《A Skill Whore's Journey》 1.First sights on ARIA ¡®Players¡­welcome to the world of ARIA¡­The beta test officially begins in 10¡­9¡­8¡­¡¯ The system announcement starts counting down and my black world begins to brighten as if reaching the end of a tunnel. ¡®3¡­2¡­1¡­Commence game¡¯ A bright splash of colours washes over my face and, after blinking away the bright sunny light, I find myself standing in the town square of a small village. Well not just me; there are quite a number of people rubbing their eyes thanks to the intense light. About 100 or so people stand in the village with me. ARIA, the beta test has finally come¡­ ARIA is the newest VR(well AR now I guess) game on the market that features swords and magic as they are always hugely popular. However there are a couple of differences¡­ I breathe deeply to smell the fresh air. My ears tingle at the bustling sounds of town and the small gasps escaping from my fellow testers. My saliva tastes as it should¡­How incredible. Until ARIA, all VR games could only boast to be about 30% realism. ARIA proudly boasts a full 93%. It¡¯s not 100% only because they¡¯ve taken away most of the pain sensors, for obvious reasons (no one wants to feel themselves getting roasted by a dragon). Because of such a high rate of realism the game system itself was renamed Augmented Reality (AR). Thus ARIA came to be(?) (but I have no idea what the IA at the end stands for). Thus it is easily the best game in the market and obviously everyone wants to play it. However the game designers still wanted a beta test for reasons of which I do not know nor care. All I care about is the fact that I¡¯m in the test. I look around and see that pretty much everyone is wearing a white t-shirt and trousers, although it looks much better on some than others. Woah, extremely good on that voluptuous Neko-lady (Cat-beastlady, rrrar) dare I say. ¡°WHAT?¡± A loud shout of disbelief comes from my right and I swivel round to see a bull-beastman (basically a fake Minotaur) with bright orange hair (fur?), and a shocked face as he looks at a blank window. It seems like he¡¯s attracted the attention of everyone and a petite elf with long locks of golden hair puts a frail hand on his muscular shoulder ¡°What¡¯s wrong there friend?¡± ¡°The character sheet¡­its strange¡± He looks completely lost as he says that to no one in particular really In a rush there¡¯s a flick of hands and character sheets opening. Of course I follow suit.
NAME:
Joat (?)
TITLE:
(none)
Class:None
Race:HobgoblinGender:Male
Level:1Experience:0%
STATUS:
Remaining Points (0)
Health Points10/10HP Regen (Out of Combat)1/sec
Attack:1-1Defense:0
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Satiety:180/180(Full)[/td2]
SKILLS:
¡­ .. . O¡­K? A chorus of ¡®WHAT?¡¯s quickly proliferate in the village square as well all see the most bizarre character sheet. It¡¯s empty¡­Which is completely weird. Because we don¡¯t even have stats¡­ What is going on with this character sheet? ¡°HEY Everybody, click the question mark on the top right of the sheet¡± A random person says. Frantically everyone does so and upon pressing the question mark at the top right another window comes up.
Your character sheet: Guide
You may notice that under the STATUS there are many Empty: boxes. These are where Stats will go upon discovery. All players have 10 stat slots that once filled are semi-permanently locked with that stat. When discovered, stats may be denied. Denied stats will be stored in an Unused Stats box where they may be taken to fill a slot at a later date. Stats will only increase through level, titles or through items.
Skill are gained the same way as stats however there are no limit to them
Decently ambiguous but after reading it a couple of times I think I get the idea; basically we¡¯re allowed 10 different types of stats: such as Strength, Agility and so on. However once we choose them they¡¯re locked until we find a way to remove them (hence the semi-permanently). So it¡¯s going to be a complete free pick and choose which suggests there are going to be a lot of different types of stats which may allow some pretty awesome combos. Just imagine how happy wizards would be if they didn¡¯t have to have strength and could put extra magic power there instead. That sounds like fun. However it doesn¡¯t seem like everyone likes the idea as they look a bit grumpy (and still a bit confused) at the ambiguity and possible pain of gaining stats. I¡¯m pretty happy with it though, because that means I can become whatever I want¡­ The whole place quietened down when they read and re-read this quite vital piece of information. As beta testers we came here to test the system of which we were told nothing about¡­ The red Minotaur from earlier closes his window and with a mooing bellow, charges outside the village (I think he said Mooove, but I¡¯m not sure¡­). About half the population (so about 50) follow him to the fields (to supposedly start leveling). The remaining 50 choose to begin exploring the village. Quests are always better than grinding. Of course I¡¯m within the 50 with brains. I take a quick stroll around the village seeing it consist of 4 main buildings: The general goods, the blacksmith, the tavern and the elder¡¯s house. There are a couple of thatched houses in-between the main ones but they¡¯re just places of residence for NPC¡¯s. Keeping a shouting connection between us all, we relay information about the village and what we find; we¡¯re mostly trying to figure out the game so helping each-other out is hugely beneficial right now. According to some high-pitched Squirrel-beastlady there¡¯s a tailor, leatherworker, miner and alchemist in the village too. So 8 main buildings then. I do like how they¡¯ve given us basic crafting skills at the beginning. Can never have too many crafters. Anyways the village exploration took a whopping 10 minutes and after a good 5 minutes of people conversing with the NPC¡¯s a total of 2 quests were available (which we of course all ran to get)
QUEST: Rabbit Extermination
The Village Elder has asked you to lower the population of the rabbits as they are literally eating the fields dry. Kill 10 rabbits
Rewards: +1 intimacy with village 10 copper coins
QUEST: Rat Extermination
Daren, the Tavern keeper, has asked you to exterminate the rats in his cellar. Percentage cleared: 0%
Rewards: +2 intimacy with village 20 copper coins
The rat extermination is literally 2 times the reward but almost every female character in our little network shook their heads furiously at the quest. However they also shook their heads at the quest for killing rabbits (albeit more in horror at the thought than in fear). Of course the sight of pretty elves and gorgeous beastladies brought out the best in us men. Thus many valiantly offered to party and protect them from the rats (Since no way are we going to convince the women to kill cute bunnies¡­). I watched them all pair up and head to the tavern while standing all by myself alone in the street ¡­ .. . I was being sarcastic. No way would a man like me give up on such an opportunity. There were a decently fair number of women (about 20ish) and this may have been because they weren¡¯t as naturally bloodlusty as us(?) (I think. I mean in most games cute rabbits and animals would be in the surroundings for beginners. And most women don¡¯t like to kill cute things for some bizarre reason only known to them). I peek around and quickly set my targets on a particularly busty rabbit-beastlady (hey don¡¯t judge, 32 C rabbit woman? No man can resist that); she has a reddish tint to her hair (red seems like a popular colour these days) and one crooked ear, which is quite cute. Taking overly large steps I overtake a nearby Kobold who was heading to her. Giving a cheery smile I start the conversation. ¡°Hey there stranger, want to head to the cellars with me¡± I wiggle my eyebrows as I put on a jokey tone. ¡°Well if you say it like that it sounds¡­unsafe¡± Well she¡¯s pretty to the point isn¡¯t she¡­but she gives a glint of a smile. ¡°Hah, don¡¯t worry we won¡¯t be alone¡± I send a cheeky wink. ¡°Oh you¡¯re bringing a friend? I thought it¡¯d just be the two of us in ¡®the cellar¡¯¡± She feigns disappointment. ¡°Sadly no; there will be quite a few rats I believe¡± Letting out a fake sigh. ¡°Oh that¡¯s quite a lot of friends you¡¯ll have there, are you sure you¡¯re not setting me up for something?¡± She gives me a devious smile. ¡°Now why would I want to share you?¡± I reciprocate the grin. ¡°Hehe¡± She turns away suppressing a giggle. ¡°I¡¯m Joat, shall we go to the cellars?¡± ¡°Baila, and yes let¡¯s go together¡± I feel like I''ve had a bit of a weird conversation, buut there was repertoire so its all good(??) Sending her a friend and then party invite I see her health-bar appear under mine. Also another 2 empty boxes appear under her health-bar. So we can have a max of 4 members then? With that I start to walk to the tavern with Baila bouncing at my side. -1 ¡­ Wiping the blood off my nose stealthily I turn to see Baila looking at me with her crooked ear. ¡°I stepped on a rock¡± ¡°Really? That takes off a hitpoint? Jeez, we got to be careful¡± Phew she fell for that¡­I think; she may be sarcastic. I¡¯m quite lucky she had a good repertoire or when I spoke to her it would have gotten extremely awkward. Anyways, the fact that I¡¯m actually not that bad looking (despite being a hobgoblin) may have helped with her positive reaction with me. I spent an absurd amount of time on my character because I wanted to be green, but not Orc-like or Hulk-like. Also full on goblins are the ugliest things on earth. How is a man going to pick up chicks looking like a 90 year old? My face is young looking of someone just out of their teenage years and I¡¯d rate myself as a good 8 for the face. The body is more lean and not as many muscles are showing but it¡¯s still pretty nice and worthy of a 7. And of course I am green as a bean, so I¡¯m happy. My hobgoblin sub-race comes from the Monster main race. So far it looks like races don¡¯t do anything except for aesthetics but that may not be the case. That¡¯s what we beta players are for. The beta test for ARIA lasts for 10 weeks, so we¡¯ve got 10 weeks to figure out everything we can. Well actually it lasts for 20 weeks due to the fact that time is 2:1 here so 10 weeks IRL is 20 weeks in game. So a full 5 months of game time is quite a lot but seeing as though this system looks quite strange, it may not be enough time. Anyways, back to the present. About 14 of the girls ended up pairing up with guys (although most took a second guy for, I don¡¯t know; they¡¯re own personal enjoyment?). The remaining dozen or so people head to the taverns by themselves or in same sex pairs. A trio of blue lizard-beastmen twins look quite depressed as they enter the tavern ladyless. I don¡¯t know but they just stood out very distinctly with aquamarine blue tails sweeping the floor sadly. Like a conga line, we all follow one another to the tavern. While we wait for the queue to move (I hate queues), me and Baila have a chat about our character creation. We both think the creation was extremely open because although it seemed simple, with only a choice of: Monster, Beastman or Humanoid: Each race had literally a ton of sub-races. Humanoid was basically Elves, Dwarves, Humans and all the more ¡®normal¡¯ races in this case. Beastman was literally any type of half-animal. And although I had fun creating a birdman, I decided to go for monsters. Monsters were literally everything you can think of. However a lot of Monster characters were inked black and thus not visible as to what they are. Also the chains around them gave the impression they were locked for a time it seemed. Monsters weren¡¯t the only locked things. The beastmen were locked to being half-human which gave me the idea that we can make a lot of different creatures. However how to unlock it is the question and why you¡¯d unlock it if you¡¯ve got a character already and don¡¯t want to restart is another good question. We¡¯re both spouting theories when we finally reach the door of the tavern and head inside. Like a good old medieval tavern there¡¯s a lot of stools and tables everywhere with a big hearthplace on one side of the room. The Tavern is decently lively with locals but they¡¯re all a bit too silent as they watch the conga-line of players head up to Daren. Upon greeting Daren; he let us through to the cellar in our respective parties.
ALERT: You have entered a private instance
Private Instance: Daren''s Cellars
This is the Cellar to Starrynight Tavern
Recommended Level 1-3, Party Number 1-4
Ooh a private instance, great! Looking into the darkness that covers the bottom of the stairs we think of waiting a couple of minutes to let our eyes adjust to the lack of light. Although it seems I can see pretty decently already and Baila doesn¡¯t seem affected by lack of light too much either. Hmm so maybe we do have racials? Or it may be simply a system assist. With a stride in my step, I begin to walk down the stairs into the cellar, while Baila stays close behind looking like a terrified little rabbit (well she technically is¡­). Seems like she¡¯s got a good repertoire but is still somewhat scared of the dark, I¡¯m extremely lucky today. Not to mention that when we hear a scuttling somewhere in the distance, she lets out a small squeak and hugs up against my back, trembling slightly. She may become completely useless throughout this whole instance but I¡¯m still pleased she¡¯s here with me. I am extremely enjoying the 93% realism here; every single percent. ¡­ Anyways, she finally eases up on me and we finally reach the bottom of the stairs. The cellar itself quickly presents itself as a maze of sorts as the barrels and boxes that are stacked up creating walls. If this was one of those old Pc games then us poor old players would have to walk around the maze encountering monsters while trying to find the exit. However since this is AR there¡¯s a lot more freedom. Pointing up to Baila she nods and we both start to climb up the ¡®walls¡¯. Luckily it isn¡¯t that hard and after about a minute of climbing we both reach the top and sit on a box. The cellar itself is decently large; Walking from end to end would take me about 3 minutes, if there were no obstructions. So with the mazelike atmosphere it¡¯d take at most 2 hours to walk around everywhere, once again without obstructions. But that¡¯s just a waste of time. Glancing around I quickly spot a rat scuttling on the floor a couple of metres away from where we are. Baila goes ¡°Eeek¡± and hugs my arm for comfort. Yes it is very comforting for me indeed. Shaking her off reluctantly, I jump down onto the ground next to the rat. Although I¡¯d love to stay up there with a big-breasted rabbitess hugging my arm; Xp comes before women in this game (because then I¡¯d get more women with higher levels, gamer logic, don¡¯t refute). The rat aggros as I land beside it (it¡¯s a normal sized rat thankfully) and nibbles at my toes (I don¡¯t have shoes it seems). The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. -1 -1 Kicking it into a nearby wall I then rush up to it as it tries to orientate itself. Grabbing it with both hands I feel the rat wiggle in my hands (ewww) and do so much more violently as I tighten my grip and begin bending the rat in a way that won¡¯t end well for it *Crack* The rat lets out a small squeak as its spine snaps like a twig.
Percentage complete: 0.1%
Only 999 more of them, not bad. They weren¡¯t too hard either; although I did just grab the thing rather than properly fight it. Looking up at Baila, I see her looking away from me while hugging her legs. ¡°That was brutal you know¡± She seems to be pouting with a little fear in her voice (hopefully from the rats not me). ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t like my method, well feel free to take on a rat yourself¡± ¡°NO, no, that¡¯s fine. You¡¯re method is completely fine with me, just keep at it¡± She turns around and quickly nods her head up and down (oh those rabbit ears are so cute). Thought so. Well I mean she has to understand all I have is fists and the last thing I want to try to is punch or curb-stomp rats as fun as that sounds. I¡¯m all for efficiency. Although there wasn¡¯t any xp gain¡­Maybe because I didn¡¯t use a proper method? Using Baila as a lookout she reluctantly finds another close-by rat. However I quickly find out it¡¯s a trio. They are nibbling through the side of a box so I walk up to a decent distance and then look at them intensely ¡­ .. . *Nibble nibble* ¡°Um, Joat?¡± I feel her perplexed gaze on my back. ¡°hmm, guess it¡¯s not available, maybe it¡¯s a skill?¡± ¡°Oh¡­You can¡¯t see the enemy information?¡± ¡°Nope¡± Scrunching my eyes I look fiercely at the trio nibbling at the crates and watch their every move. I soon feel Baila¡¯s gaze leave my back. ¡­ .. . ¡­ .. . ¡­ .. . *Ding*
Congratulations! Through careful observation of your enemy you have discovered a stat [tds]YES
STAT: Perception
Points in perception with increase Vision range, Vision in lower lights and will affect skills related to perception
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots?NO
¡­Well that¡¯s how you get a stat it seems. Another ding sounds behind me as Baila seemed to get the stat too. Hmm, seems like she figured out what I was doing and joined in. She knows what she¡¯s doing, somewhat(?). I turn back round to her. ¡°So, are you going to get that stat?¡± ¡°Hmm, It seems like it¡¯ll be useful, especially since perception-based skills are mostly passive, I think. Know thy enemy! After she blurted out the last line trying to sound wise (although I don¡¯t doubt her game knowledge and understanding), I decided to add Perception onto my stats. Why? Because she has got a point with ¡®Know thy enemy¡¯.
STAT: Perception, has been added to you stat slots. It has used up 1 stat slot. Perceptiom will stat at 50 due to hobgoblin race. Vision is now 50 feet.
¡­ .. . Well damn. 50 on a stat already
Due to Perception being 10, Dim vision skill has been acquired
Due to Perception being 25, Dim vision skill has changed to low-light vision
Due to Perception being 50, Low-light vision skill has changed to Night vision
SKILL:Night Vision, Master [LvMax] (passive)
Night Vision allows user to see in the dark without light. Skill level depends on how far one can see. [LvMax] -> Full vision: Can see as if it were day. Detrimental effects: Vision is halved when eyes are in direct contact with light
¡­Well¡­cool? I guess I¡¯m decently happy with the whole see in dark perfectly as that¡¯d be great in dungeons and such, but to have half-vision in light? That¡¯s a bit of a bummer. However it does say ¡®when eyes are in direct contact with light¡¯. So I have to wear shades? I¡¯m actually alright with that. I hear a small gasp escape from Baila ¡°Low-light vision. Cool¡±. Huh, so stat points all start at a set number due to the player¡¯s race? Wow, so if that red Minotaur guy got strength as a stat¡­just how high would it start?
Due to learning STAT: Perception, xp increases by 10%
Due to learning SKILL: Night Vision, xp increases by 75%
¡­ .. . MY GOD! Well¡­I like this¡­A LOT. Similarly Baila looks pretty shocked at the multiple windows showing up in quick intervals of one another. ¡­So it¡¯s like that huh. Turning round I gaze once more at the rat trio (who after 20 minutes of nibbling, yes I was watching for 20 minutes, finally broke through) were happily stuffing their faces on some seeds that spilled out. *Ding*
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Monster Identification
SKILL: Monster Identificationbeginner [lvl1] (0%) (Active)
Upon activation, user will get an information window of the targeted monster Perception bonus: 50% more will be shown
Cost: None, Duration: 1 minute, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Wow, so that¡¯s what it meant by perception affecting skills. So those with strength stat will naturally get a bonus when using melee skills and thus be better than those without the stat. Interesting indeed. Also the xp increase suggests that there are like 15 grades to each skill (since a master level gave 75% while a beginner only 5%)? So can I gain a skill already at a higher grade (well I already have so I¡¯ve kind of answered that question already).
Skill levels are: Beginner -> Intermediate -> Advanced -> Expert -> Master
Ah nevermind. A useful window indeed. So there¡¯s 5 grades to skills and learning a master gives you 75% while a beginner only 5%. Interesting¡­ Putting the questions aside I activate my new skill and check out the rats.
NAME:Cellar Rat
Health:5/5Defense:0
A rat which lives in cellars
Ok so the 50% increase showed the defense I¡¯m guessing? Baila seems to get the Monster Identification skill too and seems quite happy. With both of us happy, I descend on the nibbling rats. -1 -1 -1 Stomping on all three (since they are all packed together) I agro the lot. -3 They nibble at my feet and I jump away and let them scuttle towards me. -2 Two of them bite me as I kick the third and jump back again. -1 Only 1 rat is next to me so I quickly scoop my foot under it and flick it up (years of football practice comes in handy once in a while, huh). Catching it I quickly snap it like a twig and kick away the first one which just returned. With a squeak it flies and smacks into a barrel sliding off dead. The third rat comes at me and I kick it majestically into the same barrel, adding another splat to its wood. Well kicking rats seems pretty effective, although I¡¯ve lost 60% of my health¡­ Baila quickly finds some more rats and I go over and begin the stomp, kick, kick routine once more. ¡­ ¡­ After a good 30 minutes of this routine I¡¯ve leveled up my Monster Identification 1 level (resulting in 1% xp increase, sweet) as well as killed another 178 rats. Me and Baila have both come to the conclusion that rats, maybe even monsters themselves, don¡¯t give any xp¡­So levels are dictated upon your skill growth it seems. I do like that since it means pointless grinding is going to be non-existent in this game. Also rats don¡¯t give any loot which is quite sad¡­ However we¡¯re (well me at least) are still diligently killing rats for the sake of a quest. We¡¯ve wiped clean about a third of the room (we decided to sweep from the left side to the right so as to not have that missed the last rat and spend hours looking for it kind of situation). That¡¯s seems a bit odd because we¡¯ve only done 17.9% of the quest. According to Baila though, there seems to be large groups of rats over on the right side of the room. I mean the place isn¡¯t deathly quiet and there is a decently continuous noise of rat scuttling (+rat dying squeals thanks to me) so it¡¯s quite obvious where the rats are. Furthermore, Baila gained the Acute Hearing skill a couple of minutes ago which she apparently gained through listening for the rats. According to her it improves her hearing by 4 times passively. Of course after hearing her find that skill out, I naturally begin listening for the rats rather than looking for them, with some guidance from Baila: She pointed me in the general direction and I listened for the rats and I edged closer. The first group I came across was a group of 5 rats this time (before only groups of 3 were the max) and I start with a kick. Successfully kicking 3 away with the first kick I quickly kick the others away only taking a meager 3 points of damage. The first 3 then come back to me and I dutifully kick two away and flick up the other. Already 80% down I¡¯m a little bit worried but I don¡¯t mind it that much as I¡¯m now in a good situation; the rats after being kicked come back but only one at a time. Thus they don¡¯t get a chance to hit me as they just get kicked away and scuttle back towards me only to be kicked. After 3 kicks for each they are all dead. I learnt in the past while that the kick itself only does 1 damage but when they hit the ¡®walls¡¯ they take another damage. So 3 kicks (2 if I stomp to agro) does the job. I am quite grateful that the Ai for these rats is extremely simple; they only move forward and bite. If they did anymore I¡¯d be hardpressed. Groups of 5 are not a problem. ¡­ ¡­ Another hour passes and I¡¯ve killed another 312 rats. So far the quest is only 49.1% complete but as far as I¡¯m concerned, it¡¯s a very bountiful quest. Over the past hour I¡¯ve gained a couple of new things:
Congratulations! Through repeated use of your body and muscles you have discovered a new stat
STAT: Strength
Points in will increase damage, carry weight and it will affect strength related skills
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots?YESNO
Congratulations! Through repeated aiming and accurate attacks you have discovered a new stat
STAT: Dexterity
Points in Dexterity with increase critical chance, accuracy and it will affect Dexterity related skills
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots?YESNO
Congratulations! Through taking damage repeatedly you have discovered a new stat
STAT: Vitality
Points in Vitality will increase your health
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots?YESNO
These are the only 3 stats I¡¯ve learned in the past hour and they each gave 10% xp which is great. I decided to press NO for all the stats because I really don¡¯t need them at the moment and I don¡¯t want to waste a stat slot (Also hob-goblins are not the most famous for having lots of strength and dexterity, and are relatively squishy too, so I won¡¯t get high starting stats). It¡¯s quite cool though that you can decide to not gain health¡­but this will mean mages will be hella squishy. However Stats were not the only thing I gained in that hour:
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Kicking mastery
SKILL:Kicking mastery, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Active)
Kicking is a skill and thus it must be trained to be mastered. When used: Kick target 1 metre away (+- bonuses/penalties dependent on target. Does unarmed damage. 1% chance of stun. Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
I gained the kicking skill at about the 300th rat and so it¡¯s now at level 2 (along with Monster Identification being level 3). I gained the stats before I gained the skill so I have a suspicion¡­ Anyways I also finally gained Hearing:
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Hearing
SKILL:Hearing, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Passive)
Hearing is not only a normal benefit of humanity, but trained it is a sense beyond all others. Hearing is increased by 1% (range and accuracy of sound). Perception bonus: 50% hearing increase.
Cost: None, Duration: infinite, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Hearing got to level 2 pretty quickly gaining an extra 1% to hearing. Damn, that¡¯s pretty good. Ahhhhh all the skills. Almost 2 hours and I¡¯ve gotten 4 skills, at this rate I might get to 6720 skills by the end of the beta test¡­ Well with it being that skills are pretty much anything that¡¯s a reasonable number¡­ So with an extra 51% on my hearing range I can make out rat sounds a decent bit better. Having the stat bonus is extremely useful. I¡¯m just scared what it would be like with attack skills¡­ I did notice that it wasn¡¯t Acute Hearing. However after a quick chat with Baila she told me it was because it started maxed out at Master level. So kind of like my night vision. Thus the idea that we have racial abilities is most profound; however we actually need to find the abilities, which is painful to do yet extremely interesting¡­ So that was the things I have gained in the past hour. I¡¯m at 84% and raring to get to level 2. Also we¡¯re only 49.1% into the quest so I¡¯m undoubtedly going to get there sometime. Before I begin to hunt some more rats I give Baila a heads up about the stats. She jumps down and, to my horror begins bashing her head against a barrel ¡­ .. . I understand why she¡¯s doing it¡­But¡­it¡¯s still extremely disturbing to watch. Leaving Baila alone I go to exterminate a couple more rats. Oh level 2 here I come!! ¡­ 2. Ironic Bunny Killing and a Meeting ¡°Ahhh, finally out of that dingy cellar¡± Baila breathes out a sigh of relief as she exits the cellar door. ¡°Come on Baila, it was quite fun¡­well the first half anyway¡± I come out and give her a cheeky grin. ¡°Oh ha ha, you hear my sarcastic voice? Good, because that wasn¡¯t fun, in the slightest¡± ¡°Right. Let me just delete the memory of you laughing maniacally when you gained the Suicide skill¡± ¡°¡­Shut up¡± She turns away red in the face as another pair appears behind us. They too turn away awkwardly at hearing her new skill. Yes that¡¯s right; Baila gained the suicide skill. Well to be honest I did too, but that¡¯s apart from the point. While she was bashing her head against the wall, she got herself down to 1 hp an absurd amount of times. After about an hour of bashing and regeneration she finally got the Vitality stat. However she also got the suicide skill. Since I got it too I¡¯m quite pleased and worried with about it
SKILL: Suicide, Beginner[Lvl 1] 0% (Active)
Suicide is a skill and thus it must be trained to be mastered, for doing it wrong will not cause expected results Deals 100% damage to selft +1% damage to self Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
Don¡¯t know why someone would use it buuut a skill¡¯s a skill. And I can never have too many. Talking about skills¡­I picked up a decent few; because the rat extermination took another 2 hours (Including hurting myself for the suicide skill). I got the Unarmed Mastery skill which increases unarmed damage by 1%. The Stomp skill which is similar to the kick but has double the stun chance but not kicking ability (obviously). I also got the Smell skill¡­Because I tried to smell out the rats for a good hour or so¡­Pretty much identical to the hearing but with a different sense¡­So it¡¯s useful? Sadly I got nothing else but still, 7 skills] in 4 hours is good time. Anyways, Baila then started to punch the barrel in the same spot while I continued to kill the rest of the rats over those 2 hours. Thus she got the Strength and Dexterity stats too (as well as unarmed mastery). Back to the present¡­The pair behind us consists of a dashing prince charming type human (like proper perfect blond hair, great face and charming smile) and an orc¡­wait, it¡¯s an orcess. I mean the only distinction is the large pair of melons which outclasses Baila¡¯s by a size and a half. Apart from that, the grotesque, tusked, pig-like face is as ugly as can be. I think the prince-charming here is the one who got picked up¡­ ¡°U-um sorry but how did you-no nevermind¡± The prince charming speaks in a light voice¡­wait a second¡­ *Grab* ¡­ .. . ¡°AAAH¡± *CRACK* ...Princess charming, I¡¯m sorry. ¡°Sorry sorry, hand just slipped¡± ¡°I-i-iiit¡¯s ok, just- be careful please¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, I will be¡± I look at my now broken right arm¡­ I found out that you don¡¯t ever annoy an orcess, ever¡­ ¡°Well at least this way we will figure out if our bodies regenerate¡± Baila inputs in nicely. Oh you vengeful woman¡­ *Grunt* Well orcess doesn¡¯t speak; actions speak louder than words eh? Well with you I think they do¡­ I do have to agree with Baila though, even if my arm does twinge in pain every time I try to move. ¡°Anyways. I¡¯m Joat and she¡¯s Baila, Nice to get in touch with you¡­¡± Hehe ¡°Nnnice to meet you, I¡¯m Charmine and she¡¯s BoneCracker. I hope we keep in touch¡± Well that was hell of a name difference, beauty and the beast much? Oh how innocent, she didn¡¯t even notice the ironic sentence, oh. BC (I¡¯m calling her that, it¡¯s easier and also she seems archaic like that) gnashes her teeth at my direction¡­ Maybe I should just leave the hinting here, before my other arm gets BC¡¯d¡­ ¡°A pleasure, so you¡¯ve finished off the cellars then?¡± ¡°Yep, but those rats¡­¡± Charmine shivers at the mention along with Baila, come on; they¡¯re just rats. Seems like BC was the one who did all the killing¡­ Heading up to Daren I tell him his cellar is clear and he hands me 20 copper coins along with a window that pops up telling me my intimacy has increased by 2 with the village. The other 3 do the same and we all walk out of the tavern 20 copper richer. As we head outside I see people milling about (although my vision is quite limited because of the damnable sun), finding quests and talking with NPCs, however everyone seems to be extremely silent with one another. Hell they¡¯re even looking away from eachother? I notice a couple of people, who ran with the red Minotaur earlier, milling aboutlooking as confused as ever but there¡¯s a glint of understanding in their eyes. Seems they¡¯ve gotten a bit of information on how everything works as well. ¡°Why is no one talking to eachother?¡± Charmine whispers the words to the air rather than to us. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ve gotten skills and stats and don¡¯t want to talk about it?¡± I suggest, I mean that¡¯s kind of obvious and everyone wants to be the best¡­ As soon as I say that quite a few of the people who overheard looked at me with glaring eyes for a second, confirming my suspicion. ¡°B-but why doesn¡¯t everyone help eachother?¡± Oh Charmine¡­ ¡°Well that¡¯s bec¡­well that¡¯s a good question, maybe we should convince everyone to share basic knowledge first¡± SKILLS, ALL THOSE SKILLS AND STATS THAT I CAN GET¡­ooooooh, I really, really want to learn all those skills. Because I¡¯m sure someone would have gained other skills¡­indeed I like this idea. ¡°EVERYBODY WHO CAN HEAR ME, LOOK THIS WAY¡± I shout at the top of my lungs as I stand on the top stairs of the tavern entrance. About 30 people look my way, ok not bad. ¡°Ok, I propose that in about¡­an hour, we have an information trade in this square. Because let¡¯s face it, any stat¡¯s you¡¯ve discovered so far will undoubtedly be basic stats so might as well share it to get a bit of knowledge yourself¡± Quite a few of them look at me as if I¡¯m stupid but the majority of the 30, after some self-consideration nod their heads thinking that it might be quite a good idea. ¡°GOOD, now spread the word to whoever you can¡± With that everyone goes back to their business, while some go around to spread the word (hopefully). I send a friend invite to Charmine, BC can go to whatever cave she crawled out from. I¡¯m not befriending the beast! With her accepting I take a glance at her trap-like body before heading outside the village with Baila. ¡°So, are we going to do the usual?¡± ¡°And just what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°You be the damsel of laziness and I do all the work¡± ¡°¡­you¡­have a point¡± "So we¡¯re doing that? Because I mean killing rabbits¡­¡± I don¡¯t think I need to finish the sentence for her ¡°No¡­I¡¯m fine with killing them actually¡­¡± ¡­ .. . Say what? You¡¯re scared of rats but you¡¯re fine with killing cute little rabbits (also they are your half-relatives, that¡¯s kind of cruel)? ¡°O¡­k?¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t sound so wierded out. I¡¯ve killed some before for dinner back in RL, I''ve got a warren in my house¡± ¡­Well that makes sense? I¡¯ll leave it that she knows and is ok with killing rabbits, which is a bit ironic since she¡¯s a rabbit-beastlady.... So we get to the grasslands skirting outside the village and Baila begins to fight the rabbits.
NAME: Rabbit (passive) [lvl 1]
Health: 10/10 Attack: 1
Defense: 0 Speed: 1.2
Attacks by biting from the ground
A rabbit...nothing special about it
My Monster Identification got to level 4 about 30 rats from finishing and it stopped increasing in proficiency since then. I think it¡¯s because I get all the information on the monster. Baila walks over to the rabbit nonchalantly and tenderly picks it up¡­Wait wasn¡¯t she supposed to kill the thing? Not pat it on the head *CRACK* ¡­ .. . I blink a couple of times to see that I really did just see that¡­yep I did¡­ Baila drops the rabbit, its head 180 from where it should be¡­ The rabbit¡¯s body disintegrates into nothing, once again giving no loot. However I still feel like this rabbit has given me a fair warning: Don¡¯t let Baila stroke you¡­ Well it wasn¡¯t an insta-kill like I thought as I saw the rabbit take some damage over time (DOT) as it fell from her grasp. Probably from the twisted neck, I don¡¯t know, I just have a feeling... Like me, Baila hasn¡¯t wasted any other skill slots yet so her attack only did 2 (it was a Crit), but with the DOT it killed the rabbit within seconds. The scary thing wasn¡¯t just that¡­no. the scary thing was that she just walked over to another one and repeated the process of hugging and patting it tenderly before brutally twisting its neck without changing her expression¡­ Well she did say she¡¯s killed couple of rabbits before, but that¡¯s assassin level! So the whole rabbit quest lasted about 5 minutes(?) before Baila killed our 10th one. But while she was doing that I was checking out my character sheet.
NAME:
Joat
TITLE:
(none)
Class: None
Race: Hobgoblin Gender: Male
Level: 2 Experience: 64%
STATUS:
Remaining Points (5)
Health Points 10/10 HP Regen (Out of Combat) 1/sec
Attack: 1-1 Defense: 0
Perception: 50 Empty: -
Empty: - Empty: -
Empty: - Empty: -
Empty: - Empty: -
Empty: - Empty: -
Satiety: 60/180(Very Hungry)[/td2]
Unused Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Vitality
SKILLS/PROFICIENCIES:
Active: Stomp, Beginner [lvl2] Suicide, Beginner [lvl1] Monster Identification, Beginner[Lvl4]
Passive: Hearing, Beginner [lvl3] Smell, Beginner [lvl1] Night Vision, Master [lvlMax]
Proficiencies: Kick Mastery, Beginner [lvl4] Unarmed Mastery, Beginner [lvl1]
Hmm, so I get 5 stat points per level. Pretty good seeming as though each point is worth a 1% boost to skills (supposedly. I mean I can only base it on my perception right now). Also completing the cellar quest gave me 5% xp, not bad I¡¯ll keep the points right now because there isn¡¯t much use at the moment. Closing up my character sheet, my vision is filled with Baila; who is standing above me waiting. Standing up we go to the village Elder and collect our measly 10 copper reward and 2% xp. ¡°Ah youngsters. Well done in culling some of that damnable infestation. However that¡¯s not the only infestation we have around here. Squirrels, the little blighters are swarming around the nearby forest and stealing all the berries we cultivate to grow there. A true pain they are for these berries help our alchemist; Nathan create potions beneficial for the village¡± ¡°Sure, you can count on us¡± I respond without hesitation
QUEST: SquirrelExtermination
The Village Elder has asked you to kill 30 squirrels for him
Rewards: +1 intimacy with village 20 copper coins
Not a bad reward, seeing as though we don¡¯t get rewards from just killing them really. However that is not the main reason why I responded without hesitation¡­ I smell a skill at hand¡­how? Well because the berries are used for alchemy thus I suspect there will be a linked quest to berry picking giving by Nathan¡­ Quickly going to the alchemist and saying hello to a graying man with a balding head and wispy beard. ¡°Nathan, I heard some squirrels have been troubling the forests and have been eating your most precious supplies¡± ¡°Ah¡­those squirrels¡­yes they¡¯re a pain¡­And I would certainly like for you to gather some for me¡­about¡­20 should do¡± He spoke slowly and stopped between his words, quite an old man he is.
QUEST: Berry Picking
Nathan, the village alchemist, has asked you to collect 20 Forest Berries for him
Rewards: +1 intimacy withvillage 10 copper coins
Oh I¡¯ve noticed that the village is entirely human¡­not a big deal¡­I think. Also this reward is pretty lame considering. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to, but¡­I don¡¯t really know how to pick berries without damaging them. And you wouldn¡¯t want your goods damaged would you¡± He looks at me for a minute or so, in silence, before nodding his head ¡°Hmm¡­you are right¡­Watch me as I teach you¡± He slowly takes out some potted plants and then quickly (abnormally quick for his usual slow composure) picked the berries from the plants without a hitch¡­ ¡°Now¡­you try¡± He motions to both me and Baila (I think she¡¯s actively leeching off me that devious woman) to grab a berry plant each. Slowly I pick the berries from the plant. Now berry picking sounds hilariously easy, buut¡­It¡¯s actually got a little difficulty to it: If you don¡¯t cleanly pick it off (as in no stem and no leaf stuck to it/berry left behind) then the quality lowers to the point of it becoming poor quality...also I''m only able to do it one handed... After a good 30 minutes of picking berries with care from the potted plant (Nathan switched it with another twice):
Congratulations! You have learnt a new skill: Herbalism
SKILL:Herbalism, Beginner [lvl1]0%(Passive)
Allows the player to pick herbs: Quality of herbs dependent on skill level and personal skill. Only herbs of appropriate level can be picked
Cost: None, Duration: None Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5% Yay! Juust what I was looking for. ¡°Thank you. I promise I will get you your berries¡± I¡¯ll pick up that delicious alchemy skill later¡­timing is of the essence. Going out the house, Baila is still following me with a happy look on her face I guess she¡¯s just as happy as me with all these delicious skills and xp. ¡°Oh, Joat!¡± Baila looks at me in exclamation ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your arm¡± ? Oh my arm¡­I raise it up and wiggle my fingers¡­yep it¡¯s ok. Hmm so it takes 30 minutes for bones to repair and thank god they did. We only have a good 30 minutes before our supposed meeting. So I tell Baila that I¡¯m going to log off for short bit for needs and she supports the idea telling me she needs to go feed her rabbits¡­I feel truly sorry for those little critters. ¡­ ¡­ The square fills up my view once more but a damn lot less is visible than I¡¯d think. It¡¯s kind of like there¡¯s a thick fog a small distance from where I¡¯m at¡­ However I don¡¯t need to look far for the meeting place¡­because I logged into the middle of the chatting crowd. Checking the time, its 3 minutes from the meeting start. Luckily everyone is sitting down because well that¡¯s natural; no one wants to stand up for a meeting. Doing a quick headcount I count 99 people. That¡¯s good, that¡¯s almost everyone¡­oh wait, that¡¯s everyone... Wow everyone came, just shows how valuable information is to us beta testers. As I¡¯m making the headcount I notice quite a few of them quieten and stare at me, also telling the others that ¡°he¡¯s here¡± Ah so they were waiting for me, how nice. Walking through the seated mass, I head to the tavern steps and stop at the top step. Now I can see all of them without a problem. ¡°Hello there, I am Joat and I will be leading this meeting for information¡± A small chorus of hellos and names come out, but I don¡¯t really catch any of them. ¡°First things first, the rules to our meeting: Any knowledge you know, we need, unless if it is determined as hidden or special by the system. Then you can keep silent about that as is your right. That seem fair?¡± The crowd nods. ¡°Good, we¡¯ll split the meeting in three parts; Stats, Skills and then other system based knowledge¡± Another nod but a small golden bird-beastman raises his hand. I point towards him. ¡°So any game knowledge such as maps and hunting spots we can keep secret about?¡± Good point, hmm. As I¡¯m musing a black lion-beastman with quite the majestic mane raises his hand. ¡°I think that we should tell everyone about what we found in the village, since that¡¯d be helpful in moving people forward, hunting spots and the such are more personalthings¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. He has a point and I liked how he used ¡®we¡¯ but he wasn¡¯t part of the village squad¡­sneaky. ¡°I think that we should not impart game knowledge, as it then allows everyone to discover things themselves¡± I give a heartfelt smile to them all. I¡¯m not trading my quest knowledge for nothing you cunning beast (literally)¡­ Most of the crowd nod and thus it¡¯s a sign to move on. ¡°Ok, so first things first, stats. We will begin with compiling the stats that everyone has found, as let¡¯s face it, the chance of you getting a special stat this early is basically null¡± The cute squirrel-beastlady from waay earlier (when we were searching the village) raises her little hand smoothly. ¡°Can you start us off?¡± Damn, I wasn¡¯t going to get out of this. ¡°Gladly, I¡¯ve discovered the Strength, Perception, Dexterity and Vitality stat¡± A lot of people went ¡°ooooh¡± when I mentioned perception¡­idiots, do they not even look at their opponent? Anyways, the red minotaur from earlier puts up his hand (why is everyone so orderly? maybe it''s got to do with the information need?). ¡°Is anyone recording this, because wouldn¡¯t want to forget the information¡± I¡¯m not sure if he was giving a good idea or insulting himself¡­ I quickly point to Baila. ¡°She¡¯ll make a note of everything and then after befriending party leaders she¡¯ll send a transcript¡± Baila, put on the spotlight has no other choice but to say yes as she gives me a little evil eye¡­Baila you¡¯re not leeching skills off me for free, oh no. Everyone nods and we continue with the meeting. ¡°Ok so if you have a stat that I didn¡¯t mention then please mention it¡± Slowly 3 people raise their hands. ¡°Agility¡± Says a white turtle-beastman¡­the irony? A couple chuckle at the ironic statement¡­ ¡°Luck¡± A pink rabbit-beastlady who looks like a complete rabbit loli (I¡¯m not complaining though). ¡°OOOOOH¡± Literally the whole crowd joins in¡­ ¡°It¡¯s not a special; it wasn¡¯t even hard to get¡­¡± She looks away uncomfortably and the big sister (she¡¯s definitely big¡­) pink rabbit-beastlady gives everyone evil eyes. A chorus of how¡¯s fill the air. Cupping my mouth. ¡°QUIIEEEEEEEET¡± ¡­ .. . Ok everyone¡¯s shut up. ¡°We will talk about how to get the stats in a second, ok?¡± They all nod, good. ¡°I got the wisdom stat¡± Charmine says next. ¡°ooooh¡± Quite a bit of the crowd exclaims, must be the mage wannabe¡¯s. ¡°Ok, is that all the normal stats we¡¯ve collected so far?¡± Everyone nods and I scan them all to determine whether they¡¯re lying¡­hmm, seems like that¡¯s it. ¡°So now we will begin with how to get the stats¡± ¡­ ¡­ After a good 10 minutes we¡¯ve gotten all the information about how to get these stats; Strength, perception, dexterity and vitality I already knew. Luck is gained through¡­lucky actions; such as dodging death by an inch or something of the sort. Agility is gained through agile movements such as running , jumping, flipping, etc etc. Wisdom is gained through wise thoughts¡­That was ambiguous but when Charmine explained she used the cellar walls to kill the rats that was a pretty smart move, hence got wisdom (Thought you¡¯d get intelligence but guess not). ¡°Ok, Baila have you got that all down?¡± ¡°Yep¡± ¡°Good, everyone, now we can move on to skills. As you should all know, skills will give from 5 to 75% xp to the next level, depending on their grade¡± A couple of people look shocked but most don¡¯t. Guess quite a few of us has unlocked at least 1 racial stat. ¡°And we don¡¯t get any xp from monsters, and only a bit from quests. Thus raising our skills will be the best way to level¡± Everyone nods, at least they all know this much. ¡°So therefore it¡¯s vital we share our skills as that¡¯ll level us up to about level 5 thus making all our lives so much easier. I shall once again begin¡± Because I have faith you will tell me all your delicious skills. ¡°I have 8 skills; Kick mastery, unarmed mastery, stomp, suicide, monster identification, hearing, smell and night vision¡± ¡°ooooh¡± Most of the crowd go ooh because 8 skills is a decent amount it seems, damn I¡¯m not going to get much am I. ¡°Most are self-explanatory but Monster Identification is just another word for scan and suicide is gained through hurting yourself to 1 hp multiple times¡­it was for the vitality stat¡± They look slightly horrified at how to get the suicide stat but some nod knowingly? ¡°Ok, so let¡¯s begin from my left shall we?¡± ¡­ ¡­ A whole 2 hours later, I¡¯m almost in tears¡­because there are so many skills, so many¡­ So starting with Active combat skills. Combat skills people have found so far are; Grappling and Throw¡­that¡¯s it, because well no one has weapons yet. I mean red Minotaur found the Horns skill but that¡¯s racial only so only those with horns could get it¡­however what about headbutt? I made a personal note about that. Other active skills were: Sprint, Jump, Roll, Climb, Dodge, Lucky roll and Sneak. Ok so a lot of agility based skills, most found by Mr Speedturtle (that white turtle from before, apparently that¡¯s his username). Lucky roll was the pink loli-rabbits skill gained from getting luck. However there weren¡¯t very many passive skills except: Mana adept, which Charmine got from gaining wisdom. Many oooh¡¯s from the wannabe mages. The only proficiencies people got so far was unarmed mastery and some got kicking mastery (which is apparently different from unarmed, spiked boots maybe?). So all in all I have a total of 11 new skills to get. I¡¯m so excited! Sadly there were a couple of racial specific skills such as tail whip and glide, which made me a bit sad because I couldn¡¯t get those no matter what I did¡­unless I made metal ones¡­ooh, I need to get blacksmithing! So that was the end of the skills part and everyone left looking decently happy at the new 10+ skills they learnt about. ¡°Ok, now that we¡¯ve gotten through the skills, we¡¯re onto the last part; System knowledge. This part basically consists of anything you know about the system¡± A bald goblin (eeugh) raises his hand. ¡°If you hit monsters in vital spots the rate of critical becomes 100%¡± ¡°Ooooh¡± Most of the village people didn¡¯t know about it, me included. Useful knowledge indeed. ¡°That¡¯s some good information, also, everything is interactive, so there¡¯s no being forced into mazes and the such¡± I say to the crowd, most of which nod knowingly A black and gold bear-beastman (it¡¯s a honey bear!) raises his paw. ¡°Death is brutal¡­¡± ¡­ .. . I notice a couple of people from the crowd are shuffling uncomfortably; hmm so a couple people have died already. ¡°How bad is the xp loss?¡± The squirrel-beastlady asks. ¡°0¡­¡± ¡­That¡¯s not brutal¡­ ¡°But instead we have to remake our character¡­¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°WHAAAAT?¡± The square explodes in shock and everyone starts shouting complaints to the sky. ¡­wow, that¡¯s brutal¡­remaking characters after death. Well that explains why some are locked, so that you can play another character. Hmm suicide seems quite useful in this case¡­ ¡°QUIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET¡± ¡­ .. . Everyone hears my voice (finally) and after another few insults to the sky, sit back down thinking extremely hard. ¡°Honey bear, tell us the details¡± ¡°It¡¯s just Honey. When I remade my character I had to do it from scratch, appearance, stats and skills¡± ¡°THAT¡¯S BULLS-¡± The red minotaur stands up shouting. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± thankfully the end of the word was blotted out by my shout but the red minotaur stays standing. ¡°Then what do we do? Not die? Ever? No PKing? No Guildwars? Everybody¡¯s got to act friendly?¡± ¡­I think I¡¯ll never party with this possible PK¡¯er¡­But he has got a point¡­ Ah! ¡°Honey, you said there was no xp loss, but you had to redo the stats and skills, what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably as you think; I had to grind to get all my skills back but since I knew how to get them in the first place it was a bit easier. And when I got them back they were at the same level and everything, so I didn¡¯t lose any xp, just a lot of time¡± Everyone seemed a little more calm¡­it may be brutal having to remake your character but seeing as though the skills stay the same that¡¯s good. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll have a milestone or something?¡± Points out the black lion. The crowd looks his way contemplating the idea. ¡°I think probably level 10 if there is one. I mean getting to level 100 and then dying just to restart is just a bit too brutal¡± The crowd nods solemnly, none of us wants to restart after getting to level 100. ¡°Then how about we work together to get to level 10, to see if there really aremilestones¡± Hehe, A free ticket to level 10 means quite a few skills, since we¡¯ll most undoubtedly do more meetings along the way. Oh I can¡¯t wait. Everyone nods unanimously at that, there¡¯s no way any of us don¡¯t want a ticket to a milestone to possibly save our character. ¡°Ok, anyone else got anything to share?¡± ¡­Nope, seems like we¡¯ve wrung what we could so far. ¡°Good. Now I propose the village group go hunting while the group who followed the red minotaur-¡± ¡°Name is Braxel¡± The red minotaur states gruffly. ¡°-Those who followed Braxel stay and do the starting village quests. That sound alright?¡± Everybody nods with that, because it¡¯ll stop places getting overcrowded. People start to stand up. ¡°Ah before you go, send me a friend request, because why the hell not? It¡¯ll also be useful to communicate meeting times and whatnot to everyone¡± Everyone nods. ¡°Ok, so meeting adjourned, have a good day¡± A wave of windows rush to my face and I hear quite a few chuckles at the mass of windows that literally encase me. Sooo many friend requests!!! ¡­Ok, let¡¯s work through them one by one.
Braxelwants to be friends Yes No
BoneCracker wants to be friends Yes No
Zzard wants to be friends Yes No
Zzandwants to be friends Yes No
Zzoid wants to be friends Yes No
Clerissa wants to be friends Yes No
Nekinekiwants to be friends Yes No
Goldy wants to be friends Yes No
Blacky wants to be friends Yes No
Tikari wants to be friends Yes No
MrSpeedTurtlewants to be friends Yes No
PinkyJuniourwants to be friends Yes No
PinkySeniourwants to be friends Yes No
Rakshakwants to be friends Yes No
Honey wants to be friends Yes No
¡­ ... After clicking yes on an absolute ton of friend requests (It was a hard choice for BC, but I did so in fear of getting BC¡¯d if I didn¡¯t) the screens lessened to only a couple.
Congratulations! Through taking control of the situation multiple times you have discovered a new exquisite stat
STAT: Leadership
Points in Leadership will increase number of party member slots in your party (1 per 10 points) and will affect leadership related skills.
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots? YES NO
xp increases by 20%
Omg¡­that¡¯s freaking awesome¡­however I¡¯m not much of a party man soo I¡¯m going to leave it as is. I do like the 20% xp increase though, much nicer than the 10% from normal stats.
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Commanding Shout
SKILL: Commanding Shout, Intermediate [lvl1]0%(Active)
Commanding Shout allows your voice to be heard over the crowds to gain their attention and to give them necessary commands.
When used: Voice amplified by 10% Npc''s are 20% likely to follow the command (+- Intimacy bonuses/penalties) Leadership bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: 1 minute, Cooldown: 5 minutes
xp increases by 20%
Congratulations! Through repeatedly talking and convincing people to give up information you have discovered a new stat
STAT: Communication
Points in Communication will affect your communication related skills
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots? YES NO
xp increases by 10%
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Diplomacy
SKILL: Diplomacy, Beginner[lvl1]0%(Passive)
Diplomacy is the skill to persuade others for your benefit
1 % chance to convince NPC Communication bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
xp increases by 5%
Congratulations! Through being the first player to have listed 100 or more friends in the game, you have gained a title.
TITLE: The Social Butterfly
You have a large number of friends and thus are named The Social Butterly. This title is purely aesthetic and gives no in-game bonuses. For gaining this title your communication and leadership stats will increase by 5 each. If these stats are unused, the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
xp increases by 25%
¡­ .. . Wow, that¡¯s quite a lot of things that happened. I got another 2 stats, another 2 skills, a title and a hell of a lot of xp; I got 80% xp!Which brings me up to level 3 at 51%...wow! Well I am extremely happy about this, even though I pressed no on both of my new stats. I mean yeah they¡¯d both be great buut I¡¯m a hobgoblin, I¡¯m not exactly cut out for either of those two stats. Also I¡¯m extremely happy that I didn¡¯t need to tell everyone else about them because the meeting was over, wohoo! So in half a skip I head over to the blacksmith, because I must prepare for some squirrel killing¡­ 3. Squirrels and some hot leather.. ¡°Damn¡± I close the blacksmith¡¯s door behind me as I exit the shop¡­barehanded as before. Dammit why is the cheapest thing an entire 1 silver 10 copper? No wonder no one has gotten a weapon yet; they¡¯re too blimming expensive. I really wonder what the hunting group did in these first 5 hours¡­ Anyways, no time to dawdle, Squirrels are needed to be killed. Most of the village group is heading their way to the outside (since they all went to the blacksmith themselves to get some crushed hope), though no one is walking. Everyone is doing some kind of strange action as they go out; some are jumping, while others rolling. A couple are sending punches to a friend who dodges and vice versa. The two pink rabbits are even sneaking their way to the outside¡­ They say skills change a person¡­but this is too mild. Trying to only get 1 skill at a time? Terrible. I join the large circusy crowd and begin to do some strange sort of burpees; Jump vertical into the air, then roll a bit forward once touching the ground and then taking a sneaky step. Some fellow jumpers and rollers see me do this and with grins the ¡®burpee¡¯ horde begins¡­ They say skills change a person¡­we¡¯re all craving the xp. So this strange burpee horde lasts about 30 minutes and by the time we reached the end of the village about 20% of us were hands on knees breathing heavily from the workout. The other 80% were on the ground panting like dogs. Guess which one I¡¯m in ¡­ .. . Ok much better. Seems like the system will help you recover decently quickly so that¡¯s good for the unfit¡­ Sadly no skill or stat as of yet¡­however that¡¯s just fine as I take a few recovering steps outside. Everyone starts to disperse¡­walking, because they want to save a little face¡­fools! I peer at a couple of them and see that some are still doing tiny jumps while others are still trying to walk silently¡­Don¡¯t resist the temptation my friends. Let the need for skills take you over! I look back to see where Baila is ¡­ .. . ¡°This never happened¡± She walks past me slightly red-faced as she heads to the forest. Hehe, don¡¯t resist the temptation! Following her (in stealth of course) we make it to the forest within minutes and start to scour the world for squirrels and berries. While we scour I continue doing my burpees, so really Baila¡¯s doing all the scouring. But I mean she¡¯s ok with killing cute critters(apparently) so she¡¯s appropriate for this job. After about 5 minutes, Baila spots a squirrel munching on a little red berry.
NAME:Forest Squrrel [lvl2] (Passive)
Health:15/15Attack:2-2
Defense:0No resistances
Attacks by jumping and biting
Ah, my catching skills were never the best¡­ Question is; how do I taunt the thing? ¡­ooh taunt! ¡°Oy you little grey furballs stop squirreling away in those trees and fight me like the squirrels you are¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Seems like squirrels don¡¯t know English¡­that was to be expected. Guess taunt is out of the question + Baila¡¯s looking at me funny. Plan B; Get some more skills! I start to climb the tree the squirrel is in but as I get to the top, it jumps to another tree¡­More climbing, yay! Baila starts to jump on the spot as I climb down then up the other tree. Reaching the top I come face to face with the squirrel who cocks its little head slightly and starts a staring contest with me *Spit* -2 ¡°Aaaaagh¡± -1 *Thump* ¡­ .. . Well that was one way to taunt the thing. Buut, I learnt that taunting a squirrel while your hands are busy holding you up and your face is by it¡­it¡¯s a bad idea. -5 Grabbing and tearing the squirrel off my face, ayyyy, I lock it within my two hands and begin to wring it like a wet towel -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1¡­ After about 15 seconds the squirrel finally dies with a satisfying crack of its spine. Dropping the body on the floor beside me, I get up to see Baila holding back a laugh with her hand. ¡°What are you laughing about¡­it¡¯s your turn next¡± That drained the colour off her pretty little face. Though she doesn¡¯t complain and starts to look for another squirrel. Following her burpee style, it takes us another 5 minutes to find another squirrel. However this time it¡¯s on the ground picking berries. Activating her assassin level skills, Baila walks up to the squirrel and begins to hug it within her mountains before getting a hold on its neck¡­The rest I don¡¯t want to remember. Poor things don¡¯t even get a chance to retaliate¡­ Anyways, she did her kill so it¡¯s my turn now¡­damn. We both squat down and pick the berries gathering 6 between us.
ITEM:Forest Berry x6 (Low Quality)
A common berry that resides in forests
Ah, only low quality. Well that¡¯s beginner herbalism for you. Moving on, she spots another squirrel which is on a tree again (I think she finds ones on tree just for me¡­). Climbing up once more I hold myself up with an arm before spitting on it. -2 ¡°Aaaagh¡± -1 *Thump* -5 Damn I was too slow. However I still have the squirrel in my hands now. Instead of wringing it like before I hold it in place with one hand and then methodically break all 4 of its legs. The now immobile squirrel can¡¯t do much but try its best to bit me with its little teeth. Standing up I turn to Baila. ¡°Catch!¡± She turns to me in midair with a bit of shock in her face as the squirrel comes flying her way. Catching the squirrel she drops to the ground and sends the missile back to me. *Thunk* -1 OW! Rubbing my head I thank the gods it only did 1 damage. The squirrel dropped onto the floor and without hesitation I stomp on it a couple of times to ensure its death. ¡°Pfft¡± Oh shut up Baila, you almost killed me there! Moving on, we spot another berry bush and harvest 5 berries. A couple of minutes later we find another squirrel, on the ground once again. Oh cmon. Baila goes up and hugs it once more but instead of restructuring its neck she decides to break its arms and then legs¡­ Oh god! Arms out, hands open I prepare for the missile as she launches it towards me. *Thunk* -1 God dammit! I know my catching skills are not the best but still! How¡¯d the squirrel get past my hands there? Anyways, I pick up the squirrel and I chuck it over to her. Seeing as though I¡¯m being kind to her, she sends another missile. Is this revenge for having her do the transcript? Catching the squirrel with my face¡­it hurts. However at least I touched the fur this time¡­ We continue this little game of throw and catch(?) until I¡¯m on the verge of death. Then we stop and she breaks its neck like she¡¯s twisting a lid. Squirrel hunting may actually be quite fun. So we start a bit of a routine; whenever it¡¯s my turn, Baila jumps while I grab a spit and fight a squirrel on the floor. Whenever it¡¯s her turn we play throw and catch. Also when we¡¯re moving around, I do my burpees. After a good 40 squirrels and an hour later, we¡¯ve picked another 80 berries (which is more than enough) and have subsequently gained a couple of new skills and a stat:
Congratulations! Through repeated agile actions you have discovered a new stat: agility
STAT: Agility
Points in Agility will increase attack speed, movement speed and will affect agility based skills
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots?YESNO
xp increases by 10%
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Throw
SKILL:Throw, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Active)
Throwing objects is a skill that needs to be practiced to be mastered. When used: Does terrain damage Throws target 1 metre (+- bonuses/penalties dependent on object thrown) Strength bonus: n/a Agility bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Headbutt
SKILL:Headbutt, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Active)
Headbutting is the skill to cause pain with your head while not doing damage to your own When used: deals 70% unarmed damage Strength bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Roll
SKILL:Roll, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Passive)
This skill allows you to roll more effectively When rolling: 2% to dodge chance Agility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Jump
SKILL:Jump, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Passive)
The jumping skill will allow you to jump better When jumping: 1% higher jump than normal Strength bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Climb
SKILL:Climb, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Passive)
Climbing needs to be practiced because pure strength is not always the answer When climbing: Surfaces will feel slightly rougher Strength bonus: n/a Agility bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
All in all I¡¯m pretty happy¡­although I got headbutt instead of catch¡­Even the system is making fun out of me¡­ The skills themselves only add a tiny little difference but every little thing helps! Baila got throw, catch and jump, of which the jump was already expert level giving her a 40% increase in height¡­racials are awesome¡­ I¡¯m only 14% from level 4 as well, so I¡¯m definitely going to level up once I¡¯ve gotten my sneak skill and cash in my quests. However before that; we¡¯ve got another dozen or so squirrels to kill¡­ When we move around this time we both try to sneak around the forest. Turns out we¡¯re both pretty good at it as I can¡¯t really hear too much¡­could I have a higher grade sneak already? I¡¯ve figured out that racials are just common sense, which is easier with beastman races but there are some obvious ones for us monsters and the humanoids too. So really I should be trying to get a hobgoblins skill set¡­which I have no idea what it is¡­ I¡¯ll look it up later. We find another squirrel and this time I stand at the foot of the tree before spitting on the squirrel. Getting a squirrel to the face, I peel it off before making short work of it. Since I¡¯ve been practicing my spitting, I¡¯ve actually improved it to the point where I can spit from about a metre away now. Ah school days sending spitballs to my classmates¡­never thought I¡¯d ever spit for something useful ever again. The rest of our squirrel murder session is quite uneventful with me spitting and then killing the squirrels while Baila focuses on getting roll and sneak. Another 30 minutes and we¡¯ve killed the required 60 squirrels (well it was 30 but we decided it¡¯d be better if we killed 30 each, to grind our skills somewhat too). After this hour and a half long squirrel murdering session nothing has increased yet, however I¡¯ve gotten a couple new skills in the process:
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Spitful taunt
SKILL:Kicking mastery, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Active)
To taunt others with your spit is effective because of their honor being most literally spat upon When used: spits 1 metre gain 1% agro(100% if target not in combat) Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: 3 seconds
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Sneak
SKILL:Sneak, Intermediate [lvl1] 0% (Active)
Sneaking is the skill to move silently for one reason or another When used: -1% chance to be detected Agility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 20%
With that I leveled up to level 4. Whoo! It¡¯s a bit odd that I got a taunt but it¡¯s a different taunt? Or maybe there are different types of taunts? I have no idea but if that means I can get a whole bunch of different taunts I¡¯m happy. Baila got her roll and sneak skill and she¡¯s pretty close to level 3 it seems. Thanks to that meeting I¡¯m pretty far ahead. So with us finished we decide that we should head back. And so we take the scenic route back to the village: We sprint as fast as we can through the forest and out into the deserted field. Then we run our way round the village, joining up with a sprint-gliding crow-beastman. *Caw* ¡°Hello there, getting some skills?¡± His raspy tone gives me a bit of a shiver because it immediately reminds me of a mad old man¡­never take candy from an old man with a raspy voice. A useful lesson I learnt as a child. ¡°Why yes, just taking a nice run around the village¡± We run, mostly in silence, for a good 20 minutes until my satiety bar is dangerously low. Grabbing a handful of berries I munch on 19 of them leaving 40 for myself (we split the berries 59:59). Wow each berry raises the satiety by 2, not bad. Running around for another 20 minutes the satiety is getting quite low again (about 15/180). So we decide to run into the village waving the crow-beastman goodbye. Making our way to the general goods we spend 9 precious copper on 5 pieces of bread; The petite brunette tending the stall had looked at our pitiful gazes as we gave the money and gave us a discount of 1 copper. 1 copper is a huge fortune for us so I¡¯m extremely grateful to her (plus I got a little bit of proficiency on my diplomacy). You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Munching on a piece of bread, it quickly recovers a full 60 satiety (so about 2 hours worth of game time, nice!). Making our way to the elder we see he¡¯s currently giving constant bows to the line of people completing their quests. Seems like most of them have completed the rabbit and squirrel extermination. After a few minutes we are first in line and we give the good news to the elder. ¡°Oh thank you young ones, our village is most thankful towards you¡±
Quest Complete!
Rewards: 20 Copper +1 intimacy with village
Oh so much money! ¡°It is our pleasure Elder, however we must have more problems that are needed to be solved?¡± ¡°Why yes, we have a problem with wolves too. I say problem but it is more that the wolves are a slight annoyance to trading caravans and thus we need to lower the number somewhat. Also I heard that Jenna was running a bit low on pelts for this coming winter¡± ¡°I¡¯d gladly help¡± Although that may be the reason why you have an overpopulation of bunnies and squirrels?
QUEST: Wolf Extermination
The Village Elder has asked you to kill 10 wolves that reside deeper in the forest
Rewards: +1 intimacy with village 30 copper coins
Oooh 30 coppers! I like this quest. However skills take priority over everything else. Thanking the village elder, I head to Nathan¡¯s place. ¡°Hello Nathan, I have berries for you¡± ¡°Oh¡­who-Ah! Yes¡­Thank you¡± Don¡¯t force yourself to stay alive Nathan. His mind seems to be going slightly but that¡¯s to expect with his age (of which I don¡¯t know but suspect to be pretty old). I handed over the 20 berries and got my +1 intimacy and 10 coppers in exchange. Ahhh, 51 coppers all resting in my bag. It jingles so sweetly. As Nathan is heading to his room I put a hand gently on his shoulder. ¡°Nathan, I¡¯ve collected a couple of extra berries but I don¡¯t really know what to do with them¡­could you give me a few pointers?¡± He turns round, staring at me for a minute before I think he understands. ¡°Hmm¡­First¡­gather some¡­pond lilies¡± ¡°Sure will do¡± Ah, it¡¯s never that easy. But then again making potions with 1 type of herb doesn¡¯t really work does it
QUEST:A Budding Alchemist I
Nathan has given you a pointer that to become an alchemist you should first gather some pond lilies, 40 should do
Rewards: ???
Ooh! A chain quest! Well I mean the extermination are kind of...) And ??? rewards (which may mean nothing buuut still)! I grin to myself as I watch Baila go to Nathan and give him a dangerous hug to one of his frail arms. ¡°Mister Nathan, can you teach me how to become and alchemist? I¡¯d ever so love to have a session with you¡­all alone¡± ¡°W-wwell of course¡­I¡¯d be¡­happy to be alone¡­teaching you alchemy¡­of course¡­¡± ¡­ .. . Damn, why didn¡¯t I start as a sexy rabbit-beastlady so that I can convince old men to give me skills for free! I respect you Baila, you just increased a whole bunch of points in my book. ¡°However¡­I need some¡­Fire flowers to teach you¡± ¡­ ¡°Will do Mister Nathan¡± She lets go of his arm and pretends ignorance at his roaming eyes. Well once a man always a man? It truly does look like we don¡¯t lose our internal vigor with age¡­ Baila hops over to me with a grin. ¡°I just got the second stage!¡± She sticks out her tongue playfully at me. ¡­ .. . Wow I really need to become a sexy rabbit-beastlady if it means I can skip quest lines to get the skills! Well at least I¡¯m a sort of good looking hobgoblin buuut I don¡¯t think Nathan will fall for me, damn. Anyways. We both exit his house and head over to the leatherworkers. Why? Because we had a pretty much direct hint from the elder that Jenna needed a few pelts, and I¡¯m guessing she¡¯s the leatherworker? We¡¯re not the only ones going into the house and when we enter the entire building is filled to the brim with about 30 people. ¡°Hey Jenna I¡¯d like to kill some wolves for you¡± ¡°Misses, wolf pelts are my specialty¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll get some just for you¡± ¡°Older sister Jenna, Please teach me¡­¡± SO many people are speaking at the same time¡­guess everyone wants leatherworking¡­I mean I guess having armor would make like slightly easier and everyone¡¯s in a bit of a rush not to die because of its decent brutality¡­ I wonder why Nathan¡¯s shop didn¡¯t have the same fervor? ¡°SHUT UP!¡± ¡­ .. . Everyone quietens and the middle of the crowd takes a step back, revealing a tall woman wearing long brown leather boots as well as matching shorts and a low-cut top, which is filled to the brims... Her long black locks of hair curl down past her shoulder but does not hide the fuming, slightly freckled womanly face which also has some slightly visible laughlines. ¡­ .. . This skill had me interested but now it has my attention! Especially if she''s teaching me. Well that explains why so many people want to take leatherworking: Because we can see firsthand how, divine this skill is. I thought that Cat-beastlady was sexy in that shirt, in these clothes she¡¯d be¡­god, just the image is arousing, I can¡¯t fathom how great the real thing would be. Sneaking a look at Baila I notice she¡¯s got a little sparkle in her eyes. Guess women also like that type of clothing (or they wouldn¡¯t ever wear it right?). I wouldn¡¯t mind having her along for a long time if she decides to get leatherworking¡­ Jenna fumes for a few seconds before she lets out a large sigh. ¡°Ok ok ok, I¡¯m running low on pelts and need about 100 wolf pelts. If you¡¯d all be kind enough to get some for me I¡¯ll teach you how to use them¡±
QUEST:Wolf Pelt Gathering
Jenna, the leatherworker, has asked you to gather wolf pelts for her. However she only requires 100, so once she has them all, she will not accept any more. WARNING: Pelts must be medium quality or higher to be accepted 0/10 wolf pelts given 0 wolf pelts given so far...
Rewards: Leatherworking skill
¡­ .. . *BAM CRASH* ¡°OW¡± *THUMP, SMACK, WHAM* Phew. Thank god I was closest to the door. Sprinting out the place I¡¯m quickly followed by the horde of 30 which are still fighting to get out. Racing to the gates, Baila and I are quickly overtaken by the pink rabbit duo who hop over us¡­ damn those rabbits. ¡­ ¡°Hey, wait a second¡± The little loli rabbit sticks her tongue out at me mid-hop. ¡°Slowpokes, what do you want?¡± ¡°Well if we party up, we can do the quest faster and all complete it all together!¡± I try to diplomacise with them. The little one goes ¡°hrmph¡± but the bigger one slows down slightly cocking an ear my way. ¡°Wolves will probably hunt in packs so if there¡¯s more of us we¡¯d have a better chance¡± I¡¯m a pretty logical person. ¡°¡­Ok that sounds fair, but we take first pelt¡± ¡°Sure, not a problem¡± So they get a bit of a headstart once we finish, she¡¯s got brains as well as boobs. I like this one too. So I send them my party invite, and lo and behold; they¡¯re Pinky Juniour and Seniour. I suspected as much. They slow down so that Baila and I catch up. Then we all go sprint together¡­ -1 -2 -3 ¡­ .. . I can handle one well endowed bouncing bunny, but 2? I lost over half my health watching them bounce either side of me. I¡¯m a strong man but I have my weaknesses¡­ PJ (Pinky Juniour from now on) asks me why I¡¯ve lost so many hitpoints¡­ ¡°I got¡­something in my eye¡­It did quite a bit of damage¡± ¡°Oh, ok then¡± Ok so her size isn¡¯t just for show. The other two though¡­don¡¯t really mind me saying that? Baila just gives me a devious grin while PinkyS (Pinky Seniour) chuckles to herself. These women are definitely confident in their own bodies. Buuut I won¡¯t look because I might actually die...although will I get a title from doing so? Oooh, but I¡¯ll have to try that out after I¡¯ve gotten leatherworking. Sprinting through the grassland, I look back to see everyone dispersing like pollen to different areas of the forest. My party goes straightforward to the forest and without stop keep running through it. The trees whoosh past us as we move deeper into the forest. Slowly the light dims and my eyesight finally improves somewhat. I look around to check for wolves buuut they¡¯re not as easily found lazing about like the squirrels¡­ ¡°AWOOO¡± ¡­ Well they found us instead, I guess that¡¯s good? Heading to the direction of the howling we slow down and then activate stealth (luckily everyone has it). We soon sneak past a tree and a couple of trees away is our prey
NAME:Forest Wolf [lvl3]
Health:30/30Attack:3-5
Defense:0No resistances
Will attack by surrounding weakest looking target and pouncing. Also uses claws and bites.
A common grey wolf found in forests
Hmm, normal hp, horribly high attack and the whole surrounding thing certainly suggests they don¡¯t fight alone¡­ ¡°AWOOO¡± Before we can think of a plan, the wolf in front of us howls and then looks at us. ¡°Kill it quickly!¡± I charge towards the wolf. Baila does charge behind me, thank god. However the Pinky duo just look at me funny for a second before they get the message. The wolf bounds towards me and it pounces on me. ¡°Oomph¡± -5 Ok charging a wolf is not a good idea. -3 Ow, damn that wolf bites, literally! ¡°yaah¡± The wolf is quickly tackled off me by some red beauty. They roll on the floor for half a second before she is inevitably underneath. I quickly get to a kneeling position. ¡°Yaah¡± A light foot presses against my back, followed by a ¡°whee¡± as I see a pink loli rabbit fly above me. *Crash* The loli lands on the wolf doing pretty much nothing to it, hell I don¡¯t think the wolf notice her till... *CRACK* ¡­ .. . Oh Jesus that¡¯s nasty¡­ I feel sorry for Baila because she just got a gut shower¡­eegh I quickly put my fingers in my ears but still slightly hear the horrified scream coming from both the loli and Baila¡­ Why? Well because there¡¯s half a wolf above Baila while PJ drops the upper half of the wolf onto the floor getting a good spray¡­ Both are screaming their lungs out¡­ ¡°OOF¡± -1 Flattened to the ground by some tremendous force I almost die¡­Just what was that? Felt like a foot¡­ ¡°Shh the Baila, shh, its only particles¡± ¡°Sister¡­why aren¡¯t you cuddling me, it¡¯s no fair¡± ¡°Juni, stop screaming if you¡¯re not scared¡± ¡­ .. . I¡¯m not sure whether the kid is really mature or just insane¡­ Either way, she¡¯s got some crazy strength and it¡¯s effective¡­ I dig my face out of the ground and look towards my rabbit trio: Baila is sobbing profusely while being hugged by PinkyS. PJ is dragging the wolf back together on the side¡­ Guess everyone has forgotten about the 3 wolves that just came into view¡­ ¡°AWOOO¡± Shiiii- The wolves bound towards Baila who definitely looks like the weakest here while covered in guts. ¡°Ow¡± 1 wolf swipes Baila before PinkyS uses her body to block the rest of the blows. ¡°Sister!¡± *SMASH* One wolf dead as anything as it flies into a tree with a resounding crack¡­ That¡¯s hell of a kick¡­ The remaining 2 immediately agro onto PJ and try to claw her. She manages to dodge one but gets a claw to her right side. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± *CRACK* Another wolf¡¯s back meets a tree¡­I want that kick power. The third wolf is grabbed by the back-paw by PinkyS and as it tries to kick itself free it gets a punch to the face, smashing it to the ground and knocking its eyes into the white¡­ None of the wolves are dead mind you¡­but 2 have broken spines and the other is unconscious. Needless to say PJ goes around curb stomping them. And that was the end of our first wolf pack encounter. Overall, not too bad, but that may have been because both of them seemed to put quite a lot of points into Strength¡­ Strength is really quite overpowered; I just can¡¯t imagine how brutal a 50 strength person is¡­ While PJ drags the wolves into a row, PinkyS continues to console Baila, whose eyes are slowly gaining some light. I head over and lightly pat Baila¡¯s slender shoulders, after wiping off the remaining guts off them of course. ¡°Well you¡¯ve certainly got guts¡­¡± *Elbow* ¡­ .. . Mother, I¡¯m sorry but you¡¯ll never have grandsons¡­ ¡­ ¡°Please don¡¯t say that word or you may get hurt¡± ¡°Oh¡­don¡¯t be so intestinetive¡± (Ed: play on words with insensitive?) *Kick* ¡°OWWWWWW¡± I¡¯m out of this world and into hell¡­ At least¡­she¡¯s¡­better¡­but¡­I think¡­I shouldn¡¯t¡­have tried to help¡­owww. ¡°Baila, don¡¯t go any further or we may become an all female group¡± Thanks PinkyS¡­I think¡­ ¡°Ah that made me feel so much better¡± ¡­ .. . Seriously Baila¡­How does hurting me make you feel better¡­you sadist...although I don¡¯t hate that¡­I think. While Baila gives multiple sighs of relief as she slowly looks towards and away from the guts, PinkyS and PJ look towards the wolf corpses¡­ Me¡­I¡¯m still meditating on the floor, reaching a new stage of elightenment¡­ ¡°Umm guys¡± PinkyS¡¯ sweet voice gives a little relief from the pain. ¡°W¡­what¡­is it?¡± Words are still difficult at the moment. ¡°How are we going to skin the wolves¡­¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Good point¡± Everyone nods their head slowly¡­this may be bit of a problem... 4. Rabbit-beastladies are scary people ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± I look up from the mass of wolf bodies to see Baila running towards us waving a knife¡­yes, we all chipped in 28 copper to buy a knife¡­that¡¯s over half my money gone. So while Baila bought the knife, the pinky duo and I kept destroying wolves. Apparently they have 20 strength...I can¡¯t imagine how nasty a 50 strength would be. In the 30 minutes that it took Baila to get the knife, we managed to kill another 8 packs of wolves, so we¡¯ve got 35 wolves to skin (1 became unskinnable since its body is in half¡­). Reaching us, Baila chucks the knife at me. *Stab* -3 ¡°Ow, hasn¡¯t your mother ever told you to not throw sharp things?¡± At least it got stuck in my open hand; I¡¯ll count that as a catch¡­ ¡°¡­sorry¡± She looks down and starts making circles with a foot as if she¡¯s being told off, well she is. ¡°Ok, Baila you may want to look away for this¡± ¡°No, I should be ok¡± ¡°Oook¡± I turn back to pinky duo; they¡¯ve taken a wolf out of the pile and laid it in front of me. Kneeling down I begin to skin the wolf...by sticking the knife in it and moving it around?
PELT RUINED
¡­ .. . I don¡¯t really know how to skin things¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Everyone pretty much facepalms at me trying to skin. ¡°Whoops¡­oh, Baila!¡± ¡°What?¡± She answers with a bit of fear¡­I think she knows what I¡¯m thinking. ¡°When you kill your rabbits at home¡­who skins them?¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°¡­I do¡­¡± ¡°Hehe haha HAHA!!¡± Perfect¡­haven¡¯t you ever heard never to wake the sleeping dragon (or kick it in its vital spot in this case¡­)? I¡¯m not the most vengeful person but there are some exceptions¡­ Everyone cringes to one or both of the facts; my villain laugh and Baila¡¯s quite brutal hobby(?). Then we all look at Baila. Standing up, I wipe the blood from my hands onto my clothes and once reaching Baila, get down on one knee and offer the knife. ¡°Your morning chores need to be done Baila¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound like it¡¯s something normal¡­even though it is!¡± She pouts and I feel her shaky hand take the knife. Honestly, revenge isn¡¯t the only reason why I¡¯m making her do the skinning¡­ She heads over to the wolf and with much hesitation, she kneels down. Slowly, she draws the knife across the wolf¡¯s stomach and as if being unzipped, the fleshy meat underneath is revealed. Once a long line runs from navel to nape (entire body), she opens up the wolf¡¯s legs. With that done, she turns the wolf round and takes its pelt off like she¡¯s taking off a jacket¡­ Damn, she¡¯s good at this. And she¡¯s not freaking out¡­But then again, the gut shower was pretty unique¡­ Within a decent 5 minutes, the wolf has become completely red and sinewy while Baila holds its pelt, with little damages. ¡°I¡­liked to make rabbit fur shoes so I was careful when skinning¡­¡± ¡­ .. . She¡¯s pretty pragmatic indeed. She gives the pelt to PinkyS, who whistles at it. ¡°High quality, that¡¯s some good quality pelt¡­Just how many rabbits have you skinned?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­one every Christmas, new year, thanksgiving, easter and then I¡¯m asked to skin the ones from my neighbours and family¡­About 50 a year?¡± ¡­ .. . I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be so¡­methodical answering that question. We really didn¡¯t need to know you eat rabbits in holidays, are you a rabbitarian or something? Anyways, we stop questioning her since she¡¯s the only one with skills here. Letting her continue work, we all sit around doing nothing¡­Not! I ask PinkyS to help me train dodging and she nods at the idea. PJ can just train climbing or something, which she does actually. PinkyS and I go a small distance away so as not annoy the others. Facing off PinkyS who is already bouncing on the balls of her feet¡­ -1 Wow, apparently clothes get ripped just like real life and in a good way too! I guess after fighting so many wolves it had quite the effect... Dammit brain! Wiping off the blood, I close my eyes. This is going to be the only way I¡¯m going to be able to fight. ¡°hehe. Don¡¯t you like what you see?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to handle¡± I say truthfully, I mean she can see that she has clawmarks on her shirt, strategically hiding the important part but still revealing enough to make me feel a little lightheaded. ¡°Heh. Well if you keep your eyes closed you may die and if you open them you¡¯ll die. What a hard situation for you¡± She whispers into my ear. Dammit don¡¯t get so close when I can¡¯t see you! What happened to the kind PinkyS that I thought she was? She seems quite evil, toruturing my mind so¡­ ¡°Left¡± ¡°Huh?¡± *Whoosh* I feel the air whoosh past the left side of my face ¡­ .. . I feel that I could have just died then. ¡°Right¡± I immediately move myself to the left and I feel the wind brush past my right. Ok, so that¡¯s how we¡¯re doing this. ... Standing there moving my head the opposite direction of what she calls, I¡¯m pretty good at it after 30 minutes; but I think she had slowed down her punches somewhat. ¡­ .. . When¡¯s the next one? I immediately hit the floor but I don¡¯t feel any wind above me¡­huh ¡°Pfft¡± ¡°Oh shut up, I thought you were going to kill me¡± ¡°I thought about it but I didn¡¯t do it because I thought you wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge it. Guess I was wrong: you can kiss the ground just fine¡± ¡°Ha ha¡± ¡°Hehe, stop hugging the ground, we got some more dodging to do¡± ¡°Ok ok¡± I get off the ground and stand up facing the direction of her voice. ¡°Ok, this time you¡¯ll attack me¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even look; it¡¯ll be a bit hard¡± ¡°Well I can¡¯t guarantee you¡¯ll touch me, but if you do¡­who knows where you¡¯ll touch¡± ¡­ .. . Aha, so an all free pass then? A man can always dream of such a thing¡­ Open hand, I push out but feel only thin air. ¡°At least you aren¡¯t dense, just pervy¡± ¡°Hey, blame yourself you man-torturer!¡± "Heh" I lunge towards her voice but once again nothing but air¡­ Hmm, time to actually use some skills. I stand there first using my hearing¡­A light breath from the right. Lunge! Miss, damn. Lunge! Miss. Lunge! Miss¡­ Damn. Hearing only shows the general direction, it¡¯s not good enough¡­ Back to standing immobile in the middle. ¡°Given up already? I thought you¡¯d have a lot more¡­vigor than that, especially after me giving you this free pass¡± I don¡¯t know how I thought this person was kind when she¡¯s clearly pure evil dangling such treats just out of my reach¡­ Since hearing is no good, I move onto Smell. *Sniff* ¡­ .. . I smell blood¡­or is it just my clothes? No, the smell just move slightly to my left. Lunge! Miss, but I felt fabric! To my right! Lunge! Wow, skin feels so real in this game¡­only brushed past her arm though, I think¡­ Wait...the smell is gone. Hmm¡­ah! I lick a finger and hold it out, turning until I feel a chill from the wind. Lunge to the left behind me! ¡­Miss, damn. But I could feel that enveloping heat through the fabric I just barely touched¡­Only a little more, a little more. Seeing as though she can¡¯t stay downwind from me, she starts running around me putting her smell literally everywhere. However I can still hear you! Lunge! Damn, only the fabric at her back¡­ What can I do to catch her? I can¡¯t use sight, smell or hearing...and touch and taste¡­well I can¡¯t do anything with them (as much as I¡¯d like to¡­). ¡°Pinky¡± ¡°Yeeees?¡± ¡°Can we take a break from me trying to hit you and go back to me dodging?¡± ¡°Hmm, ok? I don¡¯t see why though¡± ¡°I need some time to think and plan¡± ¡°Ok, was getting bored dodging your terrible attacks¡± I swear she¡¯s sticking her tongue out at me but I don¡¯t dare to open my eyes to confirm. We get back to me dodging her punches while she calls out the direction. She¡¯s actually quite nice and is punching where she says, partially because we both know I might die if she hits me¡­ ¡°Left-Right-Left-Uppercut-Left-Kick-Kick-Kick¡± She starts adding in some kicks and more advanced(?) attacks which aren¡¯t just the basic left and right. She¡¯s still doing it quite slowly but without my sight it¡¯s still quite tough. After a long time, I can dodge the attacks proficiently without a single injury. ¡°Left¡± -8 Jesus, that was just a graze! She seems to have sped up somewhat and her attack came almost simultaneously with the words¡­ Calming myself, I try to sense the air flow and the movement of her heat as it comes towards me. Success, somewhat. I feel my imminent death so I kiss the ground. ¡°good dodge, but please don¡¯t make out with the ground in front of me, it¡¯s disgusting¡± ¡°Oh stop complaining, its either this or I¡¯m kissing death¡± I stand back up and once I¡¯ve healed back to full a couple of seconds later, we start all over again. ¡°Right¡± -7 Ow, but slightly better. Heal and try again. ¡°Right¡± -7 Damn Again ¡°Left¡± -5 Ok, much better¡­ We continue this left-right punches for some time till I can finally dodge the blows as she says the direction. Guess heightening senses works. She stops once we reach that point and she plops onto the ground. Huffing, I cuddle the ground too and pick out a piece of bread to refill my satiety. ¡°How long have we been doing this?¡± I ask curious. ¡°About¡­2 hours? I don¡¯t know why you haven¡¯t gotten dodge yet, maybe because the attacks were too slow?¡± ¡°Any faster and you would have killed me so i¡¯m not complaining. Though now we should be able to speed up the attacks to the point where the system recognizes it as a dodge¡± ¡°Yep. Just don¡¯t die on me!¡± ¡°I will try my best, but don¡¯t try to kill me¡± ¡°I don¡¯t promise anything¡± Oh that¡¯s kind of you PinkyS. After catching my breath, we resume this dodging training. ¡­ ¡°Left¡± I dodge to the right feeling the air blow past me a lot stronger than when we first started. ¡°Right¡± Dodge to the left ¡°Sweep¡± Jump into the air and then land safely on the ground. Bending back I feel hot wind blow above me, missing my face by an inch. Jumping back I feel the wind sweep in front of me. Right, Left, Duck, Jump, kiss the ground ¡­ .. . What just happened? ¡°Hmm guess I was right¡± Right about what? ¡­ .. . ¡°Were you trying to kill me?¡± ¡°If you hadn¡¯t dodged¡­yes. Although you dodged beautifully back then¡± ¡°Thank you? Though seriously, I don''t want to die¡± ¡°It was just a theory that you¡¯d dodge instinctively, I mean you¡¯ve been doing so for pretty much 2 hours now, so I figured you¡¯d get a little bit used to it¡± ¡°I¡­guess so?¡± ¡°Though I only used 20% of my usual speed so it doesn¡¯t really account to much¡± Praising me and then scorning me, she''d actually make a decent army officer...though I thought I was just doing some light dodging fun with her... Anyways, I get back up and after a minute break we continue with the strange dodging session. Another 20 minutes later PJ comes into the surroundings, I know because her footsteps are light compared to others and don¡¯t make much noise; must be due to her size. ¡°Sister, Baila¡¯s only got 3 more wolves to go, we need to collect a couple more¡± ¡°Ok, we need another 6 right?¡± ¡°No, another 8, she messed up on 2¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, let¡¯s all collect the wolves while she finishes the other 3. I feel a hot sensation arrive at my face and before I can do anything the wind crashes onto my face... Ok so that¡¯s 100% speed¡­if she¡¯d used that I¡¯d be dead before I could react¡­scary. once the heat has retreated, PinkyS and PJ are walking away. I join them, decently reluctantly, to kill a couple of wolves. ¡°Oomph¡± ¡­ .. . Ah right, forgot to open my eyes¡­ I open my eyes while rubbing my forehead. Don¡¯t walk in a forest with closed eyes¡­ Getting back off I ignore their chuckles and go find some wolves. ¡­ We quickly find a pair and the pinky duo rush out, punching both to death within seconds. However they howl out and the sounds of incoming wolves fill my ears. *Smack* -1 I kiss the ground before I know it and I feel something sharp brush lightly over my back. Ow, why do I have to dodge by hurting myself? The wolf that pounced over me quickly registers it missed me, but that¡¯s all it does. As it turns towards me, I feel it zoom above me once more and crash into a nearby tree. I think if I play dead I might be more useful. We learnt through the hunting of the other packs that I can¡¯t really do anything but be bait; because wolves always go for the weakest looking one¡­ This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. So when we attack a wolf or two, the reinforcements always come for me. True to the theory, the other wolf which I hear is behind me, pounces at me as well. But with a sickening crunch, it falls onto me, unmoving. Someone drags the wolf off me before I hear it being double tapped. Removing my face from the ground I see the other 2 smiling at me ¡°Good bait¡± Damn you strong people! So after repeating the process once more, I somehow don¡¯t get damaged to the point of almost death due to pouncing wolves. I¡¯m extremely grateful for the dodging training PinkyS did with me. Returning back to Baila¡¯s spot, I see a surprisingly clean area. Well thank god for dissolving particles, or this place would be littered with red, sinewy wolves¡­ Baila looks quite tired as she¡¯s on her 34th wolf. Handing the remaining 8 to her, PinkyS and I go a distance to continue the dodging training. Closing my eyes once more due to the almost ripped shirt (not that I¡¯m complaining, it¡¯s just that I might bleed to death), we continue the training. Left, right, down, jump, back, left, left, back, duck, jump, right... ... After another 30 or so minutes she¡¯s sped up somewhat and after a couple of near-death grazes I¡¯ve finally reached the 40% speed mark, according to her. A couple of minutes ago, she stopped throwing attacks and chuckled. Asking why, I found out that she had just gained the skill: Holding back¡­ I finally figured out why I didn¡¯t die when she hit me with the grazes. Even though they¡¯re just grazes, with the strength she has she could easily kill me with one of them. I¡¯m guessing she isn¡¯t the average Jane when it comes to fighting¡­I don¡¯t know whether that¡¯s a good thing or not¡­ Anyways, we take a short break and in the last 10 minutes it¡¯s my turn to attack. Oh, I¡¯ve been waiting for this! I stand there immobile. First I get her general direction through her soft breathing, then I confirm a slightly better position with the slightly sweet smell of her sweat. Guess training with her close-by helped me distinguish her smell somewhat¡­ Ok, she¡¯s over on the right around my 4 O¡¯clock about¡­3 metres away. Jumping towards that direction I hear her step right then bound left and I switch direction swiping my hand at the back of her shirt. I stop and she does too¡­ Confirming her position 2 metres away to the 7 O¡¯clock position, I charge once more. Turning right once halfway I hear her surprised gasp as I intercept her and finally my hand clasps her supple skin ¡­ .. . Dammit, why did she have to block with her arm? Although it¡¯s a nice arm¡­I¡¯m a failure. Dropping to the floor, I wallow in self-regrets at being a bit too slow, for about 30 seconds. I then get back up, determined to be just that tiny bit faster. I confirm her, 12 O¡¯clock, 3 metres. Dash! ¡°Time-out¡± I stop abruptly¡­What? ¡°PJ is coming in a second¡± So free pass only when alone? I¡¯m not sure what to¡­whatever, I¡¯m not going to try delve into a woman¡¯s mind¡­ ¡°HEY you two. Baila¡¯s almost done, let¡¯s go¡± Sure enough PJ comes close to my 6 from the trees and she quickly turns round, walking back the way she came. PinkyS walks past me and I follow too. Making our way to Baila she¡¯s breathing quite heavily but I feel she¡¯s decently happy with her work ¡°Ok, last one, almost done¡± The *Shick* of the knife sounds as she quickly skins another wolf. After a couple of minutes of hanging around¡­ ¡°Ok, I¡¯m all done. 13 high quality pelts and 27 mid quality¡± Wow 13 high quality, that¡¯s 1 in 3, pretty good I must say. A couple of dinging window sounds appear as Baila trades the pelts to the Pinky duo. After they complete the transaction, she heads over to me but she stops a little off from me for some reason. ¡°Umm, Joat?¡± ¡°What have I done wrong?¡± ¡°You-¡± She doesn¡¯t get to finish the sentence for some reason. You what? I¡­oh, that! I open my eyes ¡­ .. . Well having them firmly shut for a pretty long time is already making it sort of feel a bit natural to me. ¡°Right, sorry. Shall we trade?¡± ¡°Ok?!¡± She¡¯s quite confused I can see that. She trades 10 medium pelts with me and I feel very happy with the outcome; All I needed to do was be bait¡­actually that doesn¡¯t make me feel happy. Thinking about it, I¡¯ve spent 5 hours in this forest and have gotten no skills¡­THAT¡¯S HORRIFYING! However when I think about it, I¡¯ve only been in game 12 hours and have gotten a whole bunch of skills (I think 16, I might have lost count though). So overall¡­it¡¯s ok. I mean I haven¡¯t gotten dodging even after almost 4 hours of it, but that¡¯s because the attacks were a bit too slow¡­although I seemed to have improved in other areas somewhat¡­ I internally lick my lips. Mmm, I can taste that delicious skill that is almost within my grasp. Although I don¡¯t think I can get it tonight. We all quickly head out of the forest and sprint through the fields. *Ding*
Congratulations! Through repeatedly running at high speeds you have learnt the skill: Sprint
SKILL:Sprint, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Active)
Sprinting is the art of running fast. When used: Movement speed increased by 1% Agility bonus: n/a Strength bonus: n/a
Cost: 25% extra satiety, Duration: Until cancelled, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Woohoo! I skip for a bit as I rejoice at Sprint, which I¡¯ve finally gotten. The sun is quite low now, almost sunset actually. Maybe in about an hour or so I believe. A usual day would be 14 hours sun and 10 hours night, and it looks like this world does the same too (We logged on at 7 am, in-game, and its 7 pm in-game right now). Heading into town, we run into Jenna¡¯s leatherworking store and see that she¡¯s surrounded by people once again¡­ About 10 people are surrounding her all offering their pelts to her in a mad rush Hmm that¡¯s not that many¡­ I open up the friends list and sure enough, 23 people are at level 1 again¡­those wolves are dangerous. Poor poor idiots. Though the numbers show that some people died doing other things. Anyways, seems as though we¡¯ve reached them at around the same time (I thought we were fast but I guess Baila¡¯s just average speed then). ¡°QUIET!¡± Everyone quietens...when the hot woman speaks one must listen no? ¡°LINE UP, AND I¡¯LL INSPECT YOUR PELTS ONE BY ONE¡± She¡¯s quite a loud woman it seems. We all queue up (pushing slightly to get in-front of course). As we¡¯re all queuing I get a lot of ugly looks from most of the people there¡­Why? Oh¡­I almost forgot that I¡¯m surrounded by 2 well endowed rabbits and 1 loli rabbit¡­Hehe, I¡¯m a lucky man indeed (though not sure about the loli rabbit¡­). First in line is the blue lizard trio that I¡¯ve seen before. Jenna actually chops one of the blue lizard trio members on the head as he offers her the pelt. ¡°You call this a pelt? All I see is scraps of fur stuck together¡± Ouch, that¡¯s a bit harsh, no-one¡¯s skinning can be that bad (lets forget my little experience with skinning earlier shall we). ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we only had our claws to work with¡± Nevermind, I believe that they only recovered scraps of fur stuck together¡­ Rejecting them, Jenna moves onto the skeleton and Zombie duo. Apparently someone decided to choose those sub-races. I mean the skeleton looks like he¡¯s off to a Halloween party somewhat, but the zombie looks quite foul with a bit of rotting skin here and there. Oddly enough she doesn¡¯t smell. Yep it¡¯s a she; undead women are not hot, not in the slightest¡­ ¡°Hmm, better, I shall accept 10 from each of you¡± The duo smile¡­eegh¡­as they take their pelts out of their inventory and give it to Jenna. She tells them to sit down at the side and wait for a few minutes. Next in line is a grey wolf-beastman with a silver line of fur going down his back. Wow, skinning his own kind, that¡¯s ironic¡­ His pelts are determined as good although rough around the edges, to which he gruffly replies that he only had claws. Damn, mid quality with just claws. The blue lizard trio gives him the evil eye as they leave quite dissatisfied. The group of 4 in front of us is obviously a random bunch of people who decided to join together (well, my party is technically the same but whatever): The party consists of a red-longbearded dwarf, a quite muscular human, a horse-beastman and a raven-beastlady¡­ Actually when I think about it, it¡¯s not so much of a random party. The way that all 3 of the guys talk nonchalantly with eachother shows that they actually know eachother pretty well. Also the fact, that whenever the raven-beastlady with sleek black hair opens her mouth, they all stop whatever they¡¯re doing and listen intently...I did say that when a hot women speaks one must listen. These men do seem to follow that code... I do feel that the raven-beastlady has a quite cold, mature aura surrounding her, especially fitting with her raven-like look. Checking out the other 3 in a bit more detail I¡¯m only a little surprised with some things; The dwarf is pretty straightforward normal, as well as the human. The only one that actually looks interesting is the Horse-beastman as he¡¯s pretty much fully human except for his brown horse head¡­I swear I¡¯ve seen that somewhere before¡­ I can¡¯t quite put my finger on it but I think the horse-beastman has a horsehead for a reason. While I¡¯m checking them out, Jenna is checking their pelts. ¡°They are dexterously cut, albeit with minor faults, well done indeed¡± The dwarf grins. Hmm, so I guess dwarf¡¯s renown for delicate hands is true in this game. She has the 4 sit down with the undead duo and the wolf ¡­ .. . Ah, this is a problem¡­ I look at my party and they¡¯ve all counted the numbers¡­ How are we going to get out of this? ¡­ .. . Hmm¡­that might work. I quickly grab Baila and move her to the back. ¡°Wha-?¡± ¡°Trust me, save the best for last right?¡± I give her a wink, hopefully she understands. ¡°¡­Ok, I get it, but if this doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll give you another trip to the ground¡± I do not want that! Why are all the well endowed women by me dangerous in many different ways? The only one who appears mildly safe (although possibly crazy) is PJ... Heading to 3rd in line I watch PinkyS and PJ get accepted with a ¡°that was decently done, and I see some good work here too¡± Going up to Jenna, I get on one knee and offer my pelts. ¡°To the lovely Jenna, please take this mild offering of pelts from this one¡± ¡°Hah, lovely words won¡¯t get you nowhere¡­but these pelts will¡± I get ushered over to the rest and I see the zombie grinning slightly at my behaviour. However everyone else gives me double the evil eye...be jealous all you want but those rabbit-beastladies are my party members. I give a smile towards her before I turn back to see the fate of my grandsons lie in Jenna¡¯s hands. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s all the pelts I need¡± She waves away Baila ¡­ .. . I¡¯m screwed ¡°Wait a second Jenna¡± Baila touches Jenna¡¯s shoulder as she turns away. ¡°I don¡¯t need any more pelts so don¡¯t bother trying¡± Jenna coldly turns away. I¡¯m not sure whether it¡¯s just her or the system¡­ Baila doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s lost, as she takes out one of her pelts and plops it over Jenna¡¯s turned shoulder ¡°Not even these?¡± Oh she¡¯s truly devious¡­I made the right decision¡­phew. ¡­ .. . ¡°Go join the others, and give me all those exquisite pelts you have there¡± She looks very pleased indeed ¡°Yes Teacher Jenna!¡± All the others look a little bit shocked at Jenna breaking the system¡¯s rules (well she did make(?) the quest herself so she can break it freely?) and allow 11 people to join. Certainly the quest finishes then.
Quest Completed: Wolf Pelt Gathering
110/100 wolf pelts given to Jenna 11/10 people given a reward
Well, guess rules are made to be broken? Although, it might have only worked because everyone else only gave mid quality and maybe a couple of high quality. Baila only gave high quality so it was sure to catch Jenna¡¯s eyes. Thank god that worked or I really would be making my party an all female group¡­ Baila half-skips towards us and sits down by me with her devious smile ¡°Ooh that was a close one¡± Indeed it was. ¡°OK you lot, we¡¯ll start tomorrow¡± ¡°¡­¡± Right it¡¯s almost night time¡­Everyone looks a bit miffed buuut it looks like we all understand that it¡¯s a bit late to start. ¡°Just how long is the session going to take?¡± The She-Zombie speaks up ¡°As long as it takes¡± So basically a long time...great! That means this skill must be quite valuable if it takes a long time to get! We all stand up and are quickly ushered out her house. Getting outside, everyone disperses into the largeish crowd of people walking about town¡­ seems as though not many people are willing to go outside at night, understandably. I turn back to my rabbit trio. ¡°So what are everyone¡¯s plans for tonight?¡± ¡°I have to feed my rabbits and then take a little nap¡± The pinky duo nod at the taking a little nap part¡­Guess playing for over 12 in-game hours (so only a bit over 6 hours RL) does tire a person¡­ BUT NOT ME! I wave them goodbye as they tell me to meet up in 2 in game hours to do a couple of night things... They go offline and my party is disbanded. At least they said we¡¯ll keep partying up. Thank god, because that would¡¯ve sucked if I had to try find a new party. Thinking about that¡­ I glance at my friends list to see a staggering 70 are online at the moment. Good, that means I can hopefully find someone to party with. But first things first¡­how do I get money? Hmm¡­maybe I can sell some berries to Nathan? Well in the least I¡¯ll improve my herbalism skill. That sounds like a plan. Going to the gate I see quite a few people clogged around the Elder asking for quests. A lot of them I don¡¯t immediately recognize, so they must be part of the hunting group. ¡°Ooh, finally I get to hunt wolves again!¡± One excited youth¡¯s voice is heard over the crowd. Ok, so everyone¡¯s still pretty much working at the same pace. Heading outside I quickly spot the¡­what the hell are those?
Just a question to you peeps who are reviewing.. Did you prefer the darker blue or is the lighter blue better for your eyes (Honestly I''d love to do proper tables buuuut that''s something that i''m going to have to learn and then spend literally hours creating the hundreds of tables T_T...someday...someday...) Also thank you for reviewing and telling me useful stuff (or just saying thanks, every little helps!) 5. People problems You know rabbits that stand on their feet? Cute right? Well imagine they have black blade-like fur, red eyes and 5 inch claws. Oh, and don¡¯t forget they¡¯re the size of a large human.. I repeat once again¡­what the hell are those? ¡°Identify¡±
NAME:Rabbit, Night Variant [lvl1]
Health:100/100Attack:8-10
Defense:2no resistancesSpeed:0.5
Attacks by pouncing and clawing their enemies to pieces
A normal rabbit, however it has been strengthened by the moon
¡­ .. . Strengthened? I think Mr Moon has been giving the rabbit steroids!! 100 HP? 8-10 Attack? EVEN DEFENSE! Not to mention its crazy height (for a rabbit!). Although there is the one tiny tiny saving grace of a 0.5 speed. I wonder why the wolves and squirrels didn¡¯t have those? I mean my Monster Identification is only level 4¡­so that means I need 3 levels above the monster level to fully identify it? Nice to know that. Anyways, back to the large, nasty looking rabbit. Guess walking to the forest is noooot going to happen for a while¡­ ¡°AAAH!¡± I quickly turn the origin of the scream to see a red human shaped jellyish thing (A slime I¡¯m guessing) getting ripped to pieces¡­ I guess that¡¯s why there¡¯s 23 dead on my friends-24 now¡­ I¡¯m guessing a couple of them came back a bit later than the rest of us and said hi to the rabbits and then death. I don¡¯t think I should be going out alone. Opening my friends list, I scroll down till I find¡­Zzoid? I mean there¡¯s Zzard and Zzand too so I¡¯m guessing they play together¡­ That sounds like I can get a full party easily, sweet. But how do I convince them¡­I¡¯ll think of that when the time comes. Hey, Zzoid. This is Joat. Oh¡­you He doesn¡¯t sound like he likes me¡­I wonder why? Yes it is me, I¡¯m looking for 3 people to come and do a bit of farming with me I¡¯m listening Yep money runs the world Come meet me at the village gate and I¡¯ll take you to the place. We¡¯ve only got 2 hours so be quick Ok, I¡¯ll talk to my brothers RL brothers or just in game? It doesn¡¯t really matter but a brother would usually leave their brothers for dead in games rather than cooperate¡­I know that so well. We¡¯ll be there in 2 Haha. I send the party invite and I see their healthbar pop up under mine¡­ Damn, Zzoid¡¯s got 110 hp, nice. I chill at the gate for 2 minutes, watching the rabbits stomp around the field looking mean. ¡°Hey Joat¡± I turn towards the village ¡­ .. . Ah¡­I see. The person who called me out was one of the blue lizard trio¡­Well at least I know who the Zz trio are now...and that they¡¯re complete losers in picking up women, unlike muah (I might truly be killed tonight If I even mention the girls to them). ¡°Hey, Zzoid?¡± ¡°Correct. Although that was just pure luck right?¡± ¡°No, of course not. I can tell you apart from the others with that identical face of yours¡± ¡­ Badum tss? No? ok, be grumpy you lot. Zzoid is the only one who looks like he¡¯s trying to be nice. The others are just giving me evil eyes¡­ ¡°So where we headed?¡± Zzoid puts himself beautifully in between me and his ¡®brothers¡¯. Now that he¡¯s closer I get a better look at his face: It¡¯s as lizard-like as I thought, with the only human feature being his eyes. Also his hands aren¡¯t scaly, just blue and clawed. ¡°We¡¯re headed through that¡± I point my thumb behind me and perfectly a rabbit lumbers into view. Ah, the look of fear. I assume this will not be the only time tonight. "A-are you serious?¡± the left lizard speaks up with a decently high-pitched voice ¡°Don¡¯t worry Zzand, its stats can¡¯t be that bad, I mean they¡¯re only level 1 rabbits. They just look scary¡± The right lizard says (I¡¯m sorry but you¡¯re wrong), Zzard? I¡¯m not sure whether to tell them, or let it be¡­ ¡°Joat, you¡¯ve got pretty high level monster Identification right? So what are their stats?¡± Zzoid peers at me Damn, he¡¯s actually decently sharp¡­ ¡°100 hp, and 8-10 attack¡­and 2 defense¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± their mouths hang open quite a bit. It¡¯s common knowledge for a gamer that at night the monsters get buffed somewhat, like 1.5 times the normal strength? But in this game, it¡¯s like the stats got buffed about 10 times¡­ Although when you think about it one of our guys has 110 hp and that¡¯s probably just natural (with the Vit stat)¡­ So really they are only hard for people who don¡¯t have stats. ¡°So what¡¯s everybody¡¯s stats?¡± Zzoid is the first to recover (he¡¯s definitely the older one). ¡°I¡¯ve got Vit and Agility¡± Zzard is next. ¡°Agility and Strength¡± Zzand finally recovers, with the help of Zzard. ¡°umm¡­Perception and Agility¡± ¡°I see¡± Ok they seem like a pretty good party; they¡¯ve got a tank, a dps and the other is a support which always helps with this and that. However that means the total fighting force is only 2 people. ¡°So what stats do you have?¡± Dammit Zzoid! Stop being perceptive! ¡°Perception¡­¡± ¡°I see¡± Zzoid, dammit. ¡°That¡¯s kind of why I need you guys¡± ¡°Ok, but we¡¯ll only join you if you promise us something¡± Hmm, I reckon he can only ask something small since he knows I can just call someone else if he pushes too far. ¡°As long as it¡¯s reasonable¡± ¡°Give the pink loli rabbit to us for the night¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Eh?¡± I thought something along the lines, but the LOLI rabbit? Seems like I¡¯m dealing with a fledgling lolicon, although I¡¯m not sure I should help his passion grow¡­ I¡¯m just going to forget the terribly worded sentence because I know he¡¯s got mostly pure intentions¡­mostly. ¡°Brother!¡± Zzand and Zzard start to complain ¡°Now now, since I¡¯m in charge, I get the benefits no? Also I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be unwilling to let either of his two voluptuous rabbit friends to grind with us all night¡± Please just stop speaking¡­it sounds completely wrong ¡°I know that but she¡¯s just a young girl¡± Zzand puts on a whiney voice ¡°Zzand, that was no child¡­trust me, your brother is an expert on loli¡¯s¡± Zzoid stands proudly... I don¡¯t doubt it and the brothers don¡¯t either¡­Oh god, I¡¯m thinking of just calling someone else¡­buuut I do remember PJ being the one who mentioned I¡¯d be good bait¡­ I¡¯m not a vengeful person, I just like to enact revenge. ¡°Ok, you can have her, if she is ok with it¡± The two brothers stop complaining and look at me funny. I mean I am sort of doing human trafficking here, maybe even child trafficking¡­ ¡°As long as we get to ask her ourselves we¡¯re fine¡± Damn, Zzoid is way too perceptive for his own good. Guess that¡¯s plan talk to PJ and then ¡®tell the bad news¡¯ to them afterwards. With our deal(?) struck we head off into the meadow. *Spit* ¡°Rarggh¡± One pissed off human-sized rabbit coming our way. Man spitful taunt is great! The 3 look at me funny before getting into battle formation. I of course stand back and watch (possibly 1 hit to kill me? I¡¯m not risking that). Zzoid takes the front smacking the rabbit and causing it¡­to ignore him. Oh I forgot it has 100% agro if not in combat. Whoops! Running back to the village, I have 1 pissed off human-sized rabbit with nasty looking claws bounding after me¡­quite slowly. Actually I am still faster than it with a light jog. Haha! I curve and begin to run in a large circle around the Zz trio, who beat at the rabbit furiously. Sadly, only 1 can actually do any damage (And it¡¯s 8 so not bad). Luckily, because of that the agro stays pretty firm on me, and I continue to spit on the rabbit to keep it that way. And so after about 2 minutes of combat¡­the rabbit is dead. Slowing down to a stop I walk next to the trio and we all look down at the dead rabbit, still pretty terrifying ¡°So¡­who¡¯s skinning?¡± I give them a grin ¡°Zzand¡± The other two say together ¡°Oh, cmon¡± Being the youngest does suck. So while Zzand starts to skin the rabbit with his claws, the rest of us start to head towards the forest. Another rabbit, another circling around the brothers, who after a short while, kill it. Luckily rabbits are still dumb even though they¡¯ve grown. We do this another time and as I¡¯m running around I spot a rabbit and a black gorilla beastman facing off in the distance. What? Who is crazy enough to solo these guys? The gorilla-beastman punches the rabbit and I swear some teeth come flying out. The rabbit claws the gorilla¡¯s chest but the gorilla retaliates with grabbing its arm and twisting it with a crack. Roaring, the rabbit swipes with its other claw and the gorilla holds it once it¡¯s embedded into his side. With his free hand he grabs the rabbits neck and rips it with its spine ¡­ .. . Well I guess that rabbit was crazy to try solo that Gorrila¨Cbeastman¡­ We finish off our third rabbit and continue to move towards the forest. However the gorilla-beastman spots us and literally plows his way through the rabbits, massacring one every couple of seconds. Within another 3 minutes, he¡¯s crossed about 400 metres from the distance killing about 30 rabbits on the way. He¡¯s got some crazy Strength and Vitality there¡­ He doesn¡¯t talk to us though once he reaches us; he just watches us fight our rabbit while chuckling. Of course. There¡¯s got to be that one annoying guy who looks down at others who are weaker than him with disdain¡­and I just had to meet him. At least the ladies aren¡¯t here. We finish off our rabbit but Zzand doesn¡¯t skin this one. ¡°Wahahahahaha. Oh, you weaklings are quite the show. Hahahaha¡± Zzoid walks over to the Gorilla . ¡°Please don¡¯t laugh at us, we have our own methods¡± ¡°True¡­But I didn¡¯t know that you did a circus act. Hahahah¡± He is getting slightly on my nerve. ¡°Zzoid, don¡¯t bother with the brute¡± I walk up and put a hand on his quite scaly shoulder. We really shouldn¡¯t mess with this guy, however insulting to our masculinity he is. ¡°Brute? Hah, quite a good word indeed. Strong, tough and rough. Enough to get the women wet and willing¡± *Twitch* ¡°You lot on the other hand, are weaklings. And any women you ever somehow pick up will be as dry as the Saharan desert¡± *TWITCH* I¡¯ma Pk this Gorilla. No one insults my lady handling skills. And no one calls me weak. I rush past Zzoid and slam my fist into quite a surprised Gorilla¡¯s face knocking him to the floor slightly dazed. -2 ¡°Get ¡®im¡± Someone shouts behind me. I quickly feel the trio rush towards me and then stomp on the gorilla as he recovers. ¡°You puny weaklings!¡± He smacks Zzard or Zzand, I don¡¯t know which is which, and he goes flying to the grass, flat as a pancake ¡°ZZAND!¡± ok Zzand¡¯s death confirmed by the others. We all jump back as Gorilla stands up, decently pissed, as he¡¯s got quite a few foot marks on his face. ¡°I will hunt you down¡± ¡°No need, we¡¯ll kill you here and now¡± Zzoid, thanks. He swings a meaty fist and Zzard who dodges it. Zzoid and I rush to the gorilla and smack it for a beautiful 1 point of damage each. He turns round hitting Zzoid square on the chest. ¡°Only 35 damage¡± ¡­ .. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.. ONLY? Ok, seeing as though he was literally ripping of rabbit¡¯s heads, his actual strength is a lot lower than my estimate. Kick him, punch him. Zzard gets back-handed into a pancake 5 seconds later and it¡¯s just me and Zzoid left. Flanking him, we attack and Gorilla comes at me with his fist. Kiss the ground! -1 Phew, almost died there. Roll! A foot stomps where I was a second ago and I roll back narrowly missing another stomp. Left! Roll the right. Right! Roll further to the right because he¡¯s lying. Indeed he was. I roll for another 3 seconds sensing his feet trying to stamp me, but it ends when he decides to do a foot sweep. -35¡­you are dead Sure enough, I''m dying with a foot crushing my stomach. Eeejh. ¡°Who are you¡± I manage as my final breath ¡°Apexus¡± With that my world goes black ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°Ahhhh¡± Nothing like a nice warm cup of strawberry flavoured tea. I stroke the small, white, fluffy furball that is curled up on my lap. ¡°Choppy 42, you¡¯re always so sleepy. Is Jacky 13 bothering you?¡± My cute little Choppy looks up at me with his sparkly red eyes as if to say yes. He then snuggles deeper into my lap. Oh, he¡¯s so cute! I definitely don¡¯t want to have him for Christmas dinner this year. Although I need to choose another one¡­ I look at the small mass of bunnies that are crowded around me; 2 by my left thigh while 3 on the right. Choppy of course gets the special seat on my lap because he has the most beautiful fur. The rest are all black and brown mixes while Choppy is a pure white rabbit. So cute! Sipping my tea, I softly stroke Choppy and also give a little love to the snuggling rabbits either side. I love rabbits so much. Hmm I think Roderick 4 can go¡­but his brother will be sad then. Maybe William 14? Hmm, no, he¡¯s been especially kind to the others lately and they all cuddle up to him at night. Betty is the grumpy one, but she always gives me those big beautiful eyes. Ahh so cute! Jacky I can get rid of but I know that even though Choppy is bullied by her, he still loves her the same. I don¡¯t want to hurt my Choppy. Aaah, why do I have to choose one? I hate having to choose which one of my cutesy rabbits has to go to the dinner table. Usually it isn¡¯t as hard, because there¡¯s always the one that doesn¡¯t quite fit. However this lot are all thick as thieves¡­I don¡¯t want to hurt them all. Aaaaah! Let¡¯s forget about choosing right now¡­I¡¯ve had enough killing for the moment. Back to stroking my cute little rabbits soft fur. Ahhh so nice¡­ *Ring ring* The small mound of rabbits perk up their ears and simultaneously look towards my ringing iphone on the coffee table. Lucky I had put the phone there or I¡¯d have to disturb these cuties some more. Grabbing my phone I answer the caller, my mum, ugh, while stroking the soft rabbits back to sleep. ¡°Honey! How are you doing¡± ¡°Hey mum, I¡¯m doing juuust great¡± ¡°that¡¯s great! Hey, how¡¯s the new game going? Met any cute boys yet?¡± ¡°No mum, don¡¯t start with that, but the game is going just fine, although a little weird¡± ¡°You really haven¡¯t met a single cute boy at all? You didn¡¯t even give your father the usual call so he dropped a worried message to me. You must have been really busy then¡± I can swear the woman is winking. ¡°Mother¡­There was no guy¡± ¡°Ok ok¡± She doesn¡¯t believe me, great. ¡°I just did a bit of questing and hunting¡± ¡°Hunting? Ooh, like killing goblins and such?¡± That¡¯s probably the only monster she knows about¡­ ¡°Nah, just some rabbits, some squirrels and some wolves¡± ¡°Oh. That seems a bit horrible¡± ¡°No, it was fun, especially with my party¡± ¡°Party? Who¡¯d you group up with¡± ¡°Just a couple of girls¡± ¡°Just girls?¡± ¡°Mum¡± ¡°Honey, you have to start looking while you¡¯re young. And I heard that men on the internet are absolutely perfect, exactly what you ask for¡± ¡°That¡¯s just dating sites, and even then¡± She really needs to lay off the dating sites ¡°Well the last man I met, Antonio, was quite, exquisite. And very good with his tongue, If you know what I-¡± ¡°MOTHER!¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s natural. Nothing to freak out about. Look, sex is a normal thing between two people. Of course it can be spiced up with a bit of this and-¡± ¡°I¡¯m not having this sex talk with you again mum. Stop it now!¡± ¡°Ok ok, but you really should be trying these things. A woman your age shouldn¡¯t be living in a house caring for rabbits¡± ¡°But rabbits are cute. And delicious too¡± I feel all my cuties shiver in their sleep. Sleep tight you guys. ¡°Men are delicious too, especially the b-¡± ¡°I told you to stop. I don¡¯t want to know about your Sexcapades¡± ¡°Ah, really. You ought to try these things. Maybe you should ask your new male friend¡± ¡°MUM!¡± ¡°Kisses honey, have fun!¡± She cuts off. Ah that woman! What nerve! Seriously she always tries to push these sex talks onto me. I get it; Sex is great, big deal. I mean I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that big of a deal¡­All the rugby boys keep always laugh about the great nights with this girl or that other one, but I don¡¯t see what the whole deal is. Does it really feel that good? Hmm¡­I¡¯m just happy stroking this soft fur because it feels so good! However that was a short lived satisfaction as Choppy and Co. wake up and hop off the sofa. ¡°Time for walksies I guess¡± Opening the backgarden door, the rabbits hop around the grass. I say backgarden, but it¡¯s really the balcony filled with grass. I tap a quick apology message to my dad, saying I was busy with a guy. At least he doesn¡¯t pester me about those sorts of things. Good old trustworthy dad. A line of rabbits hops back inside and I shut the door, leaving the cold air outside. I always forget how cold late October is over here. However with 6 lovely furballs and my hand-made fur covers I¡¯m more than fine in this weather. Finishing my tea, I wash it and put it upside down beside the sink. Heading to my bedroom I snuggle under my soft rabbit fur duvet. My cutsies jump in with me, quite uncaring of my mattress. Mmm so nice and warm. Grabbing my AR headset I place it on my head. Time to get back to ARIA. *Knock* ... .. . What is that? *Knock* Someone is throwing stones at my window¡­ Pain in the ass. Taking off the headset, I wiggle out of the bed, much to my cutsies discomfort which they show with their huddling together. How cute! Anyways, to this annoying stone thrower. I walk to my window and open up the curtains *Knock* The stone bounces off my window. Grrr, who dare disturb me? I look down towards the street. ... .. . Ah ¡°Heeeey Claraaaa¡± Ugh just leave me alone already I open the window ¡°What is it Johnson?¡± ¡°Well Halloween is soon so we¡¯re having a Halloween Pre-party yo¡± ¡°Halloween is in 4 days¡± ¡°So? We¡¯ll have 4 pre-parties then! You wanna come tonight?¡± ¡°Let me think about it¡­no way in hell¡± ¡°Aw come on Clara, don¡¯t be all emo on us. Come have some drinks with the guys and party till we drop. It¡¯s uni, that¡¯s how we roll!¡± ¡°When you drop, could you try do so down a well?¡± ¡°You¡¯re no fun. Gah, I¡¯ll catch you later board. I just saw sexy little Sandra walk out. Now she¡¯s fun¡± You mean she¡¯s a whore. ¡°Get out of here Johnson, and try not to break my window the next time you want to tell me something¡± ¡°Ok, later board¡± He quickly runs off in chase of Sandra. God I hate it when they use that nickname. Closing the window, I shut the curtains causing no light and no other disturbances to get to me. Uni, the place where boys will drink till they drop and girls will ¡®try to find their inner selves¡¯ while giving treats to the boys. I should get online quickly, or I might have to face another sex-raving, drink loving boy who thinks he¡¯s awesome. There¡¯s a surprising amount of them here. Must just be a uni thing. But, 4 days till Halloween huh. Maybe I should just make the ugliest zombie possible¡­but that definitely won¡¯t stop the drunk boys; which will be pretty much everyone¡­ I should call Danny. I find his number pretty quickly. ¡°Heey board¡± ¡°Danny, don¡¯t call me that please¡± ¡°Sorry, just a habit. Most of the boys have forgotten your actual name, because you NEVER come out¡± ¡°Well I do go out for my lectures...sometimes¡± ¡°Not what I mean girl and you know it¡± ¡°Do I really have to?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯ll be a bit of harmless fun dancing and drinking on Halloween and no you¡¯re not allowed to skip this. Or I will personally raid your house with the team in tow¡± He¡¯s not letting me get out of this. ¡°Are parties really that fun?¡± ¡°Hell yeah, it¡¯s just that you¡¯ve not had a good experience of them yet¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need to tell me about that¡­¡± Freshers week was truly a week of hell. ¡°How about this; Triton, Derek and I will be your bodyguards for the night¡± ¡°Aw thanks Danny, so gentlemanly¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it. We just want to see our little girl outside, hanging with the adults¡± ¡°Seriously, you¡¯re playing the college dad now? Also may I add, why am I the only one with 3 college dads?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re cute and the team mascot¡± ¡°I told you, I¡¯m not dressing up as a vampires cheerleader for you guys¡± ¡°Well it is Halloween; you can get away with it saying it¡¯s just your costume wink wink¡± ¡°Never again. Also don¡¯t wink me over the phone, that¡¯s weird¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, just get yourself in a cute vampire costume and come to the Halloween party, or I¡¯ll come to your place bring our official mascot costume, which is perfectly designed for you, along with the team¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come I¡¯ll come!! jeez¡± ¡°Knew you¡¯d see the right way¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. Just go get tackled already¡± ¡°Heh, I¡¯ll try my best. See you at the party¡± He cuts off. Ah Danny is always somewhat helpful. Though he really doesn¡¯t need to push this whole team mascot thing. Ever since we had blood night in fresher¡¯s week¡­Never should have worn that dress. Well freshers week was a week of hell for me and it pretty much spelled out my Uni life, so not much I can do about it now. All I can do is spend some time with Joat; who seems cheery, albeit a bit vengeful? He also hasn¡¯t actively gone for me, just joked around with some good repertoire. Ah...hitting him where it hurts really did make me feel much better. Maybe I just mistook him for Johnson at that moment? Well whatever, he¡¯s already had his revenge making me skin the wolves, so we¡¯re even. I wonder what he¡¯s been up to in the past hour, I hope he hasn¡¯t died. With that thought, I log back into ARIA.
I really should be doing author''s corners instead of replies... Anyways. Just a question: Does anyone see the whole areaundefined/peopleundefined/somethingundefined words in the earlier chapters? If you do please tell me so I can destroy them with a vengance. Hope you enjoy the chapter and a little bit of RL (Sorry for all people who Clara indirectly insulted. Blame her, not me :P) -TRUE NORRRRRRRD! 6. People Problems Part 2 (Baila¡¯s POV) Logging back in I see that the village is quite empty at the moment. Seems like people have got things to do RL too¡­ Opening my friend list I see Joat¡¯s name listed at the top of my great list of 3 ¡­ .. . Level 1? Oh, he died¡­I actually expected that. I mean he did great with the rats but after that he hasn¡¯t been much physical use. He¡¯s a fun but useless guy¡­ Guess I should help him re-level then. Hey, Dumbass Baila! Hey, don¡¯t give me a nickname, I didn¡¯t think we were that close yet I thought we have already determined that you are the frail useless being and I¡¯m your colleague True true, but you¡¯re not that high on the food chain either. I¡¯m certainly above you I wouldn¡¯t mind you eating me¡­ JOAT! Hehe Perv I thought we were sticking with dumbass; I was growing used to it Just shut up and tell me where you are In your heart ¡­I will kill you in 3¡­2.. I¡¯M in the northern part of the forest with my brothers. Why is it that every time we meet, it seems like your setting me up for a gangbang I thought I told you, I¡¯d never share you¡­wink! Oh not you too Me too what? Dumbass perv Mixing the two together, I like it Just add me to your party and be done with it. ¡­Right, just a tiny problem, me and my brothers make a party of 4 Useless. I¡¯ll grab the Pinky¡¯s and head over to where you are in a bit, K? Works just fine; gives us some time to level ourselves up. I shut the message window, ending the conversation. What an idiot. Now I¡¯m going to have to baby him back up to his level. But first things first, let¡¯s find Big sis and crazy bitch. ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°LEFT!¡± We all move to the left, Zzard and I grab the upper arm while the other two the lower arm. *SNAP* ¡°HOWOOOL¡± The Black, red-eyed monstrous wolf, howls as its left at snaps at the elbow. ¡°LEG¡± We all duck under the wolf¡¯s nasty looking claws and *SNAP* Break its right leg with a satisfying snap. *Thump* The wolf loses it balance and falls, to which we respond by snapping its other arm in a joint effort. With both arms useless and facedown, the wolf can do nothing but howl as we move to its final unbroken limb. *SNAP* ¡°Ok, so which skill shall we grind first?¡± I ask my lizard brothers. ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) Pinky pinky pinky¡­where are youse? Aaah, god it sucks to wait for people. Tapping my foot on the cold street doesn¡¯t do any good to my situation¡­ Aaagh. Why did I say I¡¯ll pick them up? I wish I had Choppy to cuddle while I wait ¡­ .. . Ah! I can do that! I make my way to the outside of the village. ¡­ .. . Guess that¡¯s plan A down the drain¡­ The cute fluffy bunnies that had been hopping around the fields in daytime have now turned into some horrifying monster rabbits. I bet their fur doesn¡¯t even feel nice¡­ Might as well kill a couple while I wait. Heading over to one, I scan and see its horrifying stats¡­My god. I immediately turn back around; I can¡¯t even damage those rabbits¡­ *CRACK* Hmm? I turn back around to see a large black gorilla snapping the neck of a monster rabbit with his bare hands. He then rushes to another, breaks its leg with a kick and then twist its neck efficiently. Now that¡¯s what the kind of party member I need. ¡°Hello there¡± I shout and wave in the direction of the gorilla. He punches a rabbit in the face, sending it flying. ¡°Oh hello the-¡± His face literally drops as he looks at me. Though he quickly rearranges himself. Ugh, seriously, do these breasts really make that much of an impact? Joat doesn¡¯t seem to mind; though I have a feeling these have a link with his nosebleeds¡­ Anyways, back to the primate ape (strangely ironic) who is ogling me. ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone to party with while I wait for my friends¡± ¡°Friends? How many?¡± He seems quite apprehensive at the idea that I¡¯ve got friends coming¡­Jeez another territorial male that thinks I¡¯m his property already. At least he¡¯ll help me grind some and then I¡¯ll just drop him like the rest. ¡°Only 2, so they could party up with us too¡± ¡°¡­Sounds great!¡± He had to think for a couple of seconds before answering there. Was he thinking about the chances of my friends being girls, or is he just thick¡­ My bet¡¯s on being thick. ¡°I¡¯m Baila, and you are¡­¡± ¡°Apexus¡­I hope we have a good time together¡± Doubt it, but I¡¯ll take whatever xp I can off of you ... ... (Joat¡¯s POV) *PANT PANT* Oh my god¡­this is tiring. ¡°Guys! Let¡¯s take a 2 minute break shall we?¡± The others tiredly nod before they drop to the floor ¡°Are we there yet?¡± Zzard asks in his semi-high-pitched voice. ¡°Almost¡­another¡­2 skills to go¡± Zzand answers after quickly checking his character sheet. ¡°1 for me¡± Zzoid adds in. Hmm, I better check my character sheet too
NAME:
Joat
TITLE:
The Social Butterfly
Class:None
Race:HobgoblinGender:Male
Level:3Experience:67%
[tds]165/180(Almost Full)[/td2][tr]
STATUS:
Remaining Points (10)
Health Points10/10HP Regen (Out of Combat)1/sec
Attack:1-1Defense:0
Perception:50Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Satiety:
Unused Stats:Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, Agility, Wisdom, Leadership
[tr]
SKILLS/PROFICIENCIES:
Active: Stomp, Beginner [lvl2] Monster Identification, Beginner [Lvl4] Sneak, Intermediate [lvl1] Sprint, Beginner [lvl2] Commanding Shout, Beginner [Llv1] Headbutt, Beginner [lvl1] Spitful taunt, Beginner [lvl1]
Passive: Jump, Beginner [lvl1] Roll, Beginner [lvl1] Hearing, Beginner [lvl4] Smell, Beginner [lvl2] Night Vision, Master [lvlMax]
Proficiencies: Kick Mastery, Beginner [lvl4] Unarmed Mastery, Beginner [lvl1]
Hmm, overall it isn¡¯t that bad. Though I¡¯m still short 2 stats: Communication and Luck (although I never had it before). Also I don¡¯t have throw, diplomacy, climb, Suicide nor herbalism yet so that¡¯s a bit of a pain. ALSO, I¡¯ve lost ALL the xp from the quests I completed¡­which sucks. However it was only about 15% in total so it wasn¡¯t that big of a loss...but still. Also weirdly enough, I kept the 25% xp increase from the Title. Thank god I did! ¡°I¡¯m missing 5 skills but not ones I can get from combat¡± ¡°Ok, that isn¡¯t too bad. The useful ones we have so we really should get back to town once we get our last skills¡± Zzoid comments ¡°Yes. Hopefully we won¡¯t run into Apeshit again¡± Zzard bluntly points out ¡°Who knows, maybe he¡¯s distracted with a girl or two¡± Zzoid points out. ¡°I hope to god not, that Apeshit really doesn¡¯t deserve that kind of love. WE deserve that kind of love¡± ¡°I just hope HE is dead¡± Poor Zzand always gets killed off first so he¡¯s got the right to fear. ¡°But before we worry about Mr. Apeshit, you guys need to get your last skills¡± I point out. Apexus, or better known as Apeshit between us, killed us off a couple of times as we quickly remade our characters and rushed to relevel them. After about 4 deaths we finally got through him to the forest, and ended up dying to a giant squirrel. After another 2 deaths, we made it past the squirrels and entered wolf territory. We had to make the death run another 3 times against the wolves till we figured out how to deal with them. Luckily we had a good hour and 40 minutes before Baila and Co. logged on after the first death, so we had plenty of time to repeatedly die and run into the forest. However thanks to us rushing our character creations, I¡¯ve not been able to modify much, except for the face. Oddly enough, the trio still looks like freaking triplets so I¡¯ve got a hunch they¡¯re pretty similar looking IRL. Anyways, back to leveling with my brothers. We stand up and look down at the large black pulp that is namely a night variant of the wolf. Apparently the night variant doesn¡¯t work in packs so we thankfully don¡¯t have to fight 4 nasty looking wolves. Like the rabbits; they¡¯ve gone black-blade-like hair, long claws and grew to about 2 metres. Also they stand up on two legs too. However by themselves they are still nasty as hell: With 43-48 attack and a defense of 5, they are true level 4 monsters. Basically we can¡¯t do any damage to it, only Zzard, with 1 damage¡­ Luckily, the system isn¡¯t just reliant on numbers. And because of realizing this fact and using it to my own gains, I gained the wisdom stat! Apparently the wisdom stat is gained through a wise decision made from experience¡­ Anyways, the thing I figured out, was that if we deal 1 damage to the wolf¡¯s joints as everyone is pulling them to a bad angle, they¡¯ll snap If none of us dealt damage, I believe we wouldn¡¯t be able to snap the limbs. But since Zzard does 1 damage, with the help of us other 3, that 1 damage is enough to cause a snapping limb. We all loved finding this out. Actually this wolf was our first test subject¡­very good results indeed. However my wisdom didn¡¯t just stop there, no. Since we only deal 1 damage as a party and the wolf has over 300 hitpoints, everyone but Zzard can attack the wolf...without end. And for the past 20 minutes, we¡¯ve literally done nothing but do repeated stomping, kicking, headbutting, etc etc to the wolf to regain those skills. Zzard did also end up grinding skills on the wolf with us when I suggested he gain the ¡®hold back¡¯ skill and gave a brief explanation of what I think it was. He gained the skill within minutes and thus all 4 of us could leisurely beat the wolf to a pulp, as it is right now. As my brothers keep grinding skills with the wolf, I do some climbing¡­ I¡¯m quite surprised at how quickly we gain the skills, but I¡¯ve got a little theory to it: The idea is that when we fight monsters, our skills will level up depending on the monster level. So therefore when regaining skills, fighting a higher level monsters (so we fought a level 4 at level 1) we gain our skills back quicker. Furthermore, it seems like because the wolf¡¯s stats were so high, the leveling was even quicker. It took about an hour to learn the normal beginner skills, but it took us about 5 minutes to relearn them with this wolf. With normal standards it should take at least 30 minutes for each skill (if not doing multi training like we do). We¡¯ve literally tried to do as many skills in one go with the wolf, so it¡¯s been beaten in many diverse ways; such as stomp jumping or roll kicking or spit and headbutt. Or even better; all 6 skills at the same time. Somehow that works. I¡¯m not quite sure how we pulled that off myself, but the system recognized it so we¡¯re taking that as a ¡®we did good¡¯. Ok, time for climbing suicide while throwing a branch to myself. Reaching the top of the tree, I break off a branch and dive off the tree, throwing the branch into the air above ¡°OOMPH¡± -8 Ouch. Catch -1 Ow! Damn, catching a stick isn¡¯t easy. Anyways, this seems like this will work well. Just got to hopefully catch this stick sometimes and gain the catch skill, god knows I need it. ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°Raargh¡± ¡°Come for me little bunny¡± *RRIP* And that¡¯s another dead rabbit. ¡°Haha!¡± Apexus flexes his large biceps at me¡­should I act impressed or not fuel the flames of this territorial idiot¡­ ¡°Wow, so macho Apexus. I can¡¯t wait to introduce you to my friends¡± ¡°Yes, let them all see this beautiful body and godly strength in awe¡± I actually want to vomit right now¡­but I¡¯m getting quite the good supply of rabbit fur, black fur too! Surprisingly enough, the fur is still beautifully soft and the added fact that it¡¯s black really makes me happy; because that means I don¡¯t have to do all this blackening and ruining of soft fur. It¡¯s such a pain to blacken fur and I almost always mess it up. However having already black fur is a real blessing to me. Also, I got the skinning skill after my 10th rabbit. Seems like I needed to skin 50 times to get the skill. So, after a good 30 minutes of skinning (only taking close to 3 minutes to skin now, because I got quite a bit of practice earlier today), the Pinky¡¯s finally log in. Thank god. Hey Big Sis! Baila! And, don¡¯t call me that¡­it¡¯s embarrassing Hehe, but I think you¡¯re a great big sister to me If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Oh stop it Hehe¡­Is she there too? Yeah, she¡¯s here¡­play nice ¡­Ok, I¡¯ll try my best. There you go! Meet me at the northern fields Big Sis! Ok, will be there in a minute Oh, by the way, Joat is busy re-leveling since he died, so I¡¯m partying up with a strong guy for the time being That idiot¡­but I expected as much. Also may I say, oho! No¡­I¡¯m actually on the verge of vomiting when around this guy, but I¡¯m get a lot of skinning done. He sounds¡­nasty. Big Sis will come and save you now! Thank you!! I close the chat and head over to Apexus, as he puts a rabbit in a chokehold. ¡°Hey Apexus¡± ¡°What is it lovely¡± He turns around and flashes his best grin while punching the rabbits face. Trying my best to ignore the scene¡­ ¡°My friends are coming in a second and once they¡¯re here, we¡¯ll hang out some till my last party member is ready. Ok?¡± ¡°That¡¯s sounds perfect, but who are these frien-¡± ¡°YOHOO!¡± Apexus turns round and his mouth drops along with the dead rabbit. ¡°Apexus, meet Pinky Seniour and Pinky Juniour¡± The two in question hop towards us I go for a hug with Big Sis, which she returns gracefully. Ahhh, she¡¯s patting my head¡­that feels good. ¡°Ahem¡± Oh, crazy bitch. ¡°Hi to you too¡± I reluctantly detach from Big Sis¡¯ warm hug and pat, to acknowledge the crazy loli rabbit behind her. She looks at me with a grouchy look ¡°Hey there!¡± She¡¯s as bubbly as always. ¡°Faker¡± ¡°Screamer¡± ¡°Now now you two, stop fighting¡± We both give exchange evil eyes for a few seconds before Big Sis threatens to give us a head-chop. I peek back to see Apexus pushing his mouth up, only to have it drop once again. Seriously, do breasts really matter that much? I squeeze together my two mountains¡­I don¡¯t see why they¡¯re so attractive. Nevermind, I won¡¯t ever understand boys¡­ ¡°So who¡¯s the ape?¡± Big Sis asks ¡°Oh, he¡¯s Apexus¡± Upon hearing his name, he finally comes back into consciousness and straightens himself up. ¡°Yes that is me, the mighty Apexus¡± He flexes and kisses his big biceps¡­Urlrp, god he really doesn¡¯t know that it isn¡¯t as sexy as he thinks¡­ Big Sis gives a big smile towards him, seemingly ignorant of his flaunting. Crazy on the other hand looks as sick as I feel. At least we see eye to eye on something. ¡°Nice to meet you Apexus! Hope we have fun together¡± Big Sis¡­ ¡°I do hope to have fun with you, hahaha!¡± I think, he thinks that was smooth. Oh the vomit¡­ Luckily there is a saving grace to stop my puking Hey, Baila. I saw Pinky¡¯s came online. Joat! Great timing. Why of course, I¡¯m not a time traveler for nothing you know Just go to the future and dig your own grave I see your logic there, heh. Ok, serious now. What do you want? Me and my brothers have finished our re-leveling but we still have a tiny little problem Ah, so that¡¯s why you call them brothers¡­ I wield my sword quite well thank you You mean dagger¡­ Are you vying for a peek? I will rip it off if I see it Ok ok! I¡¯ll keep my weapon sheathed. Anyways, I¡¯ll go sort out this problem. Should only take another 10 minutes max. Ok. Just be quick about it. Me and Pinky¡¯s are on the verge of vomiting What? Long story, I¡¯ll fill you in once we party. Go sort out your little problem. OK! ¡°Apexus¡± He stops showing off to the Pinky duo as he kills another rabbit brutally (it¡¯s not awe inspiring, its disturbing) and turns towards me. ¡°Your last friend coming?¡± Ok so he¡¯s not the thickest¡­but I reckon he¡¯s still on the double digits ¡°Yes he¡¯ll be here in about 10 minutes¡± Apexus looks extremely unhappy at the mention of my friend being a he¡­deal with it. At least Joat doesn¡¯t make me want to barf when I speak to him, even though he gets a little dodgy with his joking and innuendos. ¡°Ok, then let us make the best of our time together!¡± He rushes out to another rabbit ripping it in half poruing blood onto his hairy chest ¡­ .. . Is he trying to do that model water thing? Urlrp. God the only one clapping is Big Sis. Big Sis, you really need to stop liking what he does¡­ Seriously, he¡¯s disturbing. I think she may just be one of those people who like everyone¡­ Anyways, with nothing better to do, I follow behind Apexus grumbling slightly at his messy kills. Only poor to medium quality fur here¡­ugh. I skin another 2 rabbits before I hear the rustling of bushes come from my right ¡°HEY THERE B-WHAAAAAT?¡± ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°HEY THERE B-WHAAAAAT?¡± ... .. . APEXUS IS HERE!! HE¡¯S STILL HERE! AND WORSE: HE¡¯S WITH THE LADIES! OH GOD¡­wait, that may actually a good thing¡­ My brothers in death look as surprised by the whole situation of Apexus somehow befriending my women (although I hear Zzoid mutter ¡°My Loli, you bastard¡± under his breath¡­). We¡¯re not going to take this one lying down, and now that the women are here, we will shame you so badly in front of them. Obviously showing our awesomeness and strength to them too¡­ My brothers look especially riled up at the thoughts of showing off to the ladies. I don¡¯t think they are as hopeless as I first thought them to be; I just think they need a little training in the arts. ¡°APEXUUUUUS¡± We all roar towards him He turns around with a look of anger in his eyes. He¡¯s only about 20 metres away from us so his evil grin is clearly visible to us. ¡°YOU! Hahaha, come back for more?¡± ¡­ .. . The girls look at us and then Apexus and then back at us ¡°Oh, well this isn¡¯t exactly a little problem is it Joat¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Apexus looks at Baila ¡°Joat? You know the gu-Oh, I¡¯m sorry but this guy cannot be your friend¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Brothers, can we kill this Apeshit, before he makes the ladies vomit?¡± I speak loud enough for Apeshit to hear ¡°Gladly¡± They all lick their lips with their forked tongues. ¡°Ah, you dare to call me Apeshit? I¡¯ll kill you!¡± He runs towards us and we charge towards him He swipes his left hand across the sky ¡°LEFT!¡± We duck under his hand and sprint to his right hand as he takes his left hand out the way. Idiot. Zzoid, Zzand and I, grab the arm holding it down for Zzard to punch it on the joint *SNAP* ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± Apeshit wails slightly, I mean we did just break his arm. ¡°LEG¡± Before he recovers from the pain, we grab his leg and forcefully snap it too. *Thump* Jumping over his body we land either side of his other arm and collectively snap it. ¡°Aaaaah!!¡± We walk over to his last unbroken leg and snap it for good measures. Then we all slowly walk till we enter his view ¡°How¡¯s the view down there Apeshit?¡± Zzard asks with a grin ¡°Fuck you!¡± ¡°Now don¡¯t cuss in front of the ladies. Zzoid, you got any soap?¡± I retort ¡°Nah, but I reckon we can use his blood¡± ¡°Good thinking¡± We all kick his face once, *Spit spit* He spits out a glob of blood. ¡°You fucking weaklings, using such petty tricks and fighting 4v1. How can you stand there so proud¡± ¡°Simple; we¡¯re the winners, and the strong are those that win¡± I put my foot on his head rubbing in that point ¡°Fuck y-¡± *Kick* ¡°Thank you Zzand¡± Zzoid gives him a pat on the back. ¡°So what shall we do with this piece of crap?¡± Zzoid asks ¡°hmm, it¡¯d be a shame just to kill Apeshit just like this¡± Zzard muses ¡°¡­Ah!¡± ¡°What is it Joat?¡± They all look at me as I get a glint in my eyes I turn back towards some quite shocked rabbit-beastladies¡­ ¡°Baila¡± She gets out of her daze as I call her name ¡°Yes? Wow, that was hell of a fight¡± ¡°Thanks, but do you still have the knife?¡± ¡°I do but wha¡­oh¡­¡± She takes out the knife and with very little reluctance she tosses it over to me -1 God dammit. I guessed right that Apeshit was the one who made her want to vomit. Though, PinkyS looks extremely shocked. PJ a little less; she looks decently happy like Baila... Turning back I twiddle the knife in front of Apeshit ¡°You know the saying; there¡¯s more than one way to skin a cat? Well I only know one way to skin an ape; the painful way¡± ¡°MMMMPGH¡± Zzand¡¯s foot is gratefully stuck within his mouth stopping the words. ¡°Ladies, I recommend you go back to town and get something to snack on. We¡¯ll be a good 5 minutes, so take your time¡± Zzoid gracefully saves the ladies some possible nightmares. Well guess I don¡¯t need to train them as much as I thought¡­ The ladies nod their heads in understanding and all head into town. I hear Baila mention ¡°Apexus is the bad guy here¡± to PinkyS, who looks extremely confused about the situation, as walk away. ¡°Ok, now that it¡¯s just us¡­how about we get to know each-other a little better¡± ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°Ahh, so that¡¯s why they were pking eachother. But I thought he wasn''t that bad a guy honestly¡± Big Sis...you still do''t understand. oh, ¡°Yes, so now they¡¯re getting a little payback¡± ¡°I do like the way they¡¯re doing it; a very good way to stop him coming back for more¡± Crazy Faker (yep I¡¯m sticking with that name from now on) wears a happy expression I at least support Joat and those other guys¡¯ decision but still¡­ ¡°I wonder who came up with that idea?¡± I muse to them ¡°Definitely not Joat¡± Big Sis answers thoughtfully ¡°No I¡¯m thinking it was him¡± CF counter argues ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m sort of inclined to agree¡± ¡°Actually, for the record it was Zzoid. I¡¯m too kind for those sorts of ideas" ¡­ .. . We all turn our heads to see a 4 men with ear to ear grins sauntering down the street. ¡°Joat! And others!¡± Big Sis calls out to them The others look a little less happy but they force their smiles to remain just as wide. Wow, these guys are actually trying decently hard¡­ ¡°Hello there Miss Gorgeous, sorry for keeping you waiting¡± One of the lizard trio had headed to the front and just bowed towards Big Sis. His voice is decently high pitched for a guy. ¡°eheh Miss Gorgeous¡­that you for the compliments¡± ¡°U-u-u-uuuh Thanks!¡± The lizard looks quite embarrassed and loses all his former composure ¡°Indulge yourself in our compliments as much as you can, your body won¡¯t get any less marvelous doing so¡± another identical lizard (wow identical) saved the other by focusing her attention on him ¡°Oh you!¡± Big Sis blushes lightly and gives him a smile ¡°And if you do, you can always call on me for a workout¡± He adds a sly wink at the end there ¡­ .. . Joat¡­Just what have you done Nothing¡­ Hmm That line was certainly a Joat orginial. I could feel his influence there. Also the fact that I saw these guys get rejected way back in the day¡­suggests they didn¡¯t have that sort of pick-up skill before. ¡°Everybody, may I introduce my brothers in harm¡± Joat that sneaky bastard sends me a smile. Nothing you say, liar. The two in front of Big sis go down on one knee hands to the chest ¡°I am Zzard¡± ¡°And I am Zzand¡± Ok so Zzand is the higher pitched one, got it. The last one walks past the others and stops beside CF. He does a curt bow with an arm on his chest ¡°I am Zzoid, at your disposal Miss Loli-baba¡± (Author note: Baba is a word for aunt or older women, generally speaking) ¡­ .. . ¡°WHAAAAT?¡± The rest of the guys are completely and utterly shocked¡­Ah, right this may take some time to explain... ¡­ (ED note: baba means Aunt, or older woman more generally) 7. Odd knowledge and an interesting party ¡°Ah¡­I understand. So you¡¯re actually old?¡± Sighing from the mild headache incurred from the long winded explanation that took better part of 30 minutes. ¡°Oy, I¡¯m still young and willing¡± I rub my forehead ¡°Please, never say such things while in that Loli body!¡± ¡°Please say such things while in that loli body!¡± Zzoid almost drools ¡­ .. . I shake my head sorrowfully in sync with Zzand and Zzard. ¡°So now that everything is settled, can we actually do something now?¡± Baila¡¯s bored voice breaks the awkward atmosphere somewhat. ¡°I-I think we should¡­¡± I¡¯m still a bit overloaded with the situation. ¡°¡­Go do our herbalism quest?¡± Baila ends usefully. Gah, she¡¯s so calm because she knew all this already. ¡°Oh, a quest! Do you think you can share it with us¡± PJ jumps up all excited. Why does she look like a child, whyyyy. It¡¯s a bit bizarre. I just can¡¯t get the thought that she¡¯s a loli-baba out my head. ¡°We can guide you to Nathan but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be awake for the quest¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry about that Joat, I think I have a way to wake him up¡± Baila stands up with a jiggle¡­oh yeah. ¡°That¡¯ll work¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± PinkyS looks between us wondering what we mean. Pinky, you¡¯re too young for this. I thought Loli-baba being dodgy enough, buuut Pinky is only 15. 15! She¡¯s a freaking minor... Aaagh, I feel like I had trespassed a restricted area¡­ Thank god we stopped before PJ saw us... ANYWAYS, I¡¯m going to let the past become a dream and to learn to move on and not touch surprisingly well endowed minors¡­ Aaaagh my brain hurts. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it till morning; we can grab the quest items on the way¡± ¡°Oh good idea!¡± PJ claps her hands ¡°But we have a little problem¡± ¡°There are 7 of us¡± Oddly enough Zzoid is still as perceptive as ever¡­even when his eyes are glued to PJ ¡°Ahh, Pinky! Do something¡± PJ looks as useless as a little girl. I think the loli-baba is having a mid-life crisis¡­ ¡°WE have a solution¡± True triplets in sync. ¡°Give me the solution!¡± PJ grabs Zzoids arm Aaaand he¡¯s gone¡­ ¡°¡­Solution?¡± I don¡¯t know how she could be an aunt. I see no semblance of maturity¡­I think I understand why she¡¯s the Junior out of the two¡­ Zzard walks behind Zzoid and give him a light tap on the head. Zzoid¡¯s pupils roll back into vision ¡°Ah-ah, right¡­How about Loli-baba comes with us into the dark forest¡± ¡­ .. . Don¡¯t want to be misunderstood there buddy¡­ ¡°I-I-I meant-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I don¡¯t mind having 3 scaly men take me into the forest¡± ¡°Junior!¡± Odd how PinkyS calls PJ junior¡­But, She really is the seniour of the two. My brothers all twitch slightly, probably at the images that just flashed through their heads. ¡°Sorry, just couldn¡¯t resist ehe!¡± ¡°I swear Juniour, sometimes¡­¡± ¡°Anyways, that looks like we¡¯ve sorted everything out, now go go go¡± Baila looks quite hurried in pushing PJ towards my brothers. Do they not like eachother? Oh right, the gut shower¡­ ¡°Juniour, I don¡¯t allow you to go by yourself, you¡¯ll put others in danger¡± ¡°Oh cmon Pinky!¡± ¡°No is no, listen to the elder here¡± PinkyS looks down at Pj, who kneels down in defeat. Well age doesn¡¯t really show who¡¯s the eldest¡­ ¡°How about we all go together?¡± I suggest so kindly. I¡¯m sure I shouldn¡¯t be fueling Zzoid¡¯s loliconism buut they¡¯re my brothers in harm so I owe them something. ¡­ .. . ¡°That¡¯s actually not a bad idea¡± Pinky replies after much consideration Everyone nods but the feelings are mixed ¡°Partying up does nothing really, since there is no xp to share¡± Zzoid, as perceptive as usual¡­ ¡°So everyone find it a good idea?¡± I look around *Nod* ¡°OK, then let us set off into the forest too¡­give me a second, I¡¯ve forgotten what to do¡± ¡­ .. . *Multiple Facepalms* ¡°Dumbass¡± ¡°Idiot¡± ¡°Hahah!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry big brother; I don¡¯t think you¡¯re dumb¡± ¡°Bright at moments, dim at others¡± ¡°I¡¯m with Zzand teacher¡± ¡­ .. . Well 3 out of 6 insulted me, 1 made a wise remark, 1 consoled me and the last one called me teacher¡­ I¡¯ve got an interesting party indeed. Although all the women insulted me, boohoo. OK, looking through my quests¡­I have to find some water lilies. However thanks to Baila, I¡¯ve already got the next stage and so I can collect for that too! Oh I¡¯m a genius. ¡°I know what we¡¯re doing now so don¡¯t worry¡± ¡°Oh we¡¯re worrying Mr Amnesiac¡± Baila snarks ¡°Did someone say something? I can¡¯t quite remember¡± ¡°Ok you two stop it with the repertoire and let¡¯s get out of here¡± PinkyS drags us both by the ears ¡°Owowow, ok ok just let go of the ear. It¡¯s sensitive¡± ... .. . My ears, although in pain too, have picked up some useful information indeed. PinkyS lets go of our ears. Rubbing them slightly, we right ourselves and I lead the way. ¡°TO THE FOREST¡± ... ¡°AWOO¡± ¡°Wolfy, stop howling, you¡¯ll die in just a moment¡± PJ gives it a smile as the men do all the work Damn ladies do nothing. However none of us guys are complaining! Because we get to show off. *SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP* ¡°Phew, a full 6 seconds to break all 4 of its limbs¡± Baila is impressed. Haha, finally, she is impressed with my work ¡°Although, I don¡¯t think we need Dumbass over there¡± ¡°Oh cmon¡± *Snigger* Oh shut up you three, you¡¯re supposed to be supporting/worshipping me. Apparently Baila is a terrible influence on the guys¡­must be the breasts¡­so that actually makes it kind of understandable? ¡°Gooooo guys, Joat included!¡± Thanks Pinky, at least...wait its PJ¡­at least someone supports me. Anyways, we kill the wolf easily. ¡°Ah, never knew killing wolves could feel so satisfying¡± Zzard sighs relieved ¡°I think it¡¯s the fact that the women are oohing and aahing over us¡± Zzoid, you are perceptive indeed. Your eyes are indeed suited for the arts. ¡°We heard that¡± The women all chorus But his mouth is a problem ¡°Ehe, what did I say? I can¡¯t remember¡± Good save? ¡°Oh all the boys are becoming Amnesiacs today¡± Baila continues with the comments. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s keep moving, because I want to find my lilies¡± ¡°Looking to send a bouquet to someone? Hint Hint¡± Baila wiggles her eyebrows ¡°Oh Pinky, how would you like a bouquet?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love one¡± ¡°Oy Joat! I want the flowers¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m ok if he gives the flowers to us both, but I¡¯m first¡± ¡°Noo, I want to be the special first¡± ¡°Baila, please don¡¯t make it sound like I¡¯m taking your first¡­¡± ¡°WHA¡± She reddens and looks away ¡°Oh, are you really like that? Well I tell you now, my favourite food is cherries" ¡­ .. . ¡°3¡­2.¡± I start running ¡°1¡­I¡¯m coming for you!!¡± I don¡¯t know whether I should be happy that a gorgeous woman is chasing me¡­or be terrified of the fact that she¡¯s wielding a knife. ¡­ ... ¡°I see a pond big brother!¡± Zzand rushes to the clear lakeside in the moonlit forest. Finally. After an hour of walking through the wolf infested forest and taking breaks, we''ve reached our destination...hopefully. ¡°Zzand, don¡¯t do anything stupid¡± Zzard grabs his collar before he does something stupid. ¡°Pinkyyy¡± Seems like PinkyS had the same idea¡­ I rush ahead of everyone, turn around and clap my hands ¡°Ok everyone, we¡¯re in a new area, plus its night. So it¡¯s actually kind of dangerous¡± ¡°Noooo, I never would have suspected that¡± Baila, shut up ¡°We can probably expect an aquatic animal or something that drinks water¡± ¡­ .. . You started smart there Zzoid, started is the key word here. ¡°Thanks for the mostly useful input, but first we have to check whether these lilies are here¡± We all split and sneak around the lake. Baila and PinkyS go with me. ¡°Damn it you two, I wanted to look at my own reflection narcissistically¡± ¡°Oh we¡¯ll leave you and Joat alone then¡± The two of them chuckle but don¡¯t leave me with my reflection. We sneak around the lake, which is actually pretty damn big. About 5 minutes later, we¡¯ve finally reached halfway around the lake and meet up with the others. ¡°Nothing¡± ¡°Just a beautiful flower called narcissus over on our side¡± Baila stop it. ¡°I see¡± Zzoid, perceptive as always. ¡°So what kind of lilies were we looking for anyways big brother?¡± Zzand asks so innocently Good question, I open up the quest: [tr4]Rewards: ???[/td4]/[tr]
QUEST: A Budding Alchemist I
Nathan has given you a pointer that to become an alchemist you should first gather some pond lilies, 40 should do.
¡°Pond lilies¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Dumbass¡± ¡°Idiot¡± ¡°Moron haha!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry big brother, it was just a small mistake¡± ¡°Just a small detail, like forgetting that you took the pin off a hand grenade¡­a small mistake¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I should keep calling you teacher, teacher" ¡­ .. . I swear Zzoid just got a bit smarmy on me there. Also I think my number of allies just decreased to 1¡­ ¡°So¡­let¡¯s go find a pond¡± Almost all of them sigh and start to head back into the forest. Time to head in a random direction till we find a pond. ¡°Um guys¡± We look at Zzoid who is looking pensively. ¡°It took us 5 minutes to go round half the lake right? ¡°Correct. It¡¯s a biggish lake¡± I answer him ¡°So with that put in mind¡­this is possibly a pond¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Eh?¡± we all collectively raise our eyebrows ¡°No no, I¡¯m actually speaking sense here¡± ¡°Brother its ok, you don¡¯t need to follow teacher¡¯s steps¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Oy Zzard, don¡¯t insult me, please¡± ¡°Sorry teacher¡± ¡°Ok, so Zzoid speaks some more sense to me¡± ¡°Basically lakes and ponds are the same thing, just called differently for no real reason¡± ¡°O..k? I guess that makes sense?¡± ¡°It does, so this ¡®lake¡¯ may actually be a pond¡± ¡°So that means we have to dive in it¡± ¡°OOH DIVING¡± The two children (?) of our group are quickly subdued by their elders(?) before they dive into the dark waters. I walk back to the possible pond and look deeply into its black depths ¡­ .. . ¡°So who is volunteering to go first?¡± ¡°I think you should go since it¡¯s your pond lilies¡± Throwing me to the sharks much, Baila! ¡°That makes quite a lot of sense, you should do it¡± ¡°Go for it teacher¡± ¡°Big brother, dive in for me¡± ¡°It looks a bit dangerous though¡± At least PinkyS looks a bit worried for me ¡°I really think Zzoid should do it¡­¡± PJ muses lightly as she¡¯s being held in the air ¡­ .. . *Rrip* His shirt comes flying off, revealing quite a good set of abs. So he¡¯s actually decently buff IRL (figured this because he probably didn¡¯t have enough time to make the abs in the character creation)? ¡°I will go, where my Loli-baba says I must go¡± Well that took little convincing¡­this might be useful to me later on¡­ *Splash* Without hesitation he dives into the waters. And now, we wait¡­in awkward silence¡­ ¡°Ptah¡± After a few seconds his Lizardy head pops out from the black depths. ¡°This what you looking for?¡± He chucks me something *Slap* ¡­ .. . Peeling the thing off my face, I see it is a long green stalk with a green flat disc at the top. [tr]
ITEM:Pond Lily x1 (Ruined)
A flower that grows in bodies of fresh water
¡°Yep this is it¡± ¡°Phew¡± Everyone lets out a sigh of relief. No more wandering around killing wolves. ¡°Ok, so this quest asks for 40 of them, so we need 240 in total¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. *Whistle* ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot¡­so you¡¯re doing all the work right Joat?¡± Baila, don¡¯t you dare. ¡°Well the quality doesn¡¯t matter much, and it¡¯s also a free skill for everyone¡± A little glint shines in their eyes, well obviously, since skills=xp=levels. ¡°Let¡¯s go herbing!¡± ¡°Whee¡± ¡°Wohoo!¡± ¡°Wait for me!¡± ¡°Loli-baba, let me come get wet with you¡± ¡°Kawabunga" ¡­ .. . Guess they really did want to jump into the water; since Zzoid didn¡¯t get attacked, the pond seems safe. But still¡­I really need to teach Zzoid a couple of things...not to say. Baila looks at the water with a raised eyebrow ¡°What idiots¡­¡± she walks up to me shaking her head ¡°True true¡± I pat her shoulder, before suddenly scooping her legs off the ground and putting her into a princess carry. ¡°But you¡¯re not allowed to not have fun¡± ¡°JOAAAA-¡± *Splash* ¡°HAHAHA. Now I really should join in¡± *Spit spit* Baila surfaces, spitting out water. ¡°JOAT YOU B-¡± ¡°CANNONBALLLL¡± *SPLASH* Instantly my vision darkens somewhat and my eyes sting a little. The water itself seems to be quite murky so it¡¯s hard to see much. Luckily the pond lilies aren¡¯t very far from the surface. The lilies themselves are close to the surface but their stems lead to the still black depths below. Anways, time to get picking! Pick 1, pick 2.... I¡¯m almost out of breath, but I want to pick the 3rd Swimming over to it I pick it. -1 Ah I spent too long trying to hold my breath -2 -3 ¡°Aaaaah¡± Phew, almost died there. *Ding*
Congratulations! Your suicide skill has leveled up due to repeated suicide attempts
Ok¡­so drowning counts as suicide¡­well that kind of makes sense. I see two of the lizards taking a breath about a hundred meters in the distance. ¡°How much you got?¡± I shout over to them ¡°Only 2, they¡¯re tough to uproot teacher¡± ¡°Yep, they¡¯ve got some pretty hard stems it seems, must be the turgor pressure¡± Zzoid actually listened on one of the most boring sections of biology, I''m impressed. ¡°Well, keep at it¡± With that I dive back into the dark waters. Pick 1, pick 2. Should I go for the 3rd? -1 Nope! -2 ¡°Aaaah¡± Hmm, I really need to get a longer breath. Barely 2 minutes¡­Wait that¡¯s a lot better than what I can do IRL¡­Must be a game system then, to help with underwater adventures and such. Also, maybe I can get a longer breath¡­ I fill myself up with air and then dive back down I start swimming underwater until I almost start to bleed. Then I resurface and take in some air. Hmm, usually it¡¯d take a lot of repeats but this I can only repeat once every 2 minutes¡­Ah! I take in a tiny amount of air before diving back in for a swim. Less than 10 seconds later, I have to resurface for air. Ooh, this might work well. ¡°Aaaah¡± Baila surfaces quite a long way away ¡°Oh hey! How¡¯s it going?¡± For some reason I feel like she wants to kill me... ¡°A little out of breath but I¡¯ve figured something out¡± ¡°Ooh, wait a second before telling me¡± No, I was imagining it...possibly. She opens a window and taps for a short while. After a good minute (I do my quick breath swim a couple of times as I wait), everyone is surfaced. ¡°So what skill did you find¡± Zzoid perceptive as a lizard...ironically true. ¡°Well 2 in fact¡± ¡°2? Joat you¡¯re so smart!¡± Thanks PinkyS ¡°Of course he is, he¡¯s my teacher/big brother after all¡± Both Zzard and Zzand raise their heads, looking a bit silly while in the water but whatever floats their pride. ¡°Let me guess, one is swimming¡± ¡°Shh Baila, don¡¯t ruin it for the children¡± ¡°Aww and I was getting excited too¡± PJ sulks slightly. ¡°Dumbass but anyways, what¡¯s the other skill¡± ¡°Holding your breath¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Oh¡­that¡¯s what you mean¡± It took everyone a couple of seconds to fully understand what I said. Thankfully it seems they all refrained from calling me idiot, etcetera etcetera, the moment I said it. ¡°So basically, if we train to hold our breath we¡¯ll be able to do it longer¡± ¡°That¡¯s actually smart, although quite obvious¡± Zzoid muses Thanks? ¡°And since to get a skill you need to repeatedly do it, take a tiny breath and hold that for as long as you can, it¡¯ll speed up the process of repetition¡± Hah! How am I the dumbass now, Baila? ¡°Well if the repetition was counted in seconds the breath is held, it¡¯d make no difference which way we did it¡­Dumbass¡± ¡°¡­I guess¡­¡± ¡°How about we try both ways: Girls will focus on the small breaths and us boys will focus on the large breasts¡­Breaths" ¡­ .. . Zzard...Don¡¯t say what you think... Both Zzoid and Zzand give him a plonk on the head ¡°I¡¯d prefer to focus on the small breasts, I meant breaths¡± Zzoid¡­guess this runs in the family ¡°I don¡¯t understand why we have to focus on any breaths; sorry I mean breasts, at all¡± ¡­ Zzand, you¡¯re definitely the special child of the family¡­ Ah, screw it, the girls already look extremely bewildered at this point ¡°Well you see Zzand, us men usually prefer larger breasts, I meant breasts¡­¡± ¡°JOAT!¡± I feel the eyes of Baila pierce the back of my head I turn round with a devious grin. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Baila, you¡¯re all set there¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to drown you¡± She starts swimming her way over here furiously ¡°Hahah-¡± *Choke* ¡°Your perv, stop looking at me and how dare you splash me with that cannonball!¡± Everyone chuckles at the sight of Baila choking me slightly while trying to push me into the water. PJ seems to be grinning quite a bit while PinkyS has returned to the depths with a slight sizzling where she was, as if the water had evaporated from some extreme heat or something¡­ Phew, seems like the girls took it nicely? I mean they don¡¯t seem to be on the verge of hating us; even Baila isn¡¯t really choking me to death -1 Nevermind, must be because of the cannonball. ¡°Baaaailaa¡± My last croaks of air flow out ¡°Oops, sorry¡± She stops choking me and looks away in embarrassment Cute? I¡¯m not quite sure its the right situation¡­I rub my bruised throat a bit. The guys, sort of just drift back underwater, leaving me and Baila alone, in the middle of a pond, in the middle of the night (although a good amount of moonlight). I swear Zzoid just winked at me before he went¡­Ah, Zzoid, this time you¡¯re not as perceptive as usual. ¡°Ok, I¡¯m going to continue almost committing suicide, so have fun picking flowers¡± ¡°Oy, weren¡¯t you supposed to pick me a bouquet of lilies?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pick you the greatest quality¡± ¡°Hah, the best quality you could get would be medium¡± ¡°Hah! I bet I can get you high quality lilies¡± ¡°Good luck. If you can¡¯t get a bouquet of high quality lilies, I get to order you around for a day¡± ¡°And If I win?¡± ¡°I will swoon over your greatness for about 2 seconds¡± ¡°heh¡­How about you stay in my party for the rest of the beta test?¡± With that I dive backwards to go find my exquisite quality lily ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) You didn¡¯t have to make a bet for that you idiot¡­I would have gone with you regardless¡­ Dumbass Gah, what a dumbass, seriously. I mean its fun to be around him and I can joke with him without feeling this nasty vibe come from him like it does from other guys.Even though he¡¯s got quite the pervy repertoire (Although he¡¯s really joking around, I can tell)¡­ Why wouldn¡¯t I want to party with him? But I do hope he finds a high quality lily, because¡­I don¡¯t know¡­I really want a flower from him for some reason. No time to think about the reason. Let¡¯s get back to herbing. ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Aaaah¡± *Ding Ding*
Congratulations! Through repeated action you have learnt the Skill: Swim
SKILL:Swim, beginner [lvl1] (0%) (Passive)
When swimming: 1% swimming speed increase Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: none, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! Through repeated action you have learnt the Skill: Hold Your Breath
SKILL:Hold Your Breath, beginner [lvl1] (0%) (Passive)
When holding your breath: 1% increase in breath
Cost: None, Duration: none, Cooldown: None
For learning a new skill, xp is increased by 5%
Sweet! But no possible stat bonuses with HYB (Hold Your Breath)¡­I wonder what helps it? Anyways, not much of a use, however it only took me 40 minutes to gain both. I mean that was mostly because I was constantly swimming, since I¡¯m in the water and all. Usually a skill would take about an hour to learn¡­but this situation and my great wisdom sped it up quite a bit. Anyways, now I should start doing some herbing. I dive back in and start to pick 1 pond lily so very slowly. So far, everybody¡¯s gotten around 35 lilies ( I only have 9 however...); although most are only poor quality (mostly because they don¡¯t have the herbalism skill yet). I finish picking my lily¡­damn only a medium. Refreshing my air, I head back down. Hmm, another medium. Overall not too bad, but I need this high quality. Not because of the bet¡­I actually don¡¯t want to win, because being ¡®forced¡¯ to do things for Baila sounds like it¡¯ll be an interesting day for me. I want to get a high quality lily because I really want to try out a great pickup line I¡¯ve always wanted to try¡­ah that reminds me, I need to get one for the minor too¡­Maybe I should just accidentally forget¡­ However, right now I should be focusing on the lilies; which are only mid quality at most. How do I get high quality? I mean if I use the knowledge from the berries: The cleaner the picking the higher the quality. I¡¯m picking these with literally no mistakes; just snapping the stem with my hands and taking the lily at the top ¡­ .. . Oh¡­That¡¯s why. I go back up and get a nice big breath of air. Diving down, I keep swimming down and down and down. Jesus how deep is this lake? After almost a minute of swimming down, I spot the pond bed; rockless hills of dirt. All the lilies¡¯ roots are embedded in the flat bits right next to the hills. Perfect! I land onto the hill and kneeling down, am right next to the root of a lily. I¡¯m about to dig but suddenly the hill quivers slightly, sending me floating up a bit ¡­ .. . What was that? A mini earthquake? Weird. I swim back up for air and go back down to the same hill as before, thankfully distinctive by a black patch of dirt in the center. Kneeling on it once more, I ¡®m once again about to dig, when the weird hill quivers, sending me back into the air. I look at it intensely ¡­ .. . So it¡¯s just a weird quivering hill? Monster Identification didn¡¯t do anything so that¡¯s what I¡¯m guessing is the truth. Going back up for air, I quickly message Baila to hand me her knife. She surfaces and chucks it -1 God dammit. I thank her and she chuckles ¡°Dumbass needed a handicap¡± as she dives back in. Ok back down to this bizarre quivering hill. I wonder what it could be; a secret hole? Or maybe a pile of treasure, long buried? Ooh I¡¯m excited. Of course if there¡¯s a skill book (although since it¡¯s underwater, I doubt it) I¡¯ll be ecstatic. Reaching the hill, I kneel on it and stab it. *RRRRRRRRRUMBLE* HMMM? The entire ground seems to shake violently and my knife gets ripped out of my hand as the hill splits in two, revealing a large yellow eye...
WARNING!! Mini-Boss: Pond Kraken has been awoken! You have 100% agro
¡­ .. . Shit
Authors Concerns(?)/thoughts in general: I''m thinking of 2 things here 1. reviews!! I''d always love the people who review my work, even if it is to say its bad. Just look, someone has lready done it so even that''s fine *Sniff* Anyways... 2. What tags should I add ? Because I want to know what you guys think should be tagged onto this fiction. Thanks to the future you''s who write things for me !!! -Love, the writer of this fiction 8. Anger, Anger everywhere! *Whoosh* A small pillar of light forms and dissipates in the middle of the group. Baila¡¯s finally back on. And she took a whole hour, what a long time to make her character (I only spent 20 minutes). ¡°YOU IDIOT¡± *Kacha* Ow ¡°Whoops¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Whoops? WHOOPS? I¡¯M GOING TO KILL YOU. DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT DID TO ME?!¡± *Choke* ¡°Damn, did I miss the tentacle p-" *CHOKE* -1 Ok guys, stop her! -2 Seriously now! -3 ¡°Stop it Baila¡± Phew, thanks Zzoid. Your perceptiveness is quite useful sometimes. She thankfully stops choking me but continues fuming at me. Well I do totally deserve this¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t believe you woke up that guy, you just had to stab his eye!¡± ¡°I thought it was a dirt mound that quivered slighty" ¡­ .. . *Facepalms* Everyone does so. ¡°Well on the bright side, we¡¯ve found something cool, all thanks to big brother¡± Thank you Zzand ¡°Oh I really like octopus! Let¡¯s catch it and eat it¡± PJ¡­says it lightly but I can feel the killing intent ooze out of her ¡°Junior, it¡¯s an kraken, not an octopus¡­But we¡¯re killing it all the same¡± PinkyS adopts the same killing atmosphere ¡°Well actually, Kraken is just a giant octopus" ¡­ .. . Zzoid, where do you get your information from? ¡°So can I eat it then?¡± PJ, stop sounding like you¡¯re going to eat it alive ¡°No, WE will eat it Junior¡± ¡°Good¡± ¡°I want to rip it to shreds and feast on its corpse¡± Baila is getting scary ¡°Let¡¯s eat some Octopus!¡± Zzand and Zzard pitch in, so innocently, completely missing the triple killing atmosphere coming from the ladies ¡°I want to eat that Octopus and hear it scream¡± PJ, please¡­its scary ¡°I¡¯ve never tasted Kraken before, but I know revenge taste delicious¡± PinkyS, stop scaring me ¡°Well since it¡¯s so large it probably will taste very b-¡± ¡°Shh, Zzoid, don¡¯t destroy the children¡¯s dreams¡± I stop his last words escaping ¡°Don¡¯t want them to get ideas about cooking the thing alive or something just as horrible¡± I whisper to him He thinks for a second, face paling, before agreeing to not throw oil on the fire¡­ Everyone starts marching out the gate¡­except me and Zzoid (who they all seemed to just forget about) ¡°Wait a second everyone!¡± They all turn back with a hungry/killing look in their eyes¡­this Kraken annoyed the wrong people for sure. ¡°The thing literally murdered us all within about 3 seconds¡­Don¡¯t you think we should either level up some more or enlist some help?¡± ¡°Levelling up takes time, so it would be hard to do. Enlisting help may cause inter-party conflicts¡± Thanks for the view Zzoid ¡°So if we go for it now by ourselves, how are you all planning on killing it?¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°That¡¯s a good question teacher¡± Everyone starts to think deeply about what to do ¡°Rip it to shreds¡± ¡°Burn it to a crisp" ¡­ .. . ¡°Pinky and Baila, how about you let the others make the plan¡± I spot a little sweat come down from all 3 of the lizard trio¡­they finally noticed then ¡°Ah!¡± PJ claps her hands in delight ¡°What is it junior?¡± ¡°Octopus is an aquatic animal right?¡± ¡°Yes, although it can walk on land for short distances, it more often walks along the sea bed¡± Zzoid has this strange knowledge of everything ¡°So why don¡¯t we get rid of the water?" ¡­ .. . ¡°Tha¡­t¡¯s actually brilliant¡± Baila looks impressed ¡°And then we can watch it suffocate¡± You seriously didn¡¯t need to add that bit at the end there... *Ding* ¡°Ooh, I just got the wisdom stat!¡± ¡­ .. . Well I guess the system is telling us that this is a smart way of fighting¡­ ¡°Ok but how are we going to do that? Will we suck it out with a straw or something?¡± Zzand queries excitedly ¡°Well little brother, that would actually work; as long as we start the suction, it should continue until the pressure within the ¡®straw¡¯ decreases... Zzoid knows everything¡­I¡¯m calling that here and now...also when is he going to get that damned wisdom stat(I bet he''s got it a long time ago). ¡°So we just stick a straw in the lake, suck on it and then let the water pour out?¡± PinkyS raises her eyebrows questioningly ¡°Basically, although the straw needs to be able to withstand a high pressure¡± ¡°We¡¯ll figure that out along the way. For now we should grind some wolves back up to our level¡± ¡°Ok¡± Everyone agrees. And so we all head off back into the forest to find a wolf to grind our skills on. ¡­ ¡°Awoo¡± ¡°Oh shut up you¡± Baila stomps the poor pile of what we used to call a wolf, doing no system damage but I swear I can see tears form where the eyes are supposedly. ¡°Zzard¡± I call over to him pitifully He slowly walks to the wolf and bends down where its pulpous head is He says something, but I can¡¯t quite catch it, before he raises his fist for a last punch ¡°Stop¡± Baila grabs his hand before he delivers the final blow Zzard stops and with what I believe was a prayer, he steps back to leave Baila towering over the pulped up wolf. We never should have shown the girls our little grinding trick. That poor wolf has been abused by all 7 of us for an entire 10 minutes¡­I will not put into specifics what happened, but what we did to Apexus¡­it seems like child¡¯s play compared to what we saw¡­ Talking about what we did to him¡­I check my inventory and hehe, it¡¯s not just limited to money. Oddly enough, your inventory is kept; although something is dropped on death, along with all your money¡­I mean I think I¡¯d go insane if I lost all my inventory¡­especially in later levels. Anyways, I¡¯m all happy, now that I know I can keep Apexus¡¯ beautiful fur¡­ However, this poor wolf hasn¡¯t been finished with it seems ¡°So everyone got their combat skills, except Baila right?¡± ¡°Yep¡± everyone shouts, while the girls rub their hands together evilly. ¡°I¡¯ve got one last skill to learn¡± Baila says to us all making everyone raise their eyebrows at the ambiguous comment ¡°What is it?¡± *Bite* *Rip* ¡­ .. . Did she just¡­. ¡°¡­¡± No one knows what to say She spits out the tiny, hair chunk and then notices us ¡°We¡¯re going to eat this Kraken, and I want the skill to do so" ¡­ .. . *Bite Bite Bite* *Rip Rip Rip* Both PinkyS and PJ bite and rip a tiny chunk of wolf¡­ This poor, poor Kraken¡­just what did it to to them to incur such wrath¡­wow maybe they did experience ¡®that¡¯¡­ However, no time to ponder: I taste a skill! It also tastes decently nasty raw. But the coming skill tastes delicious! ¡°Well¡­we did say we were going to eat it¡­¡± Zzard looks with mild disgust at us ¡°True you did, but still¡­¡± ¡°Mmm, delicious¡± PJ smiles as she licks a bloody piece of flesh¡­eugh. *BITE RIP* Zzoid literally jumps at the wolf (who is freely pouring both blood and tears by now) and starts tearing with a frenzy¡­guess if his Loli says it¡¯s good, he¡¯ll dive in and eat it all¡­ ¡°Mmm, my loli is correct¡± ¡°Ok, if brother says it¡¯s good then it¡¯s good?¡± Zzand looks a bit unconvinced as he says it. However the two of them come and join the cannibalistic(?) feast¡­ They both don¡¯t like it, but they continue eating...because PinkyS gives them a bloody smile as they do so¡­ I fear for my brothers in harm who were so easily convinced. I however, was convinced through a more pure method; A SKILL! Though I do feel a little sorry for the wolf who is slowly being eaten, but only 3 of us can do in-game damage, so it¡¯s a very slow death¡­ Oh, Baila looked at me angrily. I think I stopped for too long. Back to eating this delicious skill, with tears¡­ ¡­ ¡°AWOOO¡± The wolf finally dies from the bleed damage, as it overcame its natural regeneration. *Ding*
Congratulations! Through brutally killing a monster in a way that would give normal people nightmares, you have discovered a new hidden stat
STAT: Brutality
Points in Brutality will increase attack in a 2:1 ratio. It will also affect brutality related skills
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots?YESNO
xp increases by 30%
Congratulations! Through repeated action you have learnt the Skill: Bite
SKILL:Bite, Intermediate [lvl1] 0% (active)
When Biting: 1% bite strength increase Strength bonus: n/a Brutality bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: None, Cooldown: None
xp increases by 20%
¡­ .. . Everyone stands up and wipes their mouths spitting hairs and blood¡­smiling¡­I¡¯m scared (but I¡¯m smiling too because I leveled). ¡°Let us have ourselves a Kraken¡± ¡°Yeah, that wolf didn¡¯t fill us up enough¡± ¡°mmm¡± My god, I have never seen quite so strong a transformation¡­but they do say that revenge changes a person¡­ I¡¯m scared to what¡¯s going to happen to them once they¡¯ve had their revenge. Anyways, I give a last pitying look at the wolf, which is literally nothing but a pile of guts and scraps of hair¡­ Your death was a necessary sacrifice¡­but I do feel a tiny bit sick looking at the mess we made. ¡°Anyone want to clean the table?¡± ¡°¡­¡± They all just look at me, shaking their heads. They turn away and walk away from the scene of the crime¡­ I follow them juggling this ¡®hidden stat¡¯ window. Hmm, adding it would increase my attack by quite a bit which would make me a lot less useless¡­ Ok, I¡¯m adding it! *Ding*
STAT: Brutality has been added to your stat slots. It has used up 1 stat slot. Brutality will start at 20 due to hobgoblin race.
Due to Brutality being 10 you have gained the intimidation skill.
Due to Brutality being 20 the intimidation skill has derived into Mild Monster''s Aura
SKILL:Mild Monster''s Aura, Intermediate [lvl1] (Aura)
You have a natural aura around you which causes mild fear to all those who see you
Non-monsters within 10 metres: 11% chance to gain fear status to lower-leveled beings. 22% chance to agro onto you Non-monster Npc''s will naturally be apprehensive towards you
Cost: None, Duration: Permanent, Cooldown: None
xp increases by 20%
Because you gained the Monster''s Aura, Intimacy with all non-monster Npc''s decreased by 5, global wide.
Alert!Auras are permanent, even through death and will remain for all sub-types of the chosen race...unless specified otherwise
¡­ .. . Daaaamn¡­ Well this is going to be great and terrible for all monster races¡­That¡¯s horrifying! I mean -5 intimacy means that I¡¯d be disliked, so for me that isn¡¯t that bad. However what if someone had like 50 brutality and the monsters aura was stronger? They wouldn¡¯t even be allowed into town! Though it does suggest there are monster NPC¡¯s¡­but that¡¯ll naturally make a divide between races in this game¡­ When I first logged in this morning, I didn¡¯t think that the races would have such a strong effect¡­ I have to be careful with the stats from now on ¡°WHAAA?¡± the lizard brothers all say simultaneously and stay glued to their window, in mild shock¡­guess they just got brutality too¡­ ¡°What, what happened?¡± PJ jumps up and down at Zzoid. The other girls look confused too ¡°We just got a permanent skill, that continues through death¡± Zzoid states, not quite believing it himself. ¡°WHAAAT?¡± Ow, so loud ladies. ¡°Yep, but it only stays for the monster race and gives us a global -5 intimacy with non-monster NPC¡¯s¡± Zzoid continues in mild disbelief. ¡°WHAAAAAAAAAT?¡± Oww, my ears¡­ ¡°So basically being a monster has its downsides¡± Zzoid concludes while the women look, open mouthed and bewildered. ¡°By the way, did you ladies get anything?" ¡­ .. . ¡°Ladies¡­¡± ¡°Oh, oh¡± PJ is the first to recover ¡°we just got 10 points, giving us intimidation. ¡°Ok, being a beastman doesn¡¯t have any demerits in this world¡­it seems¡± ¡°Looks like it¡± Baila has recovered now, but PinkyS is still in mild shock. ¡°But on the bright side, we¡¯ve just had a 40 damage increase!¡± I grin at the others The lizard trio get out of their shock period upon hearing that¡­and smile. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Having a 40 damage increase¡­is huge. My god! We¡¯re as powerful as Apexus now! I wish I could see him again. I hear 2 more dings¡­so now everyone has brutality. This Kraken is completely screwed. We continue on our way, killing a couple of wolves¡­in about 3 seconds flat. That poor wolf. Anyways, we move on for another 30 minutes, killing wolves and picking berries (to get the herbalism skill back). Finally, we reach the pond and it is as calm as ever¡­ Ok, we have about 6 in-game hours till morning, so we should have enough time to empty this pond. ¡°Ok, Zzoid, how are we making this straw?¡± ¡°No idea¡± ¡­ .. . Well that¡¯s our entire plan gone. ¡°Anybody have an idea?¡± I¡¯m trying to save the situation here! ¡°Hollow out a tree?¡± Zzand answers with a question¡­ Everybody thinks about it for a moment¡­ ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a bad idea, tell me more¡± Zzoid encourages him but looks a bit unconvinced himself ¡°Well if we hollow a thin bit of the tree then when we suck on the top we¡¯d be able to create enough pressure and the tree will be able to withstand it easily?¡± ¡°Sounds like fun!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± Zzoid is raring to go¡­now that his loli said it¡¯s good. We quickly find a thick tree. ¡°How are we going to cut it, big brother?¡± Zzand looks up to me as if expecting that I can just punch it down¡­oh right ¡°Just punch it till it falls¡± I go up to it and punch the tree¡­ow! But there¡¯s a visible dent already. Haha! Having 41 damage is great! Zzand joins in and we hit from one side, until the *Creeeak* of the tree sounds. We then jump out the way and hear the tree crash to the floor. ¡°Ok PJ, your turn¡± Zzoid directs her to the fallen tree She rubs her hands in glee and begins to dig through the tree with her hands, oddly enough; the tree core is soft enough for that. ¡­ .. . This might take a while. We stop her and proceed to break a good 4 metres off the tree, and then allow her to continue. We leave PJ to it and we all go and grind our other skills. First up; climbing, throwing and suicide. I¡¯m still crap at catching branches, but I caught 3¡­in 50. That only took a quick 30 minutes. Relearning skills is so much easier. By now, I¡¯m the only one on land (not counting PJ, who is still digging). The rest have jumped into the water (after Zzoid checked it with his body. Apparently the Kraken has gone back to sleep) and are doing their swimming, herbalism and HYB skill. Apparently everyone dropped their stack of lilies when they died. So they have to do the whole thing again. I join them and collect my herbs too. Another hour passes with nothing but collecting herbs. ¡°I¡¯M DONE!¡± A very exhausted voice calls out to the air. I¡¯m taking a breath so I luckily heard it She¡¯s done I send the message to Zzoid and to my party chat. Everyone gets out and admires the handiwork. I must say, pretty damn good; seeing as though she only had a knife, she still got through 4 metres of bark in only an hour and a half. This will be a perfect straw. ¡°Ok, everybody together now¡± I grab the trunk and everyone scrambles slightly to pick it up (we give PJ a rest though). Taking it over to the lake, we place it in and hold it, decently easily (we rested it slightly on the bank). ¡°Who¡¯s going to suck?¡± I ask the ladies¡­because us men are holding the trunk ¡°I¡¯ll do it, my teacher says I can do it quite well¡± PinkyS hops towards the PJ sized hole (not very big) and sticks her head in. ¡­ .. . I''m going to imagine she plays the tuba and it was her music teacher...I glance at PJ and she''s gesturing a little trumpet...phew, ok, good. The trunk vibrates slightly in my hands and I see PinkyS pop her head out of the trunk, followed by a small blast of water. The water is slowly pressured up the trunk and thrown out into a now very soggy bank. We all edge slightly inwards while holding the log. After about 10 minutes, the bond has decreased in size by a whole ton. The pond itself was only about 5 metres deep I think, and now it¡¯s only 1 metre deep. The Kraken is decently visible; well its tentacles are anyways. Around the side of the pond are long brown lines of dirt, which are the tentacles I believe. Ok, Kraken must be very unhappy and unable to survive with only 1 metre of water. Taking a couple of steps back, I see the Kraken is covering about half the bed of the pond Damn, that¡¯s big! It should take about 5 minutes to walk a circle round that thing! And now we wait to see it slowly cry and die. We all rub our hands in anticipation ¡­ .. . Hmm that¡¯s odd, it¡¯s still sleeping¡­ Why is it doing that? Is it the fact that lack of water doesn¡¯t mean as much to it as it should? *Ding*
You have relearnt Monster Identification. Through careful observation of the enemy, you have learnt extra details on it
NAME:Pond Kraken (Mini-Boss), Night Variant [LVL???]
Health:???
Pond Krakens do not need as much water as a normal Kraken. Often, Pond Krakens will spend long periods of time outside the water
¡­ .. . So basically; Trying to suffocate it from lack of water isn¡¯t going to work? ¡°Guys¡­this isn¡¯t going to work¡± Everyone *Tch¡¯s* at that ¡°So any ideas on how to kill it now?¡± ¡°Eat it¡± ¡°Rip it to pieces¡± ¡°Burn it¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Ladies, why don¡¯t you let us do the decisions kay?¡± I definitely don¡¯t want to be jumping down there again, and those ladies scare me. ¡°Well how about we begin by limiting its movements¡± Zzoid points at the tentacles which are skimming the top of the pond. ¡°How are we going to do that brother, I thought Octopus¡¯¡­have 8 tentacles?¡± Zzard looks quite perplexed ¡°True, so we need to limit at least 2 of them for it to have an effect¡± ¡°Zzoid, don¡¯t forget that this Kraken has some brains too, probably¡± ¡°We just make it a barbed tree¡± ¡°I like this idea¡± ¡°Yes, I want to stab those tentacles over and over¡± ¡°Kill them, eat them¡± ¡°I wonder how much pain it will be in if I stab and thenn rip it out?¡± Ladies you¡¯re scaring me. And the other guys too. Since the majority thinks it¡¯s a good idea, we begin punching down trees (it hurts quite a lot actually). After a good 30 minutes, we¡¯ve piled up a stack of 8 trees, punched into a barbed shape. Splitting up, we take a tree over to either side of the pond. Lifting it up, we locate a dirt covered tentacle and listen to Zzoid¡¯s countdown ¡°3¡­2¡­1¡­Stab¡± ¡°YAAAAAGH¡± *STAB* -132 Damn that''s a lot of damage, guess having 3 people stab it with brutality/strength helps *RUUUMBLE*
Warning! You have awoken the Mini-boss monster: Pond Kraken. You have 22% agro
The whole bed of the pond moves upwards with two angry yellow eyes, 1 sporting a tiny amount of blood¡­oh it¡¯s the knife¡­Aha, so damage is kept for a certain period of time? Interesting, this may make boss fights very interesting¡­ However no time to think of that now; there¡¯s a giant Kraken standing up in the pond. It is as large as we thought; it¡¯d take a whole 5 minutes to walk around it and it¡¯s at least 6 metres tall! Its eyes are literally just above the grass, a couple of inches away from us.
Due to being recognized, agro is now 100%
¡­ .. . WHATT? *Crash* I dived out the way as a tentacle whipped into the ground where I was. Due to being recognized? This is great for agro, but bloody terrible at the same time! I immediately start running around the pond. ¡°GET THE OTHER TREES AND STAB IT NOWWWW!¡± *Crash* Eek, that was close. I keep running around the pond at full speed with my t-shirt torn at the back. I don¡¯t wanna die again!!! Run run run! Its puffed up head follows me around and his attacking tentacle switches to one in-front of me. HIT THE DECK! *Whoosh* I feel it slice just overhead. *STAB* The next tentacle doesn¡¯t come as the Kraken stops momentarily at having another tentacle stabbed into the ground. Angrily, the Kraken whips round and rips out the trunk with a multitude of tentacles¡­along with a large gout of blood. It doesn¡¯t speak but it quivers whole bodily and 3 of its tentacles whip towards the group, while the other whips towards me, with the trunk¡­ *BOOM* I of course am already up and running again (I wasn¡¯t going to stay down and watch). The trunk embeds itself in the ground behind me and its tentacle goes for a smash. Stop! *Whoosh* *BANG* The earth cracks slightly and I¡¯m blown back by the wind, soaring a metre or so. I glance over to the rest of the party, and it seems that all 3 lizard brothers have agroed a tentacle each and are dodging to the max. The ladies are carrying another trunk. *Whoosh* Eating dirt, I dodge the slicing tentacle, and I scramble up, getting blown away by the tentacle landing just behind me. Roll and up and running again! The tentacle doesn¡¯t come down and I suspect the ladies have stuck another trunk in him. All its tentacles whip over to the new trunk, ripping it out. They then quickly move to the other two grounded tentacles and rip those trunks out too. In result, a huge fountain of blood pops up drenching my entire party in blood (I¡¯m luckily on the other side of the pond). While this goes on, everyone scrambles to grab another trunk (I take a short breather). The Kraken raises all 8 of its arms in the air (3 holding trunks) and the entire Kraken goes red¡­ Oh shi-¡°ADD VIT¡±
You have added Vit to................................ ............................................................................. ........................................................................
*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG* -40 -40 Phew! Lucky I just added Vit, seemed like I got more than 7, but I didn¡¯t have enough time to see what I got. Nevermind that, I¡¯m alive¡­for now. The Kraken raises its tentacles into the air once more and this time I¡¯m more prepared; I run towards the forest. *BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG * Phew, its tentacles aren¡¯t that long. But how the hell are we supposed to do damage to it when it¡¯s in this rage condition? The large spout of blood that just spurted out the tentacle might have answered my question. GUYS, RUN TILL DIES OF BLOOD LOSS I furiously type into party chat as I run on the outskirts of the forest towards them. Luckily(?), I¡¯m still in agro range so the Kraken tries to hit me but I just move a bit towards the forest, resulting in a miss. I quickly reach the other side in just a minute to see about half the party still alive. 1 lizard brother, PJ and Baila are alive With 6 tentacles their way, they don¡¯t have a good time as they stand sideways narrowly escaping the tentacle horde. They are slowly retreating towards the forest but with a constant barrage of 6, they can¡¯t move away much. Another minute passes (and I actively watch and dodge my tentacles) and suddenly all 8 tentacles rise up and then shoot down towards 1 person; PJ ¡°NOOO¡± Zzoid, I now know, jumps in front and gets skewered by tentacles, along with PJ¡­Well that didn¡¯t work. ¡°BAILA DON¡¯T EXPECT ME TO BE SO DUMB!¡± ¡°DUMBASS!!¡± she screams back at me as we see the tentacles rise up, looking towards Baila¡­Ah I got a plan! *SPIT* ¡­ .. . It stops¡­turns around and looks at me with a very nasty look. Shouldn¡¯t have done that DUCK BEHIND A TREE! I hear the tentacles burst through the tree above my head and stab the ground a metre or so infront of me Roll away! Its tentacles slice across the trees smashing them and toppling them over. Within seconds, the forest around me has almost been decimated. ¡°BAILA ATTAAAAAACK!!!¡± The trees come crashing down and I¡¯m left there, ducking behind a stump, in a forest of stumps. The Kraken looks at me with a glint in its eyes as it raises its blood red tentacles. Well I¡¯m screwed. *Rustle* "EH?" ... .. . "EH?" I turned round to the rustling sound and see a large Black Ape burst out of the bushes, covered in blood, his own probably. He spots me and the lack of trees "What the Fu-" *BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG* -320 I¡¯m dead 3 times over. Though I do get a couple of satisfying words as I die: "Fuck, not again" Well I did wish to meet him again...Whoops! With some odd *PFFFF* sound, my world goes black. 9. End of a Kraken night *Whoosh* I return back to the village square and see my lizard brothers waiting with anticipation. ¡°Big Brother!¡± ¡°Teacher!¡± ¡°Yo¡± I give them a silent wave and head towards them. Looking round I see that none of the girls are here yet. ¡°Ok, so results so far; Zzoid, you¡¯re doing good, you even went all chivalrous suicide for her. However me and you may have to have a talk about some of the things you say¡± ¡°I look forward to our alone time¡± *Twitch* I really don¡¯t believe that he doesn¡¯t notice what he says¡­ ¡°Moving on, Zzand¡­I have nothing to say¡± ¡°Big brotherrr¡± He whines ¡°Zzard, you¡¯re not much better¡± ¡°I know teacher¡­it¡¯s just strange to talk to women¡± Him and Zzand nod at that. Those two need some serious training ¡°hmm¡­I¡¯ll give you all couple of pointers and goals for the rest of tonight ok?¡± ¡°Ok!¡± ¡°So let¡¯s begin with aggressive tactics¡± ¡­ ¡­ *Whoosh* ¡°Pinky¡± Zzand runs up to the pillar of light that is the well endowed minor. He gives her a hug and she looks slightly bewildered but I see that she writes it off as nothing much¡­ ¡°Good to see you too Zzand¡± She returns the hug and I see Zzand¡¯s tail waggle vigorously. Plan 1, success. Zzand stops the hug quickly after and looks down sadly ¡°It¡¯s a shame we didn¡¯t kill the thing¡­I was really hungry for Octopus¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; we will get it this time. We¡¯ll kill it for sure!¡± Zzard walks up and pats Zzand¡¯s downtrodden head ¡°Ok!¡± he gives a bright smile and I see Zzard subtly putting a hand on her PinkyS¡¯ shoulder while sighing in relief¡­ She accepts or doesn¡¯t notice his hand but she looks happy that Zzand is happy. So that¡¯s one bridge built¡­just need to maintain it now. *Whoosh* ¡°My loli-princess, this lizard is unworthy of your presence¡± Zzoid kneels down towards her All good so far ¡°Oh you¡± She blushes slightly ¡°¡­I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re unworthy¡± ¡°I believe I am unworthy of you, so allow me to prove my worth by guarding you¡± ¡°¡­Ok, I¡¯ll allow your ¡®unworthy¡¯ self to guard me¡± She adopts a royal pose and offers her hand. Heh, although she looks like a kid, she¡¯s still an adult¡­she probably knows what¡¯s going on¡­ ¡°Yes, my loliness¡± He takes her hand and gives it a light kiss. *Cough cough* ¡°Can we stop the atmosphere please¡± I whine towards them all. Everyone blushes upon me pointing it out so bluntly. Perfect, that kind of atmosphere can''t stay up for too long in this stage of the relationship. ¡°Just because Baila isn¡¯t here, are you jealous?¡± Zzoid sticks a forked tongue at me. Hey this wasn¡¯t in the plan! *Twitch* ¡°Let¡¯s go find her¡± *Whistles* A chorus of wolf whistles comes from the others as I turn around to walk out the village. Damnit Zzoid, stop making life difficult for me. Feeling a bit hot around the ears, I quickly rush out of the village, with the party in tow. ¡°Wait a second, where is Baila?¡± Zzand points out, finally noticing ¡°She¡¯s waiting with a present¡± ¡°Oh¡­so that¡¯s why you were smiling so much earlier, Teacher¡± Zzoid and the girls don¡¯t say anything but grin widely¡­they already figured it out it seems¡­ They stop their whistling as we head towards the walking rabbits. Ah, time to get grinding again ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) *Yawwwn* If only I had more strength¡­I wouldn¡¯t have to wait here bored as hell. About 30 minutes ago, everyone died and Joat just sent me a message saying they¡¯re just finishing off their grinding. 30 minutes¡­there was not much to do in the aftermath of the battle: I collected all the dropped lilies of everyone, which amounted to a little over 300. The Kraken finally died when I punched its puffy head. And I got the worst blood shower I could imagine. At least it wasn¡¯t as bad as ¡®that¡¯ time¡­ However, I didn¡¯t even bother trying to move the Kraken, because no way in hell, am I even going to budge it an inch. Furthermore, the things fell back down into the pond, destroying whatever remaining lilies there were¡­ Good thing we picked the herbs beforehand. The recollecting took a couple of minutes and I found a large squashed, hairy patch¡­Apexus? What was he doing here? Well whatever, not like I¡¯m going to see him again. Cheapskate doesn¡¯t have anything on him. *Rustle* ¡°I swear it was around he-¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°YOU!¡± ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Big brother! I see a large spot of stumps up ahead¡± ¡°Perfect, we¡¯re here then¡± We walk into the stumpy land. *Whistle* ¡°Damn, no wonder you got killed, looks like an earthquake happened¡± Thanks for the insight Zzoid ¡°Yeah, but dying was totally worth it¡± They raise their eyebrows at me questioning my sanity I ignore them and move towards the small, squished, hairy mass. Picking it up for the party to see, there¡¯s a couple of second delay before they get it. ¡°Hahahah! Oh, that poor Apeshit¡± The lizard brothers and I chuckle at the misfortune that had befallen Apexus. But the girls look a bit unsure as whether to feel pity or laugh¡­ ¡°Can we get moving? Because I¡¯m getting hungry for Octopus¡± PJ rubs her hands in anticipation We continue through the stumpy land and quickly find ourselves next to the lake ¡­ .. . ¡°How the hell are we going to get it out of there?¡± Everyone looks dumbfounded on that idea; the entire Kraken, although a tiny bit deflated, is in the pond, with its tentacles hanging out the edge. What a lovely view. ¡°Get your back into it you worthless Ape!¡± We look up from the dead Kraken ¡­ .. . Apeshit? And Baila? I can see Apeshit dragging a cut tentacle onto the grassland by the pond. Baila is behind him ordering him around like a drill sergeant. I sit down and spawn a forest berry I picked as we grinded. Eating my makeshift popcorn I watch the show. The lizard trio do the same and the girls half-reluctantly follow. Apeshit leaves the tentacle on the grassland and runs to the pond. He jumps onto the Kraken, causing a slight quiver, and then he starts cutting away at the end of another tentacle. Baila gives him various colorful descriptions of his worthlessness and as she does so, she spots us and gives us a little wave. We watch the show of Apeshit repeatedly bringing the tentacles out, till only 3 were left. At this point, the Kraken slid further into the pond due to lack of support¡­ *BOOM* It fell a couple of metres¡­well this isn¡¯t good¡­for Apeshit! Hahaha. Though¡­I feel like I should help ¡­ .. . Nah. Apeshit slides down the side of the waterless pond and after cutting the tentacle off¡­he looks at Baila for help, since he¡¯s stuck¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry Apexus, I¡¯ll get someone to help you¡± She then looks at us and motions for us to help Guess we have to work if we want to eat some octopus. The men go towards the hole and it¡¯s the best sight to see Apeshit¡¯s hopeful face crumble in fear. I mean we did skin him¡­even at 20% pain, that¡¯s pretty brutal. He tries his best to scramble up the opposite side of the pond, but scrambling up a couple of metres of an almost vertical dirt wall, isn¡¯t that easy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Apeshit, we¡¯re not here to kill you. We¡¯re here to help with the tentacles¡± ¡°I DON¡¯T WANT YOU GUYS CLOSE TO ME¡± Understandable ¡°Apexus, I promise that as long as I¡¯m here, they won¡¯t kill you¡± Baila offers him some comforting words, while swallowing her own vomit it seems. Oh yeah, she didn¡¯t like him at all didn¡¯t she. Must¡¯ve been difficult to say that. ¡°¡­you promise?¡± ¡°Promise¡± He calms down somewhat and stops clambering up the dirt wall. Me and the guys head down into the pond and quickly feel the almost rubbery skin of the Kraken under our feet We saunter up to the half-cowering Apeshit and grab the cut tentacle. Ah, it feels good to see that bastard cowering towards us. Dragging it to the edge of the pit¡­jesus that thing is heavy and huge! It¡¯s longer than all 5 of us laying down head to toe! Pushing it up the wall somewhat, we see the girls grab it at the tip and pull at it. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. With the combined effort of 8, we get the tentacle out of the pond. The remaining two tentacles go the same way, without any problems. Climbing out the pond, with much effort, we walk towards the girls. I stop and turn to Apeshit, who is a decent way behind us, for precaution? ¡°You¡¯re free to go¡­for now¡± I dismiss him with a little threat; it wouldn¡¯t do to just let him think he¡¯s not my enemy anymore. I am grateful for his small bit of work though. ¡°T-t-tthank you!¡± He is almost in tears as he sprints back into the forest and out of sight. Hmm, I don¡¯t know whether that was tears of joy or tears from losing all semblance of pride and masculinity¡­Probably both? Nevermind him though, I have more delicious things to do. I turn back to the party, who are busy punching down a tree ¡°So how big is our campfire going to be?¡± ¡°Huuuge!¡± PJ and Zzand shout out ¡°Yep! We have to cook an entire tentacle so it¡¯s got to be big!¡± Zzoid puts it in logical sense ¡°Great¡­so does anyone know how to cook Kraken?¡± ¡­ .. . Right, no one thought of that did they¡­ ¡°I can cook, somewhat?¡± Baila, you don¡¯t sound very confident of your own cooking skills. ¡°I¡¯ve never cooked Kraken before, but I can cook¡± PinkyS states with a bit more confidence ¡°I CAN COOK LIKE A BEAST!¡± I shout, brimming with confidence¡­ Everyone looks surprised, except Baila and Zzoid¡­maybe, no they definitely know what I¡¯m up to ¡°Really?¡± PJ voices the general atmosphere ¡°Don¡¯t be so surprised PJ, how do you think I have this great body?¡± ¡°Character creation¡± Well you¡¯re a bit blunt aren¡¯t you? ¡°¡­¡± Everyone¡¯s holding in their chuckles. You better. ¡°Anyways, the matter stands, I can cook¡± ¡°Ok, ok master chef. How about you ask for a real cook on the friends list while you dazzle us with your skills¡± Baila, you¡¯ve got a little something dripping from your mouth¡­oh it¡¯s just your sarcasm. ¡°OK, fine¡± I open up my friends list and send a message to everyone: Cook wanted! If you can cook, please contact me. Since it¡¯s almost dawn, almost everyone is online. Hopefully at least 1 person can cook. However, while we wait; I get cooking! While I take the knife that ¡­ .. . Where¡¯s the knife? ¡­ ... (Apexus¡¯ POV) *Huff huff* Ok, I think I¡¯m far enough away now. God, to meet them again. I just want to get as far away as possible from those monsters¡­But at least we¡¯re not enemies anymore -1 Wiping the sweat off my forehead, I get a cut¡­What? I bring my hand down to see a small sharp knife still in my hand ¡­ .. . Shit ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Dammit dammit dammit!¡± ¡°What is it Joat?¡± Baila looks a little concerned as I stomp the ground ¡°Apeshit took our knife¡± *Crack* The lizard brothers immediately crack their knuckles¡­guess they were just waiting for a reason to Pk him again. I mean we¡¯re not evil, just a little vengeful. Baila notices the potential Ape-hunt and moves to stop us ¡°Come on guys, it¡¯s just a knife...it¡¯s his payment for helping out so much¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Ok¡± We all sigh a little, damn really wanted to Pk him¡­but I guess that¡¯s fairish payment. ¡°So how are we going to cut the tentacles now?¡± ¡°Easy, we can do the cutting¡± Zzoid flashes his claws. Ok that should work. I go to punch a tree into smaller bits, which upon finishing; I pile up into a small bonfire. ¡­ Within a good 30 minutes, the brothers have cut up 5 of the tentacles into chunks about the size of my head The girls have gotten a fire going and I have finished taking all the useful(?) things from the dead Kraken. I collected both its eyes and ripped out 999 teeth (quite easy and quite small too). Thankfully it only took up a total of 2 slots in my inventory. Oddly enough:
ITEM:Kraken''s Eye x2 (Poor Quality)
The eye of a Kraken
ITEM:Kraken''s Teeth x999 (Poor Quality)
The teeth of a Kraken
¡­ .. . Soo they¡¯re ingredients? I¡¯m going to have to ask Nathan about those when I get back. Also its mouth was really nasty; like a hole full of spikes. Funny enough¡­I found a couple of berry stacks there¡­Guess I found where the ladies went the first time¡­Nasty. No wonder they were so set on eating the Kraken; revenge is a brutal thing. PinkyS hands out a branch to everyone and we all impale a chunk of tentacle. Roasting it over the fire like a marshmallow, we all sniff at the smell of roasting Kraken. Zzoid came up with this idea so that everyone has the chance of getting the cooking skill (he didn¡¯t say that, he just mentioned doing a campfire group cooking). Also no one responded with a ¡®we can cook¡¯ on the friends list...I''m worried for the village population ¡°Ah, it feels so relaxing to cook Kraken¡± Baila lets out a large sigh of relief ¡°mhm¡± we all agree. ¡°Anybody bring the guitar?¡± Shaking their heads, everyone focuses on cooking their Kraken juuust right. Baila finally finishes hers and takes a great bit out of it ¡­ .. . ¡°It¡­tastes like octopus¡± ¡°Wohoo!¡± PJ jumps up in excitement, taking her Kraken out the fire and devours it Everyone quickly takes a nice bite off their Kraken and sure enough it does taste like octopus. Damn, that¡¯s good. But I wish we had some oil¡­
For eating Roast Kraken you gain: 10% water resistance and 10% swim speed. Duration: 3 hours
Damn, I really should be eating more! We devour the first piece and quickly go for a second. Then a third and then a fourth¡­ After the fifth piece, we¡¯ve finished off an entire tentacle¡­my god we were hungry. I guess dying and grinding really makes a person hungry, also revenge may have had something to do with it
Congratulations! Through repeatedly cooking an exquisite dish, you have gained a new skill:
SKILL:Cooking, Beginner [lvl1] 0% (Active)
Cooking is the skill to turn raw meat into a more delicious tasting plate
+1% chance to successfully cook a dish
Cost: None, Duration: None, Cooldown: None
Recipes known: Roast Kraken
xp increases by 5%
Full to bursting, I lay flat on the grass. Ah I¡¯m happy in so many ways. Luckily roast Kraken wasn¡¯t hard to cook, so most of what we cooked wasn¡¯t ruined. ¡°So, what are we going to do with the rest?¡± PinkyS asks sounding a bit concerned at the possible waste of food ¡°Cut it up, drag it back to town and sell it or keep it?¡± Zzoid answers from the floor ¡°mhm¡± Sounds like a good idea. We all lie on the grass nursing our almost bursting stomachs, (ate waaay too much) until the sun starts peeking from behind the trees. Ah, morning, a great and terrible time. Reluctantly, I stand up and everyone has the same idea too. ¡°Damn, night goes by so quickly¡± Zzoid grimaces ¡°I know, but it doesn¡¯t mean the fun has ended. You¡¯re free to party with us anytime¡± I grab his arm and give him a pat-hug. ¡°I¡¯ll gladly party with my brother in harm and my loliness; but first, we have to get a little stronger¡± The trio all nod at that ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you to protect me, my knight¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about becoming stronger, just don¡¯t die ok¡± PinkyS being so motherly towards the other two makes them blush a little ¡°I¡¯ll miss you guys; all we have left now is Dumbass¡± ¡°Hey!¡± *Chuckling* ¡°Big brother!¡± Zzand looks up at me ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll party again soon, just work on what you can. Same for you Zzard¡± ¡°Yes Teacher!¡± Everyone does their little goodbye hugs (Heh, my teachings are rubbing off on them already) and with that, PJ leaves their party and rejoins mine. We split the tentacle to 1 a person)what remains of them anyway) and I whisper ¡°I¡¯ll get it done for when we party up once more¡± to Zzoid on the last hug. Grins turn to grimaces as we turn our backs on each-other and walk our respective ways.
Short chapter today -True NORRRRRRD! Also...reviews please! 10. Working the Leather part 1 The bustling village reaches my ears as we finally leave the forest and enter the plains full of cute little rabbits. I kill a couple on the way back, simply because I don¡¯t want them to turn into complete monsters¡­ Heading towards the village, pretty much everyone is leaving it, to go do quests in the forest probably. Entering the village, I see the NPC¡¯s going about their morning duties and the Village Elder standing tiredly by the entrance. ¡°Good Morning ladies and you¡± His elderly face wrinkles up slightly as he looks at me. I thought he liked me¡­oh! So that¡¯s what having negative intimacy does. Hmm, should only be at -1 right now, so not much of a difference? I bid good morning to him nonetheless and then walk towards Jenna¡¯s place. Reaching the door, I see the raven-beastlady and her 3 men waiting patiently by the door. We walk over to them, to which they all give me the evil eye. Waiting on the opposite side of the door, I quickly notice the undead duo waltz up to us, the she-zombie giving a rotten smile towards me¡­eugh. Finally the large wolf-beastman with a silver line of fur down his back makes his way over to us¡­covered in blood. I want to know what he did but at the same time¡­ When all of us are there the door opens, revealing a well-endowed lady in some hot leather pants. Man what a good sight for the morning. ¡°Are you coming in or what?¡± Right right. We all walk inside and gasp at the refurbished room: The whole place has been split in half; empty racks on one side and workbenches on the other. 11 of each in both sides, I see. ¡°Pick a workbench and get moving¡± She promptly pushes us towards the workbenches. I can tell she¡¯s not the kind, endowed teacher here¡­ I sit down in the middle workbench, because I like being in the middle of things. However this time, I put myself in the middle of a strange situation¡­ The she-zombie somehow steals the workbench to my right and wolfy, the one on my left ¡­ .. . Baila? PinkyS? I look at them and they look as shocked as I¡­PJ just giggles and takes a seat between the two girls. PinkyS sits beside the skeleton, who sat beside she-zombie, and Baila took the end, as far away as possible from me. Baila, do you not care that I¡¯m surrounded by scary things? Apparently not. ¡°OK, let¡¯s get started¡± She slams a wolf pelt of medium quality on Baila¡¯s workbench. She then walks up the room giving us each a pelt. ¡°First, produce your skinning knife¡± ¡­ .. . The Dwarf take out his skinning knife¡­ The rest of us? Well we kind of just look blankly at eachother and then at Jenna. ¡°Why did I even choose you?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m beautiful¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Dumbass¡± ¡°Ehe¡± The she-zombie chuckles at me *Twitch* I swear one of Jenna¡¯s eyes just twitched. ¡°I¡¯ll let you borrow a knife for the moment¡± *SLAM* She embeds the knife in the table a few inches from me. ¡­I better not joke around here, or I might die. Tugging the knife out of the wood, it took quite the effort. Damn she is strong. In that time she¡¯s given knives to everyone who needs it. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s start again¡­Everyone take out your knives¡± I raise my knife into the air ¡°One for all and all for one¡± ¡°Ehe¡± the she-zombie starts giggling again, please stop. It¡¯s mildly disgusting since I can hear gurgling sounds from I don¡¯t know what. She looks towards my direction¡­but she shakes her head probably dismissing it as her imagination¡­phew. ¡°We¡¯ll begin with creating leather. Everyone move to the racks with your pelts¡± We all shuffle to our racks and I don¡¯t get a chance to escape from the 2 strange beings next to me¡­damn. ¡°Tie each leg to a corner on the rack using the provided rope¡± Head down or up? Wait that¡¯s a stupid question, it¡¯s not going to make a difference. I start hanging it head towards the floor. ¡°Be careful when stretching the pelt because it may rip. So you need to slowly pull it to elasticate it as your tying it¡± Ok, pull on it till it reaches, got it. After a couple of minutes, we¡¯ve all gotten our pelts on the rack. This was relatively simple, no one damaged the pelt. Everyone else has their heads facing up¡­maybe I should try to change it to look a bit less out of place? ¡°Now take your knives and slowly scrape the fur off. Be careful to scrape with the grain¡± ¡°And that is¡­¡± I look towards Jenna ¡°STROKE YOUR PELT¡± Everyone jumps a little at the sudden outburst¡­ok, short fuse, got it, won¡¯t ask questions, got it. I stroke down the pelt and it¡¯s very bristly. ¡°Is it soft?¡± ¡°Well if needle like fur is soft then yes¡± *Twitch* ¡°IT''S THE WRONG WAY ROUND¡± ¡­ .. . Ah¡­ Everyone chuckles and I stroke upwards. Ooh, soft. ¡°Move your pelt round and then scrape with the grain¡± I can see she¡¯s trying her best to not pulverize me with her voice I look at the pelt and then at her and then at my pelt again¡­ Why would I waste my time doing that? I start to scrape upwards laughing inwardly at my brilliance. That was until I reached the top of the pelt ¡­ .. . *Spit Spit* All that scraped fur had to go somewhere, and thanks to gravity; it went down¡­whoops. ¡°Ehe¡± Ah the gurgling giggle, eugh. No matter, I¡¯ll just look away as I scrape up. I can still do this! Jenna sighs at the sight of me before going to look at someone else. Many rainfalls of fur later, I¡¯ve got a pretty furless piece of pelt, with a giant rip in the middle¡­ what? ¡°I SAID IT WOULD RIP IF YOU DIDN¡¯T STRETCH IT ENOUGH¡± Luckily it¡¯s not just me who¡¯s getting shouted at because I spot both Wolfy and she-zombie have got tears and rips in their too. Haha, I¡¯m not the only one. ¡°But you my dear, are doing juuust fine¡± She gives a small pat to Baila, definitely her favourite. She cracks her knuckles at the rest of us and commands us to take our ruined pelts off before slapping another on our workbenches. Ok, try number 2¡­ This time I slowly stretch and release the pelt for a good 10 minutes until it comfortably fits on the rack. The head is facing the floor once again¡­whoops, I actually didn¡¯t notice. Maybe I just prefer having its face close to me? Nevermind should get to work; I¡¯m a bit behind the others. Scrape, scrape, *Spit spit* Damn fur is everywhere. Finally after another 5 minutes, the pelt is furless. Wohoo! There aren¡¯t any rips. But I can¡¯t do a dance just yet¡­but I still do a short wiggle on my seat earning me another gurgling giggle and this time Wolfy looks towards me for a second as well¡­ ¡°DON¡¯T BE DANCING¡± ok ok! Oh god she saw it. Everyone chuckles as she shouts at me once more ¡°Ok¡± I look down in shame, if you really saw me dance you¡¯d be saying don¡¯t stop dancing. I twiddle my hair for a couple of minutes until everyone finishes de-furring their pelts. ¡°OK, come back to the workbenches, leave your pelts there¡± We all shuffle back to our workbenches Like an instructor, which she is so no irony there(?), she walks up and down in front of us. ¡°Tanning is done through 3 things; Salt, Oil and patience. Repeat after me: Salt, Oil and Patience¡± ¡°Salt, Oil and Slepatience¡± I almost messed it up there. She-zombie gives me a rotten grin, she finished that word herself... Luckily, Jenna did not hear it so we''re safe. She then takes a large barrel from the corner of the room and pops open the lid She points at the white insides ¡­ .. . ¡°Salt?¡± I¡¯m not quite sure whether we¡¯re supposed to say it or not ¡°SALT¡± She shouts at us making everyone wince slightly She then takes another barrel and opening it, reveals a dark liquid ¡°OIL¡± We all shout as she points towards it She gives us the stop sign ¡­ .. . ¡°PATIENCE?¡± She nods. Phew, she didn¡¯t actually mean stop, gah that was confusing. She then gets a pack of small bowls and fills them up with salt and oil. Placing a small, flat brush in the oil bowl they are determined as full. ¡°Now rub in the salt to the pelt to prepare it. Spread it but not too much and not too thin¡± So how much then? If I ask that, I most definitely will regret it ¡°So how much then?¡± *Twitch* ¡°UNTIL IT IS SPREAD¡± Ok ok! I quickly flee to my rack and begin rubbing small amounts of salt in the pelt. It¡¯s better to start small. After taking pinches and rubbing them in thoroughly, I feel like it¡¯s done¡­ ¡°Ok, now lather the oil into the pelt until it is done¡± ¡°How long unti-¡± ¡°UNTIL IT¡¯S DONE¡± Ok ok! At least let me finish my sentence¡­ She really doesn¡¯t like me for some reason¡­is this the -1 intimacy coming into effect? But it shouldn¡¯t be this brutal¡­ ¡°1 HOUR TILL IT DRIES¡± she shouts to everyone, not to me personally. Ok so she¡¯s definitely got some personal grudge¡­? ¡°So do we reapply I-¡± ¡°UNTIL IT¡¯S DONE¡± Ok ok! Most of the people here are chuckling at me. Damn you guys, I¡¯m asking the questions and you¡¯re getting all the answers! I start to lather the pelt until it¡¯s a glossy brown. Damn that looks nice and shiny. With that done¡­I¡¯ve got nothing to do except reapply, at some point, no idea when ¡­ .. . God dammit ¡°So when do I r-¡± ¡°BEFORE ITS DRY¡± Ok ok! Aaah, why does she have such a powerful voice? At least I know what to do know. God forbid I have another question. I¡¯ve cringed so much already; my back¡¯s started to hurt a bit. So I keep my pelt on full watch, because if I mess up, I think I¡¯ll be a very unhappy person... ¡°So¡­you going to ask another stupid question?¡± The she-zombie comes over and whispers slightly rotten breath into my ear *Twitch* ¡°They were extremely practical questions thank you, and don¡¯t be acting like you weren¡¯t benefiting from my duress¡± ¡°Hehe, true. Please keep asking stupid questions¡± ¡°Why are they stupid?¡± I¡¯m actually curious why she thinks they¡¯re stupid, they¡¯re normal questions right? ¡°Because everyone here actually looked up how to skin, probably¡± ¡­ .. . Ohhhhh! Well no wonder everyone was doing fine, except for a couple of mistakes here and there¡­And that¡¯s why I was the only one who has their pelts the wrong way round. ¡°But then why did you say you benefited from my questions?¡± Rotten breath apart, I¡¯m actually quite interested in continuing the conversation ¡°Because, I didn¡¯t read up on it¡± ¡°So you just used me as an information pile, you¡¯re evil you know¡± ¡°Well I am undead¡± She gives her rotten grin¡­she¡¯s got a point there ¡°They say beauty is undying, but I didn¡¯t know princess¡¯ smelled so¡± ¡°Hey I don¡¯t smell¡± She looks aghast ¡°Yes you¡¯re right; you stink¡± I give a grin to know I¡¯m not insulting her "That''s mean" I think she missed my grin...whoops! ¡°What happened to the prince I saw that day?¡± What? Oh that?! ¡°He¡¯s hiding right now, because there¡¯s a large loud woman out on the look for him¡± I give a large grin as I say it, ¡°Oh, so he¡¯s that type of guy¡± ¡­ .. . Huh¡­how¡­what? I¡¯m confused¡­how is she missing these. I¡¯m literally putting a signpost on my face so that it¡¯s a joke! ¡°No, no, it¡¯s just that this large woman is angry with him because he¡¯s not good at his job¡± ¡°What do princes work as?¡± Wow¡­that was a heartfelt question¡­I want to just cry for her¡­how is she missing these? ¡°He does this and that¡± I¡¯ll just roll with it ¡°So he¡¯s unemployed¡± She doesn¡¯t look impressed¡­ ¡°No, he¡¯s getting paid, just very little. A prince is a hard occupation you know¡± ¡°I see, so why is he playing this game¡­¡± ¡­ .. . Did I¡­Give me a second¡­phew, phew. Don¡¯t laugh¡­Don¡¯t want to hurt her feelings. She asked very kindly¡­Calm down Joat, don¡¯t laugh. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°H-he¡¯s playing this game, because¡­because it¡¯s his new job¡± Wait, that¡¯s a horrible excuse ¡°I see¡± She bought it¡­ ¡°So, what does he do in this job?¡± ¡­She¡¯s genuinely interested. I¡¯m so confused right now ¡°That¡¯s confidential¡± Right, adding on a secret job twist isn¡¯t going to make things any worse¡­ ¡°Oh, then we shouldn¡¯t speak anymore about that¡± ¡­She bought it¡­is she na?ve or just a very straightforward person? ¡°So who is this dead princess¡¯ name?¡± who knows, maybe she used her real name ¡°I don¡¯t feel like telling you just yet¡±¡­you¡¯re kidding me; she actually used her real name? *Twitch* I think I¡¯ve just talked to a very interesting person indeed. Is she actually one of those? ¡­ .. . Nah, that isn¡¯t possible, those things don¡¯t exist anymore¡­but I do notice the skeleton silently sharpening his bony fingers... ¡­ .. . I should be verrry careful when talking to Miss Nameless from now on¡­just in case i''m right... Ah, lathering! ¡°I have to take care of my leather now, so more talk later ok?¡± ¡°Sure, but what is your name, since it¡¯s proper for the male to say his name first¡± Male? Proper? Please stop using such sophisticated words¡­ ¡°Joat, a pleasure to make your acquaintance¡± ¡°It is a pleasure indeed. So will you tell me the name of that prince?¡± *Twitch* ¡­ .. . I see the skeleton behind her almost drop the knife¡­I think he doesn¡¯t quite believe it either ¡­I don¡¯t know what to say to her ¡°I believe it would be better for him to tell you that himself¡± I¡¯m confused as to how she thinks her prince and me are different. I mean we literally are the same people, in body and mind. ¡°Oh, ok then!¡± She buys it completely¡­I don¡¯t know whether to be amazed or confused¡­ I turn back to my pelt and lather it once more with oil, refreshing that glossy brown tint. Once that¡¯s done I turn back to her, and see she¡¯s busy watching her skeleton bodyguard(?)/friend lather his pelt. ¡°Princess, just a question¡± I lean over slightly, keeping a respectful distance, in case of overzealous skeleton bodyguards, and whisper to her. Janna is busy giving praise to Baila right now so we¡¯re good. ¡°A question? Sure, if it within my powers to answer, I will try my best¡± Guess a simple ¡®sure¡¯ couldn¡¯t cut it? ¡°How did you recognize me being different from he?¡± The skeleton stops sharpening his fingers for a second, before supposedly resigning to the continuation of this strange fa?ade, and continuing to sharpen his fingers. ¡°Simple¡± She leans in closer. Please don¡¯t; it¡¯s dangerous because of your toxicity and because of the gleam that¡¯s coming off those incredibly sharp fingers ¡°you have a small scar on the upper right hip. The prince didn¡¯t have that¡± Ah. So she noticed huh. Guess kneeling and leaning forward does move the shirt slightly so she¡¯d be able to see it. Though I cannot miss the irony of her being able to spot such an old scar and yet be so blind to my jokes and wit... ¡°You have very sharp eyes there¡± ¡°Thank you, though most men would say I have beautiful eyes¡± ¡­ .. . I glance at her dead white eyes¡­Eugh. I fail to see this supposed beauty¡­but I guess her IRL must be beautiful? I don¡¯t think I should pursue the thought, because Sharpy (I¡¯m calling him that, it¡¯s perfect for him and I don¡¯t want to try initiate conversation with him¡­ever), is checking out his supremely sharp fingers. ¡°I see, well we should be careful with our pelts. Don¡¯t want them to be ruined¡± ¡°Oh yes yes¡± We go back to our own pelts. Phew I survived this little encounter too¡­Jeez I didn¡¯t know talking to a woman could be so dangerous ¡­ .. . Well actually¡­when I think about it¡­Baila is way more dangerous¡­since she actually doesn¡¯t give me any warnings, just comes at me¡­ I really should stop joking around with dangerous women. Ok, back to tanning my leather ¡­ ¡­ Another 30 or so minutes pass with some lathering here and there as well as the odd berating of Jenna. She really doesn¡¯t like me. I only asked 2 more questions within this time: What are we looking for the leather to do? And Am I doing it right? I think the last question was stupid but when I peeked at Baila¡¯s down the line, I noticed that her leather had a much glossier shine. I might have just been a little jealous that my leather isn¡¯t as great as hers¡­ But either way, I got two lovely shouts from her. My back! She does tell me that I have to lather sideways as well as up and down to cover it better. So it was worth it? Also the leather has to be soft for it to be done. Sadly that wasn¡¯t the only situation in the past 30 minutes. Damn it, he¡¯s looking again. I wondered when he was going to do it again. A short while after I finished talking with Miss Nameless over here, Wolfy over to my left started up. For the past while he¡¯s been giving glances towards me before shaking his head. I¡¯m seriously curious as to what he¡¯s thinking about but at the same time, I have the feeling that I really shouldn¡¯t ask. Aargh, I can¡¯t take it anymore. I turn towards him ¡°Girl¡± He says this one word with so much confidence in his gruff voice ¡­ .. . What? ¡°Just¡­what do you mean there buddy?¡± ¡°Definitely girl¡± He¡¯s extremely confident about that fact, why? ¡°Who is?¡± ¡°You¡± ¡­ .. . Um, excuse me? I quickly glance down at myself¡­no bust, and I believe I still have ¡®that¡¯ so¡­what? ¡°I¡¯m¡­a guy¡± ¡°No¡± Well this has never happened to me before, and I¡¯ve experienced a lot of things in my life. I¡¯ve never been told that I¡¯m a woman before¡­wait, actually I have¡­but that was me crossdressing for a Halloween party¡­ ANYWAYS. ¡°I think you are wrong there¡­just a feeling you know¡± ¡°No¡­I am correct¡± Just where is he getting this BASELESS confidence from? I wonder if I should just pull my pants down and end the confusion for both him and myself¡­ Though I don¡¯t know what Sharpy will do to me, I have a feeling Miss Nameless is a lot more pure than she looks. Dammit, why am I surrounded by strange people? ¡°Look here Wolfy¡± ¡°Thrash¡± ¡°Thrash¡± What a¡­interesting name. although it sounds extremely dangerous when he growls it ¡°why do you think I¡¯m a girl?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think, I know¡± ¡°So how then do you know I¡¯m a girl?¡± ¡°you smell¡± ¡­ .. . O¡­.k? I lower my head and sniff myself, nope I don¡¯t smell dodgy or perfumy at all (but I do smell a little like stale blood). ¡°You see, no man would smell himself like that¡± ¡­ .. . What? Well thinking about that sentence, he¡¯s actually not wrong¡­ Unlike most men, I don¡¯t do the whole raise up arm and take a big whiff of the armpits. No idea why guys do that, hell even some do it as a sort of pre-pick up line¡­ I just lower my head and stealthily sniff, normal right? Apparently only women do that (well I can¡¯t imagine a woman doing the whole raise the pits in public, that¡¯d be quite a brow raising sight. I mean its bad enough the guys do it, don¡¯t need the women joining in too). So I¡¯m being called a woman based on the fact that I don¡¯t raise the pits in public¡­Well this certainly has never happened to me before. ¡°Ok Thrash, what is that person over there?¡± I point towards Baila ¡°Girl¡± ¡°And her?¡± Towards PinkyS ¡°Girl¡± ¡°And her?¡± Towards PJ ¡°Child¡± ... .. . Wait a second; are children gender neutral or something to you? ¡°Um¡­why the child, is that special or something?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that children don¡¯t interest me¡± glad(?) we cleared up you¡¯re not a pedophile(?) Though he will surely feel like pigs have learnt to fly if he ever learns the truth about PJ and PinkyS¡­ ¡°Interesting¡­so what am I?¡± ¡°Girl¡± ¡­ .. . Why? Didn¡¯t we already have this discussion? Can you not see their voluptuous bodies?? I don¡¯t even have a chest. How am I a girl? ¡°I¡¯m not a girl¡± ¡°True¡± THEN WHY HAVE YOU BEEN SAYING I WAS A GIRL?! ¡°Your character is male, but you are a girl¡± ¡­ .. . Right, I may have to call my mother later to ask why she lied to me all these years. Also I should go see my doctor about the thing hanging between my legs, a woman shouldn¡¯t have that¡­ However, I do actually understand Thrash a little bit now: He apparently got the idea that I was a girl IRL because I smell myself in a non complete macho kind of way(?)¡­ It sounds just as crazy no matter how many times I think about it. I stop talking to Thrash, because talking to him would just entice his decently deranged thoughts about me to grow. Guess that didn¡¯t work. Actually I think I made it worse. Dammit why is my face red?! He¡¯s probably taking this as me blushing or something, dammit! I¡¯m just embarrassed that a freaking wolf-beastman is calling me a girl and is hellbent on proving to me that I¡¯m a girl. I¡¯ve never had such a hard time with my gender since High school¡­ Hmm, what can I do to stop this Thrash thinking I¡¯m a girl? I twiddle a bit of hair as I always do when I¡¯m in deep thought. ¡°Girl¡± he whispers to the air as he¡¯s lathering his pelt Dammit, I¡¯ve got to stop doing habitual things¡­because apparently they all liken me to a girl¡­Ah, that makes a bit more sense. But I don¡¯t see why, I mean if you look at the way I speak¡­ok, yeah a girl could act that. It¡¯s not as baseless as I thought ¡­ .. . Does Baila think I¡¯m a girl, along with PinkyS and PJ? Is that why they were hanging out with me? ¡­no, I know that both Baila and PinkyS know I¡¯m a guy¡­because of some of the things they¡¯ve done/taunted me with. PJ, I don¡¯t know, but I hope she sees my masculinity pouring out¡­hopefully. Anyways, I can¡¯t think of anything to make Thrash change his way of looking at me¡­because he¡¯s got a particularly lusty glint in his eyes¡­ *Shiver* I think the first piece of armor I¡¯m making is some tough leather pants¡­ ¡­ ... After another 30 minutes the leather is done. ¡°REMOVE YOUR LEATHER FROM THE RACK¡± I slowly unbind it from the corners of the rack and then take the floppy leather to the workbench. I look up at Jenna who is walking back and forth infront of us ¡°Now I shall teach you to make a full set of leather armor. But we must be quick because it will harden¡± ¡°How long un-¡± ¡°UNTIL IT DOES¡± Ok ok! I¡¯ll wait until it does! ¡°We will start with some leather pants; now choose a person next to you to be your partner¡± ¡­ .. . I turn to Miss Nameless¡­because it¡¯s either death or having a possible feel up session with a lusty wolf-beastman who believes to his core that I¡¯m a girl¡­ I think choosing Miss Nameless caused Thrash to smile a bit¡­ Does he think that I don¡¯t want to partner with him because he knows my true self? Sorry to burst your mildly insane bubble, I just don¡¯t want to partner with you, full stop. Also I¡¯m a man. ¡°Princess, I¡¯ve got good hands, would you like me to use them on your pants?¡± ¡°Really? Please do Joat¡± Oh god, how did she miss that¡­oh god, I feel a little dirty saying that to such a pure person¡­ Also I spot Sharpy slice 3 fingers across his throat¡­3? Is he going to kill me 3 times over?! I just smile¡­and cry on the inside, because I¡¯m going to be killed 3 times over after this session¡­ At least I escaped Thrash... ¡°Do you not have a partner?¡± Jenna stops by us and looks at Thrash, who is alone¡­oh right there were 11 people. ¡°I don¡¯t, since we have an odd number, but I will do it alone¡± ¡°No need, how about you partner up with those two¡± She points to us ¡­ .. . "Gratefully" he flashes a wolfish grin I really put myself in the middle of it¡­ 11. Working the Leather part 2 ¡°Now you will each create some leather pants for one another. The best way to do it is to measure their sizes and create the leather around that for a proper fit¡± ¡­ .. . So I¡¯ve got a choice of doing Thrash and then having Miss Nameless do me while Thrash does her¡­or I do the princess and Thrash does me¡­ Either way¡­Sharpy is going to kill me. However I may be able to lessen the blow if I do Miss Nameless and am very careful¡­ Agh, I¡¯m not getting out of this am I? ¡°Ok, I will make Princess¡¯ pants and Thrash you¡¯ll do mine¡± I¡¯m going to regret this¡­ They both agree with completely different smiles. I¡¯m terrified. ¡°Everyone who isn¡¯t making the shorts, put your leather back on the rack and lather it slower than before¡± Ok, nothing to do with me, perfect.. So I get Miss Nameless to stand up and after kneeling by her, I quickly wrap the leather around in a skirt. Ignore the killing intent, ignore the killing intent. I then take my knife, cut off the tail, head and loose legs. Then slowly drag the knife up her inner thigh, cutting the leather. ¡°Could you be a little more careful please?¡± Hmm? Oh she¡¯s red¡­whoops. Sharpy added another finger across his throat¡­ The skirt with a split between the thighs is quickly divided into two different legs. I try my best but I still feel her quiver slightly at my touch¡­I¡¯m so dead. Wait¡­I have to hold it in place till it hardens¡­ *Gulp* I stand up, go behind her and grab both her waist and upper leg, to hold the leather in place¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a bit tight¡± I see she¡¯s slightly out of breath¡­hopefully from the tightening of the leather¡­ Ah wait! Dammit ¡­ .. . ¡°Princess, I¡­need you to remove your shorts, or I may get the size wrong¡± ¡°Ok¡± So, innocent¡­why? Why did she not question that? Is she used to that or something? *Twitch* Sharpy has gone up to 10, no 15? Ah¡­I¡¯m completely screwed. She takes off her shorts, leaving a large set of underwear, almost like granny pants¡­phew. If they were like g-strings, I would have been killed right then and there¡­ALSO, where¡¯s this girls sense of shame (even if her body is rotting and decently disgusting!)? I thought she would have at least asked for the changing rooms or something??? *Gulp* I move the leather back to its position and then stand up behind her, grabbing her waist and upper leg, holding the leather in place. I hold the leather in place¡­for about a minute Being in this position is not good for me or anyone around me¡­ I think I¡¯ve literally gotten the evil eye from everyone but Jenna and Thrash¡­ ¡°Good, at least you know how to hold the leather in place¡± Jenna complimented me? Well that had the effect of stopping the evil looks from everyone¡­ mostly. ¡°But you could just sew it in place¡± *Twitch* Where¡¯s the sewing kit?? ¡°Where is the-¡± ¡°YOU DIDN¡¯T BRING ONE?¡± But no one else did! Aaaah ¡°HERE YOU GO¡± she takes out a needle and thread from her short pocket and slams it on my workbench¡­ Well everyone gave me giant evil eyes and chuckled at my misfortune, while asking for needle and thread¡­to which she gave with little complaint *Twitch* She really doesn¡¯t like me for some reason¡­ Ok. Let¡¯s ignore the killing intent and evil eyes and continue on my work. Since the leather isn¡¯t hardened yet, I have time to sew the leather into shorts and after about 5 minutes¡­the leather still isn¡¯t hardened. I took my time when sewing because I really do not want to prick Miss Nameless¡­that¡¯d be bad, very bad. Since I¡¯ve got time left, I do a couple of adjustments to the shorts. Firstly I roll it up twice and sew that together so that it looks nicer (I¡¯ve always preferred rolled up shorts for some reason). Then I cut off a strip from the top and curve it down the left side of her shorts...because it looks a little less plain? Hmm, doesn¡¯t look that great by itself. I cut off another strip from the top and create a cross weave down the left side of her shorts¡­ that looks pretty nice. I lather some oil onto the cross weave to make it a little darker than the rest of the shorts. Hmm, still looks a bit off¡­ Ah! I take my knife and quickly cut off the right side of the shorts, leaving the cut edge on the upper thigh. I indent it slightly and make the cut rougher to make it seem like it¡¯s been ripped off¡­ With a decent amount of leather left, I wrap it around the 1st layer and then indent side pockets and belt hoops. The remaining strips from earlier I use to layer the remaining short leg¡­but I don¡¯t use the head or tail. I also make back pockets, because I¡¯ve resigned to my fate, might as well make some proper shorts. Satisfied¡­I wait for another minute or so until it finally hardens. Ok so it takes about 15 minutes to harden, nice. Though the satisfied feeling is quickly taken over by the feeling of ¡®oh god what have I done¡¯¡­ I look away from the 1-legged shorts with a cross weave that are way above the knee and way below the midriff¡­Oh god! By this point, I notice that the place is oddly quiet, for a place that everyone is supposed to be working and such, even Jenna is quiet¡­ I look up from my shorts to see everyone look at me: Sharpy: Swiping his fingers across his neck non-stop¡­I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯m going to die. Thrash: Smiling, oh god. The 3 men: Smiling, well that¡¯s good? I¡¯m not quite sure Baila, PinkyS: Giving me the evil eye and I clearly feel the killing intent off of Baila PJ: A curious look, but I can feel some killing intent behind it Raven-beastlady: She looks¡­amused? Miss Nameless: She¡¯s red as a tomato¡­guess me fiddling around that area wasn¡¯t a good idea¡­ ¡°I like it¡± Miss Nameless blurts out after finally calming down a bit. And lastly, Jenna: Apparently she is smiling faintly. ¡°Seems like you have an eye for clothes¡­even though you are a monster¡± I think(?) that was a compliment¡­Though I¡¯m sure it was an insult too. *Twitch* I think I can safely say, Sharpy will hunt me down to the edge of the earth¡­ ¡°Thank you, I aim to please¡±
For impressing Jenna, intimacy with her has raised by 1
¡­ .. . Well that was unexpected¡­Wohoo?! I guess I¡¯m finally at 0 with her now¡­hopefully she won¡¯t be shouting at me anymore ¡°BUT DON¡¯T TRY TO PLAY AROUND IN MY WORKSHOP¡± Nevermind¡­ I look away slightly embarrassed and then look back at the shorts. The shorts themselves are great, albeit a boring colour. But the problem is the legs and stomach that come with them. ¡°Is there any way to colour them?¡± Jenna turns to me and I see the shout welling up inside her. I prepare to cringe ¡°We will get to colours later¡± ¡­ .. . No LATER? Ok¡­that¡¯s good? ¡°now It¡¯s my turn¡± Damn, I¡¯m not looking but I can hear him smiling¡­ Well I cannot stop this¡­ I take off my shorts, leaving grey boxers and let Thrash work his leather around my legs and my waist. ¡­ .. . Ok? He¡¯s being a bit too normal? I expected something? He quickly creates my shorts, leaving it quite a bit below, pretty much where I had Miss Nameless¡¯ However the leg is longer, reaching just above the knee¡­ So they¡¯re normal shorts? I think I¡¯m more worried about this than if he¡¯d done something weird with them. I just don¡¯t know. Leaving it at that, I watch Miss Nameless doing Thrash¡¯s shorts, rolling them up like I did, but keeping both legs and not daring to do a cross weave design. Thrash acts non-chalantly, maybe he¡¯s confused if it¡¯s a she-zombie or not? I mean he does seem to have problems with who is what¡­ They finish relatively quickly and within 50 minutes, everyone has completed their shorts. Now we all stand there in our own shorts¡­oddly enough, Miss Nameless is the only one with pockets¡­That must be because I could double layer mine, due to making mini mini shorts... Anyways, the shorts are really classified into 2: Minishorts and long-shorts. Although I see the odd head in front and tail in the back here and there. To no surprise, the women have all been made minishorts (or made them for eachother) while the men were made long-shorts. Although, all the girl¡¯s shorts had some sort of pattern; made with the strips of leather that were cut off. I must say Baila looks quite stunning with those shorts¡­never knew she had quite the nice ass. I¡¯m not even going to look at the Pinky¡¯s nor the raven-beastlady¡­ And I¡¯m not going to look at Miss Nameless¡¯ ass, because that won¡¯t help me and when I was making those back pockets I determined she didn¡¯t really have much there¡­ But it¡¯d all be rotting anyways, so not a good thought, eugh. ¡°OK, good! That is the first piece of armor done for all of you¡± *Ding*
ARMOUR:Basic Leather Shorts (Trouser slot), (Basic)
3 defense
Made by Thrash
Ok, so that¡¯s useful? The whole class got their information and I¡¯m guessing we all got 3 defense on our shorts. That¡¯s amazing! ¡°5 defense, wow¡± Miss Nameless looks quite amazed ¡­ .. . Is it because I double layered it? I would¡¯ve thought that I lost defense because I took some of it off. Maybe both are true? Everyone goes ¡°ooh¡± at Miss Nameless¡¯ exclamation. Well guess everyone is going to try double layer their pieces of leather next time. ¡°OK, so that¡¯s 1 piece done. However there is more to do. A full set of armor is 5 pieces on 5 areas; Feet, Leg, Chest, Arm and Head. Although, there are miscellaneous parts such as gloves, shin guards, leg guards, arm guards, neck guards, belts, cloaks and shields. So in reality, to make a full set of armor you need to make 13 pieces of armor¡± Oh god, this is going to take a long time¡­ She starts placing 2 wolf pelts on our workbenches ¡°The bigger pieces will take 2 pieces of leather, but may take more if making designs. I want you to make a chest piece with these¡± She¡¯s being so kind and explaining everything now? How strange¡­maybe it¡¯s because we¡¯ve reached a checkpoint, or she¡¯s finally decided to properly teach us? But if we want to make pieces of leather with 2 pieces; how are we supposed to place them on the rack¡± ¡°When you are properly making leather, you will usually have about 3 racks to work with, however here you only have 1. So you can choose to create leather for one person or use 2 pieces each¡± Aha¡­she didn¡¯t shout at me¡­thank god. And so detailed too. Also, I¡¯m extremely happy, because I know my group has a slight advantage; because we have 1 pelt for use of layering and details¡­ ¡°Ok you two, we¡¯re making leather for Princess, and we¡¯ll use all 3 pieces ok?¡± ¡°Ok¡± Both agree without hesitation. I hope they noticed our advantage because the other people have. And so begins the long lathering again. ¡­ ¡­ We¡¯ve got an hour doing nothing but maintaining the leather¡­So Miss Nameless starts up a conversation with me. ¡°So Joat¡± ¡°So Princess¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Keep up the good work¡± ¡°¡­Sure¡± Well that was a great conversation¡­we look away awkwardly from eachother Thrash leans over to me after a while. ¡°You can¡¯t deny you¡¯re a girl¡± Yep, he¡¯s still hell bent on proving to myself that I¡¯m a girl. ¡°Because I looked away awkwardly?¡± ¡°Because you looked cute when you did so¡± ¡­ .. . Well people see what they want to see, I really can¡¯t deny that fact¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s get back to work shall we?¡± Damn, no one to talk to¡­ Guess I should get back to lathering ¡­ ¡­ Dammit, why do I have to do this? ¡°Princess¡­I need you to remove your shirt¡± *Twitch* Most people around the room twitch, including me. But Miss Nameless does not and neither does Jenna¡­I guess it¡¯s normal for both of them? She of course takes off her shirt without the slightest bit of hesitation, revealing a grey bra, holding small breasts¡­ I¡¯m almost drowning in the killing intent coming from Sharpy. It¡¯s not my fault ok? I thought she would have at least asked for a changing room or some privacy! This girl has no sense of shame, just what kind of upbringing has she had? Anyways, not the time to dwell, because I¡¯m getting some dodgy looks from people! I quickly place the soft leather around her left shoulder. Quite slender. Ok so I close it off around her small arm and then take the other piece of leather and put it around her right shoulder. Doing the same with that piece, I start to stitch the two together at her back. Ok, so that works. I do the same at the front, and I think about it, but I only stop once I¡¯ve stitched up to the neck ¡­ .. . Hmm, that looks pretty terrible. Ok, so first, I have to do that¡­ Dammit. I cut the top down slightly till it¡¯s about shoulder height, allowing to see some prominent collar bones. Better, but the bottom still sucks. I cut about ? of the t-shirt off leaving a large midriff, but still decently below the chest¡­ Hmm looks like a crop top now¡­not bad actually. Except for the fact that I can see the stitching. Ok time for the second layer. I weave the thin layer around the top to make it look a lot smoother. Finishing off I check how she looks: She looks pretty good¡­if you forget the fact that her midriff and neck area is rotting¡­ ¡°Wow, I¡¯ve never worn something like this before, all I¡¯ve ever worn are dresses¡± Really? She¡¯s never worn a crop top? What century does she live in? I¡¯ll ignore the death stare from Sharpy and start with the next batch. Although I¡¯ve double layered it, it still isn¡¯t bulky so it looks nice. I go to Thatch, who is busy keeping track of 3 pelts I sit down in my place and take over lathering mine. ¡­ ¡­ I look at Miss Nameless and she looks at me¡­ I really should be the one to start but¡­ I¡¯m worried whether she¡¯ll understand anything I say¡­and she doesn¡¯t have any conversation starters¡­so we¡¯re at a bit of an awkward situation. Thrash, I¡¯m not even bothering to talk with you ¡°1¡­2¡­3¡­4¡± Hmm? I look to where Thrash is¡­ O¡­k? Well, can¡¯t deny he looks pretty good when doing a 1 hand handstand push up¡­ But still¡­seriously? And he just gave me a grin¡­is he showing off? I¡¯m going to ignore him and go back to work ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Ok done¡± Thatch tells me with a grin Sweet! I do like what he¡¯s done for me My chest piece, is a full body piece, because I asked him to do it. My entire chest and stomach is covered and I¡¯ve got sleeves to my elbows too. But what makes it sweet is the fact that I¡¯ve got a wolf head on each shoulder. Sweet!
ARMOUR:Wolf Killer Chest Piece (Chest slot), (Intermediate)
10 defense +2 Brutality
Made by Thrash
¡­ .. . What? Brutality bonus? My god that¡¯s awesome! Also that defense! Guess Thatch is seriously making my armor, which I am truly grateful for. Everyone looks a bit jealous, because they can¡¯t really put those on, unless they shorten the arms and chest piece somewhat. Having that extra piece is so useful. Ok, back to work! ¡­ ¡­ Lunch Break! Well I say that¡­but it¡¯s really just me eating a piece of bread while lathering a pelt with some oil. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. My satiety is extremely low, because I haven¡¯t eaten for almost 5 hours in-game¡­ Sadly, the lunch doesn¡¯t come with conversation¡­ Miss Nameless is humming a tune while playing the air piano. She actually looks pretty good at it...but she¡¯s even using her feet. She knows her stuff it seems. But I¡¯m musically retarded so that¡¯s that conversation out the window¡­ Oh wait! ¡°So what is your favourite type of music?¡± I ask her. Aha, I¡¯ve got something to speak about ¡°There¡¯s types?¡± ¡­ .. . I feel like I died a little on the inside¡­just a little. ¡°Yes there is, a whole ton¡­You probably only know classical music though; like Chopin and Beethoven¡± ¡°Yes, those guys are extremely good with their sonatas¡± ¡°Like I said¡­you only know them. The music you listen to is classical¡± ¡°Classical? Oh, Father said it was top of the range though¡± Do you even use the internet? Wait, she probably doesn¡¯t even know what that is ¡°Not really¡­some of the newer songs are rap or pop, although there¡¯s the odd rock song that is released¡± ¡°What are those?¡± Oh poor child, to never have heard rock or pop *Twitch* I glance at Sharpy and oddly enough, he¡¯s not completely killing intenting me¡­so I¡¯m guessing I¡¯m doing ok here? ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you to them someday¡± No sharp fingers across throat¡­so he¡¯s fine with that? Cool ¡°Really? Thank you Joat¡± ¡°no need to, seriously¡­you need to listen to some modern music¡± ¡°Ok, let¡¯s get back to work¡± We turn back to our respective leather ¡°I like Dark wave¡± Oh¡­thanks for the information Thrash¡­ I honestly thought you were going to say Heavy metal or Screamer but Dark wave isn¡¯t dissimilar. ¡°What¡¯s dark wave?¡± Oh she heard ¡°Awesome music¡± ¡°it hurts your ears¡± I rebuttle ¡°Hmm, that doesn¡¯t seem good?¡± ¡°some people like feeling deaf¡± Thrash nods at that¡­I was being sarcastic but guess not¡­ Moving the awkward conversation to a stop, we go back to our leather maintaining. ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Princess, pass me an arm¡± Ignoring the fact that it¡¯s rotting nastily, it¡¯s actually a verrry nice arm. Oh, the killing intent is back. Better stop examining¡­ I try my best to ignore the needlelike look from Sharpy while I wrap the leather around her arms. Hmm, how long should I make them? Guess I¡¯ll make them small, about half the lower arm. I¡¯ve got enough leather to double layer it and then do a cross weave to make it look a little less plain. That looks pretty good. She looks pretty happy with it. I mean it¡¯s not special or anything but its defense, which everyone has been severely lacking in. Ok my turn. Thrash gives me a full arm piece of leather, damn, that looks good. Thrash really knows how to make me look pretty badass¡­But maybe I should make my shorts trousers¡­ Anyways, I start scraping off the fur on my new pelt *Spit Spit* God dammit. I really should be putting it the right way¡­Ah whatever, I can work *Spit* with it. I finish it up and then turn to where Miss Nameless is creating Thrash¡¯s arm guards Well¡­I should say arm guard. She¡¯s apparently only made 1 arm guard. But on Thrash, it looks pretty awesome: his armor only has 1 wolf head on his right shoulder and thus she fully armored his right arm too. Pretty good. She also makes a tiny leather bracer for the left arm to complete it. Anyways, back to work! ¡­ ¡­ ¡°So Princess¡­did you stay on for the night?¡± ¡°No, I was busy, but I did log on this morning to hug the cute rabbits¡± Oh, so innocent¡­she knows nothing of those rabbits¡­ ¡°Yes they are cute¡± ¡°I spent all night on; I found prey¡± Thrash comes into the conversation once more I see¡­so that may explain why you looked and smelt bloody this morning. ¡°Prey? What was it?¡± Miss Nameless seems quite excited at the thought¡­maybe she¡¯s fantasizing about it being something magical¡­I reckon she¡¯s the type to think such. But all I think about is how bloody that hunt must have been ¡°I don¡¯t remember its name, or maybe they never told me¡± ¡°Did you hunt it?¡± She asks excitedly ¡°No¡± ¡°Did you lose it?¡± she asks a little less excitedly ¡°No¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Did you even fight?¡± I ask... ¡°Not really¡± ¡°What did you do then?¡± ¡°I ran after it¡­but it keeps running away¡± Maybe it was his own shadow? Or his own tail? Well I don¡¯t know, and both Miss Nameless and I leave the conversation as is¡­ I think she¡¯s as confused as I ¡°How romantic¡± Miss Nameless blushes slightly as she works on her leather ¡­ .. . Just what is she thinking about? I raise my eyebrow at Thrash¡­he¡¯s not confused¡­so she¡¯s speaking sense? I¡¯m confused¡­I¡¯ll just go back to my leather ¡­ ¡­ Time for the boots. Oh we really should have done that a while ago. My god my feet hurt. I¡¯ll make them highish boots. I make the boots go up to her knee, with a v shape in the front and back of the boots. Then I cover her rotting toes with some leather and create some thick soles by triple layering them. Hmm, should I do it? Yeah, girls need a bit of heel. I create a wedge at the back of the boots, and I make them decently thick¡­I think that she hasn¡¯t worn heels before. I finish the both pairs¡­they look alright, maybe need to sharpen the toe a bit. At least the stitching on the side of the boot looks pretty good. ¡°How are they?¡± I ask Miss Nameless ¡°They feel a bit weird, I¡¯m used to thinner heels you see¡± Thinner you say? Well¡­I guess that¡¯s to be expected? ¡°Ok, give me a minute¡± I take the knife and whittle down the heel, until its finger thick. Then I increase the heel till it¡¯s a nasty 6 inches¡­I mean that¡¯s nasty for me. One thing I learnt when dancing with ladies¡­don¡¯t ever stop moving your feet, or you really feel what a 6 inch heel can do¡­ She looks relatively happy with the shoes and I feel an extremely intense gaze, full of the desire to kill me¡­all I did was make her some shoes. Although, I quickly correct myself when I look at her in full¡­ Damn she looks good, ignoring the rotting body of course. With those boots and mini shorts, she already looks pretty alluring. Add on the crop top and she¡¯s positively cute. However she¡¯s only cute because she has neither ass nor bust¡­so sexy is out of the question. But I still get an intense gaze from Sharpy, completely fullof malice and hatred¡­Why? I¡¯m just clothing her¡­what are you, her dad? ¡­ .. . You¡¯re not...right? ...This may be even worse than I first thought. Let¡¯s ignore the dad/bodyguard(?) person who is sending me death threats with his eyes and gaze at the cute Miss Nameless¡­and now back to work. ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Joat, why do you make my clothes so strangely?¡± ¡°Ah, it fits you¡± Not exactly but you''ve got a small and cute body type so it works in a way ¡°So you create clothes for a living, like a tailor?¡± ¡°Not exactly¡­¡± She will never know how I have such good fashion sense¡­ ¡°Oh, but I think you¡¯ve done it quite well¡­Although it¡¯s a bit tight on my chest and butt¡± *Twitch* Don¡¯t say that while blushing¡­it¡¯s creepy yet cute at the same time¡­ ¡°Thank you for letting me know¡­but is there anything else about your clothing you¡¯d like to say¡± Might as well have her tell me everything¡­it¡¯s always good to know how the stuff you make is ¡°It feels a bit strange having so much skin exposed¡­is this strange?¡± ¡°depends on who you are¡­¡± For you¡­it must be bizarre ¡°That seems logical¡­I usually only have a little bit of my upper arm and maybe my neck exposed¡­so it¡¯s a bit¡­.revealing? Is that the word?¡± ¡°Yes it is, but you don¡¯t mind it?¡± ¡°No, I quite like it actually¡± If it weren¡¯t for the rot, I think I¡¯d definitely make multiple costumes for her to wear in the name of modernism¡­ Anyways¡­I better get back to work¡­because Sharpy is drawing multiple sharp fingers across his bony throat. ¡°My clothes are quite good too¡± Thanks Thrash¡­good to know¡­but don¡¯t be looking for me to compliment you verbally I nod towards him¡­shouldn¡¯t have done that ¡°Girl¡± God dammit, I wasn¡¯t acting embarrassed! Argh, you annoy me. I angrily get back to my leather ¡­ ¡­ Ok, final piece. Although I¡¯ve got 3 pelts left in my stock (Jenna ended up giving us back our pelts that we gave her. Squeaking slightly in my new army boots, I feel extremely comfortable. My god, Thrash knows how to make good shoes. Nothing strange, just some good old army boots reaching till about half my lower leg. However it only gives 4 defense¡­which is still pretty awesome. Anyways, I make my way to Miss Nameless, who is sitting on my workbench, cross legged, looking quite cute¡­if not for the rot on her visible areas. Damn, it¡¯s both a blessing and a curse to look at her¡­ I start wrapping the leather around her head, sew it and then remove it. She looks at me funny while I place it on the workbench next to her and start working on it. Well we¡¯ve been making the pieces on the person itself up till now so she¡¯s right to look at me funny. So I have this longish cylinder right now. Sharpening one side I make an almost triangular shape on the hat; then I indent it slightly on the top creating a small bulge in the middle. After that, I grab a second piece of leather and wrap it around the hat, but flat so that it takes up a large area. Making the outer shape a bit more oval, I turn up the sides somewhat. Good, it sort of looks like a cowboy hat now. I take a strip of leather and tie it around the middle of the cowboy hat covering the stitching to link the parts. Not bad, not bad at all. Although, it is a little bit plain. Plopping it onto Miss Nameless¡¯ head, she takes it off, and looks at it in wonder ¡°What is this strange design of hat?¡± *Twitch* Never seen a cowboy movie before? No wait, I actually expected this ¡°It¡¯s a cowgirl hat¡± ¡°Cow¡­girl?¡± ¡°Watch a Wild West movie and you¡¯ll figure it out¡± ¡°A movie¡­¡± ¡­ .. . I am in the 21st century right? Because I¡¯m not sure she¡¯s in that century¡­ Anyways, problems with upbringing later¡­I have to get back to work. I¡¯ve got 1 more pelt and nothing to do with it. Well actually, I¡¯ve got some changes to make here and there. As I start lathering my last pelt, I watch Miss Nameless create a wolf head hat, which looks stupid since he¡¯s already got a wolf head¡­so she changes it to a strange football hat? By football, I mean American football. She¡¯s taken out the visor part and the front, due to Thrash¡¯s muzzle, but apart from that, the helmet is pretty much the same to one you¡¯d find in American football. So she¡¯s seen something from this century before, great! But why is that one of the only things she seems to know about this century? Ok, back to work ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Two hundred and forty three *Clap*¡­two hundred and forty four *Clap*¡­¡± Sadly, Thrash isn¡¯t kidding with those numbers¡­ This time round, he¡¯s decided to do clap push ups¡­ He¡¯s got some godly muscles there¡­sadly his brain is mostly made of that as well¡­ Seriously, stop grinning at me trying to look impressive, because you do but I won¡¯t ever verbally acknowledge that! Miss Nameless on the other hand, is whispering a list of movies that I recommended her to watch¡­ I confirmed that she¡¯s never watched a movie before¡­Unbelievable. At least she¡¯s read books¡­ although when I asked for her favorite book she said it was Jane Eyre. SO nothing close to the 21st century then. The Hunger Games? What is that she said¡­The Lord Of The Rings? Lord of what she said¡­ I¡¯m terribly worried for Miss Nameless¡¯ upbringing. She¡¯s definitely sheltered; like seriously sheltered, but as to her status in society¡­I¡¯m still a little bit unsure. Anyways, back to work. ¡­ ¡­ This helmet is great and all, but its teeth get a little in the way of my sight¡­ I¡¯ll take it off for now. I remove the wolf head that is my new helmet and put it down on my workbench. That helmet is great, giving 2 defense but an extra +1 to brutality. Miss Namless is once again sitting on my workbench; I think she got used to it? Or she¡¯s just tired¡­I mean we have been doing this for pretty much 10 hours now¡­ Jeez, has it been that long? I cut my last piece of leather up into a couple of strips. Firstly, I wrap the largest piece of leather around the left leg, from the boots to the lower thigh. Then, I wrap 1 strip between the leather sock(?) and the shorts leaving a bit of rotting skin either side. That looks pretty good. Next, I take off the shoulders and cut away most of the crop top till I¡¯m left with a leather bra with a thick leather strap, so a tank top. Then, with my still soft pieces of leather, I increase the length of the arm guards and add gloves to them¡­making a large leather glove that reaches a bit past the elbow. I do take Thrash¡¯s last piece of leather because he told me he wasn¡¯t going to use it. Using Thrash¡¯s leather, I¡¯m able to finish the long leather gloves on both arms and then make a thick belt, with a holster. Guns won¡¯t be a thing in this game, but it still adds to the cowgirl look. Damn she looks good. Also, I cut off the cross weave on her gloves¡­looks a bit out of place. Double layering it and then adding my slightly darker leather (thanks to some more oil) to the end of the gloves/arm guards, they look good. Hmm, it¡¯s almost done. I cut some of the tank top in the middle to make it almost look like two separate things. Then I do a rough cut along the shorts, strip and socks to make it look like its torn trousers rather than a single thing. To help that fact, I link it up with some leather on the inner thigh. OH the death glare¡­ignore it, ignore it! Finishing up¡­that looks pretty damn good. Now only if she wasn¡¯t rotting, she¡¯d be one cute cowgirl ¡°Ok Princess we¡¯re almost done¡± She¡¯s been extremely patient, and extremely quiet through the whole process...Might be because i''m repeatedly working on her thighs... I''m seriously going to be murdered repeatedly by Sharpy... ¡°What else do you have to do, I can¡¯t see anything else that needs to be done?¡± ¡°Just one last thing; Say Yeehaw¡± I mean she has to...If only there was a recording feature in this game ¡°Yeehaw?¡± ¡°Yes, but with a little more enthusiasm¡± ¡°YEEHAW¡± ¡°Perfect, now we¡¯re done¡± ¡°Ok?¡± She¡¯s quite confused¡­but I feel and all the guys in the room (minus Sharpy) feel like she¡¯s extremely cute when saying that¡­We¡¯ll all forget the fact that she¡¯s rotting¡­ With her finished¡­everyone is finally finished. Having 3 people was the best; because then we could do some more stuff like I did with Miss Nameless. Everyone else is wearing pretty cool pieces of this and that, but I don¡¯t have time to look as Jenna commands for attention ¡°WELL DONE EVERYONE, LOOKS LIKE YOU ALL DID JUST FINE¡± She nods towards our direction ¡°Now, let¡¯s do the colouring¡± *Twitch* Everyone twitches slightly¡­I don¡¯t blame them; we¡¯ve been at this for a good 10 hours¡­ But we don¡¯t voice our complaints, because a skill is a skill and I¡¯m so looking forward to finally get it! Also, how hard can this colouring business be? 12. Colour hunt Well this is a pain¡­ ¡°Sooo, what does this Narcissician look like?¡± Miss Nameless wonders out loud. ¡°White and well White¡­I¡¯m not sure what it¡¯s supposed to look like¡± ¡°White¡­¡± Thanks for the late input Thrash Well we don¡¯t know what it looks like but hopefully there aren¡¯t many different types of white flowers in the area. Seriously¡­why did we have to do this? We trek around the forest for another couple of minutes until a wolf spots and agros onto us. ¡°Thrash¡± I say tiredly He rushes out and kills the wolf in 1 hit. He¡¯s scary strong. Miss Nameless and I continue walking while Thrash murders the wolf reinforcements as they come. Seriously¡­this is such a pain. ¡°I don¡¯t understand Joat, why are we trying to find white?¡± ¡°Well you see, if we have white then we can lighten other dyes and create different tones and gradients of colour¡± She looked at me as if I just spoke Chinese or something. ¡°Basically with white, colours look lighter¡± ¡°I got it¡± She sorts of get it¡­I hope Thrash doesn¡¯t even listen to the conversation¡­he¡¯s too busy massacring wolves. ¡°but then we have to find some more colours right?¡± ¡°Yep. So far we¡¯ve got red and green¡± ¡°Green, from where?¡± ¡­well everywhere¡­I mean we ARE in a forest you know ¡°I collected some leaves¡± ¡°You can get dyes from that?¡± ¡°I hope so¡­but I¡¯ve got some lilies so that should work too¡± ¡°Ok, so what other colours should we get?¡± ¡°hmm, going by the colour wheel; we should get yellow and blue¡± ¡°Colour wheel?¡± ¡°Primary and secondary colours; basically it tells you what happens when you mix colours¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ve got it¡± Wow, I honestly would have thought that since she¡¯s kind of sheltered and all, she¡¯d do some form of art¡­guess not, I wonder why. So we continue our search for the 3 colours, well I say colours but really white is a tint¡­ Also we should get some black, but I think I can get that from ash, so that¡¯s easy. But Jenna, you¡¯re quests are such a pain¡­ I wonder how everyone else is coping ¡­ ¡­ (PJ¡¯s POV) ¡°So Krudel¡­what¡¯s the story with you and the zombie lady?¡± I raise my eyebrow slightly in curiosity ¡°Ah, we¡¯re just friends Madam¡± A smooth answer, with no hesitation at all¡­to perfection ¡°Makes sense, but you¡¯ve got to stop with the Madam, it¡¯s too formal¡± ¡°Nonsense, a man can never be too formal with a woman¡± He¡¯s definitely sharp of eye and not one to beat around the bush. He saw right past the cute loli body I made, but I think that¡¯s for the best¡­its quite tiring to be so energetic¡­although I¡¯m usually like that when around Seniour¡­it¡¯s good for her. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re starting to sound a little bit like Joat there¡± *Twitch* ¡°Could you please refrain from likening me to that mongrel¡± ¡°Ha! Mongrel! Wow, Baila calls him Dumbass but you¡¯ve got quite the harsh nickname for him there¡­well he did steal the attention of your friend¡± "Yes, and I''ll give him a lesson on manners when we next meet" He says it with a sharp glint in his eyes Joat, you seem to make quite a few enemies out of dangerous people. Krudel¡­from what I¡¯ve seen when we were working on the benches and out here in the forest, he and the ¡®Princess¡¯ are more than just friends. And he isn¡¯t your average person, with a look and a listen it¡¯s obvious to most. ¡°So what is our colour scheme Madam?¡± ¡°Red, it goes well with pink¡± ¡°A good choice Madam, however I would recommend you go with a darker red¡± ¡°So, if my mind doesn¡¯t fail me, we need black¡± ¡°Yes, ash will do for that¡± ¡°Good, that¡¯s me done, now you¡± ¡°Me? No need to waste the effort¡± ¡°Krudel, we both know that your ¡®friend¡¯ won¡¯t be happy if you aren¡¯t properly clothed¡± ¡°True, you are very insightful Madam¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve just seen my fair share of people in this life¡± I see him grin slightly¡­I think he¡¯s making an arbitrary guess of my age and I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s not too far off. ¡°So for you, we need white¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ah, seems like he caught on, well I wouldn¡¯t be surprised since he¡¯s got quite the obvious outfit on. ¡°Seeing as though we¡¯re in a forest, the Narcissus flower might bloom around lakes or ponds¡± ¡°A pond, I think I know the place¡± ¡°Then let us make haste Madam¡± He leads the way; killing off a nearby wolf with brutal efficiency¡­the thing didn¡¯t even get to howl before it died. Joat really knows how to make dangerous enemies. ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°We¡¯ve got to find blue, red, white, black, green, yellow, magenta, brown, blue and purple too¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Big Sis, can you calm down a little bit?¡± I think she mentioned blue twice ¡°NO, we¡¯ve only got 3 hours till night and we have to find all of these and then get back and then colour everything¡± Big Sis is acting quite twitchy¡­mostly since we¡¯ve just had to endure a good 10 hours of watching Joat make a cowgirl outfit for a she-zombie. I¡¯ve got to say, the outfit was pretty good¡­but I wouldn¡¯t be caught dead in it. Big Sis on the other hand¡­ ¡°I wanted it¡­Why didn¡¯t he make one for meee? I wanted to go Yeehaw¡± She completely and utterly fell in love with it¡­or maybe she liked those sorts of clothes beforehand. Either way, she really wanted it and thus it¡¯s been a painful 10 hours for her. For me, these 10 hours have also been quite painful¡­mostly because I felt like I really didn¡¯t have anyone to talk to. I mean I had Big Sis, but our talks weren¡¯t as¡­I don¡¯t know, exciting(?) as when I talk with Joat. I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s just a lot more fun when he¡¯s around. God, being a whole day without him makes me feel pretty lonely. Argh, annoying. He just had to sit down in the middle and get surrounded by others. I just want him to be in my party and that¡¯s it, jeez. Well no use fretting over that, it¡¯s long past happening. Anyway, back to Big Sis, who is frantically stomping a wolf. ¡°Big Sis, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll go back, colour our clothes and then we can party up once more with Joat¡± ¡°Why¡¯d he have to spend all day with that zombie¡­I. Thought. He. Liked. Me!¡± she stomps the wolf repeatedly to emphasize her point. ¡­ .. . Well Joat¡­I think we¡¯re going to have to have a talk about seducing minors¡­ ¡°We¡¯ll steal him back after this, ok?¡± ¡°Ok¡± She¡¯s calmed down somewhat¡­guess murdering a wolf cooled her head. ¡°Now that you¡¯re calm, let¡¯s talk colours; You go black and white, while I go white and blue¡± ¡°Ok! That sounds nice, I like black and white, they¡¯re good together right?¡± ¡°I hear black makes women look sexier¡± Can¡¯t remember who told me that¡­must¡¯ve been one of the rugby boys ¡°Screw the white, I want full black leather¡± ¡­ .. . Well Joat¡­you sure know how to get to know dangerous people¡­ I better try calm her down before we get back¡­because I don¡¯t like how she¡¯s acting..it makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason. ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Where the hell do we find Narcissicus?¡± I wonder out loud. It¡¯s been a whole hour and so far all we¡¯ve collected is a couple of berries and leaves. Jenna was kind enough to give us all the names of the flowers we should collect for the appropriate colour, but that was it¡­ Time to open up the quest page:
QUEST: Jenna''s Leatherworking training
You have been asked to gather flowers of certain colours to be used for dyes. You may choose whichever colours you would like to use for your leather. Jenna has also told you the names and respective dye colours of flowers in the surrounding regions: White-Narcissus Red-Forest Berry Green-Leaves Black-Narcotine Berry Purple-Lavender Blue-Moondrop flower Yellow-Fireflower Orange-Fireflower
Thanks to Jenna, half the job is doneish¡­because I know that fireflower is used for Alchemy so I was going to try sneak that in as a quest item anyways. However I don¡¯t know where Fireflower is, nor Narcissus. Also this Narcotine berry, no point, using ash would be way easier¡­although that might only get grey¡­hmm maybe the Narcotine berry is necessary. God, so much work¡­and all we¡¯re doing is adding some colour to our clothes. Oh wait¡­can I also add colours to underwear? Because if I can¡­I can make my blue and yellow star pants¡­although no one would ever see them¡­but I don¡¯t want to be wearing these horrible grey underwear forever. Ok, add that onto the grand list of things to do. ¡°Awo-¡± A wolf almost interrupts my thought process ¡°Thanks Thrash¡± ¡°Thrash, you¡¯re way stronger than Krudel¡± Miss Nameless pours on the compliments ¡°Hehe, thanks¡± Thrash grins and flexes his large biceps some¡­guess he likes compliments? He glances at me; I¡¯m not giving any compliments to you. Also, this Krudel guy¡­I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s Sharpy¡­since I have a feeling Miss Nameless doesn¡¯t know anybody else. Ah, I¡¯m so going to be dead when we return¡­I mean Jenna did forcefully separate them but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll take note of that and just blame me for whisking her away to the forest without him. Miss Nameless doesn¡¯t seem to mind his absence though; she seems pretty lightheaded actually¡­ Almost got killed by a wolf in the beginning; since she¡¯s been skipping through the forest and Yeehawing. Must be the freedom of not having Sharpy (I¡¯m sticking with the name, I prefer it to Krudel) around. Luckily, she didn¡¯t die or that really would have spelled many many more ends for both me and Thrash. She¡¯s being a bit strange though, though sort of guessing her background, it¡¯s a rare chance for her: While Thrash is murdering wolf after wolf, she¡¯s skipping around the forest bending down to pick up a leaf and examine it. She also hugs a tree¡­because she felt like it? I asked her about it earlier, apparently her garden got burnt down so she hasn¡¯t be able to see nice trees for a while¡­also Sharpy doesn¡¯t let her dirty her clothes¡­ Right¡­he¡¯s not going to like what I¡¯m teaching her then. ¡°Princess, want to continue with practice?¡± ¡°Sure¡± *Thunk* ¡°Owie¡± She rubs her head ¡°You have to look where you¡¯re going¡± I do a perfect roll and keep walking nonchalantly through the forest She tries to copy me and I see a little dirt get on her back. Oooh Sharpy is going to hate me even more now. Well seeing the cuteish cowgirl do rolls might be worth it. Maybe, but the look on his face when she shows him this will be totally worth it. Anyways, I¡¯ll let her continue rolling while I try to figure out where the hell to find this Narcissu- ¡­ .. . Those two are putting me off my thoughts, seriously. I¡¯m such an idiot! ¡°Right, let¡¯s go to the pond¡± I swerve to the right direction ¡°Pond?¡± They both exclaim, quite confused ¡°It¡¯s where the Narcissus flower is¡± ¡°Oh¡± thankfully they don¡¯t ask how I know¡­that¡¯d be awkward. I knew that, how did I forget it¡­must be these two making me mad. Ok, towards the pond. ¡­ ¡­ (PJ¡¯s POV) ¡°Krudel¡­here we go¡± ¡°Madam, you are brilliant¡± ¡°Cut the flattery, I¡¯m too old for that¡± ¡°A lady is never too old for flattery¡± He must have been raised at a gentleman school or something¡­the rich must have something of the sort. I reckon he¡¯d be quite a perfect butler; He flatters, he has good colour taste and he¡¯s good at fighting while not making it look brutish like Zzoid, Joat and Co. did. Although I did enjoy watching Zzoid, so innocently sweet. Krudel on the other hand is a lot more dangerous, in both ways. The waterless pond is in sight. And yes there are some white flowers sporting on the side of the pond. Perfect. I didn¡¯t really notice them when we hung out here¡­mostly because we were too busy either checking out the pond or doing business with the Kraken. Though who¡¯d think that I¡¯d be back here so soon¡­Though I wish the others were here too¡­ Nevermind that. Time to get to work. It¡¯s been 11 hours, I¡¯m tired, I want to go to sleep and I want to have my cig. But Seniour really doesn¡¯t like the smell¡­hmm, guess I can put it off for today¡­I¡¯ll try at least. ¡°Madam, is something wrong¡± he said it like a statement as if he knows that something is wrong, he just wants me to tell him. A very perceptive man indeed. ¡°No, just hard to stay happy after 11 hours of hard work¡± Withdrawal symptoms suck. I hold my left hand which is quivering slightly¡­ ¡°Yes, it has been a long day¡­would you like to take a quick break¡± A perfect butler; he doesn¡¯t let anything get past him. ¡°No need, I¡¯m fine¡­I¡¯ll get past it¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you will¡± And he gives hope, how nice. ¡°Now let¡¯s go pick some flowers¡± I try my best to sound enthusiastic. Hmm, I¡¯m not that enthusiastic it seems¡­must be the lack of young people around me. Anyways, time to pick some flowers. ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°Big Sis, we found them!¡± ¡°Wohoo, now let¡¯s find these Moondrop flowers!¡± Big Sis is very excited¡­since I kind of told her that we can get Joat to make her an outfit of her choice¡­ I think I¡¯m going to have to apologize to him, but it was his own dumbassery that brought this around so I might not need to. We head over to the pond and as I remember there are still some Narcissus flowers there. I remember that I made a witty joke to the others when we first went round the lake but I actually did see a couple of Narcissus flowers there... We pick a couple, about two dozen, before heading off further into the forest. Time to find some Fireflowers and Moondrop flowers¡­but where the hell are we supposed to find those? We¡¯ve got another 2 hours until the monsters go into night variant, so that should be plenty of time. ¡°So Big Sis, Moondrop or Fireflower first?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­Moondrop first!¡± Guess we¡¯re off to find the Moondrop. I wonder where the others are and how they¡¯re doing ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Wohoo! Finally made it¡± ¡°Wow, what happened here¡± Miss Nameless looks around at the large clump of stumps ¡°A battle¡± Thrash comments pretty confidently. He¡¯s correct with this¡­but I just wish he¡¯d be correct about my gender. Anyways, I take them through the stump forest and exit to the waterless pond. After they finish their oohs and aahs, I go on the hunt for Narcissus flowers. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Wohoo! I¡¯ve got some. However it looks like quite a few have been picked¡­so the other groups maybe? Luckily there are quite a few Narcissus flowers left, so I unhesitatingly pick about 50 of them¡­ white is a necessary tint for the true potential of colours to be shown. Once all those are collected, I have a look at what else we need ¡°Ok, so we¡¯ve got Fireflowers and Moondrops to collect. Which ones do you guys want to look for first¡± ¡°Fireflowers!¡± Miss Nameless pipes up¡­She¡¯s really excited and borderline child right now¡­I hope she¡¯s not another minor because then I definitely am going to rightfully be killed by Sharpy. She¡¯s slowly deteriorating into a child¡­probably because I¡¯ve been teaching her to roll and climb and play around; probably things she hasn¡¯t done before. I also taught her my ¡®burpee¡¯ which she loved even though she was completely dead after about 20 minutes of it. Guess we¡¯re off to find Fireflowers¡­since Thrash has no say in this party, and since we¡¯ve only got an hour and a half left¡­might as well collect the quest items for Nathan¡­I¡¯m sneaky like that. ¡­ ¡­ (PJ¡¯s POV) ¡°So any idea where these Narcotine berries are?¡± I ask the knowledgeable Krudel. A perfect butler, I must keep on repeating that because he continues to show his perfection in pretty much anything he does. ¡°Sadly no, however if we find a monster that is sleeping in a non-natural sleeping spot then the berry must be close-by¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a narcotic?¡± ¡°Exactly, Madam, you are indeed knowledgeable¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve just dabbled with this and that in my younger days¡± ¡°I see¡± He immediately gets it¡­seriously, I need one of these in my house. Maybe I should ask this supposedly extremely rich girl to lend this guy out to me. I mean he could wash, cook, clean and flatter me all at the same time. I actually don¡¯t know if he can do three of those four things, but seeing as how he acts all perfect¡­I reckon he knows how to do them extremely well. Back to the Narcotine berry. As we were walking back, I had a thought about the ash; it¡¯s grey, not black¡­so it wouldn¡¯t fit perfectly with what I have in mind. So we decided to look for the berry, but with an hour and a half remaining till night without a clue as to where they are¡­is not a great situation. At least the wolves aren¡¯t a problem. He just kills each one of them without a hitch...and I don¡¯t even have to lift a finger. Such a gentleman, though I feel it¡¯s a bit too much at times; I do want to rip a wolf in half for my own fun you know¡­ Anyways, time to find a sleeping beast. ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) Right, well we found what we needed¡­but not what we were looking for. The pond is directly north from the village and then we went west, curving a little towards the village, because we felt it was a good direction. The scenery hasn¡¯t changed much¡­it¡¯s still the same old forest. However we¡¯ve just found what we needed: In front of the two of us is a small five petal flower with orange rims and a deep yellow colour for the rest. Fireflower¡­great! I actually need a couple of those for Nathan¡¯s quest, 20 I think. However there¡¯s one small problem with collecting these flowers. ¡°Hiss¡± Apparently snakes like them. Most of the flowers have small reddish snakes wrapped around their stems, sleeping away. I¡¯m guessing they feel some sort of colourful connection between themselves and the flowers¡­ Sort of feels that way. So plucking these things in their sight would be a bad idea. ¡°Identify¡±
NAME:Forest Viper (Fire Variant) [lvl6] (Aggressive)
Health:50/50Attack:12-15
A viper with reddish skin colour due to eating Fireflowers from birth. Although they are carnivores they eat the flowers, to protect their beauty
Ha! With that attack they can¡¯t do anything! Thanks to my new set of leather armor, I¡¯ve got a defense of 20! Full of confidence, I walk up to a snake, who is sleeping round a flower, and pick the flower. ¡®HISS¡± -9 Ow! That almost killed me!? It bit my boots, but I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d do that much damage! I quickly retreat letting Big Sis stomp on it twice to kill it. Hmm, that was odd¡­why did it do so much damage? Big Sis shrugs when I look at her¡­guess she doesn¡¯t know either¡­ Well, I guess we should just be careful when dealing with these guys. ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) Well we¡¯re definitely in the wrong place *Snore* And I definitely don¡¯t want to wake that guy up¡­ I motion for the others to back away¡­slowly. *Snap* Ah¡­I just had to step on a twig The snoring stops and the black panther stands up with a yawn and an angry look in its eye. We had kept going north from the pond, because the further away from the village the higher level, the different flora right? But seems like we just ended up in a place where there is a sleeping panther.
NAME:Forest Panther [lvl8]
Health:80/80Attack:16-20
A cat-like creature that lives in the forest
Right, no useful description, no telling its defense and no attack patterns¡­god I hate having lower leveled Monster Identification. However due to its damage, we thankfully shouldn¡¯t have any problem whatsoever. Thrash goes in front. The panther leaps from its half-relaxed position and collides with Thrash, sending him to the ground. Oh god, his health! Kick! The panther is kicked off of Thrash before it can dig its teeth in. -42 Whoo, that was half its health in 1 hit¡­sweet! God I love my brutality bonus. Seeing as though I¡¯ve done 5 less than I should have, its defense is 5? No time to dawdle around. I rush past Thrash while Miss Nameless helps him back up. ¡°Yowl!¡± The panther gets back up and swipes a claw towards me. -9 ¡­ .. . What happened with my 20 defense? I kick the panther, killing it, before it can kill me. Well that was a bit dangerous! Thrash gets back up and dusts his fur a bit. ¡°Ok, so apparently they do a lot of damage, even with the armor¡± Miss Nameless looks surprised but Thrash isn''t; he did just get a taste of it too ¡°Maybe it depends where you hit?¡± Miss Nameless concludes after she deliberates for a short while. ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s everyone¡¯s attacks?¡± ¡°1¡± ¡°81¡± ¡­ .. . Damn! He¡¯s got almost double my attack! Also that is a huge difference in strength...Jesus ¡°Ok, Princess, give a small punch to each of us in different areas¡± ¡°Ok!¡± She comes over and gives me a punch on the arm¡­no damage. She punches my boots, my chest piece and then my helmet. No damage either one. Then she punches my exposed leg -1 Hmm Then she punches my face -2 Hmm¡­that HURT! ¡°Ok ok you can stop now¡± ¡°Oops, sorry, got a little carried away there¡± "..." ¡°So I¡¯m guessing that if the attack doesn¡¯t hit the armor then the defense is annulled¡± I continue, completely ignoring the situation that happened barely seconds ago ¡°Gaps in the armor?¡± Miss Nameless queries ¡°Pretty much. However I don¡¯t think the rule ends there¡± ¡°Oh so what is the next bit?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll test my theory when I get a certain skill, so for now¡­let¡¯s kill a couple of these guys¡± ¡°Ok!¡± They both shout in unison. Time to kill panthers¡­and is that a berry I see? ¡­ ¡­ (PJ¡¯s POV) The forest is very thick and dark over here, very strange. Guess we had entered a new area? Hmm, that sounding like it boded well for us when we entered, but now¡­it doesn¡¯t seem like the right area ¡°Lizard, on your 2¡± Krudel is keenly perceptive, even in this dim light. Perfect to the core I must say. ¡°So, there must be a flower over there?¡± ¡°Most likely¡± For the past hour and a bit, we¡¯ve been walking through this place and although little natural sunlight came; there were quite a few small glowing blue flowers to light the forest up. Apparently we found the Moondrop flowers¡­however once we picked them 2 things happened: They lost their glow and the lizards living here attack us. I don¡¯t have Monster Identification, since monsters don¡¯t really last that long against me. However Krudel does and he gratefully showed me all the information he could: Level 7, 70 hp and 14-17 attack. Overall it shouldn¡¯t have done any damage. However we had found out that apparently armor only protects you when it is directly hit. Also we found out that it depends where you hit on the armor, it determines how much defense there is; so on the chest you¡¯ll get 10 defense while on boots you¡¯ll only get 4. That makes sense in a way. I pick the flower and immediately, the yellow eyes that were hanging in the tree, Jump down towards me. Krudel grabs it in midair and pummels it with his free hand, deftly keeping all harm away from me. It scratches his arm a bit, but he has a decent amount of health, so it¡¯s no problem. Hmm, he¡¯s like a perfect version of Zzoid¡­maybe I should introduce him to Krudel and have him get professional tutelage in gentlemanship? Though he''s already doing quite good with the knight play¡­ Anyways, I thank Krudel as he disposes of the green komodo dragonish look-alike lizard. So even with the weird armor system, we¡¯re not in any trouble at all. And since we can¡¯t find any Narcotine berries, we¡¯ll collect some Moondrop flowers before we go. Who knows, we might be able to trade with others. ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°I¡¯m on fire with the Fireflowers. Yeah yeah yeah These little vipers ain¡¯t got nothing on us. Yeah yeah yeah So we¡¯re just going to kill them all. Yeah yeah yeah And then we¡¯ll pick all these fireflowers. Yeah yeah YEAH!¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°I¡­think we should get back to picking flowers¡± I look away awkwardly ¡°Yes¡­¡± I feel the heat coming from her face I don¡¯t know why she started this horrible country song¡­maybe it¡¯s the fact that we were talking about what outfit we¡¯d like Joat to make us: Big Sis really wants to be a cowgirl¡­but she¡¯s close to tone deaf¡­ Forgetting the slight pain in my ears, we continue to pick a couple more fireflowers. The vipers pose no threats as we both stomp and kick them to death pretty quickly. We quickly collect another 3, rounding us off at 44 fireflowers. Great, should be enough! ¡°Ok, so do we head north?¡± I ask Big Sis ¡°We can do, not like we know where we¡¯re going¡± She grins and heads off. She¡¯s got a point there The system does have a map feature¡­but it only shows what you¡¯ve explored¡­in very little detail. So it¡¯s really only useful for backtracking. Let¡¯s hope we find the Moondrop flowers of maybe even those Narcotine flowers¡­since Big Sis wants her clothes to be all black¡­ I¡¯m a little bit worried about that¡­but let¡¯s get to the problem once it arises. Ok, time to find some more flowers! ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°YO-¡° *Crunch* The sickening crunch of the panther¡¯s jaw, implies it demise. Having Thrash in the party is awesome¡­If only he¡¯d stop flexing his muscles to try impress me. I got it, I got it. Your muscles are impressive, but I¡¯m not verbally acknowledging that buddy. ¡°Mmm, what happened?¡± Oh, she¡¯s awake ¡°Nothing, you just ate a narcotic¡± ¡°Oh¡­sorry¡± She got a bit excited with the berries that look deceptively like blackberries...apparently she loves them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you looked tired, so I let you sleep for a bit while I picked a couple of berries¡± ¡°Why is the ground so warm and it bounces slightly?¡± She hasn¡¯t opened her eyes yet¡­good? I let her down from my arms, to which she opens her eyes and fully takes the information in. ¡°Keep picking berries Joat¡± Her face slightly reddens at having been princess carried, possibly quite ironic¡­ ¡°Ok Princess¡± ¡°By the way, how many have you picked¡± She asks as I¡¯m bending down to pick another ¡°Around 83? We should stop at about 100¡± ¡°Why so many?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯ll make it easier to darken things also, this way we don¡¯t have to have much of the colours to make a full spectrum of tones¡± She looks as if I¡¯m speaking Chinese again. I don¡¯t blame her; it¡¯s not the simplest concept to wrap your head around. I¡¯ll teach it to her slowly, until then¡­ ¡°Since you were sleeping so long, how about I teach you some fun lines to say while you wear those clothes¡± ¡°Sure! I want to say things like Yeehaw again, it was very interesting¡± Jeez, has this girl never had any fun? ¡°Ok, repeat after me-¡± [window] Warning! It has become night and you are not in a safe zone, so beware! ¡­ .. . ¡°Shit¡± ¡°Shit? What does that mean?¡± Whoops, shouldn¡¯t be teaching her those words¡­also how does she¡­nevermind, I didn¡¯t expect she¡¯d know those words anyway. ¡°Something you say when something bad happens¡± ¡°Ah, I get it. So because it just turned night¡­I should say shit?¡± *Twitch* ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t use it too often please¡± ¡°GRRR¡± ¡°SHIT¡± ¡­ .. . Sharpy is sooo going to hunt me down to the ends of the earth¡­
Hello hello everyone, decently jumpy chapter buut hope you enjoyed it. Also, thank you for the quite funny comments in the past chapter, you know who you are. It made my day, so thank you! -True NORRRRRD! 13. Colouring time (Joat¡¯s POV) *Bang* ¡°Hah, hah¡­WE¡¯RE ALIVE!¡± I drop and kiss the wooden floor, Thrash just lies down and even Miss Nameless sits on the floor breathing heavily ¡°Joat, stop being so overdramatic, it can¡¯t have been that bad¡± Baila rolls her eyes while most of the people in Jenna¡¯s place chuckle at the sight ¡°6 foot, 4 legged panthers with giant claws who run till the ends of the earth?¡± ¡°Ok, I was wrong, that must have been pretty bad¡± ¡°yeah, don¡¯t know how we lived through that¡± My trio are all mildly confused. Those panthers was extremely nasty¡­especially since there were 3 of them. Luckily night variants seem to be slower, so we weren¡¯t caught¡­but we left a trail of smashed trees behind us. They let up once we got to the village, but that must have been way outside their natural agro zone. Must be because the Narcotine was some sort of catnip to them? I¡¯ll never know, but I know I won¡¯t be going there for a while. ¡°Everyone, well done you¡¯ve all brought back some flowers for dyeing¡± Jenna steals the spotlight from us. ¡°So what do we-¡± ¡°Crush them and stick them in water¡± At least she doesn¡¯t shout¡­but still, let me finish my sentence. Dragging myself to a stand and then helping Miss Nameless off the floor, we head to our workbenches. Jenna places a large washbasin on each of our workbenches and fills them with steaming water. ¡°Quickly, before it cools¡± Ok ¡°Does anyone have Moondrop flowers to trade with?¡± ¡°I do¡± PJ raises her hand excitedly. Nice, someone got some. I swear I see PinkyS twitch slightly ¡°I¡¯ve got Narcotine to trade with¡± She definitely twitched ¡°1 to 1?¡± ¡°Sounds fair, how much you have?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you 20?¡± ¡°Sounds good with me¡± I quickly trade for 20 Moondrop flowers. While I do that, I see the raven-lady and her followers happily using their own narcotine berries. ¡°I¡¯m looking for some Fireflowers, anybody got some?¡± ¡°MEEE¡± Jesus, you¡¯re way too excited ¡°1 for 1?¡± ¡°How many, I¡¯ll take as many as you can give¡± ¡°I can give 30¡± That¡¯ll only leave me with 33 but getting 30 fire flowers, is pretty much essential since it¡¯s a primary colour. ¡°GIVE IT please¡± I think PJ and Pinky must have switched¡­or maybe she just likes black? I don¡¯t know, but I think I should care, just a feeling. Anyways, I trade the berries and with everything set, I¡¯m ready to make some coloured leather. ¡°So what do we do?¡± Miss Nameless asks me curiously while everyone else heads off to do their own thing. Thrash raises his eyebrow from the floor¡­he¡¯s still lying there, that¡¯s what you get for showing off your muscles for three hours. ¡°WE don¡¯t do anything¡­you will watch and learn how to make colours¡± ¡°Ok, that sounds like fun¡± She doesn¡¯t jump up and down in joy like her face suggests¡­must be because Sharpy is in view? No time to waste! First, I crush some leaves in my hand and immerse it in the hot water. After a few seconds the green starts coming off from the leaves. Perfect. Next I grab some forest berries and crush that in the water too. Mix it round for a couple of seconds and voila it¡¯s brown. I glance at Miss Nameless who looks wide eyed ¡°Green and red mix into brown, however green isn¡¯t a primary colour¡± ¡°You mentioned the primary colours earlier, what do you mean by that?¡± Hmm the brown is a bit dark, crush a bit of Narcissus¡¯ and add those in ¡°There are 3 primary colours; blue, red and yellow. All colours in the spectrum can be made using these three¡± ¡°So you can make white with these colours?¡± ¡°no, since white is a tint not a colour¡± Brown is a nice light colour now. I motion for her boots, which she takes off, tripping in the process while slapping me with the removed boot ¡­ .. . Maybe I should have told her that it¡¯s difficult to take them off ¡°So it¡¯s different?¡± She gets back up and acts like nothing happened, while burning red I place the boots in the water and start rubbing the boots to get some colour in them ¡°It is, white and black are called tints because theoretically they aren¡¯t colours. White cannot be made with the primary colours whereas the overmixture of any colours will inevitable turn to black¡± ¡°I think I get it¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why it¡¯s important to have a lot of white to work with¡± ¡°because you can¡¯t make more with what we have?¡± ¡°Exactly¡± She thinks on it for a short time, while I move the boots in and out of the water. Good thing that the water is hot, so the colour easily mixes into the darkish leather. After a couple of strains, the boots are no longer a dark muddy leather but more of a well tanned colour. Hmm, this should do just fine. Next is the gloves. She takes them off and I trade her the boots pointing to the rack. She goes off to hang them while I colour her gloves. I take in another couple of Narcissus¡¯ and mix it in making the water a very pale brown. Hmm this should do, always better to be lighter than darker when using colours. The gloves go in after the water stills, but I don¡¯t fully immerse them; I leave the edge out of the water, thus keeping the edge a darker tone of brown. I hear a heavy person sit down beside me; must be Thrash¡­yep it is. He looks decently interested with what I¡¯m doing, but only decently. Anyways, I let the gloves get to a slightly lighter colour than the boots, because if the boots and gloves are the same colour it doesn¡¯t look right. People always think wearing gloves and boots of matching colours looks nice, in short it doesn¡¯t. When dressing they must always have a light gradient from top to bottom or bottom to top. I give quick instructions to leave the gloves hanging fingers to the floor, so that the dark ring at the end isn¡¯t disrupted. Hmm, should I do that with the boots too? Might as well do that later. ¡°Jenna, can I get some fresh water over here?¡± ¡°You can, get it yourself¡± ¡°Fro-¡± ¡°There¡¯s a well outside¡± ¡°And-¡± ¡°You can use the fireplace¡± She motions behind her. I appreciate that she can pretty much read my mind but still¡­I want to finish my question. I give Thrash waterboy duties. Which he does dutifully. While he¡¯s gone, I sit Miss Nameless down for an explanation on the importance of 3. ¡­ ¡°Ok, so repeat to me what you just learnt¡± ¡°The importance of 3 is that you only ever use 3 different colours in your clothing¡± ¡°Exactly¡± ¡°However 1 of those colours, usually the contraster colour can have different tones. Also, the main 2 colours have to be complimentary whereas the contraster colour usually contrasts or doesn¡¯t compliment the other colours¡± She¡¯s pretty good at memorizing; I just told her once and she¡¯s remembered it pretty much word to word. That¡¯s some scary memorization ability. Thrash finishes heating the water and brings the basin over to my workbench ¡°Thank you Thrash¡± He grins and then goes back to watching me colour things ¡°Girl¡± NO! Guys can colour things too, albeit we¡¯re usually not the best at things to do with clothes¡­ Agh, I¡¯m going to ignore you and get back to my work. The shirt is next. Jesus Miss Nameless, be a bit more shameful and don¡¯t strip in public! Though I glance at Baila and yep, she looks good in that grey bra. -1 Whoops, wipe that off quickly! Usually the shirt is checked, however that isn¡¯t possible, so a plain white will do just fine. Crushing some more Narcissus¡¯ I watch the white go a milky white and then I immerse the shirt in. Good thing with hot water is that it makes the leather a bit more malleable, a bit. Thus it¡¯s easier to make sure it¡¯s coloured everywhere. However I wish I had a sponge or something to make this colouring easier. After a couple of minutes, the shirt is a bright white¡­perfect. I give her the shirt to hang up to dry. ¡°Why are you using white? I thought it was a tint?¡± She looks at the shirt slightly confused ¡°Well for the rule of 3, white counts as a colour and white is technically complimentary to every colour so it¡¯s a safe choice when choosing clothes¡± ¡°Hmm, so the same is with black?¡± ¡°Yes, however black does make the outfit as a whole seem darker, which isn¡¯t always good¡± ¡°I see¡± ¡°Pass me your hat¡± ¡°You¡¯re making it white?¡± ¡°Cowgirl hats are usually either; white, black or tan. I could do it tan or white since black would clash but I¡¯m going to break that idea and make it a light tan¡± ¡°Why?¡± She seems confused as to why I just broke that idea¡­I don¡¯t blame her. ¡°Because the white would be too monochromatic¡­too one coloured, along with the shirt and tan would contrast with the boots, which we don¡¯t want¡± ¡°Mhm¡± ¡°I said earlier that we want to have a single smooth gradient of contraster colours so really the only colour it can be, is a very pale tan¡± ¡°Right, that makes sense?¡± She sounds sort of like she gets it¡­sort of. Well I am pushing some odd ideas onto her. ¡°Yep, now let me show you how to make brown from the primaries, since I was a bit lazy before¡± ¡°Ok..so green is a¡­¡± ¡°A secondary colour, made from blue and yellow¡± I crush some Moondrop Flowers and some Fireflowers, making sure to get rid of the orange rims before I crush them into the water. The water goes a lime green and I then add some forest berries making it an extremely pale brown, almost white, but not quite. Dunking the hat in, I leave it there for a few minutes until the colour has changed. Giving that to Miss Nameless to dry, I now ask for her shorts. My god, seriously¡­I¡¯m never going to get used to her shameless stripping¡­ Nevermind her. I succintly make the water a light cream coloured with the addition of a bit more Narcissus, because it''s too much time *and effort) to get another bucket and make it white and yada yada. Anyways, it''s a slightly dirty white all in all so that''s honestly a better suited colour in my opinion. I dip the shorts in, along with the sock (I¡¯m just going to call it all shorts from now, much simpler) but don¡¯t give her the shorts. Instead I leave them on the workbench to her confusion. I give the basin for renewing to Thrash, who doesn¡¯t really mind being the water boy. ¡°Ok, guess what colour will work for your shorts¡± ¡°Hmm, green? Since brown and green go well¡± She looks confused, she thought I was going white ¡°¡­Well, yes? But that¡¯d be a bit garish¡± ¡°Garish?¡± ¡°It will fit but it will also feel a bit off. Especially with the outfit and your slightly grayish skin colour¡± ¡°oh, skin colour matters?¡± ¡°A decent amount, lighter clothing may clash with darker skinned people while darker clothing may clash with lighter skinned people. Usually you¡¯d want your clothing to compliment your skin colour¡± ¡°So, I need to wear colours will compliment my slightly gray skin?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°I think I get it, but then really it¡¯s a rule of 4?¡± ¡°True, though not exactly but that¡¯s for a more complex lesson. For your shorts, I will use Denim¡­it¡¯s a tone of blue¡± She looked confused when I said denim¡­She really has never worn anything but dresses then¡­Wow, I feel slightly sorry for her. I¡¯m only going through some basics with her so she¡¯ll have some slight idea how to dress from now on. Actually I¡¯m quite worried about what she wears normally¡­ I see Thrash walk back in and wait in line for the fireplace. The horsehead beastman is busy heating his waterbasin¡­nope it¡¯s the raven-beastlady¡¯s. ¡°So, what is this denim¡­I¡¯ve never heard of that colour before¡± ¡®Well in reality it isn¡¯t a colour...it¡¯s a distinctive type of clothing which usually are a darkish blue colour. It¡¯s mostly street lingo and mass media that marketed ¡®denim¡¯ as an actually colour rather than it really being one¡± ¡°So, people wear denim all the time¡± In the 21st century yes ¡°Yes, it is normal clothing for most people, it is the ¡®casual¡¯ clothing that is most popular with people¡± ¡°Hmm, I might have to get myself some denim¡± ¡°Yes you should, A nice denim jacket might go well with your dresses¡± ¡°So denim is for everything?¡± ¡°I mean it used to be just for trousers but it¡¯s expanded to jackets, gloves, hats and even shoes¡­it¡¯s a bit strange but that¡¯s how fashion goes¡± ¡°Fashion¡­are dresses in fashion?¡± A couple of centuries ago, yes ¡°Yes, they are still decently in fashion¡­depends on who you are¡± So for you, they¡¯re top of the market¡­ Thrash plops the basin of water on my workbench. Ah time to get back to work ¡°Thanks Thrash¡± Ok, so to get denim¡­Let¡¯s start with blue. Making the water blue through crushed Moondrops¡­what a surprise; it doesn¡¯t start that colour. Water is actually colourless¡­well pure water at least. So I make it a blue and then crush one Narcotine Berry. Always got to be careful with black, becauss once you go black you never go back. Number 1 rule with colour mixing; a little black has a hell of a lot of effect. Sure enough, that one berry darkened the blue by a couple of tones. Jeez black is always so strong. I crush another Narcoberry, but instead of immersing it like always; I let the squeezed liquid drop into the coloured water. This way only a bit is mixed in. Mixing it for a couple of seconds, it¡¯s reached the dark blue colour that most can call denim. Ok, it¡¯s time. I pick up the shorts and then wave them around letting them cool down and the dye to dry. Once dry, I immerse them into the coloured water. Essentially, once dyed, a leather won¡¯t easily be re-coloured. The new dye will just stick on top of the old dye, which is exactly what I want. After a minute or so of moving the shorts around the water, I take it out and quickly use it as a fan. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Denim coloured liquid flies around the place causing many people to throw some insults at me¡­or their knife in Baila¡¯s case. -1 God dammit Baila. Ok, is it done? Perfect! The way that dark blue and denim are different, is the fact that denim has extremely thin white lines to give it that look. Because I had a white underlayer, the blue didn¡¯t stick as well and thus these lines, albeit a bit big, were created when fanning the shorts around. Also, since it¡¯s not beautifully stuck¡­I can use the knife Baila so kindly gave me to alter it how I want. Using the knife¡¯s flat edge, I smoothen the blue dye across the leather and then start tracing lines down the shorts with the edge of the knife. Using little pressure, it doesn¡¯t damage the leather and it makes the lines a bit nicer looking too. Also I fully scrape off the blue around the rough edges, leaving white in the rough parts. Now that looks good! I give the denim shorts to Miss Nameless to hang up and then she stands there kind of awkwardly in nothing but her underwear¡­ I should have thought this out better¡­ Sharpy can you stop ripping me to shreds with your eyes, please? I didn¡¯t think of this. Luckily, I don¡¯t feel any more gazes from other people¡­is it because they all think this is normal now? Well whatever, at least I¡¯m done now ¡­ .. . Ah wait¡­dammit, I¡¯ve forgotten one important thing. Well I¡¯m not sure, but I have a feeling she won¡¯t object? ¡°Miss, can you- *SHIVER* -Ask Jenna for a changing room¡± I swear I just had this image of being mutilated by Sharpy in the most horrible ways¡­ Thank god I changed what I was going to say, or I think that image may have been my near future¡­ ¡°Why do I need a changing room?¡± She¡¯s confused, she¡¯s given me all her clothes ¡°Well I need your undergarments for colouring¡± ¡­ .. . The whole room falls silent. What? You think I¡¯m going to leave them grey? That¡¯s terrible, especially since some of her bra and underwear is showing when she wears the outfit. It ruins it. ¡°Sure, but what colour would you make them?¡± ¡°Black¡± I mean that¡¯s not an option, white is just too innocent and black clashes yet coincides with the outfit as a whole. *TWITCH* ¡­ .. . If twitching could be heard there¡¯d be raging thunderstorms here. I think everyone here twitched¡­well they do know that black underwear is a bit¡­boisterous¡­ I don¡¯t think Miss Nameless knows though because she looks happy with the colour scheme. Sharpy, don¡¯t gore me to death with your eyes, please? I glance at him to see his skull quiver slightly, non-stop. That¡¯s hell of a lot of twitching he¡¯s doing there¡­I¡¯m so dead when he recovers. I give Miss Nameless a little push and with Jenna, who only got a little shocked at my statement (Maybe she thought it was kind of normal too?), she left the room. A minute later, Jenna comes back out with both the bra and underpants on her. Thank you¡­I¡¯m going to ignore the strange looks everyone is giving me¡­ Ok, so let¡¯s start with the bra. ¡°Thrash, go heat up the water¡± ¡°Eh?...Oh, ok¡± He was still a little out of it, it seems. Maybe¡­oh no. oh no! I have a very bad feeling when it comes to his turn¡­ He goes to heat up the water and I start cutting away at the bra. I mean come on, it¡¯s like a granny bra, quite nasty. So I cut it away, until it¡¯s a bit bigger than the shirt, so that some is visible from underneath the shirt, mostly hopefully around the bust area. Perfect. Ok on to the underwear. Hmm¡­just how much do I want to be murdered by Sharpy; Killed a couple of hundred times, or chased to the end of the earth until my body and soul have been pulverized into nothing? That¡¯s a hard choice¡­I mean I really do want to see his face when he sees what I¡¯ve done. Also, she¡¯s a sheltered girl, she needs one, for modernisms sake! I¡¯m not being perverted at all, she needs these kinds of clothes. I immediately cut away at the underwear till there¡¯s¡­pretty much nothing left. ¡­ .. . Silence and gazes ranging from ¡®I¡¯ll chase you to the ends of the earth and pulverize your body and soul¡¯ to ¡®I want that¡¯¡­ I glance at Sharpy, and sure enough, he¡¯s having quite a nervous twitch; his head is quivering violently while his right arm and leg are twitching uncontrollably. Well I would say he¡¯s having a spasm attack, if not for knowledge that he¡¯s probably her father¡­ Though he doesn¡¯t stop me¡­so I¡¯m a bit confused about his behaviour. Ah nevermind, it was totally worth seeing him spasm like he¡¯s been electrocuted. He¡¯s going to kill me anyway, might as well make the death¡¯s worth it. Thrash comes back with the water and after crushing multiple Narcotine berries; I douse the undergarments and make them black. Taking the underwear out, I give them to Jenna who with a curious gaze at them, exits to another room. Jenna comes out and I have a look at the drying clothes while I wait ¡­ .. . Wait a second¡­she¡¯s not wearing anything but- ¡°Joat, thank you for these, they are very comfortable even if they look a little small¡± ¡­ .. . DO YOU HAVE NO SHAME!? I turn round to see Miss Nameless wearing the chest-hugging black bra, quite cute, and the g-string... ¡°Though, I don¡¯t know why there isn¡¯t much at the back, you see¡± -4 -5 VIT! -8 Aaah, I¡¯m going to die! I just thank the gods she doesn¡¯t have a ghetto ass, or I might have actually died then and there...but I did have to give myself the Vit stat to survive¡­ Lying in my own pool of blood, I hear the death throes of the horse-beastman and the dead gargles of a dwarf¡­WHOOPS. *THUNK* Sharpy lands next to me, completely motionless, but not dead it seems. ¡­ .. . Right, never underestimate a shameless zombie with a little ass¡­ My lesson is learned as I lie in my pool of blood ¡°Why is everyone bleeding, did something happen?¡± Oh, you¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (PJ¡¯s POV) ¡°GIVE IT please¡± Seniour really wants those narcotine berries¡­ Just what is she thinking? I let her do her own thing and focus on Sharpy. Ok, so lets make it white first. As I¡¯m crushing the Narcissus¡¯ I hear a small conversation starting ¡°So what do we do?¡± I hear the She-zombie ask. ¡°WE don¡¯t do anything¡­you will watch and learn how to make colours¡± Joat answers her ¡°Ok, that sounds like fun¡± ¡°Green and red mix into brown, however green isn¡¯t a primary colour¡± He¡¯s doing a lecture? ¡°You mentioned the primary colours earlier, what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°There are 3 primary colours; blue, red and yellow. All colours in the spectrum can be made using these three¡± ¡°So you can make white with these colours?¡± ¡°no, since white is a tint not a colour¡± I tune out of the conversation somewhat, since it¡¯s not something new to me. I¡¯ve dabbled with colours before. Ok, so the water goes white and I get Sharpy¡¯s shirt off. Dunking it in, I swirl it round for a minute or two till the leather gets dyed. Giving the white shirt back to Sharpy, he hangs it up to dry. Ok, next is black. I chuck in most of the Narcotine Berries, because I just want a deep black. He passes me his shoes, trousers and long-sleeved jacket, which looks sort of like a suit. Dunking those in and swirling them around, they quickly go black. Oh I can¡¯t wait to see him wearing this. I give the clothes to him so he can hang them to try. Well that was simple¡­Guess it¡¯s my turn? ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°Ok, done¡± I say to Big Sis as she looks over my shoulder. ¡°I like it!¡± She hops away with the black set of clothes and hang them to dry. She really should have a little bit of shame, since hopping around in underwear is giving those- ¡­ .. . No one is looking¡­ Wow, that¡¯s a bit insane, how is no one looking? The three guys around the raven-beastlady are solely focused on her, while Joat is zoning out with colouring. The wolf guy, Thrash I believe I heard him say, is just looking at Joat and his work. Even the skeleton guy isn¡¯t looking this way. Well that¡¯s odd. Is everyone really that into colouring their clothes? I can faintly hear some instructions on something he¡¯s calling the importance of 3? Ok, never heard of that before. But I can see the logic behind it; wearing too many colours does cause clashes and makes you look a bit motley. Ah, I swear I just felt someone''s gaze. Well I did take off my clothes... Big Sis comes back with a deep pout on her face...did she want Joat to see or something? I¡¯m really going to have to get a leash on her because it¡¯s my Joat, my friend and she¡¯s being a bit, lovestruck? I¡¯m not quite sure yet, but it¡¯s something along those lines. Anyways, it¡¯s my turn to have my stuff coloured. ¡­ Hmm, it looks a bit like a...schoolgirl outfit. I¡¯ve basically got a white short-sleeved shirt with blue rims, blue shorts and black shoes with white socks reaching my knee. I¡¯ve also got gloves that come up pretty much the whole arm. If I had blond pigtails and a tiara¡­I think I¡¯d probably pass off as a Sailor Moon cosplay girl¡­ That isn¡¯t good. But I do like the schoolgirl look. ¡°Well I need your undergarments for colouring¡± ¡­ .. . WHAAAT? JOAT, YOU PERV! Although I would like to have different coloured underwear, this grey sucks. Damn, i''ve already thrown my knife at him... ¡°Sure, but what colour would you make them?¡± ¡°Black¡± *TWITCH* ¡­ .. . I¡¯m sure I wasn¡¯t the only one who had a twitch attack¡­girls only wear black underwear for a reason¡­ Joat, me and you are going to have to talk¡­ Though the She-Zombie looks happy when he mentions that¡­Joat, just what have you been doing this past day? The She-zombie and Jenna leave into another room A minute later, Jenna comes back out with both the bra and underpants on her. Joat, I¡¯m going to judge how clean your execution will be, depending on what you do next¡­ He starts with the bra ¡°Thrash, go heat up the water¡± ¡°Eh?...Oh, ok¡± Thrash is a little out of it, I don¡¯t blame him. He goes to heat up the water and Joat starts cutting away at the bra. Joat¡­good choice. I mean it¡¯s a bit of a granny bra so I think he¡¯s got the right idea¡­but I¡¯m still not happy. He finishes it off quickly and then looks at it with a happy smile. You perv. He moves onto the underwear. But he doesn¡¯t do anything to it. He just looks at it in deep debate ¡­ .. . Joat, don¡¯t you dare do what you¡¯re thinking¡­ He finishes his internal debate after some time and then starts cutting away. He continues cutting away and cutting away until¡­there¡¯s pretty much nothing left. ¡­ .. . I want that¡­but I¡¯ll also chase you to the ends of the earth to kill you for making such a thing too¡­for someone else. I mean any woman who¡¯s worn one of those knows how comfortable they are. I can feel everyone else¡¯s intense gazes direct towards Joat. Thrash comes back with the water and after crushing multiple Narcotine berries; he dyes both undergarments black. Taking the underwear out, he gives them to Jenna who with a curious gaze at them, exits to another room. Joat, I¡¯ve decided you shall be executed¡­after you make underwear for me. While I gaze at him unerringly I hear sounds come from the other room. ¡­ .. . Wait a second¡­she¡¯s not wearing anything but- ¡°Joat, thank you for these, they are very comfortable even if they look a little small¡± ¡­ .. . I THOUGHT SHE HAD NO SHAME BUT NOW I KNOW! I turn round to see the She-Zombie wearing the chest-hugging black bra and the g-string... ¡°Though, I don¡¯t know why there isn¡¯t much at the back, you see¡± She turns round towards the crowd *SPURT* Blood starts flying everywhere. I hear the hoarse cry from the horse-beastman as he falls to the floor dead along with the dwarf while all the other guys drop to the floor trying to stem the large blood flowing from their eyes and nose. *THUNK* The skeleton just dropped down unconscious¡­wow, that view must have hit him hard. "If only I had those clothes" I hear Big Sis whisper in wonder at the bloody sight JOAT¡­don''t you ever dare to make Big Sis these clothes... Nobody does anything for a few seconds and soon the four remaining guys are lying in pools of their own blood (well the skeleton is lying in Joat¡¯s)¡­ ¡°Why is everyone bleeding, did something happen?¡± ¡­ .. . Wow¡­just wow¡­ 14. A colourful end? (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Come on people, mop quicker! If my wood gets marked, I will scrape it off with your face!¡± Aaah Jenna is scary, especially since she isn¡¯t shouting it!! All us guys are wiping the floor with our old beginner shirts¡­Well I say all, but dwarfy and Horsehead are dead so¡­they¡¯re not joining us for now. Wipe wipe wipe. Oh god my shirt is soaked. I wring my shirt over my basin turning it into a deep purple. Wipe wipe wipe. While we¡¯re wiping, the girls are just watching and chuckling at us. Sharpy also isn¡¯t helping; he¡¯s been put on one of the workbenches, still unconscious¡­ Wringing my blood soaked shirt out once more¡­the water is forcefully turned into a deep red. My god, how much blood did I lose? Thank god this is a game, so there¡¯s no anemia¡­ After countless times of wiping and wringing my shirt, the pool of blood is no more¡­But there¡¯s a crimson stain on the wood ¡­ .. . ¡°You there, something wrong?¡± Jenna points towards me ¡°NO no, everything is just fine¡± I cover the stain with my body I¡¯m so screwed. ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) Oh this is hilarious to watch¡­ Though I feel a little bit sorry for those pervs... But not for Joat. Oh, he looks absolutely hilarious hugging the floor like that. He is totally screwed¡­ Well this was quite the situation. The she-Zombie has been successfully taken to another room. Because there¡¯d be no point to cleaning it up if they¡¯re just going to spill it all over again. ¡°Hey, can someone help me?¡± She-Zombie¡¯s voice comes from the other room The boys stop their work momentarily before scrubbing the floor with their shirts in renewed vigour. Seeing a bunch of guys wiping floors is a great sight indeed. Though, it¡¯s a shame they are still wearing leather chest pieces¡­because if they didn¡¯t it¡¯d definitely look like they¡¯re slaves. I think I have to ask Jenna how she controls them so well. Anyways, no is not the time to think about such things. ¡°PJ¡± I motion for her to go help¡­we both know that we shouldn¡¯t let Big Sis get anywhere close to the she-Zombie¡­ She goes into the changing room¡­seriously, what kind of girl needs help putting on clothes? ¡­ ¡­ (PJ¡¯s POV) ¡°Ok, there you go, that¡¯s it¡± Wow this girl doesn¡¯t know how to put on shorts. Guess this butler gets quite a few bonuses while on this job¡­however by his reaction, I¡¯m thinking he hasn¡¯t seen her like that before¡­ ¡°C-can you help me with the shirt now?¡± ¡°No problem¡± I resume my excitable act. Taking her arms through the shirt sides, I quickly clothe her with little problem. ¡°Ok, we¡¯re done¡± I place her hat on her head and she¡¯s all cowgirled up. ¡°Yeehaw. Let¡¯s get the show on the road Yall!¡± She brushes her fingers across the hat ¡­ .. . Joat, I can smell your work all over this¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) *Scrape scrape* Juuust scraping off the blood stain as quietly as I can¡­ Thank god Baila threw her knife at me earlier. Jenna is thankfully busy with the newcomers ¡­ .. . Well I say newcomers, but they¡¯ve already been here...i think ¡°You two, whoever you are, GET OUT OF MY SHOP¡± ¡°B-but, we stayed here, we trained here for the entire day, look it¡¯s us over there¡± The mule-head points towards the two bodies that are still lying in a crusting pool of blood¡­ Yeah, no one moved the bodies. Apparently it takes quite a while for player bodies to disappear. Well I kind of knew that when I saw Apeshit¡¯s dead body¡­ The two who Jenna is trying to throw out; are a Mule-beastman and red haired, bearded gnome¡­ I know who they are¡­but what¡¯s with the sudden face-change? Guess that¡¯s why she¡¯s treating them like strangers? So changing your race changes your relationships with the NPC¡¯s? ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of sick joke you¡¯re playing, but THESE GUYS JUST DIED. SO STOP PLAYING AROUND AND GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!¡± Jenna just got scary ¡°OK, WE¡¯RE SORRY. WE¡¯LL GO NOW¡± The two of them run out the door, followed by a shooing Jenna ¡­ .. . Why did Jenna act so¡­hectic? It¡¯s just a player dying¡­Oh wait she¡¯s an NPC. Hmm, so NPC¡¯s treat it as actual death? In the old VR games, they either don¡¯t care or they know we¡¯re kind of immortal¡­ Well this makes for interesting re-tries to get failed quests. ¡°Hmmm¡± The Raven-beastlady finally lets out some words, well a muse at least. Her voice is quite deep, but a mellow deep. ¡°What is it Mistress?¡± The Human, the surviving one, turns towards her in full attention ¡°According to them, they¡¯re original races are¡­locked¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°WHAAT?¡± She¡¯s actually quite kind¡­since she raised her voice enough for everyone to hear. Or maybe it¡¯s payback for the art lesson? Either way, that¡¯s nice of her. But still¡­ The races are locked? How does that work? ¡°I wonder how many times they died¡± I muse loudly to the air ¡°Hmm, the number of deaths shouldn¡¯t be a factor¡± She sits down and muses loudly too¡­guess she doesn¡¯t want to talk to me directly? ¡°No, the deaths shouldn¡¯t be a factor¡­maybe is it because Jenna saw?¡± I muse back to the air ¡°Hmm, maybe it was because of Jenna seeing them, yes¡± She muses herself to the air ¡°I¡¯m talking some good sense here; so maybe dying in view on an NPC locks the race¡­because the world recognizes you as dead?¡± ¡°Dying in sight of an NPC, causes the system to recognize players as dead¡± Mistress(?) indirectly answers me back Everybody does notice the exchange(?) but no one utters the stupidity(?) of it¡­ I don¡¯t make eye contact with Mistress because she doesn¡¯t try to make eye contact with me. Maybe she really didn¡¯t want to be directly in contact with me? The muscular human¡­doesn¡¯t seem to notice ¡­ .. . Ahhh, so that¡¯s why she talked in such a manner... I¡¯m not sure whether he just ignored everyone else or has muscles for brains? Well either way, he doesn¡¯t give me an evil eye or anything so I¡¯m cool with this, mostly. I don¡¯t really like having indirect conversations¡­because it reminds me of those phone calls with the wrong phone number¡­Not good. Jenna storms back inside. ¡°Aargh, those pests, why did they have to insult these dead bodies? ¡®We¡¯re them¡¯, that¡¯s crap¡± Woah, Jenna just cursed, she¡¯s really angry. ¡°So what are we going to do with the bodies Jenna?¡± I ask her ¡°WE don¡¯t do anything. We¡¯ll have to wait for Marty¡± She huffs towards me. *Clap* ¡°Back to work, I hope my floors are spotless soon¡± ¡°WILL BE JENNA¡± I shout along with Thrash and the human¡­we don¡¯t want to hear her shout, ever again. Though I wonder, who is Marty? And why does he have to touch the bodies? ¡°What happened¡± A drowsy voices comes through. Oh, Sharpy¡¯s awake. A door swings open. Oh, it¡¯s Mart- ¡°HOWDY Y¡¯ALL, YOU READY FOR ME TO TAKE YOU ON A RIDE THAT¡¯LL BLOW YOUR MINDS?¡± ¡­ .. . I forgot about that¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°HOWDY Y¡¯ALL, YOU READY FOR ME TO TAKE YOU ON A RIDE THAT¡¯LL BLOW YOUR MINDS?¡± ¡­ .. . What? I swear that sounds like the kind of line they use in a stripshow¡­ Sure enough, the shameless she-zombie walks into the room, turns around giving her ass a slap along with an over the shoulder wink. ¡­ .. . *THUNK* Looks like the skeleton is out for the count once more¡­ Whoever he is, he must be having a hard time see her so shameless. Though apart from that, no one says anything else¡­ I think everyone¡¯s a bit lost on what to do¡­ ¡°Joat, did I do ok?¡± The she-zombie looks at Joat with expectant eyes ¡­ .. . Ah, I see¡­Joat¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Joat did I do ok?¡± Miss Nameless paints a giant target on me¡­dammit, I completely forgot about this. She apparently doesn¡¯t know about stripshows¡­so I gave her a basic entrance and she delivered pretty well¡­ *Clap clap* I¡¯ll give her some claps¡­I mean everyone is already giving me death stares, so might as well compliment her on the first try. Now, all I need to do is teach her how to pole dance¡­ Sharpy is unconscious once again, terrible luck I must say, so I could do it¡­but I think he might actually die if he sees that¡­ Miss Nameless skips over to me, a large smile plastered on her face. ¡°That was good, but you should move from either side of the stage doing something on either side while you speak¡± Heartfelt advice, might as well teach her right, right? *TWITCH* Multiple people have twitching faces¡­well I¡¯ve certainly pissed off a whole bunch of people. I mean at least some liked the g-string¡­hell they died happy. Though no one liked this...my bad¡­ ¡°Joat¡± PJ enters the room and strolls over to me, she doesn¡¯t seem as happy as usual ¡°PJ¡­what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You know what¡¯s wrong. You didn¡¯t teach her the full thing!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorr-¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°What?¡± ¡°I SAID, you didn¡¯t teach her the whole thing, jeez, how did you expect her to warm the crowd with just the ass slap?¡± She flashes a smile but a lot less innocent then her usual one. *TWITCH* I think everyone but Miss Nameless and PinkyS twitch¡­well none of us has seen this side of her¡­ At least Baila and I know she¡¯s actually an older woman¡­ Poor Thrash and others are having mental meltdowns it seems. Whoops ¡°I¡¯m planning to, just wanted to see whether she could pull it off first¡± Might as well answer truthfullyish, the death stares are not going to get any less intense. ¡°Well, don¡¯t you dare go further¡­without me that is¡± ¡­ .. . I expected that, buuut nobody else did, so they¡¯re all quite shocked ¡°What? It¡¯ll be fun!¡± She looks around to everyone. Ah that¡¯s more like her¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (PJ¡¯s POV) ¡°What? It¡¯ll be fun!¡± It¡¯ll be loads of fun for me¡­and also I¡¯ll get on her good side too¡­And then, I¡¯ll be able to ask her to lend Krudel someday! Ooh, I can¡¯t wait to have a personal butler¡­he¡¯s just so perfect...except for the fact that he fainted when he saw her in her underwear¡­ But nobody is perfect; he¡¯s just close to it. It¡¯s also fun, almost reminds me of my Uni days¡­ah, that¡¯s been a while. I wonder how Crystal and Sapphire are doing? ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Yes, it will be a lot of fun, don¡¯t you think Princess?¡± ¡°I think so¡­I mean I did feel very short on breath when I came out¡­but I liked the feeling¡± ¡°So that¡¯s that! PJ and I will teach you how to be a showgirl¡± *TWITCH* OK, pretty much everyone are decently shocked/horrified/angry with me¡­though I swear I feel gazes of jealousy. Come on people, you ought to be a little less shocked by now, especially after what¡¯s happened in the past 30 minutes¡­ I¡¯m handling this all really well¡­but I am the instigator of everything so that¡¯s to be expected. The sound of a door opening is heard and a middle aged man wearing trousers and shirt walks in. His short brown hair is slicked back and his sharp blue eyes dart around the room. ¡°Ah, Marty, it¡¯s all yours. The rest of you, get back to your work¡± Jenna gives us the order. We all go back to colouring our clothes. Miss Nameless is the one colouring now, because she stopped Thrash from throwing out the bloody water and told him to place all his clothes in there. He throws in his helmet first. She takes his helmet and swirls it around for a few seconds before taking it out and whipping it around, causing most of the dye to fly off. Hmm, that¡¯s pretty smart¡­maybe she figured it out when I was creating the denim? Or maybe because of the floor stains¡­ The leather is originally a darkish brown, and with stains of red, it looks like it¡¯s been stained with blood¡­I like the look of that. Thrash seems to like it too and once she¡¯s done the rest of his clothes¡­he looks pretty damn feral. His clothes have what look like blood splatters and it makes him look like he¡¯s ripped apart his fair share of people¡­ I mean he was decently scary before¡­but now, he looks like a complete monster. I do inadvertedly shiver when he looks my way, but who can blame me when I¡¯m looking at a grinning wolf-beastman with bloodstained clothes? Anyways, it¡¯s my turn next...hmm what will he do for me? He ponders for a while before turning towards me ¡°How do you make grey?¡± ¡°Ah¡­make white first and then add in a drop of black at a time¡± He nods his thanks and then runs out to refill the basin with clean water. While he¡¯s doing that, I have a look at Marty, who I pretty much forgot about. He¡¯s inspecting the bodies, looking as to where the blood came as well as checking pulses and whatnot else. So he¡¯s the village cop or detective? After a few minutes, he takes out a flat stick and begins measuring the dead bodies, after laying them flat on their back¡­ Oh¡­he¡¯s a mortician? Well that makes a bit more sense ¡°Hmm¡± He muses to himself ¡°So, how big will you have to make the graves?¡± Whoops that was supposed to be said in my mind¡­I glance at Jenna, ok, she¡¯s busy chatting with Baila. ¡°Graves?¡± He looks at me funny, and also glances at Jenna¡­oho, so Jenna does have a reputation¡­ ¡°No, I¡¯m just measuring the size of the pyre; we don¡¯t bury our dead around here¡± ¡°Oh, so will we have a ceremony or will it be a back-garden pyre?¡± I whisper to him, while keeping an eye on Jenna ¡°Since the deaths were...odd¡­and you are Orphans¡­they¡¯ll be burnt privately¡± He whispers back to me So he noticed the odd form of death¡­so he must have some detective skills then. Also what is this Orphan business? I turn to him, intrigued. ¡°That sounds logical, but why do you call them Orphans?¡± ¡°Because that is what you are, all of you¡± A voice comes from behind ¡­ .. . Thank you Jenna¡­but don¡¯t get angry, don''t make my children orphans too! ¡°So, we¡¯re abandoned children then?¡± I ask her Well Jenna didn¡¯t shout at me, but actually answered me nicely...that is odd indeed. Maybe because it¡¯s lore time? Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ooh, LORE TIME! Seems like everyone else thinks so too and they all stop working to listen. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± Jenna shrugs ¡°All we do know, is that you guys appeared in the village square yesterday, we don¡¯t know where you came from or how you got here. You all seem like children, with no knowledge of this world and thus the village deemed you as Orphans¡± Marty rubs his stubbly chin thoughtfully. ¡°That makes sense, but why are you telling us this so nonchalantly?¡± Baila notes ¡°Well, that¡¯s because we¡¯d like to know where you are from and more about you¡± ¡°You could have just asked. I¡¯m from Lithuania¡± Miss Nameless speaks up ¡°From¡­Yaktariteai? I don¡¯t understand that last word there¡± ¡°Lituania, let me help you; li¡­tu-¡± ¡°Princess, stop, he¡¯s not able to understand the word itself¡± ¡°Correct, so you do notice?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure, but does it sound like we¡¯re speaking another language?¡± ¡°Yes, you are, and no one in this village knows what it is¡± Interesting¡­ ¡°So, when us Orphans had that meeting yesterday¡­did you understand anything of it?¡± The raven-beastlady gives a highly intelligent question¡­ah, I see where¡¯s she¡¯s going with this. ¡°Snippets, but when you talk to eachother, you seem to talk in another language naturally. It is quite strange, since beast-men, monsters and civilization do not usually speak a universal language, much less group together like you lot¡± We all have a long think about the new piece of information we just obtained¡­ So the system created a ¡®language¡¯ for whenever we talk about things that are not known or existing in this world. So if I was to speak about stats or about computer games¡­it would seem like I¡¯m speaking another language to NPC¡¯s¡­odd, but interesting. ¡°A question Marty¡± PJ raises her hand ¡°What is it little one?¡± He gives her a smile that a man would give when talking to a small child¡­how ironic ¡°Why do you treat us so nicely if we are foreign to this village?¡± That¡¯s a good question there PJ ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­I just feel an odd¡­need, to teach you. It feels as if Aiag compels me to teach you things about this world¡± Jenna answers this question ¡°Aiag?¡± We all chorus ¡°The god of our world. He never speaks to us, but we have dreams, visions and other¡­signs¡­that he graces us with to guide us¡± Jenna looks up to the ceiling. ¡°So you¡¯re saying this feeling is Aiag¡¯s doing?¡± PinkyS inquires. I do like how everyone is contributing to this¡­well not musclehead nor the unconscious Sharpy¡­ ¡°Yes, since Jenna is not the only one who feels that way but the whole village feels that way¡­ then it is definitely the work of Aiag¡± Marty adds in Ok, so guess I must give thanks to Aiag for giving us help? ¡°That is good to know, it seems like we both learnt new things today¡± ¡°Yes, but hopefully we¡¯ll slowly learn more about all this¡± Marty muses with a detective-like glint in his eye. ¡°I hope so too, Marty¡± Jenna echoes. "Yes, we don''t know much about ourselves either so keep teaching us a bout the ways of this world" Miss Nameless chimes in The two NPC''s nod warmly and get back to whatever they were doing before. Marty goes back to inspecting and measuring the bodies for a few more minutes before picking them up and taking them out the door. Thrash walks in, looking back¡­and looking black too¡­just what in Aiag¡¯s name happened to him? ¡°What¡¯s with Marty carrying the bodies?¡± He says looking a bit confused ¡­ .. . ¡°What is it?¡± He looks at us more confused ¡°So who¡¯s going to tell him?¡± I ask the others with a grin ¡­ ¡­ (Thrash¡¯s POV) -When he left Jenna¡¯s- To the water! I saunter to the well, spew the bloody water round the side and slowly bring up the well bucket. La di da, la di da. I¡¯m a happy wolf-man, working with a cute girly! Afert about a minute of pulling up the well bucket and dropping it back down, I hear a series of booming sound from a house closeby. Hmm, what¡¯s that? I leave the basin by the well and walk to the house where the bang just happened. *Knock knock* ¡°Hello? Who are you to be knocking at this time?¡± The voice is very energetic, but a bit raspy¡­so he¡¯s old? I¡¯m not sure. ¡°I heard the bang¡­everything alright?¡± ¡°Yes yes yes I¡¯m just fine just blown up this and that and that too¡­oh god! That¡¯s terrible I liked that! Everything¡¯s out of place." ¡­ .. . He¡¯s very energetic. Maybe I should go inside and help him. I open the door, well apparently it wasn¡¯t locked, and see a normal wooden room¡­with a large black spot on the right side, taking up almost half the room. ¡°You you you¡­you¡¯re perfect to help!¡± The old man is completely bald but even though the wrinkles show his age, he¡¯s still running around moving vials to and fro, juggling them precariously. ¡°Sure?¡± ¡°Great! Grab all my chemicals from the floor but be careful to not touch the contents from the poison vials or come in contact with the red vials because they¡¯re volatile and will blow up if not handled properly also yellow vials are fine so just leave them there but be careful to not slip on them also don¡¯t put blue vials with other blue vials or there will be a chemical reaction that goes Booooom¡­¡± Wow he¡¯s energetic...I never would think he¡¯s old. ¡°Don¡¯t stand there! Go go go!¡± He frees his hand and starts picking up a bunch of different coloured vials. I quickly go to the blackened area of the house and start picking up vials, the red ones¡­because they were the ones he said weren¡¯t dangerous? ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t move so many red, because they¡¯re volatile and will go boooooom if you move them too much!¡± He exasperates to me as he takes another 8 vials in his hands to some boxes on the other side of the room. ¡°Sorry! What do I do with them now?¡± Volatile goes boooooom? Oh god! ¡°Nothing, they don¡¯t react unless they get resonance¡± *Clang* I accidentally clang two together, making the red vials shake a bit ¡°THROW THEM AWAY¡± I chuck them away *BOOOOOM* -30 *CRASH* -28 I go flying to the other side of the room and crash into the wall. Getting my head out of the wall, I see that the room is a lot blacker now, and the other vials have blown away to all over the place. Whoops. ¡°Phew, the explosions cancelled eachother out so there was no further resonance. That would have been death for us if all the red ones had expl-BLAAARGH. God! The poison must have been released by the green vials. Be careful¡±
You have been Poisoned. You will lose 1hp every second till cured
¡°I¡¯m poisoned¡± -1 ¡°Ah, find a cyan vial¡± -1 ¡°Cyan?¡± -1 ¡°Light blue!¡± -1 I rush over to a nearby light blue vial and chug it down -1 ¡°Don¡¯t drink it fool! You have to inhale it!¡±
You have been severely Poisoned. You will lose 5 hp every second till cured
-5 He tosses me another cyan vial and I sniff it frantically
You are no longer Poisoned You will be immune to poison for 3 hours
¡°Ok, quickly grab yellow vials 1 blue vial no red vials and lots of green vials don¡¯t touch the other things because you¡¯ll just make everything go boooom! Also have this¡± He tosses me a purple vial I sniff it ¡°DRINK IT¡± *CHUG*
You have recovered 50hp
Health potion, nice. Ok, grab green and yellow, 1 blue and no red. Somehow I heard all that. Grabbing some from here and there, I grab a blue that¡¯s about to touch another blue because I heard two of them together go boooom! Taking my 8 vials, I place them in their respective box¡­which is pretty difficult since there are at least 40 different boxes. The old man runs up, arms wide, holding a grey bottle in each hand and looking strained I grab a grey bottle off him since he looks like he needs help. I almost go flying as the bottle tries to drag itself towards the other. ¡°These buggers stick together so you have to keep them apart as we move so you put yours in the furthest box and ill put mine on the other side" We both drag our bottles to either end of the boxes and the magnetism lightens significantly. Placing it in the blue bottle box ¡°NO DON¡¯T PUT IT THERE¡± *CHUCK* I chuck the entire box ¡°DON¡¯T CHUCK THE BOX¡± The box crashes onto the floor letting some blue vials jump into the air and collide *BOOOOOOOOOOOOM* -72 *CRASH* -36 A Vitality of 20 is very useful. I get out of the wall and see the old man rushing to the blue vial box, quickly grabbing the remains and placing them carefully in the box. He¡¯s completely black and almost all of his visible chest hair has been singed off. ¡°Grab the green and yellow vials and don¡¯t do anything to them but as long as you don¡¯t drink them or sniff them you¡¯ll be fine¡± I go and quickly pick up some green and yellow vials and return them to the boxes. The old man rushes around leaving the red vials and picking up some blue, purple, orange, white, black, dark green, light green, dark blue, pink and a whole bunch of different colours which I don¡¯t know the name of. Wow that¡¯s a lot of different colours. ¡°Don¡¯t be standing there! The safe ones are pink magenta maroon brown purple lilac indigo permission and white so pick them up and put them in the boxes¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what those look like?¡± ¡°Anything that looks purple or blue or dark brown pick it up¡± ¡°OK¡± I rush over and start picking those up and drink another purple one too. ¡°NO DON¡¯T TOUCH THE TAN VIALS¡± I chuck it in the air ¡°NOOO DON¡¯T THROW IT AWAY¡± The old man drops his two red vials and jumps for the tan vial *BOOOM* -24 *Crash* -12 This time, I feel the old man squished up against me and I help him off me. ¡°Phew if that tan vial had fallen the whole house would have collapsed due to the earthquake¡± He holds the tan vial in his hands Just what is in those vials? I stand back up to keep on helping ¡°STOP DON¡¯T MOVE SIT BOY SIT DON¡¯T BE CAUSING ANYMORE EXPLOSIONS¡± I sit down on my knees¡­Ok, I was just trying to help¡­ I watch the old man run back and forth with vials of all colours for a good, 5 minutes till he¡¯s finally gotten everything sorted. ¡°WOHOO I¡¯M ALIVE¡± The old man shouts into the air as the last piece of his clothing falls off of him¡­ Age has not been kind to him. ¡°Sorry about the explosions¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry m¡¯boy the explosions were quite fun to witness and its been a while since I¡¯ve flown head first into a wall so it was quite the rush there for me by the way what is your name?¡± ¡°Thrash and who are you?¡± ¡°Nathan but my full name is Nathaniel or really people call me Nathaniel when I¡¯m like this and whoo this adrenaline potion was a great idea!¡± ¡°Nathaniel¡± ¡°That¡¯s my name and a good one too but really I do prefer that people call me Nathan because Nathaniel is just too long and really puts me out of breath you know like I can¡¯t even say it three times without losing breath Nathaniel Nathaniel Nathaniel no nevermind I can. Aiag¡¯s glory this adrenaline is the godliest thing in the world I haven¡¯t felt so young in years¡± He¡¯s a funny guy isn¡¯t he. ¡°So Nathan, what happened?¡± ¡°Oh just was trying to make a flight potion because I felt like being able to fly but I shook it too much which caused it to go booooooom and then it made a lot of my other stuff go boooooom too¡± Ah, so that must have been the noise I heard ¡°Well I¡¯m glad I could try help¡± ¡®You weren¡¯t the best help but you helped somewhat and now almost the whole place is black so I might have to set off an explosion here and over there too to make the whole place a good colour again yes that sounds good does that sound good to you?¡± ¡°Sure¡± It¡¯s hard to keep up with what he¡¯s saying ¡°Perfect now you move the boxes and I¡¯ll have some things explode here and there¡± I quickly move the mass of boxes and after two successive *Boom*¡¯s, the entire house has been converted to a black interior. ¡°Ah that looks much better but it¡¯s a shame I got so many potions blown up but that¡¯s what I get for taking an adrenaline potion and trying to make a flight potion which is quite tricky since you have to shake it extremely lightly and more shaking causes it to go boooom which it did¡± ¡°Ok that looks good. Nice meeting you Nathan but I¡¯ve got some work to do¡± ¡°Sure sure it¡¯s late so go back to whatever you were doing and actually maybe you can come back sometime and help remake the potions you destroyed¡± He looks like he¡¯s holding a small grudge for the explosions, even though he seemed to like them ¡°Ok, I will¡±
QUEST: Repaying the Alchemist (Hidden)
Nathaniel has asked you to repay him by creating the potions you blew up. He''ll help you create them if you ask. There is no time limit on this quest, but the quicker you do it, the better the rewards.
Rewards: Alchemy Skill Intimacy with Nathaniel ???
A quest, and a hidden one too! ¡°I will return soon Nathan¡± ¡°Just get out and do what you need to do, I need to resort my poisons and make sure my antidotes haven¡¯t gone off oh god what if the poison has spread into all my other potions and also all my sniff and chug potency potions are scrambled and oh god this is going to take a while so goodbye and good luck with whatever you¡¯re doing Thrash¡± ¡°Ok. Goodbye¡± I exit the house, leaving the scrambling Nathan back inside. Well he was an interesting fellow. And I had quite a blast! Maybe I should do the quest soon, but I still don¡¯t understand why he had so many different coloured bottles and why they were so strange. He¡¯s strange but cheery. I saunter back to the well hearing a scream of ¡°FIRRRRE¡± come from Nathan¡¯s¡­he¡¯ll be allright. Grabbing the basin, I fill it up a bit more and then head inside. As I¡¯m going inside, Marty comes out carrying two dead bodies and blinks a couple of times when he looks at me¡­what? I go inside ¡°What¡¯s with Marty carrying the bodies?¡± I¡¯m a bit confused as to why he¡¯s carrying them and to where ¡­ .. . Everyone looks at me funny¡­ ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°So who¡¯s going to tell him?¡± Joat gives off a cute grin like she knows a secret. Ah, must be about what happened when I was gone.
So...sorry i had a bit of a writers block but when I finally got down to writing this, I wrote like Nathan on Adrenaline :P Anyways, thanks for reading ALSO Pretty please, give me a rating to bring other people to read this (hopefully) delightfuly story :D -TRUE NOOOOOORD 15. End of a day and start of another (Joat¡¯s POV)
Congratulations! Through being taught by the Npc Jenna, you have learnt a new crafting skill: Leatherworking
CRAFTING SKILL:Leatherworking, Beginner [lvl1]
This skill allows you to create leather armour with less faults and with higher quality
Can onle create Basic level Armour
Cost: Time, Duration: None, Cooldown: None
xp increases by 100%
¡­ .. . DAMN, I JUST LEVELLED UP! My god¡­100%? That¡¯s insane! Well it does look like it¡¯s a special skill of sorts¡­and it did take around 18 in-game hours to learn¡­ My god that took long. BUT TOTALLY WORTH IT! I bow gratefully to Jenna and she actually smiles for once. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve passed on these skills, I hope you use them to clothe your fellow Orphans. Whether you teach them, is up to you¡± ¡°Thank you¡± We all say in unison with a last bow/curtsy. With that, she gives us a gentle push out the door. ¡°Finally we¡¯re done!¡± PJ gives a loud yawn and we all chuckle. ¡°Yeah, but totally worth it¡± I chorus ¡°Mhm¡± Everyone nods their heads at that. It¡¯s not easy leveling up and that was a whole level. At beginner level too! ¡°So what¡¯s everyone¡¯s plans?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to sleep¡± Sharpy says fiercely, brooking no debate on the matter. He had woken up a couple of minutes before the end and we had Miss Nameless fill him in. ¡°Ok, I¡¯m pretty tired too¡± Miss Nameless daintily covers up both her yawn and want to stay playing. ¡°Me and Pinky are going to get a good sleep too¡± PJ says stifling her own yawn ¡°I think that I must rest, is that ok with you Lancel?¡± The raven-beastlady asks Lancel, the muscular human, ah that¡¯s his name. ¡°Of course Mistress, you may do as you please¡± He bows slightly to her ¡°And I shall go to sleep too¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep, cause I got RL going on in the morning¡± Baila says with a bit of a huff¡­RL is still important ok! ¡°I¡¯ve got RL too in the morning so I¡¯ve got to get a kip¡± And that¡¯s everyone ¡­ .. . ¡°Thrash?¡± I look around¡­nope he¡¯s not anywhere to be seen ¡°He logged off as we left the door¡± Baila helpfully informs me ¡°Well, whatever, he must have been tired, especially after his little explosion incident¡± ¡°Still don¡¯t know how we didn¡¯t hear any of it¡± PJ muses ¡°Game systems, just leave it at that and it¡¯ll put our minds at ease Junior¡± ¡°Ok, so when are you guys logging in tomorrow?¡± Baila asks us ¡°I can log in about 12 in-game hours. So it should be a bit past midday¡± I answer thoughtfully ¡°We¡¯ll be busy until much later, probably won¡¯t be on for a day¡± PinkyS says with a slight frown¡­ Guess she didn¡¯t have her dose of Joat today¡­hehe¡­Baila will kill me if she ever found out I just thought that¡­better erase the memory. ¡°Same for us¡± Sharpy points out before watching Miss Nameless log off ¡°Goodbye Ya¡¯ll I¡¯ll see you tomorrow¡± She logs off looking decently sad and a bit worn out. It¡¯s been a fascinating day for her I guess. ¡°Lancel, I won¡¯t be on for 1 day, so strengthen yourself while you¡¯re at it. We¡¯ll meet by the well exactly then¡± ¡°Yes Mistress¡± She types something in a window and then logs off *Ding*
You have a message from Ravena
¡­ .. . I¡¯m guessing¡­ I open the message. Yup i''m correct....hopefully I¡¯ll meet you in 14 in-game hours, just add me to your party and I''ll find you ok ¡­ .. . Right¡­so she lied to her follower and now she wants to meet me¡­and I thought I was going to have alone time with Baila¡­damn. She didn''t even give me the choice of declining...well i''m in two minds about it but the more women the merrier... ¡°Alright, see you all in the near future¡± I give a wave to everyone before I log off¡­they wave back but they don¡¯t go in for a goodbye hug¡­guess they¡¯re still a bit annoyed about earlier. ¡­ ¡­ (PinkyS¡¯ POV) ¡°Jinnie, go to sleep¡± ¡°But Auntie!¡± Man I want to stay up and play some more, but I¡¯ve got school tomorrow, ugh. ¡°No buts, I¡¯d love to play some more but we all know how my sister is¡± *Shiver* ¡°Ok, good point Auntie, I¡¯ll go to sleep¡± I head into my bed and dig into the covers. Damn, I really wanted to play with Joat today, but all I ended up doing was talk with Baila, which is fun but I had to watch him play with another girl¡­I don¡¯t like it. ¡°Stop thinking about Joat and go to sleep¡± I dig myself deeper in my covers, Auntie knows what I¡¯m thinking sometimes which is kind of annoying sometimes¡­aagh, I just want to play! ¡°Look, if you get an A* in your next math exam, I¡¯ll create another solo session for you two¡± ¡°Auntie! An A* in math is way too hard!¡± Come on, at least make it a B, that¡¯s difficult enough as it is ¡°Not one grade lower¡± ¡°No fair¡± ¡°Yep, but I¡¯m the adult so haha!¡± No fair Auntie¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll try my best¡± ¡°Good girl, now get your rest, you¡¯ll need it¡± I will, because I won¡¯t be sleeping in Math class anymore¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (PJ¡¯s/Auntie¡¯s POV) Now that Jinnie¡¯s asleep, time for a cig! God, it¡¯s been a whole day, I don¡¯t know how I cope. Ah, the more I think about it the more I need it. Quick! I rush outside and with a hurry snap open my carton of cigarettes and flick the lighter on. ¡°Ahhhh¡± Nothing like a cigarette on a chilly night¡­ Having the cigarette in silence, I let the smoke fill my mind. But too soon, the smoke stops and the cigarette is gone¡­ Don¡¯t go for a second¡­don¡¯t ¡­ .. . I resist for today, I just needed one to calm the nerves. Just one, and this other one too¡­ *Puff* Dammit, couldn¡¯t resist. Might as well finish it then... That one quickly goes and since I like the outside, I stay for another. This one, I make sure to take my time¡­only this one, no more. While I¡¯m taking a small puff, I have a think about this ¡®Joat¡¯. It¡¯s obvious he¡¯s a niceish guy but a bit¡­loose? I mean he talks to Baila, Jinnie, me, that she-zombie and indirectly to the raven-beastlady. Hmm, no bother though; as long as he doesn¡¯t try to hurt Jinnie, I¡¯m cool with him. But really, I have to watch out for what Jinnie does. Don¡¯t know what chord he struck but apparently the right one...She rarely becomes possessive over things...and right now she''s only slightly possessive . And when she becomes possessive, the results are scary. I can¡¯t believe I promised her that I¡¯d give her a solo session if she got that A*¡­well at least that sorts out her going to school problems¡­ Though, I fear she¡¯ll just skip school and learn it all at home or something. Well as long as she gets that A*, my sister will shut up and I can continue living happily with my little Jinnie. I fish for another cigarette in my packet. Damn, I¡¯m almost out again. Should¡¯ve come out with a full one¡­ I place the final cigarette back into the packet, for emergencies, and then walk into the house. Making my way to the bathroom, I make sure to wash my teeth and use some mouthwash, to remove most of the smoke smell that Jinnie hates so much. Having two parents who chain-smoke isn¡¯t good for her at all¡­ Also, moving around in my own body actually feels a little weird for the first time in my life. The bouncing up and down of my breasts really does put a strain on my back and I have to look down at things again. I don¡¯t know why, but having a smaller body definitely gave me a lot more freedom, and I could act like I¡¯m a child again¡­ahh how those days have gone. Though it seems the Uni days are slowly coming back; thanks to Joat¡¯s promise to allow me to help him make the She-zombie a cowgirl showgirl¡­I could teach her some personal tricks too¡­ I¡¯ve always wanted to see what they look like from someone else¡¯s point of view. Smelling my breath, it¡¯s smokeless, I head upstairs and stop by Jinnie¡¯s room. All I see is a large mound of duvets. Guess no kiss goodnight then. I quietly chuckle to myself as I go to my room and head to my bed. But first, let me check how my finances are. Flipping open an old laptop of mine, I check the stocks and see that if I play around for a couple of hours, I could make a couple of hundred grand here and there. Nah, not bothered, it¡¯s a bit too late and I¡¯ve got a couple of million sitting in the banks anyway. That money should last us for another couple of months¡­unless something happens at the hospital. Jeez, family can be such a pain sometimes...but I love them all the same. I head to bed for a good sleep. Stolen novel; please report. ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s/Clara¡¯s POV) Ah it¡¯s still dark, guess winter is coming soon. Taking off my thick duvet blankets, I slowly wiggle my way out of the mass of cute rabbits that cuddled me in my sleep. Oh they are so cute! I go up to my desk and check the timetable...yep, lecture starts at 8. Seriously, what kind of lecture starts that early? At least it¡¯s the only one today. I look back at my small pile of cute rabbits. Hmm, should I go? I mean first year doesn¡¯t count so I could go right back to sleep with no worries. Ah, but depends on the lecturer. I stumble in the dark for my phone and quickly find it after my toe finds the table. Resisting the stinging pain, I start messaging Danny, wakey wakey No replies for about 30 seconds¡­hmm he must be sleeping. I call him. ¡°WHAT oh, sorry it¡¯s you, hello there, what can I do for my favourite mascot?¡± He¡¯s still a bit disorientated, probably from just waking up ¡°I¡¯m not your mascot, and can you tell me more about my professor?¡± ¡°Professor¡­oh which course are you taking?¡± ¡°Theoretical Art?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I heard it¡¯s a ¡®lazy¡¯ course¡± ¡°Somehow I think it suits you perfectly¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lazy, I¡¯m just busy with other things¡± ¡°Right! You¡¯re making that mascot costume aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Go die¡± ¡°Hehe¡± ¡°But I think his name was Mr Spencer¡± ¡°Oh, that guy! Yeah, you can skip his lectures all you want, he doesn¡¯t give If people come or not. Though that¡¯s the only thing I¡¯ve gotten from some St Andrews Buddies¡± ¡°He¡¯s new to the uni?¡± ¡°Yep, this is his first year¡± ¡°Cool. And how did you-¡± ¡°It¡¯s the only question people ask about their professors these days¡± ¡°Ok, well thanks and have a good sleep¡± ¡°You ruined it¡± ¡°Just go to sleep¡± ¡°SNOORE¡± I roll my eyes as I cut the call. Well no need to go for my first lecture¡­ Slowly placing myself in the warm blanket by my cute rabbits, I cuddle them and fall back to sleep ¡­ ¡­ (Mr Spencer¡¯s POV) ¡°OK CLASS, quiet and let¡¯s begin our very first lecture¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Nevermind, there¡¯s no one in here but me¡± My words echo around the large room. *Sigh* Ah, well if people don¡¯t want to learn then, I will not force myself to teach them! Though I would like at least one of my two students to come¡­ Clara Winters and Josephine Dyle¡­I wonder what those two ladies are going at this hour. Probably sleeping¡­I did make the lectures at 8 in the morning. I would prefer to do the lectures later, but the committee decides the times not me. At least I was able to convince them to delay the lectures till around a month after the start of Fresher¡¯s week. Ah well, since nobody is here, might as well record it for them. I did hear the pre-Halloween party last night when I was getting to sleep. These kids, making noise at 4 in the morning? Must have been quite the party¡­ I¡¯ll catch the real party and dress up as a professor, no one will suspect that! One bonus with not having students, is that no one really knows who I am. So I do and have gotten to go to the occasional party. Freshers week was awesome I must say. Also, no suit and tie. I feel so much better wearing my t-shirt and jeans. Though if someone actually came to my lecture¡­that wouldn¡¯t be the greatest first impression. Well not like that¡¯s going to happen anytime soon. Ok, the video camera is set up and let¡¯s get down to business ¡­ Done! A perfect 1 hour and 40 minutes as usual. Now 20 minutes of questions that I don¡¯t have to have. Haha! Well really there should only be questions in a seminar, but if I have only 2 students, every lecture is basically a seminar. Just wish one of them would come. It does get a bit lonely in here. Anyways, back to my house to have a nice kip¡­ Leaving the lecture room I walk across the mostly empty halls. Lazy buggers, it¡¯s almost 10! Well they did have that party last night¡­ Walking round the corner, I stop myself from bumping into a lady there. ¡­ .. . Damn, I should have bumped into her. But I also did the right thing¡­why must morals be so difficult? The lady in question, is quite tall with her long heels and some very nice calves. She wears a tight black dress with a turtleneck top and a modest length bottom. Added with some square spectacles and long straight black hair¡­My god, she¡¯s a hot librarian! The dress, although being modest in nature, does emphasize those decently large twins. I really should have bumped into her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry madam, I almost bumped into you there¡± ¡°That you did, but do not worry, we did not stumble and tumble together, so all is good" She gives a nice smile from her well maturing face. Only a few wrinkles and good laughlines. Also her face is quite angular and her eyes are chocolate brown. Ah I do wish I stumbled and tumbled with her, but damn my English gentlemaness. They do say no relationships between professor and students but professor and professor; I¡¯m all up for that! Though I am wearing a t-shirt and jeans. ¡°I¡¯m Jack, a pleasure to almost bump into you¡± I offer my hand ¡°Rienna¡± She takes my hand and I smoothly turn hers palm down and give a light kiss on the knuckles. She blushes slightly, good. I let go and start walking ¡°I must be going now, so please excuse me¡± I give her a smile and walk past her. Always finish first and leave them thinking about the mysterious guy they just met. ¡°What course are you studying¡± She calls out after me Hooked ¡°I¡¯m doing Art, and what do you have?¡± ¡°Biology¡± Woah! I¡¯d love to do biology with her. She looks a bit sad when she says that. ¡°Well have fun in your lecture¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t have a lack of boys in my class, but I would like a gentleman in mine¡± ¡°Heh, sorry but I¡¯m the passionate type, not into calm and collected thinking you see¡± I was talking about my art, but double meanings are always a thing I continue walking and soon hear her clack of her high heels. I sneak a peek and by god, that¡¯s a good ass. I think I may have to attend her biology lesson¡­ Anyways, time to go home; before I meet other smoking hot women¡­Actually maybe I should slow down some. Sadly that doesn¡¯t happen. Only a couple of students are awake at this time and they say ¡°Hi¡± or ¡°yo¡± or try to speak but then just groan, probably from headaches, as I walk past them. I recognize quite a few of the guys, mostly rugby boys like Trent and Derek. They give me a high-five before they go to whatever class they¡¯re doing¡­ ¡°Oh Derek¡± ¡°What is it Jacky boy?¡± ¡°What¡¯s subject you studying¡± ¡°Biology¡± ¡­ .. . Damn his luck. ¡°Cool¡± ¡°Can¡¯t wait to see Rienna again¡­Trent slow down!¡± Derek runs off to catch up to Trent, waving me goodbye in the process. Lucky buggers. I huff a little as I get back to my house, just a small two-storey apartment. Home sweet home. Got 5 minutes left, so might as well have some breakfast. I pour some cereals and wolf them down. Mmm, deli *COUGH cough cough*. Dammit shouldn¡¯t have eaten so fast. Coughing a couple more times, it dies down and I¡¯m still alive. Phew, that was not a good way to eat breakfast. But I¡¯m famished. After cereals, I grab a banana and eat it in two bites before drinking a whole bunch of pinapple juice from the carton. Ahhh, much better. I grab some bread and eat that too for good measure. After not eating for about 12 hours, I was extremely hungry. Hmm, 2 minutes left, enough time for a shower? I hop into my shower and douse myself and scrub with some shampoo and body lotion. Nice and easy. A good 5 minutes later, well have to wash properly, I finish, dry off and head in my towel to my bed. Time for another fantastic day¡­in ARIA!
Short chapter, to end off the arc Thanks for reading and thanks, Whomigh3 for giving me some heartfelt criticism. Yes the arc was kind of slow, but then again it was an 18 hour long process...so it being slow was going to happen. Story progression did slow down but in favour of fleshing out the side characters somewhat. It''s not that my interest of my MC is gone, it''s just that it''s hard to build on himself when it''s all 1st person? Also you don''t know his RL side so it''s a bit difficult to flesh him out better. However, I will try to start fleshing him out more here and there? As for your ''educational tool'' idea for the leveling through skills becuase you think it doesn''t hold its own... well, the MC is still confused about that system so you guys should be too. All in all, thanks for the review, i''ll have a look at trying to better my characters and move the story along as I please. Keep on reading for both our sakes! -TRUE NORRRRRRRD 16. The Power of a Social Butterfly (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡­Come on, it¡¯s been 5 minutes already¡­where are you Baila? Hmm, been here 5 minutes and she hasn¡¯t turned up. Do I call my date off or wait around? I guess I can stay a couple more minutes checking with a couple of things, such as my character sheet:
NAME:
Joat
TITLE:
The Social Butterfly
Class:None
Race:HobgoblinGender:Male
Level:5Experience:55%
[tr]
STATUS:
Remaining Points (25)
Health Points110/110HP Regen (Out of Combat)1/sec
Attack:47-47Defense:19
Perception:50Brutality:20(+3)
Vitality:10Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Satiety:165/180(Almost Full)
Unused Stats:Strength, Dexterity, Agility, Wisdom, Leadership
[tr]
SKILLS/PROFICIENCIES:
Active: Stomp, Beginner [lvl2] Suicide, Beginner [lvl2] Monster Identification, Beginner [lvl5] Sneak, Intermediate [lvl1] Sprint, Beginner [lvl3] Commanding Shout, Beginner [lvl2] Headbutt, Beginner [lvl1] Spitful Taunt, Beginner [lvl2] Throw, Beginner [lvl1] Cooking, Beginner [lvl1] Bite, Intermediate [lvl1] Herbalism, Beginner [lvl3] Holding Back, Beginner [lvl1]
Passive: Jump, Beginner [lvl1] Roll, Beginner [lvl1] Swim, Beginner [lvl1] Hearing, Beginner [lvl4] Smell, Beginner [lvl2] Night Vision, Master [lvlMax] Hold Your Breath, Beginner [lvl1]
Auras: Mild Monster''s Aura, Intermediate[lvl1]
Crafting: Leatherworking, Beginner [lvl1]
Proficiencies: Kick Mastery, Beginner [lvl4] Unarmed Mastery, Beginner [lvl1]
Phew, level 5 with 55% to next level¡­that¡¯s pretty damn good I must say. Actually¡­I open my friends list and sorting them by level, I see I¡¯m in the top 20 of the village. No one has hit level 6 yes, but 23 people are level 5. Another 62 are level 4 and the remaining 15 are level 3. Overall, not bad. The character sheet at the bottom has changed a decent bit because there are now Crafting and Aura¡¯s added as sub-titles. Odd, but I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s because they are distinctive from the other things. Hmm, that¡¯s done, now what? Baila still hasn¡¯t come, and I¡¯m not going to Nathan¡¯s without her, mostly because that¡¯s our little duet questline. I spot a red slime, must be that one from way back, stumble out of the blacksmith looking haggard. He stumbles off out of the village¡­ Ok? Another person, Honey this time, stumbles out the door and runs out of the village ¡­ .. . Something is happening and I¡¯m not part of it! I walk over to the blacksmith and pop my head inside ¡°YOU USELESS SCUM, YOU CALL YOURSELVES BLACKSMITHS? THIS PIECE OF SHIT IRON IS NOT A SWORD! LOOK!¡± *SNAP* ¡°YOU JUST GAVE ME TRASH! NOW GET OUT THERE AND FIND MORE ORE TO MAKE ANOTHER WEAPON, PROPERLY THIS TIME. GO!¡± ... .. . Wow that was loud. A small brown rat-beastman scurries away from the thunderous noise and almost rams into me as he exits the place. The rest of the room continues clanging with renewed fear. In the centre is the beastly human who is on the verge of 7ft. I don¡¯t know how humans can be that big, but this guy is. His dark brown hair curls down his shoulders and his rough beard gives him a bit of a wild look. He looms over the small crowd of people working at the small furnaces making even me a little bit terrified of him. Not to mention the fact that he¡¯s got an extremely loud mouth, maybe he¡¯s related to Jenna. ¡°YOU THERE, BY THE DOOR, WHAT ARE YOU DOING¡± ¡­ .. . I look around me, ¡°Me?¡± I point to myself, hoping he doesn¡¯t say yes ¡°YES¡± dammit ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE DOOR?¡± ¡°JUST LOOKING IN SIR¡± I answer as quickly as possible adding the sir because I don¡¯t want him to get angry ¡°I¡¯M TRYING TO TEACH THESE USELESS ORPHANS HOW TO FORGE METAL, BUT ALL I¡¯VE GOTTEN SO FAR IS CRAP, CRAP AND OH LOOK, MORE CRAP¡± he picks up a couple of broken swords as a demonstration. ¡°I SEE SIR¡­WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO MAKE BETTER THINGS SIR?¡­¡± Well what else do I say? I¡¯m intrigued by the possibility of the skill, especially when I learnt that crafting skills give a hell of a lot of xp. ¡°YOU THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER?¡± He¡¯s just asking a question but I feel as if he¡¯s crushing me with the words ¡°NO SIR BUT I CAN TRY SIR¡± ¡°GOOD, YOU¡¯RE NOT NA?VE LIKE THE REST OF THEM¡± He chucks a rusty pick at me, to which I somehow miraculously catch.
ITEM:Pick
Is used to mine ores
2-2 Damage
¡°NOW GO TO THE CAVE ON THE WEST SIDE AND MINE SOME IRON ORES, BRING ABOUT 10 AND I WILL GET YOU STARTED¡±
QUEST: MINE ORES
YOU HAVE BEEN ASKED TO MINE ORES SO GO DO IT NOW! COLLECT 10 IRON ORE FROM THE CAVE IN THE WEST AND THEN BRING THEM BACK TO THE BLACKSMITH
REWARDS: Eligible for blacksmithing training
¡°YES SIR¡± I scramble out the door and run out the village¡­so that¡¯s why those guys were like that¡­FOR A SKILL! Cave to the west, cave to the west. I sprint across the plains, killing a few bunnies on the way to let them out of their misery. Bursting through the forest I quickly find a dead body, Ooh¡­a trail. As I suspected; there is a trail of bodies. I follow them, noting that most of them have wounds from picks on them¡­ After a good 30 minutes of sprinting, I¡¯m freaking tired, but I¡¯ve also reached the mine. Sadly, as I enter, I find it¡¯s filled with about 60 people, all mining ores greedily and mass murdering the goblins that respawn. Apparently there are goblins here. Oh there¡¯s¡­nevermind, It just got surrounded and killed by 8 people within 1 second of it being spawned¡­Wow. Well I know having the ability to make your own weapons and mail armour is pretty good, but having over 60 people here and around 20 in the shop (I quickly counted), shows that pretty much the whole village is going for it¡­ That¡¯s pretty insane. ¡°Come on brothers, faster, we must be faster¡± Oh that¡¯s a familiar voice ¡°Zzoid!¡± I call out to Zzoid who is frantically mining a piece of ore with his 3 brothers. At least everyone has the decency to allow people to mine the ore they are mining. I don¡¯t see any PK¡¯s yet. ¡°JOAT! YO. COME HELP NOW!¡± He turns and shouts at me. Well hello to you too ¡°OK¡± I rush over to them and start mining with them by swinging my pick at the slightly different coloured wall which I hope is iron¡­I guess I¡¯m right? ¡°I¡¯ve been locked in Jenna¡¯s all day, what happened while I was gone?¡± I ask him as he adds me to the party and we mine. ¡°Wow, can¡¯t believed you missed it¡­you¡¯re way behind¡± ¡°Yeah, I figured that when I see pretty much the entire village doing this. Just tell me what¡¯s the hype?¡± ¡°Well the hype is; that Jarken shouted on the square that he¡¯s going to teach 30 people how to blacksmith, however it¡¯s 20 for weapons and 10 for armor¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a lot of spaces¡± ¡°You¡¯d think so, but whoever gets it has all the weapons and the armor¡± ¡°Did you forget the fact that I have leatherworking?¡± ¡°No, but only some people will go for leatherworking, a lot more will prefer weapons. Weapons are the main reason here. Hell I¡¯m in it for the weapons!¡± ¡°I¡¯m in it for both¡± ¡°Hah! That¡¯s crazy, not to mention impossible, since he teaches them separately¡± Well he doesn¡¯t know about Baila being the 11th out of 10¡­I¡¯m sure I can cook up something similar. ¡°Just watch and learn Zzoid¡± ¡°And I thought I was the one who knew everything¡± ¡°You do, just useless stuff¡± ¡°Hey¡± ¡°Less talking, more working you two!¡± Zzard growls at us as he mines fiercely ¡°Ok¡± We chime together ¡°By the way Zzoid, what do we have to do to win a position?¡± ¡°You have to make a normal quality weapon or armor¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound too bad¡± ¡°This is our fourth time in this cave, and we¡¯ve been at this for a good 19 hours¡­It¡¯s difficult¡± he gets a bit grumpy ¡°Ok, guess it is pretty difficult. By the way, have there been PK¡¯s here?¡± ¡°There were 2 earlier, when it first started, about midday yesterday¡± ¡°Just get to the point; I don¡¯t want to know that whole history please¡± ¡°Right, long story short, nobody liked it and thus we¡¯ve all said no PK¡¯s. However gets the mine, takes the mine¡± ¡°Right, so you all camp out in this area?¡± ¡°Pretty much, the ores will respawn every 4 hours so there¡¯s a steady supply¡± ¡°A lot of ores in this cave?¡± ¡°Well a decent amount, about 20 iron veins pop up every 4 hours and in each vein you get from 3 to 5 ores¡± ¡°So it will take you around 3 veins to do?¡± ¡°Well 9 for us. But since we¡¯re 3, we can spread out and catch around 2 veins at a time¡± ¡°Wait, you said you¡¯ve done this 4 times already, so that¡¯s over 120 ore?¡± ¡°Well there were only 10 of us at the start, but Jarken kept shouting out in the square...and soon everyone knew about it¡­well almost everyone¡± ¡°I was busy¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, so how¡¯d the Leatherworking go, also can you stop smacking the ore, you¡¯ve got to mine it¡± ¡°Oh, right, I don¡¯t know how to¡± ¡°Teacher, I have finally surpassed you¡± Zzard says in utter glee ¡°Zzard¡­I¡¯ll allow that this time only¡± ¡°Hehe. Ok, so you don¡¯t hit the ore itself¡­you have to hit around it and chip the rock off. The ore will then be easily removed¡­like this¡± Zzard chips the rock off and then pulls off the ore with an oddly non-scaly hand. Ah, so that¡¯s how you do it. Brilliant¡­now I know how to mine ¡°Thank you o¡¯ mining master¡± I bow towards him Zzard looks so highly of himself...Zzoid gives me a discerning look¡­I¡¯m being serious here! We quickly mine the ore and a grateful 4 pieces fall out. Zzoid passes me one and that¡¯s one less to get. We quickly disperse along the walls. I think I forgot to answer his question¡­well whatever. Nothing happens for a few minutes, except for a couple of people mining here and there. Wait there¡¯s a lot of people mining in a small cave over in the corner, I sidle towards Zzoid ¡°Hey, why¡¯s there a bunch of people mining over there?¡± ¡°Oh they¡¯re trying to dig out a cave that some overzealous idiot dropped pretty early on¡± ¡°Ah, so there was more to the cave?¡± ¡°Yes, apparently it¡¯s quite a lot more since Braxus and a good 20 people went through before the collapse. And about 18 of them are back¡± ¡°So Braxus and a few others are still in there?¡± ¡°Yep, they¡¯ve been in there for a hell of a long time. I¡¯m pretty impressed that they haven¡¯t died yet¡± ¡°Stories from the others?¡± ¡°The goblins here are weak, but when they come in packs of 50¡­¡± ¡°I see¡­by the way, what level are they?¡± ¡°Level 3 I think¡­it¡¯s hard to get a look at them since they¡¯re killed so quickly¡± ¡°Kill!¡± A goblin voice makes me turn round and I immediately use identify
NAME:Goblin [lvl3] (aggressive)
Health:15/15Attack:3-3
Defense:1No resistances
Attacks by surrounding with fellow goblins Bites and punches
A goblin is a creature that often dwell in caves in masses
It died pretty much instantly¡­ Well I hope they open the cave soon because I¡¯ll have a whale of a time killing these goblins. ¡°So when the cave falls, are we going to go on a raid?¡± ¡°I think so, According to DillyDally, the elf dude, he¡¯s over there at the forefront of the digging¡± He points to a golden haired elf that is way too pretty for his own good¡­Also that hair is waay too long, almost down to his butt! ¡°Give me a minute, I need to talk to him, keep watching for veins without me¡± Seeing as though there are 20 veins every 4 hours and a whole bunch of people here¡­I¡¯m not going to get my 10 anytime soon. Best chance is to open more mine and explore for some more veins. I walk up to DillyDally who is sweating deeply and looks way out of place swinging a pick when he should be plucking a harp or something ¡°DillyDally¡± He stops mining and wipes some sweat off ¡°Who¡¯s asking?¡± His voice is a lot deeper than I thought it would be. ¡°I am, Joat. I heard you¡¯re digging through the wall¡± ¡°Sure am, been at it for 12 hours and we¡¯ve only dug a decent bit¡­since we can only get around 6 people at a time digging. You looking to join the dig?¡± ¡°Well I¡¯ve got nothing better to do for a while, so might as well get digging. But I want to talk about making a raid party¡± ¡°It¡¯s unofficial since we can only have 4 people in a party, but we¡¯ll work around that¡± ¡°Hmm, how about we make divisions? Make 2 divisions of 50 and that¡¯d be us all good. Always need to have a chain of command¡± ¡°And you want to lead one of them?¡± He certainly doesn¡¯t beat around the bush ¡°I¡¯ll take one, you another. Braxus takes top dog since he¡¯s lived for quite a while in there¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Was already thinking of that, but there¡¯s this competition for ores that will keep on going¡± He¡¯s already thought most of this out¡­so he¡¯s not just all hair ¡°Well make a rule that ores get shared evenly¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that altruistic?¡± He¡¯s got a point there ¡°How¡¯d the PK¡¯s stop?¡± ¡°¡­Good point there. That might work¡± Peer pressure is a powerful tool indeed. ¡°Better still, have the divisions switch out; 1 resting, 1 fighting¡± ¡°You¡¯ve thought quite a bit about this¡± He looks mildly impressed, seems as though he¡¯s thought similar ¡°A bit. So how about it?¡± ¡°Sounds good, but why would I make you a division leader?¡± He gives a devious grin...oh he''s trying to take it away from me? ¡°We¡¯ll let the crowd decide shall we?¡± I give him a devious grin before I walk away and back to Zzoid ¡°Zzoid, I¡¯ve gotten us a spot in the raid division¡± ¡°Great! But isn¡¯t everyone going to do it?¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m going to be a division leader, and I need a right hand man¡± I give him a wink ¡°Ah¡­sure, I¡¯ll play ball, as long as my Loli is in the division¡± ¡°She will be don¡¯t worry¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m in wholeheartedly, and I¡¯ll drag my brothers in for good measure¡± He grins. ¡°Great. Now tell me, how much longer do you think they¡¯ll take to dig out the wall?¡± ¡°Should take another 2 hours?¡± Ok, so I¡¯ve got 2 hours to convince people to make me a division leader, and if Braxus isn¡¯t here then maybe even raid leader¡­I like this already. I open up my friends list and hear DillyDally swear for some reason. Hey Braxus, heard you¡¯re stuck deep in goblin territory, how¡¯s it going? Joat¡­oh, hobgoblin guy! I died a minute ago. 3 hours and a raid group will be ready. You joining? He sounds quite angry, well more vengeful really. Will be, and I¡¯m sure you heard the situation from DillyDally Yes¡­if people want you they can have you. Cheers. See you in 3 hours Damn, guess I¡¯m not raid leader this time. Well back to becoming division leader. I send a message to the entire friends list To everyone who reads this message: In around 3 hours time, there will be a raid party forming to explore the caves west of the village. Raid leader will be Braxus and Division leaders will be me and DillyDally. To those who don¡¯t know who DillyDally is, he¡¯s got very long golden hair and he¡¯s an elf, pretty self explanatory. Braxus is the big red minotaur I, Joat, am a hobgoblin with grey wolf armor. The division leaders will each take care of around 50 people; DillyDally will lead those who began this game by hunting while I will lead those who started this game exploring the village¡­you know who you are. The divisions will then be split into 4 groups of 12 (so 3 parties in a group). Each group will be led by a Team leader, which Division leaders will choose. This is so that we¡¯ve got a chain of command and to minimize deaths. 1 rule: 1. All ores will be stored with team leaders and shared at the end of the raid, regardless of participation or death If you have a complaint, then don¡¯t hesitate to message me and it will be fixed. Phew that was a long message. Ok so that should give me my position as Division leader, since I took the initiative to ¡®officialy¡¯ make the raid group. So if DillyDally or Braxus try to do something funny...there''s going to be a divide between the players...heh And also, since I¡¯m wearing some badass armor, I¡¯m getting looks of respect and envy from a lot of people. I didn¡¯t actually notice before; almost everyone in this room has given me many glances¡­even my brothers have looked me over a couple of times. Well I do look flashy if I must say so myself¡­hehe I am the only person wearing something other than beginner clothes here¡­ ¡°So do you think I look the part of division leader?¡± I whisper to Zzoid who is beside me, busy reading my message. He glances at me ¡°Yep, hell, I think you¡¯ve got the look of raid leader with your clothes¡± ¡°Hehe, don¡¯t say dangerous things. Don¡¯t want to be gored by a nasty ass big red Minotaur or his buddies¡± I point towards DillyDally who is huffing slightly at my message. ¡°Good point. So any prep work?¡± ¡°You like my clothes? Want some of your own?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ha, he didn¡¯t see that coming ¡°Really, and I think that I might be able to get most of the raid group clothed¡­but I¡¯ll need a day to make enough for everyone¡± I raise my voice enough for many to stop working and listen in. Silence ¡­ .. . ¡°You¡¯ll really do that?¡± DillyDally gives me a raised eyebrow, pretty much speaking for everyone here. ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ll need a day and I¡¯ll have to round up my fellow leatherworkers¡± ¡°Oh there¡¯s more of you?¡± ¡°Yeah there¡¯s 11 of us but I know 5 won¡¯t be on till tomorrow so the 6 of us may take quite a while¡± ¡°Can you t-¡± ¡°No, It took us 18 hours with a professional teaching¡­I don¡¯t even want to dream how long it would take for me to teach anyone else¡± Sorry but I don¡¯t give out my skills for free DillyDally¡­ ¡°Ah, a shame¡­well since we¡¯re not all going to be mining ores like hooligans, we ought to help you collect the required materials no?¡± He really wants some armor like the rest then¡­hehe ¡°Yes that would be great. It¡¯ll take 40 hours if just us 11 worked. But¡­if I had 20 people to help with the tanning, then we should be able to do it in around 15 hours¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan¡± ¡°Ah ah wait there a second; we¡¯re not doing this free¡± DillyDally *Tches*, hehe I¡¯m not doing this for free. I tap on my window sending a fake message and wait for a few seconds as if reading a reply ¡°We want to make our trade free for the moment. So that when the swords and metal armor can be made, that is also free for the moment. We should all help eachother out no?¡± DillyDally muses over it, but it¡¯s not his decision¡­Mob thinking is indeed omnipotent. Everyone around thinks about it and nods strongly at the idea¡­since it¡¯s a win win situation for everyone¡­except those who gain the blacksmith skill¡­but even then they¡¯ll get practice on the skill. *Ding* Zzoid sends me a transcript of the conversation, which I copy and send to everyone. Now everyone knows. Zzoid is a great right hand man. *Ding* Who is that? Girl, interesting things again. I want a nice weapon so I¡¯m in. Cheers Thrash, but I¡¯M A GUY You know you¡¯re a girl, and I¡¯ll go to Jenna¡¯s Damn Thrash Anyways¡­ ¡°OK, so I need 20 people who want a boring ass job to build some racks and then sit there and tan the leather¡± ¡­ .. . Oh cmon, not a single volunteer? ¡°It¡¯s either that or hunting right?¡± Zzoid asks sneakily¡­good man ¡°Yep¡± I answer back, holding my grin down ¡°I¡¯LL DO IT¡± ¡°COUNT ME IN¡± A whole bunch of people scream out to do it, mostly the girls. Well I imagine they don¡¯t exactly like the murdering of wolves¡­ I randomly pick 20 people. ¡°Ok, you lot, follow me to Jenna¡¯s. The rest; we need 445 pelts of at least medium quality¡­so be careful with your skinning or you¡¯ll be there forever¡± A chorus of Ok¡¯s and I feel awesome as I lead 20 people through the forest. So many dead wolves later, I feel completely godly: Ordering around 20 people is such a great feeling. Those wolves didn¡¯t stand a chance. I¡¯m a bit busy to see who my 20 are because I¡¯m getting a couple of death threats from a certain Bottom and Reddwarf¡­Oh must be those guys. Also Lancel is sending me some horrible too¡­¡¯I¡¯ll bash your brains out you annoying bastard selling us out like that¡¯¡­That¡¯s nice. Ooh, Ravena just logged online, a whole hour and a bit before she said she was going to come online¡­ Suddenly the death threats stop *Ding* We¡¯ll do this work, sounds like a good idea Similar messages from the rest of the minion trio I open my chat with Ravena. Wolf coming my way¡­And it¡¯s dead ¡°Thanks whoever just killed it¡± ¡°No problem boss¡± A light voice from¡­Squirrel-beastlady from way earlier¡­ah she¡¯s here. Ok, messaging Ravena now. Thanks for the help No problem, it¡¯s a great decision, I need a new weapon. You mean you need a weapon Almost the same thing, but do I have to do so much work? Luckily we¡¯re just doing the leatherworking itself. Skinning and tanning we¡¯ve got assistants for. Smart boy I don¡¯t think she¡¯s being condescending¡­ Will see you at Jenna¡¯s Already there, with my minion trio Wow she doesn¡¯t even deny it. Well that¡¯s 6 of us so far¡­ Sadly everyone else is offline, even Baila. Hmm, poor girl must¡¯ve been extremely tired. Well we¡¯ll just have to do with 6. *Ding* So I¡¯ve got a couple of people cutting down trees to make racks. DillyDally being helpful¡­but I feel this isn¡¯t free. What¡¯s the price? Give team leaders colours and give me and Braxus better looking leather¡­to distinguish us of course. That¡¯ll work fine. But I¡¯ll need an extra 50 pieces of leather for all the extras. I¡¯ll personally make the special ones while I let the mass have the normal clothes, But I need people to grab flowers of all colours. Will do I send everyone a list of flowers telling them that they should bring flowers of their wanted colours, as well as picking some black and white. There will be enough people hunting, so they will find the flowers no problem. Closing that chat, I see a wolf get kicked to death infront of me¡­that¡¯s nice guys¡­couldn¡¯t kill it less brutally? So much work without me doing anything, whoo! We quickly make our way back to the village and I make my way to Jenna¡¯s. The trio of minions are outside with Thrash and are filling lots of basins of water. In the dozens right now¡­Ravena is already thinking ahead, smart woman. Walking inside, ignoring their evil glares (not Thrash), I see Jenna nodding her head while Ravena speaks¡­. She¡¯s making this side work too. Wow, I¡¯ve never had time to directly look at her¡­damn. She¡¯s got a sizeable booty as well as a good chest, I see as she turns around to greet me. Also, wearing a full turtleneck dress ¡­ .. . I¡¯ve seen that body before¡­ I look her over once more from head to toe. Wow, I¡¯ve definitely seen that body before. However when I look at her face, most of it is covered by her sleek black hair. Never noticed before but I can¡¯t really see what her face looks like¡­odd. But I still feel she¡¯s got a beautiful face, call it instinct. Anyways, I¡¯ll check on those matters another time, right now is time to work¡­sadly. ¡°Jenna, hey¡± ¡°You! Barely a few hours since you¡¯ve learnt how to do it and you¡¯re already trying to clothe all your fellow Orphans¡± She''s not angry with me...I think? ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m ambitious¡± Ravena gives me a grin¡­her mouth is somehow not concealed...sexy and mysterious ¡°Salt and Oil will be free¡± ¡°What¡¯s the payment¡± that¡¯s a lot of oil and salt going to be used¡­and I don¡¯t believe in free things. ¡°Nothing¡± Jenna speaks in¡­hmm? I turn to Ravena ¡°How?¡± She shrugs¡­guess it wasn¡¯t her own work ¡°I have the stuff and nothing to do with it. The goblins have always been pests for the village so the village is all for this ¡®raid¡¯. Also I don¡¯t like to see you wearing tattered rags. It¡¯s shameful to this village which you are helping so nicely¡± ¡°Thank¡¯s Jenna! Ravena, we¡¯re going to have a lot of work, so this will be long and hard¡± ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re talking about your work there?¡± ¡­ .. . Oh, I was so engrossed in the work to come I actually missed that¡­ ¡°Well if you haven¡¯t fallen for me yet, just let me show my power¡± I chuckle and I walk outside. Outside there¡¯s the 20 people from before, the minion trio and Thrash. ¡°You guys, we¡¯ll be getting to work soon, so good luck!¡± ¡°YEA!¡± Everyone is mildly hyped¡­ Damn, I really thought I was finished with leatherworking for the moment¡­
Soo, start of a new arc, and well it got pretty hectic so quickly... Anyways, thanks for reading and if you really want to, give me a rating/review (but not just a simple Thanks for hte chapter! because I go a bit crazy when those suddenly stop coming...Ah it''s so aaagh!) -TRUE NORRRRRRRD 17. Raid Preparations (Baila¡¯s POV) *Yawwwn* Ah that was a nice rest ¡­ .. . Oh god! I jump out my bed grabbing my phone from the counter. It¡¯s midday! I quickly grab my cute bunnies that are just waking up from their lazy sleep, and take them outside. Watching them do their business¡­I tap my foot slightly in annoyance. How did I oversleep?! I quickly rush my cuties inside and after giving them a little cuddle; I grab myself a quick ready meal for lunch, sweet and sour, ugh. Quick shower? Nah, don¡¯t need it. I let my cuties hop in the house while I go back to my room and jump back into ARIA. *Whoosh* ¡°HEY CAN I HAVE BLUE?¡± ¡°WOLFY HAS BLUE¡± ¡°NEED SOME LEATHER OVER HERE¡± ¡°BRACERS OVER HERE¡± ¡°STOP CUTTING THE LINE¡± ¡°GUYS I NEED ANOTHER LEATHER¡± ¡°MORE LEATHER¡± ¡°WE¡¯RE RUNNING OUT OF PINK¡± ¡°HOW THE HELL ARE WE RUNNING OUT OF PINK?¡± ¡°YOU LOT, GO GRAB SOME MORE INGREDIENTS¡± ¡°SHIPMENT OF NARCOTINE OVER HERE¡± ¡°GIVE TO JOAT NOW!¡± ¡­ .. . Just what in the name of Aiag is happening? ¡­ ¡­ -A short while earlier- (Joat''s POV) ¡°GIVE IT TO JOAT NOW!¡± I scream towards the incoming dog-beastman with floopy brown ears. He rushes towards me and and quickly trades me the berries. ¡°SQUIRREL, HOW WE DOING?¡± Having to shout over the bustling crowd of people talking in unison and chatting amongst themselves is quite the pain¡­but when you have close to 100 people in the square¡­not much can be done about that. ¡°ON SCHEDULE; 28 SETS MADE. AND I¡¯M TIKARI!!¡± ¡°JUST GET BACK TO WORK¡± ¡°WILL DO BOSS¡± She continues to oversee everything. Man, lucky she offered to take the job of overseeing things, because I sure as hell am not going to do that job. ¡°JOAT¡± I whip around to see who¡¯s called my name. ¡°DILLYDALLY, PERFECT!¡± I was getting bored doing nothing here. We¡¯ve been at it for 5 hours now¡­and I haven¡¯t many useful things yet. I motion for DillyDally to come over. ¡°SQUIRREL, HEAD ROUND¡± ¡°TIKARI! YOU HEARD THE BOSS, HEAD ROUND¡± Everyone immediately slices off the heads off their pelts and runs them up to me¡­Well I only needed 3¡­ Guess this is all I need for everyone. I look to Thrash, who¡¯s working the chest piece, and steal one off him much to his clients annoyance. ¡°WARN ME?¡± He asks ¡°NO TIME¡± I quickly reshape the chest piece to fit DillyDally and then stitch a wolf head on either shoulder. The finishing touch is placing a wolf head on his head and voila, he¡¯s Division leader material. ¡°NOW MOVE TO ANOTHER LINE TO GET YOUR OTHER EQUIPMENT¡± ¡°WILL DO¡± He rushes off to join another line. And that¡¯s 1 person done on my end¡­Being the guy who makes the stuff for leaders is quite a boring job¡­ I turn to watch my line of workers; Thrash, Bottom, Lancel, Ravena and Reddwarf, all sitting in a line creating armor for the masses. Thrash is working chestpieces, Bottom the armguards and Lancel, the helmet. Ravena is working boots while Reddwarf is working the shorts. Everyone is getting shorts, because that way I don¡¯t look out of place (plus it uses less leather). Everyone gets a single layer of shirt, shorts, boots, arm guards and helmet. The leaders get wolf head decorations. ¡°BOSS, RAVENA¡¯S GONE¡± ¡°DAMN, SEND HER LINE TO ME¡± That¡¯s the 4th time this hour. I¡¯m lucky that the ratio of girls to guys is around 30:70. I spot Ravena rushing inside Jenna¡¯s, taking a cute dog-beastlady with floppy ears with her. Luckily(?) most girls have some modesty so when they¡¯re doing shorts or chestpieces, Ravena has to sort them out inside. The large queue of about 30 people rush up to me and I¡¯m face to face with the Red Slime ¡°GIVE ME YOUR FEET¡± He stands on my workbench and I get working. Making some staple boots with thick soles, I¡¯m done in 8 minutes. Aagh, another person. Why do I have to work? I wish there was someone else who cou- ¡°TIKARI GRAB REDHEAD RABBIT, SHE¡¯S A LEATHERWORKER. SET HER TO BOOT WORK¡± ¡°YES BOSS¡± she seems happy I called her name, it¡¯s important, I¡¯m doing work and I want to stop. I turn back to my customer; a pink pig-beastman ¡°YOU, FOLLOW RED-RABBIT, SHE¡¯LL DO YOUR BOOTS. AND THAT GOES FOR THE REST OF YOU¡± I see Baila get picked up and quickly dragged over to Ravena¡¯s workbench. My crowd rushes over to her¡­leaving me feeling both happy and empty for some reason. I open up my chat Ravena, you¡¯ve got girl duty, Baila¡¯s here and she¡¯s taken over Ok send them up ¡°SQUIRREL, RAVENA¡¯S WORKING GIRLS¡± ¡°OK BOSS. LISTEN UP EVERYBODY! GIRLS WHO NEED SHORTS OR CHESTPIECES LINE UP AT JENNA¡¯S. FISH SISTERS, YOUR LEATHER GOES TO JENNA¡¯S¡± I¡¯m so lucky that I have someone like her working with me. And god, she doesn''t even have commanding shout yet... She became the ¡®director¡¯ of the operation soon after we started, simply because she can shout LOUD. And she¡¯s got pretty good directive skills. I have a right hand man, and I found my left hand woman. ¡°BOSS, BLACK IS LOW¡± ¡°ON IT¡± I stand up and walk over to the opposite side of the square. Only about 40 people are around here dunking their new pieces of leather in their desired coloured water. I saw that pretty much everyone would get one piece done and then colour it before lining up for their next piece. And it looks like people read my sign too! I look at my large sign that I made, with the help of the Village Elder (he provided the utensils to write and the ¡®paper¡¯). RULES OF COLOURING: 1. ONLY HAVE A MAXIMUM OF 3 COLOURS IN YOUR SET OF CLOTHING 2. DON¡¯T MIX WATERS Nice and simple but I had to prop that up after some idiot, still haven¡¯t found out who, decided to try make a rainbow coloured chestpiece¡­Result was, I had to wash about 30 basins out and recolour them¡­what a pain. Took me a whole 3 hours to make all 72 ¡®base¡¯ colours and one idiot had me redo another 30¡­I¡¯m amazed we¡¯re still on track because Ravena had to go on girl duty and no one could do boots. She must¡¯ve worked like a hurricane when she went back to boot duty. Anyways, I quickly spot the black water basin¡­someone¡¯s spilt it ¡°DOES THIS LOOK GOOD ON ME¡± ¡°HAHA! YOU LOOK LIKE SOME OFF SUPERHERO¡± ¡°PERFECT¡± A Canary-beastman is showing off to a tiger-beastman¡­even here, everyone is talking and thus shouting over the mass of talking. I¡¯m going to go deaf soon, if I¡¯m not already. The canary-beastman is wearing a black chestpiece and shorts¡­still wet. ¡°YOU! DID YOU KNOCK THE BASIN¡± ¡°WHA-OH¡­SORRY BUT I TRIPPED ON IT¡± His right leg is slightly black¡­so he¡¯s not lying. ¡°NO PROBLEM, JUST BE A BIT MORE CAREFUL¡± ¡°WILL DO¡± they duo run off back to a queue. Taking the spilt basin to the well, I quickly fill it up; crush some Narcotine in them and that¡¯s black back in action. Ok, now what to do¡­now that Baila¡¯s taking my work, haha! ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) THAT BASTARD! Unbeleviable¡­absolutely unbeleviable! First he completely ignores me for 10 mintues¡­10 MINUTES! And then he conscripts me to make shoes¡­SHOES! I HATE SHOES! Hell, he doesn¡¯t even conscript me himself! HE MAKES A STRANGER DO IT FOR HIM!! AAAAAGH! I can¡¯t wait to get my spear from all this work and then I¡¯ll ram it up his a- ¡°OWOWOW MISS CAN YOU STOP STABBING MY WITH THE NEEDLE PLEASE¡± ¡°SORRY, WAS LOST IN MY OWN THOUGHTS¡± ¡°JUST DON¡¯T GET LOST IN THEM WHILE SOWING MY SHOES PLEASE¡± The person who is shouting at me, whom I barely just hear, is a large grey rhinocerous-beastman. Lucky his hide is tough but it apparently wasn¡¯t tough enough as I see small wellings of blood on his feet. Whoops! I just really want to kill Joat right now! Even if he¡¯s a ¡®division leader¡¯ and basically giving people free weapons and armor¡­I still want to make him pay for all the evil he¡¯s done for me. Soon, very soon I will have my revenge. ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°BRAXEL, YOU LOOK AWESOME¡± I shout towards him ¡°YES¡± He swishes his new cloak, much to the appreciation of the crowd. The cloak I made him is just a simple fur cloak(made of leather so it''s a bit more stiff than you''d think), but since it¡¯s the only cloak in the village right now¡­it¡¯s pretty special. He¡¯s also got the wolf heads on the shoulder and head for sake of distinguishment. Whoo, with Braxel done that¡¯s my work finished. And now¡­I¡¯ve got nothing to do for a hell of a long time ¡°SQUIRREL, HOW MANY SETS WE MADE?¡± ¡°52 BOSS. IF WE KEEP THIS UP WE SHOULD BE DONE IN 9 HOURS¡± ¡­ .. . A hell of a long time it indeed is¡­ 52 sets have been made, but no one is fully equipped yet; most people have 2 pieces while most of Ravena¡¯s girls have 3 pieces. The leaders have 4. Hmm, should I pick my team leaders? Right now¡­I¡¯ve got Thrash for Vanguard. Squirrel and Zzoid will be ¡®advisors¡¯ so they¡¯ll be separate from the other groups¡­hmm, I need to find 3 more team leaders¡­or do I get the parties to choose themselves? Getting others to pick might be easier. Ok, that will be sorted soon¡­ ¡°TIKARI¡± ¡°BOSS¡± She shouts at me with new enthusiasm¡­she definitely prefers it when I call her by her name ¡°GET EVERYONE TO SHUT UP¡± ¡°OK¡­QUIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET¡± ... .. . That worked just fine¡­god she¡¯s got a loud voice. I run up the tavern steps, getting everyone in view ¡°OK everybody, we¡¯re going to change around how things work. First, everyone who has 4 pieces of armor, you get priority. Then those with 3 and lastly those with 2. Therefore, everyone with 2 pieces of armor; you have 2 jobs¡± ¡°Ok¡­and what are these jobs?¡± Honey asks ¡°The first one is to go hunting and woodcutting to have enough food, leather and fire for some days. The second, is to help level up those who are still level 3. If no one in your party is level 3, grab someone who is¡± ¡°Levels don¡¯t make a difference; they¡¯ll just add 5 stat points which aren¡¯t really used for much¡± A pig says as he snorts Most people shake their heads at him saying things such as ¡°moron¡± or ¡°noob¡±¡­Well he does seem like one it seems. ¡°5 stat points will make all the difference. Anyways, do those tasks, as well as skin more pelts in case we need to repair the armor¡­I will send a message when you are free to be given new armor.¡± ¡°OK¡± Everyone shouts and then head off to do what they need to do. Only around 20 people leave¡­wow we had a lot more people with 3 armor pieces than I thought¡­ They all line up and the lines look a lot less menacing now¡­ What to do, what to do¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (Anoobis¡¯ POV) I¡­am a genius. Hehe, haha, HAHAHA!!! Now, time to show all these moronic people the genius that is I¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Dinner break Boss¡­Boss¡­can you make me those too?¡± ¡°Squirrel, I¡¯ll make you a special pair later ok¡± ¡°OK, thank you!¡± ¡°No problem, you earned it¡± ¡­ .. . I¡¯m not sure whether that was the right line to use¡­ Anyways, finally time to eat! These past hours have been quite difficult for me. I go outside and sit in the decently large circle of people. All 28 of us are worked to the bone. 7 of us make armor, 1 ordered everything and the other 20 tanned for most of the time. We did exchange them here and there so that they could get some armor too in these past 14 hours¡­jesus has it been that long? But the original 20, which are these lot, did most of the work...and they¡¯re still at it. Squirrel sits by me and rest her head on my shoulder looking way out of it¡­well she has been shouting for ages¡­I¡¯m amazed she can still speak. I¡¯m ignoring the glances of anger from Baila and the wiggling eyebrows from the rest¡­ ¡°Cheers!¡± we all raise cups of water, where from I don¡¯t know, and gulp it down happily ¡°So, Squirrel, how many have we done?¡± I ask, to give the others some idea of where the light at the end of this tunnel is ¡°Boss, let me sleep will you. You¡¯ve been working me hard all day¡± She opens her little drooped eyes and gives me a tired look. Wow he small whiskers on her face actually suit her. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Right, right, sorry. Just this little question¡± ¡°Boss¡­we¡¯ve fully equipped 60 people, and we¡¯ve got 29 people with 2 pieces of armor. It should only take us another 3 hours¡± Everyone sighs in both relief and fatigue. It¡¯s only 3 hours¡­but also its 3 hours to go. ¡°So Joat, what have you been doing these past couple of hours?¡± The indigo fish-beastlady asks curiously... At least these ¡®Fish sisters¡¯ look slightly different, unlike another scaly bunch¡­There¡¯s an indigo, red, pink and purple. And they look decently pretty? I mean, women who have scaled skin are decently limited in their beauty Anyways, I should respond to her question ¡­ .. . But how do I respond to that without damaging my reputation? ¡°Boss is refining woman¡¯s underwear¡± Squirrel says with a grin *TWITCH* Squirrel¡­god dammit! ¡°I see¡± Baila says that with so much killing intent¡­I¡¯m truly terrified. Though, oddly enough, most people look quite happy(?) about the fact that I¡¯m doing that. The guys have a grin on their faces¡­except for Bottom and Reddwarf¡­must have been traumatized. The girls also have grins on their faces¡­but a lot more innocent¡­I think? ¡°Oh that¡¯s perfect, I was getting to hate this granny pants anyway¡± The pink fish-sister looks like she¡¯s looking forward for some better underwear. These past 5 hours have been quite difficult for me¡­because girls are so demanding when it comes to their underwear! I did have to concede and say no to some of their ideas, because no way am I going to make proper lingerie with just leather. But thankfully a decent amount of them wanted g-strings or just panties and even more thankfully(?) I¡¯ve not had to witness them walking out in their underwear¡­ Their bras just have less material now and that was easy to do. I firmly stated I couldn¡¯t do any padded or push-ups¡­because I personally feel a bit let down when I find that C cup was only just a B¡­ Clothes are a man¡¯s bane sometimes¡­ Anyways, the underwear took a surprisingly long time and I¡¯ve only gotten around 20 pieces done in these 5 hours¡­mostly because they did not back down in having me do inscriptions on the underwear, like pictures and whatnot¡­Seriously they¡¯re way too picky for their underwear. So I¡¯ve only got another 10 or so girls to do¡­but one of them is Baila¡­So that¡¯s going to go real well¡­not. Also, I haven¡¯t seen BC or Charmine yet¡­so I¡¯m fearing that too. And I can¡¯t forget that I¡¯ve got PJ and PinkyS to do too¡­ Oh god, these next 3 hours will be horrible. Though I won¡¯t be able to do PJ or PinkyS till much later¡­so I¡¯ve got time to prepare for them at least¡­ It¡¯s quite close to morning right now; around 4 hours to go. Ok, enough of a break, I want to finish this off before morning Everyone who doesn¡¯t have a full set of armor, come to the square. Others who have a full set of armor¡­come anyways because I need you guys for something. ¡°Time to get back to work everyone¡± *Groans* ¡°Just think of the weapons we¡¯ll get¡­I¡¯m personally looking forward to my daggers¡± Thank you Squirrel for the small rally Everyone gazes wistfully at the moon, probably thinking about their own weapons¡­ ¡­ ¡°LISTEN UP¡± The entire square goes silent. Ah, commanding shout is beautiful¡­ ¡°Those without a full set of armor, raise your hands¡± I quickly count 29. ¡°You lot stay here; take turns tanning and having armor built for yourselves¡± They all nod ¡°My division, I¡¯d like you to stay behind so that I can talk groupings and whatnot with you¡± ¡°My division will be doing the same, by the village gate¡± DillyDally states. Sneaky guy came up her with Braxel. Good point¡­Braxel is the top dog for the raid group. ¡°We will raid at dawn¡± Braxel is not a man of many words¡­ ¡°YES¡± The crowd seems happy to actually be going on a raid soon. Out of the 60, almost all of them leave for the village gate¡­Well whoops, we accidentally did their entire group first¡­well whatever. Left in the square is 45, well 46 if you count me, people. Nice, only those 4 people are missing right now. ¡°Ok, I am division leader Joat, if you still didn¡¯t know who I was¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to not know the guy with badass armor and shorts¡± Zzoid grins from the crowd *Twitch* Look, the shorts are cool too¡­ ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll now introduce you to my right and left advisors for this raid. Zzoid and Tikari come on up¡± The two of them walk up nonchalantly¡­what, no sauntering? I point to the two of them and then give them each a wolf head for a helmet. I made some in the small amount of freetime I had. Everyone nods at my choice of Squirrel but most frown at the unknown Zzoid. ¡°Party¡¯s won¡¯t matter so don¡¯t bother trying to make them, they don¡¯t have any effect right now so no point limiting our groups with them¡± Zzoid says some clever things¡­which most people think and nod at it. He¡¯s secured his positions well. ¡°Now I¡¯d like everyone who has an attack of 50 to stay standing, the rest sit down¡± Thrash, BC, Zzard and the minion trio stay standing up, along with an Orange tiger-beastman and a White tiger-beastman. Hmm, that¡¯s 8¡­ ¡°Anybody with an attack over 40, stand up¡± A kobold with a wispy white beard stands up and is accompanied by a female gnoll¡­the only reason I know that is because she¡¯s got quite a bust, and her face is decently feminine¡­which is a bit strange because it¡¯s the face of a hyena¡­ Brilliant, so that¡¯s 10¡­a good number ¡°Ok, Thrash, the wolf with a wolf head, will be your team leader. You guys are the Attack team¡± ¡°Why is that punk got to be our boss? Why aren¡¯t we any better? Favouritism?¡± Reddwarf isn¡¯t happy, but he is a gnome so I¡¯m quite impressed he¡¯s got over 50 attack¡­so I reckon he feels he¡¯s deserving of team leader ¡°No you¡¯re not! Thrash, state your level and you attack¡± I give an innocent smile to the crowd ¡°Level 5, 101 attack¡± ¡­ .. . Holy mother of Aiag¡­I thought it was only 81? He must¡¯ve leveled when we were out gathering flowers and he leveled with the leatherworking too¡­and put all his points in brutality it seems¡­ Everyone else looks as shocked as me. That¡¯s not a 1 hit kill for some of us¡­but still¡­that¡¯s a 3 digit damage number at level 5¡­In a normal game I¡¯d be calling hacks upon just hearing that. ¡°You think he¡¯s strong enough to lead now?¡± ¡°That will do¡± Reddwarf concedes pretty nicely¡­that¡¯s kind of him. The rest of the group nods and gives Thrash a pat on his back¡­he looks chuffed and also gives me a knowing wink¡­but he doesn¡¯t know anything or he thinks he does and he¡¯s completely wrong...He totally took it the wrong way¡­ ¡°Ok, so you guys, start tanning leather while I deal with the rest¡± They head off to do that ¡°The rest of you¡­whoever has more than 200hp stand up¡± ¡­ .. . No one, great! ¡°Hmm, who would like to play tank?¡± Well having a tank would be obvious and since it¡¯s a raid we need multiple. ¡­ .. . Guess no one likes getting hit¡­well that was obvious. I look at Squirrel and Zzoid¡­this is why you¡¯re here guys! ¡°Whoever tanks gets a free hide shield and you¡¯ll get more rests within the raid¡± Zzoid says to the crowd ¡°I¡¯LL DO IT¡± Quite a few people shout and stand up at the mention of either rest or a shield...well probably because of the rest, but I like to think that somebody wants the shield. ¡°Good to see so many people are so willing¡± I let the sarcasm drip A couple look a bit ashamed but for the sake of rest they continue to stand up. I pick the bigger looking people; The Fish Sisters, a fat Hippopotamus-beastman, a black panther-beastman, a black panther-beastlady, a yellow leopard-beastman, A bulldog-beastman and a wild looking elf with unkempt long grey hair. 10 people will work as a first line of defense. I direct the cat family and the hippo together while I put the elf and the fish sisters together¡­I swear I can see him mouthing thanks to me? ¡°So that¡¯s our 2 Shield team. Each will have a team leader chosen by the teams themselves¡± The nod at that and after quick deliberation and a small intergroup chat, The Hippo and the Elf are chosen as leaders¡­simply because they¡¯re different probably? Also the ¡®cat¡¯ people don¡¯t look like they talk much and the Elf volunteered much to the Sister¡¯s delight. ¡°Ok, you lot go help the tanning, and team leaders, ask Thrash to make you a wolf head for your shoulder as a symbol of your status¡± They nod and walk off, about 5 metres¡­ ¡°So the rest of you¡­there¡¯s 23 you left. I¡¯d like 10 of you to become backup shield teams and 10 of you to be the Skirmish team. The remaining 3 will be a support squad, which isn¡¯t an easy job¡± I give them a minute to mull over their options ¡°Those who want to be in the backup shield teams¡­stand up¡± Good, more of a response this time. A total of 12 people stand up and I choose: A red turtle, a white and a blue deer-beastladies, a young beardless dwarf, a baby elephant beast-man (which is still as big as me) and 5 redhead Goat-beastmen with horns and cloven hooves¡­ Wow¡­that¡¯s some satyr wannabe¡¯s right here. However, although they¡¯re the same colour, they¡¯re visibly decently different; each has a scar somewhere different on their faces. So I¡¯ll call them, Righty, Lefty, Mouthy, Nosy and Chinny. That¡¯ll separate them just fine. Splitting them up into 2 Shield teams (the wannabe satyrs on one and the others on another), they each choose a team leader. Chinny and the Dwarf are team leaders. ¡°Ok, you guys head off and get your equipment sorted. Next up is Skirmish team¡± Almost everyone stands up. ¡°I¡¯m only choosing 7 for here, because I know 3 who are definitely part of the Skirmish group, but won¡¯t be on till dawn. So that will mean we¡¯ll have 6 people on the support squad¡± Some grumble but they don¡¯t say anything¡­I¡¯m guessing they trust my judgement somewhat. The ones I chose were: Baila, the Canary-beastman and the tiger-beastman from before and a bunch of bird-beastmen/beastlady¡¯s I¡¯m really bad at birds so¡­there¡¯s a magpie? There¡¯s a robin? Also there¡¯s a bald bird-beastman with a white beard and brown feathered hands¡­Oh¡­a bald eagle? The last one, I have no idea what kind of bird it is; it¡¯s blue¡­and its fat¡­bluebird? Is that a thing? ¡°Ok, so bird-beastmen/lady¡¯s together and Krudel, which is the skeleton, will be team leader for the second skirmish team ¡°What about me?¡± both the tiger-beastman and Baila look a bit miffed as they say that ¡°Have some faith in me will you¡± ¡°¡­fine¡­Joat¡± Ok Baila, I¡¯m going to ignore the hateful intent you are giving me as best as I can The tiger-beastman huffs, but concedes as well. ¡°Ok, you guys, get the rest of your armor¡± They head off to the rest of the teams ¡°Now the rest of you, will be my support team¡± ¡°Erm¡­what do we do; support?¡± A beaver-beastlady says looking a bit lost ¡°You¡¯ll have 3 roles; the first being that you¡¯ll be replacements for any deaths that happen within the raid group¡± They nod at that, good. ¡°The second role is that you have to maintain a balanced communication with either Zzoid or Tikari¡± They raise their eyebrows at that, along with most of the group over there working ¡°What do you mean by that brother?¡± Zzand asks confused ¡°Each of you will act as messengers for each team; Zzoid will be in charge of the Shield teams while Tikari will be in touch with the Attack and Skirmish teams¡± ¡°Hmm, that would work well, keeping orders concise and easily transmitted¡± The old crow-beastman muses with a wrinkled and clawed hand. Everyone thinks the idea over for a few seconds before I hear multiple dings on either side of me. Hah, smart people, sending their friend requests. The support team also gives friend requests to eachother. ¡°So what is the third thing?¡± A brown monkey-beastlady speaks up ¡°You will be an independent unit, who will help at their own accord when necessary¡­I trust you have the right mind to make such decisions¡± ¡°Hmm, so working as replacements but also as a separate unit, so that means we can make decisions without having to ask the boss¡± Ravena speaks to herself, earning her quite a few dodgy stares. But everyone nods at her thought¡­because this will allow for quicker action with some tactics. Yes that is a third reason...but the real reason was because I really don''t want to try learn a good 50 names...I only need to learn 7 now ¡°Ok, so with that sorted, let¡¯s get to work¡± ¡°YES BOSS¡± ¡­ ¡­ (Anoobis¡¯ POV) ¡°LOOK! LOOK ALL OF YOU AT THE GENIUS THAT IS ME! BOW DOWN AT MY GREATNESS MY INGENIOUSITY AND MY GENEROSITY IN SHARING THIS DIVINE KNOWLEDGE WITH YOU¡± ... .. . ¡°You are¡­genius¡± The big red Minotaur says amazed ¡°Yes, yes I am" ¡­ ¡­
Thank you for the mass of ratings...I''m extremely happy :D....although I did get a guy who didn''t like my characters...but can''t please everyone. Also Anubbisk...I thank you verrrrrry much for the detailed rating and i would love for you to give me a 6/5 for my characters :P -TRUE NORRRRRRD
[quote=''TrueNORD'' pid=''337790'' dateline=''1442272399''] 18. Raiding Time (Joat¡¯s POV) *Whoosh* The sounds of people re-logging finally stops, and I see the rising sun dawn over the village, over my division ¡°Oook, everyone here? Count yourselves out¡± ¡°1¡± ¡°2¡± ¡°3¡± They start shouting ascending numbers. Overall, my members look pretty well off; all members of the Shield teams have a hide shield. The hide shield, we made by getting some wooden discs (which we collected from Jenna¡¯s barrels, once we asked her of course) and covering them in a wolf pelt. However, because we made those shields, we ended up running out of time and most of the Attack, Skirmish and Support teams don¡¯t have helmets. But I told them how the armor works so they were mostly alright with it. ¡°47¡± ¡°48¡± ¡°49¡± ¡­ .. . Where¡¯s number 50? I look at everyone confused ¡°It¡¯s you boss¡± ¡°50¡± I smile, as if nothing ever happened. So everyone is online, even Miss Nameless, Sharpy and the Pinky¡¯s. The all came on about 20 minutes ago, looking forward to play¡­but were caught by surprise at what was going on. Sharpy was a bit unsettled, ok quite angry, about being separated from Miss Nameless so I had to assign her as the support messenger for his team. Pinky¡¯s took the raid news well, but I could feel that PinkyS seemed quite sad about something¡­ I open up my chat DillyDally, my division is ready to go Good timing. Meet up at the cave ¡°To the cave!¡± I walk in the front and let everyone follow me¡­ahhh, such a powerful feeling. We walk through the forest¡­the wolves don¡¯t even stand a chance. The wolves have 30 hp and it takes even the weakest player only 3 hits to kill them. I had everyone get the strength stat as well as the Vit, if they didn¡¯t have brutality. This is so they can do some damage and live longer. We can do this without worry because stats are removed upon death¡­so we can all play around with adding stats. However, assigning points is permanent¡­which is a bit strange; because if you don¡¯t get the stat back¡­you won¡¯t have those points either. Bit of a strange system, but then again; if you¡¯re assigning points then you probably are going to want to use that stat again. So I guess that stops people completely rebuilding their characters upon death¡­ We quickly reach the cave, seeing it filled with people. Great! Everyone¡¯s here. ¡°Raid Leader Braxel, we¡¯ve come!¡± I give him a wave and he gives me a nod. Everyone gives our hide shields a good look, they look mildly impressed¡­Why only mildly? Anyways, I walk up to him and stand by him in the mouth of the new cave, with DillyDally at his right. Everyone looks our way and quickly hush eachother to silence. ¡°Let¡¯s go kill some goblins¡± Braxel says gruffly ¡°YEA¡± Braxel turns and walks into the cave. I quickly follow behind him. The cave is a corridor that we walk through 5 a side, but the corridor quickly ends up in a large spacious cavern, with 7 exits. However we¡¯re not the only ones in the cavern ¡­ .. . ¡°CHARGE¡± Braxel yells as he charges ¡°KILL¡± the mass of 10 goblins charge too Well¡­I won¡¯t even bother charging, because Braxel just killed 3 already¡­ About 3 seconds after the charge started¡­it ends. ¡°So Braxel¡­which corridor do we take?¡± I go up to him while he¡¯s wiping a bit of goblin blood off his horns. ¡°We don¡¯t¡± ¡­ .. . Ok? We''re all quite confused on what to do and silently ponder for a couple of minutes until we hear footsteps come from one of the exits. ¡°INTRUDERS? KILL!¡± More goblins? We all turn around to see a group of 11 coming out one of the exits. So 1 more? Ok, no big deal. ¡°CHAARGE¡± Braxel leads 50 people on a charge that literally demolishes the goblins¡­wow that¡¯s terrifying. DillyDally comes up to my division, who are mostly here (Thrash and the attack group charged with Braxel¡­). ¡°Braxel says that it would be best if you do not do anything for the moment¡± Hmm¡­is it a ploy so that he gets more recognition as the rightful leader? Or is it because he¡¯s just bloodthirsty? I mean we don¡¯t get xp and I don¡¯t see anything dropping from goblins wearing nothing but loincloths¡­ Well whatever, my division needs a rest; because we¡¯ve been working since midday yesterday with little rest. We all plop down and relax on the stone floor¡­ ¡°INT-¡± ¡°CHAARGE¡± Well those goblins are screwed. ¡­ About an hour has passed, and the goblin count has increased to 19. Seems like a new group of goblins will appear every 5 or so minutes with 1 more than last time¡­ However my division hasn¡¯t attacked a single goblin yet (excluding Thrash and Co.). So instead, we¡¯ve been taking turns to mine the veins in the entrance cave and have gotten a bountiful 36 iron ores. Apart from that¡­it¡¯s just been sitting around, building a campfire for cooking. Partially because I think Braxel¡¯s group are going to get very hungry soon and partially because some of the players haven¡¯t added perception and even some that have¡­don¡¯t have very good vision in the dark cave. I actually didn¡¯t notice it was dark, till Lancel tripped and stumbled around like a blind fool. Having night vision is extremely useful...and it¡¯s very entertaining to watch those without it stumble around. Over the hour a couple of DillyDally¡¯s division got hurt, but that¡¯s mostly because they fell down from lack of vision and were half-trampled. Thus everyone is quite happy with the fires that we finished lighting a few minutes ago. Although¡­the goblins aren¡¯t happy ¡°Intruders make light!¡± ¡°Kill them!¡± This time 2 groups come, from adjacent corridors. Both groups hold 20 goblins. Why 2 groups? Because of the fire? ¡°JOAT, REMOVE THE FIRE¡± Braxel shouts as he charges the goblins. ¡°Guys, pat it out¡± everyone sighs a little when I say it; guess they were looking forward to a hot meal. We pat out our fires and see the goblins be fully demolished in mere seconds...though quite a few kills were from chargers stumbling onto the goblin in the dark...well that must be the reason why Braxel shouts charge every time; so they know where to charge... It takes them about 5 seconds to kill 40 goblins¡­scary Another 5 minutes pass and it¡¯s 21 from each corridor¡­but thankfully they come from adjacent ones so they get massacred by the same charge. Hmm, so when we get to 30 we should have 30 goblins coming from 3 corridors? Seeing as though there¡¯s 7 corridors ¡­ .. . That¡¯s a lot of goblins¡­ I turn to Squirrel who¡¯s pouting slightly over the unlit campfire¡­ ¡°Squirrel...how many goblins would be in the first corridor if it went up to 70 goblins coming out?¡± My math isn¡¯t the greatest but I bet she knows her stuff ¡°2440¡± Wow that was quick ¡°But, if we use the theory that every 10 waves, a new corridor of goblins will come¡­we¡¯ll have a total of 10535 goblins¡± ¡­ .. . Holy mother of Aiag¡­and I¡¯m not the only one who is just a bit mindboggled by the number. Pretty much everyone in close vicinity heard that¡­so pretty much my entire division. ¡°Phew, thank god we¡¯re fighting them only a couple at a tim-¡± ¡°SHHHH¡± Everyone jumps at me to stop the jinxing words out of my mouth Crushed by a whole group of cuties¡­as well as a fat hippo, elephant and some other men¡­it¡¯s a blessing(?) and also quite painful. I ¡°MMMMGH¡± from underneath them and they all get off, leaving me 82 hp less than healthy. ¡°Sorry, but it¡¯s not like I jinxed it¡± *TWITCH* Everyone has a momentary nervous twitch when I say that Ok, shouldn¡¯t have said that¡­But I don¡¯t believe in jinxes ¡°Joat¡¯s Division¡­you¡¯re up¡± Dillydally calls us to arms. ¡°Let¡¯s get this show on the road guys!¡± Everyone stands up raring to go ¡°Hippo and Goats are up first¡± The Hippo and his team members stand up and crack their knuckles ¡­ .. . ¡°Where¡¯s the Goats?¡± ¡°They went to have a look at one of the corridors¡± The monkey-beastlady tells me¡­a little late! *BLEAT BLEAT BLEAT* The whole room turns towards the bleating noise coming from one of the corridors. A moment later¡­silence ¡­ .. . ¡°EVERYONE READY UP!¡± Braxel screams out *RRRRRRRRUMBLE* ¡°WHAT¡¯S HAPPENING?¡± I can barely hear myself over the din of the small earthquake that is happening¡­well this is oddly familiar¡­ ¡°THEY¡¯RE COMING!¡± Braxel shouts and he produces a long shaft with a pointy end from his inventory along with many of his division ¡­ .. . A spear? Who made that and how are there so many of them? Wait now¡¯s not the time! ¡°HOW MANY?¡± Squirrel shouts to Braxel with a worrying tone The rumbling stops ¡°ALL OF THEM¡± Braxel replies ¡­ .. . ¡°JOAAAAT¡± Well I still don¡¯t believe in jinxes¡­ *RRRRRRUMBLE* The rumbling sound increases substantially as the horde is probably getting closer. Zzoid, what are we doing now? A shield team for each corridor, since they¡¯re 5 abreast so our teams will block off the masses. That¡¯s only 3 corridors¡­but that¡¯ll work! I quickly see my 3 shield teams choose adjacent corridors and create their little shield wall. Tikari, have Attack and Skirmish teams backup the shield teams Already done Boss Good girl Support team; 3 of you go to shield teams and the other 4 head to a 4th corridor quick! I see the whole division move and soon we¡¯ve got 4 corridors blocked. Although 1 corridor only has 7 people in it (since me and my ¡®advisors¡¯ went and joined them there). The corridor stretches to outside my eyesight and the ceiling is only a little above our heads. ¡°CHARRRRGE¡± Braxel roars once again ¡­ .. . Just what is he doing? DillyDally¡¯s Division split in 3 and charge down the corridors. DillyDally, can you spare somebody to help block the 4th I can spare 2, sending them your way DillyDally is actually thoughtful of the situation. I really don¡¯t know why we even thought to have Braxel as raid leader¡­he just shouted charge and ran off with a makeshift spear. But then again¡­the entire division just did the same thing¡­ I¡¯m going to ignore them and hope they do just fine. EVERYONE, GOOD LUCK! Sending the message to everyone, that¡¯s my duty as a division leader done. Now to focus on the corridor infront¡­ Its dark¡­and I can¡¯t see anything but I can hear the rumbling ¡°JOAT¡± I turn around to see Honey and some black jackal next to him calling over to me They sprint up to me and I put Honey on the front and the Jackal on the back. Zzoid, Zzand, Crow-beastman, Honey and I are on the front line, while Ravena, Beaver-beastlady, Tikari and the Jackal are behind us. As we¡¯re finalizing our line¡­I spot a large mass of green, far away in the corridor. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.¡­ .. . Wow¡­that¡¯s a lot of goblins¡­ "JOAT HOW MANY" Shouts Zzoid "LETS JUST SAY, IT''S IMPOSSIBLE TO COUNT" ¡­ ¡­ (Apexus¡¯ POV) ¡°CHAAARGE¡± Yea that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! I charge behind Leader Braxel, with my new spear in hand. LETS KILL SOME GOBLINS! We charge into a corridor and I force my way to the front. Hehe, first to kill! We charge for a minute till I can see a horde of goblins running towards us wearing nothing but loincloths¡­Ha! This will be fun! ¡°RUN ¡®EM THROUGH¡± ¡°KILL THEM ALL¡± ¡°YAAAAAAH¡± A number of different battle cries arise from me and the ones around me. ¡°INTRUDERS KIL-¡° *STAB* My spear impales the tiny goblin, ending its worthless life *SNAP* It breaks in two and I take another step before I collide with the mass of goblins -48 *SNAP* OW! -10 ¡°OOF¡± A large body collides with me effectively crushing me between them and the goblins The pressure increases tenfold within seconds and I feel the last bit of hp drain ¡­ .. . What the hell happened? ¡­ ¡­ (Anoobis¡¯ POV) This Joat is certainly smart¡­but I am still more genius than him. ¡°RUN!¡± We all turn our backs on the closing horde and run out the corridor. Quickly, all of his other people run out and everyone charges to the exit! Well I can¡¯t deny that he¡¯s smart¡­no way can they block thousands of charging goblins¡­It¡¯d be the same as if they were trying to block a tsunami. The goblins themselves won¡¯t do much, but when there are thousands of them, the pressure will be huge. And we only had 9 people¡­so that was not going to be a smart move staying there. Everyone quickly funnels at the exit and when I¡¯m just about to go through, 4 endless streams of goblins burst out of the corridors, all in nothing but loincloths. ¡°INTRUDERS!¡± ¡­Oh god that¡¯s a lot of them. ¡°EVERYONE OUT¡± Joat shouts over the din of charging goblins He takes a pick out¡­what is he doing? Swinging it towards the wall at the side of the exit I see a small crack appear ¡­ .. . Ah, so that¡¯s what he¡¯s doing! I quickly run through the exit and into the corridor behind everyone else¡­no one else is following me but I¡¯m sure I wasn¡¯t the last person. Looking back, I see the blueish lizard and the squirrel-beastlady using their picks furiously on the sides of the wall. *RUUMBLE* The cavern shakes and I see the corridor behind me collapse down. Last thing I see of the 3 is that Joat is punching the lizard? Hahaha what fools! Joat and those two are certainly smart¡­but only a fool would sacrifice themselves! I would¡¯ve gotten a few lower beings to sacrifice themselves for me¡­Haha! This is why I am the genius and they are the fools. Chuckling to myself, I keep running to the entrance cavern and out the cave ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) The goblins are closing in rapidly ¡°KILL ME¡± Zzoid screams at me ¡°WHAT?¡± I bash him in the face dutifully killing him while asking the question. No time to waste ¡°KILL ME¡± Tikari screams ¡°I DON¡¯T KILL WOMEN¡± ¡°DAMMIT JUST KILL ME¡± ¡°NO¡± ¡°JUST DO IT¡± ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) Phew we made it¡­thanks to Joat, Zzoid and Tikari. Well that¡¯s what this black Jackal guy was laughing about when we left the cave. Apparently he found it funny that they sacrificed themselves to cave the corridor in¡­ ¡­ ¡°Baila, you can stop it now¡­he¡¯s dead¡± Big Sister puts a hand on my shoulder, as she delivers a kick to this Jackal¡¯s dead body. I take a deep breath and give one last kick to his corpse before letting it rest in peace. *Clap Clap Clap* Everyone around me claps at my great performance¡­well I didn¡¯t give them time to join in so I guess they just let me vent my fury as their own. With me finished¡­we leave his body to the forest and walk back to the village. I think Joat gets a couple of plus points for being so sacrificial¡­but I¡¯m still going to get my revenge¡­very soon! ¡°Hey Baila¡± PJ whispers to me as we¡¯re walking through the forest ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You know that you can give him a hug when he revives¡± *Thump* Ow, why¡¯d my heart beat so strongly? Guess it was the anticipation of crushing him in the hug *Thump* Ow, why is it doing that? ¡°I¡¯ll hug him alright¡± I muster an evil tone, which PJ just smiles at. ¡°You do that¡± She makes space between us, thus ending the conversation. After a short while we¡¯ve arrived back at the village to see a large number of pillars of light. ¡°Damn those goblins!¡± ¡°Damn whoever made those crappy spears!¡± ¡°Damn Braxel! Who thought charging was a good idea?¡± ¡­ .. . They¡¯re all complaining and the complaints quickly turn from their enemies to Braxel¡­since it kind of was his idea to charge. And soon, they¡¯re all calling for his blood. We don¡¯t do anything because we¡¯re still alive and happy, so we don¡¯t have any beef with Braxel¡­ *Whoosh* Braxel appears looking pretty much identical. Immediately the whole square of people rush at him to complain and shout at him ¡°QUIET!¡± The complaining masses quieten some, but only after a couple more shouts from Braxel and a couple of others still loyal to him do the masses go silent. Braxel walks over to the tavern and climbs the stairs. ¡°Once the goblin horde came¡­there was nothing to be done¡± ¡°So why didn¡¯t we run away? Asks a cat-beastlady with breasts as bountiful as mine. ¡°Because the goblins would give chase as our Boss found out¡± The crow-beastman caws Everyone thinks about it for a second before nodding at the idea¡­and once some realize that Joat isn¡¯t here¡­the rumor of a cave collapse quickly spreads around. ¡°Ahem¡± Braxel coughs The attention goes back to him ¡°Because one corridor has few goblins¡± ¡°HUH?¡± The crowd collectively exclaims their shock¡­but then again, I was filled in by Zzoid that Braxel survived 15 hours in there, so he must have found the way to survive that long¡­and that was charging the corridor with only a few goblins? ¡°So one of the corridors only had a couple of goblins and we just happened to choose the wrong one?¡± asks a large black lion-beastman ¡°Yes¡± ¡°What bullsh-¡± ¡°HE¡¯S telling the truth¡± someone speaks up hesitantly from around me¡­oh its Charmine! ¡°What do you mean?¡± The black lion-beastman states with some contempt ¡°Where¡¯s DillyDally and a couple of other people? I count 14 people missing from here¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°EH?¡± 14 people are missing? But that just means that they¡¯re still making their characters, no? ¡°Check your friends list¡­they¡¯re all still a higher level hence they¡¯re still alive¡± Charmine adds speaking a bit more confidently Ah! That¡¯s brilliant! I open up my friends list, just like everyone else and then look down my small list ¡­ .. . Oh... I feel a small twinge of something that puts me down¡­disappointment? I think I really wanted to hug him ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ...We''re not dead? The goblins¡­have¡­stopped? No wonder I could hear her perfectly and that we''re still alive. I look away from her and see that the mass have slowed down to a stop, leaving a tiny semi-circle of space where me and Squirrel are ¡­ .. . O¡­k? The goblins are all shuffling from one foot to another but they¡¯re not charging us with screams of kill or anything¡­what¡¯s going on? They all look at me and then at Squirrel and then back at me¡­ We of course just look at eachother and then at the goblins wondering just what¡¯s with the goblins¡¯ strange behaviour? *Rumble* The horde split apart somewhat causing a slight tremor in the ground. I see that the horde is not all in view as the corridors are still filled with goblins¡­well all but one it seems. Through the parting crowd comes a goblin, slightly larger than the rest and wearing armor! Well, it¡¯s armor is still limited to ragged leather, but it has a shield and a rusty sword too! But most importantly is his helmet; which is a half-helm with two large horns jutting out its head This must be a decently important goblin! He walks out the crowd and right up to me. He¡¯s still a goblin so I¡¯m a good head and a bit bigger than him, but when he¡¯s got over 10,000 goblins behind him¡­he¡¯s a lot scarier than he usually would be. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Joat, and this is my slave¡± I point to Squirrel looks at me in mild shock¡­what? ¡­Well I kind of had to say that, since he didn¡¯t kill us for some reason¡­and that might just be because I¡¯m a hobgoblin. ¡°Ah, so that is why you did not kill this one. But what are you doing at my gates?¡± He starts to interrogate me with a suspicious tone Aha, so that''s why Zzoid asked me to kill him, smart man. Since they saw me kill him they no longer suspect that i''m part of the raid group... Identify
MINI-BOSS:GateGuard Rastiek [lvl5]
Health40/40Attack:10-12
Defense:8
Level 5 mini-boss? that''s a bit easy...I wonder whether he has some special ability or something ¡°I was not a part of them, I was simply returning home Rastiek¡­do you not recognize me?¡± He looks surprised for a second before he claps his hands ¡°Ah! So you must be one of the younglings coming back from the trial...and this is the third time one has come back as a hobgoblin in our history¡± Aha, so goblins do become hobgoblins¡­I think I read that somewhere but can¡¯t quite remember what it was. But it seems that monster evolution is a thing, great! Rastiek tone immediately becomes a lot friendlier and even bows his head to me¡­along with the entire horde¡­scary! ¡°Yes, it has been a long time; so long I do not remember when I left¡± ¡°Exactly 1 day from 4 years. You are lucky to have arrived when you did!¡± ¡°Yes, I cannot wait¡± I¡¯m guessing this ¡®trial¡¯ is one of those throw them out into the wilderness for a while. ¡°Also, forgive me for being so rude towards you, I suspected you were destroying the entrance to block us, but really you were helping us stop their attacks on our gates¡± ¡°Of course, I would help my family without a doubt¡± ¡°Of course you would¡± He and the other goblins look at me a little more respect¡­because I said something nice?¡­but when there¡¯s thousands of them doing that¡­it¡¯s terrifying! ¡­ .. . Oooh, should I do it? ¡°Rastiek¡­take me to your leader¡± I put a slightly monotone voice earning me a strange look from Rastiek...but he writes it off as nothing ¡°Follow me¡± He turns around and starts walking through the parting horde. I take Squirrel by the arm and follow Rastiek through the horde¡­
Sorry about the slow update, but writers block is an unavoidable pain. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter and continue rating and giving delicious reviews :D 19. A lesson about Souls (Anoobis¡¯ POV) *Whoosh* ¡°I have arrived!¡± ¡­ .. . No one even glances at me¡­why? Why do they not see my geniusness radiating from me! Wait! Someone is looking at¡­oh¡­not her! Luckily there¡¯s a whole group of people inbetween her and me¡­and she¡¯s not coming at me anyways¡­phew. Ok, I know I shouldn¡¯t have said that¡­out loud. I suddenly feel like everyone is looking at me¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) He¡¯s here¡­I¡¯ll kill him later¡­he¡¯s too visible right now. Everyone has set their eyes on him¡­I don¡¯t know why¡­ Braxel walks over to him and lays a hand on his shoulder ¡°The spears didn¡¯t work¡± Oh! So he must¡¯ve been the one who made all those spears that the other division took out from nowhere? ¡°Why of course they-what? How? No! The spears should be working just fine!¡± The black jackal-beastman speaks in a shocked tone as if he couldn¡¯t believe it himself¡­he was that confident huh. ¡°We don¡¯t know¡± For the past couple of minutes we¡¯ve been talking about why the spears broke so easily, once we got past the fact that some people¡­including Joat and Tikari are alive. Zzoid has revived but isn¡¯t telling us anything and Joat has been ignoring all messages from everyone¡­he must be quite busy. So I¡¯ll cheer him on so that he can live and meet me again¡­so that I may kill him myself. Anyways, the spears broke easily for some reason that no one knew¡­the knowledge(?) we¡¯ve got so far is the fact that there isn¡¯t any durability¡­on anything actually. I think most people noticed it once they got their armor, but there was no durability on them¡­so we have no idea when they¡¯re going to break. The only theory we¡¯ve gotten to for the spears is that they must have had extremely low durability. ¡°People¡­there¡¯s actually something I need to tell you all¡± The large hippo booms out his deep voice from behind me. Everyone turns their attention off the shocked Jackal and onto the Hippo. ¡°Our shields¡­they break too easy¡± He holds up his shield which is in tatters ¡°It took 1 hit of a wolf¡± ¡­ .. . Well that doesn¡¯t sound right at all! Immediately people start gossiping frantically with one another about their own theories and such about why the shields have extremely low durability¡­but honestly it doesn¡¯t make sense¡­they were made just fine and should be able to last quite a few hits! *BOOM* ¡°YOU LOT! STOP BLABBING THAT AWFUL LANGUAGE AND F-¡± This gigantic human with shoulder-length brown curls and a shaggy beard, bursts out from the blacksmith booming at the top of his lungs¡­but then stops wide-eyed over something ¡­ .. . ¡°WAHAHAH! OH¡­YOU GUYS CRACK ME UP!¡± He runs over to Jenna¡¯s ¡°JENNA, COME OUT, YOU HAVE TO, THIS IS HILARIOUS! THE SHITS ACTUALLY TRIED TO MAKE SHIELDS! HAHAHAH¡± He¡¯s holding the side of the wall as if it¡¯s hard to stay standing¡­ Well he¡¯s a nice fellow isn¡¯t he¡­known him for a few seconds and he¡¯s already insulted me and laughed at me¡­I worked hard to help make those shields you know! Jenna walks out, takes a look at the dumbfounded us, then at the gigantic human and gives him a chop on the head. Lucky he was bent over or she wouldn¡¯t have reached easily. ¡°Don¡¯t laugh at their useless efforts! They at least tried¡± Jenna insulted us aswell¡­although I think it was unintentional ¡°HAHAhahah....ahhhhh. Sorry, but it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen something so hilarious¡± He straightens up and wipes away the tears of laughter in his eyes. ¡°Look at them Jarken, they¡¯re all confused¡­can¡¯t you help them out a little bit?¡± He mulls it over for a couple of seconds¡­before sighing ¡°I guess I¡¯ll give them a few pointers...as repayment for giving me a good laugh¡± He turns towards us¡­and we are still confused as to what they¡¯re talking about and what is happening. *Cough* ¡°OK, LISTEN UP YOU MAGGOTS. HAVE A SEAT, BECAUSE I¡¯M GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU DID WRONG¡­EVERYTHING¡± We all sit down under the booming voice of Jarken...I¡¯m scared but I also want to know what we did wrong ¡°FIRSTLY, DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SOULS?¡± ¡­ .. . Souls? Well that¡¯s a bit of a random question¡­ ¡°Jarken, that¡¯s the reason why you¡¯re telling them this. Remember they¡¯re Orphans¡­so they probably have no idea what souls are¡± ¡°Souls are an incorporal and immortal essence that resides in our body¡± the raven-beastlady who those 3 men stick by speaks up with an air of confidence ¡°You see Jenna, they know something¡± She waves him off and he turns back to us ¡°YOU ARE RIGHT; SOULS ARE ENTITIES WITHIN OUR BODY. HOWEVER¡­¡± He saunters down towards the seated crowd and we all make way for him. He walks over to the hippo and without warning grabs the shield and snaps it in half like a twig ¡°THIS THING HERE¡­HAS NO SOUL¡± Well¡­that¡¯s obvious, it¡¯s a shield¡­it shouldn¡¯t have a soul? ¡°So things without a soul are naturally weak?¡± the raven-beastlady speaks pensively ¡°CORRECT. YOU¡¯RE AN INTELLIGENT MAGGOT AREN¡¯T YOU?¡± ¡°But then why is it that our armour can last more¡­does that have a soul?¡± The Jackal pipes up before anyone else can speak¡­well what¡¯s his hurry? ¡°WHY OF COURSE!¡± ¡­ .. . What? How does a piece of armor have a soul¡­though the Jackal looks quite happy with himself? ¡°But how does our armor have a soul and our shield did not?¡± The raven-beastlady beats me to the question ¡°GIVE ME YOUR ARMOR¡± He booms towards the raven-beastlady¡­well I would certainly mistake his intentions there¡­ She takes off a helmet and throws it to him He inspects it silently with closed eyes(?) for a few seconds ¡°A HUMAN MADE THIS¡± The raven-beastlady nods quite surprised ¡­ .. . Well we¡¯re all quite surprised! How the hell can he find that out? Is it like when you check an item it will tell you who it¡¯s made by? Stolen novel; please report. ¡°HOW?¡± Quite a few people shout out simultaneously Jarken grins, because he knows something we don¡¯t. ¡°HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THAT WHEN YOU ARE TO MAKE SOMETHING, YOU MUST POUR YOUR SOUL INTO IT?¡± ¡­ .. . Sooo, we put a little of our soul into the armor?...I think either he or we have the wrong idea about what a soul is¡­ Most people nod, while looking extremely confused. ¡°GOOD, WELL THEN YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE THINGS THAT HAVE A SOUL¡± ¡°EH?¡± We basically just pour our soul into it? So we work hard on it? We didn¡¯t half-ass make the shields you know! ¡°Jarken, you¡¯re confusing the poor Orphans. I¡¯ll take over from here¡± ¡°Jenna, come on I¡¯m having fun here¡± ¡°¡­Alright, but don¡¯t make their heads explode¡­already had two die from that quite recently¡± ¡°Oh you didn¡¯t tell me that, you¡¯re going to have to tell me the story sometime!¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, just get talking and put them out of their confusion¡± ¡°OK, SO YOU¡¯RE WONDERING HOW YOUR SHIELDS DIDN¡¯T HAVE A SOUL¡­EASY! YOU DIDN¡¯T POUR ANY OF YOUR SOUL IN¡± ¡­ .. . So there¡¯s a way to¡­what? Quite a few people look like they¡¯ve found their way out of the confusion but there¡¯s still quite a few lost in it still. ¡°Then how do we pour our soul in?¡± The Jackal just gets his sentence off before the raven-beastlady speaks¡­do they have some kind of rivalry between them? Though I get the feeling they both suspect the answer already¡­ ¡°YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO DO IT¡­IF ONE COULD POUR THEIR SOUL INTO WEAPONS LIKE THIS¡± He snaps his fingers ¡°THEN THERE WOULD BE NO USE FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME AND JENNA¡± ¡­ .. . Ohhhhh! I think(?) I understand now. Most people look like they¡¯re understanding something and the raven-beastlady suddenly jumps up and saunters over to the tavern steps, but is beaten there by the Jackal, who is also hurried to the steps. He gives her a winning smile before looking at all of us. ¡°Basically, our ¡®soul¡¯ in this game¡­is our character sheet-¡± ¡°And so our leather armor has a sheet saying its defence and such, that is its soul-¡± The raven-beastlady continues ¡°And when we make armor and weapons we need to give it this ¡®soul¡¯ but we can only do so-¡± the Jackal interrupts her ¡°If we have the in-game skill to make it.¡± She finishes the sentence off for him and she gives him his winning smile back. Haha. ¡°So therefore unless we know the skill, we¡¯re unable to ¡®pour our soul¡¯ into the object-¡± The Jackal continues on looking mildly sour ¡°And thus make those shields and spears; we know how bad they are¡± The raven-beastlady finishes his sentence off once again, earning her a challenging look from him ¡°This is because this ¡®soul pouring¡¯ is a system recognized thing-¡±The raven-beastlady starts the sentence this time ¡°So we can make weapons and armor and other things all we like, but if it isn¡¯t system recognized-¡± He gleefully steals the next words from her mouth ¡°Then the object will be treated as basically useless¡± The both finish together¡­looking happy that neither won ¡­ .. . We all stay silent for a good minute to mull things over. It makes sense but it¡¯s quite weirdly explained by the NPC¡¯s: So we can technically make everything we want to but without a ¡®soul¡¯; so without a proper system acknowledgment, the object is useless... ¡°Do all objects that you create need a soul?¡± Someone asks from the crowd, I don¡¯t see who ¡°YES, EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD NEEDS A SOUL TO BECOME STRONGER! AND IF THE SOUL IS STRONGER THEN THE CONTAINER BECOMES STRONGER TOO¡± That actually makes sense; because as we level up that will mean our ¡®soul becomes stronger¡¯ and thus we become stronger. ¡°ALSO, TO STRENGTHEN A SOUL OF AN OBJECT REQUIRES YOU TO POUR MORE OF YOUR SOUL OUT, AND THAT IS LIMITED BY THE SIZE AND STRENGTH OF YOUR OWN SOUL" He didn¡¯t understand what the raven-beastlady and the Jackal were telling all of us, since we probably spoke in that strange language¡­but I¡¯m guessing he thought that they were making sense of what he said Everyone nods knowingly now¡­we¡¯ve all finally understood as to why and how we can make objects now. This is a game¡­I do tend to forget that for some things¡­so I guess there¡¯s some limitations. Though, this does stop the making of guns and explosives and other modern things in this medieval world¡­because undoubtedly someone would do such a thing. ¡°ANYMORE QUESTIONS?¡± He looks a bit sad that we no longer look extremely confused, I think No more questions come¡­until the Jackal gives a small cough, sending Jarken¡¯s look his way ¡°Will you teach us how to ¡®pour our soul¡¯ into weapons and shields?¡± ¡°¡­WAHAHAH! OH, YOU ARE A FUNNY ONE!...I¡¯LL TEACH YOU¡­IF YOU CAN SHOW ME THAT YOU CAN GIVE A WEAPON A SOUL. AND THAT APPLIES TO ALL OF YOU. YOU GET 1 TRY¡± ¡­ .. . It took a few seconds to sink in... ¡°WE¡¯LL DO IT¡± Everyone shouts out frantically. A chance at a free skill, a crafting one at that too! Sucks that Joat isn¡¯t here; he¡¯d be ecstatic about this chance¡­he seems like he does pretty much anything for a skill¡­the memory of him learning my suicide skill is still fresh. I do have it still but that¡¯s only for the xp¡­ ¡°EVERYONE COME COLLECT YOUR IRON ORE¡± Zzoid shouts at the top of his lungs¡­oh yeah, the division gave all the ores they mined while we were lazing about to him. Guess I should join the queue¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) *Achoo* ¡°Joat, you alright?¡± Squirrel whispers in my ear, so that the surrounding goblins can¡¯t hear ¡°Yeah, I just have the feeling that I¡¯m missing out on a skill¡± I whisper back ¡°Joat! Welcome to our home!¡±
Sooo, end of that mini-arc and hopefully this answers your question Anuubisk and if you ever have anything game breaking, please tell me! H Anyway, hope you enjoyed it :D -TRUE NORRRRRD 20. A Gobliny Welcome (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Welcome to our home!¡± ¡­ .. . It¡¯s a gigantic cave with nothing but a large round ball thing made from rotten wood held by some ropes a decent bit above a large pit in the center of the room. ¡°Wow, I forgot how¡­empty it was¡± The room is empty for about 2 seconds¡­and then hordes of goblins come from the multiple corridors littered around the room¡­well nevermind. Our last 20 minutes have just been a long walk through hordes of goblins in a lone corridor and they stopped to allow us through. So I¡¯m a bit shocked as to how there¡¯s so many goblins in here so quickly! Do all the corridors from the other room go here? That must be it. As we stand there, the goblins all pick a spot on the cavernous and lie down to sleep. Rastiek looks over the hordes as small squabbles break out over certain spaces on the floor because it¡¯s harder or there was a maggot there¡­eugh. ¡°Hmm, a few hundred died¡­a lot less than last time¡± he muses to himself ¡°That¡¯s a lot, but looking at how many we have here¡­¡± ¡°Ha! True, but there will be fresh children from the Grand Cave soon to refill the ranks¡± Fresh children? I focus on one of the goblins and¡­they¡¯re sort of young? I¡¯m not quite sure since they¡¯re all wrinkly and there¡¯s little difference between them. I do spot one heavily wrinkled goblin giving me a glance¡­hmm? Also this Grand Cave¡­suggests that there¡¯s another place, and this is literally the front gates¡­so is that what the weird rotting wood sphere is for? ¡°But if I remember correctly, goblins have lots of children¡­so won¡¯t the cave be filled?¡± He looks at me mildly shocked ¡°Boy! You¡¯ve been out in the sun too long for its fried your brains. Have you really forgotten?¡± Oh, so I was supposed to know what happens¡­OH! ¡°Ah, the trial, sorry, it¡¯s just been a long time¡± ¡°So you do remember. Yes, the trial will get rid of these young¡¯uns and then the new batch will guard the gates¡± Ok, so basically the ¡®trial¡¯ is just a forced eviction¡­got it. ¡°Well, since I¡¯ve completed my trial¡­¡± What should happen next? He wrenches himself from his own thoughts¡­probably about this ¡®trial¡¯ or something of the sort ¡°Right right completed¡­follow me¡± He knows something that I don¡¯t¡­ He starts walking to the rotted sphere. I follow¡­guess he¡¯s not going to tell me then. ¡°Ooh, are we going in that?¡± I feign interest; well I actually am interested as to what it is¡­so I sound quite convincing ¡°Yes, you¡¯re a fully fledged citizen now¡­can¡¯t have you sleeping out the gates¡± ¡°Why of course, I¡¯m extremely excited to see Grand Cave¡± ¡°Ha! All the goblins say that their first time¡± He leans towards me so that the surrounding goblins don¡¯t hear ¡°and since you¡¯re a hobgoblin, you get to even go to the King¡¯s Cave¡± He gives that ''I know something you don''t'' smile again... ¡°A dream come true!" I have no idea, but I¡¯m guessing the KING¡¯s cave is quite important¡­ We make it to the rotting sphere and Rastiek barks an order to some goblins. They run up to a rotting wheel in the side of the room¡­oh I missed that; they must have concealed it or something. They start to rotate the wheel and the rotting sphere starts to descend ¡­ .. . Ohhhhhh¡­so that¡¯s what it is. The ELEVATOR comes down to eyelevel Oh, hello DillyDally ¡­ .. . WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE? DillyDally and about a dozen people are crouching down in the elevator looking worse for wear¡­ ¡°CHA-¡± ¡°INT-¡± ¡°STOOOOOP!¡± I quickly rush in-between them and raise my hands to stop both sides¡­Thankfully they both do. I turn to DillyDally and his dozen...well 10 people ¡°Drop your weapons and become our prisoners¡± ¡°¡­Do as he says¡± DillyDally notes that Squirrel is next to me, and kneels down to the floor. The rest follow I turn to Rastiek who is looking confused as well as the thousands of goblins that scrambled up upon the cries ¡°They¡¯re prisoners now¡­it would be bad if I didn¡¯t bring a gift no?¡± He thinks on it for a couple of seconds¡­before he nods. I turn back to them and they¡¯re looking mildly shocked¡­what? ¡°I¡¯ll be taking you to whoever runs this place, prisoners¡± All the prisoners nod and the elevator stops with the rotting gate in front of me... Seriously those guys tried to fight even though they couldn¡¯t reach eachother¡­ Rastiek opens it and in floods a couple of hundred goblins¡­wow there¡¯s a lot of space in that cage. DillyDally and his people are rounded into a corner and a left there, unharmed thankfully. Joat, you better have a plan Oh, it¡¯s DillyDally. Hmm, I was finding it weird how no one messaged me¡­maybe they just didn¡¯t want to? Or Zzoid already told them of the situation? Anyways, the goblins don¡¯t seem to see the window¡­and none of them look at me when I tap away at it. Nope¡­but apparently I¡¯m a special guest. Great I glance at him and he gives me a slightly miffed off look¡­well I did kind of reveal his hiding place and told him there¡¯s no plan... To make up for it(?), I tap away at my window filling him in with what I know. Stumbling when the rotting elevator suddenly starts its descent, I¡¯m saved by the mass of goblins and I use their heads as holds. They mind little, probably because I¡¯m a hobgoblin. We start descending in a black hole. As the elevator descends¡­I start to concoct a small plan with DillyDally and the others, who I¡¯ve made a chat with. However our plan to escape is quickly dashed at the sight of what I believe is the Grand Cave
You have entered a raid instance: Olden Caves
INSTANCE:Grand Cave
The Grand Cave is the ''common room'' of the goblins that live here. Survivors of the trial live here.
Recommended Level: 10, 40+ players recommended
¡­ .. . ¡°Oh my¡± At least I¡¯m not the only one who said that with wonder/horror. A raid instance¡­we¡¯re a bit too low level for this¡­a bit. The cave¡­is certainly grand. But grand as in extremely large¡­like far as the eye can see. But it¡¯s more like a ravine with a V shape than the stereotypical round cave. Rotting platforms are jutting out from either side and I see them trail all the way down to the bottom¡­which is thankfully visible¡­but that¡¯s still not a good thing. ¡°Mash those dwarves and eat their flesh¡± ¡°Slice those elves and munch their ears¡± ¡°Kill the humans and gnaw their bones¡± ¡°I like toes¡± ¡°I like fingers¡± ¡°I like elves ears and those dwarven dingers!¡± ¡°Hahahaha¡± ¡­ .. . Well that was an interesting welcome song? Though I don¡¯t think I¡¯d like to have a dwarven dinger anytime soon¡­ Seems we arrived at the end of the song and we probably missed some similarly disturbing details about their diets, no doubt, Ignoring the maniacal laughter from the thousands of goblins that litter the rotting wooden platforms and caves embedded in the walls, I turn to Rastiek ¡°Hah, that was a great song!¡± I laugh as convincingly as I can ¡°Been 4 years since I¡¯ve heard that one!¡± ¡°Yes, brings back memories¡± More like nightmares¡­ ¡°Ah, still remember your baby days?¡± ¡°Somewhat¡­the part about dwarven dingers always stuck in my head¡± Well it certainly is ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯ve always preferred some bloody fingers¡­but every goblin has his tastes¡± ¡­ .. . Oh lovely ¡°Though, I forget, why are they singing the songs?¡± ¡°Preparations for the trial of course¡± He doesn¡¯t look at me suspiciously¡­must be because I only heard this in my ¡®baby days¡¯. I thought the ones at the gate we¡¯re doing the trial¡­but they don¡¯t seem to be joining in¡­actually the goblins around me a looking in wonder. The elevator stops at a rickety looking platform and once the doors open a mass of goblins rush to us, wearing the same things as the ones above but with quite a few more wrinkles. I grab DillyDally myself and half-drag him outside the elevator¡­for show of course. The rest of the goblins transfer the prisoners to outside the elevator. With Squirrel hugging my arm, I give a wave to Rastiek as he and his goblins go up slowly on the elevator. Turning round, I quickly follow the small mass who drag the prisoners across the platforms with ease. Oh god, these platforms are way too unstable for my liking. Stumbling my way to the goblins, I mix with the crowd and sure enough it¡¯s much easier to stay standing; since I¡¯ve got a bunch of goblins indirectly keeping me up with their small bodies. As we¡¯re pretty much charging through the walk-ways, I don¡¯t really get time to have a peek at what¡¯s around¡­but then again; when I first glanced there was nothing much to this place but more goblins. The pace continues for a good 30 minutes till we¡¯ve somehow reached the other side of the ravine¡­only ¡®accidentally¡¯ pushing a couple of goblins off the edge. Those prisoners are quite feisty but the surrounding goblins didn''t actually care when they saw their fellows be pushed off the edge and into the ravine below. Well quite a few of the ¡®accident¡¯s were caused by a short but strong human, who I actually mistook for a dwarf¡­because he¡¯s been flailing around¡­sucks to be human in an extremely dark place. But the ¡®accidents¡¯ haven¡¯t made much of a difference since more goblins joined in on the way¡­making our group a couple of hundred big. At the end of the ravine is¡­a wall¡­Ok? The goblins stop and then look down ¡­ .. . I have a bad feeling about this¡­ The goblins all scratch their heads as they look back and forth from the prisoners and the ravine floor, which is a long way down. ¡°Jump?¡± One of the goblins suggest ¡°I would like my prisoners alive¡± Though they didn¡¯t seem to have any reaction when the goblin said that¡­odd? We all ponder there for a few moments... Squirrel suddenly leaves my side and everyone looks at her as she walks to the wall¡­ What is she doing? She walks up and down kneeling at the corner of the wall. ¡°Everyone hold on¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°WAIT A SECONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNND¡± ¡­ *Screeeeeeee* ... .. . We¡¯ve stopped. ¡°Nobody move¡± Seems we''re alive thanks to the V shape; we¡¯ve stuck between the two walls. I mean the platform is¡­well was¡­holding a couple of hundred of us on it¡­ *Creak* ¡°Who moved?¡± Everyone looks around suspiciously ¡­ .. . *CREAK* The loud creaking sound comes from underneath the rhino-beastman¡­ We all give a hopeless look towards him and I close my eyes *CRACK* ¡°AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± *OOF* -48 ¡­ .. . "Owww¡­¡± Everyone lets out a painful groan marking us as alive A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Tikari¡­good thinking¡± I give her some praise, because it was better than the jumping idea at least¡­ ¡°No¡­owww¡­worries boss¡± I feel crushed¡­oh wait, that¡¯s because I¡¯m in the middle of a group of goblins¡­uuugh. Crawling my way out from the crushed bodies of goblins both underneath and above, I quickly make my way out¡­of a small hill of bodies. Wow, falling with hundreds of goblins¡­lucky we did? As I shakily stand on the rough rock floor, I watch the prisoners slowly crawl their way out from the hill of corpses, along with a couple of dozens of goblins¡­ Well that killed quite a few of them¡­guess most kills by ¡®accident¡¯ go to Squirrel by a landslide...which is almost ironic. I watch all the prisoners, thankfully, crawl out and stand by me, looking a bit flatter than before. Once everyone is out¡­we leave the hill behind and head over to the hole I saw at the top. Two goblin guards, wearing a decent amount of rusty armor and carrying a rusty sword each, are standing wide-eyed on either side of the cave¡­which has a portcullis inside it actually. ¡­ .. . ¡°Hello there my fellows¡­could you direct us to the King¡¯s Cave?¡± I say it in my sweetest voice ¡°uhhhh¡­who are you?¡± One of the two goblin guards asks me with a more confused than demanding tone¡­ Well we did just fall out of the sky killing hundreds of goblins ¡®accidentally¡¯ in front of them¡­so he should be confused ¡°I am Joat, returning from the last trial¡± ¡°Oh!¡± I see his eyes look up at me in respect now ¡°Nice to see you finally came back. Rikik escort him to the Kings Cave¡± He shouts the orders to behind him The portcullis opens. The goblin guard who spoke waves us to follow while the other stops the other goblins from entering¡­oh, so each goblin have their own quarters? Not to different from normal society then¡­ While we walk under the portcullis and a surprisingly long corridor with murder holes on every side, I check out our fellow guide¡­
NAME:Goblin [lvl5] (elite variant)
Health:30/30Attack:20-25
Defense:30
Elite variant? Ooh, well this is a raid instance so I guess elite variant is normal? Hmm, I should have checked those goblins earlier¡­but also what¡¯s with the terrible health? The question is sort of answered when we leave the corridor and arrive at a sort of ante-chamber the size of a house: We¡¯re greeted by literally a whole corps of goblins, all wearing rusty armor and carrying rusted weapons¡­so basically goblins come in freaking hordes! Well that¡¯s a lot of them and when I identify a couple¡­yep they¡¯re all elites¡­scary. Well the sheer number of enemies is probably one of the main reasons why this is a 40+ raid¡­ The escort quickly moves round us encasing the prisoners and letting me move to the front. I grab Squirrel from the prisoner group and the goblins don¡¯t complain¡­I am higher status than them after all. These guys don¡¯t run like crazy so as we walk I do get a good glimpse of the rough stairways on either side of the room. Leading us is a goblin wearing a helmet, distinguishing himself as the captain or something of the sort. He gives a shout and another portcullis opens. Passing through it, we walk through another long corridor.
INSTANCE:Warrior''s Cave
The cave where all those who prove their strength in the trial live
As we¡¯re walking, I can hear the sounds of gory sounds being sung by worse than tone deaf goblins getting louder. ¡°I once met some fair lady who¡¯s name I didn¡¯t care¡± ¡°She screamed and she ran but she got nowhere,¡± ¡°I ate off her legs and watched her crawl,¡± ¡°As I sat there and had a little drool.¡± ¡°Mmm mmm mmm!¡± ¡°Nothing like a fair legless lady to eat at night!¡± ¡°Hahahahahha!¡± Hmm¡­my stomach doesn¡¯t feel alright with the slight image there¡­But when I look around I see that the prisoners and Squirrel are just looking suspiciously at the direction of the sound¡­ Do they have stomachs of iron? ¡°Joat, welcome to the Warrior¡¯s Cave¡± We walk through the end of the corridor and immediately see quite a different setting than earlier; this cave has many layers linked by stairs. Peeking round a pillar, I can see that it stretches a decent amount but I can see the end wall quite a distance. The armored goblins get me moving again before I can fully look around. As we walk up the stairs, I notice that they¡¯re roughly carved out and once I reach the next floor, I see that the stairs litter the floor creating pocket marks all over the smooth surface. Of course there are some thick pillars to support the floor dotted around. This floor is empty, without any residents¡­ ¡°Where are the warriors?¡± I ask my escorts ¡°Most are on the Battle floor doing some early celebrations¡± One of the escorts answers me sounding a bit grumpy¡­guess he¡¯s on duty then. ¡°Battle floor?¡± ¡°Oh sorry, I forgot you didn¡¯t know about the Warrior¡¯s Cave¡± The captain goblin turns back to me. ¡°There are 4 floors to the Warrior Cave; the Guard floor, the Rest floor, the Healing floor and the Battle floor¡± Ok? So basically each floor dictates what the goblins are doing¡­ ¡°So we¡¯re on the Rest floor?¡± ¡°Yes, and that¡¯s why no one is here right now¡± We walk up another flight of stairs, and the smell of blood and death fills my nostrils...eugh! Alone this is quite bad¡­with the ¡®singing¡¯¡­it¡¯s a real stomach turner. *Blergh* The sour smell of puke adds to this floor¡¯s scent. Meanwhile, Squirrel has buried her head into my chest, probably to neither see nor smell. The smells come from a large amount of goblins that lay dead or dying on the floor¡­and they do not look pretty in the slightest *Gulp* Other goblins, healthy ones, are putting a chunky black substance on the wounds¡­eugh. Also I hear some cheering mixed in with the song now¡­what is going on upstairs? *Tak tak tak tak Thump¡­duf duf duf duf Thump* ¡­ .. . *BLARGH* I hear the sounds of someone vomiting behind us¡­well vomiting again that is. *Gulp* The acidic taste is pushed down my throat¡­lucky I have had a lot of practice in this in my lifetime¡­ Though life hasn¡¯t quite prepared me to see a goblin head with one eye missing and multiple claw marks over its face rolling down the stairs followed by its body¡­ I wipe off a trickle of vomit that I couldn¡¯t hold down and notice that suddenly the sour scent of vomit got really pungent. ¡­ .. . Ah. I lightly pat Tikari on the head as I take my bloody shirt to clean bits from her mouth¡­jeez this takes me back¡­ Ignoring her deep blushing of shame, I quickly wipe myself down with the bloody and vomit crusted shirt which does little but it¡¯s good enough to wipe away the majority of the vomit. I pick her up and hold her in a princess carry¡­last thing she needs is to actually see the surroundings. I hurriedly get the captain goblin to lead us up the stairs. At least the smell lessens to barely noticeable¡­but the scent of vomit remains pungent as we reach the Battle floor. The sounds of ¡®singing¡¯ and cheers get much louder on this floor and sure enough; there¡¯s goblins fighting. Goblins are fighting in small spectator-formed rings. Though when I say fighting¡­it kind of reminds me what I did to the night wolves ¡­ .. . It¡¯s a lot more brutal when you¡¯re just watching¡­ From the thousands of goblins here, I can spot hundreds of duels happening with nothing but loincloths making the battles a lot more bloody¡­damn those claws. Actually¡­ I look at my hands but they don¡¯t have any claws¡­well I did get rid of them on the character creation¡­maybe I should suicide and get them because¡­Jesus those claws are nasty effective. The screams of a gutted goblin permeates the air¡­as I said Jesus those claws are nasty effective¡­ Another goblin just got their throat ripped spattering blood over a roaring crowd of almost identical goblins¡­ At least no one puked upon seeing this¡­but this may be because they¡¯ve already puked out their guts¡­ Anyways, better get moving since I don¡¯t think Tikari can last longer with the smell and the noise... Giving a little push to the captain goblin, he turns and gives me a nod. ¡°OY FELLA¡¯S JOAT OVER HERE WANTS TO HAVE A GO¡± he points to me ¡­ .. . What? Wait a second¡­no! That¡¯s not what I meant¡­ I feel thousands of goblins¡¯ expectant faces turn my way *Sigh* ¡°Sure¡­¡± I let Tikari down and have her help take off my leather armor¡­which she does guiltily¡­ah¡­guess it will take her a while to get over that¡­ After a few minutes, the armor is off and I¡¯m down to my grey boxers. Ah at least the stench of vomit is less now. While I was getting my armor undone, the goblins picked out who would fight me and then made a giant circle. How they did it, is answered with the small mass of bodies being chucked down the stairs¡­ Time to murder a goblin because of peer-pressure¡­ The goblins let me through as I walk, and soon I¡¯m in the ring¡­facing a small, average goblin.
NAME:Goblin [lvl5] (elite variant)
Health:30/30Attack:10-10
Defense:0
¡­ .. . Well this won¡¯t even be fun¡­ I walk up to the goblin and as everyone cheers, he jumps towards me with a battle cry. ¡­ .. . *Drip Drip*
Congratulations! Through repetition you have gained a new skill: Catch
SKILL:Catch, Beginner [lvl1] (Active)
Catching is seen by many as a simple feat, but in reality it may be an insurmountable wall to some
-1% chance for caught things to slip from your hands Agility bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: Instantaneous, Cooldown: None
xp increases by 5%
The only sound that could be heard in that room is the dripping of blood and brain matter from his head¡­ Wohoo! I was wondering when I''d finally somehow get that skill! ¡°Thanks for the warmup...so where¡¯s the main thing?¡± I grin wildly towards the crowd and drop the corpse on the floor¡­I just got a skill! I¡¯m ecstatic! Thousands of goblins dropping into a seiza position makes quite the sound ¡­ .. . Wait what? I stay pretty much dumfounded about the thousands bowing down silently¡­and everyone else is too¡­ ¡°We shall follow you, Lord¡± ¡­ .. . Eh?
CLASS QUEST UPDATE:The Trial
The goblins who live in the Warrior''s Cave are those who determine right to rule by Strength. By showing them overwhelming strength they have decided to back your claim to Olden Caves.
3,248 Goblins have joined your cause 2.44% of the Clan is backing your claim
¡­ .. . WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATT??? 21. Rising Powers ¡°¡­Tell me everything you know¡± That¡¯s all I can say to this¡­because I¡¯m positive a lot is being hidden from me. The captain gets to his feet ¡°Sorry, but our current lord; Tarakiel, stopped us from speaking freely about the trial to any hobgoblins that arrived here¡± ¡°Because¡­the trial has already begun?¡± Seeing as though I¡¯ve got a update for a quest that I don¡¯t have¡­the quest must have already begun in secret. The captain looks quite impressed ¡°Smart and strong, you are truly the new leader¡± ¡°So, this trial is not only to make offspring go out into the world but also it is about us hobgoblins fighting for the right to rule¡± ¡°Yes and you can become the lord of these caves by killing him¡± All the other goblins around cheer somewhat ¡­Relatively simple¡­if not for the fact that I¡¯ve got a 2.44% backing to Lordship ¡°Is that the only way?¡± He shuffles around awkwardly¡­well I guess he definitely prefers the killing way ¡°There is¡­on the night when the trial is begun and finished you need to have more than half the cave supporting you¡± Ah¡­so as I thought. ¡°And that deadline is the next night?¡± ¡°No, this night¡± ¡­ .. . I see¡­so I¡¯ve got a good 10 in-game hours to either gain 50% of the cave¡¯s support or kill a hobgoblin¡­hmm not a hard choice is it?
CLASS QUEST:The Hidden Trial(Hobgoblin only)
The goblins in Olden Caves undergo a trial every 4 years with their youngsters being sent out into the world to survive. Once they return, they will be put into a specific Cave befitting their acheivements. However those who become hobgoblins have the right to challenge the current one. Tarakiel is the current Lord of the goblins and due to his silencing, the trial of Lord succession became hidden. There are 2 ways to become the next lord: Kill Tarakiel and be recognized by the goblins as their Lord or Be backed by more than 50% of the goblins in these Caves
Tarakiel is alive Backed by 2.44% Time remaining: 9 hours 43 minutes
Rewards: ???
OOOOH! So this is a racial specific quest! And since it calls itself a class quest¡­I believe I have some idea on what my reward will be. OOOOH!! Weird how I got the quest now, but that must have been triggered by gathering enough information? Strange but then again the reason I didn¡¯t get the quest upon entering is explained there¡­ ¡°Captain, what is your name?¡± ¡°Rakartkas¡± ¡°Rakartkas, if I command you to charge to the Kings Cave killing all those in our way¡­would you do so?¡± ¡°WE WANT TO KILL THEM¡±¡­Well not the specific answer I was looking for¡­but I think I¡¯ve stumbled onto a bit of a gold mine. ¡°You want to kill them? Good, but tell me why¡± Rakartkas spits on the ground ¡°The Nobles Cave, which is through that cave¡± He points to a cave in the distance which I didn¡¯t quite notice earlier ¡°Is where the bastards who rule live¡± ¡°Ok, but that must not be the only reason you are angry¡± ¡°No, it is because they take the women, no matter the cave¡± ¡­ .. . Ah, this will be a complete bloodbath¡­ I look around and sure enough they¡¯re all men¡­wow, now that I think about it, I don¡¯t think I saw a woman in the Grand Cave either. ¡°HOW DARE THEY! HOW DARE THEY TAKE YOUR WOMEN! AS YOUR LORD, I PROMISE THAT WE WILL KILL ALL THOSE PETTY ¡®NOBLES¡¯ AND TAKE OUR WOMEN BACK¡± ¡°YES LORD¡± Seeing tears form in my new subordinates is nice yet kind of creepy. All my prisoners and Tikari are looking dodgily at me¡­oh; you do not know my plan¡­ ¡°Spread the word to all your fellow guards, spread the word to those in the Grand Cave to join our cause. If I become your Lord¡­the first thing I will do is kill those nobles¡± They all start cheering maniacally¡­well I am kind of giving their women back¡­and it has been Aiag knows how long since they¡¯ve seen one. By the slight frothing of their mouths¡­I¡¯m guessing quite a long time. ¡°Calm yourselves now though; we cannot fight till we have a larger number¡± The frothing lessens somewhat. Before I leave, I tell them one last thing¡­to not say anything about this¡­because two can play at that game Immediately after, a few hundred disperse down the stairs and the rest begin training¡­without killing eachother. Good, my subordinates won¡¯t kill themselves since they now know they¡¯ll get their women back. Squirrel quickly re-clothes me and then stays close behind. Then I signal for Rakartkas to lead the way to the Nobles Cave. He walks us through the last level and once again I am standing under a quite impressive portcullis, my god. This one is slightly different to the first one as the walls seem better kept and the murder holes have increased tenfold¡­ Well I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t want to attack this place. At these gates are two armored goblins, which kneel down to me as I arrive. Oh so they¡¯re with me? One of them signals for the portcullis to open and with a creak, the heavy iron gates rise up. Walking through, I look up and around to notice that if an army walked in here, it¡¯d be a literal bloodbath with the enormous amount of murderholes littered all over the place. *Shiver* Luckily, I just get to walk through here. I¡¯m not the only one who shivers, as I notice my prisoners and Squirrel shivered involuntarily at the kill zone. This corridor is about as long as the last and we arrive on the other side within a good time. The pungent smell of vomit, has lessened somewhat, so I think I¡¯m sort of presentable to the king? I¡¯m not sure how favorable being covered in vomit and goblin blood is to my first impression¡­ ¡°YAAG-¡° *RRIP* ¡­ .. . Apparently it¡¯s pretty well suited¡­ We just exited the corridor and first thing we see is a goblin ripping off anothers head¡­lovely¡­ Seems like killing eachother is a common occurrence for goblins. The victor is a large, muscled goblin with numerous battle scars littering his chest and arms.
NAME:Noble Goblin [lvl8] (Elite variant)
Health:10/60Attack:20-20
Defense:0
Not that scary? I mean I did expect it to be a complete monster¡­but it¡¯s only a goblin. Though it is twice as good as my goblins¡­hmm The noble goblin chuckles as he tosses the head away and then saunters over to a small group of goblins, which when they yell as he flings them over his shoulder, give off their gender as women. Never would have guessed¡­since they look pretty much the same as the men¡­eugh. I turn to Rakartkas, who is glaring at the noble goblin ¡°Oy, you mongrels, what are you doing ¡®ere?¡± Well sir, I¡¯ve been called Dumbass before but never mongrel, I am quite offended indeed. Turning back to the muscled goblin, who has finished moving the women to his own small, well now larger, group of about 20¡­Damn, goblins know how to enjoy power. Sorry got distracted there. Focusing back on him, I walk up and offer my hand with a smile ¡°I am Joat, returning from the trial¡± He sizes me up for a second before realizing that I¡¯m above his station. Noticing that, he bows slightly ¡°Sorry, but I wasn¡¯t talking to you lord, I was talking to those little shits over there¡± ¡°Haha! I see, no worries then¡± Well they are little but I wouldn¡¯t call them shits¡­they are under my control afterall. I feel some gazes of confusion coming from my goblins and of course the ¡®prisoners¡¯. Wrapping my arm around the goblins shoulder, I share a hearty laugh with him before I snap his neck with an audible crack. Dropping the noble goblin with a twisted neck, I turn to my subordinates ¡°Happy now?¡± ¡°YES!¡± With that sorted, I dismiss them and they leave quite satisfied with my performance. Now I¡¯m just left with my people and those goblin women¡­ Hmm¡­ Ah! I walk over to the goblin women, who cower slightly as I approach Crouching down by them I look deeply into their fearful eyes ¡°I will be visiting the houses of the nobles later, so make sure to help me give those nobles a bloody welcome¡± ¡­ .. . Did they catch that or? One of the women, the wrinklier one, I¡¯m guessing older, nods. Standing back up, I let those seeds be sown and now time to wait for my next escort. ... .. . That is a good point, where is my next escort¡­and actually a better point, where are we? I got so distracted by this goblin that I didn¡¯t actually look around the place. Having a nice long look around, I see that it¡¯s actually just a small room, with stairs on either side and a giant steel door on the far end. Oh, so this is the guard room? So where are all the guards? Time to explore! Motioning for the others to follow, I take one of the stairs and start to explore. Going up the stairs leads to a strange sort of room; it¡¯s a long corridor, but the left wall is curved into a dome shape, with long platforms littering it. Walking down the corridor, I notice that by the platforms are murder holes. Ah, so that¡¯s how it works! Clambering up the platforms, I make my way to the top of the dome. ¡°AAgh!¡± Swiveling round, I see a Giraffe-beastman, which is a human with an unusually long neck and giraffe coloured, struggling with the floor, as his legs have fallen through one of the murder holes. Quickly, everyone grabs onto him and pulls him out without too much difficulty. Continuing up, we all take a little more care where our feet go ¡°Boss¡± Squirrels voice, unusually quiet, comes up behind me ¡°You noticed did you?¡± ¡°Mhm¡± This is why she¡¯s my left hand woman. I suppose a couple of the people here know or at least suspect that these murder holes, aren¡¯t your usual murder holes. They¡¯re too big, since if a fully grown man can fit his legs through, a goblin can fit their whole body through without a problem. Hence, instead of being murder holes, they¡¯re more like access points for goblins to dive into the enemy. Sounds a bit bizarre when I think about it but these are goblins, so that kind of sounds like something they¡¯d do. Anyways, we finally get to the top of the dome and lo and behold, there¡¯s a corridor on the other side. Climbing down to that corridor, I go towards the stairs and voila, I¡¯m back to the small room. ¡°Well that was boring, yet oddly informative¡± Most nod at that with our Rooster-beastman, with red hair, a small beak and some wings looking confused. I call him Rooster-beastman, because of the red hair, also spiked up. DillyDally fills him in on the ¡®murder¡¯ holes and I go over to the steel door, because there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything else to this place, except the goblin women who are still half cowering on the floor...could they not open the door themselves? PUSH! ¡­ .. . ¡°Prisoners, open the door for me, I don¡¯t feel like doing so¡± Not that I¡¯m too weak to do it or anything, just can¡¯t be bothered, of course¡­ They grumble slightly, but it looks like they want to check outside too so it¡¯s a win win. With the effort of 6 of us, well them, we push open the door with a large screeing sound of metal on stone. Behind these doors, is quite a sight indeed. ¡­ ¡­ (Anoobis¡¯ POV) ¡°I AM THE GREAT ANOOBIS AND I HAVE CREATED THIS MIGHTY WEAPON. I DUB THEE EX-¡° ¡°QUIET MAGGOT¡± ¡°Ok¡± I hear the many snickers from the people around me but hah! I created my dagger, this beauty: [table]WEAPON:Dagger(hand) (Beginner)+5 attackIt may not be the greatest thing, but it will allow me to travel down the path of making the greatest things! Walking confidently to Jarken, I present my dagger¡­ ¡­ .. . ¡°WELL DONE! Maggot¡±
QUEST COMPLETE! YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO BECOME A BLACKSMITH
WOO! Sauntering out of the blacksmith, I leave the dozen or so people in there to work on their weapons. It¡¯s waay too quiet out here, where¡¯d all the shouting go? ¡­ .. . What are these lowlifes trying to do? ¡­ ¡­ (Krudel¡¯s POV) A dagger¡¯s guard must be twice as thick as its blade. However the style and shape of dagger may change whether the blocking is done with the guard or with the blade and whether the dagger has a guard at all. Small, concealable daggers usually don¡¯t have guards, and are extremely thin in nature. With the basic iron ore we have, the highest carat we can possibly get is 2 with a single piece, which would be too brittle for a normal knife or concealable one for that matter. Therefore if we thicken it, the thickness should be a viable replacement for the carat and stop the blade breaking upon contact. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. However thick blades aren¡¯t good for cutting and they require extra force for piercing. In this scenario, the knife would work better serrated as then we have sharp points along with it being thick. Hmm that¡¯s a good idea. ¡°I¡¯M TELLING YOU, THE BLADE NEEDS TO BE 8 INCHES BY 2¡± ¡°NO, THAT¡¯S TOO LONG AND TOO THIN THAT¡¯LL BREAK EASY¡± Holding the thoughts on knife creation, I focus back on my surroundings: Everyone has split off into groups, having members log off and research things about knives. All in all a smart idea, however the internet is an expansive territory, so many different theories and instructions on knives have been found and are now up to debate. I glance at Mistress and see she is looking worriedly towards the heated debates that litter the square. Striding to the Gold bird-beastman and Black-lion beastman, I raise both by their collar and smash them on the ground. ¡­Much better. With the sounds of them being flung to the ground, the rest of the square quietens down ¡°This ore is at most two carat, therefore with this ore the optimal knife would be a four carat curved blade with a serrated edge and no guard. There will be no pommel and the hilt will be a thin iron core wrapped thickly with leather. Blade length varies depending on ore usage, but an average length would be six inches and the width varying from two to three. We will need a work table to mark points and create an outline of the knife on. Then using the outline we will make a mold using some ores and finish with filling the mold with the liquid iron. A few strokes with a hammer will set the iron and the dagger will be formed. Do you all understand?¡± ¡­ ¡­ (Anoobis¡¯ POV) Everyone is sitting down, watching a Skeleton stabbing a table with a skinning knife. What are these lowlifes up to? Walking down the steps, I sit down¡­next to the Redhead rabbit with the wonky ear¡­ Moving to another location very quickly, I sit down once more¡­by the giant red Minotaur¡­ Standing up, I go to the back of the crowd and look from a distance. Everyone is in complete silence watching this guy¡­maybe he knows how to make knives in the real world? Ooh, I may have found worthy competition for my geniosity! I take a quick headcount¡­only 61 people here. That¡¯s 9 missing. The strange silent lecture of sorts, continues on for a good 5 minutes, before the 9 missing return from the forest, wave to the skeleton, trade with him and then sit down. ¡°Now, using this outline, we will shape a mold. Whoever has dexterous hands and doesn¡¯t mind getting burnt, stand up¡± The skeletons voice is posh yet profound, not like the airheads that I know. Immediately a good 18 people stand up and the skeleton chooses 6; a gnome with a long red beard, the redhead rabbit, A large wolf with silver hair, My rival in wits; the raven-beastlady, a donkey-head-beastman and a large human. Oh! They are the leatherworkers if I remember correctly. Not a terrible choice if I must say so myself¡­this skeleton has good eyes. The 7 of them head indoors to the forge and the rest of the crowd heads off into the fields, to train I am guessing. Hmm¡­I could train with my knife, but this skeleton has garnered my interest! ¡°YEEHAW!¡± What was that? ¡­ ¡­ (Miss Nameless¡¯ POV) Krudel left me¡­ ¡­ .. . ¡°YEEHAW!¡± Finally time to play! But Joat¡¯s not here¡­ Oh! That Jackal guy who nobody really likes because he laughed at Joat¡­hmm maybe not then. *Sneeze* ¡°Miss, I believe you were just thinking about me¡± GASP! How did he know? Is he a psychic? ¡°No, I am just great¡± How does greatness allow you to know what people think? I cock my head sideways at that¡­though Joat does know a lot of things I don¡¯t. But I don¡¯t think I like this guy, for some reason he gives off a different vibe to Joat, more like those ¡®friends¡¯ my father has round on occasion. Turning away from him, I do these really fun yet tiring things Joat names ¡®burpees¡¯ down the street and towards the village gate. Jump up, roll, one step of sneak, repeat. ¡°Fool! You are doing it wrong!¡± I turn round to the Jackal who is chuckling while raising his head high ¡°How?¡± I am curious since he does seem to know what he¡¯s talking about ¡°Like this!¡± He jumps into the air, throws a copper coin and catches it in the other hand while kicking, drops and stomps before rolling and doing 1 step of sneak. OOOOOH! Taking his routine, I try it out for myself, and indeed it¡¯s much more difficult but it¡¯s fun! ¡­ .. . *Wheeze* So¡­.tiring! Taking a short break, I start once again! ¡­ .. . Why did I even try this? But it¡¯s fun? I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯m just *Pant* so tired after this. Another short break and I do the last bit of the street before walking normally out the gate. Now what to-OH THAT IS THE CUTEST LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD! ¡­ ¡­ (Krudel¡¯s POV) ¡°Reddwarf, the spine is slightly curved by your left palm, push slightly more¡± ¡°Yes Krudel¡± Pushing the spine flat with his leather covered hands; the mold is once more back in a decent state. This mold should do us well in creating successful knives¡­as the more of us who learn the skill, the better our leveling will be. Having more smiths may not be more beneficial to us in the long run, but for now an extra level is beneficial for all. Thus making as many people pass as possible is necessary. ¡°Baila ignore the onlookers¡± She guiltily turns back and focuses on the handle, which she didn¡¯t let move¡­she has very good control of her hands that one. The onlookers in question are the dozen or so players who are trying to create their own knives by themselves. I commend their resolution, but they risk a lot for no other benefit than their solidarity. Back to the mold. The metal is cooling down fast, maybe a minute more and it will be set. ¡°Ouch¡± I look up at Lancel who is gritting his teeth in mild pain ¡°Has it burnt through the leather yet?¡± ¡°Not yet, but I can feel the heat a lot more¡± Using leather gloves as a barrier, we can hold the metal in place without dying from burn damage, albeit it does cause constant tinges of pain. I correct mistakes for another minute and with that the iron no longer presses against my fingers. Sliding them out from the inside of the mold, I leave largeish serrated marks for the knife. That will do. The mold is complete¡­now to let the mass production begin ¡­ .. . WHERE''S MISTRESS? ¡­ ¡­ (Miss Nameless¡¯ POV) ¡°Noir pleasssse let me stroke you¡± *Hop hop* ¡°Noir noooooo¡± Walking as fast as *pant* I can go, I follow the adorable black bunny with deep purple eyes. IT¡¯S SO CUTE! I JUST WANT TO HUGGLE IT ALL DAY! Father never let me keep pets, well not after Bubbles¡­ ¡°Come here Noir, let me huggle you¡± I give my sweetest smile and open my arms as I walk toward the rabbit *Hop hop hop* Nuuuuu Follow Noir! I follow for quite a while, and it does stop and wait for me to catch my breath at times. See, you want to be hugged by me! Just let me! Following it for a little while longer, the trees thin out somewhat and I end up in front of a large cave. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Jackal!? I whip around to see the Jackal, walking up to me looking very confused and somewhat scared ¡°Following Noir¡± I point towards my cute little rabbit that¡¯s nibbling on some grass in front of the cave now. ¡°Get out of here, now¡± He glares at me Why? Have I done something wrong? But I swear he sounded scared rather than angry ¡°Grrrrr¡± He stops glaring at turns towards the cave from which the ominous sound came from. ¡°Run away now!¡± ¡°But Noir¡± ¡°Forget the rabbit and go!¡± *slam* A large brown paw with long claws slams into the light outside the cave. Quickly moving into the light is¡­a brown bear with scars littering its body. Noir doesn¡¯t seem to notice and continues eating the grass. The bear looks down towards my cutie and raises a paw ¡°NOOO¡±
Mini-Boss: Cave Bear has aggroed onto you
¡°RUN YOU FOOL!¡± The Cave Bear slams its paw to the ground, narrowly missing Noir and starts charging towards me. *Smack* Jackal¡¯s fist connects with the bears face but the bear just stops and looks angrily at Jackal ¡°RUNNNNN!¡± He jumps back dodging a claw and then rolls to dodge the other ¡°BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?¡± ¡°DON¡¯T CARE, GO!¡± Getting a graze on his arm, he tumbles to the floor and scrambles up somehow dodging the second claw. ¡°NOI-¡° ¡°GOO!¡± I turn to leave Jackal who just took a slice down his arm when I spot Noir hopping into the cave. *Screech* ¡°NOIR¡± Charging behind the bear, I sprint to the cave and quickly search for it. There you are! ¡°BEHIND YOU!¡± Aaah! Tumbling and rolling, I somehow dodge the claws of the bear that tried to get me and once up, I sprint to Noir, which is looking at some shiny white things in the corner and try to pick it up. *Hop* ¡°Noir, now¡¯s not the time, let me grab you and we get out of here. I follow the hopping Noir *wheeze* deeper into the cave ¡­ .. . The bear isn¡¯t coming after me? Oh! Jackal! He must¡¯ve made it attack him again. *Pant* I want to help, but I don¡¯t know what to do! *Smack* ¡°Owwwie¡± I ran into something¡­NOIR? No, Noir¡¯s just scratching its ear with its foot, by my face. What did I walk into then? It didn¡¯t feel like stone, more like metal? Standing back up, I see that I had run into a pedestal in the middle of a cage-shaped thing. On the pedestal is a lever ¡­ .. . Ah! *Pant Pant Pant* Ok got breath now Running back towards the entrance of the cave, I see Jackal looking very wounded and the bear looking not too well off either. ¡°JACKAL¡± ¡°WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?¡± He ducks under a paw ¡°THIS IS A CAVE¡± He stabs the incoming paw, with a knife!? He made one?! ¡°THERES A" *PANT* '' THINGYMABOB¡± ¡°WHAAT?¡± He slams into the wall dodging the angry bear that bites the thin air. ¡°COME¡± I motion for him to come ¡°GOT NOTHING TO LOSE! GET RUNNING!¡± I start running and I hear him come behind me with an angry bear slamming its paws into the floor as it begins to chase after us, thankfully with a limp hindering it. Reaching the end of the cave, we¡¯ve made a small distance from the bear and I rush into the thingy. Jackal rushes in too and I pull the lever ¡°nnnnngh¡± ¡°LET ME¡± *CREAK* Jackal pulls the lever with an almighty creak ¡­ .. . ¡°THOUGHT YOU SAID THIS WOULD DO SOMETHING?¡± The bear is about 5 metres away ¡°I DON¡¯T KNOW, IT JUST LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING¡± 3 metres ¡°WHAT, WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD THIS BE?¡± ¡° AN ELE-¡° ¡°GRAA-¡° ¡°VATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ authors corner: I''m BACK! This chapter, nothing useful? happened so if the time gods allow i''ll work/post another chapter by the end of this week. until then -TRUENOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORD 22. Having a Gobliny Meal (Joat¡¯s POV) Wow, this is hell of a cave
You have entered the Raid Instance: King''s Cave
An expansive cave where the noble caste of the goblins reside, within old Dwarven dwellings
True to that fact, there are a number of rectangular houses, with golden painted walls that have been chipped by time and probably the goblins, in view. I can see 11 buildings; ranging from the small basic rectangles closest to me to the large, castle-like mansion with 4 towers and a large spiral centre that is on the furthest edge of the cave. Not to mention the iconic bearded dwarf faces that is the top of each tower as well as the gate(the door being its mouth). The design of the cave itself is a bit strange; the buildings are all in a ring on the outside of the cave, as they¡¯re embedded in the walls and in the centre is a huge circular space with a fountain in the middle. I can see the fountain, but it¡¯s a bit of a weird fountain because it is shaped in the pair of two hands cupped together and raised to the sky. I suppose water would come from the middle, but no water of the sort is spilling out. The crowd in question is bustling about doing things? I¡¯m not really sure what they¡¯re doing¡­ ¡°KILL¡± ¡­ .. . Well now im sure? I ready myself to fight, but¡­no goblins come charging towards me¡­o..k? ¡°YOU¡¯RE WOMEN ARE MINE!¡± ¡°DIE YOU BASTARD¡± ¡°EAT ¡®IS FACE OFF¡± ¡­ .. . Oh! So it¡¯s like that then. Among the throngs of goblins are ones fighting over women¡­again. This is exactly like what happened in the guard room¡­is this part of the trial too? Or is this just in the daily life of the noble goblins? I *tsk* at not asking Rakartkas about the trial in more detail because that may have helped with my planning somewhat. Well nothing I can do about that now, back to figuring out what¡¯s happening. It seems like the goblins are fighting over their women again and when I glance at the crowds, they are either watching or just ignoring the fights¡­although it¡¯s only the women who are ignoring the fights. Checking those women, eugh, I do see that they aren¡¯t well dressed and their skin is blemished with bruises and cuts¡­so they¡¯re the ¡®guard¡¯ women then, or well slaves in this case. It¡¯s not only one fight either¡­I do hear many different insults going out, mostly from the crowds. It¡¯s almost like a little spectacle¡­Kind of like we are right now to quite a few of them ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°Never seen ¡®im before¡± ¡°He¡¯s a hobgoblin!¡± ¡°Can he be?¡± ¡°But who are the ones behind him?¡± Those are just some of the questions I catch wind of but from that I can guess they¡¯re questions about my hobgobliness and my prisoners. Time to get to work. Lightly brushing Squirrel off, who was holding my arm somehow, I saunter towards the crowds. The fights die down as the others hush them and by the time I¡¯m face to face with the front of the crowd, it¡¯s completely silent. ¡°I AM JOAT, coming back from the trial that began 4 years ago. I am here to deliver these prisoners and well...find a house to relax in¡± I''m not going to tell them that i''m here to kill their lord am I? ¡­Any reactions? It takes them a couple of seconds to react but it¡¯s mostly just nods of the heads stating that they do understand what I¡¯m doing. ¡°The lord is busy at the moment, so why don¡¯t you relax at mine¡± A stout goblin wearing a fading yet embroidered cloak steps out of the crowd with a slight bow Ah so there are goblins with some semblance of intelligence. I can see the death glares this goblin gets from many of the others in the crowd and as some try to step out to give offers I nod. ¡°Lead the way¡± He grins and hurriedly moves and beckons for me to follow, leaving the growling crowd behind. As I¡¯m walking away, I hear the fights resume, with a lot more fervor. The goblin leads us to a fairly large house¡­well more like a mansion. The exterior is modest with only some golden colouring on the pillars and door frame, however it is very wide. Oddly enough, it¡¯s only 1 floor, but then again this is a Dwarven house¡­maybe they didn¡¯t like heights? He goes to the gate before giving it a curt knock. *Creak* The door slides open, revealing a group of female goblins pushing the door open. ¡°Come inside, and we will feast on some fresh blood¡± He emphasized the ¡®we¡¯ too much for my liking there. Guys, be prepared for an ambush I feel they¡¯re confused glances on my back but they really shouldn¡¯t be confused, not with the obviousness of that statement. Walking through the doors¡­is a house full of women(?) They have little strips of cloth around the chest area, so I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re women. Ignoring the mass of about 40 women who are busy cleaning, I look at the room that they are cleaning. It¡¯s just a giant rectangle, with broken down walls between rooms. There¡¯s nothing in these supposed rooms, just a few crates in the corner. ¡°So what is this room?¡± The goblin stops and turns around, looking mildly impatient. ¡°This building is the guild of merchants and this is our warehouse¡± ¡­Well it is the size of a warehouse¡­but there¡¯s nothing in it. Anyways, he moves on and I follow. Maybe there might actually be something in this place. He walks straight across the width of the warehouse and ends up at a wooden door, which some gobliness¡¯ stop cleaning and hurry to open for him. Walking through the open doors after him, I¡¯m in a corridor which looks more like a delicately carved tunnel. Though scratch marks litter the surrounding walls. ¡°So, how many merchants are there in this guild of merchants?¡± ¡°Around¡± He turns and smirks ¡°6000¡± ¡­ .. . Well¡­.this is certainly going to be interesting and I think I may be a little screwed ¡°Wow, there are a lot of you, though you must have many slaves to tend to your needs¡± ¡°Hah! True, we are nobles after all. They number close to 10,000 but they¡¯ve all been trained very well¡± He emphasized the word ¡®trained¡¯¡­so I¡¯m guessing those seeds I planted earlier aren¡¯t going to grow much...I think a little screwed became very screwed¡­ Everyone, I¡¯m going to teach you how to get Brutality; it gives 2:1 attk:points and we¡¯re going to need it. When the fight starts, kill by biting, tearing and other brutal ways of killing and add that stat as quick as possible I can feel the collective shiver behind me from quite a few of the people; even Squirrel loosens her grip on my arm somewhat. But I suspect at least one of them already had that stat. We reach the end of the cave-like corridor and the goblin continues walking through a more refined-looking corridor, going past a large number of closed doors. Listening slightly at each door, I hear a collection of¡­interesting sounds¡­Well they do have slaves¡­and they happen to be female. Though I swear I just heard two women there¡­ ANYWAYS. Not the time to be exploring goblin paradise(?) as I¡¯m about 100% sure I¡¯m walking into an ambush. He leads us to some rusting metal doors and some slaves, who were about the corridor, open it for him. One collapses after straining to open the door and the goblin stops and kicks her a couple of times before she stands back up. He then walks into the next room. Looking at the one who just got kicked a couple of times, I notice she¡¯s staring right at me, in recognition? Oh! I slowly walk past, glance at her, tap the door and motion backwards. She nods. Hehe, in a field of fruits, all it takes is one weed to mess things up. Entering the room, I see it to be a giant room, once again, but this time a stone table, slightly chipped but still well carved, furnished with chairs, a dusty cloth and some cutlery. Oooh! Cutlery! The goblin turns around and gives a little bow ¡°I thought you would be hungry and since it is time to eat, I¡¯ll gather the others. Then we shall have some fresh blood no?¡± Couldn¡¯t have made it more obvious¡­not the greatest merchant out there are you? ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it¡± I give him my best smile Fool. He leaves, looking happy with himself and shuts the door behind him. Moving to the table, I take the head of the table and sit comfortable in my stone chair, well as comfortable as I can get on stone, which isn¡¯t very. Everyone else looks mildly perplexed, since they¡¯ve gone into a combat pose while I¡¯ve just gone and sat down. ¡°What are you doing Joat. You said they¡¯re going to attack us¡± DillyDally points his finger at me accusingly ¡°True, but they¡¯ve given us time to prepare, the fools¡± ¡°Prepare what Boss?¡± To that I just smile ¡­ ¡­ (Thakarak¡¯s POV) Heheh hahah HAHAHAH! THAT FOOL, MORON, IDIOT! He fell into my trap so easily! And now I, the mighty Thakarak, leader of the guild of merchant¡¯s shall gain all the glory for the lord! And with glory comes many things that I like; like money, women and best of all: to be able to look down at that bastard Torg, thinking he¡¯s all high and mighty with his guild of weapons. Ptah Also, he brought those delicious looking prisoners, especially that squirrel¡­mmm, I like squirrels; they¡¯re feet are especially delicious. Craving later, must gather all my guildsmen and then have some fresh blood hihihihi. ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°I¡¯m actually getting hungry now¡± The Gazelle-beastman, Yinroh complains. ¡°Really? We¡¯re in the middle of enemy territory and you¡¯re thinking about food¡± The Kudu-beastman, Snorh retorts back ¡°Guys, stop fighting and concentrate¡± our Zebra-beastman, SirStripy gives them a knock over the head with his hands. ¡°Oww¡± the two of them simultaneously say it. I honestly would¡¯ve said both Yinroh and Snorh are gazelle¡¯s but apparently, if the antlers are more S shaped then that is typical of a Kudu¡­which is some relative of the straight antler gazelle¡­ Some useful, random information I got from Snorh, since he didn¡¯t like me calling them gazelle brothers¡­.shouldn¡¯t have chosen an animal that isn¡¯t mainstream. Anyways, the two have their respective horns, and of course their tails. SirStripy has his lovely black mane as his hair, which makes him looks quite like a punk rockstar, and also a nice black and white tail¡­ The three of them seem to know eachother pretty well, which is useful I guess? Though they don¡¯t seem as close as the Zz¡¯s. ¡°Why do we have to use our horns again?¡± Yinroh continues his complaints ¡°Because we¡¯re sharpening them dumbass¡± Snorh retorts once again ¡°Oh we were? I thought we we¡¯r-¡° ¡°-You idiot¡± ¡°Hey, Stripy! Snorh¡¯s being mean again!¡± ¡°Snorh¡­continue doing so-¡° ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°After we¡¯re out of here¡± ¡°Thanks Stripy¡± ¡°Ugh I guess¡± ¡°good, now get back to work!¡± Stripey¡¯s doing fine with those lot and everyone else seems to be doing their own work¡­perfect. ¡­ ¡­ (Thakarak¡¯s POV) ¡°Everyone ready for a meal?¡± I look at all my gathered guildsmen; almost half of them are here. The others were too busy doing their own things around here, but that¡¯s alright. The dining room can only hold close to 600 of us¡­so we won¡¯t need everyone to join in, just, those that didn¡¯t come won¡¯t get to taste some lovely fresh blood! I see a multitude of nods and with that, my slaves open the doors to the dining room. ¡­ .. . HAHAHA! THE FOOLS! They¡¯re sitting down at the table! Oh this will be a delicious meal indeed! ¡°Welcome, I was getting hungry waiting for all of you¡± The hobgoblin, whatever his name was, gives me a nice big smile¡­hehe, you¡¯re going to lose that smile very soon. ¡°Sorry, but it took longer than expected to grab everyone for dinner¡± I walk into the room and my guildsmen file down either side of the room, quickly circling around, not hiding their intent very well, but I don¡¯t notice the hobgoblin, or any of the others noticing that. ¡°It is fine, it gave me time to guess at the menu¡± We finish encircling them, about 500 of us in the room, the rest waiting outside. ¡°Oh and what might it be?¡± I can¡¯t hide my grin any longer, the FOOL! ¡°You¡± *WHOOSH* ¡­ .. . ¡°Eh?¡± *SPLAT* ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) *BASHSMASHBASHSMASHBASH* ¡°PUSH¡± Squirrel¡¯s loud voice always comes in handy. Gristle, the rhino and Kandien, the Moose both charge to the tabletop, which is covering the doorway, and push against it with all their might. The rest of us are swinging our chairs around literally crushing a couple of goblins each swing. 5 seconds in and ? of the room are dead already! These chairs are awesome! Dwarves are bloody good craftsman if they can make a stone chair that doesn¡¯t smash after being swung into masses of goblins. Though, these chairs are lined with metal and I believe there¡¯s a metal core in them too, so they¡¯re pretty durable. *Crack* The goblins in the room, haven¡¯t really gotten what¡¯s happening and the ones who have are trying to retreat to the corners of the room, away from the 11 people swinging round the thick, throne-like chairs, which bash multiple goblins each swing to oblivion. ¡°READY UP!¡± Dropping my chair, I rush Gristle and Kandien, along with the others and push on their backs *CRACK* *SPLAT* The upper half of the table just broke off and the rest we forcefully push out into the corridor and ram it through the goblin mass. ¡°PUSH¡± Half of us push while the others swing at the sides with their chairs, causing goblin to be splattered around the place. Running over the last few goblins in front, we push the slab over the floor and towards the cave-like corridor. Everyone drops their chairs and mass pushes against one another. Speeding to and through the cave-like corridor, the goblins maniacally chase after us to no avail, probably out of anger. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The slab broke a little as we entered the corridor, but it¡¯s still a tight fit causing sparks to fly around as we rocket through. Within a minute, we¡¯ve made it to the other side and once back in the warehouse, we stop the slab; letting a mass of squashed corpses fall and turn the slab around to face the corridor. Peeking out from behind, I see the mass of goblins filling up the corridor, and coming right for us. ¡°TIME FOR SOME GOBLINS SQUISHING GENTLEMEN!¡± Pushing against eachother, we rocket down the corridor once more and we hear the ¡°EH?¡± of a goblin before we feel the impact and a multitude of squish sounds. The force we¡¯re pushing against increases tenfold, but that might just be because we have to push all the dead bodies too. It doesn¡¯t matter much, as there¡¯s 13 of us pushing, so we burst out the corridor in maybe 2 minutes. ... .. . *THUD* We let the slab fall on top of the mountain of squashed corpses we just made and we see a much smaller horde of terrified goblins looking at us. ¡°THEY¡¯RE MONSTERS!¡± ¡°ESCAPE¡± ¡°RUN AWAY!¡± They quickly disperse in all directions scrambling as far away from us as they can. DillyDally goes to follow them but I put a hand up to stop him ¡°You¡¯re going to let them run away?¡± ¡°Pfft, as if I¡¯d let them¡± Perfectly timed screams of goblins from all sides really emphasized my point there, sweet. The screams and sounds of fighting lasts a few minutes. ¡°My seed has sprouted¡± A slave turns round the corner, holding the head of what is probably her former master. Following her is a lot more of them, most holding the head of probably their respective master. Soon the corridor is filled to the brim with slaves and I decide now¡¯s the time. Walking out of the group, I walk onto the bloody slab which resides on top of the mountain of squashed corpses. ¡°Have you had your fair share of nobles¡­or would you like to kill some more?¡± ¡°KILL¡±
Quest Update: 2,421 Female Goblin Slaves have joined your side. They do not contribute to your supporters. 6.72% of the Clan is Backing your Claim
6.72%? Oh! It¡¯s because I killed 6,000 of them didn¡¯t I. And the slaves don¡¯t count? Well that¡¯s not fair. Guess, no point rounding up slaves¡­or is there? ¡°You ladies, clean the mess and act like nothing has happened, make sure no one notices¡± They all nod and get to work. Walking down the slab, back to the others, I crack my knuckles. ¡°So, I¡¯m hungry. How about we catch some dinner at some other guys house¡± I grin as best as I can ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re reception sucked, and the dining table was too loose for their own good¡± Snorh adds in, the cheeky bugger ¡°Mhm, at least they provided us with decent chairs" Yinroh chimes in We chuckle at that and walk back through the cave-like corridor, which isn¡¯t that bloody. Well we did pretty literally scrape the whole way through so I wouldn¡¯t expect much to be left there. ¡°Boss, your plan killed at least 1000, and possibly even up to 2000¡± Squirrel taps a finger on her mouth thoughtfully as she gently holds my left arm. ¡°Yes it was a great plan but do you have a point?¡± ¡°Well, next house, can I do the planning¡± Is this a challenge I smell!? ¡°Sure, how about we all take a turn¡± Most of them don¡¯t look too convinced with that, but DillyDally just laughs ¡°Well this is a game, so might as well have fun¡± He is certainly up for it! Waving goodbye to the slave who I signaled earlier, she opens the door for me and I walk back onto the street. 9 hours to go and 9 houses left¡­Let¡¯s get started! ¡­ ¡­ (Tarakiel¡¯s POV) *Sob* Ugh, so bored¡­Why is there never anything to do in these damnable caves? *Sob* ¡°Lord Tarakiel¡± ¡°What is it now Gimmath¡± *Sob* ¡°There¡¯s a hobgoblin in the plaza¡± Ooh! I smell something to do! Hanging the whip on the wall, I quickly make my way out of the dungeons. ¡°Tell me more about this hobgoblin¡± My trusted goblinservant powerwalks after me with ease. ¡°My ears couldn¡¯t pick up what he said, but he was able to make the whole crowd go quiet with just his presence¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s obvious you idiot, he¡¯s a hobgoblin¡± ¡°He also has with him 12 prisoners¡± Gimmath continues on without pause. ¡°12?¡± ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t quite see what they were, vision and all¡± ¡°Continue on¡± ¡°He said a few words and then someone took him to the guild of merchants¡± ¡­ .. . *Sigh* Guess I¡¯m not going to have something to do now Well, I did leave a slave half-untrained¡­might as well finish training her. ¡­ ¡­ Oops, I killed her. Well whatever, there¡¯s hundreds of thousands more of them. ¡°Lord Tarakiel¡± Gimmath comes bursting through the dungeon door once again ¡°Just do the usual, send some palace slaves over and give them as a reward¡± I lazily wave him off ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, the hobgoblin and his prisoners walked out fine a few minutes ago¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Could you repeat that?¡± ¡°The hobgoblin and his prisoners just walked out of the guild of merchants, just a few minutes ago¡± Wait a second ¡°How many idiots do we have in that building?¡± ¡°6000¡± Wow, are they that strong? Or¡­have I been betrayed? ¡­hmm ¡°Send a messenger to the guild of merchants to see what has happened¡± ¡°Will do¡± He turns to leave ¡°Ah wait¡± He swivels round attentively ¡°Where has the hobgoblin gone now?¡± ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°WAAAH¡± *SPLATCRASHBANGBASHCLANG* ¡°DAMN, ONLY 10¡± ¡°WATCH THIS!¡± ¡°AAAAA-¡° *CRASHBANGCLANG* *Whistle* ¡°WOW, THAT¡¯S QUITE THE ARM STRENGTH YOU HAVE THERE¡± ¡°YOU TWO, STOP THROWING GOBLINS AND START KILLING THEM¡± I scream to the two antlered fools who¡¯re bowling goblins down the opposite corridor ¡°1 MORE GO¡± *AAAAH-¡° *CRASHBANGSMASHBASHCLANGSPLAT* ¡°SWEET¡± I glance to my left, and see that a whole mass of goblins have tripped over one another thanks to the goblin missile. No time to praise him since I¡¯ve got hordes of goblins at my end too. ¡°Aaag-¡° ¡°-Staa-¡° ¡°-Nooo-¡° ¡°-Plea-¡° Hmm, I need a new weapon. Flinging the goblin into the crowd, I quickly grab another and swing it around while it pleads for its life. Sadly these goblins aren¡¯t as durable as the chairs from before, even though they¡¯re wearing armor. But they¡¯re still pretty good as weapons. Oh that one¡¯s done. Grab another. Swathing down goblins with a goblin is quite tiring but still decently fun. My end seems to be quite full of goblins, whereas the antlered idiots only have a thousand at most, so they¡¯re free to throw goblin missiles and such. ¡°AAAGH¡± Oho! My seeds finally sprouted it seems. Thank Aiag The screams come from the back of the humongous line of thousands of goblins that are pushing their way towards me causing them much confusion. ¡°PUSH¡± Tikari giving the useful commands. Along with DillyDally and the Gristle, I slowly walk up the corridor literally batting goblins into the air, armor and all. I¡¯m probably not the only one in the group who doesn¡¯t have the strength to kill them in one go, but due to the weapon we¡¯re using and them bashing in the wall/other goblins, it kills them off anyways. The armored goblins have a problem deciding which side to fight and after barely minutes, the almost endless line of them has turned into a few hundred fighting while surrounded by the corpses of their brethren and of course, us. I stop pushing and watch the slaves leap towards them; get skewered on the rusting weapons, and then the next wave getting through and ripping the armored goblins to pieces. A minute of watching that, the last goblin falls. Walking back to the crossroads in the corridors, I meet up with the others. ¡°So how many did we kill this time?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say close to 8000 on our end¡± *Whistle* Everyone collectively whistles at that, partially from the number, partially from Squirrel¡¯s extremely good skill in counting. Just what kind of eyesight does she have? ¡°How¡¯d we even survive that?¡± SirStripy asks looking confused. He has got a point, normally, thousands vs 13 doesn¡¯t work so well. Squirrel just grins. ¡°Simple; firstly, they had no momentum since they walked up to meet you, so without that there was little pressure forced onto you. Secondly, you had a large reach keeping them at bay. And thirdly, you literally bashed them back, giving yourself space to breathe, if only a little and further decreasing the pressure they put onto you¡± She has got a point there; I didn¡¯t get hit once, because of my weapon and when I went to get a new one, my companions covered with theirs. ¡°So basically we were a wall of death¡± I state to Gristle who is looking a bit confused ¡°Right on Boss¡± Having 3 of us pile up in one corridor did literally made us some kind of death wall. Also, with the amount of bodies that were piling up, they had to come at us at an even slower pace when they first started because of having to clamber over their dead friends. An interesting tactic that worked out pretty well, albeit quite tiring. Well this just goes to show that numbers are only useful if you can use them. Checking casualties on the slave side, about 1,000 of them are left alive¡­wow that¡¯s a hell of a lot of them that died there. According to the goblin who showed us in, this was the guild of weapons, which had around 20,000 goblins and a close to triple amount of slaves. They had taken us to this crossroad of corridors, before blocking us off in all directions. Squirrel really does have some good ideas, which really saved our life there. The 1,348 slaves join my cause and I now own 20.99% of the Clan¡¯s support. Which is a decent amount, for only having 3,248 supporters. Having the slaves clean up, we take a good break, mostly lying on the floor, to regain our breath. A couple of minutes later, we feel mildly refreshed and actually quite hungry. Asking one of the slaves for food, they bring out some dried rat¡­ We all abstain on eating¡­not. I try the rat, and it¡¯s actually not as bad as I thought, a bit on the chewy side, but apart from that it¡¯s a filling meal. Squirrel takes a bite once I do, and she seems alright with it. The rest of them devour the rat, a couple of them looking at it suspiciously at first, but giving into the hunger. DillyDally was already chewing it like a snack way before I tried mine, so he either tried rat before or has done something similar? Or he¡¯s one of those people who just eats whatever¡­to them food is food. Whatever the reason, he¡¯s eating the rat nonetheless. We all eat and savour(?) the rat as it is the first meal we¡¯ve had in a while. Killing hordes of goblins really does make one hungry. Does suck a little that we don¡¯t get xp killing all those goblins but that¡¯s the game. Also looting them seems like a no go, since their armor seems stuck to them as well as their weapons...and they don''t disappear like in a normal instance. Well this is a raid instance. Finishing off my rat, I look down at my chestpiece; which is covered in a whole ton of blood and some drying vomit. Taking a sniff, no it doesn¡¯t smell weird¡­Maybe I¡¯ve gotten used to the smell of being drenched in blood? I hope the next house we go to has a bath. Though that¡¯s unlikely to happen. Making our way out of the house, I check and see that we¡¯ve got about 8 hours left. Not bad, only took an hour to kill and eat. Walking back out into the street, I notice that the fights are still going full swing, but everyone stops as we exit the house. I notice fear in their eyes. Walking out the guild of merchants is one thing, but to walk out of the guild of weapons? Hehe, well I am a monster (race). One goblin does walk his way through the crowd, and they seem to part for him somewhat, allowing him to get through quickly. Hmm? The little goblin with a chewed ear and one white eye comes up to me ¡°Are you the Hobgoblin?¡± ¡°I am Joat, the hobgoblin, yes¡± He bows deeply towards me ¡°The lord would like to see you now¡± ¡°Lead the way¡± Wohoo! Finally, I¡¯m going to see this Tarakiel person. Though I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s a good thing seeing as though I¡¯ve killed a couple of thousand of his people in the past two hours¡­ Walking behind the goblin, we reach the palace quickly and walk through the large mouth gates of a dwarf. Entering the courtyard, the gates close behind us. Now time to meet the- ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!¡± *BANG* What was that? ¡­ ¡­ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Will post next chapter by next saturday :D -TRUENORRRRRRRRRD 23. Castle Adventures, Part 1 ¡°Wakey wakey¡­Joat¡± ¡°I never slept beautiful¡± ¡°Ehe, did you spend all night watching me?¡± Her voice isn¡¯t very feminine, but I guess I could still call it cute. ¡°Why of course; how could I sleep when you are here¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie hun, I did see you close your eyes a while back¡± She grins cheekily ¡°I was just enjoying the feeling¡± ¡°What feeling? Tell me more¡± Her breath wreathes around my ear, caressing it gently ¡°It¡¯s a secret¡± ¡°Oh stop teasing me, or I will do ¡®that¡¯ again¡± I feel her warmth travel down to my neck and press lightly against it. ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t do ¡®that¡¯; you know how I can¡¯t resist it¡± ¡°Ehe, but I love to see you squirm¡± I feel her tongue slide up the side of my neck before she nibbles my ear. Her hands travel down and grasp onto me, tugging lightly¡­at first. ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t tug so hard¡± ¡°Mmm, don¡¯t you like the feeling?¡± She giggles softly in my ear ¡°I don¡¯t want it all over the floor again¡± ¡°Ehe, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take all of it¡± Her other hand slides down my chest and joins in ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about¡± ¡°Ehe. I¡¯ll make sure you can¡¯t move after this¡± ¡°I don¡¯t doubt you there¡± The conversation stops and only the soft squelching sound echoes around the room. ¡°Oh there¡¯s so much, I¡¯m always surprised¡± ¡°The more the, Agh, better no?¡± ¡°Mmm, definitely¡± She tugs a little harder causing me to gasp a little ¡°Now now, don¡¯t¡­ahh¡­finish me off so quickly¡± ¡°Aw sorry, thought you liked it rougher¡± She bites my neck with some gusto ¡°Ow. Don¡¯t get me wrong beautiful, I do. But I want you to enjoy it too¡± ¡°Ehe, how thoughtful of you¡± She begins to trace her tongue down my chest licking languidly on the way. ¡°You are very skilled at this I must say¡± ¡°Well of course; I¡¯ve had mmm, a lot of practice at this¡± She squeezes me a little with her hands *gasp* before giggling at my reaction ¡°And must I say Joat, you are delicious¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you taste better¡± ¡°Ehe, you¡¯d love to have a taste wouldn¡¯t you¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to rip you apart¡± ¡°Oh¡± she licks her lips ¡°I know you would¡± *BANG* ¡°MY LORD TARAKIEL¡± The old manservant, Gimmath, bursts through the door, looking extremely distressed Dammit, what¡¯s he doing here? Tarakiel stops playing with me and turns around ¡°What is it Gimmath¡± ¡°The Grand Cave has been invaded by large group. They¡¯re decimating us as we speak!¡± ¡°Ugh, and I was just having some fun¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stop ruling on my account Tarakiel, I¡¯ll be waiting here just for you¡± ¡°Haha, true. You won¡¯t be going anywhere. So just stay put and wait for my return¡± She gives me a quick bite on my neck *gasp* before forcefully placing my intestines back in my stomach *GASP*. ¡°Take your time¡± I grimace as best as I can ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, to have some more fun. Ehe.¡± With that she saunters out of the room, Gimmath following close behind. *Rattle* Now how do I get out of here? ¡­ ¡­ -3 hours Ago- Following the small goblin through the courtyard, I really do wonder what that loud bang was. Asking through our little group chat, no one has any clue; the only thing we know is that there seemed to be a scream of some kind before the bang. Maybe some rocks came down? Well nevermind it, have to focus on the situation at hand. The goblin takes us through the front doors and we enter a long hallway, empty of everything except a dusty rug across the floor. From the outside this place looked huge and it feels just as gargantuan in here. Walking past rows and rows of closed doors and other corridors, we walk straight for a good 5 minutes. Stopping at a large set of thick metal doors, the goblin stops in front of it and starts fumbling around in his clothes. So we need a key for here then? The goblin produces a fist sized lump of crude ore ¡­ .. . Guess not then. *Clang, clang* After clanging on the door with the ore a few times there seems to be activity on the other side, as the door begins to slowly slide open. Having a little peek through the crack, I see a black seat in the distance, devoid of any sitter. Hmm, this just smells like trap! The doors open fully and we¡¯re ushered inside. Once inside, the goblin runs down the corridor telling us to stay put. Ooook? Time to explore! ¡°Well hello there¡­Joat¡± Ah dammit, and I was looking forward to seeing what interesting things this castle had¡­ The light yet still masculine voice comes from behind the throne and following it is the speaker; a medium sized hobgoblin with shoulder length black hair, brownish tinged skin and blue eyes. His hands are small yet clawed and his chest is quite square. The figure, which I am guessing is Tarakiel, quickly saunters to the throne and places himself on it. Walking up the aisle, I start to notice the throne in a little more detail; it¡¯s not entirely black; there are some dark purple shards embedded in it at odd angles¡­Oooooh! So it seems like it¡¯s a throne made from ore? The black does seem like deep stone and these shards look quite like gems now that I¡¯m getting a closer look. Mostly because they glint slightly. Momentarily ignoring the throne, I look back at Tarakiel; who is scanning me with an analyzing look.
BOSS:Tarakiel [lvl???]
???
WELL¡­there goes the plan of killing him¡­¡­¡­¡­. In front of the throne is a small flight of stairs and I believe it¡¯s probably the custom to stop at the bottom and address them there¡­ Yeah I don¡¯t do that, because let¡¯s face it; I really do want to get a better look at the throne Tarakiel narrows his eyes as I nonchalantly walk up the stairs towards him, only stopping a few feet away. *GRABSNIFFWHACK-CRASH* ¡°AAAGH JOAT¡± Ahhh, I thought I smelled a trap. Getting to my feet, I rub the growing bruise on the back of my head. Tarakiel is looking down at me from the throne in confusion rather than anger...I don¡¯t think he quite understood why I just sniffed him¡­well her. Tikari and Co. screamed at me firstly for the smelling and then because I got punched for about 89 hit points and was blown back to the bottom of the stairs. My body finally feels a little better. ¡°Forgive my rudeness my lady¡± I bow slightly towards the confused Tarakiel ¡°How dare y-¡­.what did you say?¡± Her eyes widen. Hehe, glad she noticed ¡°How could I miss a delicate beauty such as you, and mistake you for a man?¡± I grin at her ¡­ .. . ¡°Come with me and we will discuss matters by ourselves¡± She replies with a mischievous smile Sometimes, all you need is to be recognized for who you are. ¡°Are you going to show me your special place¡± I flash a grin ¡°Why¡­I¡¯ll give you a tour of my chambers¡± Well, I certainly wouldn¡¯t say no. ¡°Lead the way my lady¡± She gets off the throne, walks down the steps by me and then starts to walk off behind it. ¡°Ah, but before I go, what shall I do with my prisoners?¡± I gesture to my group who are standing drenched in drying blood, looking extremely confused. *Snap* At the snap of her fingers, the goblin rushes forwards for commands. ¡°Gimmath, take the prisoners to their cells¡± ¡°The squirrel is my¡­entertainer, so could you show her my room?¡± ¡°Now why will you need one of those?¡± She grins towards me ¡°An entertainer or a room?¡± Tarakiel winks and continues walking I grin and follow after her Joat, what is going on? Squirrel messages me as they¡¯re being herded out the door on the other side of the room Ah, it is quite a distance between them and me so they probably didn¡¯t hear the whole conversation. I¡¯m going to have a talk with Tarakiel, You guys are getting imprisoned¡­so don¡¯t and get out of here. WHAT? I can feel her gaze from all across the room. Well no point lying to you is there. ¡±Tarakiel, I noticed only Gimmath and you are here, is there anyone else?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just us¡± I can feel her grinning Tikari, there¡¯s no one but that little goblin, so beat him up and then get out of here Boss¡­good luck with your talk Right, talk... Though it seems Squirrel has gotten the gist of the situation, maybe Scratching the side of my head, I follow Tarakiel out a back door and through a corridor. Hmm, everything about her does scream male, apart from her smell and the way she talks. Never thought knowing that women have a slightly different musk to their sweat than men would come in useful someday¡­much less in helping me spot a trap¡­ Well last time I spotted a trap, I got my arm broken. So smelling someone yields less painful results it seems. We reach some stairs going up and after going up those, for a hell of a long time, we reach an iron door I step in after her as she opens the door.
Private Instance:Tarakiel''s Personal Chambers
This chamber doesn''t seem normal
*Rattle* *Drip Drip* ¡°Oh sorry, I forgot to clean up¡± The room is circular with various different torture equipment set up around the room, while in a lowered center ring there is a set of chains hanging from the ceiling¡­accompanied a dead goblin hanging from it, which looks like its been dead for days. eugh. ¡­ .. . Well done description, this chamber doesn¡¯t seem normal at all!! Something sharp¡­not to my left¡­Ah there¡¯s something! Spotting a screw shaped stick of metal, which looks wicked sharp, over to my right I start to lean towards it. ¡°What a lovely place you have here, mind if AAAGH¡± The screw slices deeply into my right wrist and I hear the blood gushing out along with quite a decent amount of my hp. Dammit, why¡¯d I have to slip at a moment like this¡­ Although I slipped, I haven¡¯t hit the floor¡­probably due to Tarakiel; who is holding me by the front of the neck ¡°tut¡±ing. ¡°Hehe, you really thought you would grab that and kill me? Oh please Joat¡­I¡¯m the one who causes pain around here¡± For a split second I see her fist coming towards my face, and then blackness. ¡­ ¡­ -Present time- *Shlop* Dammit! I moved too much and my intestines fell out! Oooh, that¡¯s cold and weird and oh god I really wanted to forget that feeling of having your intestines on the stone floor¡­ To be fair, it doesn¡¯t hurt as bad as I would¡¯ve thought¡­but that may be due to the fact that it¡¯s only 20% pain. Though, it¡¯s still my intestines being taken out of my body that we¡¯re talking about¡­ Luckily, this time I kept her entertained enough to not make her go further¡­*Shudder*. Seeing your own ribcage was not a pleasant experience¡­satisfied some strange curiosity of mine but¡­not something I really wanted to experience this lifetime. Also when I blacked out because of that, I didn''t get anything out of it, apparently I need to be conscious for my skills to grow... Anyways...my intestines aren¡¯t really a cause of too much concern¡­since its only cold and not actually killing me. What I¡¯m really worried about is the kind of massive hole in my abdomen where my intestines came from¡­ Though¡­I don¡¯t seem to be bleeding out from it? Wow, she really is good at this. I¡¯ve got some superficial blood around my body from the many light cuts she¡¯s caused by her nails. But apart from that and a little bit of blood from the cutting open of my abdomen¡­I¡¯m still pretty fresh. It¡¯s been, around a day, maybe 2? Must be like that because I am absolutely starving, and the only meal I got was my own blood, and some bread. Well however long it has been, I really don¡¯t want to be staying here any longer than I have to¡­though I did enjoy the free torture session. I found it very helpful. *Shlop* Aagh not more! *Ding*
Pain Tolerance has leveled up!
I definitely enjoyed this free torture session. But only as long as it doesn''t knock me out. *Rattle* Hmm, those chains aren¡¯t going to come off my wrists anytime soon ¡­ .. . Or are they? The right chain is a lot more bloody than the left; because it¡¯s slowly enlarging the hole I accidentally made in my wrist earlier, which hurts quite a bit must I say. ¡­ .. . I am not going to like this *RIP* Ripping my right arm downwards, I hear and feel the ripping of my wrist. Owwwwwwwwwwwwww¡­.Uuuuuuhh! Letting the pulsating pain die down, I try to focus on my now handless arm swinging free by my side. That¡¯s half of me free, now for the other half. Feeling a strong pressure on my left arm, thanks to it holding up the rest of my body, I wiggle around¡­accomplishing nothing. Well my entire plan is out the window¡­now what? *Creak* Oh god that¡¯s the door. The door swings open ¡°Well hel-ULRLPURGPH¡± Wait a second, that doesn¡¯t sound like Tarakiel¡­ ¡­ ¡­ -Right after the BAAAAAANG- (Anoobis¡¯ POV) ¡°Owwwwie¡­.Wheres Noir!?¡± That zombie girl really has some obsessions with that rabbit ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the rabbit is fine¡± I sit up, miraculously alive after dropping down in a hellish elevator for a good few minutes Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.¡­ .. . That¡¯s a good question; how did we survive that? ¡°NOIR!¡± The zombie girl stands up and shakily makes her way to the open bit of the elevator, supposedly to run after the rabbit. ¡°Stop running everywhere you fool¡± I stand up shakily and try to block her way but she just ducks under me and continues on. ¡°Noir come to me¡± Seriously! How much does she love that damned rabbit? Making my way out of the somehow still in one piece Hellevator, I notice that we¡¯re on a raised platform of a sort. The zombie girl jumps down and is already jogging towards a small black rabbit which is hopping its way through a large crowd of goblins ¡­ .. .
RAID:Olden Caves
Goblin-infested caves, the origins are a mystery
Recommended party level: 10+, recommended party size 40+
RAID INSTANCE:The Noble''s Cave
The cave where the ''noble'' class of goblins reside
Thank you system for telling me where I landed¡­just a little too late! Sure enough, every goblin in a giant circle is looking at me¡­and I¡¯m at the center. Quite a few are looking at the zombie girl, but most pay little attention to her and some even move out of the way for her ¡­ .. . ¡°M¡¯LADY!¡± I deeply bow towards the zombie girl before jumping down and making my way to her. The looks don¡¯t lessen, but they no longer seem as hostile. Haha! Me geniousity is not to be denied! While I follow the zombie lady, I try my best to look around the place where we fell: Apparently we fell on a large set of cupped stone hands, which look to be part of a fountain because of a circular dish around it. Around that is an empty space and then houses embedded along the walls of the cave. I don¡¯t get much time to see and spot everything, as the zombie girl rushes into one of the houses; the big castle looking thing with 4 towers. That rabbit is really getting on my nerves¡­ Following into a small courtyard, I spot the rabbit hopping through the main doors and into the castle. ¡°Noir come baack¡± The zombie girl goes in after it. Dammit, stop for a second! Sprinting forward, I catch the zombie girl and plant a hand firmly on her shoulder. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re never going to catch her if you keep running after her like that¡± ¡°It¡¯s a he and how do I catch him then?¡± She looks both a bit angry and sad How does she know it¡¯s male? Well she probably has been following this critter for quite some time and saw some¡­defining moments. Anyways. I look around the place we just entered: a long corridor is infront while I can spot quite a few doors and corridors on either side¡­hmm. ¡°We will split up, you go through this left doorway, and I¡¯ll follow the rabbit. That¡¯ll herd him towards me, and then we¡¯ll flank and catch him. Alright¡± ¡°Alright!¡± She looks happy at the idea and rushes through the door on my left. Now that she¡¯s out the way... ¡°Come here¡­thing¡± I begin to approach it cautiously The rabbit stops moving as I approach and turns around, to look at me with its big purple eyes. I stop when I¡¯m towering over it, but it doesn¡¯t run away. No; it just stays there looking right at me. ¡°Fool, you should have run when you had the chance¡± ¡­ ¡­ (Miss Nameless¡¯ POV) Noir¡­why do you keep running away from me! I just wanted to cuddle you! Opening another door, I walk through into another room and spot the next door. Moving through that one, find another and into the next room¡­ Where am I? The question just popped into my head for some reason. Stopping, I look around and see I¡¯m in a room, devoid of everything except a rug. How did I get here? All I remember was that strange elevathingy and then following Noir through a plaza of sorts and then into this place, whatever this is?¡­ Ah Noir! I turn right and start walking up a corridor. Where is my cutie? I¡¯ve been following him for so very long, and I¡¯m getting a little tired of running after him now¡­ Is it even worth it...because I really want to huggle him but he isn¡¯t letting me¡­ Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t even know why I kept going after him for so long. It¡¯s just a rabbit, and I just like them for their taste ¡­ .. . Why did I just say that? I love Nooir! Picking up my pace, I quickly turn right and almost crash into the Jackal guy. ¡°Careful there, no need to be in a hurry¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Not going to find Noir anyways¡± ¡°How so?¡± The Jackal guy looks at me questioningly ¡°Because I ate him¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Why did I just say that?¡± WHY DID I JUST SAY THAT!? ¡°Why did you just say that?¡± The Jackal guy looks extremely confused too ¡°Maybe I¡¯ve been away from Noir too long¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m inclined to believe that¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go find him!¡± I start to walk off in the general direction before stopping ¡°Wait, weren¡¯t you following him?¡± The Jackal turns towards me and gives me a pitying expression ¡°Sorry, thing bolted once you left¡± ¡° It jumped into my mouth¡± ¡­ .. . Am I going crazy? ¡­ ¡­ (Anoobis¡¯ POV) ¡°Sorry, thing bolted once you left¡± Well, it jumped into my mouth "It jumped into my mouth¡± ¡­ .. . That¡¯s twice now. The girl is looking extremely bewildered and quite frightened of herself¡­and I am mildly so too¡­ But the really worrying thing isn¡¯t the fact that she has no idea what¡¯s going on; the worrying thing is the fact that I think I do¡­ Damn rabbit! Never liked it since I first saw the thing: First, It messed up my fight with the bear, then it caused me to go in the Hellevator and a few moments ago it literally just forced me to swallow it¡­which was a very horrible experience. Eugh, I can still feel its fur in my throat. I look at the girl; who is clamping her mouth and looking worried. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re just tired¡± I give her a light pat on her shoulder ¡°Ok, I guess..but what now?¡± She looks up at me with her murky, yet slightly purple, dead eyes. Hmm, we could go back out there but then I don¡¯t know how to get back to the surface. Best option would be to continue exploring, but with just the two of us here¡­ AH! I open up my friends list.
Friends(0) Raid Instance (16)
Aha! So that idiot from before is somehow still alive! Guess he is not as much idiot as I thought in some respects. Best option is to group up with them. Since the raid did say 40+ and that gives me a slight bad feeling. Hmm, don¡¯t want to message that idiot¡­so how about, oh! DillyDally. He seemed like a nice enough guy. DillyDally! Who are you? He didn¡¯t seem happy or maybe he¡¯s just surprised? I¡¯m Anoobis, and I just got into the Noble¡¯s Cave Really? What the hell are you doing here? Long story, where are you all now? Making our way to the courtyard of the castle, you? Close to there, I have some zombie girl with me too The more muscle the better. We¡¯re breaking out of this place. Why we doing that? He kind of made it sound like we¡¯re going to be running away Joat¡¯s been killed and the boss is too strong for us apparently Apparently huh¡­so someone else told him this? ¡­ .. . Joat? Is that the idiot who...wait a second¡­ I check the raid instance tab, and sure enough¡­Joat is alive¡­he''s a sneaky one Those fools don¡¯t even know how to use their menu¡¯s in the slightest. Ha! I¡¯m going to explore somewhat, I¡¯ll leave zombie girl in your hands Wait a second, why are you doing that? Scouting for when we come back of course ¡­Do what you want, just try not to die easily. You got it Closing the conversation I turn to an expectant looking zombie girl who looks deeply into my eyes looking for an answer. *Ding*
Soul Binding process: 2% complete
¡­ .. . WHAT? No time for this! ¡°I¡¯m going to have to leave you now. Some others are coming this way, so just follow this corridor a bit till you see the big door to the outside and you¡¯ll find them there. Ok?¡±
Soul Binding process: 1% complete
*Twitch* ¡°But where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going somewhere dangerous, and I don¡¯t want to take you there with me, because I don¡¯t want to get you killed ok?¡± ¡°Ok¡± She looks slightly downhearted but she recognizes the danger
Soul Binding process: 5% complete
*TWITCH* WHAT IS WITH THIS WEIRD SOUL BINDING MESSAGES?!? Turning on my heel, I begin to jog down the corridor as far away as possible from the zombie girl because apparently something weird is happening when I talk to her¡­ It¡¯s all because of that damned rabbit! But the real question is, what the hell happens when this soul binding gets to 100%? ¡­ .. . That¡¯s a stupid question to myself; the answer is pretty obvious with the name¡­But still; Just because that rabbit forcibly made me eat it,doesn''t mean I want to bind my soul with the zombie girl! It definitely doesn''t since she liked the damn rabbit. Hell I don''t even know why this is happening! AAARGGH!! All the strange and bizarre things are happening to me today. I do not like it one bit! Stopping, I take a minute break...Soon I''ve calmed down and now actually use my mind to think as to where Joat is¡­mostly because I bet he¡¯s found some secret treasure or the like. Though with his stupid act of breaking down the walls himself, he¡¯s probably not the type to hoard and be that selfish¡­probably. Might as well be safe than poor. Ah?! Maybe I can do that? Opening my raid instance, sure enough there is a track button. The knowledge of a genius like me is unfathomable! A few games that I had played used the tracking feature, but usually on a map, in dungeons and the like. This was to help keep the parties together, especially once some died and had to revive at the entrance of the dungeon. Never thought ARIA would implement it, but seems I was wrong. Though by looking at the size of this castle¡­ many people could get lost here for quite a while. Turning on tracking, I see¡­nothing ¡­ .. . Hmm, maybe I have to find his footprints? Dammit, I have to go back towards the zombie girl then.
Soul Binding process: 3% complete
Huh? Making my way back, I end up at the entrance, but she is already gone. Ah so the other group must¡¯ve found and taken her already. That¡¯s good.
Soul Binding process: 6% complete
Oh cmon! Is it going down because I¡¯m thinking bad things about her now? And going up when I don¡¯t know¡­I¡¯m being protective of her? These messages are going to make me insane, I just know it! ¡°Aaaarrgh!¡± Following some glowing footprints, which I believe to be Joat¡¯s, I quickly make my way to a throne room¡­ Oooooh! That¡¯s quite the throne there. The throne is made from deep rock, however there is also a purple metal sticking out of it in some places¡­That looks expensive. I¡¯ll come back for that later. If Joat isn¡¯t here, he probably found something better. Or thought the same as-Nah, he¡¯s not that smart, for I am a genius! And he¡¯s a bit less. Going behind the throne and through another door, I follow the path for close to an hour, till it leads to some upward spiraling steps. ¡°Dammit Gimmath, I was starting to have some fun too¡± ¡°Sorry my Lord, but we must prepare defenses and our goblins against the invaders¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less about my goblins, but I guess those invaders will be a bit of a thorn to my life¡± The one ¡®Gimmath¡¯ calls Lord sounds like someone I could get along with¡­but probably shouldn¡¯t say hi at this moment. Quickly concealing myself underneath the stairs, I hear the two come down and quickly walk off into the distance. Quietly walking up the stairs, I have slight doubts about what Joat found¡­and what he¡¯s up to as well. Finding myself facing an iron door, I open it with a slight creak. Walking into the room, I see that hobgoblin, Joat¡¯s face ¡°Well hel- ULRLPURGPH¡± OH, that¡¯s dis¡­gusting!! ¡­ ¡­ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading! I''ll post the next part next saturday so look out for that. (Sorry bout the late post, was having tiny bit of a writers block) Hope you enjoyed it and Please please review/comment :D -TRUENORRRRRRD 24. Castle Adventures, Part 2 (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Well hello ulrulp to you too¡± I give a light chuckle ¡°Do you want me to help you or not?¡± The Jackal beastman looks up at me, wiping off puke from the corners of his mouth. ¡°Right, sorry, just making jokes to ignore the PAIN OF NOT HAVING A HAND!¡± Jussst mildly painful, kind of hard to keep my voice in check. Jackal doesn¡¯t retort with anything; just comes over looking rather full of himself must I say, and looks at me up close¡­hanging one on hand from chains while bleeding out the other and guts drooping to the freezing cold floor¡­there¡¯s literally nothing else to see man, just cut me down please. ¡°Seriously though, would help if you cut me loose¡± I give him my best pleading eyes. ¡°Twill be my pleasure¡± he gives cheeky grin. They¡¯re super effective (apparently)¡­or maybe he was planning to help anyways. He produces a knife and stabs MY WRIST, CUTTING MY HAND OFF! OwwwwwwwwwwwwwwWWW! At least I landed on my guts¡­yeah that¡¯s not any better. ¡°Thank you¡± I guess, though didn¡¯t mean for you to cut me loose, literally, owww. ¡°Need a hand?¡± Oh, I will get revenge for that you smarmy little¡­ With his help, I stand up and place my guts back inside me. Eugh, having his hand rifling in my stomach is quite the exquisite feeling, which neither of us seem to enjoy all that much. ¡°Could you speed up on placing them in there? It¡¯s not like I enjoy another man¡¯s hand inside me¡± ¡°Oh well I certainly do enjoy it, much more fun than playing with cadavers¡± He offhandly comments. I am going to assume he missed the innuendo there and am going to ignore whatever horrible thoughts are creeping into my mind about him¡­I¡¯m sure he¡¯s just a med student¡­or something of the like¡­hopefully. After a minute or two finally all my intestines are sort of where they belong (inside at least). Holding them in with what remains of my arms (not ungrateful just slightly unhappy about the escape method), we head to the door, only almost slipping on the blood slick stone floor a few times. Whoo, back on my own feet is a real good feeling. Hanging for a long time is not fun, no siree. Slowly trudging down the stairs now. ¡°So¡­what are you doing here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking myself the same question¡± He looks rather annoyed at something. Hmm, doesn¡¯t seem like the kind of guy who just pops up randomly, he¡¯s got to have planned coming here at least right? Or maybe someone else had him come here? ¡°What were you doing hanging up there?¡± He asks, breaking my train of thought. Don¡¯t know why he asks, I have a feeling he suspects the answer at least. ¡°Well let¡¯s just say I had a bit of a slip up¡± Literally mind you. ¡°A bit? You have no hands and a hole in your stomach¡± oh that smarmy little grin! ¡°I had one hand before you came¡± ¡°And you were chained to the ceiling¡± One day, revenge will be fine and I WILL remove that smarmy grin from your face, though not today. ¡°Fair enough, my hand for freedom, not a bad trade all in all¡± ¡°People have given more and less¡± Jackal shrugs his shoulders. ¡°So how do we get out of here?¡± ¡°Not going to fight the Boss?¡± I raise my arms, to which he gives the ¡®ok fair enough¡¯ face. ¡°Well no idea if it will work but there may be a way out¡± Jackal muses. ¡°Better than running through the entire cave?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± He shudders ¡°I guess?¡± That sounds extremely worrying¡­but then again I don¡¯t have much to lose do I? ¡°Great, whatever it is might as well try. But first we¡¯ve got to stop somewhere¡± ¡°Throne room?¡± he raises an eyebrow knowingly. ¡°How did you know?¡± Wait, stupid question. Anyone who¡¯s seen it obviously would know the throne is some cool ore of some kind. ¡°The throne duh¡± Hey, don¡¯t act like I don¡¯t know that. This Jackal seems like quite the smarmy blighter¡­but he¡¯s helped me so he does have that running for him. ¡°Also, if¡­¡± He peeks at my arms ¡°when I¡¯m mining it, we split it?¡± ¡°50 50?¡± ¡°Sure¡± Nice an easy, not even a single complaint! Would¡¯ve thought he¡¯d try getting a better deal since he is doing all the work. Pacing through the corridors now, my mind fills with wonderings as to why he took the deal without a problem. ¡°Anoobis¡± He suddenly says, holding out a hand. Oh right! Totally forgot to introduce ourselves¡­though kind of not the priority. ¡°Joat¡± I look at his hand¡­yeah, that isn¡¯t going to happen. ¡°So, now that we¡¯re acquainted if you can add on to our little deal as a little extra¡± Aha! This is what he truly wants but why would being acquaintances make a difference?!? ¡°Could you give me protection?¡± ¡­ .. . Er what? Not sure if he¡¯s noticed but I¡¯m not exactly the protecting type¡­I¡¯m usually the more being protected because I¡¯m good bait kind of type. ¡°What do you need protection from?¡± Who knows maybe he needs protection from rabbits which he¡¯s terrified of (optimistic to the end). ¡°The redhead rabbit-beastlady¡± He shudders involuntarily ¡­ .. . I¡­was actually right? Though in a much worse way than I thought¡­ ¡°Yeah¡­that isn¡¯t going to happen, not with that one¡± Most likely she¡¯d go through me and still get to him without a problem¡­she¡¯s scary. He stops suddenly, looking at me intensely, silently pleading but not voicing the words. ¡­¡±Fine, I¡¯ll talk to her and get her off your back¡­just don¡¯t annoy her again?¡± I can try can¡¯t I..though I¡¯m not exactly in her good books either right now¡­ ¡°That¡­will do just fine¡± He continues walking. ¡°So just what did you do to annoy her to the point where you need protection from her?¡± I am actually curious¡­Baila can be quite violent at times but not super vengeful like someone I may know (which may or may not be me¡­). ¡°I laughed at you sacrificing yourself¡± ¡­ .. . WHY did you tell me this? WHY would you ever tell someone that you laughed at them for sacrificing themselves? THAT¡¯S just plain idiotic (and here I was thinking he was actually quite smart). I look at him in just as much shock as he¡¯s looking at me with. What you¡¯re the one who said it! Though seeing as though Baila got her revenge already¡­guess I can cut him some slack. ¡°Wow¡­really didn¡¯t have to tell me that¡± ¡°I¡­¡± He just shakes his head, about to tell me something but apparently thinking twice about it. So now he thinks before he speaks¡­what¡¯s up with him? ¡°Seriously, have you heard of a thing called tact?¡± ¡°I have¡­just sort of couldn¡¯t help myself there?¡± He sounds as unconvinced as I am¡­ Well¡­hard thing for you to ¡®not help yourself¡¯ about if it¡¯s gotten you killed¡­and by Baila too! Anyways, shaking that most odd revelation(?) from my head¡­because I think I¡¯ve got enough on my hands (yes I don¡¯t miss the irony) right now. Reaching the northern throne room doors, Anoobis pushes one open with a small laugh. ¡°TIME TO MINEeeeeeeeeeeee¡­¡± I saunter inside happy and excited A pair of well and truly pissed off eyes turn this way Well¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (DillyDally¡¯s POV) Damn sleeping gas, would¡¯ve killed us if not for that useful little blighter Rakshak. Who knew that he somehow survived and had snuck his way down here? Resourceful little bugger and thanks to that he saved our lives. He even took us quite a distance away¡­or maybe it was that ¡®Grimmath¡¯ fellow. Standing up, still groggy from the forced sleep, I watch everyone else get up thankfully unharmed. According to Rakshak, we were out cold for only a few minutes. DillyDally! Someone sent me a message? Anoobis? Who the hell is that? Who are you? I¡¯m Anoobis, and I just go into the Noble¡¯s Cave What? How? Really? What the hell are you doing here? Long story, where are you all now? Hmm, well he dropped in on the wrong time. Might as well take him with us. Making our way to the courtyard of the castle, you? Close to there, I have some zombie girl with me too Zombie¡­Oh the odd cowgirl, another of Joat¡¯s groupies¡­seriously, they¡¯re like flies. But then again the more the easier it¡¯ll be for us. The more muscle the better. We¡¯re breaking out of this place. Why we doing that? Joat¡¯s been killed and the boss is too strong for us apparently I check the raid instance tab, and sure enough¡­Joat is alive¡­for now. He¡¯ll probably die soon, whatever¡¯s going on, so got to get out of here. I¡¯m going to explore somewhat, I¡¯ll leave zombie girl in your hands Huh? What¡¯s he doing that for? Wait a second, why are you doing that? Pain¡­well he¡¯s not part of the squad so can¡¯t waste time on him. Scouting for when we come back of course ¡­Do what you want, just try not to die easily. You got it Right, so one more to keep alive now. ¡°Alright squad, Rakshak¡¯s checking on the Boss and we are making our way the hell out of here, right now¡± ¡°But Dilly aren¡¯t we going to kill the boss?¡± Stripy raises a bushy eyebrow. ¡°No, because it¡¯s the boss from a level ten, forty party members at least raid¡­we will all die if we fight it¡± Everyone nods at that, even the Squirrel-beastlady¡­Tikari I believe. ¡°But what about Joat?¡± Tikari looks up at me with eyes full of worry. Forcing my eyes not to roll ¡°What about him? He¡¯s dead and that¡¯s the end of that¡± Don¡¯t want to waste time and lives finding the guy who strung us along for the past few hours at his leisure. Won¡¯t do it for him and won¡¯t do it for anyone else here, because one man ain¡¯t worth the lives of others. Tikari looks up at me, trying to reason with me with her eyes¡­but I¡¯m not going to care, because Joat is off getting tortured or something and that¡¯s keeping the Boss distracted for now, so now is the time to go. She lets up after seeing I¡¯m not going to change my mind. ¡°Ok, so we¡¯re going to have to fight our way out but in all honesty, if we waltz out these gates the goblins are going to think we¡¯ve killed their leader and that¡¯ll give us some time to bolt from here¡± ¡°So we¡¯re just going to run?¡± Gristle sounds dejected. ¡°We¡¯re going to live¡± ¡°But what about JOAT¡± Tikari once again looks fiercely at me, her voice reaching the shrill tone that really hurts ear drums. ¡°HE¡¯S GONE¡± ¡°HE¡¯S ALIVE¡± ¡°AND WHAT? HE¡¯S OFF WITH THE BOSS AND AS LONG AS HE¡¯S ALIVE THE BOSS IS BUSY¡± ¡°BUT WHAT IF HE¡¯S BEING TORTURED OR SOMETHING?¡± She shouts worriedly. She may be right, but still, not worth it. ¡°AND IF HE IS THEN THERE¡¯S NOTHING YOU CAN DO FOR HIM.¡± ¡°I CAN TRY¡± ¡°DON¡¯T THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY FOR A LOST CAUSE¡± ¡­.. .... ... .. . ¡°¡­I¡¯m¡­just trying to keep us alive¡± I let go of her shoulders, letting the wave of anger and fear loosen its grip from me ever so slightly and noticing the marks I¡¯ve left. ¡­ .. . Fuck¡­forgot that it¡¯s just a game. Looking at Tikari, I see tears swimming down her whiskered cheeks, eyes stilled with fear as she takes a few steps away and turns, running and wailing her eyes out. Shit, I just screamed down a young girl who¡¯s worried for her friend¡­what kind of asshole does that¡­ *gulp* ¡°Stripy¡± ¡°On it¡± He neighs and makes his way after her. Someone¡¯s got to keep an eye out on her and he seems like the best choice. I take a deep breath to calm myself even further, allowing whatever remaining darkness to seep away as I stare at a small yellow puddle on the floor, disgust broiling inside me. ¡°Guys¡­what do you think?¡± I finally look up to see they¡¯ve all backed away a few steps, maybe more than a few. Really let it out didn¡¯t I? ¡°I say we go get Joat, or at least try¡± Kookle, the rooster-beastman squawks unsure as to whether I¡¯d attack him with the look he¡¯s giving me. ¡°Yeah, we should try¡± Gristle snorts, probably looking for a fight as always. At least he doesn¡¯t look too fazed by me, probably seen something like it before¡­or felt it more likely. The rest, nod their heads at that, still seeming quite unconfident of their thoughts around me and keeping a more than respectful distance. ¡°Alright, then all of us together, let¡¯s go find him¡± I do order Jerriah to head towards the zombie girl to pick her up. Don¡¯t want another casualty on my hands. Also a quick message is sent to SirStripy telling him to meet up at the throne room too. Heading towards the throne room it takes a lot longer than I¡¯d thought; because didn¡¯t have a clue where we started. It took almost half an hour¡­Jeesh. I stop everyone once we reach there because I swear I heard a loud shattering of something inside. Sneaking to the door, the sound of snapping bones and whimpering reaches my ears instead¡­odd. Motioning for everyone to come closer, I have them all wait by the door on my command. I should go in there, see whatever¡¯s going on and probably help whoever¡¯s getting hurt¡­But I don¡¯t want to watch my guys die, none of them. The bone snapping is almost rhythmic, holding a macabre tune, but still I don¡¯t do anything and I¡¯m starting to get strange looks from my squad. I¡¯m scared¡­I¡¯m actually scared to go inside, to fight. DAMMIT, why am I getting cold feet? ¡°TIME TO MINEeeeeeeeeeeee¡­¡± That sounds oddly like Joat inside the throne room¡­getting in trouble at that. DAMMIT MOVE! *BASH* ¡­ .. . Much better ¡°FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY YAAAAAH¡± We all push on the doors, burst through into the throne room, arms raised and running into battle ¡­ ¡­ (Miss Nameless¡¯ POV) Jackal left me alone¡­nuuuu¡­ It¡¯s so boring, waiting here for someone. He left a few minutes ago after telling me someone would come pick me up outside ¡­ .. . I¡¯m bored, I can¡¯t just sit here and do nothing! I¡¯ve been sitting outside for almost half an hour. But it might be dangerous¡­ But it might be an adventure? What would Joat do? What would Krudel do? Aaah! Standing up I decide to go on an adventure¡­because sitting down and waiting is doing nothing and I really want to find Noir even though for some reason I said I ate it and Jackal said that we wouldn¡¯t be able to find it anymore. Moving back inside and down the corridors, it¡¯s really lonely. Really really lonely. I haven¡¯t been alone in¡­forever. I can¡¯t remember the last time I even slept alone¡­ Loneliness is kind of cold. Sprinting through the corridor to try outrun the feeling, I almost slam into a thick set of double doors. ¡°Uuuungh¡± it¡¯s really heavy. ¡°UUUUUUUUNGH¡± *Creak* *Huff huff* Ok, it¡¯s moved just slightly, enough for me to squeeze through. Squeezing through, I¡¯m greeted by more horrible loneliness. The room itself is bare except for a black chair shining a lustrous purple. It¡¯s like Noir! Rushing over to it, I hug it and almost feel warmth coming from it, ahhh it¡¯s so nice. I hug it for a little bit, thinking of Noir and his hopefully really soft fur. I really want to pet him, because Daddy doesn¡¯t let me have pets anymore. After Master Bitey I didn¡¯t have pets anymore¡­ But I do have Krudel now WHO isn¡¯t a pet! Wow just sounded like I was thinking of Krudel as a pet; that¡¯s really mean of me! Berating myself, I stop hugging the chair as punishment, reciting that Krudel is a good friend and butler. Suddenly an idea to mine the strange seat pops into my mind¡­why did that just suddenly pop in? It¡¯s something that¡¯s been happening a little bit since I entered the castle¡­it¡¯s really odd. I¡¯ve been thinking some really random and horrible things, it¡¯s not nice at all. I want it to stop¡­ But I listen to the idea and take out the pick that Thrash sneakily gave to me. He¡¯s actually really nice, even if he seemed scary at first. He let me mine which was a lot more fun than I thought it¡¯d be for hitting rock. Positioning myself squarely like he taught me, I raise the pick over my head and smack down on the throne, which now that I properly look at it looks like ore of some kind¡­though the purple seems a lot less lustrous. My pick breaks upon contact, oh no! That was Thrash¡¯s. That isn¡¯t good; he was lending it to me! I¡¯ll have to ask someone where to get another one and soon. *CREAK* Someone¡¯s coming?! I quickly hide behind the ore seat because I have a feeling whoever¡¯s coming isn¡¯t friendly. ¡°So Mistress, we need to go downstairs so that you may take stock on our po-Gah¡± The voice stops abruptly, replaced by another more angry one. ¡°You thought that I actually believed for a second you were Gimmath? I only left the room because I didn¡¯t want your dirty blood soaking the floor of my chambers. This room will do fine¡± Peeking out from the side of the seat, I see a wrinkled goblin and a hobgoblin, which I almost thought was Joat for a second! *Snap* *GASP* Oh no! The hobgoblin looks my way, dropping the goblin as if it were dropping trash and starts my way. ¡°TIME TO MINEeeeeeeeeeeee¡­¡± An oddly familiar and relaxed voice comes bursting from the doors to my left and out appear a startled Joat and Jackal! ¡­ .. . WHERE¡¯S HIS HANDS?!? ¡°FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY YAAAAAH¡± Bursting out the doors to the right are a group of beastmen, DillyDally I remember, leading them while screaming loudly and blood running freely down his forehead?! What¡¯s going on!? ¡­ ¡­ (RakShak¡¯s POV) Kill Gimmath, check. Convince others to leave, check. Disguise as Gimmath, check Convince Boss to follow me, check. Now all I need to do is take her down to the potions rooms and smash everything that¡¯s in there¡­that should be enough to deal with a raid boss. ¡°So Mistress, we need to go downstairs so that you may take stock on our po-Gah¡± ¡°You thought that I actually believed for a second you were Gimmath?¡± Dammit this isn¡¯t going to plan! *Choke* ¡°I only left the room because I didn¡¯t want your dirty blood soaking the floor of my chambers. This room will do fine¡± *Snap* OWW! *GASP* I feel stone smack against my skull, making my dizzy but I do swear I see a zombie hiding behind the throne, holding a broken pick. ¡°TIME TO MINEeeeeeeeeeeee¡­¡± ¡­I swear he should be chained to the ceiling. Nope, he¡¯s right there, along with a Jackal beastman? Oh that Anoobis guy, who gave us all the useless spears. ¡°FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY YAAAAAH¡± DillyDally? Painfully turning my head around I spot them and the rest of the survivors charging towards me blurrily. Oh c¡¯mon, don¡¯t ruin all my plans like this! Though the biggest ruiner of my plans is Tarakiel; who angrily stomps on me, crushing my head and killing me¡­well dammit ¡­ ¡­ (SirStripy¡¯s POV) ¡°Tikari¡± I grab her from behind, hugging her with due force and not letting her move away. Golly gosh my arm is soaking with a woman¡¯s soul already. Right now is not the best time for me to speak, so I just let her do what she must. Dally shouldn¡¯t have shouted at her like that, no one should be shouted at like that for wanting to help their friends. But after seeing the terrified look in his eyes, I can¡¯t rouse myself to blame him. Poor man must have suffered through quite a dreadful experience and I can have more than a few educated guesses as to what they were. Though none of this would help calm her down¡­she needs a bit of time and warm comfort. And those marks on her shoulder, those will stay for a short while. But I know it¡¯s not what¡¯s causing her to cry. I allow her to pour her emotions out for a while longer but do not let her dwell on it too long, for it consumes¡­ ¡°Tikari¡± It has gone on long enough and the wails have turned into small sobs, dry I do note. ¡°Let us go find Joat¡± I will not allow her to wallow in fear. ¡°B-b-but DillyDally said not to¡± her body quivers into mine. ¡°Well DillyDally isn¡¯t always right. What is always right is here¡± I squeeze her slightly with my arms ¡°Your heart¡± *sob* ¡°So let the two of us go find Joat¡± ¡°O-ok¡­¡± Trembling like the small frail being she is, I help her along slowly, step by step. We will make it to the throne room in due time. She will have time to recover and hopefully be able to face both DillyDally and his change of mind. Poor Tikari¡¯s been strong enough to last this far, I believe she can make it to the end. At first, I thought I should take her away from here, but she went through a lot with Joat it seems, so by his side she¡¯d recover best I believe. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Taking her to the throne room, I hear loud sounds, from DillyDally and the others. Probably those two troublemakers mining that throne or something as equally moronic¡­Really less than an hour away and they¡¯re bringing the house down. Leaving Tikari for a mere yet dangerously lonely few seconds I open the doors¡­with a lot of silent grunting, to see quite the spectacle¡­oh my. ¡°STRIPY!!!¡± The wails of both relief and need assail me. ¡­ ¡­ (Jerriah¡¯s POV) Aaand no one¡¯s here. Seriously, took me FOREVER to find the outside¡­ Really need to find a way to get better maps because the ones for this game SUCK. Plus all these low ceilings are not fun, especially for a long necked man like me. But I¡¯m outside now so I can stretch my neck and try FIND this zombie girl! Zombie girl¡­not to the left. Zombie girl¡­not to the right either¡­ Is she behind me? No Is she infront of me? No. Is she outside? Not going to check because there are tonnes of goblins outside¡­ Just where did she go? Aaah going to have to tell DillyDally about this ¡­ .. . ¡°Zombie girl where are you!!¡± Last thing I want is to tell him that I can¡¯t find the zombie girl. He¡¯s usually pretty gruff but chilled, however that was something else. Man he¡¯s scary¡­never would¡¯ve thought that¡¯d come out of him anytime soon. Don¡¯t want him shouting the hell out of me, especially since he¡¯ll probably feel responsible for this zombie girl too now. Aaaah where is she?!? I¡¯ve got to find her, now! ¡­ .. . I swear I just heard a scream¡­Nah just my imagination. Still a bit freaked out from that 180 attitude from DillyDally. He¡¯s got hell of a temper. ¡­ .. . There it is again. Jerriah! Ok, forget the imagined screaming from a distance, focus on the much real zombie girl that will stop DillyDally tearing me apart with his voice. ¡­ .. . OK I¡¯M NOT IMAGINING IT. I GET IT EARS, IT¡¯S A SCREAM THAT ECHOING TOWARDS ME! ¡­Oh god it¡¯s not her is it!? Sprinting towards the screams, sure as hell there¡¯s more than just one voice. Oh no its battle sounds! Just as I realize that, I burst through already slightly opened doors into well chaos. ¡°JERRIAH WATCH OUT!¡± *THUNK* ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?¡± Tarakiel looks at me furiously. ¡°JOAT¡± Miss NAMELESS?? Shouts from behind the chair. ¡°WHY ARE YOU EYES PURPLE?" ¡°MY EYES ARE PURPLE?¡± ¡°WHY HAVE YOU GOT NO HANDS?¡± DillyDally shouts out, stopping short of Tarakiel taken in by the bizarre situation. ¡°WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?¡± ¡°WHY DID YOU NOT WAIT OUTSIDE?¡± Anoobis shouts at Miss Nameless ¡°WHY DOES JOAT HAVE NO HANDS!?¡± Miss Nameless retorts. ¡°WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING HERE?¡± Gristle shouts out. "WHY ARE YOU BLEEDING DILLYDALLY" "NO IDEA WHAT YOU''RE TALKING ABOUT" "OMG DILLY YOU''RE BLEEDING" "I THINK JOAT''S IN WORSE CONDITION" ¡°I¡¯M GOING TO KILL YOU¡± Tarakiel shouts at me. ¡°BUSY HAVING REVELATIONS!¡± I shout back at her. ¡°WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?¡± The rooster-beastman cluck-shouts ¡°YOU CAN¡¯T UNDERSTAND?¡± ¡°WAIT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND?¡± Miss Nameless and Anoobis just shrug since they apparently can understand what I¡¯m saying¡­OH IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW! ¡°I¡¯VE BEEN SPEAKING ANOTHER LANGUAGE THE WHOLE TIME?!¡± ¡°YOU DIDN¡¯T NOTICE?¡± ¡°EH IT¡¯S ANOTHER LANGUAGE?¡± ¡°HOW CAN YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND IT, JOAT I UNDERSTAND AT LEAST¡± ¡°OMG JOAT WHY CAN I SEE YOUR GUTS?¡± ¡°JOAT YOUR GUTS¡± ¡°YES I NOTICED¡± ¡°BUT YOUR HANDS!¡± ¡°WE¡¯VE BEEN THROUGH THAT ALREADY GRISTLE¡± ¡°WAIT SO YOU DIDN¡¯T HEAR THE SONG ABOUT DWARVEN DINGERS?¡± ¡°WHAAAAT?¡± ¡°WHATS A DINGER¡± ¡°DON¡¯T ANY OF YOU DARE TELL HER¡± Anoobis screams out ¡°ALL OF YOU SHUT UP¡± ¡°WE CAN UNDERSTAND IT NOW!?!¡± ¡°YES YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME, AND IF YOU¡¯RE DONE SHOUTING RANDOM CRAP AT EACHOTHER, I¡¯M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL¡± ¡°WE¡¯RE SHOUTING RANDOM THINGS?¡± Yinroh blurts out ¡°THOUGHT WE WERE POINTOUT OUT THE OBVIOUS, LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU¡¯RE A GUY¡± Snorh adds in ¡°SHE IS A GIRL¡± ¡°WHAAAAT?¡± ¡°THAT¡¯S NOT A WOMAN¡± ¡°IT¡¯S A TRAP!!¡± ¡°SHUT UP! THE NEXT ONE THAT SPEAKS I WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS¡± *creak* ¡°STRIPY¡± Both Yinroh and Snorh point towards SirStripy who looks rather perplexed. ¡°WHAT¡¯S GOING ON, AND WHERE¡¯S YOUR HANDS JOAT¡± ¡°RAAAAAAAARGH¡± Tarakiel had enough of us completely ignoring her and sort of debating about her gender¡­oops. She charges Stripy, frothing madly at the mouth and slashing at him furiously but only garnering a graze. ¡°EVERYBODY CHAAAAAAAARRGE¡± DillyDally screams and we all wail as we head to the boss, for a battle! She ignores us going continually for Stripy, out pacing him and before we reach there his head goes flying. ¡°STRIPYY¡± The antlered twins cry. ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU ALLL FOR PLAYING AROUND WITH ME LIKE SO¡± She rushes towards Yinroh ¡°ANOOBIS, PRINCESS, GET THE THRONE AND GET OUT OF HERE NOW!¡± I shout at them and Anoobis, without any problems turns around and heads towards the throne. I do hope he¡¯s doing so because I asked not because he doesn¡¯t want to go towards the whirlwind of death that just sliced both antlered beings to pieces¡­ok nevermind that¡¯s probably the reason. ¡°JOAT GO HELP THEM¡± DillyDally screams at me as he punches Tarakiel in the face, getting well and truly pissed off red eyes to stare at him. ¡°I HAVEN¡¯T GOT ANY HANDS, I WON¡¯T BE ANY USE¡± I spit towards Tarakiel.
+1% agro Due to recognition and pure volatile hate, agro is now locked onto you
¡­ .. . Oh¡­nice to know?!? Before I can dismiss the window, Tarakiel bursts through it claws directed towards my face. Ahh! Throwing my arms into the air defensively, my guts fly out covering her and causing her to trip. Immediately everyone gathers round and jumps onto her, stopping her from moving. ¡°YOU TWO STOP FIDDLING WITH THE GOD DAMN THRONE AND GET OUT OF HERE¡± DillyDally screams at the two fools trying to move the throne and all that glorious ore. ¡°I CAN HELP¡± Tikari rushes in from nowhere, bounding past us and towards the throne, her efforts adding in to unhinge the thing from the floor. Muffled sounds come from below. ¡°TARAKIEL DEAR, YOU¡¯RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEAK LOUDER IF YOU WANT US TO HEAR¡± ¡­ .. . I¡¯m in the air!? ¡°JERRIAH WATCH OUT!¡± *THUNK*'' Off to my right is Gristle inside the wall, embedding the top half of Jerriah with him¡­oh god. ¡°I¡¯M GOING TO RIP YOU ALL TO SHREDS, STARTING WITH YOUR SMARMY ASS¡± She points at me, one hand holding my guts. Pulling them roughly, I¡¯m dragged easily a few metres towards her. Jesus that¡¯s a lot of strength! *CREAKThunkThunkThunk* Everyone stops for a second, looking at the trio at the throne, somehow finally unhinged and being dragged down the stairs. Anoobis stops dragging the throne and looks over towards Tarakiel with a guilty look ¡­ .. . ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE STEAL MY THRONE¡± She flies towards him, receiving one petite squirrel in the way. ¡°GO¡± she screams as claws pierce her. ¡°TIKARI¡± ¡°BOSS I¡¯M HAPPY that you¡¯re fineee...¡± She loses strength and goes limp. ¡°YAAAAH¡± DillyDally rushes past me, barreling into Tarakiel and bringing her to the floor. *punchpunchpunch* ¡°EVERYONE PILE ON AGAIN¡± Slicing off one of his arms, DillyDally doesn¡¯t seem to even care as he hugs her, letting the others pile on. I too pile on, whatever use that may be, especially as I¡¯m bleeding out and my guts are half-way across the room...thank aiag the human (well hobgoblin) body has more than a kilometer of the thing... *Scree* ¡°LIVE YOU TWO, GET OUT OF HERE¡± I scream towards them as they squeeze the throne through the door, Anoobis huffing heavily from dragging the thing. He gives me a curt nod before disappearing. ¡­ ¡­ (Anoobis¡¯ POV) Let¡¯s get the hell out of here! ¡°C¡¯mon you push!¡± I bark at her, pulling the throne as best as I can. Really should leave it and go, but then there¡¯d be no point to all the deaths¡­plus the Boss seemed like this was important to him, or her¡­still can¡¯t decide. Getting to the courtyard, the screams of battle still remain, but are lessening quickly. Oh no, she¡¯ll be after us soon. Bursting through the courtyard gates, it¡¯s like we¡¯ve arrived in Hell 2.0: Goblins everywhere are fighting and killing eachother in a frenzied battle. Blood is being shed everywhere and thankfully none of them seem to care that we¡¯re here, with the throne. Nevermind there¡¯s a whole horde of them coming this way, oh god! Thankfully the horde is intercepted by another horde of rabid goblins, biting, gnawing and slashing with sharp claws towards the others. *huff huff huff* Ok, at the Hellevator. ¡°CLIMB IN¡± She meekly jumps in and I strain to lift the throne. Suddenly it gets easier and I not a few goblins pushing with me. OH MY IT¡¯S A COUP D¡¯ETAT! The goblins, women I presume by the dirty strip of cloth around their chest, help push the throne onto the Hellevator and I climb up to it too. ¡°GET THOSE TWO¡± A frenzied shout covers the din of battle, and immediately a large portion of the goblins stop fighting randomly and madly charge towards us. *GULP* Closing and locking the door, I stand as centre as possible by the lever and look at the horde and the Boss that are all coming towards us. I quickly turn the throne so it faces inwards and towards the Boss and sit on it, facing the maddened Boss as it rips through friend and foe to get to me. ... .. . ¡°WAHAHAHAH YOU FOOLS. YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN STOP ME? ANOOBIS? YOU ARE BUT WORTHLESS INSECTS IN MINE EYES AND SO YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO TOUCH EVEN A SINGLE HAIR UPON MY HEAD. ADIEU YOU WORTHLESS SCUM WAHAHAHAH¡± Wahaha, I love watching such puny things trying to get to my level! Apparently my little speech got them even more riled up as they stopped fighting the others and simply ran through, dying by the hundreds and trying to reach me. Even the boss ripped away his own followers to get to me. Grabbing the zombie girl and seating her upon my lap¡­because the goblins are getting close and their claws are reaching through the rusting yet still gold-coloured bars and that¡¯s way too close for my own good, but I¡¯m still going to wait. Soon they begin climbing, till I can barely see anything but gnarling, thrashing goblins that try to squeeze through the tightly packed bars of the Hellevator. Ok, time to go! Pulling the lever towards me¡­nothing happens. ¡­ .. . ¡°Anoobis, what¡¯s going on?¡± She doesn¡¯t quite understand. So I point towards the Cave Bear¡¯s claw in the corner. ¡°We¡¯re going to take a few goblins on the trip back with us¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not going¡± ¡­She¡¯s got a point. One of the bars creaks dangerously. ¡°IT¡¯S NOT GOING¡± ¡°I¡¯M NOTICING THAT!¡± ¡°WE¡¯RE GOING TO DIE!¡± No, it¡¯ll work in the end...please do! A group of goblins in front of us are tossed away and replacing them is a most pissed off Hobgoblin, who takes hold of the bars. "I''M GOING TO KILL YOU HIHIHI" ¡°WE¡¯RE GOING TO DIEEEEEE¡± I scream along as the Boss bends the bars, opening a huge hole. He takes one step in and then the Hellevator blasts upwards, dropping the Boss out of sight and within a second drenching us in red, freshly squeezed. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± It¡¯s almost as terrifying going up, almost. Though having a zombie girl who¡¯s dressed as cowgirl on your lap while being showered in goblin blood while she screams at the top of her lungs in both fear and excitement before chundering all over me at the sight of so much blood and gore¡­It¡¯s like going through a horror ride, yet worse. Also the fact that squished goblins make it through the bars and drop onto us doesn¡¯t help lessen that fact. And the fact that I was maniacally laughing the whole way up...because victory is glorious. We reach the top in record time, almost calmly stopping too. ¡°BLAAAAARGH¡± Retching my own insides at the side of the throne, I help the zombie off shakily, before crawling off the Hellevator myself, my own blood seeping from my buttocks. Sitting on an ore throne when going up fast not a good idea. ¡°Come on¡­let¡¯s get to town¡± I give her a pat on the head once I¡¯ve stood up, trying to forget what we literally went through. With effort, I drag the throne from the pile of squished green, wiping a decent amount off of the throne¡¯s arms, noticing that its usual purple luster is almost gone? Dragging it slowly through the cave, I stop to see the zombie girl cowering in a corner ¡­ .. . Ah I forget that not everyone¡¯s used to seeing stuff similar to that. Right¡­what do I do? what did my professor used to do after our organ recitals...? Chocolate...don''t have any of that...so I''m back to square one. ¡°Zombie, get onto the throne¡± ¡°B-b-b¡± She blubbers in the corner. Don¡¯t roll your eyes, she¡¯s going through a traumatic experience. Sighing, I pick her up and place her on the throne. ¡°Did you ever squash ants when you were a kid?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Mute¡­guessing that''s a no? ¡°Have you ever eaten tomatoes before?¡± She slowly nods, still mute though. ¡°Ok, so just imagine that all that happened was a lot of tomatoes going through a blender¡± She throws up ¡­ .. . Whoops¡­guess that¡¯s not the right thing to say. ¡°F-Forget that, just imagine this is a dream. And when you wake up it¡¯ll just be that, a dream, ok¡± She just trembles uncontrollably on the throne. Dammit, what do I do? ¡­ .. . Fine, fine¡­ I pick her up once more, to which she doesn¡¯t really respond much; only curling into a tighter ball, wetting my already soaked chest. Leaving the throne behind, now fully black and crumbling to pieces, oh lord that isn¡¯t good. Walking towards the entrance of the cave, I spot the Cave Bear, one paw less and it roars towards me before seeing that I don¡¯t have time for it so it better shut the hell up. It does and I continue walking into the forest.
Soul binding progress 100%
SHIIIIIIIII¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°JOAT¡± ¡°OMG GUYS its JOAT¡± ¡°JOAAAAAT¡± A wild flurry of red smacks into me almost killing me. Similar screams of joy upon hearing me echo through the village square, though a perceptive as usual Zzoid stops them all piling on to me¡­because that might kill me since I don¡¯t have VIT yet. ¡°Bail-¡± ¡°Shush. Let me enjoy this moment before you say something and ruin it idiot¡± She continues to hug me, ok then guess I¡¯ll just let you slowly crush my bones¡­owww. Finally letting me go, I stand up to see pretty much the entire village is here, DillyDally and co included, already made their characters again it seemed. And quite a few of the village are looking at me, a few quite wolf whistles, but a heated look from me stops those. Damn kids stop misunderstanding! ¡°DillyDally¡± I call over to him, since he¡¯s busy talking with Braxel, probably filling him in about the raid. He turns towards me and offers an arm. Taking his lower forearm we shake, the camaraderie grown between us, I guess... ¡°That was some good Camaraderie back there¡± He says in his usual gruff voice. ¡°We died in ten seconds flat in a whirlwind of claws¡­¡± ¡°I think it was a good moment of friendship¡± Tikari comes from out of the crowd giving both of us a hug. ¡°Am I the only one who feels like we just died horribly and nothing else?¡± ¡°Yeah, pretty much¡± The rooster-beastman clucks. ¡°No, I think it was just pretty horrible¡± Jerriah speaks up, oh yeah he died without even participating really. ¡°Now Jerriah it¡¯s your fault for being clumsy¡± Gristle guffaws at him ¡°Excuse me Mr Wall rhino¡± The two of them begin some friendly bickering in the distance. ¡°Well I admit it was nice that you came back for me¡± ¡°Group decision¡± He states back calmly, though I notice his eyes peek towards Tikari, ah. Before I get to do anything else, I feel myself hit the ground, and something bony on top of me. ¡°Where is she¡± Oh god Sharpy. ¡°She¡¯s safe¡± ¡°Where. Is. She His claws dig into my throat and I can see fire in his eye sockets, burning into my very soul, each word digging deep. ¡°SHE¡¯S HERE¡± Someone calls out from the gates Oh thank god¡­Sharpy is terrifying, almost wet myself there, wait, a little came out actually, eugh. Standing back up, I spot Anoobis walking into town carrying Miss Nameless¡­who looks completely and utterly traumatized¡­Oh no¡­what happened. I also spot both of their eyes are shining purple¡­more oh noes¡­what does that mean? Sharpy pounces towards them and ever so gently takes Miss Nameless from his hands. Without a word, they both disappear in a pillar of light¡­logging off I assume. Oh, I can breathe again. He is one stressful guy. Rubbing my neck, still feeling those seriously sharp bones lingering at the tip of my throat, I stand up. ¡°Zzoid, has DillyDally told everyone about the raid?¡± ¡°Yep, everyone¡¯s gotten a good idea of everything. Though he didn¡¯t tell us why they all suicide for the boss in the end¡± ¡°Oh well that was an accident, kind of walked in on him killing a goblin¡± ¡°That goblin was me¡± An old wrinkly goblin walks up to me. Oh I¡¯ve seen him before, like way way ago in the entrance of the grand cave. He snuck through the entire thing with us? Smart bugger. ¡°I was planning to kill the Boss but she found out, killing me¡± Ok maybe not as smart as I think...or maybe he had a plan? ¡°Well I guess we can all go back there and kill the Boss this time round eh?¡± Zzoid gives me a nudge, probably already heard about the massacre that was our Boss battle. ¡°I have a feeling we won¡¯t need to¡± ¡°Yeah you are right about that¡± Anoobis butts in, nodding his head. Yeah he understands too. ¡°JOAT WHAT DID YOU DO¡± Zzoid unnecessarily shouts, drawing attention from everyone in the village square, which is pretty literally everyone. Dammit Zzoid! Well guess it¡¯s easier to tell them all now like this, smart man but really I don¡¯t like being put on the spotlight. ¡°We¡­kind of stole the Boss¡¯ throne¡­¡± ¡­ .. . Tarakiel is coming for her throne and the culprits who both instigated and stole it, especially the ones called Anoobis and Joat. She will not stop till the throne is taken back and all in The Village are dead, especially those two or she and her goblin horde are dead. No revival as long as this instance is in place.[/td2]
WARNING! The Village has become a Raid Instance
RAID INSTANCE:The Village
Recommended level: 15+, Recommended party size: 50+
Remaining Villagers: 14 Remaining Orphans: 100 Joat: Alive Anoobis: Alive Boss Tarakiel: Alive
Time remaining till Tarakiel attacks The Village: 3 hours 20 minutes
Rewards based on survivor numbers as well as the survival of Anoobis and Joat along with the death of Tarakiel
¡­ .. . ¡°JOAAAAAANOOBIS!!¡± ¡°Oops our bad¡± We both shrug our shoulders. Well I did say 50 50 ¡­ ¡­ (Tarakiel¡¯s POV) DAMN THOSE TWO! I crush the throat of another damned traitor. So many of them swarming out my houses and killing my worthless minions. All my years of work, stolen by a bunch of fools who knew nothing of it but its shininess. I¡¯m going to find them and I¡¯m going to kill them. Ever so slowly. But first, I have to clean the caves from these disgusting traitors. ¡°Joat¡­Anoobis¡­I will find you and I swear I will rip you to shreds so small not even the gods could recover you¡± ¡­ ¡­ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OMG GUYS I''M BAAAAAAAAAAACK! Well for anyone who was reading my other ficiton/s then transfer here! because I will be solely focusing on this one for the rest of my summer (so till september!!!) So happy to restart on this (ALMOST LITERALLY A YEAR LATER MY GOD) but haven''t been able to access my Joat spot till today and thus it has begun!!!!!! Right so for all of you to know: I will be updating once a day, possibly every other day depending on whether writer''s block is going to creep up on me. AT LEAST i have two maybe three chapters in my mind and looooots of mini side arcs that I''ve got to do (So much to do!!!). SO HOPE YOU LOVED THIS CHAPTER AND HOPE YOU''RE LOOKING FOR MORE, MANY MANY KISSES TO EVERYONE WHO STILL READS THIS IN HOPES OF BEING RESTARTED! MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS!!!!! GOD I LOVE WRITING THIS. ANYWAYS, HOPE THAT JOAT AND CO ARE STILL JOAT AND CO AND IF THEY''RE NOT THEN PLEAASE TELL ME (SO I CAN DO SOME CHARACTER SEARCHING AND BRING THEM BACK FROM THE DEPTHS OF MY SOUL). ANYWAYS ANYWAYS, HOPE YOU''RE READY FOR THE ARC FINALE (FINALLLLLLY!!!!) ALSO SORRY ABOUT THE KIND OF DARK CHAPTER AT THE BEGINNING (MY LORD IT WAS KIND OF DARK...BUT THAT''S OUT OF THE WAY SO WOO!) -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 25. Raid Preparations...But This Time Were The Ones Being Raided! ¡°Alright everyone listen up!¡± Standing once more on the tavern steps, I gather everyone¡¯s attention. They all stand up, fidgeting slightly at the news that the village will be attacked in less than 4 hours. I wait a few minutes to let them sit down, still looking a bit fidgeted. ¡°We¡¯ve got 3 hours to set up defenses for these goblins so I suggest t-¡± ¡°How about you stop suggesting and sit down, let someone else dig us out from the mess you put us in¡± Some brown rat-beastman with a sniveling face looks distastefully up at me, as well as a few others. Guess being forced into such a situation makes some people angry¡­whoops ¡°So do you want to do it then?¡± He might have a whole bunch of good ideas for all I know. ¡°Pfft no, I¡¯d prefer someone like that Zzoid fellow or that Squirrel girl¡± I turn to Zzoid as he stands up for everyone¡¯s clearer view ¡°Zzoid, would you like to lead us out of this mess?¡± ¡°I would love to¡± Well I was actually enjoying leading this time though¡­ ¡°But that¡¯d mean I¡¯d be responsible when it fails?¡± ¡°Obviously¡± What''s he playing at? ¡°And I have to keep an eye on everyone and make sure they¡¯re all doing their jobs?¡± ¡°Mhm¡± ¡°AND I have to allocate jobs to everyone, actively participate in every form of planning and care about the entire group learning everyone¡¯s names at least?¡± ¡°Well you don¡¯t have to learn their names but sure¡± Wow Zzoid, stop making leadership seem like such a bad thing¡­even if it can be really annoying to do sometimes. ¡°Then why would I ever want to lead the group? I¡¯d rather have the freedom of being the subordinate while helping make the most important decisions and take almost no responsibility at all for them¡± He looks confusedly at everyone, as if they¡¯re all idiots of wanting to lead. Guess not everyone knows how great it is to not be the face of the group...because you get blamed for everything... ¡°So you don¡¯t want to be leader then?¡± ¡°Hell no, being right hand man is way more fun¡± He looks content with himself¡­after completely dissing my temporary job mind you¡­though I get to keep it for now thanks to him. And I¡¯d much rather solve the problem by leading than following the orders of someone I don¡¯t exactly know (even if he''s a brother in harm). ¡°Tikari how about you?¡± I point towards her and once again she stands up. ¡°I won¡¯t do it¡­I will not let you not become leader¡± She stops looking at me and turns around gazing at the surrounding crowd. ¡°So he made the bad decision of annoying the Raid Boss, so what? That was one mistake to a number of huge successes. Let me ask you, who got us to share information, begin working together? Who got us armour? Who is getting us weapons? Who is making sure that we all stick together and help one another till we reach a milestone? It¡¯s that guy who once again is bringing us together to solve the situation at hand¡± ¡°But that doesn¡¯t stop the fact that he brought it upon us!¡± the rat beastman definitely has some sort of vendetta on me, I wonder why. ¡°No it doesn¡¯t, but in fact him doing so is actually a blessing in disguise¡± Everyone looks at her like she¡¯s crazy. Yeah, what is she talking about? ¡°Before this, the boss was underground at the end of a horde of goblins, now she¡¯s coming out with all those goblins¡­to our ground, to our battlefield¡± ¡­ .. . I think I get it? So we¡¯re able to plan how we¡¯re going to fight them which I guess is good (barring the fact that we have to fight the entire Raid worth of goblins all at once which is kiiind of a big detail). ¡°We get to set up traps and whatnot else to kill the goblins¡± Zzoid states for the more confused, looking rather worried since he''s definitely figured out it''s not going to pretty. ¡°How many goblins are we fighting against?¡± One of the wannabe satyr¡¯s pipe up..hit the bullseye on the big question there buddy. ¡°Around 25,000 by my count¡± I state, no point lying to them. Most take that with a pinch of shock and start looking at me with evil eyes once more. ¡°Actually it¡¯s going to be less than that¡± Anoobis pipes up, causing the crowd to turn to him ¡°There was a Coup d¡¯etat happening¡­Joat¡¯s doing¡­so there will be a significantly smaller amount¡± How did he know about that? Wait maybe he was just trying to help me out? Well he surprisingly got it right (even though I had no idea the Coup d¡¯etat was happening). ¡°But that still leaves thousands of goblins and only a hundred of us¡± Another Satyr wannabe blurts out. ¡°Tikari, how many goblins did we kill with just the 13 of us?¡± ¡°Around 8000¡± She grins at me while everyone looks pretty shocked at that number¡­well I think anyone would be shocked by the ratio there. ¡°So you see, we know how to kill them in droves, all we need to do is make sure that happens¡± ¡°How did you do it!?¡± A few people shout out. I nod over to Tikari. ¡°Goblins are weak with low health as well as poor reach. The only thing they have is numbers and momentum. We limited their movement to a slow crawl and their numbers to only a few coming at us at a time. We had better reach and they couldn¡¯t even touch us¡± Quite a few look impressed and a few more are noting it down on their notes window. ¡°So all we need to do in these 3 hours is set up a trap that will limit their movement and force them to come at us in small droves. Then there won¡¯t be a problem dealing with them¡± I state, watching a large number nod at the thought. ¡°So how do we do that?¡± Ravenna raises an eyebrow. ¡°That is what this exact meeting is for; because I don¡¯t know how, I want to ask you guys how we¡¯re going to set up this trap¡± Everyone does a bit of soul searching, filling the plaza in dreaded silence. ¡°I think¡­I have an idea¡± The red slime speaks standing up scratching his gooey chin. Everyone looks at him expectantly. ¡°Well our trap is to slow down and funnel the goblins into a kill zone? Well there¡¯s little to set up since the trap is all around us¡± He points towards the distance. ¡­ .. . He better not be thinking what I¡¯m thinking. ¡°If we create a controlled fire we can force the goblins to stick to a path as well as burn them¡± They all look at him like he¡¯s mad, which he probably is ¡°The leaves are dry, easy to burn and so it¡¯ll be simple to start a fire¡­even simpler to begin an inferno¡­¡± Wow¡­this guy may be a bonafide arsonist with the gleeful face he¡¯s showing¡­but I think an arsonist is what we need right now¡­ ¡°Ok so¡­¡± ¡°B0mber¡± Hmm, not sure if that a great naming choice or just scarily coincidental. ¡°So B0mber, you¡¯re suggesting that we start a forest fire?¡± Just to make sure everyone here¡¯s on the same page. ¡°No¡± huh? ¡°I¡¯m suggesting we begin an inferno which will wipe out thousands of goblins like that¡± he snaps his fingers. Huh¡­well that¡¯s a plan and you know what I''m liking the idea of fried goblins. ¡°Ok sounds like hell of a plan if you ask me¡± Everyone nods dumbly. ¡°B0mber, take everyone who has at least 30 attack and set up this controlled fire¡­however you do that?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to cut trees down leaving an area between our trap and the rest of the forest so the fire won¡¯t spread. Water buckets around the area would be useful just in case and as many dry leaves and twigs as possible within the burn zone would help much¡± ¡°But where will we set up the trap?¡± Someone asks, couldn¡¯t spot who. ¡°Well the only logical place the goblins will come from is the mine¡± Zzoid points out¡­good point. ¡°So why don¡¯t we just collapse the mine?¡± The Red turtle-beastman asks the crowd. Because that¡¯d get rid of all the iron ore deposits making this raid completely not worth it¡­ ¡°We could collapse the inner walls, buying us some time.¡± Tikari answers back with a reasonable answer¡­that could work¡­ With that sorted B0mber starts walking away, muttering to himself possibly calculations or possibly something a lot darker, along with a good half of the group. ¡°Have I told you to go yet?¡± They all turn back eyebrows raised. ¡°No, because we still haven¡¯t finished. The all silently stop, waiting for me to finish. Ah whoops, a bit harsh...guess I''m not in the best mood after that little session with Tarakiel... ¡°Right...so the rest of you, we need to get you up to at least 30 attack, as that¡¯ll one-shot most of the goblins which is quite useful¡± ¡°But that¡¯d mean we¡¯d have to put points into Strength?¡± The baby elephant looks rather unhappy about that. ¡°Nope, I¡¯m going to teach you the Brutality stat, which will give you a 2:1 point to attack ratio¡± Eyes widen at the mention of a stat. ¡°I want all of you to get that stat through biting, tearing, ripping and brutally killing monsters in the forest. A few shiver at the mention of such a savage way of killing. ¡°Now as good as this inferno is going to be, I want plan B and plan C, which will be a pre-emptive strike and a last stand at the village respectively¡± Everyone looks up at me waiting for me to go on. ¡°Tikari will lead the pre-emptive strike and-¡± ¡°Why does she get to lead the attack!?¡± Braxel snorts derisively. ¡°Because she planned 8000 deaths with only 13 people without injuring a single person as well as having an idea to take out the cave entrances¡­while your plans so far consisted of charging and getting everyone killed¡± Point well taken. And ouch I''m being a little bit too rough today...got to tone it down. Smile. ¡°As I was saying, she will lead the pre-emptive strike along with everyone from my division¡¯s attack and skirmish team as well as whoever DillyDally chooses from his division¡± He nods at that, well at least he¡¯s reliable. ¡°Who here would like to take care of the village¡¯s defense?¡± Don¡¯t think Zzoid is that great a tactician for defense¡­so there¡¯s got to be at least one person with an eye for defense. ¡°I¡¯ll do it¡± Anoobis raises his hand. ¡°No can do, you¡¯re busy doing something else¡± Everyone raises their eyebrows at me. ¡°I¡¯m bait aren¡¯t I¡± He looks rather unamused¡­well revenge is sweet. ¡°Yep¡­and so am I¡± I chuckle while I cry on the inside: it¡¯s the best way to help funnel the goblins as well as Tarakiel, plus doing such a job may lessen some of the hate that I''ve been feeling coming my way... ¡°I can take up the job of keeping the village safe then¡± The wild elf from one of my shield teams steps up to the task¡­though for some reason I don¡¯t feel he¡¯ll be that good¡­maybe it¡¯s just his wild look puts me off of him thinking him being a collective thinker. ¡°Right¡± Sorry but don¡¯t sound too optimistic about this. ¡°I¡¯ll need 20 people to help cut spikes and place them in the ground around the village¡± Huh, actually not too bad an idea ¡°But anything we make is useless isn¡¯t it?¡± A gold Canary-beastman in black leather armour speaks up. Ooh what is he talking about? Need to ask someone about that¡­ ¡°Yes, but the goblins don¡¯t know that¡­the spikes will be there to funnel them towards either entrance, making it simpler for us to deal with them¡± Fair enough, wild elf guy has my vote for defense leader, a decently solid plan. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll trust you to put that into action¡± We only have 3 hours, anything we do will be limited. ¡°Ok, so I¡¯m done now, if you¡¯ve got anymore ideas, tell me so we can incorporate it into what we have. I want us all to be ready within 2 and a half hours¡­so get to it¡± Everyone begins dispersing like madmen, the clock ticking madly in their minds already probably. Hmm, wasn¡¯t the best talk I¡¯ve had but then again not in the best of moods¡­not after that torture session, eugh. Ravenna waltzes up to me, shushing her minion trio as they get threatening. ¡°I can convince Jenna to give the rest of her oil barrels" Ooh, that¡¯d help things burn, quite a lot! ¡°How much will it cost?¡± I know she got all the oil and salt for free last time¡­but then again just how did she convince Jenna to give up that much for free (it ended up being 5 barrels of salt and oil in the end). ¡°I¡¯ll¡­work something out¡± She¡¯s very convinced she can do it...well if she can then great! She saunters off, ordering her minions to get to work in the forest as she heads alone to Jenna¡¯s. ¡°Girl¡± The gruff, wolfish voice of Thrash fills my ear. Waay to close! Jumping back slightly, much to his pleasure (dammit Thrash!) ¡°What is it!?¡± ¡°I can talk to Nathaniel, get some potions off him, maybe something to help things go boom¡± Nathaniel¡­? Oh Nathan? Yeah god remembering all these names is getting quite difficult. ¡°Sure, work out a price, I¡¯ll make sure we can cover it¡± Got to give this everything we can, because if the villagers die then we lose precious skill teachers¡­as well as actual good quality things...and they''ll hate us and lose quests and so on. Basically, don''t let anyone die in the village or life in it might be screwed... But really they should be quite helpful towards us since this is their livelihood at stake. Looking around the village square¡­there¡¯s no one in sight. Seems no one else has extra plans¡­fair enough, we should have enough to deal with them¡­Ah! Rakshak What is it? He messages back almost immediately. I need you to go scout out the enemy, get a rough estimate of their numbers I¡¯ll probably die, so if I do then what¡¯s my compensation Wow, not even going to do it for the good of the group. Ah fine. You get whatever you were going to use to kill the Boss I mean he did say he was going to kill Tarakiel¡­so there must be something super powerful that he found and it¡¯s his (well it was his anyways but now it¡¯s more official?!). Fine It worked so I¡¯m happy. Off to go see the village Elder now. Hopping towards his little house by the edge of the village gates, I spot him outside, sitting on a chair looking towards the distance. ¡°Village Elder¡± He looks my way, eyes focusing on me. ¡°Ah, you what would you like?¡± Oh right¡­still -1 with him¡­Aha! Giving in my wolf quest my intimacy goes to 0 (Forgot to give that in). Sadly there are no more quests to give (or maybe because it¡¯s in the raid instance so you can¡¯t do normal stuff anymore). ¡°Ah Orphan, what do you need help with?¡¯ ¡°Well your village is about to be attacked¡­so I need help really, any you can give¡± ¡°Does this have to do about the trial those pesky goblins do every 4 years? Don¡¯t worry about them, only a few dare get close to the village, and those die swiftly¡± ¡°Ah¡­it¡¯s a bit different this time¡± He looks at me with a single wispy raised eyebrow. ¡°They¡¯re all coming¡­the entire cave¡¯s worth¡± ¡°¡­Ah¡± He looks rather unsurprised? Did he suspect this was going to happen or something? ¡°So any help would be appreciated¡± ¡°Hmm¡­I will talk to Regnar and Roirra..they are the towns guardsman and will help you¡± He starts stumbling off. ¡°Should I come with?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°No reason, you have convinced me so I shall convince them. You need to focus on preparing whatever defenses you can. Go ask the others in the village¡­they will most assuredly help¡± Ok, so I¡¯ll take that as a hint of ask everyone favours¡­which the rest are doing. Ooh¡­since Jenna has oil, what if I get some alcohol from Daren¡­that¡¯ll blow up beautifully¡­ Barging into Daren¡¯s it¡¯s the usual busy of about 4 people (For a village of 14 people that¡¯s a decent amount to be honest). ¡°Daren¡± ¡°You!¡± He doesn¡¯t seem angry, rather he exclaimed in recognition ¡°What can I serve you today¡± ¡°What you can serve me, is as many casks of alcohol as you can¡± ¡°Woah, you starting a party or something?¡± His eyes glint dangerously...hmm don''t want him to get the wrong idea about this whoops! ¡°Ehhh it¡¯ll be explosive that¡¯s for sure¡± Not sure whether he¡¯d appreciate me using good alcohol for explosives¡­especially since it¡¯s his. ¡°Well 5 silver a cask of ale and I¡¯ve got 40 in stock¡± Wow¡­that¡¯s expensive! Though seeing that I¡¯ve got 30 coppers on me (since I dropped the rest) and most others should have around 50 coppers¡­that¡¯s 10 people a cask. So 10 casks of ale¡­that¡¯s a good amount. Everyone, I need 50 coppers from all of you to buy alcohol¡­for explosives A number of messages come back whining slightly since 50 coppers is pretty much all their money. True true, but we need it. Though they all seem to agree in the end and I¡¯m told that someone will come with all the money, smart of them. While I wait, I have a seat checking out who else is in the tavern; An elderly woman nursing her drink like it¡¯s her last¡­probably for life looking at the number of sagging wrinkles over her face and arms. Jeesh she must be at least 80. But she can hold her alcohol that¡¯s for sure¡­or just been here a long time since there are 6 empty mugs by her which Daren doesn¡¯t bother taking away for some reason¡­maybe to let her count? I don¡¯t know but she seems like your usual depressed alcoholic. Moving my sight past her, I spot a Hispanic looking couple sitting at the far edge by the fireplace, looking lovingly into eachothers eyes while sharing a drink. Well wouldn¡¯t continue staring except for the sword and bow on the side of their respective chairs¡­oh la la! So this may be Regnar and Roirra¡­Let¡¯s go talk to them since the village Elder is probably looking for them at their homes. Spending a precious 5 coppers on a mug of ale¡­which is actually not too foul to be honest, I saunter over to the loving pair as they chat about surprisingly enough¡­us orphans. ¡°Well hello there you two, Regnar¡± I bow towards the man ¡° and Roirra I assume?¡± I make a deeper bow towards the lady. ¡°Get away Scum¡± Regnar (supposedly) Spits at my feet ¡­ .. . Oh right, -5 intima¡­wait a minute I should be a 0 with them right? ¡°Excuse me but have I done something to offend you?¡± honestly confused. ¡°You breathe¡± Roirra (supposedly) barks angrily at me before slamming her chair back by standing up, storming out, Regnar following suit a moment later ¡­ .. . O¡­k? so maybe they started with more ¨C intimacy than the rest of the village?? But why? It¡¯s more likely they simply hate hobgoblins or something similar...well thank Aiag I didn¡¯t introduce myself or they might not help us. Well if they¡¯re like that towards all of us I¡¯m not expecting them to help. ¡°Joat¡± Someone calls from the entrance. Ah PJ! ¡°Got the money?¡± I ask as she bounds up to me. ¡°No, hi how are you? Seriously where are your manners young man?¡± ¡°Sorry PJ, I have had quite a rough day. Hello, how are you and may I have my money please¡± I try my best not to be mocking. ¡°Yeah, what happened down there? All I heard was that you were less than full¡± She hands me a magnificently large amount of coppers: almost 50 silver¡¯s worth. Though I notice we¡¯re 2.5 silvers short that (so 4 people not including me haven¡¯t given in). Seeing as though everyone but Miss Nameless and Sharpy are online¡­so Thrash and Ravenna haven¡¯t given it yet because they¡¯re still busy? Makes sense. "I got tortured" She looked well and truly shocked. Well honestly I should be well and truly traumatized...but then again not the first time that''s happened to me. "Are you ok?" "I''m just angry" "I noticed..." Yeah don''t think she''s the only one. "It''s just that after getting so far into the Raid I let everyone down, getting them all killed and now that it''s coming back to literally destroy everyone here...don''t know, the stress is getting to me it seems" "I understand...letting down people who trusted you really does ride the guilt bus" PJ gives me a pat on the chest...since she can''t reach any higher. "But don''t get too stressed, people mess up all the time, I know I do" She gives me a cheeky grin before bouncing off. Ah, that helped calm me down somewhat...but I''m still feeling pretty paranoid to not let anybody else get hurt. Dammit I hate leading people...ironic because I''m a professor... Anyways back to reality, well Augmented Reality... Hmm, can I get a discount? ¡°So Daren, if I buy 9 casks, could I get the 10th for free?¡± I give him a winning smile ¡°No¡± ¡°Ok for a quarter of the price?¡± give puppy eyes! ¡°No¡± Dammit stop being so stoic! ¡°Pretty pretty please can you give me half off the last cask¡­I mean we¡¯ve done so much work for you and the village and this is just a little celebration for us so we can rejoice our time here¡± ¡°¡­Fine¡± YES! ¡°Half off¡± phew, thought he was going to say quarter off¡­would¡¯ve broken my heart. *Ding* Paying so much, I get 10 casks of ale¡­which I can¡¯t carry. But at least I got the communication skill back! People I need at least 10 to come carry the alesplosives to wherever they need to be I get a response from a number of them as I wheel the casks outside one by one. Within a few minutes a small group of a dozen come this way and I hand the alcohol to them, which they take. ¡°Not for drinking¡± I warn them as they take it. Well who knows, maybe they want to crack one open for curiosity¡¯s sake. Either that or I¡¯m just a bit paranoid from Uni boys and leaving alcohol over at theirs¡­ Anyways back on task! Heading over to Jenna¡¯s now, time to see how Ravenna¡¯s handling things. Opening the door ¡­ .. . ¡°Ahnh¡± She seems to be handling things quite well ¡­ .. . ¡°I came to check up on how you¡¯re doing with¡­¡± I¡¯m just going to walk outside again. ¡­ .. . Well¡­at least now I know how she got all those things for free from Jenna¡­ Don¡¯t worry, I play for both teams Ah¡­a nice(?) message from her. And here I was feeling sad that such a gorgeous women was taken over to the other side...... I¡¯m going to forget everything that I saw in the past few seconds ¡­ .. . Yeah that isn¡¯t happening¡­to the bank they go! Right, ANYWAYS¡­getting my mind out quite the gutter, I leave Ravenna to finish off with Jenna¡­AND head off somewhere else¡­far away. To Nathans! Stopping at the door this time, listening to the inside¡­I don¡¯t hear anything¡­Oh god that could be a good or a bad sign. I mean one thing walking in on well ¡®that¡¯ but Nathan and Thrash? That¡¯d be quite a...discovery¡­yeah not sure I want to go inside now¡­ *Gulp* Well I don¡¯t THINK Thrash has those kind of tastes¡­but then again he thinks I¡¯m a girl so who knows what¡¯s going on in his mind. Creaking open the door, no sounds except for a little rattling and heavy breathing, I open it further ¡­ .. . Phew, just paranoid! Thrash is sitting in seiza on the floor of a blackened interior¡­wow looks like Nathan did some re-painting¡­though it looks like burnt wood rather than paint¡­ ¡°And¡­now we¡­pour 2¡­drops of the¡­Cristallized Cornupia into¡­the oh hello there fellow¡± He notices me as he¡¯s in the middle of something probably dangerous since its alchemy. He does place both the purple vial and the small golden crystal onto the counter, halleluiah, before turning back to me. ¡°Now¡­what do you want?¡± I peek at Thrash, who just shrugs at me¡­well what happened to negotiations? ¡°Nathan¡­¡± Hmm telling him about goblins attacking en masse might give him a heart attack¡­though no point lying ¡°The goblins are attacking en masse and we need something to kill them¡± ¡°Goblins huh?¡± He shuffles to a large collection of boxes in the corner, not surprised in the least¡­did Thrash tell him already? Muttering to himself, unintelligibly for a short while, I sit down by Thrash. ¡°So why are you sitting down?¡± ¡°Helping him remake potions which I blew up¡± Huh¡­ok? Well not sure how he¡¯s helping by sitting down¡­but then again if he blew them up him staying out the way kind of helps in a sense¡­? ¡°OH¡± Nathan exclaims and shuffles to a cabinet in the corner of the room, opening it with a dusty cloud and takes out a large glass bottle with quite literal fire inside¡­oh my word that looks awesome! ¡°This¡± He starts towards us ¡°is Alchemist¡¯s Fire. Throw¡­this and it¡­will do quite¡­the damage¡± He holds it out for me and I take it with much care.
ITEM:Alchemists Fire (Excellent Quality) (Created by Nathaniel)
Deals 100-1000 magical fire damage upon contact, 10-100 fire damage to everything in a 10ft splash radius. Things touched by Alchemist Fire will set on fire.
¡­ .. . OH¡­MY LORD¡­that¡¯s amazing! ¡°What¡¯s the price?¡± Nathan grins evilly. Oh no, this isn¡¯t good, I have a baaaaaad feeling about this. ¡°You are to collect the ingredients necessary to create 10 of these¡­each¡± Right, something about that grin is putting me off¡­but this kind of firepower is really necessary¡­even if I feel like I¡¯m going over the top for just a couple of thousand goblins. ¡°We¡¯ll do it¡± Thrash dammit don¡¯t speak for me! Though guess I¡¯ll do it since rather be safe than sorry.
MANDATORY QUEST:Repaying The Alchemist
Nathaniel has asked you to gather the ingredients necessary to create 10 Alchemists fire of excellent quality
There is no time limit on the quest but until completed, no other quests can be taken or completed
Rewards: Alchemists Fire Recipe
¡­ .. . MANDATORY QUEST!? I CAN¡¯T GET ANY OTHER QUESTS?!? THAT¡¯S HORRIFYING (though alchemist¡¯s fire recipe oooh). DON¡¯T I GET A CHOICE TO DENY THIS (well I did accept it soo my fault...)?!?! This game has a mandatory quest system¡­that¡¯s pure evil! (but then again I guess there¡¯s way around them like Ravenna found out¡­dammit really should¡¯ve made a woman). Well this totally isn¡¯t worth it! I mean unless the ingredients aren¡¯t hard to find¡­ ¡°The ingredients you need are: Fire Elemental¡¯s core, Blood of an Imp, Treants leaves and someone to cast a little bit of fel magic¡± His grin grows even larger. He''s using us that bugger!!! ¡­ .. . What? Where the hell do I begin?! FIRE ELEMENTAL¡¯s core? Where do I find that?! Blood of an Imp? Do I have to travel to a demon realm or something for that? Treants leaves? I guess that¡¯s probably the easiest but still! And a fel magic caster? We haven¡¯t even encountered magic yet¡­just how long will we be forced to do this quest?!? Nathan PROBABLY saw the shock on my face as he gives me a pat on the shoulder but NO I don''t trust this sneaky blighter anymore...using us as fetching boys!! ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the ingredients are simpler to find than you believe¡± He gives me a look like he knows something and he¡¯s not going to tell me¡­I hate you ¡°I¡¯ll find the ingredients¡± and I will get my revenge for such an outrageous quest¡­Seriously pure evil using us as fetching boys and we don¡¯t even get a choice to deny the quest after knowing about it!! AAAAARGH I JUST WANT TO KILL SOMETHING TO QUELL MY RAGE!!! Thrash looks rather sad¡­sad? Is that it? You can¡¯t do any other quests for god knows how long! ¡°Seems like we¡¯ll have to find these things fast then¡± He muses¡­well duh¡­ Leaving Nathans less than happy but with 2 bloody well should be omnipotent Alchemists fire, I start towards the forest¡­ready to burn the damn thing in the ground along with the hordes and hordes of goblins. JOAT 100,000
RAID UPDATE: 1 Orphan has been killed
RAKSHAK dammit! But at least he got his message through: 100,000 ¡­ .. . Holy mother of Aiag, well I did wish for hordes and hordes of goblins to burn¡­ I look at the bottle, watching the fire swirl around calmly like water. You know what¡­this little baby might actually be worth it¡­but still. Everyone¡­you better make the kill zone quite a bit larger¡­like fit 100,000 goblins in larger¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ HEY GUYS!!! Well this should be the normal length chapter and hope you enjoyed the surprisingly stressful chapter. Like Jeez everyone seems unhappy...except for Ravenna oho! ANYWAYS OpCrystal I give you so much love from afar showering you with cookies becuase that review was bonfide fantastic! Thanks to all that delicious information and ideas you''ve given me I''m soo ready for this next arc!!!!!! so much cool stuff to do. Erm as for putting chapter numbers will get onto that and hope to god I get some more lovely reviews (Or just messages with ideas and queries about things that are missing for you!). Anyways, hope that you enjoyed it my lovelies :D (though tbf not much happening in that chappie...BUT THE NEXT ONE WILL BE AWESOME!!) *Hint: it has pyrotechnics in it XD* -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 26. A Fiery Finale ¡°Hey am I late?¡± I whisper to Anoobis as I jog into the cave, spotting Squirrel sitting on Thrash¡¯s shoulders already speaking with her squad of almost 50. ¡°missed a good speech¡± ¡°-TRAMPLE THEM WHERE THEY LIE¡± ¡°YAAAAH¡± Her little crowd roars. Wow, she must¡¯ve riled them up a bit as I note a few frothing at the mouth as they berzerkingly charge through the leftmost tunnel. My lord what kind of speech skills has she got? ¡°So what¡¯s her plan?¡± I actually have no idea, just let her get on with it¡­but was hoping Anoobis got a sneak peek. ¡°No idea¡± Damn ¡°But seeing as though she¡¯s still here as well as two with picks over yonder¡­¡± He points to BC and APEXUS (oh my not a good idea me being here) who are holding picks at the ready by the rightmost tunnel. As I fidget in the way too small for comfort boots, I hear the increasing sounds of footsteps and Squirrel orders the picks into action. Ah! That¡¯s pretty smart. Bursting from that tunnel are the attacking group, the foremost covered in blood, even a goblin hanging off one of Braxel¡¯s horns, sweet. As what I hope is the last one comes through, the tunnel collapses and the sound of goblins mashing together on the other side is quite disturbing. The attack team don¡¯t stop though; they immediately head through the adjacent tunnel back towards the goblins. Smart plan, but how long will the collapsed tunnel last for? Looking at it right now, it¡¯s already had quite a few rocks pushed loose from the sheer pressure of the goblins¡­although that¡¯s dying down halleluiah. ¡°So¡­where¡¯s your armour?¡± Anoobis strikes up some conversation, well I guess it¡¯s quite boring having to wait to be bait. ¡°Left at Tarakiels¡± Oddly enough, when Tarakiel took me, my armour was removed¡­and I had completely forgotten to take it at the time. All that work¡­gone. Though she hadn¡¯t taken off my boots, but they dropped when I died¡­seems like everything still drops when you die¡­which kind of sucks to be honest. So I had to borrow some boots off of MrSpeedTurtle which are around the right size, albeit a bit small. Anoobis shakes his head probably from my stupidity at leaving my armour and possibly from shame at not fully noticing till after the Boss battle. Oh there are the footsteps. Once again the group rocket through the corridor, even redder this time and I can see they¡¯re pretty tired already at the front. ¡°SWITCH¡± Squirrel yells at them, causing the ones at the back to run faster taking the lead. That is why I like this one! The tunnel collapses and they make their way through the next while goblins squish on the other side, some from the falling rocks too. ¡°So Squirrel, you going to do this for every one?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll get too tired then and their numbers are growing rapidly¡± She doesn¡¯t look up from a window, probably a message from one of her attack group. ¡°So what¡¯s with these improvised shenanigans?¡± Just passing away the time, though I do push a goblin corpse away from my feet; don¡¯t want to get blood all over someone else¡¯s shoes. ¡°Apparently you need the skill to create something; if you don¡¯t then it¡¯s quite literally useless¡± He looks rather dejected. Oh don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s the one who made the spears? ¡°WE DID IT¡± Zzard rushes into view, covered red and grinning madly, jumping in the air with glee along with quite a few others from the attack group. What did they do? ¡°GOOD, SMASH DOWN THE TUNNELS!¡± Squirrel shouts at them and they spawn picks, hammering away at every tunnel entrance but one, which doesn¡¯t seem to have goblins coming down it yet as far as I can se-oh no wait here they come. ¡°Squirrel¡± Oops she probably didn¡¯t hear that over the cacophony of mining. Just going to take a step or two back now. ¡°SQUIRREL¡± ¡­ .. . She¡¯s feigning ignorance...ok ok! ¡°TIKARI¡± ¡°YES BOSS?¡± She turns on me with an innocent smile I point to the corridor they left alone, and almost perfectly a small drove of goblins burst out. ¡°RUN¡± She barks and everyone immediately turns round barging past us in a frenzy to get away from the increasing horde of goblins, already over a hundred large spewing out into the cavern¡­directly towards us. I look over to Anoobi- ¡­ .. . BASTARD! Running for my life since I¡¯m the only one still there! The literal horde of goblins chases after me to the side of the cave since I¡¯ve got to give everyone time to get out. Luckily the system hates me so all the goblins are aggroed onto me¡­probably something to do with the Raid¡­ Running round the side of the cave, I come up to the flowing wave of goblins pouring out of the tunnel and jump over them, thanking that they¡¯re only five wide. But that is still a bit too wide as my boots clip the head of the last one sending me tumbling to the floor and rolling Up UP UP! Straight for the exit! Bursting out the cave with around half my health left (they hit me a few times on the way out), Anoobis waves merrily towards me and he begins to run with me. ¡°WHY¡¯D YOU LEAVE ME THERE¡± ¡°Would¡¯ve done more damage than help¡± He shrugs with a smarmy smile¡­oh this is revenge for making you bait isn¡¯t it? Though no time to argue now because there¡¯s THOUSANDS of goblins after us (who are slightly slower than us thank Aiag). Rocketing past the trees and crunching the long, thick trails of dead leaves I don¡¯t fail to notice the unnatural reflective shimmer which runs in a trail of sorts on the leaves. Still running with goblins on our trail and I¡¯m not going to bother peeking back in case I trip¡­because if I do then I¡¯m dead... But a good question is how big did they make the burn zone? I honestly can¡¯t see anyone in my peripheral vision, except for Anoobis of course. Forget about that just run! ¡°Slow down¡± Anoobis drops out of my vision and I concur, slowing down to match his pace somewhat. ¡°Are we getting too far ahead?¡± Losing their agro would be dangerous, especially if they leave the kill zone. -10 TOO SLOW! Speed it up a little bit more because goblins are almost literally on our heels. Risking a peek back, I literally can only see trees and goblins¡­well sure enough there¡¯s an absolute ton of them, how many more can there be?! ¡°JOAT¡± Someone shouts from in front of me¡­huh? Entering my vision decently closeby is Baila who is frantically waving towards me, gesturing for me to go there. Well this is the end of the kill zone then! About 300 metres, PJ and PinkyS rush forward towards us, soaking wet (with leather armour on so nothing is visible thank the lord) and carrying a bucket. ¡­ .. . Oh you¡¯re kidding me! 150, metres they catch up and both me and Anoobis sprint into a wall of water, drenching me to the bone but that may not be enough. ¡°NOW¡± I swear its Baila, shouts and I feel my imminent death. *WHOOSH* Fire and screams assail me as the oil and leaves light up, literally turning my vision into an inferno. -5 -5 -7 -8 -9 -12 AAHHHH I¡¯M MELTING! DIVE Hitting the ground I get both water and a material of sorts slapped onto me drenching and beating out the fire as I lie there with less than a quarter health. I¡¯m alive¡­somehow with 3hp left¡­that was way too close for comfort. Being helped up by a few people, I wince in pain because I¡¯M BURNT in quite a few places. Looking over towards the inferno, I feel like I¡¯m melting even when I¡¯m outside it. The goblins have no chance¡­ the few that make it out are already charred black and their corpses are pushed away by a few members, wincing and yelling in pain as they burn themselves in the process. That does not look like fun. In the blink of an eye, the whole forest in front of me is ablaze and only the echoes of the screams remain¡­All of the goblins within hearing range are dead¡­just like that. Though it isn¡¯t over, not by far. Explosions rock the forest, out of my sight but I can almost imagine the carnage happening to the goblins more towards the back, where the fire should be smallest right now¡­ At least I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s struck dumb with awe at what literally killed tens of thousands of them¡­tens of thousands as I notice almost everyone around me watching the fire mesmerizingly. JOAT, HELP NOW A message snaps me away from the mesmerizing inferno and I see it¡¯s from B0mber ¡­ .. . Oh no I have a baaaaad feeling about this. ¡­ ¡­ (B0mber¡¯s POV) ¡°YOU THERE CUT DOWN THAT GOD DAMNED TREE. YOU 5 GRAB MORE WATER FROM THE NORTHEASTERN QUADRANT. YOU 10 GO BACK TO THE VILLAGE AND GET MORE WATER!!!¡± Shit shit shit! 3 hours wasn¡¯t enough to create a wide enough gap between the burn zone and the rest of the forest! The North-Western wind is blowing the embers to the rest of the trees, and we can¡¯t bloody reach the top without helicopters and such. Damn never should¡¯ve done this! Wind was blowing North-East just a while ago so we¡¯d cut away more over on that quadrant but now that¡¯s no use! Some idiot cat-beastlady is standing round shying away from the blazing inferno which is quickly spreading to the trees overhead. ¡°DON¡¯T JUST STAND THERE, GET SOME WATER FOR IT!¡± I literally shove her to get moving to which she scampers off to go do something¡­whatever use it may be. Even as I shout that another row of trees light up like candles, blazing branches falling and almost killing some armourless Rhino-beastman. Turning towards the inferno, I can feel my jelly-like skin starting to melt. Well shit. JOAT, GET EVERYONE TO THE VILLAGE NOW ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°EVERYONE TO THE VILLAGE¡± EVERYONE TO THE VILLAGE NOW B0mber doesn¡¯t need to explain what¡¯s going on¡­because it¡¯s happening here too! The embers are flying off the trees and landing on others outside what was supposed to be the controlled burn zone ¡­ .. . Well we just set the forest on fire. Dodging a burning branch, I quickly follow Baila as she run, pink hair singeing at the bottom. REALLY NOT A GOOD PLAN IN HINDSIGHT! We quickly run towards the village, running through a sky of fiery leaves and blazing branches. ¡°HELP¡± A petite elf screams as a branch smacks her to the floor, trapping her underneath (they¡¯re big branches mind you). ¡°HELP HER¡± I shout, turning back and with the help of 2 others we quickly lift the branch, allowing Baila to pull the elf out of there. Continuing to sprint, we somehow outrun the forest fire, and soon make it to the western edge of the village where trees are still not on fire. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I spot a large amount of stakes in the ground, a surprisingly good job for 3 hours work, even if quite a few aren¡¯t sharp I do note. Veering off to the right, we enter through the Southern gate. Already a good ? of the village are there. ¡°EVERYONE GET WATER FROM THE WELL, CLIMB ONTO HOUSES AND DAMPEN THE THATCH, MAINTAIN A LINE BETWEEN THE WELL AND THE HOUSES AND SOMEBODY KEEP AN EYE ON THE FIRES¡± B0mber is already shouting orders towards everyone. Where¡¯s Zzoid? For some reason I immediately think that, since I would believe he should be here helping out with the shouting like Tikari and a few others are. Joat, there¡¯s a group of us trapped in the North-West part of the burn zone¡­trapped in fire. His message comes almost immediately, huh what a coincidence¡­dammit. ¡°B0MBER¡± I stomp towards him. ¡°EVERYONE IN THE NORTH-WEST IS STUCK THERE!¡± I don¡¯t want to let Zzoid die, but he¡¯s on the other side of the inferno, so he should be fine as long as he keeps running. ¡°I NEED 10 VOLUNTEERS WITH HIGH HEALTH¡± B0mber screams out without a second delay, getting 10 volunteers without another heartbeat passing too. ¡°DOUSE YOURSELVES AND GET TO THE NORTH-WESTERN QUADRANT WITH A BUCKET NOW¡± I put a hand on his shoulder ¡°He¡¯ll be fine won¡¯t he, he¡¯s on the right side of the wind right?¡± I mean since the fire is spreading south and he¡¯s north he should be fine right? ¡°No, once the fire burns away more of the trees the wind direction should change due to the natural re-configuring of the landscape and it¡¯s obstacles¡­it¡¯s going to likely change direction, towards him¡± B0mber blurts out quite knowledgeably¡­well I guess he¡¯s not an arsonist then?! 11 preciously filled buckets are taken and 11 soaked players charge out towards the forest, which I SEE fire already at the borders of it in the Southern part. ¡°RIGHT REST OF YOU, PULL UP SOME MORE WATER¡± Damn having only one well isn¡¯t very good. Thrash dives into the well and half filled buckets start flying out much quicker than the pulley device. This quickens it by quite a lot, but one problem half-sorted only brings about another. ¡°GOBLINS¡± Someone screams from the northern gates after a short while and everyone who¡¯s not on a roof (about 30 of us) rushes over to the northern gates¡­to see a large horde of goblins charging our way, mostly out of fear honestly. I say that because a number of them that charge out are on fire, madly rushing while burning to a crisp. Wow there¡¯s hundreds of them. ¡°GOBLINS¡± Someone shouts from the southern gate Dammit they¡¯re coming through there too! I hope someone goes to sort them out, because my hands are tied with a few thousand goblins as well as quite a few burning ones too. ¡°FOCUS ON THE BURNING ONES¡± The burning ones could set the village on fire, so I get everyone to target them first. Charging out the gates, only 30 of us, we meet a horde of goblins, literally piling into them, multiple dings ringing in my head in the process. Taking two by the arms I flail them around bashing goblins out of my way as they try to get to me rather than charging past into the village. The few that do, get killed by a few players who had jumped off the roof to take care of the more prominent problem. ¡°KILL THAT ONE¡± I hear the familiar quite pissed of voice of oh god Tarakiel. Spotting her bursting out the trees, covered in blood and singeing (she used her own goblins in place of water!?) with rage in her eyes and an accusative claw pointed my way, I see that I¡¯m going to die soon. Immediately the number of goblins attacking me increases, almost killing me then right then and there¡­ But luckily the other players pile in at that moment pushing the goblins back with their momentum and mowing them down by the dozens. Although my health is less than half, I continue to push with them, watching the satyrs die within seconds of one another while Gristle is taken down by more than a few dozen jumping on him at once. Within less than a minute, only goblins and fire fill my view, thankfully no more coming from the blazing inferno that boils me even from such a distance. Baila falls to my right, PJ follows soon after. I¡¯m out of there by now; only 4 of us remain from maybe 30 maybe 40 of us¡­and even now 2 of them die as we disengage. With still hundreds of goblins running after me and MrSpeedTurtle and while we run through singeing fields, I have a great, last idea. ¡°TARAKIEL COME KILL ME YOURSELF¡± ¡°STOP¡± Her shout causes the goblins around to slow down, stop charging after me and surround me quickly boxing me in. Well I¡¯m definitely not going to live through this¡­ Quickly glancing round¡­maybe there¡¯s only around 300 goblins left¡­not a large number considering¡­but I can still hear the sounds of battle over on the other side. I hope those guys over there survive at least. ¡°JOAT¡± She saunters through her tightly packed goblins, who make much way for her. ¡°Tarakiel, how lovely of you to come visit¡­but why did you bring so many of your friends¡± I note MrSpeedTurtle looking at me funny. Oh yeah different language almost forgot. ¡°Stop playing around¡­I¡¯ve come to rip you to shreds after taking my throne¡± She isn¡¯t playing games, her hair singed as well as some burnt skin and her claws are covered in mostly her minion¡¯s blood. ¡°It was just a throne¡± I mean yeah it looked nice, but not worth killing over? ¡°Just¡­¡± She looks like she¡¯s going to throttle me¡­which in hindsight she probably was going to anyways, but now more so. ¡°It was everything; my entire life¡¯s work!¡± ¡°Oops¡± Don¡¯t know how a throne is her life¡¯s work but sorry for stealing it; it looked pretty. *choke* She holds me in the air by the throat with some superb strength, while MrSpeedTurtle just realizes and reacts to her almost appearing in front of him, a tad too late sadly as his throat soaks both me and her in his blood. ¡°You may have burnt most of my minions, you may have taken my life¡¯s work¡­but I will kill you here and enjoy every last second of it¡± ¡°Tarakiel¡± I just manage to squeeze out as she herself squeezes. ¡°Choose your final words carefully¡± ¡°I always knew there was a spark between us¡± *crash* ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± -82 I¡¯M MELTING -82 I¡¯VE MELTED ¡­.. ¡­. ¡­ .. . Wow that alchemist fire was AMAZING. Apparently I get to go into spirit form (pretty cool, this is a first) and I watch Tarakiel scream silently in black and white as her flesh literally melts (EUGH), along with a number of goblins which stood too close. Within barely two seconds, all the goblins are on fire along with a large chunk of grass, the fire spreading thankfully along the plain, alongside but not towards the village. That whole touch spreads it wasn¡¯t kidding¡­ The Alchemists fire continues to burn the grass quickly snaking along. All I can do is watch it for a short while in a silent world, not even feeling the heat from the wall of grey fire coming from the trees just a small distance away. After maybe a few more minutes, the Alchemists fire trail reaches the forest and almost immediately the grey fires turn dark black ¡­ .. . Whoops.
CONGRATULATIONS! RAID: Olden Caves, SUCCESSFULLY FINISHED! You have defeated Tarakiel, Ruler of the Olden Caves along with her goblin horde, completely and utterly wiping out every single one.
Remaining Villagers: 14/14 Remaining Orphans: 6/100 Joat: Dead Anoobis: Dead BOSS Tarakiel: Dead
For a perfect number of Villagers Remaining, intimacy +10 for all Raid Participants. The Remaining Orphans gain 1 permanent Level. All Raid Participants gain a Raid Badge. For killing Tarakiel, 1 Stat Point has bee allocated to each Raid Participant For completely wiping out every goblin in Olden Caves, 1 permanent Level and 2 Stat Points for every Raid Participant. For setting the Forest on fire, -15 intimacy with Villagers
For an Ingenious way of fighting along with other notable feats ensuring the success of the raid, certain players have received additional rewards: B0mber has received ''Arsonist'' Title, B0mber has received Unique Racial Skill Joat and Anoobis have both received ''Sacrifice'' Skill DillyDally, Thrash, B0mber, Tikari, SirStripy, Yinroh, Snorh, Gristle, Jerriah, Joat, Anoobis, Kookle, Kandien, Ragreud, Allie and Migrellik have received ''Goblin Slayer'' Title.
The player with the most Direct kills: Thrash: 592, +2 Strength, +2 Brutality The player with the most Indirect kills: B0mber: 98,452, +2 Wisdom
Due to setting the Forest on fire along with the mixture of Alchemist''s fire within the inferno, the area around The Village has permanently changed along with the faun and flora. Due to such drastic changes, this server will temporarily shut down for 8 Real Life hours (8:00 am GMT 0:00) to compile sudden changes.
Thank you Beta testers for completing this raid. However you should note that all raids from now on will use the instancing system in conjuncture to the party system...neither of which you have discovered or used as of yet. Thank you for playing and as a reward you''re all being revived for free -Droneurt
¡­ .. . HOLY MOTHER OF AIAG! THAT WAS AN AWESOME END. PLUS I JUST GOT REVIVED WITHOUT HAVING TO REMAKE MY CHARACTER AND I KEPT MY STATS AND EVERYTHING!!! SO there¡¯s like a feat system? Along with rewards!?! B0mber got so much too!! At least I got one random skill ¡®Sacrifice¡¯¡­sounds horrifying yet useful? AND PERMANENT LEVELS!? AND STAT POINTS? RAIDS ARE THE WAY TO GO! Though apparently we¡¯ve changed the entire climate¡­whoops!?! THAT¡¯S AWESOME! PLUS we got a little message from Droneurt, whoever the hell he is telling us we have to be in a party system next time? Maybe this raid was just to test out the functions of the raid itself??? THAT¡¯S PRETTY AWESOME. MAN THAT ALCHEMISTS FIRE TOTALLY WORTH IT. Plus B0mber killed almost 100,000 goblins indirectly with his fire plan getting that TITLE TOO! THAT¡¯S AWESOME! Like I¡¯m literally freaking out, jaw dropped and drooling over the screen along with the rest of the crowd who all occupy the square¡­
SYSTEM SHUT DOWN IN 1 MINUTE
¡­ .. . Ok, guess I¡¯ll have to explore what this sacrifice skill or title is when I get back on¡­but first¡­let¡¯s ignore the Blood Red fire which I can see over the small village palisades and houses¡­oh my Alchemists fire sure is terrifying¡­I want it. Ahem. ¡°WELL DONE EVERYONE, WE ROCKED IT, SO EVERYONE GIVE BIG THANKS TO YOURSELVES AND THAT DASTARDLY MONSTER CALLED B0MBER!!! HURRAH¡± ¡°HURRAH¡± People shout out of sync, pretty tired but with a grin on their faces. I mean everyone is happy¡­even if we¡¯re poor, without weapons and almost all without armour¡­we beat hell of a raid and get at least 1 PERMANENT level and 3 stat points each¡­TOTALLY worth it! The world suddenly goes black and I feel my mostly comfortable bed stuck to my back ¡­ ¡­ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tis over, for now. A chapter or two of epilogue mostly concerning Miss Nameless, Joat and well yep pretty much just them 2 for now. (maybe have a few others RL just cause. Hope you enjoyed it! so please comment and review!! (i''ll get to putting chapter numbers soon...) 27. The Mistress Day (Miss Nameless¡¯ POV) *Chirp chirp* Opening my eyes to the warm sunlight that protrudes from a slightly opened curtain, I stay still listening to the morning chirping of birds along with the flutter of their little wings. ¡°Good Morning Madam¡± A thickly accented voice comes from behind and I feel the encasing warmth leaving me with a ruffling of sheets. ¡°Good Morning to you too Tatiana¡± I yawn as I sit up, still huddling some covers around me Tatiana briskly opens the curtains, letting dawning light shine through revealing her portly self in a dark blue nightgown, her sharp features glimmering in the light. Mmm. I spend a few moments taking in the warm light before a well dressed man with short black hair and clean shaven walks purposively into the room backwards, holding a tray. ¡°Mistress, some milk and eggs if you¡¯d please¡± With perfect precision he back towards her bed, placing the tray on her knees, without looking her away once. She had long stopped asking why he walked backwards in the mornings for she always got the same answer back. ¡°Thank you Krudel¡± She takes a whiff of the herbed eggs. ¡°Could you pick out a dress for me while I eat please?¡± ¡°Would be my pleasure¡± He heads off to an expansive wardrobe, whooshing it open and revealing rows upon rows of long dresses of all colours. He succinctly chooses a light blue dress with a greenish tinge and a light pink one with an orangey tone to it. Handing them both to Tatiana, she takes them towards me for a closer look. Taking a small bite of my egg, I take a sip of some freshly squeezed pineapple juice, mmm delicious. ¡°The pink one¡± Tatiana hands the other back to Krudel; who hangs it carefully back into the closet before leaving the room, in an odd yet practiced cross walk. Finishing my eggs, Tatianna places the dress onto the bed and begins dusting the room, if only to pass the time. Finally done, Tatiana places the tray onto a nearby chair and helps me out of the bed. Clothing me, she makes the bed, takes the tray and then leaves the room silently. I walk around the room for a short moment; letting myself wake up a bit more before I give a small knock to the door. Krudel walks in, this time facing forward and gives me a deep bow. ¡°As radiant as ever Mistress, but would you like me to straighten your hair?¡± I smile and sit down on the stool by a set of mirrors, allowing Krudel to stand behind. He takes a brush, gently stroking it through my hair, taming the wild mess that is my bed hair and I¡­I watch him through the mirrors. It¡¯s quite fun watching him work; the way his deep blue eyes concentrate solely on the task and even the small bit of tongue that pops out when he¡¯s being particularly careful. Done all too quickly, I stand back up with straight, glossy hair reaching just under my shoulders. ¡°So Mistress, what would you like to do today?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­it is such a lovely day. Could we take a walk around the gardens?¡± ¡°Your wish is my desire¡± Offering an arm, I place my hand on the upper part, letting him lead me outside. Walking through the sunlit corridors, we quickly reach the large double-set stairs opening out into a grand foyer which has a small number of well dressed people walking around with purpose. Making it outside, the fresh air is so fruity. Seems like the fruit has ripened and quite nicely if my nose is to be trusted. Languidly going through the wide open field, we veer off to the right, through an arch of hedge and into the gardens. The orchids are in full bloom, their sweet scent permeating through the air. But even here the smell of fresh fruit overpowers it. It¡¯s so strong I can almost taste the citrus oranges and juicy apples. Passing by the multitudes of bouquets of varied flowers ringed around a grassy statue of some kind, we eventually reach the orchard. I do say orchard, but a large portion of it is bushes, with yellowing pineapples resting on top of them. Ever since Daddy found out that I enjoyed fresh pineapple juice, he had a small field of them planted. Well it is quite delicious. But true to its name, the orchard does have some trees bearing fruit: orange trees and apple trees are mixed together making the image a lot less monotone than the pineapple field. Making our way over to an orange tree, I can almost taste the juices from the well rounded thing as it sways with the breeze, ready to fall to the ground at any moment. Without warning, I feel myself being lifted up by the waist and the orange comes easily into my reach. Plucking two from the tree, Krudel gently places me down and gracefully takes the orange I offer him. Mmm! Continuing through the orchard, I spot a few other trees as well as bushes here and there; blackberries, so many blackberries, along with cherry and some strange sickly smelling fruit called jackfruit. A very sweet fruit but the smell is quite a burden on me, so only a few trees are of that kind. Soon, I spot an elderly man with muscled arms and skin darkened by the sun sitting on a branch, basket between his legs and hands plucking fruit from the leaves. ¡°Good Morning Jerry¡± I saw up to him, giving him a small wave. ¡°Oh Milady, what a pleasure to see you out on such a fine day¡± He jumps down with the basket, yet spilling no fruit, though his straw hat does fall off his head. ¡°I couldn¡¯t resist not coming out to see the ripened fruit. The smell is just divine¡± ¡°Why yes it is¡± He too takes a large whiff of the air ¡°A fine crop this year, the weather has been quite kind¡± Picking up his hat, he walks over to me and plops it on my head quite gently. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t linger in this sun without a hat, it is not good for you¡± ¡°And what about you?¡± I stick my tongue out at him as he chuckles. ¡°I am used to the sun¡­as you are used to eating my fruit before I¡¯ve plucked it from the trees¡± He gives me a disapproving grin as I take another blackberry from a small pouch of freshly picked ones¡­that I always carry because I can never resist picking blackberries when I¡¯m out here¡­ ¡°Well they are just too delicious looking to resist¡± ¡°Aye, but don¡¯t eat too many or you¡¯ll turn as black as their skin¡± He gives a small chuckle before patting me on the head again. Jerry¡¯s such a nice guy. But he¡¯s right, the sun is starting to sap me of my strength and Krudel must¡¯ve seen it for he begins to direct me away ¡°Thank you Jerry, but it seems the sun is a tad too strong for me today¡± I take off the straw hat and put it onto his slightly bowed head. ¡°Do not worry about it Milady, it was a pleasure to see you out here for even this short while¡± He bows and goes back to climbing the tree while Krudel and I head back inside. Feeling faint, I get lifted up and soon find myself being carried over the meadow and back into the house. I don¡¯t know how people can survive out in that sun, it is way too strong. Setting me down, I receive a glass of chilled water which helps some strength back into me. ¡°Krudel¡­may we go to the music room?¡± He nods and I take him arm once more. The music room is wide, empty space with a round platform in the center holding a grand black piano. Sitting down on the soft leather stool, I place my fingers on the cool keys. ¡°Krudel, you may do what you want for I¡¯ll be here a while¡± ¡°May I sit and listen to you?¡± I nod and he takes up a seat on an old leather chair by the unused fireplace, face hidden in the shade while his black and white suit shimmers with the light coming from the huge pane behind me. Hmm, what shall I play first? ¡­ ¡°hmm hmmmm hm hm hm hm hm hmmm hmmm hmmmm. Hmmm hmmm hm hm hm hm hm hm hm hm hm hm hmm hmm¡­¡± ¡­ .. . Taking my foot off the pedal, the music comes to a soft stop. *Clap clap* Turning to see Krudel is still sitting comfortably in the chair, clapping with a small smile on his face. ¡°Well played Mistress, well played. I assume you are hungry no?¡± Now that he mentions it, I do feel the emptiness of my stomach. Oh my! Looking at the clock on the wall, I spot that it is past midday; I had spent more than 3 hours on the piano. Standing up, feeling my rear complain at having sat so long, I slowly walk down the steps, aided by Krudel of course. Making our way towards the large dining hall, I greet both Krilla and Marina; the maids, who both wave back at me with a smile. Entering the dining hall, I sit down next to the head of the long gleaming wooden table, next to the empty chair at the head. The food does not arrive as per usual¡­that¡¯s odd. ¡°Now what kind of manners are those¡­sitting before your old pops¡± A deep, yet gentle voice comes from behind. Bouncing out of my chair, I turn towards the voice; a tall muscular man with short greying black hair, some stubble and a jaw thick like an anvil. ¡°DADDY¡± I jump into him, arms not able to reach round his muscular body. His arms warp around me warmly. ¡°I missed you¡± I let him go after a while, still feeling his warmth envelop me. ¡°So how is my little girl doing?¡± He starts looking me around, gently turning me to check that I¡¯m alright. ¡°I¡¯m doing just fine Daddy, don¡¯t worry¡± ¡°I¡¯m allowed to worry, because I¡¯m your father¡± He gives me a quick kiss on the forehead before taking out the chair for me. He himself sits down after me and the plates of succulent food succinctly make their way to the table. ¡°So how did your battle against the Vikings go?¡± I ask him as he chooses a crispy chunk of pork ¡°We lost which is a shame, but at least we have another chance to redeem ourselves¡± He doesn¡¯t look too unhappy about losing. ¡°And how is your last birthday present?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really cool! I¡¯ve learnt how to make leather and I¡¯ve made a few friends too¡± I say excitedly, unable to stop myself but at the same time while I blurt out, a recent memory flushes into my mind. ¡°Oh? So no problems whatsoever, no bad things happen to you¡± Daddy looks rather intrigued, with more than a little look of worry veiling his eyes. ¡°No, it¡¯s all been lots of fun, just that¡± Daddy can¡¯t know¡­if he does he might not let me play anymore¡­ ¡°Ok then, sounds like you¡¯re really having fun¡± He takes a baby tomato to his plate, juices squirting as he punctures it with his fork. ¡°BLAAAAARGH¡± I feel a soft silk cloth wipe my mouth before lifting me out of my seat. ¡°Are you alright¡± Daddy fills my view, worry filling his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m alright, just spent a little too long out in the sun today. It¡¯s my fault¡± Daddy looks to Krudel to confirm and then back at me. ¡°Ok, just have a little rest and we have some more food later¡± He gives me a kiss on the forehead and walks briskly with Krudel to my room. Turning right at my door, he disappears from my view and I enter my bedroom once more. Tatiana appears moments after I¡¯ve been set down, and she replaces Krudel, removing my stained dress and helping me into the shower. Letting cold water drench me, she leaves me alone, waiting by the door with a towel as usual. I remember now¡­the thing that happened, what I had to see¡­the tomato ulrururlp. *gulp* Shivering but not from the cold, I sit down and huddle in the shower. It was scary, so scary. Even now, just thinking about it I can feel tears streaming down my face. Daddy always told me that things that scare me aren¡¯t real¡­they¡¯re just figments of my imagination. I have to believe that, think of¡­that¡­as just a dream, a bad dream. I have to get over it, because I want to play again, I want to see Joat and Thrash and roll around because it¡¯s so fun. And because I can stay in the sun so long there, without having a single problem, without feeling faint. I can dance and jump and sing all I want in there¡­I can even hug cute rabbits¡­I really want to hug a rabbit right now. ¡°Tatiana¡± my voice is hoarse, probably from throwing up¡­ ¡°Could you bring me a box of tomatoes please? And a blender too¡­¡± I hear her footsteps and I sit huddled, waiting. If I¡¯m going to play again, I need to get over it, I need to show Krudel¡­and therefore Daddy that I can be strong and continue playing. I don¡¯t want to be cooped up here anymore. The bathroom door slides open, and I spot a small box of tomatoes not far away along with a small handheld blender. Getting out shakily, I take the box to a dry place in the bathroom along with the blender. Anoobis said it¡¯s like¡­¡­like¡­blended tomatourlrp *gulp* tomatoes¡­ Placing a tomato the blender, I press the on button ¡°BLAAAAARGH¡± ¡­ ¡­ (Krudel¡¯s POV) ¡°Explain¡± The master of the house sits on his favourite arm chair out in the front patio, looking at me expectantly. He¡¯s not dumb, he knows I wouldn¡¯t allow his precious daughter to stay out in the sun too long, I would never allow such a thing to happen. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It was my fault, I let her wander away and something happened. I don¡¯t know what but I know who does¡± He just looks at me, waiting for me to continue. "Another player; intelligent, smarmy would be a good word for description but not a bad person I would say. Rather full of himself would be his main feature" ¡°And he was with my daughter while you were not?¡± ¡°Yes, I had gotten distracted by others, and had forgotten my sole duty¡± ¡°Krudel¡­¡± he muses for a while, pondering on what to do with me. If I was him I¡¯d fire me on the spot. ¡°Find the one who knows what happened to her and if he was the cause¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anymore Sir¡± ¡°And for you¡­this will be your only warning¡­as a token of good service in all these years¡± ¡°Thank you Sir¡± I turn around, beginning to walk away. ¡°Oh and Krudel¡± I turn back around ¡°Is she really having fun?¡± His stern composure breaks down into one of a worried father. ¡°Yes, I have not seen her so happy and full of life for so very long¡± ¡°Good¡± He goes back to musing, a ghost of a smile on his lips. Leaving him, I make my way to the Mistress¡¯ room almost bumping into a rushed Tatiana along the way. She doesn¡¯t need to say anything and I immediately sprint to the Mistress¡¯ room to see what¡¯s wrong. ¡°BLAAAAARGH¡± Violent sounds come from the bathroom. ¡°Mistress, are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes Krudel¡± Her voice is hoarse, cracked and raw. ¡°I¡¯m just going through a small phase¡± ¡°¡­Is it about what happened in the game?¡± I stand looking at the distorting glass to the bathroom interior. ¡°¡­Don¡¯t tell Daddy¡± she says meekly. Huuu. Sitting down by the glass door, I sigh deeply. ¡°Tell me what happened¡± ¡­ ¡­ (Miss Nameless¡¯ POV) ¡°And so he told me to think of it like tomatoes going through a blender¡± I finish, throat burning in pain making tears jump from my eyes. ¡°I see...¡± Krudel seems to be thinking deeply from the other side of the door. ¡°Could you let Tatiana in now?¡± I look around the stained floor, a mixture of tomato and not¡­ Unlocking the door, I carefully move to the shower, turning it on and letting it wash me. Tatiana walks in and without a single change in her expression begins to clean up. Within a few minutes, a large portion of it is gone, and she hands me a towel, guiding me out of the rank smelling bathroom. Krudel is nowhere to be seen. I knock on my bedroom door. ¡°Mistress¡± His muffled voice comes from the other side. ¡°Could you come help me choose some clothes?¡± He walks in, heading straight for the closet, picking out two similar coloured dresses along with a set of underwear. I choose the dark blue and he quickly retreats from the room, without so much as a glance my way. Marina comes into the room moments later, helping me into my clothes. Dressed one more, I walk shakily outside my bedroom, to see Krudel waiting there patiently with a glass of warm water. ¡°May we go to the sewing room?¡± my throat seems slightly better after that water, slightly. ¡°I believe I have a better idea¡± He doesn¡¯t smile like he usually does, but looks rather thoughtful as if planning something. I nod, rather curious and take his arm. He takes me downstairs, and continues further downstairs till we reach the kitchen. Coughing lightly at the smoke upon entering, he moves me out of it and into the less smoky part of the kitchen. A portly man walks up to me, wiping his hands with a cloth. ¡°Madam¡± His accent is the same thick one that Tatiana has ¡°Vaz are zyou doing here?¡± He asks rather perplexed, since I almost never come down into the kitchen. I assume food since my belly rumbles uncomfortably. ¡°Some food for the Mistress, some chicken perhaps?¡± Krudel answers for me, looking for my approval. I nod. ¡°Hmm, a good choice Madam, zlez me fetch a chicken for zyou¡± ¡°Ah Boris¡­I think its time the Mistress learnt to cook from beginning to finish don¡¯t you?¡± Boris, the chef, looks at Krudel with slightly squinted eyes for a few seconds. ¡°Ah, I zee¡­yez, ze young Madam muz zlearn zo cook¡± He heads out back while I look raised eyebrows towards Krudel. ¡°It is a necessary skill for life Mistress, and this will help you, trust me¡± Ok, I trust you Krudel. Boris comes back with a lively chicken in a cage, though its legs are tied so all it can do is roll around. Placing it on the counter he looks towards me. ¡°Now Madam, zake ze chicken; one hand on ze body, ze ozer on ze neck and zwisz¡± His accent is confusing, but he¡¯s asking me to twist the neck of the chicken?! ¡®Wha-¡± ¡°Trust me¡± Krudel puts a finger to my mouth. I¡¯ve never¡­done something like this before¡­never really though how the chicken gets on my plate before¡­ Gulping, I open the cage door, grabbing the chicken by the back, and taking it out. It ruffles violently in my hand, to which Krudel responds by grabbing both the chicken and my hand, helping me hold it. ¡°Now twist its neck¡± I take the chicken by the neck, feeling something warm beat against my hand. ¡­ .. . *Crack* The beating stops. I let it go in shock, Krudel catching it and giving it to Boris before holding my shaking hands. ¡°It¡¯s alright, killing your first chicken is something that shocks everyone¡± ¡°Something was beating, something warm¡­it stopped when it¡­it died¡± ¡°Yes, focus on the feeling you had when it died, when the beating of its heart stopped¡± ¡°I killed it¡­¡± I feel tears running down my cheeks. I just killed something, I felt it die. Krudel gives me a small hug before turning me around to the counter, where a knife and an apple lie on a wooden board. ¡°Now take the knife and cut the fruit, like this¡± He takes the knife, point on the wood and he slices down, moving the point forward but never off the wood. He hands it to me and encasing my quivering hands with his, he has me put the knife over the fruit and slowly cut down. ¡°Now do you feel it?¡± ¡°Feel what?¡± I say with my vision blurred from tears. ¡°Exactly. That chicken was living, breathing. This fruit is just an object¡­much like those goblins¡± ¡­ .. . Oh¡­ ¡°You could feel the life in the chicken and when it went out it was shocking, painful almost. But you can cut this fruit without worry, because it is simply just a fruit. Those goblins, are just objects, and they¡¯re in a game, not real. You can¡¯t feel their hearts beat, for they¡¯re just objects in a game¡± He continues having me cut the apple till its sliced then places a tomato in front of me, Boris supplying a blender. ¡°And like that man, Anoobis was trying to say, putting fruit into the blender, you don¡¯t feel anything for them because they¡¯re just fruit¡± He places 3 tomatoes in it and rests my finger against it. Gulping, I press the button and watch the tomatoes blend ¡­ .. . Nothing. I don¡¯t feel any disgust, just a mild interest at watching them become a pulpous mass. Compared to that chicken...this is nothing. ¡°You see? And like these blended tomatoes, those goblins are just objects in a game, not real so you shouldn¡¯t be scared of seeing such a thing. Feeling disgust, that is normal, for it looks very real, but it isn¡¯t and you must remember that¡± Taking my more calmed hands he looks directly at me. ¡°However real it may feel, remember it is just a game, nothing in there is real¡± He gives me a pat on the head. ¡°Now, let us go have late lunch with your Father shall we?¡± ¡°Ok¡± I feel a lot lighter now, a lot happier I guess. I mean still thinking of those goblins and what happened churns my stomach, but it¡¯s nothing compared to the feeling of a stopping heart in my hands¡­ Maybe Anoobis isn¡¯t such a bad person afterall, since he already realized, like Krudel that it¡¯s just a game, nothing to be afraid of¡­ Heading to the once again spotless dining hall, Daddy is already sitting down and waiting. ¡°I¡¯m all better now so don¡¯t worry¡± I give him a reassuring hug before he can ask me whether I¡¯m fine or not. Sitting down at the table, I start with the chicken, giving my piece a lot of thought¡­I killed it, so I could eat it¡­ but I can¡¯t feel anything but a delicious taste from it now¡­how odd these feelings are in conjunction to one another. Finishing my meal, I head downstairs to sow with Daddy watching, but Krudel asks to talk to him about something important, business of some sort. ¡­ ¡­ (Krudel¡¯s POV) ¡°Sir, I have something to ask of you¡± I stop him in the foyer, bowing at my quite rude behaviour of taking him away. ¡°It must be important so go on¡± ¡°Mistress is a grown woman¡± ¡°No¡± He knows what I¡¯m going to say. ¡°She needs exposure to the real world¡± ¡°Do not make me say it again Krudel¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t, just listen to what I have to say and think about it¡­for her sake¡± He doesn¡¯t respond. ¡°She has been exposed to a small number of fantasy people in an uncivilized world¡­she requires real life exposure to the world or she will never be able to fit in society¡± He¡¯s about to say something but I quickly and quite rudely frankly interrupt him ¡°She will go to society one day with or without your consent because she is bored of being cooped up in here and she is curious, a spark ignited by this game. A small amount of exposure now will help her so much in the long run because I know that you don¡¯t want her to go but she must and she will one day. Prepare her for the real world you¡¯ve been hiding from her or it will hurt her. You have let your daughter grow into a fine woman¡­don¡¯t let her wither here on a pebble in the ocean.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous¡± ¡°You have kept her here for 19 years on an island somewhere in the South Pacific without any proper human interaction but us servants...and now that she knows there is a real world out there for her to explore. Knowing that, she will no longer be happy, is no longer happy here. She wants to explore, she needs it¡± His face contorts in self argument, possibly over excuses, thought and ideas on keeping the Mistress here another 19 years ¡°It¡¯s what She would¡¯ve wanted¡± ¡°DON¡¯T put her into this¡± He snaps at me ¡°What do you know what she would¡¯ve wanted huh?¡± ¡°She wants what all mothers want for their children; for them to be happy¡± ¡­ Finally his closed-minded shell cracks open but a tiny bit and he loses his bark¡­looking like the resigned old man that he is. ¡°So¡­What would you have me do? The outside world is dangerous; I don¡¯t want her out there, especially with how frail she is. She doesn¡¯t know anything about the outside world; She doesn¡¯t even know how to cook.¡± ¡°Exactly why she must go out and be exposed to the world, to understand what is dangerous and how to live, truly live. Also, she will not be alone; I¡¯ll make sure that she remains safe. All I ask is to allow me to take her to a proper environment for a woman her age and let her grow into the woman we all want her to become.¡± I gesture behind me where I know all the rest of the household have quietly gathered, all having quietly talked about this for the past years and have parted me their knowledge so that I may teach the Mistress when needs be. ¡°Where do you have in mind?¡± His eyes look down in resignation¡­finally understanding somewhat that he needs to let the Mistress go. ¡°The starting point of all human¡¯s proper interaction with the real world¡­University¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hey, so 2 things: 1. I feel a mini-series of Miss Nameless happening (but if someone wants to take the mantle on that sometime in the future then go on ahead and try ;P) sometime when I''ve gotten quite a bit more of the fiction done (probably in the down time or smthg). 2. Dya like the somewhat still ambiguous backstory (huehuehue)...though with enough thought you''ll probably have a good idea about a few things :D Anyways hope you enjoyed this mildly relevant chappie (it''s more of a .5 chapter really tbh since no Joat). Joat will be back next chapter! -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 28. Into the Frying pan Ahhh back into... *sniff* Smells like burnt¡­oh Peering over the houses indeed I do see a few charred treetops in the distance¡­whoops. Alright, let¡¯s forget about completely destroying the forest and figure out what¡¯s changed around here (besides the obvious)! Baila, where are you hopping around? Sent her a message, because I saw that she got online a little while before me. Servers open at 10 am¡­what a beautifully perfect time. While I wait for her response time to check my character sheet!
NAME:
Joat
TITLES:
The Social Butterfly, Goblin Slayer
Class:None
Race:HobgoblinGender:Male
Level:5(+1)Experience:55%
[tr]
STATUS:
Remaining Points (25(+3))Remaining: Badges:1 Raid Badge
Health Points110/110HP Regen (Out of Combat)1/sec
Attack:51-51Defense:19
Perception:50Brutality:20
Vitality:10Strength:10
Agility:10Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Empty:-Empty:-
Satiety:165/180(Almost Full)
Unused Stats:Dexterity, Wisdom, Leadership, Communication
[tr]
SKILLS/PROFICIENCIES:
Active: Stomp, Beginner [lvl2] Suicide, Beginner [lvl2] Monster Identification, Beginner [lvl6] Sneak, Intermediate [lvl1] Sprint, Beginner [lvl4] Commanding Shout, Beginner [lvl3] Headbutt, Beginner [lvl1] Spitful Taunt, Beginner [lvl3] Throw, Beginner [lvl1] Bite, Intermediate [lvl1] Sacrifice, Beginner [lvl1]
Passive: Jump, Beginner [lvl2] Roll, Beginner [lvl2] Diplomacy, Beginner [lvl1] Hearing, Beginner [lvl4] Smell, Beginner [lvl2] Night Vision, Master [lvlMax]5.15 Mana Adept, Beginner [lvl1]
Auras: Mild Monster''s Aura, Intermediate[lvl1]
Crafting:
Proficiencies: Kick Mastery, Beginner [lvl4] Unarmed Mastery, Beginner [lvl3]
Well apart from gaining suicide¡­I¡¯m pretty far behind in terms of skills¡­20 in almost 100 hours¡­THAT¡¯S TERRIBLE! At least I know a few other skills for me to get back such as my leatherworking or catch¡­but in all honesty I¡¯m way behind on my skills! At least I gained this Sacrifice skill:
Skill:Sacrifice, Beginner [lvl1] (Active)
Upon actively taking an attack targeted for another being: +10 temporary hp -1% damage
Cost: None, Duration: Instantaneous, Cooldown: 10 seconds
Huh¡­I guess that could come in handy¡­if it weren¡¯t me having to sacrifice myself¡­ But anyways, skill is a skill and I need every one I can get. Also I got that Title and this strange raid badge:
Congratulations! For killing over 500 of the same creature type (goblins) within an instance, you have been awarded a title:
TITLE:Goblin Slayer
You are proficient in killing Goblins, so much so that you instinctively know their weakspots, their attack patterns and how to effectively deal with them overall. This title increases damage against all goblinoid creatures by 10% For gaining this title you are now known to goblin kind, as an enemy
xp increases by 25%
Sweet! except for the part where goblins are now my enemies (well officialy anyways)...so that may mean I can''t get that class quest (not like I can complete it anyway with this damnable mandatory...) Ooh, that sounds rather interesting...so different raids give different types of badges? for crafting too...I wonder what it does... Joat, sorry but pretty much everyone is busy smithing weapons¡­sorry ¡­ .. . Excuse-what? Baila''s message completely derailed my train of thought I¡¯m...not part of this? Well that completely sucks Zzoid what¡¯s going on!? At least he¡¯ll explain better than just apologizing for destroying my heart! Well we got given 1 chance to blacksmith and if we did it correctly we¡¯d be taught. You weren¡¯t here for it¡­ And he responds quicker too. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. THAT¡¯S A WHOLE SKILL GONE! A WHOLE 100% OF A LEVEL!! I SHOULD¡¯VE JUST DIED IN THE CAVES AND GOTTEN THAT SKILL INSTEAD, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO¡­ But then again being in that cave wasn¡¯t completely useless. Anyways, so basically I¡¯m all on my own *whoosh* ¡°And back to hell I go¡± Well that¡¯s rather pessimistic¡­oh DillyDally! ¡°Hey, need a partner to venture into hell with?¡± Seems like he¡¯s just been outside¡­since he just revived. ¡°Yes, since none of the others are online yet and the rest are smithing, those backstabbers¡± He¡¯s none too happy he doesn¡¯t get to be a blacksmith. ¡°Well thank Aiag we have this free weapon treaty right?¡± ¡°Never thought it would¡¯ve actually benefitted me¡± Well I always plan for the worst case. ¡°So what¡¯s been going on outside?¡± ¡°It¡¯d be easier to show you¡± He starts to walk outside, guess I¡¯ll follow him. ¡­ .. . Holdy mother of Aiag¡­just what the hell happened here (well I know what happened but still!)? The green grassy fields are now charred ground with small triple balls of fire hopping around in a line without a care in the world. [table]
ITEM:Raid Badge (Goblin)
This badge is an insignia to your efforts in completing a raid. They type of badge is goblin due to the raid. This may be traded or used in crafting
NAME:Blaze [lvl6]
Health:30(3)/30(3)Attack:20-30
Defense:0Resistances:Fire
A miniature elemental of fire, born from the mixture of magical and non-magical flames
Well damn. Even though the hp and defense are low¡­I think that 20-30 fire damage looks way nasty. Also what''s with the weird hp? ¡°Right, so how do we fight those?¡± ¡°Go for it¡± He gestures for me to go¡­oh ok so learning first hand¡­great. Stepping close to the Blaze, it continues hopping around calmly. Ok cool, passive. Let¡¯s start with a kick -23 OW! That hurt me! The blaze continues on unharmed¡­even though I¡¯d put my foot through its supposed head. Ok, so I take damage instead and that hurts! Right, back to the village. Heading to the well, wincing at my now burnt foot (in hindsight, not a good idea), I pull up some water and take the bucket outside. *Splash* -32 *pshh* OK, so it¡¯s dead, from me splashing water onto it¡­alrighty then Ooh it left something behind! Picking up a tiny grey shard
ITEM:Fire Elemental shard (broken)
A tiny piece of a full fire elemental core
I NEED THIS! Wait did Nathan know this was going to happen? ... .. . Oh my, he¡¯s a sly bugger¡­he gave us something that¡¯d help him gather materials he needs! Wow¡­I actually commend him for that. But before I go talk to him and complain about having us destroy and change the landscape unwittingly for his sake¡­let¡¯s complete his damnable quest. ¡°So DillyDally, great and all that I can kill them, but have you got a more effective way?¡± ¡°Nope¡­that¡¯s pretty much the only way to deal with them right now¡± Hmm I have a feeling he''s not telling me everything...well whatever. Also that isn¡¯t exactly great¡­especially because there are probably bigger fire elementals beyond the used to be a forest¡­ Ah! ¡°I think I have a way¡± Drawing some more water, I return outside and this time, dunk my hands into the water. Ok, let¡¯s hope this works. Punching the Blaze with my fist -16 -3 OW! Taking my hand out and putting out the fire on it, I notice the Blaze having a mini implosion. Huh? Why¡¯d that happen¡­I only did 3 damage to it. Turning to DillyDally he just shrugs his shoulders not really knowing what happened either¡­ Anyways, that seemed to work, so let¡¯s try it again. I spot my companion dipping his hands in too. Punching the Blaze in the head¡­I do 3 damage but it doesn¡¯t die. And this time it comes for me. ¡°HELP¡± I bound away as it jumps towards me, Oh wait, I can outrun this. DillyDally sees that so I don¡¯t get any help. So¡­last time I killed it with water, whereas this time I didn¡¯t? Why¡¯d that happen? Could it be? Running to the bucket, I douse my hands once more and aim for the middle ball and the tail I guess, hands going through both. The tail hand ball feels a connection and although I take close to 50 damage, the Blaze bursts¡­AHA! Picking up the core, I go to another Blaze and instead of punching it, I do a grabbing motion towards the middle ball. -23 OW -3 Grab the tail ball. *pshhh* AHA! Opening my hand, sure enough there¡¯s a shard in it, which isn¡¯t broken this time (ooh, though it¡¯s inactive). So the Blazes can be killed immediately if their core is taken out or broken and that seems to be the only good method of killing them, besides chucking water at them¡­And this way I can actually harvest the things! *Ding*
Congratulations! Through following a logical thought process by experimentation, you have found a way to not only kill the creature effectively, but to harvest precious materials without damaging it. Thus you have learnt the Stat: Intelligence
STAT:Intelligence
Points in Intelligence will increase Magic Damage. It will also affect your ability to read and understand magic. Intelligence will affect intelligence-related skills
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots?YESNO
Due to learning a Stat, your xp increase by 10%
Holee Lord¡­I actually got intelligence?! Glancing at DillyDally, he¡¯s just smiling¡­oh he knew about this! Aha, so that¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t helping me!! So its different to Wisdom because...I was learning rather than using my prior experience? huh, odd awy to differentiate them but it works for me! Hmm, so actually this intelligence business will be extremely useful to learn¡­if I knew how to use it to make water magic ¡­ .. . But since I don¡¯t I press no, for now. ¡°Ok, so now that you understand how to kill them¡­let¡¯s continue on¡± ¡°Wait a second, shouldn¡¯t we try to talk around the village see if there¡¯s a wizard or something?¡± I mean Nathan might be able to help¡­but not sure I want to trust him. ¡°No can do: They¡¯ve locked themselves in for the next 24 hours apparently¡± So the game has us face this for 24 hours without help¡­bastards! ¡°Ok, so we continue on then¡­but to where?¡± ¡°To the mines of course¡± Huh? Oh, to explore Tarakiel¡¯s place! ¡°That¡¯s a brilliant plan..we could find so much stuff there¡± ¡°Oh¡­you¡¯re talking about Tarakiel¡¯s? I was thinking of mining¡± He takes out a pick ¡°But haven¡¯t all the spaces been taken up?¡± Since everyone has apparently gone smithing. ¡°DO you even look at your quests?¡± I open up my quest log¡­and apparently I can only look at the mandatory one. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­I got a mandatory quest¡± ¡°ooh that doesn¡¯t sound nice¡­those things exist here?¡± ¡°Yep. So anyways, what¡¯s with the blacksmithing quest¡± ¡°Well according to the rewards bit, there¡¯s 82 out of 30 slots for weaponsmithing¡­but none out of 10 for armoursmithing¡± ¡­ .. . Oh my...I see a chance! ¡°Right to the mine we go! But we can head to Tarakiel¡¯s too¡­probably so much loot there¡± AND A SKILL! ¡°Before we go though...you might want to know what we¡¯re up against¡± He puts a stopping hand on my shoulder as I begin to head towards the forest. ¡°Fire elementals?¡± ¡°Yup, and not friendly either¡± So that¡¯s how he died apparently. ¡°But the whole take out their core and their dead rule applies right?¡± ¡°Yes¡± He doesn¡¯t sound very convinced ¡°But¡­you¡¯ll see¡± Ok, time to learn firsthand again! Walking into the charred forest, the number of trees still standing are well very spread out let¡¯s say. The ground is the same black, ash covered flooring but small fissures the colour of fire run along the floor here and there Also I can spot numerous fallen trees, charred black, dotted around the place¡­well that doesn¡¯t look good. Especially not good because my feet are really hot right now! Ow ow ow. Hopping from one foot to the other, I see DillyDally¡¯s having the same problem. He stops me after a short hop, crouching and pointing to the near distance. ¡­ .. . What am I supposed to be looking at? Rising from the ash¡­is ash itself. Ok so guess I¡¯m looking at that.
NAME:Living Ash [lvl8]
Health:100(10)/100(10)Attack:14-20
A mass of ash revived by magical fire
Alright, not many details, except for the fact that it¡¯s a decently strong creature, apart from that strange health¡­ The one in brackets might be the core health actually¡­ ¡°So shall I taunt it?¡± ¡°You can taunt?¡± DillyDally looks at me quite surprised¡­oh yeah, guess he hadn¡¯t realized that time. Sneaking towards the Living Ash, I spit towards it. It collapses into the ash ¡­ .. . Oh Shi-DODGE Jumping out the way instinctively, the living ash bursts out from the ground underneath me, and as I roll back up, I spot DillyDally punching through it with little visible effect. It raises an ash hand, swiping at DillyDally, who ducks under it before uppercutting the what I guess it its¡¯ face (well it has no facial features so how am I supposed to tell). Diving into it, I feel my head go inside it, encased in ash and I feel a warmth emanating from a bit below me. Before I can do anything though, the ash pulls me down, smacking me head first into the ground for a decent amount of damage. Ouch. ¡°Dodge¡± DillyDally warns and I roll, only getting clipped by the rising ash. ¡°It¡¯s at the bottom¡± I splutter as the first of its firsts ram into my stomach. About 2 attacks later, I¡¯m down ? of my health but the thing stops and bursts into a small cloud of ash. ¡­ .. . Damn that was pretty difficult. Scrambling to my feet, I spot DillyDally picking up a small shard, still glowing slightly. ¡°This one¡¯s active¡± OOH! He pockets it and we continue. ¡°So how did you spot it?¡± ¡°Just look for them moving through the ash¡± He points towards the floor nearby, tracing what I suppose is the living ash. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Wait a second, I THINK I actually see it. It¡¯s like ripples in water; faint but still visible if you¡¯re looking for it¡­huh so maybe that¡¯s how he knew where it was in combat. Progress is slow, since we have to stop and most of the time fight the living ashes/recover. All in all, they¡¯re not too difficult; they start with an underground charge, then once you have your hand inside you can vaguely tell where the core is. From then on DillyDally simply takes it out while the ash is focused on me. Rinsed and repeated. Apparently, the way to keep the shards active is to just grab them¡­which I assume we did before but with water so that might¡¯ve screwed it up. So now we have 6 active shards and only a distance to this mine. I mean it¡¯s only a 10 minute walk usually, but it¡¯s taken us 30 minutes to get most of the way. Spotting the mine just a little ahead, we don¡¯t rush towards it¡­because there¡¯s a rather humanoid looking shape milling about. And it¡¯s on fire, well made out of it really¡­
NAME:Medium-Fire Elemental [lvl20]
Health:???Attack:???
A being born from fire and magic. A dangerous being of high elemental purity.
Thanks game description, never would¡¯ve noticed that the level 20 monster isn¡¯t dangerous ¡­ .. . Well damn, a level 20 in the beginner zone¡­that¡¯s really messed up. I look towards DillyDally and he just shrugs¡­well guess we are waiting ¡­ .. . It¡¯s not moving away¡­oh don¡¯t tell me its pathing is back and forth the mine entrance? Apparently it is. ¡°Ok, so DillyDally, you got a plan?¡± ¡°Well I say we train our skills and wait for the rest to come online¡­then we might have a chance¡± Might being the keyword there¡­ I nod, since I do really want to get some skills. Ok, so what is on my list: ¡¤ Grapple ¡¤ Catch ¡¤ Dodge ¡¤ Leatherworking ¡¤ Swim ¡¤ HYB (Hold Your Breath) ¡¤ Climb ¡¤ Herbalism ¡¤ Lucky Roll ¡¤ Physical Resistance ¡¤ Luck-Stat ¡¤ Endurance-Stat ¡¤ Alchemy Ok so that¡¯s all the skills and stats that I know/knew I could get¡­hmm quite a bit but in all honesty only the endurance stat and physical resistance are really that useful¡­and I guess dodge too. Ooh¡­could I somehow get fire resistance? ¡°Ok, let¡¯s go back to the Blazes so you can train up whatever¡± He nods and we slowly make our way back, destroying another 4 Living ash on the way back. Hmm 10 isn¡¯t enough to make a core yet (no idea how to put them together but I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a way). Back in the fields, DillyDally wanders off to do his stuff and I begin a small bit of hell. First off, Endurance¡­I guess, but how do I do that? Last time I got it was pretty extreme circumstances¡­hmm. Ah, maybe that might work? Going to a blaze, I place my face into it¡¯s face -46 -46 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Wrenching my face from there, I can see nothing but black¡­well dammit. And I¡¯m almost dead¡­ At least in my black world I can still see my hp bar¡­so I¡¯ve got that going for me... But first, time to wail in pain at literally burning my face and eyes. ¡°YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± ¡­ .. . Muuch better (not really but still)¡­ Ok, so guess time to use my other senses¡­since I¡¯m blind¡­for now. Hmm balls of fire don¡¯t exactly make much-oh wait I hear some slight crackling sound. Following the crackling sound (after regenerating my health and letting the fiery pain dull down to a tolerable level), I actually step into one. -24 OW Ok, so I guess I have to do this like an animal then¡­ Getting down on all fours, I sniff the air, smelling something akin to burnt grass a little off to my left. Face first, I head over there. I mean the description for endurance was surviving through an extreme experience that basically almost killed you over and over again¡­so doing this should count right? The heat intensifies till it¡¯s like putting my face next to a small fire¡­I don¡¯t miss the irony on that. Plunging my face in -46 -52 OW! Rolling on the ground, patting my head furiously¡­I don¡¯t feel any hair, but neither do I feel any fire so that¡¯s a win in a sense? Right, follow that Blaze. Slowly stalking it on all fours, I do get used to the light crackling and the burnt grassy scent coming off it. Thank Aiag no one is here to see me like this. Continually placing my face into the fire, and what I suppose is the tail ball (since I¡¯m behind it I believe), I swear I feel my face melting¡­which in hindsight it probably is. If I had eyes, I¡¯d be crying¡­but since I don¡¯t, I¡¯m just constantly wailing in pain as I follow the Blaze, tongue burnt too which is extremely painful! "Come here Blzy, come here" Ah speaking is helping, if just slightly... Into the Blaze once more ... -50 -59 OUT! ¡­phew¡­almost died there¡­That was bad. At least my tracking skills for this Blaze is getting surprisingly good, especially since I¡¯ve made sure not to run into any others¡­or I might¡¯ve died. Talking about others¡­Roll! Rolling to the side, I hear another crackle slowly past me. Oh, where did my Blaze go? Crawling past where the other one went by, I put my nose to the ground and sniff ¡­ .. . Apparently this seems to be working. I can smell the burnt grassy smell veering off to my right, where that other Blaze went, but also straight ahead¡­kind of obvious when I think about it, but it¡¯s pathing is pretty random so could¡¯ve gone wherever for all I know. Following it, I feel the heat off of its tail once more and I continue to plunge myself into it, if only for a second¡­ This lasts for a short while longer till my knees start aching from travelling on them for so long. God I lost track of time...maybe an hour? I hope I¡¯ve got the skill by now. But anyways, time for part 2. Since I¡¯m blind and playing with my senses¡­let¡¯s try using that to my advantage (which I¡¯ve already been doing but still). Apparently I¡¯m deaf too now; since the fire burnt the inside of my ears¡­I do not want to see what I look like right now. At least I can¡¯t really feel much pain in my face anymore¡­probably from having burnt all the pain receptors¡­whoops. Right so now, let¡¯s try sense the Blazes. Sitting crosslegged, I try to create my eyes. Not my normal eyes¡­but mana sensing ones! Well I have mana adept, so I should be able to draw some mana into my eye sockets and use them to find mana¡­which would find the Blazes; because they¡¯re made from magic (as the description sort of said)! Ok, so how to draw mana? ¡­ .. . That¡¯s an extremely good question. Erm..it is kind of like drawing chi? Let¡¯s try that. Uhmmmmm Uhmmmmm, Feel the mana rising from my inner self and into my eyes, uhmmmmmm ¡­ .. . I feel something¡­like a breath of air travelling where air really shouldn¡¯t be, ever so slightly. Odd, but it¡¯s working(?) so hell yeah! Uhmmm¡­no¡­it¡¯s not working anymore. Oh it¡¯s working agai-no it¡¯s not. ¡­ .. . Hmm..maybe I¡¯m using mana up so it needs to regenerate? Waiting about a minute, I try again and indeed I believe I¡¯m gathering mana and then it stops again. So it must be some sort of mana deficiency¡­right, that¡¯ll be fun to sort out¡­ Doing it a few more times to try gather enough mana, well any mana really (since all I¡¯ve gathered each time is what feels like a dot¡­). Finally gathering maybe a marble size of mana in my eye sockets I begin my creation ¡­ .. . I¡¯m trying to make eyes¡­without having any idea what they¡¯re made of¡­right, I should probably internet that later¡­ Anyways, I do feel ¡®something¡¯ floating around my eye sockets¡­but it isn¡¯t taking shape and now it¡¯s dissipated since I stopped concentrating or the mana ran out, whichever. Well that ended quickly. Right, so part 2 is halted temporarily...now let¡¯s get my eyes back. Though I¡¯m not sitting down and waiting for them¡­oh no. I am going to do much without these eyes. First, is dodging training. I begin by walking, well crawling, actually being able to hear again ¡­ .. . Did I just spend half an hour or more on that? Jeesh that went by fast. Anywho, back on task¡­wait why don¡¯t I have my eyes? Must be because I was playing with magic so I blocked their regeneration? That¡¯s a strangely awesome yet worrying concept¡­ Crawling slowly, I try to hear and smell the Blazes, trying dive under them as they jump. The first many attempts fail horribly with me burning and almost dying in some cases¡­not good (thank Aiag they don''t set me on fire with just a touch...). But slowly I get better until finally I can crawl at a decently normal pace, ducking under them mid jump, or even diving over them¡­which didn¡¯t work out as well as I hoped but it¡¯s still had some successes (more than the rolling under to be honest). Praise Aiag they are all passive or I would¡¯ve been dead so very long ago. While I do this, finally my eyes regenerate (ok so seems like the regeneration timer reset when I started fiddling with the area¡­huh interesting) and I stand up, sighing with relief at seeing what looks like the apocalypse came through (which it did sort of). ¡°Boss, just what are you doing?¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Oh hey Tikari¡­.don¡¯t tell anyone, please¡± How long has she been watching, did she see everything?!? Like everything everything?? She shakes her head with a grin. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t tell them. But it wouldn¡¯t do this video any justice without some commentary¡± A window pops up in front of her, playing a video of my crawling around, sniffing the ground, thankfully the face not in the camera¡¯s view. ¡°Tikari¡± ¡°Juust going to upload this onto foru-¡± ¡°GIVE IT HERE¡± I rush towards her ¡°WAHAHAH¡± She laughs maniacally while running away. I will catch you and I WILL get that video deleted (how did she even record it in the first place?), I have a reputation to uphold!! ... .. . ¡°AHA GOT YOU¡± catching her by the waist (thank Aiag for tackling training), we collapse to the floor, me twisting underneath in mid fall (wouldn¡¯t be good if I landed on top, as a gentleman that¡¯d just be terrible). ¡°Ehehe, I was just ki¡­Joat¡± Oh no that didn¡¯t sound good. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I may have accidentally pressed the upload button" ¡°TIKARIIIIIIIIIIIIIII¡± ¡­ ¡­ (Derek¡¯s POV) ¡°Hey Trent, you really got to see this¡± I call over to him, and he lumbers over, panting still from the sprints. ¡°Dude what¡¯s up?¡± I turn the phone towards him, pressing play on the new video. ...*Sniff* ¡°Mmm, my blind senses are tingling with-¡± *sniff* ¡°-A whiff of burnt grass¡± The green guy is crawling on burnt ground sniffing and seemingly following 3 linked balls of fire which hop around in a line... ¡°Dude, wow what the hell is this?¡± Trent gives me both raised eyebrows ¡°Some data from the Aria beta¡­ah ah but this isn¡¯t the best bit¡± I fast-forward the video by another minute, just missing out him sniffing and rolling on the ground as he burns his hair¡­quite funny yet still decently disturbing. This time, he¡¯s right behind one of these things, planting his face into its tail and one perfectly hops onto his butt. Stopping the video, I crack up with laughter especially because Trent is just looking with his WTH face. ¡°Oh man, guess what the title of the video is?¡± ¡°Crazy guy in a game?¡± Oh no it¡¯s much better than that ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Hobgoblin-Blazeipede¡­SERIOUSLY?¡± ¡°Well I thought it¡¯s quite the smart title¡­¡± Tikari twirls her foot in the ash ¡°It is but you actually recorded me doing this¡­oh that¡¯s so bad¡± I continue to watch the rest of the video, which consists of me rolling around trying to put on the fire on my butt¡­yeah¡­that¡¯s on a video with more than 100,000 views in less than 10 minutes¡­ ¡°Hey do you get money for this?¡± I huddle on the ground hating life slightly. ¡°Well apparently I can now¡± ¡°80%¡± ¡°Now c-¡± ¡°80% Tikari, I¡¯ve been abused¡± I start sniffling, letting tears REAL tears come out of my eyes¡­though they are aided by the prospect of good money. ¡°You should never video a man when he thinks he¡¯s alone!¡± Well that¡¯s on the internet now which doesn¡¯t exactly help Joat¡¯s reputation¡­but that¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve been on the internet¡­ At least this time it¡¯s popular and not hidden in a secret account where only a few people can see it¡­so might as well make the best of it. ¡°Ok Boss, sorry Boss¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok¡± I¡¯ll just get my revenge later¡­I¡¯m not vengeful¡­just need a little payback for having to see myself like that¡­ ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re cool, just refrain from videoing me in the most horrible moments of my skill gaining life?¡± ¡°Sure will do Boss¡± She gives me a cheerful smile, while still wiping a small tear of laughter from her eyes. I see multiple rays of light from behind her and out appear SirStripy and the antlered duo. ¡°Hey Hobgoblin of the hour, how you crawling?¡± Yinroh gives me a wink ¡°Yinroh don¡¯t be mean or you might tingle his blind senses¡± SirStripy clocks him lightly on the head ¡°Yes, he did have quite the assperience¡± Snorh chuckles *Triggered* ¡°You 3 better run or I will make sure Zebra-antelopede is the sequel¡± They just laugh to that, so I tackle them and begin wrestling them¡­half-seriously. ¡­ ... 29. MAGIC, OH MY AIAG! ¡°EVERYONE GATHER UP¡± DillyDally¡¯s voice cuts through the buzzing chatter that surrounds me. Please don¡¯t begin with a joke about me or I will lose it¡­ ¡°As you may have noticed, hell has broken loose. And we are the only ones in it right now¡­so let¡¯s make the best of this time alone¡± He begins pacing back and forth, arms behind and his stance one of a commanding officer. ¡°But isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡± Snorh raises his hand ¡°Well of course, hence why we will all form a squad together and survive through this.¡± He waits for more interruptions, but none come. ¡°Look at your quests¡± Everyone opens them up ¡°If you look at the blacksmithing quest, you will notice that the 10 armoursmithing slots have not been taken as of yet. Thus it is our mission to take those slots¡± ¡°But there are 13 of us¡± SirStripy quickly counts outloud. ¡°True, therefore Joat and Tikari will take 2 slots while-¡± ¡°DillyDally, I don¡¯t want to do any armoursmithing¡± Tikari gives him a heads up. What why waste a whole 100% like that! ¡°So the other 9 will be divided among us based on necessity¡± he continues without a problem. ¡°So who needs it more than another?¡± Yinroh asks rather perplexed. ¡°Everyone wishing to wear heavy armour, step forward¡± The ripped Halfling, Gristle, SirStripy and the short human all stand forward. ¡°Those 4 will become armoursmiths. Now anyone who doesn¡¯t have a standing party¡± The alligator, Kandien and the Rooster-beastmen walk forward, as well as DillyDally himself. ¡°And the last one we do via a rochambo¡± The antlered duo and Jerriah the giraffe-beastman rochambo it out. ¡°What about me?¡± A sniveling voice comes from a short distance away. Turning round, we spot Rakshak¡­ahh, forgot about him...and about the other lot, who I have no idea where they are...whoever they are... ¡°What about you?¡± Wow, blunt much DillyDally? ¡°Well I save your asses so I should get some compensation¡± ¡°You already have¡± I blurt out, to which everyone looks at me. ¡°You are given what you found in Tarakiel¡¯s, and the next best things will be given to Snorh and Jerriah as compensation¡± Rakshak opens his mouth then closes it, wiser than to disagree and have what is his taken away. ¡°Right, so now that is sorted. Squad Animal, we move out!¡± DillyDally snaps to the left and marches out along with the rest of us, everyone looking rather perplexed at DillyDally calling us Squad Animal¡­ A bit of a silly name, but I guess it could work?? We get to the field of blazes and everyone has the same wide-eyed expression as I had before. ¡°One rule, do not look at anyone else, for only through your own perseverance will you actually gain anything, you got that!¡± ¡°Sir yes sir¡± Some half-mockingly respond. They all pick a blaze. ¡°Go on Squirrel¡± I give her a gentle push away. Go, I want to watch you try tackle these things. She half-fearfully shuffles towards it, stopping halfway before turning back towards the village. Dammit, she can¡¯t have already thought of it? Sure enough she returns a minute later with a bucket of water, and chucks it onto the blaze *pshhh* Phew, at least she¡¯s around the same level as me. Would¡¯ve put me to shame if she just grabbed the core then and then¡­ She picks up the broken shard¡­studying it. Going straight for the next blaze, she sticks her hands in the head, then the stomach and finally the tail ball wincing loudly each time. Though the blaze implodes and she holds a shard, with a shimmer of orange and yellow dancing within. ¡°Oh my god!¡± She exclaims at the new window, looking between us and the window in mild shock. I notice a couple of the others look this way but DillyDally hisses at them to get to work. I just wiggle my eyebrows in her direction while she bounds up to us. ¡°Thank you!¡± she gives a quick curtsy. We just shrug our shoulders; it¡¯s a normal stat so everyone should be getting it sometime soon anyways. Oh, talking about that¡­do I have any, why yes I do. Clicking on my flashing notifications box, I get piled with information:
Congratulations! Through suffering near death experienced multiple times within a concurrent period of time, you have relearned the exquisite Stat: Endurance
STAT:Endurance
Points in Endurance will lower all kinds of damage, increase stamina and will affect skills related to Endurance
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slotsYESNO
xp increases by 20%
Woohoo, I actually gained it back. Yup putting it in without a doubt.
Exquisite Stat: Endurance has been added to your stat slots. It has used up 1 stat slot. Endurance will stat at 10 due to hobgoblin race.
SKILL:Pain Tolerance, Beginner [lvl3] (Passive)
Pain tolerance lowers the feeling of pain, without decreasing damage. However this decreases the chance of physical conditions on user which use pain as a limiter -3% pain. Endurance bonus: -10% pain
Ahh, 13% less pain, what a beautiful thing...but I THINK it''s 13% of the usual 20% which is is less than 3% reduction overall (still awesome!). I mean it¡¯s a useful skill I believe, especially if it stops me passing out in important moments. I¡¯d say leveling this up would be worth it. Ok so 1 stat, 1 skill so far. Let¡¯s see what else I got:
Congratulations! Through continuously putting your body into fire for sake of strengthening yourself, you have gained the skill: Fire resistance [td4[Your body has grown ever so used to the flames. Thus they will not affect you as strongly as they would to anyone else. -1% fire damage Endurance bonus: -1% fire damage extra[/td4]
SKILL:Fire Resistance, Beginner [lvl1] (Passive)[/td2]
xp increases by 5%
Miniature benefits, but they¡¯re benefits!! So my work did pay off, totally worth the screaming! Right more to go still:
Congratulations! Through continually learning to focus and gather small amounts of mana under your control, you have learnt the Stat: Mana [tds]YES
STAT:Mana
Points in mana will give you a mana pool as well as the mana to fill it, along with small mana regeneration. Mana allows you to cast spells and will affect all mana related skills.
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots?NO
xp increases by 10%
¡­ .. . Ehhh what? Apparently Mana is a stat?! Well that¡¯s actually horrible! That¡¯s an entire stat gone for mana (though if you¡¯re a wizard being able to manually increase your mana is awesome)! Ok, so add that to the list of just what is this game¡­
You failed to learn the spell due to lack of magical understanding
¡­ .. . Huh? Wait I need magical understanding to gain spells!? But I also need mana to cast them¡­ Does that mean I don¡¯t need mana to learn them??? I mean I need to cast them to learn them¡­unless I was learning from a book? Oh my, this sounds lucrative. Anywho, so that means I was actually making the spell but it didn¡¯t work because I don¡¯t have magical understanding? What is that anyway¡­oh my. Opening up my Intelligence, sure enough, it says increases magical understanding¡­aha! So I do actually need intelligence if I want to use magic¡­hmm, a slight pain, but understandable. Right so I¡¯ll get to that once I¡¯ve gone through the rest of my notifications.
Through repeated use of multiple senses in conjuction to find your enemy where one sense was not enough, you have gained the skill: Tracking
SKILL:Tracking, Beginner [lvl1] (Active)
Upon activation: allows user to track one being through smell, sight and sound. Bonuses/Penalties depend on senses and creature trying to be tracked. You will know that you are tracking a creature. Perception bonus: you know 50% more detail about the creature you are tracking
Cost: None, Duration: Sustained, Cooldown: 1 minute
xp increases by 5%
¡­ .. . Ooooh! So I need to level this up if I want to gain any information from tracking them¡­but still what a cool skill!
Through retaining a practical speed while crawling, and learning best how to maneouver one''s self while in such a position, you have gained the skill: Crawling td4]Upon crawling: 1% movement speed when crawling (still a 99% penalty overall) Agility bonus: 10% movement speed increase[/td4]
SKILL:Crawling, Beginner [lvl1] (Passive)
xp increases by 5%
Ok, guess that¡¯s cool? IT''S A SKILL NONETHELESS! Wow I¡¯ve gained so much in this past while! I¡¯m actually kind of happy. And that¡¯s all of them apparently. Sweet! I must¡¯ve been grinning like a fool because Squirrel is looking at me funny, not watching the others play with fire. ¡°So, what did you get?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see¡­DillyDally, I¡¯m going to train Squirrel ok?¡± ¡°What are you planning?¡± ¡°Well I was thinking that we need some way to find the cores without hurting ourselves first¡± ¡°Ah¡­Sure, go ahead, I¡¯ll make sure these lot train up. Any idea how long you¡¯ll be?¡± ¡°Maybe a few hours¡± He nods. ¡°Squirrel, come with me, we have work to do!¡± She follows after me, looking rather perplexed. ¡°Are you going to teach me magic?¡± ¡°Ding ding ding¡± Smart woman. ¡°Well to be honest I don¡¯t know any myself but the system has hinted that I can learn it¡± ¡°Uhuh¡­so what are you teaching me?¡± ¡°Mana eyes or something of the like¡± She raises an eyebrow, she understand I think, just a bit confused as to how we''re going to do it probably. Sitting down crosslegged, I have her sit opposite me. ¡°Ok, so first things first, you want to gain the Mana stat¡± ¡°Excuse me what?¡± ¡°I know, odd isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Cool more like!¡± Oh so she IS a mage wannabe then? I suppose so with the sparkling of her eyes. ¡°Right¡­so to get Mana, it¡¯s like meditation in a way, feel the power rising kind of thing¡± ¡°Great explanation¡± She smirks sarcastically. ¡°Hey¡± I huff and she gets down to work. While she does that I add the intelligence stat¡­because I can just die and get rid of that later (with some problem getting it back but I¡¯ll worry about that later).
Stat: Intelligence has been added to your stat slots. It has used up 1 stat slot. Intelligence will stat at 5 due to hobgoblin race. Increases magic damage by 5, cannot read magical books. Can learn 5 beginner spells.
... .. . Whaaat? No wonder I didn¡¯t get a skill as usually comes with the learning of a stat¡­ I¡¯m a dumb hobgoblin¡­no wonder it¡¯s so low. ¡°Um Squirrel¡± I watch her open her nutty brown eyes looking rather relaxed. ¡°What happened?¡± The relaxation on her face slides off into worry. ¡°What is your Intelligence?¡± ¡°Well I am a very intelligent woman if you are asking¡± ¡°Your in-game intelligence¡± I give her please don¡¯t play around look. ¡°5¡± She gives a small grin Ok, so my intelligence is normal. DillyDally, what is your intelligence? 10 why you ask? 10? Oh no, that means my stat is a hell of a lot worse than his! Ah, mine is only 5¡­must be a racial thing Wow, sucks for you I swear he¡¯s chuckling on the other side. ¡°Ok, so continue with your mana learning¡± She closes her eyes and goes back to quietly humming. Hmm, so like with Brutality the stat beginning is quite different to others, but unlike Brutality, I didn¡¯t get a skill. So there¡¯s some stats that I shouldn¡¯t be taking due to my race¡­interesting to know. And with that theory, I should have a low mana stat too¡­ This sucks! Well I think I might put some points into Intelligence, simply because it should allow me to read magical books, which all in all will be useful. I mean why wouldn¡¯t you want to learn magic¡­
You are about to add 1 to the Intelligence Stat. This will cost 5 Stat Points
¡­ .. . ¡°WHAAAT?¡± ¡°¡­huuu¡­Boss I¡¯m trying to concentrate here¡± Squirrel sighs and looks rather unamused. ¡°It costs me 5 points to add 1 to intelligence¡­¡± I can¡¯t believe it¡­that¡¯s just insane. ¡°Wait how didn¡¯t you know about that already?¡± ¡°About what?¡± Wait people knew about this? ¡°The whole stat point system¡­wow¡­you seriously going random right now?¡± ¡°I thought everyone was?¡± ¡°A decent amount of them. But a few have already begun spending¡­reckless but then again if that¡¯s how they want it then fine¡± ¡°Wait so what is this stat point system?¡± ¡°Well this is where races come in to play. I know you understand the whol racial skills as well as racial stats¡­but races also affect your stat growth¡± Continue¡­ ¡°It seems to go in a 1 to 5 system; the stats that are most racial to you cost 1:1 where those which your race should not have under any orthodox circumstances, will cost 5:1¡± Checking that, I try to add a point to Brutality, and sure enough it says it¡¯ll only cost one point ¡­ .. . So that¡¯s how the utter chaos of whatever race whatever class will be mostly stopped (apart from the really unorthodox people): Since I¡¯m not good with intelligence, no one would ever expect me to be a mage, mostly since my stat growth would be nothing compared to someone who has a 1:1 intelligence growth¡­how horrible! Though I¡¯m sure there¡¯s more to this. As if on cue¡­ ¡°Now you¡¯ve probably wondered why the races were split in the three categories; Normal, Beastmen and Monsters? Well that¡¯s because they¡¯ll all have similar types of stat growth¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. What does that mean? ¡°What I mean is Monster races will have the most exaggerated stat growths; so some will grow easily while some will be extremely difficult to grow. Normal races will have smaller benefits but also smaller penalties, and fewer too. An example would be that a few stats would cost 2 while some others cost 4. Now Beastman races are the same as Normal, but they have the penalties and bonuses of both their races, which may cancel eachother out or boost them¡± ¡°¡­So what you¡¯re saying is that the normal stat growth is 3, and as a monster my stat growths should be 1, 3 and 5? Where as yours would be 2,3,4?¡± ¡°Almost, as a Beastman race, when I can be half something else than human it¡¯s possible to get the whole 1 to 5 range depending on what¡¯s chosen¡± ¡°So shouldn¡¯t that just give Beastman huge advantages?¡± ¡°It should in theory, but then again we haven¡¯t unlocked any of the other races so it could be pretty balanced¡± Huh, interesting¡­very interesting. So due to being a hobgoblin, it means I should be going through a certain route, not magic¡­Dammit. ¡°So what is your intelligence stat growth?¡± ¡°4 which is poor, but if I pair it with my 2 points in agility, every two levels that¡¯s¡¯ 2 Intelligence and 1 agility¡­I¡¯d say that¡¯s an average growth¡± She¡¯s been thinking about this for quite a while then it seems. According to her then, I could gain any combination of stats each level, maybe 5 brutality or 1 intelligence¡­which is pretty poor. I''m suddenly appreciating those free stat increase I got with my title...it''s a godsend those things...I need more titles... Human seems like a pretty good option now¡­since it probably has no bonuses or penalties making them easier to become whatever. Ok, well let¡¯s not play around with precious points right now; let¡¯s try to learn some magic. Squirrel seems to be already getting back into it. I stand up and take out a blaze that¡¯s coming too close, taking out the still active shard. Ooh, let¡¯s see how many I can get. Leaving her to it, I go around taking out 14 blazes before she calls me over. ¡°I got it!¡± ¡°Sweet¡± Mana isn¡¯t that hard to get really¡­a good 10% xp. ¡°Alright, so these mana eyes, how are we going to do it?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Hmm, not sure she¡¯d appreciate this¡­ Sitting down opposite her once again, I place an active shard in the charred ground between us. ¡°You may want to close your eyes¡± She doesn¡¯t even question it. Ripping out an eyeball AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ¡­ .. . Ok pains dulled down a bit. I place a hand in front of my eye socket. ¡°Squirrel, you can open your eyes now¡± ¡°¡­You should¡¯ve told me to block my ears too¡± Whoops¡­well I tried to spare you, tried¡­ ¡°So I¡¯m going to try make an eye, or well a sphere to see this, while you¡¯re going to try putting a layer of mana over your eye. Just to see which works...¡± ¡°Uhuh¡± She looks at me worriedly ¡°How are you not passing out?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been through worse¡± I give her a grin, while wiping some stray blood off my cheek. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know better I¡¯d call you insane¡± ¡°Gee thanks¡± ¡°No problem Boss¡± She gives me a light smile before staring at the shard blankly. Right onto my own work¡­Though this means I might have to add mana. Ah screw it. Might as well.
Stat: Mana has been added to your stat slots. It has used up 1 stat slot. Mana will stat at 5 due to hobgoblin race. Mana ppol is 50, mana regen is 0.5/s
Well that sucks. 50 mana with a 0.5 second regen, and that''s two new additions to my ever growing character sheet... At least I can cast spells now (if I ever get any)¡­ Slowly taking mana towards my eye, I note the new blue bar beneath my red health bar, decrease steadily. The mana is in my eye and I make a rough sphere. I see the blue bar stop draining and my mini mana sphere pops out of existence.
You have failed to learn this spell because your magical understanding is too low
¡­ .. . Well time to throw that plan out of the window, along with my hopes and dreams¡­ ¡°Well that sucks¡± Squirrel says and I look over, seeing her look rather down. ¡°Not enough magical understanding?¡± She nods. Well now what. ¡°You guys could learn detect magic¡± A sniveling voice comes from closeby. Ah, sneaky blighter looking in¡­wasn¡¯t he supposed to be with DillyDally. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to be part of ¡®Squad Animal¡¯¡± He reads my thoughts. ¡°So I thought to come check up on you two. Seems like you need help with magic¡± And you want to get some too. He is seriously reading my mind ¡°I can¡¯t get any myself due to being a goblin¡­obviously, but the stats are still worth xp. A fair trade no?¡± He¡¯s just like a goblin! Ironic how that is¡­ ¡°Sure. So how does this detect magic work?¡± ¡°Well you have to shoot out a light concentration of mana from your hand, which should tell you who¡¯s using magic but not damaging them¡± Alright? Don¡¯t get it¡­ ¡°Ok, put out your hand like this¡± He holds out his hand, palm facing forward. We copy him ¡°Now imagine your mana flowing out of the hand in a cone shape¡± Right, imagine mana coming out¡­ I do feel it going through my arm and out my hand. ¡°Now direct it towards the shard¡± He points towards it and I do. Suddenly it pulsates blue and cracks. Oh my. I got so distracted I actually dissipated the spell. ¡°You see, when magic touches magic, it will create a slightly visible effect. In most game¡¯s cases it makes it glow slightly blue, did it?¡± Oh so he didn¡¯t see it? Cool game thing! ¡°Yep¡± ¡°Perfect. Now the spell is essentially that, but as your may notice, you¡¯ve destroyed the shard¡± Yep¡­not good. ¡°The mana needs to be more spread out, so that you can detect them without it being felt by them¡± Not that it matters to me but I guess it¡¯s useful in a sense to not have people know you¡¯re trying to detect them. Plus if it¡¯s a magical trap¡­don¡¯t want to set it off I guess... I tell him quick instructions on how to get mana while both me and Squirrel go a distance apart, trying on our multiple shards. ¡­ Quite a while passes¡­maybe 3 hours, and I think I¡¯ve finally starting to get the hang of it (I know, but if i get distracted then I lose everything and have to wait for that horrifying regeneration..): The spell requires me to send out extremely thin and non-concentrated mana so that it A: doesn¡¯t hurt them or make them notice, and B: allows it to get through physical objects. Part B I¡¯m off to learn right now. ¡­ Ok¡­I¡¯ve spent 6 hours on this and I hope to Aiag this is the last try. Since we destroyed all the shards, we finally had to practice on the Blazes instead. Firstly, I learnt to not damage them pretty quickly¡­since that aggroed them¡­which wasn¡¯t good. Secondly, I learnt to not focus on them, because that naturally increased the concentration, which damaged them, which wasn¡¯t good. Now thirdly, due to them being balls of fire, I actually needed to make my mana concentration so thin that it could diffuse through the fire and touch the shard. That one took forever for me to realise why I wasn''t getting any results... Only took hell of a lot of tries. At least on the bright side, it glows through the fire, making it just barely visible to me. *Ding*
Congratulations! Through repeated practice, thought and experimentation, you ahve learnt your first spell: Detect Magic
SPELL:Detect Magic, Beginner [lvl1] (Divination)
Detect Magic is most usually the first spell learnt by all magic casters due to its lack of somatic requirements as well as its simple casting
Detect Magic will highlight magical objects in a 10ft cone
Cost: 5 mana/s, Duration: Sustained, Cooldown: None
This spell has taken up one of your daily slots. xp increases by 1%
¡­ .. . WOHOO I CAN CAST SPELLS!! BUT WHAT¡¯S WITH THE TERRIBLE XP INCREASE¡­and that daily slots business¡­I¡¯m so tired¡­so many times I¡¯ve had to do this now! SIMPLE TO CAST? THAT WAS SERIOUSLY STRESSFUL!
Congratulations! You are one of the first 5 in this server to learn a spell and thus have been granted a title
TITLE:The Magically Able
You have the ability to learn magic slightly better than your peers due to your perseverance and thought. This title is purely aesthetic and provides no in-game bonuses.
For gaining this title, your Mana, Wisdom and Intelligence stats will increase by 1. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active
xp increases by 25%
¡­ .. . OM I LEVELLED UP! THAT¡¯S AWESOME! I¡¯VE GOT 3 TITLES NOW!! TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! And that¡¯s 3 stat increases¡­probably worth 15 points!!! Awesome. Squirrel seems to have got it too because she¡¯s smiling like a fool. Well since she is wanting to be a mage (I believe) this is a small god send for her. Giving her a high five, before giving Rakshak one (he deserves it since he helped out). Though I do feel sorry for Rakshak¡­since his intelligence is 0 as well as his mana¡­so he can¡¯t learn magic¡­unless he puts points into it¡­ Interesting to know that it can go so low as 0¡­or could it get into minuses? Eugh that sounds horrible. DillyDally, we are ready. What about you? Give us a few minutes and we¡¯ll be back by the gates Happily skipping my way back, using detect magic at will (apparently once the spell is learnt all I have to do is think it, halleluiah). Reaching the gates a little bit early, I actually remember I have to look up this daily magic slots business.
Daily slots are the number of spells you can remember at one time. The number of Daily slots depends on Intelligence and other related stats. You have 1 daily slot, with no empty slots remaining.
Death or meditation will allow you to exchange which spells you can cast
Useful little window popping up for me, why thank you. So according to this, I can only cast detect magic right now, even if I were to know other spells¡­ Suicide is looking like quite a nice skill nowadays¡­but maybe practicing meditation might be a better route¡­maybe. ¡°Joat¡± DillyDally marches out of the forest, a battered looking group of beastmen trudging behind, faces covered in ash, covered in sweat and blood and panting like they''re on their last legs. Looks like they went through hell and back...and through it a few times over... ¡°Right, so we¡¯re ready, what about you and Squad Animal?¡± I¡¯m actually enjoying that name now. Though suqad on verge of death sounds more correct right now. He nods. Holding a fist into the air, causing Squad Animal to stop, rather decently trained and they all collapse to the ground quite happily, just lying there and moaning... ¡°Everyone, as you know¡± He begins pacing between us and the Squad. ¡°We have 16 hours left till our hell is over, 16 hours for us to mine all we need, and further explore this hell, so that we may prepare our brethren when they come out. Do you understand¡± ¡°SIR YES SIR¡± They shout, almost synchronously, throats raw. Wow, what the hell did he put them through in these past 6 hours and a bit? ¡°We will march towards the Elemental and we will destroy it without a single death, Do I make myself clear?¡± ¡°SIR YES SIR¡± ¡°Good, now march¡± They all groan in pain as they stand up without complaint, turning on their heels and marching with barely lifted feet. Wow, I¡¯m excited/fearful to see what he¡¯s done to this Squad Animal¡­ ¡­ ¡­ -A little after Joat, Tikari and Rakshak went away- (DillyDally¡¯s POV) ¡°RIGHT YOU LOT GATHER UP¡± Everyone finished their blazes off, all successfully gotten the intelligence skill¡­even if it took a little longer for some. ¡°We have been through hell once already, and seemingly we¡¯ve been put together in it again. So I ask you now, do you want to train under me and become Squad Animal, to get through this hell and all that come after?¡± ¡°Seems like a rather brilliant idea¡± SirStripy talks with his usual posh accent. The rest all nod, good. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long I have to train you, but however long it is, it¡¯ll be hell from beginning to end. You got that?¡± ¡°Yup¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°You say Sir, yes, Sir¡± ¡°Sir yes Sir¡± They all say decently unenthusiastically/sarcastically¡­hmm, guess they need to be trained. ¡°You will not complain, you will not whine. You shall not fall to the floor unless you are dead, do you promise?¡± ¡°Sir yes sir¡± At least they got it right this time, slight fear crossing some of their faces at my speech. ¡°Good, now remember that promise to both yourselves and I... Now because someone didn¡¯t sir yes sir me at first, everyone give me 100 pushups¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°200¡± I interrupt Snorh as he begins to whine. He wizens up and gets down along with everyone else. ¡°I will not be kind and I will not give mercy. So you better work your best at all times or you will have to go through a hell worse than the one I have planned out for you¡± Everyone but Gristle is already panting with sweat and already shaking like leaves. I get down and do my 200 with them. If they¡¯re going through hell, I¡¯ve got to lead by example. Finishing my 200, I watch everyone push through their own boundaries right then and there; even Snorh who looks like he¡¯s about to collapse, still pushes back up when he feels my gaze boring into him. Damn right, you do not give up till you¡¯re dead. ¡°ALRIGHT 5 SECOND REST¡± ¡°AAAAAUGH¡± "NOW 50 BURPEES" Not a single complaint...good they''re learning... Ahh the grunts and roars of effort brings me right back¡­ ¡­ ¡­ 30. Back Down Under ¡°So DillyDally, what did you do to them?¡± I am quite curious, mostly because they¡¯re teetering on the brink of death and still walking. ¡°Do you know about HIT?¡± ¡°High Intensity Training, yeah¡± But HIT doesn¡¯t absolutely murder you¡­not like this. ¡°Well imagine HIT with minimum rests and a constant adrenaline spike due to their lives being in constant danger¡­for 6 hours straight¡± ¡­ .. . Daaaamn, I actually feel sorry for those guys. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the accelerated heart rate kill them?¡± Squirrel veers into the conversation. ¡°No it¡¯d make them pass out after a while¡­which they all did at least once¡± Ok, Halleluiah I¡¯m not part of this Squad Animal. We continue our leisurely stroll through the forest, while Squad Animal brutalizes any Living Ash within the vicinity. Got to hand it to DillyDally though; he¡¯s done a pretty good job in 6 hours. Already they¡¯re working more like a team, communicating and even pinpoint targeting the enemy as they rise. Though a few collapse under the exhaustion, carried by the others who half-kindly slap them awake after a few minutes rest... I mean it is truly quite impressive, but the fact that they¡¯re not complaining is actually marvelous...just how did he make them have such a beautiful mindset? Anyways, after our 15 minute walk, we¡¯ve reached the cave entrance and see the fire elemental going back and forth in front of the entrance. ¡°Alright, so how are we going to do this?¡± DillyDally looks at me. ¡°Well with our magic we can give you the location of the core and you guys take it out, simple enough right?¡± ¡°Too simple¡± Rakshak butts in. We all look at him with confused looks; the plan sounds just fine to me. ¡°Since the fire elemental is level 20, we have to assume that firstly it has got an extremely high attack as well some magic most likely. If we simply go in there, we¡¯ll die¡± ¡°And so we need someone to scout their abilities? Thank you for volunteering¡± I give him a smile¡­well he has no other use to be honest, since he¡¯s neither magical nor part of Squad Animal. He opens his mouth in complaint but with the looks everyone¡¯s giving him, he gives in. Motioning for everyone to stand at a far distance, Rakshak charges towards the fire elemental ¡­ .. . And he¡¯s dead¡­burnt to a crisp the minute he touched it. Well since he probably had over 100 health¡­that basically means we¡¯re all screwed if we touch it. Waiting patiently for a good 15 minutes, Rakshak bounds back over, luckily nothing has respawned yet. ¡°Details¡± I ask him. ¡°Being close to him cause 30 damage and touching him caused 287¡± ¡­ .. . Oh wow¡­well this is a level 20 we¡¯re dealing with. I¡¯m not surprised by its huge damage, just kind of overwhelmed by the fact that it can kill us almost 3 times over¡­just by touching it. ¡°So¡­Any idea on how to kill him guys?¡± I turn towards everyone. ¡°Well we could splash it with water?¡± Snorh points out. Valid point, could work. ¡°Not enough buckets¡± DillyDally retorts, ah true¡­ ¡°And we can¡¯t make any proper ones thanks to the system¡± ¡°I could get you magical fire resistance?¡± Squirrel blurts out after everyone ponders for a short while. ¡°Hmm even if you did I doubt it¡¯d be bigger than a 1% increase¡­not enough to make a difference¡± I tell her, causing her to furrow her brows even deeper in thought. ¡°Rakshak, while we think, find out the range of this burning aura or whatever it is¡± He doesn¡¯t look too happy, but he doesn¡¯t have anything to lose so off you go! Turning back towards the rest ¡°So magic is out of the question, as well as getting close. So our only option is to hit it from afar¡­¡± ¡°But we don¡¯t have any ranged weapons¡± Jerriah states quite the valid point, Aiag I can¡¯t wait for weapons ¡­ .. . Ah we can use that! ¡°We do¡± Everyone looks at me funny. ¡°It¡¯s right here¡± I knock the tree. ¡°We¡¯re not going to spend time making a bow¡± Gristle looks rather perplexed at that idea. ¡°No we¡¯re not, we¡¯re going to use it as a ram¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Boss, that is actually quite a good idea¡± Quite a good idea you say, quite? It¡¯s a stroke of brilliance at the very least. plus i''ve used it before with spectacular results! ¡°I don¡¯t feel this will work¡± DillyDally muses out loud, before ordering the Squad to punch down a nearby tree. The tree falls and everyone grabs onto it. ¡°If we can pierce the core with this there won¡¯t be a problem¡± ¡°Well there¡¯s this problem¡± DillyDally grabs hold of the treetop and crushes it with his bare hand, the wood turning to ash in my eyes ¡­ .. . Ah¡­that is a problem. So the tree ramming is unusable since the tree is not exactly able to withstand much force on it¡­much less magical fire I¡¯d guess, or any fire for that matter. While we all sit down thinking, Rakshak returns with more information. ¡°The range of its burning aura is around 1 meter¡± Well that¡¯s not too awful. However that still means it¡¯ll murder us all if we remain too close to it for too long. ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± DillyDally jumps up, clapping his hands happily. ¡°Snorh, Yinroh, Kandien, Gristle and Allie all stand up! They all stand up, looking rather refreshed¡­probably from actually getting to sit down for most of 15 minutes. ¡°Snorh and Yinroh you are both the missiles, while Kandien you are the backup. Allie and Gristle you are the throwers¡± ¡­ .. . Not sure I¡¯m hearing this right: DillyDally wants to use human (well beastman) missiles? I mean don¡¯t think anyone thinks they¡¯re hearing right, especially the antlered duo. ¡°Joat¡¯s idea with the tree got me thinking. Since the tree is so weak that it¡¯ll crumble¡­we¡¯ll need something more durable. Your antlers won¡¯t burn easily and even if you do die your bodies will still have enough momentum to get the core¡± ¡­ .. . That¡¯s actually not a terrible idea¡­for the theoretical part anyhow. but living missiles? that''s literal suicide... ¡°But we have to throw them good enough to hit the core right?¡± Gristle doesn¡¯t even seem to care that he¡¯s talking about throwing his comrades literally into fire. I stand up, scratch a hole in a tree and place an active shard in there. ¡°Hit this from over a metre away¡± I sit back down, this will be quite amusing to watch. Both of the antlered duo seem extremely against this¡­well I can¡¯t blame them. ¡°You will receive extra loot in the dungeon, as well as given 1 hour exemption from training¡± ¡°WE¡¯LL DO IT¡± wow 1 hour exemption can¡¯t be that great? But then again 6 hours straight HIT¡­ok I can see the value. Well now that we have willing beastman javelins, they begin to throw them. ¡­ .. . Yeah this might take a while. Both throws go wide of the tree. Try 2¡­is quite literally the same. Try 3, Kandien abruptly takes Yinroh by the ankles, holding them together in both hands as he raises him over his head and chucks him towards the tree. *Smash* Damn, that was dead on! That was insane accuracy, just what does he do RL? ¡°Right, we¡¯ve found our thrower, and all we should need is one so everyone else don¡¯t bother¡± ¡°Actually, we could use Snorh as a Ram in case things go badly¡± I suggest and Dillydally nods, putting the non-beastmen of the group to that (apparently the Halfling and short human both count as Animals for purpose of this squad¡­in Dillydally¡¯s mind at least). Everyone prepares themselves and all move up, quite a bit outside the elemental¡¯s agro range. ¡°Ok, we need to kill it fast, before it can do anything you got that?¡± ¡°Sir Yes Sir¡± Everyone half-whispers it. Casting detect magic, I see a blue pulsating sphere in the lower right part of what I¡¯m guessing is the torso of the elemental. ¡°Lower right, about a third up from the bottom¡± I say, Squirrel confirming a moment later. Kandien steps up, Yinroh following behind, both stopping a small distance away, still outside the agro range. ¡°Rakshak¡± DillyDally calls out, causing the goblin to give a sour look as he agros the elemental. It hovers over to him quite quickly ignoring Kandien and Yinroh as they simply stand there and watch the elemental getting closer to Rakshak. Reaching him it grabs hold of him and we all see the poor goblin turn into charred bones within a second. And before any of us know it, especially the elemental, Yinroh flies into the side with a loud sound akin to the breaking of glass. With an airy roar, the elemental explodes, and we see Kandien burst into flames and drop a moment later. Well damn, did not expect that. At least the elemental is dead! Surprisingly not that difficult¡­even if it does insta kill us with a touch...as well as burst into a few metres radius killing everything with fire... Though I imagine we barely scratched the surface on it. Walking up to the pile of ash that used to be Yinroh, I spot the core, cracked in two, lying on the ashen ground. I need 10 of these¡­10 active, unbroken ones. Just how in the name of Aiag am I going to be able to do that? Well no point worrying about that now, I can always figure that out later¡­even if it is of paramount importance. I feel like I¡¯m just going to be grinding for shards at this point. Anyways, after a moment of silence for Kandien and Yinroh (and Rakshak I guess), we head into the cave. It is as usual; ores littering the walls. Apparently everyone still has a pick and they all start mining. ¡°How did you all get one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s bound for the quest¡± Squirrel responds as she too mines. Looking at my inventory, huh I¡¯ve still got one too. I mine some ore too. Doing all the veins within the hour, we all take a short rest. ¡°Ok, so I want Midgrellik, Ragreud and Kookle to stay up here and mine. The rest of you, we continue down into the caves¡± Everyone nods and we walk towards the sole open corridor, quickly arriving at the elevator ¡­ .. . Or where the elevator should¡¯ve been. ¡°Oops, forgot that we destroyed it¡± Kandien blurts out. What? But then how do we get down now!? ¡°So how do you propose we get down?¡± DillyDally looks down the massive hole, which is at least a hundred foot with a smashed elevator down at the bottom. ¡°Well I did plan for this you know¡± Squirrel gives us a little smirk. She heads over to where I remember the elevator ¡®mechanic¡¯s were and see her uncover it. So what about it? ¡°As you may have not noticed, there¡¯s an absolute ton of rope here¡± She points out to wow that¡¯s a lot of rope, coiled around the wheel. ¡°SO who would like to hold onto the cut end?¡± Gesturing towards the crudely torn off end, which dangles a little bit above their heads, she chuckles at our expressions. ¡°How about you do it since this is your plan?¡± this is not vengeance, I swear. The colour drains off her face a little. ¡°Ah no, I¡¯d rather¡­not¡­please¡± Are you afraid of heights? I did notice you didn¡¯t get close to the hole¡­maybe you are! ¡°Fine I¡¯ll do it¡± I mean I¡¯ll probably have less chance of letting go since I do have a plan! Plus I¡¯ll get down first (which makes no difference in all honesty, but still)! Also i''m not evil enough to put someone in their phobic situation. DillyDally gets the rest to help him push the thing and once it¡¯s lowered down to my feet, I take a few steps back. Sadly the rope is in the middle of the pit¡­ Sprinting, I leap off the edge, hands forward and clasping rope, causing it to swing with me. Phew, that could''ve ended badly... I climb up a little bit to give myself a little more rope to work with. Wrapping my foot around the rope, I use my free foot to bring the end of the rope through the coils around my foot, under and over alternating ones, till it reaches my hand. Then, using the rest of the rope, I triple knot the end onto the taut bit that I¡¯m holding onto, creating a small loop for me to place my other foot into. Right, so I feel a lot more comfortable now. Giving them a thumbs up, they stop looking at me with intrigue and begin lowering the rope. Thanks to the weight I¡¯m giving, the rope does go down, ever so slowly. Finally, the Grand cave comes into view, deathly silent and dark. Thank Aiag I have night vision. It¡¯s way too quiet¡­unnaturally so¡­ I have a baaaaad feeling about this. ¡­ .. . Nope just a bit paranoid¡­ Setting my feet onto the broken elevator, I take care not to step onto the already squished goblins while making my way off. Untying myself, I tie the rope onto a jutting piece of the platform, and give the rope a little tug in hopes they can see it. Somehow they do as the rope stops moving and soon after I hear the sounds of heavy breathing while they climb down, Squirrel sliding down eyes closed and SirStripy talking soothingly to her. Yes it is pretty stressful climbing down over 100 feet. Finally everyone makes it none too worse for wear, and we head off towards the end of the cave. We go at a walk, since I am actually the only one with dark vision, so we have to hold hands while I lead them. Last time we were down here there were torches set up, guess not now¡­ We reach the end and I see the platform broken at the very end; ah memories. ¡°Right, everyone, get ready to slide down. Who¡¯s up first?¡± DillyDally steps forward. Though I¡¯m pretty sure no one can see that it¡¯s him (barring me and Rakshak, but he¡¯s just skulking at the back). I guide him to the edge of the platform and he jumps off, landing and crouching on the slanted wall, sliding down towards the mass of bodies and broken platform that we had left in our last visit. One by one, everyone slides down, landing into the bodies with echoing grunts, but still alive. Finally I go down, scrambling down uncontrollably before landing face first into the body pile. Thank Aiag (almost) no one can see. Grouping them all up again, we begin to walk past the two beheaded bodies of what I assumed were the guard goblins. Oooh a torch! Picking up what looks like an unused torch from the corpse, I hand it to DillyDally. He asks for a sword and I direct him to it (apparently we still can¡¯t take their weapons off their corpses). He smacks the two swords together; creating sparks which he uses to light the torch¡­huh, smart man. With a source of light, everyone sighs in relief at being able to see again. But since I¡¯ve still got the better vision, I continue leading. Luckily the portcullis is open so we just walk through into the Guard Cave. It¡¯s as empty as ever. Nothing is ever so creepy as an expansive, empty room in the dark. Making our way up the floors, we reach the top floor and I easily spot what I¡¯m guessing is all of the guards, the rest of my used to be followers. They all lie in a broken semi-circular shape around the entrance into the King¡¯s Cave. It seems they had tried to hold off Tarakiel here. But by the shape which looks like they¡¯ve been flung back¡­it didn¡¯t go down so well. Checking their bodies for torches, I do successfully find 8 more and pass them around. Everyone has a torch, but only 2 more are lit, to conserve them. Continuing through the kill zone in the corridor, the ominous murder holes that litter the ceiling seem to be looking down at us, watching our every move. Shivering as we go through the portcullis and open gate, we reach the square which is the same as before with a few distinct changes: Firstly, the square is littered with corpses, like covered with them. At a gander, I¡¯d say at least 10,000 are dead¡­ Secondly, there¡¯s a large, blood red cage sitting crookedly on the palms of the fountain hands, compressed slightly and burnt black at the top. Well that wasn¡¯t there before. ¡°Ok, I want everyone to split into pairs and check out the houses. We¡¯ll go to Tarakiel¡¯s together in a bit. And don¡¯t forget to bring any loot you find with you¡± Everyone quickly disperses in pairs and I¡¯m¡­left alone ¡­ .. . Squirrel chose DillyDally over me? Rakshak got chosen over me? That¡¯s just harsh people, harsh¡­ Ah well, time to explore the square then! First off is this strange cage, oddly looking like a birdcage, it¡¯s even got that little stand in the middle. I pace around it checking out the reddened bars; apparently they¡¯re coated in drying blood, a lot of it at that. After a few minutes of checking it out, I squeeze through between the slick bars and see that the stand is indeed not that. At first I had thought it was a broken stand, but seeing as though the top doesn¡¯t look broken¡­I¡¯d it¡¯s a lever ¡­ .. . Ah what the hell, I¡¯ll go for it. Wrenching the lever¡­it does nothing. Ok, curiosity satisfied with no results! Hopping off, I head towards one of the bodies, because I¡¯ve got a little curious thought. Standing by one, I let magic pour through my hand towards it ¡­ .. . Nothing happens, right, might have to actually get closer. Placing my hand onto the warm corpse, I direct my JUMP AWAY! Blasting backwards, I stare at the corpse¡­which is warm¡­ Corpses shouldn¡¯t be warm¡­no siree. *WhooshCLANNNNNNNNNNNNG* I swivel round, to see the cage rocket upwards and smash into the ceiling at an odd angle, before piling through the rock without pause ... .. . oops... *Moan* Turning back around, I see, yup, the zombie goblin slowly rise. EVERYONE CASTLE NOW Shouty capitals always do the work. Sprinting through what seems like the entire horde of slowly standing up goblins, I reach the castle, slip through the open gates and run up to walls. I spot everyone running from their houses frantically, but I can see them looking more curious than scared¡­that is until they spot the zombies as they wobble to their knees. ¡°JOAT¡± Squirrel shouts at me as she sprint in front of DillyDally, who just drop kicked one zombie in the jaw mid run. ¡°I SWEAR IT¡¯S NOT MY FAULT¡± I mean I MIGHT have woken them up but they were already like this. Everyone passes through the gates and after slamming them shut, we lower the bar (thank Aiag there¡¯s a bar). Though that might not hold, especially against an entire shuffling horde¡­ ¡°How many are there?¡± I ask to no one in particular as I watch them all pace forward, moaning. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Around 15,000 would be my guess¡± Squirrel responds from my side¡­well damn that¡¯s a good eye¡­ ¡°Right, so door is barred and getting reinforced and we have a massive horde of zombies at our doorstep. Any idea on how not to become zombie chow?¡± DillyDally marches up, peering down at the horde. They reach the wall and begin bumping into it like the brain dead beings they are. ¡°Well do the same as last time? Use their bodies as weapons?¡± I suggest as it doesn¡¯t seem like that terrible an idea. ¡°Not bad, but how do we get to them?¡± He points down to the zombies, which are maybe 1 person¡¯s height away from the top¡­what a low wall. ¡°Well I suggest we check out what they are first, since I don¡¯t see a necromancer anywhere¡± The minute Squirrel says that, we all turn towards the castle behind us¡­nah, there can¡¯t be; there¡¯s no logical explanation. Anyways, I look down at the zombies and check them out:
NAME:Goblin Zombie [lvl5] (Aggressive)
Health:10/10Attack:1-10
Defense:0Resistances:Cold
A goblin corpse reanimated by magic
Attacks by clawing and biting. Bites are infectious
Ok so a weak little thing as I kind of expected¡­but cold resistance? and infectious bites? Oh no. I cast detect magic *Ding*
You have learnt new things about your enemy
NAME:Goblin Zombie (Fire Variant) [lvl5] (Aggressive)
Health:10(1)/10(1)Attack:1-10 fire damage
Defense:0Resistances:Cold
A goblin corpse reanimated by magical fire
Attacks by clawing and biting. Bites are infectious
Well now I know why it¡¯s got a warm body: because it¡¯s got a fire shard in it¡­but why cold resistance? ¡°Well, good news is that it¡¯s only got 1 hitpoint¡­but that¡¯s the core¡¯s hit point¡­¡± Both of them look at me with sad understanding¡­we¡¯re kind of screwed. ¡°Though it has cold resistance and it''s got an infectious bite...¡± All 3 of us look confused out of our minds at that¡­why would it have cold resistance? Has it got something to do with the bodies being warm? Maybe that gives cold resistance¡­but not fire resistance? ¡°So you¡¯re saying that they¡¯re working due to magical fire right?¡± Squirrel pipes up. ¡°Yes¡± ¡°And unlike the blazes or Elementals they still have a physical body¡­so of course they can still burn?¡± ¡°But you¡¯re suggesting that they¡¯re like coal next to a fire¡± but of an odd thought. ¡°Maybe, because their core stops them from betting cold, but their physical bodies are still susceptible to fire?¡± she doesn¡¯t sound too sure of it herself. ¡°She¡¯s right you know¡± Jerriah heaves up the stairs and joins us ¡°From what you¡¯ve mentioned, these zombies are working off their thermo-receptors meaning that like any natural body it can be given more stimulation¡± Since when did Jerriah sound so knowledgeable? He takes our slightly stunned silence as a sign to continue ¡°Due to this magical fire, the core temperature of the zombie¡¯s have to be higher than normal, which means that A: the cells with start naturally degenerating and slowly turning the zombie into mush from the inside out and B: adding extra heat may spontaneously combust the zombie, forcing process A to go about at a rate like this¡± he snaps his fingers. ¡°You know a lot about zombies don¡¯t you Jerriah?¡± DilylDally says what we¡¯re all thinking. ¡°Well I like zombies¡± He looks away rather embarrassed. I''m taking that as a zombie loving fan rather than necrophiliac! ¡°So you¡¯re saying that the best way to kill these ones is set them on fire?¡± I ask him, because this sounds like a good plan! ¡°Yes, because it will burn them away physically, however it¡¯ll keep the core intact, which isn¡¯t the best¡± ¡°Why?¡± I have a feeling there¡¯s a big downside to this¡­ ¡°Well seeing as though putting the cores inside the goblins made them into zombies controlled by their thermo-receptors, then if the cores are put into ash¡­¡± ¡°They may turn into living ash?¡± Squirrel finishes the sentence. Jerriah nods. Well not exactly a great trade off¡­ ¡°But it may take time to infuse itself into the ash or it might need another stimuli such as intense heat to immediately bond with the ash, so in the least we should have some time to escape¡± Jerriah adds on, now thinking the way to escape it seems. Sounds like a plan¡­ ¡°DillyDally¡± well since he is the leader of Squad Animal he should be leading them. ¡°Squad Animal, Attenshun!¡± Everyone stops dragging the huge door to the entrance of the castle (wow they pulled it out of its hinges¡­) and looks up to DillyDally. ¡°Rakshak, Tikari, Snorh, Yinroh and Joat, I want you to scour the castle immediately and grab what you can. Be back within the hour. The rest of you, continue building up on the door and then man the walls with us. When the others have returned, we¡¯re going to blow this joint¡± ¡°SIR YES SIR¡± Everyone runs off to do what they¡¯re told. ¡°They don¡¯t seem to be smart enough to do more than smack on the doors, and they seem to be bloody good doors¡­so we can last a while. You try find some good loot; make this trip worthwhile for all of us¡± DillyDally gives me an arm, which I take and shake it before running off inside, going straight towards the throne room. Sprinting through, I stop in the throne room, finding 40 coppers as well as 12 sets of armour. Sweet, they¡¯re still here! So for some reason the items don¡¯t just disappear in this game, realism what a bonus! I like realism; it gives me my stuff back! Right, onwards! Running out the throne room, I take my time up the stairs and open the door into Tarakiel¡¯s chambers.
PRIVATE INSTANCE:Tarakiel''s Personal Chambers
This chamber doesn''t seem normal
¡­ .. . Why¡¯d it give me an instanc-oh my; this place is special! Looking around the room, firstly for my armour (kaching, found it!), I then have a peek around, trying to see why this room isn¡¯t normal. Well it is covered in chains, torture equipment of all sorts and even a bed, which seems to be spiked on one side (pricked my finger there)¡­but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what the instance meant. Spending the better part of an hour checking under the bed, through drawers and basically anywhere closed off, I find a couple of interesting things: First of all, I find a leather-bound diary under her pillow (the non spiked one). Though with a quick peek at it, it¡¯s definitely not a language I can read. Then I found a pair of what I¡¯m guessing is iron boots. Normal, except for the fact that they¡¯ve got rows and rows of miniature spikes on the bottom¡­and the spikes are crusted in old blood too¡­hmm that doesn¡¯t look like your casual boots, no siree. I don¡¯t take any of the knives that are on the table, as well as the whip¡­even if I know how effective they are... they''re some pretty bad memories I want to forget. So apart from traumatizing weaponry, the boots and the inunderstandable diary, this room is pretty bare (I can¡¯t take any of the torture equipment¡­well not that I¡¯d want to anyways). Leaving the room after an hour passed, Get here now! Ok, oops I¡¯m late! Sprinting back down to the outside to see a full on siege going on ¡­ ¡­ (DillyDally¡¯s POV) ¡°Gristle, hold the gates, Kandien right wing, SirStripy to the left¡± Dammit, the zombies are starting to climb. Well climb is a generous word; they¡¯re pushing against eachother so much that some are being pushed on top of the other thus making a sort of zombie ladder. And this wall is way too low for its own good. Kicking another zombie that crawls its way up, I bash another¡¯s head in as it drags itself onto the wall. Really should¡¯ve have let 5 people go¡­that¡¯s quite literally half our man power. Damn, it¡¯s only been 15 minutes, I¡¯ve got to give them more time! Half a dozen rise up close by me¡­dammit no more time! Get here now! I send the group a message, not having time to tell them individually. Smacking another zombie to the floor I spot its head crack open, but it gets back up. Dammit, this¡¯ll be endless. Furiously kicking zombies back down as they crawl up, I¡¯m just about sustaining my part of the wall; luckily this wall can be sustained with just the 5 of us up here, barely. ¡°Gristle get up here¡± I bark and I hear him stomp up the stairs immediately, horn wrenching into a zombie that stands up on the wall. ¡°DillyDally¡± I hear someone call from below. That¡¯s Joat¡­that was fast! ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) Damn, zombies are getting aggressive. Charging up the wall, I shoulder slam a zombie off the edge and kick another, snapping its neck, dropping it into the writhing mass below. ¡°Well seems they¡¯ve learnt to climb¡± ¡°Seems they have¡± DillyDally kicks a zombie¡¯s head clean off, but that doesn¡¯t stop it trying to crawl up another step before being knocked to the ground by a second kick. ¡°We¡¯ve got to set the fires!¡± Jerriah calls from a distance, whacking one zombie away before getting scratched by another. Sure enough, the number of zombies climbing at one time seems to be in the dozens, but that number looks to be steadily increasing. ¡°5 minutes¡± DillyDally barks, to which everyone hunkers down. I head over to Jerriah, barreling the zombie on his side, off the wall. In an almost comical motion, I start doing frontal kicks repeatedly, almost hopping between them. It¡¯s effective; well it stalls the zombies at least. About 2 dozen zombies clamber up and even though me and Jerriah kick and punch at them furiously, 3 stand up and try to claw us. -10 Ow that burns! Barreling into one, I push it off the edge, while Jerriah lifts one, smacking the other with it before launching the first into the horde. But we wasted time doing that and already dozens more are clambering up. ¡°SET THEM ALIGHT¡± DillyDally shouts and everyone rushes over to him with their torches out and light it using his already lit torch. Apparently they weren¡¯t using them to burn them before, just in case it all went wrong. Now with their torches lit, the smack zombies with them, setting them on fire as they get launched into the horde. Akin to alchemists fire, the horde catches fire upon touch, just as Jerriah said. Damn, they¡¯re all roasting in front of our eyes. But apparently that just made things worse. They immediately quicken, rushing towards us on fire and clambering up in a mess to reach us as if set on fire (well that irony doesn''t get lost on me or anyone who''s watching the massive horde running towards us)... So they¡¯re hyper sensitized¡­oops. ¡°GET OFF THE WALLS¡± Suddenly the walls are covered in flaming zombies, hundreds of them leaping up. Jumping off the walls into the courtyard, we sprint for our lives being chased by a literally horde of flaming zombies, all screaming as they charge towards us. "OH MY GOD IT''S LIKE LEF-" "SHUT UP JERRIAH AND KEEP RUNNING" DillyDally over shouts him. Though we don''t have to run far as once we get to the throne room, miraculously joined by everyone else, the screams stop and we spot zombies quite literally melting in front of our eyes. No one throws up...guess we''ve seen worse lately...though this is still pretty stomach churning ... .. . Ah nevermind, Squirrel threw up. ¡°LET¡¯S GET OUT OF HERE¡± DillyDally shouts and we all charge after him, everyone helping Squirrel along a little bit. Clambering back onto the walls, now slick with melted goblin zombies, we jump off into the still hot fudge-like substance and continue running. I however, keep my hands low down, picking up shard after shard, along with the help of Rakshak who grabs at them with fervor akin to madness. Running past the fountain and through the courtyard, I¡¯ve gained 33 shards and we make our way out, before the thousands of living oozes(oh my) rise up¡­which they do, quite literally and quite morbidly in one giant mass as we make our way out. Wow, that¡¯s pretty terrifying. scratch that, it''s HORRIFYING! Running away, we burst straight into a crude semi-circle of zombies, almost faltering at the sudden sight, but our momentum keeps us going. Crashing through them, luckily they¡¯re only about 10 deep, so we break through the other side, only taking only a decent amount of damage. But someone sets one on fire, causing the others to set on fire¡­so now there are thousands of on-fire zombies charging after us. Leaping down the stairs, they come after us, some tripping, others jumping towards us maddened by the fire. Though before we get below the rest floor, they stop moving, collapsing into a puddle. Making our way through to the Grand cave, sure enough, there are maybe a hundred or so zombies shuffling about here. Wiping them out, we stop moving ¡­ .. . How are we going to get back up? That¡¯s a bloody good question. Ah! ¡°Guys, I think I can make it up¡± I take out the spiky boots from my inventory. ¡°and once I¡¯m up I can pass it down for the next person? Squirrel hops onto my back. ¡°We can do 2 at a time it¡¯ll be quicker Boss¡± I think she just enjoys getting a free ride, but I¡¯m not complaining. She¡¯s cute (though not the right situation, not when there¡¯s thousands of living ash coming towards us). Putting the boots on my hands, I stab them into the surprisingly soft rock and begin climbing. The climbing isn''t that awful, except for the fact that Squirrel is sobbing her head off as she dangles from my shoulders...wow she''s scared of heights...like seriously scared and apparently this isn''t so great... ¡°Someone go close that damned portcullis¡± I hear DillyDally already shouting orders down below. Making my way up slowly, it gets a lot easier when the slope begins, and from then on, we get to the platforms easily. Only took maybe a few minutes. Looking below, I send the boots sliding down for the next pair, seeing that it¡¯s Jerriah and Yinroh. The rest are busy moving the broken platform in front of the losing portcullis, to delay the loud sound of sludging that¡¯s getting louder every minute. I help Yinroh and then Jerriah up, and send them on their way to begin climbing. Squirrel doesn¡¯t want to leave but I have her go. No point her staying here. Kandien and Snorh are next and I swear I see something trying to squeeze through the gaps ¡­ .. . Oh it¡¯s just Rakshak, phew. Kandien makes it to the slope and begins rushing towards me when the first of the strange oozes start squeezing through the gaps. DillyDally has everyone plugged the gaps with goblin corpses¡­which works surprisingly decently, delaying the inevitable. Kandien and Snorh are out, boots are back down. Allie and Rakshak are coming up now at a good pace. *Creak* Oh no, I can hear that. The platform splits and oozing through (ironically) is what looks like one continuous mass of melted goblin. I can tell its melted goblin by the fact that I can see bones floating in it. Eugh that¡¯s disgusting. Immediately, DillyDally and the rest begin pushing it back with their torches, successfully driving it back through the split in the middle, but it pushes through the sides too. Gristle and Stripy stick their torches either side, both wielding two now (people seemed to leave one for the rest to fight with) against the ooze that tries to squish through. I help Allie up and chuck the boots back down this time, not having time to wait. As they smack into the ground with a clang, Gristle, rushes over to them and begins climbing, DillyDally and SirStripy dual wielding torches while retreating towards Gristle. Suddenly the ooze darts out, taking hold of SirStripy¡¯s torches, ripping them from his grasp and chucking them away. Well it¡¯s smarter than the zombies apparently. They jump onto Gristle¡¯s back on hand holding his shoulders while the other swinging a torch by their feet (DillyDally gave one to SirStripy). The ooze crashes through the platform and portcullis ¡­ .. . Oh my Aiag¡­that¡¯s one. The ooze is literally just one thing, hundreds of melted goblins all massed into one it seems. That¡¯s mortifying! It lunges up formlessly towards the trio as they climb/hold on, getting batted away by the torches¡¯ fire. Doesn¡¯t seem like it hurts it, rather it just seems afraid of it¡­ And afraid of fire it may be, it doesn¡¯t stop it grabbing onto Gristle¡¯s legs out of the fire¡¯s reach and begins pulling him down, spikes screeching against the rock. SirStripy, without a moments delay, snatches DillyDally¡¯s torch and drops down onto the ooze, torches burning into it and causing it to let go of Gristle. Though it meant SirStripy landed into the ooze, melting or burning, not quite sure which maybe both, as he gets swallowed into it. No one shouts his name as he dies; they just concentrate on climbing frantically, making a distance beyond the oozes reach as of right now. They reach the slope and begin moving faster, while the ooze keeps moving into the room, showing that it¡¯s a lot lot larger than I thought. Well the body of 3000 and a bit goblins did kind of make this one¡­well I¡¯m hoping this is the 15,000+ goblin one but it isn¡¯t big enough I fear. It tries to reach Gristle and DillyDally, but thankfully they are out of reach. I grab them both; helping them up and after reclaiming the boots, we get out of there. Jerriah is actually at the bottom of the rope along with Yinroh, cleaning up the remnants of goblins as they try to rise. And Squirrel is standing there, not wanting to climb. ¡°GET CLIMBING¡± DillyDally shouts at them, allowing them up first and half pushing Squirrel up as she sobs uncontrollably...wow that''s a fear and a half. I get up behind Gristle and DillyDally gets up last. Thankfully it seems the ooze can¡¯t climb¡­or we hope it can¡¯t. All of us getting off the rope and landing on the floor, we start to pull the rope up (DillyDally remembered to untie it at the bottom). With it dangling over the pit once more, we retreat through the corridor, no one asking where SirStripy is, probably from the dark expression on DillyDally¡¯s face. Guess he doesn¡¯t like watching members of his squad die. Meeting up with the 3 that were mining all this time, they look rather confused at our slightly ragged look. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here¡± He gives Squirrel a pat on the head as she shivers from the aftermath of having to climb up heights over and over again. ¡°Fire elementals respawned¡± Kookle says. Rakshak grimaces, since he knows he¡¯s the bait. He heads out, with Kandien and Yinroh in tow. We hear an airy wail and take that as the elemental¡¯s death. Yup it sure is. Taking the broken core, we head out. Back to the village, where it¡¯s safe, we hope. Well that was a lot more stressful than it should have been¡­I just hope people found some good loot¡­ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry had bit of a writers block, so voila! here it is! 31. LET THE SMITHING BEGIN! (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°Nekineki, keep bellowing¡± Anoobis barks as he smacks the end of the cutting triangle while Ravenna holds the end of the sword, keeping it steady. Apparently he feels it¡¯s more accurate¡­which it seems to be. I keep eye on the bloomery, listening intently to the airy breaths of fire emanating from it. Anoobis cuts off one edge of the metal in a neat line and plunges it back into the forge, airily fueled by Nekineki to keep the fire burning. Wrenching it back out, the metal red hot once more, He begins smacking the triangle on the other heated edge, cutting it in a similar line, creating a point to the blade. Without waiting, he grabs the middle of the metal and thrusts the other un-worked end into the fire, letting it heat up within the forge¡¯s blaze quickly. Taking it out, he cuts notches either side a bit up from the end, about a fist and a half¡¯s width, and then slowly cuts down, having to re-heat the metal twice in the process, creating the tang. He leaves the marginally shaped metal to one side, grabs a small bar of iron with tongs and purposefully stomps up to the forge. Thrusting his tongs into the blazing forge, he takes the iron out after a short moment. Taking the heated metal to the anvil, he hammers it and does his best to shape it into a rectangle. He manages it somewhat. Reheating it and re-hammering it, he also cuts it using the triangle to make a better rectangle shape, the guard. Heating that guard, he cuts a slit in the center using the triangle and then after heating it once more, takes the tang and begins gently hammering it through the small slit. Putting the slit into the forge, it heats up both the tang and the guard, making it simpler for them to smack the tang through. Again and again this heating and hammering process happens till finally the guard reaches the top of the tang. Heating the tang again, he begins lightly hammering on the edges flattening them. Flattening the guard also, he then heats up the blade. Smacking the blade, we all watch it thin out a small amount. He should stop, this is dangerous. But he doesn¡¯t and he swings his hammer once more, stopping midway, from instinct or fear I don¡¯t know, but he stops. ¡­ .. . He takes the sword by the tang and raises it in the sky. ¡°I believe a little sharpening and this¡¯ll be done¡± ¡­ ¡­ -Quite a while earlier. ¡°ALRIGHT YOU MAGGOTS, WELCOME TO MY FORGE¡± He gestures to the massive underground forge he has¡­enough to fit us all wow. ¡°YOU WILL EAT, SLEEP AND WORK¡­SCRATCH THAT, YOU WILL JUST WORK HERE TILL EITHER YOU DIE OR YOU SUCCESSFULLY SMITH A WEAPON FOR ME¡± Everybody cringes from his shouting. ¡°AS YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME, THERE ARE 27 FORGES AND A HELL OF A LOT MORE OF YOU¡± He doesn¡¯t look to pleased about that fact. ¡°SO YOU WILL WORK TOGETHER ON THE SAME FORGE¡± He starts over to one, and we all meekly follow after. ¡°NOW THESE FORGES CONSIST OF 3 THINGS: THE ANVIL, THE FORGE ITSELF AND THE BLOOMERY. NOW YOU 3 GO OVER THERE AND YOU 4 TO THAT FORGE¡± He begins pointing at random people, grouping them up against their will. Wait a second, but this means I won¡¯t be with PJ or Big sister! I see his large callused finger point to me and direct me to a forge quite a distance away. Almost tearfully I look towards PJ and Big sister as they get pointed in different directions. Heading over to my forge ¡­ .. . ¡°Jarken, can I have a-¡± ¡°NO YOU MAY NOT¡± Ok¡­ok. Guess I¡¯ll live with the fact that I¡¯m stuck with the A-hole jackal¡­ ¡°Well, since we are stuck here in what will eventually show itself to be hell, would be nice to introduce one another¡± The raven-beastlady spoke. ¡°I am Ravenna¡± ¡°Anoobis¡± The jackal nods his head as he stands behind her, a distance away from me, rightly so should I add. But since he¡¯s working with me I can¡¯t let my emotions get better of me. ¡°NekiNeki¡± The cat beast-lady with a bursting top and short golden ruffled hair gives us an innocent toothy smile. ¡°Baila¡± ¡°Well now that we all know each-¡± ¡°LISTEN UP MAGGOTS. BY YOUR FORGE, YOU WILL NOTICE A PILE OF IRON ORE AS WELL AS A PILE OF CHARCOAL. IF YOU WANT TO SMITH A WEAPON YOU NEED THE IRON AND NOT THE ORE, OR YOUR WEAPONS WILL TURN OUT LIKE THOSE LOUSY ¡®DAGGERS¡¯ OF YOURS¡± He put an emphasis on ¡®daggers¡¯ since they were so badly made they couldn¡¯t really be considered anything else than melted ore. Though it still passed us¡­ ¡°YOUR BLOOMERY¡± He places his huge hand on a chimney shaped object with a hatch at the bottom and a hole through the top ¡°IS WHERE YOU SMELT YOUR IRON FROM YOUR ORE. TO DO SO, YOU NEED TO FILL IT WITH CHARCOAL AND SET THAT ON FIRE. THEN YOU PLACE THE CRUSHED IRON ORE IN THERE¡± ¡°Crushed iron ore?¡± MrSpeedTurtle speaks up for the sake of the group. ¡°DAMN RIGHT. YOU HAVE TO PULVERISE THE IRON ORE FIRST, SMASHING IT TO PIECES. HOW, YOU DON¡¯T ASK? WITH THE HAMMERS ON YOUR ANVIL OF COURSE! THERE¡¯S A BOWL TO THE SIDE TO COLLECT YOUR WORK AND TO POUR IT INTO THE BLOOMERY. NOW GET TO WORK!¡± Everyone immediately jumps to work, terrified of him booming voice. ¡°Alright, Baila and I shall fill up the Bloomery, get it on fire while NekiNeki and Anoobis smash the iron ore¡± Ravenna claps her hands and we all get to work, not complaining since there¡¯s a good skill at hand. Placing some charcoal in the bottom of the Bloomery, we set it on fire with a flint and steel that was lying on the anvil. ¡°So it should take a while for it to heat up, so we need to continue feeding it¡± We both add small amount of charcoal as the fire slowly increases, watching the fumes with our every breath for way too long for my own sanity. Finally looking away at the decently done fire, I spot both of them smacking away at the iron, quite literally pulverizing it with their hammers. Broken into small chunks, they seem to think it¡¯s enough. ¡°BEFORE ANY OF YOU IDIOTS CHUCK YOUR IRON ORE INTO THE FIRE, YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN ADD CHARCOAL TO THE BLOOMERY IN A 1:1 RATIO¡± Ok thanks for the info, almost too late. Though I do see some mild crying from somewhere¡­seems like they rushed it, oh no. We throw charcoal into the bowl till there¡¯s a mostly equal amount in the bowl before pouring it into the bloomery. ¡­ .. . And now we wait? ¡­ .. . Do we continue waiting? I peek over to Jarken, who is strolling around checking everyone out silently with an amused expression. Oh no we¡¯ve done it wrong somehow haven¡¯t we? ¡°Check out the hatch¡± Anoobis points to it finally and I open it. ¡­ .. . ¡°Nothing¡± ¡°That¡¯s not right¡± both Anoobis and Ravenna muse. ¡°Guys I can still see the iron ore chilling on the top¡± Nekineki is peeking over the top looking rather mesmerized at the fire. ¡°Aha! We haven¡¯t crushed it enough¡± Anoobis snaps his fingers and rushes to the iron ore pile. ¡°You guys empty up the bloomery, Ravenna, come crush the ore with me¡±. I grab the spade that we¡¯ve been provided and start emptying it out, chucking the coal¡­onto the floor I guess. There isn¡¯t really a waste bucket or anything¡­so random waste pile it is. Filling and lighting (thankfully a lot easier this time) the bloomery, we watch both Anoobis and Ravenna bash away at the iron ore, crushing individual chunks into smaller ones, the size of small pebbles. Both are already sweating lightly. ¡°Switch please?¡±Anoobis asks and I am half wanting to say no, but I¡¯ve got to work together, I can kill him later with my new weapon. Taking the hammer off Ravenna, I choose a small piece and crush it with my hammer, accidentally scattering the granules. ¡°Hit it with a bit less force¡± Anoobis not so helpfully adds to my side. Whacking the next piece with less fervor, it breaks after a few hits, not flying every which way this time. Piece after piece after piece and finally after God knows how long, they¡¯re all decently tiny pieces, not quite sand-like but similar. Mixing it with charcoal we add it in and this time we can almost instantly hear a small airy breath of fire come from the bloomery. Ah! Something is happening! We wait until the noise dies down a considerable amount, which took about 20 minutes, before opening up the hatch and seeing a strange crystalline structure glowing bright orange. ¡°Get the tongs¡± I keep my eyes peeled on the, what I guess is iron. Tongs appear next to my face and I take them, grabbing hold of the ¡®iron¡¯ and placing it on the anvil. ¡°NOW FOR ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY SMELT IRON, WELL DONE. THE REST OF YOU MAGGOTS LISTEN UP ANYWAYS BECAUSE YOU¡¯LL EVENTUALLY MAKE IT HERE, EVENTUALLY, WE HOPE¡± He flashes a cheeky grin towards a group of bird-beastmen who are having a hard time keeping the bloomery lit¡­ ¡°THE CRYSTALINE STRUCTURE IS CALLED A BLOOM AND THIS IS WHAT YOU¡¯RE GOING TO BE HAMMERING INTO SUBMISSION. SO GET ON WITH IT¡± At least Jenna gave us some form of instructions¡­this is just like a hands on experience! ¡°Right, we should light the forge¡± Ravenna points towards our unlit forge¡­hmm really should¡¯ve thought ahead. I start shoveling charcoal into there with Ravenna. ¡°While that¡¯s happening we should start smelting some more Iron¡± Anoobis speaks from behind and I spot Nekineki taking some iron ore. ¡°Should we all get a station and do rotations?¡± Ravenna asks while she sparks the flint and steel. ¡°One for bloomery, one for iron smashing, one for forge and one for anvil?¡± Anoobis suggests as he begins smacking the iron ore. ¡°I¡¯ll take bloomery¡± Nekineki shouts out and runs towards what I¡¯m guessing is the easiest job. ¡°I¡¯ll take forge then¡± Ravena, successfully lighting the forge begins blowing lightly on the small fire. ¡°Anvil is mine¡± Anoobis looks at me ¡°Unless you want it of course¡± ¡°¡­you can have anvil¡± Guess he has a better idea than the rest of us in hammering metal, since he did make his own dagger before. I get a hammer and start smacking the iron ore, breaking it up on the edge of the anvil. The fire whooshes up in the forge and I spot Ravenna walking over to a strange fan-shaped object. A bellow if I remember correctly. I have seen those before in movies. While she bellows the forge, keeping the fire burning hot, Anoobis takes the bloom with tongs and places it in the forge. Smacking my ore, I can hear Anoobis whacking the bloom next to me, but out of my vision due to me trying to concentrate. Phew, this is difficult work. Bashing the ore to quite literal smithereens, I collect a small pile of 3 pieces, slowly smashing and adding them up in the bowl one by one. After multiple breaks from burning muscles, I finally smack the last piece into granules and lower my aching arms. Dragging the bowl over to the bloomer, I spot that it¡¯s gone out. ¡°Neki¡± She looks at me with a confused look ¡°Where¡¯s the fire?¡± She looks down at the bloomer, feigning surprise. I don¡¯t like Anoobis, but at least he tries. ¡°Right, everyone switch stations¡± Anoobis calls out, the hammering noise finally stopping¡­ I guess I¡¯m staying at the bloomer, and re-lighting the damned thing. Once lit, I mix charcoal with the granulated iron ore and chuck that in. Listening intently to the airy breath of fire, it¡¯s quite difficult to do with the incessant hammering that¡¯s taking place barely a foot away. After a short while, I open the hatch and take out a large bloom, much larger than before due to using 3 iron ore instead of one, and place it on the anvil. ¡°Switch¡± Nekineki calls out as she hands the hammer to me¡­. Wait, what was she hammering if there wasn¡¯t any bloom to hammer? On the anvil now, I spot a rectangularish shape off to the side, what I¡¯m guessing used to be the first bloom. Taking my bloom into the forge, I heat it up and then once heated, place it back onto the anvil. Smacking it, sparks shoot off almost touching me. Trying not to hit myself with the sparks, I hammer at the bloom, having to reheat it soon due to it cooling down. Turning it around a few times, smacking it into what is around the shape of a bar, I see that a decent amount of the ¡®iron¡¯ falls off in the process. ¡°Jarken, just what¡¯s happening?¡± I ask him as he passes through and point at the small black sheet that fell off when I hammered. ¡°BLOOMS ARE NOT JUST METAL, THEY¡¯RE A COMBINATION OF IRON AND SLAG. SO WHEN YOU HAMMER IT, THE SLAG WILL FALL OFF¡± He shouts for everyone to hear, guess he isnt¡¯ bothered to answer the same question more than once. Ok, so that means that the amount of iron I get isn¡¯t as much as the bloom suggests. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Though it looks like I¡¯ve still gotten around a bar and a half¡¯s worth. Huh, so 50% of the bloom is slag¡­ ¡°Switch¡± I¡¯m done with hammering so to the forge and to bellow, which shouldn¡¯t be so hard a job¡­ Why¡¯s the fire burning so low? Dammit, that Nekineki is going to get it! ¡°Neki come here¡± I gesture angrily towards me and she just simply looks at me and begins lightly tapping away at the iron ore. ¡°I¡¯m busy¡± I turn to the rest of the group ¡°Alright, I say we all make our own weapons¡± ¡°That was always the plan¡± Both of them shrug, shocking me a little bit since I thought we were working together. The colour drains off her fresh face a little. ¡°Wait, but aren¡¯t we a team?¡±She gives us large cat eyes, sorry but that isn¡¯t going to work for anyone here. Ravenna puts a hand on Nekineki¡¯s petite shoulder ¡°I¡¯ll always play for your team¡­But this time it¡¯s everyone for themselves¡± ¡­ .. . What an odd wording of that phrase, but it gets the point across I guess? ¡°But we¡¯re at a forge together, shouldn¡¯t we work together?¡± ¡°Well actually we don¡¯t need to, hence the whole circuit plan that we have going¡± Anoobis points out. Ah, that does actually make sense; since the circuit is 1: crushing ore, 2: smelting it, 3: hammering it and 4: keeping the forge going. Well number 4 does help the others¡­but if you don¡¯t keep it going, then the person before you won¡¯t or shouldn¡¯t as a way to boycott you. Huh, pretty smart now that I think about it. ¡°-And that is why we¡¯re not working together¡­¡± Anoobis finished explaining my thoughts to Nekineki, who looks on to be the verge of crying. To be honest, I would¡¯ve believed Ravenna to be in that position¡­since she¡¯s stuck with her minions all the time¡­but she seems to be fine getting down to work. ¡°But I¡¯m not strong enough to hammer the metal¡± I see a tear rolling down her cheek¡­really? ¡°YOU THERE¡± Jarken appears from nowhere, voice booming above the din of hammering, no idea how ¡°WHY ARE YOU NOT WORKING!¡± ¡°She¡¯s too weak to hammer¡± Anoobis mercilessly points towards Nekineki who immediately looks like a frightened cat (the irony). ¡°YOU¡¯RE TOO WEAK TO HAMMER?¡± He shoves a hammer into her hand and points at the bloom that Ravenna was going to hammer ¡°HAMMER IT¡± She gives it a light tap ¡°HAH, WEAKLING. OH I HAVE A SPECIAL HAMMER JUST FOR YOU¡± His laugh isn¡¯t boisterous like usual, but much darker, rather angry. He takes out a hammer from a sack (he''s apparently walking around with it), like the one before, except that it¡¯s twice the size, about the size of a guitar if I had to liken it to something, giving it to her, sending both it and her to the floor. ¡°HAMMER IT¡± Standing up, she grunts and strains to lift the hammer off the floor. Well it could actually be that heavy¡­but I believe she¡¯s just faking. ¡°HAMMER, THE DAMNABLE BLOOM¡± He points towards it while looking at her with dark, uncaring eyes while she cries (definitely) fake tears as she tries to lift the hammer off the floor. Though suddenly it swerves above her head and smacks into the bloom with quite some force as she continues crying, but with a sudden vigor in quantity. ¡°AGAIN¡± He smirks towards her, all darkness in his eyes gone. *CLANG* ¡°AGAIN¡± Her swings are full blown now as well as her tears¡­which I don¡¯t think are fake. She screams a blubbering cry as she lifts and smacks the iron with a raving madness as her tears stream down her face. Jarken grabs the hammer mid swing in a cloth, and lifts it away from her with ease as she simply lets go of the hammer, toppling forward from the momentum ¡°GOOD NOW KEEP HAMMERING¡± He points to the smaller hammer and she gladly takes it, and hammers madly, grunting and crying while trembling like a leaf. I doubt she can even see out of her blurred eyes, but she¡¯s somehow still hitting the well flattened bloom with good precision. Once flat enough she stops, drops and quivers while letting the last vestige of her tears leave her eyes while she blows gently on her hands. Jarken lets out a loud boisterous laughter as he gives her a light pat on the head. ¡°YOU LEARN QUICKER THAN MOST¡± he bends towards her ¡°But if I find you playing around again, that hammer will not leave your hand¡± ¡­ .. . *SHIVER* I thought it¡¯d be nice when he stops shouting¡­but it was much more terrifying when he spoke softly¡­ Nekineki nods and gets up, no longer crying, probably too scared too. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work¡± She gives us a forced smile, probably more than half-scared to death. We all nod and get back to it, along with everyone else¡­ Well back to ore smashing it is¡­ ¡­ ¡°Can we take a break?¡± I whine while I lean, exhausted, on the forge. I¡¯m so knackered I can barely believe we¡¯ve done barely anything! Over these past 2 hours, all we¡¯ve done is smelt some iron, making 6 iron bars in total. 6 iron bars in 2 hours! But we haven¡¯t even begun making weapons and Jarken¡¯s not giving instructions¡­apparently he wants us to make more. ¡°I¡¯m actually having quite a bit of fun with this, so no point taking a break¡± Anoobis hammers his bloom, causing it to spark dangerously close to his face, but he doesn¡¯t seem to care. Well I have to give him points for being so enthusiastic, but I still don¡¯t like him. ¡°Also if we take a break we¡¯ll need to restart everything, so it¡¯s not possible¡± Ravenna adds as she knocks away at the iron ore, sweat dripping from her face and arms, but she doesn¡¯t seem to care. Nekineki nods enthusiastically as she keeps her mostly undivided attention on the bloomery, making sure with utmost care that her iron ore smelts. Quite literally using my body¡¯s weight to push the bellows, I do get a small respite from this torturous work. ¡°Jarken, how long do we need to make Iron bars?¡± Someone whines from amidst the tired populace around the forges. ¡°WELL I¡¯M JUST WAITING FOR YOU PILLOCKS TO ASK HOW TO MAKE WEAPONS INSTEAD OF JUST CRAPPILY SHAPED BARS¡± ¡­ .. . Seriously? We needed to ask? Aaaugh¡­.he is 10 times worse than Jenna, and she liked me too! ¡°So how do we make weapons?¡± A kobold asks meekly¡­probably one of the many victims from his shouting as he waltzed around¡­I was too busy and hardworked to actually listen to them all. If you¡¯re doing it wrong he¡¯ll come round like a bloodhound and terrorize you with his voice. And everyone can hear it happening. It¡¯s not nice. But at least no one is not working their assess off¡­for obvious reasons. Man, Joat would be so dead in here. Sucks he¡¯s missing out on this. ¡°I¡¯LL TEACH YOU HOW TO MAKE 5 THINGS; A SWORD, AN AXE, A SPEARHEAD, AN ARROWHEAD AND A MACE. SINCE THOSE ARE 5 BASIC WEAPON TYPES. FIRST UP AND SIMPLEST OF THE LOT IS A SWORD¡± huh would¡¯ve thought sword would be most difficult. He stomps over to a corner, taking a sack from there and empties it out on the floor. Metal triangles about the size of my hand clang to the floor. ¡°THESE ARE CUTTING TRIANGLES, PLACE THEM ON YOUR ANVIL AND SMACK YOUR IRON ONTO THEM TO CUT IT¡± Everyone scampers to get one. I grab one for my forge. Hmm, so although it¡¯s a triangle at the top, it¡¯s got a vertical rectangular stump. Ah! Placing it into the rectangular hole in the Anvil (had no idea what it was for until now) sure enough it fits! ¡°A SWORD IS MADE OF 3 PARTS¡± Jarken seemed to have come back from upstairs while everyone was figuring out where to put the cutting triangle and he now carries a sword. ¡°THE BLADE¡± He points to the sharp, long blade ¡°THE GUARD¡± he points to the rectangular guard ¡°AND THE TANG¡± he points to the hilt¡­so it¡¯s called a tang? He rips off the leather binding around the hilt, revealing the so called tang; it¡¯s quite literally the narrower and thicker part of the blade. Ok, so I think I know how to do that? I peek at the cutting triangle, hmm that might work. ¡°WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, GET ON TO IT¡± Once again, no proper instructions, it¡¯s just a get on with it kind of thing¡­quite like my course¡­so I should be just fine. ¡°Who wants to go first?¡± I look at the group and Anoobis, although looking quite tired raises his hand. ¡°I can totally do this!¡± He sounds way too excited ¡°But first we need to smelt the iron bars together to make one long iron bar¡± Everyone raises their eyebrows for a second, but I do understand the concept I guess. While Ravenna and I continue with the bloomery and iron ore, Anoobis and Neki melt the iron bars in the forge and start smacking them together to form a single rectangle. Then, they flatten it out somewhat, making the bar longer. ¡°How long should a sword be?¡± He suddenly asks without looking up, but I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s directed towards Jarken. ¡°THE LENGTH OF YOUR ARM¡± He shouts out for everyone to hear. Good to know. Heating and melding the small iron bars together a few more times, they finally get it to around the length of his arm, only taking only bars in the end, but that is 2 pieces of iron ore¡­ The iron is flattened to maybe an inch thick and 2 inches wide? I¡¯m not exactly sure since I¡¯m not right up close to it, but at least it relatively looks like the right size for a sword. He places the edge onto the cutting triangle (after heating it up) and begins hammering down. We all watch it cut through the metal within a few hits, leaving a rough line. Ooh, that¡¯s cool! He does the same for the other edge, making what looks decently like the end of the blade. Holding up the piece of metal, pointed end to the sky, he changes his hold on the piece for a little bit, before seemingly finding a comfortable hold. Cutting a notch just above his hold, he then cuts down for a little bit, heating up the iron for the other side, before cutting off the small excess. With the tang complete, I guess, or so we all guess, he takes a smaller iron bar, heating and flattening it into a rectangular shape. Placing the middle bit on the triangle, he taps the bright orange iron a few times creating a light cut. He removes the cutting triangle, placing the cut line over the hole and the tang on top of the bright orange cut. Tapping heavily on the top of the sword, the tang slices into the cut, opening it up and slowly sliding the tang through. Heating what I¡¯m guessing is the guard along with part of the tang before it fully cools, he continues tapping the tang through the guard. He does this over and over again till finally the guard reaches the wider blade part and he lets it cool down. ¡°NOW FOR ALL OF YOUR WHO WANT TO BELIEVE YOU¡¯VE MADE SOMETHING THAT ISN¡¯T UTTER CRAP, BRING IT HERE AND LET ME USE IT. BUT DON¡¯T WASTE MY TIME OR I WILL THROW YOU OUT¡± We all look at the rough sword Anoobis made. He bends it with quite some effort. ¡­ .. . ¡°What, I didn¡¯t think this was a good sword¡± He holds the bent sword guiltlessly as we stare; the point almost touches his hand¡­well it definitely wasn¡¯t, but why? ¡°Why¡¯d it do that?¡± Ravenna asks for all of us towards Anoobis, he just shrugs. ¡°I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s something to do with the iron¡¯s strength, which is according to its purity. If we want to make a good weapon we need to make sure we get 100% purity or as high as¡± ¡°How?¡± Nekineki speaks up with a confused look. ¡°Jarken has told us how to purify the iron in two ways already; through smelting it and then through hammering the slag out-¡± Anoobis begins but is quickly taken over by Ravenna ¡°-Now what that means is that before we smelt it, we need to remove as many impurities from it to minimize the slag, then reheat the bloom over and over again till we¡¯re sure there is no slag left¡± Ravenna finishes off, to which Anoobis approvingly nods, gosh those two are really in sync. ¡°So how much Iron ore do we need for one bar?¡± I ask ¡°5 PIECES OF IRON ORE SHOULD MAKE UP A SINGLE PURE BAR¡± Jarken comes from nowhere, shocking me out of my skin. Jesus Jarken! Though thank you for the input. I do wonder if everyone who hear him actually heard the question¡­but then again if they¡¯re smart enough they should figure it out. Ok, so guess plan, make some iron is in action¡­.but we better be careful for there¡¯s only 28 pieces of iron ore left¡­so that makes just above 5 iron bars? That¡¯s enough for one mistake¡­ We better be verrry careful with this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry it took a few days, I had to learn how to smith! so actually this is all pretty accurrate and not made up! (totally worth the time). So part 2 will be out in like 5-10 minutes :D -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 32. Swords, Axes, Arrowheads, Spearheads and Maces...so much to do! ¡°JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU MAGGOTS DOING TO MY CUTTING TRIANGLE?¡± Jarken both verbally and physically pounces on us as Anoobis almost drops his sword in shock. ¡°USING IT TO CUT OF COURSE¡± Anoobis answers delightfully¡­he¡¯s going to get killed. ¡°DON¡¯T GET SMARMY WITH ME MAGGOT. BUT AT LEAST IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING, THIS TIME¡± So he wasn¡¯t angry?! I have no idea; it¡¯s hard to tell when he¡¯s constantly shouting. Not sure whether he complimented us or something, we continue to smelt our next iron for Ravenna this time round if I have to guess. ¡°Um Jarken¡± Anoobis bounds after Jarken ¡°WHAT IS IT? MAGGOT¡± He really likes that word doesn¡¯t he¡­ ¡°I need to sharpen this; do you have a sharpening stone or something?¡± ¡°UPSTAIRS THERE¡¯S A GRINDER¡± His light chuckle is still quite booming. Apparently no one¡¯s asked about one before¡­wow we¡¯re all a bit scared of him aren¡¯t we. Anoobis disappears off upstairs and I keep an eye on the bloomery while Ravenna begins hammering her fifth of iron off. We¡¯re all using 1 iron bar and a fifth of the spare one to make the hilt/add on a little extra if they¡¯ve got a longer arm. Peeking around, sure enough everyone seems to be doing the same, albeit it looks like some people don¡¯t have as much ore as us¡­well that isn¡¯t good for them. *Whoosh* Oh, the bloom is ready. Opening the hatch, I take out the bloom with the tongs and place it straight into the forge, bellowed by a dead tired Nekineki¡­I mean we have been doing this for 6 hours now¡­ While Ravenna gets to work with the bloom, I grab some iron ore and begin removing the impurities. Before, we just crushed and chucked it. Now we make sure to only put the iron granules into the bowl for the bloomery, the rest goes to the floor. I¡¯m sure Jarken does not like any of us right now with the mess we¡¯re making¡­ Maybe 30 minutes later, after making sure to keep check on the bloomery every few minutes to keep it going; I¡¯ve finally ¡®purified¡¯ 1 piece of iron ore. It takes forever¡­it only took us about an hour and a half last time because 2 of us were doing it and were slightly less dead on our feet. Though thankfully Anoobis comes strolling down with a sharp looking sword¡­though it doesn¡¯t have a hilt? He talks to Jarken, words not carrying over the din of hammering, and both go upstairs again. Dammit, I need the help! Pretty literally just dropping the hammer onto the ore now, I watch things break slowly, ever so slowly. After another 30 minutes, I can still hear the slowly dying grunts of Ravenna as her body glistens with sweat, some flying off as she swings the hammer with her entire body following through. Keep going, you can do it! Once you¡¯ve made your sword it¡¯s all done. Anoobis walks back down with Jarken, sword in hand, now actually looking like one with a leatherbound hilt. He makes his way over to us. ¡°Look guys, look¡± He waves it around excitedly. ¡°Perverse thine eyes with this glorious blade, crafted from the inner workings of my sou-¡± ¡°QUIET MAGGOT¡± Jarken interrupts his speech (halleluliah) ¡°YOU¡¯RE NOT DONE YET, AND NEITHER ARE THE REST OF YOU¡± His eyes gaze towards a group of fish-ladies who are ¡®oohing¡¯ over a rough sword one of them made. Everyone hunkers down once again. ¡­ ¡°I¡¯M DONE¡± Nekineki raspily shouts as she covets her new, rough looking sword a sort of charred black colour. Everyone in my forge is done now, even me! And it only took us a totally of 8 hours ¡­ .. . For swords¡­ ¡°RIGHT, ALL YOU MAGGOTS WHO ARE DONE LISTEN UP. ALL WHO AREN¡¯T DONE, STILL LISTEN UP AND EVERYONE DON¡¯T FORGET TO KEEP YOUR FORGES RUNNING!¡± Jarken stands in the center of the room with his large white sack. Thankfully we¡¯ve smelted all our iron now so we don¡¯t need to keep the bloomery running. Its Anoobis¡¯ turn on the bellows, so he gets to it; heavily panting with each squeeze of the contraption. ¡°FOR THOSE WHO¡¯VE MADE A SWORD, IT LOOKS LIKE IT¡¯S NOT UTTER CRAP¡± A compliment?! ¡°SO NOW WE¡¯LL MOVE ON TO SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED¡­ARROWHEADS AND SPEARHEADS¡± So they¡¯re the same thing essentially? I mean that¡¯s what I¡¯m guessing since he¡¯s told us we¡¯re doing both¡­ ¡°BOTH THE ARROWHEADS AND SPEARHEADS CONSISTS OF TWO THINGS¡± Looks like it ¡°THE TIP AND THE BASE¡± He takes out a spearhead from the sack, pointing at the tip of the spearhead and then the empty cylinder at the back, so the base then. ¡°How do we make the base?¡± Braxus asks, hope in his eyes ¡°DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO MAKE A CIRCLE?¡± He sneers joyfully towards Braxus¡­he¡¯s really enjoying playing with us. ¡°NO SIR¡± Anoobis shouts out from the bellows. Jarken¡¯s mouth twitches slightly. ¡°ALRIGHT, ONE PERSON FROM EVERY FORGE OVER HERE NOW¡± He points to a nearby forge and I go for my group, mostly since I¡¯m the first over there¡­ He takes out a small bar of iron from the sack he brought down with him, putting it into the forge to heat it up. ¡°RIGHT SO YOU NEED TO FIRST MAKE A FISHTAIL¡± he takes the heated iron from the forge, and hammers away at it, flattening it and making what does actually look like a fishtail. ¡°NOW TO CURVE IT¡± Heating that up once more, he turns it on its side and starts hammering down, actually curving the metal as he ever so slightly turns the metal round as he hammers. Within what feels like moments, the fishtail transforms into an empty cylinder. ¡°THAT IS HOW YOU MAKE THE BASE¡± He holds it up for all of us to gasp gloriously at it. Imagine if he had us try figure that out on our own¡­I never would¡¯ve thought of this. ¡°SO TO MAKE THE HEAD, YOU JUST CUT OFF A LITTLE BIT UP AND MAKE EITHER A TRIANGULAR SHAPE LIKE THIS¡± He shows us the spearhead, like a long triangle but with curved edges ¡°OR LIKE THIS¡± the arrowhead triangle is actually a pyramid with a rectangular base? Surprised I actually know that, since math wasn¡¯t exactly my strong subject¡­ Happily, I return to my forge and Ravenna takes out a piece of iron from the forge¡­where¡¯d that come from? Wait, where¡¯s my sword? ¡­ .. . Oh¡­ Well I guess we don¡¯t have any more iron so that was the only way we were going to make something else¡­and we¡¯ve still got to make 4 more things each apparently. ¡°Where do we get more iron?¡± someone asks in a nearby forge¡­not yet figuring out *clang* Sounds like Jarken whacked whoever it was over the head with their own sword¡­yup that¡¯s exactly what happened. Right, so fishtail first¡­surprisingly not as difficult as it first looked¡­ I did have to reheat it 3 times since I¡¯m not as fast or masterful as Jarken so I had to take a lot more care in making it a good cylindrical shape. Maybe 5 minutes passed and it¡¯s done, Nice! Heating it up and cutting off the metal at the length of my finger, I get to making this pyramid shape. Once again quite simple; just a lot of light hammering, turning and so forth, along with re-heating over and over again. Took me less than 10 minutes, that¡¯s amazing! Looking at my arrowhead, I notice that Nekineki had actually watched me make mine and was just completing her cylindrical base. So my arrow is as long as the distance between the end of my index finger and my wrist¡­which is actually pretty long. Though the arrowhead itself is only as long as my index finger, but still that¡¯s quite a long bit of metal going into you if it does. Switching with a half-collapsed Anoobis, he gets to hammering, having Nekineki gladly show him how to make a fishtail. Apparently 8 hours of hell together really brings out the best in people. She, he and then Ravenna finish their arrowheads all with ease while I continuously bellow, eating some bread mid-work. Thankfully Jarken is coming around with some bread to keep us all alive, so everyone¡¯s got a stack to eat now¡­ Ok, so spearheads now. Spearheads are exactly the same process as before, but for the tip I flatten it out creating a decently rounded edge, but make sure that there¡¯s a mostly untouched middle bit¡­since that¡¯s what Jarken¡¯s spearhead had and I¡¯m sure it¡¯s used for something¡­or to just stop it from breaking easily. Ok, so spearhead done and that¡¯s me done. This time I¡¯m on melting duty; putting part of the swords into the forge and letting them heat up and bind together when they cool down (apparently they cut the swords up while I was busy learning about fishtails). Within an hour¡­we¡¯re all done. We¡¯re 60% of the way! ¡°MAGGOTS, SEEMS LIKE YOU¡¯RE ALL NOT USELESS FOR THESE THINGS. NOW YOU ALL MY BE WONDERING WHY THESE ARE MORE DIFFICULT THAN SWORDS?¡± I was actually ¡°THEY AREN¡¯T; I WAS JUST LYING TO YOU SO YOU¡¯D DO A HARDER THING FIRST¡± He laughs ¡­ .. . I¡¯m actually not surprised about him doing that. ¡°ANYWAYS, NO MORE KIDDING AROUND PLAYING WITH CHILDRENS TOYS, BECAUSE NOW THE REAL SMITHING BEGINS, AXES¡± He takes out an axe from his sack. Quite a few people crowd towards him, guess they like axes¡­or are just interested nonetheless since I¡¯m one who crowds towards him. ¡°AXES HAVE THE HEAD AND THE HANDLE¡± He points to the sharp metal head and then the handle. ¡°I SUGGEST YOU MAKE THE HANDLE FIRST¡± He gives us a smirk¡­well guess time to try things out till it works then. I go back to my forge and while Nekineki handles the bellows, I continue melting and the other 2 start thinking. Those 2 definitely have the brains to figure this out, so I¡¯ll let them. ¡°Ok, so first we¡¯ll make a handle the length of our forearm¡± Anoobis begins planning out verbally while Ravenna grabs some heated metal from the forge and begins hammering away. ¡°Baila come hammer¡± she grunts towards me mid-swing. I do so and we both hammer on the metal, hammering it together, then heat it up so it melts together becoming one piece rather than just two hammered together pieces. Then we continue hammering it with Anoobis¡¯ instructions to make a handle which is a rectangular oval (?). I did ask him why that sort of shape and the reason was because it¡¯d be easier to grip. Fair enough it is actually not that difficult to grip, and not too uncomfortable either (though it¡¯s still just metal, not exactly smooth either¡­). Finishing that, I¡¯m back to melting metal and then hammering it back into bars. Oddly enough the whole reverse engineering the iron has worked for us so far which is a godsend¡­but I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a downside to re-using the metal¡­apart from the time to remelt and reshape it... While I do that, I watch Ravenna and Anoobis silently work yet somehow still mentally on the same wavelength as literally wordlessly they heat up both a bar and the handle. Taking them both out, he turns the bar on its side and then Ravenna hammers the handle about an inch from the end, digging it into the iron bar. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Reheating and doing that multiple times over, they get the handle through, it slightly poking out the other side I notice as they hold it up (they hammered it over the hole in the anvil, smart people). Then Anoobis turns the head of the axe (still an iron bar, but with a handle through it now) and starts hammering (after heating it up) the end of the bar, flattening it after many many reheatings. Well now it looks pretty odd; it¡¯s flat at the front and then just suddenly jumps up in thickness a little bit back. He doesn¡¯t seem done with it though as he continues to reheat it and starts leveling the rest of the bar, giving it a gradual increase in thickness. Aha so that looks more like an axe now! Finally finished after about 30 minutes, he holds it up for all of us to see. That is quite nice. To be honest none of these have been very difficult, albeit all our weapons look a bit rough¡­ But now it¡¯s my turn to make it so let¡¯s hope it¡¯s not harder than it looks. ¡­ Phew, done! Tiring work, having to hammer over and over and over again¡­literally have just collapsed and am now lying on the floor watching Jarken head over with his sack one more. ¡°RIGHT LISTEN UP MAGGOTS¡± Everyone looks round, though I can still hear more than a few still hammering away. ¡°YOU¡¯VE SEEMED TO MAKE LIVABLE AXES, EVEN TRIED TO MAKE A PROPER THING¡± I believe that was a compliment(?)¡­but it sounded a lot like an insult. Peering round to see what the others seem to be thinking, I spot someone with a rough double-headed axe¡­oh is that what he means? Oh then that¡¯s definitely an insult to the rest of us (and the one with the double-headed axe too probably)! ¡°SO INSTEAD OF LETTING YOU WALLOW IN YOUR OWN PRIDE, LET¡¯S MOVE TO MACES.¡± He takes out what I¡¯m going to assume is a mace ¡°THIS IS A MACE¡± correct! ¡°AND LIKE THE AXE IT IS MADE OF THE HEAD AND THE HANDLE¡­GO FOR IT¡± He takes out a tall stand from his sack (seriously how much stuff is in that?) and places the mace on it, allowing us to see it even from our forge (though not very well). I let Ravenna and Anoobis take over on figuring out how to create it and I crawl over to the bellows, dropping my body weight onto it. While I do that, Ravenna and Anoobis come back to the anvil and begin breaking up our axes to re-melt and reuse them. The process takes about 20 minutes to get a single bar and then Ravenna begins hammering while Anoobis and Nekineki continue melting more. She hammers and hammers and hammers, till it¡¯s flat¡­ok? No idea what she is¡­oh she¡¯s curving it? About another 20 minutes passes of this odd shaping and Anoobis actually begins on his own. ¡°Phew¡± Ravenna wipes off a layer of sweat, letting it drop to the already quite soaked floor, putting down the hammer momentarily to pick up her work instead. Looking away from Anoobis¡¯ oddly shaped bar I see that from above, Ravenna has made a longish cylinder (about 2 fists length). Why did she do that? Not finished, she heats up more metal and begins hammering that into a forearm length rod, leaving a slightly thicker part about a third of the way up for reasons unknown to me. Finishing that within a good 10 minutes, she then heats both parts and slots the rod through the¡­oh no the rod is too thick. She thins the rod a bit more before trying again and this time successfully slotting the rod through the cylinder. Well that¡¯s a mace I guess? But she doesn¡¯t seem to be done as she heads back to the forge and takes some more heated metal. She starts creating arrowheads? Oh they¡¯re going to be used for spikes! Creating the arrowheads, the only difference is that the bases aren¡¯t cylinders; they¡¯re thin spikes which I guess will make it easier to hammer it into the metal. And that¡¯s exactly what she does after heating her ¡®mace¡¯ up. Letting those cool down after only a few minutes of work, it¡¯s done. Well that is a mace and a half¡­and even if the 12 arrowheads (4 columns of 3 apparently) are blunt, it looks pretty damned dangerous¡­ She looks mildly happy with it and gives it a couple of swings, a devious smile rising on her lips. Oh looks like we have a mace lover here. Nekineki takes over and is given quick whispered instructions towards how to make it, before Ravenna takes control of the forge. Unluckily, Anoobis is done shortly after, his mace quite different indeed: His head looks sort of like a cross from above and the sides of the jutted cross are like half hexagons which looks quite good actually. Nowhere near as deadly looking as hers¡­but that¡¯d definitely break some bones. Plus the head is a decent amount bigger than hers. With him done¡­oh no it¡¯s my turn. I decide to ask Anoobis how he made his since he took less time, plus I don¡¯t think I¡¯m much of a mace woman. Apparently he just thinned the bar, then started hammering on the one side he put on the anvil while the rest hung off of it. Turning that round 3 times it began making a cross shape, which I find out soon enough. From there it¡¯s just lengthening it, shaping it with bit of light hammering and then making the rod and smacking that through. Huh¡­smart way of doing it and it seems to work pretty well. He may be an asshole, but he¡¯s smart, got to give him that¡­ Well at least we¡¯re all done now! We¡¯re blacksmiths now! Only took us 12 hours¡­only (compared to leatherworking it took less time!). ¡°MAGGOTS, LISTEN UP¡±Those who are finished like us huddle around him expectantly ¡°NOW THAT YOU¡¯VE MADE YOUR MACES¡­YOU ARE DONE¡± ¡°WOOHOO¡± Many shout out, using the last vestiges of their strength. ¡°WITH PRACTICING¡± ¡­ .. . Excuse me what? Jarken gives us a big grin ¡°YOU WILL NOW START FROM THE BEGINNING AND FORGE A WEAPON OF YOUR CHOOSING. I WILL PROVIDE THE WOOD NECESSARY FOR A SPEAR IF YOU ARE COWARDLY ENOUGH TO MAKE ONE¡± He gives us a merry snort ¡°ONCE YOU BELIEVE YOUR WEAPON IS WORTHY, GIVE IT TO ME AND IF IT IS WEAPONSMITH¡¯S CREATION, YOU WILL BECOME A WEAPONSMITH¡± ¡­ .. . From the beginning??? ... ¡°C¡¯mon Baila, you can do it¡± Ravenna gives me a soft pat on the shoulder she shakily takes away the looser impurities of the iron ore by hand. ¡°I can¡¯t move my hands¡± I try not to sound whiny, but after 15 hours¡­15 HOURS straight of blacksmithing, my body is simply just not responding. ¡°Hammer¡± Nekineki raspily repeats, more to herself than to anyone, as she keeps dropping her hammer onto the iron ore. ¡°Guys once we¡¯ve done this it¡¯s all over!¡± Anoobis somehow still quite cheery, lies across the bloomery, not really caring about the heat blasting his body. Finally, we¡¯ve finished making 3 iron bars¡­in 3 hours¡­We¡¯ve literally slowed down to a third of our ability¡­and I¡¯m amazed we¡¯re even that fast. Only 2 more iron bars to create ¡­ *Clang¡­Clang¡­Clang* Anoobis hammers away putting his full body weight with each swing, slowly shaping the metal¡­ He looks to be going for a sword, not the hardest but not the simplest either. We¡¯ve been at this 17 hours and we¡¯re reaching the 18th hour¡­I¡¯m not even standing anymore. Being given forge duty, I¡¯m just putting charcoal in from the floor (lobbing it over the side) every so often, keeping it going and listening the crackling fire. *Clang* Ravenna begins her mace once again on the other end of the anvil. Thank Aiag we have two hammers or we would be here forever. I have no idea how either of them are still standing with such strength, such determination¡­maybe they really really want this skill. Well I do too but seriously standing up is just not going to happen right now. ¡°There¡¯s the blade¡± Anoobis holds up his blade and narrow grip, letting the fire¡¯s reflect off the dark grey metal. Shuffling over to the forge, he takes out some heated iron, and begins creating a guard. Within 30 minutes of slow going work¡­we pass the 18th hour and he slowly clangs the sword through his guard, having to reheat it over 8 times in the process¡­ ¡°Jarken¡± He takes his sword and starts shuffling over with quickened breath and a lot of vigor for someone almost worked to death. He stops gazing over the wild looking elf¡¯s shoulder and turns to Anoobis. ¡°Leather for grip and sharpening stone?¡± Although many people are working, no one is putting enough force into their swings to drown out speech. Jarken takes him upstairs once again. Guess it¡¯s my go¡­ Dragging myself over, I have to literally pull myself to my feet, leaning onto the anvil once up. Taking an iron bar, I push myself off the anvil, tripping towards the forge and grabbing onto it before I fall over. Heating the metal, I push back towards the anvil and begin¡­making the handle for an axe. Before I know it, an entire hour passes of my dropping my hammer onto the metal, ever so slowly shaping it¡­till it¡¯s finally a handle like shape. Took me an entire hour¡­an entire hour! Ravenna has finished 3 arrowheads by now and is slowly making more, her hammer too just falling on the metal. ¡°EVERYONE¡± That doesn¡¯t sound like Jarken. Turning my head towards the voice, I take a moments respite from hammering myself to death. It¡¯s Anoobis shouting¡­ ¡°LOOK AT THIS MAJESTIC BEAUTY THAT IS MY CREATIOAA¡± He trips as he shakily saunters down the stairs, almost hitting the ground before there is a dark flash, blinding me and everyone else in the room. Woah, what was that? Blinking a few times to get my eyes working again, I look towards the stairs¡­but Anoobis isn¡¯t there. Huh? Where did he go? Peering over to Jarken¡­he¡¯s looking as confused as I¡­so it wasn¡¯t his doing ¡­ .. . Just what hell happened? Well to be honest don¡¯t really have the mind to think about that right now¡­plus I don¡¯t exactly like him so whatever''s he''s done is not my problem. Turning back to my metal I begin dropping my hammer on it once more -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Voila! And that''s weaponsmithing 101! ok so slight change in me writing chapters: will do 1 every 2 days due to people being round and taking away my time. but they''re only here for like 2 weeks (so i''ll still get a good 7 chapters out!) -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 33. A trip to Feladelphia HAIL AIAG I¡¯M ALIVE! Laying down on the dirt floor of the village¡¯s entrance, I hear the ragged breathing of the others. And I thought rabbits on moon steroids was scary¡­but these fire elementals¡­oh my Aiag. Having a peek at what used to be the calmly jumping blazes all I see is something equivalent to hell; the ashen fields have become a turbulent sea, white fire blazes madly zipping in random directions making crossing this hell seem like one terrible game of cross the road¡­ I almost died just running through there¡­actually I think one of us did (probably Rakshak, didn¡¯t have time to look at it). At least on the brightside I got the Dodge skill¡­ ¡°Everyone count up¡± I hear Dillydally bark an order as he stands up, receiving a chorus of ¡®here¡¯s from everyone. ¡°Still alive¡± I stand up ¡­ .. . Where¡¯s Squirrel? As if on cue, she appears in a pillar of light in the village centre...looking rather unhappy with the outcome. ¡°Damned ashes¡± Wait she died so early on? I did not look back at all when we had left the caves, mostly because everything was on adrenaline it seemed; The Living Ashes were one monster whack-a-mole¡¯s popping here, there, everywhere within instants. They weren¡¯t exactly the simplest to kill before, but now it was quite literally trying to find a gem in a field of ash¡­ Glancing round, I spot half our group isn¡¯t actually here¡­oh my, a lot of us died on that run through the speed blazes. ¡°Right, so everyone, we¡¯ve got around 7 in game hours till the NPC¡¯s are back in order, so until then take a break if you¡¯ve lived and if you haven¡¯t¡­¡± He points back towards some crazed looking blazes. ¡°What about loot distribution?¡± Squirrel asks, mostly out of curiousity. ¡°Did anybody find anything?¡± Dillydally glances round, while the rest who died revive and join the group once more. Everyone solemnly shakes their heads¡­wow for people spending an hour looking they¡¯re really bad at it. ¡°I¡¯ve got those boots¡± Everyone nods, already knowing their use ¡°And a diary¡± Mostly everyone looks at me like I¡¯m an idiot. Hey wait a minute! I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something better than just diary gossip in this! ¡°Right, well SirStripy gets the boots¡± nobody goes against that choice ¡°And the diary¡­do any of you want it?¡± Dillydally looks towards Yinroh and Jerriah. ¡°Well if it¡¯s got saucy details¡± Jerriah gives a little smirk. ¡°I can¡¯t read the writing¡­so good luck to you¡± I hand the diary over to Jerriah¡­who just takes one look at it and gives it straight back to me. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d rather wait for something I can use¡± Fine by me¡­I get some free loot! It is just a diary¡­but if I can¡¯t read it there¡¯s definitely something special about it¡­because I should know whatever language Tarakiel did (apparently), so in the minimum it¡¯s a gateway to learning a new language. But it could also be more¡­ "I guess we will give those who are deemed rewards as soon as we can" Dillydally says to his suqad, which they all acknowledge. ¡°Well this has been interesting and all¡­¡± Rakshak, quite obviously not happy with anything that¡¯s been going on, logs out before finishing his sentence¡­ Well he did continuously die without getting any rewards of any sort¡­that really sucks for him. Dillydally just shrugs his shoulders at the not so unexpected logging off. ¡°Squad Animal!¡± They all immediately line up ¡°Let night training begin!¡± He leads them outside and into the literal sea of flames¡­I don¡¯t want to watch. ¡°Squirrel, what are you goi-¡± She¡¯s off running with them ... .. . Ok, fine, whatever, not like I was getting lonely and needed someone to party with for the next 7 hours¡­ Dammit, don¡¯t want to go out into that hell¡­but that means that I have to log out which isn¡¯t exactly a fun choice either. Maybe I¡¯ll just go practice some magic or som¡­Oh I can try get that fire resistance shield or whatever it¡¯s supposed to be magic. Heading through the village and out the southern gates, I kind of don¡¯t want to go out where madly zipping white blazes are¡­but skills are paramount and I am way too far behind! I was supposed to be getting 2 skills every hour¡­yeah I¡¯ve not been getting anything close to that for too long. ¡°AAHSCHOASCNVLVHSIOSDHFPCPAHOASDSHASDOIAWHDOIASHDAOHADAAAAAH¡± ¡­ .. . Heading back into the village¡­because no way in hell am I going towards that screaming fit echoing from the forest...seriously just what was that. Sounded like someone screaming while having a heart attack¡­ Dammit I¡¯m curious now. But I¡¯ll have to go through the sea of blazes to get there, do I really want to? Ah screw it, I¡¯ve got nothing better to do so this might be interesting. Taking a deep breath, I sprint through the blazes, yelling as I burn my lower body. ¡­ ¡­ (Anoobis¡¯ POV) I feel¡­a sort of warm grainy layer of something on my face, mixed with the blood from my newly broken nose. Wait¡­wasn¡¯t I falling down the stairs a second ago? And who dares mark ME!? Moving my free hand to my usually grand face, I wipe away what sort of feels like ash or soot, and reset my nose¡­which got broken when my face planted into a layer of ash apparently¡­but I¡¯m standing up¡­ Opening my eyes, I see a sparse number of burnt trees along an ashen floor ¡­ .. . Wait a second¡­where am I? ¡°A...Anoobis?¡± That¡­voice. Swiveling round, I see the zombie girl with her vibrantly glowing purple eyes looking at me half in shock. HALF IN SHOCK?! ¡°YOU¡± I squint my face and take a step towards her ¡°What did you do, tell me, what did you DO!¡± Realizations are slowly seeping into me as I take another step forward. ¡°Nothing, I swear. I was just thinking about you when I was attacked¡± She takes a step back ¡°You¡­were THINKING ABOUT ME? You brought me here BECAUSE YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT ME?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do any-¡± ¡°You BROUGHT me here by THINKING ABOUT ME! DO you KNOW how LONG I¡¯ve spent blacksmithing? 19 hours¡­.19 HOURRRRS, 19 HOURS of my life¡­GONE, RUINED BECAUSE YOU HAD TO THINK OF ME!?! I DON¡¯T KNOW WHAT YOU DID, BUT YOU JUST TOOK THE PAST 19 HOURS OF MY LIFE AND RIPPED THEM INTO SHREDS WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT¡­19 HOURS OF HAMMERING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN THE SAME BLOODY PIECE OF METAL WITHOUT REST BECAUSE I THOUGHT THAT WHEN I¡¯D BE DONE THAT WAS IT! I WAS THIS CLOSE, THIS CLOSE AND YOU JUST HAAAD TO THINK OF ME AAHSCHOASCNVLVHSIOSDHFPCPAHOASDSHASDOIAWHDOIASHDAOHADAAAAAH¡± ¡­.. ¡­. ¡­ .. . She¡¯s crying now¡­well she deserved it¡­but she didn¡¯t really do anything, NO she ruined my life; completely screwed me over for her own personal whims! But she didn¡¯t really know what she was doing; how she did it so can I really blame her? ¡­ .. . Dammit, why does it make me feel like an asshole when I see her cry! AAAAAAAUGH! It¡¯s no fair! I should be the one crying, I¡¯ve just had my life ruined!! But she didn¡¯t mean it and she¡¯s probably got less of an idea about what happened than I do¡­huuu, dammit it¡¯s too disconcerting watching her cry! Squatting down to where she¡¯s lying on the floor, tears streaming silently down her eyes, I hang my head I self defeat. *Sigh* ¡°Are you sorry¡± I look up at her, looking directly at her lustrous purple eyes. ¡°Are you sorry that you¡¯ve unexplicably destroyed my ent-¡­are you sorry?¡± She nods slowly, gulping. ¡°¡­Then I¡­forgive you¡­¡­Just don¡¯t ever think of me, or have anything to do with me without my permission, ok¡± She nods, tears still slowly dropping from her eyes. ¡­I give her a light pat on the head¡­make that two¡­not sure, it felt like that¡¯ll help¡­ *Ding* What was th- *Bash* I¡¯m on the floor, and it feels like I¡¯ve been hit by a sledgehammer¡­not that I¡¯ve ever been hit by one before for the record. Rolling round, I spot a mound of ash rocketing towards me like a wave and I brace my sword, letting the monster rush into it, letting the tip hit the small glowing that¡¯s inside. I think it¡¯s something important¡­and sure enough it is as the monster crumbles to the ground moments later, revealing half my sword lying shattered in the ground ¡­ .. . ¡°AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII- ¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-¡± Well it sounded like a terrible idea before¡­now it sounds like I¡¯m walking towards one of the seven depths of hell. The bloodcurdling high-pitched scream still echoes through the forest still going after more than a minute¡­ I should REALLY turn back, because going towards that sounds like a TERRIBLE idea ¡­ .. . And now it¡¯s gone. WELL THAT ISN¡¯T TERRIFYING AT ALL! The silence after that bloodcurdling noise is hell of a lot worse for my slightly ringing ears¡­its way too freaky out here! Yup I am turning baa¡­.there¡¯s a living ash there ¡­ .. . RUN! Sprinting away from the adrenaline junky Living Ash I get forced deeper into the forest¡­because no way in hell am I going to be able to run past it without getting hurt enough to die to the blazes when it comes to it. Looks like I¡¯m headed towards this bloodcurdling scream¡­because if I¡¯m going to die might as well sate my curiousity and be done with it. ¡­ ¡­ (Miss Nameless¡¯ POV) ¡°Hey, Anoobis it¡¯s fine¡­.it¡¯s fine¡± I give him a pat since that made me feel slightly better¡­so it should work for him¡­ Though he¡¯s just staring at the shattered edge of his sword in silent shock, mouth hanging wide open¡­ Oh no, what have I done? I had just wanted to play an hour or so before bed and Krudel was busy with something so I sneaked in here alone. Everything had changed so much; all the trees were burnt and there were scary hopping fires everywhere. Though I didn¡¯t have a problem getting through them since they didn¡¯t want to get close to me for some reason and then I came here¡­mostly because I was bored. Then one of those ash piles came at me and I was in the middle of thinking about a strange window that I got and I thought Anoobis might be able to help me with it. Next thing I knew he was here and he was angry¡­ I never should¡¯ve come online, I¡¯ve hurt him so. Looking him over I see that he¡¯s riddled with drying sweat and neither does he smell the freshest but it¡¯s not a bad smell either. He must¡¯ve worked really hard and I screwed it all up for him. ¡°It¡¯s alright Anoobis, you can make another¡± I give him another hopeful pat on the head between his long ears. ¡°Another?¡± He turns towards me, somehow registering me now ¡°You want me to spend another 19 hours hammering away for a sword that breaks like a toothpick?¡± ¡°No¡­I can make you one if you want¡± ¡°Ah..ha..HAHAHAHA¡± He starts laughing uncontrollably but the laughter isn¡¯t a happy one...rather it¡¯s quite scary with the way he¡¯s trembling as he laughs. ¡°That was quite a funny joke¡± ¡°Joke?¡± What is that? ¡°..You¡¯re kidding me¡­you¡¯ll actually make a sword for me?¡± His face is full of disbelief¡­well he is right; I have no idea in the slightest what to do. ¡°Yes¡± I can try¡­because I feel like I owe him that at least. ¡°Do you even know the first thing about smithing?¡± ¡°Nope, but I can learn¡± ¡°¡­Fine, but I will teach you and you will listen, you got that?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°And you must call me your Geniousity rather than simply Anoobis¡± ¡°Ok, your Geniousity?¡± Is that how I¡¯m supposed to say it? An odd nickname too¡­never heard that word before He smiles, happy! Standing up after him, he begins walking back towards the village. ¡°It¡¯s nighttime so it¡¯s a bad idea to be out here¡± He suddenly swerves towards me ¡°Wait, why are you out here¡­and by yourself again?¡± ¡°I just wanted something to do before bed¡­¡± ¡°So rui-thinking about me was on your list of things to do?¡± ¡°Well I got this strange window earlier and didn¡¯t know what it meant, so I was wondering whether you¡¯d know what it¡¯s about¡± *twitch* ¡­ .. . ¡°Ah¡­I see...show me the window¡± Oh he doesn¡¯t look too happy. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Going through my notifications, I see there are a few more odd ones, so I send them to him as well¡­another odd thing; I have him on a list called minions¡­? ¡­ ¡­ (Anoobis¡¯ POV)
Your Master has sent you multiple notifications
You have gained a Class
Class:Fel Apprentice
A Fel Apprentice is one who is touched by Fel magic and begins dabbling with such
Fel Apprentices can cast Beginner level Fel magic as well as make a contract with a single demonic being or another willing being
All non-magic related skills cannot increase beyond Beginner rank. All magic related skills cannot increase beyond Intermediate rank. All spells cannot increase beyond Beginner rank.
Class Bonuses: Able to cast Fel magic +10 to Intelligence +5 to Wisdom +10 to Mana +10 to Fel Have learnt Fel Aura Have learnt Fel Bolt Have learnt Fel Healing Have learnt Fel Sight Have learnt Summon Minion Class: Penalties: Cannot learn non-Fel magic Cannot wear armour beyond Cloth
Due to becoming this Class, Fel-touched race has been unlocked
This class is permanent unless another Class is chosen upon character creation
xp increases by100%
¡­¡­ ¡­.. ¡­. ¡­ .. . WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??? Wait she has a class!? WAIT THAT¡¯S RELATED TO ME IN SOME WAY BECAUSE OF ONE TINY BIT: can make a contract with a demonic being or another being that is willing. WAIT, BUT I¡¯M NOT WILLING! Wait¡­it¡¯s was that DAMNABLE RABBIT, I JUST KNOW IT! But she has a class now! How the hell do I explain this to her, it¡¯s a magic caster!??! Wait, if she¡¯s got a class¡­
You have gained a Class
Semi-Class:Contracted Minion
A contracted minion is a being that has made a contractwith a Magic User, binding their soul with theirs
contracted minions can be summoned by their Master and based on their Master gain a bonus their abilities
All magic related skills cannot increase beyond Beginner rank. All spells cannot increase beyond level 5 Beginner rank.
Semi-Class Bonuses: Able to cast Fel magic +1 to Intelligence +1 to Mana +1 to Fel Have learnt Fel Sight
Due to becoming this Semi-Class, Fel-touched race has been unlocked
This class is permanent as long as Contract is kept going and Master remains as contractual Class
Semi-Class'' do not count towards your class limit. They are an addition to any normal class you may become.
xp increases by 50%
¡­ .. . I¡¯m ...a minion¡­without having being given a choice. EVEN If I get some bonuses¡­like a new RACE¡­I¡¯m still a literal slave. Wait, I have a contract? Where¡¯s that? Flicking through the notifications, I take out one that has the big words CONTRACT written on it.
CONTRACTS: Anoobis(Your Geniousity)
¡­ .. .
CONTRACT (Anoobis/Your Geniousity), Signed by both parties
Anoobis may only be Summoned when he has given permission
Duration of contract:Permanent
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I CAN NEVER ESCAPE HER!! Though I can only be summoned when I¡¯ve given permission¡­so I¡¯ve got that going for me, which is nice¡­ So we¡¯ve both got a class (well semi-class) which uses Fel magic? What the hell is that?
Fel magic is a dark magic costing soul as well as normal mana. It is highly destructive and may be used for various damaging purposes.
Fel magic uses both mana and Fel conjoined to cast
Those touched by Fel magic cannot go near a place of holy worship
.. . Huh¡­well using soul to cast¡­well that is never going to happen, especially if it''s mine! My mind is literally hurting me right now, it¡¯s a bit too much to handle in one sitting! ¡°So¡­what is it?¡± Oh god, she doesn¡¯t even understand this. Oh how do I explain something I don¡¯t know to her? ¡°Well you gained something called a class¡± ¡°Class?¡± Oh god, does she not know anything? ¡°It¡¯s a job basically¡­like a¡­¡± ¡°Butler or maid?¡± Odd examples but sure yes ¡°Yes. And the class you have is an apprentice magic user¡± ¡­She didn¡¯t understand. ¡°You get to cast magic, you know what that is?¡± ¡°Nope¡± SERIOUSLY¡­ HOW HAS SHE NOT HEARD OF MAGIC!? I MEAN EVERY KID HAS ONCE DREAMED OF DOING MAGIC¡­ ¡°Magic is¡­well magic. It¡¯s doing things you can¡¯t do normally, like flying!¡± ¡°Oooh!¡± Yes she understands? ¡°So basically you can cast magic, but a certain type¡± ¡°There¡¯s types?¡± ¡°Well yes, but they don¡¯t make much of a difference¡­you can still cast magic¡­just in a different way¡± She looks confused again. ¡°Ok, so let¡¯s take flying again. With normal magic, you¡¯d sort of float off the ground. With this Fel magic, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯d sprout black wings which let you fly¡± Her eyes widen in both excitement and understanding¡­phew ok, she¡¯s learning. ¡°So essentially you can cast magic and you¡¯ve been given a few spells, which do something. One example of a spell, is summon minion¡­which as we both know, brings me here whenever you want me¡± ¡°OH¡± Yes she realizes that she accidentally summoned me¡­by casting magic (which is pretty cool but I¡¯m still pretty miffed) ¡°Sorry¡± She says meekly. ¡°Now we have a contract for that summoning, and you can only summon me when I allow you to¡­which is what we agreed on earlier remember?¡± She nods. Good. ¡°So how do I cast my spells?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, I¡¯ve still got to look at the things you got from your class¡± I feel like I¡¯m babysitting her¡­but at the same time I¡¯m learning too so this is helpful for me as well (also I¡¯m her contracted minion which has SOME bonuses I GUESS so might as well keep them). ¡°OK¡± she sits down happily in the ash, not really caring that her cowgirl outfit is getting blackened by the ash. I¡¯m just going to ignore her for a while, because she is way too much to deal with right now. ¡°Oh hey there Anoobis, have you heard screaming like Chewbacca being analled by a high velocity drillll¡­oh hey Princess¡­just ignore everything I said¡­¡± Joat comes half sprinting out of the forest, slowing down when he spots me and too late, the zombie girl on the floor. ¡°What¡¯s Chewbacca¡­and what¡¯s analled?¡± I glance towards Joat who glances towards me, a mixed look of pure terror and horror sparking between us. ¡­ .. . ¡°Well I¡¯ve got to r-¡± ¡°Not so fast¡± I grab hold of him before he sprints away leaving me with the mess that is the unknowledgeable zombie girl. ¡°Really don¡¯t have any time¡± He points to my right and I see another ash mound heading our way at lightning speed. Oh great¡­but I do see the weak spot in the top left. ¡°Top left¡± Both of us blurt out at the same time, turning towards one another in mild shock before bracing for the monster. It smashes into Joat and I skirt round slamming the shattered blade (I¡¯m still holding it) into the glowing thing inside. The ash plummets to the floor unceremoniously into a small heap. ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡± We both point at eachother accusingly. ¡°Detect magic¡± Joat answers¡­ooh he knows magic!? ¡°No idea¡± Honestly I don¡¯t¡­but it might have something to do with Fel Sight? Joat¡¯s eyes squint deviously, first towards me but then roam towards the zombie girl. He grins¡­oh no. ¡°Ah Princess, you look fantastic as always¡± Sauntering over to her, he plops down next to her. ¡°But do tell what is going on with you two?¡± ¡°Apparently I¡¯ve learnt something called magic and his Geniousity is helping me understand¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± He peeks towards me with a devious grin¡­you bastard, going to steal all this delicious information! "Well his...Geniousity...should continue teaching you" He''s ruining my title! "Su-¡± ¡°-Don¡¯t tell him anything¡± I blurt out before she can. She looks at me with a confused expression ¡°I¡¯m here to help, he¡¯s¡­just here" ¡°Well I do know magic already so I would be more help to her than you¡­since I assume you don¡¯t know how you¡¯re using your magic¡± So he noticed¡­well duh anyone with a half a brain would, or who know about magic anyways¡­ *Sigh* Fine...he¡¯ll get the information from her one way or another...so no point trying to stop him. Might as well try steal whatever information he has... ¡°Fine, she got a class¡± His eyes widen and jaw drops to the floor. Heh, he wasn¡¯t expecting that ¡°Well don¡¯t just stop there, continue¡± He recovers quite quickly, probably from the excitement. ¡°It¡¯s call Fel¡¯s Apprentice and it¡¯s a Fel magic user, whatever that is¡± ¡°Fel magic?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dark magic that costs soul¡± ¡°EH?¡± Oh right, forgot to tell her about that part¡­ ¡°Wait a moment, so you have to use your soul to cast it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I haven¡¯t looked at how to cast it yet¡± ¡°Right¡­so go look at that, because I¡¯m sure Princess here is dying to know how to¡± More like you are but sure she needs to know how to as well. I¡¯m miffed about him just sauntering in and getting some really good information for free¡­but still he knows magic so he could be of some use.
STAT:Fel
Points in Fel give you a Fel pool and will affect skills and spells related to Fel
This Stat has been put into one of your stat slots
Stat: Fel has been added to your stat slots. It has used up 1 slot
Due to your Race, Fel begins at 0, but due to your Semi-Class it becomes 1
Due to Fel stat being above 0 you have learnt the Spell: Soul Collect
SPELL:Soul Collect, Beginner [lvl1] (Active)
Soul Collect allows caster to collect souls from dead monsters, filling up Fel pool, which may then be used to cast spells
Cost: 10 mana, Duration: 1 minute, Cooldown: 10 minutes
¡­ .. . Holy lord¡­that¡¯s hell of a stat! Looking at my character sheet, sure enough there¡¯s a Fel stat with 0/1 ¡­so I can have one soul stored? So I can cast one spell? Ok..? But this is great; I don¡¯t have to use my own soul to cast spells¡­which is awesome. ¡°Ok¡­so to cast spells we use mana and Fel together. Mana, I don¡¯t know how to get or use¡­Joat does though¡± He nods, ok at least he¡¯s playing along with this ¡°And Fel is an empty pool which is filled up with souls using a spell called Soul Collect. Essentially when a creature dies, you use Soul Collect to add it to your Fel pool and then use that and mana to cast magic¡± Doesn¡¯t look like she gets it that much¡­or at all really. ¡°Ah¡± Joat jumps up and takes a tiny fiery shard out from the air. He hands it over to me ¡°Take a soul out of that¡± Raising my eyebrow, I hold the shard in one hand and imagine sucking something out of it while thinking Soul Collect. Funnily enough that seems to work as the shard slowly goes dull and cracks, and my Fel Pool, a little green circle just under my hp, fills up to max as I feel something slightly slimy snake it''s way up my hand. ¡°So I just used soul collect to gain a soul¡± The zombie girl looks at me still not quite with me. ¡°Can you see a green circle under your red bar?¡± ¡°Yes¡­but its many circles¡± Ah so 1 soul per circle? ¡°Each circle is a soul, so when you soul collect you will each one. When you cast a spell you will use one of those circles up, understand?¡± ¡°I think so¡± Ok that¡¯s something. ¡°But you said you needed mana and Fel to cast¡­so do you have a blue bar anywhere there?¡± Joat adds in. ¡°No¡± ¡°Hmm, well guess I have to got to teach you mana then. Also do you have intelligence or wisdom either?¡± ¡°Neither¡± He glances towards me. Really, do you think I wouldn¡¯t have either of those? ¡°I only need mana¡± Why of course because I am just so marvelously intelligent and wise. ¡°Right, well let¡¯s head back to town, where it¡¯s a lot less dangerous shall we?¡±He points towards a zipping rumble in the ash¡­probably another monster, just a little distance away. Yep, let¡¯s get out of here before another comes around¡­they¡¯re quite dangerous must I say, but nowhere near as dangerous as this thieving little bastard called Joat who¡¯s stealing all this information for barely anything¡­ damn that sneaky blighter! "So you never told me, what is analled?" ¡­ ¡­ 34. Close Calls ¡°So being analled is an unexpected situation?¡± Miss Nameless repeats after my most ambiguously though explanation. ¡°Yeeees¡± Let¡¯s leave it at that shall we? Finally reaching to the speed blaze fields, I stop them both and get down on all fours ready to sprint. ¡°Ooh a race?¡± Miss Nameless gets down on all fours, trying to recreate my bum up position...though with those shorts, really shouldn''t be doing that... ¡°Morons¡± Anoobis gets down too, because why not, I assume. ¡°3..2..1..GO¡± Rocketing up, I burst through the ashen fields, dodging left, right, rolling, jumping over the blazes as they zip around. -58 OW Pirouetting past another, I keep sprinting, leaping over a last and in the clear run into the village like a bat out of hell. I HATE those things¡­ Looking back towards the other 2, I see Anoobis almost immediately flop beside me, legs burnt yet he¡¯s still alive, while Miss Nameless has slowed down to a walk. ¡­ .. . WHAT? Firstly, she¡¯s out of breath already? I mean I knew she didn¡¯t have the best stamina, but she¡¯s especially weak this time round. Secondly, she¡¯s just walking¡­.and nothing is touching her!?! Just what¡¯s going on?! Although the blazes zip around her, none of them actually get close enough to touch her, hell some even change their direction when they get too close¡­ ¡°It must be her Fel Aura¡± Fel what? I cast detect magic on her and sure enough her entire body glows blue¡­oh my. Wait¡­ I look at one particular blaze (takes a few tries to actually follow one), seeing that actually it doesn¡¯t touch any of the other blazes¡­somehow¡­ So they won¡¯t touch Miss Nameless because they recognize it as magic and therefore as themselves?? ¡°What an odd little concept¡± Anoobis is on the same page it seems. She reaches us looking quite sad. ¡°I lost the race¡± ¡°Yep, you shall be punished by magical training¡± ¡°Ooooh¡± Right, off to work we go! I sit them down just outside the village, cross-legged. ¡°Should we really trust you to teach us?¡± Anoobis opens a doubtful eye. ¡°Hey, under this gorgeous visage, I have smarts¡± ¡°I think both of us can agree that you are not as handsome as you look¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯m not perfect, but I am way more handsome than you Mr Dog nose¡± ¡°Well I happen to value my Geniousity over looks¡± ¡°Oh how I know that, your Geniousity¡± ¡°So we can agree that I am the smartest?¡± ¡°Well you are certainly not stupid, but I mean compared to me...¡± ¡°I am a genius I know¡± ¡°I was going to say you¡¯re the equivalent of a goldfish, but sure don¡¯t let your dreams be dreams¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure my dreams are more realistic than the fantasies that cover the image of you, quite fantastical they all are¡± ¡°Now now, I know that I am simply magical, but no need to be so modest¡± ¡°If I were speak of your¡­handsomeness without modesty, I would liken it to Monica Lewinsky after visiting the Whitehouse¡± ¡°Ah such a thoughtful description of me but I believe you liken more to Consulate Trump¡± ¡°Why Joat¡± ¡°Why Anoobis¡± ¡°Eh, what is going on?¡± ¡°Nothing¡± We turn to her. I¡¯d completely forgot she was there. Thankfully (?) it doesn¡¯t seem like she understood most of what we talked about¡­wow she really knows nothing about anything in this century¡­ Anyways, I claim my position as the teacher and therefore obviously the more intelligent, and get the two of them to close their eyes. ¡°Now mana is like the air in your lungs. You must breathe and let it expand within you, let it become the Thu¡¯um inside you¡± I spot Anoobis opening one cheeky eye. ¡°Hey, I am part of the cool kids you know¡± ¡°The fact that you have to say that¡­¡± He shuts his eyes, smarmy smile once again on his face. ¡°Joat what is a Thu¡¯um?¡± her vibrant purple yet still dead looking eyes (it¡¯s quite disturbing to look at) spear into mine. Ah right¡­this inexplicable lack of basic knowledge will never not surprise me. Might be easier to have her do it (Just had this idea!). ¡°Imagine your Thu¡¯um growing within your lungs and once it is strong enough you must shout the words, Fus¡­ROH DAH to unleash your Thu¡¯um to the heavens above¡± She takes a deep breath, closing eyes and opening her mouth just slightly ¡°Fus¡± ¡­ .. . I feel like I just got punched¡­all over my front, many times over...I don''t THINK anything is broken... ¡°Joat, you alright?¡± She crawls over me. I notice a small black wisp leaving her mouth with a quiet unladylike burp as she looks over me; the remnant of that bizarre mixture of dark olive green and dark slate grey wave of air that knocked me flat. ¡°Yes I¡¯m fine, just a little surprised you did it first try¡± I sit back up, well that was cool! ¡°I did? But this window is telling me I didn¡¯t learn the spell because my magical understanding is too low?¡± Oh right, I didn¡¯t get her intelligence yet. Hmm, do I really trust her not to kill hers¡­yea let¡¯s leave the intelligence gaining till the morning. But then that means she can¡¯t learn any new spells¡­ Ah, the better question is can she cast the ones she already knows? ¡°Anoobis, what spells does Miss Nameless have?¡± I mean he knows about Fel Aura (whatever that actually does apart from helping her live) which means he should know what her spells are¡­if she has any. ¡°Fel Bolt and Fel Healing are the two spells she has¡± Ooh, so a damage AND a healing, quite nifty indeed. ¡°Well Princess, we will practice those two spells ok?¡± ¡°Ok!¡± ¡°So open up the spell page and tell me the cost¡± ¡°10 mana and 1 soul for Fel bolt, and the same for Fel healing¡± Ok, so you have neither right now. ¡°We¡¯re going to get mana first, so continue gathering your Thu¡¯um, but do not release it immediately, let it build to a point where you can still control its release but you must release it for you cannot hold it anymore¡± That should let her get mana quite quickly. While she does that, I take a quick nap. ¡­ ¡°Fus¡± ¡­ .. . Well that was one way to wake up. Smearing ash off of my face, once it has been plucked from the ground, I head back over to a cheery looking Miss Nameless. ¡°I¡¯ve got mana!¡± She shouts excitedly and I crawl over. ¡°Good, now we can begin the magic casting¡± I take out one of my few precious intact shards and hand one to her. ¡°Now cast Soul Collect on that¡­ ¡°How do I do that?¡± ¡°Like your Thu¡¯um..but this time imagine that as it builds up, it does so around the shard in your hand and not in your lungs¡± She seems to understand, I hope... Within maybe a minute or two, I see the shard grow dull, phew...I was actually expecting her hand to blow up or something but luckily it didn''t...or things would be bad...very bad. ¡°It worked!¡± She gives me a decrepit smile, uh please don¡¯t, it¡¯s pretty gross even, well especially coupled with the cowgirl outfit ¡°But it felt so slimy coming in¡± Oh my innocence. ¡°Alright, so to cast Fel bolt, you want to make mana in your hand once more and also imagine that slimy feeling coming back out and joining your mana¡± ¡°Uhuh¡± She holds out her hand and I can see the same dark olive/slate colour meld together before lightening up a few tones, making the colours more vibrant, more alive. So that must be the soul then. ¡°Now imagine it shooting out of your hand and into the trees¡± She points her hand there and ¡­ .. . Nothing¡­? ¡°Joat it¡¯s gone¡± Huh, what happened? ¡°Princess could you pass me your Fel Bolt spell?¡± She opens her window and sends me a message (at least she¡¯s somehow learnt how to do that).
SPELL:Fel Bolt, Beginner [lvl1]
Fel Bolt is the bread and butter damage spell for all Fel Casters. Although it does require both Somatic and Verbal components to cast
Deals Intelligence + Fel damage Range: 1 metre
Cost: 10 mana + 1 Soul, Duration: Instantaneous, Cooldown: Non
Oh my both Somatic and Verbal components¡­but how? ¡°Ok, so you need Somatic and Verbal components to cast this spell¡± She looks rather confused at me saying that ...¡°You need gestures and words to cast it¡± She still looks confused¡­I can¡¯t dumb it down further you know. ¡°You¡¯re saying that I require both Somatic and Verbal components, but I have been given neither¡­so how am I supposed to cast?¡± ¡­ .. . Oh yeah, forgot her language is pretty impeccable¡­she''s got to be some estranged princess locked up in her home in the middle of nowhere...I mean it''s the only logical explanation as how she doesn''t know how Consulate Trump is... ¡°Exactly¡­but then there must be somet¡­¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Joat?¡± No¡­.it can¡¯t be¡­but that¡¯d make so much sense. Taking out the diary, I hand it to Miss Nameless. ¡°I can¡¯t read any of this¡± She looks at it like the gibberish it is¡­Well guess not then, I¡¯m just imagining things! ¡­ .. . ¡°Princess, let¡¯s get you Intelligence¡± ¡°I have Intelligence¡± She looks down saddened ¡°The stat¡± ¡°Oh¡± Right, so how am I going to do this without getting her¡­OH! Oh no... Do I let her do...yeah it''ll be fine as long as Sharpy doesn''t know... ¡°Ok, so you see those little blazes out there?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Well you need to destroy one, and collect its soul...but be careful they are very dangerous to touch" But she''ll have to touch them anyways...if she cries Sharpy might kill me..."Ok?¡± Let¡¯s hope she understands what I want her to do. Basically since Anoobis can see the shards, so should she (I found out that Anoobis got a semi-class called Contracted Minion halfway down¡­what great knowledge that is), and that means she should see them and understand that it is their ¡®souls¡¯ and then proceed to grab one. That should get her Intelligence as it got me. Sure enough, the plan is figured out quick enough and she¡¯s chasing after one, breath ragged already. This is going to take a long time ¡­ Finally she did it! Only took an hour till she accidentally cornered it between her and the village (which looks like a safe zone so no monsters in here), forcing it to try zip past her. Only took an ENTIRE hour¡­because the blaze just didn''t want to touch her because of that weird Fel aura. ¡°Ok, now that you have Intelligence try r-¡± ¡°MISTRESS¡± ¡­ .. . Oh no. that¡¯s a Sharpy I hear. Turning round, sure enough he¡¯s half stomping up towards all 3 of us (Anoobis is still sitting and thinking, well was). ¡°Krudel, you should¡¯ve seen it! Anoobis and Joat have been An-¡± ¡°-PPRENTICING her for magic¡± Anoobis literally dives to his feet, with a wide innocent smile. Sharpy looks at us disbelieving. Oh no, he doesn¡¯t believe us¡­or if he does then that may still be bad! ¡°Look¡± I zip over to Miss Nameless and hand the diary once more. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.PLEASE, PLEASE be what I want you to be. ¡°Direct thumb and middle finger towards either side of target¡¯s head squeeze slightly and say Fl Dlmz¡± Fel Delmz? That¡¯s definitely not English¡­ As she reads (somehow!) the vibrant greenish gray (cannot be bothered trying to figure out the mixture of exact colours anymore) streams from her two outstretched and clawed fingers, blasting into either side of Sharpy¡¯s head. ¡­ .. . ¡°What happened?¡± She looks as shocked as the rest of us. Well I¡¯m guessing you cast some dodgy magic¡­which may or may not have annoyed Sharpy even more than he already may have been from the multiple past things that both I and Anoobis have done to you.... Anoobis heads up towards Sharpy, who looks pretty dazed as he holds his head on the floor ¡°You alright?¡± Sharpy doesn¡¯t respond¡­just going to turn the other way in-case I need to run... ¡°I¡¯m deaf¡± ¡­ .. . Excuse me what? ¡°Are any of you speaking?¡± ¡°Yes¡± We all chorus.. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume you are¡± He stands up and looks towards us...I hope that''s the look of I forgive you, though in all truthfulness it''s probably the polar opposite. ¡°Well now we can insult him as much as we like right?¡± Anoobis whispers over to me. ¡°I can read lips still you know¡± ¡­ .. . Great¡­halleluiah I¡¯m not part of this, at all, totally¡­just going to forget all the numerous insults I was plannign to create... ¡°Krudel you¡¯re deaf?¡± Miss Nameless goes up to him, confused as she looks at his ear sockets. ¡°Yes Mistress, seems like you know magic then¡­ but could you please find something to undo it please?¡± Guess being deaf isn¡¯t exactly the most comfortable of things¡­ ¡°I can try¡± She goes back to looking at the book. ¡°Day 79, this deafening spell is quite useful, especially so for my play things, they way they cannot hear it, but simply feel it coming. It¡¯s quite arou-¡± ¡°THERE isn¡¯t a way to undo your spell¡± I lightly pick the book away from her, phew, Sharpy can still read lips¡­oh no. Sure enough, glancing at him he¡¯s slowly drawing a razorsharp finger across his throat. *gulp* ¡°Spells like this will last for a small while and then he will be fine again¡± Anoobis heads infront of Sharpy, blocking his view to Miss Nameless...because we both know she''s going to ask a question. ¡°Ok, but what was this thing about play things?¡± Yup, called it... ¡°Ah, that is someone¡¯s personal diary you are reading there, you should be doing that¡­only look for instructions on casting a spell next time, please?¡± ¡°Ok, but is it wrong to read someone¡¯s personal diary?¡± Phew delayed the question for now. Does she not know what a¡­whatever I guess she doesn¡¯t. ¡°A personal diary is where you put your innermost feelings, so it shouldn¡¯t be read out loud to others, you understand?¡± ¡°Ok, I do¡± ¡°Mistress, it is time that we left your¡­apprenticeship to another time¡± *GULP* Guess he¡¯s not too convinced¡­we¡¯re so dead. So so dead¡­when he has free time (thankfully we¡¯ve all been super busy so he hasn¡¯t had the chance to kill us yet¡­). ¡°It was great fun¡± She smiles as she heads towards Sharpy. The two of them log off, both with their own sort of wave; Sharpy¡¯s more horizontal and through his neck¡­ Anyways, we SURVIVED! THAT WAS WAY TOO CLOSE! Really got to stop saying things in front of her¡­ ¡°I felt like I was really going to die there¡± Anoobis blurts out, sighing all the pent up tension away. ¡°He¡¯ll come for us and then it¡¯ll become a great run¡± ¡­ .. . But until then, let¡¯s do as much as we can. It¡¯s been about 22 hours now since the beginning of the day, so another 2 hours before the Npc doors open again. ¡°So what am I going to do for the next 2 hours?¡± Anoobis ponders to the sky. ¡°2 MINUTE BREAK¡± Dillydally along with his Squad Animal + Tikari burst in through the northern gate suddenly, all of them collapsing in a pile. ¡°You could join Squad Animal¡± ¡°No. Way. In Hell¡­¡± Guess he doesn¡¯t like the name then, hehe. ¡°Hey Dillydally¡± I waltz over to him, he gives me a tired wave from the floor. Jeesh only 3 hours and you¡¯ve brought everyone to the floor on verge of death¡­this HIT seems to be INTENSE¡­ ¡°Could my friend Anoobis stay with Squad Animal for the rest of the night?¡± He takes a look at Anoobis. ¡°Anoobis is it? Give me 20 pushups¡± ¡°Sir no way in hell Sir¡± ¡°Sorry Joat, isn¡¯t going to happen. ALRIGHT SQUAD, UP AND AT IT, ONLY 2 MORE HOURS TO GO¡± ¡°SIR TIKARI PASSED OUT AGAIN¡± SirStripy calls as he checks on Tikari, still breathing I hope. ¡°ALL OF YOU JUMPING JACKS TILL SHE STANDS UP¡± ¡°SIR YES SIR¡± Perfectly uncomplaining group of people, I really need to learn what Dillydally is doing to make them so orderly. They all begin jumping jacks; each giving their all as it seems like that¡¯s all they¡¯ve got left in them¡­ ¡°Why are we all doing so many for her?¡± The Alligator-beastlady with a scaly green body and long, sharp mouth complains slightly while she does what must be the 100th jumping jack. ¡°Well Allie, unlike Tikari who doesn¡¯t looks like she¡¯s had much exercise in her life, you¡¯ve got more stamina than most of us¡± Jerriah points out in ragged breaths. ¡°Plus she¡¯s cuter¡± Gristle grumbles as his hooves mark the earth. ¡°Oh c¡¯mon¡± Allie complains while the rest of the squad nod, even Dillydally who is doing jumping jacks with them. Leading by example, looks like it¡¯s had hell of an effect. Well I¡¯ve got 2 hours to spare¡­so might as well have a little fun and learn how this all works¡­by watching ¡­ Hell in pure bold capitals¡­ ¡°J 5¡± Gristle yells, causing Allie the alligator-beastlady to be pushed by Jerriah, out of the way of the zipping blaze and onto the floor where SirStripy uses her as a springboard over another zipping blaze, landing into Yinroh¡¯s arms safely. Snorh leaps over Allie landing hands first into the ash when she grabs hold of his ankles and he pulls at the earth, wrenching her to standing and him in a wheelbarrow position. They keep moving, dodging left, right, stopping abruptly before a passing blaze, Snorh going into a handstand, while Allie dives over the blaze into a handstand. Both synchronously push off into a somersault and onto their feet. ¡°KOOKLE WHAT KIND OF ROLL WAS THAT, 5 PUSHUPS NOW¡± Dillydally yells as he catches ragreud swiveling with him and tossing him across towards a hopping Kandien. Kookle, rooster-beastman drops to the floor and does the fastest 5 pushups I¡¯ve ever seen in my life; he had grabbed the earth so that when he pushed off he pulled himself back down against his momentum. Just in time too as he pushes himself back to standing right as a blaze zips past where his face was but seconds ago ¡­ .. . Just how in the name of Aiag are they doing this?! IT MUST BE A SKILL! IT MUST BE MANY SKILLS, OOOOOOOOOOOH! I mean they¡¯ve been at this for a good part of 10 minutes that I¡¯ve watched¡­but I know they¡¯ve been doing this for more than 2 hours now! I mean they¡¯re not only dodging, they¡¯re actually killing the blazes too; ¡°READY¡± Kandien shouts as he gets up from a roll. ¡°KANDY 6 T¡± Squirrel shouts out from the sidelines and Kandien responds by swiveling round and kicking the blaze in the tail region, causing it to burst into nothing. Slowly but surely, they seem to be exterminating the blazes one by one while somehow dodging the rest of them¡­ Anoobis finally sits down next to me, seemingly bored of trying to do things by himself. He hands me the well bucket, filled. Oh thank Aiag! Gulping down the water, I see that my satiety bar goes up to a third full. Apparently water will get you to 60 satiety but no more¡­which means I won¡¯t starve...But your hp regen is that much slower. So I¡¯m actually feeling slight pity for those poor fools out there, probably on the verge of death in terms of both hunger and health ¡­ .. . Though they do seem to be surviving without too many problems¡­it¡¯s definitely a skill! Ooh I can almost taste it! But if I have to go through that Hell¡­totally worth it, but not right now¡­way too tired. ¡°So do I really look like Monica when she leaves the Whitehouse?¡± I turn to Anoobis as he smirks at the chaos that is the blaze fields. ¡°Nah, you¡¯re more like the old school Ronaldo¡± He gives me that smarmy smile of his, cheeky little bugger ¡°You actually watched him back then?¡± I mean that was jeez, a long time ago. Man retired 10 years ago maybe? I¡¯m actually amazed Anoobis knows about him¡­not many people do nowadays, well the younger ones anyways. Maybe he¡¯s not as young as I think¡­ ¡°God no, may football rot in a ditch somewhere; he¡¯s just pretty prominent in showing us what surgery can do¡± ¡°Amen to th-¡± ¡°YINROH THAT WAS A FOUL SOMERSAULT, ALL OF YOU 5 SOMERSAULTS AS PUNSIHMENT¡± Dillydally shouts voice still strong as he too jumps and does a perfect little somersault in the air before landing and pirouetting through 2 blazes, somehow he''s got time to watch the others while in the middle of blaze traffic. The others don¡¯t fare as well and a few get burns, switching out with Gristle and Midgrellik, who uncomplaining take over. Gristle is not going to do well. ¡°So what¡¯s your plan for the day, since I¡¯m going to be busy doing some leatherworking¡± I¡¯ve still got to cash in on a promise I made¡­ ¡°Honestly I¡¯m thinking of taking the day off¡­Halloween and all, need to prepare¡± He looks excitedly to the distance, ignoring Gristle half screaming as constantly hops around quite comically. Jeez preparing from 8 am, well he¡¯s excited isn¡¯t he¡­hmm maybe I should rethink my costume¡­nah, it¡¯s a decent costume. ¡°Almost forgot about that, you think they¡¯ll do something for ARIA?¡± ¡°You think this needs a change to become freakier?¡± He points towards the burnt landscape¡­fair enough it¡¯s already quite hellish¡­ We watch Snorh jump onto SirStripy who half angrily, half jokingly complain at his cowardice, all while dodging some blazes¡­seriously how is no one dead yet. Kandien slips and dies¡­and like a pack of dominoes they all start falling, since Allie lands where Kandien was supposed to catch her and burns to death leaving Midgrellik no stand to jump over another blaze which in turn kills Gristle...or maybe Gristle just had no chance when he was inadvertently swarmed by all sides... ¡°SAFETY¡± Someone yells and everyone immediately rushes out of the sea of blazes and back into the village, survivors collapsing on the floor, Dillydally even resting his hands on his knees. ¡°Dammit, less than 3 hours¡± he shakes his head but still I¡¯m impressed that they lasted that long (seeing as though 2 hits is death¡­) ¡°ALRIGHT EVERYONE, WE BREAK UP FOR THE NIGHT, BE BACK IN 1 HOUR AND A HALF¡± ¡°SIR YES SIR¡± All scream their last hoarse breath before just simply lying there panting away. I don¡¯t think they have the strength to press the log out button¡­ ¡°Well guess I¡¯ll see you all then¡± Anoobis logs off and I go to log off (finally). ¡°FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOOM¡± ¡­ .. . That sounded oddly like¡­IT¡¯S ZZOID! Waving towards the zombie-like shambling lizard-beastman who stumbles out of the Blacksmith¡¯s door along with 11 others, all likening to the walking dead¡­even moaning as the shuffle towards me. ¡°Zzoid where¡¯s everyone else?¡± I do note he has a nice shiny sword with him¡­ooh. I did notice Anoobis had carried around a broken sword but the look on his eyes did tell me not to ask¡­ ¡°Still stuck in that HeOLY SHIIIIMMYCHANGAS WHAT HAPPENED HERE?¡± He and the others look flabbergasted at the desecrated treeline and fields filled with zipping blazes¡­ No idea why he didn¡¯t swea¡­oh hey Charmine¡­thaaat¡¯s why (I know it by instinct¡­and the way BC looked at Zzoid, eyes almost throttling him¡­). ¡°Well, you know how we burnt down the forest¡­¡± ¡­ ¡­ 35. Halloweds End Begins! ¡°Well I believe me and the rest of these lot are going to log out¡­because I can barely stand as is¡± Zzoid¡¯s apparently speaking for the group of mostly ladies¡­looks like he¡¯s going up in the world. ¡°Fair enough, ah, I¡¯m going to be doing some leatherworking tomorrow if you want to log back in to give some input¡± ¡°Ah¡± Oh I love his perceptiveness ¡°Yeha, I¡¯ll pop back in around midday, got to check on my brothers too¡± He gives a warm hearted chuckle before opening his menu. His finger goes towards it but a sudden, morose squeaking of wooden wheels catches our attention and everyone turns towards the northern gate, spotting a horse-drawn carriage stopping by the well. The driver; a hooded man starts muttering to himself as he gets off, untethering the red-eyed, blood encrusted horse and opening up the carriage. Well whatever¡¯s inside is¡­probably not nice; the carriage is a black rectangle covered in melting candles, skulls and other bits of bone and flesh. The door opens to a horrified scream and the driver quickly shuts it back again¡­what did he open it for then? ¡°Erm hello?¡± I call from a small distance away He jumps to face us, obviously startled?! ¡°woah you startled me there¡± He looks down mumbling incoherently Excuse me what did you say? Moving towards him to hopefully be able to hear him better ¡°Who are you and what are you doing here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Casper the Dullahan and I¡¯m here to collect your souls¡± He¡¯s getting quieter! And the awkward tapping of his fingers while he looks towards the floor (well his hood) really doesn¡¯t help. A door opens nearby and out comes the mortician with his slicked back brown hair and sharp blue eyes. ¡°Casper you¡¯re at it again¡± He leans on his doorway, stroking his stubble rather amusedly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry its just weird talking to people before they die¡± I think I heard the word die¡­well I don¡¯t think I want to know what he¡¯s talking about now. ¡°I know¡± Wait Marty can hear him? ¡°But if you don¡¯t talk to them they won¡¯t know what¡¯s going on¡± ¡°Ahem¡± Oh I can barely hear him now! ¡°I¡¯m Casper and I¡¯m a Dullahan who¡¯s come here to collect your souls when hallowed¡¯s e-¡± ¡°Casper¡± Marty looks at the fidgeting being as he¡¯s struggling to speak, his tone like a father scolding a child. Rolling his eyes, Marty bounces down towards this Casper and removes his hood ¡­ .. . His decrepit and definitely not living head looks downwards in embarrassment. ¡°Casper comes here every year around about now to collect souls, since the death rate around this day is abnormally high¡± ¡°Yes, Hallowed¡¯s end is the day of night where the natural protections given by Aiag is diminished allowing for a culling of the weaker races¡± It really doesn¡¯t help that he¡¯s saying it all in one long stringed together word¡­but I heard culling so that sounds like we¡¯re in trouble. ¡°What he¡¯s trying to say is that Aiags protection over this village is nulled as long as the moons are covering the sun, which is usually the next 24 hours ¡± ¡°WHAAAT?¡± Everyone looks pretty shocked at that news¡­no village protection, that¡¯s awful! ¡°Monsters will attack you because you¡¯re candy to them and others will attack you because you are candy to them¡± I¡¯m hearing candy now, not sure If he¡¯s speaking a different language or? ¡°Just show them and it¡¯d be easier to explain¡± Casper takes out a blood red sweet in the shape of a heart (not the pretty cartoon ones¡­no actual living beating heart shaped, eugh). ¡°This is candy and I¡¯ll give it to you for every soul you give me¡± ¡°So how do we get this candy?¡± Dillydally asks, well seems like even he can¡¯t hear that well. ¡°Kill things and don¡¯t die¡­because if you do-¡± ¡°I will collect your souls¡± Somehow I heard that¡­might be because he wasn¡¯t speaking to the floor but rather looking at us. ¡°But how are you collecting our souls?¡± Charmine asks yet for some reason I think she suspects the answer ¡°Well I¡¯m a Dullahan so in my carriage of course¡± Marty pops Casper¡¯s head off, to the screams of a few people. ¡­ .. . YOU JUST KIL¡­HE¡¯S NOT DEAD? Casper¡¯s head looks downwards embarrassed while everyone looks shockingly at his body which scratches the air where his head was moments ago. ¡°He¡¯s a Dullahan, kind of his job¡± He gives us a smirk, probably amused by our shocked reactions. The fact that you are completely cool with a dullahan is pretty terrifying Marty! Capser¡¯s face reddens ¡°Oh I¡¯m not good enough to be called a Dullahan yet by someone like you, I¡¯m just simply a soul collector, but I¡¯d love to become a proper Dullahan one day¡± He¡¯s mumbling to himself again on god knows what. ¡°You¡¯ll get there one day Casper. But until then, be ready to collect some souls; these Orphans are a bit too foolish for their own good¡± Hey, we¡¯re perfectly smart people¡­well most of us. ¡°So tell me if I¡¯m wrong, if we die, we die?¡± Squirrel asks ¡°Well yes, what else do you think happens when you die?¡± Fair point Marty, fair point. ¡°Now you should get some rest while Aiag still protects us, because Hallowed¡¯s end always ends in a death. Last one was poor Belix¡± He lunges his arm over Caspers¡¯ shoulder, carring his head in the other hand and driving him towards the carriage. Opening the door, Marty chuckles towards the screams while Casper frantically tries to close it again.
Warning! Seasonal Event: Hallowed''s End will begin in 1 hour 13 minutes. If you are not logged in by then, you will not be able to log in.
Ok, so Halloween is a thing here¡­and we get candy¡­by killing things ¡­ .. . Wait, didn¡¯t he infer that you get candy from killing other players too? The black lion-beastman looks shiftily around, ok he did! ¡°Well, seems like no rest for the wicked¡± Zzoid sighs as he logs off, surely coming back for an event, since it¡¯s an event! Though I think if we die our character gets locked I¡¯m guessing¡­since their soul is taken¡­which is mortifying (I like being a hobgoblin). I log off to get myself fed and watered before 24 hours of hell that never seems to freaking end!! ¡­ ¡°Turuturuuuuu¡± A horn blows from the small guard tower that the village apparently has...but never used it until now...? Well that¡¯s a first. ¡°Well who¡¯s ready for some candy?¡± Marty gives a slightly worrying laugh as he trots down to the south of the village, all of us dogging him, even Casper.
SEASONAL EVENT:Hallowed''s End
Every year upon this day, the Sun is eclipsed by the moons for a whole 24 hours, causing Aiag''s protection of civilization to disappear and monsters to go mad with hunger for souls.
This event will last 24 hours and rewards will be given upon performance Waves survived: 0 Deaths: 0 Souls Collected: 0 Candy Collected: 0 Kills: 0
Death is permanent within this event and logging out will result in temporary ban till end of event
The theme for this Hallowed''s End is Nature''s Wrath
Oh ok, this sounds¡­like a macabre Halloween game...which I don''t exactly want to take part in... Especially since it¡¯s waves and nature¡¯s wrath? Well we kind of deserved that. So this is quite literally survive for 24 hours¡­and I count barely 30 of us¡­we might be screwed.
Wave 1: Blazes Remaining Monsters: 82
Almost immediately, the entire small horde of white flamed zipping blazes turns round towards us, their usually fiery eyes now burning black. ¡°TIKARI¡± Both me and Dillydally shout while I step in front of the others, most of which look confused as to how to deal with them. Casting detect magic ¡°Tail, head, mid, head, tail¡± I call out from closest to the next one¡­since Marty seems to have rushed out and is now killing them at the speed of me saying where their weakpoints are. Wow he¡¯s trusting¡­and good with the twin pair of daggers too. ¡°T T H T M H T H M T H¡± Squirrel points at each blaze and Squad Animal each take one, killing it and then retreating. Within moments, the horde is quartered and Zzoid, perceptive is already telling the rest how this works. ¡°T M M H H M T M H M, Back off!¡± I call towards Marty as he nimbly jumps into a pack of blazes as they uncaringly race towards the village, stabbing each one in conjunction with what I¡¯m spouting. Damn he¡¯s good. Zzoid now gets the others to come charging up as the blazes get only a few metres from the gate, but without my help the results are very mixed; every two attacks or so, one is a hit so the amount of blazes that were destroyed was only one digit¡¯s worth, but everyone¡¯s now injured to the point of almost death. Dammit, really could use Anoobis or even Miss Nameless right now¡­ Luckily we¡¯re a biggish group so we can switch out and with my mana regenerated somewhat, I call out shard positions and the closest kill off the blazes. Within maybe another minute, all the blazes are dead.
Wave 1 complete! Personal Kills: 0 Total kills: 82 Total deaths: 1 MVP: Marty: 46
Someone died? And Marty, wow..I thought he''s just a mortician?! Sure enough the dead burnt corpse of one of the fish sisters lies in the ground, ruining the small train of thought as to who the hell Marty actually is apart from a normal mortician... Marty, carries her over to Casper, who places her ceremoniously in the screaming inside¡­getting a candy in return. Well that¡¯s just dark¡­ ¡°What happened?¡± I ask Zzoid as rubs his slightly burnt sword. Man those weapons really helped them not get hurt¡­well most of them. ¡°Her spear caught on fire and then she got overrun, stuck between us and them¡± Damn, only 5 minutes in and we¡¯ve already lost someone¡­ And I¡¯m not the only one who doesn¡¯t seem pleased by the idea. ¡°Hey guys, this candy is amazing!¡± Gristle grunts halfway through chewing a third one he pops into his mouth¡­wait how¡¯d he get his? Well they may taste good but that shouldn¡¯t warrant choking yourself with them Gristle¡­ ¡°Oh wow!¡± Others begin exclaiming as they eat their first (ah Caspers giving them in trade for shards) and then continually shove the rest of theirs in without pause. ¡­ .. . Apparently he won¡¯t take shards from other kills¡­damn ¡°Hey Marty may I have a candy for helping you?¡± ¡°You want just one?¡± ¡°Well I just want to try them, not much of a sweet tooth though¡± Sweets are meh I¡¯m more of a savoury guy. ¡°Sure¡± He chucks on disturbing looking miniature heart to me and I take a bite into it ¡­ .. . It is actually quite nice; kind of like a sugared strawberry covered in melted chocolate...even if I feel like a bit of a savage eating heart shaped candy...
Candy effect 1/100
Hmm? Candy effect, what is that? Checking my character sheet¡­nothing¡¯s changed¡­so what is this effect? Maybe I need 100 Candy to find out what it does? ¡°Right everyone, instead of just golloping it down, how about we all gather the candy and get one person to get to 100?¡± Some guiltily stop chewing, especially Marty. Wow some people really do like sweet stuff¡­ ¡°And I assume you¡¯ll be first?¡± Zzoid, dammit stop that. ¡°Well since the candy is from a Dullahan and is in return for souls¡­the effects could be horrible¡­so let¡¯s ask Marty what candy does¡± Marty stops chewing maybe his thirtieth heart (like seriously, how much can he fit in his mouth) and with puffed up cheeks tries to swallow ¡­ .. . ¡°Don¡¯t worry, take your time, not like we might all die...¡± *GULP* ¡°AHHH¡­phew, too many at once¡± No, I never would have guessed ¡°I have no idea what the effects of the candy are¡­ it could be good or bad¡± He simply shrugs and continues eating, so I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s pretty sure he¡¯ll be safe from the effects. ¡°Ok, so let¡¯s have those with the highest Health eat them first¡± Zzoid muses out loud, smart idea. Gristle, Ragreud and BC all stand forward and I don¡¯t doubt their health is anywhere near low. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Trading the remaining candies (just under 25 left) we decided to give them to BC for now¡­since she looks the toughest and meanest out of the lot (she is!). Scoffing them delightfully¡­well nothing else to do now apart from waiting for wave 2. ¡°Coming through¡± Ah I hear the wheels but not you Casper. Making way for him, he sweeps the ground with an airy brush, cleaning the battle area, dust heading towards the screaming inside of his carriage¡­Well ok then¡­
Wave 2: Living Ash Remaining Monsters: 841
Wait a second, that¡¯s like 10 times the monsters!! ¡°We only have to kill 29 each¡± Thanks for that Squirrel, really helping here. ¡°SQUAD ANIMAL NORTH GATE NOW! JOAT YOU TAKE SOUTH WITH MARTY AND THE REST¡± DillyDally barks his orders and Squad Animal quickly march over to north gate. Here¡¯s to hoping they don¡¯t all come at once. ¡°Right, so like blazes they have a shard inside them, work in groups of 3 and hit everywhere you can, I¡¯ll direct you Marty¡± Everyone nods and hunkers down, ready for wave 2 *boom* ¡°Er Marty, how bad is Hallowed¡¯s end usually?¡± ¡°Well honestly it¡¯s normally just a few goblins and maddened animals¡­this year looks like it¡¯s going to be quite different. Great, just great. From a short distance, I can see a small wave, quickly growing as it comes towards us¡­a wave of ash. This is not going to end well. ¡°YALALALAALALALLAAAAAAAA¡± *CRASH* ¡­ .. . Someone just jumped from the guard tower¡­into the wave of ash. Immediately the wave stops rolling towards us and encapsulates the blast area. ¡°QUICK SAVE THAT PERSON¡± Zzoid shouts at the rest of us. Oh yeah, if that¡¯s an Npc they¡¯re not allowed to die! That¡¯d be worse than all of us dying! All of us charge towards the wave, which just looks like a huge mound of ash right now¡­ ¡°MACES UP FRONT¡± Zzoid¡¯s taking charge, fine by me; I have no ideas how to use weapons. The 3 mace wielders (BC one of them¡­not surprised) and begin smashing into the wave, which doesn¡¯t seem to care. Using detect magic, the shards are all over the place¡­wow so this is actually hundreds of them put together?! And we don¡¯t seem to be doing much, apart from making a bit of a useless dent. ¡°Zzoid, we¡¯ve got to take out the shards closest to us, which should make a gap¡± I then begin pointing towards where they are and Zzoid directs the 4 spear wielders to go about that task. Apparently destroying a few shards annoys the huge pulsating wave of ash as some individual ones drop out from the wall and rush towards us. ¡°AXES AND SWORDS¡± Zzoid rushes to meet one, chopping clean through the rough arm, which regenerates within seconds. The other 4 begins their own fights against a living ash each. Ok so we¡¯re not too bad off yet. I direct the spearmen (well mostly women) to the shards while Marty helps out the rest, zipping through, daggers hitting multiple locations and more often than not finding the target. Within no more than a minute, I¡¯m out of mana but we¡¯ve broken maybe a dozen shards allowing our macemen to pile through a good chunk, but not enough by far. Who or whatever¡¯s in the middle is somehow still alive¡­ As the macemen pile through the supposedly weakened section, arms start blasting out from the sides, punching and slapping them. ¡°GET OUT OF THERE¡± I shout and rush in there to half drag them out before they¡¯re killed. Back to square one. ¡°Everyone, we¡¯ve got to open it all up in one go, in and out, everyone¡± Letting my mana regen to full, I start directing the spears once more. ¡°NOW¡± Macemen power into the wall of ash along with the axemen and swordsmen hacking away in a rough arrowhead shape. Marty remains behind agroing the ash and dodging attacks from half a dozen of them with ease. ¡°PUSH¡± Everyone pushes forwards, macemen smacking with axemen while the rest defend from the sudden hands of ash shooting out from the walls. I just punch whatever gets too close, to little effect in general I believe. The wall closes behind us, but we continue through and burst through the other side into a small open area where the ash doesn¡¯t seem to be going¡­why? *Shingshingshingshingshing* Oh wow. Half a second and more attacks than I could see¡­he¡¯s good. From the dozens of hands spurting towards the being clad in metal from head to toe, only a few actually reach him but even those seem to have little effect against his heavy armour and large shield which seems to be as easily wielded as the large sword in his other hand. ¡°What the hell are you bastards doing here?¡± A light voice speaks angrily¡­oh it¡¯s a she! OH it¡¯s Roirra! Ah¡­I remember that she hated me before¡­so now she probably hates me even more. ¡°To help¡± ¡°Ptah¡± She spits on an arm before slicing it off, bashing another with his shield ¡°All you ever do is destroy things around us, what help could you offer¡± -12 ¡°A way to kill this thing rather than just play with it¡± I try to ignore the ashen fist that just smacked me in the jaw quite hard, ow. Everyone around me is battling against arms and hands, blocking with their weapons, metal already looking rather blunt. ¡°You think this is my first elemental, Monster? I know how to deal with them, so you just get your ass out of here and start killing it off¡­I can last for a short while¡­and if you haven¡¯t killed it by then¡­I will come back from the dead to skin your sorry corpse¡± Scary woman indeed, especially as she¡¯s somehow dealing with a 10ft wall of ash with more than a few dozen arms attacking her at once¡­ ¡°LET¡¯S GO¡± I shout to the others, directing spearmen towards shards while the rest charge through the thankfully not quite fully strengthened ash, once more. Reaching the other side, we burst out to find Marty stabbing the last one to pieces and giving us a wink as he tosses a dagger, narrowly missing me and stopping the fist that was about to punch my lights out. Retreating a metre or two away from the wall, I check that everyone is alive¡­which they are not. DAMMIT We¡¯re missing a maceman. ¡°We lost BC¡± Zzoid growls towards the wall but doesn¡¯t go near to it for his low health ¡°Got grabbed on the way back¡±. I feel sorry for it¡­but at the same time¡­ ¡°RAAAAAAAAAH¡± Oh no The wall explodes in front of us and Holy mother of Aiag BC is alive¡­eyes mad with fury as she literally tears into the wall of ash without care. ¡°She¡¯s gone berzerk¡­¡± Zzoid, master of the obvious¡­ Right¡­time to move away from her¡­just in case. ¡°Everyone, circle round to the other side¡± I whisper to the rest, hoping the message is passed on as I begin to sneak away. BC looks like she¡¯ll kill everything in sight right now. Sneaking a small distance away we then begin sprinting till we reach the other side and then begin the slow extermination once more. But this time, the number of living ash coming at us doubles, no triples to the point where we simply ignore the wall and begin fighting these since there¡¯s so many. Dealing with two of them at the same time (badly), Marty comes in for the rescue killing them both but I get no respite as more burrowed ones race towards me, bursting where my feet were just seconds ago. Well at least they don¡¯t deal much damage. Dodging a fast swing from one, but getting a punch in the stomach from the other, I use detect magic to spot the shard in its head and bash that, destroying it in one go. Thank Aiag for brutality. ¡°NOOO¡± A womanly wail comes from my right; Charmine¡¯s going to die! -8 My momentary distraction gets an ashen fist to the stomach, bending me over double , uppercutting me right in the jaw. Flat on my back I roll away the dizziness, just dodging the next attack before the Blue deer-beastlady stabs her spear through it¡¯s head, doing little, but still re-agroing it momentarily. Kciking out towards the shard in the lower left leg, it shatters and I stumble back to my feet to deal with the next two that are incoming. ¡°EVERYONE TO ME¡± Zzoid¡¯s shouting and happily we all make our way to him, grouping up, battered but alive ¡°AXES TO THE SIDE, MACES AND SWORDS FRONT AND DEFENDING, SPEARS BEHIND¡± Immediately in a formation, I¡¯m just between the two rough lines telling them where the shards are and the killing starts to get better; spears are doing the killing while the rest just focus on blocking the attacks. Though when there¡¯s close to 20 of them attacking, more than a few attacks get through¡­ ¡°WALK BACK¡± We all start frantically walking back, trying to make distance between us and the small mass of Living Ash, which just keep coming¡­must¡¯ve killed two dozen of them by now. Thankfully Marty is taking quite a bit of the heat off of us, aggroing and then running around with a whole horde of them trailing behind. Killing off our third dozen, spears go to the front as meatshields while everyone who is under 20 hit points (literally everyone but me and 3 spears¡­) retreat back so they don¡¯t get hit and die. Marty is somehow not out of breath running around so much and slowly, we focus on his train, killing one at a time and making sure agro stays on him. Within 5 minutes, they¡¯re all dead and no more come to fight us. Phew. Actually, why is it so quiet¡­? Peering round, I spot that the wall of ash has decreased to the point where it looks like just a large unmoving mound. Did we kill it? Detecting magic and sure enough I don¡¯t see a single shard left!
Wave 2 complete! Personal Kills: 5 Total kills: 841 Total deaths: 2 MVP: Marty: 112
Marty is good! Suddenly bursting from the ash is a black-faced, punched up Hispanic looking woman with unkempt raven hair and a vicious look in her eyes. Spitting blood on the floor she stumbles towards us, using her chipped sword and slightly dented shield as a support. ¡°You took long enough¡± No jokey tone, just a look of pure anger...well we tried! Her mouth crunches and she spits out a tooth, looking at it worriedly. ¡°Hey, took you guys long enough¡± someone comes sauntering from the other side, wearing battered leather armour (finally remembered to give it to them) along with an entirely black squad of people shuffling like zombies towards us with partially toothy grins. ¡°Er Dillydally?¡± I¡¯m not sure because he¡¯s completely black and he has short black hair. ¡°Yup¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Bit of a rampage¡± He gives a mostly toothy grin, mirroring the rest of his squad¡­who are as black and partially unrecognizable as him. Just what did they do? ¡°You¡¯re missing 2¡± Zzoid perceives something I don¡¯t¡­oh yeah there are 2 missing¡­ ¡°We lost Ragreud and Migdrellik¡± He looks down; saddened I¡¯m guessing (can¡¯t really see his face) for a long moment while some look down at the floor in guilt? ¡°SQUAD, REST UP¡± They all collapse on the floor, a few even starting to snore within seconds. He himself lies down and starts sleeping lightly. Wow they¡¯re tired. ¡°Well we better find BoneCrusher¡­don¡¯t want her death added to the list too¡± Zzoid looks around at our own, less haggard group. ¡°The big orc?¡± Roirra gives a surly grin ¡°It¡¯s passed out in the pile¡± She thumbs the ash pile and Zzoid quickly has everyone go looking for her. Within a minute we¡¯ve found her, snoring away the same as those guys ¡­ .. . Don¡¯t tell me¡­no¡­that can¡¯t be¡­ ¡°Dillydally, did you all go berzerk?¡± I rush up to him; this seems like an awesome skill! ¡°Yes, and no I¡¯m not going to teach you how to get it¡­it will take far too long and we have neither the time nor the energy to teach you¡± Dammit¡­well at least I know I can get that skill. Adding it to the lengthening list!
Wave 3: Fire Elementals Remaining Monsters: 14
¡°Well talking about no time¡± Zzoid thank you for being so damnably obvious ... ¡­ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry about long delay, had to get through character building and also RL (people) but ooh I have many lovely plans for this next chapter, so be looking forward to it (Twill be 2-4 days) -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 36. Candy, Its Not For Everyone ¡°EVERYONE PASS WEAPONS TO KANDIEN, HIGH HEALTHERS BE BAIT, REST OF YOU GET THE HELL AWAY¡± Dillydally starts screaming orders. Man, I love how people are ordering things around nowadays¡­really makes my life a lot less stressful¡­well apart from the fact that there are 14 FIRE ELEMENTALS coming our way to obliterate us. Everyone frantically dashes around passing Kandien their weapons, who has a hard time carrying them all dropping one and more when trying to pick up the others. Quickly some others of Squad Animal pick up and carry the weapons for him. In the corner of my eye I spot a prancing Dullahan who is frantically picking up shards in handfuls, dropping a large trail on the way back to his caravan. Maniacally hopping to someone he pops a skin¡­yes a literal skin bag (vile) on someone¡¯s hands before going back to the field maddened. While he does this in the center of the field, Roirra stands open mouthed unmoving except for her eyes and finally head, which follow Casper with utter shock. Thank you! I was beginning to worry I was the only one who¡¯s mildly freaked out about the guy. ¡°Here¡¯s your Candy, thank you for killing all those things and providing me with souls, I hope we stay acquainted for a long time¡± What? Speak up please! Ah well whatever he said it must have something to do with the skin bag with candy in it. It¡¯s kind of like grabbing flab¡­hmm not sure I approve of this, or my stomach for that matter. Anyways, we should get this candy distributed. ¡°RIGHT, WE SHOULD HAVE CLOSE TO 700 CANDY SO EVERYONE WITH HIGH HEALTH COME UP TO ME¡± I shout at the buzzing crowd, causing many to stop mid run and turn towards me, continuing their run. BC, Gristle, the Hippo beastman that was in my raid group what seems like ages ago now, Zzoid, Allie and SirStripy all stand forward. Ok that¡¯s 600 candy so that¡¯s good. ¡°I think a magic user should get candy in case we get some special magical bonus¡± Squirrel speaks up from the floor. ¡°I¡¯ll do it¡± I raise my hand and I get the widest eyed look from a silver beaked beastman with naturally owl-spectacled eyes¡­oh guess he¡¯s an owl-beastman then, wow those are big eyes. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know magic?¡± ¡­ .. . I mean some people are quite special...he''s definitely one of these people it seems... ¡°Yes¡­ how did you think I knew where the cores were?¡± ¡°Those are cores?¡± ¡­ .. . Make way for this isn''t just your regular stupid, it''s advanced stupid... ¡°Yes. Anyways, I¡¯ll take the candy¡± Right not even going to bother with explaining. Everyone quickly trades their quickly growing number of Candy as Casper flits about dropping huge sacks of them in their hands. First up we get BC to 100 just to see what happens ¡­ .. . ¡°Bonecrusher, do you feel anything?¡± Charmine places a frail hand on her ally¡¯s overly muscular forearm. ¡°Non, je ne sais pas qui passent avec moi¡± ¡­ .. . Well¡­the candy had an effect? Just nothing¡­useful? ¡°Parce que vous mirent a moi comment je suis especialle?¡± Her voice is so smooth, it¡¯s weird. It¡¯s literally screwing my mind how this walking pack of muscle has such a sensual French accent right now¡­ ¡°Vous parlent francais mon ami¡± Charmine¡¯s apparently on the ball already and damn her accent is just as succulent. Princess Charmine indeed¡­ ¡°Oui?¡± ¡°Oui¡± ¡°Sacre bleu¡± Sacre bleu indeed, BC with that accent and voice is just mindboggling! ¡°Charmine, I think you should translate for us while this lasts¡­hopefully not for too long¡± Zzoid definitely said that¡­but where is he? Captain obvious is nowhere, what odd irony... ¡°Oho, what a fantasy¡± His voice is right next to Charmine making her jump along with everyone else as we all look at thin air. ¡°Think of all the things I could do and see¡± Brother, try not to be misunderstood there¡­or well understood? Never can be sure. ¡°Zzoid, you¡¯re invisible¡± I reckon he''s understood that by now, he''s perceptive enough. ¡°He¡¯s invisible?¡± The owl looks wide eyed as ever...choo choo advanced stupid train coming through. ¡°I know, this candy is awesome! Though it looks like it¡¯ll only last for another 22 hours¡± Ah so it¡¯ll last through Halloween¡­sorry Hallowed¡¯s End. ¡°So that means 22 hours of fun¡± I can almost feel him rubbing his hands in anticipation¡­well I mean he¡¯s invisible so there¡¯s no repercussions right? Well we do kind of know he¡¯s invisible so any poltergeisting will be obviously his fault so guess not. ¡°Right, who¡¯s next¡± ¡°I am¡± Two speak up ¡°Well was¡± The voices, identical make everyone¡¯s eyes swivel round to Gristle¡¯s ¡­ .. . Yes, plural. Apparently there¡¯s two of him, half the size but two of him...this candy is quite interesting¡­ ¡°So how do you deal with this?¡± ¡°Well no idea, but¡± Both his hands wave simultaneously in the same manner ¡°it feels like it¡¯s a mirror image or something¡± He starts doing a terrible dance, his second self right next to him doing exactly the same thing. How oddly disturbing, yet quite fun to watch¡­ ¡°Ok who else is up for random effects?¡± I ask and Allie chomps her from the floor. ¡­ .. . ¡°BLAAAAAARGH¡± She vomits everything out violently¡­woah, nasty. Looking away from the continuing scene¡­I do hope she¡¯s not sick for the next 22 hours¡­that might be pretty nasty. ¡°Everyone back away, Allie have a rest¡± Dillydally gets everyone away, is he scared it¡¯s contagious or something. Well it could be for all we know¡­ Hippo is up next. ¡°So in case you die, would it be good to get your name¡± JESUS, don''t breath that in my ear Zzoid! I swear he''s sniggering... ¡°Zzoid!¡± Everyone calls out, tactless man. ¡°Glorious¡± ¡°No no not your death, your name¡± I call out rather distracted by Zzoid so my mind is completely somewhere else. ¡°It¡¯s Glorious¡± Oh¡­he wasn¡¯t actually kidding. Wow what a¡­glorio¡­yeah that doesn¡¯t really work does it. ¡°Ok Glorious¡­let your death be so¡± Actually that name isn¡¯t as bad as I first thought¡­what great final words he could use! ¡°I¡¯d rather I didn¡¯t die, but if I do¡­I don¡¯t know cry for me?¡± ¡°Really need to stop the drama, fire elementals are coming this way¡± Thanks Zzoid, almost forgot about our imminent death there, almost. At least he didn''t make me jump this time, phew. Glorious swallows his candy in an endless string like a champion, impressive. *burp* ¡°FIRE¡± SirStripy stop drops and rolls on the floor quickly patting out the fire on his singed mane¡­fire breath¡­huh. ¡°aaaAHHHH¡± Glorious holds his mouth trying to not scream in pain as he collapses rolling too. Right, he did breath fire¡­so it did have to go through his gullet first, oops. ¡°Well that was utterly glorious¡± Dammit Zzoid why¡¯d you get there first! Everyone just shakes their head in the general direction, quite unamused. Well now there¡¯s 2 people on the floor; Allie still silently throwing up basically acid now and Glorious crying from a burnt throat. Been there done that, not going there again. "Now it¡¯s my turn I guess¡± SirStripy gets off the ground dusting himself before eating them with a formal rush. ¡­ .. . ¡°Nothing happened?¡± He raises his remaining eyebrow and everyone shrugs having no idea since nothing seemed to happen. Well nothing happening could be an effect I guess? Time for my go¡­and knowing my luck it won¡¯t be a nice one. *gulp* ¡°THEY¡¯RE COMING!¡± Someone shouts and we all turn. Meh they¡¯re still quite a distance away. And I can only see 6 of them¡­so 8 on the other side? Stuffing my candy in my mouth, I half choke them down, fueled by the slowly gliding elementals which are making their way towards us. ¡°Ah, ah ahchoo¡± *Sniff* That was pretty earth shattering ¡°why are you all down there?¡± I look down at everyone, even BC¡­huh? ¡°Well that was terrifying¡± Thanks Zzoid, but what¡¯s terrifyi¡­why are my hands so big and why is my bod¡­ ¡­ .. . ¡°Boss never knew you were such the hulk¡± Not sure whether that was sarcasm or... I¡¯ve been ruined! My perfect body is not this muscly and slightly deformed counterpart! I can even feel some disgusting tusks jutting out from my misarranged teeth. What¡¯s happened to me?
Congratulations! You have evolved into an Ogre and therefore have unlocked the Ogre Monster Race
¡­ .. . Excuse me what? I evolved? Wait a second I EVOLVED? ¡°Well good news is that I¡¯m an ogre¡± ¡°WHAA?¡± Pretty much everyone freaks out¡­though I hear Marty chuckling, why is he laughing at my misfortune!? ¡°But I¡¯m no longer beautiful¡± I¡¯m disgusting! I don¡¯t know what I actually look like but eugh I feel disgusting. Now looks are important, no matter what people say. ¡°I guess it¡¯s all ogre for you now¡± Zzoid¡­when I find you. ¡°Boss it¡¯s ok, you have layers¡± No idea what Squirrels going on about¡­but it sounds like something I swear I heard ages ages ago. ¡°Well I¡¯m not going to ogrestimate you, but it seems like you may be the strongest right now¡± Dillydally points towards BC. Fair point but please stop with the horrible puns, please! I¡¯d rather not get close to that¡­even if it is smaller than me now¡­but I am kind of interested to see whether I¡¯m stronger. Arm wrestling let¡¯s go ¡­ .. . Nope I¡¯m still a weakling, ugly and all now and I feel like I''ve broken my arm, ow... Well maybe there¡¯s a candy that¡¯ll turn me back? Unlikely¡­ Guess I¡¯ll just suicide after this event is over, god what a useful skill. ¡°Ok you little shits, if you¡¯ve done pissing about, can you go deal with the elementals now¡± Alright Roirra, retract your verbal fangs please. ¡°Kandien, it¡¯s all up to you¡± Dillydally gives him a pat on the back and he, along with the antlered twins go up, carrying all the weapons. ¡°So what about the other 8?¡± I ask Dillydally as I watch Kandien pick out a rough looking sword, testing its weight. ¡°What about them?¡± A deep Hispanic voice comes from behind, swiveling all of us around in shock. The voice belongs to the tall, muscled yet lean man with short black hair and a slightly hooked nose with mid-tanned skin. Quite Hispanic indeed. ¡°You killed them all?¡± Dillydally looks in shock along with quite a few others, well I mean I¡¯m shocked! ¡°Like washing this hair, simple¡± He cracks his neck and my eyes are drawn to a pale bow strung on his back. Ahhh he must¡¯ve shot them from afar, not bad, not bad at all. ¡°Well thank you for that, could you deal with th-¡± He puts up a finger in the middle of my talk¡­excuse me sir. He then walks past me and straight towards Roirra with an angry bounce in his step. ¡°Roirra, you get my beautiful ass back to the tower¡± He looks down at Roirra who meekly stands there¡­I¡¯ve heard of possessiveness but Jeesh. ¡°What, no, you know how boring it is too be cooped up there the whole time just working out to keep this body ¡®perfect¡¯?¡± She takes off her helmet, revealing short unkempt hair and a guilty looking face. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you screw up my body anymore than you already do. We¡¯ve had a compromise putting meat into there but-MY HAIR¡± Regnar pounces towards her, grasping the short unkempt hair lightly with a tear in his eyes ¡­ .. . Er what? ¡°It¡¯ll grow back out¡± Roirra just shrugs, though meekly ¡°5 YEARS, it took me 5 years to grow this out, get back into the house, before I have to drag you there myself¡± The look in his eyes is quite terrifying. I¡¯m going to leave the premises, right now. Stolen story; please report. ¡°Alright, sorry didn¡¯t think about it getting caught in the middle of combat¡± Roirra puts up her hands defensively at the furious Regnar who¡¯s scolding with his finger. ¡°But I found him¡± ¡°Really?¡± He whips around, eyes locking onto me AHH¡­oh wait they¡¯re not focusing on me, phew¡­that was too close. But who are they looking at instead? I have a strange feeling I know who. Turing round, sure enough there¡¯s a frozen Casper who¡¯s in the middle of harnessing his horse. ¡°ehe¡­ hi¡± He starts sprinting away. ¡°GET BACK HERE YOU UNDEAD SCUM BORN FROM THE ASHES OF LITTLE SHITS. GIVE US BACK OUR BODIES OR I''LL TEAR YOU A NEW ONE, OR EVEN THREE¡± Roirra shouts after him and Both of them charge after the Dullahan. Now I¡¯m pretty sure this should be the other way¡­ Also ¡®give us back our bodies¡¯? so it wasn¡¯t overpossessiveness, but then it means it was like body switch of something? I¡¯m very confused now as to what their names are now¡­ ¡°Ah that explains a lot of things¡± Marty muses. What are you talking about? He notices everyone¡¯s looking at him. *Sigh* ¡°Well might as well explain to you that Roirra is the fighter while Regnar is the archer¡­and it was really strange when they suddenly couldn¡¯t use their weapons properly last year in the middle of Hallowed¡¯s end¡± Right but this is the first time we have seen them fight¡­well one of them. ¡°It also explains why Regnar suddenly became the boss of them two¡­Should¡¯ve figured this out ages ago. Gah their eating habits completely changed, how did I do not figure it out sooner!?¡± He berates himself while we all onlook oddly... ¡°FIRE¡± Someone screams from a distance, oh it¡¯s just Yinroh on fire, he¡¯ll be fine, I hope. ¡°So Roirra¡¯s the man?¡± Zzoid speaking from the middle of nowhere, ¡°Indeed it seems so and seems like the effect was permanent too¡± Marty turns to his right, talking to thin air. Well he¡¯s got some good senses. Permanent effects? Well I GUESS I¡¯m not that surprised since mine is a permanent effect too¡­ Huh what an odd situation and Casper looks like he¡¯s going to get the worst end of this ¡­ .. . Or not¡­ ¡°GET BACK HERE YOU INBRED CHILD OF SEDAH¡± Roirra, well Ragner I guess, screams after Capser who is somehow really fast¡­like faster than Marty kind of fast (and he¡¯s damn well speedy). ¡°I¡¯m perfectly well bred, Ragner¡± Why do you keep mumbling, even in a situation like this? He sprints past us, to the cart, opening the screaming inside and wrenching out a skin bag, tossing it to Roirra, who looks rather unamused. Casper dodges them once more and heads towards the fields where Kandien and co. are collecting half burnt, half melted weapons from the ground. After a quick back and forth, Kandien receives a bag of candy too.
Wave 3 Complete! Personal Kills: 0 Total Deaths: 0 MVP: Roirra: 8
At least that¡¯s over for now and no deaths either! Also although Roirra''s in Regnar''s body she still counts as Roirra according to the system? Well my mind''s hurting. I mean it¡¯s good, but it looks like our spears and half the axes/maces/swords are unusable now¡­ But then again we were against fire elementals which for some reason have still not shown any sort of power that they should have¡­ Anyways, wave 4 incoming?
Wave 4: Treants Remaining Monsters: 432
¡­ .. . I need treant leaves¡­but I don¡¯t want to go up against those¡­all of them at the same time too... ¡°YOU TWO, SHTOP BUGGERING ABOUT YOUR DIShTUBRING MY BEAUTY SHLEEP¡± The slurred haggard voice of an old woman swivels my head around, and sure enough the old 80+ granny that I¡¯d seen drinking at Daren¡¯s stumbles out of what I¡¯m guessing is her house, almost tripping as she walks forward in a random motion. ¡°She¡¯s obviously missed quite a lot of beauty sleeps¡± Wow Zzoid, wow¡­never say that out loud, ever again. ¡°Who shaid that¡± She turns around, with surprisingly good hearing for an old lady, with a maddened look. *gulp* Everyone shrugs their shoulders¡­don¡¯t piss off the old granny, for all we know she could be as dangerous as everyone else here. Seriously, all the NPC¡¯s are so dangerous; I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this granny can kill us with her bare fists¡­ ¡°Darlene, it¡¯s been a while¡± All 4 of the Npc¡¯s bow towards her respectfully. Huh? Is she special or something? ¡°Damn right itsh been a while, and it should¡¯ve been longer¡± She looks sourly towards everyone, passing by (using everyone as rails) and plopping down in front of the gate, taking a swig from a bottle she got out of nowhere. Is she not going to help? ¡­ .. . Guess not then. Well I mean not everyone in this village has to be super dangerous right? ¡°RIGHT, SQUAD ANIMAL, TO THE OTHER SIDE¡± Dillydally gets his remaining people back to their feet, all looking surprisingly rested (well we did have a good little break). ¡°WOAH¡± SirStripy exclaims and we all follow because he¡¯s floating! And every step he takes he apparently goes up higher¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t think that I should be moving¡± He says musingly and sits in midair. ¡°But from here I can at least help direct you all?¡± Fair enough. Dillydally seems fine with that and marches the rest away ¡­ .. . Well apart from Allie who is still chugging acid out now since she has been sick for literally best part of 20 minutes without a break¡­let¡¯s hope that isn¡¯t permanent¡­nah that¡¯d just be evil. But then again permanent body switch¡­kind of evil too. ¡°Roirra and Regnar can you go with them? Marty will be enough for us¡± I ask and they just spit in my general direction, well guess being an ogre doesn¡¯t make them hate me any less¡­ ¡°Children, go with the other lot, I don¡¯t want to hear either of you¡± They both immediately bow and disappear off? Just who is this woman? ¡°She¡¯s our Oracle¡± Oh thanks Marty, really helpi-What the hell is an Oracle? ¡°Oy Child, don¡¯t speak my name sho lightly, get working¡± Darlene gestures rudely towards Marty, who apologises¡­huh? What¡¯s so special about an Oracle? Casper goes and sits down by her. ¡°You bugger off too, I¡¯m not leaving yet¡± ¡°I just wanted to say hi¡± Casper walks off sadly, what did he do? (Once again another odd reaction towards Casper¡­I¡¯m really worried about these villagers¡­) ¡°TREANTS INCOMING¡± SirStripy shouts from the sky causing all of us to turn towards quite literally a walking mass of trees. Some of them look burnt and ready to turn into ash at the slightest touch, while some do look slightly less burnt¡­Though I don¡¯t spot a perfectly healthy one anywhere. Hmm, I only need a few leaves¡­but if I get more then I can make some lovely yet super dangerous alchemist¡¯s fire for myself, oho. ¡°I think we should get some fire and burn the hell out of these things¡± Zzoid, smart yet not what I want. ¡°Well we don¡¯t have any fire on hand¡± Ignoring Glorious who¡¯s finally stood up ¡°So let¡¯s figure out a way to kill them¡± ¡°What about Glorious?¡± Zzoid pipes up, dammit, stop your perceptiveness. Look even Glorious doesn¡¯t want it. ¡°Well¡­ I guess¡± He definitely doesn¡¯t want to belch fire again¡­and I don¡¯t want him to because he¡¯ll burn away all those special leaves. But then again, no point if I¡¯m dead is there. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll have Zzoid, Glorious and Marty up front for damage¡± ¡°Marty m¡¯dear, could you get my shome more drink from Daren¡¯sh¡± Darlene, really not the time to take away our main fighting force. ¡°Sure thing¡± He simply shrugs towards us, really c¡¯mon. ¡°Ok, so Zzoid and Glorious, this all depends on you¡± The rest of us, try ganging up on trees, start with the more burnt since I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re weaker¡± Everyone nods and we ready up for the bustling group of trees that comes this way. It¡¯s a bit hard to see how many there are with all the branches and some leaves but I¡¯m guessing maybe 20 or so of them? At least not all the monsters are coming all at once like all the other waves, that¡¯s a relief¡­ a huge one too.
NAME:Treant [lvl???]
Health:???Attack:???
A shepherd of the forest
Well this is not going to end well, I can guarantee that. I have the more tanky of our group so; the owl-beastman (surprisingly enough), Glorious and BC take up the front while the rest of us take the rear. Zzoid is I don¡¯t know somewhere¡­oh he¡¯s over there. A treant suddenly collapses, its trunk punched through. Well that¡¯s a 1 hit kill, so they can¡¯t have that much health¡­good. Immediately the other treants stop, pondering what is happening. A few more of them suddenly die in quick succession before by pure luck, I guess, a branch smacks into something. Blood sprays in the air and I spot blood stained air sprinting back towards us. ¡°COVER HIM¡± I shout and immediately the lion, tiger and panther beastmen/lady burst forward covering Zzoid and receiving a small barrage of leaves!? The black panther-beastlady drops to the floor while the rest sprint back looking worse for wear; a gash across the white tiger-beastman''s side and a hole punctured into the lion-beastman''s right shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s dead!¡± The lion calls out as he looks fearfully towards the treants, who keep stomping towards us, two red eyes in their trunks, freaky¡­ Well¡­that is more like a high level monster¡­but I don¡¯t want to die so I¡¯d rather they be easier. ¡°Here you go¡± Marty reappears and is forcibly sat down by Darlene. We need your help! ¡°Zzoid get back out there, and only focus on the ones with leaves this time. EVERYONE ELSE DODGE LIKE MAD¡± as soon as I say that, more leaves start whistling our way like arrows. Diving to the floor and rolling like a sausage I hear them barely miss me, before getting a slice through my abdomen for almost ? of my health! OW! Luckily the barrages of leaves stop as suddenly as they begun due to 3 of the treants with leaves dying successively and the 4th one runs out of them¡­thank Aiag. Now there¡¯s only around 10 treants but they¡¯ve almost crossed the field to a bunch of heavily wounded people. ¡°GLORIOUS GO¡± I shout, watching him, with a little tear in his eye, belch fire towards the nearing treants, the breath surprisingly going a good distance. The nearest one lights on fire, quickly dying and lighting another while the rest agro onto Glorious. He lies down in pain while the rest of us jump towards the trees who are but metres away. All or nothing! Dodging under a half-assed swung branch, I punch the trunk of the burnt treant; creating a wide hole through it, effectively splitting it into 2. The other trees are similarly dispatched before they can do much. Huh, so actually this lot isn¡¯t so difficult¡­ ¡°Never seen treant¡¯s move before¡± Marty exclaims from a small distance. ¡°You¡¯re still wet behind the ears and not stupid enough to go deep into the woods at night¡± Darlene gives him her sour face. So moving is their night ability? Not that much of a bonus for moon steroids¡­ But then I guess their main ability would be to shoot those extremely deadly leaves like a burst rifle¡­really fast so getting into close combat is bad for them; especially since they don¡¯t seem to be that good close combat. I think we¡¯re actually lucky they don¡¯t many leaves or any at all in most cases. But we had to have a death to figure that out¡­ ¡°There¡¯s another group coming¡± SirStripy points out from a distance and sure enough another group of treants heading this way¡­quite a bit more too. ¡°Zzoid, same as before, everyone else, make them waste their leaves and please don¡¯t die for the love of Aiag¡± ¡°We¡¯ll try¡± The black lion-beastman retorts. Well I guess not everyone is happy that we¡¯re faced with this. Well guess what, I¡¯m not happy about this either.
ITEM:Leaf
A leaf from a tree, may be used for various purposes (Crafting ingredient)
Why isn¡¯t it a treant leaf?! Is it because it¡¯s it was thrown? Sadly before I can check out the other treants, the second lot are here. This is going to be a bad wave¡­ ¡­ ¡­ 37. A Hallowed Harrowing ¡°BLACKY DUCK¡± I scream towards the black lion-beastman, who ducks under a killing branch, before tearing through a trunk. In quick succession the other treants a torn into by the rest of the group, no casualties taken.
Wave 4 Complete! Personal Kills: 8 Total Deaths: 2.5 MVP: Zzoid: 68
¡­ .. . 2.5 deaths? What does that mean? How does someone have half a death? Well anyways, thank god that wave is over; it was horrible! Can¡¯t believe both the black panther-beastlady and the white tiger were killed in that. Those leaves were just insanely damaging and by the end most of the treants had leaves¡­ Actually I¡¯m pretty amazed we only had those 2 (and a half) casualties. Lying in the ashen field, I don¡¯t care about the crunching feeling on my back. It¡¯s been a long 2 hours of dodging around trying not to die. At least my dodge skill leveled up. ¡°That wash poor¡± Darlene comments from the sidelines... If it wasn¡¯t for her, Marty would¡¯ve been helping us¡­damn old lady. She may be an oracle or whatever, but having 2 people die on me is not worth her title. Zzoid I know, I want to use her as a meatshield too but she¡¯s an Oracle¡­might be useful to learn from her. Even if she did get 2 of us killed. Gnashing my teeth at Zzoid¡¯s message, he isn¡¯t wrong. If she¡¯s an Oracle that sounds like something magical¡­so letting her die would get rid of an entire Npc questline/skill tree/whatnot other benefits. Damn Npc¡¯s. Though I¡¯m not going to let her hog Marty anymore. ¡°Darlene¡± I walk over to her, nodding at Casper who drops the skin bag of candy in my hand mid stride. ¡°You, are going to let Marty fight with us¡± ¡°Sure¡± ¡­ .. . Eh? I thought you would¡¯ve refused or something?! I mean you hogged him the entire last wave¡­so why let him go now? ¡°My death isn¡¯t certain now¡± Marty explains(?) as he stands up. Wait, so I think I need to know what an Oracle is to understand what¡¯s going on. ¡°Uhuh¡­¡± I quickly follow Marty as he saunters towards Casper¡¯s Carriage. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s an Oracle?¡± ¡°Oh right, you msut seem angry because your friends died¡± No, I never would be angry thatpeople died because of some old woman. And they just happen to be people I¡¯m working with too. I just respond with a look. ¡°An Oracle is someone who has premonitions of sorts. In her particular case, her visions are specifically death of people in her vicinity¡± ¡°So you were going to die against the treants?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°According to Darlene¡± Just sort of skeptical here... ¡°Look¡± He tries to place a hand on my shoulder, but it¡¯s out of reach ¡°Last time we didn¡¯t believe in her, half the village was wiped out¡± Well that was blunt and my Aiag, really? Half the village!? ¡°So she knew you were going to die and took you off the field, but what about the ones that did die?¡± ¡°She only sees the deaths of those in the village, you¡¯re orphans, she couldn¡¯t see your deaths¡± Huh¡­so maybe it¡¯s a death could happen anytime sort of thing or the fact that it¡¯s because we don¡¯t actually die she can¡¯t have a vision of our deaths¡­huh, quite interesting indeed. ¡°We¡¯re alive!¡± Someone I believe tries to shout but their voice is pretty hoarse. Oh it¡¯s Dillydally. Everyone on his side seems pretty worn out, even Roirra and Regnar. But I do notice there is only one Gristle¡­ OH! That¡¯s the .5 death!? Wow who would¡¯ve guessed. ¡°2 deaths on your side though¡­¡± Dillydally gives me a pitied look. ¡°There will be more to come that¡¯s for sure, lets just try to make sure those casualities are minimum¡± Everyone nods at that. ¡°So which Npc is coming to join us now?¡± Zzoid JESUS! Stop talking into my ear like that! Seems like he¡¯s not the only one who¡¯s spotted the trend of 1 Npc joining us every wave¡­ Well we¡¯ve got Daren, Jarken, Jenna, Nathan and a few more we haven¡¯t met ¡­ .. . This is going to be quite a lot of waves¡­ Anyways, enough thinking about the far future, we should get ready for what¡¯s coming now. ¡°Ok so how much candy did everyone get?¡± Everyone shouts out and Squirrel counts up. ¡°372¡± Hmm added with our candy from last time we can get a 4th person to 100 too¡­ ¡°Ok, so we need to pick 4 people, I suggest Tikari, Kandien, Jerriah and Kookle?¡± I just randomly name 3 of the more muscly looking Squad Animal. No one seems against i- ¡°Excuse me, but why them, why not BoneCrusher or you, or even Zzoid?¡± The blue deer-beastlady cocks her head in confusion. ¡°You see deer, we can¡¯t afford for Zzoid to have a bad affecting candy and stacking effects may be bad in itself¡± She sort of understands and Zzoid gives me a light chuckle, noticing what I did. Alright, candy time¡­and let¡¯s hope none of them end up like Allie¡­who thankfully seems to have stopped. But she¡¯s now unconscious on the ground; probably from violently retching for 2 hours and a bit straight. First up is Jerriah apparently; he seems pretty excited(?) to eat the candy. I mean you do get a random/maybe cool effect so I guess it¡¯s exciting. ¡­ .. . Nothing happened? Oh its one of these. ¡°Jerriah, do you feel fine?¡± Squirrel asks. ¡­ .. . ¡°Yes, I feel perfectly fine¡± Took some time to think about it didn¡¯t you? ¡°Try walking¡± SirStripy calls from above. Oh almost forgot about him. Poor poor soul all alone up there. ¡­ .. . He begins walking normally. Huh, maybe we¡¯ll find out what it is later. ¡°Hey, everyone, run to the back of Jerriah¡± Zzoid calls out from somewhere. Ooh seems like he¡¯s figured something out? Eagerly, everyone sprint behind Jerriah, and then look at him, as he stands there looking into empty space. Suddenly he swivels around. ¡°Ah how¡¯d you get there so fast?¡± What? Wait, what? ¡°Punch him¡± Zzoid whispers to me in my ears. STOP that please¡­.it¡¯s really putting me on edge aaagh. But I do comply as I have an inkling what¡¯s happening. Punching Jerriah in the face ¡­ .. . ¡°Ow¡± His reaction is comically delayed, to the point of I hit him 5 seconds ago and he just reacted to it ¡°What was that for?¡± ¡°You my friend, have lag¡± I retort. Wow, playing VR with lag, that¡¯s pretty weird. ¡°Lag? Like the 999 ping sort of thing?¡± He responds after a bit, definitely lag. ¡°Probably not that high, but you¡¯ve got lag¡­and that¡¯s probably your candy effect oddly enough¡± ¡°What?¡± Mostly everyone looks shocked, a few confused as to what lag is (poor non-gamers) and Jerriah finally echoes after a short delay. Lag as a candy effect, never would¡¯ve thought of that as a possibility. He¡¯s going to have a hard time this next wave¡­ ¡°Right so we must move on, Jerriah good luck¡± I quickly get Kandien to finish his off (he was muching them away all this time¡­probably wanted to enjoy them). ¡­ .. . Once again nothing happening¡­ Walking¡­nothing. Speaking¡­normal. Punching him in the face¡­bleeds and reacts normally¡­ ¡°That actually hurt quite a bit¡± He complains as he licks the blood dripping onto his lips. ¡°Mmm, damn that tastes good¡± ¡­ .. . Not worrying at all Kandien¡­not worrying at all¡­ He sees us looking at him worriedly. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t understand it doesn¡¯t tast like blood¡­ look taste it¡± He wipes some off and hands it to me¡­erm I¡¯d rather not. But then again for purposes of curiousity let¡¯s try it. ¡­ .. . It¡¯s like fruity red wine¡­oh my. So his blood tastes like red wine, that¡¯s¡­odd? ¡°It tastes like wine¡± I tell the others, to which they all look at me funny, hey I am being serious here. Suddenly Kandien shouts as a bite imprint appears on his arm. Zzoid! ¡°Mmm, you are quite the scrumptious thing¡± Please, that is scarring to hear in so many ways. ¡°You bit me!¡± ¡°I wanted to see whether you tasted like bread¡± Excuse me what? ¡°And mmm that¡¯s some pretty nice bread tasting skin you have there¡± ¡­ .. . Right¡­this isn¡¯t weird/cannibalistic at all¡­ Kandien oddend like the rest of us, takes a small bite of himself, half-crying in the process (I mean you are biting yourself). ¡°He¡¯s right¡­I taste like bread¡± So he¡¯s become a meal? Wait I swear I¡¯ve hear about this kind of thing before; the flesh is bread and the blood wine¡­gah where did I hear about that? Well wherever I heard it doesn¡¯t really matter right now¡­he¡¯s now edible(?), well more so than before¡­quite disturbing and yet delicious. Anyways¡­lets move on¡­because although my satiety is low I¡¯m not going to start eati- ¡°Woah my satiety increased by 20 with just that bite¡± ¡­ .. . Zzoid, disgusting¡­but informative¡­ Still not going to eat him though (cannibalism is a no for me). I¡¯ll live with my 1/3 satiety for now, and my decency as a human being(well ogre being). So moving on to Kookle¡­he immediately jumps onto Kandien biting and tearing into him with a gnawing madness, woah. Dragging him off Kandien oh my not a nice sight. Knocking the frothing at the mouth, crazy eyed rooster¡­we head over to Casper, letting Dillydally get some tendons to die him up with¡­why is everything slightly spoopy and disturbing right now¡­ Quickly forgetting about the turned raving mad Kookle, onto Squirrel, who¡¯s just lightly chomping on her last one. Once again I don¡¯t see any effect on her, but damn I never noticed how cute she looked with those small whiskers and squirrely cute face. And her loose curly aurburn hair compliments her nutty brown eyes perfectly. God I could stare deep into those gorgeous eyes, counting the tiny green specks within for hours. ¡°Boss¡± Hmm never noticed how nice her voice is; it¡¯s just so cute and light pitched and her lips are small yet compact, smooth, soft¡­ ¡°Boss¡±. ¡°Yes Tikari, what is it?¡± It just feels wrong to not use her name, such a lovely name. ¡°Ehe nothing¡± *Badump* Please don¡¯t utter such an innocent laugh, it might stop this heart of mine. ¡°Hey buddy¡± AAAAGHERGHEHGH ZZOID!! ¡°DAMMIT ZZOID, MY HEART ALMOST GAVE OUT THERE!¡± I round on the invisible air, hoping to Aiag he¡¯s behind me. ¡°Sure looked like it. But I don¡¯t think it was me who was going to do that¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Seriously, what are you talking about Zzoid? ¡°Boss¡± Oh that voice it sends shivers down my spine, in a good way, not like Zzoids voice does. ¡°You¡¯re in love with me?¡± I hold her gently by the side of her shoulders, looking deep within her. ¡°Love is too weak a word for what I feel for you¡± ¡°Oh Boss¡± She holds her tiny hands up to her mouth and giggles, blushing slightly while she bats her small eyelashes. I lose myself in those nutty brown eyes of hers. ¡°Hey Casanova, before you do start reciting poetry, you may want to hear something¡± Zzoid, I almost didn¡¯t hear you, almost. But your breath is right in my ear so it¡¯s distracting me from this visage of cute Aphrodite in front of me. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The candy effect is making you fall in love with her¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°How dare you say my love, nay, my utter being¡¯s desire to spend an eternity gazing into her eyes is the effect of a candy¡­even if it is true. Even if it is just the effect of that damnable candy, I cannot deny this feeling, this tugging of my soul, begging to intertwine with hers¡± ¡°So you understand it¡¯s the candy¡¯s effect¡­mostly?¡± Sneaky bugger. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what I know is the truth, my heart is the only truth I can listen to right now, the only truth that is right now. And my heart tells me that it will only keep beating in the presence of Aphrodite¡¯s twin¡± ¡°Wow, Tikari you really did a number on him¡± Dillydally comments from the side. ¡°I am amazed none of you can see this¡­this divine cuteness of hers, the way she speaks, her laughs¡­¡± Oh just thinking about them is like breathing the freshest air. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Boss¡­please take care of me¡± She giggles with immense cuteness, looking downwards, face blushing ever so lightly. I hold her head with a meaty hand, raising her chin to look up straight into my eyes. ¡°I shall¡± ¡­ .. . *CRACK* I feel like someone broke a rib of mine. Yep, they did and I¡¯m on the floor and it hurts quite a bit. What was that? ¡°Tikari you alright?¡± That¡¯s Dillydally¡¯s voice? ¡°¡­Yes, yes, just didn¡¯t expect that" I shouldn¡¯t have done that. I should not have done that¡­But her lips were just ahh so indescribable and it felt like the right moment and ahh why did I just do that!? Why is my mind able to work now, actually telling me off for following my heart?!? I UNDERSTAND THIS IS JUST CANDY, BUT I CAN¡¯T STOP THIS FEELING IN MY HEART! Standing up, I try me best not to look at Tikari, or I might lose myself in her eyes again. ¡°Well that was¡­interesting¡± Thanks for the input Zzoid, really not helping my mind and heart¡¯s battle¡­ ¡°please¡­distance¡± I manage to say, closing my eyes and thinking of art¡­like the way her hair curls perfectly over her shoulder¡­Aaagh stop thinking, please stop thinking¡­ Oddly enough, my heart is subsiding¡­ Opening one eye, I spot Tikari standing far far away, standing red-faced and trying not to look at me¡­ She is still extremely cute, but it¡¯s not the heart thumping, time stopping love that I was feeling moments earlier¡­it¡¯s more like I usually look at her, albeit her facial features are that much more expressed in my vision. Hmm¡­so the candy effect is weaker when she¡¯s further away¡­wait why did I get targeted anyway!? I can¡¯t believe I did that¡­well I can because she¡¯s really cute when she looks at me with her big nutty eyes, BUT STILL really out of line... Really wish I had something to distract all of us from the slight awkwardness that I put us into¡­
Wave 5: Critters Remaining Monsters: 6321
¡­ .. . Well I did ask for a distraction¡­ ¡°SQUAD ANIMAL TO THE NORTH GATE¡± ¡°REST OF US REMAIN HERE¡± ¡°Roirra, Regnar and Marty, please head with the Elfling¡± Darlene hackles as the Npc¡¯s look at both gates. Well no Npc¡¯s for us then? Or do we get a new one? ¡°Well seems like there¡¯s a party going on and I wasn¡¯t invited¡± A burly voice comes from the Tavern and sure enough Daren struts outside holding a massive sword. Damn why is everyone so dangerous all of a sudden (though kind of grateful he''s here!)? When I say massive, I mean easily longer than 6 feet, almost as tall as Daren (He is actually pretty tall, never really noticed it, probably because he¡¯s always hunched behind the bar). ¡°You¡¯re invited to come face death with us Daren¡± I call out to him, and he gives me an average look (rather positive seeing as though the majority of the Npc¡¯s here don¡¯t like me). ¡°What are we dying to then?¡± ¡°Critters, so squirrels and bunnies most likely¡± ¡°Critters you say?¡± He raises an eyebrow. ¡°RATS¡± Zzoid shouts in realisation as Daren simultaneously swivels back round towards his tavern, watching the doors burst open with a stream of two-legged rats, black bristly fur and dark red eyes. Also they¡¯re the size of a small person, which is kind of equivalent¡¯s to a goblins size in my now tall body and eyes. ¡°MY INN¡± He shouts and rushes towards the rats, sword already ripped from it¡¯s back strap and gliding down, cutting through 3 of the monsters like butter. ¡°INCOMING FROM OUTSIDE¡± SirStripy shouts causing everyone to turn the the outside, spotting a large mass of Rabbits and Squirrels, all large, black and mean looking. Oh no¡­this isn¡¯t going to end well. ¡°ZZOID, GLORIOUS WITH ME, REST OF YOU DEFEND WITH YOUR LIVES¡± Thankfully my brain is working full again, albeit some small worrying consciousness for Tikari. The three (hopefully) of us rush towards the growing mass of moon steroided rats, already surrounding Daren, who expertly cuts more and more down, swinging his huge, plain looking sword around and around and around. Punching a rat, my arm goes through it¡¯s soft skin, killing it and I immediately plow through to the next. Thank Aaig these don¡¯t seem to have more than 50 hp¡­so they¡¯ll be an easy clean up. Pushing the oncoming tide back to the door within moments, easily slaughtering a dozen of them and only receiving a quarter of my health worth of damage (only 2 damage a hit thankfully), I scream at Daren to get onto the field with Zzoid, while Glorious and I hold the doorway. He reluctantly leaves, only probably because he notices A rabbit heading for Darlene. Luckily the rats only want to come out through the doors, not trying to break the wooden walls¡­yet. Soon the corpses pile up, blocking us from view of the constant swarming mass of seething rats, but only for a moment. They begin tearing through their dead brethren, faces appearing within the mass of corpses. In half shock I punch one, killing it and then punch another, kicking a third as its face pops out. It¡¯s a game of whack a mole but with scary rats and heart failures every few seconds from jump scares¡­ ¡°Glorious go help the others¡± I speak brokenly towards him, mind full focusing on the rats that slowly swarm towards me, popping out here and there and over there too. He rushes off and now it¡¯s just me, literally just wailing as I flail my fists in every direction, beginning to prioritise those that have a decent amount of their arms through the wall, some even scratching me. Left, right, kick, kick, kickickickickickick punchpunchpunchpunch headbutt! More just keep coming, even though the wall of corpses has been rebuilt over and over again by newcomers, the rats still keep coming completely and utterly uncaring of what¡¯s going on. But suddenly¡­it stops. No more come¡­not a single one. I¡¯m literally standing on corpses, facing a literal wall of corpses, reaching the ceiling which thankfully I can reach (since I am tall enough, halleluliah to being a 7 foot ogre). The smashing of glass catches my attention and I rush outside, spotting a rat skittering towards the village square from the alleyway. Before I can get to it, someone else does; the blue deer-beastlady rams it with her head, knocking it to the ground where she stomps it, punching the next one that comes. Smashing from the other side of the house and sure enough their jumping out that sides¡¯ window too. Vaulting over the railing, I land in the alleyway between the Tavern and Jenna¡¯s, already faced by a growing horde of rats¡­and a less than happy health bar. Grabbing the first one, it¡¯s quite small compared to me, so I use it as a bat against its will. With a makeshift(?) weapon I bat away the oncoming rats, squishing them on either wall, the one I¡¯m swinging long dead. Though many still get through, scratching me before I kick them down, or ram them into the wall with my body, crushing them¡­ Many minutes pass and I reach the window, face peering inside, to see another rat jump out. Punching it back inside, it bowls into a dozen others, which stand up and rush towards me. I simply keep punching inside the window, hitting it doesn¡¯t matter where but hitting nonetheless. Soon a small wall of rats forms in front of the window; a few even dangling half out, almost making it out. They aren¡¯t too bright that¡¯s for sure and their damage is only enough collectively to bring me to the red zone at this very moment. But this very moment, I don¡¯t have any rats to worry about. Satisfied the window is sufficiently blocked by rats, I haggardly sprint to the other side, spotting the deer-beastlady covered in blood and rather hating her life right now. She must¡¯ve not enjoyed doing this quest back at the start. Screaming her head off in disgust she flails her fists in the direction of the rats, killing them yes, but nowhere near as effectively as me (probably because picking them up isn¡¯t really viable for her). Jumping in behind her, she almost kills me and I grab a rat about to swipe at her, chucking it at the small crowd that pushes our way. Thank Aiag the alleyway is only 2-3 people wide. She notices me(phew) and stops flailing around completely wildly¡­but still some pretty mad flailing. Staying behind her (I¡¯m assuming she¡¯s got higher health), I keep picking up rats, tossing them into the crowds, dealing a bit of damage to them, but mostly just knocking them down, allowing her to stomp away at them with ¡®eeek¡¯s. Finally, we reach the window and I take over (since I can see into the window easily and she can¡¯t). Same as before, just punching inside, killing rat after rat until the window is blocked by their corpses. ¡°JOAT THE FRONT¡± She screams at me and I swivel round, to see her get overrun by half a dozen of them. Oh no if I let her die that¡¯d be bad on me! Sprinting over to her, I start grabbing and flinging them away just a little bit (not enough to kill them honestly, but enough to get them away and that¡¯s what matters. Phew she¡¯s alive! Grabbing one, I pile into a group of them, knocking them to the floor before I start whirlwinding the one I¡¯ve grabbed around. Immediately there¡¯s a small empty circle around me where everything has been blasted away either by the blow or the loose hanging claws of the dead rat I¡¯m whirlwinding around. I don¡¯t know how long I kept spinning, but when I stopped, I retched my insides from dizziness¡­onto the corpse of a blue deer-beastlady ¡­ .. . OH NO I PK¡¯D HER!?! WHAT DID I DO? I didn¡¯t even notice! Everything was just a blur when I was spinning and I must¡¯ve gotten too close to her! This is bad, real bad. I just Pk¡¯d her and this death is permanent! Though I really don¡¯t have time for that as I¡¯m on 8 hp and there¡¯s still maybe a dozen rats trying to make their way past the crowds of corpses on the stairs and rails of Daren¡¯s tavern. Slaughtering them, only taking 5 points of damage (EEK I¡¯M WAYYY TOO CLOSE TO DEATH FOR MY OWN GOOD), I back away, still dizzy, from the slaughterhouse and towards the well, leaning on the stone knackered. My satiety is getting pretty low again so I take time to draw water from the well, drink it and watch my hp slowly increase to double digits. Back at 10 hp, I stand up and pant my way to the outside, where the ending of a battle is ensuing; Thousands¡­literally thousands of dead animals lie in a ragged mess on the edge of the field, a fair number slashed apart but most of them looking like they¡¯ve been beaten to death. And I do notice a wide ring of charred corpses over yonder. Standing, still dodging razor sharp claws are the others and I quickly rush towards them, just sidestepping the pointed buck teeth of the squirrels as they head towards my knee. Everything is oddly not as big and menacing as usual¡­because I¡¯m looking down at them probably. Kicking the squirrel away, the owl-beastman finishes it off, mace splatting brains everywhere. What is with the graphics of this game!? I got to find a setting where there¡¯s not guts flying everywhere, eugh! -8 AAAH Roundhouse kicking the rabbit in the throat (lucky hit) it chokes and spurts blood over me before dying. Seriously these graphics, pretty scarring (though I did enable graphical realism in the beginning settings¡­so I am the only one to blame for this¡­). Thankfully nothing else attacks my 2 hp self and I swerve around spotting Daren cleaving a squirrel in two from head to feet, growling in the process.
Wave 5 Completed! Personal Kills: 632 Total deaths:3.5 MVP: Marty: 822
WE DID IT. AND 3.5 DEATHS!? WE¡¯RE GOING TO BE WIPED OUT AT THIS RATE! Everyone trudges to the well, lying down while someone slowly drags some water up. ¡°So who¡¯s dead?¡± I ask, as I pull up the water, since I believe I had one of the easiest times, comparatively. ¡°Gristle and Allie¡± so 1.5 deaths there¡­damn, Gristle was a pretty tanky guy too. Allie? But she was just unconscio-oh¡­did she get caught by the rats mid battle? Oh no that¡¯s another death that¡¯s my fault. This is terrible! At least Kookle is alive, yet raving mad and tied to Casper''s Carriage... Also where¡¯s Tikari!? ¡°She¡¯s at a distance to let you think¡± Good thinking Dillydally, I guess. Phew, was scared for a moment. ANYWAYS, damnable heart¡­ ¡°Blue deer is dead¡­¡± I gulp as I look at the floor, feeling an invisible pat trying to reach my shoulder. ¡°Glorious died too¡­though he burnt a few dozen with his breath on the way out¡± Charmine grimaces. Seems like she¡¯s been having a hard time, probably from the huge gore factor. Though seeing as though no one¡¯s having a traumatic breakdown I''m impressed with everyone (barring the fact that I''ve personally seem mostly everyone here be sick after the combat ended)¡­ and the proud look on Dillydally¡¯s eyes tells me he¡¯s thinking the same thing too. Gulping down my share of water, I look abruptly towards the horizon, where surely more things that want to kill us will be coming soon... ¡°Count your candy everyone¡­we¡¯ve got some more hell to get through before this is over¡­¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Author''s Corner: Oh la la, why is everyone dying!? Anyways hope you enjoyed this. Im planning to get this arc done in the next few days because i''m losing internet for two weeks in a few days.... Soo it''s a race against time! -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 38. A Harrowing End ¡°3982 Boss¡± Tikari calls out from afar with that lovely voice of hers. ¡°Right, so that¡¯s 39 people worth¡­anyone want to stack like crazy?¡± There are 15 of us left plus the Npc¡¯s¡­not a good number. ¡°I suggest, either we split them up or do what Daren and Co. are doing and giving them all to Marty¡± Zzoid speaks out from somewhere. What? Marty¡¯s getting all the candy? Sure enough we see the Npc¡¯s all giving him the candy. He stops munching on them and gives us a semi-guilty look. ¡°I arr ror or rurh¡± He swallows as we all look at him confused. ¡°I have lots of luck¡± Oh so candy effects is based on luck (well obviously I guess)! But we don¡¯t have anyone with the Lucky skill though so it¡¯s a 50/50 on a good/bad effect¡­ Hmm, so giving them all to Marty would be a wise choice. Also that¡¯s a very good question¡­just how many stacks of effects does he have right now? ¡°Sadly one can only have 10 candy effects at once so really I just eat candy to swap out the lesser effects and because they¡¯re delicious¡± He does add on as everyone''s musing what to do. Oh so the effects are swapped out after max? But is that random too? ¡°Hmm, so there¡¯s not much point giving you candy then, so we should divide it equally among us¡± Dillydally states and everyone is inclined to nod. Right, so that means 8 of us still haven¡¯t had candy yet and then dividing the other 31 everyone will have 3 effects (But if we remove SirStripy and Kookle then that¡¯s only¡­26(?) candy used? So 5 candy for those who¡¯ve got good effects). I don¡¯t know but let¡¯s do this¡­before the next wave starts. ¡°I say we divide it 200 per person, 300 if you don¡¯t have an effect. That should leave us with 500 odd candy to dish out based on needs¡± Tikari¡¯s quicker than me on the maths and is already ordering the numbers around. I get my 200 and start munching them down rather distastefully (not much of a sweet tooth).
Wave 6: Beasts Remaining Monsters: 21282 Remaining Minibosses: 14
¡­ .. . Well we are totally screwed¡­I mean why are they doing this all in one wave!? Forcefully shoving all the candy down my throat I forget to breathe till I¡¯ve swallowed all of them. ¡°S-*cough*QUAD ANIMAL, NORTH GATE¡± ¡°EVERYONE ELSE SOUTH¡± I scream out. ¡°Honey you¡¯re with my on the east side¡± Roirra tells her partner and they bound off to the east¡± ¡°Guess I¡¯m soloing west¡± Marty shrugs and darts over the fence, lighting fast speed and dropping out of sight. ¡°Point to me where they are and I will kill them all for ruining my tavern¡± Daren looks pretty bloodthirsty right now¡­ *Bang* ¡°OY WHAT IS WITH THIS GOD DAMNED COMMOTION!¡± Oh it¡¯s Jenna, carrying a massive sack and something else on her back! ¡°Oh it¡¯s You¡± She looks downwards at me. Oh you are a marvelous sight as always Jenna. But she¡¯s negative intimacy with me again isn''t she? Well that sucks. ¡°Jenna¡­my shop¡± Daren looks on the verge of angry tears. ¡°I see¡± She takes out a large crossbow from her back with a canister on top of it; odd but cool! ¡°Point me in their direction¡± As hotblooded as Daren it seems. ¡°Hello¡­I¡­heard there¡¯s a commotion¡± Nathan! He shuffles out his store and sits down next to Darlene, here to watch then? Ok, fine! Not that I want to ask you for help because you give me mandatory quests screwing up my entire quest life¡­ ¡°AWOO¡± Oh no they¡¯re here. Swiveling back round to the outside, sure enough there¡¯s a large wave of oh yay, wolves! And they¡¯re sterioided with Moon! INCOMING GIANT FREAKING BLACK WOLVES! (Though this time I actually have stats to fight it). You know, a machine gun would be awesome to have right now. *Bzzzzzh tufftufftufftufftufftufftufftufftufftufftufftuff* ¡­ .. . I know I wished for one but what the hell was-JENNA? Sure enough she takes off the strange cylinder, replacing it from one in her sack. ¡°Damn Jenna where¡¯d you get that from¡± Daren looks shockingly impressed. Wait shouldn¡¯t¡¯ you have an idea where she got a machine gun crossbow from? ¡°Yidoo¡± She gives a menacing grin as she clanks the string back into place and aims at the closing in horde of wolves. *Bzzzzzh tufftufftufftufftufftufftufftufftufftufftufftuff* I count at least 20 dead bristling with bolts¡­damn that¡¯s freaking powerful! ¡°EVERYONE CHAAARGE¡± I scream out as Jenna begins reloading once more. I sprint forward and immediately I¡¯m in front of a wolf, WHAT? It¡¯s as shocked as I am so it doesn¡¯t dodge my full body blow, stunning it and thus I quickly finish it off. Ok, so am I super fast? Locking onto the next wolf, metres away, I pop in front of it in what feels like one step, kicking it¡¯s jaw loose. Ok so I am super speedy. Zipping round the field, I dodge Daren¡¯s huge sword decapitating multiple wolves with a single swing, keeping the horde at bay. But after less than a minute my sudden speed boost disappears, landing me into the claws of a wolf for almost 40 damage! Ouch! Though that wolf dies moments later, by seemingly no one¡­thank you Zzoid, but please stop laughing¡­ And as soon as we started, we¡¯re finished¡­all the wolves are dead. Well we must¡¯ve fought something close to 100 of them¡­so the first wave (ironic I know) of beasts. ¡°What¡¯s everyone¡¯s abilities?¡± I call out to the rest, hoping to see what we can use. ¡°Invisibility, Projection and uncontrAHHAHAH¡± He starts into a fit of laughter from far away. Wow he got some pretty useful things. "Tous les Loups on peur de moi, mais je ne peu pas les tuer" Ook? ¡°She can¡¯t kill wolves but they¡¯re scared of her so that¡¯s something¡± Charmine quickly translates. Well what a strangely useless combination. More wolves start baying their way over here, a larger number this time round. *tuff* Jenna¡¯s machinegun crossbow starts firing once more, tearing into the mass of wolves, literally a one woman army¡­ Right back into the fray! My super speed is back and it almost feels like I¡¯m teleporting around as I bounce from wolf to wolf, killing them before they can even realize my presence. However when my speed finally subsides, after 5 jumps apparently¡­I duck under the next wolf¡¯s claws kicking it in the jaw, but getting slashed in the back. Oh no, there¡¯s a lot of them here. Bitch slapping the wolf, its jaw breaks and I dive under the next attack, rolling up to a punch in the throat. ¡°HELP¡± Someone screams from closeby. Oh no can¡¯t have someone dying already! But I¡¯ve got 3 wolves to worry about. Dammit! Dodging under two sets of claws, but getting the third through my side, I¡¯m going to die soon! Break a leg, break anothers¡¯ ribs. Sidestep the third¡¯s attack and kick it in the back breaking its spine. No time to finish off the ones on the floor as more come. Super speed infront of one, fist going through it¡¯s big eye and into its squidgy brain (EUGH). Since my hand is already in there, use the wolf to bash away the one next to it before kicking at a third pouncing towards me. ¡°YAAAAH¡± One BC charging through causing every wolf in the vicinity to immediately cower and back away from her..but I swear they were already fearful before she came her. Still, she¡¯s literally a fear train, although suddenly passive... Jumping onto a nearby feared wolf, I crack its skull with a fist and a thick wooden bolt penetrate a nearby wolf, embedding to the feathers. No more wolves come at me after that. Phew survived that¡­somehow. Everyone retreats back to the gate, and immediately I see we¡¯ve lost 2 people. 2 people! The monkey-beastlady and the Robin-beastlady¡­both gone ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Surrounded¡± Charmine spills a few tears on the ground, covered in blood more than likely some of it her own. ¡°The three of them were surrounded¡± Zzoid helpfully whispers into my ear. Ah, survivors guilt, not nice. ¡°Right, so everyone, I have a plan how we¡¯re fighting the next group¡± Everyone raises their eyebrows ¡°If we all follow BoneCrusher we should be able to kill off all the feared wolves without a hitch.¡± No one seems to disagree. "Zzoid and Jenna, kill anything that¡¯s coming towards the village. Daren you¡¯re up front." They nod (well I don¡¯t know about Zzoid but I¡¯m guessing he does). ¡°Right so ski-¡± *AWOOO* Nevermind, back into action¡­ We make a two person wide line behind BC : Daren and Charmine first, then Blacky and the Owl-beastman. I stay back with Jenna, mostly because I think my super speed is useful to help save others, much like how Zzoid¡¯s strange projection ability will help with that too. Just got to ignore his laughter¡­which is really disconcerting with the whole situation¡­ This wave is bigger than the last, like double the size. Bajesus that¡¯s a lot of wolves. ¡°ALLER ALLER ALLER¡± BC roars as she begins towards the wolves. Immediately I see just how much of an effect the fear has; all the wolves closeby start cowering and get quite succinctly murdered by the other 4 (most weidling weapons. I believe Blacky stole an axe off someone¡­). Daren looks to be in a particular rage, even leaving the train momentarily to pile into a group, surrounding himself an hacking away at them all, killing dozens before rejoining the train. Well this candy can be pretty awesome . At one point, Charmine just jumps into a crowd of wolves. Immediately I super speed up to her, fist driving through the side of a wolf¡¯s neck and kicking another to death, opening up an exit for her. ¡°I¡¯LL BE FINE¡± She screams back, hacking away at the wolves with her broken sword, getting raked more than a few times¡­huh? How is she not dying? She''s actually starting to glow red? Well seems like she¡¯s fine so I super speed away, ducking under a claw and returning back to Jenna¡¯s side, pummeling a too close for comfort wolf as she reloads. ¡°Hey Joat, I spot something¡­and it¡¯s not nice¡± Zzoid speaks from closeby, just what I needed to hear. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask him before zipping forward, killing an oncoming wolf and sprinting back. ¡°It looks like an alpha. About 8 feet tall, silver fur and red eyes¡­scary looking too¡± Well the wave did say it had Minibosses!? As Zzoid describes it to me, I actually spot it in the glinting moonlight, a small distance away but still quite close. I speed towards BC ¡°GET BACK TO JENNA¡± Speeding back, killing a few wolves on the way, I watch the train turn around, pushing against the water-like wave of wolves; massacring them by the dozens, sprinting away from the oncoming miniboss. Unlike before, the wolves behind them and closest to the miniboss start attacking them, tearing into Blacky and almost killing him, before Daren takes over, piling into them with his massive sword. ¡°FOCUS ON THE BACK OF THE TRAIN¡± I shout to Zzoid and Jenna, who immediately starts blasting away with crossbow bolts, wiping out an entire group of wolves within seconds. Our group reaches us thankfully, But both Charmine and Daren are still in the now small horde of maybe a few dozen wolves (wow that train was really effective). But the miniboss is ontop of them now and it bites into Daren, tearing a chunk of his arm off. THAT¡¯S BAD. Super speeding to Daren, I punch the miniboss -30 That¡¯s some pretty decent defense for an armourless wolf! ¡°DAREN GET OUT OF HERE¡± I spit at the wolf gaining a little bit more agro, before speeding to the other side, kicking its front right leg, the hind left leg in quick succession. Spotting Daren whittling his way through a group to get out of here, I speed out of the miniboss¡¯ range and to safety with everyone else. ¡°Ok miniboss has 11 defense, and I have no idea how much health or damage it does¡­but it¡¯s fast¡± it had pretty good reaction speed. Counting maybe 30 wolves heading our way, Jenna mows them down in one go. Wowie¡­ ¡°Alright, Charmine¡¯s agroing¡± I point towards her as she is already fighting the wolf, getting scratched to pieces¡­but it¡¯s not affecting her¡­did she get invincibility or something?! ¡°Everyone else kill it¡± We all charge towards it but then suddenly Charmine explodes?! Taking the Miniboss¡¯ head with it ¡­ .. . What in the name of Aiag just happened? Well whatever happened¡­the miniboss is dead¡­but so is Charmine. Hell I don¡¯t think there¡¯s even a body to look at! ¡°Seems like she exploded¡± Thanks Zzoid for the perceptiveness¡­captain obvious. We will never know what she just did¡­but what we do know is that we¡¯re one person less with one miniboss less. But if we take those sort of casualties every miniboss¡­we¡¯re going to be 1 person by the end of this¡­ And Daren doesn¡¯t look to be in the best shape, especially as most of his left forearm has been ripped off¡­eugh. Though he doesn¡¯t seem to mind as he drops his sword, heavily clunking in the ground, and cracks his knuckles... ¡°Seems like I¡¯ve got to beat them up the old fashioned way then¡± ¡°Mhm, might have to join you soon on that¡± Jenna looks into her sack, and the floor around her already littered with empty cylinders. *YOWL* Panthers¡­oh god not these lot again! I mean the wolves weren¡¯t too bad but the panthers are a lot higher level normally and they¡¯re a lot faster when steroided up¡­ Peeking at my remaining group¡­many there¡¯s not many of us left: Me, Zzoid, Daren, Jenna, Blacky, the Owl and BC¡­this isn¡¯t going to end well. Luckily it seems like there¡¯s only 100 of them coming at us. Ok not impossible then. Already Jenna¡¯s at it, culling the horde down a substantial amount. Jeez that¡¯s over 100 metres away, hell of a distance for a ranged attack¡­ Fear train starts rushing out and so do I, taking out only 2 panthers before retreating. I do get to watch some die almost magically¡­most likely from Zzoid, while the ones around stop and try sniff the enemy out¡­ wow that¡¯s stopped a good number of them. This wave doesn¡¯t last long since the fear train still has an effect on the panthers, and they kill them off with ease. Halleulaih to candy effects. Though I do wonder what Blacky have or the Owl¡­hmm¡­ ¡°Blacky, Owl, what did your candy give you?¡± I ask after they come back, looking pretty worn out. ¡°I don¡¯t get hungry¡­I¡¯m colourblind and my teeth have grown¡± He opens his jaw and sure enough his front canines are sticking out quite a lot. Wow what useless effects¡­ ¡°The name is Sino and I¡¯ve got rock music playing in my head right now. Apart from that¡­¡± He raises his hands in the air in exhasperation. How have these two even survived this long? ¡°Zzoid, you are our only hope¡± ¡°Oh thanks Joat, I¡¯ve always known I am the one¡± Yeah yeah, gloat all you can because you may not be alive in a few minutes time if we¡¯re not lucky. But seemingly we are; the next wave of panthers is still quite small, like exactly the same amount as before kind of small. So they get massacred all the same, but both the axe and the mace break in battle¡­so no one has a weapon but Jenna¡­perfect and now all that we need is for her to run out of ammo. ¡°Guys, after this round I¡¯m going to be out of ammo¡± Jenna warns us all¡­I wish I stopped jinxing everything (but I still don¡¯t believe in it!). Next round is worse; a lot more panthers come out. But with the fear train in action most cower and don¡¯t really reach Jenna. Those that do are quickly dispatched on the way by both me and Zzoid. Well that was a surprisingly easy couple of rounds. While I have everyone lie down for a few minutes, Zzoid ties magically visible cloth (probably his beginner clothes) around Daren¡¯s still bleeding arm. Don¡¯t know why no one tied it up before but Daren¡¯s looking pretty pale¡­and he looks to be out of action for now. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.That isn¡¯t good. ¡°Blacky, take Daren to the carriage, away from Kookle¡± ¡°Why there?¡± ¡°Because that is where we¡¯re going to have our last stand¡± I mean we¡¯re down to 6 people¡­we¡¯re not going to be able to fend of hundreds of them forever¡­especially now as we don¡¯t have the machinegun crossbow anymore¡­ ¡°We should back up there now¡± Zzoid calls out pensively¡­hmm he may be right, but we shouldn¡¯t do it so early. ¡°Wait why are we retreating? Sino hoots queringly ¡°Because there¡¯s 6 of us and literal hundreds of them¡­¡± And I¡¯m not the best at math¡¯s either¡­ ¡°Oh¡­we were fighting against hundreds of them?¡± ¡­ .. . Is he blind or something? Maybe that¡¯s one of the candy effects¡­he¡¯s gone blind. Either that or he just doesn¡¯t know how to count (probably more likely). Joat, we¡¯re going to back up into the village square now, things are too hectic out on the field¡­and we¡¯re slowly being wiped out. Dillydally sends me an ominous message. So it¡¯s not only us who are slowly getting wiped out¡­ ¡°Right, we¡¯re going into the village centre, now¡± I start jogging over there, followed by everyone and we quickly meet the remaining members of Squad Animal: Tikari and Dillydally¡­wait, just 2 of them? ¡°How?¡± Literally everyone but those 2 are dead (not counting SirStripy or Kookle)?! ¡°Lost Kandien to the wolves¡­got too much agro. The rest, died in the miniboss, big Alpha¡­¡± He looks dejectedly at the ground. ¡°But how did you survive this wave with just the two of you?¡± ¡°Dillydally gains strength everytime he kills something¡­it¡¯s pretty over powered if you ask me¡± Tikari graces my ears with her voice. ¡°My stats are inflated to the point of they¡¯re going to hit 4 digits sometime soon¡± ¡­ .. . Seriously? Why didn¡¯t I get something godly like that!? ¡°But once I¡¯m out of combat I¡¯m back to normal¡± Still pretty bloody OP to me! ¡°Right, well we¡¯re definitely going to need you in the next while then¡± I give him a pat on the shoulder. I know he¡¯s feeling guilty the rest of his Squad is dead¡­ ¡°I estimate we¡¯ve killed about 1,500 on our side and 1 miniboss¡­guessing it¡¯s the same with you?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how many I kill, as long as none reach you¡± I stroke her tiny chin softly. ¡°Yes around the same¡± Zzoid explains since I can only gaze at this shining beauty. ¡°So we should be getting a miniboss every 1500 of them then¡­so we should be ready for a miniboss next round¡± Why must she look so divine when musing so deeply? The sounds of combat on the west finish and faster than I can register, Marty is standing on top of the carriage, with a most worrying Casper on the drivers seat trying to get him down off there. ¡°Well seems like we¡¯re losing quite a few people and my guess is we¡¯re maybe a third of the way¡± He states and leaps down, cracking his neck. ¡°Just means we¡¯ve got two thirds of the way to go¡± Great, thanks for the inspirational speech Marty¡­not. Roirra and Regnar both appear a few minutes later, armour ragged, shield bent and sword broken, along with an empty quiver. Well if they¡¯re so beaten up we don¡¯t exactly hve much of a fighting force for the next two thirds of the wave. ¡°Damn, Pantheress¡¯ are really difficult to deal with!¡± Roirra spits on the ground, unstringing the bow. Regnar just silently nods as he drops the sword and shield on the ground, both now useless. ¡°Quick question¡­why isn¡¯t the rest of the village helping us?¡± Zzoid asks from somewhere¡­well that is a really good question indeed. ¡°Well that¡¯s because I was preparing something¡± A new chirpy voice responds from a distance. Coming out of the side of the house into a wide alleyway, a short, frail looking man with spiky red hair and a mousy face grunts as he heaves on a rope, taut and disappearing into the open side of his house. The Hispanic couple go over and pull on the rope too, revealing it to be attached to something wooden on wheels. It¡¯s a rectangle¡­with hundreds of holes in it. No idea what it is, but it¡¯s surely beautiful. ¡°Yidoo, took your time¡± Jenna goes over and gives him a little plonk on the head. ¡°I had to fill up the canister, takes ages to do that you know¡± He whines as he continues to pull out the giant machine crossbow, moving it to face the southern entrance. ¡°Wow that looks WAHAHAH-ke a wooden missile launcher¡± Zzoid laughs uncontrollably as he speaks¡­ ¡°A yrkra wana? What¡¯s that¡± Yidoo cocks his head, raising a thick red eyebrow. Ah missile launcher isn¡¯t a word in this world then. ¡°What this thing is you¡¯ll see very soon¡± He smiles devilishly and grabs hold of the crank that is attatched to the back of the thing¡­whatever it is. ¡°Ok so Yidoo¡¯s got the southern entrance, we shouldn¡¯t need to worry about that for a little while¡± Marty says and Yidoo nods, well ok then. Great so one more Npc added to the line of defense¡­but we¡¯re still 6 short if I remember correctly (there are 14 villagers or that¡¯s what we were told when the village was a raid instance). ¡°Could we go grab Jarken?¡± I ask Jenna, who just responds with a look. Ok guess not then. But damn he and everyone else in there would be really appreciated right now...also where are the rest of the villagers? ¡°INCOMING¡± SirStripy shouts and we all look around¡­what¡¯s attacking?! *hiss* Swerving towards the rooftops, sure enough there¡¯s a lizard hissing at us¡­along with a few hundred others. Oh my that¡¯s a lot of them! ¡°SNAKES¡± Someone shouts over to my right, but I don¡¯t have any time to look at there as there are a dozen or so lizards jumping my way. Wait htere''s 2 types of animals attacking? Speeding to the roof (I think I¡¯m actually teleporting¡­)I start kicking away at the 5 foot long lizards with razor sharp claws and a mad look in their eyes. These things are huge! Fighting on the rooftop there¡¯s only a dozen or so here which get quickly obliterated by me. *Braaaaar* That¡¯s a bear sound!? 3 types attacking us? are we going to have to deal with everything all at once?! *BuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuff* What the hell was that??? Spending half a second to look away from the oncoming lizards, I spot a wall of dead bear and quite literally a storm of bolts bursting out of the strange rectangle¡­damn that¡¯s awesome! -25 ow! Teleporting (I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m teleporting) behind a lizard I kick it off the roof before punching another and getting grabbed around the waist by a third. It gets a fist on the top of its skull. Soon my roof is empty, having killed dozens of them and I have a moment to glance down to see what¡¯s the situation; Dillydally is wading through a stream of bears his pace increasing by the second, while everyone else covers Yidoo, BC¡¯s fear having some effect on the oncoming horde, creating chaos infront of everyone, who add to this chaos by massacring everything infront of them. These Npc¡¯s are just insane: Marty is nowhere to be seen but a huge trail of bodies shows where¡¯s he¡¯s been. Jenna and Co. are punching away, getting badly bitten by snakes and lizards but still powering through. Daren''s even back up looking slightly better and fighting with his life on the line. Nathan has multiple crates of potions and is bouncing about, forcefully pouring different coloured potions down everyone''s throat or smashing it on them without a care. Darlene is sitting and drinking by Yidoo who is constantly cranking his machine which is decimating the oncoming bears¡­like literally not even a single one gets within metres of this contraption. -33 I got distracted too long. Kicking the lizard, I teleport into the group, getting a snake bite for 42 damage (OUCH) within a moment of being there. Immediately I get a magenta tinted potion forced down my throat, then a silver, olive, copper, aquamarine and a few more who¡¯s colours I don¡¯t get to register because I¡¯m being splashed with them in quick succession.
You have healed 100hp
+30 defense
+200hp max
+50 movement speed
..........
I don¡¯t have time to see the other effects but damn! Buffs! So that¡¯s how everyone¡¯s somehow surviving all this. Sure enough Nathan gives me another dozen or so potions, staggered as he flits to other people frantically. I hope to Aiag I¡¯m not forced to pay these back¡­ ¡°I NEED TO RELOAD¡± Yiddo screams over the din of battle, to the dismay of us all. Oh god. *HISS* Oh Aiag! Pouncing from the rooftop is a Lizard, easily double the size of the others, with yellow and black stripes¡­definitely poisonous. And a second one jumps from another roof onto us: Fully black and darting around almost as fast as the snakes (well vipers) that keep coming from literally everywhere. Both miniboss lizards pounce towards us, but neither reach the ground alive; Dillydally barrels into one midair, literally crushing its entire side, while Marty appears on top of the other, arms embedded through the eyes to the elbow. Jeez, both of them are so op right now. ¡°BLACKY¡± Someone shouts and I turn to see him drop, the dozen vipers on him obliterated moments later by those nearby. Damn, how many monsters are going to attack us at one time!? The bears seem to be wiped out for I don¡¯t see any, but boars are charging through the southern gate and vipers are darting towards us, small, fiery red and extremely hard to dodge (most cases I¡¯m getting bit and having a surprisingly fast Nathan shove healing and antidote potions down my throat). ¡°RELOADED¡± Yidoo screams after an eternity and I notice Jenna appear on my left, grabbing and crushing a darting viper with her bare hands, venomous fangs just inches from my neck. *buffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffbuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuffBuffbuff* The squeals of dying boars is almost heavenly in my ears. But not as heavenly as Tikari exhaling from effort. She¡¯s in danger!! Powering towards her, I jump in front of her, receiving a tusk in the stomach before swatting the boar away and punching a lizard, now rare, in my pounce. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I call out to Tikari as she is now protected, but I¡¯m worried she¡¯s hurt. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just keep fighting¡± ¡°For you, anything!¡± I grab a boars tusk (well impaling my hand really) and break it off, thrusting the tusk into the boars eye before feeling really sticky all of a sudden. ¡°SPIDERS¡± SirStripy calls out from up above. Glancing at the rooftops I see spiders have replaced the lizards, skittering over and many shooting webs in our direction. Suddenly, our entire half circle of people are stuck in webs, unable to move our feet but still flailing away at everything in front of us. Two massive spiders hog the roofs, and two pythons also join them, spitting acid towards us. A massive boar piles through the northern gate, facing off Dillydally for a short moment, losing quite easily¡­But Dillydally slowly I see him get overpowered; the webs finally taking effect after dozens of bindings. His movement now sealed, everything piles on him; dozens of vipers, tens of boars and lots of spiders, needle-like legs spearing through him. But even then he kills dozens of them, finishing off the boar miniboss with a last punch before dropping under the sheer amount of beasts attacking him. Dammit! BC¡¯s dead now, taken out by the acid spit and numerous attacks, dead before Nathan can heal her. Tikari¡¯s targeted by the acid so I stand in front of her, getting the full 330 acid damage, melting to the immediate 200 ongoing damage and seeing as my last sight: two boars gore into her from the sides¡­dammit, I failed to protect her ¡­ ¡­ (Tikair¡¯s POV) Boss is dead¡­but I¡¯m somehow still fine. Thanks to the old man¡¯s potions the beasts aren¡¯t having too much of an effect on me, but that acid is dangerous.
Acid Resistance +50
Thanks whoever you are¡­ -150 -100 I get a healing potion shoved down my throat and another splashed onto me stopping the effects¡­phew. Placing my webbed arm in front of him, I get 2 vipers biting into it but I don¡¯t care because they only do 8 damage each. Zzoid appears in front of me, melting before my eyes. Oh no! I¡¯m the only player left alive? No wait, the owl, is still somehow alive, swerving his upper body to dodge the acid spit dodging so many attacks I don''t know how! And he''s singing too?! The gorgeous lady in tight leather pants (I believe she¡¯s called Jenna) doesn¡¯t look too good and Daren, the innkeeper is actually unconscious, face white as snow. ¡°RELOADING¡± Yidoo shouts uneccesarily as no one can react to that; we¡¯re all stuck where we are, beasts slowly passing through our gaps and trying to catch the old man. Only the man called Marty is free. ¡°CHARRRRRRGE¡± The door to Jarkens bursts open and storming out is everyone! Finally! The webs finally stop my arms and I get multiple giant spiders spearing me with their legs¡­but they don¡¯t do any damage! Even though the entire village is overrun with boars and a few bears along with the odd lizard and still a numerous amount of vipers and Spiders covering the rooftops, I think we¡¯re still at an advantage. The newcomers, all wielding a weapon just pile into every beast they come into; no skill, just pure brute force. It¡¯s completely one sided; spiders drop onto them only to be speared by multiple spears. Boars charge only to be bashed away by maces. Vipers dart towards them only to be sliced by swords and axes and nothing that goes against them up front can stop them as the giant human called Jarken literally clears the area with a massive double-headed axe. Hundreds of beasts die within seconds, all the minibosses already dead by Marty¡¯s hand I¡¯m assuming as I spot him slicing open one of the Matriarch spiders¡¯ abdomens before disappearing hastily. Another few vipers bite into me, their fire damage still painful, but nowhere near as bad as they would be without whatever potions the old man gave me. Someone kills them for me not sure who as there are literally dozens of them piling through, murdering every monster in the vicinity. I stand there watching for a long while, seeing them get all the agro, and even though they¡¯re surrounded I don¡¯t see them having much trouble. Just the number of weapons flailing in the air is enough to halt any sort of assault against them. The rooftops finally get cleaned up by Marty while I spot Roirra and Regnar still fighting through the webbing, somehow still able to move, along with the old man who is chucking potions towards the mass of players, targeting mostly the women my eyes do catch oddly enough. We¡¯re going to owe the old man a lot¡­ Fighting lasts for so long, long enough that I feel the odd sensation of heat and liquid leave my body, the feeling of something strong encasing me drift away. I see the rooftops devoid of life, the streets, littered with beasts and the corpses of a few unlucky players, and only a few beast still fighting, losing badly. Another short while and the sounds of battle stop completely...leaving an unnerving silence¡­ *Ding*
Wave 6 Complete! Personal Kills: 455 Total Deaths: 23 MVP: Marty: 8421, 9 Minibosses
It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s ov-
Wave 7, Final Wave!: Fireborn Slime Remaining Monsters: 1 Remaining Bosses: 1
*gulp* Boss really is the root to all problems isn¡¯t he? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So close to arc end! Next chappie will be RL! so look forward to that :D -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD
Insanity Online! The Forging of a TRUE NORDThe L1ONS
39. Some R and R....Well Trying To ¡°Ah, well I do hope that was a happy ending¡± Cracking my neck, back and then lower body, I love out of my bed. Sheesh haven¡¯t moved for a good 8 hours. Hmm, should get some sleep too since it¡¯s barely past lunch time¡­ Mah, not planning for a late night anyways so off to do something for the day! I do first grab some nice food though; boil some rice and cut up some chicked, dragging it through chutney because it¡¯s just so tasty. Yum yum, uni life is the best. Munching that down, I do open up my computer to check up on any possible forums. Nope as clean as ever¡­sheesh talk about a really secretive company. They want to keep all the details quiet for now it seems, probably because it¡¯s still only the first week. However with a little searching (mostly Youtube¡­glad it¡¯s still going) I do find a small number of videos¡­one of them being me¡­ Half-excited as to what they are I click on the top one and immediately know why. This camera man deserves an award for both perviness and impeccable footage. Literally it¡¯s a video of the recorder strolling around getting normal and close-up shots of all the females playing, as well as a few of the more muscular males (no idea why they¡¯d ruin such a good video with that though). This video really makes you appreciate boob physics. Anyways, that is literally the whole video...and it didn¡¯t give anything useful really (apart from the fact that there are a ton of races), so that might be why it¡¯s still up. Though¡­I¡¯ve never seen a single person in that video before ¡­ .. . Hmm, that is quite interesting. Ah finished my food, let¡¯s get this body working. Putting on some combat trousers and a loose fitting green top along with black boxers and dark brown shoes, meh that¡¯ll do. Jogging out my door, I start down the main street, reaching the river within minutes. Skirting around it, I head into the small still standing forest and follow a decently unused trail. Reaching an outcropping ¡°492¡­.493¡­494¡­¡± Oh there¡¯s someone else here already? Hanging by the arms off of one of the rails is a man with large muscular shoulders and muscle riding down his entire exposed back. His arms clench into stone as he pulls himself up to his chin before slowly going back down. ¡°495¡± a deep voice rumbles, strained from effort and I spot the veins pumping in the side of his sweating neck. ¡°496¡± I shouldn¡¯t announce my presence or he¡¯d get distracted¡­ ¡°497¡± So apart from his godly muscles and that really good groove going down the center of his back, ¡°498¡± he wears combat trousers like me and has shirt spiked up golden hair, not quite buzzcut. ¡°499¡­500¡± Dropping to the ground, feet planting on the dirt his body starts pulsating and radiating sweat. ¡°You¡¯ve got to tell me what gym you went to¡± I ask from behind, but he doesn¡¯t suddenly turn around in shock like I thought he would, what a shame. ¡°I went to Hell 3 times over¡± Won¡¯t actually doubt that. He stands up and begins stretching, I do the same. ¡°So never seen you around here¡± I try to goad some sort of personal information out of him. ¡°Haven¡¯t been here long, just transferred in¡± Transferred? That¡¯s quite the odd word to use¡­is he a Uni student? I mean yes there are mature students so it is a possibility. Hopping onto a low rail, I begin walking, hands half in pockets as I jump up to the next level of rails. ¡°So you¡¯re a uni student¡± just slightly disbelieving here ¡°Odd I know¡± At least I¡¯m not the only one thinking that ¡°But I always wanted to get a degree so here I am¡± He gives a light chuckle before jumping up to the rial, grabbing it and sliding his feet above it, now upside down back of his knees keeping him aloft. Not the first time I¡¯ve heard of that reason. I hop onto the top rails, walking towards his feet and squatting by them, wobbling slightly. ¡°Jack¡± I offer a hand. He drags his 8 pack, massive rock like pecks body up towards me and clasps my hand with a granite palm. Now that I get a look at his face, I¡¯d say he¡¯s going 40 mostly from the growing number of wrinkles on his face. That and because he sports a most fantastic stubble, the kind you wish for; a perfect doorknob. His face is square, big, thick jaw, bent out of shape nose and normal brown eyes. I¡¯d say he looks rather American rather rare for this day and age. ¡°Dallas¡± Oh definitely American¡­ ¡°Born and Raised?¡± ¡°Just born and it is my name before you start confusing yourself¡± ¡°Gotcha¡± I begin doing rail squats, getting used to the slightly unbalanced feeling I get every time I go down. ¡°So what¡¯s your Unit?¡± Dallas asks mid sit up. Unit? Wait this guy¡¯s a Bonafide army man. Oh I feel dirty wearing this camo around him. ¡°War¡¯s not my playground¡± He snorts ¡°Thought so; you don¡¯t seem like the type¡± ¡°What type?¡± He stops at his 50th sit up, making eye contact ¡°A killer¡± Brr, that was a scary feeling going down my spine there¡­ Breaking eye contact he continues his situps. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Does it matter? The only time it matters is the first time¡± Seems like Dallas¡¯ seen quite a few things in his day. Moving on quickly away from this cold cold conversation! ¡°So what are you studying?¡± He stops momentarily giving me a smirk as I change the topic of conversation. ¡°Automechanical engineering¡± Didn¡¯t expect that, wow that¡¯s a time killer of a course ¡°You?¡± ¡°Art¡± He snorts once again at me; apparently my life decisions and personality are quite funny to him. ¡°A kid like you shouldn¡¯t be playing up high, it¡¯s dangerous¡± Seriously, just because I do are and wear camo trousers for fun means I¡¯m a kid. I stand up, looking rather surly towards him. He raises up, hand knocking my feet off the rail. AHH! Hands out, touch the floor, bring them in, landing on right shoulder rolling across back to left hip and to feet. ¡°WHAT was that for?¡± ¡°Just checking to see whether you¡¯re really a kid¡± Wait, you purposely tripped me to fall like 3 metres to the ground because you think kids will hurt themselves in that situation? Most people would hurt themselves in such a situation! ¡°If you¡¯re going to try kill me, I rather you didn¡¯t because I enjoy living¡± ¡°That¡¯s always a good mindset but-¡± He lets go, landing on his hands into a still handstand ¡°-we live in a dangerous world¡± He pushes off to his feet. Glistening with sweat he offers me a hand. Hmm, not sure I should take it since it¡¯s probably a ruse to try break my arm or something ¡­ .. . But it¡¯s rude not to. Clasping his hand immediately he twists, taking my arm to tmy back and I quickly jump with it, turning and keeping my arm not a weird angle. He stops abruptly and I¡¯m force to grab his chiseled forearm with my free hand, stopping the momentum from twisting my first arm. ¡°SERIOUSLY, STOP THAT!¡± What kind of person starts trying to break random strangers¡¯ arms?! ¡°Heh sorry, just fooling around¡± I know you are! If you were real with me you¡¯d have half twisted and suddenly changed direction ripping my arm out¡­ He lets go of my hand, gives a short salute and then sprints away. Gah if this is what all the Americans in our army are like; thank god I haven¡¯t joined... Right, back to actually having some fun without my life being attempted upon for no reason whatever¡­ ¡°Hey Brother I found it!¡± Oh great, more distractions! Seriously, what does one guy need to do to be alone in the forest with the somehow still quite nicely maintained parkour park?! (Well it¡¯s really just lots of rails and a few slabs of stone for vaults and runs and whatnot else). Turning towards the voice, I see a young teenager, probably only halfway through puberty, with shoulderlength brown hair and beady eyes, pointing towards the park. Dammit now there¡¯s ACTUAL kids coming to play. Appearing from behind the little guy is another, with the same hair, beady brown eyes and thin face, albeit slightly taller and a horribly wispy chin beard growing. ¡°Sweet, you found it!¡± He jumps into the air excitably. Both wear blue shirts and shorts along with dark blue trainers¡­all covered in quite a bit of mud¡­just what kind of trek did they do to get here? ¡°Phew we¡¯re alive¡± A more cynical voice follows behind, sounding rather tired unlike the two excitable counterparts. Coming from the bushes (yes not the trail, the bushes) is a third, somehow almost twinlike visage of the younger brothers yet older and slightly taller. His face is clean shaven but the way he carries himself and the intelligent look in his eyes shows him to be older than the other two. ¡°Next time we¡¯re not taking that way¡± His body is covered in mud, from head to toe and he looks rather unhappy about the trip. ¡°I will find a better way Brother!¡± The youngest calls out to which the eldest pats his head. ¡°You know there is a trail¡± I call out from a small distance, watching the eldest¡¯s face rise happily as he hears there¡¯s a safe way. ¡°Why hello there friend, could you please give us those sought out for directions?¡± I point to the slightly visible trail, partially hidden by bushes. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re most welcome¡± He marches up to me, wiping his muddy hand as best as he can before offering it. ¡°Zoid¡± ¡­.. ¡­. ¡­. .. . You have got to be shitting me. ¡°Zoid¡­¡± ¡°Apparently I¡¯m named after this lobster doctor from an old famous program¡± He chuckles but I swear I see his eyes glinting with the sense that he¡¯s caught onto something. Oh my, what naming sense his parents had¡­ ¡°Zoidberg, really?¡± Yes I confess to have watched those¡­a long long time agi. Hey practically raised on it. Sadly show finished before my teen years. ¡°So you are old¡± Wow Zoid¡­.wow. I really have to teach you things you just cannot say, like you¡¯re old. It¡¯s hurtful to my youthful self. ¡°Hey, it was still popular when I was a kid¡± ¡°Alright. So who are you?¡± Ah right, didn¡¯t say my name. ¡°Jack. And who are the two excitable fools on the way to death¡± I point and what I¡¯m going to reasonably assume are Zzand and Zzard, both trying to jump onto the rails and I can almost feel them screwing up painfully sometime soon. ¡°Zard and Zand¡± Those parents¡­not sure if they have apparently good naming sense or just weren¡¯t bothered after their first child¡­probably the latter. ¡°Yo¡± I raise my hand to them and the wave back. ¡°Alright you two, stop fooling around¡± Zoid claps his hands, getting them to turn and focus on him. ¡°All 3 of us died in that battle because we were weak, we were too slow and thus we need to train¡± ¡°Ay ay Brother¡± Both mock salute him. ¡°We¡¯re going to train our balance first, so everyone onto this rail¡± He points at a rail, literally a few inches off the ground. The all step on and begin flailing in the air balanceless for a few moments before tripping off. This is just mildly painful to watch. ¡°Ok ok, please don¡¯t do that¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°But why not? We need to train¡± Zand looks up at me confused. ¡°Yeah and who are you to tell us to stop¡± Fair point Zard, fair point. ¡°Brothers, let the man speak¡± Zoid thank you for being so good at reading the situation (at most times). ¡°Zand, Jump up¡± I point to the rail and watch him jump, swerving madly. I poke his stomach and he falls back onto the ground, landing on his feet. Now I stand on the rail, completely still, well seemingly. ¡°Poke my stomach¡± ¡°Wah it¡¯s like a rock¡± Oh thank you for the compliment, I do workout. Ahem. ¡°Balance comes with two things; your core and your feet. Your core is used to keep you upright and stiff, so your center of gravity doesn¡¯t move¡± To show the point I stop clenching my core, letting my back droop slightly and center of gravity shift slightly back, unbalancing me. Clenching once again I gain control of my center and stand upright once more. Seems like they understand somewhat. ¡°Now my feet aren¡¯t moving because I¡¯m perfectly balanced, but if I unbalance myself, watch what my feet do¡± Because I¡¯m slightly unbalanced, I use my feet to move the direction my center of gravity is falling first with minute seesawing feet motions, which slowly get bigger as the momentum increases. Tense core and straighten back up after a little work. ¡°But why do you need to do that if you can just stand normally on it?¡± Zard asks confused. ¡°Because when he¡¯s moving and if he¡¯s moving fast, his center of gravity is going to be changing position¡± Zoid answers the question for me. Good he gets it. If I were to run up the rails, I can¡¯t expect to be 100% stable using my core so my feet will help change the direction I¡¯m slowly falling to keep myself upright essentially¡­a nifty little trick I picked up a while back. ¡°Alright so everyone tense for me¡± I opek them all in the stomach and oddly enough they actually have some sort of muscle. Guess working out¡¯s pretty normal for teenagers. ¡°Right so tense your core once you¡¯re on the rail¡± The get on but are still all over the place. All except for Zoid; he¡¯s standing mostly still, apart from his feet seesawing back and forth in increasing pace. ¡°Brothers, you¡¯ve got to stand on the ball of your foot¡± Zoid tells them as he falls off rather ungracefully. He is right; the balls of the feet give you the best motion even if it isn¡¯t the most stable at first. It¡¯s why professionals can squat heels in the air and remain perfectly still; because they¡¯re used to standing like that. It¡¯s oddly enough why women are surpisingly good at this (heels all those heels helping with balance). Though most people do what is better known as slav squatting since it¡¯s simpler to learn and a lot more comfortable in all honesty. I give them all quick instructions on balancing on the balls of their feet and watch them get slightly better. ¡°Ow Zard stop slapping me¡± ¡°I¡¯m giving you brotherly love¡± ¡®Well if you¡¯re giving me some then I¡¯ll have to give more back¡± The two kids start play slapping eachother. Ah they¡¯re a good breath of fresh air. As they jump onto the rails to try balance for 10 seconds (I gave them the challenge), I hop up and begin catwalking. Not going to bother jumping today, too much effort for my tired self. Though after a bit of catwalking and moonwalking I do decide to do a bit of jumping¡­for kicks. Diving to the floor, I roll safely and get to the start of the little course I made up. First running jump to a low wall and then jump to a higher wall a distance away, swan it and leap to the next wall, grabbing the ledge with my fingers, feet planted on the wall. Kicking up, I push myself to grab the top of the wall and then haul myself up. Ooh now for the fun bit. Jogging across the rail at first, I turn at a right angle and speed up, turn again, speed up, do a 180, sliding dangerously for a moment before half sprinting till I¡¯m parallel to a wall. Jumping off to the wall I kick it and grab the rail I was standing on moments earlier, swinging myself to land on a lower rail and sticking the wahhh, rol-ouch! Ayayay that¡¯s probably a bruise¡­no that¡¯s definitely a bruise¡­ ¡°You alright Jack?¡± Zoid asks as he looks down at me from the rail, surprisingly lasting more than 5 seconds. ¡°Yea, just didn¡¯t stick the landing¡± Standing back up, I shake myself off. Much better. Right, back up there. Walking a small distance away from the wall I run up to it getting two steps off before grabbing the ledge, hoisting myself up. Jumping onto the side, I kick off towards the rail and let go mid swing, this time balls of my feet hitting the edge of the rail, sliding upright as I stick the landing. Phew, that¡¯s way more trouble than it¡¯s worth. Jumping down to the next rail, I land perpendicular to Zoid, as he jumps onto the rail once again looking rather fresh but I know better. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing this for a while then eh?¡± ¡°Couple of years¡± Yeah when I first started it was not pretty. I squat down on the balls of my feet, slightly wobbly but I can deal with it. Watching the almost triplet like brothers for a while really helps the time go by. Though after an hour they¡¯re pretty knackered even if they still look pretty fresh¡­It has a lot more effect on your body than one thinks. ¡°Brothers we should call it for today¡± Zoid perceptive as freaking ever looks down at his legs, rubbing them, probably because they¡¯re numb. All agree and I help them find the path back. I walk back too because I¡¯m actually decently tired and should get a kip before tonight¡¯s party. ¡°So why did you 3 have a sudden want to train?¡± I ask them as I guide them back. ¡°Well we¡¯re testing for Aria and we all died in the middle of an event¡± I understand Zoid dying, but the other two? How¡¯d that happen? ¡°So you¡¯re trying to train so you don¡¯t die again?¡± ¡°Partially, we also need to get out the house of the parents are going to freak out about our health¡± He gives a little oh well gesture. I chuckle lightly. Ah parents, always looking out to make sure you somehow live a healthy lifestyle no matter what. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s for dinner?¡± Zand asks Zard in the background. ¡°Probably vegetables¡­since mum¡¯s on the new diet and all¡± ¡°Eugh again? Please don¡¯t be a soup diet¡± ¡°Hey don¡¯t complain, Soups good for you¡± Zoid retorts, laughing at the downcast face of Zand who obviously does not relish the thought of having soup for tea. Waving them goodbye I head up town while they cross the bridge to go to the western section of town. Well that was a most odd situation¡­seeing those 3 RL. Can¡¯t believe that¡¯s their actual names though, hehehe. Anyways, got to get to bed because man a day and a half without sleep is really tiring! God I must be getting old¡­ I decide to grab a kip till 9 (because let¡¯s face it, haven¡¯t slept in a day++). Ah getting into bed all nice and cosy, man I love double beds. ¡­ ¡°If you don¡¯t pick up the god damned phone, I will shove my fist so far up you¡¯re a-¡± ¡°Helloo¡± Quickly picking up my phone still half asleep I get a most excited voice batter me from the other end. ¡°Hey calm down and repeat everything you¡¯ve said since the start, brain hasn¡¯t woken up yet¡± ¡°Typical response Jack, Typ-ical¡± ¡°Derek this is you right?¡± ¡°No who else could it be?¡± Mr sarcastic you¡¯ve interrupted my beauty sleep, this should be important. ¡°Cut to the chase my man, this one is power napping¡± ¡°Right, you busybody, how¡¯s the art going?¡± Ah right, everyone thinks that I¡¯m doing some strange solo art project (well technically I am). Surprisingly everyone¡¯s actually been cool leaving me alone to do it so haha social status maintained! ¡°Lonely¡± Yeah would be fantastic to have a student¡­ ¡°Well do I have some good news for you; what do you say to a honey packed house with tight babes and some rocking music. Oh and don¡¯t forget everyone¡¯s in costumes¡­and I¡¯m hoping some nurses give me a special checkup tonight, yehahh!¡± Ah Halloween¡­it¡¯s finally arrived. Actually almost forgot about this! All this Aria shenanigans playing with my life schedule. Gah what was my Oh! Right, lecturer¡­man I have to wear a suit¡­ ¡°That sounds¡­.like some much needed R and R¡± I do actually need something that isn¡¯t a wave of gore and hard work for one night¡­ ¡°Why if you mean Raunchy Romping then damn right¡± Man forgot just how sexual uni students are! God how cringy was I in this stage? ¡°Dude, if I get on the dance floor it¡¯ll be Ravishing¡± Might as well play along ¡°Wahaha, well party¡¯s at Legacy¡¯s starting at good old 10 in the night¡± ¡°Wait wait, wasn¡¯t it supposed to be at your place?¡± ¡°It was but when I¡¯ve got close to 100 women coming¡­word kind of got out to the right people¡± How was he going to fit 100 women and all the rugby lads++ in his house?? ¡°Damn¡± Legacy¡¯s is THE party house¡­though no one actually lives in it¡­weirdly enough. Something about it being a drug house a couple of years back caused it to be evacuated and bought out by the University to keep its renown, something or rather. And one party animal of a Seniour man SOMEHOW convinced the University to reopen the house as a rental place for socials. I¡¯ve heard a lot of fantastic stories about THE Legacy house¡­ ¡°You done with fantasizing about the place?¡± ¡°Yup, dude I am impressed with you¡± Getting keys to Legacy house is like top notch you¡¯ve blown the Seniour man to get it kind of thing. I¡¯ve read stories about that happening too (oddly enough more than one would think). ¡°Ah praise me more, silly fresher¡± He laughs boisterously on the other side of the phone. ¡°Right O lord of party, now let me get some rest¡± ¡°Not planning to get any sleep tonight eh? oh atta boy¡± Rolling my eyes I end the call. Well better get to sleep, seems like this party is going to be literal hell (or heaven, depending on who you are). ¡°Wake up Mother F-¡± Wow really got to change my ringtones; seriously those are like 15 years old now¡­ Ok time to get a¡­suit on. Eugh, can¡¯t believe I have to wear one of those. Opening up my wardrobe, to the side are 5 different suits¡­which I did get for this job but thankfully haven¡¯t ever had to use. Let¡¯s go with black¡­nah let¡¯s go with my orange suit (what happened to my colour sense that day¡­). Yeah way too gaudy but damn with a black shirt, pants and dress shoes¡­Oh it actually brings some tears in my eyes (partially from the way too orange suit top but still some faith restored in my colour sense). Plus I found a beautiful matt orange tie... Ok maybe I¡¯ll enjoy¡­euh no¡­it¡¯s just so uncomfortable. Ah well it¡¯s only for one night so I¡¯ll roll with it. Also the colours are halloweeny so perfect! Combing my hair to the side, a professional look, I begin shaving my growing beard to a light stubble¡­but not as lovely as Dallas¡¯ doorknob¡­ Now for the final piece to make me truly a teacher¡­the spectacles. Round, owl-eyed spectacles¡­ah truly feeling the vibe of a lecturer. *Clap* ¡°Let us go lecture those foolish whippersnappers!¡± --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Right everyone, sorry but I''ll be away for 2 weeks without internet so chapter posting probably a no no (might drag my computer down to a cafe or something to post the HALLOWEEN chapter (the final final one which is the end of this strange halloween/harroween hell arc huehuehue)) -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 40. Harrowing Preparations (Clara¡¯s POV) Well that was¡­rather interesting I guess. Taking off the headset, I spot my bunnies silently hopping along the dirtied floor. Ah, I did forget to take them out for such a long time. ¡°Sorry my cutsies, lets¡¯ go have a walk now¡± I stand up and head to the balcony door, the soft sounds of their paws following and passing me into the ¡®garden¡¯. Struggling to keep my eyes open, I do notice Choppy¡¯s looking up at me with a hungry look. Walking to the kitchen, I grab some rabbit feed and fill up their empty trough with water. They smell the food and hop into sight, nibbling away at the food frenzingly, while I head up to take a quick shower. I should get myself a bite to eat too, before I drop off. Jeez blacksmithing really killed me, and having to fight straight after too. It was hell of a battle, the first part anyways. Grabbing my razor I begin shaving my legs, thinking about that battle. We had no idea what was going on outside when we all bursted out, randomly killing everything in sight, mostly out of shock, in my case at least. Surviving that, there was then the final wave¡­Don¡¯t know how in the world I got through that either¡­ And the afterparty...no idea what was going on in the slightest. I mean giant speaking frogs with rainbow eyes that popped out when they got too excited¡­that candy was definitely some sort of hallucinogenic. Luckily I regained my sense a couple of minutes ago so here I am¡­back in the Real World where there isn¡¯t something coming to ruin my life. *Bzzt* I¡­take that back... Getting out the shower, I pick up my low battery phone, seeing that I¡¯ve received a text from Danny. Oh I have a bad feeling about this. Heyyy guess who¡¯s coming with me to Legacy house for tonights party? That¡¯s right it¡¯s you! Anyways you better start getting ready for your escort will be there at 10 with your costume¡­unless you¡¯re already in one. Wait a second, party? ¡­ .. . Oh god I forgot about this whole endeavor. Uggh I just want to go to sleep. By the tone of his message I don¡¯t suppose he¡¯s going to let me sleep this party away¡­ And he¡¯s going to make me a vampiress either way too¡­Halloween sucks. *Sigh* Whatever, let¡¯s just get this over with. If I make an appearance I can just bail after a while and get some much earned sleep. *Dingdong* ¡­ .. . Err please, whoever you are, go away. ¡°Danny said that if you don¡¯t open up I¡¯m allowed to kick down the door¡± The voice is womanly¡­making the situation a lot more terrifying since it¡¯s related to Danny¡­since I do owe him, oh no. I expected it to be either a dick or a rugby lad (surprisingly they are different¡­well some of them)¡­but a woman sent from Danny? *creak* ¡°Perfect, now come on we¡¯ve only got 2 hours so giddy up onto that chair and we¡¯ll begin right away¡± No explanations as to who you are¡­ok then. The speaker is a tall, thin woman with spiky black hair, multiple lip, nose and ear piercings along with a hand tattoo weaving up her right arm. ¡°Erm who are you?¡± I ask as she directs me to the dining room chair¡­mostly complying from shock and trust in Danny. Sitting me down, she pulls up a chair and places a large black case onto the table in front of me. Ahem, I don¡¯t like being ignored, so I repeat once more. Grabbing my chin she turns my head gently, musing to herself. ¡°Right, so I¡¯m going to lighten your skin tone. That¡¯ll be all for the beginning. Oh and I¡¯m Hymn¡­like a prayer¡± Not a confusing name at all¡­and that¡¯s the basics? Just what¡¯s been planned for me? Opening her box, wow that¡¯s a lot of make up, like 3 tiers of it along with brushes of all sizes and pots of whatever the hell that is¡­I¡¯m scared. She deftly takes a bushy brush, swirling it around in a white pasty dish. ¡°Close your eyes and mouth¡± Complying I feel the tickle of the brush as it lightly travels across my face. Immediately after, I feel a soft, spongy thing plant onto my face, dragging downwards not so comfortably. ¡°Hmm¡­lucky you are naturally so pale, made this a lot easier¡± Hymn humms as she continues to drag whatever that sponge thing is down my face and nose. ¡°Keep your eyes closed¡± She warns as she finally stops with the dragging. I hear the pop of something opening and then feel what I swear is a crayon smudge half-gently on my eyelid. This continues for a painful way too long before she starts rubbing my eyelids gently. I don¡¯t like this! This is why I don¡¯t wear makeup! ¡°Open your eyesm look up and don¡¯t blink¡± I comply, fearing whatever that will happen next. A pencil (a freaking pencil) comes straight at my eye, digging itself between my eyelash and my eyeball. Don¡¯t blink, don¡¯t blink. The pencil goes back and forth under my eye travelling from one end to the other mercilessly. And just when I think it¡¯s getting better¡­she does the other eye. She stops ¡°Blink then look down¡± Oh please no not the top! Sure enough, the pencil is dragged through the top half multiple times till I can feel tears rolling down my cheek. ¡°Stop crying¡± I can¡¯t, you have a pencil in my eye! After torturing my other eye she finishes and moves my head around, peering at my tearful eyes with cold calculations. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to widen the black around your eyes, giving you some small wings, hmm no scratch that you look fine as is. Instead we¡¯ll move on¡± She begins shuffling through her giant case of makeup tools muttering inconceivable plans. Huh? What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m completely lost as to what you¡¯re going to do with my face! She grabs¡­lipstick. Oh thank god, thought it was going to be something scary. ¡°How good are you at handling spices?¡± Hymn asks as she takes the lid off, whiffing the deep red lipstick. Err random question much? And why is she whiffing the lipstick, is it like fla- ¡­ .. . ¡°No¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s the only decaying rose red I¡¯ve got and I don¡¯t have time to make more so suck it up¡± She holds my chin and starts dragging the lipstick on my lips. Hmm, spicy and I really should be getting a decision on whether or not to let this happen! But she¡¯s really forceful and it¡¯s not as spicy as I thought¡­like a slight prick of pain but that¡¯s all. Oh and the constant slight heat on my lips¡­but I guess that¡¯s a good thing? ¡°Just don¡¯t like your lips and you¡¯ll be fine¡± Wait what. Now that¡¯s she¡¯s said it¡­don¡¯t, resist, resist! ¡°Back to whitening¡± She grabs the brush and I instinctively close my eyes, feeling it brush around my cheeks. ¡°Take off your shirt¡± Ehh? Wait I don¡¯t have anything else underneath. ¡°You won¡¯t be wearing a bra so no point putting it on¡± Excuse me? Since when am I not going to be wearing a bra outside the house in a public location? She looks me in the eyes (I¡¯d opened my eyes in shock) ¡°Danny¡¯s orders¡± ¡°Wait a second, why does Danny have a say whether I wear a bra or not?¡± ¡°Beats me, he just said the straps ruined your costume last time¡± Oh¡­but still no! ¡°No¡± Hymn rolls her eyes. ¡°Fine take this¡± She fiddles with her back and whips off her bra momens later from under the loose fitting black t-shirt with Bl??dling written in ironically enough blood splashes. How¡¯d you do that, and just what¡¯s going on? ¡°We¡¯re around the same size and this is strapless so it¡¯ll satisfy you both¡± Hymn shrugs and pass the bra to me, turning around. Taking my shirt off, I place it on my exposed lap and put on the bra. ¡°Done¡± Hymn turns around and without hesitation begins brushing white powder down my neck. ¡°Hihi¡± It¡¯s really ticklish. The brushing goes from neck to the bra and she even stands up to do a good portion of my upper back. Taking what is actually a sponge (though not very holey) she starts dragging that across my body, rather roughly and smearing the powder into my already very white skin. Then she grabs a strange brown stick, penciling my collarbone, smudging the colour so it gradually fades out, highlighting my collarbone somewhat. Hmm how interesting. ¡°Hand¡± I offer her a hand and she takes a small pot, filled the same deep decayed rose red (so like really dark dark red). Grabbing my nails, she stops the small brush emerging from the pot and grabs nail clippers instead. ¡°Treat your body better¡± Wow sheesh, my nails are fine She cuts my nails a little bit so they¡¯re around the same length and after filing them they¡¯re curved and not too dangerous¡­until she keeps filing them to a small point. Now she colours my nails and adds a colourless liquid to the top which makes it glossy. Whitening my hands and arms too she then grabs another brush, this time swirling it in a different white pot. This brush goes all over where I¡¯m white¡­doing little else but whitening me more I guess. ¡°Hmm, too weird. Take it all off¡± ¡­ .. . Excuse me what? ¡°Do you want to be partially white? Take it all off¡± Ok ok, but even if you are a girl it¡¯s still sort of uncomfortable being naked around you. ¡°If it makes you more comfortable I¡¯ll get naked first¡± ¡°No no it¡¯s fine¡± Gosh that¡¯d be way more uncomfortable! Stripping, I turn away from her and feel the brush ticking down my back, butt and then legs. *Shiver* Oh that was ticklish, odd yet mildly enjoyable all in one. ¡°Turn around¡± After abusing my body with that sponge she finally speaks after a short while. Complying, I cover myself up, but then don¡¯t after she just gives me a ¡®seriously¡¯ look. This woman doesn¡¯t take things by half¡­and I¡¯m not sure whether to feel super uncomfortable or enjoyed with the feeling of the brush. This is definitely something I was not expecting to happen within a million years. After abusing my front and brushing me over with the other white she places her brush away and claps her hands once. ¡°And that¡¯s me done¡± Hymn shuts her makeup case and stands up abruptly ¡°You better be getting ready before Danny sends you someone to get dressed¡± Wow rather harsh¡­but her tone was more factual rather than biting as it should¡¯ve been. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. She exits the house moments later and I¡¯m left there¡­naked and white as snow¡­ Let¡¯s put some clothes on¡­because I feel oddly enough not violated, probably from the superior formality of Hymn¡­ It all just happened so fast¡­and it was apparently Danny¡¯s idea. Checking the time, only 10 minutes had passed since she came in. Wow it really did happen fast. I¡¯ve got to be careful of Danny from now on¡­because he can call up some daunting people out of nowhere. Right¡­let¡¯s get into costume; if I¡¯m going to be forced out all night, might as well finish making the effort. I think I owe Danny that much at least (I owe him quite a bit to be honest). Opening up my wardrobe, I take out the long flowing black dress that I wore during Blood Night. *Gulp* Wriggling into it, I slowly work on zipping up the back, trying not to catch the loose dress by my wrist in the zip like last time¡­that was annoying to sort out. Phew, that took way too much effort. Patting myself, down, checking that there¡¯s no weird rips or anything else that will get Danny to have me wear the team costume, I hoist up my dress and tiptoe towards my shoe box. Short black stiletto heels, the only ones I¡¯ve ever allowed Mother to buy me¡­still don¡¯t understand why she liked them¡­the only hurt my feet after a while. Though I don¡¯t have any other black shoes so¡­dammit. Putting on the heels, with much effort, I stand up straight, letting the dress fall finally not skimming the ground any longer (it¡¯s to my ankles so the heels are kind of necessary if I want to walk). Grabbing my brush, I start combing my hair, wincing as the brush gets caught in the tangles. After god knows way too long, my hair is straight, falling down about halfway down my back and I go back to the bathroom to put on the pair of vampire fangs that Dad gave me as a joke; ¡®for giving love bites¡¯ he had told me¡­ Good old dad, wonder how he¡¯d react if he heard I¡¯d just been half-forcefully makeuped. and now am going to this Legacy house¡­whatever that is? I swear I¡¯ve hear of it before just don¡¯t remember when or where or anything about that conversation really. Sticking the teeth over my two canines with the putty that¡¯s in the box, I¡¯m all vampired up¡­ready to suck the energy out of people because I am quite tired! Yawning I head to bed, feeling some furballs cuddling up to me greatfully. Ahh, this is what I should be doing tonight. ¡­ *Dingdong dingdong dingdo-* ¡°I¡¯M COMING SO STOP RINGING MY DAMN BELL¡± Wrenching open my door with a growl on my face, I¡¯m greeted by a zombified Trent in his rugby uniform, a sick looking patient Derek and Danny¡­in a bathrobe tightly bound, covering head to toe. They all actually look really well done, especially the make up (was it Hymn¡¯s doing?). ¡°Damn, angry cute vampiress is in the house ladies and gentlemen¡± Trent announces giving me a cheeky grin. ¡°Danny¡­where¡¯s your costume¡± I am not going if you are not wearing a costume¡­and your bathrobe doesn¡¯t count. ¡°Go on Danny boy show her¡± Derek gives him a playful nudge and Danny, sighing, takes off his bathrobe ¡­ .. . Oh my¡­is that a padlock? ¡°Derek, I will be doing everything in my power to get someone else voted as social sec next year¡± Danny squints his eyes towards Derek, who just laughs. ¡°Buddy, I¡¯m getting you 100% laid tonight¡± He puts an arm around Danny, jingling the chains going down his chest in an x shape. ¡°¡­Derek, may you continue being our social sec forevermore¡± Derek laughs boisterously, quite unlike his dying look. ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡± I look at them confused and Trent gives me a pat on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll see, just be ready to close your eyes¡± Huh? What do you mean? Wait scratch that, I have a bad idea of what¡¯s going to happen¡­ The other 2 have begun walking so I briskly catch up with them, almost tripping in the process but I¡¯m fine. Not sure I want to walk with Danny and his most¡­interesting¡­costume. Yeah let¡¯s go with interesting. As we walk up the long hill I hear multiple exclamations from dull looking zombies and wolf whistles from sluttily dressed witches, all aimed at Danny most likely. ¡°Ah this collar really itches¡± Something I never would¡¯ve thought I¡¯d hear come out of Danny¡¯s mouth¡­I¡¯m officialy scarred. Moving in front of him so I don¡¯t have to watch his metal pants jingle every step I now have to watch two guys in ambulance coats carrying a stretcher up the hill, a white sheet covering whatever¡¯s on the stretcher. Nice addition to the whole paramedics theme? But they kind of look bonafide ¡­no blood or anything possibly notifying their halloweeniness ¡­ .. . Maybe they¡¯re actually carrying someone who¡¯s hurt¡­but why is there a white sheet over it and why aren¡¯t they using an ambulance? ¡°AH¡± the back paramedic trips, sprawling to the ground and dropping the stretcher along with its contents, which begin rolling down the hill, clammy grey arm whipping out momentarily before being covered by the sheets/ ¡°QUICK SOMEBODY STOP IT¡± The still standing paramedic shouts as he bounds past his teammate, who seems only a bit jolted. Trent rushes forward to stop it but the white sheet stops moving quite abruptly, probably hitting a jutted out stone¡­I mean this is an old cobblestoned street. And now a mass of sheet lies in the street. The paramedic catches up to the sheet, dropping to his knees and beginning to dig through the sheet. ¡°Buddy, you alright?¡± He calls out loudly, drawing everyone¡¯s worrying eyes. Whoever was under that sheet just got a whole lot worse. ¡°RAAH¡± A head pounces out the sheet, biting into the paramedic¡¯s vested throat, blood splattering up his face violently. Dropping to the floor and rolling down slightly, the paramedic doesn¡¯t move¡­but the one who bit him, with grey clammy skin, dead white eyes and wearing a doctor¡¯s coat does. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± Everyone screams and begin fleeing. Oh god I should be running too! ARIA¡¯s just gotten me so used to seeing things dying everywhere (we literally massacred a ton of spiders and whatnot else just a ok better part of a day ago but still really recently) so I wasn¡¯t actually overly frightened by it. Either that or I''m just way too tired to react. Don¡¯t get me wrong though¡­I¡¯m terrified of the zombie that¡¯s slowly rising up, and the paramedic too now¡­but I didn¡¯t have the same screaming reaction as mostly everyone else¡­that¡¯s every scarier in itself. Turning away from the two zombies and preparing to run, I hear a chuckle, light and quiet at first but quickly growing boisterous and loud to the point where both zombies and the remaining living paramedic were in hysterics battering their fists on the ground in rhythm with their laughs. Those who haven¡¯t disappeared off the area stop and turn back¡­utterly confused for just a few unrealising seconds. Although I do spot one young guy, with a burnt face and burnt clothing actually clapping from extremely nearby¡­as if he had gotten closer?! ¡°Oh man, that was FANTASTIC¡± the original zombie finally speaks in the midst of laughing ¡°Never thought it would¡¯ve had such an effect!¡± He turns to the ¡®living¡¯ paramedic ¡°Oh did you see how they ran?¡± Both laugh as many of the people start inching towards them, slightly vengeful¡­I mean I¡¯m not because it was quite a good prank, flipping terrifying but well played indeed. The zombie stands up, noticing the slight bloodthirst in the air. ¡°Twas a pleasure for this genious to play with you fools, now come my servants, let us partay away this night¡± Giving everyone a smarmy grin, he saunters over to the stretcher lying back down on it while the other two pick it up, once more covering the zombie and rushing away before some of the more bloodthirsty people can cross the street. Well that was certainly scarring¡­now I¡¯m torn between what scarred me worse; the fact that I didn¡¯t scream and run like hell like the rest of humanity upon seeing a zombie (barring the strange burned man)¡­or Danny¡¯s ¡®interesting¡¯ costume¡­ ¡°I think we should walk past them, not sure my ears can cope with such screaming¡± Danny suggests and we all nod. Half running (well I can¡¯t really) past them we make our way further up the street ¡­ (Mr Spencer/Joat''s Pov) I had my doubts with that Aiag damned smarmy smile of his¡­but with the way he spoke down to literally everyone in the street who look to be slightly out for his blood now¡­yeah that¡¯s definitely him. However, that was freaking terrifying! And I even knew it was a prank. Well suspected. I mean paramedics carrying a covered stretcher through the streets? On Halloween too? Yeah that¡¯s not some strange medical coincidence¡­ ¡°Those bloody med students and that little fucker¡­I¡¯m gonna kick his ass when I next see him¡± Someone grinds their teeth along with more than a few dozen others on the street. No one tries going after them though, mostly because cobblestone road isn¡¯t the best for all the ladies who are wearing high heels (all of them) and the guys don¡¯t want to leave their ladies (seriously gents) so those 3 make surprisingly enough a clean getaway. Though the weird burned face and suit guy is following them, quite entranced. Odd fellow actually went up to them to get a closer look; he must¡¯ve been really fascinated by the prank. Right, should get back to focusing on getting to the party which is going to be amazing because it¡¯s a Legacy house party. Wait a second¡­did she say MED student? That explains a lot about him¡­but how the hell has he got time to play ARIA so much? ... ¡°Invitation¡± The tall, beefy black security guards looks me up and down rather distastefully. Well if you don¡¯t like my suit, get yourself an art degree then come and then I¡¯ll actually consider that you may be right about my disastrous choice of clothing colour. ¡°Does it look like I need an invitation?¡± I mean I am a dashing teacher in a gaudy, out there suit, able to catch the eye of every damsel within this sculpted perfections sight (they¡¯d probably get sick if they looked to long though¡­). ¡°Sir, you need an invitation to come in¡± ¡°Jake Spencer, I¡¯m on the list¡± I give him a smile as he checks his little clipboard, before waving me through. Wohoo getting past the bouncer without problems. Gah I love walking past bouncers for some reason; it¡¯s like getting away with something even if you¡¯re not. Entering through the gates I¡¯m greeted by a three story mansion of a house. Damn I can¡¯t even hear anything this close up¡­Whoever did the noise padding on this did a bloody terrific job! *Crack* Time to school these kids on the dance floor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finale next chapter :D Got into some internet today so woo here ya go!!! -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 41. A Night To Try Forget ¡°Welcome to the party, get read your rock your night out¡± A burly man in a suit waits by the door, offering me a shot glass¡­like the size of a normal glass. Now I don¡¯t drink usually but I swear this is way more than a normal shot¡­ Taking it, I swig it all in one, whoo minty. Mm that was good, barely felt the alcohol in it. Probably a mouth freshener for everyone¡¯s sakes¡­smart thinking. He points me to a sign. Alright strange, blood-written sign¡­not creepy at all. Ok so left is Strobetacular, upstairs is the Hallowed games(?) and continuing straight on is the pool¡­ Hmm, it¡¯s only 10:20 right now so¡­ I say we start with games, because that¡¯s where I¡¯m guessing everyone¡¯s going to be. Walking up the stairs, there¡¯s a few people chatting in the corridors, quite a few scantily dressed (and not only the women). Another sign eh? Left: Tongue twister, Right: Apple bobbing. Straight forward: Foamtastic and upstairs: Lounge. Er¡­Tongue twister sounds kind of boring but I have a feeling that since this is a student party¡­ Opening the door on the left (after squeezing past a short dressed witch and her cat (eugh) friend), some music pumps into my ears and quite a sight behelds my vision. ¡°Alright Tiana mouth to belly button¡± A poorly dressed skeleton calls out from on top of a bone painted throne (sweet addition). On the floor, a foxy lady (literally, fox ears, nose and even tail¡­along with short black shorts and a tank top) slides between another witches¡¯ (wearing a black short dress) legs, face moving in between the wall and her stomach, all the while keeping one foot on a green circle and another on a blue. OH! It¡¯s twister! With a strange twist (oh the irony)? ¡°Hank, foot to blue¡± A Spartan (guessing by the red cape and plumed helmet and sandals) moves his right foot to blue, lunging slightly. There are about a dozen people in the room (including me and the game¡¯s master) and they all seem to be playing. ¡°New guy¡± ¡°Jack¡± ¡°Hand on ass¡± Excuse me what kind of twister board are you using? Definitely against my gentleman nature¡­ and sober nature¡­but the peer pressure of a dozen eyes does enforce me along Goosing the nearest witch (there¡¯s a lot of them) she let¡¯s out a slight yelp before giving me a look...and a wink. *shiver* I''m going to have to find the alcohol immediately after this. ¡°Cicilia foot to shoulder¡± a brunnete woman wearing a seashell bra and a fishtail (ooh mermaid) looks rather confused as to how to lift her leg (since her fish tail is basically binding both together. ¡°Take it off¡± Someone starts that dreaded chant and soon the room starts chanting it towards the mermaid girl, who with a drunken giggle unzips the back and squirms out of the glittery blue half dress that was her tail. She then places a leg on top of Hank¡¯s shoulder, slightly redfaced (only slightly?). I¡¯m way to sober to see this as anything but slightly weird¡­ just where is the alcohol? The round proceeds with everyone slowly moving around, slowly going into pretty carnal positions if I¡¯m being honest with myself. ¡°Jack, leg to leg¡± I mean there are twister circles all along the walls and floors so why is there so much body to body contact!? I think that this game master is just making things up¡­and I¡¯m half alirght right it, half, the lesser half too. Swinging my leg around the witch¡¯s infront of me¡­well this is compromising. Now how do I get the hell out of this¡­because I am way too sober to be in some weird twistease session. ¡°Cassandra¡± I learnt that thanks to the game master ¡°Would you like to go outside for our own little twister session?¡± ¡°Definitely¡± Gah I can smell the alcohol on her breath¡­it¡¯s only 20 past 10 right? How¡¯d she get drunk so fast¡­and where¡¯s all the alcohol!? I give her a tiny push to get going and I make it look like she¡¯s dragging me out of the room, to the wolfwhistles of everyone there. Well that was tongue twister¡­maybe if I¡¯m a LOT drunker. Anyways, I tell her I¡¯ve got to go bathroom, so meet me up in the lounge and away I am, leaving one drunk witch to trip up the stairs¡­yeah kind of want to help her but that¡¯d mean I¡¯m stuck with her for the night¡­oh no. Right off to Foamtastic! Because I love foam and that seems like more of a fun thing! Opening the doors to that, it¡¯s a large room covered in foam and women. I can count the number of guys here on one hand¡­just how did they get such a disturbingly brilliant ratio? Aha! Alcohol! At a table, protected by the foam is a vampire pouring constant shots for people to take. I start pounding them down, left to right. Mm cherry, ooh mint, ow spicy, nice chocolaty¡­they¡¯re really putting effort into these shot flavours, I approve. On my 8th shot, I go in to grab it but someone gets to it first. ¡°Bartender, is there anything that can make me forget everything that¡¯s happened tonight?¡± The voice is getting slightly slurred and feminine in nature. Turning my eyes away from the empty shot table, they encounter a woman with long black hair down her back and her dress, long, flowing and covering half her well¡­non-existent bust, to the floor. And her skin; so white! I also spot her vampire teeth as she smiles after taking a probably nice flavoured shot. Wow she is actually super cute, and dressed properly too! Bonus points for that! ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready for some foam wrestling??¡± Someone shouts, grabbing my attention away from her small nose and round cheeks. People whistle and support the idea. Foam wrestling? My sober self doesn¡¯t like the sound of that¡­ The ghost on the throne tells us the rules; you¡¯re out when you¡¯ve lost an item of your clothing. ¡°Begin¡± Hey wait a second who¡¯s participating? Apparently everyone is as hell breaks loose. Ducking under a pair of delicate hands, I step towards the exit, glancing behind me to see what¡¯s happened to the cute vampiress. Oddly enough a big dark-skinned rugby costumed zombie is taking on all the people (mostly women) for her(?) while she waddles out the room. ¡°Hey big boy, let me take those pant¡¯s off¡± Seriously woman, couldn¡¯t¡¯ you just take my jacket off? Apparently not and woah the room is starting to spin¡­ a lot. Dodging the witch (so many of those tonight) I ungracefully stumble out the door, almost barreling into a busty blonde nurse with tight latex clothing. Phew, got out of there alive¡­somehow. That¡¯s 2 stripfests I¡¯ve walked into¡­uni life, completely forgot about how sexual it is my lord. Let¡¯s go cool off at the pool¡­where hopefully there won¡¯t be any naked swimming. Though with how drunk some of the people already are (helping a lady back to standing) I¡¯m not going to deny the possibility. Back downstairs and into the pool! ¡­ .. . It¡¯s a beer pool?! Wow that¡¯s awesome! ¡°JACK YOU MADE IT¡± Derek shouts from up close, sitting with (ironically) a beer in his hand and a brunette with a nurse hat on. Though I see most of her bust and not any clothi-oh there it is¡­floating in the middle of the pool¡­ Well he made his promise/dream come true I guess? ¡°Why yes I did¡­interesting party you have here¡± It actually is, ignoring the major stripping happening everywhere. ¡°This is just the beginning¡± He starts making out with his brunette nurse. There are a couple of other people here and there chatting while lying in the beer pool. At least the ratio is more even here. Well I¡¯m going to leave the premises because I see more than a few sets of clothes lying on the counters¡­naked beer pool swimming it is¡­ Anyways, Strobetastic? Please be something that isn¡¯t lack of clothing related? OH MY GOD I CAN¡¯T HEAR MYSELF THINK WITH THIS NOISE. IT¡¯S ABSOLUTELY AWESOME ELECTRONICA BUT OW I SWEAR I¡¯M BLEEDING FROM MY EARS WITH THIS NOISE. THIS IS WHERE I WAS BORN TO BELONG! LUCKILY THE DANCE FLOOR BIG AND ONLY FILLED WITH A DOZEN OR SO PEOPLE AND NO GAME MASTER IN SIGHT, PERFECT! ONTO THE DANCEFLOOR, I HAVE TO CLOSE MY EYES, BECAUSE THE STROBE LIGHTS ARE REFELCTING OFF THE ALUMINIUMED UP WALLS AND IT REALLY HURTS! IT¡¯S LIKE HAVING A SEIZURE, BUT THANKFULLY I DON¡¯T KNOW HOW THAT REALLY FEELS BUT I¡¯M SURE IT¡¯S SOMETHING LIKE THIS. TIME TO BUST OUT SOME DANCE MOVES. OH I LOVE THIS SONG ¡°CENTIPEDE¡± AN ELECTRONICAL VOICE BLASTS OUT BEFORE THE BEAT GOES WILD! ALCOHOL!! TAKING MORE FLAVOURED SHOTS, CAN¡¯T REALLY TASTE THEM ANYMORE, BECAUSE OH MY GOD I THINK I¡¯M DRUNK. IT¡¯S PROBABLY NOT EVEN 11 YET, WAIT IT¡¯S JUST GONE 11 HAHAHAHA. I FREAKING LOVE THIS SONG WOOOOOOOOO ¡­ ¡­ -10:15 that night- (Clara¡¯s POV) ¡°Clara let¡¯s go partaaaay¡± Derek half rushes upstairs before turning back and beckoning us. The suit wearing man at the door offers me a really minty drink. *cough* Agh, how much alcohol was in that? ¡°Right, let¡¯s start with apple bobbing shall we?¡± Derek claps his hands, getting us to follow him upstairs and into a room on the right. Inside is a giant basin with multiple people already on their knees trying to bite an apple. Quite a number more stand around joking and chatting, most standing by a table with a man pouring shots over and over again from a multitude of bottles. ¡°So wha-¡± Derek places a finger by my mouth, eyes already stuck to something else. Probably the woman in tight white and red outfit, riding up her butt due to her bending over so much¡­what a slut. ¡°And the winner is Kelly¡± A man with a toy knife in his head shouts out from atop a throne. The one I was just looking at stands up, long brunette hair wet and sticking to her tight outfit, which she barely makes an effort to put down to cover herself up! Derek takes a step forward and moments later, he leads her out the door. ¡°Right guess I¡¯m taking over for this¡± Trent shakes his head with a grin. ¡°Ladies and well ladies¡± He¡¯s not wrong there, I can count maybe 10 guys here and there¡¯s almost triple that number of women here. ¡°We have a special guest tonight¡± What are you doing? Stop now! ¡°DANNY¡± ¡­ .. . Eh? Everyone claps and wolf whistles Danny who poses for them. *eyes go rolling* Such a poser, but can¡¯t help myself but smile at him playing around. ¡°As you may notice, he¡¯s got a padlock on him, and there¡¯s a key within one of these apples. The lucky lady who gets the apple with the key, well gets control of this man¡¯s life tonight¡± Everyone wolf whistles and some of the ladies rake their claws I¡¯m guessing seductively towards Danny, who just laughs meekly. ¡°Now get bobbing¡± I mean Danny is quite fit¡­well really good looking, but I don¡¯t think it warrants all those women diving into the basin for him¡­ "So you not going to try find my key?" Danny gives me a playful nudge. "If I find it. i''ll make sure that key remains hidden forever" "You just stand and watch, that''ll be for the best" Trent lets out a chuckle from overhearing out little quip. After a short while of women half-fighting in the water to the cheers for everyone, someone finally holds up a key. ¡°I found it¡± An army chick, with fishnet tights, high heels and no top (she took it off mid search, like many of the women...some who are just playing in the water now , eugh) comes out of the water all bubbly. She rides a finger down Danny¡¯s chest before reaching the padlock. ¡°Now you¡¯re coming with me¡± She starts pulling him by the padlock, much to the laughter of everyone inside. ¡°Have fun with your little slut¡± I mutter after him as I walk away suddenly really angry with him. How could he just leave me at this shitty party to go off for some half dressed girl? Heading into the room at the end of the corridor, it¡¯s filled with foam. I don¡¯t give two damns about that, to the bar. This bartender is a vampire and I have him line up a series of shots. Downing each one in quick succession oh there¡¯s so many nice flavours, and I can¡¯t taste the alcohol much! Grabbing my tenth shot, I spot a hand clasping the empty place. Eh whatever. Mmm cherry. ¡°Bartender, is there anything that can make me forget everything that¡¯s happened tonight?¡± I ¡®m nowhere near drunk enough to forget everything about this shitty party and just wake up at home where I should be right now. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready for some foam wrestling??¡± Someone shouts. Ok I¡¯m getting the hell out of here right now. Nope I am not losing an item of clothing. ¡°Begin¡± Oh no, dammit, I never should¡¯ve worn these bloody heels! I hear someone coming towards me. ¡°Go quickly¡± Oh it¡¯s Trent, phew. At least he¡¯s sort of looking out for me (though he¡¯s smiling and I see someone fiddling with his belt buckle)¡­typical guy. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. I waddle out the room, wiping off some foam from my dress. Eugh, why is everything about sex? Sex sex and sex. Jesus get a grip you lot, life isn¡¯t about sex. I¡¯m getting the hell out of here. I¡¯ve made my entrance, I¡¯ve watched all my ¡®escort¡¯ get dragged off by women and now I¡¯m going to get some well bloody deserved rest! Storming downstairs, woah the world is falling ovaaah! Phew, just caught the rail. Slowly standing up, which is really hard when the world keeps moving, I slowly stumble down the stairs and head towards the exit door. No body I said the exit door! Instead I half trip into OW MY EYES! URLP I FEEL LIKE I¡¯M GOING TO BE SICK WITH ALL THIS LIGHT BOUNCING AROUND AND MY EARS. THERE¡¯S A SEAT¡­WITH TWO PEOPLE MAKING OUT ON IT. LET ME GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE. I START TO TURN AROUND BUT THEN I NOTICE A GUY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DANCEFLOOR DOING SPEED ROBOT SURPRISINGLY WELL. WHAT IS WITH THAT COLOUR OF SUIT?! THAT¡¯S MAKING ME EVEN MORE SICK THAN THE HEART-STROKE STROBING! THOUGH HE LOOKS LIKE THE ONLY BLOODY PERSON HERE WHO ISN¡¯T SLUTTILY DRESSED OR ALREADY WRAPPED WITH SOMEONE ELSE. LIKE I¡¯VE NOT MET A SINGLE GUY WHO HASN¡¯T ENDED UP WITH A WOMEN YET, EVEN HERE THEY¡¯RE JUST GRINDING OUT ON THIS FLOOR, PLEASE STOP! HOW IS THIS GUY HAVING FUN? JUST HOW WASTED IS HE? OH MY GOD HIS EYES ARE CLOSED! THAT¡¯S THE SECRET TO HAVING FUN! NOT FUCKING CARING THAT ALL THESE SEXUAL MONSTERS ARE JUST DRY HUMPING EACHOTHER IN EVERY DIRECTION I CAN SEE. FUCK IT, HE LOOKS LIKE HE¡¯S HAVING FUN SO I SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME FUCKING FUN. I DON¡¯T EVEN FUCKING KNOW WHAT THIS MUSIC IS BUT I DON¡¯T FUUCKING CAAAAAAAARE ¡­ ¡­ (Mr Spencer¡¯s POV) UHUH LETS GET THAT BEAT FROM MY SHOULDER TO MY TOE, UP AROUND AND LET¡¯S GO LET¡¯S PARTY HEY HEY! GOD I LOVE THIS MUSIC, WHOEVER¡¯S DJ¡¯ING IS BOSS. OH I¡¯M JUST LOST IN THE MUSIC. ¡­ .. . SOMEONE JUST FELL INTO ME, BUT I DON¡¯T CARE, I¡¯VE BEEN COLLIDING WITH ALL THESE GRINDERS UNTIL THEY LEARNT THAT THIS MAN NEEDS SPACE TO PARTY. THEY¡¯RE NOT MOVING AWAY FROM ME, ANOTHER DRUNK DYING ON THE DANCEFLOOR I GUESS? GENTLY PUSHING WHOEVER THE HELL THAT WAS OFF OF ME, I OPEN MY EYES. OH LOOK IT¡¯S THE REALLY CUTE VAMPIRESS FROM BEFORE¡­HOW IS SHE SO DAMN GORGEOUSLY CUTE!?! ¡°LETSH SHFUCKING PARTAAAY¡± WOW SHE SEEMS PRETTY DRUNK. I GUESS YOU HAVE TO BE IF YOU WANT TO COPE WITH PEOPLE BEING FINGERBANGED JUST A WALL AWAY. REALLY YOU TWO GET A ROOM! SHE STARTS TO BOB HER HEAD. WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT!? TAKING HER HANDS INTO THE AIR I MAKE HER FIST PUMP TO THE MUSIC BECAUSE SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT TO DO. I MEAN HAVE YOU NEVER GONE DOWN ON THE DANCE FLOOR BEFORE? APPARENTLY NOT AS SHE SIMPLY FIST PUMPS IN THE AIR LOOKING SLIGHTLY LOST. HAH GUESS I AM SCHOOLING SOME FOOL ON THE DANCEFLOOR (WOO BUCKET LIST TICKING OFF). ¡°DANCE WITH THE BEAT¡± I SCREAM AT HER AS I MAKE SQUARES IN THE AIR WITH MY HANDS MOVING WITH THE THUMPING OF THE BASS. ADDING A BIT OF A SHOULDER JIGGLE OH YEAH I¡¯M FEELING THIS BEAT. THERE YOU GO YOU¡¯RE GETTING BETTER. NOT STANDING THERE LIKE A TOTAL DANCE FAILURE. NOW GET SOME MOVEMENT IN YOUR LEGS, LIKE THIS! TIME FOR SOME BEATBOY MOVES. AH GOD IT¡¯S BEEN AGES SINCE I¡¯VE SHUFFLED LIKE A MANIAC! HAHAHA OH IT¡¯S HILARIOUS TO WATCH HER TRY COPY THAT IN HER DRESS, REALLY JUST STOP, YOUR DRESS WASN¡¯T MADE FOR MOVEMENT. ¡­ OH MAN I¡¯M ACTUALLY GETTING TIRED ALREADY? DAMN MY AGING BODY! GRABBING HER SHOULDERS AS GENTLY AS I CAN, WHICH ISN¡¯T THAT GENTLE BECAUSE EVERYTHINGS A BIT DIFFICULT TO DO RIGHT NOW, I STOP HER MOVING. ¡°LET¡¯S BLOW THIS JOINT¡± NO WAY AM I SITTING DOWN AND GETTING TO TIME WATCH ALL THESE PEOPLE FORNICATE, NOT MY THING. ¡°WHAAAT?¡± ¡°LETS. BLOW. THIS. JOINT¡± ¡°OH. YES¡± SHE NODS AND I WALK OUT BEHIND HER, CATCHING HER AS SHE TRIPS BUT OH NO I¡¯M FALLING MYSELF. AHHH! OH THANK GOD THERE ARE SOFAS CLOSE TO HERE. SHE¡¯S LANDED ON TOP OF ME SO I THINK WE¡¯RE BOTH ALRIGHT. I HELP HER UP, TRYING MY BEST TO IGNORE THE HALF NAKED COUPLE BESIDE ME AS I STAND UP AND HELP HER OUTSIDE. ¡°THIS PARTY SUCKS¡± SHE EXCLAIMS AS WE FINALLY LEAVE THE ROOM. ¡°I KNOW, WE CAN HAVE MORE FUN SWINGING IN THE PARK¡± ¡°THAT ACTUALLY SOUNDS LIKE A LOT MORE BLOODY FUN THAN THIS¡± She¡¯s sobered up somewhat, and my ears are slowly getting better. MAN HOW LONG were we dancing for? It¡¯s almost midnight, seriously, I got tired in less than an hour? Helping her out the door, this time not tripping up and falling over (haleluliah) she turns to me. ¡°WHERE¡¯S THIS PARK¡± ¡°OH WE¡¯RE ACTUALLY GOING?¡± ¡°HELL YEAH, THIS PARTY WAS SHIT, I NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE FUN IF I¡¯VE BEEN FORCED UP AND OUT OF MY BED¡± WOW SHE SOUNDS like she didn¡¯t even want to come to this party. Though seeing as how she¡¯s dressed, no idea how she got invited to a Legacy party¡­she looks more like the reclusive nerd that she¡¯s starting to sound like. Oh she must be the ah forgot what the nickname that was spreading around, the Vampire¡¯s mascot girl! Damn I can see why they¡¯d definitely want her to be one...she¡¯s Arousingly cute (and I''m not sure how to feel about that). ¡°WELL THEN LET¡¯S GO¡± I swear I¡¯m still shouting, but I cannot help it. Placing my jacket over her bare, deathly pale shoulders, I then offer her an arm, she gladly takes it and we swayingly walk towards a nearby park with a swing (she does take off her stiletto heels half way though, wincing slightly). Ah I used to use this for some parkour practice until I found the proper one. As we walk along the street, I can hear the various parties happening around, ranging from screaming nerds probably playing horror games to banging tunes almost drowning out football chants. Don¡¯t know why but they all kind of seem a little bit more fun than the Legacy party (don¡¯t get me wrong, minus 8 years on me and that¡¯d be my little bit of heaven¡­but I¡¯ve sort of moved past the whole strip games phase¡­and the whole group orgy thing yeah not my thing). Anyways onto the park. As always it¡¯s locked, so I pick her up and hop over the low metal fence, feeling the spikes just brush past the back of my shirt. Thank God I gave my jacket away or I¡¯d be awkwardly impaled right now. ¡°Tadaa¡± Finally no longer shouting, just kind of loudly speaking¡­ ¡°Could¡¯ve given me some warning¡± She squints darkly at me but I can tell she isn¡¯t really angry with me. ¡°To the swings¡± I pretend not to hear her (well truthfully I can only half hear her, ears still pumping with music) and bound towards the swings, jumping onto it and swinging right up as I stand on the seat. Weee, why does this never get any less fun? ¡°Hey, come push me¡± Huh? I look over to a mildly sulking vampiress who¡¯s sitting on the swing, not making much effort to swing it herself. Well if the lady wants, I don¡¯t see any reason to say no. Jumping off the swing mid air and landing on my feet, I brush myself off as I head to the back of her swing. Pushing it with my feet, I watch her slowly rise and fall, feet paddling in the air calmly. ¡°Ahh, this is so much better than being dragged into that shitty place¡± I hear her sigh of relief. Wow she¡¯s definitely some reclusive nerd who¡¯s been dragged to the cool kid¡¯s area against her will. ¡°So how¡¯d you get invited?¡± Actually want to make sure that she¡¯s the vampiress mascot I¡¯ve been hearing rumours about. ¡°Rugby captain¡± Bingo! ¡°How did you get in?¡± ¡°Why from my dazzling visage and great dress sense of course¡± ¡°Wahaha, more like the bouncer was sick upon seeing that horrificly orange suit¡± She has a very fair point. But hey the gaudiness is just perfect. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m Jake¡± ¡°Clara, thank god you told me because I¡¯d completely forgotten to ask¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry I¡¯ve sometimes know people for months without getting their name¡± ¡°You sir are a terrible human being¡± She giggles as I keep pushing her on the swing. Stopping her swing, I gesture towards the merry go round. ¡°Oh no, my world¡¯s already spinning¡± ¡°Suit yourself miss boring¡± I hop over to there, give it a whirl and jump on. ¡°You spin my head right round right round¡± I start singing oh so badly as I spin my head, holding a bar, all to her giggling. ¡°Come on, come spin!¡± ¡°Alright alright, just once¡± I slow the merry go round enough for her to get on and take one of the seats. Now run! Speeding up the merry go round, I jump on and sit next to her. ¡°Hey lie back¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Lie back¡± I lie back and immediately feel gravity pulling me hard. ¡°WAAAAAH¡± She starts screaming before laughing madly as the blood rushes to her head. I of course laugh madly along side her. ¡°NOW GET BACK UP¡± ¡°I CAN¡¯T¡± She tries to get back up but got the gravity is so much even I¡¯ve got problems, and also I¡¯m kind of busy laughing my face off, that doesn¡¯t help. I do finally get back up through sheer strength and then proceed to pull her back up. She comes up all at once, knocking me over and landing on top of me in the middle of the merry go round. ¡°Ah that was scary¡± ¡°Oh I love doing that¡± ¡°Should¡¯ve warned me about getting back up¡± She¡¯s still smiling as she tries to chide me. I just laugh. ¡°I should warn you, you¡¯re not going to be able to get back up easily right now¡± ¡°Oh thanks for the warning Jerk¡± ¡°Jack¡± ¡°Jerk¡± ¡°Hey stop giving me nicknames already, we don¡¯t know eachother well enough¡± I give her a wide smile and she giggles ¡°Well what should I call you then¡± she leans in, her small nose touching mine ¡°sir Jackalot¡± ¡°First off not that, how about¡± THAT¡¯S A TONGUE IN MY MOUTH. WELL THAT TOOK A TURN FOR THE EXPECTED. Closing my eyes for a moment to concentrate on her madly untrained tongue, capturing it with mine before slowly pushing it back outward her own territory¡­ Man I can taste the vodka and OW WHY ARE MY LIPS ON FIRE¡­OHHHH IT BURNS. Huuuu, huuu, ok it¡¯s not too bad once you get used to it, but ah lesser men would¡¯ve cried with that spice¡­oh wait; I feel a tear or two¡­That¡¯s some dangerous lipstick she¡¯s got on there. ¡°I think you should get home¡± Just saying, you¡¯re kind of drunk and that spicy kiss really sobered me up. And also the fact that she¡¯s gone red-faced from embarrassment, well you¡¯re the one who did it!? I slowly push her off me, helping her grab some rails to stand up before standing up myself. The merry go round it still going slowly, so I help her off before hopping off and picking her up. She looks away slightly awkwardly. Well I did kind of make this awkward. Ah well, better than letting her do something she¡¯ll regret (not that the ladies ever regret doing me but still, it¡¯s kind of against my morals). Jumping over the fence, I land without problems and we begin walking once more¡­in slight awkward silence. I mean there really isn¡¯t anything I can say that¡¯ll make this situation any better¡­hmm¡­most I can hope for now is that she forgets it all and we start from square one some other time. Reaching a house a good 20 minutes later, she opens up the gate and hands me my jacket, still holding one end. ¡°Why did you stop me?¡± ¡°Because you are a terrible kisser¡± I give her a cheeky smile, and she looks at me in mild shock for a few seconds before giggling. ¡°Well goodnight Clara¡± ¡°Goodnight¡­Jack¡± She starts walking up the stairs to the second floor, probably her flat. Turning round, let¡¯s get back to mine, I¡¯ve had enough random encounters for one day! ¡°Hey Jack¡± Oh what is it now. Turning round, I feel her SPICY GOD DAMN LIPS latch onto mine. She grabs my shirt, slowly dragging me inside. I hold the gate for a moment, but ah she¡¯s made the effort and the choice, and plus I¡¯m not totally resistant to this gorgeously cute face and cyan eyes of hers. ¡­ .. . Dammit Letting go of the gate, I kick it closed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ohlala, well you''ll be pleased to know that this was the finale for this arc and the next one will be starting oh so soon! -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 42. Never Ending Work AHH ARIA! Halleluliah that the Hallowed¡¯s end is over so now I can finally get down to gaining some skills! That¡¯s right! I can finally actually get skills without having horrible situations forced onto me without pause, without control and without any mercy towards my need to gain some skills! First on the list¡­literally everything (I died so from step one I go! Luckily my Ogre race was locked not hobgoblin)! ¡°You look tired¡± Someone¡¯s talking to me? Back foul devil! Flipping round, it¡¯s PJ! Foul deviless it is! ¡°Do I look tired to you? It may have been the now going on 2 days of no sleep but gah sleep is a mundane necessity for those who do not have skills to earn. For if I go to sleep then when I wake up some other hell will be brought upon my time and I won¡¯t be able to garner all those delicious skills I¡¯ve been wanting to treat myself too¡± Oh don¡¯t I know that some new strange situation will occur soon, so I must gain skills before I¡¯m dragged into that! ¡°Excuse me young sir, are you the one they call Joat?¡± ¡­ .. . I will find whoever is cursing me with these things¡­ ¡­It¡¯s the village elder¡­and he seems to have forgotten all previous encounters with me? ¡°Yes that¡¯s him¡± PJ!!!! ¡°Ah perfect, well since you are the leader of these Orphans I¡¯ve come to ask your help in moving the wounded to the nearby town¡± Erm, how about no. I¡¯d rather not be dragged into another situation this soon please! ¡°Please help us, if we can¡¯t take them to the healer they¡¯ll die¡± I should care¡­wait who are the wounded? ¡°Who are the wounded?¡± ¡°Most of the village sadly¡± Really? Oh so this is the after effect of the battle then! Why, why am I given such an important task ALREADY! Literally just logged on¡­huuu. ¡°And you want us to escort you to the nearby village¡± Just making sure there¡¯s no raid a dungeon without any prior notice kind of thing going on. ¡°Yes, we will be going slow and with all we can carry so we will need your protection¡± What an odd statement ¡­. .. . WAIT a second. ¡°Are you leaving this village?¡± ¡°We have to. The fauna is all dead and all the plants have been burnt to a crisp, there is no habitable place for miles of this village and we will not last more than a week here before our stores run dry¡± ¡­ .. . NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS GET SOME SKILLS! ¡°¡­Fine¡­but promise that you all teach us what you can¡± I mean that¡¯s some form of compensation right? RIGHT? ¡°We will try. Now it will take us 2 days to gather all our belongings, so please rest until then¡± The village elder then bows and goes off into one of the ruined houses.
AREA EVENT:Village Emigration
The Village Elder and his villagers will soon be emigrating to a nearby town, where there is fauna and flora for them to survive in. Also the many wounded villagers need to arrive at town with a week of this quest, to cure their grievous wounds. All players within this area can participate in this event but must be invited to participate by the event leader, Joat, to get any rewards
Rewards: The villagers will pass on some of their knowledge to you
Current Day: 0 Villagers Remaining: 14
¡­ .. . ¡°There there you¡¯ll get your free time someday¡± PJ gives me a pat on the shoulder. THIS IS UNFAIR! WHY DO I GET NO REST FROM ANY OF THESE ANNYOING SITUATIONS!?! ¡°At least we¡¯ll learn skills from them right¡± ¡°You sure will¡± I¡¯m crying, literally tears streaming down my face right now¡­.I was so hyped¡­so hyped to gain some skills but now, now I¡¯m stuck escorting a bunch of Npc¡¯s¡­ *sniff* Ah let¡¯s wipe those tears off, because I now need to get everything sorted because I have 2 days, 2 days to learn every freaking skill possible! ¡°EVERYBODY LISTEN UP¡± The milling crowd stop loading up some makeshift carts and look my way ¡°WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A MEETING NOW¡± Rushing to the broken steps of the tavern, I beckon for everyone to come. Hmm, doesn¡¯t seem like everyone¡­not by a long mile Opening up my friends list, 62 people are missing. Well this is the morning after Halloween, I WAS only here for the skills¡­but just my luck to get rutted in this mess. ¡°Right, sit down and listen in¡± Everyone quietly sits down and I notice 3 old Npc¡¯s (I know only 2 of them) loading up the carts at literal snail pace. ¡°We are going to be escorting them lot to a town, because this place is bust¡± I point at Jenna¡¯s house, which for some reason has collapsed, and actually now that I look at it, there¡¯s a giant freaking crater where half the village used to be¡­? ¡°SO we have 2 days to prepare before hell breaks loose again¡± ¡°Why are we doing this?¡± A black leopard asks me¡­hmm never seen him bef-Oh it¡¯s Blacky?! (Recognized him by his voice). I send them all a quest invite. ¡°Because there¡¯s nothing for miles around us and when these lot are gone our skill gaining will be limited that¡¯s why¡± And because we have basically no choice. But I¡¯m sure mostly everyone understands that after reading the quest description No more questions? Good. ¡°This meeting is going to have 3 parts¡± I look for Baila but she isn¡¯t here¡­hmm I don¡¯t have a scribe. ¡°I¡¯ll be scribe¡± Thank you Zzoid, perceptive as per always¡­ ¡°The first will be sorting out this escort mission. The second part will be skill swapping, because we¡¯ve all learnt that we don¡¯t have enough, by far. And the last part will be general knowledge¡­and don¡¯t hold back because we¡¯re going to need all we can get¡± No one raises their voice or hand. ¡°Ok, so do any of you know the problem that we¡¯ve been having ever since we¡¯ve tried to work together?¡± ¡°We suck at it?¡± The old kobold points out the answer perfectly, though he doesn¡¯t seem too sure about it himself. ¡°Precisely. The only ones who seem to actually know how to work together is DillyDally¡¯s Squad Animal¡± Actually where is h-there you are¡­and still an elf? Wait no he¡¯s got little nubs on his forehead¡­so a different type of elf? Now that I saw that, the showing members of Squad Animal (I count only 4 of them) have those little nubs on their head and pointy ears too...did they unlock a new race? Ooh! and they''re still beastmen too! that''s even more awesome! ¡°Squad Animal?¡± Someone calls out, yeah I know bit of a strange name but hey it works. I point over to Dillydally. ¡°Squad¡± ¡°SIR YES SIR¡± All shout out in perfect unison in response to Dillydally. Well that sure showed everyone¡­wow they¡¯re getting good. ¡°I want us to truly work together, so we¡¯re going to make 4 squads of 12 and 3 more of 13¡± my math is thankfully working, albeit other parts of my brain are slowly shutting down. ¡°The 13 squads will be special squads, the rest, whatever you can make it to be¡± ¡°But why not just let us party as we see fit?¡± Good question¡­Glorious (it¡¯s a fat hornless rhino-beastman so I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s him now¡­since he can¡¯t be a hippo anymore). ¡°Because then there¡¯s only 8 problems I have to deal with instead of 20 odd. SO get into your squads and from then on we¡¯ll figure out between our leaders what each squad¡¯s task is¡± Not going to bother with wordplay; the less squads I have to manage the easier life becomes for all of us. Glorious shrugs his shoulder, I hope he gets it¡­or maybe he¡¯s too tired to argue just like everyone else. ¡°So who want¡¯s to be a leader?¡± Don¡¯t have time for this; I want to just get skills! ¡°Zzoid?¡± The obvious choice. ¡°Nah I want to be part of your jinxed squad¡± Err thanks? And I don¡¯t believe in jinxes! Also Zzoid¡¯s more human looking than before¡­but still a lizard?! ¡°Right, so B0mber?¡± He''s still a slime it seems. ¡°Sure why not¡± Thank you; please let¡¯s get this moving on! ¡°Braxus¡± People have listened to him before. ¡°Yeah¡± He grunts his reply. That¡¯s 2 down. ¡°I¡¯ll take one¡± Ravenna calls out¡­.I think she¡¯s just trying to grow her number of minions¡­ ¡°And I will in the name of myself lead the other¡± That¡¯s definitely Anoobis¡­yup it is. ¡°Anyone else for normal squads? Nope? Perfect. Right you guys are leaders and you¡¯ll choose your squad schoolground style¡± They nod ¡°Now for special squads! Apparently I¡¯m one of them, what for we¡¯ll find out soon¡± Everyone¡¯s looking at me funny, well I don¡¯t have any idea what will make my squad special. ¡°Mage wannabe¡¯s stand up¡± 4 people stand up; well it¡¯s more than one. Oh and 2 more people just came online, even better. ¡°13 of you will be the magic squad, any extras split them between the other squads.¡± Everyone ooh¡¯s especially the mage wannabes¡­because they all feel the magical skills that are to come. ¡°The last special squad will be run by that guy¡± I point towards the wild looking elf with long grey hair, still haven¡¯t gotten his name and to be honest never seen him fighting either¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to make them mad¡± Not sure whether that¡¯s a good thing or¡­ ¡°Right so you¡¯ve all got 2 days to train yourselves up and I hope to Aiag we¡¯re all prepared by then¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re so uppity about this¡± The sexy cat-beastlady purrs towards me¡­why is she one of the few that are online? Doesn¡¯t strike me as the nerd type¡­ I¡¯m uppity because I¡¯m not frolicking in the field gaining skills as I see fit¡­but not sure everyone would be happy with that answer. ¡°How many permanent deaths did we have in the past 24 hours¡± Zzoid thanks for the help ¡°39¡± Tikari calls out. Nice that she¡¯s here and better that I don¡¯t feel anything towards her¡­but she is still pretty cute. Dammit, go away lingering effects. Also 39? That¡¯s hell of a lot of people! No wonder I notice a few small changes here and there¡­ ¡°You see, I don¡¯t want another 39 perma deaths happening when we do this escort mission, okay¡± The cat-beastlady nods and sits back down. ¡°Now as I was saying, you¡¯ve got 2 days. After that, we¡¯re escorting this lot to town¡± ¡­ .. . Phew part 1 done and dusted. Now to the actual part I wanted to get to from the beginning; SKILLS!!! ¡°So who¡¯s in whose squad?¡± Dammit Zzoid, why¡¯d you have to drag me back into part one. ¡°Zz¡¯s, pinky¡¯s, Thrash, Krudel and Princess, Baila, Charmine and BoneCrusher and¡­.err does anyone want to be part of my squad¡± ¡­ .. . Seriously? Crickets? ¡°I¡¯ll go for it¡± Honey stands up. Thank you Honey saved my dignity, well what¡¯s left of it. ¡°The rest of you deal with it in a bit¡± Let¡¯s just move on, please! They don¡¯t listen and I¡¯m forced to stand through a pick and choose as everyone gets divided into their groups. My life is a living hell right now. Though I think I fell asleep halfway through because I got subtly poked by Zzoid just before the end. ¡°Happy?¡± No complaints it seems ¡°So let us move on to skills¡± Finally! ¡°Now I say we change our rules slightly so that exquisite stats are shared too, because let¡¯s face it, we need the skills¡± That¡¯s only partially the reason; the other reason is that I gave them my brutality stat for free! I want something worthy in return. ¡°Sounds like a plan¡± Dillydally¡­I¡¯m not sure whether he¡¯s with it or against it (well he probably does have a nifty stat or two up his sleeve). ¡°So beginning as always¡± Might as well seem like an amazing discoverer of stats for what it¡¯s worth. ¡°I¡¯ve gained 3 stats; Endurance, Intelligence and Mana¡± I swear half the mage wannabe¡¯s just fainted in delight just then. I have to give them a minute or two to recover from the joyous shock. ¡°Endurance is gained through receiving a large amount of pain for a constant period of time, like keeping your hand in the fire till it¡¯s burnt black¡± A couple of people look pretty queasy at that, but then again everyone has gotten the brutality stat¡­ ¡°So how did you get that?¡± Oh who is that curious soul¡­Blacky it is. ¡°I put my face into the fire¡± I have neither the energy nor the patience to try come up with a story. Most people give me a ¡®you¡¯re crazy¡¯ look. I¡¯m not going to deny it to be honest. ¡°Anyways, Mana is gained through trying to gather it and Intelligence is gained through logical thinking benefiting a situation you¡¯re in, like learning how to not damage a precious material inside a monster gives you intelligence¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Many ooh¡¯s flittering about. ¡°Anybody out there want to offer up some stats?¡± Dillydally stands up once more. Ooh here we go. ¡°Willpower¡± Oddly enough I¡¯m the only one who looks intruigued by it¡­wait don¡¯t tell me everyone here¡¯s got it already? ¡°You gain it by forcing yourself mentally through something, like working out past your limit¡± I will grab it for the sake of Xp! ¡°I¡¯ve also gained the Stamina stat¡± OOOH, Stamina!? ¡°Stamina is like mana but it is used with martial skills¡± Wait martial skills? I think there¡¯s more to tell¡­please do. ¡°Stamina is gained through well working out cardically¡± No more info on these ¡®martial skills¡¯? Ok guess I¡¯ll wring it out of you later. Any more stats? ¡°Fel¡± Anoobis blurts out after a short moment of silence. ¡°It¡¯s like magic, but you can¡¯t get it. Actually I have no idea how I got it; I simply did¡± Great explanation, then why blimming tell us! I think he¡¯s just showing off¡­Your Geniousity¡­ No one else offers stats so let¡¯s move on shall we¡­to SKILLS! ¡°I¡¯ve got no new skills, but what does everyone else have¡± ¡­ .. . Silence¡­SERIOUSLY! SERIOUSLY!!!? ALL THIS WAITING FOR NOTHING!? ¡°Well we learnt a martial skill called frenzy¡± Oh so that¡¯s what you were using! ¡°Swimming, Hold your breath, Holding back, Bite¡± Zzoid ticks off with his fingers. Wait what? Oh yeah! Well I already know about them so that¡¯s a waste of time for me. ¡°As for spells, the only ones I know are Detect magic and Fire resistance¡± Tikari adds in to the fangirling of the wannabe mages. ¡­ .. . Is that it? Is that seriously all I¡¯m getting; 2 stats and a martial skill¡­that¡¯s IT!? This is horrible! we¡¯ve been stuck doing this and that for so long that there¡¯s not even skills to share around! ¡°Alright we¡¯ll have to convene in a day¡¯s time for skills. We are all going to spend our first day trying to get as many new skills as possible, the more the better¡±. Everyone nods to that. I mean nobody got any skills really, like any at all! ¡­ .. . ¡°Actually scratch that¡± Just by peering around I see everyone''s close to being a walking corpse, me included! ¡°Get two in games days of rest and we¡¯ll convene here lets say 2 hours before departure to get the last few things sorted¡± Everyone tiredly agrees. Yeah I wasn¡¯t going to get many good skills out of this¡­ Now for the last part *sigh* I first explain the whole stat adjustment business along with how spells work. The information I receive back is that drinking multiple potions at once will have a bad aftereffect and that there are things called sub-classes. According to Anoobis sub-classes are different to classes as you can have more than one. Well that sounds just delightful! But once again, we¡¯ve all been stuck in this odd line of quests and raids and events, we haven¡¯t had time to explore the world to actually get something out of this apart from constant random situations. ¡°MEETING ADJOURNED¡± I¡¯m tired¡­but I want to gain many many skills¡­and I need to work together with my new squad. Why did I even bother with that? Well whatever, let¡¯s get started from wherever. *Ding* Oh I relearnt communication and leadership ¡­ .. . Oh I forgot to tell everyone¡­Ah whatever, I¡¯ll tell them next time about it, when they are deserving of my knowledge and will give me all those delicious skills to learn. Everyone quickly disperses to here, there, everywhere, except for my squad members; well whoever is actually online. I¡¯m missing Sharpy and co. along with Baila, Charmine, and BC; basically half my squad¡­not too awful given the circumstances. ¡°So teacher, what shall we do first!¡± Zzard, stop being so bubbly and energetic around this tired self please. ¡°First¡­LEADERS COME HERE, REST OF YOU TRY RELEARN SKILLS OR LOG OFF¡± Almost forgot this paramountly important task... I do get my squad to run off into the empty ashen fields to relearn some skills; seems like they had some rest last night. The remaining lot are the 8 leaders; Me, Dillydally, Braxus, Anoobis, Ravenna, B0mber, The Wild looking Elf and a gnome with a fantastically long green beard (it¡¯s almost touching the ground!). ¡°Right, we have to figure out what every squad is going to be looking into for the trip, so we get as little overlaps as possible¡± Thankfully my brain is up to the task of thinking right now, for skills sake. ¡°Well me and my mages will study spells that don¡¯t require any sort of incantation; ones that can be used by everyone here¡± The gnomes speaks in murmuring manner, stroking his beard softly. ¡°We¡¯ll continue studying martial skills¡± Dillydally inputs quite helpfully. ¡°I can look at defensive skills¡± B0mber muses to the group, hmm that¡¯ll be helpful. ¡°And I will look at offensive skills¡± Braxus snorts for everyone to hear. ¡°That leaves proficiencies, which my squad will look into¡± The wild elf rubs his hands in anticipation. ¡°Hmm, physical skills such as jump are things we should look at¡± Ravenna volunteers herself for the passive physical skills, while Anoobis quickly grabs the active ones (well we haven¡¯t learnt many of those). ¡°And that leaves stats for myself¡­Right that was surprisingly easily sorted. I¡¯m going to work well with you guys¡± They all nod gracefully ¡°We shouldn¡¯t forget about RL schedules¡± Ravenna inputs as everyone begins to disperse. ¡­ .. . I¡¯m going to hate everyone in this little circle by the end of this aren¡¯t I? ¡°That could be the main way we sort out the normal squads; we have each squad rotating RL with ARIA and that should mostly keep everyone together¡± Anoobis quickly inputs already forming a plan it seems. ¡°When we log off, our avatars disappear, so when the re-log they will be left behind by the escort¡± Ravenna muses to the group ¡°But that problem is already sorted out by the fact that we¡¯re in squads; the members should log out around the same time and only in the special squads will it be difficult¡± Anoobis retorts giving me a smarmy smile. With a fury I detest you this moment Anoobis, with a fury. ¡°Well we¡¯re transporting wounded so we shouldn¡¯t be moving fast and if we leave landmarks it¡¯ll be easy for the other squads to catch up and even individuals if needs be¡± I¡¯m just going to let those two talk it out, I¡¯m happy doing nothing right now. ¡°That should be fine, so us normal squad leaders should start talking to our possible squadmates to get a working rotary schedule¡± *Sigh* ¡°And I guess we¡¯ll sort out what our special squads are doing¡± Not going to get away with doing no work¡­ Mostly everyone disperses to get on with sorting things out, leaving Dillydally, The green-bearded gnome, the wild looking elf and me. ¡°So I think we should start with names¡± Would be a good start, and I¡¯ll try my best to remember¡± ¡°Sugar¡± ¡­ .. . Alrighty then, I mean I¡¯ve already got Honey in my squad, calling someone Sugar only makes it seem like I¡¯m in some weird polygamic relationship¡­ At least I won¡¯t need nicknames for either of them¡­until I do start calling someone else Sugar or Honey¡­ Note to self, don¡¯t get in a relationship with anybody in my squad because it¡¯ll make naming people difficult. Anyways, wild elf next. ¡°Kale¡± ¡­ .. . Once again¡­is that a plant? I swear I¡¯ve eaten that before too. Well I guess if I forget his name Planty would do. ¡°Cool, and I¡¯m hoping you know me, Joat and Dillydally¡± They both nod. ¡°So how are we going to sort out our special squad schedules?¡± Kale raises a grey eyebrow. ¡°I believe our squads are going to be a complete mess of timetables, so try sort out getting them all together for at least half a day¡± To be honest pretty much everyone is on here most of the time anyways so this shouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem. But people do need to go to sleep. ¡°For sleeping arrangements we should have half our squads logging off on alternating nights¡± Dillydally adds in to the conversation after a small thought. That sounds like a¡­well sound idea. ¡°Right, we¡¯re done for the moment right?¡± Please say yes, please! ¡°Yup, don¡¯t see anything else we can sort out just the four of us¡± Sugar gives a loud yawn ¡°Well I¡¯m off to bed, see you when hell 3.0 begins¡± ¡°4.0 for us¡± Dillydally sends a chuckle my way before also disappearing in a pillar of light It¡¯s just one long string of hells for me¡­ ¡°Ahem¡± Someone¡¯s coughing stops me logging off. Spinning round, I notice Zzoid typing in the background, probably finishing off the meeting and whatever we just talked about. ¡°What are we going to do about provisions¡± ¡­ .. . Excuse-me what? ¡°Food and water¡± I know what you meant Zzoid¡­ Opening up my friendslist ¡­ .. . I hate this job. ¡°Well it¡¯s only us 2 so do you want to gather food for over 100 people for a week with me?¡± ¡°Hmm tempting, but I do have to sleep soon. What we can do however is see what stores the remaining villager¡¯s houses have¡± He points towards the 4 remaining buildings, one being the village Elder¡¯s house. And that means I have to talk to them don¡¯t I? Aaaaaargh don¡¯t have the energy for this! ¡°Right, fine, I¡¯ll go do it!¡± Ignoring his chuckling at my rather overzealous display of exasperation, I head towards the Village Elder as he slowly conveys belongings from his house to a makeshift cart. ¡°Orphan leader Joat, what is amiss?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering how we¡¯re going to feed and water everyone and since there¡¯s no fauna or flora here I was wondering if you had any stores to share?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± He fidgets around ¡°There are some foodstuffs left in the remaining houses¡­but it won¡¯t be enough to feed you all for the week. Water shouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem though, since we¡¯ll be travelling close to a stream for a part of the journey¡± ¡°Any food you can spare would be marvelous, thank you¡± Bowing to the Elder, I walk a small distance before turning to Zzoid. ¡°Happy now?¡± ¡°Well luckily we can survive off water, but that isn¡¯t the best solution¡­plus walking on an empty stomach sucks. So if you do want to make me and everyone else happy, it would be an idea to get a squad to hunt for food, possibly head to the stream a day early and catch some fish if there are any¡± ¡°Oh really? Well you just volunteered¡± ¡°¡­Yourself¡± ¡­ .. . Oh bugger he¡¯s right! ¡°You know what, screw it, we¡¯ll do it, I¡¯ll do it. Tomorrow, all our squad goes out hunting¡± ¡°With how jinxed we are we¡¯re sure to find something that¡¯ll try kill us¡± ¡°Thanks for the optimism, now get to sleep you little blighter¡± Zzoid chuckles as he logs off. Finally!!! Now to log the hell off and get myself some so well deserved rest. Man I was in such a fantastic mood just barely an hour ago¡­ Whatever, this¡¯ll be another adventure in my messed up experience of ARIA! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author''s Corner: HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Sorry about the short Hiatus, RL has been pounding me with Social Life (eugh) Sooo here''s a chappy thanks to Tcy reminding me that i kind of haven''t posted in a while! Right so because RL is starting up for me i''ve got 4 days until quite literally i''m placed into a whirlwind of 24/7 activity for basically the whole of october. Sooo i''m going to go on a month Hiatus and i''ll update you on the start of November (with a chapter, ooh!) with how much free time I have to write for youse! So *sniff* i will no be seeing any of you for this month and you will have to reread the chapters in anticipation *sniff* Goodbye my cookie loving readers, adieu for a small while -TRUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*sniff*EEEEEEEEENORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 43. Squads First Social I¡¯m back in action with energy to spare, woo! 12 hours of sleep really did me some good!And some food and a nice hot shower really helped. God was I cranky. Well anyways, I¡¯m here and ready to¡­hunt. I guess that could give me some useful skills? Right, first things first; let¡¯s look through the notifications that have been storing up in my inbox.
You have Died. Ogre Race is now locked
As expected
You survived 5 waves (wave 1-6)
For surviving 5 waves you have gained 1 permanent level Reputation with all Villagers +5 For killing over 100 monsters within the event you have received a candy with teleportation effect (24 hours) (soulbound)
Holy Aiag that is some pretty sweet loot. I mean it is one use¡­but if I¡¯ve got a high enough magical understanding I could probably learn how to actually teleport without the candy effect¡­ooh plans for later. Also nice to see that it¡¯s soulbound¡­really need more of those.
Message from Zzoid
Just the bog standard this is what happened in the meeting message, including my squad going hunting today¡­well it¡¯s completely official now¡­no running away from that work.
Congratulations! By constantly leading members of your community through hard times you have been both informally and formally appointed Leader of your Orphans by both themselves and outsiders.
TITLE: Orphan Leader
You are the leader of the Orphans that reside in this Village. This title is gives some in-game bonuses.
For gaining this title your communication and leadership stats will increase by 5 each. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active. Quests concerning your Orphan¡¯s as a whole will naturally be known to the Orphan Leader first
xp increases by 25%
Free stat points so Wohoo for that¡­but no wohoo¡¯s for being appointed leader. I¡¯d rather be free then be sought out for responisibilities¡­Eugh. Well it is stat points and 25% xp so all in all might be worth it, might¡­ That oddly enough does seem to be it...for now. I notice a few pillars of light nearby, receding to show some familiar faces. Oho! Waving them over, I notice the Zz¡¯s coming from my right. ¡°ALRIGHT EVERYONE, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING IF YOU ARE PRESENT¡± ¡°I present myself¡± Zzoid gives a little bow, smart play on words there. ¡°Teacher we¡¯re ready¡± Ah Zzard ¡°Big brother!¡± And that makes the 3 of them ¡°Here¡± Well that was just plain. Turning round, oh it¡¯s Baila! Seriously you couldn¡¯t at least try something smarmy. AH someone is hugging me way too tightly. ¡°Let¡¯s do this¡± Right, careful with your words there in this situation¡­PinkyS? Oh my she looks rather¡­possessive of me at the moment. DANGER DANGER ¡°If you ever need a shoulder to cry on because you have to have responsibilities, I¡¯m here for you¡± Tahnk you PJ, for the fully sarcastic comment/heartfeltness of it. And for prying PinkyS off of me¡­ ¡°I¡¯m ready for a hunt, girl¡± Tharsh, please don¡¯t growl like that in my ear, it¡¯s terrifying. Plus I am not a woman, I have thoroughly checked just for you. ¡°Hey what¡¯s up gang¡± Honey sidles in looking towards us with slight awkwardness. Well I guess we¡¯ve all sort of partied together before except for him. Either that or the fact that Zzoid is already singing a ballad (half decently mind you) to PJ about her baba-loliness is rather disconcerting to newcomers, of just everyone in general. ¡°JOAT¡± I think tha-IMPAAAACT Aaand I¡¯m flat on my back with a zombie ontop of me, who is giggling rather uncontrollably¡­well this isn¡¯t awkward. ¡°Hey there Princess, haven¡¯t seen you around in a bit¡± She sits up on me ¡°Oh it¡¯s been so exciting I¡¯ve been on a thing called a plane and seen the sea it¡¯s so HUGE¡± ¡°Mistress¡± A pair of gleaning bone fingers clasp gently around her shoulder ¡°Oh!¡± She finally realizes that she¡¯s sitting on me, and summarily stands up, wiping her ragged leather outfit a little bit before curtsying her apologies. ¡°I¡¯m just a little bit excited¡± A little bit eh? Never would¡¯ve noticed. AND where¡¯ syour shame for straddling someone in public!? Oh wait I forgot¡­YOU HAVE NONE! But right now I¡¯m trying not to notice the stares/glares I¡¯m getting from people. I didn¡¯t do anything! I swear, she¡¯s waaay to innocent for me to even think of corrupting her so (completely forgetting I begun teaching her a bit of showgirl stuff¡­). Sharpy quickly gets Miss Nameless under control and I really need to get things moving to distract everyone from the situation that didn¡¯t just happen. *Cough* ¡°Alright we¡¯re still missing t-¡° *Grunt* ¡°We¡¯re all here¡± I¡¯m just going to assume Charmine is there because those two seem to never be separated. ¡°Erm, can we all introduce ourselves?¡± Charmine meekly as--holy mother of traps is she one. She almost looks human except from the slightly pointy ears and sharper facial features. Also BC is still one big ugly mothertrucker, but when I say bigger I mean she¡¯s grown at least a foot. So an elf and a¡­I honestly don¡¯t know; ogress? That sort of makes sense. ¡°Zzand¡± ¡°Zzard¡± They both back slightly away from the menacing looking BC¡­as they should do. ¡°Baila as you should know¡± ¡°Thrash, girl¡± ¡­ .. . Did Thrash actually get someone¡¯s gender correct? I¡¯m impressed. Now only if he could do it for mine¡­ ¡°Girl?¡± Both Pinky¡¯s and most of the Zz¡¯s (not Zzoid you perceptive bugger) exclaim rather shocked. ¡°Y-yes, I¡¯m Charmine¡± ¡°Well my lady, we will try our best to take care of you¡± Sharpy already up in the gentleman¡¯s protectionism¡­good for him, though I swear he just gave me the evil eye. OH CMON! ¡°Joat calls me Princess¡± You really shouldn¡¯t be happy saying that, nor should you be widespread telling that and for Pete¡¯s sake everyone stop giving me weird eyes! ¡°And you may call me Zzoid¡± Smoothly introducing himself there, also putting Sharpy inbetween himself and BC, smart move. ¡°I¡¯m Pinky Seniour¡± PinkyS bounces up and down. *Cough* ¡°ow¡± Zzand whines slightly as I subtly pinch both him and his brother out of their slight daze. Can¡¯t blame them, BUT I¡¯m a law abiding normal citizen¡­ Anyways, PJ then bounces up and down to little effect¡­well the Zzoid effect at least. ¡°Honey¡± He doesn¡¯t look too chilled with everyone here¡­and he¡¯s standing closest to Thrash¡­probably thinking he¡¯s the most normal. Oh Honey¡­ ¡°BoneCracker¡± Eeek that¡¯s a scary voice! God I almost forgot how absolutely terrifying BC is. ¡°Well that¡¯s everyone, oh and I¡¯m Joat, master of Distaster, Leader of the masses and of course your Squad leader, so good luck with that¡± ¡°You forgot Jinxlord of Catastrophies¡± And Baila is back ladies and gentlemen. I don¡¯t believe in jinxes! ¡°Right, let us go, to Hunt for other people because I¡¯m kind like that¡± ¡°You just had nothing better to do didn¡¯t you big brother¡± ¡°Damn right, but I¡¯d prefer it if we all at least pretendedI¡¯m altruistic¡± Not even going to deny it. Laughing I start heading out the village. ¡°Er Joat¡± Zzoids concerned voice stops me ¡°Do you even know where we¡¯re heading¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡­ .. . ¡°That way¡± I point towards the north¡­and I damn well hope that¡¯s the way we¡¯re going¡­ I mean the 3 makeshift carriages are pointed that way so it seems like the right idea. But knowing my luck¡­ ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re wrong Joat, just knowing you¡± Thank you for your support Baila Quite a few of the others disagree with me. ¡°Fine¡± Ok if you all want to complain, I will prove that I know what I¡¯m doing (even if I do not¡­) ¡°Everyone split up and go random directions to try find food. Message me if you find something¡± Nodding everyone starts to split off in random directions by themselves not really worrying about having to deal with monsters because we did kind of kill them all. ¡°Baila¡± I call out to her before she disappears off too. I need someone to confirm with everyone that I did not deviate from my path, plus she is going to be a permanent (hopefully) member of my party for the rest of the beta test so I kind of need to rekindle our relationship. ¡°What is it Joat?¡± ¡°Come with me oh darling, to the forest of burnt delights we must go¡± Offering her an arm she lightly takes it and we begin walking off. Luckily everyone else has left the vicinity so no annoying wolf whistles/stares come our way. ¡°So it¡¯s been quite a while since it was just the two of us¡± She exclaims rather pensively ¡°Yeah a lot has happened, plus we¡¯re kind of stuck with this lot till we reach level 10¡± ¡°Should be pretty soon though and then we can adventure freely¡± We? Perfect. ¡°I have a feeling I¡¯ll be dragged into something more after this so I¡¯m not bringing my hopes up¡± ¡°Hihi you are so weird¡± ¡°Thank you, but why?¡± ¡°You complain about leading all the time but you actively pursue it¡± ¡­ .. . She has got a fair point there. ¡°I just want it over with¡± ¡°I think you like the power¡± ¡°I do but the responsibility with it is just horrible. I¡¯d rather stay untethered from that mass¡± I just hope they¡¯ll give me all these delicious skills when we all get together. She chuckles lightly as we crunch through the burnt forest. ¡°So who¡¯s going to be in our party after this?¡± Well¡­err haven¡¯t really thought of that yet. ¡°Everyone¡¯s already got their little cliques so I was thinking we¡¯d romantically travel around together¡± ¡°Wait being along with your idiotic self is romantic?¡± ¡°Hey I am rather intelligent¡± ¡°The man who decided to burn down an entire forest after pissing off a hobgoblin king¡± ¡°Queen for that matter and it wasn¡¯t the entire forest¡± I point to a charred tree and it oh so perfectly crumbles down¡­universe oh how I love these moments with you. Baila just lightly laughs at me. ¡°Though if I had to pick people for us to travel with-¡± oh we¡¯re back on topic ¡°-I¡¯d probably choose Anoobis¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Erm Joat?¡± ¡°Are you feeling ok? Did you hit your head anywhere?¡± ¡°Well I did as a matter of fac- that¡¯s not the point. He¡¯s actually a half decent guy, with a superiourity complex but still intelligent and very hard working. To be honest it was actually alright workingalongside him. As long as he¡¯s not completely uppity about himself I¡¯d be mostly alright to have him in the party.¡± She makes a good point, but still I swear she had bad history with him¡­ ¡°So why the sudden change of heart?¡± ¡°Well¡± She starts bouncing two fingers off one another in awkward silence ¡°¡­compared to this other guy, Anoobis actually seems like a nice guy, even if he also did disappear off randomly he at least told me about it as soon as he could¡± Oh she must be talking about when he was with Miss Nameless. So they were working together for the weaponsmithing? Must¡¯ve been quite a tense experience for them both¡­ Also¡­I have a feeling she doesn¡¯t quite like this ¡®other guy¡¯. I mean what did he do to her to make Anoobis seem nice? I mean it¡¯s not like he had a one n¡­ ¡°Did you wake up and he was gone?¡± ¡°Joat!¡± She exclaims in shock to me. Wow spot on and oops shouldn¡¯t be mixing RL with game. ABORT ABORT! ¡°Ah it explains why you were kind of out of this this morning¡± I SAID ABORT BRAIN! ¡°Hey! It was mean¡± Oh no ¡°I mean what kind of dick sneaks away without even a goodbye¡± ¡°Wow that does sound pretty dickish¡± Every one night stand ever? Well the properly done ones anyway. Those that stay around usually are looking to become more than just a one night stand... ¡°Oh look more burnt trees¡± Phew aborting successful. Making a beeline for the trees, Baila goes to catch up with me, noticing that I¡¯m deliberately avoiding the conversation but she doesn¡¯t seem to mind, I hope. Phew, almost went into a dark place there, not somewhere I want to go, this early in the morning too! Traversing across the land, quite silently because oops I made it kind of awkward, I finally spot a river a small distance away. ¡°Aha I am always right¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t be diving and waking up a mini-boss in this one please¡± She gives me a sarcastic smile. Oh yeah, almost forgot about that kraken¡­feels like an age ago. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be doing the diving¡± As I say that I not so lightly push her into the streaming river, which still looks mostly intact. ¡°JOAAA-¡± *Splash* Hehehe god I love it when they screa ¡°AAAH-¡± Being forcibly dragged into the cool water, I get nudgied by her while struggling to get some air. Finally letting me go, I pop out from underneath the water and into the fresh air. Ahh so much bettAH there¡¯s something clutching around my feet! I should remain calm as is my gentleman nature in front of the lady, but I¡¯ve only got 10 hp and don¡¯t really want to die so¡­ ¡°Baila, something touched my legs¡± I state to her matter of factly, with only a hint of worry ¡°AH¡± She begins jumping out and naturally I follow her, the what I suppose is a fish doesn¡¯t care and let¡¯s me leave the water without any trouble. Once out of the water we both peer in to see that indeed it is a fish¡­or well the bone structure of one¡­along with both red bulbous eyes, yeeesh. It¡¯s obviously dead so the real question here is what the hell ate it so cleanly? ¡°Joat what have we found?¡± ¡°Well something ate the fish so it¡¯s also edible?¡± Looking on the bright side here as always ¡°I¡¯m calling the others before you start gallivanting off creating a mess¡± Oh I¡¯m not THAT bad, am I? I do decide to message everyone because Baila probably doesn¡¯t have them all friended and slowly but surely everyone appears in the horizon. While they do though, a number of perfectly cleaned fish skeletons have floated down the stream rather ominously. ¡°Joat what did you do this time?¡± Zzoid gives me a look. ¡°Seriously nothing, we just jumped in and found the fish skeleton¡± Putting up my hands defensively I get questioned no further. ¡°But we¡¯re going to go find out what ate the fish right?¡± Dammit Zzoid I was going to slowly put them into it rather than just burst all out at once. Tactics my dear friend, tactics. ¡°I love a good hunt¡± ¡°Hmm the red eyes suggest a cavernal habitat so we¡¯ll have to bring some torches¡± Zzoid already off the bat planning, also where does he get all this random knowledge from? ¡°I¡¯m actually getting pretty hungry, so can we go find whatever it is now?¡± PJ whines slightly as her stomach grumbles. ¡°Sorry to disappoint you madam, but cave-born fish tend to taste more bland due to the lack of sunlight¡± ¡°Wow Krudel you know so much¡± ¡°But why does the sun make a difference? Teacher do you know?¡± ¡°Well little¡­Zzard the sunlight causes chemical reactions in the body which brings about its flavour as well as its strength. This is why things living in the dark tend to be physically weaker?¡± Charmine doesn¡¯t seem too sure about her explanation but hey it¡¯s a better explanation than what I could give. ¡°Charmine is correct, always correct¡± Ook BC calm down on the fanaticism please. ¡°That is a shame big brother I was getting hungry for fish¡± ¡°If we find some spices we could cook something up for it!¡± PinkyS bounds up and down in excitement ¡°But we¡¯d have to be careful with the cooking of the meat as it will be very susceptible to both heat and light¡± Already Honey is sticking out his tongue in an attempt to think hard, possibly deciding what conditions we cook the fish in. ¡°Oh Honey you can cook? Perfect!¡± Baila jumps up excitedly. Hey I can cook too¡­somewhat. Right I guess it¡¯s decided then ¡°Everyone¡­let¡¯s go fishing¡± ¡°Hunting¡± ¡°Bad Zzoid¡± With everyone¡¯s chuckling I begin walking up along the riverside, quickly followed by the rest. The trek is nice and calming, apart from the slowly growing number of clean fish skeletons floating down the river, their eyes untouched¡­ ¡°Any thoughts on what it could be?¡± I ask the squad as they chatter along. No responses, perfect. Ah we¡¯re finally at something; a waterfall! After maybe 2 hours of slowly walking up the riverside we¡¯ve finally come across a waterfall¡­ Continuing to walk sure enough there¡¯s a secret cave behind the waterfall! Ah how I love how that is still a thing in this day and age. Stepping onto the cold slimy stone floor I hear my slapping feet echo into the dark cavern entrance. Luckily there¡¯s a little sidewalk beside the river full of skeleton fish so we don¡¯t have to wade through that. Grabbing the hand of whoever¡¯s behind me; Baila, perfect, I whisper for everyone to hold hands because I¡¯m assuming everyone is blind¡­because I am too since I haven¡¯t re-learned my perception skill yet. ¡°Give me 5 minutes everyone¡± ¡­ .. . *Ding* ¡°Alright let¡¯s go¡± Well that was easy to re-learn. Walking along the floor beside the slow current river there isn¡¯t actually much to see or hear¡­well apart from the hushed echoes of snipping and splashing. Not creepy at all. Finally getting to the end of the corridor we walk out into a large expansive space with quite a lot of things going on: A large white gangly creature with large claws slides almost silently into the water while another slides out carrying a flopping fish with bulbous red eyes. A few more squat by the large circular body of water opening the fish with experienced ease and one even throws away a fish skeleton as I glance around. Oh and there¡¯s a massive cylindrical rock in the middle of the water which looks really artificial; it¡¯s almost properly a cylinder. Though the minute we all get here, all the pale gangly creatures stop what they¡¯re doing and look at us with their own bulbous red eyes ¡­ .. . Are they going to attack or what? ¡°MONSTERS¡± Aha-wait that wasn¡¯t them!? Something scaly brushes past me and yup that¡¯s the two younglings accompanied by the two pink bunnies. Well I guess we¡¯re fighting them. Almost a dozen of these things pop out of the water almost immediately and hell breaks loose. Thrash zooms past me and leaps over the water and onto of these thing¡¯s tearing into it while Krudel dives into the water with a loud splash covering up Baila pole vaulting her way towards another creature treading water. ¡°Yeehaw¡± Miss Nameless jumps into the water without hesitation while everyone else just flies past me all at once. ¡­ .. . The battle lasts about a minute which is pretty impressive seeing as though there were 12 of them and by the fact that it took Thrash a few seconds to kill one, they weren¡¯t low level either. Though by the time everyone gets out the water they all look badly wounded and Baila has even lost her armour. But it seems her beginner clothing respawned, phew. Also most of the people here can¡¯t even see in this dark¡­just what did they think they were going to accomplish. I did see Baila somehow kill something mind you...after faceplanting the water oh so fantastically. ¡°Right, are you done going mad all of you?¡± I peer down at them as some of the younger ones catch their breath. *Rumble* ¡°I declare this wasn¡¯t my fault¡± Quickly blurting that out, I turn towards the cylindrical rock in the center and sure enough it¡¯s trembling. ¡°We should run¡± Oh thanks Zzoid, never would¡¯ve thought of that. Rushly helping people up the rumbling gets bigger, accompanied with the sound of splitting rock. ¡°RUN¡± Everyone starts rushing towards the corridor upon my shout and at that exact moment the rock bursts apart revealing a large white cylinder with multiple horizontal grooves.
You have awoken the Mini-boss: Larva
¡­ .. . ¡°Pfft¡± ¡°Joat this isn¡¯t a laughing matter¡± Baila reprimands me as I chuckle at the fact that we may be fighting a Larva.
Due to waking it up agro is 100%
OH CMON! The flat head dips towards my direction and I spot the thousands of rows of gleaming teeth pointing my direction. Go go go! Charging and slipping through the corridor I hear the suctioning sound of the Larva trying to squeeze its way towards us. ¡­ .. . ¡°Um guys¡± I stop running away and everyone slowly stops, some giving me a strange look. ¡°We could just poke that to death now right?¡± I point my thumb at the futilely squeezing Mini-boss. A few small laughs bounce around as everyone rushes up to the Larva and start stabbing, clawing and punching at its face without mercy. The AI is rather interesting... With a few last shlops of what I¡¯m guessing is it¡¯s wailing in pain it finally stops squiggling around and it¡¯s front quite literally explodes into mist covering all of us.
You have successfully slain the Mini-boss: Larva
You have been imbued with Larva Scent
¡­ .. . Firstly Ew. Secondly what? Peering at the top right of my HUD I spot a red bordered square. Ah red¡¯s never good. ¡°You can click on it to check it out¡± Zzoid helpfully points out.
DEBUFF: Larva Scent (1 Stack)
The Scent of a Larva is imbued into your body to what effect you don¡¯t know
Duration: Permanent
¡°EWWW¡± A few of the people here jump into the river trying to wash themselves off. ¡°Hmm to be covered in their scent, it¡¯s so we can be tracked¡± Thrash growls with a little glint in his eyes. No Thrash I don¡¯t want to be hunted please! ¡°But what would try hunting us?¡± PJ stands by us dry as a dead leaf. Seems like she doesn¡¯t really care about the slight gooey smell we¡¯re all emitting now. ¡°its mother¡± Thrash unhesitatingly replies. FANTASTIC! Just what I needed¡­to be hunted by the mother of a mini-boss¡­and also the fact that this think seems to stack¡­ ¡°RIGHT¡± The splashing/cleaning stops ¡°Someone cut this up and the rest of you fish. If you can¡¯t see go outside and get some skills. The bunnies, Charmine and Honey leave. The rest stay¡­even Thrash. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s a wolf-beastman he shouldn¡¯t have night-vision¡­? Ah well no skin off my back if he¡¯s helping. Now then, down to cutting that humongous disgusting Larva to pieces ¡­ Phew that only took forever!
ITEM: Uncooked Larva Flesh x423 (Poor quality)
The flesh and meat of a Larva
ITEM: Larva Teeth x999 (Poor quality)
Teeth of a Larva
Well that should feed us for quite a bit. ¡°Right, let¡¯s get some light¡± I call out to the others who are busy washing themselves of the slightly acidic insides of the Larva. Washing myself as we wade outside I believe I¡¯m presentable when I pass through the waterfall and into the light. ¡­ .. . Aaand they¡¯re sunbathing¡­even Honey wow. ¡°Ok you lot stop the sunbathing session and let¡¯s get to some actual work¡± I clap my hands waking a sleeping PJ in the process. Half-grumbling they stand up. ¡°Alright, so 2 things about that little adventure we just had. Firstly don¡¯t be rash and leap out like that¡± I look at pretty much everyone but it was pretty much everyone who leapt out randomly ¡°And secondly we need to work on this thing people call teamwork¡± ¡°True but hey we didn¡¯t die so we can¡¯t have been that bad¡± Baila shrugs her shoulders towards me ¡°No we¡¯re just individually quite good so we could handle ourselves fine¡± Sharpy actually takes my side?! Well not really but I¡¯m counting it! ¡°And thus I want you all to pair up and train your skills together¡± ¡°I¡¯m with Joat!¡± PinkyS blurts out immediately and everyone else quickly grabs someone to partner up with. And I¡¯m left with BC and PinkyS¡­this isn¡¯t good¡­how did I get BC?! Shouldn¡¯t she be with Charmine!? Actually why is Baila with Charmine, she should be with me! ¡°You see what I meant¡± Zzoid stop giving me the look ¡°is that we should partner up with people we haven¡¯t worked with before¡± ¡°We should do it randomly¡± PJ speaks up. Hmm that is a good idea to stop people feeling prejudiced if they don¡¯t get picked¡­ ¡°Then we shall Rochambo it!¡± Holding my fist into the air I motion with my other hand for everyone to gather round. ¡°Rochambo Teacher?¡± ¡°Rock Paper Scissors¡± ¡°Rock Paper Scissors?¡± ¡­ .. . Just what kind of upbringing did you have Miss Nameless? ¡°It¡¯s a simple game with your hand. You have three positions; rock, paper and scissors. Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper and paper beats rock, you got all that?¡± ¡°Yup¡± Well at least she¡¯s got a really good memory. ¡°We will all say Ro-cham-bo and pick a position. Ok everyone you ready?¡± Everyone nods and makes a small circle. ¡°Erm how will this decide who we¡¯re pairing with?¡± Baila, that is a fantastic point that I almost forgot about. ¡°Whoever has the same position will pair up and the first time there is a three they will trio up¡± No one seems against it so¡­ ¡°RO¡­CHAM¡­BO!¡± ¡­ .. . Erm looks like Zzand is with PJ and BC¡­hmm not too awful and I¡¯m left with mostly people who won¡¯t kill me¡­maybe. ¡°RO¡­CHAM¡­BO!¡± Thrash and Honey are out with Scissors and our circle is growing ever smaller. Hmm who do I want to be with...actually better question would be who do I not want to be with? Peeking at Sharpy. ¡°RO¡± roc-pa-sci-sci-ro-ro ¡°¡­CHAM¡± pap-roc-pa-ro-pap-sci ¡°¡­BO¡± Scissors! Oh my god he¡¯s good at this! Ow my eyes hurt after trying to keep up with that. And I¡¯m not even correct!? His bony hand is in the shape of a rock and so is mine, EEK! Quickly peeking around, phew Miss Nameless is also a rock¡­ Zzoid and Charmine took scissors though and they¡¯re out. Alright, only me, the undead duo, Zzard, PinkyS and Baila are still in¡­ ¡°Excuse me Joat¡± Miss Nameless raises her hand slightly ¡°Why is everyone changing their hand position? ¡­ .. . I swear I just told you the game? ¡°Have you been going rock this whole time?¡± ¡°No I mean why are you changing your mind mid swing?¡± Oh! ¡°Because I¡¯m trying to n-choose my partner¡± Whoops almost said I didn¡¯t want to be with Sharpy¡­ ¡°Ohhhh¡± Alright round 4. ¡°RO¡­CHAM¡­BO!¡± ¡­ .. . Holy mother of Aiag I think my eyes just had a heart attack! I¡¯ve got rock, mostly because my brain just melted at the speed at which Miss Nameless was changing her hand positions as well as Sharpy! He¡¯s got scissors as well as Miss Nameless, but Zzard also has scissors. Baila has rock along with PinkyS¡­wow that was odd and I have actually noticed Sharpy¡¯s intense gave on Miss Nameless¡¯ hand. I¡¯m guessing he wants no one else to partner with her¡­but tough luck welcome to RPS! ¡°RO¡­CHAM¡­BO!¡± ¡­ .. . I¡¯m paper all by myself¡­ And Zzard is with Sharpy¡­oh my I dodged a bullet there. And Sharpy¡¯s having a mild breakdown over in the distance¡­guess he¡¯s just realizing he isn¡¯t going to be there for Miss Namless¡­whoops. Anyways. So now there¡¯s only me, Miss Nameless, Baila and PinkyS ¡­ .. . I take back what I said about dodging a bullet. *Gulp* Suddenly the air feels a lot more tense¡­and I can feel EVERYONE¡¯S gaze upon me. Seriously why me!? ¡°RO¡­¡± already they¡¯re hands are spasming ¡°CHAM¡± Erm rock-pa-sci I DON¡¯T KNOW ¡°BO!¡± ROCK! ¡­ .. . ¡°Yes!¡± Baila lightly exclaims with the clenched fist of victory before blushing slightly at everyone¡¯s sniggers. The other two picked paper. Phew this ended up with the least worst of the three situations, Luck is with me today. ¡°Alright, now that everyone has their groups split off and work together¡­you have an hour¡± ¡°An hour that¡¯s not nearly long enough to learn how to work together¡± Charmine helpfully points out. ¡°I said that we should get to know everyone here so every hour we should switch partners¡± ¡°Oh¡­so why did we do the whole Rochambo if we¡¯re swapping anyway?¡± She asks innocently. Zzoid don¡¯t you dare speak out. ¡°Might as well start it off randomly¡± It¡¯s obviously not because I had PinkyS and BC in my group and really ddin¡¯t want that situation ¡°So disperse my fellow squad members and train yourselves!¡± I flee before further questioning ensues, taking Baila along with me to a few little wolf whistles from the Zz¡¯s¡­ Now, what do I begin with? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author''s Corner: I''m BAAAAAAACK hey big hiatus cause of RL but omg i''ve got a massive chapter planned for next week so be exciteeeeeeeed!!! TCY the chappie that has been takign forever was this next one so ooooh get ready for it! 44. Normal People With Normal Bonding Sessions (Honey¡¯s POV) ¡°Honey was it?¡± Thrash growls in his quite manly deep voice. ¡°Glad you remembered, Thrash¡± He nods in satisfaction I guess ¡°So what shall we do for the hour?¡± ¡°Tell me, what are you?¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°A honey bear-beastman?¡± Luckily I did not die in that strange Halloween event ¡°No you¡¯re a human¡± Ah ok? Maybe he¡¯s talking about real life? ¡°Yes I¡¯m a human male but can we forget real life please, I am Honey: a honey bear-beastman and that¡¯s all¡± ¡°You are no beastman-¡± Cocking my head towards him, I silently wish for explanation. ¡°-You are but a human wearing bear skin¡± ¡­Thrash seems to have a slight misconception of me. ¡°Well then what are you?¡± Maybe he believes all beastmen are just people wearing animal skins? ¡°A wolf¡± Maybe he¡¯s just confused¡­ ¡°How are we different?¡± ¡°Tell me, what do you smell?¡± *sniff* ¡°Burnt forest?¡± ¡°Death¡± ¡­ .. . *Sniff* I guess burnt forest is death of trees¡­ It seems Thrash has an imaginative view of things, or is it a purely logical one? ¡°Stop smelling the trees¡± He growls menacingly towards me as he walks towards a small pile of ash. *Sniff* ¡°Death¡± Going over to sniff the same ash pile¡­it¡¯s the same as the rest of the forest? I¡¯m rather bemused as to what Thrash is percieving. ¡°I told you stop¡± He barks towards me angrily ¡°Don¡¯t sniff with that human nose of yours¡± His eyes bore menacingly into mine ¡°Then how do I smell?¡± Maybe he can explain how? ¡°With the bear¡± ¡­ .. . ¡­I¡¯m not sure what to say to that¡­ ¡°AWOOO-¡± Suddenly he bursts away on all fours, bounding across the ash and into the distance, baying non-stop along the way. ¡­ .. . Thrash is quite a strange individual. Sitting down next to the ash pile that smells like death apparently, I sniff it over and over but it only smells like ash... ¡°Sorry I smelt fear¡± He stands back up on all two¡¯s, a layer of ash on his stomach ¡°It was just girl¡± ¡­um ok? ¡°Smell death¡± *Sniff* ¡°Grr¡± I think he was sighing but the goosebumps on my arm tell me something else ¡°Run¡± ¡­ .. . Huh? ¡°AWOO¡± AHHHH! Sprinting away I hear Thrash¡¯ panting behind me, very close behind. ¡°Thrash what are you do-AH¡± He snapped at me!? Glancing behind¡­Thrash has gone mad! His eyes are feral and his teeth are snapping at my legs dangerously close and he¡¯s on all fours. He almost looks like a wolf! Running for my life it does become that when his teeth rake on of my legs taking off over 100 health! I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯ve got to run faster Faster FASTER! Falling onto all fours I start bounding through the ash, coughing and spluttering as it hits me in the face but I don¡¯t want to slow down, for there¡¯s a feral Thrash behind me. Running is strange, lopsided and too slow. I can hear him just inches behind, his hot breath spitting at my feet. I don¡¯t want to die; it¡¯s such a pain to re-make my character! Bounding for my life I¡¯m still too slow! Just how do I run faster? Wait I¡¯ve got 4 limbs on the ground. Pounding the ground with both hands I pull myself forward before kicking off with both feet. *Boom* That was rather¡­thrilling. The wind picked up too and the landscape in my peripherals is just a blur, whooshing past me in a dull grey. And I can¡¯t feel his breath anymore. Ah the wind is refreshing, calm, free! ¡°AWOOO¡± Haah he¡¯s so far behind I can barely hear it but he¡¯s getting closer. Faster! Blasting through ash I can see it rocketing up either side of me and all over me, but ptah that doesn¡¯t matter because I¡¯m running free! ¡°AWOO¡± It¡¯s closer now, but it¡¯s less menacing, more friendly. It¡¯s almost like a greeting. ¡°RAAAR¡± ¡­ .. . Was that me? Wahahah it was! I hear his panting as he races up to me, appearing at my left side, bounding hands then feet like me, soaring through the ash, uncaring off the piles that blast onto us. ¡°GRAWWOOOO¡± ¡­ Slowing down after a while, I begin wincing at the cuts on my hands and feet from running across sharp ground, ow¡­in hindsight this was a terrible idea. ¡°Smell¡± *Sniff* He¡¯s right¡­it smells like death, like a burnt rabbit to be more exact, how odd. ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°A bear¡± ¡°Yes¡± His growl is satisfied, his grin wide and blackened by ash. I really need a tree to scratch my back on now ¡­ .. . did I really just get that itch? Standing back up, I fall over; partially from exhaustion, partially from suddenly being up so high. ¡­Wow I do feel absolutely beat after that run. Oh I have a notification
Congratulations! You have learnt a Racial Skill
RACIAL SKILL: Unleashing The Beast (Bear), Beginner [Lvl1] (0%), (Passive/Active)
Due to your birth you are half-beast and thus innately you have the desires and traits of such beast. But only upon freeing your mind of all human links can the beast truly show itself to the world.
Passive Benefits: Allow intermediate with all physical skills Upon activation: Lose all social skills. Lose all magical skills +10% to all physical skills Gain all Bear traits with 10% proficiency
Xp increases by 100%
¡­ .. . ¡°Thrash you are an absolute geniu-¡± ¡°Woof woof¡± ¡­ .. . Thrash¡­that¡¯s your own tail¡­ ¡°Ah¡± He stops suddenly and stands back up. ¡°I will catch that damnable thing which haunts me, one day¡± ¡­ .. . He¡¯s definitely more animal then human right now¡­ Checking on the time, our hour has almost past. Wow we were running for a long time. Actually¡­where are we? Looking around I don¡¯t recognize anything at all. At least we¡¯re still in the burnt forest. ¡°Don¡¯t look, smell¡± His deep voice growls in my ear suddenly. Taking a deep sniff¡­smells like forest again. Hmm, so I need to activate the skill but ho-ah! Going down on all fours I sniff the ground, planting my nose into the ash. I¡¯m an animal, a bear, what do I care for a little ash? Aha! I smell¡­rabbit¡­living too ¡°Do you smell her?¡± Her? Oh right there aren¡¯t any living things in this forest except us (hopefully), so it¡¯s one of the rabbit-beastladies? ¡°To the left?¡± Not too sure, my nose isn¡¯t used to tracking things. ¡°Close enough¡± He growls happily and begins walking steadily towards the left. Standing back up I feel quite imbalanced for a few seconds before the vibrant smell of death is replaced by ash and charred wood quite abruptly. Hmm that is an odd and only slightly perceptible difference if I was not to focus on it¡­ Anyways, I should change before Thrash decides to become more wolf than human again for I am too tired to outrun him. He was quite scary as a wolf though¡­ ¡°You were holding back right?¡± ¡°I was hungry¡± He shrugs his shoulders worrylessly ¡­I guess he was encompassing his wolf¡­maybe. Everyone let¡¯s meet up Let¡¯s get back to the others, quickly¡­ ¡­ ¡°Hello the-holy mother of Aiag you¡¯re covered in ash, what happened?¡± Joat and the rest of the group looked at both of us in half-shock. Well we are covered head to toe in ash. ¡°We ran, we howled, A prey was found, but caught it was not¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Joat doesn¡¯t sound believing ¡°Honey, good time training?¡± ¡°Enlightening¡± Joat is giving me a strangely understanding look. Hmm maybe Thrash has done this for everyone? ¡°Perfect¡± He walks up to me and gives me a pat on the back ¡°well this time round you¡¯ve got Princess for the hour¡± He leans in to my ear ¡°Good luck¡± Eh? I thought she¡¯s nice? She can¡¯t be more dangerous than Thrash right? Joat gives me a pitying look before heading off, replacing himself with the quite disgusting looking zombie girl. Though if she weren¡¯t rotting I¡¯d say she would be quite a beautiful thing especially with the long and wavy crimson hair of hers, falling a little underneath her shoulders. I don¡¯t see why he thinks she¡¯s dangerous and I hope not to find out. ¡°Hello there madam, I believe we should reintroduce ourselves. I am Honey¡± ¡°Call me¡­Princess¡± She really likes that nickname it seems. Ah well Princess it is. ¡°So Princess what are we going to do in our hour?¡± I notice everyone¡¯s dispersed to other areas already, disappearing from my sight. Huh game vision is a rather interesting concept. ¡°I don¡¯t know, me and Pinky Seniour did some dodging training, which hurt a little¡± She rubs her rotting arms wincing slightly at the dark purple splotches on her skin. Bruises? Also I do see quite a few cuts on her arms, black blood crusting around them. Just how rough was Pinky Seniour? ¡°Was she a little rough on you?¡± A little would be a small understatement. ¡°I don¡¯t know, she hit me a lot but that¡¯s because I was too slow and then I kept falling down and cutting myself on splinters of wood¡± She looks down rather sadly. Hmm, something smells off (not her though oddly enough)¡­but I can answer that question later. Right now let¡¯s see if I can do something about those cuts and bruises. ¡°Hey, do you know of any trees that are still standing around here?¡± ¡°Yes but what for?¡± She looks up at me expectantly with vibrant purple eyes¡­yet I can still see the dead milky white iris¡­what a strange combination. ¡°You¡¯ll soon see. Please lead the way Princess¡± She quickly directs me to a large burnt tree a few minutes away, hobbling slightly as she goes. Looks like Pinky Seniour did a number on her. I¡¯m going to have to tell Joat and I¡¯m guessing the Skeleton who looks like her party member about this. Bad blood between a party is never good. ¡°Here we are¡± She points at the large blackened tree¡­hmm without the leaves it¡¯s hard to tell what it is. Well it¡¯s better than nothing at all. ¡°Forgive me for a minute¡± Walking over to the tree¡­ahhh ohh that¡¯s so nice! Wait I¡¯ve got to grab the tree to just-ahh oh god that¡¯s fantastic. Ah there¡¯s a little itch on my lower b-mmm, this tree is my new best friend. Oh yes aghh. ¡°Ehe¡± Oh god forgot you were there! ¡°Ah sorry¡± I stop gyrating my back against the tree, feeling superbly refreshed. ¡°It was really funny to watch, but why were you doing it?¡± ¡°I had a very big itch¡± ¡°So when people have an itch they scratch their backs on trees?¡± ¡­ .. . Was that an actual question? ¡°Well some people can¡¯t reach certain parts of their body so they have to use other things to scratch it¡­I use trees¡± That¡¯ll do as an explanation¡­I guess? ¡°Ah that makes sense¡± It does? ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to scratch this bit but I can¡¯t. So this is how!¡± Well depends on who you are. She looks from me to the tree with an almost needing look¡­ ¡°Go for it¡± Seems she needs confirmation that it¡¯s fine? Almost bounding up to the tree, she starts gyrating her back against it, letting out a few gurgling sounds of happiness. Well she isn¡¯t wrong; it¡¯s rather amusing to watch. I definitely see why she was giggling at me. ¡°Ow¡­I cut myself¡± Ah yes, bark is sharp¡­maybe I can do it because I¡¯ve got fur on my back? Well that¡¯s a question for later. ¡°Ah sit down, I¡¯ll scratch for you¡± I know the pains of that impossible itch so I¡¯ll help her with it. Obidiently sitting down in the ash, looking slightly concerned as she does so, I sit behind her and itch that annoying spot between the shoulders for a minute or two. ¡°Better?¡± ¡°Thank you Honey¡± Wiping off the black blood from my hands with the ash¡­it doesn¡¯t really work. Thank god I¡¯m not a queasy person. Right what we came here for! Standing up, grab the charred bark and rip it off revealing a less burnt interior. *Scratch scratch* It was a good idea to add claws with my remade character. The wood gets softer the more I scratch until finally I feel a tar-like liquid squidge through my fingers. ¡°Right, come here Princess¡± I hear her crunch her way towards me. Grabbing a fistful of the cream coloured sap, hmm let¡¯s hope this isn¡¯t poisonous; I turn round and start lathering it on her arms. ¡°It burns slightly¡± She winces but doesn¡¯t complain further. ¡°Yes it¡¯ll do that because it¡¯s in direct contact with your inner layer of skin which is very sensitive¡± ¡°But what is this supposed to do?¡± She looks at her now white covered arms. ¡°It stops you bleeding as well as stops it getting infected, which will let your wounds close up peacefully and without problems¡± ¡°Wah, how do you know this magic?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not magic, it¡¯s science. But not many people know about this anyways since it¡¯s very rarely needed nowadays¡± ¡°But what if you get cut?¡± ¡°There are medicines of all kinds nowadays¡± This girl seems to know very little about the world. ¡°Medicine?¡± She surely must know about medicines? Or is she one of those anti-medicine families? No that isn¡¯t possible, or she¡¯d know about natural healing methods such as this¡­ Just what kind of lifestyle does she have in the real world? ¡°Something humans made to cure sickness¡¯ and diseases and also for things like cuts and bruises if need be¡± ¡°Oh, that sounds really cool¡± ¡°It is, but I prefer methods like this¡± ¡°It¡¯s no longer burning, do I need more?¡± ¡°Yep, and I¡¯ll do the rest of your body. Please show me all your cuts¡± ¡°And what do I do with¡­the big pruple things?¡± ¡°Bruises?¡± ¡°Yes that¡¯s what they¡¯re called right?¡± She truly doesn¡¯t know anything¡­ ¡°Yes. Sadly I can¡¯t do anything with them, since all the small plants and bushes are destroyed so there won¡¯t be any anti-septic leaves to use¡± I start musing to myself, only stopping because I notice her confusion. ¡°Your bruises will go after a small while, until then they will hurt a little¡± ¡°Oh ok¡± I begin digging for a little more tree sap, keeping an eye out on the tree so that it doesn¡¯t suddenly fall on top of us¡­that¡¯d be bad. ¡°Alright where n¡­now?¡± It¡¯s a little shocking to see her in her underwear without a single complaint...but I¡¯ve seen enough naked people that it doesn¡¯t shock me too much anymore. Once again, if she wasn¡¯t rotted I¡¯d say she¡¯d be very beautiful. Anyways, I begin rubbing her cuts gently, making sure the sap fills them up and stays there. All in all it takes a good while without so much as a complaint. She does wince though, but so would anybody with the strange burning feeling in addition to the pinch of bared flesh to the air. Luckily no dangerous areas were cut that¡¯s her all done. ¡°Right, you can put your clothes back on¡± She nods and puts the surprisingly cute cowgirl outfit back on. Well most of an outfit anyways; quite a lot of it is breaking/broken off probably from overuse. Then again she¡¯s one of the few still with a working piece of armour; most broken quite quickly¡­but then again ours were all staple jobs¡­ And they were quite uncomfortable due to it all being hard leather. ¡°Honey, can you teach me how to get this stuff?¡± She asks me excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s called sap and I can if you find me another tree¡± She jumps into the air joyfully before wincing. Ah right, should¡¯ve told her she shouldn¡¯t jump around¡­ I¡¯m sure it¡¯s common sense¡­but then again for one who doesn¡¯t seem to have had this situation before¡­ We quickly find another tree. ¡°So there are two ways of getting to the sap of a tree. The first is through a spigot¡± She gives me a confused look ¡°It¡¯s a small pipe which you shove into the tree and the sap will flow out of it¡± She nods in understanding. ¡°And the other way is digging to it?¡± ¡°Yep¡± She learns quickly. ¡°And since we don¡¯t have a spigot that¡¯s exactly what we¡¯re going to do¡± Though she doesn¡¯t have claws¡­ ¡°Nevermind, we¡¯re going to make a spigot¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Well spigots make holes so if we just make a hole that¡¯ll work as one¡± ¡°Ah, but how are we going to do that?¡± ¡°This¡± I take out the terrible dagger that got me into Weaponsmithing with Jarken. Almost forgot that I had this. Handing it to her, I have her twist the handle into the soft flesh of the tree, watching the knife quickly dig in. Once the dagger is in all the way to the handle I have her pull it out and I did not plan far enough ahead. ¡°Mmm it¡¯s so sweet¡± She begins licking some of the sap off her drenched fingers. ¡°Wait it might be poisonous¡± it¡¯s quite hard to tell just from sight. She spits some out and then looks sadly at her covered arms. ¡°But it tastes so good¡± ¡°Sucks doesn¡¯t it. Though if you¡¯re not feeling sick in an hour then you can get some more later¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Sure, but someone else will have to come to get it for you¡± I give her a reassuring pat on her head because I know that sap can be quite delicious. But I should really clean her up before the hour is ov- Everyone let¡¯s meet up ¡°Oh hey guys you ready for a-¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Honey shirt now¡± Joat stops chuckling to whatever Zzoid was saying and immediately both of them take off their shirts and begin wiping Princess away with some slight franticness. ¡°Ow that hurts¡± She complains as they accidentally roughen her up. ¡°Sorry but it might be poisonous¡± one of the three lizard-beastmen quickly retorts while wiping his shirt over her back with more caution but still quite a bit of speed. I take off my shirt and join in, wiping her right leg while joat does her left, seems like they are in a rush to clean her, for most obvious reasons I suppose. ¡°But it¡¯s already inside me¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Well hello there¡± Ah it¡¯s the pink rabbit duo and the smaller one has quite a saucy? And Thrash is here too with another lizard-beastman. And quickly everyone else walks towards us everyone glancing between Princess and me¡­ ¡°It¡¯s so sticky¡± She plays with some in her fingers uncaring or unnoticing of the stares. *Gulp* What have I done? ¡°Why hello there¡­Joat, Zzoid and¡­Honey¡± ¡­ .. . My heart just stopped for a second there¡­what a disturbing feeling ¡°Hi¡­er Krudel?¡± His fingers look very sharp. ¡°Hi there, we were just cleaning the sap off of Princess here¡± ZZoid quickly butts into the killing atmosphere choking me. ¡°Yep that¡¯s exactly what we were doing, cleaning her up¡± ¡°We just bumped into her; Honey was the one who¡¯s responsible for getting it all over her¡± Zzoid¡­that was a terrible statement. Eeek killing intent! ¡°Sorry I was teaching her to gather sap from trees, I forgot about turgor pressure¡± I bow deeeeeply towards Krudel whose eyeless sockets burn holes into me. ¡°Ah well that¡¯s fine then¡± ¡­ .. . Eh? The tension has lifted? Seems like Krudel is a very understanding man. ¡°Mistress, how about you wash off in the river before partnering up¡± ¡°Ah but honey told me this is to stop the cuts¡± *Twitch* ¡°Ah I see, then please wash off after a while. Honey, it¡¯s our turn together isn¡¯t it¡± He gives me a friendly smile. Such an understanding man¡­ ¡°Of course¡± I smile back and we begin heading off into the ash covered forest (well what¡¯s left of it), quickly leaving everyone behind as they all too disperse in other directions. ¡­ ¡°So what shall we be training?¡± I ask him as we come to a stop, all alone. ¡°Have you got the endurance stat yet?¡± ¡°As a matter of fact no, it didn¡¯t sound likea fun stat to get¡± ¡°No it doesn¡¯t but it¡¯s a very useful stat to have¡± ¡°So what painless way is there to gain it?¡± ¡°When did I say painless?¡± Huh? AHH! Before I realize it i¡¯m on the ground, both legs broken as well as both arms. It was so fast the pain hasn¡¯t OOOWWWW! ¡°Now then, while you¡¯re gaining the stat I shall tell you all the rules that you should abide when around my Mistress¡± His bone hand digs into my open chest slowly. ¡°Number 1¡± He starts writing it on my right peck ¡°Uncouth words will be punished with the removal of one¡¯s tongue¡± *Shiver* He stops to wipe off the blood and to let me heal back to full. Cutting at me again too soon. ¡°Number 2¡± His fingers dig slightly deeper this time, owww! This is torture! This shouldn¡¯t be allowed in this game. ¡°Sexualising her in any way whatsoever will result in the removal of such organ, slowly¡± This really hurts! Also sexualisation is only in the mi-OW!Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. He¡¯s down at my midsection now. ¡°Number 3¡± He¡¯s about one bone in now, slowly dragging it through my skin. ¡°Physically damaging her in any way will result in such damage 10 times over¡± This is more than 10 times over! And I didn¡¯t do anything to her! ¡°Number 4¡± Gah! Fingers suddenly sunk in another bone deep ¡°Treat her like the lady she is. Any uncouth personnel around her will be removed¡­permanently¡± *Gulp* He¡¯s below my bellybutton now, please stop, please! ¡°Number 5¡± His entire finger is sunk now and I took quite a lot of damage from that ¡°If your name is Joat, you shall be flayed, hung and quartered¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°I¡¯m Honey¡± He¡¯s using me as a punching bag for Joat!? Seems like Joat has done some seriously bad stuff. And here I was thinking Joat was a nice guy¡­ ¡°I¡­know¡± Seems like he forgot for a second there? *gulp* *Ding* ¡°I¡¯ve gained endurance, please stop¡± Please ¡­ .. . He stops¡­huh? ¡°Sorry, that was ungentlemanly of me. Please forgive my actions¡± He bows deeply with surprising grace in his chocky leather suit ¡­who decided to try make a suit out of leather? Err what do I say? ¡°If you do not forgive me then please break all the bones in my body as retribution¡± ¡­ .. . The sudden change of attitude is rather worrying¡­ Oddly enough, I can move all my body again¡­wait has it already been half an hour?! ¡°I¡¯m not a vengeful person, but as punishment¡­please teach Princess about the real world, she seems to lack some rather basic knowledge such as medicine¡± He cocks his head. Hmm maybe he¡¯s a little surprised at my punishment? ¡°Ah that is a special case¡­we¡¯re an anti-medicinal family¡± That makes her situation have a little more sense¡­a little. ¡°But I will begin teaching her things about the world, things she should¡¯ve learnt long ago¡± I wonder why he¡¯s never taught her anything before, because it¡¯s obvious to anyone he¡¯s seriously overprotective to the point of he¡¯d probably kill to protect her. No he¡¯d definitely kill to protect her¡­and not in the game either. So was it his overprotectiveness that denied her worldly lessons? ¡­ .. . I think I finally understand why Joat told me good luck; she wasn¡¯t the dangerous one¡­he was. Looking down at my front, I see the rules slowly fading away, nothing remaining, not even the dry blood. Game systems are rather intriguing. ¡°For sakes of me gaining the endurance stat, could you please break my body¡± He bows down to me gracefully. Understandable I guess¡­ I begin snapping his bones¡­which is surprisingly difficult. ¡°Hmm, seems like it¡¯s no use¡± He finally opens his mouth after a few minutes of me snapping his ribs off. I raise an eyebrow in question. ¡°Seems like I, as a skeleton, don¡¯t feel pain so endurance might be a skill I cannot get¡± Oh so race limitations¡­ ¡°So since there is nothing we can do, how about you tell me all your worries. Since you do seem quite worried about Princess¡± ¡°Mistress and yes, I do believe you deserve to know some of my worries¡± I sit down facing him. ¡°It¡¯s been a stressful week and it¡¯ll only get worse now that she¡¯s finally going into society¡± Into society? She¡¯s definitely had a strange ubringing whoever she is. ¡°Watching such an innocent flower be by dogs, I worry. I really worry that all these years of hard work to turn her into a great lady will be destroyed by the uncouth society of this world¡­¡± ¡°Like Joat?¡± He nods. Hmm ¡°Well I think that she as an adult must be able to see who to follow and who to not. That is something that you cannot ever prepare her for¡± I place a hand on his bone shoulder ¡°And as for Joat, look how everyone trusts him. To me he seems trustworthy despite all his faults. He¡¯s like an open book¡± ¡°Easy to read but hard to understand¡± ¡°I guess. But it¡¯s easy enough to see that he¡¯s not a bad person. I just think you¡¯re being a bit jealous of him¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°I guess you¡¯re right¡­in some places anyways¡± He bows down, forehead touching ash. ¡°Thank you for you view and for calming my mind, even if only a little¡± ¡°Anything to stop you actually going through with your rules¡± Definitely don¡¯t want to experience rule 2¡­ ¡°Yes, Sorry again for that uncouth behaviour¡± ¡°Forgiven. Shall we go?¡± ¡­ ¡°Hey Honey you¡¯re here¡± Joat looks at me seriously surprised and gives me a hug ¡°Thanks for taking one for the team. Hope he wasn¡¯t too bad on you¡± He whispers to me. ¡°Ah he mentioned that he¡¯s going to flay, hang and quarter you¡± I whisper back. ¡°That¡­is a lot better than what my imagination did to me¡± He flashes me a grin before motioning for someone to come over. ¡°Right, Krudel¡­let¡¯s bond¡­¡± Facing death with a smile, just like him¡­ ¡°Hey Honey, hope you aren¡¯t too worn out by Krudel, I still have to have a go with you¡± I feel mildly disturbed by that statement and I¡¯m not sure why¡­ The speaker is the small pink rabbit, Pinky Juniour I believe? ¡°Sure, what are we going to do for this hour?¡± ¡°Well Princess was telling me all about how you scratched her back and I¡¯ve got quite an itch. Do you think you can handle it?¡± ¡°The purpose of this is for everyone to get to know eachother so why not¡± Small bonding experiences like these will help make a more cohesive group. We walk a little bit till there¡¯s no one around and Pinky Juniour flops onto the ash on her front. ¡°Please can you scratch my back, it¡¯s really quite itchy¡± ¡°Sure¡± I straddle her lower back and begin in the lower section. ¡°Ah Princess was right about this; you¡¯re really good at scratching. It¡¯s almost like a finger massage¡± ¡°Well scratching can count as a massage if someone knows how to do it right, but it¡¯s a lighter version of relaxation and comfort rather than deknotting of muscles since you¡¯re just eliciting a response from your receptors to help release a small amount of endorphins.¡± ¡°You soun-ah, like you know quite a bit about this¡± She seems to enjoy the scratching, which I¡¯m slowly turning into a massage because that does do a better job and we¡¯ve got an hour, more than enough time for a good massage. Plus I¡¯ve still got some sap on my hands. Rubbing my palms together to heat up the sap I then begin kneading lightly at first and then a lot more forceful. Hmm seems like she prefers it a lot more forceful. ¡°I used to do a lot of hiking with people and quite a few kids. They especially complained like, ironically enough, little kids so this was one of the ways to keep them moving¡± ¡°Ah I¡¯d definitely walk 6 hours if I oh got this after every day¡± ¡°Yup¡± Ok she¡¯s definitely not 12 years old as her body suggests. Her casualness at this kind of force I¡¯m putting on her back woud make most little women cry if not scream, but she¡¯s really enjoying this. It¡¯s one of those weird things where older people prefer a more forceful massage because of the amount of knots in their muscles usually. ¡°So you¡¯re definitely not a child¡± ¡°Mmm good boy, nice you noticed¡± I¡¯m sure that was because of me cracking her lower spine. ¡°But how could you tell?¡± ¡°Usually the forcefulness of a massage tells you the rough age of a person, plus you can find things out like the fact that you have minor scoliosis¡± ¡°A pretty useful skill¡± I silently nod. Being a hire-massage hiker is a fantastic self-employed job. ¡°Hey will it be easier if I take off my t-shirt?¡± She asks after another crack of her spine. ¡°Yes but it is not necessary, thin material like this isn¡¯t a problem for me¡± I schooch up a bit, placing my knees on her white t-shirt to keep it from rising while I work. ¡°Sorry it might get a bit messy¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯m lying in ash, it really can¡¯t get much messier¡± Hah true. ¡°Ahem, excuse me sir, just why are you pleasuring my loli-baba. That is my duty¡± ¡­ .. . Excuse me just what was that sentence? ¡°Oh Zzoid, sorry but it seems like Honey is going to be my new favourite¡± ¡°Impossible. You!¡± He starts towards me. Oh no not another one! *Crash* ¡­ .. . ¡°Please teach me the skills required to fully pleasure my loli-baba¡¯s body¡± I have to say he did not hesitate in smacking his head into the ash but still his way of saying things is rather¡­ill put. ¡°I don¡¯t see why I shouldn¡¯t the more people that know the better¡± Plus if I don¡¯t I believe there may be a little bad blood between him and I, since he too seems quite protective of his female¡­though I doubt they are anything? I don¡¯t know as of yet. Hmm maybe I should be asking the real questions here. ¡°Thank you Honey, for this I shall have one favour of any kind from you, one that does not have anything to do with the beauty before us of course¡± ¡°Oh Zzoid, Honey doesn¡¯t need to ask to use me¡± ¡­ .. . She¡¯s equally as awful with her wording¡­though it seems like she¡¯s doing it on purpose. ¡°With me around you will never need him. That I can guarantee with my very soul¡± Zzoid is quite the dramatic. Standing up I ask Zzoid to straddle her back. ¡°Oh I couldn¡¯t do such a thi-¡± ¡°Please for my sake¡± ¡°With pleasure my lady¡± With youthful vigour he straddles her back and starts warming up his hands. ¡°Well since you¡¯re a beginner we¡¯ll use some sap to make it easier on both of you¡± I rush over to a nearby surviving tree and begin digging. Within a minute or two, with Zzoid¡¯s help, he¡¯s got hands covered in sap and he¡¯s back on her back. ¡°First things first, never lose contact with her or it¡¯ll all be lost, got it?¡± He nods. ¡°So there¡¯s two major motions for you; pushes and twists¡± Straddling her legs I do a push movement with my lower palm, dragging it up his back so he knows what it feels like. ¡°Ah so it¡¯s like when you¡¯re wiping your hands on your trousers?¡± ¡°Exactly, but slower with enough force to feel the heat build up¡± I peek over his shoulder and sure enough he¡¯s got the motion sorted. ¡°Right next one is a twist¡± I place my palm on his back and twist my hand clockwise so my palm rotates in one place. Looks like he¡¯s got this one easily too. ¡°Now do a push up her back and a twist at the end away from her spine and then push down her sides¡± Doing the motion on his back as I say it, he hopefully gets a feel for i-yup he¡¯s already got it down. ¡°This is called a spreading motion, mostly used at the beginning to warm up the body as well as smoothen out some of the easier knots¡± ¡°Hmm this reminds me of working with dough, not that your supple skin is anything like that oh my loliness¡± He quickly corrects himself as she huffs slightly. ¡°A basic yet good massage is to do this spreading motion up the spine, brancing off a little bit further up each time and returning down the sides before starting over¡± I let him begin doing that. Hmm seems like he¡¯s not missing out any bit. The hardest thing with this is that one leaves gaps undone but seems like he¡¯s covering it all. ¡°Do you bake a lot?¡± ¡°Quite a bit¡± so he¡¯s already done these motions before, just on dough¡­which isn¡¯t that different in all truth. ¡°Good so you know kneading?¡± ¡°Obviously¡± Ok that was a bit of a stupid question. ¡°Now there¡¯s 2 types; Palm to finger and knuckle¡± ¡°I know them both¡± He definitely takes his dough kneading seriously. ¡°Alright, so palm to finger should happen on the sides while knuckle should travel on either side of the spine¡± Showing him both types on his body, he gets down to it proficiently. ¡°Zzoid, I thought you didn¡¯t cook?¡± Pinky Juniour asks from the floor, looking rather relaxed as she should be. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone please¡± ¡°May I be rude enough to ask why?¡± ¡°My brothers don¡¯t know¡± ¡°I swear you¡¯re the older one, what harm could it do?¡± I ask quite confused. ¡°Oh¡± Pinky Juniour somehow sees something I definitely don¡¯t. ¡°Well damn you should cook me something soon¡± ¡°For you I¡¯d cook myself, a pristine bisteque I¡¯d be¡± ¡°Mmm¡± ¡°Alright you two, please stop that and get back to work¡± I crack Zzoid¡¯s spine with a bit of finger movement. The conversation dies down and only the relaxing sound of background music plays¡­it has been a while since I¡¯ve heard it. It¡¯s a serene music, albeit with a slight crackling sounds, like a warm fire, playing over the top of a lot of it. A rather strange combination. ¡°That is a good question¡± I suddenly think of something that was kind of bugging me ¡°Just what were you doing here?¡± ¡°Oh that? I just felt my loliness was being abusedby a big black bear so I kind of needed to re-establish my servitude to her over all others¡± ¡°What about your partner?¡± ¡°Oh it¡¯s just Zzard, he wanted to go to the bathroom anyways so it suited us both¡± ¡°How did you even find us?¡± Pinky Juniour asks with an airy whisper, she looks like she¡¯s extremely relaxed. ¡°Fate led me¡± Hmm I smell something¡¯s going on here too. ¡°Hihi, why of course it did¡± She giggles slightly ¡°Right Pinky Juniour sit up, we¡¯ll do your neck now¡± Zzoid gets off her lower back and I get off her legs letting her sit up. ¡°Now for neck same as before but when you go down go to her shoulders and then around the blades and back up. Remember don¡¯t lose contact¡± There¡¯s a lot of cracking going on as he travels around her shoulder blades. ¡°Don¡¯t worry that happens a lot¡± Zzoid had stopped for a second, probably from shock ¡°people get a lot of tension in that area, especially between the shoulder blades¡± I prove my point by smoothening out a rather pesky knot in between his own shoulder blades. The massaging continues for a while and I make sure that after he¡¯s done basic smoothning he begins rotary motions with his palm around the particularly pesky knots. He¡¯s a good learner, probably fueled by the need to be better than me for his ¡®loliness¡¯¡¯ sake¡­but as long as it works I¡¯m not fussed. *Ding*
Congratulations! You have learnt a Skill: Massaging
SKILL: Massaging, Beginner [lvl 1] (0%), (Active)
Massaging is the technique to relax one¡¯s body with controlled pressure. Many can massage but few can do it well. Doing it wrong can as easily injure someone as doing it right can relax someone.
When Massaging: May cure certain Physical Conditions May give 1% increase to Physical skills for 1 hour
Xp increases by 5%
So it is true that anything can be a skill. Perfect. Hmm maybe there¡¯s a sub-class as a masseur¡­ Everyone come meet us Ah the hour passed pretty quickly. Now where is he? ¡°Add him into a party that¡¯s how we¡¯re all doing it¡± Oh so that¡¯s how everyone¡¯s finding eachother. Before I was just randomly stumbling into him... Inviting him to a party I check my map and he¡¯s not too far away. Heading over there we¡¯re the last 3 to get there. ¡°I swear you weren¡¯t supposed to be a trio¡± Joat points out to which everyone nods with suspicion. ¡°We just happened to stumble upon one another¡± Zzoid shrugs his shoulders and walks towards Krudel ¡°Well I better be off¡± Dodging further questioning, he disappears off with Krudel. ¡°Anyways, grab someone new guys and let¡¯s get going¡± He takes Pinky Juniour from me with a friendly smile, but quickly turns around ¡°Ah also, Charmine how¡¯s the lunch situation going?¡± *Rumble* Ah it has been quite a few hours so my body is getting quite hungry. ¡°Maybe a few more hours, don¡¯t worry it¡¯ll be sorted though¡± Charmine gives a large innocent smile, albeit a bit shy. ¡°Fantastic, well message us when lunch is ready. Till then, everyone feed yourselves on these¡± He points at Baila pouts slightly towards Joat, before producing a large number of berries in her hands.. Food. Taking a handful and munching on them, mm they are acidy but they keep my satiety up so they do their job. ¡°Right, who am I with this time?¡± ¡°Me!¡± The larger twin sister pink rabbit-beastlady hops up and down, Pinky Seniour if I remember correctly. Ah, I forgot to tell Joat and Krudel about her. I¡¯ll do it later. ¡°Well miss, come along and let us do something¡± She hops her way towards me without missing a beat; she¡¯s rather friendly. ¡°SO what are we going to do?¡± She asks once we stop, away from everyone. ¡°We are going to sit down and talk¡± ¡°If¡­it¡¯s about ¡®Princess¡¯ then Joat and Zzoid already sat me down¡± she looks down rather guiltily. Ah so is that why both of them suddenly appeared when I was with Princess? ¡°Well if they¡¯ve already had the talk, do you understand what you¡¯ve done right?¡± ¡°I know, I shouldn¡¯t have been so roug-right? Why are you asking me what I did right?¡± She looks rather shocked at me. She¡¯ll understand soon enough. ¡°You bullied Princess, so what about that is right?¡± ¡°Nothing?¡± She looks at me suspiciously ¡°Really? So if there was nothing right about it then why did you do it?¡± I sit down looking pensively towards her. ¡°Because¡­I was jealous¡­of how close she and Joat were¡± She sits down too, face blushing in embarassment. ¡°Then why was it wrong?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Seems she understood the question ¡°It was wrong because I was hurting someone¡± ¡°Is she a rival or an enemy?¡± ¡°¡­What¡¯s the difference?¡± she looks extremely confused right now. ¡°A rival is a friend who is competing with you for something, an enemy is an outsider trying to take what you believe is yours. So which is she?¡± ¡°...um, my enemy?¡± ¡°Then what you did wasn¡¯t wrong¡± ¡°EH?¡± She shouts, completely taken aback by my response. ¡°Your enemy is someone you need to defeat, so use whatever you can¡± ¡°But I was bullying, isn¡¯t that wrong?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s your enemy, no matter what you do, if at the end of the day you stop them taking what is yours you have done nothing wrong¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t understand¡± ¡°Then listen and learn¡± She looks at me with a rather thoughtful look, confusion dulling her eyes. ¡°You will fight her and in turn she will fight you, and even if you end up getting Joat she will still be after him, so you will eventually need to get rid of her, permanently¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll kill her¡± ¡°WHAT¡± She jumps up, backing off quite a few steps. ¡°Because if you don¡¯t, she will kill you¡± Her eyes widen in a cocktail of emotions ranging from horror to disgust. ¡°She is your enemy, and you kill your enemies, or make sure to be far enough away from them that you never meet¡± I stand up and pace slowly towards her as she backs off fearfully. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to kill her, I¡¯ll never go that far¡± ¡°You say that now, but what if you saw her and Joat together, what if you got so angry, that you fought her, took it one step to far, one punch too hard. You¡¯ve already beaten her up, all you needed to do was focus on more vital areas and you would¡¯ve killed her not just hurt her¡± I grab her by the shoulders ¡°It¡¯s not as farfetched as you believe. One minute you¡¯ll be fighting, the next, one of you will be lying on the ground lifeless. You¡¯ll have to look into their cold dead eyes and stand in their blood. Could you do that? Could you deal with that? Seeing a dead human, one killed by your own hands for a selfish reason. How would you live with yourself when they haunt your dreams at night and the living friends and relatives of that person haunt your days? How many lies would you have to make to cover up, how many of those would you have to tell yourself daily, tell yourself so much that they become truth? And if people find out, can you imagine their faces, what if your parents found out, somebody you loved? Could you deal with they look of horror, disgust, disappointment when they look at you and run, run so far away from you that you¡¯ll never see them again¡­ That is what it means to have an enemy, someone who you are willing to kill and suffer the consequences¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°So tell me, is she your enemy¡± *Sob* ¡°¡­No¡± She is staring down at the floor, tears dripping from her eyes uncontrollably. ¡°So what is she?¡± ¡°A Rival¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± I give her a light chop on the top of her head ¡°what you did was very wrong, you shouldn¡¯t treat your rivals so roughly, for they are your friends afterall¡± ¡°I¡¯m sowwy¡± She¡¯s crying a little bit now, but seems like she finally understands me. Suddenly whipping round she runs off! Wait where are you going? Running after her, the sobs quickly escalate to a lingering train of wailing splitting through the expansive ashen land. I see Princess and the large green ogress I believe was called BoneCracker? ¡°I¡¯M SOWWY¡± Pinky Seniour crashes into a surprised Princess, sobbing uncontrollably and saying something that I¡¯m assuming is apologies. ¡°Hey it¡¯s alright¡± Princess gets to a sitting position somehow, a snotting Pinky Seniour still latched onto her front, and begins patting her hair gently ¡°But what are you sorry for?¡± ¡°I bwahs shguhing buu!¡± More snotted garble from Pinky Seniour but it seems Princess understood? ¡°Well you were teaching me right? Although it did hurt it was fun¡± Princess is either extremely forgiving or has completely missed the point. Either way it looks like there won¡¯t be any bad blood between these two. Honey what did you do? Oh it¡¯s Joat, he must¡¯ve heard the wail train. Just sorted out a young rivalry I believe From her actions I decided Pinky Seniour was a young adult, more likely still within teenagerhood. Ah, well I swear Zzoid and I sorted that out, but hey adding icing onto the cake that is wisdom, go for it. I don¡¯t get any more messages, probably Joat sorting things out, so guess I have to deal with this now. The crying has deintensified but it¡¯s still going somewhat. ¡°BoneCracker was it?¡± I turn towards the ogress and she nods slowly. ¡°Shall we leave the two of them to bond?¡± She cracks her knuckles in response and begins walking away. I wonder what we will do for a good half an hour? Honey+BC-> Verge of Death: Trained in physical skills to death ¡°Skills¡± She grunts out in a deep voice. ¡°Only weaponsmithing and massaging since I died in the great forest fire¡± ¡°Bad¡± ¡°I know, but I¡¯ll get them eventually¡± Since all the fauna seems to have been wiped out I¡¯ll get some good time to train up ¡°Let¡¯s train¡± ¡°What shall we begin with?¡± ¡°Burpee¡± I get down, do a burpee, jump in the air, land and do a roll. ¡°No, just burpee¡± She grunts and starts doing her own. ¡°Alright¡± maybe it¡¯s a warmup. 5¡­6¡­7...I really hate burpees. ¡°Don¡¯t stop¡± She says to me as she dives into another burpee Reaching 15 now. ¡°16¡­17¡­18¡­.19¡­20¡± She begins calling them out ground shaking as she does them, all the while looking at me making sure I¡¯m doing them too. It¡¯s difficult, 24 ow. ¡°25..26..27¡± She¡¯s speeding up! *Huff huff* ¡°Keep going¡± It¡¯s tiring! ¡°34..35..36¡± Keep, going, urgh. ¡­ .. . ¡°50,51,52,53¡± More speed up? Feeling faint I persist because I know she¡¯s got something planned just like Thrash did! I¡¯ll power through! ¡°58!59!60!¡± ¡­ .. . *SLAP* I feel like I¡¯ve been hit by a truck. Nope just a really thick green hand. ¡°61¡± She calls out grunting from slight effort and I drag myself up to continue. Seems like I forgot to breath properly, well I¡¯m not the fittest but 60 burpees in a row is a lot! Trying to ignore the lightheadedness, it doesn¡¯t really work and I end up passing out at around 130? Getting a tooth knocked out by a heavy handed slap I¡¯m up and at it, 131, 132, 133. ¡­ ¡°249,250!¡± Only passed out another¡­2 times? I am seriously unfit for someone who hikes quite a lot in summer. At least my breathing is sorted so I¡¯m not passing out from lack of oxygen. ¡°251¡± We¡¯re not done? ¡°252¡± Argh Moving my numbed body up and down, ignoring the dull fiery pain that¡¯s coursing through the entirety of my body. ¡­ ¡°500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510¡± Even faster!? Throwing up and then planting my face in it, I stand back up and flimsily jump before almost buckling to the ground. Oh wait I did. ¡°511!¡± She bark an order at me and I roar back, long since been in animal mode to help get that little physical boost. ¡°515 516 517¡± I¡­Must¡­Finish! ¡­ ¡°600 FINISH¡± ¡°AHHHHHGHGHHHH¡± Collapsing in a pile of my vomit, blood and sweat I immediately pass out. ¡­ .. . *Slap* Getting a final slap to wake me up, I immediately go into a burpee position; or try to as my body responds sluggishly. ¡°Finished¡± Really? Finally? 600 burpees is an insane number! ¡°How¡­how long¡¯s passed?¡± I huff out, trying not to scream from the scorching pain from over extensive anerobic breathing. ¡°1 hour¡± ¡­ .. . Only one hour? ¡°Should¡¯ve done 1000 but 600 will do¡± That was a surprisingly long sentence. ¡°What *HUFF* was the point of this?¡± ¡°Warm up¡± *Twitch* I don¡¯t want to know what the actual exercise is supposed to be. She looks at me intensely for a minute before standing up suddenly. ¡°Must go join the others¡± Her sentences have gotten longer for some reason. Moving myself to standing is a lot easier than it should¡¯ve been for someone who¡¯s body is wrecked. Oh wait, this is a game, recovery happens in an odd fashion. ¡°Was I out for 30 minutes?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Ah so that¡¯s how I feel recovered. Walking rather steadily I notice that I¡¯ve got notifications.
Congratulations! Through doing intense cardiovascular workout you hav discovered a stat
STAT: Stamina
Points in Stamina will improve stamina related skills, Martial skills and will give you an increasing stamina pool,
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots? YES/NO
Xp increases by 10%
Well that was one way to gain Stamina.
Congratulations! Through doing over 500 repetitions of a difficult exercise without substantial rest you have gained a title
TITLE: Fitness Junkie
You have worked out so much that you have a high level of fitness to the point of mild insanity.
For gaining this title your Stamina, Endurance, Strength and Willpower stats will increase by 5 each. But Agility and Dexterity decreases by 5. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
xp increases by 25%
¡­ .. . I wouldn¡¯t call myself a fitness junkie but the stat increase is rather fantastic. 20 stat points! And the title doesn¡¯t mention a limit to the number of people that can gain this¡­so this should definitely be shared for everyone¡¯s sakes. But a loss in agility and dexterity, it would be worth it for those with a 1 or 2 point per stat ratio in those stats. Overall the title benefits so everyone should at least be aware of it. Lost in my notifications I almost bump into someone. Removing the notification I see everyone¡¯s gathered around once more. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re with me¡± That was¡­Charmine? Looking down at the little elven being which I believed was a very cute man at the beginning, she motions for me to follow. I wonder what we¡¯ll be doing this hour? Honey+Charmine-> Traptastic: Too many cute things when training Walking with her, we quickly go towards the river and stop by the bank. ¡°Honey, could you hop in please?¡± Raising an eyebrow I hop into the water, splashing about a little till I find my footing. ¡°Move a little back, a bit further, stop. Perfect, now stay there till I tell you to move¡± ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mine me asking but what am I to do here?¡± ¡°Absoultely nothing¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Sounds good¡± Just what has she got planned? She looks thoughtfully at me for a few seconds before turning towards the cave and then back again towards me. ¡°Honey, would it be alright if you died?¡± Dying from doing absoultely nothing, well I guess she definitely has something off planned ¡°Preferably I¡¯d like to live but if this will get us some food, dying will not be an issue¡± ¡°Good¡± She turns away once more and heads into the cave, disappearing from my sight. ¡­ *Rumble* ¡°HONEY GET READY TO DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING¡± Ok? Oh my; that¡¯s a lot of fish coming my way. For some reason the river¡¯s now overflowing with a massive school of pale white fish with red bulbous eyes, all heading my way furiously. I¡¯ll trust Charmine¡¯s got something good planned¡­maybe? I¡¯m not too sure now, especially as the horde of fish are getting a lot closer. Oh and also there¡¯s some strange green water following them? 3¡­2...1¡­¡­wait why haven¡¯t I been blown away by the hordes of incoming fish? They seem to have stopped a little infront of me¡­or well tried to as the one¡¯s behind are still pushing the frontal ones towards m- *RUMB-SPLASH* ¡­ .. . Where¡¯d the river go? For some reason the river¡­collapsed. The bank just fell away and obliterated the river¡­along with all the fish swimming in it. Apparently a few fish got past me, but form the hordes that were incoming, it¡¯s barely anything. "Wow that worked much better than expected¡± Charmine gives herself a small clap as I continue to scan the man-made avalanche that imploded the river from a little infront of me to the waterfall, which is quite a distance must I add. ¡°I¡¯m trying my hardest to understand how you did this but it¡¯d be so much easier if you explained¡± ¡°Ah right, sorry I was just congratulating myself for such an easy way to catch food¡± She smiles innocently while stepping on top of the muddy earth, parts of fish sticking out, still flapping about as they slowly die. ¡°Well larva blood is poisonous to them mostly because they¡¯ve got a weak immune system so when I poisened the main pool inside they headed fro the clean water which lead out to here and then I simply collapsed the bank on them¡± She has been very productive in these past 6 or so hours... ¡°But how did you cause the bank to avanlanche itself to obvlion?¡± ¡°Oh I just had everyone I was working with dig out the sides, leaving pillars to earth here and there and I then just hoped that the pressure from the fish would be enough to take those out too, leading into this fantastic little trap¡± ¡°Fantastic indeed but not exactly re-usable¡± She points towards the ashen piles that used to be a forest ¡°Good point¡± The place is already destroyed any more damage won¡¯t do anyone else any harm. ¡°So are we just going to dig the fish out?¡± ¡°Yeah, and the cleaning will be a bit of a pain¡± Her face wrinkles in thought, probably trying to cook up a plan to clean them all. If I remember correctly she was the one who used the barrels and crates to kill the rats in Daren¡¯s cellar¡­quite ingenious. ¡°Well this is for the others so they should all have ot clean their own fish so don¡¯t be too worried¡± ¡°Ay, let¡¯s catch some because I¡¯m really hungry after that¡± Getting out of the lightly tinged green water, I begin picking fish out from the ground. The rest of the hour is rather relaxed as we focus on picking the fish up. I¡¯ve reached 3 stacks of 999 and I¡¯ve only dug out a large section. Hmm seems like we won¡¯t have a problem with food for a long time. Finding Joat using the map, I arrive to a bunch of rather excited people all sitting down and ready. ¡°We heard you got yourselves a big catch¡± Joat looks up at us hungrily ¡°I¡¯ve only picked up just over 2000¡± Charmines shyly kneads her foot on the ground. Everyone else just looks at her with the widest eyes. ¡°Charmine is the best¡± BoneCracker grunts her approval. Everyone nods their approval at that statement. ¡°So I¡¯m assuming you¡¯ve done some work too right Honey?¡± Zzoid rounds on me. ¡°I¡¯ve picked up around 3000¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°If we all eat like 10 fish a day it¡¯d take us 5 days to eat them all!¡± Pinky Seniour exclaims excitedly. Seems like she likes fish¡­ ¡°I smell more¡± Thrash sniffs the air. Ah yes, he probably can smell the rest of them that are still stuck in the ground. ¡°Yes we¡¯ve got a quite a few left to grab from the river¡± Charmine talks to the ground. She seems like quite a shy person, though her speech doesn¡¯t mimic her actions? I honestly don¡¯t know anything about her except that she is very good at making large scale disasters¡­though Joat still has top score for that. Or was it that slime guy, B0mber? One of the two, weaponsmithing really felt like an eternity passing. ¡°Honey, stop daydreaming, can you start cooking for us¡± Joat snaps me out of my daydreams and I focus on the small fire that¡¯s somehow been started. My eyes meet Pinky Juniour¡¯s and she just smiles. Ah so I guess I am the official cook of the party now then¡­ ¡°Do we have any cooking utensils?¡± ¡­ .. . *crunch* ¡°Thrash, how do they taste?¡± I spot him eating his second one raw already, so maybe they¡¯re fine raw? ¡°I will survive¡± He gulps down the rest of his fish crunching the bones violently in his mouth. ¡°Well¡­everyone else, how about we have some bug meat instead since we can just put that on a stick¡± Joat turns away from Thrash with a rather bemused expression. ¡°I¡¯ll try some¡± Pinky Juniour shrugs her shoulders and Zzoid immediately produces some bug meat on a stick for her. ¡°Mistress, bugs I recommend that you try some for it may be to your tastes¡± ¡°If you say it is alright Krudel then I¡¯ll have a taste¡± Princess looks half excited, half unsure. ¡°I¡¯ll do it too!¡± Pinky Seniour joins in and I notice they¡¯re sitting next to eachother. ¡°We¡¯ve had bugs before they¡¯re actually quite tasty¡± Zzard and Zzand chime in together. ¡°I can confirm that some bugs do have a nice taste to them¡± I grab some bug meat off of Joat and skewer it on a stick. ¡°Firstly can I just say EW¡­but between bugs and raw, possibly poisonous/diseased fish, I don¡¯t have much of a choice do I?¡± Baila gives Joat a rather unamused look, proabably because he had her give away all her berries¡­ ¡°Snail is a bug right? So I guess bugs taste alright¡± Charmine looks at BoneCracker for some confirmation. The giant ogress just nods. ¡°Well technically they are molluscs so no, but I guess you can call them bugs¡± Zzoid seems to know some random things. ¡°The more I know, the less I care about snails being bugs or not. I¡¯m just going to cook my meat and eat it¡± Joat rolls his eyes and starts roasting his bug meat over the fire. ¡­ Honestly don¡¯t know why everyone¡¯s cooking their bug meat because that ruins quite a lot of the flavour¡­but then again or a lot of people the thought of eating meat raw is quite counter-intuitive. Though looking round I do see that I am not the only one eating it raw; oddly enough both Charmine and BoneCracker are eating it raw as well as all of the Zz¡¯s. The rest of them are cooking it, but Joat stops midway and peers at me in thought. ¡°So Honey why are you eating your meat raw?¡± Joat gives me an eyebrow. ¡°Because unless you¡¯ve got some type of sauce to glaze it with, roasting will just kill the flavour¡± He gives me a nod before biting into his half-cooked food. Giving a satisfactory nod he continues to eat. ¡­ Lunch was rather relaxed overall and after maybe an hour of it everyone seems to be ready to continue with partnering up. I believe I¡¯ve only got a few people left to bond with. ¡°Honey you¡¯re with me!¡± One of the Zz trio calls over to me with a light voice. Walking over to him, I get a pair of hands clasping round my right arm before I can get there. ¡°Sorry Zzand but I¡¯m stealing this one¡± That voice, Baila? Without another moment¡¯s hesitation I¡¯m dragged away from everyone. ¡°Well that was rather forceful Baila¡± ¡°Sorry but it was either you or Crazy Faker¡± She bows slightly in apology. ¡°Erm who is that?¡± ¡°Oh Pinky Juniour, sorry that¡¯s her nickname¡± She waves it off while blushing slightly from embarassment. ¡°Well what should we do in this hour?¡± ¡°Try kill yourself without dying¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be too hard¡± I get to my knees and start bashing my head on the ground. This was how I learnt suicide first time round. She copies me and we spend a good time bashing and recovering, feeling quite lightheaded through a lot of it. ¡°So why train this skill?¡± I ask her as we take another break. ¡°Well what makes this game special is that you can change your character so of course somehow there¡¯s got to be a way to use that to my advantage¡± ¡°The most I can think of is dying and re-specing your character in a large scale battle?¡± ¡°Hmm it¡¯s a bit early in the game to see what I can do with it, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll come in handy one day¡± She seems rather determined to make something out of what most would call a useless skill. But then again I can somewhat accept her view, suiciding might become useful later on one way or the other. The rest of the hour passes with ease and I gain the suicide skill. Baila seems like a very relaxed person, a bit quiet though, well around me anyways. Walking back to find the group, this time I¡¯m succintly dragged away by the two younger of the lizard trio. They seem to know where they¡¯re going so I follow them to a decently living tree. Both give me a curious look ¡­ .. . ¡°So what are we doing?¡± ¡°Is it alright if we climb the tree?¡± ¡°I¡­don¡¯t see any problem with it?¡± Were they waiting for me to allow them? Still staring at me with curious eyes, they climb the tree and find themselves a suitable branch. Wobbily, they walk away from the trunk and try to balance on the branch, shaking like leaves. The one with the higher pitched voice, Zzand I believe it was, starts trying to squat on the branch. He succeeds in slipping but luckily catches himself on the branch. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± I am mildly curious as to what skill they¡¯re trying to learn ¡°Rail ¨CBranch squats¡± Zzand calls out as he clambers back onto the branch. ¡°Fair enough¡± I shrug my shoulders and walk till I¡¯m facing him. He tries to squat and once again slips off, just catching himself. ¡°Don¡¯t look at your feet because that¡¯ll kill your balance¡± I tell him as she stands up shakily once more. Peeking over to Zzard he seems to be doing slightly better, albeit he¡¯s leaning slightly on the trunk for extra stability. ¡°Waah¡± *Crack* ¡°Aaaaaaah!¡± Oh my that wasn¡¯t a nice landing. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve broken something though so I can¡¯t move¡± His voice is higher than before¡­possibly since he landed in the splits. ¡°Little brother you alright?¡± Zzard calls out from the tree. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± His voice is quite squeaky. Slowly helping Zzand out of the splits, I lie him down on the ground in the recovery position while he winces loudly from the dulling pain. Sitting down next to him I begin watching Zzard, who does these ¡®branch squats¡¯ with a pinch of caution. ¡­ ¡°Honey you¡¯re really weird¡± Where did that decision come from? ¡°There are many eccentric individuals here but I don¡¯t consider myself one of them¡± I have met quite a few rather interesting people here. ¡°But you were super chill with us doing something really dangerous. Everyone else told us to stop or be more careful, but you just said that it¡¯s fine¡± ¡°Well you¡¯re up there for a reason right?¡± ¡°Yeah we want to learn parkour!¡± Zzard answers excitedly from up above. ¡°So then what¡¯s wrong with you trying to learn? I you¡¯ve got a reason to do it, do it¡± ¡°But it¡¯s dangerous isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been through a lot more dangerous things today, but there was a reason to do all that so I went through with it¡± ¡°Wow you really are weird¡± ¡°Hmm, I believe someone who doesn¡¯t try do what they want is weird¡± ¡°But big brother Zzoid told us not to¡± ¡°And he¡¯s the responsible one!¡± Zzard adds from the tree. ¡°Oh no I don¡¯t want to be weird!¡± Zzand cries to the air ¡°But little brother, Zzoid is weird¡± ¡°¡­I want to be weird! But not like big brother! But I want to do what I want. Honey what do I do?¡± Zzand frantically spurts out his thoughts, his hands waving chaotically while still lying on the floor. ¡°You still sleep with your teddy¡± ¡°FUNKY MONKEY IS NOT A TEDDY! HE¡¯S A MONKEY!¡± ¡°HE¡¯S A SHEEP¡± ¡°NO, LIES, HE¡¯S ALWAYS BEEN A MONKEY¡± ¡°SHEEP¡± ¡°MONKEY¡± ¡°BAAA¡± ¡°MONKEY SOUNDS!!¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°FUNKY MONKEY IS A MONKEY ZZARD, ZZAND SAY IT WITH ME¡­UAA-A-AA-AA¡± Zzoid suddenly sprints into my field of vision, stopping with a skid and pantling like a dog. ¡°UAA-A-A-A-AA¡± ¡°GOOD, now both of you stop fighting and I¡¯ve got to GOAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± ¡°COME-¡± *HUFF* ¡°-BACK HERE! I NEED YOUR SCALES FOR MY SPIKE TRAP!¡± A sweat soaked Charmine runs past us, hair disheveled and an excited look in her eyes. Making a spike trap fom lizard scales, they seem to be using their time together well. ¡°See, she isn¡¯t weird because she¡¯s trying to do what she wants¡± ¡°¡­uhuh¡­¡± Both stare at me for a long time. ¡°Now how about I try these branch squats out with you¡± I stand up and start climbing the tree, leaving Zzand lying on the floor in the recovery position. *creak* Hmm I am a bit bigger than them so this branch might break¡­ Balaaance and squat ¡­ .. . Huh, wasn¡¯t too bad. ¡°This isn¡¯t fair¡± Zzand crawls to the tree ¡°how can you do it so easily. Tell me, tell meeeeee¡± He begins scraping the base of the trunk like a cat, trying to climb without working legs. ¡°I¡¯ve just got really good balance¡± Walked over a lot of natural ¡®brigdes¡¯ in my life, fell off one too¡­ ¡°No fairrrr¡± Zzand whines while clawing and Zzard climbs down the other side, to help give his little brother a push. They seem to be quite close, brothers in real life would be an obvious assumption. Though Zzand still can¡¯t do anything once he¡¯s up here if he doesn¡¯t have working legs. ¡°Come on little brother climb!¡± ¡°I¡¯m climbing!¡± ¡°No I¡¯m just pushing you¡± ¡°Brother I can do it, let me climb¡± ¡°Alright¡± ¡°Aah!¡± *thunk* ¡°Brother why¡¯d you let go?!¡± ¡°You told me you could climb¡± He sticks his tongue out with a giggle ¡°Wahh¡± Zzand starts lightly beating his fists on Zzard¡¯s legs in child-like anger while Zzard mocks him harmlessly. ¡­ ¡°Alright I climbed it!¡± Zzand holds the thick trunk while waving a single happy fist in the air. ¡°Woo little brother!¡± Zzard climbs up after him and gives him a high five, almost knocking them off. ¡°Now let¡¯s do branch squats!¡± Both chime in unison. ¡­ Everyone meetup! ¡°Right you two, it was fun but we¡¯ve got to meet the rest of the group¡± ¡°Thanks for letting us do it!¡± Zzand drop from a low branch safely onto the ground ¡°Yes!¡± Zzard follows suit. I climb down because I do not like jumping and quickly follow them as they rush towards Joat supposedly is. ¡­ .. . ¡°She won¡­¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Pff-BWAHAHAHAHA¡± Joat collapses in a fit of laughter, choking on the air as he tries to breathe mid-laughter. ¡°Seems like they had some real skinship¡± Baila comments offhandly, not even bothering to conceal her smile. Joat¡¯s face goes red and then purple from lack of oxygen, not even able to produce noise but tears still spring from his eyes in pure joy. ¡°¡­Zzoid-¡± ¡°MY LOLI-BABA DON¡¯T BESMIRCH YOUR EYES ON ME¡± ¡°-You¡¯re rather¡­squidgy¡± ¡°AHHH¡± Zzoid runs behind me hiding his de-scaled body from Pinky Juniour¡¯s vision. Well seems like Charmine finally caught up¡­somehow. And Joat has passed out¡­as Pinky Seniour is frantically by his side freaking out¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve got this¡± I call out to her as she begins pumping his chest wrongly. She gives me a possessive look but for a second, before moving away. Right pumping and now breathing and more pumping, more breathing and third time lucky ¡­ .. . ¡°Why does my mouth taste like slightly sweet ash?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯d find the taste to be honey¡± Zzoid calls out from behind Thrash ¡­ .. . Joat opens his eyes, glances at me and then at Zzoid ¡°Well played sir¡­well played¡± He stands up giving me a nod and wiping his mouth ¡°So do seriously none of you lovely ladies know cpr?¡± ¡°We just didn¡¯t want to get your cooties¡± ¡°Oh Baila you will be getting my cooties later¡± ¡°Why Joat not in front of the children¡± ¡°I know a good cave, wink wink nudge nudge¡± ¡°Alright you two, keep it PG¡± Pinky Juniour gives them a wink. Standing up, Joat brushes some ash off of him ¡°Right¡­Honey shall we continue our bonding?¡± He laughs while shaking his head in self-disappointment. Following him away from the chuckles of the group we head into the distance. Swinging round all jokeyness has left his face; all left is a serious demeanour. ¡°I¡¯m so empty¡± ¡°Do you need some more food?¡± ¡°Not what I mean, but thanks. The sustenance to fill me is something completely different: Skills. I need more, much much more¡± ¡°Well how about we start with the skills you know but haven¡¯t gotten¡± ¡°Alchemy, bite, catch, crawling, commanding shout, dodge, fire resistance, frenzy, grapple, holding back, headbutt, herbalism, kick mastery, lucky roll, leatherworking, mana adept, Monster identification, mining, pain tolerance, physical resistance, stomp, spitful taunt, suicide, throw, sacrifice, tracking, unarmed mastery and that should be it for skills but I haven¡¯t learnt many stats yet; I¡¯ve still got Luck, Endurance, Mana, Intelligence, Wisdom, Stamina and Brutality and I¡¯ve only got 2 hours to do this SO LET¡¯S BEGIN!¡± ¡­ .. . What has he been doing in these past hours to only get the basic physical skills? ¡°And you Honey, will help me get as many of these as we can¡± ¡­ Joat is a very¡­comfortable person. ¡°I GOT 10 SKILLS!¡± Screaming with a mouth full of his own blood he stands back up shakily. ¡°hehehahahahHAHAHAH¡± He¡¯s very comfortable with throwing away all human morals to do what he wants. Good on him not being constrained bu But getting 10 skills in slightly under 30 minutes is rather amazing¡­genious even. It was rather surreal to see him headbutt the ground and crawl forward using his head before biting his shoulder enough to draw blood at first and whole chunks by the end while stomping himself in the foot with a punch to the face combined. ¡°Don¡¯t stop now, we¡¯re barely a third of the way there¡± ¡­ .. . *dingdingdingdingding-* Wincing from the pain, I slowly stand up ¡°swallow¡± He must have a reason to command me so I swallow the small chunk of shoulder skin¡­ *ding*
Congratulations! You have learnt the skill: Cannabalize
DARK SKILL: Cannabalize, Beginner [lv1], (active)
Cannibalism is a dark practice hated by most societies and self-cannabalism is something rather unheard of except in certain cults. When used: Fills hunger bar 100 hp per satiety point.
For using the skill on yourself you have learnt the Self-Cannabalize sub-skill:
SUB-SKILL: Self-Cannabalize (active)
When used on self: Fills hunger bar Lose 10 Health temporarily for every 1 satiety gain.
Cost: None/Health, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: None
xp increases by 10%
WARNING! If any NPC on the Non-Dark alignment catches you using a Dark Skill, relationships will deteriorate and action may even be brought against you!
¡­ .. . So the game even has things like this. Well at least in the game I shouldn¡¯t have to use this ever.
Congratulations! Through Learning a Dark Skill you have discovered an Exquisite Stat:
EXQUISITE STAT: Darkness
Points in Darkness will increase your aura of darkness
Darkness has been forcefully added and begins at 1
Xp increases by 20%
Aura of Darkness what is that?
AURA: Aura of Darkness, beginner [lv1] (Aura)
You have a subtle Dark aura which surrounds you: Beings that are able to detect your aura will find it to be Evil
Cost: none, Duration: Permanent, Cooldown: None
xp increase by 15%
That is a bit drastic to be called Evil for a necessary survival instinct¡­
Your alignment has turned into Slightly Evil
¡­ .. . ¡°Well that had quite the drastic effect¡­¡± Thank you for saying my thoughts Joat. ¡°But hey, 45% xp is delicious¡± He isn¡¯t wrong there. ¡°Right let us continue and maybe we should begin looking for a light skill¡± ¡°Yes I¡¯m not sure being Slightly Evil is a good thing¡± I don¡¯t imagine any of the NPC¡¯s we¡¯ve met will like us if we count as evil. I don¡¯t think Joat heard me, but oh well he¡¯s busy chucking ash into the air and covering himself with it? He is a rather eccentric person ¡­ ¡°Alright everyone, do you feel like we¡¯re a better team now!?¡± Joat blackened head to toe asks our group with a shining white smile. ¡°I will run with this pack¡± *Grunt* ¡°This will suffice I suppose¡± ¡°I¡¯m so excited and you Pinky!?¡± ¡°YES¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯m going to watch a lot of amusing things happen with this lot¡± PJ chuckles. ¡°Teacher we¡¯re ready to do something!¡± ¡°I¡¯m so bored too Big Brother!¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer it it was just the beautiful lolitastic angel called Pinky Juniour and I, but I guess you can join us on our romantic adventures¡± ¡°You all worked really hard for me¡± Charmine gives an innocent smile while twiddling a blue scale non-chalantly in her hand. ¡°The more people the more human shielding between Joat¡¯s cooties and me¡± ¡°Oh Baila doesn¡¯t matter how amny people you throw at me I¡¯ll always have some left for you¡­anyways Honey do you want to roll with us?¡± ¡°Hmm...You are all quite unique in your own way, so yes if you¡¯ll have me I¡¯d gladly ¡®roll with you¡¯¡± ¡°RIGHT SQUAD, LET¡¯S GO FEED THE SLAVES THAT WILL GATHER THOSE DELICIOUS SKILLS FOR ME!¡± 45. My First Proper Lecture! (Joat¡¯s POV) Alright everyone¡¯s got a bucket load of fish, carts seem to be in working order and I am really quite tired. ¡°Oh Leader¡± ¡­ .. . The dulect tones of a ravenous woman¡­what could go wrong? Turning round, it¡¯s Ravenna and a red turtle-beastman; writing insivible notes in the air just behind her. ¡°I¡¯d love to play games but I¡¯d rather we save that for when we¡¯ve got a little more private time¡± I give her a tired, sly wink before returning to a more formal facial expression. ¡°Well we¡¯ve got the rota sorted so we¡¯ve always got one group with the NPC¡¯s at all times, but knowing when you and your squad will be offline would be helpful¡± She smirks slightly with a yawn, at my response before too acting more formal. ¡°I believe we¡¯ll be taking the next 12 hours off and we¡¯ll normally be doing 10 in the night to 10 in the morning in real life times¡± ¡°Perfect, you¡¯ll be logging in around the same time as Sugar¡¯s, Kale¡¯s and Dillydally¡¯s squad and of course my own¡± Sounds like a rather interesting combo ¡°Is that all my dear? Because I do swear I spot 3 minions heading this way¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve got your own minions to worry about now¡± She chuckles lightly before turning off, hips swaying slightly. ¡°Hey! At least mine have names¡± I call after her before turning round to a rather unimpressed looking Baila. What? ¡°So we meet up in 12 in game hours then?¡± Zzoid asks from a small distance. ¡°Yep, can¡¯t do to miss out on the first leg of the journey it would do horrors to this oh so grand reputation of mine¡± Silent rolling of eyes all around and they all log off with that. Guess I should follow them! ¡­ .. . Phew no one held me up. Right, off for 3 beautiful hours of sleep ... ¡°Wake up Mother Fu-¡± That will never fail to wake me up. Right, to the shower! Brushing my teeth whilst in the shower saves a precious few minutes and before too long passes, I¡¯m sitting down eating a nice filling breakfast of milk and cereals. Hmm let¡¯s go with a nice nerdy t-shirt and some black jeans¡­might as well wear some comfortable clothing since I¡¯m going to have to talk to the camera for the better part of two hours¡­ Stepping outside my house into the chilling morning, I begin strolling down the street, my backpack strapped securely on both shoulders. Seriously being outside before 8 in the morning should be for*yawn*bidden. Walking under the large arch into the castle, I quickly make my way inside where the radiators will hopefully be working! Ahh so much better¡­ Since its Tuesday I believe my lecture room is in the Tower. With a slight sigh of defeat, I stroll through the cavernously empty corridors, seeing barely a dozen people languidly walking towards their lectures, before reaching a small oaken door. Opening it reveals a winding set of stairs which I begin climbing with earnest. ¡­ .. . One hundred and fifty three¡­*huff huff* one hundred and fifty four¡­ I really don¡¯t like these windy stairs with steps so tall I have to bring my leg ridiculously high. It¡¯s not even 8 am! I should not be doing this kind of exercise right now! Gah what I do for my invisible students¡­ ¡°Hey hey hey guess what time it is?¡± ¡­ .. . Oh no that¡¯s my alarm. Seriously it¡¯s 7:50 already? I haven¡¯t even gotten to my room yet ah! Mustering up whatever strength my still asleep body has, I begin jumping up the stairs, using the railing generously as I do¡­because I¡¯m just rushed not suicidal. Oh going in circles is making me slightly dizzy but I¡¯ve not got time for that right no- ¡°EEK¡± Someone¡¯s falling towards m-AHHH MY EYES! ¡­ .. . ¡°Mistress you should be more careful with your steps¡± AH MY EYES!!! ¡°Sorry¡± I can hear a light, yet slightly husky voice guiltily apologising but not to me! ¡°And don¡¯t forget to apologise to the man you almost fell into¡± Yes please! ¡°Sorry Sir!¡± I rub my eyes open, still stinging sharply from the pain of having hair whipped across them. Giving myself a few seconds to let them begin working properly again... ¡­.. ¡­. ¡­ .. . Lets give them a few more seconds to start working again ¡­ .. . ¡°Emma?¡± I think my eyes have been irreversably damaged. ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry but have we met before?¡± Her bright emerald green eyes look with mine in a knot of confusion. The girl I just blurted out too has straight red hair reaching just below her shoulder, not covering up at all her extremely distinctive face, a face I¡¯ve seen many a time before¡­ *Rub*Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡­ .. . *Rub* My eyesight is definitely wrecked because there¡¯s no way this girl looks like the spitting image of Emma Stone in her younger years¡­ ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Oh sorry, I got you confused for someone else, a bit early in the morning for me to function properly¡± ¡°Someone else? But my name is Emma¡± ¡­ .. . *pinch* Nope I¡¯m not in some fantastical nightmare dream fantasy¡­I¡¯m not quite sure what it could¡¯ve been if it wasn¡¯t real¡­ And she¡¯s even got that husky voice of hers! ¡°It seems as though all women who¡¯s beauty blinds me are called Emma¡± I give an overlydramatic bow and then get a better look at this strange girl who is something akin to a clone of the goddess once called Emma Stone¡­ ¡°Madam forgive me but I should really introduce myself as I¡¯ve already taken your name but not given my own. Jack is what you may call me but if you are going with a nickname anything but Jacky would do¡± I offer my hand¡­and she curtsies ¡­ .. . ? ¡°Krudel¡± A well dressed man with short black hair and a clean shaven chin pops out from the stairs above and grabs hold of my hand, applying a less than comfortable amount of force ¡­ .. . ¡°Kr-aazy that lectures start so early in the morning right?¡± No.Freaking.Way¡­ ¡°This is early?¡± Emma¡­since that is her name¡­looks at me with those disturbingly familiar eyes filled with confusion. ¡°Remember Mistress that the sun rises later over her, so we can consider the day to be just starting¡± I thought my eyes were getting trolled by the universe, but seems my ears get the same treatment¡­ It¡¯s Krudel, FREAKING KRUDEL! I know that because of his posh stick shoved so far up inside he can¡¯t bend tone and because he¡¯s giving me evil eyes and still crushing my hand ow! It¡¯s bad enough that I have to meet him ingame, but he¡¯s really here too! And he¡¯s exactly how I imagined him to be! The reality is more terrifying in person! Trying my best to ignore his fiery gaze¡­finally he lets go and phew my hand is unbroken. ¡°Well it was nice to accidentally meet you, but I must go, for I have my own lectures to attend¡± Yes, removing myself from the presence of Krudel will do absolute wonders to my immediate health¡­ ¡°You¡¯re going up aren¡¯t you? Walk with us¡± Emma crushes all my plans with an alluringly innocent smile. I don¡¯t know whether to feel entranced or disturbed by such a smile. ¡°I would-¡± Oh I would indeed just to be beside this vivid painting of my childhood crush despite the overhanging doom called Krudel ¡°-But I cannot be late for my lecture, so please forgive me as I rush ahead¡± giving her a bow¡­because she curtsies and doesn¡¯t shake hands, I give a formal nod to Krudel before half-running past him. I can¡¯t believe I met Krudel, in real life too! And even worse I think he knows me!! Or maybe he¡¯s just overly protective/dangerous looking towards all men¡­ Also that Emma, her self being a spitting image of Emma Stone was murderously mindboggling to my eyes but she was also quite weird, curtsying¡­.I mean who cursties in this centu- ¡­. ¡­. ¡­ .. . OH MY GOD WHO THE HELL DID I JUST MEET!? HOW DID I NOT MAKE THE CONNECTION SOONER AAAHH!!! I mean Krudel¡¯s there so it¡¯s only logical that Miss Nameless¡­no Emma!?! Is there too! WHY HAS MY MORNING STARTED OFF SO WIERDLY!? Like I¡¯ve met the Zz¡¯s which was rather odd but these two?! And I feel like I¡¯ve met maybe a few more as well!? Why am I suddenly meeting people from ARIA in real life? AND why did it have to be KRUDEL!? I¡¯m ok meeting Miss Nameless¡­damn can¡¯t really call her that anymore¡­Emma¡­? Racing up the stairs, mind melting from having had to deal with some rather mindboggling things so early in the morning, I reach the top and open the door first ¡­ .. . Hmm it¡¯s not this room is it? I spot a greying man setting up the lecturer desk¡­definitely not this room. Oh so I¡¯ve truly got the top of the Tower? Closing the door, I pick up the crowbar resting in the corner and use it to bring the hatch and the ensuing stairs down. Climbing into the attic...surprisingly it¡¯s pretty big. It is quite literally a normal room with windows galoreand a hole over to the leftof the room which is the unorthodox entrance. Anyways, I should get the video camera sorted out. Man is it going to be weird seeing them in game¡­especially Krudel¡­ Ok video camera set up, water drunk and it¡¯s exactly 30 seconds to 8 am. Good on me for getting here in time. ¡°Ahem, so hello to whichever of my two non-existent students that will be watching this, this is your sixth lecture on theoretical art. As always we¡¯ll begin with a short recap on what I taught you last time. Last Friday we s-¡± ¡°E-excuse me, is this the class for theoretical art?¡± ¡­ .. . EMMA? Turning as calmly as I can towards the hole,to see a very confused looking Emma, which seems to be her bog standard look recently, followed up by a Krudel¡­who doesn¡¯t show any surprise on his stoic face. ¡°Why yes, but may I ask why you ask?¡± Please be coincidence ¡°We signed up for Theoretical Art¡±¡­Universe do you hate me? ¡­ .. . We? Wait, I have to teach Krudel! And EMMA!? ¡°¡­Give me a moment¡± Flipping my internet browser open, I quickly check my work email and oh god I¡¯ve got an updated register¡­with two new people added in to my list ¡­ .. . ¡°Well Krudel Sauvinge and Emma¡­Stone¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­please take a seat¡± Emma¡­freaking¡­Stone! IT¡¯S A DOPPLEGANGER!!! I really do hope this is some strange dream that I¡¯m having because not only does she look like the spitting image of Emma Stone, she even is called that! Coincidence? I really hope so¡­ Emma sits down in the front row, patting down her long baby blue dress complete with small frills around the wrist and feet¡­ There¡¯s just so much brain damage happening to me I didn¡¯t even notice that she¡¯s wearing an absolutely ancient style of dress till now! Anyways, let¡¯s just act like they¡¯re normal students and not some strange people I know from a game yet now know them in real life and yet still have absolutely no idea why she lives in the renaissance period even though she goes to University¡­ I can totally do this; it¡¯s only these two, my first students out of now 4 students and they¡¯re only 12 hours of lectures behind. Just imagine they¡¯re normal people¡­it¡¯s only two hours of this and it can¡¯t get wors- ¡°Excuse me, but is this the lecture for Theoretical Art?¡± Why do I have a terrible feeling piercing my very soul? ¡°Why yes it iS COME HAVE A SEAT¡± I DON¡¯T BELIEVE IN JINXES ¡°I WILL HAVE A SEAT, YES, SIR, LECTURER SIR, WHOEVER YOU ARE¡± CLARA rushes into a random seat among the numerous empty ones equally as wide eyed and half freaking out as I am. I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING! WAIT, NO, THE UNIVERSE HATES ME SO OF COURSE THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN! ¡°I AM JACK SPENCER YOUR LECTURER, AND I WILL NOW BEGIN THE LECTURE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING SINCE WE HAVE MOST OF OUR CLASS AND LET¡¯S GET GOING SHALL WE! FIRST OFF, HAS ANYONE LOOKED AT MY LECTURES AS OF YET?¡± *crickets* ¡°FAAAAANTASTIC SO WE¡¯LL START FROM SCRATCH WHICH MEANS-¡± I rapidly open up my introductions lecture and turn the projector on ¡°-I SHALL GIVE YOU A CONCISE OVERVIEW OF WHAT YOU¡¯RE DOING IN THE YEAR¡± I can¡¯t belive Clara is here! Out of every freaking person Clara Winters could¡¯ve been¡­it had to be her! AHHHH!! The projector finally loads up. ¡°SO FIRST THINGS FIRST, WE¡¯RE GOING TO HAVE LECTURES EVERY DAY FROM 8 AM TO 10 AM FOR THE NEXT 19 ACADEMIC WEEKS WHICH IS OVER BOTH SEMESTERS. THIS MODULE IS WORTH YOUR FULL 120 CREDITS, HOW YOU MAY ASK WELL IT¡¯S BECAUSE OF YOUR EXAM¡± ¡°WHAT IS OUR EXAM?¡± Emma calls out, mimicking my frantic speech with more than a hint of excitability after raising her hand super politely and getting my nodded approval. ¡°YOUR EXAM IS TO CREATE ART USING 6 DIFFERENT PEOPLE FROM 6 DIFFERENT ARTISTIC COURSES USING THE KNOWLEDGE YOU¡¯LL GAIN FROM THESE LECTURES. IT¡¯S A LOT HARDER THAN I¡¯M EXPLAINING BUT YOU DON¡¯T NEED TO KNOW THE DETAILS AS OF YET¡± I need to calm down but when I look at my students I¡¯ve either got to look at a pair of mesmerising emerald eyes, Krudel or Clara! No more questions are asked so onto the lecture. ¡°WE¡¯RE GOING TO BEGIN WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: COLOURS. THERE ARE 3 DECILLION COLOURS IN THE WORLD WHICH IS TOO MANY FOR ANYONE TO EVER REMEMBER THEM SO WE MAKE IT 3 COLOURS INSTEAD. THESE THREE COLOURS ARE RED, BLUE AND GREEN. THESE THREE COLOURS TOGETHER ARE CALLED THE RGB COLOUR WHEEL AND WHEN MIXED PROPERLY, CAN MAKE ANY COLOUR IN THE WORLD-¡± Everyone seems to not be completely lost as I maniacally draw out the colour wheel in its resepctive colours. Right let¡¯s power through this! ¡­ ¡°AND SO THAT CONCLUDES OUR FIRST LECTURE. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO? FANTASTIC, I SHALL SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW¡± Clapping my hands I thus end the lecture and begin packing with mild franticness¡­ Emma and Krudel quickly disappear off, a giggle escaping her rosy lips, from what I¡¯m not sure. ¡°Sir I do have a question¡± Clara asks from a respectibly far distance¡­ ¡°If it¡¯s about the lecture¡± ¡°It¡¯s not¡± Well¡­oh no ¡°Why did you leave me?¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°I had a lecture¡± A half-truth ¡°Oh¡­well at least you could¡¯ve told me¡± She gives me a not-so-light punch on the arm ¡°Hey no physically abusing your lecturer¡± I half jokingly call out to her as she walks away in a mild huff. She turns back round once she reaches the stairs, looking at me with a worrysome look. ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you for the first time, Clara was it?¡± ¡°¡­Yes¡± ¡­ .. . Well my lord has my day been filled with such shenanigans! And I¡¯ve barely been awake 3 hours! Putting my laptop in my bag I go down the stairs and shut the attic up. ¡°Jack was it¡± Ahhh shenanigans¡­they come in multiples of infinity today¡­ ¡°Why yes Krudel¡­do you have a question?¡± ¡°I just require a confirmation of something¡± I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this but hey this is a lecturer¡¯s jo-Ah! ¡°Why¡¯d you just punch me?¡± ¡°Hmm, did that hurt?¡± ¡°Well of course it hurt, you punched me! Seriously Krudel, I¡¯ll have to report you for violence if you do that again¡± ¡°Sorry but I was confirming a little tidbit I learnt about you¡± Tidbit? Has Krudel stalk-yeah he has hasn¡¯t he? ¡°What tidbit of information is this?¡± ¡°Your appendicitis removal¡± ¡­ .. . Oh, well I guess it isn¡¯t¡­wait wasn¡¯t it covered up? ¡°information leaks one way or another¡± He answers my facial expression ¡°SO why is this important?¡± ¡°Just sating my curiosity¡± Doesn¡¯t sound like a lie but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s Krudel-like to do things for curiosity. ¡°Right, well is your question answered then Krudel?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you, Sir. Forgive my violent actions Sir¡± He gives a deep bow before walking briskly down the stairs, probably to catch up to where ever Emma went. Hmm, I do wonder about how he got information about my surgery¡­or even why he was stalking me. Actually that¡¯s pretty easy to asnwer; he profiled me for her sake, ok fair enough. I guess I¡¯ll let him off this time for punching me, since I¡¯m not a vengeful person¡­but I could make him do this or that since he¡¯s now part of my squad, ooh. Agh anyway, I should be getting away from this dreaded area. If so much has happened in just this morning, I truly dread what is going to happen when I log back into ARIA¡­ ... ¡°LADIES AND GENTLEMEN ARE WE ALL READY FOR ANOTEHR ADVENTURE?¡± ¡°NOT REALLY¡± The Gold-canary-beastman shouts out followed by a few chuckles. ¡®WELL YOU¡¯VE GOT NO CHOICE SO WELCOME TO ADVENTURE NONETHELESS! EVERYONE, MOVE OUT¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Sorry Orphan leader Joat but give us a few more minutes to pack the final supplies¡± ¡°Alright¡± Zzoid¡­.not a word, I can see the snarky comments floating in your eyes you little devil. ¡­ ¡°ALRIGHT EVERYONE, MOVE OUT¡± 46. And So The Trek Begins ¡°So Village Elder do you have a route planned for us?¡± I ask up to him as I push the cart forward, already sweating lightly from the effort. ¡°We will go across the forest, through a mountain pass and then we¡¯ll go around the marsh into a well used road into the town¡± Sounds simple enough, and I¡¯m guessing we could cross the marsh if we¡¯re in a hurry¡­which sounds like an awful idea in hindsight. ¡°Hmm so it seems like we¡¯re going to have a few relaxed days till we reach the mountains¡± Kale gives a sigh of relief as he pushes the cart too. *Hagh* ¡°We shouldn¡¯t bugger around in the easiest part¡± Sugar half-heartedly breathes as he sits languidly on top of the cart, lazy little bugger¡­who is in fairness trying to figure out magic but still. He and his Mage Squad all occupy one cart, sitting and focusing full on learning mana and anything magical if they can. Mine and Kale¡¯s Squad are all pushing the 5 carts that were somehow restored by 3 of the elderly members of the village while Ravenna¡¯s are walking alongside doing whatever she¡¯s tasked them to do. There are 3 dying people on each cart leaving 1 cart free for us to pack it full of Sugar¡¯s Mage squad and whoever needs a good rest. Suprisingly everything looks like it¡¯ll work out so far. ¡°And one two three, one two three¡± Reddwarf walks forward, plants his foot and then slaps his opponent in the face, takes another step forward backslaps her and then one last step with a slap before it¡¯s her turn to slap him as she walks backwards. ¡­ .. . Oook¡­I guess slap could be a skill? But someone must¡¯ve really pissed off someone to have learnt that¡¯s a skill¡­ ¡°Hut hut hut hut¡± And Lancel¡¯s leading 2 others in a literal crawl on the right at quite a quick pace for crawling. Surprisingly the two tiger beastman (orange and white, somehow very normal colours) are keeping pace, tails waggling in the air. ¡°Push¡­and Push¡± Bottom is with Ravenna, Blacky and the gold-canary beastman that I swear I¡¯ve seen hang out with him and they¡¯re doing some strange one person push the other and swap routine. *bfff* I saw that coming from a mile away. ¡°Milady you alright?¡± her entire squad stop what they¡¯re doing momentarily to check up on her. She stands up with the help of Blacky, giving all of them a dissapointed look due to them stopping in their tasks. They all return back to work with a visible improvement in effort, while Blacky gives a deep apology before pushing her with force, mostly since she tells him to do so. ...Damn¡­ I mean she¡¯s had 2 in game days to get to know most of them and they¡¯re already pretty converted¡­she is quite terrifying. Stop giving me such an impressed look, it wasn¡¯t that hard For someone who¡¯s busy pushing someone she¡¯s got some seriously sneaky typing skills. I do wonder what she did to them though¡­for personal protection. ¡­ ¡°SWAP AROUND¡± I call out and I stop pushing the cart, allowing a beardless dwarf take my place Wow pushing a cart for an hour is really quite tiring, but now I¡¯m free! ¡°Joat your squad has to say on the carts for another 2 hours¡± Ravenna supresses her smile as best as she can but I still notice it. Yaay, what a fun time I¡¯m having right now¡­ ¡­ ¡°Alright my squad get your beautiful bodies off the carts and commune on the rest cart¡± I command my squad and jump onto the now empty cart, lying down happily. Within a minute I¡¯m joined by everyone and we all lie there for a few minutes recovering; 2 hours pushing carts is no easy task. A few minutes of rest and now let¡¯s discuss what stats we should try get. ¡°Well stats are things that define us so I¡¯d say we try start with phyiscal things, such as flexibility?¡± Zzoid begins helpfully. ¡°Well what if we had speed as a stat?¡± PJ follows through. ¡°Rage¡± Thrash barks out supported by a casual nod from BC. ¡°I think we should be looking for something like faith¡± Honey muses loudly. ¡°To offset darkness?¡± ¡°Darkness?¡± Mostly everyone looks confused¡­wait a second, mostly everyone? Thrash, Krudel and CHARMINE? Look rather shifty... I¡¯m really worried as to what they¡¯ve all done to gain that stat. ¡°Basically if you do something evil you¡¯ll gain the darkness stat¡± ¡°Evil actions, oh so can we have an alignment?¡± Baila looks at me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Yes and apparently I¡¯m slightly evil¡± ¡°Only slightly?¡± Oh Zzoid. ¡°So if we do a really good action we can get light or something opposite of darkness to make us good alignment¡± Continuing on from Zzoid¡¯s cheeky comment. ¡°Well how evil was your action because I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s going to have to be equally as good?¡± PJ is just curious to know what I did. ¡°I bit some of myself and ate it¡± Phew Miss Nameless¡¯ (Still going to call her that in game) ears were covered by a Krudel but I didn¡¯t say it that loud (so only my squad could hear). ¡­ .. . Hey stop giving me such a disturbed look. ¡°Honey did it too¡± Honey just shrugs when everyone looks at him. ¡°A skill¡¯s a skill¡± Most nod appreciatively at the reasoning but still look quite horrified/disgusted towards us. ¡°Taking all of Zzoid¡¯s scales gave me darkness so it doesn¡¯t have to be that bad¡± Oh so that¡¯s how Charmine got it, but that doesn¡¯t sound too evil ¡°Apparently it counted as living harvesting¡± Ok nevermind that sounds pretty evil. ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it¡± Too late Zzoid, everyone¡¯s thought about it. ¡°Ok so that¡¯s one stat sorted if you want to be evil, but we should find out how to become good first so we can offset the two¡± I stop PinkySbefore she jumps on Zzoid for a stat. ¡°Can we do something now big brother?¡± Zzand looks rather energetic for someone who¡¯s pushed a cart for 2 hours straight. ¡°Alright, grab whoever¡¯s closest to you¡± Miss Nameless and Thrash¡­this brings back rather traumatising memories. ¡°We¡¯ll try do light, Honey and co. try flexibility. Zzoid and lot you do Rage and the rest of you figure out this speed stat.¡± Everyone nods and we all get off the cart, trying not to stand on a barely visible Sugar. Right so I¡¯m not sure I should¡¯ve given myself the job of being good, because I¡¯m with two people who probably don¡¯t have a clear idea about the difference between good and bad¡­ ¡°Any ideas?¡± ¡°I could feed myself to everyone¡± ¡­ .. . I¡¯m going to say that¡¯s a horrible even if technically that could count as a really good action. ¡°Well all we have to do is be good so why don¡¯t we do good things for everyone¡± That also sounds like a terrible idea because that means I need to be nice to everyone¡­but I guess it¡¯s a ton less drastic than Thrash¡¯s idea. ¡°Ok so how about we make sure to keep everyone fed and happy. We¡¯ll start with cooking and feeding everyone¡± I¡¯m getting hungry so might as well do that. Jumping back on the cart, we grab the small, rectangular box with a grill on top, which is a barbeque I believe. Putting the stands up and moving as much flammable stuff away, we begin placing splintes of wood in the box and light them. Blowing and feeding the fire till it¡¯s decent, we put the grill back on top and place some bug meat on the grill¡­which Thrash takes away and puts¡­wait a second that¡¯s Kraken meat!? ¡°How¡¯d you get this?¡± Thrash shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Found it¡± Well he¡¯s sincere. AH! He must¡¯ve picked it up after one of our deaths¡­probably when Zzoida and co. died in Hallowed¡¯s end? ¡°Well if you don¡¯t mind we¡¯ll use as much as you¡¯ve got for everyone¡± Thrash nods. Grilling some Kraken, Aiag that felt like a lifetime ago now¡­but it was barely a week, if that¡­ Thrash also produces some forest berries and starts crushing them, rubbing the juices on the meats.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Wow he¡¯s really been collecting food¡­just how much has he picked up? I quickly find a mortar and pestle (damn these villagers have so much useful equipment) and give Miss Nameless the task in crushing the berries for paste while I cook and Thrash watches out for embers setting the cart alight. ¡°So Thrash, how many times have you died?¡± ¡°Died?¡± Wow well that explains why he has so much food¡­probably picked it up from everyone else who died here and there. ¡°Miss Nameless you¡¯ve died at least once right?¡± Oh wait, stupid question, she¡¯s probably been protected by Krudel the whole way. ¡°Died?¡± She shakes her head in denial. Wow, I feel like I kind of suck at this game, since I died 6 times or so in the first night alone¡­ Ah whatever, I won¡¯t die on this trip, I promise (well hope) this will be true. The cooking goes surprisingly well with the cart unburnt, kraken meat roasted with a light cover of mashed berry and no strange conversations have happened between the 3 of us yet, phew. ¡°Mmm, well let¡¯s get to eat-¡± ¡°Stop Joat please¡± Miss Nameless gives me a pausing gesture ¡°We should feed others first, since the cook shouldn¡¯t eat their own food before others. That¡¯s what Krudel said anyways¡± Huu, fine, I guess she¡¯s right. Alright let¡¯s feed some others. Thrash takes some sticks from his inventory placing a few randomly back¡­hmmm I swear I saw a bite mark on one of them. Anyways, we skewer the meat and give it to the one¡¯s pushing our cart, since they¡¯ve probably had the hardest time with hunger since they¡¯re the closest. ¡°Could you feed it to me please¡± Sugar asks as he pushes the cart, already looking rather drained from the effort. Stopping the urge to roll my eyes, I bend down and dangle the meat in front of him, letting him take a bite at his leisure. ¡°Mmm, quite good, could you put a little more berry on there since that¡¯s delicious?¡± ¡°Princess some berry please¡± I call her over from the other side of the cart and she hands me the berry paste, and I use the peslte to lather it onto the meat. Satisfying Sugar, I check on our next pieces of Kraken meat (can only do 4 at a time since it¡¯s quite a small barbeque). Helping Miss Nameless onto the floor, I hand her and Thrash the next batch of Kraken meat and bowl of berry paste, sending them to the next cart along while I cook. I would let them cook, but I¡¯m worried that they may not be the best cooks, because reasons... Luckily roasting them takes barely 10 minutes so within the first hour we¡¯ve fed everyone on the carts. In the second hour, I have Miss Nameless do the cooking mostly because I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll gain good points sitting and cooking¡­I think I have to actively help. ¡°Make sure you turn them every minute or so, and don¡¯t be afraid to break a little piece off in the corner to see if the meat is cooked¡± ¡°How will I know if it¡¯s cooked?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fully white like this¡± I show her a just cooked piece which is surprisingly fully cooked (I think I undercooked a few accidentally). Leaving her to it, I begin feeding Kale¡¯s squad since they¡¯re back on the carts with Sugar¡¯s. ¡°Hut hut hut hut¡± And they¡¯re at it again? Nope they¡¯re doing sliding? Well if it¡¯ll get me xp they can do whatever they wa- ¡°AGHGHGGHHGGHHARRARARGHAHRGHHAHHHRERGRHHH¡± ¡­ .. . What in the name of Aiag was that? That was Zzoid¡­oh my. ¡°ZZOID CALM DOWN¡± Whipping round towards the cacaphony of frantic shouting I see mouth-frothing Zzoid being held down by BC, Baila, Honey, Zzard and Zzand while Krudel and PJ give eachother a high five. Jumping off the cart I head over to the commotion, waving for the onlookers to continue on. Getting to Zzoid, I give him a hearty old slap, quietening him down quite a bit. ¡­ .. . ¡°I¡¯M CALM¡± ¡°You¡¯re still shouting¡± Baila helpfully points out. ¡°AH sorry, guess I still had a bit of rage still within me¡± ¡°Well you were definitely raging, what happened?¡± I turn towards PJ and Krudel half thinking of a possibility. ¡°Krudel kissed me¡± ¡­ .. . Wow I was spot on. ¡°Question is, Zzoid do you have the rage stat?¡± ¡°Yes and I¡¯ve gained Berserk as my martial skill¡± He looks rather angry even though he got a skill, seriously you should be happy Zzoid (forget about the kiss though). ¡°Berserk?¡± Many ooh¡¯s flitter about. ¡°It increases my physical skills but I lose all distinguishment between friend and foe¡± Zzoid reads from the blank window in front of him while BC nods. Hmm so BC has berserk too? I¡¯ll have to talk to DillyDally about Frenzy and how it¡¯s different. ¡°Well done everyone¡± I give a round of high fives before getting them to figure out how to ¡®safely¡¯ give it to everyone else. Back to handing out food. *grumble* I haven¡¯t fed everyone else yet so I¡¯m not allowed to ea-*grumble*¡­ ¡°That was quite a spectacle put on there¡± Kale gives me an impressed nod as his eyes wander towards the food. ¡°Just all in a days shenanigans for xp¡± ¡®Hey I¡¯m complimenting them for making this trip a little less dull¡± He has got a bit of a point. Flitting about with food my second hour of freedom flashes past and I¡¯m back on the carts, getting a final piece of food from Miss Nameless. ¡°Mmm this is delicious¡± She looks happy with herself, belly grumbling in repentance though ¡­ .. . ¡°Did you give me the last piece?¡± ¡°¡­Yes¡± She looks down guiltily. Giving her the lightest karate chop on her head, I give her mine¡­although it does have a massive bite on one side. ¡°Never let the chef starve¡± I sternly tell her as she tries to refuse. Looking at me with a reddening face she takes a small, ladylike nibble, blushing like a tomato. Is it such a big deal eating my foo-oh. I forget she¡¯s supposedly seriously sheltered so has she never shared food with anyone else? But that¡¯s like part of growing up, your friends taking bites of your food or drinking from your bottle¡­but then again I have no idea what raising she¡¯s had¡­ Facepalming on the inside, I grab Thrash¡¯s food and take a bite, making it seem like it¡¯s nothing even though oh my god I can taste wolf, hmm maybe not the best idea¡­ ¡°Girl¡± Oh no not you too! Dammit it¡¯s not that strange, Thrash stop making this seem like a big deal, for Miss Nameless¡¯ sake! Also please stop blushing it¡¯s quite disturbing. ANYWAYS, finishing the 2 pieces between us (I not so sneakily swap the skewers and give Thrash¡¯s to Miss Nameless (I mean Krudel¡¯s probably going to kill me for this so might as well teach her about the normalness of this), we get back to pushing. ¡­ ¡°Right, let¡¯s have our midday break!¡± Everyone collapses on the ashen ground quite tired. After 8 hours of walking/pushing it¡¯s been quite the trek. ¡°Ravenna how long till there¡¯s a switch of people?¡± ¡°Anoobis¡¯ group have logged on right now so they¡¯ll be here within 2 hours if that¡± She answers from a distance looking tired like some of us (ignoring the muscle monsters that Thrash and BC and quite a few others are). Ravenna stands up after a few minutes break and smoothly grabs the Gold canary-beastman, hoisting him to standing. ¡°Wait what?¡± He looks rather shocked as she grabs his hand and moves it to her upper waist, ohlala, and she holds his left hand. ¡°I am going to teach you how to dance and of course anyone who wants a go¡± She gives a sly smile to the crowd. ¡°BAILA¡± I jump up offering a hand. Oh I¡¯m excited to have some fun!! ¡­ ¡°And one two three, five six seven¡± ¡­ .. . Ravenna, I understand why your minions absolutely desire you¡­ Spinning Baila round to face away from me, I get an eyeful of one Ravenna shaking her hips while teaching one of her minons; the Gold canary-beastman, how to salsa. I think many people here would love to be in his position right now and I do see some rather hating looks wandering around. At least this time these looks aren¡¯t to me. ¡°Now everyone, switch partners and try not to dance like you want to¡­Joat¡± Ravenna gives me a rather unimpressed look, but I know she¡¯s impressed deep down. Letting go of Baila, my hand gets grabbed almost immediately¡­by PinkyS? Phew that could¡¯ve been worse. ¡°So everyone with me, five six seven eight mambo.¡± Forward back, side, side, open, open and pose. Rpeat once more and oh god she¡¯s a leader. ¡°Pinky let go¡± ¡°I am¡± I do side to side to back to side and she steps back. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you follow?¡± I give her a cheeky smile as she grumbles mildly underneath her breath. ¡°Now we¡¯re going to do an enchufla, so open up like this, bring your partner across, salsa back, let her turn, cross step across, salsa back and hold¡± She goes through the movements quickly but I don¡¯t think anyone missed what she did¡± Opening up to allow PinkyS to walk through, I salsa back, stepping behind her as she mamobs forward, turn, crossing behind her, salsa back and together mamboing. Oh the memories are coming back to me! It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve salsa¡¯d but seems like I¡¯ve still got some moves in me. ¡°Alright switch¡± Switching again¡­Thrash? ¡°What are you doing?¡± I ask him as he leads me in a mambo ¡°No other women¡± He grows with a wolfy smile. ¡°Then what¡¯s that?¡± I point to a giant, imposing BC who¡¯s got a clear space around her, all by herself, until a profusely sweating Sugar walks up with a terrified chuckle as he offers her a hand ¡­ .. . Sugar she¡¯s at least 3 feet taller than you¡­but good effort. ¡°Big green ogress dance with Joat¡± Wait a second Ravenna, I have to lead that?. Thrash doesn¡¯t look too happy, but he simply shrugs. ¡°I¡¯ll be back, Girl¡± Oh you. ¡°Hello BoneCracker¡± I offer a hand and am very surprised when it isn¡¯t crushed by her meaty hand. I¡¯m not that short but when she¡¯s almost 2 feet taller than me it¡¯s pretty difficult. Alright mambo I can do, send her across, enchufla and this spin isn¡¯t going ot work unless I let go, trail my hand around her neck and slide it down her arm. Huh that actually didn¡¯t work too awfully. Going through the process a few times, I find myself extremely surprised by the fact she¡¯s actually really good at being led, to the point of I can mix and match steps and she¡¯ll follow. If she weren¡¯t almost 8 feet, terrifyingly muscular and extremely deadly she¡¯d actually be a pretty good dance partner, oddly enough. Right moving on, and phew it¡¯s a woman and a fish-beastlady. ¡°Well seems like we meet again my fishy lady¡± ¡°Indeed, been a while since we¡¯ve worked together¡± The indigo fish sister gives me a smile with her puffy lips. ¡°May I be so forward as to ask your name?¡± ¡°Nerisi¡± That is surprisingly normal. Ok enough small talk, let¡¯s get to salsa! Dancing with her is a rather odd sensation to my fingers; her skin is scaly but it¡¯s oddly smooth and soft, not at all like scales. Doing a hammer lock with her, we do multiple switch steps before turning her out and sending her to another man. Fish sister number 2, the red one this time. I¡¯ve got a feeling this¡¯ll be a train. ¡°I am Neriser¡± Ok so there¡¯s definitely a connection with the names but they don¡¯t sound too strange? Once again my hands are rather confused by the smoothness of the scales, but not rubbery like a lizards scales would be¡­ Onto fish sister number 3, the pink one. ¡°Nerispi¡± ¡°Ok everyone, are you ready for a full run through?¡± Ravenna interrupts our hellos. And five six seven eight mambo, mambo, side, back, open up and let her walk through, enchufla, mambo and open up, enchufla round for eight, show off a little and back into mambo, open up and hammer lock to switch, sombrero into titanic step spin out and into mambo. Oops I kind of got carried away a little. ¡°Switch partners¡± And start again, let¡¯s try keep to the choreography with fish sister number 4¡­erm I haven''t asked her name. Hammer lock her, mambo into a double hand spin to locked at my side and taps forward. ¡°So I¡¯m Joat and you?¡± I spin her out brushing my hair with her hand and hers with mine smoothly back into mambo. ¡°Nerisp¡± She blushes slightly as I open out and spin her into a tip back. ¡°Change partners¡± Waving goodbye I look around but for a second before I¡¯m grabbed by someone else¡­RAVENNA? No I don¡¯t want the eyes of hatred all over me, dammit. ¡°Free dancing everyone¡± She gives me a sly smile, oh you just wanted to be spun around. Alright then. Mambo open up into teddy hold spin and shoulder hold walk back into step and body roll, that was very sexy, spin her locking her into my right then my left then spin her out travelling hand across her side to parallel arm hold and spin myself inside, locking her arms under mine and shuffle both spin to facing double sombrero, titanic with cici¡¯s spin dip make walk spin back lock into arm and reverse cartwheel into cross step behind her hi lo hi lo spin out into hold thigh dip. *ding* ¡­ .. . Phew that was hell of a lot more difficult than I remember. *Clap clap* Oh thank you, thank you. Getting out of the dip, I release hold of Ravenna and quickly look at my notifications expectantly
Congratulations! You have learnt the Proficiency: Dance Mastery
PROFICIENCY: Dance Mastery, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Active)
Dancing is the ability to move your body in accordance to music in an artistic manner, When used: may improve relationship towards Npc¡¯s
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt a Style of the Dance Mastery Proficiency
STYLE: Salsa, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Active)
Salsa is one of the better known latin style dances focusing on a clear role of leader and lead.
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new style, xp is increased by 1%
¡­A style? Wait so if I learn multiple types of dancing, each gives me xp? That¡¯s so amazing! ¡°We can have styles¡± Someone comments out loud as they too look at their new skill. ¡°That would mean there are different forms of using weapons meaning each will be worth learning and in the less useful case to learn how to dance multiple different styles will benefit us greatly in terms of xp¡± ¡°And it would also mean that there may be different styles to many different things so we should be aware to keep an eye on people who use their skills differently to us¡± Ah I know that voice. Walking proudly into our salsa circle is one Anoobis, rubbing his hands delightfully, probably at the thought of all the xp we will now be gaining with such new knowledge. ¡°And that is the cue for us to leave¡± Ravenna gives everyone a bow before logging off, followed almost instantly after by her squad. Alright Ravenna, do a dance and run... ¡°Right, shall we get to walking again, Anoobis shall you begin hauling the carts with us?¡± 47. Trekking Times ¡°EVERYONE it¡¯s break time¡± I stop pushing the cart and lie on the ashen floor, completely wrecked. Another 8 hours of pushing/cooking/people trying to teach us different kinds of dancing has happened and I¡¯m absolutely beat! Only another 6 hours till we can log off, but that¡¯s 6 hours of learning skills! I¡¯m so excited for this!!! ¡°Ok¡­ so we¡¯ve got around 6 hours till the big swap over is happening so let¡¯s try teach everyone whatever skills we¡¯ve learnt in the trip¡± Anoobis calls out from the floor, a needy look embedded in his eyes. Groaning as I stand up, I point to Grawla, the lady Gnoll ¡°How about we finally get the breakdance style first?¡± She nods and gets us all to look at her while she shows us cross step, corkscrew, six step and a baby freeze. It¡¯s a lot more difficult than it looks, especially for the tired bunch that we are. ¡°AWOOOOOO¡± Yeah I¡¯m ignoring Thrash¡­even if he looks absolutely amazing doing something Grawla called a halo windmill? Damn fitness junkies. Right so cross step is alright, corckscrew is fine, six step yeah got that sorted and baby freeze¡­woop woop. *Ding* Nice, breakdance style attained! And that will be used for sakes of gaining xp. Within around 10 minutes, most people have it sorted and Grawla heads off to get the stragglers sorted. ¡°Right, so shall we begin with active physical skills?¡± ¡°Sorry but Ravenna and I switched since her group are a lot more active¡± Anoobis does have a good point there ¡°and I haven¡¯t found anything as of yet¡± Now that¡¯s just a point blank lie¡­there¡¯s no way you haven¡¯t found anything¡­hrmm, I¡¯ll get it out of you. ¡°Alright, proficiencies?¡± ¡°Well since we believe proficiencies can be broken down into different styles we¡¯ve been experimenting with different ways of kicking like low kick and roundhouse¡± It was some form of entertainment watching them. ¡°And?¡± ¡°We got the appropriate sub-skills and until we figure out just what a kicking style would be we¡¯ll be in a bit of a rut¡± Kale gives a rather unimpressed look to himself. ¡°At least you¡¯re going somewhere, Sugar how¡¯s the magic going?¡± ¡°All of us have learnt mana and intelligence and we¡¯ll be starting on simple spells, we¡¯ve already got a list¡± He gives me a happy smile and although I¡¯m not too happy about the lack of spells, I am rather impressed he got his entire squad intelligence¡­somehow. ¡°How did everyone get intelligence?¡± ¡°Intelligence is the ability to solve problems no? Or well that is my understanding of it so I gave them all multiple different logical, mathematical, philosophical problems to try solve or understand that they cannot be solved¡± ¡­That is actually really smart. Well I know how to get my intelligence back now I guess¡­or will the fact that he told me how to do it stop me from getting the skill? I¡¯ll have to test it out later. ¡°And lastly for stats we¡¯ve discovered 2 so far¡± Many ooh¡¯s ¡°The first is rage, gained from extreme anger as far as I¡¯m concerned and we¡¯ve only been able to give it to two people so far¡± *Shudder* I¡¯m going to try forget the moment when I stepped off the cart holding Miss Nameless¡¯ underwear and said hi to Krudel¡­I could¡¯ve died¡­brutally¡­ He was scary¡­truly scary when he was angry. He didn¡¯t fly into a rage or anything; he just stood there, his killing intent crushing me to the point where his single step forward made me trip and freeze in fear. I learnt that Krudel is not to be messed with, ever. He could seriously kill me. Anyways, trying to get that traumatising memory out of my head¡­ PJ is truly a cunning person; figuring out how to make both Krudel and Zzoid rage in just one day. She even got a kiss out of it sneaky little minx. It took a long time to get Krudel to understand what was happening and that Miss Nameless was just playing through, moaning me to come back to the cart from under some furs. I still feel so very dirty since she most likely didn¡¯t understand the situation¡­ But now everyone¡¯s all good and the situation was cleared so I don¡¯t have a bad reputation, phew. Moving on to the other stats we learnt: ¡°We also found flexibility which is exactly as it sounds¡± Whenever we took breaks, all the girls were trying to do splits, trying to make us do it too which didn¡¯t work out very well for some of us. I¡¯m not the most flexible person on the planet let¡¯s say. But I still got the skill after a few hours of doing that so it was completely worth the pain of Baila forcefully opening my legs more than was comfortable. ¡°Sadly that¡¯s all for now but we are in the process of finding some more and we¡¯ve got ideas what they could be¡± Well seems like not much was learnt in the past 18 odd hours of trekking with the carts, but hey we¡¯ve made great progress through this forest and my cooking skill has even levelled up twice! ¡°So what do we do for the next 6 hours?¡± One of the Neris¡¯ call out, ¡°Work on what you can?¡± Gathering my group to one side we bring the cooking equipment and start cooking once again. ¡°So this has been quite a tiring day, but my have I learnt and seen some things¡± Baila gives me a smarmy smile. ¡°The dancing was so much fun, although the break dancing was really strange, but still really cool!¡± Miss Nameless holds PinkyS¡¯ hands in excitement and they both jump up and down together doing poor salsa. ¡°I¡¯d still like to do some salsa with Joat¡± PJ wiggles her eyebrows. ¡°My loliness was I not good enough?¡± ¡°Not by far¡± Zzoid acts as if he¡¯s ben shot in the heart, which he metaphorically was, while the rest of us chuckle lightly. ¡°But hmm we should really try play with speed and light stats¡± Honey brings us back to workville. ¡°Alright, Zzoid you sort everyone out with any ideas they may have while I continue with gaining faith or whatever it may be¡± I have Thrash and Miss Nameless sitting around the small fire with me, trying to brainstorm how to be nicer to people. ¡°Well how about we ask them what they need help with?¡± Miss Nameless finally gives something that isn¡¯t ¡®make them exercise because it¡¯ll make them happy¡¯¡­ ¡°We¡¯ll do that, I¡¯ll take Kale¡¯s group, Thrash take Anoobis¡¯ and Princess take Sugar¡¯s group¡± ¡°Who is Sugar?¡± ¡°The gnome with a green beard¡± I point to a meditating Sugar in the vicinity. Splitting up, I head over to Kale¡¯s Squad who are all doing weird attacks¡­well guess they¡¯re trying to find different styles? ¡°Joat what are you doing over here?¡± Kale stops boxing and dodging with the air and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m looking to help, if there¡¯s anything I could do, let me do it for you¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Kale claps his hands together with a smile ¡°Fantastic, I was looking for a punching bag¡± ¡­ .. . For the sake of xp and a stat this is alright. ¡°Sure, punch away¡± ¡°Ok, hold your fists in front of you head like this, right fist on cheek and left one hovering slightly forward. Good, ready?¡± Hut. -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 Within a few seconds, all I see is his wild grey hair flinging around as he punches me left right and center going all out on me. ¡°I¡¯m about to die¡± I call out from behind my fists and he stops, allowing me to recover. Thankfully he¡¯s learnt the holding back skill or I¡¯d be very dead right now. Round 2, bish bash bosh I feel like mush. ¡­Round 3 here we go ow ow ow please stop punching my side; that hurts. Round 4 ¡°Alright this time round, I will try my best to knock you out¡± Well that is relieving¡­not! Swiveling my hips to try catch his hits head on, I fail quite badly and end up knocked to the floor by a fantastic uppercut. And I just lost three seconds of my life. ¡°You still alive?¡± ¡°Well in spirit but not sure about my body¡± I groan from the floor, god 20% pain is still a real kicker sometimes. Being helped to standing, I assume the position once more. ¡°Until you get the skill¡± ¡°I already got it¡± ¡­ .. . Phew. Standing down, I give him an explanatory look. ¡°It¡¯s a unarmed style: Boxing, so hey we¡¯re on the right track here¡± He gives me a satisfied smile, brushing his wild hair out of his face and gets back to punching, adding a bit of kicking in the midst. Heading to anotehr of his group randomly, I end up by Grawla. ¡°Right, what are you trying to do?¡± I¡¯ve been beaten to a mulch already, it can¡¯t get worse. ¡°Clawing¡± She swipes her claws in the air with a light whoosh. ¡­ .. . I completely take back everything I just said¡­but stats before standards¡­ ¡°Do you need a target dummy?¡± ¡°I do hope you¡¯re a masochist¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to answer to that¡± I put my guard up and wait for the inevitable. ¡°Well it¡¯s going to be quite painful so just hoping that you were going to like it¡± ¡°I know many masOWchists and I haven¡¯t hearOWd a single one whOW likes being clawed¡± Oh great I¡¯ve got the bleed status. Telling her to stop after she claws me a few times, I rip my t-shirt up to stop the bleeding, which surprisingly does stop it, thanks game mechanics! Back up and getting clawed for 1 hit point at a time before the bleed kicks in. Jesus bleed status is terrifying¡­1 hit point a second till bleeding stopped and it stacks¡­ Getting too close to death for my own good a few times and recovering many many more times we finally stop this clawing business as Gawla looks open eyed at what I¡¯m assuming is her notifications. ¡°So did you learn a style?¡± ¡°Ummmm no, but I learnt a few other things¡± ¡°Ooh what did you learn?¡± Not what was planned but hey new things are good things. ¡°Well the claw skill, then some stat called darkness for clawing someone repeatedly to the verge of death and then natural weapon proficiency¡­oh and that you¡¯ve got a pretty fit body¡± She casually adds the wink onto the end. ¡­ .. . Oops, but ooh natural weapon proficiency¡­how did no one get that before? Or better question is why didn¡¯t anyone tell me this before? Must¡¯ve been Braxel¡¯s doing, I can almost feel it. Hmm, well whoever is holding back some delicious skills, I will find them out very soon. *ding* Ooh I should look at my notifications
Congratulations! Through mostly Selflessly helping others you have discovered an Exquisite Stat
EXQUISITE STAT: Light
Points in Light will increase your aura of Light
Light cannot be added until it is of a higher value than Darkness
Xp increases by 20%
AURA: Aura of Light, beginner [lv1] (Aura) (Disabled)
You have a subtle Light aura which surrounds you: Beings that are able to detect your aura will find it to be Good
Cost: none, Duration: Permanent, Cooldown: None
xp increase by 15%
Due to coverting someone to evil, Darkness has increased by 1
Well I got the stat and all that beautiful xp! Though I still count as evil which isn¡¯t good¡­ Well let¡¯s get some food! Returning back to the small barbeque, I see Zzard and Zzand tending the fire, making sure the kraken doesn¡¯t burn. They¡¯ve even made some berry paste, although the supplies for that are quickly dwindling. ¡°We were given cooking duty¡± Both look unhappily at the fire. ¡°What did you two do?¡± I feel like this is some form of punishment from Zzoid. ¡°I tried to make Zzand angry¡± Zzard looks down guiltily. ¡°And?¡± I look towards Zzand who gives the same guilty look to the fire. ¡°I tried to make Zzard angry¡± I just shake my head at you two. ¡°But at least we got the rage stat¡± They both look happily towards me. ¡°So you were planning to give eachother that skill then!¡± ¡­ .. . Oh nevermind¡­ you were just squabbling like the younglings you are¡­ I am seriously wondering what they did to eachother in like¡­oh Aiag it¡¯s been 3 hours! How did they spend the past 3 hours, better question, how did I last being literally a punching bag for the past 3 hours?! Let¡¯s try to erase that thought and move on with my life. ¡°Well you two shouldn¡¯t be fighting that much ok, so cook eachother a delicious meal you numpties¡± I give them both a small chop and a pat on the head before swiping a skewer. At least they¡¯re both complaining together towards me as I take what was their food, whoops. Hey I¡¯m helping their brotherly bond¡­totally planned. And talking about helping, let¡¯s go find my fellow light seekers. Now where are Anoobis and his lot? Partying with Thrash I see they¡¯ve gone quite a distance away from everyone. Hrmm what could they be doing? Strolling over to Anoobis¡¯ group, who are doing some weird cult ritual? I¡¯m not sure I should be present for whatever¡¯s about to go down. I mean Anoobis is sat in the midst of a hard concentrating circle of people in complete silence, eyes closed even. What else could be happening but some odd cult ritual? ¡°Glorious¡± Anoobis suddenly points towards a blue penguin-beastman (I¡¯m guessing from the oily looking skin and the beak) who replies with a beep. Bursting out of their concentrated positions, everyone but Anoobis sprints around maniacally for a few moments, dropping to the ground in a silent seated position, acting as if nothing ever happened. ¡­ .. . O¡­k? I have no idea how to help them do whatever they¡¯re doing¡­ ¡°Thrash¡± Anoobis points blindly towards Thrash and he silently stands up and walks to the middle, taking over Anoobis¡¯ spot. I¡¯m not surprised in the slightest that he¡¯s joined this strange cult ritual¡­ ¡°Joat¡± Thrash points behind himself, pointing straight at me ¡­ .. . Yeah I¡¯m not joining in on this ritua- ¡°Anoobis¡± Thrash points towards Anoobis with way more confidence and accuracy than should be normal¡­especially since his eyes are closed. ¡°Hino, Sino, Glorious¡± ¡­Thrash has got some seriously good senses. ¡°Come on Joat, get in the circle¡± Glorious beckons me over. Well I probably do have better things to do with my time, or I did till I smelt a most delicious skill. Almost jumping into Thrash, I take his place and sit down in the middle, closing my eyes and listening to the mad shuffle of feet before a sudden silence. Urm¡­so I need to point out somebody and the correct person¡­without looking. Alright, this is a game, this is completely possible ¡­ .. . Can¡¯t hear anything, can¡¯t smell much except sweaty people and ash, nor can I see them. Well this isn¡¯t happening. Maybe it¡¯s a beastman only skill? I mean I swear I saw only beastmen in this circle. Ooh maybe it¡¯s a game of chance? That sounds a lot more likely¡­well in my case anyways. Right, let¡¯s point over there¡­.. ¡°Blue penguin-beastman, whoever you are¡± *ding* ¡°Name is Anon¡± Opening my eyes first thing that hits me is the big blue screen of sweet notifications
Congratulations! Through winning against the odds in a game of chance you have discovered a new stat
STAT: Luck
Points in Luck will increase a variety of things
Do you want to put this stat on one of your stat slots? YES/NO
Xp increases by 10%
Well this was totally worth it! So that¡¯s what they were doing!! That¡¯s a fantastic way to get this stat!!! Definitely adding it too!
STAT: Luck has been added to your stat slots. It has used up 1 stat slot.
Luck will start at 10 due to Hob-goblin race.
Due to Luck being 10, you have learnt the Lucky Roll skill
SKILL: Lucky Roll, Beginner [lvl1] (Passive)
When throwing dice or yourself in hopes of not losing you have uncanny luck to land in a favourable situation 0.01% chance that you will end up in a favourable situation Luck bonus: +0.1% chance
Xp increases by 5%
So I¡¯ve got a 0.11% chance that I¡¯ll be lucky when rolling in some way. Huh, better than 0 I guess. But jeez to get ot 100% I¡¯d need a luck of 1000¡­which would be absolutely godly in hindsight¡­100% chance to win dice games and 100% chance to dodge everything when rolling, oh I¡¯d love to see that someday. Anyways, I¡¯ve learnt what I think I¡¯m supposed to learn from them so let¡¯s away! Jumping up, I let Anon have the middle as I leave the circle bounding towards Miss Nameless and the hope of more xp (though skills would be appreciated). And I feel like I¡¯ve jumped from strange to weird; They¡¯re all in groups of 4 sitting and saying the most random words I¡¯ve ever heard, and I¡¯m sure most of them aren¡¯t english¡­ ¡°Vlam¡± ¡°Liekki¡± ¡°Lasair¡± ¡­alright? I decide to concentrate on another group¡­and things get wierder; they¡¯re speaking in sign language, or well just doing small gestures towards eachother randomly? The third group is studying some fire elemental cores, cracking them, casting detect magic and in general playing with them it seems. Miss Nameless is nowhere to be foun-oh nevermind she¡¯s with the mute lot. Seems like she¡¯s having fun¡­ ¡°Right Mages, what have we got?¡± Sugar stops playing with his core and stands up, which doesn¡¯t really make much of a difference to his height. ¡°I believe we¡¯ve got a theory as to what words we could use¡± The white deer-beastlady speaks out for her group ¡°And we¡¯ve got an idea on what gestures are necessary for it¡± The wispy kobold represents his group. ¡°Right then give me your theories and let¡¯s test it out¡± Sugar beckons everyone into a tight circle. ¡°So our theory is that it doesn¡¯t matter what language is used, as long as the keyword is correct the spell will work. Our keyword is Flame¡± The white deer-beastlady starts the conversation ¡°Thank you Wirra¡± Sugar points to the wispy kobold to continue ¡°Snapping of the fingers should do it or a finger flick if it is to be directed, that is our assumption¡± ¡°Keruskegh are you sure?¡± ¡°This is what we¡¯re going to find out¡± He simply replies to Sugar¡¯s skepticism. ¡°And to top it off if we crack the elemental cores we should get fire based mana to use. Alright, everyone ready?¡± Everyone nods, even me; I¡¯m excited to see if this works. Sugar grabs a core between two fingers, ready to break it. ¡°Ahem¡± *Snap-Crack* ¡°Ignis¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°FIREEEEEEEEE¡± Sugar holds the tiny burning piece of cloth proudly above his head while the rest of his group jump up and down in utter joy, hugging, dancing, crying ¡­ .. . I mean there¡¯s over-reacting¡­and then there¡¯s this. ¡°WE DID IT, WE¡¯VE MADE MAGICAL FIRE!¡± Rakshak (oh it¡¯s been a while) grabs hold of me trying to shake me while shouting into my face. Wow I mean it is sort of a big deal but it can¡¯t be that fantastic? Gently pushing myself away from the magic fanatics, I go scouting for a Sugar. I find him reveling a lot less than the others; he¡¯s busy having a whispered conversation with the old crow-beastmen I once sprinted around the village with. ¡°So you¡¯ve made magic¡± I walk into the conversation, since I¡¯d want to know what it¡¯s all about, just a little nosey. ¡°Yes, but we used the core as a catalyst so it didn¡¯t use much of my mana and instead of creating the fire it was more like I controlled the existing fire that was released when I broke the core. I cheated basically¡± His final explanation I do understand and I guess I understand the rest to a certain extent; with the way he cast magic, if he didn¡¯t have any cores he wouldn¡¯t be able to cast any more. BASICALLY they¡¯re partying for nothing¡­and looks like a few of the more wise looking people get it and are quickly returning to their deep concentrating selves. Right that was rather interesting but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to learn anything more here, so let¡¯s go back to my group and see what they¡¯re all up to. ¡­Wait a second; I think I might actually be able to help them. Checking my inventory¡­oh I forgot that I died and dropped it, agh that isn¡¯t good. Man I do hope someone pick- ¡­ .. . Thrash, can I have the leather book you picked up please ¡­ ¡°Girl, here it is¡± Thrash appears by my side surprisingly silently for such a big guy, with Tarakiel¡¯s diary. I¡¯m hoping its just coincidence that he picked it up, not because it probably smelled of me¡­ Right, ignoring my overthinking mind, I thank Thrash and watch him go back to the ritual circle of Anoobis¡¯ wierdos in the distance. Alright, I¡¯ve got the book now for some paper and ink. Heading over to the carts where the Village Elder is still awake; tending a squirming Nathan, I ask him if he¡¯s got anything to write with and on. ¡°It wasn¡¯t necessary so no¡± He doesn¡¯t look up from Nathan, focusing on dabbing the sweat ridden, wrinkled forehead gently with a damp cloth. Well that¡¯s that plan out the wi-I¡¯m an idiot. Opening up my notes page because derp I¡¯m really tired and my brain is definitely not working whatsoever¡­ ¡°Princess¡± I call over to her causing her to jump up and hop over excitedly. ¡°I learnt so many interesting things to do with my hands. Did you know you can speak to people using gestures?¡± She¡¯s been introduced to sign language I see. ¡°Look I learnt hello¡± She gives me the finger ¡­ .. . *facepalm* Sharpy is going to murder me¡­ ¡°Princess, you only say hello like that to people you don¡¯t like¡± ¡°Oh, it is not a nice thing to do then?¡± ¡°No so try not to do it often¡± ¡°Oh ok¡± She looks a little downtrodden so I produce the leather book ¡°But look what I have for us to play with¡± Her eyes grow wide with excitement, since she knows it contains magic. ¡°But I don¡¯t have any souls to use¡± She raises her eyebrow¡­actually wait she doesn¡¯t have a left eyebrow. Huh never noticed that before. ¡°We¡¯re just going to learn how to use your spells and then use that knowledge to help the others learn their own magic¡± *Clap* ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, I wasn¡¯t really helping them much before¡± I motion for her to sit down and we open up the leather book. ¡°Ok so first things first, when you look at the words, are they in english?¡± ¡°¡­No, they¡¯re using the english alphabet and a few other strange symbols but it¡¯s grammar isn¡¯t correct¡± ¡°So you just know what the lettters mean?¡± ¡°Yes, like that means day and that letter means blood¡± She points out the corresponding letters and neither look like what they mean. ¡°Alright¡­erm, let¡¯s start with the alphabet¡± Might as well learn it so I can read the bad bits and remove them from her sight¡­yes that does sound like the one good plan I¡¯ve had in a while. ¡°Erm, ok so F means b¡­ 48. Steamrolling Through ¡°IS EVERYONE HERE?¡± I COUNT EVERYONE JOAT SO LET¡¯S GO¡± Zzoid shouts back at me enthusiastically, I guess he¡¯s refreshed like the rest of us. ¡°What about the other groups?¡± Baila asks ¡°Ah well they come on around 2 hours after us¡± Zzoid answers her succintly. ¡°THEN LET US CATCH UP, IF YOU CAN¡¯T KEEP UP TO MY PACE, THRASH OR BONECRACKER WILL CARRY YOU¡± I look towards them and they nod. Well there are benefits of having fitness junkies in your squad. Starting out at a light pace, I party up with Anoobis, who takes his time, little blighter. Opening up the uninformative map, I see his dot and mine and quite literally go in a straight line. At least I don¡¯t have to talk while running; my throat¡¯s still a bit raspy from the high-powered lecture I gave this morning. Jeez it¡¯s not getting any less weird to see all 3 of them in there. I just hope Josephine Dyle isn¡¯t someone I know as well ¡­ .. . Universe I know what you¡¯re doing, don¡¯t please¡­pleaase. As we run, I quickly notice Krudel is carrying Princess in the respective carry while BC is carrying Charmine on her shoulders. Ok so most of our group is fit enough, but to be fair Miss Nameless is a mage and Charmine doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯d going to be much of a front liner either. I should start planning how to actually fight as a group¡­mah someday. ¡­ ¡°Joat, quick break?¡± Baila calls out from the back, sweating quite heavily. ¡°Thrash¡± Without missing a beat, Thrash picks her up in a princess carry and we continue running, panting like dogs. At least we¡¯ve hit the 30 minute mark, and we¡¯re getting closer. ¡­ ¡°Ok everyone, 5 minute break¡± Collapsing to the floor, I just lie there for 5 minutes, hearing the others do the same. Even the heavy thud of Thrash/BC can be heard. ¡­ .. . Alright back on our feet and let¡¯s go. ¡­ It¡¯s been 4 hours now, and my legs are jelly. We¡¯ve only taken one big break to get our satiety up again and completely recover (game mechanics are pretty sweet). ¡°How far left?¡± PJ asks as she lies down in the ash, body blackened all over. ¡°With the pace we¡¯re going, we should be there within the next run¡± That lifted everyone¡¯s tired spirits a bit¡­well discounting Miss Nameless and Charmine since they¡¯ve run barely anything. ¡°Right, last run guys¡± On our way again, we quickly reach the end of the ash plain and find ourselves looking at a tall line of mountains. Well as far as I can see the mountains go all the way to my left and my right. I bet if we went round we¡¯d be bowled up or something similar. No time to check that out sadly, so let us continue forward. Thrash finds a strip of white cloth tied to a stone a small distance away, next to a wide slope going into the mountains. Ah so there¡¯s already a route through? Fantastic. Walking up the slope (no way we¡¯re running up that), it twists and turns quickly swallowing us into the mountains and away from the ash ridden forest that was our starting zone. *Buf* Smashing into the ground, something heavy lying ontop of me, and I can definitely feel a pair of soft squidg- ¡°YOW-¡± *rrrip* Hopefully Baila, rolls off of me and I roll over to see Thrash holding two half pieces of what looks like an oversized cat. Oh. My. Aiag. There are monsters here! Standing up, I quickly notice a few things; Firstly Krudel is lying on top of Miss Nameless, his spine scattered across the ground. Secondly, Thrash has an entire bit of his shoulder missing, oh wait it¡¯s hanging from the large cat¡¯s mouth. ¡°I was too slow¡± Thrash drops the cat unceremoniously and growls in self-anger. ¡°Krudel?¡± Miss Nameless shakes the corpse and moments later he disappears in a pillar of light. ¡°It¡¯s alright, he¡¯ll be back in a while¡± PJ is already there, comforting her just before she goes into mild shock. Wow, Krudel actually died and Thrash looks beaten up. ¡°Thrash, how much health did you lose?¡± ¡°104¡± ¡­ .. . That¡¯s almost an insta kill! ¡°Everyone back to back now!¡± Circling around Miss Nameless we all stand back to back. ¡°Thrash are there any more out there?¡± I¡¯m trusting him because he¡¯s got some really good senses. *Sniff* ¡°None here, but there will be¡± He points towards the corpse. Ah, that isn¡¯t good. ¡°Right, let¡¯s walk slowly, BC, Thrash, both of you take either side, I¡¯ll take front, Zz¡¯s take back. Baila, Pinky Seniour and Juniour, we¡¯re relying on your hearing. Honey, help BC and Princess, take its soul and stay in the middle. Try to prepare the spell as we walk. Charmine, stay safe in the middle¡± I see a few raised eyebrows at Miss Nameless¡¯ strange orders. Though everyone quickly makes a nice box with our ears and squidgy¡¯s in the middle. Miss Nameless gives me a shaky thumbs up. She¡¯s handling the situation rather well for someone seeing their guardian (at least I know he¡¯s not her father anymore) die in front of them¡­ ¡°Right, let¡¯s start walking, keep close and keep everything peeled.¡± Peering just in front of me, I take slow steps trying to see anything that looks closeish to mix of brown and straw yellow, almost like a clay colour but about half a gradient towards yellow. Though that¡¯s mostly what the mountainside looks like so this won¡¯t be easy. ¡°Enemy¡± Thrash calls out and we all stop immediately. ¡°Keep looking in your own directions and don¡¯t stop, Thrash keep eye contact with it¡± We continue moving. Reaching a split in the mountain pass I quickly spot a cloth bound rock on the left side. Also there¡¯s a body of a really hairy grey dog-beastman lying on the left path. Damn, is that a player? And if their corpse is here¡­that means the NPC¡¯s saw his death¡­ We¡¯ve got to be super careful. ¡°CAT¡± BC yells and I swivel round to hear a mushy thud accompanied by a loud crack. ¡°Everyone alright?¡± I get confirmations from everyone, even BC who isn¡¯t facing me but by the amount of blood dripping onto the floor it must be a pretty nasty wound. ¡°BoneCracker inner circle and someone bandage her up¡± We take a few minutes to stop her bleeding and continue once she¡¯s regained some hp. Another junction, to the right this time and no corpses either. ¡°CAT¡± Multiple shouts come from multiple sides and I¡¯m tackled by someone, hearing a crackening thud straight above me. ¡°Oof¡± Something heavy just landed on the already heavy thing on me, I think I may have broken a rib¡­
STATUS: Broken Rib
Movement decreases by 5% All physical skills reduced by 1
Thank you game¡­ ¡°Wounded to the middle and stop your bleeding¡­dead to the side¡± I fear the worst as I slide out from underneath whoever¡¯s on top of me. ¡°We¡¯re all here¡± Zzoid quickly calls out as his brothers tie their ripped shirts around the tears in his chest.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Left side is fine¡± ¡°All good¡± Honey responds as he keeps watch. ¡°I¡¯ve broken my foot¡± PJ complains slightly as she¡¯s picked up by PinkyS. ¡°Can someone get this thing off me please, it¡¯s really heavy¡± And that¡¯s a Baila. Helping the massive cat off Baila¡­ Wait, can I?
NAME: Mountain Cat [lvl 10] (Deceased)
Health: 0/100 Attack: 81-110 An animal from the cat family that resides in the mountains
Oooh, so I can identify dead monsters, cool. And it¡¯s only level 10¡­so why is it so strong? I really need a higher level monster identification ¡°Big brother Zzoid, how did you not die?¡± I overhear Zzand asking as everyone gets slowly back into position. ¡°I spent a few points on Endurance¡± How many is the question¡­and was it worth the permanent change¡­ Looking at the map, we¡¯re almost at the carts, seems like they haven¡¯t made it far through this either. Back into our square, we slowly continue down the pass, and soon we¡¯re in vision of slow moving carts, boxed in by a large amount of people, all keeping an eye out for mountain cats. ¡°Joat¡± Anoobis calls out from a small distance. ¡°Anoobis, Everyone. What are the casualties?¡± ¡°Only the one, he was busy making the marker when he was caught out¡± Anoobis looks down, probably angry that he got one of his squad member¡¯s killed. I know how you feel¡­well it was Krudel who died so not sure whether I should¡¯ve been sad or happy at that moment. Anyways. ¡°We¡¯ve lost one too¡± I give him a grimace. He should¡¯ve warned us¡­ ¡°Why didn¡¯t you warn us earlier?¡± ¡°I messaged you hours ago about it¡± He looks at me confused. Raising an eyebrow, I check my inbox and sure enough his message is there¡­but I didn¡¯t receive a notification. Actually checking the time received¡­. ¡°I only got it when I got into the mountains¡± ¡°Damn so messages don¡¯t pass through areas?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it¡± He shakes his head in thought. ¡°We need to warn the others before more die¡± ¡°Squad Animal won¡¯t be logging off till the others are here¡± Dillydally appears with a shifting look towards the mountainsides. ¡°Our lot won¡¯t go anywhere either¡± Braxel snorts as he too looks around shiftily. ¡°Sorry but we can¡¯t stay too long¡± B0mber let¡¯s everyone down, tut tut, but hey real life I understand. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s make a group of everyone with the highest vitality and senses to grab the others and escort them¡± ¡°No need, Squad Animal will do just fine¡± That is probably a good idea. ¡°We¡¯re stronger¡± Braxel takes a slightly threatening step. ¡°Squad Animal have been together longer, They¡¯re a lot more in sync than any squad here¡± I reply back and quite a few people nod to that, the ones who have seen them in action definitely nod their heads. Braxel thankfully backs down and shouts some orders to get his squad ready to move out again. ¡°They should be at the entrance in maybe an hour or two, so get there quickly¡± I give Dillydally a strong handshake as gets his lot together. Taking over the left side of the carts, we spread out and start focusing on the mountains, one small step at a time we go. I do however go into the middle to talk to the village elder, who¡¯s busy spreading a concoction of herbs onto the massive gash on Marty, trailing from neck to foot. I¡¯m amazed he¡¯s still alive¡­especially as he doesn¡¯t recover like players do... ¡°Village Elder¡± I give a light cough to garner his attention. ¡°Ah Orphan Leader Joat, what is it that you need?¡± He supresses a yawn, but the dark bags underneath his eyes show his clear lack of sleep. ¡°How long will it take for us to get through the mountains?¡± ¡°The path is not long, but at this pace it will take around 2 days¡± Damn that¡¯s a long time to be worrying about the mountain cats¡­and logging back in won¡¯t be easy either. ¡°Sorry but I must continue treating Marty¡± The Village Elder gives a small bow before getting back to his work. ¡°RIGHT EVERYONE WHO HAS AN INTEREST IN HEALING AND TREATING OTHERS, LEAVE THE SQUARE AND GET TO ME¡± my shout causes a round of tense jumps, which would be funny but given the situation it¡¯s probably best not to laugh. Anywho, a small number of people leave the square; Charmine, Zzard, the Petite Elf i¡¯ve seen around Braxel, Anon and that¡¯s it apparently. Well 4 is better than none. ¡°Ok, so us 5 will aid the Village Elder to keep the NPC¡¯s alive because he nor the others have had any sleep so please take over¡± ¡°Yes boss!¡± They¡¯re all so well mannered. Turning back towards the Village Elder, I see he¡¯s grateful for the help. Don¡¯t get me wrong; I¡¯m doing this for the skills. As we walk along at snail pace, I¡¯m stuck with Marty and his hideous wound. Lathering the green paste inside his wound, only receiving a weak groan of disatisfaction in return¡­he¡¯s really weak. Inspecting his wound closer, it doesn¡¯t look like it was done by an animal, hell I don¡¯t know what kind of animal could inflict such a wound. ¡°It is the effect of over dosing on potions, it splits the body¡± The Village Elder helpfully notices my curiousity. Actually¡­Oh so it¡¯s not just Marty. I had peered at Yidoo, who is sharing the cart; his body is also torn up, a deep red crevice lining his chest. After finishing off filling Marty¡¯s wound with the paste, I begin regulating his temperature with a damp cloth. ¡°Joat¡± A cracked voice breaks my concentration and I turn to see Darlene handing me a bowl of something¡­broth I¡¯ll assume. Thanking her for the food, I begin pouring it down Marty¡¯s throat, stroking it with each sip to entice him to swallow. Back to lathering his wounds and cooling the burning fever¡­to which he reacts little to for both. ¡­ ¡°Joat¡± A familiar voice calls out from a small distance. Kale! Standing up on the cart, he quickly makes his way towards me, followed by Sugar and Ravenna? ¡°Everyone get here fine?¡± Nods all around. ¡°Where¡¯s DillyDally?¡± ¡°He and his squad logged off at the entrance, said they would grab the 2 who didn¡¯t make it and help them through¡± Kale explains with high praise. Right didn¡¯t even think of the dead ones¡­ ¡°Right so Braxel¡¯s squad is going to log off in a moment, so all of us have got to power through these mountains as fast as we can¡± Everyone nods and takes up positions in the square, all except Ravenna. ¡°You know since we¡¯re such a large group no mountain cats would dare attack us, especially as they don¡¯t seem to work in packs larger than 3¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± For all we know there could be a whole family of them waiting out there. ¡°According to one of my squad members, and he¡¯s trustworthy it seems¡± ¡°Well then this¡¯ll speed us up beautifully¡± Calling out to everyone, I have the square dissasemble into just a mass of people. I¡¯m hoping logic still remains in this game and the mountain cats won¡¯t just attack because of aggro. Speeding up our pace to a fast walk, we go back to normal pushing routines, with an extra squad present, since Ravenna was half a day early in logging in for some reason. Right now the Zz¡¯s are cooking and not doing a half bad job of it¡­apart from setting one of the furs on fire but at least they put it out before it set the cart itself on fire¡­ The next 5 hours pass without a single problem and we decide to have a rest at a Y junction. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be logging off so try to get the carts out of the mountain¡± Anoobis gives me a tired wave before heading to log off. *Rumble* ¡­ .. . ¡°Anoobis¡± ¡°¡­fine¡± He rolls his eyes and doesn¡¯t log off, much to his own disapointment. ¡°Everyone quick form up¡± I call out to everyone who are already standing up, facing the strange rumbling sounds coming from our right; the other side of the junction. *RUMBLE* Hmm it sounds less like a strange avalanche and more like organized stepping. Plus I swear I heard the clanging of metal. The nowhere near deafening but still pretty loud sound reaches its pinnacle just before a number of figures appear out from the other side of the rocks: A well formed mass of varied races, all holding large square shields and short swords, march out from behind the rocks and stop in as much confusion as we are once they spot us. ¡°Shields form up¡± Someone calls out and the well formed mass turns into a wall of shields, blocking out all sight of them. ¡­Holy Aiag they are definitely not to be messed with, even if I only see around 30 shields. ¡°Hello there strangers, I am called Joat and am the Leader of these people, may I speak to whoever leads you?¡± I call out to the threatening wall, hoping to not start a fight we¡¯d most likely lose. Suddenly the shield wall splits apart in the middle, allowing 2 figures to emerge; the first is a tall human with crew cut hair and a vicious mug. The second is a whole lot more fairer and a lot more pleasing to the eye and imagination: She has long red hair, curling down half her back, accompanied by baby blue eyes and a sweet innocent yet arousing smile. Her body doesn¡¯t wall behind either with a chest hugging leather top and tight leather shorts accompanied by thigh high boots. ¡­ .. . Wait a second I¡¯ve seen that exact outfit somewhere before; it¡¯s what Jenna wears!! Damn and I thought it suited Jenna¡­I¡¯ve been enlightened. ¡°Joat is it? I am Anavi¡± I think I just had a heart failure. What a serene voice. Holy mother of Aiag ¡°EVERYONE READY¡± I jump back from her and retreat to my squad¡­ ¡°I SAID EVERYONE READY FOR BATTLE¡± Ok they are listening but look confused as to why we¡¯re about to fight. ¡°UNIT¡± The large man screams ¡°STAND DOWN¡± ¡­ .. . Well this isn¡¯t good. ¡°Joat, are you alright?¡± Charmine gives me a raised eyebrow. Dammit what do I do? ¡°Sorry for seeming so aggressive, but we are peaceful, simply looking to pass the mountains and find a town, would you care to allow us to travel together through these mountains?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not¡± ¡°Go for it¡± ¡°Please d-¡± ¡°EVERYONE SHUT UP¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°JOAT WHAT¡¯S WRONG WITH YOU, WHY ARE YOU SO HESITANT TO LET THEM JOIN US?¡± Kale shouts towards me from a distance, accompanied by many male and a few female voices. ¡°THEY¡¯RE PKER¡¯S¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°WHAAAT?¡± The place goes ablaze in an uproar as half of us don¡¯t know what¡¯s right and wrong while the other half simply are mistrusting of the strangers. I¡¯m with the smarter half. ¡°Hahaha¡± Her soft laughter cuts through the confused chatter like a hot knife through butter, causing all to focus on her. ¡°You have a beautifully vivid imagination Joat, but please tell us why we¡¯re Pker¡¯s and I¡¯ll convince you we¡¯re not¡± That is exactly what I¡¯m worried about¡­ But there¡¯s little else I can do now that I¡¯m in the spotlight. ¡°Why do you only have 30 people?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all we had in our village¡± Hmm guess there¡¯s no way against that ¡°How about the fact that you¡¯re the only woman here¡± ¡°Bad luck or good luck I guess¡± ¡°How are you so well organized and well equipped within only a week and a bit in game?¡± with only 30 they would¡¯ve had a lot less manpower than us so it¡¯s be harder and also their shields are all metal¡­suspicious She points at the tall man next to her ¡°Axet is a good commander¡± Him? Surely you mean you¡­ ¡°Do you have any other absurd theories as to why we¡¯re Pker¡¯s?¡± ¡°Any less obvious theories are already understood by those who will fight you¡± I¡¯m sure Ravenna in the least doesn¡¯t trust her¡­probably because Avani¡äs showing herself to be much better at what Ravenna is tying to do, but that¡¯s better than trusting her. ¡°Well ok, sorry if I¡¯m being rude but I believe that you may just be tired, so rest and think a bit. Until then, we shall remain a distance so that you¡¯ll remain safe¡± She gives another graceful bow before turning away, luscious locks bobbing perfectly. ¡°LEADERS MEETING NOW!¡± I shout out to everyone. ¡°Joat she¡¯s got to go¡± Ravenna immediately pops up next to me. Good, that¡¯s one on my side. ¡°I don¡¯t see what¡¯s bad about her. Feeling jealous she¡¯s getting more attention than you?¡± Sugar sticks his tongue out at Ravenna ¡°No I¡¯m bound to agree with her, she¡¯s the epitome of a femme fatale¡± Anoobis interjects before Ravenna goes head on to Sugar. ¡°Her? No, she¡¯s too sweet to do such a thing. I mean look at her¡± ¡°Exactly Kale, look at her, who is that perfect, that amazing¡± I turn his head back to the meeting. ¡°Well she hasn¡¯t done anything to make herself seem untrustworthy¡± Kale shrugs his shoulders ¡°So I say we let her in¡± ¡°I¡¯ll second that¡± Sugar gives Kale a cheeky smile. ¡°Well we¡¯re all against it¡± Anoobis, Ravenna and I shake our heads in sync. ¡°Sadly the choice isn¡¯t just up to you¡± Zzoid slips into the meeting and gives us all a concerned look. ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful and when I say so, I mean most guys here have taken a picture of her and saved it to their personal folders already¡± ¡­ .. . I¡¯m not surprised...at all. ¡°And?¡± I wait for him to finish saying what we¡¯re all thinking. ¡°The group will decide and not you¡± ¡­We¡¯re totally screwed ¡°EVERYBODY COME HERE¡± I jump onto a cart and have everyone gather round. *Ahem* ¡°Right, all those who want Avani to come with us, raise your hands¡± ¡­ .. . That¡¯s a lot of people; hell even out of my squad only Zzoid, Thrash and PJ didn¡¯t raise their hands. ¡°53 people for¡­that¡¯s a huge majority¡± ¡°And¡­those against?¡± The few hands that are raised, not even Ravenna¡¯s minions remained faithul to her ¡°8 against¡± Zzoid calls out Me, Anoobis, Zzoid, Thrash, PJ, Ravenna, Nekineki, Nerisi and Nerisp¡­that¡¯s a sad group indeed. ¡°Then it¡¯s decided, Avani and her lot are allowed to join us¡± Many cheers resound. Seriously how were they convinced so quickly? Well nevermind how that happened, let¡¯s focus on not fully losing ourselves to her. Right, for those who don¡¯t believe her, spend your time trying to gather evidence, before we¡¯re all converted Converted? Nerisp questions on our little 8 person private chat. Yeah didn¡¯t you say they were pker¡¯s? Nerisi follows through That is still possible, but think about it, why is she leading if Axet is the one commanding. Ravenna puts it beautifully. I just told everyone they¡¯re Pker¡¯s because that¡¯s more believable than her being a wololo man, which sounds stupid but is way more dangerous than a Pker¡­ So we find evidence that she isn¡¯t a nice person basically? PJ gives me a questioning look from a distance as she types. Basically, but mostly keep an eye out or any suspicious movement. Closing the chat since I feel like someone¡¯s watching me, sure enough in the huge crowd of meet and greeting people (way too friendly for strangers) my eyes meet with that oh so gorgeous manipulator.
Avani wants to be friends Yes No
¡­I guess I¡¯ve got to accept it. Plus I¡¯m curious as to why she sent me one. ¡­ .. . Ok no message, so common courtesy? But she isn¡¯t that simple, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll do something soon, I fear. ¡°Everyone¡­let¡¯s move out¡± 49. Rocky Relationships ¡°We¡¯ve made pretty good time¡± I chat to Baila as I watch her cook food for everyone. ¡°Mhm, almost out the mountains too¡± She points at a large mist covered swamp that is just in view. We still need to go down quite a distance to reach it but we should be there before we have to log off. ¡°We should rest¡± ¡­And then again we may not. Avani sits down on the ground, followed by her lot and most of ours swiftly. Seems we¡¯re going to her pace now, grr. Already it seems she¡¯s converted quite a few people, since they already sit mingled with her minions gladly. I¡¯m going to lose them all before we even reach our destination. Well there¡¯s nothing I can do about it at the moment, so let¡¯s rest up. ¡°So Joat, since we¡¯re resting here are we waiting for Braxel¡¯s lot here and then logging off?¡± At least Baila still looks towards me for orders. ¡°Seems like it¡± I lie down on the rocky ground since there is nothing to do and there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll convince anyone to do work without Avani¡¯s permission¡­ ¡°RIGHT EVERYONE, GET TO WORKING ON YOUR SKILLS!¡± I jump up suddenly, clapping my hands and shouting energetically. I¡¯m going to make them do work and gather me some skills before they¡¯re fully converted! The response however is poor with around half actually bothering. That is until their squad leaders finally do their job and get everyone up to do things. Phew so I still have some control at least. I get my squad to continue with speed and whatever else they can come up with, while I...follow Avani because she¡¯s suspiciously disappearing down the path. Hmm, where is she off to? As unsuspiciously as I can, I talk to randomers along the way, grabbing something to eat as I chillingly walk towards where she disappeared to. Passing her followers, who are luckily busy practicing fighting, I leave everyone behind and end up alone in the cool mountain pass. And there¡¯s the unmissable squeak of tight leather coming from slightly above. Oh looks like she¡¯s climbing the side to get out of the path¡­suspicious. Following behind her, climbing is surprisingly not that bad, especially as it¡¯s quite gradual. Sneaking behind her for a short while, we end up on a small crater-like plateu. Suddenly turning round she gives me her most innocent smile. ¡°Why one would think you are following me¡± How long had she known? ¡°I am and will continue to do so¡± ¡°Until the ends of the earth?¡± ¡°Until I find evidence of your rotten insides¡± ¡°Rotten?¡± She acts shocked while taking a few confident steps towards me ¡°well Joat can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m anything but that?¡± She breaks open the front of her top ¡­ .. . Do your eyes still decieve you?¡± She grabs my hand, laying it softly on her ¡°What do your other senses tell you?¡± Her smile still remains arousingly innocent. That I¡äm going to be in a lot of danger soon. ¡°That you have amazing breasts¡± Dammit blood, really need you to come back to my mind now. Now! ¡°Hahaha¡­they may be amazing, but compared to this?¡± She travels my hand downwards. Leaning in towards her ear as she jails my hand between her thighs ¡°What is your game?¡± She nibbles on my ear lightly at first ¡°I want to fuck you" ¡­ ¡°He-¡± *sniff* ¡°ripped off my top and-¡± ¡°Shh say no more¡± Kale wraps a fur over her, probably from one of the carts ¡°Kill the fucker¡± ¡°Burn him¡± ¡°Rip him to pieces!¡± Many similarly horrible comments fly out of Avani¡¯s lot and they¡¯re already grabbing up their weapons. Whoops...this was the wrong time to enter the camp. Ravenna jumps onto a cart whistling loud enough to drown out the angry speeches. ¡°NOBODY DO ANYTHING. JOAT EXPLAIN YOURSELF, DID YOU RIP HER TOP OFF?¡± she roars at me. I swear she sounded kind of happy¡­ ¡°well...not exactly but-¡± I mean they ripped in the process and Ravenna hide that smile please. ¡°RAPIST¡± ¡°KILL HIM¡± More than a few people, quite a few from our squads too, rush towards me looking to kill. Well shit. Running for my life, I get grabbed by the waist almost immediately. I don¡¯t want to die already! ¡°Don¡¯t worry girl, you¡¯re safe¡± Thrash? He puts me on his back, getting down to all fours and bounding away from everyone, quickly outpacing all. After a short while he stops and lets me slide off. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill me?¡± kind of ignoring that he¡¯s busy trying his best not to attack his tail¡­ ¡°Because girl doesn¡¯t like girls¡± ¡­ .. . Saved by the twisted logic of Thrash...You know what I¡¯m alright with that at this very moment. ¡°Thanks but you are wrong about that¡± ¡°I am not¡± You are impossible you know that. ¡°Right so I need to convince them all that I didn¡¯t rape her because I don¡¯t like getting baseless reputations¡± But how do I fight against a rape accusation? God no one¡¯s going to believe me, especially with her being the ¡®victim¡¯. I seriously pissed her off somehow. Maybe saying the sex wasn¡¯t amazing ticked her off somewhat? Or she¡¯s just plain crazy. ¡°Go and tell them all¡± ¡°You seriously think that is a good idea?¡± ¡°No¡± At least he¡¯s just special ¡°But what else can you do?¡± He growls displeased at the ground. *Ding* Oh, someone¡¯s sent a message. Zzoid! After this message is a video proving the falseness of the rape accusations against Joat and evidence of the evilness of the woman Avani. Please watch it. There¡¯s a little video play button next to it? Pressing play [¡°Aaahn Joat¡±]If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Pressing Pause ¡­ .. . I have many worrying questions to ask him¡­the first being how many people did he send this too. ¡°Thrash¡± ¡­ .. . He looks up at me wide eyed. ¡°Girl likes girls¡± *facepalm* ¡°Please delete the video¡± turning away from his wide, mind blown eyes, I start walking back up the mountain pass. ... ¡°So am I now considered innocent¡± I walk into a camp of very very silent people¡­ *Clap clap clap* Ravenna is literally the only person to have a reaction other than blankly staring at me. Oh god, how many people have seen it? And where are all of Avani¡¯s lot¡­oh there they are¡­swords sticking out their backs¡­ok? ¡°You have been a bad boy¡± Oh no now she¡¯s quoting ¡°but don¡¯t worry, only everyone here who wanted to got to see it¡± She responds with a wide smile ¡­ .. . Peering towards Baila¡­she just looks unamused¡­that¡¯s a sign she hasn¡¯t seen it? ¡°So as you all have been erm notified, Avani¡¯s trying to convert you all¡± ¡°And that you are into some freaky things¡± PJ gives me a thumbs up... *Sigh* ¡°So do you all believe me now that she¡¯s not to be trusted¡± Silent nods circle around. ¡°By the way, what happened with Avani and her lot?¡± ¡­ -Before the Accusations- (Zzoid¡¯s POV) And that should put the nail in the coffin. This video can surely be used to help us get rid of Avani, oh I¡äm excited to share this. but hmm a little more editing to clean up a couple of scenes would help. Women are scary. seriously the way she jumped him I¡äm amazed he got out of there alive. Arriving back at the camp, I¡¯m narrowly missed by a bounding Thrash with Joat holding on for dear life, slowly followed by an angry mob. Oh no, I have a feeling Avani said something bad. Walking into camp, sure enough she¡¯s crying with furs wrapped round. Guess I¡¯m sending the video a lot earlier than planned. Sending it out to most of my surprisingly extensive list of 58 people, the shock on their faces is interesting to watch. Ravenna bursts out laughing, joined in by PJ¡­they¡¯re enjoying the video way too much. ¡°Everyone, EVERYONE. Friend me please¡± Ravenna jumps up, asking everyone to friend her. A lot of them do, mostly out of curiousity at what she¡¯s laughing at it seems. That was probably a very bad idea for them. ¡°This¡­THIS IS FAKE¡± The big guy Axet screams out in frustration along with many others from his group, but none from ours join in. ¡°Well actually it isn¡¯t and it was taken quite literally not very long ago so I haven¡¯t had time to edit it¡± Much... ¡°WHO SAID THAT¡± Many jump at me, oh yeah I¡¯m inivisible. I used the invisibility candy I gained from Hallowed¡¯s end but I didn¡¯t think I was going to use it in such a manner. Ah well it¡¯s let me learn quite a few things and also settle this situation cleanly. ¡°I did¡± Some look my general direction ¡°Ok you can¡¯t see me since I¡¯m currently invisible but I personally video¡¯d it so for those that know me, you¡¯ll understand it¡¯s 100% valid¡± I spot a few people I know nod their heads, good that they trust me. Fools. Huahuahua. ¡°My Zzoid don¡¯t you know it¡¯s rude to film people without their permission¡± PJ tuts me half seriously. ¡°Seriously did not expect that to happen so my bad¡± I shrug my shoulders but since no one can see I didn¡¯t really have to. ¡°This video isn¡¯t true, is it Avani!?¡± Axet turns to Avani who¡¯s no longer crying. ¡°True?¡± She stands up a wild look blazing in her eyes ¡°TRUE? Axet, do you really believe them? They¡¯re just biting back at us because some of them didn¡¯t want us here in the first place¡± Her finger pushes him to kneeling and he¡¯s already crying while hugging her waist¡­ Why is he crying? ¡°I¡¯m sorry M¡¯lady...but I have doubt in my mind¡± He stands up, tears streaming freely from his eyes ¡°I must have some time alone¡± He drops his shield and falls down, shortsword spurting through his back suddenly. ¡°Aahhhhhh¡± And that sounds like one slowly dying Axet. Hmm falling on one¡¯s sword doesn¡¯t seem to be working well for a suicide tactic... *Grunt* Another falls onto his sword closeby this time through his throat. He¡¯s still alive though and the spurting waterfall of blood isn¡¯t exactly pretty. Almost smart of him. ¡°Ahh¡± *Crasthudcrthucrash¡± In a lemming wave, they all fall on their shortswords; some went through chests, other through throat, blood spurting everywhere as they wriggle and wail in pain before dying about a minute later¡­ I take back what I said about settling this cleanly. ¡°Why are you killing yourselves?¡± Kale grabs hold of one of them as he slowly bleeds from a hole in his chest. ¡°We are doubting her, we are not supposed to have doubt. So we¡¯re returning to where we came from to remove such doubt¡± Well that¡¯s a pretty extreme reaction, but then again I¡¯d imagine Ravenna¡¯s minions would probably do the same if she had sex with Joat and showed them all that she thought of them as less than human¡­ But then again, how can they only doubt her? What kind of brain-washing did she do to them? Avani just sits in the furs. ¡°You little shit wherever you are, I¡¯ll sue your ass for videoing me for spreading such lies about me¡± She barks angrily, trying to retain something. ¡°Sadly we were asked by the company to video anything that could possibly be reported as a bug or simply as an interesting concept, such as the possibility of having sex in game or you know. So you can¡¯t legally sue me¡± I did read the terms and conditions as well as the rules which I do suspect many did not. ¡°¡­Shit¡± She grabs a nearby shortsword and kills herself too. ¡­ .. . ¡°BWAHAHAH OH MY GOD ZZOID¡± Ravenna bends double, wheezing with laughter. ¡°You are fantastic and that video isn¡ät even real?! You are amazing!" She falls off the cart in laughter, safely caught by her trio of men. ¡°Well we were trying to find evidence of her being evil right?¡± ¡°Yes but I was trying to be subtle, letting my minions join her and give me details of her working. Never did I think of making a sex tape with her¡± She continues laughing along with PJ while everyone else is busy watching the video or just looking shocked at the general situation. "Well the situation just came to me" Quite literally. I did have to edit out a lot of it, but overriding the general sounds with one of my favourites worked out well enough it seems. But no one needs to know any of that. ¡°So am I now considered innocent?¡± Joat walks into the camp ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°So you¡¯re telling me they all committed suicide because they doubted her? Wow I¡¯d have thought they would ignore it or deny it was real or actually accept it and then commit suicide because of that¡± I mean that¡¯s how people usually deal with proof, they just deny it or accept it¡­not just doubt the victim of that proof. ¡°Well when Axet killed himself it must¡¯ve triggered the others¡± Zzoid answers from somewhere, seems he¡¯s gone invisible somehow (I suspect it¡¯s a reward from Hallowed¡¯s end). For all we know, they are actually all pretty smart and were just blinded by her. I guess we¡¯ll never know. ¡°Right, well let¡¯s forget this whole thing and continue on no?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to forget but we¡¯ll try¡± Seriously PJ and Thrash don¡¯t nod with her! ¡°Then let us move out towards the bottom of this pass and stop at the foot¡± Everyone slowly gets moving, many still processing the whole business. So two important questions Zzoid Fire away Who didn¡¯t see it? Princess, PinkySeniour and Baila and of course my little bro¡¯s¡­.I also didn¡¯t put Charmine in it but quite a few people did get added into it, sorry¡­ Phew thank Aiag, it would¡¯ve been bad on many levels for some of those to see it¡­ Well guess I¡¯ve ruined my relationship with Baila by doing this but at least she only knows about it¡­ And the second question? Zzoid asks as I breathe some relief Why¡äd you edit out the part where she tries to strangle/beat me to death? Well I mean you¡äd rather have a reputation as sexually active then everyone seeing that not so pretty scuffle. ''Not so pretty'' is a massive understatement as to what went on in that crater. Yeah, try to purge all memories of what happened there I¡äm trying my best to, and this is coming from someone who¡äs been active in the darkweb. ... .. . Well anywho, that¡äs some form of reputation glue I guess¡­at least nobody else saw me naked crawling away from the vicious woman as she tried to kill me any way possible with only 1 damage but I didn¡ät exactly notice that with all the rolling around and trying not to get her nails ripping through me... It was probably on par with Tarakiel¡äs encounter, scratch that it was just as bad. Hmm, why do I keep getting in these situations? Continuing along the pass, I seem to be catching the eye of literally everyone at least once. Many of the guys give me congratulatory nods and quite a few of the women too. I mean no one¡¯s going to deny I accidentally did really well? Though I guess every sort of innocent image has been ruined and of course they have literally no idea what truly happened... Oh if they ever learned they¡äd probably be truly scarred for life... I catch Grawla giving me a wink¡­hmm well if there was a skill ¡­ .. . Would it count as a skill?! Guess I¡¯m going to have to put some time to the side in seeing whether it¡¯ll count as a skill¡­ Anyways I do notice some people giving me weird looks. Guess I don¡¯t blame them¡­since it wasn¡¯t exactly vanilla rated (Really need to ask Zzoid how he edited that video so well in less than an hour...that¡äs literally insane! and where he got all that audio from)... I note Baila trading places with Thrash and pushing the cart with me, giving me a disappointed look "Couldn¡ät resist a bit of a tumble through the rocks" Yea with blood and biting all the way...eugh. She just shakes her head. ¡°Just be a good boy and lick my feet¡± ¡­ .. . Wait does this mean she saw the video? Dammit Zzoid, aah she¡¯s the one person I don¡¯t want my reputation ruined with. Aaaah what do I do?! ¡°Alright then¡± I drop to the floor and make a sloppy sound by her feet. ¡°Aaah didn¡¯t mean it literally¡± She jumps back half in shock. ¡°Oh my I¡¯m confused, what do you mean then?¡± ¡°Ah I don¡¯t know, it was a joke¡± ¡°Gosh how would I have known?¡± I give her the most sarcasticly surprised look I could muster ¡­ .. . ¡°You are such an idiot you know¡± ¡°A compliment to some I¡¯m sure¡± ¡°Especially to you¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯d prefer amazing or fantastic but I guess if I had to settle for less¡­¡± She just shakes her head, at least with a small smile this time. Ok, we¡¯re still doing good. Alright, let¡¯s put this business with Avani behind us and let us continue forward! ¡­ ¡°Alright everyone!! We¡¯ve made it to the swamp¡± Many unenthusiastic clangs resound from the ¡®donated¡¯ weaponry. ¡°So now we¡¯re going to wait here for the other lot and we¡¯re then the next lot are going around the swamp¡± ¡°But we¡¯ve only got most of 4 days to get there, won¡¯t it take longer to go around¡± the Robin-beastlady has got a good point but¡­ I simply point to the carts and she just nods in realisation. Everyone settles down and takes a long rest; mostly because we¡¯ve powered through the mountains, somehow doing it within just around a day and a half in total. ¡°How long will it take the other halves to get here?¡± Someone asks. ¡°Well seeing as though we were on for a few more hours than usual and if they were to go at a running pace, I¡¯d imagine they¡¯d be here in maybe a few more hours?¡± Ravenna answers and everyone just groans at the answer. ¡°I do believe it¡¯s fine if everyone who needs to log off does since Ravenna¡¯s squad should be remaining here for a little longer¡± I call out to everyone and many take that as a sign to log off. I get all my squad to log off too, since they¡¯re going to have to be in good shape for tommorrow. Walking up to the village Elder, who is once again busy keeping the NPC¡¯s alive, I ask him how long it should take ot get around the swamp. ¡°It should only be 2 days at most. The longest part would be the unkept road to there. After that it will be faster¡± That is good. We¡¯ll get there with plenty of time to spare. Right time to log off myself. Oh Joat Peering aroud as unsuspiciously as I could¡­Ravenna, I¡¯ve already had my head on the chopping block once today and your lot won¡¯t care if you consented. It could count as an active skill Hah, yeah it probably could¡­possibly. I¡¯m sure execution would count as an active skill too You have a terribly good point, shall we try both As much as I¡¯d love to become a satisfied bog body¡­I¡¯ll have to concern myself with this event first and find a respawn point that isn¡¯t literal days away Guess I¡¯ll have to take a minion to explore the swamp with then. Once again you¡¯d probably have to take them all or some inter-minion executions would be a happening. Hehe, sounds like I could definitely have some fun with that Ok I¡¯m going to leave you and whatever strange plans you are concoting alone¡­ I see her chuckle out the corner of my eye¡­I really fear what she¡¯s going to do to her minions. ¡­ IMPORTANT BUT NOT A CHAPTER This is NOT A CHAPTER!! This is an IMPORTANT poll about where this next arc is headed. 2 things you lovely readers need to do: 1. Vote for which character you want to get to know better/just want to see more of because you like them! 2. Comment whether you''d absolutely hate the idea of Joat being (frequently) camoeing throughout chapters since he will be pissing about doing his own thing (not going to lie) and i think it''d be more entertaining from an outsiders point of veiw .The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. For all of you who''ve read the L1ONS you understand why i''m asking becuase a lot of people hated the non-mc focused arc so kind of don''t want to make the same mistake again/hopefully you guys are more open to the thought of other characters having special time!! next chappie will come out sooon (ps. much sooner if i get some responses *hint hint nudge nudge* -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 50. End To A Journey ¡°Joat, may I just say; you are absolutely mad¡± Baila, bent double, pants at me, pointing an exhausted finger accusingly. ¡°I second that with equal fervor¡± Chuckling breathlessly, I don¡ät deny that I might as well be mad. But hey, we made it! In just a short distance, across an expansive farm of growing wheat is a high stone wall, manned by a few shining soldiers. We¡äve made it to the town, and in only a single day too! Helping the more tired people from our group up, we hobble over to the main dirt road and join the small column of people, all headed inside. ¡°You, yeah you¡± The gate guard gestures for me to come forward. ¡°State your name and purpose in entering Shoala¡± He eyes me up displeasingly. I give a gracious bow ¡°My name is Joat and I am leading a caravan full of wounded people, seeking the aid of a healer inside this town, Shoala¡± His beady brown eyes squint upon my squad and then back at me. ¡°They don¡ät look so wounded. State your purpose¡± The grip on his sword handle tightens audibly. ¡°Ah, the caravan is a day behind since they took the roads. We cut through the swamp to find a healer and waste as little time as possible, since most do not have that luxury¡± I look straight into his eyes, I have nothing to hide since it¡äs the truth. ¡°¡­Very well, but don¡ät go about causing a ruckus, because I¡äll be watching you¡± He sneers at me before letting me pass. Well that as a very warm welcome I just received. Entering the welcoming gets even better; I can feel the slightly hostile stares directed by the random crowds in the street, whom are largely human but I do spot a number of other Humanoid races milling about/staring at me. Well at least the NPC race count increased¡­but so did the racism. ¡°Joat, we made it!¡± PJ appears beside me looking worn from head to toe but still quite happy. I guess after 3 and a bit ingame days of trekking was pretty tiring. ¡°PJI can smell food¡± PinkyS¡ä ears wiggle in delight as she smells the air. Hmm she isn¡ät wrong, I can smell a waft of cooked food in the air. Everyone else quickly flits through, with only BC having minor problems with the gate guard (though Charmine quickly sorts it out). ¡°Right everyone, let¡äs go to the inn for some food and drink shall w-¡± I notice neither Sharpy nor Miss Nameless in the vicinity. ¡°-where¡äs Princess and co.?¡± Joat we¡äre not allowed in as obvious as that should be. But we¡äll find a way in soon. Well that answers that. So the racism can be as bad as not letting well the undead in, but still not letting someone in... Huh, got to be careful not to decrease my reputation around here. Anyways ¡°Nevermind, they¡äll join us later. So let¡äs get something to eat!¡± Strolling through Shoala, it¡äs a lot larger than the village; as far as I can tell it¡äs split down the middle by a wide cobbled street and then further split by a sewercanal(?) either side of the street. And oddly enough it smells of lavender? On the other side of the canals are buildings connected to the main street by numerous bridges with tall wooden signposts rammed into the ground next to it. Whatever¡äs on those signposts I cannot understand for the life of me. I really need to learn the language. Getting Baila to stop a random dwarf on the street; which just had to be the most menacing looking, scarred and muscle packed dwarf with two blazing eyes, he somehow gladly gives her a small rundown of Shoala and directions to the nearest tavern. According to her (well the dwarf really) Shoala¡äs divided into 4 districts: The Artisan district on the North-West side, The Residential district on the North-East side, The Battle district on the South-East and the Magical district in the South-West side. Also apparently there¡äs a central plaza where the governer¡äs house is as well as the adventurer¡äs guild and a few other buildings. And to the Adventurer¡äs guild is where we now head. ¡°So we have to enlist to get cheap food and board there I assume?¡± Zzoid muses out loud. ¡°According to Rondoth it¡äs the best value for money, plue it¡äs a good source of work it seems¡± Baila¡äs already rubbing her hands in anticipation. Well I guess a source of quests is a nice start, except for the fact that I¡äm stuck with Nathans¡­hmm maybe I should try convince him to let me off, seeing as though I¡äll hopefully save his life and all¡­ Wait a second ... .. . Oh my, I don''t have his quest anymore! it left when I died! that''s great! and awful too...Actually looking at it, all my quests are gone (except the area event). So quests are reset upon perma death? So don''t die on chain quests, gotcha. Entering the central plaza: it¡äs a large open space with 4 imposing buildings, one on each corner of the plaza and in front of their respective districts I¡äm assuming. The Adventurer¡¯s guild was said to be in front of the Battle district and the swinging sword and shield sign may have pointed it out quite well. Entering inside, the place is very medieval: the main floor is covered in table and stools with a range of people sat upon, drinking, laughing and eating. Off to one side is a large notice board with little scraps of paper pinned to it while opposite to it, taking up everything to my left is a counter with two beauties standing behind. The place doesn¡ät quieten much upon our arrival, mostly because I do spot a hairy hobgoblin (like werewolfed up)¡­maybe it isn¡ät a hobgoblin. But apart from that, I do see a few other monster races (though only a few) and a number of beastmen dotted about. Phew, I¡äm not too strange a sight in here then. Strolling up to the counter, I¡äm stuck behind Thrash and well everyone else as they weren¡ät busy gawking at the room/the paleroyal violetrobed beauty with a smooth porcelain leg (sitting amidst a group of gruff looking men so no going anywhere near there physically). The queue goes by decently slowly, since we apparently have to do all sorts of applications and sign this and that. So while I wait I guess I¡äll converse. ¡°So Thrash, what are your plans once our event is over?¡± ¡°Find my Prey¡± he growls with a toothy smile ¡­ .. . I did not expect anything less for that answer¡­ He¡äs called up by a buxom blond elf lady in almost bursting fiery red dress and I¡äm left to wait alone. Hrmm, everyone here seems to have at least one lanky/petite looking person in their party. So a magic user in each party is the general consensus then? ¡°Excuse me sir¡± A light voice garners my every attention. Taking a few steps towards a human woman with long chestnut hair I notice the wiggling fox tail protruding from her tight black and green dress. fox-beastlady then. ¡°So I¡äd like to become an adventurer, how would I go about that, forgive me but what may I call you madam?¡± I give her my best winning smile. ¡°Wendy if you must and would you not like to know what becoming an adventurer entails?¡± She returns the smile. Hmm she has got a good point, so I nod. ¡°An adventurer is someone who takes jobs given by either the guild or the town. You may be called to arms in times of war but only for the guild and the nation in dire emergencies¡± her tone becomes informative but she retains a beautiful smile. ¡°So if I join this guild will I become part of this nation, and what is this nation?¡± ¡°You will become part of the Dekin nation however that won''t limit you to adventuring in other nationswith which the Dekin nation is at war with, since adventurers are mercenaries against monsters not people¡± ¡°So why would we be drafted for war?¡± I mean I guess war against monsters but I suspect a little more ¡°Different branches of the guild will have wars over move important jobs, but it is more competitive battles that don¡ät usually end in death. And also we sometimes clash with other guilds entirely¡± Usually isn¡ät a good word but I guess that makes sense? ¡°You mention branch, so what branch of the guild is this?¡± so much to learn about the politics of guilds! ¡°I¡äm part of the WindWhistlers and my friend Rushanne is from the Salzamanders. These are the two branches of the Adventurer¡äs guild in this town¡± ¡°So what¡äs the point of the branches?¡± Still a little confused as to why they¡äd bother making segregations ¡°Makes managing the hundreds of thousands of adventurers an easier task and also gives them pre-defined groups which makes the handling of larger quests much simpler. Plus competition is the driver of improvement¡± Hmm putting us into a competitive environment does sounds like a good idea.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°So penultimate questions: what are the benefits of your branch to the Salzamanders, can I change once I¡äve joined one and how do I make my own?¡± Doesn¡ät hurt to know, plus being part of an already set system does make leading life easier. She raises a single eyebrow at my mention of making my own guild branch, but doesn¡ät look as shocked as one could be. It¡äs probably likely I''m not the first to ask that question. ¡°Ahem, well we¡äre a support group who focus on having members who can be lended out to other branches. We don¡ät usually take part in the front-line fighting but we help tremendously from the rear. We are currently situated in 4 branches, 1 of those in a different nation too! Our current guild count is 432 members and we¡äve always got space for more!¡±She sounds so confident¡­though the way she¡äs looking at the counter does give away the struggle. Fair enough, most people wouldn''t be happy being support. ¡°If you join us we¡äll help you gain the basic support skills n-¡± I place a finger on her lips ¡°Shh, say no more for you have said the magical word. Now tell me, how many support skills will you be able to teach me?¡± ¡°You¡äll get access to every artisan guild in Shoala and when you go to other places if you see our flag at the guild entrance you¡äll have access there too. They will teach you for free all the way to a journeyman level and if you prove to be talented they might even take you under their wing for further training. All for free of course!¡± She¡äs practically glowing. ¡°Then, my lady, please sign me up to the WindWhistlers¡± ¡°Perfect!¡± She produces a few sheets of paper almost slamming them on the desk. Jee she musn¡ät get much positive response often. ¡°Now I¡äll need you to sign these 4 forms: the death insurance form, the adventurers code of conduct as well as the WindWhistlers and personal details which will be used to make your Adventurer¡äs card¡± Death insurance form¡­that is a good question: if I die would I still be part of the guild. Guess if my character dies in front of NPC¡äs I will (should try it out sometime in the near future). I look down at the sheets and I have no idea what I¡äm signing, so if I accidentally sell my soul to the devil so be it. For Skills! Having her read out the forms to me (I¡äm not a complete moron) the Death insurance form is just a if I die all my proceeds go to the person of my choice or my guild (I chose Joat who I told them was my twinbrother, just in case). The codes of conduct were simple; don¡ät kill other guild members, don¡ät steal jobs from others, don¡ät take higher level jobs than you¡äre allowed and bring any issues with other guild members to a higher up. Fair enough I guess. The last one was just my name, experience in the field (I said none) and a blood signature (which was mildly disturbing but more loyal?). Thanking me, the foxy lady turns and disappears out back tail wagging madly behind her. A few moments later she returns with a small plate of stone (about the size of my hand) dangling from a string, a symbol of green reed pipes wrapped in fern on the back swings in and out of view. ¡°This is your Adventurer Card. You¡äre at stone level which is the lowest at the moment. With it you¡äre allowed access to a large number of towns and cities across the world and you can take stone level jobs. After doing a number of successful jobs you¡äll rank up. This will act as your identification as an individual so don''t be doing crimes now"She helpfully explains what I can do with it after placing it over my neck. ¡°Ah also take this!¡± She produces a strip of forest and dark green cloth, handing it over to me. Actually now that I look at her dress more, it¡äs actually those colours too. ¡°You can wear it as a headband, armband or tie it to your weapons. There are many places to put it and this will act as your identification to the WindWhistlers itself!¡± Wrapping it around my left wrist, hmm need to find a better place to put it soon since it doesn¡ät go well with my skin colour. Anywho.
Congratulations! You have joined the Adventurer¡äs Guild!
You have joined the WindWhistlers Branch of the Adventurer¡äs Guild!
Your adventurer rank is now: Stone
Congratulations! You have gained the Adventurer Semi-Class
Semi-Class: Adventurer (Novice)
You are an Adventurer, a mercenary of sorts for all kinds of plain and perilous tasks.
Semi-Class bonuses: Entrance to Adventurer friendly locations
Due to becoming this Semi-class, the guild feature has been unlocked.
This Semi-Class is permanent as long as Contract with the Adventurer''s guild remains active.
Semi-Class¡¯ do not count towards your class limit. They are an addition to any normal class you may become.
Congratulations! For being one of the first 10 players to join a Guild you have earned the title: Keen One
TITLE: Keen One
You are keen to do this and that and join and see as much as you can.
You will be more noticeable when putting yourself forward for tasks or when another is looking for a volunteer.
Xp increases by 25%
Well it¡äs official now I guess, also free xp! ¡°Thank you very much. Now for my last question: would you like to show me around town, in the morning perhaps?¡± Her eyes narrow slightly but for a moment ¡°As a new Branch member I¡äd be happy too!¡± ¡­Branch-memberzoned¡­that¡äs harsh. But hey can¡ät win them all. Thanking her again, I turn round to see Thrash waiting patiently behind me. I watch him join the WindWhistlers¡­I¡äm not sure what to feel about this. Going over to a somehow my squad occupied table, I sit down between Baila and Honey and listen in to the converstation. ¡°The guild and branch system is actually pretty cool!¡± Honey sips on a wooden tankard of something. How¡äd he get that. ¡°Yes but the fees for joining aren¡ät exactly welcoming¡± Zzoid doesn¡ät look too happy as he sips on his tankard of milk. A barmaid appears out of nowhere and half jumping, I ask for a tankard of ale and she asks for my Adventurer¡äs Card.
2 copper debt added to Adventurer¡äs Card
Huh that¡¯s kind of cool. I watch her go back to the small bar, which I somehow missed, in the corner. ¡°And so that¡äs why I think Salzamander sounds awesome¡± Zzard concludes something and I¡äve completely lost track of the conversation. ¡°Wait a minute, Zzoid what¡äs with the fees?¡± I bring the conversation back to a very important point¡­because I didn¡ät pay anything. ¡°Well the Salzamanders ask for either 10 gold downpayment or a month of active service in a pre-assigned party¡± PJ answers, looking rather sour at the thought. ¡°Oh, I didn¡ät get any payment¡± Hmm that may be odd¡­slightly worried here. ¡°I¡äm not even surprised you joined the WindWhistlers¡± Baila offhandly comments after taking a sip of her milk. ¡°Because they¡äre awesome and will give me a whole ton of free skills?¡± ¡°Because they sit in the back and do nothing¡± She gives me a cheeky smile while the rest chuckle around. ¡°I¡äm guessing you joined the Salzamanders then¡± ¡°Hell no; WindWhistlers sounded like a lot less work¡± Ah so who¡äs the lazy one now? Quickly glimpsing around for their cloth colours, I see a good split between branches: Zz¡äs and Pinky¡äs all went with Salzamander along with BC. The rest of us went WindWhistlers¡­ even Thrash, I note as he sits down with the green neckerchief. ¡°Well seems like we do have a nice split and so for tonight we¡äll forget about our new differences and remember what brings us together. To skills!¡± I raise my new tankard into the sky. ¡°To my Prey¡± ¡°To new adventures¡± the Pinky¡äs cry as they raise their tankards ¡°To all the fun we¡äre about to have!¡± the little Zz¡äs follow suit ¡°And to all the fun we¡äve had¡± Zzoid adds on to the smiles of all ¡°To the two who couldn¡ät make it here today¡± Honey raises his tankard ¡°To making new friends¡± Charmine raises her milk tankard, followed by a silent BC ¡°And to Joat, despite his madness in having us sprint through a deadly swamp, burn down and entire forest and just be a general Jinx to our lives, he brought us together and let us experience so much together so I raise my glass to him¡± oh thanks Baila ¡°CHEERS¡± *GulpGulpGulp* ¡­ .. . ¡°Ahh¡± ¡°Wow you guys are so dramatic¡± I turn to see Anoobis shaking his head from nearby, the rest of his crowd and most of our village lining up at the counter. ¡°You made it!?¡± they weren¡ät supposed to be here for at least another half day. ¡°I had everyone push the carts since the roads were clear¡± ¡­ .. . I¡äm mildly impressed. Seems like rushing through the swamp wasn¡ät necessary. Ok guys stop giving me evil eyes. The swamp was an adventure so appreciate it! ¡°NPC¡äs safe?¡± ¡°They¡äre headed to the apocathery, the event says it¡äll be finished once the Village Elder talks to you¡± Urghh, guess I¡äll finish it off. ¡°Right everyone, try get some sleep and I¡äll see you guys sometime in the near future. Since I¡äm going to be busy gaining all the skills in this town!¡± Waving them goodbye I get directions to the town apocathery. Reaching there within a good 10 minutes, I see the carts parked outside fantastic they¡äre already here. ¡°Son, care to help out a poor man¡± A raspy voice diverts my attention to a nearby alleyway: A man in a ragged brown robe sits huddled next to a barrel, pure blue eyes looking at me from underneath ragged hair and beard. He looks kind of like a hobo priest ¡°The only thing I can actually give you is my clothes¡± I¡äm not the most heartfelt person, but my clothes respawn and also begging may be a skill so his ragged clothes may come in very handy¡­ ¡°Clothes? That¡äs a strange offer. Some would give me coins, other a piece of foodstuff. But most ignore me. Tell me why would you give such a commodity to a beggar like me?¡± Oh I guess clothes in a medieval era is kind of a commodity. But I do have a better reason! ¡°Well I want to learn how to beg and doing so in these clothes won¡ät work as well as if I was in yours¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°¡­Hahhhahhhaah-¡± *Coughcough* ¡°-You¡äre a really strange man. What kind of person willingly wants to beg on the street?¡± ¡°One who wants to learn the skill of how to beg¡± I mean it¡äll come in handy someday I assume, if things go downhill. And if not then it¡äs free xp. ¡°Son, I could teach you how to beg, but not to these poor fools who roam the street no.¡± He creakily stands up showing himself to be as ragged as he first looked, though he¡äs got a portly stomach which he holds painfully. ¡°If you¡äre telling me to beg to gods, well that is kind of what prayer is¡­please teach me¡± free skills and it¡äs always useful to know about religion in case I end up annoying people because I¡äm not religious enough¡­ The hobo priest puts one hand inside his robes (o...k) and pulls out a pristine white tome from under it (phew). ¡°This is the holiest of bibles and I will teach you how to beg and whinge and whine to the Gods so loud that they irrevocably listen to your crying tantrum and answer your pleas¡± Well it¡äs been a long time since I went to a church¡­and with the way he¡äs preaching this may not be as dull as I remember. ¡°Ah but before you do go on with your preaching, I need to check on someone. They¡äre sick¡± I point to the apocathery. ¡°Don¡ät worry, I¡äll be waiting out here for you¡± He gives me a thumbs up. Ok he¡äs pretty strange, but then again doesn''t look like he''s got much else to do. Leaving the hobo priest, I head inside to see the Village elder sitting tiredly on a stool next to Darlene who is already fast asleep. For old people they¡äve really pushed through in the past couple of days, good on them. ¡°Orphan Leader Joat, good to see you safe and sound¡± He notices my entrance and weaklystands up. ¡°It¡äs happier to see you and everyone else here safe¡± I give him a smile and he offers his hand, which I duly take. ¡°When they¡äre all recovered they will go to their respective guilds, and if we see you or anyone else from our escort we will gladly teach you some of what we know¡± His other hand clasps over mine and he gives me a last thanks before slumping back onto the stool.
AREA EVENT Complete!
The Village Elder and all his Villagers have successfully been escorted to the town of Shoala and all but one of your escort survived the trip.
For an Astounding Success all participants have gained 1 permanent level. For keeping all Villagers alive global reputation increases by 1 for all participants. Villagers will give you basic training of their skills for free if you find them within Shaola after their recovery. Due to Successfully completing an Area Event, all surviving participants have been awarded with an Event badge (Dekin Nation).
Due to being the leader of a successful Area Event you have been awarded with an additional Event badge (Dekin Nation). For leading an Astounding Success you have gained 5 Leadership stat points. For being the recognized leader of the Event, global reputation increases by 1.
¡­ .. . I am one happy man! 2 badges (still don¡ät know what I¡äm going to use them for but still), a level and stat points!! Leading gave me so many bonuses, sweet! But I think my global reputation is still at a -3 sadly¡­well I¡äll get there someday. Right, now that that¡äs done, I should really get to bed especially since I¡äve got plans for the morning. Heading outside I almost collide into a shiny soldier. ¡°Oy careful where you¡äre going¡± He gives me a cold look before noticing my armband. Then his look is colder. Great, thought the guild might help¡­it didn¡ät. Saying sorry, I take a quick peek around for the hobo priest, but all I see are a few guards milling about obstructively Well guess I do really need to get some sleep¡­I¡äll ask for the hobo after my branchzoned walk tomorrow¡­ ARE YOU READDDDY!!! I HAVE FINALLY FINALLY FINISHED THE NEXT ARC. YOU THOUGHT I HAD DROPPED THIS, NEVER!! YOU THOUGHT I HAD STOPPED WORKING ON IT, well for a small time but that''s because my life is like stuffing 3 sandwiches in my mouth and trying to fit a fourth since chewing is for the weak... BUT I''VE WORKED ON ITEnjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU''D GET ONE CHAPTER IF I STARTED AGAIN WELL YOU ARE WRONG! I HAVE MULTIPLE CHAPTERS, A WHOLE ARC LOAD. SO TELL ME, SCREAM TO ME ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT ARRRRRRC!?!?!?! -TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD 51. Bunny vs Cat (Baila¡¯s POV) I never knew there was so much theory behind brush strokes, it¡¯s rather painful to have had stayed there for an entire two hours listening to the concepts of brushes, the different ways to use them and to what effect! Colour me impressed he did not have so much as a breather¡­but still, I didn¡¯t need 20 minutes being given a correlation between the brushes age and the coarseness of its stroke. Why would I need to know that? Plus isn¡¯t the point of Stiff paint brushes is that they¡¯re supposed to be replaced? Apparently not according to Spencer. Agh, let¡¯s throw work into a corner because now it¡¯s time to play! Logging in, my vision fills with the wooden slates that stop the person above falling onto me, though with all the creaking they¡¯re doing I¡¯m not so convinced about my safety. Letting out a small yawn, I sit up on the hard mattress, cracking my neck before standing up and shaking my body about a bit. Ah damn back hurts again. Jeez no wonder Mum constantly whine about back problems; big breasts are quite painful to have. Stretching out my back a little extra, eventually I decide to head downstairs to begin the day. *ding* Hmm who¡¯s sent me a message? Oh it¡¯s to the 100 person group chat which has an absolute ton of messages. Everyone, let us meet in a week¡¯s time outside the town gates to share skills and knowledge as we all haven¡¯t reached a milestone so no harm sticking together still. Huh it opens up the chat to the last message I viewed, nifty. Having a quick scroll down there¡¯s a few dissenters but they were drowned out by the masses pretty quickly. Guess Joat is slowly learning to love being in charge. ¡­ .. . Yeah, I don¡¯t feel that¡¯s the case. Baila, we¡¯ll meet up at the next meeting, until then just prepare. Ok Joat, prepare for what exactly? And what happened to us being a party huh? I was hoping to, you know, have a party member to play with. *Grumble* ¡°Good morning or well not so good?¡± The blonde elf at the counter, Rushanne, greets me as I grumble into the room ¡°Just daily pains¡± Not sure whether Joat¡¯s the bigger pain¡­ ¡°Ah¡± Her eyes glimpse downwards knowingly at the problem, well one of them at least ¡°Well it¡¯s very recommended for people of your situation to get a brace¡± She gives her side a light tap, a dull clanging responds. Huh so they¡¯ve actually got something for women. That is going to be necessary if I want to fight (seriously not fun with these things swinging around mid combat). ¡°I¡¯ll need money, won¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Her pitying tone suggests it¡¯s not cheap. Well then I¡¯m going to have to do some quests then! Damn, I kind of wanted to just go explore the town but I don¡¯t think I could do it comfortably with this ache. Thanking her, I head to the large board on one side of the room ¡­ .. . And I cannot read a single scrap of paper on here. ¡°Erm sorry but is there a library in this town?¡± I ask Rushanne. ¡°There is one in the Residential district, quite large so it shouldn¡¯t be hard to find¡± ¡­So, if I want to learn how to read, I¡¯ll have to go to the library and read a book and proably do work on the subject too ¡­ .. . Instead of spending time drooling over a book that will most certainly not be thrilling, I ask Rushanne what quests on the job board are for my rank. Yes I¡¯m lazy but I¡¯ll be damned if I waste my week learning how to read. She smiles and happily helps¡­probably because she has to, but hey I¡¯m not part of her branch so I don¡¯t need any brownie points with her. In the end, there are only a few Stone rank quests and they are ALL boring ass jobs. I mean one of them is to cut the Governer¡¯s grass, which I might¡¯ve chosen if it wasn¡¯t a measly 3 coppers. The quest I take is a simple find a missing cat called Bubushkums¡­eh it¡¯s 5 coppers and trying to find a cat means I get to explore the city offhandedly so I see no problem taking this quest. Heading out into the mostly empty square, I head towards the Residential district first. Having opinions on the lavender smelling open sewers, I cross the bridge into the Residential district. With only a few steps in there, the houses swallow me up in their irregular streets and non-sensical placements of each house. Whoever was the architect for this district really did not plan very well. Joat would get on fantastically with them. ¡°Wendy, I daresay that you are leading me in everlasting circles, see this is the fourth time we¡¯ve traversed passed the Lover¡¯s fountain. If you¡¯d like to have a seat¡± Speaking of the devil. ¡°Joat, I¡¯ve only been here a week myself and this is only the second time I¡¯ve been here¡­ Forgive me but I believe we are lost¡± Well I can hear them¡­but where are they? They seem to be on the other side of this building, but how in the name of Aiag can I hear them so clearly? ¡°I¡¯ve always been lost, ever since I gazed into your chestnut eyes¡± so this is what you¡¯re doing instead of partying with me? Oh, you and I are going to have a talk when I find you. ¡°They¡¯re almond¡± ¡°Wendy¡­whoever said they¡¯re almond should get a prescription for some eduction on colours, and a bag of almonds so they can see what almond actually is¡± Wow Joat only you could try sounding romantic when dissing someone¡­ ¡°Hey, I think I know what colour my eyes are¡± She¡¯s starting to sound a little bit pissed off. ¡°Have you got a piece of paper?¡± His smooth tone breaks into his usual smarmy ass one. ¡°What do you need it for?¡± well that response was less than kind. ¡°To write you a prescription for some education on colours and if you can give me your address I¡¯ll try my best to send you some almonds¡± hehe, did not even skip a heartbeat ¡°Oh!¡± I hear her stomp off, footsteps fading abruptly. ¡°Trust me when I tell you it¡¯s a good thing you don¡¯t have almond eyes, trust me and wait up!¡± Joat too disappears off all too instantly. ¡­ .. . So Joat just caused an argument about eye colour, that¡¯s something I did not expect an argument out of, especially as it didn¡¯t sound like it was going that way. Well deserves him right for dumping me in this town for a week with literally no plan! Continuing to stomp along the maze of streets, I don¡¯t ever get to this ¡®Lover¡¯s fountain¡¯. This place is a literal maze! ¡°Miaow¡± That¡¯s a cat! Quickly looking around for the source of such sound¡­it¡¯s once again come from a place I cannot see. ¡°Miaow¡± I¡¯m coming to find you already, just keep miaowing. Wandering frantically around the maze, I hear the miaows of the cat echoing closely then far away then closely again. For all I know it could be just around the corner or on the other side of the district! Walking into at least the 5th dead end in the past few streets I really want to kill this catEnjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Miaow¡± Aaaaaaaaaaarrrgh! This is so much more work than it implied and that cat is really starting to get on my nerves along with this whole bloody place! Screw it, I¡¯m just going to have to climb up to get a better view. Looking at the house to my left¡­erm how am I going to climb it? There are 3 window sills, one for each floor, so I guess I could try jump up them? Clambering onto the first one, I bend my knees a few times, taking 3 deep breaths before jumping up as much as I can. Got it! Huh, this is actually possible and ow the whiplash, well booblash(?) isn¡¯t good for my back. ¡°Oy what are you playing at?¡± oh there¡¯s someone here? Looking down, I see a lean, bald man staring up at me, shaking his head in sync with his tut. ¡°I¡¯m trying to get out of this bloody maze so I can find a damnable cat that¡¯s been echoing it¡¯s miaows all around me for the past half an hour. So if I could please climb your house¡± I may be just slightly angry and this guy staring at me and tutting really isn¡¯t helping my mood. ¡°Get down from there will you, there¡¯s a better way to get up¡± He stops his tutting at least. Fine, only because it is rude of me to climb your house. Jumping down, I hop to the floor and oh my he¡¯s a lot taller than I first thought: Standing just over 7 foot, the lean man looks down at me with a slightly disapproving look. ¡°Follow me¡± He heads down the street, succinctly followed by me. Turning off almost immediately, I catch up and see him snugly fitted inbetween the two houses, sitting back to one and legs very bent on the other. ¡°Now walk¡± He starts literally walking up the side of the house ¡­ .. . That¡¯s actually really smart. Positioning myself like him, I start to walk up, pushing upwards with my back too so all my body goes up. With still quite a lot of effort but basically no danger, I make it to the rooftop noticing the flat strip in the middle. ¡°For the last part turn around and raise yourself up with your arms¡± That sounds pretty dangerous. Though it isn¡¯t that bad somehow, except for pulling myself up; that¡¯s a pain. Standing on the flat strip of the roof, I do see that it¡¯s a very good trail, especially as all houses in sight have a flat strip of roof. It¡¯s almost like a makeshift road. ¡°Now you can walk along the rooftops here, but to get further into the district, it¡¯s the long way round¡± He points towards what I believe is the town centre. ¡°Thank you for showing me this, but why did you?¡± I mean he had no reason to really. ¡°Well there¡¯s always one idiot who decides the way to go is climbing peoples¡¯ houses. Also my third floor windowsill is greased so I didn¡¯t want you to have an accident on my porch¡± Sounds like it¡¯d be devastating to him if I¡¯d died on his porch, not the fact that I¡¯d die or anything. Harsh. ¡°Thanks for not letting me die I guess¡± ¡°Yeah whatever¡± He backhand waves to me as he disappears down the gap. Fantastic, now to find that bloody cat. ¡­ ¡°Miaow¡± Aha there you are. Only a few rooftops away there is a white and brown tortoise furred cat perched, miaowing in a sad tone. Hmm, well it fits the description Rushanne gave me so I hope to Aiag it¡¯s the real one. Walking calmly towards it, I hop over the rooftop gaps and succinctly make my way towards the poor feline. Bubushkums (hopefully) looks up at me as I reach its rooftop and begins sprinting away. You little bugger! Walking after it, I watch it stop a few rooftops away, Miaowing in my general direction. I¡¯m not sure whether it¡¯s taunting me or asking me to follow it¡­. Once again reaching the same rooftop, it runs away a little, to which I continue my calm walk towards it. ¡°Come here Bubushkums¡± I call towards it as non-aggressively as I can. All I get is a miaow from it. And this is why I¡¯m not a cat person; they¡¯re so annoying! Reaching its roof for a third time, the minute I cross the gap I¡¯m sprinting. Come here! Startled, it turns to sprint away but I¡¯m already on top of it by then. Lunging at it, I feel it flatten under my chest and hear mad, almost hissing, yowls as it tries to wiggle out from under me. Well at least they¡¯re useful for something. Using my hands to grab its legs tightly, I hoist it up and let it dangle as if from a spit roast. -3 Ow that bite hurts! Clenching all 4 legs in one arm, I rip some of my shirt off and struggle to wrap the animals¡¯ legs together, taking it¡¯s bites with a pinch of pain. A long painful struggle later, I¡¯ve successfully gagged the thing so it can¡¯t bite me anymore and tied its legs up so it truly cannot escape. ¡°iiiaa¡± Don¡¯t you take that sad tone with me, you deserve to be tied up. This is your punishment for running away from me multiple times and biting me. Cradling the thing as it futilely tries to struggle, I walk along the rooftops for a while, until I can smell the lavender. Descending, the cat doesn¡¯t struggle, but it continues it¡¯s wriggling as I gander towards the Adventurers guild. ¡°Here you go, one Bubushkums¡± I plop the cat onto the counter and Rushanne looks at it, then back at me then back at it¡­ ¡°¡­5 coppers it is then¡± She looks passively me at me. What? It¡¯s just tied up for my own safety. She throws the paper into the small fireplace behind her, and for a moment the flames burn blue. Handing me a small stack of 5 copper coins, I happily tuck them away.
Quest Complete! Adventurer Rank 1/100
¡­I need to do 99 more of those tasks? 99!?! I have a feeling being an adventurer is voluntary slave labour. Guess no point complaining though, I need the money. Going over to the quest board, I spot the squirrel-beastlady, Tikari(?), musing over the board with a few others, more well dressed people. ¡°Can¡¯t read?¡± She jumps in shock as I speak into her ear. ¡°Ah Baila, jeez don¡¯t scare me like that¡± She takes a deep breath to calm down ¡°I can actually read it, but there isn¡¯t anything that interesting right now¡± She actually took the effort to learn how to read¡­also it¡¯s barely 10am ingame¡­she must¡¯ve spent the night learning, tryhard. ¡°Sadly I don¡¯t think we get the luxury of choice here¡± ¡°True, but to be honest I¡¯m thinking I should start finding out how to learn some magic¡± Seems like she¡¯s got a plan for this week then ¡°I wanted some money to give me a little security but I guess I can live in debt for a while¡­¡± Please don¡¯t mention the debt that is going to begin racking up. 2 copper a meal or drink and 5 to stay the night. It¡¯s literally the equivalent of slave labour here! ¡°So are you and Squad Animal splitting up or it is just temporary¡± ¡°Temporary¡± She answers as if it were obvious ¡°it¡¯s fun having a group to play with¡± Yeah I don¡¯t know the feeling, blimming Joat. ¡°And what about you, are you going to be staying with your group or just Joat?¡± Her eyebrows wiggle at the mention of that devilsson. ¡°We¡¯ve all got our own things to do, but I¡¯ll be dragging Joat along with me at some point¡± ¡°Ooh romantic questing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that!¡± It¡¯s not like that, he¡¯s just fun to be around. ¡°Alright it¡¯s a secret between us¡± Tikari no. ¡°Bubushkums!¡± A cracked, elderly voice clatters into the room, disrupting all conversation. Following such a grated, raspy voice is a hunchbacked, wrinkled hag with squinting eyes and shriveled fingers, holding a cane precariously, each step threatening to be her last. With an odd haste, the old lady makes it to the counter and grabs her cat out from a small cage (seems like Rushanne untied the thing¡­probably a good idea), smothering it with her worn cloak. ¡°Can I thank the deary who found my Bubushkums?¡± Rushanne blinks but once before pointing over to me. The old lady stumbles over to me, clasping my hand in gratitude once she¡¯s in range. ¡°Thank you deary, Bubushkums gets hungry when he isn¡¯t home for supper¡± Her corpselike stench causes me to gag rather violently, which I hide with a small forced smile. ¡°My pleasure¡± I croak out the last of my air, holding my empty lungs together in fear of breathing in death. Taking a small breath as she turns away, it¡¯s only mostly polluted with such a mortifying stench, but it¡¯s at least bearable. ¡°Miaow¡± Bubushkums suddenly jumps out the old lady¡¯s hands sprinting out the semi-open door. ¡°Bubushkums aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± The old lady talks to the door, confused and sad. No wonder that cat doesn¡¯t like living with her, with that breath alone. But then again, I don¡¯t like seeing old ladies sad and it¡¯ll be another 5 coppers to catch it right? ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get it for you, just make a request at the counter¡± I make sure to keep my nostrils away from her mouth. ¡°Thank you deary, if you find my Bubushkums, bring him to my house¡± She passes me a small piece of paper which I have no idea what¡¯s written on it but first things first let¡¯s get that damnable cat. Sprinting out the door, I just barely spot Bubushkums snaking through the milling crowds of people as they shop at the growing number of market stalls. Stalking it at a distance, I watch it sit down in the middle of the crowd and just watch people go by. Just stay right there you little blighter. Suddenly turning round to look at me, I see it miaow before running off a distance. ¡°Ooh Goldy look! Bananas!¡± A black-lion beastman passes in front of me, dragging a gold-bird beastman, Goldy I assume, with him. And completely losing Bubushkums. Dammit you two! ¡°Blacky we¡¯re already in debt to the guild, we can¡¯t afford bananas¡± Goldy stops his friend from dragging him through the crowds with harsh but true words. ¡°But bananas Goldy, bananas! I haven¡¯t had one of those for so long and you know it. Aren¡¯t you excited about the fresh fish?¡± He points to the right. ¡°¡­fish?¡± He follows Blacky¡¯s pointed finger with disbelief and I too follow the finger. ¡­Well hello there Bubushkums. So it is hungry. I¡¯m going to go buy some fish. Walking with purpose up the fishmonger¡¯s stall, I browse his fresh fish. ¡°Freshest fish from the Verubian sea, caught by myself just this morning miss¡± The man smells of the sea that¡¯s for sure. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯d like to have¡­¡± I pick up a large, strong smelling fish with one hand and drop it ¡®accidentally¡¯ back onto the stall, other hand darting and clamping onto the distracted Bubushkums, who is too busy looking wide eyed at the fish I¡¯m guessing. ¡°This one¡± Hoisting the cat into the air by the extra skin on it¡¯s back, it tries to wriggle away but one look from me and it doesn¡¯t bother. It knows it will get tied up again. ¡°Sorry for the inconvenience¡± I bow slightly to the fishmonger who¡¯s looking mildly disappointed I didn¡¯t buy any of his fish. ¡°How much is that fish¡± Goldy materializes next to me, eyes entranced with a small pink scaled fish. ¡°That¡¯ll be 6 coppers sir¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Blacky you go mow the Governers lawn, I¡¯ll do deliveries¡± he tugs at his friend, who longingly looks at the bananas before complying to rush through the crowd. Well they¡¯re certainly fired up but they seriously don¡¯t have the right priorities. Spending money for food is too much of a waste right now. Plus, it¡¯s more expensive than the Guild¡¯s ration food. Walking through the crowds, cat dangling in front of me, I get back to the Guild in good time. That was barely 20 minutes to get that cat again and I got to see a stall or two on the way back too. All the stalls were food which made my stomach growl somewhat, but I¡¯ll survive until dinner. I only need one meal to function if I have to. *growl* Hmm, maybe I should buy a ration at the Guild¡­ Entering, the place is pretty much dead by now as everyone¡¯s up and at it, well all except a few well armoured people, sitting hushed and peering over a large parchment. Rushanne looks at the cat, then at me then at the cat again before I produce the piece of paper and ask her to read it for me. ¡°12th house outer ring in the Residential district¡± The houses are in rings? Thanking Rushanne, I head over to the Residential district, dodging an overly energetic Goldy who¡¯s sprinting for dear life. Ok, so after walk-climbing (much harder with one hand) up to the rooftops, I do see that the maze of houses is vaguely in ring shapes. And if it¡¯s 12th on the outer ring in which I believe I am, it¡¯s only a few doors down. ¡°I¡¯m so lost!!¡± And Goldy¡¯s been completely screwed by the maze. I could help him¡­but if I take delivery quests I could definitely do them faster...and let¡¯s face it, my need for money much outweighs his. Sorry Goldy but it looks like you¡¯re going to have to get your fish another way. Heading back down, I find the supposedly correct house and knock on the door, excited to get down to delivery business soon. ¡°Come in¡± The ragged croaking creaks through the door. Opening the door, I walk into a dusty old room, which looks like it hasn¡¯t been used in years. Feeling the hairs on the back of my neck raising, I duck to the floor, dropping Bubushkums unceremoniously in the process. A foot plants onto my back, holding me to the ground and a cold steel knife placed gently on the back of my neck stops any struggling. ¡°Good, good, you have good instincts indeed. Not only that but a talent for subtlety too¡­¡± The voice is young, whispering, deadly. ¡°Who are you?¡± The only response I get is a sudden release of pressure and steel from my body. Scrambling up, I turn towards the exit and see who else but the old decrepit hag staring at me with eyes a lot younger and livelier than should be. ¡°I, youngling, am Rassin¡± The old hag speaks in a voice that shouldn¡¯t be possible for one of her age. Standing up, her hunchback disappears along with the cloak and before me stands a hag, but a tall one and although decrepit looking, her gait suggests a youthful vigour. Producing a knife from an extensive belt wrapped tightly around her body, she tosses it lightly at me and I catch it at the hilt. ¡°Training begins now¡± 52. What Happens When You Stick Two Intellectuals In A Run-Down Library (Ravenna¡¯s POV) ¡°Lancel I want you to gain a melee class. Bottom go ranged and Reddwarf learn a pharmaceutical skill¡± ¡°My lady¡± All three bow in perfect unison before disappearing to do their tasks. Ah shame I haven¡¯t gained more minions, but that Avani messed up my culturing of them so for now, these 3 shall suffice. Asking the whore of an elf where the library is, she succinctly gives me the directions, instinctively shooing me away so her customers aren¡¯t distracted. Hmm maybe I should become a counter girl and recruit people for my guild¡­ A thought to tend to another time. Walking through the bustling late morning crowd, I spot 2 of my former squad members, Goldy and Blacky, rushing through the crowds, bumping into many people along the way. Idiots. Truly why did I ever choose them? That¡¯s right it wasn¡¯t me, but Anoobis who made me believe they were worth something. A sly one he is. His image floating around my mind, I canter out of the market place and into the Residential district. Seems like that elf whore really was trying to get rid of me, but lucky I asked a few ogling men where it was on the way. They are always so helpful. Walking briskly through the deathly cold and quiet mazelike streets, I arrive at a ramshackled church would be the best description of it. With slowly crumbling walls and an aura of unuse bogging the surroundings. I¡¯m in a town of illiterates, great. Walking through the great double doors of the place my expectations were both kept and broken: the library looks as drab, broken and unused with dust gathering on the many rickety bookshelfs and piles of unreturned books that lie in masses upon the desks and pews on either side of the wide, expansive hall. Though it is not as unused as it seems as many a person flits about in silence, reading or finding books to do so. A young, harsh looking woman with black bun tied hair, large round spectacles and a goose-like beak for a mouth peers out from the pulpit behind a small counter, as if ready to sermon any noise-maker or book mistreater. Her spot clearly visible even from the entrance and I wonder how it would be throughout. Moving down a corridor made almost explicitly for this action, I make my way to this librarian. ¡°Hello¡± I whisper, no negative reaction from her, so some base whispering is allowed then it seems ¡°I am looking for a book to help learn your language¡¯s alphabet¡± ¡°Third aisle, 4th shelf from the top. That is where it used to be¡± She replies without emotion, just a sort of languid retirement of her duties. Nodding my thanks, I go over to the third aisle, beginning from the left, and inbetween a pair of bookcases, too many spaces on the shelves for her liking. 4th shelf. Almost head height, so those for a 1st shelf book need to eat the dirt to gain knowledge¡­it must be an interesting selection of books on that shelf then. Books on languages books on languages¡­and I can¡¯t seem to fi- ¡°I see I¡¯m not the only one with brains in town¡± A pair of glistening amber with a twinge of purple eyes gaze at me from the other side of the shelf, his face and folded arms taking up a large portion of the empty space where books should have been. ¡°In a second you may be the first with your brains all over town¡± The bookshelf groans under Anoobis¡¯ unusual weight but he doesn¡¯t visibly move. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t need this then¡± He casually lifts his head, revealing a small leatherbound tome wrapped by his arms. ¡°Already learnt the language? Almost impressive¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure for you it¡¯d be easier to learn the whole thing in a single hour¡± His arms snake away, leaving the book free for me. ¡°I¡¯ll be¡­perusing¡± his self-absorbed smile glints off the glimmering light shining through the large decorated windows. An hour? I would take him for a liar if I did not know his type. But then again he could be lying to wind me up and make me rush something that should have a certain time put into it¡­ But I can¡¯t lose against such a witty man, can¡¯t let him win anyways. Taking the book to a nearby pew, cleverly inserted in line with a bookcase, I begin to flip through the nonsensical pages. Closing the book carefully, I stand up and walk over to the librarian. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but could you teach me the alphabet. If not I cannot read a single book here¡± She doesn¡¯t look disappointed or angry, just dully stares at me. Gesturing for me to open the book she grabs a quill and a piece of parchment. Writing down the symbols she states the letter it is. 26 letters, just like the alphabet then. Thanking her, I take the book and parchment back to the pew and begin reading ¡­
Congratulations, you have learnt a new skill: Reading
SKILL: Reading, Beginner [Lvl1] (Active)
When used: Reading allows you to understand written down symbols
Xp increases by 5%
Congratulations, you have learnt a new Language: Dekin
LANGUAGE: Dekin, Beginner [lvl1] (Passive)
The Dekin Language is used primarily in the Dekin nation. It is a simple language, much in common to English. Symbols may now be replaced with words
Xp increases by 5%
Interesting; So I get the choice to replace the symbols which would make it easier and definitely help me finish this book within the hour. But what would be the drawbacks in not learning it using the symbols? Slower learning speed or simply a mis translation? So this is why he was playing his game, to make any moronic people opt the easy way out, hinder themselves before they truly start. Devious man indeed. Taking my time in reading the rest of the book, a large portion of it becomes instructions and visual diagrams on how to draw the symbols. Borrowing a piece of parchment and ink from the librarian, she has me learn standing by her counter, probably so that she may keep an eye on the ink pot and the book.
Congratulations, you have learnt a new skill: Writing
SKILL: Writing, Beginner [Lvl1] (Active)
When used: Writing allows you to write down symbols in their corresponding language
Xp increases by 5%
Congratulations, for being one of the first 5 in the server to learn a language, spoken, written and read, you have gained the Learned Title
TITLE: Learned
You have the ability to read, write and speak a whole language giving you literary powers above many others.
For gaining this title your Communication, Intelligence and Wisdom stats will increase by 5 each. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active. Reading and Writing skills and Languages gain 4 levels
Xp increases by 25%
Another title, they truly are very useful things. Skills may be more beneficial in the long run but whoever gets the most titles will always have extra boost in both stats and xp. *Clap clap clap* A slow faultless clap whispers it¡¯s way to my ear and I turn to see a grinning Anoobis sitting on the pew behind me. ¡°It only took 2 hours, was it a little bit too hard for you?¡± ¡°Rather dulling, but if one doesn¡¯t build their house right, it will crash down upon them soon enough¡± There is no way he did it within an hour without replacing the symbols. ¡°ah finally someone who understands¡± or maybe he did? No it was slow progress getting all the symbols right, especially as quite a few look similar, even for me. ¡°Don¡¯t you have more¡­perusing to do?¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°With how¡­lived in this library is the perusing will have to wait¡± ¡°How many bookshelfs do we have?¡± seems like the books really aren¡¯t in much order and that doesn¡¯t make searching an easy task whatsoever. ¡°24 split into 6 rows of 4 back to back¡± So 24 different categories are the possibility. ¡°Shall we begin from the left?¡± ¡°A most thought out idea¡± By yourself not me¡­smarmy indeed. ¡­ Sending him a variety of hand gestures symbolizing the completion of the history bookshelf, he responds by casually waving a book, one that is meant to be on my shelf. Wordlessly I saunter over to take it off him, noticing that his fictional bookshelve is quite empty with barely over 2 of the 6 shelves being filled. *Creak* The hurried slapping of feet catches my attention and I turn around to see Joat sauntering past the bookshelves and towards the librarian. He must really love punishment to be back here so soon. He stops at the counter faced by the unpleased goose-beastlady librarian whose eyes glower darkly towards him. Well it was his own fault that he walked in yawning and complaining ¡­ .. . Joat why are you playing charades with her? ¡°You can speak¡± The librarian almost spits the words ¡°Quietly¡± ¡°where do you keep the language books?¡± ¡°You cannot take unless you return the others¡± ¡°Oh yes here they are¡± He returns the books he had taken out a short while earlier. Softly dragging the books away from him, her expression lightens somewhat ¡°They¡¯re around¡± ¡°¡­thanks¡± Ever the gentleman he bows at her most uselessly vague information. Seems like he really is hungering for another title. Since he must¡¯ve gained the Learned title from learning the language earlier and he¡¯s needy for more. Though I don¡¯t see anything wrong with a man who knows many languages, it opens up all sort of flirtacious things he can whisper in my ear¡­and also for conversational aspects but who really cares about that? Anoobis waves a book in front of my face, distracting me back into my work. So far we¡¯ve taken all the books out and have begun sorting them, only recently begun placing them in aisles with their proper category: History, Fiction, Skill based, Combat based and Languages. Unsurprisingly there¡¯s only 421 books in the whole place, which is barely anything at all. If we didn¡¯t bother to categorise them we could fill up maybe an aisle. Though it¡¯s better if there¡¯s clear categories, stops people milling about looking for something and when there¡¯s an order to things people tend to respect that. We¡¯ve sorted out around half the books by now without any disputes; luckily, he and I think similarly. Or maybe that is too much of a compliment for him¡­ ¡°So where are the language books?¡± Joats curious voice whispers from behind me, too close to be an accident, just close enough so that his hot breath tickles the rim of my ear. Looking up from the book I¡¯m trying to decipher, I stare at his bemused expression as he scans the horizon of books. ¡°4th pile, faded green cover at the top. Do not mess it up or my minion trio will be visiting you later¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t mess it up will you be?¡± He gives me a cheeky wink before heading to the pile, not giving me enough time to reply back. ¡°You¡± Anoobis says his greetings halfheartedly, not even looking up from his book. ¡°Your Geniousity¡± Joat bows mockingly. What a strange title to be given Anoobis, I¡¯d prefer something like Mistress or Queen. But it does fit you quite nicely. With no further conversation everyone gets down to work. Slowly but surely the piles of books descreases to the dozens, leaving only the language books which are all currently being used by Joat, the greedy man. Learning another language isn¡¯t enough, only another 4 would suffice it seems. Suddenly surpressing a yawn, he closes the book quietly and succinctly leaves. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s learnt them all, just got bored it seems. Very unlike him, he¡¯s usually a lot more diligent in finishing his tasks¡­ Talking about disappearing people¡­where is Anoobis? Spying him through a large gap in the bookshelves, he¡¯s staring at the door on the left-hand side again. We tried the door earlier, with no repercussions from the librarian but it was locked nonetheless. Worse is that it doesn¡¯t have a handle just a knob and no keyhole. So it¡¯s more likely barred from the inside. I am curious to see what is on the other side¡­but one task at a time. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s magically locked¡± He suddenly muses, just loud enough for me to hear, probably too loud as the librarian¡¯s fierce gaze zaps towards him. ¡°And why would someone bother to magically lock this door?¡± I come close, whispering so as to not instill anger. ¡°Tell me, what do you notice is missing in this library?¡± ¡°Many things, but I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re talking about the lack of any magical books or religious ones at that¡± ¡°Exactly and even though there is a Magical District, and if the magical books are all over there, why is this door locked?¡± ¡°Could be a cave in on the other side blocking it¡± ¡°We both know it isn¡¯t that. So 2 questions remain to be answered, what is on the other side¡­¡± I roll my eyes as he waits for me to finish it ¡°And how do we open it?¡± ¡°Glad you asked¡± You forced me to ¡°Because I believe I may have the answer¡± Now that is what I call an interesting discovery¡­but first things first, let¡¯s finish up the library. Lightly dragging him away from the door momentarily we finish up the library, placing the final language books, all of which were perfectly formed into a wink¡­he¡¯s such an idiot sometimes with the way he does things. ¡°You two, come here¡± The librarian whispers over to us as we finish placing the last of the books, feeling rather annoyed as I spot a pig-beastman placing a history book in the fiction section. Ignoring him for now, I go up to the librarian who asks us our names. She¡¯s either going to ban us for moving her library around or be grateful, I hope it¡¯s the latter. Spending a few moments looking under her desk she rises back up with two small steel placards, with our names written on them. ¡°Your official library card, steel ranked. It will allow you to take 3 books out from every library in the kingdom. As well as acess to tier 2 books for the larger libraries¡± That does sound rather grand. ¡°I¡¯d also like to employ you to be my library-assistants. Pay is 5 silvers a week and your library card will increase by 1 rank immediately¡± ¡°No thank you¡± Bot of us state simultaneously much to her unchanging demeanor. It¡¯s not a surprise, as easy and unchallenging a job it would be with the large bonus of a higher ranked library card which means access to better books and greater knowledge¡­it would be way too dull a life. Especially as I do enjoy ordering around minions to my will. Although I¡¯d imagine me becoming a librarian would sate many of my fans desires¡­possibly could even use that to recruit. ¡°Though I¡¯d be honored if you wrote us a letter of recommendation so that if we do desire work as a library assistant our worth would already be accounted for¡± Anoobis barely misses a heartbeat before asking for another reward. Smart, being a library assistant here wouldn¡¯t mean much¡­but in a large library with lots more books¡­it¡¯s priceless. ¡°I¡¯m not an altruistic fool, shoo¡± She rather harshely shoos us with a gesture and we retreat to the ¡®locked¡¯ door once again. ¡°Well now what was your answer?¡± ¡­ (Miss Nameless¡¯ POV) ¡°Krudel these clothes smell kind of funny¡± I sniff thick shawl which smells kind of like old dirt. ¡°Sorry Mistress but you only need to wear them until we are inside¡± Krudel gives me a small apologetic bow before putting on hiw own ragged shawl. ¡°Now as we practiced¡± We hunch over and begin hobbling towards the gates, acting like old women, leaning on some sticks Krudel found us in the swamp. Apparently we¡¯re not allowed into the city so Krudel had me go to sleep early while he did some preparations. Now I get to have a night adventure!! Hobbling towards the gate a barely visible man in shiny armour halts us with a lantern, the dim light not penetrating our thick shawls. ¡°Halt, who are you!?¡± His voice sounds slightly fearful for some reason. ¡°Dearest man sorry we came back so late, we found a large bundle of herbs and it took a long time to pick them¡± Krudel speaks in a haggard, breaking voice of an old crone, while producing a woven basket of plants. I didn¡¯t recognize him for a second there! ¡°Ah¡± He sounds almost relieved ¡°Forgive me ladies but the gate is closed for the night, we can¡¯t open it for anyone¡± ¡°My bones¡± I shiver visibly, croaking the words as best as I can. ¡°Gertrude don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be home soon¡± *Sigh* ¡°Fine I¡¯ll open the gate, but don¡¯t be caught out so late again you hear me? It¡¯s not good for you to be out in this chill¡± His tone softens as if speaking to his own grandmother. He seems like a caring man. Hobbling through the gates, half-helped by the guard, we make it inside. Croaking our thanks we leave him behind and start walking. ¡°Where are we going Krudel?¡± I lift my shawl slightly to see the dark cobblestone road ahead of me, sweet smelling canals on either side. ¡°To Joat¡± He doesn¡¯t sound too happy about that. Ooh Joat, I get to see Joat again, so soon too! I was worried when he had to leave us behind, worried that he¡¯d disappear on some adventure and not bring me with him! I want to go on adventures with him, they¡¯re always so fun!! Krudel¡¯s hand suddenly stops me, and he places a bony finger on my mouth. 2 guards walk out in the distance, their senseless chatter losing meaning over the distance. Once they disappear, we continue walking, Krudel in front, leading and watching for more guards. Looking around curiously, I spot something on the left bridge in the distance: Someone is sitting by the stone railing, their fiery locks of hair resting on top. Turning towards it, I can feel something calling from over there. Coming up to the bridge I see a short, thick young man with fiery hair and a strong jaw sitting by the railing, sleeping silently. The feeling is something, a little white light that¡¯s pulsating slowly in his chest. What is this? I feel like it¡¯s something i¡¯ve seen before. Placing my hand lightly on the light, I feel and see it snaking towards me. Eww it¡¯s so slimy, wriggling all the way through my arm and into me . ¡°Oy you, what are you doing?¡± A burly voice calls out from nearby and I whip round to see a guard squinting at me from the other side of the bridge. Frozen in place, heart stuck in my mouth, I watch him come towards me, dim lantern light shimmering me into his vision properly as I try to make up an excuse. His eyes widen in fear as he sees me and the fiery haired man ¡°MURD-¡± A bony hand protrudes from his throat, spraying me in blood ¡°ERER¡± He finishes his screams, whipping his sword around in a turn and facing Krudel, one hand trying to step the bleeding from his throat. ¡°RUN MISTRESS¡± Krudel shouts as he dives past the dying guards¡¯ sword and pulls me away. It¡¯s so sticky and warm. It¡¯s just like squished tomato, nothing else, nothing else. Fighting down a sickening feeling in my stomach, my feet begin working properly again and I begin running in earnest as the sounds of alarm break out everywhere. Dogs start barking, men start shouting, I keep running. ¡°OVER HERE¡± Someone shouts as turn left into a large field, full of craters, dead trees and other signs of battle. Running through, more guards appear on the other side. We¡¯re surrounded. ¡°Into the pit and stay silent¡± He whispers gently despite the situation before he gives me a gentle shove into a pit. Silently tumbling down, I land into the hot dirt at the bottom and stay still, hearing the shouts of men coming close and disappearing slowly. Finaly I decide to move, crawling out the pit. *Swoosh* A sword swishes past me wildly, cutting off a bit of my hair. Scrambling up to standing, I turn only to narrowly be missed by a sword. The wielder is the guard from before, his throat wound sealed but his voice doesn¡¯t seem to be working as he doesn¡¯t make any noice but angry grunts. Backing up away from his wild swings, he stumbles after me. Tripping on a root, I crash to the ground, his boots planting either side of me. A wicked smile creeps on his face as he sways slightly, sword dangling above me threateningly. ¡°Felbolt¡± my fingers claw together into a point, blasting outwards towards the man, the unfamiliar greyish green fire bolting from the point and smacking into him, burning a large patch onto his chest. *Thunk* The sword sinks into the ground next to me, the body of the man falls on top of me, his chest weirdly cold and the bright white light pulsates in his chest. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± ¡­ ¡°HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-¡± ¡°FOR CRYING OUT LOUD WOMAN STOP SCREAMING¡± ¡°HHhh¡­¡­¡± Anoobis¡¯ voice cuts over my screaming and I immediately rush up to hug him, shaking madly. *sniff* ¡°He was dead¡­I¡± *sob* ¡°¡­I killed him¡± I killed someone. It wasn¡¯t like killing a chicken, wasn¡¯t like squashed tomatos, his body felt weird with no heartbeat. ¡°Honey, it¡¯s a game, it¡¯s not real¡± The beautiful raven-beastlady, Ravenna gives me a pat while she soothes me with her voice. ¡°Ravenna back off¡± Anoobis growls and grabs me by the shoulders. ¡°You killed a person, it isn¡¯t nothing. Now tell me, why did you kill him¡± ¡°He had a sword, he was trying to hurt me¡± Tears spring out my eyes and I try to rub them off, but Anoobis holds my arms down forcefully. ¡°Then you did good¡± Ravenna speaks up and gives me a pat on the head. ¡°Ravenna, I told you to back off¡± I can feel the angry heat emanating from him and her warm hand leaving my hair. ¡°It isn¡¯t good that you killed someone it never is. Was it necessary?¡± ¡°Yes, Maybe? I could¡¯ve dodged, run?¡± could I have stopped it, not hurt him, not done¡­that? ¡°Are you sure you would¡¯ve gotten out there alive, that you would be safe?¡± His tinged purple eyes bore into mine with a serious expression. ¡°¡­No¡± ¡°Then you did what you had to do. It isn¡¯t good, but you¡¯re not allowed to die. Ok? You are not allowed to die and if you have to kill someone to keep living, don¡¯t beat yourself up over it ok? Now go hug Ravenna, she prefers those things¡± Anoobis gives me a single pat on my head before not so gently pushing me towards a cooing Ravenna. ¡°You¡¯re completely correct, I apologise¡± Ravenna soflty runs her hands through my hair. ¡°Well of course I am, I am a genious afterall¡± He chuckles lightly. That¡¯s more like the Anoobis I know. ¡°Well I can¡¯t exactly say no to that either, especially as you made it here¡± An unfamiliar, older voice grabs my attention and I turn away from her warm hug to see and wizened man, completely bald and wearing grand silk purple robes with golden embroidery and 2 rings stitched onto his chest; one red, another brown. ¡°Now shall we have some tea? 53. Trouble Loves Joat (Joat¡¯s POV) Well this certainly sucks. Sitting on the oh so damp bench staring at the mossy grey wall on the other side, watching it slowly grow over the hours really is the highlight of my night. That and the monotonous dripping of water from the corner fo the room. Apparently, I¡¯ve been incarcerated¡­for walking around at night. Curfew is a thing and I¡¯m paying the price for leaving Wendy¡¯s in a hurry after going back to be practice the new languages I kind of copied onto the notes section on our menu. Another fun fact, cannot even open up my menu in here. At least now I sort of understand why Wendy was very adamant at having me stay around... Man totally misread the situation. Anyways, so being incarcerated has a fun little gimmick; you can¡¯t log off while in jail. And so I¡¯m stuck watching a wall wondering about my human rights and where they disappeared off to. At least I¡¯ve been told I¡¯m only staying the night. ¡°Get in here undead scum¡± The porky guard waddles into the corridor, pushing an oh so familiar skeleton into the cell opposite me. ¡°Sir, is it morning yet?¡± ¡°Morning?¡± He chuckles piggily ¡°You¡¯ll be lucky to ever see the sun again¡± ¡­ .. . Er what, wait Piggy guard come back and tell me what you mean by that!! Of course he just walks off leaving all my wanting questions unanswered. ¡°Someone was found dead¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°And that means I¡¯m a suspect?¡± I do not believe in jinxes! ¡°Probably¡± Dammit Sharpy ¡°Well then, we better be getting our asses out of here¡± I¡¯ve also got a lecture to teach in a while so I kind of need to get out¡­ ¡°Already one step ahead¡± His arms come unbound, the cut rope falling briskly to the ground. Wait a second, did he use his fingers to cut that rope?! That¡¯s terrifying! Brandishing his waaaay too sharp fingers once more, he sticks 2 into the lock fiddling around with it till a dull click is heard. Swishing the door open, Sharpy¡¯s already on the escape. ¡°You need a meat shield?¡± I mean I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve got the right skills for prison break, except being a meat shield. He hesitates, for a second, but he does end up freeing me too. *Creak* ¡°Another bloody criminal walking around tonight¡± Mr Piggy waltzes in with a criminal looking rabbit-beastman; the black, edgy hair along with a half bitten crooked ear really does bring out his almost punk-like look. Mr Piggy stops his usual monologue of insults at the sight of us, getting a furry elbow in the face before tackled and summarily murdered without mercy. Well we just killed a human, well not me, Sharpy, I just kidn of watched. And Sharpy is not one to be messed with. ¡°Joat, fancy seeing you here¡± The punk-like rabbit-beastman gives me a nod as Sharpy helps untie him. ¡°The fact that you know me means you¡¯re part of the village?¡± ¡°yeah, Hino¡± He rubs his wrists, falling into line as we stealthily walk out. Small talk is over and the murdering/escape begins. The prison seems to be an underground cube with blocks of cells. So leaving our block puts us at this central stairway which we take up, no problems. Except for a few unsuspecting guards that get blitzed into pieces by an extremely pissed Sharpy. As I said, no problems. Luckily no more people seem to be pissing about at night and bringing more troubles down onto us. Making it up, we enter the lower section of the prison(?) and without further ado head towards the large double door which is around the corner of the corridor. ¡­ .. . Hmm that was surprisingly easy? Would¡¯ve thought it¡¯d be harder to walk out of prison, but once again I am proven wrong by the universe. ¡°Oy who are you?¡± Oh bugger I forgot about him. Sitting on our right behind a desk, feet straddling the counter, is an older human guard,who is basically the receptionist. His feet slide to the floor along with his head ¡­ .. . OK Sharpy, we get it, you¡¯re pissed, can you please stop murdering everyone we encounter please!! Grabbing the log that is next to the receptionist and taking out the page which had my details on it, that should hopefully keep my identity silent. Finally exiting the large double doors, we quickly split up: Hino and I head back to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild while Sharpy seems to head off towards the Magical district
Congratulations! Through escaping Jail you have gained the title Fugitive
For leaving no witnesses to your identity only knowledge that someone was there your title has been upgraded to the rare title Unkown Fugitive
RARE TITLE: Unknown Fugitive
You have escaped jail, leaving no living witness as to who you are. This title gives some in-game bonuses
For gaining this your Luck stat increases by 5. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active. This title Increases effectiveness all counter-perception skills such as Stealth by 10% If you become a normal fugitive this title will be erased and a bounty of 300 gold will be added to your head
Xp increases by 100%
¡­ .. . Awesome!!! And terrifying! If I ever become an actual fugitive I¡¯ll lose the title too? Well to be fair the xp is awesome, but the fact that I could have a bounty on my head when that happens isn¡¯t the best. I¡¯ve already got enough on my head universe. But all in all an entire level as well as a massive bonus to things like stealth, who wouldn¡¯t want that! After sharing a silent nod with Hino we continue walking silently. To bed and hopefully not being caught again! ¡­ (Krudel¡¯s POV) Just wait Mistress, I¡¯ll find you! Sprinting towards the Magical District, I notice the dwarven body that was on the bridge had disappeared, but no matter right now. Delving through the maze of streets, I end up at the battleground-like field and immediately spot the dead guard surrounded by 3 others all ceremoniously lifting the blackened corpse.
NAME:? Town Guard LEVEL: 10
HP: 300/300?? Defense:?? 25
Attack: 36-50 Stats: Strength, Vitality
Stats? I suspected as such would be possible with monsters but seeing it does tell that our advantage as players is diminished somewhat. Though with my brutality stat alone I can easily overpower one, and 3 shouldn¡¯t be that difficult. Especially when they¡¯re occupied. Crouching in a nearby crater, I listen to them walking towards me, and then slightly past me. ¡­I could¡¯ve killed them but I¡¯m don¡¯t unnecessarily murder people. Only when it¡¯s for my Mistress¡¯ safety. Letting them go into the alleyways, I climb out of the crater and make my way to one of the most viable places: the massive black oak double doors situated up a few wide stairs in the far corner of the battlefield. It¡¯s the most viable because her dot on the map is around that area. Grabbing the thick greyish green handles, I pull¡­to no effect. The door doesn¡¯t even budge. Grabbing only a single handle this time I pull again¡­once again to no effect. For some reason the door is sealed shut. I¡¯m starting ot doubt that Mistress is in here¡­but something keeps me going.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Planting both feet on one door, I pull with all my might on the other¡¯s handle. *CREEEE* The door moved a single inch, the sound of what felt like a thousand years of rust screeching across the stone floor, resonated in my body. Pulling again, this sound continues to echo and vibrate through my body and the field at an inhuman pitch, ever increasing as I widen the opening inch by inch. After what felt like listening to 10 hours of someone scratching a blackboard with their fingernails, the gap in the doors looked wide enough for me. Squeezing inside, I am not assaulted by light, rather contrarily: I¡¯m stuck in darkness no different than the outside. ¡­ .. . Wait a second, I am outside, viewing the battlefield from a small distance. Looking behind me, an alleyway is unexpectedly there. Did I just get teleported? I see¡­so I guess the front door is not the correct way. Walking back up to the massive double doors, this time I decide to skirt around and look for somewhere suitable to climb. The building itself is a tall tower stretching more than a few floors into the sky and barely above the width of the double doors so it doesn¡¯t take long to skirt around it. Multiple monotonous houses with alleyways converge around the tower but none are close enough to provide some foothold in climbing the tower. Taking a long angry sigh, I do the only thing that I can currently think of: knock on the double doors in hopes that someone responds. *Whoosh* Unlike before, the doors seamlessly glide open, revealing darkness beyond. Huh, so knocking opened it how strange. Taking a step in, this time my vision doesn¡¯t slowly fill up with the battlefield but a long narrow corridor quite unlike the tower¡¯s outside reveals to be possible. Cautiously walking through, I spot large statues of armored warriors, all standing alert, a menoige of stone weaponry hanging by their sides as if ready to be drawn at a moments notice. Stopping curiously at one, I use Monster Identification.
Stone Golem [Lvl???]
???
A construct of magic
¡­ .. *Ding* I¡¯ve gained the luck stat¡­that seems rather worrying given the circumstance. Backing off, the golem doesn¡¯t respond in the slightest. With more haste than usual I speed down the corridor, suddenly entering a round area with 3 red doors leading out of it. *tap tap tap* Raising my eyebrow, I glance around as to discover the source of that sound. Somehow it is a little bowl and brush in the centre of the room, with no hands supporting its 3 tap then a pause motion. *tap tap tap* Well this is blantantly obvious since there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything else in the room. Taking the door on the far right, I encounter some stairs, seems like my guess was correct. Heading up the stairs, it merges with another circular room, the stairs exit being at the centre where a large rock resides in the middle of a black lake. With only one open exit over to the right hand side, I decide to make my way to it as quick as possible. Only I find out the minute my body touches the water that it¡¯s barely knee deep. Rather strange, what is the purpose of this water then? Though water would be an assumption as it doesn¡¯t give as much resistance as it should and when I pass my hands through it, it slips through almost as it would with air. Passing through it nonetheless, I head through the exit and within a few steps find myself at a familiar room. *tap tap tap tap tap tap* Wait 6 taps now? But there is only 3 doors¡­wait does that mean the taps signify the floor level? So what if I went through a door that went above the top level¡­that seems like a rather scary prospect. With this new information I take the doors with a pinch of salt and pick the left hand one. Partially because if my theory is correct the number of taps should increase to 7. Though when taking the stairs up, I¡¯m back in a corridor filled with the same stone golems¡­ *tap tap tap* So I went down 3 floors instead? Taking the middle door this time, I go up the stairs and walk into a rectangular room with a ledge in front of me and on the opposite side of the room. What is inbetween is a large drop filled with spikes¡­ Jumping wouldn¡¯t do especially as the gap is around 20 metres if not more¡­so there should be a way to cross it normally. Checking out the edges of the room there aren¡¯t any ledges so I begin slapping my hand at the air beside the ledge. Aha, there does seem to be something invisible here! My hand hits what feels like stone in the air next to the ledge, a bit to the left, and after placing some force on it, it doesn¡¯t seem to drop. Stepping onto it, I begin slapping away around it, quickly finding another invisible block in front. Continuing this process I slowly make my way around half way before after slapping around I can¡¯t feel anything. It¡¯s still too big a distance to jump so there¡¯s only really one hopeful solution: there¡¯s a small gap between the next blocks. Sighing, I rip my left arm off, holding it with my right and gaining some much needed reach. Sure enough the block does get slapped a small gap away, enough to hop over to. Hopping over to it, I resume the arduous process of finding block after block, encountering two more small hops and one final large jump to the ledge which I almost didn¡¯t make. Well that was certainly a lot easier than it could have been. Standing myself up, I walk through the short hallway, arm in hand and reach the familiar door room. *tap tap tap tap* Ok so the middle door increases the level by 1. An interesting system indeed. Going up the right hand door¡¯s stairs since it should make me go to floor 7 (which I hope exists), I find myself in a strange sort of waiting room: a few cushioned seats crowd around various coffee tables, adorned with teacups and a large morrocan styled teacup. At the end of the small waiting room is a pair of curtains covering an archway, leading to somewhere else. Being as cautious as I can, I head over to the curtains and pull them back. ¡°Hohoho that was certainly an entertaining tale my dear child. Tell me would you all like to stay for a late meal since all this listening has made me hungry and oh how I¡¯d love such fantastical company such as yourselves¡± ¡°Oh Mr Lennus-¡± ¡°MISTRESS¡± Although I had opened the curtain, I had not moved inside upon hearing a voice, but upon hearing my sweet Mistress¡¯ dulcet tone, I could not resist barging in ¡­ .. . To a tea party¡­? ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) -moments after splitting up from Krudel- No incarceration for me whoo! No rotting in cell for no reason whoo! Now I get to actually teach people some art whoo! Seems like today is going to be a good end to my day. *Huff* Universe don¡¯t tempt me please¡­dammit. Curiously turning towards the sound which is coming from my left, I start making my way there, unconsciously leaving Hino to bounce home alone as it seems he hasn¡¯t noticed me leaving¡­whoops. Ah whatever the less people the less trouble I should get in right? Sneaking up to the sound of heavy exertion, it leads me to the lavender smelling sewers ¡­ .. . ¡°I leave you for one day, wait not even, and you¡¯re already covered in sewage and is that a dead body you¡¯ve got there¡± I whisper towards one Baila who is dragging a red-haired dwarf through the town¡¯s sewage. ¡°AH¡± Baila jumps letting out a slight squeal before noticing me leaning on the low railing of the bridge. ¡°Joat, what are you doing out here?¡± She frantically whispers back as she looks around ¡°Go leave before it¡¯s too late¡± Rolling my eyes, I jump down plopping into the sewage and making my way over to her. Picking up the jesus Christ this body is heavy, I see Baila giving me an estranged look. ¡°Well I always knew the two of us were going ot get down and dirty one day¡­never saw it in both of us dragging a body through sewage though¡± Cracking a smile I don¡¯t get the response I was looking for. ¡°Seriously Joat what are you doing?¡± She seems rather afraid of something¡­probably getting caught. ¡°I¡¯m helping you carry a freaking dead body, rather should be the one asking the questions. Since you¡¯re the one dragging a dead body through the sewage¡± I whisper back at her ¡°You can ask me questions later, just get out of here¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re having trouble dragging the body so I¡¯m helping you¡± ¡°But she¡¯ll kill you¡± ¡°Nah I won¡¯t¡± Someone cackles quietly from behind ¡°Eep¡± Both Baila and I whip around to see an old hag with tattered rags dangling her feet off the railings while stroking a white and brown tortoise furred cat ¡°Now that the venereable lady has told us that I won¡¯t be killed by her, let us continue dragging this body to wherever you¡¯re supposed to be taking it¡± ¡°Huu venerable lady, very political of you¡± The hags voice breaks into a more mellow tone, quite unlike her age. ¡°Well since Baila, the one who can break rabbit¡¯s necks without blinking an eye is scared of you, insulting you is the last thing I want to do¡± ¡°Hehe smart boy¡± ¡°I am at least a young man and if you don¡¯t believe so¡­¡± I send her a wink, which I¡¯m hoping she can see in basically what is pitch black (well not for me haha!). She responds silently with a glimmering smile, almost hungry looking. Well ANYWAYS, let¡¯s get moving this body. Seems like I should be careful with my playful advances here. ¡°So why are you dragging this body anyways?¡± I whispers between huffs of exertion. ¡°Because¡± *Huff* ¡°I need to hide the evidence¡± ¡°Wait so you weren¡¯t the one that killed him?¡± ¡°Well¡­yes I was but someone was coming and I kind of didn¡¯t have time to hide it¡± She looks down embarrassed. ¡°Baila, I leave you for less than a day and you¡¯ve already killed an Npc, why?¡± I give her both my raised eyebrows in slight concern. She shivers for a second ¡°He was bad and I really don¡¯t want to talk about it¡± ¡°Ok cool, as long as it wasn¡¯t a fit of psychopathy it¡¯s all good¡± ¡°You really take things too lightly. I killed a person¡± ¡°You did, but you said it yourself he¡¯s bad and as being quite experienced with the laws of this world, vigilante¡¯s are going to be pretty useful¡± ¡°What do you mean by that. Actually why were you even outside here in the first place. Isn¡¯t there like a curfew?¡± ¡°Well apparently I didn¡¯t know that, so I may or may not have been incarcerated for the night¡± ¡°But¡­you¡¯re here. Oh¡± Sudden realization ¡°Yes I decided to escape because somebody murdered someone and left their body out to be found which led the guards to believe that I was the culprit¡± ¡°¡­oh whoops, sorry¡± ¡°Just tell me if you¡¯re going to be murdering people please because being incarcerated isn¡¯t fun at all¡± ¡°Right, sorry will do, Joat¡± She hangs her head slightly in shame. ¡°Seriously you two, so chatty and Joat seems like you¡¯re not such a bad guy afterall¡± The hag lady who I am almost a hundred percent sure isn¡¯t an old lady at all whispers closeby as she casually strides along the sewerbank. ¡°What part about me jumping into sewage helping someone dragging a dead body was good action?¡± ¡°One where you¡¯re helping a friend¡­or a lover¡± She sends over a wink upon that last statement. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m single and so very ready to mingle¡± reciprocating her wink I get back to dragging the body with an oddly silent Baila.ah right, should be silent since dragging dead people isn¡¯t something we should be bringing attention to. With another 10 minutes of silently dragging the body along the sludgy water which smelled rankly of lavender, we finally reach a small grate underneath a bridge. Baila opens up the grate with a key and it silently opens, revealing a festering hole of corpses below. Damn, I hope Baila wasn¡¯t the cause of all this, though by a quick looksie (eugh) I do see some quite old bodies down there. Stopping her before we chuck the corpse down, I begin rifling through the dwarf¡¯s pockets. Much to Baila¡¯s distaste. ¡°Wait so you¡¯re fine killing the guy but not looting him, if you¡¯re going to do something bad might as well do it all¡± Producing a gold coin, my eyes do shine. I am really poor so although I do have some qualms about looting a corpse, I¡¯ve already escaped incarceration and helped drag said corpse through sewage for a good while which puts looting a dead body at the low point of my bad deeds list. After a quick search, all I found was a small bag of 20 gold coins and nothing else really except clothes¡­but that¡¯s too obvious, so I didn¡¯t take those. Finally, with her help we chuck the corpse down the grate and hear the squelching crunch as it lands on a few more corpses. *Dingdingding* Oh no, why do I not have a good feeling about this
Congratulations! Through being the first player on this server to loot an Npc corpse you have gained a title
TITLE: Corpse Looter
You have willingly taken goods from a dead body of a friendly Npc This title is purely aesthetic and gives no in-game bonuses
For gaining this title your Darkness and Luck stats will increase by 5 each. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
xp increases by 25%
Your alignment is now Neutral Evil
Your Aura of Darkness has levelled up
Your Aura of Darkness has levelled up
¡­ .. . I really need to find out how to become good because if not I might become the equivalent of a devil at this rate. Though xp and another 5 points into luck¡­I¡¯m enjoying that bonus. ¡°So¡­did you er get a title for killing the guy?¡± Baila futilely tries to wipe the blood and sewage from her hands but gives up and stares at me. ¡°Well I got the murderer title which increased my brutality and darkness¡­but also gave me a 1% increase on attack¡­and the vigilante semi-class¡± Actually the title doesn¡¯t seem that bad a deal I guess? But the vigilante semi-class sounded worth it: it was a semi-class afterall! ¡°Ooh what does it do?¡± ¡°It gives me bonuses on stealth-like skills, a few stat bonuses and the ability to detect evil. It¡¯s like you¡¯ve got a black mist around you¡­so you¡¯re evil¡± ¡°Yeah but with my guess you are too¡± I mean you did kill a person ¡°Somehow no, apparently as long as the general public don¡¯t know about the killing, my actions are considered good¡± ¡­ .. . I need that even if I¡¯m never using it, firstly it¡¯s just free bonuses as well as a way to stop getting bad points, or well actually get good points. ¡°Well Baila, please let me do the next one, because I kind of need some good points¡± I almost get down on my knees to beg but then I remember we¡¯re in sewage and I really don¡¯t need any more on me. ¡°What are you two goblededooking?¡± The hag¡¯s head dangles from the bridge above, curious. ¡°I¡¯m asking whether I could help the next time around¡± ¡°Well you¡¯re not completely useless and you do know of us¡­so I¡¯d either have to kill you or let your help really and I don¡¯t want to kill you. Ah I guess you can help next time¡± She exhasperates dramatically, her quite mellow voice reaching my ears. I do wonder who she is underneath all that makeup. ¡°Thank you¡± giving a small bow, I start to help Baila climb out only to be stopped by the hag. ¡°There¡¯s an exit out there and a river about a mile east¡­come back through the gate in the morning¡± The hag points towards the sewage which seemingly stops at the outer wall of the town. Oh am I really going to have to dive through sewage? Ewww. But I can do it, if it¡¯s for a semi-class I will do it. ¡°Baila, you owe me some milk after this¡± ¡°Excuse me, aren¡¯t you the one with the money gained from all my hard work¡± Dammit she¡¯s right. Ah well I¡¯ll get us a drink then, sheesh. Right, time to disgust myself thoroughly. 54. Honey Is On The Market (Honey¡¯s POV) Hmm if I can get him to sell his furs 2 coppers cheaper I can sell them over there for a 1 copper profit every 4 furs. Not the best but there is a literal mountain of furs to sell from the small stall the male elf has set up once again this morning and the bald dwarf salesman did say he was willing to buy furs at a set price. Of course little is stopping me going out and hunting for them myself, except no knowledge of what is outside, but the swamp we went through was a hell of level 15-20 monsters and quicksand and just general things that tried to kill us the whole way through. I don¡¯t suspect whatever else is outside to treat me nicer. And since I need money because in a civilization one always requires currency, the least dangerous way would be to trade. Though I am close to broke and know little about the market. Spending the first day just watching the stalls being set up and actively talking about buying and selling from all the merchants I could, I¡¯ve gathered a decent amount of information: firstly without bartering I¡¯m not going to make much of a profit if any, and secondly I can¡¯t just buy from one and sell to the other: I saw one of the fish-beastladies, Nerispi I believe try that and getting succintely reprimanded by the stall owners. I guess they have their own code of conduct. So the most logical solution to my slowly growing financial crisis (since I¡¯m actually In debt to the Adventurer¡¯s guild already) would be to go out hunting¡­or get an accomplice. ¡°Morning Honey, what are you doing up so early, staring at these poor hard working people¡± the lighthearted voice of Joat pierces the morning crowd¡¯s buzzing and I turn to see him coming up from the eastern gate, hair slightly damp. ¡°Good morning to you, I didn¡¯t expect you to be on today¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m readjusting my schedule, so I should only be offline when it¡¯s night, you know can¡¯t be missing out on all these skills¡± ¡°Very true¡± Right, I can definitely use him. ¡°I¡¯m just browsing at the stalls, thinking about buying something¡± ¡°Ooh, what can it be, some honey?¡± The irony of that statement isn¡¯t lost on me. ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, whatever takes my fancy I guess¡± Say goodbye to me, I need to talk to you here, undisturbed ¡°Ah, well good luck on your endeavours, I¡¯ve got something else to do, probably drying my hair should be aaaacho good start¡± Nodding goodbye, I watch him disappear into the Adventurer¡¯s guild. Ok so what do you want from me? He messages back to me rather quickly I¡¯m planning on buying and selling within the market, but while I¡¯m buying I need you to sell. This doesn¡¯t exactly seem legal. Well there isn¡¯t anything illegal about it, just rather frowned upon I guess. But I¡¯m just taking advantage of the market here¡­you need some money too I guess? ¡­if I gave you a gold, how much money could you make? A gold huh? I swear Joat hasn¡¯t made any money with me so where did he suddenly come up with so much money? I guess since I¡¯m doing something rather societally distasteful I won¡¯t question it that much. I¡¯d be able to make at least 35 silvers profit, but could bump it up due to buying in bulk Hmm, what¡¯s the most gold you could use and how much profit could you make out of it? How much gold has he got? I really should ask where the money is coming from¡­but then again as long as he didn¡¯t kill or rob anyone for it that should be fine. Though I¡¯d prefer it being clean¡­ Ok so thinking about it, I could spend about 5 gold on the fur stalls, another 12 on ores and in all honesty there isn¡¯t much else I could spend it on that wouldn¡¯t be too obvious or something perishable. Or I just spend it all on furs¡­ I could use about 17 gold if you had it Cool, tell me what to buy, what price is the maximum I can buy it for and where to get it He seriously has that much gold? That¡¯s slightly insane. Go to the elf with the furs, 14th down on the right hand side, buy all his furs and haggle with him, to the point where he¡¯ll sell it at most full price WITH his cart for free. His cart¡¯s the important thing? Yep, if we can get his cart he won¡¯t be able to transport shipments wherever he gets them from, so if he doesn¡¯t have his cart his business will essentially go bust. But we¡¯re talking about multiple days ahead right? Not exactly. Just go do your part and take the cart to the artisan district, oh and call someone strong looking to help once your there. Right, will do. While I stand peering at the potato-looking vegetables, I keep the corner of my eye on Joat as he exits and makes his way towards the nearby fur stand. ¡°Hello there good sir, I¡¯ve come to buy some furs¡± Joat goes straight into it without any sort of tact. ¡°Oh perfect, I¡¯ve got rabbits, wolves, something more bristly like a boars fur perhaps?¡± ¡°Hmm. I¡¯d like them all¡± I think I might regret asking Joat to do this¡­ The elf¡¯s face contorts in disbelief, but quickly recovers into his mercantile guise. ¡°Well then, it¡¯d be¡­si¡­seven gold, 2 silver and 60 copper¡± ¡°How many pieces are there and how much do they each cost?¡± Ok so he¡¯s not a complete idiot. ¡°612 rabbit furs each at 5 coppers, 452 wolf furs each at 50 coppers and 223 boar furs at 2 silvers each¡± Hmm, he buys rabbit furst a 4 coppers, wolf at 30 and boar at a measly silver usually¡­ so for us to turn a profit, we¡¯d need to buy the rabbits at 3 coppers a piece, should be easy enough. The wolf could be sold at 35-40 but then we¡¯d need him to buy it at around 40-45. The boar would be a difficult one, unless making a market for it, where he could potentially believe he can sell it at higher than 2 silvers¡­it¡¯d be hard to sell it at a profit. Seems like I wasn¡¯t the only one thinking deeply. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯d be great to buy it all but how do I transport it?¡± Joat almost talks to himself¡­almost. ¡°Ah don¡¯t worry, I can give you my cart, for a gold of course¡± ¡°You¡¯re already turning a pretty profit from all these furs¡± The elf spends a moment thinking ¡°I¡¯ll give it for 50 silvers¡± It shouldn¡¯t be that expensive to buy a new cart then, hmm maybe I should¡¯ve spent longer thinking about this. Just buy it The two of them finish their transaction and then Joat heads off into the distance. Good job, now I want you to give it to whomever is there and also, call everyone you can and get them to the central plaza. Tell them to be talking about leatherworking and looking for furs, have them ponder over the prices for a bit. Quickly! Setting my plan ahead in motion, I hope Joat can convince a large number of people to come, or I would¡¯ve just had Joat waste almost 8 gold. *Shiver* That¡¯s a lot of money. Walking casually over to the other, Dwarf fur merchant who is closeby but not in sight of the Elf fur merchant¡¯s stall, I lean on the wooden counter towards him. ¡°Psst, want to buy a rumour¡± Everyone, get to the main plaza, find the dwarf fur merchant (2nd on the left side) and ask about furs. Buy some rabbit furs and head over to the elf fur merchant (14th on the right side) and talk about the fantastic prices of let¡¯s say 50 coppers (or something absolutely exhorbitant but still quite realistic) per fur. I¡¯m paying everyone 1 silver for their efforts if you come plus expenses but don¡¯t spend more than a silver unless I¡¯ve given you the go. I send that over to Joat who transfers it word by word to the whole group. Many ask about it, but Joat replies with a business-like silence. ¡°Who the ¡®ell are you? I don¡¯t want to nitpicky rumours¡± He scowls at me, obviously not remembering me from yesterday it seems. ¡°Alright, just so you get to trust me, first one¡¯s free. I heard a lot of leatherworkers came with the new people¡­and when I say a lot, I mean dozens, and they¡¯re going to want to need some furs and a lot of it at that¡± Seeing his rather interested glare deep within his scowl I continue on ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is, raise your prices because the demand is going to be high. ¡°I¡¯ve got a competitor over yonder, if I raise my prices they¡¯ll just buy from him¡± ¡°Well¡± I place an open palm on the counter ¡°I saw someone bought out all his furs, and his cart too just a short while back¡­so you¡¯re the only one with furs right now¡± His scowl lessens into a look of shock, then greed, before he places 2 silvers on my palm and thanks me. As if dissatisfied with his goods, I leave and walk away from the dwarf, only circling back out of sight from the elf fur merchant. ¡°Who¡¯s selling furs?¡± ¡°I really need some furs right now¡± ¡°Man I wish someone was selling furs at a good price here¡± ¡°Oh I heard the dwarf over there is selling boar fur at only 5 silver¡± Wow the aspect of 1 silver really did some people in. already hearing the buzzing for furs, I quickly make my way over to the elf¡¯s stall. ¡°Hey where¡¯s all your furs gone?¡± ¡°Ah, I sold it¡­all of it¡± ¡°Man the dwarf over there¡¯s selling his boars for 8 silvers I mean I¡¯d buy it, but if there was just something cheaper to buy¡± Someone perfectly comes in and delivers some beautiful lines. Seriously 1 silver is quite a lot but with the massive amount of buzz behind me, it really shows just how broke everyone is. ¡°Damn sounds like your competitor¡¯s getting quite a lot of cash out of this. I would totally start up my own store and sell all my furs¡­but I don¡¯t have a license yet¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got furs?¡± He verbally jumps on my words, his merchant¡¯s greed encompassing his eyes. ¡°Quite a few, around 1000, maybe more now. I have a large amount of members hunting furs since selling is quite luxurious¡± The merchant nods knowingly and impatiently ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll buy them at 7 coppers a rabbit fur¡­.40 for wolf and 1 silver 20 coppers for boar¡± ¡°50 coppers for a rabbit fur is a pretty good price right?¡± ¡°You still got one when it was at 50? Mine was 52, seems like the less there is the more expensive they¡¯ll get, but still a good price¡± The elf was almost drooling at the mouth and I stay silent for a little longer, watching the two pink-rabbit-beastladies known and Pinky Juniour and Seniour both carry a few wolf pelts talking about the great price of just 3 silvers a piece. Following them was Bone Cracker and Charmine with a boar fur (obviously carried by Bone Cracker) talking loudly about 10 silvers a boar fur being slightly high but still manageable.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. I mean they¡¯re going slightly over the top but seriously this elf is buying it. Probably the fantasies of profits is making him go slightly illogical in his thinking. ¡°Give me 25 coppers for each rabbit, 1 silver 50 coppers per wolf and 5 silvers per boar. That should still give you a 50% profit¡­if not more¡± ¡°Done, give me all of it within the next 10 minutes¡± ¡°Say 15 and we can do it and how much money do you have?¡± ¡°About 50 gold, but after this¡­¡± he gives a wide, hungry grin as he fantasises about the profits. Joat, have someone buy all the fur from the dwarf, cart if they can, don¡¯t bother about bartering. Really I¡¯ve heared the dwarf is selling rabbit at 8 coppers a piece now, and boars at almost 3 silvers. Immediately I could not stress how amazing the price difference is right now. After around 10 minutes of tapping my finger on the counter beside an ever stress growing elf merchant who sees people talking about the prices, ever so slightly rising, finally from a small distance, I spot Thrash walking towards me, pulling a cart full of furs, the mound slightly larger than before¡­oh maybe people are putting their furs back? Checking the full village group messages, I indeed see that Joat told them to put all the furs on the cart surreptisiously. Thrash gives me a nod and I began my transaction. 933 rabbit furs, 721 wolf furs and 460 boar furs. The elf merchant, although slightly balking at the buying price was almost orgasming at the thought of selling at 5 times the usual price, after being multiply reinforced with the dozens of people all continually stating their happiness at the prices of fur. In total, it was all sold for, including carts for a nice round 37 gold, and seeing as though we bought all of it for 17 gold, 4 silvers and 48 coppers¡­that¡¯s over 100% profit¡­wow. Though when seeing as though basically all 100 people helped out, at least 1 gold went away, plus any extras for actually buying furs and since people were acutally really helpful I had Joat give them all 3 silvers. All in all, with a quick calculation from what I¡¯ve seen, we still made around 17 gold profit, if not just slightly over. All the while this large transaction of furs was happening I had everyone leave as if going hunting and satisfied with their furs, going unnoticed by the greedy elf merchant, who was busy salivating at the thought of sales. Thanking him, I quickly depart, not waiting to see the utter terror at his exhorbitant spending. Entering the Adventurer¡¯s guild, I see the usual milling about of people, all greeting Joat, money changing inventories, invisible to both Npc and Player alike. Heading over to him, he gives me a hello and I responds with 5 gold. Taking 12 for myself¡­as I¡¯m guessing is my right. We hadn¡¯t expressed cuts beforehand, but a 7/3 seemed about right, for all the planning and effort I had gone through and his foreground work. I believed he¡¯d be cheeky and try get more but seems like he was happy enough with something else and after accepting the trade and feeling the lightened chink of gold in my pockets, I turned to continue my day. *Ding*
Congratulations! Through buying and selling goods in large quantities you have gained the title Merchant
For buying goods at a low price and selling them for a higher price to the same person your title has been altered to the exquisite title Swindler
For selling at a profit over 100% without showing your true nature and still being unblamed for actions your title has become the Rare Title Master Swindler
RARE TITLE: Master Swindler
You have swindled someone, giving them back something they already had, at a massive loss to them and an equally massive gain to yourself, even against the rules of trade that were in place. But unlike normal swindlers, you are unknown, hidden in plain sight as an ally when you are the culprit. This title gives in-game bonuses
For gaining this title your Communication and Eloquency stats will increase by 10. Your Darkness Stat will also increase by 1 If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active. This title also increases trade skills effectiveness by 10% If you are ever caught swindling you will lose this rare title, and possible even gain demerits for being caught
Xp increases by 100%
¡­ .. . Well the system did recognise my swindling then. Fair enough, the bonuses are good too¡­plus gaining Communication and Eloquency stats is rather amazing too. Joat what did you get? Swindler title, as well as the accomplice title and the bartering skill. I quite liked that. Seeing that I¡¯ve got a few more notifications. I acutally sit down to begin reading through what else this endeavour has given me.
Congratulations, through commercial transactions you have learnt the skill: Bartering
SKILL: Bartering, Beginner [Lvl1] (passive), {Trade-based skill}
1 point of positive change to person¡¯s attitude when bartering with them Master Swindler Title: +10%
Cost: n/a, Duration: n/a, Cooldown: n/a
Xp increases by 5%
¡­ .. . So with all the new benefits I¡¯ve just gained¡­+1.5 to someone¡¯s attitude change to someone¡¯s attitude which at the moment is basically nothing¡­but if I grow the skill it could make quite a big change¡­ Also I¡¯ve finally come across the notifications about my new stats:
Congratulations. Through repeatedly talking and convincing people to give up information you have discovered a new stat
STAT: Communication
Points in communication will affect your communication related skills
xp increases by 10%
Congratulations. Through persuading someone to do something to their own loss and your gain through speech you have discovered a new stat
STAT: Eloquency
Points in eloquency will affect your eloquency related skills and speech related abilities
xp increases by 10%
So that is rather interesting since I would have though eloquency and communication are the same thing but the speech related abilities is what gets me. What could that be, singing? Maybe bartering would count as a speech related ability. But then it would be a speech related skill¡­ The ever growing system is slowly starting to do my head in but hopefully I¡¯ll understand it soon as it seems to be almost teaching us as we continue to gain new things. Moving back into the street, feeling rather happy about myself, I do notice the wails of the poor elf fur merchant. Well he didn¡¯t deserve it but there wasn¡¯t really a better way to get a good amount of money within the week¡­ Swerving far past him, I make my way into the Artisans district and towards a large gilded building with almost golden wood door frames and a sign with a painted glittering moneybag swining side to side with the light breeze. The Merchants guild. Using my Adventurers armband to get me in, I go up to the front desk, a young beautiful blonde human woman with business kept hair and more than a lot of cleavage. ¡°Hello sir what may we do for you?¡± Her voice is light and serene, almost inticing even. These merchants really are shrewd getting such a beauty to claw people in. ¡°I¡¯d like to become a merchant¡± ¡°Ah, well for a license go down the hall to the left, 3rd door on the right¡± I gracefully let her finish her sentence. ¡°Sorry you misunderstand, I wish to become a merchant so that I may travel with companions, buying and selling the many goods of our travels at a fair price, or at a better price than normal¡± She smiles slightly ¡°An uncommon request these days as travelling merchants spend too much on too unstable mercenaries for protection. But if that is your wish, second floor, all the way down the right corridor, then left, then down the sta¡­you know what I¡¯ll take you there myself, it¡¯ll be less of you walking about¡± She gives me a genuine smile as she stands up, gesturing for me to follow her voluptuous body in a tight-fitting, knee-high dress. Heading up to the second floor we begin going down the right corridor. ¡°So your travelling companions are they trustworthy?¡± She blunders slightly at my questioning look ¡°I¡¯m sorry I meant are you sure they will take you on your journeys and not leave you behind in town as happens often for travelling merchants¡± ¡°I am not sure but I¡¯m not one for killing so I¡¯d like to make my role something valuable for everyone nonetheless. Plus it¡¯s a good excuse to travel the world, no?¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong¡± She goes silent after that, leaving me to glance at people working on shipments and logistics in the massive underground warehouse space that is visible all from the open bridge that is the second floor. It seems many of the offices are solitary boxes held up by the ceiling and attached to an open bridge, quite a nice view I must say. After going down a flight of stairs and a zig zagging corridor we finally reached an old looking corridor, barely used and not as well kempt as the rest of the building. ¡°This is the World Merchant Corporation, better known as WMC, Branch Manager¡¯s office. He¡¯ll explain all the details¡± She begins to turn around, going back to her desk most likely. ¡°Thank you madam¡± I call out to her before turning towards the dusty wooden door at the end of the short corridor. Walking up to it and giving it a quick knock, it¡¯s almost instantly opened by a small blue-haired fellow with a slight twitch in his hands. ¡°Hello there sir come in come in. I am Marcantus, branch manager of the World Merchant Corporation and who may you be?¡± His voice is high-pitched and excitable as if it¡¯s his first time seeing someone in a long time. ¡°I am known as Honey¡± ¡°Ah a delicacy, meeting you and the name. it¡¯s great, perfect for a merchant. Anywhooo, so why are you so far into the Merchant¡¯s guild. Did you get lost perhaps?¡± ¡°No actually, I am looking to becoming a travelling merchant, since I-¡± ¡°Perfect, let¡¯s get you started¡± Cutting me off with an enthusiastic clap he jumps back to his desk taking out multiple forms, mumbling rapidly to himself. ¡°Right you¡¯ve got a WindWhistler¡¯s armband but due to this being a world based organisation there is a required fee, minus the Dekin nation¡¯s cost but we can get to fees later. First off what goods will you be transporting?¡± He motions for me to sit down in a rather impeccable wooden chair, cushioned even, on the other side of his desk. Taking a quick peek around the room as I think about what I¡¯m going to be transporting, I notice it¡¯s overly clean nature, an eternal contrast to the outside. The contents of the room are quite numerous, from a cabinet of scrolls on the left to a wall full of commendations, and other written manuscripts of sorts paned and hung. ¡°I will be transporting people¡± ¡°Ah¡­well within the Dekin nation that won¡¯t be possible, but if you were to travel to the Karra??¨¹n Conclave then it¡¯s their main source of trade. But sadly we¡¯re not over there so if that¡¯s your business then-¡± ¡°Sorry that answer was mere curiousity, acutally my goods will be ambiguous, from livestock, to furs to consumables, ores, weapons, armour, magical items, in short anything that I come across from one town to the next¡± ¡°Ah a merchant of all, it has been a while and rather uncommon since it¡¯s easiest to stay to a single trade since there is only one type of market to look at and analyse at each city so having all the markets would be rather difficult you could say. But anywhooo I can completely and utterly give you a merchant¡¯s badge and license to sell goods to the general public within the Dekin nation for free but for other nations you will need to pay. Would you like a license for other nations?¡± ¡°No thank y-¡± ¡°Simple, right we¡¯ll start off with some basic rules, guidelines but I¡¯m not really bothered about that. Read this and read it well because if you mess up on it we¡¯ll be the one to blame and the corporation doesn¡¯t like that. The more important thing is your merchant badge. It works the same as an Adventurer¡¯s card, starting with the stone level and moving up as your reputation as a merchant grows. The badge itself gives slight discounts and slightly better selling rates, so get selling. Right apart from that there isn¡¯t anything else! We¡¯re a no nonsense type people who get in, do stuff and get out¡± He gestures for my hand, which I give and he cuts letting blood drip onto the badge. Taking the badge away and heading towards the room exit, he asks me to sign in the forms before disappearing. The forms were the same as the adventurer¡¯s guild; next of kin, basic details and a risk assessment. After signing them, the instant I put down my pen Marcantus bursts in hurriedly. ¡°Now that you¡¯re a merchant, welcome to the guild and good luck¡± handing me a thick tome produced from his desk, he quickly walks me to the door and shuts it lightly with a smile on his face. Well that was¡­quick. I guess instead of learning all about the rules by asking questions this manual should help answer everything. And by the size of it, I imagine there¡¯s quite a few more questions than I¡¯m thinking of that need answering. *Ding*
Congratulations you have earned a class! Your class slot is now filled
Due to your Rare Title Master Swindler, your title has merged with your class. Your class has been altered into a Rare Variant
RARE VARIANT CLASS: Master SwindlerMerchant
A Master Swindler Merchant is one who¡¯s means of earning money are less than savourable but unnoticed by the people. Truly what one would call a real merchant.
Master Swindler Merchants can have their goods appraised to 1 ranks above what they are naturally.
All non-trade related skills or proficiencies cannot be improved beyond beginner rank. All trade related skills, abilities or proficiencies can only be improved to Master rank All combat-related skills have a 100% penalty
Class Bonuses: +10 to Int +5 to Darkness +25 to Communcation +25 to Eloquency +10% bonus to trade-related Skills, Abilities and Proficiencies Have learnt Appraisal Have learnt Glamorise Bartering has increased to Intermediate rank Bag space is tripled to 297 slots Class Penalties: Cannot learn magic Cannot learn non-trade related abilities
Due to becoming this Class, Merchant class has been unlocked
This Class is permanent unless another Class is chosen upon character creation.
So titles can affect the class we have creating variants¡­interesting. So in essence titles are our quantifiable personalities and thus make a difference on our role, well class. That is acutally rather interesting. Overall the class is fantastic, with more bag slots, lots of stat upgrades (although I lost the ones from the Master Swindler title, so in essence a little less than it looks) and a few new skills. Though losing pretty much all my combat ability is pretty scary. And that abilities thing again¡­so I must assume it means I can¡¯t actually fight beyond punching and developing my stats as a means of combat. But I did decide I didn¡¯t want to fight so I hope there¡¯s someone to fight for me in the near future. Anyways let us look at these new skills of mine.
SKILL: Appraisal, Beginner [lv1], (active)
Appraisal is the skill to determine the value of something by inspection: Gives a rough estimate of value, within 2 ranks Master Swinder Merchant bonus: +10% less ambiguity
Cost: None, Duration: 3-10 minutes, Cooldown: None
RARE SKILL: Glamorise, Beginner [lv1], (active)
Glamorise is a Rare skill to make something seem better than it is: Increases the value of an object by up to 1/10th of a rank Master Swinder Merchant bonus: +10% increase in value
Cost: 1 copper, Duration: until re-inspection of targeted object, Cooldown: None
Hmm interesting skills, Appraisal obviously being necessary so as to give a more accurate value of objects, especially when dealing with people who will be like me. And the Glamorise, very nice although I don¡¯t know how it will use a copper. Well I guess since I¡¯ve got a good portion of the day, as it is barely a little past the morning, I think it is time to try out being a Master Swindling Merchant. 55. Weapons, So Many Weapons
NAME: Joat
TITLES: The Social Butterfly, Goblin Slayer, Magically Able, Orphan Leader, Novice Adventurer, Uncaringly Keen One (E), Learned, Unknown Fugitive?, Corpse Looter, Swindler(E), Exquisite being, Fast Leveler
Class: None
Race: Hobgoblin Gender Male
Level 11(+3) Experience 36%
Alignment: Neutral Evil Global Reputation: -3
Adventurer Rank: Stone - -
STATUS: Remaining points (55(+3)), 1 Raid Badge, 1 Area Event Badge(Dekin Nation)
Health Points: 110/110 HP regen (out of combat) 1/sec
Stamina Points: 20/20 Stamina regen (out/in combat) 2/0.2 per second
Attack: 41-41 Defense: 0
Perception: 50 Darkness(E): 8
Brutality(E): 20 Luck: 20
Stamina: 20 Endurance(E): 10
Vitality: 10 Empty: -
Agility: 10 Empty: -
Satiety: 180/180 (Full)
Unused Stats: Dexterity, Communication(+15), Wisdom(+6), Leadership(+10), Eloquency,(+5) Intelligence(+6), Mana(+1), Flexibility, Light(E), Strength
Permanent Effects: Larva Scent (Debuff)(1)
SKILLS/PROFICIENCIES:
Active: Bartering, beginner [lvl1] {Trade} Bite, intermediate [lv1] Cannibalize, beginner [lvl1] {Dark} -sub-skill: Self-cannibalise Catch, beginner [lvl1] Climb, beginner [lvl2] Commanding shout, beginner [lv6] Crawling, beginner [lvl1] Diplomacy, beginner [lvl1] Dodge, beginner [lvl3] Grapple, beginner [lvl2] Headbutt, beginner [lv3] Hold-Your-Breath, beginner [lvl2] Jump, beginner [lv2] Massaging, beginner [lvl1] Monster Identification, beginner [lv8] Reading, beginner [lvl5] Roll, beginner [lv4] Sacrifice, beginner [lvl1] Spitful taunt, beginner [lv 4] Sprint, beginner [lv9] Sneak, intermediate [lv1] {counter-perception} Stomp, beginner [lv3] Suicide, beginner [lv2] Swim, beginner [lvl2] Throw, beginner [lv2] Tracking, beginner [lvl2] Writing, beginner [lvl5] Passive: Fire resistance, beginner [lvl2] Hearing, beginner [lv4] Lucky roll, beginner [lvl1] Mana adept, beginner [lvl1] Night Vision, Master [lvMax] Pain tolerance, beginner [lvl4] Smell, beginner [lv2] Auras: Aura of Darkness, beginner [lvl3] {Dark} Aura of Light, beginner [lvl1] (disabled) {Light} Mild Monster¡¯s Aura, intermediate [lv2] Crafting: Proficiencies: Dance Mastery, beginner [lvl2] -style: salsa, beginner [lvl1] -style: breakdance, beginner [lvl1] Kick Mastery, beginner [lv4] Unarmed Mastery, beginner [lv1]
SPELLS:
Detect magic, beginner [lvl2]
Languages
Dekin, beginner [lvl5]
Holy mother of Aiag has it been a while since I¡¯ve looked at my character sheet. Last time I swear I was a puny level 5 with 2 maybe 3 titles, but now, I¡¯m a plethoratic individual indeed! After getting the Swindler and Accomplice title, apparently the accomplice and swindler title just bonded together to mame it even more likely for someone to choose me for things. Well if its¡¯ for skills, I don¡¯t really mind. But ah it feels so good to have such a number of skills, only a few more until I¡¯ve pretty much got everything we¡¯ve talked about in the meetings, I¡¯m so excited! Right anyways, after scrunching my eyes at the madly high level and also the fact that I got an Exquisite being title for having more than 5 exquisite things in my character screen made me quite happy. I am indeed an exquisite being. Though it¡¯s going to get even better now that I¡¯m loaded with 25 gold and no idea where to spend it¡­ Oh god there¡¯s more notifications (I haven¡¯t had time to look at them since trudging through sewage and then washing off, I quite literally went straight into swindling someone. I feel like a bad person¡­but the money makes me feel slightly better. Anywho) and after finding out I hadn¡¯t looked at any of literally dozens of levelling notifications, my head hurts slightly now.
Congratulations, by being the first player on this server to get to level 10 you have gained a title
TITLE: Fast leveler
You are naturally better at levelling than normal people. This title gives some in-game bonuses
Decreases xp needed to level up by 10%
Xp increases by 25%
¡­ .. . Well that is mildly broken¡­I only need 90% to level up now, sweet!! Right one last notification,
Congratulations, you reached level 10! You have reached a Milestone!
When reaching a milestone you may save your current character in your soul storage.
Current space in soul storage: 1 (empty)
Would you like to save your character: YES/NO
¡­ .. . FINALLLY YESSSSSSSSSS!!! No more starting from freaking scratch every time!! Oh this really makes things slightly better¡­now I can level up my suicide skill without a worry (well I¡¯ve got no reason to but if I did it¡¯d be a good time to do it). Hey everyone, guess what. Level 10 has a milestone! Sharing that on the village chat gets everyone buzzing and while I watch the maddened frenzy of replies, I have a quick look at everyone¡¯s levels: the lowest is level 5 and the highest level 8¡­wait no level 9, Thrash somehow. Well hopefully by the end of the week people could get close to level 7 if not past it, I mean all former squad are level 6 lowest so that¡¯s already making me feel happy. Right¡­what should I do with the rest of my day? I mean the plan is to learn whatever I can in 6 days now but crafting takes too long so that¡¯s off the list (even if it is free) so what else is there to learn that takes little time? ¡°Hey Joat¡± An alligator-beastlady, Allie(?), interrupts my musing and happily saunters over to me. ¡°What are you up to?¡± ¡°Ah just wondering what to do¡± ¡°Come join me in the Battle district, there¡¯s actual weapon training there¡± She sounds really excited¡­well I guess anyone would be since if we get weapons we no longer need to punch things to death. ¡­ .. . Eh why not, I really don¡¯t have anything better to do (plus now that I¡¯ve got money no need to find the weird hobo priest, yet). Standing up and following her out, I ask her about how her first day went. ¡°Oh well everyone buggered off to do their own thing so¡­I just got really drunk...¡± she looks out into the distance with a semi-regretful visage ¡°And had to pay the tab too¡± ¡°wasn¡¯t it only like 5 coppers for some ale?¡± Hah I sound like a pompous rich man, maybe because I am! ¡°When you¡¯re drinking with 4 others¡­¡± oh ¡°but apparently they liked my vigour and stories so really it was only half the tab that they had me pay¡± ¡°How much was it though?¡± ¡°¡­2 silvers¡± Oh that¡¯s a lot of ale they drank sheesh, and that was half? ¡°But aren¡¯t we all broke? How did you pay?¡± ¡°Well thanks to you, I paid it off¡± Oh so that¡¯s why she was so vigorous this morning (well like about an hour ago). ¡°But not everyone¡¯s broke, I mean Tikari¡¯s got 1 gold I think which in all fairness is a lot of alcohol¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯d be a lot¡± Maybe the adventurer¡¯s guild doesn¡¯t have that much or maybe they¡¯ve just got more expensive and better ales to pay the cost (or we¡¯re luckily in a cheap zone). ¡°But on the bright side I got the Alcoholic title¡± she only looks half embarrassed at that Well I guess for xp it¡¯d be good so I¡¯m definitely inclined to hear more about that. Before I can ask her though we reach a large courtyard with multiple players smacking straw dolls around with a variety of wooden weapons. ¡°HELLO MAGGOTS¡± I¡¯ve heard that voice before Turning round, sure enough it¡¯s the massive block of a blacksmith squeezing through the small archway that is the entrance to this courtyard. He wears nothing but a pair of bursting leather trousers decorated with a large red symbol on the left thigh. ¡°HELLO DAREN SIR¡± I responds shoutily to him, snapping to attention. ¡°HALF RIGHT MAGGOT, HERE I AM SIR, AND I¡¯M YOU SUPERVISOR. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN¡± ¡°Er no sign up fee or anything?¡± ¡°not for you¡± He breaks his usual self slightly giving a small smile before roaring at me what I can do ¡°ROIRRA FOR SWORD AND SHIELD, REGNAR FOR ARCHERY, I AM YOUR TWO-HANDED WEAPONS, SAM FOR ONE HANDED WEAPONRY AND PAUL FOR POLEARMS. ¡°So if I was to do dagge-¡± ¡°NONE OF THAT PONCY CRAP HERE, WE FIGHT LIKE HEROES NOT BACKSTABBING COWARDS EXCEPT REGNAR¡± Regnar turns after clipping the back of one of the Satyr wannabe¡¯s heads and flips Daren off, much to Darens delight. ¡°SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, GO TO A SPOT AND GET WORKING, MAGGOTS¡± ¡°SIR YES SIR¡± terrified of the booming, sculpted half giant of a man, I head in the most directly away from him direction¡­into Regnar¡¯s side of the courtyard (I say courtyard but it¡¯s more like 4 put together¡­it could easily fit 100 people in a line). ¡°Ah you¡± The dripping latino accent pours out of his less than happy mouth¡­well Aiag I forgot it¡¯s actually a she (spiritually not physically). How oddening knowledge. ¡°So do I call you Regnar or Roirra?¡± ¡°Regnar it¡¯s simpler, but wait until I find Casper¡± he/she start seething, ah I¡¯ll leave it as he, less confusion that way. ¡°So how do I shoot a bow?¡± ¡­ .. . I mean what else am I going to do, pick up and figure it out, that usually leads to bad things happening, like me getting hurt. ¡°Pick up a bow¡± He points towards the rack near the wall. Oh no guess the universe just want to hurt me. On the rack are about a dozen bows, and from the looks of it 3 different kinds (well heights). There¡¯s a small bow about the length of my chest, one about double of that and one which if I put myself next to it, it¡¯s still about a foot taller than me. Hmm¡­so I guess shortbow¡­huntingbow? And longbow. Well no harm trying all 3¡­let¡¯s start with the average huntingbow.
WEAPON: Training HuntingBow (2-hand), beginner
+5 attack Draw weight 14 pounds
Ok so it gave me information about it¡¯s draw weight, cool¡­didn¡¯t know it¡¯s measured in pounds or what that means but interesting nonetheless. Returning back to Regnar who is busy poking a familiar owl, Sino(? It¡¯s hard to remember all these names) in the back, I cough slightly to get his attention. He passes me a leather quiver, with a single strap going from top to bottom of the quiver. Putting it on, he hands me a dozen arrows gives me a less than gentle shove into the line and begins instructions. ¡°EVERYONE COLLECT¡± or not in my case¡°Right make a diamond with your palms ontop of eachother with the target in the centre, now bring it to your eye and keep the target in sight¡± Erm¡­it¡¯s in the middle of my face¡­ ¡°Do it again, idiot¡± Hey lay off the insults a little bit Regnar. Well at least it¡¯s better than when we first met, anyways ¡­ .. . And nope it¡¯s in the middle of my face, what is this supposed to do anyways? ¡°Are you left or right handed?¡± he sighs slightly. ¡°Left¡± ¡°So shoot lefthanded¡± Then what was the point of the weird diamond thing?If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Whatevering the situation, I pick up the bow in my left hand where the leather grip it. Mimicking Sino who¡¯s in front of me, I stand sideways on put the back of the arrow onto the string between the two knots, raise my bow till my fist is just below the middle of the straw circle, draw my string straight back and let go ¡­ .. . That was far more painful than it should¡¯ve been¡­maybe it was because I don¡¯t have the strength stat? ¡°That was awful¡± He¡¯s not wrong, the arrow didn¡¯t even go half way. ¡°Right idiot, knock the arrow as you did before, raise your bow as before¡± I do those two things ¡°Now turn your body this way¡± He forcibly moves my upper body so it¡¯s facing Sino and not the target. ¡°index finger above the arrow, middle and ring fingr below and elbow goes up, backwards and then flattens¡± He holds my arm as he smoothly draws my elbow up and back, leaving my fingers resting on the corner of my mouth. ¡°Look at the target and let go¡± *Twang* Well that certainly made a nicer sound than before, and I could also feel my shoulders doing something¡­cool. Though my fingers kind of hurt and I think I¡¯ve whacked my left forearm with the string. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re not completely useless, as long as you get spoonfed the information. Do it again¡± Well it¡¯s a compliment¡­ish. Knocking then drawing the arrow with a raised elbow till it sits in line with the arrow and fire. Hey I¡¯m getting closer to the target¡­but I guess I need aim higher. Aiming higher with my front arm before I draw I get a clip around the head. ¡°Tip your body¡± Regnar grabs my upper body tipping the whole thing upwards. ¡°This line is unbroken¡± He traces his hand from left hand to right elbow. Well this is going to be a lot harder than I imagined arghgh. ¡­ After about a lot of failed shots later, I grew decently used to shooting the hunting bow: it¡¯s not that powerful and can be quite a fast shot as I saw the petite elf that always hangs around Braxel volley a dozen arrows in about an minute (huh well she is an elf so I expected nothing less). I can shoot about 5 a minute and that¡¯s making my accuracy go to absolute pot. Well I did switch hands in the middle because my right hand started hurting from the string. I shoot as equally bad on the right side and it feels quite a bit stranger too. With permission from Regnar (well I pointed to the rack and he nodded) I decided to grab a shortbow this time. It¡¯s poundage was 20 which was a bit odd considering it¡¯s smaller than the hunting bow, but then again maybe not. Taking it to the line, I get stopped by Regnar as if he knows I¡¯m just going to draw it and see what happens. ¡°Draw as before, but this time, front arm slightly bent, and pull until the string bites and release straight away. I tell you now, your hand is going to be in the middle of the air¡± As if talking to a child but ok I get it. So when drawing this bow, I have to push outward with my front hand, draw the string back and as I¡¯m drawing it suddenly goes taut and slips past my fingers. Well I mean that¡¯s not exactly going to be accurate if it just fires away what kind of felt like mid draw¡­ Let¡¯s have another go why don¡¯t we ¡­ It¡¯s actually really cool. Erm well how to explain it¡­it¡¯s fast, really fast since there¡¯s no way I can actually stop and hold it since it is basically mid draw for my muscles and they screamed when I tried holding it. And it¡¯s powerful, plus it¡¯s small so it could be easier to run around with. I guess the only downside is the fact that accuracy isn¡¯t exactly its strong point¡­ ¡°COLLECT¡± passing into a number of other people¡¯s firing lanes as I pick up my scattered arrows¡­yeah accuracy is definitely a problem. Once again I did try it both ways and although my shooting really isn¡¯t any different either way, having the bow in my left hand just feels a lot more secure. Back to the rack, I take a longbow this time: massive thing being about a foot taller than me and the poundage is also 20. Huh so same as the shortbow, should that be normal? Moving back to the archery range, which is actually not as bad a place as I thought: shoot your arrows, wait till everyone¡¯s done, go collect and start again. I slither into my spot behind Sino and in front of Nosy. ¡°Same as the hunting bow, draw and anchor at the corner of your mouth¡± Alright let¡¯s see how this g- *Thwump* Wow that felt¡­AWESOME. It was like deep? Would that be the sound to describe the rumbling twang of the bow and it went into the boss dead on too! Well that was awesome, let¡¯s do it again! ¡­ Ok my fingers are bleeding, ouch, buggerations, shouldn¡¯t have shot the longbow so much. Owww. So longbow¡­awesome, fun, actually quite accurate (about the same as the hunting bow) and way more powerful than the other 2 bows (well the shortbow did sometimes reach the target but I guess it was accuracy that messed the shots up). Although it¡¯s not exactly convenient to run with, being an almost 7 foot long stick¡­but that power and the sound too¡­oh so nice. But no more shooting now, for I have lost skin on the fingers on both my hands and left and right forearm (apparently you hold the bow lightly so the string doesn¡¯t rake your skin¡­apparently) so everything HURTS. At least:
Congratulations! You have learnt the Proficiency: Archery
PROFICIENCY: Archery, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Active)
Archery is the ability to shoot distant targets with bows. When used: does Bow + Arrow damage and effects Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: 10% increased knocking rate Flexibility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
I also got the 3 styles (shortbow, hunting bow and longbow) which didn¡¯t give me anything but xp at the moment I¡¯m happy¡­only took¡­errrr 4 hours, well nevermind, no wonder my fingers are hurting like hell. But I did gain a level in pain tolerance too! Thanking Regnar, he snorts slightly at my happiness before getting everyone back into practicing. Leaving the courtyard, I go into the market stalls and buy some fresh fruit for lunch¡­mmm delicious, apart from the multiple specks of blood that escape my fingers and soil my food, but eh it¡¯s my blood so what¡¯s the matter. *ding*
Cannibalism increased a level
Seriously game? Back to training let¡¯s go! Erm..hrmm what do I do next. The courtyard is actually pretty full about now, I¡¯d say close to 200 people, which is mildly surprising, but I guess Npc¡¯s do this as well. The archery lot seemed to have mostly changed, with a few more fanatical ones (like the petite blonde elf) staying and shooting, blood dripping down their fingers. Eugh, stop being so crazy you people. Hmm question is, who do I want to be insulted by the most? Or do I try on of the other Npc instructors I haven¡¯t met before¡­ Lets try my luck (I¡¯ve got 20 come on universe) with Sam. The man called Sam looks like a chipper fellow with a lean body and muscular arms (rather oxymoronic but it¡¯s ok skipping ab day), short black hair and a friendly smile. ¡°Hello there are you here for one handed training?¡± ¡°Yes, is it possible to try them all?¡± ¡°Do you even know how many one handed weapons we have here?¡± ¡°Erm there¡¯s only 3?¡± swords, axes and maces right? All the one-handed weapons are based on those weapons types ¡°Correct!¡± He sounds rather thrilled ¡°Now which would you like to experience first¡± Something about his way too friendly smile and the word experience jolted me¡­oh and the anguished looking face of Lefty and Righty as they come out of the a rectangular building, veering far away from Sam didn¡¯t help. ¡°Maces¡± Because I¡¯d rather have my bones broken then be amputated¡­well if I had the choice I¡¯d pick neither but as the universe doesn¡¯t like me. ¡°Absolutely fantastic. I quite like maces, oh the sounds of cracking bones in the morning really wakes you up¡± He quickly directs me to the weapons rack on his side of the courtyard and shows me the 3 types of maces with a rather¡­disturbing expression ¡°We¡¯ve got hammers for when crushing bones like flour to are the most important thing, clubs for when you like a good crunching but you want to see the blood too, and finally flails for when your opponent tries to run away and you need that extra reach, or you just want to break their neck, oh¡± he shudders delightfully at probably some very disturbing memory. Well¡­ choosing between flattening, crunching (not a good word), and something that sounds more akin to a torture device than a weapon¡­let¡¯s start with the hammer¡­since it doesn¡¯t seem that bad.
WEAPON: Training Hammer, (hand) beginner
Attack 10-15 (blunt)
Well I mean there¡¯s nothing bad about it I guess, slightly heavy, but it¡¯d do the job I guess. ¡°Right now go to bashing up those poor little straw men, imagine their bones splintering with each strike, head squashing and bursting like a ripe melon¡± His eyes roll back quivering slightly. O¡­k let¡¯s try and ignore the images and lets beat up some straw dummies. Erm, do I have a proper way of swinging it or is it just a swing and see? Well swing and see sounds like a good enough start. ¡­ That was a rather dulling session of hitting about a straw dummy in the courtyard with all the 3 different types of mace. The hammer was light, good for quick thumping but it really only did damage with the front and not the rest of it. The spiked club was better in that regard since I could it the dummy with any side, but it weighed quite a bit more. Although the winner for maces was definitely the flail. Oh my was it cool. Apart from being able to spin the mace head which when it hits, hits hard, the chain could be used to wrap around the straw dummy at places, like the neck. Kind of worrying but also really cool. Though I guess the downside was it was a lot of heavy swinging in the end which was exhausting, oh my Aiag is flailing exhausting. I did move on to the axes, where also there were 3 types (seems like this is a thing): Flat axes, war axes and double-headed axes. The flat axes were axe-heads without a curved blade. It didn¡¯t mean anything but I¡¯m sure there is a difference between that and the war axe that I just haven¡¯t seen yet. The war axe was the same as the flat axe, albeit larger and heavier and a curved axe head. The double headed axes, well it¡¯s just two war axe heads on one stick¡­kind of useful I guess? If you didn¡¯t have time to change the position of your axe. But then again just means someone can push that side to you. All in all I wasn¡¯t impressed with the axes, and more swinging, not fun. The swords however were not that much swinging (well relatively): the 5 swords that were available were Rapier, a traditional medival-european swords (so shotsword, longsword and broadsword) and a scimitar. So Rapier was light and a lot of stabbing, quite enjoyed that. The traditional swords were a mixture of stabbing and hacking, I mean I can see why they were preferred over axes and maces and the like. The scimitar was a tad bit strange, because it¡¯s curved, which makes stabbing rather awkward¡­until I figured out that because of the curve I can actually stab it in the side while standing in front of it¡­rather cool, but awkward. And I got all the delicious skills and subskills for them all! It also came with the overall one-handed mastery too!
Congratulations! You have learnt the Proficiency: One-handed Mastery
PROFICIENCY: One-handed Mastery, beginner [lv1] (55%) (Passive)
You are mastering the use of a weapon wielded by a single hand Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: 10% increased attack rate Flexibility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt the Proficiency: Mace Mastery
PROFICIENCY: Mace Mastery, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Passive)
It is simple to wield a blade, but to master it is another thing. Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: 10% increased attack rate Flexibility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt the Proficiency: Axe Mastery
PROFICIENCY: Axe Mastery, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Passive)
It is simple to wield a blade, but to master it is another thing. Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: 10% increased attack rate Flexibility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt the Proficiency: Sword Mastery
PROFICIENCY: Sword Mastery, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Passive)
It is simple to wield a blade, but to master it is another thing. Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: 10% increased attack rate Flexibility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
Lots of delicious xp. Now to try some other thin- ¡°Are you done warming up?¡± oh no ¡°Good pick your favourite weapon and let¡¯s go inside¡± I pick up the flail and the scimitar¡­and Sam ¡­ .. . Is smiling? ¡°A scimitar, exceptional in it¡¯s ability to continually and deeply slice one section of a body due to it¡¯s shape and brutal when pierced inside too. AND a flail, the deadliest mace with the biggest head. Oh you are quite the greedy thing aren¡¯t you taking both weapons to play with¡± Please stop creepily smiling, I don¡¯t want to know what you¡¯re dreaming of¡­ He leads me insi- ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± ¡­ .. . Yeah nope. My tshirt collar is held by one maniacal Sam as he continues to half drag me inside and towards the screaming straw dummies. ¡­Yes screaming straw dummies
NAME: Straw Person [lvl5]
Hp 50/50
Living Straw equipped with immunity to physical damage and pain receptors
Well this is dar- ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± One screams right into my face as a quivering Dirra, stabs it with a spear, her screams racing the tears down her eyes. ¡°Stab harder girl, can you not still hear yourself, only when his screams silence yours will you be free to go¡± ¡­I really don¡¯t want to be here right now¡­please let me disappear and not have to face screaming straw men.
MANDATORY QUEST: Desentisization
Sam is forcing you to fight the screaming straw dummies until you can face their screams without hesitation
There is no time limit on the quest but until you cannot leave this room until the quest is complete.
Rewards: Freedom ???
Universe I hate you. Staying away from the sobbing Dirra, because of last time we were together, I direct myself to another screaming straw man, with a familiar punk-like rabbit-beastman. Hino. Edging towards him as he darts around the straw man swiping at it with his war axe before embedding a rapier into the head, eliciting more of a wail than just a simple scream, I kind of don¡¯t want to get closer but he does look a lot less disabled than the people here. Or he¡¯s psychotic¡­which reminds me, he was jailed for being out late at night too¡­so what was he doing out there? Suddenly suspicions arise¡­but then again the worst that can happen to me is getting pke¡¯d so it¡¯d be worth learning how he¡¯s so calm about the screaming. ¡°Hey Hino¡± my voice is drowned out by the horrendous wailing emanating from the straw person. Though he spots me and stops attacking, causing a seriously shocking silence to come from the straw person barely seconds after getting hacked and slashed. ¡°Joat why are you here?¡± no hi? ¡°Yeah I made a bad decision¡± He shrugs his shoulders and continues fighting. Wait I was going to ¡­ah nevermind, I¡¯ll figure it out myself then. I take the empty straw person next to him (there are a lot of free straw men quite literally everywhere in this cavernous room) and start with some saber work. Stabbing and slashing the screaming straw with my saber, I start swinging my flail with my other hand, rotating the head in a small circle building up speed. Finally I reach a good speed, retreat my saber and whip the flail down onto the straw person.
STATUS: Broken Eardrums
You eardrums have been broken due to close proximity with too loud a sound for hobgoblin ears.
-80% hearing, disorientation
I mean that isn¡¯t a bad thing given the circumstances. Getting back into my saber attacking, my world immediately lurches to the side as I move. Aaand my face is on the stone floor with the world spinning about randomly around me. Well I guess I know what disorientation feels like, blimming heck it¡¯s not easy to stand back up like this. The world doesn¡¯t want to stay in the same place so any of my stumbling attacks are wildly everywhere. But I see Hino stabbing his just fine, how does he do it!?! After a while¡­a long while, I get used to the disorientation and some of my attacks start landing and I stop stumbling as much even if the earth suddenly lurches to one side. Continuing my saber striking while building up a flail attack for a long while, I change hands to try it out but I do find my left hand more comfortable with a saber. The status of broken eardrums actually turns to deafness as time passes. And although I have to readjust mightily to the disorientation the screaming is finally gone. Only an odd vibration in the air really tells me there is screaming afoot. Smacking the straw person, which is only mentally terrifying as I can imagine but not hear the wailing, I feel rather finished and as soon as I stop smacking it about I get a quest finished window rewarding me with my freedom. No dual wielding skill yet though¡­well I don¡¯t blame the system: I didn¡¯t exactly use the weapons together. Retreating from that room and leaving Hino to continually fight with his strawman, almost gleefully, I walk straight past the courtyard, actually recognizing the signs of recent trauma on many people, and find something to eat at the market. Luckily hand gestures are a thing so it only took some work to get myself some roasted meat sticks of some kind. Cost me a few coppers but mmm is it worth it. After satiating myself and regaining my hearing, I¡¯m back to the courtyard, as I¡¯ve got at least one more thing to learn before night falls hopefully. Hmm, should I go polearms, two handed weapons or have a shield? Polearms it is, might as well stay away from the loud Daren and the other latino who seems to hate me for no particular reason (forgetting the fact that I burnt down their whole village). Heading over to the right hand side of the lower courtyard, a burly, sweating man with a clean scalp and a thick handlebar moustache blubbers out commands infrequently to the small mass of a few dozen people who smack eachother with long sticks in a ragged line. ¡°Ah a new recruit¡± His eyes glint expectantly ¡°grab a pole and get into the line¡± He motions towards a pile of thick, long sticks in the corner. 1-2 damage, well that¡¯s comforting. Joining one of the two lines, I end up next to Allie who looks rather battered. ¡°Joat nice to see you join the line¡± ¡°Recruits advance!¡± Paul blurts out from the sidelines. With no chance for conversation, I walk in concord with the 20+ person line (I don¡¯t recognize many people here) and stop a small distance away from the enemy. So stab them with the blunt end (there isn¡¯t a pointy end)? Seems like it¡¯s the right thing to do as poles start being thrusted back and forth, the dull sound of wood on flesh accompanied with pained exclamations accompanying the small battle. The tall, young human in front of me gives me a snarl before thwacking me in the stomach with his pole. -2 ow you little bugger. Stepping forward to get in reach, I thrust forward, lightly tapping him on the shoulder -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 ow ow ow Immediately beaten up from either side I retreat back into the line. Well that¡¯s one way to learn moving out of line is a really bad idea. ¡°Disengage¡± Somehow Pauls voice lures over the slight din of combat and everyone disengages, taking a few steps back. ¡°You got one hit in, better than most first timers¡± Allie gives me a toothy smile. But at what cost? Multiple bruises seems like the answer. ¡°By the way, why are you training for polearms? Wouldn¡¯t DillyDally prefer you all to have shortarms?¡± Just a guess because of his fighting style. ¡°Nah he actually told us the opposite: polearms are number one priority to learn¡± Oh that¡¯s odd? But then again if he had his entire squad in a line like this¡­it could be pretty effective. ¡°Engage¡± Ah no more bruising please. Against the same snarling human I fare pretty badly, getting rammed to bruising in multiple locations. ¡°Disengage¡± ¡°So where are the rest of Squad Animal?¡± ¡°They all got the polearm proficiency a while ago, so they¡¯re busy pissing about in the field or something¡± She doesn¡¯t sound to happy about being left out ¡°And I¡¯m here still trying to bloody learn it¡± ¡°Wait you¡¯ve been here 2 days learning it?¡± ¡°Yes¡± She hisses ¡°Everyone here is so bloody tall with long bloody arms, unlike me¡± snarling at her own quite stumpy arms, I see the problem quite clearly. ¡°¡­How many hits have you dealt?¡± ¡°¡­5¡± I¡¯m assuming that¡¯s in total because she sounds utterly depressive when saying it. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just not meant for this¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve already been through hell training with them so I can do everything they can, including bloody polearms!¡± ¡°Engage¡± She takes two steps out of line, getting literally pummeled by half a dozen poles as she tries to stab the person in front, pole just a bit short off his stomach. Well that explains why she looks so battered¡­ ¡°Disengage¡± ¡°Right, how about this, instead of walking, we charge into the line and ram them with the poles?¡± I mean that should get her close enough to hit them? ¡°Tried it, didn¡¯t work so well¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s by yourself right?¡± She squints her eyes curiously at me. I tap the person to her left, some random human. ¡°Hey fellow, you want to come charge with us next round?¡± ¡°And get the crap beaten out of me, you must be kidding Monster¡± Wow, people really do not like me. ¡°I¡¯ll make it worth your while¡± I whisper with a flashing smile and a silver coin. ¡°¡­.Charging sounds like a good plan¡± Well people may hate me, but everyone loves money. ¡°Engage¡± Walking up to the engagement line, I nod and the 3 of us charge out immediately feeling poles smack into my upper jaw, shoulder and thigh, stopping my movement. -2 -2 -2 ¡°RAHHHH¡± Blood splatters onto my face and I turn to see Allie blitzing the guy infront of me, feet trampling her previous and now unconscious foe: blood and vomit dripping out his mouth. *Splat* She may suck at normal polearm fighting, but close range her stumpy arms move the pole a lot faster and more precise. Don¡¯t get into close range combat with Allie. Within less than half a minute, the entire right hand side (my right) of the enemy line has collapsed with a few people dropping their weapons and running while the others lie unconscious or heavily vomiting on the ground. *Clap clap clap* Paul is clapping as he calls the disengage, allowing everyone to see the carnage that Allie wrought to the fullest: a dozen people laying on the ground groaning or completely out of it with the woman in question huffing violently over one such victim. ¡°RAAAAGGGGGHHH¡± She lifts her blood stained pole in the air, shouting at the top of her lungs. Slightly dramatic but I guess if it gained her the skill¡­ *ding* ¡°Well done recruit, not the best at being part of a line, but not all are meant to be in it¡± He nods at her before calling for some healers. Oh we¡¯ve got healers at hand? Well I was beginning to wonder what¡¯d happen if someone got a strong blow to the head. Anyways, where is that somehow helpful human? Ah there he is: ironic how I was wondering what¡¯d happen if someone got a strong blow to the head. Bending down over him, he¡¯s completely out of it. Dropping a coin into his palm as part of ¡®checking his pulse¡¯, I gingerly make my way back to the changing lines, since I don¡¯t have the skill myself yet so I need to continue beating myself up. Though:
Sacrifice levelled up!
So at least now I know how to level that up without actually killing myself. Right back to getting beaten up in an orderly manner ¡­
Congratulations! You have learnt the Proficiency: Polearm Mastery
PROFICIENCY: Polearm Mastery, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Passive)
You are mastering the ability to wield lengthy weapons with both hands. Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: 10% increased attack rate Flexibility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
Congratulations! You have learnt the Proficiency: Spear Mastery
PROFICIENCY: Spear Mastery, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Passive)
It is simple to wield a Spear, but to master it is another thing. Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: 10% increased attack rate Flexibility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
Yay finally, only took 2 hours of getting rather ruthlessly beaten by spears as I forced myself to jump straight into the fray. Plus I swear the humans around me weren¡¯t blocking properly and allowing the enemies to target me¡­ Well whatever, I¡¯ve got the proficiency so time to move on¡­to two handed weapons!! Oh god, it¡¯s Daren. ¡°MAGGOT, I SEE YOU FINALLY DECIDED TO COME TO ME. GOOD, I¡¯LL TEACH YOU HOW TO FIGHT LIKE A PROPER MAGGOT¡± He screams at my face the minute I step into his part of the courtyard. ¡°SIR I WANT TO TRY ALL WEAPONS TYPES SIR¡± ¡°GRAB A SWORD¡± I rush over to the weapon rack, picking up a two handed sword, about half my height, oh christ it is heavy and I only take a few steps before giving up and dragging it behind me. ¡°THERE ARE 3 TYPES OF ATTACK WITH A SWORD, OVERHEAD¡± He swings his own massive sword at a straw dummy, cleaving it¡¯s straw body into two ¡°THRUST¡± he thrusts his sword straight through the dummy, enlarging the separate parts ¡°AND SWING¡± He swings in from the left quartering the dummy before stopping and swinging the sword from the right, leaving the dummy loosely nailed on the wooden stake in 6 parts. I¡¯m just impressed he didn¡¯t somehow slice the stake. ¡°ANY QUESTIONS MAGGOT? NO? GET SWINGING THEN¡± Wait I didn¡¯t even get time to think of a question, dammit Daren. Lofting the sword over my head ¡­ .. . Come on sword, lift of the ground. Well seems like not giving myself strength does actually stop simple things like lifting a freaking heavy sword. Right, leverage, that works. Bending down so the hilt rests on my shoulder, I lean forward and try to headbutt my feet while holding the hilt against my shoulder Owowow my shoulder!! Jeesus that hurts! At least the sword went into the straw dummy, the weight alone digging quite deep. Right, so that¡¯s an overhead, not happening without strength. What about a thrust? Dragging the sword out the dummy, I deadlift it off the ground, causing my back to creak horribly. Walk forward and thrust! A terrible thrust, but it hit! Though it¡¯s nowhere near as effective as the overhead was. Right, swings next. Sword on the ground to the side, and come onnnnn swiiiing. Agggggghh, man that was hard, swinging and dropping my body to the side, trying to get the momentum to lift the sword out of the ground. It worked, but I feel like my shoulder¡¯s are about to dislocate. From right to left this time. Doing the same as before: twisting and dropping my body to swing the sword, I¡¯m rewarded with a shallow cut into the straw dummy. ¡°GOOD MAGGOT, WHAT A WEAKLING YOU ARE! NOW FOR AXES¡± He hands me an axe, which causes me to follow it to the ground as I hold onto it. He once again shows me the 3 moves, overhead, thrust and swing. But this time the thrust isn¡¯t very effective as only the tip of the axe enters, until he pushes the axe upwards, bisecting the straw dummy from the bottom. Well I stand corrected, very corrected. Same as before, overhead was with the shoulder, the leverage actually easier since I could stand up for the hilt giving me a slightly easier time. Thrust was as before with me then positioning myself for an overhead to bring the axe out¡­it moved about an inch before getting well and truly stuck in the straw dummy. More than nothing I guess. The swings were so much more difficult¡­I actually dislocated my shoulder after successfully swinging it, so I had to take a break to let it recover before doing swing number 2, with the same ending. ¡°HAH WEAKLING MAGGOT IT¡¯S TRULY PITIFUL WATCHING YOU TRY FIGHT WITH AN AXE LIKE A REAL MAN. TRY THE MACE, I¡¯M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS¡± He doesn¡¯t even hide his enjoyment as seeing me struggle. I mean the few other people there are having a hard time, but seems like they all have strength so it is herculianly easier for them. I wonder how the Npc¡¯s are faring with this? My wonderings stop as a warhammer brings me down to earth, literally. Once again the thrust is different in Daren¡¯s demo: after embedding the back of the hammer (the 2 curved spiky things) into the straw dummy, he lifts it and the stake (along with a bit of ground) and smashes it overhead ¡­ .. . Yeah, I¡¯m not going to be able to do that. But I do the rest, cracking my shoulder on the overhead as the weapon bounced back, breaking my back on the thrust which barely penetrates and dislocating both arms twice in the swings as well as breaking my back. All in all, using a mace took 2 hours just for 4 swings. Well that¡¯s definitely not to be used in combat¡­ *ding*
Congratulations! Through a combination of effort and intelligence you have learnt the Proficiency: Two-handed Mastery
PROFICIENCY: Two-handed Mastery, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Passive)
It isn¡¯t simple to wield a large blade and to master it is something else entirely Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: 10% increased attack rate Flexibility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
Though for a total of 12 swings, that¡¯s awesome. Now if only I had strength I wouldn¡¯t have used so much time in this. But then again I don¡¯t plan on using this proficiency much so thank Aiag it¡¯s over. ¡°MAGGOT, COME BACK ANYTIME, HOPEFULLY WHEN YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE THE WEAPON WAHAHAH¡± He laughs boisterously as I bow goodbye and head over to Roirra. The final boss in this training ground of proficiencies (Well I guess they¡¯re all final bosses if I¡¯d chosen them last but whatever). ¡°Pick up a shield¡± She (it¡¯s a he really but as with Regnar, ignoring reality) notices my presence and points at a fallen steel shield in what looks like a battleground. I really could¡¯ve watched what happened everywhere else but I¡¯ve really been engaged in learning today¡­ In the dying light, I hold the circular shield in my right hand, not that comfortable. ¡°Block¡± Huh? AHH! Her sword blurs above me and I raise my shield, only to feel the clang reverberate through my body and slam me to the floor. ¡°Stand up¡± I stand up, still shaking from the first impact. Well at least I know why this place looks like a battlefield. Getting smashed to the side, I roll in the dirt, shield clanging by my side, grip digging into my forearm. ¡°Stand up¡± I feel like this is going to be said a lot in this session. At least she doesn¡¯t call me a monster ¡­
Congratulations! You have learnt the Proficiency: Shield Mastery
PROFICIENCY: Shield Mastery, beginner [lv1] (0%) (Passive)
It is simple to hold a shield, but to make it part of your body is another thing Strength bonus: n/a Dexterity bonus: n/a Agility bonus: 10% increased speed Flexibility bonus: n/a
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
For learning a new proficiency, xp is increased by 5%
Ah only took an hour¡­I¡¯m ready for bed now. Roirra really didn¡¯t hold back. And I didn¡¯t even get the block skill either...probably because I didn¡¯t exactly block, just kind of get smacked down multiple times. Letting my arms droop by my side (I don¡¯t really have much choice, they¡¯re completely dead), I head out of the courtyard, leaving only about 60 people there, still training hard despite the rise of the moons from the ground. I¡¯ve gained a lot of proficiencies and now to run the hell away to home! ¡°WAIT MAGGOT¡± One Daren stops me on the way out. ¡°SINCE YOU¡¯VE BEEN TRAINING HERE, TOMORROW THERE IS TO BE AN EXPEDITION TO THE HILLS FOR LIVE TRAINING, SUNRISE¡± No offer?
QUEST: Live Training in the Hills
Daren has asked(?) you to join the live training in the hills tomorrow with the others. Further details will be given if quest is followed
Rewards: +1 intimacy with town A weapon of your choice
Even the quest doesn¡¯t know if Daren is asking or ordering me¡­well anyways it got me at intimacy with town. I like things like that, I need things like that¡­ Plus a weapon sounds good but I¡¯m rich enough to buy quite a few good ones. Right off to bed, because tomorrow is going to be pretty awful I can feel it!! 56. A Rocky Morning (Thrash¡¯s POV) Four bog bodies, tick. I wonder what Nathan¡¯s going to do with these? *Scratch scratch* Ah mud, not nice, to the river. On all fours, I run through the swamp dodging the many hiding lizard things with massive jaws and no legs, jumping over the quicksand and over supposedly dead branches. This swamp is dangerous. Within the hour I¡¯m running across a dirt track and into a forest where a nice cool river is. Ahhhh cold bath¡­ Mud really makes my fur itchy, and it smells nasty too. Eugh, right what does Nathan need next? Knifefish battery cells x100 ¨C in the lake over the hills Nathan¡¯s a strange fellow, saying fish have batteries in them¡­Maybe they do? There¡¯s a lake over the hills, ah I get some fresh air finally. My nose really doesn¡¯t like the swamp, especially after getting stuck in rotting quicksand for half a day. Running through the forest and into the large patch of hills spotted with large uneven rocks, I smell blood. *Sniff* This rock smells of blood? Hmm it tastes of rock though. *rumble* Oh no, the rock¡¯s alive. It unfurls and stands up
NAME: Rock Giant [lvl15]
A shepherd of the hills.
Oops¡­are they on the list? Nope, ok run! Running away from it, I hear the sound of whistling in the air and I roll to the side, feeling the crashing of rock in the ground. Blood smelling rocks are rock giants. I know that now. Sprinting away, I don¡¯t hear it come after me, and I stay far from the rest of the rock giants. Are they sleeping? Or do they just wait until someone comes close? While I think, I bump into a straw dummy, collapsing to the floor next to it. ¡°Oof¡±¡­where¡¯d that come from? ¡­ .. . *Poke* ¡°Ow you little cu-¡± *Poke harder* ¡°Oy stop it, that hurts¡± *Poke* ¡°Seriously, I¡¯ll scream for help¡± The straw is speaking I¡¯m sure of it¡­ ¡°What are you?¡± *poke* ¡°I¡¯m Strawder a ranger for my people and stop poking me that hurts¡± He sits up, straw face looking my way, I think. *Poke* ¡°You¡¯re made of straw?¡± Magic? *Poke back* ¡°Yes and before you poke me again, I can feel pain and see it¡¯s annoying¡± *poke* ¡°isn¡¯t it¡± *poke* ¡°really annoying and painful¡± *poke¡± ¡°It¡¯s ticklish¡± his pokes with his straw hand are really bristly and ticklish. ¡°Agh¡± He stands up ¡°let¡¯s see how you like my punches¡± *Poof* ¡­It didn¡¯t even do any damage¡­ ¡°You¡¯re really made of straw¡± I stand up, his little straw head barely reaching my chest. ¡°Strawdammit of course I am, I¡¯m a Strawnian or as the rest of the world like to call us a Straw person but don¡¯t treat me as less than an equal¡± He sounds rather angry, but¡­I look down at him¡­ ¡°You¡¯re a person, why would you be less equal?¡± ¡°All of you beasts think you¡¯re better than us simply because you have fle¡­¡­did you just call me a person?¡± ¡°Of course you kind of look like one too¡± I pat him on his small head ¡°Well you are certainly a strange beast¡± I pat him on the head once more since he seems to like it. ¡°You¡¯re made of straw though¡± ¡°STRAWDAMMIT I told you I¡¯m a Strawnian, of course I¡¯m made of straw¡± ¡°But how-¡± ¡°Magic of course, we don¡¯t need such callous things such as organs or the like¡± ¡°Cool¡± This is actually really cool! ¡°¡­stop staring at me, it¡¯s strange. Just attack me or something, that¡¯s what these bleeding rock giants do to me anyways¡± ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just i¡¯m new to magic so this is really cool¡± ¡°Such a strange beast. What are you doing running in to me anyways?¡± ¡°I licked a rock giant and woke it up¡± ¡°That is why you foolish flesh beasts are just bound to die, who licks a rock giant?¡± Yes I did wrong, but I didn¡¯t know it was a living thing. ¡°Could you tell me where the lake is?¡± I¡¯m sure Strawder knows and it means I won¡¯t have to stay around the rock giants for too long. ¡°Ah the lake¡­I was headed there myself, come foolish fleshy beast, follow Strawder and I will lead you safely to this lake¡± he poofs his straw hands together and gestures for me to follow. ¡°Ok¡± this Strawder is a strange fellow too. There¡¯s a lot of strange fellows in this world. Walking with Strawder, he begins a long monologue on his adventures in the hills and encounters with the rock giants. While he does that, I sneak a peek at Nathan¡¯s list¡­living straw is on it x50¡­I¡¯ll ask Strawder about that later. ¡°-And so after bashing me into the ground for three days and three nights, it finally gave up and went back to sleep and here I am victor and alive¡± He¡¯s got a strange sense in what victory means¡­ ¡°Ah and here¡¯s the lake¡± Over the last hill, I spot a large lake in the near distance and I swear there¡¯s someone by the edge of the lake. ¡°Ol¡¯ Coot HELLO¡± Strawder shouts and waves from a small distance, the rather wrinkly fellow with no hair anywhere retorting with a less than pleasant gesture with one hand while the other holds a rather massive fishing rod. ¡°Strawder who is he?¡± It seems like Strawder has friends. ¡°Oh he¡¯s just some old coot who spends all his time at the lake trying to catch some big fish or something¡± ¡°IT¡¯S THE EEL LORD, STRAW FOR BRAINS¡± ¡°YOU ARE CORRECT, I HAVE STRAW WHERE HUMANS SHOULD HAVE THEIR BRAINS BUT WHY ARE YOU STATING THAT FACT¡± ¡°IT WAS AN INSULT, MORON¡± ¡°MORON? MY NAME IS STRAWDER¡± ¡°you two are good friends aren¡¯t you¡± It reminds me of the little lizards¡­Zzard and Zzand if I remember correctly. ¡°Yes we are¡± ¡°I HATE HIM¡± ¡°He only says that but really¡± ¡°NO REALLY I HATE YOU. EVERY TIME I GO FISHIN¡¯ YOU¡¯RE OVER HERE ANNOYING ME, SHOO BUGGER OFF AND GO ANNOY ANOTHER ROCK GIANT¡± ¡°I¡¯VE ALREADY BEEN ON AN ADVENTURE TODAY AND LOOK, I HAVE FOUND A PERSON¡± Ol¡¯ Coot stops his shouting from a distance and gives me a look. Hmm I¡¯ve seen that face before¡­but where? Walking over to him, I can hear his sigh. It must be tiring with that rod. I should help him. ¡°Ol¡¯ Coot, hello I am Thrash¡± ¡°Great, now shoo I¡¯ve got a Lord to catch¡± He turns back to his rod, holding it tightly with both hands. ¡°Do you need help? That rod looks heavy¡± Oh he doesn¡¯t look too happy about me saying that¡­what did I say wrong? ¡°You know what¡± He pulls on the rod, line whipping back onto the land bringing a MASSIVE eel with it, crashing straight on top of Strawder ¡°Mrhgrmgrmg¡± Strawder says something but he¡¯s got an eel wriggling on top of him, can¡¯t hear what he¡¯s saying. ¡°Yeah yeah just hush now, adults are talking¡± ¡°gmhrmgm three years old mgmhrmh¡± Strawder¡¯s that young? I didn¡¯t notice. I¡¯ve got much to learn about straw people. ¡°You, Thrash, have a go trying to catch something¡± He hands me the rod. Well now that I look at Ol¡¯ Coot he¡¯s got some serious muscles. ¡­ .. . *Grunt* This is one heavy rod, he shouldn¡¯t be lifting so much with an old back like that. ¡°Well what are you waiting for, get the line in the water¡± ¡°¡­How do I fish?¡± I¡¯ve never done anything like it before. ¡°Bring the line back and throw it in the water, wait until it bites then pull it back out¡± He crosses his arm ¡°Younglings these days not knowing how to even fish, wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you couldn¡¯t wipe your a-¡± *Whoosplash* Now to wait I guess¡­ Is Ol¡¯ Coot going to help Strawder? I mean he can feel pain so being underneath a living eel the size of a table doesn¡¯t look fun. *Smack* ¡°GRAB THE ROD!¡± He screams at me as I whip my head back to the rod, jumping for it as it drags itself towards the water. ¡°PULL¡± I pull¡­well try to. Whatever¡¯s bitten it is strong. ¡°PULL YOU MUTT¡± ¡°It¡¯s very difficult¡± I huff out as I slowly get dragged with it. Suddenly I get pulled back with the rod. ¡°Holy mother of Aiag, boy I think you¡¯ve got the big catch, let¡¯s pull it out together¡± He holds the rod behind me already sweating with effort. ¡°I can help too¡± I spot Strawder wriggling from underneath the Eel. He won¡¯t be able to help much. ¡°PULL BOY PULL¡± PULLLL ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) Ah the cool air of the hills with a refreshing morning sun just over the horizon, it¡¯d be perfect ¡°JOAT WATCH OUT¡± If there wasn¡¯t a rock giant trying to squish us¡­ Jumping out of the way, I miss getting flattened by the rock giant I accidentally pissed off when I tried resting on it. How was I supposed to know that it wasn¡¯t just a rock? At least my new flail is proving to be pretty good against it. Apparently live training meant fighting in on the spot made groups against this rock giant, which is so close to physical immunity to the point where we¡¯ve spent the past hour attacking it and it STILL hasn¡¯t gone down. It doesn¡¯t help that we barely get any actually damaging attacks on it. ¡°SWITCH¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°What¡¯s it¡¯s status?¡± I casually ask Sino as I dust myself off, shuffling to the sidelines of the battle and letting the the 6 fresh people take on the giant. ¡°Well it¡¯s still standing, but it¡¯s right leg is working slightly worse since Allie got her spear in the cracks¡± ¡°EVERYONE AIM FOR IT¡¯S RIGHT LEG¡± Right now to watch boringly. In all honesty the rock giant isn¡¯t that bad to fight even if it¡¯s quite fast and hits hard enough to take out the Npc¡¯s with a single blow¡­nevermind, it¡¯s really hard to deal with. The currently worst thing about this trip, apart from these immortal blimming giants is the members of my party: Hino, Sino and Allie¡­which isn¡¯t too bad since they¡¯re alright people. But the other 7 are the problem: all human, monster-hating people¡­and of course none of them are attacking the right leg like I said Seriously people, we¡¯ve been fighting together for an hour now at least trust me a little! Anyway their names are¡­I have no idea because they will barely even look at me, well you know what I¡¯m going to get this sorted now! ¡°Alright guys, let¡¯s go take out it¡¯s right leg, old school style¡± ¡°Why does that not inspire confidence in me?¡± random human who won¡¯t really talk to me stop being a worry wort and more like these three. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m excited!¡± ¡°Should¡¯ve done this hours ago¡± ¡°Can we just kill it already?¡± Standing up, I have them all bunch up next to me ¡°Alright on three. One. Two. Three!¡± Charging into the side of the battle, I lunge onto the giants leg and with the help of the other 3, we pull it¡¯s leg out from under it *CRASH* ¡°Now mace wielders for it¡¯s head!¡± and thank god they listen this time¡­by all of them going for the head. You¡¯ve got a bloody sword, what use is that going to be!? With only one human flying out screaming as he gets a rocky palm to the body, the rest take out the rock giant. Well that was a long battle for literally no purpose. ¡°Right you lot, if you want to die, please feel free to do so, but if you want to live and not get broken like¡­that guy, you listen to me¡± ¡°Why would we listen to you? You¡¯re just a monster who started all this in the first place!¡± A short fiery woman with red-hair growls at me, pointing her equally small hammer at me. ¡°Because I¡¯ve got way more combat experience than you, I¡¯ve led parties before, I¡¯m generally quite smart and good at being leader and I literally just made the end of this hour long smackdown finish and that injury was NOT my fault before you get all blamey¡± ¡°Plus he¡¯s really good in bed¡± Allie chuckles. Aiag dammit, it didn¡¯t happen! ¡°Allie, you really aren¡¯t helping in any way¡± ¡°You slept with a monster?¡± a tall bald, dark-skinned teenager with a two-handed axe looks at Allie with disgust ¡°No I actually slept with a human, who then told everyone in hopes that it would get me killed¡± I butt in before this becomes another piss up in a brewery ¡°¡­so what happened?¡± A weedy looking guy with freckles and mushroom shaped ginger hair pokes out from behind the black teenager. ¡°Well I¡¯m here so what do you think happened?¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Anyways, from now on we¡¯re working together to take out this entire hill worth of giants within 1 hour¡± Because I don¡¯t want to waste valuable skill learning time!! ¡°There¡¯s 8 of them, that isn¡¯t possible¡± a fat blonde whines at me ¡°You know what, just close your mouth and open your mind for 1 giant and I¡¯ll show you we can do it alrighty?¡± Well I sounded a bit harsh there but these people aren¡¯t being nice to me so it¡¯s ok to be perfectly candid with them. ¡°Well Joat, I¡¯m excited to see what madness you come up with this time¡± Allie¡¯s raring to go it seems. Also not everything I do is madness, most is planned you know. Any dissenters? Nope cool. And there¡¯s a healer helping the muscular idiot. I guess it¡¯s useful they brought a few along and they definitely seem to be hard at work keeping all these idiots alive. ¡°Right, everyone who has a mace over to my right¡± Hino, Mushroom ginger, Redhair and Me ¡°Shields to my left¡± bigblondy and average joe. ¡°Everyone else¡­you¡¯re currently useless¡± And here comes the whining ¡°JUST be quite for a second. Sino you¡¯re going to tell us how much damage we¡¯ve done to it, the rest of you drop your weapons, you¡¯re not going to need them¡± ¡°The way we¡¯re going to do this, is shields up first, take the first few blows. Weaponless people jump the left leg from the back and pull it away. Maces go for the head¡± It¡¯s pretty similar to when me and the Zz¡¯s had to deal with night wolves. ¡­ .. . ¡°Anyone can come up with that plan, isn¡¯t that too simple?¡± ¡°They¡¯re big, stupid creatures, why do we need to be complex about something super simple to take care of? The only big thing is once they¡¯re down we need to keep it down and that¡¯s where the manpower of holding each arm down comes in. 4 to each arm. Blondy, baldy, Sino and emo-looking guy you¡¯re left hand side and other 4 you¡¯re right¡± ¡°At least learn our names¡± bigblondy whines ¡°Well then give them to me¡± It¡¯s not like I can inspe- ¡­ .. .
Your monster identification skill is not high enough level yet
At basic level 8? Time to level up that skill then! Alright time to learn their names ¡°Layla¡± ¡°Joe¡± ¡°Johnny¡± ¡°Gerard¡± ¡°Kayla¡± ¡°Rod¡± ¡°Mark¡± Great, not going to remember a single one after that rapid firing of names but hopefully the system will remember it for me. ¡°Alright, we ready?¡± ¡­ ¡°Left arm secure!¡± ¡°Right arm secure!¡± ¡°Are you ready for a little bashing guys?¡± I whirl up my Flail. *Thunk* ¡°How long did that take Sino?¡± ¡°¡­5 minutes¡± Well that told the humans right. Wait I am human, technically not at this moment though. Anyways, 5 minutes is seriously impressive, I mean when the last one took an hour¡­wow we really were doing something wrong¡­ ¡°So 7 more is another 20 minutes then¡± ¡°Joat what kind of maths is that?¡± Sino cocks his head towards me. ¡°Well we¡¯re going to get better, maybe 2 to 3 minutes per one should do¡± ¡°And how do you propose that oh wise monster¡± Redhead¡­inspecting, Kayla got it, is being rather arsey about it. ¡°Focus on it¡¯s neck area, separate the head, focus our attack on one small zone rather than bashing randomly at it¡¯s head¡± Slightly different from when we dealt with the wolves¡­but that was for another purpose. Right, round two! ¡­ ¡°23 MINUTES TO TAKE OUT 7 STONE GIANTS, MAGGOTS I AM IMPRESSED¡± ¡°OF COURSE SIR YOU TRAINED US SIR¡± All the recruits bellow back to the imposing daren at once. ¡°HAH, DON¡¯T BE SO MODEST, YOU¡¯RE MILDLY IMPRESSIVE FOR MAGGOTS¡± ¡°THANK YOU SIR¡± He¡¯s actually complimenting us, rather rare. ¡°SEEMS LIKE MORE TRAINING IN LARGE GROUPS IS USELESS. SPLIT INTO GROUPS OF 4 AND CONTINUE FIGHTING¡± Well¡­I grab Allie, Sino and Hino immediately. I mean I don¡¯t want to be working with Npc¡¯s who are rather annoying. ¡°Ok we have to finish this before half a day¡± I tell them all ¡°You got someplace to be?¡± ¡°Nope, just missing out on valuable skill time¡± ¡°Well maybe we¡¯ll get more skills working with Npc¡¯s?¡± No Allie that isn¡¯t a bad, no good idea ¡°No harm in trying right Joat?¡± Dammit Hino stop fueling the fire that is my passion. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll take some Npc¡¯s and try to gain some skills¡± Kind of convinced me with the possibility, especially if I can actually teach Npc¡¯s skills and stats and even turn them into followers¡­ooh let¡¯s try this! Running over to the humans as they make their own little cliques, I stroll straight into the middle. ¡°Right, at least one non-human per group, mostly to get you guys used to non-humans and who wants to be in my group¡± Well technically they do have exposure to non-humans but for some reason this lot are humans only. ¡­ .. . Well at least one person looks willing to be in my group of unwilling teammates: One tiny Kayla, the muscled idiot and the guy who looks like an average joe. ¡°Let¡¯s get to fighting team!¡± Optimisim is key, the key to all skill gaining!! ¡­ *whoosh whoosh* Ah I love this
Joe [lvl11], human male
Hp: 110/110 Attack: 13-13
Stats: Intelligence, Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Wisdom, Vitality Defence: 23
Skills: Dodge,??? Relationship: -12
I definitely need to practice this skill a lot more
EVOLVED SKILL: Identification, beginner [lv2] (4%) (Active)
Identifies basic notes about Npc¡¯s and monsters
Cost: None, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: None
Apparently monster identification evolved once it got to level 9 due to me using it for a purpose it wasn¡¯t previously known to be used for and it basically counts as level 12 monster identification. And now I get a whole new bunch of skill levels to train and gain all that delicious xp. Right, so anywho Npc¡¯s gain skills and stats just like us and I can see the ones that I¡¯ve seen them learn. I believe they learn them with a little bit more difficulty but I¡¯ve only been watching for about 3 hours. It¡¯s scary how much detail identification has or really what it will have when I¡¯m higher level. Will it basically become another character sheet for the npc¡¯s? So at this point I can assume they are the same as us, or well we¡¯re the same as them which means a lot of them have literal years more experience than us. Though I did notice that they are lacking in a few what I guess would be called character based skills like identification¡­and well that¡¯s it so far. But in terms of stats I don¡¯t see Brutality in any of them except for Rod. Rod has the most stats with 7, the rest have the staple 6: Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom and Vitality. *whooshwhooshwhoosh¡± So basically unless they did something special in their childhood like whatever Rod did then they¡¯d end up as normal characters with 4 slots free. Child soldiers without stats would be very good here, not that that is a good thing or should ever be used. But that also means if they aren¡¯t given special training from a young age they won¡¯t be very different. However these are just one batch of people, there¡¯s a lot of different starting points I¡¯m guessing, so if I was to make an army I¡¯d have to pick people from different backgrounds for different roles. Talk about having a role from birth/ ¡°MONSTER ARE YOU GOING TO ATTACK IT OR WHAT¡± Kayla screams at me from behind Joe And flail to the leg aaaand giant is down. *whoosh whoosh* Giant hunting is a lot slower with less people, but still fast: Kayla goes about weakening it and I do the final bash while the others do some multi-layered blocking, which is two people behind one shield trying not to go flying every time the giant slaps them. It¡¯s going pretty decently actually, with the healer only having to patch up Joe twice and Kayla once. I am perfect and don¡¯t need to be patched up due to my godly regenerative powers...and the fact that I had no agro at all helped. Oh yeah that¡¯s definitely a player ability so if anything we¡¯ve got that over any normal Npc. *Whooshwhooshwhoosh* And one smashed right leg coming up. Taking out both legs has been the plan, then moving to the arms and finally the head. About 30 minutes a giant with little problems once we sorted out the multi layer blocking and agro switch. *Whoosh whoosh* As for making them my followers¡­well that¡¯s not happening for a while¡­since when my inspection leveled to level 2 (I inspected all the other Npc¡¯s here) it showed me my current reputation with them ¡­ .. . -13¡­oh wait no it¡¯s now -12¡­well it¡¯s not that far gone a hope then. Apparently it went up because I¡¯m helping lead them¡­without a party since I can¡¯t party up with them. Another great thing we players have over Npc¡¯s. ¡°Joat can you take out it¡¯s arms please, I¡¯m getting tired¡± Joe is rather polite, and even uses my name. I guess although he has a -12 reputation it there¡¯s something else that I can¡¯t see affecting it. Knowledge is power and I should really train this skill quickly! Especially if I accidentally go to battle against npc¡¯s¡­hopefully not though. Agh time for a lunch break soon, man I have to socialize with them¡­well actually I doubt they will due to the fact that they don¡¯t like me that much...or at least the system shows that. And that¡¯s the left arm gone. It¡¯s actually rather boring not having any agro, even though I¡¯m doing so much damage, Kayla, Rod and Joe switch who¡¯s got the hammer and when they get agro they get shield duties. I¡¯m just walking around whirling a Flail and slowly bashing the rock giant to pieces. I might try to solo these giants if I thought I could dodge them. ¡°ALRIGHT MAGGOTS, TIME TO DO THINGS ALONE, SINCE YOU WON¡¯T ALWAYS HAVE OTHERS TO FIGHT WITH¡± Well that¡¯s the planned lunch time horrors gone I guess, yay? Also how are we supposed to fight alone against these massive things? They¡¯re pretty annoying to kill especially for those poor souls without maces. Lucky I¡¯ve got a flail and a scimitar for most cases, wahaha. Well let¡¯s get to trying to figure out how to fight a rock giant by myself ¡­ .. . And learn a skill since I haven¡¯t learnt one today¡­erm ooh a defensive skill would be nice. I could try learn something like parry, or full on block it.
NAME: Rock Giant [lvl15]
Hp: 650/650 Attack: 43-60 Defense: 44 (full body), Speed: 0.6 Stats: Strength, Vitality
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to Blunt damage
Resistances: Resistance to physical damage (non-blunt)
A shepherd of the hills and a durable being, not easily killed although removal of it¡¯s head does the job.
Uhhh let¡¯s remove the full on block it from the list. Also mosters have stats past level 10 it¡¯s rather cool yet terrifying. So a strange sort of parry then, erm how about one with my flail and another with my scimitar? Whirling up my flail, I pound it into a large unmoving rock which smells faintly of blood, waking up one pissed off rock giant, which takes the full 42 points of damage. Alright whirling up flail once more and dodge -52 Well dodging with a flail isn¡¯t easy, or not possible really. I need to work on that. Alright this is make it or break it, whirling up flail, giant¡¯s coming for a slap and I whip my flail into the side of the hand redirecting it away from me and causing a small stumble Ok, that worked. Let¡¯s do it again. Luckily the stumble gave me time to whirl up again and his hand is such a large target it¡¯s easy to hit it and redirect it enough to at most sidestep out the way as it stumbles giving me precious time to get my flail going again. This parrying business is pretty good with a flail, well in this scenario at least. Though every 5 I do have to take a break from it and just dodge, because jesus is it tiring. Eventually the giant has no hands left and it begins with stomping¡­which does it even less good as my flail chips away at it quite frankly. *Ding*
Congratulations! Through parrying attacks multiple times you have learnt the Combat Skill parry
COMBAT SKILL: Parry, beginner [lvl1] (0%)
Parrying is the ability to deflect one¡¯s attack with your own
When successfully parrying: Redirects attack mitigating or cancelling damage May cause opponent to stumble
Cost: 20 stamina, Duration: Instantaneous, Cooldown: 2.4 seconds
Xp increases by 5%
Huh so that¡¯s why I can only use it 5 times since it uses up all my stamina and then I had to wait for it to regen¡­ Also the cooldown is rather arbitrary ¡­ .. . *Whoosh whoosh* Ah it takes just over 2 seconds to get the spin going¡­so that¡¯s why. The cooldown is the weapon¡¯s attack speed and the fact that it costs stamina whenever you parry is also something rather special: Firstly it means that in combat someone can cause you to lose all your stamina when defending which is pretty nasty and secondly what if you didn¡¯t have stamina¡­or would you have to have stamina as a stat prerequisite to learn this? ¡°Rod, learn to parry the giants¡± test subject number one. He stops musing, odd for the oafishly large and slow teenager but hey who¡¯s to judge appearences, and looks at me with squinting eyes. And off to parry he goes. Now to wait ¡­ .. . And he¡¯s got the parry skill¡­without stamina...or can I just not see stamina because it¡¯s also a ¡®pool¡¯? Well for now I believe you can learn the skill but without stamina I¡¯m guessing it may have a different effect¡­like if I used rage it¡¯d definitely have a different effect. Alright, now for the hard one. This time after waking up the giant with a flailing alarm clock, I use the flail to get rid of one of its hands and now time to try deflect the punch with my scimitar. -23 Erm, well lying flat on my back surely isn¡¯t what deflecting supposed to do. Back up and this time dodge to the side and use my weapons as a shield to slide the attack off. -14 It worked? I¡¯m not flat on my back but I definitely got some damage there. Trying it again a few times, it sort of works, with me getting a small bit of damage from just the sheer power of the attack. Though I¡¯ve got to stop now or I will die, which I do not like. Crushing the giant with quite a lot more flail parry attacks (level up a skill why not), I heal up and try this deflect business once more. This is going to be a looong day ¡­ (Thrash¡¯s POV) ¡°PULL BOY¡± ¡°I¡¯M PULLING, IT¡¯S NOT MOVING¡± Whatever¡¯s bitten it is seriously strong. ¡°WE ONLY NEED TO GET IT ANOTHER 13 METRES¡± ¡°I¡¯M HELPING¡± ¡°NO YOU¡¯RE NOT¡± Both of us shout at Strawder as he pulls at the end not helping with his lack of strength. ¡°WE NEED SOME MORE FOOD AND WATER STRAW HEAD¡± ¡°IT¡¯S STRAWDER AND I WON¡¯T DO IT UNLESS YOU ASK ME NICELY AND SAY MY NAME¡± ¡°STRAWDER PLEASE GET ME SOME WATER AND SOME OIL SO THAT I MAY DOUSE YOU IN IT AND BURN YOU TO PIECES AIAG DAMMIT WHY WON¡¯T YOU BUDGE¡± ¡°MAYBE IT¡¯S STUCK ON A ROCK¡± ¡°NO THRASH I CAN FEEL IT PULLING, IT¡¯S DEFINITELY NOT STUCK, WATER¡± ¡°WATER¡± ¡°WATEEEER¡± ¡°ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I¡¯M COMING¡± ¡°WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING TOO?¡± I¡¯m curious he has no reason to ¡°BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS SO I¡¯M SUPPOSED TO AS WELL!¡± ¡°JUST BRING THE WATER, YEGHLGHLGHL¡± ¡°OOH ME NEXGHLGHLGHL¡± ¡°BOY WE WILL BE HAVING THIS FISH FOR DINNER AT MIDNIGHT, MIDNIGHT I TELL YOU!¡± ¡°IT JUST WENT PAST MIDNIGHT OL¡¯ COOT¡± Strawder points at the moon, ooh it¡¯s pretty tonigh-NO I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO THINK OF SUCH TRIVIAL THINGS, PULLLLLL ¡°JUST PULL AIAG DAMN YOU!¡± 57. Going For One Drink (Joat¡¯s POV)
DISEASE: Cold
You have contracted a cold Effects: -1 stamina regen
And that¡¯s what I get for logging out outside the gates then¡­ Agh Daren and all of those lot, how could they leave me in those hills after all we did together? Actually I can completely believe they¡¯ll leave me there, well most of them. -1 reputation to those 3 who I actually had faith in. Though on the bright side I learnt 2 more defensive skills:
COMBAT SKILL: Block, Beginner [lvl1] (0%)
Blocking is the ability to stop the enemy attack with your weapon
Blocking reduces damage by 1% Additional damage reduction based on weapon equipped
Cost: 5 stamina, Duration: sustained, Cooldown: none
Finally, I deserved this one a lot earlier with the shield beatdown¡­
COMBAT SKILL: Deflect, Beginner [lvl1] (0%)
Deflection is the skill to redirect an attack away from you with your weapon
Upon successful deflect: Redirects attack mitigating damage May cause opponent to stumble
Cost: 10 stamina, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: 2.4 seconds
Still finding it weird how deflect and parry are different but then again parrying requires me to attack the opponent whereas deflect merely redirects it...so I guess not much parrying can be done with a shield. I also got myself an actual attack skill too form so much flailing around:
COMBAT SKILL: Charging Power Attack {Mace} Beginner [lvl1] (0%)
Charging power attack is an attack using both momentum and strength to deal immense damage
Deals 100%-200% weapon damage dependent on charge time May cause opponent to stumble Charge time: up to 5 seconds
Cost: 25 stamina, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: 2.4 seconds
It¡¯s pretty good doing 200% damage, especially as that¡¯ll increase as I use it more. Ooh it¡¯s exciting to see how much it will go up each level. Ok so although I did mostly waste a day in the hills bashing up rock giants¡­but I did learn a few system things about Npc¡¯s AND more importantly learnt some skills! And now¡­.well a hot meal would be a good start, some form of treatment against this cold. ¡°Morning¡± ¡°Monster¡±I really need some positive global reputation. Walking through the morning streets of the city I get a lovely reception from all the humans and beastpeople who decide some early morning verbal abuse is a great way to start their day. Heading into the Adventurer¡¯s guild¡­I swear all these Npc¡¯s do is drink. I haven¡¯t seen a single one on an adventure anywhere. Anywho. ¡°Wendy I implore you, may you please tell me where I can get some hot food and drink that isn¡¯t rations?¡± No offense to the Adventurer¡¯s guild or anything but you guys do not know how to cook food. The cute fox-beastlady from behind the counter stops chatting with Rushanne and gives me that well-practiced friendly smile of hers. ¡°Sure, there¡¯s 4 inns in town: The Ramshackled Rogue, The Dirty Duck, The Gallant Goose and Artisans Ales, all of which are located in the Artisan District. If you¡¯re looking for a good price the Ramshackled Rogue is where you want to be but for quality Artisans Ales is recommended. The Dirty Duck and Gallant Goose are the most popular however Dirty Duck has gotten some rather impeccable service so I hear.¡± Well I¡¯ve got literal pockets full of gold so there¡¯s nothing wrong with splashing a little bit of cash¡­plus gold in The Ramshackled Rogue doesn¡¯t seem like a good idea. But something else is on my mind too. ¡°Thank you Wendy¡± Right off to the Dirty Duck then¡­since impeccable service is always a good thing. Heading through the packed streets, noticing one sad empty stall where that poor fur trader was, I enter the Artisan District for the second, maybe third time now. Ah, everything looks new and well kept. There¡¯s even a visible structure to the place too: One mahoosive circular plaza with an unbroken chain of buildings surrounding it. In the centre are 3 buildings back to back in a triangle. This place is the best; big, wide, easy to see everything and no getting lost in the maze of houses. As I walk around the circle to find my chosen inn, I take a mental note of all the buildings there; either they¡¯re a craftsman guild of some sort or the respective workshop. There¡¯s even a small Pharmacists guild along with a pharmacist. Different from an apocathery apparently but I will find out why later. Ooh, I¡¯m excited. Aha an inn! And it¡¯s the Dirty Duck too! Right next to an apocathery if I do something stupid like over-inebriate myself¡­which wouldn¡¯t be too hard to get to with the amount of money I have. Waltzing inside oh hello Nerisp. ¡°Joat, welcome to the Dirty Duck there¡¯s a free seat by the bar¡± Perfect Apparently the place is chocked full of people and at 9 in the morning too. Jeesh don¡¯t these town people have anything to do? Well I guess since they¡¯re having breakfast that¡¯s alright. Sitting down on the wooden stool, I eye up the bartender: A green and brown duck beast-man cleaning a wooden tankard with a rag. ¡°Quackllo there sir, what would you like to drink, quack¡± He¡¯s really high pitched, like a duck! ¡°One of every ale you have, I¡¯m in the mood of experimenting¡± ¡°Quackrighty¡± He pours me a tankard of ale from the leftmost barrel that sits on the back wall. Passing me my drink, I swivel round to have a better look at the place. Eugh bitter. It¡¯s like most game inns would look like: dark wood walls with many round tables littering the place, some chairs alone by the fireplace. There even are wenches serving the customers¡­but a majority of them are the fish-sisters. Scaled women in medieval maid outfits do look pretty good mind you and are only second to the busty red-haired barmaid who skirts around with some beautiful physics. She even leans over for the customers who are extra kind to her, hmm I guess this society isn¡¯t as anti-use-your-feminine-charm as ours. But then again this is technically the medieval era, gosh I can¡¯t wait to find out how things like marriage works here. Anywho, the service seems extremely good and the fact that this place is packed to the brim truly shows that. Eugh right, black ale isn¡¯t nice at all¡­down the hatch it goes. ¡°Bartender is there any chance the cook is still doing breakfast oh and refill with another ale please¡± ¡°Quackaway¡± Hmm by the looks of it, slightly less bitter but still quite strong drowning out any sort of other taste there could be. But from the looks of the people in the inn, these must all be members of the artisan guilds and shops in this district. I smell opportunity, also the bartender¡¯s being decently nice to me considering. ¡­Reputation -3 with him, so there¡¯s definitely some unseen factors. Actually let¡¯s identify everyone! Ugh I¡¯m going to have to get a better ale with my food that¡¯s for sure. ¡­ 8 Tables filled with 6 people each, 4 seats by the fire and 8 seats by the bar. Tables were occupied with the Blacksmith¡¯s guild, Pharmacist¡¯s guild, Leatherworkers guild and Tailor¡¯s guild. The Blacksmith¡¯s and Leatherworkers each took up 3 tables respectively, with a few members being familiarish faces. I actually found out what guild they¡¯re from due to the little badge they all wear on their clothes.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Apparently seeing and recognizing that added the titles section to the information when identifying with the respective title mentioning their guild. Sitting around the fire are some old times from the agricultural guild. That¡¯s a thing somehow. Well fair enough I guess there¡¯s no harm with a farming guild, only more skills to learn! The bar however, is the most interesting place since it is where all the odd lonely people are: Me, Some pompous golden-haired man from the musician¡¯s guild who took the seat over on the far left, booting a rather unhappy fellow away. Also are one adventurer heavily cloaked and sipping milk, a quiet but well dressed fellow sipping his milk and reading a book of which I cannot read the name since it¡¯s in a different language¡­ooh. The people on the right side of me are a tiny gnome female with bright pink hair and a worn dress drinking milk, dwarfed by a large muscle-ripped orc who also drinks milk. Seriously what¡¯s with all these milk drinkers? And another Monster, cool! Past them is a strong jawed human with slicked back black hair and what almost passes for a tailored suit. He is sat next to a SirStripy, the conversation seemly neverending. At least those two are drinking like me. None of them (except the one pompous bard and SirStripy) have any solid info on them, except their base damage and armour but even that isn¡¯t very realistic I¡¯m guessing. I can¡¯t even see anything but ??? on the hooded fellow, so of course they¡¯re all mildly interesting. But before that, breakfast and served by a lovely Neriser(?). Mmm that smells good. Sausages with bacon, potatoes, tomatoes and even eggs. Huh was having a slight worry there¡¯d be something against using eggs. Also this looks like an English breakfast¡­ ¡°Excuse me bartender¡± Waiting until he refills the people¡¯s milk glasses ¡°Could I inquire as to who the new cook is? Also a refill from another barrel please¡± ¡°The cook is the same as always but the breakfast is new, brought over by my lovely new wenches over there¡± He plops a newly filled tankard with oak brown liquid inside, going back to work. As always the mystery meats are surprisingly delicious, slightly worried as to what it could be but if it tastes good don¡¯t complain. Plus I think my cannibalism would go off if it was hobgoblin, and there¡¯s no way it¡¯d actually be human so I¡¯m pretty safe as far as I¡¯m concerned. Enjoying breakfast fully, let¡¯s get to conversation. ¡°So Little miss, what brings you out to Shoala?¡± First off is the little gnome since she might be a little bit more talkative than mr hooded over left-side. ¡°Mistress to you and none of your business¡± She shoos me away, well that didn¡¯t work as expected ¡°Forgive me I was simply making lonely conversation as a Monster and all¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± She looks at the orc ¡°Well I may have been a bit hasty in my speech, I am not a morning person afterall¡± A whole 180 after playing the Monster card, so they two of them are acquaitances at least. ¡°Your problem is your choice of beverage, nothing wakes you up like the bitter kick of some ale, or for ones with better taste buds a fruity tingling glass of wine¡± ¡°I drink milk because the water here is gross and alcohol does not sit well with the brain¡± She acts quite high and mighty for something so small ¡°That¡¯s the point, it¡¯s supposed to loosen your inhibitions and make you act instead of just sit and think, we call it Dutch Courage¡± ¡°Kartihanan? What do you mean by that?¡± Whoops forgot some things don¡¯t translate. ¡°Alcohol is in a way courage, inspiration, the pushing force someone needs to get something done is what I¡¯m trying to say¡± ¡°You can do it yourself if you try¡± Oh how truly na?ve ¡°Look around the room and find yourself someone who you¡¯d want to share the night with, or confess your desires to¡± I quickly right myself as I spot her blushing like a tomato. Well guess that ticks off one thing about her. ¡°But what purpose does this have?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to have a purpose, have you found someone?¡± ¡°I guess¡± ¡°Good, now tell me, would you right now go up to them?¡± ¡°No, why would I do that, that¡¯d be stupid¡± Tone down the blushing please, you¡¯re literally redder than the remaining tomato on my plate *Gulpgulpgulp* ¡°ahhhh, Wwell you like the person don¡¯t you? And you don¡¯t have the courage enough to go tell them? That is what this is for¡± I tap my tankard. She isn¡¯t wrong in thinking you can just do it, but in reality most people can¡¯t due to irrational fears of rejection. Also alcohol gives you an excuse if they do say no. Being drunk really is a widely used excuse for a lot of things, not completely wrong but it should be taken with a pinch of salt. ¡°I see¡­but as I said before it would be stupid to do it¡± ¡°Ah that is where you¡¯re wrong, the most stupid thing a person can do is nothing, and speaking of nothing, I plan to finish this breakfast before it gets cold so, to learning new things¡± I raise my tankard and finish it off. At least the bitterness is numbing now ¡°Refill please bartender¡± ¡°¡­And for me too please, the same barrel¡± Oho, seems like she¡¯s got intentions. *ding*
Congratulations! Through constantly influencing over 100 others to do things different from their usual manners or views you have gained a title.
TITLE: Influencer
You are highly influencing in other people¡¯s decisions and may even change their overall views on the way things are This title gives some in-game bonuses.
For gaining this title your communication and Eloquency stats will increase by 5 each. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active. +10% to Eloquency and Communcation stats When influencing someone¡¯s decision
Xp increases by 25%
Nice another title! Also I guess leading gives you a ton more benefits than people first see. I might have to be constantly leading to get all these delicious titles, skills and stats. The bartended comes back with 4 more tankards of ale. 4? Well, one for me, one for the gnome, one for the orc I guess¡­who else? The cloaked figure next to me? Really? Well join in the drinking and hopefully becoming an extrovert and actually talk to us, that¡¯d be interesting. Hmm suddenly it¡¯s a little bit sweeter, and the colour is more of a coppery maroon, mmm I quite like this one. Before I notice it, the inn empties out, leaving me and the bar people remaining. *Strum* ¡°Ahem, ahem. From the blood of Cortusha and the fires of Karan, the devil of Sanshan was born from a lamb¡± And so begins the barding of one pompous man. His voice is actually really nice though and the lute playing is pretty good. If only he wasn¡¯t a complete ass of a person. *gulp* Ahh, until I get my alcoholic title this is what I¡¯m going to be spending my day doing, learning how to become a bard through observation¡­which is going to be hard since my eyesight fares even worse when tipsy. ¡­ ¡°I¡¯m a cartographer¡± Huh, who what oh, the little gnome miss¡­who is flushing pink, not from embarassement though. Wait she¡¯s drunk off of one tankard? Jeez even for the tiny being that¡¯s under-impressive¡­but at least I get conversation out of her, and useful useful knowledge. ¡°So you came to Shoala for what exactly? I mean I came here to join the adventurer¡¯s guild¡± ¡°Pah adventurers, smashing up everything within sight the buggers and killing all the beautiful monsters in the world. No I¡¯m here to create a map, a map of the world INCLUDING the unexplored zones¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of work and a lot of travelling¡± ¡°Oh tell me about it, day in and day out walking around drawing maps, getting lost, starving and sleeping on the cold hard ground. I just want a comfy feathered pillow with a puffed cover filled with Eljchmarz feathers¡± ¡°Eljchmarz?¡± ¡°Commoners, I forget you know nothing. Eljchmaaarz are¡± She takes a gulp from her newly refilled tankard. I think she¡¯s going to be on the floor soon at this rate. ¡°Massive, like maaassive birds which are pets for us, much more healthy than dogs or cats or whatever else commoners try to pass as a household pet. Plus they have healing powers. They¡¯re soo cool¡± Actually yes, I want one of these things, they sound pretty comfy if nothing else. ¡°And so on his mother¡¯s grave did he diiieeEEEE¡± Oh he¡¯s finished with round 1. *snap* ¡°Bartender if I am going to listen to that depressive drollop do you have something a lot stronger than milk?¡± The young, clean shaven human with mid-length brown hair, mostly covered by a travelling cap, had snapped his book shut and was grinning jokingly towards the bartender, his intentions obvious. I like this guy already ¡°I have ale, wine, spirits¡± ¡°Tell me where is the wine from?¡± ¡°human make of course, but if you¡¯re willing to spend, I do have some old Treeroot elvish make in the back¡± The grin grows wider ¡°I¡¯ll have a bottle of some Treeroot since wine is to be delighted not just drunk. And seven glasses please¡± 7? Guess he¡¯s sharing then, I think he¡¯s got a friend in me. ¡°Everyone, how about we transfer to the table, so we can at least try to drown out the wailing of that man with some conversation¡± hehehe. Transferring over to a nearby table, the boisterous young fellow sits to my right and the cloaked figure to my left. Next to him is the already drunk Gnome and her Orc friend. Seems like SirStripy and his new friend are too busy chatting to actually come over yet. Well more wine for us. Nerisp comes over, working on her hip swaying I see. Well for such a lithe figure it¡¯s quite difficult to pull off and she isn¡¯t yet. Placing the dusty bottle and multiple wine glasses down, she expertly pours it with one hand, even twisting the bottle at the end. Ah the sign of someone who knows how to pour properly. ¡°Well then my fellow people, before I introduce myself I should introduce this fine wine. Treeroot, made as the name suggests from the root of a certain tree within the Elvish forests, the taste is for you to experience¡± He raises a glass and begins sipping it. Mmm god this is actually good wine. Jeez yum it¡¯s like fruity truly fruity, almost like strawberry juice but with a slight zing to it. Might get myself a bottle for the journey, or two, or three, I mean it¡¯s probably going to be a while until I find a good wine, plus it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve actually enjoyed alcohol beyond bearable. The collective sound of statisfaction echoes around the table. ¡°Mmm why you were drinking ale before Mister hobgoblin I don¡¯t know¡± The drunk gnome points at me accusingly. ¡°Because wine gives bad headaches when drunk passionately and the name is Joat¡± ¡°Really?¡± Wow it¡¯s like she¡¯s never drunk before¡­probably likely. ¡°Really?¡± She turns to the Orc who just shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Yes little mistress wine is to be consumed lightly for the flavor¡± Wine-loving man really does like his wine ¡°I am Corry by the way, explorer of this land and a poet in the making¡± ¡°Hey I¡¯m the explorer¡± The gnome chick wags her finger once more ¡°We can both be explorers miss¡­.?¡± ¡°Lagbolt, Trish lagbolt¡± ¡°Well Trish here¡¯s to exploration¡± He raises his glass and watches her gulp hers away¡­which is the equivalent of us sipping. Hey Corry¡¯s enjoying this, I can see by his smile. ¡°Blood over the ill, spilling like the rain¡± ¡°And who may your companion be?¡± He verbally jumps onto the Orc. Corry¡¯s quite a talkative one, I might actually sit back and just enjoy this. ¡°Kruush. Good wine¡± He tips the rest into Trish¡¯s emptying glass. Hmm guessing he¡¯s like a bodyguard or something, staying relatively sober. ¡°Perfect but please have some more since Trish will not be going anywhere anytime soon might as well enjoy the taste¡± He pours some more wine for Kruush. Oh that¡¯s a second bottle, where¡¯d that come from? Oh there¡¯s Nerisp, Aiag didn¡¯t even notice her, awesome. And she¡¯s refilled my tankard with a straw-like ale too. ¡°Nightbird¡± Oh my he speaks! And what¡¯s with the name ¡°That is a fantastic name sir, and what brings you to Shoala¡± ¡°I¡­just sort of came here¡± Wow, genuinely that¡¯s my answers too¡­ ¡°And you two, come over!¡± He signals for the two budding friends to come join, which they do, probably since he¡¯s offering good wine. ¡°SirStripy good sir, a pleasure to make acquaintance with one of such good taste¡± ¡°Likewise, er Corry was it?¡± The tailored man staggers over, holding a large dark brown tome. ¡°Ahem, hello my name is Derek and I will be your defender of your rights, your life and of course your money. Under the light of Pholtus I shall take your case no matter how severe or lost it seems and I shall bring you light and freedom¡­ at a price of course. Thief! Rogue! Cheat some call me but those are harsh words, I am a Lawyer; I shall pursue justice in the courts of the divine and the wicked and shall have you walk free¡­this I guarantee as long as the price befits my liking. Worry not if you have killed or kissed where it is forbidden for under me, the Dashing Derek, you shall be unchained and walked into freedom¡­with a lighter purse for of course a grave sin must be graced with a heavy purse. Do not hesitate to plea for me for Pholtus will hear and Cast his lawful protection upon you.¡± ¡­ .. . He¡¯s even got little business cards with a mailbox address whatever that is. I mean since this is a magical world I expect to meet some strange people¡­but a lawyer? I am confused out of high hell. ¡°Pholtus? You¡¯re raving mad Sir, who in the name are you talking about? I demand your head for such proclivities¡± Gnome is on her feet wagging her finger drunkenly at him ¡°Hey Joat¡± SirStripy distracts me of the midget situation that is somehow being defused by Kruush and Derek. ¡°SirStripy¡± Damn saying his name without slurring isn¡¯t easy. ¡°Ah so you are infamous Joat. Here have three, you¡¯ll need them with all the stories I have heard¡± Great, thanks, beautiful first impression Derek. If I ever get falsely accused of rape again or do something like burn a village down in order to save it I¡¯ll give you and Pholtus whoever that is a call. ¡°Joat I feel like there¡¯s many a story you need to regale us with¡± Corry¡¯s eyes glint. ¡°Well I would, but the way I tell them is rather dull and unpoetic, could you show me the ropes?¡± I mean any chance to learn a new skill! ¡°Gladly sir, but first, we must get rid of this nusciance. Wench, a shot of a tasty spirit, 2 for each member, though none for the little miss¡± Who is currently drowning herself in wine, and Kruush is wiping the small amounts of spillage. More like a manservant then? ¡°Nerisp, another refill too please and make it three for Nightbird¡± 58. One Drink They Say... (Nerisp¡¯s POV) WHO¡¯S THE CUNT WITH PISS COLOURED HAIR WE ALL SEE? THAT TWAT OVER THERE REPUGNANT AND UGLY AND POMPOUS IS HE! THAT TWAT OVER THERE IF WAILILING AND GRUNTING IS WHAT YOU WISH THAT TWAT OVER THERE THEN THROW COPPERS AND GET READY TO BE DEAF THAT TWAT OVER THERE And my day has suddenly got way more interesting, Also so much swearing, drunk Joat stop teaching people bad words! Well when Joat walked in this morning, I thought something strange was going to happen¡­and this is definitely along the lines. ¡°YOU KNOW WHAT YOU INSOLENT COMMONERS, I SHALL TAKE MY BUSINESS ELSEWHERE¡± *CLAPCLAPCLAPBANG* ¡°Querz please do something about this!¡± The head barmaid Tilda berates her husband quietly behind the bar as I pour some more ale. Although he¡¯s the bartender she definitely runs the place. ¡°But they¡¯re paying customers¡± And well paying ones too and he probably enjoyed that song¡­since the bard wasn¡¯t exactly the friendliest¡­or too friendly, depends on who you ask. ¡°And he¡¯s what brings our other customers in¡± She has also got a good point and like any good barmaid, I¡¯m staying out of this. ¡°Well madam if I may be so rude as to interrupt, I am a bard myself and I do offer my services as entertainment¡± The young, loud man who equally led the terrorizing with Joat stumbles up. ¡°Right¡± She doesn¡¯t buy it ¡°WELL THEN LISTEN HARD MY LADY FOR I HAVE A STORY TO TELL¡± He runs to the stage jumping up and almost tripping. Oh no, here comes Trouble, And make it double, It¡¯s the man with a big mace, The follower of Fharlaghn Jace. He could¡¯ve picked any god, One simple like Tiamat or Todd, But instead he looked around, Until the strangest name he had found. Fharlaghn, that¡¯s hell of a name, Not many people know his fame; He¡¯s the god of distance, roads and travel, Well I guess his followers must have a fetish for gravel. He¡¯s a priest, a healer but not of our souls, But the cart¡¯s wheels and our soles. He¡¯s a driver, the best around, I guess no actual priests were to be found. ¡­ .. . Wow that was actually pretty decent, even if a little slurred. ¡°Look my dear he¡¯s a paying customer and a bard, he doesn¡¯t even ask for payment¡± Quarz is pushing something against his wife? That¡¯s unusual from what I¡¯ve seen. ¡°Payment in food for me and my fellow companions¡± He¡¯s got some really good hearing for a human. ¡°Well only a little payment, much less than that other one, plus his stories are much more lighthearted¡± *Sigh* ¡°Fine, but if this goes wrong it¡¯s all on you¡± She shakes her head at her husband as she goes back to cleaning the tables. I mean Joat¡¯s here¡­something is bound to go wrong right? ¡­ So far so good somehow. We¡¯ve hit lunchtime and as Corry, since he finally gave his name, speaks poems to the incoming crowds, the rest are chatting avidly to eachother¡­even the cloaked man called Nightbird is actually talking, about his horse apparently. The poor tiny gnome is passed out on the Orc¡¯s lap though, poor thing had way too much to drink already and it¡¯s only midday! Serving them lunch, Joat gives me many thanks before delving into the roast pork and potatoes, laughing at some story Derek is telling him. They finish superbly quickly, washing away the food with ale of course and as Corry finishes his tale about a bar-fight with his three fictional characters, Joat stands up and waltzes over to the stage. I spoke too soon ¡°Alright everyone, I¡¯m going to need your help, with me now¡± *Stomp stomp clap* No he can¡¯t be. ¡°Come on with me on 3, one two¡± *STOMP STOMP CLAP¡± ¡°Buddy you''re a boy make a big noise Playing in the street gonna be a big man some day You got mud on your face You big disgrace Kicking your can all over the place Singing-¡± ¡°WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU¡± Well the Zebra-beastman that¡¯s part of DillyDally¡¯s lot certainly knows it along with Joat¡­the rest of the people there are just stomping and clapping to that unforgettable tune. Damn my parents used to go mad everytime someone began that beat, one of the songs that never gets old even across many generations now. I¡¯ll join in next round. ¡°Come on sing it¡± ¡°WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU¡± Yes lots of people are singing along! Singalongs are awesome! ¡°ALRIGHT¡± *CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP* You know what I¡¯ll take back my thoughts on Joat ruining everything. ¡­ And so it¡¯s devolved into an open mic now since SirStripy (he said his name) came on with a few poems and now Joat¡¯s back on again after a bit more Corry ¡°Once upon a time there was a famous red and white knight on a black and white horse who desired the hand of a fair princess. So he rode to the castle to seek the permission of the king. ¡°Who goes there?¡± demanded the castle gatekeeper. ¡°It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± replied the knight ¡°I wish to see the king¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse?¡± replied the gatekeeper. ¡°Yes THE red and white knight on the black and white horse?¡± ¡°Very well, you¡¯d better come through¡± The knight entered the royal chamber. ¡°Who is it?¡± boomed the King ¡°It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse. I have come to ask for the hand of your daughter in marriage.¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse?¡± said the king ¡°Yes, THE red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Well¡± Said the king. ¡°First you must obtain a golden ring, from the golden dragon.¡± ¡°I shall do that¡± replied the knight and he rode off to find the golden dragon. The golden dragon was in its lair. ¡°Who goes there?¡± it called at the sound of approaching hoofs. ¡°It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse. I have come to claim the golden ring, with which I may marry the King¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse?¡± said the golden dragon. ¡°Yes, THE red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± The golden dragon handed him the golden ring and he rode back to the castle. ¡°Who goes there?¡± demanded the gatekeeper. ¡°It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse. ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse? ¡°Yes, THE red and white knight on the black and white horse. I am here to see the king¡± ¡°Very well, come through¡± The knight entered the royal chamber ¡°Who is it?¡± boomed the king ¡°It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse?¡± ¡°Yes, THE red and white knight on the black and white horse. I have obtained the golden ring from the golden dragon. Now may I ask for the hand of your daughter in marriage?¡± ¡°Actually,¡± replied the king, ¡°you must also obtain the emerald ring from the green dragon¡± ¡°I shall do that.¡± said the knight and he rode off in search of the green dragon. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The green dragon was in its lair. ¡°Who goes there?¡± it said, hearing the sound of approaching hooves. ¡°It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse. I have come to claim the emerald ring with which I may marry the king¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse?¡± ¡°Yes, THE red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± The green dragon handed the emerald ring to the knight and he rode back to the castle. ¡°Who goes there?¡± demanded the gatekeeper ¡°it is the red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse?¡± ¡°Yes. THE red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Very well, come through¡± The knight entered the royal chamber ¡°WHo is it¡± boomed the king ¡°it is the red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Yes, THE red and white knight on the black and white horse. I have obtained the emerald ring from the green dragon and now I have come to ask for the hand of your daugher in marriage.¡± ¡°One last thing,¡± replied the king, ¡°You must also obtain the ruby ring from the red dragon¡± ¡°I shall do that¡±, said the knight and he rode off in search of the red dragon The red dragon was in its lair. ¡°Who goes there?¡± called the dragon, hearing the sound of appoaching hoofs ¡°It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse?¡± ¡°Yes, THE red and white knight on the black and white horse, I have come to claim the ruby ring so that I might marry the kings daughter.¡± The red dragon handed the knight the ruby ring and the knight rode off to the castle. ¡°Who goes there?¡± demanded the gatekeeper ¡°It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Yes, THE red and white knight on the black and white horse. I am here to see the king¡± ¡°Very well, come through¡± The knight entered the royal chamber ¡°Who is it¡± boomed the king ¡°It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Yes THE red and white knight on the black and white horse. I have obtained the ruby ring from the red dragon and now I wish to ask for the hand of your daughter in marriage.¡± ¡°You may enter her chambers¡± Said the king as he escorted him to her chambers ¡°Who are you?¡± Demanded the princess as he walked through her door It is the red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Not THE red and white knight on the black and white horse¡± ¡°Yes, THE red and white knight on the black and white horse. I am here to seek your hand in marriage. Will you marry me?¡± ¡°No¡±¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°AHAHAHAAA¡± Only Nightbird laughs¡­at first¡­awkward. Right SirStripy is back on stage and let¡¯s see how the rest of these drunkards who have been drinking ale and Treeroot wine for close to 6 hours now are faring: The little Gnome who passed out on the Orc¡¯s lap at around lunch-time¡­Is now up and being overtly drunkenly flirty with him, while slurring and failing to make proper sentences. Derek the er lawyer is busy drinking ale hard with what looks like a homeless man who came in about an hour ago but he¡¯s a friend of Joat due to their hello¡¯s so he can¡¯t be all that bad¡­right? Eight drinks and still going. Joat and his new loud friend, Corry are busy dancing on a table spouting something which sounds very familiar, as if I¡¯ve heard it before. Something about green dragon, gosh where¡¯d I hear that before? I mean they¡¯re bringing business in and generally making everyone clap and sing along when they can but the mess they make, jesus, my cleaning rag is already soaked with the spilt alcohol from them and the other patrons. That¡¯s all of the- wait no where¡¯s Nightbird stumbled off to now, where is he? ¡°Filly is the most beautiful girl in the world, she can run like the wind and her mane is just so soft¡± There he is, annoying more customers about his horse, slurring his words like the rest of them¡­though he can somehow handle his drink pretty well¡­nevermind he just passed out. Nope he¡¯s just had a momentarily lapse in motor function it seems. Well his horse anway, squat thing, is in the stable area and actually it is a decent looking horse; well groomed and well fed at least. *Clapclapclapclap* Ah SirStripy¡¯s finished and more drinks need to go around. ¡­ Dinnertime and the partying of these six people doesn¡¯t seem to be slowing down much. The Gnome is actually on stage now, doing magic. Yes real magic like spouting water from her hands in little swirls and making mini fireworks explode above us. After seeing this I really want to learn magic, badly. I mean how easy would it be to wash with magic rather than good old elbow grease? The place is bustling mad with activity; about half the people are standing up, chatting, drinking, staring wide eyed at the gnome who performs neat little magic tricks. Oh and she¡¯s naked which you know nobody¡¯s stopping because it¡¯s good for business and unlike how it would be back home, nakedness isn¡¯t a big issue, especially in taverns and it¡¯s a cute gnome. Sexist bastards but then again I spot a duo in their underwear Anyways, I would¡¯ve thought the Orc would¡¯ve stopped her but he¡¯s too busy back facing her and playing what looks like beer pong with copper coins, teamed with SirStripy and against the aforementioned Corry and Joat tagteam of 0 aiming skills. Seriously they¡¯ve somehow landed a copper coin in Tilda¡¯s cleavage halfway across the room but that wasn¡¯t anywhere near the playing table. More mess to clean up but at least it¡¯s a mess of money The hobo-ish guy, now wearing a large portion of Joat¡¯s clothes (apparently when they lose at beer pong their clothing goes to the hobo-friend), is busy smoking pipe with Derek who all gulp down Treeroot while chatting about nature. Nightbird is nowhere to be seen¡­ ¡°MORE DANGER¡± Joat shouts as he somehow backhandly chucks his copper coin into the fireplace. ¡°YOU DO SOMETHING!¡± she sticks her tongue out at him as she finishes her mildly mesmerizing water show. ¡°GO ON THEN¡± He jumps up leaving Corry to his doom at beer pong, while the Orc, finally noticing the Gnome¡¯s nakedness jumps to get her clothed, stumbling along the way. ¡°I NEED SOME HATS. YOU SIR, I NEED YOUR HAT¡± Suddenly about half a dozen hats get thrown onto stage ¡°AND SOME MUSIC, ANYBODY PLAY SOME MUSIC?¡± Luckily it seems someone, Tilda, employed a few members of the music guild a short while ago, since music really livens up a place. ¡°PERFECT¡± He picks up a poor man¡¯s hat, sort of like a beret but flatter I guess, and begins rolling it across his body. How he can do that drunk, nevermind he just dropped it. ¡°IT¡¯S BEEN A LONG TIME¡± He picks it back up and this time successfully rolls it from one arm to the other. Much applause Now he picks up three hats, wearing one, throwing one upside down and flat to his left hand, grabbing the hat on his head with his right before replacing it with the one in his left. Oh that¡¯s actually quite impressive. Suddenly switching it up he places one hat infront of the one on his head and another behind, moving the hats forwards and replacing the backmost with the frontmost. Joat knows some rather interesting things and the crowd certainly likes it with all the ooh¡¯s and aahs. And now he¡¯s juggling 3, no 4, replacing the worn hat every few throws. Joat¡¯s a circus freak!? I mean never would¡¯ve guessed that but with his personality it¡¯s not that impossible to believe. Though he is dropping the hats really often, since he cannot catch very well ¡°4TH TIME NAKED¡± Someone shouts. Oh it¡¯s Corry¡­ ¡°WELL I CHALLENGE YOU TO DO BETTER SIR¡± Oh no not this ¡°GO ON THEN¡± Corry jumps onto stage also only in his underwear. Can I say both have extremely nice bodies, whoof. Ok back to work And both somehow know hat tricks as both are shuffling 3 hats around, nope 5 hats around their body as the musicians blast away intensifying the situation. And Joat¡¯s doing 6 hats now? How in the earth is he doing that? Well I have no idea but it was something rather magical watching the two men battle with hat tricks in their underwear¡­ And it¡¯s over all too quickly, a shame. ¡­ 8pm, a little after dinner and hell breaks loose as one squat horse barges in, Nightbird just infront raring drunk ¡°I CHALLENGE ANY PERSON HERE TO OUTDRINK FILLY¡± ¡°CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!¡± Multiple people shout out and the drinking begins Erm I would say no animal policy but since there are beastmen¡­ ¡°Get that beast-¡± Tilda storms up to Nightbird who innocently drinks his ale while Filly, the horse picks up a tankard sloshing it down all in one, dropping the empty tankard and neighing happily, much to the applause of everyone there ¡°Another tankard¡± I guess Tilda¡¯s given up by now. ¡­ About 10pm now, the place is packed to the brim with people who simply just don¡¯t want to leave especially as Joat, who is surprisingly funny, is doing a comedy routine¡­still in his underwear. Well if I hadn¡¯t seen the er sexual side of him before I would definitely see it now in the with the amount of innuendos waterfalling out of him. It¡¯s actually impressive he¡¯s kept this up for an hour now. The hobo-looking guy, Corry and Derek are all now having a heated debate about which of their books is better, all 3 holding out their respective book lovingly around the table, while drinking more ale, 17 tankards and still puffing their pipes, all of them partaking. Nightbird and the gnome are shouting at eachother from across the table, something about the miscaring of animals, both fully clothed, all while SirStripy and the Orc are having a arm wrestling competition, while drinking with the other hand, bet upon a lot of others. Oh and Filly the Horse is on the 12 tankard, with 4 out of her 8 competitors down and out. That horse can drink! I see Honey is here helping with the bets, for both competitions. Though I don¡¯t see many familiar faces here since I guess most people are busy doing whatever to come over and watch this lot play about drunkenly. Seriously did none of you got anything better to do today? ¡­ Midnight finally hits and while it¡¯s supposed to be closing time¡­that isn¡¯t happening tonight. You¡¯d think after over 12 hours of making jokes, reciting poems and doing odd performances they¡¯d be out of things to do. Nope¡­Joat¡¯s always got something to say and it comes in the form of a hauntingly entertaining song Oh sir Jasper do not touch ME, Oh sir Jasper do not touch ME, Oh sir Jasper do not touch ME, Said she in the tent with nothing on at all. Oh sir Jasper do not touch, Oh sir Jasper do not touch, Oh sir Jasper do not touch, Said she in the tent with nothing on at all. Oh sir Jasper do not, Oh sir Jasper do not, Oh sir Jasper do not, Said she in the tent with nothing on at all. Oh sir Jasper do, Oh sir Jasper do, Oh sir Jasper do, Said she in the tent with nothing on at all. Oh sir Jasper, Oh sir Jasper, Oh sir Jasper, Said she in the tent with nothing on at all. Oh sir, Oh sir, Oh sir, Said she in the tent with nothing on at all. Oh, Oh! OH!!! ¡­ .. . That sound is going to remain with me for a scarringly long time..the sound of almost 100 people, mostly men making that noise¡­ Since we have passed curfew everyone remaining legally has to stay but quite a few do waltz out drunkenly. It¡¯s fine, they¡¯ll just be arrested for the night and it¡¯s better if they go home and get some sleep. Not for these 8 though, well 9 if you include the swaying horse who somehow won, 25 tankards and still conscious: all sitting down at their beginning table, drinking the last of the Treeroot, on a firm 25 ales for those who were drinking it and pipes being passed around¡­this lot are determined to stay and make more mess. *Sniff* That¡¯s an interesting smell, like airy but hot. And guys seriously, letting the horse puff some smoke too? I have seen many a thing here tonight. Everyone is chatting (neighing) nonsensically laughing at something, possibly nothing and having an extremely merry time¡­but seriously I need to log out, go home. ¡°A toast, to good day¡± Corry and Joat suddenly jump up onto the table shouting cheers to everyone ¡°A GOOD DAY¡± everyone replies back ¡°A days past?¡± the gnome giggles incredulously while the Orc who¡¯s lap she sits on laughs rambunctiously at Nightbird teaching SirStripy horse-speak while Filly looks like she¡¯s listening intently. ¡°We¡¯ve got to go Kruush!¡± She stumbles up, falling face first onto the floor. ¡°Little Trish you can¡¯t be leaving so soon!¡± ¡°Though it seems the time for loudness here has passed. We should be leaving¡± The multilayered up hobo speaks up and I do agree with him. As they generally accept that fact, the 9 of them stumble and sway out together, helping eachother to stand as they laugh their way out, quickly followed out by the many other customers since them leaving means the party truly is over. I mean does no one care there¡¯s a curfew? The sounds of whistling outside should teach them. Dumbos. ¡­ ¡°Excuse me Nerisp¡± That¡¯s a familiar voice¡­Zzoid? ¡°What may it be Zzoid?¡± I ask questioningly, hoping that is his name ¡°I am and may you, perchance, have any idea where Joat may have disappeared off to? He¡¯s online but not answering any messages¡± ¡°The last I saw him was stumbling out with a group of others, I heard whistles from the town guard after that¡± ¡°Ah I see well that¡¯s the problem¡­all those who were arrested for being outside of curfew have already been released...¡± ¡­ (Thrash¡¯s POV) ¡°Ah the moon is beautiful tonight¡± ¡°SHUT UP YOU DAMNABLE STRAWHEADED FOOL AND FEED ME¡± ¡°AND ME PLEASE¡± ¡°Are you guys not giving up?¡± ¡°N...NE......NEVEEEEEEEER¡± 59. Calling In The Cleanup Crew (Zzoid¡¯s POV) Well Joat¡¯s gone off and gotten into trouble again¡­and only 2 days before we have our last important meeting (foreseeably). Typical of him. Time to get him out of there I guess. Everyone else who was arrested due to curfew were let out but Joat hasn¡¯t been and he nor SirStripy have been seen, according to DillyDally who ended up messaging me due to Joat not responding to his messages either. *Sigh* Time to gather the squad I guess. ¡­ (Charmine¡¯s POV) ¡°Now pour the crushed juices of the Antaran leaf into the boiled mixture and keep stirring until it goes a light purple¡± Master Quell walks slowly around the small group of training pharmacists, all sweating away from their small cauldrons. Sweat can completely change the composition of a mixture. 5 days of learning how to collect and make different kinds of basic pharmaceutical potions was slightly more boring than I¡¯d imagine but as boring as it should be. The potion making isn¡¯t hard per say since it¡¯s like chemistry, there¡¯s just a lot of little steps and each potion takes some time to create, having to wait for things to boil and cool and evaporate takes a large portion of time. So of course we were given books on plants to study and learn, since collecting your own ingredients is far cheaper than just buying them. That¡¯s been pretty useful to learn. *Ding* Oh Zzoid¡¯s sent a message to the new Jinxed squad group chat that we made a few days ago. Joat¡¯s gotten into trouble, he needs saving, come to the adventurer¡¯s guild within the hour please Why am I not surprised. ¡°Master Quell, may I take the day off once I have completed this potion, there is something important I must do¡± Oops need to stir the mixture ¡°Disease and death never stops! But yes you may my little darling¡± ¡°Oh and me too please¡± Zzand raises his hand next to me, what a cute little kid he is. ¡°Fine you too¡± He rolls his eyes waving him away. Joat why do you always get into trouble? ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°And you¡¯re dead again¡± Rassin¡¯s knife nicks me in the back of the next as punishment. ¡°You leave your back too open, for people like me that¡¯s a free pass to killing you¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t see you how can I block you?¡± ¡°Learn, Watch, experiment. All people you fight will have a pattern, and each type of person will have a pattern. Guards will usually favour defending their right side, while a merchant will always have his back protected by another. Learn how your enemy fights and then you know how they don¡¯t¡± Getting off of me, she walks over to the rickety rocking chair by the unlit fireplace. ¡°Again¡± *Snore* Rolling to a stand, I pick up all my knives along the way. I can¡¯t believe I have 16 knives and I have to learn how to fight with them all and how to use them together as well. So much to learn!!! Right, she¡¯s sitting on the chair, facing away from me. That means I can attack from any angle and have that split second before she knows¡­ Let¡¯s try from above. Stealthily jumping onto the pile of books and then onto the top of the bookcase, I can reach the rafters if I jump, but I need to stay quiet. *Ding* What is it now? Oh it¡¯s from Zzoid Joat¡¯s gotten into trouble, he needs saving, come to the adventurer¡¯s guild within the hour Within the hour, gives me more than enough time to get a hit on Rassin. *Creak* Ah sh- *Thunkthunkthunk* ¡°Don¡¯t make any noise. Again¡± ¡­ (Miss Nameless¡¯ POV) ¡°Bolt¡± A the green and silver bolt flies out into the air. ¡°Warlocks are so cheaty¡± Lenny whines a lot for an old man who is super powerful. ¡°Ignis lord of fire blast mine enemies with fire made air FIREBALL¡± His fireball is HUGE. ¡°Waah¡± I¡¯ve seen it so many times but it¡¯s still really cool. ¡°It is cool but it takes forever to cast, no one has that much time in a real combat and also keeping the intonation correctly¡­warlocks are so cheaty¡± Lenny¡¯s been so nice helping me learn how this ¡®Fel¡¯ works. He even showed me how he makes food¡­with magic! Although I can¡¯t do it because apparently my magic is different and uses souls and not mana. I don¡¯t like being a ¡®warlock¡¯ as he calls it. ¡°Aqua queen of water fill the air with water RAIN¡­the annoying bit is having to shout it at the end, hurts my vocal chords¡± Anoobis also whines like the wet jackal he is. ¡°Spells are surprisingly easy to learn though¡± Ravenna stops momentarily from her writing to look at the small rain cloud coming her way ¡°Ventus being of wind let your breath blow the winds to the shores of east GUST¡± a small wind kicks up blowing the cloud away from her, they¡¯re all really good at this. ¡°They are but if you get the intonation wrong, backfire. If you get the wording wrong, backfire. If you get the name of the being your using the power wrong, backfire with possible death-¡± Lenny starts counting off all the reasons why spells backfire. He really drilled us with information as to why it¡¯s hard to cast spells. ¡°I still don¡¯t get the whole borrowing power from those guys, isn¡¯t that more a druid than a wizard?¡± Anoobis asks a lot of questions, but they are really good questions. ¡°Well they kind of stop people willy nilly going insane and destroying everything with power. Also once you¡¯re a recognized wizard and you get a contract with one you will be able to cast certain spells without so much incantation¡± He taps the two rings on his chest, apparently red is for fire and brown for earth. ¡°Sounds like a druid still¡± Ravenna nods from her writing. She¡¯s writing spells as I learnt a few days ago ¡°Oh Anoobis, try this: Ignis lord of fire burn all imperfections within my body Cure!¡± ¡°Ignis lord of fire burn all imperfections within my body CURE¡± Anoobis is on fire ¡°QUENCH¡± Lenny directs a little hose of water towards the burning Anoobis. ¡°Wording was wrong, target then description¡± ¡°Interesting¡± what¡¯s interesting Ravenna? *ding* Joat¡¯s gotten into trouble, he needs saving, come to the adventurer¡¯s guild within the hour ¡°Lenny¡± ¡°What is it my dear warlock?¡± ¡°my friend is in trouble, can I go and help him please?¡± ¡°Of course you can but do you remember the spell I taught you?¡± Open hand passing over face ¡°Disguise¡± ¡°So cheaty¡± All three of them are whining, why? I can¡¯t do cool things like make all that delicious food¡­ ¡°Mistress¡± Krudel suddenly appears in the lawn with the rest of us ¡°Ah I see you¡¯re already prepared¡± ¡°Krudel, I believe you cannot go out in town looking like that¡± Lenny puts a hand on him, quickly making a series of gestures with his hand ¡°Umbra blackness and darkness supreme cover flesh with shadow DARK CLOAK¡± Krudel is now wearing a cloak and he¡¯s human now? Cool! ¡°You know too many cool spells¡± All us say at the same time. It¡¯s true, he knows like every spell there is! ¡°Only four thousand and thirty seven and when you divide them into types, and magical circles I haven¡¯t learnt many at all¡± Lenny is such a cool old man. If I had a grandpa I¡¯d want him to be mine! Ok to help Joat! I¡¯m excited to show him all my new spells!!!! ¡­ (Honey¡¯s POV) ¡°I¡¯ll give you 150 gold for the bags and the tents¡± ¡°Wait a second, the tents are worth 50 each and each of those sleeping bags are Eljchmarz feathered each worth at least 10 gold each¡± ¡°You say the tent is new but I can see grass stains at the bottom from use, so 40 gold for that one at most. Plus 50 gold for a 6 man tent? That¡¯s pretty pricey and we both know that.¡± ¡°Prices go up as demand go up, and you¡¯re not going to find some nice big tents like this anywhere else here¡± ¡°True, but I can get a canvas and ground sheet for so much less and that¡¯d cost me 20 gold to fit 18 people? 35 gold a tent, and 30 for the used one¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll buy 13 of your feathered sleeping bags, if you can guarantee their quality¡± ¡°Here have a feel¡± ¡°Ooh that is some nice feather, Eljmarz you said?¡± ¡°Yep, well used by aristocrats and the more money-wise people like us¡± ¡°Then 200 gold for it all¡± ¡°250¡± ¡°215¡± ¡°235¡± Joat¡¯s gotten into trouble, he needs saving, come to the adventurer¡¯s guild within the hour ¡°220¡± ¡°230¡± ¡°Deal¡± Ah so much money lost, thank lord I¡¯m able to take out a loan with the company¡­though it needs to be repaid before the interest gets too high. Hmm if it takes a month to repay that¡¯d be 253 with the 10% interest not too bad in all fairness. And i got some nice 6 man tents and sleeping bags for a swellingly good price.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. It was supposed to be 350 originally, but after a little ¡®persuasion¡¯ from a few interested buyers in tents that went down. Of course the interest but lack of money made him lower his prices quite substantially. But then again, it¡¯s better to sell at a small profit then don¡¯t sell at all. Having accomplices is very helpful. Now off to help Joat since he has gotten himself in trouble once more. At least I¡¯m the one handling the money. ¡­ (Pinky Juniour¡¯s POV) Joat¡¯s gotten into trouble, he needs saving, come to the adventurer¡¯s guild within the hour ¡°Sister¡± Pinky Seniour kicks our opponent in the groin and then knees him in the face as he bends over, a trail of blood spurting out his nose on the way down. She needs a little more training to be a bit calmer against her opponents. ¡°Yes I know, give me a minute¡± And he should be passed out by now? Yep. Releasing my arm from around the now unconscious teenager¡¯s neck, I stand up and look towards the tall dark hunk of an ex-gladiator ¡°Robert, have we got any more opponents today?¡± Robert just points at the arena filled with a dozen burly teenagers and grownups all groaning or unconscious. ¡°Right, well we¡¯ll be off for today then¡± ¡°Come beat these little whips tomorrow¡± One sentence a day with him as always, I hope he isn¡¯t as short and sweet in other situations, and I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m thinking this but like Joat. ¡­ (Zzard¡¯s POV) ¡°HAMMER, HAMMER, HAMMER, HAMMER, TURN, HAMMER, HAMMER¡± Norn reminds me of Daren with his constant shouting and ordering¡­but he¡¯s not as throwing you into it and good luck-like but rather very controlling over literally everything I¡¯m doing. Joat¡¯s gotten into trouble, he needs saving, come to the adventurer¡¯s guild within the hour Ooh big brother and Teacher need me! But I have to finish this shield¡­in an hour? ¡°WHY AREN¡¯T YOU HAMMERING?¡± OK BOSS I CAN DO THIS IN AN HOUR, I CAN, FOR BIG BROTHER AND TEACHER!!! ¡­ (BoneCracker¡¯s POV) Joat¡¯s gotten into trouble, he needs saving, come to the adventurer¡¯s guild within the hour *Rip* Crocodile teeth acquired. Seems like that blighter needs help ¡­ (Zzoid¡¯s POV) ¡°Hello there Zzoid¡± Ah Honey is first it seems and only 10 minutes in, wearing some nice clothing too, very fit for an up and coming merchant I hear. ¡°Come join me at the table. A glass of milk for my friend please Julie¡± Glad I know the barmaids name, it helps service quite a bit when you¡¯re personal with people. ¡°Am I the first one?¡± ¡°Damn he¡¯s the first one, and we even rushed over here!¡± Ah my beautiful loli-baba jumps through the door with some bloody leather armour. Oh what has she been up to, getting such stuff on her? ¡°Where¡¯s Joat!?¡± Pinky Seniour jumps in right after her must more desirable lookalike, also wearing lookalike armour similarly bloodied. ¡°Come sit and have some milk. We¡¯ll wait for the others to come before we begin¡± ¡°Big Brother!!¡± Little Zzand! Haven¡¯t seen you in 5 days. Giving my little brother a massive hug, ah it¡¯s good to see him in game again. 5 days of being apart doing our own thing is actually rather lonely. ¡°Hello Zzoid¡± ¡°Charmine¡± I hope she hasn¡¯t done anything bad to you as well little brother or I will be having a long talk wih her. She¡¯s as terrifying as ever, looking all innocent and quiet when really I know what she¡¯s actually like. Terrifying woman indeed. *Grunt* That sounds like BoneCracker, and it is, looking as hulkingly massive as ever and wearing beginner clothing, though I can smell swamp on her from here. ¡°BoneCracker¡± Charmine gives her a hug, ¡°Have you got what I need?¡± ¡°Yes¡± She doesn¡¯t really speak much to anyone except Charmine but at least she¡¯s slowly opening up a little bit. Already there¡¯s been a good response with 8 of us here already. ¡°BROTHERRRR¡± Make that 9 ¡°BROTHERRR¡± Running up to him I give him a big old hug with little Zzand squeezing inbetween, family lives off hugs that¡¯s for sure. ¡°Alright you lot stop being so overlydramatic, it¡¯s not like you¡¯re connected or anything¡± Baila walks in past us huffing for some reason ¡°Oh Baila don¡¯t be jealous just because your hugging partner¡¯s currently in big trouble¡± ¡°He¡¯s not my hugging partner, and I would be surprised if he wasn¡¯t in trouble¡± I don¡¯t believe you for a second Baila, also what¡¯s with the grey half-cloak? It¡¯s been about 20 minutes since I sent that message, how did they all take such little time in coming? ¡°Hello is there room for two more?¡± That voice¡­ Swiveling round ¡­ .. . ¡°As much as I would enjoy your presence we¡¯re having an important meeting¡± This woman is beyond gorgeous, gosh if I wasn¡¯t loli-baba¡¯s knight I would be hardpressed not to become hers but that voice is confusing me to high hell... Also I swear I have seen that face somewhere, maybe a model agency or something, so absolutely stunning with that straight cherry hair and sparkling purple eyes. ¡­ .. . ¡°Princess?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± She gives me a mouthwatering shocked look. Wow even though it is Princess, zombie and all somehow or maybe not, she is absolutely enthralling. I won¡¯t be able unsee this ever. ¡°The purple eyes gave it away Princess¡±and the voice too but a cloaked man who I actually only noticed now speaks from just to her right is correct. Krudel as well is different: he¡¯s wrapped in a dark cloak and I cannot actually see his face at all and he¡¯s got fleshy hands too?! ¡°Oh that isn¡¯t good¡± She even pouts like a princess. She is truly a sight. ¡°How¡­¡± Baila speaks for us all there ¡°Oh Lenny¡¯s teaching me some really cool things like this!¡± She smiles brightly with a small giggle¡­I can still hear the slight gurgle but without her looking undead the whole image is completely different. So she¡¯s still undead I can assume since she¡¯s got the same purple eyes? ¡°Mistress remember¡± ¡°Oh yeah!¡± Her face falls deadpan serious ¡°Forget I said anything¡± Secrets about magic? I¡¯ll leave Joat to get the backfire for trying to make her talk. Talking about him. ¡°Right, almost everyone is here¡± I begin ushering them towards the table ¡°only Thrash is to wait for. But in all honesty I can begin talking the problem now¡± ¡°But shouldn¡¯t we wait for Thrash?¡± Princess looks worried. ¡°He catches up quick, plus he might not be so suitable for what¡¯s going to be planned¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t keep us on our seat forever Zzoid, tell us why you¡¯ve bunched us all together here 2 days before we have our meeting¡± Baila is really not in a good mood today, maybe the lack of Joat is doing it. ¡°Well as you all know Joat is in prison¡± whoops not what I meant to say ¡°WHAT?¡± ¡°I meant in trouble¡± ¡°And he¡¯s in prison?¡± Honey re-asks ¡°Yes, and not only him, SirStripy if you remember or even know who that is¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t he supposed to be quite responsible?¡± Honey seems like he knows him ¡°Possibly, but he¡¯s also in trouble so it might not have been Joat¡¯s fault at all. He was also with another 6 people apparently but I have no idea who they were or if they¡¯re here or not. So we don¡¯t have much to go on really¡± ¡°So you brought us here to tell us Joat is in prison but why?¡± Pinky Seniour missing the point ¡°To help us break him out of course little pinky¡± my loli-baba of course hits the nail on the head. ¡°He shouldn¡¯t need help¡± Now wait a second Baila this is Joat we¡¯re talking about ¡°He¡¯s already gotten out before¡± I stand oddly corrected ¡°HUH?¡± Seriously people we¡¯re talking about prison break, hush somewhat. ¡°I did it not him, he just followed¡± Krudel speaks up. Oh that makes more sense. Joat¡¯s great at getting himself into trouble, out of it, well that¡¯s up to debate. ¡°Oh¡± Baila stands corrected too ¡°Well then how do we get in?¡± ¡°Through the front¡± BoneCracker smacks her tankard of milk on the table. ¡°That¡¯s a terrible idea, you can¡¯t just walk into a prison through the front door and not be noticed¡± Honey has a point ¡°But if there aren¡¯t any witnesses¡± He still has a point, morbid but a point. ¡°But it¡¯s bad to hurt people¡± Both Pinky Seniour and Zzand say that. Such sweet kids the both of them. ¡°Yes, but they¡¯re bad people if they¡¯re locking up Teacher¡± Zzard not quite correct ¡°Actually Zzard, chances are Joat did something wrong and kind of deserved it¡± Loli-baba you¡¯re perfectly correct. ¡°Well going back to the front door idea, it¡¯s not that plausible¡± Bringing the conversation back to where it¡¯s supposed to be ¡°Well actually¡± Charmine, you¡¯ve got something nasty up your sleeve don¡¯t you ¡°Tell us¡± ¡°I may be able to put the guards asleep¡± I feel like pharmaceutical potions weren¡¯t the only ones you studied¡­ ¡°And any that don¡¯t won¡¯t be much of a problem¡± Baila, it¡¯s been 5 days but you sound a lot more scary than usual¡­somethings definitely happened with you. ¡°It¡¯s not getting in that¡¯s much of a problem, or getting out really. The problem is finding Joat, who is likely in the deepest and most secure part of the prison¡± Krudel knows best but I¡¯m sure Joat hasn¡¯t done something THAT bad right? ¡°Especially as last time he was arrested in suspicion for killing someone¡± ¡­ .. . Baila you need to hide your facial expressions better. While everyone else was shocked you were¡­guilty? So you¡¯ve definitely changed in these past few days gee. ¡°Well I mean it¡¯s Joat and I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll do that, what do you think Baila?¡± Now to test the theory ¡°He¡¯s not that type of person¡± Aha! So I can now assume you murdered someone. Seriously last time I saw you, you were trying to catch a cat... ¡°Ok so let¡¯s assume he¡¯s innocent, so if they falsely accused him for something before, they will definitely falsely accuse him again. So we¡¯ve got to get him out of there¡± ¡°Last time they said they¡¯ll execute him so the sooner the better¡± Krudel thanks for the information. ¡°You guys mentioned an execution? Are you talking about the one that¡¯s going to happen at midday?¡± Wendy butts in, hmm how long has she been listening? ¡°I know but I¡¯d rather not see an execution¡± Let¡¯s see if she knows anything ¡°Yes it¡¯d be a shame¡± Wendy shows literally no sign of knowing anything...that¡¯s worrying since as a fox-beastlady I would assume she¡¯s heard a large amount. She walks back behind the counter, I¡¯ll keep an eye on her later, right now Joat. ¡°So we¡¯ve got er¡­2 hours¡­front door plan?¡± ¡°Front door plan is looking good¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go get what we need for the sleeping gas¡± So you ARE learning strange things¡­I kind of want you to teach Zzand but at the same time¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll get my tools¡± Baila jumps off her chair ¡°30 minutes and meet at the location?¡± ¡°30 minutes is enough for brunch right Sister?¡± ¡°Food sounds good, I did make a big buy this morning, oh wait until you feel the sleeping bags¡± ¡°Ooh food and sleeping bags? They have those here?¡± ¡°Food¡± ¡°What¡¯s a sleeping bag Krudel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a piece of camping equipment Mistress, nothing exciting¡± ¡°Nothing exciting you say, it means camping!¡± ¡°Camping, I love camping, Big brother we¡¯re going camping!?¡± ¡°Well if we¡¯re leaving the town we will end up going camping so yes. Also some breakfast would be nice, Julie¡± Breakfast is always necessary, even before a prison break. ¡­ (Thrash¡¯s POV) ¡°I NEED TO FINISH THIS NOW¡± GIRL, I THINK, NEEDS ME ¡°WE CAN DO IT HERE HAVE SOME WATER¡± ¡°I CAN SEE SOMETHING PEEKING FROM THE WATER WE¡¯RE SOOOO CLOSE¡± ¡­ (Zzoid¡¯s POV) ¡°Alright so are we all here?¡± Minus Thrash, he¡¯s also mysteriously nowhere to be found¡­but it¡¯s Thrash, so he¡¯s probably fine doing his own thing. ¡°Yep and so is our little helper¡± Charmine waves a little bottle with a green mist swirling inside. I¡¯m officialy more scared of you than Baila and she¡¯s killed someone in game. ¡°It needs to be released in close proximity and they¡¯ll be asleep for about an hour¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it. I shouldn¡¯t be affected or noticed right?¡± Krudel takes the bottle out. ¡°Exactly¡± ¡°Before we go in and do a Joat, we need to plan who does what floor¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d discuss this while we I was getting my tools?¡± Baila doesn¡¯t look happy. ¡°Well breakfast kind of killed the conversation time¡± I mean food in the adventurer guild was basically rations but there was a lot of it. ¡°There are 4 floors all connected with a main spiral staircase, we go straight to the bottom and work our way up. Since last time there should be more security so make as little noise as possible¡± Krudel¡­that was simple short and sweet. ¡°Well let¡¯s get to it and try not look suspicious¡± Everyone suspiciously shuffles¡­except Baila, where is she, oh over there. Damn that woman¡¯s slowly becoming a shadow. Everyone¡¯s growing so much in such a short time it¡¯s strange. I mean I haven¡¯t done anything in the past week but watch people and cook. ¡°Hey guys hold your breath and come in¡± Krudel¡¯s already done? And the guards are already asleep? And he¡¯s a skeleton again!? Quickly shuffling inside the prison, which has a large routine of sleeping guards at the entrance, damn that potion worked fast. Running through to the spiral stairs and down we go. Huh it¡¯s rather simple so far. Walking down the stairs, breathing again, we reach the first underground layer. ¡°O-¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Cut the windpipe and they cannot speak even if they survive the bloodloss¡± I mean I know that but you still scare me. Joat¡¯s really going to have his hands full with this one hah. Right moving on from that, I do note Krudel is shielding Princess from the sights. A good bodyguard, much I can learn from him. ¡°My loli-baba don¡¯t look at that¡± ¡°Zzoid, my darling, I¡¯ve spent the past 5 days in an arena beating people into submission with my fists. I can suffer a little death¡± And you were there with Pinky Seniour, the little girl? You are not a good aunt but you¡¯re amazing nonetheless. Anyways, level minus two and no more guards visible as of yet, so straight to level minus three and all the way to minus four. This is so easy it¡¯s rather stupid. So much for increased guard Anyone can break into this prison, seriously. There¡¯s like 30 guards for the whole place? And I guess any that are in town so 30+. Oh maybe should¡¯ve left someone up top. ¡°Krudel, go up top, make sure anyone who comes doesn¡¯t speak¡± He nods quickly disappearing upstairs. Right that¡¯s sorted, now to find Joat. I take left with Princess, Baila and my brothers, leaving the right side for the others. Reaching the end of the corridor where there¡¯s an old wooden door, Baila kneels and gets out a few small pieces of metal. Oh you learnt how to lockpick? Well with your current ¡®skill set¡¯ I¡¯m not surprised. *click* Seems like she¡¯s becoming a rogue. Useful to have in a party I guess, especially suited as I remember the rabbit story Joat told me. She opens the door and immediately slips through, soft gurgling heard from the other side. And that¡¯s a dead person, with a hole in the side of their neck blood literally gushing out¡­and what¡¯s that knife she¡¯s holding? It¡¯s li-gone dammit didn¡¯t even get to see what it¡¯s like just strange would be an good description for what I saw. Baila is way too relaxed in killing people, I mean Npc¡¯s but still a person. Ok checking each cell, empty, empty, empty, more empty and a hobo huddle unmoving in a corner. Well he¡¯s not here. ¡°Hey you guys¡± Oh he¡¯s alive ¡°Let me out please¡± ¡°You¡¯re in the deepest level of the prison you probably shouldn¡¯t be let out¡± ¡°True, but what if I said my crime is living¡± Being a hobo don¡¯t doubt it. ¡°And what if I said I know where Joat is?¡± ¡­ .. . No one mentioned Joat¡­? ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Let me out and I¡¯ll show you¡± Hmm ¡°He said Joat¡¯s name so he probably does know him¡± I guess we¡¯ve just got to trust fate then. ¡°Baila¡± I gesture to the locks, yes a rogue is very useful in a party. *Click* ¡°Thanks, I thought I¡¯d actually die today. Guess not. Right, on to finding Joat¡± He takes out a thick black and white tome from underneath his robes. How did the guards not find this? ¡°DAEMONIUM DENUNTIO¡± ¡°SH-¡± That¡¯s a demon dog appearing out a black hole from the floor woah woah woah what have we just unleashed. ¡°INVENIO¡± The devildog, well more like molten-lava devildog with bone spikes across it¡¯s back, starts sniffing. ¡°My little helper will sniff out wherever he¡¯s ended up¡± ¡°Ended up?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I got arrested early in the morning, he¡¯d disappeared by then to god knows after we had some angel and devil weed. That stuff takes you places¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Absolutely fricking typical Joat, wait till I find you and give you a right thrashing for having us freaking break into prison for you!¡± Baila is certainly pissed. I mean this isn¡¯t the first time Joat¡¯s done messed up something¡­and it certainly won¡¯t be the last. Guys, time to leave, Joat is off galavanting free somewhere else ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) Oh my Aiag my head feels like someone¡¯s got six jackhammers on full power while a team of ogres with a sledgehammer take turns bashing the sides of my skull. And that''s underwhelming description... ¡°You look pretty destroyed, here have some tea Joat¡± a red hand offers me a cup of steaming tea. ¡°Ah thank you¡­but¡­who the hell are you?¡± 60. Finishing Off (Thrash¡¯s POV) ¡°PULLLLLLLLLLLLLLL¡± PULL THAT ROCK ONTO LAND ¡°I CAN FEEL IT STRUGGLING, IT¡¯S JUST BEHIND THAT ROCK, PULL WE¡¯VE BEEN PULLING FOR ALMOST THREE DAYS WE WON¡¯T BE BACKING DOWN NOW¡± ¡°I CAN PULL FOREVER¡± GIRL NEEDS ME! ¡°HERE SOME WEIRD MEAT THING¡± BACON GOOD, I AM LATE TO HELP GIRL, MUST FINISH THIS AND HELP NOW ¡°GIVE ME SOME OF THAT TOO STRAWBOY¡± ¡°COMING! ALSO THE ROCK IS MOVING¡± ¡°OF COURSE IT¡¯S MOVING, WE¡¯RE PULLING IT¡± ¡°NO LIKE IT¡¯S GROWING¡±
You have awoken the Sunken Rock Giant [Elite]
¡°IT¡¯S A ROCK GIANT¡± STRAWDER I KNOW ¡°KEEP PULLING, WE¡¯RE GETTING THAT DAMNABLE FISH OUT OF THE WATER IF IT¡¯S THE LAST THING I DO¡± WE WILL PULL THAT FISH OUT ¡°GUYS IT¡¯S MOVING TOWARDS US¡± ¡°GO ANNOY IT YOU¡¯RE GOOD AT THAT¡± ¡°OH THANK YOU, WAIT IS THAT AN INSULT?¡± ¡°YOU¡¯RE LEARNING, NOW GO¡± ¡°HERE GIANT HERE GIANT COME SAY HELLO TO ME THE GREAT STRAWDER ADVENTURER OF THE STRAW PEO-¡± *Slam* ¡°PULL¡±
You have 100% agro
¡°HE¡¯S COMING¡± The line goes a little loose for a second as the giant shuffles before going taught again ¡°HEY GIANT COME BACK, YOU HAVEN¡¯T DEFEATED ME YET¡± ¡°WAIT STRAWDER, HE¡¯S HELPING PULL, COME HELP PULL¡± He¡¯s coming for me which is pulling the fish out one step at a time. ¡°NO, THRASH, LET GO AND TAKE OUT THAT GIANT. I CANNOT LET HIM HELP ME. KILL IT¡± Letting go of the rod, Kill the giant! The line is around it¡¯s legs so let¡¯s go around i- *WHOOSH* Dangerous! Slam into it¡¯s leg -22 Run around, do it again as it tries to follow me. -24 Again -26 *RUMBLECRASH* To it¡¯s head and PULLLLLLLAHHAGHGH ¡°GIANT IS DEAD¡± back to the rod and PULL *TSCHHRRRR* Pulling dead giant with it is really hard *SPLASHSPLASHSPLASH* ¡°IT¡¯S THERE IT¡¯S THERE!!! PULL HARDER¡± ¡°I CAN TASTE VICTORY¡± ¡°ACTUALLY ALL I CAN TASTE IS STRAW¡± ¡°FIGURATIVELY YOU DUMBASS¡± ¡°I DIDN¡¯T UNDERSTAND A SINGLE WORD IN THAT SENTENCE¡± ¡°JUST PULLLLL¡± The eel is MASSIVE: it¡¯s even bigger than a rock giant, which is almost three times my height¡­ *SPLASHSPLASHSPLOPFLOPSPLASHFLOP* ¡°KEEP PULLING UNTIL IT¡¯S FULLY ON LAND¡± ¡°WE¡¯RE SO CLOSE, FOR GIRL I WILL DO THIS¡± ¡°FOR STRAW PEOPLE I WILL HELP PULL THIS LAST LOT¡± ¡°STOP BEING DRAMATIC JUST PULL¡± *FLOPFLOPFLOPFLOP* ¡°IT¡¯S ON LAND¡± *Ding* ¡°WHAT NOW OLD COOT?¡± ¡°IT¡¯S DANIEL AND HOLD IT THERE¡± He suddenly lets go causing me to fall face first into the ground. I CAN HOLD IT. -1 -3 -5 -6 -8 -12 HOLLLLD. HOOOOO¡­it¡¯s stopped fighting. *ding* ¡°You can let go now¡± Daniel walks up to me proudly, planting himself on the floor next to me, snoring. We did it! Now to help Girzzzzzzzz ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°Baila you are certainly high strung this morning¡± Rassin dodges my two throwing knives. ¡°Extremely so that your aim is slightly off¡± ¡°let¡¯s just say a friend got really drunk, took some angel and devil weed and ended up buggering off to god knows where and all we have is some weird hobo and his devil dog thing to help find him¡± ¡°Oh Hobo yeah he¡¯s a bit of a strange one but his Devilhound will do the job of finding your friend¡± ¡°His name is Hobo?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a strange fellow. But useful to know. You said he took angel AND devil weed? Oh that¡¯d certainly take him places¡± ¡°Well after stealthily scouring the whole place and keeping that devilhound under wraps, literally, we know he¡¯s not in town or the nearby countryside so we¡¯re going to trace the devilhound¡¯s steps after tomorrow¡± ¡°And what is so important about tomorrow?¡± ¡°A final meeting with my people¡± I don¡¯t keep things from Rassin and she doesn¡¯t keep things from me, a very nice relationship of trust. ¡°Well that means we¡¯ve only got one more day before you leave little ol¡¯ me alone again¡± She gives me a long fake whine knowing that it annoys me. ¡°Sorry can¡¯t leave this guy by himself¡± I see a grin appearing on her face. Oh bugger ¡°This guy¡­it can¡¯t be Joat can it?¡± Get your hungry hands off of him you vixen! ¡°¡­Yes¡± Keep nothing from her and she¡¯ll keep nothing from me. ¡°Oh perfect. Right, we¡¯ve got one more day alone then. Shall we go through all the basics again?¡± ¡°That would be nice¡± Although I¡¯m really angry right now so some fighting would be good. ¡°We¡¯ll do some fighting to get you warmed up¡± That grin of hers knowing exactly what I¡¯m thinking, I¡¯ll wipe it off her face. Pin and Heavy I already threw, bugger. Since she favours Spiral and Pin, compeletely offensive with no sort of defense. But then again she¡¯s impossibly fast so she doesn¡¯t have to worry about defense that much. Erm let¡¯s begin with Kite and Chain. Taking out the respective daggers, one large flat one in the shape of a Kite and another with a thick hilt, filled with a chain connected to the small blade. Defensive with longer ranged offense, quite a good combo. ¡°Not bad, very common. Kite works well against my Spiral dagger but against the needle-like Pin?¡± -12 OW bugger. Didn¡¯t even see that coming, and Kite¡¯s now stuck to my arm. ¡°No time to think, here I come ahahaha¡± Shit dodge! Roll under and smash the sticking out Pin in the floor -16 FU- DODGE At least my Kite¡¯s now free. ¡°Don¡¯t just dodge, come at me hihi¡± Suddenly I don¡¯t want to fight her as much anymore. Chain her left hand shew switched dagger hands, pulling me in Shi- block with Kite *Crack* ¡°You¡¯re dead¡± she takes the Spiral away from my body, oh I hate fighting against that. ¡°If you¡¯ve got a damaged weapon don¡¯t use it, your weapons are your life. The chain throw was useless since it wasn¡¯t even to my dagger hand, and I even used it against you. You¡¯re way of getting rid of the pPin was quick and effective, but you could¡¯ve used it against me if you had thought and gotten rid of your Kite. Now pick another two and let¡¯s go again¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. And now I have to spend another hour repairing this already beaten up Kite dagger¡­haah. Right, Trident might help against the Spiral but against the Pin? Ah screw tactics let¡¯s just do this the usual way. Taking out the Butcher knife and the Square, which is a nifty square shaped hook with a hilt, let¡¯s do this. ¡°Oh you love those two don¡¯t you¡± *Whoosh* ¡°That was unexpected, throwing away your favourite knife already?¡± Pin out, throw that, Heavy thrown, Square catches the spiral and skirt to the left slapping away her Pin with a Blunt dagger. *Thunk* ¡°Watch out for your surroundings¡± bloody arm chair. Jump back drop Blunt, Trident out and sticking her Spiral into the chair. ¡°Good but you¡¯re not the only one with multiple knives¡± -13 Ouch Pin in my shoulder ¡°And don¡¯t ever look away¡± -14 Shit, that¡¯s a Tooth. Sliding forward as she jumps backward to keep the dagger inside me, I swipe at the outstretched arm with my own Tooth dagger but she let¡¯s go, phew. That would¡¯ve been bad if she had taken that out. ¡°At least you¡¯ll never die from a Tooth¡± Damn grin! Duck *chinkchinkchink* ¡°Or a Shatter but if you¡¯re on the floor¡± -4 Ah my jaw! ¡°Does that hurt? Good¡± Rolling up and slice both sides, damn Square on Square, twist twist shit she let go, -22 FFF -1 -1 ¡°Split second battles, don¡¯t make them last longer than 1 second¡± she licks her bloodied Saw Take out my own Saw to her right as she drops hers, ripped out of my hand by her Trident. Kick, alright some space. Take out my Pick, thrust -1 -15 ow and rip Trident out her hand, at least it¡¯s gone¡­into mine ¡°Ooh bad trade, losing a hand¡¯s worth of daggers for just a Trident¡± She¡¯s right but I bloody hate going against Tridents. -1 Immediately she jumps towards me, Kite and Heavy dagger both slashing at me, dodge, left right, back, onto bookshelf, rafters. ¡°Don¡¯t be running away it¡¯ll be over soon¡± please don¡¯t make it sound like you¡¯re trying to kill me. -1 She doesn¡¯t even need the bookcase to get up, simply running up the wall and backflipping onto the rafters, but I¡¯m ready *clang* ¡°You¡¯re learning, but if you had two daggers you would¡¯ve had a chance¡± And she¡¯s right infront of me, Ah shit. Block block -13 ow bugger *thunk* -4 -1 ¡°And you¡¯re dead¡± Trident at my eye and square holding my other dagger down. Didn¡¯t think about her taking her Trident back. ¡°Desperate move using the Trident hilt to block, but that¡¯s a free weapon for me to us so not that smart¡± She takes out a purple healing potion and pours the clear liquid over my wounds, sealing them up. DAMMIT. +25 Oh that¡¯s good. But if I hadn¡¯t been tripped there I had another hit to take before I¡¯d have to have given up or actually died¡­ ¡°As far as a rookie assassin, you should do half decently against someone with less speed than you¡± That¡¯s not even close to a compliment¡­ ¡°But you seriously need some more weapon training¡± She jumps down the rafters rags following after. How she can still zip around with all those rags I have no idea. Jumping down with a roll, at least getting down is easier. ¡°Ok sit down and start repairing your weapons while I run you through the basics of poison¡± ¡°Do I really have to know about them? I don¡¯t want to use them¡± ¡°Spoke Na?vely as ever. Do you think other assassins won¡¯t use poisons against you? Now hush and listen. She takes a dusty book from a pile in the floor, opening it and blowing the dust away. ¡°Haven¡¯t you made the tea yet?¡± ¡°How strong?¡± ¡°Blackroot for me and baby caterpillar for you¡± Still can¡¯t get over the fact that I¡¯m drinking a little bit of caterpillar venom...though it got me poison resistance so that¡¯s useful. Heating up the kettle and crushing the literal black root in the pestle Rassin begins her little speech. ¡°Any assassin worth their salt will be able to resist all poisons from a lethality level of up to sixteen. Though that is barely above naturally resistant beings such as lizardfolk so it¡¯s not that great. Most poisons the average assassin can get their hands on will at most be a twenty five, like Rockrot but one with contacts can get something a little more dangerous¡± ¡°What¡¯s the lethality level again?¡± She keeps using that but I swear I was too busy focusing on my anaemia from getting stabbed by her Spiral dagger last time. ¡°How many people out of one hundred that die from it with no resistance¡± So at least 100 people have died from each posion ¡°Although it¡¯s decently arbitrary it¡¯s getting more accurate next year thanks to some certain individuals. Back on subject; if the assassin is part of a guild, they can get up to a fifty lethality level which is as high as most go since above that¡­getting it becomes another world of difficulty. But anyways, the fifty lethality, which costs a pretty penny mind you, is well worth it, since only highly trained assassins have such a high poison resistance and even then¡± ¡°What would a 50 lethality be?¡± ¡°Hydra poison is I guess the most common, actually I¡¯ve got some somewhere¡± She opens up one of the many trapdoors in the house and takes a little unrecongisable green vial ¡°Here we go, extremely hard to harvest since it needs to be harvested from the poisonous head of a hydra and it¡¯s limited since the hydra is usually dead. No one¡¯s mad enough to try harvest it live. Have a guess what it does when ingested¡± Firstly I¡¯m only mildly surprised she¡¯s got something of lethality 50, but that¡¯s still scary: how did she got a hold of that? ¡°It melts the person from the inside?¡± I mean I swear I¡¯ve seen a hydra do that somewhere in some random greek movie I saw some time ago. ¡°Nothing. But when it¡¯s mixed with acid it does react and melt the person from the inside. So you¡¯re technically correct. As a poison for 50 lethality rate it¡¯s actually rather easy to stop it actually damaging you as you simply throw up before it reaches your stomach¡± ¡°But does it taste or would you have no idea?¡± ¡°Have a smell it¡¯s harmless to smell¡± she pops open the vile next to my nose, well if nothing I do trust her that she won¡¯t use such a way to kill me. *Sniff* Oh that¡¯s rancid. Who the hell would ingest that. ¡°It¡¯s uses are mostly for carrion feeders and undead, basically anything that will eat rotten food without a problem. So as we¡¯ve learnt, the lethality rater is still pretty arbitrary. So assassins use poison and good ones learn to ingest a little every day to increase their resistance. You¡¯re still working on a lethality two, but you¡¯re doing well already moving up to that. The aim is to get it up to at least 30 before you begin making your name in the underworld of this planet¡­since then you¡¯ll be relatively safe from individuals¡± ¡°But what about guilds¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t piss them off, it¡¯s surprisingly easy to do. Plus they¡¯ll usually scout you out if you make your name¡± ¡°So I only have to worry about other assassins who don¡¯t like me¡± ¡°Pretty much, so remember what is the most important thing about being an assassin¡± ¡°Studying?¡± bit weird but I do understand why ¡°Exactly. Study your opponent, study your surroundings, study the dangers, study some and study more because all it takes is one tiny slip and you¡¯ve got blackroot in your system and you¡¯re dead¡± She does like ending everything in me dying¡­ ¡°Wait a second, how strong is blackroot¡± ¡°Eighty seven¡± ¡°¡­But didn¡¯t you say it was basically impossible to get anything above 50?¡± ¡°I said it was an otherworldly difficulty, in a literal sense, so unless you happen to know someone who can you know summon devils from other planes who also happen to be poisonous ingredients in nature, you¡¯ll have to do some travelling¡­or know some pretty insane people¡± Ah so that¡¯s why she seems slightly chummy with Hobo. ¡°So blackroot¡±, ¡°Is the root of a demonic treant, very dangerous to let loose in a forest but apart from that their good for firewood and of course poison¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°So Hobo uses it for firewood¡± ¡°He¡¯s a strange fellow, but then again they made the contract with him so that was their decision. As an assassin stay away from all of that nonsense, don¡¯t waste years of training getting yourself killed by your own summoned devil¡± Noted. Also noted you are extremely high levelled, in poison resistance too. ¡°And what about angel weed and devil weed¡± ¡°Harmless, well not to the respective opposites: then they¡¯re full lethal, one hundred percent. To Joat however, each will only give him a spiritual meeting with one or the other¡± ¡°but with both?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll meet both, at the same time, and that usually means the trip lasts¡­quite a bit longer than usual. Trust me, it took me two days and that was quick¡± Keep no information for me please So Joat¡¯s not only high and completely off his face somewhere else, he¡¯s actually spiritually meeting a devil and an angel at the same time so his mind isn¡¯t even anywhere near where it¡¯s supposed to be. Well thank god I¡¯ve never taken drugs because that doesn¡¯t sound fun at all. ¡°The iron¡¯s melting¡± She points at the small pot filled with now liquid iron. Taking out a the small Kite mold and slotting the Kite hilt into it (seems like Rassin took off the broken shards, thank you), I take the pot and pour the metallic liquid until it fills up the mold. Hammer out and it¡¯s like good old days with Daren, but no constant shouting, just the quiet sound of hammering and a satisfied sipping of poisoned tea from Rassin and my slightly bitter and goey tea, eugh. A few hours pass of melting shards and rebuilding my broken daggers, only 3 this time, and I¡¯m finally back to 100% dagger effectiveness. Jeez having 16 daggers is annoying as hell, but I guess the more I have the more situations I can deal with. ¡°Perfect. Lunch is ready¡± She places a single sandwidch in front of me. Food is necessary woman! I may be a small person in real life but I still eat a truckload! ¡°You think you¡¯ll be able to have large meals while waiting in silence? Usually a few nuts will have to suffice and that¡¯s if you can even make that much noise¡± ¡°Why do you think I want to be an assassin? I don¡¯t like killing people¡± ¡°He was a bad person wasn¡¯t he? And you killed those prison guards who weren¡¯t bad people. You seem fine killing people¡± She doesn¡¯t seem too happy ¡°People were relying on me to make sure no one raised an alarm, or more people would¡¯ve died, my friends included¡± Her dissatisfied expression loosens up somewhat ¡°I guess for a prison break only two dead guards is very good, and seeing as it was Hobo you saved...¡± She stands up musing ¡°I guess you aren¡¯t an assassin yet, and you definitely don¡¯t act like it, too boisterous, too loud, too much cleavage makes you too eye-catching¡± Well someone sounds jealous ¡°But at the same time you have the quality most assassins need but lack, compassion and willingness to help their friends. Jeez there are so many assassins I know who leave their allies for dead when they can save them. So if anything you¡¯re a better team player than many assassins I know¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be an assassin, they kill people, and you know I don¡¯t want to be doing that as my life¡± ¡°As a side-job? It¡¯s lucrative, you get some good contacts and best of all you can make sure the bad ones don¡¯t get away¡± She¡¯s actually trying to convince me to become an assassin. I do enjoy the sneaking around and all the different daggers and how to use them, even the lockpicking is quite fun. But killing people is kind of horrible. Plus dragging dead bodies through the sewer sucks. What would Joat do? ¡­ .. . Well that¡¯s obvious: as long as there is something to learn, he¡¯ll go for it. *Sigh* ¡°Fine I¡¯ll become an assassin, but i¡¯m not blindly killing anyone without a good reason¡± ¡°Perfect, thank god you did accept or I would¡¯ve killed you, or wasted Flayer¡¯s tentacle on you to erase your memory¡­but that stuff is expensive¡± *Ding*
Congratulations you have earned a class! Your class slot is now filled
Due to your Murderer title, your title has merged with your class. Your class has been altered into a Rare class
Due to your Hidden sub-class Vigilante your sub-class has merged with your class. Your class has been altered into a Rare Variant class
RARE VARIANT CLASS: Moralistic Assassin
An assassin is a dagger in the dark hired killer. A highly trained individual in both daggers, poison and deception, they are feared among many as a target of a true assassin usually doesn¡¯t know they have been targeted until they are dead. A moralistic assassin is one who kills no for money but for their morals, most commonly known are ones who act as vigilantes.
All non-Deception, non-counter-perception, non-perception or non-Weapon related skills or proficiencies cannot be improved beyond beginner rank. All Deception, Counter-perception, Perception and Weapon related skills, abilities or proficiencies can only be improved to Advanced rank
Class Bonuses: +25 to Agility +5 to Darkness +10 to Brutality +15 to Flexibility +15 to Dexterity +20 to Perception +5% bonus to Deception Skills, Abilities and Proficiencies +5% to Attack Damage Stealth has increased to Intermediate rank Dagger proficiency has increased to Intermediate rank Have learnt Poison-Alchemy Detect evil has evolved into Detect Alignment Sneak Attack has evolved into Assassinate No Darkness will be gained upon Vigilante-based activites Class Penalties: None
Due to becoming this Class, Rogue class and Assassin class have been unlocked
This Class is permanent unless another Class is chosen upon character creation.
¡°So are there really no limitations to becoming an assassin?¡± this seems pretty awesome, plus now I can detect all alignments not just my own. ¡°Assassins are the most varied of jobs in this world, each one who becomes a real assassin all end up with different specialities and quirks. I know one who uses magic to hide, another who¡¯s weapon of choice is an arbalester. Assassination is a tricky business and being a one trick pony won¡¯t get you far¡± ¡°So what¡¯s your quirk?¡± She just sips her tea¡­so poison I guess? ¡°Blood magic¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°How else do you think I¡¯ve been healing you? By wasting 10 whole silver every session? Jeesh you¡¯re not worth that much yet¡± Wait so what has she been pouring on me every time? water I hope. ¡°You know blood magic?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not rare as you think, remember the underworld is an entirely different place to what you¡¯re used to. Most assassins know a little to clean things up. I¡­know a little more. Though magic leaves traces and is deadly so once again don¡¯t bother with it if you¡¯re just dabbling¡± ¡°Alright¡± Note the fact that I¡¯ll learn blood magic later. ¡°So anything else you can teach me before I try find one Joat?¡± ¡°As a rookie assassin and my official apprentice-¡± ¡°Wait wasn¡¯t I your apprentice when you know, you had me kill a guy¡± ¡°Oh that was just an initiation test¡± well remind me never to get initiated again. ¡°Anywhoos as I was saying, there¡¯s a pompous idiot bard staying at the Gallant Goose, go kill him and make it look like a suicide¡± ¡°Wait is he evil?¡± ¡°50 gold if you do it¡± That¡¯s a lot of money, almost tempted ¡°Is he evil?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°And it¡¯s fine if I go study him first?¡± ¡°I want it done before midnight, that¡¯s 4 hours¡± ¡°I hate you¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be glad I do this to you and toodles dear, these old bones need some rest¡± Hah old my ass. Well off to figure out if this guy is actually bad and deserves to die. Gyugh doing dark justice isn¡¯t easy. 61. The Final Meeting? (Clara¡¯s POV) ¡°Hello everyone, Mr Spencer is indisposed today so I¡¯m here to teach you instead¡± I don¡¯t recognize that voice. Appearing from the trapdoor is a young man, like 23 at most with messy brown hair and a thick stubble wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and a mismatched brown and grey suit. ¡°Erm who are you?¡± It¡¯s not like I¡¯m looking forward to Spencer in the morning but it¡¯s nice to see him with all his smiles and sauntering attitude. ¡°Ah I¡¯m Sean, nice to meet you¡± He turns towards me with a creepy quickness as if just spotting me. Sean continues appearing and with some weird clicking sound walks shoe into the lecturer¡¯s desk, smoothly stopping and taking a long breath. ¡°Right, Mr Spencer has left me a few notes on the lecture today¡­¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°And?¡± Sean has been standing still for a little bit too long and I swear I just heard him swear under his breath. ¡°Talkative miss, could you please come down?¡± Ah bugger. Getting up and stomping down, start berating me and get it over with. ¡°Could you please read the notes to class¡± ¡°And what about you?¡± He takes his glasses off ¡­Oh ¡°Man I really didn¡¯t think this job through ahahaha¡± He¡¯s rather chuckly ¡°So I¡¯ll try my best to explain whatever he teaches you¡± ¡°We¡¯re doing 4 dimensional drawing¡± Perfect, just what I didn¡¯t want to do ¡°Yay¡± Shut up Princess Stone. ¡°Ah well¡­ what is that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a very useful substitute¡± ¡°Hey it¡¯s my first time give me a little break¡± Yea..no ¡°Ok miss could you please tell everyone about it, and I will¡­learn and help teach when I can¡± I might as well have become the substitute..or maybe¡­ ¡°Hey Emma, would you like to teach us? Since you understand 4 dimensional drawing better¡± She doesn¡¯t, none of us have any clue what Spencer is trying to convey with this, but at least she¡¯s passionate about learning. ¡°Ok¡± She jumps out her seat and skips down, looking wide-eyed at the illegibly hurried scrawls that are supposed to be lecture notes. ¡°Well¡­he says here, show students Picasso¡¯s early childhood drawings, explain then show them graphical design on computers how it uses 4 dimension drawing theory¡± I¡¯m actually impressed she can read those demon scratchings. ¡°Well that sounds simple, we can totally do this¡± Thanks for the cheerleading Sean ¡°Does anyone have a computer?¡± I look around because there certainly isn¡¯t one ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) Well that was a complete failure of a lesson, we ended up simply learning how it is to be blind, to open our minds. My face hurt from falling so much. ¡°Morning Baila, you look like you¡¯ve bitten a lemon¡± ¡°Maybe I have Zzoid, maybe I have¡± His face runs through a serious of complicated expressions ¡°Well before you go sucking that lemon dry, we¡¯ve got a meeting planned¡± Ah yes, the final meeting before I can bugger off and find Joat. Seriously, having me run after him and now that he is gone we won¡¯t be able to sneak out just the two of us¡­.haah. Heading to the field outside, it¡¯s already packed with the many other ¡®Orphans¡¯ each one looking better equipped than before; well quite a few of them are using Avani¡¯s shields. Standing on a cart is Braxel and DillyDally. ¡°Where¡¯s Joat?¡± Braxel grunts at me, well I know we¡¯re not far apart sometimes but I have literally no idea Braxel, no idea. ¡°Indisposed¡± Zzoid cuts in ¡°So Baila will take his place¡± Braxel just snorts. Ok onto the cart *gulp* ¡°Hey¡± ¡°Seems like Joat really is missing¡± DillyDally shakes his head ¡°Let¡¯s focus on this meeting shall we?¡± Don¡¯t want it to devolve into btiching about Joat disappearing again. ¡°Good Morning everyone¡± I turn towards the crowd, le¡¯s get this started. A small chorus of good morning¡¯s back. ¡°Joat¡¯s currently indisposed so I¡¯m taking charge of the meeting. It will work like our first meeting splitting it into Stats, skills and other knowledge about the system. But I¡¯d also like to add onto there titles since that is very good xp, and classes¡± No dissenters on that. ¡°The original goal of us working together was to get everyone to level 10 to gain the hopeful milestone so after this meeting we should be able to get to level 10¡± ¡°We will be telling people about hidden or better things?¡± ¡°Tell everything¡± And here come¡¯s the bitching about how it¡¯s unfair for those who worked ¡°LISTEN¡± ¡°LISTEN¡± Thank you Tikari, it¡¯s nice to hear you again. Everyone quiets down to listen to me ¡°We¡¯re here for another 8 weeks¡­and then this is all over. Everything we¡¯ve gained is probably going to go so instead of spending the next 8 weeks grueling through trying to level up alone, we should try gaining as much knowledge as possible for the actual game¡± ¡°But how do you know they¡¯ll delete our characters after the beta¡± Goldy shouts out from the crowd. ¡°We don¡¯t, but would you rather have a level 20 character with everything you came up with, or someone much much higher level which embodies 100 people¡¯s knowledge and experience¡± Thanks Zzoid ¡­ .. . ¡°But what if people lie and don¡¯t tell us things?¡± Someone else spoke up, ah the goblin whoever he is ¡°¡­Trust, and you don¡¯t believe you can trust anyone then leave after this meeting¡± I mean if someone wants to lie there is little I can do about it ¡°We can sense a person¡¯s motive, mostly when they¡¯re lying¡± The fish-sisters speak up. Huh that¡¯ll work too. ¡°What if we have something that cannot be told to the public?¡± Honey speaks up this time Oh yeah, that title ¡°If it specifically says the public cannot know about it, then you don¡¯t need to tell us. And before you all start bitching, having one of those things isn¡¯t good¡± Ok no real dissenters yet. Nobody really? Guess the prospect of a goldmine of xp is seriously convincing. ¡°Alright, so let¡¯s begin with Stats. So far the stats I have learnt are: Agility, Dexterity, Vitality, Strength, Wisdom, Intelligence, Willpower, Luck, Endurance, Darkness, Light, Flexibility, Rage, Stamina, Mana, Communication, Brutality and Speed¡± Many oohs at the multiple stats, especially as I¡¯ve got 3 ¡®pools¡¯¡­which I don¡¯t use any of yet. ¡°Has anybody got anything to add? ¡°Fel¡± Princess speaks up, that sounds interesting ¡°Eloquency¡± Honey has that one, well he¡¯s a merchant so unsurprising ¡°Fame¡± Different to reputation? Hmm odd ¡°Leadership¡± I wonder why what hadn¡¯t come up before. ¡°Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Death, Life , Light, Darkness, Nature and Psychic affinity¡± affinities count as stats Ravenna? That is odd ¡°And Memory¡± Anoobis adds onto the end ¡°Any more?¡± Stats seem surprisingly hard to find, especially physical ones¡­ ¡°Alright so let¡¯s move on how to get these stats¡± Just copy Joat and everything will work out ¡­ So gaining Fel is technically impossible at the moment, but the affinities are gained through using proper magic of that kind, very simple, and without them you can¡¯t cast more than a circle 1 spell whatever that means . Memory is gained through trying to remember multiple things, like an insane amount according to Tikari who had to memorise the better part of a book to get it. Eloquency is gained through persuading someone for their loss and your gain through speech¡­so swindling someone could count. And leadership is basically leading people. All in all that¡¯s 10 new stats so a whole level if not more¡­pretty good. ¡°Alright so onto skills, since there are a lot, we¡¯ll take a few minutes break to bring food here¡± Oh a lot of people are already prepared for that it seems. ¡°Alright, so the skills learnt thus far are; Aura of Darkness, Aura of Light, Acrobatics, Balance, Bartering, Bite, Cannibalize, Catch, Climb, Cooking, Commanding Shout, Crawling, Dagger mastery with 16 styles, Dance mastery with salsa and breakdance styles, Detect Alignment, Diplomacy, Dodge, Fire resistance, Frenzy, Grapple, Headbutt, Hearing, Hold your Breath, Jump, Kick mastery, Light feet, Lockpicking, Lucky Roll, Mana adept, Massaging, Mild Monster¡¯s Aura Monster Identification, Pain Tolerance, Poison tolearance, Reading, Repair, Roll, Sacrifice, Sense Motive, Skinning, Sprint, Smell, Sneak, Stomp, Suicide, Swim, Throw, Tracking, Vision of some kind, Unarmed mastery, Writing¡± These are all the non-combat skills I know of, if anybody knows anymore add to the list and we¡¯ll go through ALL of them later.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Polearm, Mace, Sword, Two-handed, One-handed, Two-weapon and Axe mastery and their styles¡± Braxel grunts out ¡°Archery, Blindfighting and Echolocation, Blindsense¡± Some owl-beastman said that, he learnt some fancy skills there. And many definitely think that. ¡°Unleashing the beast, Glamorize and Appraisal¡± Honey¡¯s got quite a few skills ¡°Meditation¡± That came from MrSpeedTurtle, huh that¡¯s one I didn¡¯t think of. ¡°Martial arts and their styles¡± Old Bitch and Pinky Seniour say that. ¡°Second wind¡± DillyDally, please you¡¯ve got more than that, or are they combat skills? ¡°Tactics¡± Ooh ¡°and all the tactical sub-skills that come with it¡± ¡°Slime Shield¡± Oh so that¡¯s B0mber¡¯s racial skill ¡°Musical Proficiency¡± the old crow-beastman seems to be doing something interesting ¡°Any more?¡± I mean I expected people to be doing things¡­but then again I did list out a lot of skills and it¡¯s likely they all learnt the same thing. ¡°Ok so now for crafting skills. We have Leatherworking, Weaponsmithing, Armoursmithing, Alchemy with subtypes¡± ¡°Blacksmithing for non equipment¡± Zzard calls out ¡°Tailoring¡± Nekineki, she¡¯s still here huh. ¡°Carpentry and Woodworking¡± Someone in the crowd sounded enthusiastic ¡°Farming¡± Apexus is doing farming? Wow he¡¯s really changed hahaha That isn¡¯t many but crafting skills take time. ¡°Ok, so now to combat skills¡± I¡¯m waiting for a lot to come here. ¡°Stand ground, Block, Deflect, Parry, Riposte, Counter-Riposte, Push¡± DillyDilly starts listing ¡°Disarm, Power Strike, Sweeping Strike, Pommel Smash, Brace, Feint, Sneak attack, Charge, Critical strike¡± That¡¯s a lot ¡°Assassinate and Haemorrage¡± I mean I know a few from his list but this is my big one. Sneak attack but way better and a lot of people are starting to look at me strangely ¡°Rip, Neckbreak, Bone snap¡± BoneCracker¡¯s learnt some¡­special things ¡°Point blank shot, Quick shot, Far shot, Double shot, Precise shot, Mark, Blind shot¡± This owl is a serious archer ¡°Multiattack, Chop, Impale and Bash¡± The black-eared rabbit-beastman who stands next to the owl shouts that out. ¡°Shield Bash¡± From Glorious, ah he¡¯s got one of Avani¡¯s shields Wow Joat is missing out on a lot of skills, he¡¯s going to be livid when he hears of this. ¡°Any more or can we move onto spells?¡± This is so much easier than it looks, jeez Joat¡¯s really been joking around with us making it seem so hard. ¡°Ah languages!¡± Tikari suddenly speaks up ¡°There¡¯s Dekin, Yandor, Kran as the main 3, then racial languages such as Dwarven, Draconic, Goblin, Elvish, Undercommon, Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Giant, Gnome, Halfling, Gnoll, Undead, Sylvan, Druidic, Ignan, Infernal, Terran and Orc are the ones I have found that existed¡± That¡¯s a lot¡­how many has she learnt? After that, no one¡¯s is saying anything so to spells ¡°Since no one can use Fel, there¡¯s no point in telling you about her spells right?¡± Krudel has a small point ¡°Well actually I can¡± Anoobis speaks up ¡°But I do agree with you, especially as the way her spells works are different from everyone elses so I don¡¯t recommend teaching anyone it¡± ¡°Anyone against this?¡± Less time spent teaching something we can¡¯t really learn, the more time we hae to find Joat. No dissenters. I gesture for Anoobis and Ravenna to come up, for they¡¯re going to be needed for all the explaining. ¡°Right so spells are a bit strange, we¡¯ve learnt 10 but technically we¡¯ve learnt an unlimited amount. As far as I know, each spell has up to 7 parts; the affinity, Power, target, range, area, repetitions and spell name. Affinity is chosen when you call the nam e of the creator for example ignis¡± Ooh a small flame on her finger. The power is a keyword, so something like tickle would be small whereas erupt would have a stronger effect. Target is simple, just name the target, it¡¯s usuall enemy, ally, or a specific person. Range is a little more complicated, it can be stated but usually it¡¯s just implied within the spell. Area is once again implied but it can be stated too within the sentence Repetitions requires constant repetitions of a portion of the spell to keep it going And the spell name, needs to be shouted. If you say any in a wrong order, negative feedback, if you forget something that needs to be stated, negative feedback. If you mispronounce the name of the creator, extreme negative feedback and if you try to use the spell in a different way than it¡¯s made for, possible negative feedback. For example, Anoobis¡± She passes the figurative torch onto him. To which he rolls his eyes. ¡°Ignis-----?_?_?_---???_?_?_?_?_?¡± I literally have no idea what he just said¡± FIREBALL¡± And he just set himself on fire¡­ ¡°Aqua ?--?_?_`-`-?_ RAIN¡± and a little cloud is above him now. ¡°Also it¡¯s in a different language, except for the spell name¡± ¡­ .. . Well I guess that¡¯s why Rassin doesn¡¯t like it, seems like a lot of work for something cool but also quite dangerous if you experiment. ¡°So onto actual spells that we¡¯ve learnt: Detect magic, read magic, Gust, Create Breeze, Create Flame, Fireball, Rain, Create Water, Earth wall, Create Earth, Minor telekenises, Invisible Servant. I¡¯ve written down the incantations for each fo them. As ou may notice we don¡¯t actually have any Dark, Light, Life, Death or Nature spells as the one we¡¯re learning from hasn¡¯t studied them¡± Well that was certainly a lot to take in¡­and that¡¯s just the beginning for how to gain all these skills ¡­ And the sun is already so high up in the sky, what a day already. Learning how to actually get all those skills took FOREVER, especially the combat skills because we had a demonstration so everyone got an idea how they worked. So much to learn, so much and that¡¯s JUST for skills. ¡°Has everyone gotten dinner ready?¡± we¡¯ll definitely get to dinner at this rate. Many nods and people are already taking a late lunch out. ¡°Next thing on our list¡± ok I think I understand the pain of being up here, standing, constantly talking, and having to be attentive... ¡°Is classes. And I believe we have something called sub-classes?¡± People nod ¡°Ok so starting with me, I¡¯ve got the Assassin, Rare class, it¡¯s a rogue that specializes in killing,¡± Some people blanche at that, but a few like Zzoid just nod as if confirming a theory. ¡°We¡¯ve got the gladiator, hidden class, barehanded variant. We get bonuses when fighting one on one and when large crowds are cheering¡± So that explains the bloody leathery armour they¡¯re wearing¡­ ¡°Alchemist, Rare class. I make potions with more effectiveness¡± Charmine, wow that¡¯s pretty scary ¡°Barmaid, Hidden class¡± One of the fish-sisters speak up. Sounds more like a sub-class¡­ ¡°Berzerker, Rare class. Name speaks for itself¡± ¡°Wait a second how are there so many rare classes?¡± Zzoid speaks everyone¡¯s thoughts. There are so many rare classes ¡°Well how did you get your rare class? We got our hidden class by asking about it¡± ¡°So the pre-requesites are different¡­Rare means something that has a larger number of prerequisites than a normal class while Hidden simply requires you to find it first¡± DillyDally states his thought, well that seems kind of correct. ¡°Would there be something like a Rare hidden class?¡± I mean my class should¡¯ve counted as a Rare hidden right? Or is it because I didn¡¯t find it, or that assassin isn¡¯t a hidden class really. ¡°Possibly but has anyone got one?¡± ¡­ .. . Nope guess not then ¡°I¡¯ve got the Merchant class¡± Honey¡¯s the only one so far with a normal class ¡°Archer, normal class¡± the owl-beastman ¡°Warrior, normal class¡± the black-rabbit beastman who¡¯s next to him. Ok so they¡¯re normals ¡°Bard, normal class¡± The crow-beastman is actually a bard cool. ¡°Pharmacist sub-class¡± So Zzand has that ¡°Farmer class¡± These sub-classes and classes are strange. ¡°Why are things classes and some sub-classes?¡± Once again Zzoid¡¯s on the questioning. ¡°Well when we got the Barmaid class, we got a choice of having it as a class or a sub-class¡­but we don¡¯t really want to fight so we took it as a class¡± ¡°I believe sub-classes are jobs whereas classes are your lifestyle since I¡¯ve got the cook and warrior subclass¡­but the benefits from it are very small, about a tenth of what I¡¯d get for the class¡± Oh so 10 subclasses to make up one class, that¡¯s a lot of work for little but I¡¯m sure there¡¯s someone who¡¯d be up for that. ¡°So does that mean we can get sub-classes even though we already have classes? And the sub-classes are just other things we can do as well as our main class?¡± I belive that was Anoobis speaking ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s a little more complicated than that. Even if you know how to shoot a bow, you won¡¯t get the archer sub-class unless you hit a certain prerequisite. For example Zzard hasn¡¯t gotten the blacksmith sub-class because he doesn¡¯t actually work in a blacksmiths¡± Ok Zzoid, well there¡¯s much to learn about classes and sub-classes another day, let¡¯s move forward. ¡°Ok continue with telling us classes and sub-classes¡± ¡°Wizard, normal class¡± Anoobis only has a normal class? How odd ¡°Mage, normal class¡± Ravenna has a different class to him? Even more odd ¡°I study, Anoobis simply uses¡­but it means his spells are more effective¡± Interesting. ¡°Fel apprentice, normal class¡± Only normal? Maybe magic classes have a different grading¡­ ¡°Bodyguard, Hidden class¡± Of course Krudel¡­not even surprised ¡°So any more classes?¡± I mean I expected someone else to have a class¡­especially as most of the ones stated were part of my squad. ¡°Legionnaire, Hidden class, don¡¯t fight well alone but formations much more effective¡± Glorious speaks up. Oh, so I guess the 30 with shields are legionnairs. ¡°Ok so can I get a count on classes?¡± 30 legionnaires, 12 berzerkers (one is SirStripy according to DillyDally, 3 merchants, 1 farmer, 4 barmaids, 1 assassin, 1 mage, 1 wizard, 1 warrior, 2 archers, 1 alchemist, 1 fel apprentice, 4 bodyguards (the 3 minions of Ravenna, what a surprise), 6 bards (all the birds for some reason, except Goldy) and 22 classless so far. Well seeing as though some of the mage squad don¡¯t have a class but they soon will that¡¯s another 11 mages/wizards. So 11 people, 2 being Thrash who probably has some strange hunting class by now and Joat. The rest of the classless people are, Grawla, Keruskegh, Kale, Rakshak, NekiNeki, Goldy, Blacky, Tikari and Allie. How neither Allie nor Tikari have a class is beyond me since they¡¯re both with DillyDally¡¯s Squad. Strange. Well those lot now know there¡¯s a bunch of things they can go for. All in all we¡¯ve got a few more classes than I¡¯d thought. ¡°Have we got anymore subclasses?¡± because all are possible classes too ¡°Librarian¡± So that¡¯s what Tikari¡¯s been up to then. ¡°Tracker¡± Grawla growls with a grin ¡°Adventurer¡± Both Goldy and Blacky shout out Ok so these people have already had chances for a class they just decided not to. ¡°Any more?¡± Nope??? Well time to discuss prerequisites and then we¡¯re finally finished!!! ¡­ Talk about an information dump, my brain! ¡°Ok with that we¡¯re done¡­with skills¡± I forgot we had game information to talk about. And the sun is already hanging low¡­ ¡°onto system and game information, have anyone got anything?¡± ¡°Npc¡¯s are the same as us in terms of gaining stats and skills but we¡¯ve got better regeneration than them¡± Grawla knows quite a bit about Npc¡¯s¡­what has she been doing in these past few days? ¡°Also when a skill reaches level 9 it can be evolved to a better version of the skill if it has reached the max it can. That also means without classes skills cannot increase in grade¡± Well I guess that¡¯s game limitations. ¡°Alcohol is a thing and you can get drunk¡± One of the fish ladies speaks up for that tidbit. Joat you are in so much trouble. ¡°Basic Combat skills do not require any sort of ¡®pool¡¯ but they are much more effective when using a pool. The only skill so far that requires stamina to use is Frenzy but that¡¯s a martial skill so it¡¯s slightly different¡± DillyDally surely knows quite a bit Also I know that already since none of my skills need stamina or anything to be used¡­but with a question of effectiveness, it depends whether limiting yourself with a pool overbears the benefit of using one. ¡°When you log off, you now stay in game¡± Which is a real problem, especially as all of us will be offline at one point ¡°Unless your character is in a safe zone such as a bed or a tent¡± Honey must¡¯ve tried out the tents then. ¡°Our characters have implied abilities, for example I¡¯m immune to pain and I technically don¡¯t have the skill¡± Krudel has a point there. I should check out poison resistance on the Zz¡¯s. ¡°Messages don¡¯t send across different zones¡± We figured that one out a while back Anoobis, but thanks for the reminder ¡°Religion is a thing in this game¡± Zzoid makes everyone¡¯s heads turn ¡°And it¡¯s banned at minimum in the Dekin nation, so magical healing isn¡¯t really a widespread thing¡± Huh¡­wait a second I have a feeling he¡¯s hiding something. ¡°You¡¯re hiding something¡± One of the fish-ladies speak up. ¡°What is the rule Baila, hide things that state you cannot speak? The implication should be enough¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Basically he¡¯s got a class we can¡¯t talk about because it¡¯s hated in this nation at least¡± Anoobis gets long nod from Zzoid. Zzoid¡¯s done something in the past day, with Hobo? ¡°Right, anything else?¡± ¡°At level 10 we get a milestone to lock one out of three spots with our character¡± Ok anything else? Nope? Nope it is. ¡°Ok then we¡¯ve got 2 options form here, firstly separate and do our own thing, secondly everyone do their own thing but we have a weekly meeting teaching eachother the new things we¡¯ve learnt as however happy you are doing whatever you¡¯re doing now, we¡¯ve got 8 weeks until it¡¯s over so the more information we can pool together, the better our lives after this Beta test¡± ¡°And more importantly, we¡¯re not alone in this Beta test and I don¡¯t want to be at a lower level than the other testers, do you?¡± DillyDally steps forward with a fantastic point. Almost forgot about the other Beta testers, of which we¡¯ve only seen 30 but there are surely a lot more. ¡°Hands up for working solo¡± ¡­ .. . Not a single one. Heheh ¡°Hands up for working together¡± Ninety seven including me¡­perfect. ¡°Well meeting in one week time, chances are Joat¡¯s squad won¡¯t be here since we¡¯re off to find him and SirStripy. So DillyDally take¡¯s over?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be coming with you, can¡¯t leave SirStripy all alone now, Tikari, you¡¯re in charge and learn some magic¡± ¡°Yes Dally¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Meeting Adjourned¡± ok I did need to say that for everyone to get moving. *ding* Thank god it¡¯s over, that was so ling, iring and annoying having to actually be listening the entire time. Now, to find one high as hell Joat who walked off somewhere, he can¡¯t have gotten far right? 62. Tea Time ¡°Hahahahahahaaah. Ahem, beg your pardon Joat, something rather amusing just happened. As to who I am, I am Angel, Devil lord of all evil and rule of Hell¡± The large, red-skinned being with two equally crimson horns on his head accompanied with a tail and upside down heart end, gives me a small bow as he introduces himself, wiping a bleeding tear from his golden eyes ... .. . Huh I¡¯m tripping ¡­ .. . *Thwap* ¡°Snap out of it, for Aiag¡¯s sake, he may be pretty petrifying to look at but...he is hellspawn afterall¡± A new voice and ¡®person¡¯ partially appears in the corner of my eye, shining white feathery wings repeatedly thwapping me on the back of the head, ticklish. Well I never would¡¯ve though my in-game high would be my inner angel and devil having tea with me¡­I¡¯m going to enjoy this. ¡°Devil, please don¡¯t harm the man, he¡¯s come a long way after all ¡°Mortals, hah! They get hurt by so many little things like sticks and stones and even my feathers can bruise this plush mortal¡± *Thwap thwap* Actually it just tickles. ¡°I mean we don¡¯t see many ¡®things¡¯ so all the more to insult and bully their worthless lives¡± ¡°My life is worth something, at least a few gold thank you¡± turning towards the one called Devil, who is for some weird reason an angel (Casper at it again?), he literally shines oh my eyes! Apart from the wings I cannot see a single thing except brightness ¡°Devil turn your bedazzling light off, Joat can just barely handle it¡± I feel like he¡¯s rolling his eyes as he turns off the light, revealing a severely handsome man with curled golden hair and face like a model. A cherub turned topless severely sexy man. Although the constant facial twitching breaks the image quite botheringly. ¡°And so the thing comes back to consciousness, almost expected you to be unable to speak the common tongue¡± ¡°Well it wouldn¡¯t have mattered anyway Joat, we can speak all languages¡± ¡°Sweet, but do you know Chinese?¡± ¡°Ni hao, wo hen hao?¡± Angel perfectly speaks a small mandarin phrase, I think it was mandarin anyway. ¡°So er, what are you taking me through today?¡± Might as well see if the trip has something planned? ¡°Sorry but we don¡¯t take you through things, rather we¡¯re here for a chat¡± ¡°With you? Oh you must be special!¡± Devil is a sassy, sarcastic and rather mean person from what I can hear (and I¡¯ll never know what he looks like thanks to his brilliant radiance). ¡°Devil, you know we don¡¯t get people here often so please don¡¯t rush them away with such rudeness¡± ¡°Oh Angel, how I have not missed taking tea with you¡± some small green liquid spills on the floor next to me. Well that¡¯s just plain rude sir. Actually haven¡¯t drunk my own tea yet. Mmm, that is good, good tea. ¡°Good isn¡¯t it, a family recipe¡± He gives me a genuine, toothy smile as he sips his own tea. ¡°Wait wait wait, since when did you count yourself as family?¡± ¡°Devil, although you may not cherish our bonds but we¡¯-¡± ¡°NOT again pleeease, we¡¯ve been over this two hundred times this past century alone¡± ¡°And I shall go over it once more¡± Immediately Devil furls his wings over him, disappearing in a mass of feathers ¡°We may have been born from different circumstances-¡± ¡°You were born from fire and seed, while I was cesarianed from my swan mother, different circumstances is an understatement¡± ¡°-but we¡¯re siblings in heart and soul and that¡¯s what truly matters. Plus we do come from the same parent-¡± ¡°Who stuck his member into the living fire of Kartush to birth you. Being associated with him is not my idea of family¡± ¡°-And I respect his being in all senses as I respect yours. For we are family and family support one another no matter how little we like eachother, Devil¡± *Groan* ¡°Are you done yet?¡± ¡°I kept it short, since I did not want to bother Joat, who has come all the way here to see us¡± ¡°By all means, continue¡± I¡¯m enjoying this. ¡°Wait please! Ok fine, I¡¯ll converse with you, but no more lecturing about love, family and all that Mingur droppings¡± ¡°Mingur¡¯s became extinct centuries ago Devil, that term has lost it¡¯s meaning¡± ¡°And no history lessons please, gah don¡¯t you have anything better to do with your time than watch people, you know like keeping the furnaces of Hell going and bathing in the screams of your residents?¡± ¡°The airconditioning is actually working fine thank you, but I still haven¡¯t figured out how to soundproof the castle¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got aircon in Hell?¡± ¡°Oh yes, the place is boiling to the point of melting your very flesh and bones. So all the residents who aren¡¯t sinners need the aircon to survive the climate¡± ¡°By residents?¡± ¡°Demon-kin and lesser devils amongst the other higher evil beings, you¡¯d be surprised how bad some of them are with the heat¡± Angel shakes his head, probably at some memory. ¡°Think the most horrifying, evil and disgusting beings, that¡¯s them¡± Devil not-so-helpfully adds on ¡°Actually many are very beautiful: ever heard of a Succubus Joat?¡± I just slowly nod at the fantastic image that pops into my head. I am definitely going to have to meet a succubus because reasons¡­and also to see how different they are from the actual femme fatales that eclipse around me. ¡°Tch¡­could you bring some of those over for me? All I have in my planes are unicorns and fairies oh are they the most boring, innocent beings I¡¯ve ever met¡± ¡°You know the rules, evil beings aren¡¯t allowed in the planes of good and vice versa under any circumstances¡± ¡°Sc¡­aaagh I hate my job!!¡± Stifling his own words, Devil seethes to the sky ¡°Well Aiag did give us a choice and you chose Heaven¡± ¡°I was young, na?ve, I didn¡¯t know about the fact that I cannot touch the elven beauties the play the fu-rping harp all the time at my place¡± ¡°80 percent is imagination¡± the brain is awesome and I am having a good dollop of imagination. ¡°When you¡¯ve been staring at the same mounds covered just barely by semi-transparent silks for a few hundred years, your imagination would understand just how dry and dull it can be, how frustrating to see something that causes you literal pain just to think abouch!¡± ¡°Devil feels pain whenever he thinks of something sinful¡± That explains the contstant twitching then. ¡°But don¡¯t you have a rotation, I mean there can¡¯t be a lack of beautiful beings in Heaven right?¡± I mean yeah there aren¡¯t many good people in the world but I¡¯m sure if he¡¯s lived hundreds of years there¡¯d be an amount. ¡°I do, I¡¯ve been through them all, all fourty seven¡± ¡°Wait, how long have you guys been alive to only have 47 elven women in Heaven?¡± ¡°Joat, it¡¯s fourty seven women as a whole¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°I repeat the same question¡± With much more curiosity now ¡°About a thousand years¡± Devil shrugs his shoulders uncaringly ¡°One thousand and twelve this year in two hundred and six days¡± Angel certainly keeps track gee. ¡°So how have only 47 women come to Heaven?¡± repeating that oh so please answer it question once again. ¡°Well twenty three are demi-godesses, another eighteen martyrs, that I saved just before death and the last five were heroes¡± ¡°It must be extremely difficult to get into Heaven then?¡± Either become a demi-god, a martyr or a hero. ¡°Well Joat, actually it¡¯s not: if a priest absolves you of your sins, you can go to Heaven¡± ¡°That sounds simple-¡± ¡°-But in the current age there aren¡¯t any priests so nobody goes to heaven¡­well mostly no-one¡± Angel calmly explains as Devil is busy recounting the names of the 47 women with sadness and twitching.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Ah. How long have priests not existed?¡± and I swear the hobo guy was a priest¡­oh what has his name again? ¡°The crusades were about four hundred years ago, and thanks to that my house got flooded by the blimming spirits because everyone was absolved for murder¡± ¡°Spirits are beings who died. And only a select few retain their bodies by either physically travelling there or being chosen by us, we call them residents¡± Oh so he¡¯s got 47 residents then, ohhh. ¡°Which we have to ask Aiag about and he usually says no¡± ¡°Well your reason to save the voluptuous womenfolk isn¡¯t becoming of The angel¡± ¡°Immortality sucks, at least you get to have as much nasty fun with your succubuses as you waowouuuuunt!¡± Like someone is shocking him his body shivers uncontrollably as he grits his teeth, but that only lasts a second. Well must suck to be him. ¡°I refrain, since their habit is cruelly born¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, raped women become succubuses to take revenge on all men yada yada they¡¯re literally beauties who I would probably become a fallen angel for. At least send me a picture of them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to get them away from that lifestyle, ever since one of my imps made this snappit application, they¡¯ve been rather disgraceful in their behavior over the hellnet¡± ¡°2, wait multiple questions¡± Listening to them is so entertaining and I love my mind and it¡¯s boundless imagination ¡°Are demons and lesser devils created from people? And you have internet? And applications?¡± ¡°Yes, though only spirits which have served their sentence have the choice to become one¡­although in many cases that is their sentence. As for the thing you called the internet? I believe you mean the hellnet, odd that you know of it but then again you are a demi-god so it¡¯s not t-¡± ¡°I¡¯m a demi-god?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡­didn¡¯t know about yourself? That¡¯s peculiar¡± ¡°He may be a bit thick, and an airhead¡± ¡°I am completely normal, but I¡¯m a demi-god?¡± I¡¯ve got delusions of grandeur, well I mean of course. ¡°So demi-gods usually know that they are by the main obvious signs; eternal life, able to see statuses of everything around them, unnatural regeneration. Out of the place things like that¡± ¡°So if I¡¯m a demi-god¡­then you two are gods?¡± ¡°To your puny mind we might as well be greater than that-¡± ¡°-But we are also just demi-gods Joat¡­¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how you know my name? you looked at my status?¡± ¡°Exactly. And for your information there is only one god, Aiag¡± ¡°So aren¡¯t there any like rogue gods or demi-gods?¡± ¡°There are many demi-gods but if any goes rogue Aiag just obliterates them and then gives a century long lecture while they re-compose¡± Devil doesn¡¯t look too happy, probably from experience. ¡°So let me get this right; Aiag is top dog, Angel is the lord of evil and Devil the lord of good. Are there any more demi-gods who are in charge of something?¡± ¡°The mortal plane surely is losing much culture by exterminating all religion. Tut tut. So from the beginning. Aiag is the top god, the one and only. I rule over all evil things, especially Hell which is the plane of punishment for the spirits who wander the mortal plane. Devil rules over all good things, Heaven being his plane for souls to rest in eternity. Then we have all the elements, Flora, Fauna demi-god¡¯s and then the ones for all the concepts and in all honesty Aiag has a lot of free time, so anything and everything has a demi-god looking after it¡± ¡°So whenever we have our Annual meeting, it¡¯s like being stuck in a giant room with strangers of which there are never an ending too. And when we have to actually talk to them! I couldn¡¯t care less that I¡¯m apparently in charge of naming every fuuuping unicorn child¡± ¡°It¡¯s important to give all your residents their appropriate fae name¡± ¡°Like you¡¯re one to talk about their names, what did you call that new efreet demi-god?¡± ¡°fourtwentyblazeit, why? It was the name he had chosen himself¡± ¡°At least I give mine proper names, like littleshirrruh¡­¡± ¡°Uncouth words are a sin, you should have learnt that by now¡± ¡°Freedom of expression, why are you allowed it and not I¡± ¡°I have some limits, only Death is truly fr-¡± ¡°Oh not that guy again, seriously he¡¯s a bag of bones with nothing but funny bones in his body¡± ¡°Don¡¯t disrespect your elders, Death¡¯s a laughing being but he¡¯s also dutiful to his work, quite unlike you who skips meeting and greeting your new spirits as well as checking that eternal peace is all that it can be for them¡± ¡°Eternal peace is litearlly the worst thing there is, you would not understand. All you have to deal with is a bunch of spirits screaming all the time¡± Angel just shakes his head. ¡°So moving onto Death, he, like us is one of the top 3, very important to know about, since he brings the cycle of life into play¡± ¡°Sooo if Death took a day off¡± not sure if demi-god¡¯s, well this kind are allowed days off, but in my inner mind I¡¯m sure these guys are allowed a day off ¡°He does not¡± oh what, but everyone needs a day off once in a while. ¡°Excuse me, but I smell Kalkak¡¯s fart upon your mouth, Death has taken more than a few days off in the past millennium¡± ¡°Once again Kalkak are extinct in the mortal plane, not appropriate to this age. And yes Death has had to take some days off, ferrying spirits for eternity takes a toll on the poor being¡± ¡°Right, totally. But he could just slow down, not stop completely and have The Great Dive happen¡± ¡°The Great Dive?¡± ¡°Let me fill that airheaded brain with some fantastic stories, which are true¡± ¡°So history¡± ¡°Eugh do not use that word, it¡¯s nothing like how you would tell history¡± He certainly never enjoyed the subject then. ¡°So The Great Dive was when the continent of¡­Angel where was it again?¡± ¡°Sjunkade¡± ¡°that place. It sunk, submerged under the oceans forever, taking all it¡¯s populace with it. But here¡¯s the fun part. Death was having his millennial holiday, which lasted 2 years-¡± ¡°Wait there was no Death for 2 years, isn¡¯t that just insane?¡± Yeah brain what are you thinking? I mean I did say they¡¯d be taking a day off but not two years, although¡­ ¡°Aiag decided Death needed some time off so he took over¡± Angel helpfully explains, refilling my cup with delicious tea as well. ¡°He was bored. So he took over, missed the fact that an entire continent was sinking and since nobody of that continent was able to die they naturally and magically adapted on the seabed¡± So atlantis then but a whole continent, sweet! ¡°But he¡¯s a god isn¡¯t he? How did he miss that?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not as omniscipent as you believe, even I can only focus on about a few hundred things at a time¡± Devil looks very full of himself. ¡°And when you have to search for deaths, pinpoint them for your reapers and also help ferry the spirits, I am to this day still impressed he watched the final ever Giggleball match, since the Gigglers became extinct at the end, while doing Death¡¯s duties on top¡± failing to as it sounds like¡­an imperfect god, well yes god should never be perfect. ¡°How much time do you spend with that guy? It¡¯s like you know how his job works and actually enjoy his company¡± ¡°Well I do take over on his days off now since I can be trusted to not keep people alive when they should not¡± He shakes his head slowly at Devil who¡¯s twitch intensifies to a mild standing spasm I feel like Devil fools around a lot for someone who¡¯s supposed to be responsible for all good things¡­ ¡°It. Was. That. One. Time¡± through gritted teeth he speaks through. Wow he must¡¯ve thought of some terrible sins ¡°Milena still has fourty one years on her succubus sentence Devil¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°At least she gets fourty one years of fun, while I get squit diddle do¡± Angel shakes his head silently once again. My brain, really why is this on the forefront? Am I going to have to go see a psychologist to see why I¡¯m thinking so much about rape? This is worrying, please stop brain! ¡°But back to the religion lesson. There are a few out there that believe in gods, but those are actually just demi-gods so don¡¯t be fooled¡± ¡°Well that was enlightening I guess, so teach me more¡± I am interested to see what my brain comes up with next, hopefully away from rape and horrible things. I feel like I definitely could do without Devil and what he brings to the trip. ¡°Oh you want to learn? Well-¡± ¡°Oh cmon you can¡¯t be serious, look at it, it¡¯s just a hobgoblin, who happens to be a demi-god¡± ¡°He¡¯s an evil being, with a lot of goodness in him, you should know that at least¡± ¡°But it¡¯s still just a hobgoblin¡± ¡°I¡¯m a human actually¡± well I am ¡°A hobgoblin who believes it¡¯s a human¡± ¡°No I¡¯m actually a human and this is just a game, crazy right¡± ¡°Wow, Angel, have you really been trying to converse with this, it¡¯s ma-¡± Angel hold his palm towards Devil. ¡°A game you said¡± ¡°You have them down in Hell too?¡± ¡°Only a few, and although they are entertaining, nobody has much time to delve into them¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, how did you set up the inter, sorry hellnet?¡± ¡°He¡¯s Aiag¡¯s favourite that¡¯s why¡± ¡°Aiag gifts me and my residents technology to better our lives, as a reward for good service in maintaining the world¡± ¡°And because you¡¯re his favourite¡± ¡°I won¡¯t deny that¡± He smirks just a little, breaking his otherwise solemn composure just for a second. ¡°But you¡¯re telling me this is a game? You must be quite affected by a substance of some kind¡± ¡°That I am sir, that I am¡± the strange red and white joints oh my what a fourth wall trip break, haven¡¯t had this before ¡°And yes this is a game, where my consciousness is here but my body is not. None of this is real, it¡¯s all created by code and science¡± ¡°You still want to teach it?¡± Please stop calling me it and thing, I am human afterall so it hurts just a little when you say it, even if you are a figment of my tripping imagination. ¡°I see¡­well back onto the topic at hand, thank you Devil. Joat, do you want to make a pact with me?¡± ¡°I will immediately say yes, but also ask why?¡± ¡°Well you express a desire to learn and since I rarely get visitors such as yourself-¡± ¡°-Exactly five hundred conversations since our beginning¡± ¡°I¡¯m open to teaching you, if only to hopefully one day once again meet you in person¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty weak reason to make a pact with me¡± Brain you¡¯re flagging on the interesting ideas. ¡°He¡¯s just a massive softie, and nothing makes him happier than sending his children into the ¡®wide world¡¯¡± ¡°They need to experience the mortal plane, not be stuck playing games and snapping eachother all day¡± ¡°So if I make a pact with you, I can summon your residents?¡± ¡°Yes, though many get mistreated so please be kind to them, they¡¯re all suffering anyways¡± ¡°Mahoosive softie¡± ¡°Well alright, pact with me. It is a blood contract?¡± ¡°That comes later, right now I¡¯ll teach you how to visualize the symbol and speak the words¡± He produces a small block of chalk and begins drawing a simple pentagram with small strange symbols drawn at each point and a small number of them in the centre. ¡°Yay drawing lessons, seriously it¡¯d be more fun to watch It struggle to learn it by itself¡± ¡°Now the outer symbols are the incantation and the inner is the name of the demon you¡¯re summoning. Repeat after me: Angel, Lord of all evil, I beg your permission to summon from the depths of Hell, the plane of punishment, a child of yours, to aid me in my purpose, so grant me the imp JerryTheMouse¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°¡­Angel, Lord of all evil, I beg your permission to summon from the depths of Hell, the plane of punishment, a child of yours, to aid me in my purpose, so grant me the imp JerryTheMouse?¡± I mean¡­ok? Bit of a strange name??? ¡°Simple enough, and the final words are Advocabit impdicitur¡± ¡°The last is all one word?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Advocabit impdicitur¡± ¡°That will summon JerryTheMouse, or for short Jerry who you will then make a blood contract with¡± ¡°Why is the imp called JerryTheMouse?¡± I swear he mentioned something about this earlier. ¡°His naming right was his own, but I suspect it¡¯s from a certain mouse that many of the young imps watch before torture time¡± Huh¡­Hell seems superbly modern in my mind¡­well I am going there so might as well believe it¡¯ll be comfy when I get there. ¡°If you want to summon more sociable demons, the incantation just gets longer and more complicated but Jerry will tell you once you¡¯re demonic summoning skill has reached the right point¡± Love it how my devil and angel personas can see my character sheet! ¡°Alright alright, you¡¯ve done your annoying summoning skill things. I however have a better thing to teach you!¡± ¡°Wait why are you teaching me too? Don¡¯t you like hate me?¡± ¡°Ah you see, if I teach you, you can absolve people and make all the beautiful women join me in Heaven, at least give me some of the fellow demi-goddesses you know!¡± ¡°They¡¯re not property, but nonetheless they¡¯re still mine. But a skill is a skill and I¡¯m guessing no matter if I try or not, it¡¯ll help the others become good¡± ¡°Yes, so take the book¡± He chucks a tiny almost notepad thickness white tome. ¡°Devil why do you try to seem better?¡± Angel takes out his own tiny red tome and hands it to me ¡°These tomes are the physical embodiment of your good and evil magical abilities and spells. The more you know, the bigger your tome gets¡± I¡¯m sure my brains making some forlorn innuendo but gosh I¡¯m too tired to think about it. *yawn* ¡°Ah the tea is finally affecting you it seems¡± ¡°Sleeping leaves?¡± ¡°Spirit restoration spices but you needn¡¯t worry about that, have some more¡± I mean I¡¯m not going to say no even with the strangely positive name, since that tea is deeeelicious. ¡°By the way guys, has anyone ever told you, your names fit perfectly¡± ¡°only seventy two times, no seventy five now¡± Right whatever brain, I¡¯m going to enjoy this made up tea now. Mmmmmmmm ¡°Hey are you awake?¡± Snapping my eyes open, I get a face full of someone I do not recognize, human though. Ah that was a quick comedown¡­or maybe I lost consciousness after it, can that happen in game? Well I did get absolutely trollied and have a super weird high-dream about meeting my inner angel and devil all the while related to the game so it¡¯s not that far fetched to believe I can lose consciousness¡­ ¡°Hey, respond¡± the unrecognizable human with bright blue eyes shakes me again ¡°I¡¯m here I¡¯m here, why are you shaking me, and who are you?¡± ¡°Nightbird¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Aha!¡± Whoops wasn¡¯t meant to be out loud, well whatever ¡°I do remember you. Why are you shaking me so much, what happened?¡± ¡°Ah¡­nothing¡­it¡¯s just that¡­I¡¯ve been pretty lonely for the past three days¡± ¡­ .. . OH MY GOD MY LECTURES! ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ve got to go to sleep like now, um are you ok with that?¡± Also why am I topless? ¡°¡­no, it¡¯s lonely without Filly ¡­.¡± He looks away rather awkwardly Who¡¯s Filly? Also let¡¯s check the time¡­well I¡¯ve missed the lecture nothing I can do so I GUESS I can stay with him. ¡°Actually I can stay awake¡± somehow my tiredness just vanished. ¡°You¡¯re not tired after spending three days with the devil and angel?¡± ¡°Yeah surprisingly I¡¯-¡­how do you know about them?¡± 63. Blindly Going Through Life -Earlier that same day- (Sino¡¯s POV) ¡°Emma tell me, what do you feel?¡± ¡°Hard, unbreaking and cold to the touch, almost pushing me away. But it gets warmer, more familiar and my fingers feel like they even sink slightly¡± She has a really good perception of the world that one. ¡°Very good and how about you Clara?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a metal block¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re not wrong¡­but do you sense anything beyond it being just a metal block?¡± ¡°erm, it¡¯s cold like metal¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Keep trying¡± If it was the first time meeting her I¡¯d surely say she¡¯s joking around but after listening to her rather inexpressionate self for a few lectures, almost to the point of bluntness, I can tell she lacks the words, or rather the ability to speak her mind. ¡°So does that mean we¡¯re done?¡± But you know I could be completely wrong and she hates this class. Please don¡¯t I¡¯m trying here¡­ ¡°Yes we are done, now go have your breakfast nap or whatever we¡¯re supposed to do at ten in the morning¡± Hmm I could sneak in a good thirty minute nap if I try¡­but then again breakfast is top priority. I¡¯m assuming they¡¯ve all opened their eyes as I hear them walking about and preparing to leave. These past three lectures have actually gone pretty decently, considering I¡¯m blind, have no idea about art and am just sort of using personal experiences to teach them a different perspective on textures. Apparently that¡¯s part of the syllabus and really the only one I could do so I¡¯m doing it. ¡°But before you leave, have some homework. I want you all to touch at least ten things with your eyes closed and try to get a feeling so that you know what each is without looking¡± ¡°Er Sean, this is university, we don¡¯t get homework¡± ¡°Who is the lecturer here? You get homework¡± I¡¯m enjoying the power. Finally finding the trapdoor, I hear the grumbling Clara pass me, only stopping momentarily to say bye. Guess she doesn¡¯t completely hate me then, woo! Slowly walking down the spiral stairs of doom, I feel a slight heat reaching out to my arm and locking it in place. ¡°Thank you Emma but there¡¯s no need, I am more than capable of going down these stairs this time¡± We¡¯ll ignore the last two times where I tripped and almost fell to my death¡­ Lucky Krudel was there to save me from the impending doom. He¡¯s got a fantasticly firm grip. She does let go of my arm respectful of my wishes and I begin the hellish descent once more. Whoever decided to give the blind guy lecture duty in a tower is a very bad person. One step at a time., slowly does it with my clank clank stick. ¡°Sir¡± ¡°Just Sean¡± too formal, an I¡¯m barely twenty one, don¡¯t give me premature wrinkles please. ¡°Sean, what does the metal feel like to you?¡± and very curious too, always asking me questions about blindness as if she¡¯s never encountered a blind person before ¡°As Clara puts it, it feels like metal. And before you ask, being blind doesn¡¯t give you superpowers to feel things better¡± Yeah I wish ¡°So what¡¯s the difference between you and I?¡± ¡°I can taste my saliva, smell your strawberry scent and hear the birds whistling outside, just like you. The only difference between us is that I can¡¯t see any of this.¡± ¡°Oh¡± Oops I believe I¡¯ve made her slightly depressed ¡°But I do have one well I guess you could call it superpower¡± ¡°Ooh what is it?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see people¡± ¡°¡­how is that a superpower?¡± ¡°Tell me, have you ever looked at a person and not liked them?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you like them?¡± ¡°They were looking at me strangely¡± ¡°Now I don¡¯t get any of that, I cannot see the person I¡¯m talking to¡± ¡°So¡­you can¡¯t tell if they¡¯re good or bad?¡± ¡°Not quite; I can¡¯t judge them based on their looks, only by who they are. I can see the inside of a person more clearly than any person with eyes can¡± ¡°Ew¡± ¡°Metaphorically¡± ¡°Oh¡± ¡°I have made many friends that I know I wouldn¡¯t have made if I could see them, and you¡¯d be surprised how many people you can actually like if you speak to them before you see them¡± ¡°But how do I do that? Do I just close my eyes when about to meet someone new?¡± ¡°That¡­is one way. But you¡¯ll find places like chatrooms to be a simpler method¡± ¡°Rooms for talking in?¡± I mean she hasn¡¯t been to a chatroom once yet? ¡°On the internet¡± ¡°The internet?¡± ¡­ .. . Oh you¡¯ve got to be kidding me. What kind of rock did she live under? Or castle by the posh, hightailed tone of her voice. ¡°I would ask you to google the internet¡­but of course that¡¯s just wrong¡± ¡°Google?¡± ¡°You know what, let¡¯s get back to the point I was making¡± I¡¯m not going to begin explaining the internet, especially as I don¡¯t really use it either, just kind of hear about it and sort of be there when Mom did important things for me on there. ¡°Now where was I?¡± ¡°You were talking about how you can like someone when you can¡¯t see them¡± ¡°Ah yes, well you see when you look at a person, the Lemon effect I think someone called it, you make a decision about them in a few seconds based on just how they look. I can¡¯t do that so I end up making friends with a lot of people who are called ugly, funny-looking or just generally sociatelly ostracized based on their looks¡± ¡°Oh¡­people are ostracized by their looks?¡± I honestly have no idea what planet you¡¯re from because Earth is full of ostracization of people who don¡¯t fit the norm. I mean people make fun of me from my mismatched clothes. ¡°It¡¯s a big thing in some places, but an example you can see right now is people make fun of my mismatched clothes¡± ¡°I quite like it, the blue shirt with a orange tie and black trousers and shoes¡± Huh I actually wore something pretty decent today, good on me. ¡°Fits the rule of three perfectly¡± ¡°Why thank you¡± No idea what the rule of three is supposed to be but it¡¯s the first compliment about my clothes I¡¯ve received in quite a long time. ¡°So are you able to tell a bad person from a good person then when you talk to them?¡± ¡°Ehhh ish, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m perfect in reading a person but I usually can figure out whether this person wants to be friends or wants to punch me¡± My clank clank stick slaps wood. Aha I have reached the door at the bottom, without falling!! That is an achievement considering the horribly narrow spiral staircase without rails. And it¡¯s only my third trip down too! ¡°Mistress, I belive we need to be on our way now¡± I hear her intake of breath cut short by Krudel¡­someone I¡¯m actually quite familiar with.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°O¡­well I¡¯ll see you tomorrow Sean, thank you for answering my questions. And it¡¯s actually a cool superpower!¡± I imagine she¡¯s doing something called a curtsy, whatever that¡¯s supposed to look like. ¡°No problem it¡¯s my job after all¡± Well temporaryish job/ I¡¯m really only supposed to teach you but whatever! I hear the two of them quickly running off, leaving me clanking through the slowly bustling corridor filled with whinging and whining students, mostly from the ¡®wicked¡¯ headaches they drunk themselves into last night. The music is somewhat fun to listen to¡­but the dancing, however the hell it¡¯s supposed to happen just does not happen. Clubbing only ever happened once for a good reason. Today seemed to be my lucky day with these usually swaying into me people, as I don¡¯t get collided into and nobody gets thwapped by my clank clank stick. Somehow getting outside with no tripping or problems at all, I start down the bustling street, fully focusing on the dangerously cobbled path which usually screws me over on a good day. Many clank clank sticks have been lost to the gaps between the cobblestones¡­ Though today was not one of those days: Miraculously I made it all the way down the hill and across the bridge and actually got into the residential area without tripping or breaking something. Truly, today is going to be a good day! ¡°Babe look we can talk about this?¡± Oh I hear a fight about to go down in one the houses above me somewhere. Right not my business and I don¡¯t want my day ruined by real life just yet. ¡°Talk, is that what you want to do? Is that what you and Shaniqua were doing late last night?¡± ¡°Yes, totally babe, nothing happe-BABE N-¡± *Crack* the miracle day is over with a hard tackle to stone. *BADUM* ¡°-YOU BI-¡± *TSS* ¡°AHHHHHH¡± Holy mother of god that was definitely a scream of pain. Not from me though, somehow I¡¯m fine, albeit feeling slightly crushed by something muscular ¡°You ok?¡± Oh it¡¯s Ted! And he helps me back to my feet probably checking me for damage. Checking myself over, huh that tackle did surprisingly little to me, if I don¡¯t count being winded and almost having a heart attack from the suddenness. ¡°Yeah im fine¡± though something did crack but nope no pain so it wasn¡¯t me. ¡°You either leave through the door or I will toss you out the fucking window¡± She is just saying it, but that just makes it sound more terrifying. ¡°What happened? It sounded like a drum set was thrown to the ground¡± I¡¯ve got a pretty good guess what just happened but as a blind man always got to ask to know. ¡°Yes, those two are fighting¡± No don¡¯t go help them Ted, you¡¯re way too kind as it is, gee like how many times have you carried me home already midway through your morning sprint? ¡°Indee-¡± *Cre-Thud* ¡°Run you little bitch AND IF YOU COME BACK I¡¯LL CLAW YOUR EYES OUT YOU CUNT JUMPING WHORE¡± the image in my head is of one man running quite fast away from whoever this deadly growling woman is. ¡°Miss¡± Ted starts to confront her. Please don¡¯t hurt yourself Ted! ¡°You want to play with me too? I will fucking claw your face to ribbons.¡± She growls, what an animal of a human! ¡°Woah woah missy, Ted isn¡¯t trying anything¡± ¡°Then why, is he, looking at me with such a gaze!¡± ¡°Because you threw a drum set out the window¡± ¡°Yeah and? I didn¡¯t hurt nobody did I¡± ¡°Actually it would¡¯ve fallen on me if he hadn¡¯t pushed me out the way¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°¡­Oh shit¡­er sorry, my apologies, whoops, didn¡¯t mean to almost kill you.¡± Woah complete 180 change of personality, where¡¯s the angry growling gone? ¡°Just had a fight and heat of the moment er sorry¡± ¡°I heard¡± ¡°Uh, well¡­are you ok?¡± give people two chances and you definitely see a different side of them each time. How terrifyingly true. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± Ted probably isn¡¯t knowing him, too self-sacrificial. ¡°Hand hurts¡± ¡°Oh my god, jesus, please come upstairs I got some first aid for that. And uh can I buy you a drink as sorry for almost throwing a drum set at you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t drink¡± huh would¡¯ve thought Ted participated in the drinking side of university. Guess not? ¡°Oh then¡­.how about I make you late breakfast?¡± She¡¯s actually trying to recompense us, without us having to ask too. Ok I¡¯m always up for free food, which technically almost cost me my life but eh whatever. With my nod, I begin wiping my foot along the ground looking for my clank clank stick. ¡°Broken¡± Ted gives me a light tap on the shoulder before placing the broken into two clank clank stick in my hand. Well lucky I¡¯ve got a lot of spares, or was that the last of them¡­ He quickly hoists me into a carry, letting me rest on his deliciously muscular arms. Before I know it, the trip upstairs is over and I¡¯m placed on a seat with a cold, stoneish, marble(?) counter in front of it. ¡°Ted was it? First aid kit is here, gauze, iodine, you need a pain killer?¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Good answer, because I don¡¯t have any of that¡± *guuuuur* Oh I really should have eaten breakfast this morning. ¡°I can do it¡± Seems Ted is pushing her to begin the cooking as I hear the oven flicker on. ¡°Right, what are we having for breakfast, er¡­¡± ¡°Annalise. And it¡¯s bacon we¡¯re having er¡­¡± ¡°Sean, and just bacon? No like full English?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t crack eggs without the shells going everwhere, hate mushrooms, hash browns suck and whoever thought creating the physical form of burn and adding that to the mix was a complete idiot¡± Apart from the hash browns she¡¯s actually pretty spot on. ¡°And sausages and beans?¡± ¡°¡­All I¡¯ve got in my fridge is bacon, deal with it¡± Alright, growling, keep that down, it¡¯s actually quite scary. ¡°Annalise, can I?¡± Ted calls out from somewhere behind me somehow already done with his bandaging. That was quick. ¡°Sure¡± *poof* Wait that¡¯s the sound of a punching bag? And chains? What¡¯s that doing in a student house¡­although she could not be a student. But then again, what respectable adult has only bacon in their fridge¡­yeah she¡¯s a student. ¡°Actually you shouldn¡¯t do that, especially with that grazing¡± Oh so that¡¯s what happened to him. I was starting to worry it was worse. ¡°I¡¯ve had worse¡± Yeah Ted has been hit by a car before¡­to think that¡¯s how we met. ¡°So Annalise, what¡¯s with the punching bag, that that guys¡¯?¡± ¡°Nah it¡¯s mine, I do MMA¡± ¡°Claws aren¡¯t allowed¡± Ted calls out ¡°Fine ex-mma, claws grew out when I stopped¡± ¡°To scare people¡± ¡°The dangerous ones, it works pretty well¡± I can imagine¡­ Sitting in slightly awkward silence as Annalise cooks, only bacon, while Ted continually punches in a rhythm. He does need to learn how to relax a little: all I ever see is him do is working out. ¡°Breakfast is served¡± ¡°Do we get water with it, or bacon juice¡± ¡°Open wide and I¡¯ll pour the sizzling juices right into your gullet or I could get you some water¡± I definitely should stop any sort of joking that I would try do¡­she¡¯s one of the violent kind. ¡°I¡¯ll take the water please¡± ¡°Water please¡± Right the glass is in my left hand and time to enjoy(?) this full bacon breakfast. *crunch* ¡­ .. . Oh.My.God¡­that is amazing. It¡¯s crunchy, honey tasting and even slightly smoky flavoured. What kind of bacon is this? ¡°Seems like you enjoy it, this is real bacon, not like any of that floppy stuff you English like¡± ¡°But it¡¯s like crispy, how did you do that?¡± ¡°Frying, while lathering it in honey and slightly burning it¡± I definitely have a new way of getting Hymn to cook me bacon from now on. With no more interruptions the bacon crunch begins and all too soon my hand reaches the bottom of the bowl. ¡°I can make some more if you want¡± ¡°I would like that so very much thank you¡± ¡°¡­Ah, bugger I¡¯ve actually got something to do now. Could you come by tomorrow and I¡¯ll cook you some more?¡± I mean free food so how could I say no? ¡°Sure. That reminds me, Ted what time is it¡± ¡°Ten thirty seven¡± ¡­ .. . Oh no, I¡¯m late too. ¡°Oh god I¡¯ve got to go too, well thank you for the bacon Annalise, it was enlightening. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow¡± Rushing off the chair, Ted catches the stumbling me and once again carries me within his bulging arms. She says a goodbye, closing the door after us as we leave, and soon I feel the wind rushing upon my face as Ted sprints through the streets. Ah, I kind of understand why he does morning sprints: the slightly chilly wind almost tickles my face. All too soon, he slows down and finally stops, putting me down on what I assume is my front door. ¡°Thank you Ted, I¡¯ll see you again tomorrow¡± ¡°Goodbye Sean¡± He sprints off like the wind itself. Feeling just in front of me, yup it¡¯s a door. *BANG BANG BANG* That should get it moving. ¡°We are late¡± Hymn immediately starts scolding me as he opens the door, quickly rushing me inside with a helping hand. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yep¡± ¡°Good¡± He almost chucks me onto my bed yet carefully places the headset on my lap. Right, onto Aria! ¡­ *clack* Ah echolocation, how useful to let me see blurs of people so that I can sort of see their basic outline. Well it lets me see the basic outline of everthing else which is indescribably messy and hard to figure out what is who. ¡°Hey Sino, nice of you to join us, I was just about to suggest we should have some nice roast owl for breakfast¡± a snarky Grawla barks somewhere from my right. ¡°Actually I¡¯d like some roast hyena from the equally late Grawla¡± Pinky Juniour, a rabbit-beastlady(?) talks from ahead ¡°I do not recommend that my loliness, Hyena meat is chewy and rather unflavourful from their poor diet of usually old corpses¡± Zzoid, a person with a slight hiss, from the middle calls out ¡°Actually hyena can taste pretty decent if it¡¯s been eating well, owl however is a quite stringy¡± Honey has a biggish figure, what I¡¯d imagine is muscularish I guess, and a veritable fount of strange knowledge, only second to Zzoid as I¡¯m quickly learning. ¡°Alright can we stop talking about cannibalism, we¡¯re in a bit of sticky situation here¡± The other rabbit-beaslady(?)called Baila whines from the back. ¡°Don¡¯t get me muddy, keep that chest held high¡± A matured woman, Rassin was her name I think, sit on top of Baila¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Sticky hehe¡± the little one Zzand giggles out ¡°It isn¡¯t funny little brother¡± The slightly elder Zzard has different opinions on slight forms of wit. Both have the same slight hiss as Zzoid has. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± The seriously innocent Emma¡­wait Princess is what she¡¯s called here, always completely missing the point. ¡°Mistress, Baila did a form of witty use of words based upon our situation, since we¡¯re in a muddy swamp it could certainly be called a sticky situation¡± Krudel takes charge in explaining things to her, probably since he¡¯s her butler or retainer of innocence or something. ¡°Ha ha?¡± That is the proper reaction to most terrible forms of wit, still don¡¯t get much of the ¡®phrasing¡¯ that many people do nowadays. I guess I just don¡¯t see what¡¯s so funny about it. ¡°Such low brained jokes could not stimulate me in the slightest¡± Anoobis, a rather high-self-respecting but intelligent individual, also leading the front, right at the front too. ¡°I doubt much could stimulate you but yourself¡± The equally intelligent woman, Ravenna, also leads the front. ¡°Ha ha?¡± Pinky Seniour another rabbit-beastlady(?), but obviously the junior, laughs(?) unsuredly, possible since she didn¡¯t get the full meaning only that it was ¡®a sick burn¡¯. ¡°Can we focus on the lizards please, I don¡¯t want to get my robes bitten at again¡± the one called Lenny, an elderly man, sort of looks like he¡¯s floating above the swampy according to my outliney echolocation, but I could definitely be wrong about that. I did talk to a tree for the better part of twenty minutes believing it was BoneCracker yesterday¡­ These¡­squiggles? I guess that¡¯s what people call them. They¡¯re just so hard to figure out, I hope my echolocation helps. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ve got enough acid to deal with them¡± Charmine, a very dangerous woman from what I¡¯ve learnt as she apparently has acid that melts acid lizards¡­acid lizards¡­ACID. She strolls behind the silent BoneCracker, who was carrying me earlier, but had now put me down to let me enjoy the stickiness with the rest of the group. Well as to the acid lizards, I believe they¡¯re actually normal lizards that spit acid according to what everyone shouted in combat¡­but that¡¯s still terrifying that they get affected by acid to such a degree. Originally thought she was quiet¡­ ¡°Do not giggle again, it is unbecoming to laugh at one¡¯s death¡± The one called Hobo trudges along also in the back. A religious man by his speech but bad hygiene from his stench. But he does speak a good point: Charmine giggles when she kills things¡­we learnt that yesterday while we were all struck silent with the acid lizard dying from acid (well according to the rest that¡¯s what happened at that moment). And apart from those moments she doesn¡¯t speak much¡­ ¡°I told you I giggled because I was happy my experiement suceeded¡± I barely just caught that from her reserved speech. ¡°Giggling¡­¡­save it¡­for somet¡­hing worthy to¡­giggle¡­over¡± Another old man, slow in speech and probably dying. He¡¯s called Nathan apparently. ¡°You know instead of starting a debate about whether she should giggle when she experients, how about we focus on the previously mentioned lizards. All four of them¡± Squiggles are moving under more squiggles, that only means like twenty different things¡­so let¡¯s choose the most likely? ¡°No! Not my robes again!¡± 64. Religious Nonsense To The Extreme (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°How do you know about Devil and Angel?¡± I ask him as I put my beginner shirt back on. ¡°¡­I met them too¡± he quickly turns away from me pointed ears going red. No being hidden at all by his short cut black hair. ¡°But¡­¡± that means they were AI¡­and aware of the system too?! There¡¯s internet in hell?! That¡¯s actually a thing! And oh my Aiag. ¡­ .. . I need a stick, ah ther¡¯s one right there! Ok draw the shape, the symbols at each point and ahem¡­ ¡°Angel, Lord of all evil, I beg your permission to summon from the depths of Hell, the plane of punishment, a child of yours, to aid me in my purpose, so grant me the imp JerryTheMouse ADVOCABIT IMPDICITUR¡± *Dingdingdingdingdingding* ¡­ .. . ¡°Yackakakckaka what mortal fool summons me¡± A tiny red stick-like goblin with two tiny stubs on tiny bony head with elven ears and a miniature tail, crawls out of the darkness that appeared in the centre of the pentagram. His voice is high like a child¡¯s and strained, each word bitterly spoken. ¡­I really just summoned an imp from Hell.
Error! Identification is not high enough level to be used on extraplanar beings
I guess grinding identification is extremely important as you level. ¡°JerryTheMouse, I am the one who has summoned you upon Angel¡¯s request¡± ¡°You?¡± He looks me once over with his pupilless, fiery salamander eyes ¡°Whatdya want¡± ¡°To make a contract with you¡± ¡°No¡± ¡­ .. . Huuu lucky none of the women are here to see this. ¡°AYGHAH¡± jumping onto the shriveled imp, I flatten him underneath me, cutting off his shout of surprise. He¡¯s a lot stronger than he looks as he pushes me slightly off him, legs wrapped round my wasit and tries to roll us over. ¡°Make a contract with me you little blighter¡± he rolls us so he¡¯s now on top, arms interlocked in a grapple, heads butting. ¡°No¡± Aiag dammit why? I get a hand free and flick him in the nose, making him stop temporarily, so of course I push him off and into the ground, causing him to roll away. Scarmbling up before him, I grab his ankle, dropping him to the floor and behing spinning round, dragging him into the air. ¡°AAAAAAAA¡± ¡°WHY WONT YOU MAKE A CONTRACT WITH ME?¡± Blimming imps, I just want to make a contract with him, I mean so many titles and skill possibilities with this. ¡°URLBLLAAAAAAARRHGHGHGHGHHAH¡± And there¡¯s a circle of vomit around me¡­has Jerry got motion sickness? ¡°I CAN DO THIS FOREVER SO MAKE A CONTRACT WITH ME AND I¡¯LL STOP¡± ¡°YEGRLBBHHHRRRRRRGGHGH¡± ¡°WHAT DID YOU SAY?¡± ¡°YEEEEEEBGHGHRRGHEEEEEES¡± Satisfied, I slow down and let him stop on the ground gently. ¡°So now that we¡¯ve established that we¡¯re making a contract what conditions do you want?¡± ¡°¡­¡±his salamander eyes look up at me from the ground, a mixture of dizziness, confusion and hatred. Well i¡¯ve never made a contact with a demon before, I don¡¯t know what the terms and conditions are. And its your own fault you had me spin you around. ¡°How about we start with the basics. Tell me when you are not free to be summoned¡± Jerry just cocks his little head confused, still half lying on the ground. ¡°Ok, so what can you offer me?¡± Might as well learn what the imp can do. This time there¡¯s a response: he gets up and rubs his palms together blowing on them in the meantime ¡­ .. . *fhwoo* Once Jerry grabs my stick with his hand, flames flicker out from between his fingers. Fire hands? That is something and ooh could I learn how to do that? ¡°So our contract is I can summon you whenever, and you will help me in any way you can. If you disobey I will spin you around. If you try to harm or do something bad to an ally, spinning. If you lie to me, spinning and lots of it¡± I stare into his salamander eyes to which he looks down, asserting my dominance. Biting my thumb to let a little blood flow, I see he does the same. So we shake now? He just looks at me. Seriously you don¡¯t know how to do it either? Placing my hand out, he unconfidently takes it *dingdingding* So many dings!
Congratulations, you have successfully made a Contract
CONTRACT (JerryTheMouse[Imp]), (blood pact by both parties)
JerryTheMouse can be summoned whenever you want to JerryTheMouse is bound to you JerryTheMouse cannot disobery a direct order, willingly harm an ally or lie to you.
Duration of Contract: Permanent
¡°Alright, Jerry I will call you later, disappear for now¡± Can he just leave like that? Apparently he can as he creates a small hole of darkness and jumps into it. Wohoo, I¡¯ve got an imp! Ok let¡¯s see what the other dings were for, and the former ones too! ¡°What just happened?¡± Oh completely forgot about you! Turning back to Nightbird, who is looking at me with a mixture of interest and confusion, I start towards him. I¡¯m curious. ¡°Angel told me how to summon an imp and apparently whatever that meeting I had with htme was, it was real in some sense¡± ¡°Angel? Why would an angel tell you how to summon an imp?¡± ¡°Angel¡¯s the devil¡± Nightbird just cocks his head. ¡°Did you not ask their names?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I didn¡¯t get that far¡± O¡­k? ¡°What happened¡± He starts fiddling with the horn on his bow. ¡°Come on tell me what happened, and I¡¯ll tell you what happened in mine¡± The more information I can gather the better. He has a slight internal debate and with a shy sigh he makes his choice¡°I threw up on the angel¡± ¡­.. .... ¡­ .. . ¡°HAAAHAHAHAHAHHAH CAnthahahah brehehehethhehehehe¡± Oh my Aiag, he threw up on THE angel! Ohhh I did not expect that. ¡°So¡± hfffffffuuuaaah ahh ok got my breath back. ¡°So what happened after that?¡± ¡°He threw sweet smelling water on my face and I woke up here¡± Well that was certainly unexpected. But at least now i¡¯m pretty sure I was only out for 3 in-game days since Nightbird must¡¯ve woken up straight out. ¡°Well I learnt a few historical and religious things about them, very interesting, and of course how to summon demons and I got some strange tomes¡­¡± Indeed, do I have these tomes? Opening up my inventory as Nightbird looks at me, huh I don¡¯t have any tomes, strange. ¡°give me a moment¡± Nightbird nods and begins twiddling his bow. Ok let¡¯s go through notifications to see if something about the tomes comes up.
You are tipsy
You are drunk
You are hammered
You have ingested Devil and Angel Weed
So tipsy is -10% on agility and the few other similar stats. Drunk is -30%, but a 10% boost on strength and brutality, as well as some skills being disabled apparently. Hammered is -70% with many skills disabled and apparently my memory system shut down. So that explains why the last thing I remember was uhhh...me on stage with a bunch of hats and little clothing? At least I know a lot more about how the drinking system works, scary.
Congratulations! Through excessive consumption of alcohol without throwing up you have gained a title
TITLE: Heavy Drinker
Your body is well suited to handling the effects of alcohol. This title gives some in-game bonuses
Natural tolerance to alcohol increased by 10% For gaining this title Endurance stat will increase by 5. If these stats are unused, the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
xp increases by 25%
Sweet! Though I didn¡¯t get the alcoholic title¡­maybe because I don¡¯t have a dependency on it? Also is my natural tolerance based on my character or me as a person. or both? I¡¯ll try another time, no more alcohol for a long time after that mess
Congratulations! By incessantly entertaining over 300 people at once you have gained a title
TITLE: Entertainer
You are entertaining to watch due to your various performance abilities. This title is purely aesthetic and gives no in-game bonuses
For gaining this Communication stat will increase by 5. If these stats are unused, the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
xp increases by 25%
From what I remember, I certainly was entertaining people
Congratulations! By turning a normal situation into the rambunctious lively atmosphere one would find at a party where even the most unlikely of situations and friendships form you have gained an exquisite title
EXQUISITE TITLE: Party Starter
The party doesn¡¯t truly start until you arrive. And when you do, it¡¯s a night to remember. This title is purely aesthetic and gives no in-game bonuses
For gaining this Communication and Leadership stat will increase by 5. If these stats are unused, the additional points will be added once the stat is active.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
xp increases by 50%
Hahahaha that¡¯s one way to gain xp. Though I seriously wonder what happened after I forgot¡­plus I don¡¯t think I remember much before me and the hats on stage either. Though I swear at one point I was throwing coins into the barmaids cleavage for some reason¡­was it a bet? Any more notifications about that day in the tavern?
Congratulations, you have learnt the Speech Proficiency
Congratulations, you have learnt the Insult Style
Congratulations, you have learnt the Taunt Skill
Congratulations, you have learnt the Poetry Style
Congratuations, you have learnt the Perform Skill
Congratulations, you have gained the Charisma Stat
Congratulatons, you have learnt the Circus Proficiency
Congratulations, you have learnt the Hats Style
Congratulations, you have unlocked the Bard class
WOAH woah woah there, looks like I can¡¯t just skim through the severly large amount of notifications which are all really cool! So I finally got the taunt skill, which is apparently different from spitful taunt, probably because it¡¯s verbal? And it¡¯s affected by speech proficiency which means I can use the different styles to taunt? That is definitely something to try out in the near future.
Class: Bard
A Bard is a performer or storyteller, most commonly known to use instruments to aid their work.
Bards can cast Beginner level Arcane Magic
All Speech and Musical related skills, spells and abilities cannot increase beyond Intermediate rank. All other skills, spells and abilities cannot increase beyond Beginner rank. Cannot cast non-Bardic spells.
Class Bonuses: Able to cast magic +5 to Int +5 to Wisdom +5 to Mana +10 to Charisma +10 to Communication +10 to Eloquency Have learnt Bardic Inspiration Have learnt Charming Distraction Have learnt Compose Perform has increased to intermediate rank Speech Profiency has increased to intermediate rank Class Penalties: Cannot wear heavy armour
You may choose this as a semi-class or a class.
¡­ .. . *Ding* I¡¯ve now got bard as my semi-class which gave me +1 to charisma, communication and eloquency as well as the charming distraction spell. Although it does say I cannot learn bardic spells and abilities beyond beginner rank. And charming distraction apparently distracts a living being as long as I sustain it, though it¡¯s taken up one of my daily spell slot. But it¡¯s uses are unlimited, hmm maybe if I actually use the necessary stats it will increase my daily usage? Anyways, I can now learn those types of abilities and spells but I can¡¯t raise them beyond beginner. But then again could I have learnt them before I gained the semi-class? Really should¡¯ve thought things through. Oh well I¡¯ll try it with the next semi-class I find! Ah wait, haven¡¯t I got the merchant class? Hmm, damage reduction as a class penalty, chances of that being for the sub-class¡­rather not risk it. Back to flitting through notifications, seriously where is this blimming tome
Caution, your soul has entered Devil and Angel¡¯s Tea Room
Ok so that was the end of the night, phew I got a lot out of that, so much beautiful xp and skills! Although apart from taunt (finally got it), the rest of them don¡¯t seem much use in combat.
Congratulations, for meeting a Diety you have gained a title
TITLE: Met A Diety
This title is purely aesthetic and gives no in-game bonuses
For gaining this title your Faith stat increases by 5. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
Xp increases by 25%
Faith stat?
Congratulations! Through meeting a diety you have gained a rare stat
RARE STAT: Faith
Points in faith increases all diety related spells, skills, abilities and proficiencies and increases reputation with believers of similar faith.
Xp increases by 40%
A RARE STAT?! 40% XP!?! I¡¯m probably not going to use that stat but that¡¯s a fantastic amount of xp for it!! It does mention all diety related things¡­so if I had death related spells that¡¯d count? Does that mean faith would count for like druidic dieties or a fire diety?? Ooh I might get the stat if I find that to be true.
Congratulations, for entering another Plane of existence you have gained a title
TITLE: Planar Explorer
This title is purely aesthetic
For gaining this title your Endurance and Perception stat increases by 5. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
Xp increases by 50%
For being the first player to enter another Plane of existence your title has been upgraded to an Exquisite title
EXQUISITE TITLE: Planar Frontiersman
This title gives some in-game bonuses
Character reduction when in other planes will be lessened by 15% For gaining this title your Endurance and Perception stat increases by 10. If these stats are unused the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
Xp increases by 50%
Another title! And character reduction lessening, sounds extremely useful even though I am not going to be going to any different planes anytime soon (hopefully). So being first for things improves my title status
You have been given The Demonic Tome
Congratulations! Upon contact with The Demonic Tome, you have innately learnt Dimensional Tome Storage spell
SPELL: Dimensional Tome Storage @Void@ [lvl max]
Dimensional Tome Storage is as the name suggests, a spell to store magical tomes away from common thieves
Deposits/Removes tomes from the storage. 10 tomes may be stored at one time.
Cost: 100 hp, Duration: Sustained, Cooldown: 1 hour
Xp increases by 10%
The spell has permanently taken up one of your daily spell slots
Well that immediately explains what happened to my tomes. Sweet mother of Aiag that¡¯s a cool spell! Plus it suggests that if you¡¯re not a common thief it¡¯s possible to steal them, ooh and oh no. Also, 100 hp to cast it in a bit insane!! And what¡¯s with the Void? Is that the type of magic??!
You have been given The Angelic Tome
The Angelic Tome has been deposited in your Dimensional Tome Storage
Cool, so I can go grab those when I want to then. Let¡¯s leave the rest of the notifications for the time being, I notice Nightbird¡¯s twiddling has gotten rather agitated. Whoops got distracted by all my notifications again. Erm how do I cast it? *ding*
Dimensional Tome Storage, How to Cast:
Gestures: Draw square with bleeding index finger Vocal: APERTA REPONO Components: Your blood
Well that answered that question. System is being surprisingly helpful today. And it seems there¡¯s 3 components to this spell, which is a lot different from detect magic¡­ -1 Ahem. ¡°APERTA REPONO¡± shouting it out while drawing the square creates a small dark box which swallows up my casting hand. -100 ow spell, ow. And a window has popped up in front of my bloody finger like a mini inventory. Let¡¯s take them both out. Clicking on both of them, they disappear off the mini inventory. When I take my hand out the box (without any resistance so that¡¯s good), it disappears and I then look in my inventory and see the two tomes. Producing both to Nightbird, he simply stops twiddling with his bow. ¡°What are they?¡± ¡°Honestly don¡¯t know, they both just gave me one¡± Let¡¯s have a looksie shall I
TOME: The Demonic Tome [lvl1]
Page 1: Owner Page 2: Abyssal Language Page 3: Summoning Ritual Basics Page 4 & 5: Imp Contract and Details
Unused pages: 5/10
My tome is level 1¡­that¡¯s a thing? How do I even level up my tome? By using up all the pages? Also there¡¯s the demon language page, imp details and owner, might have to have a look at those.
Page 1: Owner
This Tome belongs to Joat This Tome is bound to Joat
Does this mean the tome can belong to someone else but it¡¯s bound to another? How would that even work?
Page 2: Abyssal Language
¡­
Huh it¡¯s an alphabet and I understand it all. Have I already learnt it? Looking at my languages bit on my character sheet, ooh I¡¯ve got Abyssal and Celestial!? Ooh indeed.
Page 5: Imp Details
Imps are reborn souls of children who burnt to death. They are mischevious and uncooperative but they have a weak willpower so are easy to control. Current known abilities: Fire Hands.
That¡¯s dark. Like seriously dark. I didn¡¯t want to know that my imp was originally a child who was burnt to death. ¡°So?¡± Oh jesus Nightbird, don¡¯t lean over my shoulder so quietly! ¡°It¡¯s a manual on demons¡± The easiest way to put it He simply nods understandingly. Please move a little away, your ears are tickling mine. Onto the Angelic one!
TOME: The AngelicTome [lvl1]
Page 1: Owner Page 2: Celestial Language Page 3: Blood Sacrifice Page 4: Healing Prayers
Unused pages: 6/10
¡­ .. . Erm why is Blood Sacrifice part of the Angelic tome. That doesn¡¯t sound angelic at all
Page 3: Blood Sacrifice
A skill to use up one¡¯s health instead of mana.
Looking at my skills, aha it¡¯s under passives. And opening it up the conversion is 10 to 1, yeah I better level that or I might die whenever I cast a spell.
Page 4: Healing Prayers
Oh Lord of Light, Brightness and Shining glory, this worthless mortal begs for your Celestialness¡¯ warmth to mend the wounds of my unworthy body so that I may scrape and prostrate myself in honor of your marvelous Glamorousness for longer. HEAL
¡­ .. . Woooow, talk about someone being full of themselves. Do I seriously have to say this every time I use heal? That will suck. But on the bright side: I CAN HEAL!! I¡¯M A FREAKING PRIEST. Wait, do I have a priest class?! Wait even more, don¡¯t I use health instead of mana¡­won¡¯t I hurt myself? Sure enough, I use 100 health to heal 10 acorrding to the spell. Oh that definitely sucks. I guess that¡¯s altruism/sacrifice for you? ¡°is that book the same?¡± Gya stop staring over my shoulder so quietly Nightbird! ¡°Yes though for celestial this time¡± He nods understandingly. *Grumble* He¡¯s hungry and I am a little bit too. Do I have any food? Nope apparently not even a berry¡­did I like throw them away or something? ¡°Have you found any food?¡± Actually I haven¡¯t actually looked around the place yet due to being completely and utterly entranced and flabbergasted by the Devil and Angel situation. He points to the left. Actually looking round for the first time, I notice 2 things: One we¡¯re on a beach (sort of noticed that so I¡¯m not that bad) and there¡¯s a jungle only a little bit in. The second thing is the line of shirtless people lying around the beach with their tops propped up with sticks to shade their face and most of their top half. Ah so that¡¯s where Nightbird¡¯s cloak is: on top of a Horse¡¯s head! Is that Filly? I think I may have a memory of Nightbird telling me about her¡­no idea what he said though. ¡°Why are they all around the place?¡± ¡°They keep moving back¡± Ok? Well that at least concludes why they¡¯re dotted around. And by the looks of it there are 8 of us total and I remember¡­.uhh Trish¡­I think and SirStripy of course. And Curry, I remember Curry. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go into the jungle in a few minutes, just need to get myself situated first alright?¡± ¡°Yes¡± He goes over and re-arranges the mini-shelter on the Orc¡­.nope can¡¯t remember. More notifications!
Congratulations, you have gained an exquisite title
Congratulations, you have gained an exquisite title
Your Devil Acolyte and Angel Acolyte titles have merged into a Rare title
Woah woah, titles incoming
RARE TITLE: Acolyte Of Good & Evil
You do not simply worship pure evil or pure good, but rather you worship both, which is uncommon due to the many conflicting morals and sides.
This title gives some in-game bonuses
Both Light and Darkness Stats have become active, but only take up a single stat slot For gaining this title, Faith, Light and Darkness increases by 5. If these stats are unused, the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
Xp increases by 100%
Congratulations, you have unlocked the Acolyte Class
¡­ .. . Ooh a priest class. I don¡¯t really want to be a priest though, too squishy. I can turn it into a semi-class too! Perfect!
Due to your Rare Title Acolyte of Good & Evil, your title has merged with this semi-class. Your class has been altered into a Rare Variant
RARE VARIANT SEMI-CLASS: Acolyte of Good & Evil
An acolyte is a worshipper of some diety. An acolyte of Good & Evil worships both the pure embodiment of Good and of Evil.
Acolytes of Good & Evil have both Light and Darkness stat active and in one stat slot. May be affected by both Light and Dark spells, abilities and skills.
Light and Dark spells, skills, abilities and proficiencies cannot be learnt beyond Beginner rank Cannot learn Divine magic beyond Beginner rank.
Semi-class Bonuses: +5 to Darkness +5 to Light +1 to Mana +1 to Vit +1% bonus to Light and Dark Spells, Skills, Abilities and Proficiencies Have learnt Blessing (D) Have learnt Blessing (L) Class Penalties: Physical damage reduced by 10%
Due to becoming this Semi-class, Acolyte of Evil class and Acolyte of Good class has been unlocked
AHHH my physical damage was reduced. But what¡¯s with the insane stat growth on a Semi-class!? I was starting to believe racking up on semi-classes would be fantastic for all the bonuses and wide range of skill learning. But the accumulative penalties might get dangerous. And what would happen if I got a class that didn¡¯t allow me to use magic? What would happen to this semi-class then? I should really take things with a bigger pinch of salt. But on the optimistic side of things, I learnt blessing!
SPELL: Blessing {Dark/Light} [lvl1 Beginner]
Blessings empower you and your allies to fight and survive better.
When cast on ally/self: +1% damage (Dark)/+1% hp (Light) Light: +10% hp Darkness: +18% damage
Blessings cannot be used in conjunction
Cost: 500 health, Duration: 1 minute, Cooldown: 20 minutes
That is not going to be used for a loooong time. Light gives extra hp while darkness gives damage, which is decently useful in terms of situation¡­unless you¡¯re me and you can actually use both on yourself. Ahahahh, just need to level it up now¡­someday.
Congratulations, You have learnt the Abyssal Language
Congratulations, You have learnt the Celestial Language
Congrautlations, you have learnt the Blood Sacrifice Skill
Congratulations, you have learnt the Heal Spell
Congratulations, you have learnt the Summon Imp Ritual
Ritual gave me 10% xp but it¡¯s a one off, still sweet! Also ooh another title, just how many did I get from this one trip?
Congratulations! By being one of the first 5 players to make a contract with a demonic being you have gained a title:
TITLE: Demon Contracter
This title has some in-game bonuses
Demons 10% more likely to make a contract with you For gaining this title your Eloquency stat will increase by 5. If these stats are unused, the additional points will be added once the stat is active.
Xp increases by 25%
One of the first 5? Who made a contract before me? And why is this title only normal? I really don¡¯t understand this title system¡­ At least that is finally the last notification. Halleluliagh! Gee that was so many notifications, but look at that xp increase! 315% that¡¯s 3 levels, 3 LEVELS!!! That¡¯s actually amazing and the amount of stats I got is literally insane. Titles really make a huge difference. But then again in the actual game I probably wouldn¡¯t be getting first on so many things¡­Though a lot of these titles suggest that anybody will be able to get them¡­or have the ability to? I will look into that to see how I can get more exquisite and rare titles ooh. ¡°Alright, we can get some food now¡± I see Nightbird standing up beside Filly, cloak swishing onto him and hiding his slightly elvish features away in the darkness of the hood. Another thing that¡¯s come across but I¡¯ve simply not had time to think about. Heading into the trees, the jungle quickly swallows us in the think ferns and tall trees. ¡°So what are we looking for?¡± I whisper to a crouching Nightbird after about a minute of walking, longbow taught and arrow knocked. He stops suddenly after a few seconds of ignoring me, and with the bottom of his bow pricks the ground in front of me. ¡°¡­¡± He does it again Oh you want me to go down and look? Dropping to my knees I look at where his bow is pricking, and I see a small brown almost pentagonal shape on the ground. It¡¯s a nut! Picking it up, that¡¯s something at least. Though I do wonder why we aren¡¯t trying to climb the trees for the fruits that I have seen dangling up there ¡­ .. . ¡°UAH AH AH AH AHHHH¡± Oh¡­that¡¯s why 65. Let Them Rise *Poof* ¡°Hahh hahhh haaah¡± My lord that was run and a half! Slowly regaining my breath as I stand back up, to think that was only a minute run¡­and where are those monkeys? Are they coming after us? ¡­ .. . Huh doesn¡¯t seem like they come to the beach. ¡°Come let¡¯s get some more¡± Wait a second Nightbird, don¡¯t tell me you want to go back in there? That place is full of mad monkeys who like tossing pebbles at 70 hp a hit! Lucky I only got hit twice or I would¡¯ve died! ¡°Give me a few minutes, those rocks hurt¡± He nods and kneels, arrow pointed towards the trees. Finally regaining my hit points, I gesture for him to lead. Once again crouching through the jungle, we slowly look for nuts that have fallen on the ground. ¡°What are those monkeys?¡± I whisper to him as my eyes graze across the ground. ¡°Stronger than us¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± I¡¯m actually curious what the Npc¡¯s use instead of levels to determine strength. He stops and turns his hooded face towards me. What was that blue glimmer coming from his eyes? ¡°You¡¯re weaker than me¡± ...So they can tell by looks? Magic? ¡°Ouuuahahahah¡± Monkey! Stopping in our tracks, we begin searching the treelines slowly. Ah over on the left, dangling like a fool by the tail, by itself. ¡°Shoot it?¡± I whisper He shakes his head silently. Why not? ¡°Ah ah ah¡± another one! Guess there won¡¯t be any by themselves then. Well I guess the only thing we can do now is back off¡­but before that
NAME: Monkey [lvl 30]
???
How the heck are we supposed to kill that? ¡°Shoot it and run¡± I urge him, to which he responds with silence. Seemingly giving in to whatever thoughts he has, he raises his bow, draws and fires -32 And that just pissed it and oh look a few dozen friends. RUN Instead of throwing stones as usual, the things jump down and start chasing us from the ground, as it¡¯s personal now. ¡­ ¡°Seems like it¡¯s quite a bit stronger than me¡± Nightbird shakes is hooded head, letting small waterfalls of sand to flow out. ¡°Alright, if we¡¯re going to be surviving, I need to know what you can do¡± Information gathering! ¡°¡­¡± He takes down his hood *Ding*
Nightbird has decided to trust you. Some information will be revealed on his character sheet.
NAME: Nightbird [lvl25], Half-elf male
Hp: 520/520 Attack: 140-168
Stats: Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Mana, Endurance, Luck, Vitality, Stamina, Darkness, Perception Defence: 31
Skills: Point blank shot, Far shot, Triple shot, Arrow Split, Arrow Stab, Critical shot, Piercing shot, Clout, Bow Garotte, Impale, Block, Dodge Relationship: 10
¡­ .. . Apparently he¡¯s actually talking to me in the background probably telling me the npc version of what he does¡­but oh my Aiag he has all 10 stats filled! And quite a few combat skills though I can¡¯t imagine that¡¯s it. As a level 25 he¡¯s definitely got much higher level skills than me and probably more titles too looking at that insanely high damage and health. And he¡¯s a half-elf! He¡¯s definitely an exeptional Npc(from what I¡¯ve seen)¡­especially as he¡¯s got a positive relationship with me! Though it does seem that all npc¡¯s will waste about half their stats with normal ones¡­hmm there¡¯s got to be a way to stop that happening. Maybe someday I¡¯ll figure it out, but right now, to use his awesome powers to help collect food. *grumble* ¡°Ah, thanks for telling me, have the nut¡± I bet he¡¯s more hungry than me anyway. He takes it, and produces a second nut, cracking one with the other in a clenched fist. ¡°What can you do?¡± He finally asks after swallowing the what looks like a walnut. Erm how do I tell him what I can do since he can¡¯t see the system? ¡°I¡¯m about a third as strong as you and I¡¯ve only got close combat experience¡± That sounds about right? He nods slowly. I guess this is why something like an adventurer mark is used; to determine people¡¯s strength based off that. Back into the jungle, come on, we need at least another nut or we¡¯ll definitely starve. Luck is definitely with me today as I spot one not too far away. ¡°OOAH AH AH AH¡± QUICK GRAB IT AND RUN! -73 -71 Ow! No more stones hit as Nightbird covers me with his lean yet muscular frame. Ok we¡¯ve got one more nut! This one also goes to Nightbird, and with a quick look at his hp, it indeed rises just like a pc¡¯s. that¡¯s good. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± ¡°Wait¡± I place a hand on his shoulder, stopping him waltzing back into that monkey infested jungle. ¡°We¡¯re just going to get hungrier if we continue going for a single nut¡± My satiety is getting low enough to prevent recovery and I¡¯m guessing the other people out here are getting hungry, even if all they¡¯re doing is sleeping. ¡°Not much else we can do¡± ¡°We can hunt a monkey¡± It¡¯s the best way honestly. ¡°It needs to be alone¡± The catch since the monkeys like little hordes of a few dozen. Sitting down with a stick in hand, I begin drawing an outline of a plan ¡­ .. . Nope I¡¯ve got nothing. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go round the beach?¡± The thought suddenly pops into my blank head. I mean we could find something along the beach right?If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It stretches a distance both ways before turning corners in the far distances. ¡°Not possible¡± immediately shut down. ¡°Why not?¡± He points towards a large rock in the nestled in the distance sand. ¡°That is a crab¡± ¡­Right? ¡°Much stronger than the monkeys¡± Well that¡¯s that plan out the window¡­or is it? Draw the circle, give some blood, ¡°ADVOCABIT IMPDICITUR¡± ¡°Master, whadya want?¡± Jerry is here! ¡°See that rock over there, how hot can you get it?¡± ¡°Are you stupid? It¡¯s a rock, I can¡¯t heat that¡± I see ¡°Follow me quietly then¡± I turn towards the jungle, guess I hope plan B works. Entering the copse of ferns and trees once more, we look out for monkeys, stopping when we spot one scratching it¡¯s behind non-chalantly. Turning to my little imp, I gesture for him to run to the left, and make noise. I think he understands but just to be sure I whisper the commands in his ear. ¡°COME YOU MONKEY SCUM PFHHHHFHFHT¡± Jerry starts running through the underbrush none too fast but very loud. The howling of monkeys rises and the once still trees burst to life with dozens of the things swinging out from above and chasing after the little imp. ¡°Shoot¡± I whisper to Nightbird as he quickly stands up and fires an arrow into a monkey for a good 30 damage ¡°WAOAAH¡± It¡¯s coming for us! And so is a friend. Both hit the ground and start bounding towards us. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the other, just kill the first one¡± I say that but this monkey will probably kill me within seconds if I don¡¯t do anything Dab. Dab dab dab dab dab. ¡­ .. . It¡¯s stopped, looking extremely confused. Aha! Charming distraction works! Ah it¡¯s coming again, quick continue dabathon. ¡°AUWHhuuuu¡± what was that? ¡°RUN¡± Nightbird shouts out, breaking the both mine and my distracted monkey¡¯s concentration. At least it¡¯s agroed to him which is better than me as I¡¯m about 2 metres from it. -142 AHHHH It swipes me on it¡¯s way past, I don¡¯t like monkeys anymore! Luckily that¡¯s the only time it attacks me as it¡¯s too busy getting peppered with arrows and within half a minute of running, it falls down dead with a dozen arrows in it. Picking it up on the way, it¡¯s heavy! *ding* oh Jerry¡¯s dead But I manage to bring it all the way to the beach, arrows and all without more monkeys. Wohoo! We didn¡¯t get just one monkey, but a whole 2 for 1 deal! Covered in his own blood, Nightbird plops down on the sand, breathing heavily. At least his hp is going up from 112 so that¡¯s good. ¡°What was that?¡± He asks me curiously from the floor ¡°Something that both of us will forever forget about and never mention¡± Last thing I want is such a horrible tradition to become part of this world too. Though in hindsight it did save my life. To think I can passively activate charming distraction¡­or maybe it¡¯s because I thought of the skill? More experimentation required for that. With no further discussion on the dabs that did not happen, Nightbird crawls over to a monkey and begins skinning it with his knife. Once I¡¯m full hp, I skirt the edges of the jungle and grab some dead leaves and sticks. Piling those up into a nice bundle, I ask Nightbird for the blade so I can train my skinning. He gives it without much resistance, probably since he¡¯s a little tired from multiple days of this already. ¡­ Well they¡¯ve been skinned alright, although butchered is probably a more correct statement. I also slice up the meat and pile it on the skin, ok good we¡¯ve got some sort of food now. Meanwhile the fire has been started by one Nightbird and it¡¯s going surprisingly decently, he¡¯s got some bushcraft skills alright. Stabbing the meat on a stick and roasting it over the fire raises my cooking by a level and the cooked monkey apparently gives me +1 agility for 30 minutes. Sweet! ¡°Meat¡± WOAH. Jumping from my seat in the sand, I see one large orc sitting up, face covered by a thick leather chestpiece and immediately turning our way. ¡°Uhhhh why does my head huuuuuuurt¡± Someone else is awake too! It¡¯s the little gnome¡­Trish? Sure enough it¡¯s the little female gnome whining as quietly as she can while holding her head in her arms. Seriously the hangover is hitting now? Just how much did you drink? ¡°Good Evening you two, come get some food¡± I call out to the two of them, and both faces turn towards me, one pair of piggy alert eyes staring me down while the other pair is unfocused and not really with us yet. ¡°Wateeer¡± She whines in her own little world. The orc stands up and takes out a small waterskin and gives it to the little gnome. Ah I remember now, they¡¯re together. At least I know interspecies relationships is a thing in this world. *Gulp* I hear Nightbird suppressing what remaining saliva he has. Has he not had any water yet? I just supposed he used everybody¡¯s supplies up but now¡­ Did he not go through any of the bags of the people here? ¡°Mooooore¡± The orc just gives her a small shake of his head to which her whining gets louder. Standing up I head over to Curry and pilfer through his bags. He¡¯s sleeping so I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t mind if the currently awake use it. Lots of books, more books, and aha there¡¯s the waterskin, still full too. Heading back over to Nightbird I hand him the waterskin. ¡°Here, we can get him water later¡± I respond to Nightbird¡¯s inactivity with the newly given waterskin. He¡¯s surprisingly thoughtful with other¡¯s property. *Gulpgulpgulp* seems like he¡¯s accepted it, or just given into thirst. As far as I¡¯m concerned he¡¯s the most powerful of us right now so can¡¯t let him die from something like dehydration. Though he doesn¡¯t finish it off, rather heads over to Trish and offers it to her. ¡°Thank you¡± she takes it and gulps all of it down, greedy little thing. ¡°Who are you?¡± She finally notices that it¡¯s not her orc giving her water. ¡°You may not remember but we met yesterday in the Dirty Duck¡± I slide into the conversation ¡°¡­Dirty Duck?...oh are you¡­¡± ¡°Joat¡± I help her out ¡°Yes you¡± she looks back at the orc ¡°What happened Kruush?¡± ¡°We all got drunk, very very drunk¡± I answer for him since he¡¯s busy thinking. ¡°Drunk? But I don¡¯t¡­I remember now, I had some bitter stuff then that delicious Treeroot wine?¡± Surprised she remembers that ¡°And then what happened?¡± Well she forgot early gee she¡¯s as lightweight as my memory serves me. ¡°Honestly, little idea except that we all got drunk, took some strange substance which made us meet an angel and devil and ende-¡± ¡°YOU MET THEM TOO?¡± She recoils painfully from her own shout, well she learnt that lesson the hard way. Kruush also raises an eyebrow at me. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a dream and everything they said is true¡± ¡°Heretical lies, there are no other gods than Aiag, all others are pretenders¡± I mean she is technically right since the rest of them are all demi-gods, I think. ¡°What did they tell you?¡± ¡°Pah, I did not listen to those lying abominations. They tried to twist their way into my mind but I do not believe anyone other than Aiag oversees our world¡± ¡°So you expect Aiag alone to handle everything¡± ¡°He is omnipotent, of course he can do everything on his own. These lying beings come from other planes and try to force us under their will¡± So she believes all dieties come from other planes and are basically just demons? ¡°Only the elements and Arcanus are trustworthy and direct subordinates of Aiag¡± I guess that¡¯s how magic is still a thing? And does this explain why I¡¯ve been given the ability to learn arcane and divine magic? Different types for the dieties? Also, Angel and Devil almost definitely control the element dieties and Arcanus. ¡°Anyways, why did it take so long for you to wake up?¡± no point trying to tell her the truth ¡°They held me prisoner, showing me lies and calling it history. Only after I spat on them did they let me go¡± Wow I mean Nightbird was involuntary, you¡¯re just mean. Also it took you quite some time to spit on them¡­ ¡°And how about you Kruush?¡± He was there too I¡¯m guessing. He simply shrugs. Well that¡¯s useful. ¡°Well since both of you just woke up, I¡¯m going to give you a rundown of our situation: We¡¯re on a beach on some random island somewhere. I have no idea how we got here, all I know is there is a horde of monkeys in the jungle just off the beach and we¡¯ve got no water¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Any questions?¡± Looking at their two shocked faces, I suppose there should be some cropping up. ¡°What are you cooking?¡± She points at our barbaceuing meat. ¡°Monkey, we were able to kill two and bring them. Would you like some?¡± ¡°Ew no, I don¡¯t eat meat¡± A vegetarian I see. ¡°I see, then do you have your own food?¡± ¡°Kruush?¡± She looks expectantly at him, and he just shakes his head. ¡°Well then, let us go forage some fruits¡± She unsteadily stands up, tiny frame supported by the muscular orc¡¯s. ¡°The jungle is crowded with monkeys¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Kruush can take care of them¡± She starts stumbling off, still holding her head. ¡°He¡¯s stronger than us and the monkeys¡± Nightbird confirms from behind me, face hidden by his hood once more, didn¡¯t even notice when that happened. ¡°So I guess we can sit and eat then?¡± I would go after them but if Kruush is stronger than the monkeys they shouldn¡¯t have any problem with them, or with running back either. Sitting down by the campfire, Nightbird squeezes the blood into his own waterskin. Better than nothing I guess. The coppery taste at least washes down the bitter meat. Not the worst meal I¡¯ve ever had but far from the best. Though it does do the important of feeding both of us. ¡°So why do you hide your face?¡± even when eating he decides to hide it. I actually count myself lucky that I got to see it once with how reserved he seems. ¡°¡­¡± ¡­.. ¡­. ¡­ .. . He takes down his hood, revealing the pointed ears, ruggedly human face and ocean blue eyes. ¡°I¡¯m a half-elf, an abomination according to humans and elves. I too was orphaned, raised by a human woman until she was killed for caring about me. I was too young to remember much, not even her name but I remembered she was kind, even protecting me as she got stabbed. I wear the hood because everyone I meet without it either calls someone to kill me or tries to do so themselves¡± Well no wonder he¡¯s got a positive relationship with me: because I haven¡¯t tried to kill him yet. Also that and the fact that we¡¯ve both had a shitty start to our lives. ¡­ .. . The conversation completely died¡­ ¡°I think everyone¡¯s just jealous of your good looks¡± I chuckle ¡°Right, up to go hunt another monkey?¡± *ding*
Your relationship with Nightbird has improved dramatically
¡°Ye-¡± ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT?¡± Scrambling to my feet, I bring my fists up in expectation of something horrifying to come out of the jungle. ¡­ .. . ¡°Well that¡¯s one way to wake me up¡± SirStripy!? Whipping round to see the zebra-beastman rubbing his ears, he¡¯s awake! Seems like everyone¡¯s waking up today. ¡°SirStripy, stay here, hydrate and feed yourself. We¡¯ll be back in five¡± He nods and I quickly start towards the jungle, spotting Nightbird already flitting into the ferns. Sneaking through the jungle with as much care as I can, I can only hear and see monkeys who are cackling like always. Nightbird puts a hand out and points his thumb back to the beach. There¡¯s no way we¡¯re getting through the quickly growing hordes of monkeys to find out whether that scream really was Trish¡­ -71 ow not again! ¡­ *poof* Ptuhptuh eugh sand in my mouth again. ¡°Quite an entrance my good fellow, Pardons for the re-introduction but I am Derek and I don¡¯t believe I remember your name¡± A thick hand offers me help, which I do take thank you very much. The helper in question is Derek as he stated, and er what do I remember about him? He¡¯s a lawyer? Yeah he is and he gave me a business card, or three if I¡¯m correct. Slicked back black hair, a winning grin and even suit-like clothing and a massive metal-bound tome nestled under his right arm. What is that? ¡°Well met again, how was your talk with Angel and Devil¡± The winning grin gets larger ¡°Of much interest, it seems like I must re-collect all my cards and re-craft them. For I may not dis-label my diety as a god, no that is very unbecoming of me¡± That¡¯s 2 out of 5 who actually talked to them, or maybe 3 but Kruush didn¡¯t say anything¡­ ¡°I take it you had a good conversation?¡± ¡°I learnt a few interesting truths about the world¡± he nods to that. Hmm I guess he was more receptive to them since he worshipped someone? Er where¡¯s that card¡­ah Pholtus. I wonder why he wasn¡¯t burned as a heretic? ¡°You must be wondering why I haven¡¯t been burned as a heretic¡± Spot on ¡°That¡¯s because¡­no one really reads my cards or listens to me and when they do I end up having to skip town¡± So a fugitive of sorts. ¡°So it wasn¡¯t just a figment of my imagination¡± SirStripy joins in on the conversation ¡°They¡¯re very interesting beings did you know?¡± ¡°I take it you also talked to them?¡± ¡°At length, mostly to Angel though, since he was a chivalrous man with an exceptionally horrible duty¡± ¡°Did you get a tome?¡± I¡¯m interested to see whether I¡¯m special or if they throw them like there¡¯s no tomorrow. ¡°Angel¡¯s tome. Ah that reminds me¡± he starts looking for a stick, another imp to the mix? ¡°And what about you?¡± Surely an npc can be given tomes too right? ¡°I declined, since this is my book of prayer. Though I did get Devil¡¯s blessing¡± Isn¡¯t he telling strangers way too much? How high is his relationship with us? ¡°Why are you telling us so much? We are strangers you know¡± ¡°I remember a fantastic night, well what I do remember and we are on a deserted island as far as I can tell so nothing but harm will come from secrets¡± That is a fair point, but stranger danger. ¡°Plus SirStripy is a valiant man and you are his friend, thus you are trustworthy¡± ¡°And Nightbird?¡± ¡°Who?¡± He looks around to see the one person he didn¡¯t notice, twiddling his bow. ¡°Ah, the quiet one who talks about his horse. We¡¯re all in this together so let us work together¡± Well this man is definitely way too trusting but alright, another Npc with positive relationship. Today is starting out good. ¡°Speaking of all in this together, the Gnome and Orc couple kind of went into the forest¡­¡± ¡°¡­oh¡± the gears slowly turn in their head. ¡°Did you..?¡± ¡°Find anything? No, but that¡¯s because there¡¯s a horde of monkeys in there and we need all the strength we can get¡± ¡°Then to find our only female companion and her lover¡± ¡°Filly¡¯s female¡± I hear Nightbird mumble under his breath as he passes me, taking point into the jungle. 66. Breaking The Game ¡°Psst¡± SirStripy catches my attention from the side ¡°How are we going to deal with that?¡± Ah finally, someone who understands the horribly high level of these damnable monkeys. At least there¡¯s only one in the vicinity, lazily scratching it¡¯s behind¡­seriously is that all they ever do when alone? ¡°I got this¡± Derek suddenly stands up, clearing his throat ¡°Uah ah ah ah ah ah ooh ehhe ah¡± ¡­ .. . Derek¡­what are you doing? ¡°Hjuu?¡± Like the rest of us, the monkey cocks his head in complete confusion at the hopping and self-scratching Derek who is oh so trying his best to imitate a monkey¡­ ¡°Ah ah ooh ooh¡± ¡­I mean I¡¯m not sure if the monkey understands you? But it is nodding at the repeated point at us, point forward gesture. ¡°Ooh ahhh¡± Confirmation? ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± Seriously? Confidence! Standing up and sauntering out from the ferns, I waltz up to Derek and huh no stones as of yet so that¡¯s a good sign? ¡°What did you just do?¡± I whisper into his right ear as we stroll the next few metres past the monkey ¡°Greeted it¡­I think¡± Seems like he doesn¡¯t know what he did either ¡°If I remember correctly, you mentioned that you are well versed in animal communication¡± SirStripy whispers from Derek¡¯s left, wait what? Tell me sir where and how did you learn this, and may I?! ¡°Well communication might be a tad overexaggeration, it¡¯s more like a mutual understanding of intentions to explain it bluntly¡± Once again, please teach me this seemingly extremely useful skill! -72 ¡­though maybe not right now *Twang* ¡°AH HJA HJA¡± And so hell begins Like bees, a dozen of those freaking monkeys swarm out from the trees, angrily hopping to the ground. Dammit, should¡¯ve been paying more attention to the surroundings for other monkeys! ¡°I¡¯ll take one¡± take is a strong word but I¡¯ll try my best. ¡°HUAHHHH WAH WAH WAH AHH¡± The monkeys stop in their tracks to look at Derek who is once again doing his strange animal speak. One representative stalks up to him as he does his thing¡­and swipes at him. *BANG* ¡­ .. . ¡°WIAAA-¡±¡°ARRGHGHGHGHGHH¡± He¡¯s gone mad. Before anyone can recover from the shock of Derek¡¯s massive tome splattering both earth and monkey bits everywhere, said man charges at the remaining monkeys, tome overhead and dripping with fresh blood. *BANG* Shocking my system to move, I open up my inventory and everything is locked? -5 ¡°Just figured that out did you?¡± SirStripy kicks me away from a swiping monkey who is somehow aggroed onto me even though there¡¯s a freaking monster of a man bashing it¡¯s friends with a tome right there¡­ Breakdance from the floor, distract, look at this monkey! You want to mess with me, then you better get down and six-step it up. Surprisingly it doesn¡¯t work, well it does stop it in it¡¯s tracks for a moment in confusion, which is enough for SirStripy to tackle it¡­so I guess it counts as working then. Jumping up and on the monkey too, I hold its arms while SirStripy punches its face in. That¡¯s some pretty brutal tag teaming must I say. Within seconds we¡¯re done and I immediately notice that everything has gone terrifyingly quiet. ¡­ .. . Probably because all the monkeys are dead, literally littered around the place and even two halves remain in the unconscious hands of Derek¡­who seems to have removed his suit top at some point in the past like 12 seconds. ¡°uuuuUAAAAAAAHHHH¡± time to go! With mutual understanding, we both grab hold of an end and pick u-nope can¡¯t do without strength, jesus he¡¯s heavy. Nightbird comes out of nowhere cloak still intact, and picks up Derek with ease. Man, I feel so useless. Oh his book! Where¡¯d that go? ¡°-HHHHH¡± Sorry Derek but your tome is lost somewhere in the jungle. Sprinting back as fast as we can, a literal wave of monkeys burst from the ferns and trees in the distance. I mean we somehow dealt with 12 (I mean it took 2 of us to deal with one) but this is like 30 monkeys. How in the hell are we supposed to move anywhere in this freaking jungle? -71 noo I¡¯m in throwing range! *ding* ooh sacrifice levelled up Leaping instinctively into a roll I hear something clunk into the ground nearby. *ding* ooh lucky roll levelled up, wait no time to care about that now. Run run run run RUN! ¡­ Dead¡­I am so freaking dead. ¡­ .. . Phew I¡¯ve got my breath back, Aiag be praised I have a game body. ¡°How are you already standing?¡± One semi-conscious Nightbird almost whines from the ground, panting like a breathless dog, hand clasping his new head wound. ¡°We¡¯re good at recovering¡± SirStripy stands up, also fully recovered after only a few minutes of lying dead in the sand. ¡°Too good¡± I swear I just hear Nightbird mumble something rather disconcerting. So Npc¡¯s notice that our recovery rate is beyond normal, or is he just humanely jealous? ¡°Well we are demi-gods¡± Woah wait a second SirStripy, don¡¯t be telling the Npc¡¯s that! ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± SirStripy seems confused that Nightbird is confused, oh yeeah he doesn¡¯t know that he knows literally nothing¡­well this won¡¯t go down well. ¡°He didn¡¯t learn anything from Angel and Devil¡± Not that he would¡¯ve known we were Demi-gods from them anyways¡­ ¡°¡­Oops¡± ¡°What are you people?¡± He gets to kneeling, a suspicious vibe emanating from under his hood. *Sigh* ¡°As SirStripy said, we¡¯re demi-gods, like Angel and Devil, well more like the other ¡®gods¡¯ that work under them.¡± Those two are definitely special ¡°But don¡¯t think of us like them, in reality we¡¯re just normal people with a few extra survivability traits¡± ¡°We¡¯re not super strong either. From what I¡¯ve seen you could definitely beat us in a fight¡± After SirStripy helps deflate our status, I feel Nightbird¡¯s suspiciousness becomes more curiousness. ¡°¡­How?¡± Both us players just raise our hands into the air. I mean I guess there¡¯s no way we can tell him about the fact that this is a game, already whoopsied that on two very intelligent AI¡­but then again. ¡°Err most of us aren¡¯t actually aware that we classify as demi-gods and we all started extremely weak, but we do know about the extra abilities since this is a game¡± I mean might as well see how a normal Npc deals with such knowledge. ¡°W-¡± A blue screen pops up in front of him, cutting whatever he was going to ask. ¡­ .. . Npc¡¯s get system messages? Wait a minute. *Dingding*
How could you! For telling not only THE two managers of this world but a Named Npc, I¡¯ve given you a unique title¡­because I kind of have to.
UNIQUE TITLE: Game-breaker
You have crossed every boundary, every line I¡¯ve placed to separate the players from the Npc¡¯s, breaking the illusion of reality in this world for those who live in it. And now that both the Masters of Filtering are wasted, your literal words reached an Npc¡¯s AN NPC¡¯s ears. This title have SEVERE in-game consequences.
For gaining this title, Named Npc Nightbird has been granted ¡®player¡¯ status and record of him being told this is a game wiped because I was too fricking busy with all the other crap you¡¯ve piled onto me to filter out that knowledge! Due to game-breaking, Both Angel and Devil have become aware of reality and now pester me constantly about it. You know I was doing so well introducing them slowly to it but nooo you just had to tell them. You told the game about the game and you didn¡¯t even realise it¡­ http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/609/262/3fd.png
Xp decreases by 1000%
Also stop using my mother for your exclamations please -Aiag
¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­. ¡­¡­ ¡­.. ¡­. ¡­ .. . WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT???!?!? I¡­.I d..d d dd dodo don¡¯t even know where to begin. I mean let¡¯s start with the freaking obvious¡­-1000% xp ONE FREAKING THOUSAND XP FOR A TITLE, MINUS. A UNIQUE FREAKING TITLE AT THAT. HOLY MOTHER OF AIAG WHOOPS SORRY IT¡¯S A HABIT. BUT I JUST LOST 10 LEVELS, 10. WHOLE. LEVELS¡­FOR A TITLE. WHY DID I LOSE LEVELS??? Ahhhhhhhhhh¡­that really sucks. Bu bu but why did Aiag send a little message thing like I got from Droneurt? I mean that¡¯s just one hell of an umbrella question, do I just assume Aiag knows literally everything and can be basically regarded as a person? Leaving that mess in a dark recess of my hurting brain for now, seriously this title is certainly unique, not only in name but also how it¡¯s written. Instead of the normal congratulations, I¡¯m asked how could I¡­ and the first-person tone too! I even got a picture, a freaking picture. A, didn¡¯t know that was possible, B, I got a picture from the god of this world¡­don¡¯t even know how to process this.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Furthering that mindblowing concept, is the fact that I literally got told that Angel and Devil were being slowly introduced to reality, whuwhuwuuuuat? Self aware AI making other AI self aware? That¡¯s just insane! But you know what¡¯s more freaking insane? It¡¯s the fact that Nightbird was given a player status¡­his code literally just got upgraded!!! ¡­Just what? My life was coding at one point and even I have no idea how that freaking works. Haaa haaaaa haaaaaaaaaaaa¡­my brain hurts so much and I¡¯ve literally just processed the facts, not even started on the possibilities yet. And oh Aiag there are so many questions I have about this AI now, soooo many questions. I wonder if he¡¯s like er who was it again? ¡°Joat¡­what is this?¡± Oh great, more brainhurt incoming from one superbly shocked Nightbird who doesn¡¯t even notice his hood is off. ¡°That¡¯s your status, or soul as some call it. All demi-gods can see their own but¡­do you have a menu?¡± ¡°What is that?¡± as if waiting, I see another blue screen pop up and actually make him jump. Well I mean I¡¯d be pretty jumpy if I suddenly got turned into a ¡®player¡¯...a player Npc, what kind of messed up notion is that?? ¡°So what are the different tabs?¡± Crash course on being a player¡­and yes SirStripy I see you looking at us wide-eyed and utterly confused as to what just happened. ¡°Status, Social, Map, Inventory¡± no logout obviously ¡­he¡¯s got an inventory? I mean I¡¯m not surprised at this point, just very flabbergasted by this. ¡°Inventory is a storage space unique to you, kind of like dimensional storage but it doesn¡¯t need casting. Map is as it sounds but it¡¯s pretty much useless from when I¡¯ve tried using it. Social has friends I believe and you already know about status¡± ¡°¡­Friends?¡± I add him, because apparently I can¡­ *ding* I now have a new friend, who is an Npc¡­ This is the message system, so we can talk between just ourselves. ¡­this¡­what Oh my Aiag¡­send party invite! Nightbird is now officially part of my party!?! ¡°This¡­this isn¡¯t fair¡± Yeah I guess any normal Npc who looks at this sees that players are overpowered in so many ways. ¡°How many of you are there?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met about a hundred and fifty but I¡¯m sure there are many more of us¡± he is one of us now, in a strange literal way. ¡°Us¡± He shivers with a lapse of fear. ¡°So back to your status¡± ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t even¡­¡± yeah finding out there¡¯s a numerical status to your life might come as a bit of a shock. ¡°Share it with me in the message and I¡¯ll help you through it¡± Seems SirStripy is checking on Derek, sort of given up understanding or actually understanding what¡¯s happening on my side of life. Joat, I can assume Nightbird became a demi-god¡­but he¡¯s got player abilities too? ¡°How do I share?¡± Ahh multi-tasking¡¯s not a good idea right now with my frazzled brain I¡¯ll tell you later, brain hurts. ¡°Just think it when you¡¯re in the message section. Willing it usually makes things happen¡±
NAME: Nightbird
TITLES: Orphan, Hate symbol ?, Elvish Blood, Abomination (E), Survivor, Lone Wolf (E), Iron Stomach, Na?ve, Cursed by the World (Ep), Blessed by Angel, Contractee Of A Demon, Player Npc(Demi-God) (L), Cat¡¯s Immortality ?, Traveller ?, Met a Diety, Orc-Nightmare, Skirmisher, Uncivilized, Rare being, Exquisite being
Class: Wild Ranger (Variant)
Race: Half-elf Gender Male
Level 26 Experience 132%
Alignment: Neutral Good Global Reputation: -1600
Age 21 - -
STATUS: Remaining points (21)
Health Points: 530/530 HP regen (out of combat) 1/sec
Stamina Points: 10/10 Stamina regen (out/in combat) 1/0.1 per second
Attack: 26-26(+114-142) Defense: 31
Perception: 54 Strength 25
Mana: 10 Luck: -150
Stamina: 10 Dexterity -50
Vitality: 52 Darkness(E): 33
Agility: 20 Endurance: 150
Satiety: 40/180 (Starving)
Unused Stats: Wisdom, Intelligence, Brutality(E)(+10) Flexibility, Light(E), Tenacity?(+50), Regeneration(Ep)(+10), Fighting Spirit?, Focus(E), Reaction?, Faith ?
Permanent Effects: -
SKILLS/PROFICIENCIES:
Active: Acrobatics, beginner [lvl7] Balance, intermediate [lvl1] Bite, beginner [lvl5] Catch, beginner [lvl4] Climb, beginner [lvl8] Crawling, beginner [lvl9] Disguise, intermediate[lvl5] Dodge, beginner [lvl5] Eagle Eyes, intermediate [lvl1] Forage, Intermediate [lvl2] Grapple, beginner [lvl3] Handle Animal, beginner [lvl3] Headbutt, beginner [lvl3] Hide, intermediate [lvl7] Hold-Your-Breath, beginner [lvl5] Jump, beginner [lvl5] Monster Identification, beginner [lvl1] Reading, beginner [lvl3] Cat¡¯s Immortality, intermediate [lvl2] Ride, intermediate [lvl1] Roll, beginner [lvl8] Sacrifice, beginner [lvl2] Sprint, intermediate [lvl7] Sneak, intermediate [lvl7] {counter-perception} Stomp, beginner [lvl5] Swim, beginner [lvl5] Taunt, beginner [lvl 6] Throw, beginner [lv2] Tracking, intermediate [lvl7] Writing, beginner [lvl1] Passive: Fast hands, beginner [lvl4] Hearing, intermediate [lvl4] Low-light Vision, Master [lvlMax] Lucky roll, beginner [lvl1] Mana adept, beginner [lvl1] Smell, beginner [lvl7] Universal tolerance, beginner [lvl3] Auras: Aura of Darkness, beginner [lvl5] {Dark} Aura of Light, beginner [lvl2] (disabled) {Light} Hate, Master [lvlMax] Crafting: Fletching, intermediate [lvl2] Bowying, intermediate [lvl1] Leatherworking, beginner [lvl4] Skinning, beginner [lvl6] Cooking, beginner [lvl3] Proficiencies: Archery, intermediate [lvl5] Dagger Mastery, beginner [lvl3] Kick Mastery, beginner [lvl4] Unarmed Mastery, beginner [lvl4]
COMBAT:
Ranged: Arrow Split, beginner [lvl5] Clout, beginner [lvl1] Critical shot, beginner [lvl1] Mark, intermediate [lvl2] Piercing shot, beginner [lvl4] Point blank shot, intermediate [lvl5] Precise shot, beginner [lvl7] Triple shot, intermediate [lvl1] Melee: Arrow Stab, intermediate [lvl4] Bow Garotte, beginner [lvl7] Impale, beginner [lvl4] Stab, beginner [lvl2] Defensive: Block, beginner [lvl3] Deflect, beginner [lvl2] Parry, beginner [lvl8]
SPELLS:
Ignite, beginner [lvl2] Freeze, beginner [lvl2] Electrocute, beginner [lvl2] Explode, beginner [lvl2] Fusion, beginner [lvl1]
LANGUAGES:
Dekin, beginner [lvl3] Horse, beginner [lvl8]
¡­ .. . Let¡¯s just add all the new skills and stats to a list for later¡­and now to blink multiple times at this severly awesome character sheet. Quite a few new cool skills, even spells? And let¡¯s not even get started on the titles. Ep? Epic?? L is for what legendary??? Literally insane, insane!!! Then we get to the stats, barring the minus over one thousand reputation¡­he¡¯s got -150 luck, no wonder critical shot is still at beginner level 1. But on the other side his endurance is literally monstrous. 150 endurance, this guy can take hell of a beating! And over 500 health! Seriously, for an archer with negative dexterity might I add, he¡¯s hell of a tank. And look how many rare ones he has! How the hell do I get those!? And regeneration please I need that!!! But even after ogling his character sheet for an absolute age, it¡¯s just not comfortable to me that he¡¯s only level 26¡­ONLY. I don¡¯t want to ever fight an npc, if they¡¯re all literally as insane as this! And what¡¯s with the over 100% but not levelling up?!? However he was called a Named Npc so maybe he was like an elite, well technically higher? So by that hopeful logic, normal Npc¡¯s should still be possible to fight if I have to¡­but I¡¯ll definitely not annoy any named ones. Oh Aiag never shall I do that. Putting my mind back on track, let¡¯s teach him what everything is and then learn it all from him. Yes that sounds like an absolutely delicious plan. ¡°¡­There¡¯s something that says I can change my stats one time, what does that mean?¡± ¡­ .. . He just went from insanely overpowered to an absolute monster. ¡­ Phew, that only took forever to do. After explaining everything and having him show me all his new skills and stats, I have many ideas that need to be tried when I¡¯m free. Ooh I can taste those delicious skills already! And his titles, oh my Aiag are they¡­something else. The main ones were Cursed by the World, which gave him -1000 reputation and -100 luck, which is mad, added onto it is the abomination title which gave him -50 luck and further reputation decrease. On top of that is the Hate symbol title which gave him a further -500 reputation and the hate aura: which is literally just getting agro from everything within reason, utterly mad. Cat¡¯s immortality gave him a broken skill: once every 5 days if he were to die he wouldn¡¯t, what kind of broken skill is that!? Seeing as though it¡¯s at intermediate level he¡¯s definitely used this a lot. Apparently because he¡¯s a contractee with a demon he¡¯s got spells which he only has to say the words to cast¡­I really want to meet this demon. But he¡¯s BROKEN I TELL YOU BROKEN. Then he¡¯s got the miscellaneous titles like iron stomach which lets him eat whatever, orc-nightmare which is a much much improved version of goblin-slayer (he¡¯s killed a lot of orcs it seems), Skirmisher which allows him to shoot while moving with reduced penalties And then his last title, is just further broken. Traveller, apparently he gets -25% on character reductions in any location. That¡¯s almost twice mine, and his is in any ANY location. I¡¯m done, just¡­done with him. He is so absolutely overpowered for his level it¡¯s so unfair. Although if we look at it this way, he¡¯s spent 21 years in this game and has only come this far, so Npc¡¯s definitely level slower than us, by a drastic amount it seems. So moving on from his broken self, well trying to, I still can¡¯t get my head over his new stats
Perception: 54 Strength 25
Mana: 10 Luck: -150
Tenacity?: 55 Reaction? 10
Stamina 10 Darkness(E): 33
Regeneration(Ep): 10 Endurance: 150
He heals 11 hp per second, 10 in combat, 10 per second!! I mean that¡¯s worthy of it being epic. And that¡¯s not it, all his pools regenerate like that! Tenacity is apparently vitality and endurance in one, so essentially his endurance is over 200! I mean sadly luck couldn¡¯t be removed and both stamina and mana are required for him to be effective¡­but that¡¯s a tiny niggling thing in relation to the monster that is Nightbird. I gave him my character sheet earlier just so he could understand how absolutely monstrous he is and he is currently staring between the two in shock. ¡°What happened?¡± Oh is that a Derek? He looks slightly better and not so much on Death¡¯s door anymore. ¡°Monkeys, you dealt with them extremely violently¡± twas a sight to see indeed. ¡°Ah. Forgive me for my actions, I¡­dislike solicitors of violence¡± Being such an avid one yourself, of course. ¡°You do not need forginess, you did save us back there¡± SirStripy gives him a helping hand up. ¡°If I had just spoken better¡± ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself up about it, those monkeys aren¡¯t the most friendly monsters that I¡¯ve met¡± I agree with SirStripy on that one. ¡°Talking about those monsters, how about we give them a taste of our own?¡± ¡­ ¡°My good sir Nightbird, I never noticed you were such a monster of a half-elf if you excuse the insult as a compliment¡± Derek says what everyone is thinking. Fighting 12 monkeys seemed difficult before, but now that we have a tank that takes under 100 damage every attack, and is full health after less than a minute. Plus apparently his spells cast super quick with an extra half elemental damage or more if he uses fusion, which apparently allows him to cast two at once on his arrows. Yes he enchants his arrows, which I absolutely love and fear. So with a damage count over 300, he can kill a monkey in one shot. And he can do that every 10 seconds. Now his damage didn¡¯t really increase with becoming a player, but getting rid of the penalty that was dexterity improved his archery skills by some amount¡­he even levelled critical shot for the first time. Honestly, these past few hours of hunting monkeys to feed ourselves and slowly thin out the never-ending horde of monkeys, has passed with almost no worries. There were a few times when his arrows completely missed and we got a bunch of raging monkeys jumping us, but we¡¯ve figured out a system to take on the usual 12. Nightbird takes half: with his combat skills, magic and insane regen he¡¯s quite literally a walking death machine. Derek takes 4 since he apparently flies into a rage when he gets attacked and slaughters those monkeys with his book¡­which weighs an absolute ton as I found out when trying to pick it up earlier. And apparenty it¡¯s bound to him so he can¡¯t lose it. Nifty. See I thought it was just him going berserk every time¡­but after it happens, every time he gets hurt and the fact that he doesn¡¯t go berserk until he gets hit, I suspect something is going on¡­ Anyways, SirStripy and I both take one each¡­because honestly neither of us are any good. Well I say that, but he¡¯s already killed his with some surprisingly decent spearwork and dodging, which is actually very strange since he¡¯s barely level 11. However according to him his strength and agility are both above 60. Wouldn¡¯t have believed they¡¯d be so high if I didn¡¯t know that some titles can give massive bonuses and penalties. 10 titles gave him 100 stat points¡­how he got 10 titles that all focused on strength and agility I fear to find out¡­ Moving on to me; I am¡­doing the mambo with a monkey. Because charming distraction while dancing apparently works. And of course when doing enchufla con Dracula -403 The monkey dies without even a last breath. Dangerous. I tried this out a few times already¡­and apparently if you do a sneak attack, which is double damage, on a critical area, which is a further quadruple damage, while using charming distraction apparently adds another double damage since it counts as an assassination. So I do 8 times my damage, which is a lot less broken than Nightbird mind you but that¡¯s still pretty good. And of course I learnt the Assassinate combat skill
COMBAT SKILL: Assassinate, Beginner [lvl1] (34%)
Assassinate is an attack on an unepecting opponent in a vulnerable spot, but may be used in combat
Deals x2 damage to unexpecting opponent Deals x4 damage to opponent if hit vulnerable spot Dealx x8 damage to unexpected opponent if hit vulnerable spot
Cost: 100 stamina, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: 1 minute
So I can use it twice before I¡¯m burnt out¡­not bad considering it¡¯s effectiveness. It was originally sneak attack but it immediately got upgraded to assassinate due to the nature of my attacks. This means I may actually be missing out on lower-grade skills that I can train up on and gain xp before having them upgrade? So many questions and no answers. Well at least I can be somewhat useful in this party. ¡°Hey Joat, it¡¯s nighttime¡± SirStripy points out, oh he wants to log off? I guess we¡¯re not going further in where the number of attacking monkeys triples straight off the bat. One of the few things we have learnt while delving through the jungle. To be honest we haven¡¯t learnt much except that there is no end to these monkeys and that the number of monkeys increase the deeper you go in. well that is what we assume anyways. Bringing the multiple bodies back to camp, we all sit round a tiny campfire and have some delicious grilled monkey. Today may have been hell of a day, but tomorrow won¡¯t be any less, that¡¯s almost certain with my luck in life thus far. 67. Back To Real Life (Mr Spencer¡¯s POV) Finally logged out for the first time in multiple days¡­damn am I hungry and come on body wake up!! Crying silently at the inevitableness of being late to my lecture due to my body being completely asleep, I slowly wiggle my toes and fingers to get the cogs turning. They really need to make some sort of nutrient capsule or something to keep people not paralysed and fed. It¡¯s just like last time¡­and there¡¯s the warning saying I should log out but it doesn¡¯t do anything beyond that. Seriously what¡¯s with the lack of failsafe. I could¡¯ve died if I¡¯d stayed a few more days unaware! Though I guess that¡¯d rarely happen. Swinging my feet off the bed, one step two ste-floor¡­.well time to crawl to the bathroom then. Jeez, although the headset does slow your body functions to an almost deathlike state...3 real life days is enough for the metabolism to happen ooooouh. Hmm, if I set up a system I¡¯d be fine with the bathroom problems but food would be my main concern. Would I have to feed myself soup through a drip tube or something? Though with my lifestyle actually needing me to logout once every day I guess this is just food for thought. Sticking a frozen pizza in the oven, finally walking once again, I jump into an icicle shower giving my body a proper jumpstart. No more staying in game for too long a period of time, I have a life. Anywho, let¡¯s see what I¡¯ll be wearing today. Can¡¯t do my usual t-shirt and jeans since I actually have students now. I don¡¯t really like suits and I¡¯ve actually forgotten to wash them since last use soooooo shirt and waistcoat it is, though¡­nah tie would be over the top. Ahhh how the days of wearing a colour matching trillby went by. That and looking like a stripper when wearing only a waistcoat and no shirt¡­ I should definitely start properly working out again, man having those vetinarians on call because those swans were sick back in the day was awesome. Wow never noticed the irony of actually having a vetinarian on call back then¡­what a beautiful memory. Right, focus, clothe yourself and get some food and then get to work! Look to the future not reminisce the past. Giving my cheeks a few light slaps, at least I¡¯m not tired so that¡¯s something. Peeking at the time, oh no. ¡­ .. . Turning the oven off, I quickly rush out the door. *grumble* sorry stomach no time, oh I¡¯m starving! Power-walking through the high street, because appearances are important (ignoring me eating an entire half-frozen pizza on the go) waving hello to the few early morning merchants, I quickly arrive at the castle, it¡¯s wide oak doors held open by a slightly older man, early thirties I think, wearing almost exactly the same thing as I, dress shoes included, but with a zebra tie tucked neatly in and a white trillby, more zebra patterns ringing the base. He¡¯s even got a pocket square, damn I¡¯ve been totally showed up¡­but he does look fantastic with the whole black and white colour scheme, supported by his mild latinoan skin and dark black hair which is slick back behind his ears. May have to do an art lesson on that. Although this week¡¯s lectures are supposed to be focused on different drawing art styles since I¡¯ve given them a week of fun things and now one week of nitty gritty things. But I have missed almost half the lectures this week already, whoops. I hope the substitute got something done. ¡°OY, what are you doing holding that door open for me you misogynistic scum? I am an independent woman and can open the bloody thing myself¡± I swear that over the top feminist wave died out a few years ago? Well not that I ever experienced it but the internet surely held more than a few stories¡­ Standing in front of the man with thick arms aggressively held at her side, short blue hair with shaved sides and a less than pleasant look upon her face, is someone who could aptly be named your typical feminazi. ¡°Excuse me madam but I¡¯m not holding this door open for you¡± he even tipped his hat. ¡°Oh then you¡¯re holding it open for another woman? Want to act the gentleman just so you can get in her pants?¡± that isn¡¯t exactly the point of being a gentleman¡­ ¡°And I¡¯m sure you treat all men you fancy like an absolute princess¡± I like this guy already, even with the slight smirk at the end. I¡¯m definitely getting to know him for both verbal and physical art¡¯s sake¡­plus he seems like a good man. ¡°No I don¡¯t because I¡¯m a lesbian and fuck all men who think themselves better than women, thinking we need to be taken care of. It¡¯s people like you who make me hate men¡± ¡°Women are fragile¡± *Slap* Now that was uncalled for, you can have an argument but don¡¯t get physical. Plus that sounded painful. ¡°By the sounds of it you¡¯re the more fragile one¡± She snorts in derision at the man, who is busy rubbing his red cheek. ¡°As I was saying w-¡± He catches her hand this time as she goes in for another slap, obviously not wanting to talk. Seriously what happened with just walking away and letting people have their own opinions? *crack* And now there¡¯s one screaming heaving woman with a broken wrist, pinned to the floor. I¡¯m not going to be so callous as to say she deserved it but karma? But still, you don¡¯t go breaking people¡¯s arms out in the open, or at all really. Jesus. Also I feel really ok with watching this, that¡¯s psychologically worrying¡­maybe I should find myself a psychologist to chat to. ¡°Women are biologically more fragile, and more sensitive especially to pain. Did you never wonder why more women are ticklish than men? It¡¯s because their body holds more receptors than a mans. Women and men can be the same in personality, wants, needs, ambitions, but when it comes to genetics or their biological purpose in life it¡¯s not something to be debated. A women¡¯s purpose in life is to breed and keep their species going. A man¡¯s purpose is to protect the women, deter any danger to their lives¡± ¡°Bullshit¡± she gets out one last word, her energy all seemingly spent on wailing, and then goes quiet¡­.and she¡¯s unconscious, bleeding out. Oh god. As the man begins his rant to all the shocked onlookers, I rip my shirt and begin bandaging the women as best as I remember, creating a tourniquet with my belt and stopping bloodflow from the awkwardly bent arm, elbow bone sticking out. ¡°-Just simple biology. Don¡¯t get me wrong, women can survive by themselves quite happily, thanks to technology but look at animals, they stay true to their biology of protecting their women¡­well most of them, there are quite a few who don¡¯t but then again for all we know that could be their base biology. What most people get wrong is the fact that there are many many factors beyond simple biology. Take lions for example, the women do all the hunting but that¡¯s not because of biology that¡¯s something to do with their community and what they found worked¡± He takes his first breath. ¡°Let¡¯s take peoples sexuality since that seems to be very important for you. There is no such thing in biology. Biologically you are straight since it is the only sexuality that will help pass on your genetics and if you truly believe that you are biologically something else then your sexuality is the genetic equivalent of having down syndrome. There is something wrong with your genes¡± No response from her¡­probably because she¡¯s unconscious but uh he doesn¡¯t seem to notice, uhh. ¡°Let¡¯s look at penguins. Yes there are gay couples who take care of orphaned eggs. But look at it from a biological standpoint, they weren¡¯t born with the idea of looking after someone elses egg. Nevermind the fact that that¡¯s altruistic behavior completely against their genetic disposition, gay couples wont naturally reproduce since it¡¯s impossible, thus they wouldn¡¯t pass on their genes. If you truly believe they are genetically correct, put only gay couples in an environment and watch them die out within one generation. Sexuality is an opinon not a genetic fact. Ah good morning madam¡± He stops his lecture, letting go of the woman and standing up to re-open the door for phew that is one smexy librarian. Hello Rienna, gosh have my eyes missed you. ¡°Causing trouble again I see Samuel¡± ¡°Merely opening the eyes of this poor person to the reality of things¡± ¡°You really did a number on her¡± She smirks with her plump, deep velvet lips, adjusting her square spectacles slightly lower on her small nose with one hand while the other gently tucks her long silky black hair behind one almost elvish ear.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I did? Oh no she¡¯s unconscious!?¡± He quickly fumbles to call for an ambulance, well ¡°Tut tut, Samuel there¡¯s only so many disciplinary hearings I can keep you out of¡± Gah even when she¡¯s telling him off it¡¯s just laced with delicate tension. ¡°You needn¡¯t worry yourself, myself and a few others bore witness to her both verbal and physical attack on Samuel¡± I saunter up, making myself known to that beauty. ¡°Why¡­.hello there. Jack¡± She almost savours my name, eyes flickering downwards at my still decent figure. Hey I don¡¯t workout often but a good body stays a good body for quite a while if you take care of it. ¡°I do hope you help him since he is a most excellent staff member, although a little prone to trouble as you may see¡± And prone to you too. I have competition! ¡°I did mention for you not to worry yourself, he is in safe hands¡± I take a step closer ¡°although I¡¯m sure he¡¯d much rather be in yours¡± ¡°And I suppose he¡¯s not the only one?¡± She licks her top canine with a slightly open mouth, so cheeky, very unlike our first meeting when she seemed so much more shy. ¡°Ahem¡± Time to play shy myself I guess ¡°I¡­don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll be free this weekend?¡± ¡°Perhaps, it depends on what you plan to do with me¡± Calm, concentrate Jack, concentrate and not on her gorgeously tight black dress with some really enticing visuals. ¡°That¡­is up to your imagination¡± Oh that sensual grin ¡°But do dress because we may be quite active¡± She bites her lower lip ever so slightly ¡°I¡¯ll wear¡­just¡­a dress then. Forgive me but I have a lecture now so Saturday?¡± ¡°Shall we say eight in the evening?¡± ¡°Oh I do hope that¡¯ll give us plenty of time for your¡­activity¡± ¡°Perhaps, it depends which one you¡¯re looking forward to. Now I too have a lecture to attend¡± Offering my palm she takes it and I give her two semi-slow pecks on her fingers then knuckles. With a slow sexy wink, she turns around and goes through the doors, long black heels clacking in rhythm to her hips¡¯ swaying. I definitely lost the battle of being in control there but damn she turned from hot librarian to erotic fantasy librarian. I think I might actually be sexually attracted to someone. ¡°Tch, you win today¡± Oh yeah whoops completely forgot I¡¯m not here alone, rather there are more than a few onlookers. ¡°I may have lost the battle but I will win the war for her heart Jack¡± he¡¯s not bitter, rather quite chivalrous in his manner of declaring his ambitions. I wouldn¡¯t put it past him to throw a glove at me for a duel. ¡°You can¡¯t win a battle you can¡¯t fight in¡± ¡°Ha. Samuel¡± He offers a hand, which I take. Damn he¡¯s got some muscles ¡°Jack¡± Done with introductions, I really need to go, like I¡¯ve become late, again because I spent the past few minutes, seconds, I don¡¯t know I was mired in heavy sexual tension between that gorgeous librarian fantasy woman and time just escaped my brain there. Damn that dress and glasses are just ogh can¡¯t describe it. Skipping past Samuel as he holds the door open for me, I zoom upstairs, almost tripping on the spirals but luckily my balance is good and of course the rails helped too. ¡°I HAVE RETURNED¡± Dramatically waltzing through the trapdoor, I am greeted by the ever so scary looking Krudel and the refreshing smile of Emma. A young beauty that has yet time to mature into something that can rival Rienna, not that I¡¯ll ever feel anything beyond a sort of honor at watching her grow into a beauty. ¡°Sorry I was late, there was a situation downstairs but let us forget that, shall we begin learning from where you last left off¡± wait where¡¯s Clara? ¡°Clara isn¡¯t here yet¡± Krudel obviously notices me peering around. ¡°Well then she will have to catch up. Tell me what have you learnt about the art styles over history¡± and I thought we were off to a good start¡­ ¡°¡­What is that?¡± Emma, thank you for being honest and doubling my stress since you¡¯re about 3 days behind now. ¡°Sean only taught us how the world is from a blind man¡¯s view¡± ...Sean? the substitute I imagine. And he taught them something rather interesting(?) to say the least, I guess these last 3 lectures weren¡¯t completely useless. I may have to do some guest lectures in light of all this¡­ Anywho onto art styles and all that dull garbage. ¡­ (Clara¡¯s POV) ¡°Dad¡± ¡°Hey honey, why are you calling so early? Something bad happened?¡± His tanned face appears on the screen, too close and his eyes fail to look at the camera. *Sniff* ¡°Dad¡± ¡°Does my darling angel need Pops to come over there and sort out the boy who broke your heart?¡± His deep voice is as soothing as ever. ¡°How did you know?¡± I haven¡¯t even *sniff* told you yet ¡°My sweet sweet girl, I know you, you¡¯re probably holed up in your room all day laying in the comforts of your rabbits¡± Dad does know me so well. ¡°So unless there was a freak accident where they all died, the only other thing that¡¯d make you tear up like this is a boy¡± ¡°¡­It sucks, it just sucks¡± I don¡¯t know why I feel like this, I don¡¯t want to feel like this. ¡°I know I know. I don¡¯t ever want my little angel getting heart broken but you¡¯re going to have to leave your room someday and find someone you want to spend your life with¡± *Sniffle* ¡°Can I not just become a rabbit lady?¡± It¡¯ll be better than feeling this crushing feeling in my chest. It¡¯s killing me. ¡°As long as your happy I¡¯m happy but don¡¯t let this little heartbreak ruin the world for you. He¡¯s just one man of millions¡± ¡°But he was different¡± ¡°They always are, until they¡¯re not. Don¡¯t spend time in the past, look to the future. From what I can tell he doesn¡¯t love you so don¡¯t spend your love on him¡± Dad¡¯s always to the point, slightly blunt but I like that, it¡¯s not wish washy and waffly like a certain Mom who tried to console me many a time... ¡°It¡¯s not that he doesn¡¯t, it¡¯s that he can¡¯t¡± ¡°¡­Is my little angel being a devil and trying to steal a man from another? Seems like I¡¯ve left you alone with Julie for too long¡± ¡°No Dad, god no I¡¯m not like her¡­.he is my lecturer¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I know¡­I know but I couldn¡¯t help it, I met him before I knew he was my lecturer and he was just so different, so above everyone¡¯s sex-depraved lives¡± ¡°Are you telling me you were skipping out on lectures¡± ¡°Dad not the point, but yes¡± I can¡¯t lie to him, he¡¯s just, he¡¯s my Dad, my one and only. ¡°So you¡¯re crying over your forbidden love with your lecturer, my, Julie would be proud.¡± Not the words I was looking for Dad, I don¡¯t want to be anything like Mum and her sexcapades *shiver*. ¡°Well not only that, I saw him ask someone out for a date and I just freaked, I couldn¡¯t go to his lecture, I mean look at me I¡¯m a mess. How could I go there like this¡± ¡°My little darling, all I can do is offer to fly over there to give you the best hug I can, I¡¯m hating to say this but the only one who can help you now is¡­your mother¡± ¡°Dad¡­¡­i¡¯ll be fine. I love you¡± ¡°I love you too my little angel, now go face hell¡± ¡°Heh *sniff*, ok¡± I give my screen a last hug before disconnecting. Although my eyes are tearing up, I feel a lot better, like a weight¡¯s somewhat been lifted off my chest. I really needed to talk to someone about this¡­though I didn¡¯t tell him about the night I had with him because I don¡¯t think Dad needs to know about that just yet. He would probably come fly over here if he knew that part¡­ AAAAAGGGHH I CAN¡¯T BELIEVE I FELL IN LOVE WITH MY LECTURER! I¡¯m such a stupid stupid girl, I even slept with him. God I slept with my lecturer! Worst thing is, I still remember it, I can still feel his muscular arms wrapping around me, his tongue¡­oh. DAMMIT WHY? ¡°Hello, Honey it¡¯s odd for you to call me what¡¯s g-¡± ¡°I FUCKED MY LECTURER¡± ¡°............I see, good job¡± ¡°MOM THAT¡¯S NOT WHAT I WANT YOU TO SAY¡± ¡°Alright alright, calm down, I know what it¡¯s like, but tell me, is he hot?¡± ¡°Aaargh I knew I shouldn¡¯t have called you!¡± ¡°Honey, don¡¯t get mad, Mommy is just proud that you¡¯ve made your first step in enjoying men¡± ¡°I LOVE him Mom, what do I do?¡± ¡°Honey, strong words, love isn¡¯t really the word you¡¯re looking for. And besides, apart from him being your lecturer what else do you know about this man?¡± stop talking to me in such a condescending way. ¡°What does that matter?¡± ¡°Because if you don¡¯t know who they are how can you love them¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just get this feeling, this aagh it¡¯s killing me. Everytime I remember him¡± ¡°Naked?¡± ¡°Mother no!...but yes¡± ¡°So you desire him, and well he is your first time so that¡¯s obvious. Just sit and listen. The person you first have sex with, you will end up falling in love with, why? Because they make you feel good like no one else ever has before, obviously. If you really think you love him, go on a date with him¡± ¡°But he¡¯s my lecturer¡± ¡°And? When I first met your father he was my boss, didn¡¯t stop me for a second¡± That¡¯s because you¡¯re not the best person Mom. ¡°And he¡¯s going on a date with another hot lecturer¡± ¡°Do you know when and where his date is?¡± ¡°8pm on Saturday, he said something active¡± ¡°Hmm¡­so not a meal. Is there a bowling alley in town?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± ¡°Google it, if there is chances are he¡¯ll take her there¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because bowling as a first date is a good choice. Allows you to talk to the person, while doing an activity which can be made sensual if he teaches her how to bowl. And as he readjusts your hips his hand will linger while his hot breath tickles instructions into your ears.¡± ¡°Mom, stop with the description, I don¡¯t need that¡± ¡°Just giving you a few tips on what situation you should throw yourself into. If that man is going on a date with another woman, get your own date and make him jealous¡± ¡°But why, what will that do?¡± ¡°Ah honey, men want what they cannot have, and you just have to show him how much he wants your forbidden self¡± She giggles on the other side of the phone, almost gleeful. ¡°Now let¡¯s begin with finding a suitably hot guy to set you up with.¡± ¡­ ¡°Derek¡± ¡°Hello my lovely little mascot, what may be the occasion for your lovely voice to call me?¡± Joking as always. ¡°We¡¯re going on a date, Saturday 8pm, Rolling Alley¡± ¡°Oh¡­er yeah totally sounds good. Want me to pick you up on my sweet ride?¡± He actually said yes, that¡¯s strange I thought I would¡¯ve had to explain to him that I need a friend to go on a fake date with. ¡°Sure¡± ¡°It¡¯s a date¡± He laughs happily as he disconnects. Cool, now I¡¯ll be able to show up Jack¡­wait why am I doing this, he¡¯s my lecturer!! Aaaah I just just don¡¯t know anymore. Chopper come here, I need cuddles. *sniff sniff* ¡­ *Knock Knock* ¡°Go away¡± I groggily answer, half-dreaming while cuddling with my cute bunnies. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve stopped crying¡± The voice is quite high-pitched, but I don¡¯t recognize them. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got choc-chip mint ice-cream¡± ¡­I suddenly got very hungry ¡°And love actually on dvd¡± ¡­ .. . Getting out of the bed, rubbing my puffy eyes, I head to the door, opening it up with a rather strange surprise. The person holding said icecream and a laptop with ten things I hate about you loaded up, is none other than my downstairs neighbour¡­Karen? She¡¯s a small woman, almost as short as me with a petite body, almost squirrel-like face, yet a few small laughlines and her bunned auburn hair give off the more mature vibe of her actual age. ¡°Hello neighbour, since I heard you crying, I thought you needed a girls day in¡± She gives me a beaming smile, her high-pitched voice cutting through the air. Doesn¡¯t even mention the fact that I probably look like I¡¯m straight out a horror film with my hair everywhere and whatever makeup I¡¯ve got streaked down my puffy face. But I don¡¯t know you, and er I don¡¯t really want company¡­we never really talked once I moved in¡­like ever. ¡°Don¡¯t give me the I don¡¯t want company look, come on, we¡¯ll watch a movie, eat some ice-cream and you¡¯ll be right as rain¡± ¡­haah fine, only because it¡¯s love actually Taking off the latch, I leave the door open and let her come inside, to which she does, quite energetically. ¡°Why are you being nice? You don¡¯t even know me¡± I sit on the bed, scooping up my bunnies onto my lap. ¡°Girls gotta stick together, plus the walls are thin so I could hear everything¡± She wiggles her eyebrows ¡­ .. . Ah¡­ahh AHHHH. ¡°Oh look at you go all red, what a cutsie! Yeah I heard¡­everything¡± *wink* ¡°Fuck off¡± I seethe towards her, but she just giggles and drops down next to me, placing ice-cream and laptop on me, barring me from an escape. She¡¯s already got the lid open with a spoon, dammit. Angrily spooning the first bit of mint choc-chip in my mouth oh, maybe I do need this. ¡°So¡­your lecturer eh¡± ¡°Fguh ogg¡± 68. Monkey Business (Joat¡¯s POV) ¡°Mmm is that grilled monkey I smell?¡± Immediately after logging in, the salty smell of the sea wafts and mixes with the scent of charring monkey, almost making a meal for my nose. Gosh to think I¡¯m eating monkey. Clambering over to the small fire that Derek has going, I immediately notice a lack of Nightbir- *BOOM* WHAT WAS THAT? ¡°Nightbird¡± Derek just shrugs towards my jumpy self, offering a stick of monkey at the same time. Grabbing it, I plop down and give him an inquisitive look. Nightbird may be a walking death machine but he shouldn¡¯t be making that much noise. He simply shrugs. ¡°Good mor-¡± *BOOM* SirStripy jumps with me, both freaking at the explosive sound coming from within the jungle. After a few tense seconds of waiting¡­no more explosions happen, so we breathe easy. I mean it may be just Nightbird but it¡¯s still makes me jump. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± SirStripy swallows a small bite, looking at me with a small reverence. Why reverence? I¡¯m not your leader or anything! ¡°Don¡¯t know, Joat?¡± Not you too Derek. Jeesh ¡°Well¡­we¡¯ve only got 2 options really. First is go further into the jungle in hopes of finding Trish and Kruush but that means we need to deal with so many monkeys. The second is to cut down some trees and build a boat¡± ¡°¡­¡± Both think silently. Yeah it is a hard choice. It is important to find Trish and Kruush, but we¡¯re not exactly able to fight as many monkeys as there are, and if we do build a boat and leave it¡¯s possible to return when we¡¯re stronger. It¡¯s not like it¡¯ll be impossible to fight the monkeys, but I¡¯m not sure what dying would do for SirStripy and me, much less Nightbird. And I¡¯m definitely not sure about testing it out. ¡°Really the only option would be to go find them¡± Derek agrees with SirStripy¡¯s statement. Hah fine, we¡¯ll tempt death to save some ungrateful Npc¡¯s. Plus it¡¯d leave a bad taste in my mouth if we just left them. ¡°We must hurry¡± Nightbird appears out of the jungle, almost shimmering into existence, holding a small leather satchel like a handbag. That¡¯s Trish¡¯s satchel if I remember correctly. ¡°You find their bodies?¡± A satchel doesn¡¯t mean much by itself He shakes his head. Damn, so it is still possible for them to be alive. ¡°Right. We¡¯re going into the forest and we¡¯re going to search for them, but we¡¯re going to be doing it safely¡± ¡°That¡¯s unusual¡± SirStripy, look I know most of my plans have been hey-ho from what you¡¯ve seen but we can¡¯t afford death here. Nightbird, did you gain xp when you killed the monkeys? Xp?....no Seems like he¡¯s still learning what the character sheet is. And hmm so he really is like a player. ¡°First off, we all need to learn eachother¡¯s skills, or at least be aware of them so we can figure out how to work better together. The aim is to be able to kill 30 monkeys between us¡± plus free skills! ¡°And here is the suicidal planning that I¡¯m used to¡± Is that a dig at me or DillyDally? ¡°I can deal with 2 at most, but 3 if we¡¯re going suicidal¡± ¡°if we must fight, I can take at least 6 down with me¡± ¡°I can take on all 30¡± ¡­ .. . I guess there¡¯s no point for me to say I can take on 1¡­ ¡°Nightbird, that seems a bit excessive, especially since you¡¯re an archer¡± Even though Derek has seen a little bit of Nightbird¡¯s OPness he doesn¡¯t quite understand just how overpowered Nightbird really is. Not that I don¡¯t believe him buuut it is our lives at stake, well sort of. ¡°So how can you deal with 30 monkeys?¡± I eye him curiously, you know if I can take some of his power it¡¯ll be awesome. He simply raises the satchel. ¡­ .. . Oh, well that explains the booming sounds? ¡°Alrighty then. So basically what¡¯s going to happen is Nightbird takes point, tanks for us. The rest of us focus on picking off monkeys that aim for his back and keep the retreating path open for use¡± ¡°So we¡¯re relying on Nightbird to tank 30 monkeys¡­Sounds like a plan¡± He seems convinced? Not sure why but hey less arguments the better. ¡°Tank?¡± ¡°Jet fuel¡± What are you talking about SirStripy? ¡°What¡¯s jet fuel¡± I had Zzoid fill me in on the whole Npc¡¯s don¡¯t understand real life things. And that ¡®rule¡¯ has just been completely obliterated ¡°What are you guys saying?¡± Derek still being a normal Npc looks at us funny ¡°I don¡¯t know what jet fuel is either¡± ¡°It¡¯s a special language just for us¡± I think it¡¯s god speech or something Look, there¡¯s no need to talk about it being a game, since apparently his title says demi-god. Soooo I assume that that¡¯s what he thinks he is instead of it being a game? But won¡¯t he just realise it¡¯s a game after being round players? ¡°Well I understood that last part. Damn, is there any way you could teach me and not leave me out of it?¡± Derek pouts slightly. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s extremely complicated to learn. Like jesus I don¡¯t even know how Nightbird actually learnt it but hey coincidences¡± I can feel your quizzical eyes Nightbird, juuust go with the flow. ¡°SO back to tanking. It¡¯s a term we use for someone who takes all the hits, basically the meat shield¡± ¡°But he¡¯s an archer¡± Derek obviously points out the strange fact that we¡¯re all trying to ignore. ¡°He literally went out and killed god knows how many monkeys at once, he¡¯s perfect for a tank¡± Derek just nods silently at that, taking it all in. ¡°So you want me to make all the monkeys attack me?¡± ¡°Yep¡± And with your horrible reputation, titles and skills that shouldn¡¯t be too hard. Everyone nods once and silently sit down for some breakfast. Finishing off my last bite of monkey, we start on learning combat skills, or well the ones that we can. Because I seriously need some sort of firepower. Turns out I can¡¯t learn any archery skills as of yet due to a lack of bows present (save Nightbirds) so we focus on other combat skills. SirStripy turns out to have quite a few; Impale, Stand ground, Block, Deflect, Parry, Riposte, Counter-Riposte, Push, Disarm, Power Strike, Sweeping Strike, Pommel Smash, Brace, Feint, Sneak attack, Charge, Critical strike, Multi-attack, Bash, Brace, Slice, Chop and Thrust. Quite a few is an understatement. So starting with the basics, Bash, Slice, Chop and Thrust. One for each type of weapon. How I haven¡¯t learnt these before I have no idea.
You do not have the required Stat (Strength) to learn this skillThe narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
- Turns out, I don¡¯t fit the required prerequisites¡­this is new. Or maybe I just haven¡¯t noticed it before. But then again the system never told me about prerequisites before. Does that mean unless we don¡¯t fit the prerequisite we cant get the skill. Acutally that¡¯s a lie, I failed the prerequisites when learning a spell. So ok the system will give us hints if we¡¯re close to getting something but are lacking. Interesting. Being without Strength as a stat means I¡¯m literally unable to do any of the basic combat skills though. But I still have charging power attack¡­maybe that worked because it didn¡¯t use strength, rather momentum? It also explains how I could parry, deflect and block since they¡¯re not strength based (well I would argue block is but then again cowering behind my shield literally plastered against my body doesn¡¯t take strength¡­). So now I have to focus on the combat skills that require agility to pull off...somehow. So now begins the morning routine of sparring against SirStripy until I get skills. ¡­ Turns out I opened up a can of whoopass¡­myself being the one who got his ass whooped over and over. Not having any bonuses on agility and no strength against a 60 60 really was not the best decision this morning. Buuut I did learn a whole tiny bunch of skills (really sucks I didn¡¯t get most of them): Charge, Disarm, Riposte, Counter-riposte and Brace appear to be the only ones I can learn. In all fairness it¡¯s better that I hoped for. Charge gives me bonus damage for every % above 100 my speed is (so higher sprint the better charge damage apparently), Disarm just needed me to stab his hand and drop the weapon. Riposte and Counter-Riposte was just awful to do since I can to thrust back after parrying and then after he re-parries and attacks I have to re-parry and thrust etc etc. And that little cycle continued for multiple times until I got the skill and multiple holes in my body. Brace was by far the easiest though, all I had to do was lodge the spear in the sand and point it at SirStripy, who charged straight into the spear. Took 5 tries to learn that skill. All in all about 2 hours was used up with Derek and Nightbird learning the more complicated skills that I could not while I learnt some of the basics. Moving on to Derek though, I got a fantastic little shock at the skills he has (well ok I¡¯m not that shocked since it does beget his fighting style but still for a lawyer it¡¯s still disturbing
NAME: Derek/Kered [lvl41], Human male
Hp: 420/420 Attack: 381-460
Stats: Strength, Brutality, Rage, Fury, Endurance, Tenacity, Stamina, Darkness, Perception, Charisma, Eloquency, Faith, Communication, Vigour, Intelligence Defence: 14
Combat Skills: Smash, Bone-break, Crush, Rip, Bite, Berserk, Brutal Strike, Limit Break, Second Wind, Relationship: 10
¡­ .. . I take back everything I said about him being a normal npc. He¡¯s got 15 stats¡­15 freaking stats. HOW IN THE HELL DO YOU GET 5 MORE STATS THAN PLAYERS!? WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THESE NPC¡¯S?? Just looking at his stats they are split between the talking, rather illustrious Derek and then the raging hulk¡­ Oh my Aiag, has he got a like a jekyll and hyde complex? That¡¯s awesome, ish, I¡¯m not sure it does actually sound pretty bad. Though ignoring all mighty interesting speculations, let us look at all the cool skills. Limit break? And second wind? Both sounds pretty damn useful. Brutal strike? Is that like critical strike but just better. And by the sounds of it, some of these don¡¯t use strength, but brutality as a prerequisite (please don¡¯t let it need strength). Totally ignoring his level 41 status which just means he¡¯s got so many skills. Oh I am making sure I get to see his whole character sheet. Just need to somehow raise reputation. ¡°Ok, so from what you¡¯ve told me¡­¡± Yeah he still does the whole talking in the background nonsense, and Nightbird freaked out a little as the window came up explaining everything with numbers. Though it came up as like a global thing so we could all see the same window, kind of weird to be honest actually being able to see the same window. Since anyone elses is blank usually. So strange. ¡°¡­From what you told me there¡¯s a couple of things you could teach us to make our little adventure a little less dangerous¡± ¡°Ah well, although I know what¡¯s going on¡­I don¡¯t really know how to explain it¡± ¡°Is there any way to get the Hulk out?¡± ¡°The what? Argulalash? What¡¯s that?¡± Oh damn translate ¡°Your angry self¡± ¡°Oh Kered¡± Wait he¡¯s not even going to try and play dumb to the whole Jekyll and Hyde? ¡°So¡­you¡¯re not even denying it¡± I mean it¡¯s kind of a big thing ¡°We¡¯re on a deserted island, I think it¡¯s best you knew that my brother is rather¡­brutal for better lack of a dangerous word. We must build trust with one another so no fights break out and Kered doesn¡¯t break out either¡± ¡°Definitely listen to him Joat. From what he¡¯s told me Kered is constant berserk mode and don¡¯t even begin with the whole brother business¡± Huh, nice to know SirStripy, and why whisper that last part, dammit I¡¯m more curious than ever now! Still it¡¯s not something you just tell people about. Seriously how does he trust us so much? ...Well anywho, since we can¡¯t get Kered out without him killing us if I caught the conversation correctly, let¡¯s continue with learning skills! Or well in this case teaching Nightbird all about his skills while I watch and you know learn about them too. And so begins the routine of trying to do a front flip¡­ *Pah* And so ends the routine of trying to do a front flip¡­well that was easy. Since that didn¡¯t get me the acrobatics skill, I end up doing backflips, tree running and some dives on the edge of the jungle (so much better than the sand). Took me a whole 5 minutes to get that skill
Congratulations! Through Agile movements you have learnt a new skill
SKILL: Acrobatics, Beginner [lvl1] (0%) (Active)
Acrobatics is a form of movement stylized for both show and mobility
When doing an acrobatic stunt: +1% bonus to the appropriate skill
Cost: variable, Duration: instantaneous, Cooldown: none
For learning this skill you have gained 5% xp
Sweet! While I climb up a tree and stand on a branch, I begin my teachings on how the system works, mainly with whatever questions he asks. Turns out he spent the entire night learning about all his skills, using them and even added to his mana stat. Possibly not the best choice, since regeneration would¡¯ve been my first, but then again after seeing his new spells at work yesterday I definitely consider more mana good. Though that amount of mana points gained at once is stil insane since for me 20 points would only be worth 5/6 since it¡¯s a 4:1 but then again I do have a good¡­jesus how have I got so many stat points!? I¡¯m only level 5 (Well 8 with the perma +3 levels) but I¡¯ve got 85 stat points!? ¡­Does this mean that I can re-level and get stat points again? This just means I can meet a level one who could essentially be a level 100 but due to titles and such it doesn¡¯t show that. SCARY. While I have an existential crisis on my lack of knowledge about this game, Nightbird tries to learn some of the skills I¡¯ve given him. Since now he knows the whole gain stats business, he¡¯s one of the needy for skills. ¡­ Over the past 2 to 3 hours, I¡¯ve once again made quite a headway on skills: Balance took no time whatsoever with me already walking on the branches. Disguise did take a little longer with SirStripy and I dressing up in leaves and asking Derek to say who is who. Not the most effective but we got there in the end. Hide too was quite fun, playing hide and seek with Derek and SirStripy in the bushes on the outskirt of the jungle. Although in one game I dug and hid under the sand. Turns out we also got the Observation skill, which at the moment doesn¡¯t do much, but I imagine it¡¯ll become helpful at a higher level (like everything else will to be honest). Also, Tracking was gained when we played hide and seek as I used disturbed leaves and grass to find them. 3 skills for playing a game? Absolutely loved it! Sadly that was the only skills we really could learn off Nightbird without taking too much time and effort. So with my slightly more buffed self, to the jungle! Taking foot into the oddly silent green wave of grass and trees I immediately take the middle, leaving SirStripy behind me with Derek and Nightbird up front. Oh what¡¯s that smell¡­oh it¡¯s me. Wow I do not smell nice, whoo. I think I might take a dip in the water, or Aiag please make it rain for a shower. Luckily we get through the 12 monkey zone with Derek¡¯s animal speech and now hell truly begi- ¡°OOAHAH AHHHH¡± And here we g- *BOOM* ¡­ .. . Well I regret asking for a shower now. ¡°¡­That was¡­effective¡± Thank you Derek for summing up the explosion of around 30 monkeys into a splatter of skin, innards and blood. ¡°What was THAT?¡± I turn towards Nightbird as I wipe what I hope isn¡¯t some intestine off my face. Jesus there¡¯s like a hole in the jungle, like a crater in the air kind. ¡°Fusion of explosion and explosion¡± ¡°Have you slept?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He must¡¯ve been really into learning about his ¡®new¡¯ spells. But at least we all know he¡¯s literally a monster. ¡°I believe that was overkill. How much damage did you do?¡± ¡°Four hundred and sixty two each¡± He¡¯s literally a boss monster. Wait no he¡¯s named, he¡¯s probably above that. At least we know 30 monkeys is no problem. Walking non-chalantly now through the jungle, hordes attack us every couple of minutes. Yeah minutes. Luckily Nightbird is a monster who can apparently blow all of them to smithereens on a good shot, but still kill at least a dozen on a bad one. Though the mana use is a bit insane; takes out his whole mana pool each shot. Might have to ask him about that to see what¡¯s going on. I mean I¡¯ve got a super powerful Npc, might as well make sure he¡¯s on the track of becoming god-like. Sadly he is not yet god-like so our little, well acutally it was about an hour, trek finally came to a stop when we reached the next level of monkey zones. Apparently all there is on this freaking island is mahoosive amounts of monkeys. Still the same level, nothing different at all with them¡­you know except that by a quick glance I¡¯d say there¡¯s about 100 appearing from the trees at once. ¡­
Sprint has levelled up
*poof* Safe! Just like old times. Though this time it¡¯s hordes and hordes of monkeys. ¡°Well we¡¯re definitely not going to be able to get through that¡± SirStripy speaks up, still standing of course blimming fitness freak. ¡°So plan number two?¡± I give everyone a quizzing look. ¡°It¡¯s wrong to leave them behind¡± I can feel him judging me from behind that hood. ¡°Though Sire Joat isn¡¯t incorrect in his thinking. If the four of us cannot get past those monkeys, it¡¯s highly doubtful the two of them would be able to¡± Derek gives me a hand to my feet. ¡°And if they have then I trust they can survive until we leave and get help. Since we aren¡¯t enough¡± ¡°And what if they woke up?¡± Nightbird points at the sleeping horse and Curry. ¡°Pfffft¡± As if sensing someone talking about her, Filly the horse opens one eye, staring straight at us. ¡°Filly¡± With utter happiness Nightbird jumps at her, coddling her and totally breaking his rather cool, apart from everyone persona. ¡°Did she take the weed too?¡± Derek asks me as we all start at the intimate moment between Nightbird and his stout and wild yet well groomed horse. ¡°Apparently¡± Though why did she stay so long? ¡°Hey Nightbird can you find out what she was doing all this time?¡± He stops cuddling Filly and stands up as if he wasn¡¯t rolling around the sand cuddling his horse a few seconds ago and begins his strange horse speech (no stranger than Derek¡¯s monkey communication mind you). After a few minutes he turns round, patting Filly on the head as it takes a bite of grilled monkey. It¡¯s clear blue eyes darting around each of us almost analyzing. ¡°She says she was drinking with Devil and Angel and they passed out before her so she woke up here¡± Wait¡­she was drinking with Devil and Angel? Why? Wait, I think I¡¯ve got a memory of her drinking in the Dirty Duck. So maybe they were interested to see if they could be outdrunk? I have no idea but then again I guess they just wanted to enjoy the time. But this might explain some of the flavourful description from my unique title¡­ Well now that we¡¯ve got Filly and her surprisingly muscular legs; like she¡¯s got quite a thick torso but the stout legs are massive with muscles carved like granite, we can hopefully take a few more trees down quicker than usual. Although how we¡¯re going to actually cut the wood is er¡­I did not plan this. Well whatever, everything will be figured out as I go! ¡°Alright everyone. Let¡¯s get to building boats!¡± Ah what kind of skills will I learn doing this! Oh I can feel the xp rushing through my veins already. 69. Roc-ing Around (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°Come on slow poke. Gosh you should¡¯ve been a turtle instead of a rabbit!¡± Big Sis Pinky Seniour sticks her tongue out at me while hanging from a ledge above. Her and Crazy are ahead of me because of their strength. I may be quite agile but seriously, for climbing a mountain, strength is so much better. Freaking strong rabbit women. ¡°Don¡¯t be slowing down now dearie¡± Oh and I¡¯m having to carry ¡®grandma¡¯. Ahhh my life sucks. I thought it was difficult enough to carry her through the entire swamp, almost dying multiple times to quicksand, undead and random beasties over the past few in-game days. That was bad enough, especially with her feeding me debilitating poisons constantly. This¡­this was ten times worse: I had to carry her while climbing a freaking mountainside. And she¡¯s still feeding me debilitating poisons. Seriously, I can barely feel my arms. Burning is an understatement for what my body feels. Clambering up a few holds, gritting my teeth as I do and digging my fingers into a deep crack, I look down at the rest of my lumbering party, trying my best to ignore the vertigo from such height. ¡°Oy lazy lizards how you doing below?¡± ¡°The view is good¡± Zzoid blurts out ¡­ .. . ¡°I meant that this is such a wonderful view¡­look at the sights¡± Just keep digging. ¡°My Knight, how could you put your eyes on another woman, aren¡¯t they meant to be watching me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m always watching you.¡± Zzoid just shut up and climb. As if listening to my silent voice he quickly lumbers up, scales tinted red. ¡°Wahahah you fools, climbing by such primal means. Watch as I ascend into a further domain of excellence than you shall ever fathom¡± I stop to watch Anoobis literally rise in the air, bypassing me with an astute stance and his full-of-himself grin. Freaking wizard. ¡°Before you do that you may want to grab onto a ledge¡± One equally pleased Ravenna rises next to him, lightly hopping onto a small ledge, hugging the wall with her back and laughing at Anoobis who is holding on to dear life on a nearby hold as his spell wears off. Ha, karma. ¡°Try not to fall, for death is time and time is of the essence¡± Krudel almost saunters past me, not even breaking a sweat on his bone body as he carries Miss Nameless or as Joat likes to call her: Princess, on his back. Freaking undead with their unlimited stamina¡­ ¡°up Up UP Come on wings!!¡± Sino flaps his wings with a fury only known to him, with his rabbit friend Hino almost sitting on his legs, quite calmly. Freaking birds and friends of birds. ¡°ppPeople¡­there¡¯s something¡± Charmine calls from way above, pointing to the distant sky. Yeah she¡¯s riding on the shoulders of the one hulking beast called BoneCracker who is more monster than the rest of us. Freaking strong people. ¡°It¡¯s probably just a bird¡± Zzand call from below. ¡°KWAAA¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably just an angry bird¡± Zzard corrects his little brother as we all watch the shadowed bird kwaa it¡¯s way in the distance. Growing in size ¡°It¡¯s probably just a large angry bird¡± Zzoid corrects them both, yeah it looks like it¡¯s about the size of a horse, scary. ¡°My eyes aren¡¯t the best but I believe that is an eagle of sorts by the wingspan to body ratio¡± Honey digs something out of his rather large base of knowledge. ¡°Though by the distance I¡¯d say it¡¯s at least¡­¡± ¡°The size of a swimming pool?¡± Zzoid adds quite obviously as the shadow fades from bird revealing a brown eagle the size of holy sh- ¡°INCOMING¡± NO S- ¡°Hold tight and don¡¯t move¡± Rassin whispers into my ear and I brace myself against the mountainside. Lucky I did because the bird slams into the rock causing a few of us to fall. Whoops. That¡¯s not good ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them, focus on the Roc¡± Rassin keeps me from distraction, using her powerful thighs to swing my torso towards the Roc as it pushes off the mountain swinging round for another strike. ¡°How do you know what this is?¡± ¡°They make their nests on mountains, any explorer knows that¡± Oh, thanks for the heads up, just a tad too blimming late! ¡°Anoobis, Ravenna, Charmine¡± Zzoid calls out from the below, quickly scrambling up ¡°Use whatever spells and potions you¡¯ve got to slow the bird down. Rest of you, get moving!¡± ¡°You know you guys have quite the way to go right?¡± PJ calls from above already hopping up another hold. ¡°Double time the ladder!¡± Zzoid calls out and I watch them do their little vertical frog jump, using eachother as holds which is sort of working. ¡°Or just get a ride of Mishilya¡± Hobo floats up on a shadowy bird of his own, accompanied by Krudel and ¡®Princess¡¯ as they had fallen. ¡°¡­Fin-¡± ¡°INCOMING¡± ¡°Jump¡± Wha- Jumping while still confused why I¡¯m doing it, I slam into a feathery pillow which gives way to a really hard bone, breaking at least one of my ribs. Oww. Before I can recover I get flung away, torso squeezed as Rassin keeps hold of me with her thighs, slamming me back onto sinewy wing as the wing moves. My face! ¡°You know if you don¡¯t take out your knives, how do you expect to hold on?¡± Rassin lectures me as her thighs threaten to crush my torso. Ow ok ok I got it! Taking out a trident and kite I slash down with the trident getting the feathery wing stuck between the blades while the kite goes straight through, twisting until the blade is right angle to the wound. ¡°Decent choices although a pick would allow for movement and a chain may be used to go around a bone, which is a lot more sturdy than the sinew of a birds wings¡± Of course she needs to lecture me when oh god it¡¯s beating it¡¯s wings literally springing me back and forth as I hold onto dear life going god knows how fast in the air as it zooms around for another swing at the mountain. ¡°DAZZLE¡± Both magicians shout out in unison, causing something as the roc screeches me half deaf before colliding into the mountain. ¡­And there goes my daggers. Taking out chain and pick I try scrambling up with help of Rassin who pulls my torso up until I get to the bone.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Multiple shouts of battle ring in my ears alongside squawking as I assume people have given up trying to go up the rest of the mountain with a giant bird attacking them. ¡°Sort yourself out before you lose more daggers¡± She tuts at me as I stab the wing trying to make a big enough hole for the chain to get through. Look this wing is TOUGH! Trying my best to ignore the nauseat-nope just threw up all over myself¡­ignoring that, I continue stabbing as the roc flies around erratically, taking me on hell of a rollercoaster. Oh I remember why I hate amusement parks now. And god dammit I dropped my pick. Taking out saber I keep stabbing, ah finally making a big enough god DAMMIT STOP MOVING SO MUCH I LOST MY BLOODY SABER THROUGH THE HOLE NOW!!! Throwing up a second time just over the top of the wing¡¯s bone as I get an arm through the hole and around the bone, I immediately notice more than a few things. Firstly, there are way too many people on this damn bird. Like 30, wait no that¡¯s just my eyes being messed up, there¡¯s actually only half that number¡­but still. Secondly most of them weren¡¯t here about a minute ago, and I recognize DillyDally and his Animal Squad, how did they get here so fast? No time to think as the Roc-coaster¡¯s going insane sending multiple people being almost sucked off by gravity but almost all stay on, hands stuck inside the bird¡¯s back and holding on for dear life. BoneCracker is busy straddling the neck as best as possible, but with it being longer than her she¡¯s just about holding on. The two Pinky¡¯s are busy on the head of the bird, beating on it with their bare fists, somehow staying on but I do- oh god is their feet in the roc¡¯s ear? Jesus. DillyDally and his 8 remaining people are literally digging into the bird, getting more and more of their arm inside, despite the geysers of blood blasting into their faces without pause. I¡¯m just holding on for dear life here. Just barely staying on, ignoring the fact that my lower half is flailing like a fish out of water, beating it against the wings doing me hell of a lot more damage then I¡¯m doing it. ¡°Get the eye¡± Rassin as calm as ever, no nevermind I can almost feel her excitement pouring through. Seriously this is scary, everything is spinning and screeching and shouting, it¡¯s oh god I¡¯m gonna puke again. Ironically enough, I puke and due to the damn bird barreling, diving, dropping and whatnot, I go towards my vomit, splashing through it, some re-entering my mouth. Uehg this is disgustinnng. Somehow spinning into view is the one of the gazelle-beastman, Snorh, literally punching holes into the wings with his hooves and antlers, making his way towards me. ¡°Fancy seeing you on this flight¡± he finally notices me, chuckling at probably my poor self, an ecstatic smile gleaming towards me. ¡°WHAT?¡± Couldn¡¯t here him properly but he said something about a flight. ¡°A bit bumpy if you ask me¡± Yinroh¡¯s head pops up beside his antlered brother, the same ecstatic smile mirrored on his face. Oh you¡¯ve got to be kidding me. You¡¯re really joking around at this time!? What are they up to? Acutally whats more important is how high is their freaking strength to puncture the wing?! ¡°Just a bit of turbulence, but do not worry, we will be landing in a few moments¡± ¡°May all passengers please hold on to your grannies¡± ¡°And your life because this will be¡­¡± ¡°Rocky¡± Both speak in sync, chuckling as Yinroh nudges Snorh along the bone, antler cutting through the sinew with surprisingly a lot of ease since it¡¯s going through the side. What did they do, sharpen the bleeding things?! ¡°Get the eye, quick!¡± Oh god why, we¡¯re going to be crashing in a few moments! I¡¯m not going to be able to crawl there in time. ¡­ .. . Oh I¡¯m not going to like this. Forcing my numb foot through the hoOAMMMMMAAAYYY that hit the wrong place¡­ Ignore the pain, get out chain. Wrap it around my foot and the bone. Now the other one, now tight tight and stab it into my foOOOOWT. ¡°Tighter, you need to be able to stand¡± I¡¯ve literally impaled myself into the bird, it¡¯s not getting any tighter. Pushing myself off the bone, Rassin still staying on me, can¡¯t breathe, torso crushing. Alright, butcher out swaying lessened somewhat since I¡¯m sideways and I just felt my leg break. AHFFFFFFFFUUUU- NOW! Throwing butcher towards where the sort of eye is in my slightly less spinning vision, I don¡¯t even know what happens but its squawks get unbearably louder than before before going deathly silent. ¡°LADIES AND GENTLEMINGE, CRASH LANDII-¡± The voices get lost in the whipping wind as we start dropping. Oh bugger, I¡¯m tied to the roc, how do I get out of this?!? ¡°You do not¡± Oh thanks Rassin. THANKS. I FEEL the impact as the Roc crashes into the ground, my legs snapping and leaving myself dangling in the air for about half a second before the wing and I smack into the ground and all goes black. ¡­ (Thrash¡¯s POV) Boiled giant egg is delicious! Munching on it, something screeches from far off. Someone¡¯s angry. I wonder why. Mmm finding this egg was good. And having Strawder cook was even better. Yum! Let¡¯s finish this then try find girl¡¯s friends, since they¡¯re supposed to be here¡­somewhere¡­ The screeching gets louder and louder until it appears: a very large birdy with people on it. Who¡¯s that? Oh it¡¯s uh the elf guy and a lot of half-animal people who I can sort of recognize. It¡¯s hard with all the moving. ¡­ .. . I should move. Running on my feet as I hold lunch, getting just out of the way as the birdy crashes into the plateu sending more than a few people to the ground with it. It¡¯s single golden eye looks at me with a lot of anger. This birdy was angry. ¡°SOLDIERS, WHO ARE WE¡± Elf guy stands up onto the dead birdy¡¯s head, hair all over the place. ¡°SQUAD ANIMAL¡± shouts come from everywhere, most hidden by the birdy. ¡°Jesus that was hell of a monster¡± the rabbit kid crawls out from the birdy¡¯s ear¡­ ¡°Actually seeing as though it was a level 65 Rookie it wasn¡¯t that bad¡± The old bunny appears from the other side of the head. ¡°It was way too easy¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s because most of it¡¯s magic was disrupted, or you wouldn¡¯t have been able to even damage it¡± The smart librarian raven woman floats into view. ¡°Yes yes, please aknowledge my impeccable role in this battle, how the crux of our victory lay on me¡± Very full of himself as always. ¡°Although it was Lenard¡± why did he whisper that? ¡°Mistress you can open your eyes, the Roc has been dispatched¡± The skeleton butler appears on a cool looking shadow bird. Ooh I want to ride that. ¡°SQUAD ANIMAL¡± The Giraffe and Rhino shout out from the shadow. ¡°Thrash!¡± Oh it¡¯s the lizard who isn¡¯t good with words. *gulp* Ahh egg is tasty ¡°Hello¡± ¡°What is that?¡± Why is he smiling? Have I done something wrong? ¡°It¡¯s lunch¡± ¡°Of course it is¡± Many people there start laughing or shaking their heads slowly¡­ Is it not lunch time? Shy yet angry rabbit is missing, where is she? ¡°Where¡¯s¡­Baila?¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°She¡¯s over here¡± A granny crawls out from under a wing with Baila. That¡¯s not a granny¡­ Oh no my egg¡¯s getting cold gotta eat it quick. *Munch munch* ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) Coming to a short while later. Jeez didn¡¯t know passing out was a thing in game, scary. Ignoring the multiple notifications of certain leg and head bones breaking, I¡¯m just surprised I¡¯m alive. ¡°-crawl through a field of glass for your attention, please grant this worthless trash cuddling bottom feeder a smidgen of your awesome power to restore the health of this unworthy unholy¡­female thing so that it may serve it¡¯s days worthlessly compared to your great majestic self. RESTORE¡± Hobo stops ranting to the sky with random garble and Zzoid stops translating on the side. A hot, yet soothing hand strokes my body, oy stay away from the goods! Oh that¡¯s nice. I feel fantastic. Keep going please. Wait no don¡¯t stop, it¡¯s really really good, I no longer feel constantly poisoned. Please don¡¯t leave nice feeling. Aaaand it¡¯s gone. Well at least I don¡¯t feel like a broken doll anymore. ¡°Welcome back, almost lost you there¡± Zzoid offers a hand. ¡°What happened?¡± I remember doing something stupid like chaining myself to a giant bird in the air and then breaking both my legs. OH MY GOD MY LEGS! *twitch* ¡­ .. . Oh they¡¯re fine. ¡°It¡¯s good to have a priest around right¡± Zzoid waggles his scaled eyebrows. Damn he isn¡¯t wrong, even if Hobo is kind of strange/creepy. His summons and sermons are just strange to put it simply. ¡°As for what happened: Squad Animal ripped both of it¡¯s wings and something killed it, causing it to drop onto the plateu where we are now¡± Huh¡­talk about taking the express elevator. Oh my stomach still feels queasy. ¡°Oh and Thrash is here¡± he points towards the rugged wolf-beastman, silver mane still shining through the dirt, grime and blood covering his body. And he¡¯s eating a giant boiled egg. ¡°¡­Did-¡± ¡°Yep¡± Zzoid confirms my thought. God dammit Thrash. But you just look so happy eating that I can¡¯t be overly pissed at you. ¡°Oh and he brought a friend too¡± ¡°Ah finally. I was beginning to feel distraught that you didn¡¯t remember me¡± A scare¡­nope just a human made of straw wearing travelers clothes strolls up to me confidently. ¡°I am Strawder and I am on an adventure for¡­.adventure¡± ¡­Alright¡­? ¡°Why are there so many Npc¡¯s? is it bring your Npc day?¡± DillyDally jumps off the bird and almost skips towards us, taking a straw hand with his own muscular one. ¡°DillyDally, leader of Squad Animal. A friend of Thrash is a friend of ours¡± ¡°Ah, thanks¡± he seems¡­perplexed. ¡°Right, sorry we took a while to catch up, we were stocking up on crocodile for rations¡± I just heard that correctly and I¡¯m not even surprised. ¡°Taste like chicken?¡± I give him a smirk. ¡°If it was super bitter yet zingy then yes. But the taste grows on you¡± Lovely. ¡°Huh so they¡¯ve even got such accurate tastes implemented¡± Honey once again surprising me. Sounds like he¡¯s eaten croc IRL¡­wow. ¡°Since we¡¯re already up here and it is lunchtime, how about we have some croc and rest up?¡± Zzoid points to Thrash and his still working fire. Well that¡¯s a good idea, plus I¡¯ve had enough moving for an entire week. Everyone drops to the ground to get some food and water in them. Climbing a mountain is still hard for even the crazy strong ones. Ignoring the undead who are looking full of life¡­ironic. ¡°Oh dearie, you look rather thin¡± Dammit, I almost forgot I¡¯ve dropped a quarter of my weapons and now I¡¯m going to get poisoned again. Stupid code word. ¡°here have some soup¡± I hate soup and this is literally poisonous, huuu. She hands me a very large bowl from under her cloak filled with the dodgy looking broth, oh there¡¯s daggers hidden inside the soup. No they¡¯re my daggers. Sneaky woman must¡¯ve gone and picked them up, oh thank god, I do not want to climb back down and all the way up just to get half my daggers back. Thanking her, sincerely too, I slip the daggers into my cloak and have a bit of soup
Poisoned
Weakened
When will this end? Agh I hope Joat¡¯s in living hell or I will be SUPER pissed. 70. What Were Raft-er I¡¯m building a boat, what fun it may be! Shall it be warship or galleon, let your imagination run free. It¡¯s exactly what I want to do with my day, all day punching trees, And dodging rocks from those friendly monkeys! -74 ¡°whistle¡± *Twang* Doesn¡¯t matter if my knuckles are broken, And my wrist bones are a poking, Out of meeeee! Because I¡¯m building a boat! Three hours have passed, And I am but last, To actually punch down a tree, Ow ow owiee. ¡°Are you done crying¡± SirStripy stops dragging his own fallen tree to the beach behind me, to give me a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s sweat SirStripy, just sweat that pours freely from my eyes with the pain of hard work¡± I am actually crying but I mean broken wrists do hurt, even if they¡¯re in-game. Having zero strength is the bane of my current life. BUT after seeing the regeneration stat I am consumed with desire. I will be completely fine without strength as long as I bring some muscle with me. I cannot waste my last two slots on something that isn¡¯t 100% necessary. Although at this point I¡¯m seriously debating getting it. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to kill myself after this island and re-stat myself? But wait, if I die and begin with nothing, what does the -1000% xp do since I won¡¯t be level 10 when I respawn. Aaaagh so many things I don¡¯t know about. Ok, until I¡¯m level 10 as a minimum, no screwing about with dying. *c-c-crrack* ah wrists are no longer broken. Thank Aiag I¡¯m a demi-god and naturally have 30 minute recovery time. It gives me eons of continuing pain¡­ Back to punching I guess. Man I¡¯d love to be using my Morningstar buuut it loses durability every few hits and when none of us actually have any sort of blacksmithing skill to repair it¡­I¡¯m not going to break it when there¡¯s a whole jungle of monkeys to battle still (totally ignoring the fact that I haven¡¯t actually used it in a fight against the monkeys yet but, you never know). So here I am punching trees which you know in fairness is not doing much¡­but after a few hundred punches there¡¯s a visible dent. Now if only I had a horse like Filly to help pull/push it over. Damn all these people with their extra strength and horses and actual abilities. As if taunting me, Nightbird and Filly push a tree down nearby and begin dragging it to the beach while Derek successfully hacks his to a toppel with a convenient axe. So tempting to get that extra 10 point boost of strength¡­huu. Punch punch punch away, Ah what a great sounding day. It¡¯s as if I have no other life, One that isn¡¯t turmoiled in painful strife. Aiag above please give me a skill, For all this tree punching is destroying my will. To liiiiiiiiiive!!! ¡­
You have broken your Right Wrist...again
WHAT IS THIS TREE MADE OUT OF? IT¡¯S LIKE PUNCHING IRON! I¡¯VE BEEN PUNCHING IT FOR 6 HOURS, 6 FREAKING HOURS AND IT¡¯S STILL NOT FALLEN. I¡¯VE EVEN BROKEN MY WRIST BONE AND THEN PUNCHED IT WITH THE BONE AND BROKEN THAT TOO AND IT HURTS SO. FRICKING. MUCH. WHY ISN¡¯T IT LIKE THAT OTHER TREE WE PUNCHED IN THE BEGINNING AREA, WHY WON¡¯T IT GO DOWN AND WHY IS EVEN THE CORE MADE OF THE SAME FREAKING MATERIAL AS THE BARK. EVERYONE, EVEN SIRSTRIPY HAS GOTTEN AT LEAST 3 TREES, 3 OF THEM WITH HIS BARE FISTS. AND I¡¯M STILL HERE PUNCHING THIS IMPOSSIBLE IRON TREE!
You have broken your Left Wrist¡­again
AND EVEN THE MESSAGES ARE GETTING SLIGHTLY SNARKY¡­.AGAIN, AGAIN! I KNOW I¡¯VE BROKEN MY WRIST 3 BLIMMING TIMES AND I WILL KEEP PUNCHING THAT BLOODY TREE UNTIL IT F*!()¡ê¡±! BREAKS AAAHGHAHGHAGHHAAAA!!!!! *BASH BASH BASH* ¡°He¡¯s lost it¡± ¡°Well that is what some may call a no brainer¡± ¡°Why are you laughing¡­was that funny?¡± ¡°Neighneiiiigh neigh¡±
You are Concussed
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ¡°Should we help?¡± ¡°I believe if we don¡¯t, he will seriously lose his mind in the more literal sense¡± ¡°Pfft¡± ¡°His hp is still at 70. It¡¯s odd since breaking our bodies don¡¯t actually do that much damage. It¡¯s the status effects that are to worry about.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t breaking your bones hurt you to the point of death?¡± ¡°Well my theory is that-¡± *CRACK*
Partial brain damage. Frontal Lobe damaged.
AHGHGFPGHTHAHGPAHGHHPFFAAAHHHHHGHHGHG ¡­ ¡°LISTEN TO ME. LISTEN!!¡± WHAT WHY DOES MY HEAD HURT? ¡°JOAT, CAN YOU HEAR ME?¡± SIRSTRIPY? WHY¡­why are you on top of me? Wait what¡¯s been going on, I kind of don¡¯t know what just happened. ¡°He¡¯s no longer frothing at the mouth and screaming incoherently so from experience I¡¯d say he¡¯s back to normal¡± ¡°Or he¡¯s brain dead¡± ¡°Hor hyou informashion¡­Hwere are my sheesh?¡± ¡°Well in the tree¡± OH THAT GOD DAMN TREE AGAIN! As soon as I get slightly angry, a small tinge of red creeps on the corners of my view, and I get a SirStripy and Derek pushing me deeper into the earth. ¡°Think happy thoughts, puppies and kittens¡± ¡°¡­Huu. I¡¯m fine now¡± The red tinge goes. Jeez I was certainly not happy with that tree. Slowly they get off me and let me sit, finding out that I can¡¯t feel my legs or arms. My teeth are gone and I¡¯ve got quite a headache and my throat is raspy and dry. Dry like I¡¯ve been shouting for an hour straight. Also I swear my chest is a bit more caved than usual as breathing deeply hurts. ¡°So you kind of went on a rage¡± SirStripy sits in front of me, a few teeth missing from his own mouth ¡°And?¡± ¡°You attacked the tree a lot, broke the front of your skull and most of your body. But some of it was our fault as we were stopping you from killing yourself on that tree¡± ¡°Is shhe shwee down¡± ¡°¡­not yet but-¡± he quickly shushes me as I start getting reaaal pissed at that tree ¡°-It will only take one more push¡± Nodding, still slightly fuming, I ask him to get out my way and I see the tree, still standing, blimming iron-like core beaten in, covered in blood and teeth. DAMMIT if only I could move I¡¯d be able to smack it down. Aaagh I¡¯ll have to wait until my bones repair. At least I can look a my notifications without having to move anything. Hmm, broken wrist, arm, leg. Head. Loss of teeth, caved chest and shattered pelvis. Wow I broke a lot of things¡­and I didn¡¯t die. So our bodies can get damaged in terms of breaking my body, but we don¡¯t actually lose any hp beyond the physical damage and bleeding? And we need to be able to do some damage to actually break something as I¡¯ve learnt before. This opens up a lot of possibilities, worrying ones too as you can be broken and captured without much risk to your life. But it also means that we can continue fighting even when pretty much broken. Cool? Suicide may become extremely useful in pvp that¡¯s for sure.
Congratulations! Through entering a state of berserk you have learnt a new Stat
STAT: Rage
Points in Rage will improve Rage related skills, Martial skills and will give you an increasing Rage pool,
Would you like to put this stat in one of your slots YES/NO
Xp increase by 10%
Damn right Aiag, I forgive you slightly for making these trees hard as iron!
MARTIAL SKILL: Berzerk, Beginner [lvl1] (0%)
Berzerk is the ability to give in to the anger increasing your physical prowess substantially but losing all reasoning and cognitive abilities beyond violent tendencies.
Increases all physical stats by 1
Cost: 10 rage/minute, Duration: Until rage reaches 0, Cooldown: 1 day
Xp increases by 5%
Sweet! Although the 1 day cooldown does suck and the fact that I attack everything without care doesn¡¯t help either. But a skill¡¯s a skill! Even if it¡¯s one I¡¯m not going to use because it requires a stat to use it. Also it¡¯s a martial skill not a combat one, I wonder what the difference is¡­maybe it¡¯s something to with the pools? ¡°Hey SirStripy¡± I call over to him as he pushes another fallen tree. ¡°For your combat skills what pool do you use?¡± ¡°it¡¯s complicated¡± Well ok, elaborate maybe? ¡°Primarily it uses stamina but you can use rage as an alternative in particular sitatuions. In my case it¡¯s whenever I go on a rage but DillyDally thinks it may also have to do with stances or forms¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°So if you went defensive that¡¯d use stamina instead of rage?¡± I think I kind of know what he¡¯s talking about ¡°Possibly¡± ¡°So would it be possible to use mana?¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t actually know¡± Well that¡¯s certainly a plan for later. Ooh. ¡°While I¡¯m kind of broken, would you give me a rundown of how martial skills work differently than combat ones?¡± He nods, sitting down on a log. ¡°From what I¡¯ve done, Combat skills can be used regardless, as if they¡¯re general battle skills for anyone. Martial skills on the other hand each use specific pools and are class related¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a class?¡± ¡°Berzerker class. Turns out all related combat skills got updated to martial skills and I had to choose a pool for each skill.¡± That is¡­ ¡°Odd I know but only the martial skills got class bonuses of x1.5 while normal combat skills only had a x.5 bonus¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not beneficial at all¡± ¡°Think about it this way, when is a berkzerker going to use skills like riposte? Almost never is the answer so having a 150% increase on all their useful skills is more beneficial than being 100% all around¡± ¡°And this is among the usual class penalties¡± ¡°Yes, but it wasn¡¯t stated with the class, so it must be a classes and combat thing and it only changed when they used the skills¡± I wonder, does it only happen for combat classes or would for example a mage be able to have martial skills? And if so would they use mana as a pool? Or do we just take spells as a completely different world in combat relations? Man I need more people to play about and figure things out with me since I don¡¯t have the stats to check it all out¡­ Aha! My bones are working. Finally! Completely lost track of time since I broke most of my body. Although the chest is still caved in slightly. Standing up shakily, I take a step away from the tree, then another and a third. Turning round I sprint at the blimming thing, jumping both feet first straight into the tree causing a rather foul crack as the tree FINALLY topples over, me collapsing on top of it. Haha! I have done it, I have contributed!! *Clap clap clap clap* ¡°Alright you little blighter get back to cutting down trees¡± ¡°Oh we were done like an hour ago, just kind of waiting for you to finish¡± Oh¡­well at least I know why I haven¡¯t had any monkeys throwing rocks at me recently. Actually I haven¡¯t had one thrown at me for more than a few hours¡­ ¡°Just an hour ago?¡± ¡°Derek was done about 4 hours ago, him and his axe was a three chop a tree job¡± ¡°¡­¡± I feel so useless. With his help and Nightbird, who happens to come out from a little further in the jungle silent as always, we drag/push the tree to the beach. In fairness it was like 10 meters but because of monkeys I was back to the beach so I didn¡¯t see the substantial pile of trees. Almost two dozen lying there, being cut into half by one Derek, axe slicing through like butter. That strength is just unfair. Ignoring that, we at least have more than enough to create a boat¡­however we make boats. Sitting down at the evening campfire we have a bit of monkey, sip on some blood (we ran out of water a long time ago so monkey blood keeps thirst away (according to the game it helps)). Apparently you can not eat and drink water to keep satiety up somewhat but when thirsty satiety will constantly decrease no matter how much food, quite scary. Eugh I can still taste the sea water that Nightbird put in the waterskin before he actually found out that sea water is undrinkable. Salty and irony blood, just what I want to drink. Oddly enough it increases my satiety a few percent more than water normally does. Something to do with being a hobgoblin? Worrying. Right, to boat creating discussions. ¡°What is a boat?¡± Great start Nightbird. ¡°You know about carriages?¡± Derek asks a confused Nightbird, who nods. Well at least he knows about some things. ¡°Well boats are carriages without roofs that float on water¡± True enough. ¡°Do any of us actually know how to build one?¡± Asking the real questions here. ¡°¡­¡± Crickets, I see. ¡°Well then how about we create a raft¡± ¡°Raft?¡± ¡°Strap all the logs together, flat side up, mast in the centre and maybe a barrier on the sides. Make some oars for movement and create a few straps for stormy weather¡± Simple enough right? ¡°We need to stop any sort of holes in-between the logs so if we use the tree resin as a sort of glue alongside strapping everything together that might work¡± SirStripy pitches in, already supporting the idea. ¡°A raft eh? Not exactly a boat but it is the simplest and the oars will be a good idea since creating a sail will be difficult¡± Derek nods at the idea, glancing at his axe, probably thinking about how to make some oars. ¡°A sail eh?¡± I might actually have an idea about that ¡°Right, Derek cut our board logs out, SirStripy or Nightbird, any of you know how to make rope?¡± Nightbird raises a hand ¡°Nightbird try find things we can use to bind the logs together, and strongly¡± ¡°Actually what we could do is make holes in the sides of the logs and have one go through all of them, bolting it in place with some pegs¡± SirStripy raises his voice ¡°I may have done a little woodcraft before and that might hold better than strapping it with grass and nature.¡± That is a fair point. ¡°Ok so Nightbird, how about you create the oars, they look like this¡± I draw a crude oar, hoping he¡¯ll do it like making a bow; so roundish shaft and a flat end (the flat end isn¡¯t part of a bow but close enough). ¡°And SirStripy get those holes and pegs going¡± ¡°What are you going to be doing?¡± I rub my hands together delightfully. ¡°Making a sail.¡± Oh leatherworking I¡¯m going to be getting you back! Leaving everyone to do their own things, jeez it¡¯s almost 7pm in-game. Seems like we¡¯ll have to go in the morning since night is never a good time to travel. Taking the large pile of mostly ruined skins that I have dutifully skinned every time we picked up a monkey out onto the sand. Alrighty, now to turn these into leathers¡­somehow. I need oil and salt. For one of those there is a literal sea of so I start boiling some in a cooking pot taken from Curry¡¯s random bag of things. So now for oils. Erm¡­ Erm¡­ Erm¡­Oils¡­from trees? ¡°Urine¡± Excuse me what? Turning to a SirStripy who is looking at me with a serious look¡­are you serious? ¡°I never did get to do leatherworking in game but tanning leather is just one of the surprisingly many uses of urine. A biologically beautiful substance, relevantly speaking¡± Gotcha, you¡¯re not a scathing water major in bed¡­ And now all I¡¯ve got to do is pee on my leather. But I don¡¯t need to pee/I don¡¯t think I can? ¡°Nightbird, can I borrow Filly?¡± He looks at her and I swear the horse nods. Digging a hole in the earth just inside the forest, I line it with skins before dropping the rest into it. It isn¡¯t a deep hole but then again for a good 30 minutes of digging it¡¯s what I need. ¡°Now pee¡± Filly just looks at me. ¡°Ok jeesh I¡¯ll go somewhere else why you do it¡± For some reason I think that is the right response and with a little neigh I might actually be right. Turning my back on her, I take a few steps back onto the beach and have a quick look at what¡¯s going on. Nightbird¡¯s carving an oar, with almost one complete already, nice. Derek¡¯s halved all the logs and is beginning to cut them into a good size. SirStripy has made a few dozen pegs, well that was quick. ¡°Ah SirStripy, can I have a few pegs¡± Just remembered I actually need them for the stretching. Taking a few at his acknowledgment¡­ lovely there¡¯s a smelling yellow pool with monkey skins swilling in it. ¡°Stomp around there¡± I¡¯m not doing it, it¡¯s your pee. No don¡¯t give me that look, you¡¯re a horse, it¡¯s your own fluids and won¡¯t reach up to your knees like it will do to me. Luckily after some internal debating and losing the staring contest, Filly gets her front legs in the pool and starts stomping lightly, making sure to get the urine right in there. Oh lovely. Asking her to stop, I grab one, well I¡¯ve literally swam in sewers so this isn¡¯t as unpleasant, come on Joat suck it up. Laying it down on the ground, I place a peg on the corner and have Filly step on it. Another three times and I¡¯ve stretched it out sort of like the rack. I mean it¡¯s all by sight so I could¡¯ve been completely off. But no rips as of yet. Now for, dammit guess I¡¯m using my saber. Whispering sorry to the still shiny weapon, I start shaving the skin with surprising ease. Damn the urine made it a lot easier apparently, or the hair is just naturally easily removable, who knows. Within 20 minutes I¡¯ve shaved one clean. Aha it¡¯s not ripped either. Lathering by hand with sea salt and uh, urine¡­ew, I move onto the next monkey, lathering the beginning one as I work on the 2nd. Before I know it, all light¡¯s gone but that just makes seeing easier and by the time I¡¯ve done 9 monkey skins (out of 13 so good job me), which makes up about a 4 foot bed size, almost 3 hours have passed. The urine made the tanning go by so much quicker¡­although I wanted it still quite bendy so I didn¡¯t lather it too much. Now to er put it together¡­somehow Poking some holes into the sides of the¡­poor quality¡­leather, I slice one up into strips and begin tying them together. A hole in the bottom edges and a line of them at the top of the ¡®sail¡¯ with a few more strips (had to do another monkey ugh skin), and that¡¯s it done? Holding it up, scrunching my nose at the acidic smell of now 2 people¡¯s and one horses¡¯ urine (Nightbird still has to pee, and I¡¯m still not over that it is a thing for Npc¡¯s) mixing together in the air around me, I have a sail. The sewer was disgusting but having to touch urinated monkey skins was rather not what I thought I¡¯d be doing in game¡­much less want to do it. But then again¡­ I have been tortured so this game doesn¡¯t exactly have limits as far as I know.
¡®Sail¡¯ (Poor Quality)
A necessary component for a ship
Ha even the game, or well Aiag(?) isn¡¯t sure that it¡¯s a sail. But hey a win¡¯s a win and I even got my leatherworking skill back, woop woop! Time to go put this boat together! Luckily it¡¯s only like 11:30 so we might be able to do this before midnight! On the beach in seconds, already the progress is just beautiful: A Square raft with chest height barriers all around stands on the beach, a T mast in the centre and 4 slightly bent oars stuck in the holes made in the barriers. I see the pegs literally everywhere, damn he¡¯s really done some weird weaving with the logs. If it works I¡¯m not going to complain though. ¡°Is that the¡­sail?¡± Derek purposely stops and looks at my ¡®sail¡¯ before stating it, alright mr snarky, it works, hopefully, so don¡¯t knock it. ¡°Yep, is that the¡­raft?¡± ¡°Indeed¡± ¡°Shall we finish our boat?¡± ¡°Please, for I am tired and need to sleep¡± SirStripy hinting that he does need to log off. Fair point, I need to go too. Climbing onto the raft, I get hoisted up onto Derek¡¯s shoulders while I tie, multiknotting the top of the sail with the holes at the top of the T mast (seems someone was watching me and made some modifications so I could actually attach the sail, smart cookies). Then I tied through the bottom holes to the mast so it won¡¯t just go flying everwhere. Done with that, I get down, feet sticking to the resiny logs. Wow they¡¯ve been well resined, how did they get so much resin so quickly? ¡°Any safety equipment?¡± Everyone just shrugs. ¡°Guess we can make some tomorrow¡± Everyone nods to that, quite tired. ¡°But before we go to sleep, how about we take it for a test run, just a little out and back in to see if everything works¡± And that we don¡¯t sink. Putting everyone on, yep even the comatose Curry, we, well Derek and SirStripy, push the raft into water. And¡­we haven¡¯t sunk so that¡¯s a good start. Man this water is deep, would be scary if there was a big bad monster down there waiting for us. ¡°The pegs are locking the logs in place, so the resin just helps stop any sort of vaccum, rather cool if I may say so myself¡± SirStripy¡¯s definitely happy with himself. I definitely commend him for this. ¡°Alright everyone, take an oar, and I¡¯m going to create a beat, row to that beat¡± Funnily enough, everyone, even Filly takes an oar, ooh maybe I could make a drum for keeping the beat, or is that too loud? Slapping my chest in a solid 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 slow row produces a powerful result. I fell over and smacked my head onto the back barrier. Ow that hurt! Rubbing my head as I get back up, keeping the beat, telling them to not use all their force each row and ok we¡¯re at quite a decent speed without the insane strength people pulling the raft to warp speed. Now for turning. I have Nightbird and SirStripy stop rowing on the right side, keeping their oars into the water and voila sharp right turn. Wow we¡¯re already quite a bit out, I¡¯d say a good 10 minute swim out. These guys row like madmen! Rowing is so easy (says the one just keeping the beat and giving order but still), we¡¯re just gliding through the silent waters, rhythmic grunts keeping us company. And the GIANT sea snake that just rose out the water. ¡­ .. . Oh¡­hello ¡° Row rowrowrowrowrow¡± I start beating fast but softly as everyone tries to quietly row backwards. ¡°Shuaaa¡± It looks right at us¡­welllllll ¡°ABANDON SHIP¡± Tossing Curry overboard, the world explodes as the sea snake dives into our little raft, boring straight through the front half and causing the rest to shatter due to sheer force. Slapping water, I get a splinter to the face, shouting as it goes through my cheek and embeds in the other. Need to get out of here ASAP. Flying through the waters with the best freestyle I have, nope nope nope don¡¯t want to be snake food. But what about Curry? ¡­ .. . Ahhhh I hate this. Turning round I see something¡­magical: Nightbird is riding his horse around the snake shooting it for little effect as I see but with great annoyance as Derek literally powers through the water butterfly style, tome in hand creating waves each stroke. SirStripy is floundering like me but with a bit more grace, damn 60 strength and agility. ¡°Curry ¡± I splutter towards SirStripy as he reaches me (Derek literally flies past my words lost on him ¡°Who¡± ¡°Curry the human¡± ¡°Oh¡± He turns back with me and we both, trying our best to ignore the spectacle of a horse running on water (yes, running on water) dodging a massively pissed off sea snake which is projectile vomiting a water laser, and focus on finding Curry. Diving into the sea water, eyes open and stinging, aha it works underwater too, although quite blurred. Ignoring the literal wall of slimy light brown which I assume to be the sea snake¡¯s lower body, there¡¯s a small figure slowly sinking nearb- And it¡¯s just been tail whipped right into me. -70 *ding* OW Apparently you can still get beaten by a projectile underwater and getting your breath knocked out of you isn¡¯t good, at all. *ding* -1 -2 Screaming (internally) as my breath meter reaches zero and I lose increasing amount of hitpoints, I grab Curry and race to the top -6 -7 *ding STOP WITH THE DINGS GAME! Bursting out the water, blood spurting out my mouth and all over Curry (whoops sorry), I begin paddling towards the shore, fleeing from certain death. *splashsplashsplashsplash* And that¡¯s Nightbird galloping past me on Filly¡­ Wait, I¡¯m the last one AHHHH. Swim swim swim! I¡¯m still alive?¡­No giant sea snake coming to kill me? Braving to look back with healthy fears that it¡¯s looming just behin- ¡­ .. . Hello, please don¡¯t eat me, I¡¯m not very tasty. I¡¯m just extremely unlucky. LITERALLY right up in my face. *Sniff sniff* It¡¯s giant nostrils expland, almost sucking me in while it¡¯s golden snake eyes look at me intensely, most of it¡¯s face and body underneath the water but I can still see a lot of body and tail slithering around. *gulp* ahh, turns out I can pee¡­oh no. I stare into it¡¯s golden eyes, squinting as if analyzing me ¡°Vulsh dorjsh ou reek osh naeslis¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Yes I reek, so don¡¯t eat me¡± What do I do in this situation, answer right? What even is this situation. What even did I just hear if I heard anything. His squinting eye widens as he realizes that I understood him (well really I swear I heard the word reek in the midst of hissing garble and took a leap). Hell I¡¯m still confused as to why this sea snake made words! ¡°Ou athnegarishe me?¡± Ok so it wasn¡¯t just a figment of my overly freaking out imagination that the snake is speaking, in a gravelly hissing voice, some random language I have zero idea about. Erm¡­I¡¯m guessing it asked about me understanding it (what else would you say if you¡¯re surprised about something understanding you¡­ ¡°Yes, although I¡¯ve never spoken to¡­whomever you are before¡± Well this is uh¡­unexpected? It gets a little bit closer, rows of sharp sharp teeth shimmering in the waters just below. ¡°Interesting¡± that¡¯s the one word (incidentally the first) I got in that mostly inconherent self-monologue of hissing in Aiag knows what language. After about a minute it decided it finished talking to itself and looked back at me with those penetrative eyes. ¡°So?¡± I just look at it in confusion, I mean I have no idea what it¡¯s saying. But its definitely not eating me at the moment so this could be good? ¡°Ou, Kill nisi naeslis osh sky¡± I kill the naeslis whatever that is of the sky¡­alrighty?
You have been offered a Quest
??? QUEST: Kill the Sky
You have been asked to kill nisi naeslis osh sky.
Do you accept this quest?
YES / NO
Well I mean I don¡¯t have much choice do I? And it¡¯s a ??? Quest? ¡°Sa¡± Huh I just spoke its language, how did I know it? And how do I know that meant yes? *Ding* The giant sea serpent gives me one final, unending look as it disappears slowly into the water. Its massive body slithering away and leaving only darkness in the waters below. ¡­.. ¡­. ¡­ .. . WELLLLLLLL...that happened. Swimming to shore, I¡¯m helped on the bank by Derek and SirStripy who both look at me with a very curious look. Well I have no idea what happened so don¡¯t expect me to answer many questions. ¡°I didn¡¯t look tasty enough¡± That might be partially true. ¡°Though that¡¯s not really what stopped, er, It? Him, the massive sea snake¡± 90% sure it¡¯s a he with that gravelly voice. ¡°Well what did stop it? We were watching you having a face off it before it just left you, that doesn¡¯t happen with monsters¡± Good point SirStripy. Good point. ¡°Apparently I smelled funny and it then left me after telling me to kill the sky¡± Arms up in the motion of I have no idea what¡¯s going on. ¡°Huh¡­¡± All four of them now just cock their heads. Yeah I know. I decided to tell them to truth because there are two others who can get quests here, and because I¡¯m almost 100% sure that Derek can detect lies, being a lawyer and all. ¡°SirStripy, do you know what reek is?¡± ¡°reek? But that wasn¡¯t in our normal language¡± He starts stroking his clean chin with thought. ¡°It¡¯s in abyssal¡± I understood it because it was in abyssal I believe, but the whole language wasn¡¯t?¡­or am I just not high enough level in the language? ¡°Indeed, I got a few percent on the language so it definitely was¡± Why does a sea snake know abyssal? I mean he was like the length and size of two subway trains but it¡¯s not like he was a demi-god¡­.right? That¡¯d just be insane. Although with what happened a few moments ago, it¡¯s a possibility¡­ ¡°What about naeslis?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Ok so he doesn¡¯t know either. But still don¡¯t know if its more advanced abyssal or not. Well guess I¡¯ll need to actually bother learning the language properly. For a quest too with ??? too!! Ooh I¡¯m excited. BUT FIRST ¡°You know what, we¡¯ve braved the waters and I think we should go for a long trek far far far away from the certain death snake¡± ¡°Indeed¡± Everyone nods staring at our destroyed raft bobbing about in the dark waters. 71. Monkey Business Part 2 Ah the gym; a sweat stench-ridden place with peals of grunts and metals slamming upon one another mixed with the occasional bang of someone lifting and dropping a dumbbell too heavy for them. Oh and don¡¯t forget the mechanical zipping of treadmills as people gasp as loudly as they can while jogging lightly in the beat of the horrendous almost club-like music that thrusts itself upon all ears. You know, I thought coming here at 4 am would bring me silence but am I wrong on almost all accounts: In the main room with all these worn out, medieval looking contraptions, are about a dozen people grinding their teeth, grunting dramatically with each lift. The bicycle room is filled with people, doing a hardcore looking lesson while the mechanical zipping of treadmills fills the background and I see almost all being used. Even the little outside bit is opened up with people using the machines with a fury only known to them. Seriously why are there so many people here at 4 AM!? At least the blimming music isn¡¯t playing. Well since all the cardio machines are being used, even the rowing machines by what looks like the rowing team¡­I guess I¡¯ll do some stretches. Grabbing a mat and a piece of the mirror, its off to work on splits. You know what they say about flexible guys¡­ Actually I¡¯m not sure what they say but there¡¯s a good chance it is derogatory. Lying on my back, legs opened up in the air and pulsing downwards, I have a little peek at the trio of madmen doing a circuit of doom beside me: One, a tall muscular fellow with a face that can blend into the crowd, squats and then with snorting grunts lifts his ten kilo dumbells like flapping wings. Another, a squat man with short and fiery red hair bench presses with a free bar and a gnashing gusto that¡¯s kind of worrying. The last is a lanky looking fellow who is actually crying from the effort to remain in plank. Ahhhh that¡¯s a stretch. Doing a pidgeon, I try to ignore the trio of grunters, gnashers and cryers and have a peek at the rest of the 4am crazies. Hogging the benchpress is a giant of a man, barreled chest, long spice hair accompanied by an equally long beard and a knobbled nose that has been broken more than a few too many times. Spotting him is a slender blond girl, with zero muscle but also barely any fat¡­how she¡¯s going to catch his over a hundred kilo bar is beyond me and all reason. Also since she¡¯s on his chest, not the best spotting zone. ¡°3 more baby¡± Oh girlfriend support, just what he needs when lifting a dangerous amount of weight. Ignoring the small snogout session that begins when he pushes himself to a finish, My attention is diverted to the strange leg squat machine and what I¡¯d like to call the she-hulk, lifting it maximum weight¡­with one leg. Completely opposite from that slender no muscle no fat woman, the she-hulk is over six feet tall, muscles rippling from every inch of her body to the point of I only recognize her as a woman by her face, which is solidly chiseled from god knows what exercises. It takes me about half a minute to realise that her eyes are closed and is snoring softly...... Right screw it, enough stretching, I feel completely demasculinized after seeing that. Hopping off to the cardio room, a skiing machine just became free, fantastic. Everyone hates those machines for some reason, but little do they realise how freaking good they are. Max intensity max time and going twenty miles per hour. Low impact workout my ass, the amount of strength I have to put into every step is literally exhausting. 233 steps a minute, 100 calories every five. And my arms get a fantastic workout with all the pulling and pushing. Aaaaaagehgrh let¡¯s do this! ¡­ ¡°Woah, you actually know how to use that¡± A portly, balding man with wispy white hair is on the other skiing machine, pacing about with just his feet at a leisurely pace. Although his upper body doesn¡¯t move an inch. Haah, oh god I feel like I want to vomit my insides. ¡°Yeah¡± haah haaaah ¡°you too¡± Don¡¯t move your upper body and your legs get a proper workout, else you just bounce like a fool. Alright I need to lie down. ¡°Though that was kind of pitiful, only twenty minutes?¡± It¡¯s not about the time, it¡¯s about the effort. ¡°Keep spinning like your wife is at home with the plumber¡± I feel like I¡¯ve heard that voice before, but my minds¡¯ a bit dying right now. ¡°I don¡¯t have a wife¡± someoe young complains from the spinning room. ¡°Or a girlfriend and no your hand doesn¡¯t count¡± wait I¡¯ve definitely heard this voice before. ¡°Oy¡± ¡°Well at least I have prospects with real girls¡± ¡°Hey she¡¯s three dimensional, a lot more real than your imagination¡± ¡°For you two, spin as if I¡¯m going to stick my foot right up your hiney hole¡± ¡°Josh why are you slowing down¡± ¡°Garret god dammit I¡¯m tired¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t want him stuck in your hiney hole¡± ¡°Time and a place for some hiney holing¡± ¡°Ok stop saying that bloody word¡± ¡°Watch the mouth sir¡± Uhhh I know him too, brain please start working ¡°Alright ladies, twenty second break¡± Oh! OH! Sitting up from the floor, I look towards the spinning room, and sure enough it¡¯s Dallas at the head of the ¡®class¡¯. And with him is a number of people; a tall lanky man, two semi-identical brothers, Samuel and a hunky man. Hunky with a smidge of fat would be more correct. With their twenty seconds, all of them, Dallas excluded lie heavily on their bikes, panting like dogs. What possessed them to actually follow Dallas in anything? From what I know about him he¡¯s an ex soldier. They do some pretty crazy workouts in the military, pretty crazy. Doing my best to get off the floor and to the dumbells, I notice the trio are already onto some strange synchronous dumbbell raise. ¡°Ra-ve-nna huu Ra-ve-nna huu¡± ¡­ .. . Well at least now I know who they are. That¡¯s¡­nine now? I think? I¡¯m almost sure it isn¡¯t a coincidence anymore. So should I assume everyone from my village is from here? I better scrutinse the people I meet a little more. Putting the thought out of my mind, I begin my angles of doom workout with the five kilo dumbells. Lift up sideways, move to the front, up above the head, then to shoulders, press forwards and down. Ow, I forgot how difficult this is. Up around up down forward down. Anotehr eight times lets go. ¡°Hah what a moron¡± Someone joins me by the mirror, snorting loudly at some poor fool. ¡°This is how you workout your arms¡± Oh I¡¯m the poor fool. Opening my eyes, I spot a top heavy man with muscular pecks and ripped arms, short black hair spiked to the sky and thick nostril in full snort towards me. He grabs the twenty kilos and begins bicep curls, chest heaving forward every pulse. Sighing, I close my eyes. There¡¯s always one sir arsealot who believes he knows the best way to do things in the gym while actually doing everything wrong. His back¡¯ll be gone before 40 with what he¡¯s doing and not to mention he probably doesn¡¯t know what leg day is. ¡°Such a little shit¡± I should¡¯ve brought my ipod. ¡°Shitty little shit who can¡¯t even lift dumbells fit for a girl¡± Opening my eyes, I turn to him. ¡°Do you have a problem with me?¡± Just asking because I swear I haven¡¯t done anything to you. He drops his dumbells on the floor and waves his hands around me ¡°This is the problem. Weak little shits like you should be crying in your room jacking off to virtual tentacles¡± Right¡­so why did you even come over here. Is this an aggressive takeover of gym space? Or do you just want to fight with someone? ¡°I saw you on your back with your legs open. You looking for a man to plow you and call daddy?¡± looking for a fight it is.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. All aboard to derogatory-ville. ¡°Glad you noticed, daddy¡± I blow him a kiss *Shudder* ¡°Eugh go fuck yourself homo¡± Now that¡¯s just mean. I¡¯m not that flexible. He storms off leaving my to continue my reps. Been a while since I¡¯ve met a homophobe but then again if it exists there will be a person who believes in it. Halleluliagh, that was surprisingly easy to stop. ¡°What an ass¡± Seems like I wont be able to actually get any peace and quiet here¡­ Checking out the newcomer, it¡¯s a short woman with a petite body. Her squirrel-like face hold a few tiny laughlines but the ponytailed auburn hair reveals her mature age of at least thirty. ¡°Its university, doesn¡¯t surprise me that the young men have all that pent up angst¡± ¡°And you seem¡­less pent up¡± Ah Tikari, your voice is shrillingly unique as always. ¡°The joys of being so tired that nothing could stress me¡± I¡¯m not quite shattered but I¡¯ll get there soon enough. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you here before though. Are you spending your nights with other kinds of workout then?¡± ¡­Something about this entire way too forward speech is dodgy. *Sigh* ¡°What do you want Tikari¡± ¡°I want you to tell me abo-¡­did you just call me Tikari¡± ¡­ .. . Oh bugger. ¡°I said pick at me¡± Her narrowed eyes pierce my body, darting all around to try get a sense of who I am. ¡°Alright¡± Her eyes become a little less investigative ¡°Jerriah¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Jerriah?¡± Wow, not offended but seriously I¡¯m sure there are others who are way more alike to me than the Giraffe-beastman. I acutally don¡¯t know much about him¡­maybe I should talk to him more. Add that to the neverending list of things to do. Ignoring her slight self-beration at failing to pick me, I move to the hip machines and work on those. Obviously many people snicker because apparently only women do that. Ah little do they know just how freaking good for your legs it is. Taking up the other hip machine is Tikari, eyes wide with curiousity, nose twitching like a squirrels. ¡°Who are you¡± ¡°Jack¡± ¡°I mean your character¡± ¡°Madam, I do not mix my real life with a game¡± ¡°I will find out who you are¡± ¡°And then what¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know¡± ¡°So we agree on me being just Jack¡± ¡°Eh I¡¯d still like to know who you are¡± If you did you¡¯d probably freak quite a bit more than you are already. ¡°Not that guys daddy that¡¯s for sure¡± I point to Sir Arsealot who is playing with the tricep machine. ¡°Hihihi. He¡¯s such a moron¡± ¡°Thank you¡± At least Tikari has better sense in men than some of the women I know. Finishing up, I decide that I can forgo the gym and just workout at home where I wont be assaulted by multiple different people and disturbing noises/images. Now I remember why I don¡¯t go to the gym¡­ ¡­ (Joat¡¯s POV) Opening my eyes to the clear nigh- AH MONKEY Before I can even react to the large, bristled animal with claws the size of my hand and a purple tinge to its already pulsating skin, as it rips me from my seat, an arrow bursts out of its open maw between the rows of large jagged teeth and spatters me with it¡¯s dying moment. ¡°Stay under there¡± Nightbird shouts to me as the buzzing from his bow increases to a thunderous level, crackling delightfully as it sears multiple invading monkeys. Off to my right is Derek covered in gore, clothes torn and a ferocious look locked in his eyes as he beats the last of his horde to death, smashing it to a literal smear with his book. SirStripy, unlike me is still on Filly, who jumps around, kicking and flailing towards any monkey that dares come close. More than a few are left in her wake with heads completely caved in. I can take on one at least, I¡¯ll help dammit. Grunting as I slowly lift the corpse off me, Aiag be damned these monkeys are heavy. ¡°Grrrr¡± Oh hello there. The monkey climbs its way into my vision, saliva dripping from its open maw onto my eyes. ¡°WHERES ARAGORN WHEN I NEED HIM?¡± An arrow appears in the side of the monkey¡¯s skull, dropping the full weight of it on top of me. Huuu breathe, oh jesus this is heavy. ¡°Who¡¯s Aragorn?¡± Aiag dammit Nightbird, don¡¯t ruin the huuuUUU moment. Without answering him as he gets pretty busy with another monkey, I simply give up trying to lift them and simply play dead. Aiag, why am I so useless? After barely a few minutes, the sounds of death wash out from the vicinity and silence rolls in. Squirming out from underneath the dead with much effort, since Nightbird decided to pile a few more monkeys on me for good measure, I fully notice the ravaging that had just occurred. I can only see about 40 intact bodies, but after spotting multiple random limbs and other pieces of monkey littering the place, I can assume there were a lot more than that. ¡°How did we survive that?¡± ¡°They are a lot slower at night¡± Now that you mention that Nightbird, why is your cloak still fully intact. Did you not get hit once? Filly snorts what I assume is agreement as she trots her way towards us, hooves smashing in a few more skulls along the way. That was definitely on purpose as well. ¡°That was a group of a hundred?¡± ¡°About as much. I took on most but Kered¡± He trails off with finger pointing at the mash of unrecognizable bodies surrounding a now unconscious Derek. That¡¯s a lot of bodies, jeesh. And I thought the guy could deal with about six before passing out. ¡°Surely he couldn¡¯t have done that himself right?¡± From six to a whole lot more is too much of a jump, even for some crazily overpowered NPC like him. ¡°Well actually. Most of the monkeys were trying to run away from him¡± Oh so it was a one-sided massacre then. That makes more sense and terrifies me. Leaving him to rest up, snacking on some rave monkey and drinking their blood, I begin skinning them. Might as well plus I cannot wait to see Baila¡¯s face when she learns I can skin. For once it¡¯d be nice to see someone look up at me with wonder rather than idiocracy.
Pelt ruined
Though that¡¯s a far off dream. ¡­ Within a few hours, I¡¯ve skinned all the monkeys while Nightbird recovers Curry from underneath a pile of monkeys. Jeez Filly can¡¯t keep her baggage on her can she? Derek finally wakes up, immediately lamenting his last piece of clothing. And now we get to adventure with a crazy lawyer in his underwear, how fantastic. ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°Rather refreshed actually, it almost feels like I took a bath¡± A bath of monkey blood and entrails? You definitely did¡­ ¡°Well since you are refreshed how about we get moving¡± ¡°A good idea, lucky the nearby monsters haven¡¯t smelt the blood yet¡± ¡­I think they¡¯re just scared to come close to the destruction to be honest. Getting the sleeping people onto Filly, we begin walking through the jungle once more. Ever since meeting the snake of doom, we decided to just go inland in hopes of finding somewhere safe, or just somewhere that isn¡¯t packed with monkeys. ¡°U-AH AH AHAHAHHHH¡± Well at least I can see them from far off¡­Aiag why did you create this island, it¡¯s just hordes and hordes of monkeys. *BANG* And now it¡¯s a slightly smaller horde. Choosing my mon-not that one since he¡¯s just been blown up but this next one, I grab him and start doing a bit of ballroom. Da da daa da da daaa daaaaaaa daaaaaaa daaaa da da da da da daaa daa daaa da daaaaa- And someone just shot an arrow through my dancing partner. Well at least I¡¯m getting used to the taste of monkey blood in my mouth. ¡°We made it about five minutes¡± ¡°Longer than usual¡± How many monkeys have you killed thus far? Also more importantly, why is your bow glowing?! Rather than asking the questions, I just sit down and skin once more, since Derek is kind of passed out from being beaten up again. For an NPC the man is doing well, especially as he doesn¡¯t have our kind of Regeneration. Actually how does he even regenerate that quickly? Is his base just naturally high or something?? ¡°Morn-umpfh¡± SirStripy rolls off of Filly to get a face full of dirt mid-greeting. ¡°Mornumpfh to yourself. Though I believe it is still nighumpfh¡± ¡°You may be correct Sir. Tell me, what has happened while I was gone?¡± ¡°We¡¯re at the hundred horde zone¡± ¡°Really?¡± He¡¯s as shocked as I was since it is night too and as far as we are concerned night monsters are way tougher than day monsters. ¡°Somehow¡± ¡°We¡¯ve left the hundred horde zone¡± Nightbird suddenly calls from the distance. ¡°And how do you know that?¡± I ask him curiously. He simply points towards the wave of monkeys eyeing us in the distant trees. Errrr that¡¯s a lot of monkeys. ¡°We should run¡± ¡°We should definitely run¡± I agree with SirStripy. ¡°We could¡­but¡± Nightbird points at oh god there¡¯s monkeys behind us too. Well¡­we¡¯re screwed. ¡°Get under Filly¡± What? Looking at Nightbird funny as he orders us such a random thing while his glowing bow points to the sky, drawn yet no arrow knocked. With a silent release¡­nothing happens. Well what did I expect to happen. And here come the monkeys. I¡¯m not even going to bother counting but I¡¯m guessing there are a lot, lot more than 100. ¡°Death by monkey mutilation, guess I¡¯m crossing that off the list¡± ¡°If we¡¯re going to die, might as well take as many out as we can right?¡± I can take out one maybe sooo, yeah screw it. ¡°STAY UNDER THERE¡± ¡°WH-¡± *Schwoop* A ray of moonlight zips into existence, slicing apart half a dozen monkeys, followed by another and another ray that pierces even the leaves and then the monkeys. All around us, rays almost fall out the sky and with a lighthearted sound bisect the wave of monkeys. *ding* ¡­ .. . Not one survived. Not one. ¡°WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?¡± ¡°My bow¡± He caresses the now no longer glowing bow. Oh so it was a spell or ability? That¡¯s one freaking good ability. ¡°I wonder what quality it is¡± ¡°Quality?¡± Nightbird overhears SirStripy whispering to me. ¡°It¡¯s Legendary apparently. What does that mean?¡± ¡­ .. . *Twitch* Holding my eyes so they stop twitching uncontrollably at the blatant lack of knowledge owned by this overpowered monster of a half-elf. He¡¯s got a legendary bow. At level 21. How in the hell has he got a legendary bow? ¡°How did you get that?¡± ¡°I was helping some dead guy and he gave it to me¡± So grave robbing, perfect. ¡°And it allows you to what, summon the moonlight?¡± ¡°Yes, but I can only use it after charging the bow in the full moonlight for hours¡± Still, you just wiped out a horde of Aiag knows how many monkeys. If this NPC dies, I will have zero regrets immediately looting his corpse since I bet he¡¯s got more freaking insane equipment hiding underneath that cloak. Better question is why were we underneath Filly and did he direct the moonlight or was it just random? I¡¯d love to know because that¡¯s a really useful ability to have. Anywho, guess we¡¯re staying to skin some. ¡°I think we should get moving¡± Nightbird suddenly places a hand on my shoulder as I plunge my scimitar into half a monkey. ¡°Dereks¡¯ still passed out, and you¡¯ve used up you¡¯re special ability. We¡¯re not going to be able to take on the next wave of monkeys¡± ¡°We won¡¯t need to¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re almost at the mountain¡± ¡°Mountain?¡± I look over to where he¡¯s pointing¡­erm all I see is trees. Ah damn it¡¯s probably his eagle eye doing the trick ¡°How far¡± ¡°If we run, maybe ten minutes¡± So we¡¯ll almost definitely encounter at least one more wave. Well screw it, if there¡¯s a possible safe place we¡¯ll go there. Setting the pace since I¡¯m the slowest (by far), we begin sprinting through the jungle, eyes and ears peeled for signs of monkeys. Somehow, almost miraculously, we didn¡¯t encounter a single monkey. Not a single one. And just like Nightbird said, we arrive at a mountain, with a convenient looking set of rocks, almost like stairs. Easiest trek up a mountain ever. No actual climbing needed, just walking up the rocks with zero effort needed. The only party member who was having trouble was Filly, mostly because she was too wide for the stairs. They are pretty narrow stairs, the right width for monkeys though. Oh god please no monkeys mid climb, that¡¯s my current nightmare. Luckily Aiag seemed to have finally relented on the monkey shenanigans and allowed us to reach the top of the mountain, where it is quite a ways up, took about an hour to get up here. Everything is going to be fine! The view is just fantastic though: I can see the whole island end to end. Yep it¡¯s an island, almost round and in the middle of nowhere. But that¡¯s secondary to my pressing concerns. What is first on my list is the bubbling lava that is but a few feet below where we¡¯re currently standing. And the bubbling just got more violent. ¡­ .. . Well¡­¡­. 72. End To A Story ¡°Who here¡¯s a virgin?¡± Just us guys here, wait nevermind Filly counts towards the census doesn¡¯t she ¡°Want to make sure nobody dies a virgin? Or sacrifice them to please the volcano?¡± SirStripy answers wittingly ¡°Not quite sure, but won¡¯t harm to do both¡± ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± Derek stumbles up to the volcano¡¯s rim, hopping from one scalding foot to the other. ¡°Sacrificing virgins to volcanoes doesn¡¯t work¡± ¡°What¡¯s a virgin¡± ¡­ .. . Ah, forgot about Nightbird and his er...lack of knowledge, not unlike someone I know. Oh they¡¯d be great together, completely lost in every which way. ¡°Have you ever fallen asleep with someone, naked?¡± I¡¯m going to assume he¡¯s never heard the word sex ¡°Of course, Filly and I sleep together naked on warm nights¡± Not quite what I meant. ¡°Have you ever¡­put your thingy, inside someone elses¡¯ thingy?¡± He just gives a look of incredulous confusion ¡°Thingy? This? But how does it¡­¡± SirStripy gives him a tap on the shoulder and begins making scratchings on the rocky surface with the tip of his spear. ¡°There are two sexes, male and female. Males have these, ¡®thingies¡¯¡± Crude but effective drawing ¡°and females have these¡± Watching him carve out a surprisingly well formed female genetalia, I¡¯m mildly impressed by his spear control. ¡°Now you put your thingy, into their thingy and you¡¯re not a virgin anymore¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Oh yes, that¡¯s happened before¡± He doesn¡¯t look too sure about that. ¡°Does it count if we just bumped against eachother accidentally once?¡± ¡°That¡¯s called a one night stand¡± I helpfully chip in. ¡°Standing all night? What does that mean?¡± Forget it. ¡°Back to the point, yes it does count¡± SirStripy, let ME teach this young fool the way of sodomy. ¡°even if it was by accident? I mean we were just being strangled by vines and-¡± *clap* ¡°-and just that¡± ¡­¡­..Erm, so he lost his viriginity by accidentally colliding with a girl while both were being strangeled by vines¡­ok? I mean beats my deflowering story by three tonnes, so kudos to him?!? ¡°Guys, as much¡­interest this conversation has delivered, I do not believe it is appropriate given that we¡¯re currently standing on top of an active volcano¡± Good point, good point indeed.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Should we run?¡± I mean if it blows while we¡¯re on the island we¡¯re screwed anyways. ¡°Just, just maybe¡± SirStripy gives me a nod as he starts clambering down. Following him quickly we scramble down the stairs with haste like a Pompeiian on judgment day, ironic. Reaching the base of the volcano in surprisingly only about twenty minutes, Nightbird veers off to the left, and of course we all follow. If we¡¯re going to go through monkey hordes, might as well go a different direction. Speaking of- ¡°HUA AH AH AH AHHHH¡± ¡°INCOMING¡± Wading into hell, I grab a leaping monkey, fox trotting it away from the hail of explosive arrows and concurrent blood shower. Quickly doing a half-feather around SirStripy as he impales a monkey, lifting and smacking it down on another behind him, shaft just missing my head as I zip past, straight into Kered¡¯s killing zone. And that¡¯s a piece of skull embedded in my eye, OW, at least it was my dance partner who¡¯s head was obliterated not mine, DUCK, ROLL RUN! Getting away from the killzone as he thrashes about, swinging the thick tome with a wave of viscera spurting out each swing. Out of one killzone and Jesus Filly, have some awareness, almost kicked my face in. let me hide under you for a bi¡­nope I¡¯m never going to survive getting under there. -98 AIAG DAMNED MONKEY GET OFF OF ME. Elbowing it in the crotch, it drops off my back, twitching uncomfortably on the floor. I don¡¯t even bother killing it, just keep running away as Filly bounds over, playing dance master on the now pulped corpse. Running right into the forest and oh god they¡¯re all running¡­with me? Wow they¡¯re so scared they don¡¯t even notice I¡¯m not a monkey. Well¡­lets keep running! For what seems like seconds we(?) sprint across the forested earth, zipping past hordes of screaming monkeys as they jump up and down in the trees and I swear I see a pair betting nuts on me. There¡¯s a gap in the trees!? Run run run! I sprint towards the gap immediately noticing my competition(?) trailing quickly behind and I burst out of there, diving into cold, rocky ground. *ding* Yes I know I¡¯m bleeding, ouch! Sitting, I quickly rip my t-shirt (so lucky it fixes itself after a while) and bandage up my scraped arm as it bleeds somewhat heavily onto the stone. No way am I just focusing on that though, had enough of this island to know there¡¯s something horrible around every freaking corner. *Slap slap slap* Yep, there¡¯s something horrible around the corridor, aand it¡¯s rather echoey. Oh, oh my. This is a quarry!? Well I did notice it wasn¡¯t a beach and I should move out of what looks like the entrance, just in case. Scrambling quietly to the side, hiding behind a stone-laden cart, I get the bleeding to stop and begin peeking. Nothing here yet¡­well I have to go investigate the strange slapping noise right? Yes, yes I do. Knowing this¡¯ll get me into trouble; because when has it not, I sneak towards the quarry entrance, quickly noticing the sharp decline into a giant, almost circular pit of old ledges and beams that dig into the carved out hole. Calling it a quarry would be kind of incorrect; it¡¯s more of an open mineshaft, since it¡¯s all going down into the earth and there isn¡¯t exactly much of a mountainside above ground to cut from, if anything it¡¯s just a big jutting rock to be honest. To adventure in the mines! Following the strange spiraling descent for barely a few seconds, I climb onto a nearby ledge, after checking it can support my weight, and have a peek into the darkness below. *Slap slap slap* So that¡¯s what that is and oh that¡¯s what it is: Turns out the echoey slapping noise is made by large scaled feet which are attached to some quite long crocodile looking thing, which is busy meandering about. Oh and there are dozens of the things in current sight, all prancing about without any sort of purpose to their being. Gosh it must suck to be a mob; you just path around until something kills you.
Identify is too low
Or in this case, just keep pathing. Joat Oh my, SirStripy, we can use this! Completely forgot we could message eachother, because we¡¯re technically in the same zone. Useful, very useful. Of course Watch the smarminess there Where did you go though? Because we¡¯re currently headed out of the forest. Well. I¡¯m in a quarry/mineshaft thing, once you get out of the forest you¡¯ll see it. Nice to know you didn¡¯t die Always a good thing, oh and be quiet because there¡¯s monsters here too. Not monkeys? He¡¯s definitely as sick of them as I am. Thankfully no. some strange crocodiles, but think fatter with more legs and spikes coming out of their backs. That¡¯s some pretty strange crocodiles Indeed, I hope to never find out what they are. Be there soon *Hiss* Not soon enough!!! Whipping my head round to almost collide into a fat, toothy blue face, it¡¯s yellow eyes bore into mine. Oh bug-g-gg¡­ 73. Back In Business 500 and 2 days¡­ WELL LETS NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! Jeez louise what in the heckadoodles was that. Wait wait waait that isn¡¯t even me. ¡°Ahem¡± Got to prepare my very unprepared self, wow never thought I¡¯d be back here .. . ¡°WHAT IN THE NAME OF AIAG WAS THAT?!?¡± ¡°Oh hey Joat¡± a pitbull-beastman casually waves a hand at me before going back to casually flirting with the robin, whose rosy bosom is disturbingly feathered but you know what I¡¯ll take it¡­or not as the pitbull is wearing a spiky collar, oh his own making? I mean I¡¯m pretty sure they don¡¯t sell spiky collars which look like someone¡¯s stuck a bunch of sharp bits of metal in a leather belt. Or maybe they do, hey I¡¯m who am I to judge. But seriously, you¡¯re gonna poke out your dates eyes, well breasts at this rate. ¡°Bark, please tell me you bite¡± Well¡­I guess I know who I¡¯m following around until I figure out what I want to do now. Walking nonchalantly through the still lively market of¡­err here? I tail the two flirtatious couple and have a quick peek at the stalls of food. After sixteen months of imprisonment, I need a snack. Aaand I have no money¡­ Sighing, I slide through the crowds, recognizing a few people, I think? Mostly because they do stand out with their torn up leather armour, but some I do genuinely recognize: Wirra and Dirra(?) are buying some fresh fish, of some kind (I don¡¯t know I¡¯m not a fish expert. It¡¯s flat and slimy, describes about 90% of them). ¡°H-¡± Yeah¡­I cut myself short¡­because I remember when the last time I saw them was. Mooving on, and where did they go? Ah to the adventurer¡¯s guild! Ah my inheritance? or do I not count as dead because I¡¯m pretty sure no Npc saw me die¡­? Well no time like the present. Strolling into the adventurer¡¯s guild, or whatever it was supposed to be called. My lord it¡¯s packed! I can see at least 30 people in here, and I recognize about 6¡­7 First off is the group of 8 non-descript humans, all wearing some kind of leather and to be honest looking a bit more like street thugs than adventurers. And that is a pretty big party too. Taking up the centre tables, all four of them mashed into a single bigger one, is a group of bird-beastmen with a few non-birds with them. Crow, magpie, Canary, Bald-eagle, a fat blue-bird a blue-penguin and now the robin and bulldog (who I assume is called Bark, very creative. I wonder if he¡¯s got a friend called Bite. Or is he all bark and no bite), join them. That¡¯s a lot of tables for just them, hell most of the seats around are empty but nobodys looking at them funny so ok? I¡¯ll look at the rest of the room later as I do need to figure out whether I¡¯m dead in the eyes of the world and get some monetary compensation for it. Walking into the small queue waiting for the foxy lady with a flowing green dress¡­erm, roxy(?) oh I¡¯ve forgotten so many names its worse than usual. Trying out my memory as I wait behind a red-turtle beastman, who¡¯s sweating like a truck mind you, ust suck to have to carry around a giant shell all the time, I don¡¯t get anywhere with the fox-beast ladies name. Actually now that I think about it, I don¡¯t even remember the name of the guild I joined. Wow, I wasted those 501 days. I learn nothing, absolutely nothing in that time. Except that when you have nothing better to do than sit around, you can make up a lot of fun time wasting games. Like waiting, that was such a fun game, literally staring out into the darkness waiting for something to change. Scream into the darkness was a wild one too, the darkness was a very strong competition with its inexhaustible silence. And chess. I can¡¯t believe I spent 501 and one da- ¡°Excuse me¡­Joat was it?¡± ¡°Hey, Roxanne¡± ¡°Wendy¡± Oh I wasn¡¯t even close ¡°Sorry it¡¯s been a¡­how long has it been since I joined?¡± She raises a single furred eyebrow at me, pointed nose twitching in what I¡¯m going to assume is annoyance, its going to twitch a lot around me I can tell. She bends down under the counter and moments late comes back up with a large green binder, to which she promptly plops onto the counter, opening it and rustling through the small number of sheets. ¡°Fourth of Huya, third, sec-there we go. It¡¯s been 13 days since you¡¯ve joined.¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Are you ok?¡± I just stare at her, 13 days? What? How, what, whyyy. Nodding a thanks I turn right back round and open up the menu To Droneurt, I have a teensy, tiny, miniature complaint about a certain¡­system you seem to have in place. Nothing awful really just a miniscule bit annoying . You know, inconvenient for me since I WAS STUCK IN AN UNENDING DARK ROOM FOR 501 DAYS WITH NOTHING BUT CHESS!! I EVEN NAMED EVERY PIECE AND PLAYED SIMS WITH THEM. DO YOU KNOW HOW UTTERLY DULL IT IS PLAYING SIMS WITH KINGPIN AND QUIN HIS GAY LOVER USING CHESS PIECES? WHY IS THAT A THING?! GET RID OF IT NOW JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESUS. Also, how was I there for 502 days, I know because I counted, quite meticulously since it was one of my many anti-going insane methods, and it was only, like one day¡­what utter bullshevick is this?! KIND REGARDS A very annoyed hobgoblin Screaming into my screen (mentally not literally or I would be getting quite a few odd stares), I send the message off only to get a ping literally less than a second later Sorry about that, you kind of got into a temporal zone where the time dilation was¡­interesting to say the least, it was supposed to be the other way, but someone changed the variables. Whoops. Are you serious¡­you know 502 days in blackness wasn¡¯t easy I could¡¯ve gone insane And that¡¯s why we coded in a chess set for you Not let me out? We¡¯ve got a whole team working on that bug. And don¡¯t worry your real body has been monitored and fed. Oh my aiag I forgot that this is a game, I could¡¯ve just logged out. ¡­ .. . Well its official ladies and gentlemen, I¡¯m a dumbass. And now this dumbass is going to find a job. ¡°Say Wendy¡± I turn around, huge grin etched on my face ¡°Got any work for a supple and strong hobgoblin like myself¡± She doesn¡¯t even blink at me as she¡¯s chatting to another customer, but her hand does point towards the job board. Aha! I mean I should be realllllllllly amd at the developers for that nonsense, almost as bad as the jail (if I remember I couldn¡¯t log out when in jail, annoying), but it was my fault in the end sooo can¡¯t really get too mad at them. Too mad, but a little mad yes. A whole two weeks of gaming gone. What are my students going to do without me! My lectures?! I have lectures and there¡¯s a freaking princess that needs quality teaching and all she¡¯s getting is¡­err Sean I think his name was. Checking the time as I skip to the board (I mean I¡¯m free so why shouldn¡¯t I be skipping), I¡¯ve got until 10pm to get something back in order before I try to tackle real life. This¡¯ll be fun. Hmm, burn out a nest of goblins, never again. Whittle down the rock giant numbers, nooo thank you. Escort a farmer and his son, sounds relaxing. Though I¡¯d kind of rather go for something with a little more danger. ¡°Well well well, if it isn¡¯t he who disappears without a trace¡± a small kobold with a wispy beard comes up to me, claws stroking his smiling face. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the name¡¯s Joat¡­Keruskegh¡± Why do I remember his name, out of everyone ¡°Indeed it is, you¡¯re looking mighty fine now. Heard you were indisposed¡± There was quite an emphasis on the last word there, what¡¯s he trying to get at? I was quite literally indisposed. Gosh to think it¡¯s only been a week for everyone else. ¡°I was stuck for a bit¡­but I¡¯m here now¡± ¡°Gotcha. Oh don¡¯t bugger off again because we¡¯ve got a meeting tomorrow¡± ¡°Tomorrow? Ok that¡¯s good¡± Means I can¡¯t do the farmer¡¯s escort well ¡°Oh wait.¡± I turn around and catch the kobold on the shoulder as he¡¯s walking away ¡°Where¡¯s Baila¡± I could just ask of friends why¡¯d I ask him ¡°She and your posse went out looking for you, they said they¡¯ll be back tomorrow¡± And he shrugs as if not expecting them to be. Well that¡¯s great news! Because they literally will follow me to the ends of the earth for some bizarre reason¡­and bad news because I¡¯m here and they are, somewhere else. Aiag, why¡¯ve you got to make my life so hard. ¡°Meeting tomorrow, Baila and Co are gone, anything else about this week that I¡¯ve missed out on?¡± ¡°Just some normal adventuring. Although¡± he does take a quick glance towards the corner of the room by the hearth, where there¡¯s a mess of grumpy looking dwarves. ¡°Turns out Avani¡¯s group wasn¡¯t the only one coming here¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Avani? Oh yes, oh¡­I wonder what they¡¯re up to. But now what do I do, I¡¯m stuck in a village which has a lot of random skills to learn mind you¡­but right now I just want to go do something super active. ¡°Yo, green glob¡± Not a moment of peace here ¡°Hello, Dirra?¡± I hope its her at least, blue deer beast-lady, with some very cute freckles. 12/10 would spend time with her. 501/10 would spend time with a rock if it spoke back at this point. Though not the rock giants, they¡¯re nasty. Dirra just stares at me the whole time, hooved foot clomping on the ground impatiently. ¡°Sorry?¡± I mean I did kill her last time we were around eachother, accidentally of course. Gosh that was a looooong time ago. ¡°Mhm¡± ¡°Ok fine, I meeesed up and got you killed, cmon it was an accident¡± ¡°What¡± ¡°What¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°That is what I¡¯m supposed to be sorry for¡­right?¡± ¡°You accidentally PK¡¯d me on the Halloween event?¡± Oh whoops se didn¡¯t know ¡°I thought you knew and were angry at me for that¡± ¡°No I had no idea but I am midlyl peeved at that now¡± ¡°What are you angry at me for then?¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°My memory is very hazy right now so give me a littttttle reminder, pretty please¡± And quieten down a little, because there¡¯s quite a bit of attention on us right now. ¡°You really don¡¯t remember¡± I just shake my head, what could I have done to her. I mean we¡¯ve never erally talked until this moment I think? ¡°That night after all the chaos in the Dirty duck¡± Ahh memories, and what? Where is this leading? ¡°You pushed me against a wall¡± I hear a sharp gasp from somewhere to my right ¡°and proceeded to tell me many horrible interesting things youd do to me that night¡± ¡°Errr sorry about that? And wait did you say horribly interesting?¡± ¡°Yes I did. Now I¡¯ve got a room upstairs¡± her eyes flashed wide, seductively. Damn that is a some cute freckles. ¡°uhuh¡­.¡± ¡­ .. . SPRINTING towards the doorway, bursting out of the guild and into the market, I quickly leave behind the angry screams of a very need doe. ¡°How dare you leave me like that, come back and take responsibility!?¡± What in Aiag¡¯s name did I tell her? And even better question why? Well I was drunk of my socks and had a terrible influence by the name of Curry around so the why was pretty much self-explanatory but the what is still a mystery. Anywhooo, I run through the crowd, dodging through everyone, noticing a huge increase in dwarves, in this mostly human town if I remember, milling about. After a good while, I¡¯m at the west gate where there¡¯s a old man in a permanent hunch, patting his horses as the pull the tarped cart he¡¯s driving along. A young kid, probably as old as Zzand, oh I miss that kid, is dangling his legs off the back of the cart, talking to a pig-beastman, who¡¯s dressed in tattered leathers and walking beside. Oh hey I recognize him (from the clothes mostly). Strolling up to them (totally not panting), I wave towards the pig who gives me a salute back. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re in need of escorts?¡± I ask the kid as he pauses his conversation to look at me with wide eyes. Not in that way this time, phew. ¡°PAPA WE GOT ANOTHA¡± He calls out to which the old man gives an approving shout back. ¡°So where are we taking you mister¡± I ask the boy as I start to walk just a little to his left. ¡°To my papa¡¯s farm. We live only a little while away.¡± He points to the distant plains, to which I don¡¯t see a thing. ¡°I¡¯m Ruber and you are?¡± ¡°Joat, a pleasure¡± I offer and hand which he takes, shaking it with a little too much gusto for my poor arm. But hey its getting me away from whatever the heck happened back there so I¡¯m more than happy for a vigorous handshake. What did I tell her? ¡­ The travelling is as easy as can be, for an escort quest. Literally, not a thing has happened in the past three hours, and I believe I can just about see the farm, maybe another hour away at most. Quite a pleasant trip, with lovely breeze and no dangers to really encounter at but pointing out potholes that the driver and his horses don¡¯t see in the grassy meadows. ¡°Ruber why are there so many potholes here?¡± ¡°Papa! Whats with the holes?¡± ¡°Undead m¡¯boy, blighted things came out the ground and left all these damn potholes in my way¡± Papa calls back, sweriving the cart to avoid another ¡®damn pothole¡¯ ¡°Thanks Papa. The potholes are made from the undead¡± He announces proudly as if he had the answer all along ¡°do you know what an undead is Ruber?¡± I ask him ¡­He looks at me searchingly for a few moments, before calling out ot his Papa once again ¡°What¡¯s an undead¡± ¡°Anything that was dead and comes back alive¡± ¡°Like the chickens? ¡°Yes, but these last a lot longer than those chickens, and are a lot worse than them.¡± Papa goes back to grumbling to his horses. ¡°You know when the chicken is running around without its head it¡¯s still alive¡± Pepper intervenes most randomly. Ook? That is an interesting and disturbing fact ¡°Really?¡± Though Ruber loves the question ¡°Indeed, my dad used to tell me, if you pull a gun on a cat, don¡¯t let a chicken live¡± ¡°What?¡± Both Ruber and I give him our strangest eyebrows ¡°He was a bit looney. But I think whatever it was made sense to him¡± ¡°What if his dad told him the same thing¡± ¡°¡­You know, I¡¯ve never asked¡± ¡°Mister Pepper, tell me another one. Pleeeease¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to eat a cow, wash your mother first. Wait no that¡¯s not a good one¡± ¡°Pepper!¡± I give him a look and glance to the child. Really that¡¯s not something you should be teaching a kid. ¡°Sorry was from the top of my head¡± ¡°Well at least he spoke some form of sense sometimes¡± ¡°Very very sometimes, though he was real handy with sheep¡± ¡°Welsh?¡± ¡°How is that? No Macedonian. The real one¡± ¡°There¡¯s two Macedonia¡¯s?¡± ¡°No there¡¯s Macedonia and then a bunch of copycats.¡± This sounds like a great story ¡°You have to understand first, that Macedonis is a part fo Greece¡± ¡°Yes. Got that¡± ¡°And that Alexander the great was born in Macedonia, and if I remember history class, his father was born in Thessanoliki which is the capitol for Macedonia. I think. I lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere and skipped school a lot.¡± ¡°Ok I¡¯m still with you, though Ruber¡¯s lost¡± ¡°I got it!¡± he looks at me huffily ¡°Alexander was born in Garyaming and his papa was born in Jhiaghedlsttt which is a big city in Garyaming. whats school though?¡± ¡°Schools where you learn things, like numbers and how to write¡± I answer helpfully. Oh to use my voice again. ¡°Sounds like it¡¯s a noble thing, howd ya get into school?¡± ¡°From where I am, school is free for everyone¡± ¡°Everyone? Even a commona like me?¡± ¡°yes¡± ¡°Wow, must be pretty fancy being able to reaaad¡± ¡°Reading is boring¡± Pepper disagrees with the kid and holds a chubby finger up to instill silence. ¡°So as I was saying, Maecdonia I a real Greek ¡®state¡¯ which is world famous for its general, Alexander the great. Now the Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia, or as they like to call themselves these days, North Macedonia, is claiming that Alexander is theirs. And that¡¯s on top of literally stealing the name of our country as their own¡± ¡°How does that even work?¡± ¡°Ask my government, I mean they are literally selling off islands so its not that much a leap to believe they¡¯re selling off names or even part of the mainland. But here¡¯s where it gets weirder¡± ¡°Wierder than a country renaming itself as part of Greece but not actually becoming part of it? Right.¡± How they got away with it is beyond me. ¡°See Alexander died in Egypt, or germania not sure which, but he died away from Greece, and according to history his body was never found. But just recently they discovered a tomb, quite a big and fancy one and who else could it be¡± ¡°Well if you know its there, hasn¡¯t someone explored it yet?¡± ¡°They have of course, but they¡¯re not telling the pubic, and a lot of us think that its because the government is being paid not to reveal it since if it is Alexanders tomb, it would show ¡®North Macedonia¡± He almost spits the word out, well a little saliva spits through ¡°That they¡¯re nothing but a thieving bunch of degenerates and that Alexander is ours. ¡°That sounds complicated¡± Ruber is looking wide eyes at Pepper, probably not understanding most of what was said thanks to the system, thank Aiag, but still very invested in the story nonetheless. ¡°it isn¡¯t but someone¡¯s just being very silly¡± that¡¯s an understatement. A call from the front, stops our chatter and I see that the farm that looked far away so very long ago is now at our doorstep, or well we¡¯re at their doorstep. Papa gets off the cart and starts pointing a multiple things to get carried inside, telling us all about his wife, Mary, who will make the best roast cow you¡¯ve ever had, according to him at least. The unloading takes merely a few minutes and now I¡¯m sat at a table with food in front of me, finally!! But as savagely hungry I am, I wait for everyone to say their prayers before gorging myself. Oh mashed potatoes and sausage, what a feast. While I¡¯m busy stuffing myself, I have a listen of the multiple shouts across the table; his four sons flinging friendly insults at eachother while their mother, a portly lady with a mean whip in her wrist, scolds them with a thin but long cane. It¡¯s almost like a game of whackamole. Papa and Pepper are busy discussing something in the corner so, I sidle a little towards them ¡°Its been getting a little more restless lately hasn¡¯t it Bert?¡± ¡°It¡¯s their time of the year again. Its nothing new¡± ¡°Sir, what is nothing new?¡± I peek into the conversation, since Pepper does sound worried ¡°The undead rising,¡± Bert casually replies back ¡°Every once in a while they dig themselves out the ground and go looking for some fresh meat¡± ¡°I thought you burn your dead, and now I know why¡± ¡°Not in the Deadows¡± ¡°The what now?¡± Bert just points outside the window ¡°Ever wonder why there¡¯s so many potholes? They¡¯re all graves that have been dug out¡± I did notice a LOT of potholes, wow that¡¯s a lot of zombies. ¡°But didn¡¯t you know about this so why did they all get buried¡± ¡°Legend ¡®as it that there was a great battle here and the losers, the non-humans, were all buried. Alive¡± Freaky ¡°As punishment?¡± ¡°I¡¯m only a farmer but nobody is stupid enough to bury people¡± Well someone obviously was. Ouch that¡¯s a horrible death and undeath. *Knock*¡­*knock* ¡°Ah I believe that¡¯s for us¡± Pepper stands up and gives me a nudge of his head. Ok? Walking to the door with him, he curls his fatty fingers into a fist and signals me to open it up. Wait you can¡¯t be serious. Wrenching open the door, a body flies through, arms windmilling about and getting caught on the door frame causing it to swerve sideways and collapse into a meaty fist ¡­ .. . Wow he just obliterated that zombie, and the splatter mechanics are a little too much. ¡°Thank you for the meal as always Mary, seems like works starting early¡± He gives a salute to the smiling mother and heads out, ducking slightly underneath the frame. Thanking them for the meal I head out too, simply because hey sounds like there¡¯s going to be a slaughter and I want in! And boy was I right, as the second I step outside, a zombie lunges at me without a sound. Ducking under its arms, I push a leg with both hands away, causing it to collapse out of balance and while it flails on the ground I jump onto its head -76 I give it another kick since its still squirming about. While I was doing that though, a whole dozen of them got obliterated, and I mean literally burst into smithereens by Pepper. I really need to get better or I¡¯m stuck as the sucky support forever. ¡°I sense quite a few coming so catch your breath back¡± ¡°Err what are we doing here?¡± ¡°Defeind the farm from a horde of undead¡± ¡°And this happens, every night?¡± ¡°Pretty much, though they¡¯re only level 8 so it¡¯s a walk in the park¡±
NAME: Zombie [lvl8]
Hp: 83/83 attk: 14-28 Defense: 3 blun Resistance Will attack the neareast living thing
A zombie, goes for brains without using its own.
83 hp is no joke, seriously. Although compared to what I¡¯ve had to deal with recently¡­well semi-recently, this is easy peasy. Picking a zombie, I rush towards it, ducking under its clumsy swipe and knocking the legs out from underneath her. Curb stomp it and onto the next out of what seems like maybe a few dozen. Its not even a challenge; they mostly just shuffle so as long as I pick out outliers I don¡¯t get jumped by others. I simply duck underneath, take out their legs and stomp on them. 6 to me so far! ¡°Fourty seve-nine¡± Oh cmon! -22 (98/110)ow Diving to the side, into a roll and twisting up to face my attackers, damn there¡¯s 2 now. And they¡¯re silent which is really creepy. Not like the movies at all. Dodging to the side as they lunge, punching one on the back of the head as it whips around, -7 (91/110) claws just grazing my side. And I retaliate with a kick that sends it to the ground. And I get tackled by the other. Eugh smells of rotting mud. Wrenching us to the righ, I roll on top of it, pinning its arms down with mine and head butting it, which takes out a good 8 of my own hitpoints and giving me a less than fun experience. -38 Especially as the other just bit me! Lunging back with both elbows, right one catching it in the face, I fling my hands back to grab onto its head and pull it forward. -14 Slamming my body onto the zombie underneath me while the one on top gets to make out with the dirt and before its claws can go wild on my back I roll onto it, becoming the little spoon with a most horrid stench. And wicked fingernails. Grabbing its hands as I keep knocking its head with the back of mine, which isn¡¯t enjoyable at all, I plunge them behind me, hearing a squelch, and I repeat the process, pulling the hands out and thrusting them in again until I¡¯m satisfied I won¡¯t get bit. Phoo, zombies are dangerous. ¡°You¡¯re quite a messy fighter aren¡¯t you¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t take strength¡± ¡°wow, you¡¯re really a squishy aren¡¯t you¡± ¡°I am, now can you help me up, I¡¯m a bit tired from all the rolling around¡± Pepper offers a bloody hand, which I take; he looks no worse for wear than when we first started. Well ok it has only been a few minutes but still that was quite a fight for me, and I barely killed 8 of them. ¡°looks like tonights going to be an easy night¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯m almost dead¡± ¡°And you got bit¡± He shakes his head, snorting involuntarily ¡°Here let me help¡± Placing a meaty palm on my neck, I hear him mumbling a string of words, of which I recognize a few? But its like that Serpent all over again. +45 woah, what ¡°Did you ju-¡± ¡°Yep perks of being a paladin¡± ¡°What¡± ¡°I know right, its so cool!¡± ¡°Wait, how¡¯d you become a paladin¡± He points towards the silently shambling zombies that are making their way here ¡°Turns out after slaughtering a good 1000 of them Lux the goddess of light got in contact with me. And after a very stressful interview, I became her paladin¡± ¡°Did she force it on you?¡± ¡°Of course not, well maybe a little. But I get this lay on hands ability among a few undead slaughtering ones. It¡¯s pretty awesome¡± Damn, I¡¯m jealous ¡°So could I become a paladin if I kill enough undead?¡± ¡°Paladins are more protecting others against the undead, so maybe¡± Ok, guess I¡¯ve got 991 undead to go. ¡°You¡¯ve got a scary look on your face, what are you thinking about¡± ¡°Say, how about we bring the fight to them¡± 74. Meeting? More Like A Sham To Steal All My Hard Earned Information!! ¡°HELLO EVERYONE, AIAG HAS IT BEEN A WEEK ALREADY?¡± A chorus¡¯ of hellos fly back at me, although the number of people seems to be a couple short. And by a couple, I count only 70 people. ¡°Why are 30 people missing?¡± I muse to myself ¡°BOSS¡± Tikari jumps onto me oh hello you ¡°how are you here?¡± ¡°I died I think¡± ¡°oh, well your jinxed group and Squad Animal went after you about a week ago.¡± ¡°Oh, and why are you here?¡± ¡°I¡­got left in charge¡± Oh my, well everyone else seems to be here so she must¡¯ve done something right. ¡°it hasn¡¯t been that stressful¡± ¡°Well keep being in charge I¡¯m fine with that¡± ¡°No, no please I do that too much IRL I want a break¡± ¡°Oh cmon, why do I have to be in charge¡± ¡°You did designate yourself the leader, and there¡¯s a choice between you and Braxel¡± She¡­has a fair point, two actually. ¡°Gah fine¡± I turn towards the crowd of people who are all sitting down, waiting patiently for me to finish whispering with Squirrel. ¡°So, hello everyone, it¡¯s been a while. Sorry I disappeared but I will get to what happened and you¡¯ll be pleased to know I learnt quite a lot of things¡± And I hope you have learnt many delicious things for me in return! ¡°The meeting will go as always¡­stats, then skills and then system-based knowledge. But we¡¯ll also have a talk at the end on what to do, because having a quick look at everyone¡¯s levels, it looks like everyone¡¯s growing beautifully¡± I may have had a quick look at everyone¡¯s levels, and boy there¡¯s a lot of things that I learnt. The first being that I didn¡¯t die¡­or something. And also that everyone is around level 12-13 now. ¡°So, shall we get started? Oh and has someone got a copy of the last meeting?¡± A message from Tikari pops up as I ask, ah I forgot how much help you are. Having a quick glance at the notes, ¡­ .. . Wow, holy mother of Aiag, sorry, I have missed out on so MUCH! ¡°Ok, so stats, what has everyone learnt in the past week?¡± ¡­Nothing, really? ¡°Seriously not a single stat?¡± ¡°They¡¯re actually quite hard to get, I still haven¡¯t gotten all the magic ones yet¡± Sugar, the green bearded gnome, complains from the back. ¡°Well¡­ glad I went on this trip then. Ok so the stats I¡¯ve discovered are¡­¡± I look over to Tikari ¡°Do we say rare stats?¡± ¡°Rare stats? Oh you have to.¡± ¡°I swear we had a talking about rare things?¡± ¡°Well we did. But you¡¯ll tell me right.¡± I squint my eyes at her ¡°Maybe¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t tell any of you because they¡¯re all rare. Well all except Vigour. Whatever that is¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Can we not convince you to tell us?¡± Braxel go real sweet its disturbing ¡°Well not like it¡¯ll make a differenc if I do, because I don¡¯t actually know how to get any of them.¡± ¡°then?¡± ¡°The npc¡¯s had them¡± That¡¯s news to everyone, seems like they¡¯re going to be inspecting Npc¡¯s more often now. And everyone¡¯s giving me some really hard ot ignore puppy eyes. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you all the rare ones, but I expect some real giving back for it¡± I almost cringe at the bright smiles coming my way, jeesus ¡°The stats I saw were, Tenacity, Fury, Fighting spirit, Focus and Reaction. They¡¯re all rare and I have no idea how to get them¡± Nobody even questions if I¡¯ve got more, huh seems like we¡¯re missing both Anoobis and Ravenna. ¡°Ok so moving onto skills, I hope everyone¡¯s learnt something new?¡± ¡­ .. . Once again silence. ¡°We¡¯ve mostly been trying to learn from last meeting, and a few people had to reset for stat changes so we really haven¡¯t been learning much¡± ¡°Seriously? Well I¡¯m not giving you any of the cool skills I learnt then¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t input in the last meeting¡± Oh thanks Squirrel, very helpful. Many murmurs of assent cave me in, well I mean from what I saw of their last meeting they can learn a lot when they get their heads into it, so hopefully it¡¯ll pay off. ¡°There were a lot of skills¡­erm let me try remember¡­Err I may have forgotten all of them¡± ¡°He¡¯s not lying¡± Nerisp calls out as everyone looks towards her, oh? Can she tell lies? Interesting. ¡°Its been quite a while but I do remember that there¡¯s a lot of skills to learn, a lot a lot and some vert weird ones. Ok so this meetings going great. Moving on to system knowledge.¡± Nobody complains, well they¡¯re faces are complaints enough but no verbal complaints at least ¡°I¡¯ll begin before you all break my hopes of learning something today. Titles are super important, because they give bonus stats, personal skills and at a certain point they can even lower your level¡± A lot of people look very shocked and stranged out by that concept. ¡°Have you not realized that it takes more xp to level up now?¡± I remember noticing that with my fast learner it still took 100% to level up ¡°So by reducing your level it becomes easier to level up and gain stat points. You don¡¯t lose stat points when you reduce your level like that.¡± Many O¡¯s are seen around the farm. ¡°Also, don¡¯t ever get paralyzed¡­because it sends you to limbo-¡± Please don¡¯t mention the time differences -Droneurt ¡°For a couple of hours, not fun¡± Guess no reason to make everyone freak out too much. ¡°its like jail but you can log out¡± ¡°You can¡¯t log out when jailed?¡± the Blue-penguin, calls out, Anon was it? ¡°Nope, so don¡¯t break the law kids. So anything on your side?¡± Braxel raises a hand, quite civil of him ¡°Not so much about the system, but a lot about the area. We¡¯ve got the swamp to the east, Rock giants to the north, The deadows to the west and the south. The closest town beyond here is Kordash, a dwarven city.¡± Mostly everyone nods, well at least they got a layout of the land. ¡°A group of Dwarves came from there a few days ago, another beta-testing group who seemed to have started in that city. They¡¯re assholes but there¡¯s only 12 of them¡± ¡°Another thing we learnt¡± Kale stands up garnering my attention ¡°Is that getting more than one subclass starts to make things difficult, since they come with penalties which accumulate and can even clash against your class, reducing what skills you can learn and improve¡± Yeah that doesn¡¯t sound good. And I do have quite a few subclasses, oh no.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Nothing else? Guess not ¡°So everyone in the past week has simply been improving on themselves?¡± ¡°Pretty much¡± A group of them call out ¡°And so whats the consensus, do we stay here and improve some more or head off to this new city?¡± ¡°Well I heard from one of the dwarves that its about level 20 over there¡± Nerisir speaks up and her fish sisters exclaim the same thing. ¡°levels are not as important as you think¡± Everyone gives me a bit of a strange look, well levels are supposed to give a numerical showing of your strength I guess. But not in this game apparently. ¡°I killed level 30 monkeys, and I¡¯m not even level 10. For us and Npc¡¯s levels really just show how much experience we have and what we know. For monsters, levels are a bit more realistic. But even back when we were level 5, Squad Animal and I were able to take out level 20 fire elementals¡± ¡°So what¡¯s the point of level¡¯s then?¡± Blacky shouts out ¡°Tikari?¡± I have no idea what levels are for but maybe she understands ¡°From what I gather, levels give us milestones and stats, but I think you¡¯re wrong about being able to beat high level monsters easily. If you remember we had to sacrifice someone to take out their core, which was a a good strategy but in a normal battle, even now it would probably kill a few of us if we all attacked it. And I¡¯m not sure how you survived those monkeys if they were level 30, but it may have to do with the quality of monsters.¡± She produces a book out of thin air, cool ¡°According to a lot of Monstologists, silly name I know, monsters have qualities similar to rarities. There¡¯s Minion, Rookie, Commoner, Soldier, Elite, Noble, Ruler, Demi and God as far as I can tell. Things like goblins are all minon level, even the elite ones apparently. And so you probably fought against minion level monkeys. Level 30 but they¡¯re stats must have been very low, low enough for you to be able to deal with them.¡± ¡°Well I could only deal with one and it wasn¡¯t exactly easy to¡± ¡°Exactly, and did you fight anything else?¡± ¡°A basilisk I think¡­it killed me instantly¡± ¡°Basilisk¡± A few more books pop out of nowhere, and she flicks through two at once. ¡°Nope nothing about them here, damn I need more books. But if it killed you instantly, chances are it was more than likely a rookie monster, Bit lower stats but a lot more dangerous than a minion. According to Ex. Jenkins 10 minions would be equal to 1 Rookie, 2 Rookies to a commoner, 5 Commoners to a Soldier. 100 Soldiers to an Elite, 3 Elites to a Noble. 1000 Nobles to a Ruler. 10 Rulers to a Demi and 3 Demi¡¯s to a God. And that¡¯s in terms of goblins, so I¡¯m sure its different for other monsters.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a walking information bank aren¡¯t you¡± ¡°A little.¡± ¡°Is there any way to identify their quality?¡± ¡°Holistically, but it should be obvious with their social structures. I mean with those monkeys if they were minions there must have been dozens of them¡± ¡°Hundreds actually¡± ¡°Wow. how did you survive that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Good point¡± She snaps her fingers, poofing her books out of existence ¡°Well tat was enlightening, so maybe going over to the city is not a good idea¡± ¡°Acutally¡± Braxus raises his hand once more ¡°I¡¯d like the Legionnaires to go since we¡¯re bored with fighting undead, we want a real challenge¡± ¡°Ok, how long should it take to get there?¡± ¡°A few days according to the maps¡± Tikari speaks up ¡°Then in a week or so time everyone else should be going to the city, Since I imagine everyone who¡¯s not a legionnaire is busy with crafting of some kind?¡± Many many nods are given. ¡°Perfect, ok I guess that¡¯s meeting adjourned¡± With a clap of my hands, everyone stands up and with a terrifying precision, 30 people form up into rows of five and begin marching in sync. Damn that¡¯s a mini army right there. And I don¡¯t recognize most of them. Guess they weren¡¯t part of the village group. ¡°Ok so who do we have left?¡± I call out to the rest before everyone buggers off, might as well start an information network again. ¡°Sons of Satan!¡± The five satyr wannabe¡¯s flex their muscles. Ok ¡°Birds and the Bark¡± Ook? So all the bird-beastmen and Bark are in a group..is that seriously their party name? ¡°We¡¯re all waitressing here, but we can drop that whenever for a trip¡± The fish ladies all start moaning about their customers, guess service industry is as awful in games as real life ¡°Black gold¡± Blacky and Goldy dab¡­don¡¯t do that guys that¡¯s just awful. ¡°Training¡± Grawla growls out, patting her bloody whip¡­?? And apparently everyone else is still figuring out magic together, I really got left with all the mages? Sweet. ¡°Well everyone get to it and we¡¯ll try to meet up in a few days to see whether its worth staying here longer¡± ¡°Pleaseee¡± Nerispi whines ¡°Why don¡¯t you go with Braxel?¡± I ask ¡°Contract lasts for another few days¡± ¡°Ah¡± ¡°I know¡± Everyone then just seems to potter off, and I¡¯m left in the field, which is surprisingly clean seeing as how many zombies were slaughtered last night, with Pepper and Tikari. ¡°What are you two still doing here¡± ¡°Well Lux told me to protect you, I don¡¯t know why so you¡¯ve now got a bodyguard¡± I look at the pig man as he snorts with a tiny squeal. Really? I¡¯d rather not? I¡¯m a bit porkupied with not being followed around. ¡°And you, don¡¯t you have more books to read or something, as I saw you¡¯re supposed to be a librarian now¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already read everything there, yeha I know stop giving me that look, I was very bored. And so I don¡¯t really have much to do at the moment so¡­what do you want to do?¡± ¡°Err¡­I don¡¯t actually know. I¡¯m thinking to do a montage of skill learning? Anything that doesn¡¯t give me time to think right about a lot things I¡¯m trying to ignore right now. ¡°You are pretty far behind. I¡¯m sure I can fill up your time without a problem Boss!¡± ¡°Oh tell me about it. Also do you think its wise to try go after the rest?¡± ¡°definitely not, they should be back soonish anyway. Baila did say a week but they may have gotten a little off track¡± ¡­ (Baila¡¯s POV) ¡°INCOMING¡± a scream to my left makes me look up, spotting what the world knows as a flying fish, except its about a dozen feet long and with massive sharp teeth. Jumping to the side as it crashes into the side of the ship, splintering wood, and getting itself stuck in the hull, She whirls out a needle and tosses it at one of the Drowned men clinging onto Thrash. To little effect sadly. ¡°SQUAD. FRENZYYYYYY¡± A roar comes from the starboard side and I can feel the pressure emanating from them all as they chop, hack and ram the drowned men back into the sea, howls drowned out by the frenzied squall. Her attention is caught back to a blade slicing for her neck, to which she ducks and brings out her own butcher to slice off a lobstered claw and with a flick of the wrist changes the direction into its bulbous neck, spurting viscous sea water into her face. As it gurgles and falls dead to the deck. ¡°BONECRACKER¡± Anoobis screams as he sprints across deck, pointing to the giant flying fish which is busy boring into the ship. Barging through a crowd of drowned men, two still clinging on her arms with their suckers, BoneCracker grabs hold of the fish¡¯s fin and wrenches it clear of the ship and into the maelstrom that we call the ocean. Integro The ship begins mending itself under Anoobis¡¯ magical care while BoneCracker tears the leech-like monsters off of her and tosses them into the half a dozen that charge her. A thud comes from behind and I spin round to see a drowned man toppling over the railing, arrow embedded in its neck. And another one¡¯s tentacle flops over the railing just moments after. Sprinting up to it, I chop at its tentacle, hearing it lose balance and fall away screaming, but no time to rest as three others have already crawled onto deck. One even carrying a barnacle bow. Diving to the ground as a fleshy arrow zips overheard, I slice at the peg leg of the spearman trying to stab me, and slide under its falling body as an axe slams into the deck where I used to be. An arrow flies towards me, but I just manage to push it enough to slice open my cheek instead, leaving a large gash on my hand and a burning sting. But as soon as it happens I feel a healing warmth come over me and remove the sting, just as I reach the archer and disembowel him, eels wriggling out into the already slipperly deck. And for good measure I stab it in the face too, before ducking and whirling round, both hands on my butcher and slicing through a squishy leg and finishing my 520 spin embedding it in its downed face while I twist myself best as I can getting an axe in my shoulder rather than my neck. Leaving my butcher, I pull out the square, other hand, holding onto its axe as I hook its leg and trip it, pulling myself ontop of it and with the kite stab through its clammy eye. ¡°BAILA¡± I wrench the axe out of me as Charmine rushes over, sweat and rain pooling off of her as she fumbles on her belt to grab a healing potion for me as I take a few second breather. ¡°HOW LONG HAVE WE GOT¡± I scream to the sky ¡°WHAAT¡± Charmine screams back, voice barely carried over the torrential wind. Rolling my eyes, I scan my section of the rail, surprisingly empt-no wait there¡¯s a crab one climbing. Nodding to Charmine I rush over, Kit stabbing upwards through the armoured drowned man¡¯s ¡®helmet¡¯ and into its brain. Luckily they¡¯re pretty squishy. Another crash, this time on the other side of the ship, flings me off the ship, and with reflexes only know to me, I toss out a chain, just barely warpping it around the rail, causing me to swing onto the side of the ship, slamming into a climbing monster, to which I stab through the neck and let drop. Absailing over the wood, I run along, one hand on the chain, other freely swiping at the dozens of climbers, all slow mind you, but swarming up the side of the ship. I thought it was bad on the skip but there¡¯s so many climbers I can barely see any wood of the ship. Of course a few try to fight back, a tentacle there, a few jump at me from above, which I¡¯ve only just about avoided by changing direcitons abruptly, and one archer jumped off trying to shoot me as it fell. And it wasn¡¯t like I was alone here with Hino literally jumping monster to monster, hooking his axe into their backs, finishing them off with his broken rapier and then jumping to another before they fall off together. For what might have been minutes, but felt like hours, I kept running along, killing dozens of the the drowned men until I feel a sharp tugging on my chain, trying to pull me up. Dropping my spiral, I take both hands on the chain and clamber up, throwning myself over the deck into a pile of sea goo and a heaving Thrash, who¡¯s is covered in blood and goop, howling happily into the wind as he tears apart a last drowned man. ¡°HOLD ON¡± He howls at me as he slams his claws into the deck, punching through and effectively grounding himself in the deck as it repairs around him thanks to a nearby Anoobis who¡¯s half buried himself in it. Rolling under Thrash I spider onto him, Chain re-wrapping around the both of us, as he plans himself on the ground to hold us both. A wail is heard from the read of the ship, one you might here prior to a gas explosion and without further notice, we accelerate enough to feel both mine and Thrash¡¯s arms break from trying to hold on, his actually being torn off, sending us both sailing into the air for a moment before slamming onto his back somehow held into the ship by his broken yet still attached legs. A drowned man splatters into the stairs in front of me, an Anoobis grins to my right as his head smashes into the ground bloodily. A Bonecracker remains flat against a wall, with Charmine squashed against her, as well as half a dozen drowned men, little more than pulp at this stage. As quick as this insane boost of speed occurs, it dies down just as quickly as the sea is replaced with sand, then trees as splinters and leaves whip about, one branch slamming into her behind with a sharp sting as it breaks off before another impales through her right buttocks, and into her elbow. Then they finally stop, shop crashing into the ground with a great crash and groan in chorus to everyone there, those still conscious anyway. ¡°At least we made it to land¡± I sigh to an unconscious Thrash. Who¡¯s got a very happy grin, stupid battle loving mutt. ¡°Now lets go find us a Joat¡± 75. All About The Snakes ¡°So my dear Tikari, what skills shall we learn first¡± ¡°Actually¡± She looks up at me, hands held behind her back and left foot circling the ground shyly ¡°Can we go on an adventure. Please, I¡¯m kind of sick of learning things¡± Her squirrel eyes are super effective! ¡°Ok fine, but I do need to log off tonight.¡± ¡°Perfect!¡± She jumps up in delight ¡°Lets go to the guild and register!¡± Half dragging me along, of course she¡¯s got strength, we pass through the deadows in merely an hour and into Shoala (Tikari retold me its name. hallelulaigh). Passing through the bustling streets, and into the guild, we queue up behind a large topless Orc with numerous scars running down his back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Hargot but I can''t do that¡± ¡°Please Wendy¡± An Orc saying please? What madness is this, I need this ¡°you know the rules¡± ¡°But Wendy she¡¯s just a little girl!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not budging on this Hargot¡± ¡°And what about mee¡± I waltz right into it ¡°I heard little girl and¡± don¡¯t look at me like that Tikari ¡°It seems like she¡¯s in trouble. i¡¯ll be happy to help her out.¡± ¡°Ah Joat¡± She doesn¡¯t seem that unpleased that I interrupted, emphasis on ¡®that¡¯ ¡°You¡¯re only Stone level, and a WindWhistler at that.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s the job, I¡¯m a very resourceful hobgoblin I¡¯ll have you know¡± She looks at me for a moment, a slight blue glow glistening over her eyes, oho she¡¯s scanning me. I may have stood up a little straighter. ¡°You¡¯re weak¡± Ouch, i¡¯m really trying you know ¡°But fine since no one else wants to help¡± She passes me a dirty piece of paper, scribbles written in haste. ¡°The girl¡¯s name is Kayla, just a street kid and one of her rats gave Hargot this to give into the guild.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not offering enough of a reward, or any for that matter so I can¡¯t legally put it up on the board¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit harsh, she¡¯s a little girl isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Rules are rules¡± She shrugs her shoulders ¡°Personally I¡¯d do it but I¡¯m not in charge¡± ¡°Ok so Hargot why haven¡¯t you gone to her, you do look pretty strong¡± He is a 6ft orc with a back wider than me ¡°She¡¯s been taken to the swamps¡± Oh, eu, no not the swamps. From what I remember that was an awful experience ¡°And I can¡¯t do this¡± I look at him in the eye and raise my eyebrows. ¡°I can¡¯t¡± *Stare* ¡°I really really can¡¯t stop staring at mee¡± He cowers under my stare ¡°You¡¯re a coward aren¡¯t you¡± ¡°No¡± He quivers from me ¡°Hargot the Quiverer, bronze rank, known for running away from four adventuring parties, leaving them all to die¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Thank you Tikari for that information, how in the heck do you even know all that¡± ¡°Wendy gave me a list of all known adventurer¡¯s in the area, always helps to know who¡¯s here¡± ¡°Well. That¡¯s just great, so you¡¯re giving this away to the guild because you¡¯re too scared to go out there¡± ¡°No! well yes but I just can¡¯t do it. Not again¡± He shivers in his spot, holding himself tightly An Orc with ptsd¡­ ¡°Hargot, look. I¡¯ll do this with you¡± He straightens up immediately ¡°Only if you come with me¡± ¡°But but but¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s a little girl out there just dying for you to help her¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, I didn¡¯t want to be told this, I just can¡¯t stop it, I can¡¯t help her¡± He starts crying and starts running for the door. Oh no you don¡¯t you oversized baby. Sliding my leg out to trip him up, he goes crashing into a seat, tumbling both him and his dwarven resident over in pile of curses and squeals (from Hargot I assume). ¡°Now look here¡± I plant a foot onto the Orc¡¯s back, don¡¯t even need to put pressure to stop him from lifting (not that I wouldn¡¯t go flying across the room if he tried) ¡°You¡¯ve been given the job of saving someone¡¯s life. You can stay here whining like a baby that you can¡¯t do it, and when this girl does die because you didn¡¯t save her, everyone that knows her is going to blame you for it. Or you can grow up, get up and find a little girl who needs your help¡± ¡°But I c-¡± *Thud* Kicking the back of his head (lightly) enough to smack his head against the floor, I apply a little pressure onto the back of it ¡°Don¡¯t say a single negative word, and every time you think negative, slap yourself. You are a bronze rank adventurer, you can save this girl. You can do it, just a have a little faith in yourself. Yes you¡¯re a coward, but whatever killed your parties would probably have killed you too, so the fact that you¡¯re alive tells me that you can handle yourself¡± Hes not whining at least, although I swear I see tears ¡°Now get up and lets go save a girl¡± Moving off of him, I swivel to the door and have Tikari sidle up next to me as we waltz out, leaving a silently crying orc on the floor. ¡­ .. . ¡°Every second you waste crying is one less second for Kayla¡± I speak towards the guild aaand about five seconds later he¡¯s out, slapping himself as he walks towards the East gate. ¡°How is that working?¡± Tikari whispers to me as we quickly follow along ¡°Guilt, he may be terrified of going there and doing it, but he¡¯s a good person. He went to the guild to get help. He wants to help. And right now, the thoughts in his head, about him being the one to blame is killing him more than the terror of facing the situation, if only a little bit. And of course the slight compliment about him surviving did give him a little confidence boost.¡± ¡°But its PTSD, isn¡¯t it supposed to put him into a fight or flight mode?¡± ¡°Flight usually, but that¡¯s why guilting him helps. A good person is driven by their guilt, a bad one by their greed¡± ¡°Very manipulative of you¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Hey I¡¯m trying to save a little girl here, playing nice and letting her die is getting your morals in the wrong place¡± ¡°Doing a bad thing for the right reasons¡± ¡°Exactly¡± ¡°You do know his parties all died in that swamp¡± ¡°I did not, and that is probably why he¡¯s stopped¡± Stepping on his ankle to get him moving again, he scurries forward, at this moment a little more afraid of me than anything else. ¡°And that apparently they all died to some giant Bog Snake¡± ¡°I definitely did not know that. Actually can we not go do this¡± ¡°You know you publically said we¡¯re doing this, and our reputation as adventurer¡¯s would be ruined¡± ¡°we don¡¯t have a reputation¡± ¡°Excuse me o¡¯ Leader of the Orphans, I think we do¡± Ah bugger forgot about that Title, and the fact that word¡¯s probably spread thanks to those villagers. Chatting about trivial things like how Tikari has magical book summoning powers (its literally a dimensional storage power like mine) and the fact that she took Loreseeker as a class (I know though she won¡¯t give me details beyond it takes a lot of reading to even get the lower tier version of it). ¡°So how many books have you read?¡± ¡°All of them in the library, and trust me, it wasn¡¯t fun¡± ¡°In a week? What kind of reading ability do you have??¡± ¡°Advanced level 1, I¡¯m a very quick reader IRL, takes me about 10 minutes to read 10,000 words and that''s back in the real world. here..its a lot faster" Wow, that¡¯s stupidly fast. A few more seconds of talking and we¡¯re at the edge of the swamp. Ah feels like a lifetime ago we all stumbled out covered in muck, shouting at eachother for all the random screwups while sprinting through. Hargot has stopped as well, visibly shaking like a leaf. ¡°Hargot, slap yourself¡± He does ¡°Now tell me, why has Kayla been taken here, and by who¡± ¡°Its Cardis, he¡¯s a crazy madman who sacrifices young girls to the giant snake god¡± ¡­ .. . Pretty standard I¡¯d say, right? ¡°Ok, and the paper tells you that?¡± ¡°No its not the first time Cardis did this¡± ¡°And the town¡¯s done nothing about this?¡± ¡°No, because they don¡¯t believe me¡± His eyes are wide with fear ¡°He keeps taking every girl I party with and sacrifices them, wherever I try to go¡± ¡°Woah woah, start from the beginning. While we walk through¡± He jumps back in fright ¡°We¡¯re wasting precious time standing here¡± He flicks his head to the swamp then me then the swamp again and back to me. ¡°Ok¡± *GULP* ¡°Hey focus on telling me things, Tikari guide for us please¡± I snap my fingers at him as he begins to look around like a frightened mouse ¡°Cardis was in my party, we were hunting a giant bog snake requested by the guild. It was silver rank, I told them it was too much for us, but they all said we were ready for silver. I didn¡¯t believe it, we were still just fresh bronze¡± ¡°Ok your party was stupid, continue¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t stupid just young and¡± ¡°na?ve, aka stupid. Continue please¡± No coddling or he¡¯ll begin crying again, mean and green. ¡°¡­We went into the swamp, first to go was¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it, skip that and get to Cardis, what he did¡± *gulp* ¡°He attacked Mich and I ran away as I saw the snake eat Hiane¡± ¡°And so how do you know he is sacrifing them not just going crazy?¡± ¡°My second party, to avenge the first¡­the same happened, and I saw, saw Cardis offering Annie¡± ¡°Ok, moving on. Slap yourself¡± He does but still shakes like a cold baby lamb ¡°So Cardis has been sacrificing the women you¡¯ve been travelling with, couldn¡¯t you have mentioned that way before we got in¡± He looks at me confused for a moment, before whirling towards Tikari who¡¯s busy looking around everywhere, possibly a lot more after hearing the jumbled history of his past. ¡°You can¡¯t be here, you have to go!¡± He sprints up to her, arms waving maniacally. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know the way out, so guess you¡¯ll have to protect her until we find a way out¡± Tikari definitely knows the way out, I mean we¡¯ve only been walking for like five minutes. ¡°No, no, she can¡¯t be here, it¡¯s too dangerous what if he¡¯s watching. What if he¡¯s here¡± ¡°What if the widdle scawed owcy wants to wun home to mommy Wendy¡± A new voice pitches in from somewhere in the trees around us ¡°Boo hoo mommy, big bad Cardis stwole my fwends again. Hes sacwificing them to a big bad snwake¡± ¡°Please Cardis no, they¡¯re not bad people, don¡¯t hurt them, don¡¯t hurt me please¡± ¡°I told you Hargot, stop coming in heeeere. And oh myy what a lovely young lady you brought today¡± ¡°No Cardis don¡¯t hurt her, please just stop. Why are you doing this?¡± Hargot¡¯s already on his knees wailing. Well he¡¯s not going to be any help. ¡°You Cardis, what is your deal? I mean I don¡¯t think sacrificing women to Snakes does anything for anybody really¡± ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t notice, hehe, but I enjoyyy it-¡± And there¡¯s a psycho in the swamp, quel supris¡¯ ¡°-And now I¡¯m going to killlllll you all and feed you to HIM¡± A rumble echoes through the swamp and a nearby bog pit explodes outwards, splattering mud everywhere, to reveal a thick black snake as tall as the decrepit trees staring right at me. Hargot wails as he collapses into the mud, hands over his ears screaming ¡°Please stop, please stop!¡± to himself over and over again. Tikari is just stood still, not moving, probably not having any idea what to do to not die. Much like me right now. ¡°Hello¡± I call out to the snake. I mean its worth a try right. The snake looks at me¡­and cocks its head(I mean its whole upper body is swerving to one side). ¡°Tikari, do you know abyssal?¡± because my own is still apalling. maybe i should used my 502 days improving that ¡°A little, why?¡± ¡°Repeat this to him¡± ¡°This may be strange to you but you¡¯re not alone, I¡¯ve met your kind before¡± It looks at me, confused but at the same time not. ¡°A surface dweller knowing the language? What are you?¡± Tikari translates to me. It speaks! Oh thank Aiag I don¡¯t want to have to lose my hobgoblin race. ¡°We¡¯re like you, just not snake-kind¡± ¡°And what are you doing here, surface dweller?¡± ¡°Looking for a little girl that you¡¯re minion is planning to sacrifice to you¡± It looks at me, unblinking for more than a few seconds before suddenly darting out into the trees over to our left, causing a short scream followed by a crunch of bones. ¡°IT was starting to annoy me, feeding me morsels like a pet. Although they are very tasty morsels¡± ¡°Have you eaten a little girl yet? She looks like? A human?¡± ¡°Not today. And I am still peckish¡± His eyes hungrily size each of us up. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal, is there anything you want and you¡¯ll let us get out of here, girl included, without being eaten. I¡¯ve already promised to kills some sky things for one of your ¡®relatives¡¯? but I imagine there¡¯s something a little more personal you want¡± Tikari just looks at me in both fascination and wonder, what its not like I had a choice to deny the quest. The snake¡­muses? It simply breathes out slowly for a long time, eyes squinting almost pensively. ¡°I require a mate, it gets awfully lonely here¡± ¡°Which is why you let that guy lnger about?¡± The snake nods slowly ¡°Ok, so I¡¯ll find you a mate, do you have one in mind?¡± I¡¯d imagine it¡¯s a snake of some kind?? ¡°Yesssssss, sssshesss ravissshing. Ssssshe livessss in the lava in a dwarven ccccity¡± Watching the giant snake squirm, eyes closed in what I imagine is pleasure...is less than pleasent not going to lie. ¡°Ehzmaldiji? The living Lava of Kordash?¡± Tikari squeaks out ¡°She''s real?¡± She then asks the bog snake with a hissing abyssal. How does she know it better than me!? It nods She nods at the snake and then turns back to me ¡°Joat, we HAVE to go to that city.¡± She practically jumps at me in excitement ¡°Ok ok, yeesh canlm down, what¡¯s so exciting.¡± ¡°Ehzmaldiji is one of the living legends of Kordash, it¡¯s supposed to be a myth. But this confirms that she¡¯s real. Do you know how cool it would be to find a living legend¡± I mean I think Nightbird is one but I guesss she has a point. ¡°Ok, sounds like it would be a pretty cool adventure. But you know we still have to save the girl, and wait for the others.¡± ¡°The others will catch up with us pretty quick and Dally would be mad if I wasted my time here just waiting for them. Come on, its an adventure!¡± Her eyes are twinkling with excitement, gosh she must have been bored. ¡°And Kaibaq says he¡¯ll trade the girl for a mate¡± Wait when''d she get his name? So we have to do it if we want to save the girl, oh why did I get myself mixed up in this mess. ¡°Ok, but Hargot¡­Hargot¡± The orc¡¯s still clutching himself and mumbling. Going over to him and giving him a sharp slap on the head, he looks up at me tears, streaming down his face. Having Tikari ask a few questions to Kaibaq, I slap some sense into the quivering Orc ¡°Look Hargot. You¡¯re going to stay here, and protect Kayla while we settle things with the giant snake. It won¡¯t eat you, but don¡¯t piss it off. And keep the girl safe. Understand me. We should be gone a week and maybe a little bit more. All you have to do is keep the girl safe-¡± ¡°She¡¯s in a cropping just a little south of here, tied to a stump. If she or you run, Kaibaq will eat both of you¡± Tikari helpfully adds ¡°-you can do it, just believe in yourself. Now bye¡± Standing up, I sigh heavily at the blue screen that dings in front of me
HOSTAGE SITUATION: Kaibaq¡¯s Mate
Kaibaq, a Serpent of the Swamp has given you his demands; a mate for him in trade for the girl Kayla. There is no time limit on the situation, but that may change.
System¡¯s not even going to lie about it being a quest, whoop de doo. ¡°Right, guess we¡¯re off to that bleeding city.¡± ¡°Yeeeees I¡¯ve been looking forward to an adventure for aaaages¡± ¡°Remember the last one we had¡± ¡°Ok, a bit less scary than the last one¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to meet a fricking lava snake, I assume¡± ¡°I see your point, but it¡¯s a legend¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you call it a myth?¡± ¡°Myth and legend are pretty much the same thing¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Zzoid would be lecturing your ears off about the differences right now ¡®Loreseeker¡¯¡± "From what I know of him, you''re probably right. And actually this is super important for my class¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Think about it, my class name is literally seeking out lore, like myths and legends¡± ¡°Oh. OH, so what do you get if you do?¡± ¡°No idea but it gave me the abyssal language when I translated the legend of Ehzmaldiji and the class¡± ¡°Interesting, well got anyone to pass on the message to the others since knowing the universe we won¡¯t be back for at least a week¡± ¡°Already sent it to a couple of people. Come on lets go on an adventure!!!¡± She¡¯s way too excited about what is probably going to be utter chaos. Wait why am I not excited for this, gah maybe I¡¯m just a little stressed. *slap* Ok to a new adventure!! Also how in Aiags name did that all happen in less than 20 minutes after getting into town? 76. Pepper the Pig ¡°Squirrel! AHHH¡± Flouncing to the floor as another blighted zombie tackles me without a sound ¡°Boss!¡± Yes be worried, I¡¯m vulnerable -38 (42/110) Ow, get off. Punching the back of its head as its fetid teeth sink into my neck, I spot a Squirrel fleeing towards me with another three in tow. ¡°Don¡¯t bring them here!¡± I Scream to deaf ears as she picks up the pace instead of listening. ¡°We¡¯re surrounded Boss¡± she skids to a stop, kicking the nearest pursuer with a back kick, before getting similarly tackled. ¡°I¡¯m well aware¡± Hand squelching through the back of its skull, I toss the re-dead zombie off of me and half roll half leap onto Squirrels zombies. One problem at a time, ignore the half dozen shambling bodies around as luckily they haven¡¯t started runn- ¡°GET UP!¡± Tearing the zombie off of her and pushing it into the other, leaving them in a flailing embrace, I jump up to face 7 charging zombies coming from all directions ¡°Boss they broke my leg¡± Ah buggerinos. Whirling round, I scoop her up and sprint as fast as I can towards the most spacious gap, diving as two swipe at me, just grazing my legs. Oh we¡¯re free from the swarm. -8(34/110) Sadly, I am not the most staminastic person, and these are unlimited stamina zombies, so they do catch up to us half a minute later. Partially because they are actually really fast, partially because a rotten hand trips me up. -12(22/110) At least Squirrel¡¯s going to die first as I roll onto my back holding her in front of my prone self. ¡°Boss!¡± ¡°Punishment Squirrel¡± ¡°Nooo¡± Just as the zombies swarm onto us, a blinding flash of light (seriously blinding, I got the status) erupts out of nowhere, causing a chorus of inhuman moans to fill the air. Following the continued moans are a long string of snorts and the whooshing of blade sinking into rotten flesh. ¡°Are you alright¡± ¡°Pepper! Oh, how I¡¯m glad to here that snorting¡± As it was literally the only sound that I heard from all that zombie hunting last night. *Snort* ¡°Forgive me for the blinding light, I was too far away to personally interfere¡± ¡°No it¡¯s fine really, I¡¯d much prefer being temporarily blind then temporarily dead¡± ¡°Seconded!¡± Squirrel squeaks from my stomach ¡°Also, what was that Joat¡± She huffs at me ¡°You¡¯re the one who ran through town without getting even food and into a place literally called the Deadows, where we got chased by every grave we stepped on. What did you expect to happen? Flowers would bloom?¡± ¡°No, that would be cool, but no. ok we should have stopped at town for food, but I was excited!¡± ¡°A little too much¡± ¡°O cmon, I haven¡¯t had an adventure since the last one¡± ¡°The one where we ended up committing genocide?¡± ¡°You enjoyed it, don¡¯t lie¡± ¡°Ok a little bit-¡± Ah I do remember the fun we had playing goblin golf. Although there were some unsavoury parts¡­ ¡°-But still, I¡¯d like an adventure where running isn¡¯t the major aspect of it¡± ¡°¡­You know we are somewhat on a time limit¡± You and your squeaky logic, dammit Squirrel!! ¡°Can we at least walk until we¡¯re out the Deadows¡± ¡°No can do, its all Deadows until Kordash¡± ¡°Um¡± A slight cough breaks our conversation ¡°Sorry to interrupt but would you prefer to walk while you talk¡­instead of uh¡­spooning¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Pepper, we¡¯re blind, you have to help us up¡± Not even going to tell him he just made things a little weird, ah almost reminds me of Zzoid. Feeling a weight lifted off my chest, I take a deep breath as a meaty hand almost rips mine out of the socket. ¡°Now what Pepper¡± ¡°Uh¡± ¡°Also what are you doing here anyways¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°Ok ok talk on the way, just lead and we¡¯ll grab onto you¡± I flail a hand in front of me, feeling a thick shoulder, that¡¯ll do. ¡°AH, ah please aim a little higher, Tikari?¡± ¡°Oops sorry¡± It may be the blindness and overwhelming loneliness talking buuuut she doesn¡¯t sound sorry. ¡°Go horsey, giddy up. WHatcha!¡± With a snort that may be a groan, Pepper begins dragging us along in the darkness. ¡°So, are we there yet¡± ¡°Boss don¡¯t you dare, this is a three day trip and we¡¯re not going to have any of that nonsense¡± ¡°Ohhhh so what nonsense are we going to have¡± ¡°Any that involves our new steed¡± ¡°Ah indeed. Whatcha¡± Whipping our new guide with an air whip, he definitely groans with a snort. ¡°So er Pepper what are you doing here, I mean thank you for saving our butts but why?¡± ¡°¡­Did you not look back at all?¡± ¡°I mean we did din¡¯t we Squirrel¡± ¡°Boss please use my name¡± ¡°Not until you prove yourself again. Squirrel¡± ¡°Aaagh, we did but there was just a horde so we didn¡¯t look again¡± Right the nightmare horde of zombies we may or may not have woken from their slumber. ¡°Well if you looked back now¡± ¡°We¡¯re blind¡± ¡°Of course I meant later¡± Riiiiight ¡°You¡¯d see there aren¡¯t any zombies following you. Because I had to kill every last one¡± ¡°Well thank you, Pepper was it?¡± ¡°My pleasure, but stop running around waking up hordes. There were a lot of them¡± ¡°And you killed them all? I mean we could barely deal with a few of them between us¡± Squirrel is mightily impressed. Well knowing his capabilities, he is definitely a zombie slaying badass. ¡°For a paladin, zombies are easy¡± ¡°A paladin?¡± Her squeaking got ever so higher ¡°How¡¯d you get that, I thought religion is banned¡± ¡°It is, so please refer me as a Knight of Lucha in public¡± ¡°So you¡¯re telling us you followed us and cleaned up after the mess Squirrel made¡± ¡°Hey¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°Heeeey¡± ¡°And to prevent you unleashing a horde of undead, I¡¯ll escort you to wherever you are headed¡± ¡°You were just bored defending the farmer and saw us as an opportunity to leave¡± ¡°¡­No, my duty as a paladin is to protect¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re escorting us, to protect us¡± I pat him on what I think is the shoulder ¡°Don¡¯t worry I get it. You want to have a bit of an adventure too but don¡¯t want to annoy the goddess¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Oh you can totally join us on our quest, we could use some actual muscle¡± ¡°Excuse me miss I invested all my points into memory¡± ¡°I had a lot of books to remember!¡± ¡°Ok, you got me, I do want to go on an adventure and when I heard about the last time¡­I thought I could do something as interesting as that.¡± ¡°Believe you me, it was not as interesting as you think¡± ¡°Boss you really don¡¯t remember how exciting it was, being pushed about by hordes of small goblins, sliding down the cavernside with the squad¡± ¡°Being thrown up on, being bullied into killing a goblin for entertainments sake, being tortured. Oh it was a blast¡± ¡°You were tortured?!?¡± Oh bugger forgot only Anoobis knows about that. ¡°No biggie I only got disembowlled, I think is the word¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What, it isn¡¯t as painful as you think it is. Most people when they think pain think stubbed toe. Now that¡¯s painful because there¡¯s nerve endings, a lot of them. I remember my biology lessons on this well! Mostly because I was awake for this one but beside the point. After having my stomach opened, which to be fair was painful, having my guts handled was unformfortable because yes there¡¯s nerve endings but not as many as you¡¯d think.¡± ¡°At 20% pain¡± ¡°Its 20% pain, I¡¯d imagine 100% would be gaspingly uncomfortable. I mean IRL I once almost axed my finger off¡­didn¡¯t hurt at all.¡± ¡°Wow¡± both speak in a mix of amazement and horror ¡°I was a clumsy kid. But yes, it was not a great memory¡± ¡°Wow¡± ¡°So remember this Pepper, if a hobgoblin lady offers to give you sexy time in her dungeon, don¡¯t say yes. Also adventures are hard work¡± ¡°That explains a lot about your appearance in the throne room¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised nobody ever commented on it¡± ¡°We were all too busy dying, to notice¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°She offered you sexy time in her dungeon¡± Pepper, that was the tiniest point in the whole conversation there ¡°Of course, I am a catch you know.¡± ¡°She tortured you¡± ¡°Ok, so she was a bit on the dominatrixy side but she was a hobgoblin and to be honest after some introspection, seems like it¡¯d be pretty normal for them¡± ¡°Normal as you sniffing her¡± ¡°I was trying to not get us all killed¡± I¡¯m pretty sure I failed at that buy heyyy I had one hand so I was useless in that fight. ¡°There¡¯s a lot Gristle didn¡¯t mention.¡± Pepper exclaims from the front. ¡°Probably for a very good reason. Anywho, shalllll we move onto a more present topic like¡­Pepper¡¯s love life¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°I was busy reminiscing on the good parts, even the vomiting, ah the first time you called me by my name¡­but you Pepper said no way too quickly there.¡± I can almost feel her pouncing on him, wait her tail¡¯s just stroked my face. Is she piggybacking him. ¡­ .. . Oh my Aiag ¡°Come on tell me all the gossip¡± ¡°None at all¡± ¡°Guys¡± ¡°I know you have some you sneaky piggy, tell me who you¡¯re porking¡± Oh that¡¯s so good but wait ¡°I¡¯m not, I¡¯m not¡± ¡°Guyyyyys¡± ¡°Liar liar pants on fire, if you¡¯re telling the truth, swear it on your faith¡± ¡°Why should I take my word for it¡± ¡°Aha!¡± ¡°GUYS¡± I shout at both of them. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Pepper given us a piggyback yet¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°That¡¯s awful but a great idea Boss¡± ¡°No Lux no¡± I jump towards him, lifting myself to lean over his shoulder rather uncomfortably ¡°We¡¯ll both be staying here until you tell us whats going on with you and¡­¡± I leave hterest ot be filled in ¡°I can¡¯t say¡± ¡°Was it one of the fish sisters¡± Squirrel takes a wild guess ¡°No¡± ¡°The whorebin¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°The what now?¡± ¡°The whore robin, whorebin.¡± ¡°Wait why¡¯s she that?¡± ¡°Oh she literally prostituted herself to get some gold to buy their freedom since they joined the Salzamanders and needed to pay out to do their own thing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not nice¡± ¡°She got a semi-class out of it plus its not like you can do sell your body IRL¡± ¡°Chaturbate¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°I mean of course not. How awful of her¡± ¡°Boss¡± ¡°The internet is a wide and wonderful thing¡± Come on Pepper back me up. ¡°But anyways, basically she ended up sleeping with many a person, to pay for her group¡± ¡°Hey each to their own, but if I had a choice between lugging a dead body through the sewers or having sex and getting paind for it, I know what I¡¯d do¡± ¡°Oddly specific¡± ¡°Top of my head¡± ¡°Right¡± Shh Squirrel, twas a secret, don¡¯t want a sexy assassin woman of some description coming after me (although I¡¯m pretty sure there is already one doing just that). ¡°We¡¯re getting off the real topic here, Pepper¡¯s secret love life¡± *Whoosh* ¡°Zombie¡± ¡°You did it with a zombie¡± ¡°NO¡± ¡°Squirell that¡¯s low he¡¯s a paladin that¡¯s probably worse than I don¡¯t know having sex with a prostitute dressed up as your goddess¡± I blankly stare towards Pepper¡­no reaction, damn. ¡°Damn thought you almost had him there¡± both of us tsk in shame ¡°say do you know what he was doing all this time?¡± ¡°Protecting a farmily, yes I¡¯m using that. Oh could it be the wife¡± ¡°Lux no, she¡¯s married, I would never do such a thing¡± ¡°Oh then who could it be, it¡¯s not like you slept with Lux¡± ¡­ .. . There was definitely a twitch there ¡°Noooo¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°Pepper, did you have sex with Lux¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Oh he did, well done Boss¡± ¡°Sgt Porker, tell me, was she divine¡± ¡°I¡¯m Pepper and no!¡± He begins speeding up, which does nothing since we¡¯re both clinging onto him. ¡°I got a better one, did you put your faith in her¡± ¡°Wow Tikari, shame on you. Sgt Porker, did you give her your¡­blessings¡± ¡°Oh poor effort. Tell me, how was your seven minutes of heaven¡± If we could see Sgt Porker (sorry Pepper but you¡¯re a real porker), he¡¯d probably be red as a beet. ¡°I mean you might as well tell us now that we know you did a goddess. Did you get a title out of it¡± He sped up to a run ¡°Noo, was was its grade, epic?¡± ¡°Nope nope nope nope nope¡± ¡°Yes yes yes yes yes¡± Tikari giggles happily ¡°Come on Porky, give us the deets¡± I¡¯m seeing a whole new side of her today and I like it. ¡°And If you don¡¯t guess we¡¯ll just have to ask the other party¡± ¡°What¡± He stops, almost flinging both of us off. ¡°No no nono¡± I can¡¯t see Tikari right now, but I¡¯m about 90& sure she¡¯s thinking what I¡¯m thinking. ¡°LUX¡± we both shout into the sky ¡°Please give us the deets, and we¡¯ll be your followers¡± ¡°Stop being such preschoolers¡± ¡°Oh, are you scared she¡¯lll tell us everything¡± ¡°No¡± oh you definitely are ¡°Lux please¡± I shout to the sky and wow my tongue did many freaky things there, almost as freaky as when I spoke to that snake. ¡°You know celestial!¡± Sgt Porker exclaims as he begins running again, possibly trying to outrun fate. ¡°You do too?¡± ¡°Of course how else would I have¡± ¡°Have what sgt Porker, oh please do go on¡± ¡°mnm¡± I can feel his head shaking as he runs, but not forever as he gasps suddenly, stopping and chucking me, and by that screaming Tikari, into the ground. ¡°Goddess¡± ¡°Oh porky, please I¡¯ve only got two minutes¡± Texan accent yehaw?! ¡°Look you two, as much as I love you teasing my little porky over there, please don¡¯t tease him too much, he¡¯s quite a shy boy if you know what I mean.¡± ¡°Wow, aren¡¯t you supposed to be the goddess of Light?¡± ¡°Yes but just because I¡¯m a ¡®good¡¯ goddess doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t have any fun¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not twitching in pain right now¡± Oh I have a feeling ¡°How¡­you¡¯ve met my Daddy aint you¡± ¡°Devil¡¯s your dad?¡± ¡°Yep, don¡¯t talka bout it haven¡¯t got the time. But he is the worst at hiding it, a disgusting man he is¡± ¡°Says the goddess who had sex with her paladin¡± Tikari speaks up from the ground somewhere ¡°I¡¯m lonely. Nobody been inside my palace or inside me for that fact for two hundred and twelve years. Only my paladins can come to me so who else am I gonna¡­bless. Also honey, if you dream of me tonight I¡¯ll make sure to send you a little something to spice it up¡± I don¡¯t think that was aimed at me. ¡°Sounds fun¡± Tikari don¡¯t make deals with horny goddesses who knows what they want from¡­ok nevermind. ¡°Well I¡¯ve gotta go in like twenty one seconds so before I do, Porky you know you can dream of me and seriously, help a girl out and teach him how to kiss. Really. Please. Aight bya biaOWCH peeps¡±
RELIGIOUS QUEST:
Lux, Demi-Goddess of Light has asked you, pleaded you. Oh please just help a gal out and teach that porky piece of smexy bacon to use that useless tongue of his when kissing. Don¡¯t care how you do it just teach him.
Rewards: A minor blessing +1 Faith towards little old me, Lux
Side note: How come you know my Daddy and, I feel very sorry for you having to meet him.
Side side note: You can be a follower but I don¡¯t do hobgoblins, sorry.
¡­ .. . ¡°So Demi¡¯s get to add their own touch¡­¡± and a lot of sidenotes apparently ¡°Demi¡¯s?¡± Tikari says half in stupor, probably staring at the blue box that fills the void that is our blindsight. ¡°There¡¯s only 3 real gods the rest are demi-gods¡±
Side side side note: we don¡¯t like being called demi-gods unless its by Daddy, Funcle or The other guy.
A lot lot of sidenotes. ¡°Really?¡± both Porker and Tikari exclaim confused ¡°Its complicated, just treat them as gods because they pretty much are¡± ¡°Ok?¡± Sgt Porker picks me back up and lobs me onto his shoulder well not the most comfortable but less work on the arms so no complaints. ¡°So¡­that was an experience¡± ¡°Mhm¡± ¡°Does she talk like that in bed¡± ¡°OH MY LUX SHUT UP¡± ¡°oh she does doesn¡¯t sheee¡± Tikari I thought I was bad ¡­ ¡°You know Porky¡± I intone his name with the best Texan accent I can come up with, much to his visible shivering ¡°You really have to work on your straight face¡± ¡°Yeah we¡¯ve been reading you like a book. The book of Porky and his goddess¡¯ kinks¡± ¡°No kink shaming but wow¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t do any of that¡± ¡°212 Years without some, I¡¯d imagine she¡¯s been preparing a lot of things¡± Tikari nods to herself. I¡¯ve met a whole new person today. ¡°Now Tikari, he couldn¡¯t even kiss according to Lux so how would he have been able to perform¡± ¡°STOP IT¡± ¡°Sorry went a little too far wit that. But don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll help you.¡± I apologise, deeply ¡°Yes porky, we¡¯re here to help you, help your goddess¡± ¡°By porking her¡± ¡°Fuck you guys¡± ¡°Hey now, she might get jealous¡± Tikari grins with a saucy evil. ¡°But seriously, how are we going to help him¡± ¡°Get him a prostitute dressed up as Lux, whatever she looks like and let her teach him¡± ¡°Thought you were against it¡± ¡°I understand why some people do it, but only last resort.¡± ¡°Fair enough. But is that against your religion Porky¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take that as a no it isn¡¯t. Oh Boss, this is the adventure I¡¯ve been looking forward too!¡± ¡°Teaching Porky how to kiss¡± ¡°Not exactly! But something wild. I mean we literally met a goddess¡± ¡°Yeah about that, Porky. How did she appear here¡± ¡°She can manifest, but it cost me most of my Faith to do so¡± ¡°Wait what¡± both of us look at him, well his back, in confusion ¡°The faith stat changes around a lot. When I do faithful things like slay undead-¡± ¡°Or lay goddesses¡± ¡°-it increases my faith stat. but all my abilities lower it¡± Interesting. ¡°So what¡¯s the point of adding points into it?¡± Tikari asks, already holding a piece of parchment while bumping up and down. ¡°Well it gives me 100 faith per one, which I did do to get me started. It used about 1 Faith a second to manifest her¡± So stats are used differently. Well this system just got more complex, once again. ¡°Tikari, did you get the met a diety title?¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°So their manifestations don¡¯t count.¡± ¡°Is it a cool title?¡± ¡°Meh gives you 5 faith¡± Which we all now know is close to nothing. ¡°Gives me five seconds with heaven¡± ¡°Just 2 less than Porky can last¡± ¡°Both of you stop it¡± ¡°Never¡± we both say in unison ¡­ ¡°Hey Porky¡± I speak up after a while of silently being carried (he never stopped to let us down, probably because that¡¯d mean more time teasing him). ¡°Please use my real name, not¡­that¡± ¡°Only for the bedroom, gosh okay.¡± ¡°Fine, but you better not give her a weird nickname too¡± ¡°Of course not¡± ¡°Coming from the paladin who slept with his goddess. I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s against everything paladins stand for¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know I¡¯ve only been a paladin for three days¡± ¡°Well we¡¯re about to make it four¡± I call out as I spot the sun lowering under the Deadows, plunging the world into glittering darkness. ¡°Now I really have to sleep IRL, be a good paladin and protect my body please.¡± I tap him on the back, giving Tikari a wave before logging off. ¡°Same for me Pepper m¡¯beauty¡± I hear Tikari drawl an awful Texan accent as she logs off too.