《The Game》 Prologue Max''s life ended at the psychiatrist. He was talking to the psychiatrist looking for help with his relatively messed up life. "And all my anger and hate and stuff" said Max "it just seems to increase and pile on. I cant seem to release any of it. It feels like it''s gathering in the center of my chest" At that the psychiatrist perked up. "Your hate and anger and rage feel like its loged in your chest right underneath you sternum?"This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "Yeah! Is that a thing?" "Yes and not many know of it." The psychiatrist knelt in front of Max and placed a hand on his shoulder. "There is somthing I am required to inform you" "What?" Asked Max defensively. Suddenly he felt somthing slam into his chest and he heard the sound of glass shatter. He looked down and saw the psychiatrist''s hand sticking through his chest. The last thing he heard was "Welcome to The Game." And then he blew up. Chapter 1 "Hello" said an overly cheerful voice. Max''s awareness gradually returned and all he could see was black. He couldn''t feel his body and he seemed to be blind. "Where am i?" He thought to himself. "Am I in a hospital? Did the psychiatrist paralyze me or something?" "Welcome to The Game" the voice once again proclaimed. "I will be your guide throughout your journey." "Who is that? What are you talking about? Are you with the that psycho?" "My name is Sophie. I will be your guide and first subordinate as you travel The Game and entertain the gods." "What the hell are you talking about?" "You will understand in a moment" Suddenly a blue window appeared in the darkness.
Max Hill Rank 0 Teir 0 Level 0
af34e54 Ent 3 Emp 163 Exp 0
-3
Str 7 Fortitude 53
Dex 3 Endurance 71
Int 5 Mana 50
Wis 4
CREATE
"What the hell is that?" Asked Max. "That" replied Sophie "is your stat screen with you will need in order to have even the tiniest chance of surviving" "What does it all mean?" "I''ll get to that later but right now select the create option." Max thought create and the window closed itself before he found himself in front of a large rotating double helix. "Why is there a giant DNA strand in front of me?" He inquired. "That is you DNA. You got pretty lucky with you sponsor" "Lucky how? He''s the asshole who stabbed me in the chest and now I''m here wherever this is." "Lucky because your sponsor is a rank 7 and if he haven''t sent you here someone else would have and he would not have been as highly ranked." "And high rank is good because?..." "You get to start The Game with a little more of an advantage and trust me you need every little bit you can get your hands on." "Ok so now what do I do?" "Since your sponsor is a rank 7 you are able to change you DNA hence the giant spinning double helix. This gives you a couple of advantages and one glaring disadvantage. Modifying your DNA allows greater more significant changes and at a lower cost. It also allows you to provide your offspring, should you have any, with the same advantage. However each level up, teir up and rank up will cost significantly more Exp, Emt and Emt." "I know what Exp is" Max said "but what are the other two?" "Emt is emotional energy and Ent is entertainment you provides to the gods. More about that later. Right now let''s focus on you improving your weak, soft, fleshy little body. Focus on the giant spinning thing." Max complied and a list of available improvements as well as their editing cost appeared in front of him.
Max Hill Base: Human
DNA 1216
Skeletal
Musculature
Appendages
Organs
Presets
"Any recommendations?" "Always go with the presets. They insure any improvements you make are supported. For example if you improve your hearing the presets also improve the brains ability to filter and understand what you are hearing. The body is an incredibly intricate and balanced machine. Destabilize it in the slightest and it all collapses." "So why even give the option?"This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Its kind of a test to see if people are worth watching" Sophie explained dryly. "But mainly because the gods find it hilarious when a new player shows up, boosts his strength all the way up, bends down to pick up a tree and shatters every bone in his body." "Ok gonna remember not to do that." Max quickly thought presets and a new window appeared.
Skeletomuscular upgrade: Increases muscle strength by 300% and muscle density by 150%. Increases bone strength by 200% and bone density by 200%. Strengthens organs and improves metabolic efficiency. Cost: a3
Sensory upgrade: Improves sight, hearing, smell and taste as well as touch. Allows for filtration of unwanted sensory content. Improves brains sensory processing. Cost: d5
Defensive upgreade: Increases skin tensile strength by 5000%. Increases skeletal integrity by 500%. Improves organs resistance against shock. Cost: e1
Neuromuscular upgade: Increases neural impulse speed by 150%. Improves reaction time. Improves processing speed. Cost: 5f
Cerebral upgrade: Improves intelligence. Improves wisdom. Cost: 1a5
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"What the heck is with the costs. What does it even mean?!" "Oh! Right. The gods like screwing with people so all the numbers are hexadecimal. Base 16." "Seriously! The hell! Why? Just why?" Max slumped, defeated. "So how much does everything cost in numbers I can understand?" "Never mind that right now" the voice commanded "Take all five of the basic upgrades. You''re gonna need them and they are worth every point. The rest you can think of things you would want to improve or add and look for it in the presets list." Max, having no other ideas and all five options looking pretty attractive obeyed and selected Skeletomuscular upgrades.
You have selected Skeletomuscular upgrades do you wish to add for a3 DNA? YES? NO?
Max chose yes and saw the counter on his bottom left fo from 1216 to 1173. "So a3 equals 43?"he asked Sophie. "No." The voice replied chuckling. "It''s 163 in base ten. Your DNA points are also in hex." Max grimaced. "Oh. Should have realized that." He swiftly selected the next four upgrades clicked yes and saw his points go - apparently - down to db9. "Ok. This is just frustrating. What does db9 even mean?" "Don''t worry. You''ll get the hang of it. Now that you have the basic upgrades, is there any thing else you want to add or improve?" "I wanna fly." "Well, there is flight magic you can learn at about ra.." "No. I mean wings. Great big bat wings." "Umm. There are such options." Sophie explained, hesitantly. "But major additions to you body are quite expensive and I''m not sure you have enough points." "How do I check?" "Select more and look for it I should be under flight or wings." As soon as the voice told him what to do he quickly did so and looked down the list that appeared, exited and hopeful. He soon found it under Wings.
Wing addition: Adds avian or mammalian wings. Decreases weight by 250%. Adds appropriate skeletomuscular support. Cost: ffc
"Do I have enough?" Max asked praying to who ever the gods were. "No." Max slumped. "But" Mac perked up. "If you desperately want it now you have two options." Max waited for the voice to continue. "You can either remove or reduce on of your already selected upgrades. Or you can get the wing but with reduced capabilities." "If I reduce their capabilities, will they still be usable?" "Dependes on which capabilities you reduce. If you reduce the skeletomuscular support''s muscle strength it will make the wings useless at the start but as you exercise them you will be able to gradually use them more and more." Max thought for a bit. "Let''s go with that. How do it?" "Just select the wings. I can do the rest"
You have selected Wing addition. You do not have eought DNA to add Wing addition. Do you wish to modify Wing addition to reduce its cost? YES? NO?
"Hold on a sec....there we go."
You have selected Wing addition l. Do you wish to add for ffa DNA? YES? NO?
Max immediately chose yes and his DNA counter went down to two. "How much do I have left?" Sophie giggled "two." "Oh..... What can I do with that?" "Mostly cosmetic stuff. Make yourself look better." "How much better are we talking about" "Well, out of ten, with ten being an absolute god, two points will get you to about a seven and a half. About average." "A seven out of ten is average?" Max exclaimed. "Almost everyone uses their spare DNA or points on cosmetic changes so yes, seven and a half is average." "Alright let''s do that. Ho..." "I''ll do it. There we go. All done." "Now what?" "Now your brand new body gets made and we head down to The Board" "The Board? We?" "Oh?" The voice giggled again "I''m coming with. Don''t want me along?" Sophie said sounding pouty. "No! Not at all I was just surprised that you said we are going down." Max said hurriedly. "Didn''t you hear what I said before. I''m gonna be your guide throughout your journey. We''re stuck together whether we like it or not. Though you do seem better than what I''ve heard about other players" "Ok then. Nice to have you on board Sophie." "On board. snort that''s a good one" "What?" "Never mind. Thank you for having me. Night night." The DNA strand in front of Max vanished and the world started to spin. "See you in ... well, a bit." Then everything shut down. Chapter 2 Freeze! Max, hearing Sophie scream froze. "What''s the matter?" he asked, whispering. Dont say anything. The voice replied. I can hear your thoughts if you think them at me. Ok Max thought. What''s the matter? You have a choice you can make. Sophie explained You can chose between a quick power growth or a slower more painful growth but with greater potential down the line. Is it even a question? Definitely the latter. What''s the catch? Pain. Lots and lots of pain. That''s it! You made it sound all ominous . What''s a little bit pain between friend? What did I need to do. Bend down and pick up the flower in front of you came the reply Max complied and saw a small red flower standing all by its lonesome. It had no leaves or anything just a thin green stalk and a bright red flower on top like the worlds skinniest bobblehead. Max plucked it and asked Now what? Stand up and walk straight until I tell you to stop. Then turn right Max walked forward for about 15 feet before Sophie told him to stop after wich he turned right. Now walk straight for another 15 feet and pick every plant I tell you too. Max walked and every few feet the voice would tell him to pick that flower or this mushroom or some other grass. 15 feet later he was told to turn right again and walk 30 feet forward again picking plants left and right. 30 feet later he turned right again and walked another 30 feet. He turned right and walked 15 feet back to where he started. This time Sophie made him sidestep about a foot and walk another circuit just inside his previous one picking plants all the while. He did so in an ever shrinking square until he got back the point where he had woken up where ever he was. At some point his pockets had gotten full to the point he had to carry every thing in his shirt front. Now sit down Sophie told him and he sat down, carefully holding his shirt up so that none of the plants spilled. Immediately after he sat down a large stone bowl appeared right where the first flower had been. Put everything in the bowl. Max slowly poured his spoils in, watching as the greens liquefied the moment they entered the bowl, gradually changing color as more and more plants fell in and liquefied. When he had depleted his shirt front he put what he had in his pockets in. The bowl grew more and more full and then he placed the last plant, the flower he had first picked, in. The second it entered the mixture, the fluid began to swirl, and changed to a deep crimson. A few moments later the liquid settled and Sophie spoke up startling Max. Let me warn you The voice intoned. Drinking that will give you a greate advantage but will cause you alot of agony. Are you sure that you want to go through with this? Heck no. But I''m still gonna go with it. Max grabbed the bowl and drank it down. As he felt it settle in his stomach a pulse of agony swept through his body. He screamed feeling as if his body was burning in lava, at the same time being dunked in liquid nitrogen, while a building collapsed on him during a tornado as he was being thrown about. He felt himself age a thousand years as space around him pressed in and he was thrown into a black hole. The pain went on for an indeterminate period of time as he got dissolved in acid and his body rot. Finally the agony came to an end and a notification dinged in his mind You have acquired Universal Resistance Max slowly pushed himself off the floor and sat up. "Well that was worse than I expected" he said, hoarsely. I did warn you Sophie told him Yeah but all you said was agony. That wasn''t agony that was torture personified. What did I get out of that? Look at your status window you''ll see. Status Max thought.
General Information Attributes
Name Max Hill Name Value
Sex Male STR 15
Level 0 0/3E8Exp DEX D
Resistance Universal AGI F
Level 0 0/3E8Prg END 13E
Species N/A INT F
Teir 0 WIS C
Class N/A HP 636/636
Rank 0 MP 43/43
"So I got Universal as my resistance. What does that mean?" Each Player can have one resistance, Sophie explained. Whichever resistance you pick up first, you''re stuck with. However when a player first joins they have a chance slash choice to get Universal Resistance wich is what it says, a resistance to everything. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. How many Players have it? Almost none. You can only get it right when you start playing and haven''t move at all before you pick up your universe. That little read flower? Max inquired Yup. And after you pick it you cant move more than 15 feet from where you start. And you need to pick a whole bunch of weird plants. Never mind the agony you go through. Most people would through all the hassle but they miss their chance and wander off before their companion stops them. Lucky me I listened. Yes but now you need 100 more Exp than everyone else to level up. 100! Max exclaimed, startled. That''s it? Not 100 more, Sophie clarified, 100 times more. Max nearly keeled over in shock. That much?! How is it worth it? What the hell did you make me do?! he fumed. Of course it''s worth it or I wouldn''t have told you to do it, Sophie said trying to calm him down. Which resistance you have also decided what magic you can use not only what magic you are most vulnerable to. How does your resistance determine what magic you can use? If you had ice resistance, could you imagine trying to channel fire magic through your body? Ouch was all Max could think So, the voice continued, anyone with Universal resistance can use all magic equally well and has no magic they are weak towards. And equally well means using fire magic as well as a mage with fire resistance. Ok. That''s pretty neat. But is it worth needing100 times the experience? It will be. Trust me, it will be. Weirdly enough I do trust you. I just met you and I trust you with my life. Why the hell is that? It''s part of The Game. Every Player trusts their guide and every guide cannot betray their Player. Why can''t I not trust you? I''m trying to not trust you. Maybe you''re lying to me. Maybe this is just a trap but I can''t. What the hell. What the hell. I''m trying and i just can''t. For what its worth the voice said, sadly I''m sorry. I really am. I don''t understand what you''re going through but I''m sorry for causing you distress. Thanks. It hel... aaahhhrrrggg. Again. I''m trying to not believe you but something is forcing me to. Max stood and started banging his head against the nearest tree. "Why. Can''t. I. Not. Trust. You." I''m sorr... Its fine. I''ll hit over it. Also sorry. It''s not that I mind trusting you or that I wouldn''t have trusted you, it''s just that I cant stand something forcing me to trust someone. Here to hoping I wont get betrayed by someone I''m forced to trust Max thought wryly. I won''t Sophie promised, solemnly. No matter what I swear I wont betray you. "Whatever" Max said. I''ll figure it out. Now what? He stretched, arms and wings feeling a bit stiff. Max''s mind stuttered to a halt. Wings? He looked over his shoulder and saw two pitch black bat wings sticking out of his shoulder blades. How the hell did I not notice them until now. Well you were a bit preoccupied until now Sophie pointed out True. He stretched them out and flapped them, as best he could in the middle of the woods, feeling out the new but familiar experience. Magic again I guess. Max took a look atound for the first time. He was in a forest with a relatively thin canopy, the sun shining through with its mid morning or mid afternoon light. Alright, where are we and where to now? We''re about three miles south of the nearest town. It''s a good place to stay for a bit. Mostly low Teir people around here. Great. Let''s go. Which way? Uh... "Great" Is it morning or afternoon? Huh? Afternoon. Why does it "That-a-way" He proclaimed, pointing in what he inferred was north and began walking What makes you so sure? The sun Max answered. Rises in the east sets in the west. Afternoon it''s closer to west, opposite it is east so turn 90 degrees with west to your left and that''s north. Makes sense I guess. Sophie said, slightly dubious. Better than nothing. While I''m walking Max asked, can you explain to me what are Teirs, Ranks, Emt and Ent are? Ranks are levels of existence. I can''t think of a better term. A Rank zero trying to fight a Rank one is like a small puppy trying to fight a person. And it gets worse the higher the Rank. A Rank one against a Rank two is like a mouse trying to fight person. The higher ones rank the more you can do the more powers you have etc. Then comes Teirs. The higher ones Teir the more evolved they are and the more powers of their rank they can use. That''s the next most difficult difference to overcome. The only thing that can balance that is the level of your sponsor. A Teir 5 with a Rank 2 sponsor is not as powerful as a Teir 4 with a Rank 6 sponsor. After that is level. It means very little. All it tells you is how close to your next evolution you are and how much hp or mp you have. Emp and Ent? Emp, the voice continued, is Emotional Points. How many units of emotional energy were directed at you. It can be either positive emotions or negative. What form the emotions have can determine what direction your evolution takes. If it''s mostly negative, then you will evolve into a more evil form and have more base impulses. If its mostly positive emotions than you will have a more angelic evolution and have more altruistic feelings. Evolving can affect my emotions? Yes, Sophie explained. Not much you can do about that. You can choose which way you want them to change but not much you can do to stop the change from affecting you. What if they are equal? Huh? What if there is equal amounts of positive and negative emotions? I dont know. I dont think any one has tried that before. Why not? My assumption is that it''s impossible. Whatever it''s not important right now. Ent? That is the Entertainment that you''ve provided a god. Anything they find funny or sad or anything entertaining, you''ll get points. Depending on how much you entertained that deity that''s how many points you will receive. The more you rank up the more points you''ll need for the next rank up. And if the god doesnt want to give the points? That has never happened. The system is completely honest. Also, it gets more lonely the higher your rank gets so rankers are always waiting for more people to get up to them so they can fight. You rarely find a ranker suppressing someone lower ranked than them. It gets more true the higher up the ladder you go. There''s no fights for land or artifacts? Max asked, surprised Not really. An artifact that a Rank two can use is mostly useless to a Rank three and vice versa. A Rank two isnt powerful enough to use a Rank three item. In regards to land, when a Player hits Rank five, The Board expands and creates a new plot of land for the Player to rule as they wish. The land disappears upon their death, making war mostly pointless. The lower ranked Players on the destroyed land do sometimes go on to try and conquer other lower ranked Players but generally only the land of their equals is worth the bother. So there really aren''t many reasons for a higher ranked Player to attack a lower ranked one. Well that''s a relief Max thought, sighing. Thanks for that explanation. Where are we headed? A small town, Sophie answered. The ruler is a Rank two so try not to annoy him. I thought you said they don''t mess with lower rankers. They do if you annoy them enough so try not to. Got it. Don''t bother a man who can squish me like a bug. Thanks. They walked for another hour in companionable silence before they left the forest. A half hour later they crested a hill and before them was the town. Chapter 3 Sprawled out in front of Max was a large town, almost a city, with a thick stone wall at least 20 feet tall topped by crenellations and patrolled by armed and armored guards. A large gated entrance, with two guards posted outside, granted entry into the city. Max continued walking and reached the gate 15 minutes later. As Max approached the two guards called out. "Papers please?" "I don''t have any." "Why don''t you?" the guard on the right asked suspicious Its ok Sophie reassured him, tell them you''re a new player. They won''t try anything. "I''m a new player. I just arrived in this world." "Oh! Why didnt you say so." The guard on the left said, weirdly excited. "Please enter." "The Game House is straight down then make a left at the main road. Big building with a chessboard painted on the sign." Max entered the gates after thanking the guards. Game House? He asked Sophie. I was about to tell you to go there, the guide explained. It helps Players play. It''s kind of like adventures or hunters guild of video games wich are modeled after it. Which are modeled after it? They''ve existed for thousands of years. What do you think came first? Max had nothing to say to that so he began to rubberneck. The tunnel through the wall that was the gate was about ten feet long and had slits along the sides and top, presumably to allow defenders to rain arrows and boiling oil on attackers. He shivered at the thought of having to charge through a storm like that. A few moments later he passed through the gate tunnel into the town. He was forced to blink for a second as the sudden brightness blinded him. Lining the road ahead were several inns and taverns, separated from the wall surrounding the town by a good thirty feet. As he walked down the street he saw all kind of people going in and out of various shops. Elves, dwarfs, people with animalistic features, a few people with almost demonic appearances. Some weren''t even people as ha saw what looked like a large wolf walk up to a stall set up on the main road, and began bartering with the shop keeper. After they came to an agreement the shopkeeper reached into the wallet hanging on the wolf''s neck and pulled out coins one by one. When the agreed amount was reached the wolf nodded and the shopkeeper placed the item he had purchased into another bag on the animal''s neck and the wolf walked away, seemingly satisfied. Stunned, Max kept walking until he saw the sign the guards had described. The building it was hanging from was quite large, taking up at least 10,000 square feet and three stories tall. The chessboard on the sign looked so real Max felt an impossible desire to play a game right then and there. Shaking has head he turned to the massive double doors granting entry to the House. Walking up to the massive slabs of wood he grabbed the knob and heaved. Shocking Max, the doors calmly swung open, causing him to stumble back and nearly fall on his backside. A few groups of people were gathered just inside the door all of them looking over at him chuckling. "A newbie" someone called out. Flushing furiously, Max walked through the doors and took a cautious look around. The room was quite full with most of the right side and center of the the room was taken up by a pud slash eatery. On the opposite side, half the back wall and most of the left was lined with counters, with receptionists behind most of them, dealing with customers and seemingly managing House business. Go over to the counters, supplied Sophie. They''ll help you get started. Still embarrassed, Max walked over to an unoccupied counter, behind wich stood a lightly scarred, well muscled man in his late forties. "Don''t sweat it kid," he told Max. "Happens to all the newly descended Players." "Descended?" "Players that weren''t born on The Board," he explained. "Now then, I''m assuming you''re here for you''re starter kit?" "I guess?" he replied when Sophie didnt say anything. "Great! Follow me." The House employee led him up the stairway, tucked in the front left corner of the House which Max hadn''t noticed until then, to the third floor and showed him into a largish room with a pedestal in the center and a back wall lined with various weapons. "Alright kid," the man said. "Pick your starter weapon. After that I''ll explain a few things and get you started." Max walked to the weapons rack and looked at the various weapons. There were maces, axes, longswords, broadswords, and many others. Max looked over them, picked a few up, gave them a swing or two but non of them felt right. He tried a few more, all of them still lacking until he saw a pair of blades tucked away in the corner. He walked over to them and picked the two up. They were both about eighteen to twenty inches long, somewhere between a very long dagger and very short sword. Max swung one then the other and it perfect, natural almost.
You have unlocked Sword (Short,Dual) expertise.
Max turned toward the House employee, surprised. "Looks like you found the right weapon," he told him, chuckling. He rummaged around for a bit in a box on the side and pulled out a pair of sheaths. He took the blades from Max, sheathed them and then proceeded to help him put it on and adjust the straps until they were situated comfortably, a handle jutting out past each shoulder. The employee then pulled out a bag from behind the pedestal in the center of the room.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "Inside is gonna have most of the stuff you''ll need besides for food. A small tent, a bed roll, a flint and striker and a few more miscellaneous items." He put the bag down next to Max. "Now that we got that out of the way, time for you to get your first quest." "Quests?" "They''re primarily requests from The Game dor Players to do. Kill this, investigate that and other such fun and hearty business. Although Residents also often provide quests but the rewards are usually slightly smaller. Anyway, go over to the pedestal and place your hand on it." Max complied and a window appeared above the pillar.
Welcome to The Game I To get you started and get you your first Level Up... Kill 1F4 slimes. (0/1F4) Reward: Skill list.
"F..five hundred!" the man gaped. "Did something glitch? It''s supposed to be five!" Sophie!? I was not expecting that, came the reply. I should have, but I didn''t. Your first quest is to introduce you to combat, get you started with experiencing The Game and to get you your first level up. Since you need a thousand experience that means five hundred slimes as opposed to the five you would need normally. Great. "It seems I need 100 times more Exp than most to level up," he continued aloud "A hund... Oh! I understand now. Dont worry, all you information is completely confidential. None of this will be let known to anyone else. Hold on a moment." He waited a few seconds before reaching under the top of the pedestal and pulled out a small metal sheet. "This is your identification papers. You''ll need ot to get around on The Board. As a Player you have a bit more freedom of movement than most citizens. You can cross most border and enter most cities without trouble. Well, as long as you''re not wanted. That''s about it. Have a good hunt. And play on." "Thanks," Max replied. Where can I find the slimes? he asked Sophie as he left the room and headed down the stairs. They''re found mostly in dark and damp places. Ask any of the Players where the nearest entrance to the sewers are. There should be plenty of slimes there. When he got to the main hall a tall, slender female Player was heading toward the stairs. When she was about to walk past him... "Exuse me ma''am, do you know..." "The sewers?" She asked with a small smile. "Small door underneath the stairs. You can get in that way. Five slimes shouldn''t take you more than an hour or two. Once you get the hang of it the rest should go easy. Good luck and play on." She pat him on the shoulder and headed up the stairs. Five slimes, thought Max with a grimace. Try five hundred. If five take an hour how long will it take to do all five hundred. How long till nightfall? he asked Sophie. About three hours, the guide replied. Is that enough to finish the quest? It''s probably not enough time to find five hundred slimes let alone kill them all. You''ll just need to take it slow. You should be finished by noon tomorrow if all goes well. Max walked over to the door. On it there was a sign saying "Good luck newbie" and underneath it "Play on." Resigning himself, he opened the door and walked down the stairs behind it. What''s this "play on" everyone is going on about? It''s the standard farewell between players, answered Sophie. It''s kinda saying "keep it up" or "dont give up". A Player''s life is a hard, but satisfying one. So its polite to keep encouraging each other. When he got to the bottom of the stairs there was another door, which he passed through, and another door behind that with a sign. "DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR BEFORE CLOSING THE PREVIOUS DOOR". Logical enough so Max complied before walking through the second door. And then gagged. The stench was bad. Really bad. But... This is alot better than I expected he asked Your nose. It can smell a bit better now but it can also block the more unpleasant smells from effecting you. Also the slimes. They help keep the smell down. So why am I killing them? Players regularly come down to cull their numbers so they don''t take over and merely keep the smell down. "Got it." The sewer was dark but Max was still able to see pretty clearly, most likely from the sensory upgrade as well as from the tiny bits of light entering from drains situated randomly throughout the sewer. He started walking cautiously foward, carefully drawing his blades from behind his back, trying to make as little noise as possible. Wait a sec, can slimes even see or hear? No but they can feel vibrations like walking or noise so maybe kinda? Got it. Make as little noise as possible. He kept walking for a bit until he hit a crossroad. Which way? he pondered for a moment before shrugging and going straight. Of you''re not sure, keep doing what you''ve been doing. As he passed the next crossroad he felt more than saw, something jump toward his head and he instinctively swatted it away. He partially succeeded as the thing didn''t hit his head but instead stuck to his hand and he felt a somthing burning. When his head caught up to his body he looked at his hand and saw a brownish grayish silly-putty looking thing wrapped around his hand, eating away at it. Max then proceeded to panic, wildly waving his hand trying to get the thing off it. After a few moments he finally succeeded and the slime slid off and landed a few feet away and began to squirm away as fast as it could, wich in truth wasn''t very fast. His hand still burning, he walked up to it and, pissed, stabbed at it angrily. When he pulled the blade out, the slime began leaking a slightly viscous red fluid and started deflating. It still tried running away but Max continued stabbing it until he felt somthing hard underneath the tip and he pressed down. He felt somthing break and the monster finally stopped moving. He slumped against the wall, his environment totally forgotten, and looked at his hand. You could have told me slimes are ambush hunters, he complained to Sophie. Yes, but you wouldn''t have learned your lessons nearly as well. What lessons? he asked annoyed Sit down and think about them, his guide told hin sternly. He listened and sat, thinking over what he had done and what he could have done better. One, I should have asked Sophie or any other Player a slimes habits and weaknesses. Two, I should have been a lot more cautious and paid alot more attention to my surroundings. Three, I panicked. When I felt that thing wrap around my hand I panicked. I should have been a lot more calm and rational and thought thing through. There you go, came Sophie''s voice seemingly satisfied. Though you actually did the right thing shaking it off as apposed to cutting it. That would have spilled it acidic insides all over your arm, so good job with that at least. Yay for me, thought Max. Anyway, I''ve been wondering. Are you a girl or ... Max trailed off not sure how to continue and not sure why he was even asking. Of course I''m a woman!! Sofie yelled angry, her annoyance clearer than usual, despite her being a disembodied voice inside his head. What the hell did you think I am?! Max tried apologizing but all Sophie did was sniff and refused to speak with him no matter what he said. While the drama went on inside his head, he gingerly sheathed his blades happy that at least he hadn''t dropped them when he had been jumped. He then reached inside his pack and took out a bandage and a small jar of ointment. He carefully spread it on his hand, being especially careful with the patches missing skin, some of which showed bone. Despite his care, ot still hurt a fare bit but the ointment soothed the burn almost immediately. When all the raw and burnt areas had been covered, he proceeded to wrap his hand, careful to allow his hand the ability to hold his sword. Finished, he stood, shouldered his pack, then continued on, significantly more careful, paying attention to his surroundings and looking behind and around himself every so often. Oh, Max, he heard Sophie say. Hm? he asked absently as he looked around. The one direction no one remembers to look, she said, is up. Chapter 4 Alarmed, Max quickly looked up, trying to find whatever it was that Sophie had spotted. But try as he might there, he couldn''t see anything. What did you see? he asked hurriedly. Nothing actually, it was just a reminder not to only focus on your horizontal plane of view. Look above and below you too, not just around. Got it, he thought, slightly peeved. But why did you have to go and give me a heart attack? So you don''t forget, she replied, smug. You''ll remember this ''heart attack'' until looking up becomes second nature. I guess. Max admitted reluctantly. He continued walking through the sewer, now paying the ceiling some attention. A few minutes later a window appeared in front of him.
You have slain Slime (lv 1) +2 Exp +2 Cp, +1 Slime Acid
"Huh?" Max exclaimed, surprised. What is this? he asked Sophie. He stopped walking and slowly sat down, leaning against the wall. It''s a... she started to answer. I know what it is but why did it appear now? I killed the slime ages ago. Unless I didn''t, he though, suddenly worried. Maybe crushing the core doesn''t kill them?! Relax, Sophie told him. You killed it. The notification just doesn''t show up for a while after you kill anything, as long as you aren''t in combat. Why does The Game wait to tell you you killed somthing? It''s no fun if everyone keeps bashing until they get a notification that their opponent is dead. Its alot more fun if you have some poor schmucks going ''we got it'' and then have the monster kill them all. Sick twisted basterds, Max thought. I agree but sick twisted basterds. Fifteen minutes of walking straight later he encountered another slime. Again it ambushed him by leaping from a side route at a crossroad, or at least attempted to. When Max got to each intersection, he carefully looked both ways, making sure there were no slimes hiding on either side, so when the slime tried to get the jump on him he was ready and waiting. When the slime reached the apes of its flight he swung at it with his unharmed right hand, slapping it away with the flat of his blade. The monster flew away hitting the sewer wall before bouncing off and landing on the floor. Max quickly ran up too it and slashed it open with his left, causing the slime''s innards to flood out. He then fished around with his right blade, knocked the core out and promptly stepped on it, killing the monster. "That went much better" he said aloud, proud of his first proper kill. That''s what should have happened the first time if you had asked for more information about slimes and had a bit more situational awareness so dont get to full of yourself. Max''s frowned, properly chastised. But well done nonetheless, Sophie added and Max smiled. He continued walking and a few minutes later reached a dead end. "Now what?" Max thought for a bit then backtracked to the last intersection and turned left after scoring an x in the wall with his sword. He went down the length of the offshoot, killing another two slime the same way as the second one. When he reached the end of the branch he went back the way he came and went down the right side.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. A half hour down that offshoot the slime tried something new. The monster tried to hide itself on the ceiling and drop itself into Max''s head. Max noticed it ahead of time so he simply walked under it and when it tried to fall into his head he move aside and held his blade horizontally under it. When the monster hit the sword it split itself in half spilled its acid across the floor, exposing its core. Max once again stepped on it crushing it. Immediately a new window appeared in his vision.
You have mastered Sword (Duel, Short) expertise lv0 Sword (Duel, Short) expertise is now lv1
The swords in Max''s hands suddenly felt more familiar and seemed more dexterous and easier to use. "Hmm" he thought. Did this happen because I used the swords a bunch and learned how to use them better or because I killed a few monsters with them? he asked his guide. Its a combination of both, Sophie explained. When you gain or level up a skill, The Game overlays the the ability on your body and you need to kill a few monsters to allow your body to absorb and master the level of the skill before The Game overlays the next level. So from level zero to one, five slimes are enough. But I thought I needed a hundred times more Exp? That''s for your level, for skill levels you need the same as anyone else. "Got it. Thanks." Max kept up his search pattern. He walked down both sides of the branches of the sewer he started in, killing all the slimes he encountered. A few hours and 23 slimes later it began to get too dark to see so Max began to head back, 56 Exp richer and with Sword (Duel, Short) expertise at Lv 3. So level three weapon expertise at level zero. Is that good? he asked. Pretty good, his guide told him, but it gets exponentially harder as you go on so dont get full of yourself. A little hard. I by definition fill myself. Ok. That was horrendous, Sophie told him. I want to get out of your head right now and scrub myself with sandpaper. Dont ever say anything like that again. "Snrt." Doesn''t make it any less of a true statement, he retorted. Shut up. Max walked the rest of the way back bantering with the voice in his head, killing another slime before reaching the exit. He left the sewer, careful with the airlock and walked up the stairs. When he got to the top, there was a bucket on the landing with a sign saying " Please pour this over yourself before exiting the door". Shrugging, Max complied, grabbing the bucket of what looked like water and poured it over his head. As it fell over his head, body and clothes it seemed to grab the dirt and grime and pull it along with it. When the liquid reached the floor it evaporated, leaving nothing behind. Max gave his clothes a look and a careful sniff. They looked as though they had just come out of the wash and smelled like nothing. There was no smell at all. The wash had gotten rid of all the smell. "That''s insane" Max murmured. He walked out of the door in a daze, and stumbled over to a clerk. "I''d like a room asap. Don''t care what it''s like I just need one now." "Of course sir" they replied. "Top of the stairs second door on the right. First ten nights at The House are free. Go ahead sir. Do you need someone to escort you there?" "I''m good thanks." Max walked slowly away, practically crawled up th stairs, and fell into his room as soon as he got to it. He threw off his pack and collapsed into the bed. Max felt somthing digging into his back and belatedly remembered his swords. He sat up, shrugged them off and laid back down, holding them in front of him. He stared up at the two short swords, his mind whirling. Max could feel his body pressing uncomfortably on his wing but at this point he didnt care. When had first landed on ''The Board'' didnt quite get what was going. He was just reacting to what was going on and didnt have time to think. He was just responding to whatever the situation was. But when he felt the extremely alien feeling of some goo rolling down his body, cleaning it completely he just snapped out of his shock and his situation landed on him like a ton of bricks. He was in some freaking other world and he was somthing called a Player and he had no idea what the frick was going on. Max went over what had transpired over the course of a single day. His psychiatrist blew him up, then he went and proceeded to, apparently, modify his own DNA. After that was finished, he drank some weird potion, joined what was essentially an adventures'' guild. Then he almost died trying to kill a few slimes and barely dented the amount need for his quest. Max knew he wasn''t well adjusted to life on modern day planet earth. He was what some people would call a bit of a sociopath. Anyone he was close to he would do anything for. Anyone else didn''t matter. They didnt enter into his thoughts at all. If this world is anything like fantasy video games he thought, I can''t wait. Max went over to the door, locked it, placed one of his blades on the far side of the room, tucked the other under his pillow, and slipped under the blanket. He kept one hand on his sword as he lay on his side, careful not to lay on his wings. I gotta figure out the deal with my wings tomorrow was his last thought before he drifted off to sleep, a slightly evil smile still on his face.