《Irminsul - [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]》 Prologue A strange sound intruded into my ears, stabbing into them sharply, like I thought an icepick would. For a split-second, I had no idea just where on Earth I was and when my eyes opened, light flooded into them, causing me to blink the spots away. Keeping my eyes closed, for now, I focused on the sounds I was hearing and after a second or two, I realised what I was hearing, the sharp, creaking sounds of an axle in dire need of grease, a lot of grease, slowly grinding away far too close to my head and below me. That gave me a bit of direction, namely down, and I began to process what I was feeling below me. Whatever it was, it was hard and cold, making me think of metal, not the most pleasant of surfaces to sleep on. With that, if I included the failed attempt to see, I had checked three of my five senses, so I tried the next two together, taking a deep breath, taking in a riot of smells and tastes for me to experience. The air I sucked in was pleasantly chill, like a cool spring-morning, not sweltering hot, as my body was expecting. The smells, on the other hand, were less pleasant, even if I had no idea what most of them were. There was a smell of trees, of forest, rotting leaves, earth and vegetation, but far more overpowering was the smell of unwashed human, a stale smell of sweat with subnotes of blood, urine and feces. It reminded me of the perfume one of my teachers liked to use, only not quite as stinging. Deciding to brave the sensation of light again, I cracked open an eye, only squinting at first, least the evil, evil sun tried to stab me again, even turning my head away from the light to help. ¡°Hey you¡­¡± a voice disturbed my slow exploration, causing me to hurry a little. The voice was rough, male and adult, not one I had ever heard before. ¡°They caught you at the border, didn¡¯t they? Just like that thief over there.¡± the voice continued and I decided to find out who was talking to me. With a little effort, I managed to get into a sitting position, allowing me to get a good look around. The first thing I noticed was that my view was hampered by slightly rusty iron bars, all around me, affixed to the metal floor I had been lying on. A growl escaped me when my mind caught up, telling me that I was caged, like some animal. On the other side of the bars, not in a cage but bound with a pair of manacles, was the owner of the voice, at least he gestured to the side with his head and was looking at me. It was easy to recognise him for what he was, there were few races as famous as his, even if I had never seen one before, it was obvious that he was a dwarf. Well-kept beard, bald head, combined with a small yet wide stature, it didn¡¯t get any more obvious. Even sitting I could see that he was easily two heads shorter than I was, but then, I was a particularly tall example of my own race. But, just because he was short, I was not sure which of us would weigh more, he looked like he was rock-solid, muscles forged by either hard work or harder fighting gave him the appearance that he might be able to break open my cage with his bear hands. Which was likely why they were solidly bound. I followed his gesture and there, equally bound, was a reedy fellow, scraggy and unkempt looking, wincing away just from my look. ¡°Damn you monsters! I should not be here, I¡¯m not like you. If they hadn¡¯t been looking for you, I would have gotten away with the horse, I was well out of imperial territory when they caught me.¡± he complained in a whining voice.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The dwarf just chuckled, sounding like a rockslide going down hill, before answering. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Now, we are all brothers and sisters in the binds, thief.¡± ¡°Shut up back there!¡± a voice shouted from the front and for a moment, there was silence. I took that moment to take further stock of myself. When I tried to move my arms, I consciously realised that my arms were bound together, just like the dwarf¡¯s, and those manacles were the reason for my trouble with moving earlier. Looking down, I could see that they seemed to be solid iron, or maybe steel and that they seemed to be fused together seamlessly. Magic, undoubtedly. The thought caused another growl to emit from my throat. Otherwise, my hands looked fine, the backs covered in coarse, black fur with ash-grey stripes and ended in rough and tough nails, not quite claws but what I grabbed, wasn¡¯t getting away. Turning them, I saw the dark, leathery brown skin, tough and calloused from work. Up my arms, the black fur continued, covering me until it vanished under a coarse tunic, linen or maybe wool, I was not sure what kind of fabric it was, but I was quite sure it was the cheapest anyone could find. At least I was clothed. Rolling my neck told me that there was a collar around my neck, the idea eliciting another growl. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the monster, why is it growling like that?¡± the thief asked. ¡°She¡¯s young and unbroken. She must have fought the collar until she passed out. Admirable, but foolish.¡± the dwarf answered while I slowly raised my hands, hoping to find what I expected there. Luckily, the manacles were not affixed to the cage, simply there to keep me from moving as I wanted. Touching my face, I found my tusks, still intact, still as they should be, thank the Gods. Losing them would have been shameful. ¡°Where are they taking us?¡± I asked, finally acknowledging the other two. ¡°I don¡¯t know where we are going, but the Arena awaits. To fight, to die, for the entertainment of the humans and the glory of their Goddess.¡± the dwarf spit, before mumbling a curse under his breath. The thief, hearing those words, started to sob. ¡°No, no, no, that can¡¯t be, why would they want someone like me there? I¡¯m no fighter, I could never fight for the glory of Kallendra. There must be a mistake!¡± Again, the dwarf only laughed. ¡°Say your prayers, maybe cunning Fieth will hear you and let you get away.¡± he told the thief. For a few moments, nothing was said. After the wagon rounded a corner, I was able to see a town in the distance. ¡°It¡¯s Stormhelm. At least I can see some good dwarven craftsmanship, before they throw us into their arena, my ancestor¡¯s helped the humans build the city, long ago. In better days.¡± the dwarf mumbled, sounding almost pleased with himself. ¡°Young Orc, don¡¯t lose hope. There will be a time for you to break your shackles and when the time comes, you need to be ready. Believe me, we dwarves know that.¡± he told me, before falling silent again. A few minutes later, the wagon pulled through the open gates and I was able to look around. Sadly, it seemed to be early in the morning and there was nothing much to see. I focused on one of the humans on the street, a young looking fellow, judging by the closeness of the adult next to him his son. ¡°Whoah, those are monsters for the arena!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°You need to go back inside, son.¡± his father told him, taking him at the shoulder. ¡°But I want to see the monster, up close, before they are tamed.¡± he whined, trying to get a good look at me. Part of me wanted to spit at him, for looking at me like some animal in the zoo. But the green aura that surrounded him told me that it would be impossible. But I would heed the dwarf¡¯s advice. My time would come. After all, I had only just arrived in the world of Irminsol. Chapter 1 My eyelids felt unnaturally heavy, as if some supernatural force tried to close them. I was not quite sure which force that was, there were a few that might be responsible, chief among them the borning, droning voice of Mrs. Glesmer, trying to impart some pointless wisdom to us. Assisting the force that was the sedating effect of her voice was the knowledge that school was virtually over, as evidenced by the hollers of joy and pleasure from the rooms around us, as the teachers had given out the report-cards and released their charges a little earlier, accepting the pointlessness of trying to teach the literally last class of the school year. But not Mrs Glesmer, she was the type of teacher that would give the complete class detention, keeping us longer than necessary, out of sheer spite. Another force that might be responsible for my inattentiveness was the fact that it was warm, far too warm to think, which would make it hard to pay attention, even if Mrs Glesmer would be talking about something interesting. Which she was not. She never was. With superiour willpower, I managed to drag my eyes from the spot on the wall they had inspected for the last minute or so, while my mind was drifting through a daydream to the clock sitting at the front of the classroom. If anyone, ever, doubted relativity, I now had solid proof. There was no way that the class had only been in session for fifteen minutes, as the clock claimed, it felt like we had been here for at least an hour. Trying to keep my mind engaged, I looked around at my classmates, the same faces that had accompanied me the last two years, ever since I got to Highschool and who likely would accompany me the next two years. I could only see a few of them, all of them in profile, as my seat was next to the window in the front-row, normally a good seat, allowing me to either gaze out of the window or to keep my attention on the teacher but right now, looking out would only depress me, watching all students who had sane teachers, leave early was not fun, not while sitting here, listening to her drone on about the importance to keep up our work during the summer-break. Certainly, everyone would work on their french vocabulary, it wasn¡¯t as if we hadn¡¯t anything better to do. And if she believed that, I had a bridge to sell to her, she only had to get to Brooklyn to claim it. I twisted a little, allowing me to see those behind me, realising that most of them were as bored as I was. For a second, I focused on Andrea Martolin, my personal nemesis of a year and a half, before letting my mind wander on. Maybe, this year would be the one that she followed in the footsteps of her great idol, Regina George, and get run over by a bus. Unlikely, but one could dream. After a moment or two of pleasant visions of her, getting hit by a bus, playing out in my head, I focused on something more productive, like planning for the break. Sadly, despite the fact that I had no obligations I was not quite sure what I wanted to do. I had thought about getting a summer job, but there were few in the sleepy town I called home, more a village really. It was mostly a feeder-community for the nearby cities and without a car, it was difficult to get anywhere. Sure, there was public transport, but that had limits and, considering that I was spending little of my allowance, I didn¡¯t really need a job, not to the point that I was willing to spent over an hour each day sitting in the bus, just to work. My father had suggested that I could help him go over some class-material, which sounded interesting, but it wouldn¡¯t be anything that took up serious time, merely a few days of an ten weeks-break. What made me more than a little sad was that, for the first time, there would be no family vacation, due to my brother leaving for University. He had managed to talk our parents into letting him take the car for a month, making a road-trip with his girlfriend and another couple, visiting important cultural sites.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Knowing my brother, they even would do that, but only for an hour or two during the day, afterwards, they would have fun. That meant I would spent the whole break at home, or at least in the city, not going on vacation. And I knew that my best friend, Therese, would be gone for most of it, her family visiting her aunt. It didn¡¯t sound terribly exciting but it beat staying at home. At least for the first two weeks. After that, I would be quite happy to be at home or at least near a reliable internet-connection. In two weeks, one of the big three was releasing their newest VR-MMORPG, called Irminsul, mostly standard fantasy fare, but I was planning to convince my father to allow me to go full-dive on that one. No more perphing for me, even if it had its advantages. My ruminations were interrupted when the small part that kept listening to Mrs. Glesmer reacted to my name being called. ¡°Ms Blake, your report card. Well done.¡± there were few people who could make the complement of ¡°well done¡± sound like an insult, especially while handing out a good report card. It wasn¡¯t as if I had slacked off during the year, I had done my work and the card showed it, with high grades in the all-important stem-classes and a few of the humanities. Granted, the grade she had given me was the lowest on the card, but I had passed her class, despite her command of the sedative voice. ¡°Thank you, Mrs Glesmer.¡± I replied, forcing myself to keep the acid out of my voice, knowing that she would remain our homeroom-teacher and that she was like an elephant, excellent memory and vindictive as hell. She continued the slow task of passing out the cards and her caustic compliments, slowly making her way down the alphabet. But even the slow torture she was inflicting on us was coming to an end and after a ¡°I wish you all a pleasant break.¡± in which she had packed as much ¡°I hope you all die¡± as she could, we were free. My first action was to take out my computer-headband, settling it on my head and instantly feeling the connection to the chip in my head. It was something I had had all my life, well, almost. My parents had had it implanted when I had been three so memories of the time before were sketchy at best, quite possibly phantom images my mind had made up when hearing stories about that time, it was impossible to know. And it hardly mattered, now that I had the headband on, I was able to interface the chip with the processors inside, allowing me to actually do something with it. Otherwise, it was merely an unplugged input/output device, completely useless. The first thing I did was call up my music, filling my mind with tales from the elvenpath. The next was a quick check if my dear brother had been merciful and decided to get me, but sadly, my inbox was empty and I would have to take the bus, like everyone else. Around the school, everything was the predictable mad-house as two-thousand students tried to either find the car that was picking them up, if they were lucky, or making their way to the bus-station that hopefully would have bus to carry them home. Somehow, every year the organisers of the madness managed to send not enough buses, causing annoyed students, who wanted to get home as soon as possible to vegetate on the couch, to complain to their parents, siblings or anyone with a driver¡¯s license and a car, really, to get them from school, just like I had tried. The chaos around school was testament of the fact that others had been more successful and calling the streets congested was an understatement. Still, I managed to get to the bus-station and was appalled by the amount of people there. There was no way that the normal buses would be anything but sardine cans, filled to the brim. For a moment, I considered trying to squeeze and muscle my way in but the idea of intense and prolonged body-contact with whoever stood next to me was not one I cherished. Sending out a message to my parents that I would be a little late, I went to a nearby coffee-shop, finding it surprisingly empty, and got myself an iced coffee, before looking for a shady spot to wait for about an hour, allowing the chaos to subside. Chapter 2 Finally, almost two hours after school had ended, I was home. It was a little ridiculous that I had waited an hour and a half for the bus, considering that I would have been able to walk the distance in a little over an hour. When I opened the door, I was greeted by our dear dog, Treya, the best four-legged friend a girl could ever want. Nobody really knew what breed she was, we had gotten her from the shelter two years ago, but whatever she was, it was big. Our current guess was some sort of Great Dane, Shepherd, Leonberger, mix, maybe with some wolf if that was possible. She was a huge dog, her back easily coming up to my hip and the time the family had spent on training her had been wisely spent. She came running up, making a break right before me, sitting down and making puppy-dog eyes at me, demanding to be loved up. I sank my hands in her fluffy fur, happily going down to my knees when she decided to dust off the floor with her back and tail, wiggling around on the floor as I petted her belly. ¡°Squirt, that you?¡± my brother asked from the living room, causing me to grumble under my breath. Why couldn¡¯t he have gotten me at school? ¡°Don¡¯t call me that!¡± I shouted back, knowing that it was a pointless endeavour. ¡°Yes, yes, Miss Christina Maria Blake, I will use your full name from now on.¡± he shouted back, mockingly. After loving up our dear dog some more, I rose to find out what my oh, so beloved brother wanted. ¡°You shouted, your excellency?¡± I asked, once I was in the living room with him. He was, as he often did, sitting on the couch, his nose in some novel. Oh, well, there were a lot of worse ways to pass the time, a reading passion was one of the few things we shared. Some people claimed it was obvious that we were siblings, but I just didn¡¯t see it. Where he was tall, blonde and handsome, most of the time looking like a mix between someone stumbling out of a commercial where he played the stereotypical surfer-dude and a labrador, I was not like that. I had inherited our mothers smaller size, combined with the solid build of our father, making me look fat, even if I dieted as much as I wanted. No diet would slim my shoulders, no diet would make my hips less wide. Up top, I had my father¡¯s boring brown hair, slightly wavy but I kept it bound as much as I could, otherwise it was just untamable. ¡°Sit, squirt.¡± he gestured across the room from him and I obliged. ¡°You know that Jenny, Dave, Linda and I will take off Sunday morning, heading to Prague first, right?¡± he asked, sounding serious. ¡°Why, no, that is totally news to me, why haven¡¯t you talked about that before?!¡± I exclaimed, my voice dripping with enough sarcasm to create a puddle between us. After all, he had talked about his vacation-plans, extensively, to convince the parents to let him have the car. ¡°Can it, smartass.¡± he shot back, grinning. ¡°Or I will not tell you the good news, good for you, that is.¡± he continued and I gestured for him to continue. ¡°Now, why don¡¯t you tell me how much you love your big brother?¡± he asked, teasing. I simply kept a bored expression on my face, waiting him out. He was many things, but patient was not amongst them. ¡°A few months ago, I entered into a give-away for Irminsul, the pre-order version. Luck has it that I won, but the biggest pre-order bonus is that you can start a week early, meaning I could start next week.¡± he explained and for a second, I wanted to strangle him. Gaming was another thing we shared, sometimes playing together, only that he had been able to full-dive for over a year, with me sitting at the computer, using a mouse and keyboard, like the perph I was. Then it dawned on me, he wouldn¡¯t be able to play, not unless he canned the road-trip with his girlfriend. And I knew who would win, between road-trip with the girlfriend and playing a new game, the girlfriend, and their shared hostel-rooms, would win ten times out of ten. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°There¡¯s also some other stuff, but that¡¯s the biggie. Now, as the bestest brother on the planet, I decided that, I would let you have the code, I might even help you to convince the rents that you should be allowed to go full-dive on it.¡± he continued and I was glad that I hadn¡¯t decided to strangle him. ¡°That¡¯s so cool! Thank you.¡± I said. Well, it might have been a squeal, but there¡¯s no way I would admit that. Treya, on the other hand, must have heard me and came bounding over, barking and romping around happily. ¡°Well, I might, at some point, expect your first-born as payment, but I¡¯m sure you have no problem with that, right?¡± he asked, laughing. ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever, not like you could ever collect.¡± I grinned back, feeling a little giddy about playing the game earliy. ¡°I¡¯m heading to my room, whose turn is it to cook today?¡± I asked, his grin answering my question immediately. It was his turn, but I woulddo the work, in exchange for the pre-order key. Grumbling under my breath, I headed off into my room, dropping off my stuff, changing into shorts and a crop-top, grabbing a book and headed out to grab some sun. A few hours later, when we had almost finished eating dinner, I brought up the topic to my parents. ¡°Mom, Dad, there¡¯s a new game coming out and for this, I want to go full-dive.¡± I began, wanting to gauge their reactions at first. While the game itself was supposed to be suitable for ages thirteen and up, going full-dive required parental consent until eighteen, due to the higher involvement. That, and I needed them to take me to the hospital, to get my chip calibrated, otherwise, installing it would be impossible. Years ago, right after chips had become available for the general public, a problem had begun to emerge, that there were minute, still not fully understood differences in brain-architecture. It was almost as if some people were allergic to specific impulses used by the chips, so everything might be alright with one application, until a specific stimulation was transmitted and suddenly, things went bad. And bad could, in this case, be everything from a mild itch for a minute or two, to massive strokes. At first, the software-publishers had a clause in their user agreement, but when someone died due to a chip-allergy and they tried to get out of the lawsuit in court by citing it, urban legend has it that the judge literally threw his gavel at the lawyer. No idea if that is actually true, but it caused the big three publishers to pool some resources and create a privately owned rating agency, independant and modeled after the american FDA, testing and rating games on one hand and, on the other, working with hospitals to administer the calibration, subjecting the prospective gamer to the impulses, just in case something happens. It was a stroke of genius, at least according to my father, the politicians, quite possibly motivated by hefty donations, were able to jump on a bandwagon of ¡®think of the children¡¯ to crusade against unregulated chip-usage, establishing the rating-agency as the arbiter of all chip-using software, hospitals got an easy and unproblematic revenue-stream and the big three publishers had a gatekeeper to the lucrative market, keeping out indie-publishers who were lacking the funds for the expensive testing process. ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s hear your arguments.¡± my father challenged, grinning. I had expected that and I knew he was aware that I would. So, my arguments were hopefully different from what he expected. ¡°Well, I¡¯m a teenager, you know.¡± I began, grinning. ¡°And, in tradition of teenagers everywhere and throughout history, I will, likely quite soon, experiment with all things adult, meaning I will want to try alcohol without your supervision, I will want to party and maybe fool around with a boy or two.¡± I directed my shots across his bow, causing him to wince just a little. On the side, I noticed my mother was now grinning widely. ¡°I¡¯m not hearing an argument, sweetie.¡± he objected, so I continued. ¡°Now, to be honest, as far as I know, the positive sensations in full-dive are supposed to be highly realistic, or people wouldn''t buy those games. So, I thought, why not experiment in full-dive, where the worst that could happen is the loss of my character? It certainly would be a lot more safe than experimenting in the real world, where god knows what could happen.¡± I finished, my mother starting to laugh in earnest. My father on the other hand, looked like he was searching for an objection, but we both knew that if he tried to argue that I shouldn¡¯t experiment, it wouldn¡¯t work, it was simply part of growing up. ¡°Ok, fine. I can take you tomorrow, if that¡¯s okay with you?¡± he asked, surrendering. Chapter 3 The next day, Dad took me to the hospital, or rather, the small office with its own entrance staffed by a med-tech or two, responsible for calibrating chips for new applications. We had to wait a few minutes before we were called up and, after Dad filled out the required information and waivers, I was soon taken into the back by a technician. ¡°So,¡± the technician paused for a second, looking at the fle, ¡°Christina it says you¡¯ll get the full unlock for Irminsul. I¡¯ve heard of that one, any thoughts of what you¡¯ll play?¡± she asked, obviously making small-talk, while directing me to a comfortable chair above which a bowl, looking almost like a drying hood, was suspended, ready to be put over my head. I had to take off my computer-headband, apparently it might interfere with the calibration, so I reluctantly switched off my music and took a seat. ¡°No, I¡¯ve not. In the last couple of games I¡¯ve mostly played some sort of spellcaster or healer, but now that I¡¯ll be able to go full-dive, I¡¯m not sure.¡± I answered, while she fiddled with the hood. ¡°Hm, yeah, a lot of full-dive players love to go into close combat, but you should remember that just because you use the chip to play, you don¡¯t need to use direct control, you can still play your character as if you were using mouse and keyboard, so if you enjoy the caster-playstyle, you can have that, too, without losing the advantages you are used to.¡± the technician explained, sounding almost a little bored. But then, a huge percentage of chip-applications were recreational and fantasy-games were one of the biggest genres, so she likely talked to gaming-nerds most of the day. ¡°Close your eyes and relax. The calibration will run through all sensations you can experience in the game, I think they even added a bit of a tutorial to it, so you might enjoy it.¡± the technician told me, before the hood cut off most of the light. I closed my eyes and relaxed into the dream-like feeling projected by the chip in my head. ¡°Welcome, to the world of Irminsul.¡± an incorporeal voice told me, vibrating with power that I felt all over my body. I managed to open the eyes of my dream-self on the second try and found myself in an wide chamber, made from white marble. ¡°You were called by the great pillar, Irminsul, itself, summoned into this world to preserve the balance. But if you will be a force of good or a force of evil, that is in the future. ¡°Now, take your first steps in this new world.¡± the voice told me and I felt a body around me, still dreamlike, but quickly, the sensations became natural. After what felt like a minute or so, I was able to walk, to move my arms, everything. It felt quite natural but when I looked down, my body was merely a humanoid shape made from rainbow-coloured light. ¡°Good, good, you can move. Now, let¡¯s see about your senses.¡± the voice spoke again, and suddenly I felt the temperature around me drop. After a moment or two, I realised that, while it seemed to be seriously cold, my nonexistent breath misted in front of my nonexistent face, I merely felt a little chilly, not truly cold, just enough to give me a feeling of gooseflesh. No matter how long I would be in such an atmosphere, it wouldn¡¯t be more than a little unpleasant. But the coldness only lasted a minute or two before it swung into the opposite direction and it felt as if I was in the sweltering sun, but again, I realised it was limited to a mild annoyance, not in the realm of actual pain. Next, the calibration went through a couple more sensations, some annoying, like a full-body itch, others pleasant, like the smell of roses. Others, again, I wasn¡¯t quite sure, but my head felt a little light, as if it was about to fly away, my vision blurred, just a bit, and I felt strangely uncoordinated. Whatever it was, I wasn¡¯t sure I wanted to feel like that again. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. But it was obvious that they left the strongest for last and suddenly, a burst of pleasure went through my body, unexpected but very, very powerful. Now, I had figured out how my body worked some time ago, but never like this. A girl could become used to that. The next sensation was, again, the opposite, it was pain. Not serious pain, merely at the level of stubbing your toe in the dark, or maybe stepping onto a danish plastic brick, but it clearly registered as pain. ¡°Yes, it seems as if everything is in order. Now, why don¡¯t you return to your world, until you are called back?¡± the voice told me and the white marble fell away, leaving me in darkness. After a second or two, I realised that I merely had to open my eyes back up and once I had done that, I saw the bit of light below the hood I had on and realised that I had been hearing the shuffling sounds of footsteps. ¡°And that is done, there seem to be no problems, Christina. Did you enjoy it?¡± the technician asked with a slightly sly grin, causing me to blush. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it¡¯s like that for everyone. The programmers know exactly what they are doing, making their applications as pleasurable as they dare, without making them too addicting.¡± the nurse explained, making me feel a little better about myself. ¡°Are we done here?¡± I asked, annoyed at myself for sounding a little timid due to my embarrassment. ¡°Yes, you just need to instal your application on your computer and the headband, wait for the game to actually come out and you will be good to go.¡± she told me, before sending me back out. There, my father was waiting, reading something on his tablet. He grinned a little when he saw me and I realised that there was still a slight blush on my cheeks but there was nothing to be done about that. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t say anything. ¡°I take it nothing went wrong?¡± he asked, answering my hopes. ¡°No, all¡¯s good.¡± I answered and fell into step next to him. ¡°Oh, by the way, a few weeks ago, you mentioned something about me, looking over the classwork with you, what was that about?¡± I asked, curious. My father was teaching at the local University, mostly fluid-dynamics for all flavours of engineer, so the idea that I would be able to help him correct classwork was a little strange. ¡°They established a new course for next semester and I¡¯m helping to design it. I thought it would be good to have a new set of eyes go over it.¡± he answered, his smile turning sly. ¡°But I haven¡¯t even finished high school, how would I be able to understand an University-course?¡± ¡°Oh, if it was any course, you would have to put in a ton of work to get the prerequisites. But this one is not for highschool-graduates, it¡¯s for people who barely finished or even dropped out of high school and got themselves apprenticed with a craftsman. They all worked in their field for some time and now they want to get a degree in it, that¡¯s why the course needs to be newly designed. A normal course wouldn¡¯t work for them, we want it to be applicable and easy to understand.¡± Dad explained, making me hum in agreement. It sounded interesting, and it might even get me some contacts to the University, other than my father. I planned to go into a similar field as he was in, once I had completed high school, so it wasn¡¯t too early to think about that. ¡°If you give me the script, I¡¯ll read through it over the next few days. That way, I can dive into the new game once it comes out.¡± I explained with a grin, causing him to chuckle in return. ¡°Just don¡¯t completely vanish into another world like your brother did last year, we still want to see you from time to time.¡± he replied, alluding to a time last summer in which Jonathan had used his chip to play during his sleep and played some twelve to fourteen hours of his ¡°waking¡± time as well. It had been almost as if he had been kidnapped, just that his vacant form had been sitting on a comfortable chair and that, from time to time, he had gotten up and gone to the toilet. ¡°I don¡¯t plan to go that extreme, now that I can play during dream-time, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll play all that much during the day.¡± I admitted. Playing during dream-time was one of the biggest advantages of using the chip, giving you eight hours a day during which you could play without regrets. Current advice was to sleep one or two nights each week normally, but even that was merely a cautionary tale, not medically proven. ¡°That¡¯s good. I think Treya would miss you.¡± he told me and we spent the rest of the way home without talking, sharing our appreciation for turn-of-the-century music, metal to be precise, something he had gotten me into. Chapter 4 The next morning, I got up early to send off Jonathan and his friends. Normally, I would have violently reacted to the idea of getting up before ten on a Sunday, but for the occasion, I made an exception. ¡°Watch out for the big fool, will you?¡± I asked Jenny, my brother¡¯s girlfriend, when I hugged her goodbye. We always had gotten away very well and I hoped my brother wouldn¡¯t do anything stupid. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have plans for him.¡± she grinned back, making me chuckle in response. She was far too smart for him, that was certain. Moments later, I had to hide laughter when my mother started fussing about my brother, something I had never thought to see. My mother was almost always calm and collected, few things got past her professional calmness, something she had cultivated as a psychiatrist. So, seeing her flutter around like a chicken with its tail-feathers on fire was a sight to behold. But even with that amusement, it didn¡¯t take long for the car to be packed and, after another round of goodbyes, the four of them started their own adventure, with me, looking after them, enviously. ¡°Treya!¡± I called out, causing our canine monster to come over, tail wagging. ¡°Let¡¯s go for a jog.¡± I told her, grabbing her leash, shifting her from normal tail-wagging into overdrive, her entire hind-quarter jumping back and forth in joy while I put on a pair of jogging shoes. ¡°Calmly now.¡± I ordered gently, causing her to sit and wait for me to put the leash on her before we headed out ourselves, not going too far, just about two kilometers, but the jog managed to shake off the sadness of seeing my brother leave. I would have to get used to him being gone. Right now, he had only headed out for a holiday-road-trip but after it, he would spend just a few weeks at home, before going off to University. Sure, there were advantages, for example I would have the bathroom we had shared all to myself, but he had been a good friend, at least most of the time. ¡°What do you think, girl?¡± I asked Treya, stopping near a decorative pond in the park we had been running in. She looked at me solemnly, or maybe she just wondered when we would continue, but kept quiet. ¡°Yeah, you are right, there¡¯s no point in worrying. And in just two years, I¡¯ll go that way myself, heading out into my own life, then it¡¯ll be only you and my parents.¡± I agreed with her, petting her head a little, causing her to lick my hand. ¡°Let¡¯s head back, I promised dad that I would look at the material and I want to research Irminsul a little, maybe it¡¯ll give me an idea what I want to play.¡± I told our dog and we started on our way back. Mentally, I made a note that I should head out in the morning more often, the empty park felt peacefully solemn. Sure, there might be some pervert waiting in the bushes but with almost eighty kilograms of canine protector, I wasn¡¯t too worried. Back at home, I only found a note that my parents had gone out to have breakfast with Jenny¡¯s parents, ¡®getting to know the in-laws¡¯ as my mother had jokingly added. At least I was quite sure it was a joke. As such, left to my own devices, I got myself a bowl of cereal and sat on the patio, using my computer-headband to surf the net, only peripherally aware of the cereal I was eating. My mother would have hated it, it was one of her pet peeves, distracting yourself while eating. The only exception were the morning papers, even if those were now delivered electronically and viewed either just as I was surfing the web now, or on a tablet-computer. But what she didn¡¯t know wouldn¡¯t annoy her.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. My first query got me to the homepage of Irminsul, looking for general facts known before launch, trying to get a better overview about the game. The general gameplay-blurb was rather generic, telling about awesome adventures in a world centered around the Pillar of Creation, the mighty Irminsul, so that was where they got the name, in a world ravaged by war. Only now, a new war was starting, different from all the old wars, not a war between races of the world, but against an outside force, trying to break the pillar that held up the sky. Now, the Pillar itself had called for help, creating immortal champions that would repel the invaders. Apparently, that would be the players. The next paragraph talked about the two factions that had existed before the outsiders had invaded, both alliances made out of five races and those ten races made up the major races of the realm and would be available at the start of the game. I frowned a little at that, wondering how many races there would be and how they would be introduced, it would be quite annoying to pick one of the original races only to have them release a new race a month or two in the future and the new race being better than the originals. Or even worse, they might tie new races to some sort of cash-shop, only for players who paid extra. Following that line of thought, I went looking and was rather relieved when I found a developer-post categorically stating that nothing but cosmetic items would be sold in the cash-shop. Further digging showed that others had similar concerns about new races pushing out the old and there was a reincarnation-system mentioned, allowing you to sacrifice an existing character to gain bonuses when creating a new one, increased the level-rate and skill-acquisition for a time dependant on the level of the sacrificed character. Maybe not a perfect system and I had no doubt people would try to abuse it, but it would have to do. With that in mind, I went back to the original page, reading up on the two factions of the world. One was named the Council of the Wise, consisting of Humans, Elves, Gnomes, Kobolds and Fomorii. The complete blurb was decorated in silver and blue, making me think that were the ostensibly good guys. The other faction was simply called The Gathering and it gathered Dwarves, Trolls, Orcs, Sidhe and Catfolk. Their colours seemed to be red and gold, and if the Council were the good guys, then the Gathering obviously had to be the bad guys. Hopefully, they wouldn¡¯t go with such a simple world, having clear lines of ¡°good¡± and ¡°evil¡± was a little boring. I skipped the blurb on races for now and went to the classes blinking in surprise when I saw how many there were. I had expected six, maybe eight or ten, but there were fifteen classes and a mention that you could have two classes at any time, as well as two professions. How on Earth would they be able to balance that mess? I continued reading and had to pick my jaw up, each class seemed to have multiple subclasses that you could unlock if you fulfilled certain requirements, which meant it might be viable to double up on a class. That meant there were not only fifteen classes to balance but a crapload more, with over two-hundred possible combinations, just from the base-classes. A little more reading had me laughing when I found out that a reporter that had played the beta had asked exactly that question and even got an answer from the developers. The developer had told him that, as they saw it, there were two ways to balance, you could either go simple and give everyone essentially the same tools, doing the same things and just slap a different skin onto them, making the difference between a Mage¡¯s fireball, a Ranger¡¯s arrow and a Priest¡¯s Holy Smite merely one of optics. The alternative, according to them, was to balance with complexity, introducing so many variables that generalisation was almost required. While each class had their thing, if you only specialised on that particular thing, it was likely that you ran into enemies that would no-sell you, making you useless. As they explained it, if you took a Priest of Mondror, the God of Death and Sleep, doubled up on it by making him a Paladin of Mondror with your second class-choice, you would be the ultimate character against undead, smiting them with ease. But against everything but undead, you would be relatively useless, balancing it out. It sounded quite interesting, everyone would have to find their own balance between specialisation and generalisation, making a character that was useful in as many situations as possible without becoming useless because you could do everything but nothing well. That was likely why they had the reincarnation system, so you could quickly reroll if you realised you had messed up your character beyond all repair. Chapter 5 Finally, it was Thursday and Irminsul would launch at noon for pre-order customers. My parents were out, working, and I had spent the last couple of days looking through Dad¡¯s material, adding notes and potential questions when I felt it was unclear. Other than that, I had researched some more and spent time with Therese before she had left the day before. I considered where whether to lie in the sun when playing but decided against it, if I got drawn into the game, which I hoped, I would likely wake up with a wicked sunburn, something I would rather avoid. After making sure that biology was taken care of and my computer-headband was linked to the computer on my desk, the headband itself was lacking the computing power to play Irminsul, I made myself comfortable on my bed and triggered the log in. As my body fell into a state similar to dreaming, my mind was filled with images. Around me was a forest, almost impossibly huge trees, easily twenty meters in diameter, the spaces between them filled with shrubbery. I was able to smell the scent of rain and noticed small droplets of water falling off the leaves when below me, on the ground, a group of people was slowly moving by. At the front was what I could only describe as a knight, clad in gleaming, silver armour with blue trim, carrying sword and shield. Part of me wondered just how he kept his armour so clean in a forest that should be rather muddy, but I ignored such practical questions in favour of his companions. Next to him, to the left and a step or two behind him, was a being that I couldn¡¯t instantly place. The head looked almost canine but not quite and there was no fur, its hide looked almost scaly. Knowing what races there were, and guessing that I was looking at a Council-Group, I was relatively sure that I was looking at a Kobold, but I wasn¡¯t certain. He was armed with a bow and he had a curved blade in his belt, next to his quiver. Slightly behind the two of them was a tiny person, her head getting no higher than the knight¡¯s belly and the hair tied into pink pigtails. She was wearing a robe, belted at her mid, with a dagger secured on one side and a book under her left arm. Unless I was missing the mark, that seemed to be a gnome and a mage. Next in line was Adventurer-Barbie, complete with long, flowing blonde hair, looking like spun gold. I didn¡¯t need to see the pointy ears to know that the woman in the sheer, green negligee with a couple of strategically placed leaves was an elf, likely some sort of nature-spellcaster, if the wooden staff in her hand was any indication. Finally, last in line, was a mountain of a man, even bigger than the Knight up front and quite imposing with armour that seemed to be made from rock and an axe that deserved to be called great. I wondered if he was able to use the head of his double-bladed axe as a shield or at least a buckler, it was certainly big enough. Hadn¡¯t anyone told them that size didn¡¯t matter? Just as the camera had shown me all five members of their party, the tranquility of them walking through the forest was shattered, when, some distance in front of them, a tall figure stepped from the trees, obviously blocking their path. The camera zoomed to the figure and I wondered what the difference between Sidhe and Elves was, the guy looked rather similar, his skin a little darker, not tanned but grey, almost slate-like, and his hair pale, almost white. Suddenly, he raised one hand, in which he carried an ornate club, or rather a scepter and from the center, carved to look like a sun, a replendant beam of light laced out, not moving at light speed but quite faste nonetheless.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. At the front of the council-group, the knight gave a grunt of effort and raised his shield, a blue aura surrounding him as he stepped right into the beam. The clash looked brilliant, the light causing enough lense flare to make a trekkie feel right at home and it seemed as if everyone¡¯s faces were riveted to it. The camera was, too, but only for a moment before it shifted away, just the flickering of light proving that the clash was still ongoing, but it focused on a figure in the shrubbery, well hidden and slowly closing in on the Council-Group. The pair of cat-ears gave the race away before I was able to see more of the figure before the sneaking figure was bowled out of the trees by a quite large grey wolf. Just as the wolf attacked, the camera shifted to the Kobold for a second and he turned, focusing on the second attacker, who had somehow managed to slip out from under the wolf. Now, I could see her clearly, a Catfolk in tight leather armour and armed with, of all things, metal claws. But when the Kobold sicked his wolf on the cat and started to draw back his bow, she quickly vanished back into the bushes, the wolf hot on her heels. I wondered if she would climb a tree to hide from it. Sadly, I didn¡¯t find out, the camera shifted again, this time to the other side of the Council-group where two more combatants had entered the fray, one of them clad in chainmail, holding a shield with some symbol embossed on it, it looked like an anvil, and a hammer in the other hand. The camera just skimmed over that figure, focusing on the other figure first. That one was wearing similar armour, some mix of leather and metal and had two wicked looking axes in his hands. Gleefully, I realised that it might be an orc and not the normal, green green-skinned variant, no they had a relatively new design. Below the armour, the figure seemed to be covered in pelt, looking almost like an artist¡¯s rendering of a neanderthal, only that he had quite impressive tusks sticking up from his lower jaw, making me think of a saber-toothed cat, just the other way around. Overall, he seemed to be slightly smaller than the human up front, if I got the dimensions right. but packed with compact muscle. He instantly leapt forward, his axes suddenly clad in swirling wind, and he tried to hack Adventurer Barbie to pieces. I liked that one already. Sadly, once again, I was deprived of my viewing pleasure when the camera focused on the other figure that had charged with him. It was a dwarf, although I wondered if it was a male or a female-dwarf. It had no beard, that said female, but otherwise, it looked male, not that I was able to truly tell, not with the armour covering the dwarf from helmet to toes. Before charging, the dwarf had stopped and banged their hammer on their shield, causing golden light to spring up around the orc and them. The dwarf went to block for the orc, to keep the Fomorii at bay, giving the orc time to shred the elf to pieces. Alas, it was not to be, the dwarf was pushed back by the Fomorii and then, an explosion of blue-violet light swept around the Council-party, tossing their assailants away. Seeing an opening, they started to run and the camera flew ahead of them, out onto a clearing where a singular, tall figure was waiting. The party slid to a halt upon seeing him, standing in the middle of the clearing, holding his staff above his head. Before anyone could move, a massive rampart of earth rose in the middle of the clearing, cutting off their escape. In silence, the party formed into semblance of a circle and from the woods, their attackers slowly emerged. I had to laugh when I noticed that the cat-person had indeed climbed a tree at some point and was slowly edging forward on a high branch. But before the battle could commence, a distant cracking noise shattered the silence and everyone, including the camera, focused on a spot above one end of the rampart where a strange, purple-black distortion started to bulge out, as if something was slowly pushing into a piece of cloth. Both groups formed up, no longer focused on the other group but in a defensive formation directed at the bulge. For a second, nothing happened, but then, the bulge ripped open and a strange monstrosity with far too many limbs, mouths and teeth tried to emerge from it. The two groups shared a look and a nod, before everything faded to black and I was shown the title-screen. I felt pumped, the intro had done exactly what it was supposed to do, I wanted to instantly start playing. Good that I could click the button for ¡°Character Creation¡± to begin the process that would allow me just that. Chapter 6 After mentally clicking the ¡°Create Character¡±-Button, there was a sensation of rushing forward and upward, almost like on a rollercoaster, and moments later, the world dissolved into white light as I hurtled into the sun. At least that was what it looked like to me. Suddenly, I was in a field of white nothingness, strange streamers of scintillating colour blinking into existence, only to flare for a second and vanish right after. I felt similar to the first stages of the chip-calibration just a few days ago, strangely discorporeal and as if I was dreaming, when around me, figures started to appear. Right in front of me was a pair of humans, male and female, and when I focused on them, a blue box appeared.
Human
For countless years the Humans of the Empire have lived in prosperity, keeping their borders strong and secure. Their ingenuity and numbers allowed them to live peacefully, slowly expanding on the fertile plains north-west of the World Pillar. Over the years, orc-raids into those plains became more and more common, until it was decided that something had to be done. Ever since then, humans have launched one expedition after the other into the western steps, to subdue the orcs.
Humans are balanced in their start-attributes. Their later racial abilities are geared towards versatility, giving them a bonus to Willpower and increasing the speed at which they learn skills, up to the Journeyman-level.
Sounded rather generic but I realised that I had failed to look into the different attributes and what they did. I considered logging out and looking up what the attributes did and all that, but decided to look around first. I was quite sure I knew which race I wanted and what kind of class, so unless there was something seriously sticking out, I would just go with what I had planned. Next to the humans, a pair of elves stood, I almost skipped over them, with their stupid Barbie-doll looks, even the male elf looked like some sort of male Barbie. Not that I considered playing a male character, not for a full-dive, I had no real idea how realistic those aspects were in full-dive. No, thank you very much. But, focusing on the elves, I got their blurb.
Elf
Centuries ago, the elves arrived in the lands around the World Pillar, on ships from the east. They were a harrowed people, driven from their homeland by an unnamed calamity and peacefully settled in the vast forests of the North. But not all elves were content with their lot as serene forest-dwellers, some of them still thirsted for the hunt, they stalking and the thrill of the kill. Horrified, as those feelings were what brought the calamity upon them, the other elves cast them out, driving them into the ancient woods away from the World Pillar, where reality becomes malleable, to be never seen again. Over the years, the elves and the humans started to trade and allied with each other.
Elves start with a bonus to Agility but pay for it in a lack of Endurance. Their racial abilities are testament of their balance with the natural world, giving them advantages to move silently in the woods and when wielding Nature¡¯s power.
So, sneaky tree-huggers extraordinaire? Even without their Barbie-looks I wouldn¡¯t have been interested. Turning my head further to the right there were two gnomes, again, male and female. The male looked so much like a garden-gnome that I laughed out loud, wondering how anyone could take the race serious. But maybe that was their charm, that nobody actually could take them seriously.
Gnome
Gnomes are an ancient species who long since dwelled in the mountainous regions around the World Pillar, mainly in the south-western mountains. Their ability to use science and magic is legendary, their enchanted goods fetching high prices on whatever market they appear on. Two centuries ago, one Gnome whose name has been struck from the records attempted to create a new race of servitors for the Gnomes, but his experiments ended in failure and he was exiled for them.
Gnomes start with a bonus to Dexterity and Intelligence but they are naturally less physically capable than other races. They make up for it by using masterful magic, even if others sometimes view their experiments as questionable.
A race of mad scientists, all likely with a napoleon-complex? What could go wrong? Aside from everything. No, thank you very much. Continuing my circle to the right, there was a bit of a gap between the gnomes and the next figures. What I saw was a large but slightly lanky figure of what I thought to be a troll, next to their female counterpart, whatever that was called. Focusing on it, brought up another blue screen.
Troll
Trolls are said to be born from the land itself, the rivers and the fields. They are generally peaceful, unless provoked, but if they are, distance is the best thing to have. Some claim they live forever in their small communities south of the World Pillar. When the Dwarves came to the surface, a little over hundred-fifty years ago, the trolls were the first to welcome them, helping them to establish themselves in the foothills near them. On the other hand, the trolls have an ancient feud with the Kobolds, something neither race ever explains to outsiders, asking a troll about it is a sure way to make them angry.
Trolls have a powerful natural life-force, giving them increased Vitality but most other beings are revolted by their natural smell, reducing their Charisma. Their innate regeneration, channelled through their connection to Nature, allows them to heal their allies of even the worst injuries.
So, stinky hulk-hippies? I had to laugh at the idea but it was not what I wanted, even if it sounded like they might be the best healers. Still, I would rather not.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Next to them, were the other type of elf, even if they were called Sidhe and looked like they should consider a membership at the tanning salon.
Sidhe
For millennia, the Sidhe dwelled under the hills of the eastern Islands, until Lugh, the Lord of Light, guided them from their subterranean domain, to retake what was theirs. Since then, the Sidhe have waged war on the Fomorii, trying to drive them from the Island the two races inhabit.
Sidhe pride themselves on their Intelligence and magical might, looking down upon those they consider inferior. However, the years of dwelling below the surface lowered their Intuition, causing them to overlook the obvious from time to time.
So, we had tree-hugging elves and the haughty, arrogant elves? Maybe they needed something to give both races something pretty to look at. The next race to the right were the Orcs and they looked quite fierce, maybe even attractive, in a primal, savage way.
Orc
The Orcs dwelled on the western steps, as far as their tales go back, They are nomadic in nature, travelling the steps in small tribes, with only few permanent gathering places located far away from the World Pillar. Over the years, the foraging became harder and harder, until they were forced to start taking what they needed from the human settlements that encroached upon their ancestral home. Ever since then, the humans tried to subdue them, forcing them to unite under council of tribal leaders to keep resisting.
Orcs are fierce warriors, their muscles stronger than one would think but the lack of permanent settlements made it hard to establish an intellectual tradition. The life in the steps made them resilient against exposure to the elements.
So, another blurb, but this one more or less contradicted the one of the humans, which made me curious. I continued my slow turn and was greeted by a cat-person. I hadn¡¯t seen a lot of them in the trailer, the shape mostly hidden by shrubs or a large wolf, but now, I was able to see them clearly. There was nothing cute about them, giving the impression of a savage predator, ready to pounce.
Catfolk
Little is known about these fierce predators from the deep forests north of the World Pillar. They only recently emerged, after having become the strongest predators in their home-range, they now look for new prey. When they happened upon the elves, they found an elusive prey to hunt, which they do with relish.
Catfolk are naturally stealthy and able to sniff out lies, making them skilled negotiators, be it with the dagger or with words. In turn, their claws make it hard for them to work small objects and their slender bodies lack the toughness of some other races. Their predatory instincts serve them well, in all their pursuits.
These had some potential, I had to admit that to myself, they sounded like excellent rogues, or Scouts, as they were called in Irminsul. Still, I continued my slow circle. Next were the dwarves, looking almost square in proportion. It also showed that the figure in the trailer was likely a female, the second figure looked very similar to the first, only one had a beard and the other small breasts, which would easily be hidden beneath armour. Focusing on them brought up their summary.
Dwarf
The Dwarves came to the surface a little over hundred-fifty years ago, quickly allying with the trolls who welcomed them for some reason. Little is known about their history before that but they quickly made themselves a reputation as stoic warriors and are considered the best craftsman when it comes to working with metal and stone. They are willing to sell to everyone, but the gnomes for whom they have an almost irrational hatred.
Dwarves are a stoic, methodic people, able to patiently work as slow as needed. They have almost supernatural endurance and dexterity. It is said that the mountains would break before a dwarf breaks their word.
Again, while the race sounded interesting, I was not sure I wanted to play as a small person. Well, I was quite sure I didn¡¯t want that, so I continued further to the right. There was another larger gap and next were the scaled, canine forms of the Kobolds. Focusing on them, gave me the blue window with their summary.
Kobold
For thousands of years, Kobolds lived a simple life in the mountains on the eastern coast, occasionally warring with the trolls of the lowlands. They are masterful miners and worked extensively with the Gnomes, trading raw materials for their worked goods, until the Trolls settled the Dwarves in the area of their major trade-route, effectively cutting them off. Since then, they made an alliance with the humans to facilitate their trading.
Kobolds have naturally high Intuition, allowing them to easily find earth beneath the mountains. They also have an affinity for everything fire and their scaly hides help them resist heat but in turn, they are less agile.
Did I want to be a scaly dog-person? I had to admit, I kind of wanted to be one, it might be fun. Shaking my head, I turned to the last race, between Kobolds and Humans.
Fomori
The Fomorii have lived on the eastern Islands peacefully for centuries, keeping to themselves, until the Sidhe emerged from their underground realm, trying to eradicate the Fomorii. Searching for allies, the Fomorii allied with the Kobolds on the continent to resist the Sidhe.
Fomorii are resilient fighters, able to take a lot of punishment, thanks to their high endurance but they are lacking in other departments, mainly their weaker intelligence and magical power.
Having seen all the races, I slowly turned in a circle, looking at all the interesting choices to make. Finally, I smiled and made my choice. Chapter 7 Focusing on the race I wanted to play, I stepped forward, towards the female orc. The screen changed and there was now a mirror and in it, I was able to see myself, only that I was now wearing the guise of an orc and had a variety of sliders and dials to adjust the look of my new character. Looking over the sliders, I started to play around with them, looking what changed with which slider, not quite focusing on the overall appearance, merely testing them. After a few minutes of that, I mentally took a step back and almost fell over, laughing, at the hideous abomination I had created. For a moment, my gaze dropped to the next slider I had yet to use and I realised it was one of the most infamous sliders in all character-generators. It was the boob-slider. After maxing it out, I needed a moment to collect myself after looking at the abomination I had created, a misshapen thing that could only be improved with an axe, by letting it rest in pieces. After using the ¡°Reset¡±-Button, I started to seriously design my character, trying to get her as monstrously cute as possible, not too tall, not too muscular, merely a cute orcette that you wanted to pet, only to be ripped to shreds by her. A little deliberation was needed for my fur and hair-colour. Tan fur with a blonde mane of hair looked quite cool, reminding me of a lion, albeit a male one. A little manipulation got me red fur with orange stripes, reminiscent of flickering flames but I was not too convinced. Lastly, I checked what the character would look like with purely black fur and short, black har, making it look like both were the same, giving the character a relatively uniform look. After an almost random decision, I went with the black fur and added dark, almost slate-coloured, grey skin beneath it. Once that was done, I went to the eyes, looking through the available colours. With a little manipulation, I managed to get the green eyes look almost human which had an incredibly uncanny effect, to see the clearly inhuman being look at me with those eyes. While it might be fun to give others the willies, I decided against it, going with a nice, slightly glowing, silver, contrasting nicely with the fur and skin. Another feature I wanted were fangs, or rather tusks, sticking out from the lower jaw, not too large but well defined and as sharp looking as I could manage. I doubted that the sharpness gave an actual bonus, but it looked wicked in the mirror. Nodding to myself, I went over the rest of the body, adjusting things just a little, before finishing up. All together, I was happy with the look and thought it was what I had been going for, disturbingly cute, especially when the thought brought a smile to my face, showing off not only the sharp tusks but also the rest of my quite impressive chompers. After confirming that I liked the look and dismissing a warning that altering it after character-creation was only possible using real money, I went on to class-selection. Once again, I was on a white expanse, only that I was surrounded by visions of my character, each clad in what might very well be endgame-gear of the particular class, giving players something to work towards. I was almost certain what I wanted to pick, but wanted to see the different options in person, so to speak. Picking one figure at random, I focused on it, causing it to step forward and a blue window opened, telling me what I was looking at.
Adept
Adepts, or, as some call them, Warmages, are the martial expression of those who seek arcane knowledge. Clad in heavy, enchanted armour, they are a terror on the Battlefield, using magical power to supplement martial might.
Adepts have an impressive defensive strength, allowing them to weather any storm. They focus on Endurance and Intelligence.
The image of me was clad in massive plate armour, holding a one-handed, straight sword in her right hand and a shield in the left hand. After stepping forward, the sword started to glow with blue symbols, which echoed on the shield and armour, only there, they were glowing in metallic silver. The description made it sound like a magic-tank, rather interesting, but not quite what I wanted. Just like I had done with the races, I went to the one on the Adept¡¯s right side, causing the Adept to step back and another figure to come forward.
Warlock
Those who use the power of the arcane in conjunction with light armour and heavy weapons call themselves warlocks. What they lack in staying power, they make up for with their massive, magically augmented weapons, allowing them to turn into terrifying foes on the field of battle.
Warlocks combine heavy weapons and arcane magic, cleaving into their enemies with abandon. They focus on Strength and Intelligence.
I had to admit, I was impressed. The Warlock looked awesome, as she stepped forward. Her armour wasn¡¯t massive, mainly leather with just a little metal covering vital points, and looked tight enough to accentuate the character¡¯s body without going the way of the chainmail-bikini. But what she lacked in metal armour, she made up for in weapon. I was quite sure that the weapon was about as realistic as the rest of the game, not very much, but the massive sword, almost as big as the character with a blade wide enough that I wondered if I would get some sort of cover-bonus from it, looked just awesome. In addition, it was covered in symbols and enveloped in a glowing aura, making me wonder what havoc one might cause with such a thing. Still grinning, I shook my head and focused on the next figure.
Wizard
Those who seek arcane knowledge above all else are the wizards. They see their purpose in pushing back the boundaries of what is possible and when they are called to battle, they use enchanted equipment, summoned minions or raw, arcane magic to strike down their foes.
Wizards work with everything magical, their focus is Intelligence and Dexterity.
The description was slightly shorter but the animation made up for it. The ¡°Wizard-Me¡± stepped forward, dressed in dark grey, almost black, robes, a dagger in one hand and a tome in the other. After stopping, she raised the tome, causing it to open and the pages to flutter about while it glowed with the blue symbols I had seen before, only that now, the symbols were also mirrored behind her on a larger scale, giving the impression that something big was happening. Sadly, I had no intention of playing a caster in Irminsul, I wanted to mix it up in melee, I wanted to see how well I would do in full-dive mode. For casters, it was almost easier to play with peripherals, using a mouse to easily direct your spells, instead of having to literally launch them by hand. Turning right, the spectacle ended and another ¡°Me¡± stepped forward.
Elementalist
Elementalists often use a single element to augment their physical bodies, drawing upon the raging fury of fire, the stoic strength of earth, the graceful flow of water or the unpredictable capriciousness of air. Their chosen element is paramount to their abilities, making the path of each elementalist unique.
Elementalists merge strong martial abilities with their chosen element, becoming juggernauts on the battlefield. They focus on Vitality and Intuition.
I wasn¡¯t quite sure what elementalist-me was wearing, it was hard to see because of how awesome she was. No, not really, but her armour was completely covered in flowing water, letting me only see little of it. But from the description, I could guess that it was another tank, even if the choice of weapon, a trident, was a little strange, but fitting for some sort of water-user. Still, not what I wanted, so I looked further right.
Monk
Those who seek balance between the elements become monks, their search for enlightenment guided by the balance of the four elements. Their internal balance and mastery of martial arts allows them to carry out impossible feats, striking fear into their foes.
A Monk''s strength is the harmony between the physical body and their elemental abilities, thus they focus on Agility and Intuition. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
I almost fell over laughing, there was something completely ridiculous about my mighty, black furred orc wearing a white martial arts-gi. Instantly, I knew that it was not a class I wanted to play, no matter how cool the flames swirling around her staff were or that the staff was formed like a dragon.Neither would the water flowing over her arms and the wind playing around her legs change my decision. It was just a non-starter. Further to the right, the next figure stepped forward.
Sorcerer
Sorcerers are the ultimate symbol of elemental destruction, their spells inspired by wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Nature¡¯s wrath in hand, they cause their enemies to tremble as the earth beneath them shakes, only to break them with surges of flames or winds strong enough to shred the flesh from their bones.
As the epitome of large-scale destruction, their magic is well-suited to annihilate large groups of enemies. They focus on Intuition and Willpower.
The Sorcerer that stepped forward was wearing a soft looking tunic and pants, decorated with elaborate patterns that seemed to resemble expressions of the elements. At first, I thought it wasn¡¯t terribly impressive, until she raised the scepter she was holding and a flaming tornado manifested behind her. That changed it from not too impressive to quite impressive. Still, I didn¡¯t want a caster. Thus, I went to the next one to the right.
Barbarian
These mighty warriors might be the most physically imposing figures of all. They train their bodies to the maximum, relying on a combination of sheer physical force, primal rage and simple savagery when doing battle. They are the epitome of physicality, overcoming all odds with overwhelming might.
Barbarians are skilled close combat fighters, able to fight on long after others gave up. They focus on Strength and Vitality.
Barbarian Me might just be what the doctor ordered. She was clad in leather armour, similar to the Warlock, but in her hands was an axe that looked like it could cleave through everything. When she stepped forward, she gave off a mighty roar and a flickering, red aura surrounded her, giving her a quite imposing vibe. Still, I wanted to see the rest of the classes. With a slight effort, I turned further right, to the next class.
Ranger
The rangers of the world are those who seek nature, the predators of the primal world, stalking prey with a combination of physical skill and primal magic. They often bond with an bestial partner, covering the others back on the hunt.
They are skilled when it comes to sudden, swift attacks, focusing on Agility and Intuition.
The me that stepped forward was also clad in leather armour, but in her hands was a bow and a quiver hung on her hips. I quickly moved on to the next class, I was just no fan of pet-classes.
Druid
The druids seek balance in all things. They employ the primal magic of nature, to help or to hinder. When a druid speaks, the natural world listens and obeys.
Druids are skilled magic users, harnessing the circle of life and the fury of storms. Their focus is Intuition and Dexterity.
Druid-Me was wearing a robe, looking like it was made from some natural fibre and the dagger in her hand looked like it was made from some dark rock, maybe obsidian, judging by the glint it gave off. After stepping forward, thorny vines rose behind her, giving her an imposing backdrop, but still, I didn¡¯t want to play a spellcaster or healer. So, off to the right I went.
Fighter
Fighters are often the backbone of an army, serving as Officers and Generals or they are take up the mantle of a valiant knight, riding their warhorses into battle in service of their country or cause. They inspire their fellow men, leading them into battle.
Fighters are skilled in close combat, but they truly shine when commanding their forces. They focus on Endurance and Charisma
While Fighter-Me looked rather similar to other versions of me that had been clad in heavy armour, just that her shield was shaped differently, a little smaller and more like a teardrop, and she was carrying a long spear or lance, I wasn¡¯t quite sure what the difference would be. It was long and pointy, probably a good weapon to be used from horseback. In addition to spear and shield, she had a long-handled hammer with a relatively small head hanging at her side. When stepping forward, she banged her spear on her shield before pointing into the distance with it. The description sounded interesting, but I couldn¡¯t see myself as the knight in shining armour, but maybe I could play the ¡°Black Knight¡±-stereotype up. It was worth considering. Grinning, I looked further right, curious what would be next.
Scout
An army needs to know where it is going, and scouts are the ones finding out. They employ stealthy tactics to gather information, allowing their fellows to attack to the best effect. Sometimes, that means scouting the wilderness, at other times, it means scouting the estates of their foes.
They are skilled at gathering information and finding enemy weak points, allowing strikes for massive damage. They focus on Agility and Dexterity.
At Scout-Me, I had to laugh. I had noticed it when reading on the homepage, there was no ¡°Rogue¡± or ¡°Assassin¡± or ¡°Thief¡± class in the game, maybe because it was strange to have a class that would normally be instantly hauled in by the guards. Instead, they had named them ¡°Scout¡±, hiding the shady dealing underneath. Still, the soft, black leather armour, combined with two curved and sharp-looking daggers and a crossbow on her back made for an imposing figure. When stepping forward, she gave a curt nod, before examining her blades. I turned and the Scout retreated, showing me what was next in line.
Bard
Not all wars are fought on a battlefield. Bards influence the events, long before the battle-lines are drawn, using the power of the spoken word. But even during battle, their powers motivate their allies or distract and discourage their foes.
Bards are skilled manipulators, adept at misdirection and subterfuge, focusing on Intelligence and Charisma.
It was another straight No. Bard-Me looked terribly out of place in her fine clothes, looking like they were made for a diplomat or some other sort of courtier. When stepping forward, she suddenly slipped a dagger from her sleeve before making it vanish while smiling. It was certainly not my type of class, sneaking around, generally playing the social predation-game and that was before we got to the idea of singing on the battlefield, I could have all that in high school, just with more backstabbing.
Templar
When a Deity or the temple that serves them needs a problem terminally solved, the solution often involves a templar. These holy warriors stride into battle clad into the divine power of their God, smiting those who don''t follow the will of their Lord.
A Templar¡¯s strength is the combination of Martial Might and Divine Power, as they focus on Strength and Charisma.
Ah, the Irminsul-version of the Paladin, breaking heads in the name of God. Well, not God-God but the local variants, still, I wasn¡¯t about to roll some holy-roller, even if their armour looked quite cool, but just a little too shiny for me, even if the massive maul had some draw, especially when she raised it above her head and it started glowing with golden light, as if she was about to bring down some mighty whoop-ass on some unbeliever. Turning, I wanted to see what was to the right of the Templar.
Cleric
Clerics are the wandering preachers, spreading the word of their Deity into every corner of the world. Sadly, the roads they travel and the areas they visit are not always safe so they are able to defend themselves or others. They mostly work on an individual, personal level.
Clerics focus on personal defense, their magic suited to help or hinder individual targets. They focus on Charisma and Intuition.
So, Templar-light? Less martial and more holy, but still a mix, wearing chainmail, a mace and shield, ready to bring their God to people one bashed head at a time? For her, the shield was glowing with silver light, cladding her into an armour of light. Shaking my head, I looked to the right, to the last class I had yet to look at.
Priest
Priests preach for the glory of their Deity, motivating the masses in rousing prayers. They project Divine Power over large areas, evoking miracles for their Deity. Depending on the Deity they serve, those miracles can range from abjuring the undead, healing the wounded to even smiting their foes.
A Priest¡¯s strength lies in their large-scale Divine Magic and they focus on Charisma and Intelligence.
So, holy-roller combined with spellcaster or healer? No, I was not convinced, not even when he held up a scepter and golden light spread over a large area and some strange, choral voices sounded in the background. This one was harder, there were a few classes that sounded incredibly cool and I had to pick just one, even if I would be able to add a second class at a later time, I wanted to pick the right one. Chapter 8 I deliberated some more, ping-ponging between Warlock, Adept, Elementalist, Fighter and Barbarian but not quite coming to a decision. Adept and Elementalist were quite obviously tanks with some magical ability, one with an elemental flavour, the other with an arcane-flavour, which both had some appeal. And then there was the simple fact that, in almost every game, ever, tanks had been a coveted resource, so playing a tank made it a lot easier to find groups to delve into dungeons or do harder quests. Warlock, on the other hand, was an unashamed damage dealer, about as straightforward as it could be. Fun, but in previous games, I had too often seen such characters being a dime a dozen and only those with connections or the very best of the best were able to secure spots for raids and such fun endgame-activities. Finally, Barbarian and Fighter were a little less straightforward, Barbarian read like it might be either tank or damage dealer, similarly with Fighter, just being both a tank and a supporter. But that was all conjecture on very limited information, who knew what would happen once the various classes were at higher levels, had some gear and their second class, which added even more variables. Finally, I went with the classic choice, most fitting, choice, picking the Barbarian, knowing that there were even odds that, at some point, the character would be reincarnated into something else, once more information was available or I became bored with it. Selecting the Barbarian had another quite nifty animation, I was stepping forward, towards the Barbarian Me, taking her hand and we pulled on each other, merging in the middle, only that her gear obviously vanished. Oh, well¡­ But with that done, I thought to be finished with character-creation, so I was a little confused when a couple more figures appeared, all of them looking very similar to my character but with slight variations. I noticed a small questionmark Icon and focused on it, opening a blue box.
Heritage
Not everyone is born equal. Your Heritage adds slight variations to your Character that will express over the progress of your game.
A Heritage? Curious, that was something new. Apparently it gave another small customisation, both of the character¡¯s look and maybe their stats. Focusing on one of them, I was greeted by a blue box.
Pureblood Heritage
Pureblood Orcs can trace their lineage to one of the great Chieftains of old, making them respected amongst their people. Their connections allow them to rise quickly in the ranks.
Advantage: Increased Social Status amongst Orcs, starting reputation of Honoured. Disadvantage: Reduced resistance to disease-effects.
It was a curious idea, I wondered what it would look like with other races. Starting out as a noble human might be a major boon but it would likely come with just as big disadvantages. In this case, the Pureblood seemed to be a little bigger in size and just overall more impressive. But the Pureblood wasn¡¯t quite what I wanted, it sounded a little too inbred for me. I checked the next one, but that was only the normal orc heritage, not changing my looks and offering neither advantages nor disadvantages, so I kept it in mind and looked to the next.
Half-Orc Heritage, Human Bloodline
During the Orc-Raids, sometimes events occur that later lead to the birth of a Half-Orc. Amongst Orcs, they are seen as lowlifes and weak, even if they are often just as strong as Orcs and their human heritage is giving them adaptability that many orcs don¡¯t enjoy.
Advantage: When gaining a Racial Ability, you might gain a Human Racial Ability instead of the Orcish one, or maybe even both. Disadvantage: Lowered Social Status amongst Orcs, lowering your starting reputation to Neutral.
The Half-Orc was a little smaller than the normal orc and her pelt looked rather scruffy, making me decide against it. It was simply a gamble, I wasn¡¯t turned off by the lowered reputation, more often than not it was only a matter of time and effort to raise that, but what it offered wasn¡¯t enough to make me interested. In addition, the whole conception-story was a bit of a turn-off for me. With that, I turned to the final heritage.
Half-Orc Heritage, Unknown Bloodline
At some point in your Ancestry, something else was mixed in. What that ¡°something¡± is, you don¡¯t know, it might be a bloodline of great strength or it might be a liability. Even the question how it got mixed in, be it by magical experiment, a bored spirit or the old fashioned way is unknown.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.Advantage: Unknown Disadvantage: Unknown
I had to laugh at this one, it didn¡¯t tell you anything but that it was a complete roll of the dice. Having already decided to treat this first character as a testbed of sorts and if it didn¡¯t work out, I¡¯d reincarnate her, I decided to cast the die, curious what I would get. Nothing changed on selection but I was quite sure I would only get the changes upon finalisation, to prevent people from picking it, changing their mind if they didn¡¯t like the change and trying again until they did. With my heritage selected, I thought I would get into the game when another choice appeared, making me groan. At least the amount of options had gone down, if there were fifteen again, like with the class, I might have become stuck for a long time. Again, there was a small question-mark that I focused on for a blue box.
Background
Your Background decided about your starting location, equipment and abilities. Your choice is limited by your Race, Class and Heritage.
I focused on the first option, my Barbarian dressed in simple leather armour, reinforced with metal and armed with a good looking, two-handed maul.
Tribal Warrior
You were trained in your tribe from a young age, to defend the tribe against foes and keep the peace. But now, the council of of chiefs has called upon the tribes to muster warriors and you are one of them.
Starting Location: Training Area of Gaular, the largest, permanent Orc Settlement Starting Equipment: Basic Medium Armour and a basic weapon of your choice Starting Abilities: One weapon-skill of your choice at Apprentice V, Class Skills at Apprentice I
Not really knowing what to expect from a Background, I looked over to the next, this one with just the baisc leather armour, no metal reinforcements on it, but instead, she had a long spear and a set of short spears in a quiver on her hip.
Tribal Hunter
Tribal Hunters are the backbones of the tribes, hunting game for them to eat but also engaging monstrous threats if necessary. You recently finished your apprenticeship and were sent out to another tribe, to broaden your abilities.
Starting Location: Random Orc-Tribal Camp Starting Equipment: Basic Leather Armour, a hunting spear and a set of Javelins. Starting Abilities: Spear-Skill at Apprentice I, Foraging at Novice V, Class Skills at Novice V, Thrown Spear at Novice V.
The difference between the Hunter and Warrior seemed to be rather small, I remembered that abilities had ranks starting at Novice, followed by Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert and Master, but there had been a note that Masters were always trying to further improve their skills and some succeeded.. Who knew what they meant with that, I would have to see. But it also meant that the difference was relatively small, something that could be equalised in a relatively short time, maybe a couple of hours or a few days, at most. The next figure was clad in a miss-matched set of armour, a chainmail-shirt, a leather-cap and boots but only cloth pants, making me wonder what was going on there. In one hand, she was holding a lit torch, in the other a hatchet that looked more suited for wood than for combat.
Raider
Some Orcs have decided to take matters into their own hands, to resist the human expeditions into their lands by pushing human settlements back. They pillage villages, taking what they can and burning what they cannot.
Starting Location: Random Orcish Raider Camp Starting Equipment: Armour of random quality, a random weapon, a random set of trade goods from your last raid Starting Abilities: Apprentice I with your starting weapon, Class Skills at Novice V, Intimidation at Apprentice I Starting Title: Arsonist
So, I could start out as a bandit? Given what I had read about the Human-Bloodline Half-Orc I would rather not. Even if having a title to begin with might be fun. With that, I looked to the final choice and I was confused. That choice¡¯s gear flickered, changing from what looked like plate-armour in one moment, to fine clothes, to simple rags, to leather armour and so on. Similarly, the weapons seemed to change as well, ranging from impressive to her bare hands. Curious, I focused on it and a blue box appeared.
Gladiator - Pre-Order Exclusive
Who knows what fate might hold for you.
Starting Location: Unknown Starting Equipment: Unknown Starting Abilities:Unknown Starting Title: Unknown
Now, I had to chuckle, I had suffered from information overload but the box that essentially only said the name and that it was pre-order exclusive made me want some more information. But, given that it was an exclusive, I quickly decided that I wanted to know what others paid money for and picked it. The world turned dark and I hoped to get into the game when another box opened, prompting me to enter my name, albeit warning me that if I picked one that was copyrighted or obscene, I would be subjected to a name-change at a Gamemaster¡¯s discretion. Somehow, I could see that as a rather harsh punishment, it allowed the Gamemaster¡¯s to be cruel and unusual. I liked it. After a few moments of consideration, I went with a slightly punny name, calling myself Chrystal Withakay making a pun on my real-life name without making it obvious. With that finally out of the way, I was able to enter the game. Chapter 9 The arena of Stormhelm, a monument to Human excellence and their devotion to Kallendra. Looking at it from the outside, part of me wondered how many had been where I was now, getting carted through a wrought iron gate, not knowing if they would ever pass it in the other direction. I noticed that there were letters worked into the arch of the gate and managed to read some of them, praising Kallendra, who was, if I remembered right, the Goddess of honourable combat, duels and protection or some dross like that. After the cart stopped, guards, clad in reinforced leather armour, stepped forward, protecting a hooded figure in a dark robe between them. The figure climbed onto the cart with a hand from one of the guards, and I was able to make out a dainty hand and a pretty face, mostly hidden under her hood. Well, the face would have been pretty if she didn¡¯t sneer as if looking at something vile, especially when her gaze roamed over me. ¡°We were sent the dregs once again.¡± she spat, sounding rather unhappy. ¡°Still, they might make good beast-bait, especially that blackpelt, she looks like a tall one. Whenever an orc gets what they deserve, the crowd goes wild. At least the dwarf should be good for a few rounds.¡± she mused softly. Part of me wanted nothing but to get out of the cage, to demonstrate her that I wasn¡¯t just beast-bait. Not that it would work, when focusing on her, she, too, was shrouded in a green aura, marking her as supposedly friendly and not an attackeable target. I wondered about that, I had thought that only party-members were automatically friendly, largely so that mages, sorcerers and all those who loved to lob the biggest boom that they could find into combat, without the melees going for their throat, after they had respawned that is. ¡°Tell your master to bring them down, for evaluation.¡± the wicked witch of the west told the cart-driver and the few guards that had been with it, before daintily climbing down again and walking towards the building. ¡°You heard the lady, you are to be evaluated.¡± An average, maybe slightly greasy, looking guy wearing moderately fine clothes shouted up the wagon. ¡°Marius, open the cage for the blackpelt, then I¡¯ll command them to get off.¡± he ordered another guy, this one small and slender looking. The small guy climbed up, carefully opening the cage, instantly hopping back, as if I would instantly attack him. After the door swung open, I considered trying to instantly make a run for it, but that would quite obviously not work, not in the middle of a city, with guards all around. So, I waited, biding my time. Greasy Guy raised a strange looking rod, engraved with sickly green glowing symbols and spoke, his voice trying to project confidence. ¡°Slave, climb down the wagon, move to the right and wait for orders.¡± he intoned and the collar around the horsethief¡¯s neck started glowing in turn and the thief stood, looking like a puppet with its strings pulled, and jerkily climbed down the wagon, waiting to the left of it, as ordered. Greasy Guy repeated the process with the dwarf and I noticed that as the command took him, for just a second, the dwarf looked incredibly enraged but as fast as the expression came, it was hidden away again. ¡°Blackpelt, leave the cage, step down from the wagon and wait for further actions.¡± I was ordered and considered for a second to try to disobey, but as I did, there was a pinch of pain in my neck, alongside a flash of red around my vision and a red bar turned visible floating in the corner of my eye, not quite full. Not being a complete idiot when it came to games, I started moving before the collar would deal more damage to me. Stepping down, I decided to test further and tried to take another step after I was on the ground and I noticed a combat-log scrolling in the other corner of my eye. It told me that I had failed a willpower-check to resist the command, that I took some more damage, nothing critical yet, and that I would get a bonus to my next attempt to resist a command.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Curious, some more information. Greasy Guy seemed to have missed my non-compliance and again, he waved the stupid rods around, assigning each of us to a guard that we had to follow and obey. Considering that I had little in the way of options, I followed the smirking fool that I had been assigned to, walking into the arena. Right next to the entrance, I noticed a slightly different looking pillar, made from a mix of grey stone, maybe granite, and white marble, decorated with ornate gold and silverworks. It didn¡¯t quite fit the surroundings, making me curious. After we passed it, two blue screens appeared in my vision, giving me more information.
Hello World - Welcome to Irminsul
Welcome you, who has been called by the World Pillar, welcome to the world of Irminsul. You have activated the first step of your Tutorial, which will teach you what you need to thrive in this world.
Tutorial - Step one: The lesser Pillars of Creation
The World Pillar, the mighty Irminsul, was it that called you into this world. But it is not the only Pillar of Creation, just the mightiest, holding up the sky. Many other, lesser, pillars are strewn around the world, and even their power is great enough to assure those near them of their safety. In addition, the Called¡¯s Spirit will return to the Pillar they bound themselves to, if they are slain.
You are now bound to the Lesser Pillar of Creation - Stormhelm Arena You acquired a Shard of the World Pillar
So, respawn with a safe-zone, but not for me, right now. At least most likely, I was not about to test it more, my previous tests had been unnoticed but I doubted that would stay that way if I kept pushing. For now, I was on the Tutorial Railroad. I blinked the two windows away, only to have a third one instantly open in my face.
Tutorial - Step two - Inventory and Character-Screen
You have acquired your first item. To view your inventory, either press the B key or focus on the small bag-icon in the lower-right corner of your vision.
To view items you are already wearing on your person, press the C key or focus on the small character-icon in the lower-right corner of your vision. Continuing to walk, I blinked the windows away and did just that. My inventory had a bunch of slots, five on five, so twenty five slots, but only one was occupied by a white rock with some gold inlays. Focusing on it told me that it was the mentioned Shard of the World Pillar and that I could use it to return to this particular pillar. I would most likely be able to change that later, but for now, I was stuck here. Focusing on the Character-icon, another window opened, I merely glanced at it, my equipment consisted of rags and a Slave Collar. Reflexively, I tried to take it off and was rewarded with some more damage and it stayed on. Otherwise, it told me about my stats but as there were nine attributes, instead of the usual five, maybe six, I was unable to see a lot. Just that both my weapon-damage and armour were nonexistent, making any aggressive actions a risky proposition. I followed the guard into the arena, walking down a relatively narrow hallway, this one not made from the same light material as outside, the stones were a darker grey and they looked less smooth, which made me guess that we were in the employee¡¯s only section of the arena, where they didn¡¯t care so much about looking good. But, down we went and the dwarf and the horse-thief were sent into another hallway, while I was walking down into the warren that seemed to be beneath the arena. I did my best to make a mental map, as a minimap seemed to be something that Irminsul was missing. Maybe I had to unlock it, or maybe it was deactivated to increase the tension of my eventual prison break. Because if I was certain of one thing, it was that I wouldn¡¯t stay here long. I just had to figure out how to get around the collar, the guards and, optimally, out of town, all without catching a severe case of death. It was good that the guard was walking in front of me, confident that the collar subdued me, or the wide smile on my face might have been a give-away that I was planning something. Chapter 10 The room I was guided in looked like the medieval version of a modern gym, a diverse set of equipment for those who were so inclined to torture themselves on, or maybe get motivated to torture themselves by an instructor. There was even one of those, but seeing him, I had to struggle to keep my poker face, whoever had designed him had a wicked sense of humor. He was dressed in a dark green uniform, with the eagle-insignia of the Human Empire in gold on his left chest and, to top it off, he had a tan coloured, round hat on, even indoors. But when focusing on him, there was a green aura and a name-plate denoting him as Drill Sergeant Lee, with a title written under it, calling him ¡°The Hard Man¡±. Somehow, I had a feeling that laughter would be met with an angry tirade, maybe even physical attacks and the fact that his level was only denoted with a skull made me discard the idea to try escaping from here. Seeing my escort and me enter, he walked over. ¡°What do we have here, guard?¡± he asked the guy escorting me, shouting despite being only a step away from him. ¡°Sir, new beast-bait for the arena, Sir. Lady Julia ordered a full examination before she pays up, Sir.¡± the guard answered, shouting as well. I wondered if that was some sort of strange ritual, either part of being in the training room or when talking to the Sergeant. ¡°Beast-bait you say? I¡¯ll be the judge of that. Just because it¡¯s a blackpelt doesn¡¯t mean that it isn¡¯t vicious, hell, it means the opposite. If we let it at you, without the collar around its neck, I wouldn¡¯t bet on you surviving the experience. And that¡¯s with it being rather young. Now, get out of my room, maggot!¡± he shouted at the Guard, who promptly acknowledged his orders with a shout of ¡°Sir, yes Sir.¡± gave me orders to stay in the room and follow the Sergeant¡¯s orders and left. I was curious, he hadn¡¯t had the rod with him, but despite that, I wasn¡¯t damaged when I didn¡¯t follow him. It made me wonder what the limits were but I had a feeling that testing the Sergeant would be a bad idea. ¡°So, beast-bait.¡± he shouted, getting into my face. Curiously, I noticed that I was a little taller than him, even if he was loud and obviously more powerful than me. Still, I could look down on him, something I wasn¡¯t really used to. ¡°It is my job to see how useful you will be and later, to make sure your death will be exciting to the crowd. But maybe, just maybe, you will be one of the few who prove their worth and win the favour of Kallendra, freeing you from the Arena. But I doubt it.¡±
New Quest offered.
Leave the Arena - Kallendra¡¯s Favour
You learned that, if you earn the favour of Kallendra, the Divine Lioness, you will be set free from the Arena, becoming a Citizen of the Empire.
Success: Freedom Decline: Not an Option Failure: A glorious Death in the Arena Unknown
Again, my poker face was challenged and he might have seen the amusement in my face, causing him to start shouting that I would soon learn not to laugh. ¡°Let¡¯s see what use you are, beast-bait. Pick a weapon, any weapon, and show me what you can do to my dummy.¡± he ordered, taking out a dull iron rod, tapping it to my manacles, causing them to open. That done, he pointed to the nearby wall, where a wide assortment of weapons was placed, ready to be used. I hesitated for a second, not quite sure what some of them were, or how to use actually use them. Sure, I might manage to strap the strange claw-weapons I had seen in the trailer to my hands but I¡¯d likely do more damage to me, than to my foe. As I walked towards the wall, I quickly decided to keep it simple, and somewhat traditional, grabbing a large crescent axe. It was clearly meant to be used two-handed and at least the basic usage of it was obvious, even for someone who never held a real weapon in her life.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Focusing on the weapon told me that it was a Practise Crescent Axe, that it had a weight of two kilograms, even if it felt rather light in my hands, but that it also had a damage-value of zero. Trying to remember how it looked when they used something like that in movies or other games, my only reference, I placed one hand roughly in the middle of the shaft and the other at the end and walked over to the dummy. My first few attacks were rather clumsy, but I noticed that I was able to put some weight into my strikes. Finally, I decided to try something else, letting go with my right hand, which had been holding the axe in the middle, to guide it and give me some control. With just my left hand, I managed to bring it sideways and using the momentum, upwards, while I reached over my shoulder with my right hand, placing it right by the left, and letting loose with a full-powered swing, chopping down over my head, carrying all strength and momentum I could give the weapon. The result was quite impressive, even using a practise weapon that ostensibly did no damage. The previous attacks had slightly penetrated the dummy, leaving glowing lines for half a second or so, before they vanished. In addition, small numbers were displayed in the yellow aura of the dummy, which was reduced bit a tiny bit. This attack cleaved through the dummy, leaving a massive, glowing line that remained for almost two seconds and a larger number appeared, telling me that I had managed to deal forty damage to the dummy. After that strike, I needed to get my weapon under control, leaving me open to a counter-attack but luckily, the dummy didn¡¯t try anything. Once I managed to get myself back under control, two blue windows appeared.
New Ability acquired - Two-Handed Axe
Your Ability - Two-Handed Axe is now at level Novice I (0.00%)
You are able to split logs. Maybe. If they don¡¯t try to dodge.
New Skill acquired - Powerattack
You are able to put your all into an attack, striking with devastating force, but in doing so, you leave yourself open for counterattacks.
Weapon-Damage increased by double the Weapon¡¯s Weight (scales with Weapon-Ability and User¡¯s Strength) Defense reduced by twenty-five percent (scales with Weapon-Ability) for two seconds Accuracy reduced by twenty-five percent Cost: 15 Stamina
I quickly dismissed the windows, noting that the last attack had taken more stamina than all the others combined and readied myself to attack the dummy again. Getting Abilities and skills might be the point of this sequence. Sadly, the Sergeant interrupted me before I managed to get my grind on. ¡°Worthless! But not as bad as I thought, beast-bait. Maybe, you will shed some of the beasts¡¯ blood before they rip you to shreds. The crowd loves that. Try the Halberd.¡± he ordered, still shouting. I was glad that there was a little distance, so I was out of range for his breath attack. He might have been some sort of water-dragon in a past life. Still, he had given me an order, so I moved back to the wall, placed the axe where I had taken it from and quickly found the Halberd. I had seen similar weapons in history class and thought that they had been used for guards, maybe because of their rather intimidating looks, and to fight against cavalry, to either drag them off or take down their mounts. After thinking for a second, it might be a good weapon in a fantasy world where monsters as large as giants or dragons might roam, to say nothing of the strange horror of tentacles and teeth I had seen in the trailer. The Halberd had a large axe-blade, similarly shaped to the Crescent Axe I had used before, a pointy-head that could be used to stab an enemy and even a small hammerhead opposite of the axe-head, giving it even more weight and thus momentum, while allowing to deal purely bludgeoning damage as well. This time, I tried to swing the weapon around a little, before going at the dummy, and felt that it was challenging, it was heavy and slightly unwieldy but trying to move it exactly as I wanted seemed like a fun challenge. With a smile on my lips, I advanced at the training dummy, eager to show it who was boss. Chapter 11 For the next thirty minutes, real life-time, the Sergeant instructed me on using the halberd and, once I had the basics for that, started shouting for me to use my Rage, to let it guide me. That resulted in my first class ability, Harnessing Rage, and its associated skill, Fighting Rage. It gave me increased Strength and Damage while reducing my Defense and continually draining Mana to keep it active. It was essentially the continuous version of the Power Attack I had learned, I could even use both at the same time. That made me ¡°miss¡± the dummy for the first time, my weapon not drawing a glowing line through its body but deflecting slightly, making me almost lose my footing. A few more tries, with the halberd, got me a few more hits, but they drained more stamina than using it with the Two-Handed Axe. That made at least some sense, heavier weapon takes more effort to swing around, sound logic. I wasn¡¯t quite sure how better, or rather, higher levelled, weapons would act, as the Power Attack was dependant on their weight. That meant that either, the skill would turn out to be relatively useless or things would get¡­ interesting, with weapons heavy enough to break the character¡¯s bones, just by swinging them. Sure, you could grab the end of your weapon and start spinning like a top, letting go of the weapon once you thought that everyone was dead, but I didn¡¯t consider that a viable option for fighting. All in all, the Sergeant gave me some good instruction, bringing my Halberd Ability up to Novice V and actually allowing me, the player, to use the Halberd in an efficient fashion, to stab, to cleave and, maybe most important of all, to keep my weapon under control. It made me understand why people played with the virtual equivalent of mouse and keyboard, even if they used their chip to give the input. Right-clicking on an enemy and automatically having your character attack it in a controlled and stable manner was easy, allowing you to focus on tactics and similarly keeping an eye on everything. I was just now getting the hang of attacking a dummy that didn¡¯t fight back, or move in any way at all, so it drove home the point that the skill floor was a lot lower using direct control. On the other hand, the skill ceiling, what you could do once you mastered your character, was higher as well. My training ended when the original guard returned with two additional guards and, after getting a piece of parchment from the Sergeant, ordered me to follow them. At this point, I was quite sure that the slave collar was no longer enforcing his orders, there might be a time limit, but I was just as sure that the Sergeant would send me to respawn instantly if I started something. So, I played the meek slave, following them back into the lamp-lit tunnels, carefully keeping an eye out for anything that might help me in my escape. It might have been possible to fight all three of them, but unarmed, unarmoured and starting the fight with two of them behind me, I was not liking my chances but they were on the rise, just three level one guards, compared to an enemy whose level was only denoted with a skull. After walking through a few tunnels, we got to a long, upwards sloping hallway, which we followed. We passed a tunnel leading downwards and a mix between scream and shout echoed from down there, causing one of the guards to snicker and comment, ¡°Seems like one of the beast-baits is not liking the training.¡± before we continued on. We passed more rooms and junctions, which made it hard to keep track of everything, but I tried. Finally, I noticed a bit of blue sky in the distance, making it obvious that it was an exit but before i could get any smart ideas, one of the guards stopped and knocked on a door. A voice from the inside called for us to enter, so the guard in front opened to door and entered ahead of me, while the other two waited outside. I followed behind, as originally ordered, and the room I entered looked like an incredibly plush office. It instantly struck me as odd, an office that I would have considered more appropriate for a house of questionable repute in a building that was supposed to be a mixture between an arena and a temple, but considering that sneering witch-face from outside was the one sitting in the plush chair behind the enormous desk, I had an idea who was responsible for the pink, plush couch, complete with red heart-shaped pillows. On that couch, Greasy Face sat, with a cup of something and some cookies in front of him, his face a mixture of anticipation and annoyance. ¡°Ah, finally, the last one is assessed. Which buffoon took that long to give a price for a newly caught slave?¡± Greasy Face questioned in an almost whiny voice. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°It was assessed by Sergeant Lee himself.¡± Witch Face stated, causing Greasy Face to blanch. ¡°You have heard of him?¡± she asked, clearly enjoying his discomfort. ¡°Yes, of course, I have. He is known to be one of the hardest, but also fairest of those assessing Gladiators.¡± he allowed. It just furthered my curiosity, making me wonder what sort of character that was, Greasy Face had just lost points in negotiating by allowing for the assessor to be above reproach, so the Sergeant must have a scary reputation, at least towards two low-level NPCs. ¡°Very good. Then you certainly have no problem with his assessment, right?¡± Witch Face instantly pounced on the weakness shown while taking the note the Sergeant had given to the guard, opening and reading it. She grimaced for a moment, before standing up, walking around her desk and taking the sofa opposite of Greasy Face and passing the note to him. ¡°You can leave us. This will take a while.¡± Witch Face stated as she sat down, sending the guard away. Before I could decide whether to attack as soon as the guard was out, Greasy Face took out the rod I had seen before, making it glow and ordering me to stand near the wall, between the two of them. Biding my time, I, again, obeyed. The two of them then started into a negotiation that was, honestly, rather fun to watch, neither of them willing to give an inch, trying to gain the best price and added conditions they could. At points, Greasy Face threatened to simply leave, take his wares and go to sell them elsewhere, while Witch Face threatened to have her father arrest him on charges of kidnapping, using the fact that the Horsethief was human as a negotiating tool. Sometimes, one of them would get loud, with the other watching them posture with an icy face, other times, they would talk as if they were the best of friends or maybe lovers, about to rip off each others clothes. It was truly a spectacle. I would have enjoyed watching them dicker back and forth, if it hadn¡¯t been me they were dickering over. Instead, I tried to blend into the wall, not easy given that it was covered in garish tapestries, waiting for a chance. Finally, the two of them agreed on a price and conditions, Witch Face stood, looking slightly exhausted from their negotiations and walked to the massive desk, starting to rummage around in it. Greasy Face stood, following after her, standing next to the desk, his hair even greasier than before, his face read and beads of sweat were visible. I could even smell him, the unpleasant odour tickling my nose. When Witch Face had what she had been looking for, she walked around her desk-chair, handing the parchment to Greasy Face who started reading it carefully before apparently deciding that it was what he wanted and placing it on the desk, to sign. After signing, he, once again, took out the accursed metal rod and this time, when he raised it a little, the runes stopped glowing, making it look a lot less eerie and intimidating, merely a metal stick. It was in that moment, I realised what might just have happened and, when Greasy Face reached out to hand the rod over to Witch Face, I finally was able to strike. The two of them were mere feets away, maybe they had forgotten that I was even in the room over their posturing, maybe they thought I was passive, I didn¡¯t know what drove them but I knew that I had a chance. And I would take it. Clicking the mental button that activated my Fighting Rage, I struck, one hand going for Greasy Face¡¯s neck, the other just trying to get the rod away from either of them. I was rewarded with a squeaky noise, I wasn¡¯t quite sure which of them had let it out, and a crunching sound when my hand connected with his wrist. Feeling that my large hand had wrapped around his neck, I took hold, no longer focusing on him, but trying to get at Witch Face before she could scream. With one hand occupied and, really, no idea how to fight unarmed but the advantage of near total immunity against pain and a bit of an reckless disregard of my life, I would respawn anyway, Witch Face and I started to tussle. She had the upper hand, until I tossed Greasy Face against the large desk, stunning him and freeing up my second hand. Now, the fight was much closer, even if she was on a higher level. Our fight wasn¡¯t some sort of martial arts fight, it was a mess of scratching, slapping and trying to get leverage. I wasn¡¯t about to step back, allowing her to bring whatever skills she had to bear, so I was stuck with the awkward, crowded position we were in. Finally, I saw an opening and took it. Not to strike her, or to kick her, no, I went for the throat, literally, goring her neck with my tusks. It wasn¡¯t really a bite and I had no idea what drove me to try it, but the result was undeniably effective. A short glimpse told me that I had scored a critical hit, that I had scored a fatal hit and a blue window added that I had learned a new skill, Vicious Bite. All that helped to distract me from the fact that my face was covered in red, slightly sticky, blood and that I had just ripped out a human¡¯s throat. Taking deep breaths, I started to repeat the mantra ¡°It¡¯s just a game!¡± in my head, finally understanding why Full Diving was mainly for adults. Chapter 12 Getting my nerves back under control was made a lot easier by a few things. The first, maybe most important of all, was that most of the blood that had splattered my face quickly despawned, leaving only a few spots that were only visible in one of the mirrors in the room. The next was that the body of Witch Face quickly did the same, leaving behind a chalk-outline and a small bag sitting in the middle of it, marking the location of her demise and giving me the spoils for my kill. And lastly, the fact that Greasy Face started to groan, the impact on the table had obviously only stunned him for a few seconds, not killed him. But I was committed now, so I knelt down and delivered punches to his back until his health bar was depleted. It took a few, but punching him into the back lacked the visceral effect of ripping a woman¡¯s throat out with your teeth, so I was fine. A blue few windows opened, adding information.
New Quest offered.
Leave the Arena - Escape!
You have killed your owner, earning you a horrifying punishment, if caught. Escape from the Arena and the ensuing pursuit.
Success: Freedom Decline: Not an Option Failure: Death Unknown
Quest failed
Leave the Arena - Kallendra¡¯s Favour
You can no longer earn Kallendra¡¯s Favour in the Arena.
Result: Title: Escaped Slave
New Title: Escaped Slave
Some slaves manage to escape their bond, either with help from others or by themselves. But the experience leaves a mark on them, while also making them harder to magically compel in the future.
Slaver¡¯s and Slave Owner¡¯s have increased hostility towards you. Your Willpower counts as 25% higher for the purpose of resisting magical compulsion. When selected, your Willpower counts as 200% higher for the purpose of resisting magical compulsion.
New Ability acquired - Unarmed Combat
Your Ability - Unarmed Combat is now at level Novice I (12.02%)
Before there were weapons, conflicts were settled with your fists.
I quickly glanced over the various messages, noted that I had gained some EXP, two-hundred forty to be exact, bringing me roughly a third of the way to level two. That was positive, but I had no illusion that fighting my way out was a viable option. No, I would have to go to stealth-mode. But first, there were spoils to be looted, the first of which was the rod that I had smacked away. Picking it up and focusing on it told me little, just that it was a Rod of Control with three different active uses, none of which I could access, as I lacked the appropriate skill, ¡°Use Enchanted Object¡±. One of the three uses, I knew, it was to control the wearer of the collar, I hoped one was to unlock the collar but I feared that the last might be something along the lines of ¡°Kill the wearer of the collar¡± so I simply put it into my bag, deciding that I would need help with it, someone I could trust not to use it against me.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Next was to check the remains of the Greasy and Witch-face, conveniently organised into two bags waiting in the middle of their chalk-outlines. The loot was slightly disappointing, a few coins, 47 small, dark coins called Rappen and two slightly larger coins called Witten, some miscellaneous papers that could be sold to a vendor for a small price and a metal rod called Manacle Key with the added information that it was a single-use item that unlocked a set of Manacles. Looking around, I spotted a dagger nearby and decided that a small weapon was better than no weapon, so I grabbed it, equipped it and had to grin when it automatically added a sheat to the rope that functioned as the belt of my rags. I might have found more, but there was only so much time I could spent on going through the room and I had already spent too much time here. I was quite sure that nobody had heard the commotion, or there would be someone here already but I was on a timer. Listening at the door told me nothing, either the door was too thick or there was nothing to hear. With memories of the Mission: Impossible theme playing in my head, I carefully opened the door, first looking towards the direction I had seen the sky before but instantly discarding it as a viable option, the shadow of at least one guard was clearly visible on the wall. No, if I wanted to get out, I needed to be sneaky and i needed a distraction. Stepping slowly and trying to muffle the noise of my bare feet on the stone as much as possible, I moved deeper into the arena, trying to remember the various twists and turns while hoping to find something aiding me in my escape. Maybe I would even manage to free the two that had been brought here with me, it would help to have some contacts, otherwise, escaping the Arena would be just the first step, I would still be in the middle of a hostile city. But before I got to the tunnel that led to the area they were held in, at least according to the guard earlier, I heard the heavy footfalls of at least two guards heading towards me, so I instatnly ducked into the first door I could, finding myself in a storage room. Sadly, it was not filled with weapons or maybe a nice set of armour, but with large red-oak barrels. But the barrels wouldn¡¯t call out an alarm, so I was safe for now and stood at the door again, listening to the guards walk past. I noticed a strange smell in the room but pushed it out of my mind, thinking about plans for my escape. Once they were past, I waited for a solid minute listened again, hearing nothing, and opened the door again, taking a careful peek. Not that peeking would actually help, if someone saw me, they would know that I shouldn¡¯t be in the storage-room. But there was nobody to see, so I slowly continued my movement, making my way back towards the tunnel where the two other should be held. Luckily, I didn¡¯t run into more guards on the way, so I was able to find the hallway the guard had mentioned and started to make my way down there. I heard strange, muffled noises, loud enough to overshadow the soft noise of my footfalls. When I got to the lower floor, I saw a few holding cells and a single guard who was currently mocking the bound dwarf, telling him how he would shave his beard and things like that. With a wide smile on my face, happy that the guard was distracted by his sport, I continued to sneak, now going towards him, slowly drawing my dagger. The guard never knew what hit him when one of my meaty paws went over his mouth, muffling any screams, just in case. But considering that I was in what amounted to the dungeon, I doubted screams were uncommon down here. Just that now, the guard would scream. Not knowing how to effectively cut a throat, I simply started to stab his back, repeating it until his health-bar was empty, getting50 EXP for killing the guard. I took off the Dwarf¡¯s gag, letting him breathe freely. ¡°Thank you kindly, Orc. It looks like you intend to escape but I¡¯m afraid this is the wrong way to get out here.¡± he grinned, looking amused despite the fact that he was bound in a dungeon. ¡°Help, help me!¡± another voice called out, the one of the horse-thief. He was bound nearby but apparently, he had the wherewithal to keep quiet before, or maybe he never noticed me before I started stabbing the guard. ¡°If you get me out of here, I have contacts in the city, they can hide you, if you only get me out of here!¡± the thief continued his tearful plea. ¡°Orc, if you get me out of here, my people built this city. I should be able to access their old tunnels. That way, we can get out of here.¡± the dwarf offered and I realised why the key I had found earlier was only one use. I had to make a choice. Chapter 13 My eyes went from the dwarf to the horse-thief and back. Thinking purely logical, the thief would be the better choice, a lowlife should have the ability to help me vanish into the city, whereas the dwarf¡¯s ability to do that was a lot more questionable. Sure, his people had built parts of the city some hundred years ago, but who knew if there actually were those tunnels and such he alluded to. But at the same time, the thief¡¯s behaviour had been hostile, or rather fearful of me, the whole time, making me wonder if there would be a betrayal at some point in the future. However, it was a game. So, I was rather sure that either would get me out, but that going with the dwarf might be the harder version. Still, I would likely be able to manage, simply because it was the tutorial and generally, no games would end a player¡¯s path within the first few minutes, not unless the player did something particularly stupid. So, with that in mind, I guessed that helping the Dwarf would likely link me to the Dwarven-Faction and The Gathering in general while helping the thief might link me to the human criminal underworld. As I considered that, the quest I had forcibly abandoned by killing my owner, it would likely have linked me to the official Human and Council of the Wise-forces. But it might be problematic to leave the thief behind, if we did, he would certainly use his knowledge to his advantage, telling about our escape, either to profit or solely out of spite. I walked over, smiling gently, I told him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will free you in a moment.¡± He looked quite hopeful, at least until I pulled out my new dagger, that was when his face changed and he opened his mouth to scream, which was, just like the guard¡¯s scream, muffled by my second hand. This time I didn¡¯t stab my victim in the back, I stabbed him into the front and, for once, I was able to get a good look at the action. The dagger slid into his body, coming back out with a small spurt of blood, while leaving only a small, glowing mark behind. After a few stabs, the thief stilled and I stepped back, letting him sack in his bonds. That was one problem solved. A new blue window told me that I had acquired a new title, Ruthless, increasing the damage I dealt with critical strikes. I even got some EXP for the thief, but only fifty, keeping with the difficulty of killing him.
New Title: Ruthless
Mercy is for the weak, compassion is a shackle holding you back. When you strike, you strike to kill, making sure that your foes will never rise again.
1% increased Critical Strike Damage. When selected, effect changes to 10% increased Critical Strike Damage.
I would have to look into the question how to select a title, but for now, I had an arena to escape from. When I turned to the dwarf, he looked slightly worried, maybe because of the fact that my kills had added some blood splatters as decoration to my clothes, face and hand or because he had just watched me murder someone. He would come around, I was sure of that. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will free you. But I didn¡¯t want to risk him alerting the guards, just to spite us.¡± I explained, walking over and realising that I had never looted the guard I had killed. Wouldn¡¯t it be embarrassing if he had the keys to both their shackles, making killing the thief unnecessary? When I accessed the bag left behind by the guard, there was no second key inside, merely another dagger, identical to the one I already had. I would give it to the dwarf, if I tried to dual-wield, I¡¯d be more likely to muck up and using my paw had served me well so far. Opening the shackles was simple, I just had to touch the key to them and they sprung open with a soft click, allowing the dwarf to move his hands. He rubbed his wrists, looking much happier now that he was free and when I presented the hilt of the second dagger to him, he even grinned, at least a little. ¡°Thank you kindly, orc.¡± he nodded to me, ¡°Now, we just need to get out of here.¡± ¡°Agreed. But I doubt that fighting would work very well, we need some sort of distraction.¡± I explained, curious how good their NPCs would be. In previous games, they had managed to make them quite lifelike but there had been glitches when asked for things outside their parameters, causing the occasional, hilarious conversation. In this case, the question of a distraction was obviously not outside his parameters, so when he nodded and asked if I had any ideas how to cause one, I wasn¡¯t too surprised. ¡°Not yet, but maybe something will jump out to us.¡± I told him and together, we started our way back up, into the hallways of the arena.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Both of us kept silent, merely communicating with simple gestures and intently listening to anything around us. When I ducked around a corner, I almost singed my hair on one of the oil-lanterns that kept the place lit and at that moment, a sweet smell tickled my nose and memory. The lamp was smelling almost exactly the same as the store-room I had been in before, when hiding from the guards. A smile spread on my lips when I realised that it might be the ultimate distraction, even in a building mostly made from stone, a massive, smoking oil-fire would cause confusion and distraction. Maybe enough of both for two figures clad in rags to vanish in the, hopefully, ensuing panic. With a little more purpose in my steps, I retraced my way to the store-room and it was then, that our luck ran out. Right before we could duck into the room, a pair of guards came around the corner, almost running into me. Knowing that our escape would be brutally cut short, I instantly triggered my rage-mode and put the rush on the first guard, trying to bodycheck him into his friend, causing a tangle of limbs that I could stab into. While it was doubtful that I would easily be able to pin down two level two-guards, I had to try. ¡°Strength of the Mountains!¡± a rumbling voice called out behind me, and a symbol appeared in the corner of my eyes but I had little time to look closely before impacting with the leading guard. The impact bounced him back without slowing me down much and, to my surprise, the plan went exactly as I had hoped, the guard was carried into his partner and all three of us went down, with me up top, dagger out and blindly stabbing into the squirming limbs below me. The first guard¡¯s health-bar vanished but not before his buddy managed to get out of the pile, rolling away from the tangle. We both stood at the same time, just in time for him to get rushed by the dwarf. But, contrary to my expectation, the guard managed to push the rushing dwarf off him, turning to run away. I had yet to fully get to my feet but I was quite sure that, if he managed to run, we would have huge trouble, so I tried to simply leap forward in a flying tackle. It was a maneuver born from reckless desperation and, in this case, it worked like a charm. The guard¡¯s eyes widened as roughly two-hundred pounds of hairy orc-muscle flew towards him, and, just like before, he went down, hard. But he had managed to get out his own knife and I felt the stinging indicator that I was damaged, just as I stabbed him. For a few seconds, we stabbed into each other, my health quickly draining, just as his was. I quickly realised that I was winning the race, allowing me to calm and focus on getting my attacks right. Once the guard¡¯s health-bar was empty, he stilled and I pushed myself up, taking a look at the buff I had gotten. It was, as expected, called Strength of the Mountains and increased my strength by fifteen points and my armour by twenty, lasting for the next one-minute, thirty seconds, so it had originally likely a duration of two minutes. Checking my combat-log informed me that I had gained 120 EXP for killing the guards and that my ¡°Harnessing Rage¡±-Ability had grown to Novice III, with a few extra percent. ¡°Quickly, we need to hide their bodies.¡± the dwarf told me, making me wonder what he was talking about, the bodies would despawn and that was it. But, to my surprise, he grabbed the first one and dragged it to the store-room we had been about to enter when they came around the corner. Following his lead, I did the same with the second body, realising that it no longer felt like a body and more like a heavy pillow shaped like one, I was quite relieved, otherwise it would have been rather creepy. Inside the store-room, the barrels were still there and, just after we dropped the bodies, they despawned into the chalk-silhouettes I had come to expect, complete with small bags in their middle. Opening the bags netted some more coins but also a one-handed sword, called an Iron Gladius, dealing quite a bit more damage than the dagger. I instantly equipped it, in exchange for the dagger, slightly annoyed that there was no way to keep the dagger as a second, readied weapon. Or maybe there was and I just didn¡¯t know it, not that it mattered, I had no time to look for the option. Looking at the barrels I had come for, and actually focusing on them, labelled them as Lamp-Oil Barrels and now, my smile was back in force. The plan in my mind was rather simple, but maybe that was for the best. Using the dagger as a hole-punch, I opened the top of one of the lamp-oil barrels before going into my menu and taking off my upper-body clothes, leaving me in the most powerful garment of all, the indestructible underwear of privacy. In my case, it was an ugly, tan sports-bra that strangely covered more than the rags I had on before. It was part of my character, impossible to take off outside of designated, special areas and only after giving explicit consent, something I wasn¡¯t sure I would ever do. Still grinning like a loon, I pushed most of the rags into the barrel, soaking them with oil, lots of it, making sure that they were still in the liquid inside. Once I was done, I started laughing when blue windows appeared.
New Skill acquired - Improvised Crafting
Armed with nothing but what you find at hand and your ingenuity, you manage to craft things that seem improbable, whether it is their chance to actually work as expected or the question if a sane mind came up with them.
You can craft without a plan or the normally required facilities. The result can behave in unexpected ways.
Crafting Successful
You successfully crafted an item: Maxotov Cocktail.
Getting my laughter under control, I peeked outside, grabbing an oil-lamp when the air was clear, setting my improvised insanity on fire. ¡°Let¡¯s run.¡± I told my dwarven companion who had watched me with a look of slight worry, but now, he happily followed behind me, hopefully towards our freedom. Chapter 14 We didn¡¯t run, not quite. We hurried, but secrecy was still paramount and our naked feet would have made unmistakable sounds on the stone floor. So, we moved as fast as we could, without causing excessive noise. And, it seemed luck, or maybe the game-developer¡¯s intended scenario, were on our side, we managed to get through the hallways and to the office where I had left the two chalk-circles indicating corpses without the grizzly, visual effect of having them lying around. I had banked that they had yet to be discovered, given that their discovery would likely have caused an quite audible alarm and hunt for their killer. Now, the dwarf and I were in the office, listening at the door for the commotion that would allow us to escape. Sadly, I had no real idea how long the improvised fuse I had made from my former starting gear would need to set the oil inside the barrel on fire or how exactly such a fire would progress. I hoped that there would be a lot of smoke, some heat and a lot of screaming, but I just didn¡¯t know, so the time-line was a little iffy. So, to distract myself, I decided to test the game¡¯s AI, to see how well made and realistic the other characters were, starting with the dwarf next to me. ¡°Say, Friend, I never learned your name. You can call me Chrystal.¡± I told him, speaking softly to not attract attention from outside. He looked a little startled, the implied question apparently catching him by surprise. ¡°Roknar, my name is Roknar. And there was little time to talk, we were in a bit of a hurry.¡± he introduced himself and while there was no smile on his face, he sounded amused. ¡°Well, right now, we just have to wait until our distraction attracts their attention. I hope it will cause enough of one to allow us to get away. Otherwise, things might get a little dicey. How did they catch you, anyway?¡± I asked, curious how much backstory they had given him. It might tell me if he was an important NPC or just a throwaway for the starting area. ¡°How much do you know about dwarves, Orc?¡± he asked, answering my question with one of his own. ¡°Not a lot, I have to admit. I was called into this world by the Irminsul, so I know little, merely that you appeared on the surface some hundred-fifty years back and allied with the trolls.¡± I answered, hoping that he would answer and elaborate. ¡°You are one of the Called, then? Curious. And yes, we left the depths some hundred-fifty years ago and the trolls took us in, teaching us and helping us to get settled. We have a natural affinity for earth, stone and metal, which makes us great stoneworkers, smiths and such, but we knew little about the surface world. It was then that we worked with the humans, before they started their Council and allied themselves with the Gnomes.¡± he explained, his voice sounding even more grim than before when talking about the gnomes, even spitting on the floor in disgust. ¡°As to how I was caught, while we dwarves have that natural affinity with the earth, some of us were taught to harness all four elements by the trolls, they have their own affinities so they could teach us quite easily. My master taught me the lore of mountains but to understand the other elements, I had to travel out, to experience them. I was on my way west, travelling to the windswept plains your people call home, hoping to learn more about the wind there, when I was ambushed by those damned slavers.¡± he continued, making me realise that he was a sorcerer or maybe an elementalist, in game-class terms. If those applied to NPCs, I wasn¡¯t quite sure. ¡°I guess you can¡¯t just use your magic to break open the earth, digging us an escape-tunnel?¡± I asked, mostly in jest.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°No more than you can take your sword and split open the arena, allowing us to stroll out. Such feats might be possible for those who are powerful enough to undertake the challenges posed by the World Pillar, but not for us.¡± he answered, sounding amused again. It was the first time I heard that there were challenges posed by the world pillar, but it might be a simple expression, or maybe it was some sort of end-game dungeon. Trying to ascend the world pillar would certainly make for a cool setting for one. ¡°Once we are out of here, how do we best proceed?¡±I pulled my mind back to the immediate future, hoping to have a plan by the time the distraction went off. ¡°As I said, the city was partially build by dwarves, especially the sewer-system. We are good with those, you know?¡± he sounded quite proud of that. I wondered if there were two dwarven brothers, one clad in red and the other in green, maybe fighting Kobolds or something. Or rescuing princesses who got caught again and again. ¡°So, we should look for an entrance into those sewers, got it. Will they allow us to escape the city?¡± I pushed on, ignoring the amusing ideas springing to my mind. ¡°We might be able to use them to get out, yes. But what I truly hope is to find an old way-stone, that way, I could use it to teleport both of us to Cold Quarry, the dwarven town where my master lives. That is, if you want to come with me, we might find some of your people down there, I think they use the tunnels to scout for their raids.¡± he explained, making me consider things, not from a realistic point, but from a gaming-developer point, not that I had a lot of direct knowledge about the process but I had played a few games and there were common threads. Essentially, I was in a tutorial, so I hopefully would be able to complete it and get into a starting area, I doubted the devs would put someone who paid extra to pre-order their game into a situation where the only recourse was to re-roll, not if they wanted to make money. While that didn¡¯t give me an excuse to go full retard, I was quite sure that, as long as I avoided that, I would be just fine. So far, I had seen three possible win-conditions, the first was to get fame in the arena, the second to escape with the dwarf, the third to escape with the thief. Sure, escaping by myself would work as well, but it would essentially leave me stranded in an unfamiliar city, without contacts or information. Not a good spot. But I doubted that those three were the only win-conditions, so I might find something good if I kept my eyes open. While pondering possible ways to gain advantage in the opening scenario, I realised something else, something I had missed before. Maybe, I had missed it because I wasn¡¯t a big fan of the various shooter-genres, but, to my shame, I had missed the obvious. What did a red barrel mean to almost every gamer, past, present and future? ¡°If you hit this, you get an explosion.¡± And I had put a burning rag into a red barrel. Fudge. Just as I wondered if I was imagining things, a massive blast rocked the arena, strong enough to deafen me and cause the floor to shake, answering my question. For a moment, the dwarf and I looked at each other with a slightly disturbed look, until we both started laughing like loons. We had wanted a distraction and I was rather sure they were distracted. A few moments later, I even heard the dwarf¡¯s laughter over the ringing in my ears and, when putting my ear against the door, heard the commotion outside, Screams, shouts and footsteps. ¡°It is time for us to go.¡± I told Roknar, while deciding that some camouflage might be prudent, I hadn¡¯t expected such a¡­ big distraction. So, I grabbed a two of the wall-tapestries, taking the least garish ones, and wrapped one around my shoulder, using my dagger to cut it a little to create something resembling a hooded cloak, if viewed from far away. It might hide the fact that I was rather furry, but only to the most distracted and casual observer. Roknar took the second one from me and did something similar. I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted there to be video of our escape or if I wanted it to be something never talked about again, a dwarf, wrapped in a golden-pink wall-tapestry and a black-furred orc, also wrapped in a wall-tapestry, this one baby-blue with gold-tassels, escaping a burning building. The only way it could be more ridiculous was to have actual women''s clothing to disguise ourselves with, but I had to work with what I had. But, now more or less disguised, I opened the door and we started running down the smoke-filled hallway, towards the blue sky in the distance. Chapter 15 I had once watched a nature-documentary about ants and their behaviour if their hill, their nest, was ever breached. The milling masses around the arena, as we made our escape reminded me of that behaviour. It also made me think that something with the game¡¯s physics-engine must have bugged out, even if the barrels we had set on fire were some sort of magical, jet-fuel enhanced lamp-oil, there shouldn¡¯t have been as much smoke. But who was I to complain, the hallway we had used to exit the building had been filled with smoke, not just light, grey smoke like you saw on cigarettes but thick, heavily rolling clouds of black smoke that made me think of overdone visual effects. Vision was so bad that I would have been hard pressed to see my hand if I raised it to face-level, at least until we got outside, where I learned that the arena had many more exits and tunnels than the ones I had seen and, at the moment, every single one of those tunnels was expelling groups of humans, some of them clad like circus-performers, others dressed in simple work-clothes, making me think of janitors, and finally, those who organised the whole thing in their immaculate, rich clothes, the executives and religious figures, it was a temple dedicated to Kallendra after all. All those people, plus a few gladiators that were shepherded by their handlers, joined the guards and a group of people in blue-red striped robes, adding to the overall chaos. Beyond the immediate surroundings of the arena, gawkers were gathering, alerted by the massive blast and drawn to the arena by the dramatically billowing clouds of black smoke, the curious masses that pushed forward, trying to see, while people fleeing from the arena pushed into the crowd, jostling onlookers and stirring it up. Pandemonium, there was simply no better word to describe it. And in that pandemonium, nobody cared for the two strangely dressed figures, one rather tall the other short and stout, who made their way through the crowds, into a nearby alleyway. Or maybe, those few who I bodily shouldered out of my way, as I pushed through the crowd, they might have seen me for what I was and shouted in alarm. Only for their shouts to get drowned out by the general turmoil. When we got to a nearby alley and were about to duck into it, I grabbed a rock from the ground, not content to just cause havoc. No, seeing the circumstances, I hoped for more. With a loud shout of ¡°For the republic!¡± I took that rock and threw it, vaguely aiming at the guards that were trying to push the gawking masses back, to restore order and allow the firefighters to come to the scene. With that done, not knowing if I had actually achieved anything, I followed Roknar into the alley, laughing as I went. There were blue screens that I had shunted to the side as soon as they appeared, not willing to deal with them until I was somewhere relatively safe and had a few moments. He had gone a little further and found a grated access to the sewers. When I caught up to him, he had one hand on the connecting point between metal and stone, his hand shining with a dull, grey light. Now, that I was close enough, and the commotion behind me far enough away, I could hear a soft, cracking noise and, when looking closely, I could see that small cracks formed near his hand. Seeing that he was opening our escape, I stood back, just in case he needed room to work, and pulled my sword, so I would be ready if we were attacked. I wasn¡¯t quite sure I would be able to fight with the sword, or rather, how effective it would be, but I was quite sure it would be better than nothing. My resolve was soon tested, maybe twenty seconds after I joined him, a growl caught caused me to turn, looking further into the alley we were in, where a rather large and scruffy, yet also angry-looking canine was stalking towards us. Focusing on it brought up that it was level one, just as me, so I got ready and growled back, making sure it understood that I would fight if I had to. Not that I really wanted, not with an untrained weapon but I had a funny feeling that Roknar would need at least as long as I needed to dispatch the feral dog, no matter how long that actually took.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. A short glimpse to my own bars assured me that I had regenerated what I had used against my earlier opponents, so I could fight to my heart¡¯s content. Weighing the sword in my hand, I took another step forward, making sure that I was fully between the dog and Roknar, when the dog took that as its chance to attack. In a practised mental motion, I activated my Fighting Rage and tried to whack the dog with my sword as it was jumping towards me, trying to tear out my throat, or, if that failed, bowl me over to tear into me at its leisure. My own strike, slightly hurried as it was, passed right through the creature, causing its health-bar to drop drastically, but not stopping it. For that, I would likely needed something else, some kind of interruption skill maybe, not just a normal attack. But I did manage to get my free arm up, keeping its teeth from sinking into my neck but still, some forty kilogram of angry, charging dog made me stumble back, off balance. That the dog had found its footing and tried to either rip my arm off or get me to the ground didn¡¯t quite help and the sword was just too long to effectively wield it, so I simply let go, letting it clatter to the ground. Now, with one arm occupied by angry dog and one arm free, I started to simply hammer its head using a Power Attack, the strike making its teeth jerk in my arm, causing the usual sting of pain that indicated loss of health. A quick check of my bars told me that yes, I would easily outlast doggo, it would cost me a good fifty percent of my mana, some of my stamina and maybe twenty-five percent of my health, but I would manage. The power-attack and the previous sword-strike had taken about fifty-percent of its health, so I figured, three, maybe four more Power Attacks and I would be done. After the second, bringing doggo down to just shy of a quarter of its health, it did me a solid, letting go and trying to run. Not that I was having that, it had attacked, it had taken precious resources from me, so it would give me something in return. Its life, to be precise. And so, with a growl on my own, I pounced after it, managing a rather ridiculous flying tackle and bringing it down, where I wailed at it without using more skills, merely simple attacks. Four more of those and the doggo stilled, allowing me to push myself up and pick up my sword. For a moment, I considered exchanging it with my dagger, the dagger would have been more useful against the dog, but for now, I kept the sword. Turning around, to check on Roknar, showed me that he was still busy, so I looked back, to see if there were more dogs coming up the alley and noticed that doggo had despawned into a chalk-silhouette and left behind a small loot-bag. Shaking my head a little, I picked it up, finding a pair of dog-teeth inside, vendor-trash by the looks of it, but I was certainly lacking in the money-departement, so they went into my bag. I was about to ask Roknar how long he would need, when a new growl told me that we were not out of the woods, or maybe out of the alley, just yet. Turning, a second dog, looking rather similar to the first one, came stalking towards us. Again, I stepped forward and considered my options for a moment. I didn¡¯t really want to use my rage again, given that it took a lot of mana to activate it, so if I did, I would be out of mana, if another dog appeared. And, given the nature of such guard-events, I had a feeling that the last enemy would be the hardest. Programmers liked to send three waves, maybe it was a joke on the adage that good things came in threes, or something like that, but I had a feeling that there would be one more fight before Roknar was able to crack open that grate. So, I didn¡¯t just wait for the dog to charge me, I went after it aggressively. Just like the one before, it tried to jump me in an attempt to bowl me over but this time, I had a different idea than before. Where before, I had simply swung my sword, this time, I used it it almost like a golf-club, creating a ridiculous swing that likely would have me stabbed a few times against any thinking opponent, but against the leaping dog, it worked like a charm, especially with the added Power Attack. Where before, the weapon had merely caused the dog to lose HP, this time, the impact was added to it, maybe because Power Attack amplified the damage-portion that was caused by the weight of the weapon, I didn¡¯t quite know, but it worked. I made a mental note to experiment some more with the different weapons, their effects and possible future skills, while watching the dog make a rather ridiculous back-flip, spun in the air by the force of my blow. It landed heavily on its back, after one and a half rotations that made me question the physics-engine even more but it was on its back, stunned, at my feet and at less than half-health. So, I did what every player would do in that moment, I finished it off, for those sweet, sweet EXP and waited for it to despawn so I could check for loot. Chapter 16 A cracking sound behind me caused me to turn, expecting a third enemy to jump out and attack before we got to safety. But judging by Roknar¡¯s satisfied expression, he was done. After taking another set of teeth from the second dog¡¯s loot bag, I took up position, just in case that last enemy I was expecting would jump at us from the sewer-grate he had just opened. But, contrary to my expectations, nothing jumped out to attack us and we could slip into the sewers without further incident. The sewers were different from what I had expected and just what I had expected at the same time. Part of me, the slightly scholarly part, had expected something that would fit with what I had read about sewers in antique cities of reality, something cramped, foul smelling and obviously dark, as there wouldn¡¯t be any lighting installed or maintained. The other part, the part that had played video games in the past, had expected a wide tunnel, almost large enough to fit a car into it, with a chest-deep body of water between walkways on either side, with bridges allowing to cross from one side to the other, maybe with secret side-tunnels and the odd monster-rat, illuminated by flickering torches that were regularly changed and maintained, so they wouldn¡¯t burn out. The sewers in Irminsul were of the regular, video-game variety, something I was rather grateful for. I had no desire to wade in excrement, virtual or otherwise, and had a feeling that, if the programmers had made it realistic with the appropriate texture and smell, I would have either uninstalled the game and never touched it again or decided to try my luck on a sneak-mission through a hostile city, just so I wouldn¡¯t have to go down there. But no, the grate Roknar had opened allowed us to drop roughly a meter down, landing on a relatively narrow walkway next to a cloudy body of liquid. There was no overly intrusive smell and the walls, ceiling and the walkway itself were giving off a soft light, not bright enough to cast visible shadows, just enough to see. ¡°Where do we go from here?¡± I asked Roknar behind me, while looking around, searching for potential threats. ¡°Give me a moment, I need to seal this.¡± he answered, closing the grate behind us and, again, using his magic on it. The additional delay made me think that there would be more enemies, causing my to tense up, ready to spring into action in an instant. But apparently, the designers had some perverse sense of humour, knowing that most gamers would expect the usual number and design, they had broken from it. There was no additional enemy, causing my vigilance to spike even further, a sense of foreboding haunting me. I was expecting anything from zombies leaping out of the foul liquid beside us to soldiers suddenly jumping down from the roads above. ¡°Good, this is done.¡± Roknar said behind me, causing me to almost fall into the liquid from being startled. ¡°So, where to?¡± I asked, tense. He placed his hand on the stone beneath us, closing his eyes for a second before answering, ¡°There are signs. We should go this way.¡± he pointed towards the right. Not having even the slightest clue where we were or should go, I simply went with his suggestion, slowly padding forward, sword in hand. The sense of foreboding was even stronger now, the slightly strange illumination and the lack of shadows making me feel uneasy. ¡°We should get over to that tunnel.¡± Roknar spoke up, pointing to a side-tunnel on the other side of the liquid. Even if it was only virtual, there was no way, not in this world or any other, that I would wade through raw sewage, the idea of respawning was more palatable to me.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Let¡¯s go look for a bridge.¡± I answered, peering down the tunnels around us, looking for an indication of one. Sadly, there was only one way to go, either forward or back, so I continued following the path we were on, trying to make a mental map. Suddenly, I stopped, causing Roknar to almost bump into me. There was a faint, skittering noise nearby, causing me to look at the surroundings closely until I noticed a drainage pipe right above the water-level a few steps in front of me. As I watched it, a set of claws appeared on it and a furry thing crawled out, in a move that I felt should get it in trouble with the laws of physics. Focusing on it brought up its health-bar and the level-indicator, telling me that it was level two. Now that it had crawled onto the walkway, I was reasonably sure it was supposed to be a rat. Only that it was the size of a small dog and ugly as sin. Whoever had designed the model, they had some great attention to detail, the way the fur was crusted with things I didn¡¯t want to think about, to say nothing of touching them. But I would likely be forced to, as the rat was skittering towards me, forcing me to deal with it. Acting similarly to the way I had with the first dog, I waited until it got close before swinging my sword in an attempt to keep it back. My first, rather half-hearted, swing, missed, simply going through it without causing damage. Or maybe it was just bad luck that the system decided to count the attack as a miss, based on attribute-calculations. Emboldened by my failure, the rat tried to bite my leg, which I quickly pulled back, but as I did, I realised that it gave me an opening and, after pulling it back, I simply swung my leg back forward, in an improvised soccer-kick. Part of me imagined a loud voice calling out that I had scored a goal and that I was now world-champion when the rat was thrown back a few steps, taking some damage in the process and giving me space. It obviously hadn¡¯t learned anything from the first exchange and tried to get me again, but this time, the numbers came up good for me and I managed to get a solid hit with my sword, before kicking it a second time. This time, it managed to scratch my leg, dealing a small amount of damage, but I was cleary winning the fight. Roknar was just watching from behind as I repeated the ¡°strike with sword, kick away¡± routine three more times, the rat not managing to do more than occasionally scratch me, until it finally stopped moving. But while the direct damage of its attacks was miniscule, they had inflicted me with a debuff, dealing a little more damage over the one-minute duration and lowering my endurance a little. Nasty, little bugger that thing. But it gave me sixty EXP, almost getting me my first level-up. I would have to find things to kill, or quests to do, otherwise, I¡¯d never get to level hundred, the current maximum-level. Additionally, I wondered just why I didn¡¯t get the one-handed sword skill, either the presence of the Sergeant had greatly increased the skill-acquisition-rate or there was something else I was missing. Given that I had a debuff on me, I just waited the few seconds until it despawned, slightly disappointed that there was no loot. But it gave me a moment to look at the messages I had ignored for quite some time now, ever since we escaped the Arena.
New Title: Arsonist
Such pretty, flickering flames, licking on wood, consuming fuel, burning, blazing. There is beauty in the destructive nature of fire and you consider yourself and artist.
Non-magical fires you set burn 25% longer When selected, this title also increases the duration of magical fires you cause, in addition to increasing the fire-damage you deal by 5%.
Your actions have been noticed¡­
Your relationship with the Human Empire is now unfriendly.
The title made me smile, it was the same that I would have started with as a raider, while the box afterwards was not ominous at all. But there was nothing to be done about it, so, with Roknar in tow, I continued my slow progress through the sewers. Chapter 17 After our first encounter in the sewers, I curiously was more relaxed than before. While the rat I had killed was plainly disgusting, it gave me something to expect, instead of the strange, anticipatory paranoia, vigilant for whatever the developers of Irminsul had cooked up for me. While I wasn¡¯t quite certain that they wouldn¡¯t be evil enough to add some sort of jump-scare, maybe a zombie leaping from the foul water next to Roknar and me, trying to grab me to drag me into it, I was expecting more rats, maybe some sort of predator that hunted them and similar things. And so, with added confidence after murdering the first filthy rat, we continued on, towards the location Roknar thought was down here. He had alluded to some sort of gateway, something that would allow him to teleport us out of here, but that was it. Sadly, the fact that he was locating whatever he was looking for using his magic meant that, his directions weren¡¯t given from knowledge of the location, like a map would, but by heading, like a compass would. Something like that was great when on open plains or in locations where you could change direction at will, but down here, it was slightly annoying. The next two rats that attacked us came at us together, crawling from two different pipes at just the same moment. It made Roknar help with fighting, instead of standing back, watching me. It was quite interesting, now that we were out of the arena, he seemed to be more confident and willing to use his magic, I¡¯d have to ask about that, later. The strength-buff he placed on me was quite welcome, allowing me to smack the rats around with ease and he even added a few rock spikes, sharp magical projectiles that knocked them off balance. His participation made what should have been a slightly annoying encounter, thanks to their stacking debuff, into a walk in the park. After both rats were dispatched, a joyous chime went off in my head, informing me that I finally had murdered enough beings in this world, allowing me to advance to level two. With a smile on my head, I opened the character-window, checking what the level-up gave me and also looking at the attributes in detail. I had seen that there were nine and postponed checking what they did, not that I had a great deal of equipment to increase them, so it hadn¡¯t mattered at all. But now, I had five points to increase them and finding where to place those was important. The list of attribute was mostly normal and what I expected but it had a few outliers. Strength, normal enough, added physical damage. What I thought curious was that it not only increased melee damage but all non-magical damage, the factor depending on the method, or rather weapon, used. Next was agility, also a standard attribute, but instead of increasing ranged-damage it was responsible for movement, increasing the dodge-rate and decreasing the stamina-costs for a few things. Dexterity, an attribute sometimes used but mostly in place of agility, so a little surprising to see both. It governed hand-eye coordination, increasing the accuracy of attacks, casting-speed and crafting-quality. However the absolute effect on all of those was rather limited, making it an attribute that was useful to everyone but not a priority to anyone, other than crafters. Intelligence, just as usual, added magic damage and maximum mana, no surprise there. It wasn¡¯t completely wasted for a character like mine but far from a priority. Intuition, normally they¡¯d call it Wisdom or Willpower or something like that, increased perception and mana-regeneration, allowing you to see stealthed creatures and hidden objects. Similarly to intelligence, not wasted for me, but also not important. The next was Charisma, which had the main-purpose of increasing buffs given by you, to other people and decreased the chance that you were spotted while in stealth. So, control over your aura or something like that? Interesting. But not for me. Willpower, which normally did what Intuition did in Irminsul, decreased the effect of crowd-control effects, gave a chance to resist some forms of magic and reduced the chance that your spell-casting was interrupted by damage. I would have to see how important it was, maybe very, maybe not at all, it was dependent on my enemies after all. Next, endurance, increasing my stamina and it added some physical damage resistance, making it important to me. And finally, Vitality, increasing my health, quite plain and simple but important for everyone nonetheless.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. At a glance, I saw three attributes that were definite winners, Strength, Endurance and Vitality, with three that were interesting, Agility, Dexterity and Willpower. Sure, the other three were useful in their own right but not as good as the others. With that in mind, I placed two points in strength and one in Endurance, Vitality and Dexterity each. There was no major effect, a few points of Attack, Health and Stamina, but nothing earth-shattering, not that I¡¯d expected that. Still, I felt bolstered by the success and continued on, keeping an eye out for dangers or hidden opportunities and a few minutes later, I spotted something that might very well be one of those. Looking down a side-tunnel, I noticed something I hadn¡¯t seen down here yet, something that made me curious. Earth, loose dirt, barely visible around a corner, but it was interesting enough to investigate. ¡°You are going the wrong way.¡± Roknar told me when I turned, not walking over the small bridge that allowed us to pass over the dark water flowing from the side-tunnel I had turned into. ¡°I know, but there¡¯s something back there, a cave-in or something similar. I¡¯d like to check it out, maybe I can find something better to wear, compared to, well, nothing.¡± I explained, gesturing with my sword. ¡°As long as we don¡¯t take too long. They might have noticed that we are missing and started looking for us already. I¡¯d rather not be found.¡± he grumbled, but followed after me. I was curious what the limits on non-player followers were, he seemed to be useful and, at least from what I¡¯d gathered, he didn¡¯t reduce the EXP I gained, making him super-useful. Still, I doubted that I would be able to keep him, game-developers wanted players to play with each other, not having a gaggle of NPCs following them around, so followers were often less powerful than players or limited in other ways. The earth I had seen was pushed out, the stone-wall gone, maybe fallen into the dirty waters below, I certainly wasn¡¯t about to dive in, looking for it. It created a small, maybe a meter high tunnel that led somewhere. When I approached, I heard some scratching noises and, before I could get there and look inside, a furry thing came crawling out making hissing noises at me. Focusing on it told me that it was level five and, while Roknar cursed softly behind me, I was looking forward to fighting the black-furred thing, even if its large claws were quite intimidating. ¡°That¡¯s a giant mole-rat, watch for the claws.¡± Roknar spoke up, giving me his strength-buff but not adding any useful information. Given that its claws were easily the size of the dagger I had given him and stood out quite well thanks to the contrast with its black fur, I would have had to be blind to miss them. And so, activating Fighting Rage, I started to take a few steps, starting to gather speed, while attacking. I would have loved to use both hands on my sword but that would have been a bigger hindrance than it would have helped, the handle was just too short. With a wide smile, I got into the fight, even giving a guttural war-cry when I got in range, trying to transfer as much of my momentum into my sword when I swung at the mole-rat. I even layered the power-attack on top of my charge-attack, knowing that it was risky but it might be well worth it. My swing came from the lower right side and, similarly to the dog I had killed before, it was quite powerful, the combination of power-attack, fighting rage and strength of the mountains working to create massive damage and impact. Contrary to my expectations, the mole-rat was not tossed about, it kept its footing despite taking damage. Not that it was a lot of damage, just some. Off-balance, I was unable to dodge its attack, taking almost forty percent of my maximum health, while my attack had merely taken twenty percent of its maximum health. And that was with all my buffs, the running start and power-attack. Cursing, I jumped back, barely dodging its next attack. For a second, I considered just turning around and running, the mole-rat was higher level than me and right now, I saw the difference but I wasn¡¯t quite ready to run yet. Waiting for it to attack again, I stepped back, guessing at its range, causing it to miss and allow me to get a quick stab in before having to retreat again. It worked, I took a small chunk of its health, maybe five percent, without taking damage in return. Hoping that the low-level monster only had one style of attack, I waited for the next attack, dodging it, stabbing and retreating, taking another five percent. After that, the rat waited for me to make a move, while screeching, maybe trying to call in support. If that happend, I would have to run, so, hoping to interrupt whatever it was doing, I attacked again, using power-attack as I had the option. My attack hit, causing the rat to lose ten percent HP and become silent, but it also allowed it to land a glancing blow while I was a little off-balance, taking another ten percent from me. As I recovered, a couple of rock-shards from Roknar flew by, taking another ten percent from it, making me smile. With only half my HP remaining, I settled in, waiting for it to attack, knowing that patience was the name of the game. It turned out just like I hoped, the mole-rat attacked, I dodged and got a stab in before retreating again, creating a cycle that allowed me to stay healthy while whittling it down. It didn¡¯t try to screech again, but, after a few of my attacks, my Fighting Rage wore off, my mana depleted. The rat had still fifteen percent remaining, between my attacks and another rock-shard from Roknar, it had taken a beating. Yet, my next attack only took two percent from the rat, causing me to frown. But, just because I dealt less damage didn¡¯t mean that I would abandon my tactic and after two more rounds and another set of rock-shards from Roknar, finished the rat off, giving me a hundred EXP, making me wonder if it was worth it. Still, it was dead and I had a secret room to explore. Chapter 18 Once the mole-rat was dead, I closed my eyes for a moment, just focusing on breathing. It had been closer than I wanted to admit to myself, I was down to half health, the dodging had taken almost sixty percent of my stamina and I was completely out of mana. Without Roknar, I would be dead, no matter how perfect I played, dead to an enemy merely three levels above me. Granted, on my level that meant 2.5 times my level, yet I wasn¡¯t pleased.
New General Ability acquired - One-handed Sword
Your General Ability - One-handed Sword is now at level Novice I (0.00%)
You know that you should stick them with the pointy end. Or slice them with the sharp end. Sometimes, even bludgeon them with the flat of the blade or the pommel. Swords are a wonderfully versatile weapon.
New Skill acquired - Dodge
Dodge this!
Active: You take a quick step back, evading incoming attacks. Cost: 20 Stamina Passive: You gain a chance to evade incoming attacks, based on your agility and defense.
For a moment, I was flabbergasted, a General Ability? I would have to look that up, but later. While I looked at the boxes the mole-rat despawned, leaving behind a sack of loot. When I opened it, I had to laugh at the fact that the mole-rat had not only declawed itself but also stripped off some of its fur. What a friendly customer it was. After shaking my head, I placed the items into my inventory, hoping to find a vendor at some point, to get some coin in exchange. But for now, I had a hidden passage to explore, hopefully without running into any more mole-rats, if I crawled into one, I was¡­ dead. No question about it. I looked at the tunnel, realising that I could crawl through it, but not easily. For a moment, my eyes fell on Roknar who noticed my gaze and blanched. ¡°I won¡¯t crawl into that thing, who knows what¡¯s on the other side.¡± he refused emphatically, despite the fact that his size was much better suited for crawling. At least his height was, I wasn¡¯t quite sure who was wider in the shoulders. For a second, I regretted playing the game by direct control, instead of using the equivalent of keyboard-control. Going down on all fours and crawling through the hole dug by the molerat was rather unpleasant, not just because my character¡¯s frame was relatively large, causing me to rub against the walls but because the mole-rat had lacked a basic sense of sanitation, judging by the smears on the ground and the walls. Focusing on the price that I hoped waited at the end of the tunnel, I pressed on, towards the literal light at the end of the tunnel. I also ignored the question how the hell my sword managed to keep itself from getting stuck, hoping that it would continue to do so, if I just didn¡¯t question it. Luckily, the tunnel wasn¡¯t very long, only about two meters, making it bearable, yet, when I exited it, I breathed a sigh of relief. Looking around, I had to smirk, it seemed I was in an old, dusty cellar, a set of stone stairs leading upwards in one corner towards a door. Under the thick coating of dust, the room was rather cluttered with all kinds of things, most of which looked like trash that even a vendor would decline, without any monetary value. Still, I kept looking, moving as silent as I could, hoping to avoid possible occupants upstairs hearing me. It took me about a minute to find what I had been certain would be inside, one of the closed closets had an accessible inventory, allowing me to open it without making too much noise. Part of me wanted to try if I could just smash the other closets but maybe not when in a hostile city, trying to hide.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. When the closet opened and its inventory-window appeared, I got a wide smile, inside was an armour stand and, placed diagonally so it would fit, a spear or lance. The inventory-screen told me that those were three items, one a Light Legionnaires Chest-Armour, one a Light Legionnaires Leg-Armour and lastly a Winged Lance. Either I was incredibly lucky or the closet was set to have loot for the person opening it inside. Not that I cared, I now had a medium chest armour, leg-armour and a spear that was treated as a polearm. A few mental clicks place the new stuff on my character, causing it to appear around me, luckily with the straps already in place. The chest-armour was mostly leather with metal scales affixed onto it, I wasn¡¯t quite sure if it was anything that would work in real life, but it looked quite good, almost like fish-scales. What I wasn¡¯t too happy about was that the eagle-symbol of the Human empire was emblazoned on the chest but for now, beggars couldn¡¯t be choosers. Maybe I could deface the symbol or something like that, giving the whole armour a more pillaged look, like it was something I had ripped off the carcass of a slain enemy. The leg-armour was something that made me wonder if the look was dependant on the sex of your avatar, as in females get a skirt, males get pants, but I couldn¡¯t test it easily. What I got was a wide leather-kilt with riveted metal-strips, making it look quite sturdy yet light. It wouldn¡¯t do much against attacks from below or directed at my shins but it didn¡¯t reduce my range of movement, so I was happy with it. The two items gave me some insight into the workings of the Irminsul-Equipment System, because they actually reduced my defense by a small amount, while giving me a quite generous boost to my armour-rating. A little poking around showed that the armour would actually increase the chance to get hit, as it had weight and was thought to slow me down, but reduced the damage I would take when getting hit. After a moment of thought, I was willing to make a bet that there would be some sort of armour-training skill that would reduce that penalty and that the penalty was depending on the weight and class of the armour. So, a full suit of plate-mail that wasn¡¯t made for you and you weren¡¯t trained in, would reduce your defense by a horrendous amount, maybe even reducing the armour-value it had, while I was hardly hindered. And lastly the Winged Lance, about two meters of solid wooden shaft tipped with gleaming metal, I could certainly work with that. The damage was higher than my Iron Sword by quite a bit and the skill was actually one for my class, so I was looking forward to commit violence with it. It was a little strange that, when equipping it, I also got a leather-strap running across my chest, going from my belt to one shoulder and down my back, to my belt again, but when I thought about putting away the spear, I realised that the standard method was to carry large weapons on your back when they weren¡¯t in use. Sure, I could, and would, use my spear as a walking stick most of the time, but when I wanted both hands free, that was a nice touch. Not realistic in any way, but I was just fine with that. When I reached around, to feel the receptacle for my spear, there were two small leather-loops and when I added the spear, awkwardly feeling around, two hooks appeared on it, instantly hooking through the loops, making it hang on my back. Again, I chuckled before trying to ready it, and lo and behold, as soon as I had a hand on it, the hooks seemed to just disappear, letting me have my weapon in an instant. Now, if only the ancient romans would have had magically disappearing weapon-harnesses. It was quite likely that the effect would be similar with two-handed swords, just that they got a full back-sheath, people expected those by now. Out of curiosity, I tried to crawl back out and had to laugh when this time, the spear actually got stuck. At least they had considered this, instead of simply having it clip through the wall, without being considered part of my character-model. For the short crawl, the solution was simple, as soon as I actually wanted to leave, I¡¯d just shove the spear out first, picking it up as soon as I was out. But first, I wanted to make sure I hadn¡¯t missed any loot or an opportunity to follow the first maxim: Pillage, then burn. I had pillaged, maybe I would get a chance to upgrade my Arsonist-title. Chapter 19 Sadly, even a further search through the cellar failed to reveal more loot and, after a moment of consideration, I decided that, while the whole ¡°Orcish Barbarian Raider¡±-shtick was funny and something I wanted to stick with, maybe I should wait until I was no longer in such a precarious situation to invoke it. That, and I had neither good fuel, accelerant or even a starter, so setting a fire was complicated anyway. Thus, defeated, I went to my knees, crawling back out the tunnel, joining up with Roknar. ¡°Ah, good, there you are. Let us continue on.¡± he said, as he started to follow me again. We went back into the main-tunnel and continued on our way. For the next ten minutes, we walked along the sewers, killing rats and two feral dogs on our way, the fights being rather underwhelming now that I had a weapon I was proficient with and armour. The rats just took a few good stabs and the dogs, well, those fights were almost ridiculous. They, just as their brethren above, tried to bowl me over by running and jumping at me, so, when the first one did, I let it impale itself on my lance, setting the butt of it against the ground to brace it. The effect was quite dramatic, the dog impaled itself on the tip of the lance, the wings preventing the lance from over-penetrating, letting the dog hang in the air for a moment, before it counted as a critical hit, adding a serious bleed-effect to the already high damage. Before the dog could attack a second time, it died from the bleed, making me blink in surprise. Still, the fights gained me some percentages on my Polearm-skill and EXP, both were quite welcome. ¡°Wait a moment, there¡¯s something here. Give me a moment, I need to figure this out.¡± Roknar spoke up behind me and started to inspect a wall, mumbling into his breath and doing his magic again. I stood at the ready, vigilant just in case the developers felt that a second defense-event was the right thing to finish the quest off and, as if on clue, I heard metallic sounds in the distance us and human voices talking. ¡°Are you sure they are down here?¡± an authoritative voice asked, sounding slightly annoyed. ¡°Yes, Your Grace, I¡¯m quite sure. One of my boys saw some blackpelt crawl into the sewers, right after the commotion at the arena started.¡± a second voice replied, this one reminding me of the horse-thief, whiny, obsequious and annoying, all at the same time. There was a loud, audible snort, ¡°No doubt, your ¡®boys¡¯¡± the voice managed to put an impressive amount of scorn into that one word, ¡°were quite busy stealing in the crowd. Guardsmen, do we know what started the riot? Was it caused by these damn thieves?¡± the first voice asked. ¡°No, Your Grace, we don¡¯t know. From what we put together, two newly acquired slaves murdered your daughter and escaped. Mister Howell here stepped forward, apparently he was acquainted with someone who had ¡®mistakenly¡¯¡± a third voice replied, showing that he was a good student of the first voice by the doubt he expressed in his opinion of it having been a mistake. ¡°been taken in as a slave and he wanted that person to be released. Sadly, the person in question was also murdered by the two slaves in question.¡± ¡°And so, having heard about his acquaintances perishing, he remembered his civic duty and helped tracking down these two slaves, yes?¡± the first voice asked again, now sounding rather amused. ¡°Be that as it may, I will return to the surface, the smell down here is most displeasing. Guardsmen, Mister Howell, you will continue your search.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Grace.¡± both voices agreed and I had to hide a grin at the oh-so-great coincidence that they just happened to have their talk-talk in earshot of me. It gave me some valuable information, even if I worried a little if Roknar would manage to get us out of here before we ran into trouble, or rather, before trouble found us, judging by the sound, trouble was certainly on its way. Knowing that there was no point in hurrying Roknar, I prepared myself, making sure that the floor around me was clear and I wouldn¡¯t slip at an inopportune moment, as I heard the sounds approach. Judging by the footsteps that echoed, there were more than just two of them, it sounded like three sets of heavy boots, making it impossible to tell if there were more than those. As I waited, I realised that there might be serious trouble, if they had the command-rod for Roknar, they could force him to stop until I was able to kill them all. Considering the problem such a scenario might cause, I quietly stepped away from him, sneaking almost to the corner where I heard them coming from. The walkway there was wider, allowing two people to walk abreast, whereas the walkway in the tunnel Roknar was in was just wide enough for one, and that barely. Stabbing my spear forward was easily possible, but swinging a weapon would be more difficult. I had a feeling that I could work with that. Standing with my back against the tunnel-wall, trying to keep myself from being seen in their peripheral vision as much as possible, I waited, quieting my breath and listening to their footfalls approaching.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Just when I saw a foot step into my line of sight, I activated my Fighting Rage and, still trying to keep as silent as possible, stabbed my lance forward, into the space that would be occupied the next moment. My ploy worked perfectly, the leading guard hadn¡¯t been paying enough attention and my attack from ambush managed to hit him nicely, sliding through a gap in his armour and into the flesh beneath. Additionally, it seemed that my attack counted as a momentum-transfer, causing him to stumble sideways, losing his footing and falling into the foul water next to him. He had screamed quite nicely, a little high-pitched maybe, but that was quite literally drowned with the splash he made. Pressing my advantage, I followed up, stepping into the open to attack. In front of me were three figures, two more guards equipped like the one I had just pushed into the sewage and one, standing further back, who looked like a mix between rat and weasel, making me think of the stereotypical used-car salesman. When I focused on the guards, I learned that they were level five but there was an additional sign, marking them as elite. The guy in the back, he was just denoted with a skull, making me seriously worry. All three of them were frozen in surprise, trying to process what just happened. It gave me an opening to stab forward into one of the guards. Sadly, his armour was far better suited to defend against attacks from the front and, while my stab connected and dealt damage, it wasn¡¯t the same, massive critical hit that the first attack had been. ¡°Enemy!¡± the one I hadn¡¯t hit shouted while the other grunted in pain. It added to the splashing sounds coming from the water, where the third guard was trying to get his bearings. But, seeing that it would be a bad idea to try fighting two opponents, maybe even three, depending what the suspicious looking character in the back would do. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t fight at all, but on the small walkway in the tunnel towards Roknar, I would have some time. With that in mind, I quickly stepped back returning into the tunnel I had struck from, where they would have to come at me at once. And not only that, the water was on my right side, while the guards had their shield strapped to the left side, so their sword-arms would be limited by the wall right next to them. In addition to that, the ceiling was sloped, blocking even more of the space they would need to fight. The guards were quite obviously well trained and, just a few seconds later, the first of the came around the corner, shield raised and his sword in hand, ready to hack at me. My response to his slow, methodical advance was rather simple and similar to the tactics I had used against the mole-rat. I stabbed, aiming for the guard¡¯s sword-arm but he quickly moved his shield, causing the tip scrape across it. A little damage was transferred over, as it still counted as a hit, but it was greatly reduced, likely as an effect of armour. With that done, I simply stepped back, evading his stabbing sword. He was simply unable to get close enough to even force me to hurry, which I exploited by stabbing him again. As long as I had space to retreat, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get at me. In that manner, one stab, one step, after the other, I slowly continued to move, slowly bleeding the guard to death. Not that I really wanted him to die, right now, he was blocking the suspicious guy from advancing on me. But at the end of the day, each stab caused him to hesitate, giving me more time. Suddenly, I felt pain in my leg, causing me to curse and look around, seeing the seriously bleeding and quite filthy guard that I had pushed into the water standing in the water, stabbing upwards. In that moment, my strategy fell apart, forcing me to abandon it, the guard would just have continued to attack me from behind. My previously slow, measured retreat turned into a frantic flight, my stabs turned hurried and brutal, no longer caring for my stamina, just caring to keep the two guards from overwhelming me. ¡°It¡¯s open!¡± Roknar shouted behind me and, with another stab, I completely turned and started running, taking a few more hits that made me stumble. I managed to get away from the guard in the water but the second was hot on my heels when I reached the now open wall with Roknar waiting for me. I let myself stumble into the wall, taking a small amount of damage but I got enough distance from the guard behind me. ¡°We need more time, hold them off!¡± Roknar told me, as I was about to continue my flight. Gritting my teeth, I prepared to make my stand, the hole in the wall acting as an excellent choke-point. Outside, the guard was hesitating, knowing that he couldn¡¯t give way on the narrow walkway he was on and not wanting to fall into the disgusting water behind him. ¡°We have it cornered!¡± he called out instead, blocking the passage and, in the sudden silence, now that there was no more fighting, I heard the quickly approaching footsteps of more guards. Snarling at the guard, I tried to intimidate him, to buy some more time. I was down to half health, about forty percent-mana but just about twenty-five percent stamina. While I could do without mana, it would merely reduce the damage I dished out, if I ran out of stamina to dodge, I would die, simple as that. But the guard didn¡¯t look too hot as well, his health was down to twenty percent and he, unlike me, thought I was trapped anyway and saw no need to throw his life away. Our standoff remained, neither of us willing to move. My mana drained, the rage depleting it even without any activity on my part, but at the same time, I regained some stamina. I called that one a win. There was a whooshing sound behind me and the tunnel around me was bathed in a strange, stony-grey light. From somewhere behind me, Roknar called out that it was time to leave. I noticed the guard¡¯s eyes suddenly turning big and all of a sudden, he pressed forward. With a grunt, I combined power-attack with a stab, something I hadn¡¯t tried before but it worked, the lance stabbed into the guard, causing him to stagger back, while I disengaged again, turning my back and running, hoping that I made the right choice. In the strange cavern Roknar had opened for us, the first thing I noticed was the strangest of all, a grey, whirling something, looking almost like a whirlpool but instead of whirling water, it looked like the whirlpool was in a large, grey rock. The rock itself was decorated with glowing runes, glowing with silver light and next to it waited Roknar, his hands raised and mirroring the grey colour of the whirlpool and his face beaded with sweat. ¡°Quickly, go through the portal!¡± he shouted and, without thinking about it, I dove in. Chapter 20 I had to blink my eyes for a few times, trying to make sense of what was around me and where I was. There was no feeling of weight, no up or down, just a strange, featureless void, the only indication of existence was a feeling of blowing wind. For a second, I was seriously weirded out, not knowing what to make of things, until I realised where I was. I was in a loading screen and apparently, the developers liked to make fun of players. Luckily, I was only in there for a few seconds, before getting pushed forward by the wind. A flash of light blinded me, causing another round of disorientation, and when I could see again, I was standing in a stone room, the ceiling barely above my head and all around me, dwarves were reacting to my sudden appearance by drawing their weapons. A moment later, Roknar stumbled into me from behind, causing me to turn and steady him, just seeing the grey vortex fade from existence. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I asked him, while keeping an eye on the dwarves around us. With his appearance, they looked less hostile but still rather wary. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m alright, thank you. Come, I need to introduce you to my master, or things might get¡­ problematic.¡± he said, gesturing for me to follow him. Most of the dwarves around us stayed where they were but two of them, both clad in heavy armour and each carrying a shield and battle-axe followed us, walking behind me, reminiscent of guards escorting a prisoner. Hopefully, I hadn¡¯t jumped from the pan to land in the fire. Looking around, I was a little disappointed, normally, dwarves were renowned for their monumentous, massive architecture, but here, it was far more utilitarian, the ceiling just high enough to stand but I would have been able to reach it with my hand without trouble. It was held up by quite a few pillars that interrupted the hall we were in every few meters, making me feel a little closed in. In addition to that, there were no gold decorations in sight, merely smooth, grey stone, illuminated by glowing crystals. When we reached the exit of the hall we had appeared in, I suppressed a sigh of relief, there was one of the Lesser Pillars of Creation, what the game called its spawn-points, allowing me to bind myself as we walked by. I would rather spawn in the Dwarven enclave, compared to the human city where I had murdered a bunch of people. We didn¡¯t have to go far, just through a few, mostly empty, hallways until we reached a solid looking stone door. The way didn¡¯t gave me a lot of time to ponder, but I could pierce together some of the reason for the slightly wary and hostile response I had gotten. One, I was wearing the armour of a human legionnaire, granted, I was an Orc, yet, I didn¡¯t know if any Orcs served in the human army. Another was that I doubted that it was common knowledge that the dwarves had some sort of teleport-network spread throughout the land, even into their cities of their enemies. At least unless I was willing to think that it was coincidence for plot-reasons that I just happened to start in a city with such a stone. Sure, it likely was, the scenario I had played had been specifically put together to be played after all, but I doubted that the developers would make it so obvious. Before I could think of more potentially problematic things, the door swung open and Roknar and I entered, while the guards waited outside. We were awaited by an old dwarf, the long, white beard reaching down to his chest but at least, he wasn¡¯t dressed in a bathrobe, instead wearing pants and a tunic. He looked at Roknar for a moment, his eyes filled with confusion that turned to anger when he noticed the collar, before flickering to me in a short inspection. Focusing on him merely told me that his level was denoted by a skull, something I had seen a few times already. ¡°Greetings, Roknar. You are back very early, I didn¡¯t think you would return to the Halls of Stone until you finished your Journey of Discovery.¡± he greeted Roknar in a friendly, yet stern, voice before looking at me. ¡°And with such¡­¡± he paused for a second before continuing, ¡°interesting company. You will have to tell me all about that and about that piece of jewelry adorning your neck.¡± he finished, his voice dripping with hatred when mentioning the collars we both still wore.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Greetings, Teacher. Things didn¡¯t quite go as planned and I was captured, to be used as a slave in the arena of Stormhelm. I met this Orc in captivity, she was called by the Irminsul, and she decided that fighting and dying for the Glory of Kallendra was not such a nice idea. Despite being one of the Called, she reacted in typical Orc-fashion, by killing her captors and setting the place on fire, luckily only after freeing me. But given that we were smack in a human city, I guided her underground, before using the Hidden Stone Road to leave.¡± Roknar quickly explained, not going into details, causing his teacher to nod. ¡°You forgot your manners, boy. Introduce your companion, please.¡± the old dwarf scolded, but he looked far more merry now. There was even a smile on his face, something I had rarely seen on Roknar. ¡°Of course, Teacher. Teacher, this is Chrystal, an Orc Barbarian who was Called by the Irminsul. Chrystal, this is Sorcerer Glonar, my teacher and one of the leaders of Grey Quarry, the town we are in.¡± he said, and I gave an approximation of a polite bow, not quite knowing how to correctly respond. ¡°And Chrystal, Thank you. Without you, I would likely be looking at a brutal death in the arena.¡± Roknar finished and a blue window appeared.
Quest completed!
Leave the Arena - Escape
You joined together with one of your fellow captives, the dwarven Sorcerer Roknar, and together, you managed to escape the Arena and the City of Stormhelm. While the events in Stormhelm will have consequences, you are now in friendly territory and safe.
Rewards:: 2000 Experience Points Reputation with the Dwarves of Grey Quarry raised to Friendly Reputation with The Gathering increased Belt of Dwarven Friendship
The EXP instantly went to my bar, a soft chime going off in my head, and I saw that I hadn¡¯t just reached level three, I had reached level four, with a few EXP left over, the quest had given that much EXP. But, give that I had spent a few hours of real-life time on it, that was quite reasonable. I made a note to distribute the ten points later. ¡°I thank you as well. Few Dwarves are suited to walk the Path of the Elements, losing Roknar would have been regrettable. Here, take this from me.¡± Glonar added, walking over to a chest, taking something out of it, before walking over to me. It looked like a Belt-Buckle, embossed with a golden hammer. Focusing on it, as I took it, opened a window that told me it was the Belt of Dwarven Friendship, even if Belt-Buckle would have been a better name for it. I could use it to modify any Belt I wanted, giving it a scaling bonus to Endurance, in addition to reducing the effect of poisons, especially Alcohol, on the wearer. It also noted that a craftsman could take the belt apart to regain the buckle, making me smile. This would serve me well, a magic item that wouldn¡¯t be replaced in a few hours of playtime. The alcohol-resistance was a fun flavour, but otherwise it was a very useful item. I just needed an actual belt to use it on. ¡°Roknar, why don¡¯t you introduce your friend to Kangur, he trains a few dwarves in the art of using their rage in a fight. I think your friend would fit in well with them. Afterwards, return to me and we can talk about getting rid of your collar, I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯ll be a little more difficult.¡± Glonar suggested, causing Roknar to turn. I hesitated for a moment, before deciding that I would just go with it, hoping that the game wouldn¡¯t screw me over too hard. ¡°Concerning the collars, I was able to liberate this from my late owner, right before he became late.¡± I said with a smirk, while taking the control rod from my inventory, presenting it to Glonar. He looked at it, distaste apparent on his face, before nodding. ¡°Yes, that helps and thank you, for trusting me.¡± he raised the rod, almost as if about to give me a command and I tensed a litte. ¡°Release!¡± his voice cracked with authority and there was a strange rumbling noise in the air before the collar around my neck started to crack apart, falling to the floor in chunks, looking less like solid metal and more like a porcelain mug that had been thrown at rock. In his hand, the rod suffered a similar fate, the runes glowing shining with the same, eerie light i had seen before, until it, too, crumbled. ¡°I see, that is how they do it.¡± Glonar mumbled into his beard before looking up. ¡°Take your friend to Kangur, Roknar, and then come back. I think I can rig something to free you from your collar, but it will take some time.¡± Glonar said, obviously dismissing us. Meanwhile my hand was feeling around my neck, partially happy to be rid of the collar that had taken up an equipment-slot while slightly regretful that I couldn¡¯t keep it, to be word at my pleasure. But it would likely look strange to the inhabitants of the world to keep such a thing, even if it was to remind myself where I had started. Next to me, Roknar turned and I followed him, again. Chapter 21 As I followed Ronar through the hallways of Grey Quarry, I noticed something significant. Before meeting Glonar and completing the quest, the looks directed at me had been hovering between distrustful and hostile, now, they were much more friendly and open. I considered it a curious quirk of the reputation-system, wondering if there was some sort of in-universe explanation for it. When I realised that the hallways all looked pretty much the same, grey stone, with worked stone-doors leading off to different parts of the complex we were in, I decided to use a the time I spent padding after my dwarven companion to place the attribute-points I had gotten for levelling up. I considered for a bit, before going with the same distribution I had used before, four in strength and two in agility, endurance and vitality each, using up the points I had. I would have to consider some way to get more mana, depending on the amount of mana needed for future abilities but for now, that seemed like a good distribution. Ultimately, I would either have to spread my points out or use equipment to make up for possible shortfalls, but, the question which was the better way would take some time to work out. Or maybe there were tricks I wasn¡¯t aware of, allowing me to neglect certain attributes by making up for that in other ways. More research and some experimentation was required. My musings on good attribute-distribution were cut off when we reached a hallway that looked different enough to catch my eyes, not so much because it was build different but because there were a few windows that replaced the light shed by glowing crystals with daylight. Stopping Roknar with a short word, I started looking outside and, for a moment, I was confused by the perspective. It was almost as if I was looking out from some high-rise building, only one that was built in the mountains, looking out into what appeared to be a valley with some visible fields, surrounded by scraggy looking trees and some bushes. And, just from the figures I saw walking around, we had to be high up, they looked small, even considering that I was most likely looking at dwarves. Sadly, the thickness of the outer wall prevented me from getting a better look by limiting my perspective. Still, it was quite impressive that the outer wall was easily a meter and a half in thickness, all of it looking to be like solid rock. Shaking my head in wonder, I gestured for Roknar to continue, noticing a sly grin on his face, as if he was looking forward to something. It was an expression I hadn¡¯t seen on his face, so I was curious what had caused it. He followed the hallway a little further before reaching a set of double-doors, guarded by more armoured dwarves and when he opened them, I understood the look on his face. As I stepped out, the view in front of me was simply breathtaking, much more than the little glimpse I had caught through the window. The dwarves had build their city into a cliffside, or maybe calling it a quarry was just as accurate, a place where grey stones had been cut before. The quarry was curved and we were standing roughly halfway up the cliff, looking down a lot of stairs, And those stairs were quite impressive in their own right, with only a sturdy-looking bannister to prevent one from falling down the dozens of meters to their death, it was simply breathtaking. Not just from fear, it seemed the dwarves were using the different sets of stairs almost like roads, connecting different doors into the quarry with each other, spreading their city out all over the place. The quarry had a sharp drop-off, where the mountain originally had been, before the rock had been harvested, and beyond that, the valley continued, the farms now easier to see and even the bushes and trees looking less scraggy. But, down on the ground, there are no buildings, merely a few roads and pathways between the fields and animal-pens, nothing that I would normally expect in a city. The whole of dwarven architecture is inside the cliff, making me shake my head in awe. Further to the left, maybe halfway down the valley and some distance away from the quarry itself, a small brook is flowing down the mountains, heading further down the valley from there. ¡°It¡¯s quite the view, isn¡¯t it?¡± Roknar asked softly from next to me. I hadn¡¯t quite realised that I had walked out of the door and across the landing, standing at the bannister and looking out into the distance.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Yes, it is awe-inspiring.¡± I answered, still a little spellbound. ¡°It is the lifeline of Grey Quarry and the reason for the name. You see, most people only ever see the main gates of the city, set on the other side of the mountain. This here, this is the dwarven lifeline, where we can get water, grow our crops and animals. If we ever need to close the main gates, the farms you see down there can sustain us, almost indefinitely.¡± he explained, sounding proud. ¡°I¡¯m honoured to be shown this. It is impossible to climb the valley and attack you from behind?¡± I asked, surprised that I meant it. I would have to log out soon, or I might go native. ¡°For an army, yes. Individuals can make their way up, but it would be rather difficult, not just because of the terrain but also because we guard it quite well. But now, we are supposed to meet Kangur, the old grump is mostly down at the foot of the cliff.¡± Roknar stated before turning and starting to march down the cliff. I followed him, careful where to step, slightly intimidated by the fact that, if I stumble, I might fall down the entire cliff. Sure, it would be the fastest way down, but somehow, I would rather not have my first death be something like that. Another part of me wondered if there was a way to change the games environment to add a slide into the cliffside, allowing me, or anyone who wanted to try it, to jump onto it and ride it down the cliff, maybe going from up top all the way down in some sort of spiral. We would just have to add some sort of soft landing spot and it would be just as awesome as going to a large waterpark, just ingame and, well, about two-hundred meters high, if I judged the cliff correctly. Climbing down made me grateful for video-game bodies, normal walking didn¡¯t consume stamina so I wasn¡¯t feeling any fatigue from the stairs or any discomfort from the awkward steps I had to take to fit the steps that were sized for dwarves, not tall orcs. When we finally made it down, the first thing I noticed was that there were quite a few dwarves that moved around slightly erratically, some moving perfectly normal, until suddenly stopping and turning, others seemed not quite used to their limbs. It was easy to guess what they were, other players, only that they had started as dwarves. Following one of them with my eyes guided me to another Lesser Pillar of Creation and, before Roknar could show me where to go, I quickly jogged over, registering it to my shard and binding my respawn-point down here. Once that was done, I got back to him and followed him to Kangur, who sat on a bench near a quite large door, looking almost like a barn-door. It look me a second to realise that it was one, just made from stone and set into a mountain, but I had seen cattle in the valley, so it stood to reason that the dwarves had a barn as well. ¡°Greetings, Kangur. My teacher asks if you would take on this Orc as one of your pupils. She was called by the Irminsul and saved me from a harsh fate at the hand of the humans.¡± Roknar asked, sounding just as polite as he had with his teacher. ¡°Hrmpf¡± Kangur looked up, studying me for a moment, while I studied him in turn. The first thing I noticed was that he was clean shaven, his face looking more like old leather than living tissue, and completely bald. The only hair anywhere on his head were his bushy eyebrows, that had drawn together in a frown. ¡°I can at least look at her, there are quite a few of those called bustling about, what would change one more.¡± he grumbled, the lack of beard helping to hear him. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I told all those newcomers, go and kill a dozen rats, those pests are scurrying around the barn and the cats don¡¯t manage to kill them all. Maybe throwing you called at the problem will solve it.¡± he ordered and a quest appeared for me to accept or decline.
New Quest offered.
Pest Control I - Grey Quarry
Kangur, the Barbarian-Instructor in Grey Quarry ordered you to kill twelve rats in the barn.
Reward: Experience Lesser Sustenance Crystals Decline: No penalty Failure: Kangur will consider you unworthy to be trained.
I wasn¡¯t quite sure how I could fail the quest, there seemed to be no time-limit on it, so I simply accepted and started looking around if there were more dwarves that might have quests for me. ¡°I will leave you to your tasks, Chrystal. We will certainly meet again.¡± Roknar told me. I wished him farewell and success with the problem around his neck, before he turned and walked back to the stairs. With that, I was finally on my own in the game, no longer beholden to a partner or other trouble. And right on time, it was almost time to start making dinner, or my parents would be slightly annoyed. After walking over to the lesser pillar of creation, clearly into the safe-zone projected by it, I initiated the logout process, causing my avatar to despawn. Chapter 22 My eyes blinked open and I was back on my bed, slightly groggy due to the dream-state I had been in for the last couple of hours. Standing up and stretching made the feeling quickly fade and once it was gone, I went downstairs, thinking what to make for dinner. When she heard me on the stairs, Treya noticed that I was going about the house and she started to romp around, looking for some attention, which I gladly gave her. A quick look to the clock showed that I had enough time to take her for a walk, before I needed to start cooking. Outside, it was a little muggy and too hot, especially compared to the cold wind I had experienced in the game, on top of the dwarven staircase. It made me smile, the idea to actually have a vacation ingame, it was something that had become part of the norm in the last few years, either areas in games that were just vacation-spots or complete games that were nothing but a vacation, with a myriad of pleasurable pursuits that could be enjoyed. It was a practice that was much debated, the question if there should be limits on such technology, either by what can be done in such games or by how much time one is allowed to spend in them. I, for one, was of the opinion that, as long as there were no health-concerns, people should be allowed to do whatever they wanted with their free-time, but that was just me. With music playing in my head, I continued walking to the park with Treya, where she was allowed to run around freely for a bit, as I continued on the paths. Curious, I used my implant to look up a little more about Irminsul, especially in the first reactions-departement. Sure, there had been some information floating around beforehand, but it was always interesting to see what people actually thought. There were the usual over-exaggerated titles, praising the game as the innovation of the century or calling it the worst trash that had ever been programmed, which caused me to yawn, it was just so predictable. A little further down, it got interesting, with a discussion of the various classes, even if the focus was on the early levels. At some point, I would have to pick a second class, a choice I was looking forward to. The large amount of classes allowed for interesting combinations that might even change how the class was played. But at the end of the day, I was quite certain that some combinations would be more popular than others, due to greater efficiency. The game-developers had made noises about their balancing, which sounded good on paper but only the future would show how well they managed that impossible task. There would be combinations that they didn¡¯t anticipate and some of those would likely be more powerful than they wanted, with strength far beyond their specialisation. But that idea, to allow hyper-specialised characters and use the environment as a balancing-mechanism on its own, it was a good one, at least in my opinion. What good was a character that was supremely powerful, but only when facing a specific enemy and that particular enemy quickly went extinct? ¡°Treya, heel!¡± I called out, causing the dog to leave whatever she was sniffing after and bounding back. It was time to walk back home and start dinner. Mom and Dad had worked the whole day, so I felt it was just fair if I made it. That was what I was doing when Dad came home, cooking rice, while making sure not to burn the grilled chicken or overcook the vegetables. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, you look like you are having fun.¡± he said when entering the kitchen, where I had been dancing to the music in my head, causing me to blush fiercely. I hadn¡¯t heard him come home causing me to dance like no-one was watching. ¡°How was work?¡± I asked, turning my music down. ¡°Oh, the usual, I made sure to keep my fearsome reputation.¡± he answered with a laugh, causing me to cock my head in question. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, now curious. He wasn¡¯t a physically imposing man, not by any stretch and I doubted that he was malicious to his students, that would be totally against his character.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°You see, if students think that they will be caught if they try cheating, if you have a reputation for catching them and having no tolerance, it cuts down on the numbers of students that try. But if nobody even tries to cheat, that means you can¡¯t catch them, get my drift?¡± he asked, grinning widely. ¡°Yes¡­¡± I acknowledged, not quite getting his point. ¡°Well, in every exam, there are a few students that don¡¯t come to lectures, that merely read the script, or who took the class the year before and failed the exam, so it¡¯s not like in school where you know your classmates by name and those in your year at least by sight.¡± he began to explain, but I was still not getting it. ¡°A couple of colleagues and I started to exploit that, asking trusted students, sometimes grad-students from other courses, to sit in the exam, pretend to do it, even if they just doodle on a page, and get ¡°caught¡± cheating. That way, we kick a cheater or two out every year, making it very obvious and public. You should read the comments on some of the ratings given by students, they make me out to be the eagle-eyed guardian, watching for even the slightest attempt at cheating to kick you out of the exam.¡± he finished with barely suppressed mirth. I had to laugh, it was such a curious idea, just crazy enough that it might work. Which, apparently, it did, it wouldn¡¯t get rid of all cheaters, some just thought they wouldn¡¯t get caught, no matter what, but some would likely hear rumors that it was pointless and not even try. And even if it didn¡¯t work, there was hardly any loss by kicking out someone who was just there to be kicked out. ¡°And how was your day?¡± he asked, when I stopped laughing. ¡°Well, the new game¡¯s out for pre-orders and I got to play some.¡± I began, knowing that Dad played quite a lot, using the chip to play in dreamtime. But, while we had played in some of the same games, we had never really played together, Dad was mostly playing with his old friends, people he had known and gamed with for decades. While they were not necessarily competitive gamers, they were a tight-knit group that had achieved some success in a couple of games. ¡°Any downtimes?¡± he asked, sounding slightly envious. ¡°No, that would be so 2012. Everything went just fine, I had fun, even if the start was a little¡­¡± I struggled for the right word, lamely finishing with ¡°dramatic.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± he asked, sounding actually curious, not just asking out of politeness. ¡°Have you looked at the setting?¡± I asked in return, continuing when he nodded, ¡°Well, you might have noticed that they portrayed the humans as the good guys, attacked by the evil orcs and all that?¡± I stopped again, and, again, he nodded. ¡°They were quite smart about that, marketing one faction as good but making them practise slavery, so there will be controversy. And my start was as one such slave, in a cage, on the way to an arena.¡± I finished, causing him to blink in surprise. ¡°And the tutorial set you free?¡± he asked, able to guess where such a start would lead. ¡°Yeah, it was quite a ride, multiple ways to complete it, likely leading to different starting-areas and factions. So, now, I¡¯m a mighty Orc-Barbarian, starting amongst the dwarves.¡± I explained, causing him to nod. ¡°So, you went with The Gathering? I¡¯m not quite sure what I¡¯ll pick, maybe we¡¯ll end up playing together at some point.¡± he mused. ¡°Sure, I¡¯d like that. But remember, you can only start playing next week so you have some time to figure things out. I have to do that as I go along.¡± he grumbled something under his breath, about thankless sons, knowing where I had gotten the pre-order from but I could see that he wasn¡¯t actually annoyed, merely trying to be funny. But it also ended our talk, dinner and the task of keeping it from burning, occupying my mind. During dinner, we somewhat picked it back up, to Mom¡¯s chagrin, she wasn¡¯t too much of a fan of multiplayer-games, preferring to spend her time in solitary pursuits, reading or knitting. I had asked her about it once and to her, downtime wasn¡¯t something she wanted to spend on solving meaningless problems for imagined beings. Her job already required her to listen to people¡¯s problems and help solve them, so I could see that she didn¡¯t want that in her downtimes. But it was fun to discuss the various options with Dad and I was quite sure that he leaned towards one of the pure caster-classes, likely a Wizard, from his reactions. After dinner, I spent some time reading before logging back into Irminsul, looking forward to the next quest. Chapter 23 After logging back in, I looked around for a moment, realising that during the time I had been away, the day had turned to night. There were fewer dwarves walking around outside, even Kangur was still sitting there but he looked sound asleep. But other dwarves I had seen around were gone, making me wonder if there were quests that were dependent on the time of the ingame-day, either to complete or to receive. But for now, I had rats to hunt, so I stepped away from the pillar I had logged out to next, walking toward the smaller door next to the barn-door, the one made to allow people inside, without needing to open the larger doors. Inside, I was greeted by a sleepy dwarf, looking as if I had just woken him up. He scowled at me while blinking owlishly, making me wonder if he was Sleepy or Grumpy, either would have been fitting. ¡°What do we have here?¡± he asked, after giving off a grunting noise, ¡°Oh, you are that Orc that recently got here. You can help, distribute food to the sheep.¡±
New Quest offered.
Feeding Grey Quarry¡¯s Sheep
Walter, the dwarven stablehand in Grey Quarry, asked you to help feed by feeding eight sheep in Grey Quarry.
Success: EXP Decline: No penalty Failure: You will be demoted to ragpicker, as feeding sheep seems to be above your skill-level. .
Amused. I mentally clicked the accept-button and the sleepy dwarf sat back on his chair, apparently falling back asleep instantly. I wasn¡¯t quite sure where to get goat-food but I was certain it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to figure out, so I started to walk deeper into the barn-cave. It was quite spacious, especially compared to the cramped tunnels I had seen earlier but just as, if not even more, utilitarian than the other tunnels. Looking around, I noticed that I either had some sort of night-vision or there was something that I couldn¡¯t perceive here, illuminating the barn, otherwise, it would have been completely, utterly pitch-black around here. Granted, it would have been quite annoying to play around a light-source, especially as I hadn¡¯t seen anything that could work in that regard, so I was happy that I wasn¡¯t forced to blindly fumble around. The barn seemed to be split into three main parts, one for goats, one for sheep and the third one for storage, at least from what I was able to tell. I was supposed to feed the sheep and kill rats, so I started towards the area I had deemed storage, due to the large bales of straw that I saw from the outside. Hopefully, I would find something to feed the sheep in there, maybe some hay or grain, complete with instructions on how much I needed to feed a single sheep. Somehow, my life as a city-girl had not prepared me for feeding dwarven, or any kind of, sheep. Inside the storage-area, it only took me a moment or two of looking around to realise that some of the bales were highlighted as interactable objects and when I tried to grab part of one, I heard a loud squeak and a rat, looking relatively similar, just not as filthy, as those I had fought beneath Stormhelm jumped out, looking rather angry about being woken. The moment I heard the noise, I jumped back, managing to dodge the rat¡¯s first attack while looking closer. Focusing on it told me that it was level one, so I simply reached behind me, letting my lance fall into my hand and, when the rat was about to attack a second time, swung my lance in a wide, sweeping arc, almost casually slapping the rat mid-jump. The sharp blade of the lance, combined with my recently increased level and strength caused enough damage to kill the rat out-right, causing me to grin. Sadly, the EXP were just as meagre as the challenge, giving me just thirty exp for my trouble. Once the rat was dealt with and I had grabbed the tail it had dropped, focusing on the fact that it might sell for a few coins, I tried to gather up some of the now de-ratted hay again. This time, it worked like a charm and an inventory opened, allowing me to take ¡°a portion of hay¡± and run with it. Not that I needed to run, it wasn¡¯t like the hay would get cold or anything.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Now, with some hay, I walked over to the sheep-area, looking around. There were quite a few of them, standing or lying around, sound asleep. I wondered what sheep did if they couldn¡¯t sleep, did they count farmers? Grinning, I took the hay from my inventory and tossed it to one of the nearby sheep which gave a happy bleat and started munching on it. A quick check on my quest-counter told me that I had indeed fed one sheep and had seven more to go. Not much of a challenge, but it was likely the first set of quests you got when starting as a dwarf, I just had some extra experience, equipment and level from the tutorial-start. While walking back to the storage-area, I wondered if the tutorial and the choices I had made during it would come up again or if they would just be swept under the rug. The rest of the quests went just like that, go pick up some hay, kill a rat or two when getting it, go back to the sheep and feed another one, sadly, I was unable to carry more than one portion of hay because it was set as a limited item. That was a little annoying but didn¡¯t change anything, it only took up a little more time. Once the two quests were completed, I went back to the sleepy dwarf, waking him back up. ¡°The sheep are fed.¡± I told him, getting an affirmative grunt in reply and a window that told me I had gained one-hundred and fifty experience points, not a whole lot, but it had to be enough. He grumbled something, shaking himself awake before speaking coherently. ¡°Good, now that is done, why don¡¯t you get some water to the goats?¡± he asked and, who would have expected it, another quest-window popped open, this one telling me to water ten goats. I accepted and was told that the well was outside, and that I would have to watch out not to get too close to the billy-goats or they might knock the bucket from my hands. Shaking my head about the earth-shattering impact of the quests I was sent on, I left the barn, walking over to Kangur and shaking his shoulder to wake him. ¡°Hmph, yes what is it?¡± he asked, sounding surprisingly coherent. It had to be the lack of beard that made him so much easier to understand, even right after being woken up. ¡°Those rats are done for.¡± I told him, getting a nod in response and a window that told me I had gained another two-hundred experience. He also handed me a curious looking rock, called a lesser sustenance crystal. Focusing on it brought up the tool-tip and told me that I could use it outside of combat, to draw on my unique connection to the Irminsul to quickly regenerate my Health, Mana and Stamina. Nifty and useful, especially as soon as I had enough resources that my normal regeneration didn¡¯t quite cut it any more. The amount I regenerated was dependant on the quality of the crystal and each crystal only had so much stored energy and once they were depleted, they crumbled to dust. ¡°Good, but there¡¯s a lot more to do. There are some martens that try to weasel their way into our barn to wreak havoc. Go and kill them, bring me their pelts. I want to have a furry hat!¡±
New Quest offered.
Murdering Malicious Martens
Kangur wants you to kill Martens and collect six complete pelts from them.
Success: EXP Sable-fur Gloves Decline: No penalty Failure: Kangur might use your beard to make his furry hat. Or your hair. Or whatever hair he might find on your body.
I accepted the quest and had to hide my laughter when reading the consequences for failure. It seemed as if the developers went heavy on the bearded dwarf-stereotype, but it was a funny one, so I wasn¡¯t complaining, much. ¡°Before I go, I was told that you could teach me to harness my rage better?¡± I asked. He just nodded and an interface opened, showing me further class-abilities and skills, but sadly, only one of them was for my level, Medium Armour Training. A quick, mental click later, he grunted and a window told me that I had learned the ability, at Novice I. At the current level, it didn¡¯t do much but that would hopefully change with level. ¡°Thank you, I will head out now.¡± I told Kangur and set off, looking for the well and the martens. Chapter 24 For the next couple of hours, the complete ingame-night and well into the next day, I did quests around the fields of Grey Quarry, hunting various more or less cute furry critters, the martens were my favourites and completing a couple of fetch-and-carry tasks that a reasonably intelligent potato could have managed. But it was well worth it, netting me some seven-thousand experience, enough to make me level twice, bringing me to level six.I didn''t change my attribute-distribution much, just diverting a point of strength into dexterity, just to keep things a little more even. At the end of the day, I wanted to play a brawling brute and that was what I did. Hit things, hard. Andthosewere only the normal experience-points, all my abilities gained some points as well, albeit relatively slowly. But that might be because I had been fighting enemies below my level. In addition to the experience, I also got a few more pieces of gear, gloves, a belt to mount my belt-buckle on, boots, nothing that truly fit with my current gear but it looked reasonably fine, a little cobbled together but the chest and leg-armour I had gotten here were just worse than my plundered human armour and I wasn¡¯t willing to rate fashion higher than efficiency just yet. To further my ability to hit things hard, I went to Kangur, the Barbarian trainer, and was quite happy to see that I was able to learn new skills upon reaching level five. One was skill was called Call to Battle, allowing me to, well, call my allies to battle, temporarily mirroring the effect of my active rage-skill to them. Sadly, I had no allies to play with, at least at the moment. While I had seen a couple of other players, I seemed to have fallen into a bit of a gap, the players that had started at the same time as I did had already completed the quests I was doing and the players that had, likely due to real-life obligations, started later were on a lower level and would only slow me down. But other than the currently slightly useless rage-skill, I also gained the skill to Charge, allowing me to quickly close the gap between me and my target, dealing increased damage with my first attack but also forcing me to move in a straight line. Sure, I could cancel it, if I was quick enough and I had a feeling that it might be the most important skill to master, if I wanted to play against other players. To compliment the Charge, I learned the Class-Ability Athletics, another passive, just like the other abilities, this one increasing the effect of Strength and Endurance, while lowering stamina-consumption. The increase wasn¡¯t massive, it was based on my attributes after all, but it was a start and would only grow as I levelled myself and the ability. ¡°Is there anything else that needs to be done?¡± I asked Kangur, as I had done after most quests I had completed, looking for follow-up quests or maybe the road forward. ¡°There is one task that needs to be done, but it is harder than all the previous ones. You see, wolves stalk the valley and the alpha of the pack is a particularly large and vicious one, it seems to take pride in ripping our livestock apart. But I doubt that you will be able to take down Old Grimclaw, at least not alone.¡± Kangur explained and another quest popped up.
New Group-Quest offered.
Hunt down the Grimclaw¡¯s Wolfpack
Kangur, your Trainer in the Grey Quarry Valley, asked you to perform a final task, to hunt down the wolfpack that stalks the valley. You are tasked to slay twelve wolves and their Alpha, Old Grimclaw.
Rewards: EXP A choice between: Wolftooth-Necklace, Wolfclaw-Ring or Wolf-Pelt Cloak
After accepting the quest, I considered things for a moment. The quest was marked as a group-quest so trying to complete it on my own would likely be met with failure and my death, so it would be best to look for someone else. With a thought, I opened up the text-based regional chat, where all players in the same zone could talk to each other, regardless of distance.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Anyone else after Old Grimclaw?¡± I asked into the chat while starting towards the area that Kangur had marked on my map. There were a few posts in the chat, until I was whispered directly. ¡°You are looking for a party to kill Old Grimclaw?¡± the differently coloured text, sent by a player named Venja asked. ¡°Yes, I am. Level 6 Barbarian here, what about you?¡± I asked in response. ¡°Cool, I already have one more, level 5 Druid, in addition to myself, level 5 Monk.¡± came the answer and I smiled to myself, that seemed like a decent combination, certainly good enough to take down some first-level elite. ¡°Sounds like a plan, want to try it with three or look for more? Maybe do the twelve wolves first while looking before going for the Alpha?¡± I suggested and moment later, a party-invite appeared, which I instantly accepted. ¡°Greetings.¡± I spoke into the party-chat, which allowed us to talk without needing to type things out, regardless of distance. Two voices greeted me, one sounding grumpy and male as I was used to, the other sounded female, making me grin a little. I had seen female dwarf-NPCs, they looked rather homely, painfully reminding me of my real-life figure, just even shorter than I was, making me wonder what the player had done with the race. I hadn¡¯t taken the time to take a closer look at other players, but now, I would have a good chance. At the edge of my vision, two additional sets of bars appeared, showing me how much health, mana and stamina my two new party-members had, while also displaying a small arrow, giving me a direction to them and a rough distance, indicated by the colour of the arrow. Both of them were further down the valley, in the direction of the small river, so I started walking into their direction. On my way, I had to smack down a few suicidally aggressive critters, but I welcomed the free experience they were delivering to me. When I saw my teammates for the first time, they were fighting with a decently large wolf, on the other side of the stream. I considered just jumping into the water for a second, but looking at the swift flow and the steep, yet sandy bank on the other side, decided against it. But the monk looked like he had seen better days, her health at forty percent and the druid seemed to be focused on keeping him alive, using his healing. With a smile, I took a few steps back, and, for the first time, activated the Charge-skill, targeting the wolf. The skill had no maximum range, it just took more stamina the further I charged and there was no extra benefit once I was at maximum speed. But I didn¡¯t so much care about the actual gap-closing, what I was after was the fact that the skill sped me up and, from what I had seen, that speed translated into jumping-distance, so, with the etra distance to get up to speed, and a last-second activation of Fighting Rage for the extra strength, just in case that helped, I tried to jump over the stream. I idly noticed the druid looking over, just as I was about to jump and heard a soft curse in over team-chat, yet, his avatar didn¡¯t change expression at all, keeping the normal, sombre expression I had seen on dwarves. By that, I judged that I was dealing with a perph, someone playing using classical peripherals, most likely mouse and keyboard. ¡°Heal me, dammit!¡± the monk swore at our druid, who had been a little dumb-struck by the six feet of red-glowing, orcish rage-ball that was flying towards them and the monk had dropped below the half-health mark, which she didn¡¯t like. With a jolt, I felt my feet make contact with the river-bank and, as I pushed off to keep myself from stumbling, I felt it crumble away under me, forcing me to throw myself forward, almost out of control, but somehow, I kept my feet under me, falling forward while barely managing to take the next step. I was too out-of-balance to get my spear into anything resembling attack-position, so I went with a different tactic, I simply rammed into the wolf, tackling it sideways and starting to tear at it, barehanded, even using my ¡°Vicious Bite¡±-skill to add some extra damage. It tried to fight back and we turned into a snarling furball of claws, teeth and tusks, both of us trying to tear the other to shreds. I felt the small pricks of pain when it bit my arms and started shaking, to which I retaliated by using my own arm to push its head back, opening up its thorat, not to strike at it, my other arm was out of position, but to use my tusks to tear it out. It worked like a charm, adding a bleed-effect that dropped the wolf even further. In addition to that, the druid started to throw heals my way, a warm feeling indicating the supportive spells, while the monk started hitting the wolf again, now that I certainly had its attention. With two of us hitting it, the wolf quickly went down, giving me eighty experience, a little more than normal monsters in the area had given me before, and that was with three people attacking it. Standing, I looked over to my two new companions, giving them my friendliest and cutest smile, while saying, ¡°Greetings, let¡¯s hunt some wolves.¡± Chapter 25 For a moment, after killing the wolf and greeting my new teammates, nothing happened. I felt a drop of liquid on my face, running down towards my lips, and my tongue darted out, licking it up. There was little flavour, just a tiny bit of a metallic taste, but the effect it had on one of my teammates was rather pronounced. ¡°Well hug me¡­¡± Venja muttered, loud enough to be heard, even if the middle word clearly had been a different one when coming out of the players mouth. I noticed that her mouth was gaping open, in a rather obvious expression of shock, cueing me into the fact that she was another directly controlling player, otherwise, the expression would be similar to the one on the Druid¡¯s face, stoic indifference, unless the player manually changed it. It was one of the disadvantages of perphs, the game simply didn¡¯t know what your expression would be like. ¡°Sorry, hun, you are not my type.¡± I quipped, not caring to suppress the snark. Apparently, laughter was one of the sounds the game was set to recognise over voice-communication, because the look on the druid¡¯s face suddenly changed as both, he somewhere in reality and his character in-game started laughing. It was a little creepy and uncanny, the instant switch from uncaring stoicism into full-blown laughter, but sadly, that was par-for-the-course. That the game was even set to have the character adjust to some sounds was quite the progress ¡°Well met, good lady. And Greetings, you can call me Menja.¡± the druid introduced himself, even making his character bow in a friendly gesture. I raised an eyebrow at the similar names, guessing that the two players knew each other in the real world, or the chances that they used such similar names and having met up right after the start were virtually nil. ¡°Indeed, well met, you can call me Venja. That was quite the dynamic entry.¡± the lady-dwarf was now grinning as well, having overcome her surprise. ¡°Well met. You can call me Chrystal.¡± I copied their greeting, it felt right, more¡­ intimate and immersive to greet them, now that we actually were in front of each other, instead of using the game-chat. I wiped off some of the blood that still covered my face, before noticing the shadowy bag on the ground, after the wolf had despawned. Just from the fact that the loot-bag looked transparent to me, I assumed it was for one of my party-members and I decided to check the loot-system out, but later. For now, we had wolves to hunt. ¡°What do you say about this basic-tactic? I take their attention, Menja heals and Venja flanks?¡± I asked, picking up my lance, I had dropped it while tackling the wolf. At the same time, Venja walked over to the loot-bag, picking it up herself. ¡°Sounds good.¡± Menja agreed, while Venja nodded and softly added, ¡°I¡¯m so looking forward to getting the Mountain-Stance.¡± ¡°Mountain Stance?¡± I asked, curious. I hadn¡¯t taken the time to scour the internet for information on my own class, to say nothing of other classes. ¡°When you get to level ten, you can choose a sub-class, monks can specialise on an element or walk the path of balance and if you chose Earth, you can play as a tank.¡± Venja explained. ¡°We played in the Beta, that¡¯s why we have headstart-access.¡± Menja chimed in, clearing up the confusion. ¡°Oh, okay. I got here by luck of the draw.¡± I admitted, while we started walking towards a couple of nearby rocks where I hoped to find another wolf. ¡°I¡¯m more curious how you got to be in the dwarven starting-zone as an Orc. In the beta, the races were mostly separated until you got to level fifteen or there about.¡± Venja asked. ¡°I got to pick a special background and when I completed the initial section, I started here. It was quite the ride.¡± I told them. That was when I saw one of the large wolves in the shadow of the rocks we had been walking towards and pointed with my lance, showing the other two my target.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°There is one.¡± I started to grin, and bellowed ¡°Charge!¡±. With that, I activated the charge-skill and started running, straight for the big, bad wolf. My approach was about as subtle as the massive axe I had wielded in the tutorial, the wolf looked up and started running towards me. I heard Venja right behind me, trying to keep up with my charge but I was accelerating faster. Only a second or three after I had started my charge the wolf and I were about to collide and I activated my rage, stabbing my lance forward. The impact was strong enough to jarr me, almost ripping the lance from my arm and knocking the wolf back, dealing a nice chunk of damage. But it showed that it was truly an elite-enemy, strong enough to challenge multiple players at the same time, quickly rallying and trying to attack again. As it did, I used my lance and quick stabs while retreating to keep it from overwhelming me, but despite that, I was taking damage. Not a massive amount, but more than enough to kill me, if I tried that on my own. Luckily, I wasn¡¯t on my own, after I had warded off the second attack from the wolf, Venja jumped in from the side, her hands holding what I could only describe as brass knuckles and her arms covered in water. The attack added some damage but the initial charge-attack had done enough to ensure the wolf¡¯s focus was on me, at least for now. Venja and I kept hitting the wolf, while Menja gave me some healing and when the wolf was down to roughly sixty, maybe sixty-five percent, Venja spoke up. ¡°I can stun it for two seconds, be ready to throw some damage at it!¡± she ordered me, making me grin and activate my Call to Battle, to share my rage with her. It took some mana, reducing the time I could keep raging, but it was well worth it, at least in my opinion. ¡°Now!¡± she commanded in the party-chat, just a moment later, and suddenly the water covering her arms surged forward, striking the wolf and knocking it to the ground, stunned. Thanks to her warning, I was prepared and instantly twisted my whole body, letting the lance slip through my hands until only the end of the shaft remained gripped in my hands, and slammed it down, right onto the wolf¡¯s helpless body, adding the Power-Attack skill to the physical attack, not sure if it actually worked but I thought it did. Something similar had originally allowed me to learn the skill, so I thought it was worth it. While I turned, to get more momentum into my attack, I saw Menja for a moment and his hands were covered in green magic and right before I lost sight of him, a vine lashed forward, going past me and striking the wolf as well, right on its head. Venja added couple of kicks, or maybe calling them stomps would be more appropriate, to the barrage we had unleashed on the stunned wolf, taking its health from about sixty-five percent down to forty, in a single coordinated onslaught. Before that, we had attacked it for almost ten seconds and dealt less damage, at least if I took the charge-attack out that, on its own, took ten percent from it. After the two seconds were up, the wolf got back up and turned to Venja, only to have me use another power-attack and get its attention back to me. We continued attacking, grinding its HP down for another ten seconds, when Venja spoke up again, telling me that she was able to stun it again. By now, the wolf had merely twenty percent remaining, so after giving me a moment, she stunned it again, giving us another round of free attacks that we used to reduce it to zero hit-points. ¡°That works.¡± Venja said in an obviously pleased voice while Menja walked up from behind. ¡°Looks good, I¡¯m still at sixty percent mana and have more than enough stamina to keep casting.¡± he said when he stood next to us and reached down to the loot-bag. ¡°Meh, just vendor-trash.¡± he grumbled while I was looking around for our next target, thanks to his healing, I had plenty of health and both mana and stamina were above sixty percent, so I could keep going. ¡°Hold your horses, if it¡¯s just one, we are fine but if there are two, we are done for. Regenerate, people, those crystals are cheap, no need to scrooge ourselves to death.¡± Venja stopped me, before I could attack the next wolf. She had a point, so I pulled the crystal from my inventory and moments later, my resources were full again, making me ready to rumble. ¡°Now, what was that about the special background we haven¡¯t seen those in the Beta.¡± Menja asked, while we continued on our way. ¡°Well, you got a couple of abilities and such when picking your background and it set your starting point, right? Well, I could pick a Pre-order exclusive Background, starting out as a Gladiator. I may of may not have decided that the arena was not the place to be and organised a little walk-out, joining up with a dwarf as we quit.¡± I explained. ¡°He used some magic to get us out of the city we were in, teleporting us into Grey Quarry. And here I am, starting as the one Orc in Dwarven Lands.¡± I finished, right on time to charge the next wolf. Chapter 26 We killed a few more wolves as a group, with me keeping their attention, Venja stunning them before we all unleashed our combined attacks in that moment. The experience-points were a little meagre, at least for time spent killing the enemy, but on the other hand, the ability-gain was insane. Each of my class-abilities, at least those that I used in the fights, gained at least one rank, making killing the wolves quite useful. Sadly, after we had killed our sixth wolf, we had to change tactics, due to the simple fact that there were no more wolves that I could charge, at least without attracting multiple wolves which would be bad. The solution for that was to have Menja attack one wolf with his spell, letting it come to us. I considered trying to simply charge it as it came at us but decided against it, mainly because I wasn¡¯t certain that the longer run-up for the wolf wouldn¡¯t allow it to win the initial clash, bowling me over and ravaging me, dealing massive damage to me. Instead, I moved close to Menja, ready to step in front of him and use my lance to stop its charge, by bracing the buff of my lance against the ground, using its momentum against it. The wolf came at us, gathering speed and, a few steps away from us, it jumped, trying to bowl Menja over, just as the wolves liked to do. But in the air, it was unable to avoid the sharp blade of my spear and the impact made me very glad that I had braced it against the ground, otherwise, it might have jolted it from my hand. It was even worse than when I charged into it, due to the weight of the wolf being completely in the air and thus, being transferred into the lance. But the damage was quite impressive, a tad higher than it had been when charging at them. It made me consider getting some sort of ranged weapons, maybe javelins, to make enemies come at me instead of charging them. Just from the situation we had been in, with the wolves too close together to be safely engaged, would make such a step worthwhile. ¡°Shit, Incoming!¡± Menja called from close behind me when Venja and I had beaten the wolf we had been attacking down to about twenty percent, shortly before Venja could have stunned again, to finish the wolf off. Using the active part of my dodge-skill, I got some extra distance between me and the wolf we had been fighting, allowing me to get a look around and there was another wolf, quickly moving towards us, mainly towards Menja. It must have had a path that brought it near our position and now, it was coming at us. It took me a precious second to decide what to do, a second the wolf we had been fighting used to leap at me, hoping to drag me down. I responded with a jump-kick and, right when my foot made contect, I activated the charge-skill, hoping to push myself off from the wolf with increased force, giving me a bit of additional acceleration and maybe even a damage-bonus to the kick. To my surprise, it worked just as I had intended, the wolf couldn¡¯t take my weight, getting knocked over by the impact and suffering some damage. while I flew a step or two in the opposite direction, somehow managing to stick the landing and keep my feet beating the ground beneath me, to gather even more speed. My crazy stunt had given me enough speed to get to the wolf, just before it jumped at the retreating Menja and this time, I even had the balance to bring my lance to bear, impaling the wolf from the side and carrying it with me for a step or two. The wings of my lance certainly did their job in this fight, preventing over-penetration and allowing me to stop my enemies and keep them at a distance instead of just pushing through them. As the charged wolf got back to its feet, I took a few steps back, trying to get the wolf I had fought originally into my sight, otherwise, it would certainly attack me from behind, which would cause me to perish. What I saw looked promising, the original wolf had managed to get to its feet while Venja had used the time it had been stunned by my attack to pound it mercilessly, and now, just a second or two later, it was down to fifteen percent.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Menja, attack this one, stun incoming!¡± she shouted and Menja did just that, casting his vine lash-spell to add damage against the wolf. Venja used her stun to knock it back down and in those two seconds, both of them got more damage in, before it could get back up and either go after me to attack or go after Venja. But I couldn¡¯t watch, I had to use my lance to keep the wolf I had just charged away from me, it looked rather angry, and Menja was busy dealing with the other wolf and healing Venja. I had used quite a bit of Stamina, especially the mid-combat charge had taken more than I was comfortable with, but still, a combination of quick, yet normal backsteps and uses of the dodge-skill allowed me to keep the wolf at bay, not allowing it to get in more than glancing blows and those only due to the way the game worked, in an actual fight, it wouldn¡¯t have managed even that. After a few of those exchanges the wolf had lost some more health, enough to bring it down to seventy percent, after the original charge had taken a good twenty percent, while I was still going strong at sixty percent, despite fighting alone. But that changed, I had noticed the message that I had gained some experience and just moments later, Venja jumped into the fray, pummeling the wolf with everything she had and Menja tossed out a heal, bringing me back to eighty percent. Smiling, I allowed myself to go into the offensive, using not just the very tip of my lance to ward off the wolf, instead grabbing it almost in the middle, which allowed me to mix swift stabs with the tip and blunt strike with the butt of the weapon. I had gotten the idea to try if I could emulate some of the fighting style I had seen in a chinese fantasy-movie once and to my surprise, it worked quite well. I took more damage than I had taken when fighting carefully but I also dealt more damage. And, more importantly, it was incredibly fun to experiment just how I could bring either end of my weapon to bear, how I could get some additional momentum into strikes, how I could use the fact that my attacks went through the enemy, not getting stuck or bouncing off, essentially, I was experimenting with the fact that it was a game and as such, I could get away with things that wouldn¡¯t work in the real world. Well, some of them would be physically possible but exposing your back to an enemy and accepting that you¡¯d take some damage would be suicidal in the real world, where a single attack could be more than enough to kill you. We managed to strike down the second wolf without completely draining our resources but it was quite obvious that trying to fight two at the same time would be quite challenging, if not downright impossible. Maybe if the group was composed purely of ranged-attackers that could keep the wolves at a distance and slowly whittle them down, but even then, a single mistake would be enough to get you killed. No, killing wolves one by one was the best way to go about it, unless you had a full group of five people, but even in a full group, things might be challenging. Once the fight was over, I noticed two blue boxes and focused on them.
You gained a new skill - Brace!
You ready yourself for an impact, allowing you to remain steadfast even in the face of a massive attack.
Cost: 10 Stamina For the next two seconds, you brace yourself, becoming unable to move but increasing the effect of Endurance for the purpose of knockback-resistance by 200% (Based on your Athletics-Ability)
You gained a new skill - Counter
You are able to use your Polearm to keep your enemies at bay, dealing damage to them without letting them get to you. This is especially lethal if used against charging enemies, allowing you to use their momentum against them.
Cost: 5 Stamina For one second after using this attack, you take reduced damage from glancing blows by 25% (Based on your Polearms-Ability) If used while braced, you can brace your Polearm to counter a charge, allowing you to use the opponent¡¯s momentum to deal damage to them.
I had to smile at the two new skills, both were quite useful, if completely contrary to the way I had mostly played before. But they were clearly based on the actions I had taken in the fight before, making me wonder what other skills I was missing with my rather direct playstyle of smashing things. I would have to ask Venja and Menja, maybe they knew about some more thanks to their Beta-experience. If not, I¡¯d have to research on the internet, or maybe just experiment on my own. But now, we had monsters to loot and needed to regenerate the resources we had depleted, there was no guarantee that no other wolves would decide to crash our party. Chapter 27 We had retreated into a rock-formation to recuperate, when Menja suddenly spoke up. ¡°Gotta go for a few minutes.¡± he said and I could hear the urgency in his voice. ¡°Do you need me, love?¡± Venja instantly asked in response, cementing the idea that they knew each other in the real world. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so, you can stay in the dream. Maybe I¡¯ll join you in a few minutes.¡± he continued and then, he was gone. Well, his character was still there, maybe in the log-out process, which took thirty seconds while out in the field, thirty seconds in which you could be attacked, maybe even killed. Next to a pillar, log-out was instant but it seemed as if he had been called away by something important. I looked over to Venja, raising an eyebrow, curious what was going on but not sure if I should just come out and ask. ¡°We¡¯ve got a collicky baby, so Menja decided to stay awake and play on the computer instead of going into the dreamstate. Sure, you can link your babyphone to the chip but there¡¯s still a bit of time-lag.¡± Venja explained with a smile, noticing my look. I just nodded not quite sure what to say to that. ¡°You think we¡¯ll manage to kill the boss with just the three of us? The Quest explicitly says that it is even more dangerous than the rest.¡± I asked, changing the topic. ¡°Maybe. But I¡¯ll keep looking, maybe we¡¯ll get lucky.¡± she agreed and moments later, she once again asked in the area-chat if someone wanted to join before settling in and pulling a small knife and some wood from her inventory. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked when she started to use the knife to whittle off some wood. ¡°Woodcarving. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll go the crafter-path, but I might. Sure, combat is fun but there won¡¯t be too many dedicated crafter, so I¡¯m not sure.¡± she answered, without looking up. ¡°How does that work?¡± I followed up, hoping that she¡¯d share some of her tester-experience. ¡°You can pick two professions, all of them scale with different attributes. I think there are even more professions than there are classes, but I¡¯m not sure. But there is a bit of a trick to it, you get unique abilities depending on what reaches certain milestones first.¡± she explained, and I was utterly confused and expressed that confusion. ¡°Well, the professions get levels, just like classes, just that professions don¡¯t level by killing things but by crafting things. There are even special crafting-quests that add experience only to the profession. If your professions are higher than your highest class, new levels in the profession give you the same five attribute-points that you get when your class levels, but only once, just the highest of your professions and classes gives them.¡± she cleared up some of the confusion. ¡°And the milestones?¡± I probed further. ¡°Once you reach level ten, either with a class or a profession, you get an ability based on what you reached it with, so if you level your Class first, you get a different ability than you¡¯d get if you levelled the profession first. Those abilities and your attribute-distribution is what differentiates a crafter from a combat-character. Oh, and and some professions have specialisations, just like classes, but not all. I think the gathering-professions don¡¯t have any but most crafting-professions do.¡± she continued with quite a bit of new, and rather valuable, information. ¡°And you are a woodcarver?¡± I asked. ¡°Sure, why not. That way, I can either go into the more arcane crafting, making wands, magical staves, scepters and all those nifty things for casters or I can go into bow-crafting, or even start making furniture, if I feel like it. I doubt I¡¯ll start that last one, I think that¡¯ll be something for the hobbyists, but hey, to each their own. I¡¯m just glad that there¡¯s more to the game than kill things.¡± she finished with a grin, before focusing on her carving again.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Just then, she stopped carving again, her eyes glazing over a little, giving me the impression that she was staring at something far away. Moments later, another player was added to our group, this one called Gareth, playing a scout. After a round of greetings, he was asked to move towards us but warned of the wolves. Before Venja could go back to her carving, I asked her about getting skills, if there was a list or something like that. ¡°Honestly, even us Beta-Players aren¡¯t sure, at least those I spoke to. Thing is, if you play using direct control, you learn skills by doing them, at least to a point. For example, that insane maneuver you did in the last fight, jump-kicking the wolf to push yourself into a sprint, I doubt that there¡¯s a skill for that. It might become one, if you you repeat it a few times, there were a few players in the beta that claimed to have gotten a title named Innovator or something like that, for inventing skills that were added to the overall class, but I¡¯ve yet to see it. But that only works for direct control players, not for those using peripherals.¡± she began to explain. ¡°If you don¡¯t learn skills by performing them, you can learn them from a teacher if you have the linked ability high enough, that¡¯s how peripheral players get their skills.¡± she finished, before looking into the distance again and, again, about a minute later a fifth player was added to the party, this one a Templar named Dworf. I had to groan when reading the name, wondering if I might somehow be able to get him killed on the quest. For him, we needed to get back towards the bridge over the river, or things would get¡­ interesting. I had managed to bypass that bridge by my slightly insane stunt of jumping over the river, but I doubted that a dwarf could do the same. Short legs make for short jumps and all that, albeit Dwarves are known as deadly sprinters. We told them that we had to wait a moment for our druid to return and maybe a minute later, he did just that. ¡°Okay, the baby looks much better, I doubt I¡¯ll have to get up again.¡± he explained and I instantly noticed that his face was now changing with his voice, demonstrating that he was directly controlling his character. ¡°Sorry for that.¡± he said directly to me, before greeting the two newcomers to the party. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, real-life comes first and all that.¡± I told him, using the standard response. And, in all honesty, I hadn¡¯t suffered from his short absence, I had been able to ask Venja a few questions and she had managed to find two more players to complete the quest with, so it was purely a win. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we need to get the others.¡± Venja said, putting away her whittle-stick. I nodded my agreement and turned back to the wolves we had already killed but that had respawned in the meantime. Killing them a second time fulfilled the quota of wolves killed for the quest, but sadly, there was still the big, bad wolf that we needed to kill and it would be rather impolite to leave our two newcomers hanging, so I was prepared to kill wolves until the two of them had their twelve wolves slain. We managed to get to the bridge without trouble and there, we took on the last two wolves between us three and the two newcomers at the same time, using a slightly changed tactic. As soon as we were close enough to see and help them, the templar, wielding a warhammer and a large shield, began his attack. At first, he made a throwing motion with his hammer and a glowing projectile, shaped like a hammer, struck one of the wolves. Meanwhile, thetemplarhimself, his shield now having a reddish glow as well, went after the other wolf. I wasn¡¯t quite sure why he did it that way, but he now had two wolves going after him, so I targeted one of those wolves and charged myself. The other newcomer, the scout Gareth, aimed at the same wolf I was charging at, using a crossbow. His bolt arrived at the wolf before I did and a debuff appeared on the wolf, when I focused on it, I learned that it increased the damage taken by the wolf. And increasing the damage it did, my charge-attack did even more damage than normal, taking a good twenty-five percent off the wolf, causing it to turn to attack me. But the Templar was having none of that, using his shield to hit the wolf, which caused it to turn back to him. Grinning, now that someone else was having their attention, I started to attack with a vengeance, especially once Venja joined in and I used Call to Battle to spread my rage to the other two. With five players, killing the wolves was child¡¯s play, the Templar seemed to easily be able to take their attention, hiding behind his shield and only whacking them from time to time, to make sure that he kept their attention. The scout, on the other hand, increased the damage Venja and I dealt, while adding his own damage to the mix. Because of that, Menja could simply lean back and toss the odd heal to our Templar, keeping him comfortably healthy. Sadly, what they also did was reduce the amount of experience I gained, down to about forty exp for each wolf, instead of seventy I had gotten when working with just Venja and Menja. But everything had a drawback. Chapter 28 After steamrolling the first two wolves with our newly expanded party, the two newcomers gave a more or less grunted greeting of Hello and we turned to make our way back up the slope, towards the area where the big, boss wolf was supposed to be. On our way, I learned a little more about the classes my teammates were playing, surprisingly, given his, in my opinion, incredibly stupid name, the templar was the one who readily explained his character to me. It made me glad that I hadn¡¯t chosen to go in that direction, apparently, directly after picking the class he had to choose which god he followed and depending on the choice, his skills changed to a degree. Supposedly, it was the same with Clerics and Priests, some skills were shared across the class, others were specialised, depending on the deity they worshipped. Dworf had chosen to worship Dimamor, the god of Smiths and Craftsmen and as such, he had gained the ability to strengthen his shield and armour, in addition to the normal templar-starting ability that allowed him to hurl a magical projectile shaped like their weapon at an enemy. It sounded quite good, especially as he seemed to be planning to go the tank-route. Gareth just told me that he was able to mark enemies, allowing us to deal more damage to them but all in all, he was rather close-lipped about his other abilities. I could guess that he had some sort of stealth-skill that might have allowed him to reach Venja and me while we were hidden between the rocks, it would explain his earlier laughter, but otherwise, I had no idea. Venja explained how Monks used skill-combinations to achieve greater effects, for example, one of her skills stacked up something called Tidal Forces and once she had gathered enough, she could unleash them into a riptide, stunning and knocking down the foe she targeted. Lastly, Menja told me I had seen most of his current abilities, they were rather limited at this point. Apparently it would change quite a bit once he was level ten and got his sub-class but for now, he had two different heals, a single ranged attack-spell and a self-buff spell that turned his hands into claws. With a combination of small-talk and slaughtered wolves we made our way up the hill, where Old Grimjaw waited for us. Seeing him, I was a little intimidated, the normal wolves were rather big, their backs roughly level with the heads of my dwarven companions, easily a meter and twenty from the ground, but their boss was even bigger, his back coming up to my chest, at a guess and from the distance, I would have called it a meter and a half. Luckily, I just would have to hit it, while Dworf would have to fend off its attacks. After making sure that none of the wolves were walking close enough to interfere with the fight we were about to start, it was on. Dworf used his magical flying hammer to get the first hit while I took quite a bit of distance to have a nice run-up for my charge. Gareth had taken position next to Menja while Venja was between the two of them and Dworf. After taking the flying hammer to the muzzle, the big boss wolf turned and, after a rather impressive howl, started running towards Dworf who was engaging it in turn. Timing it in such a way that I would get there just before the wolf made contact with him, I activated my Charge, trying to keep track of my steps so that I was able to use the last step to twist my body into the charge-attack, hopefully making the impact even stronger. I wanted to knock the wolf over to interrupt its own attack, so that Dworf wouldn¡¯t get bowled over, which was my biggest fear. He relied on his footing and his massive shield to be effective and on the ground, he would lose a great deal of that strength. I had to stutter my steps a little but my plan worked just like I had hoped it would, right before the wolf and Dworf clashed, Gareth shot the wolf, placing his mark on it. I took that as my signal to start raging and right after, I impacted with bone-jarring force. I had managed to get my lead-foot exactly into the right distance, allowing me to use it as a fulcrum, twisting my complete body-weight plus the momentum of my charge into that single strike, even adding Power Attack into the mix. The wolf had just left the ground, leaping at Dworf to bowl him over when my lance stabbed into its chest and I even noticed the message that told me I had landed a critical strike, to my great joy. It had been a risky attack, with chances to turn into a massive waste of stamina, but it had worked and the big, boss wolf was not happy about it. Despite its greatly increased health, compared to the other wolves in the area, I had taken twenty-three percent off it.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Obviously, it didn¡¯t take such an attack kindly, instantly turning to me and trying to turn me into a chew-toy, no matter what Dworf had to say about that. But I had my own tricks, a quick backstep brought me out of the immediate danger-zone, followed by quick stabs using the counter-skill to reduce the damage it could deal to me. Despite my frantic footwork and rapid counter-attacks to ward of its far too large jaw, I was tempted to ask if I should call it Grandmother, its teeth were that big, I took more damage than I was comfortable with. I had done the cardinal sin of a damage-dealer, I had managed to get the attention of the boss. Because, despite our low-level, that was what the fight felt like, a boss-fight. Just that we barely had the skills for it, whether the skills of our character or the skills of us, as players, controlling those characters. Maybe the Developers had deliberately ratcheted the difficulty of the quest up to eleven, to show players what to expect. Luckily, after my health had been dropped to some seventy percent, despite getting a heal from Menja, Dworf pointed his hammer at the wolf, a gesture similar to the one he used to toss the glowing hammer-projectile and shouted, ¡°Face me, foul fiend!¡± A reddish glow sprung from his hammer and the wolf instantly turned, its eyes mirroring the glow for a moment, focusing its attacks on Dworf. I held back, knowing that the skill Dworf had likely just a limited effect and if I overdid it, the wolf would just turn back to me and attack me again. So, I deactivated my rage to save mana and used simple attacks to add damage to the encounter. I had done quite a bit of damage already, so I felt quite complacent to let Venja and Gareth deal their damage, that way I was on the safe side. Sadly, the boss had other plans and once we had reduced it to fifty percent, it gave off a loud, piercing howl, just like it had in the beginning, only this time, it was answered by two howls coming from nearby. Looking around, I noticed two new wolves joining the fray, one coming from far behind us, the other from the other direction. ¡°I take the one in the front, you take the one in the back!¡± Dworf ordered, taking a step back to throw his hammer at the wolf on the far side. But I could agree with his orders, so I turned to the wolf that was about to pounce on either Gareth or Menja and started running. I needed to charge in order to make it, so I activated the skill, quickly gaining speed, managing to get there before the wolf¡¯s pounce hit Menja. Gareth on the other hand had managed to distance himself, joining Venja in focusing down the other freshly joined wolf. I had to smile when my charge hit, the wolf had comparatively low health, a lot lower than the other wolves around, so I had depleted over half its health with the first attack. Knowing that I needed to quickly deal with the add, I pressed my attack, ignoring the damage I was taking in turn. And it worked, I would easily kill it long before it would come close to kill me, without getting a single heal. ¡°Shit, don¡¯t kill the adds!¡± Menja called out, right before I could give the wolf the killing blow, causing me to fumble, missing my attack. ¡°What?!¡± I asked in return, dodging back, not wanting to kill the wolf before knowing what was going on. ¡°The boss got a massive damage-buff when the other wolf died, it¡¯ll kill us all if it stacks up!¡± Menja shouted, causing me to cringe a little. So, it wasn¡¯t a fight in which you killed the adds, it was a fight to quickly kill the boss before the adds took too much of a toll on your group. With a swift kick, I disengaged from the wolf, using the last of my stamina to start a charge, back to the boss-wolf. The charge would give me enough speed to get there without taking too much damage and once there, I could do my part in taking the boss down. The others had done their part while I had been attacking the other wolf, further reducing the boss to thirty-five hitpoints and my second charge-attack took another ten percent, bringing it down to twenty-five. Without any stamina left, my character was a little slow and sluggish, but the others still had some resources left, putting the hurt on the boss. Menja tossed a heal my way, when the smaller wolf arrived and I focused on dodging and keeping myself alive. I had done my part in the boss-fight and more. A quick glance to Menja told me that he had about twenty percent mana left, allowing me to breathe easier, knowing that it would be enough. As I danced away from the wolf, there was another, loud howl but this one was suddenly cut off and moments later, Venja and Dworf joined me to smash the small wolf into the ground. The boss was dead on the ground, slain by my party while I kept the other wolf off them. Chapter 29 With the big, bad wolf slain on the ground, Venja, Menja and I were done with the quest. But it would have been rather impolite to simply abandon the other two, letting them fend for themselves. Before that, I needed to regenerate what I had spent in the fight, so I pulled a crystal from my inventory, noting that I had depleted half of my stash, and looked into the log to see what I had gained in the fight against the big boss wolf. The wolf itself had merely given eighty-four EXP, double what another wolf in the area would have given, but still only a little more than what a normal mob on the level would have given if I had killed it alone. But in turn, it had increased my abilities by a good chunk, making up for the lack of experience-points. I would have to experiment with the efficiency of levelling using normal mobs against attacking elite-mobs while in a group, and contrast it with the gains I made in my abilities. But before that could happen, there was loot to be picked up. When Dworf picked up the bag that the boss had turned into, I noticed that I could have done so as well. Before, the person who could loot an enemy had rotated through the party, each of us looting in turn, but now, at least two could have done so. A moment later, I knew why when a blue window opened and told me that I could roll for a magic item, in this case a cloak that added attribute-points in Agility and Endurance. ¡°How are we going to do this?¡± I asked, wanting the item but also not wanting to get a bad reputation for greed this early in the game. ¡°If you need it, roll for it. It really won¡¯t matter, in a couple of levels it¡¯ll be exchanged anyway. I certainly won¡¯t roll, the cloak I get for the quest is better for me anyway.¡± Menja stated, causing me to mentally click the button to roll for the item. So did Venja, Dworf and Gareth. A short moment later, the system announced that I had rolled a 29, Gareth had rolled a 45, Dworf had managed a 86 and Venja a 75. ¡°Lowest roll wins, right?¡± I asked cheekily, causing the others to laugh. The system had already assigned the cloak to Dworf who equipped ir, right then and there. And I had to admit, I might have to kill that wolf a few times in the future, simply to get the cloak, at least if there was a way to use it as a pattern, allowing me to get the same look but with better attributes. Dworf now had a hood, shaped like a grey wolf¡¯s head with the rest of the pelt hanging down his back as a cloak. It didn¡¯t fit his clean-cut Templar-aesthetic but it certainly would have fit my rough and tumble barbarian-look. ¡°Say, is there any way to copy how gear looks?¡± I asked the others, mainly Menja and Venja. Both of them looked at the new look Dworf was sporting and back to me, before nodding, almost in unison. ¡°There is, you can give the equipment you want to copy to a crafter and they can dismantle it to learn the pattern. Sometimes even the pattern for a complete set so if you were to give away your armour, you know, that imperial stuff you are wearing, a smith might be able to learn how to craft more pieces of it. And the skill of the smith and the materials used would determine the attributes of the newly made gear.¡± Menja explained, causing my eyes to widen. That was a rather interesting mechanic and I made a mental note to find out where to learn a profession after turning in the quest, it seemed that at least some crafting was very much worth my time. I didn¡¯t consider to go fully into crafting, I liked to hit things too much for that, but the ability to make my own gear was intriguing. But as quickly as I got the idea, I discarded it, making my own gear would be foolish if I could just as well buy it from a dedicated crafter, who would do a better job of it. No, I decided after a moment of contemplation, either gathering or crafting consumables, that was a much better way to go. ¡°Anyway, Dworf, Gareth, how many more wolves do you guys need?¡± Venja asked.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Three more, then I¡¯m done.¡± Dworf answered, to which Gareth nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go down the mountain, I¡¯m sure we will run into more than enough wolves on the way.¡± I suggested, to which the others nodded and we started back down. Luckily, I had been right and on the way to the bridge, we found and killed the last few wolves. ¡°So, this time you are taking the bridge?¡± Menja asked, when we walked up to it, causing Venja to laugh. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dworf asked, sounding curious. ¡°That one over there, she thinks bridges are for trolls.¡± Menja laughed, ¡°You see, Venja and I had already started killing wolves and made our way a little further north. But Missy Orc over there, she decided that she¡¯s a strong and independent Orc who doesn¡¯t need no bridges. Or maybe she had no idea there actually was a bridge.¡± he stopped for a moment, to build suspense. ¡°So, what does an Orc Barbarian do with a problem that can¡¯t be hit? Obviously, she uses the straight-forward approach, going into her rage, taking a run-up and using her charge-skill to get enough speed to friggin¡¯ JUMP over the stupid stream.¡± he shook his head, as if disapproving of my actions. ¡°Now, here I am, minding my own business, healing Venja while she knocks around some overgrown puppy with bad manners. And all of a sudden, I hear something, not quite sure what it was, and look around. Only to see a black-furred something, glowing with red rage, flying towards me.¡± he continued, happily overdramatisising my entrance. ¡°And does she stop there? No, that would be boring ,she barrels past me, drops her pointy stick and tackles the wolf, I wasn¡¯t quite sure who was the monster and who was our teammate but luckily, I can¡¯t accidentally heal monsters, so I guess I healed the right being. But once the wolf was dead, that one over there calmly stands and says hi, wolf-blood smeared all over her face like a toddler who had icecream for the first time.¡± ¡°It did work, didn¡¯t it?¡± I merely asked in response, causing laughter to erupt all around. ¡°That it did. We¡¯ll have to play together again sometime.¡± Menja agreed and a window opened in front of me, telling me that Menja had sent me a friend-request. I accepted and moments later, Venja sent one of her own which I accepted as well. Once we crossed the bridge and were out of the area the wolves were occupying, Gareth said his farewell, soon followed by Dworf, Menja and Venja. The group had come together to complete the quest and now that the quest was done and we were back out of the woods, so to speak, we split. Such was the fate of pick-up groups. I made my way back to Kangur, to turn in the quest. Once I approached, he looked at me and there was a smile on his weathered face, making me feel good about myself. If I could make the bald dwarf smile, I must have done something right. ¡°It is done, Kangur. Old Grimclaw is no more.¡± I told him and the quest-completion window prompted me to pick my reward. I could pick between a ring, a necklace and a cloak, each a magic item of similar quality to the cloak that the wolf had dropped. I looked the items over and realised that they were designed with classes in mind. The cloak increased Intuition and Intelligence for spellcasters, the necklace had Charisma and Dexterity, maybe made for crafters and scouts or something like that and finally, the ring was increasing Strength and Vitality. I instantly picked the ring and, as soon as I did, I gained a nice chunk of two-thousand EXP and the ring was shifted into my inventory. ¡°Very well done, young Orc. You have proven yourself a friend of us Dwarves and we Dwarves have a long memory. The help you gave us here in the valley solved quite a lot of problems, problems that otherwise would have required warriors to be pulled away from other tasks. Yet, there is more to be done and Glonar, one of the leaders of Grey Quarry, asked that you come to his office.¡± Kangur told me with a solemn look on his face and a blue window opened, telling me that I had a new quest to do.
New Quest offered.
Leaving the Valley
Kangur, your Trainer in the Grey Quarry Valley, passed you a message from Glonar, one of the leaders of Grey Quarry. You are asked to meet him in his office.
Rewards: EXP
I accepted the new quest, smiling as I did. ¡°Thank you, but before I go to meet him, could you tell me where the famous craftsman of the dwarves ply their trades? I would like to learn.¡± I asked, deciding to add learning my professions to this little errand. Kangur frowned for a moment but afterwards, he quickly explained where the local profession-trainers were located. I would have to decide which to pick, but I could do that on the way to Glonar, the trainers were mostly in the cliffside. Chapter 30 Finding my way on the stairs leading up the cliff into Grey Quarry was more difficult than I had expected. While I had a rough idea where to find the craftsmen and with them the trainers for other professions, it was only a rough one and the stairs had surprisingly few connections between them. After a couple of minutes trying to find my way, I asked a nearby guard who helpfully explained how to get where I wanted to go. Sadly, it involved going back down the cliff and taking a different staircase. I considered trying to simply jump from one set of stairs to the other but decided against it. Falling to my death would be a slightly embarrassing way to die for the first time. So, back down I went, before taking a different set of stairs, just a few meters away from the one I had been climbing on. I wondered, not for the first time, just what on Earth the developers thought when making this city so confusing. That the individual steps were sized for dwarves didn¡¯t help, to the point that I considered giving up on direct control, instead using the chip to emulate controlling my character with mouse and keyboard, where the game would take my command of ¡°walk forward¡± and execute it. But no, I wouldn¡¯t be defeated by a set of stairs, no matter how long or how annoying it was. Now, with better directions, I managed to get to the right door and entered into the set of hallways housing the various craftsmen and the gatherer that worked for them. Inside, there were more hallways, curiously the hallways were only about two meters high but four meters wide, giving them an interesting aesthetic. Near the entrance, I noticed a dwarf standing around, not doing anything, and approached him. ¡°Greetings, good sir.¡± I approached him, curious if he might be a quest-giver. ¡°Greetings, lassy. What are you looking for?¡± he asked, sounding quite friendly. It took me a second to realise that he might be some sort of guide to the crafting-area, maybe crafting in general. ¡°I¡¯m looking for instruction, I want to learn a profession.¡± I explained, trying to phrase things in a way that would fit the world. ¡°You are? Well, that¡¯s commendable, so many people think that the only thing they need to know is how to destroy things. It¡¯s good that you want to learn the art of crafting, learning to shape and create new things.¡± he answered with a satisfied nod. ¡°Here in Grey Quarry, we have quite a few craftsmen, it depends on what you want to learn. If you want to learn metal, as a Blacksmith, you need to talk to Mosdrun, you can find him in his forge, over there.¡± he gestured to a nearby doorway with an anvil embossed on it. Part of me wanted to slap my forehead, it was rather obvious. ¡°But if metal isn¡¯t to your taste and you want to work with supple leather, creating all sorts of armour and equipment from it, you can talk to Dostosli, her workshop is over there, the fourth door on the right.¡± he gestured to a distant door, further down the hallway. ¡°Next to her workshop is the workshop of the local tailor, Madame Holmi. Seek her out if you want to learn how to create marvellous clothes from fabric.¡± he paused for a second before continuing. ¡°If you want to shape wood, Marlum is the one you want to meet. His workshop is over there.¡± he gestured to a door on the other side of the hallway, this one with a knife on it. ¡°Otherwise, the alchemist, Oveat has his workshop over there, inside he¡¯s turning various herbs and other things I¡¯d rather not think about into potions and poisons.¡± he pointed at a door across the way from the smith¡¯s workshop, the symbol on it was a bubbling flask. I made a special notice for that one, as alchemy was amongst my personal short-list for desirable professions.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°But if you don¡¯t want to deal with all those strange smells and funky ingredients, I mean, would you want to drink a potion if you knew that it had eyes of a newt in it?¡± he paused for a moment, looking disgusted, ¡°If you don¡¯t want that, you could talk to Grethra, she¡¯s a great cook and can teach you how to prepare a feast that makes the gods weep.¡± he looked rather wistfully at that, gesturing to a nearby door. ¡°If you are interested in tinkering and creating all kinds of strange devices, Khussin can teach you all about that, the old Tinker has his workshop down the hallway, fifth door on the left.¡± the dwarf continued. ¡°Or you could talk to Mibena, she¡¯s quite skilled in engraving runes into items, allowing her to enchant them, strengthening them or changing them in their entirety. But that is a tough road to walk, if you are curious, her workshop is back there.¡± he gestured again, further into the hallway. ¡°Similar to what Mibena does, there¡¯s Belynn, he¡¯s working on some sort of temporary enchantments that you carefully inscribe onto a piece of parchment beforehand. Then, once you need it, you can draw out the enchantment from the parchment, using it to strengthen yourself or something along those lines. I don¡¯t fully understand what he does, but it sounds interesting.¡± After pointing to another door, he stopped talking, looking as if he was considering what to say next, so I prodded him a little, there were still professions I was curious about. ¡°What about those who gather resources for all those people?¡± ¡°Oh, they have someone in their shop who can explain that to you. For example, if you are interested in gathering wood and understanding how to treat the wood you harvest to keep it in a good shape, there¡¯s Barim, who works out of Marlum¡¯s shop.¡± he explained and I thought I had a good idea where to find which profession. Now, I just needed to decide what to learn, after the problem I had previously considered, namely that whatever I crafted, it would be worse than what a dedicated crafter could make, there were three professions that stood out to me. One was cooking, the other alchemy and lastly scribing spells onto scrolls. Either of those would allow me to craft consumables, to be used at my leisure. While I thought that I would be willing to put in a lot of effort for, say, an endgame-weapon, I doubted that I would be willing to put in comparable effort into acquiring every single health-potion or food-item. I would need to find out what food actually did in the game, if it was merely a direct control goody, allowing people who directly controlled their characters to experience something interesting, I wouldn¡¯t be too interested, but if it actually did something, I might be. But that was only part of what I had to consider, another part was actually doing the craft. Scribing sounded like it was incredibly dependant on your manual dexterity, making me wonder if it would be a good idea to pursue. While that was true for all of them, I felt that maybe cooking would be the best fit, especially as it was something I enjoyed in the real world. What I already had decided was that one of my professions would be a gathering skill, either some sort of herb-gathering for alchemy or whatever was linked to cooking, maybe some sort of butchering or harvesting profession. Either would be fine with me, I just wanted to be able to gather my own resources. I even considered taking two gathering professions but somehow, that seemed a little boring. Sure, it would likely be the best option in the beginning, allowing me to get the most coin early on, but still, there was a part of me that resisted. I wanted to have some sort of profession that I could actually use, not just something that happened while I was out. ¡°Thank you, Master Dwarf. I will have to consider what to learn, there are so many options.¡± I told the dwarf who had helped me. He gave me a solemn nod, before adding some more words of wisdom. ¡°You should consider it carefully, maybe even talk to the craftspeople. They know their professions like nobody else and might be able to help you decide.¡± I gave him a nod in reply, before turning and slowly walking away, mentally flipping a coin between alchemy and cooking. After a moment, I came to a decision, I would go with cooking. Part of it was the usefulness, part of it was the fact that I enjoyed cooking in the real world, and finally, there was another part. The incongruity of the vicious, brutal Orc Barbarian, putting on an apron and whipping up some pastries. The mental image alone was enough to make me chuckle, so it was certainly a plus. Of course, the mental image of the vicious, brutal Orc Barbarian putting on a lab coat and thick nerd-glasses, before messing around with delicate glassware to brew just the right potion was just as funny, but I liked the other a little more. So, I would learn how to cook. Maybe even how to cook humans. Chapter 31 I made my way to the door that housed the kitchen, domain of Grethra, the cook. Or maybe calling her a chef would be more appropriate, I had yet to meet her, so I wasn''t sure. The door a a symbol on it, after a second, I realised that it was supposed to be a large, witch-style cauldron, just in this case, it was more likely to represent a soup-pot. When I opened the door, I almost had to take a step back when a cloud of hot and moist air blew into my face, which was rather unpleasant, especially after being in the cool and pleasant mountain-air before. ¡°Get in or get away, I don¡¯t care which, but make your choice!¡± a loud voice from inside, reminding me of the prototypical drill-sergeant, scolded me, For a second, I wondered if they had used the same voice-actor for Sergeant Lee and this character before coming to my senses and entering the room, before I was shouted at again. Inside, I instantly started to sweat, it was hot and humid, even worse than the cloud that had escaped before. Looking around, I noticed a great many fire-places, some below cauldrons like the one embossed outside, others beneath metal containers that I identified as ovens but it quickly became obvious where the heat was coming from. On a closer look, the cauldrons were mostly in a state of boil, sending small clouds of steam into the room, explaining the humidity. ¡°Now, tell me who you are and what you want, or I might check if I can fit you on a spit.¡± the same voice from before got my attention and I focused on the owner of said voice. It was a dwarven woman, that much was obvious, but she was quite the impressive specimen. Before, most dwarves had been of similar height, somewhere between a meter ten and maybe a meter thirty or something along those lines, but this one, she took the cake. While she was even wider than the dwarves I had seen before, she wasn¡¯t just short, she was shorter. Without measuring, it was hard to say, but I doubted that she was above ninety centimeters, if that, roughly half my size. But the meat-cleaver in her hand told me that she¡¯d be happy to cut me down to size, if necessary. ¡°Greetings, my name is Chrystal. I was recently called into this world by the Irminsul and am looking for instruction on how to cook.¡± I quickly introduced myself, before she got any ideas that using her cleaver was a good idea. ¡°Chrystal, eh? Tell me, why do you want to learn how to cook? Want to woo your lover? Want to open a restaurant? Come, give me your reason.¡± the short dwarf interrogated, her voice still rather harsh, mocking even. For a split-second, I considered a serious answer, trying to come up with something good, maybe something along the lines of food and drink being among the most primal needs one had to sate, before deciding that I¡¯d just give as good as I could. There was the temptation to insult her, maybe suggesting that I wanted to learn how to spit someone as fat as her, and how long she¡¯d need to grill but considering the bloody cleaver in her hand, I decided that, while it would be a good idea, it wasn¡¯t a smart idea. ¡°Why, I want to learn how to prepare a human. I heard they are rather stringy and taste a little vile, so I came here, hoping to be instructed.¡± I suggested, hoping that I¡¯d hit the right tone, somewhere between bloodthirsty savage and eager student. The cook I was talking to reacted with laughter at my bold statement, before wiping a tear from her eye and sweat from her forehead. ¡°That¡¯s a good one, aye. But preparing humans is difficult, you see, most of them are full of shit, so you need to get rid of that first, otherwise, well, your dish will be spoiled.¡± she announced, in a joking voice, before continuing.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I will teach you, orc, but know that to master cooking, you need dexterous hands to prepare your ingredients, a keen intuition to know what ingredients to use and the endurance to stand the heat of a kitchen. Unless you have all three, your work will never be more than passable. That being said, do you still want to learn cooking?¡± she asked, her voice serious. As I considered her words, realising that she had just told me which attributes were the key-attributes for cooking, a blue window opened, giving me the option to become a Chef.
New Profession offered
Cooking - How to become a true Chef
You were offered training for the Profession of the Chef, learning how to prepare all sorts of food and beverages. Some say, that those who master the profession are able to prepare feasts that do more than sate hunger, they strengthen the body, the mind or even the soul for the tasks of the future.
Do you want to chose Chef as your first Profession? [Warning, you can only have two Professions at the same time]
Accept Decline
After a second of contemplation, I mentally clicked the Accept-Button and a soft chime, similar to the one for levelling up went off in my mind. In addition, I gained access to a cook.bock and a few skills to prepare meals, one of which allowed me to easily start a small fire, if I had the right supplies. If only I had that one earlier, maybe I would be able to use it in complement with my Arsonist-title. ¡°Good, that was the first step on the path of being a true Chef. From now on, you can call me Chef Grethra.¡± the rotund dwarf finally smiled, before she wiped her sweat again and continued. ¡°If you want to learn how to gather ingredients from the game you slay, talk to Draem over there, he can teach you how to butcher things, it¡¯s his speciality. Otherwise, I have a task for you, I want you to prepare ten portions of mutton-stew and deliver them to Zear, he¡¯s mostly hanging around in the barn. That¡¯ll be your first challenge as a chef.¡± she finished, gesturing to another dwarf, standing at a chopping block with another cleaver. I would have to get one of those for myself, they looked like they might be useful in a fight. Maybe as some sort of throwing weapon, I wanted one anyway and throwing cleavers had some charm to it. After accepting the quest that had popped up when Grethra had finished, I checked my cook book and found the recipe for mutton stew, even if I hadn¡¯t the foggiest idea where to get the ingredients, mutton, I¡¯d obviously get from sheep but I doubted that the dwarves would look kindly upon me going ham on their domesticated animals. So, I would have to look for some wild sheep or maybe there was a butcher where I could buy the stuff. But getting potatoes, carrots and some other produce, that was a whole different question, so for now, I tabled the idea of levelling my profession. Not that I wanted to bring it to ten before getting my class there anyway. ¡°Thank you, Chef Grethra. I¡¯ll return to you once the task is done.¡± I took my leave, walking over to the butcher. The exchange with him was far less spirited but I acquired my second profession, Butchery. He even sold me a meat-cleaver that I could use to take apart my kills, but when I asked him if he sold other things or if he bought things, he wasn¡¯t interested in anything I had to sell. So, hoping to get some more information and unload the trash-loot I had been carrying around, I asked him if there was some sort of general goods or produce-vendor in the area, hoping to get rid of it there, maybe even buying some of the stuff I needed. In response, he told me that there was, but it was on another level. I¡¯d have to go outside, take the stairs to get to another level, before getting into the merchant¡¯s hallway. It was a little confusing, but that was just how the city was designed. I thanked him before taking my leave, considering where to go first, the merchant¡¯s hallway to unload loot or directly to Glonar. After a moment of contemplation, I decided that I wanted to know what Glonar had for me, it might be some interesting task, so I went outside and started to climb down the stairs, again, considering if I would be able to take a flying leap, just to avoid some of them. Chapter 32 After another couple of fun-filled minutes of walking up and down the seemingly endless stairs on the cliff-face of Grey Quarry, I reached the landing from where I had looked out over the valley below with Roknar, just a few hours before. Now that I had explored it a little, I was able to see the places where I had been, the various fields, the well where I had drawn water and, in the distance, the brook that led to the slope where the wolves dwelled. I had to admit, it was an incredibly sight, simple yet beautiful. It made me wonder if there was some way to fly in the game, allowing me to take in the amazing sights from above. At the same time, I wondered if the valley was specifically crafted to be viewed from above. As I stood there, just enjoying the view, a familiar voice hailed me. ¡°Greetings, Chrystal, long time no see.¡± Venja jokingly greeted me. ¡°Greetings, Venja, Menja. Are you on the way to meet Glonar as well?¡± I asked, realising that in the time I had visited Kangur and Grethra, they had visited their quest-givers, likely their trainers, and were now on the same errand as I was. ¡°Yes, we are. Want to join us again?¡± Menja asked and when I nodded, I was invited back into the party. ¡°So, what happens next? I mean, did you play this part in the Beta?¡± I asked, turning away from the sight below and towards the door into the mountain. ¡°We didn¡¯t play as dwarves, during the beta, we played as Cat-Folk.¡± Venja told me, dashing my hopes of having a guide who actually knew where the relevant quests were. ¡°But I can make a few guesses.¡± Menja added, before continuing, ¡°After the first quest-area for the Cat-Folk, there was a bit of an introduction into the background and the lore of the race and their conflict. For the Cat-Folk, the conflict was with the elves and there were hints that the Cat-Folk used to be elves but a long time ago, there was some sort of schism and those that are now Cat-Folk were banished from elven society, driven into the Heart of the Forest where they were warped by magic, or something along those lines.¡± Menja explained, while Venja nodded in turn. ¡°Sounds interesting. Any idea what¡¯ll happen with the dwarves? I mean, I only know what was in the short blurbs during character-creation, that they appeared on the surface some hundred-fifty years ago and quickly made a name as expert stonemasons.¡± I asked, curious what the dwarven background was. Hopefully it wasn¡¯t the normal, ancient race, born from the stones themselves, stuff that was used so often. ¡°No, not really. Just that Dwarves and Gnomes hate each other with a passion, even worse than the conflict normally depicted between Dwarves and Elves.¡± Venja answered. Their pair-act was starting to give me a headache, constantly switching off who answered, but it seemed impolite to ask them to knock it off, so I had to suffer. During our conversation, we had made our way through the hallways and were about to knock on Glonar¡¯s door when it opened and Gareth left the room, giving us a nod in passing before hurrying on. Together, we entered the room and Glonar looked up, his gaze roaming over us for a moment. ¡°Ah, there you are, good. Please, close the door.¡± he asked and Menja, who had entered last, turned to do just that. Once the door was closed, a second door opened and Roknar walked into the room, the collar around his neck gone and looking much better. ¡°Chrystal, there you are. As you can see, the Collar is gone and I need to thank you again, for getting me out of there.¡± Roknar said, giving me a light bow before standing behind Glonar. ¡°And I have to thank you, too, Chrystal.¡± Glonar added before turning to Menja and Venja. ¡°Menja, Venja, good that you are here. Your Teachers down in the Valley reported that you have surpassed their expectations and solved a great many problems down in the Valley. Sadly, I need to ask you for more help, as our main-forces are needed on the other side of the mountain, defending the mountain-gate.¡± Glonar began, slowly pacing back and forth.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°You see, there are for ways to enter Grey Quarry. Through the Valley that you already know, but it is nigh impossible to actually get into the valley. The mountains around us are treacherous and deadly, so trying to attack from there, would be suicidal. Then, there are the Ways of Stone, Chrystal, you already travelled on them, but only someone trained in the art of opening them can make use of them. In addition, they only allow individuals to walk them, one at a time.¡± Glonar continued, stopping his pacing for a moment. ¡°Those ways are secure, however, the other two are not. The mountain-gate, where the bulk of our forces is needed is the main entrance into our city and if there ever is an invasion, it¡¯ll be from there. And then there is the Deep Gate, an entrance into the old mines that we used before we dwarves left the Depths and started to seek our fortune on the surface and the shallow mines.¡± he stopped and let out a long-drawn sigh. ¡°The Deep Gate is the problem, you see, not all dwarves were happy to leave the Depths, some saw it as betrayal on our Creator, they wanted nothing to do with those who wanted to venture out. They called us Fallen or Betrayers, or all kind of nasty slurs, trying to kill or capture us whenever they could and I think one of their groups is currently in the Depths, near the Deep Gate. I want you to go and meet with Afrena, she¡¯s the commander of the troops guarding the Deep Gate, she will be able to tell you more. Please, head down there, investigate the problem and, if you can, solve it. We need to be able to sleep soundly, secure in the knowledge that our homes are secure.¡± Glonar finished and the quest to meet him was completed, giving me an even thousand EXP, bringing me to level seven, and a new quest-window opened, tasking me to meet with the mentioned Captain Afrena. Now, I only needed to know where the Deep Gate was, other than, somewhere within the mountain, and I could go, check it out. At least I would be able, some time in the future, it was almost time for me to log out, at least for some time. Sure, I was on vacation, but I didn¡¯t want to spend all my time ingame. ¡°Sorcerer Glonar, I certainly will do as you ask, but I need to know, where is the Deep Gate. I barely know my way around the living areas of Grey Quarry, never mind the more obscure areas, such as the Deep Gate. Just a moment ago, I had no idea such a thing even existed.¡± I asked, politely. ¡°Ah, yes, that is true. Come, let me give you a map, that way you can find your way easily.¡± Glonar answered, before starting to rummage through his desk. A moment later, he came up with a large parchment, but from what I could see, it was totally blank. Not much of a map. But then, he showed me that the world we were in was one of magic, he placed his hands above the parchment and they took a grey glow, similar to the one I had seen when Roknar had used his magic. The glow spread from his hands, inundating the parchment, and after about ten seconds, the glow faded and I could see lines on the parchment before he rolled it up and handed it to me. ¡°Here, there you go. It¡¯s a magical map that shows you a map of Grey Quarry and your position, as long as you would be on it. You can touch it to follow a path or, if you look for something specific, you can touch it at the top and say what you are looking for. That way, it will draw a path between your current position and whatever you are looking for. You can even draw paths between you and points on the map, you just have to touch them.¡± Glonar explained, sounding very proud of himself. And I had to give it to him, the map was impressive, a magical navigation system, it would certainly be useful. My only gripe was that I only got it now, and not earlier, but hey, better late than never. Next to me, Venja and Menja looked rather flabbergasted and quickly repeated my request, getting maps on their own. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Glonar asked and I knew a dismissal when I heard one. We said our farewells to him before opening the door and leaving, one after the other. ¡°What was that all about?¡± Menja asked, once we were out of Glonar¡¯s office. ¡°I mean, why did they thank you?¡± he clarified, when I didn¡¯t answer instantly. ¡°Well, I told you that I had a special background and that I teamed up with a dwarf to get out of there. That dwarf was Roknar, nothing more to it.¡± I explained, before going a little more into detail, explaining that both of us had been enslaved and that our walk-out was actually escaping from slavery. Both of them had a good laugh, before telling me that I should take a look at the forums, there would be some information on things I had asked them about. Sadly, they had to log off, to take care of their baby but they would see me around. A quick glance at the clock told me that I¡¯d have to get up as well, if I wanted to have breakfast with my parents. Curious what it would be like, I pulled the pillar shard, focusing on using it and, after about ten seconds, I was asked to chose the Lesser Pillar to which I wanted to travel. While it would have been funny to jump to the one in Stormhelm, I selected the one in the Valley of Grey Quarry, before being enveloped by the nothingness of the loading screen. Moments later, I was at the pillar and triggered the log-out, planning to take that look into the forum, just as they had suggested. Epilogue - General Forum I Irminsul-Forum, General Discussion -Wayton [First Life-Server Impressions of a previous Beta-Tester] Greetings to everyone reading this I wanted to make this thread to share my first impressions, seen through the lense of a previous beta-tester and I¡¯m curious how everyone else, tester and non-tester alike, has experienced the headstart-launch. First of all, kudos to Northwind-Entertainment the head start went perfectly well, no lags, no queues, no nothing. Just a smooth launch, something everyone, especially the older generation, can appreciate. Personally, I played a human in the beta and had a great deal of fun with it and I like the subtle nods the Devs have taken to history, trying to use something from the past while making it their own. But enough of that, on to my first impressions. Character-Creation: Looked quite good, I think it could do with a little more information, just to give those who didn¡¯t play the Beta an easier time to get into things. Otherwise, having the heritage and background-features allows people to individualize their characters even further, without breaking the game. Regarding the amount of classes and the balance between them, that¡¯ll be the challenge for the developers, to make sure that, if and when unforeseen combinations break their balance, they reign that in without punishing those that stumbled across them. How that¡¯s handled is, at least in my opinion, the difference between a good game and a bad one. Actual Gameplay: After Character-creation, I ended up in the human city of Stormhelm, playing a Paladin of Sennox and using the Recruit-background. At that point, everything looked quite similar to the beta. I got through the initial tutorial, learning how to use a sword, you know, stick with the pointy end and all that, before truly starting out. With fetch-and-carry quests. Here, I have to give the developers a bit of grief, the initial quests were bog-standard, the same kill or fetch-quests that have been used for MMORPGs since the olden days, hell, that type of quest is likely older than I am. It might be a good idea to try innovating there, but that¡¯s for the future. Once I had completed the first couple of quests, things went a little off the rails, with an event that didn¡¯t happen in the Beta. Not sure what triggered it, but it was a nice break-up of those dreaded fetch-quests. Now, the event I¡¯m talking about was some sort of attack, not sure what exactly happened, but somehow, the Arena and Temple of Kallendra was set on fire, or something along those lines. If you haven¡¯t dealt with the deities in Irminsul yet, Kallendra is the God of Honourable Combat and a couple other things, contests and stuff like that. The Arena, and duels in the Arena, is a major thing for them, and someone tried to blow it up. What made it even more interesting was that afterwards, a riot started right outside of it, which got the Church of Sennox involved. Sennox deals with the Sun and Law, while being a local version of Jupiter or maybe Zeus, not something along those lines. Anyway, that got me pulled into things and the plot started to thicken when I was tasked to hunt down a murderer, apparently, the daughter of the High-Priest of Kallendra was murdered in the chaos. So now, I have quests to investigate the murder and the riot, some sources claim that Krom-cultists are responsible, and I¡¯m hooked. That¡¯s how quests and gameplay is supposed to be, not ¡°Go there, fetch this.¡± but complex and confusing, without getting railroaded at every turn.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The Riot-quests, I totally dig. Even if I have no idea what is going on. -Farland [Re: First Life-Server Impressions of a previous Beta-Tester] Impressions of a Non-Beta-Tester: Well, hello there. My first impressions, as the title suggests, I didn¡¯t play in the beta. Character-Creation: I like the customizability and the different options. We¡¯ll have to see about balance, but at a guess, there will be a couple of combinations that are simply better than the rest and people will play those. It¡¯s just gamer nature to want the best they can get, even if the difference is minute. But I¡¯m willing to wait and see. Actual Gameplay: The tutorial was a little meagre, I doubt that someone who didn¡¯t play similar games before would understand what happens with them. But otherwise, the opening was well done and I have to admit that the elven forest is beautifully crafted, so big shout-out to the graphic-designers, they did a fantastic job. Sadly, there was no event that I have seen, maybe something will come up. -Yagnar [Re: First Life-Server Impressions of a previous Beta-Tester] Not to repeat what the previous posters already said, I can agree to their takes on character-creation and the initial quests. Otherwise, what I¡¯ve seen of the orcish land looks awesome. Personally, I¡¯m looking forwards to see how PvP actually works on the live-server, in the Beta, I had a blast hunting down humans but there simply weren¡¯t enough players for really big and awesome battles. -Menja [Re: First Life-Server Impressions of a previous Beta-Tester] I have to add, the starting-zones appear to be well balanced, I played a Cat-Folk in the Beta and now, I¡¯m a dwarf. The differences are significant but not jarring, instead the quests feel smooth and immersive. And on the topic of racial differences, the sensory mapping is great. In the real-world, I¡¯m above six feet and now, I play a four-foot dwarf and there¡¯s no phantom sensations of any kind. Even things like the handling of the tail, when I was a cat-folk worked out great and I can tell you, I don¡¯t have a prehensile tail above my butt in the real world. Yet, controlling and feeling it only took a little getting used to. So, Cat-Folk out there, swing your tail around proudly. :P -Kourtney [Re: First Life-Server Impressions of a previous Beta-Tester] Cool, someone else who started in Stormhelm. I¡¯m sure we will meet ingame, Mr. Paladin of Sennox, I¡¯m looking forward to pulling a heist right under your nose. Because yes, I started as a hoodlum, being inducted into the thieves syndicate of Stormhelm. But the riot-event was something else, I was there when it started, at first, it was merely a group of people trying to see what was going on, why there was smoke coming from the Arena. You know, normal rubbernecking curiosity. And then, things went downhill, fast. Not sure how, but all of a sudden, stones were flying around, people were screaming and shoving others, punches were thrown and even the guards that tried to keep everyone back from the Arena got pulled in. There was no way for the Watermages to get through to put the fire out, so the guards started to forcefully make way. I think I heard someone call for revolution against the Empire so there might be something going on that we have yet to know about. Later, it got even more interesting when the boss of the syndicate started to order people around, giving tasks to some and sending others to take up watch at a couple of hidden smuggling passages. Apparently, one of the syndicate¡¯s members was killed by the same people who set fire to the Arena and now, there¡¯s a bounty on some black-furred Orc, but sadly, that¡¯s above my paygrade. We¡¯ll have to see what the future will bring, but I¡¯m looking forward to it. Real World, Christina-PoV The thread had quite a few more posts, pretty much all of them praising the game and discussing the ¡°event¡± in Stormhelm and a few similar events in different places. Somehow, I knew which Orc they were talking about, but I would keep mum about it and hope that Menja and Venja did the same, or I might get in trouble, ingame. Not that I had even the slightest idea how that would work, could anyone use information from the Forum ingame? Or was there some sort of block to prevent that, something to prevent rewards from being given if a quest was solved by, in essence, cheating? Shaking my head, I went back to the other posts, researching more information about the Game in general and classes in particular. I¡¯d soon need to decide what I¡¯d take as my second class.