《Forever Online - Wanderer》 Prologue Prologue ¡°Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday dear John Happy Birthday to you!¡± John smiled widely while his family members clapped and laughed around his bed, always careful not to bump the several beeping machines, or disturb other patients out in the sterile white halls. For the last five years he has been living in room 421 on the fourth story of the St Twinckett hospital, And for years before that he was a frequent visitor, as his immune system decided to invite and throw parties with every virus, bacteria, and allergen it could find. Luckily for him, his parents were able to grow a business selling toothpaste that was able to support his illness and allow him to eventually live inside the hospital despite the expense. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Now on his eighteenth birthday, having spent the last years with few friends, aside from those on the internet, only his family celebrated with him. ¡°Alright son, how does it feel to be eighteen?¡± ¡°Like you asked me that same question 18 times now¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh I¡¯m trying to enjoy my cake!¡± snorted his sister through a mouthful of chocolate cake.¡± Chuckling his dad began to unveil the large box brought up beforehand, ¡°That¡¯s true, but now it''s time for presents and now that you''re eighteen, we got you a very special present¡± Once the box was uncovered it was revealed to be a shiny silver blue cabin, vaguely circular with hatch for entry and several screens and consoles on the side, as well a emblem with a 9. As John saw the cabin his eyes went wide and he asked ¡°Is that really a Chrysalis? Those are so expensive! And why did you get me such an advanced one?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it''s not like it''s the 10th generation one anyway, besides it''s your only present this year so let¡¯s get it turned on and you in there!¡± ¡°Thanks guys, this is great¡± After several hugs and minutes of awkwardly getting John into the Chrysalis, the machine was on and already putting him to sleep to begin the startup process. Leaving his parents and siblings to eat some of the cake and clean up. ¡®Verifying identity¡¯ ¡®Initializing sleep mode¡¯ ¡®Success¡¯ ¡®Booting up¡¯ ¡®Beginning tutorial¡¯ ¡°Welcome to Forever Online¡± Chapter 1 Chapter 1 John appeared in a simple white room with several cabinets and a desk on one side and on the other what looked like a spinning laundromat wheel with different characters hanging from it (AN: like what is in lego batman, where lego robin puts on all the different costumes, don¡¯t judge me for the reference). A bright light startled John from his thoughts and he spun around to see a figure masked with light introducing itself, ¡°Welcome to your Home Space John, I am responsible for introducing you to the basic functions of your Chrysalis, and answering questions pertaining to its operation. First off this is your Home Space where you can use the internet, rest, and enter the Game world. Upgrades are purchasable with both in-game and real life currency, do you have any questions?¡± ¡°Nope¡± ¡°Good, we will begin character creation now, what will be your name inside Forever Online¡± ¡°Umm, okay, how about Jon, wait no, Gareth¡± ¡°Very well, Gareth, what race you would like to play?¡± ¡°Human¡± The wheel of characters shrunk dramatically ¡°Very well, would you like to change your character''s appearance?¡± ¡°Yes¡± After selecting options on all aspects of the character, John ended up with a trim male figure over 6'' tall, with short black hair and a beard, dressed in the plain grey started clothes. After confirming his choices, a door opened up replacing the character wheel. While a flaming green banner reading Forever Online unfolded across the top of the door. Flashing lights and bursts of noise, drowned Johns senses, until finally he appeared in a town square as Gareth. Looking around the square, and up at the sky, reveling in the fresh air, which had been denied to him, Gareth let out a loud laugh. Only to find that his outburst had caused almost all the surrounding players to look his way, smiling sheepishly, Gareth quietly walked towards a gate at the edge of the square and called up his status page. Character Status Health: 20 Stamina: 50 Name: Gareth Level: 0(0/50) Class: N/A Race: Human Constitution: 10 Strength: 10Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Agility: 10 Perception: 10 Intelligence: 10 Defense: 10 Inventory(2/20 Slots) 1 Rusty Iron Sword 10 Bread Aside with a button to logout, everything else was either blank or greyed out, aside from a small settings button, no information on any attributes was given, and with nothing else to do, Gareth equipped his sword, and began to wander around the square. A veteran of many online games, he was quite familiar with the usual process of progression in RPGs, despite never having played a virtual reality game before. Gareth slowly made his way towards an man standing beside the gate leading outside of the village, the man was standing in front of a stall covered with scrolls, and large stacks of writing utensils and papers. The man turned towards Gareth and his eyes lit up as a sly look passed over his face. ¡°Hello there young adventurer, I see your off to slay some monsters, before you go may I suggest purchasing a map?You never know when you might get lost, and I am offering you a limited time deal, bring me 10 rabbit pelts, and a rabbit foot, and you will receive a quality map of the surrounding area, How about it?¡± *quest offered - collect 10 rabbits pelts(adequate) and one rabbit¡¯s foot(fine) - reward 1 map piece and 10 xp* ¡°Sure, where are the rabbits?¡± The man shook his head and laughed before pointing out the gate and towards a path leading away from the town, with several dusty players coming and going. Gareth¡¯s cheeks flushed red as he mumbled a thank you and began walking. Once he was gone several nearby players began laughing uncontrollably, the man walked away from the stall and began joking with the players, - ¡°Did you see that scrub, he totally thought I was an NPC¡± ¡°I know, has he been living under a rock or something, there is an introduction to the game online, jeez¡± ¡°Wait till he realizes that path leads to a level 15 area¡± ¡°Alright let¡¯s go, my stamina is back to full, we need to get to level 10 soon so we can attend that event¡± - Shaking off his embarrassment, Gareth began to wonder at his surroundings as he walked along the path, giant evergreens cut back several meters, towered over the path, and a cheery breeze whipped through the branches accompanied by birdsong. The travelers he passed seemed relieved to have the town in sight, though to Gareth, this environment was much more soothing than the stuffy medieval like town. Soon he began to think about how he should develop his character, and decided that since he usually played as a frontline DPS, and he already had a sword he would try and become a swordsman. From rumors he had heard while playing others games, it was possible to gain skills just by trying new things, so to pursue his plan he began to swing his sword about, fruitlessly, for 20 minutes. Finally with a scream of frustration he threw his sword at a nearby tree, *1 damage dealt to innocent tree *-1 durability *Skill gained Toss - able to throw objects ¡°YES, wait¡­ that¡¯s it? Godammit!!¡± Even more angry now Gareth picked up his sword and began bashing the tree, only stopping once he heard a ding. *1 damage dealt to innocent tree *1 damage dealt to innocent tree *1 damage dealt to innocent tree *1 damage dealt to innocent tree *-2 durability *Skill gained - Beginner Sword Holding- Somewhat able to hold a sword. *Title gained -Twig Bender - Bullying Trees is bad, especially when you are a bad bully. Spent after his attack on the tree, Gareth pulled up his status, and disabled the Twig Breaker title, before continuing on the path. Character Status Health: 20 Stamina: 45/50 Name: Gareth Level: 0(0/50) Class: N/A Race: Human Titles: Twig breaker(Inactive) Constitution: 10 Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Perception: 10 Intelligence: 10 Defense: 10 Inventory 1 Rusty Iron Sword(Attack 5, Durability 10/15) 10 Bread(restores 10 stamina over 10 min, worth 10 copper) Skills Beginner Sword Holding - Somewhat able to hold a sword Toss - able to throw objects Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Gareth walked down the narrow dirt pathway in the forest, swinging his sword around and slowly becoming accustomed to its weight. Occasionally he would receive a skill point for Beginner Sword Holding. After 30 minutes of walking he saw that there was a large clearing in the forest ahead, with several wooden structures. As he approached he began to hear roars, growls, and the clash of weapons. Gareth slowed down as he got closer until he peeked past the structures, which looked to be poorly made houses, and saw around a dozen players fighting together against a large green Goblin wearing chainmail, riding a boar, and wielding an axe to great effect, throwing the two knights fighting it back, with every swing. The others were busy picking off smaller goblins who were armed with short swords, with flaming arrows, and exploding fireballs. A swordsman was dueling another large Goblin, next to it''s dead mount. The battle progressed quickly as the goblins began to die, and the ranged players moved their damage to the Goblin on the boar, relieving the pressure on the knights. Once the Goblins mount died, it quickly fell, followed by the other, which had been distracted by the swordsman. The players began to collect loot and discuss their plans, which Gareth was barely close enough to hear. ¡°A few more Goblin Camps and we should be able to try a Goblin Settlement, I don¡¯t suppose anyone leveled up?¡± ¡°Nope, did get a lot of skill proficiency though, and I am only a couple monsters from level 14¡± ¡°Yeah me too¡± The rest of the team nodded in agreement. ¡°Alright, this camp will probably take a couple hours to respawn so let¡¯s go back to town, sell our loot, and come back¡± With that the players packed away their loot and began to run past where Gareth hid himself. After they had left, Gareth came out from the building and began to search around the area, several minutes later he had found nothing. He decided to go back, now knowing that he had been tricked by that man into coming to a high level area, and that he had just wasted an hour walking to and from here. Gareth turned and began to walk back towards town, suddenly he heard a crack behind him. Spinning around he saw, a goblin charging him with a sword, it''s leg was broken, slowing it, allowing him time to draw his sword. He desperately blocked the goblins strike, metal screeched, the goblins strength knocked him back several steps, stumbling he was barely able to regain his balance to deflect the next strike. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. *Skill gained - Block - you are able to move one object in front of another ¡°Great, just incredibly helpful¡± The goblin kept striking at him, he was barely able to block each attack, his hands going numb, luckily the goblin was tiring faster than he was, each attack was getting weaker and weaker, until he was finally able to knock the goblins blade aside and thrust his sword at the goblins chest. The goblin wrenched itself to the side escaping with only a deep cut across it''s chest, and having dropped it''s sword, growled and jumped at Gareth, with wicked looking claws. Now that his brained wasn¡¯t as fried from adrenaline, Gareth brought up his sword and thrust it at the goblin in midair, skewering it, the goblin still lived and tried to keep slashing at Gareth, but as blood continued to pour out of it''s wounds, the light in its eyes finally faded. *+90xp *Level up - 5 free attributes gained *New Quest - Basic Knowledge - Discover basic knowledge of this world: Go to the town Library. *Rewards: 10xp, attribute information *Loot - Goblin Sword, 50 coppers The body of the goblin disappeared into motes of light drifting away, leaving behind a pile of coins, and the goblin sword. ¡°Status¡± Character Status Health: 4/20 Stamina: 20/50 Name: Gareth Level: 1(40/100) Class: N/A Race: Human Titles: Twig breaker(inactive) FA: 5(?) Constitution: 10 Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Perception: 10 Intelligence: 10 Defense: 10 Inventory 1 Rusty Iron Sword 10 Bread Goblin Short Sword 50 Copper Skills Beginner Sword Holding - Somewhat able to hold a sword Toss - able to throw objects Block - you are able to move one object in front of another ¡°Alright, that was terrifying, I can¡¯t believe I took so much damage and didn¡¯t even realize it, maybe I can set it like a HUD so I can see it¡± So for the first time Gareth went through the settings on his status page and found an option to display his health and stamina bars at the top of his vision. Noticing a new section of his status he clicked on the question mark, *Free Attribute points are used to upgrade your basic attributes, distribution is locked until Quest basic Knowledge is completed. ¡°Okay, so I was like 100% supposed to do this way earlier huh¡± He began snacking on some bread to restore his stamina while walking back. Chapter 3 Chapter 3 After some time Gareth arrived back in the village, his health and stamina full at this point, due to the sacrifice of three bread. Walking into the square he saw that directly behind where he had spawned was a small building with a sign reading ¡®Library¡¯ and that a street ran through the square connecting this gate to one on the other side of town, where the small figures of players were swinging swords at tiny rabbits. ¡°Oh come on! I cannot believe how stupid I am sometimes, I might just die from wet tofu at this rate¡± Finished being mad at himself, Gareth began walking to the library. Upon entering the dry smell of paper and leather bindings inundated his senses, and his eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light. Looking around the building revealed several dusty shelves with a few lonely piles of books on the shelves, only one book on the nearest shelf was free of dust and cobwebs. ¡®Basic Guidebook¡¯ Gareth reached and picked up the book, it dissolved into light and reappeared on the shelf. *Quest - Basic Knowledge complete Gareth quickly opened his status, the attribute points were unlocked and there was a new item in his inventory. Introduction to (world name) Opening the book Gareth began to read ¡®A hundred years have passed since the war with the Abyss, and the Kingdom of Mort has recovered and started to expand its borders into the wilderness, Frontier Towns like Greenbrook, push back the wilderness and the abyssal corruption within, to allow the kingdom to grow.¡¯ *New Quest - Remove 5 Animal Burrows from the area surrounding the town *Rewards: 200xp +10 Greenbrook reputation Aside from the intro book which also disappeared, there were several changes to his status, there were damage and durability values for his equipment, and values for skill points. As well as short descriptions of the basic attribute, explaining that Constitution affects health and stamina, Strength affects attack damage and carry capacity, Agility affects speed and dexterity, Perception affects sight, Intelligence affects mana, Defense affects magical and physical defense. With this new knowledge Gareth decided to distribute his attribute points to increase his fighting ability, increasing strength, and defense. Character Status Health: 20/20 Stamina: 50/50 Name: Gareth Level: 1(40/100) Class: N/A Race: Human Titles: Twig breaker(inactive) FA: 0 Constitution: 10 Strength: 13 Agility: 10 Perception: 10If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Intelligence: 10 Defense: 12 Inventory 1 Rusty Iron Sword(5 damage, 2/15 durability) 10 Bread Goblin Short Sword(10 damage, 6/20 durability) 50 Copper Skills Beginner Sword Holding - Somewhat able to hold a sword(28/1000) Toss - able to throw objects(2/1000) Block - you are able to move one object in front of another(24/1000) Finished with his status, Gareth was about to leave the library when he sneezed due to the dust, and caught sight of a book behind one of the shelves. Curious, he walked over and picked it up ¡®Basic Cartography¡¯ ¡°Huh¡± *New Quest - Map the surrounding area(Good quality) - In order to properly develop Greenbrook Town, a map of the surrounding area is necessary. Receive the skill basic cartography, if quest is failed, skill will be removed. Rewards: 500xp, 25 Greenbrook reputation, +100 Basic Cartography skill points ----------------- Smiling Gareth left the building with a new skill, and two new quests. Deciding to find some way to repair his weapons, Gareth went in search of a blacksmith. Wandering around the town, he eventually heard the noise of banging towards the back side of the town. Approaching the building, a shop entrance was in front, and a smithy behind the building. Entering the building, Gareth was greeted by a young man sharpening a sword, and several other players milling around the shop. ¡°Hey, can you repair these weapons for me?¡± ¡°Hmm, yes, it will be 38 coppers, come back in 30 minutes¡± ¡°Alright, thanks¡± Handing over the two swords and a pile of coins, gareth turned and left the building. Inspecting his new skill ¡®Basic Cartography¡¯ he realized that it required several materials, including parchment and a writing utensil. Remembering where he had seen those items brought a frown to his face, and he turned and walked briskly towards the square. Arriving in front of the stall still covered in papers, Gareth called out for the owner of the stall. ¡°Hey, what are you doing here? Don¡¯t even think of stealing my goods!¡± Sounded a shrill voice from underneath the tablecloth covered table, before a small old creature crawled out from underneath. ¡°What! haven¡¯t you seen a gnome before? And now why have you interrupted my beauty sleep?¡± ¡°I need materials for my Basic Cartography skill¡± The gnome made a small noise and began to search through the objects on the table before diving back underneath. ¡°Do you have what I need? It says I only need some parchment and a quill, and I only have 12 coppers, is that enough?¡± ¡°No, of course it isn¡¯t enough, luckily for you, I will sell to you on credit, here, the total comes to 2 silver (200 copper), you can sell every unique map you make to me, and depending on the quality I will buy them, each map is worth between 30-100 copper, and these materials will make about 15 maps¡± Saying this as the gnome put down several large pieces of parchment, with a primitive clipboard, and several pots of ink, and a quill. Gareth inspected the materials, knowing their purpose, and decided the quest rewards were worth it. ¡°Very well, I owe you 2 silver¡± *A contract has been made between you and the Mayor of Greenbrook - breaking this contract will result in expulsion from Greenbrook town and -10 Kingdom reputation. Smiling the gnome shooed away the dumbstruck Gareth, slowly stuffing the materials into his inventory, Gareth began walking down the main street. *Conditions for Basic Cartography met, would you like to activate Basic Cartography (Y/N)? Hesitant, Gareth selected yes, a tendril of bluem ana rose from his arm and connected to the paper, ink and board in his inventory, pulling them out and crudely applying the ink to the paper. The objects hovered over his right hand, following it as he moved his hand, several minutes later as he continued walking down the street, a part of the paper had been filled in showing the street and names of the various businesses, as it was about to start on the gate, the force supporting them cut out dropping everything onto the ground. Startled Gareth was pulled from watching the ink dance about the paper, and hurriedly put everything away once more. A dull headache prompted him to check his status noticing a new bar for mana, that was almost completely empty. Character Status Health: 20/20 Stamina: 50/50 Mana: 1/20 Name: Gareth Level: 1(40/100) Class: N/A Race: Human Titles: Twig breaker(inactive) FA: 0 Constitution: 10 Strength: 13 Agility: 10 Perception: 10 Intelligence: 10 Defense: 12 Inventory 1 Rusty Iron Sword 10 Bread Goblin Short Sword 12 Copper Skills Beginner Sword Holding - Somewhat able to hold a sword(28/1000) Toss - able to throw objects(2/1000) Block - you are able to move one object in front of another(24/1000) Basic Cartography - you can make rough sketches of locations with parchment and ink(8/1000) Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Inspecting the portion of the map that had been drawn before he had run out of mana, brought up a screen showing it''s information. Map - Center of Greenbrook(Incomplete, Poor Quality) Grade may be raised with further completion. Putting away the paper, Gareth arrived at the gate out of the town, more accustomed to the atmosphere of the town now, he noticed a small guard shack beside the gate, and a sign outside, with a warning written on it. ¡®Danger- small wildlife, '' ¡°Why would they write the smiley face sideways, there is plenty of room on the sign¡± Letting out a sigh, Gareth drew the sw- ¡­ Gareth turned around and walked back to the smithy. As he walked in, the man behind the counter waved him over, and brought out Gareth¡¯s swords from beneath the table, he handed them over. ¡°We will buy the Iron sword for 10 copper and the Goblins Short Sword for 30, you interested?¡± ¡°Umm, yeah, I will sell the Iron Sword then¡± The man took back the Iron Sword and put 10 copper on the counter before turning to another customer. Equipping the Goblin Short Sword, Gareth turned and left, beginning to jog back to the gate. Passing through the gate, revealed several hundred feet of cut back forest, extending around the city, To the left, barely visible, was a large road heading off into the distance. Ignoring that for now, Gareth charged out towards a rabbit, preparing to swing his sword. The rabbit noticing his approach jumped to the side, dodging his clumsy stab, then jumping to bite his face, he leaned back barely dodging the attack. Backing away Gareth put his sword up in a guard position, waiting for the rabbit to jump back at him. As soon as it did he swung his sword like a baseball bat, connecting with a thud, transforming the rabbit into a cloud of pixels. *lvl 1 rabbit killed - 7 xp gained Grinning, Gareth went after more rabbits, perfecting his strategy of whacking the rabbits when they were in midair, slowly moving away from the town wall. Avoiding the other players wasn¡¯t to difficult as many had already moved on to other areas by this point. Eventually a new message appeared when a larger rabbit was killed. *lvl 2 rabbit killed - 12 xp gained *Level up - 5 free attributes gained Pausing in his hunt of rabbits, Gareth checked his status and added his attribute points to strength and agility. Character Status Health: 20/20This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Stamina: 29/50 Mana: 17/20 Name: Gareth Level: 2(4/150) Class: N/A Race: Human Titles: Twig breaker(inactive) FA: 0 Constitution: 10 Strength: 15 Agility: 13 Perception: 10 Intelligence: 10 Defense: 12 Inventory 1 Rusty Iron Sword 10 Bread Goblin Short Sword 12 Copper Skills Beginner Sword Holding - Somewhat able to hold a sword(41/1000) Toss - able to throw objects(2/1000) Block - you are able to move one object in front of another(29/1000) Basic Cartography - you can make rough sketches of locations with parchment and ink(7/1000) Now knowing there were higher level mobs, Gareth began purposefully moving towards the forest¡¯s edge as he slew rabbits. Once just outside the proper dense and dark forest, the rabbits began to take less damage, and only more direct attacks landing solidly were able to one shot them. After reaching this area and killing several rabbits, Gareth became aware of his movements dramatically slowing down and finally saw the almost empty stamina bar in the top right of his vision. Deciding to rest for a moment, he took out a piece of bread and began to snack on it, enjoying the sight of the peaceful meadow, with curls of smoke coming from chimneys in the town, and gentle breezes drawing the clouds above along. *Sneak Attack bonus - 6 damage received from Rabbit A piercing pain, and blood beginning to trickle down his back, revealed that the slightly bloody bunny, currently embedded in his arm wanted revenge for his former furry companions. Slightly recovered from his low stamina, Gareth fought through the sharp pain and stabbed the rabbit, staring into its beady red eyes. *Harvestable material detected(no harvesting skill detected) Would you like to manually retrieve resources (Y/N)? Having wondered why there were no drops, despite that player in front of the stall suggesting there would be, Gareth decided to try to harvest something. Possibly due to the condition of the rabbit corpse being superior to the other thankfully pixelated rabbits, which would have amounted to the result of hitting a melon with a baseball bat, loot became possible. Instead of having to gruesomely hack the rabbit to pieces with his sword, a small mini game like interface appeared, where he had to try and trace his sword along lines placed on a 3d green line model of the rabbit, complete with stab wound. A completion bar at the top of the screen showed his progress, only moving forward when the action was done correctly, on the line with the right amount of pressure. Unfortunately for Gareth, that meant he did terribly, barely filling an eighth of the bar, resulting in a poor quality, raggedly piece of leather, about the size of his face. *Skill gained Garner - you are able to garner something from an animal, not harvest, not gather, garner Deciding not to worry about the insulting skill descriptions, and also to get a hunting type knife later, Gareth began to walk back to town. Caught up in battle earlier, he was unaware that so much time had passed as the sun was noticeably lower, and that despite the forest being the same distance from the wall he had traveled quite far from the gate he had exited from. Activating the Basic Cartography skill, Gareth enjoyed the walk back into town, with his magic drawing a very crude map of a wall, empty space, and a forest¡¯s edge. Attempting to control the magic tendril was difficult beyond moving it by having it follow his hand, but by the time he had reached the wall, and lost most his mana, he was able to slightly control the ink to draw with slightly more difficulty. Entering the town, Gareth began to walk towards the smithy hoping to find a small knife, and somewhere to log off safely. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 After reaching the smithy and purchasing a small iron knife for 8 coppers, Gareth found his way back to the main street, where he had seen an inn called the Wild Wabbit. Entering he saw a half dozen tables full of players, being served food and drink, while a lone musician played in a corner. Walking between the tables and rowdy players Gareth greeted the bartender behind an oak bar ¡°Hey, Is there a room available?¡± ¡°Yeah, 10 copper a night¡± ¡°Alright¡± Frowning. Gareth slid 10 copper over the counter, receiving a dull bronze key. ¡°Up the stairs third door on the left¡± ¡°Thanks¡± Turning to the stairs, Gareth almost ran into a barmaid carrying several pitchers of some blue fizzing drink, walking up the well worn stairs into the corridor dimly lit by torches of blue flame. Turning left he quickly found his room and opened it with the key. *Resting area - Normal logoff available - +100% stamina and health regeneration Logout successful -------- Light slowly appeared, several clunks, and whirring noises, helped wake John from the game, his sight was blurry,and it took several seconds for the remaining machinery and pool of liquid to be taken back into the Chrysalis. Stepping out, he stumbled and caught the edge of a nearby chair, preventing himself from falling. The Chrysalis, was an oval shaped chrome egg, slightly larger than a bathtub, slowly closing the opening that John had exited from. Checking the clock fastened above the door, John realized it had been only four hours or so since he had entered the game. Still dressed in his robe, John walked to the bathroom to take care of business. Once he was out, he ordered dinner from the computer by his bed, feeling surprisingly well rested, realizing that the Chrysalis did boast of being able to replace sleep, though some real sleep was needed. Receiving his dinner from an advanced dumbwaiter system John took out his computer while eating, hoping to find some information on the game. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. A web search for Forever Online brought up a website to order a Chrysalis and the game, as well as an official forum. Opening the forum revealed several hundred threads, the top recommended one was titled ¡®A basic introduction to Forever Online¡¯, clicking on it, several large paragraphs of text were revealed. ¡®A Basic Introduction to Forever Online First off, the beginner quest is triggered when you turn around and walk to the library/ talk to an npc/ or somehow level up. This quest should be completed as quickly as possible to move on to leveling up and getting a class. Now, all new players are put into new ¡®Frontier towns¡¯ on the outskirts on kingdoms, generally low level areas, from there players either move further out into the wilderness or closer to the center of the kingdom. In ¡®Frontier towns¡¯ there are 3 basic classes available for level 5 players, archers, magicians, warriors, which of course lead to more advanced class later on. Having finished dinner by this point, John took a break and thought about how he had managed to mess up. Then what he was going to do from now on, first find some more information, take a nap, and get back into the game. Checking back to the forum, John found some guides for leveling up and for various class upgrades, but deciding to just enjoy and play the game how he wanted he ignored those and clicked on a thread titled ¡®LeaderBoard¡¯ 1st - Darkwing - lvl 138 2nd - Newmoon - 137 3rd - Swampgass - 137 With hundreds of other contestants, no prize was offered for the highest level player, but with the near monopoly Forever Corp had on the virtual reality gaming sector, and the increasing value of ingame currency, large guilds and strong players were money making machines large corporations wanted at least a small part in. While scrolling through other threads, the screen suddenly refreshed and a new thread decorated with gold and purple appeared at the top, it was from Forever Corp and explained that a new expansion was scheduled to come out in the year 3000 to celebrate the new millenia, only 6 months away, and that the top hundred players, not only those who chose to leave their names on the leaderboard, would receive massive prizes in game and in real life. The top players would be measured on several factors, such as level and skill proficiency, with others hidden. Finding several videos from famous internet personalities who had entered the game several days before, having found out from sponsors or through other channels. John watched as they were able to quickly level up and receive skills and items, within the same time frame as he had but much quicker. Seeing the competition for the top one hundred, and those celebrities who had advanced faster than him, rankled his gamer pride. A small desire to compete for the top one hundred ignited in his chest, unaware of this John called his parents explaining he would be unavailable for the next week, playing the game, and as work it seemed had gotten much more busy, they were amenable to this. Quickly putting away the mess he made, as well as his computer, John walked over to the Chrysalis, and selecting options on the screen tried something he had read about online, a week long immersion mode, that would allow him to stay in the game for a full week. Several warning labels appeared informing him that while safe if used long term, there were definite side effects. Selecting agree on all terms and conditions blankly, John ordered more of the proprietary nutrient gel that was required for the operation of the immersion mode. Stepping into the Chrysalis, John felt heat surround him and pull away his consciousness. -------- Awakening as Gareth, once again inside the plain room at the inn. Gareth smiled confident he would catch up to those on the leaderboard quickly, after all it was only a hundred or so levels. So whistling terribly Gareth set off to find some basic beginner quests, shown in the several videos he watched. Chapter 6 - Baby Cliff Chapter 6 With a newfound passion for the game, Gareth set off to find a tailor shop. Asking for directions from the same bartender downstairs, seemed like a good first step. Upon being informed that the tailors was only three shops left of the inn, walking over, Gareth could already see the impact the announcement of the competition had, many times more players crowded the streets, most of them beginners. This was despite how realistic and advanced the game was, the price of the Chrysalis prevented many people from wanting to play the game, especially since the game was not advertised well and was missing several of the usual features of MMORPG games, such as guilds, or the trade of currency. As for well known internet personalities, their usual activities would make them more money then reporting on a game that didn¡¯t allow video streaming, as such at most they might have entered the game once. Ignoring the masses of players hurrying towards the rabbit fields, Gareth pushed his way past several clumps of players and entered the Tailor shop. Several other players were browsing the goods, or waiting in line by the shopkeeper, Gareth joined this line. Several minutes later he was issued a quest from the shopkeeper. *New Quest(Collection) - Collect 10 Rabbit furs of Basic Quality or greater Reward - 50 copper, 25 xp Hurrying toward the fields, Gareth ran past several dozen players towards the edge of the forest. Beginning to hunt level 3 rabbits, always trying to do the smallest amount of damage to the fur as possible, a drawback of hunting rabbits with a sword. Adopting his previous approach of batting the rabbits, with the change that instead of cutting them he tries to stab them in midair. This method takes more practice but with the help of his newly improved agility Gareth soon masters it, a fact shown in one level up and in skill points gained. Gaining over 40 skill points in Garner, mostly due to the small knife making it much easier to cut along the line, and quite a few in Beginner Sword Holding. Gareth decided to place a point in strength, constitution, defense, and two into agility. More than that he also gained 8 poor quality pelts and only 2 basic quality, and so continued hunting rabbits, after a short break to restore his stamina. With a 2 new levels under his belt, and the quest completed, Gareth returned to town, first repairing his sword for 10 coppers, then turning in the quest and receiving the rewards, of money and experience. With an inventory full of poor rabbit fur, he sold them to the tailor for 36 copper, at one copper a piece. More than halfway to level 4, Gareth accepted the quest again as well as buying a pair of leather pants for 60 coppers that increased agility by one, replacing the common grey pants he was wearing with a shade of dark green, and bringing his wealth down to 6 coppers. Before spending the rest of it on bread after realizing he was down to his last piece. Confident after gaining two levels, Gareth ventured into the forest for the first time, with Basic Cartography activated. Manipulating it to float behind his head, he advanced slowly in between the trees and bushes. Senses on high alert, Gareth was unable to completely dodge the charging rabbit, instinctively blocking with his arm, receiving a long cut.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. *3 Damage received Watching the rabbit as it prepared to turn and attack Gareth brought up his sword to attack. The rabbit hopped closer, also preparing not jumping in rashly like the others, obviously a higher level. Finally it leaped as Gareth¡¯s eyes blinked, Nearly biting through his throat, before a wild defensive swing struck the rabbit *22 damage dealt They went back to watching eachother, feet and paws crunching against the leafs that covered the ground. The rabbit was hopping noticeably slower, Gareth slowly approached, before leaping forward and stabbing his sword through the rabbit. However the space was empty, the rabbit having dodged to the side, and was now pouncing on the undefended back of Gareth¡¯s neck. *5 damage received Gareth had now lost nearly a third of his health. Deciding to to wait anymore, and pissed off that a rabbit had managed to bring him to this state, he charged at the rabbit, anticipating it would dodge, and then when it did he stabbed it midair, bringing its health down to zero, ending the fight. *23 xp gained The damage to he fur was greater than to the other rabbits he was able to skin successfully, but the higher level of the rabbit gave it''s fur higher quality, and so Gareth was able to make an basic quality pelt out of the rabbit. Having exited the forest to skin the rabbit and wait for his health restore, Gareth discovered that the map of where he had been extended only ten meters or so into the forest. Aware of the dangers of the forest now Gareth resolved to be more careful, after all, a death here would slow down his progress more than taking risks. Once he was well rested, Gareth continued hunting in the forest, taking a break after running into a rabbit, slowly getting better at hunting them, and advancing further into the forest with each attempt. Eventually leveling up and getting 7 more basic quality pelts. Placing points into agility and perception, Gareth quickly killed several level 3 rabbits, and hurried to complete the quest. Receiving 60 copper and another 25 xp, pending his money on more bread and a new shirt that raised his defense by one. Gareth returned to the forest, confident in exploring further. He already had a small amount of the forest in front of the gate mapped out, so he continued further into the forest from that point, updating his map as soon as his mana regenerated. After several battles with rabbits, Gareth noticed that they all seemed to come from one direction, previously he had entered the forest from different places, and had been to tense to notice. Following the trail of the rabbits for several minutes, with the rate of encountering rabbits increasing, Gareth saw a small clearing ahead. *New Skill - Following - You can follow things *New Skill - Quiet - You are not as loud Pushing away the screens, Gareth focused on the clearing ahead, seeing several smaller rabbits frolicking around, while larger ones watched, and occasionally left the clearing, to either enter the forest, or a small hole beneath a tree. Checking his map, Gareth saw that his magic had written Small Animal burrow above the area. Confident in his new abilities, and anxious to test them out against multiple opponents, Gareth turned off Basic Cartography, restored his stamina, and threw a rock to lure some of the aggressive rabbits to him. The rock hit one of the larger rabbits, startling it, it squeaked loudly, and hopped madly towards the trees Gareth hid behind, bringing another of his buddies along. Activating the silent skill, gareth held his breath then swung his sword straight into the leading rabbits skull, killing it immediately. The second rabbit attacked without hesitation,chewing on Gareth¡¯s outstretched arm, causing him to drop his sword. Hesitating slightly Gareth drew his knife, from his inventory and stabbed the rabbit repeatedly. *8 damage received Gasping for breath after the battle, though short, it was more stressful than others, Gareth began to pick up the bodies to skin, when he noticed that they had dropped loot like normal mobs. Inspecting the two drops, one was A Lucky Rabbit¡¯s Foot the other was a Good quality piece of rabbit fur, usually only acquired with a leveled up Garner skill. Seeing that the rabbit¡¯s foot was a ingredient, Gareth continued to rest and restore his stamina. Checking the clearing every so often, revealed that the number of rabbits hadn¡¯t decreased despite the two he killed, concluding that he would have to kill all of them in short order, Gareth returned to farming the rabbits to complete the collection quest and improve his level so he could exterminate the burrow. Pain Chapter 7 Several trips back to town for the quest, and many battles with rabbits, brought Gareth close to leveling up, and grew his proficiency enough he was confident in facing the rabbit burrow. On his last trip he sold all the extra pelts he had, and repaired his weapon, and bought a pair of gloves that raised his agility by one. Returning to the burrow, Gareth saw that those beginner players were beginning to catch up, and enter the outskirts of the forest. Hurrying through the trees, Gareth arrived outside the clearing of rabbits. Following his old strategy, Gareth lured two rabbits out, and dealt with them quickly, before luring two more. Very quickly he could tell this was not going to work, the rabbits were respawning at a slower rate than he was killing them, but his stamina was also falling fast. Soon there were only 9 rabbits left of the twenty, but Gareth¡¯s stamina was down to only a quarter, enough to fight for a few more minutes. Unwilling to give up, but knowing he couldn¡¯t take on the burrow in his current state, Gareth decided to finish these last rabbits and leave for now. He dealt the last blow to the level 4 rabbit and picked up the loot, as he turned to leave he saw the entrance to the burrow tremble a little, and crack. The dirt around the hole was disturbed and shunted aside, by the largest rabbit, Gareth had seen yet. Gazing around it squeaked in anger at the loss of its kind. The smaller rabbits gathered around and nuzzled it''s furriness, as if explaining what was happening. Then all the rabbits eyes turned red and they tumbled in a horde of rabbit away from the burrow toward where Gareth was watching. Immediately dropping his bread, Gareth turned and ran, not knowing why the rabbits were doing this, just knowing he did not want to be near them. Sprinting past trees and occasionally getting whipped in the face by a branch, Gareth was barely able to stay ahead of the rabbits. Disoriented by the sudden attack, Gareth had begun running away from the town, as during his battles with the rabbits, he had been slowly circling the clearing. Aware of this after several minutes of running hadn¡¯t left him back outside the walls, Gareth began to panic and veered left, hoping to circle back around to safety. Unfortunately a particularly thick(thicc) group of trees and bushes forced him away from that path. The rabbits were quickly closing in though, and with less than full stamina the chase was quickly wearing Gareth out, even more so given the steepness of the hill he was on. Catching sight of a clearing cut through by shimmering water, slightly downhill, Gareth mustered his energy and put on a burst of speed. The rabbits nipping at his heels fell back a few feet as this happened but quickly caught back up. Their small nimble bodies easily able to dodge branches and maneuver over rocky ground. Gareth burst into the clearing, chest heaving for breath, glancing behind him, Gareth saw a slightly larger horde of rabbits come tumbling out towards him. Sprinting to get to the others side of the water, which was now clearly a large stream, hoping to get to safety, Gareth didn¡¯t notice a root protruding from the ground. Which, quite literally, was his downfall.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Almost instantly a Rabbit clamped down on his shin, breaking skin and sending ice cold lancets of pain up his leg, soon joined by others. Gareth desperately crawled toward the water, hoping for salvation and escape from the pain, his health bar flashed and quickly decreased. Several seconds passed, Gareth¡¯s blood ran into the wet grass staining it red. More Rabbits slowly piled on him, biting his legs and then moving up his body, until he was covered in squirming rabbits. -------------------- *You have died. No Item penalty under level ten -100 XP. Respawning at last save point. Gasping Gareth raised his head from a hard wooden surface to find himself in the bar of the Wild Wabbit, pale and shivering, Gareth glanced around. A waiter upon seeing his state, brought over a glass of a dark brown beverage. ¡°First death adventurer? We¡¯ve been getting a lot like you lately, here, it seems to help, don¡¯t worry this one is on me¡± Trembling, and still sweating, Gareth slowly nodded his thanks as the waiter moved away, and slowly brought the glass to his lips. A frothy chocolate immersed his tongue in the wonderful taste of chocolate milk. Eyes widening, Gareth drained the drink, slowly calming down and reorienting himself. Putting down the glass, and leaving his remaining few coppers, Gareth left the inn. Despite his loss against the rabbits - Gareth trembled as he remembered his death - He had hope, as before he had died, he¡¯d seen something that might help him. So with new resolve Gareth once again headed into the forest, this time moving slowly and trying to map out a route to the clearing he had fled to. Wind whistled through the treetops, several birds and squirrels passed by, insects crawled along the ground. And one adventurer crept through the forest with one hand on his sword and the other guiding a glowing sheet of paper. Slowly advancing with tightened nerves, aware of his surroundings, the adventurer continued on his journey intent to complete his goal, and reach his destination. Gareth began to recognize his surroundings, and felt that he was approaching the clearing, luckily he had encountered few enemies on his way here, and was near full stamina. Peering through the last remaining leafy branches between him and the clearing, Gareth searched for what had brought him here, or rather who. Across the stream sat a hunched over figure, with grey speckled hair, and a fishing pole, apparently taking a nap leaned up on a tree. Taking a closer look around the clearing now that he was able, Gareth¡¯s eyes were drawn to a churned area of grass and dirt, with small splotches of red. It was where he had died, shaken, Gareth continued his observation. Noticing a small wood cottage the was blending into the forest behind the fisherman, and several racks, presumably for hanging game. Content that there was no danger, Gareth slowly entered the clearig and deactivated the Map, happy with the progress of that skill. Glancing over at the man, seeing that he had not moved yet, Gareth sat down to recover the little bit of his stamina and mana, as well as check his status. Announcement - Now with a link! Hey everyone! So I am going to be putting this fiction on hiatus for a while so that I can participate in the RoyalRoad NaNoWriMo challenge. Once the fiction is all set up I will link it here. Here it ishttps://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21354/an-ent-like-existenceIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. However, My Loyal Followers, I have been given some amazing advice by authors much greater than I. So once I return to this story, and I will return, it will be reborn Greater and more Readable than ever. So if you must put me on the dreaded Read Later shelf in order to remember that this fiction exists, please do so, and come back to enjoy the adventures of The Wanderer. Alright, Thanks everyone, and Goodbye for now.