《Kalethia》 Chapter 1 - Character Creation Chapter 1 The new fantasy VRMMO role playing game, Kalethia, just came out this morning. I woke up extra early to snag a copy right when the store opened. After returning home, I began reading the game manual after the game started downloading. A quick glance at the table of contents showed multiple classes varying from standard combat classes, fighter, rogue, mage, etc. to less combat oriented, leatherworker, blacksmith, tailor, etc. It also showed a short section on hidden classes, these needed certain achievements or certain combinations of classes to unlock. Once I started reading the actual manual, I realized why there were so many classes, you could pick a primary and a secondary class, each with their own subclass. You could keep learning new classes as well, just having to start them from level 1 and spend gold to gain more than the two starting classes. After reading through the classes, I decided to start with rogue as my primary class and mage for my secondary. The Rogue class would give me a Sneak ability to decrease my chance of being detected and an ability called Ambush to cause extra damage to an enemy that doesn¡¯t know where I am. The Mage class started with a choice of 2 spells and the Absorb Mana ability so that I could recharge my mana. I was hoping that I could unlock a spellcasting-rogue type hybrid that could teleport around striking from the shadows. As I was getting to the different species in the game, the game had finished downloading. Well, I guess it¡¯ll make choosing a species easier if I can see how it¡¯ll look in the game. So, I turned on the VR helmet, strapped myself in and launched the game. The first thing I see is pure whiteness, that¡¯s suddenly speckled with orange streaks. Then before I can tell what it is, I¡¯m flying up over the clouds gazing at an orange sunset. I stay there fixated on the beautiful sunset when I hear a voice come from just out of eyesight, ¡°Greetings! Welcome to Kalethia!¡± I turn to see an androgynous android wearing simple robes slightly bowing to me. I bow back, or at least try to, but it seems I¡¯m just a floating ball of light. And, I can see myself, hmmmm, that¡¯s not strange at all. Sensing my discomfort the android spoke up again, ¡°No need to worry, what you see now is your tether to Kalethia from beyond. You¡¯re first step will be to select the proper vessel you desire.¡± He waved and a row of different humanoid species, with more or less my face, sprang into existence. This already seems like it¡¯s going to be a strange game. There were your typical fantasy species, humans, elves, dwarfs, and gnomes, and then some more obscure ones, demons, celestials, beastfolk, and androids. None of the typical species appealed to me as I¡¯ve played as all of them multiple times in different games and I wanted something different. Demons seemed fun at first, but I didn¡¯t want to have to deal with NPCs distrusting me right off the bat for my looks. Celestials are too angelic and goodly for my tastes, that left beastman or android as my choices. Androids were something I hadn''t seen too much in other games, and I might be able to get custom parts later in the game to enhance my body! ¡°I¡¯d like an android body, please.¡± I finally confirmed after thinking it over.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The android¡¯s body had dark blue skin with sky blue circuitry patterns covering its body and face. It looked mostly like a human with toned muscles and a bald head. Its eyes were also cybernetic, having a metallic blue plate around the eye, and they were an unnatural orange color with crosshairs for pupils. Then, without warning, the android body sprinted at me at full speed. I couldn¡¯t even blink before my new spirit body was smacked into the android body. When I opened my eyes I was staring out of my new android eyes at a sea of orange clouds all around me. After a few moments of getting used to my new body, the robed android said, ¡°Wise choice of vessel, Beyonder. Your next choice is to pick two classes. Please select your primary class.¡± I swear I almost saw a smirk on their face as they spoke. ¡°I wish to follow the path of the Rogue.¡± I said with a slight bow. ¡°Very well, I shall grant you the necessary abilities and equipment to begin your journey.¡± As the android finished replying with his own bow, I was surrounded by a glowing light that faded as quickly as it came. I looked down at myself and I was now wearing a set of leather armor and a dark hooded cloak over my head. The armor consisted of a chestplate, a pair of bracers, and a pair of boots. I also had a pair of daggers and four throwing knives on a bandolier coming down from my left shoulder. The new abilities flashed by as notifications. Sneak - Reduces chance of being detected by 10%. Increases by 1% every level. Ambush - Req: Undetected by enemy - Deal 50% increased damage. Increases by 5% every level. They weren¡¯t much to look at now, but they were sure to be deadly together once I got near triple-digit levels. Not to mention that I¡¯d have even more skills and abilities by then. ¡°Now please select your secondary class to aid you on your path.¡± I had already decided before I started the game, ¡°I also wish to learn the ways of the Mage.¡± ¡°Interesting, most Beyonders have chosen profession type classes for their secondary classes. But of course, I shall grant you the necessary abilities and tools to find the knowledge you seek.¡± As with the Rogue class, a bright glow surrounded me but lingered a little while longer on my hands. I turned over my hands and discovered small orange crystals embedded in my palms. They still had a faint glowing light floating inside them but not bright enough to give off any light beyond the crystal itself. Again the android began to notice my confusion as I stared at my hands, ¡°Those crystals help to absorb, refine, expel and manipulate the mana that permeates Kalethia and her inhabitants. They will surely be invaluable in your path to understanding.¡± It seemed to make sense that Mages would have to have something that let them cast spells while other classes couldn¡¯t. But did it have to be crystals in my hands? Before I could think about the crystals anymore I was distracted by the notifications from my new ability and a choice. Absorb Mana - Regenerate 10 mp/min. Increases by 1 mp/min per level. Choose 2 spells: Icebolt, Firebolt, Magelight, Shield, Sprint, or Entangle. I read through the descriptions for a few minutes before deciding on Sprint - 10 mp/sec - Increases speed by 25%. Affects movement, casting, attack and reaction speed. Increases by 1% per level and Entangle - 40 mp - Stops enemy¡¯s movement with mana tendrils for 30 sec. Damage will cancel the effect early. Affects an additional creature every 10 levels and increases duration by 10 sec every 5 levels. Sprint would hopefully let me be able to Ambush at least two enemies before they knew where I was. And Entangle would help me survive the fight once I did get caught, which is likely inevitable. The android patiently waited for me to finish my decision before finally saying, ¡°Now that the preparations for your journey through Kalethia are complete. Please choose your name, and your adventure will begin.¡± I chose to go with the name I¡¯d gone by in most of the games I had played since I was a kid, ¡°Radzid.¡± There was definitely a smile on the android¡¯s face now as they waved and said, ¡°Good luck!¡± Before they finished speaking, whatever I had been standing on fell from beneath me and I began to plummet towards the ground. This is where my adventure begins, falling through the clouds with no way to stop the fall. This might be a shorter adventure than I thought, hah. Chapter 2 - Into the Woods Chapter 2 I must have fainted during the fall because I woke up in a tower with a hole above me in the roof and shingles and stones scattered around me. Miraculously I wasn¡¯t in horrible pain, not even minor pain. Either I was in an invincible state until I landed and actually started the game, or I was out for much longer than I thought and it had been weeks since I started. Either way I¡¯m finally here so I should start exploring, right? I looked around the room and saw a simple bed made on one side of the room and stairs going down on the other. There were also four windows looking out each direction from the tower, better start there to get my bearings. Looking out the northern window, assuming it was morning, there was a long mountain range running east and west with one large peak standing twice as tall as the rest in the middle slightly west from here. A forest dominated the land between the tower and the foot of the mountains. Looking to the eastern window, I saw the edge of the forest give way to wide grasslands and a small town slightly north of me at the edge of the forest. Hopefully I could get there before sundown, but I¡¯d better check the rest of the surrounding terrain just in case. To the west, the forest kept going as far as the eye could see with a tree that looked as tall as a mountain jutting up in the middle of it. I wonder how old that tree must be to grow so large. It had to be thousands of years old, if not millions. I had plenty of time to think about that later though so I continued scouting the area. To the south, the forest shortly gave way to a massive swamp with dead trees sparsely dotting the area. The area gave off a creepy vibe even from this distance, I shudder to think what it would be like lurking through those muddy waters. I was happily distracted from my thoughts when a notification surprised me. Skill unlocked: Survey - Accurately study and memorize surrounding area/terrain. Decreases chance of being lost by 25% and increases chance of finding hidden entrances/treasures by 10%. Both percentages increase 1% per level. I hadn¡¯t expected to unlock my first skill so soon, and just for looking out the window. I can only hope all my skills come this easy. Well, now that I have some more confidence in getting to town without wandering aimlessly. It¡¯s time to head downstairs. I pulled out my daggers and quietly made my way downstairs. The next floor looked like a study of some kind with an old dusty skeleton sitting at a desk and papers scattered across the table. I decided to leave him alone and continue my way down to the ground level. As the bottom room became visible, my cautiousness paid off. There were two level 2 Large Rats, the size of dogs, gnawing on the bones of some kind of large animal. I quietly stepped back up out of view before they could notice me and put away my daggers to pull out a throwing knife and get ready to cast my first spell. I made my way back down and as soon as I had a clear shot on them I flung the knife at the one on the right while beginning to cast Entangle on the one on the left. The knife stuck into the side of the rat as it screeched in pain. The other rat was barely able to stop his gnawing and begin looking for the threat as dark blue tendrils sprang from the ground wrapping around its body. After recovering from the pain, the first rat began charging up the stairs. I just had enough time to pull one of my daggers out and hold it up to try to deflect its fangs and stab its mouth. I was mostly successful though its fang still cut the back of my hand. While it was distracted trying to eat my hand off, I pulled out my second dagger and jammed it into its throat causing it to fall off my hand lifelessly. I turned to look at the other Large Rat, but it was still trapped by my spell. Though it won¡¯t be for much longer. So, I started casting my second spell Sprint as I ran down the stairs getting ready for an overhand strike with both daggers. The poor rat could do nothing but watch as the daggers plunged into its back giving out a terribly loud screech. It was still alive and tried to swing around to bite my leg, but thanks to Sprint I easily jumped over it dodging the blow and delivering two more slashes before I landed behind the now dead rat. A few seconds after both rats died, their bodies disappeared leaving behind a large rat fang and three copper pieces each. At least I won¡¯t have to be dissecting monsters to get their usable parts, that could get very nasty with some of the strange recipe ingredients I¡¯ve seen in other games. There was another set of stairs going underground, but I can come back to explore later. I don''t want to sleep in the woods if I don''t have to. After waiting a few minutes for my mana to recharge and collecting my knives, I headed out of the tower and towards the town. I made my way through the forest, being careful to not be seen or heard. A forest is an easy place to be ambushed from any side as the trees block vision beyond 10 or 15 feet. The forest was alive with the sounds of birds and insects chirping away. After a few hours of walking in the forest, I heard footsteps nearby. Sensing trouble, I quickly climbed the nearest tree to get out of sight of whatever was coming this way. A few moments later, a pack of about seven level 5 Grey Wolves walked by sniffing the ground apparently following the scent of some soon to be prey. Luckily, they weren¡¯t on my trail as I watched them continue past my tree deeper into the forest. I waited a few minutes to make sure they weren¡¯t returning before continuing my journey to town. Another few hours of peaceful travel were interrupted by the sounds of battle. I quietly made my way, tree to tree, to get a better look at the fight. I was getting close to the battle, thinking I could probably see it once I get around this tree. Then, BAM!!! I look to my right as a level 3 Iron Boar with spikes along its back gets up from the base of a tree, shakes off the hit, and runs back into the fray. Luckily, it didn¡¯t notice me, but the sounds of battle didn¡¯t stop so it¡¯s not fighting alone. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I peeked around the tree and saw three more Iron Boars fighting a single male beastfolk (wolf) in chainmail armor with an axe and shield. He seemed to holding them off with his shield, but he didn¡¯t have time to counter with them all attacking one after the other. I figured he could use some help so I cast Entangle on the boar trying to return to the fight. Then, I threw a throwing knife at one of the boars attacking, what I assumed was, the other player. The knife simply bounced off of it''s hard plated back, and the Iron Boar barely seemed to notice it. I aimed my next throwing knife at its belly the next time it attacked. It struck just as its own attack was about to be blocked. The Iron Boar gave out a guttural squeal as the knife sank all the way into its soft underbelly and it fell flat against the shield. The beastfolk perked up after seeing the boars weakness revealed. He began slashing upwards at the boar on his right, while blocking the boar on his left. I threw another throwing dart at the one he was blocking getting it right in the gut, but not killing it. Then, ran forward pulling my daggers out to give the entangled Iron Boar a double belly poke. With the damage it had taken before I joined the fight it died before the tendrils from Entangle could fade away. With only two boars left and both missing about half their health, it was short work for us to finish them up with the help of Sprint. After the battle, the beastfolk collapsed onto his back with a heavy pant. Getting a closer look at him, his body was covered in short black fur and he had a slight canine like snout and pointed ears near the top of his head. He also had quite a few dents and scratches on his armor and shield. He definitely wasn¡¯t uninjured, but he didn¡¯t look like he was about to die either. ¡°Sorry if you had it covered. I saw they were against you four to one, so I figured I¡¯d help even the odds, at least a little bit.¡± I said sheepishly. ¡°Name¡¯s Radzid, by the way.¡± as I reached my hand out to help him up. He waved my hand away with a smile. ¡°Nah, thanks for the help, I was in trouble for sure. I started fighting one of ¡®em and the others just showed up out of nowhere. I¡¯m just gonna lay here for another minute to catch my breath.¡± He said with a weak laugh. ¡°Name¡¯s Lupin. Nice to meet ya.¡± I nodded in response and went around to collect my knives and the loot as he rested up. Each boar dropped a pair of iron tusks and five copper coins, which I split with Lupin. He got up as I was picking up the last of the loot and brushed himself off. ¡°Well, I probably should head back to town to repair my stuff. You heading back to town, too? Wanna party up so we don¡¯t get outnumbered on the way back?¡± I was fairly confident I could get to town without a fight thanks to my Sneak ability, but figured since I was close to leveling up and I could ask him about places in town on the way. ¡°Yea, sounds good. I actually started in the forest, so I¡¯ve been trying to make my way slowly to town. I still need to register with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and pick up some more supplies for my class.¡± I was hoping to find a poison merchant so I could poison my daggers and knives. The guild registration was required to take quests and receive the rewards, and there was plenty of both to go around. Lupin looked confused, ¡°You didn¡¯t start in town? You should have teleported right into the town square after going through character creation.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me you didn¡¯t just start falling from up there? Shit, did I already piss someone off just by making my character?¡± Could it be because I chose the android species? Or both of my classes being combat classes? Or was it just chance and part of the player base just didn¡¯t start in town. I sighed, ¡°Well, whatever the reason, it¡¯s just a small delay to getting to errands in town, and I did get to test out my combat ability before I had spent any money. So, I guess it all works out in the end. Even though skipping that fall and just appearing on the ground would¡¯ve been nice.¡± Lupin gave a chuckle, ¡°Then, we should stop wasting time and start heading to town to get you registered. Oh yeah, I¡¯ll send you a party invite in case we see more monsters on the way.¡± After accepting the invite, I took a look at Lupin¡¯s character stats. He was a level 2 Fighter and level 1 Blacksmith, and he put most of his stat points into Strength and Constitution. He had more health than me, to be expected, but no mana, I guess you have to have a spellcasting class to get mana. We trekked through the forest asking each other questions along the way. I told him about my spells and the tower I had started in before I met him. And he told me about the town, Feralin¡¯s Nook, which sounded like a typical fantasy village. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a large 3 story building in the town square, there was also an inn and a general store nearby. I asked about an alchemist or apocatheory in town and he said he hadn¡¯t visited it but heard it was near the edge of town. After our info swap, Lupin excitedly started explaining why he was hunting the Iron Boars in the first place. ¡°I¡¯m gonna be the first Master Blacksmith in Kalethia!¡± he said with a large grin. ¡°And if I wanna be a Master I¡¯ll have to be able to get my own materials for crafting.¡± He held up two of the iron tusks we¡¯d gathered. ¡°My mentor sent me out to get these tusks so I could craft my first weapon. This is just the beginning of my Master journey!¡± as he let out a hearty laugh. Just as his laugh began to fade, I heard growling and movement coming from either side of us. I called out, ¡°Watch out! We¡¯ve got company!¡± Right then, two level 2 Ravid Wolverines jumped out of the bushes at Lupin, and a third charged at my legs. They had green foam frothing in their mouths and two green stripes along their backs going to the tips of their tails. I tried to dodge out of the way, but I wasn¡¯t quick enough to dodge the bite completely as one of its fangs cut my leg. You have been poisoned. Shit, I guess being an android doesn¡¯t give me poison immunity. I already felt the cut on my leg heating up, so I cast Sprint to hopefully end this fight quickly. I hastily cast Entangle on one of the wolverines fighting Lupin and charged my opponent with both daggers in hand. I attacked with a flurry of stabs and slashes. The beast zigged and zagged every which way trying to avoid the blows, and managed to make me miss one out of every three strikes. But, I finally pinned its tail to the ground with my dagger causing it to yelp in pain. A few more quick stabs and it was no longer moving. Turning my attention back to Lupin, he had also taken out one of the wolverines by smashing it into a tree with his shield and was fighting off the other with a combination of shield bashes followed by axe blows. I threw a knife towards it as Sprint ran out and Lupin took a final overhead swing as both weapons struck and the beast was slain. Congratulations! You have reached Level 2! 2 stat points awarded and choose 1 new spell: Icebolt, Firebolt, Magelight, or Shield! I¡¯d have to wait until later to level up, because I¡¯m bloody poisoned. The poison made my leg feel like it was on fire and I felt dizzy as if I was suffering blood loss. Luckily, I wasn¡¯t losing health so it wasn¡¯t life threatening, but it still damn well hurt and made it hard to keep upright once the adrenaline had worn off. Luckily, we were near the edge of the forest so it would take less than an hour to get to town. Lupin quickly gathered the loot and began helping me limp through the rest of the forest. Chapter 3 - Feralins Nook Chapter 3 The poison was sapping the strength from my body slowly but surely. The burning feeling spread to the rest of my leg as well as part of my stomach. It wasn¡¯t actually decreasing my health at all which was scary when you thought about it. There wasn¡¯t a duration on this poison, so it could just keep spreading pain and draining my strength until I couldn¡¯t move or feel anything but pain. And this was a level 2 monster! Fuck! What the hell kind of monsters are in this game? When we arrived at the town gates, Lupin called out to the guards, ¡°We need to get this man to an alchemist quickly! He¡¯s been poisoned!¡± The guards quickly snapped up from their lazing about and one of the guards called out, ¡°Quickly follow me! Rema¡¯s shop is nearby.¡± He waved to follow and began heading into the city. Less than a minute later the guard had led us to a small shack that looked like some of the pieces were falling off. It had a sign hanging crooked over the doorway ¡®Rema¡¯s Remedies¡¯, the ¡®R¡¯ in ¡®Remedies¡¯ was upside down hanging on by a thread. ¡°Don¡¯t let the outside fool you. Rema¡¯s an excellent healer. Now hurry inside before he gets any worse.¡± He gave a slight bow and returned to his post at the gates. The inside of the shop didn¡¯t look much different than the outside. There were bookshelves with half of the shelves slanting to one side or another and various ingredients haphazardly lining the shelves. The room gave off an odor of dirt and decay. Unexpectedly, a cheery eyed elderly gnomish woman stood behind a counter in the middle of the shop. ¡°Hello! And welcome to Rema¡¯s Reme-¡± Her face quickly changed from that of a perky retail employee to that of a worried mother when she noticed the state I was in. ¡°Oh dear, I¡¯d say you¡¯re in dire need of an antidote. What was it that poisoned him?¡± She looked to Lupin for the answer as I probably couldn¡¯t talk even if I tried at this point. There was no strength left in my body. ¡°It was a group of Ravid Wolverines just inside the forest.¡± As he sat me down onto a chair in front of the counter. ¡°Ah, they aren¡¯t the most dangerous monster to be poisoned by, but they¡¯re still not harmless by any means.¡± She hurriedly began moving around the shop picking different herbs and ingredients off the shelves. ¡°It¡¯ll only take a minute to prepare the salve and then I¡¯ll apply it right away.¡± She returned back to the counter with her ingredients and began grinding them together. I was on the verge of fainting from the pain when she finally came with the finished salve and applied it to the cut on my leg. Instantly, I felt the burning fade and be replaced by a pleasant healing warmth, like sitting with the sun on your back and a breeze blowing across your face. ¡°Now let that soak in while you sleep. You should be fine to walk in just a few minutes and you¡¯ll be right as rain come morning.¡± She gave me a small smile before going to store the rest of the salve and clean her tools. Lupin had a relieved look on his face as he took a seat next to me. ¡°Phew, sure glad I didn¡¯t have to watch a party member die on my first day. Thought you were a goner there for a minute.¡± He gave me a light pat on the back. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve still gotta turn in this quest at the guild before I go to bed, but mind if I add you to my friends list? It was fun and I might need some more help on another quest.¡± I simply nodded in reply, and he made his way out, ¡°Well, catch ya later then.¡± After taking a second to add him to my friends list, I walked up to Rema, who was just finishing putting things away. ¡°Thank you for all the help. That was certainly an unpleasant experience, but I was actually planning to come to your store, before I was poisoned. I was hoping to buy some poison to apply to my blades, and now I¡¯m thinking I should get some antidote as well.¡± She looked up with a devious smirk, ¡°Of course, any self-respecting alchemist has poisons as well as antidotes. The common antidotes cost 10 copper each and the common spider poison costs 1 silver for 20 doses. How many would you like?¡± Checking my inventory, I had 22 copper pieces, which equaled a little more than 1 silver, 2 Large Rat fangs, 4 Iron Boar tusks, and a Ravid Wolverine venom sac.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°I¡¯d like to buy one of the poison vials, and if you¡¯re willing to purchase these items, I¡¯d like an antidote as well.¡± as I placed both fangs, two of the tusks, and the venom sac on the counter. I want to save two of the tusks to hopefully get a dagger made by a blacksmith. ¡°Well, that¡¯s quite the variety you have there. These boar tusks are great for defensive potions, and the venom sac, of course, produces a weakening poison you¡¯re, no doubt, all too familiar with. Finally, these rat fangs can be used to enhance speed. Hmm...¡± Taking a moment to determine the value of the ingredients. ¡°I can give you 1 silver for these, bringing the price of one poison and one antidote to 10 copper pieces.¡± She gave a wide smile while holding her hand out, waiting for money. I dropped the coins into her hand, and her hand swiftly went under the counter and came right back up holding two potion vials. One a dark green, the other a soft pink. I hoped I was right in thinking green means poison, but just to make sure, ¡°The green one is the poison right?¡± She simply chuckled, ¡°Of course, my young lad. After all, nature is the most ruthless killer.¡± That devious smirk coming back for just a moment before her wide grin returned. ¡°Now go run along and have fun with your new toys.¡± I took my new potions, gave a slight bow, and left the store. I did want to go test out my new poison, but there was only about an hour of daylight left and I still wasn¡¯t completely recovered from the poison from earlier. So, I started heading to the town square, where I could visit the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and grab a room at the Inn. Walking down the main road from the gate, I saw many other players seeming like they were coming back from a long day of adventure. There were many of the different species among the adventurers, but I didn¡¯t see any other androids. Eh, I decided to ignore it for now, maybe androids just weren¡¯t that appealing to many others. Besides, this was a good time to decide on my new spell to learn. Magelight was out because it would easily give away my position. Shield was also out because my plan is to evade attacks not try to block them head on and if I have enough time to cast a spell, I''d hope I would phave enough time to dodge. That left me with the two ranged options Firebolt and Icebolt. Besides the initial damage, Firebolt does small additional damage over time, while Icebolt slows the target for a few seconds. Icebolt definitely fits my style more. I want to control the battlefield, slowing my enemies to a crawl while flashing by with the killing blow. So my choice was made. Icebolt - 20 mp - Hurl an ice spike at the target. Reduces target speed by 15% for 5 sec. Increases by 1% per level and duration by 1 sec every 5 levels. After selecting my new spell, I found myself in the town square. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild towering above me. It might be only three stories, but each story was easily worth two. There were four pillars in front holding up the second floor balcony. Each pillar was covered in carvings of warriors and mages fighting giant beasts and great dragons. Adventurers traveled in and out, giving no doubt this was the place I was looking for. I walked inside, still taking in the intricate carvings. The first floor was a grand hall with long tables on either side of the hall, about half of the seats taken up by groups of adventurers drinking. Leaving a wide aisle down the center to a counter with a man sitting reading a book and a bar with a young female bartender making drinks. On the left wall was a large board with multiple flyers pinned on it, most likely a request board. I¡¯ll take a look at those before I leave, but first I¡¯ve got to register. I made my way down to the counter, clearing my throat before I spoke, ¡°Excuse me, but I was hoping to register with the guild today and I think you might be the person to help.¡± The scholarly dwarf set down his book and adjusted his glasses as his looked up to me. ¡°Aye, just place ye hand over this here crystal.¡± He pulled out a fist sized glowing blue crystal from beneath the counter and set it down. I placed my hand over the crystal and the glow brightened as a floating blue screen appeared over my hand. It showed my name, class levels, and my skills. He then grabbed a credit card piece of steel and waved it through the screen. The steel card glowed and my information showed up on the card along with a picture of my character. ¡°All right, all done. Now, just grab one of those request flyers and press the card on it and ye¡¯ll be on ye first quest. When ye done, take the card to that there scanner and ye¡¯ll get yer rewards.¡± He pointed over to the right wall where I saw a crowd of other adventurers turning in their own quests. ¡°Yer limited to taking rank E quests fer now. But, as ye complete quests ye¡¯ll rank up. Good luck! Now, off with ye. I¡¯m getting to the good part.¡± picking up his book where he left off, I headed to the request board. I saw various gathering and hunting quests, including a quest to hunt goblins that paid one silver per goblin ear. It also had a bonus reward if you killed the Goblin King. I pressed my new guild card onto the quest and that same blue glow began on the backside of the card. I quickly flipped it over and read Quest(s) 1 - Cull the Goblins (Rank E) - kill and bring back at least 5 goblin ears. One silver per ear returned. Bonus reward for bringing the Goblin King''s head. This quest will be a good chance to work on my fighting technique instead of just wildly swinging and stabbing with my dagger like I did today. But that''ll have to wait for tomorrow. For now, I''ll head to the Inn and get a good night''s rest.