《There is No “Class Upgrade”》


 Chapter 1 - Exploration

    ¡°Whew.¡± Zeke slapped a cardboard box of cartridges and disks on the floor and wiped his forehead. He plugged a cord into the wall and swiped dust off the top of his terminal.


    ¡°Now which of these¡­ ah.¡± He threw a book or two into the air. ¡°It¡¯s gotta work this time.¡± After installing more RAM and a new graphics driver into his PC, Zeke crossed his fingers and closed his eyes as he waited for the monitor to turn on.


    Bright lights flashed over his eyelids as he burst out in joy. ¡°Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about, Grandma!¡±


    ¡°SeraphStar,¡± the big stylized letters on the screen read. ¡°Oh I¡¯m so ready for this!¡± Zeke exclaimed as he rushed into his chair and over to his Gmail for a verification email.


    What Zeke was about to enter was monumental. A VRMMO of endless fun and character possibilities. Be anyone, do anything. All of this was finally at Zeke¡¯s fingertips. ¡°Thanks again grandma.¡± He whispered as he dashed through the character creation process.


    ¡°Hmmm, make the skin color darker, and give me dreads! Oh¡­¡± Like a lisping child, his voice echoed in his empty apartment. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta go with this outfit! It makes me look sick as hell!¡±


    Finally the moment Zeke had been waiting for, selecting his class. Being the world''s second most popular VRMMO, SeraphStar offers many different opportunities and play styles with its fifteen unique base classes. Yet with all these options, there was only one real choice for Zeke.


    ¡°Is this even a question!? Of course I¡¯m playing Warrior! At level 260 I can class upgrade into general!¡± His face lit up. ¡°Huge axes! Commanding multiple summons! Dual wielding! Who would even play any of these other classes?¡±


    Zeke''s hand danced to the mouse and tapped across the table. The cursor bounced to the ¡°Warrior¡± button and in less than an instant the button pulsed in blue light as he selected it. Click!


    ¡°Oh yeah! I can¡¯t wait¡­. wait¡­¡± Zeke¡¯s reflection stared back at him from the loading screen on the monitor. ¡°I selected warrior right?¡±


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    ¡°I know you¡¯re leaving to GSU soon, but I wanted to get you something.¡± A gentle and kind woman, Zeke¡¯s grandmother held a wrapped box in her hand. Trotting through the door, with four boxes stacked in his arms, Zeke slammed his cargo into the Uhaul truck.


    ¡°What is it grandma?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you my boy.¡± She pulled him in and hugged him tight. ¡°I just had to get something. Just so you don¡¯t get bored in that new apartment of yours.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah thanks grandma, but I gotta go!¡± Zeke threw the present into the back of the truck and began heading towards his new life in college.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Little did Zeke know that his grandmother had gotten him exactly what he had been waiting for all these years. SeraphStar was a cognitive based VRMMO that blended together sci-fi elements and fantasy elements to create a unique world of exploration and adventure. It jacked directly into the brain and reworked nerve stimuli. Health concerns over comas and loss of consciousness aside, it created an experience that is significantly more engaging than anything on the market, and more pricey.


    As the headset covered Zeke¡¯s eyes and a brand new world rendered around him, Zeke could barely believe his senses. The air felt cool and crisp, and sounds surrounded him in eight different directions. A faint smell of grease, oil and body odor wafted through the bustling starting town of Mindel. Yet more importantly, something strange was in Zeke¡¯s hands. ¡°A guitar?!¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~


    Mindel was a busy, working district of the larger bandit country on the coast of the Primsa sea. It was a place where folk of all kind could find duty, money and solace, and the start to any great adventure in SeraphStar. Overpopulated, with low level players, Zeke fit in well to the eccentric community, yet he couldn¡¯t stand being here.


    ¡°YOU¡¯VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!¡± Zeke yelled to the alarm of no one. ¡°A guitar? Sheet music? This isn¡¯t the warrior class! I just picked fucking bard!¡± Unfortunately for Zeke, SeraphStar used a pay to play format, yet each account must be individually bought. Once a character had been created they can not be deleted or changed.


    A cry of dismay and a sigh of disappointment out of the way, Zeke was determined to continue on. ¡°This isn¡¯t the end of the world. This is just fine. Sure I won¡¯t be able to play general, but it¡¯s still SeraphStar! I¡¯ve been wanting to play this game for years! I¡¯ll find a way to kick ass with song and dance if I have too!¡±


    Yet as Zeke wandered the steampunk corridors of Mindel and looked around at the glamorous and fierce designs of other players, he finally realized something. ¡°Every class in SeraphStar features multiple class upgrade routes. That means no matter what class you¡¯re playing you can still become powerful as hell!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m about to have the strongest bard in all of SeraphStar.¡±


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Immediately these dreams seemed a lot harder to obtain for Zeke. As he entered the first combat area of the game, the level one crystal forest outskirts of Mindel, he found it hard to kill any of the surrounding monsters, let alone find any. Instead most of the few hours he stayed there was spent looking at the scenery. Beautiful dark oak trees grew tall into the sky and luminescent blue crystals matched their height. Rolling hills and forests stretched on for miles, yet not a single monster could be found. The place was just too populated. Any of the orange or blue slimes that spawned were eradicated within seconds.


    Even when Zeke managed to find a slime all alone, he struggled to kill it. It turns out that a guitar isn¡¯t a particularly strong weapon. In fact none of Zeke¡¯s skills were of use for monster killing. Furthermore Zeke¡¯s stats, except charisma, were all abysmally low. With three and a half hours wasted, two deaths and three kills under his belt, Zeke leaned up against a picket fence outlining Mindel and sighed.


    ¡°I mean, this is fun and all, but I expected it to be a little more, I don¡¯t know, exhilarating?¡± He complained as he watched the other players around him fight. A magician threw a fireball spell and torched an orange slime within seconds. A ranger nocked three arrows and nailed each one. Finally a warrior charged and swung his sword in a sweeping spin, tearing up two blue slimes in his wake. Zeke couldn¡¯t kill anything nearly that fast.


    ¡°It¡¯s this damn class isn¡¯t it! I can¡¯t kill anything because this class sucks ass! How the hell am I supposed to class upgrade, if grinding takes a century? This fucking sucks!¡± Zeke yelled into the air above.


    ¡°Hey, no offense, but could you shut up?¡± A voice leaning on the same fence as Zeke called from his right.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ~~~~~~~~~~~


    ¡°Some of us are actually trying to enjoy our time out here and not just yell into the public chat constantly.¡± This spunky, black haired girl wearing red white and black light armor retorted. ¡°Like, I understand you suck and all, but chill out alright?¡± She remarked.


    ¡°What the hell did you just say to me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just..¡± She signed. ¡°Sorry if I came off as rude, I¡¯m just asking you to calm down in the public chat.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess that¡¯s fair.¡± Zeke had to admit she was right. All VRMMOs are an escape for people. They can feel like they have a purpose in their life in these virtual worlds. Some don¡¯t want this experience disturbed.


    ¡°So if you hate bard so much, why did you pick it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean too, I actually wanted to play warrior, but my hand slipped and I selected bard.¡±


    ¡°Ouch. I know how that feels. I had a friend who did just about the same thing.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°Yeah, and now I¡¯m struggling to kill a damn thing.¡± Zeke knew that he couldn¡¯t spend another three hours grinding and that this was his chance. ¡°So, I was just, uh, was wondering if you could help me out a bit? Just until I¡¯m level ten or something?¡± Zeke shyly asked, anticipating denial.


    ¡°You know what? Sure, just this once, I¡¯ll help you out.¡± She responded.


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s alright I expected that¡­ huh? Really? You¡¯ll help me grind to level ten?¡± Zeke exclaimed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get so worked up about it, I¡¯m only helping you kill some slimes to pass the time. And my name¡¯s Astral, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    ~~~~~~~~~~~


    Astral was a level eighty seven fighter who had been playing SeraphStar for a few months now. She wielded a powerful dark longsword.


    Together with Zeke, they hacked and slashed an hour away and massacred common slime after common slime. It felt like no time had passed yet then both had gained a considerable amount of experience.


    Highly experienced, Astral breezed through slaughtering enough slimes to get Zeke up to level ten.


    ¡°I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for me today. I really appreciate it.¡± Zeke said.


    ¡°Sure thing, I¡¯m happy to help.¡±


    ¡°Oh and now that I¡¯m level ten, how many more levels am I gonna have to grind for my first class upgrade?¡± Zeke asked.


    ¡°Wait what now?¡± Astral turned back to Zeke, a look of confusion on her face.


    ¡°My class upgrade, when do I get it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, there is no class upgrade for bards.¡± Astral replied.

 Chapter 2 - In The Forest

    Beep! Zeke pulled a cup of steaming Easy Mac out of the microwave and dumped cheese powder into it. ¡°Hm.¡± He sighed as he stirred the noodles. He was going to start his life at GSU soon in a week''s time, and Zeke had intended to play SeraphStar up until he started school, but he couldn¡¯t shake this feeling of dissatisfaction. Spending three hours failing to kill much of anything wasn¡¯t Zeke¡¯s idea of fun. He wanted to feel more powerful and to be someone people could look up too.


    ¡°Becoming the strongest bard in SeraphStar is gonna take longer than I¡¯d thought¡± Mumbling, Zeke shoved cheesy macaroni into his mouth. ¡°Hm, I¡¯ll give it another shot, I guess¡± He set his noodles aside, walked out of his kitchen and into his bedroom. Plopping onto his oversized mattress, he threw on his headset and connected the neurotransmitter to the back of his head.


    SeraphStar only works whilst asleep, so the artificial neurotransmitter, a small cone shaped tube, forces the user asleep and begins to rework their neural stimuli. Whilst the user may feel great inside the game, being in this state for too long has been known to cause potential health problems.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Zeke logged into his account and reentered the world of SeraphStar. The illustrious city of Mindel was just as bustling as before. Weaving past a crowd of higher level players, Zeke navigated to the shopping district of the city, a long stretch of class specific stores. Each store held large windowed displays of ornate weapons and armor. Large battle axes, shiny long swords, elegant longbows and enchanting staffs decorated the interiors of the marketplace. Finally, lying at the very end of the row, was a small thatch roofed shop named ¡®Commonnote¡¯.


    Zeke peered his head into the dark, empty store and walked inside. The wares here were significantly less shiny and flashy as the ones in other stores, yet still this is what Zeke had to work with. Most of the bard¡¯s weapons are string based. Lutes, harps, guitars and violins are most bards instrument of choice. Even so, horns, and percussion instruments are still available.


    Starting out with a mere hundred credits and only gaining thirty-three more from combat earlier, Zeke couldn¡¯t afford a thing. The cheapest weapon there was an oaken guitar, priced at eight hundred gold. ¡°That¡¯s only three points of damage higher than what I have now!¡± Zeke audibly complained.


    ¡°I¡¯d better start grinding then.¡± Before leaving there was one last thing Zeke wanted to look at. ¡°What¡¯s the most expensive instrument here?¡± Hung up at the front of the shop, a red electric guitar paraded the main display. Priced at a million credits, the guitar dealt three thousand more points of damage than Zeke¡¯s starting guitar. He stared at the instrument for a moment and smirked. ¡°Well, it ain¡¯t gonna buy itself.¡± Zeke said as he left the shop.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Zeke returned to the crystal forests of Mindel to hunt slimes. Each slime here on average gave one to five gold, that means he was going to have to kill a lot of slimes if he ever hopes to buy that oaken guitar.


    Bards are a support class. This means their attack power is incredibly low and they lack many damage oriented abilities. For comparison, a level ten warrior with the starting steel sword can deal thirty eight to forty damage with each blow, when a level ten bard with the starting birch guitar can only deal three to five damage. This large gap in damage is meant to balance out bard, and its abilities. Most classes only start with one or two abilities they can use, yet bard starts out with four different abilities.


    These spells are all support based and are meant to be used in conjunction with abilities from other classes. The first of these abilities is called ¡®Consumption¡¯. Zeke strummed his guitar and cast the spell. A large translucent pink field of gas erupted around Zeke. Essence started to erupt from two blue slimes, one in front of him and the other behind, and flow into Zeke¡¯s body. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Each ability Zeke uses requires a certain amount of mana. At his current level he can cast three spells before having to wait for about a minute to recharge. Consumption recharges mana exponentially based on the number of creatures within the field. The spell lasts for thirty seconds, so Zeke can keep casting and recharging during that time.


    His Mana recharging, Zeke casted next spell ¡®Power Burst¡¯. After strumming his guitar, a large red quarter note emerged and began floating in the air. Similarly to consumption, this spell creates an AoE effect, except the range on power burst can not be physically seen like consumption¡¯s can. Enemies within this range have their damage slightly reduced and allies have their damage increased. This spell can also nullify certain status effects and spells.


    As consumption ends, Zeke yells loudly into the air, and casts his next spell, ¡®Howl¡¯. The two blue slimes who were slowly crawling towards Zeke, suddenly stopped in their tracks. This spell sends a burst of air in all directions and briefly stuns the enemies in immediate vicinity.


    With the slimes stunned, Zeke casted his final spell, ¡®Bardic Inspiration¡¯. In other games, this spell only affects others, but in SeraphStar, bards can cast it on themselves. Singing a quick auto generated tune, Zeke used the last of his mana on this ability. Bardic inspiration increases all of the stats of a single creature by thirty percent for fifteen seconds.


    The combination of bardic inspiration, and power burst nearly doubled Zeke¡¯s attack power, plus enemies stunned with howl, take twice as much damage as normal. Zeke then raised his guitar into the air and slammed it down into the slime in front of it, exploding it into a pile of blue gel. He whipped around and slashed his instrument into the other slime. ¡°Nice!¡± Zeke shouted as he collected his loot.


    With all of his abilities used in conjunction, Zeke can do enough damage to one shot blue slimes. Which also happens to be as much damage as warriors his level can do without using abilities.


    ¡°Whew, I got seven gold from that. Not bad.¡± Zeke muttered to himself and perched up onto the fence surrounding Mindel. ¡°Ah that was really great! I couldn¡¯t have done it without Astral¡¯s help though. She really taught me a lot about SeraphStar¡¯s combat system earlier. I¡¯ve got to thank her. Now, I wonder where I could find her...¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me!? She¡¯s still leaning on this fence waiting?¡± Zeke realized Astral remained in the exact same place he found her earlier. ¡°It¡¯s been nearly four hours! Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s been here all this time.¡± Zeke walked up to Astral.


    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s good to see you!¡± Zeke exclaimed and waved his hands in the air.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re still here, huh?¡± Astral crossed her arms.


    ¡°I should be saying that to you! You¡¯ve been here for hours, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just waiting for a friend, that¡¯s all. She¡¯s just running a bit late.¡± Astral responded.


    ¡°Four hours isn¡¯t what I¡¯d call a bit late, but to each their own! Anyways I just wanted to thank you for helping me out earlier.¡± Zeke eagerly said.


    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡±


    ¡°Oh and I was wondering if you wanted to fight some more slimes with me. It¡¯s a better way of passing the time than standing around here.¡± Zeke offered.


    ¡°Yeah you¡¯re probably right.¡± Astral hopped off the fence. ¡°Though I think we can do better than that.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean by that?¡± Puzzled, Zeke replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re level ten, you¡¯d get a lot more experience if we took it up a notch. Let¡¯s go challenge a dungeon.¡±


    Zeke paused for a moment before letting the information fully process. ¡°Oh yeah! I¡¯d thought you¡¯d never ask! Dungeons! Yeah, let¡¯s explore a dungeon!¡± Zeke excitedly jumped up and down.


    ¡°Now, don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself. We¡¯re just going to do something easy.¡± Astral sighed.


    ¡°This is going to be awesome!¡± Zeke shouted.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The dungeon Astral and Zeke were about to challenge is known as Grognag¡¯s Lair. It¡¯s the first of the six demon lord lairs that players are tasked to beat during SeraphStar¡¯s main story. Most players complete this dungeon at level eight to thirteen. It¡¯s meant to be an beginner dungeon and introduce players to SeraphStar¡¯s exploration mechanics. It provides an easy and casual experience, yet Zeke¡¯s experience with it is anything but casual.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Somewhere deep within the dark expanse of rocky, dim lit corridors called Grognak¡¯s lair, Drimrock, an Orc Warlord stood above a small girl. His stature was large and overbearing. His long red beard accented his shiny dark armor. A platinum battle axe rested on his right side and red long sword on the other. Several other various players watched in silence as Drimrock kneeled down over a small unconscious ranger girl. ¡°Haha.¡± He mumbled as he stroked her short brown hair and pierced a syringe into her head.


    ¡°Perfect. That¡¯s all of ¡®em¡± He quickly stood up and clasped his hands together. ¡°Alright guys, let¡¯s open shop!¡±

 Chapter 3 - Black Tar

    Squish! Zeke¡¯s guitar crashed onto the greasy body of an orange slime.


    ¡°Nice one! Let¡¯s keep moving.¡± Astral sheathed her sword and continued walking through the crystal forest.


    The two were heading to Grognaks¡¯s Lair, the first of the six demon lords, in hopes of obtaining more experience and skills. This dungeon was already way beyond Astral¡¯s skill level, yet she was still happy to help out Zeke, a lower level player with the endeavor.


    ¡°So, about what you said earlier¡­¡± Zeke stuttered.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Is there really no class upgrades for bard?¡± Zeke shyly asked.


    ¡°Nope! None at all!¡± Astral replied. ¡°Sorry, but you¡¯re stuck with these base stats forever!¡± Astral laughed.


    ¡°Alright, alright, you don¡¯t have to laugh.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mean it like that I just¡­¡± Astral¡¯s train of thought trailed.


    ¡°Well, then how the hell am I supposed to get any stronger?¡± Zeke wondered.


    ¡°To be honest I don¡¯t know. I have heard it¡¯s possible to become pretty strong as a bard. Some guy in the forums named Risoki claimed to be a level 999 bard once.¡±


    ¡°Really! That must have taken frickin forever!¡± Zeke shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it was a troll.¡± Astral hated to burst Zeke¡¯s bubble.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After an hour long hike through the crystal forest they finally arrived at a large mountain range, the tallest of the mountains was directly in front of them. Furthermore a large cave entrance covered with neon signs sprawled this mountain and marked the dungeon they were looking for.


    ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s go dungeon crawling!¡± Astral cheered.


    Grognak¡¯s lair was a very popular spot. Vendors and inns set up shop inside it¡¯s large entrance way, and adventurers ran in and out of the catacombs constantly. That being said, no one was allowed into the dungeon itself without a valid pass purchased at a guild run facility.


    Despite being a recent game, SeraphStar has a very large community-ran economic and political structure. Because of this, many of the dungeons and combat areas are run and maintained by guilds. These clans manage monster spawn rates, loot drop rates, and item pricing to ensure every player gets a fair chance. The largest of these guilds was the guild of Foretold. This infamous clan ran almost all dungeons and towns and had near entire economic control. They are even known to work directly with developers. The guild¡¯s leader was a powerful man named Drimrock, a level 999 orc Warlord.


    ¡°Drimrock!¡± Zeke and Astral heard someone shout nearby as they entered the cavern.


    ¡°Now, now, I¡¯d love to stay and chat, but I¡¯ve got some business to attend to.¡± Drimrock, a hulking orc man, clad in the powerful armor, said as he fought his way through a crowd of people.


    ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± Zeke asked.


    ¡°Woah! That¡¯s Drimrock!¡± Astral gleeked. ¡°He''s the leader of the Guild of Foretold.¡±


    ¡°Huh, really?¡± Zeke responded uninterested.


    ¡°Quick, I¡¯ve gotta get a closer look!¡± Astral charged up into the crowd surrounding Drimrock. Unfortunately by the time she got there, he had already exited the cave, and was escorted into the forest by three other guild members.


    ¡°Awww. I wanted an autograph or something.¡± Astral complained.


    ¡°You¡¯re a fan of his?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I really look up to him. I really admire his work ethic and what he¡¯s done for SeraphStar. He¡¯s a really noble person.¡± Astral described. ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s go ahead and buy a pass and get into the dungeon.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After standing in line for a few minutes, Zeke and Astral walked up the counter and purchased a couple of passes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and fetch a guide for you two.¡± The woman at the counter said as she walked off.


    ¡°A guide?¡± Zeke asked.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Yeah, since it¡¯s your first time in the dungeon, you have to have an official guild guide accompany you. I think it¡¯s so new players don¡¯t end up wandering into high level areas, but whatever. We keep all the loot anyways.¡± Astral responded.


    ¡°Oh, ok.¡±


    The clerk returned and brought with her a short brown haired human ranger. She wore light purple and black armor, and held a long black bow at her side.


    ¡°This is Setna. She¡¯ll be accompanying you today.¡± The woman explained.


    ¡°Hi.¡± Setna muttered as she stared at something behind Zeke.


    ¡°Well, good hunting you three!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    With passes bought, the three adventurers headed into the depths of Grognak¡¯s dungeon. The catacombs were dark and dimly lit. Moss covered stone walls and distant cries surrounded the party. A slight chilly breeze and quiet droning left the atmosphere feeling hostile.


    ¡°This place is eerie.¡± Zeke said out loud.


    ¡°Yeah, it really is.¡± Astral muttered as she looked over her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m surprised nothing has jumped us yet.¡±


    ¡°Busy day.¡± Setna responded.


    ¡°Huh, Yeah?¡± Astral put her hand on her hilt.


    ¡°Here they come.¡± Setna pointed out into the darkness to a pair of red eyes.


    ¡°What the hell is that!?¡± Zeke yelled as a large six eyed gray wolf emerged from the dark. A cohort of skeletons followed behind it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Astral cheered as she rushed into the fray.


    She unsheathed her long sword and slid past a couple skeletons before slashing at the wolf. Her blade barely missed as the beast jumped backwards. ¡°Agh!¡± She yelled as she threw several grabbing skeletons off of herself.


    The gray wolf let out a loud roar towards the party, inflicting a ten percent defense decrease. Using this opportunity, Setna charged her bow and fired an arrow into the mouth of the wolf. A mouth appeared on her bow as an arrow exited out of it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotta do something!¡± Zeke, realizing he was just standing there, quickly began running into the crowd of skeletons. Surrounded by skeletons, he yelled out and cast howl. The large group of skeletons suddenly stopped in their tracks.


    ¡°Nice, Zeke!¡± Astral cheered as she slashed up the stunned skeletons into piles of inanimate bones.


    Whimper! The gray wolf groaned as it watched its skeleton army fall to dust. Suddenly it jumped into the battle again and landed in front of Astral and Zeke. The wolf stared down at its prey and launched its head forward in a biting motion.


    ¡°Quick, get back!¡± Astral pierced her sword into the mouth of the wolf stopping its crunch. Zeke rushed back and strummed his guitar, casting power burst.


    ¡°Agh!¡± Astral twisted her blade, trying to keep back the wolf and free her sword from its teeth. Fortunately, a well timed arrow from Setna landed in the wolf¡¯s eye. Jerking back, the wolf let go of her blade and roared in agony. Astral used this opportunity to counterattack the beast, nearly taking out all its health in a single blow.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take this thing down!¡± Astral yelled and charged forward. Zeke cast bardic inspiration and boosted the party¡¯s stats greatly. Setna fired several arrows into the wolf¡¯s mane. Finally, Astral dashed forward and swung her sword into the side of the beast. Blood sprayed out of the wound and the wolf let out a piercingly loud cry before collapsing to the ground.


    ¡°Aha! Yeah! That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about.¡± Zeke shouted and high fived Astral. ¡°What¡¯d we get?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Astral kneeled down and inspected the loot. ¡°Thirty nine gold and a silver rapier.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not bad! Though I can¡¯t use the rapier.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep it, you can take all the gold. Let¡¯s keep moving.¡± Astral replied.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The party worked their way down the chambers of Grognak¡¯s lair. As they progressed, the dungeon progressively got more intense. They hacked their way through skeletons, wolves, bugbears, zombies and ogres, as they adventured to the final floor of the cavern. Through all this, Zeke was able to increase his level to seventeen.


    ¡°So, just out of curiosity, what are you getting out of this?¡± Zeke asked Setna. ¡°Since you¡¯re not getting any of the loot.¡±


    ¡°I am paid hourly.¡± Setna responded without looking Zeke¡¯s way.


    ¡°Oh, sure.¡± Zeke muttered. ¡°Hey Astral.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t she seem a bit, I don¡¯t know, absent? Like she¡¯s not here.¡± Zeke whispered.


    ¡°I see what you mean. It¡¯s almost like there¡¯s no emotion in her face.¡± Astral responded, making sure Setna couldn¡¯t hear.


    ¡°You sure, she¡¯s not an NPC or something?¡±


    ¡°She couldn¡¯t be, the Guild of Foretold always uses real players for their guides. She must be an introvert, that¡¯s all.¡± Astral replied.


    ¡°I guess.¡±


    ¡°Anyways.¡± Astral moved over towards Setna. ¡°That¡¯s a nice bow you¡¯ve got. It¡¯s got like teeth and stuff on the end.¡± Astral pointed at what seemed to be a mouth at the end of Setna¡¯s bow.


    ¡°His name is Black Tar.¡± Setna, unfazed, responded.


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s cooooool.¡± Astral muttered before returning to Zeke. ¡°I don¡¯t know about her, she really is weird.¡±


    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s for sure.¡± Zeke whispered.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Finally, the party worked their way through the entire dungeon and reached the final room, Grognak¡¯s boss fight.


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s get this show on the row.¡± Zeke shouted as he took his in place in line and waited for his chance to fight Grognak.


    After waiting fifteen minutes for other players to finish up, the group was finally able to enter the boss room. They walked into a large circular stone room. A large chandelier hung at the roof and ornate lights surrounded the room. An elegant rug withheld the feet of a large giant demon, Grognak. The fiend had a bandana, an eyepatch and light clothing on. He held a cutlass and laughed as the party entered the room. Flashy text appeared on screen, reading ¡®Versus Grognak¡¯ and orchestral music began playing.


    ¡°Here we go!¡± Astral and Zeke shouted together.


    ¡°I¡¯ll rush forward and take his attention! Setna you¡¯ll provide support and make sure I don¡¯t get into any bad situations. Zeke, you¡¯ll buff my damage up and when I tell you to, stun him.¡± Astra barked orders at the party as she drew her blade and ran forth at the demon lord.


    Zeke quickly charged in a circle left of the boss. He whipped out his guitar and cast consumption.


    As mana seeped into his body, he prepared himself for his next spell.


    Chased around by a small fighter, Grognak jumped up and down, as Astral slashed at his feet. ¡°That tickles!¡± He laughed jovially.


    Astral plugged her sword into the boss¡¯s leg flesh and twisted it around to inflict a large sum of damage before dashing to the other leg.


    ¡°Here you go, Astral!¡± Zeke struck a perfect chord and cast Power Burst and Bardic Inspiration at the same time. ¡°Way to go!¡± Astral swung her sword around the giant leg of the demon lord and inflicted an increased amount of damage.


    Feeling that serious damage, the demon lord suddenly leaped in the air above the party and came slamming down onto the ground. Zeke managed to dodge the following quake, but Astral felt flat on her face. ¡°Astral!¡± Zeke called out.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. I just tripped that¡¯s all. I¡¯ve still got plenty of health left.¡± She got up and began running back into battle.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Setna stood there silently watching as the other two adventurers faced off against Grognak. Beep! Somewhere within her head, she heard a sound ring out. She was mesmerized by that sound. Black Tar shook in her hands and growled rapidly. She fought against the sounds clouding over her mind. She attacked the overpowering urges that overcame her body. Nevertheless, she was powerless to control herself. Tears began to stream down her face as she realized she didn¡¯t have a choice in what would happen next.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Zeke cried as Astral tripped onto the floor. Seeing this opportunity, Grognak raised his foot and kicked Astral straight into the side of the chamber¡¯s wall, leaving a large crack where she hit.


    Zeke rushed over towards Astral. ¡°Are you okay?¡± He yelled out loud . He ran with all his might, yet it still wasn¡¯t enough to reach her. Out of nowhere, pain suddenly erupted in Zeke¡¯s side and he collapsed onto the ground. A cold liquid stained his clothes as a large bolt had pierced his body. ¡°Agh!¡± Zeke¡¯s vision blurred as he realized what had happened.


    Astral stood up and witnessed Zeke fall to the floor. Setna¡¯s arrow pierced him fair and square. ¡°Damn it!¡± She yelled as she rushed over to Zeke.


    ¡°You, traitor!¡± Astral furiously shouted, no longer concerned about the demon lord behind her.


    Setna stood there and stared at the poor sight before her, then got up and left the room.

 Chapter 4 - Awakening

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Astral plopped Zeke¡¯s body onto the floor then slid down the cold dungeon wall, slumping on the ground. She let out a large sigh. At the moment she was stuck somewhere within the middle floors of Grognak¡¯s dungeon, hiding in a small grotto she found. She¡¯s been trying to get out of the lair for about an hour now, but it¡¯s been a struggle for her. Navigating the labyrinth and fighting monsters alone, whilst carrying Zeke¡¯s unconscious body was quite the task.


    To make matters worse, something in SeraphStar has changed. The extent of this change is unknown to Astral, but immediately one thing is clear. What was once a bustling starter dungeon now feels like an abandoned cave, after what had happened earlier.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°You traitor!¡± Astral yelled at Setna as she ran to Zeke¡¯s body. Fueled by a sudden surge of adrenaline, she jumped past the stomping foot of Grognak and landed next to Zeke.


    Something had changed. An effect Astral had never witnessed or heard of was now infecting Zeke. He was currently unconscious. ¡°No such thing exists in this game.¡± She thought to herself. ¡°Screw killing the boss, I¡¯ve gotta get out of here and find help.¡±


    Astral threw Zeke over her shoulder and left the large ornate boss room. Outside, was an entrance facility for the boss. When she entered, the place had a long line and members of the guild were setting up players for the fight. Now, not a soul was here. Furthermore, Setna¡¯s gone. Astral swore she saw her leave the boss room, but now she can¡¯t find a trace of her.


    ¡°Where are you running off too, little one!¡± Grognak roared.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Shocked, Astral watched as Grognak¡¯s body burst through the gate to the boss room, and collapsed onto a nearby mosaic.


    ¡°Shit, shit, shit!¡± Astral drew her blade. ¡°Since when can bosses leave the boss room?!¡±


    The giant pushed himself up onto his feet and bumped his head on the cave ceiling. ¡°Ow!¡± Grognak stumbled around in pain.


    Trotting out of the way, Astral avoided the demon lord¡¯s tomfoolery and swung her sword in a large arc, casting the skill ¡®War Whip¡¯. Crackle! Her blade grew in length flew out like a leather whip and slammed right into the giant''s leg, leaving a large red mark in its path. In response, Grognak¡¯s hands covered the injury and he wailed in agony.


    ¡°That should buy me enough time.¡± Astral sheathed her sword and carried Zeke off into the dark depths of the dungeon.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Ah!¡± Zeke yelled as he came too. He jumped up, as his instincts told him he was still in danger. After realizing he wasn¡¯t in the boss room anymore, he relaxed.


    ¡°Oh thank god you¡¯re okay.¡± Astral sighed in relief.


    ¡°Huh? Wait what?¡±


    ¡°Oh nothing¡­ I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re awake.¡±


    ¡°Wait where am I?¡± Zeke¡¯s head peered past the small outcove he layed in and looked at the familiar dark stone corridors of Grognak¡¯s lair. ¡°We¡¯re still in the dungeon?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re somewhere in the mid-floors. I carried you up here after you passed out. I stopped here, because honestly carrying you is really tiring.¡± Astral explained.


    ¡°Hold on, I passed out? How is that even possible? And are you trying to call me heavy?¡±


    ¡°No, no, that¡¯s not what I meant, and, yeah, I don¡¯t know how, but you were unconscious earlier. Plus I¡¯m feeling actual fatigue right now. Like real life fatigue.¡±


    ¡°Huh? How the hell is that possible?¡± Zeke pondered.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    In SeraphStar an artificial neurotransmitter is used to simulate reality. It directly implants the digital world into the brains of users and stimulates their senses to produce touch and smell. The technology is extremely impressive, to the point where virtual reality is nearly indistinguishable from actual reality.


    That being said, the developers of SeraphStar held back the game from being a true replication of reality. Certain feelings like fatigue, illness, pain and unconsciousness simply don¡¯t exist in SeraphStar or in certain scenarios are minimized extremely. This is done to make SeraphStar not just a simulation of reality, but an even better reality than real life itself. However, Astral and Zeke were currently experiencing something different. For some reason, the game had changed and these aspects of real life left absent from SeraphStar were back.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Gah!¡± Zeke moved his hand away from the wound in his side, where Setna¡¯s arrow pierced.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it, it¡¯s just going to hurt more.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Zeke couldn¡¯t believe what was happening. His wound hurt. It actually screamed out in voracious torment, like nothing he had experienced before. Nothing in SeraphStar was supposed to hurt this much. ¡°Can¡¯t you heal me or something?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Astral lowered her head. ¡°I don¡¯t have any healing spells, and I¡¯ve already used all my health potions of you. I thought they would help, but it seems like their potency isn¡¯t the same as it was before.¡±


    ¡°The hell is going on? What¡¯s happening with this game?¡± Zeke complained in the open air. This immense pain made him feel more vulnerable than ever before. Then a thought came to Zeke. If he¡¯s in such throbbing pain in SeraphStar, what¡¯s his body going through in real life? ¡°Hey, Astral? I¡¯m going to log off real quick, I¡¯ll be back in a second though¡­¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Logging off in SeraphStar is easy. Players can simply open up their stats menu within the game and hit the button in the lower left corner. This will suspend their character¡¯s status and placement, then shut off the neurotransmitter. Within a few seconds users will reawaken in the real world.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± Zeke yelled out. ¡°The buttons gone! It¡¯s not there!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Astral replied.


    ¡°I can¡¯t log off!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°We¡¯ve just gotta keep moving. There¡¯s nothing else we can do about this, right now.¡± In time, Zeke recovered enough to be able to walk and Astral and Zeke decided to make their way back through Grognak¡¯s dungeon. Even though they had already explored the entire lair, the place was undoubtedly different. No longer was the cave littered with adventures and treasures. Now, it seemed like a hollow memory of what once was.


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± Zeke turned a corner and arrived at the entrance of the cave.


    Tall rustic cabins and stands housing shops and inns lined the walls of the cavernous entrance. Each of them stood in silence. A lingering scent of blood and ash filled the air. Not a soul remained within the once popular area.


    ¡°This is kinda creepy, not gonna lie.¡± Zeke limbed past the receptionist desk.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Astral kneeled down and inspected a red and black corpse laying on the floor. ¡°Look at this, I''ve never seen anything like it in the game before.¡±


    The body was bloody and deformed. It smelled of rotten food and decomposing flesh. Many of these corpses paraded the cave entrance. ¡°That¡¯s disturbing.¡± Zeke commented.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Astral poked the body with her sword. The corpse rolled over onto its side revealing its large, empty eye sockets.


    ¡°What the¡­!¡± The zombified corpse suddenly arose in front of Astral. The monster swung out its arm and left a large bloody gash across Astral¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Hey, we got a problem here, Astral.¡± Zeke readied his guitar as hundreds of zombies began awakening all around him. ¡°Revenants.¡± Zeke read the name on the health bar of the monsters.


    Astral drew her sword and pierced the chest of the revenant in front of her. The zombie slid off her blade and collapsed onto the ground. ¡°This is too many for us, we¡¯ve gotta run.¡± She swung her sword and decapitated a nearby revenant.


    ¡°No argument here.¡± Zeke jumped over the decaying corpse of a revenant and dashed towards the exit. He bobbed and weaved past the grabbing hands of the zombies. As a revenant landed its touch on his shoulder, he swiped his guitar into its face, then took off again.


    Revenants began to pile together and form walls preventing the two adventures from leaving. Astral spin slashed past a large group of zombies and tackled her way through the barrier they formed. She stumbled and crashed onto the floor.


    Piercing, a howl burst out from Zeke¡¯s vocal cords, as the revenants surrounding Astral froze. He ran over and helped her up.


    The two adventures ran with all their might and hacked their way through a horde of zombies. Finally they made it past their vile presence and broke out into the sunlight of the Mindel forest.


    Out of breath, both Zeke and Astral panted. ¡°Hey they''re still following us.¡± Astral pointed, as revenants slowly burrowed out of the cave and into the forest.


    Zeke and Astral dashed through the crystal forest without looking back. They ran and ran until they finally collapsed near the entrance of Mindel, right in front of the fence where Zeke first encountered Astral. Fatigue overtook both of their bodies.


    Smoke and ash corrupted the air. Loud cackling and churning of flames filled Mindel¡¯s streets and buildings. Screams of pandemonium and constant loud crashing consumed the sounds of the city. Speechless, Astral and Zeke stared up at the city in front of them.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Not bad.¡± Drimrock leaped off of a small rocky perch onto his feet. From the mountainous tops of mount Merba, he had clear view over the ensuing chaos within Mindel.


    ¡°Ahahah.¡± His deep tones let out a muffled laugh. ¡°Does this make you upset, father! Are you angry at what I¡¯m doing!?¡± The lord shouted into the air.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Drimrock sighed. ¡°Eh, that¡¯s enough fun for now. I¡¯ve got more that needs to be done. Now, now, where did that old hermit run off too.¡±


    Drimrock walked down the mountain tops onto the other side of the Mindel valley.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Astral and Zeke stared at the burning city of Mindel from the outskirts. The town was in pure eruption. They watched as buildings collapsed and fires wooshed into the sky. Revenants wandered the streets and tore into houses and shops. At the heart of the chaos, in the town square, Setna sat there on the central fountain. The elegant marble structure spurred water into magnificent shapes and Setna stared at the piece of art as it flowed.


    ¡°Well, shall we go in?¡± Astral asked.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do this.¡± Zeke replied.

 Chapter 5 - Stage of Death

    ¡°This is horrible.¡± Zeke trudged through the rubble covering Mindel¡¯s Main Street. ¡°Admittedly it¡¯s pretty cool though. I mean the atmosphere in this area is unbelievably realistic¡±


    The air was filled with ash and smoke. Flames burned hot throughout the city and engulfed buildings. Dust and smog circled the town.


    ¡°Yeah it is, but what the hell even is this?¡± Astral replied as she stepped over a dead revenant. ¡°Some sort of new event?¡±


    ¡°Most likely.¡± Zeke responded. ¡°That¡¯s probably why we can¡¯t log off. We¡¯ve gotta finish the event first.¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­¡± Astral pushed aside some rubble blocking her way and stepped into the shopping district. ¡°... if this is some new event, then how did we trigger it? Did Setna start it? Was it just RNG? And we seriously can¡¯t log off because of it? I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that in this game before.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Zeke shrugged his shoulders and continued walking down the path. ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me!¡± He shouted as he came across the collapsed ruins of what was once Commonnote. With fervor, he rushed over to the ruins and began scooping out rubble.


    ¡°Woah. Something in there?¡± Astral asked.


    Zeke continued to dig for minutes until finally he gave up and let out a large sigh. ¡°Damn! It¡¯s not here.¡±


    ¡°Whatcha looking for?¡±


    ¡°This shop used to have really strong bard weapons, but now I can¡¯t find a thing here.¡± Zeke responded.


    ¡°Makes sense. I doubt the devs would want you to steal stuff from a shop during an event like this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The two adventurers continued down through Mindel. They slowly made their way to Mindel¡¯s town square, the starting place of SeraphStar. That being said, the chaotic fire storm that now encircled Mindel proved challenging for Zeke and Astral. They worked past damaged structures and streets and slashed down revenants wandering the forsaken city.


    ¡°Ahhh! Get away!¡± A scream erupted somewhere down the street from Zeke and Astral.


    Both of them swiftly darted down the road and uncovered a low level player currently entangled in a losing fight against a revenant.


    ¡°I gotchu!¡± Astral charged forward past Zeke and with one swing, took off the head of the zombie.


    Stunned, the other player, a man who played the sorcerer class, quickly jumped up to his feet and thanked Astral. ¡°Oh, thank god, I don¡¯t know what I would have done without you.¡±


    ¡°No sweat.¡± Astral replied. ¡°Hey, you happen to know what happened here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, how the hell did Mindel get like this?¡± Out of breath, Zeke asked as he caught up to Astral.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The man began to explain. ¡°It started a few hours ago. Everything seemed fine, when suddenly a group of about eighteen players began attacking people out of the blue. Most of them were pretty high level too, and they started wrecking stuff up. A few of them were defeated, but in no time they eradicated most of the players in Mindel. Worst of all, it seems every player they killed turned into one of those.¡± The man kicked the dead revenant at his feet.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange, they shouldn¡¯t just be able to attack other players¡­¡± Zeke wondered.


    ¡°Yeah, Mindel is a no PvP zone, anyways.¡± Astral added.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but this whole thing¡¯s got me freaked out. I mean we can¡¯t log off. Other players are trying to kill us. We might turn into those things. I¡¯m not cut out for this.¡± The man began to panic. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I¡¯m getting the hell out of Mindel. I¡¯ve heard Garoh is currently safe and the Guild of Foretold is helping people out over there. So it¡¯s probably my best bet.¡±


    The man began walking off towards the north exit of Mindel. ¡°Well, see you guys, and thanks for the help!¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡±


    ¡°Stay safe!¡±


    Soon the sorcerer was out of view, having headed towards the Garoh plains.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we head there too?¡± Zeke asked. ¡°I mean if that guy is convinced it¡¯s safe, I¡¯m convinced.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but there¡¯s something I want to check out in Mindel real quick.¡± Astral responded.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astral and Zeke continued to journey through the collapsing city of Mindel until they finally arrived at its center, the town square. The large plaza housed ornate tiles and an elaborate and large fountain. A putrid smell filled the air here, as a myriad of revenant bodies sat lifeless within the square. Both Astral and Zeke creeped slowly towards the plaza, expecting some sort of attack.


    They peered their heads past the side of a building and looked on toward the town square. ¡°Ohhh, she¡¯s not here, like she said she would.¡± Astral sighed.


    ¡°Huh? Who are you¡­?¡± Zeke began to ask.


    ¡°I better catch up with the others.¡± Zeke and Astral silently gasped as they heard a familiar voice call from inside the plaza.


    A ranger girl, holding a large black bow in her hands emerged from the other side of the fountain and began walking towards Zeke and Astral.


    ¡°It¡¯s Setna!¡± They both whispered.


    ¡°What do we do? Do we go out there? Do we run?¡± Zeke began to quietly panic over his options.


    ¡°Setna!¡± Astral yelled as she charged out from her cover and drew her sword.


    ¡°Astral!¡± Angrily whispering, Zeke beckoned Astral back. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting revenge, that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing!¡± Astral shouted. ¡°Who the hell do you think you are!? You think you can just backstab and betray other players and get away with it!? I thought you were supposed to be our guide! I thought you were supposed to be an upholding member of the Guild of Foretold!¡±


    Setna stared back at Astral with a blank expression on her face for a few moments. ¡°Who are you, again?¡±


    Furious, Astral let out a large sigh and rapidly stomped towards Setna. With two hands, she swung her sword at the ranger girl.


    Skillfully, Setna dodged the attack. ¡°Now I understand.¡± She drew an arrow from her quiver and readied Black Tar.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Zeke thought to himself. ¡°I¡¯m not strong enough to fight her, am I? She¡¯s way higher level than I am.¡± He sighed. ¡°I guess I have no choice.¡± Then he ran out to join the fray.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Setna jumped over the whip of Astral¡¯s blade and ducked Zeke¡¯s guitar swing. She pointed her bow towards Astral and a loud roar emerged as her arrow flew towards the fighter. However, Astral quickly sliced the arrow in two and was left unscathed.


    ¡°You are a strong opponent.¡± Setna muttered in a monotone voice as she pulled three arrows from her quiver.


    ¡°Yeah, thanks?¡± Astral sarcastically replied as she prepared to use her berserk skill. The ability engulfed her in a red aura and increased her damage tenfold, but greatly reduced her defense.


    ¡°I¡¯ll back you up!¡± Zeke cast Power burst, bardic inspiration and consumption.


    Astral, now powered up, looked at Setna with fire in her eyes and charged at the ranger girl.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°What!?¡± Shocked, Zeke yelled.


    Astral advanced on Setna and performed two well timed slashes. Yet out of nowhere the ranger vanished out of sight, having dodged the blows, and reemerged behind Astral.


    ¡°You are a strong opponent¡­¡± Setna shot three arrows straight into Astral¡¯s back and each of them exploded in black fire as they pierced the fighter¡¯s body. ¡°...but I¡¯m stronger.¡±


    Astral collapsed to the ground and Setna whipped her attention to the bard behind her.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Zeke ran towards Setna and readied his next skill. He let out a loud, ear shattering howl, in the hopes of stunning Setna. Nevertheless, she was prepared, and as Zeke screamed, she vanished and reappeared behind him.


    ¡°She dodged it?¡± Confused Zeke quickly turned around to find Setna aiming three arrows straight at him. ¡°Damn!¡± Zeke used his guitar to cover his face, as he waited for the blow.


    Black Tar growled as it shot three arrows in an arc towards its opponent. The middle of the three was aimed straight at the bard in front. Zeke flinched as he expected the arrow to hit him, yet all of a sudden he heard a loud swing and a snap. In front of him, Astral had stood up and stopped the arrow.


    ¡°Astral! Are you alright?¡± Zeke could tell Astral was badly injured. Her back was entirely soaked in blood, and her movements were extremely slow.


    ¡°I can still fight!¡± Astral pointed her sword directly towards Setna and began yelling as she charged towards the ranger.


    Setna looked unemotionally at the fighter. ¡°You forgot about the other two arrows.¡± The arrows that Setna previously fired had missed and flew somewhere off to the right and left. Suddenly they did a complete turn in mid air and completely changed their trajectory. One of the arrows flew straight into Zeke¡¯s back and the other into Astral¡¯s. Taking great damage, the two of them fell onto the ground.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°That was enjoyable. You two were good opponents.¡± Setna complimented the two players she had just defeated as both of them and lay on the ground in extreme pain. She slung Black Tar over her shoulder and began walking away.


    ¡°No.¡± Zeke muttered. ¡°This can¡¯t be the end.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not done yet.¡± Astral used her sword to prop herself up. ¡°I can¡¯t lose like this. What would he think about this¡­. He¡¯d be disappointed with me wouldn''t he?¡± She whispered.


    Satisfied, Setna strolled past the large fountain and towards Mindel¡¯s Main Street. ¡°I need to catch up to the others.¡± She muttered.


    ¡°No!¡± Zeke shouted at the top of his lungs, stopping Setna dead in her tracks. ¡°I¡¯m not over yet!¡± He grabbed his guitar by the head and rushed towards Setna.


    He jumped up and slammed his guitar towards Setna. She dodged the attack and the wooden guitar cracked slightly as it hit the floor.


    ¡°That was a sluggish move.¡± Setna commented.


    ¡°Was it?¡± Unexpectedly Zeke turned the opposite direction of Setna and performed a successful counterattack directly behind him. He slammed his guitar directly into her face, leaving a large red mark.


    Having just been hit, Setna jumped back and drew black Tar again. ¡°You are a strong opponent.¡± She pulled three arrows from her quiver.


    ¡°Not this time!¡± Having found new strength, Astral threw herself forward and slashed her sword at Setna. The blade hit open air though, as Setna had vanished.


    ¡°Predictable.¡± Astral muttered as she stabbed directly behind her, piercing Setna¡¯s chest.


    Having almost no reaction on her face to being stabbed, Setna dropped her three arrows and jumped back to get distance from Astral.


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this!¡± Astral cheered as she used war whip to swing her sword in a complete circle around her. However, Setna vanished out of this attack.


    ¡°You''re done, Setna!¡± Zeke cheered as he turned around and jumped into the air, slamming his guitar towards the ground. Suddenly Setna appeared right before Zeke, as he slammed his guitar onto her head. The wooden instrument broke into pieces as it exploded on the rangers head. Setna suddenly collapsed onto the ground.


    ¡°Your ability isn¡¯t to disappear or vanish¡­¡± Zeke began to explain.


    ¡°...it¡¯s just that you teleport directly behind someone, every time.¡± Astral continued.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Zeke rushed over to Astral. She had been badly injured during the fight. So much so, that she had trouble walking due to the sheer pain she was in. Zeke did all he could to help. He removed the arrows and bandaged her wound, but she still wouldn¡¯t be able to fight for some time.


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Astral muttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m just glad we managed to beat her.¡± Zeke sighed in relief. Luckily his injuries from that fight were manageable.


    ¡°Speaking of which, what are we gonna do with her?¡± Astral pointed to the now unconscious Setna. ¡°You hit her pretty hard on the head.¡±


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t just kill her can we? That¡¯d make us just as bad those players that attacked people in Mindel.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just leave her either¡­¡± Zeke thought out loud. ¡°Nonetheless we gotta get somewhere safe soon, revenants are gonna find us anytime from now, and we can¡¯t fend them off like this.¡±


    ¡°I think I know a place.¡± Astral explained to Zeke. Using her instructions he found a part of the fountain that was loose and pulled on it. Suddenly a few tiles from the plaza were pulled to the side revealing a staircase underground.


    ¡°Woah.¡±


    ¡°This is what I wanted to check out.¡± Astral commented. ¡°The catacombs of Mindel.¡±

 Chapter 6 - aBOreSSs

    ¡°Ugh! Why did I break it!¡± Zeke threw his fists onto the cold stone brick wall. ¡°What am I supposed to fight with, now that my guitar is gone?¡±


    ¡°Well I guess there¡¯s no worrying about it anyways.¡± Zeke said as he slid down the catacombs wall and sat down onto the floor. ¡°We¡¯re probably just gonna have to lay low for a bit here anyways , right Astral?¡± Looking for a response, Zeke turned his head towards the girl, who was laying down.


    ¡°Oh. She¡¯s asleep.¡± Zeke sighed. ¡°She did take most of the injuries during the fight anyways, she deserves it.¡±


    At the moment, the two adventurers were holed up in a dead end hallway near the entrance of the Mindel catacombs. The underground crypt was dark, awfully quiet and smelled of sewage. Nevertheless, it served as an effective hiding place. Only the occasional low level rat could be found here, so the catacombs were about as safe as Zeke and Astral were going to get.


    ¡°Man, I really shouldn¡¯t have broken that guitar.¡± Filled with feelings of defeat, Zeke repeatedly sulked. ¡°What am I supposed to do now, punch monsters? I barely do any damage to begin with. Hell, Astral has pretty much carried me this entire time.¡± Zeke took a step back and sighed. ¡°At least we beat Setna and now she¡¯s here with us.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°So what are we supposed to do with her?¡± Zeke asked. ¡°We can¡¯t just leave her.¡±


    ¡°I really couldn¡¯t care less about that traitor, she could die and become a revenant or whatever and I¡¯d be happy.¡± Astral responded.


    ¡°Well¡­ okay. But what if she has useful information or something?¡± Zeke propped Astral on his shoulder and began to help her over to the catacombs entrance. ¡°She could tell us why she backstabbed us and what the hell is going on.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s a fair point. The more we know the better.¡±


    ¡°Definitely , maybe she¡¯ll be able to help us find a way to log off from SeraphStar.¡±


    ¡°That being said, once she tells us what¡¯s going on, I¡¯m killing her.¡± Astral walked into the catacombs and began looking for somewhere to rest.


    ¡°Sure, okay.¡± Zeke carried Setna¡¯s unconscious body, into the catacombs.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°They''re both out, so I guess it¡¯s just me now.¡± Zeke stood up and began walking down the hallway. ¡°Might as well take a stroll, while I¡¯m here.¡±


    The Mindel catacombs serve a dual purpose as a burial ground and as a sewer system. Some corridors contain long stretches of green fluid, and others hold ornate graves and coffins. Outside of useful game lore though, the catacombs are really just a forgotten dungeon few players ever visit. It¡¯s not mandatory to complete it and the monsters drop little experience. Grognak¡¯s dungeon made more sense as a place for players to explore early game.


    ¡°Oh shit!¡± A rat emerged from a crack within the stone wall, startling Zeke. ¡°Oh god, what do I do?¡± He began to panic.


    The rat slowly walked in a circle then encroached upon Zeke. As it grew closer, he suddenly jerked forward.


    ¡°Eat this!¡± Zeke punched the rat directly in its face. The monster squealed and squirmed it¡¯s way back into the wall and out of sight.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t even able to one shot a level one rat.¡± Zeke shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m level twenty one, I should¡¯ve been able to do it. Welp, I reckon I¡¯ve gotta get stronger. There''s no other way we¡¯re gonna be able to escape this game if I¡¯m struggling to a monster like that.¡±


    ¡°Did you say escape?¡± An unknown voice called from behind Zeke.


    ¡°What!? Who¡¯s there?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Oh! Seer, I was looking for you.¡± A middle aged woman wearing a long black dress pushed her way through a crowd of high schoolers to reach a short blonde boy. ¡°Here are your test results from the SAT.¡± She handed the boy a couple papers, then ran off looking for someone else.


    ¡°Oh thank you miss.¡± Seer, a small shy boy responded. He wore a blue and black hoodie and ripped jeans. He slouched and limped everywhere he went. This created a very unwelcoming demeanor for Seer. Very few of his fellow classmates talked to him much, and for that matter he was alright with it, as school still managed the second most comfortable place for Seer in his life.


    Seer tossed the papers into his mess of a backpack and began the journey back home. He rode public transit and the route took him about thirty minutes to make it to his house in the suburbs. All throughout this trek, his stomach growled. Seer punched his gut repeatedly to hold back the hunger.


    Finally, the boy arrived at his home, a lopsided small red brick house overshadowed by the bigger homes surrounding it. Despite that, Seer trotted up through the lawn of dead grass and pushed past the broken door into his home.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that bullshit Derrick! You say that every goddamn time! I¡¯m sick of it!¡± A blonde haired woman wearing a blouse and blue panties shouted.


    ¡°Mom¡¯s drinking again.¡± Seer muttered and began walking to his room.


    ¡°You never fucking satisfy me!¡± Seer¡¯s Mother, Faith slammed her hands onto her husband''s chest. ¡°Stand up for yourself for once! All you do is work and work, then come home empty handed! You¡¯re making barely any money Derrick, and now your wife is living in a shithole!¡± Tears began to well up in Faith¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Honey, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡± Derrick, a brown haired man in his thirties wearing a ragged business suit began to caress his wife¡¯s bob cut hair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that shit again!¡± She slapped his hand away.


    Seer paused and slowly crept his way over to his door. ¡°She hasn¡¯t noticed me, yet.¡± He stepped over piles of dirty clothes and empty pizza boxes to reach his door, coincidently the only door that actually worked in the house. He carefully turned the knob and pushed the door open.


    ¡°Where the fuck, do you think you¡¯re going!?¡± Seer¡¯s Mother yelled across the room.


    The boy froze, unsure of what to do. Faith jumped over a damaged couch and landed behind her son.


    ¡°The school sent me an email¡­¡± She began to explain.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Seer swiftly darted into his room and attempted to slam the door behind him. Unfortunately, Faith threw her hand inside and pried open the door. She grabbed her son from the top of his hair, dragged him out of his room, then lifted him in the air.


    ¡°They sent me a copy of your test scores from the SAT.¡± She let go of her son and he slammed onto the ground below. ¡°You got a fucking composite score of seven ten! Seven fucking ten!¡± She yelled.


    Seer lowered his head in defeat and stared at the ground.


    Tears appeared in Faith¡¯s eyes. ¡°How are you supposed to support your mother like this?¡± She quickly wiped them away, sighed and walked into the kitchen. She returned with a beer bottle in her hands and slumped down onto the couch. ¡°Oh! And don¡¯t worry about dinner, because you won¡¯t be having any!¡±


    This was a common occurrence for Seer. He would be left with an immense feeling of anger and dissatisfaction after being scolded when he came home. His mother was ruthless and he hated it. Furious, it enraged him down to his core. However, what always kept him from lashing out was his father.


    When Seer would look at his father, his feelings of anger would quickly be replaced with a more melancholy emotion. His father was powerless to do anything to stop Faith. In the end, he would just shake his head and cry himself to sleep. This left Seer with dissatisfaction every single day. In the end, there was only one thing that was keeping Seer happy.


    After having withstood Faith¡¯s outbreak, he slowly creeped into his room and shut the door behind him. He walked over, turned on his monitor and booted up his PC. Blue light filled the dark room and Seer began entering his login credentials.


    Throughout it all, there was one thing that kept Seer sane, and that was SeraphStar. When he was in the virtual world, no longer could people look down on him or mock him. Instead he was someone people looked up to and held in high regards. He was a hero.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Do I make myself clear?!¡± Drimrock stood within a large plaza in the center of town, speaking to a large group of a few hundred players. All of them sat on the ground and stared at the tiles on the floor in silence. A few members of the guild patrolled the hostages and kept them in line for Drimrock¡¯s speech.


    The hulking Warlord, stomped into the crowd and dragged out a low-level black haired female mage. ¡°Where the hell are you hiding him?¡± Drimrock¡¯s breath formed bubbles on the woman¡¯s face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± She muttered.


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Drimrock shouted and dropped the girl to the ground. ¡°As a matter of fact, I know that you all have a little hideout within this ransack of town, and you¡¯re hiding him away from me, because you think you¡¯ll get something out of it! You think he¡¯ll save you!¡±


    ¡°Well, I got some news¡­¡± Drimrock reached behind him and pulled out a larger double sided battle axe and decapitated the woman.


    ¡°Now I don¡¯t like to repeat myself, so listen close.¡± He roared at the ongoing crowd ¡°This city, Garoh, is now mine! I¡¯m going to tear this city apart if I have too!¡±