《Legend of the Gunslinger Mage》 Chapter 1: The Epic Battle ? Tinylia kingdom ? ? Chechiy County ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Fort of Chechian, outer wall. ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ It was a cloudy night. The moon was covered by clouds. However, the sky was not dark. It was illuminated by thousands of streaks of light zooming in all directions. Tens of thousands of mages, warlocks, sorcerers, and witches were flying through the sky using all manners of transport - dragons, wyverns, pegasi, flying carpets, and brooms. Spells, curses and hexes projectiles of all colors and patterns streaked across the sky, illuminating it and the ground below. A large Red Dragon breathed out a stream of white-hot flame. The fire swept through the rank of wyverns, burning off their wings along with the riders. Several Wyverns dodged out of the thousand-degree flame and closed in on the dragon. Opening their mouths they spit out globs of acid, which clung to the dragon and ate holes through its wing. ¡¸ Greater Air Barrier III¡¹ ¡¸Greater Water Barrier IV¡¹ The rider repeatedly cast protective spells, but the onslaught was relentless. Eventually, she ran out of mana and was drowned in acid. ¡°AAAARRRGHH!¡± With a painful cry, she died, her mangled corpse still attached to the leather seat on the dragon¡¯s back. The dragon did not outlive its rider by much. Eventually, the membranes in its wing were completely corroded by the Wyvern¡¯s ichor and were no longer able to support the massive creature¡¯s weight. With a painful roar, it plummeted toward the ground. *WHAAMMM!* The dragon hit the hard-packed dirt, crushing several dozen warriors locked in combat, instantly killing them. The impact shook the ground, sending the warriors nearby off their feet. In its death throes, the dragon kept breathing fire, incinerating friends and foe alive. Many warriors rushed to take cover in the bodies of the Wyverns that were killed moments earlier. *BOOOOMMM!!!* The covers were for naught as the remaining explosive gas within the Dragon was ignited. A massive fireball covered the ground, instantly evaporating everyone within a 50-meter radius. The wave of fire expanded outward, burning anyone and anything unfortunate enough to be in the way. The fire rose upward into an orange, twisted mushroom, its light illuminating the ground, showing hundreds of thousands of figures locked in mortal combat. A large figure wearing heavy battle armor noticed the approaching wave of fire. He was surrounded by hundreds of enemy warrior. Spears, swords, arrows, and spells were raining on his body, but he did not seem to notice. His name was THRAIN the Mithril Hammer. ¡¸ Shield Bash ¡¹ !!! With a roar, Thrain rammed the tower shield as tall as his whole body into the crowd of enemy combatants, stunning them and sending them flying. ¡¸ Hammerfall ¡¹ !!! Clutching the gigantic war hammer on his right hand, he slammed it down on the ground. A shockwave expanded from his body, flinging the rest of his enemies away, breaking the encirclement. With a mighty leap, he jumped back to the front of his soldiers. ¡°Stay behind me!¡± He ordered. ¡¸ Prayers of Protection ¡¹ !!! The battle standard on his back glowed an ethereal blue light. Then a huge transparent dome materialized, sheltering him and a few hundred soldiers behind him. The wave of fire reached them but was held back by the dome. Wham!!! Crash!! Crash!! Before the fire even dissipated, several big projectiles slammed onto Thrain¡¯s barrier. Ballista bolts, Catapult¡¯s shots. The moment the barrier broke, he immediately fired up ¡¸ Prayers of Protection ¡¹ again, but several dozen spells and arrows still managed to hit his body. ¡°HEALERS! DO YOUR JOB!¡± Thrain roared. A plethora of healing spells from different disciplines was cast upon Thrain. Green particles surrounded his body. Small butterflies drifted around him. An illusion of a chalice hung over his head. However, he noticed that his health bar is still steadily shrinking. ¡°Drat!¡± Thrain realized he had been cursed. His enchanted armor could negate all curses, except for those inflicted by a melee weapon. This meant¡­ If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.¡¸ Hammerfall ¡¹!!! The ground around him shook again as the massive war hammer was slammed down. However, he did not notice anyone hit. Then there was a very slight snort behind him. ¡°Impossible!¡± He whirled around with the hammer, but only hit the air. Immediately, he felt pain as a blade was plunged into his left armpit, through a tiny gap between the thick armor plates. Immediately, he felt strength leaving his body and could no longer lift the massive tower shield. Enraged, Thrain shook his head and shouted. ¡°Face me in open combat, wretched coward! I am THRAIN the Mithril Hammer, son of Thror, grandson of¡­ Hurk!¡± The speech was cut short by a blade in his throat, through the tiny gap between his armor¡¯s neck guard and his helmet. The blade was extremely thin and was transparent like glass. ¡¸ Weaken III¡¹! ¡¸ Blind III ¡¹! ¡¸ Paralyze III ¡¹! ¡¸ Venom IV ¡¹! ¡¸ Kiss of Death ¡¹!!! One after another, curses and hexes directly bypassed Thrain¡¯s armor and invaded his body. Immediately, his shoulder shagged and he dropped both his hammer and shield. The blade retracted and Thrain fell on his knee. The transparent blade hovered in the air, then a hand holding it materialized, followed by a thin figure wearing a black cloak. His whole body was shimmering in and out of existence. ¡°Ghost Blade!¡± The big man spat out the words. His voice thick with venomous hate. ¡°It is I, Ghost Blade. O¡¯ mighty Thrain the Flaccid Dildo, son of¡­ oh who gives a sh*t!¡± the black-clad man replied. His face was covered by a skull mask. But his voice made it clear he was sneering. ¡°Stubborn fool! You won¡¯t be able to keep this fort!¡± Thrain said between labored breaths. ¡°Oh, sure! We¡¯ll probably give it back to you tomorrow if you ask nicely.¡± Sarcasm was dripping from Ghost Blade¡¯s voice. ¡°Heh, you¡¯ve got no idea, do you? Shame I won¡¯t be able to see your face when you realized how f*cked you are!¡± The fact that Thrain broke character caught Ghost Blade by surprise. He was about to ask when he noticed several gigantic flaming boulders were zooming toward them. ¡°Whatever! See ya, loser!¡± He said as his body turned transparent. Thrain smirked and held his arms wide, welcoming death. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Fort of Chechian, Observation Platform ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ The Fort was currently under the control of guild Scourge. They were holding their own quite admirably against a massive coalition of guilds, led by the League of Justice. Black Mamba, Scourge¡¯s third Commander, was overseeing the battlefield. He was yelling commands at his men. ¡°Ballista team A! Shoot down those dragons!¡± ¡°Trebuchet team D! Aim at those siege beasts! Other teams keep on your own target!¡± Ghost Blade materialized next to Black Mamba. ¡°Any problem?¡± Black Mamba asked. ¡°No. I was just messing with him.¡± Ghost Blade replied as he wiped his blade clean. ¡°He said anything interesting?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± Ghost Blade glanced at Black Mamba. ¡°Nothing. Just asking,¡± Black Mamba shrugged and looked back at Ghost Blade: ¡°What¡¯s wrong, you don¡¯t seem happy?¡± ¡°Just thinking this whole battle¡¯s fucking stupid. Hundreds of thousands fighting on open ground. What kind of retarded tactics is this?¡± ¡°Well, it looks good on camera. That¡¯s all the rage these days, y¡¯ know. Appearances.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, whatever. Appearances can go fuck itself! I just wanna win. League of Justice will retreat soon. Chechiy is now ours. We¡¯ll press on into their territory, drive them out, seize that Mythril mine. We¡¯re gonna tear those fuckers down to the last territory. Our Scourge guild will reign this whole continent!¡± ¡°Listen, Li. I¡­¡± ¡°The fuck you saying my name for, Lu?¡± Ghost Blade snapped. ¡°Sorry. I mean¡­ You sure you don¡¯t wanna negotiate?¡± Ghost Blade spotted another champion among the enemy¡¯s rank. He scoffed and turned to his friend. ¡°Of course I¡¯m negotiating. My blade¡¯s talking with their throat, isn¡¯t it? See you later!¡± with that, he jumped down the wall and disappeared from view. ¡°Yeah. See you later.¡± The expression of concern dropped away from Black Mamba¡¯s face like a mask, revealing a sneer underneath. ¡°Log out!¡± He turned into colorful ribbons of light and disappeared. Chapter 2: The Sudden yet Inevitable Betrayal It was during the fight with his next target, a level 450 Master Berserker, that Mahn Li felt there was something wrong. His chest began to constrict, making breathing difficult. He checked Ghost Blade''s conditions but found no negative status effects. It meant that something was happening to his real body. Then the system''s messages filled his screen, accompanied by a soothing but urgent female voice. ¡³¡ª !!! WARNING !!!¡ª-¡² ¡³¡ª- Anomaly detected in user''s vitals -¡ª¡² ¡³¡ª- Force logout in progress ¡ª-¡² ¡³¡ª- Emergency services contacted ¡ª-¡² ¡³¡ª- Please remain calm and find help as soon as possible ¡ª-¡² Mahn Li opened his Virtual Reality headset, gasping for breath. "What¡­ what''s wrong with me?!" He crawled out of his chair but his legs gave way under him and he crumpled onto the floor into a heap. "Where''s my phone?" He reached for the phone next to him but did not find it. "Somebody¡­ help!" He tried to shout, but a croaking groan escaped his lips. He looked around the luxurious hotel room, trying to locate the telephone, and saw a person standing. It was a man wearing a room service uniform. "Help¡­ me¡­ please" He croaked. The man approached him, helped him up and sat him down to the armchair next to the television. He handed Mahn Li a glass of water, which he gulped down hungrily. "Thank¡­ thank you!" he said. He tried to move his limbs, but could not do so. He felt extremely exhausted. Wordlessly, the man took out his phone and dialed a number. He held up the phone, and when the call connected, a face showed up on the screen. It was Fatty Fu, the player behind Black Mamba. His friend and close confidante. The person had accompanied him when they brought Scourge from a low-tier guild to the top guild among the Epoch of Liberty. "Sorry, it had come to this. We gave you plenty of opportunities." Fu said, though his face did not seem sorry at all. "Fatty Fu? What are you talking about? Who''s ''we''?" "Oh for f*ck sake!" His composure dropped, Fatty Fu spoke with an exasperated tone, "It''s League of Justice! Who else? Get your head out of your *ss for just one second, will you?" "They''ve been trying to negotiate with us for years! Scourge and League of Justice. Two of the biggest guilds in the whole continent. No, THE two biggest guilds ever!" Mahn Li knew too well what Fatty Fu was getting at. For several years, the League of Justice had been trying to get Scourge to form an unofficial alliance with them. The two guilds together accounted for 10% of the player base, about 50 million players. Taking into consideration their relations to other businesses, they affected at least a quarter of EoL''s economy. It was much more than that, however. On the outside, they were Light and Darkness, two sides that never coexist. However, if the leaders of two sides were working together, then they could essentially write the own script for their conflict. Every skirmish, every battle, every campaign. The leaders would be able to manipulate players to fight, driving supplies and demands up and down when it mattered. Their own businesses would prosper, while their opponents would dwindle. Until eventually, they would be the monopolizing force within Epoch of Liberty. It would be unprecedented. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original."If we work together with them, it''ll be a win-f*cking-win situation for everyone! And for years we haven''t been able to. Do you know why? It''s because of you, you stubborn piece of sh*t!!!" Fatty Fu shouted. "Do you realize how much money you cost us each year? Do you know how much money we could have made? No, you don''t! You know why? Because you only think of your stupid f*cking grudge!!!" He seemed to have been holding back for quite a long time and needed to vent. "You have talents, Li, I''ll give you that. No one plays this game better than you. But your understanding of the meta-game is sh*t" For some reason, Mahn Li noticed a bead of sweat was running down from Fatty Fu''s oily forehead down to his eye. "You''ve got a big head, Li! Too bad your brain can''t keep up! But now you''re no longer in our way." Fatty Fu said with a grin. "You''ll¡­ never get away with this!" was all Mahn Li managed to say. "Oh, you''re talking about the poison! It''s a little something special. Tomorrow, people will know that you died of a heart attack while playing. Quite tragic, but common enough." "And you will be survived by... Oops, I forgot. You''ve got no one else. Your parents are already dead. And as for your girlfriend, well¡­ Don''t worry, I''ll take good care of her!" The screen pulled back, revealing a girl standing next to Fatty. Mahn Li''s eyes widened. Mei Lin! She had dyed her hair blue, and wearing a revealing dress that hugged her perfect body. She never dressed like that when she was with him. "I''m sorry Li. I had to. My father¡­" She said, averting her eyes. "Who else was in on it?" Mortified by the betrayal, it was all Li could do to croak out the question. "Well, most of your ''friends,'' in fact. Except for Roland. The guy''s ridiculously loyal. A pity you treated him like sh*t." "Isn''t it funny? The world renown assassin died of a heart attack." "F*ck you, Lu. You¡­ won''t get away with¡­ this!" Anger burned white hot in his throat, overpowering the stiffening muscles, Li struggled to deliver the threat. "What was that? Bah, never mind! Now rest in peace. The guild is in good hands. And so is your girlfriend! Ha ha ha!!" Fatty Fu cackled and planted a sloppy kiss on Mei Lin''s face. She stiffened but did not react. Mahn Li tried to say something, but his voice caught in his throat. His breath quickened. His vision blurred. The only sound he could hear was his own heartbeat hammering in his chest. *Ba-bump *Ba-bump *Ba-bump Jumbled thoughts warred in his head. Grief, panic, fear. Rage. "These bastards! I curse you all!" he wanted to shout, but no words came out. Then everything went black. The man wearing the room service uniform picked up the phone and said: "It''s done!" "Oh, he''s gone? Ah well, you know what to do!" Fatty Fu said callously. "I''ve got a battle to end!" he said excitedly, then turning to Mei Lin, he snickered "We''ll celebrate later tonight, babe! Bring your girlfriends!" Then he hung up. Chapter 3: The Crossroad Mahn Li opened his eyes. "What? Was that¡­ a dream?" The memory was still fresh in his head. The chaotic battle. The suffocating feeling. The call¡­ The stunning revelations. The anger. All of it was so real! He turned his body¡­ ¡­And saw a face just inches away, staring at him. F*ck! He almost jumped out of his skin before realizing it was just a celebrity poster stuck on the wall. "What the hell?" Li rubbed his chest to calm down his heart. He massaged his temples, trying to clear his head. He shut his eyes and opened them again to focus his vision. He realized he is not in the hotel room. This room looked¡­ somewhat familiar? It was a tiny room, no larger than fifteen square meters. In one corner was a small wardrobe. On the other was a small table and a small desktop computer. The third corner was the designated kitchen - with a tiny fridge, portable stove, a plastic rice bucket and a shelf with pots, pans, several bowls and chopsticks and spoons. This was his apartment he had rented when he was in college! Grabbing the key chain on the table he unlocked his apartment door and walked to the corridor. It was still early - only 5.30 a.m. The whole place was quiet, only the noises of the cicadas were heard. "What the actual f*ck?" Mahn Li spent the next half hour pacing around the room, poking at the items, looking at himself in the mirror. He wracked his brain, trying to determine which was true. - The 32 year old him was dying and hallucinating this whole thing. - His life as a 32 year old had been a very elaborate dream. He was still 22 years old and in college. - He had gone insane. - He had time travelled (?) into the past. Then his phone rang. He noticed that it was the uPhone he used to have while in college. Or still had - he was holding it right now. ''This is crazy!'' he thought. Mahn Li looked at the Caller ID: "Mouse." He pressed answer "Hello?" "Eeey bro? It''s me, Mouse!" an excited voice sounded on the other end. "Yeah, Mouse. Wassup?" "What ''cha mean ''wassup''? I got the money, bro. I''m coming over to your place right now! Next week we''ll go buy those rigs huh?" Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings."What money? What rig?" Mahn Li wanted to ask, but the memory surged like a lightning bolt through his brain. Ignoring Mouse'' chatters, he quietly looked at the calendar. Circled with a red marker was the date October 13th 2031, with a scribble next to it:"EoL pilot! Deposit VR rig!" Epoch of Liberty''s pilot launch was due on October 13th with over 10 million players. The official launch would come one month later, on November 13th. Li was able to secure two slots to buy the Virtual Reality connection rigs. The deposit was US$10,000 per rig. He had to take out every loan possible to scrape together that amount. It was sitting securely in his account. Next week, he would transfer it to his contact and get the VR rig within the day. Then more memories came back. Mouse'' family, like his, was dirt poor. One year from now, Mouse''s father would succumb to cancer. He would need money for treatment, money which they didn''t have. At that point, Mouse and Li would still be slaving away in the game, getting nowhere. Mouse''s father would die a slow and painful death, much like Li''s father several years later. Come to think of it, Mouse and he all have parents who would die from cancer. That''s saying something about the village they grew up in. People always said that the battery factory was burying toxic material and polluting the water supply, but no one really cared. "Hey bro? Ya still there?" Mouse''s voice shook him out of his thoughts. "Yeah. I''m still here." Li considered his options. ''Let''s say this is real, then I should try to help Mouse,'' he thought ''or at least try not to drag him down with me.'' "Listen, Mouse. There''s something wrong with the deal," Mahn Li said. "What d''ya mean, bro?" "The seller seems dodgy. I called off the deal. You should pay back the money you borrowed." Mahn Li lied through his teeth. Explaining the real reason would take too long and just lead to more questions. "Oh¡­ Okay!" Mouse sounded deflated. He was hoping to live his dream - making money while playing games with his bro. "It''s gonna be okay, Mouse. I''ll look for another way in. Once I''m set, I''ll reach out and help you in too. Okay?" Chapter 4: The search for OP-ness Over the next few days, Mahn Li spent all his time trying to recall all the major and minor events in the next ten years of his life. Ditching class, he stayed at home all day and rattled off every event he could remember into a cheap dictating application. His parents'' death (which he will hopefully prevent this time), some major companies going under, like Orange and Boogler. China almost winning the World Cup in 2038. To his dismay, Mahn Li realized he did not remember much of the real world''s events. Most of his knowledge revolved around EoL. It was like he had expelled most memories to make room for the knowledge about this game. The classes, subclasses, skills, builds. His main account was a Void Assassin, but he had no less than a dozen alternates to experiment with different classes and builds. The updates and patches, nerfs and buffs. The maps, the bosses, strategies, and tactics. The large and medium guilds. How they operated, their features. The locations and methods of acquiring rare and powerful equipment. As the day for depositing the money and getting the VR rig drew near, Mahn Li looked at the document he has compiled, which had exceeded a thousand pages. He began to tremble with excitement. He had an incredible edge! He would have an extremely good head start! He would become the most powerful player! He would get his revenge! Now¡­ what was the first major event in the game? Christmas Eve. Two and a half months after the pilot launch. A tournament event. His good mood deflated like a popped balloon. Three months would be enough for him to get to level 60 and acquire quite decent gears that would put him on the top 1% of player base. However, his gear would still be nothing compared to those who had attended the Beta Test. When the game went live, people who had joined the game since Beta would each receive a unique piece of equipment with simple but borderline game-breaking effects: continuous invisibility, group teleport, revive, etc. Later, when the player base grew and similar equipment are acquired, the original ''Beta Gears'' would fall into obscurity. However, in the first six months, they gave players a significant head start, one that even Mahn Li dared not say he could beat. With that lead, the ''Beta Gears'' owners could tackle difficult dungeons, hunt rare monsters and get awesome loot, leaving the rest of the players even further behind. Of course, not all Beta Testers could take advantage of that headstart. Only about 200 to 500 players really stood out from the thousand players that received Beta Gears. The rest either lost or sold their equipment after a few months. In the first 2 years, most of the tournaments were dominated by former ''Beta Gears'' owners, or those rich enough to fork out money for those pieces of equipment. The rewards for winning the tournaments were quite substantial. Aside from a cash reward, there were more equipment that would make the strong even stronger. There was no way he could beat them within the first year by playing it safe. In fact, it took him 4 years before he could catch up with former Beta Gears owners. The initial difference in strength was extremely difficult to compensate. He needed a breakthrough, something drastic for a chance to win. But what? Mahn Li scanned over the list of classes again. He had decided against playing another Void Assassin. Their power set was too focused on 1 vs 1 combat. It would give him an edge in PvP but was nearly useless in open combat. He needed a class with much more destructive powers. That was essentials if he intended to lead a large guild. A guild leader couldn''t just wade in the thick of combat all the time. Instead, he would need to have an overview of the battlefield and wield power from afar to alter the outcome. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.He needed a class with long-range Area of Effect attacks. He went through several more criteria and eventually settled on Crimson Mage. This class had the best potential mana regeneration and access to all offensive spells, along with a respectable number of recovery and support spells. Their problem was the low health pool and poor defense. Mahn Li knew of plenty of equipment, traits, perks, and skills to solve that. At around level 100, his Crimson Mage would be able to stand toe to toe and trade blows with Berserkers if he wanted to. But¡­ "Stupid! I can''t wait until level 100!" Mahn Li berated himself. His goal was to participate and win a prize in the tournament 3 months from now. At that point, he will be level 60 at most. Taking more efficient leveling routes can boost him to 65 or 70, but he will miss better quests and rewards. "What should I do?" For two days, Mahn Li anxiously paced around in his room. He wracked his brains, trying to come up with a solution. He built up a dozen spreadsheets, searching for the most viable build that would both win the tournament and dominate large scale fights. However, he came up short. Mahn Li relived the memory during his first year. He entered the tournament, thinking he had a pretty good shot at a prize. Reality slapped him in the face. No, to be more precise. It whacked him with a baseball bat, sent him sprawling, then kicked him into submission. He was utterly devastated and humiliated. ''Will the only way to avoid humiliation is to walk away altogether? Grind for a few years? Call in favors? Join obnoxious parties and groups and guilds and slave away for many years until he can claim the top spot?'' "No! This cannot be!" Mahn Li said out loud. At a food stall, he was absent-mindedly picking at his food when a television nearby played some classic action-adventure movie. At one point, the hero was faced with a random henchman carrying a big scimitar. The guy did some fancy movements with the weapon. Everything was set up for a climactic fight scene. Then the hero drew his gun and shot the swordsman. "Yes!" Mahn Li shouted, slamming on the table. Several people sitting on the tables nearby were startled. They turned and stared at him. "Keep it down, will you?" One of them said. Sure it was a funny scene, but that reaction was too exaggerated. "Sorry!" Mahn Li hastily said. He shoved food into his mouth as quick as he can. There''s a way he could win this! At home, Mahn Li opened his document and browsed through the pages. He had completely forgotten about this: a unique artifact, created by the developers as a joke. Two players managed to acquire this item together. They had quite a run with it, raising hell whenever they went. They were quite famous because of it. Eventually, the artifact was lost. No one knew what happened to it. Even the (former) owners themselves were tight-lipped. However, they did reveal how they acquired it. The thing was hidden very thoroughly and was only acquirable by completing a ridiculous set of requirements. Mahn Li used to be obsessed with this artifact. He had spent countless time digging through the screenshots and videos, trying to learn more about it. It was a long shot, but it was the best chance he has at beating the tournament and setting himself up as a heavyweight within the first year. The artifact happened to perfectly suit his chosen Mage class. And it was something of an oddity, slightly out of place in the game''s fantasy setting. A gun. Chapter 5: The circus-raised, animal whispering Crimson Mage ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Monday, October 13th, 2031 "This is it!" Mahn Li muttered. He was holding the first-generation VR rig in his hands. It looked very sleek for its time, but still much bulkier and more awkward than the version he was used to. Shrugging, he checked all the connections and slipped on the VR headgear. A slight hum was heard when the device powered up and scanned his irises. Then the world melted away. Mahn Li felt weightless like his whole body was in a void. Not even the pull of gravity was felt. Smiling, he welcomed the familiar sensation. The darkness around him was then replaced by an empty room, with a notification screen accompanied by a soothing voice. ¡²--- NOTIFICATION ---¡³ ¡²--- Welcome to the Epoch of Liberty ---¡³ ¡²--- Character roster is empty. Please create a new character ---¡³ ¡²--- Please select a race ---¡³ Without sparing a glance at the dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, etc, Mahn Li immediately made his choice. "Human." While this race had no distinct advantage over the other races - as part of the game balance - it was his favorite race to play. The human race had a slight hidden bonus to learning speed. In addition, their physical proportions were (understandably) similar to his own, allowing him to move around intuitively. Races with shorter legs or longer arms would always take some time to get used to. That was why most of the fast-paced close combat characters were humans. ¡²--- Please select a class ---¡³ A list containing possible characters was displayed. He entered "Crimson Mage" into the search box and selected the result. " You are an apprentice to a veteran Crimson Mage, master of destructive magic. Years spent on dingy basements copying spell scrolls and acting as a lab rat to your mentor has affected you physically. However, your mental state has become significantly stronger. " " Attribute adjustment: -4 Str, -3 Con; +4 Int, + 3 Wil " " Bonus Mana Regeneration " " Other bonuses (hidden) " ¡²--- Please select a background ---¡³ A long list of backgrounds divided into a few dozen pages was shown in front of Mahn Li. * Abandoned in the woods ¡´ Show details ¨‹ ¡µ * Abandoned on the mountains ¡´ Show details ¨‹ ¡µ * ¡­ Here was where the customizability aspect of the game came into play. Besides two dozen races and fifty classes, the game offered hundreds of character backgrounds and hundreds of traits. Backgrounds represented the character''s childhood and upbringing. They had a wide variety of effects. The most basic ones were some bonuses or penalties to stats or the addition of some skills. In addition, a character''s background influenced how the game world interacts with them, and some could even unlock hidden quest chains. The mix of races, classes, backgrounds, and traits resulted in a staggering number of combinations available to the players right off the bat. This was enough to make many players spend hours, if not days, trying to find their "ideal" character. Later on, as subclasses and additional perks were revealed, the diversity would become even more pronounced. Each character could grow into a unique being, unlike any other. At least, that was in theory. In practice, people tended to min-max their characters, favoring either magic, ranged combat, melee combat, or some combinations with production classes. In about ten years, the game would grow to revolve around a thousand builds that rose and fell in popularity over time, depending on the meta-game. Mahn Li picked the background ¡¸Raised in a circus.¡¹ " As an infant, you were found by a member of a traveling circus. You spent the first 10 years of your life in a harsh environment. You dabbled in a bit of everything: knife throwing, juggling, cleaning the lion''s cage... under constant abuse by the circus master. " " Inadequate living conditions have affected your health somewhat. On the other hand, the years spent throwing knives, dodging knives thrown at you, and surviving lions'' attacks have honed your dexterity and reflexes. You have also learned to charm the crowd with your performances and become more charismatic. " " Attribute adjustment: +2 Awa, +2 Cor, +1 Cha, -1 Con " " Bonus points to weapon mastery: Throwing Knives " " Other bonuses (hidden) " Besides the listed bonuses, he would also have better luck when dealing with animals, as well as several other boons. ¡²--- Please select two traits ---¡³ Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.The list of traits was even longer than backgrounds. Mahn Li quickly picked two traits he had previously decided on: ¡¸Animal Whisperer¡¹ and ¡¸In tune with nature¡¹ ¡¸Animal Whisperer¡¹ was a hidden condition for a number of quests. It also stacked with ¡¸Raised in a circus¡¹ and improved his chances when dealing with certain creatures. Despite the silly name, ¡¸In tune with nature¡¹ was a quite powerful trait, . It provided a wide range of advantages when trying to survive in the wild. In addition, it also allowed the user to see the flow of Mana in certain areas and boosted Mana regeneration (both of which are hidden effects). ¡²--- Please adjust your starting attributes ---¡³ Two windows were displayed in front of Mahn Li. One showed his base attributes. ¡³ ===? Primary attributes ? |> Strength: 06 (+/-) |> Awareness: 12 (+/-) |> Coordination: 12 (+/-) |> Intelligence: 14 (+/-) |> Willpower: 13 (+/-) |> Constitution: 06 (+/-) |> Charisma: 11 (+/-) *** Free attribute points: 10 Note: - Crimson Mage class: -4 Str, -3 Con; +4 Int, + 3 Wil - Circus background: +2 Awa, +2 Cor, +1 Cha, -1 Con All starting characters began with 10 in all attributes. After that, race, class, background and traits were factored in. Mahn Li''s race (human) and traits did not affect his attributes. Only his class and background did. The second window shows the derived attributes. ¡³ ===? Secondary attributes ? |> Health Points: 90/90 (+ 0.45/s) (CONx10 + STRx5) |> Stamina Points: 120/120 (+ 0.6/s) (CONx10 + CORx5) |> Mana Points: 205/205 (+ 2.05/s) (INTx10+WILx5) |> Capacity: 42 kg (STRx5+CONx2) Mahn Li adjusted his primary attributes. He reduced Strength by 1 point and put most of the free points into Intelligence to drive up his Mana pool and regeneration. He also invested some points into Awareness and Constitution. After glancing at his stats, he hit Confirm. ¡²--- Please customize your appearance ---¡³ Epoch of Liberty offered a few different choices when it came to creating a character. With the first option, Players could select from a collection of faces and body types then fine-tune if necessary. The second option was to use one''s own appearance as a base and modify it from there. The third was to start from scratch. Mahn Li did not want to bother with this step, so he selected the second option. Immediately, a character modeled after him was created. Standing in front of Mahn Li was a young man about 175cm tall, gangly and pale. He had unruly short black hair and stood slightly hunched over. If it was before, Mahn Li would "normalize" his avatar to give it the stereotypical action hero stature with bulging muscles and six-pack abs. This time, for some reason, he found the quirky character more amusing. The game did not forbid people from using their own appearances for their avatar. While many players enjoyed this, it would lead to plenty of problems when people were harassed in real life because of what they did in the game or vice versa. Pausing for a moment, Mahn Li decided to change his face. Fiddling around with the controls, he adjusted the face to be older and leaner, and, on a whim, added a scar over the left eye. The result looked like a cross between a hobo and a pirate. Eyeing his avatar once again, he nodded. ¡²--- Please select a name ---¡³ Mahn Li almost said "Ghost Blade" but stopped himself. ''Hah! It seems I''m more attached to the past than I thought.'' He smiled wryly. He realized he never thought about what to call his character. After scratching his head for a bit, he shrugged and enters "Manco the Face Wrecker". An arrogant and childish name, but he could always change it later, so it did not bother him much. ¡²--- Please review your choices---¡³ ¡³ ===? Character Info ?=== ¡² ¡³ ===? General ? |> Name: Manco the Face Wrecker |> Class: Crimson Mage |> Level: 1 (0.00%) ¡³ ===? Pri. attributes ? |> Strength: 5 |> Awareness: 15 |> Coordination: 12 |> Intelligence: 20 |> Willpower: 13 |> Constitution: 8 |> Charisma: 11 ¡³ ===? Sec. attributes ? |> HP: 105/105 (+ 0.525/s) |> SP: 140/140 (+ 0.7/s) |> MP: 265/265 (+ 2.65/s) ¡³ ===? Traits ? |> Animal Whisperer |> In tune with nature ¡³ ===? Perks ? | None ¡³ ===? Titles ? |> None Mahn Li carefully perused his choices. Satisfied that he left nothing out, he nodded. "Confirm character creation!" Chapter 6: A gunless gunslinger walked into a tavern... ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ The continent of Shiorai Mor''roinn. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ The Epoch of Liberty was set on the continent of Shiorai Mor''roinn. It was a massive contiguous landmass whose surface area was comparable to Earth. The continent consisted of ten territories of varying sizes. Tynilia (divided into the North and South), Praelum, and Betovium in the North. Lorgistere and Lian in the East Belzhor, Shuzhou, Voveria, Sokur in the Central and South Haufaria in the West. On Shiorai Mor''roinn''s extreme North was the kingdom of North-Tynilia, the dwelling place of the Dwarven race. It was a mountainous area full of rare metal ore mines. Next to it were Betovium and Praelum, the home countries of elves and gnomes, respectively. On the East were Lorgistere and Lian. These two kingdoms were constantly at war with each other. The dwellers were ogres, orcs and other bloodthirsty races. It was said that the other eight kingdoms were lucky that these two were constantly fighting among themselves instead of uniting and attacking the rest of the continent. At the center were South-Tynilia, Volveria, Sokur, Belzhor, and Suzhou. The five countries were under the rule of humans and were the most prosperous. To the west was the mysterious land of Haufaria. Shrouded in fog and separated from the rest of the continent by massive mountain ranges, deep canyons or burning deserts, Haufaria was a complete mystery. Few brave souls had ventured into the fog-covered land, and even fewer had returned. Their accounts were confusing and contradicting, but all had hinted at some strange menace reigning over the land. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Betovium (the Elves'' kingdom) ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Mistwood village ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ The village was surrounded by a wall made of buried logs. Outside the wall were a layer of spikes and a 3 meters wide, 2 meters deep moat. It had two gates at the north and the south. Each gate was flanked by two watchtowers, which were constantly manned by at least two militia members. The guards at the north gate noticed a man approaching the town from the main road. The man was walking unhurriedly toward the village. His shabby attire consisted of a brown coat with a hood, black pants, and old cloth shoes. On his back was an old rucksack. He crossed the wheat fields and apple orchards, pausing to ask a farmer something, then continued toward the north gate. "Halt! State your business!" A guard shouted when the man comes within fifty meters from the gate. Two other guards held their bows, ready for any trouble. "..." the man muttered something under his breath. "What did you just say?" The guard snapped. "Nothing! Ahem¡­ I am but a weary traveler. I hope for nothing more but a hot meal and a place to rest. I am not diseased and I have no ill intentions." The man said loudly while pulling down his hood. His face was thin and ragged, with stubbles on his chin. A scar ran over his left eye, though it thankfully left the eye intact. "Alright! Come in! But don''t cause any trouble. We''re keeping an eye on you!" The guard said dismissively. The man nodded and entered the village. Manco the Face Wrecker walked along the main street. This "street" was actually a well-traveled pathway, spreading from north to south, linking the two gates and cutting the village into two parts. Dust swirled in the dry weather, causing him to cough and his eyes to water. The combined smell of sweat, rotten food, and animal manure permeated the air and clung to his clothes, making him nauseous. Trying to remind himself he was in a game and whatever he was smelling is not real, Mahn Li opened the system menu and toned down the simulation of smells to 25%. Immediately the odor became a lot more bearable. Along the main street were shops and stalls of various sizes. The village''s inhabitants were milling about, minding their own business. A blacksmith was hammering furiously on his anvil. A snake oil salesman was standing on a platform and pushing his wares aggressively to a crowd of suspicious onlookers. Several horses were tied to a post in front of a two-story wooden house. They looked at him lazily as they drank from a trough. Squinting from the afternoon sunlight, Manco looked at the two-story house. He noticed a large sign with the drawing of two large mugs. Nodding, he pushed the door open and walked inside the tavern. As there was still daylight, most of the villagers were still out working. The tavern was mostly empty, save for a group sitting at a far corner, speaking quietly to each other. As Manco entered, they briefly stopped and looked at him, then turn back to their conversation. Sitting down on a stool at the counter, he was greeted by the bartender. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on."What''ll it be?" The man said gruffly. He looked to be 50 years old, stout and strong. His arm muscles bulged under the thin brown tunic. The thick mustache wiggled as he speaks. "Just water, please. I''m thirsty!" "If you want water, join the horses outside!" The bartender snorted. "What''ll it be?" "Alright, a mug of ale then!" Mahn Li had to suppress the urge to draw his weapon and show the imbecile who''s boss. He reminded himself that he was not strong enough yet. Causing trouble right now would only slow him down even more. "Five farthings," said the bartender as he opened the tap and let the ale flow into a wooden mug. "Got anything to eat?" "Nope! Dinner''s in 2 hours" Sighing, Manco took out some hardtack from his rucksack. He wolfed them down, wincing at the bland taste and the sawdust-like texture. He took a swig of ale to wash it down but nearly spat out the drink. The thing tasted like horse piss! (Not that he knew what horse piss tasted like.) Dialing the simulation of taste to the minimum, Mahn Li finished the meal, noting that his Hungry and Thirsty status effects have both disappeared. He adjusted the senses back to the default level. Nursing the mug of ale, Manco tuned into the conversation the group at the corner is having. An Awareness score of 15 points was nothing too impressive and the group was keeping their voices low. However, in the relatively quiet tavern, he could still catch most of the conversation. "¡­ That damn idiot Nicholas. Why the hell hasn''t he turned up?" A wheezy voice said. "Probably stuck in a brothel down the street! Heh!" Answered another voice, accompanied by a vulgar laugh. "More like dead in a ditch somewhere. That sonovabitch loves messing with other people''s wives!" A woman''s voice. "Doesn''t matter! We might be one man short, but we''ve done it plenty of times. It won''t be a problem." An authoritative voice. This one sounded like the leader. "I don''t know, Rust! I''ve got a bad feeling ''bout this one. I think we could do with some extra muscle. Just for insurance." Wheezy voice protested. "Okay, who then?" Leader questioned "There''s no one in this god-forsaken place we can hire. They all know each other." "What about him?" The woman proposed. Manco could feel eyes staring at him. His lips quirked up in a light smile. The group was silent for a few moments. Then Manco heard footsteps and someone sat down on the stool next to him. "Oi, Pegg! Another drink for my man here!" Leader said to the bartender. Scowling at the overly-familiar tone, the stout man complied and put another mug of ale in front of Manco. "Thank you kindly, good sir!" Manco said and tipped an imaginary hat to Leader. "Don''t mention it, my good man! The name''s Rust, by the way!" The man was in his mid-thirties, well dressed, handsome and confident. He extended his hands and flashed a warm smile. "Manco." They shook hands. "Can''t help but notice you''re kinda new here." "That I am. I used to be a guard protecting a traveling merchant. His caravan was ambushed by bandits a few days ago. Everyone died, except for me. Now I''m flat broke and hungry." That was, of course, a complete lie. Manco had just spawned in an abandoned house north of the village half an hour ago. The lie was to convince Rust that Manco was desperate enough for money to be roped into whatever scheme they are cooking. In fact, he could have said any gibberish he wants, as long as he spoke the keywords that said he needed money and could handle himself in a fight. "A crying shame. Anything I can do to help?" Rust sounded truly sympathetic. "Nah. Just a friendly face is good enough. I''m gonna stick around here for a few days. See if there''s any work to be done." "Tell you what, we''ve got a job that needs doing a few days from now. If you''re sticking around ''til then, we could use a helping hand." "Really?" "Of course. It''s nothing dangerous. Just a bit¡­ unusual." "How so?" "Don''t worry about it. I''ll contact you in a few days. Just hang around in this place, same hour as now. I''ll find you." "Alright! Thank you!" Rust shook his hand again and walked back to his group. ¡²Quest received: "A Helping Hand."¡³ "Perfect!" Manco smiled and lifted the mug to his mouth. This time he spat the drink out for real, drenching the bartender. "You''re right. I''m better off joining the horses. The drink can''t be worse than this!" Smiling, he said to the glowering man. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Footnotes ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ A map of the continent (with the two locations Chechian Fort and Mistwood Village marked) can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PZBmWs7vXf_PBBoilBmyftKhlWWkNVDE Credit: Azgaar''s Fantasy Map Generator Chapter 7: The first kill After a few moments, Rust''s group stood up and left. Rust nodded at Manco as they walked by. Turning to the bartender, who was wiping his face with the same rag he had just used to wipe the counter, Manco asked: "I''m looking to learn a trade skill or two. Where can I find people who can train me?" "What kinda skills?" "Resource gathering. Weapon training, Anything, really. I need money!" "Right. You bought a drink, so I''ll give you something back." Manco took out his map and the bartender marked down the location of several trainers. Giving him another 5 farthings as thanks, he stood up and prepared to leave, but remembered something. "Do you have a room?" He asks. "Thirty farthings a night. Five more gets you breakfast." "Here''s for two nights and two breakfast." He handed over a thaler and received thirty farthings as change[1]. Hopefully, breakfast would be decent. With food and lodging taken care of, Manco left the tavern. Mistwoods was a small village. It only took five minutes to walk from the south gate to the north gate. Most of the businesses were concentrated on the main street. Stopping at the butcher''s he asked to be trained to harvest animal carcasses. In exchange, he would bring back some of the meat. He did the same at the leather worker, promising some hide in exchange for some training. ¡²Mastery learned: Carcass Processing¡³ ¡²Level: 7.25¡³ ¡²Mastery learned: Leather Working & Tailoring¡³ ¡²Level: 6.15¡³ Actually, for most trade skills, players did not need to be trained. For example, they could simply start chopping up an animal, and would eventually gain the Carcass Processing skill. However, learning from NPCs who already knew the job immediately awarded several levels, depending on the learner''s Intelligence and the difference between both sides'' mastery levels. Asking for a training was simply a matter of initiating a conversation, selecting the right option, and forking out money. The trainers in Mistwood were generous and gladly help him for a tiny fee or even for free. ¡²Mastery learned: Farming¡³ ¡²Level: 4.15¡³ ¡²Mastery learned: Fishing¡³ ¡²Level: 4.15¡³ ¡²Mastery learned: Quarrying¡³ ¡²Level: 5.15¡³ ¡²Mastery learned: Woodworking¡³ ¡²Level: 6.15¡³ ¡²Mastery improved: Scavenging¡³ ¡²Level: 3.15 ? 7.30¡³ ¡²Mastery improved: Foraging¡³ ¡²Level: 3.15 ? 7.30¡³ ¡²Mastery improved: Alchemy¡³ ¡²Level: 3.15 ? 7.30¡³ ¡­ Well, most of them do. "Hold it!" grunted Gwyndham the Archery Master - the only weapon trainer in the village. Manco froze, not because of the voice, but the powerful crossbow in his hands. Already loaded was a wicked-looking barbed-head bolt, ideal for unarmored targets, which he happened to be. "What do you want?"The man was sitting on a chair in front of his house. He looked quite old, with white hair and beard, and his hands were slightly shaking. "I''d like to be trained¡­" "No time! I''m busy!" the old man interrupted. "Uh, could you¡­" "Get lost! My hands are tired! Don''t blame me if they slip and send a bolt through your skull!" Seeing no way to talk to him, Manco walked away. After turning a corner, he peered back. Gwyndham had put the crossbow back on his lap and was staring into the distance. "So much for lifelike AI!" Manco shook his head. "What a pain in the *ss!" Looks like he would have to complete a quest (or more likely several) before he could be trained in using crossbows. Making a note to ask other NPCs and find out what the deal with Gwyndham is, he stalked away. At the general store, he bought some supplies and tools. Then he exited the south gate and headed into Misty Woods. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ The Kingdoms of Betovium and Haufaria were separated by a natural border in the form of the Death Forest. This gigantic, ominously named forest was home to all manners of strange and vicious creatures. A dozen times a year, some of these creatures would form packs, navigate themselves out of the forest, and terrorize the populace. There would be a short period of terror and chaos before the army in the nearby garrisons could eliminate them. It often took several days to learn of the news, and a few more days to mobilize the troops. Eventually, a solution was proposed to the Queen. Communities would be set up alongside the border, blocking the routes used most often by the monsters. The settlements would act like outposts to observe, defend against, and send warnings of monster attacks. To encourage people to live in these dangerous areas, the Queen offered generous incentives. Each person with a house in the village received a substantial monthly salary, provided that they pull their weight in protecting and maintaining the place. Troublemakers or freeloaders were swiftly identified and dealt with. Soldiers and mercenaries were hired at much higher fees. In some cases, criminals were arranged to live and work there in exchange for reduced sentences. Mistwood village was built five years ago as part of the outpost ring. Located on the edge of Misty Woods, part of the Death Forest, the village was home to people coming from different walks of life. Former soldiers, mercenaries, pioneers, farmers hoping for a quick fortune; criminals, exiles and rejects looking for a fresh start or a place to lay low. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.Over time, taverns, blacksmiths, brothels and other "facilities" had been added, completing a disjointed, but functioning community. The village rarely had visitors, and traveling merchants only occasionally stopped by. Once a month, they received a shipment of goods from the nearest town. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Misty Woods ? In the waning sunlight, Manco made his way through the trees. He was on a hunt. Utilizing his limited Tracking skill, he tried to locate some killable creatures. They were a decent source of experience and their meat and pelts could be sold. He needed to gear up as best he could before continuing the quest with Rust. The sunlight coated everything in a muddy orange hue. The mist did not help, and he found himself relying more on his nose and ears than his eyes. A gust of wind carried the scent of blood and pungent fur. A predator! Manco stopped, his eyes scanning the surroundings. His ears strained, listening for sounds. The forest was unusually quiet! He held up the iron-studded club, ready for battle. A rustle on his right caught his attention. *WHOOSH! A blurry shape flew at him at blinding speed. Manco dropped to the ground but paid attention to its trajectory. The creature''s blow missed his head, but still grazed his back. -25! Instinctively, Manco pointed his left hand and fired off the most basic Crimson Mage spell. ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹! ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹! ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹! -5! -4! Two numbers floated off the creature as two transparent projectiles hit its buttocks. It roared in pain. As it landed with a thud, Manco identified it as a Gray Panther. The panther turned around. For a few seconds, man and beast were still, sizing each other up. *Swoosh! WHOOSH! The creature then feinted a left and rushed in on his right. But he was ready for it. ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹!¡¸Mana bolt¡¹! -9! One projectile hit the panther on its left eye, temporarily blinding it. The still charging creature made a perfect target for a swing of his club. *THWHACK! -34! Manco scored a solid hit on the panther''s head. While he winced at the shock on his arms, the animal was briefly stunned and collapsed onto the ground. Collecting himself, he ran back to the edge of the woods but made sure to let the panther see him. Several seconds later, it recovered from the Stunned and Blinded status effects. *ROAR! With an angry roar, it rushed after Manco. He did not look back as he could hear it just fine. The sound of its footsteps, the rustling of leaves, the breaking of the branches, its heavy breath, and guttural growl. All were approaching him at a hair-raising speed. He glanced back and saw the creature readying itself for another pounce. *WHOOSH! This time, he did not fire off a spell or use his club. He simply dropped flat on the ground. The panther overshot him again, landed on a pile of dry leaves,¡­ ¡­and fell down the pit trap hidden underneath that layer of leaves. Gruesome squelching sounds were heard as the creature was impaled on several sharpened stakes buried at the bottom of the pit. Brushing himself, Manco approached the pit. The panther let out an anguished cry then stops moving. ¡²Creature "Weak Gray Panther" (lv 9) killed¡³ ¡²1480 XP gained¡³¡²Creature information added to Beastiary¡³ ¡²Level up! Your level is now 2!¡³ ¡²Int +2; Wil +1¡³ ¡²Free attributes points + 2 (Total 2)¡³ Several notifications popped up at the bottom of his vision, but Manco ignored them. He stayed still, letting his Health, Stamina and Mana points regenerate, and listened carefully. After a few moments, the normal sounds of the forest are heard again; birds sang, insects chirped. It seemed there was no more predator nearby. "Shouldn''t have got hit by that first pounce. The lag''s worse than I remember," he mused, reflecting on the confrontation. He was still used to the extremely low latency of the top-of-the-line Full-Immersion VR set. With this first generation rig, besides the lower quality hardware, the connection was still unstable, which led to a significant latency, affecting his reaction speed. "Ah well, guess I''ll have to adjust." Shrugging, he began appraising his equipment. The iron-studded club was adequate. The cloth cloak he was wearing offered nothing but a measure of modesty. It was completely useless against any physical attacks. He would have to replace it soon. The ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹ spell was the only spell available to Crimson Mage at the beginning. At level 1, it cost 10 mana per shot, had a half-second cooldown and did a paltry 6 damage on an unarmored target. Aiming was awkward as there was no reticle and he had to point his palm at his target. Regardless, ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹ would be the mainstay of his arsenal in the foreseeable future. Besides the high rate of fire and low mana cost, it played an important role in his eventual build. Noting the darkening sky, Manco stopped musing and carefully made his way down the pit. As he touched the creature, a transparent screen appeared next to it. ¡²Harvest "Weak Gray Panther" corpse?¡³ ¡²Available tools:¡³ ? Iron Skinning Knife ? Iron Cleaver ? Iron Pliers ¡²Estimated time: 00 m 00 s¡³ ¡²?Yes¡³¡²No¡³ Chapter 8: The arrogant young master As Manco touched the panther, a transparent screen appeared next to it. ¡²Harvest "Weak Gray Panther" corpse?¡³ ¡²Estimated time: 00 m 00 s ¡³ ¡²Available tools: ¡³ ? Iron Skinning knife ? Iron Cleaver ? Iron Pliers ¡²?Yes ¡³¡²No ¡³ Before leaving the village, Manco had stopped by the trapper and bought some supplies: rope, wooden stakes and butchering tools. He ticked all the boxes next to the three available tools. Each of them helped him harvest a different part of the animal: the skinning knife for the skin, the cleaver for the meat, and the pliers to yank out teeth. Different creatures required different tools to properly harvest all the parts, which could be directly consumed, sold or used for crafting items. With better tools and better harvesting skills, players could get higher quality materials in shorter amounts of time. After he selected all the tools, the harvesting time was increased to 3 minutes and 15 seconds. He selected "Yes" and a progress bar with a countdown appeared. 3:15¡­ 3:14¡­ 3:13 While the harvesting was in progress, he could not move away from the creature, or the process would have to be restarted. With nothing else to do, he took a rest and planned his next move. The harvesting finished without incident. The loot screen was replaced by a notification. ¡²Harvesting complete. Items added to inventory¡³ ¡²Tattered panther pelt x 1¡³ ¡²Panther meat x 5¡³ ¡²Panther teeth x 9¡³ As his level of Carcass Processing was low, the panther pelt was of low quality ("tattered"), he only got several pieces of meat, and broke most of the teeth. He would gain more by asking someone more skilled doing the butchering, or dragging the corpse back to the village. However, darkness was approaching and he did not want to spend any more time outside the village''s safety. Manco climbed up from the pit and made his way back to the village, stopping every now and then to pick up some herbs, wild fruits, and mushrooms. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Mistwood village ? When Manco reached the tavern, it is already dark. Two moons were clearly visible on the sky, a red one at the north and a blue one at the east. Upon opening the door, he was assaulted by a barrage of noises and smells. People speaking, shouting, and laughing over each other. The clattering of cups and mugs and plates. Someone yelling orders and other replies. The scent of cooked food mixed with the sweaty and muddy body odors created a rather unpleasant smell. Manco made his way to the bar. "What do you have to¡­?" he asked. "TWO ORDERS FOR TABLE FIVE!" The woman behind the bar shouted into the kitchen. "Hi, I''d like to order¡­" "WATCH IT YOU NUMBNUTS! IF YOU BREAK THAT CHAIR, I''LL BREAK YOUR LEG!" She yelled again. Following her glare, Manco saw a drunk man balancing himself precariously on a chair''s two legs, giggling like an idiot. At her command, he sat back properly, but was still chortling. "What can I get for you?" Someone asked him. Turning back he found that it was the same woman. Unlike the lion''s roar just now, her normal voice was clear and pleasant, if a little hoarse from all the yelling. He noticed that she was quite pretty, with tanned skin, a round face, and long brown hair tied neatly into a bun. The lack of makeup and the simple dress did little to undermine her beauty. "Uh¡­ Something to eat. What do you have?" "Bread and stew," she replied. "I''ll have that." "You need a drink?" "Uhm¡­ Got something better than that black ale?" "Ha! Pegg gave you that? He always do that to newcomers!" She laughed, showing pearl white teeth. "Don''t worry, our regular ale is quite decent!" "Okay, I''ll have a mug of ale then." "Sit at your table. Someone''ll come over." She said. Turning away from the bar, Manco spotted an empty table near the middle of the room. He made his way there, weaving between farmers rowdily singing a random song and a mercenary waving his arms animatedly as he recounted an exciting adventure. The tavern was quite spacious, housing no less than forty people with rooms to spare. There were twelve round tables. At the moment, eleven tables were occupied, including his. The bar was at a far wall and the kitchen was behind it. The stairs leading to second floor was next to the bar. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Mahn Li noticed that the patrons all seem to be NPCs. Apparently no other players had arrived at this village yet. After all, there were hundreds of thousands of starting locations scattered over the six kingdoms (Lorgistere, Lian, Haufaria and North Tynilia did not have starting villages.). The starting conditions of Mistwood were among the harshest: quests were few, creatures were tough, few trainers. Therefore, very few players would dare to begin their adventure here. Closing his eyes, Manco tuned into the conversations and tried to pick up interesting or important information. "¡­ you hear, Colin caught a big fish today. It''s as big as my forearm!" "¡­ I heard he''s sleeping with¡­ " "¡­ a swarm of spiders, each as big as me head. Ran right away, the lot of us. Pickaxes, carts, we threw all of ''em behind. No use keeping those if you''re dead!" "¡­ When''s the next caravan coming?" "¡­ I heard there''s a new girl down at Pinky''s. They said she knows some real sick tricks. I''m going there tonight!" Scowling, he filtered through the useless chatters and noted down important tidbits. "Here''s your dinner!" A barmaid placed a steaming bowl of stew, a plate with two loaves of bread, and a wooden mug in front of him. "Thanks!" he nodded and she rushed to another table. Ignoring the fragrant stew, he concentrated on the conversations around him until¡­ "¡­ Gwyndham ¡­" His ears perked up at the name. Surreptitiously, he located the person uttering that name. It was a young man, impeccably dressed, talking to a woman. The two of them were seated at a table a few meters away from him. He focused on them and identified the man as Anthony and the woman as Brennda. "¡­ I offered him a hundred ducats. A hundred! And he just turned me away! Doesn''t even bother to stand up! Who does he think he is?!" Anthony whined. "Sure you don''t wanna shout a little bit louder?" Brennda hissed through gritted teeth "I think the group of thugs in that corner doesn''t know you''re a walking sack of ducats just yet!" That shut the man up. He furrowed his brows, clenched his fists and silently seethed. "Master Gwyndham has no relatives. He doesn''t buy luxuries, doesn''t drink, and doesn''t whore around. Why would he need your money?" The woman spoke politely but sternly. "You don''t know anything about him, do you? I told you to wait for me to ask around first, but you insisted on going ahead and meeting him yourself!" "So what''s his deal?" After calming down, he asked. "Each person said a different thing. Some say he''s waiting for a lover to return. Others say he''s a criminal just wanting to be left alone. Or a sole survivor of a massacre that killed all his comrades¡­" "Alright! Alright already!" Anthony impatiently interrupted her, and Manco had the urge to come over and punch the brat in the face. "I''m asking for facts, not rumors." "I don''t know for sure." The woman admitted. Anthony threw up his arms and spoke in an exasperated tone. "Great! Just great! Brilliant! How about you keep asking around? Don''t bother me until you''ve got something concrete!" With that, he abruptly stood up, knocking the chair over. Slapping a gold coin onto the table, he stomped out of the tavern. "That guy sure gets the ''Arrogant young master'' persona down to a T," Manco though as he broke the bread and dipped it in the bowl. The stew had cooled somewhat and the bread was a little hard, but he was ravenous and the food tasted much better than the hardtack he had for lunch. When he finished his meal, Brennda was sitting at the table staring at the uneaten food. Manco could tell she was angry. Then her head whipped up and turned to him. Their eyes met. She had piercing green eyes, thin lips and an oval face. Her skin was a healthy tan, with some freckles over the bridge of her nose. She wore her bright red hair in a pixie cut. Flustered at being caught staring, he awkwardly nodded a greeting. Without returning the nod, she stood up from her table and walked toward him. She was wearing brown leather armor over a green cloth tunic. A sword was strapped to her back and a scabbard on her thigh housed several throwing knives. "Mind if I join you?" She asked, gesturing at the chair opposite him. Chapter 9: A pain in the Ass (part 1/2) "Mind if I join you?" Brennda asked, gesturing at the chair opposite Manco. "Sure!" Manco replied, thankful that she did not seem to find his staring offensive. Pulling the chair back, she satdown next to him. "You, uh¡­ want anything to drink?" he asked. "No, I''m supposed to keep myself sober." The redhead replied, eyeing the ale next to him. "You get drunk from just one mug?" "No, I¡­" She hesitated, then decided "You know what, screw it!" She put two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle, catching the attention of a barmaid. "GIMME TWO MUGS OF ALE!" ''Dammit these women can really shout!'' Manco silently complained. "Look, I didn''t mean to eavesdrop¡­" He began to explain. "Nah, don''t worry ''bout it!" she waved her hand dismissively "We weren''t exactly keeping our voices down." "Here''s your drinks" said the barmaid who put down the mugs. Brennda grabbed one and downed it in one gulp. That seemed to have opened a flood gate. Holding the second mug in her hands, she began talking. As it turns out, Anthony and Brennda were from a town named Deon, a few days'' ride to the east. He was the only son of a wealthy merchant. For many generations her family had been working for his, and now it was her turn. As she had trained in swordsmanship since the age of three and was strong enough to break his spine, she was spared from being his concubine. Instead, she had been his chief bodyguard (and babysitter) for the last two years. Recently, Anthony had begun to entertain the idea of becoming an adventurer. He had delusions of traveling the land, defeating powerful foes, looting hidden treasures and bedding beautiful women all over the continent. "But guess what? He doesn''t wanna get his clothes dirty. Can you [hic] imagine that?" She said, her voice beginning to slur. "That''s why he wants to learn to use crossbows." Manco guessed. "Ya. First he wanted ta learn the bow," she snorted, wrinkling the freckled nose "got whacked in the arm by the bowstring once, and decided it''s not for him!" "Wow¡­ just¡­ wow!" "There are trainers in Deon. But he got wind of master Gwyndham staying in Mistwood. So he insisted on coming here to be trained by the best of the best. Like it''ll make him a marksman in one day." "He didn''t make a good first impression, from what I''ve heard." "Course not," she said, frowning "dumbass thinks he can throw money at everyone and have them do what he wants." "Gods!" Manco commented "Must have been terribly hard on you!" "Oh you have no idea!" After venting, Brennda seemed to have calmed down. They were silent for a few moments, listening to the crowd. Tilting her head to look at him, she asked. "So what''s your story?" "Oh, I''m¡­" Manco hesitated "¡­just trying my luck here. see if there''s adventures to be had." "Ha! If there''s one thing this place has in abundance, it''s adventures!" She laughed "Just a walk in a wood yesterday morning and I ran into three grey panthers." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it."Yeah. There seems to be an awful lot of these panthers in the woods." Manco commented. "You don''t seem like the close combat type, do you?" She gave him a once over, her red hair shining vibrantly in the lantern''s light. "I''m not. To tell you the truth, I also want to learn to use a crossbow. I knew master Gwyndham was the man to talk to, so I went to him¡­" "I guess things didn''t go well either." "Eh, it was about as well as expected. He shot me down. With his words only, fortunately," he shrugged "Kind of my fault though. I know nothing about the old guy." "You''re a much wiser man than that idiot Anthony!" she paused, then muttered "Drat, that doesn''t say much! Everyone''s wiser than that idiot!" "So, you''re my companion in misery!" She said with a laugh "Ha ha. Cheers!" She finished her second mug of ale while Manco finishes his first. Then screams and shouts caught their attention. A fight had broken out between two drunk men. Before they could do any significant damage, a giant man stomped over, held them both by the cuff, and booted them out the door. "Take it outside, both of ye!" The big man growled "Ya lots come in her drunk agi''n, I''ll break ya legs!" With that, he sat back down at a corner and nodded at the bartender. After a few moments, the incident was forgotten and the tavern became noisy again. Manco turned back to Brennda. "How about this?" He proposed "We''re gonna help each other figure out what Gwyndham wants. Then we use it to harangue him to train Anthony and I?" "I was about to say the same." She shrugged "What d''you have in mind?" "I''m not sure yet. I''ve just arrived in the town in the afternoon. What do you know about him?" "Not much, most of ''em hear says." Brennda recited what she has heard from the gossipers around the village. Manco''s head began to spin with the whole lot of confusing and contradicting information. He decided to try a different way. "Wait wait wait" He interrupted her. "What does he usually do during the day?" "Huh?" she blinked in surprise "He just sits there in that chair of his." "All day?" "That''s what people say!" she shrugged. "Strange. Why would he do that?" He frowned, trying to remember anything about this particular behavior pattern, but came up short. "Who knows?" she shrugged again. Then she slammed the mug on the table. "That''s it!" "What?" "What what?" "You just said ''That''s it''" Manco said, a bit irritated. This was getting nowhere! "Oh. I''m just thinking. He has to get up at some point to piss or something. I''ll go grab his chair. So he won''t be able to sit around the next day!" ''What the hell kinda logic is that?'' Mahn Li screamed internally. But he remembered that she was drunk. And drunk people had strange train of thoughts. "I''m going right now!" Brennda stood up wobbly and shambled toward the door. "Wait!" Manco put some money on the table and hurried after her. . Chapter 10: A pain in the Ass (part 2/2) The night was cold. Every once in a while, a gust of wind would rush past the two of them, causing them to shiver. Brennda kept walking unsteadily, while Manco followed her closely, curious about what kind of event she would trigger. As they turned a corner, she slowed down and turned around. Putting a finger on her lips, she let out an exaggerated "SSSShhhhh!" Rolling his eyes, Manco nodded and whispered: "I know, I''ll keep quiet." Nodding, she crept toward a wooden wall and gestured him to follow. Joining her at the wall, he peeked through the gaps between the planks. They were looking directly at master Gwyndham''s house. The place could be described more precisely as a bamboo cottage with thatched roof, which made it stand out from the other houses in the village. It was in a middle of a small plot of land filled with all sorts of plants and vegetables. In front of the cottage was a table and next to it, a small chair where the old man was sitting and nodding off. Then a cold wind bled toward him. Starting awake, he looked around as if to make sure no one was there. He stood up and collected his belongings from the table: a teapot, a cup, a lunchbox, a pipe. After that he turned toward the house... ... revealing a gigantic hole on the back of his pants, completely revealing his buttocks. "Pffft!" Brennda''s hands shot up, covering her mouth. Her shoulders were shaking from the suppressed laughter. Tears began falling down her cheeks. Fortunately, master Gwyndham did not notice the noise. He kept walking toward the house¡­ *PPHHHRRRBTtttt ¡­ and let one rip, causing the pieces of fabrics around the hole to flutter furiously! "Eeep!" Brennda let out a small yelp and bit down on her hand to keep from laughing. On the other side of the wall, the farting stopped as Gwyndham froze, and so did Manco''s heart. In the blink of an eye, the old man pulled his crossbow out of nowhere, turned around and shot. *Twang! *Thwack! A bolt pierced the wooden wall they were hiding behind, a mere finger''s width away from Brennda''s face. Her eyes widened. "Who''s there?" Gwyndham shouted. Not wanting to face the master who was very likely in a murderous mood, Brennda and Manco crept away from the wall. As quickly and quietly as possible, they weaved through alleyways and small roads, making their way back to the tavern When it was obvious they are not followed, Brennda began laughing. She laughed so hard that she had to sit down. "Oh my god! That was hilarious!" She said breathlessly. The revelation plus the near-death experience had apparently made her sober. "Yes, it was," Manco said dryly, unamused. He forgot just how whimsical and off-the-wall the game''s logic could sometimes be. A normal person could simply fix the pants or ask someone to buy a new pair. Who would sit around all day in holey pants? And why did he have only one pair? Why did he have to sit outside? ''Stupid video game logic!'' Mahn Li cursed inwardly. Nevertheless, he felt lucky that he met Brennda and staked out Gwyndham''s house instead of wasting time talking to other people and listening to their useless speculations. "I don''t believe it! So that''s why he never moves from that chair!" "Apparently so," Manco replied, shaking his head. "What do we do now?" She asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. "There is no clothing shop in this village." "I don''t suppose you have a pair of man pants with you." "Oh, Anthony does! I''ll go back to the tavern and look in his luggage." "Does it¡­ um¡­ suit Gwyndham''s taste though?" "I''m not sure. From the look of it, the pair he''s wearing is made of rough cotton and have leather paddings on the knees. I''ll find a pair that is most similar." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site."How many pairs does Anthony have?" "A couple dozens. The idiot brought half of his wardrobe!" She scoffed. At the tavern, Brennda disappeared inside while Manco looked at the sky, thinking about how to properly "gift" the pants to Gwyndham. After ten minutes, she walked out the door, carrying a bundle in her hands. "These are not exactly the same, but probably close enough!" Manco said, inspecting the pants. "Okay. But how are we gonna give these to him?" Brennda asked, "We can''t walk to his door and say ''Hello, I heard your pants are busted, so I''m giving you these.''" "I''m thinking the same thing," Manco nodded, "he''ll probably shoot us dead on the spot." "How about we throw it at his door?" "That''s just as suspicious. He suspects someone saw his holey pants. At night, someone throws a new pair of pants at his door. In the morning, someone comes to ask for a training. He''d be an idiot if he couldn''t connect the dots." "Hmm. You''re right!" She admitted and they spent a few moments thinking. "Wait, I''ve got an idea!" Manco said. A light bulb turned on in his head. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ The following morning, outside master Gwyndham''s house. A gaudily decorated wagon was parked in front of the place. Several men were unloading heavy-looking chests and putting them in front of the master. "Good morning, o great Master Gwyndham¡­" Anthony began his speech, his charm turned up to the max. "Get lost!" Against the master archer''s surly face, that charm was useless. Gritting his teeth, the Anthony cut his speech short and went straight to the point. "In exchange for your teachings, this lowly one would like to present to you these presents" He then proceeded to unveil one gift after another like a salesman. "Here are the finest silk cloak, made of diamond worm silk¡­" "¡­A deck of playing cards, decorated with depictions of the finest ladies of the citadel wearing little more than perfume and seductive smiles¡­" "¡­A set of hunting clothes, consisting of tunic, vest, pants, belts, arrow quivers, caps. Made out of excellent materials, surely suited to all sorts of weather¡­" The master''s expression remained stoic, but his eyebrows raised ever so slightly at the word "pants." "Yes!" Manco exclaimed quietly. He was standing in the crowd of onlookers, watching the cutscene unfold. "This could work!" Anthony continued his presentation for several more minutes. Eventually, having run out of things to say, he fidgeted awkwardly and threw glances at Brennda for support. "Alright," said the master "I guess I''ll make an exception for you. I don''t need all of these. Just the hunting clothes," he paused, and added in a low voice "and the deck of cards." Beaming like it was early Christmas, Anthony bowed so low his head almost touched the ground. "This lowly one thanks master!" "No need for such formalities! Come back in the afternoon and I''ll teach you." "Afternoon? Why¡­ Ack!" Anthony began to protest but Brennda silenced him with a fist to the ribs. She placed the items Gwyndham requested on the table next to him and gestured to the men to load the rest onto the wagon. "Thank you for your time, master Gwyndham. And we apologize for bothering you." She said with a slight bow, and he nodded in acknowledgment. She and Anthony boarded the wagon, and the crowd parted to let it past. The moment she saw Manco, Brennda grinned, winked at him and mouthed "Thank you!" ¡²Hidden quest completed: "A pain in the ass."¡³ Chapter 11: The heartfelt gratitude ¡²Quest: A pain in the ass¡³ (Unique) > Type: Misc. Difficulty: N/A > Given by: Brennda Swordsinger ¡´Show details¨‹¡µ > Location(s): Mistwood > Details: Help Brennda convince Master Archer Gwyndham to train Anthony Baker to use the crossbow. > Reward: 1. Brennda''s heartfelt gratitude 2. ??? . "Huh!" Manco said in surprise. He had only expected the reward to be access to the trainer. However the quest giver turned out to be Brennda and there was a hidden reward. He had an inkling of what her "heartfelt gratitude" would entail. After all, ''Epoch of Liberty'' featured matured themes. Extreme violence, swearing and intimate physical contacts were all featured and even considered selling points. Especially the third point, which was delivered with the remarkably life-like sense simulation and was enough to get plenty of players hooked. Mahn Li remembered reading about players who spent days messing around in virtual brothels or engaging in weird fetish acts with each other. After several high profile cases of addicted players being found malnourished in their VR rigs, Immersive Interaction, the company behind EoL, had to come up with several restrictions on matured contents. Deciding he would deal with the reward when it came, Manco opened up his to-do list. First week * Level up. (Min lvl 10) * Up ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹ * Up trade skills * Get new armor * Train crossbow techniques * Buy crossbow * Prep for "Helping hand" quest w/ Rust''s crew. * Get the gun (!!!) Mahn Li''s true objective in Mistwood village was the very thing this whole build relied on: the gun. According to the players who found it, the artifact was hidden in a secret chamber at a location only accessible while on a quest. There are many quests that featured this location, and "Helping hand" was one of them. This quest was the most straightforward, but was also the most difficult, regarding the level requirement. He would need to gear up properly to survive it. After making sure he did not leave out anything on the list, Manco gave the butcher the panther meat and drops the panther pelt at the leather worker as payment for their training. It was entirely possible to snuff them and break his promise, but doing so only saves a few coins. Definitely not worth the hit to his reputations. He replenished his trapping supplies then went back to the tavern to meet Brennda and find out what the hidden reward might be. The redhead was sitting at a table. She waved at him. "Where''s Anthony?" he asked, sitting down opposite her. "Upstairs sleeping." She shrugged "The idiot was out all night gambling." "Gods!" he shook his head: "Are you sure it''s a good idea letting Gwyndham train him?" "Not the best idea, but not the worst either. At least he''ll learn enough not to hurt himself. He''ll just find another equally suicidal thing to do otherwise." "So after he''s trained, you guys will leave for Deon, I presume?" "Yes. We''ll leave tomorrow morning," she said hesitantly. Then she bit her lips and asked: "What''s your plan for today?" Wait¡­ Mahn Li knew that look. He glanced at the bottom of his vision and saw a blinking icon. Mentally touching it brought up a notification screen. ¡²Open NPC Information screen?¡³ ¡²?Yes¡³¡²No¡³ ''Ah¡­ The NPC Information screen. A relic of the old role-playing games. It''s been a while.'' Chuckling, he mentally selected "Yes." The screen dissolved into light particles which gathered around Brennda and formed several screens. The first screen showed her character sheet, in a similar format to Manco''s, but only the most basic information was visible. ? Character Info ? - Name: Brennda Swordsinger - Female. Age: 21. Status: Single - Class: Swordsman - Level: 24 ? Pri. attributes ?(Locked) ? Sec. attributes ?(Locked) ¡­ The second screen was the conversation assistance. ? Relationship ? - Attitude: Amicable - Interest: 76% - Mood: Happy / Uncertain / Hopeful ? Dialogue ? Conversation history ¡´ Show ?¡µ "What''s your plan for today?" ? Possible reactions ? ? Flirt with her. ? Ask her to go out for a walk. ? Ask her back that question. ? Change the topic. . "Attitude" was self explanatory. Ranging from "Hatred" to "Love," it represented the overall view of the NPC toward the player character. "Interest" showed how concerned the NPC was with the conversation. If the NPC was busy, then they might not want to talk with players, even if their relationship was good. It should be noted that only the "Attitude" field showed the correct value. The displayed level of "Interest" and "Mood" were not always correct, but varied randomly. Having better Charisma and higher "People Reading" skill would reduce the margin of error. Manco, of course, did not want to waste time getting tangled in an NPC''s love life. He had better things to do, like leveling up and getting better gears. So¡­ "I''m going out for a walk¡­" he replied "in the woods. To hunt. You wanna go?" "Sure," she sounded a bit disappointed, "I''ll go crazy sitting around doing nothing." . ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Misty Woods ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ After Manco set several traps at strategic spots near the edge of the wood, he and Brennda went deeper inside. With his Tracking skill, he quickly located footprints of several types of predators like coyotes and dingoes and the two of them follow the tracks. Before long, they spotted a pack of Wicked Coyotes and began engaging them in combat. ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹! ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹! ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹! -5! -6! -5! *THWACK! -15! ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹ ¡­ It took Manco two minutes to kill a coyote. Turning to assist Brennda, he saw her wiping her sword clean amid six slain creatures. She looked nonplussed, like someone who was taking a walk in the park. "All hail the Brennda train!" He chuckled humorlessly. The vast difference in strength made him feel a little emasculated. ''At least leveling will be quicker'' he consoled himself. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation."What was that?" Brenda was confused by the strange expression. "Nothing!" With Brennda''s help he gathered the coyote carcasses and began harvesting them. While waiting for the progress bars to fill, they chatted. From the conversation, Manco gathered that Brennda is quite frustrated with her life. She yearned for adventures, but was stuck babysitting an incompetent son of a businessman. Looking for a lover was difficult, for she was stuck day and night with an obnoxious and inconsiderate man. He dared note openly insult her or physically abuse her, but the frequent mocking remarks and callous treatments were not something she wanted to deal with every day. Her familial responsibilities were the only thing keeping her from walking away. After having gained several pelts, Manco opened the Crafting screen. A few crafting recipes he had learned from the leather worker were displayed. ¡³===? Recipes ? ¡³==? Leather Working ? > Cleaned hide: (Pelt + knife) > Tanned hide: (Cleaned hide + Tanning mixture + Barrel) > ¡­ He selected "Cleaned hide," put some of the most tattered pelts into the crafting queue, hit start, and closed the screen. The processed hide would sell for a little bit more money, and crafting was automatic, so there was no reason not to do so. They began to form a rhythm. They would fight some creatures, then Brennda rested while Manco harvested them. Occasionally, he would open the Crafting screen and put more pelts into the material slot and let the crafting progress on its own. At noon, he took out the rations and they had lunch together. After a short rest, they continued the hunt. The leveling went smoothly. This area of the wood is basically a noob zone for Brennda. Watching her effortlessly dancing left and right between the animals, dodging teeth and claws, chopping off heads and limbs without breaking a sweat, Manco could only shake his head. The only thing he has to worry about was to not accidentally hit her with ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹. "We should go back," After harvesting the last Grey Panther, Manco said. Gwyndham had said he would train Anthony in the afternoon, and Brennda should make sure the brat would show up for the training. "Already?" She checked the time "Oh, it''s this late. Let''s go back." While on the way, Manco checked his character sheet. ¡³ ===? Character Info ?=== ¡² ¡³ ===? General ? |> Name: Manco the Face Wrecker |> Class: Crimson Mage |> Level: 9 (85.52%) ¡³ ===? Pri. attributes ? |> Strength: 5 |> Awareness: 15 |> Coordination: 12 |> Intelligence: 38 |> Willpower: 21 |> Constitution: 8 |> Charisma: 11 * Free attribute points: 16 ¡­ In the last few hours he had gained another 7 level and is almost level 10. Among the masteries, Carcass Harvesting had progressed the furthest, sitting at Level 11.35. He was now able to harvest sinew, and the quantity as well as quality of harvested material had significantly improved. The harvested pelts were now "Intact" instead of "Tattered." Leather Working had increased to 10.50, opening up several additional recipes. All in all, his time was well spent. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Mistwood Village ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Gwyndham the archery master was in front of his house, wearing the hunting attire gifted to him by Anthony. Sitting in his chair (again), he began giving a speech to Anthony and Manco (whom Brenda introduced as Anthony''s cousin, and persuaded Gwyndham to teach as well). "Many people think of the crossbow as a peasant''s weapon. One for the unskilled, untrained. A coward''s weapon¡­" "¡­But it requires a lot more from the user than people give it credit for¡­" "¡­" The speech continued and Manco believed he might have dozed off while standing until... DING! ¡²Mastery learned: Crossbow¡³ ¡²Level: 19.92¡³ (Soft cap exceeded. Leveling speed reduced by 98%) ¡²Technique learned: Fast Reload¡³ ¡²Technique learned: Aimed Shot¡³ ¡²Technique learned: Focus Shot¡³ "Damn! That''s a master for you!" Manco said, impressed. He had instantly gained almost 20 levels in Crossbow mastery and unlocked three techniques just by listening to that short speech. In the evening, after dinner, Anthony immediately ran off with some of his bodyguards, leaving Brennda with Manco. An hour and a few mugs of ale later... ? Relationship ? - Attitude: Amicable - Interest: 95% - Mood: Frustrated / Hopeful ? Dialogue ? Conversation history ¡´ Show ?¡µ "What you want to do now?" ... ... They couldn''t get into the room fast enough. Closing the door with a kick, she pulled him close and brought her lips to meet his. Her lips were soft and moist and tasted of ginger ale. The scent of her hair and her skin. The taste of her kiss. The feel of her body against his. The combined sensations overwhelmed Manco, making him light-headed. Their bodies entwined, and before he realized it, they were on the bed, her on top of him. They disentangled for a moment, her striking green eyes staring into his. "Thank you!" She said, her voice barely a whisper. Then she lied down and nuzzled his neck, closed her eyes and fell asleep. "Hey!" Mahn Li poked her. She was sleeping soundly, letting out a cute soft snore. "The hell?" Mahn Li asked in disbelief. He looked at her contented sleeping face then down at the tent pitched between his legs. Eventually he noticed something flashing at the bottom edge of his vision. A notification. ¡²To experience matured contents (including but not limited to: advanced gore, depictions of physical intimacy, lifting of swearing cap), please consider upgrading your account to "Matured Adventurer"¡³ ¡²One time cost: US$ 1,999.95¡³ ¡²?Yes ¡³¡²No ¡³ ... ... Fuck. Chapter 12: The top thousand Mahn Li waited for the VR rig to turn off completely. After a few moments of weightlessness, the sensations experienced by his real body began to register in his brain. Taking off his helmet, he sat up on his bed, feeling heavy and lethargic. His back and neck ached. His clothes and the mattress under him were damp with sweat. He sighed. A proper ergonomic gaming chair with good ventilation and automatic massaging motors cost at least 7 grand. In his old life, that amount was chump change, but now it was a fortune. He would just have to endure it until he had money. His stomach growled. The clock on the wall shows 7:28 a.m. He had played the games for almost fifteen hours, only taking a two-hour break when it was night in-game and his avatar was sleeping. Time in the game progressed twice as fast as real life. Manco had been in existence in the Shiorai Mor''roinn Continent for thirty hours. Right now, he was sound asleep with Brennda in his arms. Mahn Li stood up slowly to get used to his real legs. Looking down, he chuckled and says "Oh, wood morning!" That "Matured adventurer" subscription really caught him off guard. He had all but forgotten about it. Two grand in exchange for virtual hanky-panky was too extravagant for now. "I need to get laid," he said with a chuckle. His voice felt hoarse because of his dry throat. When he felt ready to move about, Mahn Li walked to the "kitchen" corner. Grabbing the water jug, he drank in big gulps. His thirst slaked, he made some instant noodles and fried some packaged sausages. As he ate, he turned on the computer and checked the web. As expected, the Early Access launch of Epoch of Liberty had made news on tens of thousand of websites and social media outlets. The home page of Immersive Interaction, the company behind EoL, was frozen from the sheer amount of access. With 12 million Early Access keys given to players all over the world, the game peaked two hours after launching, at 11.8 million concurrent players. Right now the number was hovering between 8 and 9 million. Mahn Li logged on to several of his favorite gaming forums to check how other players were doing. The EoL threads were flooded with both enthusiastic gushing and angry complaints. "¡­basement was creepy as SH*T. Almost P*SSED myself when this spider landed on my neck. Ran right out and say ''F*ck you and your rats!'' to the bar owner." "¡­lol p*ssy" "¡­you try that before mouthing off. Dumb*ss!" "¡­WORTH EVERY PENNY! Realer than real life! Gotta go back in! Be jealous of me bitches!!!!" Many complaints were about how difficult it is to level. "¡­Twelve hours for 5 levels? Wtf??!" "¡­What are you complaining about? I''m only level 4!" "¡­What''s the deal with those mobs? They keep running away!" "¡­This game''s creature AI is soooo broken! I want my money back!" ¡­ That was to be expected. The game basically pulls the rug under players with the creature AI. They tended to act more like real animals. Most predators did not stand around idly until players aggro them. Instead, they had their own routine of hunting, feeding, sleeping. They only attacked if they felt they can win and would run away if threatened by a big group. Each type of creatures had a different habitat, but most did not stay in wide open plains. Instead, woods, forests, jungles, swamps, savannas, biomes with difficult terrains and multiple hiding places were their favored home. Tracking skill was often needed to find them. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.¡­ "Can''t find any decent quests. Just some crap fetch quests with lousy xp. WTF?" "You too? So it''s not just me?! This game SUCKS!" ¡­ Quest givers did not just stand around with a big question mark on their head. They had their own lives and routines. Sometimes, players only had to show up in the right place at the right time to receive a quest (as Manco did with the "Helping hand" quest), but most of the time, they needed to actually have conversations with NPC and find out what they need. As an effort to make NPCs'' behavior more lifelike, they would not suddenly entrust important tasks to a stranger. A decent reputation and good rapport with an NPC were needed before players could get a quest that''s beyond the usual "kill x animals" or "bring this spoon to that person". ¡­ Mahn Li shrugged. Those loud-mouthed whiners are not the ones he needed to look out for. His true targets were the Beta Testers. Many of them already had a build planned out down to the leveling spots. Aided by the unique ''Beta Gears'' they would be a force to be reckoned with. He opened the level ranking. Sure enough, the first one thousand spots immediately stood out above the rest. Rank - Player Name - Level #1 - IAmNumberFoar - 12 #2 - ReignOfFire - 12 #3 - Jeepers_Creepers_23 - 11 ¡­ #1021 - Overload - 11 #1022 - BlackDeath - 9 #1023 - KillStealer69xxx - 9 ¡­ Those one thousand players were most likely Beta Players or people associated with them. Many of them might even be forming parties with each other, boosting their strengths even more. Of course, there could still be players who were either lucky or observant and found good leveling spots. Mahn Li did not bother trying to figure out who was behind which character, as the names could be easily changed, and the players would only settle on their famous monikers after several months or even years. The vibration of his phone caught his attention. The caller ID said: Mom. After hesitating for a moment, he picked up. "Yes?" "No, I''m at home. Studying." "What day?" "Next week¡­ I can''t. Got a part time job. What do you mean take a day off? Can you send me money then? Don''t talk nonsense!" "Yeah yeah, I know. You too. I''m hanging up!" He hung up the phone and found tears flowing down his cheek. It had been years since he heard his mother''s voice. He never realized how much he missed her. Yet in the conversation just now, he was rude to her, lied to her twice, and refused to go home and visit his family. He just acted exactly as he did ten years ago. He wanted so badly to apologize to her, to go home and see his family. His old, ailing mother, his bed-ridden father, his precocious and smart younger brother. Yet he pushed them away. Why? He was terrified of losing them again. Even without him spending loaned money on the VR rig, his father would not have made it. He knew it was a heartless thing to think, but it was true. He might as well gamble it all. Go big or go home. That was why he pushed them away. So that if he failed this time, it wouldn''t hurt as much. "But I won''t fail!" he muttered, his fists clenching. ¡­ "Will I?" Chapter 13: The morning after ¡²--- NOTIFICATION ---¡³ ¡²--- Welcome to the Epoch of Liberty ---¡³ ¡²--- Please select your character ---¡³ When Manco woke up, he was alone in the room. Brennda''s scent was still lingering on his body. The developers had pretty good attention to details, but the kind of details they paid attention was quite strange. On the nightstand were a bundle and a note. He picked up the note and read it. "Thank you for the wonderful night!" (''Yeah, right!'' he grumbled) "You were sleeping like a baby so I didn''t wake you up." "I''m going back to Deon. Back to the old job of making sure the idiot doesn''t kill himself." "I¡­" (The rest of the line was covered with ink and unreadable) "¡­ hope you''ll do well on your adventure." "Brennda ?" . "P.S: If you ever find yourself in Deon and want to catch up, you can go to the Baker estate and ask for me." Manco read the note once again. Feeling a little bit touched, he put it away into his inventory. Reaching for the bundle, a notification screen greeted him. ¡²You''ve received Brennda''s gift. Items added to inventory¡³ ¡² Elven Light Leather Armor ¡³ ¡² Leather Belt ¡³ ¡² Fancy Hunter''s Cap ¡³ ¡² Hunter''s Pack ¡³ ¡² Hunting Boots ¡³ ¡² Hunting Pants ¡³ ¡² Bolt Quiver ¡³ His eyes almost popped out at the unexpected boon. He hastily took out Brennda''s letter and read it once again. On the other side was another postscript. "P.P.S: I ''persuaded'' Anthony to giving you a set of hunting clothes. He''s got THREE identical sets. What''s he gonna do with them all?" Manco had the urge to poke his head out the window and shout "I love you too, Brennda!" The set had to cost at least 80 ducats, which was peanuts to Anthony but was a small fortune to him! He might have forgotten many things, but he was pretty sure that there had never been an NPC who treated him that well on their own accord. Making a note to visit Brennda someday, he began inspecting the gifts. ? Elven Light Leather Armor ?(Uncommon) ¡î¡î - Type: Armor - Slot: Torso - Material: Leather - Armor: Chest (5) Back (5) Belly (5) Left Arm (2) Right Arm (2) - Resistances: Stabbing (5%) Slashing (8%) Crushing (5%) - Description: Created by novice Elven craftsman, this padded leather armor offers decent protection without sacrificing mobility. - Weight: 3 kg - Durability: 40/40 ¡ªo¡ª He compared it to the dirty shirt he had been wearing since yesterday, marveling at how the girl could have ignored the smell. ? Traveler''s shirt ?(Common) ¡ï - Type: Armor - Slot: Torso - Material: Cloth - Armor: Chest (1) Back (1) Belly (1) Left Arm (0) Right Arm (0) - Resistances: None - Description: Rough cloth shirt. - Weight: 0.5 kg - Durability: 5/15 ¡ªo¡ª The difference was as night and day. The shirt barely offered any protection and was practically falling apart at the seams. Grinning from ear to ear like a kid opening Christmas gift, he checked the rest of the equipment. ? Leather Belt ?(Common) ¡î - Type: Accessory - Slot: Belt - Material: Leather - Capacity: 4 small vials or 2 medium vials - Description: A leather belt with trappings to attach knife scabbards and slots to hold potion vials. - Weight: 0.2 kg - Durability: Unbreakable ¡ªo¡ª ? Fancy Hunter''s Cap ?(Common) ¡î - Type: Armor - Slot: Head - Material: Cloth - Armor: Head (2) - Resistances: None - Description: A green felt hat with a feather on top. Offers little protection, but is very fashionable. - Weight: 0.4 kg - Durability: 10/10 ¡ªo¡ª "Fashionable?" Manco muses. ? Hunter''s Pack ?(Uncommon) ¡î¡î - Type: Backpack - Slot: Back 1 - Material: Leather - Capacity: 60 slots - Description: A finely crafted pack. Enchanted with Elven magic to hold much more than its size would suggest. - Weight: 2 kg - Durability: Unbreakable ¡ªo¡ª ? Hunting Boots ?(Common) ¡î¡î - Type: Armor - Slot: Feet - Material: Leather - Armor: Left Leg (4) Right Leg (4) - Resistances: Stabbing (7%) Slashing (7%) Crushing (7%) - Description: Made by novice Elven craftsman, these fine buckskin long boots offers decent protection without sacrificing mobility. - Weight: 1.5 kg - Durability: 40/40 ¡ªo¡ª ? Hunting Pants ?(Uncommon) ¡î¡ï - Type: Armor - Slot: Pants - Material: Leather - Armor: Belly (2) Left Leg (4) Right Leg (4) - Resistances: Stabbing (7%) Slashing (7%) Crushing (7%) - Description: These padded leather pants offer limited protection, but are much lighter than metal armor. - Weight: 2 kg - Durability: 40/40 ¡ªo¡ª ? Bolt Quiver ?¡î - Type: Accessory - Slot: Hip (attached to belt) - Material: Leather - Description: A quiver to hold crossbow bolts. - Weight: 0.3 kg - Durability: Unbreakable ¡ªo¡ª He took off his ragged clothes and put on the new set. Looking at his character model Mahn Li saw a man in a set of hunting attire identical to the one gifted to master Gwyndham yesterday. He was wearing armor, pants, and boots in varying shades of brown and a bright green hat with a green feather on top (most likely picked by Anthony). Shaking his head at Anthony''s lack common sense he checked his defense stats. ¡³ ===? Defense ? ¡³ =? Armor ? - Head (2) Chest (5) Back (5) Belly (7) - Left Arm (2) Right Arm (2) Left Leg (8) Right Leg (8) ¡³ =? Resistances ? - Chest: Stabbing (5%) Slashing (8%) Crushing (5%) - Back: Stabbing (5%) Slashing (8%) Crushing (5%) ... ¡ªo¡ª The game had a simple system of calculating physical damage. First, the armor value of the equipped armor was subtracted from raw damage. After that, the result was further reduced by the armor''s damage resistance stat. The process was repeated again with the body''s natural armor value and damage resistance. Each body part was under varying degrees of protection, so hitting the arm, for example, did more damage than hitting the back, which was often more heavily armored. Also, skilled players could bypass outer armor completely by hitting an unprotected part on the opponent. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!After basking in the joy of an unexpected windfall, Manco made his way downstairs. The tavern was empty. A barmaid was sleeping, her head resting on a table. Another was lethargically sweeping the same spot on the floor, and the third one was swiping the air with a rag. He ordered breakfast, which consisted of bread, smoked meat, cheese, and (once again) ale. After several minutes, his basic buffs for the day was complete. ¡º Well-rested ¡» Duration: 7h35m - Xp increase +15% - Mp regen +50% ¡º Well-fed ¡» Duration: 3h59m - Hp regen +50% - Sp regen +50% Satisfied, he checked his to-do list. Today was going to be a busy day. The first order of business was to buy a crossbow. Epoch of Liberty did not have guns as a weapon class, and, as a result, had no mastery for it. Fortunately, the previous owners of the gun had disclosed that it benefited from many crossbow techniques and perks such as Fast Reload or Focused Shot. That was why Manco needed to train his Crossbow Mastery. Upon leaving the tavern, he took in the sight of Mistwood Village in the early morning. Guards were coming back after a long night watch. Farmers with carts and cattle were leaving for the farms and orchards outside the wall. The blacksmith, butcher, and leather worker were already busy at work. Someone was shouting about a caravan from the town coming in at noon. The air was filled with the clamoring of people, animals, and tools. Manco approached the leather worker and sold most of the pelts he has along with the leather he crafted yesterday. He already had a set of armor, so he no longer had to craft one himself. The thin man paid him a little over 5 ducats for everything. Next stop was the butcher. Giving Manco 3 ducats for the meat, the big man nodded in satisfaction, saying he had got enough meat for the next week. After clearing his inventory, Manco went to the general store. Nodding at a muscular man sitting near the door, he headed inside. The general store was the only proper store in Mistwood village. It sold a bit of everything: weapon, armor, food, medicine. The place was a long room with racks and shelves containing the goods. More items were hung on the walls and behind the counter, where the shopkeeper was fiddling with something. Manco made his way to a rack on the wall. There were about a dozen crossbows of different sizes and shapes. As he focused on each, a screen with their information was displayed. "Anything catches your fancy?" A voice behind him asked. Manco turned around. The shopkeeper was looking at him inquisitively while wiping his hands on a piece of cloth. He was a small man in his forties, short and wiry but energetic. His grey hair, lean face with grey eyes gave him a weathered and experienced look. His name was Araun Pearce. "Can I try them?" "Sure, but no shooting." Selecting the crossbows with the lowest Strength requirement, Manco tested them one by one. With the first one, he tried pulling the string back by hand but finds it impossible. "Need help with that?" Araun asked, amused. "Yeah!" Manco admitted sheepishly. As business was slow, Araun did not mind demonstrating the proper techniques to ready each type of crossbow. One type had a metal loop at its front called a stirrup. He readied it by pointing it at the ground and putting one foot in the stirrup, then used his hands to draw back the bowstring. "If you''re not strong enough, you can use this belt hook. Put your foot in the stirrup, bend your knees, put the hook over the string, and straighten your legs. Your whole body will pull the string back." With his help, Manco readied the crossbow. After some fumbling around, he managed to get the movements right. Putting down the first crossbow, he tried the other types. The biggest difference between them, as far as he is concerned, was the mechanism to span the bow. Some crossbows used the stirrup-and-belt-hook combination, others used cranequins, others used winches, goat''s foot and so on. Eventually, he felt most comfortable with the ones using stirrups. Another comparison of stats helped him decide on the final purchase. ? Belzhorian Light Crossbow ?(Common) ¡î¡ï Type: Crossbow (Two-handed) Requirement: STR 8 Damage: 18-20. Range: 25m. Ammunition: Crossbow bolts Description: A light crossbow mass-produced for the Belzhorian army. Simple, cheap and reliable. Weight: 3.5 kg Durability: 29/35 ¡ª.¡ª "I''ll take this one," he said to Araun. "Not a bad choice," the shopkeeper commented "4 Ducats. I''ll throw in a hundred bolts." After a bit of haggling, they settled on the price of 3 Ducats and a half. "Do you have any other kind of bolts?" Manco asked, inspecting one of the bolts. "Nay, cleaned out my stock two days back," the shopkeeper replied, "Group o'' newcomers. Said they were goin'' for a big hunt in the woods." "Is the leader name Rust, by chance? Mid-thirties, fancy clothes, smiles all the time?" "Aye. That''s the guy. Smarmy bastard. He an'' his buddies came here few days ago. Always skulking around. I betcha ten Ducats they''re up to no good. " Looking at Manco, he shook his head and said: "Ya seem a good lad. Don''t get tangled up with them." "I''ll keep that in mind. Thank you." Manco kept browsing in the store, and bought a few more things: a basic alchemy set, some bandages, and two dozen small empty vials. With the leftover money, he traded his worn out iron studded club for a slightly better club. After sorting the items in his inventory, he nodded at Araun and left the store. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Author''s notes: Some of you might be asking "What''s with those stars?" Well, I''m thinking of using them to represent the power potential of upgradeable equipment. The more stars the better (well duh). A white star means already upgraded. Black star means can still be upgraded. For example, two swords rated ¡î¡ï and ¡î have similar stats. After the first sword is upgraded, its rating becomes ¡î¡î and it becomes better than the second sword (though not exactly twice as good). That''s the gist of it. Chapter 14: "Hello, dear." Outside the general store, Manco checked his to-do list and ticked off the completed tasks. He rearranged the remaining tasks and added some details. Week 1: * Level up (min. lv 12). Remember A. Surge * Up ¡¸Mana bolt¡¹ (min. Lv 20) * Prep for "Helping hand" quest w/ Rust''s crew. * Get the gun (!!!) * Up trade skills * [x] Get new armor * [x] Train in crossbow * [x] Buy crossbow He was well on track to finish the first week''s tasks. He had planned to spend at least 3 days to scrape together enough Ducats to buy important pieces like torso armor and use the Leather Working mastery to make the rest. He had not expected to be gifted a full set. Nevertheless, he could not afford to be complacent. The first few months was a very crucial stage. Every day or even hour should be efficiently spent. Yesterday, although he had made a lot of progress, he also got tangled with Brennda and did not utilize his time in the evening to train his masteries. That would not do in the long run. Opening his crafting screen he scrolled to the Alchemy recipes. ¡³===? Recipes ? ¡³==? Alchemy ? - Redberry juice: Basic Alchemy Set + Red berries (x3)+ Water(x1) + Vial(x1) - Blueberry juice: Basic Alchemy Set + Blue Mushroom(x1) + Blue berries (x3)+ Water(x1) + Vial(x1) - Mild poison: Basic Alchemy Set + Toadstool(x1) + Red Berries(x2) + Water(x1) + Vial(x1) - Mild paralyzing potion: ... He selected the recipes for Redberry juice and Blueberry juice, a minor health potion and a minor mana potion, respectively. Letting the crafting proceed automatically, he made his way toward the south gate. At the edge of the woods, Manco began practicing with the crossbow. Increasing his Strength from 5 to 8, he immediately found the weapon a lot lighter. Following the movements Araun taught him, he locked back the bowstring and inserted the bolt. A transparent blue line appeared in front of the crossbow and expanded forward. It was almost like a targeting laser, except it curved toward the ground after a few dozen meters. Mahn Li realized it was the aiming assist, which made shooting easier at the expense of mastery gain. He opened the game setting and turned off the option. The blue line disappeared. He aimed at one tree stump and pulled the trigger. With a soft "click" the string was released and the bolt shot forward, glancing off the stump. Eyes not leaving the target, Manco reloaded and tried again, adjusting for the drop. After several shots, he managed to hit the stump dead center and had a "feel" for the aiming. Previously he had used the crossbow a few times, but never enjoyed it. He much preferred the up close and personal fighting style. This time he had no choice but to get used to it. Satisfied with his progress, he headed deeper into the woods. Perhaps thanks to yesterday''s job of exterminating the predators, Misty Woods seemed a lot more lively today. Manco heard the chittering of small creatures from all directions. Not wanting to waste any more time, he started hunting down the small animals. He used his senses and Tracking skills to locate the rabbits, chipmunks, and squirrels scurrying about. It only took one good hit with the crossbow to kill each critter, and once he became familiar with the crossbow Manco began racking up kills and his mastery improved rapidly. He also tried the few crossbow techniques he had. Fast Reload''s effects were subtle. His hands did not magically move faster when reloading. Instead, the bowstring felt lighter and can be pulled back more easily, and he can put the bolt in a little sloppily and it would still snap into place. In short, it made reloading faster and less of a chore, allowing him to pay more attention to his surrounding. Focused Shot provided a 40% damage boost to one shot at the cost of 10 stamina. It also aided his aim by stabilizing his arms until the trigger was pulled. Aimed Shot was more straightforward (literally). At a cost of 10 stamina, it improved the range of the next shot by 40%, meaning the bolt would fly straight for a little further before dropping off. This made it ideal for dealing the first blow, or if he is properly hidden, hitting an enemy without being detected. His level was already close to 10 at the end of the previous hunt with Brennda. After a few kills, he leveled up. ¡²Creature "Brown Squirrel" (lv 2) killed¡³ ¡²40 xp gained¡³ ¡²Level up! Current level: 10¡³ ¡²Int +4; Wil +2¡³ ¡²Free attributes points + 4 (Total 17)¡³ ¡²Class skills available. Please pick one¡³ He opened the skill screen. Two options were presented to him. ¡ºArcane Surge¡» - Type: Toggle, Self-Strengthening. Cast time: instant - Mana cost: 20 to activate + 200 to maintain - Description: While Arcane Surge is active, every damage-type spell drains more mana and causes more damage. - Level 1: + Spell damage +20% + Spell mana cost +50% ¡ªo¡ª ¡ºFlame spells specialization¡» This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.- Type: Passive. - Description: Increase fire damage and fire resistance. - Level 1: + Fire damage +5% + Burning duration +5% + Fire resistance +5% ¡ªo¡ª Fire spells were the flashiest and most visually impressive in the game. Some of the most devastating spells belong to this fiery element. This fact, coupled with human'' fascination with fire, was probably the reason why fire-based spells would be a favorite among EoL''s magic classes in the first two years. The specialization started slow, with only 5% boosts, but the bonuses would increase rapidly with each level. Further down the line, players can pick more passive and active skills that synergized with fire spells for more formidable combinations. Having experienced the endgame contents, Manco knew that all elements have their uses and that limiting his choices to one would eventually weaken his offensive powers. Specialization was all well and good, but overspecialization would doom him. Besides, Arcane Surge provided a generous damage boost right off the bat and would suit his eventual build very well. Picking Arcane Surge as his class skill, he resumed the hunt. He didn''t bother with harvesting as he no longer needed to make armor and the small amounts of money from selling skin and meat were not worth his time. He only occasionally stopped to pick up materials for Alchemy recipes. After he made about 10 Redberry juices vials, he began making Mild Poison and Mild Paralyzing Potion. He would run into some big creatures at one point or another, and as he was alone today, it helped to be prepared. The game had a soft cap for spells and masteries levels. Once it exceed this cap, the mastery or skill could still be improved, but it would take a lot more time. At different stages, there are different limits. At this stage, masteries were soft-capped at character level times 1.25, so his crossbow mastery (which was at 19.95) had already far exceeded the cap (12.5), and leveling speed was reduced by 99%. Regardless, Manco was very close to unlocking another technique at level 20, so he kept training. After a few dozen more kills, he was greeted with a notification. ¡² Mastery improved: Crossbow ¡³ ¡² Level ?20 ¡³ ¡² New techniques available. Visit a trainer to learn ¡³ "Not bad!" Manco smiled. Crossbow techniques were unlocked once every five levels. Unlike class skills, they require a visit to a trainer to learn. The next techniques were likely some sort of debuff. He would learn them when he got back to town later. After Crossbow mastery reached level 20 the improving rate practically became zero. To improve it further he would have to level up more. Shrugging, Manco put away his crossbow and activated Arcane Surge. A small hum could be heard as he felt the hair on his arm raising like a small electric charge was running through his body. Then the sensation vanished, leaving only a small icon to let him know the skill was active. His mana bar also had a small section yellowed out, as part of his mana pool was reserved to maintain the spell. Checking the Mana Bolt spell, he found that it was level 8. ¡º Mana Bolt (lv8) ¡» - Type: Active. Damage. Cast time: Instant - Mana cost: 15 (10 + 50% Arcane Surge) - Element: Neutral - Damage: 8.4 (7 + 20% Arcane Surge) - Cool down: 0.45s Manco made some mental calculations. His current Mana capacity was 515. Maintaining the Arcane Surge needed 200, that leaves him with 315 MP to fight with. The boosted Mana Bolt cost 15 MP, which meant he could only fire a exactly 21 bolts before he ran out of mana. "Wait, that''s not right," Manco muttered, opening his character sheet. At that moment, something glittering at his peripheral vision caught his attention. A small creature was standing on a tree stump and fearlessly staring at him. It was glowing a soft white light. He looked more closely and saw that the creature was slightly transparent and had the shape of a tiny deer. A kodama. "Hello, deer," he said, chuckling. The creature nodded, jumped off the stump, and sauntered toward him. Manco kneeled down, his hands spreading to show the creature he meant it no harm. Not that he could possibly harm a forest spirit. The kodama got close and sniffed his hands. It lifted its head up and looked into his eyes. Then it turned and trotted away. After walking for several meters, it stopped, turned around and looked at him, as if urging him to follow. Deactivating Arcane Surge, Manco stood up and begin following the tiny creature. After several minutes, the woods thinned out into a clearing, and a small pond appeared. On the other side, he saw a group of four or five busying themselves building something. A man was standing apart from the rest of the group, gesturing with his arms and, from the looks of it, barking orders. From this distance, he could not make out the facial features of any one of them. However, he recognized the leader''s attire and the confident way he carried himself. It was Rust. . Chapter 15: The Sabotage Putting away the ridiculous bright green hunting cap, Manco made his way around the lake. He kept himself hidden behind the tree line and the rocks, making sure to keep Rust''s group in his vision without exposing himself. The tiny kodama trotted forward ahead of him without a care. Occasionally it would look back to make sure he was still following. Along the way, he saw small critters approaching the lake for a drink. Seeing him, they were spooked and dashed away. Eventually, Manco made it to the other side of the lake. Crouching behind a bush next to a big fir tree, he began observing Rust''s group. They were assembling what could be described as a wardrobe connected to a boiler. The "wardrobe" part consisted of about a dozen long wooden boxes, stacked into four rows of three boxes each. As a man maneuvered the last few boxes into position, Manco saw that each box was made of rows upon rows of tubes stacked tightly on top of one another. All the tubes were pointing toward the lake. The boxes reminded him of elongated beehives. Or more precisely, of primitive missile racks. The pieces fell into place and Manco had a pretty solid idea of what they were assembling. When the last box was in place, two men used ropes, planks, and nails to secure the boxes to each other and to the ground. A woman affixed a big metal cap to the end of each box and secured it. Each of the caps was connected, via a series of tubes, pipes, and valves, to a water boiler. All the while, a short man was fiddling with the boiler, and another was carrying water from the lake to fill it. Rust said something, but Manco was too far away to hear. He looked around for a path to approach the group but found nothing. If he got any closer, they would easily spot him. Suddenly¡­ ¡² ''Hello, deer'' has requested Mind Link with you. Do you accept? ¡³ ¡²?Yes¡³¡²No¡³ Manco looked around and spotted the deer-shaped kodama standing on a branch above Rust''s group. He had no idea when or how it had got there. Smiling, he mentally selected "Yes." Immediately, new voices filled his head. He closed his eyes and found that he was on a tree branch overlooking the group. The Mind Link was helping him see and hear through the kodama. He tried asking the creature to move around for a better view and found to his surprise that it complied. "¡­ How is it, Bolt?" Rust asked the boiler fixer. His genial tone replaced with an impatient grunt. "It should work!" The short man replied with a wheezy voice. He moved his hand away from a valve, and immediately a piece of metal fell off. "What the hell do you mean it should work? Either it does or it doesn''t. Which is it?" Rust yelled. His handsome face scrunched up in an ugly scowl. "Sure, Will, keep shouting," the woman interjected, "It''ll solve everything!" "SHUT UP, Trix!" Rust snapped and raised his hand as if preparing to hit the woman "And do NOT call me by that name!" The woman just shrugged and went back to her task. Bolt tried to re-attach the piece of metal for a few more moments then gave up. "Can''t do this, man. We need a blacksmith for this," he said. "Sure. Why don''t you run back to the village and carry the blacksmith back here in, say, 10 minutes?" Rust sarcastically asked: "We don''t have that much time, you idiot!" "Should have thought of that when you take this job" the short man mumbled. "What did you just say?" Rust growled, his voice betraying a threat of violence. Bolt visibly shrank at his tone. "Nothing! I''ll fix this!" he frantically answered and turned back to the boiler. "No need! I''ll do it!" Rust snatched the broken metal part from Bolt''s hand. Holding the metal part, Rust took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. As his brows furrowed in concentration, the part began to soften like clay. Opening his eyes, he reattached the part to the boiler and deactivated the spell. The part immediately hardened and was secured. "I''m getting some rest. You three finish things here! Wake me up in ten!" Rust said, his voice quivering, his face paled. He shambled toward tree several meters away and lied down. The man stacking the box approached Bolt and asked: "I''m done. Now what?" He was tall and muscular but seemed a little slow. "Cover it up with the branches," the woman named Trix replied. Together, the three dragged the branches they had cut in advance toward the bolt launcher and covered it up. "Shouldn''t have taken this job," Wheezy said "We''ve one man short. Doing our usual run is already tough. Now we have this on top too." "I don''t mind," Tall Man shrugged "More work, more pay." He drank from a leather skin and splashed some water over his head and chest to cool off. "Did you forget to take your smart pills again, Lug?" Bolt asked snidely "What''s the point of being paid if you ain''t alive to spend it?" "It''s not that bad," Trix assured him. "The hell it ain''t. The people who hired us to put this thing together is no common gang," Bolt grumbled, kicking at the machine. "And it''s not like we don''t owe any gangs already." "We''re already doing this. No point whining about it!" Trix snapped, having lost patience. "Fine!" Bolt said. He stalked to a tree stump and sat down, scowling. Trix went and sat down next to Rust. Lug looked at each of them, then shrugged and walked to his belongings. He took out some rations and began eating. Through the kodama''s eyes, Manco carefully observed the contraption. The boiler would vaporize water and produce steam, which filled the big tank next to it. After several valves were opened, the steam would be directed to the boxes and shot out of the tubes. Knowing Rust''s group had cleared out Braun''s stock of special crossbow bolt the other day, Manco was certain what would be loaded into the tubes. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.In short, this was a steam-powered bolt launcher. He didn''t question its physical feasibility, after all, this was a fantasy game. He instead focused on the question: "What should I do about this?" He would need Rust''s group for the "Helping Hand" quest which provided access to the location with the gun. There were still other quests that did the same thing, but they would require days of traveling, and he would rather not waste time. Hence, if at all possible, he preferred to leave this group unharmed. On the other hand, a kodama had asked for his help. He was pretty sure that the creature they were planning to hunt was definitely a powerful being and helping it would net him some considerable benefits. After considering his options, he decided the best course of action was to sabotage the machine. Trix, Rust, Bolt and Lug''s positions created a triangle, with the machine in the middle. It would be impossible to mess with the machine without them noticing. At least, normally that would be the case. Fortunately, he already had the best tool for the job right in his hands: the kodama. He tried commanding the kodama to scratch the bark of the branch it was standing on. It did so, and he found the claw phasing through the branch. "So it is incorporeal. Interesting." He mused. There was no other way around it. He would need to physically attack the machine to break it. The kodama looked back and forth. Through its eye, Manco saw that the group weren''t paying attention to the machine. They were all nervously watching the lake, except for Rust, who was sleeping. Manco ran through all the options in his head. Hitting them all with bolts dipped in poison or paralyzing potion might work, but it was impossible to get to all three before they closed in on him. Besides, doing that meant Rust''s group would turn hostile to him, and his quest would be canceled. "How about I shoot at it and run?" Manco mused: "It might work." He couldn''t shoot too early, or the group can fix the machine. Shooting too late would be useless. He needed to time the attack just right to do the most damage. Mahn Li opened the menu and activated ''Aiming Assist.'' The bolt''s estimated trajectory was displayed on his vision. He activated ''Focus Shot'' and ''Aimed Shot,'' then aimed at the metal part that Rust had fixed earlier. "It''s here!" Trix hissed. She poking Rust, who started awake, half drawing his sword. Lug and Bolt lied flat to the ground, eyes fixated on the lake. A creature appeared in the middle of the lake and began walking toward them. From his hiding spot, Manco saw that the creature looked like a gigantic deer. As it came closer, he identified it as [ Misty Forest''s Sacred Dear ]. "Now!" Rust said quietly. Lug and Bolt began firing up the boiler. They had kept ember within the burner. After a minute, a bubbling sound was heard and wisps of steam were coming out of the boiler. The Deer was unhurriedly walking toward the lake shore, Its hooves barely touching the water''s surface. Manco could swear the creature was an illusion if not for the occasional birds landing on its massive antler. "Prepare to clear the branches!" Rust ordered. Trix and Bolts crawled to the front of the machine, next to the branches covering it. Rust crouched next to the valves, eyeing each of them. In a moment, when the deer got in range, he would open them and direct steam to the tubes. The hundreds of bolt launched would definitely wound the creature, if not kill it outright. The Deer was at the shore now. It was heading toward a bowl-shaped stone sitting on a naturally formed stone platform. "Ready!" Rust said. "This is it!" Manco muttered. He carefully took aim. His hands were rock steady as he gently guide the targeting line to the weak spot on the machine. Then he held his breath and¡­ *Twang! The bolt shot from his crossbow and for a moment, time seemed to slow down. Manco watched as the bolt grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely between the mess of pipes and valves. Then¡­ *POP! *HIISSSS! "AArrrgh!" Not sticking around to find out the result of the shot, Manco slipped away. Deftly navigating between the bushes and rocks, he put as much distance between him and the group as possible, ignoring the angry shouts behind him. "F*ck! My eye!" "Calm down, let me have a look!" "Who shot that bolt?" "Did you see anyone?" "No!" ¡­ He reached a large tree. Looking back to make sure the group at the lake could not see him, he climbed up and hid on the thick branches. He searched for the Mind Link with the kodama and found it intact. Closing his eyes again, he watched through the creature''s eyes. The bolt launcher was busted. A section of pipe had a gaping hole in it with steam bursting out. Manco had shot the bolt at the weak point when it had high-pressure steam running through it. The four-person group was huddled together. Trix was bandaging Rust''s head while the other two looked nervously at the Deer. "That''s it! I''m outta here!" Bolt whimpered then turned and, well, bolted away. Lug stared at the creature for another moment then lumbered away after Bolt. Rust was still clutching his head in pain. "Dammit!" He cursed. With one good eye, he glared at the Deer that was slowly walking toward him, as if just looking could kill it. "Come on, Rust! Let''s go!" Trix pleaded, tugging at his shirt. Eventually, he looked away and took Trix''s hand. They fled from the lake. As the group ran past below him, Manco held his breath. When the sounds of footsteps and rustling of leaves were gone, he lowered himself onto the ground and approached the Sacred Deer. Chapter 16: The Blessing Standing over four meters tall, the Sacred Dear was proportioned similarly to an elk, large and powerful but also graceful and elegant. Its skin the color of earth, with bark, moss, grass and small sprouts seemingly growing out of it. A massive set of antler on its head spread to both sides like wings. The antler had a rough texture like tree bark, and its color ranged from light brown to orange. The Deer took slow, regal steps toward the bowl-shaped stone near the lake. Climbing up the stone steps, it lowered its snout and drank from the stone. Afterward, it lifted his head and let out a soft, melancholic cry, and stomped its right front hoof down three times. Manco felt the ground around him tremble slightly, and without warning, an invisible wave of energy exploded out from the Sacred Dear in all directions. Startled, he held up his hands, but the energy washed over him harmlessly and disappeared into the depths of the woods. To his surprise, he felt alert and refreshed. Checking his status effects he found a new entry under the ''Buffs'' tab: ¡º Blessing of Growth ¡» Duration: 47h59m Effects: - Apply Well-fed and Well-rested statuses - Immune to all poisons, diseases and curses - Xp increase + 100% (stack with other buffs) - Skill increase rate + 100% (stack with other buffs) "Damn! What a badass buff!" Manco exclaimed quietly. He wanted to immediately rush away to level up but stopped himself. The Sacred Deer might want to talk to him. Its blessing given, the Deer stepped down from the bowl and approached him. Manco noticed that wherever the hooves touched the ground, the grass and moss would grow a little bit faster. As the creature got closer, Manco held his breath and stared at its majestic figure. The tiny kodama jumped onto the Sacred Deer''s massive antler. Two creatures, one gigantic, one tiny, stood motionless for a moment as they wordlessly conversed. "I don''t believe we have met, o'' friend of the forest," after several minutes, a gentle voice filled his head as the Deer turned to look at him. Its brown eyes were surprisingly human-like, curious and intelligent. "Uh¡­ friend of the forest?" Manco repeated. Surely It must have noticed him massacring rabbits, squirrels wholesale since the morning, right? "Ha ha¡­" the Deer laughed a soundless laugh "Don''t worry about the squirrels. I''m not too fond of them either. They''re always eating the seeds and digging up the sprouts. Makes it hard for new trees to grow." "Oh!" he let out a relieved breath. "So¡­" the Deer looked at the remains of the bolt shooter "¡­ This is what happened to my children. And now they intend to use it on me." The voice remained gentle, but Manco could feel the fury emanating from It. No wonder why Rust''s team high tailed it out of here so fast. "Not that it would hurt me much but¡­" the giant Creature snorted, causing a strong gust of wind that threatened to topple the machine "¡­ it would still be quite troublesome." "Your children¡­?" Manco was under the impression that Rust''s team only arrived in town two days ago. ''When did they have time to kill the Deer''s children? And how did they do it?'' he wondered. "Yes¡­ They bless the forest to help it grow and drive away the corruption. Same thing that I do," the Deer explained, Its voice sorrowful "A year ago there was ten of us. Now there''s only me." ''Ah, so it''s probably not Rust''s group! They were talking about some one hiring them to assemble the machine, and it was not their usual job.'' "I can only do so much to hold back the corruption. Now I am slow and weak. I could only wait for my new children to grow up and take the place of the ones that were gone. It will be a few years. I hope the forest can hold on until then¡­" As the Deer said and looked up at the sky, Manco could see a single drop of tear falling from its eye. He felt a little bad for It. The little kodama on Its antler was lying down contentedly, taking a nap.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "Uh¡­ Is there anything I can do to help?" "Oh?" the Deer turned to him, its brown eyes sizing him up, "There is indeed something you could do to slow down the corruption, but it is very dangerous." ''And rewarding, no doubt'' Manco thought, his mind back on track: "If it''s no trouble to you, please let me know more. I believe I can help." "Very well," with a sigh, the Deer said: "There''s a Corrupter running amok in this area. I can overpower it, but as you can see, I''m in no shape to chase it down. It can sense me and easily elude me. For the last few years, my children and I could only heal the damage it caused. Now that my children are gone, it appears this thing is winning this battle¡­" "¡­As long as it remains in this forest, I can sense its presence. Right now it is in a cave, half a day''s walk from here to the west. It rests during the day, and roams the forest during the night." The Deer closed its eyes, and an image popped into Manco''s head. A cave with fragments of bone and skin outside. The scent of blood and death was oozing from it. No trees or shrub could grow near it. There was no doubt whatever lurking inside was evil and dangerous. He shuddered at the image. "As I said, the Corrupter is extremely agile and dangerous," the Deer continued, opening Its eyes. "I won''t hold it against you if you choose not to face it. If you manage to defeat it, however, I will be forever grateful." "I''ll definitely do my best!" Manco affirmed. ¡²Quest received: "The Corrupter"¡³ (Rare) Looking back to the bolt shooter, the Deer said "You did me a favor. For that, I''d like to give you this." Stepping closer, It gently touched Manco''s forehead with Its snout. ¡² You''ve received Misty Woods Sacred Deer''s gift. New spell added. ¡³ ¡² Spell: Mind Link ¡³ His eyes widened, and he stammered "T¡­ Thank you! This is an amazing gift!" Having experienced how useful Mind Link was, he could not believe the Sacred Deer just simply granted him that spell with no string attached. "I believe you will use it well. I wish you a good day, human." Chucking, the magnificent creature turned away. The Deer walked away with the kodama still lying on its antler and disappeared between the trees. Manco stood there in a daze, Its gentle voice still ringing in his head. "YES!" He shouted and pumped his fist. He just gained an amazing skill, a rare quest, and a powerful buff that would last two whole days! Damn! He gotta fight as fast as possible and level up. Maybe he should scope out that Corrupter cave? If he could defeat it under the buff, his leveling speed would be well ahead of schedule!! "What do I do? What do I do?" His mind spinning, he re-arranged his tasks. He needed to get back to town, train a new Crossbow technique, clear his inventory, buy some supplies¡­ It was now 11:00 am in the game. He was quite deep in Misty Woods. It would take half an hour to go back to town, which was a waste. The only other choice was¡­ His mind made up, he approached the bolt launcher and touched one of the boxes. ¡²Looting Broken Bolt Launcher box #2¡³ ¡²Items contained: ¡³ ? Armor-piercing bolts (196) ? Split-head bolts (187) ? Sickle head bolts (190) ¡²?Pick up all ¡³¡² Leave ¡³ He selected "Pick up all" and did the same with the rest of the boxes, gaining roughly 2400 bolts of each type. He turned to the boiler and checked it. The only lootable thing was some scrap iron, which was cheap and too heavy, so he ignored it. Looking around once again to make sure he did not miss anything, he ran into the lake and submerged himself under water. Two uncomfortable minutes later, Manco the Face Wrecker died his first death. ¡² You have died. Cause of death: Drowning ¡³ ¡² Item durability decreased. Please avoid dying too often ¡³ ¡² No items dropped for characters below level 20 ¡³ ¡² Time until respawn: 4m55s ¡³ ¡²? To Menu ¡³¡² Log out ¡³ Mahn Li decisively selected "Log out." ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ As sensation returned to his real body, Mahn Li rushed out of the bed. His legs gave out from under him and he faceplanted on the floor with a painful "splat!" "Ow!" he mumbled, rubbing his chin. Checking the time, he found that it was 8:45 a.m. Earlier, he had slept at 12 a.m and waken up at 4.30 a.m. After a quick snack, he had been playing for about 4 hours. Mahn Li prepared a bowl of instant noodle with sausages and eggs. While it was cooking, he replaced his sweaty mattress cover, went to the bathroom and took care of business, took a quick shower and made a cup of instant coffee. He hastily ate and drank coffee, almost burning his tongue several times. Upon finishing his meal, Mahn Li glanced at the clock. 8:55 a.m. He had finished everything in 10 minutes. Checking his phone to make sure he did not miss anything important, he lied back on the bed and turned on the VR rig. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ¡²--- NOTIFICATION ---¡³ ¡²--- Welcome to the Epoch of Liberty ---¡³ ¡­ Chapter 17: The Preparation ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Mistwood Village ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ When the world materialized around him, Manco was lying on the bed in his room on the tavern''s second floor. Yesterday he had paid for the room for a whole week and it was set as his spawn point. Briefly checking his equipment, he found that each piece had their durability reduced by 2 or 3 points, nothing serious. Springing out of the bed, he left his room and rushed downstairs. Stopping by the general store, Manco sold Araun most of the bolt he looted from Rust''s bolt shooter, keeping only 100 of each type of special bolts. Nearly seven thousand bolts net him a tidy 25 ducats. Browsing through the weapons, he asked: "You got any shield that doesn''t interfere with using a crossbow?" Looking at him incredulously, the shop master replied: "Never heard of one. The only type of crossbowmen that uses a shield is the type fighting on a battlefield. And they use a big shield to take cover while reloading." "Hmm," Manco grunted. He wanted something to hold a creature at bay when it got in melee range. In wide open areas he could easily dodge; after all, he had the alertness and reflexes honed by a decade playing an assassin character. However, in the forest, dodging would be more difficult, especially when he headed deeper where the trees were denser. "How about an armguard?" Araun asked, "If you''re fighting animals, it''s not much worse than a shield." The shop master pointed at an armguard made of leather and metal. It would completely cover his forearm and most of his upper arm. ? Full armguard ?(Common) ¡î¡î Type: Armor - Slot: Hands, Forearm - Material: Leather, Steel Armor: Left Arm (6) or Right Arm (6) Resistances: Stabbing (15%) Slashing (15%) Crushing (7%) Description: Made of leather reinforced with steel, the arm guard provides decent protection against stabbing and slashing attacks, but limits mobility somewhat. Can be worn on either arm. Weight: 1.0 kg Durability: 40/40 ¡ªo¡ª "Looks good!" Manco nodded. He bought one and wore it on his left arm. He tried moving around and found his movements relatively unimpeded. Next, he selected a dagger whose weight he was comfortable with. Taking out a vial of [Mild Poison] and one of [Mild Paralyzing Potion] he applied them both onto the blade. This would further improve his odds during close combat fights. After he was done, he inspected the dagger again. ? Belzhorian Heavy Dagger ?(Common) ¡î¡ï > Type: Dagger (One-handed) > Requirement: STR 4 > Damage: 10-12 > Effects: - Chance to poison target (Duration: 25 strikes) - Chance to cause paralysis on target (Duration: 25 strikes) > Description: A popular weapon among dubious characters. It has been coated with several a mild poison and a mild paralyzing agent, making the user seem even more dubious. > Weight: 0.95 kg > Durability: 37/40 ¡ªo¡ª Nodding, Manco put it in a leather sheath and strapped it to his back, just above the belt. "You have any holy water around here?" He asked Araun "Or is there a priest in this village?" "None that I know of," the shop owner replied "Wait! You''re thinking of heading further west, into the decayed part?" Off his nod, Araun sighed: "It''s ya business, but that''s suicidal! Even master Gwyndham didn''t come back in one piece. I''d advise ya to stay away from there, lad." Nodding his thanks, Manco left the general store and visited Gwyndham. The master archer was not at home. Instead, he was standing on one of the watchtowers overlooking the south gate. Climbing up the watchtower, Manco saw that he was staring unblinkingly at the direction of the Misty Woods. "Good morning, Master Gwyndham," Manco said, "I''d like to train more crossbow techniques." "Fine," said the master, "What do you want to learn?" At level 20, two Crossbow techniques are unlocked: ¡ºCrippling Shot¡» and ¡ºPower Shot¡». Power Shot simply knocked down the target if they failed a combined Strength and Constitution check. Crippling Shot caused a status effect depending on the body part that was hit. For example, hitting the arm would cause the target to be inflicted with one of the statuses like "Numb arm", "Dislocated arm" or even "Broken arm" if they fail a Constitution check. The status effect would disappear after a short time, but it would still provide a great opening for him to either attack or flee.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Both were crowd-control techniques. For Manco, Crippling Shot was definitely more versatile and useful. He paid 5 ducats for the training. Wordlessly taking the money, Gwyndham waved him away and turned back toward the woods. ''Maybe the rumor is true that he''s waiting for someone?'' Manco wondered. "Are you, perchance, waiting for anyone?" he asked expectantly. It would be nice if there was another quest in line. "None of your business!" The master said curtly and waved his hand to dismiss him. It looks like he would have to change his approach. "Uh¡­ I''m heading deeper into the west. There''s this Corrupter I''m planning to deal with. Do you know anyone around here with Holy water?" That got Gwyndham''s attention. "I''d persuade you to leave it be. But I know you won''t listen. So take this." The old man said with a sigh. He reached into his satchel and took out a small vial which he handed it to Manco. ? Gwyndham''s vial of water ?(Unique) > Type: Consumable > Effects: - Cause damage against creatures tainted by Corruption. > Description: Blessed water owned by Gwyndham the master archer. It can be applied to weapons or sprinkled onto Corrupted creatures. > Weight: 0.15 kg ¡ªo¡ª Manco thanked Gwyndham and left the village. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Misty Woods ? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Manco activated Arcane Surge and checked his character sheet. ¡³ ===? Character Info ?=== ¡² ¡³ ===? General ? > Name: Manco the Face Wrecker > Class: Crimson Mage > Level: 10 (0.05%) ¡³ ===? Pri. attributes ? >>> Free attribute points: 17 > Strength: 8 > Awareness: 15 > Coordination: 12 > Intelligence: 40 > Willpower: 23 > Constitution: 8 > Charisma: 11 ¡³ ===? Sec. attributes ? > HP: 120/120 >> HP regen: + 0.9/s (0.6/s + 50% Well-fed) > SP: 89/140 >> SP regen: + 1.05/s (0.7/s + 50% Well-fed) > MP: 315/315 (-200 reserved for Arcane Surge) >> MP regen: + 7.725/s (5.15/s + 50% Well-rested) ¡³ ===? Traits ? > Animal Whisperer > In tune with Nature ¡­ Manco was happy that the two traits "Animal Whisperer" and "In tune with Nature" were already paying dividends. He was not entirely sure which of them had caused the kodama to approach him (might even be the "Raised in a Circus" background, who knew), but he was absolutely certain that it was not just dumb luck. He was at the right place at the right time, yes, but he also fulfilled some hidden conditions to trigger the encounter and by extension, the quest. Wiping the grin off his face, he focused on his new leveling target: the Mana Bolt spell. ¡º Mana Bolt (lv8) ¡» - Type: Active. Damage. Cast time: Instant - Mana cost: 15 (10 + 50% Arcane Surge) - Element: Neutral - Damage: 8.5 (7 + 20% Arcane Surge) - Cooldown: 0.45s With Arcane Surge active, he had 315 MP to fight with. Divided by the cost of 15 MP made 21 bolts. Taking MP regen into consideration (while he fired the first 21 bolts, his mana would still regenerate) he could fire about 26 bolts before running empty. After that, he would have to wait for about 2 seconds to fire one bolt, or rest for about 40 seconds to fully regenerate 315 MP. "Shooting for 10 seconds, then rest for 40 seconds. That''s too inefficient!" He lamented. The cooldown for Mana Bolt is 0.45 seconds. If he fired it off at the maximum rate of fire, it would take about 10 seconds to fire off 21 bolts. "Wait! Dammit! What was I thinking?" He chided himself. It was not like the creatures would just line up obediently to be killed! After each kill, he would have to look for new targets. If he fought a predator, he might only be able to get off a few shots before it closed in anyway. It was unlikely that he would use Mana Bolt often enough to run out of mana. Even if he did, he already had a few potions on him. His mind made up, Manco stopped bothering with the numbers and headed deeper into the woods. Perhaps thanks to the Sacred Deer''s Blessing, the forest around him was much more alive. The ground, which was previously covered with dead leaves and moss, was now dotted with small sprouts. The trees seemed greener, and the animals were more active. All the while he heard the chirping of birds and knocking of woodpeckers. Manco continued hunting the small animals: Rabbits, Squirrels. Occasionally he would find snakes or lizards. The Arcane-Surged Mana Bolt worked well, he was not in any danger, and he never did run out of mana because of ample time between fights. Half an hour later, Manco reached the spot where he met the Sacred Dear. The bolt launcher had de-spawned, and all traces of the encounter with Rust had vanished. Various woodland creatures like deer, chipmunks, and birds were gathering around the stone-shaped bowl, scrambling to drink the water that had been blessed by the Sacred Deer earlier. To be respectful to the Deer, he decided against harming those creatures. Wait a minute! Blessed? "Shit!" Manco shouted. How did he not think of this? He rushed toward the stone, kicking and elbowing the creatures out of the way. They screeched in protest, clearly offended by the stranger who was cutting in the queue. Ignoring the bites, scratches and pecks, he climbed up the steps and peered into the stone-shaped bowl. Only a tiny puddle of water was left, and it was being rapidly consumed by a flock of birds. "Piss off!" Manco waved the birds away. He collected the remaining bit of water, which was only enough to fill two small vials. ? Vial of Blessed morning dew ? > Type: Consumable > Effects: - Cause damage against creatures tainted by Corruption. - Cure mild curses and diseases. > Description: Morning dew blessed by Misty Woods'' Sacred Deer. It can be consumed, applied onto weapons or sprinkled onto corrupted creatures. > Weight: 0.15 kg ¡ªo¡ª "Dammit! I knew I was forgetting something!" Shaking his head in regret, Manco jumped down from the stone and continued west, ignoring the scorned woodland animals staring daggers at him. Chapter 18: The Hunt At this point, Manco had figured out the reason for the strange absence of predators. It was due to the Sacred Deer''s presence. He recalled the hunt with Brennda yesterday. Most of the predators in they ran into were of the corrupted kind: Gray Panther, Wicked Coyotes, Diseased Wolves and so on. They had all been warped in varying degrees. Normal predators often hunt only for food or fight for territories, but the corrupted ones were always ferocious and would kill or maim indiscriminately. As the Sacred Deer are capable of purifying corruption, It naturally repelled these creatures. Fifteen minutes later, he ran into the first predator of the day: a Diseased Gray Wolf. The thing was chomping on something that looked like a rabbit carcass. Readying his crossbow, Manco activated ¡¸Crippling Shot¡¹ then pulled the trigger. *Twang -12! A red number floated off the wolf as the bolt embedded itself into its rear leg. Growling with pain and anger, it turned around and glared at Manco. Blood and bits of flesh dripped from is gaping maw. Its face had numerous boils and rots, its eyes blood red, giving it a sinister appearance. While the creature limped toward him, he calmly loaded the second bolt. ¡¸Crippling Shot¡¹ -22! The second shot hit it between the eyes, both Blinding it and Dislocating its neck. Blinding was the default effect of attacks that land near the eye and Dislocated Neck was the effect of Crippling Shot. The creature''s neck was bent at a bizarre angle and it struggled to walk straight. Wasting no time, Manco held up his left hand and let loose one Mana Bolt after another. He tried his best to hit it in the head. -10! -11! -21! -23! After the Dislocated Neck debuff wore off, the wolf slowly got up, but remain blinded. Manco shot another ¡¸Crippling Shot¡¹ at it for good measure. After a minute, the last bit of HP was gone and the wolf lay still. ¡²Creature "Weak Gray Wolf" (lv 12) killed¡³ ¡²1462 xp gained¡³ (680 x 215%) He then harvested the creature for its pelt, fang, meat, sinew and retrieved the crossbow bolts lodged on its body. The meat was poisonous, but still edible after being processed. Besides, he could use it as bait. Then he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. Turning around he saw three Diseased Dingoes. Upon realizing they had been seen, they stopped approaching and watched him, as if trying to look for an opening. Reaching behind his back with his right hand Manco unsheathed his knife. Giving it a slight twirl, he held it in a reverse grip, edge facing forward. Simultaneously, he bent his knees and lowered his body into a fighting stance. His muscles coiled, anticipating actions. Extending his left hand, he made a "come hither" motion. "C''mon you sons a'' bitches," he said with a cocky grin, " let''s dance!" The dingoes were experienced pack hunters. They split up and attacked from three directions, one rushed straight in, while the other two flanked him. The one at the front rushed in but stopped just before getting within his arm''s reach. The real attacks were from the other two. The one on his right aimed at his leg, counting on his attention being focused on the front. The one on the left jumped straight for his throat. That was a pretty well-coordinated attack. Against any less experienced fighter, they might very well have succeeded. Too bad they were against a former assassin. ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹! -23! He greeted the dingo aiming at his throat with a mana bolt to the face. Twisting his body, he avoided its blind lunge. At the same time, his right leg shifted, avoiding the second dingo''s jaw. The dagger in his hand stabbed down its neck, drawing blood and pumping poison as well as a paralytic agent into its vein. -20! -2! -3! The dingo at his front stared at him in confusion, as if wondering how their coordinated attack did not work. He blasted it in the face with another mana bolt.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Taking advantage of the three dingoes being incapacitated, he slashed at each of them with the knife, letting the poison and paralyzing potion take effect. At the same time, he shot off one mana bolt after another to chip away at their health. The dingoes never recovered from the initial assault. At least one was always kept in a paralyzed state and had its mobility reduced, while the rest were either stunned, blinded or both. Manco only got bit once and scratched twice for negligible damage. After two minutes, two dingoes lay dead and the third turned tail and limped away, only to be cut down with a ¡¸Crippling Shot¡¹ then several mana bolts. ¡²Creature "Diseased Dingo" (lv 10) killed¡³ ¡² 1268 xp gained¡³ (590 x 215%) ¡²Creature "Diseased Dingo" (lv 11) killed¡³ ¡² 1398 xp gained¡³ (650 x 215%) ¡²Creature "Diseased Dingo" (lv 12) killed¡³ ¡² 1548 xp gained¡³ (720 x 215%) The combined effects of ¡ºWell-rested¡» and ¡ºBlessing of Growth¡» were doing wonder for his leveling speed. He had only killed four creatures and his xp bar to level 11 was already 30% full. "Whew!" Manco took a rest to let his (virtual) heart slow down and his stamina recover. It felt good to be able to fight with the close quarter style he was used to. He knew it was only possible against low leveled mobs like this. For creatures that were stronger and possessed more resistance to status effects, his tricks would not work, only raw firepower would. Nevertheless, he would enjoy this while it lasted. After harvesting the slain dingoes, Manco resumed hunting. With the Tracking skill, he identified a frequently traveled path and designated it as his leveling spot. Manco selected a few big trees with plenty of branches. He took out a coil of rope and cut a dozen shorter lengths from it. Climbing one tree, he secured one end of the rope to a solid branch and let the other end drop to the ground. He repeated the step with two more branches. Eventually, he rappelled to the ground using one of the ropes, then used another to climb up. Inspecting his handiwork, he nodded in satisfaction. This tree would serve as his emergency escape if he got overwhelmed. Once he made it up to the branches he would be relatively safe from animal attacks, except when the animal in question could fly or climb trees. As he was working on the second tree, a Grey Panther walked by, carrying a leg in its mouth. After sizing up Manco, it dropped the leg and stalked closer. "Oh? You wanna play, big cat?" He smiled, drawing his dagger. The corrupted animals always thirsted for a hunt, even when they were full. This made this forest perfect for leveling if one could deal with them. The fight was over in a minute. As he had grown more competent with using mana bolt, he could easily hit the creature''s eye, blinding it. Even without the poison and paralyzing potion, he made short work of the panther and went back to his task. Fifteen minutes, two Diseased Dingoes, and three Wicked Coyotes later, Manco was the proud owner of five "escape trees" scattered over an area of about three hundred square meters, and an assortment of pelts, teeth, sinew, and meat. "Now for the bait," said Manco as he dropped several pieces of raw meat on the trails. He also threw several more in each direction to attract the animals. His hunting ground complete, he settled on one of the trees to observe. Once in a while he opened his crafting screen to create more potions and process the pelts. Several minutes later, three dingoes approached the area, drawn by the scent of raw meat (which might have belonged to their own kind). As they were fighting over the bloody scraps, a panther showed up. After staring at each other for a few moments, the two sides began approaching each other. Then in a blink of an eye, they converged and became entangled in a blur of claws, teeth, and fur. The sound of growling, biting and tearing filled the air. The moss-covered forest floor around them was splattered with blood and viscera. When the fight neared the end, two dingoes were lying on the ground with grievous wounds, panting. The last dingo was barely standing, with several deep gashes on its side and one of its front legs was reduced to a bloody stump. The panther fared no better, with a shredded hind leg and a missing eye. They stood one meter from each other, unwilling to continue, but also hesitate to show weakness. ¡¸Crippling Shot¡¹! ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹! ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹! That was when Manco decided to intervene. Having incapacitated the dingo, he engaged the panther. After the big cat was dead, he killed the dingo. Then he finished off the wounded dingoes. ¡²Creature "Diseased Dingo" (lv 12) killed¡³ ¡² 1548 xp gained¡³ (720 x 215%) ¡²Level up! Your level is now 11!¡³ ¡²Int +2; Wil +1¡³ ¡²Free attribute points + 2 (Total 19)¡³ Noting he received full experience despite only dealing the last few blows on the half-dead mobs, he climbed up one of the trees again after harvesting the body. The next few hours followed the same pattern. He instigated the monster to fight amongst themselves, swooped in to finish off the victors and the half-dead losers, then harvested the body. It was not the most "honorable" way to fight, but he did not care. Efficiency was king here. Occasionally new predators would join the fight before he could claim the kills and kill steal from him, but then nothing was perfect. Once the place was crowded enough, Manco did not leave the tree. Instead, he stayed on the branches and trained his Mana Bolt spell or finish off the heavily wounded animals. A few hours later¡­ The hunting ground was littered with a couple hundred of bodies of wolves, dingoes, panthers and other four-legged predators. The smell of diseased blood and excrement became so overwhelming that Mahn Li had to turn down the intensity of the sense of smell in the game option. Once every few minutes, two or three new packs of predators would show up. There was more than enough food for them to just ignore each other and eat in peace. However, the creatures were wired to kill everything not belonging to their kind. They kept fighting each other, while Manco reaped the rewards. Manco had gained another four levels, bringing him to level 15. Chapter 19: Night in the Forest Manco had gained another four levels, bringing him to level 15. His crossbow mastery was stuck at 20 due to the cap, so he only occasionally use ¡¸Crippling Shot¡¹ to reduce the number of threats he had to deal with. His mana bolt spell reached level 11, and an additional variant was unlocked. After another skirmish, Manco sat on a branch and inspected his modest spell arsenal. ¡º Mana Bolt (lv11) ¡» - Type: Active. Damage. Cast time: Instant - Mana cost: 15 (10 + 50% Arcane Surge) - Element: Neutral - Damage: 9.6 (8 + 20% Arcane Surge) - Cool down: 0.42s ¡ªo¡ª Among the EoL community, Mana Bolt was universally considered the joke spell. Available to every spell caster, it was notoriously bland and boring. It did neutral damage, and its visual effect - a transparent, shimmering projectile - was virtually unchanged from level 1 to 100, except higher level bolts looking a little larger. To add insult to injury, the spell was also bugged. As a tier I skill, it could theoretically be maxed out by a level 50 character, but for some reason, the improving rate slowed down to a crawl after the spell reached level 30. The first and only player to ever max out Mana Bolt was a level 301 Black Mage. Since leveling spells was done by dealing damage with it, this mage reportedly used Mana Bolt almost exclusively for 3 years, or a whopping over 9,000 hours of play. His gameplay videos showed that at level 100 each bolt did 50 damage and cool down became 0.1 seconds, resulting in a DPS of 500 without buffs. While it performed decently, it was not particularly outstanding, especially considering the amount of work involved. The Black Mage''s dedication to something so soul-numbingly boring was applauded for about one week then promptly forgotten. People only remember how notoriously tiring it was to max out Mana Bolt. Some players demanded Immersive Interaction to fix the spell, but most simply did not care. Eventually, the spell was never fixed and became a shorthand for hard work with little result to show for it. Manco was not too impressed with this spell, but he found it adequate for now. What he was truly aiming at was the skill that it would unlock at level 20. Mana Bolt unlocked one additional skill or spell every 10 levels. He turned his attention to the first spell that Mana Bolt had unlocked. ¡¸Mana Blast¡¹ - Type: Active, Damage. Cast time: 2.5 x Mana Bolt cooldown (Charge) - Mana cost: Variable. Maximum 1.5 x Mana Bolt mana cost - Element: Neutral - Damage: Variable. Maximum 2.0 x Mana Bolt damage - Cooldown: 0s ¡ª.¡ª To use the spell, he would need to cast and hold it in his hand. After a specific duration (depending on Mana Bolt''s cooldown), it would be fully charged and could be released. If he discharged the spell before it was fully charged, it would cost less mana and also do less damage. The Blast was a mixed bag. From the Damage-Per-Second standpoint, it seemed lacking compared to the Bolt. It did 2 times more damage but took 2.5 times as long to cast. However, it had a small "explosion" effect, so when used against crowds, it would not lose against the Bolt. In addition, from the efficiency point of view, it was superior to the Bolt, costing 50% more mana and doing 100% more damage. It could not be upgraded, and damage per second was scaled based on Bolt, so its usefulness was ultimately tied to that of Bolt. Manco checked the in-game clock. The time was 7:30 p.m. The last rays of sunlight were disappearing, and darkness was encroaching. "Time for bed!" he muttered to himself. Upon leaving Mistwood Village, Manco had decided he would spend the night in the forest. He would sleep on one of the trees, and at first light tomorrow, he would scout the Corrupter''s cave and might try confronting it. He was also aching to try out the Mind Link spell. Although he wanted to harvest the rest of the animal carcasses, he decided against it. At night, all sorts of dangerous creatures would roam about the forest. Coupled with poor visibility at night, he would only put himself in danger if he stayed out in the open. Sighing, he moved away from the killing ground which was now covered with more than a hundred animal carcasses. Slowly he adjusted the sense simulation back to the normal level. Wincing from the combined odor of a hundred odd dead bodies, he made his way to another "escape tree" that was the furthest away. After climbing up the tree and pulling up all the ropes, he made his way up until he found a spot that was both comfortable and well hidden. With ropes and pieces of leather, he fashioned together a makeshift harness, which he used to secure himself. Then he covered himself with a brown blanket for warmth. Manco was soon proved right to be careful. When the last ray of sunlight disappeared completely, the forest was covered in complete darkness. The air was still, save for the sounds of leaves blowing in the wind. Manco kept still, letting the passive Camouflage skill take effect. He listened intently, and soon, he began hearing sounds. The sounds of the nocturnal creatures. They crawled, stalked, slithered and scurried about. They growled and chittered. In complete darkness, it was easy to be overwhelmed by so many sinister sounds made by unseen creatures, but Manco was unfazed. He was familiar with it. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Nevertheless, he still felt a little uncomfortable when he heard the creatures squealing in delight, presumably as they saw the corpses of the corrupted animals. With great vigor, they rushed toward the banquet and soon, ripping and tearing sounds were heard along with grunts of pleasure and snarls of discontent. Double checking to make sure he was well hidden, Manco opened the menu and selected the option to Log out. ¡²--- LOGGING OUT ---¡³ ¡²--- Please wait until the device powers off completely ---¡³ ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ As Mahn Li stretched his body, he looked at the digital clock which showed 1:05 pm. When he logged out, the in-game time was 7.50 pm. Night time was eight hours, which meant he would need to log in four hours from now to take advantage of the in-game daylight. "Okay, what do I do now?" For the next 20 hours (or 40 hours in-game) he would be under a buff that increased experience gain, so it was tempting to keep leveling. However, Mahn Li knew better. Playing non-stop would only help a little in the short term while costing him dearly in the long run. He learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago. He decided he would need to figure out a schedule to keep himself healthy. Reluctantly, he began cleaning up his apartment. He would be stuck here in the foreseeable future, so it would be a good idea to make it look less like a pig sty and a potential health hazard. Opening the tiny window for the air to circulate, he grabbed several large bags and began stuffing them with things he knew he would not need. Books of old subjects that he had been too lazy to throw out, broken electronics, old clothes, decks of cards, game boxes, cheap action figures, and other knick-knacks. Opening the fridge he cleaned out all the expired or rotten food and wiped it clean. He began vacuuming the room, which was quick as the place was tiny. Then he did the dishes and put them back on the dish rack. The clock showed 1:41 pm. "Damn! It ''s only been 35 minutes?" he grumbled. "Oh, right! I''ll do the laundry!" Gathering the sweat-soaked mattress covers and blankets, he carried them to the apartment block''s common laundry room and stuffed them into the empty washer-dryer machine. It would be done in about an hour. Back to his room he dragged out a clean mattress and blanket and replaced them on the bed. Mahn Li then ordered some grocery from the supermarket downstairs to be delivered to his apartment. As he was no gourmet chef, he deliberately picked the easy-to-cook food such as eggs and leafy vegetables which could be boiled. He also ordered rice and beans and rounded the purchases with soy sauce and some bananas. This was not the most healthy way to eat but it was still better than instant noodles while being cheaper than eating at food stalls. When the groceries arrived he made a meal of steamed rice and beans, with boiled eggs and vegetables dipped in soy sauce. He avoided watching the news and concentrated on eating instead. After the meal, he cleaned up, took a shower and retrieved the laundry from the laundry room. It was now 3:55, an hour left until it was morning in game. Setting his alarm for an hour he lied down for a quick nap. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ? Death Forest ?[1] ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Opening his eyes, Manco was glad to find all his limbs intact. Glancing at the notifications flashing at the edge of his vision, he opened them. ¡² Mastery improved: Camouflage. Level ? 7 ¡³ ¡² Mastery improved: Camouflage. Level ? 8 ¡³ ¡­ ¡² Mastery improved: Camouflage. Level ? 17 ¡³ (Soft cap exceeded. Leveling speed reduced by 98%) Overnight, probably hundreds of creatures had walked by under him while unaware of his presence. As he was lying still in a branch thick with leaves and covering himself, the game had considered him to be ''using camouflage'' and has awarded mastery points accordingly. Putting away the blanket and undoing his harness, Manco made his way to the ground and walked toward yesterday''s leveling spot. All of the hundred carcasses were consumed in one way or another. Some were simply missing their soft parts like the bellies or thighs and had the head intact. Others were torn apart, as shown by the broken, twisted piles of bones that were left. Others were seemingly eaten from the inside out, with only a skeleton covered in skin left. Shrugging with indifference, Manco walked among the gruesome looking corpses and began checking them for loot. The ones that were eaten from the inside out left surprisingly intact pelts, which was a welcome gift. Others yielded tooth, sinew, and bits of meat. Occasionally there were some human items such as rings, earrings, bracelets, and even coin purses. The place was strangely quiet, with no more predators approaching. "Could it be because the dead bodies scared them off?" The creatures had probably learned that this place was dangerous. Apparently, they were not always vicious and suicidal as he thought. "Well, that simplifies things!" Chuckling, Manco opened his map and looked for the Corruptor''s cave. Now, where could he find a scout? ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Footnotes: [1] From Misty Woods, keeping going west would eventually take players to the area called Death Forest. Chapter 20: The Cave of Lament After searching for a few moments, Manco saw a Fire Gecko lazing outside a hollow log. From its nose to the tip of its tail, the creature was twice as long as his forearm. It was covered in scales the color of tree barks, with glowing red spots along its back. The gecko was munching on some insects it just roasted. "Hey, buddy!" He called to it, trying his best to sound harmless, "I kinda need your help for a bit. Do you mind?" As he spoke, he slowly approached it. His outstretched right hand carried a handful of dried nuts and mushrooms, some of the gecko''s favorite treats. The reptile turned to him and snorted, blowing out some hot air. After a few silent moments, it approached him and accepted the offerings. Letting out a relieved sigh, Manco scooped it up in his arm and carried it toward the Corruptor''s cave. The cave was on the side of a small, barren gray hill, quite out of place from the rest of the forest. From his hiding spot a hundred meters away, Manco could not see anything past its pitch black opening. Opening the menu he checked the Mind Link spell. ¡ºMind Link¡» (lv. 1) - Type: Sustained, Control. Cast time: 5 sec - Mana cost: 15 to activate + 150 to maintain - Description: + Take control of a non-sentient creature. The caster can see and hear through the creature''s eyes and ears. + The creature might resist the spell and sever the Mind Link with a successful Willpower check against caster''s Willpower and spell level. One check every 1.5 minutes. - Level 1: + Max duration: 300 seconds + Max range: 200 meters + Max number of creatures: 1 ¡ªo¡ª The spell seemed a lot weaker than what the kodama had used. Which was understandable, considering the tiny creature was born out of a minor deity, and that it willingly allowed him to control it. "Okay, buddy. Here we go!" Manco said to the Fire Gecko and used the Mind Link spell on it. The creature squirmed in his hands as a notification appeared. ¡² Mind Link failed. The creature has resisted the spell. ¡³ "Damn it!" He tried again. ¡² Mind Link succeeded. ¡³ "Yes!" Manco gently set the gecko on the ground. After that, he closed his eyes. The gecko vision was¡­ strange, to say the least. Its two eyes were on two sides of its head and could move in two different directions, which disoriented Manco quite a bit. After a minute he was nauseous as if suffering from motion sickness. Unable to endure any longer, he disconnected the spell to take a rest, then tried again. Eventually, he got the hang of the lizard''s quirky vision and ordered it to approach the cave. Steeling himself at the bizarre sensation of moving so close to the ground, he focused on the cave''s mouth ahead. Fifty meters¡­ Twenty meters¡­ There were no trees or shrubs on the way. The ground was covered with bits of bones and pieces of skin. The lizard passed several rib cages. Then came many skulls, some partially crushed, others with holes in them. Eventually, it reached the cave and headed inside. After a few seconds, the gecko''s eyes got used to the darkness and the vision became green-tinted. Manco began observing his surroundings. The outermost section of the cave was narrow and cramped. The floor was uneven, littered with loose rocks and animal remains. He commanded the gecko to head in deeper. After several dozen meters, the narrow pathway opened up into a spacious area. The ground here was surprisingly flat as if by human hands. At the center of the area, he saw a house. A small house, or more precisely, a cottage seemingly made out of bamboo and dried palm leaves, was standing there. Right outside was a large flat rock acting as a table, and a chair made out of a tree stump. Observing the strange arrangement, Manco had a sense of deja vu. Then it hit him. It was similar to Gwyndham''s place as seen from the outside. A simple bamboo-and-leaf cottage, with a table and a chair in front. Then something moved from inside the cottage. A black shadow emerged from the door and flew straight at the gecko. Unable to react, Manco watched as one of the shadow''s limbs swiped at the gecko, sending it crashing against the cave wall. Before Mind Link was broken, he caught a glimpse of the shadow as it swiftly made its way to the cave''s entrance. "Shit. It found me!" He realized. Then there was a rustle of leaves above his head. The hair on his neck stood up as a breeze blew on it. A voice sounded in his ear. "My, my¡­ What do we have here?" Before Manco could even turn around, a powerful force gripped his torso. He found himself pressed down on the ground, then dragged toward the cave. Turning his head, he saw a figure pulling him effortlessly. It looked like it was made out of black smoke, but was quite solid. He could make out a faintly humanoid shape within. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Early rays of sunlight fell on its smoke-like skin, causing parts of it to burst into flame and flake off. The shadowy figure paid it no mind and kept rushing toward the cave entrance. ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹! ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹! Manco''s efforts to free himself were futile as the shadow easily avoided the two mana bolts. Thinking fast, he aimed his next few shots at the crooked limb wrapping around his torso. ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹! -3 *Whack! -43 This time, the thing reacted violently. After the limb was hit by a mana bolt, it lifted him up and slammed him onto the ground. Air left his body as a big chunk of his health was shaved off by a simple attack. ¡² You have entered mini-dungeon: Cave of Lament. ¡³ ¡² You were the first to enter this location. ¡³ ¡² Xp gain + 100% ¡³ ¡² Item drop rate + 50% ¡³ ¡² You have received title "Pioneer I" ¡³ The thing dragged him into the cave, past the narrow pathway. Manco grunted as the small rocks cut into his body. -1! -2! -1! Thanks to his armor, the damage from each cut was negligible. However, several dozen of them would eventually add up and consume his meager health. Thankfully, when they had made it to the spacious inner area, the shadow let go of him. Grabbing a big boulder like it was made of paper mache, it blocked the pathway. It looked like it intended to keep him here for a while. Manco quickly got to his feet, his whole body screaming in protest. Grabbing a vial of health potion from his belt he drank it and felt the pain subsiding. "How rude! Snooping around someone''s house like that!" Turning to him, the shadow spoke. Its inhuman voice was screeching like fingernails on a chalkboard, causing him to wince. The Corruptor was not much taller than Manco. After looking closely he could confirm it was a humanoid figure cloaked by a shadowy substance that was constantly shifting around, completely obscuring its features. "Uh, will you let it go if I say I''m sorry?" He replied, stalling for time. Normally a sentient-type boss monster would begin to monologue a little, giving him some time to plan his moves. "Ah ha ha! How cute! I like that!" the voice continued, "Apologies won''t cut it. What were you doing out there?" "I was just hunting," using the conversation assistance, Manco attempted to stall while observing his surroundings. Dotting the walls and ceilings were glowing stones, illuminating the whole place, for which he was thankful as he would not have to fight in the dark. Save for the cottage, the table, and the chair, the cavernous area was almost barren. There were no grass, mushroom or even moss in here. No living thing could survive for long around a Corruptor. "Hunting, huh?" the shadow laughed, its laughter sounded like a dozen men coughing through phlegm-clogged throats, "That cow sent you here, didn''t it? I can sense its magic that you use! I can smell its stench on you!¡­" While the shadow busied itself insulting the Sacred Dear, he considered his options. Leaving was probably out of the question. The shadow already blocked the exit with that boulder. He was nowhere near strong enough to move it and had no way of destroying it, either. He might be able to goad the shadow into accidentally break the boulder with its spells or melee attacks, but he did not count on it. The other option was fighting, which he was much more in favor of. Running would serve little purpose. There was nothing in the town that could significantly raise his chance of dealing with this Corruptor. What he had with him right now was as good as possible. The rest depended on his skills. Dying was not much of a problem for him, either. He was level 15, and items would not drop before level 20. He could die once, go back to town, fixed up his damaged gear, and try again. It might be tedious, but not impossible¡­ ¡º Soul Tethering ¡» A blue sphere shot out from the Corruptor and hit Manco. It exploded into multiple light particles and disappeared, leaving a thin transparent blue line connecting his body to somewhere inside the hut. The blue line then slowly faded. The spell did not cause any damage, but Manco''s face paled. Opening the status screen, his worry was confirmed as he stared at the new status effect. ¡º Tethered Soul ¡» - Duration: 23h59m - After dying, target will respawn at tethered location - Spell expires when the caster is dead, the target has died 10 times, or after 24 hours. "Dammit!" He gritted his teeth. Chapter 21: The Corruptor (Part 1) "Corruptors" was an umbrella term for a special category of mini-bosses. According to the game''s lore, they were errant souls that were manipulated and twisted by the dark forces to do their biddings. As the name implied, they were mainly tasked with causing death and decay wherever they go, as well as corrupting the local flora and fauna to set the stage for the dark force''s invasion. All Corruptors shared some basic abilities. Besides quick and powerful limbs which they utilized in close to medium range fights, they had various hexes and curses. They could also control the corrupted animals to a limited degree. Their shared weaknesses were sunlight and items that are "blessed" such as holy water. The similarity ended there. Each Corruptor had a different form, attack pattern, special attacks and spells based on which kind of soul they use to be. Most tend to be weak against magical attacks and resistant against physical attacks, but there are exceptions. The figure in front of Manco, for example, had access to a rare spell called ¡ºSoul Tethering¡». For a limited duration, it would bind a character to a location and force them to respawn there upon death. The spell was not a curse. In fact, it was often used as a support spell. Manco had more than once used Soul Tethering scrolls to save himself the trouble of running from the town to a boss location in case he died. The Corruptor had just used the spell on him, forcing to respawn in this cave. Normally he would welcome it as saving him time. In this case, however, each time he died here, his equipment would lose some durability. Since he could not repair them, if he could not figure out how to beat this boss in time, his gears would break one by one and subsequent fights would only grow more difficult. "Looks like I''ve only got a few tries, huh?" he muttered. While the Corruptor was still busy monologuing, he went over his inventory, listing every item that could be of use in the fight. Aside from his weapons he had some trapping supplies. - Crossbow - Four types of bolts (regular, armor-piercing, sickle head, split-head), about 100 each - Heavy dagger - Minor poison (5 vials) - Minor paralyzing potion (5 vials) - Blessed morning dew (2 vials) - Gwyndham''s vial of water - Sinew cord - Ropes - Silver-woven ropes - Small net - Stakes He considered the geography again. The rocky chamber they were in was vaguely circular in shape, about 30 meters in diameter. The ceiling was uneven, from 2 meters to 10 meters high. The cottage was at the middle of the chamber. The narrow pathway he was dragged through was at the south edge. At this moment, the pathway was blocked by a boulder, next to which the Corruptor was standing. Manco was standing several meters away from it. The cottage was behind him, about 10 meters away. In order to figure out the Corruptor''s move set and attack patterns, he would probably have to die several times. "¡­ I''ll rend your flesh from your bone, and swallow your soul!" The Corruptor ended its speech and glared at Manco. Then it stood up to full heights and extended all of its limbs as if warming up. Aside from the relatively human-looking arms and legs, it possessed two additional appendages on its back. These back-mounted limbs were a mix between insect legs and tentacles, having both solid joints and prehensile parts. They were thick at the base and slim at the tip and were about 2 to 2.5 meters long. "I''m gonna enjoy this!" A growl came from its shrouded, featureless face. *Whoosh! Stepping forward, the Corruptor struck out with one of its back limbs. Having been prepared, Manco ducked. The tip of the limb flew past his head with a blur. He retaliated with several mana bolts and retreated a few steps. -3! -2! -3! Cackling, the Corruptor walked towards Manco. Blocking the mana bolts with its limbs, it accelerated and closed in on him. ''This thing is resistant to magic attack,'' he calmly noted, unsheathing his dagger. -23! -27! The appendages from its back struck him square on the chest. Their tips were hardened and felt like two blunt spears. He was knocked flat on his back, wheezing for breath.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ''Shit it''s fast!'' Cursing silently, he rolled to one side, barely avoiding an appendage stabbing down where his face had been a split second earlier. He slashed at the limb several times. He definitely hit something, but could barely feel any resistance, like he was hitting a bag of cotton. -5! +1 -6! +1 ''Healed by poison. Got it!'' Manco concluded. Which makes sense, considering its nature. The paralyzing potion did not seem to work either. Giggling as if tickled, the Corruptor jumped back toward the large boulder. Manco got to his feet, rubbing his chest. The few exchanges just now clearly ended in the Corruptor''s favor. "You''re pretty fast! This is gonna be more fun than I thought!" ''Fun my ass!'' He thought as he readied his crossbow and loaded a split-head bolt. The Corruptor resumed its attack. It rushed straight in again. *Twang! -14! -1 -1 ... As the bolt hit its torso, Manco dove out of its way. Loading an armor-piercing bolt he whirled around, fired, and scored another hit at its side for 7 damage. He fired the third bolt, but the thing swiftly retreated while swatting the bolt out of the air. Keeping itself at a safe distance, the Corruptor began pulling out the bolts. The armor-piercing bolt came out easily, but the split-head one made it struggle somewhat. As the name implied, after striking the body, the two blades hidden in the head would expand outward so that removing the bolt would gouge flesh out of the wound. "Graaaagh!" -13! -1! -1! ... With a pained grunt, the Corruptor forcefully yanked out the split-head bolt, which carried with it a chunk of black flesh. A tar-like substance oozed from the wound, which closed after a few moments. "Not bad, not bad," bobbing its head, the thing commented. Having apparently decided against toying with him more, the Corruptor pressed its assault fiercely this time. All its limbs were a blur. The two human-like hands sprouted razor-sharp claws, which Manco could barely block or dodge. The back limbs apparently had a mind of their own, slipping through his defenses and either tripped him or attacked him from bizarre angles. A back limb curled around his left foot and pulled hard. Falling on his face, Manco struggled to adjust himself. Twisting its body, the Corruptor flung him away like a stick. Tumbling head over feet in a rough landing, he could barely get his feet on the ground when they were swept out from under him. As he was struggling to recover from the dizzy state, the thing grabbed him up by his feet and lifted him up so that they were face to face. Looking at him, it sneered: "Is that all you got, human?" Then one of its clawed arms swiped at his face, ending his life. ¡² You have died. Cause of death: Killed by a Corruptor (unique variant) ¡³ ¡² Item durability decreased. Please avoid dying too often ¡³ ¡² No items dropped for characters below level 20 ¡³ ¡² Time until respawn: 4m55s ¡³ ¡²? To Menu ¡³¡² Log out ¡³ Manco hit Return to menu. In the menu room, there were two raised platforms representing two character slots that he could use for free. Suspending on one of the platforms was the character named Manco. His eyes were closed as if sleeping. Hovering next to him was a timer counting down until he would be respawned. ¡² 4:42 ¡³ ¡² 4:41 ¡³ ... Stepping closer to his character, Mahn Li opened the inventory. All equipped armor and weapon each had the durability reduced by 5 or 6 points, much higher than a normal death. It would take about 5 more deaths for the piece of equipment with the lowest durability - the crossbow - to break. In the probing fight just now he did not use any health or mana potion, except for one Redberries juice vial after entering the cave. Furrowing his brows, Mahn Li mentally listed the things he had learned. - His health pool was too low. Just a casual swipe was enough to wipe out a sixth of his health bar. - Tanking was impossible while dodging and parrying attacks were also difficult. He could not keep up with four limbs at close range. He could conceivably avoid or parry the two arms, but the two back limbs were nearly impossible to defend against: they could easily bend around his limbs or weapon. - Fighting at close range was, therefore, nearly suicidal, so he tried to keep a distance. However, much to his dismay, he was not able to keep the abomination at a distance. Although he was reasonably fast, the thing was a lot faster and more agile. Adding in its long limbs and the flat, featureless terrain, it could always easily close in on him. Rubbing his chin, he opened his character sheet. ¡³ ===? Pri. attributes ? >>> Free attribute points: 27 > Strength: 8 > Awareness: 15 > Coordination: 12 > Intelligence: 50 > Willpower: 28 > Constitution: 8 > Charisma: 11 ¡³ ===? Sec. attributes ? > HP: 120/120 >> HP regen: + 0.9/s (0.6/s + 50% Well-fed) > SP: 140/140 >> SP regen: + 1.05/s (0.7/s + 50% Well-fed) > MP: 640/640 >> MP regen: + 9.6/s (6.4/s + 50% Well-rested) Right now he might have a few choices for defense, either adding Constitution to tank it better, or pumping Strength and Coordination for better speed. After weighing his options, he decided against improving Constitution. Having a few dozen more health points would only help him last a few seconds longer, a drop in the ocean considering the fight last at least half an hour. Eventually, He put 7 points into Strength, 5 into Coordination for increased movement speed and 2 into Awareness to improve his reflexes. ¡²STR 8 ? 15 ¡³ ¡²AWA 15 ? 17 ¡³ ¡²COR 12 ? 17 ¡³ Free attribute points: 27 ? 13 ¡²? Confirm ¡³¡² Cancel ¡³ ''What about offense? What can I do?'' Mahn Li mused after confirming the changes. Chapter 22: The Corruptor (Part 2) ''What about offense? What can I do?'' Mahn Li mused after confirming the changes to his Strength and Coordination. Using poison was out of the question: it only healed the Corruptor. Mana Bolts did not seem to help much, as the thing was more resistant to magical attacks. His choices were physical attacks, or his dagger and crossbow bolts. The split-head bolts seemed to do the most damage while adding some bleeding on top. In addition, they were more difficult to remove, meaning he could use then to impede the Corruptor''s movements. He had wanted to keep the blessed water vials as a trump card but had changed his mind. The mini-boss was too keen on close combat, and he would need something to keep it at bay, else it would overwhelm him and wipe away his health in seconds. When the timer ended, Manco respawned in a tiny nook. Checking his map, he found that he was in an alcove at the north edge of the boss'' chamber. This was likely put in as a "preparation zone" for players who were stuck here with the boss. The developers were not cruel enough to spawn him right in the mini-boss'' aggro range. On the edge of his vision was a timer counting down from 5 minutes. It was another feature of this boss fight area. In five minutes, he would be automatically booted out of this preparation zone into the main chamber. He would not be able to camp here until the Tethered Soul status effects wore off. Opening his inventory he retrieved one of the morning dew vials. He applied a quarter of it on the dagger and another quarter on five split-head bolts. He stepped out of the alcove and instantly, the Corruptor let out an angry hiss and moved to confront him. "You again!" "Okay, smokey! Time for round two!" Manco said, readying the crossbow. As the Corruptor began to recite an abridged version of its speech, Manco interrupted it with a ¡¸Crippling Shot ¡¹ to the face. To his dismay, he found out it was neither Blinded or Stunned. Apparently, it was either immune to those status effects, or its stats were too high to be affected by a low-level weapon. Enraged, it rushed in and attacked him in close combat. However, a few wounds made with a knife doused with blessed water immediately changed its mind. Squirming in pain, it immediately retreated out of striking range and glowered at him. Ignoring the glare, Manco began shooting at it with his crossbow. He mixed up normal bolts with split-head bolts, some of which had blessed morning dew on them. The first time it was hit by those bolts, the Corruptor let out an ear-piercing screech. While being lodged in the Corruptor''s body, the blessed water on the bolt continuously chipped away at its health. When about a quarter of its health was shaved off, the thing decided to reveal another card. Retreating back to a far corner of the chamber, the boss plunged both its back limbs into its chest, then pull apart revealing a gaping hole. It then stuck its right arm into the wound and pushed in deeper and deeper until the whole forearm was inside its torso. After a few seconds, it pulled its arm out along with a weapon. It was a wand, about as long as Manco''s arm, with the form of a shriveled arm holding a skull. Muttering bizarre chants, it began unleashing several spells at him. He frantically dodged the projectiles but was only partially successful. ¡¸Rot ¡¹ (Resisted!) ¡¸Weaken ¡¹(Resisted!) ¡¸Blind ¡¹ (Resisted!) Happily realizing the curses were all nullified thanks to the Sacred Deer'' blessing, Manco focused less on dodging and more on firing the crossbow and mana bolts at the Corruptor. After a few exchanges, the half specter also realized its curses were ineffective. It immediately switched to using direct-damage spell types. ¡¸Shadow Bolt ¡¹! ¡¸Dark fire ¡¹! This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.¡¸Dark Implosion ¡¹! The Shadow Bolt was similar to his own Mana Bolt, except it did small amounts of Dark damage. The other two, one was Damage over Time spell, and the other did Area of Effect damage. Manco could not dodge the fast Shadow Bolt, but the other two spells were easily avoidable, especially because the Corruptor heavily telegraphed when it was about to fire off a big spell. Just like that, he slowly chipped away its health. When its HP bar was reduced to 50%, the Corruptor changed tactics. It temporarily turned the ground into a marshland with an Alter Terrain - type spell. Instantly, the ground around Manco became a thick sludge, clinging to his shoes, making moving impossible. Immobilized, he was helpless as the thing pelted him with spells from afar. Eventually, it finished him off with a powerful spell from its wand. ¡² You have died. Cause of death: Killed by a Corruptor (unique variant) ¡³ ¡² Item destroyed: Fancy Hunter''s Cap! ¡³ ¡­ In the Menu room, Mahn Li reviewed the footage captured by the recording function. "Shit, I forgot about the cottage!" He shook his head. The place could have been used as a cover! He checked the footage and sure enough, the place seemed unaffected by the Corruptor''s Alter Terrain spell. During the third round, wary of being hit with the blessed water, the boss kept a distance. It immediately pulled out the wand and attacked from afar. The moment he saw the Corruptor begin the animation to retrieve the wand, Manco made his way toward the house. However, when he neared the house, the ground sunk below his feet. It was a quicksand trap! "Shit!" he cursed. He was too careless! "Is that all you''ve got, human?" Sneered the half-specter as it launched a barrage of spells at the helpless adventurer. ¡² You have died. Cause of death: Killed by a Corruptor (unique variant) ¡³ ¡­ At the beginning of the fourth round, Manco made it into the house. The cottage was sparsely furnished, with a bamboo bed and some other furniture he could not identify. "Get away from there!" Shrieking in anger, the Corruptor rushed in after him. Without using the wand, it began using its limbs and attacked in close quarters. Inside the cottage, it was quite cramped. The boss could not attack as wildly. In particular, the long and flexible back limbs frequently got hindered by the support pillars or the furniture. Coupled with his increased Strength and Coordination, Manco found it much easier to keep up with their movements. Meanwhile, using his dagger doused with holy water, he slowly chipped away at its health. 50%! With each stab and each slash, one more wound was made on the Corruptor''s body. Its regenerative ability struggled to keep up with the damage dealt by the holy water. Screaming with anger, it retaliated with a flurry of blows that were largely ineffective. Its powerful blows were either dodged, parried, blocked, or stuck on the furniture. "I can do this!" Manco thought, his hand squeezing the dagger. The moment the boss'' health neared 25%, for some reason, his concentration slipped. His swing went wide and he stepped a little too close to the boss. Immediately, the Corruptor used both of its hand to grab him. With two snaps, the tips of its back limbs split open. The right limb had a long stinger. The left one had a powerful three-pronged mandible with countless blade-like teeth. The stinger stabbed his neck, instantly paralyzing him. Simultaneously, the mandible clamped down painfully on his head. ¡¸Devour¡¹! Manco felt his health draining. His head felt like it was going to burst. His vision narrowed to a tiny point, while the rest was obscured by pulsing red veins. All the sounds were drowned out by the deafening beats of his heart. *Thump-thump *Thump-thump "An instant-kill move!" was his last thought before everything turned black. ¡² You have died. Cause of death: Killed by a Corruptor (unique variant) ¡³ ¡­ In his fifth respawn, despite him being fully focused this time, the boss still managed to grab him when its health was down to 25%. Similar to before, it unveiled a stinger and a mandible from its two back limbs. This time, however, Manco was ready for them! His left hand caught the stinger, mere fractions of a second before it paralyzed him. His right hand intercepted the mandible, which swallowed it whole. Gritting his teeth, he broke the vial held in his right hand. "Devour this!" He said with a grin. It was half a vial of blessed water! The Corruptor paused for a second as if to process what it just swallowed. Then it shuddered... ...and let out a long, shrill cry. The noise was so deafening that Manco felt like his ears were bleeding. The half-specter began convulsing. Its skin and flesh began to liquefy and fall off, revealing a core at its chest. Letting go of the stinger, Manco used his left hand to grab the dagger and stabbed at the core. With a sickening squelch, the dagger sank into the pulsing mass of flesh ¡­ ¡­and stopped only two centimeters in. His heart stopped as he realized the holy water applied onto the blade had run out! Then he felt something stab at his neck and his muscles seized up. Paralyzed, he fell flat on the ground. Looming over him, the half-dead Corruptor growled between labored breaths: "Is that all you''ve got, human?" ¡­ ¡² You have died. Cause of death: Killed by a Corruptor (unique variant) ¡³ ¡² Item durability decreased. Please avoid dying too often ¡³ ¡² Item destroyed: Belzhorian Light Crossbow! ¡³ ¡² No items dropped for characters below level 20 ¡³ ¡² Time until respawn: 4m55s ¡³ ¡²? To Menu ¡³¡² Log out ¡³ . Mahn Li selected "Log out." Removing his VR helmet, he noticed a headache that had been there since he was Devoured during the fourth try. He had assumed it was a bug of the system, but it turned out he was having a headache for real. "What''s happening to me?" He said, holding his head. Chapter 23: The Corruptor (part 3) "What''s happening to me?" Mahn Li muttered, holding his head. He had been making mistakes repeatedly in the fight just now. In the second round, he missed its tell for firing the Alter Terrain spell. In the third round, he fell victim to the quicksand trap. In the fourth round, he missed a crucial attack, put himself into an awkward position and allowed the Corruptor to execute its instant-kill move. The last round was especially worrying. He had victory in his grasp, yet forgot to re-apply the holy water to the dagger before the final blow. It was uncharacteristic of him to make so many blunders in such a short time frame! Mahn Li went into the bathroom and opened the mirrored medicine cabinet above the sink. Grabbing the bottle of painkiller, he took out a pill. Putting back the bottle, he closed the cabinet... ...and saw Manco staring back at him from inside the mirror! "AAhhhh?!" Startled, he dropped the pill down the sink. Mahn Li rubbed his eyes and looked into the mirror again. Short black hair, a thin pale face, and eyes with dark spots under them. No scars. It was his own face. Taking a step back, he inspected himself. He was 175 cm tall, but very thin. It was the result of several years spent pulling all-nighters playing games and subsisting on cheap street food, plus plenty of times going down with random colds and illnesses. Mahn Li sighed, he had figured out the cause for his poor performance. He was suffering from mental fatigue. In the last 24 hours, he had spent at least 18 hours on the game. The frequent breaks he took were not enough for him to recover. He could still handle higher levels mobs with relative ease. However, the boss fight was something else. It was a lot more intense, requiring unbroken concentration for prolonged periods of time with little room for errors. By comparison, in the old timeline, his first months in EoL were spent stumbling around fighting easy mobs and completing simple quests. Mahn Li was - or would be - a lot healthier and fitter ten years from now. He would have a team of nutritionists and personal trainers, who monitored his calories intake and physical exercises on a daily basis. That was the treatment reserved for the guild''s top players, especially those who constantly engaged in important PvP battles. It was easy to dismiss the importance of physical fitness in the context of virtual reality. However, he had read and also verified through experience that besides attributes and equipment, the characters'' prowess also largely depended on the controllers. Players with a clear mind and a healthy body inherently had the advantage, everything else being equal. Although he had ten years worth of knowledge and experience, he did not yet have the physical and mental fortitude he would possess ten years from now. It was quite frustrating knowing he was capable of doing something yet, in actuality, being incapable of doing it. ''No wonder!'' Mahn Li smiled bitterly. Obsessed with trying to recall the in-game knowledge, he had neglected the requirements for players. It was good that he remembered it now when it was still early. He would have to slowly train himself back to the old level. ''Now what should I do?'' Jotting down a quick reminder to get in shape, he turned back to the subject of the boss fight. He was still set to respawn in the Cave of Lament. If he failed to log back in within 20 minutes, the game would still spawn him in the preparation room, and push him into the boss'' chamber after another five minutes. One more death and most of his armor and weapon would break, making it impossible to win the fight. Several deaths after, he would be back to the village, sans armor and weapon and have to work for them all over again. "I can''t waste another few days for this! Rust''s quest will come soon!" Wracking his brain, Mahn Li remembered the "emergency cure" for mental fatigue. It would delay the symptoms for another hour or two, then he would have to sleep to recover completely. For this, he would need this brand of energy drink, some caffeine, and some over-the-counter medicine. His mind made up, Mahn Li left his apartment and bought everything he needed from the 24/7 convenience store as well as the pharmacy on the ground floor. Back in his apartment, he made the drink following the instructions that had been drilled into his head for years. "This''d better be the last time I have to drink this!" he sighed, held his breath and drown the glass in one gulp.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ¡²--- Welcome to the Epoch of Liberty ---¡³ ¡²--- Please select your character ---¡³ Back in the menu room, Mahn Li inspected Manco''s inventory. The crossbow had been broken, replaced by some scrap wood, scrap metal, and strings. The supply of holy water was almost up, only half a vial is left. He needed at least a quarter vial to apply on his dagger, leaving only a quarter to force the Corruptor to reveal its core. "I might be able to trick it to swallow the water again, but is that enough?" Mahn Li muttered, furrowing his brow. On the raised platform, Manco did not respond, only cycled through his various idle animations. He unsheathed his dagger and used it to clean his fingernails. Noting the countdown until forced respawn, which was 15 minutes, Mahn Li reviewed the recordings for the previous rounds. Eventually, he noticed a bright spot on the ground. Previously he had not paid attention to it, but as he watched through the recordings, the spot seemed to grow brighter with time and move toward the cottage at the center of the chamber. "It was sunlight!" He exclaimed. Indeed, the top of the chamber seemed to have a hole through which sunlight could shine in. Mahn Li checked the in-game time: 11:35 a.m. This could work! He selected Manco and was sent to the preparation room. After sorting out his inventory, Manco chanted. ¡¸Arcane Surge¡¹! Leaving the preparation area, Manco quickly located the hole on the ceiling. The sun was shining through it, illuminating the swirling dust. ¡¸Mana Blast¡¹ He unleashed a mana blast at the hole and immediately charged another one. *Bam! *Crash! The blast knocked loose some rocks, and the hole widened a little. The fragments felt like rain onto the cottage''s thatched roof. ¡¸Mana Blast¡¹ "Back again? I thought you were scared off already?" The Corruptor approached him. Keeping an eye on it, he shot one blast after another at the hole. Enraged at being ignored, the Corruptor took out its wand and began firing off spells at him. Dodging whatever spells he could and quaffing heal potions when his health was too low, Manco concentrated on widening the hole on the ceiling. His effort paid off, eventually, the hole was widened to about one square meter. The spot illuminated by sunlight was slowly approaching the cottage. Unsheathing his knife, he timed his movement right after the Corruptor had unleashed the long-cooldown spells, and rushed toward it. Taken by surprise, the half-specter swung its back limbs in preparation. Having learned the Corruptor''s attack pattern in the previous fights, he quickly and located the relative "blind spot" that the back limbs could not attack as effectively. Weaving between the two deadly appendages, he darted to the Corruptor''s side. Swinging his dagger he caught it on the neck. -21! -5! -5! "Graaaggggh!" Hurt by the holy water, it darted away from him, leaving a clear path. Darting left and right to avoid being hit by its spells, Manco jumped through the window into the cottage. "Get away from there!" With a scream, the mini-boss rushed in after him. This time, the close quarter fight was tipped in Manco''s favor. There were moments when he felt like time slowed down as his reflexes were pushed to the limit. Dodging, blocking, parrying, slashing, stabbing, he executed each move with near perfection, chipping away the Corruptor''s health in chunks while taking only minimal damage. Instead of just slashing at its limbs, this time Manco got a lot of good hits on its neck or face. As more holy water are pumped into its body, the Corruptor''s movements gradually became slower and more sluggish. 10%! The thing''s back limbs opened up, revealing a stinger and a mandible. Together, they aimed at Manco. Unblinking, he held the knife between his teeth and took out two split-head bolts, each was tied to a length of silver-woven rope. -13! -1! ... -14! -1! Dodging the two limbs, he stabbed each of them with a bolt, feeling powerful clicks as the bolt heads split and secure themselves in the limbs. Wasting no time, he tied the lengths of ropes to a support column, praying it would hold for long enough. Screeching in pain, the Corruptor whirled around, but it hesitated to remove the bolts. Manco had stabbed them near the limbs'' tips so that forcibly pulling them out would nearly sever the tips and disable its instant-kill attack. Taking advantage of its indecisiveness, Manco circled to its back. Taking out two another split-head bolts, he stabbed them at the base of the back limbs and tied the ropes to the columns again. Now tangled in the mass of ropes, the Corruptor screamed painfully and flailed its limbs ineffectively. Glancing at the in-game clock, which showed 12:00, he clenched his fist. It''s time! ¡¸Mana Blast¡¹! He shot the blast straight up. With a muffled "Bang," half of the cottage''s roof was blown off, letting sunlight shine on the Corruptor. *SCREEEEECCCH!! Ignoring its agonized shriek, Manco produced another length of silver-woven rope and tied it around the Corruptor''s body, further impeding its movement. Unlike the early morning gentle light, the mid-noon sunlight was much more powerful. In seconds, most of the Corruptor''s flesh and skin burned up and flaked off. As it shook and convulsed, big patches of charred flesh fell off its ribcage, revealing the core once more. The air was thick with the smell of charred flesh mixed with sulfur. Removing the holy water vial from the slot on his belt, Manco applied the last bit on the dagger. Keeping an eye on the back limbs, he plunged the dagger into the core. With a sickening squelch, the dagger sank to the hilt. All of a sudden, the screeching stopped. The only sound filling the cottage was sizzling and crackling of burned flesh. Then without warning, the Corruptor crumbled onto the floor into a heap of black ash. Manco could hear a faint voice, barely a whisper. "Thank you!" Then there was complete silence. He was alone. "Finally!" Manco said with a tired smile. Mentally exhausted, he sprawled onto the ground. He felt his whole body aching. His body was virtual and could not possibly be tired, yet the sensation was too real to ignore. It was now 12:25 in-game. He was dragged into the cave at about 6 am. This meant he has spent almost 3 hours on this boss. Minus the time when he logged out and took a rest, he had spent two hours fighting. Yet it felt much more exhausting than the entire previous day. With tired eyes, Mahn Li gestured at the notification icon, which filled his vision with messages. ¡²Enemy "Corruptor - Unique variant: Gwendala the Spellweaver" (lv 30) killed¡³ ¡²Enemy information added to Beastiary¡³ ... Chapter 24: The Return With tired eyes, Mahn Li skimmed over the notifications. ¡²111195 XP gained¡³(+315%) ¡²Level up x 5! Your level is now 20!¡³ ¡²Int +12; Wil +6¡³ ¡²Free attributes points + 12 (Total 23)¡³ ¡²You have defeated 1 Corruptor - Unique variant¡³ ¡²Title received "Purifier I." Number of possessed titles: 2¡³ ¡²Rewards: Fame +25; All attributes +1 ¡³ ¡²You have defeated 1 mini-boss unassisted¡³ ¡²Title received "Solitary Hero I." Number of possessed titles: 3¡³ ¡²Rewards: Fame +30; Free attribute points +5 (Total 28)¡³ ¡² Congratulations, you are now leading the Level leaderboard! ¡³ ¡² Congratulations, you are now at 5th place on the Fame leaderboard! ¡³ ¡² To view the rankings, please access... ¡³ With a sigh, he dismissed the notifications . He did not want to level up that fast. Although he was quite sure what he was not breaking any in-game rules (yet), he still preferred to keep a low profile. The top names on the leaderboard would naturally be scrutinized the most. Especially when he just jumped on top of the Beta Players. However, he had no other choice. He had to get to level 25 as quickly as possible to raise the soft cap for Mana Bolt to 30, which would unlock the skill he wanted. He did not dwell on it for long. Five more levels and he would be stuck at the level 25 and had to travel to the city and complete a series of advancement quests to continue leveling up. At that point, he would probably get pushed down in ranking again and stop standing out. Sitting up, Manco looked around the cottage. It was a mess. The floor was littered by broken furniture, shredded dry leaves, pieces of rocks and a lot of ashes. The air was still thick with the smell of sulfur. He poked around the pile of black ash next to him and uncovered the Corruptor''s skull wand. The mummified arm was dry and felt cold to the touch. The skull in the hand was locked in a permanent rictus grin, its eyes shining an eerie green glow. ? Dark touch ?(Unique) ¡î¡î¡î Type: Wand (One-handed) Requirement: INT 18 Damage (melee): 7-8 (Blunt) Effect(s): - Mana + 200; MP regen +50% - ??? (Wizard only) Innate spells: - Shadow bolt (lv 15)¡´Show details¨‹¡µ - Dark Implosion (lv 15)¡´Show details¨‹¡µ - Marshland (lv 15)¡´Show details¨‹¡µ - ??? (lv ???) (Wizard only) - ??? (lv ???) (Wizard only) Description: Originally belonging to a spell weaver, it had been twisted, along with its owner, into its current form by exposure to the dark forces. Weight: 2.5 stones Durability: 50/50 ¡ªo¡ª For a mini-boss drop, it was decent. Objectively, it was excellent, but Mahn Li had long been jaded to low-level boss drops like this. The boosts to his mana pool and regen were a welcome addition, as were the extra spells. The spells could not be leveled, but it did not bother him. One special effect and two additional spells were only usable by wizard classes, who were experts at harnessing the power of staves and wands. Manco put the wand to his primary weapon slot then proceeded to retrieve the crossbow bolts and the lengths of rope scattered around on the floor. Afterward, he turned up every nook and cranny in the tiny cottage. Eventually, he found a small box under the bed, hidden under some rags. Opening the box, he found a small leather-bound book and a comb. A brief glance at the pages told Manco it was a diary. "I don''t know how long I have been here. I don''t remember how I got here..." "Today I remember. I was here to hunt the corruptor. Damn thing was..." "...SO nice and WaRM and filling. make ME realize HOW empTY i was afore it own ME." ''The hell?'' Blinking, Manco kept rifling through the pages. Eventually, he concluded either there was more than one writer, or the sole writer had multiple personalities. The pages alternated between expressing the desire to leave the cave, bragging about how good the power felt or exclaiming how delicious the raw meat was. The personalities often switched places right in the middle of a sentence. "I saw him in my dream, next to the cottage he said he would build for us. How I wish to jump into his arm and..." "...sink MY teeth in his FLesh i bet HE taste..." Skimming toward the end, he found that the entries made by the "sane" personality got sparser and sparser. The last few pages were filled with profanity-laced scrawlings of a tortured soul. On the final page was a single line, written with the same neat handwriting as the one on the first few pages. "Gwyn, I''m so sorry!" Sighing, he put the diary aside and inspected the comb. It was made of some type of wood he did not recognize, with intricate carvings depicting plants and flowers. He put it away along with the diary. Leaving the cottage, he checked the cave carefully and found the fire gecko crumpled up in a corner. The poor creature was barely alive. Cooing apologies and encouragements, he fed it some Redberries potion and scooped it up into his arm.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. After another check which revealed no more treasure, he turned toward the boulder blocking the pathway leading outside. ¡¸Marshland¡¹! Holding the skull wand, he activated the spell. Immediately a transparent circle with intricate runes representing the spell''s area of influence appeared on the ground. He fiddled with the wand and changed its orientation to alter the circle''s position and size. Adjusting the circle to be under the boulder, he released the spell. Immediately, the ground under the boulder turned soft, and the big rock quickly sunk into it, revealing the pathway. Manco entered the pathway and made his way toward the cave''s entrance. Outside, he saw the Sacred Deer. As he released the fire gecko, which quickly scampered away, the Deer approached him. "You''ve done it!" it said, its voice trembling, "you have my undying gratitude, o'' friend of the forest. If there is anything you wish done, I shall do my best in my ability to make it happen!" Manco thought for a moment. "Can I call in this favor some other day?" Right now, he had nothing he needed that the Deer might give him. "A wise choice," the Deer nodded, "Whenever you need me, use this. I will know where you are the moment your lips touched it." Trying to keep a straight face at the deer horn in his hand, Manco solemnly nodded "Thank you. I will remember it!" ¡²Quest completed: "The Corruptor."¡³ ¡²XP + 6012 (+215%)¡³ ¡²Reward: Standing improved with Misty Woods'' Sacred Deer. Attituded Friendly ? Amicable¡³ ¡²Reward: A favor with Misty Woods'' Sacred Deer. Number of owed favors: 1¡³ ¡²Reward: Title "Friend of the Forest I." Number of possessed titles: 4¡³ Turning its head to look at the cave, the Deer said: "This Corruptor is gone for now, but others will take its place. My children will get ready by then." "True. And there will also be others like me who will come to your aid," Manco replied. Sometime later, another Corruptor would spawn in the cave, though it would only probably be a generic model, not the unique mini-boss he just defeated. The Deer looked at him and continued: "I assume you would need someone to escort you back to the village. After all, you just finished a harrowing battle!" Manco nodded gratefully and they set off toward Mistwood Village. With the Deer escorting him, he no longer had to worry about fighting predators. His fatigued mind was on autopilot, guiding his body to mechanically put one foot before the other. For the better part of an hour, they walked in silence until eventually the trees thinned and the wheat fields surrounding the village became visible. "I''d hate to send you away empty-handed after what you''ve done," the Sacred Deer said, "Please accept this as a small token of my gratitude." The deer lightly touched his shoulder with its snout. ¡² You''ve received Misty Woods Sacred Deer''s gift. Spell upgraded. ¡³ ¡² Spell: Mind Link level 1 ?5¡³ ¡² Misty Woods Sacred Deer''s Blessing received. All the water in your inventory has been Blessed. ¡³ Besides the announced rewards, Manco''s body felt refreshed like the moment when he received the Blessing of Growth. Only the lingering headache remained. He checked his status. Sure enough, the buff had been expanded by another 48 in-game hours! ''Calm down!'' He scolded himself ''You''re gonna log out and take proper rest. Don''t kill yourself now!'' He also could not help but smile bitterly at the last reward, the blessed water. ''That sure would have come in handy earlier!'' "We shall part way here, but I believe our paths will cross again!" The Deer said and headed back into Misty Woods. With renewed vigor, Manco dashed toward the village. Passing the south gate, he went straight to the tavern and entered his room. As his character collapsed onto the bed, Mahn Li selected "Log out" from the menu. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Mahn Li barely had time to put away the VR helmet when sleep claimed him. He found his eyelids heavy like lead. Unable to hold back the drowsiness any longer, he fell asleep without bothering to set the alarm. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Manco woke up to the clamoring of morning activities outside the tavern window. As he walked downstairs, he saw a large notice board behind the counter. The board was covered in pinned up pieces of parchment. Written on them are requests made by the local businesses or guards. Leather maker needing more pelts, butchers needing more meat, guards want the predators killed and so on. The requests made up the quintessential fetch quests or kill quests that had been the staple of many RPGs for almost a century. "This board wasn''t here yesterday, was it?" He asked the barmaid. "Nay. It was put up here beginning today," she replied. Nodding in thanks, Manco turned to the board. Regardless of how he felt about them, they were easy money and experience. He already looted the animal remains the other night, might as well make use of them. As Manco focused on each piece of paper, the quests are entered into his list. ¡²Quest received: "Crush the Coyotes."¡³ - Details: Kill 10 Coyotes. Deliver 40 incisors to the Guards'' office as proof. - Reward: 250 XP; 2D 50T --.-- ¡²Quest received: "Destroy the Dingos."¡³ - Details: Kill 10 Dingos. Deliver 40 incisors to the Guards'' office as proof. - Reward: 250 XP; 2D 50T --.-- ¡²Quest received: "Wreck the Wolves."¡³ - Details: Kill 10 Wolves. Deliver 10 pelts to the Leather maker as proof. - Reward: 350 XP; 3D 50T --.-- ¡²Quest received: "Pummel the Panthers."¡³ - Details: Kill 10 Panthers. Deliver 10 pelts to the Leather maker as proof. - Reward: 450 XP; 4D 50T --.-- ¡­ As Manco filled up his quest list, movements caught his eyes. Turning to the entrance, he saw Rust''s group entering the tavern and sitting at their usual corner. Rust has a large burn scar on the right half of his face, distorting his handsome feature. Manco felt a twinge of pity for the man, before remembering he had tried to kill the Sacred Deer. "Hello there!" Rust approached the bar and greeted Manco warmly as if everything was right in the world. Turning to the barmaid, he said: "Give us the usual. Four portions¡­ Uh, you eating with us?" "Morning, Rust. I already ate." Manco replied "That looks painful!" he said, nodding at the scar. "Ha, it''s nothing! Just an accident with a boiler. The healer said it''d be gone within a week. Come, sit with us!" As Manco joined them at the table, Rust said in a low voice: "We do the job tonight. You still in?" Manco nodded, feeling a rush of excitement. ''It''s about damn time!'' Chapter 25: The Broken Promise After providing him with some additional details about the job, Rust''s crew left. Manco headed out to begin another round of preparation. He checked his equipment. Besides his crossbow, the Hunting Cap was also destroyed, though he did not mind it much. The belt and backpack were unbreakable, so the only items need repairing were the leather armor, pants and boots. He unequipped them all and put on the ragged set of clothes he was spawned in. He left his gear at the armorer, who promised to get it fixed in a few hours. He walked to the south gate and found Gwyndham on one of the watchtowers, gazing at the Misty Woods. "You''re back!" the old man said with a quirked eyebrow, "I assume it killed you a few times." "Yup," Manco nodded, "but I also killed it once." Briefly enjoying the shocked look on the wrinkled face, he handed over the diary and the comb. "I believe you know this person," he said. Gwyndham flipped through the diary and tears began welling up in his eyes. Snapping it shut, he looked at Manco. "Let''s discuss this at my house," he said and began limping away. Besides the striking resemblance in the external layout, Gwyndham''s cottage was very different from the Corruptor''s dwelling in the cave. It was a lot more well-furnished and cozy. However, everything was covered by dust from years of neglect. They headed into his study. Dominating the room were several heavy shelves loaded with hundreds of books. In one corner was a large writing table covered with books and loose paper sheets. Another table was nearby, heaped with various tools and strange artifacts, some even Manco had never seen or heard of. Permeating the room was a stale smell of a place that had not seen human presence for a long time. Opening the window to let in some sunlight, which illuminated the dust particles swirling in the air, Gwyndham wiped the dust from two chairs near the writing table. He sat down on one and gestured to the other for Manco to sit. "Ah! Where are my manners?" The old man shook his head. "What''ll you have? There''s only herbal tea and well water, I''m afraid." "It''s alright, sir" Manco replied. He was in no mood for tea. "Haven''t had a guest in years, and I forgot my manners! How embarrassing!" Letting out a self-deprecating chuckle, he turned over the diary''s pages. "I assume you''ve read this." "Yes, I did." "The thing in that cave. When you killed it, did it say anything?" "I briefly heard a ''thank you''. That was it." "I see¡­" sinking back into his chair, the archery master looked pensive. His eyes stared into the past. Manco internally sighed: ''Here we go.'' "Gwendala and I were lovers," Gwyndham began. His gaze fixated on a framed drawing on the table. Depicted in the drawing was a young woman, looking to be in her twenties, in a summer dress. Despite the simple charcoal drawing, Manco could still see her bright eye and radiant smile. The drawing was obviously done by a man deeply in love. "She was¡­ amazing. The best fighter of our generation. A formidable hand-to-hand combatant and a prodigious spellweaver, an incredible combination. Beauty, talent, compassion, she had it all. I couldn''t imagine how I won her heart. Gods, I miss her so much!" "Twenty-five years ago, we were sent here to be the village ''guardians''." He said the last word with a snort. "Back then, the monster attacks were much more frequent. There was an attack once every three days. We could deal with them easily enough, but after two years, it got exhausting." "Then something, or someone, gave her the idea to confront the Corruptor in the Death Forest. She believed it would slow down the spread of monsters, earn us a year of respite from their rampage. A year for us to have a child. She always wanted a baby girl¡­" he said, lovingly touching the small comb, a single tear falling down his cheek. "I did my best to dissuade her. But she was like her father: adventurous, headstrong, bull-headed, even. She left when I was sleeping. Just left a note saying ''I''ll be back''." "And she did come back. But what came back was¡­ no longer the Gwen that I knew." He shuddered as if reliving a nightmare. "She¡­, no, It. It beckoned me to come with, and left with a chunk of my flesh when I refused," he winced, his hand subconsciously hovering over his left flank. "Then it came back many times, begging me, taunting me from outside the range of my arrows. Then five years ago, it stopped coming altogether. I wanted to hunt it down. Destroy it. Give Gwen some closure. Gods know I''ve tried. But my body is no longer as strong as my mind." "It was all I can do to wait for it to return. Five years, I''ve been waiting to end this madness." Gwyndham finished with a long sigh and closed his eyes. They sat silently in the room, each lost in his own thoughts. "It both shames and relieves me to know that you''ve done what I''ve been trying to do for many years," Gwynham finally spoke up, breaking the silence. He briefly paused, then asked, "Did it say anything else to you?" Manco paused briefly and nodded. "In that cave, there was a cottage, probably built in an imitation of this one." Trying not to look at the old man''s anguished expression, he continued: "When I ran in there to avoid its spells, it shouted for me to keep away, and chased after me." Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. "So she was still in there..." "It seemed that way," Manco nodded again. "Either by accident or on purpose, you did relieve my beloved of her sufferings, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I had little of value to give to you, except my limited knowledge, should you need to use it." "It''s alright, really," Manco shrugged. Then he remembered something. "There''s also this thing¡­" he retrieved the skull wand and showed it to Gwyndham. The old man''s eyes darken at the sight of the hideous weapon. "Put it away!" he said almost with a growl, and Manco hastily complied. "My apologies," after regaining his composure, he coughed: "That thing was made out of green yew wood, same as her old wand. It possibly is her old wand, changed by dark magic." Looking at Manco, he said: "I don''t need it. It will only remind me of how I''ve failed to watch her back. And it looks like it''ll be more of use to you." Looking thoughtful, he added. "Come to think of it, you can have this too." Taking out a crossbow, he handed it to Manco. The weapon was masterfully crafted and clearly custom-made. The shape was compact yet powerful. The handle was ergonomically designed, unlike the awkward blocky grip of the mass-produced crossbows. On top of the bow was a small box, with a lever-operated mechanism to move it forward and back, which also spanned the bowstring. ? Gwyndham''s Repeating Crossbow ?(Unique) ¡î¡î¡î - Type: Crossbow (Two-handed) - Requirement: STR 15 - Damage: 34-38. Range: 45m. - Ammunition: Crossbow bolts. Capacity: 8 - Effects: + Soul tethered: Upon being dropped, automatically return to the bound location. (Current bound location: Gwyndham''s house, Mistwood Village) - Description: + A masterwork created by master archer Gwyndham. With a repeat mechanism that feeds the bolts from a specially designed box into the track, the crossbow has a vastly increased rate of fire. The downside is that the strength needed to span the bow is a lot higher than normal crossbows. It had been enchanted with a spell, preventing the owner from ever losing it. - Weight: 4.5 kg - Durability: 45/45 ¡ª.¡ª This crossbow was a far cry from his old one with a paltry 18-20 damage and a 25m maximum range. The repeated mechanism was a welcome addition. But the truly impressive thing was its magical property. "That enchantment, Gwen did it," as if reading his mind, Gwyndham explained, "her way of teasing me for always forgetting where I put my things." "That''s an incredibly rare enchantment!" Manco said, genuinely impressed, "She really was a prodigious spellweaver!" "Yeah, it was taught to her by Queen Tarathiel herself..." Gwyndham said proudly but caught himself mid-sentence. Off Manco''s inquisitive stare, the master archer shrugged: "...Ah, what the hell? Might as well tell you the rest of the story!" "Gwendala was no ordinary high-elf. She used to be next in line for the position of Queen." "She was a princess?" "That she was. And for choosing to share her life with a lower-borne wood-elf like myself, she lost everything. Her standing, her possessions, her title, her life¡­ she threw them all away!" "After Gwendala announced her wish, the Queen wanted to banish us from Betovium completely. Heeding her advisors'' words, she reduced the sentence to 50 years serving as a guardian for one of the outposts. Gwen, being the stubborn girl that she was, took it in stride." "We were not allowed to get within 100 miles of any city. Even contacting our friends and acquaintances are forbidden." Letting out a humorless chuckle, he added: "That was 25 years ago. Not a word from Mommy dearest. No messengers, no letters. It''s like we never existed." "Tell you what¡­" Gwyndham stood up, approached his bookshelf and began rummaging through it. "If you ever stop by the capital of Bethor, try visiting the Royal Palace. Drop by and tell the Queen what happened. Ah, here it is!" He handed a small badge to Manco. "This token will grant you an audience with the Queen. The guards all know me so I can''t use it, but you can. Exiled or not, Gwen is her daughter, and she should know about this." "Uh huh!" Manco grunted noncommittally, unsure if he wanted to come to a powerful spell caster and informing her that her beloved daughter had been corrupted and turned into an abomination deep in the woods. "Thank you! Be sure to let me know after you''ve done it!" ¡²Quest completed: "The Broken Promise."¡³ ¡²Reward: Standing improved with Gwyndham. Attitude Indifferent ? Amicable¡³ ¡²Reward: Gwyndham''s aid with the world''s lore¡³ ¡²Reward (optional): Gwyndham''s Repeating Crossbow¡³ ¡²Reward (optional): An additional quest¡³ ¡²8600 XP gained¡³(+215%) ¡²Level up! Your level is now 21!¡³ ¡²Int +2; Wil +1¡³ ¡²Free attributes points + 2 (Total 30)¡³ ¡²Unique quest received: "Don''t Shoot the Messenger."¡³ ''How appropriate!'' Manco thought. Bidding the master archer farewell, he left the cottage. Gwyndham leaned back into his chair, his eyes closed. It was like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Crossing off "Buying a new crossbow" from his to-do list, Manco headed to the general store to stock up on some supplies and crossbow bolts. He also intended to buy a shield, which would be necessary for the expedition with Rust. Chapter 26: The Walk As soon as he opened the door of the general store, Manco''s ears were assaulted with arguing voices. "C''mon, man! Twelve gold for this crappy dagger? Gimme a break!" "I don''t believe this! The monsters are hard to kill, and the store is cutthroat!" "I told you! This place is fucking hard mode! That''s why there''s no guide about it! No one''s ever been here!" "Oh yeah? And who wanted to explore the unknown and get some hidden quests with phat lewt? You did!" "Shut up! I never said that!" "You shut up!" ¡­ He sighed ''Yeah, it was fun while it lasted!'' Some players had decided to spawn in this village. It appeared his brief period of relative peace would soon come to an end. He stopped at a rack, pretending to look at some potions as he inspected the group. There were six players with level ranging from 3 to 5. They probably spawned here yesterday. His hunting gear had been left at the armorer to be repaired, and he was wearing his old clothes. At a glance, he looked no different from the villagers unless someone inspected him. Nevertheless, he did not want to waste time with players. He decided to come back to the store later, after they had done shopping and left. The moment he opened the door, someone bumped into him. "Ouch!" the figure bounced back and fell down on its back. It was another player, a shaman from the look of it. She was dressed in a simplified gypsy costume, consisting of a white ruffle blouse made of soft fabric, an earth-toned ankle-length dress, and high-heeled leather boots. Her auburn hair was styled in a simple braid and accessorized with a headscarf, framing her round, youthful face. "I''m sorry!" She hastily said, then stood up and gave a quick bow. She was surprisingly polite, especially considering he looked like a bum. "Don''t worry ''bout it, miss!" doing his best impression of an NPC, he wished her a good day and walked away. Consulting the quest list, Manco visited the leather maker, the guard''s office and other designated locations to claim the bounties. To his pleasant surprise, on top of the quest reward, they also paid for the material at market value. A few quick stops net him close to 80 Ducats. Together with the amounts he looted and saved up during previous days, he now owned around 150 Ducats. He also had some loose jewelry he would pawn off as soon as he reached a sizable settlement. At the guard office, he noticed several requests concerning the Corruptor. One for sightings of it, another for the location of its lair, and yet another for killing it. The reward for killing the Corruptor was quite decent, but it required handing over some proof, which would be confiscated and studied. Manco only had the wand, which he would much prefer to hold on to. Not only was it a useful weapon, but he also needed to show it to Queen Tarathiel if he decided to play messenger. Eventually, he settled for giving directions to the cave in Death Forest. The officer at the table told him to come back the next day and promised to hand him the reward after they had confirmed the location. When he left the guard''s office, he saw the earlier bunch of players heading out the north gate, apparently having formed a party. The shaman girl that bumped into him was also with them, trying to keep up while maintaining a distance from the male party members. Shrugging, he went back to the general store. Araun was behind the counter fiddling with something as usual. Manco replenished his supply of crossbow bolts. He expected to get the gun soon, but in the meantime, it wouldn''t hurt to be prepared. He also bought several dozen empty vials to contain the blessed water. "What''s the biggest shield you have that requires around 15 strength to use?" he moved to the last item on his shopping list. "Wait here," Araun left his seat and went back to an inner room. Several minutes later, he emerged with a tower shield. Perhaps shield was the incorrect word. It looked more like a small door with a handle to hold on to. The shield was rectangular in shape, made of wood and rawhide, reinforced with strips of iron. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.Manco held the tower shield and crouched down, pleased to find that it completely covered him from head to toe. It was moderately heavy and slowed him down a little, but it would do. "How much for this?" he asked. "25 Ducats. Yer heading to the frontline or something, lad?" the shopkeeper asked curiously. "No," he answered with a chuckle, "just have a hunch I would need it soon." Leaving the store, Manco waited around until the armorer had finished repairing his leather armor, arm guard, pants and boots. He re-equipped his gear and found each of them had the maximum durability reduced by 1 or 2 points, which was acceptable. After checking his equipment once again and finding them adequate, he looked at the time. It was almost 5 p.m. He waited near the north gate, idly opening the crafting screen to make random items to pass the time. At around 5:30, Rust approached him and wordlessly nodded. He followed Rust outside the gate, where Trix, Bolt, and Lug were waiting. Together, they headed north-east along the main road. The western area of Betovium had relatively diverse terrain. The border between Betovium and Haufaria was marked by a massive mountain range called the Iron Wall, which ran from the north-west to south-east, parallel with dense and dangerous Death Forest. As one moved toward the east, the forest became less dense, and the land became more fertile. Misty Woods was located between Death Forest and the hilly area where the outpost ring was built. Mistwood Forest was built on a hill surrounded by relatively flat farm-able lands. It was connected to other villages in the outpost ring with small roads and had a large road leading toward larger settlements in the flatlands. Manco was currently traveling along this large road. On the way, they saw wagons and carts carrying workers and cattle back to the village after a hard day''s work. Ignoring the villagers'' curious looks at the group who left the settlement''s safety at dusk, they kept moving. The road they were traveling on was large enough for three wagons to travel side by side. It was well-traveled and well-maintained. Rust led the way, followed by Manco and Trix. Bolt and Lug hung back a few paces after them. As they traveled, Rust made small talks with Manco, while Bolt and Lug were immersed in some obscure game which Bolt always won. Trix was silent most of the time and only talked when spoken to. "Did you get into a fight?" Manco jokingly asked Rust, gesturing at his split lower lip. "No," Rust chuckled humorlessly, "Calling it a fight is not quite accurate. It was a little one-sided." He subconsciously lifted his hand up to massage his jaws, revealing swollen knuckles. Earlier, Manco had spotted Bolt with a black eye. He could pretty much guess what happened between them. They were getting increasingly stressed out. One member of their group went missing. The job with the Sacred Dear went sideways, so they had to move up the schedule for this current job. Bolt had a big mouth, so at one point or another, he might have said something to which Rust reacted by punching him in the face. Considering Lug and Bolt were as thick as thieves, it was quite likely that Lug also participated, which explained Rust''s split lip. It looked like Rust was losing his grip on this band of misfits. They were beginning to question his leadership. Sooner or later they would turn on him. After about an hour, the grassland gave way to a dense forest. The road directly cut through the forest and was a little more uneven. Trees on both sides of the road had been felled, creating a one-meter wide strip of clearing to improve visibility and to give travelers a moment of warning should wild beasts or bandits show up. When it was completely dark, three torches were lit, illuminating the path around them in a flickering orange light. The creatures around these parts were a lot tamer and less dangerous than those in Death Forest. Manco only heard small animals scurrying about. Occasionally there was a wolf howl, but the party did not run into any predator. Chapter 27: The Farm "We''re here!" Rust said, and the group stopped moving. Manco could make out a small, barely discernible trail branching away from the main road. "Bolt, come with me! The rest of you wait here." Rust said, then he and Bolt followed the small trail to scout ahead. Lug sat down on the ground, leaning on a tree stump and began getting lost in his own world. Manco sat with his back to a tree and listened to his surroundings. "Hey, you got a moment?" Trix asked him. "Sure," he shrugged, "not much to do here." She sat down next to him, her knee lightly brushed against his. She smelled of sweat, with a lingering scent of cheap perfume. "It seems you''re doing well in the last few days," she commented. "I''m doing alright," he answered indifferently. "Where are you heading next? After you''re done here?" "I''m not sure yet. Maybe to another village. Maybe back to flatlands. Why?" he asked. Trix was silent for a moment, and he turned and looked at her. In the flickering torchlight, her expressions were obscured and unreadable. Eventually, she bit her lips and asked: "Can I go with you?" "What about Rust?" "He''s¡­ getting tenser by the day. I think the stress is getting to him," she said, leaning on him as if seeking comfort, "I''m feeling¡­ unsafe near him, to be honest!" Manco suddenly had an urge to put his hand around her throat and squeeze. This bitch! She was willing to betray her lover in a heartbeat! He caught himself clenching his fists so hard they hurt. He shook his head. It was quite unlike him to get so worked up by an NPC! It was not her fault she acted this way. She was simply designed to. His strong reaction was probably due to his recent real-life experience. He looked at her again and saw that her pleasing features were strained by worry and stress. She was desperate. Trix''s class was "Faith Healer," one of the most useless class, even by NPC standards. She was garbage at combat, and could not heal in any meaningful capacity. She was doomed from the start to be a useless existence, to throw herself at any man who could offer her any measure of safety, then to be cast away when they got sick of her. In this case, she decided to jump ship first. "We''ll see," it was all Manco could say. With a disappointed sigh, Trix nodded, stood up and sat at another spot. Rust and Bolt came back from scouting. After another half an hour of waiting, Manco heard the sound of hooves clacking. Then he saw a faint light at a distance. As the light got closer, he realized it was a horse-drawn cart. Gesturing them to stay still, Rust held up his torch and waved it in a specific pattern. The cart stopped moving. A few moments later, a torch was lit and waved back, allowing them to approach. As the cart approached, Manco noticed it was quite solid as if built to carry abnormally heavy cargo. Two men, one short and squat, the other tall and lanky, sat in front, controlling the muscular horses. Two other men, who are as big as Lug, jumped down from behind the cart. All four were armed with either swords, knives or axes, one of the big guys had a large bow strung over his back. They all have hardy faces of men who are no stranger to the rugged life. Rust stepped closer and exchanged a few sentences with the thin man, who then gestured the two muscle heads to join the group. Together, they moved away from the main road and followed a small trail Rust scouted earlier.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. While navigating the uneven ground and brushing low-hanging branches out of the way, Manco inspected the two new party members. They were Van and Dan, and both are of the "Footsoldier" class. With two more torches lit, the group of seven made their way through the dense forest. The air was filled by the constant chirping of crickets and cicadas. The bushes around them ruffled as small animals ran past. Occasionally, an owl let out a screech, or several wolves howled in turn, breaking the monotony and startling several members of the group, especially Bolt and Dan. After nearly an hour of walking, the animal noises grew noticeably sparser. The air grew colder, and the forest''s natural cocktail smells of soft earth, wood, leaves, and animal droppings gradually became drowned out by another smell. The scent of death and decay. They approached a sizable clearing, on which stood a small temple and a graveyard. There were no less than fifty graves arranged in neat rows of seven or eight. Each grave was marked by a different kind of markers. Some had decent-looking gravestones with still readable carvings. Others only had a piece of rotten, moss-covered wood marking the resting place of the deceased. They passed by the graves and headed toward the temple. Rust retrieved a key and opened the heavy padlock on the temple''s door. With a loud squeak, the doors swung open. A warm and damp wave of air rushed out from inside the temple and washed over their faces, carrying a nauseating pungent smell. Several of them gagged, and some others retched. "I still can''t get used to this!" Bolt commented as he wiped his mouth. "Smells funny," Lug said, unfazed. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Don''t breath in too much, you idiot! Your brain will rot!" Bolt scolded him. "Heh! As if there''s anything left in there to rot," Trix interjected sarcastically. Before Bolt could react, Rust held up a hand. "Enough! Let''s get this over with!" The group headed inside the temple and Rust closed the door. The temple had been completely cleaned out a long time ago. Only pieces of broken planks or rotted fabric littered the floor. They walked to a far corner and entered the priest''s quarter. In a corner was a well-disguised trapdoor. Rust opened the trapdoor, revealing a stone staircase leading downstairs and unleashing another wave of pungent smell. Bracing themselves, the group headed down. In his old life, Mahn Li had been here dozens of times, looking for the gun. He knew the layouts of the place like the back of his hand. This spacious subterranean area had four rooms connected by small tunnels and pathways. The place can be randomized a little, with the room placements switched around, and one or two extra rooms added in, but the general layout was similar. It was the stage for no less than half a dozen quests. In this particular quest, the place is set as the farm for a special type of fungus known as ''Ophiocordyceps,'' a highly sought-after ingredient for a wide variety of powerful and destructive alchemical concoctions. Because of its potential use, it was outlawed by most kingdoms and was only sold on the black market by shady individuals. The warm, pungent air that assaulted them was created by the fungus as it matured. The room they were currently in was the storage room. Most of it was occupied by wooden crates. The crates nearest to them contained countless empty grain bags used for storing the harvest. Rust gestured Dan, Van, and Lug, who grabbed the grain bags and divided it among themselves. Exiting the room, they entered the main hallway. The compound''s layout was quite straightforward. Four rooms were distributed along a 30m long hallway. On one end of the hallway was the storage room, which they just exited. On the other end was the indoor farm. Outside the storage room, on the left side was a path leading to the living quarters. On the right side, another path led to the plant-nursing room. The group turned left to the living quarters. Normally, there would be three or four people growing and tending to the fungus and this room was where they lived most of the time. It had a small larder, a fire pit with a crockpot on it, and four beds made of bundles of straw. At this moment, three beds were occupied... ... by three dead bodies. "What the hell?" Rust said through gritted teeth after the shock wore off. He carefully made his way to each of the bed and examined the bodies. Manco followed suit. Each of them had a gaping wound at their neck. There was no sign of a struggle, which suggested they were killed in their sleep. A large pool of dried blood drenched the bed, mixed with bodily waste. Coupled with the smell of the bodies, which were in the early stages of decomposition, the smell was overwhelmingly horrid, even overpowering the smell of the fungus. "Who did this?" Trix asked, covering her nose. "My best guess is the fourth guy," Manco answered dryly. At that moment, something moved at his peripheral vision. He turned and saw one of the bodies twitching. "Everyone, stay back! Away from the bodies!" He warned the group. Alarmed by his voice, they moved back several steps, eyes trained on the corpses. It was then that the other two dead bodies began moving as well. Starting from an arm or foot, the movements spread to the whole body. What began as a twitch became a jerk, then the whole bodies violently convulsed like they were having a seizure. Then they rolled from the bed onto the floor and began flopping around like fish out of water. With a series of snaps and cracks, the corpses'' heads, arms, and legs began turning and contorting at inhuman angles. "What the hell''s happening?" Someone asked in alarm, the question hung in the air unanswered. Chapter 28: The Secret Entrance *SNAP!* *CRACK!* *SQUEEEELCH!* The sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing was heard as the limbs struggled to free themselves from the torso, which was inflating and deflating like a balloon. *POP!* *POP!* *POP!* Popping sounds filled the air as countless walnut-sized objects burst out from the corpses like grains of corn popping out from the cob. Immediately, the corpses were shredded into pieces of flesh, bones, skin, and guts, much to everyone''s shock and horror. The slime-covered objects rolled down onto the ground then began growing at a pace visible to the naked eyes. Within seconds, the floor was covered with hundreds of small insect-like creature the size of a human head. "Crypt lice!" Shouted Bolt, but he made no movement. Crypt Lice were cadaver-eating insects which spawned magically inside corpses. They remained small while digging around in the carcasses and could quickly grow to full-size moments after leaving the feeding ground. A single louse was not a threat to anyone, but a large group of them could easily spell trouble. Their armored carapace was resilient to weapons, and their bites carried a wide variety of diseases and curses that severely weakened the victim, leaving them vulnerable to subsequent attacks. A single dead adult human body can host up to fifty lice. However, places with a lot of dead miasmas like this one greatly facilitated their growth, which boosted both their quantities and size. The corpses'' unusual movements earlier were caused by the sheer amount of lice struggling to escape. "Everyone, back to the doorway! We''ll use it as a choke point!" Rust commanded. The group retreated back to the doorway. Van unstrung the bow from his back and nocked an arrow. The cramped tunnel and the six people around him made his movement awkward and he could not aim properly. He loosed an arrow, which bounced harmlessly off of one louse and fell somewhere in the swarm. "Let me handle this!" Manco said, elbowing Van out of the way. Holding the skull wand, he cast. [Dark Implosion]! He quickly adjusted the spell''s impact point then released it. Immediately, a tiny back spot appeared in the air, right above the largest group of crypt lice crawling over each other. *WHOOSH!* *BAMF!* -35! -10! -37! -12! -34! -18! ... The air around the black spot disappeared with a flash, creating a vacuum in a spherical area with a one-meter radius. With a muffled sound, the air around rushed toward the vacuum, instantly clumping dozens of crypt lice together. They chittered and flailed around painfully as they fell down to the ground, injured both by the magical force and the impacts. [Mana Blast] Manco immediately fired a mana blast toward the clumped together insects. The combined damage of [Dark Implosion] and [Mana Blast] was enough to wipe out several dozen lice at the center of the blast. The notification area was quickly filled with messages, which he ignored. [Enemy "Weak Crypt Lice (lv 10)" slain] [Creature info added to beastiary] [XP + 189] (+215%) [Enemy "Weak Crypt Lice (lv 11)" slain] ... "Well done!" Rust complimented him. Without responding, Manco alternated between firing off Dark Implosions and Mana Blasts at the swarm. He carefully timed and positioned the spells to do the most damage and prevent the majority of the lice from reaching the group. A couple did slip through from time to time, but the group could handle them just fine. After several minutes, only a handful of the carcass-eating scavengers remained, which were easily dealt with several boot stomps. "Is everyone alright?" Manco asked and one by one the group grunted affirmations. "I think I bit my tongue," Lug voiced a complaint which everyone ignored. "I''ve never seen so many crypt lice!" Bolt shook his head, "This is insane!" "Yeah, this place really helped them grow," Rust nodded, "Good job, Manco. We''re lucky you''re with us!" Manco nodded at Rust then looked at Trix, Van, and Dan. Trix''s face was white as a sheet and there were tears in her eyes; clearly, she was not familiar with seeing such a grisly sight. Van and Dan were slightly unsettled but quickly regained their calm. "Come on, let''s go!" Rust said. "You STILL wanna do this?" Bolt protested, "I say we all get the hell out of here before something even worse jumps us." "Sure, if you wanna go," Rust glared at the short man "go talk to them." He said and gestured at Van and Dan. Bolt turned to the two big men who both gave him a look that said: "Don''t even think about it." With a groan, he dropped the idea. While Bolt and Rust were arguing, Manco made his way to an alcove in the room. "Here it is!" he whispered and pressed a hidden button on the wall. "Hey! What is that?" Bolt demanded. "I''m going in first to check it out!" Manco replied. Without waiting for anyone to protest, he stepped into the door. The moment Manco crossed the door, the noises outside abruptly stopped. He turned around and found the door gone. He was engulfed by silence and darkness. A small message then floated in front of him for a few seconds then disappeared. [Bonus stage 1: The maze] [Try and find the way out!] After a few moments, he became aware of the only sound around: that of his own heartbeats. *Thump-Thump* *Thump-Thump* He strained his eyes, but could not see anything. He lit his torch and held it ahead of him. There were neither wall or ceiling to be seen. The flickering light was completely swallowed by the black nothingness around him. Looking down, Manco saw a tiny dirt trail glowing a dull red color, leading into the unknown. Carefully, Manco followed the trail. It was suspended in midair, surrounded by the unseeable void. He took slow steps, maintained his balance. Falling down meant he would be expelled from this location. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The trail twisted and turned, sometimes doubled back and folded upon itself. As hard as he looked, he could never see more than a few meters ahead. It was like the trail was continuously being built as he traversed it. After several minutes, the trail began branching out into a maze. "I hate this part!" Manco sighed. Trying his best to recall the correct path, he navigated the maze. There was absolutely no feature to mark the way. Anything put down onto the ground is immediately blown off the trail and flew down the nothingness below. The silence was crushing. The sound of dirt crunching under his boots and his heartbeats only made him more aware of how abnormally devoid of sounds the place was. He hit a dead end a few times and almost fell off the path twice before eventually finding his bearing. After fifteen minutes that felt like hours, he spotted the entrance to the next section. As he stepped on to the relatively stable ground, he stretched and let out a sigh of relief. [Bonus stage 1 cleared] [Bonus stage 2: The gauntlet] [Time elapsed: 00:00] [Trap triggered: 0] [Good luck!] This part was a hallway about one hundred meters long, lined with traps which are activated by several different mechanisms: tripwires, pressure plates and so on. It was like a level in action-adventure games. In addition, he also could not backtrack. As he advanced through the hallway, the walls on either sides will close in, cutting off his retreat and forcing him to move forward. Common sense would dictate he should try to make it to the other side without causing any trap to spring. However, the trick to unlock the next area was to do the opposite. "A hundred fifty-three traps, in a hundred fifty-five seconds," Manco mumbled the requirements that he had learned by heart and completed dozens of time. He got into the ready position and mentally mapped out the route. ''Here we go!'' He began by rolling on the floor, activating two dozen pressure plates. *Clack* *Clack* *Clack* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh*... Countless arrows shot out from the holes on either side of the wall, and several spiked boards sprung from the ceiling. They all completely missed him, as he was on the floor. Time elapsed: 00:13 Traps triggered: 28 He stood up on tiptoes, barely skirting the several pressure plates positioned densely on the floor. After a brief moment to reorient himself, he resumed moving. In the next minute and a half, Manco dodged crumbling floor tiles, falling ceiling blocks, poisonous darts, acid sprays, pendulum axes, and spinning blades. Time elapsed: 00:52 Traps triggered: 73 He jumped, ducked, rolled, and twisted himself out of harm''s way at the last possible moments. Time elapsed: 01:01 Traps triggered: 93 He did not think of what he was doing, instead, he relied mostly on his reflexes and muscle memory. He had done this many times, after all. ''Hmm, muscle memory is actually a misnomer. The procedural memory isn''t really stored in the muscles but in the brain, specifically...'' As he relaxed, his mind began to wander and randomly summoned up old tidbits of information. Time elapsed: 01:23 Traps triggered: 127 Occasionally he glanced at the timer and the trap count to make minor adjustments, either slowing down, speeding up, tripping an additional trap or avoiding one. Time elapsed: 01:57 Trap activated: 154 As he was thirty meters away from the exit, he had only one trap left to activate and 38 seconds left on the clock. This last stretch of the hallway only had one pressure plate. Triggering it would unleash a gigantic torrent of projectiles that was impossible to dodge. His only option was to endure it. If he had been at level 100 or so, with a more generous pool of HP and better equipment, he wouldn''t bat an eye at this challenge. In his current state, however, it was a bit more difficult. Without stopping, Manco took out his new tower shield and hold it on his right hand. Glancing at his belt to make sure the four slots were all loaded with health potion, he stepped on the last pressure plate and moved forward to avoid the closing walls. Instantly, darts, bolts, arrows, spears. projectiles of all shapes and sizes rained on him from the walls. Grimacing, he held up his shield to block the heaviest projectiles, and let the smaller ones hit him. Time elapsed: 01:59 Trap activated: 155 -15! -1! -2! -1! -17! ... His health was chipped away at a slowly by the smaller darts, while some spears pierced the shield and hit his body, taking out moderate chunks. Grunting with pain, he kept moving forward, trying his best to protect his head. Time elapsed: 02:05 He drank the first potion, feeling the pain briefly subsiding as his health was filled to the top. Seconds later, his health bar was back down to 60% and steadily dropped. 40% 20% 13% ... He drank the second, then the third potion. The storm of projectiles was unrelenting. He had no choice but to move slowly and endure it. Time elapsed: 02:23 "Just twelve more seconds!" He gritted his teeth. Time elapsed: 02:29... Time elapsed: 02:33... *CRASH*! His shield could no longer hold on against the metal storm and broke into splinter. Time elapsed: 02:34... ''Now!'' His eyes lit up, Manco accelerated toward the end of the hallway. Ignoring the dozens of arrows stuck on his body, he jumped and landed on the last tile marking the completion of the gauntlet. Time elapsed: 02:35 [Bonus stage 2 cleared] [Bonus stage 3: The apartment] A door materialized on the wall next to him. "Finally!" He pumped his fist, and opened the door leading to the final area. Chapter 29: The Apartment As the door closed behind him, Manco found himself in the hallway of a nondescript apartment building. The place appeared to be a luxurious, high-end building that had been long abandoned. The floor was covered in trash, old condoms, and used syringes. The walls were covered with vulgar graffiti. Most of the fluorescent lamps on the ceiling were already broken. The ones that still worked were flickering non-stop, casting a sickly yellow light on everything. Ignoring the putrid smell of garbage, urine, and feces, Manco made his way to the last door on the right, room 153. He turned the doorknob. The door opened with a creak and he headed inside. "Yes!" he exclaimed as he took in the sight. In the last two years as Scourge''s top assassin and council member, Mahn Li had grown increasingly apathetic and despondent. Disillusioned with the guild''s direction of growth, he shut himself off from most of their dealings. He would go off the radar and disappear for days on end to search for random things in the game that still piqued his curiosity: unique quests, items, mounts, places that few had set foot in. Exploring was the only thing that kept him attached to the game, besides messing with the League of Justice. One of his long-time obsessions was the elusive gun. After several months trying to contact its former owners, a Black Mage named Fled''frid and a Ranger called Cyndrames, he eventually learned how they acquired it. From a series of obscure clues and hints scattered in diaries and dialogues with NPC, they figured out the entrance of the bonus stages and the method to pass them. Mahn Li had followed the instructions and passed the maze and the gauntlet dozens of time. However, the third stage, the apartment, was always empty. There was absolutely nothing in room 153. Unlike now. Meeting his eyes were promotional posters of the game, featuring famous storyline-related NPCs: Grimbeard the Dwarven Berserker, Tarathiel the High Elf Queen, as well as many others whose names and histories he still remembered. Turning on the recording function, he headed deeper inside, grateful that the smell in the hallway did not follow him. The apartment was quite small and felt even more cramped because of how untidy it was. Cardboard boxes were all over the place. Some were open, revealing personal items inside such as clothing or bath towels. It was as if the owner just moved here and had not bothered to unpack anything, content with digging out as few items as possible. Navigating the cardboard boxes, he reached the guest room. It was a cookie-cutter room, with no trace of the owner. Following the giant mess of electrical cables, he headed into the bedroom. This place was obviously where the owner spent most of his time. Occupying one corner was a pile made of pizza boxes, Chinese takeout packets, empty chip bags, and other food wrappings. Old clothes scattered around the floor. In the middle of the room was a large table which was strangely devoid of random trash. Approaching the table, Manco realized it was actually a large integrated computer. The table''s sleek black surface was a monitor. He touched it, and a quiet hum let him know the whole thing was booting up. Several seconds later, he was faced with the desktop screen filled with hundreds of icons. "What am I supposed to do with this?" Manco muttered as he reached out and touched one of the icons with his finger. No response. He tried the icons one by one. Some opened up a web page. Others opened a word document. He lazily skimmed through them at first, but gradually became interested as the contents became more... interesting. Besides its breakthrough products, Immersive Interaction was also known for a long history of lawsuits and controversies. Hostile takeovers, intellectual property thefts, mistreatments of employees, animal cruelty, bribery, corruption and so on. It had all sorts of allegations against it and somehow kept coming out on top. In his old life, Mahn Li was never the sort to care about the drama behind-the-scenes of the games he played. Right now, however, he felt he was in the room of someone who had insider knowledge of the whole thing and could not help but felt curious. Belatedly remembering he was still recording, he hastily scrolled through the documents, consisting of meeting memos, emails, and other sensitive information, intending to peruse them in detail later with the replay function. Right now, he needed a clue to get to the gun. The moment he clicked on the last icon on the desktop, the screen turned off and the computer shut down. A transparent keypad hovered in front of him. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.[ Enter password ] He entered "1-5-5." [ Password incorrect ] He tried again with "1-5-3-1-5-5" [ Password accepted ] The keypad dissolved into a thin strip of light, curving back to the hallway. Following it, he saw the light entering one of the cardboard boxes. Opening the box, he saw a small ornate chest, the kind that contained treasures in the game. "Is this it?" His heart pounding, Manco lifted the chest out of the box and opened it. Inside was a small gun that could fit snugly into his palm. It had a chrome finish and an ivory grip. As he touched it, a notification screen sprang up. ¡²Pick up "%-a####@!-"?¡³ ¡²?Yes¡³¡²No¡³ "Wait!" he hastily selected "No." The apartment had always been empty in his previous life. He suspected that picking up the gun would trigger an event that destroyed all the objects in the apartment. He wasn''t sure of it, but it wouldn''t hurt to be careful. Thus, with the chest in hand, he poked around every corner of the apartment. Most of the containers and drawers were locked up tight, saving him the time and effort to sift through the item. Right next to the computer, he found a small thumb drive. "How am I supposed to use this?" He muttered. He could plug it into the computer, but the thing simply refused to boot up. "Do I need to find another bonus stage like this?" It was quite possible that whoever built this bonus stage might have built others. He put the thumb drive into his inventory and kept searching the apartment. Eventually, satisfied that he had left no stone unturned, he picked up the gun and inspected it. ? The Collector ?(Rarity: One of a kind. No, seriously!) ¡ï > Type: Derringer (One-handed) > Requirement: Be smart and handsome! Quick trigger finger is also a must! Good aim is optional. > Damage: 10 (piercing) + projectile damage. Range: 30m + projectile range. Ammunition: Magic Crystals. Capacity: 4 > Description: The person who created this weapon obviously never heard of the phrase ''With great power comes great responsibility.'' Use it, abuse it, don''t cry when you lose it! > Weight: 0.9 kg > Durability: 1/1 > Effects: - ??? (Requirement to unlock: ???) - ??? (Requirement to unlock: ???) - Fragile: Durability-1 upon owner''s death - Fickle: 100% chance to drop upon owner''s death ¡ª.¡ª "..." Manco was speechless for a moment as he looked at the weapon''s stats. Especially the 1 durability and the fact that it had 100% chance to drop upon owner''s death. This is too cruel! Could this be how the original owners lose this weapon? "Those two assholes!" He said with a sigh, "You gotta be fucking kidding me! How am I supposed to use this?" For a brief moment, he thought about giving up the build and re-roll another character. He had only wasted a few days, he might be able to... "Hang on a minute..." he mumbled, "Of course!" He remembered it now! The gun used by Fled''frid and Cyndrames was not a derringer. It looked like a six-barreled handgun. Either it was a different weapon altogether, or it was still this gun but upgraded. He was partial toward the second theory. In addition, normal upgrades could not alter the appearance so drastically, which left only one explanation... "This is a legacy weapon!" Legacy equipment is a special type of equipment in the game. Unlike other magic items, a legacy item becomes more powerful alongside its user. This was done by completing hidden objectives that matched the achievements of its former owner. When certain objectives were fulfilled, the item would reach the next "milestone": its appearance would change and new abilities would be unlocked. Each legacy equipment had multiple milestones, requiring increasingly difficult tasks to unlock. "So that''s how it''s gonna be, huh?" Manco felt excitement coursing through him. This was gonna be fun! He was quite certain that Cyndrames died at least once while carrying the gun, so it should be possible to increase the durability through upgrades. As for the dying part... "I''ll just have to avoid dying, I guess!" Manco chuckled at the challenge. Besides, there might be a way to circumvent this limitation. The Magic Crystal projectile was gonna be a problem for another day. Despite the description, it was possible to use the gun to fire spells that he knew. It was limited to tier-1 spells and the damage was significantly lower, but it was better than nothing. Right now he only had to focus on one thing: the legacy. He would need to figure out the condition to unlock the next milestone. Nine times out of ten, one of the conditions was killing things. Lots and lots of things. Chapter 30: A Familiar Face One minute after Manco picked up the gun, a small wave of energy emanated from the chest. It quickly expanded outward and turned every object in the apartment into dust. He stood in the middle of the empty #153 apartment, a sight with which he was familiar. After a moment, a crackle of electricity was heard as a portal opened up in the middle of the room. He checked the place one more time to make sure nothing remained, then stepped through the portal. A few seconds of weightlessness later, he found himself back inside the living quarters, in front of the secret entrance that was now closed. The rest of the group was still standing where they did before. When he entered the bonus stages, the main scenario simply stopped progressing. "Back so soon?" Rust asked, "What''s in there?" From his point of view, Manco had only stepped inside the door for a few seconds. "Nothing. Just an empty room." Manco replied. "Alright. Let''s go!" Exiting the living quarter, they went into the room on the other side of the hallway, the plant-nursing room. The Ophiocordyceps fungus could not grow by itself and had to survive by parasitizing several species of corn. This room was where the maize plants were grown and artificially infected with the fungus. After about ten days, they would be moved to one of the three indoor farms. The plant-nursing room was similar in size to the living quarters. It had multiple long tables lined with small earthen pots where the maize plants were grown. The room had been thoroughly ransacked. Broken pot fragments, clumps of dirt and trampled plants littered the floor. Several tables were overturned and it looked like someone tried but failed to set fire to the place. "Damn it!" Rust ran out of the room and rushed to the farm, followed by the rest of the group. The farm was the largest room in the compound, comparable in size to a football field. It was carved into the rocks and partially illuminated by torches put in sconces along the walls. The main source of light, however, was the arrays of naturally glowing gemstones set on the uneven ceiling. The room was divided into more than two dozen rectangular sections, each having at least a hundred maize plants in densely packed rows. Suspended two meters above the field was an extensive network of walkways made of bamboo and wooden planks tied together with ropes. As the growing fungus was highly toxic, accidentally brushing over or inhaling even a spore could lead to a painful and gruesome death. The suspended walkways, along with the pathways between the sections, were needed to allow the caretakers a small measure of safety while tending to the plants. The life cycle of the fungus was 90 days. During the 90th day, the fully matured fungus would release its spores into the air, turning the entire area into an extremely lethal environment. After one day, it would become inert and could be handled without any protective garment. Judging from the red-brown patches on the maize plants, the fungus had matured at least one day ago and should be perfectly safe to harvest. Letting out a relieved sigh, Rust gestured for the group to approach the closest section. Everyone except Manco and Rust began gathering the fungus. Each of them took out a small knife and cut all the leaves with fungus and stuff them in the empty grain bags. When a plant had been stripped of all the leaves, they cut it down. Rust turned to Manco and said: "You climb up the walkway over there. See if there''s anything unusual." Nodding, Manco jogged north, to the sections further away from the entrance. Using the rope ladder on one of the posts, he climbed up the walkway. From his vantage point, he took in the sight of the farm. At the south corner, the group was making short work of the plants. He could see them moving and harvesting with practiced ease. It took them only ten minutes to clear the first section. As he shifted his gaze to the sections closer to where he was, he spotted something. A man-sized trail made of trampled plants. Using the walkway, Manco approached the trail. It appeared at least one person had walked through the field and stepped all over the maize plants, not caring about their lethality. From the direction the plants fell, this person seemed to have started walking from the middle of the field and moved toward the northeast corner. [Quest updated: A Helping Hand] [Inform Rust of the anomaly] He whistled to catch Rust''s attention and signaled him to come. After he briefly explained his observations, Rust nodded grimly. "Bastard''s already infected." Rust said: "Could be a couple thieves or robbers who know of the plants'' value, but not of their characteristics." "Do we have to clean it up?" Manco asked. "Unfortunately, yes," Rust glanced back toward the south sections, where Trix, Bolt, Lug, Van, and Dan were hard at work: "Better do it now before they get tired." He let out a shrill whistle to call to the five and made a "come here" gesture. "Looks like we''ve got some cleaning up to do," After the last person was up on the walkway, Rust explained the problem. "Could it be the fourth guy?" Bolt speculated. "I doubt it. He should be clear about the fungus'' maturity." Rust rejected the idea: "Doesn''t matter. Check your weapons. We go and deal with it right now and finish harvesting later." The five reluctantly complied, clearly not too thrilled by another potential life-threatening situation. Together they marched toward the northeast corner. The walkway creaked in protest under their combined weights. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Uh, I think these walkways weren''t designed to carry all of us at the same time," Trix commented. "Yup. These two are heavy." Lug agreed, pointing at Van and Dan. "Hey! You''re one to talk!" Van protested. "Enough! All of you!" Rust shouted, "We''ll walk on the ground!" Cautiously they followed the trail, taking care not to scrape away any of the matured fungi. After several minutes, they reached the end of the field. On the soft ground, one could see tracks leading toward the chamber''s north-east wall. "What the hell?" Rust exclaimed as they reached the wall, "This wasn''t here before!" There was a small passage on the wall, and the tracks disappeared inside. Manco was getting more anxious by the minute. This scenario was completely different from the usual "Helping Hand" quest. The version he used to complete was supposed to be an introduction to the area around Mistwood Village, set the atmosphere, and establish this western region as a lawless and dangerous area. Normally, it would involve a random group of vagrants trying to make some money. They were hired to harvest the fungus and were one man short, so he was drafted at the last moment. There would be some combat but it would only involve some wild animals or graveyard dwellers. The underground compound should be safe. They would enter this place, harvest the fungus, and carry it back to the horse-drawn cart. At that moment, the group would be paid and so would he. This scenario, however, went off the rail from the point where three dead bodies were gruesomely mutilated by a swarm of crypt lice. Now he was forced to chase down an unknown person into an unknown underground passage. "Why such a drastic change?" He asked himself. He wanted to get the hell out of this place. However, he was stuck here until the quest was completed or he died and respawned. The mere thought of dying and losing the gun set him on edge. "Fuck! What the hell''s wrong with me?" He berated himself, "Just carrying one fragile item and already feeling like I''m gonna spontaneously explode!" Steeling his nerves, he took stock of the situation. There were six NPCs with him. At least four of them seemed combat capable. They should be able to handle the threats or at least serve as decent distractions. Manco opened his inventory. After making sure his crossbow was fully loaded with armor-piercing bolts, he applied poison onto his dagger and several dozen bolts. He filled the four belt slots with Redberry Juice vials and equipped the gun to his third weapon slot. The group slowly headed into the narrow passage. Rust led the way, but stopped and looked down. It seemed he just stepped on something. A closer inspection revealed a pair of torn shoes. Next, to them, bloody footprints leading deeper inside the passage. Moving forward, they saw torn bits of fabric and spatters of blood. "What happened to him?" Trix whispered. "He could be going insane. Tearing apart his clothes, mutilating himself, trying to dig out the fungi. When it gets to your brain, a lot of things can happen." Rust calmly explained as the rest of his group shuddered involuntarily. "Say, Rust. Can we just finish the harvesting and get out of here? Let someone else deal with this?" Bolt asked. "We can''t. It''s part of the deal. If we do this half-assed, next time they won''t hire us!" He bluntly rejected the suggestion. The pathway opened up into a large cavern. The uneven ground was covered in strange vein-like roots. The bloody footprints approached the far side of the cavern and ended there. In its place was a bundle of rag. "Everyone stay close. Watch each other''s back!" Rust ordered. "Where is he?" Van took out a spear and use it to lift up the bundle, "This fabric looks weird. Or is it leather?" "Spread it out on the floor!" Manco spoke abruptly. Van threw him a displeased look but did as as told. As he used his spear to stretch out the bundle on the floor, they let out a collective gasp. It was human skin! "Gods! Don''t tell me he just... shed his skin? Like a snake?" Bolt said, his voice betraying terror. "Or something ate him from the inside, leaving only the skin!" Dan added his own hypothesis, which hardly helped to calm everyone''s nerves. At that moment, something inside the wall shifted. Manco noticed that the wall looked... alive, somehow. He held the torch high and looked up. The others followed his gaze... ...and saw a human face embedded inside the cave wall several meters off the ground. It was the same brown-grey color as the cave wall, so they all missed it in the dim torchlight. "That face is... kind of familiar." Lug commented. "Is that... Nicholas?" Trix asked. "Fuck! It''s really him!" Bolt said angrily, "he wanted to steal the fungus for himself, and got here before us!" "So he killed the three guys? But what happened to him?" "Who cares? He''s dead! Serves him right, that greedy pig!" Bolt dismissed with a spat. At that moment, the ground around them trembled and squirmed. The face protruded out from the cave wall and looked down at them. "HeeeEElp meeeeEEee...." It said with a throaty, ragged voice. "Oh, gods! He''s still alive!" Trix exclaimed, her voice shaking. "K-k-kill... meeeeEee..." The voice croaked. Then it was drowned out by a rumble that got louder by the minute. The place they were standing in now seemed less like a cave and more like the inside of a living creature. "Alright! Bring it!" Manco said with a grin as he readied his weapons. Chapter 31: The Puppet Master ¡² Flesh Puppet Master - Newborn (mini-boss) ¡³ ¡² Level: ?? - HP: ???¡³ ¡² Formed by the merging of sentient minds via an unholy ritual, this is an extremely dangerous being if left unchecked. Besides its lifespan that could last hundreds of year, the Puppet Master can create all sorts of twisted living things, given the time and material. History has recorded several examples of entire settlements being wiped out by Flesh Puppet Masters created either by accident or purposefully.¡³ --.-- "Been a while since I saw one of these," Manco muttered and felt a bit relieved. Despite its intimidating appearance, this particular one was a newborn, created no more than two days ago. It would be tough but not unbeatable. In addition, it was created with the Altar of Union, and defeating it would reveal... "Ooh... So that''s how it is, huh?" he let out a chuckle. This thing was placed here for a reason. As another rumble shook the ground, the section of the "wall" below Nicholas'' face rippled and churned, making it clear that it belong to a living creature. Creases began to form on its surface and with a wet squishing sound, its middle opened up, revealing a small chamber. Under the dim torchlight, they could see the shiny, fleshy wall lining the chamber, with something glowing at the innermost corner. "What the hell is that?" Unnerved by the sight, his companions blurted out. "Rust, mind if I call the shots for now?" Manco asked. "Go ahead!" Having decided he was in way over his head, Rust agreed. "Everyone, slowly retreat to the farm! More room to maneuver!" Manco said tersely. Eyes trained on the gaping hole on the wall, the group slowly made their way back through the narrow passage. As they retreated, Manco could see several objects quickly growing inside the hole. After a few moments, they were pushed out from the hole, which closed up. "Wheeeerrree... youuu... goooiiing??" Nicholas''s voice asked accusingly. Ignoring the voice, Manco caught up with the group and exited the narrow pathway. They were back at the farm, where it was a lot brighter and more spacious. "Everyone move further back!" Manco urged and the group complied. After a few moments, about ten figures staggered out of the pathway. "Oh, Gods!" "What are those things?" While the group shouted and gasped in disgust and revulsion, Manco Inspected the new creatures. ¡² Flesh Puppet - Incomplete ¡³ ¡² Level: 14 - HP: ???¡³ ¡² A pitiable but horrifying creature made from flesh and bones, which was grown with dark magic, and infused with grieving, wandering souls that knew nothing but silent suffering. Enticed by nefarious sources, the souls would gladly occupy a living body for however brief a moment, just for a respite from the crushing nothingness of their existence. ¡³ --.-- "Calm down!" he said to the group, "These are flesh puppets! They might look scary, but we can deal with them easily enough. The hard part is the puppet master!" These puppets were created in the Puppet Master''s "birth chamber" a few moments ago. They looked like someone tried to make a human, but decided to switch around the parts randomly and call it a day before it was finished. They were vaguely humanoid and stood upright, but everything else was wrong. For starters, they were skinless. As they walked in jerky strides, their muscles could be seen contracting and expanding, awkwardly controlling the badly made limbs. Some of them had not even had all the muscles in place, revealing bones and what seemed to be internal organs. Their heights ranged from 150 cm to 190 cm, and each was deformed in its own way. Some had one arm, others had three. Several had no hands, instead, long bones protruded from their forearms and formed jagged knives. Through the gaps in their chests, Manco could see a beating heart underneath. Some had the heart on the chest, others in the stomach. All of them had no eyes, only three holes where their noses and mouths should be. After the last puppet left the opening, the Puppet Master followed suit. It flowed out of the cave like toothpaste being squeezed out of the tube. Nicholas'' face came out first, followed by a shapeless blob of pink, red and grey mass made of flesh, bone and skin. After fully extracting itself from the small cave, the Puppet Master secured itself onto the farm''s stone wall. At its wordless command, the puppets spread out and approached the group. Lifting the crossbow, Manco used [Crippling Shots] to slow down the nearest puppet. He didn''t bother trying to blind it, as the master was keeping an eye on and directing them all. "Listen up!" he addressed the group "These things are slow. Just keep the distance and wear them down! Van, Bolt, conserve your arrows. When there is one of them left, stand next to me!" "Got it!" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.His companions got ready for combat. Rust took out his sword and shield. Bolt put away his crossbow and unsheathed his shortsword, as did Van who produced a small iron-studded club. Lug wielded a heavy two-handed ax and Dan brandished his spear. They spread out to give each other more room to maneuver. Trix seemed to be the designated healer, standing at a distance and awkwardly holding a dagger. As if on cue, the puppets also split up to attack everyone at the same time. "This isn''t too hard!" Lug shouted over the clamor of battle. He grabbed two puppets by the head and smashed them together. With a sickening crunch, the two twitched and fell down on the ground. "Yup!" Bolt shouted back as he dived between the legs of one puppet and cut its knees. It knelt down at the perfect height for him to drive his sword into its eye socket, killing it. "Anyone hungry?" Lug muses as he brought his giant ax down on to another puppet''s head, cleaving it into two. "Focus!" Rust interrupted their banter. He sidestepped and whirled, avoiding a bone dagger growing from a puppet''s misshapen arm. Using his inertia, he slammed his shield into its foot, taking it off balance. The abomination fell with a thump. Without missing a beat, he pounced on it, his sword stabbing down at an angle that neatly pierced the heart, taking a big chunk of its health. The creature weakly gurgled and lay still. Van and Dan had no trouble fighting the puppets either. Dan tripped one with his spear, letting Van slam his club on its head. Trix''s main contribution to the battle was casting spells to heal everyone''s small cuts and bruises. She tried to stab a half-dead puppet once, but was scared away by its swinging limbs and stopped trying to get close after that. Manco, meanwhile, was engaging three puppets at once. These puppets were only as fast as an average NPC human. Dodging three in melee combat was child''s play to him. He held his dagger in his right hand and his gun in his left. Using the dagger and mana bolts, he chipped away a puppet''s health until it was nearly dead, and finished it off with a mana blast. ¡²Creature "Flesh Puppet - Incomplete" (level 14) slain¡³ ¡²Creature information added to Beastiary¡³ ¡²+810 xp (+215%)¡³ ... Shooting spells through the gun was a little different than using his hand. For such a small gun, the Collector was surprisingly accurate and easy to use. There was absolutely no recoil. For a moment he felt like he was playing one of the old VR shooters before he got hooked by L3. As he held the gun, he noticed a fifth of his mana bar was locked. In addition, when fired through the gun, his spells got a little weaker, which he had to compensate by activating Arcane Surge. On the upside, the projectiles seemed to fly a little faster and further. All in all, it was pretty handy weapon. He couldn''t wait to fire higher-leveled spells through it. Despite its threatening appearance, the boss was pretty easy to handle. It had no attacks, and its most troublesome traits were that it was nearly immune to damage, and its ability to "birth" more monsters. When the number of puppets was down to one, Manco put away Collector and readied the crossbow. "Bolt, Van, get ready!" he shouted. The two men repositioned themselves on either side of him. After Rust killed the last puppet puppets, another wave of tremor began. With a squish, the spawning chamber under Nicholas'' face opened again. This time, under the bright light of the gemstones, they could clearly see a fleshy core at the furthest corner. A dozen tumor-like growths appeared around it and quickly inflated. ¡²Focus Shot¡³ ¡²Aimed Shot¡³ "Fire!" said Manco as he fired split-head bolts at the core. -53! -12! (poison) -5! (bleed) -11! (poison) ... -44! -12! (poison) -5! (bleed) ... This was the first time he used Gwyndham''s repeating crossbow, and he was amazed by how accurate and powerful it was. Each of his split-head bolts did solid 40-plus damage, along with bleeding and poisoning effects. Not to be outdone, Bolt and Van followed suit and fired at the core as fast as they could. -23! -31! ... The bolts and arrows flew like rain toward the spawning gate. Many struck the core, making the face cry out in pain. Several hit the growing sacs instead. After several dozen seconds, the sacs filled the spawning chamber, making it impossible to hit the core. Their barrage had reduced the puppet master''s health bar by 10%. "It''s gonna spawn again! Ready your melee weapons!" Manco called out. The sacs were pushed out and the chamber closed. Each sac was slightly opaque, revealing a squirming humanoid shape inside. Then several clawed hands poked open the sacs, spilling a fluid all over the floor. "Don''t come any closer! The fluid is toxic! Wait for it to evaporate!" Seeing Rust planning to attack before the puppet could be ready, he warned everyone. A few seconds later, twelve flesh puppets stood up to face the group. This time, they looked more complete. They were more uniform in heights and sizes and had more or less enough limbs. As the fight progressed, the puppet master would become better at creating puppets, so it was vital that it was defeated quickly. The group maintained their rhythm. When the core was protected, they killed all the puppets to get it to expose itself again. When there was no puppet left, the spawning chamber opened. Manco, Bolt, and Van fired their ranged weapons, chipping away the puppet master''s health. In subsequent waves, they got more accurate and efficient with their shots, dealing progressively more damage each time they have the target. After the fifth spawn, the core''s health bar was down to about 17%. Manco noticed the group was growing tired. Their movements began to slow down and they made more mistakes. "Everyone! Leave one puppet alive!" He commanded "I''ll distract it. You guys take a rest!" Rust caught on, but the rest were still confused. Nevertheless, they followed his instruction and left one puppet alive. Manco shot a crossbow bolt at its face, catching its attention. While it lumbered after him, Rust''s group took a rest in a corner. The dodging went on for several minutes until the group stood up and indicated that they were ready. Nodding, Manco finished off the puppet and readied his crossbow. This time, they managed to reduce the spawner''s health to about 2% before the chamber was closed. "So close!" Bolt grunted indignantly as he put away his crossbow and unsheathed his shortsword. "We''ll get it in the next wave!" Manco replied. He used [Crippling Shot] on one of the puppets to slow it down then switched to his dagger-and-gun combination to meet the rest. Chapter 32: The Trap In the northern corner of the underground farm, nearly a hundred bodies were scattered all over the place. During previous waves, Manco and the group had deliberately lured the puppets to spread out in a large area to have more room to maneuver. While they moved around on the pathways between planting sections to avoid damaging the maize plants, the puppets weren''t so considerate. These things stomped and flailed around, knocking over and trampling a considerable number of plants. "That''s a lot of money down the shitter. They ain''t gonna like this!" Bolt commented, surveying his surroundings. "We''ll deal with them later. Just focus on getting out of here alive!" Rust replied. The next batch consisting of twenty flesh puppets was a lot more dangerous than the previous ones. A far cry from the clumsily assembled messes of body parts, these things were created with deliberate intentions. Their proportions were similar to humans. Their whole bodies were covered with thick skin and several parts like the torso and forearms were armored in bone-like structures. No longer the slumbering misshapen monstrosities, they were quick and agile. They had eyes and were no longer directly controlled by the puppet master. This autonomy allowed them to act and react much faster than before. Regardless, they were still simple-minded creatures that had only been born. They only had instincts and no experience, which made them easy to deal with. Under Manco''s command, the group swiftly dispatched most of the abominations. He noted, however, that some of them managed to score pretty solid hits on his group. Dan, Lug, and Rust all had nasty bites and gouges on them as Trix could no longer keep up with the healing. When the last puppet was about to die, the ranged attackers began to move closer to the puppet master for a better shot. Manco had closely watched the boss'' health bar and estimated its number of hit points. He would try to score the killing blow with his gun, to see if it would unlock anything. Before long, the last puppet fell and the spawn chamber opened. Dan, Bolt and Manco opened fire on the core. Manco only used normal bolts without poison to control the damage output. "Just a little bit more!" He thought as the health bar slowly shrank. Ignoring the boss'' inhuman screams, he kept shooting at it until it only had a tiny sliver of health remained. He switched to the gun. Letting Dan and Bolt shoot, he fired up Arcane Surge and began charging a Mana Blast. "Now!" Gritting his teeth, he unleashed the blast. The shimmering projectile flew through the gap between the growing sacs and hit the core. -52! *Splash!* The core burst open in a torrent of blood. The sacs immediately stopped growing, then shriveled and deflated. Nicholas''s face convulsed and let out an agonized howl, then stopped moving. ¡²Flesh Puppet Master - Newborn (level 30) slain¡³ ¡²94300 XP gained¡³(+215%) ¡²Level up x 1! Your level is now 22!¡³ ¡²Int +2; Wil +1¡³ ¡²Free attributes points + 2 (Total 34)¡³ "We did it!" "Hell yeah!" "Finally!" While the group whooped and cheered, Manco held his breath, waiting for a specific notification. ¡²Milestone unlocking requirement #1: Cleared¡³ "Yes!" He shouted, the late celebration drawing curious looks from his companions. A common requirement to unlock milestones for legacy weapons is either killing creatures or dealing the killing blow on specific enemies. It looked like the gun followed this same template, at least for this first milestone. *Splort!* Nicolas'' face twitched, then the area around it opened up, releasing him from the boss'' body. What''s left of him fell to the ground with a wet thud. Rust''s group tentatively approached the mangled remains. "Gods! The smell!" "Is he... still alive?" "No! Half his body''s missing! No one can survive that!" "Should we... take ''im back? Give ''im a proper burial?" Dismissing his notifications, Manco saw his companions standing around Nicholas'' corpse. "No! Stay back!" He could only say that much when he heard the familiar, dreadful sounds coming from all directions. *Crack!* *Snap!* *Pop!* *Pop!* *Pop!*... Without warning, the bodies of nearly a hundred flesh puppets, along with the puppet master, burst into thousands upon thousands of fleshy chunks. The crypt lice rolled around and grew at an unnaturally fast pace. In a few seconds, the insect bodies completely matured and began scurrying around looking for fresh meat. "RUN! Get to the walkways!" He shouted while searching for the nearest ladder. He could have run straight to the entrance, but the quest wasn''t over yet. From the safety of the walkways, he would be able to cover the group and help some of them. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Having spotted a ladder only a few meters away, he sprinted to it. With a series of popping sounds, the several dead bodies on his way were reduced to mangled piles of flesh and countless crypt lice spread from them like oil on water. [Mana Blast]! [Dark Implosion]! Using his gun and his wand, Manco thinned out the swarm. Doing his best to avoid the scurrying insects, he rushed forward. Earlier, because of how they fight, the puppets had been spread out over a large area. Consequently, when the crypt lice were released, they quickly infested the northern section of the farm. He only had a few moments to get to the walkway before the ground was completely covered with lice. Just a bite from them could lead to his death. A few steps away from the ladder, he felt something grabbing his left leg and biting down, then his ankle joint froze up. One second later, the paralysis spread to his knee. "Shit shit shit!" Cursing up a storm he hobbled forward like a madman. Ignoring the louse still clinging on his leg, he ascended the rope ladder. In a few seconds, the area around him was flooded with the crawling insects. After making his way up, he used his dagger to pry off the insect, along with several more that fortunately had not managed to bite him yet, and flung them all away. The paralysis would wear off by itself after a few minutes. Letting out a relieved sigh, he looked down to take stock of the situation. Rust and Trix were nearing the section of walkway a dozen meters away from him. As a body in front of them twitched and released a swarm of crypt lice, Manco used a Dark Implosion and a mana blast to clear a path for them. With a grateful nod, Rust got up to the walkway and helped Trix up. Initially, he did not see Lug and Bolt anywhere. However, he soon heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw the two hightailing it toward the exit. "Huh, those two are pretty fast. Good for ''em!" Shrugging, he turned back toward the north. Dan and Van were rushing at the same section Rust and Trix were standing on. When they were only a few meters away, Dan tripped and fell face first onto the mass of crawling insect in front of him. "Gaah! Heellp!" He let out a muffled shout and tried to get up. Without missing a beat, Van stepped onto Dan''s shoulder. Using it as a stepping stone, he launched himself toward the rope ladder. "Vaaaannn! Youu... " Dan could only say two words before he was paralyzed. Rust and Trix could only stare in horror, unable to do anything. Manco had no spell to clear the lice off of Dan without hurting him. Firing the crossbow might kill several lice, which is a drop in the blood against the hundreds clamoring to get to him. Grabbing onto the ladder, Van climbed up the walkway and stood near Rust and Trix. He glared at them, daring them to say anything. "What in the Devil''s name did you just do? Why did you do that?" Trix shouted at Van. "Shut your whore up before I throw her down there too!" Van growled and glare at Rust, who wisely motioned for Trix to stay quiet. The walkway they were standing on was flimsy enough, just a light scuffle might topple the whole thing. At that moment, something rose up between the swarm of crawling insects. It was Dan! Letting out a blood-curdling roar, he charged at the support column where Van was standing. Fueled by rage, he had entered the ''Berserk'' state and was temporarily immune to the paralysis status effect. "No! Stop that!" Van shouted shot an arrow at Dan. Ignoring Van''s words and the arrow, Dan crashed into the support column and began punching at it with his bare hand. Despite him having been weakened by the crypt lice''s bites, the section trembled with each blow. "Stop!" Van shouted and kept shooting at his former associate. After the fifth blow, the column began to sway and creak under the combined weights of Van, Trix, and Rust. *Creak!* *Snap!* *Crash!* The column toppled over, pulling down lengths of bamboo, planks, and ropes that formed the walkway. Van lost his footing, fell on top of a large swarm, and was instantly buried under hundreds of squirming insects. Rust and Trix were a little luckier. Just before the support column was toppled, each of them had moved toward a different direction. When the walkway collapsed, they could still hold on to the ropes that were used as handrails. However, their feet touched the ground and immediately the lice began crawling up their bodies. "Ah!" "Aaaaargh!" Rust grunted and Trix screamed as the lice bit into their flesh. In just a few moments, they would be weakened enough and lose their grips. Manco rushed toward the collapsed section. If he acted fast enough, he might be able to save at least one of them. Chapter 33: The Choice "Who should I save first?" the thought flashed through Manco''s head. Both Rust and Trix seemed to be "roamer" type of non-player characters, who did not have a place to call home. These type of NPC would travel the massive world and interact with it even when there were no player around. Most roaming NPCs were created with a long term goal: revenge, getting rich, or simply traveling the world. If there was no player input, based on their personality and skills as well as a degree of randomness, the game would periodically give them a short term goal: what to do, where to go, etc. If they come into contact with players, the NPCs would generate one or more quests, typically enlisting the players'' help with whatever they were trying to do. Otherwise, the game''s simulation would run by itself and decide whether they would succeed in the task or, if they fail, whether they would survive. Afterward, the process would repeat and the NPC would find something else to do. On one end, there could be roaming NPCs who "live" their own life without ever running into any players. On the opposite extreme, some roaming NPCs could be recruited by players and accompany them on adventure for as long as their interests and ideals were compatible and players could keep their companions alive. Or they could be recruited by the "bad guys" and become henchmen or even mini-bosses. Mahn Li had run into thousands of roaming NPC and helped shape the "lives" of hundreds. Some followed him for years, others broke up over conflicts, and others died from various causes: diseases, powerful monsters, or human enemies. A few survived long enough to retire and settle down somewhere, ending the roaming lifestyle and becoming a "settler" type of NPC. Over the years, he had developed his own scoring system when it came down to choosing one NPC over the other. His broad criteria were: Survivability, Network of contacts and Personal bias. Rust, who was a Rogue, had good potential. He was a reasonably capable fighter, had some leadership abilities, was relatively resourceful, and had with plenty of contacts from the look of it. If he lived, he stood a better chance to survive future ordeals, as long as he did not bite more than he could chew. Trix, on the other hand, was an incompetent Faith Healer who would probably not survive a single day in the wild. Even if he helped her survive, she would probably end up joining some random gang for protection instead of relying on her own strength. Making her a follower was the last thing he wanted to do. His decision made, Manco made his way to the broken section where Rust was hanging on to a length of rope. His paralyzed hands were holding to the rope in a death grip. After making sure he had a firm foothold, Manco secured himself to the walkway using his own rope, then pulled Rust up and laid him on his back. Using his dagger, he removed the lice latching on the poor man. It would take several minutes for the paralysis effect to wear off. On the other side of the broken gap, Trix was watching Manco without saying anything, either because she was paralyzed or chose not to. Suddenly, the rope she was holding on snapped and she fell down to the ground, mouth opened wide in a soundless scream. He watched as her face, twisted by a painful grimace, was drowned in a sea of hungry flesh-eating insects. With a sigh, he turned back to Rust, who has regained some control of his body. He was craning his neck to look at the spot Trix occupied just a moment ago. He said nothing, and Manco could see tears falling from his eyes. Leaving Rust lying there, Manco moved to another spot. Part of it was to give the man some space, but mostly so that he could begin farming kills. He equipped Collector and scrutinized the interface on his head-up display. There was a small silhouette of the gun at the lower-right corner, along with two circles representing the two barrels. At the moment, the circles were filled by the only two offensive spells he knew: Mana Blast and Mana Bolt. With a thought, he could select which barrel, and by extension which spell, he wanted to fire. He activated Arcane Surge and began charging Mana Blast. From the relative safety of the walkway, he opened fire at the sea of crypt lice squirming below. ¡¸Mana Blast¡¹! 29! 26! 28! 27! ... ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹! ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹!¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹! 19! 17! 18! Several minutes later... ¡² Spell level improved: Mana Bolt. Level 18 ? 19¡³ Mana Bolt had leveled up a few times during the fight with the puppet master. His Crossbow mastery, which benefited from damage dealt by both the crossbow and the gun, had also increased to 22. As he continued grinding his skills, he opened the character sheet to check his stats. ¡³ ===? Character Info ?=== ¡² ¡³ ===? General ? > Name: Manco the Face Wrecker > Class: Crimson Mage > Level: 23 (47.13%) ¡³ ===? Pri. attributes ? >>> Free attribute points: 36 > Strength: 16 > Awareness: 18 > Coordination: 18 > Intelligence: 69 > Willpower: 38 > Constitution: 9 > Charisma: 12 ¡³ ===? Sec. attributes ? If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.> HP: 170/170 >> HP regen: + 1.275/s (0.85/s + 50% Well-fed) > SP: 180/180 >> SP regen: + 1.35/s (0.9/s + 50% Well-fed) > MP: 504/504 (880, -176 locked for Collector, -200 locked for Arcane Surge) >> MP regen: + 13.2/s (8.8/s + 50% Well-rested) ¡º Mana Bolt (lv19) ¡» - Type: Active. Damage. Cast time: Instant - Mana cost: 12 (10 + 50% Arcane Surge - 30% fired through Collector) - Damage: 9 (9 + 20% Arcane Surge - 20% fired through Collector) - Cooldown: 0.4s ¡ª.¡ª ¡º Mana Blast¡» - Charge time: 1s (2.5x Mana Bolt cooldown) - Mana cost: 18 (1.5x Mana Bolt mana cost) - Damage: 18 (2x Mana Bolt damage) ¡ª.¡ª The gun behaved in some strange and convoluted manner. First, it locked down 20% of his Mana pool. Spells cast through the gun has their mana cost reduced by 30% and their damage reduced by 20%. However, the gun also dealt piercing damage, which was added to the final number. Mana Bolt was listed as doing 9 damage, but the actual number was 9 + 10 (of course this was before damage resistances were factored in). The same thing applied to Mana Blast, which did 18 magic +10 piercing damage. Because the it is an AoE type spell, the added bonus damage is even more pronounced. Using the gun, he still had all access to the learned Crossbow skills like Focused Shot and Crippling Shot. Finally, the projectile range and speed were significantly higher compared to casting the spells normally. "Not bad!" Manco thought after going over the weapon''s pros and cons. Its most glaring faults are its low durability and the 100% chance to drop, which he would prioritize fixing. As he pored over his stats, he never stopped shooting. One after another the crypt lice fell, letting out pathetic shrieks and releasing a pungent odor. At the corner of his vision, notification messages kept flashing, telling him that his masteries were being improved. ¡² Spell level improved: Mana Bolt. Level 19 ? 20¡³ ¡² Skill unlocked: Mana Vision¡³ ¡² Mana Vision has been replaced with Astral Vision¡³ Manco activated Astral Vision, but saw nothing interesting. With a dejected sigh, he deactivated it. He would try it later elsewhere. Rust had recovered from the paralysis and was looking down at the ground. As the swarm of crypt lice began to thin out, Trix''s body was revealed, as were Van and Dan''s. They had been devoured down to the bones, only strips of flesh and tattered pieces of clothing remained. Manco''s best efforts to stay stone-faced was almost ruined by the next message ¡² Milestone unlocking requirement #2: 5% complete¡³ Suppressing a happy shout, he inspected the gun and noticed the changes. Specifically, the weapon''s capacity had been changed to 20. On the Effects section, he saw that one effect had been unlocked after he killed the puppet master. The remaining one stayed hidden, but the requirements was revealed. Effects: (1) More Dakka! (Requirement to unlock: Deliver the killing blow on 1 controller type boss. Completed) (2) ??? (Requirement to unlock: Kill 5000 corpse-eating creatures. Progress 251/5000) Focusing on ''More Dakka!'' revealed that this effect increased the gun''s capacity five-fold. Right now the effect was still useless as capacity only applied to magic crystals. Closing the status screen, Manco turned back to the swarm. During the next hour, he continued killing the crypt lice, only taking occasional short breaks for his mana to recover or to find a better spot from which to shoot. It was perfectly safe, but shooting at thousands of insects quickly got tedious. Regardless, it was good exp, and the monotony was broken by notification messages. ¡²Milestone unlocking requirement #2: 25% complete¡³ ¡² Spell level improved: Mana Bolt. Level 20 ? 21¡³ ¡² Spell level improved: Mana Bolt. Level 21 ? 22¡³ ¡²Milestone unlocking requirement #2: 50% complete¡³ ¡² Mastery improved: Crossbow. Level 22 ? 23¡³ ¡² Spell level improved: Mana Bolt. Level 22 ? 23¡³ ¡²Milestone unlocking requirement #2: 75% complete¡³ Eventually, the number of crypt lice was reduced down to less than a hundred. "We can get down now," Manco said to Rust. The man wordlessly got down to the ground and began hacking at the crypt lice with a passion. Manco wanted to stop him from kill-stealing, but he decided to just let the man vent. Several minutes later, the farm was completely devoid of movements, save for a heavily panting Rust and an idle Manco. They took in their surroundings and saw that most of the farm had been destroyed as the lice had eaten most of the fungi on the corn leaves. "Looks like I''m shit outta luck!" Rust chuckled bitterly. He walked to Trix''s corpse and knelt down. Manco politely kept the distance while the man said his goodbyes. After a few moment, he stood up. "Let''s get outta here!" He said. Back upstairs, they saw Lug and Bolt sitting near two dead bodies which Manco recognized as the two people manning the horses. "Hey boss!" Bolt said guiltily: "Sorry we bailed on you!" "Why are they here?" Rust asked, gesturing at the dead bodies. "We saw them skulking outside the temple. Lug tried to knock them out, but he was a little too enthusiastic. Y''know, who wouldn''t be, after running into those creepy crawlies down there?" "They had crossbow!" Lug chimed in. "Yeah, that too. Poisoned tips. Looked like they were ready to kill someone." "Or several someones." Manco added. ''Interesting,'' he mused. Two of them, plus Van and Dan. That ambush would be child''s play to him, but if there had been only Rust'' group, they might have succeeded. However, what was their purpose for killing the group? To save some money? Or was there some sort of secret they were keen to keep? "DAMMIT! Those bastards! They never intended to pay us!" Rust cursed and kicked the dead bodies. "This is just great!" He sat down on one corner, his head in his hands. "Where''s Trix?" Lug asked. As Rust stayed silent, Manco briefly summarized what happened after Lug and Bolt escaped the farm. "It''s a shame. I like her," Lug shrugged. "Well, I don''t. She''s just mooching off¡­" Bolt started complaining but was stopped by Rust''s murderous glare. "Say it! I dare you!" Rust shot up on his feet and approached Bolt, his hand on his sword hilt. "Don''t!" Manco stood between them and put a hand on Rust''s shoulder. The man looked like he might lose it. "They''re all you''ve got for now! Don''t do anything stupid!" "What do you mean ''they''re all I''ve got''?'' Rust spat. "Think about it: whoever wants you dead will soon know you aren''t. You''ve got a better shot at surviving if you stick together instead of infighting," he stopped for a moment to let them digest: "I suggest the three of you find some place to lay low and wait for things to blow over. Go south. Maybe get to another country. I don''t think they''ll be that persistent." "You think? You don''t know these people! They''re nothing if not persistent!" Rust replied. "Who are ''these people'' then?" As Rust hesitated, Manco prodded: "Are you seriously thinking they might hurt you less if you don''t tell me?" With a heavy sigh, Rust conceded: "Fine. I don''t know exactly who they are either. They only contacted us through fixers. We''ve done this harvesting job twice before, but this was the first time we saw anything like this." Rust gave Manco a crumpled up piece of paper. He briefly glanced at it, but it revealed nothing, only brief instructions along the line of ''do whatever it is you did before.'' "Did you do any other jobs with them?" He probed, hoping Rust would spill the beans about the attempt on the Sacred Deer. "No," Rust said reflexively, then corrected himself: "Well, yes. We had another job a few days ago, but it went to shit as well. Someone messed with us¡­" his voice trailed off as he looked at Manco. "It was you!" He shouted: "It was you that shot that bolt!" Chapter 34: The Union Drawing his sword, Rust lunged and stabbed at Manco''s chest. Unsheathing his dagger, Manco twisted his body out of the way. His left foot tripped Rust''s feet, sending the man sprawling onto the ground. Manco slammed his knee onto the rogue''s back and held a dagger to his neck. His left hand leveled the gun at Lug and Bolt, who were still too stunned to react, and charged a Mana Blast. "Calm the fuck down!" He commanded, driving the tip of dagger into Rust''s neck, drawing some blood. Lug and Bolt did not know what the gun was capable of, but the crackling of electricity surrounding him, plus the fact that Manco just effortlessly subdued Rust, gave them pause. "If I''d let you attack the Deer, what do you think would have happened?" He questioned: "Are you confident that you''ll be able to kill a minor deity with a few dozen crossbow bolts? Without any casualty? Then finish this job as well? And survive their attempt to silence you?" He paused a few seconds to let the facts sink in, then continued. "Make no mistake, Rust, I saved your life. Twice, at least. I did it because it benefited me, but you still owe me. Now stop being an idiot or I''ll collect that debt right now!" After a few moments, Rust let out a heavy sigh and surrendered. "Fine!" he said with resignation, pushing his sword away, "I get it!" Manco stepped back and Rust stood up, looking lost. "The Sacred Deer job, were you hired to do it by the same group?" "I think so. Here," Rust handed over a small notebook. Glancing over the notebook, Manco saw diagrams to assemble the bolt launcher and little else. "This is it. They told me it was an easy side job. Should have seen it coming." Rust shook his head dejectedly. "Like I said, you should get as far away from here as possible," he put away the notebook "As for your ''clients'', I''ll find them and deal with them." "You would? But why?" "I want to, that''s why," he shrugged: "Now leave before someone else is sent to find these four stooges!" Rust, Bolt, and Lug gathered in another corner and began discussing in low voices. While he waited, Mahn Li opened his notification screen to see the messages that flashed earlier during their conversation. ¡² Mastery improved: Bluffing. 7 ? 8.25 ¡³ ¡² Mastery improved: Persuasion. 7 ? 9.5 ¡³ After a few moments, the three nodded and clasped each other''s shoulders. Rust turned back to Manco. "Their cart''s right outside. We''ll go back to the village for some supplies then make ourselves scarce. You want a lift?" "No, I''m good," Manco declined. "I rather enjoyed the walk earlier, and I think I''ll do it again." "Suit yourself," Rust said, a little puzzled. Then he held out a hand. "You are right. I do owe you my life," he reluctantly said, "I hope to have a chance to pay you back someday." "So do I," Manco said, shaking his hand. "I''m Ferros. Willard Ferros." "I''m Manco. Wait, Ferros? As in¡­" "Yes. I was born a Ferros," Rust interrupted him: "But I''m no longer part of that family." "I see¡­" Manco nodded, "Good luck!" ¡²Quest completed: "A Helping Hand."¡³ ¡²XP + 5513 (+215%)¡³ ¡²Reward: Standing improved with Willard Ferros. Attitude Suspicious ? Respect¡³ ¡²Reward (optional) A favor with Willard Ferros. Number of owed favors: 2¡³ ¡²Reward (optional) An additional quest¡³ It was done. Manco had changed the path of Willard Ferros. Whether it was a good decision or it would come back to bite him in the ass, he wouldn''t know. Still, the attitude change and the favor Willard owed him were somewhat reassuring. One thing was for sure: the game would definitely be a lot more interesting with this guy around. As the trio left the abandoned temple, Manco returned to the underground passage. The real reward was waiting for him down there. In the storage room, Manco saw the bags containing the fungi that Bolt and Lug had left behind. "They''re smarter than they look!" he nodded. Ophiocordyceps was a highly specialized material. Even in the black market, the dealing and distributing of it had an extremely strict hierarchy and procedure. They could only be sold through a chain of supply, from the harvester to several handler, processors, and other middle men before they reached the actual user. During each stage, the seller and buyer only dealt with the person they had met before. Very few people dared to cut in the middle and attempt to sell upwards. The ones that foolishly tried would often be quickly dealt with, either suspected of being an undercover law enforcer or an outside competitor. That was were people like him came in. Attempting to sell in a big city was a good way of starting a quest chain that would hopefully alert Rust''s employer. However, he would need to find out which city first. He put the bag away and proceeded to the living quarter. The three bodies had a few loose coins and some random trash items he did not bother with. The only things of value were several pieces of paper with some recipes to peasant dishes and recreational drugs. Manco recorded them into his crafting recipes. The plant nursing room had been thoroughly search before, so he only gave it a cursory sweep before moving on. In the farm, the crypt lice''s bodies had de-spawned, as had the puppets'' bodies. The only things still lying there were the bodies of Van, Dan, and Trix, the mangled remains of Nicholas, and the mound of flesh that was the puppet master''s corpse. Manco check the corpses of Van, Dan, and Trix first. They all had money and some potion vials. In terms of weapon, Van had a spear, Dan had a bow and an axe while Trix only had a knife. The rest were personal items such as snuff boxes, a deck of cards, and some dice. Trix had a bottle of perfume and a box of makeup. Van and Dan had two pieces of paper labeled "Instructions" ordering them to kill Rust''s group after the harvesting was done, and bring the goods to a place called "Devil''s Brook." ¡²Quest received: "The Supply Chain"¡³ (Rare) > Type: Discovery. Difficulty: N/A > Given by: N/A ¡´Show details¨‹¡µ > Location(s): Devil''s Brook > Details: There is a chain of supply for Ophiocordyceps in central Betovium. One of the places to deliver the raw material is Devil''s Brook. Ignore it, or do something about it. > Reward: ??? "Bingo!" Manco grinned. This is an open-ended quest, with variable rewards. It could be highly rewarding. However, by the looks of things, this quest involved at least one powerful faction. Supplying a highly illegal alchemical and magical ingredient in central Betovium was no easy feat. He put the quest in the backburner for now. He would have to be much stronger before he should tangle himself in this mess, if he ever decided to do that. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Searching Nicholas'' dead body yielded some money, a knife, a vial of paralysis potion and a letter. The words on the letter had faded, but Manco could still make out the main points. Basically, the writer instructed him to kill the three workers and dragged the fourth one to the cave, then complete the complex ritual of union, which involved infecting himself with the fungus, to form the puppet master. ''Hmm... This is weird. The guys on the cart didn''t seem to know about the puppet master business. If they did the would never have gone into the cave. So there''s one party organizing the harvest, and another ordering Nicholas to make a mess out of things. There''s also the attempt on the Sacred Deer. Which of these guys was behind it, or was there a third party?'' Manco tried to arrange the pieces of the puzzle, but came up short. This situation was a lot more complex than he first thought. No other quest had been triggered yet, which meant he was lacking some crucial information. ''Ah, fuck it! I''ll think of it later!'' He turned to check the puppet master''s corpse. ¡²Loot "Puppet Master-Newborn" corpse?¡³ ? Memory crystal fragment: ''Flesh Sculpting'' ? Memory crystal: ''Puppet Control'' ¡²?Take All¡³¡²Cancel¡³ He selected "Take All" then inspected the items. Memory crystals typically contained a spell, skill or technique and occasionally a bit of the world''s lore that would lead to a quest or treasure. They were sometimes fragmented and player would need to find several fragments to form a complete memory crystal and acquire the information within. The ''Flesh Sculpting'' skill was likely related to creating flesh puppets and might be of interest to summoners or necromancers. The ''Puppet Control'' skill allowed the user to control non-living creatures. Both of these items would fetch a decent price on the auction house, which he would have access to once he leveled up to 25 and reached a city. Lighting a torch, Manco walked into the cave on the northern corner. After crossing the narrow pathway, he found the flayed human skin on the floor. Curious, he touched it. ¡²Pick up "(Birthday) Suit of Disguise"?¡³ ¡²?Yes¡³¡²No¡³ ? (Birthday) Suit of Disguise?(Rare) > Type: Misc > Requirement: Humanoid races or intelligent beast, no heavier than half a ton. > Description: This grisly looking item had been enchanted with a spell allowing its wearer to disguise as someone else. > Weight: 0.9 kg > Durability: 10/10 > Effects: - Allow user to assume the appearance and scent of a humanoid creature no smaller than half and no larger than twice the user''s size. Uses per day: 2. Duration per use: 15 minutes. - The specific appearance could be changed once per day. The item needs to touch the target to assume its appearance. - If the wearer is attacked or uses any skills or spells, the suit will be unequipped and put in the inventory. ¡ª.¡ª "This is gross. But pretty useful." Manco smiled, putting away the suit. He turned to the section of the cave where the puppet master first occupied. There was a small box-shaped indentation inside the wall, on it stood a small pedestal. It was the Altar of Union. Puppet masters were a fusion-type boss created by fusing one or more creatures. According to the lore, fusion-type bosses were often created with the Altar of Union. Wherever such a boss showed up, the altar could typically be found in the vicinity. He made a note to try and recall where the other bosses of this type were. The Altar of Union had several uses, one of which is to upgrade items. Epoch of Liberty had a varied and extensive equipment upgrade system. Each weapon can have anywhere from 1 to 6 upgrade slots, represented by a star ¡î. There are several ways to upgrade items, each vastly different from the next. - Attachment: The weakest, but cheapest and safest form of upgrade. An example is the ''Lesser Talisman of Hunter.'' It was a simple charm made of feathers that can be tied to a bow and magically increase its damage and range. The attachment could be added and removed at will. - Socketing items like gemstones or runestones: They could be easily slotted onto weapons, but very difficult to remove. Destroying a socketed stone to free the slot was very expensive and risky, and destroying the weapon to save the stone even more so. - Reforging/ part replacement: New materials are added and permanently bonded with the item, altering its characteristics. Enchantments could also be added by using magical or specially prepared materials for the upgrade. This had to be done by a blacksmith or armorer with proper tools, had a small degree of risk and were more time consuming. - Ritual/ enchantment: The item is subjected to a complex ritual that corresponded with its history and intended use. For example, a certain sword might gain more power by being used to slay a dragon and submerged in its blood. Most rituals required difficult and dangerous preparations, and each of them only worked on a small selection of equipment. - Item merging: This method required an Altar of Union. Unlike the ritual to create the boss, the merge was simple, requiring the placement of a main item and a "sacrifice" of the same broad category. For example, only a shield could be sacrificed to upgrade a shield, but a sword can be upgraded by sacrificing a sword, dagger, knife, short sword and other short bladed weapons. The merge took one of the special effects of the sacrificed item (selectable by the owner) along with 20%-50% of one main attribute (randomly chosen) then transferred them to the receiving item. Only items not crafted by players could be sacrificed. Item merging is the safest and always had a 100% chance of success, which was balanced by large number of drawbacks. The first one was the rarity of the Altars of Union, as well as the bosses guarding them. In addition, the most powerful equipment could only be created by sacrificing other powerful ones, which could otherwise be used to equip more players. Finally, the restriction of transferring only one effect, plus one randomly selected attribute, made it a very costly method. Mahn Li placed the gun in the receiving slot on the altar. Afterward, opening his inventory, he retrieved Gwyndham''s Repeating Crossbow. ''What a shame!'' he sighed. Chapter 35: The Newbie ''What a shame!'' Manco shook his head, admiring the masterwork crossbow. It was quite a powerful and versatile ranged weapon for this level. He would prefer to hold on to it for a little longer, but he needed it to upgrade the gun. "Here goes nothing!" He placed the crossbow onto the altar and a prompt popped up in front of him. ¡²Activate "Altar of Union"?¡³ "Yes." ¡²Warning: This will sacrifice "Gwyndham''s Repeating Crossbow" to upgrade "The Collector." Proceed?¡³ With a sigh, he selected ''Yes'' again. The altar emitted a blinding light, causing him to close his eyes. When he opened them again, the crossbow was gone, leaving only the gun floating in the air. ? The Collector ?¡î > Type: Derringer (One-handed) > Damage: 20-21 (piercing) + projectile damage. Range: 30m + projectile range. > Ammunition: Magic Crystals. Capacity: 20 > Description: I see you have upgraded it. Are you suuuuuure that was your best choice? Cause, y''know, you''ve only got once chance. Probably should''ve told you that before you upgraded it. Oops! Well, now you know! > Weight: 1.0 kg > Durability: 1/1 > Effects: - More Dakka: Capacity + 400%! (Requirement to unlock: Deliver the killing blow on 1 controller type boss. Completed) - ??? (Requirement to unlock: Kill 5000 corpse-eating creatures. Progress 4793/5000) - Fragile: Durability-1 upon owner''s death - Fickle: 100% chance to drop upon owner''s death - Soul tethered: Up0n being dr!pp#d, automat##ally ret__n to the b0und lOcation. (Current bound location: loc.cottage_gwyndham, loc.village_mist) ¡ª.¡ª The Soul Tethered effect had been transferred, which was exactly what he was hoping for. Though the display glitches were somewhat worrying. This weapon was definitely not intended to be in the game and was likely to be bugged. Adding new upgrades on it might worsen the bug. "I''ll just see how it goes," he sighed "Hopefully it''s just a display bug." Regardless, he should have a contingency in place in case this weapon became unusable. The next step was to increase the durability, and the most straightforward way would be to reach the first milestone. To do that, he needed to kill about 200 more corpse-eating creatures, which would also unlock the second effect. He noted down several creatures that could fit the criteria and where to find them. At this moment, Mahn Li was pretty sure that the bonus stage was put in this particular place for a reason. The enemies down here perfectly matched the type required to unlocked the next milestone, and there was conveniently an Altar of Union to upgrade the gun. Observing the stat closely, he found that 30% of the crossbow''s damage (which was 34-38) had been added to the gun. It''s a shame it wasn''t 50%, but at least the chosen stat was Damage and not Range. He did not entertain any hope that durability would be transferred. After all, the merge only took the sacrifice item''s main attributes. For weapon they were damage and range (in case of a ranged weapon), for armor they were armor rating and damage resistance. General attributes like durability and weight were never transferred. Looking at the taunting description, Manco could only shook his head . Fortunately, he had already known that when it reached the next milestone, the gun''s durability would increase. He was sure its former owner died at least once and still did not lose it. Otherwise, he would have agonized for days thinking of what else he could have chosen for the upgrade. Having checked the cave to make sure he missed nothing, he climbed back to the surface, noting that the two bodies had despawned, probably because Lug and Bolt had looted them clean. He left the temple and saw that it was still dark outside. He found his way back to the main road and headed south-west. It took him a better part of an hour to reach the village. At that point, the in-game clocked showed 7 a.m. He gave his inventory a once over. His armor set was heavily damaged during the bonus stages, so he left it at the armor smith to be repaired and donned his old tattered clothes. Deciding to log out and take a break, he walked to the tavern. Upon entering, he saw the same party of low-level players sitting at one of the tables. The shaman girl was with them, looking down at the table. Like yesterday, they were arguing amongst each other. However, after listening closer, he realized they were criticizing the girl. ¡­ "How stupid can you be? When I said to stop healing, you stop! What else is there to think about?" A muscular berserker, who seemed to be the group''s leader, growled at the girl. "I did, but they kept attacking me! So I had to heal myself!" "Those moths attacked you BECAUSE you were healing yourself! Dumbass! Jeez! I''m done talking to you!" Turning to the rest of the group, he asked: "So, what''s next?" "I''m rerolling! What a waste of time!" A thief-type player replied. "Yeah, this place sucks balls!" "Yeah, me too! Where will you start?" "Eastern port of Wienna." The thief answered. "Seriously? That''s place is packed!" "Still beats the hell out of this place! More people, more opportunity. Worse come to worst, I''ll just pick up trash items no one needs!" "Ha! In your dream! There''s already a crap ton of forum threads for that. Hand-me-downs aren''t that easy to come by. No one gives anything away for free!" "Whatever. I''ll take my chances. I''m sick of this place!" The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "So, still Eastern port of Wienna?" "Yup!" "I''m going too!" "Me three!" ¡­ One by one, the party turned into ribbons of light and disappeared, leaving the shaman girl alone at the table. She looked at the empty seats, sighed, then stood up. Seeing Manco, she gave a tired smile. "Hi!" she said, "you''re a player too, right?" "Yup," he nodded: "What''s that all about?" He sat down at the table and motioned for her to sit down. "Yeah, well, I joined them to level up. Didn''t end well." "What happened?" "We entered this cave and fight some insects. It''s really weird. Those moths just made a beeline to me and attacked me. Whenever I healed someone, the moths attacked that person as well. It really messed up our formation. After four of us were killed, we decided to go into the woods. Most of the animals avoided us, and the few that didn''t were really tough and dangerous. So we tried the cave again, but the same thing happened." "You guys were fighting Cave Moths, I presume?" "That''s right." "Yeah, that''s what I thought. Those things are drawn to the light. Your totem shone really brightly, so of course they were drawn to you. When you healed other people, the lighting effects marked them as targets as well. As for the woods, most of the animals here tend to avoid large groups. If your party looks too threatening, they won''t attack you." "Oh! I didn''t know that!" She said, embarrassed, "Oh, I''m so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. I''m Cordelia," she said, holding out her hand. "I''m Manco," he shook her hand, "so what are you gonna do next?" "I''m not sure," she said, plucking a dry leaf out of her hair, "I''ll think of something. Probably crafting and some odd jobs." "Good thinking," he nodded: "Tell you what¡­" Opening a trade window, he gave her the spare materials cluttering his inventory: rope, strings, claws, teeth, pieces of pelts and leather. "Accept the trade," he told her. "Make something out of those. You''re what? Level¡­3? So you can still get some XP out of simple recipes. Processed leather, necklaces, bracelets and so on. Equip what you can and sell the rest for money. What kind of weapon do you have?" "Uh. I only have my staff." She answered, holding a short wooden staff with the symbol of an owl carved on it. "Do you know how to use it?" "Um¡­ No, not really." "Do you have a favored weapon?" "Uh¡­ No. I played as healers in most other games. I tried archer, but I didn''t really like it." "When you get enough money, buy a bow. And a knife or club for close quarter fights," off her surprised look, he continued: "Combat is unavoidable in this game. Even as a healer in a party, you still have to hold your own in a fight. Now you''re all by yourself. If you only heal, then who kills the monsters?" Realization dawned on her that he wouldn''t be carrying her. Still, she firmly nodded. "I see. Bow and knife it is, then." "For the first ten levels or so, raise your Strength, Coordination, and Awareness. No, scratch that! Your class is Water Shaman, right? So each level, you gain 1 Int, 1 Wil and 1 Awareness. Focus on Strength, maintain Coordination at about 80% of your Strength or more, and you''re good to go. If you''re really bad at dodging, increase Constitution so you''ll survive longer. But try and learn to manually dodge. Don''t rely on your healing." Cordelia nodded, her brows furrowing with concentration. "Did you learn all the masteries around here?" He asked, tapping the table. "Uh. No. I was in a hurry to level up, so I didn''t really talk to anyone," she answered, her cheek flushed red, "I saw those guys and joined them right away!" "Right¡­" Manco nodded. He shared with her the locations of the mastery trainers. Then he explained the need to be self-sufficient, and how crafting, especially potion making, was important for everyone, especially for solo players. "See that board? Check it. Find something you can do by yourself. If you don''t find anything, try again tomorrow." "Oh, yeah. It''s the quest board, right?" "Stick to the edge of the woods. Either trap or shoot the rabbits or squirrels. Then skin them," he added as she shuddered, "It''s not as bad as it sounds. Later, when you''re more confident, head in deeper. Just be mindful of your environment, don''t get surrounded, and always keep a relatively safe path for retreat." "Uhh. Yeah I''ll try that. I can learn trapping here, right?" "Yes. Check the map for the trapping supplies seller. He''ll teach you. Also, try talking to everyone, especially the ones that sell stuff. You might get something for free, or get some easy quests." Realizing what he just said was a random disorganized mess, he asked again "You got all that?" "Yes! I''ve memorized it all! Thank you!" Cordelia nodded enthusiastically, a big grin on her face. "Alright, good luck!" Manco said, pleased that she seemed willing to do the work by herself instead of asking him for help. "I''m logging out now! Good luck!" "Thank you! I''ll do my best!" Cordelia stood up and gave him a small bow, then skipped out of the tavern. "HEY! You didn''t pay!" The bartender shouted after her. "Sorry!" She ran back in, drop a few coins on the bar then ran out, her face beet red. Chuckling, Manco headed upstairs and entered his room. As he lied down on the bed, Mahn Li selected "Log out" and felt the world fading away. Chapter 36: The Connection Manco woke up at about 4 p.m. Leaving the tavern, he retrieved his armor at the smith. A visit to the general store freed him of most unneeded items. He bought a new crossbow, which he would use in the presence of other players. He wanted to hide his signature weapon for as long as possible. Then he turned to the main task on his agenda: unlocking the next milestone. ''Corpse-eating creatures. Let''s see: vultures, coyotes, hyenas...'' He pored over his notes: ''None of them spawn in this biome. There are also maggots and some insects, but I doubt it''ll be that easy. Finding another bunch of crypt lice would be the best, but they only spawn in crypts and mini-dungeons. Undeads like ghouls don''t hang around this parts. Hmm¡­'' Another option would be to travel to another area where he could find these creatures, which was very risky. He would not only have to worry about the wildlife, but also random players who might target him. He much preferred to upgrade the gun to a "safe" level in this village first before venturing further out. Then he remembered a few nights ago, he killed a lot of animals, which drew out a lot of nocturnal creatures that devoured all the corpses during the night. Repeating that tactic was probably his best bet. However, this time he would have to actually fight and kill them, which was no easy task. Those creatures tend to be stronger and more vicious, not to mention the poor visibility at night. It would be a lie to say he wasn''t nervous about dying. ''No risk, no reward!'' He reminded himself. He just had to be extra careful about it. First, he tried the graveyard near the village and found some flesh-eating beetles. However, a few kills later, the progress bar refused to budge. ''Too easy, huh? Figures¡­'' His other options exhausted, Manco entered Misty Woods. This would be the second time he spent the night out here, although this time he was on a hunt instead of nesting safely on a tree. Retrieving supplies from his bag, he began laying down some traps to cover his escape in case he was overwhelmed and had to run back to town. When that was done, he carefully made his way deeper toward the Death Forest. The journey was uneventful. He was level 22, more than double his level the previous time he was here. The predators offered little resistance and were easily dispatched. He collected their meat and headed toward the area he previously used as the hunting zone. ''Hmm¡­ looks like this is it!'' Manco stopped, surveying the area. He could spot several big trees he previously used as emergency escapes. Now the next step would be¡­ ¡³¡ª !!! WARNING !!!¡ª-¡² ¡³¡ªConnection interrupted¡ª¡² ¡³¡ªSecondary connection detected. Rerouting¡­ Success! ¡ª¡² ¡³¡ªSecondary connection stability: Poor ¡ª¡² ¡³¡ªPlease find a safe place to log out and restore your primary connection¡ª¡² As the dreaded notification rang through his ears, the world around him became a collection of blocky and blurred mess like a painting made by a kid with crayons. His senses of smell and touch stopped working, and the rich ambient sounds were reduced to simple sound bytes. "Fuck me!" He cursed out loud, noticing his voice was strangely distorted. After a few moments, the rendering improved a little, turning the scenery around him into graphics made in the early 2000s. Chunky models filled with low-resolution textures. The draw distance was reduced to several dozen meters. The system had automatically detected the 6G connection used by his phone and hopped on it. Graphics were reduced to the minimum, and most other senses were cut off to minimize bandwidth usage. ''Damn it!'' Figuring out the reason could wait. He urgently ran through his choices. Running back to town was suicidal. He took two hours to get here, and the 6G connection definitely couldn''t hold out that long. Not to mention he wouldn''t be able to fight effectively with the massive lag and the sensory deprivation he was experiencing. His only option would be to hide up a tree and pray no beast would find him. Cursing profusely, he selected a tree and climbed up. It was a lot harder this time as, without the sense of touch, he kept misjudging the stability of his grip. Nevertheless, he made it to a relatively secluded spot. He secured himself to a branch, covered up with a blanket and logged out. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Mahn Li checked his VR rig''s cables and found everything secure. The only explanation would be the internet had been cut off for some reason. Picking up his phone, he called the number of the apartment building''s owner. "What?" an irate voice answered the phone. "Uh¡­" before he could speak, the voice continued: "Little Li, isn''t it? Called to complain about the internet?" "Um¡­ yeah. You see¡­" "You''re two months behind on rent and you have the nerve to complain? If your highness finds the service here unsatisfactory, you can take your ass elsewhere!" Then the other side hung up. "Oh fuck me fuck me fuck me!" He cursed. How could he forget about this? In his old life, after buying the units, Mouse and he stayed in his apartment all days to explore the game. Their enjoyment was short-lived, as they were soon kicked out on account of their failure to pay rents plus the other tenants'' complaints about them stinking up the place. Their next few months were spent crashing at their friends'' and acquaintances'' houses. They didn''t spend more than one week at any place. Internet connection was spotty, and the two of them were too anxious to shut off all their senses in the presence of people they barely knew. After much consideration, they rented a storage unit for the VR rigs and found part-time jobs to save up money. Eventually, they rented a cheap place in a relatively safe neighborhood where Mahn Li could game while Mouse continued working. It took several more months before Mahn Li began making some real money and both of them could focus on the game. He still remembered hauling the two heavy VR rigs over long distances, onto buses and trams, all the while nervous about breaking them. He and Mouse had to sleep outside once and almost got mugged a few times. It was a grueling period. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He shook his head and sighed, ashamed at his impulsiveness and lack of foresight. It seemed he was not much different from before. After getting the game, he was too caught up in the excitement to remember his problems. ''What should I do?'' Dwelling in the past served no purpose now. He focused his thought on the present. He considered his options. Borrowing more money was impossible. He already exhausted all sources to afford his VR rig. He thought about finding another place for rent, but a quick search revealed nothing satisfactory. The ones in a decent state all required deposits, while the ones that didn''t were all in seedy areas. In the worst case scenario, he would do the same as before: staying at his friends'' places. This only solved the accommodation problem and he would have to find a job, which would eat up valuable time. If all else failed, he would have to do this. "I''ll go talk to the landlady. See if I can convince her to let me stay for a few more weeks." Locking his apartment door, he rode the elevator to the 15th floor. That was where the landlady''s apartment was. In fact, the entirety of the building''s top floor was reserved for her use. As the elevator door opened, he was surprised to find a long line of tenants in front of the apartment designated as her office. Mahn Li stepped out of the elevator and approached the queue. They were waiting and chattering amongst each other. Once a minute, someone would press the doorbell impatiently. He knew many of these people. Although he never talked to them, he ran into them quite a few times in his old life. The old lady who was a seamstress. The middle-aged man who often sat and drank tea in the hallway. The group of college students (these ones he knew by name - he drank with them a few times). He was a little overwhelmed by nostalgia. As he listened to the chatters, he realized that all of them had their internet connection cut off. The complainers were mostly young people, while the old ones were just there out of curiosity. After a few minutes¡­ "So noisy! EVERYONE PIPE THE FUCK DOWN!" An authoritative roar came from behind the door. Everyone stopped talking. All attention was on the door. There was the sound of the door being unlocked. Then it opened and out strode the landlady. Yuan Qiu, 30 years of age, single mother. A fierce beauty with a fiery temper to match. It wasn''t her temper that made her intimidating, it was the talks surrounding her. It was rumored that she practiced all sorts of deadly martial arts. It was also said that she once single-handedly beat several local bosses into submission, which was why the neighborhood around this apartment building was free of gang activities and vandalism. He was not sure how much of those rumors were true. However, he once witnessed her beat up two armed muggers and sent them away crying. Two huge men weeping like little kids because they got beat up by a woman should be funny, but it terrified the shit out of him. From the older tenants, he learned that she had ''mellowed out'' in recent years after her son had grown more independent and the stress of raising a child lessened. He shuddered to think what kind of temper she had before. With a cigarette in her mouth and a surly expression on her face, she was clearly in a bad mood. As she stepped out, the crowd silently parted to let her stand in the middle of the hallway. "What''s with all the racket?" She asked. As if someone just lifted the silence spell, everyone began talking over each other. "¡­Why is the internet down?" "¡­I was broadcasting on MeTube. What do I do now?" "¡­I''m in the middle of boiling an egg!" "¡­Why the hell do you need the internet to boil an egg?" ¡­ The noise proceeded for twenty seconds before the landlady had had enough. "SHUT UP!" She commanded and everyone did as told. "You!" She pointed at someone in front of her: "What''s the problem?" "Uhh¡­" the young man withered in front of her glare "The internet''s down!" "I know! Someone''s looking at it! What else?" "Uhm¡­ That''s all!" "Noted! Next person!" No one else said anything. "What''s the matter with you all? The internet''s down and you''re acting like it''s the end of the world!" "Sis Yuan! You can''t say that! I''m in the middle of a raid!" "What''s that? A raid? Go out and play some sports! You bunch of losers!" "That''s mean!" "Zip it! And you still owe me rent! So do you, you and you! Pay up!" "Ah ah, sis Yuan! You look so beautiful today! Not even a day over thirty¡­ I mean twenty!" "Glib tongued idiot! Go out and find a girl! What are you doing cooping up all days in here for?" After a while, it was clear that no one had any complaint other than about the internet. "The network will be up when it''s fixed!" The landlady concluded "Now go back to your rooms! All this yelling is bad for my health!" "And smoking isn''t?" Someone muttered. "Who said that?" "He did, sis Yuan!" "No I didn''t! That guy did!" "You traitor! Please, sis Yuan! I didn''t mean anything by that!" "ENOUGH! Leave, all of you!" Her shout concluded the squabble and the tenants began to head for the elevator. Mahn Li stepped to the side to let them pass. Yuan Qiu was about to enter her office but stopped when she spotted him. "Oh, if it isn''t little Li!" she said, her eyes gleaming dangerously, "how rare of your highness to grace me with your presence!" As she said, she strode over to him. She was half a head shorter than him, but something about her that made her seem taller. It was probably her temper. Or her rumored ties to the local gangsters. Or the fact that she could wipe the floor with him without breaking a sweat. "Uh¡­ Hello, big sis Yuan," he forced out a smile. Before he could say anything else, a repairman emerged from the room holding a smart pad. "It''s pretty messy!" He said to Yuan Qiu "It''ll probably take a week for me to fix all this!" Chapter 37: The Connection (part 2) "What do you mean one week? It worked fine just a moment ago!" Yuan Qiu questioned the technician. "You see, it''s like this..." he began explaining and holding his smart pad for her to see. Despite the bad news, Mahn Li felt a lot better about his immediate future. The landlady, as it turned out, wasn''t too fixated on evicting him and was worrying about her internet connection. His mind settled, he listened to the conversation between her and the technician. "...The cables connecting the rendering unit and the storage unit should have been the ones with R47-AC connectors. But the ones you had were R47-AD instead. They technically function the same. But the -AD isn''t as robust. Under heavy load, it will eventually break down, as it had in your case..." Wait a minute... "...And that''s not the worst of it. The connectors here overheated, which affected the motherboard inside each unit. Lucky for you, nothing was too heavily damaged. These units are ridiculously well-built. Hah, that''s a given, considering the price..." This didn''t sound like an internet problem... "...But I digress. The heat didn''t melt anything, but it knocked loose some of the more fragile components. I could reinforce those, but it is a very delicate job. If I rush it, I might break the whole thing. You don''t like it, don''t you?" He definitely wasn''t talking about the internet... "Of course not!" Yuan Qiu growled, tapping her foot impatiently: "How much for all of it?" "Well, taking into consideration the parts and labor..." the technician spoke with a drawl, "I''d estimate it at about 20,000 RMB." "What? Twenty thousand?" She shouted, her voice could probably be heard from across the street. "Whoa! Calm down!" The man shifted uncomfortably under her glare, but held his ground: "You used unofficial add-ons and parts, which already void the warranty, so there''s no way I2 can replace anything for you. If you call the company, they''ll tell you that much. Plus, these things haven''t been around much, so I doubt you''ll find anyone else other than me who can fix them. This is already a low price!" "Twenty thousand, and a week of waiting?" The landlady concluded, her brows still knitted. "Pretty much, yeah!" the man replied, wiping his forehead with his sleeve: "If you''re okay with that, I can start tomorrow." "I''ll think about it!" She said curtly. "Okay, I''ll be off then. Call me when you''ve made up your mind!" The short man walked into the elevator, nodding at Mahn Li as he walked by. Yuan Qiu still stood in place with a sour expression. "You''re still here?" Seeing him, she asked. "Uh¡­ So what''s wrong with the internet?" "I switched off the router to fix the rig. You have a problem with that?" "Um. You know it''s not necessary to turn off the router to fix the rig, right?" "I don''t care! I just feel like it!" She said, her eyes practically glowed, daring him to push the issue. ''So there was nothing wrong with the internet connection,'' Mahn Li sighed internally. The lady was pissed that her VR rig had a problem, so she turned off the router out of spite. However, arguing with her was unproductive, not to mention that he owed her two months of rent, hardly a good position to start a negotiation. Besides, this might be a good opportunity for him. "You know, big sis Yuan. What if I could fix that rig for you?" "You?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. As an Electronics Engineering major who dabbled in programming, Mahn Li had plenty of practical knowledge around consumer electronics. He used to help her fix old and/or broken electronics, which was why she was generally less brutal with him when it came to the matter of rents. "This is not a washing machine! It''s a brand-spanking-new VR rig. Have you even touched one?" "Sure I have!" Mahn Li said confidently, although he didn''t dare to say he owned one. That would lead to an uncomfortable lecture by the lady about having priorities. He had not spent his 10 years just playing the game. He also had a remarkable knowledge of the VR rig''s hardware components over each iteration. He even contributed to the development of a number of ''unofficial'' hardware mods and hacks that add various functionalities and tweaks to the base rig. Although he might not remember the more esoteric parts, he was pretty confident he could still do basic diagnostic and repairs.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Besides, I''ll just have a look first. If I can''t fix it, I''ll be right out of your hair! Have I ever broken anything I helped fix for you?" He said with his best "innocent" face. "Fine. I''ll let you take a look!" She relented and opened the door to her apartment: "In here. Don''t stare at my stuff!" "Oh, wait! Let me go get my toolkit first!" Mahn Li told her. "Fine, go!" He got back to his room and retrieved a small case containing the assortment of tools he often used to repair electronics, then return to the 15th floor where Yuan Qiu was. They entered her apartment and made their way to her gaming room. "Holy shit!" Mahn Li blurted out. Tearing his eyes from the respectable collection of console and PC games placed neatly on several shelves at one corner, he turned his attention to the monstrosity reigning the room. Her VR rig. His own rig, sold for the low, low price of US$ 9,999.95, was the most basic package. It only had a headgear and an all-in-one unit that housed the power supply, processor, rendering mini-farm, storage device, and other essential components. The rig he saw in front of him was massive. The only thing it had in common with his setup was the headgear. And even that was a sleeker, more comfortable one. It was put next to an expensive-looking fully adjustable ergonomic gaming chair with automatic massaging mattresses to maximize comfort and minimize muscle cramps and sores. The remainder of her rig was mounted on an adapter frame that occupied half of the room. As he inspected it closely, he couldn''t help letting out small gasps of appreciation. The rendering unit was a veritable mini-farm consisting of a liquid-nitrogen-cooled array of several dozen graphics cards. For storage, she had splurged on at least two dozen 3D Cross-Point drives. The rest of the components and redundancies were similarly powerful and jaw-droppingly expensive. "Wow!" Mahn Li said, impressed. He had known that Yuan Qiu was a successful businessperson, and was quite impulsive when it came to personal purchases. This, however, was a lot more extravagant than he expected. "Okay. You can start whenever you''re done drooling over it," she said, and added under her breath, "Nerd!" "Sorry, sorry. You bought all of this yourself?" He chuckled in embarrassment and turned back to her. "Nah. Some guys I knew did it," she shrugged. "Okay," he said and began poking around the system. He noted that aside from the headgear, which still had Immersive Interaction''s tamper-proof seal, all other components were extensively modified, which voided the warranty on them. The technician had pretty much figured out the main problems with the rig, though he missed a few smaller ones. "I see. So here are the problems..." For the next few minutes, he launched in a barrage of pseudo-scientific technical babble mixed with actual useful information. It was basically a paraphrase of the technician''s explanation, plus his own observations, sprinkled with exaggerations here and there. As expected, Yuan Qiu eventually waved his hand and said. "Alright alright! I''m having a headache just listening to you going on and on about ''Blah blah blah connectors blah.'' So can you fix it?" "It''s not difficult. Just tedious. I''m gonna have to disassemble several parts: here, here and here," he said, patting several spots on the setup: "A shit ton of rewiring, and some soldering here and there. Some tweaking to improve performance. Plus, I''ll do a network diagnostic for you for free!" Finishing his sales pitch, he put on his best "good guy" smile and waited for her to respond. "Alright," she said cautiously, "how much do you want to fix all this?" "Twenty thousand renminbi." "What?" She growled. "You got a lotta nerve, kid!" "Oh come on! The guy just now asked for the same amount, didn''t he? And he needs a week to do this. I can get this fixed for you in a day." "Are you a certified technician? If you break my machine, what''re you gonna do about it?" She gritted her teeth, and he could see a vein popping out on her temple. "Uhhh. Okay, never mind," Mahn Li replied, "How about five months of rent?" "What?" She growled again. "It''s the same amount, but you don''t have to pay me anything!" "I know my rent! But it''s too much! If everyone starts demanding rent for every little thing they help me with, what am I gonna eat? Two months!" "Come on, sis Yuan. Four months! I have a wife and kid too, y''know!" "Who are you bullshitting? I talked to your mother the other day. She was anxious for you to go home and marry! Three months!" "That''s what I''m talking about! I have a pregnant girl at home waiting for me! How about three months and a half? Please?" "Hmm. Fine!" She said: "But I''m keeping an eye on you!" "Uh¡­ There''s this other thing. I kinda need an extra guy to do this. I''m gonna go fetch him real quick and then I''ll be back, okay?" "Hurry up! I don''t have all day!" ''But you were prepared to spend all day playing the game, weren''t you?'' Mahn Li silently complained as he rode the elevator to the lobby and headed outside. Leaving the apartment building, Mahn Li headed for his favorite electronics repair shop, a small kiosk in a corner of the marketplace. It was run by Zhang Rui, a man in his fifties, and his nephew, Zhang Xiaogang. In the past, Zhang Rui''s businesses were quite prosperous. However, several consecutive bad decisions had cost him most of his fortune and even his house. The only thing he had left was this meager shop. Exhausted and disillusioned, he spent most of his nights drinking and gambling, and most of his days either sleeping or playing video games. The shop was mostly managed by Zhang Xiaogang, a timid but bright and hard-working young man. After his parents died, he had been under Zhang Rui''s care. In recent year, he had been the one caring for his uncle and running the shop. Mahn Li stopped in front of the place, taking in the familiar sight. Most of the shop was occupied by racks and shelves containing old console systems and replacement parts. Sitting between them, Xiaogang was working on an old Game Boy Color. A portly man in his fifties was waiting nearby, chatting with Xiaogang. The back door leading to the sleeping area was ajar, and he could hear faint sounds from an old video game. After several minutes, Xiaogang finished repairing the GBC. The customer paid, thanked him and left. "Hey, big brother Li!" he greeted Mahn Li. "What''s up, Xiaogang? How''s business?" "Ah, you know. Same old, same old!" the kid replied, sounding like a man twice his age. Before he could say anything, the game was paused and Zhang Rui stepped out from the back door. "Oh, Li''er? Got a problem with your console?" He said with a yawn, scratching his belly. "Hello, uncle Zhang. Yeah, it kinda got tangled up a bit. I need to borrow Xiaogang for a while. Is that okay?" "What? And who''s gonna look after the shop?" He scowled. "It''ll just take a moment!" Mahn Li replied while sighing ''You were playing video games just a moment ago! Why can''t YOU look after the shop?'' "All right! Xiaogang, lock the dor when you leave!" He went back inside the inner room. Soon after, sounds of fighting were heard again as he resumed his game. "Bring your stuff. The full toolkit." Mahn Li said in a low voice. "What? I thought it was just your old ten-eighty?" "It''s something else. Let''s go! I''ll fill you in on the way." Chapter 38: The Connection (part 3) "I need your help fixing a VR rig," Mahn Li said as they left the repair shop. "What?" Xiaogang froze: "You don''t mean¡­ that VR rig? For EoL?" "I do mean that. C''mon, let''s go!" "Shit! That''s insane, bro! How did you get your hands on it?" "I''ve got connections," Mahn Li said with a grin which faded when he remembered it cost him more than just money. "What happened to it? Shouldn''t it be under warranty?" "Yeah, well¡­ It''s complicated." "How so?" "Well, for starters, it wasn''t bought under the official channel. And the sales guy offered a bunch of upgrades and mods¡­" After he finished outlining what was wrong with the machine, they had entered the apartment building''s elevator. Mahn Li pressed 15 and closed the door. "Oh? You''ve moved to the 15th floor now? Wait, isn''t that¡­?" "Yeah, there''s another thing. The rig isn''t mine." "Whose is it?" Zhang Li asked, his eyes were glued at the increasing number. He had a bad feeling about this. *Ding!* The elevator door opened, revealing an anxious landlady pacing around like a caged tiger. "It''s just you two?" She asked Mahn Li. "Yes. Xiaogang here is pretty green, but he''s good at his job." "What''s his job? Pretending to be a statue?" "What do you mean?" He turned around and saw Xiaogang standing motionlessly in a corner of the elevator, petrified with fear. "Oh for crying out loud!" As Mahn Li tried to drag him out of the elevator, Xiaogang whimpered. "Brother Li, I never mistreated you. Why did you do this to me?" "Do what? It''s a paid job! Come on!" "Fixing a VR rig I''ve never even touched! And it belongs to boss Yuan no less! Are you trying to get me killed?" "Ugh! Relax, will you? If we mess up, I''ll be dead too. You''re not alone!" "That''s hardly relaxing, bro!" "Right, right. I''m just kidding! She''s not as murderous as the rumors say," Mahn Li said, casting a glance at Yuan Qiu, who snorted impatiently, "And I already know what''s wrong with her rig. I just told you everything, didn''t I? The fix is easy, just tedious as shit! We''ll get it done today!" "Are you sure, bro?" "I''m sure, I''m sure. Relax!" Turning to Yuan Qiu, Mahn Li said. "Uh¡­ sis Yuan? Could you pay him some money after we''re done?" "What? You''ve already mooched 3.5 months of rent off of me, now you want me to pay for your buddy too? Forget it! Pay him yourself!" "Uh, how about this: I''ll take 3 months worth of rents, and you pay the rest to him in cash. Is that okay?" "Fine! If you could fix it!" They entered her gaming room, where it was Xiaogang''s turn to gawk at the impressive rig, while Yuan Qiu scowled at Mahn Li. "You two better do it carefully," she warned, "If you mess up my rig, I''ll..." She stopped talking, her eyes glaring at something behind him. "Goddamn it!" She shouted and whipped her hand. Mahn Li heard a thud and then shrill, agonized cry behind him. Turning around, he saw a rat being pinned to the wall by a throwing knife. It twitched for a few seconds then expired. "Ming''er brought snacks in here again!" She grunted: "I''m gonna clean that up, you kids can begin when you''re ready!" "Okay, message received, boss!" Mahn Li replied, glancing at Xiaogang, who was thankfully still absorbed by the VR rig, unaware of the unintentional threat. Several minutes later, Xiaogang unpacked his toolkit and Mahn Li did the same. They worked slowly at first for Xiaogang to calm down and get used to the machine. After a while, he began working by himself while Mahn Li handled a different component. The overheating did not cause any significant damage, only a few cheap parts like micro capacitors had to be replaced. Fortunately, off-the-shelf parts could be used, so Xiaogang could easily run back to the store to retrieve them. Rewiring, on the other hand, was a lot of work. "Whoever did the customizing made a mess out of this!" Mahn Li grumbled as he removed a messy bundle of tiny cables. Turning to Yuan Qiu, he asked: "How does this thing run, sis Yuan?" "A little smoother than the previous FIVR games I played," she looked up from the mobile game she was playing to kill time. "I see. It should have been a LOT smoother," Manco nodded: "And it will be after we''re done!" "Hmm. We''ll see," she shrugged. "What kind of character do you play?" He curiously asked. "None of your business!" she dismissed the question. ''I bet it''s a berserker or something similarly bloodthirsty,'' he thought to himself. "The movement''s a little weird though," Yuan Qiu suddenly spoke up: "It''s like, I feel like I should be able to perfectly control my body, but somehow it just felt... off. Somehow. Does it make sense?" Mahn Li thought about it for a moment. "Does your character have the same body size as you?" he asked. Yuan Qiu was about 165 cm tall. Slim and broad-shouldered, she was athletic and fit. Not the kind of physique one gained just by dieting and going to the gym, but the kind that was tempered by actual physical work. Mahn Li knew for a fact that she habitually renovated many apartments in the building all by herself, including carrying the heavy construction materials. He also saw her at a dojo in the neighborhood a couple times. "Hmm... No, not really," she replied but did not elaborate. ''Most likely an orc, or half-orc,'' Mahn Li continued letting his conjecture run wild. "If your character has a different proportion, it always feels weird," he explained: "You''ve been living with this body for... a long time." he said, carefully avoiding mentioning her age "So there are lots of things you take for granted, like how long your limbs are. Say, if someone throws a ball at you, you can catch or dodge it easily, right? You don''t have to calculate anything, your body can move just the right amount to get the job done." Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Hmm... I see what you mean," she caught on: "Because my virtual body had a different size, the movements I habitually make with my real body don''t always work. Sometimes it''s too little, other times it''s too much." "That''s correct." Leaving her pondering, Mahn Li turned back to his work. Hooking his old computer monitor to each of the faulty units, he used it as a makeshift troubleshooting screen. Slowly, Xiaogang and he cleared up one problem after another. After a while, they lost track of time as they worked. Yuan Qiu had long grown bored and left the room, but neither of them noticed. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ "Finally!" As the last wire was soldered in place, Mahn Li said. He sprawled on the floor and let out an exhausted groan, feeling his neck and back aching. Zhang Xiaogang was still energetic. The kid was furiously taking pictures of the disassembled units and taking notes. ''This kid''s going places,'' Mahn Li thought with a smile. "I''m done!" Zhang Xiaogang told him: "Let''s reassemble it!" With a tired nod, he sat up. The two spend another half hour carefully reassembling the rig. "It''s done, sis Yuan!" Mahn Li said. Turning around, he saw the landlady startle awake. "Huh, what? Oh, you''re done?" "Yes. You can give it a try now. Uh, you might wanna turn on the router first." "As if I need you to tell me that!" Mahn Li and Xiaogang left the room to let Yuan Qiu test the rig. "What do you think?" Mahn Li asked. "It''s awesome !" Xiaogang replied, still bubbling with excitement, "it was a lot easier than I thought¡­" "Yup. When I first fixed it, I felt the same way..." For several minutes, the two chatted about the rig''s design and operation. The conversation was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Yuan Qiu emerged from her gaming room and gave them a thumbs-up, grinning. "Good job, kiddos. Now for the payment..." She fished out her wallet, took out some bills and handed to Zhang Xiaogang. "Here you go, Xiaogang, 2000 RMB as agreed." "Thank you, Ms. Yuan!" The kid said, a little surprised. That much was half of what he made each month. "Whazzat?" She loomed over him, "What did you just call me?" "I¡­ I mean, big sis Yuan!" The poor kid stammered. "That''s better. As for you¡­" she turned and looked at Mahn Li: "Your next month of rent''s on me! But make sure to pay after that or I''ll kick you out!" "What? We agreed¡­" "¡­ on three months," she interrupted him: "You''re two months behind, aren''t you? Now can you do the math, college boy?" "Uhh¡­" He forgot about that bit. "Fine. One month it is," he sighed. "Hey, are you sure you didn''t leave anything unfixed? It won''t break down tomorrow, right?" She looked at him suspiciously. "Of course I did! What kind of person do you take me for?" he said indignantly, "I''m not that suicidal!" "Hmm... Okay, I trust you." "If it makes you feel better, I can offer you a lifetime warranty, as long as you let me live here..." he said with a grin "...for free." "You better offer me a lifetime warranty as long as I let you LIVE." She growled and cracked her knuckles menacingly. "Haha. Sis Yuan is merciful! We''ll take our leave now!" At that moment, his stomach growled. They had been working for... he didn''t even notice how long. Now he was starving. "Sis Yuan, you got any food?" he jokingly asked. "Here. I bought them for you two, but you didn''t stop working. They''re cold now, though." She said, handing them four boxes of takeout. Two lunches and two dinners. "Wow! Thanks, sis! You''re the best!" "Hmph! As if I need you to say that!" "We''ll take our leave now!" As they left her apartment, Yuan Qiu called out: "Wait, little Li!" "Yes?" "Where did you learn to fix this rig? It''s only been around for half a week." "Uhh..." his tired mind began working to come up with an excuse. "I have... a friend..." he said ", who''s... a beta tester! Yes! And I hung around with him a lot! He''s got a rig like this. That''s how I learned about it!" "Really?" She narrowed her eyes but did not find faults with his answer, "Alright. Good night!" Leaving the landlady''s apartment, the two of them went to Mahn Li''s room and ate. The food was cold, but the starving duo inhaled them in minutes. With a satisfied burp, Mahn Li stretched. "Not bad for a day''s work, huh?" Grinning, he asked Zhang Xiaogang. "Yes, big bro. It was pretty cool!" the kid grinned back: "I learned a lot. And Sis Yuan was a lot less scary than I thought." "I told you so, didn''t I? Still, don''t get on her bad side!" "I know, I know!" he nodded. Mahn Li checked the clock, surprised to find that it was past 11 p.m. "Crap! It''s this late?" "Uncle''s probably still out drinking right now. I should head back before he goes home. And¡­" Reaching into his pocket, Zhang Xiaogang took out the money Yuan Qiu gave him "I learned a lot today. You really don''t have to pay me!" "What nonsense are you talking about? Without your help, I''ll get kicked out of here, and that''s if she doesn''t strangle me to death first. Keep it, kid. You really earned it!" Eventually, Zhang Xiaogang agreed to keep his share and left. He could barely keep his eyes opened. However, he forced himself to stay up and check up on his character. He logged onto the game and to his relief, found Manco alive and in one piece. Logging out, he took a quick shower then quickly fell asleep. He just spent an entire day without playing, but the matter of rent was resolved. At least until next month. . Chapter 39: Night Hunt (part 1/2) Deep within the Death Forest, on a high tree branch that was practically invisible from the ground, Manco woke up, feeling tired and lethargic. Taking note of his Starved and Dehydrated status effects, he checked the event log. There was no Well-rested bonus as he was sleeping uncomfortably upon a tree. Two in-game days had passed without incidents. Very few animals passed by and none found him. He gained one level in Camouflage mastery and that was it. It was almost noon. The forest was quiet save for the occasional distant howls or screeches of unseen creatures. A few beams of sunlight managed to pierce through the thick leaves and shone on the ground, alleviating the gloomy atmosphere. A growl in his stomach reminded him of his conditions. He munched on some ration and washed it down with water. When the negative status effects were gone, he lowered himself to the ground. Gathering dry leaves, small twigs, and firewood, he made a small fire. The meat that was harvested yesterday was cut into small chunks, skewered and placed over the fire. Before long, the air was filled with the crackling of fire and the sizzling of roasted meat. ''This would definitely attract visitors,'' thought Manco as he removed a skewer from the fire. The meat was tough and gamey. Shrugging, he ate lunch, stopping occasionally to deal with the curious creatures attracted by the smell. By the time he finished his meal, the ground around him was littered with no less than a dozen corpses. After harvesting the corpses, he began preparing for the night hunt in earnest. The first task was setting up several emergency refuges above the tall trees as he did before. Afterwards, he moved on to crafting various types of traps. He didn''t expect the traps to kill anything, but only to slow them down in case he needed to escape. Meanwhile, two dozen torches were also made and tied to trees; at night they would be lit to improve visibility and safety. His tasks were often interrupted by packs of forest predators, which he welcomed. One after another, dingoes, wolves, and panthers were swiftly dealt with and added to the all-you-can-eat buffet for the night creatures. Manco went over his list of weapons. His main weapon: the Collector, which was also the reason he would be here in the forest at night. Then he had his new Belzhorian Heavy Crossbow and 500 bolts of different types. For close encounters he had his old Heavy Dagger and a Steel Studded Club he recently bought. His meager arsenal of spells included Mana Bolt, Mana Blast which he could fired either by hand or (preferably) through the Collector. The skull wand Dark Touch granted him access to Shadow Bolt, Dark Implosion and Marshland as long as he held it while casting. Rounding out his arsenal was assorted vials containing Minor Paralyzing potions, Mild Corrosive, Mild Poison and so on. ''Ah, I almost forgot about this!'' He slapped his forehead. He also had a new skill that was unlocked by leveling Mana Bolt to level 20 called Mana Vision. Thanks to his trait "In tune with Nature," Mana Vision was upgraded to a hidden skill called Astral Vision. ¡ºAstral Vision ¡»! As Manco activated the skill, the surrounding sceneries were instantly covered in a faint blue tint. He looked around and saw a faint smoke-like substance with varying density shifting randomly toward all directions. It was the flow of mana. Steadying his vision, he saw a "stream" flowing toward a definite direction. Following it, he found its destination. On the ground was a transparent circle, about 40 centimeters in diameter, glowing a faint blue light. It had elaborate decorative patterns around the edges. This was a Leyline. A low-powered one to be precise. Leylines were areas with concentrated mana and greatly benefited spell-casting classes. Standing above a Leyline would decrease spell cooldown, increase spell power, and increase mana regeneration. It took effect when the caster stood on the circle, regardless of whether he could see it or not. Their appearances were random and unpredictable. They could exist in one place for days, but could also disappear in the matter of hours. The more powerful a Leyline was, the smaller its size. The most potent ones could be smaller than a fingertip, making it nigh impossible to stumble upon one by accident. Only a handful of combinations of classes, skills and perks allowed users to see mana flow and by extension, Leylines. One such combination was Manco''s Crimson Mage class and the "In tune with Nature" trait. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Standing on the Leyline, he found a new buff affecting him. ¡ºLeyline (grade C) ¡» Duration: N/A - Spell damage +30% - Cooldown -30% - MP regen +30% The increase was definitely useful, but it would be of limited use to him in combat, as he had to move around quite a bit and could not stay in one place to fire off his spells. ''It''d be nice if there''s one on the tree!'' Manco said with a chuckle. Nevertheless, he marked down the location. If there was a moment he could use a boost and a Leyline happened to be within reach, he''d take it. Wandering the hunting ground, he found about half a dozen low-powered Leylines and marked them down as well. After he was done preparing, Manco alternated between wandering and looking for creatures, scouring the surrounding areas for ingredients, crafting various potions and items to increase his masteries, and double- and triple-checking his preparations. It was a slow day, but he didn''t mind. After the last few hectic days, he was glad to be able to relax a little. One hour before nightfall, Mahn Li logged out and took care of his real-world businesses, then logged back in, anticipating a long night. Night snuck upon the forest without a sound. As the last rays of sunlight died off, the forest became covered in a thick veil of darkness. The whole atmosphere changed. If it was already dangerous before, now it was almost suffocating. After lighting the torches, Manco took up position on one of the low branches and observed the ground. The main attraction was several piles of animal carcasses in the middle of the hunting ground. Leading to it were scattered pieces of meat over an area of roughly ten thousand square meters. Several dozen traps had been strategically laid in the area. Steadying his nerves, he watched and listened. Movements in his peripheral vision alerted him to the approaching creatures. In the orange glow of the torches, he could make out several approaching shapes. Skirting the torch-lit patches of ground, they picked up the pieces of meat and devoured them noisily. As they got closer, he was able to identify them. ¡² Plague Hound - Weak ¡³ ¡² Level: 24 - HP: ??? ¡³ ¡² This wild hound carries of a perpetual sickness which will infect all victims of it attacks. Even the most ravenous predators ignore it because of its horrid smell and toxic flesh. It thrives in environments of death and decay. ¡³ As the three Plague Hounds got closer, an acrid smell began assaulting Manco''s nostrils. Their bone thin hair matted and caked with dried mud, blood and pus. In various places, the hair had fallen off, revealing sickly, boil-filled skin. Yellow fluid leaked from their eyes and mouths. However, they didn''t seem the least bit bothered by the sickness. Approaching the corpses, the three sniffed at them a little, then began tearing into the flesh enthusiastically. The Sickness debuff cause by Plague Hound attacks was not dangerous, but pretty annoying. For starters, the victim''s stats would be lowered by at least 10%. Afterward, the victim would gradually lose HP, requiring constant healing to keep from dying. Logging out wouldn''t help. The sickness could be cured by specially made medicine or the victim passing a Constitution check at the beginning of each day. Deciding against engaging these creatures in close combat, Manco took aim with the crossbow and simultaneously activated [Focus Shot], [Aimed Shot], and [Crippling Shot]. *Twang!* The split-head bolt tore into the back leg of the nearest hound, causing black blood mixed with a yellow fluid to leak out from the wound. Yelping in pain, the thing tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the bolt. The other two was either unaware of the attack or just didn''t care, and kept feeding. Switching to the gun, Manco fired mana bolts at the wounded hound. The creature shuffled around pathetically in a circle with a crippled leg, unable to run away. After several more shots, he charged up a mana blast and finished it off. Checking the description of the Collector, he saw a small but important change. - ??? (Requirement to unlock: Kill 5000 corpse-eating creatures. Progress 4794/5000). ''One down. Two hundred and six to go!'' He said, leveling the crossbow at the second hound. Chapter 40: Night Hunt (part 2/2) "Shit! This isn''t good!" While attacking the second Plague Hound, Manco noticed a problem. The first hound died quite messily. The finishing mana blast tore off two of its limb and broke open its torso. As it was lying there unmoving, liquids of various colors began leaking out. That was when the smell hit him. If the stench of a live Plague Hound was bad enough, a dead one''s was downright horrifying. The foul odor, which reminded him of food left in a broken fridge for several summer weeks, made him want to gag. If he kept killing these things, their smell of the cadavers might scare off the other predators altogether. He wasn''t sure how strong the night creatures felt against the Plague Hound''s stench, but he was unwilling to risk wasting another night because these things stank up the place. He stopped attacking the second hound. It looked around in a confusion, its simple brain tried to make sense of the situation but failed. Several moments later, it joined the third hound and continued eating. ''Hopefully, they will leave after they''re full,'' Manco thought as he tied a few lengths of rope to several split-head bolts. He fired the bolts at the first hound''s cadaver. After making sure they were firmly embedded in the flesh, he pulled on the ropes to drag the corpse towards the tree he was on. This would serve two purposes. The first one was to keep it from spoiling the ''buffet'' and the second one, incidentally, was to deter creatures from approaching this particular tree. He would have to endure the smell, but he''d had worse. Ignoring the two plague hounds which were grunting contentedly as they ate, he continued watching the surroundings. Next to the pile furthest away from him, he saw several giant spiders in the process of spinning the corpse of an unidentified animal and covering it with their silk. Together, they dragged it up a tall tree nearby. Later, they would bite into the carcass and inject digestive fluid into it. After a while, the fluid would liquefy the inner organs, which would then be sucked out. After they were done the feeding, they would be in a lethargic and vulnerable state for up to half a day. After they were done preparing the first corpse, they repeated the process with several more. Manco marked the tree on his map and continued observing. Loud buzzing sounds were heard as two big wasps descended near the spiders. Without warning, they stung two of the spiders, then flew up to avoid retaliation. The stung arachnids stumbled about briefly then fell over with loud thuds, paralyzed. The rest of the spiders hissed loudly but did not dare approach the wasps, which began dragging the two paralyzed ones away. After the wasps were gone, the remaining spiders chittered and clicked, then retreated up the tree. As time went on, more and more creatures gathered in the area. Many of them avoided each other and were contented with eating the already slain animals. Others were territorial and attempted to hoard the food for themselves, which led to deadly fights which ended when one side either submitted, fled, or died. A small number of them, like the wasps, came specifically to prey on the live creatures. They were quick and efficient, and were often successful with their kills, though there were also exceptions, and the preys would fight back tooth and nails. When the fights began was Manco''s cue to take advantage and finish off the wounded creatures. While his damage was still low, his precision was enough to get the last hit in most of the time. ¡²Creature "Night Prowler - Weak" (lv 14) killed¡³ ¡² 826 XP gained¡³ ¡²Creature "Giant Scorpion SPider" (lv 22) killed¡³ ¡² 1336 XP gained¡³ ¡­ There was one pack in particular that he left completely alone: the Dire Apes. Heavy and muscular, each of them was as tall as he was, even when hunched over. Their fists were as big as his head. They were led by a pack leader, a large ape with grey fur. When they reached one of the carcass piles, the leader looked around as if sizing up the oppositions. After deciding there was no significant threat, it turned at grunted at the rest of the pack. The other apes poked around in the pile and dragged out the most healthy looking corpses that were relatively intact and began butchering them. They worked in pairs, one holding the corpse, while the other hacked at the joints with a stone knife or ax. Using primitive knives and axes, along with their powerful muscles, they hacked off the limbs, tied them together using some sort of cordage. Leaving behind the torso, they began working on the next corpse. All the while, the grey ape watched the surroundings for potential threats and growled at the approaching creatures, stopping them from coming closer. After butchering about twenty corpses, the smaller apes stopped working. The pack leader looked at them, seemingly satisfied, and gave a short nod and a snort, as if giving permission. The apes whooped and cheered excitedly, and began gathering the limbless torsos. Two of them dragged a flat stone from nearby. They positioned the torso so that the head is placed onto the stone, then cracked it open with a primitive ax. Carefully pried it open, the ape stuck its hand inside and scooped out the brain. The second-in-command took the largest head - belonging to a grey panther - and carefully removed the top of the skull. It reverently offered the prize to the pack leader, who accepted it. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.They took turn eating the brains. After they were done, the pack leader ordered them to gathered the limbs and left, all the while glaring and grunting at the surrounding animals. Manco silently observed the pack. It was clear that they were no corpse-eaters, but were skilled pack hunters and were out on a night hunt. They had encountered this feast and took what they needed, without making a mess. This restraint showed much more intelligence than normal beasts. The leader was also vigilant and cautious. Dealing with them clearly wasn''t a good idea, and he wouldn''t gain anything much by doing so, either. That was why he gave them a wide berth. After the apes were gone, he lowered himself to the ground to reposition himself and hunt more effectively. The creatures reacted to him differently. Some of them became more alert when their companions died, and several spotted him and gave chase. However, most ignored him and were focused on feeding. Nevertheless, Manco stayed cautious and didn''t draw the attention of more than a handful of creatures at a time. ¡²Creature "Giant Birdeater" (lv 18) killed¡³ ¡² 1062 XP gained¡³ ¡²Level up! Your level is now 24!¡³ ¡²Int +2; Wil +1¡³ ¡²Free attributes points + 2 (Total 38)¡³ Even without the boost from the Well-Rested status effect, he gained experience steadily and eventually reached level 24. Manco lost track of time. Ignoring the notifications, he observed, struck, defended, evaded and fled. He picked his target, struck decisively, and retreated to safety before the others could react. When the first rays of sunlight shone on the ground, there were only a few living creatures in the vicinity. As the pack of giant Dire Wolves retreated, having eaten their fill, Manco checked the stat description for the gun. - ??? (Requirement to unlock: Kill 5000 corpse-eating creatures. Progress 4832/5000). He sighed. After five real-time hours, he only managed to kill over 40 corpse-eaters. Most of the creatures he killed were considered hunters and only occasionally eat carrions, coupled with the fact that the distinction was fuzzy and non-conclusive, the progress was painfully slow. It was relatively safe, but he was itching to get this over with and move on to more exciting things. As he considered the possibility of having to stay in this forest for a few more days, a small movement attracted his attention. Scanning the area, he saw the source of the movement. Two wolves lying on the ground looked like they were breathing. He was pretty sure they weren''t really breathing, as one was missing half its head and the other''s neck was twisted way beyond the normal movement range. Taking no chances, he loaded the crossbow and fired a bolt at one of the carcasses. *Pop!* The contact point burst outward and a thick sludge spurted out. The sickly-looking grey ooze, mixed with liquefied flesh, innards, and bones, kept flowing out of the wolf cadaver. As it flowed out, the cadaver deflated like a balloon, until only a layer of skin and fur is left. The ooze then converged into a lump that looked like a giant molehill, wobbling and rippling in a steady rhythm. ¡² Necrotic Slime - Weak ¡³ ¡² Level: 21 - HP: ??? ¡³ "Sneaky little shits," He muttered, approaching the slime as a second one began forcing its way out of the other corpse. These two had used the darkness as a cover and snuck their way inside the corpses, eating them from the inside without him noticing. The first slime slithered away slowly. In general, slimes'' movement was already slow, and this one even more so after eating. Its movement reminded him of a gigantic, slightly transparent slug. "Hey, where are you going?" Manco shouted and shot at the necrotic slime with a crossbow bolt. The bolt did minimal damage but seemed to get its attention. Having seemingly realized that fleeing was not an option, the slime stopped slithering away. "That''s more like it!" He stepped into its striking range. *Whoosh!* *Snap!* Part of the slime shifted into a limb and lashed out at him. Dodging the limb, he slashed down with the dagger, cleanly severing it. The cut part fell down on the ground, twitched, then reformed itself into a smaller version of the slime. Without waiting, Manco slashed at the smaller slime twice, cutting it into four. Retreating out of the large slime''s striking range, he observed the quartered small slime with bated breath. Indeed, a few moments later, the four quarters became four even smaller slimes. Drawing his gun, he fired a mana blast at the quartet. *Boom!* This time, they were blown apart and didn''t recover. Immediately, he received four notifications. ¡²Creature "Necrotic Slime - tiny" (lv 1) killed¡³ ¡² 12 XP gained¡³ ¡²Creature "Necrotic Slime - tiny" (lv 1) killed¡³ ¡² 12 XP gained¡³ ¡­ Manco opened stat page of his gun. ''¡­ Progress 4836/5000'' "Jackpot!" Manco let out the breath he was holding and grinned. He had struck gold with these slimes! Each small one counted as one creature! During the day they would hide in all sorts of nooks and crannies that were nearly impossible to find. They only came out to feed at night and were equally difficult to spot, given their slow and quiet movement and limited shapeshifting ability. "Alright blobbies, here I come!" He approached the two slimes, dagger in one hand and gun in the other. Chapter 41: The Switcheroo After a bit of experimenting, Manco found out that to be able to reform into one Slime, a piece had to be at least as large as his fist. Any smaller than that and it would simply dissolve. Armed with that knowledge (and his daggers), he began the process of dismantling the two Necrotic Slimes. These particular slimes only had a few attacks. The first one was a body tackle and the second was a corrosive spray. The third and most often used attack was forming several limbs out of their body matter and using them to strike at close range. He goaded the slimes into attacking him with their ''limbs'', hacked off those limbs and cut them down into fist-sized chunks. After the chunks turned into small slimes, he killed them off by firing either mana bolts or a mana blast through his gun. Slimes, being mindless creatures, only alternated between several attack patterns, which Manco exploited without mercy. After fifteen minutes, the slimes were half as big as they were before, and the counter for unlocking the second milestone read ''¡­ Progress 4925/5000.'' ''If I keep this up, I''ll definitely unlock the second milestone just by killing these two,'' he thought while drinking a health potion. He had been using himself as bait to force the slimes to attack at close range and willingly took damage to get a good hit in. Thankfully, the forests'' no daytime predators showed up in the area, driven away by the stench of dead creatures. This eliminated complications and allowed him to fully concentrate on the two slimes. As a Mana Blast wiped out the last pack of small Necrotic Slimes, a notification popped up. ¡²Milestone unlocking requirement #2: 100% complete¡³ ¡²First milestone reached ¡³ ¡²Second form can now be unlocked. ¡³ ¡²Weapon damage, range, and durability will increase. In addition, more attacks can be executed ¡³ ¡²Unlock second form?¡³ ''Yes,'' He grinned. This is it! Now it would be time to¡­ ¡²WARNING!!! The unlocking process can last up to 3 hours. ¡³ ¡²During that period the weapon cannot be used. Proceed?¡³ "Oh, for fuck''s sake! Are you kidding me?" Manco cursed out loud. He had never seen a legacy weapon needing a countdown to unlock milestones. Usually, when the requirement was completed, it would immediately transform into the next form, without any more hassle. Then again, nothing about this gun had conformed to the norm. He would have to grit his teeth and bear with it. Grouchily, he selected ''Cancel.'' It looked like he had to do this in the safety of the village. Sighing, Manco set out to harvest the slain creatures. During the night, he had killed no less than three hundred creatures and leveled up twice, reaching level 25 and hitting the first level cap. Mana Bolt had leveled up to 26 and so did his crossbow mastery. All things considered, the night hunt had been a success. While waiting for the harvesting progress bar to fill up, Manco updated his to-do list. His most pressing concern, namely the weapon''s durability, had almost been solved. After he returned to Mistwood village and unlocked the second form, it would be increased. The ''Soul tethered'' effect meant that it would teleport back to Gwyndham''s place when he died. Though it was still a huge inconvenience, his death wouldn''t put an end to his build. He turned to the next thing on his agenda: finding a way to change the gun''s bound location. Mistwood village was a nice, secluded place, but it was unsuitable as a long term solution. The first reason was that it is extremely remote and isolated. Everytime he died, he would have to travel vast distances to retrieve the gun, which would be a significant time drain. He needed to find another location that was more central and not to inconvenience to travel to and from while remaining relatively inconspicuous. The second reason was that this village might not last long. Under the influence of the dark forces in Haufaria, the Death Forest would eventually expand outward. After several years, the area around Mistwood village would be destroyed and overtaken by nature. He wasn''t sure if the spawn point would be affected, but he didn''t want to wait and find out. Regardless of the reason, he would have to change the bound location. From the look of it, meeting Tarathiel the Elven queen in the capital seemed like the next logical step. However, he wasn''t too sure if the queen would agree to help him, and whether he was ready to do whatever she asked of him in return. He filed the task under his long-term goal. The next immediate goal was to travel to a city. To continue leveling up, he would have to finish an advancement quest, which was only issued in cities. His other short-term goal was to prepare for the Christmas tournament, which would come in about two months. Preparations would include leveling up and finding gears. The hardest part, getting the gun, was already behind him, and he expected the next part would be relatively easier. His musing was interrupted by a notification telling him the last creature had been harvested. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡²Harvesting "Giant Wolf Spider" complete. Items added to inventory¡³ ¡²Average Spider Silk x 1¡³ ¡²Tattered Spider Silk x 1¡³ ¡²Spider Fangs x 2¡³ ¡²Spider Meat x 5¡³ ¡²Spider Eggs x 3¡³ ¡²Medium Spider Venom (vial) x1 ¡³ ¡²Mild Spider Venom (vial) x2¡³ ¡²Diluted Digestive Enzyme (vial) x2¡³ "Nice!" He said, admiring the long list of drops. It had taken him more than an hour to clean the area of the animal corpses. The gained parts were more varied and potent: magic-infused fangs and claws, poison and venom of various types, rare and durable and scales and pelts, etc. Like before, aside from the body parts, he found an eclectic mix of items: small tools, jewelry, and personal effects. One of them was a wooden ring that gave +50 max mana and +5% to mana regen, which he slipped on his finger. After sweeping the area one more time, he began walking back to Mistwood Village. The trip back was uneventful and he was not in any real danger. However, Manco couldn''t help feeling uneasy. Having something so close to his grasp yet could slip away at a moment''s notice always made him feel this way. Every time he heard a strange sound or something flitted by his peripheral vision, he found himself tensing up. After two long hours, he stood inside the walls of Mistwood village. ''Haven''t'' felt this way in a long time,'' he said with a chuckle. Opening his inventory, he highlighted The Collector and selected the option to unlock its second form. After reading the warning again and confirming his choices, he was greeted with a progress bar. > Time remaining: 02:59:51 > Current task: Adding Hidden Agendas > Next task: Adjusting Bell Curves Shaking his head at the nonsensical messages, Manco headed towards the tavern. He intended to log out now and check back in three hours. ''Let''s see... Clean up, go grocery shopping,'' Mahn Li went over his real-world to do list: ''make lunch and dinner, then...'' his thought was interrupted when he saw someone standing at the tavern''s entrance. It was Cordelia. During the two days they did not meet, she had apparently done quite well for herself. Her level was now 12, which was quite good for a soloing newbie. She had ditched the flowery shirt and long dress and was now clad in leather armor, though she still kept the feathery head ornament. She had a knife in the thigh scabbard and a bow strung over her back. "Hey!" she said when she saw him approaching. "Hmm!" he nodded: "Not bad!" "Yeah, thank you! For helping me..." She said, biting her lips. Eventually, she exhaled, looked into his eyes and said: "I hate to ask you this but... could you travel with me to the neighboring village?" "Which one?" "It''s called Broken Hill. Here''s the coordinate," as she spoke, she sent the village''s coordinate to him, which integrated itself onto his map. Surveying the map, he saw that the place was about twenty kilometers south of Mistwood Village, easily within walking distance. However, parts of the way there were through dense forests or treacherous marshland, making the journey a daunting one for a newbie. Speaking of which, what business does she have at this place? At his questioning look, Cordelia explained: "I''m trying to find my friends. They gave me the coordinate of Mistwood village. When I spawned here, I didn''t see anyone..." "...I contacted them and they said I entered the wrong coordinates. I could have sworn I put in the exact ones they gave me. Then they told me they were in another village south of here. They said they were busy in a quest, so they would come and get me later. Or I could come to them..." "...So that''s what I did in my first days. I tried to level up and find a party that would travel to Broken Hill..." "Wait," Manco interrupted, "How many days has it been since you''ve got here?" "Uh... about four days?" "What kind of quest is taking them so long? Why aren''t they here to pick you up yet?" "They didn''t tell me!" she said, frustration evident in her voice: "And yesterday they told me they''ve gotten an important timed quest, so they had no time to come get me, and that I have to go to them!" "...I''ve gotten used to Misty Woods, but I couldn''t handle the mobs in the forest to the south. I could only travel about two kilometers before I died..." She concluded and looked at him hopefully. He wanted to say no and let her sort things out by herself. However, his guts told him there was more to this story. Cordelia''s friends seemed to have picked Broken Hill on purpose. Also, they seem to be doing awfully well for a bunch of new players. Chained quests for multiple users right in a starting village? "I was meaning to ask you this, but... why did you guys decide to spawn there? No offense, but both Broken Hill or Mistwood Village are hardly suitable for beginners." "Beginners?" She looked at him in puzzlement: "Oh, right. I never told you, did I? We played the game during Beta." Chapter 42: First Milestone "Beta tester? You?" Manco couldn''t believe his ears. "No offense, but shouldn''t you be more¡­ experienced?" They were sitting inside the tavern. It was noon, and they were the only customers. The bartender, Gregg, was idly chatting with one of the barmaids while cleaning the counter. There was a faint smell of cooking wafting out from the kitchen. "Yeah, you''re right," Cordelia said, looking down at the table in embarrassment. "It''s like this¡­" She briefly explained her situation. The short version of it was that she signed up for the whole beta testing phase, which lasted one year. Because of some family business, however, she missed most of it and only participated in the final month. By that time, her friends had all vastly out-leveled her, and they could barely play together. She wanted to play a healer, but her friends pushed her to play as an archer to fill out their squad. Mahn Li didn''t know what to make of this. In his mind, he had always pictured the Beta Testers as formidable individuals with superior skills and knowledge of the game. This particular person, however, clashed strongly with that belief. ''Is she telling the truth, though?'' He thought. "So now you''re back to the village and rejoin them?" "Probably. I''ll just ask for my item back first. If I feel like it, I''ll join them." "What do you mean ''your item''?" His heart skipped a beat. "That thing they give us at the end of Beta, you know? As a token of thanks for participating. You''ve got one too, right?" "I¡­ Of course I do. Yeah." Manco replied. Cordelia had quite reasonably assumed he was a beta tester as well, "Why do you have to get it back? Did you give it away?" "Yeah, mine was some archer accessory. I didn''t like it, and another person in my group got something suitable for the healing class. So we switched items. When the server reset and I recreated my character, the item she gave me was gone! My friends all said they had their item in their inventory after character creation." As Mahn Li didn''t join the beta testing phase, he had to speculate based on Cordelia''s words. It seemed the beta testers were rewarded with Beta Gears at the end of the testing phase. At that point they could freely swap with each other. After that, the server is reset and the characters were wiped, but the information on which character had which items were remembered. When the game officially launched, the items were deposited to the newly created characters. "Did you check it carefully to make sure it was a Beta Gear?" "Beta Gear?" The girl asked back, puzzled. ''Damn it!'' Manco held his tongue. The term ''Beta Gear'' would only be coined several months from now. "I mean, the item awarded for completing Beta Test. Did you notice its effect?" "I''m not really sure. My item had an orange name, and we had several items with orange names," those were items with the ''unique'' rarity level, "So my friend probably made a mistake and gave me a unique item instead of the Beta reward. I contacted her and she said she had two items in her inventory." "Sure, that''s probably it," Manco nodded. A better explanation would be the girl''s ''friend'' noticed how much of an airhead she was and tricked her. Of course, he kept that to himself. They were silent for a moment as Manco considered his options while Cordelia fidgeted nervously in her seat. "What''s in it for me?" he asked. "Uh¡­" she looked at him and scratched her head. "¡­" "Uh¡­ you''re right. I''ve got nothing to give you. And you''ve helped me plenty already. Right, I''ll find another way!" She said dejectedly and turned back to her mug. ''Hmm, she doesn''t have a bad personality.'' His evaluation of the girl raised a little more. Despite her inexperience, she had been trying to rely on her own strength instead of using her charm to goad others into doing the dirty work for her. He did not enjoy getting slowed down to babysit someone, but he might make an exception for her. In fact, even if she didn''t ask, he would have traveled to Broken Hill by himself. If there really were beta testers there, things would get interesting. "Alright, so here''s the deal," he said, and she looked at him hopefully. "I need to change my plan a bit, but I''ll accompany you." "Really? Thank you so much!" Cordelia said and smiled brightly. She reached out and touched his arm, but hastily withdrew her hand: "Sorry!" "It''s alright," what a strange girl. "How long do your friends stay there?" Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "They told me they would be there for another two days. I''ll send them a message to confirm it." He waited a few moments for her to send the message. Then she furrowed her brows and looked at him. "Yes. They said they''ll leave in two game days." "That''s 24 hours from now," Manco said and checked the timer for the milestone unlock. > Time remaining: 02:22:31 "What''s your schedule?" he asked Cordelia, then hastily added, "I mean when can you play?" "I can play for about 12 hours a day," she answered. She took out a piece of paper and wrote down her playing time, which was neatly divided into two three-hour sessions and three two-hour sessions scattered throughout the day. "Wow. You have an actual timetable for this?" Manco asked, impressed. Most new players would just play for as long as they can and only adjusted when the game started interfering with their daily lives. "Yeah. I''ve spent a lot of time on it," she answered with a smile. For the next half hour, they figured out how to travel together during the next day. Cordelia lived in a different time zone, so it took a while to figure out the specifics. Both of them would have to shift their schedules to accommodate each other. "Alright. So I''ll see you here in¡­ three hours. Right?" Cordelia said, inspecting the sheets of paper filled with their respective schedules which have been lined up to have 3-hour gaming sessions together. "That''s correct!" Manco nodded. They bid each other goodbye and logged out. Two hours later, Mahn Li logged back in. He stopped at all the stores to sell off unnecessary items and top up on his supplies. When he was almost done, a notification popped up. ¡²Second form unlocked¡³ ¡²Transform weapon?¡³ ''Finally!'' He grinned. He rushed back to his room on the tavern''s second floor. With bated breath, he took out the gun and laid it on the table, then selected ''Yes.'' All of a sudden, the room around him flickered. It was so brief that he was almost convinced it was just a trick of the eye, but he knew better. ''Might be another glitch,'' he thought. The tiny derringer pistol floated in front of him. Then it started to transform. It began increasing in size and the barrels lengthened until they were about as long as his hands. Then four more barrels materialized out of thin air and fused with the first two in a hexagonal arrangement. The six barrels form a cylinder that attached itself to the cylindrical frame, which extended gracefully into a curved grip with a large trigger guard. Finally, a big percussion hammer appeared above the barrels. The transformation was over in mere moments, and Manco caught the new gun when it began to descend. He immediately noticed the new form was quite hefty. The coloration had also changed. Most of it was bronze-colored, except for the grip which was dark brown. As he held the new gun, another message popped up. ¡²This is it, buddy! No more free handouts. You''re on your own from now. Good luck!¡³ "Thanks," Manco said to no one in particular. He had reached the same milestone as the previous owners did. From now on he was truly in uncharted territory. ? The Collector (Second form - Allen)?¡ï¡ï > Type: Gun (One-handed) > Damage: 30-31 (piercing) + projectile damage. Range: 10m + projectile range. > Ammunition: Magic Crystals. Capacity: 30 (5 per barrel) > Description: As a great man once said, sometimes the only safe place around is behind this weapon. > Weight: 1.5 kg > Durability: 3/3 > Effects - General - Fragile ¡´Details¨‹¡µ - Fickle ¡´Details¨‹¡µ - Soul tethered ¡´Details¨‹¡µ - More Dakka ¡´Details¨‹¡µ > Effects - First form - Double tap¡´Details¨‹¡µ > Effects - Second form - ??? (Requirement to unlock: ???) - ??? (Requirement to unlock: ???) - ??? (Requirement to unlock: ???) ¡ª.¡ª The damage per shot was increased by 10, but the range had reduced compared to the first form. Most importantly, durability had increased to 3. It wasn''t much, but enough to allow him to take more risk. What made him even more excited was that there were two empty stars next to the name, letting him know this form could be upgraded twice. In addition, the 3 locked effects seemed to promise another milestone, which would lead to even more upgrade slots. Putting away the gun, Manco went downstairs. He had about one hour to familiarize himself with it before Cordelia showed up. Chapter 43: The Newbie? After reaching a relatively secluded spot near at the edge of Misty Woods, Manco took out the Collector. On the corner of his HUD, he noticed a representation of the six barrels. Like he did with the gun''s previous form, he assigned the only two spells he knew to two of the barrels. With a thought, he switched which barrel he wanted to fire out of. In response, the gun''s cylinder rotated so that the barrel channeling the selected spell was at the topmost position. He tried firing at a tree stump about thirty meters away. [Mana Bolt]! The shot went wide, hitting another tree a good two meters off target. "Shit! Are you kidding me?" He said in disbelief. He tried several more time, and the shots were similarly inaccurate. The gun could only reliably hit targets within ten meters. At least it was more precise than the weapon it was based on, which was useless beyond point-blank range. "How am I supposed to use this?" He muttered. That was when he noticed a small symbol next to the six barrel. Focusing on it opened up a small menu. [Switch form] > First form - Derringer >> Second form - Allen "Oh, thank fuck!" he said with a relieved sigh and selected the first form The gun instantly reverted back to the tiny two-barreled pistol he was familiar with. "At least the durability''s increased!" Remembering there was a new effect he didn''t check, he expanded it, and read the description. [Tag!] [Active effect: Mark a living creature. For an hour, the marked target''s approximate location is revealed to the weapon''s owner. When Tag! is used on another target, the first target becomes unmarked. Usable 3 times per day.] "Hmm. Interesting¡­" Unlike the previous effects which were passive and took effect automatically, this was an active effect and quite a handy one at that. Already, Manco could come up with a dozen uses for it. Tracking an elusive creature, stalking a player, the possibilities were endless. Looking around, he saw a squirrel on a tree nearby. Aiming at the creature, he activated [Tag!]. A small, paintball-sized projectile flew out of the barrel and hit the squirrel, splashing blue "paint" on it. The creature squeaked, more startled than hurt, and scurried higher up the trees, hiding in the thick leaves. "Nice!" as the squirrel disappeared from view, Manco saw that its position was marked on his vision as a pulsing blue diamond. In addition, on his minimap, a blue arrow point at its direction. There were only a handful of spells and skills that could produce this effect. Possessing one at level 25 was a surprise boon for him. "Not bad!" Pleased, he put the gun away and returned to the village. Cordelia showed up at the tavern five minutes before their agreed meeting time. "You ready?" Manco asked. "Yes!" She replied. The girl had apparently done some preparation by herself. Manco noticed she had had her armor repaired and changed her bow and dagger. "Alright, let''s go!" After leaving the gate, the pair followed a small road and began making their way south at a fast pace. "Keep your stamina at 50% or more at all times. Take a break if you have to." Manco instructed Cordelia. "I know. In case we''re attacked, right?" She replied, having caught on. "Yes." As it turned out, Manco''s stamina was lower than Cordelia''s, as he only put just enough points in Constitution. They mostly had to stop for him to recover his stamina. The animals around these parts were weaker than those in Misty Woods. However, they made up for this shortcoming with sheer numbers. After a relatively uneventful first hour, they were set upon by packs after packs of ROUS (Rodents of Unusual Size) and other small to medium-sized creatures. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. After another hour, they were attacked by a swarm of hundreds of giant, ravenous rats. "I never made it past this point!" Cordelia said as she put an arrow between the eyes of a charging giant rat. Drawing her dagger, she dodged backward as two others pounced on her. Simultaneously, she plunged her dagger into the first one''s left eye and slammed her heel on the second one''s head, stunning it. Unleashing several quick slashes and stabs, she finished off the blinded rat then made short work of the second one. "I can see why," Manco replied tersely. With his left hand, he unleased an arcane surged mana blast, blasting apart a dozen rats. Holding the skull wand, he used Dark Implosion to clump together another dozen then followed up with another mana blast. They were fighting on a low hill, in the middle of a mass of boulders of all shapes and sizes. Cordelia had suggested this area as they could improvise choke points and avoid having to face the whole swarm of rats at the same time. The big swarm was ideal for Manco to use his area of effect spells. Any rat that slipped through was handled by Cordelia. After around ten minutes, the assault waned. Having realized their prey were tougher than expected, what was left of the swarm retreated. Some of them dragged along the corpses of their fallen pack mates, presumably for later consumption. "Whew!" Cordelia said and wiped her sweaty forehead, "That was fun!" With a flourish, she cleaned up her dagger and sheathed it, then activated her healing spell to heal herself. Manco inspected the slain creatures. Most of them were not worth harvesting. Only the larger ones might have something valuable. "Should we butcher them?" the girl asked. "Just the big ones," he replied. "Okay," she immediately started the task and Manco did the same. "Meat, pelt, fang, some coins. Ooh! There''s a ring here. Do you want it? This one''s your kill." Cordelia said, holding a ring in her fingers. It was pretty easy to tell apart their kills. Hers only had stabbing and slashing wounds, while his were often twisted, wrenched and dismembered by magical forces. "You keep it," he shrugged. "Thanks!" She said and put on the ring, "This game''s pretty stingy with drops, doesn''t it?" "It is. Most of the good stuff has to be crafted," he agreed while waiting next to a dire rat for the harvesting countdown to complete. After harvesting, they were back on the road. "What do you suggest we do with the meat!" Manco asked her. "Uh," creasing her brows in thought, she answered "We can use it as bait? No, wait, we don''t want to draw them to us. Oh, we can also draw them away from us, so that they''d be less likely to attack us!" "It''s a bit more involved than that, but that''s the idea." "I never thought of it that way. This game is much more complex than I thought," she commented. "It is," he agreed, then on an impulse, he asked her: "You never learned any of this during beta?" "No," she said, frowning. As they walked, Cordelia told Manco how she was power-leveled by her friends. Within two weeks, her archer character was leveled up to level 100 (which was now impossible thanks to changes to the experience gain algorithm, and the various level caps). After that, they dumped a set of high-level equipment on her and took her to level 150 plus raid instances. "No wonder!" He shook his head. She never had the experience to hunt and level up by herself and had little knowledge of game mechanics beyond fighting high-level mobs. She was indeed no better than a newbie. Chapter 44: The Sighing Swamp For the next hour, Manco and Cordelia traversed the narrow path. Despite having attempted to lure the wild creatures away with piles of fresh meat, they still had to dealt with a sizable number. "Hey! I''m level 15 now!" Cordelia exclaimed triumphantly. Standing on top of a massive wolfrat''s corpse, she retrieved her blades that was lodged in the animal''s ears. Sheathing the blades, she back-flipped away from the corpse, gracefully landed on the ground, then bowed with a flourish to an invisible audience. "Good for you!" Manco said distractedly. The girl was remarkably agile and well-coordinated. He suspected it had something to do with her occupation in real life, but as usual, he kept his assumptions to himself. As the day went on, they steadily made progress. Manco''s level had hit the cap long ago, but his masteries could still improve. His Mana Bolt leveled up to 28, and Crossbow to 25. He still kept his gun in his inventory and stuck to his crossbow, dagger, and spells. At one point, a random group of bandits showed up demanding road tolls. However, at the sight of the slain creatures lying around the pair, the hardened criminals stammered apologies and beat a hasty retreat. "These guys are pretty smart!" Cordelia sighed with relief, "I''m glad we don''t have to fight them." "Have you ever killed a human NPC in this game?" Manco asked. "No," she shook her head, "Have you?" "Yes." "What''s it like?" "Pretty messy," Manco answered vaguely. It was quite an understatement. The injuries tend to be nauseatingly realistic, even without the ''Matured Adventurer'' package. In addition, most of the time, the dying NPCs didn''t act like mindless creatures. Sometimes they would beg the players to spare their lives. Other time, they begged to be put out of their misery. Most of the time, though, they just sobbed and screamed like little kids while soiling themselves. "Ugh," she shuddered, "I hope I won''t have to." "Sometimes you won''t have a choice," he shrugged. "I mean, I have no problem with players. I know they don''t die for real. But these NPCs just seem¡­" she paused as if searching for words "¡­more¡­ alive to me. Does that make any sense?" "It does," he nodded, noting the irony. It was a good thing that most of the enemies in the game are non-human. Also, half a year from now, an update would be introduced to give generic NPCs quick and painless deaths. Five kilometers away from Broken Hill, as the pair entered the region called the Sighing Swamp, the terrain started to change. The first noticeable sign was the path beneath their feet. The solid ground began to mix with patches of wet soil. As they progressed, their feet sunk deeper and deeper into the ground, until it became thick mud that made them struggle to wade through. Then there was the mist. It obscured the vision and made it hard to see beyond a few dozen meters. The air was damp and humid, making their faces wet and their clothes stuck uncomfortably to their bodies. The only trees in the area were cypresses, with tree moss hanging off of them. The waning afternoon sun filtered through the canopy of the sparse foliage, casting a hazy orange light around the pair. Permeating the air was a rotten smell of decaying plant matter. After a while, the ground began to be dominated by water puddles of all shapes, sizes and depths. Some of them were only ankle deep, while others might be much deeper. Falling into one of these deeper holes could spell a slow and uncomfortable death to any adventurer. "Stay behind me," Manco said as he retrieved from his inventory a pole for setting tents. He kept walking, using the pole to test the ground in front of him. "Ugh!" Cordelia shuddered, looking at the scum-covered water, which had a sickly green color. "Is it like this all the way to Broken Hill?" she asked, swiping condensed moisture off her forehead and wiped on her clothes, only to find them equally damp. "Yes. This is as good as it gets. The path we''re on is through the narrowest part of the swamp. And there''s also a man-made road. We should be able to see it in about¡­ hmm, five minutes." "Okay," she said, and they walked in silence. The only sounds around were the squelching of their boots. When it was dark, Cordelia took out her torch and tinderbox, preparing to light it. "Wait, don''t light it yet," Manco stopped her, "Stay here," he approached a tree, climbed up, and surveyed the area. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "It''s already dark! What''re you looking for?" she asked. "The road," he answered as he jumped down next to her, "I''ve found it, let''s go!" Two minutes later, they reached ''the road.'' It was a path, around one meter wide, made out of stone slabs and wooden planks. Planted on it were patches of glowing moss, allowing it to be visible during the night. "Cool!" Cordelia exclaimed as she set foot on a wooden plank, testing the stability. Looking back, she saw the glowing path extending beyond her vision, "Where does this road come from?" "Beats me. I''ve never been there," Manco shrugged, "You wanna take point?" "Sure!" she answered. With relatively solid ground beneath their feet, they moved at a much faster pace. "Y''know," Cordelia started, as they walked along the path, "For a place called the Sighing Swamp, it isn''t very swamp-like." "What do you mean?" Manco asked back, slightly bored. "The cypress trees were pretty spot-on. But the ground of this place has more in common with bogs or moors. Swamps are often covered with water, and you need boats to navigate. It looks like they just mix together the various terrain features for a ''cool'' atmosphere." "Be grateful you don''t have to use boats. Combat on boat sucks!" Manco scoffed, "And what are you, a biologist?" "You mean ecologist? And no, I am not. I just have lots of free time." Cordelia said with a grin. A short while later, they came across a message carved on a tree trunk next to the path. It said "Beware STRANGLER vines!" "Sounds kinda ominous, doesn''t it!" Cordelia said, looking around warily. "It''s alright. It''s only dangerous if you''re alone," looking at her, he slightly bowed and extended his hand forward with a smile: "Ladies first." "Why?" "Because I''m polite. Why else?" "I''m gonna be bait, aren''t I?" "Got it in one! You''re getting smarter!" He complimented. "Why don''t YOU be bait?" "Because it''s difficult to break from their hold. If you get trapped, though, I can free you easily." "Hmph!" She scoffed but didn''t protest and walked ahead of him. Hanging back, Manco sorted through his inventory and made preparations. The night hunt several days ago had gifted him with ingredients for a new tool to deal with the vines. "What are those vines like?" Cordelia asked. "Their favored M.O is going for the neck and strangling their prey. Don''t let them do it. Otherwise, you''ll be hit with the unconscious status effect." "What''s it like being unconscious?" "Everything just turned black, and you stop hearing things. After a while it''ll pass," he paused, then added "¡­if you don''t die while you are unconscious, of course." "That''s comforting!" Bracing herself, she kept walking, one hand gripping the blade handle at her hip. It was pitch black. In the dim light cast by the torches, they could only see a few meters ahead. They could hear the faintly whistling wind, and the shuffling of the leaves. Once in a while, a sharp snapping sound was heard, causing them to stop and stand back to back, wary of ambushers. "Hey, do you mind turning on your healing spirit?" Manco asked as he extinguished his torch. "So that I can stand out even more?" she asked, frowning. "Yup!" He could tell she was scared, but she still held her own quite admirably. He had seen much older players cracking and freaking out under much less tense situations. "I''m liking you less and less!" "Does that mean you liked me at the beginning?" "Ugh. Shut up!" Closing her eyes, she made a brief chant, then a transparent image of a starfish hovered above her head, casting a bright, healthy green light. "Watch your step! And walk slowly!" He warned, while stepping further away from the combined light of her torch and her healing spirit. "You watch your step!" Speaking through gritted teeth, Cordelia took tentative steps forward. Several minutes later,¡­ Nothing happened. "This isn''t working!" Manco muttered, a dozen meters behind Cordelia. "What else do you want me to do?" She asked sarcastically "Singing?" "That isn''t a bad idea, actually." "But I don''t wannaaaAAAAAH...!" Her voice turned into a scream as she was dragged straight up in the air. She dropped the torch, which fizzled and was extinguished as it fell head first onto the ground. Chapter 45: A Tight Spot "AAAaaaah¡­ Ooof!" Cordelia''s shout was cut short when a vine slammed into her back. ''Ouch! This is bad!'' She thought, wincing from the pain. She was hanging upside down by her left ankle. Even through the thick leather shoes, she could feel the vine''s limb tightening around her foot. ''Okay, okay. Relax! This is just a game!'' breathing in and out quickly, she tried to calm down, ''What''s the most important thing? Right! Protect the neck!'' She put her left hand on the back of her neck and held it there. Then she tucked her chin down and raised her shoulders up, trying to expose as little of her neck as possible. Which was in the nick of time, as another limb wrapped around both her arm and her neck, and began to squeeze. ''Ugh,'' she grunted. It was uncomfortable, but not life-threatening. Under the green glow of her healing spirit, she observed her assailant. She could see the limb around her neck. It was as big as her forearm, with skin that looked and felt like tree bark. Sprouting from it were smaller branches, about as big as her finger and without the bark. Scattering here and there were small leaves that looked like tiny hands. The small limbs were squirming, trying to get a hold on her body. It looked like this thing had at least three large limbs. The first one was holding her ankle, the second one her neck, and the third one hit her in the back just now. ''Where is it?'' grunting with discomfort, she drew her dagger with her right hand. As a small limb approached her, she slashed at it, severing the tip. That seemed to ''anger'' the plant, as it began to tremble. Then the third large limb slammed into her belly, taking another 20% of her HP. "Hey! A little help here, maybe?" Straining, she called down. "I''m helping! Hang in there!" Manco''s voice drifted from somewhere below, amidst the sounds of rustling leaves, snapping vines, the whistling of crossbow bolts and spells. ''What the hell is taking him so long?'' She dared not looked down, but kept her eyes out for the vines. Two small branches wrapped themselves around her remaining ankle, and three more grabbed her right wrist, restricting her movements. ''Hey, what do you think you''re doing?'' She reversed her grip on the blade, adjusted its angle, then turned her wrist, slicing off two of the branches. Gritting her teeth, she withdrew her feet to put the other branches within reach and slashed. Then she hooked her right leg around the main limb that was holding her left one and struggled to right herself. The third limb was nowhere to be seen. It was probably busy dealing with the guy below. Now she just had to cut this thing squeezing her neck and free herself, somehow. Then¡­ *Poof!* Her healing spirit expired and disappeared, plunging her surrounding into darkness. Gritting her teeth, she renewed it¡­ ¡­Just in time to see several large vines closing in. *Whack!* *Snap!* A whip-like vine slammed at her right arm, knocking the dagger away, then curled around her wrist. It was followed by three or more vines which wrapped around her remaining limbs. In a blink of an eye, her right arm and both legs were tightly bound. Then the whole thing began to squeeze. Apparently it had given up trying to strangle her and just decided to crush her whole body. -15! -14! -15! Her hit point ticked away several times per second. At this rate, she had only seconds more to live¡­ ''I guess I''ll revive back in Mistwood Village again,'' she thought as her vision lost focus. NO! I''m not dead yet! Steeling herself, she considered her options. Breaking free with brute strength was impossible. Her right dagger was knocked away and returned to her inventory. Her left dagger was still in the sheath, but there was no way to reach it. The only things she had left were her spirit totems. The starfish was still boosting her HP regeneration. It was the only reason she was alive right now. The seagull was useless, unless she was falling. That was all. Wait! That wasn''t all! There''s something else. She got this from the gypsy lady at the caravan. ''Here goes nothing!'' Cordelia thought, as she activated her newest spirit totem. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ''Shit! This is bad!'' Manco cursed, as he dodged a large vine then pinned it to the ground with his dagger. Each mature strangler vine, consisting of three to four main limbs, would occupy an area of several hundred square meters. What was surround them right now was not one, not two, but at least four mature vines. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ''Just my luck!'' He slid under a whipping branch, and rolled to one side to avoid another slamming down from above. ''Here we go!'' He took out a vial containing a swirling yellow liquid, then leveled the skull wand at the cluster of vines that was preparing to attack. [Dark Implosion]! As the dark energy crackled and clumped the vines together, he gave the vial a shake and threw it at the same point. Upon contact, the vial shattered, splattering the yellow liquid, which clung to the vines and burst into flame. Within moments, the green-yellow alchemical flame quickly spread through the whip-like limbs. *Whack!* *Snap!* As if feeling the pain, the vines wiggled like a bunch of frenzied snakes. Several of them broke away from the cluster and retreated up the trees. He could still see the flame clinging to them and burning. Scanning the surrounding trees, he located a second cluster of vines, and gave it the same treatment. Made out of fire beetle extract, crushed nightstalker bones, and powdered coal, the Basic Alchemist''s Fire was a highly volatile liquid that ignited when exposed to air. It was not the best tool for dealing with plant-based enemies, but it was the best he had access to at the moment. As most of the strangler vines had retreated, Manco heard a bestial roar above. ''What the hell?'' Looking up, he saw Cordelia tearing the vines apart with her bear hands. ¡­ Wait. Bear hands? ¡­ Yes. Bear hands. ¡­ Cordelia had summoned a Bear spirit. Except this one wasn''t just hanging above her head like the starfish. Instead, it completely covered her body and was almost solid, like a magical golem. Manco could faintly see her figure within the construct, controlling its movements and attacks. She was at the center of a bear. Having gained a foothold on one of the cypress trees, she was holding the last vine''s main limb in one arm and keep tearing into it. Each of her strike easily scooped away a big chunk of the vine, spraying splinters and barks. The situation between them had reversed. Now the vine was desperately trying to free itself from her grip. But it was in vain, as she slowly and methodically worked her way toward its roots, dragging them toward her. With a final roar, she plunged both arms into the squirming roots and ripped them apart like a piece of cloth. In the grand scheme of things, the rampage was quite unnecessary, as the vines were mostly dead anyway. But it was cathartic for her, so he let her vent. Come to think of it, if things had gone south and he had been occupied, she wouldn''t have needed his help. After a few moments, the bear totem disappeared. She let go of the pieces of the strangler vines, which fell down with a thud next to Manco. "You okay up there?" Without answering, she jumped off the cypress tree. Her feathered headdress glowed and a transparent image of some sort of bird appeared above her. Instead of plummeting to the ground, she glided down gracefully. As she was closer to the ground, he saw it was a seagull. She kept floating down like a descending angel. *Poof!* *Crash!* The spirit disappeared, and she fell down in a heap. "Ow!" Cordelia groaned, holding her head. "That was really cool," suppressing his laughter, Manco offered her a hand, "Just need to work on the landing a little bit more." "Hmph!" Slapping away his hand, she stood up by herself, "You said you could free me easily!" she said indignantly. "I know I did. But there were more of them than expected!" He held up his hands, trying to placate her. "You did it on purpose!" she said, glaring at him. "Did what?" "Delay helping me!" "What are you talking about? I was doing my best!" "Did you enjoy watching me getting tied up?" "No!..." He didn''t know whether to laugh or cry: "When did I get a chance to watch you get tied up, m''lady? I was fighting for my life down here too!" "Next time you''ll be the bait!" crossing her arms, she stalked away. "Sure, sure! Hey, hang on!" he called after her. She completely ignored him. "There might be more of them!" That stopped her dead in her tracks. Sulking, she turned around and stood next to him. Letting her fume, Manco turned to the dead vines scattering in the area and began gathering them to a heap. "What are you doing?" unable to contain her curiosity, Cordelia asked. "Harvesting. It''s got something we need. Mind giving me a hand?" "Hmm... Fine!" reluctantly, she approached the pile of vines. Chapter 46: Shaman Class The process of harvesting a carnivorous plant was the same as with other living creatures. One just had to touch it to be prompted with a loot screen. The only tools necessary for Strangler Vines were a knife and empty vials. "Just wait there while I gather these limbs," Manco told Cordelia. "It''s okay, I can help," she approached one of the vines that''s lying across the path, but her knees wobbled and she slumped to the ground. "Just sit still for a while, it''ll pass," he told her. Ignoring the acrid smell of burning vines mixed with the sweet and sour scent of their sap, he gathered the severed limbs into a heap. After a few moments, Cordelia sat down next to him. "You okay there?" He asked the girl. "I was a little light headed before, but I''m okay now. Strange. I never got tired before. How is this possible?" "That''s normal. You just invoked three spirits in quick succession. It''s just the game''s way of telling you your Constitution and Willpower are a little lacking¡­" He stopped talking to tossed the looted fragments to another pile. "That Bear spirit''s pretty powerful. Where''d you get it?" "Cool, Huh?" She grinned and showed him a necklace with a stylized bear head. "A caravan came by the village the other day. There was this Gypsy lady. She gave this to me in exchange for a bunch of crafting materials. Newt eyeballs and Devil Snail slime, can you believe that? Yuck! Made me spend hours trying to catch those things!" "Haha. I''d say it''s worth it, but you''ve already figured that out." "Yeah. I love it! It''s really powerful. Shame it only lasts for about five minutes. I''ve only used it once when fighting the rats. I killed like a hundred of them within five minutes, then they overwhelmed me," she shuddered, reliving the unpleasant memory. "The duration will increase with your stats and masteries. So you''ve already got, what, three spirits?" "Yeah. The Starfish and Seagull I got as part of my starting gear. This Brown Bear''s my third one." "Mmm. You''ll need more spirits. And stats, and equipment, and a lot of things. Shamans are among of the most versatile classes, but also one of the most demanding as well. You know that, right?" "Uh, not really," she smiled sheepishly. "I knew it," Manco sighed, "Now listen up¡­" While waiting for the harvesting progress bar to fill up, Manco gave Cordelia a primer on the shaman classes. Epoch of Liberty had several magic systems for different types of casters. In the case of shamans, they didn''t learn individual spells but instead gained abilities by invoking spirits. The lower level spirits provided small stat boosts and limited abilities such as Cordelia''s Increased Regeneration and Featherfall. Medium levels spirits, such as her Brown Bear, could take a semi-corporeal form to cover the shamans, improving mobility, defense or offense. Higher level spirits can provide better stat boosts and access to more powerful abilities. Over time, spirits would grow with use, evolve and acquire new abilities. Spirits, or souls, were released upon the deaths of living creatures, be they land-based, airborne, aquatic or even insectile. In rare cases, there existed spirits of old, powerful human NPCs. Left alone, souls would quickly dissipate. In order for them to be maintained and invoked, they had to be contained inside a stable vessel. Sometimes the process occurred naturally, but most of the time, the souls had to be captured and bound using specially prepared ingredients and rituals. Cordelia''s necklace and headdress were examples of spirit-containing vessels. With the correct types of spirits, a shaman can fulfill a variety of roles in battle. By switching which spirit to invoke, they could be anything from front line attacker, defender, assassin, healer, or high-damage nuker. Despite the obvious advantages, shamans also had plenty of limitations. With the exception of weapon masteries, a shaman''s abilities were almost entirely dependent on the spirits they had access to. Obtaining powerful spirits required time, dedication, luck or, failing all those, money. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. They would also need to improve their stats and masteries to fully make use of the borrowed powers. Having sufficient Willpower and Charisma were the bare minimum requirements to bend the spirits to their whims. Otherwise, a spirit might refuse to comply or, in extreme cases, overpower the caster and had to be got rid of. Capturing a spirit is a tedious process. The tools involved wouldn''t work perfectly 100% of the times. After being captured, a spirit would only exist for a few weeks in the temporary containers. Binding souls to a piece of equipment was easy enough, but when the equipment became outdated, the owner was faced with the question of whether to replace it entirely or shift the spirit to a different vessel. Transferring spirit was an expensive and risky process. Oftentimes, it was cheaper and less time-consuming to just replace the gear and bind new spirits to it. Only very rare and powerful spirits could justify hanging on to a piece of gear one had long outgrown. "That''s the most basic stuff. There''s a lot more you need to experiment and figure out down the line," Manco concluded the lecture. "Yeesh! That''s a lot of work!" Cordelia said, sticking out her tongue. "Why did you pick this class, anyway?" "I want a healing class, but the clerics and priests class just looked really iffy to me. So I picked this class on a whim. It looked really cool." "But it''s not really a healing class, though?" "Yeah, I''ve figured that much. But it''s grown on me. I don''t know about later on, but right now it feels really fun. Learning new abilities with new spirits sounds awesome!" "Yeah, but you really need to watch how you distribute your stats. What''s your level now?" "Sixteen. Those vines gave pretty good experience." "Do you still have free attribute points?" "Yeah, I haven''t put any points in since level 11." "I suggest you save as many attribute points as possible. Spend them when you''re in a bind, but try to have 15-20 points when you reach level 25. The more the better." "What happens at level 25?" "You''ll have an awakening quest chain. You know of that, right?" he looked at Cordelia, who nodded, "For many classes, awakening will unlock a new core attribute. Having spare points to put in will give you a big boost." "I see. When I played Beta, I got a new stat at level 50." "It''s been adjusted to 25 now. Because leveling is much more difficult than during Beta¡­" ¡²Strangler Vine (mature) harvesting complete. Items added to inventory¡³ ¡²Fiber x 5¡³ ¡²Berries x 12¡³ ¡²Sap x 4 (vials)¡³ ¡²Saplings x 3¡³ "Whew!" With the last piece of strangler vines harvested, Manco stood up and stretched. "Now what?" Cordelia asked, having finished with her share of the work. "You can use the fiber and sap for crafting. The saplings could be used to grow new vines¡­" "Eww! Why would I want to grow these things?" "To protect your property? Or mess with people? These things'' have a lot of uses!" "No! I don''t wanna get anywhere near them!" "I''ll take ''em if you don''t want ''em." "Sure, here¡­" They opened a trade screen and Cordelia transferred all the saplings she had to Manco. "What about these berries?" "They can be used to make several types of drinks. For now, crush some of them and mix it with a vial of sap." "And...?" "Smear it on your clothes. The other vines will leave you alone," he explained and demonstrated at the same time. "What about animals?" "You''ve seen any around here? The vines have gotten them all!" "Hmm¡­ Okay" Cordelia looked wary but followed his lead. A minute later, they were back on the path. No more encounters occurred for the rest of the way. After a while, they passed another warning sign for Strangler Vines intended for people traveling in the opposite direction. Eventually, the glowing road ended and the damp, muddy ground gradually gave way to packed dirt, signifying they had left the Sighing Swamp. Chapter 47: Reaching Broken Hill The trees grew sparser and the underbrush thicker as Manco and Cordelia moved toward the edge of the forest. Before long, the air began to fill with the noises of insects, birds, and other nocturnal creatures. The burbling and sloshing of running water could also be heard. After several more minutes of walking, they exited the forest. "Let''s go up there to get our bearing!" Manco said, gesturing at a small hill in front of them. A quick climb took them to the top of the hill, where he scanned the area. The area they were now in was a mix between a hilly region and grassland terrain. Stretching as far as the eye could see was a vast expanse of land filled with grasses, flowers, and herbs, broken up by the occasional shrubs, wooded trees, and low, gently sloping hills. To their left, a massive river, identified by the map as the Aegis River, cut across the land and weaved its way between the hills. A gentle breeze blew towards them, carrying the scent of a variety of flowers and causing the grass and shrubs to gently sway. At a distance, a swarm of fireflies swirled the air. The night was quiet save for the sounds of crickets and the rustling of leaves. On the cloudless sky, the east moon shone brightly, illuminating everything in a faint blue glow. "It''s beautiful!" Cordelia whispered. She stood still, trying to take in everything. "Eh. It''s alright," Manco shrugged indifferently. He couldn''t remember the last time he simply took his time to admire the scenery. Back when he started playing Epoch of Liberty, he was also captivated by the views. He often caught himself watching the sunsets over the seas or looking at bustling settlements from high vantage points. Over time, as the game took over his life, he paid less and less attention to the sceneries until they barely registered to him. Many people play this game for simple pleasures like this: just wandering and enjoying the views. He used to dream of a day where he could do the same without worrying about earning money. When that dream finally came true, when he had more than he could possibly spend, he''d lost everything else¡­ "Sorry about that! I was kinda distracted!" Cordelia said, breaking his reverie, "Shall we?" "It''s okay. Let''s go!" Descending the hill, they moved east, parallel to the river. The walk was uneventful. They traveled quickly, unharassed by any creatures. As they climbed atop another hill, they saw Broken Hill about one kilometer away. The place was next to a bridge crossing Aegis river''s narrowest section. "We''re almost there!" Cordelia cheered, then stopped and sniffed the air "Eww! Is that¡­?" "Cow manure, yes. They range in this area. C''mon!" Manco replied, "And watch your step!" Following the cattle trail, they eventually reach Broken Hill. Across the river lied a solid stone bridge, large enough for three wagons to stand side by side. On the other end of the bridge was a fortified gate made of stone and wood. It was only possible to cross the bridge when the gate was opened. On both sides of the bridge stood high wooden walls with a watch tower every two dozen meters. "That''s not a village!" Cordelia snorted. "Yes. It''s more like a town. But who cares?" Manco shrugged. They crossed the bridge and approached the gate. After briefly inspecting them, the guards let them in. Broken Hill was at least four times as large as Mistwood Village. It had a roughly rectangular shape. Two main streets divided it into four quarters. At the ends of each main street were four main gates. Currently Manco and Cordelia was at the west gate. The place was quiet mostly. It being early morning, most of the houses and shops were closed with the exception of a few taverns. *Wham!* A tavern door burst open and a few drunkards stumbled out. They walked down the street, leaned on each other, then began singing a strange song and giggling every now and then. "Are your friends still on?" Manco asked Cordelia. "Let me check. Yes! They''re still here!" She fell silent for a moment as she chatted with someone, "They''ve just been back from hunting. They said they''d meet me in about ten minutes." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "I''m setting my respawn point here. You should do the same. Wanna stop by an inn?" "Sure!" Consulting the minimap, Manco directed the both of them to an inn called ''Sleepy Hollow.'' It was a small place in a quiet alley, not too distant from the essential facilities but was discreet enough for players who wished for a less noisy place. They headed inside where each booked a room and set their corresponding respawn spots. After that, they sat at a table and ordered two meals. As the sleepy waitress dragged her feet into the kitchen, Cordelia drank from her water skin while Manco tried the local ale. "So. Here we are." Manco said, holding out his hand. "Good luck!" "Eh?" She was surprised, but quickly gathered herself, "Ah, yes. Thank you for accompanying me here, for teaching me the basics of the game. Thank you for everything, basically," after a pause, she added, "except for the part with the vines, of course." "Haha, of course," he chuckled. They were silent, each pursuing their own thoughts. Then Cordelia sighed. "What''s wrong?" Manco asked. "I...," she hesitated, "I probably won''t join them." "You won''t? Why?" "While we were traveling, I thought about it. I played with them for a whole month. It was¡­ unpleasant, to put it mildly. They were yelling at me all the time. And most of the things I picked up were bad habits and incorrect knowledge." "Did you meet them while playing beta?" "No, we knew each other in real life." "You''re not close, I take it?" "Not anymore. We used to live in the same neighborhood and hang out in middle school, before I moved away. I haven''t seen them in years." "Huh, then why''d you guys play together?" "One of them contacted me and gave me a beta pass." "Uh, why would they do that, if they don''t even like you?" This was getting more confusing by the minute. "No, it''s... complicated. The one contacting me, he was the one I was closest to back then. He still remembered how much I love this kind of games..." "I see... So you got a plan yet? After this?" "Umm... Not yet. I guess I''ll wander the place, find stuff to do, make new friends. Anything, really! I just want to enjoy this game!" After a pause, she asked: "What about you? What''s your plan?" "I, uh..." Manco paused as he considered his words. He had a plan for next week, next month, and the next few months even. But what''s his biggest purpose for playing this game? Is he even able to achieve it? Would there be any point to? He shook his head. Those were questions he didn''t want to think of right now. "What, is it too big of a secret to tell me?" She asked teasingly, "You could just tell me to mind my own business." "No, I mean... I''m looking for someone. A few someones, actually." "Your acquaintances?" "You could say that." "Are they like mine?" "I guess¡­" "Oh¡­" her voice trailed off, then she announced, "They''re at the south gate. I''m off to see them now!" She stood up, and put a few gold coins down at the table: "My treats! Thanks for everything!" With that, she ran out the door. "Keep the change!" Manco said to the waitress, who just brought out two trays filled with food, then ran out after Cordelia. Keeping to the shadow, he trailed her as she made her way to the south gate. Outside the gate was a large field, with a forest visible at a distance. Six figures, two females and four males, were standing around Cordelia. As it was too far away, he couldn''t make out what was being said. However, from their gestures and facial expressions, the group of six, especially the girl standing directly in front of Cordelia, was getting increasingly agitated. Then, without warning, one male player behind Cordelia rushed at her and stabbed both his daggers at her neck. Both attacks connected. Without missing a beat, he unleashed a flurry of stabs and slashes, killing her within seconds. ¡²A member in your party, Cordelia, has been killed.¡³ As if to clear up any doubts, a notification confirmed what just happened. "Well, that escalated quickly!" Manco scowled and began looking for a way to approach the group unseen. Chapter 48: The Goodbye As Cordelia''s body turned into light particles and disappeared, the group turned toward the gate and began trudging back inside the town. ''Ah, crap!'' Manco darted inside an alley and hauled himself up a roof. He lied flat and peeked his head out to observe the group as they walked by. A level 21 Barbarian strode in front, accompanied by a level 20 Witch clinging to his arm. Flanking them was a level 20 female Forest Shaman and a level 21 male Cleric, followed by a level 15 Ranger. The final member, trailing a few steps behind, was a level 22 Rogue. He was the one who killed Cordelia earlier. He carefully scanned the alley Manco just ran in, before shrugging and turning away. "That was unnecessary!" Manco heard a male voice faintly drifting from the group. It appeared to be from the cleric. "Shut up, Reg! That bitch had it coming!" The witch stopped walking and turned to face the cleric. "What''s your problem? You don''t even like her! Now that she says she doesn''t want to hang out with us, why does that make you angry?" Undeterred by her glare, the cleric continued. As their backs were turned, Manco silently made his way back to the ground and began following the group. They walked along the main road and talked noisily without bothering to lower their voices. "You¡­ Mind your own fucking business!" Unable to retaliate, the witch stormed off with a huff. The rest of the group watched her walking away. "What''s the deal between the two of them anyway?" the rogue asked. "Playground squabble," the cleric answered with a sigh. "Doesn''t look that way to me!" the barbarian chimed in, "I''ve asked her plenty of time but she never gave me an answer." "She never said anything to me either!" the shaman said, parroting the witch''s words, "but I bet that bitch has it coming!" "Can it, B.!" the cleric glared at her, "She doesn''t hear you anymore. You can stop kissing her ass now!" "Oooh! Is. That. So, Mr. knight in shining armor!" the shaman girl leered at him, enunciating every word, "Your childhood sweetheart isn''t here either, so shouldn''t you drop that nice guy act as well? We all know you''re just trying to get into her¡­" "Okay, okay! Let''s not get ourselves riled up," the barbarian raised his voice and stood between the two of them, "As for me, I don''t care. I''m just along for the ride. And Regina''s a pretty good rider, too," he chuckled, but stopped when he saw the cleric''s displeased look, he hastily added, "Oops, my bad! Sorry, bro!" The cleric said nothing and just shook his head. "I''ll take off here. You guys still here tomorrow?" The rogue asked. "Yeah, me too. Gotta get my beauty sleep!" "I''ve got school in the morning. I''d ditch it, but my old man will kill me!" If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Or lock up your rig!" "Exactly! That''s how he kills me!" "Morning''s off, then. How ''bout afternoon, say, 2 p.m.?" "Deal!" "Anyone has a problem with 2 p.m.? No? That''s it then!" "We''d better get this over with tomorrow. I''m sick of this place!" "Me too. We''d wipe the floor with this boss, but our resident psycho is obsessed with its spells," the shaman said, shivering. "Yeah, she''d better be here tomorrow. Hey, Boner, make sure she''ll show up, okay?" "Sure, sure! I''ll help her cool off in a minute," the barbarian replied with a laugh. As the party disappeared inside an inn on the main road, Manco turned the other direction and began sorting out what he had seen. He didn''t care for their little drama with Cordelia. What piqued his interest was their levels. Except for the ranger, who was clearly a new addition, the rest was from level 20 to 22. The way they carried themselves and the balanced class composition heavily suggested they were Beta Testers. If that was the case when¡­ The chat icon flashed at the bottom of his screen. He opened it to find Cordelia''s voice call. She was still in his party. [Hey, you still there?] [I am. Where are you? What happened?] [One of them attacked me. That, well, that was about as well as I expected] she chuckled humorlessly. [Where are you now?] [I''m in the inn. I''m logging out now. Just calling to say goodbye.] [Will you be on tomorrow?] [Probably not. I¡­ have a few things to sort out.] Close friends or not, cutting ties in such a way was probably not easy for her. [I see. I''ll still see you around, though?] [Yeah, I guess¡­] [By the way, are your friends in the same time zone as you?] [No, they''re about 3 hours behind. Why do you ask?] [No reason. I''m just curious.] [You¡­] The other side was silent. He could practically hear the gears turning in her head. [I see. That''s why you helped me, right? To get to them?] [That''s¡­ one of the reasons.] There''s no point denying it. Might as well tell her the truth. [Haha. I guess I''m just dumb!] she said with a sigh [Ah well, it''s none of my business! I helped you and you helped me. So we''re even now?] [Cordelia, listen. I¡­] [It''s okay, I get it!] she cut him off. [I''m logging out now. Good luck with¡­ whatever it is you''re trying to do!] Then she ended the call. ¡² Cordelia has left your party. ¡³ ¡² Your party has been disbanded. ¡³ Staring at the call transcript, Manco sighed. Then he dismissed the screen and entered the Sleepy Hollow Inn. At one of the table, several waitresses and porters were eating the meal that Cordelia and he had ordered but didn''t eat. Acknowledging their grateful nods, he headed upstairs to his room, locked the door, and logged out. Chapter 49: Gearing Up When the town of Broken Hill materialized around Manco, it was noon. After a quick meal, he looked for a high vantage point to get the lay of the land. Broken Hill was a significantly more prosperous place than Mistwoods Village. Like the village, it was first founded as one of the outposts to defend against monster rampages coming from the Death Forest. Its location was picked by an Elven general for its strategic values. The Aegis River, running from the north to the south, was a natural barrier against monsters trying to travel east toward the capital. Only a few swimming or flying monsters were a threat. Land-based monsters generally had to cross the heavily defended bridge to get further inland, making it trivial to protect the place. Initially, the town was populated only by soldiers, slaves and a handful of traders, civilians, adventurers and mercenaries. It didn''t take long for people to discover a variety of resources in close proximity to the place. The Aegis river provided a wide variety of fish. The mountains to the south had large deposits of iron as well as precious metals. The forest close to the Sighing Swamp, albeit dangerous, was a source of rare woods and other highly sought-after crafting ingredients. When caravaneers caught wind of the availability of resources, trading caravans became more and more frequent. More people were either brought to the village or came on their own accord. Within a few years, the tiny outpost became a bustling town. The town''s main exports were gold and silver, rare species of wood taken from the northern forest near the Sighing Swamp, and monster parts taken from, well, everywhere. Currently, Broken Hill had almost a thousand people. Around four hundred among those were soldiers and mercenaries. Another four hundred were miners, fishermen, and hunters. There were a few dozen traders, merchants, and craftsmen, and the rest were people of other trades. At the middle of the settlement was a town square that was also the main market. Surrounding the town square were the four medium-sized buildings. The first was the town center. Next to it was the church with a small side building acting as an infirmary. The last building housed the the sheriff''s office, barrack and training area. Most similar businesses were gathered in their own quarters. There were a craftsman quarter, a tavern district, a dock district, a housing quarters. Scattered here and there among the districts were the brothels and gambling houses. Standing atop the church''s bell tower, Manco marked down the main districts, shops, and merchants, then considered his next move. He had about ten hours before the group of six was back in the game. At the moment, he was operating under the assumption that they were Beta Testers. The bad news was that they were probably more competent than the average players. The good news was that they were in possession of Beta Gears, which would be a great help for him down the road, whether he chose to keep them or auction them off. On top of his to-do list was upgrading his equipment and learning any techniques or spells that were up for grabs. Then he also had to familiarize himself a little with the surrounding environments. That group had been here for more than a week, they had home field advantage. It wouldn''t do to blindly charge in without a plan. ''I''ll probably have to tail them for a while, see what they''re up to,'' he thought. If it was a straight up fight, he would probably lose. To even the odds, he had to find the opportunity to catch them by surprise. "Hey! What are you doing?" A shrill voice interrupted his thoughts. Shielding his eyes from the sunlight, he looked down and saw a woman in clerical garb. "It''s dangerous! You shouldn''t be up there!" "It''s okay. I''m coming down!" Using Marshland to soften the dirt, Manco jumped down onto the ground. Scraping mud off his boots, he apologized to the woman and greeted her. As it turned out, she was an elf named Iridia, the town''s head cleric and chief healer. After some pleasant chatter and a generous donation to the church, Manco added a few new spells to his list. ¡²Item received: Holy Cross (Sacred Oak)¡³ ¡²Item received: Holy Water vial x 3¡³ ¡²Spell learned: Detoxify ¡³ ¡²Spell learned: Detect Undead¡³ ¡²Spell learned: Spheres of Light¡³ ¡²Spell learned: Healing Touch¡³ ¡²Spell learned: Cure Light Wounds¡³ ¡²Spell learned: Cure Poison¡³ ¡²Mastery improved: First Aid¡³ ¡²Level: 7.15 ? 15.30¡³ Then the topic turned to ''Can I help you?'' and he received a few quests. ¡²Quest accepted: Witch''s Presence¡³ ¡²Rumors have it that a dangerous witch was sighted somewhere in the Sighing Swamp. Investigate¡­ ¡³ ¡²Quest accepted: Desecrated Ground¡³ ¡²A variety of undead creatures had been attacking the town from the southern forest, which was consecrated only a few months ago¡­ ¡³ ¡²Quest accepted: Holy Wood¡³ ¡²The church''s supply of Sacred Oak, with which to make crosses and other holy objects, has almost run out¡­ ¡³ ¡­ Bidding goodbye to the elven cleric, Manco approached the two-story mansion next to the church. The ground floor was used as the barrack and training area, while the first floor had the sheriff''s office and main armory. The guard at the massive front was polite but unfriendly and tight-lipped. He didn''t reveal anything useful and only directed Manco to the bulletin board nearby. Checking the board, he found a few missing person requests and a couple of bounties for animals and herbal plants. After adding them to his quest list, he began making his way to the market. A brief glance at the stalls identified plenty of items that were of use to him. However, he did not buy any. In most communities, players were often drawn to the main market, as it was more convenient and allowed them access to a wide variety of goods and services at the standard price. However, more observant players would notice that the sellers of these items were often not the ones who made them. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The craftsmen often busied themselves producing the goods in their shops in the craftsman''s quarter. Many didn''t even have a market stall, and those that did often left the task of selling to family members or associates. It was almost always cheaper to buy the items straight from the makers themselves instead of from the market. Nodding to himself, he made a note to return later and made his way to the craftsman''s quarter. At this time of day, most people were out of town working, so there were few customers. The noisiest places in the craftsman''s quarter were the smithies. Shopping around for a bit, Manco found a decent dagger. ? War Dagger ?(Common) ¡î¡ï > Type: Dagger (One-handed) > Requirement: STR 8 > Damage: 14-22 > Weight: 0.95 kg > Durability: 35/35 Stopping at the armorer''s, he inspected the goods. The leather body armors were inferior to his own, while heavier ones would impede his movement and interfere with spell casting. Ignoring the body armor, he bought a helmet and a pair of pauldrons. ? Leather Helmet ?(Common) ¡î Type: Armor - Slot: Head - Material: Leather Armor: Head (6) Resistances: Stabbing (10%) Slashing (15%) Crushing (5%) Description: A mass-produced leather helmet. Weight: 0.3 kg Durability: 30/30 ¡ª.¡ª ? Leather pauldrons ?(Common) ¡î Type: Armor - Slot: Shoulders - Material: Leather Armor: Shoulders (6), Left Arm (3), Right Arm (3) Resistances: Stabbing (10%) Slashing (10%) Crushing (2%) Description: Mass produced shoulder guards. Weight: 1.5 kg Durability: 35/35 ¡ª.¡ª There were many crossbows on sale and quite a few of them were an improvement over his Belzhorian Heavy Crossbow. However, instead of shelling out for a new one, he visited a bowyer with a request to upgrade his current weapon. "Hmm¡­ I can replace the bow and the string, but I doubt it''ll help much," the bowyer shook his head after inspecting the weapon. "Use this for the string," Manco replied, putting a pack of improved sinew on the table. "Huh, not bad!" The old man said as he tested the sinew, "Which creature does this come from?" "Panthers." "Not bad, not bad¡­" the man nodded, "I''ll get it done in half an hour." True to his word, the bowyer handed the improved weapon back to Manco thirty minutes later. ? Belzhorian Heavy Crossbow ?(Common) ¡î¡î Type: Crossbow (Two-handed) Requirement: STR 20 Damage: 38-50. Range: 45m. Ammunition: Crossbow bolts. Description: A heavy crossbow made for the Belzhorian army''s mid-range troops. It has been upgraded with strings made out of improved sinew and a bow from yew wood. The resulting weapon has longer range and does more damage at the cost of higher Strength requirement. Weight: 4.5 kg Durability: 35/35 ¡ª.¡ª The upgrade improved range by 10 meters and maximum damage by 10 and demanded an additional 2 strength. Satisfied, he paid the bowyer. "Thank you, young man," the old man beamed as he pocketed the gold coins, "Tell you what, if you have any more of those sinew, I''ll buy ''em at a good price." "I''ll keep that in mind," Manco replied, "Do you happen to know where one can learn spells?" "Ah, you''re a spell caster? Usually, I''d point you to the cottage up that hill, that''s where old Rakoran stays. But no one''s seen him lately. Now your best bets are probably that elf woman, Iridia, you can find her at the church. Or Nine-fingered Nina at the alchemist shop." Thanking the bowyer, Manco left the shop. Under the summer heat beating down the dusty road, Manco approached the alchemist''s shop. It was a tiny house bearing a wooden sign that read "Nina''s Potions & Concoctions" crammed between a closed tavern and a tanning house. Upon opening the door, he was greeted by a gust of warm air carrying a confusing mixture of scents. He could identify a few of the ingredients, but the rest escaped his memory. "Get out! Shut the door!" A muffled voice drifted out from the back room. Ignoring the warning, he quickly stepped inside and close the door behind him. The moment his foot stepped down on the floorboard, he heard a ''click'' and felt something heavy rushing at him from the left. Acting on instinct, he ducked. The heavy object brushed the hair on the top of his head and collided with the wall on his right with a loud "WHAM!" Then he heard a creaking noise above. Looking up, he saw what looked like an oversized anvil being released by a mechanism. Without thinking, he rolled to the left just in time to dodge the anvil, which was so heavy it practically felt right through the floor. *Click!* *Click!* *Snap!* Several ominous sounds let him know he just triggered a bunch of other traps. Rolling back, he dived down the hole made by the anvil, curled himself up and waited. He heard countless whistling noises as hundreds of projectiles were being launched all over the room. Then the "thud, thud, thud" like raindrops of them colliding with the walls. Then it was silent. "Not my fault! I told you to get out!" the muffled voice from the back room spoke up. "If you don''t want visitors, why not put a sign at the door?" Manco shouted back. "You''re still alive?" The voice asked with incredulity. "No. You''re talking to my ghost!" he said sarcastically. He heard a chuckle, then the voice commanded. "Leave! Tell that idiot Farquaad I''m not selling anything to him!" "Who''s Farquaad?" "You''re not with him? What do you want then?" "I just want to learn a few spells!" "Spell, huh?" the voice replied, less tense this time: "Hang on. I''ll deactivate the traps¡­ Alright, I''m coming out!" Chapter 50: The Alchemists Woe Cautiously, Manco poked his head up from the hole in the floor, then climbed out and looked around. The front section of the shop was small and cramped. A magically infused gemstone set in a wall-mounted holder emitted a gentle white light, barely illuminating the room. He saw that the section next to the front door were covered with hundreds of darts, bolts and arrows. Against any other player that series of traps would be lethal. Had he not reacted quickly and dived the hole in the floor, he would probably be dead as well. Occupying most of the store were countless small stands and racks and shelves, most of which were up to his waist in height. Each of them were filled with vials, jars, boxes, containers of every imaginable kind. Gingerly, he stepped closer to a shelf for a closer inspection. These were all alchemical ingredients, old but relatively well-preserved. The scraping of wood on stone alerted him to the back room door opening. Out stepped a small figure clad in what could only be described as a fantasy hazmat suit. Made of a combination of cloth and leather, the suit completely covered its wearer from head to toe. Closing the door, the figure approached him, expertly navigating the impromptu labyrinth made of wooden shelves and racks. As the goggles, hat, and face mask were taken off, Manco realized this was a halfling woman. Standing about 1.3 meters tall, she was of average height for her kind. She had a round face and dark blond hair, her eyes gleaming with curiosity and intelligence. "Whew!" She exhaled and wiped a few stray strands of hair off her face, then held out her right hand which was missing a pinky finger: "I''m Nina, what do you want?" After a short introduction, Manco told Nina he would like to learn spells. "Well, I do know a few spells," she said as she climbed up a stool behind the counter and poured something from her hip flask into a cup. A hint of strawberry wafted up from the cup. "But, I''m really not in the mood for teaching at the moment. You want one?" she said, holding up the flask. "No, thank you." He sighed. Of course there had to be a catch. "Is it a little early for that?" "What? Hell no! I didn''t touch a drop yesterday! If anything I''m way overdue for a few sips!" Answered the halfling, who drank from the cup. "Why the traps? Is this Farquaad guy bothering you?" "I''m getting to that! See, my father left behind this recipe," she drained the cup and poured herself another one, "but I can''t seem to get it right. It''s missing something..." "What''s the recipe for?" "WiseBrewer''s Breathtaker, guaranteed to make everything you''ve every drank taste like soap water by comparison!" She waved her arms and miraculously didn''t spill any drink from the cup in her hand. "I tasted it once, three years ago. The last batch he ever made before he passed away. It was really¡­ breathtaking¡­" Nina paused as tears streamed down her face. Putting down the cup, she wiped her face then blew her nose into a comically large handkerchief. "It''s a drink?" "Yes, what else could it be? It''s been driving me crazy!" "Is that what you''ve been brewing?" he sniffed the air, cringing at the combination of completely incompatible ingredients. Nina nodded with a sigh: "I''m desperate. I''ve spent three years trying to decipher his recipe. His handwriting is horrible, and the instructions were vague! I''m tired of trying and failing! I''m sick of staying in this town!" "Why can''t you leave?" "That''s the thing. My father made an Unbreakable Vow with a divine entity in exchange for the inspiration for this wine. First, he and his descendants can never leave this place, until we have made 999 casks of that drink and offer 99 casks to that entity. My father had made 990 casks. Only one more batch to go, but he was killed in a monster attack three years ago. All I''ve got left is his notes and my memory of that taste! I''m forgetting more of it by the day!" Nina said, her teary eyes staring at nothing. "What''s the second part of that vow?" "Nothing much. Just that the store has to stay open until that was done. And the third condition is that we can never divulge the recipe to anyone outside the family." "Why was that necessary?" "Beats me. Who knows how the divines think?" "Is that why you cannot put up a sign that says ''Closed'' at the front door?" "Yup." "But, why the traps? And who''s this Farquaad?" "He''s the owner of the breweries in the tavern district. He somehow got wind of the recipe, and has been hounding me ever since. Offered to buy off the property completely. Offered to pay me a million Ducats. After a few dozen times I said no, he''s begun sending these goons over to harass my store! That idiot!" Manco stopped to process the information. That sounded like at least two quests down the line. However, he focused on his current task. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "So what does it taste like? That breathtaking ale, I mean." "WiseBrewer''s Breathtaker!" Nina bellowed, her breath smelling of strawberry ale. She then spent five minutes describing what the drink was supposed to taste like. As she had begun to get drunk, Manco had to filter out a lot of useless chatters to get any useful information. The described taste and the peculiar name gave him a hint. "Have you tried Strangler Vine Berries?" he asked. "Wuh? Stranger Vines? No¡­ Most folks aren''t too fond of traipsing into the swamp so no. Wazzit taste like?" "Try for yourself!" he handed her three berries. "Hmm¡­" Nina popped a berry into her mouth and chewed. Immediately, her eyes widened: "This! This must be it! Do you have more?" "Not that many. Only about a hundred¡­" "That¡­ That has to be enough! I''ll buy them all! What do you need? Gold? Rare ingredients? I''ll give ''em to you. Just give me those berries!" "Okay, okay, relax! I just need to learn whatever spells you can teach me," Manco said as he took out a cloth bag filled with the berries and put it on a table. As Nina was both drunk and overexcited, he could have extorted a lot more from her. However, from experience, he knew that having a good relationship with such a character was much more useful than material rewards. When she sobered up, she would appreciate him not taking advantage of her. "Spells, huh? Okay. Stay here, I''ll be right back!" Snatching the bag of berries, Nina jumped down from the stool and disappeared into the back room. A few moments later, she emerged with a thick, dusty book: "My spellbook! Been a while since I last touched this. You a mage?" "Yes, I am." "Oh! Good for you! Then you can probably learn all of these! I just dabble in some magic, though, so nothing too impressive!" "I appreciate whatever you can teach me!" "Alright, here it goes¡­" Seated back on the stool opposite him, Nina opened the book and read through it once, then held up one hand and touch Manco''s forehead. As she closed her eyes and concentrated, Manco felt a familiar sensation, a tickling in his head, as if new information were wiggling their way inside and settling somewhere within his brains. Then a plethora of notification popped up. ¡²Spell learned: Fireball ¡³ ¡²Spell learned: Icebolt ¡³ ¡²Spell learned: Mana Shield ¡³ ¡­ ¡²Mastery improved: Foraging¡³ ¡²Level: 7.15 ? 15.30¡³ ¡²Mastery improved: Alchemy¡³ ¡²Level: 19.15 ? 31.30. Level cap exceeded.¡³ His mind spun at the notifications, which showed no less than three dozen spells being added to his collection. Even more impressive was that at least half a dozen were offensive spells which could be fired from the gun! "All done!" Nina said, "I threw a little extra in there!" Lowering her voice, she said "If you need anything here, I''ll sell to you at acquisition price. But don''t go around telling people that!" "I see, thank you!" "And, uh, if things go well, can I trouble you to acquire more of those berries? I could ask those mercenaries that sometimes stopped by for a drink, but I''m afraid they''ll just get themselves killed!" "No problem! I''ve got some business there anyway," Manco replied. ¡²Quest Accepted: An Alchemist''s Woe ¡³ ¡²Quest: An Alchemist''s Woe ¡³(Unique) > Type: Acquisition. Difficulty: C > Given by: Nina WiseBrewer ¡´Show details¨‹¡µ > Location(s): Broken Hill, Sighing Swamp > Details: Help Nina fulfill her father''s vow by gathering enough ingredients to brew 9 more casks of WiseBrewer''s Breathtaker. > Requirement: 900 Strangler Vine berries (103/900) > Reward: 1. Improved Standing with Nina. 2. Discount at Nina''s Potions & Concoctions 3. XP 4. ??? ¡ª.¡ª "Fantastic! Do stop by from time to time, ''kay?" "I will! Thank you for your help!" "Hey, quid pro quo, right? Now I gotta go back to brewing! Hey, you want a sample of that last batch? It wasn''t breathtaking by any means, but it''s still pretty good!" "Sure, if it''s no bother!" ¡²Item received: Alchemist Kit (Intermediate) ¡³ ¡²Item received: Failed Experimental Wine Flasks x 3 ¡³ Manco left the alchemist''s shop, giddy with excitement. He had truly stuck gold this time! Normally, that many spells would have cost him over a thousand Ducats. Earlier he had to "donate" to the church almost 100 Ducats just for a handful of spells. Just now he just got three dozen, almost free of charge! Hurrying, he went back to his room in the tavern to meditate and prepare the spells. Chapter 51: Catharsis Epoch of Liberty had a simplified spell preparation system compared to old pen and paper role playing games. There was no limit on the number of spells that can be learned by a spellcaster (beyond certain class restrictions). Instead, there were limits on how many they can use at any given time. From Manco''s memory, the game featured over two thousand spells, put in tiers from 0 to 9, which roughly represent their potential power. Each spellcaster had a limited number of spell slots for each tier. At level 25, Manco had five tier-0 slots, three tier-1 slots, and two tier-2 slots, for a total of 10 spells. He could place a low-tiered spell into a high-tiered slot but not vice versa. When in combat, he only had access to the spells that had been placed in these slots, plus the spells embedded in his equipment and items, which didn''t count towards this limit. Players could expand the number of spell slots by leveling up or acquiring specific perks and traits. Spell preparation was part of EoL''s meta-game. It was like the old collectible trading card games, where players could swap out the cards in their decks before a duel. Each player had to anticipate the kind of spells their opponents have (based on the playstyle, environment, and the current trends among other factors) then come up with counters, counter-counters, and so on. Most of the time, the best choice wasn''t a full-offensive spell list, but a careful balance of offensive, defensive, utility and support spells. In early levels, since players only had access to a handful of low-tiered spells, which did not differ much in terms of power, this meta-game was often overlooked and most would just pick the strongest offensive spells. In later levels, when each spellcaster could use dozens of spells, fights would become a lot more complex. Things would get even more complicated when each side had more than one spellcasters, or more than two sides were involved. Of course, in large enough battles, tactics and subtleties would often be thrown out of the window in favor of the most powerful and longest-ranged Area-of-Effect spells. It was the small to medium skirmishes that required the most thoughts from participating spellcasters. Spells could only be prepared at a designated safe zone, such as a settlement or a camp. There was a 2-hour cooldown for preparations, so each swap had to be carefully considered. Up until a few hours ago, Manco only had access to three Tier-0 spells (Mana Bolt, Mind Link, and Shadow Bolt) and three Tier-1 spells (Mana Blast, Dark Implosion, and Marshland). Now, his arsenal had expanded to 40-odd spells. Opening his spellbook, he marveled at the choices and began picking out ten. In his old life, the character Mahn Li played most often was a Void Assassin, an archetype from Rogue, which was not a spellcaster. All of his spell-like abilities came from equipment. As he only played spellcasting classes very casually, his knowledge of spells and their relative powers was at only a surface level. In addition, during the next 10 years, there would be countless additions, removals, adjustments and tweakings of over 2000 spells in the game. He had some idea of the best spell combinations for levels 200 onwards. After all, he had spent much of the time dealing with them. However, in the beginning levels, he would have to proceed by trial and error, figure out his own style or adopt what he could recall from memory. After ten minutes, Manco settled down on his list of spells. Tier-0: (5/5) ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹, ¡¸Fire Bolt¡¹, ¡¸Obscuring Fog¡¹, ¡¸Mind Link¡¹, ¡¸Gust¡¹ Tier-1: (3/3) ¡¸Mana Blast¡¹, ¡¸Weakening Touch¡¹, ¡¸Vigil¡¹ Tier-2: (2/2) ¡¸Mana Shield¡¹, ¡¸Silence¡¹ As his immediate objectives were scouting and reconnaissance, he didn''t put a focus on offensive spells. Instead, half of his spells were for observing, concealment or retreating. Satisfied, Manco left the inn and made his way to the tavern called ''The Two-headed Goat.'' This was where the group of six logged off. ¡¸Vigil¡¹! A transparent circle with a diameter of 5 meters appeared around him. He positioned it to completely cover the tavern''s entrance, then activated the spell. A slight hum let him know the casting was completed. The spell created an ''observed'' area. When a creature of a specific type entered this area, he would be alerted. At the moment, he could only set the alert parameter to ''player'' or ''monsters,'' and there was no more information other than ''at least one creature has entered the area.'' Manco exited the southern gate and entered the forest, which he surmised was the group''s hunting ground yesterday. Most creatures avoided him, and he either evaded or killed the ones that did not. "Strange, where are the zombies?" He muttered. One of the quests given by the cleric mentioned zombies attacking the town from this forest. However, he did not find any trace of them. Shrugging, he kept scouting around. After an hour of jogging around, he had explored an area of roughly six squared kilometers and had a pretty solid grasp of the area''s general terrain features. The ground was uneven and covered with bushes, vines, and moss, making it easy to trip and fall. The trees were tall, leafy and stood quite close together, limiting movement speed and visibility. He briefly considered hiding on the group''s path and ambushing them, but soon dismissed that idea. As there were at three casters (witch, cleric, and ranger), they were likely to have some form of detection magic. It would be best to keep a distance to figure out what they were up to first. They might not know about the presence of any other player other than Cordelia, so he should do his best to keep it that way. There were plenty of forest creatures he could use to spy. He used Mind Link several times to re-acquaint himself with the controls. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ''Hmm?'' He stopped and listened. The forest was unusually still. From ahead, faint noises drifted toward him. Carefully, he made his way forward, and as he got closer, he realized that it was the sound of fighting. *ROOOARR!* The roar of a bear seemed to make the air vibrate. *CRASH!* *Creeeaaak!* *THUMP!* Something heavy tore into a tree trunk. The tree creaked as it tipped over and fell with a giant thump, shaking the ground. "Ha!" A distinctly female shout replied, followed by the sounds of claws meeting flesh and the bear''s pained growls. Navigating the uneven ground and dense trees, Manco caught glimpses of movements ahead. As he got closer, he realized that it was not a normal bear, but a Dire Bear. The creature had sustained multiple injuries. Its thick fur was matted with blood. It had its back to him and growled at someone unseen. After a few more exchanges, the bear''s growls grew weaker. Its movements became slower and more sluggish. Eventually, he heard a loud "Thump!" and felt the ground shake as its massive body hit the ground. The place went quiet, save for the sound of someone breathing heavily. "I know you''re there!" the voice, which he had recognized by now, commanded. He stepped out from the trees into a small clearing. The grass and bushes had all been trampled and covered with splashes of blood. Some trees at the edge of the clearing had been uprooted, others broken in half. In the middle of the clearing, a Dire Bear lay still in a pool of blood. Standing upright, it should be about 5 meters tall. Although slightly small for its kind, it was still a formidable predator. Walking to the other side of the bear carcass, he saw a girl leaning against it with her eyes closed, gasping for breath. It was Cordelia. "Hey!" he said. "Hey!" she replied without opening her eyes. He sat down on a broken tree trunk a few meters from her. "That''s pretty impressive. You did that all by yourself?" "It was distracted, so I got a few good hits in first!" Opening her eyes, she took out her waterskin and drank greedily from it, then wiped her mouth: "This felt good! I''ve never moved around this much!" They were silent for a few moments. Putting her waterskin away, Cordelia took out her dagger and used it to dig out crusted blood from under her fingernails. Manco noticed the air begin to fill with the sounds of birds and insects. They had sensed the danger was over. "Look,¡­" "Listen, I¡­" They began speaking at the same time. "You wanna go first?" He asked. "Sure¡­ I guess I was a little short with you yesterday. I''m not too happy¡­ out there," she glanced up at the sky, which he took to mean ''outside the game.'' "¡­ My month during beta was crap. So were my first few days after launch. You''re the first not-horrible person I met, and probably the only sort-of-friend I''ve made in this game. So I was a little upset when they, uh...," her voice trailed off. "I know. I saw it all." "You did?" "I did. Hell of a way to cut ties!" "Haha, it sure is!" She chuckled, "Then I found out that you were¡­" "¡­not entirely honest with you," he finished her sentence, "I guess I should have been more upfront." "No, it was me. I didn''t ask, so you didn''t have to tell me," she shook her head, still looking at her hands. "You''ve helped me plenty, and I barely did anything. Then I threw a fit. I''m¡­" "You don''t have to apologize, really!" he interrupted, "It was my fault as much as yours. Besides, that wasn''t a fit. This¡­" he said, gesturing at the scene of destruction around the both of them "¡­is more like a fit!" "Haha!" despite herself, she giggled. Which, for some reason, made him feel a little better. "It''s a pretty good catharsis," she nodded, looking around "nothing like killing a Dire Bear to make you feel better about yourself!" "Really? Did it help?" "A little. Talking it out with you helped more." She said, finally looking at him. "Likewise." "What do you mean ''likewise''?" "I was feeling a little bad too. Talking with you helped," he admitted. "Oh, so you do feel bad, huh?" "A little, yes." They sat in companionable silence before Cordelia said. "You''re not gonna ask me about it?" "About what?" "My problems with Regina." "Regina?" "Ah, crap! I just blurted out her name. Please forget it!" Looking at him guiltily, she added: "You won''t forget it, will you?" "I''ll do my best to!" He said sincerely. "You didn''t ask about my problem with her." "I won''t. You don''t have to tell me if you don''t want to," he shrugged: "In here, we''re someone else. No point spoiling it by bringing in our real-life problems." "That''s a nice policy. I should adopt that." "It worked for me." "Let''s change the topic, then!" "Okay. Did you find anything worth buying in town?" "I''ve checked the market. It''s too¡­ overwhelming. Everyone was talking at the same time! There are so many things that it made my head spin! I got light-headed just looking at the lists of buyable items." "Haha, you need help with that?" "No, I''ll try it myself first," she said firmly. Then looked at him sheepishly: "You got any tips, though?" "Sure¡­" Chapter 52: Parting Ways While Cordelia harvested the slain Dire Bear, Manco gave her some brief advice on preparing for long trips: topics such as picking out gear, camping, or cooking. "¡­ So about equipment, where are you headed next?" Opening her map, she said: "I''ve asked about the surrounding settlements. I''m torn between going east, to these cluster of towns, or heading south-east up the mountains. These mountain villages seem interesting. I''m not sure if I could survive either trip, though." "Mmm¡­ " Manco nodded, "You do need to upgrade your weapons at least. And gain a few more levels. How''s your weapon masteries?" "My dagger''s at 17, and my bow''s at 6. I don''t use it that much." "Yeah. Up both of them to a multiple of five, then grab a few techniques." "I stopped by the barrack," she scratched her head, "but the guard kept turning me away!" "Ah, that! Complete a few bounties to improve their attitude, after that they''ll train you." "Oh, I see! This bear skin is sure to come in handy, then!" She grinned. "As for which path to take, I''d recommend the mountain villages. At least one of them had training and equipment for your class." "Cool! So I''ll need to add climbing gear to my shopping list!" "Yes. And some warm clothes as well!" They chatted for a few more minutes until she eventually finished harvesting the Dire Bear, which turned into a pile of bones and entrails. "Ack! You want some of these bear meat? I can''t carry it all back!" She groaned and slumped to the ground under the weight of the added items. "Sure,¡­" He replied. Opening her trade screen Cordelia transferred half the meat to him. "Whew!" Exhaling, Cordelia stood up, brushed herself and took out another waterskin and a pack of cookies. They began to slowly walk back to town. While walking, Cordelia ate the cookies and washed them down with water. "What about you, what are you up to?" "I''m waiting for Reg¡­ I mean, your acquaintances." "To team up with them, I suppose?" She asked, drinking from it. "To kill them and loot their corpses." "Pfft!" Surprised, she spat out the water. "Sorry!" she said, hastily wiping her mouth with her hand, "I thought¡­" "That''s my plan," he shrugged. Then to his surprise, he realized his right hand was gripping the handle of the dagger on his grip. ''What is with me? She''s not an enemy!'' he told himself. However, his right hand stayed in place. "So you''re after their items?" She had stopped walking, her eyes staring at him. "Yes." "The Beta Test rewards?" "Yup." "If I''d got one of those, would you have killed me as well?" "Maybe." "What do you mean?" "If you were a stranger, I might have." "Oh! But you ''knew'' me, so I was off your hit list?" "Probably," he said, holding her gaze but paying close attention to her hands. "I see¡­" she looked away, then looked back at him, "Normally I''d be upset. But for some reason, I don''t. Strange." "Does that have anything to do with what they did to you?" "Some of it, maybe. But I think it''s because I just got kinda¡­ numb. From all the recent ''revelations''." Manco had nothing to say to that, so he kept silent. A chipmunk poked its head out of the nest on the tree trunk and quickly retreated as it saw him "Don''t you think I''ll tell them about this?" Cordelia put away the food and drink as she resumed walking. She brushed a branch out of the way. "It''ll make things a little harder for me. So, please don''t!" "Aren''t you a modest one! Alright, since you''ve asked nicely, I won''t tell them." She looked at him with a smile. "Thanks!" "No problem," she shrugged, "This is just something you do in this game, huh?" "Yes. Take things from people and do your best to hang on to your own stuff." "I''m not too fond of that aspect. Messing with people to benefit me. I just want to have fun, make friends, explore, that sort of things." "I''d love to be able to do that as well, but I can''t." "¡­You''re trying to make money from this game?" She asked after a few moments. "You could say that." He had other goals as well, but she didn''t have to know that. "Oh¡­" They walked in silence as Cordelia processed this information. "What''s it like, doing what you do?" "Pretty stressful, to be honest," he replied, "Lots of questions to be answered. Where to go, what to do, how to make the most of my time¡­" "Speaking about time," Cordelia pointed out, "you spent an awful lot of time helping me. Doesn''t that go against your policy?" "Haha¡­," chuckling dryly, Manco answered, "I can''t be grumpy and goal-obsessed all the time, can I? I need some distractions or I''ll go crazy!" "So that''s all I am to you?" she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "A distraction?" "That''s not what I meant! What I mean was, uh¡­" he paused, searching for words, "you know¡­" "It''s okay, I get it! You don''t have to explain!" she pouted in jest. "No, I mean¡­" he sighed "¡­I have a soft spot for distressed damsels, I guess," he gave a self-deprecating chuckle, "And something about this game just brings that out in me." "Ah, a knight in shining armor underneath that cynical shell!" Cordelia smiled, "It''d be nice if I could find one of those!" "¡­ Also because I don''t like bullies." "Bullies, huh¡­" her smile faded and she was lost in thought. They were silent the rest of the way, except for the brief exchanges as they kill monsters. Eventually, the forest was behind them and Broken Hill''s south gate was in sight. "I''m calling it a day now," Cordelia announced, "I''m selling my stuff and log out. You''re still playing?" This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon."I''ll log out in a bit and come back later" He had eight more hours before his targets were supposed to be back in, and the north and east areas still need to be scouted. "Thank you¡­" she said, looking up at him, "¡­ for being honest with me, I mean. I don''t think anyone I know would admit without hesitation that they might kill me and loot my corpse for valuables, in-game or not." "Uh¡­ You''re welcome?" "And I''m glad we don''t have to part on bad terms. Let''s keep in touch, okay?" "Sure." "Strange. I tried adding you to my contact list. It didn''t work!" she said, fiddling with her interface. "Ah, it was me¡­" When he first logged in, Mahn Li had habitually disabled the messaging and new contacts functionalities. In the old account, he had been bothered too much by people trying to message him or adding him to their contact list. Most of the top players did the same thing. Mahn Li reactivated the functionalities. *Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-¡­* [New message! Subject: How did you do that?] [New message! Subject: You cheat!!!] [New message: ¡­] ¡­ [Contact Request: BobTheBard] [Contact Request: KallMeKat] [Contact Request: ¡­] ¡­ He was instantly swamped by thousands upon thousands of messages, which were either recruitment messages from fledging guilds, accusations of using hacks or cheats, requests for him to help level up, or asking for tips. Most of the messages were dated from 7 days ago, when he killed the Corrupter, leveled up to 20 and jumped to the top of the level leaderboard. Since then, he had consistently stayed at the top spot, with the closest player at level 23. Sighing, he deleted all the messages and request. "Try sending a request again," he told Cordelia. [Contact Request: Cordelia.] [Accept][Ignore Player][Delete] He selected "Accept" and her name showed up in his previously empty contact list. "You''re my first contact," he said to her. "I''m your first? Really?" she chuckled, "Too bad I can''t say the same!" They bid each other goodbye. As Cordelia headed to the craftsman''s quarter, Manco briefly looked at her retreating figure then headed the other way toward the town center. Checking his quest list, he found out that he had fulfilled half a dozen bounties while running around in the forest earlier. This should be enough to improve his reputation with the town guard. Stepping on the edge of the street to make way for the dozen recruits jogging in full gear, he made his way to the two-story mansion next to the town square. The guard at the front door sternly nodded at him. "I''d like to turn in some bounties." "The office''s inside, just follow the red line on the floor," the guard replied and stepped aside. Nodding at the guard, Manco step through the door. Entering the building, he found himself in the foyer. The marble-and-stone support columns were decorated with what must be elaborate patterns but were now coated in layers upon layers of dirt and grime. The walls were still adorned with fancy-looking picture frames and the less dusty sections betrayed the absence of hanging tapestries. On the vaulted ceiling was a large chain that at some point must have supported a large chandelier. The mansion had obviously seen better days under a wealthy owner. Now, it had been stripped of everything valuable and converted for civilian and military use. Directly in front of him, nestled under the massive dual staircase was the general public reception area. A giant strip of red paint on the floor led from the main door straight to it. "Can''t be more obvious than this!" Snorting, he approached the row of desks. A row of three long tables made of rough-sawn lumber formed the lobby. Each table was manned by two people in uniform. Behind them were several large shelves stacked with books, scrolls, and wooden boxes. The shelves served both as a storage place and a divider to a small area behind which was used for storing more documents or resting. About four people were sitting on the benches on the other side of the tables, talking to the officers. Half a dozen more were standing around, awaiting their turn and making small talks. These people were probably mercenaries like him, here to claim a bounty, or citizens filing complaints or making requests. When it was his turn, the pair in front of him was a woman in her forties and a young man. "Good afternoon," the woman said, "What do you need done?" Within a minute, they verified his claimed bounties, handed out the rewards, and said their thanks. "Can I get any training here?" He asked. "The training area''s that way." She said, gesturing to the door to his right. Thanking the officers, Manco left the lobby and made his way to the training area. It was a spacious room, partitioned into two areas. The first one, occupying most of the room, was lined with straw mats. The second area at the far back had a few weapon racks with wooden weapons and about a dozen dummies. Manco approached one of the instructors, a medium-height, lanky man with sinewy muscles and an alert face. He was sitting and observing the recruits training in hand-to-hand combat. "Good afternoon. I''d like to learn dagger techniques." Sizing him up, the man nodded, "Long or short lesson?" "The short one, if you don''t mind." A long lesson would involve a lot of talking and explaining. As Mahn Li already had nearly a decade of experience in using daggers, he no longer needed it. "Alright, come!" the instructor said, stood up, and walked with a slight limp toward the dummies at the far end of the room. Chapter 53: Training Area "Watch!" the instructor said. He unsheathed two daggers and approached a dummy holding a wooden sword. Using the target, he demonstrated six techniques: Cut Throat, Disarm, Flurry, Gouge, Empowered Strike, and Armor-Piercing Stab. "Which ones?" after the demonstration, the instructor asked, sheathing his daggers with quick and precise motions. As his Dagger mastery was at level 22, and one technique was unlocked every 5 levels, Manco could learn four. If he had been playing a melee class, he would have taken Cut Throat and Gouge for their high damage, both direct and the over-time bleeding effects. With his current planned build, however, he would have to avoid stepping into melee range and increase the distance if melee was unavoidable. "Disarm, Flurry, Armor-Piercing Stab and Empowered Strike." He made his choices. These four all came with some sort of crowd control effect. Disarm had a high chance of causing the target''s weapon to drop and return to inventory, Flurry had a chance to disorient or confuse targets, Armor-Piercing Stab caused a mini-stun and temporarily reduce the target''s armor, and Empowered Strike had both a mini-stun and a knock-back effect. "Want another demonstration?" the instructor asked, to which Manco shook his head. He approached the nearest dummy, which had magically restored from the damage sustained earlier. He took out his two daggers and, after a customary twirl, went to town on his target. Letting instinct take over, Manco executed the skills. He began with Disarm, which yanked off the wooden sword the dummy was holding. The follow up was an Armor-Piercing Stab at the right armpit. Then came Flurry, a blindingly fast combination of stabs and slashes. As the daggers danced in his hands, splinters of wood flew away from the dummies, and damage indicators floating up from his targets, he enjoyed the familiar movements he was making. Using Melee techniques in Epoch of Liberty was another aspect that took some getting used to. Instead of just facing the target, pressing the buttons, and watching the fireworks, there was quite a bit more to it. The big part of EoL''s appeal was how much control players actually had over their virtual avatar. They could individually move every single part of their body, down to each fingertip. While this made for a more immersive experience, it was also a big challenge when players wanted to do things they had never done in real life. Every other game in its current generation chose to automate all ''unfamiliar'' actions, which took away the player''s control, but Immersive Interaction chose a different route. Inside Epoch of Liberty, players who wielded a sword or a bow would have an inexplicable feeling that they "instinctively knew what to do" even as they had never done it before. This was achieved thanks to a proprietary combination of several technologies used by Immersive Interaction. Mahn Li did not know exactly how they worked, but from his research, long discussions with other players, and his own experience, he theorized that it boiled down to two things. First, the game provided some sort of ''co-pilot'' that cooperated with players as they executed complex actions. Second, and more importantly, players were temporarily granted a form of muscle memory. For example, all players were used to doing simple actions such as walking or eating. Things got problematic when unfamiliar actions were involved, from wielding swords, throwing knives, doing handstands or back-flips, or just twirling a dagger. How the fingers were supposed to move, how the limbs should coordinate with one another, and so on. Each action required a distinctive combination of movements that normally would take weeks, if not months or years, for the body to memorize.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The VR rig would stimulate and form temporary connections between different parts of the brains, allowing players to flawlessly perform these new tasks. The connections would fade shortly after the playing session ended. In addition, the ''co-pilot'' would also kick in and assist with those actions. The co-pilot''s effectiveness depended on many factors, the most important of which was the player''s Strength, Awareness and Coordination. Melee techniques were an expansion of those principles. When one is used, a portion of players'' movements was assisted by the system, while the rest were under their control. The ratio between automation and player input varied for each technique and could even be adjusted. It was a very delicate balance between streamlining the action and making the players feel in control. Players who already had some real-world practice with these complex actions would find adapting to the game world somewhat easier. In time, however, that advantage would disappear and everyone could do the same action, with the efficiency and precision depending almost entirely on in-game attributes. Without learning, a player could perfectly replicate the movements involved in a melee technique. However, they would never achieve the same results. The reason was that when a melee technique was used, a small portion of the player''s stamina and mana is consumed to augment the attack, making them faster and more powerful. For example, Empowered Strike had more weight behind the strike even with a light dagger, Armor-Piercing Stab could pierce surfaces that would normally stop a knife, Cut Throat did more damage and caused heavier bleeding, and so on. ''I probably won''t get to use these moves very often,'' Manco thought absentmindedly as he ended the chained skills with Empowered Strike, which cleanly severed the dummy''s head. "Not bad," the instructor nodded, "Sure you want to learn these?" "Yes," Manco replied. Several notifications popped up, letting him know he had learned the skills and money had been deducted from his inventory. "Anything else?" The man asked. "That is all, thank you!" Manco answered, to which the man nodded and walked away. Looking at the dummies lining up the wall for archery practice, he mumbled: "Huh, why not?" Taking out the Collector, which was in its second form, he assigned Fire Bolt to an empty chamber. At the moment, the gun had three projectile spells: Mana Bolt, Fire Bolt, and Mana Blast. Previously at the inn, he had made various tests. Currently, the gun could only fire spells that he had in his spell slots. If he took Mana Bolt off his spell list, for example, the barrel to which he had assigned that spell would be empty. It went without saying that the gun could not fire Shadowbolt, which was embedded in the Darktouch wand. Leveling his gun, he used the area as a makeshift shooting range and fired at the dummies. The second form''s accuracy was just as horrible as before. He needed to stand within ten meters to have a decent chance of hitting a human-sized target. Suddenly¡­ *BANG!* The gun violently shook in his hand, and three barrels fired at the same time. The three spell projectiles flew in an irregular pattern. One projectile hit the dummy he aimed at while the other two grazed the two target on either side of it. "Hmm, so is this random?" He had seen the effect before when the gun was used by its previous owners. Scratching his chin, he fired the gun again. After several minutes, he discovered that for every fifteen shots, the gun would discharge all the loaded spells at once regardless of their actual cooldowns. This was probably a jab at the gun it was based on. Manco checked the weapon''s description, which read: "As a great man once said, sometimes the only safe place around is behind this weapon." If he had more powerful spells, this would be either a good opening move or a surprise attack at close range. "If I could improve the accuracy, this would be a lot more useful!" Muttering, he put the gun away and left the training area. Chapter 54: Witchs Presence When Manco was back to the lobby, a large crowd of people was gathering in front of the reception area and loudly arguing. Approaching the crowd, he heard them talking over each other. From the bits and pieces he heard, he found out that they were complaining about some sort of insect swarm in the forest to the north, next to the Sighing Swamp. "They''ll definitely hang that witch for this!" A tall man in lumberjack outfit grunted, and his friends nodded in agreement. "But she''s never done anything like this before! She would often help cure the sick people that the church can''t!" Another man interjected. "What do you know? What if she''s the one making them sick in the first place?¡­" The group grew louder and rowdier by the minute until several guards had to step in and calm them down. Having heard enough, Manco exited the mansion. He opened the quest list to check the quest named "Witch''s Presence." It was given to him by Iridia the cleric, and was also posted on the bulletin board. ¡²Quest: Witch''s Presence ¡³(Unique) > Type: Elimination. Difficulty: B > Given by: Broken Hill''s authority ¡´Show details¨‹¡µ > Location(s): Broken Hill, Northern Forest > Details: A witch has unleashed a powerful plague spell in the northern forest near the Sighing Swamp. Put a stop to her actions. ¡´Show more¨‹¡µ > Reward: 1. Improved Standing with Broken Hill''s authority and citizens. 2. Discount at various stores, shops, and stalls. 3. XP 4. ??? ¡ª.¡ª The difficulty had increased, and the quest type had changed from ''Investigation'' to ''Elimination.'' ''Strange, this quest seems pretty useful. Why didn''t that group do it?'' Before becoming ''Elimination,'' the ''Investigation'' quest had been on the bulletin board for at least a week. It seemed like a no-brainer to check out, but for some reason, the group of six had skipped it. With plenty of time left until the hunt, he decided to check it out and walked out the north gate. "It''s this close?" Manco muttered as he stood at the edge of the unnamed forest, observing the place. On his field of vision, a marker showed the approximate location of the witch''s hut, which stood near a lake a mere seven hundred meters away. Shrugging, he made his way in. One minute later, he started feeling something was off. The forest was completely silent. It was not the kind of silence where there were predators nearby and the animal kept quiet. It was as if the forest was entirely devoid of living animals. A rotting smell wafted to his nose. Checking around, he found a dead fox inside a hollow log. A quick inspection informed him that it had been choked by a variety of insects like flies, and bees, which invaded its airway. Judging by the tracks, it looked like the fox had run away from the insect swarm, dashed through several thorned bushes, then crawled inside this log, hoping to escape its fate. ''This looks like the witch''s doing. But why?'' Retracing the fox''s tracks, Manco made his way deeper into the forest. He saw a dead squirrel, a dead wolf, then countless more animal corpses. All were covered in insects and at various stages of decomposition. The air was thick with a mixture of unpleasant smells, from rotting meat to excrements. He had to watch his step to avoid stepping onto the rotting carcasses. After a while, he heard faint buzzing sounds ahead, and a fly flew straight at his forehead with such speed that it immediately splattered. Frowning, he swiped it off and kept walking. The deeper he went, the louder the buzzing grew. Insects of all shapes and sizes fluttered around him, some even clung to his body and clothes. As they had not done any harm yet, he left them be. Two hundred meters away from the hut, he quietly brushed aside a low-hanging branch¡­ ¡­and saw the area in front of him completely dominated by flying insects. Flies, bees, moths, grasshoppers¡­ insects of every kind, shape, and size were flying randomly in the air without any definite pattern. The air was so thick with insects that he couldn''t see farther than ten meters ahead. Countless others were crawling on on the trees, shrubs, and bushes, blanketing everything with their bodies. He barely saw any speck of green in front of him. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The ground was covered with a thin layer of sticky black sludge, a mixture of insect droppings, rotted organic material, and dead insects. The buzzing grew in both volume and frequency, making him feel like his skull was rattling inside his head. This was, quite obviously, not a natural phenomenon, but the effect of a spell like ''Insect swarm'' or something similar. However, the magically created insects should only last for a few hours, and would not be able to grow to this number, unless there was another enhancement spell added to augment the effect or increase the duration. ''This looks dangerous¡­'' From the look of it, he could get through the insects using a combination of spells and items. He had Mana Shield and Gust to protect himself. Fire Bolt, Mana Blast, Dark Implosion and vials of Alchemical Fire could be used to clear the path. He had plenty of health and mana potions, so he was confident that he could walk 200 meters to the hut. ''But is it that easy, though?'' He looked at the swarm again. To create such a thing, the caster must have used at least a combination of two Tier-4 spells. Defeating her on her turf was a difficult prospect. Not to mention she might have laid traps or detected him coming. If a fight broke out when he was in the middle of the insect swarm, he would have trouble running away, let alone winning. Running through the list of spells he had at his disposal, he frowned in annoyance. Even if he went back to the tavern to swap out another set of spells, it wouldn''t help much. Without a way to completely get rid of the insect swarm to level the playing field, it would be extremely difficult to proceed. ''I''ll just deal with that group first, then!'' Grudgingly, he returned to Broken Hill. Having done some preliminary scouting on the areas north and south of Broken Hill, Manco checked on the east side. Manco made his way to the nearest hill at the east of the town. Most of the creatures fled at the sight of him and soon he was at the top of the hill and began observing his surroundings. Between the hills, the main road stretched away as far as his eyes could see. Along the road, he saw a handful of mud-walled, thatched roof cottages among a few wheat fields. The wheat grew poorly, and large patches had died off and had to be uprooted by the farmers. The land on the east side of Aegis river was unnaturally infertile and unsuitable for farming. Except for the forests at the north and south of the city, which were right next to Aegis river, every other place was dominated by grass and weed. Beyond his vision range, about five kilometers from Broken Hill, there would be a fork in the road. The path going straight east lead to larger settlements, while going south-east would take him to a path up the mountains where small communities resided. This was where Cordelia would go next after her business here was done. The reason he directed her to this location was her class. Upon reaching level 25, the characters would hit a level cap where their level stopped increasing. Gained experienced was still accumulated but will expire over time. To continue leveling, they would need to complete a ''Class awakening'' quest chain. For most classes, the location to get these quests were the appropriate organizations (such as Archer''s Guild or Rogue''s Guild) typically found in large cities. The Shaman class was among the few exceptions, and one of the settlements on the mountains would have what Cordelia needed to advance. After a while, Manco decided there was nothing more to see at the east side and went back to the inn. He looked over the map and the brief notes he had made regarding the areas around Broken Hill. - North: Forest, Sighing Swamp. Quest: ¡²Witch''s Presence¡³ - West: Back across the bridge, into the Sighing Swamp. Path leading back to Mistwood Village. Quest: ¡²An Alchemist''s Woe¡³. - South: Forest. Quest: ¡²Desecrated Ground¡³ - East: Hill, Grassland. Road to larger settlements or up mountains. "That''s about it," closing the map, he moved on to re-organizing his spell list. Chapter 55: Stalking Inside his room on the tavern''s second floor, Manco sat cross-legged on his small bed, the spell book floating in front of him. Checking his list of spells, he had decided he would have to be a little more aggressive. He removed three non-offensive spells, replaced them with Fireball, Ice Shard and a healing spell, then checked his finalized spell list again. Tier-0: (5/5) ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹, ¡¸Fire Bolt¡¹, ¡¸Ice Shard¡¹, ¡¸Mind Link¡¹, ¡¸Obscuring Fog¡¹ Tier-1: (3/3) ¡¸Mana Blast¡¹, ¡¸Fire Ball¡¹, ¡¸Minor Heal¡¹ Tier-2: (2/2) ¡¸Mana Shield¡¹, ¡¸Silence¡¹ Leaving the inn, he walked to the craftsman''s quarter. Stopping at the leather maker''s, he traded in his old belt and bought a better one with 8 potion slots. EoL used a weighted and grid-based inventory system. Save for a handful of exceptions, all items occupied 1 slot regardless of actual shapes and sizes. Consumables such as potions could stack. Each player started with 10 inventory slots, which can be improved with perks or expanded by equipping backpacks. As the game had a staggering amount of items to be looted, the number of inventory slots were quite generous. Carrying capacity was influenced by player''s strength attributes and certain perks. In addition, some bags had enchantments that lightened the weights of contained items. Outside of combat, accessing the inventory was instantaneous. However, when the character was considered ''in combat,'' a timer would be applied. For game balancing reason, the higher the player''s level, the longer it took. For example, in the middle of a fight, if Manco wanted to get a healing potion of his inventory, he would have to wait 25 seconds. The solution was using ''quick-slots''. The game had a variety of accessories that had ''slots'' to store consumables: belts, pouches, clothes with outside pockets, and so on. Accessing these quick slots were always instantaneous, but the downside was that their capacities were limited and the items didn''t stack. At Nina''s Potions and Concoctions, he bought some vials of proper Health Potion and Mana Potion (which restored more than the Redberries and Blueberries juice) and slotted them into the new belt. After pondering for a bit, he eventually settled on 2 Health Potions, 2 Mana Potions, 2 Alchemical Fire, 1 Poison, and 1 Paralytic Potion. He restocked his crossbow bolts and re-applied Poison and Paralytic Potion onto his daggers. As the promised time drew near, he began to feel the pressure. It''s been a long time since he''s felt this way. The feeling of hunting down something just as dangerous as he was and could kill him even on his best day. Objectively speaking, his character was not much better than theirs. His equipment was mostly run-of-the-mill. Save for the Barrage ability, which only sort-of worked at near point-blank range, using the gun at this point was even weaker than casting spells directly. Even though he was a couple levels higher, he was saving points for the new attribute unlocked after awakening. His HP pool was abysmal, just a few hits were enough to kill him. Compared to his targets, he was neither the strongest, fastest, nor the most durable. At level 25, he had 10 spell slots. The other side was lower level than he was, so each of them had fewer spell slots. However, they had three casters, which gave them a total of at least 20 spells. He was outnumbered and outgunned (so to speak). The only things he had going for him were the experience and skill accumulated over ten years in the game. Mahn Li checked and double-checked his preparations then logged off for two hours to try and relax. A few hours later, Manco woke up in the tavern, still unable to shake the nervousness. To calm his nerves and to pass the time, he returned to the barracks to practice the newly-learned hand-to-hand combat moves and do target practice on the dummies. After a few hundred shots with the gun, he was sure it was one all-barrel discharge (which he dubbed the ''Barrage'' ability) per 15 shots. As a preparation, he shot 13 shots out of the gun. One more shot and the next would be a barrage of five spells: Fire Bolt, Fire Ball, Ice Shard, Mana Bolt and Mana Blast. ''This is crazy. Why am I doing this?'' He thought as he waited for his mana to recover. He could easily avoid them, finish all the quests, and leave town without them being aware of him. Yet, he chose to challenge them. The most obvious reason was that he wanted what they had. However, as he went over his preparations again, he realized the true reasons. He wanted to challenge himself, push himself to the limit, and prove to himself that he could succeed with his build. Above all, he wanted to challenge his old, irrational fear of ''Beta Testers'' that had plagued him during his early years in Epoch of Liberty. From what he heard, they wouldn''t be here much longer. If he wanted to confront them, it was now or never. ''I''ve got experience and skills. That should be enough. It has to be,'' He muttered, psyching himself up. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. While practicing on the dummies, Manco felt something tugging at a corner of his consciousness, an extra-sensory alarm. Focusing on that alarm, he learned that at least one player had entered the area surveilled by [Vigil]. He switched to his ragged civilian clothes and shot Cordelia a message. [Are you there?] No answer¡­ [If you''re not, then good. Those guys are here. You might want to avoid them for now!] "Alright. Let''s meet the gang!" He donned his ragged civilian clothes and left the barrack. Immediately, he noticed the bunch strolling toward the marketplace. The whole group was here: the witch, barbarian, cleric, rogue, shaman, and ranger. At the marketplace, they split up, each heading to a stall of their choice to stock up on supplies. As they shopped, they shouted to each other without bothering to lower their voice. "Hey shaman! Don''t forget to buy extra bug repellent salve!" Manco heard the barbarian''s voice over the clamor in the market. "I''ve got a name, you know! And do you need extra tampons too?" The shaman girl shot back. "Fuck you!" He roared. "Thanks, but no thanks!" "Enough, both of you! Focus!" The witch ended the conversation. ¡­ Walking from stall to stall, Manco observed the group while making sure he did not stand out. All six were completely oblivious to his presence and leisurely picked out their wares. It looked like they were preparing for a long trip. After about ten minutes, they gathered and went over their shopping list, bickering about each other''s choices. Two of them ran back to the market, presumably to buy some missing items. Eventually, they were done shopping and made their way to the south gate. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Outside the gate, it was open land for a kilometer before they reached the forest. Without much cover, Manco couldn''t get as close to the group as he would like to. He had to hang back and walk alongside the farmers traveling to the fields to avoid detection. After the group entered the forest, he waited several minutes before splitting away from the group of farmers to trail his targets. With his Tracking skill, it was easy to follow the group. It took him several minutes to catch up to them. Scanning the area, he spotted several animals. After a moment of consideration, he chose a teal-throated sparrow, which was grooming itself on a nearby tree branch. [Mind Link] He succeeded at first try and was now in control of the small bird. Closing his eyes, he focused on its senses. The forest came to life with much greater clarity around him. Perching up the tree branch, he could see small worms crawling under a rock more than 10 meters away. From the ambient noise, which normally sounded like an indistinct mix of sounds, he could pick out distinct and subtle sources either from leaves rustling, animals moving, or other birds calling. Only the sense of smell was dulled somewhat. Manco had discovered that he didn''t have to stay in one place and give step-by-step directions for the creature under his control. He only had to ask it to perform simple tasks and it would automatically do the necessary movements to complete the task. Looking around from the bird''s vision, Manco spotted the group. He commanded the bird to fly to a branch several meters behind them and wait. Meanwhile, he opened his eyes and followed the bird. After a while, he formed a definite rhythm where he could both move and command the sparrow at the same time. Which was fortunate, as the group began to pick up the pace. Soon, the control became like second nature and he could focus on their conversation. Unfortunately, they weren''t saying anything of note, just inane real-life things like rumors about celebrities, their relationships and acquaintances. The witch, cleric, and rogue were relatively quiet, while the other three chatted incessantly and only stopped when they ran into some predators. After an hour later, the group had moved beyond the area he had scouted earlier. The ground noticeably became more barren, and the trees became less and less dense, and the animals more sparse. Eventually, they reached a small clearing, at the middle of which stood a gigantic oak tree with heavy buttress roots. Using the group''s size as reference, Manco estimated the trunk to be at least 15 meters in diameter, and was about 50 meters high. Most of the tree was covered by a green-yellow ''net'' made out of the stems of another vine-like plant. The tree itself seemed to be dying. It was almost leafless and its gray bark was chipping off in big chunks. Stepping on the big roots, the group reached the base of the trunk. The barbarian pulled apart the vines like a curtain, revealing a large hollow in the trunk. One by one, the group entered the hollow. "A dungeon entrance. Interesting!" After the barbarian entered the hollow, Manco dismissed the sparrow, left his hiding place, and approached the oak tree. Chapter 56: Lichs Lair Most dungeons in Epoch of Liberty were instanced dungeons. To put simply, there were multiple identical copies of the dungeon (called instances) that parties could beat at the same time and get the same rewards without interfering with each other. Each time a party entered the dungeon, a new instance would be created. However, it was still possible to enter other players'' instances. There was a very brief window of time (typically a few minutes after the last member of the first party went in) during which an instance stayed open and could be invaded by subsequent parties. Manco stepped in front of the hollow the group had disappeared into. Lifting up the "curtain" made of small vines, he noted that it was some sort of parasitic plant. Shrugging, he stepped into the dungeon. ¡²Dungeon: Underground Lich''s Lair #231¡³ ¡²Another party has entered this dungeon.¡³ ¡²Would you like to...¡³ > ¡²Start a new instance.¡³ ¡²Join the same instance (Time left until instance is locked: 00:03:24)¡³ Manco selected the second option and was immediately transported to the top of a spiral staircase made of grey stone. Descending down the staircase lead him to a tiny square room that was almost bare except for a lit torch on the wall and an old wooden door. Stepping through the door, Manco found himself in a small corridor. On the wall, a single torch burned weakly. A light breeze blew along, causing the flame to flicker and sway and making the shadows dance. His eyes were drawn to the left, where rusted weapons and piles of bone littered the floor. These were the remains of animated skeletons, recently killed. Looking further ahead, he could see similar remains forming a trail leading into darkness. ''Alright, here we go!'' Following the signs of battle, Manco headed deeper into the dungeon. It was a series of rooms connected by tunnels dug into the hard-packed earth and reinforced with magic. He didn''t meet much opposition along the way. The group had done a rather thorough job of cleaning up the path. Only once did he encounter a single skeleton archer, which he quickly disposed of. The tunnels and rooms were filled with the remains of skeleton warriors, zombies and other lesser creatures animated with black magic. Notably, all of them were unlooted. It seemed the group were either in a hurry or had set their sights on something else. Before long, Manco heard sounds of talking and fighting ahead. Immediately, he slowed down and maintained a safe distance. As he moved forward, he took the time to examine the map. He was well acquainted with the various map layouts in the game. This map was among the ones that had a stylized ''hurricane'' layout. Three main corridors curved and spiraled toward the boss room at the center. Each main corridor had several smaller ones branching out from it. Some lead to bonus treasure rooms, others connected to other main corridors, but most would dead-end into empty or trapped rooms. From what he''d seen, the group had been traveling down an unusual path. Normally, they only needed to stick to one main corridor and make their way to its end to meet the boss. However, they had twice veered to a different corridor and entered what appeared to be two dead ends. ''They''re not trying to completely clear this dungeon. And they''re not trying to speedrun it either,'' Manco scratched his head, trying to figure out the logic behind the nonsensical path they had been taking. They also seemed to know what they were doing, so it didn''t make sense that they would get lost and have to backtrack. The only other explanation he could think of was that they were trying to trigger some sort of special event in those dead ends. "Alright, no more jumping around! We stay on this corridor from here on! It should work!" A female voice drifted to his ear, making him instinctively press his back to the wall. The small tunnels carried sound quite far. "Got it!" several other voices responded in agreement. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ After dozens of tedious battles with necrotic slimes, skeletons and various sorts of lesser undead creatures, Morana stood in front of the large double door leading to the boss room. She had been in this room enough times to draw its layout from memory. It was a large room, vaguely circular in shape and about thirty meters in diameter. In the middle of the room stood a raised stone platform adorned with spell formations. That was were the boss would stand when he needed to charge his more powerful spells. A stone walkway was suspended three meters above the floor, hugging the room''s circular wall. It was supported by twelve large stone pillars. The walkway was filled with skeleton archers and mages. Before they could fighting the boss, they had to first get rid of those ranged enemies. Finally, on the far side of the room was a throne made out of skulls, the boss'' initial location. "Boner, Galaad, you guys are up first!" the witch ordered. Galaad touched BoneCrusha''s shoulder and cast [Accelerated Metabolism], which increased his health regeneration at the cost of a rapidly dropping Hunger meter. After that, he cast the same spell on himself. Then the cleric and barbarian took out their weapons. In the first phase, both of them would have a one-handed weapon and a large shield for increased defense. The moment he crossed the opened door, BoneCrusha shouted at the top of his lungs. "Hey! You dumb piles of bone! D''you know who I am? I''m BoneCrusha. Imma crush your bones. Come to daddy! Woo!" ''Thank god he''s pretty!'' Morana cringed at the childish taunt. Regardless, it served its purpose. An inhuman screech responded to the taunt, letting her know that BoneCrusha had gotten the attention of most of the living, or rather, undead, things in the room. Following the screech, a barrage of arrows and spells rained down on BoneCrusha and Galaad. Both of them crouched down and held their shields up to mitigate some of the damage. Among the six party members, the barbarian and the cleric had the most health and armor, making them the best at drawing fire. Of course, they wouldn''t last long, but they wouldn''t have to, anyway. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The moment the first wave of arrow ceased, BoneCrusha and Galaad rushed to the left. They stood behind one of the stone pillars and pushed it toward the room''s center. "Haaaaaarrrhh!" BoneCrusha, again, shouted at the top of his lungs. "Come one, man! Do you have to do that everytime?" Galaad complained. "Why not? It''s fun! You should try it!" the barbarian replied. Eventually, the pillar shifted, started tipping over, and finally came crashing down. With a loud "WHAM!" it broke into several pieces, raising a cloud of dust throughout the room. After a brief rest to heal, the cleric and barbarian moved to the next pillar under the rain of arrows and spells. Galaad healed both himself and BoneCrusha. Outside the room, Saarkas summoned a healing spirit to help out, while Morana used her own regeneration spells on the two damage sponges. They alternated between using spells and potions to maintain their tanks'' hit points at a stable level. After several more minutes, Galaad and BoneCrusha toppled three more pillars, filling the room was with dozens of shoulder-high stone fragments. This would give them more choke points to use when the fight began proper. They had figured out the pattern during previous runs. As long as no more than two people were inside the room, only the ranged minions would attack. Also, four pillars were the most they could topple. Any more and the walkway above would collapse, depriving them of a safe spot to retreat to if things went south. Morana turned and looked at Silent Death the rogue and Oneshot the ranger. "Oneshot, Silent, you''re up!" "Alright!" Said Silent Death, who ran in and deftly scaled the wall with his daggers. His job would be to eliminate the skeleton archers on the walkway, then rejoin the group and help with the boss. Without a word, Oneshot followed Silent Death and also climbed the wall, but much more clumsily. "Can''t believe I spent an entire week trying to train this idiot!" Morana muttered to Saarkas after Oneshot was far enough away. "I told you he was only good as a place-holder," the shaman sniggered. "Yeah, we''ll get rid of him after we''re done with this place. That artifact''s wasted on him." Morana said as she and Saarkas entered the boss room. Both of them continued casting heals on BoneCrusher and Gallad, who kept drawing the mobs'' attention. "Ready when you are, boss!" the rogue called out to her. Without answering, Morana lifted her hand and pointed it at a Skeleton Archer on the stone walkway. [Fireball!] A ball of fire shot out of her hand. It hit the undead creature square in the face and then exploded violently. Immediately after the first shot was fired, the large double door slammed shut behind them, locking them inside. On the other side of the room, the lich stood up from his skull throne. "Foolish mortals! Today, you will die and join my ranks!" He said in a low voice that somehow reverberated through the whole chamber. "Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Morana rolled her eyes: "Let''s get this over with!" Galaad and BoneCrusha positioned themselves in front of Saarkas and Morana. Above them, they heard sounds of battle as Oneshot and SilentDeath began cleaning the walkway of skeletons. "Crush them!" The lich screeched, and dozens of creatures began advancing toward the group. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Manco yawned as he observed the fight. He had entered from another entrance leading to the walkway and was hidden behind a rock in a dark corner. There were 3 entrances into this boss room. The group had used the ground-level entrance, which put them at a disadvantage at the beginning. He surmised that choice was to exploit a certain path in the boss'' programming and manipulate it to behave in a certain way. The group''s leader and shotcaller was obviously the witch named Morana. Her other role was to debuff and crowd control the mobs using spells. The shaman called Saarkas had at least three spirits, a Starfish, a Wolf and a Direbear. She was responsible for short bursts of melee damage with the Direbear, after which she would switch back to her regular weapon. The rogue called Silent Death was probably the best player in the group. He had the most difficult role: taking out the strong spell-casters that were supporting the boss. Quite frequently he had to weave through large groups of undead, kill his target, and then slip away to safety. The barbarian was so-so, and did well enough. He had high base damage and several techniques with large area of effects, so he scored the most kills. The ranger was nothing special, only staying on the walkway to take potshots at the targets below. It seemed as if they had been running this dungeon for a while now. He could spot movements that could only be described as routine. Whenever the enemies'' formations had an opening, Morana would debuff the lich to make him vulnerable, then immediately turned to crowd-control the mobs. At that moment, the barbarian, rogue and shaman would immediately rush in to deal as much damage to the boss as possible, before retreating per the witch''s order. The only member that seemed unfocused was the cleric. On several occasions, he failed to synchronize with the group, which lead to small blunders and the witch''s angry shouts. All in all, they were doing an adequate job, though Manco could tell they wasn''t trying their best to kill the boss. There were more than a dozen moments when the assault on the boss could have lasted a few more seconds, but Morana aways called the damage dealers back and stabilized the group. ''What are they up to?'' Manco wondered. He still didn''t know what their true purpose was, so he stayed still and kept observing. Also, he hadn''t seen them use any of the Beta Gears either. But he had a feeling he would soon. Chapter 57: Lichs Lair (part 2/2) "Galaad, what''s wrong with you today?!" Morana shouted for the seventh time since the boss fight began. Or maybe the eighth? She''d lost count. Just now, Galaad used a [Medium Heal] on BoneCrusha, who was only a few health points short of a full bar. Immediately after, the barbarian ate a Fireball, a couple of arrows and a few sword strikes, which collectively sent his health bar plummeting to below 30%. "Sorry!" The cleric replied flatly, which only made her angrier. "I''m on it!" Sarkaas shouted. She was prepared to un-summon her Starfish spirit and cast it on BoneCrusha. "NO! I''ll do it!" The witch shouted back. Having increased regeneration would do squat against a bunch of zombie knights swarming the barbarian right now. Morana cast a [Cure Light Wounds] on BoneCrusha, who, at the same time, consumed a light healing potion. Both their efforts brought his health him back above 50%. That would tide him over for about a dozen seconds, enough for at least one of Galaad''s healing spells to be off cooldown. Between the three casters and a shaman, their group had three healing spells and two increased regeneration abilities. Coupled with strategic use of potions, it should have been more than enough to deal with this boss. They''d done this before. Half a dozen times, in fact. Normally, Galaad was rock solid. Today, however, he was all over the place. He kept missing his cues to fight, buff and heal. His lack of concentration was throwing the whole party''s rhythm out of whack. He was most likely distracted by the matter of Cordelia. ''Cordelia, that bitch!'' Morana bitterly thought. "Morana, look out!" Someone shouted, startling her. *WHACK!* Morana gasped as she was sent tumbling by a zombie knight. It had slipped through a gap between BoneCrusha and Galaad, and bum-rushed her. ''Shit!'' She had been so distracted monologueing internally that she neglected to look out for herself. Wheezing in pain, she rolled away, just in time to avoid the war hammer smashing down where her face was a split second ago. Ignoring the pain, she cast [Ice Slick] between her and the zombie. "MmmMMMRRooaar¡­" Letting out an inhuman moan, the zombie approached her. Its mangled foot stepped on the slippery layer of ice covering the floor. Immediately, it lost its balance and fell down. [Fireball!] *BAM!* The spell exploded the zombie''s head a mere meter away from her. She winced from the intense heat from the near point-blank explosion which also pelted her and her teammates with bits of guts and rotten flesh. "Ewww!" Complained Saarkas the shaman. "Focus, will you?" SilentDeath shouted. "I know!" Morana replied through gritted teeth and went back to crowd-controlling the zombies. ''That Fireball should have been used on the group of knights that was about to spawn in that far corner,'' she thought spitefully. As she lacked any sort of close combat capability, she had to resort to using the spell. Having either the barbarian, cleric or shaman turn around to rescue her would disrupt their defense formation. The rogue and ranger were too far away to be of any help. ''It''s only at 15% and we''re already this messed up!'' The group was getting more and more unstable. Each mistake only tipped the scale further toward disaster. She could see no way they could turn this around. ''Should we call this off and head back?'' No! She slapped herself, startling her teammates. "Everyone listen up!" she shouted. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ ''Oooh? Seems like they''re pulling themselves together!'' From his hiding spot, Manco noticed the change in the group''s tactics. They had pulled back a little, utilizing the broken pillars to give themselves more breathing room. Instead of attacking the boss, they focused on holding back the minions and supporting each other. Slowly but steadily, their health bars were filling back up. Orange, to yellow, then green. After the team was stabilized, they went back on the offense. This time even more slowly but also more steadily. The barbarian and cleric used their crowd control skills to group the undead together, setting them up for the witch''s Fireballs. The rogue took less risk to relieve the burden from the healers. The cleric was now micro-managed by the witch and had to heal on command, which added to his frustration, but it nevertheless reduced the number of mistakes he made. After a few minutes, all the undead minions were wiped out. The lich stomped, hissed, and slammed down his staff. A circular wave of green energy blasted out from where the staff meet the floor and rippled all over the room. As the energy wave swiped past the heaps of bone left behind by destroyed skeletons, the bone fragments began to glow eerily, then each pile shifted and reassembled into a skeleton, looking a little worse for wear, but still as vicious as before. With the same tempo, the group methodically cut down the newly animated skeletons. Before long, the lich''s pack of minions was down to a single zombie swordsman, and the group turned their attention back to the boss. During the minutes where its minion held back the intruders, the undead spellcasters had restored a sizable portion of his health, pulling the health bar back up to about 50%. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The lone lich was no match for the coordination of the whole group. Quickly, they bought its health back down to about 10%. "It''s at 10%. Get ready!" The witch shouted. "Got it!" The rest group replied. With practiced movements, they pulled back and spread out, forming a loose circle five meters in radius, with the boss at the center. The barbarian took out his crossbow and fired a bolt, which hit the boss in the chest. ''Hmm. Interesting...'' Manco straightened up. Whatever they were about to do next, he had a feeling he didn''t want to miss. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ "Here it comes," Morana muttered. Pulling out the crossbow bolt, the lich glared at BoneCrusha. It then held up its scepter, which emitted an sinister dark green glow. "Come on!" she muttered and activated the special ability of the monocle on her left eye. [Mimicry]! Through the monocle, the boss'' silhouette was highlighted. She stood still, keeping the undead spellcaster at the center of her vision. A stream of dark green, foul smelling liquid sprayed out of the crystal on the boss'' scepter. The attack caught BoneCrusha right in the chest. "Ugh!" the barbarian grunted: "This stinks!" Then his grunt turned into screams as the liquid ate through his armor and into his flesh. This was [Death''s Nectar], one of the lich''s more powerful spells that it would unleash at low health. The liquid bypassed the target''s armor, lower its attributes, and slowly reduced its health. It was impossible to remove without tier-4 or higher spells. To players of level 30 or lower, this spell was essentially a death sentence. Using potions or healing spells only served to delay the inevitable. To make it worse, after several minutes, players killed by Death''s Nectar would resurrect to be a zombified version of themselves. Albeit the attributes were lower, the undead was still a lot stronger than the average zombies under the command of a low-level lich. [Success!] [Mimicry progress: 65% -> 78.5%!] "Alright!" Morana muttered. Just two more times like this and she would own this spell! "Galaad, Sarkaas! Keep his health up!" she ordered. The cleric and shaman complied, sending healing spells at BoneCrusha, trying to keep his health bar from slipping too low. The barbarian, meanwhile, was rolling on the floor, screaming in pain. "Boner, stop being a crybaby!" "Why don''t you try it! Shit it''s like being boiled alive!" He shouted back between breaths. Ignoring this scream, Morana turned her attention on the lich. SilentDeath and OneShot were sending attacks at it, provoking it to retaliate with Death''s Nectar. "Just two more¡­" she clenched her fist, watching the boss'' movement. Again, it held up its scepter, which glowed green¡­ ¡­ and disappeared in a chaotic puff of smoke. "What?" "Galaad! Lookout !" She turned to Galaad just in time to see the boss had materialied next to him and shot a spray of [Death''s Nectar] point blank at his face. He dropped to the ground without a single scream and was instantly killed. An item dropped from his body. "What the hell?" someone shouted in shock. Galaad hadn''t attacked the boss, so the sudden assault was completely unexpected. [Inspecting Success!] [Mimicry progress: 78.5% -> 91.5%!] "Shit!" Things quickly fell apart. The group wasn''t prepared to have their chief healer out of commission so quickly. BoneCrusha, who were already half-dead from the previous spray of [Death''s Nectar], died next. The lich raised its staff again and slammed it down on the floor, reviving the skeleton yet again. The two dozen skeletons looked very battered, but still deadly against the group adventurers that was down to four members. "You three! Distract them!" Morana shouted to the remaining three teammates. While they whaled on the boss, she rushed over to Galaad''s corpse and scooped up the dropped item, a magical ring. OneShot was only level 15, so he wouldn''t drop anything. Sarkass'' Beta Item was safely in her personal storage chest back in town. SilentDeath''s item was in her hand along with her own. They would be able to stall the boss without much loss. Having made arrangements, Morana ran back to the double door they had used. The door had been locked earlier, when the boss'' behavior changed to ''battle mode.'' It could only be opened when the boss was killed or changed back to ''patrol mode.'' That was where the cloak came in. She turned around, leaned her back against the door then sat down. She wrapped the cloak over her head and checked to make sure no part of her body was exposed. [Conceal]! Immediately, the cloak turned transparent and she could see through it. The remaining three members of her group was heavily outnumbered, and they weren''t even trying. They would be dead soon enough. As for her, provided that she didn''t move, speak or use any items, she would be perfectly concealed. Then the boss would go back to patrol mode and the door would be opened. She would be able to leave this dungeon, battered but intact. ''Next time! I''ll definitely learn that spell next time!'' She thought. Then the ground around her inexplicably became soft and she slowly began to sink. Chapter 58: TPK Bosses always had access to more attacks and spells than a player of the same level. However, they were still subjected to a limitation of spell slots. Therefore, each time a party entered a dungeon, a spell list for bosses were created. For some bosses, their spells were randomly selected from a pool of learned spells, but for others, the selection could be influenced by a number of hidden flags. At this point, Manco had figured out the group''s purpose wasn''t to kill the boss, but to learn a spell from it. They seemed to possess a Beta Gear that allowed the owner to learn spells from a boss, and had been trying to set up the conditions to do it. This explained the group''s earlier actions, such as heading toward two dead-ends, entering the boss room using the ground-level entrance, and dragging out the fight before surrounding the boss and attacking it at range. They had been trying to get the boss to use that spell which looked like acid spray. The witch would try to copy that skill. If they die and anything drop, she would be the one to pick it up. Ideally, she would be the last survivor, and use the invisibility cloak (which he suspected was another Beta Gear) to evade the boss'' attention. Eventually the boss would shift from ''Aggressive'' mode to ''Idle'' mode. At that point, the boss room would be unlocked, allowing her to sneak out of the dungeon. That would work quite well in theory. And in practice, too. Until Manco came along. He had left his hiding place and was crouching on the suspended balcony, which was previously occupied by skeleton archers. Holding the skull wand, he maintained the Marshland spell and saw something slowly sinking into the affected area, which had turned to a mini-quagmire. He had spotted Morana the moment she disappeared and knew exactly where she was. Then it was just the matter of using to the spell to trap her. To her credit, she still managed to hold still even as she was waist-deep into the ground. Then again, the lich was in combat mode, and was roaming around the area trying to look for the intruder. If she showed herself, the boss would be upon her in seconds. After a few more seconds, he deactivated the spell, and the ground began to harden. It would take considerable strength to break out, which he doubted a witch would be capable of. ''I almost feel bad about this,'' Manco thought as he loaded his crossbow with a Broadhead bolt. Poking his head just enough for a clear shot, he fired at what he guessed was her center of mass. [Power Shot]! The bolt zipped through the air and hit the invisible midair. Immediately, an agonized cry sounded and the cloak''s camouflaging effect worn off. "There you are!" A triumphant hiss let him know that the boss had noticed the hidden intruder. Manco lied flat on the balcony and held still while he closed in on his target. "Who was that? Who the fuck was that?" An angry voice drifted up from below. The question was punctuated by a fireball zipping over the balcony railing and hit the wall in front of Manco, showering him with fragments of stone and cinder. Morana must have figured out his location based on the crossbow bolt''s orientation. He ignored her and stayed silent. "Show yourself! You sneaking piece of shit!" The witch followed her demand with a string of colorful expletives, only stopping to scream in pain as the lich unleashed his spells on her. Manco listened to the sound of attacks and curses below. Within a minute, it was over. ''Hmm. I wonder if she''s learned that spell,'' he idly thought. After several more minutes of patrolling, the lich went back to the throne. The sound of its wheezy breathing got softer as it got further away. Then Manco heard a loud scraping sound as the massive door opened, letting him know the boss was back to idle mode. Peering down from the balcony, he saw something sparkling where Morana had fallen. Slowly, he made his way down to the entrance and scooped up the item, then left the boss room to inspect it. "A monocle?" He held up the item, which was a golden loop of metal wrapping around a transparent glass lens. ?Mimicking Master''s Monocle?(Unique) - Type: Accessory - Eye wear - Effect: Awareness +8% - Active Effect: Mimic + Learn any spell or technique. + The learner stands within 25 meters of the teacher and watches the execution from start to finish a few times. + Base chance to learn: 80%. Base numbers of watches required: 2. Actual numbers vary based on the two parties'' levels, attributes, spell complexity and other factors. + The spell or technique is condensed into a memory crystal. + Can create a maximum of 5 crystals. After that the item becomes unusable. Uses left: 3/5 - Notes: + 40% chance to drop upon owner''s death. + Only works on hostile NPCs ¡ª.¡ª "Nice!" He commented. "Too bad she only dropped one item!" Some of the most powerful and destructive spells in the entire game were possessed by bosses. These could not be learned anywhere except by using items like this one. However, learning them was quite difficult, considering one had to stand quite close to the boss, which was already risky enough. In addition, many spells could vaporize players within seconds, long before they could learn anything. Even a simple lich required several people to act as guinea pigs so that one person can learn the boss'' spell. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ''But why that spell, though?'' Manco scratched his head. Albeit powerful, that acid spray variant would be outclassed after the playerbase got pass level 50¡­ ''Ah, of course. The tournament.'' He nodded. He almost forgot. At that point, most players would be around level 50, so very few would possess a high tier cleansing spell. This would mean easy victories for her if she used this spell at the right moment. Besides, she had already learned two spells using this monocle. It looked like she was trying to use this thing up as quickly as possible to avoid losing it. Which was an entirely valid concern, considering what just happened. Looking back into the boss room, he saw the lich slowly regenerating his health. He did some mental calculations. By now, the witch should have already respawned and regrouped with her party. Then what would they do? They might rush to this dungeon as fast as they could. Of course, they wouldn''t be able to enter this specific instance again, but they might camp outside to catch him exiting it. Earlier they had spent one and a half hour to get here. Even if they rush, they wouldn''t be able to move much faster than before. Or, they might also be waiting in the town for him to return. Whichever option they picked, he had at least an hour to kill the boss and loot this place. "Alright, my turn!" Manco equipped the monocle. Having seen the boss'' arsenal of spells, he had picked the one he needed the most right now. After adjusting his loadout to better fight the undead, including exchanging the vials of poison for holy water, Manco climbed up the balcony and slowly made it toward the throne at the far side of the room. The Lich Count was sitting on his skull throne, looking tired. Its health bar was at about 15% and slowly creeping up. Apparently it had no healing spells and had to rely on its underling to heal it. In just a few moments, it would gather enough mana to resurrect those creatures. Taking out a vial of Alchemical Fire from his belt, he gave it a shake. Then he stood up and looked down at the boss. ¡¸Mimic¡¹! At the same time, he threw the vial. It sailed in a parabolic arc and shattered right between the lich''s bony feet, spreading orange-green flame that clung to the throne and his robe. Emitting a painful howl, the lich disappeared in a puff of smoke. It had teleported away from the throne. ¡²Success!¡³¡²Mimicry progress: 0% -> 51.5%!¡³ Ignoring the message, he scanned the room to search for the boss. A putrid smelling gust of wind blew at him from behind. "Shit!" Without thinking, he dove headfirst over the balcony railing. Behind him, he heard the hiss of corrosive eating through wood and stone. -35! He landed on his back and rolled to his feet. The fall took away some health but did not dislocate anything. Turning back toward the boss, who was now up on the balcony, he fired his tier-0 spells while slowly retreating. ¡¸Mana Bolt¡¹! ¡¸Fire Bolt¡¹! ¡¸Shadow Bolt¡¹! One projectiles after another shredded the balcony railing. Howling in pain, the boss ducked to avoid his attacks. "Hey, come down here!" Unable to get a clear shot, he chucked a Fireball at its approximate location. The gob of fire burst right above the boss, briefly setting it on fire and prompting another angry hiss. "Alright, suit yourself!" Manco jumped up a pillar fragment to have a better line of fire to the lich and fired a Mana Blast. The projectile hit it squarely in the head and exploded. With an angry howl, the lich jumped down from the balcony. Glaring at Manco with its fiery eyes, it charged straight at him. "That''s more like it!" He said, unsheathing his daggers, which had been doused in holy water. Seconds before collision, he crouched and dodged to the left, avoiding its powerful swipe. Pressing down on his heels, he bounced back up and drove the dagger into its torso. ¡¸Armor-Piercing Stab¡¹! -73! -15! -14! ... As the holy water steadily attacked the undead body, Manco unleashed his familiar combo. The initial strike temporarily lowered the enemy''s damage resistance. Next came Flurry. Chunks of putrid flesh flew away from the undead body. The lich howled and defended itself with its arm and occasionally striking back ineffectually. All the while, Manco paid close attention to its burning red eyes. Specifically, he waited for them to glow green. ''There!'' He dodged to his right, just in time to avoid the spray of corrosive liquid. ¡¸Empowered Strike¡¹! -156! -16! -17! -16! ... The upward blow struck the lich''s neck, nearly severing it. The undead staggered back, holding its head back in place. Sheathing one of his daggers, Manco retrieved the second vial of Alchemical Fire and prepared to throw it. Having learned the effect of the vial, the boss immediately teleported away. Which was exactly what he had hoped for. ¡¸Mimic¡¹! ¡²Success!¡³ ¡²Mimicry progress: 51.5% -> 100%!¡³ ¡²Spell learned: Spatial Displacement I¡³ "Alright!" Manco grinned. The percentage learned depended heavily on the type and tier of the spell in question. Higher tier required more attempts, that much was clear. However, offense oriented spells also took longer to learn. Low-tier utility spells could be learned in two or three tries. He took out his gun. Time to finish this fight.