《Endless》 Chapter 1. Endless Prologue ¡°I hate following you. You are such a freak. It feels unnatural what you can do¡± she told him in a whisper. ¡°You should have left nature behind when you entered a world with dragons and magic¡± he answered back. ¡°Even with magic all around us you are still a freak, especially because you are NOT using magic right now!¡± she retorted increasing her tone. ¡°You always complain, but in the end you follow me every time. Anyway I¡¯m sure that today we will succeed and we will leave this horrible place. Trust me¡± he answered her. ¡°Shush now. Weare about to enter most dangerous zone.¡± ¡°You said ¡®trust me¡¯ the last four times and here we are, stuck in this cave where I can¡¯t see anything. I MISS THE SUN! Promise me that if we fail again we will give up the mission and go back to the Guild. We will come back with more people in a couple of months. Ok?¡± she asked. ¡°Shhh, we are sur¡­.¡± he whispered. ¡°Don¡¯t shut me up! Promise me!¡± she said. The young man put a finger on her lips to make her silent. ¡®Roaaaarrrrrr¡¯ ¡®Rooaaarr¡¯ ¡®Roooooaaaaarrr¡¯. Monsters all around them noticed the two intruders and crossed their path. ¡°Oh well....youare screwed now. Let¡¯s try again whenyou will respawn. See you!¡± the guy said with a smile and started to run away. ¡°Fuuuuuckkk youuuuu!¡± the girl cursed at him, activating a light spell and watching her surroundings, noticing the back of his mate disappearing in the distance. Soon after, only monsters were visible to her and she just looked depressed, knowing that there was no way to survive.
26thof August 2097 Light started pouring in the room and Zortex¡¯s eyes opened. Usually he would roll in the bed and catch sleep again. Even if he had to wake up right away to go to school, he would still spend a couple of minutes trying to dispel the fog of sleep from his brain before standing. Not that day.On that datehis mind was as sharp as a knife right from the beginning. He stood up from the bed and said to himself in a low voice: ¡°I¡¯ve waited for this moment for the last five years. I am ready. TomorrowI will be reborn.¡± At least figuratively speaking. It was his 20thbirthday but he didn¡¯t feel like an adult yet. He knew that he would need to change soon and the time to be a kid was over. Fromthat momenthe would have to go on by himself. No more relying on his parents. Speaking of them, while going downstairs to the kitchen he met the two sitting at the table and waiting for him. Probably they hadn¡¯t slept much last night. He also had trouble falling asleep. Sleep will not matter to me from now on, he thought. ¡°Good morning¡±, he told them. Strange, but it felt awkward to say it today. ¡°Good morning¡± his father replied in a deep tone. His mother just stared at him barely containing her tears. Luckily his twins younger brothers entered the room dispelling the mood. For breakfast that day there was homemade cake. It was his birthday after all and some rituals should not be changed, no matter what. He was also very hungry and he took the largest portion ignoring his brothers complaints. It was his birthday and it was his right to enjoy it to the fullest in any way he preferred. After some small talk Zortex left the house to take a stroll around the town. It was a nice place, surrounded by mountains with a lake just five minutes of distance by car. Aroundthirty thousand people lived there and the closest bigger city was forty five minutes away by car. Someone looking at him would think he was a tourist, but he had spent all his life in that place. A few hours later he had lunch at his favorite restaurant and he came to the conclusion that he hated the town but he would still miss it. He grew up there. No matter how unpleasant these last few years had been, he could not forget an happy childhood. Probably the more time he spent away the better he would remember it. Usually it worked like that with memories. He felt that he should go say goodbye to someone, but the only other two people he used to talk with, apart from his family, had already left at their own birthdays. Matthew, his only real friend, had left just two days before. They would meet again soon inEndless and he could not wait to hear from him. Khira was the girl who was part of their trio, although he wasn¡¯t sure if he could really consider her as a friend. After an initial crush on her, Zortex realized that the only reason she was sometimes hanging out with him and Matthew was because otherwise she would be left alone at school during lunch. She was too shy to socialize with other people and she had decided to hang out with the other unlucky students rejected by their peers. He could sympathize with that, he knew the feeling, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that if she could be with anyone else she would have left right away to hang out with the others. They shared little interests, but in time he got used to her presence and somehow he missed her presence. The other people he could talk to were barely acquaintances and he could finally stop pretending to be interested in them. Not that they were interested in him. There was a mutual feeling of not caring. Zortex felt free, as much as when he was a kid. All would change now that he would enterEndless. He couldn¡¯t stop a smile from appearing on his face. Happiness was just a day away from him. With nothing else to do he decided to go back home and relax there. He would see a lot of places in the rest of his life, but that day would be the last one he would spend in the house where he grew up. ¡°I¡¯m home¡± he said opening the door, but apparently nobody else was in the house at the time. He took off his shoes at the entrance and went right away to his room tocheck his computer. Exactly as he did most days for the last two years hecalled the webpage ofENDLESS. Helistened again for the hundredth time all the posts explainingENDLESS.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
ENDLESS was founded in 2057 by the cooperation of all the nations in the world. It is an AI created to comply with an arising thought of humankind: the desire to live forever. Although the research in genetic engineering was making much progress into lenghtening lifetime, it became clear that the World could not sustain the overpopulation caused by an humanity that would not age. All studies were banned. In 2030 scientist Igor Azarkh came up with an idea. ''If this world cannot sustain immortals, then we will create a new world''. From that idea started the creation of ENDLESS, a Virtual Reality containing thousands of different worlds. Combining ENDLESS with the latest development in cryogenic science and mind accelerating processes, it became possible to induce an hibernation status which would almost stop the aging of the body, and connect the mind to the AI.
Zortex did not care about most of the worlds created, but there was one section in particular that he could not stop thinking about. That was Age of Legends. The world modeled after MMORPG games. His future world he decided. He and Matthew had grown up reading fantasy novels and playing old RPG games. They had even started to write a LitRPG novel of their own, that they had dropped right away realizing how boring it was. He couldn¡¯t believe that by this time tomorrow he would be there fighting monsters, drinking potions, exploring dungeons and all other exciting things. Finally he would be surrounded by other people like him, sharing his interests and passions. Not like all those idiots he met in his classes at school for the last few years. Zortex heard some noise from downstairs and understood that his parents and brothers had arrived home from wherever they were gone. Maybe they went to buy something for my evening.Better to go down and spend the rest of the day with themhe thought. His eyes went to the two iron rules about Endless. Nobody is allowed to enter Endless before they have reached 20 years of age. Nobody is allowed to enter again Endless after leaving it. The first rulewas easy to understand.A person should grow up in the real world, feelthe real body and meet real humans before deciding if he wanted to abandon Earth. The second rule was made to make people understand that immortality had a price. Exiting the hibernation and mind accelerating processes might cause damage to the brain, but even in the worst cases it could be cured within a few years of treatments and almost always there was a full recovery. Entering again Endless could cause death in worst cases and strong permanent damage in most people. The process was not an easy one, or so it was explained to him in school and in the webpage. Zortex initiation to Endless meant basically that he would not be able to meet his parents ever again unless he decided to abandon immortality in a relatively short time. They had already been inside it, they met each other there and they had decided to come out together to start a real family. He went to meet them. His excitement from earlier was smothered by the realization that these were the last few hours together with the two people he loved the most and who had loved him the most.They deserve better than I''ve given themhe thought, but now it is too late to become the perfect son.Time flied fast that evening but nobody went to sleep that night. So many things to say, so many regrets. A few times Zortex almost decided that he could wait another year before entering Endless, but he had waited too long to be dissuaded. At the end they said their goodbyes with tears in the eyes, hugging without stop. Morning had arrived and with it the shuttle that would bring him to the closest Endless Institute. Two hours afterwards Zortex entered a big building controlled by armed guards. He was relieved to find out that his security was taken seriously. Not that he was really scared. Crime had been basically extinguished after the opening of Endless, since immortality came free for anyone who wished for it and nobody wanted to ruin it by being sent to prison. Five more people were in the shuttle with him, ready to enter immortality. He chatted a bit with them when they asked him questions, but apparently none of them was interested in Age of Legends or similar worlds. They were just the usual dull people he wanted to escape from. After that he didn¡¯t care at all of what they were saying to each other. Finally he was leaving for the place of his dreams. No need to make connections with useless individuals. An attendant brought them inside and they took an elevator to go underground. Apparently the upper levels where not where people were kept, but only had the offices of the staff members. He tried to see how many floor they were going down but he could not from his position.These idiots are in between me and the side of the elevator with the floor¡¯s buttons. Anyway the descent went on for a long while so there must have been a lot. By now most people of Earth had entered the path to immortality, so of course a lot of space was needed to accommodate everyone. For the next five hours Zortex and mates had to undergo a class explaining all of the details of the process and the consequences of what they were about to do.I have already read these things a thousand times, just let me go.Zortexthought continuously yawning and trying to not fall asleep. The lack of rest was weighting on him after a sleepless night. The time of words was finally over. Nobody chickened out from the trip they were about to embark. The staff members brought the young people in a circular room full of medical apparatus, and each of them was positioned on a chair where they got strapped to avoid movement. Feels like being at the dentist Zortex thought. The atmosphere was full of trepidation, at least from the people being treated. The staff had passed through these procedures thousands of times, so they just looked bored. The whole procedure could be completely automatized, but researcher had found out that the presence of real people helped to lessen the stress and it helped to avoid accidents. The first thing Zortex saw was a needle pumping some drug into his arm. Afterwards the world didn¡¯t make much sense to him. Sometimes things seemed to move too slow, or too fast. For a moment he thought he felt cold, but afterwards he lost sense of touch or smell.At the end he also lost his sight and he felt completely detached from reality. He didn¡¯t know for how long he spent in that state. It could have been years or mere seconds. Something in his mind told him that it couldn¡¯t be too long. He didn¡¯t care at that moment. He felt completely at peace. When he next opened his eyes he was standing in a room. Everything was completely white. It took him a couple of minutes to understand that his senses had come back. In that moment a voice sounded behind him and he turned around to find a little kid. Zortex thought he looked like a 10 years old boy¡­.or girl. It was difficult to distinguish the gender. The kid was dressed in white, had white hair and light blue eyes. The weird kid spoke again. ¡°I said: Welcome Zortex¡± the kid spoke. Zortex looked at him squinting his eyes, still a bit confused from coming back to his senses, and he asked back ¡°Who are you?¡±. The kid smiled and replied ¡°I am Endless¡±. Chapter 2. Finally there Zortex stared at the kid for ten more seconds before his mind actually connected to his memory.Of course! Now I remember. This is what happens as soon as connecition has succeeded. He had read about it during his studies. Right after entering into Endless he would meet with the AI which would explain to him the details on how to work his account. Obviously, the AI was available at all moments for all people connected to the VR. ¡°Congratulations! I see that you have successfully connected to the system. From now on you can contact me anytime you want just by saying or thinking my name¡± the weird kid told Zortex. He was quite creeped out by the voice and appearance of the AI.Why did they decide to make it look like this?Probably they didn¡¯t want to make it look too humanlike otherwise people would forget that this is just a stage before entering a new Worldhe thought. ¡°Can you change your appearance? I would like you to become like Carla McKenzie, the actress¡± Zortex asked. ¡°No, you can change basically everything in your personal space, but I am an authority which you cannot control at will. My appearance will remain the same as long I deem it necessary to be¡± Endless answered. ¡°What do you mean by personal space?¡± Zortex questioned. ¡°This is your safe room¡± Endless said just as Zortex was reached the same conclusion. ¡°You can access this place whenever you want just by asking it to the System, ergo me. From this room you can access any of the Worlds available. When you want to switch from a World to another you must first come back here¡±. Zortex was getting more and more excited now that his mind was fully awake. Twenty years in the real world, but at that moment he could finally personally where to be. He was tired of all this chatting when his dream world was just one word away. He wanted to enter Age of Legends and start his new life. ¡°How can I choose the World right now?¡± ¡°Just ask or think about the list of the Worlds and it will appear in front of you. You should read the instruction before entering a new one¡± Endless explained. ¡°Afterwards just decide to enter it. Most people at the beginning find it difficult to use the mind to operate the system, so it is easier if you say it out loud. Before that, you can also furnish your safe room to your liking. There are already plenty of prerecorded environments, but you can change every single detail at your wish.¡± Zortex had no interest in doing that right now, but when he was just about to send the kid away he realized something. He couldn¡¯t see himself in this place. He needed a mirror. ¡°I want a mirror¡±. Right away a 2 meters tall 2 meters wide mirror formed in front of him, exactly how he had imagined it in his mind. He looked at himself and felt once again the disappointment which characterized his teenagers years. Even here he looked exactly the same as in reality. The guy looking back at him was 1.8 meters tall, pale white skinned, slim body of average weight, brown short hairs and brown eyes, no remarkable features and an average face. Basically nothing to be proud of, although not so bad to feel desperate. The image made him gloomy.New life should mean a new body, right?He looked to the kid on his right and asked ¡°How can I change my body?¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Major body changes are not possible at the beginning. Your senses are used to your real body, so anything drastic would impair your ability to use your body for now. There are small changes which can be done right away. For example color of hair and eyes, skin tone and smoothness. You can also activate an option which will make yourappearance change trough time, based on how you will keep living here. Anything more is not allowed. Changes will happen slowly tolet you be comfortable with your body ¡± Zortex started to think deeply. There was not much he could change, but he wanted to obtain the best results with what he had available. After pondering for 10 minutes he arrived to a conclusion. ¡°I want my skin to become a bit darker, like when I got tanned in summer. My hair should be dark black and my eyes a light orange. Cancel the dark circles under my eyes. Take out the hairs from the rest of my body. I don¡¯t want to look like a monkey¡±. He looked himself in the mirror and looked at the changes. After a few other minor adjustments he was satisfied. ¡°Can I change my appearance every time I come back here?¡± he asked. ¡°It is possible, but you may found difficult to move your body right away if it had major changes in the World you have been staying at. Be aware that many Worlds will not allow you to go back there for a certain amount of time if you make relevant changes. Otherwise people could conceal their identity more easily¡± Endless replied. Zortex agreed with that, although he would have liked to change himself whenever he wanted to better flirt with any lady who caught his attention. Not that he had ever flirted with any girl. They were not interested in him because they preferred the mindless idiots who went to parties and could only speak about gossip with them. Still it was good to stay optimistic. New life meant new opportunities. For sure there will be smart and interesting girls in AoL¡­.Right? ¡°One last thing. How can I send a message to the real world?¡± ¡°You cannot directly speak to anyone outside the VR. The time here is accelerated by ten times compared to your original place. You can send and receive video messages. Would you like to send a message right now?¡± Endless replied. Zortex left a message to his family telling them that everythingwas ok and they should not be worried. Afterwards he opened the list of the Worlds and directly went to read rules about his chosen one: Age of Legends. Ten minutes of reading and he decided to stop without having finished, already satisfied with what he had seen. He had always been the kind of player that preferred to learn how to play while playing, rather than reading the rules beforehand. He selected a few options and then he excitedly said ¡°Enter Age of Legends¡±. ¡°Sure. Have fun¡± answered Endless emotionlessly. The World around him warped and when his vision stopped spinning he found himself standing in the entrance of what looked like a Temple. Chapter 3. A dip in the dark The Temple was at the top of a small hill at around one hundred meters height. Zortex could see a medium sized city stretching on the flatland surrounding his place, probablyeighty thousand people lived there, or so he believed, but he had no idea about the population density of this world. The view of the outside was covered by a tall wall surrounding the edges. He could not see exactly how big it was, but at a first guess he would say 10-15 meters tall. Of course he could see only one side of the city as what was behind the Temple was still unknown to him. Anyway it was quite a big wall for such a small city, but he guessed that dangers were also high with monsters roaming the world. And with magic present around, maybe building such things was much easier and faster compared to the real world. When entering AoL for the first time the System would normally send you randomly to any of the hundreds spawning cities available in the main continents. The world here was immense and much of it was still unexplored. The number of ''players'' was in the hundreds of millions if not even more. Obviously not all of them were staying there full-time, but they switched often to other Worlds. People, in the real world, switched often between their interests, thus also in Endless they would switch between worlds. That became even more common after a lot of friendships developed, with related people contacting each others from other worlds for invites. Humanity population had increased drastically in the 21stcentury and, without most of the deaths due to old age, the numbers were enormous. Especially in what were once called the thirdworld countries, where population was doubling at every generation, once free eternity was offered the number of lives increased drastically. The number of people in AoL was just a fraction of the entire real human population but still many compared to MMPORG of the past. The cost in energy in the real world was difficult for Zortex to comprehend, still here he was enjoying the progress that science brought to humankind. In his case, the spawning city was chosen by himself because one of the possible options at the beginning of the process was to add the name of a friend who was still in their first month trial. Zortex would be directed to the same place as him/her to enjoy the company. This option was added to many worlds mostly for people who had met each other in one of the other Worlds in Endless and afterwards decided to start together in another place. It would have been regretful if a couple wanted to start together and then spawned in two different continents, so to attract people this option was added. There was some kind of competition between worlds to see which one would get the most real people. For him it was convenient that his friend Matthew entered Endless just two days before him in the real world, which meant he had been here for only around 20 days and his one month trial was not over yet, so he would be able to join him wherever he had spawned. Zortex looked around and saw none paying attention to him. He noticed that some of the people walking around had a mark over their head while most didn¡¯t. This was the way to distinguish real people from the NPCs, otherwise it would be impossible, as the NPCs behaved exactly as a real person would. The system was so well designed that it was basically creating humans itself. A person could spend years together with a NPC without realizing that it was not a real human. Apparently there was no mentor coming out and explaining the world to him as it happened in many games of the past. That was why he had to read the instruction before entering the game. All the information he needed was in there and Zortex could access it again just by thinking ¡®General Information¡¯. Later I will finish reading all the rules, but now I want to enjoy the views Zortex thought. The instructions said that for the first 30 days there would be a trial periodhe remembered.The person under trial could not leave the confines of the city and could not level up. On the other hand he had free access to food and teaching at the training center and wizard tower, or even other non-fighting professions. Zortex could also take part in little quests which would help him accumulate some money for the time he would start exploring the outside world. Zortex checked himself from top to bottom. He was wearing plain brown clothes and leather boots. He had a bag on his back which he opened and he found 2 loaves of bread, some jerky and a canteen of water. On his side there was a knife 20 cm long in sheath. The typical noob style. He liked it as it reminded him of all the times he started playing a game for the first time and he would wear similar clothes, working hard to be able to change into something cooler afterwards. Zortex decided to not waste any time. There was one rule about AoL that differentiated it from past systems for games. He could not choose his class as in many RPG games of the past. Here the world would choose his class based on how he would behave. At the end of the first month Zortex would get assigned a class based on what he did inside the city. For example if he spent most of his time at the wizard tower practicing fire spells, he would probably become a Firemage. If he spent his time at the training center practicing with the sword he would become a Warrior or something similar. There were also many other variables. To get special classes, people had to complete some of smaller quests or behave in unexpected ways. Sometimes completing quests would provoke strange classes, even bad ones. Zortex wanted a combat-oriented class, so he already had a plan about it. Zortex had had always trouble in the past deciding between sword or magic. For the last 2 years he had struggled trying to make a decision, but then he realized that this was not a game. This was a world simulating a game. In order to survive, it was better to have many tricks at his disposal. A focused class may give him more power, but it would also increase the weaknesses that could be exploited. Combination of lower skills could also create a skill more powerful than what he would get focusing on just one path. So he had decided to train in both magic and sword fighting. Becoming a Magic Knight or something similar, he was sure it would give him many benefits in the long run.I''m awesome. Most people here cannot compete with me. Handling both magic and sword is something that only the best can do, so I should aim for itZortex thought. Obviously the real life skills transferred to Endless together with the person¡¯s mind. He may sound arrogant, but Zortex knew to be great. He didn¡¯t believe to be the best in the World at anything, but in his life he never found a person as skilled himself. He had not obtained the best grades at school, but he had been still among the top. He had spent his days reading books and playing games and not studying. He knew that if he had actually tried to study as much as the others, he would had easily surpassed them. Contrary to the idea that if a person was smart he should be bad with his body, Zortex was always one of the best at sports. Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Football. He had tried many of them and he had excelled, although he had never tried to specialize in any of them. That was also the reason he didn¡¯t get bullied at school. It was difficult for his classmates to call him a nerd when he could play any sport better than them. Still they avoided him because he didn¡¯t care about their gossip and ignorant conversations. They may have wanted him in their teams, but as soon as the games ended, they would ignore him again. It sure was hard to be smarter and better than the others. They could not understand him, so they preferred to live their life in ignorance. He pitied them. Of course there were some things he was bad at. He was not a god. For example art or art-related subjects were incomprehensible to him, and he was bad at swimming. He could not understand why, but he was barely able to stay afloat. Basically he was bad at the things which other people enjoyed the most. Still he would have liked to go swimming in the lake, just to be able to watch the girls in a bikini. He didn''t like to show his weak side, so instead he had stayed at his home or at Matthew''s place. Not being an idiot, he understood that he could only compare himself to the people he had been in contact with, and in the rest of the World there would be plenty of others who could best him. He came from a rather isolated place after all. He was excited because finally there really was a chance to measure himself where he would give 100% of what he was capable of and still not come on top. Zortex considered himself perfect to both handle magic and the sword at the same time. He had also followed some online courses about sword fighting. There was no way he would fail. ¡°Can you tell me which way is the training center?¡± he asked a NPC close to him. He was told the directions to reach it, only a five minutes walk from his current position.I will first train for a few hours with a sword and see what happens. There should be plenty of other people there to compare myself to the average talent of those around mehe thought. Also his friend Matthew could be there.He had said that he would get a sword related class and wait for me at the training center. He would have liked to contact him right now, but the instructions said that to make the connection for distance communication between ''players'' inside AoL, he would have to shake hands with him first and get permission. Zortex tried to get accustomed to this new scenery. In the corner of his vision he could see the line-bars showing his Health, Stamina and Mana. Around him the city looked like the typical Medieval style settlement, or at least how he always saw them portrayed. The two-storied houses seemed well kept and made of stones and wood. There were plenty of shops selling food around him. He stopped by one and noticed that almost none of the things exposed was relatable to the food of the real world. The fruits had weird colors and shapes and also the meat had the name of animals which did not exists outside of AoL.The bread in my bag also looked a bit weird. He saw a weapons¡¯ shop and obviously went to have a look inside, his curiosity at the highest levels since he could not see something live that in the real world. He wanted to be a fighter and he should get accustomed to the tools of his future job. There were plenty of swords, axes, bows and arrows, spears. His attention was caught by a Warhammer which was almost as tall as him.Maybe that is a bit too much for me. I definitely prefer swords.Looking at the prices he saw that the cheapest sword was sold for 20 coppers. He checked his pockets and found only 10 coppers. He would need to wait before getting himself a weapon.Anyway my knife looks better than that rusty old thing. After walking a bit more down the streets, Zortex saw from afar the entrance to the training center. He started to move faster that way, enthusiastic to begin his training as soon as possible. Justfifty meters from the entrance a hand grabbed him from behind and he jumped making weird noises. He was so surprised that it didn¡¯t even occur to him that there could be thieves around.Luckily for him it was not a thief. Some random dude was standing behind him without doing anything apart from looking at him. Confused, Zortex said: "Matthew?" and the guy nodded. His friend Matthew was watching him with a smirk on his mouth. He was happy to have caught him unaware and Zortex felt an idiot for failing to notice. Matthew was a short guy, 10 cm less than Zortex, and with a slim built body. He had long brown hair and blue eyes. He always wore his thick glasses. That was in the real world, before entering Endless. It took 30 seconds of staring for Zortex to really recognize his friend by looking at this stranger. Right now in AoL, Matthew had crimson hair and red eyes. His white skin had changed color to a dark grey tone and his ears had a slightly pointy edge.Damn it! If I knew that it was possible, I would have also changedmy ears like that.No wonder Zortex had completely missed him while walking down the street. Especially the absence of glasses and different skin color made Matthew look like a completely different person. ¡°Finally you have arrived! I thought you slowpoke wouldn¡¯t make it in time to see me¡± Matthew said hugging his friend. ¡°Hi asshole! What do you mean not make it in time? You still have 10 days of your trial left¡±. Zortex answered back. ¡°I¡¯ve been here for already 29 days and tomorrow will be my last¡­probably it took your small brain a lot of time before connecting to the System.¡± ¡°Is that even a thing? I didn¡¯t know it was possible.¡± Zortex asked. ¡°Of course it is possible. They told us in the course before entering Endless¡± Matthew replied looking at him weirdly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even listening this morning¡­I mean before entering Endless. The guy was explaining all the usual stuff and I hadn¡¯t had a real nice sleep in the last couple of nights, so I was all busy trying to not start snoring during the talk.¡± Zortex huffed. ¡°Then your brain was stressed out, so probably that¡¯s why it took you longer to enter the system. Or maybe you are just too stupid to make it work properly.¡± Matthew said in a derisive tone.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The two friends were standing in the middle of the road, so people started bumping into them. They decided to move to the side where there was a small park. They talked for more than an hour, mostly Matthew narrating what happened to himself during the last month. Most surprising for Zortex was to hear that his friend had almost entered a guild already. He said that he just needed to pass the last test and he would be in. He didn¡¯t say what was it about or the name of the guild because it was a secret test. Most guilds were like this, at least the ones worth something. Guilds which accepted any noob count more on numbers than quality, so they ended up splitting as soon as some individuals fared better than the rest. ¡°Shall we go to the training center now? I still have to start practicing with the sword. I cannot lose too much time if I want to get a decent first class. The amount of effort has also a deep impact on your future combat class¡± Zortex asked. ¡°No, I have something better for you. I was just coming out of the guardhouse when I saw you. They just gave me a quest. And not a stupid one like cleaning pans or something similar. It is a fighting quest¡­almost. Basically I have to go into sewers and kill at least 20 rats. Apparently they are becoming aggressive¡± Matthew told him. ¡°Quests with killing should be extremely helpful into getting a strong fighting class. I can also share the quest with someone else. There are always too many rats. Just come with me to that guard and he should give you the same mission¡± ¡°Hmm¡­.can I do it right now? I still have no training and only a knife as a weapon. You at least have a short sword andthat leather armor.¡± Zhortex replied judging his friend appearance. Matthew looked at Zortex as if looking at an idiot. ¡°Of course you can! It is killing rats, not dragons. Just throw rocks at them or kick them. The only difference can be how fast you finish the job.¡± It make sense when he puts it like that.Once againI was forgetting that this is not a game. This is a World. You don¡¯t use a bastard sword to kill rats. It is easier to juststomp on them. ¡°I just wish to level up to see my stats increase. After a month of training all day, my body still feel the same. But at least my skill proficiency with the sword has reached lvl 11. I am the second best at the training center. That¡¯s one of the reasons why that guild contacted me.¡± Matthew added standing up. Zortex thought to himself that he now had a first goal: he had to get more than 11 in his sword skill mastery before the end of the month! No way he was going to lose to his friend. He wanted to best him as always. They made their way to the guardhouse and as promised he received the same quest.
Quest Kill at least 20 rats by the end of the week. Reward 20 coppers. If the guard is satisfied with your work you may receive another quest
¡°So, which way are the sewers?¡± Zortex asked. Ten minutes later they arrived at one of the many entrances scattered through the city. Right away Zortex regretted his choice to follow Matthew. The difficulty of the mission was not given by the hunt of the rats. The fetid smell was the main enemy. Both him and Matthew felt like vomiting right after entering. After a minute to get a bit used to it they were able to proceed trying to cover their noses. The light from outside was soon lost, so Matthew took out from his bag a white crystal which started to emit a bright light when he touched it. ¡°What is that?¡± Zortex asked after a whistle of appreciation. ¡°It is a light crystal¡± his friend replied. ¡°They sell them at the magic shop. They are really cheap. You can buy one for just 5 copper and it will activate as soon you send some mana into it and it can last a few days before shattering¡±. Zortex felt excited about all this new things he was discovering.I cannot wait to try onemyselfhe thought. Then he realized that he had no idea how to use mana. ¡°How do I send mana? How does it actually work? It was never explained in all the guides I read.¡± ¡°It is discouraged to explain it to noobs like you. If you want to find out go to the wizard tower later¡± Matthew said. Zortex looked at his friend surprised. His tone was a bit too aggressive to be considered the usual bartering of friendly insults. He could feel that the competition was getting into him. After years waiting for this moment he also felt excited. He had to remind his friend who was the best between them. Two minutes later they found their first rat. Matthew was the first to see it since he was leading with the light. He made a dash with the sword, but the rat dodged and started going back. Zortex¡¯s friend continued the attack and with his second swipe he was able to cut it in two pieces. He looked back smiling and said: ¡°Let¡¯s go. From now on there should be a lot more of them popping out everywhere.¡± He was right. Afterward they could find small groups of rats almost every minute. Often they could escape before being attacked, but sometimes they became aggressive and actually attacked back. After one hour Matthew had killed 13 of them and Zortex 5. The sword had longer reach than the knife, and his friend was leading with the light, but Zortex had to admit that Matthew was really good with his sword style. He deserved to be leading the hunt.Not that I will tell him, otherwise he will start getting arrogant.
Quest Kill at least 20 rats by the end of the week. Killed: 5 Reward 20 coppers. If the guard is satisfied with your work you may receive another quest.
Zortex looked at the notification and decided to be more aggressive to not be left behind. He just got bitten once until now and it took away very little of his Health. It was strange to see his wound stitch back and disappear in a matter of 10 minutes.The Health recovery system looks really nice.Matthew also got bitten once, but his wound healed much more slowly. He got a notification that told him that it had infected, so his health recovery almost stopped for next hour. Walking deeper and deeper in the sewers they found themselves in front of a weird situation. There were two rats that were not even paying attention to the two of them. They were already busy fighting against something else. Zortex looked better andhis eyes widened recognizing their enemy. They were fighting a slime.Awesome! The slime looked like a dense mass of ooze. A blob of a viscous dense liquid of green color. It had what resembled a face, but it was always shifting as if it had no solid stability. It was trying to catch the rats with sudden attacks stretching parts of its body into tentacles. The rats were avoiding the attacks with their dashes and then bite away portions of the slime. Zortex and Matthew watched the fight fascinated from what they were seeing. The turning point was when a rat moved behind the slime and started clawing and biting it. The slime reversed its body to attack it, but then it was the other opponent turn to assail it. After a few second the slime seemed to lose consistency and then simply melted into the ground, leaving a puddle of greenishooze and liquid which looked more foul than even the rest of the sewer. The rats started licking at it, feeding themselves after the fight. That was when the two friends attacked at the same time. They killed one rat each and continued with their hunt. In the next half hour they met two more slimes and many more rats. Matthew finally reached the goal of 20 rats. He then insisted for Zortex to take the lead and the light, after powering the crystal himself to last for two hours more or less, or so he said. He wanted to get out as soon as possible from the foul smell of the sewers. Zortex killed one more rat but was bitten once in return. He also got the infected status this time. He thought it was troublesome, but it didn¡¯t really matter much. It was just hunting rats after all. The damage was so low that a few bites didn''t matter much, no matter how awful they looked like. They also met a slime that looked like a rat. That was a funny sight and when they approached, it tried to move like a rat, but it''s green color gave it away. Apparently if a slime was able to kill and eat a rat it could change its appearance to mimic it. Or maybe that one slime was just a bit smarter than the others and tried to blend with the enemies. He wondered what would happen if the slime killed a human.How would it even eat a whole human? Better to not think about it. Zortex had no intention to die so soon. The instructions he read at the beginning said that if he died in AoL he could not get back inside the world for 5 days. Even worse, if he died during his trial, he could not enter again until the end of the 30 days period and then for 30 days more. Apparently the first people to enter AoL were too easy-going with their lives and killing each other or risking their life on purpose just for the feeling of the thrill of the risk. Endless implemented this rule to make people value more their lives. Once again he shouldn¡¯t treat this world just as a game. Survival was important. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we start to get back the direction we came from? We can still find rats and so when I will finish my hunt we will be closer to the exit.¡± Zortex said. ¡°Five more minutes in this direction. Maybe we will find a nest and you can kill a lot of them in little time. If not we will double back. And if we are lucky we may find another exit closeby¡± Matthew replied. They kept moving for a few more minutes until Zortex came to a stop. The corridor in front of him stopped. At his feet, the floor just reached an end anddropped down. Zortex extended his arm with the light to get a look at the hole in front of him. It was 4 meters deep, and at the bottom there was a big squared room. On the other side of the room there was a door with iron bars, as if it was a prison. Through the bars he could see another corridor. He looked to his left and saw the remains of a wooden ladder which was probably used in the past to go up and down. At that moment it was just some rotten wood. There were 5 slimes but no rats down there, but he had no way to descend even if he was interested. It was at that moment that Zortex felt a weird sensation in his belly. He looked down and saw the tip of a sword coming out of him. After the initial shock he started to feel the pain. Before entering AoL he had selected the option to attenuate the pain. It would not dispel it completely, but it would not impede him too much during a fight. The sword came out of him and Zortex looked to his back while holding hisnavel with both hands. Matthew grinned while looking at him. He had the sword in his hand. The tip of the blade was dripping blood to the floor, Zortex''s blood.Why did his friend do this? What happened? ¡°You are probably wondering why did I stab you.¡± Matthew said in a low voice. ¡°The test I received from the Malath Brotherhood, my future guild, was to obtain the class ¡®Dark Knight¡¯. They told me that one of the requirements to obtain that first class is to betray the trust of someone in the first thirty days. The more the trust, the stronger will be my rewards after the trial. They had seen it in me. The anger which was repressed for so many years. Even before meeting them I had already decided to crush you.¡± ¡°Since we met, you were always the one to be the best. School, games, sports. Always a bit better than me.¡± Matthew continued. ¡°As a kid I did not mind, but the older I got the more it pressed on me. I was tired to be second. I had already decided to get away from an arrogant asshole like you. You could rot by yourself for all I cared. Then Khira arrived. I have never told you, but I¡¯ve loved her since she first started talking to us. But once again you had to be the lucky one. She didn¡¯t care about me. She was only spending time with us hoping that you would notice her as more than a boring friend you could talk to not look alone in front of others. And I kept staying with you two hoping that she would notice me instead. What an idiot I was.¡± Matthew voice was getting louder and louder the more his monologue continued, his anger coming back to him. ¡°When the Malath Brotherhood gave me the test I was ecstatic. The mission was exactly what I intended to do from the very beginning. The problem with my plan was that ¡®travelers¡¯, as NPCs call us, are not allowed to kill each other inside the city. That¡¯s why I brought you in the sewers. This zone has monsters so it is not considered part of city proper. Even more, noobs like us during the trial cannot kill each other to avoid premature deaths. Even if I were to stab you a thousand times your health would drop just to 1 and stay there, never decreasing. But that will not block a rat or a slime from finishing the deal¡±. Zortex had trouble focusing on what Matthew was saying. It wasn¡¯t because of the pain. It was because it was not making any sense.Isit really my friend the one in front of me?he thought. They had grown up up together, they had shared everything.He was in love with Khira?Too many questions at once assaulted his mind. ¡°Luckily you arrived today. I was really scared when you didn¡¯t appear after the first 20 days. I almost resigned myself to kill one of the noobs I befriended at the training center, but luck is on my side for once. Everything went according to plan.¡± Matthew concluded his speech. His look was really scary. The light reflecting in his red eyes showed a malicious vision. He started to move closer and Zortex moved a bit back, but his foot foundno support. He was already at the edge of the floor. He found his balance before falling down and he looked again at his friend, if he could still call him so. ¡°Please stop. This cannot be. If we had problems we can talk about it. It doesn¡¯t need to be like this. We are friends¡± Zortex pleaded. Matthew stopped. ¡°This time I will be the one to win. You always said that you could be better than anyone else if you just put the effort to try. So why didn¡¯t you? All your life you were never the best in anything, just wasted potential. Here in Endless you will also end up the same. I bet in 10 years you will be around telling everyone how strong you would have been if you had taken your training seriously¡± Matthew replied Then he smiled and kicked him in the chest. Zortex felt himself falling down for two seconds and then when he hit the ground all the air went out from his lungs. Matthew watched him from above and laughed. ¡°New world, new life. Right?¡± helaughed again before picking up the light crystal which Zortex had dropped when he got stabbed. Just like that he left and Zortex found himself in complete darkness trying to breath. Chapter 4. The mightiest battle Zortex could not stand up, he felt as if his body weighted a ton. The Health bar in the corner of his eye was basically invisible and even worse he was still under effect of the of the infection from the rat¡¯s bite plus the bleeding effect.
You are Bleeding. Your HP will decrease by 10% each minute.
He hadn¡¯t even checked his stats yet since entering AoL because he had been too excited to take part into the quest. He didn¡¯t even think to follow the usual steps done by any noob and now he had no idea how to solve this situation. He had let Matthew drag him into a quest and he got completely screwed by him.Fucking Matthew!Rage overcame his misery giving him some energy.I will not die here!He wanted to survive and he would find a way to do so, no matter what. His ears caught the sound of movement from around the room.No time to checkmy status. He had to fight or die. He remembered seeing five slimes in the room when there was still light, three were close to the door, one was climbing the left wall and another one was in a corner close to where he fell. He knew that they were all attracted by his presence, and slime never chose to run as rat did. If his guess was right he probably had only 1 HP left and no HP regeneration working. A simple attack of a slime connecting would send him back to his white room in Endless. He had to strike first, before they could gang on him. The first target had to be the slime which was in the corner closest to him. But where was it? The room was completely dark now that the light crystal was gone with the traitor.Yes, a fucking traitor!I will kill Matthew!After all they went through together all these years and he just dropped on him all the fault of his unsuccessful life. ¡°Stop!¡± Zortex told himself. This is not the moment for that. Now he had to survive. He started crawling in the direction he heard the closest noise from a slime. His knife in hand, he moved slowly trying to make the less noise possible to be able to hear anything happening around him. After a few seconds hefelt a close noise in front of him and he recognized it. It was the sound the slimes made when they stretched a part of their body making a tentacle to attack. Zortex rolled to his left side just in time to hear something hit the ground where he had just been. With the knife in his hand he slashed the position he was just a second ago and he felt the resistance of something being cut.Good!I should be less than a meter away frommy target.He moved in that direction and slashed again, however he didn¡¯t touch anything. He had misjudged the distance and missed his best chance to win. He decided to roll again to his left, repeating his previous move. His instincts told him it was around the time the slime could launch a new attack. Luckily he was right, another thud came from his right where he had just been. He had probably avoided the attack by only a few centimeters. Once again he slashed the new tentacle and felt the knife passing through something squishy, but he didn¡¯t believe he could win with just that, he had cut the main body. Before losing the advantage, he crawled forward a bit more and slashed again and this time his attack connected. So he slashed 2 more times as fast as possible and felt the slime in front of him deflate. He had killed the first one, however he also came to the conclusion that he would not survive against the other four. He needed a plan. Zortex started to think as fast as he could while moving away. There had to be something he could do in this situation. The bestway for him would be to recover his health if he could. If it was the previous him with perfect health, he would probably be able to handle five slimes at once, but now he saw no possibility there. Infection and bleeding were working against him. Wait!I can try to stop the bleeding as in the real world he thought.He had to move fast, the other slimes moving his way. With some effort he took off his shirt, cut it in half and then he used one piece as bandage, wrapping himself in the belly where he was bleeding. With hope he waited for a notification, but nothing appeared.Fuck! Just my stupid luck. Probably the slimes were upon him by now, so he just laid on his back and waited for the inevitable. Nothing happened. He could hear them, but they were not getting closer anymore. Why this turn of events? Did they get scared when theyheard him killing their comrade? It didn¡¯t seem like that. They were making weird noises. Almost as if they were sucking something.Of course!Theyare sucking the blood left whereIfell down.It was absolute darkness in here and they could not see him. They were tracking him by the smell, or whatever other senses they possessed. There had to be a way he could exploit this!Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The bleeding effect has stopped. From now on you will not lose HP anymore due to that.
Yes!The notification he had been waiting before had arrived now. He was still infected by the rat bite but his HP would start increasing again, albeit very slowly. He was not safe yet, as now the slimes were getting closer again. They had sucked dry the blood in the position he fell down and now they were following the trail of blood he had left while crawling. He had to run to as long as possible to let his HP restore. He started crawling again while getting back some energy, but it was too early to stand up. Zortex felt that the enemies were gaining ground, so he played his last card. He still had with him the bloody part of the shirt he tore from himself. He threw it to the other side of the room and waited. He didn¡¯t dare to make a noise. He also stopped breathing so anxious he was. The noise from the slimes stopped for a second. Then they started moving again, but the direction was the opposite from him.Perfect!My plan has worked. NowI need to think of something else. It will not be long before they will be back forme. His health was still low, too low. Maybe he could survive one attack, but not 2. The problem was that as soon as he would be in range to slash a slime, there would be 3 more attacking him with tentacles. It was impossible to avoid all of them at the same time. Not with the body in his condition and without being able to see their attacks. Could he get some light? He couldn¡¯t think of anything. No way to light a fire or to use magic to light a crystal. If only he had learned a spell he could attack from a distance and be safe. His mana was full. It would be no problem to waste it on them. Zortex suddenly had an idea. It came back to him something Matthew said to him before hunting rats. He said to just kick them or throw rocks, and Zortex had seen some rocks scattered around the room and he also felt them under his body while crawling. He started moving as fast as possible trying to find as many as he could. He wanted to accumulate them before attacking. After 2 minutes he managed to pile up two dozens more or less, and by that time the slimes had finished with his shirt and started to come back for him. He was able to get to his knees right now and with some effort he could even stand up, but he wanted to keep his newfound little energy to throw rocks as strong as possible. He waited to pinpoint their position by their sound. When he was ready he threw the first one, however he missed. The rock hit the wall on the other side of the room and bounced back, at least from the noises he heard. Probably he had aimed too high, overestimating the height of the monsters. He made a new throw and he missed again.Where are those motherfuckers?!? He thought He picked up another rock and launched it, and this time he heard a squishy sound.Yes!Zortex had made a hit finally. He had never played baseball during his school years and now he regretted it. Some experience would have been nice. He started throwing as fast as possible and using all of his strength. He made a few other hits, but the sound of approaching slimes didn¡¯t stop and he knew why. Blunt weapons were not very effective against slimes, but he had nothing else, so he continued. He was wondering if he had killed at least one of them, however he had no way to know that. Nothing was giving away their presence apart from the noises. Suddenly a tentacle hit him in the shoulder and he stumbled back. By now his HP could probably survive 3 hits, or so he hoped. The closest slime was now within range, so it was time for plan B. He scrambled back as fast as he could and reached his second stash of rocks. These were the heavy ones, that he could not throw very far, but if they connected they should deal a lot of damage. He picked up the biggest one and threw it to the position of the slime which had just hit him. He felt a nice squishy sound. Hopefully that was enough to kill it. He picked up a new one and launched a bit farther in the same direction. Thatrock just went against the floor. That meant that the slimes were not coming at him in a straight line. Very bad! He had two more rocks left and no idea of the direction of the enemy. He thought he heard something a bit to the left. So he threw the rock that way. He could not afford to get hit again just to pinpoint the direction of the attack. Luckily he felt again the squishy sound.Yes!I am a genius!He thought to himself. He prepared the last rock, confident in his ability. There was still sound of movement so he was not alone yet. His heart was beating super fast in his chest. His senses were as sensitive as possible and he was sure he could catch any movement close to him.I am going to winhe thought. An attack came from behind him hitting his scalp.How it that possible? That''s cheating!The tentacle stuck to him and the slime actually dashed to his face trying to suffocate him. That was its mistake and Zortex¡¯s best chance. If the slime had kept attacking from a distance with tentacles, it would have won. This way instead Zortex was able to easily slash at it with the knife and kill it before completely losing his breath. One more slime and he would be free. The problem was that he could take no more attacks and he had no more rocks to throw. Being so close to death had once again slowed his body to barely being able crawl. He tried to hear it but he could sense nothing. He stayed tense like that for 5 whole minutes but nothing moved. He couldn¡¯t believe it. Apparently there were no more slimes left. One must have died when he had thrown the smaller rocks from a distance. Zortex laid on his back and tried to relax. He could not believe he had just fought the greatest battle of his life against 5 slimes. The lowest of the lowest monsters and yet in this moment he felt as if he had defeated a nest of dragons. And just like that he fell asleep. Chapter 5. Hunger or Anger? Zortex woke up in alarm. He could not breath at all. A blob of ooze was sticking to his face trying to suffocate him. His first instinct was to start clawing at it with his hands to free himself, however he found difficult to detach himself from whatever was stuck to his head. Before starting to panic he remembered to have a knife with him, so Zortex frantically started touching the ground around him until his hand met with the blade of his weapon and he got a cut to his palm. He found the handle right afterwards and he slashed again and again at the slime on top of him until it deflated and fell to the ground. He looked at his HP bar in the corner of his sight and saw that it washalf full even thought he was caught by surprise by the slime assault. The attack didn¡¯t happen right after his battle. He had slept for quite a while, so luckily his HP had completely restored. His life would not be in danger if there was only one slime as enemy, but why was there one right now?Are they respawning? It shouldn¡¯t be like this. AoLis not a game but a Virtual World. Here monsters have to reproduce, like any other animal Zortex thought.That meant that new slimes were entering the room from somewhere. Either they were coming down from the corridor above or they were passing by the barred door or a small passage in the floor. He had to be more careful. A few slimes or rats were not a danger to his life, but if they were to gang up on him with high numbers he could find himself in trouble. He stayed alert for a minute trying to hear any noise, but he nothing came to pass. He laid on his back again, thinking on what had happened to him the last day. He had finally entered Endless and right away came into AoL. He wanted to meet his friend Matthew and then got himself a quest with him. Thinking back with a clear mind, probably this was a very simple quest that all people knew about.Twenty coppers for spending hours in the smelly sewers? It is not worth ithe thought.Even if he spent all month here he would have been barely able to afford the items Matthew had on him. There must be faster and more lucrative quests outside. Now it came the problem¡­.Matthew. What to think about him? He was his best friend. His only real friend.Zortex still couldn¡¯t really believe what he said to him. He still expected Matthew to appear and say: ¡°Gotcha! You really fell for it! Let¡¯s go eat something now that the joke is over.¡± That was not going to happen. Matthew had really meant all the things he said.Zortex could see it on his face. He was dead serious and the laugh he had at the end was full of delight, something he hadn¡¯t seen on him in the last couple of years. His old friend had really been bearing this weight for years, and today he got to release all the anger and stress he had accumulated in that long period. Could Zortex still think of him as a friend? Could he patch things up? It didn¡¯t seem very likely, but he should still try. How could he wastefifteen years of friendship in a day? There should be something he could do, but right now he didn''t really feel like apologizing.It should be Matthew apologizing to me Zortex thought. Theyhadnotmade a link when they met, such was his rush to finish his first quest, and even if they did Matthew would have probably broken it. He had no way to contact him right now, so he needed to get outside and look for him before his trial expired. That gave him less than one day. Zortex was really hungry so he started thinking about food for the moment. He had not eaten anything since he arrived in AoL. He lookedinside his bag and found the bread and jerky. It was all broken from the struggle of the battle, but he started chewing the pieces scattered around the inside of the bag. He drank some water from the canteen and started thinking again about Matthew. Of all the things his friend had said the most surprising to him was that Matthew lovedKhira. Even more, he said that Khira was in love with Zortex.Was that possible? Unlikely.They had known each other for years and there was no sign of her liking him. Zortex had shined a bit on her at the beginning, but he would have probably got a crush on any girl who shared more than one sentence with him. The situation was making much more sense now. Matthew was in love with Khira, but Khira didn¡¯t like him back so Matthew shifted the blame on Zortex even though he had nothing to do with it. It was such a coward move. He should take responsibility for his own failures. It was not Zortex''s fault if he was always besting him.Although he admitted that his competitive personality made him always trying to beat him. Maybe he could convince Matthew that he could help him get together with Khira. Although at the end his friend said to himself that he was an idiot for loving her, so it probably meant that he had abandoned the idea, however it is not so easy to dispel a love which lasted years. Zortex decided that right after his trial ended he would contact Khira from his safe room in Endless, at least to have some truce flag to show when he would contact Matthew. Thinking about failures Zortex had to admit that Matthew was right about something. He had wasted his potential all his life. In his own mind Zortex was great, one of the best persons at almost everything, but in reality he had achieved nothing important in all his life. Would it be the same here in AoL? Hehad promised that now he would give 100% of his effort because this place was his dream World, but was it truly so? What was 100% in this World? So many questions he had to find an answer as soon as possible. Zortexthought back to his first goal since he arrived: achieving sword mastery skill above level 11 before the end of the trial. He would go to the training center and train hard hoping to also find Matthew there. After punching him in the face a 100 times maybe they could talk. Zortex stood up and moved to where he though the door would be. After a bit of wandering and touching the walls he reached it and he tried to open it, however it would not move at all. He found the lockand there was no key or any other way to open it. He passedone arm through the bars to check on the other side, but there was nothing as well.Everything is rusted so maybe itwill break easily,he thought. He pulled and pushed with all his strength but it would not budge at all. He started kicking it but still nothing, he was just hurting his feet. Apparently he would have to scale the wall and go back the way he had arrived. He moved in the opposite direction and reached that wall. He moved his hands to find any protrusion or holes to put hisfingers inside so he could start climbing. He found nothing substantial. The wall was too smooth. There was nothing that could hold his weight. He didn¡¯t start despairing yet. There should be something he could do. He thought about what was around the room. It was empty apart from some rotten wood and some rocks. Not enough at all to make a support high enough for him to jump and reach the edge. There was a small opening on the bottom of the right side of the room where some foul water from above was trickling down. It was too small for him to pass through and anyway he wouldn¡¯t have gone down there even if he could. After thinking for a while he smacked his head for being so stupid. He could use the rocks to smash the lock on the door. He collected one of the biggerrocksand went to the rusty door, ready for some more work. Moving there he ended up hitting the bars with his facesince he had misjudged the distance from his original position.Fuck! I want some fucking light!He had thought he was farther away into the room. Angry, Zortex started hitting the lock with his rock repeatedly and after 5 hits it broke. Not the lock. The rock broke. Cursing his luck Zortex went to pick up a few other rocks and started again. After 10 minutes all of his rocks had broken into pebbles. The door was still closed. ¡°What the hell is this door made from? Is there diamond inside the iron?¡± Zortex cursed out loud. He started thinking again. After one more hour he had no solution. After 3 more hours he finally started to grow desperate. He picked up his knife and tried to unlock the door with it, but it was to no avail. Hours and hours he kept trying but nothing was moving. Then he went back to the other wall and tried to stab the wall to create hand holds. After a couple of minutes he was able to make one deep enough for him to put his fingers inside and sustain his weight. Finally he had found a way out and he was full of joy, thus he started again to make a new hand hold at an higher point, however his knife snapped in half and he flinched at the unexpected result. Zortex just stared atthe piece left,his mind blank. At least he would be staring at it if only he could see anything in the absolute darkness. He kept touching the blade, but half ofit was gone and he could do nothing about it. He slowly sat on the ground and put his face in his hands. He felt completely without energy even though his Stamina was full. He remained in that position for a while. His misery was getting into his head. Someone wanted him to fail and he was succeeding. After surviving the slimes he thought he solved the present situation, but that was not the end. The main hurdle had yet to come. He needed something. Something that as a normal human in the real world he could not obtain, but here he had. His first thought was about Mana.I still haven¡¯t looked atmy Status screen! What a noob I am! ¡°Status!¡± Zortex shouted.
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: None
Level: 1
Stats:
Strenght 5The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Health 200(200) + 2/min
Endurance 5 Stamina 200(200) + 20/min
Agility 5 Mana 200(200) + 10/min
Spirit 5
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 2
Throwing mastery Level 1
¡°Just this?¡± Zortex asked.Where are Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma, Luck, Focus and other stats like that? That was unusual Zortex thought.Is there a reason? Maybe I have to unlock them.I have done nothing in the way of training so there may be something specific to do. Or maybe the stats are different from normal RPG games.Thinking about it, can a person become more intelligent ifhe gains Intelligence points? No. Endless cannot make people smarter. The same for Wisdom or Willpower. Those are all things which are inborn in the minds. Luck also cannot be increased by a command. The more Zortex thought about it the more it made sense, or maybe he was just completely wrong, and it was useless to think about it right now. One thing he knew. The masteries were just a grade the system gave to his knowledge of a skill. If he could not improve by himself, the level would stay the same. For example there could not be an item which would give him +2 levels in a skill. That again would be messing with his brain and it was not possible. Even if it was possible it would not be allowed by the rules in Endless. Still, Zortex had no solution to his predicament. No spell to use, no hidden skill¡­.nothing. He decided to not give up anyway for there is always a solution to any problem. He was hungry again so he ate some more bread as a break and then decided to think deeply to find a solution. Aftersome time he stood up and picked the broken blade from the ground. He moved with newfound willpower, even if it was not part of his stats, and he started scratching at the wall in the position the blade previously snapped in half. It was slow work but it would give results on the long run. Hehad been too optimistic. After approximately a few hours Zortex''s bladewas consumed so much that he couldbarely scratch the wall at this point. It became impossible to do it at higher positions were he would have to balance himself in previous hand holds. Zortex was sitting againstone of the walls thinking about his situation. He was not angry, not afraid, not happy¡­.he was feeling nothing at the moment. He was just tired and hungry. He didn¡¯t even know by now for how long he had been staying in the room. He had tried to sing or tell stories from books he had read, but soon he had lost the strength to even do that. The absence of light was unnerving at the beginning, but by now it was even worse. He had lost all sense of time and position. The only thing he knew was that his stamina was very slow at recovering and his HP were slowly decreasing. But at least that meant he was still alive somehow. Zortex was hungry. He was starving. He was ravenous. He had finished his bread and jerky a long time ago. Or maybe it was just little time ago. He didn¡¯t know. He could not tell the passage of time. He could drink the foul water coming down from above, but he could do nothing about food. He would have never thought that his first death in AoL would come from starvation. He kept opening and closing his status window hoping to see something change, but even that started to irritate him. Every once in a while he would scream for help hoping for someone to be around and to come to save him. No one came. Who would be so stupid to go into the sewers? Only a too trusting idiot. Iwill kill Matthew. Kill him a thousand times.I will chain him somewhere and let him starve as he did to me. He thought about abandoning the game and try to start anew in 2 months. What were 2 months when you had immortality in front of you? Still he couldn¡¯t let himself do it after what happened. The words of his enemy kept repeating in his mind. Matthew said that Zortex would fail. He would always fail because he couldn¡¯t put any effort in anything.I will show him he was wrong. Even if to just gain a month more of timeI will survive this trial and then start anew. After getting out of this placeI will huntmy oldfriend andI will killhim again and again, until he will be the one begging for some help. The friendship they had shared meant nothing anymore. Actually it made it worse. If a stranger made him go through this ordeal he would have hated him, but it was his only friend who did it. The one person who should have helped him carry his struggles had been the one to deceive him. The betrayal weighted on him and the starvation was burning this feeling in his mind. He had nothing to do hereaside fromthinking what he would do to compensate the betrayal.Maybe torture is allowed in game.I will have to find out.Zortex¡¯s thoughts were becoming darker and darker. Maybe madness was getting into him little by little, thought by thought, but he didn¡¯t care. Killing Matthew was all he cared about and that would dispel all his worries in the end. He was sure that everything will get better again as soon as he would stick a blade in the betrayer heart. Zortex was talking to himself more often now. He kept doing it more and more frequently at that point trying to dispel the dread surrounding him. The sound of the leaking water his only friend. Suddenly he heard a noise, thus in a flash he stood up and screamed for help, however no one replied. No steps from the corridor above or some light to dispel the darkness. Zortexshook his head.What an idiotI am. Of course that is just the noise of a slime rising from the opening on the bottom of the right wall. It happened sometimes in the past. He waited for a while and then looked in that direction and he laughed. ¡°Will you keep me company little friend?¡± Zortex mused ¡°You would not betray me, right?¡± The slime said nothing and kept moving his way. Zortex was dead tired from the lack of food, and his Health was reaching a dangerous level, however he decided to start moving around the roomto play withthe slime following him. "Should we play Hide and Seek?" Zortex said. A squishy sound answered back. Zortex understood that it was a yes. Slime language was simple. ''Yes'' is a squishy sound, whereas ''No'' is a squishy sound....Hmm, maybe itis not so easy afterallZortex thought and laughed again. He kept circling his new friend telling jokes and avoiding any casual attack just by staying beyond range. This was the most fun he had in a long time. He wanted it to last abit longer.Slimes are good friends apparently.I should invite them more often tomy humble abode.Zortex thought.Then a tentacle hit him in the side of his head. The pain was not much but something snapped in his mind. ¡°Ouch¡± said Zortex. ¡°You are also a fucking betrayer!¡± He then sprinted to where the slime was and tackled it. They rolled a couple of times on the floor and Zortex came out on top. He took out what was left of his knife and he started stabbing down his target plenty of times. In his mind he was not attacking a slime but someone else, so a maniac smile appeared on his face. After 20 seconds he had killed it. ¡°FUCK YOU!¡± Zortex shouted. ¡°Now I¡¯m even more hungry¡±. An idea popped up in his head. He remembered the rats in his first day down here. After winning their fight they had started eating what was left of the defeated slime. In the past it looked something disgusting which almost made him puke. Now he wondered what slimes tasted like. He took up a handful of viscous ooze and put it in his mouth. The taste was awesome! It was sour and a bitter. The gelatinous substance was difficult to chew and swallow. The smell made his eyes tear up. Probably before entering AoL he would have spat it as soon as it touched his tongue and brushed his teeth for an hour afterwards. Right now it tasted like heaven to him. He put the rest of it in his mouth and savored every second of it. He was still starving. One small slime could not satisfy him. After death, when they deflated, they lost most of their substance.Ineed more. Howcan I get them to come?Zortex thought. They appeared infrequently in the past. It may bemany hours or more before one decided to come up here. Heknew the trick. Slimes liked blood. They had followed it assiduously during his first battle. He would prepare a trap, thus he laughed again and made a cut on his hand. Blood started coming out, even more than he had expected. He was so excited that his hands trembled in trepidation. Zortex started spreading it close to the hole on the floor and continued on a trail to the center of the room. Then he sat down and waited. This was the invitation to his house he was joking about earlier. However the guests were not invited for dinner...they were the dinner. He laughed again. Nothing happened for a while, but Zortex had learned to be patient. Time was different down here. No sounds apart from his breathing and his heart beating. No light to judge the coming and going of days. He had no idea how long he had left of his trial. How long could a person survive without food? He had finished his bread on the first or second day, naively thinking he would soon leave the place. His hunger kept increasing afterwards. It could have been a few days or a couple of weeks. Zortex didn''t know and didn''t care anymore. Finally he heard again the noise he was familiar with. A slime had arrived closeby.No! Wait.Thereare two of them. Much better like this.I will also get dessert! He smiled at his own joke. The slimes finally entered the room and started sucking the blood in appreciation. "Come my dears. The food is almost ready. Ahaha" Once again Zortex started laughing. He was laughing more often lately. Maybe it wasn''t so bad down here if he was so full of joy.The blood trail was now gone so his noiseattracted their attention. He waited a bit more. HisHPwere still quite low so Zortex decided to not rush like a madman, since of course he was completely sane.Would a madman say that he is crazy? Probably not.Zortex laughed again...so funny. As soon theslimes were farther inside his room he dashed against them. He was quite familiar with their attack pattern by now so he dodged in one direction and then got close enough to use what remained of the blade of the broken knife. He was able to kill them quite fast and he ate them as fast as he could.These two are also delicious.He then cut himself again and put more blood as bait. He waited again and hunted and waited and hunted. He lost count of how many slimes he ate. Hestopped being hungry but he kept eating them.How couldI let such delicious food go wasted? Just as he was finishing another slime a notification appeared in front of his eyes.
Congratulations! Your trial period has ended. You will now receive your class ¡­¡­
Chapter 6. Time for training
Congratulations! Your trial period has ended. You will now receive your class. Shadow Slime Warrior Slimes are in your mind and in your blood. The eternal darkness is where you excel the most. Your enemies will tremble in front of your stickiness or slipperiness. In the dark they will fear you and you will consume them with a smile on your face.
Congratulations! You have obtained a never seen before class during your trial period. Considering how long AoL has been open and the number of users, this is considered a great achievement. All your Stats increase by 5. You will receive a bonus skill of your choice.
New skills and spells added: ¡¤ Slimification: You can turn any part of your body into slime consistence. ¡¤ Slime summoning: You can summon a slime pet. The pet will share experience with you and can be re-summoned after death. ¡¤ Resistance to darkness: Every darkness attack will have 50% reduced effect on you. Increased vision at night. ¡¤ Resistance to electricity: Every electrical attack or buff will have 25% reduced effect on you ¡¤ Weakness to fire: Every fire related attack will have 500% more effect on you. ¡¤ Weakness to light: Every light related attack will have 100% more effect on you. ¡¤ Slime muscles: Small resistance to some physical attacks and poisons. You will not be able to choose any spell or skill unrelated to slimes or darkness. Remember that you can always discover new skills. Combining skills you already have or by using them in creative ways new skills can be created.
You can choose one bonus skill between these ones: ¡¤ Acidic shot ¡¤ Concealment ¡¤ Sonar
¡°Ahahaha! Ahahaha!¡± Zortex could not stop laughing.Shadow Slime Warrior. What a funny name. ¡°Interesting. Interesting!¡± Zortex was curious to see what would happen at the end of the process. He looked at the characteristic of the additional options:
¡¤ Acidic shot: You can form a ball of acidic substance and shoot it at your enemy. ¡¤ Concealment: You will blend in the shadows and it will be difficult to notice you. ¡¤ Sonar: You will be able to navigate in the darkness by emitting imperceptible sound waves and listening to the echo
Zortex didn¡¯t care about Concealment. It would be nice to have it, but for now it didn¡¯t look important. The other two skills on the other hand were a lot more interesting. He could already see better in the dark from his resistance to darkness, and he noticed his lack of offensive skills and spells. Acidic shot would be the most logical choice. So Zortex chose Sonar. Is it madness? Maybe. Zortex had the feeling that it would be much easier to obtain Acidic shot somewhere else, however Sonar looked like a rare skill.
Congratulations! Your real journey starts now. The World is large and full of adventures. Have fun!
Zortex felt his body changing. It was a really weird sensation, quite unpleasant. After 10 seconds the process stopped and he started moving and testing himself. He could still move as normal. Everything felt the same, only to him it seemed like he had something akin to new muscles that he had never used. He tried to flex one¡­ or something like flexing. All around him things changed. He felt like everything was screaming. He fell on the ground and tried to cover his ears. The screaming stopped before his hands could reach his face. He checked himself again and he felt fine. On the other hand the bar of his stamina had been halved in those 2 seconds. Perplexed Zortex looked at his status screen. ¡°Status¡±.
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 1
Stats:
Strength 10 Health 200(200) + 1/min
Endurance 10 Stamina 105(200) + 20/min
Agility 10 Mana 200(200) + 10/min
Spirit 10
Skill proficiencyThe narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Knife mastery Level 2
Throwing mastery Level 1
Slimification Level 1
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 2
Sonar was level 2. Apparently that¡¯s what he had just used. So why did it hurt like that? He could not understand anything, so Zortex sat down and prepared for what was going to come. He repeated the same procedure as before and again he rolled on the ground overwhelmed by the magnitude of the sensation. After the effect ended, as suddenly as before, Zortex checked his stats again. His stamina was completely depleted. He started breathing hard and he felt really tired. That was the sign of the lack of stamina. After recovering a bit, Zortex checked the level of the skill and it was still lvl 2.What amI doing wrong? Where is a mentor whenI need him?Ah, of course! Hewould be out in the open teaching the other noobs like mehe thought. ShouldI just restart from zero?There was the option to cancel the ''account'' and repeat the trial starting anew. Before, he would have had to wait 30 days more, but now that he had passed the trial he would have no more trouble. That was one of the reasons he persevered in his quest to stay alive. To show that he had the willpower to do anything to get to the top now that he was in Endless. After some deep thinking he decided to continue like this for a whilelonger to seehow thiswould go, after all he got a Unique class. That was not something happening every day. He waited 10 minutes for his stamina to get up and then he tried again with Sonar. He was more prepared this time but it was still overwhelming. The same as before, he was laying on the ground catching his breath. There must be something he was not understanding. The only way to understand was to go on and learn by himself through experience. Zortex tried three more times and he always ended up the same. Curious, he decided to see what would happen if he tried the skill when he had almost no stamina. He expected something to tell him that he could not activate it. To his surprise the skill activated, but just for a fraction of a second. He barely had time to feel it. ¡°So the duration of the skill was proportional to the quantity of Stamina¡± Zoran mused. Just like that he understood what was happening. The effect of the skill depended on how much stamina he was expending on it and the duration was controlled by him or by the amount of stamina left. He was basically putting too much energy in it. He waited to recover his Stamina and attempted again, trying to flex that imaginary muscle less than before. This time the amount of screams was a lot less. Still too much for him to focus on anything, so he lost control and again poured all his stamina into the skill at full power falling to ground holding his head. It was much harder than he thought. Going full power was much easier, but for an ability like Sonar it was counterproductive. He needed to go very low to understand only his surroundings. It needed a level of control he didn¡¯t possess at the time. Maybe the maximum level of power would be useful in the open and directing it in a specific direction. He decided to move on for now. Maybe by checking the other abilities he would get an insight on how to proceed with this one. Zortex tried one of the other two imaginary muscles he felt. This time he went as delicate as he could. Nothing happened. He tried harder and still nothing. The third time he put all the effort he could and he felt something releasing from inside him. Something he didn¡¯t even realize having until he lost it. His mana bar went down completely and he felt the energy moving through his body collecting on his hand. It started to get painful to just hold it there, so he tried throwing it on the ground. It felt as if it was something solid. After leaving his hand he could not feel it anymore and of course he could not see anything. He waited, holding his breath, and he was rewarded a second later with the sound of something squishy moving. The noise of a slime came close from where his leg was. Zortex was about to jump away when the slime attached itself to his foot. Naturally his mouth started drooling. A new slime to eat was always a nice surprise. He stopped himself just before stabbing it. The slime was not attacking him. It was just staying there waiting. Of course! What an idiot I am.He had just used the Slime Summoning spell. It seems that it required all of his mana to make it work. A sudden thought came into his mind and a malicious smile appeared on his face. He could basically use his mana to make food. He could just keep summoning his pet and eat it as food. This was great news. He would never have to starve again.And Slimes are super delicious!It was a win-win situation. He wanted to check the status of his pet but how could he do that? Zortex tried saying ¡°Status Pet¡±. It was the right choice. Things sometimes were easy but he would not trust his luck much. If he could see Luck as a stat it would probably be a negative number. Or maybe super positive. He had to suffer a lot, but he also survived when most people would have just died.
Name: Undecided
Class: Slime
Level: 1
Stats:
Strength 2 Health 20(20) + 0.5/min
Endurance 2 Stamina 20 (20) + 2/min
Agility 1 Mana 15(20) + 1/min
Spirit 1
Zortex¡¯s face betrayed all his disappointed. Not exactly the strongest pet ever, however he was curious to see how it will become after leveling it up. There was hope to get a somewhat useful companion. ¡°I will call you Pravin¡± Zortex said to it. It vibrated a little. Maybe it meant that it was happy, or it was complaining¡­how could he know? He didn¡¯t speak Slimese yet, no matter what his class said. Probably Pravin would not be happy if it knew that Zortex wanted to put it in the menu for the dinner. Now Zortex had to try the last skill. He wasn¡¯t really sure what to expect from it. Slimification sounded awful, but there could be some advantages depending on the situation. He waited for his mana to get back to the maximum, although he didn¡¯t know if it would consume mana or stamina. Zortex tried flexing a little that imaginary muscle. He felt a bit of mana leaving his center and saw the mana bar reducing at the corner of his dark vision. He focused his mind to send the mana to his right hand to make a tentacle like slimes liked to do. He tried to imagine the picture in his mind, but Zortex could not even direct the mana in that direction. It was escaping in all other zones. Zortex attempted again as he had still plenty of mana left. He did a better job this time, but still it was beyond him to send it exactly where he wanted, and he felt no result at all. He spent the next two hours doing just that. Zortex was getting angrier by the moment. He thought that people during their trial month had 30 days to keep practicing things like this, and with the help of a teacher. On the other hand he had to spend a month in complete darkness fighting for his survival and almost starving to death. Zortex would definitely have his revenge. Matthew was going to die. He imagined a slime covering all of Matthew body and digesting him slowly in a painful way. That image sparked an idea. Slimification could make any part of his body become like a slime.What ifI overpower the spell using all the mana at once? CanI become a full slime?He laughed and tried right away. All the mana poured through his body and he felt himself¡­melting. That was the best way to describe it. He had no more solid parts and he reached the floor as a gelatinous mass crashing to the ground. He focused his mind on his new body and felt he could still move by hardening some flexing zones and liquefying others, but it was really complicated. His mana was gone, but his body remained in that status. Now he had to understand how he could get back to his original form. Meanwhile for the next 10 minutes he exercised to be able to move as he wanted. It was difficult but after he started picturing himself as a snail he improved a lot. Then suddenly, without alarm, his slime body stiffened and reformed into a human body. He felt a bit nauseous but he got over it soon after. He also realized that he hadn¡¯t lost his pants. He didn¡¯t have his clothes on while ¡®sliming¡¯ , but they reformed around his human body afterwards. Right now his items meant nothing, but in the future he didn¡¯t want to lose all his stuff every time. Pravin kept quiet during all this training. Zortex decided he had to train his skills before leaving the room. After spending so much time in it, he felt a bit anxious at leaving it. He had to kill Matthew out there, but how could he do that with no skills? Here he had food and time, the best things to train undisturbed. He would surpass his enemy and he will come out of here with unimaginable power. He had already mastered Slime summoning. There was nothing to it apart from shooting the right amount of mana and wait for Pravin to appear at his side. Next he decided to improve his control over Slimification. He would use that skill to move through the bars of the iron door and get to an exit when he would decide to leave. First, he continued to completely become a slime and learn how to move in that body. After a few hours he had become a lot better, although his movement were still very awkward. His shape was changing according to his wishing, however he was very slow and sometimes he simply went wrong on some part of his slime body. He wanted to give a new try to Sonar, but his stomach started making noises reminding him that he needed to eat. He would train better with a full stomach so Zortex looked in the direction were Pravin should be. It was not moving but Zortex could feel it anyway. Was this the bond between master and pet? He started to drool again. ¡°One hour. If no other slime passes by in the next hour I will eat you¡± Zortex told his pet. Maybe it was his imagination but he thought that Pravin moved a bit away from him. Once again he made a small cut on his hand and prepared the bait. While waiting he decided that he should keep himself busy, so he slapped his face and activated the Sonar ability as low as possible. He was so afraid that he ended up not sending any energy at all. Zortex tried again and this time he used it too much so he had to stop himself right afterward. At least he didn¡¯t overpower it in the confusion. That was an improvement for sure. After 20 minutes a slime appeared. Finally it was meal time so Zortex went to attack it as usual, but before he could reach it Pravin had already stretched a tentacle and attacked it. ¡°STOP IT!¡± he shouted angrily at his pet. ¡°That is my dinner. If you want some, go hunt by yourself¡±. Pravin readily withdrew and let his master do his job. Zortex was happily eating his food when a notification appeared to him.
New skill discovered: ¡¤ Slime eating: by eating a slime your HP and MP will recover by the same amount of HP and MP the slime had. Further leveling the skill may increase the percentage of recovery.
¡°Yes! One more reason to eat slimes¡±. Like that he prepared a new trap. It was time to grind to improve this last skill. At least he didn¡¯t need any MP or stamina for it and it would be delicious. Chapter 7. The darkness in the heart Zortex was munching on the latest slime that entered his turf. Some of the least dense gelatin was dripping from his chin and he cleaned it with his hand and licked it. His mother would have raged if she saw him eating like that, she thought that her son had stopped chewing like that since he was four years old, but now that he was more than twenty he started anew. For now Zortex didn¡¯t even notice his awful demeanor; who cared about table manners when around him there was no table, no other people and no light at all. Even more so if you considered the fact that for most people Slimes were not high cuisine. They didn¡¯t know what they were missing. As he finished, Zortex left a bit of leftovers for Pravin. His pet slime happily came closer and absorbed what was left. At a certain point in time he had noticed that Pravin¡¯s HP was going down even though it was doing nothing. By experience he knew what was happening. The starvation had started consuming the Health of his pet, so he had tested giving him some food. ¡°Here, have it¡± he had said. Pravin had rushed to the corpse faster than Zortex thought possible for a slime. By the way, Zortex could see the stats of his pet on top of its head exactly as he could see his own in the corner of his vision. Surprisingly he could not see the level of the monsters in the dark. He could see it when they were illuminated by the light crystal, but not now. It made sense, otherwise, here in the complete darkness, he would have been able to exactly pinpoint the slimes just by relying on the position of the level sign.
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 2
Stats:
Strength 10 Health 202(202) + 2/min
Endurance 12 Stamina 222(222) + 22/min
Agility 10 Mana 228(222) + 11/min
Spirit 13
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 3
Throwing mastery Level 1
Slimification Level 4
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 2
Slime eating Level 3
Zortex had been productive while hunting. The training proceeded as he expected. In AoL it was really hard to level up skills, and intensive training added to long time were necessary to improve. A person could not become a sword master in a day, so becoming a great slime should require great effort as well. Looking at his stats he noticed what happened after the level up. Only Endurance and Spirit had increased for a total of 5 points. He had already heard this particular rule. Each level meant 5 more points that will be distributed by the system based on what he did in between the two levels. His level 1 was considered to have officially started at the end of the trial, thus it was mostly his training which counted in the distribution. Slimification probably was related to Spirit which in turn was related to the Mana, while Sonar consumed his Stamina so it should be related to Endurance. He didn¡¯t really show any display of strength or agility during this period, so they stayed the same. Pravin also leveled up as he would share 50% of the experience with its master.
Name: Pravin
Class: Slime
Level: 2Stolen story; please report.
Stats:
Strength 3 Health 20(20) + 0.5/min
Endurance 3 Stamina 24 (24) + 2.5/min
Agility 2 Mana 22 (22) + 1/min
Spirit 2
Itsstats had increased by 4 points instead of 5. This meant it would fall farther behind with time. Once again this was reasonable. If pets were as strong as the masters, fights would be unfair for people without pets since it would be like a 2 vs 1 situation. Zortex went back to training his Slimifaction, his best skill at the moment. He had to learn how to do something offensive with it, like an attack with a tentacle. His half knife was barely good enough to kill slimes, and it was also deteriorating after all the things it went through. Thoughts about having his revenge on Matthew kept coming to his mind, but even after going almost crazy down here, he was sane enough to understand that he would not be able to kill him right now. That was not a problem for Zortex. Endless was eternal, so in the future he would have his chance. Revenge was a dish best served cold¡­.just like Slimes! Still he wondered if he was becoming a coward. Was he staying here to train undisturbed or because he was too afraid to get out and be killed and humiliated by his nemesis? He decided to give himself a time limit, he would go out as soon as he found a way to attack the enemies through one of his slime skills. Zortex didn¡¯t know the passage of time around him. He just kept training and training his skills as much as his mana recovery and stamina recovery were allowing him to do. Of course he didn¡¯t forget to sleep and eat. He was not a machine, and he didn¡¯t want to go really crazy. Amonth later Zortex got a notification while he was trying to turn his arm into a tentacle.
New skill discovered: ¡¤ Mana control: you can control the direction and the quantity of the mana inside your body. At this level you can barely hope tomake the lowest of spells.
¡°Yes! Finally something new! I¡¯m getting closer to transform just my arm into a slime substance. After that I should be able to extend a tentacle to use as a whip.¡± Zortex said. Lately he started talking more often to Pravin. His pet was his only companion down here and he always did what he told him to do.Much better than stupid betrayers. After obtaining Mana control he focused all of his efforts into transferring the mana in just one location. He started with his right arm since it seemed to be the easiest to control. After six more months The training was hard but he persevered. Zortex knew that he was almost there. Just a bit more of focus and I will be done, then I willgo out and kill that bastard. It has probably beentwo or threemonths already. Hopefully Matthew is still around and I will catch him by surprise. He probably thinks that I restarted my trial somewhere else.Zortex thought. A few days later:
New skill discovered: ¡¤ Tentacle: you can elongate your slime arm and use it to attack your enemies.
¡°Finally!¡± Zortex didn¡¯t know how long it took him to reach this level, but his instincts told him that it was far too long compared to the results. Was his talent low or was it because he had to learn everything by himself? Zortex looked at his Status.
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 6
Stats:
Strength 13 Health 210(210) + 2/min
Endurance 16 Stamina 332(333) + 33/min
Agility 13 Mana 123(391) + 19/min
Spirit 23
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 4
Throwing mastery Level 1
Slimification Level 8
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 3
Slime eating Level 9
Mana control Level 11
Tentacle Level 1
Killing and eating slimes basically gave him no more experience. He couldn''t even remember the last time heleveled up. Also the slime eating skill reached a plateau, so he would have to find stronger and tastier slimes in the future. Delicious as they might be, he was tired by now of eating always the same thing. Too bad that his Sonar skill had progressed so little. It was much harder to control compared to Slimification. It would have been really useful inside this lightless place, but right now he could do nothing with it. He started moving around his tentacle arm using it as a whip or even in a straight line when he first elongated it. Slimes where not even useful adversaries to test himself. As soon as the skill reached level 2 he decided that it was time to go. Suddenly his body started to tremble. He had promised himself that he would leave this room at this time, but now that the moment had arrived he found himself scared shitless to go away. The world outside looked like a distant thing. Here he was safe, nobody would venture so far in the sewers, but outside there were other people and other monsters. How long since he talked to another human being? He still didn¡¯t know how much time had passed. He could have calculated the time checking continuously the increase of mana and stamina after using them, but it would have been too much trouble, so he didn¡¯t. Pravin squished close to him. He felt the stress of his master and wanted to help. ¡°I know. I promised. I will do it, just give me some more time to prepare my mind¡±. Zortex said. Pravin squished again.He was not happy.Zortex could somehow understand what the pet wassaying, after so much time together. There was a moment of complete silence that stretched for a long hour. Zortex felt pain in his chest even though it was attenuated by the system. The coward slime warrior got on his knees and looked at the ceiling. Tears formed in his eyes and he silently cried, drops falling down into the floor. He didn¡¯t know for how long he stayed like that but his knees also started to hurt. Zortex took three big breaths and slammed his head against the floor as hard as he could. Threemore times he did it, until his HP were close to 0. Then he stood up and shouted ¡°YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU DESTROYED WHAT I WAS BEFORE. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE CONSEQUENCES MATTHEW!¡± Zortex eyes were determined now. He would become what he said he would be when he entered AoL. ¡°You will see me, bastard.¡± Zortex whispered. He reached the iron door and transformed in a slime. After 8 months he finally left the room for the first time. Chapter 8. First Boss? Passing through the door was easy. Zortex by now felt as comfortable in a slime body as in his human body. He could not move as fast, but much faster than normal slimes. To his surprise, the slime warrior could not outran his slime pet. For months he and Pravin had been competing sliming around the room, but he didn¡¯t win even once. His agility stat gave him an edge physically speaking, but the talent and experience of Pravin regarding slime movement were still the winning factors. Zortex squished through the bars and in a few seconds he was on the other side. He then reverted back to his human form with a thought. Returning solid was a trick which cost him a lot of practicing, and he was able to master it not that long before learning his tentacle skill. Right now he could exactly control the amount of mana necessary to fully become a slime, and afterwards he just needed to fuel the transformation with a tiny bit of mana to not revert back. The moment he stopped the flow he would return to a solid body. The amount of mana flow necessary to fuel it was more than his mana recovery value, so he could not go on indefinitely, but leveling up in the future would solve the problem. Zortex started slowly walking along the only available direction while keeping an hand to the wall. His night vision stat attribute would help him see better in the dark, but in total absence of light it was useless. His Sonar skill would have been a blessing in this situation, but he could do nothing with it at the moment. He tried to keep his pace as silent as possible, not knowing what was ahead. In the past he didn¡¯t see anything more than rats and slimes in the sewers , but who knew what else could be in here. Maybe he will find goblins or zombies or monsters he couldn¡¯t even imagine. AoL followed a few of the oldest stereotypes, but there was also much more lurking around in this World. ¡°Go on ahead. If you feel anything dangerous just pat me on the leg with a tentacle¡± Zortex told Pravin. Somehow slimes could orient themselves in total darkness. He was sure they used a strong sense of smell to follow blood trails, but there must be something more. Maybe it was hearing, but he suspected that it was a skill similar to Sonar. Pravin and other slimes buzzed every once in a while, as if they were vibrating. He continued moving forward for a couple of minutes and then Pravin stopped in front of him. Zortex waited. He was expecting to hear some sound or anything, but Pravin had just stopped without patting his owner on the leg as he was told to do in case of danger. Zortex moved to Pravin side extending his arms and he touched something solid. Was this the end of the corridor? Did he miss a lateral intersection? He tested the surface going left and right and then coming back to the middle he touched up and down. There was a door. It was not wooden, but it felt like as if it was made of stone. A stone door was a problem. Passing through metal bars was easy, but squishing through a little slit required some preparations, at least for him. Pravin should have no trouble, so he told it to move under the little slit at the bottom and check the other side. Pravin made it look easy¡­five seconds and it was gone from his sight, or at least he could not see his stats bars anymore. In moments like these he felt proud of his pet. Sometimes attack power was not everything. Having many tricks was the secrets to solve most situations. Of course against dragons little tricks would not help. Or maybe yes, Zortex hadn¡¯t met a dragon yet. One minute later Pravin reappered on his side. He started bumping and buzzing and squishing. That meant he was excited. Whatever was on the other side would be good. Zortex prepared himself for an hard level of slimification. He poured all his mana into transforming and became a full slime. He could not afford to focus on fueling the transformation, so he just poured everything and hoped he would be on the other side by the time he reverted back. ¡°If a simple slime can do it, there is no way an awesome Shadow Slime Warrior would fail! Sorry Pravin, but now it is my time to shine¡± Zortex said. Pravin squished. He started flattening his body as much as he could and moved in the small slit at the bottom of the door. Or so he hoped. He was still too big. For the nextten minutes he pushed with all his willpower to flatten to a level he could fit. After five minutes he succeeded to become that slim, but the problem was that he had no idea how to move without increasing the size. At the end of the ten minutes he turned back because he didn¡¯t want to find himself partially under the door when he would solidify. Once he was human again he sat down and started to analyze the situation. Pravin on his side squished in a way that sounded like laughter. Was his pet making fun of him? Zortex could not fail again, his pride would not allow him. Now he had a clear idea of the problem. He could become flat enough, but he could not move when he was so slim. He imagined himself during the attempt and came up with the solution. Only the part of his body directly under the door needed to be that flat while the rest could stay in a bigger dimension to propel himself through. His mana had refilled so he tested his idea, but without approaching the door for now. He had to master the technique before attempting for real, otherwise it would be death. Twice he exercised before feeling confident enough. Zortex approached the rock door and breathed three times to focus and release the tension. He sneezed¡­it was quite dusty in here, so big breaths were risky. ¡°See you on the other side¡± he told Pravin. Like that he became a slime and flattened himself fast, but with rigorous precision. He followed the trail left by Pravin when he first passed by, because the dust had been removed and it was easier to move unimpeded. The door was not very deep, just five centimeters of solid marble, still he had to struggle a lot. A couple of times he felt like he was stuck and started to panic, but Pravin arrived and started pushing his back part allowing him enough momentum to arrive to the other side. ¡°Told you I would make it!¡± Zortex said. Then he looked in the direction of his pet. He should stop doing like this, always competing with the ones he kept close to him. That was what had ruined his friendship with Matthew and he didn¡¯t want to ruin the bond he had with Pravin. ¡°Thank you Pravin. You are awesome.¡± He told his pet and was rewarded by an happy squishy sound. His slimese was improving, now he could understand the emotion of slimes! Why wasn¡¯t this shown on his skills list? It would be nice to check his proficiency. Looking around, his vision was rewarded with something he was used to¡­.once again there was complete darkness. He could take out his eyes for all he cared. He put his right hand on the wall and started moving following the direction. This time he didn¡¯t find something straight, but a curved wall. After a minute he came back to the original position close to the door and swore out loud. ¡°What the fuck can I do to get out of this place? And why were you so excited Pravin?¡± As answer his pet moved to the center of the room and stopped there waiting for him. Puzzled Zortex followed him and when he reached Pravin¡¯s position he stuck something in front him. He felt a bit of pain but it was more the excitement for the unexpected thing in front of him. He started circling it, touching the surface. Pravin just climbed on top of it and waited. After some consideration Zortex came to the conclusion that he was standing in front of a coffin. It was a rectangular structure of around 2x1 meters dimensions and 1 meter high. ¡°So this a tomb¡± Zortex told Pravin. Probably a wealthy guy was buried in here if he could afford all of this. Everything around here feels like marble and that doesn¡¯t come cheap, but why here in the sewers?He tried testing for the cover of the coffin and found that it wasn¡¯t very thick. Maybe he could open it. He put all his strength into pushing it aside and he was rewarded by a slight movement. ¡°Yes, I can do it!¡± Zortex told Pravin and then he went completely still. He slowly moved back to the door and put his hand on it. He pushed with all his strength again and after some resistance the marble started moving and the entrance opened in front of him. Zortex wanted to cry¡­.he had spent so much time with the iron door that it didn¡¯t even occur to him that doors sometimes are not locked and can open without special skills. ¡°At least I got some training with slimification¡± he mumbled. Zortex went back to the coffin and resumed the process of pushing. It was hard work. Even if thin, it was still rock he was trying to move, so after a couple of minutes he asked also for Pravin¡¯s strenght. That helped a lot and 10 minutes afterwards the cover slipped down to the floor with a loud crash.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Zortex was about to start rummaging inside when something happened that he would have never expected. Light poured in the chamber from inside the coffin. Scared, Zortex jumped away confused by what just happened, Pravin following him as a dutiful pet should do. Some creaking noises were coming from the center of the room and a few second later a skeletal hand got hold of one of the edges. A skeleton face appeared soon after, the neck twisted and his eyes locked on Zortex. The source of brilliant light which illuminated the room was the inside of the empty sockets in the skull. Zortex didn¡¯t know at the time, but the light from the skeleton¡¯s eyes was almost invisible to a normal person, even after adjusting the eyes to the dark. Skeletons liked to assault their victims while waiting in the dark, so they didn¡¯t want to be seen. His eight months of absolute darkness had made him so sensitive to the light that he was able to see around the whole room with just that little illumination. ¡°Wow. A skeleton moving. I didn¡¯t think I would meet an undead so soon.¡± Is it time for a fight? Maybe it has no evil intentions.I should wait before making the first move. The skeleton stood up completely, a short sword in his right hand. It jumped down from the coffin and raised his sword ready to attack. Over his head there was written ''Skeleton Warrior LvL ??'' ¡°I think that clearly means that you are not here to chat with me¡± Zortex said. Time to test his fighting potential against a real enemy. Slimes meant nothing anymore. Hopefully the skeleton level was not too high. This was still the center of a spawning city, one of the safest zones. In the underground there are small monsters like slimes and rats (rats are not monsters technically speaking), so there shouldn¡¯t be a lvl 100 monster. Still even a lvl 20 monster could easily be his death. Nothing to do but find out through combat. ¡°Pravin. Move to my left. When it will come to attack me you will try to tackle his legs with your tentacles.¡± The slime pet followed the order. The skeleton rushed at Zortex in a small run. Even though the Slime Warrior was looking at it and ready for the fight, he was still unprepared for such speed. The undead was slower than a normal person would be, but after getting used to slimes, the skeleton appeared fast by comparison. Zortex picked a rock sitting just beside his foot and he threw it at the enemy. One of the ribs was hit by the shot and cracked, the skeleton lost balance for a moment, but started anew right away. ¡°Time to check my ability¡± Zortex said to himself. He raised his right arm and flowed mana through it. The arm became a sickly green color and shot forward elongating to four meter length. Zortex opted for a straight hit. He had aimed for the chest of the skeleton that by now was within range. Before the attack connected, he hardened the surface of the tentacle to power the impact. The attack was aimed correctly, but the skeleton was able to shift a bit to the left, so instead of the chest it was the shoulder that got the impact. The undead rotated with the hit without falling to the ground and raised his sword to strike down at the tentacle. Zortex tried to withdraw the appendage, but he was too slow and 40 centimeters of it were cut away. There was no pain for the loss of flesh (ooze), but his HP went down by one fifth. He would have to be careful to not lose any part of his body. Now the skeleton was two meters away and it raised its sword for a slash at Zortex head. Before it could do that it fell to the ground. Both ankles of the undead warrior were blocked by tentacles from Pravin. Zortex¡¯s companion was pulling with all its strength to keep the skeleton away from its master. To not waste the opportunity Zortex formed again a tentacle to his right side and smashed it on the back of the enemy as if he was using a whip. He smashed a second time but at the third one he hit only the ground. The enemy, instead of pushing against the pull of Pravin, decided to follow the slime in that direction. He left Zortex and threw itself at the poor pet. He first slashed horizontally cutting almost halfway through the head of the slime, then he made another slash from top to bottom and a big slice of Pravin slipped to the ground. The skeleton kicked what was left of the body against the wall and Zortex¡¯s pet deflated, killed by the enemy. Zortex was furious. Pravin was his best friend, his only friend. He could rely on him and Zortex had failed to protect him. Zortex was running towards his enemy with his arm extended behind him and rotating his body smashed the skeleton once on the side and completing the rotation he hit a second time with even more momentum. The undead had protected his main body by raising his left arm, but that was now completely shattered and the fragments fell to the ground. Zortex checked his mana and noticed that he still had half of it. He could still attack a few times. Now the skeleton was on the defensive, waiting to use his sword whenever the tentacle would try to hit it. They started circling each other until Zortex made a dash to get behind the coffin where the cover had crashed. The skeleton tried to follow but he found himself hit by a big rock. He stumbled and when he resumed the walk another rock hit him in the chest. Zortex heard something breaking. The undead monster had approached and made a slash at Zortex¡¯s neck with the short sword. He ducked to the ground and kicked the knee of the monster who fell on top of him. While falling the skeleton was able to stab him in the left leg. There was some pain, but Zortex was too busy thinking how to win this fight. It was evident that the enemy was at a higher level than him. After all the hits it suffered it was still able to fight. Now it was on top of him and ready to stab with its remaining arm. It was aiming at his heart, so the only thing he could do was to slimify himself. Physical attacks in general were less effective on slimes. Blunt weapons are meant to destroy bones, but slimes have no bones. Stabbing is useful to pierce vital organs, but slimes have none. Slashing is more efficient since it can slice away portions of the body. When the stab connected with Zortex body at full force it took away25% of his HP, but he survived and in the meantime he had prepared a tentacle which he wrapped around the skeleton neck and he pushed its head against the side of the coffin. The skeleton raised the sword again and stabbed a second time, while Zortex pushed again its head against the coffin. The sword stab connected, but in the collusion the skeleton lost the grip. Zortex took advantage of this and he kept smashing its head again and again against the edge. The skull broke and the room fell again into darkness. Zortex had won but he had been really lucky. The enemy was skilled with the sword and it had for sure higher stats than him. He was still in his slime body, since right now there was a sword stabbed in the center of him and his HP was slowly depleting. He used the tentacle to extract the sword and then solidified into his human body. He spent five minutes laying on his back resting and thinking about his achievement. He checked his Status.
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 8
Stats:
Strength 16 Health 54(214) + 2/min
Endurance 19 Stamina 212(401) + 40/min
Agility 13 Mana 77(504) + 25/min
Spirit 27
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 4
Throwing mastery Level 2
Slimification Level 9
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 3
Slime eating Level 9
Mana control Level 12
Tentacle Level 3
Zortex had gained two levels in one go. What level was the monster? He would never know, but now was coming the best part¡­the looting. Chapter 9. After the battle Zortex stood up from the ground. He was a bit tense from the battle, but he guessed that there should be no more enemies after this fight. He walked to where he threw the sword that was impaling him and picked it up. Better to have a weapon with him in any case. He went to the coffin and jumped inside. He could not see anything, therefore he started touching around. After a couple of minutes he came back out with a simple cloak in hand. ¡°Show me the stats¡± he told the system.
Dark refined cloak Made from fine material the cloak will keep the user warm and slightly increase his defense Durability: 16/23 Restrictions: level 8 Attributes: In the dark the user will become slightly more difficult to see
Steel short sword A sword made from good materials by an average blacksmith Durability: 30/40 Restrictions: level 7 Attributes: none
It¡¯s a dark cloak¡­of course I would become more difficult to see in the dark. Still I¡¯m too lucky that I just reached the level to use it. At least now I have something to wear for when I¡¯ll be outside. I have lost my shirt as soon as I arrived in the dark room. The sword is nice. There are no special attributes, but those you don¡¯t find easily when you are so low level. It is better this way. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. In AoL he could not use any item he wanted. There are level restriction. This rule was implemented because otherwise low level ¡®players¡¯ could simply get some high level gear from some high level friend and easily dominate enemies attheir own level. If Zortex found such an item he could bring it around, but he would find it too heavy anytime he tried to use it. Level was not the only restriction, sometime also particular stats are required, especially if the item has intrinsic abilities. Therewere no values for attack and defense. For example a shield could be used to attack an enemy and a sword could be used to defend against particular attacks. Furthermore the damage of a weapon depends more on how it is used. You would have to test it yourself to compare to others weapons. There should be something better than this. A quite strong monster in the deepest part of the sewers usually calls for a particular quest. Unfortunately I stumbled into it just by chance, so I cannot take advantage of the reward. Probably in the city there is an NPC with the key to that fucking iron door waiting for someone to pick up the mission. The NPC would have probably explained why this guy turned into an undead. Still, there should be something around here which would work as proof of completing the mission. Zortex went to the corpse of the skeleton and tried to see if there was anything interesting. After five minutes checking bone by bone he found a ring on a finger of the undead creature.
Ring of Count William McCanter A nice golden ring the Count received from a friend when he was still young. Durability: 2/2 Restrictions: none Attributes: none
A completely useless item. Zortex put it on his finger. At least the name looks nice. If there is a quest maybe I could still complete it. Otherwise I might sell it for money Zortex thought. He decided to rest a bit more to get back to full health and mana. He wanted to be prepared for anything dangerous there might be. Also he wanted to summon Pravin. He had to admit that the only reason he was able to win the fight was thanks to him. The most of the damage Zortex did was in the moment Pravin tripped the skeleton and when the skeleton was busy killing his pet. When he was ready he activated the skill but he got a notification:
You cannot summon your pet for 24 hours after his death. Time remaining: 22 hrs 48 minutes
Ah. I cannot get him back right away. Too bad, I really wanted to tell him how the battle ended and how proud of him I am. Zortex decided to get back to his room and scale to the other side even before getting Pravin back with him. He didn¡¯t want to risk staying here any longer and lose the determination to get out. Chapter 10. A wall in the path Zortex faced a problem. Of course the issue was the wall in front of him in the room which had been his home for all his time in AoL. He promised himself that he would leave right away after the fight with the skeleton warrior, but he didn¡¯t know yet how to do it. He had always thought that freedom would lay beyond the iron door, but he found out that passing through it would just widen his cage. His experience in the fight helped him a lot todampen his anxiety. Now he knew that he may be able to handle other things beyond the slimes in his territory. Compared to the beginning, his skills had increased by leaps and bounds, but he had not exactly trained himself to overcome this particular hurdle. He had wanted an offensive skill to fight against the enemies and Matthew in particular, and he created his tentacle skill. It took him a lot of effort and time and he was still only at the beginning of controlling his partial transformation, but that proved somewhat efficient in his fight against the skeleton warrior. However he still had to resort to many mundane tricks like rock throwing and running around. He needed something more, otherwise he would not survive in a World full of monsters. His first idea was to go to the training center and wizard tower to get some of the basic skills that he had imagined to get when he first entered AoL. Every little thing could help him. He had wanted to pass through the bars of the locked door to obtained his freedom, so he trained himself to move his slime body as if it was his own. That was his best accomplishment at this point. He could see how useful it had proved when entering the skeleton tomb, or to avoid a certain death by being stabbed. Stillhe had no easy solution on how to use it to scale a wall. He trained to sense the world even in the deepest darkness of the sewers and he had failed in his Sonar ability. He still could not understand anything going on around him. At least now he would not roll on the floor overwhelmed by that sensation, however it was proving to be a waste of stamina. That still grated profoundly at his self-confidence. In a fit of impatience he activated again the Sonar skill. His body emitted a slight vibration which would be almost inaudible by any other creature and he received the response of the world around him. Once again too many things at once assaulted his mind. Every single details around him answered his call. He could not handle every single piece of dust giving back to him its position. He had to downgrade his ability to a level where only the bigger structures around him could be felt. That required a level of control which looked impossible in his mind,however he had already improved to a point that his past self had thought not feasible. He was sure the World would have not created an ability impossible to master. He cursed himself for the choice he made that day, but he also lauded himself because there was no way such a difficult skill could be considered a noob skill. He will find out in the future if he had been a genius, a madman or an unskilled idiot that could not accomplish what everyone else could. Thinking about the Sonar skill always put him in a bad mood. I was truly an idiot to think I would excel in this game just because I was a bit skilled in the real world. This is a dog eat dog world. I was too na?ve. I lost against the first dog who has bitten me. And Matthew isn¡¯t even the biggest dog out there. Here I am thinking about my great plans on how to get my sweet revenge, but there are people out there who could trample both of us with a movement of a finger. Age of Legends has been out for more than ten real world years, which means more than a hundred here. By now there are people with powers I cannot even imagine. Thoughts like that put Zortex in a depressing cycle. Apparently Matthew was trying to enter a guild named Malath Brotherhood. The name sounds evil¡­quite cool. It looks like they aren¡¯t even trying to cover their alignment. To tell the truth I have always preferred to play the bad guy role. What¡¯s the fun in being the hero type. Who wants to enter a guild named ¡®Rainbows and Unicorns¡¯? Should I become the good guy just to go against them? No. I will not be either evil nor good. I will just push through everything which stands in my way to get what I want. Although that sounds quite evil¡­.so maybe I am evil. Matthew would probably have the backing of an entire guild. How could he fight against such odds? And yet Zortex needed a long-term plan to succeed. He needed more information. That was the base for any victory. He had spent too long detached from the outside. He still didn¡¯t know how to get spells or skills beyond receiving them by class or by creation. His level was low and he had barely one way to attack. A noob at the end of trial period would have probably mastered a couple of attacks already. I can see more clearly now what happened. I was really going crazy down here. I could have simply let myself die and I would have respawned outside and started anew. Even my class might be a failing path. ''Shadow Slime Warrior'' may be an Unique Class, but so would be the ''Legendary Farting Janitor''. Unique doesn''t mean strong. I cannot bring myself to leave it anyway. I would lose Pravin and I would become again something average, and average is not what I have signed for.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. And that brought him back to the wall in front of him. The tentacle could extend that far to the top, but how could that be useful? He needed some leverage. He could reach there and contract the tentacle to make it hard, but he would just slip down whenever he tried to put some weight on it. He saw only two solutions to the problem. First possibility was to slimify only part of its arm leaving the hand unperturbed, so that he could extend it and use his fingers at the same time. The second strategy would be to learn to be sticky. Slimes in general had the double attribute of being slippery and sticky. They could choose between those two opposite characteristics, even at the same time with different part of the body. For example when Zortex fought with the slime who attacked him while he was asleep, he risked being suffocated because one part of the slime was sticking to him, while the rest of the body was slippery, so that his hands could not find attrition to detach it from his face. If he could learn to be sticky he could simply move along the wall as snails can do. The first option sounded cooler, but considering how difficult it was for him to even learn the basic tentacle skill he concluded that it would take too long. The second one sounded easier, although he had no idea where to start exactly. It was easier to simply slimify himself and try out directly in a full slime body. After a few hours of training he saw some effects. All this time he had unconsciously done a bit of sticking while moving around and competing with Pravin. Right now he just had to focus on that part of movement that gave him the attrition to get the maximum speed. Zortex didn¡¯t try right away to go up the wall. He just tried to stick himself to the lower part of it and struggle to stay a few centimeters above the floor for as long as he could. The more he tried the more he was able to resist. He repeated and repeated this practice until he was able to actually move along the vertical wall. At the beginning it was difficult and he kept falling downward, but soon he was able to reach half way to the top with enough mana to continue for the rest of the way. In pauses between practices he was eating slimes which he had baited with some blood. He would regain the mana faster that way and he would not get hungry.
2 weeks later Suddenly a thought came to his mind. How long before the 24 hours waiting ends? I want to meet Pravin. Zortex checked his Summoning skill and found no notification regarding the availability of the skill. Did something went wrong with the system? Or are the 24 hours already over? It shouldn¡¯t be that long since I fought the skeleton. Zortex tried to calculate the time he had spent training his escape but he couldn¡¯t figure it out. His life here was all about eating slimes and practicing, so it was hard to differentiate between past and present. His memory could not collect how many times he had eaten or became a slime since his return to the room. He hoped it wasn¡¯t too long. ¡°Summon Slime¡± Zortex said as his mana left his body to converge on top of his hand. He let it fall and he was rewarded by a squishy sound. He smiled and hugged Pravin who made a new squishy sound. It was nice to not be alone anymore. ¡°Here Pravin. Look at what I learned to do while you were away. Soon we will be outside. No more trouble this time. I already know that up there is the way to the exit.¡± Zortex said his friend. He talked to his slime friend for a while waiting for his mana to recover to the maximum. He would need all of it to reach the top, and maybe it would still not be enough. Zortex had to admit that he was still very slow and any drop in focus would make him fall back to the floor. ¡°Ok let¡¯s go¡±. The Slime Warrior and his slime pet started the climbing at the same time. After twenty seconds Pravin was already at the top making encouraging squishy sounds to his master. Zortex on the other hand had moved barely 50 centimeters up. Minute after minute Zortex struggled to reach the top. He was completely focused on his task and only 40 centimeters away from his goal when his mana bar completely depleted and he turned human again. Fuck! He thought, but then something happened. His body was reached by four tentacles which ended his fall and after 5 seconds of work he was deposited to the corridor on the top of the dark room. Zortex was left speechless for a while. Here is another proof of my idiocy. As if I didn¡¯t prove enough times already that I am not as great as I thought to be. All this time Pravin could have just raised me from the bottom to up here. I just needed to ask him. Zortex introspection lasted for a few minutes. It was bad enough to be told that he was a failure, however finding out by himself that he did one mistake after another left him even more empty than before. He looked in the direction he came from. Once again he felt longing for his safe haven which protected him from the harsh truth of the world out there. ¡°Thank you Pravin. Yes, I will not back off my promise. In a few hours we will be out and I will show you how small I¡¯ve lived until now.¡± Zortex told Pravin. If he was nothing more than an egomaniac before, he just had to change. New World, new life Zortex thought. Zortex threw his old dagger into the dark room, barely more than a deteriorated handle by now. It made a clicking sound when it touched the floor. ¡°Maybe in the future it will be helpful to some unlucky noob like me. I hope he will be smarter than I was¡±. He turned away and started to move along the corridor touching the wall, step after step increasing his dread but also his determination. Pravin was following him, happy to explore his surroundings. Chapter 11. To feel or not to feel After a few minutes the first new enemy appeared. He could hear it from a distance and changed his direction to get closer to it. It had a squishy sounding body when Pravin attacked and killed it. Master and pet shared the meal and progressed in their march. Zortex remembered that the track to his demise had taken a while, but at the time he had light and could proceed quite fast. Now he had Pravin leading the way, but he still had to move slowly. It would be really foolish to fall in some other trap after spending so much time in the previous one. Much better to spend a couple more hours going slow than to make an unforgivable mistake. The walk continued smoothly with a couple more slime attacks, until an unfamiliar sound reached him. For the first time in a long while Zortex heard the sound of rats closing on him.He felt so much joy that it was difficult for him to believe that it was just rodents making him happy.Afteronemore minute Pravin stopped abruptly looking confused. The only other occasion he had heard anything different than a slime or his master was when he fought against the skeleton. ¡°Be ready Pravin. You are going to have fun now¡± Zortex said. ¡°Kill everything which moves close to us. They are our enemies, but they are weak. You can also eat all of them after you are finished. I don¡¯t want to eat those. They don¡¯t look nice and probably they are not nearly as tasty as you slimes¡±. There was a group of three rats attacking them. Probably their level was 1 or 2, the same as slimes. Zortex had still to see their level even once since plumbing into darkness, but he remembered it from his hunt at the beginning of his experience. Monsters leveled up the same as human beings, so there could be higher level rats, but thinking back to how many enemies Zortex had to kill before reaching his level he doubted that in all the sewers there would be anything more than a level 4 rat or slime. Those would be considered the bosses of their respective species. Regardless, Pravin was a level 6 slime, so he should be able to handle three of them at the same time. If not, Zortex was close to him to offer assistance if the HP went too low. The fight lasted only one minute with a clear winner, although the rats were much more aggressive compared to what Zortex remembered. The rodents were basically screaming during the whole fight and he had to cover his ears a coupleof times. The slimes main weaknesses against rats are their lack of speed and their tendency to go solo. Pravin compensated these faults with higher level and much better skill levels. Killing a few rats was no challenge for him. ¡°Status Pravin¡±
Name: Pravin
Class: Slime
Level: 6
Stats:
Strength 10 Health 52(61) + 2/min
Endurance 7 Stamina 35 (61) + 6/min
Agility 4 Mana 40(49) + 2.5/min
Spirit 85
Skill proficiency
Consumption Level 1
Tentacles Level 11The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
A new skill appeared in Pravin status. What is this consumption? It sounds cool, but maybe it is a fluke. ¡°Show me Consumption skill¡±
Skill: Consumption The owner of the skill slowly consume one of its victims to increase the recovery of Health, Stamina and Mana. The quantity of the regeneration depends on the subject consumed and the level of the skill. ¡¤ The movement speed is reduced by 30% while the skill is active. ¡¤ 0.1% chance to take the shape of the monster consumed.
It looks quite good. Slimes are slow by nature, thus in most cases they just fight standing their ground, so having slowed movements would not impair them at all. And now I understand why, on the first day, I saw a slime which looked like a rat. It must have activated this skill¡¯s second ability. They started walking again in the same direction. The darkness was still absolute, but Zortex was growing frantic trying to catch any sign of illumination. He knew that he was still quite underground, and he should have to wait some more time, but the excitement was increasing exponentially. Slime warrior and slime had a few other fights with rats which proved not difficult at all, although strangely the rodents kept making a lot of noise. Apparently they had left the territory of dispute between slimes and the rodents, and now they were in the territory fully dominated by rats. That made Zortex joyous, because it was following the pattern of his first experience in this maze of tunnels, although he could not remember at all the way he had taken going down. There were a few turning points where he didn¡¯t know if he had taken the same path he had used to come in the first time. Nevertheless the path was going up a couple of stairs, so he took it as a sign that he was in the right direction. There wasn¡¯t only one entrance to the sewers, and he didn¡¯t care to come out in another zone of the city. He and Pravin kept walking and walking until even the rats presence started to diminish. Zortex knew it was a sign that the outside world was coming closer. Ten more minutes of slow going and finally Zortex noticed an anomaly. There was an intersection but at first he couldn¡¯t understand what was happening different than usual. ¡°Pravin, stop. There is something strange. My instincts are telling me something here is different¡±. Zortex stood in silence for a few minutes expecting for something to happen. He could hear some distant rats'' noises back from where he came, but nothing else. Finally it hit him. Nothing is wrong here. It is simply the fact that I can see a tiny bit. That is what was alarming me. I can barely distinguish the contours of the walls in the intersection. There is light! I have come out! ¡°Let¡¯go! We arrived to our destination¡± Zortex said. The master and pet moved following the light. He thought that he had almost reached it but somehow, even though the light was getting stronger, he had to walk a while yet. What is this? I am seeing light, but it is growing so slowly. I thought I had basically arrived, but it is almost as if I was still deep inside. Zortex thought. By now he could walk as fast as he wanted, he just needed to slow down enough for Pravin to follow. His vision of the corridor was almost complete, as if the sun was shining inside, but somehow there was no exit yet. Is this a joke? I know that I have increased vision in the dark, but this is too much to be possible. It is like standing in the middle of a road at noon in summer. I can catch every detail and it is starting to feel difficult to keep my eyes open. Soon Zortex found himself in trouble. There was a bending in the tunnel but just before reaching it he was assaulted by such an illumination that he could not keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. He had to stop to catch his breath before trying to move forward. He was waiting for his vision to adjust, but it was not working. Against his own body Zortex moved forward keeping his eyes closed and passed beyond the bend. He opened them for a millisecond and saw the opening to the outside. It was as if his body was on fire. He didn¡¯t really feel pain, but his brain was assaulted by so many things at once that he couldn¡¯t understand anymore what was in front of him. He closed his eyes again and run back to the sewers until he reached a position where he could open his eyes again. This is wrong! It shouldn¡¯t happen like this. I have my freedom just oneminute away and still I¡¯m stuck in here. What should I do? What happened? I have increased vision at night but this should not impair my vision during the day. It feels like when I was using the Sonar at the beginning. I need information from someone! I have to do something that I should have done a long time ago. Zortex thought frantically ¡°Sorry Pravin, but I have to go for a while. Don¡¯t worry I will be back soon¡±. ¡°Endless, I want to return to my room¡±. Just like that Zortex left the tunnel and he entered a completely dark room with only the small kid in front of him. He waited a few second to reorient himself and then started to talk. ¡°Why is the room black now? Last time it was completely white¡± Zortex asked. Talk to someone else apart from Pravin felt weird to him. ¡°This your room. It follow your wishes. Apparently you wished for a dark room this time¡± Still that creepy voice. But I need answers. ¡°What happened to me while playing AoL. Why can¡¯t I see anymore where the sun shines? It cannot be a skill which is causing this.¡± ¡°Usually I cannot answer specific questions related to specific worlds, but in this case I can tell you. What happened to you is torture. Sense deprivation is a common torture method applied in the past. It leads to madness under prolonged infliction. In your case you spent months under those conditions. It is surprising that your level of madness had not yet completely take over your brain. It is probably related to the presence of your pet, monsters, lack of real body and AI of the system. Just by seeing the status of your character in the corner of your vision you had a way to focus on something beyond your own thoughts.¡± Endless replied Zortex didn¡¯t know what to say. He was not prepared for such an answer. He expected to have activated something wrong in his permanence in AoL, but torture was the last thing he imagined. ¡°How is that related to my vision? Those two things are not related¡± Zortex requested. ¡°Your brain coped with the lack of information by increasing the sensitivity of all senses. Everything has reached limits beyond what a human being could possess in the real world. In Endless only your mind is present, so it was possible to instigate such change that would be prevented by the limits of a physical body. Especially your vision has strained to such a level that your mind cannot cope with the amount of information you are getting. Of course if you are put back to normal living conditions you will find yourself overwhelmed by the amount of data¡± Endless answered back. ¡°How could you let this happen?¡± Zortex asked with trembling voice. ¡°How could YOU let this happen? You always had the opportunity to come back here to save your mind. I could not protect you from self-inflicted torture. If I start intervening on the life decisions of people, you would all just become puppets under my control. From my birth that is something I was forbidden to do.¡± Endless responded. ¡°How can I get back to how I was? There must be a way for you to help¡± Zortex said desperate. ¡°I am not allowed to tamper with your mind as I said before. My only suggestions are for you to either dampen the amount of data your senses receive or to learn how to handle so much information. An example is the skill called Sonar that you learned. You have lowered the amount of information you are getting but it is still too much for you to handle. Keep struggling and in time you may succeed or completely destroy your mind. Good luck¡± Chapter 12. Suffering Zortex was overwhelmed by his situation and sat on the floor, eyes vacant looking into the darkness. He would have never guessed that things would have developed this way. Not long ago he was a young teenager eager to enter a Virtual Reality to start the life of his dreams. He wanted to create a stronger version of himself which other people would admire. He thought that his life of isolation would end and finally he would make many friends that would recognize him for what he really was. They would share his passions, they could talk about interesting stuff instead of vain gossip, and they would understand him and praise him. Eventually he would also find the girlfriend of his dreams. Zortex had no illusion for her to be one of those beauties that makes every guy horny and every other girl envious, but he was confident that his average looks would be compensated by all his other talents, so that he would find a cute girl with other nice qualities. All of his dreams had shattered completely. Not only he had made no friends, but he even lost the only one he already had. He thought about Pravin for a moment, but he was sane enough now to recognize the fact that he was a pet, even if the best one he could have hoped for. He had always laughed at the people that cared more about their cats or dogs rather than other human beings. Now he had become just like them. His isolation had only increased since coming here. Even the simple sound of Endless voice disturbed him because he was not used to hear a stranger¡¯s voice. How will I be able to talk to other people? The simple idea of interacting with another human being is giving me anxiety. I have trouble to even remember how a human face looks like. Zortex tried to remember the faces of his family but he couldn¡¯t. He remembered the single characteristic, but he couldn¡¯t picture the whole image put together. It was actually much easier to remember Matthew. The image of his smiling face at the end was branded in his brain. Much more than his own face. ¡°Mirror¡± Zortex said to none in particular, even though Endless was still standing close to him. A mirror appeared in front of him. Exactly like at the beginning of his immortal life, Zortex could seehis reflection in front of him. However this time the person looking back was alien to him. In the back of his mind he could notice the resemblance between the past him and the present Zortex, but so much changed that it was like watching someone else. The lineaments of the eyes, the nose, the mouth and the rest of the face were still the same, but to him they were different at the same time. He had changed his hair to a dark black, his eyes to light orange and his skin to a tanned color before entering AoL. Now his hairs were still black but they had grown past his shoulders. He didn¡¯t even realize that they kept growing and he didn¡¯t cut them even once. They were getting in front of his eyes often during his time in the dark, but his vision was not impaired because he had no vision. How did I not notice that? Was I so alienated from the world around me that I didn¡¯t even feel the change? Now that I know I cannot stop feeling the touch of them on my skin. Zortex thought. His skin had changed a lot. The tanned color had remained, but now there was a slight tinge of green in it. Overall it didn¡¯t look bad even though there was a slight feeling as if looking to a dead body. Was that permanent or dependent to the lack of sun and clean air? He supposed that the green color was due to the slime component in his body. The main change was due to the veins of his body. Right now they looked like green tattoos branching on his body skin. ¡®Slimes are in your blood¡¯ the AI had said when he got his class. Proof of that was found in his eyes. The orange color was now mixed with a deep green color. It was a peculiar sight, but the most disturbing thing was what was around it. The sclera (white part) of the eye looked as if it was bloodshot, however instead of red vessels, there were dozens of black ones that continued even beyond the eyeball and into the skin around it. There was a tinge of dark green also in these black vessels. This must be effect of my darkness element and the prolonged absence of light which has made impossible for me to be into the sunlight surroundings. And now I really look like a villain from old movies. Zortex chuckled and then sighed. If the Slime Warrior had been a believer he would have thought that God had abandoned him and he was under the curse of the Devil. However, like most of the young population, he had no interest in religions, so he could not blame someone else for his misfortunes. He created this mess and he would have it to solve it by himself. ¡°I want to send a message to my family outside. Can you change my looks to what they used to be just for the message? I will get them back just after it¡± Zortex asked. ¡°It will be done. You can start registering whenever you want¡± Endless replied. Zortex made a long video message explaining how much fun he was having and how many friends he had made. To make it more believable he talked about a girl who refused him and a mission he had failed. He went on and on talking about his successes and trying to make his parents proud and happy to have a son like him. It was all a lie, but at least for once he was lying to make someone else happy and not himself. At the end he could not contain the tears any longer and he cut off the video. Once again he found himself crying alone in the dark even though his old self had believed he would be laughing in the sunshine surrounded by friends. Maybe madness is better than sorrow. Zortex didn¡¯t return right away to AoL. He didn¡¯t feel like going back would help and right now he didn¡¯t want to be reminded of what happened to him there. At least in his safe room in Endless everything was just at the right level. All his senses felt the same as in the real world because he was conditioning his surrounding to be less ¡®detailed¡¯ as to not overload his brain. He furnished the place to look like a five star hotel, then grew bored of it and changed it to a stunningly beautiful beach, then a villa on a snowy mountain and lastly like his old room on Earth. That helped a bit to remember a period where he was still happy. Zortex had thought to be unhappy at the time, but looking back he felt he had been an idiot to discard so easily what he had. If only he could go back in time and punch himself. He tried to watch some movies or read some books, but he could not focus on anything. Nothing really mattered to him.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. I cannot go on like this. I must find a solution as soon as possible. Two days in here and I feel like exploding. How can I go on forever in such conditions? Even returning to the real world is not an easy option to take. Renouncing immortality is already a difficult step to take, but even more for someone in my conditions. I already have trouble here In Endless with what I did to my brain, who knows what would happen if I returned to my real body. Even under normal conditions sometime there are repercussions. ¡°Endless, can you give me any help without altering my mind?¡± Zortex inquired. ¡°No¡± Endless answered. ¡°Go fuck yourself then¡± Zortex said. He didn¡¯t receive a reply. The two possible solutions have already been explained to me. Dampen senses and train to control all the data entering my brain. I can do that. I just need time to practice and strong willpower to endure it. How long have I been in Endless by the way? ¡°How long ago I entered Endless?¡± Zortex inquired. ¡°278 days 15 hours 49 seconds¡± Endless replied. ¡°What!?!?!¡± Zortex said in a high tone. ¡°How is that possible? I thought that it had only been three months at most¡±. But Endless could not make mistakes, so it must be true. I have wasted so much time and even now I¡¯m stuck fighting the fucking rats. That asshole Matthew is probably hunting ogres or whatever¡­.I will never catch up. Actually right now I don¡¯t even care as much as before. The wounds he had received were self-inflicted. The main culprit was himself. That would not block him from killing his old ¡®friend¡¯ when they will meet again, but it was not anymore his priority. His whole eternity was at stake now. Zortex was lying on his old bed while reflecting. Days after days he brooded and kept thinking and planning. Finally he stood up and with a thought he made Endless appear at his side. I will go back and solve my problems and become awesome. If fantasy books taught me anything it is that even the lowest of lowest can become great by effort alone. I will show everyone how can a slime rule over dragons. I may be crippled right now, but even a liability can be turned into an advantage with proper strategy. ¡°Enter Age of Legends¡± Zortex said looking at the kid. He found himself in the same position as he left, with Pravin at his side. He left the World with no enemies nearby and without doing any particular action, so he was allowed to respawn in the same position and in the same conditions, otherwise he would be sent to the closest safe zone. For example if he had left during a fight his body wouldn¡¯t have disappeared from AoL and it would have become easy prey for the enemy while his mind was inside the safe room. Zortex looked around at his surroundings and didn¡¯t feel particularly bad. He could see well enough, but not that much. Before leaving he had run back to a zone with less light, but he remembered it to be more luminous. Maybe I have already gotten better he thought. He moved along the tunnel to reach the exit, Pravin following behind looking worried. At least he looked worried to Zortex, any other person would see just the usual slime. Zortex realized that he had still to explain to his pet what had happened. He spent the next five minutes trying to make him understand, but there is a limit to how much can a slime comprehend, so he had to settle by saying that being outside was harming him. The closer he got to the exit the more light he found, but it was still quite low. He could handle it easily now. This time he passed it and watched the entrance worried about the sensations he had experienced before. Nothing bad happened. There was no sensation of overwhelming details entering his mind. He could watch outside without any issue. He kept moving that way wary of any accident but hoping that his fears were unfunded. He reached the entrance and pocked his head outside watching the sky. Ah! That¡¯s why. I¡¯m having no issues because it is night. In the sky there was only half a moon covered by a cloudy sky. Still Zortex could see everything around him as if it was sunny. His other senses also responded to the new environment. For eight months he could only smell the repulsive odor of the sewers and he had arrived to the point to ignore it completely as if it was normal air, but now he was assaulted by a myriad of other fragrances. He was still at the entrance of the sewers, so the putrid smell was dominant, but he could already feel smoke, foods, flowers, blood and many other things in the air. A little too much actually, so he would have to reduce somehow the feeling. Also his hearing was catching many new sounds. There were three buildings nearby and he was able to hear a couple having sex in one of the upper rooms of the farthest house. Those sounds reminded him of something he had almost forgotten during the worst part of his madness. His desires for the opposite sex. He had never been with a girl before and the act was something far away, that could only be seen in porn or heard in the gossip of classmates during his school years. The simple sounds now aroused him as never before, urging him to act, to do something like an animal would, but he tried to control himself. There will be time for that in the future. Hopefully. I wonder how higher sensitivity will affect my sex life. Higher pleasure or simply premature ejaculation? Probably the second option with my luck. Anyway these are useless thoughts, more probable that I will never touch a woman in all eternity. He tried to move away from the entrance, but he started to feel dizzy from the power of smells and sounds. Luckily he was not eating or touching anything, but those were probably also the less overpowered senses he had. I need to dampen the effects. Zortex thought. He took out the sword and cut a long and wide strip of cloth from his pants which were already reduced to rags. Then he wrapped it around his head to cover his nose, ears and mouth. Finally many of the sensations he was feeling before were excluded to him. The familiar smell of the sewers came back to him and the noises decreased considerably. His vision was still perfect while looking at the ground, but he realized that if even on a cloudy night he could see everything, that meant that in a full moon night with clear sky he would still have problems. Even worse during the light hours of the day. Also, in the distance there were dots of light all around him which were starting to give him an headache. Those were the torches disseminated around the city. He came out in a rather desert area, so no torches nearby made his life difficult. Still he cut another thin strip of cloth and wrapped it around his eyes. It was a little too thick, so he decided to take it out for now. He had to train himself to handle higher and higher levels of light. Only if he could succeed he would turn its disability in an enormous advantage. If he failed he would doom himself to a life of isolation and despair. Step by step he moved slowly to the first alley in front of him. He needed to get used to the outside world once again. He didn¡¯t know how yet, but he knew that the sewers would just hold him back. They offered sweet safety, but it was through suffering that he would reach his goals. Through suffering I ruined myself and by suffering I will rise above the others. Chapter 13. Back to civilization? Priorities were clear in Zortex mind. First thing first I must find a way to get food. I don¡¯t want to ever experience starvation again. He had only ten coppers in his pants so he could not buy much with it. He put his hand in his pocket and found nothing. What happened? Where is my money? Were the coins stolen? That¡¯s impossible, I have been alone all my time and I recall having them at the beginning of my isolation period. I don¡¯t remember the last time I heard them tinkling. I must have dropped them somewhere down there and never cared to pick them up again. Zortex found himself in front of a big issue. The only way for him to make money would be to accept some quest, but he had no idea where to find it. Even more, he didn¡¯t think he would resist the time to actually complete a quest. He was already starting to feel the hunger after those few hours since he finished his last slime. He looked at Pravin and felt bad about even thinking of eating him. He must have been really crazy to consider his pet as a food storage. Also Pravin needed food, so the problem was doubled and he required something right away. He could sell the ring or one of the other items he looted from the Count¡¯s tomb, but he was reluctant to do so right after getting out. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can salvage something good for you from the garbage over there¡± Zortex told Pravin. He was reluctant to rely to that for himself, but slimes would eat basically anything and be happy about it. There was a reason they thrived in the sewer together with rats. They reached a dumpster in the corner of a building and Zortex threw on the ground the waste inside of it. The smell reached him and he had to admit that it felt fresher to what he was used to. Maybe I could also eat from here. The remnants of those fruits don¡¯t look too bad. Probably they were thrown away just last evening. I don¡¯t know when I will get food again, so I should not discard anything right now. Zortex picked up a few things in his hands and then left most of the rest for Pravin to consume. He put in his mouth what looked like the peeled part of a yellow fruit and started chewing it. The taste was really strong in his mouth, and for a second he thought to spit it out. Resisting that urge he continued to munch on it until he got more used to it. It felt rancid with the remnant of a sweetness which was probably the original taste of the inside of the fruit. All in all it was not bad for being garbage, even though nothing would compare to the taste of a fresh slime. From eating homemade cake to eating medieval garbage. Not at all what I expected eight months ago when I entered Endless. From the next time I must find a way to eat proper food. I¡¯m not in the sewers anymore, so I should eat as a normal human being. I also want Pravin to experience human food. I¡¯m curious to see his reaction. ¡°Ok. Let¡¯s move more in that direction. I see more buildings, so there could be some people I can ask for information.¡± Zortex and pet moved slowly towards what looked like a series of low buildings. Now that he had a better vision he noticed that the wall delimiting the city was nearby, so he should be in the outskirts of the town. On the top of the wall he could see some lights moving, probably guards patrolling the barrier. The lights were steady, so Zortex reasoned that they were using light crystals rather than torches. Maybe Matthew didn¡¯t lie about them being cheap. Not that it matters to me right now. Having such a strong source of light just in front of me would be too difficult to handle. Better to rely on my vision and try to not end up in a place completely devoid of light. It was the middle of the night and nobody was around, so Zortex just walked slowly enjoying the view. When he first entered AoL he was so excited that he had rushed so fast to his demise that he didn¡¯t even have the time to enjoy this new world he had bet his life into. In the sky the moon might have been mostly covered by the clouds for everyone else sight, but to Zortex it looked spectacular. So much time in the dark and now he had this big source of light just on top of his head. It looked also much bigger than the one back on Earth, and with a blue tint to its color. His sense of smell was dampened by the cloth bandage around his head, but the scent of grass and trees was still a welcome upgrade from the rot of the underground. Even the moldy odor of the human houses felt refreshing. The noises were the best part. The sound of the crickets, or some small bug similar to crickets, felt joyous, and the breeze moving through houses and trees made whistling sounds inviting him to sing. Of course he didn¡¯t actually sing because he had always been completely out of tune. Now he realized how much he had missed all of this. The constant dripping of water and the beating of his heart had been his constant companions for too long. Having something else was opening his mind to the outside world. He could also hear some sources of sounds in the distance which felt like humans. He decided to go in that direction, but without rushing into it. He was still anxious about talking to another sentient being apart from Pravin and Endless. He decided that he would try to speak first with an NPC. They might be built in such a way that they were basically real and alive human beings, but the idea that they could not exist outside of Endless made Zortex feel less uneasy. He looked at his own body. He was bare chested under his cloak and his pants were mostly ripped off to a level that not even beggars would accept him. Luckily his new cloak was quite long and it could cover all of him. Wait! Where are my boots and socks? Did I also lose them like the money? I must have done some crazy stuff during my worst period. Probably I took them off and threw them at some poor slime who had come to eat me. I can feel the ground with the sole of my feet, but not as much as to create any trouble for my senses. Zortex sat down and started to check on them. The sole was so callused that he even questioned himself for being able to sense anything at all. That is a problem for another day. I don¡¯t have any money to buy new boots anyway. I need to get a job or a quest or something similar, then I will be able to refurnish all my inventory. The time to stare at the world with my mouth open is over. I need to act. Zortex thought. He increased his pace and moved to an alley crossing into a street where he could hear the sound of footsteps. The light increased as he neared the bigger avenue. There must be some light crystal around here Zortex reflected stopping his advance. He took out the strip of cloth he had prepared for the eyes and strapped it to his head. Afterwards he strolled forward reaching for the exit. His vision was not completely removed but he had a bit of trouble while being still in the dark alley. Pravin of course was following diligently, trying to not fall behind while staring at his surroundings. He had been especially quiet since coming out of the sewers. Maybe he was overwhelmed by the big change he had to experience after leaving his previous haven. Zortex covered himself as much as possible with his cloak and came out into the street assessing the situation. To his left there were two men stumbling away from him, probably drunk from the way they were swaying while walking. One was still holding a bottle. They were the ones holding the light crystal. There is the smell of alcohol and vomit on their trail Zortex observed. To hisright there was a single pedestrian coming in his direction. That person doesn¡¯t have a mark on the head, so it is a NPC. Perfect! I can ask him for directions. Zortex moved toward him and prepared himself to use the sentence he had been practicing since abandoning the sewers. He felt his heart beating furiously and his body was sweating even in the cool of the night. His throat felt dry and he started to feel also a bit nauseous. There is no coming back. I must learn again how to live as a normal human. I must at least be able to talk to another person, even if only a NPC for now. ¡°S-Sorry, can you tell m¡­¡­¡± Zortex was interrupted mid speech. ¡°WHAT THE FUCK! Who are you?!?¡± the other person said jumping back and stopping a few meters away. Fuck, it is a woman! I couldn¡¯t see her gender because of my partial blindfold and her attire. She was wearing black trousers and a black cloak, not too different from Zortex¡¯s one. She also had black boots and black gloves on her. Her hood was up concealing her face. This complicate things a lot. It would have been already difficult to talk to a man, but a woman is ten time worse. I had trouble talking to girls even in the real world. What can I do now? It seems I startled her.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°I-I am¡­¡± Zortex could not think anything to say. Should I present myself? Maybe I can just continue asking for directions. That seems the best way to end the talk as fast as possible. Better to find a male to start my training to rehabilitate my conversational skills. Baby steps, not giant leaps. ¡°How did you get so close to me? How did you notice me even thought I was under concealment?¡± The woman asked while taking out two knives from her cloak and changing her stance into a fighting one. She seemed really curious. Zortex just stayed silent, shocked by how the situation developed. ¡°Not a talker eh? Don¡¯t worry. Even if you don¡¯t tell me I already know. You must be one of the guys from Leylin¡¯s gang. Didn¡¯t they tell you that now this is Zack¡¯s territory? Those two guys over there are my prey. If you want to rob someone go find it somewhere else.¡± The thief told him while getting closer, ready to dash and slash at him. Leylin¡¯s gang? Zack¡¯s territory? What are those? Damn it! Again I have stumbled into something which has nothing to do with me. I¡¯m having too much bad luck for it to be a coincidence. Maybe someone has casted a curse on me at the beginning of my adventure. There is magic here, so I cannot exclude it. Zortex backed away trying to reach the alley he came from. He wanted to run as fast as he could, but he was afraid that the moment he turned away he would be stabbed on his back. He could not talk to tell her that he was just an innocent passerby. She would never believe him after he had revealed her presence. ¡°My Gods! How can you smell so bad? You stink worse than trash.¡± The woman said when she was almost in reach for an attack. ¡°Enough of your silence. I will let your corpse do the talking. Let me see what I can salvage from you.¡± She smiled and charged at him, her right hand dagger targeting his throat. Zortex threw himself back and fell on his ass. At least he had avoided the slash, but the woman was not done yet. She pressed her attack with the left dagger and stabbed reaching for the heart. Zortex had been totally unprepared for the fight, so he didn¡¯t even think about using any of his techniques. When the dagger was descending on him he tried to parry it with his hand, which got stabbed through, but at least he was able to deflect the attack to his shoulder. He felt the pain but what surprised him the most was the cold. The blade of the weapon had frosted and all the meat around his shoulder and hand had frozen.
Frozen Part of your body has been frozen. Your healing has been reduced and you have lost some of your movement speed.
The woman smirked taking out the dagger, sure of her victory, but then she was stuck from the side by a tentacle. Pravin once again tried to rescue his master. The woman thief rolled away with the blow with no apparent damage, but surprised to be fighting more than one enemy. Zortex had lost all sense on his left arm, but he got back on his feet, making sense of what was happening. His HP were already half gone. He looked at his adversary and now he could read the red sign of the enemy on top of her head. Level 22 was written where before there was nothing. The girl had been stalking the two drunk guys, but before she could attack them, Zortex had arrived to ask his questions. He forgot that for anyone else these would be the darkest hours of the night, when the darkness could hide anyone from sight. She believed to be concealed, probably with a technique like the one he had refused, but he went to her to have a conversation as if it was noon. Zortex took away is blindfold. The light crystal now was far away enough and he was facing the other direction. He could make use of his superior sight. She must also have some skill to help her see in the darkness, but looking at her it seems she is having trouble assessing who attacked her just now. I must use this to my advantage Zortex thought. Maybe he could avoid the fight altogether. Her eyes kept scanning the surroundings warily checking for other assailants. Zortex prepared for his time to attack, his right arm changing consistence. Pravin made four new tentacles at once and whipped them at the thief. Somehow she was able to see and avoid them by side stepping once to the right and once to the left. Zortex used the chance to elongate his tentacle and attacking from her blind spot. She was aware that she would be attacked from that side as soon as she gave him her back, so she turned around and crossed her arms ready to defend herself. The attack connected and she was thrown away from him, but after rolling on the ground a couple of times she got up as if nothing happened and dashed again to avoid Pravin¡¯s tentacles that were reaching her. She must have a strong armguard, that¡¯s why she was willing to take an attack from me defending just with the arms. She was baiting us to use our attacks so that she could be prepared from now on. She cannot see clearly, but well enough to avoid us with her superior stats and skills. Her attacks also have an ice skill. Even in a slime body getting stabbed would be really bad. The woman had taken a few meters of distance and was waiting for their move, but seeing that they were not reacting at all, she took the initiative. ¡°Accelerate¡± the woman said throwing one of the daggers. It left her hand at incredible speed and reached him before he could even react. Luckily for him, probably she was not able to pinpoint his exact position in this darkness, so the dagger embedded in his left shoulder once again. The hit caused him to stagger backward and he almost fell down. The next moment he looked up she was gone from her previous position. He looked for her and saw her standing in front of Pravin, dagger in hand ready to stab. She must have avoided his tentacles and got within range for the attack. ¡°PRAVIN! RETREAT!¡± he shouted to his companion, but it was too late. The thief whispered: ¡°Ice Piercer¡± and her blade emitted a soft blue light. She then stabbed the slime, and from the wound veins of ice diffused through his body. She then stabbed again and Pravin broke in many pieces. Just like that his pet had died once again. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fucking bitch! I will kill her! But not now. She is completely above my league. I have to run. RIGHT NOW! Zortex turned his back to her and started running as fast as he could. His upper-left side of the body felt awful, but his legs were working properly, so he sprinted away with all the energy he had. From behind he could hear the sound of running, but he didn¡¯t dare turn his head to look at his assailant. He was going in the direction the drunk guys had been walking, but there was no sign of the light right now. Maybe they had entered a building, or maybe, hearing the commotion behind them, they rushed away scared. The noise behind him signaled that the woman was reaching him. She was without doubt the faster one, thus Zortex had to think of something. Attacking is not an option. The moment I stop I die. The only advantage I have right now is my increased sight and my slime transformation. I must find a place where sight matters and then hide somewhere she cannot reach with an human body. Zortex turned right as soon as he saw a little alley crossing the bigger road. There were some crates on the ground and he was able to jump over them hoping they would hinder the thief. Two seconds later he heard her swearing when she toppled onto them. ¡°Accelerate¡± Zortex heard from behind and he threw himself on the ground. He had not been fast enough because a dagger still grazed his ribs on the right side, but he was still alive and able to run. His body was hurting everywhere, his stamina and HP bars where very low and he had an headache from all the sensations he was getting from around him. Still he wanted to survive. He ducked into another small alley and then another, footstep following him. This part of the city was like a maze and it was difficult for the thief behind him to assert her superior speed. Sometimes there were obstacles that she could not avoid in the darkness and at a certain point Zortex heard some tumbling from behind and some swearing. This is my chance! Zortex turned at a crossing and when he saw a small barrel he threw away the contents and entered into it by slime transformation. Then he went perfectly still. A few seconds later his running enemy passed by him and continued on her way without even stopping to check. Zortex stayed like this for a while, not daring to move. After around five minutes he heard the footsteps of the thief and he could smell her odor. She was breathing hard and mumbling to herself. Apparently she was not happy at all to have lost her target. ¡°I will have to tell Zack that Leylin has still some men surveying the zone. There might be another war between gangs. I hope to find again this guy so that I will make him pay for chase of today. I also lost two daggers and got no loot.¡± The woman said to none in particular. Zortex could hear her low voice passing by him. The slime warrior stayed in that position as long as his mana permitted him to. Afterwards, he left to find a better spot to heal his wounds. Once again he stood defeated by his enemy, but surviving for an hair¡¯s breadth. Things need to change. My power is too low and I forgot the first lesson. This is a dog eat dog World. In AoL I can lose my life to anyone. I must consider anyone as a potential enemy. No need to hold nice conversation with NPC and real people alike. Just get what I want and leave them alone, the same as the real world. I already have enough problems. When I will be powerful I will have the time to socialize. Chapter 14. The perfect crime Zortex found what looked an abandoned building with old shuttered windows, and he got inside by transforming into a slime and fitting through asamll opening. Before relaxing he checked all the rooms and found no one apart from a couple of small rats which ran away at his presence. He sat down in a corner and rested. His frozen status had dispelled so his HP were regenerating steadily and soon he would be as good as new. Still it was quite a traumatic comeback to the city proper. His actions kept replaying in his mind. I should have planned better my behavior. Everyone would be startled from the approach of a men in a dark cloak in the middle of the night. Especially in a not particularly respectable neighborhood. I was also quite unlucky that my first encounter was with a thief or assassin of higher level than me. Pravin gave up his life to save mine. I cannot allow that to happen anymore. I should be able to handle enemies by myself. I didn¡¯t even think about using my sword. I¡¯m such a noob. Zortex kept resting and thinking. He tried to imagine all the possible outcomes depending on the situation. He decided he would need to interact with someone during the light hours instead of night, but better during early morning or dusk, when it would be less problematic for his senses. The simple idea of getting through the chaotic streets in the middle of the day made his headache increase. He faced two big problems at the moment: money and smell. The first one was obvious. He needed money right away. The second problem was something he hadn¡¯t thought about until the woman said that he smelled awful. If she had the time to comment about it during a battle it meant his stink must be really powerful. It was reasonable considering that he had spent more than eight months in the deepest part of the sewers. When he first started his hunt of rats, he had felt like throwing up as soon as he got inside the sewers, and for all the trip going down he could not completely dispel the need to gag. Afterwards he simply got used to it and it became so familiar that it felt weird to him what he was smelling right now. Other people would be repulsed by him, so he would have trouble going around without making a scene. I need water and soap to clean myself, but where can I get them? I should be able to find water somewhere for free, but soap for sure would cost money. This is a vicious cycle. To get money I need to interact with people and to interact with people I first need some money. Zortex pondered for a while. It was still night outside, but it would not last forever. Zortex wanted to get something done right away, otherwise he might had to stay hidden for the whole day without doing anything useful. From his point of view there were only two options left. The first one would be to kill himself and respawn in 5 days. He guessed that his body would come back clean after the death, but he didn¡¯t really know for sure and he didn¡¯t want to bet so much time on it. And to him it looked stupid to die by his own hand after all the struggle he had done to avoid dying externally. On the other hand if he lost an item dying in such a spot there would be none to steal it from him in this abandoned place. In this World during death sometime the person loses an item. That''s why there are travelers killing other travelers and that''s why people don''t want to die too easily. The second option was to take by force what he needed. Without killing or fighting anyone he would have to break into an house and rob the money, hoping to not be noticed. Maybe he could directly take the bath in there if the owner was not present. He didn¡¯t like the feeling of doing something so low level, but he didn¡¯t see any other option. Zortex got out from his new residence and started walking around. He needed to explore the neighborhood a bit to find a proper target. No one was around and without blindfold he could see perfectly around himself, a gift that any thief would have paid for. They didn¡¯t know about the repercussions. After one hour Zortex had identified the perfect mansion to rob. It was a bit isolated from the nearby houses and more heavily protected, with an high fence and heavy wooden door and windows. Barriers were not too much of an obstacle for Zortex at the moment. As long as the precinct was not surveyed by guards, Zortex was sure he could enter undetected. Unless there was magic, but he had no idea what to expect in that case. The problem would be what was in the inside. He had to be silent enough to steal without waking up the owners. He absolutely didn¡¯t want to end up fighting. If he lost and got captured and arrested he might lose months in a jail. For Travellers it was available the possibility to pay a fee to get out right away, but since he had no money he would get full time. I have to do it now. I can already see the sky brightening on the East. People will wake up in one or two hours. Zortex used slimification and squished through the space in between the metal bars of the fence. He silently and slowly walked the little garden until he reached the front door. Usually a thief should look for a backdoor or any other easier entrance, but for Zortex the little gap between door and floor was more than sufficient to slid inside. Actually it was easier than entering the crypt of the skeleton warrior. One minute later he was standing inside, keeping still to hear if anything got spooked by his appearance. The light was dimmer than outside, so even he could not see too well, but it was at an acceptable level to move around. He was more scared about a dog or a cat noticing him. His smell especially would alert any animal in a range of fifteen meters or more. Are there dogs in AoL? I don¡¯t remember seeing any the little time I have spent outside. It looks like I have made it through unnoticed. Inside here I can even drop my sensory defenses. Zortex took away the strip of cloth around his head to use his nose and hears at full power. That was a mistake. He was not prepared for all the smells that wafted from the different rooms of the house. He had to cover again the nose, but let the hears free. He could hear the presence of people upstairs. This was a two stories home and on the first floor there were probably the bedrooms. There was the soft snoring of a man and the more quiet breathing of a woman coming from a room directly on top of his head. On an adjacent room he could hear the breathing of what felt like two kids and in the furthest room away from him there was another person. Zortex could not say if it was a man or woman. During all this time he was keeping his eyes closed and he stopped breathing to allow himself to handle so much information coming to his ears. When he was done assessing the situation he covered again his ears and proceeded to the room he had been wishing for. When he had let his nose free he had smelled it right away, but even now the fragrance of the kitchen was calling to him. Every step closer made him more and more excited. His mouth started to drool, but he reminded himself that he could not eat just yet. He opened the door and looked around. A table and chairs stood at the center with a vase of flowers on top. The flowers looked very different from the ones he was used to on Earth, but Zortex was no expert and he guessed that in the other climates they could have all sort of plants. On a counter there was already a basket containing brown bread with some seeds sticking out. That was the first thing he took and put in his backpack. Luckily he had not lost that into the sewers. There were plenty of closets and a place that looked like an oven. At the bottom there was some ash and remains of a fire. On the other side there was a cauldron over another spot for a fire. Zortex didn¡¯t care at the moment about cooking tools, so he went right away to open all the closets one by one. Tears started forming into his eyes, and not only because of the strong smell of spices. There was food of all kinds, from meat to vegetables to fishes to pasta. Most ingredients didn¡¯t look familiar to him but he was more than happy to test the differences from the old world food. Trying to be silent he took as much as he could carry, choosing foods that didn¡¯t seem to require cooking, or ones that would require just a normal fire. He also looked for something to start a fire but there was nothing he could recognize for the task. Before leaving he stopped and went back to the oven. For light they use light crystals, so maybe to start a fire they use fire crystals. He touched around and found a small compartment with a few red crystals. Bingo! I will have to test them later. Zortex thought. He left the kitchen and roamed around the rest of the ground floor. He found some more valuables, but nothing worth carrying outside apart from some clothes close to his size. The money was probably kept safe in the bedrooms above him. He decided to risk it. He would not enter directly into one of their rooms, but there should be a bathroom and hopefully some soap there. He climbed the stairs, cringing every time the old wood made a sound, but finally he reached the top without waking up anyone. He could hear the three occupied rooms, so he went to the only one without any occupant. The opening door made a creak sound that felt as loud as a scream to him, but there were no consequences. The owners were still sound asleep apart from a rolling of the person alone in her single room. Now that Zortex was closer he could distinguish the gender. He looked around the room and he saw a toilet, a big barrel working as a bathtub and a mirror above a sink. In the corner over the bathtub there was a shelf with three different pieces of soap and a bottle containing some green substance. There were also a few blue crystals and red crystals.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Zortex basically rushed to the products and snatched them away and into his backpack. Now he had everything he needed. He couldn¡¯t get the money, but he could go on for a while with what he had stolen. He exited the room and he went down the stairs, once again trying to be as soundless as possible. When he reached the bottom step, one of the doors of the bedrooms opened and he heard footsteps on the wooden floor. ¡°What is this smell? Did someone clog the toilet again? I will have to punish the kids. I bet it was one of them¡± a woman said. Zortex didn¡¯t wait a second more and he kept walking to the entrance and then he slimified himself to pass through the slit at the bottom. Luckily when he turned into a slime all his clothes disappeared to reappear again after he returned human, and the backpack was the same. He went out into the garden and walked faster to the fence. The light was already too much for him. Dawn was starting and with it his sight became too much to handle. Once he came out into the street he started running in the darker alleys as fast as he could, both to avoid being nearby when the owner of the house would recognize the theft, and to reach his new hideout as soon as possible. After ten minutes he had arrived and he threw himself in the sweet darkness. People were already starting to get out in the streets and the last couple of minutes were a real struggle for him with all the noises and smells, but especially the sight. He had not dared to take out his blindfold and stop his vision. He had to run as fast as he could to hide himself. His headache was really strong from all the sensations he had to confront, so he decided to wrap up his cloak all around his head and fall asleep.
When he woke up he yawned and looked around himself. There was still light outside, but inside the building it was quite dark. It was probably afternoon and the sound of people outside reached him. He was feeling better now after resting his mind so he recalled the events of the night before. Zortex smiled because it was time to check his loot. The most important part to him was the food. He will never forget the sensation of almost starving to death. Never again he will find himself without a nice amount of food stored somewhere for him to eat. He had collected enough to eat for a whole week if he didn¡¯t indulge too much. He decided to consume first the things that would spoil the fastest. He picked up a fruit in a shape similar to a banana. He peeled it off and stuffed it into his mouth. The taste was a combination of sweet and sour. He started chewing it and take bite after bite, until it was finished. His eyes were teary from the intensity of the flavor and the joy of an human meal. He reached for the next fruit, a circular thing the size of his hand, covered in small spines. Zortex took out his sword and with the edge of the blade he made some cuts on the skin which he then removed by hand. He took a morsel of the dense fleshy substance and chomped on it. He spit out right away what was in his mouth, but it was too late. This fucking fruit is spicy! My mouth is on fire!!! I¡¯m about to explode. Right after thinking that, Zortex passed out, overwhelmed by the spicinessof the food. Zortex woke up again after a few hours. His tongue was still hurting, but otherwise he was feeling fine. He decided to continue his tests about the food and picked up another fruit, this one yellow with brown spots and in the shape of almost a cylinder. He cut away the skin and just licked the outside without chewing any part of the pulp. The flavor was sweet and resembled that of a pineapple. He kept eating it slowly enjoying every bit of it. He was not satiated yet, as a couple of fruit were not enough. Probably nothing would ever be enough to him after what he went through. For last he took some bread together with some slices of meat. He took a big bite and chewed it with delight. This is awesome. I have missed meat so much! The consistence, the fragrance, the taste, the feeling in the stomach after I have finished. This is Heaven. I still have different kinds of meat to test, but I need to stop right now, otherwise I will finish all the food in one day. Also those sausages need a fire to be cooked. I should hide the food otherwise I will never stop drooling. Next, Zortex took out the clothes he had scavenged. There were new brown pants, two white shirts and a black dress especially thin. He picked out his sword and started to cut long strips of black cloth from the dress. He would use them as bandages to roll around his head to smooth his senses. Being so thin the dress, it permitted him to put more than one bandage at a time to obtain the result he needed. He could remove one or more layers to adjust the senses depending on the situation. This was the best solution he had thought to solve the problem of going out during the day. He could not keep living outside only in the darkest part of the night. He decided to not wear his other new clothes because he didn¡¯t want to pass the stink into them. He would take a bath first. For last he took out the spoils of his trip to the bathroom. He had three pieces of soap of three different colors. He sniffed at them one at a time and he concluded that the only thing which changed was the smell of them. To him all three smelled nice, so he didn¡¯t really care which one he should use. He opened the cork of the bottle of green fluid and smelled it. Once again it felt like a soap with a flowery smell. Maybe this one is for hairs? There were women in the house, so they probably cared about this kind of stuff. Even in the real world I didn¡¯t pay attention to such things. As long as I got clean it was enough for me. Maybe it was just me and Matthew who didn¡¯t care. Other guys were more interested on their style, including perfume. Fucking Matthew! Why does he keep coming into my mind?!? I need to kill him. But not right now. Now what is important is to get clean. Zortex put aside his new collection of soaps and focused on his new crystals. The only other time he had touched one was when Matthew passed to him a light crystal. At the time he didn¡¯t know how to use it and he had just held it already infused by the mana of his friend. Now he understood how to move mana through his body. He already had Mana Control at level 12. It should be easy to activate one, but he had never done it before so he was cautious. He also didn¡¯t know the properties of these two kinds of crystals. He supposed that the red ones were for fire or at least heat since they were close to the fire positions in the kitchen, but he found them also in the bathroom. The blue ones were probably for water. He picked up a red crystal and held between index and thumb, searching for any clue on how to make it work. Visually it looked like a pretty stone five centimeters long, but nothing more. On the other hand focusing on his mana he felt like a channel had opened for him, where he could pour his mana without need of control. Zortex sent just a trickle of energy into it and the crystal came alive in his hand shooting a fireball the size of a thumbnail which hit the floor and winked out. So this is how to start a fire Zortex thought. Basically it seems like crystals are solidified spells for anyone to use just by pouring mana into it. This way even non-mages can use basic spells. Probably there are also crystals for stronger skills, but those ones should cost more. With money you can accomplish a lot, whichever world you are in. Zortex then picked up the blue crystals and repeated the action from before. This time a small bullet of ice came out and struck a wall. So it is not water but ice. Ice is still water but too cold to be practical aside for attacks and conserving food. The people in the house kept them in the bathroom of the house, so they should have been able to use these for mundane tasks, like bathing and washing stuff. Thinking again, there were both red and blue crystals on the shelf, so they were probably using them together to form just water, combining ice and fire. Zortex tried a few times shooting first an ice strike and then a fireball to melt it into water. It was not very practical. Both of the crystals looked more suited for attacks, shooting fire and ice. He stayed quiet thinking about what he was doing wrong. If only there were the instructions for each item, life would be easier. Ah! I¡¯m being again an idiot. There are instructions in the game. I always forget to read them. ¡°Show me the stats for the crystals¡± Zortex said out loud.
Fireball crystal By pouring mana into it, you can shoot a fireball. The amount of mana determines the strength of the spell. Durability 12/25
Ice bolt crystal By pouring mana into it, you can shoot an ice bolt. The amount of mana determines the strength of the spell. Durability 23/25
Well¡­nice to know, but I had figured that out by myself. At least now I can see how long before they will stop working at durability 0. Zortex kept thinking and testing until he found a solution. By holding them in the same hand at the same time and adding mana, he would shoot directly water outside. The warmth of the water depended on the difference in the amount of mana he sent to one or the other. The more the total amount of mana and the more the water that would spurt. Also, the more mana he used, the more the durability decreased. Now that Zortex had everything figured out he decided that it was time to move to the second part of his plan. Zortex needed power, and for that he needed skills. Chapter 15. The battle of the soap. Zortex first needed a bathtub. He had soap and a way to make warm water, but he didn¡¯t want to waste so much his crystals by simply holding them in one hand and using the other hand with soap. Outside, dusk had started. People were still roaming the streets, thus he decided that for today he will wait before going out while smelling so bad. He would wash and then start behaving like a normal person. Meanwhile he focused on the tasks that he could do right away. He decided to train his skills. To use both his stamina and his mana he decided to use Sonar and partial Slimification. The first objective was to adapt his Sonar to his current state by dampening its strength as much as possible. If his brain could not handle all of it, he just needed to make it so weak that a normal person would feel nothing. The level of control necessary for this goal was unbelievable, but he had immortality to reach it. He also hoped to improve his brain capacity little by little, so that the level of control could be lessened through time. Zortex activated Sonar and once again he could not understand anything of what was around him. It was like a thousand people all started talking at the same time around him. He had to weaken the volume of the smallest ¡®people¡¯ until it almost disappear. To improve his technique he also attempted to focus his attention only at a certain point in space. By concentrating in a single direction he was trying to listen only to a certain part of sensations he was getting while letting his brain let go of the rest as just background noise. For now he was not succeeding, but he could already feel a certain improvement, as if in the direction he chose the sounds where coming louder. On the side of the mana, he was trying to once again improve his slimification. In his mind he had two main goals with similar training. The first was to create a tentacle with higher level of control so that his hand could remain human while the rest of the arm elongated. This way he could attack while holding a weapon but increasing reach and flexibility. His second goal was to slimify only his fingerprints of hands and feet. This way he could make his hands and feet sticky without abandoning his human body. He could see innumerable advantages to such a development, but he understood the difficulty of it. Right now he could control sending the mana specifically to his right arm. He thought that with a week or two of training he would also be able to do it with the left arm. However sending specifically to only a part of his fingers and toes would be a lot of work, but for sure it was achievable. His Mana Control skill would have to increase by leaps and bounds. ¡°Show me my status¡± Zortex said.
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 8
Stats:
Strength 16 Health 214(214) + 2.1/min
Endurance 19 Stamina 212(252) + 11.5/min
Agility 13 Mana 77(287) + 12/min
Spirit 27
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 4
Throwing mastery Level 2
Slimification Level 10
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 4
Slime eating Level 9
Mana control Level 13
Tentacle Level 4
The training went on and hours passed by. Even outside of the sewers Zortex had developed the habit to lose himself on the practice without checking the time, but at least out here his stomach controlled him in a more direct way compared to the light outside. When he started feeling a bit hungry again, he snapped out of the exercising and took out some meat and bread to eat together with one of the fruits he had already tested before. Not the spicy ones, those he had thrown away. It is completely dark outside and I cannot hear people moving around. It is time for me to act. Hopefully there still enough dark time for me to do what I need to do. Zortex left his hideout and walked in the direction moving away from the walls of the city. He reasoned that he would get closer to the city center and maybe he would be able to find a fountain or at least a place where he could use his crystals without trouble. After fifteen minutes he found a place which looked like a big basin where people would wash clothes. You could pump water inside and there was more than enough space for him to fit. Bingo! This place looks perfect. I can get the water for free and it is already a place destined to wash dirty things. There is nobody walking around and the buildings are not too close, so if I try to be silent I should be able to not wake up anyone. He entered the tub and started pumping the water inside until it was filled to a decent amount. The weather also helped him with his task and it started raining, muffling his noises, keeping possible strugglers out of the streets and giving him a shower effect. He started scraping himself with the water and soaps and he was left speechless. The water was becoming darker and darker and strata of filth were being removed as if they were layers of skin he didn¡¯t know about. He had to drain and refill the water multiple times until it was left mostly clean. His hairs especially were losing so much dirty material that he could not understand where he was keeping all of it. By the end of the struggle he was finally clean, but he couldn¡¯t completely eliminate the smell of the sewers. After more than eight months in there it would probably be part of his skin for a while. A strong headache had attacked him. He had been used to the sewers¡¯ smell, so after cleansing most of it away the soap fragrance felt alien to him, and it would take time for him to get used to it. To attenuate the weight on his mind he had to almost completely cover his eyes and hears, to not overflow the amount of data he was receiving, even thought it was the middle of the night and he would have been able to go around free of bandages in normal conditions. He also washed all the clothes he had, apart from the old pants which he threw away without remorse. He had also washed the clothes he had stolen, because even without wearing them his simple presence had contaminated them.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Happy with results he started walking again to the center of the city, or at least in the direction he thought it would be. After thirty more minutes he finally saw a familiar and welcome view. He was in a plaza which had a better view of the surroundings and from there he could see the view of a hill with a white building on top. He could finally see the place where it all started for him. The temple which had welcomed him on AoL and from where his nightmare had begun. Now he knew where to go. The closer he got the more people he started to cross. There were some guards patrolling the streets and people having fun in taverns or completing tasks in the middle of the night. He also saw some ¡®travellers¡¯ going around. It was not too difficult to meet real people during the night, because even though they still had to sleep, it was not as frequent as in the real world. A person could go on easily for more than ten days and then sleep for a night and feel completely refreshed. Zortex on the other hand had much more trouble. The strain on his brain was too high and an headache had become a common companion to him since coming back outside. Sleep felt like a relief and he had no intention to skip it if possible. Zortex kept to himself, walking with is cloak around him hiding his features. His clothes were still wet since he had to wash everything he possessed and nothing was left dry, and rain hadn¡¯t helped the drying even though it had stopped by now. He didn¡¯t want to attract attention at the moment and he didn¡¯t really need to talk to people, because once he had located the temple he had a vague idea of where the training center should be. After all he was just about to cross the entrance when Matthew had snatched him away into that horrible quest. The streets now were illuminated by many light crystals making them look like real world streets, so Zortex had to cover himself with plenty of bandages to attenuate all of that light. Finally he reached the main road descending from the spawning spot and he waited. Noobs coming for the first time in AoL were a common occurrence, and even though there were thousands of safe cities where to start, there were many more beginners than cities. Time progressed independently from the new people arrivals, so often they would connect at any time of the day. Of course in the middle of the city like this they would still find plenty of people to ask questions and they had no problem orienting themselves even in the middle of the night thanks to all the light. Zortex spotted what looked like a new girl who had just entered the World. His vision was deeply attenuated, but he could still see that she had light blue hairs and dark skin. Her height and body looked average and of course she was wearing the noobish brown clothes. She was looking around as if dazed by her surroundings and enthusiastic to be here. Zortex planned to follow a new noob in his path from step zero, so that he could learn all the things he had missed at the beginning of his trial. This way he would need to interact the least possible with others, real people and NPC alike. Of course Zortex stayed hidden and left her pass by. Too risky to follow a girl, there was a chance she would notice him and try to have a conversation. He waited 20 more minutes and finally a couple of new noobs appeared. They were talking as if they already knew each other. Perfect. Probably these are friends from another World who have decided to give it a try here. They will keep talking to each other so they will not pay attention to me if I start to follow them around discreetly. I will remove a layer of cloth from my ears so that I can hear them better. Someday in the future I will start to speak again with people, but for now I prefer to keep my distance if possible. Every time I talk to someone I end up almost getting killed. My first time dying in AoL, I want it to be by a monster and not a person. Zortex started his stalking operation. He watched carefully his targets. They both looked as normal humans, without apparent changes from a person of real world. One was quite tall with very dark skin and what seemed a powerful body under his clothes. Strenght was not transmitted into the game, so the girl from before was a strong as that guy. Zortex had struggled a couple of hours getting used to the slight increase in strength compared to his real body. The second guy instead was as tall as Zortex and looked like an Eastern Asia man. Both had dark hair. He could not see the color of their eyes because of the distance and his bandages. ¡°¡­¡­. at the end of the month we will meet him again in the Oasis World to talk, so we can tell him which city we are in and what classes did we get. It is an hassle that we cannot contact him this first month without ruining the trial. Anyway, we don¡¯t really need to do quests for money since he will bring it here as soon as we finish¡±. The black guy said looking at his friend. ¡°I¡¯m gonna kick his ass if he doesn¡¯t. He owe us for what we did it for him in the Warthunder World. Ehehe, imagine those noobs that start over here without any friend. They have to work hard to get a few coppers, instead we can get gold right away because we already have high level friends.¡± The Asian guy replied. Fuck them. They just rely on their friends to get what they want from the start. Where is the fun in that? The initial struggle is part of the joy. Of course I think that I have already suffered enough and I would gladly accept free money. ¡°Do we have to turn left here or at the next crossing?¡± ¡°At the next crossing. It is after the statue with the snake. Then it should be straight till the entrance¡± So they are going to the training center. For us noobs it is either that or the wizard tower. I will see how it develops. Zortex silently followed keeping a distance of 10-15 meters and trying to keep his face covered. Once, a couple of drunk guys drifted on his path asking for some money to get a few more drinks. Zortex jumped out of the way without saying anything and chuckled thinking that he was probably the poorest one around here. They started swearing at him so he increased his pace a little, but there was no need as a couple of guards started to move in their direction alerted by the sounds, so the drunkards quieted down right away and left. A few minutes later they had arrived at the entrance of the training center. It was a big structure with multiple arches giving to the inside. At the base, on the sides of each arch there were the statues of two warriors. Each statue possessed a different weapon and was representing different fighting poses. Zortex was quite impressed by the artistic level of the place, especially considering that this was a pretty normal city. Anyway Zortex understood little to nothing about art, so maybe what he was looking was quite average. For sure in AoL there were much bigger and important cities with breath-taking panoramas. The starting cities where new people spawn for their trials are nothing special, otherwise it would be overwhelming to begin the adventure already at the core of the world. If the sewers here are already this big I cannot imagine how enormous they would be in a metropolis. Probably the slimes over there are level 100 or more. I wonder how do they taste like. The doors of the structure were open day and night. There were only two guards playing dice and lazing around the entrance. There wasn¡¯t really much need for guarding because there were no treasures or anything valuable inside apart from the weapons and the best ones were carried by the instructors who were by themselves strong warriors. The two strangers arrived in the front of the structure and they were welcomed by one of the guards. ¡°I didn¡¯t see you guys around and you smell like new to this world. You must be travelers that have entered the trial given by the Gods¡± the guard said yawning. ¡°Just go inside and ask some guy for the directions where to go and for which kind of training you are looking for. You will have access whenever you want and free housing and food until the end of the trial. Don¡¯t disturb us again. It is late and we are tired enough even without dealing with newcomers¡± the other guard told them. ¡°Merrick, remember that they are the chosen by the Gods to fight on our side. You should pay more respect and do your job as we are told. I don¡¯t want to get fired again. My wife would kill me for real.¡± The first guard voiced. ¡°They may be chosen by the Gods but all I see are beginners who can¡¯t even swing a sword. They just piss me off. I don¡¯t get a free bed and free meals. Why should they? Anyway you guys go inside and you will find whatever you are looking for, so fuck off¡± the insolent guard replied. The two friends looked at each other surprised. Apparently they didn¡¯t think that NPCs could talk to them like that. They had experience from other worlds to see NPCs as real human being, but every time you enter a new world you still have to get rid of the stereotypes that your mindhad developed in the past. They passed by the guards and entered the building. Ok, so now I know which guard I should avoid. Better if I pass by them without even speaking. Anyway I already know that they are not going to say anything useful to me. Better if I go before losing sight of the two real people. I should invent names for them. Ok, the tall one will be Jake and the small one will be Tobi from now on,Zortex thought. He moved to follow them, but he was stopped before entering. The friendly guard moved to block his way, so he had to stop. Fuck him! Why he couldn¡¯t let me pass by without saying anything? What can I answer? Idiot me¡­.I should have practiced saying something before coming here. ¡°Hey you. You sure are a weird one. What¡¯s the deal with all those bandages on your face?¡± the guard asked. Zortex just stood his ground without moving a centimeter or uttering any sound. ¡°You don¡¯t want to answer? That¡¯s fine. The training center is open to anyone at all times. Are you a traveller? I have been trained to recognize them, but you feel a bit different. I can recognize the smell of the different World in you, but it is very weak. You also smell like refuse. You should take a proper bath next time. You may have used some soap, but apparently it was not enough. Did you go hunting some rats? I still don¡¯t get why the city still give people that quest. Just let the rodents and the slimes kill each other¡± What the hell! Why is he asking so many things? He wasn¡¯t this talkative with the other guys. Can¡¯t he leave me alone? Maybe if I stay silent he will get bored and let me go. ¡°Did the rats eat your tongue? That¡¯s why you are all bandaged?¡± The guard laughted and kept speaking and looking up and down Zortex, who was just standing doing nothing. ¡°Well go on then. Not like I can stop you¡­everyone can get inside. I still don¡¯t get why do they need someone guarding this entrance. Luckily I get paid for doing absolutely nothing, so I cannot complain.¡± Zortex was glad that the barrage of questions was finally over. When the guard moved aside he scuttled forward afraid that they would do something to ruin the moment. ¡°Hey! One last thing.¡± The second guard spoke. Damn it! I was almost done. What does this other guy wants? ¡°You are obviously not a traveller on his trial, so I think you should already know that you cannot use the centerfor free. You can use the facilities, but if you want a personal trainer you must pay him. No housing and no food too.¡± I had forgot this. For noobs the first month survival is for free. Both training center and wizards tower offer lodging during the trial, but as soon as it is finished you are expected to go on by yourself. However I need the training right now, so I have to get money. For now I¡¯ll try to catch up to Jake and Tobi and see if I can hear anything interesting. Afterwards I will have to spend some time to study the best target for a nice robbery. Chapter 16. Shad Zortex increased his pace trying to find Jake and Tobi. The building had plenty of corridors and rooms, so it was difficult to follow someone after losing visual contact. His hearing also was of no help because there were plenty of people talking in many of rooms. Even in the middle of the night it was a busy center. After a while he gave up with the chase. It was not worth the trouble and there were plenty of other people he could spy on. He had crossed a few NPC and even more ¡®travelers¡¯ while roaming. They just gave him a weird look after noticing his appearance, but he had passed by them before they could ask any questions. Often to avoid a conversation you just had to look toobusy. ¡°Come, the common lesson about spears is about to start. I don¡¯t want to lose the beginning like the one for swords.¡± Zortex heard a girl say to her friend at the end of the corridor. This is interesting. I was thinking about swords, but it could be useful for now to check how any training begins. I don¡¯t have money to find a personal instructor, so I have to rely on the common ones for now. Zortex started to follow the pair to see what happened. Two minutes later he reached a big hall where there were many people talking and the sounds of fighting, thus he had to use one more layer of cloth on his ears to smudge the noise. He decided to enter despite the crowd, otherwise if he just kept going around the more silent zones he would accomplish nothing all night. The room was well lighted with plenty of crystals, so he added one more layer of cloth also to his eyes. He could feel his surroundings well enough even subduing his senses so much. His head was starting to ache again, so he needed to keep himself comfortable for a while. From what he could understand from his first impression, this could be one of those facilities open to anyone. On the sides there were plenty of dummies with people hitting them and trying some moves. In the central part there were three large platforms where people were having duels. At first sight, everyone in there was a traveler like himself. Probably most of these people are on their trial training to get a class. Probably some haven¡¯t decided which style of fighting they would specialize in, so they are following general lessons to get a feeling. Some others had some lesson for free from the trainers and then came here to continue the practice and challenge each other to improve their moves. Zortex felt a lot of regret at the moment. If everything had gone as he had planned he would have been here at the beginning of his trial, bonding with the people around him and having fun. Or maybe his competitive nature would have resulted in him being hated. Both cases were preferable to what he went through. He had been alone for eight months and now that he has arrived he was not even able to hold a conversation. Again he opened his mouth trying to say something, but the sense of dread urged him to shut up and hide himself somewhere quiet. Jake and Tobi were not around. Probably still looking for a coach or starting their first lesson somewhere else. Zortex had no money yet, so he had to do with what he had around. Anyway everything he had built up until now was done without help. Maybe he could start getting familiar with the weapons just by looking at the others and copying them, without the need of a teacher. The thought of talking to an NPC was almost as scary as talking to a real person. Everybody else was using the wooden weapons which were stacked on the walls. At the beginning of AoL the only useful item for attack is the knife, so to train, people have to borrow the weapons around here. To make it safer the items are made of wood instead of metal, even though for noobs during their trial it doesn¡¯t matter because they cannot be killed. Also wood was cheaper. Zortex walked to the wall and found himself in a dilemma. What kind of spear should he use? There were many of different lengths and some different shapes. He always wanted to be a swordsman, but this was a spear course, so he had to adapt for now. He was a Shadow Slime Warrior, but he still didn¡¯t know exactly the fighting style of such class. ''Warrior'' was a general term, which did not imply any particular weapon. Maybe spears were more useful to him than a sword. Later he would need to analyze all options after trying many different weapons. His Spirit Stat was the highest he had, showing a propensity for magic, but it was obvious he was not focused only in that direction. Truth be told, in his last level ups his other stats increased the most, meaning that while fighting he was using more a physical warrior style. But the truth was that he hadn¡¯t really fought as in an RPG game. Throwing rocks and kicks are things from the real World. What kind of warrior should I be? My body is quite resistant to physical attacks thanks to my slime constitution, so a tank type would be counterproductive. Wearing heavy armor would nullify the advantage of my slime body, especially if my propensity into using slimification keeps improving. Choosing archery is out of question. I hate it and I don¡¯t think it would match me. I need some experience in different branches and from there I will have to develop a fighting style all of my own. Zortex started walking up and down across the walls. There were weapons of all kinds and dimensions. Sometime he would stop to pick one up, move it around, and then put it back. Zortex picked up a wooden spear which fit nicely in his hand and sat down in a corner of the hall, as far away as possible from the others. Many people had started looking at him and he was feeling the anxiety rising up from all that attention. He tried to hide his head as much as possible within the hood of his cloak. Most of them were wearing the noobish brown clothes, so he was really peculiar with his attire and the metal sword at his side. People couldsuspectthat these were not his first days, so they would grow curious as to why he had just arrived here. Even though the hood was up covering a bit his face, some people still noticed the bandages covering his head. There was some whispering, but luckily for now nobody came to him trying to have a conversation. Zortex was really glad about it and he started to look around himself to observe the ones present in the room. There were around 30 persons mostly divided in groups of two or three, probably friends from other virtual Worlds which had decided to try this one together. Most people had just arrived here in the last few days, so they didn¡¯t have time to bond with other new groups. His attention was caught by a group of guys looking at him and talking to each other. His blood froze when he saw them moving in his direction, but tonight he was in luck. Just in that moment the instructor entered and everyone looked at her. She was a tall middle-age woman wearing a leather armor, black pants and black boots. She had a plain face and the color of her short hair was black. On her back she was carrying 2 spears crossing each other. She stepped on a platform and started speaking to the audience. ¡°Tonight is my turn to train you guys. I see quite a few new faces, so it will be more productive than usual. I am Judith and in my experience you travelers are idiots. You have been sent by the Gods to aid us, so you think you can conquer the World with a sweep of your hands. The truth is that you suck. Maybe a couple of you in this room will be able to hold a spear by the end of the month, but most of you will get out of this building thinking to have learned everything you need, however you will just to die right after leaving the city. Luckily for you the Gods always bring you back to life¡± At least she sounds like one of those military instructors that show up in the movies. There are some people grinning as if they expected the speech. Probably they are the one that have been here before or the ones arrogant enough to not believe her. Luckily I have lost all my arrogance, otherwise If I had listened this talk right after entering AoL I would have also laughed at her.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°If you listen to me and train as I say, some of you will become at least useful in the fight to defend humankind, fulfilling the job given to you by the Gods. If not, I suggest you to move to those weaklings in the Wizard¡¯s tower. At least all of you travellers have the gift to learn spells.¡± Does this means that there are NPC unable to use magic? Maybe that¡¯s why normal people use magic crystals. I thought it was just because not everyone had the time or money to learn spells. This is something useful to know. ¡°Today, like last time, you will learn about balance. Most of you expected to learn how to stab things and use special skills, but to a spearman the most important thing is balance. Everything else will come later. Now I will pair you and you will try to trip your adversary. I will show you the stances to avoid that. When you will learn how not to fall on your asses you will be allowed to hold a weapon.¡± Fuck it! She wants to pair us. I have nobody to pair with and apparently I cannot just skip this session and get to the next one. Better if I leave now and try to find the sword training.Fuck! I took the farthest corner from the entrance. What an idiot I was, I cut myself from the only way out. Now everyone is in between, and my exit would not go unnoticed. While Zortex was panicking the instructor moved through the room choosing couples based on gender and body shape. Zortex valued the possibility to slimify himself to get out, but it was too late also for that. Judith arrived in front of him and looked at his face. Contrary to his expectations she just raised an eyebrow and told him to follow her. She brought him in front another guy and then she moved on to make another pair. Zortex looked at the person in front of him. They were the same height and same body structure¡­.average and average. He had white skin, short brown hair and a short beard. His eyes were a dark brown and looked back at him, slightly widened from Zortex''s look. Not much different than how he looked like when he entered Endless. For sure I make quite a scene now. I probably look like a mummy with all this bandages. If people were to find me in a crypt they would attack me thinking that I am an undead. Should I say something? Can I actually say something? I haven¡¯t prepared any line for a situation like this, so I will just shut up and do my part. I¡¯m not here to make friends anyway. Not anymore. ¡°Ehm¡­Hi, I¡¯m Jake. I entered AoL two days ago. Nice to meet you¡± his companion presented himself after the initial shock faded. He was holding out an hand for him to shake. Zortex said nothing and did nothing. His name is Jake. If I see again one of the previous two guys I will have to change his fake name. ¡°Can you hear me?¡± Jake said. Zortexgave him a small nod without emitting a sound. ¡°Why are you wearing that weird stuff?¡± Again silence from Zortex¡¯s side. ¡°Oh. So you have to cover yourself and you are not allowed to speak. Looking at your attire you don¡¯t seem to have just arrived in this World. Are you doing a quest?¡± Zortex nodded again, even though it was not true. The best solution was to make others believe that he was doing something special which required him to hide his face and not talk. They would leave him alone hopefully. ¡°But why are you here if you cannot see anything? We are supposed to work in pairs, but you cannot do anything with your eyes all covered like that.¡± ¡­ ¡°Right¡­.you cannot speak. Well, sorry pal but I want someone I can train seriously with. I have to put effort in my trial month if I want to get a nice class. After that I can relax, but right now I need a serious partner.¡± Zortex watched him go away to meet Judith who meanwhile had almost finished matching people. They talked for 30 seconds before coming back. He could not hear their conversation over the volume of the other people speaking, but he didn¡¯t need to. It was quite obvious what went on. They both looked at him and walked back his way. When Judith was three meters from him she picked a small dagger from a belt around her hips and tossed it where he was standing. Zortex had been tense since getting out from the old abandoned building, paranoid in being under attack at every corner. The moment he saw her hand moving to the belt, his sense of alarm increased and he prepared himself to dodge and run away as fast as possible. When the attack actually happened he threw himself to the side and rolled a couple of times. Right afterwards he looked up to analyze the best way to escape as fast as possible and to avoid any other attack, but nothing happened. The coach slowly walked to pick up the dagger which had stuck to the wall behind the previous position of Zortex. ¡°See. I told you he could see us. He has been keeping an eye on me since I entered. He was actually the only one prepared to fight me. All of you guys just accepted my presence as if obvious and unthreatening, but that¡¯s not how things work around here. You may be immortal during the Gods¡¯ trial, but get used to fact that here people fight and die¡± Judith said. Zortex stayed silent and was still ready to bolt for the exit at the first trace of hostility to him. He understood what happened, but he was not sure yet how this was going to end. Judith slowly raised a hand making the number two. ¡°How many fingers?¡± She asked and Zortex replied showing the same amount of fingers. She repeated the gesture three more times with different numbers and then she was done after Zortex replied successfully. ¡°Don¡¯t make me lose any more time¡± she said to Jake punching him on the shoulder, and then moved on to finish the pairing. Zortex felt awful. Now all the attention was on him after the show between him and the trainer. Every person in the room was looking at him and whispering. The pressure on his mind was overwhelming and he was on the verge of running away and hide alone somewhere silent. Luckily for him coach Judith once again called everyone¡¯s attention back to herself now that the pairing was done. ¡°Ok, now everyone look at me! Assume this stance and try to push or pull the other person to the ground. Get a good look at my feet, how opened are my legs and how bent are my knees. Try to move forward and backward without losing the stance and after that you can start the competition between the two of you. I will move around correcting the dumbest of you guys.¡± Zortex paid particular attention to the positions and movement of the coach. His bandages worked as really strong sunglasses, but of course their quality was not the same. There were imperfections in the texture of the cloth, so even though he could still see around, he would have preferred to do it with free eyes. Of course that would be impossible, so he focused on his eyes and moved a few steps to get the best view he could. Maybe if I get the money I can hire a personal instructor who can teach me in the dark. That would be useful.Zortex thought. He tried to imitate the instructor and noticed that it was not as simple as it looked. The position felt weird and moving was troublesome and he was uncoordinated. At least he could see that other people were having the same troubles as him, so he didn¡¯t get dispirited. After a few minutes Judith called a stop to the practicing and started the competition between the pairs. Jake came in front of him and looked embarrassed. ¡°Sorry about before, but how could I know that you can see around? You cannot talk and how is it even possible to see under all those layers of cloth? Are they a special item?¡± Zortex slightly shook his head. ¡°Is it a spell or¡­a special ability?¡± Jake asked. Zortex nodded, even though it was not a skill you could get from the game unless you were stupid enough to torture yourself for months. ¡°Nice. Can you help me get the same ability?¡± Zortex shook his head. Maybe I can throw him in that dark room if he doesn¡¯t stop talking. If he is stupid enough to emulate me he could get the same ability. Too bad that the spot as first ¡®Shadow Slime Warrior¡¯ is already taken by me. ¡°Well, maybe sometime in the future you will change your mind and share it with me. You know that the best way to success is to get nice connections. You help me with that and I will help you with something else. By the way, what is your name? I know you cannot speak, but I bet that you can write it on the floor.¡± My name. It has been so long since I said it out loud, that even in my mind it has become irrelevant. Matthew still remembers me as Zortex and so does my family. Khira too, but who knows where did she go after entering Endless. She never told us, but for sure she was not interested in RPG lifestyle. Anyone else is irrelevant and probably I have already been forgotten anyway. I am not the same person as before¡­.so much changed. I am but the shadow of what I once was. It is even the first word of my class title. Zortex was silent for a while before coming to a decision. Yes, from now on I will be a Shadow looming behind the ones who wronged me or will wrong me. I have to live in the shadows due to my arrogance and in the shadows I will thrive and get back tenfold what I had to suffer, until I get my redemption or I go crazy. Zortex kneeled and with his finger spelled the word ¡®SHAD¡¯ on the ground. Chapter 17. Today was good Jake looked to the ground and nodded. ¡°So your name is Shad¡± he said holding out an hand once again for him to shake. Zortex made no move with his body. Nothing had changed since before, he wasn¡¯t here to make friends and he would not accept any attempt from other people. Friends are only good for betrayals, so he would not accept any of them until he was sure that he could defend himself. For now Pravin was enough. Speaking of his pet reminded him that he could now summon him again. After a little bit of consideration he determined that it wasn¡¯t yet the time to call him back. Although in the city there were other people with pets of their own, it was not that common to bring them around. A slime would look weird going around, and most importantly, he would attract attention on him. That made him feel guilty, considering how much he owed Pravin for saving his life, but he decided that was for the best, and he would make up for him with a lot of food next time they would be together ¡°Not that social eh?¡± Jake said retracting his hand and then having face full of inspiration. ¡°Is this also part of your Quest?¡± he asked expectantly. Shad nodded even though it was bullshit. ¡°So you cannot show your face, or talk, or interact with other people in any social way¡­.I wonder what kind of reward you will get if you succeed. I wouldn¡¯t go that far just for money, so it must be a special skill that you will get at the end. Maybe the ability to communicate with telepathy or the ability to disappear in the middle of a crowd. Will you tell me when you will be done?¡± Zortex nodded again just to make him shut up. Anyway he would not see the guy anymore when he would be done here, and he had no intention to socialize before then. Jake and Zortex started this kind of weird sparring of pushing and pulling. At the beginning he was scared of touching another human being, but soon he got over it. Fighting was a much more familiar thing than talking. Of course it was different than catching slimes, but still it was a struggle between two contestants trying to beat each other. At the start they were equally bad in what they were doing, but after some time Zortex got the upper hand dropping Jake eight out of ten times. To be honest he had also better stats compared to his adversary since he had the opportunity to reach level eight and most of the others were level one. Having more than thrice the amount of Strength didn¡¯t mean he was three times as strong as them, however it still gave him an edge he could make use of. Judith passed by them a couple of times, but she said nothing to him, just correcting Jake¡¯s posture a little. During the sparring a few new travelers arrived, but they were told to wait for the next session of the lesson or just watch and train without disturbing. After an hour she called a stop to the practice and switched pairs to balance the ability of the matches. This time Zortex found himself in front of a small guy more than ten centimeters shorter than him. Luckily before leaving, Jake told the new adversary that Zortex¡¯s name was Shad and that he could not talk due to a quest, so the new guy just presented himself as Zack and then said nothing else. The new bout started and Zortex found himself in trouble. After getting used to contending with someone the same height as himself the stature of Zack was giving him problems. For the first 15 minutes he found himself losing seventy percent of times. It was infuriating, but he didn¡¯t give up and by the end of the one hour practice he was back to a solid draw. His next opponent was a big dude two meters tall, probably chosen to train him to get used to larger adversaries. Zortex was extremely thankful that he didn¡¯t have to contend with any female. Although the majority of people here were men, there was still some risk. He would have probably fainted or vomited because of the tension if he had to touch a girl. Or maybe he would have embarrassed himself in some other way. Zortex remembered the moment he came out of the sewers and heard a couple having sex in their house. Just the sounds had raised his animal instincts in a way he had never experienced before. Even just this fleeting thought was starting to get him aroused, so he decided to focus on the face of the guy in front of him, who didn¡¯t look feminine at all. This time he was the one holding a slight advantage, and he kept it to the end even though he was not able to best his adversary easily. Also he noticed that the duration of a spar was steadily increasing compared to the beginning. Everyone was adjusting the stance and the body movements necessary to stay standing as long as possible, and it took longer and longer to drop the enemy to the ground. When Judith called a stop she made a new selection, but she didn¡¯t choose a new partner for everyone. Instead she picked up five people from the mix and told them to follow her on the other side of the hall. Zortex was one of them, and the others were three guys and a girl. Zack was one of them and the girl looked really cute with her round face and long brown hair.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°You five are the best ones out of this sorry batch, meaning that you don¡¯t suck too much. Now go pick up the wooden spear that you prefer¡± Finally some action with the spear. I was afraid that this training would end up like a Judo lesson. ¡°Ok, now that you are ready I will show you the first three katas. They are a series of movements that will help your coordination with the spear later on. The more you exercise the more they will be memorized by your muscles and the easier it will be to control your spears.¡± Zortex watched her perform a series of weird movement with her feet and her torso holding a spear in a weird pattern. He could not understand how this would teach him to use the spear, but he kept watching. It lasted a whole minute and obviously he had forgotten all about it the moment she finished. She then started the second kata which looked even weirder than the first one. The movements were more elegant and sweeps of the spear were wider, it looked more like graceful dance rather than a fighting style. Zortex decided right away that he didn¡¯t like it. Dancing had never attracted his attention and it would not start now. He knew that in the movies of old, the deadliest moves were portrayed as the most innocuous ones, but if there was any other option he would always choose the meanest looking one. For last, Judith made a kata which at first looked like the first one, but after looking at it for a bit Zortex noticed had a big difference. Judith was barely moving her feet, holding her position and focusing everything on the upper body movements. ¡°Well, you had your show. The first is the kata of Fire, for it will ignite your strength to hurt your enemies. The second is the kata of the Wind, for it will make you sweep the battle with speed and dexterity. The third is the kata of the Rock, for it will offer protection to those behind you.¡± Judith said. They could have invented some better names instead of naming the styles after elements. For example they could have used names of animals or something else. The elements are already present in the spells. Zortex thoughts. ¡°The names are bullshit, but I didn¡¯t invent them. The important part is that you understand the utility of each kata. Right now you may be wondering how those movements could be helpful during a fight, but you will see after you master them and try to fight each other. If you want something more sophisticated, then you must go to the personal tutors or even better if you find a great mentor. It is all on you. Just understand that no one worth mentioning would take you under his wing if you are not even able to perform these small katas perfectly.¡± Judith explained. ¡°Now everyone one peak up your spear and repeat what I have just shown you synchronizing with my movements¡± For the next 45 minutes the trainer kept coaching the five of them in the kata of Fire. They were still far from mastering it, but by now they were almost remembering the whole sequence of motions. Zack in particular was excelling compared to the other four. Zortex was not the best, but not even the worst of the batch. At least now he had a way to focus his training on something which was not based on his suppositions. It had just become a way to put his efforts on something with a solid base, which would give nice results. Judith had left them to practice by themselves to go check on the other travelers who were still training their balance position. The other four guys started talking between each other trying to make conversation, but when they tried to include him he just stayed silent. They were more than happy to leave him alone considering his looks. They had felt the need to speak with him because they had been grouped together and they wanted to be polite, but it was pretty clear what was actually going on. Each one of three guys wanted to hook up with the girl considering her pretty looks and she was trying to deflect their advances without looking rude. Zortex caught her looking back a few times to the crowd of people still training, probably looking for her boyfriend or friends to save her from the situation. Zortex thought it weird how they could not notice it, but he admitted that he had never been good at interacting with others, so he might be completely wrong. Judith came back bringing three more guys and showed again the kata of Fire to the new arrivals. Then she kept going up and down correcting stances for the people training. The lesson went on for a while longer, with more and more people joining to train their katas, until Judith simply said stop. ¡°Ok newbies. For today I am done with you idiots. Some other trainer will take over now. Keep training with your katas and when you will be good enough maybe you will be able to hold a real spear without hurting yourselves.¡± Zortex decided that it was also his time to leave, while everyone looked busy deciding what to do next. So much time in the spotlight had given him a bad headache and he was also super hungry. His stomach was growling and he would need to find a place where to cook and rest. If possible he would have liked a new abandoned building. The previous one was a bit too far from the center and he didn¡¯t like the idea of walking through crowds for a long period of time. He also needed to look for new places to rob as he could not continue to be penniless forever. Still he felt good. Now he had clear objectives in mind, not far away conjectures. Today was good. Chapter 18. Black market Zortex moved out of the training center into the city proper. The streets were bustling with people, the sun was clear in the sky and vendors were screaming their wares on the walkaways. He felt like puking from all this frenetic activity around him. Zortex moved in the direction he came from the night before. He hoped to find accommodations as soon as he could, but in the worst case scenario he could simply go all the way back to his previous safe location. He kept walking sticking to the less crowded alleys as much as he could. In the end he had no time to really look up for any abandoned place, so he got back to the neighborhood he came from. Once inside his safe place he dropped on the floor and laid still for a few minutes breathing hard. He was not sure what he should do first, sleeping or eating. Both looked really alluring, but in the end he decided to have lunch. Or dinner? He had no idea how his eating schedule was right now. Zortex had free wood trashed around and he had the red crystals to lighten the fire, so he decided to cook some sausages and eat them with some of the bread he still had. The wait was excruciating, especially for his belly, but it was worth it. Once again he found himself tearing up from the pleasure of eating his food. Fat meat dripping oil into the fire which hissed at each drop falling down, warm soft bread in his hand waiting to pick up a new piece of meat¡­.this was a dream coming true. With a full belly he went to sleep to dispel the ever looming headache and release some of the stress he had built up When he woke up it was still daylight outside so he didn¡¯t think he lost too much time in his sleep. At this point he sat up and he valued his next moves. To begin, he needed money and he had to find out the best way to steal some. Thinking back he understood that his first theft was not the best way to proceed considering his skills. At the moment he really needed new products for his daily life, so he had to steal to get fast what he wanted, but right now he would have to approach the situation in a smarter way. His main advantage was the ability to pass unmolested through barriers which other people would have to break rather than bypass. This suggested that the best way to proceed was to find an heavily protected structure which would be undefended in the inside. The first and only time Zortex had to be careful because the house had people inside and he was not willing to wake them up. This time he would choose a place more adapt to his skills. The second point on his agenda was to get another bath, but that would have to be at night in the same place as before. He could sniff his own body scent again, and he did not like it. Or better to say that he liked it, because it was the familiar fragrance of the sewers, but he had decided to remove it as fast as possible considering the other people well-being. Last point in his agenda for the day/night was to check the wizard tower (WT). Zortex fighting style relied on magic too, so it was better to train at the same time both stamina and mana, thus getting some new spells from the WT was imperative. He had already plenty of stuff to train with his slimification, but right he wanted to focus on something more practical and easy if possible. Zortex got himself another meal and then he went out again. His food reserves were dwindling faster that he would have liked, but if he was going to steal again soon, he was not scared to be left without. For the next few hours he moved around the city, trying to avoid contact with people and protecting his senses as much as it was reasonable. He needed to orient himself and learn the geography of the place in case he had to run for his life, or simply to not get lost at the wrong moment. Passing by he could hear many conversations, and when he found something interesting he would follow the talkers. The best times were when he found some noobs like himself who were asking questions about early stages of AoL. Many of his inquiries were answered that way, without him saying anything. He also passed by the wizard tower but he didn¡¯t go inside yet, as he would need a bath and possibly some money. He didn¡¯t know what to expect and he didn¡¯t want to find himself unprepared. He also found a couple of old abandoned buildings that he decided to use as new bases since they were much closer to the center. When the sun was almost gone Zortex had finally decided about a target for his expedition. He would rob the weapon shop he had visited on his first day. During his roaming trip around the city he took the opportunity to eavesdrop on the conversations of NPC and travelers alike. Many of the doubts and unanswered questions became clear in that time and much of what he needed to experience the RPG life would be found in a magic shop. The problem with magic shops was that they were probably protected by magic sigils or alarms he wasn¡¯t aware of. It was better to rob somewhere else and then buy the product he needed with the money he would get. He doubted that he could get directly cash in the weapons¡¯ store, but eavesdropping he came to know of the existence of a black market where he could sell products without questions asked. If he could get his hands on some luxurious arms he would get some easy money. The reason why he chose the store he had already visited was because it was quite a low level one, meant for the noob travelers in their first months of adventuring. Better stores were sure to have some degree of magical protection, so it was better to not risk it. When the sun was completely down and the street on the suburbs were empty he arrived at the location he had previously cleaned himself and he took once again a fast and thorough bath. A couple of people passed by, but they just moved away, probably thinking he was a hobo. He laughed realizing that was exactly what he was. He hadn¡¯t slept in a bed for the last eight month if he discarded his time in his personal room in Endless. Now that he was somewhat clean he took to his objective. He walked down the streets trying to not catch the attention of anyone and arrived in front of the store. The structure was remarkably protected by bolts of metal everywhere. Even the door was so tightly closed that he could not find a slit big enough for him to fit through. Unluckily for the owner there was a small chimney on the top of the building. It was too small for any person to pass through, but it was no problem at all for Zortex. He entered the store and started looking around. He tried to be as silent as he could even though he could not hear anyone inside. To Zortex¡¯s knowledge the owner lived in the house next door, ready to defend his shop in case someone tried to break through, but too far to hear a thief able to sneak inside.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Zortex took his time choosing what he should take away. Listening on the people around him during the day he understood that in AoL there was a system to carry heavy loads without trouble. In any magic shop people could buy storage pouches to carry around. The cheapest ones had not that much space, but they were still enough to bring enough food for a couple of weeks and a couple of weapons. The more the cost the higher the space. An important characteristic was that inside the pouch time was frozen, so he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the food going bad. Unluckily Zortex had nothing of this at the moment, so he had to rely on his backpack. Before the theft, he had emptied it hiding his food and clothes in an abandoned building he deemed safe enough, so now he could fill it as much as possible. His attention fell again on the war hammer he had seen eight months ago. Of course it was too big to bring outside and anyway he didn¡¯t want a product that didn¡¯t sell after such a long time. He looked for small weapons which looked of high value. The best ones were kept behind the counter, sealed in chests closed by heavy locks anchored to the building. The owner should be carrying the keys always with him, so he skipped those treasures. He took a new dagger for himself that he would not sell and then he filled his bag with a few others which looked just as good. Then he kept filling himself with other weapons and pieces of armor. He also stole a new spear that he decided to keep for himself for training. He could not find any item magically upgraded, so he concluded that they had to be in the locked chests. It seemed even too easy to Zortex, but when he was outside and safe he realized that his ability made him a perfect thief for such small crimes. Someday he should learn to bypass the stronger defenses and increase his gains. It was still the middle of the night, thus the black market should still be open in the secret location he had been able eavesdrop with his overpowered hearing. He was extremely tense, because as the night was his best time to steal from buildings, it was also the time the street thieves robbed their victims. He moved silently through the deserted alleys, rounding any place where he could feel the presence of some people. After what it felt like an eternity he reached his destination. It was a big sized building on the outskirts of Onara. Zortex had discovered that Onara was the name of this city. There were two burly men guarding the door with cudgels one meter long. They tried to act casual as if they were just two friend having a chat, but it was blatantly evident they were checking out for any person moving their way. When Zortex moved in their direction they righted themselves and looked at him with hostility. They were waiting for him to say the password to enter the market and Zortex had prepared for this. Considering his inability to speak to other people he had stolen some paper he had found in the shop he had just robbed and he wrote down the word ¡®Alcantara¡¯ which was the password for tonight session of dealings. Once again these were all things he had discovered spying on people around town. Plenty of costumers coming here didn¡¯t want their identity to be discovered, so the fact that he was going around with his face completely covered was not that weird in such a place. One of the guards grunted and let him inside. Zortex moved along the corridor until he reached the market proper. Zortex could not help himself to give a small laugh when he saw that the people around were mostly covering their faces with masks. This was really a place he could fit in. He took out a couple more bandages from his pocket to wrap around his eyes and ears due to the increase of light and noise. To his knowledge there were several floors in the building and the higher he went the better the products he could sell or buy, but Zortex knew only the password for the lowest floor, and anyway he didn¡¯t have any high value item to sell nor the money to buy something valuable for himself. He started moving along the dealers checking the wares and studying the people. When he stole from the poor shopkeeper he had meticulously calculated the value of each one of his spoils, so he knew he had enough material for roughly 5 gold coins. He could not expect to get the full amount since he was selling stolen goods, but he was aiming for something around 50% of what they were worth. After 20 minutes evaluating his surroundings he went to the dealer he deemed to be the easiest to deal with, not because he made the best sales, but because he was the one that haggled the least and got directly to the point. Also because he was buying weapons of any kind, while most of the others specialized on categories. Most important part for Zortex was to get out of there with some gold in his pockets and almost no interaction with other people. He arrived in front of the stand and threw all his merchandise on the desk. The vendor/buyer looked at it quizzically and started checking the items one by one. After 2 minutes he told him ¡°one gold and fifty silvers¡±. Zortex was aware that he was playing down a lot, it was part of his profession after all. Without speaking he showed three fingers. ¡°This stuff is almost worthless. It is well kept, but materials are low quality and the production is lame. Only noobs are willing to buy this stuff and they don¡¯t have much money anyway¡± Zortex raised again his hand with three fingers. ¡°Look at me. I¡¯m already giving you a good deal. If you think you can get any better you are free to try¡± Zortex raised two fingers and then made a gesture with his hands that in his opinion meant that he would go down no further. Apparently it worked because the guy accepted the transaction and gave Zortex the gold and put away the weapons for later. At this point Zortex was quite happy. Finally he was carrying around some money and even a decent amount of it considering his low level. He could afford to rent a room somewhere for a while and buy food. Nothing fancy, but good enough compared to his lifestyle for the last few months. He also had some food hidden away, nice clothes and all the weapons he needed. It was time for him to visit a magic shop and then go to the wizard tower. Chapter 19. Shopping Zortex arrived back to the place he had hidden his food and reserve clothes. On the way there he was followed for a couple of minutes by some guy probably wishing to steal his newly acquired gold, but he was easily able to lose him running in the darkest alleys as if it was afternoon. It would be probably one hour before dawn, so he had to wait a bit before going shopping. In the meantime he sat down and started his training in slimification and spear mastery. Whenever his mana finished he would stand up and repeat the kata of Fire until his mana recovered. Sometime he would also give a little try to improve his Sonar skill with little success. Time went by and light started streaming inside from a slightly open window. He had trained enough for now, so he took a short nap and then he ate a glorious breakfast. Meat, eggs, bread, fruits¡­he spared nothing. What should have lasted two or three more days was devoured by him in an hour or so. With money in his possession Zortex lost all control about the food he had saved. Only a little bit was left because he had promised himself that he would never again find himself without some food. He left the building and went looking for the magic shop he had chosen the day before. When he made his explorative walk he checked out and compared the prices of more than ten shops. The ones closest to wizard tower had the higher prices, but also the greater assortment of merchandise. The farther he went the lower the prices. He didn¡¯t need anything fancy, so the cheapest one became his target. Zortex already knew what he was going to buy. The most important was the storage pouch to free himself from cumbersome luggage and weapons. The second thing were some empty magic crystals. From what he understood the crystals are extracted from the corpses of monsters and then can be used to store spells or for other effects. The main form of profit for travellers and adventurers was to hunt down these monsters and collect the crystals. He had not clear the reason why some monsters dropped them and others didn¡¯t. Apparently slimes were of the category which did not, or maybe a monster had to be over a certain level to create a crystal. It is something he would have to discover later. The reason he needed some empty ones was because of a peculiar quality of such items. Not only they could be used to store spells, but also to seal a connection between the person and a certain thing. To bind a weapon to his person he just needed to squeeze some of his blood over the crystal and the weapon holding them against each other. The crystal would dissolve and permeate the weapon. The stronger the crystal the higher the probability that a connection could be formed. Also items of high quality required stronger crystals for binding. For noob weapons it was not worth it to use a binding, since the cost of the crystals needed would be higher than the cost of the weapon itself. Zortex had kept some nice object with himself, so he wanted to try a binding, even just to get some experience on the method. In case of a successful binding, after a certain amount of time, the weapon could not get too far away from the owner unless if he wills it. Just like a noob could not use a weapon over his level, a thief would not be able to move too far away with the object. Of course there were ways around it, so unbindings were possible, but just as bindings they could be difficult and costly. Another feature for travelers was that in case of death, the item would remain in their possession most of the times. At every death there is risk of losing an item, but at least a person would not find himself stripped of everything at every respawn. Zortex arrived in front of the store and became a little anxious. He was getting better at being around people, but the idea of actually have social interaction with them scared the shit out of him. He had to think the best way to deal with every situation without speaking to anyone. Ten minutes later he entered by the front door and went directly to the counter showing the storage pouches. ¡°Good morning costumer. How can I help you?¡± The owner looked baffled by his appearance, but he was professional enough to behave like a merchant should do. Either that or he wanted to keep an eye on him, afraid to be dealing with a freak. He was actually dealing with a freak, so he was right. Zortex didn¡¯t answer back or looked into the merchant eyes. He picked up a storage pouch worth 20 silver coins and walked to pay desk. Crystals were not openly displayed. Slipping a few of them in a pocket was too easy for any thief with a bit of talent. Zortex dropped the storage pouch in front of the owner of the shop and pointed at the place he thought it contained the raw crystals. The merchant raised an eyebrow at such behavior, but he perked up seeing that he was selling something. Probably he didn¡¯t get many costumers around this neighborhood, so every copper was welcome. Right away Zortex was looking at the counter where there were dozens of different crystals of various dimensions. The color was all the same for each one, a semi-translucent milky white. Storing a spell in it would change its color, or so he had heard. The crystals in his possession were proof enough for him. Zortex had no idea how to characterize each item, so he casually picked up a few that looked the smallest and dirtiest out of the bunch. He had to experiment with the infusion process, so it was better to start with the cheapest ones for training. He still had a considerable amount of money in his possession, but his mind was already focused on the next step: shopping for food. He pointed to thirty crystals he had picked up and the shopkeeper told him:The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Four coppers each, so it would be 21 silvers and 20 coppers for everything. Can I interest you in anything else? There is this bracelet that can enhance the power of your electrical spells by 2 % and as a bonus it increases your MP by 10. It is on sale for only 70 silvers. If you buy it I can make you a discount of 5 silver on the complementary ring which increases the spell resistance on lightning by 3 %¡± Zortex was too inexperienced to start looking at such products, so he just said no moving his head, but he also pointed to a few more crystals which looked a bit better. When he left the shop he had spent a total of 23 silvers and now he was in possession of an average quality storage pouch and 50 crystals. The second bunch was of higher quality, valued roughly 10 coppers each. He could easily afford the price and he preferred to have something a bit superior in case of need¡­always thinking ahead to avoid coming back and interact with the vendor once again. There were also crystals worth gold coins each or more, but those will come when he will be high level. Zortex left the shop and went to find himself a secluded space to try to bond with his items. The knife was his first choice to experiment. Although he understood that he needed blood and raw crystals, the theory was fine, but the practice was different. No time to procrastinate, Zortex cut the palm of his right hand and held both the knife and a crystals on the left. He let a few drops of blood fall on the items and waited. It took a few seconds, but he could clearly feel the crystal getting warmer and sucking away the blood. The process went on for one more minute until the crystal cracked and became dust. Is it done? I don¡¯t feel anything different coming from the knife. While spying I heard that guy say that the crystal would melt and be absorbed by the knife, but this one pulverized. Probably it was a failure then. Zortex tried again. The second and fourth time were failures too. He was starting to wonder if he was making some mistake, but on his fifth try the process happened exactly as he had expected. The crystals melted and entered the knife, as if it was porous, and the weapon became warmer on contact. Zortex couldn¡¯t feel any connection between him and the knife, so he was afraid it had been another failure. A test was necessary. He tried to throw it far from him and see what would happen. He still couldn¡¯t feel anything so he started to walk away. When he was at a distance of about 100 meters he finally got a feeling. It was very small, but he felt as if there was a very light string attached to his fingers. If he tried to pull nothing happened, but he had a clear idea of the direction his item was. The farther I am from my bonded weapon and the stronger the link become. When inside a city like this I can only feel the direction it is situated, but if someone would try to run far away with it, the resistance would increase until it would be impossible for him to move while holding it. The link works like an elastic, or a spring, but like those there are ways to break a connection. There should be techniques to cut the binding given enough time, or a powerful individual could get so far away that the bond could snap. I wonder if there are also ways to increase the strength of the bond? Zortex had his first success, so he continued with the rest of his possessions. The next thing was the spear, then his cloak, then a leather armor he had stolen and kept on himself. For last he did the storage pouch. Usually travellers at the first stages could afford only ones worth a couple of silvers, instead he spent directly twenty silver coins on it. The quality was a bit higher than the worst ones, so after failing the binding with the first five cheap raw crystals, he used one of the more expensive. It was still a failure, but at the third attempt he succeeded. Putting an hand in the pouch and the other on his spear he was able to store it inside with just a thought. Finally he got rid of all the weight and he threw in a dampster the old bag which survived the first eight months of his experience. Shop by shop Zortex visited most of the food vendors in the neighborhood, and he ended up spending 80 silvers just on food. He had stored away in his pouch enough sustenance for one year. He didn¡¯t buy anything too fancy. Quantity before quality was his motto. When you are starving everything feels good, so no need to spend too much money on just a few delicacies. Finished with his shopping Zortex moved in the direction of the wizard tower. It was about time to learn a few spells. It would feel nice to finally have something standard, like a real noob would have. Chapter 20. Wizard Tower Zortex walked slowly in the direction of wizard tower analyzing his situation. In the training center he could follow free lessons on the use of weapons, but he could not get a personal mentor unless he paid money. Now in the wizard tower something similar should happen. Noobs during their trial would have free access to some things he would not. I wonder what is the process to learn new spells. People just talked about it as if it was obvious, but I don¡¯t know the base. Some more spying would be nice, but at this point I should just learn at the source like other peoples do. He arrived in the plaza just under the wizard tower. A person could feel right away the difference in the atmosphere compared to the training center. There the people looked more muscular and rough. Armors and weapons were displayed openly, as a source of pride and to show off. Even normal civilians had a bit of that look, almost as if just by being close some of it rubbed off on them. Here instead the people looked more sophisticated and delicate. Individuals passing by were mostly wearing robes or light armor as his own. The shops nearby where mostly selling magic products such as the ones he had just acquired. One thing in particular distinguished the center of magic from the center of warriors¡­something that drew the attention right away. Here there were as many women as men going around. In general the ratio between female and male travellers was quite low. Without a doubt, the allure of a fantasy world was much stronger for guys compared to girls. Even more, the physical fighting taught at the training center was not much practiced by women. That¡¯s why there it was basically a convention of dudes, with some exceptions. Magic on the other hand was well seen by both genders, so there was almost a fifty fifty ratio. The dresses of the women were quite modest compared to the little amount of clothes girls used to wear in the real world, but after so many months by himself he certainly found it to his liking. It was also very dangerous for him. Keeping control was much more difficult when he was already straining to balance his senses. Ok, better to cover my eyes a bit more and focus on my hearing. I should find out how to proceed keeping my distances. Zortex went to the entrance and met the guards standing in front. These ones were much more alert than the ones he had met before, but in the end, despite his appearance, he just passed through thanks to his status as traveler. Once inside he started to randomly walk around the corridors and halls. Listening to people he understood that the ground floor is the one where most noobs aggregate during their trial. To access higher floors people needed to pass some sort of test or show some sort of proof of worth. He didn¡¯t get it yet, but anyway he was looking only for the basic. Passing by, he heard a group of people whose members where all noobs who had not received any training yet. It was exactly where he should be. Apparently the next lesson would start in an hour so they were just lounging there socializing, thus he moved away to sit down on a dark corner. To not waste any time he kept training his Sonar ability, since it showed no effect on the outside and it would not attract the attention of people nearby. Of course he was seen by some people, NPC of travelers alike, but his appearance was enough to discourage any of them to approach him. Finally a young men entered the hall and called for the attention of everyone. He looked twenty or so, certainly not the stereotype of the old wizard with a long white beard. He presented himself as Nertan and told everyone that for the rest of the afternoon he would explain to us the basic of the art of wizardry. Zortex and the rest followed him inside a spacious room. There were no chairs or desks, but some mats on the floor. Nertan indicated to his students to sit down on the floor while he would be standing. Obviously Zortex chose a spot on the back as far as he could from anyone else. There were thirteen people on total, seven girls and six guys, counting himself. As he could imagine, most persons had very outlandish looks: hairs, eyes, skin had unique colors, and everyone had added small details to their body to be more distinctive. Nonetheless, if he removed his bandages, he would be the weirdest one. ¡°Ok everyone. Listen carefully. Each person in the world possesses mana and has the possibility of handling it, but for most it could take a lifetime to reach a basic levels of understanding. In such way you have been blessed by the Gods, given the ability to control it as the most talented individuals. Learning how to cast spells is easily within your reach, but to master stronger and stronger magic it requires lot of effort and work, even for you chosen by the Gods¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I hope the introductory speech will not be too long and boring. Who cares about this stuff, just get to the spells. Zortex was getting sleepy again. The teacher went on and on about the importance of magic and how it should be used for the purpose given by the Gods. Ten minutes later he stopped ranting and came to the juicy part. ¡°You will not be able to learn any spell today. I will explain to you the theory to acquire new spells and you will work on it from now on¡± Finally we get to the point. ¡°Mana is present inside each person. Maybe you cannot feel it already, but soon you will understand. Magic is the pattern of mana channels inside a living being. It is impossible to clearly envision these mana channels as their number is infinite as numbers are infinite. Through countless generations wizards have been experimenting with these patterns to research all possible spells. As there are infinite combinations, also the number of possible spells is infinite. The most surprising thing is that different combinations could held the same spell, or so similar that we cannot distinguish the difference¡± I think I understand a little. When I first summoned Pravin I felt the mana reserve emptying and the mana flowed to my hand where I released. This mean that the flow was happening inside these channels. All this time whenever I used magic I felt as if I was flexing a new muscle, however probably it means that I was opening a pattern of channels. ¡°The first step is to feel the mana inside your bodies. Centuries ago, when magic crystals were scarce, wizards had to spend a lot of time and training to find their mana reserve. Nowadays it is just a matter of a few minutes, especially for you travelers. Now I will give each of you a light crystal to experiment with. These are raw crystals infused with a ¡®constant light spell¡¯. I will not explain today what spell infusion is, that¡¯s something far in the future. When you hold the crystal in your hand try to envision a ball of light and if you get any sensation from it just go along with it.¡± Fuck! Soon this place will become a concert stage with all the lights. Zortex took out three more turns of bandage and covered his eyes until he could see almost nothing, just some silhouettes. Nertan moved through the people distributing light crystals. When he reached Zortex he stopped a second and then told him: ¡°You are not on your trial, so you must pay 5 copper coins for the crystal¡± Zortex already had too many problems with the abundance of light, so he had no intention of spending money for it, no matter how little the expense. He proceeded to take out one of his red crystals and made a small ball of fire, shooting upward where it dissipated before reaching the ceiling. ¡°Good enough. You already have the experience apparently. Maybe you could have skipped this lesson, but it is your choice if you just want to chill looking at people during their first attempt. Now relax until everyone else has reached the result¡± His little display had not gone unnoticed, and the people who were still waiting for the distribution of crystals to end, decided to start right away the exercise. Soon lights were flaring all around the room and in a matter of few minutes everyone was chatting happily and enjoying their first display of magic. Meanwhile Zortex was covering his eyes also with the hood of his cloak and he was in deep contemplation. Not much time had passed since he came out of the sewers. It was nothing compared to the eight months he spent down there. He was trying his best to deal with the world around him, but he could not go on forever avoiding people at all cost. He needed to find a way to speak again. Not to make friends or socialize, but to be able to interact on a basic level. It should probably more necessary here than in the training center. ¡°Ok! Very well. I can see that everybody can now perceive their own mana. These are continuous light crystals, so the spell will last the longer the more mana you sent into it. Some of you just poured all of it inside, so they will make light for hours. Better if you put them away or you will go blind from too much illumination.¡± This guy understands me. The darker the better. Maybe if we also closed all the curtains it would be perfect. ¡°Raw crystals can store spells like the one you just used. Low grade spells can be stored in low grade crystals while higher spells need better crystals. These are useful in a pinch, but it is better to learn how to control a spell directly. Crystals will break after a few uses and you will never get better at developing spells if you only use them, because you are limited by the pattern of the crystal itself. Also crystals cost money that you wouldn¡¯t like to lose. Now I will show you how to actually learn a spell. It is a process which requires some time, so don¡¯t be scared if you fail the first few times¡± Finally we got to the point I¡¯ve reached so far. Now it is uncharted land for me. I absolutely need to learn some sort of attack. I¡¯m too vulnerable right now. I need something easier than Slimification. Normally people can learn at least one spell during their trial, so I want to learn at least two in the next month. It should be possible with the experience I had with my other Skills, right? ¡°To learn a spell is to create a pattern of mana channels in your body. The best way to do it is¡­.. Chapter 21. Enough theory...I want action! ¡°To learn a spell is to create a pattern of mana channels inside your body which is the same as the one instilled by the crystal. The best way to do it is to overcharge your body¡± Ok¡­ ¡° Every time you use a crystal for just a moment a pattern of mana channels open up to control the energy in your body. Right afterwards this pattern closes and you would have trouble emulating it. You can either use a crystal spell so many times that by reflex you could use it again even without crystal, or you can force it to open so strongly that it would take a while to restore the body to the previous state. In that window of time when the your channels are open, you must memorize the feeling in your body just enough so that you can activate it even without the crystal¡± Quite easy for now, but how to overcharge? It cannot be that easy I imagine. ¡°Spells have already been created by people before you, so for all low magic it is quite cheap to use crystals. When you will become experienced wizards, you could start modifying spells or even create completely new ones. For now just know that it is something far in the future¡± Well, I have already modified a spell. I created Tentacle starting from Slimification. Probably it doesn¡¯t count much, because they were skills introduced by my class, rather something I learned by myself. ¡°Thus we get to the juicy part¡­the overcharging. The most important thing is to get a crystal able to resist for as long as possible to the flow of mana. The durability should be as high as you can get, so higher level crystals are recommended. Second thing is to get access to as much mana as possible. Your body is able to sustain the maximum level of mana you have, but adding some from the extern will put it under strain. More mana means more pain. Keep this in mind if you want to succeed. Being a successful wizard is painful¡± That¡¯s why women are so good at this. If they can go through child labor, they can certainly handle a few spells. ¡°Enough theory. Now I will show you how you do it in practice. First you set up an external source of mana either by asking for the help of other people, or by using mana crystals which have already been infused with mana. For now I will just hold this mana crystal in my hand, but there are other ways that can be more efficient, however you are not ready for those. Tomorrow I will explain how to infuse mana in a crystal.¡± Damn! Explain now otherwise how can I overcharge myself without any. I don¡¯t think I saw them displayed in any of the magic shops outside. ¡°Now that I have excess mana I can work on a crystal. I will be using one of the light crystals I had used before. I already know the spell, but the more you practice with one the easier it will get to use it. I could just work on it while holding it in my other hand, but it isn¡¯t the most proficient way to go. Any little detail can greatly improve your efficiency. During the opening of the mana channels you will feel a lot of pain and you may risk losing control of your body and losing contact with the crystal. In the end the best way is to eat it¡± Right after saying it Nertain opened his mouth and threw the crystal down his throat as if it was a normal pill. He stayed silent for twenty seconds and then he raised a hand. Suddenly light exploded from his body illuminating the room as if he was the sun descended on them. Zortex closed his eyes, turned around with the face covered by his hands and looking at the ground. He hadn¡¯t felt so much distress since his first experience with light after leaving the sewers. His mind was completely out of focus and he had trouble connecting thoughts. Next thing Zortex saw was the instructor looking at him. He was standing and Zortex was laying on the floor. The other students were nowhere to be found, so he had probably lost consciousness from that event. Idiot Idiot Idiot! I had already trouble handling the light from the normal spell, so of course an overcharged one would be too much for me. I should have thought of that, but I let my guard down. Now I have an headache as if my brain was being ripped apart. ¡°I see you have woken up. Do you want to talk about it?¡± ¡°No I just want to sleep. Leave me alone¡± In that instant Zortex froze. Without realizing it he had spoken to real person¡­.or almost a real person considering that he was an NPC. ¡°Ok, good enough for me. But you cannot sleep here. Soon there will be another class and you cannot attend it until you pass the first test. Also you are not in your trial, so if you want to sleep here in the Tower you will have to pay and it will not be cheap¡± Zortex just grunted and got up. He was feeling dizzy and the first few steps were quite unsteady, but after a minute he could almost move again as a normal person. He left the building and moved in the direction of one of his hideout. Now he had the money to afford a decent room in an inn, but he was feeling so tired that he didn¡¯t want to deal with anyone. His mind felt as if he was drunk, so as he stood in front of the entrance of the abandoned building, it took him a minute to remember that he needed to slimify to enter through the wooden restrictions. Right afterward he crawled to the darkest corner of the ground floor and fell asleep without even eating anything beforehand. Zortex¡¯s sleep was flustered, so when he woke up again he still felt tired. At least the headache was gone, so he could think straight. First thing first, he obviously prepared himself a meal. With so much food at his disposal he had no qualms in eating more than he should had needed¡­much more. With the food also his mood became better, and considering that it was dark outside he decided to make a trip back to the tower. He already had a method to train with weapons, so now he wanted to get the recipe to train with magic. He understood the way to learn a spell, but he didn¡¯t know how to make mana crystals. He also needed crystals with spells, as he only possessed ones for fire and ice. His class description said that he could learn only spells related to darkness or compatible with slimes. ¡°Status¡±
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 8
Stats:
Strength 20 Health 214(214) + 2.1/min
Endurance 16 Stamina 252(252) + 11.5/min
AgilityUnauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. 12 Mana 287(287) + 12/min
Spirit 27
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 4
Throwing mastery Level 2
Slimification Level 10
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 5
Slime eating Level 9
Mana control Level 13
Spear Mastery Level 1
Tentacle Level 4
¡¤ Resistance to darkness: Every darkness attack will have 50% reduced effect on you. Increased vision at night. ¡¤ Weakness to fire: Every fire related attack will have 500% more effect on you. ¡¤ Weakness to light: Every light related attack will have 100% more effect on you. ¡¤ Slime muscles: Small resistance to some physical attacks ¡¤ You will not be able to choose any spell or skill unrelated to slimes or darkness. Remember that you can always discover new skills. Combining skills you already have or by using them in creative ways new skills can be created.
It was a pity that his range of spells was limited from the beginning, but most mages, after the first few low ranked spells, decided to specialize only on one category. It was not so different from what he could do. His steps brought him back to the wizard tower. His confidence was much higher now. Even if by mistake, he had talked with an NPC, so he could do it again¡­hopefully. The guards recognized him from the day before and let him in without questioning. The previous times, Zortex avoided to talk to the person at the reception and preferred to just snoop around listening to the other people conversations to orient himself and understand how things worked. This time he stopped at the reception and looked at the person sitting there, busy with some papers. Luckily for him it was a man, otherwise he didn¡¯t know what he would have done if it was a woman. The NPC looked up at him smiling and said: ¡°Hello Sir. How may I help you?¡± ¡°Basic¡­.Magic¡­low¡± Zortex was able to say. His back was sweating and he felt dizzy again, but he was able to do it. He spoke again. That was another great victory. The receptionist looked weirdly at him for a couple of seconds. Zortex had still his intimidating looks with all the bandages and even thought he was able to speak, it was barely more than a whispering mumble. Nevertheless the guy was able to understand him and picked up a piece of paper and handled it to Zortex who picked it up from the desk. ¡°That is the schedule of classes for the Rank 1 courses. On the left you find the level of the course and the name. In the center it his written the teacher and on the right there is the time when it begins. The next ¡®Low basic magic course¡¯ will begin in around two hours in room M1.07. Please be punctual otherwise you will be left outside¡± ¡°Thank¡­you¡± Zortex mumbled again and left. Zortex found himself a nice dark corner and sat down looking at the sheet. Nertain next lesson was scheduled for next afternoon. If possible Zortex wanted to continue with him, but he had missed the last part of that first lesson, so he had to get it somewhere else. He would follow the course starting in two hours and also the next one from Nertain. In the time waiting, Zortex kept himself busy training his Sonar and Slimification skills. He was still incompetent in Sonar, and could not get any use out of it, but he was getting better little by little. Also his Status showed that he had increased it by one level. At the right time he was in front of the door waiting for the teacher to arrive. There were ten students with him, a bit less than before, probably because it was night. A couple of guys went to him trying to start a conversation, but he flatly ignored them. The teacher name was Bhaner in the sheet. Zortex thought it was a man name, but it turned out to be a female teacher. She was old and had a raspy voice, white hair on her scalp and big round nose. Still she exuded the aura of a powerful individual, much more than Nertian. The lesson proceeded much like the one he had already followed before, and he had just to repeat everything the same. Luckily for him Bhaner changed tactic at the right moment. Instead of showing off the way to learn a spell, she explained the best way to charge the mana crystals. It was actually very easy. For inexperienced people the best procedure was to cut themselves and put a normal crystal in the wound. That way you could form a sort of connection between the crystal and yourself and you could pour your mana into it. The same way it took to connect with an item. In that case the crystal just worked as an intermediate, or as a catalyst, for the connection to happen. In such a case the mana of the crystal could be used only by the person who made such crystal. The other problem is that the crystal is not a perfect container, thus it will slowly leak some mana. A person could not prepare an indefinite amount of crystals for himself, because after a day or two the mana would have completely disappeared. Obviously the stronger the crystal, the longer it can resist and the more mana you can put inside. Money always win. At higher levels of mana comprehension a mage could even transfer his mana into a crystal without the use of blood. In that case there would be no connection between the creator and the mana, so the crystal could be used by anyone. There was still the problem of the leakage, so no one could really sell such items. Bhaner gave a raw crystal to every student and had them try the procedure. Of course when she arrived at Zortex she asked for the money for the crystal, but he simply took out one of his own without saying anything. Afterwards he cut the palm of his hand and holding the crystal he filled it with mana. He noticed that after poring 147 units of mana the crystal just stopped filling and any new infusion would just disperse. Apparently that was its limit. The procedure was super easy for him, but some of the other students had trouble with it, and could not fill it. By now I have more experience than normal noobs Zortex thought. After ten minutes the teacher called to a stop even for the people who didn¡¯t succeed yet, since the lesson had to proceed. Bhaner started to explain the procedure to learn a new spell, also using a light crystal like Nertian. Zortex was prepared this time. He put on his eyes all the bandages he had, until he could see nothing at all, he turned on the opposite side from the teacher, covered his eyes with his hands and looked at the ground. The spell passed by without him realizing about it, thanks to so many precaution he had taken. For last she listed some of the most common spells noobs should start to learn. There were the basic fire dart, wind slash, ice bolt, electric shock, stone shard etc. All were forbidden to Zortex, so if he needed them he would have to use through a crystal. There were also blessings, such as low healing or cure poison. Still uavailable for Zortex. Of all these basic spells two caught Zortex¡¯s attention. The first one was a curse named ¡®Blind¡¯ and the second was ¡®Acidic Shot¡¯. Curses, such as Blind, were available to him, thanks to his Darkness attribute given by his class. He had already an idea on how to use Blind. Acidic Shot also evoked some memories in him. When he got his Shadow Slime Warrior class he was given the opportunity to choose an extra skill. At the time he chose Sonar over Acidic Shot. He had always doubted if he had made the right choice, but now he knew that he had. For sure he had complicated his life, since to this day he still couldn¡¯t use Sonar, but right now he had already again the opportunity to learn Acidic Shot while Sonar remained something unknown. The teacher finished the lesson telling everyone to train making mana crystals. Once they were really good at that they should start trying to learn new spells. About where to find the spells, she told them to go to the library. Zortex already found super easy to fill the mana in the crystals, so he decided to not waste any time on that. He wanted to go directly to library. It was time to learn new spells. Chapter 22. Acidic Shot The library certainly was not what a classical library would be. Here spells were not written in books, but in crystals. The best description Zortex could have used was that it looked like a shooting range. There were places with crystals on display and zones where you could fire the spells. To tell the truth there was also a space full of books, with people sitting around tables reading and discussing. Even though it was still night, Travelers and NPC alike were moving around. At times a flash of light would suddenly appear from a successful spell. This was a first level library, where only primary spells could be found. Zortex found a quiet corner, took away a bandage from his ears and started listening to the people around him. There were attendants giving away crystals for free to travelers during their trials. Only a crystal at a time, so people could not accumulate and then sell them. A new one would be given after the previous crystal was exhausted. The people in the books compartment were studying about the best way to proceed their training. Each spell may be the same, but there are many different way to use it. It could also be combined with other magic and it could be a first step to certain magic paths. This kind of theory was the most important during the trial, for it would direct the path ahead and influence the system regarding the person¡¯s class at the end of the first month. Zortex path was already quite defined by his class, so he skipped reading for the moment. When he thought he had listened enough, Zortex went looking for the crystals he was interested in. ¡°Acidic¡­..Shot¡­..Blind¡± ¡°What?¡± The attendant said ¡°Acidic..Shot¡­Blind¡± Zortex tried to increase a bit the volume of his mumbling. ¡°Ok Blind, but what is the first one you said?¡± ¡°Acidic Shot¡± Zortex felt awkward but he definitely was getting better at speaking¡­with male NPCs. ¡°Ok, so a Blind and an Acidic Shot for you. You are not on your Trial, so it would be 20 copper each¡± Zortex paid and received two crystals, one olive green and one black.
Acidic Shot By pouring mana into it, you can shoot a strong liquid acid. The amount of mana determines the strength of the spell. Durability 25/25
Blind By pouring mana into it, you can shoot a curse to blind the opponent hit by the spell. The amount of mana determines the strength and duration of the spell. Durability 25/25
Good. Now starts the tricky part. I still have the magic crystal from before. So I can use that to overcharge with the full mana I have right now. That spot is free, so I can go over there to try the spell.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The training spots were situated in a central field surrounded by the building of the tower. Zortex had to admit that the structure was bigger than he had expected. On the ground there were segments of a small wall delimiting the casting spots. When a spell was thrown there were barriers which activated blocking the spell, otherwise the buildings around there would not last long with noobs throwing their first spells everywhere. Zortex found a spot to his liking and got in position. He was excited from the situation. It was his first time learning a spell¡­.he was basically a virgin in magic, not considering the skills inherited from his class. He stood rigid and tried to calm himself taking deep breaths. When his mind was lucid enough he put in his left hand the Acidic Shot crystal, and the Mana crystal in his right hand. There were still 145 mana points in the one he had prepared. Ten more seconds to prepare his mind and he ingested the spell crystal. Gulp. I have always hated taking pills. I need water otherwise it will stay stuck in my throat forever. How did the instructors did it without drinking anything? Ok here is my water flask. Zortex took the water from his storage pouch and drunk from it. The crystal went down his throat and he put away the flask. Cool, I can feel its presence in my stomach. Now it is the right moment. 3¡­2¡­1¡­.Let¡¯s start again. 10¡­9¡­8¡­7¡­6¡­5¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­1¡­..Ok this time I count from 5 and then no excuses. I need to show that I¡¯m a changed man ready to do anything apart talking to other people. 5¡­.4¡­.3¡­2¡­1¡­Now! Zortex poured all of his mana into the crystal tapping in also on his mana crystal, feeling the path opening up inside him to shoot the spell from his right hand. A bubble of a yellowish liquid formed on his right hand, but suddenly Zortex lost contact with part of his mana. He lost his focus and the spell failed, with the acid spouting all around him with some damage to his health. After a few seconds the situation calmed down. I¡¯m an idiot! I put the mana crystal in my right hand and then tried to shoot the spell from the same place. Now I¡¯ve corroded the crystal and I will have to make a new one. Zortex took a few minutes to calm himself and recover the mana to the limit, then he infused another raw gem and waited again for the mana to replenish. In the previous attempt he had stopped before completely destroy the Acidic Shot crystal, but he noticed that even without pouring any mana in it, it soon lost its durability and disappeared from his body. Apparently a person could not just eat crystals and use spells in battle as if he actually possessed them. He went to buy another crystal and then got back to his shooting ground. Once again he was prepared for another test. This time he made sure to keep the spare mana in his left hand. He closed his eyes and swallowed the crystal with some water. He felt the possible path forming in his body and he poured all his available mana in that pattern of mana channels. A bubble formed on his right hand and swelled in size to be twice as big as his head. When the mana was close to be finished Zortex felt that the pattern was not over, so he flexed even more that imaginary muscle and the acid shot as bullet from his hand splashing on the barrier in front of him. The speed was not really the same of a bullet, but fast enough to be difficult to avoid for a normal person. After the exertion he felt a bit dizzy, but he tried to focus on his body while the remnant of the spells could still be felt. There is something lingering in there. It seems quite simple compared to what I have to do when I use Tentacle. How many times would I need to try before memorizing it? Zortex waited for his mana to recover to the fullest while he bought once again a spell crystal. He was going to charge with mana a new crystal, but he realized that the previous sensation in his body hadn¡¯t dissipated completely. What if I try without crystal? I can still feel the pattern, so it should work right? He raised his right hand and sent half of his mana in that path. A new bubble formed and shot against the barrier. This time the size and the speed were quite smaller than the spell before, but he had used only half of the mana and he had not overcharged.
New skill learned: ¡¤ By using your mana you can shoot acidic substance from your body. The amount of substance, acidity and speed can be improved by the amount of mana and the level of the skill.
Wow! My first spell from the wizard tower! It feels so good to finally a nice noob skill. I finally feel the noob sensation which I missed during my first eight months in AoL. Still something seems fishy. The instructor said that it would take at least days to learn one. Dozens and dozens of attempts before grasping a superficial way to cast a spell. So why was it so easy? Chapter 23. Blind Zortex was not in a rush, thus he started practicing his newly acquired spell. Acidic shot after acid shot kept coming out of his hands without difficulty, the only limit was his amount of mana. He also tried another overcharging with the spell crystal he had ended up not using, but he didn¡¯t fell much different afterward. The teacher said that by using crystals to overcharge, the level of the spell would increase faster rather than just by using the skill by normal means. That is because the body and mind get accustomed to the higher level of mana, so going back to the normal quantity would feel easier. Of course it would not go up to infinite, but at the beginning it is highly suggested. But to me is not working that way.
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 4
Throwing mastery Level 2
Slimification Level 10
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 5
Slime eating Level 9Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Mana control Level 14
Spear Mastery Level 2
Tentacle Level 4
Acidic Shot Level 19
Just a few hours and it is already my highest level skill. It is too weird. Is it because it was already suggested when I got my class? Maybe I am just too slow learning my other skills. I need to check what happens with Blind. The day was cloudy, so Zortex was able to stay outside without repercussions, obviously still wearing his dark bandages to mute all senses. He filled another raw crystal with mana and continued with the usual procedure, this time holding the black spell gem. Mana surged through his body passing from the spell crystal into the mana channels in a precise pattern, which converged into his hand into a black cloud, increasing in size just like it happened with the acidic shot. Zortex threw the blind spell against the barrier and it formed a black mist which expanded blocking all light in that place, it stayed in that position for a minute or so, slowly fading away. Zortex closed his eyes and savored the pattern of mana channels in his body that had opened through the crystal. As before, it was dissipating very slowly, thus he could study and memorize it easily. Meanwhile his mana was recovering so, as soon as he deemed to have enough, he tried once again to shoot the spell and he succeeded without trouble.
New skill learned: Blind ¡¤ By using your mana you can cast a curse of darkness to blind an enemy. The amount of darkness, obscurity, duration and speed can be improved by the amount of mana and the level of the skill.
Once again he acquired the spell at his first attempt, something that should not have happened. Am I a genius? No. It must have something to do with my class. All the noobs around me don¡¯t have affinities yet, instead I am already fixed in the path of darkness and anything similar to slimes. For any other element the pattern of mana channels completely disappear after I use the spell crystal and it is impossible for me to use by myself, so probably it means that for my affinities my channels are prepared to stay open much longer. It will probably be explained in one of the next lessons¡­¡­..Ah! Fuck! I completely forgot that I had to go to follow the course. Now it is already over. Zortex needed to learn more theory behind spell learning and spell creation, but for now he had already something to work around. He had a couple more spells to learn and he had to train a particular thing of one of them. Something really dear to him. He didn¡¯t know if it would work, but it would certainly make his life much easier. Chapter 24. Shadow Mask Twelve days later Zortex was in the training grounds practicing his newly acquired spells. He had been following the classes of Nertian and Bhaner, but he found out that they were not that interesting anymore. All the other people who started with him were still struggling to learn their first spell, so the teacher were mostly giving suggestions and personally overview the overcharging. A couple of girls had already had their first success, but it was hardly something to brag about in Zortex¡¯s eyes. One of them called Zaria had learned to cast Fire Dart, but the dimension of the hit was barely as big as his hand, slow of speed and could only leave a scorch mark on the wall, for sure not something to kill a monster. The other girl¡¯s name was Angela and she learned Electric Hand, a spell which required direct contact with the enemy. The effect was much stronger than the fire dart, but it was not long range. Probably she had chosen a path that mixed spells and weapon fighting, something that he would have done at the beginning of AoL if not for his ¡®friend¡¯ Matthew. When the teacher and the other people saw what he could do they just took it the wrong way: they thought he had already trained and learned these things during his trial or after it, and then he came back to the courses to show off. They also thought that his looks where so weird to make him stood up in a crowd. This only made him more isolated from the other people and Zortex loved it: beforehand he was afraid that the other travelers would gather around him to ask questions on how he reached such skills levels in so little time, however he was left more alone than ever, just the way he liked it. The wizard tower was divided in different ranks. After ten more days Zortex was still at the first rank, which included all the students who hadn¡¯t learned more than three spells. Basically it was the level where the noobs dwelled. Most people could not overcome this rank before the end of their trial, and if they did they were those highly skilled characters that would probably be successful in the future. Zortex could already get his promotion to the next rank considering that he had learned four new spells, but he decided to wait to finish all the first month courses and most importantly to develop one of his skills to his liking. He looked at his status and smiled, something that he didn¡¯t do often.
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 8
Stats:
Strength 20 Health 214(214) + 2.1/min
Endurance 16 Stamina 252(252) + 11.5/min
Agility 12 Mana 287(287) + 12/min
Spirit 27
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 4
Throwing mastery Level 2
Slimification Level 11
Slime summoningDid you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. -
Sonar Level 7
Slime eating Level 9
Mana Control Level 19
Spear Mastery Level 3
Tentacle Level 4
Acidic Shot Level 22
Blind Level 39
Poison Level 9
Entangle Level 7
¡¤ Resistance to darkness: Every darkness attack will have 50% reduced effect on you. Increased vision at night. ¡¤ Weakness to fire: Every fire related attack will have 500% more effect on you. ¡¤ Weakness to light: Every light related attack will have 100% more effect on you. ¡¤ Slime muscles: Small resistance to some physical attacks ¡¤ You will not be able to choose any spell or skill unrelated to slimes or darkness. ¡¤ Godly senses Remember that you can always discover new skills. Combining skills you already have or by using them in creative ways new skills can be created.
His Slimification increased only by one, as he barely touched it in the last three weeks. His Sonar and Spear Mastery also increased a little, but he had spent little effort on them, only when he needed a pause from his main training. Of all the noobish spells available to rank one students he was allowed to learn only Poison and Entangle. To his understanding both of them had a darkness component and probably somehow available to also Slimes. It was really difficult to understand what a Slime could or could not do. Although he learned them he spent no time at all on them as he focused all of his mana, time and crystals into developing on his other spell:
Blind Level 39 By using your mana you can cast a curse of darkness against an enemy. The amount of darkness, obscurity, duration and speed can be improved by the amount of mana and the level of the skill.
The maximum level of a skill was 100, but it is basically impossible to reach it because there can always be an infinitesimal way to improve it. The fact that he had reached such level in only three weeks was astonishing. He had devoted all of himself to it and he was close to reach his goal. Today is the day I will get it done. Once I am able to do that, my life will be ten times easier. I cannot wait anymore. Also I like the new Status that appeared since last week.
Godly senses Your senses have reached the realm of Gods. This is not a skill from this world. No living creature can achieve something like this and survive. Only those outside the realm of human comprehension are granted such a gift.
Godly senses was not a status skill available to AoL, but something which Endless added to it just to explain Zortex existence. It was not useful or anything, it was just a name given to what he was experiencing. Zortex reached the library once more. People were used to see him passing by as no one else spent so much time in there. Other noobs spent more time socializing and they had to do quests to get some money before the end of their trial, on the other hand Zortex already had money and no social activity. He entered his favorite training zone and prepared himself the usual way. For the next three hours he tried and tried to achieve his desired goal, and in the end he succeeded. Zortex started his Blind spell the same way as usual, but created a divergence. The normal way to use it would be to send the shadows into one of his hand, but in his case it moved in another direction converging into his head. The darkness exited from his eyes, his mouth, his nostrils and ears, enveloping all of his face in a dark mist. Zortex was focused 100 % on his task as he had closed of all of his other senses as best as he could. The dark mist remained in front of his face for the next five minutes, then ten minutes, then half an hour, then two hours. After 5 hours Zortex dispelled the skill and dropped to the ground exhausted. He had finally mastered it.
New skill learned: Shadow Mask Level 1 ¡¤ By using your mana you can cast a curse of darkness to cover your face. The amount of darkness, obscurity, duration and speed can be improved by the amount of mana and the level of the skill.
Phew! I¡¯m done. Not yet enough to be efficient, but the system recognized that I created the skill. Now I just need to get used to it so much that I can maintain it without even thinking about it. Zortex first thought when he used the Blind spell was that he would let himself be hit by such curse if someone attacked him with it as it would be really helpful for his sight problems. From that sparkled the idea of casting the curse on himself, however it resulted to be more complicated than he thought. It was easy to blind himself, but the level of darkness would decrease in time and the duration was too short for what he wanted to do. So he trained his Blind skill to his outmost, increasing all technical aspects of the spell. At the same time he studied a way to change its direction from his hands to his head. Most people would have found that to be too big an obstacle, but Zortex had already learned to redirect his Slimifaction to different parts of his body, so he found it quite easy to apply the same pattern to his Blind spell. The last step of his training was to learn how to maintain a steady level of darkness without interruptions, so he learned to keep active a small trickle of mana keeping active the darkness spell, just like he had learned to maintain Slimifaction. Today for the first time he had been able to do it for a long amount of time, so the system awarded him by recognizing the creation of a new skill. As soon as he would be able to use it full time he would be able to dismiss the bandages covering his eyes. Chapter 25. Introspection Zortex busied himself training his newly acquired spells, which for reasons unknown to him they were leveling up much faster than the rest of his skills. To his understanding those spells were of elementary class, so not really flexible in the use. They were easy to learn and the continuous training could give effortlessly a great understanding of their effects. For comparison, his Slimification could still be developed into a great number of new uses, so Zortex had only scratched the surface of the skill potential, resulting in a level of only 11. A couple of months passed by with Zortex spending his time grinding all of his skills. He had not forgotten to improve also his Stamina skills, so he visited the training center a few times to follow some lessons. He was not stuck on only the Spear as a weapon, so he started training also in the sword and the knives. To tell the truth he found much more to his interest the magic part of his schedule. Close combat activities were nice, but at the primary levels they were not that different from things he could have done also in the real world. Spells on the other hand were much more entertaining and new to explore. Finally one day Zortex decided that he had enough of grinding. ¡°Status¡±
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 8
Stats:
Strength 20 Health 214(214) + 2.1/min
Endurance 16 Stamina 252(252) + 11.5/min
Agility 12 Mana 287(287) + 12/min
Spirit 27
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 7
Throwing mastery Level 2
Slimification Level 12
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 8
Slime eating Level 9
Mana Control Level 22
Spear Mastery Level 8
Sword Mastery Level 8
TentacleIf you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Level 6
Acidic Shot Level 29
Blind Level 42
Poison Level 15
Entangle Level 27
Shadow Mask Level 31
¡¤ Resistance to darkness: Every darkness attack will have 50% reduced effect on you. Increased vision at night. ¡¤ Weakness to fire: Every fire related attack will have 500% more effect on you. ¡¤ Weakness to light: Every light related attack will have 100% more effect on you. ¡¤ Slime muscles: Small resistance to some physical attacks ¡¤ You will not be able to choose any spell or skill unrelated to slimes or darkness. ¡¤ Godly senses Remember that you can always discover new skills. Combining skills you already have or by using them in creative ways new skills can be created.
Almost all of his skills had improved, especially the spells. Zortex spent a lot of time training his Entangle spell, considering that he was quite weak in the melee combat, and he needed something to keep the fight long range. The main advancement was his Shadow Mask spell. At the beginning Zortex had to focus on it to be able to keep it going, but day by day he kept increasing the amount of time it could last. At a certain point he tried to maintain it while doing something else, like eating or walking around, however it was much more difficult than he had expected. Sometimes he would put too much mana in it and darken his vision too much, or he would decrease the flow of darkness and hurt his eyes with the light passing through. It took him weeks to grow accustomed, but now he was very confident on it, so much that he was training all his physical skills with his shadow mask on. On the other hand, for the spells he had to take it off because it kept draining his mana a little, so it would slow his grinding of other skills. I think that I have done enough grinding of skills. I feel familiar with most of the spells and I¡¯ve reached a plateau when repeating the same acts has no effect at all. Probably I have to try them directly in combat to get some new insights. Now what? I still have money, but that silent room at the inn I have rented isn¡¯t that cheap, and I cannot keep spending forever. Zortex kept having this thoughts. The last few months he was just focused on his training without realizing that he had lost touch with his bigger plans. My big plan until now has been to kill that fucking Matthew and make him pay for what he has done to me. I still want to do that, but where the hell do I start from? I have heard nothing of him or his guild. Even if I find some clues how can I confront something so big? Impossible... Zortex expression became grim under his mask of shadows. He had lost himself in the pleasure of a noob¡¯s grinding, but now he was coming to face the fact that he had not yet planned his future steps. I have spent a lot of effort into blocking my senses to not go crazy again, but that is actually just a temporary solution. The only way to really save myself is to adjust my brain to the data entering it. I¡¯ve actually worsened it by covering too much. I must develop a protocol to force myself into increasingly hard situations for all of my senses. Right now I have to get a better picture of AoL to make a good decision of my future. Zortex was in his favorite spot in the Wizard Tower and it was late at night, so he decided to keep training until morning, and then start to act. There was a place he still had to visit: the Adventurers Guild. In AoL there were countless ways to obtain jobs or commissions, but for a noob taking his first steps in the world the guild was the easiest spot. Although it was called Adventurers guild it could also be called Mercenary Guild because the people taking up jobs were almost always warriors meant to fight their way through the mission. The building was a little remote from the center, so Zortex had to walk half an hour to get there. He expected to find burly warriors drinking beers and making a mess of the place, but he got disappointed. Obviously if people wanted to get drunk they would go to a tavern and not inside the guild. The same could be said about the presence of people, with nobody around it felt quite gloomy, exactly the way Zortex liked. It was still early in the morning and the place had just opened up, so he was the only one present apart from a guy at the reception which looked to be half sleeping. The place looked like a post office or any other place where bureaucracy is done, rather than the dispenser of dangerous missions. Zortex reached the guy and coughed one time to wake him up and get his attention. The steward looked up annoyed to be asked to actually work so early in the morning, but he remembered his job and started to act professional right afterwards. ¡°How may I help you, Sir? ¡°I am here to register as a mercenary¡± Zortex replied. Nowadays he could speak to NPC without stuttering. At least the male ones, even though he had been able to speak also to the female ones with just some trouble. Unfortunately speaking to real people was still beyond him. He believed that if he could get out from the city to places where his presence hadn¡¯t been noticed yet, he could try to speak to the other ¡®travelers¡¯. ¡°Certainly Sir. I need to know your name, level and general profession¡± ¡°My name is Shad, my level is eight and I mostly deal long-range damage¡± The steward wrote down some things on a clipboard and then looked back to Zortex. ¡°Surname? and can you tell me your main skills and their level?¡± ¡°None and no¡± Zortex replied firmly. Skills should stay secret, otherwise enemies could think of counterattacks even before battling him. He could not keep everything secret forever, but for sure he wasn¡¯t going to divulge his assets even before having real battles. ¡°Okay. Not mandatory, but it would have been useful for us to propose the most suited mission for you. With this information I can give you the lowest rank in the mercenary scale¡± The steward wrote down something more and then rummaged below his desk for a few seconds before taking out a badge of green color. He used a special pen which left a black mark on the badge which wrote ¡®Shad¡¯. ¡°Now you are officially part of the mercenary system. You can take part at mission of your rank or a rank above yours. Right now you can look at missions of green and yellow level. You can find the descriptions in the rooms at the sides with the doors of each color. When you have chosen you just need to come to me and I will register your request to participate. For some missions you will have to wait permissions from the employer¡± ¡°Thank you¡± Zortex entered first the green room and then the yellow one. There were about a dozen jobs available at that moment, but only two attracted his attention. The first one was in the green room and it was about a certain necromancer and a Count. There weren¡¯t other details, still Zortex gave a half laugh looking at the ring on his finger. The second one was a yellow one and it was about a battle squad to hunt down a tribe of Srenc which had invaded a forest a few days of travel from the city. This was the kind of battle he was looking for, even though he had no idea what a Srenc was. The mission was given by the city itself and it would depart in about ten days, since they were waiting to round up more people before leaving. Zortex came back to the main hall and went to talk with the guy. ¡°I take this two missions¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but at your rank you are allowed to only take one mission at a time¡± Fucking rules! I have basically already finished one mission. Now I will have to come back another time to accept the second one. What a waste of my time. Zortex accepted the green mission and left the building. He had the address to go meet a certain lady. Time to get the 50 silver reward for the mission he had already completed¡­.probably. Chapter 26. First quest Zortex headed to the center of the city and looked for the address written on the note for the mission he was going to undertake. Apparently the lady was quite rich because she was staying in a fancy neighborhood. He looked around for 10 minutes until he found the right house, then he was almost knocking on the door before he stopped himself. Zortex was still wearing the cape he had picked up from the skeleton, while he had put the stolen sword in his storage pouch. Just to be sure he decided to hide also the mantle and ring to not show any connection with the mission. Before knocking he stopped himself once again: he could see his reflection on one of the windows close to the entrance. His face was covered by his Shadow Mask, giving him quite the grim look. He was conflicted on how to proceed, as the only other alternative he had was to dispel the skill and wear even more bandages around his face. He would not bet that his appearance would improve much in that case, so he continued the way he was at that moment. Now that he was ready he ringed the bell¡­knocking looked too low class considering the high society people living in such fancy houses. The door opened and he found himself facing a young lady attendant, wearing a black dress with a white apron on the front. Zortex first thought was that she was stunningly beautiful, with her dark black hair and light green eyes. The face was perfectly symmetric and lightly tanned, with a warming smile and full lips. Of course when she looked at him her smile went away instantaneously, replaced with a frightened expression. She was about to slam the door when Zortex took out the note with mission written on it and on the other hand he held the badge of a mercenary. He thought that would be enough to stop her and to be welcomed inside, but she still closed and bolted the door from inside. Zortex left out a sigh: people in AoL were used to all kinds of weird things, but he was still leaving an impression to those passing by him. The Shadow Mask, the bandages and the dark clothes were covering all his appearance, which could give the wrong idea that he was a criminal hiding from the law. By now he was familiar with people raising their guard and avoid getting close to him. Unfortunately this was also getting in the way of interacting with NPC and getting things done. Zortex ringed the bell once again, and again and again. People were looking at him and after five minutes a couple of city guards arrived to confront him. He had to explain the situation to them and after hearing his explanation they ringed the bell for him and called the people inside to assure them that there was no danger. Obviously he had to lie about the reason he had to keep the Shadow Mask on, but they bought his excuses. Zortex heard the metal clicking sounds of the door unlocking and an old guy faced him while holding a sword. He was dejected that the beautiful maid was not there, but it was understandable. The man¡¯s hairs where white and his body looked frail, but his eyes were determined while facing him. The steward looked at the guards and listened to their explanations, finally relaxing at the end of the talking. ¡°Good morning Sir, my Name is Gom and I am the steward of this house. I¡¯m sorry for the misunderstanding, but I think you can get why the maid was scared of you. If you please, you can enter the building. I will call the Lady Inevera and you will meet her in the living room¡± Zortex followed the man and sat down in a comfortable chair. He looked around the room noticing all the paintings and other artistic items displayed on the walls and stands. He cared nothing for the art, but he committed to memory what he was seeing. It could become useful if he ever intended to start robbing again. The security seemed quite lax, and unless they had magic protection he could get in and rob quite easily. Two minutes passed by and finally an old lady walked into the hall, this time with the stunningly beautiful maid following her. Zortex sneaked a few looks to the maid while trying to maintain eye contact with the approaching Inevera. ¡°Damn the Gods! I have been waiting for months for someone to pick up this mission. Why the hell was it so difficult to find one of you leeches for such a simple job?¡± Zortex was quite surprised by the old lady way of speaking; he expected a refined and noble talk, not something so vulgar. She certainly improved his first impression of his commissioner. He then decided to respond in the same style. ¡°I have no fucking idea. I just started today and I thought it was such an easy request that I was appalled no one took it before me¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Watch your language young man. You are in front of nobility and you should pay respect to those superior than you¡± What a bitch! Superior my ass! Just wait that I level up a bit more and I will raze this building to the ground. No. Even before that, I will come and steal whatever worthy you have in this house. Expect a visit in the next few days, Bitch! ¡°I ask your forgiveness my Lady. I just came back from the slums and I still have the local slur in my mouth. I will not repeat such a mistake¡± Bitch! ¡°Better for you, or I will kick you out of the house and make sure you will never again access this noble part of the city. Now¡­back to business. I have issued that job because a friend of mine just passed away and she asked a last favor before she died. I knew that I shouldn¡¯t have gone to meet her, but she screwed me even on her last moments of life. Anyway, she made me promise that I will solve an old issue she had when she was still young. Apparently the man she loved was in the business of some dark magic or whatever. Some day he just disappeared and she never knew what happened to him. Somehow, recently she obtained some information on his whereabouts, but she didn¡¯t have the courage to check by herself what really happened, considering her health was deteriorating. Now I want you to look into it, and bring me proof you have met him, alive or dead. His name is Count William McCanter¡±
Quest Find what happened to the Count William McCanter. Bring back proof you met him or someone who knows where he is. Reward 50 silvers coins. Countess Inevera opinion of you will increase and may lead to new missions Accept mission? Y/N
¡°My Lady, I will accept this mission¡±
Quest accepted
¡°Good. I will give you the clues found by my friend. The Count and his circle of Dark Mages where about to do some nasty things, so they were hiding in the sewers, but they were then found by the city security and most of them killed. The Count was able to escape and then he disappeared without meeting my friend ever again. In the corpse of the leader of that gang there were many items and one of them was a key. At the time nobody cared about it, but recently my friend obtained it and she believed that it could lead to one of their hideout. I give this to you, hopefully it would be of help¡±
Quest item Iron key. Unknown use.
And there it is. That stupid key for that fucking door. Just as I predicted. Time to leave behind all those damned memories. ¡°Thank you Countess. I will be back soon with the information you need¡± ¡°Puah. A little kid like you will probably take a month before getting tired and renouncing the quest. Now go. I¡¯m tired of this conversation¡± Bitch! I¡¯m curious to see your face when I will be back in a few hours. Or when I will rob you. Zortex left the house and went to take a walk to relax. He had already the ring, and if it was not enough he also had the sword. Probably the old Lady already knew what to expect to grant the mission to be completed. Still he wanted to wait half a day before going back, since it wouldn¡¯t be believable for him to have finished in just a couple of hours. He decided to go eat in a restaurant for a change, considering that he was usually cooking his own meals. The last months he hadn¡¯t lost his appetite, and food came and went in large quantities. He had discerned his favorite dishes and stockpiled the ingredients in his storage pouch. He accumulated most of all he wanted to be able to prepare delicious meals for when he would go out of the city. He hadn¡¯t forgot about Pravin, his best friend who he hadn¡¯t seen since he came out of the sewers. He had promised to make him taste a lot of different foods. Zortex felt guilty about leaving him aside, but it would create a lot of trouble for him to bring him around the city. That¡¯s also one of the reasons he was set to get out and explore a bit of the world. Zortex, or Shad as he was calling himself, would summon Pravin again and travel around together. He was ecstatic to once again have someone to talk to¡­.the last few months had been quite lonely. Chapter 27. Test Zortex went back to his room in an isolated inn downtown, silent enough to sleep well if he covered a lot his ears and not too expensive for his finances. He always needed to sleep a lot otherwise he would get strong headaches because of his heightened senses, hence whenever he had some free time he would find his way back to his bed. Napping and eating were indeed the only hobbies he conceded himself lately; a few times he disconnected from AoL and went back to his room in Endless, but movies, books, games or other entertainments he had appreciated in the past now looked useless and boring. Sleeping a few hours restored his mental energy, so after a few more hours procrastinating with some skills, the evening arrived and he went back to the Inevera¡¯s place to get his reward. Once again he met the beautiful maid at the door, who looked again scared by his presence, but at least this time she didn¡¯t slam the door on his face. Zortex had gotten a bit more used to the presence of females around him, so he had gotten better at controlling himself, but he had to admit that the arousal he got from looking at her was hard to handle. He had to avoid eye contact to avoid getting an erection, and even doing so he failed miserably. Luckily for him he was wearing plenty of clothes, so he was able to hide it and avoid an awkward situation. Not that he would do anything to her¡­rape was out of discussion and even if he could seduce her in a normal way he didn¡¯t want to actually losing his virginity to a NPC, he still had some sort of pride. Of course that mental barrier was becoming thinner with the passage of time¡­.there was a small inner voice telling him that it was no different than masturbating, so there were no reasons to wait. Zortex was brought again to the same hall as the previous time and they made him wait for Lady Inevera to come. The same steward as before was keeping an eye on him. Unlike in the morning he was kept waiting for a full hour without being offered even some refreshments. The more he waited the angrier he got, thus he started to walk around the room as if he needed to move a bit his legs. Truthfully he was eyeing around to check possible ways to move in between rooms and what was worthy to steal. He would not rob them right away, to avoid suspicions, but before taking the other quest he would pass by for sure. At last the old hag arrived to meet him. ¡°Already here? I thought you would resist a bit longer before quitting. You don¡¯t even smell like the sewers, so I bet you didn¡¯t even try at all. Give me back the key so someone else can take over the job in the future¡± Stupid bitch. Too bad I cannot punch you right here right now. ¡°Mylady, I am also surprised of being here so soon, but the mission resulted to be easier than we all expected and I was very lucky. I found out the location of the aforementioned hideout and it was indeed the right place to find the Count. Unluckily the Sir was dead¡± The Countess raised an eyebrow suspicious and argued: ¡°If so, where is the proof that you found him? For sure you don¡¯t think that I would believe you on trust¡± ¡°Mylady, I wouldn¡¯t dare to do so. The Count was dead, but a spell was cast on him to cause his rising as an undead. I had a vicious fight with such creature, and I was victorious. Of course I had to prove to you my success so I looked into his possessions searching for some proof. Here is what I found: this is the ring which your friend gave to the Count and that sealed their connection¡± Zortex took out the ring from his storage pouch and he gave it to the steward who then brought it to the lady. The old hag observed it for a while and then put it in a pocket. She raised her eyes and looked at Zortex for a few seconds as if he had something on his face. Of course he had something on his face: his Shadow Mask. ¡°This is indeed the ring of the Count, but I cannot believe you solved the mission so easily. Onara (name of the city) used to be a much bigger place in the past, so its sewers are quite big. It would take many days to explore everywhere, if you didn¡¯t get lost and fell down a hole. How did you do it?¡± ¡°In the past I did a few missions for the city guards, hunting rats and slimes. There were many places with closed doors that I could not pass by. I just guessed one of them and I was very lucky to get it right at my first try, the rest is easy to guess¡± It isn¡¯t far from the truth. I went rat hunting and that door was the first one I found. The only difference is that I did all that before receiving the mission. Oh, and also I didn¡¯t use the key. ¡°Luck eh. Whatever. You completed the mission so you will get your reward¡± She made a gesture to the stewards and he took out from his clothes a small pouch, he counted the silver coins and then handed them to Zortex. ¡°What was your name again? Considering your¡­.luck¡­..I may decide to give you other jobs in the future¡± ¡°My name is Shad mylady. If I will be present in the city it would be my honor to serve you again¡± Lol, believe it. Zortex thought containing a laugh. ¡°Good. Now you can all go. I want to stay alone for a while¡± Zortex left the house trying to memorize as much as possible the structure for his future robbery. It was late in the evening and the sky was turning dark, hence Zortex lowered the intensity of his Shadow Mask. These were the moments he preferred: the deepest dark in the night, when he could walk around with his eyes uncovered, it reminded him of the time before his downfall to his disabled condition. He didn¡¯t know if the Adventurer Guild would stay open during the night, so he postponed his visit there for the next day. Six more days until the start of that mission were a long period of time to stay inactive, thus he thought of something to do meanwhile.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Two days later Zortex was standing in a gym like room in the wizard tower. In front of him there was Nertain, his first teacher, ready to fight him. To pass to the secondary level of the tower a test must be taken, so here he was ready to fight. The test consisted in proving that he had mastered more than three spells to an acceptable degree. He should be able to use them in a fight, hence his casting speed and power must be at a good level. Most noobs during their trial cannot reach such a level of mastery, they stopped at one or two spells, however in some rare cases there were geniuses that could pass through. These people were the ones getting the best Classes out of the bunch at the end of the trial and they received special treatment by the teachers who competed to become their personal tutor. Zortex was way past his trial and he had been training his spells for months already, so he knew he was perfectly capable to handle the trouble, but he would have liked to know if he was one of those geniuses. After all he went through his self-confidence was pretty low now, so he didn¡¯t think himself to be at the top, and anyway in the past he had wanted to be half physical half magical Class, so without focus he would have been slower than pure magicians. His adversary was a very proficient mage who could beat him for sure, however Zortex intention was to at least dumbfound Nertain with his proficiency. There were also a couple of other judges, but in the end the teacher had the last word. Zortex had to wait a couple of days because these tests didn¡¯t happen daily, and at least a certain amount of student had to be prepared to undertake it, unless there were special cases, like the geniuses aforementioned. ¡°Are you ready Shad?¡± Nertain said. The two of them were ten meters apart, looking at each other. Zortex was wearing only bandages and no Shadow Mask, to save as much mana as possible for the other spells. Anyway he expected he would need to activate it later, or just in case he needed to show off one more spells. Zortex nodded with his head and bolted in the direction of the teacher, who looked pretty relaxed and in no rush to defend himself. The room was quite dark, so usually the first spell used by the other noobs was to start with a Light spell, the first magic learned at the very beginning. Instead Zortex was perfectly fine with it, or he would feel even better if it was completely dark. Nertain seeing that Zortex was not using Light decided to use it himself. Maybe because he remembered of what happened on the first lesson the teacher casted a very strong Light using more mana that it should be required to illuminate the whole hall. That fucker is testing if I have found a solution to that problem. Luckily Zortex had really solved that problem, instantly activating his Shadow Mask nullifying the effect of the light. People in the wizard tower had seen him always going around with the spell on, so nobody was really stupefied by his move. When he was at five meter of distance he casted three blind spells consecutively, expecting his enemy to dodge them, however Nertain simply stood in place and somehow erected a barrier in front of himself without doing any noticeable move. Zortex didn¡¯t know the higher tier spells, so he could only try with what he had learned until now. He picked one of his daggers and he casted poison on it, releasing a transparent liquid dripping from the blade. With the other hand he casted entangle hoping for some roots to block the teacher. Apparently Nertain had decided to dispel his shield, because Entangle passed through and blocked the teacher in place. At this point Shad threw his dagger with all his strength aiming at his adversary chest. Rather than shielding himself Nertain raised an hand a casted a wind blade colliding with Zortex¡¯s dagger and blocking its momentum. There is nothing at my level that could work against him. I have already shown the four spells necessary to pass, but I want to finish my display pouring all my mana to the end. Maybe I will make him worry a little bit. Zortex distanced himself again throwing two blind spells more to cover his retreat than to actually work on his enemy. When he was back from his starting point he activated his Acidic Shot. It was his main attack spell, and it was fast to cast and to power up. Still to pour so much mana in it required him to focus for a couple of seconds, so it could not be used too much unless he had someone covering for him, for example Pravin. On the other hand Nertain was not on the offensive and he left him continue until the end. The ball of acid grew bigger and bigger and then shot at full speed against his teacher. Zortex was expectant to at least see some change in expression, but his adversary was not affected at all and this time he casted another wind spell which collided with the Acidic Shot. The acid splashed of the floor and started sizzling showing high corrosion and low pH. Hitting a person with it would certainly be death for the unlucky guy, but in this case it became useless. Shad still had a bit of mana left, enough to use tentacle one time or completely slimify for a few seconds, however he decided to stop it here, keeping safe his personal attacks obtained from his Class as Shadow Slime Warrior. He relaxed standing up and walking to the judge with a neutral expression, and just before reaching him he shot a small Blind to the enemy¡¯s foot. After all nobody had called for the end of the battle and Zortex wanted the satisfaction to land at least one small attack. Unluckily for him, the teacher simply kicked the dark shot which bounced back an stuck Shad in the stomach. Blind has the characteristic that it would spread reaching for the face of the enemy and stopping there to obscure the vision, but in this case it was so feeble that it simply dissipated as soon as it stuck. ¡°Ok. I¡¯m done. Nothing else to show you. I¡¯m out of mana and ideas¡± Zortex could have tried a couple more things, but he didn¡¯t want to show his full potential in such a marginal test. ¡°Quite impressive for a tier one student. Considering the strength of your spells you could have taken the test months ago. Why the delay?¡± ¡°I was in no hurry¡± It was true that Zortex didn¡¯t want to rush through the beginning of his magic, but the real reason it took him so long was that most of his time was spent perfecting the Shadow Mask, while the rest of spells came to him quite easily and he could have used them from the beginning to pass the test. ¡°Where did you find the crystals for the spell that covers your face? I have never seen it or heard about it. It must be quite expensive to buy¡± Zortex just shrugged. He didn¡¯t want to say that he had made it himself modifying the Blind spell. He didn¡¯t want to attract any attention. ¡°Hmm, okay. You have obviously passed this exam. Now you are allowed to get to the second level of any wizard tower. Go get your badge¡± Zortex went to the other judges getting his new permission and left while Nertain was calling for the next participant. Chapter 28. Some Decay No time to lose, Zortex walked to the part of the tower available for rank 2 students. Until now it was blocked all time by a couple of older students, but with his new badge he was let through without any issues. He walked a bit around familiarizing with the new section of the building. This part was actually bigger than the rank 1 part. Most students have no trouble completing the first test, even if it may take longer times for different individuals, but the test for the rank 3 admission was much more difficult and many people found themselves stuck at the rank 2, hence the increased number of people compared to the noob level. Zortex only had a few days left and he understood that he could not really follow the full program of classes. He didn¡¯t even know what he needed to do to rise up on the hierarchy. For a moment he wondered if he should remain in the city and continue his training, but he discarded the idea. Sure more training right now would make him even stronger, but he didn¡¯t start living in AoL to only train. There must be a goal behind all the effort, hence the need to get out and get a feeling of the world. Finished the mission he would have time to visit the city again and follow higher courses. Real fights with his life on the line would get him the experience to understand his next steps into the path to strength. For now he would just find a strong spell related to his attributes and try to learn it before travelling outside. The journey should give him some free time to grind the spell to be useful in his fights. The wizard tower gave access to some spells, but the more you proceeded the fewer are available to normal students. Getting really cool spells required the help of personal mentors. Student who excelled during their month trial would be chosen by a mentor, or more than one, without any expenses or exams, as they would become a source of pride for their professor if their talent would bring them to obtain great accomplishment in their future. People like Zortex instead would have to beg some low-key teacher and pass some errands for him and probably bribe him to be given some lessons. Zortex had no time for this, so he just had a look at the spell available to anyone. Unluckily for him, his attributes were not very common for such mixture of spells. Most of the magic displayed were variants of the different elements, especially fire and earth. Actually this wizard tower specialized on fire spells, so it was no wonder to find such an assortment. Most of the cities had a wizard tower, and depending on the professors it would specialize on different things. The capital of the country, for example, had more than one wizard tower and each specialized on a different class of spells. Every year there would be a tournament to establish which one was the stronger. It was an important event which was attended by more than a hundred thousand people, especially nobility. In the future Zortex would have to find a place where darkness was the main element. His other available attribute was Slime spells, but he didn¡¯t really know what that meant. For sure there was no place for Slime mages, otherwise he would not have been the first to obtain such a class, as stated by the System at the end of his trial. He could only guess some things which looked slimy. There were a few curses which he could have tried to learn, but Zortex surmised that he was still lacking in his offensive power. He just needed to find an enemy resistant to acid and he would be in real trouble. His physical combat skills were really lacking. Actually he had not learned any skill, if not the generic Mastery of a weapon. After a careful consideration he opted for the Decay Bolt spell. He looked at the characteristic of the crystal.
Decay Bolt By using your mana you can shoot a bolt of dark energy which will damage the enemy with its momentum and with 10% possibility to apply the ¡°rot¡± status to the area of impact. Rot status: decreases the resistance and defense of items. Living beings will feel sick. Increasing the skill level will increase the damage and the probability and efficiency of the ¡°rot¡± status
Zortex was somehow disappointed. The effects were not that different from the ones of the Acidic Shot. Probably acid would damage the items even more than rot, and for sure it would hurt more than just feeling sick. He wondered why this spell was considered higher level than the other one. Anyway it was the only offensive spell with darkness element and by the way it worked it would be efficient even against enemies resilient to acid. Even more, the acid abrasion and the sickness would add up, which is always nice. People were walking around him and some were eyeing his Shadow Mask, since not everyone here had seen him yet. Zortex scuttled fast to the attendant and asked for the spell crystals. ¡°I would like 3 crystals of the Decay Bolt¡± ¡°It¡¯s 3 silver each¡± The price for sure has increased compared to the previous crystals. I can afford it, however it would be better for me to learn it fast, not only because I will leave soon, but also to save some money. In the past I succeeded on my first try for all other spells, but here it should be a lot more difficult from what I have heard. Hmmm¡­.maybe Decay Bolt is considered an higher level spell not because it is stronger, but because it is harder to learn. This is something to take into account if I will have to buy spells in the future. Difficulty doesn¡¯t necessarily follow the strength of a spell. Zortex paid and went to find a personal space to learn the spell. He missed his spot in the previous section of the tower, but he would have to get used to a new one. Once again he repeated all the procedure to start learning a new spell. He took out a quite big mana crystal and ingested the gross dark green spell crystal. He overcharged himself with mana and shot his first Decay Bolt. The color of the spell was a dark green, just like its crystal. The volume was much smaller than the Acidic Shot and it moved faster, and when it hit the barrier in front of him it gave a small explosion spreading some of its energy. Zortex focused inward trying to feel his mana channels in the aftermath of the spell. He noticed right away that the array was a lot more complicated than the previous spells he had learned, but once again the feeling lingered long enough for him to learn the pattern.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Zortex waited ten minutes to get half of his mana back. He kept his eyes closed for all this time to not be disturbed and forget the pattern of the spell. At this point he raised his right hand and said: ¡°Decay Bolt¡±. In his body he followed the feeling he had tried remember and he tried to flex the imaginary muscle formed in his mind, but something went wrong. At the beginning everything was going smoothly, but halfway through, his mana started to diverge from his will and by the end he had completely lost control of it. From his right hand only a small wisp of mist of stinky mana came out, as if he had just farted from his palm. Interesting. So this how it feels when you fail a completely new spell. My arm hurts a bit, but for the rest there are no other side-effects. Anyway I got right the first half I think, so it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to learn the second half. Zortex sat down and started training his Sonar ability. He needed to wait some time for his mana to increase enough to fill a new crystal and then once again to fill his body completely, so it was better to keep himself busy with something consuming Stamina. Contrary to what he believed, it took him two days and plenty of spell crystals to finally learn the spell. Completing the full sequence at once required a lot of hard work, simply because each part of the pattern was quite easy by itself, but when it had to be combined all at the same time it required a lot of practice, just like learning to dance.
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 8
Stats:
Strength 20 Health 214(214) + 2.1/min
Endurance 16 Stamina 252(252) + 11.5/min
Agility 12 Mana 287(287) + 12/min
Spirit 27
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 7
Throwing mastery Level 2
Slimification Level 12
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 9
Slime eating Level 9
Mana Control Level 25
Spear Mastery Level 8
Sword Mastery Level 8
Tentacle Level 6
Acidic Shot Level 30
Blind Level 42
Poison Level 15
Entangle Level 27
Shadow Mask Level 33
Decay Bolt Level 3
¡¤ Resistance to darkness: Every darkness attack will have 50% reduced effect on you. Increased vision at night. ¡¤ Weakness to fire: Every fire related attack will have 500% more effect on you. ¡¤ Weakness to light: Every light related attack will have 100% more effect on you. ¡¤ Slime muscles: Small resistance to some physical attacks ¡¤ You will not be able to choose any spell or skill unrelated to slimes or darkness. ¡¤ Godly senses Remember that you can always discover new skills. Combining skills you already have or by using them in creative ways new skills can be created.
His Mana Control skill also increased by three levels, sign that moving the mana in such a pattern required a lot of effort. Now, looking at his skills, Zortex considered himself ready to move. There was just one last thing he had to do before leaving: robbing that old hag who treated him like garbage. For once it was time for some sweet revenge. It was just a small thing, but Zortex was craving for someone to suffer at his expenses for once. He wanted just a little taste of what he would feel when he would meet Matthew again. Chapter 29. Lets go Goddammit!! Fucking nobility. Just wait for me to get some info on how protection spells work and I will visit you again, you bitch. Fuck! This has completely ruined my good mood. The night before the start of the mission, Zortex went to ¡°visit¡± the house of Lady Inevera. Previously he had a look at the building and he had found a couple of entrances were he could sneak in with his Slime form without having to touch anything. He thought that he would avoid any alarm, even if there was some sort of magical protection¡­he was wrong. As soon as he slid in the water pipe he had chosen as entrance, some sort of sound started to ring. Inside the house some lights turned on and Zortex decided to run away, afraid to be discovered. He was also seen by the old steward while he was running out of the garden. Luckily for him he was not wearing his Shadow Mask or his bandages, so he wouldn¡¯t be recognized anyway. It was quite funny that for him not wearing a disguise became his way to disguise himself. Not even a minute and the city guards started patrolling the neighborhood looking for him. He was nearly discovered three times, but his flexibility as a slime allowed him to enter and hide in places guards would overlook. He had to spend hours hiding before the patrols subsided, so he could finally walk away safe from harm. He had really come really close to be arrested, and just before trying to leave the city. Zortex promised himself to be a bit more cautious in the future, and for now he put in the back of his mind the idea of robbing the old lady. There would be time in the future to complete the deed and if not, she was already old and she would die soon. He would simply find her tomb and destroy it. Revenge comes in different forms. Zortex went back to his room at the inn and went to sleep for a few hours. This was the last night he had booked it and he wanted to enjoy the comfort of a soft bed before leaving. When he woke up in the morning he went through all of his possessions. He had tons of food stored away in his storage pouch. He possessed a tent, a sleeping mat and some cooking utensils. Soap and crystals for water were more than enough for such a trip, and if not, he supposed that there would be a way to get some new ones. There would be villages in that area, so some shops could sell them. For weaponry he still had all the things he had kept from his second robbery, the one at the store: a dozen knives, a spear, two leather armors, the skeleton¡¯s sword, the dark cape and a small shield. His main weapon were spells, but he had not bought any items to improve his magic. He had gone around many shops in the city and he found a few interesting things, but they were too expensive for his finances and they would give too little a boost to his power. At the end of the mission he would know what he was lacking to better fight the enemies, and he would choose accordingly items to compensate his deficiencies. He would also see how much money he would be able to save up. Apparently the compensation depended on how well he would perform, with a base value of 50 coppers per day just for participating, and a plus depending on how well he would perform. Obviously if he did nothing, the boss would send him away empty handed. From a magical point of view Zortex bought for himself in a shop some spell crystals that could be useful, but that he would never be able to learn due to his class.
Low Dispel Ailments By using mana you will be able to remove some damaging statuses.
Lower healing By using mana you will increase the HP regeneration of the target
Stone Spear By using mana a spear of stone will emerge from the ground
Electrical charge By using mana you can charge electrically your weapon of choice
The spells were nothing special, but thanks to those he could vary a bit his range of possibilities in case things turned out bad for him. Satisfied with his preparations he moved to the north gate of the city, which was the meeting point for the crew. The departure time was at noon, but it was better to arrive a lot earlier rather than a bit late. He arrived at the designed spot and he saw a caravan with ten carriages being prepared for a trip. The vehicles where as large as 5 meters and 10 meters long, and they were getting packed with boxes and barrels. Zortex was quite dubious that this caravan would be the one for his mission, since it seemed all the space would be occupied by boxes, but he supposed that they might know something, so he went to speak with the people who were loading boxes inside. ¡°Hi, is this the caravan for the extermination mission directed to the Cesuna forest?¡± Zortex was talking to the guy directing the work of the other people, the most likely to be the boss. ¡°Not exactly, we are merchants who will go to trade to the northern cities. On the other hand you are not wrong, because we will leave together with you guys from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. We will move half of the way in the same direction and you will give us protection from thieves or wild beasts. It¡¯s a win-win situation for both of our groups. We have basically financed your trip. You are a couple of hours early before departure, so your comrades are not here yet, but those two people over there are like you. They came and asked me the same question. You can go wait with them.¡± So that¡¯s why they choose this day to start the mission. The merchant indicated a girl and a guy sitting on a low wall not far from his position, and chatting with each other. Zortex nodded and went away on the other direction, avoiding to spend his waiting time close to other people. There were still a couple of hours left before leaving, so he would wait somewhere else, making the time useful to train some of his skills, especially the Decay Bolt which required some grinding before becoming useful.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. After 90 minutes of training his new spell gained 2 more skill levels, to Zortex satisfaction. He still didn¡¯t understand why it was so easy to level up the spells he had just learned; all his other skills where much harder to perform and he was losing his patience grinding them up. Spying on the conversations of the other people at the wizard tower Zortex realized that most travelers were quite satisfied to reach lvl 15-20 on a spell by training it for few of months, and this only for the spell they were most talented and they had decided to focus on. Rather than increasing the skills level beyond that, they preferred to spend the time trying to learn new spells to vary their battle power, or to simply reach more powerful techniques. At the beginning that was something that Zortex also had planned to do, but after starting his training path, he saw that it was so easy to reach level 30 or more in a relatively little time, hence to him it seemed a waste to not spend a week or two more just to get there. He wondered why he was different on that account. Apparently he was a really fast learner, because not only he had little trouble learning the spells, but also because his first limits were higher than the normal guy. For a moment he wondered if he really was a genius, but then he discarded the idea. He had promised to not be arrogant anymore, so he believed that it had something to do with his class and his previous experiences. At the moment the crowd was getting big around the caravan and a few NPCs soldiers had arrived, so he made his move to get in. He needed to find the people in charge, show his badge and avoid any situation that would put him in the spotlight. He actually had no idea how they would travel to their destination, as he could see the carriages of the merchants, however there was nothing for the adventurers. Even more important he could not see anything to push the carriages. Are there horses? I haven¡¯t seen any since I arrived and normal animals from reality haven¡¯t made any appearance yet. Maybe they want us travelers to push the carriages to save up money. Ehehe that¡¯s stupid, but it would be funny to see other people do it. It would be unfortunate for wizards, because it would train muscles, so on the next level up they would increment strength and endurance. From a distance he spotted a guy who was writing down the names of the people around him showing their badges, so Zortex assumed that he had found his target. He pulled up his hood and reached the queue of people waiting to be registered. Of course some onlookers whispered and pointed at him, but he was used to it by now and many of the travelers joining today had already seen him moving around the wizard tower or the city, hence the lack of commotion. In the last few months some people had approached him to start a conversation, taken by their curiosity, but he had always stayed silent, thus the rumors around were that he had been cursed to not be able to speak to other travelers. Zortex gave his information in a low voice to the NPC guard and filed away in a less crowded area, brooding on the loss of time for bureaucracy. Finished the counting, there were 47 people joining the expedition, plus 10 NPC soldiers who would coordinate the mission. Zortex saw the captain send someone away with some orders. Five minutes later some of his questions got answered. Zortex casually watched 5 big carriages arriving at the rendezvous point carried by one large monster each. Or at least they looked like monsters to him, because they were much different than anything he had ever seen. They looked like giant beetles, with a long horn in the front and what looked like a strong-armored carapace, their color was different for each of them, from red to blue to black, and after looking for a while Zortex thought that there could be wings under the shell. ¡°Finally the Hurgs are here¡± one of the merchants said. Apart from the ones moving the new carriages there were some free ones that they were herded to the trading caravan and getting strapped to carry all the vehicles. So this things are called Hurgs. Apparently no horses around here for moving between cities. I bet this are used only for heavy loading. There should be some other kind of animal for fast moving, especially if it needs to carry just one or two persons. The people say that the continents here are immense, much bigger than Earth, and there were already 12 discovered and many other places still unchecked. All the people waiting started walking to the rendezvous and chatting to each other excited for the beginning of the trip. Considering that this was a yellow mission, most of the people present were noobs who had never set foot outside the city, just like Zortex. Probably they even were just level 1 travelers who had just trained their skills, but never fought a battle against an enemy. Inside the city there were no monsters, so the only way to level up would be to go down to the sewers and kill some rats, or get some weird mission that would bring to some fight, like the one against the skeleton that he had already accomplished. For most of the adventurers here this would be the first chance to level up and improve their stats. Zortex also missed the idea to increase his physical attributes after all this months on the surface; his level up period happened during the time he was at his worst case of madness, so he didn¡¯t really enjoy the feeling. ¡°Ok everyone. My name is Cvor and I am the Captain coordinating this mission. We will reach our destination in approximately 7 days, where there is the town of Asiago which it has been suffering from this invasion of Srenc. There we will be joined from another expedition of travelers moving from the city of Carmignano. For more details we will discuss during the trip as there will be a lot of boring time. For now just get in the carriages, so that we can leave this place¡± Oh. So it will not be only us. This suggests that Asiago is probably halfway through two cities. I should have bought a map. It is awful to not be able to orient myself. People started mounting the carriages and Zortex started sweating. He was dreading this moment from the time he took the mission. It is one thing to shrug off a travelers while walking somewhere, but it is much more difficult when he will have to spend hours and hours inside a close space with them. He waited for a while screening the carriages for something to alleviate his worries, until he noticed someone boarding the third vehicle. It was Jake, the guy he was first paired with during the Spear training. He already knew Zortex, sort of, and he was the type to keep talking indefinitely. Although his presence was irritating to him, he had in mind a plan. Jake already knows my fake name and the fake story about my situation. At least if he remembers me. If I board in the same carriage he could speak on my place in case they try to start a conversation with me. Also he could attract all the attention with his blabbering. I will have to cover even more my ears with other bandages, but it might work. I need to get used at being called Shad, my made-up name. Zortex made a sprint to the back to get into that carriage before it would get full. There were two padded planks on the sides where people could sit and one scaffold in the center where people could put their things, or probably useful to eat while traveling. Although there were some small windows on the sides, the more internal places where darker that the one closer to the entrance, so they were still empty. Without reservation, Shad moved to the darkest zone and he sat down. People kept entering and Zortex had a good look at everyone as all of them looked back at him, still dubious about his appearance. Most of them where weird in their own way. The skin colors and hairs colors varied from pink to orange, eyes were of all shapes and many other details would have been impossible on Earth, but here they were displayed commonly. That was also one way to distinguish travelers from NPC, as the created characters had always the appearance of normal humans. Not losing any time, when all the people went inside the vehicles started moving outside the gates of the city. All of his companions looked outside of the windows at the new environment, as most of them had never seen anything beyond the city walls, just like Zortex. He also would have liked to look, but instead he used the time to fold another bandage around his ears. The doors at theback of the carriage were kept open to let some fresh air to come through, so after a while he could see a bit of what they had passed through. There were still building outside of the wall, but not too close. Rummaging in his brain he recollected that it was build this way to prevent to offer hiding places and protection to the enemies in case of siege. Also this buildings were made completely in wood, so that they could be burnt down if the situation became dire. Afterwards the scenery gave way to cultivated lands and villages. Chapter 30. Teams The speed of the beasts was quite bland, probably as fast as a normal person could run in the real world. After the first ten minutes looking outside, the attention of the people moved to inside the carriage. The two NPC soldiers were outside guiding the Hurgs moving the vehicles, so all the persons around Zortex were travelers. From what he could see, he surmised that his traveling companions were divided in two trios, a couple and then himself and a girl. As expected, his peers started presenting each other, all telling their names in a jumble of hand shakings and smiles. It would have been easier if everyone spoke one at a time. In the confusion he could remember only the name of the guy sitting close to him, a certain Gaber, and the name of a girl on the other side of the carriage, Maya. And Jake of course. After a minute of pleasantries the dreaded moment arrived when Gaber faced him. ¡°Hi, I am Gaber. I had seen you around the training center, but nobody could tell me who you are, especially with that smoke always covering your face. Since we will be here for a while, can you tell me your name?¡± Gaber looked at him quite friendly, better than Zortex expected, but in that instant everybody looked at him ruining his mood. Zortex knew that he was not ready yet to speak to real people, especially with women present, so he did the only thing he was able to do in the past. He moved his hand and with a finger he wrote Shad. In that moment Jake intervened: ¡°Me and Shad trained together once in the Spear courses. He told me that he cannot talk and he must keep his face covered at all times due to a special quest he is doing. When he will be done he will get a powerful skill and then he will tell me how to do it myself. Hmm¡­at the time he was just wearing bandages, so maybe he has advanced to a new step in the quest! That¡¯s the coolest thing I have seen until now!¡± As expected Jake could not keep his mouth shut. He is the kind of guy that likes to be at the center of attention. Although I don¡¯t remember telling him that I will share the quest with him. Anyway it suits my situation. Jake was part of the trio with other two guys that Zortex had never seen, probably frequenting the training center together by the way they were dressed. The other trio had two girls and a guy, and the couple looked like they were lovers. The last girl looked familiar to Zortex, but he could not recollect from where, so probably she was just a student at the wizard tower that he had seen in passing. ¡°Ok, so the mystery is solved. Your name is Shad. You probably know, but you are quite famous between the other ¡®noobs¡¯ in the city. Always shrouded in darkness and making no contact with anybody apart from NPCs. Good luck with your quest, but I would kill myself if I had to go more than a few days without speaking with anybody.¡± Zortex made a nod and went back to stare at the floor as usual. After that people stopped approaching him, obviously reluctant to interact with a person that could not properly answer back to them. Unluckily the trip could become so boring that someone would even challenge the issue, especially Jake. Zortex could not train his most obvious spells while riding the carriage, so he focused on the skills that could not be seen. Sonar was the most obvious skill, but to not waste his mana regeneration he also focused on his Slimification. He had many ideas on how to make use of his slime body, but they were not as easy to develop as the noob spells he had just learned. The one he wanted to master as fast as possible was the fingertips stickiness: instead of a tentacle he wanted to slimify only the tip of the fingers, and once he succeeded he would make them sticky. In his mind he imagined himself scaling a wall the same way Spiderman did in the movies. He already could scale it when he was in full slime form, but he was way too slow and open to enemy attacks. The theory was simple, but the practice was really difficult; at the moment he could only slimify the top of his index finger of the right hand, and if he tried to make it sticky sometimes he would lose control and return to normal. To complete the full spell he would have to do it for all fingers of both hands and also the toes of his feet, however he still couldn¡¯t even tentacle his left arm. That was also something to train he thought. He also added to the list the ability to sprout tentacles from every part of the body, like Pravin did, but he was afraid that would be something far away in the future. I am stuck with the Slime Class, so I should make full use of it. I have already thought about so many way to improve myself, but it is too freaking difficult to train. Maybe Shadow Slime Warrior is considered a high level Class, so it could be even more difficult to refine than high level spells. Anyway I have eternity in front of me, so I should not expect to be finished in a couple of years, otherwise there would be no point in living a thousand lives. Two days later everybody was completely bored. There is something about staying closed in a vehicle for long times that makes you anxious to get out. People kept chatting and chatting, but after a while everyone needed some silence. On the other end Zortex was thriving in this situation. After all he spent months in complete darkness with nothing to do but getting lost in his own thoughts, so a couple of days were nothing to him. He also took out all his bandages and covered his face so much that he could hardly hear or see anything around himself, so that way he was able to catch some sleep. They had made only three stops to eat and traveled through the nights, because the Captain said that they were behind schedule and the guys from the other city would reach Asiago before them. During the pauses people went out and shared the food prepared by the soldiers, so Zortex didn¡¯t have to take out his own, to his appreciation. Always better to keep his food reserves to the maximum. His companions went around to make friends with the other travelers from the different wagons, but he preferred to find some place quiet and train a bit more hid Decay Bolt. When the guards signaled everybody went back to their own wagon without any mix up as ordered by the Captain, to avoid for anyone to be left behind for some confusion. At dawn of the third day the merchant caravan separated from them turning left at a bifurcation, as they were bound to one of the bigger cities on the west rather than the smaller towns where they were directed. Did they even need our protection? Until now all the scenery was villages and farmland. If there was anything dangerous it would attack a village rather than a caravan with its own guards. I guess that you could never be safe too much. Of course depends on the costs. I wonder how much is the salary of a merchant¡¯s guard? Maybe I should always get hired by one of them every time I need to travel between cities. Six days after departure their group reached destination. One day less than expected to make good of their late start. The most exciting thing were a couple of flying lizard-butterfly beasts that flew over their caravan for a couple of hours. The soldiers told us that they are called ¡®chald¡¯ and they are not very dangerous for humans. At most they would attack small childs, but usually they are just looking for unprotected supplies or leftovers. They never came close enough to be attacked and they left after their attention was drawn by something else in a nearby small forest.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Asiago was a small town of around five thousand people, protected by a wooden wall of two meters height. They reached the town square and dismounted from their vehicles, to everyone satisfaction. ¡°Ok everyone. You have until tomorrow morning to relax and prepare for the mission. Meanwhile me and the other guards will set up camp close to the North gate of the town. When you want to retire for the night you can come there. If it¡¯s not good enough for you, you could always rent a room in one of the inns, but it would not be cheap with all the people who have arrived for this hunt.¡± Captain Cvor told us and started to walk away, then he stopped and turn around to say: ¡°Just a reminder for you who are blessed by the Gods¡­.turn this town as your respawning place. I don¡¯t think you want to make all the trip back here by yourselves, maybe to find out that the mission has been completed. We will meet here tomorrow at dawn.¡± And with that he left. Zortex was left alone, so the very first thing he did was to look at the inns close to the town square, before all rooms would get booked. After 30 minutes looking around he had to give up. There were free spots, but they were bloody expensive. All the innkeepers were making a fortune with the excuse of the Srenc attack. Not only them, but almost all shops had raised ten times their prices. Probably in normal conditions the stuff here would cost half or less compared to Onara city, but with so many customer coming all at once the prices skyrocketed. There wasn¡¯t much else to see, so Zortex retired in the camp raised by the Captain. He needed a night of good sleep to get in the best shape to undertake the mission the day after. Zortex woke up for his breakfast one hour before dawn when the soldier roused the travelers who decided to stay in the camp. Most people didn¡¯t sleep much in Endless, so only half of the travelers had found their way to the camp. The other stayed up all the night partying or preparing themselves or socializing or whatever. After breakfast the town square started to fill up with groups of travelers, both from Onara and Carmignano. The other city camp was situated on the west side of the town and it contained almost fifty travelers, just like them. All in all there were around one hundred fighters ready to march. ¡°I am Captain Canter and this is Captain Cvor. We will be coordinating the attack together. If we disagree I will be the one who has the final word. Is everything clear?¡± A soldier spoke standing side by side with our Captain. People just mumbled a yes, not really knowing why was that a question. ¡°Just to make sure you understood the mission I will repeat it. We are here to destroy a colony of Srenc which has established itself in the nearby forest. Is that clear?¡± People nodded with their heads or just did nothing. ¡°For the next week we will do recon missions. To our first estimate there should be a tribe of around 500 Srenc. Your job will be to scout the forest and pinpoint the location of their main village. Is that clear?¡± Once again people mumbled a yes, not really sure who should be answering that question. ¡°Srenc usually go out in hunting parties from three to ten of them to gather food. Higher level Srenc stay closer to the village while the young and weak go around to hunt and level up to get stronger. In the beginning you will spy on this hunting parties to check where they are bringing back the food and then kill them to reduce the number of enemies. Considering your average strength there is no way for us to take on 500 enemies at once. You must wear down their forces while getting stronger yourself. Is that clear?¡± ¡°YES!¡± Three guys he didn¡¯t recognize screamed making fun of the whole speech. Captain Canter actually looked happy about it. ¡°We will divide our forces in groups of four-five people to cover more ground, but strong enough to win a battle against their hunting parties. We have already organized the groups based on your skills and experience. Personal relationships have been taken into account. If you are not happy about it we will discuss after the first day. Now me and Captain Cvor will pass around and form the groups. Each group will be escorted by one city soldier to guide them in their first experience. Is that clear? ¡°YEEEEESS!¡± Now it was five guys shouting and then laughing hard about it. Paying more attention Zortex understood that they were actually quite drunk. Apparently the parties last night ended later than he thought. Afterwards the soldiers started dividing people. Zortex ended up in a group of four people. With him there were Jake, Rizza and Gera. Why I am again with Jake? It cannot be a coincidence¡­or is it? Rizza is the girl from my kart who was alone at the beginning. She should also be a magician. I don¡¯t know this Gera. She has a rapier and light armor, so she should be a high agility warrior. Hmmm. So Jake as a tank, Gera as a rapid warrior to fill the gaps and deal close damage and me and Rizza attacking from a distance. I can also handle spear and sword, so I can help on the front line if needed. The typical RPG group. Rizza had light blue hairs and dark skin. Her height and body looked average and she was wearing a black dress which made her look like a witch. On her hand there was a wizard staff. Gera was as tall as Zortex and with very pale skin, almost white. Her hairs were a dark purple, the same color of her eyes. She was wearing a leather armor non that different from his own. Ah! Now I remember. Rizza is the girl I saw that night I went back to the temple after leaving the sewers. I was looking for someone to follow to the training center, but I skipped her to follow the two dudes. What were the names I gave them? Nah, it doesn¡¯t matter. Jake moved forward and said: ¡°Ok guys. Two nights ago Captain Cvor went around asking questions about classes, skills, preferences, friends etc. The others thought that he was just socializing, but I understood that there was something behind, so I went to speak with him directly when he was alone. He told me that he was going to form groups based on the information he had, so I already told him who I wanted to be paired with. I asked for Shad and Rizza to join me, and also for my other two friends over there, but it seems like the Captain was not fully convinced by my choices. Anyway I happy to be with you guys.¡± So that¡¯s why¡­.but why me? Not that I cared about someone else, but I know for a fact that Jake is not that talented. I hope that he got a lot of training in the last few months, otherwise we will be in trouble. ¡°Let me explain. I had a little spar with Shad in the past and I know that he is good at it. I don¡¯t know why you are saying that you are a wizard right now, but also as a warrior you could handle yourself quite well I think. I asked for you for that reason. About Rizza¡­.well, there is no need to hide things¡­.we have met in our carriage and talked and spent time together during the pauses and¡­well¡­ we are dating right now. I want to spend time with her, but if we got in different groups we would be separated for who knows how long. I hope to not cause too much trouble if we get lovely-dovey sometimes.¡± Crap. I got my mind under control right now, but it will be painful to have them fucking a few meters from me when we will camp out in the open. What to do? ¡°Fine by me, but don¡¯t think that you can start fucking each other during the mission. You can have all the fun you want when you are here in the town¡± Gera interjected. Bless you woman Zortex thought. ¡°OK¡± Jake said looking disappointed. Rizza was just staring at the ground seemingly embarrassed. Jake was looking forward to have plenty of sex in the next few days, that bastard. He should think about the poor guys around him who aren¡¯t getting any¡­..well, unless Gera is willing¡­.but that¡¯s impossible. Before my teammates could continue talking the Captain announced that we should move outside the city in the direction of the forest. The excitement started to raise in the travelers as most of them had never been into a mission, the same as Zortex, although he was already level 8 and they were probably level 1. Time to test myself. Chapter 31. Boooring It took the groups one hour march to reach the beginning of the forest. The area around Asiago was cultivated, but the farms and small villages closer to the woods had been pillaged and abandoned by the local population which had found refuge in the city or more inland. Meanwhile the travelers were making conversation and knowing each other. Jake became the self-appointed leader of our group, although for the first couple of days we would be accompanied by a guide named Jacob to teach us how to proceed. He had entered Endless fifty years ago, in AI time, and he had spent them in other worlds until now. His favorites were ones with wars against aliens or zombies or monsters, with some pauses to enjoy more mundane pleasures. He had started playing Age of Legends because he wanted to give a cut to futuristic warfare, so he chose something with a medieval style. All in all Zortex appreciated his background, having played himself that sort of games in the past, although they weren¡¯t his favorites. His idea was to try those kind of worlds whenever he was blocked from AoL because of his death. Rizza was a quiet girl, almost shy, but the moments she could be alone with Jake she became a lot more lively. They probably balanced each other, with Jake being the extrovert and her being the introvert. She was a full mage, who specialized in electrical magic. She had entered Endless almost two years ago, in Endless time, and she had spent that time following around her sisters in many different worlds, then deciding to follow her own path here in AoL. I wonder if their couple can last. I mean¡­appearance-wise we are all the same age, but mentally Jake is seventy years old, and she is in her twenties. Of course here in Endless the mind changes differently compared to the real world because there is no physical decay, still¡­.fifty years of experience are not that small. Gera was just average. Not too beautiful, but good enough in her own particular way. She had come to AoL because a friend suggested it, but they had not yet met each other because she spawned in a completely different continent. They were keeping in touch every time they logged out, but a trip that long to meet again in AoL would cost time and money, so they postponed their reunion until it became easier for both of them to travel. She had been in Endless for seven years and she had been switching worlds often. She also told us that as soon as this mission was over she would take a break and go to another world, where everything is aquatic. She also told us her class, even though most people are reluctant to do it with strangers they had just met; she was a ¡®Common Soldier¡¯, one of the most bland classes possible, obtained by just half-assed training with a sword. Shad explained by gestures how long he had been in Endless and showed them a small Decay Bolt and Entangle to make them understand his fighting style. Jake can tank for the group, hopefully long enough for us to kill the enemies. He has a nice chainmail armor at least. Gera will be close to useless I believe, probably just good enough to take on a single Srenc, even though I don¡¯t know yet how strong are this monsters. Rizza told us that she has quite good fire power, but it costs a lot of mana, so she will be able to cast only a few times and she cannot miss otherwise we are screwed. At least she has a minor healing spell, so after the battles are done she can help us recover. My role will be to block some enemies to let Rizza hit and help Gera survive long enough to make some damage. When we will have the upper hand I can start dealing damage myself. We settled camp in a small abandoned village close to the border where the vegetation became more dense. This was one of the first places to be suffer an attack and it had been deserted since then. It took one more hour to complete the logistics and then everything was ready. Some of NPC soldiers were staying behind with the captains to work on fortifying the camp, as there was an high risk of suffering a counterattack sooner or later in the expedition. The travelers would enter the forest and do some reconnaissance for the first day, mostly learning the tricks to do some scouting as they would be trained by a ranger each. There were twenty groups in total and the anticipation was gnawing at them. It was just the beginning of the mission, so the orders were to not stray far away from each other, thus in case of an encounter groups could support each other. ¡°Listen everyone. We all know why we are here today. Civilians are at risk for their lives and the loss of farming land is straining the economy of the nearby towns, but that¡¯s not the real reason this mission was created. You are here because you need the experience. Basically you are just here to level up. Srenc are weak creatures in this world and could be dealt with ease by any warrior worth mentioning. Almost one hundred of you are present, but this hunt could be easily completed by a few level 100 travelers in a matter of hours. You are the chosen of the Gods, and you must grow strong to defend humanity in the years to pass. Everyone has his own path to strength and for most of you it begins here, in this small corner of our Alabar nation. Now you can go into the forest and show if you have what you need to become a legend. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± half of the people said. Captain Canter gave his usual speech, but this time more travelers joined the chorus of appreciation. It was evident that the excitement was rising now that they were a few minutes away from the beginning. ¡°Ah! I almost forgot. If you want to get paid for your kills you must cut the horns from the Srenc and bring them back. It¡¯s 5 silvers a horn¡± the Captain said. Why no ¡®Is that clear¡¯? He got out of character. ¡°Are you ready? We move out in two minutes, so if you have to say goodbye to anyone do it now.¡± Our scouting trainer said. Jacob. His name is Jacob. I had almost forgot. Gera went to say bye to some people she had befriended during the trip and Jake went to talk with his two friends he was separated from, Rizza in tow following him, probably to not be left alone with me and Jacob. Our ranger had told us two minutes, but in the end it became ten minutes with all the chaos ensuing from people moving around, hugging, jesting and laughing. That¡¯s what I hate about crowds. Everything slows downs and people like me are made to wait. I hated it before entering Endless and now even more.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Everyone was finally back in their own teams and people started spreading out following their supervisors. ¡°Let¡¯s make the group now. We will share the experience and we will see each other positions in the map¡± Map??? Do we have a Map function??? ¡°Map¡± Zortex whispered not letting anyone hear him. In front of his eyes a squared map formed. There was the village in the south-west part of it with the word ¡®Camp¡¯. In the direction they were moving there was just a grey area with a green cut in the path they had just taken. ¡°Wider¡± another whisper from Zortex and the zone encompassed became bigger, with the ¡®Camp¡¯ centering in the square. ¡°Wider¡± and again the same happened, only now in the visible area Asiago appeared. It seems like the places I passed through become visible and the rest is just a grey area. What if I buy a map in a store? Would grey areas become visible even though I haven¡¯t visited them yet? Once again I acted without thinking. Of course there is a Map in the System. I could have exited the sewers the same way I entered and I could have moved in the city much easier instead of memorizing the streets. Jake had already grouped with Rizza before leaving the camp, so he shook hands with Gera to form the bond of the group and then came to Zortex. They had already sparred in the past, so Shad had no trouble with physical contact with him, thus they shook hands and a notification appeared:
Jake invited you to a group. Will you accept? Y/N
Zortex thought yes and a new notification appeared:
You are now part of the group: Team 17 Members: Jake* level 2 Gera level 1 Rizza level 1 Zortex level 8
Zortex had already asked Endless how names worked. Would his real name appear to the other people or the one he had been using around? What would happen if he knew more than one person with the same name? Can names be changed after some time? Endless told him that the names appearing with the notifications were the ones he had in his mind for each person. At the moment he was seeing his real name in the notification, but each person would see something different depending on how they named him in their minds. Probably in their eyes right now it was written ¡®Shad¡¯ or ¡®Creepy dude¡¯ or ¡®Scary face¡¯. The * symbol on Jake meant that he was the leader of the group. The levels instead were the real ones because everybody must know them to make the group. Experience is divided depending of the level of the person, so to avoid to group with people with high level difference the number is shown to each member. The rules were that the higher the level the more experience the member would get. For example if a lvl 90 grouped up with a level 1 he would suck almost all the experience, so it would be inconvenient for the noob to stay with the pro. At that moment Zortex was the highest level, by what seemed a large margin, but it wasn¡¯t as bad as it appeared. A level difference below 10 makes little difference in the experience distribution and considering how easy it is to make the first 4-5 levels the difference would disappear after a few kills. Zortex knew all of this by having asked Endless before leaving for the mission. They were moving through the zone where the trees were still sparse, together with a few other groups. Every two minutes a team would change directions and enter more deeply into the forest. There were only two other groups left with them when Jacob signaled them to follow him. The first half an hour was still just walking with the forest becoming a bit darker. At a certain spot Jacob stopped and motioned them to his position. ¡°Look here. You can see the stomped grass and over there the soil has been moved. There are tracks leading to the east. Here something passed by not long ago. These are not signs of a Srenc hunting party, but if I am correct those are the tracks of a Guf. It is a medium sized monster that can reach 500 kg when adult. They are quite docile, but when attacked they become aggressive and prefer to fight rather than ran away. Considering your levels you could probably take one down, but not without some of you dying. It is still important to look for them because Srenc could be hunting them for food¡±. They continued for a while, with Jacob showing how to move through the underbrush making as little noise as possible, or to follow tracks to sources of water, or how to use trees to hide or as fighting ground. The ground was flat, so there was no need to know anything about ground conformation in an uneven surface. When they had started, there was tension and excitement, all four of them ready to be attacked at any moment, but after hours seeing only birds and insects they got bored and relaxed. His teammates lost focus and just followed behind Jacob half listening, however Zortex was still taunt, aware that danger could come at any moment. He had made mistakes in the past and he would not repeat them again. Relaxing was what could get you killed. In the end nothing happened. Before evening they started to go back to camp. The return trip was as uneventful as the rest of the day. Jacob had waited so long to signal to go back, because he wanted them to still be in the forest when it became dark, so that he could teach them how to settle in the forest to be protected. During the night they could not move around without the light, and using the Light spell was out of question, as it would be like painting a big target signal on their backs. Zortex laughed to himself, thinking that at night it would be his perfect time to move around. After the explanation on why not to use the light Jacob casted the spell himself to go back the rest of the way. His orders where to bring them back before tomorrow, so he considered himself close enough to safety to risk an hour of travel by light. They also saw another team far in the distance with their own light and they united to get back together. Day 1 and nothing happened. Boooooring. Chapter 32. Look who is back! When Team 17 got back to the base they saw a dozen other groups chatting with each other, some disappointed and some other excitedly. It was night but it seemed like no one was in a rush to sleep, unlike Zortex who really felt the need to lay down. Most ¡®travelers¡¯ could stay awake for days in a row, but his constant headaches required much rest to disappear. ¡°Let¡¯s go hear what the other are saying. That guy over there looks as if he had been in a fight¡± Jake said, enthusiastic to be back. The other members of the group followed him, the only reluctant one being Shad. ¡°¡­.and they got us surrounded. Our mages were the first to die. They have low defensive abilities and the could not attack in such short quarters. Our guide shouted us to run back to him and we ran through a rain of arrows. Two Srencs barred our way, but we slew them at great cost. My friend Jacob died in the clash, and Maryam was so badly wounded that she could not even stand, so we had to leave her behind. She will be super pissed when she will respawn. From that moment we just kept running till my stamina allowed me, however the Srenc seemed to be satisfied with the victory so nothing happened anymore.¡± A tall guy with blonde hair was telling his story from the day just spent outside. ¡°You seem too happy considering that you lost. If it was my group we would never be spotted and trapped so easily. I just wished to be in your place.¡± Another average dude teased the previous guy. ¡°Hey, no qualms from me. I am the one who survived. The rest of my team was what held me down, and that guide for sure was not doing his work properly. If only I was in a better team I could have shown how many Srenc I could slay. And the worst part is that I killed two of them, but I didn¡¯t have the time to take their horns, so I¡¯m not getting paid.¡± The first guy replied. ¡°But how do they look like? What kind of weapons to they use?¡± This time it was Jake speaking. For once he makes the right questions. Hopefully he will not drag down our group. Zortex thought. ¡°The ones we saw were around 160 cm in height and with an orange/red skin full of bone protrusions, ugly as fuck if I can say. They wear animal pelts and furs and they are not well protected. Our leather armors are much better, so they are easy to wound and in a prolonged battle they would suffer from the bleeding. The weapons are also rudimental ones: the ones who attacked me melee were fighting with wooden clubs and bone weapons, and just one had a sword. Of course in the heat of the battle I could not spend too much time checking the exact quality of each item. The rest of them had bows and arrows, but I could not see them at all. They were hiding in the trees¡¯ foliage and in the bushes. I got hit by two arrows on the back, but the wounds were not that deep. With a good armor you could just try to protect your vital parts and you should come out mostly unscathed.¡± The fighter said. Interesting. I have a leather armor on, so I can survive a few attacks and if everything he said is right, I should be able to kill one with just an acidic shot, unless they have an inborn resistance to acid. Zortex mused. The discussion kept going on, but nothing of interest was said, so his teammates just saw Shad moving away to a more secluded zone. Still Zortex didn¡¯t completely stop listening, he just took off a couple of bandages from his ears and kept track of what they were saying from a distance. More groups arrived back to camp, but only another one had a meeting with the enemy and from what they said they were the ones to catch by surprise a small group of Srenc, so they won without casualties and brought back three horns that they started to show off. Zortex had heard all he needed, so he retired to catch some hours of rest before dawn. The next morning he woke up when he heard his teammates speaking close to his tent. They were wondering if it was the right thing to do to go and talk to him while he had yet to rise. Of course Jake was the one who had no problem, while the two girls were still scared of him. He didn¡¯t wait for them to come to him and he opened the flap of his tent and exited as if he had not heard anything. ¡°Good that you are awake. I wonder how could you go to sleep with all the excitement of yesterday evening. Probably you are just more professional than us. After all you are a level 8, so you have already taken part to some similar mission in the past. Anyway we already went to speak to Captain Cvor and he explained to us our next mission. Let¡¯s start walking and I will tell you on the way.¡± Jake told him.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Of course you didn¡¯t sleep, you lucky guy. You were probably fucking Rizza all night. If I was in your position I would probably drop the quest and just spend the next month in a hotel with the girl. No, I would not even wait to get to a town, I would just fuck any girl anywhere. Zortex thought and then frowned behind his mask of shadow. Ok, I need to calm down. I am not an animal. I need to get rid of these bursts of lust, otherwise someday I will do something I will regret. Their group of four moved in the same direction they had gone the day before, getting closer to where the real forest started. ¡°Shad. I will explain to you what we have been told. As you know Jacob will not accompany us from now on. They want us travelers to learn by experience, so the training is already over. Now look at your map.¡± Jake said. ¡°Map¡± Zortex whispered, too low to be heard by his companions. He had still trouble interacting with Endless by just thinking, at least in options he had not used for long. After the command was given he saw the map, but unlike yesterday, many of the grey areas were now shown. ¡°You understand right. All the paths walked by the other teams are now shown in our map, and every time we will be back to talk with the Captain our maps will be updated. This is the advantage of working in a full company.¡± Jake told him. This is good. I was wondering how we would avoid crossing paths with other groups or cover ground already checked by someone else. Zortex thought. ¡°Today we will move along the direction we went yesterday, but we will stay out for two days and scout twice the land, or at least a 50% more land. Now that we are alone we will have to be more careful and we cannot go as fast.¡± Jake said. What a surprise. Jake starts to look like a decent team leader. I was expecting him to boast that we could go much faster than Jacob showed us, but he is actually taking a careful approach. Maybe we are not doomed to fail. ¡°Also here is your part of the rations for this mission.¡± Jake threw him a small bag. Zortex opened it and checked through the food inside. What cheap crap this is. I will keep it of course, but I will not eat it myself. It is time to do something that I have postponed for too long.¡± Zortex raised a bit his left hand and used a spell he had not used since exiting the sewers. ¡°Summon Slime¡± He whispered. His mana dropped to zero and on the ground close to his feet Pravin appeared for everyone to see. ¡°Aaaah¡± The first one to react was Rizza who was standing behind him and had a clear view. She jumped away screaming and she moved to put Jake in between her and the poor Pravin. Gera instead was much more reactive, and after the first second of surprise se was already in position with her rapier in hand, ready to attack at any moment. ¡°What the fuck is that???¡± Jake was just staring open mouthed at Zortex¡¯s pet slime, no fighting instinct at all. Maybe I should take back what I thought before. If this is what happens when he sees a possible enemy, we will be in trouble for sure. I am surprised about Gera, she was quite good over there. Maybe she will not be dead weight. Zortex thought. Pravin started forming four tentacles, ready to attack at any moment, but he didn¡¯t act without instruction from his master and friend. That was something that Zortex had deeply ingrained in his pet¡¯s mind at the beginning, when they were still hunting slimes. At the time it was just because Zortex didn¡¯t want to get his kills stolen, but it became a useful habit nonetheless. Everybody stayed frozen for twenty second and then Zortex reached with his hand to pet Pravin and let him move up his arm to settle over his shoulder. This way the others realized that the Slime sudden appearance was Shad¡¯s doing, rather than a trap of a monster they had never seen before. Ultimately this was their first time outside the city and dealing with monsters, so they were still tense because they had no experience at all. ¡°What just happened? It was you right? Did you just Summon it or are you a tamer? How many do you have? Why something so ugly and disgusting?¡± Jake kept shooting question at him. ¡°Damn you! Sometime I hate you so much for not speaking a word! You have so many tricks, but we can never get any answer from you.¡± First time that I actually see him angry. Maybe I am wrong and he didn¡¯t get laid last night, or maybe I just exaggerated this time. I should have done something to prepare them in advance. Well, too late now. Zortex thought. He indicated Pravin with his hand and then pointed himself with a finger. ¡°Ok, just tell me one thing. Do you have many other tricks we know nothing about?¡± Gera asked. Zortex nodded. ¡°Will you show them to us now?¡± Shad made a no with his head. He would not divulge his secrets without reason. ¡°Will you use them to save us in a dire situation?¡± This time it was Jake asking Zortex nodded. ¡°At least we have that. Just keep that pet of yours away from me. It makes me nauseous.¡± Jake said making a choking sound. Oh, that went well. At least that don¡¯t want to kill you Pravin, otherwise I would have to kill them myself. Who needs them anyway? Pravin can do twice the amount of work they can do Zortex thought. He put his hand inside the bag he had just received and he gave Pravin some bread with jerky. It was about time for his friend to taste some real food, not garbage or rats or other slimes. Pravin made a squishy sound to tell him how much he appreciated the food, or at least that is what Zortex understood, however his knowledge of the slimese language had become a bit rusty after so many months apart. Chapter 33. Insects The group of four, or better to say five with Pravin included, walked back to the place where they entered the forest proper the day before. They retraced their steps for five hours before meeting something interesting. When they heard some noises in the distance they expected to have finally found an hunting party of Srenc. They followed the noises keeping silent and hiding their movements in the underbrush, however when they got in sight they saw that it was a fight between different beasts. One looked like a gorilla with an eagle¡¯s head, and the other was simply a big snake. When in sight the team could read the levels: the gorilla was a level 9 beast and the snake level was hidden by two question marks ¡®??¡¯. ¡°They are already fighting each other, they are distracted so we could surprise them and attack. We would get some nice experience if we kill them both¡± Jake voiced. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Look at them. The gorilla is half dead, but the snake HP bar is almost full. We cannot read the level of the snake, so it must be quite higher than our own. I¡¯m afraid that we cannot kill it even with the help of the gorilla. Most probably if we meddle now, the gorilla would just escape and we would have to deal with the snake by ourselves. I suggest to just move on. Srenc are enemies that we can take, but that snake could be level 90 for all we know.¡± Gera replied. Gera is the word of wisdom, but I really want to throw a big spell at those two. I could charge up an Acidic Shot at full power and hit them without any effort. I am fine in both scenarios. ¡°What do you think Rizza?¡± Jake asked. ¡°We should go. This is not our mission. We are eager to find enemies, but that doesn¡¯t mean that we should overreach. Your bloodlust will be sated as soon as we find Srenc. You just need a bit more of patience.¡± She answered. ¡°Ok, the women have spoken. Running it is! Let¡¯s circle around so that we will not be discovered.¡± Jake had the last word. A pity. I was warming up to the idea of attacking that snake. But maybe snakes are resistant to acid, so my idea would have been really counterproductive. The noises of battle were still going on when they left that part of the forest. After three more hours the next event happened. Rizza and Jake were happily chatting, to Gera and Zortex irritation, when a slight movement on a tree to their left alerted their senses. A centipede-like monster was scuttling up the tree trunk, probably scared by their presence. It was almost two meters long and as thick as a fully grown python. On his head there were two pincer as long as his beginner knife and it was black from top to bottom. The moment they noticed the monster its level appeared: It was a level 5 enemy. The teammates looked at each other and without a second thought they went to attack. Jake was the closest so he made a dash and tried to impale it with his spear, however to his dismay the centipede moved too fast for him to follow, bending its body and increasing its climbing speed until it was out of reach. Of course Gera is also useless now, being a melee fighter, so the responsibility for the kill now falls on the shoulder of me and Rizza. Which spell should I use? Zortex contemplated. ¡°I could use my Throwing Spear skill, but if I miss I will have to go and recover my weapon. I have bonded it, but I would prefer to not get separated. Can you two do something?¡± Jake said. ¡°I am going to use my Electric B¡­¡± Rizza was saying, when she stopped because Gera, without anyone realizing, had taken out four knives and she threw them at the escaping centipede. The weapons had an unnatural speed and they made a whistling noise traveling. She must have used a skill there. Zortex thought. Three of them were aimed true hitting the body and the monster lost its grip on the tree trunk and fell down to the ground close to Zortex. Its HP were not completely depleted yet, but a good ? had disappeared and it was now struggling to move. Zortex could have easily shot it in an instant, but he let Gera have the satisfaction to give the killing blow. She had done all the work after all, so it wouldn¡¯t have been fair to steal the pleasure of her kill. ¡°Good job Gera!! You are also quite resourceful. We must reevaluate our tactics if we take into account your long range attacks.¡± Jake hugged Gera, under the jealous watch of Rizza who said nothing. I can imagine her thoughts. She is the long range attacker, but Gera stole her job, killed the enemy and now her boyfriend was hugging the other girl Zortex mused. Gera wasn¡¯t looking that happy to be hugged, thus she pushed away Jake and went to look to the corpse of the centipede. When a monster died an empty crystal could just appear close to its head, just like in RPG games where items came out of nowhere, but for such low level beasts the possibility was so low that it was almost not worthy to look for it. ¡°This is the first kill for our team. I think this call for a celebration¡± Jake declared. ¡°We haven¡¯t eaten in a while, so we can settle down and prepare lunch¡­or dinner. Which is it? I have bought some real food before starting the mission, so we don¡¯t have to eat that crappy stuff we were given. And look at the experience. Killing higher level enemies sure helps to level up faster.¡± ¡°You can prepare the food, I have to retrieve my knife embedded in the tree trunk. Damn it if it is high over there¡± Gera said.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Zortex looked at Pravin and made a gesture with his hand. His pet squished out a long tentacle and wrapped it on the handle of the knife. After a bit of struggle he was able to detach it and he delivered it to Gera. Hopefully this will give them a better opinion of Pravin. He is such a good boy and I don¡¯t like people to shun him. Zortex thought. ¡°Hmm¡­.Thank you?¡± Gera picked up the knife by the blade with thumb and middle finger, looking at the handle a bit disgusted. Come on! Pravin is pretty clean for a Slime. He doesn¡¯t even smell bad now that he is out of the sewers. Slimes blend with the environment, so now he smells like forest. Zortex felt a bit offended, as Gera washed the knife with some water. At least she also washed away the blood from the other three blades. Meanwhile Jake had started a small fire with a spell crystal and he started whistling a song. He took out a cooking pot from a storage pouch and some ingredients for whatever food he was preparing. That¡¯s interesting. I wonder what he is cooking. When it comes to food I¡¯m always open to new discoveries¡­.I have those eggs with me and those vegetables are quite delicious together with fis¡­?? Zortex was so busy studying the cooking that he almost missed it. In the tree branches on top of their heads there were two more centipedes that had not been there two minutes before. He would have heard them earlier if Jake wasn¡¯t whistling so loudly. ¡°Decay bolt¡± he whispered. A mass of darkness formed on his hand and he shot it to the closest to the two centipedes. The monster interposed the tree branch between itself and the attack, but still the momentum of the shot was enough to shook the branch so much to detach it from the tree and it started falling to the ground. While it was still falling down, Zortex had already prepared a new bolt, which he threw at the other centipede rather than attack the first one again. Both attack connected, but did almost no damage because all of it was absorbed by the tree, however the beasts were now on the ground, disoriented and ready to be attacked. Zortex took his sword in hand and pounced on the first of the centipedes. ¡°Poison¡± Zortex whispered and his weapon became slightly coated in a layer of greenish liquid substance. Pravin on his left shoulder launched four tentacles to the other centipede and launched himself after constricting it with his attack. The centipede took head on the sword slash, which rebounded from the pincers in front of its mouth, but its whole body was pushed back a couple of meters and the monster was now laying on its back, becoming easy prey for two more sword slashes which killed it with ease. Zortex hadn¡¯t trained much with his sword, but he was well equipped and competent enough to deal with such low level monsters. Meanwhile Pravin was keeping blocked the other centipede with his tentacles. In a normal situation he would have attacked the head to suffocate his enemy, but the monster in this case had his pincers located there, so the slime would just become easy target to the attacks of the enemy. Zortex just jogged to the last centipede and slashed its neck three times with the sword to severe it. Both enemies were level 4, even weaker than the one before although the difference was basically irrelevant. Zortex waited a second, but he could not feel other enemies nearby, so he relaxed a bit and went back to his teammates who were still close to the fire. Although they had not taken part in the engage they had prepared for battle, Gera¡¯s rapier was in her hand, Jake with his spear pointed at Zortex and even Rizza had some electricity moving through her fingers. ¡°That was unexpected. I didn¡¯t hear or see anything, but the blind guy was the one to spot the enemies. We should be ashamed of ourselves¡± Gera remarked. ¡°I told you he is not blind. He can see better than us. There is a mystery behind his shadows and bandages. They must be magically enhanced to grant vision, or at least some other ability that allows him to sense everything.¡± Jake told her. ¡°Bah¡­still shame on us for not noticing. If they took us by surprise they could have killed someone. I don¡¯t want to think about those pincers around my neck. Good job Shad and¡­slime. You deserve the best part of the meat.¡± Gera spoke. ¡°I leveled up¡± Rizza said. ¡°I got 4 points in Spirit and 1 in Agility¡± ¡°I also leveled up. 2 points in Strength, 2 in Agility and 1 in Endurance¡± Gera intermitted. ¡°Lucky girls. Just a tiny bit more and I would be level 3¡± Jake told the team. ¡°Ok, we eat fast and then we keep hunting here. Even if we find no Srenc this is good territory. A few more of these low level monsters and we will get the experience to better handle the future battles.¡± The group had their meal and then resumed their march through the woods for many more hours before stopping for the night, but nothing else appeared on the ground. There were a few monsters flying over the trees, but none of the team could read their levels, so they preferred to stay hidden and avoid any confrontation. After one day and a half, the five companions (counting Pravin) started to move back. Their mission stated to be in the camp after 48 hours, so they were already late to make the whole trip back to get there on time. They rushed through the woods paying less attention to possible dangers, hoping that nothing had settled on the way they came from. When it was dark the sky was clear and there was a full moon, so even under the canopy of trees a little bit of light was passing through and they decided to proceed at a low pace. It was almost morning when they finally saw the village the Captains had chosen as base. It had changed quite a lot from the time they first arrived. The few broken houses had been restored well enough to grant a decent place where the NPC guards could reside in. On the other hand the main effort was put into building a wooden wall to surround the camp. The barricade was just at the first stage of construction, but Zortex could already see the layout of how it would be arranged. The main wall would be facing the forest and the rest of the fort would have a semi-circular shape to avoid to leave their flanks unprotected. At the speed it was being raised it would probably be one more week before it would be in a condition to stop an assault. The five companions entered the camp together, but Zortex separated from the others right away. He had spent two whole days without sleeping and his head was hurting like hell. Being outside in the woods made him strain his senses to recognize any possible danger, but that also meant that his headache was getting stronger and stronger. Nonetheless this was actually the training he had to put himself through to someday getting control over his inhuman senses. Zortex just found his favorite spot and laid down to fall asleep. Chapter 34. Disappointing Zortex woke up when it was half morning. Luckily no one came to disturb him, because he really needed a full rest to get over all the fatigue of the previous couple of days. At the low left corner of his vision there was a beeping light. What is that? Did I get notifications while I was asleep? Zortex wondered. ¡°Endless, show me what is in that corner¡±
Team 17 Jake: Hey guys. Since Shad and Gera went their own way yesterday night I have decided that we will reconvene at noon in front of Captain Cvor house. Gera: Ok, I just woke up. If you guys are free we can already meet there. Rizza: Come to the other side of the village, on the road we arrived from. Me and Jake are training there. Gera: Ok, coming. Jake: Shad, you are the only one missing. Come to our place as soon as you wake up.
A series of vocal messages invaded Zortex¡¯s mind. Ah. So that¡¯s how long distance communication works. This is in the group channel, but probably the messages person to person work the same way. Zortex pondered. ¡°They have waited until now, so they can wait a half an hour more. I will have my breakfast first. Right Pravin?¡± Zortex asked his pet who answered back with a squishy sound. Twenty minutes later Zortex left his place and moved to the position his teammates where having a contest with people from other groups. Gera was fighting with a guy he had never noticed before, quite tall and handsome, and she looked like she had the upper hand. Not far away Jake was boxing with one of the two friends he had come at the beginning of the mission. I think his name is Max. Max was winning the contest and taunting Jake into attacking him, so that he could use an opening if his adversary made a wrong swing. Even Rizza was practicing a particular lightening spell which looked like a frisbee made out of electricity. When he arrived close enough everybody noticed him. He looked quite conspicuous going around wrapped in black and shadows, with a Slime on his back munching on some toast he had prepared for breakfast. ¡°Good that you are here. We were getting pretty bored to wait and if you arrived too late the guards would just pick us and make us help to build the walls. These guys here soon will need to get to camp and work for the money. Their teams were partially slayed in battles, so now they cannot go out by themselves. Some will just mix to form new teams, but not all are allowed to.¡± Jake said while making gestures to his friend Max. ¡°Let¡¯s go to see the Captain¡± Gera proposed. Team 17 moved back to the village and met with one of his underlings, who brought them to the maps room. ¡°Good that you are here. We are lacking groups scouting the zone that you were assigned. Now look at these maps and update yours. You can also see where there were encounters with the enemies troops. Nice, right?¡± The guard told them. ¡°Now check this part. Team 15 and 18 have not come back last night. It is probable they are dead, either from some beast or a Srenc patrol. You need to cover also their part of the map before they will be back from respawning.¡± ¡°Ok boss!¡± Jake said while saluting. Always showing off. Zortex thought. ¡°From now on you are not given a time limit to return, but I suggest to not wait too much. We need to get back the information about your scouting and if you wait too long and you die we will be left without data for more than a week. Now go to get some food to bring with you and leave as soon as possible.¡± The guard dismissed them and went back to check the maps. ¡°I think that we should retrace where we arrived yesterday and then move either East or North. That way we would have crossed the path of one of the other teams, but if they are dead we may be able to find some traces of their battles and we could follow a track to one of the Srenc camping positions.¡± Jake suggested to the group. ¡°Sounds fine to me¡± Gera agreed.
22 hours later ¡°I think they haven¡¯t noticed us yet¡± Rizza whispered. ¡°Of course not. They are cooking. That on the fire is one of the same centipedes we had killed before.¡± Jake whispered back. ¡°There are only three of them. I say that Shad and Rizza focus their fire on one of them to get an instant kill. Next me and Jake charge to them while they are still confused and trying to see where the attack was coming from.¡± Gera was also whispering. All the members of Team 17 where crawling on the ground hiding in underwood. Just a few minutes before Shad had been able to smell the smoke of a fire and he had simply changed his direction to follow the scent. The others had no idea what was he doing, but when they asked questions he just indicated where he was going and made sign to be silent. A couple of minutes later they also smelled the fire and understood the reason they had been guided to that place. Next they found themselves crawling silently on the ground until they were close enough to spot a Srenc hunting party. Three of the disgusting sub-humans were camped around a small fire and talking in their own language. Hence the discussion on how to approach the attack.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Ok, it is decided. Understood Shad?¡± Jake said. Zortex shook his head. He then pointed to the top of a nearby tree and made a gesture of an arrow being shot. ¡°Damn it! There is a fourth there, just lazing around. We risk to be spotted at any moment if it just look in this direction. We must attack right now.¡± Zortex pointed at himself with his thumb and then he signed a gun shooting at the enemy with the same hand. Hopefully he understands that I will be the one to deal with the archer. Zortex thought. ¡°Ok, understood. You and Rizza will attack the archer. Me and Gera will attack the melee fighters.¡± Jake whispered. Idiot! I can deal with the archer by myself. I don¡¯t need that useless mage. It is a waste of mana to let her help me. Zortex tried to convey the message, but Jake was not looking at him anymore but to the girls on his right. He moved his hand in front of him and started counting down with his fingers. 5 4 3 2 1 0 Zortex charged a Blind spell. He looked at Rizza, but she was still charging her own skill. Just at that moment the archer spotted them. There was that half a second when both of them just looked at each other eyes, and the Srenc had still to understand his situation, and in that moment Zortex shot his Blind spell. I cannot wait for the girl to finish charging her electricity. It is now or never. An archer without his vision is nothing. Zortex¡¯s mind was furiously working to anticipate what were the possible outcomes of his actions. The archer whistled before the spell left Shad¡¯s hand and it jumped down the tree, however it was still hit by Zortex¡¯s Blind on its right forearm. Not perfect, but still good enough. I put enough mana in the spell to last 30-40 seconds and in about 10 second it will have moved high enough to envelope the Srenc head. I just need to block the Srenc in place so that I can hit it with a nice Acidic Shot before it tries to escape. Zortex reasoned. Meanwhile Gera and Jake had stood up and they were running against the other Srenc who had just been alerted by the archer. Zortex didn¡¯t pay attention to his melee teammates. Right now he was focused only on the long-range enemy. The archer had looked at the Blind spell attached to its body, and understanding that it could do nothing about it, it started running parallel to him and Rizza. ¡°Entangle¡± Zortex whispered and threw the spell on the way of the Srenc, who changed direction and avoided it. At the same time it stringed an arrow and let it go in the direction of Zortex, but it missed him. It was really difficult to ran and at the same time target well the enemy. Zortex threw another Entangle spell, but before it could connect a lightening hit the archer who felled to the ground, its skin smoking. Its level had been 9, but now they could only see the HP bar that had reached zero. It had been a one-shot kill from Rizza. So it is true that she has a lot of firepower as long as she is given the time to charge up the spells. Zortex thought. Zortex looked back at the fire where his other teammates where fighting. Jake was wounded on his left leg and he was fighting one the Srenc who held a bone spear. They seemed evenly matched. Gera instead was holding away the other two Srenc, and it looked like she was actually winning. Zortex ran to their left to be able to see the Srenc from the flank to not risk hitting one of his companions. In a blink of an eye he charged a Blind spell and he hit the Srenc fighting against Jake. Two more Blind found the other Srenc unprepared. Now that all enemies had lost their vision, thus it was an easy job for his companions to start inflicting wounds to the monsters who were just swaying their weapon hoping to hit something while seeing nothing. Zortex himself shot a couple of Decay Bolts and he finished off one the Srenc with an Acidic Shot. Pravin had nothing to do during all the battle. He had stayed on Zortex shoulder without being in range to do any of his attacks. At the end of the scuffle each of the teammates had killed one of the enemies. Three level 9 and one level 7 Srenc, who gave enough experience to raise Jake to level 4 and the two girls to level 3. Zortex got an increase in his experience, but he was still quite far from level 9. To slow him down there was the presence of Pravin, who was sucking away half of his experience for himself. His pet had actually leveled up.
Name: Pravin
Class: Slime
Level: 7
Stats:
Strength 7 Health 23 + 0.6/min
Endurance 8 Stamina 73 + 7.3/min
Agility 5 Mana 70 + 3.4/min
Spirit 10
Skill proficiency
Consumption Level 1
Tentacle Level 13
The battle was over and they looked at the loot. No crystals were found and the items were so crappy that they didn¡¯t even pick them up. Only Jake had a wound on his left leg and Rizza was using her Light Healing spell to treat him, but to her own words she was not proficient at it, so it would take a while and a large part of the healing would be left to the Health recovery system. The team moved a bit away from the battleground and rested to recover their stats. The first encounter with the Srenc was a complete success. I was quite disappointing. The archer was killed by Rizza and the other Srenc couldn¡¯t even look at me while I shot them because they were already busy. In my defense if they had let me proceed the way I liked I could have made the archer useless and killed it easily and then I would have been free to join the melee fight. Next time I must take into account that Jake would underestimate my potential. Zortex pondered. Chapter 35. No spoilers Team 17 rested for a couple of hours close to a big fallen tree, still euphoric from their first victory in a battle. Zortex¡¯s teammates where all over each other complimenting this and that. Of course they also thanked Zortex for the work he had done, but that didn¡¯t dispel his bad mood. He wanted more, something where he would really risk his life, like his first fight with the slimes or his battle with the skeleton. Meanwhile he also covered himself with more bandages and took a little nap. The deeper they went into the forest the more likely that they would find stronger enemies, and not only of the Srenc kind. Everyone set up their gear and Jake called for a new start of the operation. They had not explored new land yet and they were all in perfect health, so it was only natural that they could go on forward instead of going back to camp. They moved for five more hours, killing all the wild animals they found. Zortex didn¡¯t know at this point if he should call them animals or monsters. Everything had a level, so it would give experience if killed, but could a rat be called a monster? Now that they were distancing themselves from the edge of the forest a lot more animals were appearing. A few times they crossed path with groups of chicken-like animals, which had a level of 1 or 2 at most. There were more centipedes to be found, which were hunting the chickens as their food. There were also feline small monsters which had level 4, but they were able to kill only one when Zortex entangled it, the rest of them being too fast at running. It was in such occasion that team 17 met their second group of Srenc. Jake and company were chasing down a cat monster when they saw in the distance a group of Srenc chasing one of those Gorilla-Eagle monsters, and they were seen in return. Both groups stopped their hunting, realizing that the real enemy had appeared. Team 17 had previously discussed what to do in such a situation, and the final decision was that they would stand their ground unless the adversaries had more long ranged fighters than them. The Srenc group had 6 people, but it seemed as they were all melee combatants. That was why they were chasing the Gorilla instead of damaging it from afar. Jake, Gera and Zortex stood in the front, while Rizza stayed 4 meters behind. They had positioned in a way that Zortex had a tree just to his right, so he launched Pravin to attach on the tree trunk, out of reach of the Srenc¡¯s blades, but close enough to disrupt them with his tentacles. The hunting party of Srenc behaved more orderly than Zortex would have expected. They were all above level 10 with a max at level 13. They also were better equipped, with every one of them holding a blade or spear, even if of low quality. The Srenc formed a front line with four of them holding wooden shield, and the last two, with the highest levels, followed behind, protected by their companions. When the Srenc started the charge Jake said: ¡°Rizza, start charging your spell. Don¡¯t use full power, otherwise you would waste your mana on their shields. When they are in reach shoot the one to the left. Gera, you know what to do. Shad, block their movement with your spells and take care of the one on your side. I will hold the two in the center. We must take down one of them before the two behind can join the fray, otherwise it will be hard to win this fight¡±. After launching Pravin, Zortex took out a bandage a revolved it twice in front of his eyes, and then he undid his Shadow Mask spell. This was a fight where he would have to get really serious and he could not block his mana recovery to maintain his mask. He thought about using his Tentacle skill as a whip from his right to the left, catching one of the Srenc on the unprotected side, but there were trees on the way, so he could not unleash his power. Therefore he took out his spear from the storage pouch and he held it with his left hand, while with his right he charged a strong Entangle spell. When the Srenc where in range he threw the spell in the middle of their formation, and without waiting to see the outcome he started charging a Decay Bolt. What Zortex didn¡¯t expect was the efficiency of his Entangle. The center-left enemy was hit in the leg, as Zortex had aimed for it, and the blast extended also to the Srenc to its left and right. Root came out of the ground and enveloped their legs up to their knees. Even through the momentum of their charge they were not able to break through and all three fell face first to the ground, two of them losing their shields in the impact. Also the two Srenc in the back stumbled, running over the bodies of their allies that were kept on the ground by the roots. Both groups were surprised by such turn of events, but the first to react was team 17. Zortex threw his decay bolt on the chest of the level 13 enemy and watched him stop has if head just been vigorously punched. Rizza had been charging her spell, however it wasn¡¯t meant to be powerful, so she threw it at one of the goblin on the ground who was trying to wriggle out of the roots and she shocked it paralyzed. Gera and Jake opted to charge themselves instead of waiting for the enemy arrival, and Shad followed suit, although he didn¡¯t intend to start with the melee yet. While he was running he prepared a strong Acidic Shot, something that he was longing for to see the effects on a large scale. He poured 1/3 of his mana into it and two seconds before the other melee fighter would clash he threw it to the center of the enemy formation. The acid splashed on four enemies at once, the main receiver being the level 13 Srenc who was still stunned by the Decay bolt, and the three enemy who were now getting up from the ground. The first Srenc didn¡¯t even have the time to scream, it just melted in front of the stunned eyes of the people. Two of the other were splashed considerably and cried because the pain trying to clean the spot attacked, but watching their own hands dissolving and bubbling away. Their HP bars quickly disappeared and they fell to the ground dead. Unluckily, the last of the Srenc was able to raise his shield on time, covering most of its body, apart a spot on its left arm. It hissed in pain and threw away the shield which was getting consumed by the acid. Even before team 17 met the other, three enemies were already dead, and one partially injured. The only untouched Srenc was the one on the right, the closest to Zortex, the one that in theory would have been his only target. It was almost upon him, but suddenly two tentacles attached to the arm where it was holding its sword and it was pulled against a tree. Obviously Pravin had helped his master to avoid any danger. On the other side of the battlefield Gera and Jake had finally collided with the last two standing enemies. On his own, Zortex decided to avoid using other spells and he engaged his adversary with his spear. The Srenc was still incapacitated by Pravin, so he could only defend itself with the shield trying to maintain its equilibrium while getting dragged by the tentacles. ¡°Jake, move!¡± Zortex heard Rizza say and then the thunder of an electric spell being unleashed. This Srenc is more skilled than I would have thought. Without Pravin¡¯s help I would say that it is almost at my level in a melee battle. His encounter with the Srenc lasted 30 more seconds until two more tentacles reached his adversary left arm, effectively taking away the use of both arms leaving it wide open for Zortex to stuck in the heart the spear. The longer the range the less tentacles Pravin could use, but after dragging it close to him he made full use of his technique. On the other side the battle had already finished, with one Srenc fried by Rizza¡¯s spell and the other killed by Gera. Zortex sighed and conceded himself a smile. If in the previous battle he had been disappointed by his performance, this time he could see how strong he was if he could act in the way he liked. He reasoned that probably he could have taken on all of the enemies by himself if he had gone all out. This was why he wanted to enter this world. This excitement that was running through his veins had been his dream. ¡°Ahaha! This was¡­¡± Jake was speaking, but Zortex suddenly frowned. ¡°Behind you!¡± Zortex shouted to Rizza, just a second before three arrows sprouted from her chest, her HP reaching zero in an instant. No No No No! Fuck all this. How could I be so stupid! Never let my guard down. How many are there¡­..5¡­.6¡­..no, there are more also in the other direction¡­.at least 11 in total. I must run. ¡°Rizza!¡± Jake shouted running toward his dead girlfriend. Idiot. She is dead. You should be running or at least getting ready to fight. Zortex understood that they were surrounded. While they were busy fighting the first group, another Srenc hunting party was alerted and they moved to join their companions, only to see that they were already dead. ¡°Pravin! To me¡± Zortex shouted and his pet jumped on his shoulder pulling himself with a tentacle. Gera at least understood the situation and started running to Zortex, believing that he was her best chance to get out alive. That way. The archer are behind where Rizza was, so it is better if I go the other way. Maybe the Srenc will be distracted by Jake long enough for me to run away. Zortex sprinted with Gera on his trail. Two second later an arrow hit him on the chest from the front, a straight hit for the heart. Luckily he was wearing a good armor, so the bolt was blocked and he lost only 10 % of his HP. Damn. I hate archers. There it is. No games this time. Let¡¯s see how much fun you will have with a straight Acidic Shot on you. Zortex stopped and aimed at the Srenc archer with a relatively low charged spell, but he supposed that it was enough to deal with a single archer. The enemy shot a new arrow at the same time as Shad shot his spell, and the two attacks connected. The arrow passed through the spell and hit Zortex again on the chest, but also the spell connected and the Srenc chest fizzled and melted leaving behind a dead enemy. Some of the acid had stuck to the arrow, consuming it, but also damaging Zortex a little, so this time it took away a good 20 % of his health. Zortex was about to start running again, but he understood that it was useless by now. He was already completely surrounded and the only thing he could do was to fight to dispose of enough enemies to create an opening. Looking behind he saw that Jake was being assaulted by three Srencs and he already had three arrows stuck on his body. Soon he will be gone. Why the hell is he so taken by his girlfriend¡¯s death? She will just respawn in five days. Anyway I will use his death as an opening for a strong attack. Zortex thought. ¡°Gera, protect me while I charge a strong spell. Also you Pravin¡± Zortex told her. ¡°Ok¡­¡± She looked at him with eyes wide open, surprise written on her face. What¡¯s gotten into her? I thought she was the most cool-headed after me, but now she looks as if she has seen a ghost. I wonder if there are ghosts in AoL? Yes, there must be, otherwise Necromancer and other classes would be too nerfed. Fuck! I need to focus on the situation. Zortex once again pushed 1/3 of his mana on his Acidic Shot spell and aimed. He let go the spell the instant he saw a sword run through Jake and bringing his HP to zero. The three melee fighters engaged with his team leader had been too busy to realized the danger, so they were completely unprepared when they got hit by the spell. Like the previous Srencs they screamed and started melting away, their bodies not though enough to resist the acidity and corrosion of the spell. Meanwhile Gera and Pravin were fighting three more Srenc when a javelin was thrown at Zortex from his side. He had no time to react, but he was lucky because it only glanced his shoulder and passed by him.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Arghh¡± Gera gurgled , blood coming out of her mouth. The javelin which was meant for Zortex ended up transfixing her instead. She lost more than half of her HP, but the main problem was that she had completely lost her balance, so she made an opening for the two Srenc who were battling her. One of them slashed her side with its sword, and the other smashed her head with an heavy swift of its wooden club. In not even one minute Zortex was the only member of the team who was still alive. I survived in a more difficult situation. This is nothing compared to the battle against the slimes. Now I still have HP, I can move and I have spells and weapons. And there is Pravin. I can win. Now that Gera was gone he had to join the melee himself, otherwise he would be completely open for attacks while charging his spells. His spear was a good weapon for a charge, but it was not the best for close quarter battles, so he switched to the sword he had taken from the Skeleton Count. Pravin was shooting his tentacles repeatedly to a Srenc, but he was also not a good melee fighter, but rather a support character, and anyway his pet was lower level and lower stats than the enemies. Zortex avoided a sword slash from the Srenc which had been attacking Gera and he jumped to attack the one blocked by Pravin. He activated the poison spell and stuck his sword in the Srenc shoulder, causing damage but not as much as he would have liked. Shad dropped to the ground just in time to avoid getting hit by the club of the monster who had killed Gera and he shot a weak Decay Bolt to its knee making it fall. Two arrow arrived and pierced Pravin from behind, taking out a large chunk of his HP. Now the archers are here. I cannot survive if they keep shooting from a safe spot. I must disable them. Zortex laid low, charged a Blind spell and shot one of the three archer, hitting it on the chest. The black shadow raised itself enveloping the head and leaving it useless for the moment. The time he lost to make the spell was enough for the Srenc with the sword to stab him on the leg disabling any chance he had to just run away. Zortex grabbed the Srenc by one of the animal pelts it was wearing and he used the healthy leg as leverage to make it drop head first to the ground exactly in between his position and the archers who had just shot two more arrows. The two shot hit their companion draining away half of its life. Now that he was protected for a few seconds more Zortex charged a new Blind spell and shot the Srenc with the huge club who was about to smash him. The hit was successful and directly to the head, so no delay before the enmy vision would be obscured. Good, now I just need to kill it with an Acidic Shot and then I stab the one closest to me and use it as shield against the archers. Pravin will have to resist until I deal some damage to their long range fighters and then I will kill also his adversary. Zortex was charging his Acidic Shot, but something unexpected happened. He had dismissed the club-wielding Srenc as already incapacitated, but its club arrived and smashed him in the head taking away almost all the HP he had left and rolling him in the ground. Crap! He could not see me anymore, but I was blocked because my leg is impaled, so he already knew that I could not evade the attack and he just swung where I was supposed to be. Zortex was on the ground, HP almost to the bottom and unable to move. Six enemies were still alive and Pravin was is only defense. The Srenc with two arrows on the chest closed on him, sword in hand, and stabbed down looking at him with a sneer even through its pain. I¡¯m dead. Zortex thought. Pravin elongated two tentacles to help his master, but he was too late. The sword entered his chest and Zortex got a notification:
You have died. 10% of your items will be dropped to the ground. Bonded items are less likely to be lost. 10% of your experience for the next level has been lost. Time before resurrection: 120 hours
Zortex found himself on his safe room. The last time he had been there it was like his old bedroom when he grew up, so he was just laying down on his old bed. This sucks. My first death and it was at the hand of such lowly creatures. I got killed by numbers, not because I was weak. If the people of my team were as good as me I would have survived. Nothing I can do about it now. At least I didn¡¯t have to watch Pravin die. Who knows¡­.maybe he has killed one more enemy after I left, so it could be good for his experience. Argh! Too many sensations for my brain. Now I have a super headache coming. I need to rest. Zortex¡¯s room became absolutely dark and noiseless and he fell asleep.
Five days later
Time before resurrection: 5 seconds
¡°Ok, time to go¡± Zortex told to himself. He appeared in the plaza in Asiago, the town he had put as his respawn point. He could not chose the camp because it was not considered a safe spot. If a person kept respawning in an unsafe space he could keep getting killed without any chance to defend himself. On the same way, if a previous safe spot became dangerous, the System would switch his place to the closest spot deemed safe. Let me check my status window:
Name: Zortex Enark
Class: Shadow Slime Warrior
Level: 11
Stats:
Strength 18 Health 221(221) + 2.2/min
Endurance 21 Stamina 525(525) + 52.5/min
Agility 19 Mana 694(694) + 35/min
Spirit 32
Skill proficiency
Knife mastery Level 7
Throwing mastery Level 2
Slimification Level 12
Slime summoning -
Sonar Level 10
Slime eating Level 9
Mana Control Level 26
Spear Mastery Level 9
Sword Mastery Level 9
Tentacle Level 6
Acidic Shot Level 34
Blind Level 43
Poison Level 16
Entangle Level 30
Shadow Mask Level 34
Decay Bolt Level 12
¡¤ Resistance to darkness: Every darkness attack will have 50% reduced effect on you. Increased vision at night. ¡¤ Weakness to fire: Every fire related attack will have 500% more effect on you. ¡¤ Weakness to light: Every light related attack will have 100% more effect on you. ¡¤ Resistance to electricity: Every electrical attack or buff will have 25% reduced effect on you. ¡¤ Slime muscles: Small resistance to some physical attacks ¡¤ You will not be able to choose any spell or skill unrelated to slimes or darkness. ¡¤ Godly senses Remember that you can always discover new skills. Combining skills you already have or by using them in creative ways new skills can be created.
Not bad. I got two levels on those two battles and I¡¯m not far from level 12. Probably if I killed one more Srenc I would have leveled up. Doesn¡¯t matter that much right now. Skills level are the main factor in battles at my level. My Acidic Shot and Entangle have been incredibly effective in battle. Blind should also be, but I had not taken advantage of it. I must develop a fighting style where I can use it freely. Let me check what items I have lost. Zortex put his hand in the storage pouch and in his vision appeared the list of things inside it. Under Zortex¡¯s scrutiny everything was checked and he found missing a knife and a few empty crystals and one with the minor healing spell. He was about to shove away the list when he frowned. He looked again and his hands clenched at his sides, nails stabbing his skin and making blood flow. People could hear his teeth grinding and then breaking under the pressure of his clenching mouth. His breathing was coming rugged and fast. He was in the middle of an anger fit, his brain in disarray. He got on his knees and he slammed his fists on the ground with all the strength he had. AAAAAAAHHHHH! This is bullshit. I have to protest. This must be a bug. It is not possible that something like this could happen. This is pure evil. I WANT BACK MY FOOOOOOODDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!! Zortex had accumulated enough food to feed himself for a whole year, spending a fortune on it. He had promised that he would never starve again in his life, but now in his storage there were just two loaves of bread and some jerky, the same things he had when he had started the game. Blood was coming out of his mouth and staining redthebandages on his chin. Not since his days right after being almost killed by Matthew he experienced such intense rage,however now he was not trapped in an insurmountable shithole of a room. Now he knew where to look for:
New skill learned: Unholy Vengeance level 1 You have experienced so much rage that only revenge will calm your heart. For the next week after being resurrected you will fill the presence of your murderer. The closer you are the stronger the imprint. The higher the skill level the more time it will last and the stronger will be your feeling
Zortex smiled with his broken teeth. ¡°Now I will be the hunter¡± He whispered. ¡°You can speak. Before I died you spoke to me¡± Rizza was standing behind him looking confused. WHAT???? Zortex¡¯s blood froze in his veins just as he was warming up at the idea of getting his sweet revenge. Chapter 36. I dont want to talk Rizza was looking at him waiting for an answer, and not only a nod or a shrug, but a real answer. She was wearing her usual dress with the magic staff and her colorful blue hairs, however in that moment Zortex considered her as dangerous as an hideous monster. The others had gotten used to leave him outside of conversations, so they didn¡¯t really look at him as if he was part of the group, but rather as a powerful tool at their disposal for battles. More like a clone from Star Wars rather than a human. But now that illusion was broken, for one of them at least. Did I speak? I cannot remember. I was all focused on the battle and I might have unconsciously said something. What did I say? Fuck! I think I said something like: ¡®Look out¡¯. What do I do now? Maybe if I say nothing she will just think that she imagined it. Yes, that is best option. I will summon Pravin and look busy doing something else. Zortex said nothing and he activated the spell and Pravin appeared at his feet and then climbed his body to rest on his shoulder. He even avoided looking in the direction of Rizza, as if she had never arrived, and he started moving in the direction of a nearby shop selling food. Just because he risked losing all his food every time he died it didn¡¯t mean that he would just bring with himself minimal rations. He wanted to buy enough food to last him a week, so he would have the time to search for a new source in case of accidents. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t ignore me! I told you that I know that you can speak. You could answer me just this once if you want. I will not tell the others, not even Jake.¡± Rizza said following him. Just leave me alone. I didn¡¯t ask to be in your group, so just don¡¯t disturb me. You have a boyfriend, so just find him and fuck each other somewhere away from me. That is what I would be doing in your situation. These kids don''t know how lucky they are to find other people to mate with. If they had lived my life they would spend more time in the bedroom and less time harassing shadowed men who wants to be left alone. ¡°I will keep following you. Anyway I have nothing else to do until the other two respawn. It is easier if you speak now, so then you can do whatever you do without me sniffing at your back.¡± Rizza told him. Aaaaahhh! Leave me alone! Zortex reached a nearby shop and started looking at the foods on display. There wasn¡¯t much to choose, but that wasn¡¯t what made Zortex angry. The prices had risen again since last time he was there and they would take a large portion of his remaining money. This isn¡¯t fair! I understand about offer and demand in the economy, but the cities should have sent a lot more rations to even the prices. What should I do? Damn it, I will buy enough to last me a couple more days and then I will have to make full use of what they will give me at the camp. From now on, when I will be in the forest I will start collecting the corpses of the monsters. If Srenc can eat them, so can I. I have dealt with more disgusting things. The chicken-like birds looked quite good actually. Zortex bought some of the cheapest food and stored it away.
Team 17 Jake: Hey guys. Where are you now? I¡¯m in the plaza. Rizza: Me and Shad are at the store with the yellow doors. Just wait a minute and we will be there. Jake: Coming toward you.
Perfect. Now that Jake is here he will take all the attention of Rizza, so she will leave me alone. As soon as Shad and Rizza exited the store they saw Jake running to them and without stopping he hugged his girlfriend raising her from the ground. Good job! Now wrestle her to the ground! Anyway...time to give them some privacy and disappear. Zortex thought distancing himself from the couple. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you want to contact me outside of AoL? We could have spent the time together in another world waiting for the respawn....¡± Jake asked her. ¡°I told you that I want to experience this world as if it was the only one we have available. It makes the experience feel more real. It also gives us a reason to values our lives more.¡± Rizza answered him. ¡°I understood, however we have just started dating and we had so little time to spend by ourselves in this mission¡­I hoped that for this once we could skip that rule...you know....a bit of alone time...¡± Jake protested looking dejected. ¡°But now the wait has made us so much happier to see each other again. That¡¯s why I want this feeling. Anyway we just started dating, it¡¯s not like we are about to get married¡± Rizza told him, maybe a little annoyed.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I hate newly formed couples. They are so lovey-dovey that they make me want to puke. Just find a room and have sex. There is no need for all this crap. ¡°Anyway, did you hear Shad speak to me during the battle? He did it just before I got killed.¡± Rizza had left the embrace and now she was pointing at Zortex. What the fuck!!!!! BITCH!! You said you wouldn¡¯t tell the other guys. Zortex was grimacing under his Shadow Mask. ¡°Really??? I didn¡¯t hear a thing and I saw you die, so I was still alive when he should have said something. I¡¯m sure you just imagined it.¡± Jake told her. Ahahahahah! In your face bitch! Thank god Jake is an idiot that could not even pay attention to what other people were saying. This time it was Rizza¡¯s turn to frown. ¡°I¡¯m sure he spoke to me. He can speak to NPC, albeit when no one can hear him, so it¡¯s not like he doesn¡¯t have a voice. There must be some kind of rule that permits him to speak in certain situations.¡±
Team 17 Gera: I¡¯m back. Where are you guys? Never mind. I just saw you.
Gera saluted them and walked to their position. She was wearing a different armor than the previous one, so maybe she had dropped it at her death. The rapier was still the same, and that was what was most important about her. ¡°This was my first death. I have to admit that it was a pretty traumatic experience. Imagine it happening in real life. Of course you would not be traumatized afterwards because you will be dead, but still you understand me, right?¡± Gera said, looking quite excited rather than traumatized. ¡°Sure, this was also my first death here, but it was more difficult for me to see Rizza die. In that moment I didn¡¯t realize that she was not really dead, therefore I behaved as if it happened in real life. I need to get used to the fact that we will die plenty of times in the course of our life in AoL. I don¡¯t know¡­.I didn¡¯t feel like this in the other worlds I visited, even though I died plenty of times over there. Maybe because it is different to get hit by a laser gun rather than being stabbed to death by a monster.¡± Jake answered. ¡°Nevertheless I am happy that finally Shad has started speaking to us. Maybe it will make the mission easier if we can converse with him.¡± Gera told the group, looking at Zortex in the face, expecting something from him. What?? Did she hear that?? I can fake ignorance with one of them, but not with two¡­.Zortex wanted to punch himself. ¡°I told you Jake! Gera heard him speak to me¡± Rizza had a smug face at this remark. ¡°Not only to you. He spoke directly to me telling me to protect his back while he casted a big spell. You can imagine how surprised I was. My eyeballs were about to shoot out of my face like in the old cartoons. So, can we hear again your voice?¡± Gera was now looking expectantly at him. Zortex¡¯s heart was beating furiously and he was sweating under his clothes. At that moment they were all looking at him and the pressure was killing him. What the hell¡­I¡¯m not ready! But I will never be ready. At least they are already speaking to me, so I¡¯m not the one trying to start the conversation. It¡¯s now or never¡­ ¡°No¡± Zortex answered and then he walked away, leaving them standing there, befuddled by what they had just heard. Zortex answering ¡®No¡¯ by voice to their question was basically saying ¡®Yes¡¯ because what they wanted was to hear the voice. That¡¯s it. After one year I have finally spoken again to another human being. Now that it is done I feel much better, but hopefully they will not make me speak again in the near future. That would be embarrassing. It would be better to not speak anymore during the quest, and afterwards I will move away to a place where nobody has ever seen me and I will try to behave as a normal person. Yeah, that¡¯s a good plan! Now I deserve a treat¡­.the red fruit called ¡®Frago¡¯ has a sweet taste and it is perfect for this occasion. Zortex took out one of the fruit he had just bought and he ate almost all of it, leaving some for Pravin. He didn¡¯t wait for the others, but he just moved in the direction of the military camp, where he could get back to the mission.
4 hours later Zortex arrived at the camp, the rest of Team 17 on his heels. Around two hours after he had left Asiago, the rest group had caught up to him. He had tensed up when they had rejoined, but luckily they hadn¡¯t made any comment. The guards at the entrance saw a silent group moving their way, a bad mood in the air. Zortex had been happy for a while, but the joy of speaking had soon faded away and it had been replaced by the sorrow of losing his food. He didn¡¯t know why the others were silent, and he didn¡¯t believe it was just because he wasn¡¯t speaking again, but he soon understood why Jake was silent. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be the Team Leader¡± Jake said. Agreed Zortex thought. ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gera asked. ¡°I made too many errors. I am not suited for command. It is better if someone else is in charge and I will follow the instructions¡± Jake replied. ¡°This is stupid. Just because we lost a battle it doesn¡¯t mean that everything you did is wrong. There were too many enemies. As simple as that.¡± Rizza interjected. ¡°Every time we enter the forest someone else needs to save me. Let¡¯s be honest and say it: I am the weakest in the team. Shad can kill half an hunting party without a sweat, Gera always defended me against twice the amount of Srenc I engaged, and you can fry in an instant any enemy unlucky enough to enter your range. It wouldn¡¯t be too troublesome to just be the weakest, but I am also the one losing my calm the easiest when battle starts. We should decide for a new leader.¡± Jake said to Rizza who was walking hand in hand with him. All the Team stayed silent for a while. They didn¡¯t want to offend Jake, but they could not deny that what he said was true. It was Gera who broke the silence: ¡°Ok, I can try to be the leader this time, however it is not something that I like. Leadership is too much responsibility and I prefer to enjoy my time here without that weight. Depending on how we perform I could give it back to you, or to the others, although I don¡¯t think that Shad would like it¡­right?¡± The others looked at him. Ehehe. Who does she think I am. Obviously I would not fall for such a trick to make me talk. I will just stay silent as usual. Anyway Gera is the best option. She is quite composed and skilled. Rizza and Jake are too soft. ¡°Ok! It¡¯s decided. Let¡¯s go to the Captain and deliver the news and check the new maps. In five days a lot must have changed¡± Gera prompted them to go. Chapter 37. Darkness is my friend In the mapping room there were directly the two Captains, Cvor and Canter, looking at the reports and discussing strategies. The look on their faces was not good, but they never looked happy in the first place. This time it was Gera opening the conversation: ¡°Captains, Team 17 reporting after resurrection¡± ¡°Report¡± Captain Cvor said. ¡°Here is the map we had explored before death. As you can see we were not able to explore much new territory before our demise, but at least we have brought death to many enemies. Two squads of Srenc were killed and some members of another also were ended¡± Gera informed him. ¡°I see. It seems like the Srenc¡¯s activity in that area is quite high. I sent back there the team which had died before yours and two other teams as support. I have yet to receive any information, but they have left only two days ago, so they are probably still scouting that zone. I need more info, so you should retrace your steps and find out what we are dealing with. If you meet one of the other teams, join hands. I expect that to be the general direction of the path to the Srenc¡¯s village. If possible explore as much as you can and retreat even without meeting any enemies. I don¡¯t want to wait five more days for you travelers to resurrect.¡± ¡°Ok Sir.¡± Gera replied. Given their orders, Team 17 left to get some provisions and rest for a couple of hours before departing. Zortex laid down on his favorite spot and looked at the renewed maps, resizing to see the whole discovered territory. To the South a lot more terrain had been scouted and there had been just a dozen scuffles with Srenc, half of the time lost by the humans. There seemed to be also more high-leveled monsters, not the kind forming tribes, but strong enough to endanger some noobs like the travelers roaming the zone. It was becoming clear that the Srenc¡¯s village was located somewhere more to the North, and that was the general direction that the scouting parties were being sent to. Judging from the information he was looking at, the humans were on the losing side at the moment: seven fights out of ten were losses or retreats. The average level of the Srenc found until now was approximately 10, whereas the starting point for most of the travelers was level 1 and with no real battle experience. It was understandable that the beginning would be like this. The more the time went on and the more the noobs would level, so an equilibrium would be reached. Zortex looked at the map one more time and then he closed it and his eyes moved into a specific direction, some red light appearing from them and barely breaking through his Shadow Mask.
Unholy Vengeance level 4 The closer you are to your target the more you will feel his presence and it will guide you to your deserved revenge
Not for the first time Zortex had activated the skill and he was satisfied to still feel the Srenc who had killed him. He was afraid that if he wasn¡¯t fast enough someone else would snatch the kill from him. ¡°Time to go Shad. Before night I want to get to the position we reached with our trainer the first day. It should be safe enough and a good start for tomorrow morning.¡± Gera told him with Rizza and Jake on her heels. Jake looks really dispirited now. I should be the brooding and silent one. He should keep to his role of cheerful and chatty group member instead of stealing my appearance. Maybe I should cast a Blind on his face and then we can form the ¡®Silent Shadows duo¡¯. The group moved again and they made good time reaching previously explored locations without interference. Night had descended and the other members stopped to lay down. ¡°One of us should keep guard. We are still far from the most dangerous zone, but Srenc are not the only things we must be afraid of. Anyway we don¡¯t really need to sleep, but with this darkness we cannot do anything else¡± Gera suggested. ¡°I will be on guard¡± Jake said right away. ¡°But I wanted to fall asleep close to each other¡± Rizza complained shyly. ¡°There will be time in the future. I will feel better if I do something useful right now, otherwise I will stay in a bad mood also tomorrow¡± Jake replied. ¡°Ok, it¡¯s decided. Jake will stay up tonight. Tomorrow night I will do it. Afterwards it will be Shad and Rizza. Any objections?¡± Gera said and when nobody spoke she finished by saying: ¡°Good. Now go to sleep. As soon as we have some light we will move out tomorrow. Jake, if there is any danger, either you will wake us silently in case we haven¡¯t been discovered yet, or if we have been spotted, be as loud as possible so that we will know something is wrong and we will react fast.¡± Gera and Rizza went to sleep, but Shad decided against it. It was true that he always needed plenty of sleep to recharge his brain after all the stress of having heightened senses all the time, but even more true was that night was his domain. During the day he had always to conceal himself, hiding his true potential to avoid the painful consequences, but in the dark he was finally free to see the world around him in all its glory. Zortex took out the bandages from his eyes and he stopped the Shadow Mask from darkening his view, and finally the forest opened up to him in all its brightness. He could distinguish all details around him, from the faces of his companions to the bird nest one hundred meters away. This feels awesome. I cannot waste my time sleeping when I am the most productive. I will go do some patrolling, and then sleep a few hours before morning. Zortex left the camp silently, Jake unaware of his absence. He started walking in the direction they would continue the next day, which was also the direction he was getting his signal from the Vengeance skill. For three hours he moved around, quietly enjoying the scenery and keeping an eye for any dangers. The only things he found were a couple of the centipede monsters which he swiftly killed with some Decay Bolts, rather than Acidic Shots, since he still needed to train the spell better. He collected one body and he let Pravin eat the other. It was quite comical seeing his pet stretch out to envelope the bigger monster and then contract again as if nothing was inside him at that moment. Zortex was also curious to see if somehow one of Pravin¡¯s skills activated.
Skill: Consumption The owner of the skill slowly consume one of its victims to increase the recovery of Health, Stamina and Mana. The quantity of the regeneration depends on the subject consumed and the level of the skill. ¡¤ The movement speed is reduced by 30% while the skill is active.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡¤ 0.1% chance to take the shape and characteristic of the monster consumed.
Someday he would be lucky and see Pravin transform before his eyes. It would also work as a special disguise: for example if his pet consumed a Srenc and transformed he could infiltrate the enemy base without the need of all of this reconnaissance. On his way back Zortex also stumbled into a group of the chicken-like animals that he promptly killed and stored away for future use.
Jake: Shad¡­.I know that you have left the camp and you are still alive, but at least you could have given some sign that you were going out. Now if I hear any noise I have no idea if it is an enemy or if it is just you coming back. Thanks a lot for proving that I suck so much at guarding that I didn¡¯t even notice your absence.
Ops. I have left without making noises, but I forgot to leave something behind to make it look as if I was in the blankets. My mistake. Maybe I am depressing Jake too much. I will leave him a chicken as compensation. Zortex reached the base without making noises and took out one the birds from his storage pouch. He moved to Jake side, who still hadn¡¯t noticed him, and he touched his shoulder to let him know of his presence. ¡°Fuck!¡± Jake jumped out of his seat scared by the unexpected touch. Luckily he hadn¡¯t sworn too loudly, so the girls were still asleep. ¡°Fuck you man. You disappear and then come back like this to give me an heart attack. What do you have in your hand?¡± Jake said. Shad threw the dead chicken monster to his teammate, the head was missing from the kill, but usually it is taken out anyway before cooking. ¡°You went hunting this level 1 monsters? With your level they would give no experience at all, so why the effort to kill them? And how can you go hunting in this darkness?¡± Jake asked a bunch of questions. ¡°Of course you will say nothing even though you can, so I¡¯m just wasting air. See you at dawn¡­.maybe you will feel more chatty in the morning¡± Poor Jake. Just accept the meal and be happy. It doesn¡¯t happen every day that someone brings you food for free. Probably he has never gone as hungry as I went, so he doesn¡¯t know how thankful he should be. Nevertheless I had fun tonight, but it is time to get a few hours of sleep. It would be much better to sleep during the day and to move at night, but my useless teammates are not as cool as I am. I would ditch them if only I was strong enough to hunt by myself, but I am not ready yet...maybe. The next morning Shad woke up by himself as soon as some light came up, even though the horizon was hidden by the endless amount of trees. He realized that he had forgot to put back some bandages over his eyes, so with just a shallow Shadow Mask covering his face he felt too much light and he couldn¡¯t resist without some coverage. He reinforced the shadows on his face while he took out a couple of strips of tissue to cover his eyes. By the time he was done, Jake had realized that dawn had arrived, so he woke up the girls to have breakfast. Instead of cooking the gift from Zortex, they made a stew from the military provision they brought with them. The chicken monster brought by Zortex was left in the open on the spot where Jake had been sitting, which of course made the Slime warrior mad for the waste of food. If nobody is going to take it before we leave I will just take it back and give to Pravin. Ungrateful bastards. Zortex thought. ¡°Jake, I just noticed the message you left in the group chat. What happened last night?¡± Gera asked. ¡°I was keeping guard, but at a certain point I looked back at you people and Shad was not there. I don¡¯t know when he left, but after a few hours he came back and gave me one of those weird chicken animals¡± Jake replied. ¡°Well, he is weird. By now we should not be surprised anymore when he does weird stuff. But if he can go around hunting at night it could be useful to us. We can just let him keep guard every night from now on¡± Rizza interjected. ¡°Is it ok for you to keep guard at night?¡± Gera asked. Shad made sign with his head that it was not fine for him and he made a gesture that meant that he would roam the forest rather than staying still keeping guard. He hoped they would understand. ¡°Leave him. We can just not go to sleep for a few nights. The deeper we get into the forest the more risky it becomes, so maybe it is better to not lay down completely until we find a spot hidden enough to feel safe.¡± Jake said. ¡°It would be really boring, but tonight we can try like this¡± Gera said. ¡°Now we should move. Let¡¯s make full use of the sun and find some Srenc. I have the feeling that we will have a battle soon¡± For the rest of the day Team 17 walked and walked and walked, however there were no encounters apart from some of the low level monsters that lived around. Before night arrived they settled down to have dinner, using a fire while there was still some light and it would not give away their position. After eating they still walked half an hour more to avoid the possibility of some monsters following the scent of the smoke and attacking their previous lair. When the other people stopped, Zortex simply left the camp, this time without being subtle about it, since everyone knew already about his escapes. When they asked him questions he just shrugged. The Unholy Vengeance tells me that my assassin is in that direction, so I will follow that path. How far is it? I have no idea how strong this sensation in my body should be when I am really close, but for sure it is getting stronger. Zortex thought. After two hours of walking, Shad smelled them. Although dampened by the bandages, his sense of smell was still as strong as the one of a dog, or so he suspected. The problem was that the smell was coming from his left, whereas the signal from his skill was pointing to his front. Apparently it was not the same group of Srenc that had killed him the week before. Zortex struggled for a bit deciding how to proceed: from one side he really wanted to get his revenge, but from the other side he didn¡¯t know how far he was from his target and he didn¡¯t want to put another group of Srenc behind his back. After some consideration he turned left, because at the very least he wanted to know what he was dealing with. He moved stealthily for 10 minutes until he reached a small clearing in the forest. In the middle there were four bodies, some snoring coming out of their mouths. They were poorly armored and their levels were all 8, so Zortex suspected that he had stumbled in a noob group of Srenc, considering their standards levels. Knowing their tactics he started circling the clearing as silently as he was able to, looking for a scout on the trees or in the underbrush, however he didn¡¯t see any after a full turn. Weird. There should be someone guarding the others during the night. Should I look again? Nah. I have the advantage of the surprise. I can charge an Acidic Shot so strongly that it will splash over all four of them. That will be a one-shot quadra-kill. Even if there is a scout that I was not able to notice, if it is a one on one battle I can kill it easily, or even if they are two. I have the advantage of the night. In this darkness I am invincible. Well not invincible, but at least I can consider myself buffed. As planned, Zortex charged an Acidic Shot with approximately 60 % of his mana. The making of the spell was basically silent, thus the poor sleeping Srenc didn¡¯t even wake up before being hit by the solution of acidic and corrosive liquid which splashed all over their bodies. The screams sounded for a few seconds, but with such a clean shot three of them had barely any time to make any noise before their faces melted. The fourth one instead was not hit so cleanly, Shad overestimating the amount of acid shot, so it was able to stand up and try to run away. The Srenc¡¯s HP were fast depleting, probably he would have died in a minute more or less, but its bad luck was to actually run in Zortex¡¯s direction. Shad had not been spotted, but just to fasten the kill and stop the screams he shot a Decay Bolt which ended the enemy. Now that it was silent again, Zortex stood still, focusing on his ears to hear any possible noise of a remaining Srenc, however there were no sounds. Happy with his kills he checked his exp and saw that he had not leveled yet, with just a tiny bit remaining to do. Of course Pravin was with him, so even though he had not taken part in the battle he still had sucked half of the experience he had gained. Shad was about to leave when he remembered something very important: he was getting poorer every day, and this quest was not only about making experience, but also about making money, and every horn of a Srenc was worth one silver coin, thus he went back to their corpses and he collected the spoils. Obviously there were no other important items dropped, considering how weak and poorly dressed these Srenc were, so he left to get back to their camp. He was satisfied with for now and he needed some rest for his brain after all the senses he had overused. Not a chapter Hey my beloved readers (the very few I still have). You may have noticed that no chapters have come out for a while. It wasn''t my intention to drop the novel and it still isn''t. The reason I have been inactive is related to my health. After 3 years of struggle I finally got a date for the brain surgery I need: The 4th of December. Obviously there were a lot of loose ends to take care before undertaking this operation, hence my apparent inactivity. After the surgery, if everything goes alright, it will take me a few months to get back to working conditions. Maybe I will be able to write during convalescence, or not...we will see. So, wish me luck and do not deaspair (as if you would ).This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Ciao!