《Class Neutral: Stranger is Coming》 Prologue

A lot of people in my town, including me, keep doing the same things every day... I mean things relating to their work and home. By the time I was thirty years old, I¡¯d bought a one-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of town.

After five years of hard work, I finally managed to take a vacation lasting three of the summer months. I had so much free time that I didn¡¯t know how to spend it. I didn¡¯t have any relatives or friends, and I didn¡¯t want to go away. I was too lazy to do anything. I managed a good night¡¯s sleep on the first day of my vacation for the first time in a good while. Then my life began to change rapidly. I still didn¡¯t know whether these changes were for the better or for worse. Surfing the Internet, I made up my mind to try playing a full immersion online game. After reading plenty of forums, I discovered a lot of interesting information. Most of the players wrote that the game ¡®Rainea¡¯, was absolutely indistinguishable from the real world and even surpassed it. I highly doubted that, and I wanted to see for myself. I stopped being so skeptical after looking at a couple of player-made landscapes. This game interested me¡ªdespite my prejudice against full immersion games. I decided to remember my youth; the best games seemed to be released at the beginning of the century. I felt nostalgic for those wonderful days when I had so much fun and so many friends¡­ *** The capsule was delivered and installed the next day. I spent half of my savings on it; it was enough to purchase a good car. I bought an average-priced capsule as I couldn¡¯t afford luxury appliances. However, even this capsule was a miracle of engineering. I wished I¡¯d paid more attention to the development of virtual reality.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. When the movers left, I locked my door securely and lay down in the capsule. It adjusted to all the parameters of my body automatically and became so comfortable that I decided I could sleep in it. As I found out from the instructions and the technical staff¡¯s words, this capsule fully supported bodily functions: electrical impulses didn¡¯t allow the muscles to atrophy, and the bed was made of a special material ensuring the absence of bedsores during prolonged immersion. Systems supplying the body with nutrients were also installed in the capsule. It was even equipped with a method of toileting so as not to interrupt the game. It was a kind of container for keeping my body in a perfect condition. Before starting to play the most popular game on the planet, I remembered some peculiar messages emerging on different forums periodically. These messages reported that some players weren¡¯t able to return to the real world, staying in the game forever. This matter was discussed in the news, but then it was soon forgotten. I didn¡¯t think much of it earlier, but now, for some reason, I recalled it. I don¡¯t care. These messages have appeared rarely. I¡¯m unlikely to stay in the game. Besides, my real life isn¡¯t so interesting anyway¡­ Your state of consciousness while staying in the capsule had a special name. Syndrome... was it? ¡­ No... hmm... a phenomenon! The Phenomenon of Consciousness Transference, or PCT in short. The theory of virtual worlds was developed on its basis if I hadn¡¯t confused anything. In general, it doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯d better just relax and look at the new world without thinking about some random scientific theory. I activated the capsule with a voice command; the lid shielded me from the real world with a few smooth movements, and my heart started racing. It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll have time to get used to it. I closed my eyes and a nice white light filled the whole space. Chapter 1 Character editor. Race and class. Choice is made. A vast space stretched before my eyes. It was weird because I couldn¡¯t see my own body at all, but I still felt it, almost as if I had become some kind of invisible man. I noticed a large oval mirror with a pale golden border hanging freely in the air at a height of around ten feet. A message emerged before my eyes.
Choose a race!
Hmm... I wonder who I am going to be in this game. I reviewed the list of characters and chose one at random. Some big monster with pale green skin appeared in the mirror. Its black hair was tied up in a small tail, and its evil black eyes made me shudder. Two fangs were sticking out of his mouth. His muscles were so impressive that any bodybuilder would envy looking at this jerk, but I didn¡¯t like the character. I had never liked the orcs. I¡¯ll try again. A short, broad-shouldered dwarf with a bushy red beard appeared in the mirror. His snub nose, bushy eyebrows, and kind eyes made a good impression on me. He had ordinary clothes, consisting of a simple shirt and pants with a rope instead of a belt, unlike the orc, which had been wearing only trousers. Moreover, the dwarf had a rather athletic figure. The developers kept trying to give players something they were deprived of in real life¡ªfor example, well-developed biceps. However, I wasn¡¯t interested in it, and I decided to explore other options. Who¡¯s next? Long blond hair fell down the figure¡¯s back like a waterfall. Amazing green eyes peered into the distance, shining with their beauty. The pointy ears looked very impressive, but they could interfere while traveling through dense thickets and the like. If I had such a sugary appearance, in reality, all the girls would fall in love with me. However, this character was unsuitable for me also. I wonder if I could make this elf more courageous... I had better study the settings. I liked this proud and ancient race, but I¡¯d prefer a different appearance¡­ Unfortunately, despite my best attempts, I didn¡¯t manage to achieve the desired image... Okay, who else is there? Drows, hmm... These are the elves with dark-blue or dark-purple skin, although there are drows possessing obsidian-black skin, and others have a pale-gray skin, resembling ashes. It¡¯s interesting, but it doesn¡¯t suit me. There were also ogres, salvins and many other unusual races populating the list. At last, I decided that I would play as a human because I wasn¡¯t ready to change my appearance so radically. I¡¯d rather be in a human body.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. An ordinary guy with dark hair and bright blue eyes, an inconspicuous face, and a slightly trained body were reflected in the mirror. I¡¯d prefer a slightly different appearance. I reviewed the settings and soon achieved what I wanted. My own reflection, the same as in the real world, looked at me from the mirror, though the hair was slightly longer than before, and its color had changed to brown. The eyes also changed their blue color to gray, and then there was a straight nose, pursed lips, tired eyes, and a lean figure. Do I look like that? Well, the girls would probably prefer the previous one. But, I don¡¯t care.
Race: human Confirm your choice
Yes. Come on! Hurry up! I¡¯d like to play this game now!
Choose your character class
Oh, I completely forgot about the class. Good players always analyze all available information, weigh all the pros and cons of each available class, and then make their decisions. What about me? Well, I¡¯m a bad player. There were a lot of classes. Which one shall I see first of all? I know! A Warrior! My character received a sword and simple armor. Thus, he began to look a little more brutal. Oh, yeah. Now I¡¯ll frighten a hare if it is five levels below me. What else is there? A Necromancer. Hollow cheeks, pale skin, fatigue, and a look of envy. He was holding a shabby book adorned with a skull. Developers, are you kidding? If I see myself like this in real life, I¡¯ll have to go to church just to cast out the devils. An Archer. The same character, only now it was armed with a simple bow and a quiver of arrows. Death knight, Ranger, Thief, Assassin, Paladin, Priest... I don¡¯t like these. I can¡¯t be so picky. Have I really become so indifferent that nothing interests me? What about social classes? There were diplomats, traders, ascetics and other options. Well, I could play this game without killing monsters. Perhaps I should only complete some quests and live happily. No, I¡¯d prefer fighting, but I can¡¯t decide. Oh, I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ll choose a class at random. It would be very funny if I became a necromancer after all.
Enter the name of the character!
¡°Alexey!¡±
A character with this name already exists.
Screw it. Now I have to think of something else. I like the name ¡®Stranger¡¯, although this is the standard name of any player, besides a player with the same name already exists. I have an idea, though.
Character name: Allone
Race: human
Class: random
The choice is made! Welcome to Rainea!
Enjoy your game!
Chapter 2 Rainea¡¯s World. Achievements or a pig in a poke? Goal. The room faded away so quickly that I didn¡¯t even have time to realize at what moment it happened. A vast forest stretched before me, and the color of the leaves was such a rich green that I thought some of the settings were off. However, the system succeeded perfectly. I found myself in a fairy tale as a slight breeze greeted me. The wonderful landscape, and the blue sky without a single cloud. It was so different from my cloudy reality. A squirrel with a bushy red tail ran along a thin branch and disappeared into the crown of a tree. I noticed a hare somewhere in the distance, among the forest giants. The birds were flying, paying no attention to me. Hmm...it¡¯s awesome; there so many animals. This is such a strange feeling! It was so pleasant to breathe this air. Now I¡¯m likely to spend much more time here than I intended before. ¡°Hello, Rainea!¡± I yelled joyfully. ¡°How beautiful you are!¡±
Attention! Hidden class is revealed
You have chosen a class: Neutral
Number of people in this class: 1
Achievement unlocked: Unique ¦©
Description: This achievement is given to the owners of unique skills, items, and personality traits.
Reward: + 1% to the chance of receiving unique quests, + 1% to the chance of receiving unique items and skills as a reward for completing quests.
Achievement unlocked: Neutral
Description: ???
Reward: ???
Note: Description and reward will be available... someday
Unique quest is received¡ªto find out what ¡®Neutral¡¯ is.
Description: Such creatures as Neutrals have never inhabited Rainea before. These times are now over. Such a person has appeared today.
Whom does Neutral look like: a mage, a warrior, an archer or somebody else?
Terms: find out all the information about your class and its capabilities Reward: ???
Note: You will have a fun and carefree life... somedayIf you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Wow! I wonder why the game favors me so much! I¡¯ve just started playing and immediately got a hidden class, a unique quest, and achievements¡ªwithout making a single action. There¡¯s something wrong. I can¡¯t just get this lucky.
Achievement unlocked: Freeloader ¦©
Description: Once you get something for nothing, you¡¯ll be used to it and want to repeat it
Reward: + 1% to the chance of receiving unexpected rewards + 1% to the chance of finding abandoned artifacts
Ha! If I say some nonsense, will I get the achievement ¡®Chatterbox¡¯? I chuckled, observing plenty of windows as they appeared out of nowhere. I couldn¡¯t currently admire the landscape because of them all. Plus one percent to the number of spoken words, and plus ten percent to the nonsense in them. Why has the administration chosen me for this role? Is it an artificial intelligence controlling the game? Hmm¡­ It¡¯s very curious and rather obscure. The latest achievement was most likely a gift from the system. It seemed to me that something dangerous was in store for me. Although the nature around me was presently peaceful. Oh, I don¡¯t like this. Despite the pathos of the words ¡®unique¡¯, ¡®hidden¡¯ or ¡®legendary¡¯, I didn¡¯t see any good qualities or awards from my achievements so far. There was only pathos and nothing more. The developers seemed to come up with it to attract players. I¡¯ll figure it out later. Now I need to think about my development in this game. I have to learn my parameters first.
Basic Parameters
Strength 1
Dexterity 1
Intelligence 1
Stamina 1
Wisdom 1
Stat points available for distribution - 5
I doubted these parameters were enough for outstanding results. Although, it was foolish to expect that I would become a first-class superman immediately. Though, I hoped I would be able to do so in the future. Before starting to play this game, I dreamed of having magical abilities in the real world, and I even planned on becoming a mage in this game, but I didn¡¯t like their limitations. Although this was only my initial opinion. To my mind, a wizard had to be able to learn any magic. But the developers didn¡¯t seem to think so. The use of magic in this game appeared limited. For example, if a necromancer wanted to attack his opponent with a fireball, he had to use a scroll first to create it. In my opinion, he was a useless mage if he couldn¡¯t learn spells and had to constantly peek at these scrolls. I felt a little upset. I¡¯d rather try to make a Neutral good wizard (in my understanding). It¡¯s settled. I¡¯m going to learn magic. But I need a global goal! I need to strive for something. What about earning a hundred million gold coins? It¡¯s hard and quite impressive, but I don¡¯t think so. What about becoming a king of some country or uniting all the lands in a vast empire? I like it. According to the official forum, none of the players could become an emperor or a king and create his own country. But I¡¯m ¡®special¡¯. Oh, I feel like I¡¯m destined for stardom! If I keep thinking this way, I¡¯ll turn into a huge plasma ball that overshadows the local sun. What an interesting thought, by the way. Anyway, I need something a little more unusual. What about infiltrating the local pantheon of gods and leading it? Ha! This is quite unimaginable and unreal. However, I want to relax here, so I need to add a bit of fun to such a global goal. Perhaps I will create a harem of goddesses¡­ Ah-ha-ha! I¡¯d better not talk about it loudly (though, all the goddesses might draw their attention to me). I could be cursed and forced to remove the character from the game because it¡¯s impossible to get rid of divine debuffs. I¡¯m not cool enough to do that. It is easier to become a god than to get rid of the other gods¡¯ curses. Someone wrote on the forum that a top-player had to recreate his character because of one touchy goddess. She didn¡¯t like that the Holy Paladin hadn¡¯t given her a valuable artifact. But who am I kidding? I¡¯ll have to deal with these starry conquerors of the heavens. This task is worthy of me. It¡¯s impossible to complete this quest for an ordinary gamer, but I¡¯m ¡®special¡¯! It¡¯s better to think less of the goddesses now, so they won¡¯t pay attention to me. They have too much power. I wonder how the administrators communicate with them. What if I took a couple of dozen blueberry pies and threw them right into their divine faces¡­ it¡¯d be fun¡­ Well, it¡¯s high time to stop joking and achieve some kind of status in this world. This will be my main goal. I will also try to explore the realm. Now, however, I need to check my inventory and find the nearest town. There is nothing interesting: a couple of loaves of white bread, a bottle of milk, a piece of cheese, and that¡¯s all. Not bad. At least, I won¡¯t starve. Chapter 3 First monster. First problems. First trip. I had been walking for about an hour, but I couldn¡¯t find my way. The map refused to show me the entire area. This world¡¯s size was amazing. If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, Rainea couldn¡¯t be smaller than the Earth. Many gamers believed that Rainea is larger than the Earth¡ªif we take into account the Hellish Abyss, the Bright Skies, and other parts of the game¡¯s universe. However, Rainea was really huge even without these areas. Most of the country hadn¡¯t been explored due to barely accessible regions, high-level monsters, and the remoteness of some locations from populated lands., amongst other things. It was strange; as a rule, the players coming to this world found themselves in small towns or other settlements inhabited by many low-level mobs. I was in a desert area, and I was glad of the fact because I didn¡¯t want to communicate with the other players right now. My introversion was caused by some events in my life. People caused me a lot of pain and I didn¡¯t want to deal with them, I didn¡¯t even want to try to find good friends who could help me. I didn¡¯t want to be hypocritical and pretend to enjoy being in contact with someone. I¡¯d rather talk to the NPCs. Despite the fact that they are controlled by artificial intelligence, they are almost indistinguishable from ordinary people, though they have one particular parameter, which lets them surpass the players. Most natives express their emotions openly: their feelings are clearly visible on their faces or felt in their words and gestures. Of course, I understand that the developers did that on purpose. However, it was a wise decision, which greatly pleased such misanthropes as me. Wow, here¡¯s the first mob.
Forest hare. Level 1
Wow! Why is it growling at me? Screw it! Hares can¡¯t growl. What a strange beast! Is it ill? I wish I could check it out. What has happened to the local fauna?
You¡¯ve learned the skill ¡®Observation¡¯
Description: Exploring the world around, you began to notice a lot of unusual things that surprise you
Hidden treasures, secret paths, and forgotten dungeons are opened only to very attentive observers
Keep up the good work and you¡¯ll be able to learn more about everything around you
Skill Class: normal
Skill level: 1
Hmm... That¡¯s great! How should I beat this rabbit? Should I play peek-a-boo with it? I ran up to this formidable creature, who dampened this beautiful forest with its presence and kicked it. The hare hit a mighty oak tree growing ten feet behind.
Critical strike! Your enemy is damaged by hitting a tree!
50 HPs are obtained
Here is my first mob. I¡¯d better see if there was a drop. I went to the small animal¡¯s carcass and sighed sadly. Unfortunately, there was no drop. But I wasn''t sad for a long time. Thanks to the Observation skill, I noticed a strange moving blanket thirty-three feet away from me. My subconscious ordered, Get out of here, fool! Having looked closely at this moving carpet, I immediately followed my own advice.
Flock of forest hares affected by the Hellish Abyss¡¯s emanations
Level: 1-10
I couldn¡¯t fight so many enemies, taking into account that some of them were level ten monsters. They¡¯ll eat me faster than a hungry cat eats a bucket of sour cream, then they¡¯ll take the milk and bread from my bag. I wonder who came up with this battle between a crowd of level ten mobs and a first-level beginner. Is it payback for my achievements? Screw it!The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The hares were real monsters! They kept following me, and my fatigue indicator rapidly began to turn yellow. Oh, my god! If I¡¯m eaten by a pack of hares, it¡¯ll be so disgraceful. I¡¯ll have to stop dreaming about goddesses! When the fatigue indicator got painted in scarlet color and started to blink, it dawned on me. I rushed to the nearest tree and quickly climbed it. It was a very thick lime. They won¡¯t eat me here! Several windows emerged as I breathed deeply.
Achievement unlocked: Sprinter I
Description: Grueling fast running strengthens a body, increasing Stamina and Strength
Reward: + 1% to running speed + 1% to Stamina and Strength
Achievement unlocked: Tree-Climber ¦©
Description: Climbing trees (especially so quickly) might be rather funny and useful; it also improves your Strength, Stamina, and Dexterity
I could also unlock the achievement ¡®Slow¡¯¡ªminus ten percent to the speed of thinking. I wish I¡¯d thought of climbing a tree in the forest immediately. Anyway, I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ve unlocked a couple of achievements which are useless now, but they¡¯ll be very valuable when I reach higher levels. Now, I¡¯d better think about getting out of this mess. I wonder if I get any achievement for that. Stop it! I seem to have a collector¡¯s mentality. When I stop playing, I might go crazy. I¡¯ll invent my own achievements constantly in reality. I must stop thinking about it! The hares kept jumping on the smooth tree trunk but slipped and fell on the ground, growling like rottweilers. I wonder how I managed to climb that tree. It has a very smooth trunk as if it were not wood, and the branches only start to grow at a height of about ten feet from the ground.
Stone Lime
Description: A rather rare tree in Rainea¡¯s forests The desert rocky plains of the Arag wasteland are the birthplace of these trees. Nobody knows how they got into our world; a portal to their land was destroyed many thousands of years ago. Space mages kept looking for a path into that world for a long time. This tree has incredible density and hardness, and it can be cut down only by magic weapons
This was an advantage of my Observation skill. Are these wastelands a non-game location, or have the developers have come up with a global quest? Maybe it¡¯s just a game legend? Why did mages keep looking for a path to get there? I¡¯d better find out. I¡¯ll put it in the Stranger¡¯s diary. Hmm¡­ do pine-cones grow on lime trees? This is a stupid question; of course, they don¡¯t, but the developers didn¡¯t seem to know about that. I can clearly see a whole pile of stones, the size of a fist, above me. They certainly look like pine-cones. However, I could take advantage of the developers¡¯ ignorance here. I picked a stone pine-cone and estimated its weight¡ªabout ten ounces. I wickedly grinned and threw the pine-cone at the furry carpet below, and¡­
Critical Strike!
New Level is obtained!
New Level is obtained!
I managed to kill a lot of hares with just one stone pine-cone. It¡¯s great! I¡¯ve obtained two levels. Any demon would envy my smile. It was like an evil grin in anticipation of freebies. For the next half an hour, I was throwing pine-cones at the hares and managed to obtain another level. Unfortunately, the greater the difference between the levels was, the less experience I got. However, there were a lot of animals remaining, and I still didn¡¯t know what to do with them all. A little while later, the hares began to behave suspiciously. They looked around and jumped nervously around the tree. I sighed, thinking of my own futility. Then one of the pine-cones suddenly lit up and exploded, and stone chips flew in all directions, wounding the animals standing nearby. The next explosions killed another five mobs, and the rest ran away in all directions, freeing the way for me. It was strange that a lot of mobs died, but I still had a lack of experience in moving to the next level. Though, I didn¡¯t care. I managed to climb down and look around, not because I was very responsible, but because I was very greedy and afraid to miss any benefit. Hmm? Why do I think of myself so critically? I¡¯m not greedy. I¡¯m just economical and reasonable. The tree trunk was incredibly smooth, and I felt my hand slip; I scratched my forehead on the hard surface of the trunk and fell from a height of fifteen feet.
You¡¯re damaged by 7 stat points
Health level 23/30
It hurts! My forehead and back were in pain as if I had fallen in reality. I didn¡¯t remember the players complaining of severe pain on the forums. Oh, shit, I need to sit down for a while. I¡¯m dizzy.
You¡¯re injured! Brain concussion
Description: You hit your head, and now your Dexterity and Stamina parameters, as well as Perception, are lowered
Effect: -10% to Dexterity and Stamina points
Additional effect: blurred vision -20% to the level of Observation
Duration of effects: 1 hour
Damn it! What a stupid injury! I examined the hares¡¯ carcasses and the surrounding area and soon cheered up. Now my inventory was replenished with ten skins, ten tails, five fangs, fragments of stone cones, one ancient coin found under a tree, and two dimly glowing seeds of the Stone Lime inside the pine-cones. I¡¯ll deal with all this stuff later; I need to find a landmark now. To look around I started climbing a tree. This time, I choose a normal tree, not the Stone Lime. I should improve my tree-climbing. I looked around the neighborhood from a safe position in the tree¡ªthe height of a four-story house. I chose a rather tall tree and only got to the middle of its trunk; it was dangerous for me to climb any higher. However, this height was enough to look around. The forest was huge. It covered the ground like a green blanket to the horizon. As I scanned my surroundings, I saw gray smoke coming out from the ground to the north, around three miles away from me. Now I knew my destination. Chapter 4 The dense forest is my home. Silvan. Fly Agaric. This place was very attractive and beautiful. The sun¡¯s rays went through the crowns of the trees, plunging into the ground like light spears and scattering the shadow around. The ground is covered with green grass and moss; I¡¯m likely to find berries and mushrooms here. I mean, I wish I could find them. I guess I should improve my Observation skill. Since the road was long, I examined my trophies along the way¡ªthe fangs, the tails, and any other stuff that could be useful for creating potions and improving my Alchemy skill. However, I was interested in the seeds and the coin most of all
Stone Lime¡¯s Seeds
Description: Stone Lime fruit has very hard bark for better seed preservation The seeds are a very valuable ingredient for a number of powerful elixirs. The seeds shine with dim light; they are fragile and sensitive to sudden temperature fluctuations Hellish Abyss¡¯s emanations, the Bright Heaven, or Arag wasteland are necessary for growth
Quantity: 2
Effect: +10% to the level of Alchemy skill
Effect duration: 4 hours
Ancient coin
Description: Item is not identified
I wish I knew more about this coin! I hope I can find out something about it later. The information about the seeds is very interesting. I think they could be sprouted. But why would I do that? It doesn¡¯t matter, though. I wonder where I can get these emanations and whether the shape and properties of the trees would depend on the type of this emanation. I don¡¯t want to use the forum; I¡¯d better explore this world myself. Anyway, I better head to the Help section first.
Emanation is the concentrated energy of someone or something
Excellent wording, though very short. I¡¯d like to know how to obtain or collect this emanation. Thinking of it, I approached the place where I thought there were fire and smoke. A little while later, I came to a small clearing. I saw a burning campfire and a cabin covered with ground and moss. A crooked tree grew on the top of this small dwelling. One wall of the hut was replaced by two huge stones overgrown with moss. There was too much smoke¡ªas if a whole square mile of the forest was on fire. I had no time to think about it. The shabby door of the cabin opened, and someone came out. It was a humanoid creature, completely covered with dark gray wool and leaves. Several branches were sticking out from his back, and an ordinary red fly agaric with a pair of toadstools grew on his head. His face was almost human: narrowed eyes, a long nose, and a beard brushing the ground. This strange elderly figure leaned on a twisted long stick, wrapped in swamp slime and moss. He came up to me, and it turned out that this... creature was two heads taller than me. How did he manage to get through that little door? I looked over him and saw something interesting.
Silvan ??? eh ??? eh ??? levelThis tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
What the hell? Why are there so many question marks in my quests and messages? Is there a problem with the game? I seem to be lucky for attracting such weird stuff. ¡°Hello, Stranger.¡± The silvan spoke confidently and quietly, not grunting. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for so long.¡± Of course, I¡¯m the one you¡¯ve been waiting for. I¡¯m probably the first player in Rainea¡¯s history who walked here. Now he¡¯ll talk about the ancient prophecy saying that the hero will come and save the world from evil. Blah-blah-blah. ¡°I¡¯d like to show you where you¡¯ll live until you are a bit stronger.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± I could hardly utter some sounds. ¡°The transition from one world to another must have been difficult for you if you still aren¡¯t able to talk,¡± he muttered, patting his beard and looking at me. ¡°I hope you''ll recover soon.¡± A dusty road suit covered with leaves and twigs, disheveled hair, and my dirty boots¡ªI looked like a homeless tramp rather than a hero. According to the developers¡¯ legend, all the players appearing in Rainea were strangers coming from distant worlds. They came here for money because the game gold could be exchanged for real money at a favorable rate. However, it was as difficult to earn the game gold as to earn rubles or dollars in real life. To avoid using the game as an intermediary for fraud, the value of the game gold in each country corresponded to the exchange rate of the real-world currencies. I didn¡¯t understand how this was possible, but this information was posted on the official website of the ¡®Corporation Creator¡¯s Studio¡¯, which developed the game. Some players liked to kill monsters, others prefer killing people, and some gamers just enjoyed the game and wanted to explore the world. Each player had his own goals in this game, so it would be almost impossible to list everything. I knew that more than fifty million people played ¡®Rainea¡¯, though I didn¡¯t understand how they were distributed over the lands of the game universe. ¡°Good afternoon, sir,¡± I was finally able to speak. ¡°How did you know I would come?¡± ¡°I believed that you would be able to talk.¡± The silvan nodded joyfully. ¡°As for your question, Stranger. I had a vision that a very curious guy would appear in our world. I then needed to meet him and teach him.¡± I squinted and copied the old silvan¡¯s gesture, stroking my chin. ¡°Who can send such a vision?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Stranger.¡± The silvan sighed. ¡°Maybe one of the gods descended to the forest dweller, or maybe it was the universe itself. I see that you¡¯ll be a very capable disciple.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I looked at the man incredulously and wanted to ask why he decided so, but he just removed something from my head quickly. There was a squeezed fly agaric in his hand, which was smaller than the mushroom on his head. The mushroom cap was dark purple, and I looked at it more closely.
Panther Fly Agaric
Description: This mushroom has an incredibly terrible poison that can kill an ordinary human in ten seconds, but it is therapeutic for many species of animals, and it is able to cure a number of their serious injuries and diseases Valuable alchemical ingredient You must obtain an Alchemy skill of at least level 100 to make potions from this mushroom
Note: Especially dangerous for orcs Able to scare off spirits and downworlders
Class: rare
You¡¯d better not to cook it for dinner
I put the mushroom in my bag just in case; it might be useful to me later. ¡°The mushrooms love you; they¡¯re very sad that you haven¡¯t noticed them since you came here, and this Arn-Olch even managed to climb you, but you were still blind to its presence. I had to take it out before you received a fatal dose of poison.¡± The silvan smiled and looked at me curiously. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen mushrooms pay attention to any of the other strangers before. ¡°Explore the forest carefully and gain some experience. I¡¯ll come to you when the day changes into the night only once. I know that all strangers are immortal, but you be better not to die, otherwise, it would greatly slow down the pace of your training.¡± With that, the silvan turned into moss on a flat stone lying on the ground, and his staff turned into a low gnarled tree. Having seen this, I fell and noticed that I was sitting in a dirty puddle. I was in the mud and twigs with the fly agaric in my hands.
You¡¯ve learned the skill ¡®Disguise¡¯
Description: Passing through the forest you don¡¯t notice, but you are covered with leaves, twigs, moss and even mushrooms, hiding you from animals and birds¡¯ eyes that don¡¯t even pay attention to a lone traveler
Skill Class: unusual
Skill level: 1
Note: Take a shower, Muddy!
Oh. Screw it! I got up, and the clods of dirt fell to the ground, just like snow falling from tree branches. I¡¯d better take that advice. Despite getting a new skill, I was upset. I approached the cabin and saw a small pond or a swamp behind it. I washed off all the dirt quickly and immediately noticed the expansion of the interface, which now consisted of four parts. Except for the standard mana and vitality, an additional function emerged, and it was responsible for my level of concealment from prying eyes. Now, this indicator showed only twenty percent. I wonder whether I¡¯ll turn into the same old man covered with moss if I live here for a month. Then no one will see me for sure. Chapter 5 Dwelling in the forest. Quest. Melee with the Bear. I liked the cabin. I was afraid it would look like a big fox hole, but I was wrong. The room was illuminated by the dim blue light of a few mushrooms that grew in a special container on the white chalk-like stone. There was a lamp on the round oak table, and two massive oak chairs stood nearby. There was a wardrobe with a pile of some old junk and dust. There were two doors in the cabin: one of them was locked, and behind the second door there was a large pile of dry moss, covered with a large piece of cloth. It must be a bedroom. Well, that¡¯s great. If I understand correctly, I need to find some creatures, kill them, and then collect any loot. If a flock of the damned hares doesn¡¯t chase me, everything will okay. Oh, I was so wrong¡­
Power of the Forest Keeper ran out. The effect of ¡®Hugging of Silvan Path¡¯ faded away
I was stunned by the forest noise as if I was awakened by the loud sounds of hard rock at night. The silvan seemed to have created the path for me, so I could get to the cabin and wouldn¡¯t be killed on the way. Why didn¡¯t I hear any sounds when I came here, but I can hear them now? I¡¯ll figure it out later. Now, I need to hunt for some local animals. I wandered through the forest for several hours. As I traveled, a wild apple fell on my head, and I scratched my back with wild raspberry thorns. My prey was five damned squirrels, hares, and even a lone badger. I killed them with ordinary stones, which smashed the mobs. My loot wasn¡¯t very impressive: a pair of squirrel tails, three hare ears, and one badger tooth in addition to my alchemical reserves. I should study alchemy and make some potions out of all the stuff I¡¯ve collected. I wonder why I haven¡¯t found any mushrooms or herbs, though. It was getting dark. It¡¯ll take me about an hour to get back to my cabin. So, I better hurry back because I don¡¯t know who I might meet out here at night. I wonder why I¡¯ve obtained only the fourth level after killing so many creatures. Why do I have so few experience points? I better figure it out quickly. ¡°Stranger.¡± I heard a voice to my right and shuddered. ¡°I remembered one important thing I forgot to tell you.¡±
You¡¯ve got the quest ¡®Training with the Silvan I¡¯
Description: Forest Keeper lives in a dense forest, forgotten by all in the world He takes care of his possessions and protects them One day, he saw a Stranger who needed his help in his dream The silvan helped you; help him now
Requirement: to obtain the fifth level, to explore the forest
Reward: +500 to the experience, + 100 to the reputation with the Forest Keeper
Penalty for non-completing the quest or failure: -100 to the reputation with the Forest Keeper
Will you accept the quest: Yes/No?
Yes, certainly. There¡¯s no need to quarrel with the only intelligent creature here. How forgetful the silvan is! What if a small number of experience points was related to the quest? I wish I could have asked the silvan about that! Where can I find him? I obtained the fourth level and twenty undistributed stat points. What does the quest ¡®Explore the Forest¡¯ actually mean? It seems to me that the territory of this forest would occupy half of Europe. I¡¯ll probably walk around the cabin until it gets dark. Maybe I¡¯ll get more experience points for hunting creatures at night.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. On the way home, it dawned on me. I took a lamp with glowing mushrooms, went back to the forest, climbed a tree, and waited. After ten minutes, I dozed off. The pale light of the moon and a grinding sound woke me. I wish I had not taken mushrooms with me; everything is perfectly visible. I climbed down carefully and went towards the sound. I felt like I was in a horror movie as the victim went into the monster¡¯s mouth. Anyway, I was very curious and immortal; I had seen a lot. What did I have to be scared of? Screw it! What a kind of monster scraped rocks with five-foot-long claws! It¡¯s hard for me to describe him. But I will try. The monster was about six and a half feet tall at the withers, and its body was made of bones that were connected to each other in a very bizarre way. Human skulls were placed on the sides of flexible cervical vertebrae, similar to snakes. They looked around as turquoise lights smoldered in the bottomless eye sockets. Each paw consisted of a large bone with the remains of human flesh around it. A bear skull with solid fangs was biting and scratching the stone, and it turned abruptly and stared in my direction. I froze with horror. The sweat rolled from my temples when two eyes, glistening with emerald fire, stared back at me.
Bony Bear. Level 50
Screw it! This creature roared so loudly that a lion¡¯s roar would have seemed a small kitten¡¯s meowing. I rushed away, and the bear followed me. I remembered the place of our meeting because I wondered why this creature had scratched the stone. I ran as fast as I could, dodging through trees like a hare. Finally, my tactic worked, and the bear hit a tree, which, in spite of the enormous force of the blow, still stood. A familiar tree. The Stone Lime was much stronger than the downworlder, and it helped me again. As soon as I find any emanations, I will definitely bring them to such a useful tree. The monster¡¯s bones cracked, which made it cry with resentment.
Critical strike! Bony Bear¡¯s damage is 67 health points
Bony Bear¡¯s Health is 933/1000 HP
Bony Bear is injured¡ª¡®Broken leg¡¯
I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll never beat the beast; he¡¯s got a thousand HP! I felt exhausted, so I decided to take a break. I leaned against the nearest tree and closed my eyes.
Injury ¡®Broken leg¡¯ is healed.
Damned bear! I had to run back to my cabin spending my Stamina points. The indicator of my vitality faded, warning that I could fall from exhaustion at any moment, but I kept running. ¡°R-R-R-a-a!¡± I heard a deafening roar behind me. ¡°Bad day, bad day, bad da-a-y!¡± I yelled and ran as fast as if I had recently won a gold medal in the Olympics. However, it was very difficult to escape from the bear, and it was useless to climb a tree. What shall I do? The bear¡¯s jaws snapped at a distance of two inches from my foot. My speed slowed considerably, and the monster quickly caught up with me. Screw it! In the next moment, I uttered all the curses I knew about all the American filmmakers because I stumbled over a rock in the true tradition of American horror movies. However, I didn¡¯t fall under the monster¡¯s feet, rather I jumped up and landed on the bear¡¯s back. One of his sculls immediately bit into my arm and leg.
Elk -tahr deals you damage equal to 12 damage points; your health is 18/30
Elk -tahr deals out damage equal to 11 damage points; your health is 7/30
Oh, it hurts! Groaning in pain, I pulled out one of the skulls together with the spinal column and hit the other skull. If the bear could swear, it would have cursed like a malicious gangster, but it didn¡¯t know how to do it, so it roared so loudly that I was almost deaf, and I flew off the creature¡¯s back.
You¡¯ve dealt damage to the Bony Bear equal to 33 damage points, health 900/1000!
You¡¯ve lost 5 health points, your health 2/30!
Critical State!
You seem to be dying... You need healing
What should I do now? Shall I find a bucket of holy water somewhere and splash it in the bear¡¯s muzzle? Let it wash! How have I even managed to deprive it of a hundred health points? The bear turned and looked at me angrily. I began to prepare for my rebirth, looking for something in my bag to distract the beast. I threw the first object at the animal. The Panther Fly Agaric flew into the Bony Bear¡¯s open mouth, and then I heard a strong explosion. Deep purple steam enveloped the monster¡¯s muzzle, and the animal roared furiously. I quickly ran towards the cabin. The indicator of HP was painted scarlet, and the contours of a skull were already visible above it. I won¡¯t die!
You¡¯ve dealt damage to the Bony Bear equal to 1 damage point, health 899/1000!
Ah-ha-ha-ha! Why have you yelled so loudly, bastard? I hoped that I had managed to overcome a monster of the fiftieth level, and I¡¯d receive a lot of bonuses and loot. I seemed to be wrong! I was about to get spanked, not the loot. I had to run thirty feet to my cabin. I ran that distance in thirteen seconds at school. I wonder how long it will take me now. The Bear roared but didn¡¯t follow me. I must not stumble or fall, otherwise, I will die. However, nothing bad has happened yet, or I just haven¡¯t noticed any troubles. Chapter 6

Skills. Trace. Attack with the most dangerous weapon.

I woke up. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw a lot of windows and couldn¡¯t ignore them because they were blocking my view.
Improvement of Observation skill
Current level: 2
Description: Now you¡¯re able to be more attentive than before You may be able to notice the Bony Bear earlier Note: Though, you aren¡¯t likely to do it
I don¡¯t like the last note. I¡¯d better delete it as well as the message reporting about my lack of HP.
Achievement unlocked: ¡®Tom and Jerry ¦©¡¯
Description: Like the ancient Immortals, you¡¯ve managed to survive after a fight with an opponent whose level is ten times higher than yours Your health condition was poor, but you recovered without using potions
Reward: ability to become invincible for one second
Class: epic
Achievement unlocked: ¡®Marathon runner ¦©¡¯
Description: Running at full capacity could harm you. However, sometimes it¡¯s necessary to run for a long time
Reward: + 5% to the duration of running; -1 HP per second while running at full capacity for more than ten seconds
Class: Normal
New property of the Panther Fly Agaric is revealed: ¡®Death Corrosion¡¯ You¡¯ve used your learning capability
Description: Using a random item in unexpected circumstances might cause many new discoveries, but it¡¯s much better to use an inquisitive mind and observation to reveal new properties of things and phenomena
Note: People like you aren¡¯t able to understand this
Class: unusual
Skill level: 1
I think the game overestimated me a bit. I had better turn off the notes. I wish I knew how to do it. I haven¡¯t even noticed this property¡­
You dealt damage to the Bony Bear equal to 1 damage point, health 898/1000!
You dealt damage to the Bony Bear equal to 1 damage point, health 1/1000!
Bony Bear ignores damage
Wow! This mushroom was dealing damage all night long! I wonder if this Fly Agaric causes the same effect to any downworlder. I had better figure it out.
You¡¯ve obtained the skill ¡®Athletics¡¯
Description: Running, jumping, and rolling allowed you to strengthen your own bodyIf you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Skill Class: normal
Skill level: 1
I got dizzy from what I¡¯d seen! I was particularly interested in invulnerability for one second. Some short-sighted player would have decided that this was a useless bonus, but not me. This opportunity allowed me to block one enemy¡¯s attack, regardless of his strength! Now I can survive one divine slap. I wish I had two or three such achievements. Being a marathon runner is also cool, but I don¡¯t want my HP to reduce after running for a long time. Athletics would allow me to move better in this world and become stronger. I¡¯m so glad to have the Fly Agaric. This is incredible luck! I better get up and gain experience for the fifth level. Crunch! I heard a familiar sound. I touched something sharp and cold with my hand. I was scared to see what it was, but I was too curious.
Elk-tahr of the Bony Bear
Description: The Bony Bear is a very creepy creature, collecting bones in any available places to strengthen its body This is the reason why you¡¯ll never find two identical beasts. However, they have one thing in common¡ªafter obtaining certain levels, long spines appear on these monsters¡¯ backs Their skulls can be very different, depending on the bear¡¯s size and the eaten prey Note: This Elk-Tahr has a human skull, which is highly unusual It might keep its mind partially; therefore, inexperienced necromancers should be very careful in dealing with it
Item class: very rare
Class restrictions: necromancer
How lucky am I! I was so happy with this course of events and began to imagine how I¡¯d beat every monster with this skull, earning experience points. However, my expectations weren¡¯t met.
Elk-tahr deals you damage equal to 12 damage points; your health is 18/30!
¡°Oh, screw it!¡± I screamed in pain and pulled my hand away from the skull. It hurts, damned thing! What a nasty skull! I had better put it in the bag, where I keep all my loot! I hope that the crazy game developers have invented this thing for something useful. I¡¯ll have to figure it out later. Now I can relax and finish off the bear. I hope I¡¯ve dealt it some damage, even though I didn¡¯t attack the beast head-on. I wonder if I still get experience points. When I left the cabin, I wondered where I should look for the bear. Screw it! I didn¡¯t think of that before. It¡¯s so stupid of me! I imagined how I would read the message: Achievement unlocked ¡®Fool¡¯: your thoughts are like ravioli in boiling water, they randomly move back and forth; your actions are devoid of logic. If such an achievement existed, I would have unlocked it before the character was created. I quickly found the place where I first met the bear. It was problematic to find this giant¡¯s traces as there were deep furrows everywhere¡ªin the trees, on the ground, and even on a few rocks. Therefore it was unclear where to go.
You¡¯ve revealed the hidden!
There was a lilac drop of some liquid on the ground. It seemed to be the remnants of the Fly Agaric poison. Perhaps I¡¯ll be able to find a similar drop nearby. Yes, here it is!
You¡¯ve revealed the hidden!
Wow, I¡¯m going to level up my Observation and find the trace. Well, that was just what happened next. I followed the trail for almost an hour. This Bear¡¯s very strong. It managed to go so far! Some trees were turned into a pile of splinters on the road. I noticed deep scratches from the giant claws and dug ground everywhere. The poison didn¡¯t seem to reduce its life points greatly, but it must have caused it really terrible pain. How can a pile of bones feel pain? A bit later, a message emerged.
You¡¯ve learned the skill ¡®Pathfinder¡¯
Description: Having used your Observation skill and your excellent vision, you were able to find the trace and managed to successfully walk it for a long time This path was quite difficult; next time you¡¯ll find a trace much faster
Skill Class: unusual
Skill level: 1
What wonderful news! This skill is very useful¡ªnot only in the forest but anywhere else. I will be able to safely pass in a dungeon, find lost allies in a large city, or detect a thief in a crowd. I have to level up this skill. It¡¯ll be very useful in the next levels. Suddenly, I heard a strong roar and the sound of tremendous strikes. The bony monster hit against the stone with its carcass, then tried to split its skull against the tree. However, its health points didn¡¯t reduce. I wonder what¡¯s up. Last time its health indicator showed five percent damage after a similar strike. Now, there was nothing like that. Perhaps, something prevented the beast¡¯s final death. I wonder why the poison affects the downworlders in this game. So, how can I kill this bear? Should I hit it with the skull in my bag? I think it¡¯ll be useless, and the beast will just bite me. I don¡¯t have any other weapons. Screw it! I should have taken a stick! I should be more careful next time and not fight with just anything! I looked around and saw driftwood similar to a paw with sharp claws. Without thinking, I broke off that branch from the tree and examined my new weapon.
Rotten oak stick
Description: An ordinary stick, broken off by some unreasonable creature from an oak fallen many years ago It¡¯s very fragile because it¡¯s old and rotten; it¡¯s completely useless in fights with monsters Some downworlders can use it as a toothpick
The class of the subject: normal
Force: 4/10
Damage: 2-3
I hate this system! Okay, I shouldn¡¯t be mad. I need to calm down. I don¡¯t care about that description; this stick will be enough for one attack. I¡¯ll hit the bear with it, and everything will be fine. I pulled myself together and approached the beast. When the monster was about twenty steps away, I ran towards it. The bear turned, and I hit its teeth so hard that the oak stick cracked. My fly agaric flew out of the monster¡¯s mouth. I¡¯ll have to take it back if the bear does not kill me now. Chapter 7

Death Corrosion. The results of the battle. Inventor.

The bear¡¯s look expressed relief and... gratitude, maybe. Wow, I was able to understand the downworlder dying with the final death; the game developers worked well! It¡¯s incredible to come up with something like that! Then the bear fell to the ground, and the system messages appeared.
Effect of ¡®Death Corrosion¡¯ is over! The Bony Bear is dying!
1000 Experience points are obtained!
Your level is increased!
Current level: 5!
Total Experience: (1432/1600)
5 points of characterics skill are obtained!
Achievement unlocked: ¡®David and Goliath ¦©
Description: Having fought with someone you could not win against before, you showed extraordinary courage and witness. It allowed you to defeat an enemy which was ten times stronger than you +1% to the chance of total repelling dangerous enemy¡¯s assaults; +1% to the chance of dealing critical damage to dangerous enemies; +1% to the chance of avoiding any enemy¡¯s attacks; The requirement for unlocking the achievements: you shouldn¡¯t be helped in a battle
I¡¯m thrilled with all these bonuses! I wonder what other untold treasures this bear has. Gold coins, mountains of artifacts, rarest potions, and ancient scrolls came into my mind, but... I didn¡¯t get anything else! How is that possible? Why? I almost died trying to get away from that bear, and I beat it ¡­ Sitting on the monster¡¯s back, I grabbed its skull and pulled it, intending to tear it off and put it in my bag. I couldn¡¯t leave here without a trophy! I was so worried that my health points were reduced. I think it¡¯s better to succumb to the passing temptation and not resist my desires. Ow! Screw it! I screamed in pain and grabbed something that was biting my leg while I was trying to rip off the skull. It was the second toothed skull. I cursed angrily, put the elk-tahr in my bag, and kept working. I was trying to get the trophy for over two hours, but it was all in vain. I might as well have tried to take a precious stone from a dwarf. I kicked the damned bear in the back of its head and opened my mouth in surprise. ¡°Yes!¡± I jumped up in joy and ran to my trophy. The emerald lights barely smoldered in the deep darkness of the eye sockets, but they still looked terrifying, and each tooth was the size of a finger. I wonder how I managed to beat this beast. The skull was as heavy as a bag of cement. I didn¡¯t doubt that I could carry it, the game rules allowed me to put even a tank in my inventory bag¡ªprovided that I had sufficient strength. However, I had to get to my home before the evening. If I was able to unlock the achievement ¡®Mule Stubbornness¡¯, it wouldn¡¯t give me any bonuses, but it would, at least, confirm that I was as stubborn as a mule.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. After sitting and thinking for about ten minutes, I figured out how to drag all the bear¡¯s bones to my house. But before I started to implement my idea, I began to search for the Fly Agaric. I shouldn¡¯t leave it here; it saved my life. I found it quickly enough. The Fly Agaric was dented, and its cap was bitten off in several places. Now I had to find my stick. I looked for it for a long time, because it had fallen far from the mushroom. I wonder what¡¯s wrong with it?
Poisonous stick cursed by the Bony Bear
Description: An ordinary stick, broken off by some fool from an oak fallen many years ago, successfully survived its only battle and was cursed and soaked with the poison of the Panther Fly Agaric It used to be very fragile, but now its power is supported by two types of energies This item which used to be utterly useless in melee is now deadly... for hares
Effects: ¡®Poisonous¡¯, ¡®Cursed¡¯
Item class: unusual
Strength: 50/50
Damage: 15-19 base, 4 damage points per second, 5 damage points of death magic
Requirements: level 15
Note: Your stick can now shoot like a gun sometimes
I was a bit astonished with such a transformation in the rotten wood into an outstanding weapon. I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s useless now. I¡¯m in no hurry, and I have time to cook chops from all sorts of monsters. Now it¡¯s time to figure out how to bring home this mountain of bones. *** I gathered a bunch of straight, long sticks and tied them all together. Fortunately, I took the rope from my dwelling beforehand. I put a couple of logs under the makeshift stretcher and dragged it along with the whole load. I hope my stretcher won¡¯t fall apart along the way. I wonder why the bear¡¯s remnants are so heavy. It¡¯s not like it could overeat! Apparently, the bear had a large collection of bones. I hope that my greed is stronger than my fatigue and helps me to carry the load! I pulled the stretcher hard, and my fatigue indicator showed that I was exhausted. In real life, I couldn¡¯t have even moved an inch of such a load. I didn¡¯t use my extra points, because I was greedy. Despite all my worries, I successfully coped with the quest. Even rotten logs didn¡¯t let me down. I was able to carry my cargo and then went to sleep.
Your Strength increases by 1 stat point
You¡¯ve received skill ¡®Inventor¡¯
Description: Thanks to your mind and wit, having used the available resources and tools, you¡¯ve created a rather complicated thing
Skill Class: unusual
Skill level: 1
Note: The strangers have already manufactured stretchers, but they were significantly different from what you¡¯ve done. It is strange that no one has invented such an innovation before.
Great! I¡¯ve never doubted my talents! However, I doubt that no one guessed to make such a stretcher before. Why have I obtained this skill? Are the other players really that stupid? I don¡¯t understand this system, which gives me plenty of skills. I might get a second-level ¡®Freeloader¡¯ in a couple of days. Or maybe I¡¯m really lucky? I don¡¯t believe that. I¡¯m definitely not lucky. Especially if you remember my past. However, I even began to wonder what kind of stretcher I¡¯d created. Why was this wreck glued together with a half-rotted rope so unique?
Handmade dilapidated stretcher, manufactured by some incompetent man from some rotten logs It¡¯s made of very crooked sticks and half-rotted rope However, due to the influence of incomprehensible factors, this ¡®innovative¡¯ product possesses unique properties
Effects: -20% to the weight of cargo, +20% to the structural Strength
Item class: unique
It¡¯s great. The game keeps bullying me. Why does the game consider me an incompetent guy? I¡¯ve completed the quest. What factors do they mean? Having examined the stretcher in detail, I noticed a strange barely visible sign, a part of which was blurred. This way I had slightly increased the ability ¡®Knowing the Essence¡¯. There was a stylized feather of a fairy-tale bird in this sign, usually worn by aristocrats.
Detected sign is not identified
I suppose it¡¯s needless to identify it! This feather is responsible for lightening the load. Which object is responsible for increasing the strength? After examining my stretcher, I found an ordinary nail hammered into one of the logs. It¡¯s possible that the nail isn¡¯t identified and is responsible for the second effect. In any case, I carefully examined my stretcher once again and made sure that it was otherwise all completely normal. I¡¯d better go to the stone and find out what the bear was doing there. Chapter 8 Echo from the Gardens of Death. The Bear¡¯s purpose. Cunning Keeper. I stood near the stone for half an hour, and I couldn¡¯t understand why the bear had visited this place. Perhaps the Bony Fleas were torturing it, and the beast decided to scratch itself. I seriously doubted that, though. I wish I had dynamite to blow up that rock! I sat down on that damned rock, kept thinking, and even dozed off a little, then I almost fell, and I decided to have a rest right here. What if I get lucky this time? I rested for a short time until I felt something sharp. It was a fragment of a bone, sticking out from under the rock. I couldn¡¯t move the stone, even though I made a lever out of a log lying nearby. I¡¯d better increase my Strength. There¡¯s no other way to cope with the quest. Although I didn¡¯t really want to use my spare stat points, I decided not to tempt fate and increased my Strength by only one stat point at a time, trying to move the rock after each increase. I managed to eventually move the stone only after increasing my Strength by five stat points. I saw bones and a spot of dried blood¡ªundoubtedly belonging to a human. I hadn¡¯t been scared of meeting animated skeletons in RPGs earlier, even if they had been performed in these excellent graphics. However, this was a usual inanimate skeleton. I froze. I seemed to regret and those feelings belonged to the skeleton. Thanks to the game developers, I¡¯m able now to feel the emotions of the dead! Yeah... Great. Thank you, guys! But now it was clear why the bear was hanging around near the rock. It had found new bones for the third elk-tahr at the next level. I didn¡¯t like the sadness and anxiety I felt. What is happening? Was the rock a kind of grave that I had disturbed and brought upon myself the wrath of the dead man? Who put the human remnants here? ¡°I did it,¡± I heard from behind and almost jumped. The silvan stood nearby; his height was currently almost the same as mine. The fly agaric on his head still looked very funny, making me smile. Gloomy silvan covered with moss, with a bright red fly agaric, somewhat resembling an electric light bulb, resting on his head. ¡°Lekrat changed Inver ten times since he found peace here. I was the last person to see him alive, and I left him here.¡± ¡°You should have helped him!¡± I was shocked by the silvan¡¯s calm voice as if he had killed him. ¡°I helped him find peace forever.¡± The silvan confirmed my hunch. ¡°Are you going to help me now in the same way?¡± I smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll use your staff?¡± ¡°Why?¡± The Forest Keeper was really surprised. ¡°You are perfectly healthy and not affected by the Death Tree¡¯s sprouts.¡± ¡°What do you mean? What is the Death Tree? Are its fruit edible?¡± ¡°You really are an amazing stranger.¡± The silvan smirked. ¡°I would never have thought before that anyone in his right mind would eat the Death Tree¡¯s fruit. It¡¯s up to you, though. You have probably seen, while the transition into this world, that Rainea is surrounded by a dozen different smaller lands.¡± What¡¯s this silvan talking about? Nothing of the sort happened to me, or does he mean some kind of a spatial gate or portals allegedly used by the players? How does he know how the world, connected to subspaces, should look from the outside? ¡°There are a lot of small lands around Rainea¡ªeach powerful God creates its own area. However, some lands bordered on Rainea before the gods emerged,¡± the silvan explained. ¡°One of these areas is called the Gardens of Death. This man came from there, obviously running away from the chase. I don¡¯t know if he took anything or whether the monsters took revenge on him for invading their domain. The residents of the lands bordering Rainea never go beyond their worlds for just nothing. He tried to tell me something, but he couldn¡¯t. I had to help him to find peace because he constantly felt the pain, unavailable even for the Hellish Abyss¡¯s sinners. I managed to take the sprout and put it in Lekrat¡¯s sphere, so it isn¡¯t dangerous, but this sprout devoured some flesh of the man, so it won¡¯t wither soon. The Hellish Abyss¡¯s creatures came to our forest later. I¡¯ve already destroyed many of their hordes, but there are still a lot of them remaining.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Here is the quest ¡®Monsters in the forest¡¯
Description: For many years, the Hellish Abyss¡¯s emanations poison the Areen forest and produce vile creatures destroying life around them The Forest Keeper is very strong, but he can¡¯t cope with them all Help him complete such a difficult quest Remember that not all the Hellish creatures are evil You¡¯ll meet the ordinary animals affected by the emanations very often Terms: to find out the cause of emerging of the Hellish creatures in the Areen Forest Optional: to find a way to cure the affected animals
Reward: +10000 to the Experience, + 100 gold coins, +500 to the reputation with the Forest Keeper, +100 to the reputation with Reena, the ability ¡®Search for Death¡¯, and an artifact to your choice
Class quests: unusual
Accept the quest? Yes/No?
Yes, of course! I¡¯ll get plenty of bonuses! How will I find out the cause of the hellish creatures emerging, though? I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll handle it. I need to level up. Fortunately, there seem to be no time limits. It¡¯s necessary to think about the cause of this phenomenon. On the one hand, it could be some kind of crystal full of special energy, its gradual dispersion causing this phenomenon. Or it could be a spatial rift, its energy penetrating the forest. Or a particularly strong creature is making servants out of ordinary animals by manipulating them with this energy. I could create many incredible stories due to having read plenty of good books. They provided me with truly extensive knowledge. I wonder what¡¯s really going on here. Hmm... I¡¯m offered quite a lot of money. In real life, I could afford six months of non-working with this amount of money. ¡°Who¡¯s Reena, by the way?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± a pleasant female voice sounded, but I didn¡¯t see its owner. ¡°Look beneath you.¡± This game kept amazing me. I expected to see anybody, but not a fox. She was somewhat larger than an ordinary beast, but in general, she was indistinguishable from many other animals. She had red fur and a fluffy tail with white fur on the tip, nothing remarkable¡ªexcept for a number of green hairs noticeably sticking out of the fur. They resembled feathers, growing like horns or a tiara. ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m a Forest Keeper¡¯s assistant,¡± the animal replied. ¡°I¡¯m doing the same job as you, but to no avail. I cannot find the reason why there are so many poor creatures living in the Hellish Abyss¡¯s conditions. Sometimes it rains acid there, and yellow clouds of poisonous sulfur fall to the ground. That world tries to kill anyone who lives in it.¡± I wish you could have seen my world. I think the Hellish Abyss is far more merciful than my universe. My world is very sophisticated. It loves to torment for a long time, not allowing a victim to escape from its grip. It mocks souls, and its people treat each other badly. So, Foxy, I¡¯d rather call my world ¡®the Hellish Abyss¡¯. My planet has acid rains and clouds of sulfur as well, by the way. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re unhappy,¡± I smirked. ¡°Perhaps, many animals perceive sulfur and acid as manna from heaven. Perhaps, these chemical elements help them to get rid of parasites and maintain their fur in excellent condition. Acid might replace water for the plants of this planet.¡± ¡°Your words aren¡¯t meaningless, Stranger,¡± the fox muttered. My words must be the truth. I¡¯m a little worried. I¡¯d better calm down.
Your Intelligence increases by 1 stat point
Great, I¡¯m showing off and getting smarter. If we had the same rules in real life on Earth, we would have colonized all habitable planets within a couple of hundred light-years from our planet. ¡°Reena will help you. If you need her help, use this,¡± the Forest Keeper said and handed me a whistle in the form of a fox carved from wood.
Excellent fox-call
Description: This item is used by hunters to lure foxes It¡¯s carved from red oak by a very skillful master, who managed to achieve the perfect sound to attract these very cunning and clever animals
Effect: +10% to the chance of luring more foxes
Item Class: magic
Strength: 100/100
¡°She will hear it in any part of the forest and come to you quickly,¡± the silvan explained. ¡°She has been helping me for a long time, Stranger, so do take care of her.¡±
Note to the quest: take care of Reena and don¡¯t let her die
Additional Reward: ???
Penalty for failure: your Reputation with the Forest Keeper will decrease by 2000 stat points
Your Reputation with the Forest Keeper will decline to the level of ¡®Hostility¡¯
That old man is cunning. Reena is neither a human nor an ordinary beast. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get along with her. However, I¡¯ll need to find more information about her
Note: To learn more about the fox, Reena.
Chapter 9 Quest completion. Skull. Ancient coin. ¡°Just wait. I¡¯d like to ask you something.¡± I stopped the silvan who was about to disappear. ¡°I met a creature called a Bony Bear. Do you happen to know anything about it?¡± The Forest Keeper and the fox looked at each other meaningfully, and I understood at once that they knew something. The developers are great guys, they are so skillfully portraying characters that their emotions seem real! ¡°Stranger, have you seen this monster yet?¡± The fox¡¯s voice was surprised. I nodded and she continued, ¡°This is another unusual creature that dwells here, unlike other monsters, it was born in the Gardens of Death. Try to avoid such creatures by any means. You¡¯ll never be able to defeat them.¡± ¡°Um... but I¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t find the right words and took out the elk-tahr from my bag. ¡°I¡¯ve killed it recently.¡± ¡°How? How did you do that?¡± Reena exclaimed. ¡°We have tried to kill them so many times, but they were always revived in just a few hours or days.¡± ¡°So, is it already reborn?¡± ¡°No, if you¡¯ve got its elk-tahr, the monster has died finally.¡± Reena started walking from side to side. ¡°You¡¯re still small and weak. How did you manage to do it?¡± She called my levels and parameters small and weak. Well, I just need to level up...but then I¡¯ll show some super results. ¡°At first I fed the beast with this Fly Agaric.¡± I showed them the mushroom. ¡°Then I hit the bear with a rotten stick, tore off its skull, and put it in a big box in my house. I put the rest of its bones in the other boxes.¡± ¡°I get it.¡± The Keeper nodded. ¡°So, for the final killing of a Gardens of Death creature, it¡¯s necessary to tear off their heads and separate the parts of their bodies for a while so that they can¡¯t come back together.¡± The silvan stroked his beard. ¡°That¡¯s smart.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing. It¡¯s a real feat,¡± Reena said, supporting the silvan. ¡°So, you are able to cope with it. But you¡¯d better level up, anyway.¡± ¡°You praise me so much that I¡¯m embarrassed. I was just lucky: the mushroom and the stick helped me in the beginning. I tore the monster apart because of my extraordinary greed, as I wanted to collect as much loot as possible.¡±
Quest ¡®Training with Silvan I¡¯ is completed
Received reward: + 500 to your Experience, + 100 to your Reputation with the Forest Keeper
I¡¯ve completed my first quest. It¡¯s great! Of course, the award is trivial, but I¡¯m still happy. I need more gold and missions. So, more than twenty free stat points are available, but I had better save them. ¡°What about this man who died?¡± I wanted to figure it out to get another quest. ¡°Is it possible to figure out how he happened to wander into this forest and to find his tracks?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it while you and Reena do your job,¡± the silvan replied. ¡°I¡¯ll find out something else. I¡¯m very interested in your method of destroying the Gardens of Death¡¯s creatures.¡±Stolen story; please report. ¡°Head to the village and grow a bit, otherwise it¡¯ll be difficult for you to live in our world,¡± Reena added. ¡°I need to get around the area.¡± ¡°Hold on¡­¡± I didn¡¯t finish; they had disappeared. *** I didn¡¯t get a new quest. I seem to be doing something wrong or trying to reveal the secret of these places. I¡¯ll try to think logically. Why would the silvan and the fox hide information from me? Let¡¯s start with Reena. She clearly doesn¡¯t behave like a standard game NPC, and I¡¯m certain that she isn¡¯t the silvan¡¯s assistant. She is highly likely to be a forest spirit or a second Forest Keeper. I was sent to the village so I wouldn¡¯t interfere or reveal the secret information. Now about that dead man. According to the silvan, he escaped from the Gardens of Death, which is a terrible world of the dead¡ªif you believe the game help¡ªand the strangers have not been able to get there yet. That¡¯s interesting. If this place is difficult to get to, then getting out must be even harder or impossible. But if that man managed to do it, it turns out that he was a unique person. He probably stole some little thing, or an artifact, or a weapon, or an ingredient for some potions. He might not have stolen it. Perhaps he took it honestly. It doesn¡¯t matter. He understood his goal and knew how to get back. Therefore, he had information from a book or from a sentient being. I was getting more interested. Most likely, the deceased guy had a benefactor according to the standard of the genre. This guy wasn¡¯t a powerful wizard because he died and did nothing. He probably moved here through some portal, ran a distance through the forest, and then died here. In what way, though? The silvan said that the Death Tree¡¯s sprout had devoured part of the guy, but it didn¡¯t clarify anything. Though, he did mention the Hellish creatures living in this forest. The silvan also remembered that the guy was trying to say something before he died. He must have had some valuable information. I wish I knew how he came to this world. Also, I wonder why they were discussing the growth of my level; I can¡¯t see theirs. Their own levels seemed to be rather low. I¡¯m deceiving myself. They are likely to have a hundredth or even two-hundredth level. I was tired of pondering and made up my mind to go to the village. I wonder where I¡¯ll get the money to buy everything I need. I took the old coin out of my pocket and looked at it carefully. It seemed to be made of gold and was probably worth a lot in this wilderness. Stop! Where did the gold coins come from in the middle of nowhere? Surely this gold had belonged to the dead man. I leaned over to the skull of the man and showed the empty eye sockets the coin with its profile of some ruler and letters that were incomprehensible to me. I am illiterate in this game, I can neither read nor write in the local language. ¡°Is this yours?¡± I asked, not waiting for an answer. However, the skull somehow nodded. I froze. It¡¯s great. I¡¯m so introverted in real life due to the lack of normal communication that now I¡¯m talking to animals, silvans, Bony Bears and the dead. The most interesting thing is that they understand me and respond. ¡°Tell me about this coin,¡± I asked. Instead of an answer, the window with the object properties emerged.
Ancient gold coin Description: M/#go l*! ]{ZD )(l% of % EC¬ this coin, WR%MENA /RA*len*| W%I^o!about A%ha#¡¯ K)()(%Aras|{, che}{ Li|/ and from:already|/n and the%the program... \|/ate\|/Ko} !Hm?e{}and A><}[RA. G\|\RYA&, h\|\o only l\|\nil on one%y mo\|\t* m[]Ter *at&Lira a{}Uch%yn)( and{}arr}{ZIL m~STO, ~ka*a""e-I NR\|\ the limits of the Empire, and %an&EN does not belong to her. With**/ ]}measures}{I. Here only} d%Yoko, not all are able to& see&et re on them&the program.... One%/|/s great.
Is the coding broken? Most likely the skull had no vision because it had no eyes; it also likely had no memory as well because there was no brain and all the data was damaged. But most importantly, it dawned on me, the coin belonged to the deceased man and was a very unusual object. The silvan seemed to be a dangerous creature, and I had every reason not to trust him. I wish the NPC didn¡¯t betray. But I can handle it. ¡°Well... do you want to come with me?¡± I asked the dead man. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve found peace.¡± The skull just nodded. I¡¯m willing to bet that if that skull had a face, I¡¯d see a happy smile right now. I threw all the bones of the dead man into the bag and looked into the empty sockets again. I smiled, remembering Hamlet¡¯s thoughts, and put the skull in my inventory. Now I have another interesting friend. I¡¯ll go to the cabin first. Maybe there¡¯s some stuff there that I can sell or trade. Chapter 10 Oblivion. §³hief. Strangers. There was a lot of dust in the cabin, but I managed to find a lot of interesting things in it: empty bottles, a mortar, a pestle for Alchemy, small scales, a shabby book, sheets of old parchment, and three empty scrolls. All of this, including a handful of the dust, I put in my bag. I locked the door and set off on a journey that ended immediately after I left the cabin. It¡¯s great! Now, how do I get to the village? ¡°Walk along the path of the white flowers and the crystal river to the old oak, then turn to the side where the sun sets,¡± the fox¡¯s voice sounded in my head. ¡°It¡¯s not far from here.¡± I love it. What an interesting way of communication. I was very angry when I learned that the road to the village was more than nine miles away, according to my map as I noted the desired place with a gray inverted triangle. It spoiled all the mystery of Reena¡¯s speech. Since I hadn¡¯t explored the area yet, the map displayed fog. Grumbling a little, I set off on my journey. For four hours, I waded through the windbreak. Poisonous white flowers with rather small but damn sharp thorns slightly spoiled the journey. They pierced my skin like a surgeon¡¯s scalpel, causing very serious pain. To tell you the truth, it was so painful that I screamed with each touch. It¡¯s weird. I have reduced the pain level to its minimum, necessary for playing. I got the effect from the ¡®Poisoning¡¯ in only ten seconds, during which I almost died, and so I carefully picked up a bunch of these flowers just in case. The river was clear and shone like a crystal in the sun from afar. I thought I was very lucky that there was nothing dangerous in this river until I decided to quench my thirst. Such effects as ¡®Freezing¡¯, ¡®Dumbness¡¯, and ¡®Poisoning¡¯ were obtained immediately, and then a little bit later I received ¡®Temporary insensitivity¡¯. I survived thanks to the last effect, as it blocked the damage, though I did suffer a little. Apparently, this was the developers¡¯ goal. If I meet any of them, I¡¯ll be sure to give them a couple of flasks with that water. I was afraid to approach the oak tree which had a dark-red trunk and orange-yellow leaves. However, after a couple of minutes, I pulled myself together, tore off one branch carefully, and then immediately went in the direction of the setting sun, as the clearing seemed to be rather dangerous. Forty minutes later, I finally reached the village. ¡®Oblivion¡¯ is not a bad name; it is very encouraging. I hope there are no players here. Hang on¡­ I must be wrong. There are at least two dozen strangers here. The village was relatively small. There were about fifty houses and a small market where locals traded with the players and among themselves. I immediately went to see what they were selling. The stalls were crowded with vegetables, fish, crayfish, wicker baskets, clothes, bast shoes, and so on. In general, there were quite a lot of very useful and necessary things. I wish I had money. Oh, yeah, and I¡¯ve been in the game for two days and still haven¡¯t eaten anything. Anyway, I can¡¯t spend my coin. The merchants¡¯ shouts almost deafened me. ¡°Buy hare tails at a discount!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for hitchhikers to go to Kars. I¡¯m tired of sitting here!¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing equipment increasing any basic parameter for three stat points, this is cheap!¡± ¡°I need a healer to complete a quest. We¡¯ll share the reward equally!¡± Unlike the locals, the players were too loud and kept annoying me. I didn¡¯t understand why they shouted so loudly¡ªthere were no more than twenty players from the real world, the rest lived in the game.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how the locals tolerate them. If I were a chief, I would have chased them away or sent them to the forest.¡± ¡°I agree with you,¡± a very bright man said. I seemed to have said the last sentence aloud. He was a little taller than me, and he had black hair, a small beard, and a deep scar cut through the left half of his face, passing near his eye. He was dressed in an old black vest, ordinary pants, and good boots. ¡°I want to get rid of all these screamers, but I have failed. When I go up to them, they look at me as if I am a duke, who¡¯ll get them a bag of gold from his pocket, and they ask me to give them a quest. There is a lot of work in our village, but they don¡¯t want to farm, to grow vegetables, or drive away rats. They consider these quests to be too ordinary. They want to fight scary and dangerous monsters. But such monsters don¡¯t live in or near our village.¡± ¡°Let Areen bless us,¡± an old woman, walking nearby, agreed. ¡°Why have you wandered into Oblivion, Stranger?¡± The chief asked me; it was certainly him. ¡°I¡¯m tired of wandering in the forest, I¡¯ve come to meet people and to buy provisions for my journey,¡± I replied, trying to look like a real stranger. ¡°Maybe you can help the village. I¡¯ll give you a good reward, offer food, and other good things. Your clothes are worn out from the road.¡± The chief looked at me with hope. He seemed as though maybe he had been a good warrior before. ¡°I¡¯m listening to you, dear sir.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±
Chief Gromwald offers you the quest ¡®Annoying Strangers¡¯
Description: A group of twenty strangers arrived in Rainea from other worlds. They came to the distant village of Oblivion. They don''t want to help the residents, and they prevent them from living in peace. They have got a bad reputation for their shouting, swearing, and disgusting attitude toward the locals. However, these strangers are strong, and the locals can¡¯t cope with them
Terms: to banish the strangers from the village or make them help the residents
Reward: provisions for a week (onions, carrots, an apple, bread, meat, milk, honey, dried fish, boiled crayfish) and good clothes; + 1000 with the residents¡¯ reputation; a good relationship with the inhabitants (sympathy)
Accept(Yes/No)
¡°Of course, I will help you, Chief, but I can¡¯t promise to do so immediately, because it seems they are all immortal strangers with serious behavioral problems.¡± ¡°I know. We have put up with them for a week. I guess we will have to do it for another one.¡± The severe man sighed and clenched his fist. If these strangers would be normal NPCs the chief would have just buried them in the ground. But they were immortal characters, and they could turn the village into the Hellish Abyss. I felt sorry for the locals and decided to move stuff around and complete this quest. Besides, the sooner I get it done, the sooner I can eat. Stop, stop! What? I looked at the chief and pinched myself. The NPC just gave me a quest, associated with other players. But this is impossible! The chief must have a high-level artificial intelligence. Am I mistaken? Usually, NPCs offered a standard set of quests or generate new ones, taking into account the game¡¯s objectives, but now the tasks were associated with other players. Um... this is very unusual. I made a note in my diary, approached a small group of three players, and asked what they were doing here. ¡°Oh, look a new NPC!¡± I heard a burly orc¡¯s voice. ¡°Maybe, he¡¯ll give us a new quest.¡± A dwarf scratched his beard. I found his idea very interesting. The third character was just silent and looked at me carefully. It was Brafmapurta, an orc of the 20th level. I guessed that the player was probably a schoolboy in real life because the name was written incorrectly. The second player was Dwagold Copper. He was an elder dwarf of the 23rd level, and his name seemed weird to me. The last player was a human who had the 31st level, and his name was Karavel Levarra. I think they¡¯re brothers. The dwarf and the orc stared at me viciously, quickly looking at Karavel and then back at me. I was sure of it. ¡°Stranger, what are you doing in this village?¡± the elder brother asked me. I would call the man this way. ¡°I¡¯ve traveled a lot. I¡¯m looking for brave guys coming here from other worlds.¡± I did my best to look natural. ¡°Because only they might cope with my difficulties. Only the immortals are capable of it.¡± ¡°Brother, we¡¯ve met a normal NPC at last!¡± Why does this orc keeps calling me an NPC? ¡°He¡¯s able to give us a good quest, unlike these local farmers.¡± ¡°Shut up, Shoorik. Fedya won¡¯t like it.¡± The dwarf pushed the orc. ¡°Are you brothers?¡± I tried to look surprised. ¡°Can an orc and a human be brothers?¡± ¡°We are from another world. There is an ancient order, where it doesn¡¯t matter what race you belong to, and anyone can become a brother to anyone else,¡± the elder brother explained. ¡°What¡¯s your problem, Stranger?¡± ¡°I see that you are powerful and are able to help me,¡± I replied, trying to interest the players. ¡°But I need a little rest first.¡± ¡°Okay, now let¡¯s talk about your request in the inn?¡± ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind.¡± So, the three strangers and I hit the road.