《AfterWorld》 Chapter 1: Welcome
technically never was before either. What confronted his eyes was not his ten by thirteen-foot room with his poster of a model above the bed. Instead, above him was a grand painting, spreading as far as the eye could see across the high ceiling.
painfully real art that hovered over him. Chills kept running down his spine as the dream resurfaced in the boy¡¯s mind. A dreadful worry began to set in, and his eyes focused on the next part of the picture.
be answered in due time. For now, let me introduce myself to everyone." Turning away from Jake to include the others Silia took a breath before starting her introduction.
newly dead souls, to your new home!
Welcome To AfterWorld!
This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Chapter 2: Soul Gem ¡°A popup window?... Wait no, more importantly, did she say dead!?¡± Seeing a lot of people stare at her as if she took their favorite piece of food from them Silia giggled. "So what, did everyone think this was some fantastic little dream. That was super real with a smoking hot angel to bless your dreams?" Everyone in the group started looking side to side at the people around them. It dawned on them that they each had roughly the same thought. " Ms. Silia?" growled a bear. "Yes, what is it hairy?" replied Silia with a smirk. "You said we are dead. Then why is it that I can not remember myself dying?" The question caught Jake''s attention. Not only because it came from a creature that resembled a bear that stood like a man. But because it was what he had wanted to ask. He was too frozen in thought to speak up. He remembered that he woke up from a nightmare. Yet, with all the weird stuff happening since waking up, Jake forgot what he dreamed. If he died, he would hate not knowing how and why he passed. "Oh me oh my, what a wonderful question. Well, let us see what is it again... Ah yes, the reason you don''t remember is that... Drum roll, please! Because I do not know. The thing is no one knows why we forget about our death. Though some speculate different reasons, none have proven to be right. But, don''t worry sooner or later something will trigger and all your nightmares will come true. You will cry, piss or vomit at the scenes. Soo... For now be thankful you don''t have to see it." With a satisfied grin, Silia dropped the bomb onthe group in such an annoying way. Almost everyone wanted to smack the shard nuggets out of her. Though shortly after the aggravation left, a lot of people started to bawl. Some started to stare out into the void, while others acted as if it did not matter. They could giveno shard nuggets whether they were dead or live. For Jake, he felt a piece of his heartbreak ever so slightly. Tears threatened to flood out of his eye sockets that had somewhat sunken intohis skin. Thoughts of his family and friends flashed in his mind, what were they doing? While the group of saddened people wallowed in their self-pity. A giant airship soon docked near them. The ship was something of an exquisite masterpiece. Crafted from a type of wood that glowed with a light sheen of gold that sparkled in the sky. Along with beautiful carvings of animals and other creatures that lined its body. Large silver sails hung from their mast''s while they glittered as if there were stars sewn in them. The Mast''s themselves grew from the deck of the ship like a massive tree trunk. With glowing runes carved into the wood. The area around the rudder came gold and green dust that puffed out. It hinted at the possibility of an engine of some sorts in the lower deck. While everyone was still distracted, Silia boarded the vessel. Turning back to the group Silia purred. "Hey darlings, I know that you have some personal issues to work through, but I am on a tight schedule. So, please board the ship in a calm and orderly fashion." No one uttered a sound of complaint or any other sound while boarding the craft. Most just hung their heads down as they gazed at their feet. Jake snapped out of his sulk when Silia ordered them to board. Not because he was over the trauma of dying but because to him it still felt unreal. Plus, Jake needed answers. He was stuck here for eternity. Would he reunite with his family when they die? Was there a way back? These plus many other questions crowded his mind and distracted him from his pain. If he had not realized he had died, he probably would have been stoked to be flying on a ship. The group had flown for what felt like half a day around an enormous city filled with all sorts of sights. There was so much to see that hardly anyone could remember them all in one trip. Jake did not believe you could even visit the whole city in even a year. Packed along the main street stood every store you could imagine and some you could not even fathom. There were beautiful signs that glittered and lured the wandering shopper to them. Though, the smells that came from the food stalls were Jake''s favorite part of the city. More than a hundred times did a breeze pass his nose carrying the scent of some delicious food. The smells caused the mind to float in bliss and the stomach to growl. Jake was mindful of his location or else he would have followed his stomach and fallen off the ship. Yet, what made the city a wonder was the inhabitants. Jake was somewhat prepared for the variety in races from the group he was a part of. He had already seen a bearman, along with more common fantasy races. Even with the vast variety from the group, it still did not prepare Jake for the multitude of races. More than some races were a total mystery to Jake for he could not for the life of him figure out what they were. Near a food stall that sold some type of meat on a stick, there was a creature for lack of a better word. This thing looked like an odd mix between a giant, ogre and a spider. When it turned around and stuffed the ten meat sticks in its massive jaws. The ugly and bizarre creature almost caused Jake to hurl, "how could something like this exist." Thought Jake when he saw the beast. Its face was dark green with many creepy eyes that never blinked. It had no nose and its mouth was filled with a multitude of jagged teeth with two fangs hanging from the top jaw. The thing did not have ears that Jake could see norany hair ontop its head. As for the body, it had four legs that jutted out from a thick torso. This creature was a nightmare brought to life. Jake felt like it was more of a creature meant for the wild than a normal citizen and yet it was. Other than sightseeing, the group listened to Silia as she introduced the city. During the trip, one guy brought up the question about the popup window and what it was all about. Silia stopped to think about what the guy was talking about before a light seemed to dawn on her. ¡°Ah yes. Silly me, I almost forgot. Listen up! Ok, I am only going to explain this once... What you saw is what we call the P.I.S. which stands for the personal identification system. This will be your lifelong buddy while here in AfterWorld.¡± The system allowed one to pull up a status window which would show all the details about the host. There were other actions that P.I.S performed, but Silia told us to learn them later. "How do we use it?" asked a dwarf that had a long scruffy beard that almost touched the ground. Since he was a dwarf, it was not too long but still impressive for his size. ¡°Good question... okay, newbies I want you all to think in your mind abbracadoobrack alikazoom.¡± Everyone looked excited to try out this ability. Soon, many unfocused gazes sprang up among the group. Unable to quench his own curiosity the boy spoke in his mind. ¡°Abbracadoobrack alikazoom!¡± The boy stood there as he stared into the open air while it dawned on him and the rest that they had been duped. This lady was a clown disguised as an angel. With a hundred pairs of eyes glaring at her, Silia calmed her self down and took a deep breath. Once she regained her composer after her giggle fit she gave the group the right command. With the correct command which was pretty simple, the group along with the boy stared at a light blue screen that hovered in front of their faces. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Status Window
Name: Jake Home World: Earth
Age: 16 Years Soul Gems: 0
Race: Human Soul Energy: 100/100
Class: None Gold: 0
Job: None ?????????
Level: 1
Titles: None
Abilities: None
Looking at the status window, Jake was kind of confused. Some of the info made sense, such as his personal info or the bits about race and class and so on. Though soul gems, soul energy, and the hidden status caused some confusion. What purpose did they serve? Thinking up to here, Jake had a chill run up his body as a bad feeling passed through him. "Now listen I won''t go into much detail about your menus info, that''s for you to find out on your own. I will let you know some information free of charge. First, don''t worry about the hidden status for now. For most, it won''t ever matter to you, as for the window itself do not fret little darlings no one but yourself can see them. Well for the most part at least. Anyways for the most important detail soul gems and soul energy." Feeling his chest tighten a little, Jake leaned forward unconsciously to listen better. "So why oh why do these two matters so much. Well as all of youknow by now you are dead and part of the soul society, what that means is that you are now immortal... Kidding though you lost your mortal body and ended up here this is not the final death. I pray none of you will see it for a long time." Apparently, from her informationJake now had a soul body, this was like the mortal body from when he was alive. It needed food and water, you still would grow tired and need rest. Unfortunately, the bodies waste production was still active so bathrooms were still needed. But what sucked was that you could still get injured you could bleed, break bones and get sunburned. To Jake it sounded like a crappy deal he was dead but could still die and was just like a normal human. Though, as he listened he did find that there were some differences between bodies. Such as the ability to heal faster, wounds treated could heal many times faster than with a mortal body. Along with the fact that with time your stats could increase over time. Though, she felt bored on that subject and told us to figure out the other parts on our own. Spending more time with Silia, Jake could see what the jello was talking about. She definitely was not sweet on the inside. She was pretty much an annoying clown that liked to play dress up as an angle. "Anywho like I said you can surely die, and there are a few ways for that to happen. When that happens little ones... Let''s just say you won''t be seeing pretty ole'' me no you just will disappear. Now, how you ask does this pertain to soul energy and gems?" Pausing her speech to make sure she had an avid audience. Which she did, though it seemed everyone was in agreement that she was a pain in the ass. No one wanted to miss out on important info that could mean life or death. "Good everyone seems eager to know. Well, it''s quite simple really darlings... Your new found bodies run on soul energy so if you have a hundred points and then they go bye bye. Then poof no more little darling! That''s why you need the gems so remember to make sure every month you take one of these." Dropping the proverbial bomb like it was nothing. Silia did not even lose stride or stop to ask if there were questions. She continued while she pulled out a strange yet beautiful gem that seemed to pulse like a heart. It''s shape looked more like a crystal and it glowed with a soft red hue. Inside of the crystal there seemed to be little stars that swirled within. They caused little motions in the glow which made the gem a bit more stunning to look at. "This little bugger right here is what will keep your bodies ticking. The soul gem is what makes your soul body different than a mortal. In theory, as long as no one kills you with these you all can live forever. You won''t grow old or die as long as you keep your soul energy from hitting zero. Again, this is not including causes of death like murder. But since you''re in soul form you will not be getting sick so don''t worry about that. Well, there are some exceptions to that rule but you all are smart so discover those yourselves." With her speech over, she watched as the crowd soaked in her words. All different types of emotions passed through the crowd, some that seemed odd to others. While others were asking questions Jake fell silent while he looked at his soul energy. Only a few hours had passed but even so, the points were dwindling. "A single month, sheesh this is taking the phrase, ''Living month by month.'' to a scary degree." thought Jake as he listened to questions and answer echo around him. The day had finally ended for them as tour came to and end. Silia finished her part by bringing the group to a part of the city that had lots of different lodgings. A noticeably larger building stood out to the group among the many buildings. Off to the side read [Temporary Boarding Inn] painted on a sign. Leaving us in the care of an elderly looking man who ran the inn. Silia left in a hurry though she did gift everyone with their first soul gem. After the dust settled from her quick escape the old man advised the group. "Remember young ones wait till the end of the month to use those." With that, he turned and disappeared inside without further instructions. -------- As Jake laidon his cot in a huge room with all the other males from his group and a lot of others. Jake replayed the day and ran over the important info that he learned. Later in the night, he tried to recall his dream and his death but to no avail so he turned to his next goal. "I need a job, I already died once... I can''t let that happen again!" mumbled Jake to himself. Losing one life was already too much for him. He hated that he could not have experienced more before dying. But fate or luck gave him a second chance at living a fulfilling life, this one he planned to not lose. Falling to sleep his dreams revisited Jake as he tossed in turned. While the new arrivals slept dark shadows crept out among them. Chapter 3: Raven Gang During the night, the city turns on for the nightlife. All along the city''s main streets lamps light up the darkness. Filled with mana stones they cast enchanting colors across the city. Soft hues of red, blue and green light up the darkness giving off a feeling of magic to the night. While in the city squares bands played music that whisked the crowds into merry fools. The inns and bars open their doors causing a multitude of fragrances to rush into the streets. Strong aromas of freshly brewed hops and savory roasted food drift among the crowds. From the brothels scantilydressed women and men flood out to the streets. While the fools and swindlers come out to cause a stir in the festive night. With the lights in the city''s center bringing joy and merry mirth to the nightlife. The shadows creep further away to the alleyways and outskirts of the city where the slums and ghettos call home. In the dark quiet places, the other inhabitants of the night crawl out to play. Thieves, murderers, and gangs stretch their bodies as they spread out just beyond the lights reach. Ensuring to stay out the city''s guards sight as they wait for their preys to come into their open arms. In one forgotten building, a group garbed in black gear whispered their plans for the night. Far in the back of the building off in one of the side rooms, Trey slipped the last pieces of his gear on. Looking in the mirror that leaned against his wall, Trey took a deep breath as he looked at his reflection in the dim light from the moon. Staring back at him was an ageless face all to familiar and yet not. ''How many years has it been?'' thought Trey as he releasedhis breath. Fifty years have passed since he died. Fifty years of struggling to survive on a system so screwed that he missed his life in a world that he thought was tailored to only the rich. After dying and going to a new place, a place that his people thought would give one happiness and rest. Trey learned death is no escape from the hardships that the destitute struggle with in their life. No, it''s a world that only strengthens that. No rest for the wary...well, only if you want to cease to exist that is. "Maybe it''s time to fade away?" mumbled the gang leader. Knock...knock. "Hey, boss! You about ready? Everyone is starting to get antsy to get on with the heist," yelled Trey''s trusty henchman Rico. Swinging the door open Trey looks at Rico in the eye with a bored look, "Bah, let them dance a little. Fuck, the noobs have yet to even start to dream." with a yawn Trey stepped passed Rico as strolled toward the main room with a lazy gait. Drawing closer to the main room, Trey could hear his gang leaders as they start to grow aggravated. Slowing his steps, Trey quietly approaches while listening to his group''s discussion. "Waargghhz whatz taken cap so longz?" growled Vlorg. From the hall, Trey reached out a hand to Rico to ensure he stayed quiet. "Oh shut up, you dumb mutt! You know boss likes to take his sweet time and check himself out before each raid. Thinks himself some real looker, always gots to look his best in his fancy Notrak gear. Bloody dwarves make some great stuff, but who cares. We ain''t running a fashion show here." Shouted Trey''s intelligence officer Weasel. With his giant tusks reaching to the sky, Vlorg puffed out a hot deep breath as he growled at Weasel. "Bezt watch yerz self. I''z ain''t in no mood andz I''z might juztrelieve youz of yourz perty little headz." Glaring at Weasel until the willowy man broke gaze first, Vlorg huffed in annoyance at the spineless thing called a man. Across the table next to the one empty seat sat a dark elf. She was dressed in tight dark brown leather gear that hung to her body. Insinuating her moderate sized mountain tops along with her slim waist and thick hips. Albino skin that was as gorgeous as it was cold caused the dark elf''s beauty to deepen. In contrast, her deep violet eyes glowed with a warm but dangerous light. "Boys... boys... boys, settle down else you might say something you would regret. Isn''t that right captain?" purred the second in command Elilne a beautiful but deadly woman. Hearing the dark elf''s words, the rest of the officers shut up and all stood as Trey entered with his lazy gait. "Ahh every time Elilne, you always ruin my fun." yawned Trey in false annoyance. He knew he was found out by her with sharp hearing as soon as he drew within fiftymeters of her. Though, he wished she would let him have his fun once in a while. Though his officer of the brute force squad Vlorg should have heard him too with his orc hearing. The dumb brute barely ever paid attention to the small things. It was a testament to his luck he had not bit the dust in this world yet. Taking his seat with Rico off to the side and behind him, Trey looked at his five officers. Elilne was his second in command and in charge of the Silent Reapers. Vlorg led the Beserker Typhoons. Then there was Weaselwho was in charge of the Cryptic Stalkers. Sly demons able to learn anything and everything about a target. Next to Weasel sat his trusty brother in arms Aero, with his sticky fingers that led the Empty Pockets squad. Last but not least was Rina. The other vixen of the group with her fiery red hair and gigantic chest that screamed to be pillows for Trey. She led his most powerful group Mystic Skulls filled with mages. It took him many years to make a place he could call his own with a new family he could rely on. These were the reasons he chose not to give up on life. Them and thefact that running one of the larger gangs caused him to no longer struggle as he did before. "Alright, you degenerates. I won''t keep you all waiting anymore, we have fresh pups on the menu tonight." looking towards Weasel he asked, "What is the new total now since the new arrivals showed?" "Yes, boss. From what we gathered, a hundred arrived today to the east lodging. This makes the new count go up to three thousand and forty-three unsuspecting fat lambs ready for the taking." Replied Weasel with a cackle. With the numbers announced, the eyes around the table lit up with greed. Every few months theRavens gang would set out to rob the new little twerps of their free soul gems. With a total in the thousands along with possible new slaves, they were going to make off like a king in the night. The moon lit the world from the highest point in the sky bringing with it the deep quiet of the night. Hours passed since the nightlife found their way to their beds casting the city in a blanket of shadows. Only the guards were there to keep the evil hearts at bay, mostly that is.
As the new arrivals tossed and turned with their fit of dreams or nightmares. The Ravens crept closer to their targets making sure not to alert the guards or the old man who ran the inn. A scary fool he was, one not to be messed with that was for sure. This was a job meant only to rob some soul gems from easy victims, no killing or fighting. The only other agreed upon activity was to grab some pretties for the gang, boys and girls for those who desired them. Silently, the more than three hundred dark robed specters ghosted through the cots as quiet as mice. Grabbing soul gems here and there and the occasional girly or boy toy was gaged and snuck out. An hour passed in the silent night while the Ravensplayed theirthieving game of finder''s keeper when the silence broke with a roar. "Shit!" cursed Trey before dashing towards the noise. He remembered that was where his second had headed off towards only moments before. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Chapter 4: Argus "Ohh aren''t you a handsome one." purred Elilne as she soaked in the sight of a sleeping boy who seemed to be having a nightmare as sweat covered his face. His eyes were a beautiful blue that stole her heart... "Eyes?" mumbled Elilne in confusion as she stared into the boy''s eyes. "Rape me if you must, but be gentle!" Yelped Jake as he looked into the beautiful purple eyes of the dark elf hovering over him. His shout roused the sleeping bearman and other light sleepers in his vicinity. With an annoyed look crossing the elf''s face, she realized the boy''s plan. However, Elilne was too experienced to falter in her actions. With lightning fast speed she lunged towards him and gripped him by theneck. Lifting him from his bed, she sidestepped to avoid a clawed paw that swept her way. Around her men and women were getting up. Some backed further away with fear in their eyes, while others started prepping to defend themselves and find help. "Damn it, Trey is not going to be happy. You better be worth it." pouting as she parried the claws that reached for her. ... Argus attacked as soon he woke. In his world, hesitation led to death. As a warrior in his tribe, he was no stranger to trouble. So when he heard the shout, he knew things were bad. Seeing his bunk neighbor in trouble, he knew he had to act fast. Though, this assailant was proving to be more than he expected. For someone so tiny, she was awfully strong on top of being as swift as a thunder rabbit. Off in the distance, Argus could make out other dark-garbed intruders. "I''ll need all the help I can get" thought the bear as he decided to wake as many people as possible. With that, a loud aggressive roar passed his gruesome maw. "Damn it... Damn it... Damn it!" hissed the elf. While Elilne decided what to do, she felt some unpleasant happenings with her mounds. With a yelp, she threw Jake who began to suck down air as he regained his breath. Jake took a glance at his hand before he shot a smile at his attacker. "That''s what you deserve for trying to take my chastity!" When Elilne heard his shameless words. Her anger reached an all-time high as her face turned from its pink shade to that of red. How dare he pinch her mountain tops so damn hard and preach about his chastity. "I was going to make you my plaything! Your life could have been grand, but tonight I will torture you! I will make you beg me to kill you!" Her mood swing caused Jake to blanch in fright, especially since she now had a killing vibe as she attacked. Jake froze for only a moment when she lunged for him. Though she was fast, Jake had no plan to die again. With as much strength as he could muster, Jake lunged towards his cot. Flipping over the side of it and shifting the cot to defend his flank from attack. Jake successfully blocked the angry she-demon from reaching him with her dagger. However, Jake was mistaken about her abilities. The dagger that impaled the bed soon disappeared in a heap of smoke. No sooner than it vanished it reappeared behind Jake along with the elf. Feeling goosebumps rise on his neck, Jake fell forward to evade a strike from behind. The lucky move caused the elf to lose her target and stab into empty space. Thankfully, a giant fur-covered paw with sharp claws swept from behind the elf. With the heavy attack landing, the elf flew across the room before she regained control. With a hiss escaping her clenched teeth, Elilne was ready to attack again. Before she could attack Trey appeared from her side and stopped the fight. They could no longer waste time fighting, since too much attention had risen from this event. "I do not know how this trouble occurred nor do I care. You knew we could not afford to cause a ruckus. We must leave now, I have already issued the retreat. You would haveknown had you taken the time to look at your communicator." Seeing her boss show up, she knew the fight was over. The old man would be showing up soon and they could not afford to be here when he did. Glaring at Jake once more she disappeared in the shadows. Trey turned to glance at the boy who ruined his plans. As the two met eye to eye, Trey shook his head in frustration before leaving too. He could see why his second had made a mistake, the boy was just what she liked. Soon the area returned to its peaceful atmosphere, though none felt comfortable to let their guard down. After a few quiet moments, sounds of outrage or shock broke out among the many people. Lots of them found they were short a soul gem while a few found their neighbors missing. Guards appeared shortly after the gang left along with an old man that Jake had seen earlier. If he remembered correctly, he was the man in charge of this temporary inn. The guards spoke to the old man before spreading out among the people to gather clues to what caused the disturbance. Though for Jake none of this matter to him, other worries bounced in his head. When he looked into the elf''s eyes he could tell that this would not be the end. Yet from the man, he seemed to see pity in his eyes which confused Jake. Though tired, Jake made his way to the bearman. It took him a bit of courage to walk up to a giant black bear with red designs in its fur. The bearman stood quite a few feet above Jake causing him to look up into the face of the beast. This was definitely not something he could get used to. Sweat started pouring from his pores as he drew closer. But this man had saved his life and he needed to show his gratitude. His mother did not raise an ungrateful son. "Thank you, you really saved my life. Fraggin man, I am so glad I did not die right after dying." Looking at the puny human before him, the bear grunted in acknowledgment. "Your cry helped to alert me so I too thank you." Bowing his head in a slight motion, the bearman thanked the human. The bear felt shame since he usually was more alert to danger. "Ah, no problem ha... I am normally a deep sleeper but had a wicked nightmare. I think it''s from my death, but when I wake its gone. Anywho, thanks for saving me." Pausing as he thought what to do next, Jake than stretched his hand out toward Argus. "My name is Jake and I owe you one." An awkward moment passed and Jake thought he should retrieve his arm. But before he could a giant part reached passed his hand and gripped his arm. "Argus," growled the bear as he embraced Jake in the way his people showed respect. Stunned at what happened Jake paused before gripping the bear''s arm in return. Though since Argus''s arm was about the size of a log Jake found it awkward as he mostly grabbed fur. The two parted with a bit of respect for each other before returning to their own bunks. Laying down, Jake began to try to get some sleep. However, before he could achieve that desire, he felt a presence near him. With obvious reluctance, he opened his eyes again for the second time this night. Above him stood an old man with a gentle warm smile. The innkeeper stood there with patience as heobserved Jake. "So, it was you who alerted the room to the intruders. Hmm, well that is a good deed, a very good deed... Come with me." With that, the old man turned to leave before pausing once more, "You too." He motioned to Argus before resuming his short, but fast strides. Not knowing what to make of the situation, both Jake and Argus followed after the old man. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Chapter 5: A Goal [Part 1] Sometimes good comes from bad events. Never before did Jake truly believe it but luckily for him, it was true. With a grin on his face, Jake left the office of the innkeeper with Argus on his heels. Not even a week had passed, and they were already set for the next two months for soul gems. Of course, they would not go around loud and proud about it else someone become jealous and took action. Especially since a lot of poor victims were now set behind with no soul gems to their names. Unfortunately, there apparently was no reimbursement for the ones less fortunate. Thousands of individuals had a high cost to reimburse making it unrealistic to do so. Though it truly was a shame, nothing could be done except to wish them good luck. Even though Jake thought it was a sorry ordeal, he owed none of them anything. And, even if he did when he found out that a single gem would cost seven silver to buy, he already foresaw the uphill struggle he faced. It did not matter that he had a head start. Returning to his cot, Jake forced himself to sleep since his plans began tomorrow bright in early. A job was the first goal to make sure his future was secure.
With the moon rising into the sky, [The Last Barrel] opened its doors to the weary souls looking for relief from their day''s work. For Jake, it meant more work. After two weeks of job hunting, the inexperienced teenager found a job willing to take him in. Though it was only as a busboy, a job was a job. They still paid good money for a low-level job, ten silver coins a month. Now that might not sound like much to some people and they would be right, especially since the minimum wage was ten silver coins. However, it was enough to make by for the time being. Jake was not hurting at the moment for soul gems. This gave him a better starting point, which meant he could put his money elsewhere to gain better profits. Plus since the night of the attack, he and Argus had become good friends. They split rent as roommates, though Jake had to admit he was getting the better of the bargain. Not only was Argus a powerful friend to have, he also got a great job. Argus found a job at a soul gem store as a guard and with his strength and size, he was definitely a deterrent to troublemakers. Which meant he would pull in the big bucks. Pulling himself back from his thoughts, Jake continued with his work. His boss Shelline was a fair but strong boss and she did not like people who slacked off, lied or stole in her establishment. With her level at or around level five from what he heard from the other employees, Shelline was one woman you did not want to piss off. She would turn in to something awfully scary when mad. She somewhat reminded Jake of his mother when he had gotten her mad once, his ass hurt for a week. Thinking about his bosses level while he cleaned up a table, Jake shook his head in amusement at the memory he had when he found out she was level five. To him who played MMORPGs or any other level based game, level five was trash. Though that is still the case here from what he had gathered, it takes many years for people to advance levels. Due to difficulty in leveling, you would mainly see low levels. Moving to the next table that had just been cleared of guests, Jake pulled up his stats window. He had learned about it the other day.
Stats
Health: 100/100 Health Regen: .5 HP/m
Mana: 0 Mana Regen: 0 MP/s
Strength: 6 Agility: 7
Vitality: 0 Intelligence: 8
Luck: 10 Spirit: 1
Attack: 1 Defense: 1
Elemental Affinities
Fire: N/A Water: N/A
Wind: N/A Earth: N/A
Light: N/A Darkness: N/A
Looking over his stats Jake grimaced again, which had become a habit of his since learning about the window.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. This was what he was working with. His stats reflected the properties of his body before he died. From his investigation apparently, his strength, agility, and intelligence were at the average for a teenager. For comparison, apparently, a grown man who worked out a lot would have a strength stat around nine or ten. This was the same for the agility speck if they had trained in running or other agility sports. There were exceptions to this where the stats would be above ten, but those apparently would be rare cases. When he first learned about his weak points, Jake barely contained his curiosity and asked Argus what his base stats were. This was a major oversight in his thinking which he regretted shortly right away. Argus had pulled up his window and dropped the bomb on Jake. He had double Jakes stats, which rivaled even his bosses stats and she was level five. Knowing this one could only agree that the soul gem store was geniuses to pull him into their group. The only consolation prize was that his luck was awfully high to start off with, this was obviously a mistake since well he was dead and all. How lucky could he be? But, there it was and comparing it to Argus''s who had a measly two for luck, one could see the obvious winner. Future friendly gambling matches were his for the taking. Still, his stats didn''t matter so much. Regardless of what level he was, Jake could still earn a living and gain soul gems and live for a long time. Though he may struggle here and there at the beginning, who knew what the future would hold. He might own his own bar one day or something else and then he could have a good life for eternity. Pausing his footsteps on his way back to the kitchen, Jake felt a disgusted feeling brewing from the depths of his heart. Was this the extent of his desires, to exist and live a long mediocre life? Bussing tables, opening a store of his own and maybe finding a partner to live with for eternity. Unfortunately for Jake, his thoughts were interrupted abruptly when he stopped because he had stopped in the middle of the room. Jake not paying attention led him to be in the path of a drunkard who was also not aware of his surroundings. Though, the drunkard was a huge man with rippling muscles and an air of danger that circulated around him. Shortly after pausing in thought, the drunk man bumped into him and spilled the beer he had got from the bar counter. "Bloody hell!" cursed the drunk man as the beer spilled on to his body drenching him and causing his skin to feel sticky. With a crazed look in his eyes, the drunk man gazed at Jake with hate and anger as he sized up his victim. Sudden fear crept into Jake''s heart, he knew he was at fault for this. He should not have been distracted during work, "I am so sorry sir. Let me get you another beer and a rag to clean yourself." Hoping to appease the angry customer, Jake offered his help as he made for the counter. However, before he could get two steps away the drunk man pushed Jake on the floor. "You thought you could... hic... just make everything better... hic... with a rag and a new beer?" snarled the drunk slurring his words as he spoke. The room quieted down as the patrons turned to watch the show. "Oh, this should be fun! Mark always makes things bigger than they are when he is mad or drunk and now he is both." "I am taking bets on how long the little one lives, do I have any takers!" "I bet thirty seconds!" "I bet ten seconds!" "Poor child, RIP!" Around the room chatter about him reached Jake''s ears, causing him to shiver once more. Was this big idiot really going to make a big deal about this and possibly kill him? Jake hoped the boss would come out and save him if the drunk would really do that, but so far there was no sign of help. From the corner of his eyes, he could see none of his coworkers moving to get help. "Frack it," cursed Jake softly. Without warning, the drunk swung on Jake taking him by surprise and knocking him to the floor. With the force of the hit, Jake slid back a few feet before stopping. His head swam in a sea of stars as the sound of footsteps approached him. Soon he was lifted off the floor and into the air before his face was brought towards the drunk man''s. "Give me all... hic... your gems and... hic... maybe I will spare you!" snarled the man causing Jake to blanch from the stink wafting from his mouth. Anger and frustration built up inside of Jake, but what could he do. Though he knew how to fight a little from before he died, he was only level one here. The man, even if he was level one, was built like Argus and more than likely had stats that reflected that. With Jake''s luck, the guy was probably not level one so it did not even matter. Subconsciously his hand reached for his pocket where he stored his gems. Knowing these were the items needed to keep himself from dying, Jake had been worried to part with them. Now that worry would cost him two months of life if he even made it out of this predicament alive. "Fracking catfish what kind of good luck stat is this!" cursing again his hand found the gems and began to pull them out to present to his captor. Yet, before he could a sweet yet frightening voice purred from behind Jake, "Ah, there seems to be some fun going on in my humble little store. But, I don''t recall being invited to the fun?" Jake''s hand froze when he heard his boss speak, while a small breath he had not noticed he had held escaped his mouth. Though, it seemed the drunk was too stupid to notice the danger. For in the next moment, he slung Jake across the room causing him to slam into a table and almost fainting. The drunk then approached the lady that dared to interrupt his business. "Oi little lass... hic... How about you come with me to my chambers tonight... hic... And I will forget about your rude interruption. Otherwise, things might get unpleasant for you if don''t... hic." No one in the bar could tell you how she did it, but all everyone could agree on was how frightening her smile was before the idiot drunk disappeared from the bar with a loud crash in the street. Again the room became so quiet a needle falling could be heard, "Ah, why is my bar so quiet?" mumbled Shelline to her self. Though before her words even disappeared, the bard in the corner started playing again while everyone went back to what they had been doing, acting as if nothing had happened. This brought a grin to the boss''s face as she appeared before Jake, "Thank you, boss, I thought I was a..." before he could finish Jake saw her dropping three silver into his lap. Confused, Jake looked at the silver then at his boss before looking back at the silver, soon his confusion was cleared. "Grab your stuff and leave. I do not need worthless ants that are going to cause trouble in my bar instead of working." with that Shelline sauntered back off to her office without so much as a second glance at Jake. Chapter 6: A Goal [Part 2] A small apartment that had two rooms, a kitchen and a tiny living room. There was no furniture except for the essentials. Within one of the small rooms slept Argus who snored with the power to compete with the roar of a jet engine. For Jake who sat on the balcony, the sound was a perfect white noise to drown out the deathly quiet city. For someone who lived his life in a city that never seemed to sleep, this new city was too quiet for his taste. Tonight the snoring fell on deaf ears while Jake lost himself in thought. "Now what?" thought Jake as he gazed at the stars in the sky. The stars were so different from the ones he grew up with, even though they were still beautiful. They danced through the vast void twinkling in and out. Some flew across the sky as if to say "Watch myfinale moments of beauty." Coldness slithered up Jake''s body as the night grew darker. Though, he ignored it as memories overwhelmed him. His thoughts took him back to when he was seven. His father came home late that night but in his arms, he held a box for a telescope. Jake remembered that he had gone to bed late every night for over a month due to that telescope. Watching the night sky as it told tales of places far off in galaxiesyet explored. Dreams of adventure and discovery, filled his young head. They led him on fantastical ideas of venturing off into the unknown. Now, here he was in the unknown. He was scared of the future that presented itself. lost at the starting line before ever beginninghis adventure. What was he to do in this world? Letting out a deep breath, Jake thought of his family, friends and about the life he once had. He worried about his family and hoped they were moving on and not stuck in sorrow. "Mom, Dad I miss you guys..." Sitting in the quiet, his mind ran through the night''s events. Of course, he knew he was in the wrong but it was not fair. Jake knew the saying ''Life was not fair'' but this was the AfterWorld. But, it seemed even here the rule still stood that the strong were right. Shaking his head in frustration, Jake turned in for the night. There was nothing he could do about his level, at least nothing he knew about. With his head resting on his pillow, Jake began to doze off while thoughts of home drifted in and out of his conscious. While he slept away his worries for the night, a large drunk man hobbled away from the bar with help of his two friends. Soon they passed into the dark reaches of the city where even the guards dared not venture. They came upon a large abandoned building. Near one of the entrances, the symbol of a raven could be seen etched into the stone. The burly man and his two friends passed through the entrance without so much as a pause. Though once they entered they heard a man hidden in shadow snicker. "What happened to big bad Mikey? Did you drink so much you beat yourself up?" With a grunt, Mike ignored the taunt and carried on. He had things to discuss with his boss. The three made their way further into the building passing by curious gazes from the shadows. Soon they approached a door with the mark of a war hammer etched on its surface. This was the room of the leader of the Berserker Typhoons, one of the five officers within the Ravens. Knocking on the door, Mike waited for his boss to let them enter. After waiting for a few moments, a grunt came from the other side of the door causing the trio to stand a bit taller. "Whatz you want?" growled Vlorg from the room. "Hey, Boss it''s Mike. I have some things to report." "It''z better be gud. Come in andz make it quick." With the go-ahead, Mike and the two friends entered the room of the mighty Vlorg. Inside the room, one could only describe the decor as disturbing. Though in orc standards, it would be pleasant to the eyes. There were weapon racks randomly placed around the room. They were filled to the brim with gruesome killing tools of all kinds. The floors were covered in the hides of many different monsters, some that Mike could not name. On the walls hung trophies that Vlorg had killed, these were not his every day kills. No, these were the ones he fought hard to achieve. Disturbingly, they were not all only beasts. Some were of the humanoid type and others were human. This always caused the stomach of Mike to turn and fear to creep into his heart. The worst part of the room was the smell due to trash and food scraps along with the body odor of an Orc. Anyone who walked into this room would have to turn off their sense of smell to survive. Unless of course, they were Orc. Sitting at a table filled with all types of meats sat Vlorg with a drumstick in his jaws. Though, from what beast no one knew. "Speak and bestz make itz fast." Growled Vlorg as he paused his chewing. Mike let go of his friend''s shoulder as he stood a bit taller, trying to show strength in front of his boss. With his drunk state slipping away, Mike cleared his throat as he began his report. "Boss, tonight while the guys and I were out having fun..." Mike then went on to explain the events that unfolded, though some of it was exaggerated. Mike wanted the assault against him to be portrayed as an assault against the gang. During his story, Mike could see that his boss was growing mad by the second. This was an expected outcome since his boss was hot-headed. When he mentioned the twerp, his boss seemed to become slightly distracted. "Stop yourzblabbering!" Barked Vlorg as a light lit up in his mind. "Whatz did you sayz that boyz looked like?" Hearing his boss Mike was confused at first, but with hardly a pause he answered. "Short brown hair, blue eyes about sixteen or seventeen and about yay high." Replied Mike. After answering his boss, Mike grew confused. Never before had he seen his boss think so hard. Yet, there he was contemplatingwith so much energy Mike was worried smoke would appear. Silently, he waited. He was afraid to disturb his boss and make him lose his thought. Moments passed while the trio waited. After a while, a grunt followed by a frightful laugh erupted from their boss. The three shuddered at the sound that could cause a devil to flee. "I''z wonder whatz the bitch willz do for this info?" Mumbled Vlorg before looking at his three subordinates. "Very goodz you three, for nowz keep quiet aboutz thiz." Seeing the trio nod in understanding, Vlorg sent them away with a grunt. Chapter 7: A Goal [Part 3] In the shadows across from [The Last Barrel], two specters stood as they viewed the lively bar. People entered the bar with vigor and left with wobbly steps. "Are you sure they said my toy would be here?" Asked one of the specters with an annoyed, but oddlyseductive hiss. The other specter shied away unconsciouslyfrom the first before grunting in response. "Argh! I knowzwhat I heardz." With a bit of anger, the other specter defendeditself. At the words of the second specter, the first seemed to drop the matter before turning its gaze back to the happy little bar. Again the duo waited in silenceuntil the moon reached the middle of the sky. With no luck in finding their target, the two grew angry though for different reasons. "Enough of this, I want my plaything now! Vlorg we are going with plan b." With irritation in her voice,Elilne activated her mana to cast her spell.
Shadow-Port
Dissolving from the shadows Elilne appeared near the door of the bar. With no one around, she touched the ring on her finger. With a dim light, the ring spat out a dark cloak that Elilne swiftly wore to hide her shapely body. Once disguised, Elilne entered the bar and made her way to a corner seat hidden in the back. There she waited for the show to begin. Not long after did the play begin. With a loud crash, a giant orc rushed through the front door tearing it from the wall. The beast caused the building to shake and windows to break as it roared. The once lively bar grew deathly quiet as all eyes turned toward the ugly beast that had just barged in. Fear grew in their eyes as the orc surveyed the room. Of course, off in the corner, a beautiful but evil smile appeared under the hooded figure. The giant orc was none other than Vlorg, one of the officers under her command and her partner in tonight''s skit. With another growl, the beast made for the back room. Before it took more than a few steps, the door the beast was heading to swung open and out stepped a woman strapped in leather with a long sword that rested in her arms. "Who is the fucking retard that is making all the raucous? I am going to..." The warrior chocked on her words as her eyes landed on the large orc that stood before her. His red eyes bore through her causing her knees to shake and her strength to fade. This was not what she was expecting when she heard the shout. Looking at the bastard in front of her, she could tell he was stronger than her by at least a couple of levels. Thankfully, she had sent word to the city guards through her city gem, which was a magical gem that connected to the guard headquarters. All one needed to do was imbue it with some mana and a message could be sent. This was an item any smart business would have especially in situations like this. Gulping Shelline pushed down her fear as best she could, begging her legs to still themselves. Once she gained some of her willpower back, she cleared her throat. "What is it you want? Why have you destroyed my bar? You better give me a good answer else when the guards arrive the consequence will be dire." "HAAAHAA!"Vlorg roared with laughter at the tiny human ant before him. "Youz wish to threaten me... HAAAHAA... Little anttoday iz your lazt day alive." The orc continued to laugh as Shelline gripped her sword tighter. Sweat dripped while she tried to figure out how to escape. The problem was she could not just leave when there were so many people left. She worried that if she managed to escape they would become the angry orcs next targets. But what she could not understand was why she was being targeted. Though she could be a bit much, Shelline could not ever remember causing trouble with this orc. While she ran through many thoughts, the orc ceased its laughter before eyeing the other people. "Yallz have ten secondz to disappear elze all yallz will die too." WIth a gust of wind, the bar turned from full to empty in mare seconds. Though many of the patrons wished to defend the boss none stayed to help, this did not bother Shelline. In fact, she was relieved that they chose to leave. They were only normal citizens with probably the strongest being at level two. All they would accomplish was finding peace in their final deaths. That was not what Shelline desired to see. Even if she could keep her life, she knew there was no way she would be able to protect all of them and defend against thebeast. Though as the last of her loyal guests and employees exited, neither her nor the orc made a move. This was beneficial to her since it gave the guards more time to reach her. It was not that there were no guards nearby since usually there was, but that Vlorg had chosen the time to strike when the guards were further away. This gave him ample time to execute the mission and get away without issues. Shelline gripped her sword and moved her body slightly as she readied herself to defend. Yet when she got into position, nothing happened. The orc just glared at her and stood there like a rock. This unsettled her and caused her to glance around with a suspicion that this was all a setup. Soon her eyes landed on a hooded figure hidden in the corner of her bar. Confused, she wondered if this was a drunk who passed out and was unaware of the danger he was in. Shelline blinked her eyes in horror as she saw the body melt into the shadows before vanishing. Realizing that she was in bigger trouble than she thought, Shelline began to turn and flee. She was not a mage, but that did not mean she was helpless when it came to escaping. Mana began to infuse into her legs as she activated her movement skill.
Inferno Blitz
The Orc watched as the frightened human activated her skill. From her legs, a soft hue of red appeared as her muscles began to tighten and bulge. Before he could react, she was gone. Left in herwake were two trails of fire that scarred the wooden floor. Shelline smiled as she passed the dumb brute. The door to freedom was only a few steps in front of her. She was not sure where the other enemy was at, but she had confidence she could escape. ''They thought they could bully me?I am a certified copper member of the adventures guild. Not some random rookie.'' Shelline berated the fools in her head. They most likely thought she was just a regular human that had leveled up over time. That was their mistake because she was an adventurer, one who reached level five through combat along with gaining a class. She was not someone you could easily bully. In the next second before reaching the door, the frantic bar owner came to a sudden stop. She would have to swallow her contempt because the one in front of her was obviouslystronger than her. Goosebumps climbed her body as a biting cold stung her nerves.From her neck sat a cold black blade that released an aura of death. But what truly frightened the bar owner was not the blade but the purr that came after. "Where is my plaything?" Hearing the chilling voice caused Shelline to almost faint. Never before had she felt death so close. Now not only was it standingin front of her, but it had asked a crazy question. ''What plaything?'' Was the only thought that ran through her mind.
Again Jake''s luck stat seemed to help him in the most unusual of ways. Though, this was all unknown to him as he slept the night away after another unsuccessful day of job hunting.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Feeling the warm rays of themorning sun on his face, Jake woke from his rest feeling refreshed. The bright light caused him to shield his eyes as he woke up. When he was alive on Earth, Jake remembered that he was never a morning person. He dreaded waking up when the sun first rose into the sky. Now, he seemed to be fine waking up in the mornings, though he was not really happy about it in the end. Wanting to sleep in still, Jake had to force himself out of bed. His life was not yet at the point where he could laze about without a care in the world. No, at the present moment he needed to be on the move to ensure he had a future. With that in mind, Jake readied himself for the day. He needed to find a job today, one that could secure his future and allow him to enjoy the afterlife. Hours flew by while he hunted for a job and still no results could be seen. Stopping to eat lunch, Jake watched the crowds of people as they moved through the streets. As he ate his meager meal which was some type of burger, Jake sighed as he looked at his remaining funds. ''Two silver... Two frackin silver! What am I going to do? Should I sell one of my gems? It could help me with a few more days of expenses. But if I don''t find a job after a month, then I will be saying bye to this world already.'' Thoughts floated in Jake''s head as he ate his cheaper burger. Different ideas would form before being thrown aside. While Jake ate, a group of people walked up to the food stall talking out loud as they prepared to order. "I can''t believe that really happened, I mean she was pretty strong and yet she still ended up like that." "Yep. Dude, it was crazy like super frightening. Thankfully that orc lets us go, but it is sad that Shelline is now missing. I loved her bar." "Well, if you asked me that crazy woman got what she deserved. Always acting like she was better than us just because she was an adventurer." "Dude, that is not even cool. She could be dead right now and you are bashing her." The group kept on talking, but about some other topic. So, he chose to tune out. Finishing his meal, Jake disappeared into the crowd heading toward his old job. An hour later Jake stood in front of the bar, though after only a couple of days it had changed a lot. The door was no longer there for starters along with all the windows being broken. The sign out front was destroyed and from the inside leaked smoke from a past fire. All in all the building was ruined. Though, what stood out the most was the words on the outside written in blood. "Oh Jake, my little toy. Come find me in the shadows that are forgotten by the city. Look for the rulers of death that fly high and prey on lost souls. Else my new found toy may lose her head as we play." Reading the weird riddle Jake felt fear wash over him. He had only been here for less than a month and the only ones he could think of that he pissed off were the Ravens gang. "Shit!" Cursed Jake before turning around and leaving. There were many people around and some he had worked with. Not wanting anyone to recognize him, he decided to make himself scarce. ''I need to head home and try to figure out what to do next. That crazy lady is probably after me and there is no way I am walking into that trap, but I can''t just leave Shelline in danger. She did save my life the other day. Though she is a biscuit eater for firing me, she does not deserve death.'' Walking as fast as he could to get home, he rubbed his head to ease his headache. Thoughts came and went with no answer showing itself to him. ''I need strength. If I had power, none of this would have happened.'' As the thought entered his head an idea began to grow. "Didn''t those people before say something about adventurers?" Going back over the conversation he heard prior, Jake recalled that the bar owner had been an adventurer. Jake was not sure what that meant in this world, but from his world in video games and stories, there was always adventurers. With that idea came a few others, but the most pressing of them all was to find an adventurers guild and make a quest. With a new plan in mind, Jake made off towards the closest city guard. They knew the city the best and many times Jake had asked them for directions. Moments later Jake thanked the guard before running off in another direction. He had found that in Spiritborn, which was the name of the city that Jake now called home, there were four adventurer guild headquarters. This was due to how large the city was. Thankfully because of that he was not too far from the east headquarters and could reach the building in half an hour. Sprinting away, Jake hoped that adventure guilds were the same in stories from home. He also prayed that his plan would work and that his boss could survive long enough. Determination grew inside of his heart as he ran. No matter what happened after today, Jakeknew he needed strength. Chapter 8: Adventures Guild Off to the right of the large city-square stood a towering building built from a unique blue stone. The building was the focal point of this city-square, with its bluestone walls contrasting against the red brick and mortar that the otherbuildings were made from. The words Adventures Guild was engraved into the front of the building aboveits wooden double oak doors. The words glowed a multitudeof colors in the sun givingthose who stared at them a feeling of wonder and magic. From its walls hung banners inlaid with intricatedesigns. One looked like a tree with a sword and shield while another depicted a dragon breathing flames. Jake stood there amazed and full of anticipation. This was definitelysomething straight out of a fantasy story. Shaking himself out of his wonder, Jake pressed on toward the building passing through its open doors. He had business to take care of and now was not the time to dally in amazement. As he entered, Jake felt odd and it took him a moment to figure out why. After a second of thought, it dawned on him what the feeling was. The building had AC! This was amazing. Since arriving in this world, he had to deal with the moderate temperature no matter if he was home or in the bar. Looking around, Jake tried to find the air vents, but failed to discover the source that gave out the blessed air. ''Whatever. I''m not here for the AC,'' thought Jake as he took in the sights around him. Off to his right sat many tables. Some were filled with groups of armored men, women, and other humanoid beings. A few groups ate and drank in a merry mood, while others huddled together as they discussed plans. To his left was a large open area filled with people who stood before a wall filled with papers. Jake could only assume that was where quests were posted. Next to the wall of quests was a set of stairs leading further up to the next floor. In front of him was a long counter with many employees behind it. Some adventures were at the counter conducting what seemed to Jake as quest turn ins. "Is this your first time?" chirped a gentle voice from Jake''s side. Startled Jake flinched as he took a step back. "Oops, he...hee... Did I scare you?" Looking at the petite girl next to him, Jake relaxed while his cheeks bloomed in embarrassment. Scratching his head Jake replied, "is it that noticeable?" "Wel,l standing at the front door with a dumb look is kind of a dead give away," giggled the girl. Jake couldn''t deny that statement so he just decided to move away from that conversation. Since he had someone who seemed to know more about this place, he decided it was a good idea to see if shecould help him. Though first, he had to learn who she was. It would not be polite of him if he ignored introductions to go straight down to business. "Anyways, my name is Jake and yes this is my first time here." The two exchanged greetings, which helped Jake to learn more about this petite beauty. Her name was Trisslandeli Greystone, a long hard name to pronounce for Jake. Though, she laughed at his attempted and told him just to call her Triss. As they talked, the two moved over to an empty table so as not to be in the way of traffic into and out of the building. Jake learned that even though Triss was human, she was from a world called Salarrand that she was an actual adventurer here in AfterWorld. This was great news to Jake since he needed to make a quest, but was not sure what requirements he needed before going about it. What better way to find out than from an adventurer, though he soon realized he was mistaken. Triss told him that she only just became an adventure a couple weeks ago and was still in the process of looking for a team to join. "Honestly, your best bet is to ask the receptionist at the front desk. They are the ones that deal with quests, so I am sure you can figure out what you need from them." Chirped Triss after finding out why Jake was here for. After talking with her for a bit more about different things regarding the adventurers guild, Jake bid farewell before heading to the front desk. Though in his heart, he could not believe how lucky he was to get help from someone so beautiful and nice. He had no idea what to do when he got here and was worried about making a fool out of himself. But, thanks to the tan beauty withsapphire eyes and great body proportions he knew where to go. Coughing to clear his head of the random thoughts about Triss, Jake reached an empty spot in front of one of the receptionist. The lady behind the desk was short or more accurate she was a dwarf. Thankfully, she had a high enough chair otherwise she would not have been able to even look over the counter. She was pretty for a dwarf. Though, Jake was not sure what standards dwarves had for looks. Her long brown hair was braided with little gems mixed into her braids while her eyes resembled emeralds that gave her an earthly aura. Her skin wastan and soft in contrast to her male counterparts, though Jake assumed that this was not a trait all female dwarves shared. Seeing Jake approach, the female dwarf smiled before greeting him. "Hi! How can I help you?" Jake blanked for a second before adjusting his face. He had been surprised due to his own impression of dwarves and assumed she would have some sort of accent. It seemed he was mistaken in that assumption, which would make sense since the only dwarves he had ever seen were from movies or games. They, of course, all had heavy accents, but this was no movie or game so it would be unwise of him to assume about such stereotypes. Thankfully, he was able to understand her. This, of course, Jake had learned about on the first day of his arrival. Something to do with the laws of this world since so many lifeforms inhabited the world it would be ridiculous if everyone was unable to understand each other. Though Jake really didn''t understand how it worked since even the angle/witch did not know either. Pulling himself from his thoughts Jake went about explaining his dilemma to the receptionist. In only a matter of minutes, his request had been accepted. Apparently, the process of giving out quests was not too difficult and pretty much anyone could make one. There were rules of course, such as a reward being offered, adequate information given about quest and a scan of the quest giver. The last part was the more unique of the rules since it was done using a type of spell crystal that would record the person''s personal information so that if the quest was a fake or a trap. Then, the guild could put a bounty on the person with accurate details which made it a real deterrent to those who wished to cause mischief. With the quest made, Jake left the spirit gem with the receptionist before heading off toward the stairs. Jake had found out that the second floor was for those who wish to join the guild. This was his other reason for coming since it was all but impossible for him to find a job. Plus, with being attacked twice and not having any way to protect himself, becoming an adventure and gaining strength sounded good to him. Taking the stairs, Jake noticed an employee walk up to the quest bored and add a new one. ''Hopefully, this will save your life and then we can be even.'' Thinking this, Jake headed to the second floor. It was time for him to become an adventurer.
Far from the adventurers guild in The Raven''s hideout and deep in the hidden areas below the main building, soft frightening sounds could be heard. The bandits above flinched when they heard the agony filled screams.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "Fuck, man. No matter how many people I kill I always get the shivers when I hear those screams." "Tell me about it. Ms. Elilne is scary when she gets a new toy. How long do think this new one will last for?" "If she is lucky, she will die toda. You know she never lets them die so easily. I give her a week before she dies because that''s the shortest time she keeps any alive. Plus, from what I heard, this is not even the plaything she wants." Two bandits whispered as they went along with their business, making sure no one overheard them. They knew how scary the second was and they did not want to be one of her targets. As they left, a shadow shimmered in the dark for a moment. Shaking its head, the shadow faded back into the darkness. Moments later it reappeared below the hideout near a cell filled with screams full of pain. In the cell stood a tall woman with silver hair that fell past her pointy ears. Her pale skin shone brightly as the light from the torches washed over her. In her hands, she held two daggers. The shadow knew these to be the tall woman''s favorite daggers. She even knew that the woman had named them pain and agony. They were weird names for certain, but if you knew the woman you would know those were her favorite words. Blood dripped from the daggers smearing the floor crimson. It had been a day since the woman, no not woman, but new toy had been brought to the cell. With that much time already passed, the floor that once was dry now caressed a puddle of blood. Off to the side of the tall beauty stood a sickly looking man known only to the gang as Priest, a name that did not suit him at all. He was one of the subordinates of the tall beauty and he was her partner when she played. With his class being that of a cleric, he allowed the woman to play to her heart''s content. "Nico come out, come out where ever you are!" Purred the tall lady toward the shadows behind her. Dissolving from the darkness, Nico kneeled before her master. "Ah, there you are my sweet. So Nico darling, what do you have to report?" Nico chewed on her lip before answering, "Unfortunately master, I have yet to locate the boy. Either he has not heard about the incident or he doesn''t care and is staying hidden." The room grew colder even though Nico knew the temperature had not changed. Her body shivered at the silence, yet the next second a scream broke the quiet void. Behind her master was a woman who was strapped to a wooden table. Naked, the woman shivered with fear. Her once beautiful body was now marked with all sorts of disturbing wounds. From her breast leaked bright red blood from a new wicked wound. Nico cringed at the sight thankful it was not her on top the table. "Poor doggy, it seems you are not up to snuff anymore." From the corner of the room came the raspy voice of the priest. "Shut your putrid mouth worm. Else I shut it for you permanently." Barked Nico as she stared daggers at the slime of a man. If she had the chance, she would slit his throat in a heartbeat. "Now now children... play nice." Hearing her master, Nico shot one last glare at the slime before backing down. "Yes master." .... Seeing her two subordinates calm down, Elilne sighed in sadness before turning back to her toy. Leaning down close to the broken woman''s face, Elilne wiped the tears from the bloodshot eyes. Lifting her wet finger, she paused her hand midair as a thought floated in her head. "Darling, it seems you''re in luck. We will get to play much more!" Elilne tasted the tears as she smiled with bliss, "soon my toy, I will find you."
Meanwhile, Jake stepped onto the second floor of the guild building. Pausing in his stride toward thereceptionists''desk, Jake shivered as a cold feeling passed through him. ''What the heck was that?'' Shaking off the weird feeling, Jake made his way to an empty desk. Beforehimstood a friendly lookingcat-man. If Jake had to assume what breed the man took after, he would say acalicocat. Theman¡¯sfur was mostly white, spotted with splashes of orange and black. From his head sat two puffy pointy cat ears. They just called to be played with, forcing Jake to hold himself back. On thecat''snose sat a pair of glasses, making thecat-manlook sophisticated. Though, it only made Jake want to squeeze the cheeks of the cat person and play with its ears more. Jake loved cats when he was alive, so being before this adorable looking cat person caused Jake to struggle to hold himself back from lunging at the fluffy andsqueezehim. "Can I help you sir? Meow." Snapping out of his internaldilemma, Jake addressed thecat-man. ¡°I am wanting to become an adventurer.¡± ¡°Ah of course, of course, meow. Well, first let me introduce myself dare customer. My name is Softpelt. Meow. It will be my pleasure to assist you. Meow.¡± The Softpelt looked at Jake from head to toe before having him place his hand on a transparent giant crystal. Jake was not sure what the crystal showed the cat man, but he could infer it was probably a type of screening. After a short quiet moment that only had the random soft purring from Softpelt, the cat man looked at Jake before explaining the rules of the guild. Apparently, since Jake was only level one at the moment, he was unable to join as a full member. Normally, people would become what was known as copper members once they reached level five. This was to weed out the weak. For those who wanted to become an adventurer, there were two routes they could take. The first was to wait until they naturally reached level five, this was an acceptable way of joining. Though, it usually was frowned upon due to the fact that those who level up over time instead of through battle usually are weaker than their counterparts. Whereas the other option was to find a job that hired low levels as guards or footmen and train to level five that way. There were other alternatives that were less ideal, such as buying your own gear and trekking out into the wilds to train. This was a dangerous route since no one would be there to help you if you got yourself in danger. It was not a choice that never saw any light, there was always one or two that would take this direction and sometimes they would succeed. Normally, some adventurer would find random gear out in the wild. Jake listened to his options and felt his heart sink because none of those were viable to him. For one, he could not wait to reach level five since that took a very long time from what he had learned. It could easily take over twenty years. For Jake who did not have a job and only one soul gem to his name, he would be dead most likely after a month at this rate, as for the other options again they were not viable. Softpelt could see Jake''s anxiety about his choice and could not help but offer one last option. ¡°Well, there is actually another option. Meow. I normally don¡¯t mention this one since most people are against this route, but it is actually not a bad choice if you are dedicated and motivated to progress as an adventurer. Meow.¡± Waiting to see if Jake was interested in the last option, the calico cat man licked his paw before rubbing the back of his ear. Jake had been about to respond when he saw the cute action and lost track of himself for a second. A second later Jake coughed to alieve his embarrassment, though it seemed Softpelt had not noticed his odd behavior. ¡°Yes, please tell me. I have to become an adventurer!¡± With determination building in his eyes, Jake begged for a solution. Seeing the determination in the young lad''s eyes Softpelt sighed, ¡°Very well, I hope you don¡¯t regret your choice later.¡± Saying that the cat man turned and grabbed an odd colored crystal before turning back to Jake. Seeing the crystal made Jake hesitate for a moment as he felt his fate begin to stir. Chapter 9: Contract Member The crystal before him had a multitude of colors that swirled within its sphere. From the orb, Jake could feel a sense of pressure on his soul. This pressure mad Jake wary of the last option that was presented to him. But the thought of never growing stronger pushed him to suppress those feelings. Softpelt watched the reactions of the boy before him, amused a slight smile grew as he waited. Most tended to run when they felt the pressure on their souls. Jake was different though he frowned at first, Softpelt could see the determination grow. This only caused the cat-man to drive the bargain home, with hopes of the rewards he would receive. "Well, Jake this is our guilds last option for joining. Meow. It is a simple option, meow that will allow youto join before reaching level five. This is what we call the ''Soul Contract Orb'' with it you will become a contract member of the adventurers guild." "A contract member? That doesn''t sound so bad what''s the gimmick?" On Earth, there were plenty of people that were contractors and was just a different form of employment. There was a difference in employment but you would still earn your pay. But it was better safe than sorry to find out what the catch was in this option. "Well, the gimmick is that unlike a normal adventurer meow who gets certain privileges. Those under contract do not receive them meow." "Certain privileges?" Jake was not liking the way this conversation was going. Though he needed to know more before accepting. Jake did not have to fear since Softpelt was all too willing to explain. Pretty much those who contracted with the guild were straight up robbed before reaching level five. This meant that unlike E-Rank adventurers and those higher up in the ranks. When completing a quest instead of keeping all the loot it was instead divided with the guild. This was not something regular guild members needed to deal with. Whatever they acquired on quests was theirs unless it was a special quest item. Softpelt when on to explain when he saw Jake''s worry in the condition. "Think of it like this, you receive a quest to kill spiderlings and collect fifty of their fangs. Instead of just showing the fangs for the proof you will also have to turn in seventy-five percent of them to the guild. Of course, though you will have all rights to keep any extra ones over the quest amount along with any other drops." Hearing the explanation helped to ease Jake''s disinterest though it still sucked. But in the grand scheme, it was bearable for Jake. Also, regular members started with a minimum allowance of five gems per month. As long as they completed their quota each year of twenty-five quests. This was of course not earned the first year of their membership since they needed to reach the quota. However, for contract members, their allowance would stay at one gem per month each year. While they also had a requirement of completing thirty quests in a year at a minimum. This was not the end of the world for Jake since a single gem was all he required to survive each month. The real issue was that he found that he would lose out on fifty percent of the rewards total. Meaning no matter how much the quest offered he could only receive half of it. This was true highway robbery at its finest for sure, but at the same time, it was understandable. Even normal members would lose a percentage though theirs was drastically different. With them only losing fifteen percent as a fee to the guild. So in the end, though it sucked it was the way the cookie crumbled and there was nothing you could argue about at the end of the day. Jake listened closely to ensure he did not miss any important information. In the end, it only took a moment to mull it over before deciding. With the decision made Softpelt passed the odd color crystal toward Jake to have him sign the contract. The crystal stored your data along with the contracts info. This would technically bind your soul to the contract. Other than that it held no purposes. With the contract signed a blue screen popped up in front of him.
Attention: Contract Member
Welcome to Spiritborn''s Adventurers Guild your member status will be bound to this contract until you reach level five or you die. You will receive your new set of gear and be assigned a room should you desire one. You will have a week to ready yourself before having to set off on your first quest. This is optional and if you so desire you may choose to begin before your free week is finished. Remember after completing your first mandatory quest you will have a year to complete the other twenty-nine this will be up to you to finish. Should you fail to complete your quota during your contracted membership your status will be revoked. While future employment will be unavailable for the next ten years. Thank you for choosing our guild to join we wish you great adventures and happy hunting!
The giant wall of text scared Jake at first as it flooded his eyes, though he read it none the less. Closing the window Jake was assaulted with yetmore screens that followed.
Attention: Job Change!
Job: F-Rank Adventurer
Attention: Exp Reward!
100/1500
Attention: Guild Rep Increase!
10/100
Reading the popups Jake felt a slight headache brew, collecting himself Jake reviewed what popped up. The first one was understandable since it was just a reminder of what he just signed. Though the part about not being able to rejoin should he fail to keep his part of the contract was kind of harsh. But in a world where you could live a very long time, ten years was sort small in the grand scheme of things. The next pop up was also understandable since he had seen it once before when he had been hired at the bar. It had scared him when it appeared out of know the first time. The third and fourth window where pleasant surprises for Jake as he read them. The experience window was a sight for sore eyes to Jake. Now he would at least know how far he was from level two. With a glance, it seemed that he had not gained so much as a single point before this moment. Jake now could understand why it took so long to level naturally and was glad he would not be relying on that option. As for the last window, Jake was a bit confused on the matter, not sure what purpose it held and what it meant for him. Though before Jake sat the perfect person to ask, "What does guild rep mean?" Softpelt smiled at Jake''s question he had patiently waited for this exact question. New adventurers would ask the similar questions in each situation. For Softpelt it had become a sort of game he played each time he helped a guest. Figuring out what questions would be asked each time brought him a bit of joy to his daily life. "It is very simple. Meow. This is a system that tracks your reputation among our guild. By completing certain tasks while also doing quests, you will increase your reputation with us. Meow. Once you have reached tier oneor those above it you will unlock certain perks that will be available for you. Meow." The word perks caused Jake''s heart to beat fast he couldn''t wait to find out what they were. Asking a few more questions to the cat man Jake bid a farewell. It was time to talk with Argus before deciding what to do about his living arrangements. Of course, he also wanted to check out what quests he could do for his mandatory quota but that could be done later. Since Jake had otherthings to do like check out his starter gear and possibly find some people to party with. ---Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Status Window
Name: Jake Home World: Earth
Age: 16 Years Soul Gems: 1
Race: Human Soul Energy: 68/100
Class: None Gold: 0 / Silver:2 / Copper:50
Job: F-Rank: Adventurer (Contract Member) ?????????
Level: 1 Experience: 100/1000
Titles: None
Guild Reputation: Tier 0 - 10/100
Abilities: None
Back in his room, Jake enjoyed the warm rays of sunlight that blanketed him as he sprawled out on his bed. The warm embrace caused Jake to yawn and fight to stay awake. While looking at his status window, it amazed him every time he pulled it up. But seeing the new bits of information added had made the experience more enjoyable. Though reading the F-Rank status still brought him some discomfort. He tossed those feeling away since they were useless, he planned to change his rank fast. So there was no reason to fret about it now, everyone had to start somewhere on the road to greatness. His so happened to start at the very utmost bottom and as the saying goes, ''one can only go up from the bottom!'' Closing the status window Jake sat up so as not to doze off. Turning to look out at the city many thoughts flew around his head. The first thing was to let Argus know about his new job and decide whether to stay or move out. Since Argus was his first friend here he felt torn from the idea of leaving. But wanted to see what Argus''s decision on the matter would be. Clearing that thought out of his head for the time being Jake opened a brown leather bag the size of a coin purse. This was a unique item that every successful adventurer needed and to his luck he received one. It was the most exciting item that Jake received in his contract. This small bag was called a void pouch, though in Jake''s case it was the cheapest of the type. Even so, this was his most cherished item with an internal space of ten feet by ten feet. To Jake, it was like he had a small storage unit from Earth that hung from his hip. "I can''t believe they have these here!" With a shout of joy in his heart, Jake sent looks of love at the simple bag. In his previous life, Jake had read a few books with space rings and bags in them. Not just once but every time would he wish he could own one himself. Now his dream came true and all it took was dying which was a small price to pay. Since back then he even joked that he would die to get his hands on one. Pulling on the drawstrings Jake reached his hand into the small opening and pulled out a short sword. The short sword in his hand was one of the items given to new contract members. Focusing his gaze on the sword a blue pop up appeared before him.
Beginners Short Sword (Common)
A poorly made sword mass produced for those starting out as adventurers.
One-Handed Lvl 1 - 7
STR 4 Agility 5
10 - 15 Damage Durability 35/35
Letting out a sigh Jake put the sword away, he had been excited when he got the sword. But Softpelt had dashed his excitement once he explained the important information. "This is a basic short sword we give out to all the contracting members. Its stats are at the bare minimum required to venture out into the wild. Though it has a low requirementneeded in level, strength, and agility. The damage along with durability make it less than desirable. Once able I do recommend you upgrade to something a bit better in stats for your safety." These words replayed in Jake''s mind as he let out another heavy sigh. But what could he do? When he looked around town after leaving he found that gear was pretty expensive. There was definitely no way for him to afford something better. Especially if he wanted a weapon that was above a grey item or otherwise called acommon weapon. The grading system for gear had only caused his gear to look worse. From his point of view, his gear looked more like a Halloween costume than real equipment. "The ranking for gear is simple, starting at the bottom you have grey items they are also known ascommon items. The term iron comes from the designation that shows up in the items name whereas the color designation is shown in the coloring of the name..." Softpelt had explained the basics and though he explained that there was better gear. He chose to only explain up to unique items which were three tiers higher than his gear. He remarked that there was no need to delve deeper since the best Jake could hope for at the moment was rare items. While he would be lucky to even find unique items or be able to afford them. "For now that should be all you worry about, most likely you will never see the higher tiers. So, for now, I won''t burden your heart with that info. Instead, you should focus on what is within your reach! Meow!" Jake had felt frustrated at the hidden info that Softpelt left out. But he could not deny that his words made sense and so he had let the subject end there for time being. As for the rest of Jake''s gear to no surprise, it was all common items. With just enough stats in them to keep him from dying by strong winds. Sighing again in his heart Jake shook off his distraught feelings. For those who wanted power no amount of setbacks would hinder them. To reach the top he must struggle and fight against all the odds, and low-level gear was just one of many struggles to come. Chapter 10: White Wolf "Ah... Why must the sun be so damn bright?" Groaned Sai as he wobbled down a secluded back alley off of the main street. From a distance behind him, a couple of mesmerizing women giggled softly before calling after him. "Do come back soon sir Sai!" Tossing a hand in the air, he waved off the two ladiesas he made his way farther away. A sleazy grin grew on his unkempt face, he did not need their encouragementto return. Within the last two weeks that he had off, Sai had been to The Dove multiple times. Usually, he would break it up with a rest day, but sometimes he could not help himself from almost living at the place. It truly was an oasis for longing souls. Still, he needed to make sure that he checked in with his team from time to time. Though, he was sure they knew where to find him if the need arose. With the need to check in, he also needed to rest up. His stamina was low, so Sai carried on his way home. "Well, if it isn''t the mischievous sir Sai. On another stroll I see." Said a tall burly man with a cleaver resting in one of his giant hands. Sai greeted the butcher who would always give him a sarcastic remark each time he made his trip back from The Dove. "Yes, yes another wonderful stroll! With a beautiful morning like this, how could I not? Please, for the love of Aelia, keep your voice down. You''re giving me a raging headache!" With that, the two laughed before carrying on their way. Though for Sai, this was a ritual of sorts. It had been many years since he had come to live in Afterworld. Over the years he had met many of the folks on this same path. They had at first given him the cold shoulder since they all knew him to be a depraved soul riddledwith desires of the night in his heart. This was no secret to these folks who lived or worked on this path that leads to gates of the sultryquarters of The Dove. After awhile, they had learned to like Sai. Of course, this was mainly due to his fame that he had gained from joining his team. Nevertheless, the people began to greet him and soon they came to enjoy his walk of shame and so did he. After so many years, Sai grew to love these people that he had met on his walk to and from his escapades. Though he cherished their greetings with a major hangover, their voices caused his head to split. After a trip down the main street and a few confusing turns down other private streets, Sai set his sights on the elegant building he called home. When he was alive, Sai had never lived in such a place before. Now after dying, he gained the good fortune to do so. Unfortunately,this was not his alone. Instead, it was the base of his team known throughout the city of Novas. The White Wolf Squad was a five-manteam that grew its fame about a hundred years ago. They lived in this fancy house and Sai, the Elemental Earth Mage of the team, made it his home a while ago. Though after so many years, Sai and the rest could easily afford to live in their own home. With all they had been through, the group felt more comfortable staying under the same roof. Pushing the gates open, Sai made his way toward the front door. With atired grip, he turned the knob and slowly opened it. Passing through the door frame, Sai paused his steps. His eyes landed on the bodies surrounding the war table as they liked to call it. Seeing his teammates huddled together, Sai''s thoughts returned to ideas about his own place and decided he might as well find a new place to live. With silent steps, Sai tried to escape. Before he could take a step out the door, the gentle but strong voice of his leader reached his ears. "Now, where might the mighty mage Sai be going? Ah! I know he must be eager to go out and shop for supplies. What a guy if that is your..." Before his leader could continue and actually send him on such an endeavor,Sai appeared out of nowhere next to his teammates. "My, my Victor, your jokes are getting better and better. You know how much I love these meetings. Plus, I would never want to deprive Trosz from being able to shop!" With the joking out of the way, the team returned to the business at hand and like Sai had assumed it was another quest. This sucked for Sai due to the fact that he was not ready to venture off into the wild with these four brothers again. Even if he had grown fond of the four teammates, Sai was one who hated not being in the company of beautiful women. To the credit of bad luck, his team was the opposite of that. Now, if he had his way, he would instantly drop this team and join the wonderful and gorgeous team called Angel''s Sentry. Now that was a team that filled to the brim with beautiful, sexy and drop dead gorgeous women. It truly was a team made just for Sai. Unfortunately, they had a rule that meant he could never join, but that was not the real reason he was unhappy to go back out on a quest. No, the real reason was that usually, their leave time was at minimum a month and at max three. This time it had only been two weeks. This was outright unjust for the womanizer known as Sai who had big plans to squander his earnings at The Dove. "Boss, I get that is sad someone has been kidnapped, but why are we taking this case? The reward is only one soul gem, plus it''s not like its impossible for other teams to rescue her." Looking at the man to his left, Sai nodded in agreement. Kael had a good point and it was the one he wanted to point out himself. Due to arriving late, he had hesitated to voice his opinions on the quest. Thankfully, his monkey friend Kael was on the same wavelength as him. Kael was a beast-man from a tribe known as the Wakudol. They were a life form known as the Flame-tail chips. Though, unlike a regular monkey, they had a humanoid form covered in bright orange and red fur. Of course, like their name mentioned, they each had a tail with a small flame at the end. This was a curious thing since it released no heat and would not catch anything on fire. All it did was represent the level of affinity with fire the members of their race had, which would help them to determine who was stronger even without a fight. Turning away from his buddy after sending him a secret thumbs up, Sai focused his attention on his leader with hopes that reasoning was a lame one so he could find a way out of it. The rest of the team turned to their leader too as they waited for the answer. Not all of them thought the same way as Sai, but never the less they needed a good reason. Even though they agreed it was a shame that someone was kidnapped, it was not an uncommon occurrence. They are a C-Rank team and usually, it required a quest of a higher level and importance to attract their attention. Not that they were heartless, but for adventures that had reached D+ and C level in the adventures guild. It would only be a joke if they went out every time a person was taken. That was a job for the guards or lower level teams not for them, especially since there were only seven C-Rank teams in the city. Their responsibilities centered around quests targeted at C-Rank quests and low-level B quests. This job was at most a D-Rank quest and so it was understandable that they were curious since the reward was so pathetic. They never did a job that was less than fifty soul gems in value. Seeing his team''s questioning eyes, Victor sighed. In his heart, he knew he had to explain, but that did not make it any easier since this was a private matter to him. Clearing his throat, he looked at each of his brothers in arms, "She is someone important to me. That is all you degenerates need to know, got it!" Though their leader had said that in an authoritative voice, none of them were butthurt by it or by the way he had addressed them. That was the normal way they would talk to each other. Instead, the group let out a bark of laughter and shrugged in defeat at the reason. They were not idiots and there had been other times that they had decided to take on quest due to personal reasons. So, they left it at that. Of course, for the man whose life revolved around thoughts of women, he could only guess at how beautiful this damsel had to be to become important to their stoic leader. Plus, he felt a bit of dread for those who stupidly grabbed someone with a backing such as theirs. With the reason for the quest figured out, the group returned to the matter at hand. Many things needed to be discussed and planned as time was of the essence.
"Are you positive that is what you saw?" "Yes, master! There is no doubt about it. They are the ones who had accepted the quest." From the shadows, two voices whispered. Though, after the second voice had responded, the first had fallen quiet for an extended time. While the second voice waited, people passed to and fro by the alley they hid in. None seemed to notice the shadows that had darkened the path, nor did anyone hear the voices that echoed in the shadows. It was as if two worlds existed one of light and one of the dark. Those of the light ignored that which hid in darkness as if it did not exist. Maybe it was not that they ignored them, but that they were ignorant of the darkness, to begin with. This, of course, was a normal occurrence for the shadow. In fact, it would be worried if someone had actually noticed them instead. However, that was unlikely since most of those that passed by were toolow-level to notice or they were just oblivious to danger within the cities protection. Returning its focus, the second shadow began to grow worried at the silence. Never the less, it too remained silent in fear of interrupting its master''s thoughts. Soon the silences broke, "you have done well. Return to the original objective, and I will let the mistress know about this." With those words, silence returned to thealley. The shadows had vanished from the area, which soon caused the hidden corner they were in to brighten a bit. When it did, a young man paused next to the path and scratched his head. It seemed he needed to lay down since his eyes apparently were playing tricks on his mind. Later in the day, a similar shadow reappeared in a dungeon deep underground. Moments passed before it swiftly disappeared again shortly after. The shadow did not care if that place was the territory of its master. Whenever it was down there, fear would creep into its heart. So with haste, the shadow would relay its message and leave as fast as possible each time. "So, my toy is smarter than he looks. Unfortunately, he has ruined my plans yet again. Oh, what shall I do with him once I get him." Purred Elilne as she contemplated the news. "Well, that will have to wait for now. Instead, I must make a change of plans with you my pretty." Turning back to the table that held a broken body of what once was a beautiful woman, Elilne puzzled over what to do with her. She had planned to torture her until she had gotten the boy, but he had passed that mantle onto others. Thisreally put a kink into her plans especially since she did not want to deal with Victor. He was troublesome and now was not the time to play with troublesome people. The broken body just laid there with eyes that screamed for sweet death to come. None would come, yet a spark of hope slowly rose at the mention of Victor. She only knew of one person named Victor that could be considered troublesome to this witch. Although, the next words caused the hope to in her eyes to change in an odd way. "I could just kill her and let one our members take the fall for it, even if he is upset over this. As long as he can kill the fall guy, all should be good... Though what fun would that be?" As she struggled to make a discount her trusty servant Priest spoke up. Off to the side, the sickly cleric cleaned the torture tools. Though, the attentive cleric paid attention to his mistress''s mumbling. Conflicted with his mistress''s dilemma, he could not help but mull over the options in his mind hoping to find a solution that can earn him praise from his mistress. Soon a light dawned in his mind that made him grin in anticipation, "this should do nicely." Thought the cleric as he fidgeted with excitement. The potential praise he would receive caused his body to shiver. "If I may my mistress, we can always turn her into one of them. That will surely be a fun show to watch and could even further our objective." Hearing the idea cause a wicked smile to grow upon her mesmerizing face. When it did, shivers passed about and down the Priest''s body. His face flushed with joy and pleasure at the sight of his mistress''s happy face. "Good, good, good!" Purred Elilne as she caressedthe face of the broken body. "We are going to have so much fun!" Shelline''s emotions surged in many ways. From despair, to hope of freedom and then back to the hope of death. Now it had fallen again back to fear and despair. In the end, she just wanted to escape mentally from this hell and find peace in the final rest. With an evil laugh, the room plunged into darkness filled with horrifying screams. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Chapter 11: The First Quest Jake climbed inside of a plain carriage, this one was a daily transport that took adventurers to the forward operating base. The base was a strategic outpost used by all adventurers regardless of level. It acted as a place of rest and allowed those who were out on a quest to restock and sell their wares. For new adventurers, it was also a place that allowed them to find a team to party up with. This was a goal Jake wanted to achieve if possible. Though some brave souls would go out on their own, Jake was no such soul. Though he had enough guts to go out and fight he did not want to find an early death. Some of the people from other worlds grew up as fighters. So for them becoming an adventurer was just a matter of fact. They had the knowledge and skill to go out on their own and grow stronger in this new world. Jake, however, had the luxury and fortune to live in a world that did not revolve around the notion of the strong will survive. But that also meant he was unskilled in survival and combat. Even though he had taken some boxing classes he knew he was still an amateur fighter. Since that was the case Jake knew he needed to find a party that could teach him the ropes or at least for them to watch his back. Else this first quest would probably be his last one which was not part of his plan. As these thoughts ran wild through Jake''s mind the wagon took off and bounded out the city gates. A world straight out of a high fantasy novel was presented to Jake. Of course, this was no story but reality which made Jake grow more in awe of the beauty throughout this world. The scenery around him was nothing magical yet the trees and hills created a picture that caused Jake''s heart to beat fast. While lost in the beauty, those around him seemed less in awe. But for a boy who grew up in a metal jungle, Jake could care less if he was laughed at. This was a world filled with wonder and danger and that added to the beauty of the woods around him. It caused his breathing to quickened as he thought of what hid deep in the dark parts of the woods. But uneventfully the trip had no issues as it made its way to the base. Jake assumed itwas because of the proximity to the city and that was why the quests all took place further out. This would also explain why a base was built out so far. If the quests were in the immediate vicinity of the city, adventurers could just head back each night. Though the trip was a calm one it was also a long and boring trip which gave Jake time to organize his thoughts and plans. He had let Argus know where he was going two days ago and after a short conversation, he decided to leave and take up residence in the guild. He had to let him down easily the first break up was tough though it seemed it was tougher for Jake then for Argus. In the end, this was for the best now that he was in the guild barracks rent was no longer an issue. Which was great since he was pretty much broke and probably for the foreseeable future, unfortunately. Looking through his new space bag Jake inventoried his new items.
Items
Small Health Potion x5 Small Stamina Potion x5
Lessar Teleport Scroll x1 Basic Food Rations x50
Basic Leather Flask x1 Fire Starter Pack x1
Torch x1 Basic Skinning Knife x1
After moving into his new room Jake had made his way to the local market to pick up some items. He heard he could also buy some at the base but the prices were a bit more expensive. He spent his last two pieces of silver to buy his starter gear, this meant he was truly broke. But in the end it was all worth it, he was not sure what he would encounter out in the wild and to the best of his ability, he wanted to be prepared. Luckily the majority of items were reasonable in price. What really hurt his wallet was the teleport scroll it had cost half a silver coinon its own. While the rest of the items together add up to around ninety copper.These were cheap here due to the fact most people did not need these items and they were all of the lowest tier available. The teleportation scroll was pricey due to its function and manufacturing cost plus anyone could use it. He knew the potions would be more expensive out at the base so he was happy he could get a few now. Jake knew he needed to save wherever he could if he wished to survive in this world. After getting his gear Jake had stared at the quest board for like half an hour before choosing his starting quest. These were all F-ranked quests but even so, the difficulty could still differ a bit between one quest to the next. Out of all the quests, three had piqued his interest the most, one of them was to kill F-rankedslimes. The quest asked for a total of fifteen slimes to be killed with the slime nucleus''s turned in. This was a tempting quest since slimes were for the most part weak monsters. The issue was that for the most part, they were immune to physical damage. At the moment he was lacking in the magic department. He had looked for some items that could cast basic spells but they cost way to much and so that was out of the question. The other quest was equally interesting it was to gather three hundred and fifty stalks of Devil''s Redweed. The issue with this was equally troublesome. The plant despite its name was not red from what he gathered around the guild. Unless he was able to afford an index on herbology he would most likely not be able to identify it. On top of that, there was a herb container needed to store and preserve them. Plus one needed a type of gathering spell that coated your hands with mana. It allowed you to harvest the herbs without much loss to the mana in the plant. This spell was acquired from a herbologist trade teacher and was a costly endeavor. Though these were all F-rank in nature most F-rank adventurers had been in this world for a while before they became an adventurer. So for them, the prices needed to allow them to accomplish some of these tasks were not out of their reach. For Jake who had to use an alternative way of joining he was lacking in many areas. This caused him to have fewer options available to him when it came to choosing a quest. In the end, Jake had to choose the last quest that had caught his attention. This one was more in his range of ability to complete.
Quest: Rabid Dogs
Description:The area around the FOB has always had an infestation of rabid dogs theseF+Ranked beasts repopulate at an alarming rate if unchecked. Due to this, they are kept as a constant quest for low-level adventurers. If unkept though they are weak their numbers can become a threat. They are a nuisance to the farmlands out of the city limits and must be kept to low numbers to decrease their danger level. Traits: Slightly larger than house pets with a bite that can cause poison effects to targets. They are pack oriented and usually roam in groups of 3-5. Their teeth can be used in many concoctions and are a common material sought after. Tasks: Kill 50 rabid dogs within two weeks. These beast repopulate very fast. In order to keep them from overflowing the farms and villages, they need to be weeded down in a short amount of time. Collect 25 infected canine fangs. Progress:0/35 Dog teeth Progress:0/50 stray dogs
Reward: 1. Soul Gem x1 2. 15 Silver 3.Antidote Cream x3
This quest was a favorable choice in Jake''s mind since he would gain a bit. Even though he had to turn in half of the teeth into the guild. The real gut wrench thrown into the situation was losing half of the silver to the guild. Others would only have to pay around 15% while he would have to pay 50%. This about made him cry since out of the fifteen silver he would only get to keep seven silver and fifty copper. "I must endure, I must endure," whispering the mantra Jake stifled his agony and straightened himself out. Crying over spilled milk would not help the situation. In the long run, it was not a horrible circumstance anyways. Pulling his head out of his thoughts Jaketook in the group of people sharing his wagon. They were all for the most part adventurers like him, and from what he could tell they were low-levels too. Though he was not sure if they were brand new like him or not. It was not uncommon for the lower level adventurers to travel back and forth from time to time. That was how these carriage drivers earned their livings. In his carriage sat seven other people there were two men and surprisingly five women. It was not an uncommon sight for there to be female adventurers. Jake was just shocked that the guys were outnumbered in this carriage. Sneaking a peek at his traveling companions Jake noticed that the two guys seemed to be solo adventurers. While it seemed that three of the five women were a team. The other two sat quietly neither talking to each other or anyone else. That made it hard for Jake to know if they were a team or not. One of the two was decked out and pretty good gear compared to everyone else. She was most likely the highest ranked of the bunch. She had a set of dark leather armor that hung to her shapely body, laying across her lap was her short sword. The swordhad a curved blade from what Jake could tell from its sheath. Thegrip was unadorned and wrapped in strips of dried leather. There was no cross-guard to the sword and the pommel was just a solid piece of metal with no engravings or jewels. Though it looked simple Jake had a feeling it was much better than his short sword. Other than the sword Jake could see no other weapons, but that did not mean she did not have any. As he snuck glances at her he noticed her skin was apale white color with a tint of blue to it. This was obviously not a normal shade of skin and caught him off guard. Jake could not deny that even with her skin tone she was a beauty. Her crimson eyes were especially pretty, they bore through him as he made eye contact with her. "Shit!" mumbled Jake as he flashed a friendly smile before looking away. His cheeks blushed in embarrassment though he calmed down shortly after. With his head clear the sound of a conversation near him drifted into his ears. "I am telling you its true, I really did hear it!" Whined one of the girls in the all-girls party. Around her, she garnered looks of amusement before a tall girl next to her spoke. "Come now Lily it''s not that we don''t believe you... But you are known to make up things from time to time. Your imagination tends to fill in the gaps when you hear something interesting." Lily stuck her tongue out at the taller girl before her tiny face scrunched up into an unamused frown. After a short pause she resumed her chirping. Jake turned towards her and this time he noticed that she resembled the stereotype of a loli! Lily pointed a finger at her friend before puffing up her nonexistent chest and declaring. "I swear Jacqueline you''re insufferable." Lily paused and said, "This time I am being serious I am not imagining anything! With that final sentence, she stomped her tiny boot on the carriage floor as she pouted. "Fine if it will make you happy tell us what this big scoop is you heard." Said, Jacqueline, as she rolled her eyes in surrender. Lily who was pouting just a second ago suddenly did a three-sixty and turned into a cute bubbly persona. Not a missing a beat shelaunched right into her gossip. "He... he! Soapparently about a week ago a bright light fell in the outer forest!" She paused to check if her friends had grown curious. When she noticed their eyes were glued on her she continued with a slight grin as she spoke. "They say it is probably a legendary item or ancient artifact..." The two girls took in gasps of breath at the words of legendary and ancient, the taller girl interrupted her friend at this point. "Did anyone find it yet?" At this question, even Jake seemed to lean forward as his curiosity had spiked. The loli thought for a second with her tiny pointer finger pressed up against her lips before she spoke again. "Well like I said this happened a week ago and apparently so far no news has come out about its whereabouts. From what I heard those who went out to find it either disappeared while others searched with no results." At that everyone seemed to calm down if the ones at the levels high enough to go search for them came up empty there was not much to say about them. Though it was interesting to think that something so amazing had fallen close to them. If only they were lucky enough to get the item their lives would change. Though Jake had thought that most likely if any of them had come into contact with the item their lives would probably be forfeited. One must have the strength to hold on to things like that else it was just the same as signing your life away. With that thought, Jake took another glance at the geared out chick and wondered if that was why she was out here. The girls began to discuss normal topics and so Jake decided to lay back and relax the rest of the way. As he closed his eyes thoughts of home drifted into his mind. ... Two days passed since he left the city and today was the day he arrived at the base. Large wooden walls greeted them as they drove throughthe front gates. On the walls were many archers that kept a watchful eye on those who entered. As they went through the gates Jake noticed adventures coming and going. Some that came back looked worse for the wear while others smiled and laughed. A little ways outside of the gates down the road opposite of where they were coming from Jake noticed a large field. There were many adventures fighting against mobs of dogs and some other beasts. This gave Jake an odd feeling like he was living in a real-life video game. This would be the starter area in those types of games. But this was also good news since it seemed those were the ones he needed to kill and since it was not far from base Jake felt more confident. Soon his sight was obstructed after passing through the gates. Once inside the carriage came to a stop near a wooden building with the words Crappy Inn. This caused Jake not to know if he should laugh or cry but never the less he and the others got off and headed into the inn. Jake though had no coins to pay for a room and so after looking at the prices he headed back out to look around. The little base was slightly crowded with all its accommodations. Though it did not have everything you could find in the city. It had enough that those that wanted to could live out here for some time with the need to return back to the city. There were a couple of places besides the inn that served food. Other then the inn there was also a few building that could be used to house adventures. These were larger and offered more privacy and or luxury for ahigher price. There was also a blacksmith and some weapon/armor stores that offered pretty good gear. Many more accommodationslittered the streets causing the small base to feel cramped but full of life. "There is still quite a bit of day time left, I need to seize the moment to gather some funds." Of course, he also wanted to find a team to help him but along his stroll, he had tried his luck and fell empty. No one was in need of a new adventure and so, unfortunately, he would have to risk his neckfighting solo. Without delay he set off for the open field of mobs, thankfully it was not too far away from the base. "If I need to I can just make a mad dash back to the base, there is no way in hell I am going to die on my first quest!" Jake closed in on the field and paused to watch the movements of the others that were spread out across the field. Though he could see many people the field was very large. There was enough room that no two groups were within fifty yards of each other. As for the dogs, they wandered all over the field either looking for food or for some other unknown reason. They seemed to have a certain distance that they became aggressive. Because though he assumed the dogs could see adventures all over they never went out of their way to attack. Apparently, they only grew aggressive when they entered ten yards of one of the teams. This was important information for Jake and so he spent a few more minutes verifying if that was the case. To his luck, it seemed that unless he purposely aggroed them he would only have to deal with one group at a time. Through his observation, he also picked up some tricks to takingthe dogs down and this was the other reason for his stalling. Jake never had to fight with a wild animal before especially not one that would kill him given the chance. Jake wanted to gain any advantage he could before throwing himself into the lion''s den or in this instance the dog''s cage. Taking a deep breath Jake reached for his sword and unsheathed it. With a fire in his eyes Jake marched into the field his eyes zeroed in on a pair of dogs closes to the edge. His first quest would begin with these two and then he would become a real adventurer. Chapter 12: New Skill The wild dogs sniffed the air smelling Jake''s scent the two zeroed in on him. The two mungrels growled in excitement as they rushed toward Jake. As they closed in the two dogs slowed and began to circle their prey the two didn''t seem to fear the sword in Jake''s hands. But they had enough hunting experience to know that this prey would fight back and so the two looked for an opening. It was not hard to find an opening in Jake''s defense and soon one of the two dogs launched at Jake''s left leg with its vicious teeth. Jake though a beginner when it came to fighting was still able to react fast enough, with an awkward diagonal swing he caused the first dog to back off. But the weight of the sword had caused him to lose balance which opened his flank to an attack. The second dog without hesitation pounced on Jake''s back and sunk his teeth into his shoulder. "Agghh!" The pain caused Jake to fall to a knee as he screamed out and agony. Jake had a flash of darkness cover his eyes thankfully it had come and gone in but a second. Jake fell to the ground trying to knock the dog off his back as he rolled around haphazardly. His arms flailed around which kept the other dog at bay. Blood dripped down his back coating his skin with a cold and sticky feeling, fear began to creep into his thoughts. "Am I going to die on my first quest?" While this thought floated within his mind Jake began to thrash hard in a struggle for survival. The dog though had no desire to let go instead it suck its teeth in deeper enjoying the warm blood that coated its mouth. Unable to handle the pain that coursed through him Jake''s mind started to blank, at that moment a single thought appeared. "I want to live!" This thought started out as a whisper but then it spread like a wildfire as it grew. With this thought, Jake pushed himself up from the ground with the dog still strapped to his back. The pain continued to shoot through his body but now it only fed his desire to live. Without thinking, Jake swung his sword up and down onto the shoulder the dog was biting. The next second a soft whimper was heard before his body began to feel lighter. Pulling his sword back it now glistened with blood, though there was no time to enjoy his first kill. Seeing its friend killed the other dog grew crazy as it pounced at Jake with wild abandonment. Unable to even catch his breath let alone think Jake placed the sword in front of him in defense. The dog''s jaws were blocked yet it still was able to dig its claws into his body. The two fell to the groundand struggled to kill each other, Jake continued to block the dog as best he could while he tried to figure out his next move. Moments passed yet it felt like hours as the two groped around for the final kill. Blood continued to leak from Jake as the seconds passed. With his strength starting to wane Jakebegan to panic a bit he could not lift the sword since it was his only defense. As desperation kicked in a crazy idea appeared if he screwed this up then today would be the end. But if he could not even survive this than he had no right to be an adventurer and so with all his strength Jake tilted his body. The next second Jake pulled his sword to the side which allowed the dog''s jaws easy access. The two movements happened almost at the same time which caused the teeth that should have bit into the soft flesh of the neck to miss and bite the wounded shoulder instead. Pain coursed through his body once again setting his nerves on fire. However, Jake had used all his strength on ending this and so his focus was unperturbed by this sudden pain. With madness in his own eyes, Jake plunged the tip of the sword with all his strength into the side of the dog. "Die you damn dog!" Screamed Jake as he continued to push the sword through the dog. His hand soon stopped when it no longer could push the sword further. The hilt of the blade was pressed up against the fur of the dog while blood began to soak his hand. With that, the pressure on his shoulder disappeared as the light in the dog''s eyes began to fade. Jake pushed the dog of his body and laid there exhausted, the fight only lasted for a few minutes but it was the most exhausting task he had ever done. Jake opened his stats window while he laid there and saw his hundred health points now show only fifteen left. Though tired this scared the hell out of him and with the last bit of strength he pulled a small health potion out.
Small Health Potion
Common alchemy potion with minor effects. Able to heal 50hp over thirty seconds, the potion is only good for those below level 10.
Jake gulped the potion down and then closed his eyes as he felt his body heat up. A smile appeared as the warmth covered his body like a blanket, along with it he could feel the injuries he sustained start to itch. thirty seconds passed and the feeling left him with it disappeared the pain. No longer bleeding Jake sat up as he waited for his health to reach back up to hundred, his hp regen was only .1 per second and so Jake contemplated his first fight while he waited. Therwereas many things he needed to improve on but now at least he had a rough idea of where to start. Once his strength returned jake picked up the loot that fell and caused him to smile since this felt too much like a video game.
Quest Item
Rabid Fang x 3
Jake was disappointed that nothing else seemed to drop. But thinking about it made sense since it was just some wild dogs. Instead, he moved on and pulled out his skinning knife most games had the need for professions and an easy one was skinny. Jake liked this one in games since he could level it and gather materials while he fought. Unlike other professions that required you to sidetrack and hunt for materials this one did not require you to stop your questing. Unless of course, you were grinding out a certain material but even then your experience gain would not be affected. The only issue was that this was all in a video game and never had he actually tried to skin an animal in real life. But it didn''t matter since it was inexpensive to practice. With that in mind, Jake began his first ever skinning
Items
Destroyed Rabbid dog pelt x 2
Damaged bones x 4
Animal fat x 2
Rabbid dog meatx 10
Though his first skinning was not a major success he at least learned from his mistakes and gained some items. Distributing them into his space bag Jake looked toward the distance for his next prey. 0-0-0-0-0-0 Breathing slowly Jake sensed the changes in his body as the energycoursed from his soul. The warmth flowed out from his soul touching and enhancing each part of his body. There was a slightitching feeling that accompanied the changes that took place yet they were enjoyable instead of annoying. His muscles bulged a bit more than before as they grew while his heart seemed to slow down along with his breathing. But with each breath more air surged into his lungs while his blood pumped stronger than he ever thought possible. The world around him became slightly more enhanced as noises he had not noticed teased his ears. While the objects around grew a bit clearer and the motion of things seemed to slow a bit in his sight. This was an amazing experience one Jake could get addicted to just from the first time. As the upgrade ended, the feeling died down a bit. Though most of it still lingered and Jake could tell it would take him some time to get himself accustomed to his body. Like that his first level up came and went in what was only a moment though during the experience he could have sworn a long time had passed. Opening up his status window Jake excitedly checked his new stats after a week out in the wild.
Status Window
Name: Jake Home World: Earth
Age: 16 Years Soul Gems:0
Race: Human Soul Energy: 125/125
Class: None Gold: 0 / Silver:5 / Copper:68
Job: F-Rank: Adventurer (Contract Member) ?????????
Level:2 Experience: 0/3500
Titles: None
Guild Reputation: Tier 0 - 10/100
Abilities: None
Looking through his status window Jake first noted a few things. First of all the experience needed for the next level would be a dreadful climb. It frackingtripled and this was just to reach level three no wonder those who did not become adventures took so long to reach higher levels. Even those who became adventures would be considered strong here at level five through ten, which would be a joke back on Earth in any normal game. But this was not a game this was life or something on those lines, to be honest, Jake sometimes had a hard time remembering that he was dead. Since he still needed to breathe and had a heart and even though he would not die from not eating or drinking he still needed both. Otherwise, his soul energy would deplete faster plus his stats would decrease such as his stamina. Regardless if he understood how this world worked or not didn''t really concern Jake as far as he was concernedthis was his second and truly last life. Thinking up to here Jake moved on to the next thing that caughthis attention which was his soul energy. He had used his last soul gem the other day due to his month coming close to an end, he had aroundfive points left which was not a lot and would disappearfast. He did not want to wait until he had a single point left since if something unexpected happened and he ran out of time to use the soul gem he would be screwed. Most people would not wait till the last point though usually, they would wait until they had around three points to get the max use out of each gem. With Jake being out on a quest he wanted to play it bit safe but the issue was that after using it he had leveled up shortly later. Which before he had leveled he had around ninety-five points since a few days had passed from the time he recharged his soul. "If only that my soul energy would be replenished and even increased..." An ache had stabbed him in the heart when he had realized that his soul gem had been wasted. But it was only a small feeling of regret since who knew if something would have had happened. Shaking his head clear of useless thoughts of things that could not be changed Jake moved on to his stats window. Pulling the window up Jake could not help but frown at what he saw.
Stats Window
Health: 115/115 Health Regen: .25 HP/s
Mana: 0 Mana Regen: 0 MP/s
Strength:7 Agility:8
Vitality:1 Intelligence: 8
Luck: 10 Spirit: 1.5
Attack:5 Defense:7
Elemental Affinities
Fire: N/A Water: N/A
Wind: N/A Earth: N/A
Light: N/A Darkness: N/A
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Seeing his stats Jake felt his spirit dwindle a bit after a week of fighting the trash mobs. During the week he had gotten roughed up a bit from the monsters but due to the fact that these beasts were low levels and not very smart, he as a noob was able to persevere. The upgrade in level gave his stats an increase but the meager increase only caused Jake to frown. His attack had only gained four points. Though it would give him a bit of a boost in his fights it was not going to make him a killing machine. Whereas his defense had risen a bit more it still was not enough to make the fights easy. Though it was not a big deal since after a week of killing these dogs Jake had grown accustomed to their attacks and started to clean up his openings. He could not say that he had become an expert but he was now at least a beginner. Looking at the rest of his stats he noted that most of them had upgraded by one, these stats where also the ones he had used. This meant that for now, he was unable to increase his mana stat from zero, but this was understandable plus even if it had gained a point he had no way of using it. The only difference was his health points that increased by fifteen this was both good and easily ignorable. The increase in health would only make a real difference when it reached over a thousand points then he could ignore most damage unless he was attacked by someonewho was twice as strong as him. Though for the time being none of those thoughts mattered since it would be a while till he reached that realm. For now, he just looked forward to the day he reached a hp of two hundred. The biggest surprise actuallywas his hp regen it had surprisingly jumped from a pathetic .1 to now a staggering .25p/s. Now every second he would gain a quarter of a health point back a second. The measly .01 had about made him grow crazy as he struggled through his fights with the need to rest for a long period of time between fights. The last bit of happy news was that his spirit had risen by half a point. Though this was a small increase it was still something to be happy about.This was the stat that allowed his soul energy to grow rising it from its initial starting point of a hundred points. Plus on top of the extra points, this stat would cause the drain on the soul energy to decrease the stronger the stat became. That was the best news any soul in this world could receive since with a longer duration of soul energy the less use of soul gems would be required. It was understandable that everyone only had a month of time before their soul needed recharging, but now with the half a point increase he would be able to last a bit longer than a month before needing to use a soul gem. This, of course, was a double edge sword since from what he had learned as his spirit stat increased more the need for a stronger soul gem would become needed. But this was an issue for a later time, for now, it was not an issue since his soul was still pretty weak. Pulling out of his stats window Jake looked at his quest log.
Quest: Rabid Dogs
Description:The area around the FOB has always had an infestation of rabid dogs these low-level beasts repopulate at an alarming rate if unchecked. Due to this, they are kept as a constant quest for low-level adventurers. If unkept though weak their numbers can become a threat. They are a nuisance to the farmlands out of the city limits and must be kept to low numbers to decrease their danger level. Traits:Slightly larger than house pets with a bite that can cause poison effects to targets. They are pack oriented and usually roam in groups of 3-5. Their teeth can be used in many concoctions and are a common material sought after. Tasks: Kill 50 stray dogs within two weeks. These beast repopulate very fast. In order to keep them from overflowing the farms and villages, they need to be weeded down in a short amount of time. Collect 25 infected canine fangs. Progress: 12/25 Fangs Progress: 35/50 stray dogs
Reward: On completion of the quest, a single soul gem will be given, with a total net gain of seventy-five silver. Completion of the loot portion of the quest will reward you an additional soul gem.
"Still got a ways to go." Thought Jake as he revied his quest. "Anyways now that I have leveled I should be able to get my first skill." With that, Jake returned to the FOB and after selling off his items he headed toward guild outpost. Skills were a unique item in this world. No one had a clue where the skills originated from but since the beginning of time in this reality, there have always been skills. Though instead of a scroll or from an NPC that taught you the skills, instead they were gained through interaction with a certain object. These objects were called skill orbs they were pretty cheap since they manifested throughout the world. Jake had one wanted to buy one earlier but since he could not use it till he leveled he decided to wait. Though he could buy one at the general store he had a discount for it at the guild and so that was his destination. At the FOB there was only a guild outpost but it still had most of the items adventures needed. Reaching the guild outpost Jake made his way to skill orb vendor. "Hi, dear customer are you a member of the guild if so please show me identification." The vendor was a pretty young lady who had a warm smile. Looking at the woman made Jake''s heart beat fast, he was not unaccustomed to talking to women. But since he was still young he had a shyness when it came to older women. They had a mature charm about them that he found attractive, thankfully he was not some weirdo and was able to straighten himself out fast. Pulling out a metal card Jake showed his identification.
Guild Identification Card
Name: Jake Guild Home: Spiritborn''s Adventures Guild
Membership: Contract (Rank F) Class: None
The vendor started to frown as she looked over the ID after a moment she looked up at Jake with a complicated look. "Dear customer thank you for showing me your ID. Your discount is three percent, here is the copper level skill orb list. Please take your time and let me know what I can get for you." Jake didn''t need to ask why she looked at him like that, never the less he could not help but sigh at his situation. Three percent was the lowest discount available those that were at the copper level which was one level higher than him could get a five percent discount. Though it was only two percent more it still mattered to the poor right now every penny mattered to him. Grabbing the list Jake skimmed through the multiple pages. There was at least a few hundred pages filled with many pictures and descriptions of the skills available. Thankfully they were separated by type of skill so it was easy enough for him to find the attack skills he wanted. Jake could only learn one skill at level two and so this skill would be the most important ability he would use to stay alive. He contemplated getting a defensive skill though it would help survive for a few seconds longer. In the end, he would still tire down and die if he could use a killing move. During his fights so far he noticed the lack of his killing ability most the time he was able to land a lucky attack that was ugly. Usually, it would take him a few hits to even kill the dogs, only on rare occasions was he able to land a killing strike. During the week he had watched the other low-level adventures as they fought and one thing he noticed was their skills. Other than magic the warriors all had skills that delivered tons of damage. They were able to easily kill rabid dogs like they were cutting grass. Jake had yet to decide on his desired class but as it stood so far he was not heading in the magic direction. All the magic skills required mana first before you could learn them and he had yet to figure out how to get mana. Of course, that was fine with him since it was pretty awesome to fight up close and personal. The problem was deciding what skill would be the best to start off with. All of them looked so awesome and he wished he could take them all.
Rend
Unleash a powerful downward swing, like a bolt of lightning crashing into the earth. Your sword will cut your enemy into two. Required level 2 Required Attack Power 4 Cost 1 silver 5 copper
Cyclone Slash
360 AOE skill! Regardless of direction, all foes will fall beneath this circular slash. Required level 2 Required Attack 5 Required Agility 10 Cost 3 silver 30 copper
Impaling Thrust
A simple thrust attack that will critically hit any enemy. Can attack the enemy from2 meters away. Required Level 3 Required Attack 9 Required Agility 15 Cost 4 silver
Jake could imagine himself using any of these awesome skills especially impaling thrust and cyclone slash he could imagine doing a sick combo with them. Flying in and killing one opponent before bursting out with three sixty slash killing the rest around him. However, many of the skills were a bit out of his reach some were a level or two higher than he was. While others required better stats than he had. After flipping through a few more pages Jake''s eyes lit up there was a skill that was perfect for him. Looking at the skill Jake made his decision. "Ma''am I would like this one." Said, Jake, as he pointed at one of the pricer skills available to him. Thankfully he gained a couple of extra silver right before coming here. Plus his discount would help from going broke else he would be going hungry the next couple of days. Seeing the orb Jake choose the lady smiled before retrieving the book and pulling out a red orb. "That will be with your discount 4 silver and 85 copper." Said the vendor as she handed the orb to Jake. The three percent discount hardly made a dent in the price. But with only seven silver to his name at the moment every cent he could keep the better off he would be. Without hesitating, Jake paid the lady and left he headed toward the training field to check out his new move. The training field was right behind the guild outpost and so it only took Jake a moment to reach his destination. With his new skill, Jake felt invigorated and ready to take on the world. Thankfully the training field was free to use if you were part of the guild. So it only took a second for him to receive a training room, once inside his room Jake pulled the new skill out of his space bag.
Elusive Strike
Using fluid movements unleash multiplehard to blockstrikes. The better your agility the harder for those you attack to block. Required level 2 Required Attack 5 Required Agility 8 Cost 5 silver
Grasping the orb Jake closed his eyes as he focused his thoughts on the orb in his hands. A moment later the red crystal orb faded to a grey color before crumbling into a heap of dust. Jake''s closed eyes began to twitch as the knowledge of the skill entered his mind. After about a minute Jake slowly opened his eyes with a twinkle in them he smiled as he grasped his sword.