡°They¡¯re assigned to how close it is to the person¡¯s job, if they have one.¡± She glanced at him, judging how far she could take the conversation, before asking, ¡°Speaking of that, there are several people here that don¡¯t have anything to do.¡± ¡°I know,¡± He said, ¡°But I plan to change as soon as I get a chance. Right after the basics are built and I can get a solid defense setup.¡± Satisfied, she gave a quick nod. ¡°Just remember that no one else will show up to the village without a home.¡± She quickly headed off to join her family around the fire. Dean watched her go for a second, trying to decide if the game was trying to give him advice, or if this was the newly improved non-player personalities. Again, there was no way to know. Several of the women had made a stew from a rabbit that the hunters had caught towards the end of the day. There wasn¡¯t much rabbit in the stew since the pot was big enough to feed everyone and only had one rabbit in it, but the vegetables and broth were better than the regular salted jerky Dean and his friends had been eating for the last few days. They settled on a watch schedule after dinner, and most of the group curled up in their knapsacks not long afterwards, exhausted from travel and work. 28. Affinities Dean woke the next morning to the sound of a tree falling. He stayed in his knapsack for several minutes, enjoying the warmth as each breath brought a small cloud of steam, until his nose started to freeze. He got up, shivering against the cold, and shook the morning dew off his knapsack. He¡¯d slept in his clothes, not wanting to strip in front of strangers, so they were at least warm despite being wrinkled. Someone had lit a small fire and set a meager breakfast of stale bread and cheese nearby. At least there was a pot of coffee. He poured himself a cup, clutching it in his hands to warm them up as he sipped. He surveyed the small camp as he ate. The woodcutters were already hard at work, two of them chopping trees on the edge of the forest, while the other two were removing the limbs and stripping the bark of a fallen log at the camp. The builders had split up, one for the hunter¡¯s hut and the other for the civic center, each with two workers. He glanced in the other direction, down towards the river, and saw that both farmers were plowing the fields he laid out last night. He pulled up the city status page, receiving a notification that the woodcutter camp had been completed. He realized he hadn¡¯t checked the page since yesterday morning and made a mental note to check it everytime he ate. He couldn¡¯t afford wasted time because he didn¡¯t look at it often enough. Four more quests popped up after closing the completed quest.
City Quest: Build a Stone Quarry
Reward: 100 City XP
Resources Produced: Stone
City Quest: Build a Mine
Reward: 100 City XP
Resources Produced: Ore *Requires completing Quest ¡®Infestation, Pt. 1¡¯
City Quest: Build a Clay Pit
Reward: City 50 XP
Resources Produced: Clay
City Quest: Build a Sawmill
Reward: 50 City XP
Resources Produced: Lumber
He hoped that the spawn point would unlock soon as a result of completing something. No point in dwelling on it. Instead, he checked the experience level of the city, a hundred and sixty-five. With a hundred and fifty received from the quest, that left only fifteen for the actual Woodcutter¡¯s Camp. It would still take a lot more buildings before the city leveled up, but completing quests would be exponentially faster. With that in mind, he switched to building mode and placed the stone quarry, clay pit and sawmill. He hesitated for a moment before deciding to switch the workers on the civic center to the stone quarry. It awarded less experience but could be completed a lot faster. He found the build queue and selected the Civic Center. He paused its construction. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the builder stand up abruptly, read a prompt in front of him before looking in his direction, and signal the laborers. He pointed down towards the river, gesturing with his other towards Dean, before leading the men down to the clay pit. Once they reached the area, the builder started walking around the place, measuring out the space, and directed the workers to start digging. The others had joined him around the fire, eating their breakfast in silence as they waited for him to finish up. Once he closed the screen, Ryan said, ¡°We¡¯ve decided to scope out the rest of the valley.¡± Dean nodded, ¡°It¡¯s a good idea. We need to find out if there¡¯s any other entrances to the valley. Don¡¯t want the orcs attacking us from behind.¡± ¡°Have we unlocked any of the defenses, yet?¡± Jim asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. ¡°Not yet.¡± Dean acknowledged, ¡°Still a long way to go before upgrading, but I have an idea that might help.¡± Jim leaned forward, suddenly alert as Dean explained. ¡°The city¡¯s territory only extends partway into the entrance.¡± He picked up a small twig off the ground and drew a rough sketch of the valley and entrance. ¡°Jim, you mentioned a place where we could build a wall that would be easy to defend. So, what if we do exactly that?¡± ¡°Will the villagers work outside?¡± Mary asked. Dean shook his head in reply. ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to do it.¡± ¡°And any other players that show up.¡± Dean acknowledged. ¡°We don¡¯t have the skills, though.¡± She pointed out. ¡°So, what exactly are you suggesting?¡± Jim asked. ¡°The three of you go survey the rest of the valley.¡± Dean explained, ¡°I¡¯ll stick around here and see what I can do to speed thing up. Hopefully, more players will have arrived by the time you return, and I¡¯ll have figured out a way to build defenses manually.¡± ¡°You¡¯re okay with staying here?¡± Ryan asked. Mary said, ¡°I know it sucks, Dean, but you¡¯re too important to risk at this point. You know that, right?¡± ¡°I know.¡± Dean agreed. ¡°And even just exploring the valley might slow the build down if I can¡¯t access the menu while I¡¯m not in the village, so I¡¯m stuck here for the time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s settled then,¡± Jim said, ¡°Figure out the whole building thing and we¡¯ll explore.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t die.¡± Dean said as he dusted the crumbs off his pants and stood up. ¡°None of you are expendable, either.¡± Dean headed towards the woodcutter¡¯s camp as the others gathered supplies before setting out to explore. He would prefer going with them, it would certainly be more fun than village building, but it wasn¡¯t in the cards at the moment. It wasn¡¯t like he hated sim-building games. It was just that, well, he typically only played them when he was bored. And being stuck in a dive game with his best friends didn¡¯t fall under that category. Darin spotted him before Dean arrived at the woodcutter¡¯s hut, and hurried to meet him, ¡°Mi¡¯lord?¡± ¡°Wondering if I can help.¡± Dean replied. By his expression, that was the last thing Darin expected to hear. It probably wasn¡¯t every day that a lord volunteered to assist with something as menial as cutting down trees. Dean chuckled, ¡°I know, lords don¡¯t cut down trees and stuff. Except, we need the wood, and I need something to do, so how can I help?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Do you have any experience, Milord?¡± Darin asked cautiously. Dean shook his head. ¡°I see.¡± Darin scrubbed his bald head. ¡°Relax, Darin. And you can call me Dean.¡± Dean said to try and put the man at ease. ¡°What job would you have an apprentice do?¡± It had the opposite effect. The man looked like he might have a heart attack right there. Dean tried a different tact, ¡°Where did you start when you were learning?¡± Darin wasn¡¯t entirely relaxed by the notion, but relented while shaking his head, ¡°I started by stripping bark from the logs.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s where I¡¯ll start.¡± Dean said. ¡°Teach me the ways of the woodcutter.¡± Darin led him over to a log and handed him a tool. The prompt said it was a tree tuff, though Dean thought it looked more like a double handled straight razor. As Darin explained the process, he became more relaxed. The tool fit between the bark and the trunk and was used to scrap off the bark with hard jerks. Darin was fairly adept at the process, stripping the entire length of the trunk as he walked backwards, until he removed the entire side in a large single piece. In practice, it was much harder. Dean couldn¡¯t get the angle right, digging too deep into the trunk and getting the tool stuck, or going to shallow and almost cutting himself as the blade ripped through the bark. He learned the first level of woodcutting partway through the first side, and the second halfway through the first log. Once finished, he stepped back to admire his work. He compared it to the other logs in the pile and grimaced. The others were smooth and neatly stripped. His looked like someone had used a hatchet to remove the bark. ¡°That¡¯s pretty good.¡± Darin noted. Dean raised an eyebrow at him. Darin chuckled, ¡°It is for a first try. Now, let¡¯s move this one to the pile and drag a new one over here.¡± Dean fell into a pattern, stripping the bark from a trunk, moving it with one of the woodcutter¡¯s help, then starting on a new one. He reached level three after a few logs, and the cuts started to look cleaner. He jumped when someone put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean to startle you, mi¡¯lord.¡± Darin said, ¡°It¡¯s time for lunch.¡± Dean glanced up. The sun had reached its zenith, and the others were already heading towards the fire. Dean used his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow and stretched his aching muscles. Meanwhile, Darin studied the most recently stripped log. ¡°You learn quickly, this looks like the work of an apprentice after a several weeks of practice.¡± Surprised, Dean asked, ¡°Really?¡± Darin nodded in response. ¡°Does it really take that long?¡± Darin shrugged, ¡°It depends on a person¡¯s affinity. Some people learn quickly, others a lot slower.¡± ¡°How do you know what affinity you have?¡± Dean asked. Darin thought it over for several seconds as they walked towards the fire before responding, ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain. I guess the best explanation is that it¡¯s like a feeling. Some things come naturally, while others are much harder to learn.¡± ¡°Are you a natural woodcutter?¡± Dean asked. Darin barked a laugh, ¡°No. And no, I don¡¯t know what my affinities are.¡± Dean thought it over. If that was true, then maybe the real reason the refuges had such low skill levels was that they weren¡¯t doing what they were actually good at. Maybe he could find a way to test their abilities and figure out their affinities. Of course, with the orc invasion looming, he couldn¡¯t afford to spend the time now. But, according to Darin, he either had an affinity for woodcutting or all players had an affinity for everything. If the latter, it meant he could level up any skill faster than non-players. A thought tickled the back of his mind, but he couldn¡¯t make it form. It was something that Shiro had said to him. They reached the fire, and were served a fresh slice of thick bread, still warm from the fire, several slices of cooked rabbit, and some cheese. As Dean chewed through his food, he checked the status of the buildings. To his surprise, the clay pit and stone quarry had already been built. Completing both opened a few new buildings, and their relevant quests. At that point, Dean clicked through them with barely a glance, just noting that he could now build a brickworks, blacksmith, or mason building. Apparently, both the clay pit and stone quarry only needed the dirt removed and a few boards placed down for steps. The whole process only took a couple hours. The Hunter¡¯s hut was well on its way by then, though it looked more like a log cabin than an actual hut. The workers had completed several layers of wood logs, cutting a slit into each so that the next layer interlocked with the one below it. We were trying for endless replays. That was what Shiro had said. Players could be anything in the game. He whooped in excitement at the revelation, the start of a plan forming in his head. A few of the refuges gave him funny looks, probably thinking their new lord was mad, which just made him laugh. Shiro had said it from the beginning, he just hadn¡¯t really understood what the man was implying. Players, all of them, had an affinity for everything in game. Otherwise, it meant he could only do certain jobs, follow specific career paths, and not the endless possibilities that the original developers had wanted. Unless the game hijack had changed that. The thought choked the laughter out of him. It was possible, though he didn¡¯t think so, since whoever was messing with the game seemed hellbent on keeping them in the game. Endless possibilities would be more enticing for players and keep them in the game longer. Not that they could leave if they wanted to. He needed more players to test the theory with any certainty, but there was one thing he could do by himself. ¡°Darin, I think I¡¯m done being a woodcutter for the time being.¡± Darin shrugged, ¡°As you wish, mi¡¯lord.¡± Dean walked over to the Hunter¡¯s Hut and studied it in closer detail. Logs had been laid down, first lengthwise across the front and back, before a second had been laid crosswise on the sides. Each layer switched between the two, back and forth as they worked higher. Only three layers had already been laid, about waist high. Where the logs intersected, square chunks had been cut out of each log, so that they slid into each other snugly, closing the gaps between layers. The gaps were uneven, some larger than others, probably a result of the builders being so low level. He guessed it meant the building would come out at a lower quality level, if buildings had that kind of result. The observations earned him the first level in construction, carpentry, and architecture. ¡°What do you think?¡± A gruff voice said behind Dean. Dean spotted the builder approaching, a short man with long arms, a round stomach, and a ragged mop of black hair on his head. The man held out his hand, ¡°Cedric.¡± Dean tried to introduce himself, but the man laughed. ¡°Already know who you are seeing as you¡¯re the lord and all.¡± He gestured at the building. ¡°So? What do you think?¡± ¡°It looks good.¡± Cedric shook his head in disgust, ¡°No, it isn¡¯t, and we both know it.¡± He walked up to the building and started pointing out issues. ¡°The layers are uneven, there¡¯s gaps in the grooves allowing parts of the wall to shift, and whole thing isn¡¯t squared off.¡± Dean hadn¡¯t noticed the last. He took a few steps around the corner, trying to judge the angle. Sure enough, the walls weren¡¯t set at a ninety-degree angle. Cedric shrugged, ¡°My Da was a builder, and his Da before him. Me? Well, just look at me.¡± The man slapped his belly, ¡°Do I look like a builder to you?¡± Dean laughed as he shook his head, deciding he liked Cedric¡¯s easy manner. Either the game was really trying to drive home the concept of affinities or becoming a landowner had more to do with them than he¡¯d first guessed. ¡°So, what are you good at?¡± ¡°I¡¯m better at small things. Jewelry and the like.¡± Cedric shrugged and glanced around, ¡°But it doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s a need for jewelry just yet.¡± He chuckled. ¡°So, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to learn how to be a builder.¡± Cedric guffawed at that. It was the first time Dean thought a person¡¯s laughter warranted the term. Cedric threw back his head and started laughing. He bent over and slapped his leg several times, a serious feat considering Cedric¡¯s large stomach. ¡°A builder lord?¡± The man wheezed. ¡°By my word, I never.¡± He broke out in more laughter. ¡°I¡¯m serious. I want to learn.¡± Dean insisted. Cedric looked at him, gasping for air as he took in Dean¡¯s expression. ¡°You are serious.¡± Cedric said in surprise. Definitely not the norm, Dean thought. ¡°Well, I¡¯m certainly not going to tell a lord no.¡± Dean was about to respond that Cedric could, but thought better of it. The last thing he wanted was a new tenet based on that comment. Instead, he asked, ¡°Will you teach me?¡± Cedric shrugged, ¡°Of course.¡± The other workers arrived as Cedric explained various components of construction. They stared at Dean with a mix of awe, apprehension, and confusion. Cedric barked at them to stop gawking and get back to work. Startled, they gave him another furtive glance before getting to work. Dean was thankful that Cedric paired off with him so that he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the apparent awe the others were showing him, though he suspected Cedric did it so he could teach Dean the ropes and make sure he was doing things right. Dean spent the rest of the afternoon working side by side, first using a saw to cut into the wood before using a kind of scraper to create even grooves for stacking them. Once finished, they flipped the log over and did the other side before all four of them lifted it onto the walls. He leveled up his new stats quickly, confirm his suspicions about affinities, unless he was somehow special compared to other players. He doubted it. They finished the building just before dinner, and Dean stretched his sore back while he surveyed their work. The holes in the wall still needed to be filled in, but, according to the workers that had gotten used to working with him, anyone could do it. 29. Easter egg Will stood on the castle wall, staring down at the orc encampment below. He had his bow equipped, just in case an errant orc ventured within range. It was unlikely, the orcs had learned their lesson on the first day of the siege. Regardless, he still made a point of coming up to check on the enemy at least once a day. He didn¡¯t have a lot of other options to pass the time. He didn¡¯t flinch when a stone smashed into the wall below him, thrown by a catapult, but did steady himself on the closest parapet. The barrage had started on the second day, after the orcs had time to build the weapons, and continued non-stop. The wall was finally starting to show wear with small cracks forming wherever a boulder smashed into it. Will didn¡¯t know if the damage was superficial, or signs that the wall was finally starting to crack. Honestly, he wasn¡¯t sure which one he would prefer. At least the wall falling apart would give him something to do, but it also meant Torial was close to falling. When it did happen, if he wasn¡¯t captured during the process, he¡¯d have to find a way to stay hidden. Which reminded him that it was about time he resumed his search for somewhere to do that. He¡¯d found a couple spots already, though none were ideal. A couple were small gaps between buildings, none larger than space one or two people to sleep in. They would work if he couldn¡¯t find anything else, but even a small fire would alert the orcs to its existence and two people weren¡¯t enough to mount a fight to take back the city. A few others were rooftops surrounded by larger buildings, though anyone looking out a window would immediately spot him. The most promising was an abandoned courtyard, completely walled off from the outside. It was large enough for two dozen people to hide in, but easily spotted if any orcs decided to wander the roofs and had the same problem with starting a fire. They would work for temporary spots, maybe even for storing supplies, but he needed something more secure and better hidden to act as a headquarters for his planned rebellion. He made his way down the wall and walked down a nearby side street before ducking into an alley. He climbed up the stack of barrels and boxes, the same he¡¯d been using for several days, to haul himself onto the roof. He ran across the rooftops, leaping from across any gaps. At least nobody noticed him moving around up there. Apparently, it was true that nobody bothered to look up. He reached stopped at a roof across the street from the administration building and crouched to survey the area. The gap was wider than anything he¡¯d tried jumping before and there were a lot more guards in the street below. He couldn¡¯t do anything about the guards, but it was the perfect opportunity for him to try his new idea out. He drew an elven arrow from his quiver and the coil of rope, both purchased that morning, from his inventory. He laid the coil on the ground beneath him, stepping on one end and tying the other to the arrow. He aimed and fired the arrow above a statue, probably a depiction of the king, and waited a few seconds to see if anyone raised an alarm. He slowly pulled the rope back. The arrow, now turned sideways because of him pulling on the rope, lodged between the statue¡¯s upright sword and chest. Will tugged on it a few times to make sure it was secure and tied the other end around a chimney, using a taut line to pull the rope tight. Will shimmied across, praying silently that the arrow would hold his weight. Once across, he climbed up the side of the building and onto the domed roof, almost sliding off a few times before reaching the center.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The view was stunning. He was at least three times as high as the city wall, the guards on it little more than ants from that distance, and the city was laid bare beneath him. He received a few notifications of new locations, places he hadn¡¯t found during his wanderings through the city. He pulled up his map and adjusted its position so that he could still see. He marked a few likely spots with custom waypoints to check out later, when he spotted something surprising. Several buildings and stone walls lined up to create a symbol he recognized from a game he used to play. It wouldn¡¯t be visible from any other location in the city, but from right here it was plain as day. And it fit with the play style of the old game. There was no way the symbol was an accident. It had to be an Easter Egg. He marked the location on his map, hoping that whoever had programmed it had included more than just the symbol in the game. Will worked his way back down the dome carefully, down the side of the building and across the rope. He tugged and twisted on the rope several times until the arrow worked its way off the statue. The rope fell across the street below, causing several people to look up and a guard to yelled at him. Will cursed as he quickly reeled in the rest of the rope in and started running. Guards emerged on roofs behind him, calling for him to stop. He ignored them until an arrow whizzed by his head, followed by a second. He crouched as he ran aimlessly, looking for anywhere to hide and hoping that the guards would quickly forget about him if he did. His only other option was getting ahead of the search, dropping back down to street level, and acting natural when guards ran past. That would be a gamble though, since he didn¡¯t know if the guards needed direct line of sight to recognize him as a fugitive. After a few minutes of searching in vain, Will decided trying to act natural was his only option. He spotted a stack of crates in an alley and jumped onto them. He dropped the rest of the way to the alley, the impact forcing him to one knee and scraping it in the process. He raced to the alley entrance and slipped into the flow of traffic. He glanced around as surreptitiously as he could manage, keeping an eye out for any guards, as he limped slightly down the street before furtively slipping into the first shop he passed. He pretended to study the shop¡¯s wares as guards raced by outside with a few stopping to investigate the area. The shopkeeper came out from the back, glanced at the guards in the street and at him. Will shrugged innocently, trying to convince the shopkeeper he was just as confused by the commotion. The shopkeeper seemed to believe him and asked, ¡°May I help you find anything?¡± ¡°Just looking for right now, but I¡¯ll let you know.¡± Will said. ¡°Of course, sir.¡± The shopkeeper bowed slightly, ¡°Please take your time.¡± Will sighed in relief after the guards calmed down twenty minutes later and left the shop. He made a point of staying close to large groups whenever a guard came into view just in case. They were still looking for him, that much was obvious as they patrolled the streets nearby, but Will guessed they hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at him. At least that much worked out in his favor, he thought. He followed the map to the symbol¡¯s location and started looking for a way back onto the roofs. He had to travel six blocks over before finding a tree next to a house. Reaching the building was a riddle in itself. The only path required him to work his way halfway around the building and further away from it, before using a trellis to drop down onto a stone ledge. From there, he had to use handholds to work his way around the building and leap across an alley to land on the roof where he¡¯d set the custom waypoint. There was an atrium at the center of the building with a ladder leading from the roof to the first floor. It was a two-story building, completely empty and as far as Will could tell, abandoned. He climbed down and a notification popped up.
You¡¯ve Discovered a Faction Headquarters
Do you wish to claim it?
Yes No
30. Starting a Faction Will closed the notification, selecting ¡®No¡¯ for the time being and explored the building first. He was going to claim it, but it never hurt to explore a place before doing so. He wasn¡¯t a newb, not by a long shot, and knew he might lose valuable loot if claiming it changed the interior. No, was going to thoroughly search the building, checking every nook and cranny he could find. He didn¡¯t find anything, but didn¡¯t regret the decision. The entire building was an empty shell with only a few boxes and broken barrels laying around. Both floors had a hallway around the atrium leading to a dozen medium sized rooms. He found a staircase in the back that led to two underground floors. The first underground floor had generic walls, stone pillars evenly spaced, but was otherwise open concept. The second floor¡¯s walls looked more like a cellar, with the same stone pillars and open concept. He returned to the main floor and triggered the prompt again, this time claiming it. A series of new notifications bombarded him.
Congratulations, you¡¯ve founded a Faction
A Faction, like a Guild, can recruit members, pool resources, and gain Reputation points, except Factions operate outside the law (Example: Merchant Guild/Smuggler Faction). As the Founder of a Faction, you control membership, permissions, and other options within the Faction. To learn more, see the Guild/Faction Tutorial.
Faction Name: Click Here Faction Symbol: Click Here
Faction Type: Click Here Bonuses: Select Faction Type
Members: 1 Notoriety: 0 Gold: 0
Resources: None
Upgrades: None
Will clicked on the option to pick a name. After discarding several, he typed in ¡°The Order¡± and confirmed it. He pulled up the symbol, scrolled through the options and selected one that reminded him of a phoenix. He clicked on the Faction Type option, providing a extensive list of different types of activities the Faction would focus on. He was allowed to pick three initially, though most were grayed out, with a note that he needed to gain more notoriety. He selected assassination, smuggling and pickpocketing. He received three bonuses and quests as a result.
Faction Bonus Unlocked
Assassination +5% Stealth Assassination Technique
Pickpocket +5% Stealth +5% Pickpocket Ability
Smuggling +5% Intimidation +5% Trade Negotiations
Faction Quest: The Corrupt Official
Reward: 5 Notoriety
Description: Convince a local official to pass information along to your Faction by any means necessary.
Faction Quest: The Fence
Reward: 10 Notoriety
Description: Meet with the shady merchant to begin a smuggling operation in the city.
Faction Quest: :Pickpocketing
Reward: 5 Notoriety
Description: Successfully pickpocket 5 times
Will closed the menu and climbed the ladder to the roof. He used the rooftops to navigate his way across the city while following the Corrupt Official quest icon on his mini-map. The man was easy to spot dressed as he was in the red and black tunic all city officials wore once Will reached the location. Will followed the man from the rooftops, watching him wander from store to store. At first, Will thought the man was shopping, but he never stayed in any store long enough to buy anything. As the day wore on, Will started to suspect the man was already corrupt, not just corruptible for the quest, and formed a plan. The sky had turned a dark orange by the time the official led Will to a crowded courtyard near the edge of the city filled with merchant stalls and shoppers. Will located a way down to street level in a nearby alley and slipped into the market without raising attention before working his way through the crowd. He caught up to the official in the middle of a conversation with a merchant. Will closed the gap until he could hear their conversation and pretended to shop.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I understand that the siege has made it hard for you. It¡¯s been hard on everyone,¡± the official was saying, ¡°but rules are rules. You know that.¡± The merchant wrung his hands, ¡°But it¡¯s almost all I¡¯ve made this week. My children will go hungry.¡± ¡°I wish I could help you. I really do. But you know the rules.¡± The official responded. Will heard the merchant sigh and slip a pouch into the official¡¯s hand. The official palmed it and asked, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°I swear by the Goddess, that¡¯s everything.¡± The merchant pleaded. ¡°It¡¯s not enough. You know that.¡± The official said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to make it up next week.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m almost out of wares.¡± The merchant said. Will ground his teeth as the official shrugged and moved on. Will followed circumspectly as the official went from merchant to merchant, collecting a fee from each of them. The official became suspicious near the end, forcing Will to walk by him and slip into an alley. He couldn¡¯t hear the final conversation as a result but didn¡¯t need to. He¡¯d already heard enough. The official left the marketplace, glancing over his shoulder as he walked, forcing Will to follow in a parallel alley until the official was alone. Will ran ahead, slipped down a side street and waited. He grabbed the official and shoved him against the wall. ¡°We need talk.¡± Will said as menacingly as he could muster, which wasn¡¯t hard considering he¡¯d just watch the man extort dozens of merchants. ¡°Please, don¡¯t hurt me.¡± The official begged. ¡°Don¡¯t make me and I won¡¯t.¡± Will growled, ¡°I saw what you were doing back there, and if you don¡¯t want anyone to find out, you¡¯re going to start telling me anything useful you learn.¡± ¡°Of course, I promise.¡± A sob escaped the man. Will grimaced in disgust. The man had spent the entire day extorting people and now he was sobbing the moment someone strong armed him? ¡°Good. Now give me everything you¡¯ve collected today, call it a down payment.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll kill me if I do.¡± The man said. ¡°Who will?¡± Will asked. ¡°The Bone Crew. A thieves¡¯ faction.¡± The man said, ¡°They¡¯re the ones who made me do this.¡± Will blinked in surprise. There was another faction already out there? Who had started it? How had they found a headquarters so quickly? It didn¡¯t immediately change things, since this was the first quest, but he¡¯d have to careful moving forward. The last thing he needed was to start a war with a rival faction before he was ready. Until then, he needed an informant on both the city and the rival faction. ¡°Tell me everything you know about this Bone Crew.¡± ¡°She threatened to kill my family if I didn¡¯t help them, that¡¯s it. That¡¯s all I know.¡± The man said. ¡°What did she look like?¡± Will asked, ¡°Do you remember that?¡± ¡°Uh, a redhead with long hair.¡± The man said. ¡°And how do you give them the money?¡± Will asked. ¡°I leave it by a fountain a couple blocks from here.¡± He said. Will thought through his options. He could take the money, alerting the faction to his existence or let the man make the drop, and follow from a distance to see if he could learn anything. Will let the man go. ¡°Go on, get out of here. But if you tell anyone about this¡­¡± Will trailed off. The man nodded vigorously as he started walking away in a fast pace. Will counted to a hundred before following the official to a fountain with a lion statue. There weren¡¯t a lot of people in the square, so Will sat at a patio table of a nearby inn and ordered a beer. He watched the official sit at a bench, before reaching into his belt for a pouch and dropping it into an urn filled with a large bush. The official stood up and walked away. Will waited for an hour before anything else happened. He used the time to read about guilds, check his status, and anything else he could think of to look busy. The last thing he needed was for the Bone Crew to detect him sitting there watching them. No, he needed to act natural. A petite redhead entered the square and made a beeline for the bench without looking around. She didn¡¯t even bother sitting or trying to hide her actions. She bent over the bush, found the pouch and picked it up in plain view of the whole square. She must have felt something was off because she hesitated then and glanced around. Will studied his beer as he held his breath, feeling her eyes linger on him for a second before she left in a hurry. Will waited another twenty minutes, until the sun just beneath the city walls, to make sure she was gone before following the marker to The Fence quest. It led him to a small, dilapidated warehouse in the poorer part of town. He circled the building a few times, making sure there weren¡¯t any guards, city or otherwise, around before climbing through an opening he spotted on his first time around. The warehouse was clean and more organized on the inside, a clear indication that the outside was for show. A few lanterns hung from the ceiling, casting long shadows around the entire interior. Will ignored the stacked boxes and barrels and started looking around for signs that anyone was there. Near the back, he heard talking. He snuck from cover to cover until he could see two men standing beside a table. Before he could overhear the conversation, someone grunted behind him. ¡°You ain¡¯t allow¡¯d in here?¡± Will tried to jerk around, but a large hand grabbed him by the cuff and hauled him out of cover. One of the men at the table ran, while the other grimaced in the fleeing man¡¯s direction and walked up to Will. He asked in a smooth, refined voice, ¡°Who are you and what are you doing here?¡± Will tried to get a good look, but only had a chance to take in a well-tailored black tunic before being jerked roughly by the man holding him with a ¡°Answer t¡¯question or I¡¯m gonna have to makes you. You ain¡¯t gonna like it if I does.¡± Will said, ¡°I¡¯m Dean and I¡¯m trying to find someone.¡± ¡°Dean,¡± The man said, ¡°And who are you trying to find?¡± ¡°I was told there might be someone around here that might be able to help me with some product.¡± Will said. The man raised his eyebrows, ¡°Indeed? Why not ask a shopkeeper or merchant to assist?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that kind of product.¡± Will explained. ¡°I see. And might I inquire who told you this?¡± The man asked. Will licked his lips, trying to figure out an answer when the man holding him shook him again. Will growled in frustration. ¡°It¡¯s a damn faction quest. Okay? Are you happy?¡± ¡°A Faction quest?¡± The man barked a laugh, ¡°Well, that certainly explains it then.¡± The man waved his hand at whoever was holding Will up. Will dropped back to the ground, nearly twisting his ankle in the process. ¡°Let¡¯s say, hypothetically, someone here was able to help you with unusual product during normal times. I¡¯m afraid that the siege would have disrupted any sort of help such a person could provide.¡± Will rubbed the back of his neck as he thought through his words. He didn¡¯t have any product to move, probably never would since the town was going to be overrun by orcs soon, but what he really needed was places to hide supplies. ¡°I¡¯m potentially looking to buy supplies, and for places to safely store them.¡± The man stared at him for a few seconds before answering, dropping all pretense in the process. ¡°No. I still have no idea who you are and won¡¯t risk my entire operation for just anyone.¡± The man gestured for Will to leave, and an arm on Will¡¯s shoulder threatened to drag him across the floor. Will managed to keep his feet and got his first look at the mysterious bouncer. He was tall and broad shouldered, with thick eyebrows and beard that hid any details about the man¡¯s face. Will was led to the entrance, where the bouncer dragged the door open a few feet and shoved Will through. Will landed in a heap, dusted himself off and stood up. A small window indicated he¡¯d completed the Fence Quest, and that part two had started.
Faction Quest: The Fence, Pt. 2
Reward: Unknown
Description: Raise your Notoriety rating to improve your business relationship with The Fence.
Will started walking back to the faction headquarters. He needed to pickpocket several people to finish the other quest, but wasn¡¯t looking forward to it thanks to the reaction of the guards when on the first day to the thieves in Fort Blackwood. There¡¯d been a list of goals in the status menu, and perhaps those awarded enough notoriety to level up. He was about to pull up the page when an idea struck him. Voodoo and Doc were somewhere in the city. They¡¯d spawned shortly before him when the siege started and had slipped away to a tavern, saying they¡¯d wait until the fighting began. He could see if they¡¯d be interested in joining the faction and help prep for the rebellion. And since the pickpocket quest was a faction quest, he could let them take care of it and deal with the guards if necessary. Will changed direction, heading towards the taverns near the spawn point, before pulling up the faction page to learn more about factions. 31. Faction Members Will trudged down the now empty streets towards the next tavern, holding his cloak against the hard gusts of wind as thick clouds rolled across the sky and promised a downpour later. Each breath fogged in the cold air before another gust sent it swirling away and sent a shiver down his spine. Even the few guards patrolling the street were stopping in doorways to give themselves a reprieve before moving on. He¡¯d been searching for hours already, spending only a few minutes at each tavern to look for the two men before pushing himself back into the cold. They weren¡¯t in any of the taverns along the main road, or the adjacent side streets. Not unless they¡¯d already gone to bed, which Will didn¡¯t think was likely. He was about to give up when he caught the sound of raucous laughter down a side alley. Will glanced down the alley to see it bathed in the light of two windows. Curious, he walked down the alley to get a better look and found a door tucked between two eaves. There was no furniture or decorations inside, just a single counter with a bartender wiping down a few bottles with an old rag and a stack of tapped barrels against the wall. Otherwise, a dozen players were standing around talking and laughing. ¡°Will,¡± Voodoo shouted from the back corner as he weaved through the other patrons, Doc in tow, to slap Will on the back. ¡°What¡¯re you doing here, mate?¡± Doc called out to the bartender, ¡°Spade, another round over here.¡± Spade waved at him and grabbed them mugs, filled them and set them on the table. Doc placed a few coppers on the table and handed one to Will. Will did a double take at the bartender, realizing he was a player. It had to cost a pretty penny to buy the place, unless the place was a quest reward. The faction completely forgotten for the moment, Will asked, ¡°Is this place really player owned?¡± ¡°Owned and operated.¡± Voodoo said, ¡°Since this morning.¡± ¡°How did he afford it?¡± Will asked. Spade overheard and replied, ¡°I was in logistic. Only took me a few hours in game to figure out how to make a profit buying from one vendor and selling to a different one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impressive,¡± Will said, ¡°Is everyone here a vet?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Voodoo said, ¡°Everyone but you, at least.¡± ¡°And none of you decided to do play the FPS?¡± ¡°Seriously, man?¡± Voodoo asked, ¡°We all lived through that shit IRL. Why in God¡¯s name,¡± He laughed, ¡°I guess the Goddess¡¯ name, would any of us want to pretend to fight? I had enough of it when it was real to last me a lifetime.¡± ¡°Oh, I hadn¡¯t thought of that.¡± Will conceded. ¡°No worries,¡± Doc said with a shrug, ¡°hard for a civie to understand. So, what can we do for you?¡± Will glanced around suspiciously, making Voodoo laugh, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about these guys. Like I said, we¡¯re all vets, and besides, we¡¯re all going to team up to fight the orcs once the invasion happens. They won¡¯t tell anyone your secret.¡± Still uneasy, Will kept his voice low as he explained how he¡¯d created a new faction, and wanted to know if they¡¯d join. Will didn¡¯t have a detailed plan yet, more like a general idea, but explained how he wanted to increase notoriety, gather supplies, and recruit members so that he could operate a resistance once the orcs took over. A smile spread across Voodoo¡¯s face as Will talked and was nodding along. After Will was done, Voodoo said, ¡°Not a bad idea, but it depends on how much damage the orcs do when they take over.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Will acknowledged, ¡°But I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll burn the whole place down. My guess is that they¡¯ll destroy some of it during the invasion, then act more like an occupying force afterwards.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Maybe,¡± Doc said, ¡°No way to know how the game was programmed. But it¡¯s a better idea than Voodoo¡¯s latest.¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s a good idea.¡± ¡°What is?¡± Will asked. Voodoo leaned in conspiratorially and lowered his voice, ¡°It¡¯s pretty simple, really. We wait until they breach the wall, then¡­¡± Voodoo smirked, ¡°We kill them.¡± Will stared at him for a second in confusion, a random thought about his stabby-stabby technique flashing through his head, but that conversation with Dean had been entirely different. Doc grunted, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re a real Einstein, Voodoo.¡± Doc turned to Will, ¡°I¡¯m game, what do I need to do to join the faction?¡± ¡°Uh, let me check.¡± Will fumbled with the status page, found a section that allowed him to send invites, and both men accepted. ¡°There a limit on how many people can join?¡± Voodoo asked. ¡°Twenty-five.¡± Will said, ¡°Until we level up.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± Voodoo turned his head to the bar, ¡°Hey, everyone, listen up. We got a plan that¡¯ll work.¡± ¡°Shut it, Voodoo.¡± An older man with salt and pepper hair said, ¡°Your plans suck.¡± ¡°Screw you, Pooh.¡± Voodoo replied with a grin. Will suspected this was a pretty common exchange between the two men, ¡°And it ain¡¯t my plan this time.¡± ¡°Pooh?¡± Will asked incredulously, ¡°His name¡¯s Pooh? Like Pooh Bear?¡± ¡°You got a problem with that?¡± The man heard and walked over to Will. Despite Will being a few inches taller than the man, Pooh had broader shoulders and seemed to loom over him. Will gulped, ¡°No, just curious how you got it.¡± The man laughed, ¡°Just messing with you. I got it ¡®cause I used to record myself reading it for my kids back home while I was deployed.¡± Pooh shrugged, ¡°So, I take it this is your plan?¡± Will glared at Voodoo, who was acting innocent, before replying, ¡°Yeah. I found a way to start a faction earlier and figured we could use it to mount a resistance.¡± Pooh scratched his chin as he said, ¡°Could work, if the orcs don¡¯t destroy it in the process. Better idea than anything this idiot¡¯s come up with.¡± Pooh jerked a thumb at Voodoo. Voodoo spluttered, spraying his drink. Pooh laughed. ¡°Let¡¯s here it, then. What¡¯s the plan?¡± The other soldiers circled them as Will explained the rest of his idea. Afterwards, everyone wanted to be invited into the group, and like that, Will had a dozen members and the Faction¡¯s notoriety level increased twice. Will pulled up the Faction tasks to see what had been unlocked. ¡°First we need to pickpocket some people,¡± Will explained. ¡°Then, it looks like we can get a few more informants, assassinate a few rival criminal organizations to take over, and establish a business as a front.¡± ¡°Spade?¡± Doc asked. ¡°Sure,¡± Spade shrugged, ¡°Why not? Might mean it survives the orc attack.¡± A notification popped up on Will¡¯s screen stating that the bar, named FUBAR, was now a faction location. From the menu, it looked like he basically owned the bar, if he wanted to. It wasn¡¯t fair though, so he assigned Spade to the bar and gave him complete authority on the Faction asset. Spade nodded his thanks and Will sensed the others opinion of him improve slightly. He didn¡¯t know how he knew, it was more like a gut feeling than anything. Or maybe something tied to being the Faction leader? Voodoo said, ¡°Gimme an hour and I¡¯ll have the pickpocketing done.¡± ¡°Wait, don¡¯t-¡° Pooh said, but Voodoo slipped out the door. Pooh sighed, ¡°If he gets caught¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll follow him, and make sure he stays out of trouble.¡± Doc said with a sigh as he walked to the door and opened it. He looked back in resignation before leaving, ¡°Great, it¡¯s about to rain. I¡¯m going to kill him when I find him.¡± Will grinned, ¡°I believe the words you¡¯re looking for are ¡®that boy ain¡¯t right.¡¯¡± Doc laughed as he closed the door behind him. Will¡¯s chest tightened momentarily at the thought of his friends. He shook it off and said, ¡°There¡¯s at least one other faction that¡¯s been created. Don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll cause any problems for us, but better safe than sorry, you know?¡± Pooh glanced at him approvingly, ¡°Agreed, we should probably keep an eye out just in case.¡± Pooh gestured at two of the men, glanced at the windows. Both men moved over and leaned against the frames and started a conversation as they stared out at the street. It would look inconspicuous enough to anyone passing by, but they were obviously on lookout to anyone in the bar. ¡°For now, we can come up with a plan, then go look at the headquarters and start leveling up the faction.¡± It came out as a suggestion, but Will knew Pooh was only making sure he didn¡¯t usurp Will. Pooh expected Will to discuss plans for the faction and would probably keep suggesting it until Will agreed. Will didn¡¯t have an issue with discussing the plans. Now that he had trained soldiers on his side, he preferred hearing their input on how to proceed. Will ignored the notifications about the pickpocket quests that popped up as he discussed plans with Pooh. He hoped Voodoo would pickpocket in moderation, but if Voodoo kept the pace he seemed to be going at, he¡¯d pickpocket the entire town before breakfast. Will just had to hope Voodoo didn¡¯t pickpocket the wrong person, get caught, or alert the other faction too soon. Something told him they wouldn¡¯t get that lucky. 32. The First Arrivals Dean surveyed the village as he took his morning walk, status screen open. They¡¯d made a lot of progress, more than he thought possible in three days, but nowhere near enough to prepare them for the orc eventual orc invasion. The houses had been constructed out of spare wood. They were haphazard and looked like they¡¯d collapse if someone breathed too hard. Thankfully, the only wolf in the area was part of another alpha wolf quest to unlock a new forested section of the map for building. The blacksmith was also up and operational, though it was little more than a stone forge and an anvil laying on a tree stump. The only villager with the blacksmith talent had supplied the anvil and a few bars of iron ore, though Dean still had no idea where the anvil had come from. He needed to unlock the mine, but it required clearing the top level of monsters. He¡¯d thought about doing it himself, despite the risk, but thought it better to wait until his friends returned from exploring the area. If they didn¡¯t return soon, he¡¯d have to chance it. The village needed the resources and any delay just made it that much harder to prepare for the orcs. The construction of the sawmill had nearly doubled wood production and created wooden planks that improved the quality of the finished building. While upgrading buildings felt like a waste of resources, at least until the game gave him to do so, it might pay off to improve any buildings that produced raw building materials if it meant speeding up production and improved quality. Dean wanted to talk to Ryan before doing it, but he was running out of time. He sighed and shook his head. If they weren¡¯t back by tonight, he¡¯d make the decision on his own. It all came down to time. He didn¡¯t have enough of it before the orcs would arrive and attack the village. It was still a level one camp, and he wasn¡¯t even a fifth of the way to level two after three days. With five or six weeks before the orcs arrived, the village would only be at level two or three. He hoped the next level unlocked the spawn point and defenses. They were toast otherwise. On the other hand, he had too much of it when his mind started wandering, usually thinking about the real world. He tried to squash the thoughts the moment they popped into his head, but it was becoming harder with only physical labor to keep him occupied. He missed his friends, talking to them helped more than he¡¯d ever admit. ¡°Dean,¡± Cedric called, pulling Dean out of his thoughts. ¡°We¡¯ve got company.¡± Dean looked towards the valley entrance and spotted a large group of people heading in their direction. Dean nodded his thanks to Cedric before setting off at a jog towards the group. As he got closer, Dean studied the group. They were players, that much was obvious from their outfits, though most were a mismatch set of armor and weapons. Despite traveling together in a large group, most of the players were separated into smaller groups with several paces between them. Probably individual parties traveling as a large group, Dean thought. Dean met them halfway to the village. He spoke loudly to ensure everyone could hear him. ¡°Welcome to Manetheren. My name¡¯s Dean and I¡¯ll be your friendly mayor today.¡± ¡°Is this a joke?¡± A tall, lanky player that looked barely eighteen with dirty blonde hair and giant nose demanded. ¡°This is where we¡¯re going to fight the orcs? It doesn¡¯t even have walls. Torial would¡¯ve been a million times better.¡± Dean bit his tongue before he called the kid an idiot. Instead, he explained loudly, ¡°Torial is scripted to fall. It¡¯s doomed no matter what. But this place isn¡¯t, and that gives us a shot to win. I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s going to be easy or that we¡¯re ready for them right now. But I¡¯ve got a plan and if you¡¯ll trust me, I think we can pull this off.¡± ¡°Why the hell should I trust you?¡± The kid scoffed. ¡°Because I¡¯m the man with a plan.¡± Dean growled, ¡°And if you don¡¯t like it, you¡¯re free to leave and make it on your own.¡± A notification popped up. Dean bit back a curse as he read it.
You¡¯ve Unlocked a City Tenet
Tenet: My Word is Law
Your villagers are now afraid that they might be banished from the village if they don¡¯t follow your commands. Bonuses: -15% Loyalty Generated, +10% Production
He took a deep breath, trying to force himself to calm down before he said something that created a new tenet he¡¯d probably regret down the road. Dean thought through each sentence before speaking, trying to word it in a way that wouldn¡¯t create a negative tenet if something did happen. ¡°Look, we¡¯ve got a chance here, alright? But I need your help if we¡¯re going to succeed.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± A woman asked as she stepped forward. She was pretty, with raven black hair midway down her back and soft, pale skin that seemed to glow in the light. Dean caught himself before he stared long enough to make the silence uncomfortable. ¡°There¡¯s something called affinities. It¡¯s kinda like a natural talent in something. NPCs are only good one or two things, but I think we¡¯ve got an affinity for everything. It means we can learn how to do anything.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The woman raised an eyebrow, ¡°You¡¯re talking about building this place up enough to defend it in a month?¡± ¡°I am,¡± Dean acknowledged, ¡°If everyone here agrees to specialize in something, we can build faster than any NPCs in the game. We don¡¯t have a lot of time, but enough to build walls, traps and whatever other defenses we can come up with to stop the orcs.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t log into this game to get a job.¡± The kid complained, ¡°I joined so I could fight.¡± ¡°And you will when the orcs arrive,¡± Dean glared at him but kept his anger in check. ¡°Plus, the village has a couple of quests that require fighting, like killing a wolf and clearing out the first level of the mine. But that¡¯s just to unlo-¡° ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± The kid pushed past Dean, four of his friends in tow. ¡°Better than a boring ass job.¡± ¡°Wait, only the first floor!¡± Dean yelled at the kid¡¯s back. The kid raised a hand over his shoulder, flicking Dean off. Dean growled, ¡°Frakking idiot.¡± The woman laughed, ¡°He¡¯s been a pain since we started.¡± She looked back at the other players, most nodded in agreement. ¡°He spent half the time complaining and the other half trying to acting like he was god¡¯s gift to women. So, you need us to help with resources and building defenses? Anything else?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll also practice fighting. It doesn¡¯t level up the skills as fast as a real battle, but it¡¯ll help.¡± Dean said. She shrugged, ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve got this figured out, more or less. Where can I help?¡± The others nodded their assent, making Dean sigh in relief. He counted the number of players as he assigned them, forty in all without the idiot and his friends. He sent a dozen to kill the wolf, and split the rest up between the woodsman, stone quarry, mine, and building crews. They didn¡¯t count towards the building assignments, either because they were players or hadn¡¯t sworn loyalty to him, and Dean planned to keep it that way. Dean received a notification that the first level of the mine was cleared partway through, and another about the second level an hour later. He wasn¡¯t surprised that the idiot hadn¡¯t listened. And Dean couldn¡¯t ignore the cleared mine levels. Deeper levels promised better resources. He made sure to pull up the mine and select command his miners to build a new mine shaft in each level. Dean tried to work, but now that the first group of players had arrived in the village, more were spotted often enough that he finally had to assign someone else to take over. He probably could¡¯ve continued if each group didn¡¯t require him to explain his plan, convince everyone to help, and deal with anyone that complained. A commotion near the mines drew his attention. Dean ran over, though he knew what had probably happened. Sure enough, one of the kids had emerged from the mine with his health bar blinking red. He was alone. The kid sobbed as he explained what happened, ¡°We were clearing out the mine. It was going fine. There were only big ants on the first few levels, really easy to kill. But Clint insisted we keep going deeper.¡± Dean guessed that Clint was the idiot, but let the kid continue without interrupting. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a big deal until the sixth level. We cleared it out just like before, but there was this big room right before the end that had a bunch of weird sacs in it. Clint said we should collect ¡®em because they might be valuable, but they exploded when we touched ¡®em. There were hundreds of ¡®em in each sac. They killed Clint in seconds. I tried to help, but it was no use. There were too many of ¡®em. That¡¯s why I ran.¡± ¡°What hatched? Ants?¡± Dean asked slowly. The kid shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know what they were. I didn¡¯t get a chance to scan any of them. They looked kinda like scorpions though.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Dean asked, trying to sound soothing. Even if this kid had been part of Clint¡¯s group, it was Clint that had been the idiot. Of course, Dean thought, the others had followed his lead so it was partly their fault. ¡°Daniel.¡± The kid said. He looked up at Dean pleadingly, ¡°You have to save my friends. Please, you have to help.¡± Dean laid a hand on the kid¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Your friends have probably respawned in Torial already. There¡¯s nothing we can do.¡± ¡°But that Asian guy said the orcs were going to attack it.¡± Probably Shiro, Dean thought. ¡°Yeah, he did. It¡¯s possible the orcs haven¡¯t gotten there yet. If not, then you¡¯re friends can make their way back here.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The kid said hopefully. A thought struck him a second later, ¡°But, what if the orcs have already taken it over?¡± ¡°They haven¡¯t.¡± Dean said. Shiro had said the siege would last a month. ¡°Not yet. But Torial might be surrounded by now, and your friends unable to escape.¡± ¡°What do we do? We have to help them.¡± The kid started crying again. ¡°I only joined because of them, you know? Because they were all excited to play and I didn¡¯t want to be left out. But this is messed up, man. If I knew I¡¯d feel pain in here, I wouldn¡¯t have joined. I just want to go home.¡± The last of Dean¡¯s anger crumbled as the kid started sobbing louder. Dean knelt beside Daniel, and said as soothingly as possible, ¡°Daniel, right? You go by Danny?¡± The kid nodded. ¡°How old are, Danny?¡± The kid answered, causing Dean to sit down hard. He¡¯d just assumed all kids had been logged off when the game was hacked. But Danny was in middle school, maybe a freshman in high school. Dean couldn¡¯t remember how old each grade level was, but realized it didn¡¯t really matter at this point. The kid, an actual kid, was stuck in the game way over his head. Dean lied to the kid, making a promise he knew he might not be able to keep. ¡°Hey, Danny. It¡¯s going to be alright. I promise.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The kid gasped between sobs. ¡°Yeah,¡± Dean said, ¡°Tell you what, what¡¯s your favorite subject in school?¡± ¡°Science.¡± Danny said, his sobbing subsiding. ¡°Alright, then I need you to do me a favor. I need you to learn everything you can about alchemy and start making as many potions as you can. We¡¯re going to need them once the fighting starts. Sound good?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± The kid wiped his nose and grinned, ¡°I can do that.¡± Once Danny stopped crying, he headed down to the river to wash his face and start picking herbs. Dean sat there long after the kid had left, running a hand through his hair as he wrapped his head around the reality of the situation. For the first time since the hack had happened, he thought about the real world and what it must be like for everyone out there. That kid¡¯s parents were probably worried sick about him. Every player in the game was probably in a hospital bed somewhere, hooked up to machines and being tube fed nutrients with family members sitting around the room. Dean had been concentrating so hard on the immediate danger, the orc invasion, that he¡¯d almost forgotten about the bigger picture. Were there more kids in the village putting on a brave face because they thought they had to? What about the adults? The only reason he wasn¡¯t having a mental breakdown was that he kept pushing the fear aside, had concentrated on the work he needed to do. Hadn¡¯t Ryan met up with a couple religious leaders and counselors about this issue? He¡¯d have to talk to Ryan the moment he got back from exploring to set up some kind of counselor¡¯s group. The sun was hanging on the horizon when Dean was finally torn from his thoughts by shouting. He glanced up at the edge of the forest, spotting Ryan running across the open field with the others following. Dean got up and started walking that way, planning to talk to Ryan, but all thoughts of the real world fled his mind when a dozen grayish-green creatures charged into the clearing after his friends. 33. Reunion Dean drew his sword as he ran, watching as more goblins poured out of the forest. A second later, arrows rained down on the mob, leaving dozens dead. Dean glanced back, nearly tripping over a rock in the process, and saw nearly every new player in the village had armed themselves. Most had their bows out, probably staying away from the fight so they wouldn¡¯t get hurt, but a few were running forward to join him. Dean cast Warrior¡¯s Aura at the last second, feeling the surge of power fill him, and stepped into the Katori forms. As ugly as the goblins were, they smelled even worse up close. Dean gagged as the smell of putrid, unwashed bodies swept past him. Famor fought a dozen paces away in the strongest part of the attack, alongside Amelia, as the two moved in a tight circle around each other. Between the two fighting styles, Famor¡¯s sword and Amelia¡¯s throwing daggers, the goblins were quickly overwhelmed. The fight ended before Dean¡¯s spell wore off. Staring at the carnage around him, Dean couldn¡¯t remember facing that many goblins in the short time, much less killing them all. Looking at the rest of the battle, there were easily forty or fifty dead goblins scattered in the field. The majority of them were around Famor and himself. The raven-haired woman, Dean realized he still didn¡¯t know her name, had a respectable number of kills around her, also. Other players started looting the bodies. Dean decided to let them but called out that he wanted any weapons brought to the center of the village. Sarge joined him, sheathing his sword as he walked. ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem,¡± ¡°You think?¡± Dean retorted, ¡°How many more are there?¡± ¡°A thousand? Maybe more.¡± Sarge said pointed at a gap in the mountain range on the other side of the valley, ¡°They¡¯ve got a city on the other side of that pass almost as big as Torial. It looks like most of the goblins are pretty low level like these, but they¡¯ve got a level thirty leader named Agnoc the Horrid.¡± ¡°You got close enough to scan him?¡± Dean asked in surprise. ¡°We were careful.¡± Sarge said. Dean nudged one of the dead goblins on the ground and gave him a pointed look. ¡°Clearly.¡± Sarge laughed as he shrugged, ¡°Thought we were far enough from the goblin city that we wouldn¡¯t be seen. That¡¯s when this group started chasing us.¡± ¡°I told you we needed to be more careful,¡± Marie chided him as she and Ryan joined them. ¡°And be absolutely sure there weren¡¯t any goblins around.¡± ¡°That you did,¡± Sarge admitted. Marie shook her head, rolling her eyes at Sarge before turning to Dean and smiling at him. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie, it¡¯s good to be back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back too.¡± Dean said. ¡°How¡¯s everything been going here?¡± Ryan asked. Dean surveyed the village, ¡°Slow.¡± A few houses had caught fire during the battle somehow, and the roof tiles laid out to dry at the pottery had been smashed. He hoped some of them could be saved, but it didn¡¯t look promising. ¡°The village is still level one and we¡¯re only a fifth of the way to level two.¡± Sarge grunted, ¡°I thought I told you to get on that?¡± ¡°It¡¯d help if goblins didn¡¯t destroy everything.¡± Dean said.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°You¡¯re blaming me for your incompetence?¡± Sarge responded. Dean grinned at the banter. ¡°If you think you can do better.¡± ¡°No,¡± Sarge replied quickly, ¡°Dictator is not on my to do list in this game.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a di-¡° Dean caught himself before he finished the sentence. He shook his head and said, ¡°Damn, tenets. If I finish that sentence, there¡¯s a chance we¡¯ll have elections next week.¡± ¡°Really? Didn¡¯t you say something like that could happen?¡± Sarge looked at Ryan as he said it. ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± Ryan replied, ¡°How many have you created so far?¡± ¡°Three.¡± Dean said, ¡°Thankfully, only one I don¡¯t agree with so far, but I¡¯m having to watch my words a lot more carefully now. Anyway, what did you find out there?¡± Marie pulled a piece of paper out of her inventory and handed it to him. She¡¯d drawn a rough map on it, outlining the valley and the area near the goblin camp ¡°Where¡¯d you get the paper?¡± ¡°The goblins were kind enough to give me some.¡± She said. ¡°They have paper?¡± Dean stared at it in shock. He¡¯d been thinking of the various species as monsters, but if they could create paper, then maybe they were intelligent. If that were true, he might be able to reason with them. He mentioned it to the others to see their reaction. ¡°Maybe,¡± Marie answered, ¡°But I doubt it. The goblins looked like they have a pretty basic society. From what I could tell, the only rule of law was that bigger goblins can take whatever they want from the weaker ones.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Dean said. So much for an alliance against the orcs, he thought. He studied the map to hide his disappointment. Marie had drawn in a few points of interest including two more mines, copper and orichalcum, a limestone quarry, and a few springs. ¡°Hey, it looks like we could unlock the limestone quarry.¡± ¡°Limestone?¡± A voice asked. Dean turned to see Danny kneeling over a goblin in the process of looting it. Danny wiped his hands on his pants as he stood and said, ¡°We might be able to make concrete then.¡± ¡°How?¡± Dean asked in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s basic chemistry. You just heat up the limestone and combine it with a few other ingredients. The only thing I¡¯m not sure we have here is gypsum.¡± Danny glanced around the valley, a small grin forming on his face, ¡°But this place could¡¯ve been a sea a long time ago, and that¡¯s where gypsum naturally occurs.¡± ¡°Except this is a game.¡± Sarge pointed out, ¡°Not the real world.¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Danny said, crestfallen. After a second, he perked up, saying, ¡°Still, if we mix it with water and sand we¡¯ll still have something that dries pretty hard.¡± Dean gave Sarge a hard look to keep him quiet as he spoke to the kid. ¡°Do you know what gypsum looks like?¡± The kid shook his head. ¡°Ask around and see if any of the players do. We might get lucky and have a geologist around. Either way, we should give it a go and see what happens. Cement would be a great building material to have around.¡± ¡°Concrete.¡± The kid said. Seeing the others confused looks, he explained, ¡°It¡¯s called concrete, not cement. Cement is the limestone mixture. Concrete is what it becomes when mixed with the other stuff.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Dean said, ¡°Alright, Danny, I¡¯m putting you in charge of the experiment since you seem to know more about it than anyone else around here. Let me know what you need and I¡¯ll do my best to get it to you. Think you can handle it?¡± Dean bit his cheek to keep from laughing as Danny¡¯s face lit up. Danny nodded enthusiastically before running off. Once the kid was out of earshot, he turned to Ryan. ¡°You should try talking to him. He¡¯s just a kid and his friends died clearing out the mine earlier, so he¡¯s alone in the village.¡± Ryan nodded and followed after the kid. Sarge said, ¡°That¡¯s just messed up. And what about the mine? You didn¡¯t go in there with them, did you?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± Dean said, ¡°I told his friends to only clear the first level, but they kept going deeper and encountered monsters that killed the rest them. He was the only one that survived.¡± Dean shrugged self-consciously as he admitted, ¡°But I wasn¡¯t going to look a gift horse in the mouth so we¡¯re now mining whatever they cleared out. Marie, could you ask around and see if there¡¯s any other kids under eighteen in the village? Let Ryan know if you find any and he¡¯ll make sure they¡¯re doing okay.¡± Marie said, ¡°For sure, I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± ¡°Think the kid will succeed at making concrete?¡± Sarge asked as Marie walked away. ¡°No idea,¡± Dean said, ¡°But I figure it won¡¯t hurt to try. Besides, if he does succeed, we can smother some on any wooden walls to make them a bit stronger. And on that note, I¡¯m thinking we should head out to the pass tomorrow and start planning our defenses. We can¡¯t build walls in the village yet, but maybe we can dig a few holes for traps or something.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± Sarge said, ¡°But right now, I want dinner and a beer before bed.¡± Dean laughed, ¡°I¡¯d be surprised if there was any alcohol in the camp.¡± Sarge grinned, ¡°Oh, there is. How did my wife put it? The goblins were kind enough to give me some?¡± 34. The Warehouse Raid Will crouched on the roof, obscured by a chimney shadow, as he surveyed a warehouse down the street. It was identical to those around it, with the same dirty plastered walls and squat architecture. If anything, the long cracks in the wall and chunks of missing tile on the roof suggested the warehouse was neglected and the merchant barely making a profit. Except, a newly acquired informant had sworn it was all a fa?ade. The owner was a prominent merchant with several warehouses scattered across the city. This merchant, according to the informant, used the rundown warehouse to store the more valuable items he traded in, particularly weapons and armor. The faction had surveilled the building for several days. The two guards out front were dressed in old, worn tunics and carried thick cudgels. Anyone passing by would write them off as average street thugs, but the others in the faction had noted the guards carried themselves like trained mercenaries. Now that it¡¯d been pointed out to him, Will couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d missed it before. Both guards appeared distracted and bored, one leaning against the door frame smoking a pipe and the other lounging on a barrel playing cards, but both men glanced up at the slightest noise and were poised to move quickly. Except, Will noted, there was no smoke coming out of the pipe and the man playing cards was placing the cards down randomly. No, those two were definitely not street thugs. There were two other guards stationed on the roof at night. Unlike the men at the entrance, these were dressed for combat and moved with the graceful efficiency of professional killers. Each carried a sword and bow, and wore well-tended leather armor. It didn¡¯t guarantee the informant was telling the truth, but it was certainly promising. Will scanned the other rooftops, looking for his allies among the shadows. He could barely make them out among the shadows, even knowing where they were supposed to be based on the plan. Pooh, along with three others, was waiting in an alley across the street, while Voodoo and Doc were positioned on balconies next to the warehouse. Will cupped a small mirror in his hand, using the other to keep it from reflecting any moonlight towards the guards, and flicked it a few times in Pooh¡¯s direction. Pooh had given it to him earlier in the evening, explaining that they could use it as a signal. Will waited for the response, three flashes of light, and gripped his dagger. A pair of blunt tipped arrows flew silently through the air, hitting both guards on the roof within a second of each other and knocking the wind out of them. Two faction members leapt to the roof and grabbed the guards in a headlock. The guards tried to struggle, but both slumped unconscious after a few seconds. Will started to move when someone behind him spoke, ¡°You know that¡¯s a trap, right?¡± He spun, drawing the dagger, and pushing himself away from the chimney in case of an attack. The woman behind him didn¡¯t attack him. She wasn¡¯t even armed as far as Will could tell. She stood there, hands held out, with a smirk. ¡°Nice reflexes, but you¡¯re perception could use some work.¡± ¡°Who¡¯re you? What¡¯re you doing here?¡± Will demanded in a whisper. He recognized her. She was the woman from the fountain that had collected the pouch. That meant she was a member of the other faction. She tilted her head slightly before answering, ¡°You know the guards can¡¯t hear us from here. We¡¯re out of their AOD.¡± Will knew it meant Area of Detection and that she was probably right, but he¡¯d started thinking of the game like real life. He spoke in a normal tone. ¡°Still doesn¡¯t answer the question.¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t.¡± She agreed. ¡°I¡¯m Emily and I came here to talk.¡± ¡°About what?¡± Will said. ¡°That¡¯s not very polite. I¡¯ve given you my name, but I still don¡¯t know yours.¡± Emily said. Will ignored the implied question. She sighed and said, ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll dispense with the pleasantries. I know you created a faction and I know that you were watching me the other day. I came here to offer you a truce.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Will blurted. He¡¯d expected to meet a member of the other faction at some point but had expected a fight of some sort. The idea of a truce hadn¡¯t even crossed his mind. ¡°Because of the orcs. Did you see the weird guy yelling out doomsday prophecies about the orcs taking over Torial? He¡¯s gone, now, but he was doing it for almost a week.¡± ¡°You mean Shiro?¡± Will asked without thinking. ¡°You know his name?¡± she said in surprise. Will shook himself slightly to collect his thoughts before answering, ¡°Yeah, I do. He¡¯s one of the programmers for this game.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She said, ¡°Then you believe him about the orc invasion happening? But, why are you still in Torial then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± Will said, ¡°And none of your business.¡± She frowned, ¡°Your rude, you know that?¡± Will heard a noise and glanced over to see Pooh¡¯s head pop up over the edge of the roof. ¡°What¡¯s the hold up, Will? You gave the signal.¡± Pooh hoisted himself the rest of the way up. Pooh spotted Emily and reached instinctively for his sword. He glanced sideways at Will, not letting her out of his peripheral vision as he asked, ¡°Who¡¯s the girl?¡± ¡°She¡¯s with the other faction.¡± Will said, ¡°Says the warehouse is a trap.¡± Pooh grunted, ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°We tried to rob it already,¡± She shrugged, ¡°Didn¡¯t work out too well. We got past the guards easily enough and took care of the six more inside without a problem.¡± ¡°Then what was the problem?¡± Pooh demanded. ¡°Getting out.¡± She said with a smirk, ¡°There¡¯s at least forty more guards next door.¡± She pointed at one of the warehouses. ¡°The informant told his boss about us and we walked right into the trap.¡± ¡°You¡¯re positive?¡± Will asked. ¡°Totally,¡± She said, ¡°Screwed us over real bad. We had to spend the next three days in hiding because the city guards attacked us on sight.¡± ¡°Why¡¯re you telling us this?¡± Pooh asked. ¡°Like I told your friend,¡± She gestured at Will, ¡°I¡¯m here to offer a truce between our factions.¡± ¡°She did,¡± Will explained, ¡°She figured out Shiro was telling the truth and said she wanted a truce. That¡¯s as far as we¡¯d gotten before you got here.¡± Pooh relaxed but kept his hand near his sword. ¡°What¡¯re you suggesting?¡± ¡°Are you still going to try and rob the warehouse?¡± She asked. Will gave Pooh a questioning look. ¡°What do you think? Can we do it?¡± Pooh nodded in response. ¡°I think so. Voodoo spotted a couple guards in the other building, so we prepared for them, but I didn¡¯t know there would be that many. Just have to make a few adjustments to the plan, but it should work.¡± ¡°Chloe was right,¡± Emily stared at them wide-eyed, ¡°You guys are military or something.¡± She barked a laugh, ¡°This is perfect. Good luck robbing the place. I mean it. Afterwards, meet up with me here and we¡¯ll discuss a truce.¡± She handed Will a small slip of paper. A custom waypoint appeared on his minimap. ¡°Sound good?¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Will pocketed the note. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll talk, but that¡¯s all I¡¯m agreeing to until I¡¯ve heard the rest of it.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± She said, ¡°Have fun.¡± With that, Emily turned around and started running. She leapt across the gap to a rooftop patio, where two figures emerged from the shadows and joined her. Will needed to upgrade his perception if all three of them had been there without him noticing anything. Will watched them drop off the roof before Pooh said, ¡°Come on, we need to go.¡± Pooh led the way, pausing above the alley he¡¯d been in to signal the three below. Even though Will had been given a crash course in it earlier that day, he still only knew a few basic signals. He didn¡¯t know what was exchanged, but the men below checked their swords and drew their bows before moving down the alley and slipping into a side street. Will look questioningly at Pooh, but only received a shake of the head in response. They jumped across to the warehouse where six other soldiers waited. Pooh gave a series of hand signals to the others. This one was pretty simple to translate, since Will already knew what it was about. Six guards inside. The others nodded as four of them pulled ropes from their inventory and tied them to the edge of the roof. They lined up around a hole in the roof, and on a signal from Pooh, dropped the ropes into the gap and slid down. Pooh silently started mouthing a count. One. Two. Three. Will grabbed a rope and waited until a hundred. He slid down the rope quickly, feeling it burn his palm. He landed in a corner of the warehouse and drew his sword. They gathered together with their backs to each other and waited. A few seconds later, a soldier popped his head around a corner and gave the all clear signal. They snuck through the warehouse quietly, passing two unconscious guards, with first four soldiers slipping out of the rows of boxes to lead the way. Near the center of the warehouse, Will spotted the final four unconscious guards surrounding a stack of chests. Might as well hang a sign saying, ¡®Look Here¡¯. Will opened the nearest chest, revealing a layer of dried grass within. The lanterns in the warehouse flared, temporarily blinding him and leaving spots across his vision, before winking out completely. Will blinked several times, but it only caused more spots of light to dance across his vision. Wait, those are real. The new lights whirled around the warehouse at dizzying speeds as they grew bigger and solidified into dozens of small imp-like creatures with wings. The creatures hissed as they zoomed by, raking their claws across his shoulders and back. Will snapped his jaws shut to stop from screaming, flooding his mouth with a coppery taste as he bit his tongue. ¡°That bitch! She didn¡¯t mention magic!¡± Pooh growled. ¡°What do we do?¡± Voodoo said as he ducked under an imp. ¡°Get what we came for and get out.¡± Will said and followed his own instructions, frantically pulling the dried grass out of the chest until he found a sword wrapped in linen. He pulled it out and tossed the wrapping at passing imp. The linen burst into flames, but not before entangling the imp¡¯s wings. It fell to the floor where Will stabbed it with his newly acquired sword. The creature popped with a hiss. Pooh and Voodoo took up positions between the imps and the group, swinging their swords like a baseball bat to knock the imps away, as the others started shoving equipment into their inventory. After emptying the first chest, Will shoved it off the shelf and opened the next. A door near the back swung open and banged shut a few seconds later, the sound echoing through the room. The imps nearest the door screeched at the noise and fell to the ground. Will laughed maniacally as a stupid idea popped into his head. He drew his dagger, and started banging the hilt against the metal shelf. Will watched as a nearby imp grabbed its ears in agony. Will tried to step away from banging the shelf long enough to stab it, but the imp started recovering the moment he stopped. ¡°Make noise!¡± Voodoo glanced over his shoulder at Will, spotted the downed imp as Will resumed banging the hilt of his dagger against the shelf, and stabbed the creature. He nodded at Will with a huge smile across his face before turning to stab another imp that had moved to close to the noise. ¡°What about the guards?¡± Doc asked as he dumped another chest onto the ground. ¡°What about them?¡± Will yelled out. Doc pointed. Will saw figures in the shadows racing towards them. ¡°Pooh? We¡¯ve got company.¡± ¡°I know, I know.¡± Pooh growled. He sighted an imp flying near the guards and fired. The arrow struck the imp midair, causing it to explode. The fire lit up the area, revealing a dozen guards charging down the aisle, before the burning embers fell among them. The lead guard took the brunt of the damage, his face and chest covered by the falling debris. He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. ¡°That¡¯s the last one.¡± Doc said, ¡°Time to go.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± Will yelled over the noise he was making. ¡°I¡¯m working on it.¡± Pooh called back as he fired an arrow at the approaching guards. ¡°I thought you had a plan.¡± Will complained. ¡°I did, but something came up.¡± Pooh said. ¡°You think?¡± Will retorted. An arrow flew by his shoulder, startling him. He tried to find the shooter, but they were hiding in the recesses of the warehouse. A second arrow smacked into a crate on the shelf next to him. He ducked instinctively, causing a third arrow to miss him by scant inches just above his head. ¡°Crap. I¡¯m a sitting duck here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stop.¡± Voodoo said as he stabbed another downed imp, ¡°Or we¡¯re screwed.¡± Will muttered under his breath but didn¡¯t stop. Pooh lowered his bow and looked around frantically to find an opening. ¡°That way, it¡¯s open. Voodoo, take point.¡± Voodoo took off down an aisle as the other soldiers darted past Will. Will hit the shelf one last time before following, with Pooh and Doc bringing up the rear. Voodoo led them down an aisle currently void of any imps or guards. Will made a point of staying near the shelves and banging out a steady rhythm as he passed them. From the sound ahead, at least one other soldier was doing the same. They passed several openings in the shelves where guards could target them, and the imps tried dive bombing them. The party ducked as they passed, weaving and dodging as best they could in the limit space to make themselves harder targets. ¡°Dead end.¡± Voodoo called back, ¡°Turn around.¡± Will glanced ahead, seeing that a shelf had fallen over, spilling its contents in their path. Pooh, who was walking backwards to cover their rear, glanced over his shoulder. He surveyed the scene quickly and swore. An ember sparked on the ground a few feet from Pooh¡¯s turned back. Will gaped as it grew into an imp the size of a man. Will lunged past Pooh, stabbing the creature before it fully formed. The creature screamed, steam hissing from the wound. Will stared in amazement as the wound continued to spread across its body, the fire hissing and spluttering, until the creature collapsed in a heap on the floor. Pooh said in awe, ¡°What the hell?¡± Will stared at the sword in his hand, finally pulling up the stats on it.
Kratos the Demon Slayer
Quality: Exceptional Rarity: Epic Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword Range: Melee Damage: 30-32 Durability: 28/28 Charge: 24/25 Weight: 1.5 lbs Attributes: Drain Fury Swift +20% Water Damage +15% Ice Damage
¡°Holy crap,¡± Will started laughing maniacally as he took the lead. He led the way back down the aisle, slashing at any of the newly forming man-sized imps as he went. An arrow lodged itself in his shoulder, jerking him around. Pooh shot an arrow in the direction of the archer, but it was too dark to tell if it struck home. Will noticed a faint light behind a several stacks of boxes. He led the way over and peered through a gap. He found a back door to the warehouse, the wood rotted in places allowing shafts of moonlight to filter through. He moved out of the way to allow Pooh a look. ¡°Way out.¡± Will said as he moved to the other side of the group. He stood guard as those closest to the boxes started shifting them out of the way. The guards must¡¯ve figured out their plan because a group of them appeared at the end of the aisle and charged. Will hefted his sword and started running at the guards as the soldiers opened fire behind him. The arrows raced past, striking the guards a few seconds before Will reached them. The first guard hadn¡¯t recovered from the arrow in his chest, and Will slashed the man¡¯s shoulder. A thick webbing of ice spread across the wound, freezing him in place. Will countered a second guard¡¯s attack, but a small imp used the moment to dive bomb him in the face. The creature slashed his face and cheeks. Will grabbed it, feeling his fingers blister, and squeezed. The imp wriggled and screamed before its back snapped. Will threw it to the ground just in time to see the guard¡¯s blade impale him. Will gasped in pain as the guard withdrew it from his stomach. He touched the wound with his hand, feeling the blood stream down his leg. Will¡¯s vision started turning black, as the sounds around him faded. He thought he heard Voodoo calling his name, but it was coming from the end of a long tunnel. He hit something hard and cold, but with a spreading warmth against his skin. He shivered at the sudden cold. Something grabbed his arm, pulling him. He tried to resist it, to shake off the attacker, but couldn¡¯t find the strength. Someone pried open his mouth and poured something down his throat. He gagged and choked on it, but some trickled down the back of his throat. A new sensation, a thousand times worse than anything he¡¯d felt, started at his stomach and spread through his body. It felt like a million needles jabbing him over and over again. His vision and hearing returned suddenly. He was laying on the ground staring at a starry sky with the sound of fighting all around him. A face appeared above him. It took him a moment to remember the name, ¡°Emily? What¡¯re you doing here?¡± 35. The Invasion Will tried to sit up, but she gently urged him back down. ¡°Drink this first.¡± She handed him a health potion. He drank it, clearing the last of the fog clouding his thoughts and feeling returning to his limbs. She explained as he drank, ¡°I wanted to make a truce before the orcs invade and didn¡¯t want to wait for you to spawn.¡± He grunted as he sat up slowly, ¡°The orcs won¡¯t invade for another two weeks.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The relief was obvious in her voice, ¡°How do you know that? I thought the wall was about to collapse.¡± ¡°Shiro told me.¡± He said as he glanced around. The soldiers had formed a circle around him, keeping the enemy from reaching him, while he had a chance to recover. Will spotted a few young women among them dressed more like Emily. Apparently, she¡¯d brought her friends along. Even with the reinforcements, the soldiers were struggling. There were just too many enemies. ¡°We need to get out of here.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± She said, ¡°I think your friends aren¡¯t doing so hot.¡± ¡°What gave you that impression?¡± Will asked. He felt unsteady, his knees threatening to buckle at every step, and drank a health potion from his belt before feeling confident enough to move. She must¡¯ve missed the sarcasm in his voice because she answered, ¡°There¡¯s too many for them to handle.¡± Will opened his mouth to give a retort, but it turned into a gasp as an arrow slammed into an invisible barrier surrounding the two of them, sending a bluish white light rippling across it. ¡°Is that a shield?¡± ¡°Yep, pretty cool, huh?¡± She smirked. ¡°That¡¯s what my faction¡¯s all about, magic thieves.¡± She looked up at the roof, spotted the archer and cast a spell. A half dozen ice shards flew from her hand to crash into the roof, causing large chunks of clay and tile to explode. A cloud of dust hung in the air, the particles lighting up the shield in a shimmering display of lights. ¡°My mana¡¯s almost out. Time to get going.¡± Will equipped his bow and started looking for a way out as he started firing arrows. The courtyard was covered in rubble, with large sections of the wall half destroyed. He spotted an area where the debris made a series of steps they could use to get over a section of the wall. He ran to it, calling out as he did so for the others to follow, and started climbing. He stopped halfway up to provide covering fire as the rest of his team disengaged from the guards and ran towards him. Once everyone had cleared the courtyard, Will climbed to the top of the debris and leapt over the wall. His foot caught the lip of the wall, knocking his center of balance off and he landed hard. Voodoo hauled him up by the back of the collar, and said with a wry grin, ¡°No time for a nap, man. We gotta get outta here.¡± ¡°Cute.¡± Will said dryly as he switched to his sword. ¡°Aww, thanks,¡± Voodoo laughed, ¡°But you¡¯re not my type.¡± Will ignored him, as he surveyed the area. They were in a short, wide alley with between the wall and another warehouse. A pair of soldiers stood at the entrance, one keeping watch while the other waved the rest of the party to past. Pooh whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, ¡°Split up and meet at the safe house.¡± ¡°Stick with me.¡± Voodoo said to Will and Emily as they ran into the small side street. Will quickly became disoriented as he led them through the warren of streets and alleys until they came out in an empty market, with rickety wooden stalls surrounding a wide fountain. Voodoo grabbed Will and pushed him behind a stall just before a pair of guards raced past. Once through the market, they worked their way down an alley to a dead end. Will and Voodoo hoisted Emily over, then Voodoo who twisted around at the top and offered his hand down to Will. Will took a few steps back to give himself a running start and jumped up, just catching Voodoo¡¯s hand. He grabbed the lip of the wall with Voodoo¡¯s help and pulled himself over. They landed in a small garden behind an inn. ¡°We should be safe here for a bit.¡± Voodoo said as he sagged against the wall, ¡°At least until our stamina recharges.¡± ¡°This is so much fun.¡± Emily giggled. ¡°Is it always like this with you guys?¡± Will looked at her askance. This girl was either completely mental, or had her priorities messed up. Was he seriously thinking about having a truce with someone so obviously deranged? Then again, he could let her group do any of the really crazy stuff while he focused on building a resistance. He¡¯d never tell her that was one of the reasons he was considering a truce between them. She might not care about it, considering she thought this was fun, but she could also say he was being mean or cruel. He didn¡¯t have a good enough read on her just yet to figure out which way she¡¯d think. So far, she¡¯d acted more scatterbrained than anything. ¡°So, about this truce you were talking about. What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure exactly,¡± She admitted, ¡°I was thinking we could, like, team up or something and help each other out.¡± ¡°You mean sharing resources? Or helping each other out on missions?¡± He asked. ¡°Both? Or just help each other if you¡¯re not cool with sharing resources.¡± She said. On the one hand, sharing resources might be an issue if her group couldn¡¯t hold up their end of the bargain, but if they could on the other hand, it would mean he could concentrate on the orcs. ¡°I¡¯m not against either.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Sweet!¡± She said loudly. Voodoo hushed her. She gave him an embarrassed look and whispered, ¡°Sorry.¡± Will asked, ¡°Do we need to shake on it or something to make it official?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± She said, ¡°This is my first time running a faction. But don¡¯t think that means I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing, because I totally do. I mean, I know the basics and stuff. It¡¯s the weird things that I don¡¯t know how to do, like making a truce between factions. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll figure it all out.¡± She took a deep breath after finishing and watched Will apprehensively. Will sat back as he studied her for a second. Obviously worried that he might be rethinking the truce, she blurted, ¡°And if you already know something I don¡¯t, or have done this before, I promise I¡¯ll listen to your advice. I mean, I won¡¯t promise to do everything you say since it¡¯s my group and all, but I definitely want to know what you think.¡± Will chuckled softly, ¡°Relax, Emily. I¡¯m still open to a truce between us. I¡¯m just trying to think what the best way to do it is.¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± She sighed in relief. ¡°That makes sense.¡± ¡°You know what,¡± Will said, ¡°Let¡¯s agree that we work together to free the city from the orcs, when it finally happens. After that, we can go from there.¡± She smiled as she nodded vigorously, ¡°Okay, yeah. That sounds like a good idea.¡± He held out his hand, and she shook it. A notification popped up.
A Truce with the Bone Crew
You¡¯ve agreed to a truce between The Order and The Bone Crew. Terms: Truce Goal: Defeat the Orcs
¡°Wow.¡± She said, ¡°So it¡¯s official and all. I¡¯ll be honest, I was really scared the wall would collapse before we could talk, even knowing that it won¡¯t for a while now.¡± Will asked, ¡°You never did explain why you think the wall is about to collapse?¡± ¡°I went up there before looking for you tonight when I found you on the roof, remember? Anyway, this really big rock slammed into it while I was there and made a giant crack along it. It went all the way through the wall, so I figured it wouldn¡¯t last much longer. Guess I was right.¡± She said with a satisfied grin. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter if the orcs won¡¯t take over for a while.¡± Will looked at Voodoo, who stared back at him in wide-eyed shock. He knew his face probably looked the same. Will said, ¡°I need to see this.¡± Voodoo nodded vigorously back before hauling himself to his feet. They moved to the inn and climbed a trellis to the roof. There, Will turned in a circle as he studied the wall. It only took him a few seconds to spot what she was talking about, except that it was no longer a large crack in the wall. It had expanded to a large rent. A second later, that section of the wall shook as another boulder slammed into it and a section of the wall collapse, exposing the night sky beyond. The ground shook as the wall collapsed, throwing Will off balance and sliding down the roof. He caught himself on a chimney and climbed to his feet. He looked back at the wall. He couldn¡¯t make out much detail from that distance, but the guards on either side of the section were engaged in fighting and smoke was coming from buildings nearby. Will licked his lips, ¡°I think Shiro was wrong about the time.¡± It made sense. Shiro had said the whole thing was scripted but wasn¡¯t supposed to happen until much later. He¡¯d been stupid to think the hacker wouldn¡¯t adjust timeline before the city fell. If anything, Will was a little surprised it had taken this long before it happened. He cursed a few times under his breath as the smoke turned orange and specks of burning embers floated up into the night sky. ¡°We need to get to the safehouse now.¡± Voodoo said. ¡°Before we¡¯re caught up in the fighting.¡± Will glanced at his minimap and cursed again when he realized the safehouse was somewhere near the missing wall. They dropped off the roof at the entrance to the inn as players barged out. The street filled up until Will couldn¡¯t move more than a few feet without jostling another player. He grabbed Emily¡¯s hand to keep from getting separated and tried to lead her towards the faction headquarters. At first, the sky dimmed as they moved, but the spreading fire spread faster than they did. Will glanced down a side street as they ran, seeing three different buildings burning. They turned down another street a few minutes later and ran straight into an inferno. A wall of billowing smoke hit them in the face, bringing tears to Will¡¯s eyes. He tried to find a street that hadn¡¯t caught on fire yet, but it was no use. Everywhere he turned, the entire street was already ablaze. He collided with a group of six orcs as he turned a corner. He had just enough time to notice they looked as scared of the fire as he did, before their shock turned to growls of anger. Voodoo darted past him and stabbed one of the orcs, killing it, and Emily cast a spell sending a shockwave of air at them. It caught three of them, hurling them off their feet and into a burning building. Will drew his sword and attacked another. The fight only lasted a few seconds after that, but the sudden exertion left him rasping for air in the smoky haze. He tasted the soot, felt it grinding against his teeth. He tried to spit it out, but his mouth was too dry. Will led them through the fire as buildings started to collapse around him. He spotted a few other figures in the smoke, making a point to keep clear just in case they were more orcs. As the raging inferno got worse, he abandoned trying to reach his headquarters and started looking for anywhere that might be safe, desperately hoping he could find anything at all. Eventually, Emily tugged his hand to get his attention. She gasped out, ¡°I don¡¯t think we can reach your safehouse.¡± Will sighed and nodded. She continued, ¡°We might be able to get to mine.¡± He looked at Voodoo, who shrugged, before saying, ¡°Then we¡¯re following you.¡± She led them back the way they¡¯d just traveled, detouring around fallen buildings. The fire grew hotter around them, and Will had to smack the burning embers landing on his clothes before they could catch fire. He was getting close to telling her it was no use when they suddenly emerged from the inferno next to a large fountain. She barked a relieved laugh as she ran towards it. Will didn¡¯t hesitate to follow and dunked his head in the second he reached the edge. The water felt freezing cold compared to the hot air around him, despite being at least lukewarm to the touch. The soot on his face and in hair left the water murky. He didn¡¯t care, he cupped his hands together and took sip after sip, feeling relief as it passed his parched throat. ¡°Over here,¡± Emily called to them. Will glanced up at where she was standing. The fountain had been built out of a large boulder, probably a natural spring, that was at least twenty feet tall and a dozen feet around. A relief had been carved into it depicting various animals, with the water flowing out of the mouth of a lion. Emily grinned as she placed a hand on a fox and pushed. It gave with a soft click, and a hidden door opened a few inches above the water line. ¡°Welcome to my hideout.¡± 36. The Dark Maze Ben glanced down at his map and the screenshot he¡¯d overlaid on it. He¡¯d taken the screenshot back in Fort Blackwood of the empty shelf were the necromancer books should¡¯ve been for sale. Thanks to a stupid law, something about a prince being killed, they weren¡¯t available for sale, but Ben had known that wouldn¡¯t stop the practice entirely. Just like any other outlawed activity, it would¡¯ve gone underground. Most of the scratches looked random, like they¡¯d occurred from years of people handling the books on the shelf, but a small grouping near the center had caught his eye. Once he¡¯d adjusted the tint of the photo, he knew he¡¯d been right, had started grinning and humming as he left the store. Those scratches clearly depicted a series of mountains and trees, with a star in one corner and a tower in another. Near the bottom the of the map was a small ¡®x¡¯. It had taken some finagling to get the map to line up, but once he¡¯d figured out the some and panned the picture around a bit, the star had lined up with Torial and the small tower with Fort Blackwood. That meant ¡®x¡¯ marks the spot. Once the siege on Torial had started, he decided it was time to solve the mystery. He¡¯d left Shiro and the others to find the new settlement and set out on his own. Ben glanced back at the sound of grunts and swords slashing through the underbrush. He sighed. The orcs were still following him, even after running nonstop for days to try and shake them. Once this was over, Ben intended to track down whoever had programmed the orcs and choke them. Not to kill them. No, just enough to make sure they understood how annoying the orcs were. Then, he¡¯d tar and feather them. After that, he¡¯d come up with a few other methods of torture to drive the point home. He summoned Fido and waved at the orcs. He doubted Fido would do much damage, though he might get lucky and Fido would kill one of them. In reality, Fido would probably just slow them down enough for him to find his destination. According to the map, he was still slightly west of the ¡®x¡¯, which would put it somewhere in the valley below him. He wasn¡¯t surprised, considering the valley stood out from the rest of the landscape like a sore thumb. More like a broken thumb. A thick mist obscured most of the view into it, but what he could see of the valley were dead tree limbs sticking out and a few bogs of a thick, bubbling liquid. He passed through the mist, half expecting it to poison him, and into the eerie silence beyond where the only sounds were the crunch of dead grass beneath his feet and his own breathing. He stepped gingerly to keep from falling into the bogs as he navigated the fallen logs and gnarled roots sticking out of the ground. The mist swirled in patches around him, forcing him to check his map to make sure he was heading in the right direction. He found himself turned around on several occasions, heading back towards the way he came, with no idea how it happened. ¡°Leave now or die.¡± Ben jumped at the sudden noise. He turned quickly in a circle trying to find the speaker, but the words had come from all around him at once and the mist obscured everything past ten paces. He shivered, failing to convince himself it was only because of the cold, as he licked his lips, ¡°I found the clue leading me here.¡± ¡°There is only death here.¡± The voice replied. ¡°I know,¡± Ben said, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. I want to be a necromancer.¡± The voice didn¡¯t immediately respond. Ben waited, his head on a swivel, for several seconds. It felt like an eternity in that place. When it did speak, all it said was, ¡°Prove yourself worthy.¡± The mist swirled around him, thickening as it did so, until he could barely see his hands. The sound of explosions filled the air around him followed by rattling noises. He recognized the sound, had heard it dozens of times over the last few days, and drew his sword. It was the sound Fido made as he burst from the ground. The sound of his bones rattling as he walked. What was he supposed to do? Kill them all? There had to be dozens of the creatures, if not hundreds of them, forming around him. Or maybe he needed to summon his own skeleton warrior? He¡¯d have to wait for the cooldown timer before he could summon Fido again. He¡¯d be dead long before that happened if the skeletons decided to attack. Except, that didn¡¯t feel right. He was here to learn how to do magic like this, not fight against them. He glanced at the map. He was close to the ¡®x¡¯ on the map, but not quite there yet. Did he need to reach the destination? It made more sense than trying to kill all the skeletons. He inched his way forward, feeling each step before putting his weight down. The attack came suddenly, the sword appearing out of the mist a few inches from him before slashing him across the shoulder. His armor deflected most of the damage, but the sudden impact knocked him off balance. He stumbled several steps before a second impact across his other side sent him reeling in the other direction. Cursing loudly, Ben started swinging his sword around him. His sword connected with unseen enemies hiding in the mist, jarring his arm into numbness, as he walked forward. The skeleton warriors continued attacking him causing his health to plummet as blow after blow materialized out of the mist. He gritted his teeth as pain blossomed with each cut, felt blood flowing down his back and soak through his shirt. His foot collided with something mid step, sending him sprawling across the ground and his sword clattered away into the mist. He frantically felt around for it as he expected blows to rain down on his back, knowing he wouldn¡¯t survive. The attacks never materialized. Confused, Ben pulled himself up to a crouch and waited. A brief swirl in the mist revealed the area around him. A dozen skeletons, all with swords drawn, stood unmoving a few feet from him. Ben found his sword and reached for it. The skeletons reacted the moment his hand touched the sword. He quickly let go of it. The skeletons stopped. He grabbed the sword and sheathed it as quickly as he could manage. He looked up to find a sword inches from his face. He shuttered as a small laugh escaped his lips. It was a maniacal, evil laugh. It sounded nothing at all like a giggle. He crawled out from under the sword and stood up. He took a few tentative steps, but the skeletons didn¡¯t move. They only attacked if he was armed. He would¡¯ve never figured it out if he hadn¡¯t tripped. Sheer dumb luck, though he¡¯d never admit it to his friends.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He drank a health potion as he walked, letting the mist swallow up the skeletons in his wake. A few minutes later, he suddenly stepped out of the mist in front of a small cave entrance. He turned around to watch as the swirling mist seemed to collide with an invisible barrier and twist back onto itself. A pair of torches burned at the entrance to the cave, but they didn¡¯t penetrate far into the cave. Something about the darkness in the cave set his hair standing and sent goosebumps up his arms. He tried to grab one of the torches, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. He studied it closer before realizing that it was nailed into the bracket. He¡¯d need a hammer to get it loose. Sighing to himself, he rummaged around on the ground until he found a thick stick and tied some dead grass to the end. He made four more, just in case, before lighting one and setting off down the tunnel. The light from his torch only extended a few feet in front of him, nowhere near as far as it should, and the darkness looked thicker, almost inky, as he walked. The walls had been chiseled out of the stone, the marks from the tools easily visible in the meager torchlight, until the path was just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. A dozen feet in, the tunnel entrance was lost in the darkness. Further in, the tunnel split. He stared down both paths, raising the torch above his head, but the darkness made it impossible to see more than a few feet. It had to be another puzzle, but he needed to figure out the clue. He almost resorted to Will¡¯s method of flipping a coin, but thought better of it. Something told him the wrong path would lead to his death and he didn¡¯t want to leave his survival to a coin flip. Not with his luck still at the basic level. He studied the walls first, but found nothing useful, before deciding to walk back to the entrance to search the area outside. A sizzling, spluttering noise drew him from his thoughts. He glanced up to see the inky blackness had formed a wall a few inches from his torch, which was causing the torch to make the noises as a thin tendril of the darkness reached out to stifle the light. Ben jerked the torch away from the tendrils and took several steps back. The darkness slowly slid forward. He was trapped. He backtracked to the split in the tunnel and stared down both directions. He had time before the darkness reached him since it was traveling so slowly, but not much. He had to solve the puzzle. His eyes fell on the map. He hadn¡¯t bothered closing it, and on a whim, started scrolling across the screenshot. He found the solution, or at least a what he thought could be a solution, a few seconds later. Beneath the ¡®x¡¯ was a series of scratches he had originally thought were from a book scraping against the shelf, but now that he was standing at the beginning of what he assumed was a maze, it could also be a map. He chewed on his lip for a second, debating his options. He could follow the map, what he hoped was a map, could try flipping a coin, or explore the maze blindly. So, hope, luck, and stupidity. He didn¡¯t like the choices but decided on hope. Do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands. He shoved the thought aside as he studied the scratches. There were four entrances to the maze, and no way for him to know which one he had entered through. He selected one at random and set out along the path he traced to the center of the maze. After several splits, the path led to a dead end. Muttering under his breath, he ran back to the entrance. The blackness wall, he¡¯d have to come up with a better name when he wasn¡¯t fighting off panic, had cut the distance to the split by almost half. He rotated the map to the next possible entrance and set out. This time, it led him to the opening of a small cavern. Glancing at the map, he couldn¡¯t tell if the scratches indicated there was a cavern here, or if it was a random smudge. After a few tentative steps into the cavern, a large thud behind him told him exactly what had happened. He glanced back anyway, hoping he was wrong, but saw a hidden stone door had blocked the entrance. He turned back at a second noise, a grating sound, as a dozen hatches in the floor opened. From each hatch, a dark gray hound, their skin covered in festering boils and ooze, climbed out. He scanned the nearest one, pulling up a notification labeling it a ¡®Plague Hound¡¯, as he drew his sword. The hounds growled, their red eyes locking onto him, and bared their teeth. Ben gripped his sword tighter in one hand while casting fireball with the other and threw it at the pack. The hounds tried to dodge, several leaping clear of the fiery explosion, but a few were too slow to escape and were engulfed in flame. Ben lunged at the nearest, slashing it midair as another charged him. He tried to roll out of the way of the attack, but its jaws clamped on his ankle. It yanked hard, throwing him to the ground and knocking the air out of his lungs, and started shaking him. The ankle snapped, sending a shooting pain up his leg. Ben swung his sword blindly, cutting the hound across the snout. It yelped in surprise, letting go of his ankle. Ben cast ice shard and released it at the hound. The shards tore through it, killing it instantly. Another hound leapt at him from the side, grabbing his outstretched arm in its maw. He ignored the notification that popped up, telling him he was diseased, and pommeled it with his hilt. The blow took the creature at the top of its head, crushing its skull. He tried to cast a spell at an attacking hound, only to find his arm wouldn¡¯t respond to his commands, and swore loudly as he took several steps backwards out of the way. He swung his sword wildly, forcing the nearest hounds to jump back. He shoved his sword into the ground, digging it into the hard-packed dirt, and tried to summon Fido. A notification popped up telling him the cooldown timer had another fifteen seconds before he could successfully cast it again. He grabbed his sword in time to stab another wolf midair as it leapt at him. The blade sunk deep, and the dead wolf¡¯s momentum ripped it from his hand. Ben cast fireball at the center of the pack as he hurried to grab his sword. This time, the hounds dodged, leaping past the fireball and landing close enough to attack. He cried out in surprise, throwing himself backwards against the wall, as their mouth¡¯s snapped shut on empty air. He threw another fireball, this time at just past his feet, to put a barrier between himself and the hounds. They leapt back, snarling at the fire. Ben reached into his inventory to grab his staff as he rubbed his leg in the dirt to smother the few embers that took hold on his pant leg. The cooldown timer ran out, and Ben immediately cast Fido behind the hounds. Fixated on him, they ignored the sound behind them. Fido grabbed the nearest hound as he emerged, pulling into in the open grave as he emerged. The ground collapsed back onto itself once Fido was free, burying the hound and leveling up Ben¡¯s spell in the process. Fido attacked the next hound as Ben downed a health potion. Once his ankle had mended, Ben stood up. The ankle was still tender but could hold some of his weight. Ben attacked, twirling the staff in his hands as fast as he could. Caught as they were between the two, the hounds couldn¡¯t escape the onslaught. The door slid open after he killed the final hound. Seeing no other way out, Ben backtracked to the tunnel entrance. This time, the darkness wall was only a few feet from the split. Ben studied the map. He shifted between the two remaining options and tracing a path to the center of the maze along each. The first took the path he was currently on, while the second required the other. Sighing, Ben reached into his pouch and pulled out a coin. He decided the path he was on was heads and the other as tails. He flipped the coin, landing on tails. He pressed himself against the stone wall as he worked his way to the other path, the darkness now only a few inches from his back. The tendrils reached out, sending icy shivers down his spine wherever they touched him and sending his health plummeting. Once on the other side, he pulled out his last health potion and swallowed it as he followed the map. The path split a dozen times, each leading him deeper into the maze, until he breathed a sigh of relief as he turned the final corner on the map and heard the words, ¡°Welcome, new apprentice, to the Academy of the Arcane Arts.¡±