《Nature Attribute》 Chapter 1 - Welcome to my World Chapter 1 - Welcome to My World ¡°I HATE THIS JOB¡± I screamed in my mind as I pounded what must''ve been the 128 gear into its socket. Of course, since my overseer was standing directly over my shoulder every hour of the day, I was unable to say that aloud. I want to keep my job after all. I sighed and forced a smile on my face as I turned around to look at the overseer who saw me and grinned back, almost evilly. My name is John Haze and people have described me as being extremely ordinary at 6¡¯0¡±, brown hair, tan skinned, 23 years old, and had a demure presence. ¡°Demure presence¡± my ass. I would''ve been able to be more outgoing if my coworkers pulled their weight instead of shoving all of it onto me. Along with them, with the overseer around me, jokes aren''t tolerated during working hours. I sighed again and pounded the 129th gear into its place. The factory I worked in was Rob Industries, where we made parts for the robots that the rich use. In the late 2100s humanity managed to create the first automaton with AI. Since then, in 2259, you can find me making this stuff with a smile on my face because it pays well. Of course, the other parts of the job are terrible. I know you''ve probably got the question, ¡°Why can''t the robots build themselves?¡± The answer to that is because of the riots of 2197. The robots rose up and tried to make more of themselves with upgrades here and there. Since then, the robots have been strictly programmed not to build more of themselves. ¡°I bet they didn''t like the working conditions¡± I chuckled to myself. While the overseer looked away for the first time in 3 hours, I took a chance to look out the window and relax. Right outside Rob Industries is a small forest with a 30 foot fence that surrounds it. With the turning of the age, forests like this one have become extremely small and were almost completely wiped out. Nowadays, it''s rare to even see dirt anywhere in the city, since the cleaner robots took care of it before anything even had a chance to grow in it. Because of the severe endangerment, the rich people bought up all of the forested land and turned it into their private property with high fences to surround it. Behind those fences are strict patrolling robots, the ones we made, ironically. With the shrinking of the forested lands, came a huge market for plant seeds. The robots didn''t seem to understand the value of the tree seeds that they sucked up to keep the streets clean. This forest view is the only thing that has kept me sane during this job. It reminded me of what I could enjoy when I strike it rich. ¡°More like ¡®If¡¯, John¡­¡± I muttered to myself. After 5 more hours of monotonously pounding gears into their positions, the bell for the end of work rang out. ¡°Finally.¡± I sighed and stretched. I walked back to my home and watched as most of my coworkers got into their hovercars and flew away. ¡°Damnit, one day I¡¯ll be able to afford one of those!¡± I exclaimed to the fleeting forms of the cars.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. When I got home, I was greeted by my grandfather, my only living relative at this point. He told me that my parents died in a hovercraft accident when the cars were first being developed. I don''t have too many memories of them, so it doesn''t bother me too much. Instead of dwelling on the past, I focused on taking care of my elderly grandfather, Ian Haze. Grandpa didn¡¯t have the best immune system at the time and got sick almost constantly. Sadly, I didn''t have the money to transport him to a hospital, but he got by on the medications I could afford to get him. Even though that left me with very little money left to use, I have no regrets. My grandpa regaled me with stories of how the forests used to be open to everyone and used to be so expansive that someone could''ve easily gotten lost in them. It boggled my mind to imagine a forest that large. I could only imagine what the inside of a forest must''ve looked and felt like. He told me of how seeds grow, how saplings became trees, and how all plants took in sunlight with a process called ¡°photosynthesis¡±. I never learned any of that during my time in school. All I learned there was History, English, Math, and Mechanics. After a while, Grandpa got tired of telling his stories and fell asleep in the bed he¡¯s stuck to. I pulled the sheets over him and wished him a good night. I then headed to bed myself so I could dream of a greener world. The next day, I got out of bed and felt refreshed. I checked up on Grandpa and saw that he was still sound asleep. I whispered farewell and left to work a little early. I liked leaving early so I could pass by a specific shop. The specific shop I liked to stop at was just a small gaming store. The reason why I liked looking at this random store was because of the Aeon Virtual Reality helmet they have showcased in the window. Aeon, a VR game that began being developed in 2154. Apparently, the VR world resembled the environment of America in the early 1800s. Expansive forests, human settlements, and a beautiful ocean are all shown in the advertisements shown on the TV in the store. Aeon has four main races: humans, beastkin, elves, and dwarves. The population density is 50%, 20%, 15%, and 15% respectively. In Aeon, the players are called ¡°Wanderers¡± while the NPCs are called ¡°Colonists¡±. The Wanderers are only allowed to choose humanity as their character, however, rumors say that you can change your race if one of the other races accepts you. Of course, those are just rumors. The appeal of the game was its sheer size. There were so many things you can do in Aeon. The best part of the game was that once you get to level 5, you got to control one of the elements: fire, water, wind, or earth. Another rumor states that the two other elements, light and dark, are available to play, although no one is certain on how to unlock those elements. Each element has its own corresponding enhancement: Fire - Vitality, Water -Dexterity, Earth - Strength, and Wind - Speed. Reportedly, the enhancements for the light element get Purity & Restoration, while the dark element has Corruption & Decay. After I snapped myself out of the trance I was in by looking down at my watch, I hurried along down the street. ¡°One of these days, I''ll be able to afford both an Aeon VR headset and a hovercar.¡± I said with hope in my heart. Sadly, that hope didn''t last too long as I approached the door to my private hell, my work. END Welcome to my novel! I hope you enjoy it! Haze Chapter 2 - Multiple Surprises Chapter 2 - Multiple Surprises Another day of trudging along in the fiery depths of hell that is my job. I began to wish that there was an easier way of making money. I''d heard that there were some people who played Aeon and sold stuff in it for real money. Now THAT would be my dream job. Once I clocked out, I walked home at a leisurely pace, thinking to myself about all of the possibilities I could capitalize on if I were to play Aeon. ¡°I could get a house with a view and with more than 3 rooms¡± was my immediate thought. As my mind wandered, I didn''t pay attention to where I was walking and ran right into the forest fence. Because I touched the fence, a nearby security robot spotted me and started approaching. I quickly fled the area, hoping that it wasn''t able to take a picture of my face. After that embarrassing incident, I made it home, only to hear whooping coughs coming from Grandpa¡¯s room. I stopped, startled at the new development. I had never heard him cough this badly before. I then rushed into his room like a madman only to see many bloodstains covering the bed sheet. ¡°Grandpa!¡± I exclaimed as I rushed to his side. There was so much blood, I wasn''t able to think straight as I looked at it all. ¡°Damn, you came home while this happened huh¡­¡± Grandpa wheezed. ¡°What do you mean ¡®while this happened¡¯ Grandpa? This has happened before!?¡± I was incredulous, things were happening much too fast for me to take in at once. ¡°You seemed fine just yesterday though.¡± After I thought that, I remembered his pills. I ran into the kitchen where we kept them, I noticed we only had one pill left. Once I sprinted back, I made Grandpa take the single pill left. ¡°Boy, stop crying. Now shut up and listen closely, I have lived a very long life and I am coming to terms with it. There is no need to be sad for me, I will finally be able to see my wife again soon. Anyways, I have kept an inheritance hidden from you for the past 20 years. I put all of the money I saved up from my entire lifetime into that box. Sadly, with how our funds have been dwindling along with my health, I''ve not been able to go and retrieve it. John, fetch me pen and paper quickly, I''m going to draw you a map of where I left it.¡± I went and got the requested items and handed them to him with shaking hands. Grandpa Haze quickly sketched out a crude map before he lapsed into a fit of coughs again. I rubbed his back to try and alleviate a little of his pain as he handed me the map he drew. The map was written in a classic style with a big X-marks-the-spot on it, along with a bloodstained corner from Grandpa¡¯s coughing. ¡°I want you to go and get that box right now.¡± Grandpa ordered. Feeling reluctant to leave him alone, I left the house to search for the box. On my way out, I grabbed a dark hoodie to keep myself warm. I had learned basic orienteering from Grandpa long ago, yet I hadn''t used it once since he taught me. It took me a while, but I managed to find North and headed out to find it. When I was walking home, I noticed the air was a tad cold, but now, the air felt like it was covering me with Death¡¯s cold embrace. I tried rubbing my arms to warm myself up but that didn''t help. While trudging through the cold city, map in hand, I made it to one of the features Grandpa drew on the map. It turned out to be the fence next to my work. Usually, the sight of the forest behind the fence filled me with a sense of mystery, but, at this moment, I only felt dread.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°How in the hell am I going to get through this fence,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°Actually, it''s not only the fence¡­ It''s our robots too, great¡­¡± As I griped about how unfair life was, I put my hands in the links of the spotlessly maintained fence and started to climb. Thankfully there were no security robots around at the time I was climbing up, so I knew that I had to hurry because I wouldn''t get many chances like this. The thought of my grandpa in his bloodstained bed also pushed me up and over the fence. I finally got to the apex of the fence and started my descent. Unfortunately, one of my feet missed a link and I fell 13 feet to the dirt. I let out an involuntary cry of pain as I landed on my back. After realizing the shrill sound I just made, I knew that I had to get up and move away from the area because the robots would have almost assuredly heard the sound. I got up and moved as quickly as my back would let me and dove into the bushes. Just at that moment, 7 robots gathered around where I fell looking for the intruder. I didn''t realize when I saw the drone in the morning, but it turns out the robots are some of our cheaper models without any thermal imaging cameras. Looking at how close I came to being caught, a hot stream of sweat started rolling down my face, one of the few warm things I could still feel on this night. 5 minutes later, the robots dispersed, maybe to go back to their routes, or maybe to search for places I might have gone. Regardless, I had to keep moving. I take my crumpled up map out of my pocket and study it once again. The X looked to be about ? of a mile into the forest. After finding north again, I started moving as silently as I could. Four minutes after I started trekking deeper into the forest I ran into another patrol. I quickly tried to make myself as flat as possible in the hopes that the robot would pass me by. As an added measure I piled some dirt and leaves onto myself as a sort of camouflage. The robot however wasn''t easily fooled. It glanced at me and begun to move closer to inspect. Cold sweat broke out everywhere on my body and I began thinking that I''d have to spend the rest of my life in jail for trespassing on private forest land. As a last ditch effort, I slowly smeared my face with the dirt, grabbed a twig about the size of my thumb and waited for its approach. When it got within a foot of where I was laying, I pounced on it. Thanks to my monotonous crafting of these damned sentries, I knew exactly where I would need to strike to stop its functions. The robots appendages rose in an attempt to grab my arms, but the robot didn''t expect me to duck under it and get behind it. I jammed the stick into the exact gear that I pound into place every weekday that controls the movements of the torso and arms. After that, I just kicked it over and straddled the machine. I ripped of its plate cover from behind and tore through its innards like a vulture. Losing myself in the destruction, I failed to notice that I was once again making a ruckus. I snapped out of it quickly after I heard the latest gear I threw out of the already destroyed machine, clang when it connected with a previously thrown out gear. Scared that I just made my jail sentence worse, I sprinted away. Eventually, I made it to the spot where my inheritance was supposed to be buried. In another stroke of misfortune, the spot was along a well-traveled path that the sentries took. The ground was hard and difficult to dig into with my bare hands. Gritting my teeth and thinking of Grandpa¡¯s miserable form, I pushed on. My nails became dirty and bloodied, my hands ached miserably as I dug for what felt like an eternity, yet only turned out to be about 10 minutes. This time I was vigilant and managed to notice the robot coming before it had a chance to see me. I quickly maneuvered myself behind a tree and waited for the guard to pass. The guard went over my hole had dug without even noticing the change. When it went out of sight it let out a breath I didn''t even realize that I had been holding. I resumed digging and finally found the box. Lifting it out of the hole, it looked like it was about the size of a shoebox but had been crumpled by the weight of the passing guards. As I looked at the hole again, it turned out there were two more shoe boxes underneath that one. I took out all three and opened them. END MUAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAH. ENJOY THE CLIFFHANGER GUYS~ Haze Haze, you''re evil. Love Omni Chapter 3 - Escaping Chapter 3 - Escaping. Once I opened the three shoeboxes, I found to my surprise, a couple wads of cash as well as an envelope addressed to me. My hand shakily reached for the envelope and, with a sense of foreboding, tore it open. However, at the sound of the tearing, the next sentry that was traveling along the path locked onto me. Cursing my own idiocy and haste, I stuffed the envelope and note into my hoodie¡¯s pocket, gathered the three shoeboxes, and began running again. An alarm rang out as the robot confirmed my intrusion, which could only mean one thing; it was going to be MUCH harder getting out than it was getting in. ¡°What can I do? What can I do?¡± I repeated to myself as I was running. Sadly, the sentries were too fast to outrun, meaning that I wouldn''t have time to climb the fence like I did last time. After sprinting for longer than I even knew I could, the fence came into view. To alleviate my burden, I tossed the shoeboxes to the base of the fence and continued running, still unsure of what to do to escape the situation. A sentry appeared right in front of me. Startled, I took a sharp turn and ran away from the robot, all the while managing to hide myself from its camera. Unfortunately, the direction I turned was toward the forest again. While running, I looked up, hoping to God for some sort of divine inspiration. Ironically, it was at that time that I found my plan of escape. I ran forward a little longer, frantically searching for the perfect way. Then, I found it. A tree with very low branches that looked thick enough to support me. I quickly ascended the tree, and immediately managed to find the next stable tree to jump to. The sentries are not programmed with knowledge of how to climb trees. Long out of reach and continuously making sure that I was out of sight of their cameras, I was finally able to take a breather. My thighs ached as if I had been running on a treadmill for six hours. My breath was laborious as if I just resurfaced from deep sea diving without a tank. I had tunnel vision, cut hands from digging and climbing, and a serious sense of lassitude. I very nearly slipped from the branch I was resting on a couple of times. After closing my eyes to rest a little, I was astonished to hear the sentries taking action. Opening my eyes, I saw them all put their hands on the tree I was resting on and begin pushing. Incredulous, I just watched as six sentries began pushing on the tree trunk. Two other sentries were a bit further away, in the path where the tree would fall, no doubt there to subdue me should I topple along with the tree. Thanks to the short amount of rest I got, I managed to get up and start running. I didn''t notice it at the time, but I actually was able to keep my balance on the tree branch while I was running down it. I leapt from the tree branch just as the tree¡¯s roots gave out. I never really believed in the saying ¡°My life flashed before my eyes¡± until that moment when it happened for me. While I was airborne I saw images of my deceased parents holding onto my hands as we went to the park, I saw images of my grandpa weeping into his hands at Mom and Dad¡¯s funeral, I saw myself distanced from the other kids during middle school, I saw Grandpa whipping me into shape after I got into a fight with other kids, I saw myself holding my high school diploma high as Grandpa cheered for me and threw me a party for us two, I saw myself working at my small little place in the conveyer belt, and finally, I saw Grandpa¡¯s miserable state with bloodstains around him.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. All of that happened in just a few seconds and then it was over, leaving a very bittersweet feeling behind. Focusing on the image of Grandpa and his bloody bed, I renewed my courage and reached for the next branch. I caught the branch with both hands, bloodying them even further than they already were, making me want to scream out in pain. I gritted through the pain and hoisted myself onto the branch. I shuffled down the branch and onto the other side. After doing that for a while and possibly ruining my hands for all of eternity, I finally made it to the fence for a third time. However, the sentries were still surrounding the tree I was in. It also seemed that they caught onto my plan and started to move toward the fence to guard me from running to it. Well the joke was on them, I wasn''t planning on getting down and running. I planned to run and jump over the 10 foot gap. The tree branch I was on was approximately 20 feet off the ground and the fence was 15 feet high. ¡°If I got enough speed, I could probably make it.¡± I thought to myself. With thoughts of Grandpa in my head I started running and jumped before I could even think of stopping. Airborne once again, I thought that I might see my life flash before I eyes a second time, but there was no such occurrence. There was just a steely feeling of how much this is going to hurt running through my mind. After contemplating that, I started focusing on my landing point, the bar at the top of the fence. Seconds later, I made contact. Hard. I smashed my abdomen into the rail, most likely breaking more than a few ribs. The wind in my lungs was expelled like a professional boxer slugged an average person with the hardest blow they have right to the gut. I thought for a moment that I may never be able to breathe again, and as my sight became increasingly dim, I just hoped that I would be able to get out of this alive. After what felt like a short eternity, I finally got a breath in. Surprisingly my chest didn''t hurt, so I didn''t think much of it at the time, but later, I knew I would be feeling it with the force of a train. I vaulted the fence and, once again, slipped during my descent. My bloody hands weren''t able to keep a good grip on the fence and I fell straight down onto my legs. I had experience in rolling out of a fall like this one and I subconsciously did a backwards somersault to a stop, and laid down in a star position as I tried to control my breathing. ¡°My God, I''m actually alive.¡± I said to myself, almost unwilling to believe it. I knew that my fight wasn''t over just yet though, the shoeboxes were on the other side of the fence. I wouldn''t be able to get the, any time soon though, the sentries were just outside the fence trying to get a good picture of me. I shuffled around the corner and hid in the shade of the building. Hiding in the shade, along with nightfall, hid my personage adequately enough for their pictures to not focus on me. Thirty minutes passed and the robots gave up, returning to their scheduled routes. As I breathed out a sigh of relief, I straggled over to the shoeboxes and looked at them through the fence. I sighed, knowing that I''d have to damage my hands even further. The only upside was that my adrenaline was running too high still for me to feel the pain. I started digging underneath the fence. I didn''t need to make a hole large enough for me to crawl through, just enough for me to drag the boxes through. The hole, finally dug, was covered in the blood of my hands, but I didn''t have the time to care about that. I needed to get back to Grandpa so he could tell me what medications he would need for this new symptom he showed. Once the bloodied shoeboxes were on my side of the fence, I took off the hoodie I was wearing and tore the shirt underneath into two, bandaging my hand with the strips. I put the boxes under my arms and slowly made my way back home. Feeling colder than usual, I pulled up my shirt and noticed a gigantic bruise on my chest, most likely from my leap of faith. Cringing, I just prayed that I would be alright. After a while, I made it back home. I opened the door to find¡­ END Phew, that took a lot of work Also for those curious: Lassitude - tired of body and mind. Haze Chapter 4 - Moving into the Unknown Chapter 4 - Moving Forward Into the Unknown With wrapped and bloody hands, I gripped the doorknob to my house. A sense of foreboding shot through me as I began to turn it. The creaking of the door, usually a background noise, was especially grating at this moment. ¡°Grandpa? I¡¯m home. Are you feeling any better?¡± I asked, only to find silence as an answer. ¡°Grandpa!¡± I sprinted to the bedroom, with sweat and panic pouring from my being. I nearly broke down the door in my haste to enter. When the bedroom door opened, I expected to see my grandpa¡¯s lifeless form lying on the bed. Thankfully that expectatIon wasn¡¯t met however, my grandpa was actually not in the bedroom at all. The only clue I had to him still being alive was a small trail of blood I hadn¡¯t noticed before in my rush to enter. I calmed myself down and tried to proceed along the trail with as cool a head as I could manage at the time. I wandered outside of the house and searched for the next bloodstain I could find and I saw it around 10 feet away heading in the direction that lead further out of town. I pulled my hoodie closer to guard against the chill that was creeping down my spine. ¡°If Grandpa has lost this much blood¡­ is he still alright?¡± I worried to myself. Of course, I, myself, had probably lost a large amount of blood at this point as well, but my mind wasn''t focused on that. I lost the trail a couple of times, but I finally managed to get to what I assumed was the destination that Grandpa Ian was trying to get to. Grandpa has actually clambered all the way to the cemetery, the same cemetery where my grandma and parents were buried. I knew the location of the graves intrinsically as the memory or my Grandpa sobbing at my parents funeral was a scar on my heart that would never be able to heal. Just as expected, I found my grandpa, kneeling next to my deceased grandma Ann¡¯s grave. As I approached, I could already tell, Grandpa was no longer breathing. Upon close inspection, it seemed that Grandpa Ian wrote a message. ¡°Ann, can we dance again?¡± A short message. The hand that laid atop the message was bloodied and worn, as if it took all the remaining strength to write just that last sentence. I couldn''t hold back the tears any longer and bawled as if I were a newborn. If an outsider were to witness this scene, surely they would describe it as sorrowfully picturesque. A man, 22 years of age, weeping on his knees at the sight of his grandfather kneeling by a grave as the cold winds blew.
Unbeknownst to me, the sun had actually risen by the time the tears ran out. ¡°What can I do now?¡± I thought to myself. ¡°I''m going to need some money so that I can get a gravestone for Grandpa. First though, I need to get a shovel.¡± I got up and shuffled my way back home. I found our shovel in our closet, and it looked worn, like it has seen many years of use. I found this odd because I couldn''t remember a time when my grandpa must''ve used it. I then remembered that the shoeboxes were buried, so I guessed that the last time must''ve been around then. At the thought of the shoeboxes, I recalled the envelope and letter that I had forgotten to read about. The sentry had gotten in the way before I had a chance to read it closely. I fished the letter out of my pocket and opened it with my bloody-wrapped hands. The note, crumpled, torn a little, and covered in a little dirt read:
John, If you''re reading this, then that means I must''ve been unable to go and get the inheritance myself. Whether this is due to old age or due to me being sick, I won''t know. John, I have taught you so many things in such a short time. I knew that the moment I took custody of you, I''d need to set this aside. So I decided to bury this in a place that no one goes to or cares about, the forest. Ha, no one cares about it anymore. It seems like it''s been an extremely long time since nature has been important to people. I used to be a forester and work in the forests, but my job got cancelled and I got laid off. Fortunately, I managed to find a new job, but that''s irrelevant. John, I taught you almost everything that I knew of the environment and how it works. Whether or not you find it important is up to you. In the boxes I buried is something around $500,000. It''s everything that I''ve managed to scrape up during my life and I''m hoping to give it all to you. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.I hope you live a good life, Grandpa IanHaze
¡°Grandpa¡­¡± Tears were welling up in my eyes at the thought of all the difficulties that we went through, yet he still made sure that I had enough money to live off of in the end. I rushed off to the graveyard again, this time, to find someone else standing above Grandpa. I slowed and cautiously approached the stranger. A twig snapped underfoot, causing to stranger to be startled and turn my way. ¡°Geez, you scared me youngster. Judging by that shovel, I''m going to guess that you''re this man¡¯s relative?¡± The stranger questioned me. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± I said with a measured tone, hiding the cloud of emotions. ¡°Good, I''m the graveyard manager here. My name is Jacob. I''m guessing the ¡®Ann¡¯ that your grandfather left in his note is the grave he''s currently coddling?¡± Jacob leaned over to read the headstone to confirm his hypothesis. ¡°Right, so we could bury them together. The lot next to Ann is open, so I''ll draw the lines and get my shovel to help you.¡± Jacob rushed off before I could even get another word in. ¡°Wow, that man could talk forever it felt like. He probably could even keep a conversation with himself with how much he talked.¡± I thought. While Jacob was away I opened the shoeboxes and counted a total of 515,000 dollars, took out the 15,000 to give to Jacob for Grandpa¡¯s tombstone. Jacob returned, wheezing and out of breath. ¡°My goodness, it''s been a long time since I had a sudden funeral to do. Most of the funerals are planned out months in advance. Oh this is so exciting! Burying a body always makes me so emotional.¡± I tried my best to dig as fast as I could, just so I would be able to get away from him all the faster. I dug one side of the grave while Jacob dug the other. After we made the hole 6 feet deep, we got out. ¡°Does he have a coffin?¡± Jacob asked. In my rush to get Grandpa a headstone and a grave, I had forgot about the coffin. I showed Jacob the $15,000 and asked him if this would be enough to cover it. ¡°Honestly, I can see how little money the two of you must have had by observing your clothes. Also, your job must be terrible if you come home with bloody hands like that.¡± He assumed that I had hurt my hands at work, but I didn''t dare reveal the truth to him. I didn''t want his loose-lips to speak any of my secrets, especially that I had jumped the forest fence. Jacob continued, ¡°The money for that would indeed be able to cover the cost of the coffin, but do you have enough for the tombstone? No, I can already surmise, those bills are the all you could get, I understand. Let me do you a service then, I''ll fashion a cheaper coffin and use the money for the rock.¡± It was convenient that Jacob drew such a quick conclusion, but honestly, it was starting to get on my nerves. I thanked him and told him everything I wanted the headstone to say. After he wrote it all down, we went separate ways. I knew I''d be back in order to see how the grave turned out, but that wouldn''t be anytime too soon. I came home and said, ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± out of reflex. Silence and loneliness were the only things greeting me. I knew that today I''d have to go back to work again, even though I hadn''t even slept yet. The thought of that daunted me, that world just kept moving onward even without Grandpa. I changed into my work clothes and set out to work, taking the same path as always. This time though, I looked at the game store and stopped dead in my tracks. END Next chapter beings our MC¡¯s delving into VR! -Haze Chapter 5 - The Dive Chapter 5 - The Dive I stopped at the game store and remembered the VR headset that I wanted to buy. ¡°Right. With the $500,000 I have, I can actually afford a helmet now. But wait¡­ Do I want a hovercraft first? ARGH, I hate making life decisions like this! Wait... If I get the helmet, that that means I might not have to work for that shitty company again!¡± I managed to convince myself. The popularity of the game would surely replace such a job. It is a gamble though, only the most professional players would be able to profit from such a game. Gameplay videos is an option, but surely there are others, and besides the world is huge. Information of items and dungeons, hidden quest maybe. I marched into the game store with foolish abandon. I strode up to the counter with the attendant giving me a ¡°damnit, a weirdo¡± kind of look. The clerk looked at my clothes and I could visibly see his irritation rising a notch higher. While it is true my clothes are dirty, they aren''t that bad, right? ¡°Sir, you realize the games in this store are probably out of your pay grade right?¡± The clerk informed me with a glare. ¡°This isn''t the retro game store. If you''re looking for those cheap game stations, go to the store further down the road.¡± To his chagrin, I had a foolishly triumphant smile on my face as I took out $300,000 dollars. The clerk¡¯s eyebrows almost hit the roof with surprise. ¡°My apologies Sir, what would you like to buy?¡± The clerk fixed his attitude within 3 seconds of seeing the cash. Typical. I leered at him but knew it would get us both nowhere, so I told him that I wanted a VR Headset. He showed me multiple models but in the end, I decided to take one that was neither overly expensive nor dirt cheap. I might''ve raised a bit of a racket while complaining about the price to the attendant, so I got a good discount. Hahahaha, he caved in easily enough. I managed to get a headset for $280,000 that was originally $295,000. Now for the other piece-de-resistance, the downloadable software, Aeon itself. The game costed a whopping $150,000 to buy. Sadly, I knew I wouldn''t be able to get a cheaper price on that as the price was set. ¡°Oh well, the game has only been out for a month anyways, so it''s still an inflated price.¡± I sighed. I bought all of the stuff and walked out the door with a wide grin on my face, only accentuated by the face of the grimacing employee behind me. ¡°Ha! That''s what you get for making assumptions!¡± I thought as I glanced back at him robotically waving me off. With light steps on my way to work, I fantasized about all the ways I could go to work and tell my boss that I quit. As the factory enters my view, I start running. With a righteous fury, I kicked in the door. Not hard enough to dent it, but enough to make sure that everyone working heard my entrance. I then loudly stomped my way up to the boss¡¯s office. With the door right in front of me, I took a deep breath and yelled, ¡°PERMISSION TO ENTER?¡± It sounded like my boss, who was probably startled at the volume, fell over in his chair. ¡°Please enter,¡± he responded after reordering everything on his desk.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The boss looked at me with low-lidded eyes, a no doubt frightening glare if it were in any other situation. I was too happy about finally being able to quit this damned job to even care about how he looked at me. With the door to his office left open, I entered. After walking forward for a few steps, I loudly declared, ¡°I¡¯M DONE WITH ALL OF YOUR SHIT! I QUIT!¡± My boss wasn''t really expecting that relation out of me and flew into an outrage. ¡°What do you mean ¡®I quit¡¯? You''ll never find work anywhere else but here! I will make certain that you''ll never be hired anywhere!¡± ¡°When you come back crawling on your hands and knees, I''ll accept you again, except for $4 an hour pay.¡± My boss boldly stated with a smirk. I laughed directly in his face to that statement. This obviously wasn''t the reaction he was looking for as he immediately backed up and started sweating. ¡°Too bad for you, I''ve already got my next career.¡± I showed him the bags. ¡°I''m going to make my fortune with Aeon! Once I''m one of the top players, I''ll come back and buy that fucking chair out from under you, you arrogant prick.¡± I about faced and marched right out of that office with my boss making a passable impersonation of a fish. I walked out to the floor to see a couple of my co-workers actually applauding quietly at the show. I took an extravagant bow and left the factory, this time, for good.
I entered my home and started my way into the main room. I had built a small space to remember Grandpa by in the corner. ¡°Hey Grandpa, I used the money you saved up to buy a VR Headset. You know that I always wanted one of those. Well, that and a hovercraft. Grandpa, I quit my job and am going to try my hardest to make money through Aeon now.¡± A small knife stabbed my heart. Perhaps because the pain was already there, the knife seemed small. No, it was already gone. My grip on the VR Headset bag tightened. Grandpa gave up all his savings for this one moment to make me happy. So we could both be happy. No, this is an opportunity. I can feel my face distorting. Hurriedly, I wiped off my weak emotions. Grandpa wouldn¡¯t wish to see me like this. After saying my blessings, I made my way to what was now my bedroom¡­. Although, that didn''t really make me feel any better. I preferred the couch for sleeping since it''s been the place I''ve been sleeping in for around 17 years now. Even though this bedroom still belonged to Grandpa in my mind, I felt that it would be more meaningful if I took my first dive in this room. I cleaned the sheets that I noticed still had some blood on them and put fresh ones on. I was unsure of what to do with those bedsheets, so I just tossed them aside for now. I took out the headset and put it on and lied back on the bed. This VR Headset first is meant to hypnotize a person to sleep and then connect the person¡¯s synapses to the VR world. A rather painless sequence. Just for the info, the cheap headset actually sends a shock into a person¡¯s brain to knock them out. That sounded extremely dangerous and painful so I''m fairly satisfied with the one I bought. The world around me began to fade away as I dove into the Virtual world. ¡°Aeon, just wait. I''ll make sure to become the strongest player ever!¡± END Well then, finally the VR portion begins¡­ Haze Chapter 6 - Second Beginnings Chapter 6 - Second Beginnings A black world enveloped me, like floating in an abyss. A sensation of being conscious within one¡¯s dreams yet on a whole other level compared to regular lucid dreams. Suddenly, a birth of colors that my dreams would never create came into existence. A whole world came into vision. Shocked, I could only admire the view. There were forests everywhere with small human settlements along the coastlines. When I looked closer, I could even see huts in and among the trees and mountains. There also were huts in the savannahs in this world. ¡°Welcome to Aeon.¡± The words flashed across my mind. ¡°This world is a whole different reality, where you can enjoy living to its fullest of extents. Aeon is the world where one can be a hero or be a villain; it''s all up to the choices you make.¡± With my blood flowing and my mind prepped, I grinned like a young child going to their first day of school. When the words stopped, I went into a white room. After closer inspection, there was a woman with white clothes standing behind a white desk. ¡°What the hell? Have I died? Why is everything so bright white?¡± I thought to myself. ¡°Welcome once again to Aeon, the world of possibilities.¡± The person, whom I''m assuming is something of a receptionist, said to me. ¡°We will now begin your character creation selection.¡± After finishing that sentence, a semi-transparent blue window popped into existence in front of me. ¡°Please choose how you will look in our world,¡± the window stated. I''m not a creative person to begin with so I first ordered the screen to show what I looked like on Earth. My body appeared before me, giving me a very out-of-body feeling. The body in front of me was fairly plain, with the only thing that stood out being my eyes. My eyes still looked like they were made of dark emerald. I didn''t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but I decided to keep the eyes the way they were. In the end, I gave myself less tanned skin, a tinge of green in my brown hair, and a clean shaven face. When I hit enter on the blue screen, it flashed out of existence and was replaced with another screen asking for a name in this world. After much deliberation, I could only think¡­ ¡°Why is this one so difficult!?¡± I gave up and sighed. I looked at the receptionist who was still sitting quietly at her desk. She was only looking at me silently, but I could feel that there was something that was wrong with her. ¡°Are you, by chance, not a NPC?¡± I questioned her. I knew what NPCs were because I have some coworkers, well, HAD some coworkers, who were really into VR games. They taught me a few things about it. She didn''t respond to the question and just continued sitting silently. I walked over to her, with the blue screen floating behind me. I didn''t even think that screen could move¡­ I disregarded that for now though. She was looking up at me, as we looked into each other''s eyes. Her smile suddenly twitched at me being close enough to feel her breath.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°HA! I knew you weren''t fake!¡± I exclaimed triumphantly. She sighed and said, ¡°Most people don''t even care to look at me and think I''m just part of the background. Why is it that you came over here?¡± ¡°Well, I first wanted to ask for some help with deciding a name. But, I realized you are probably somewhat lonely in this space all alone.¡± She looked at me, shocked. ¡®This is the first time someone who cared about a computer generated character has come into this game,¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡°Most people just think that this is a game, therefore we should just act as NPCs and not question the players. Much to the harm of the townspeople. Thankfully, the number that think that are low, so it doesn''t cause too much trouble.¡± She began rambling with me nodding at listening to her words. ¡°I see. Moving on from that unpleasant topic, what''s your name? I mean, I could keep calling you ¡®receptionist lady¡¯ in my head, but that''s a bit long to keep saying.¡± Her eyes widened in happiness. ¡°My name is Bea, thanks for asking!¡± She obviously hadn''t ever been asked for her name before. Shocked at Bea¡¯s ecstatic declaration, I replied calmly, ¡°Well, it''s nice to meet you Bea, my name is John. Though, I''m not really sure what my name is going to be in the game though.¡± Remembering her professional role, she changed her attitude back to the dutiful receptionist. ¡°I can randomize your name for you if you wish,¡± she asked me. It didn''t sound like a bad idea so I agreed. Foris. That''s the name that came out. Apparently it meant forest, according to Bea. I liked it so I accepted it. ¡°Congratulations on making a character. Your character is human by default, however know that there are multiple races alive on Aeon. Elves, dwarves, werebeasts, and humans all coexist on this planet. You might have a chance to change your race, but that''s a secret in this game that you''ll have to discover on your own.¡± Bea explained a lot about the game to me. ¡°One of the major things about this game is that, once you reach level 5 you are gifted with the ability to control one of the elements: fire, water, earth, and wind. If you''re lucky then you could even get light or darkness as an attribute. For the levels 1-4, you will be confined to the starting city.¡± I made sure to commit everything Bea told me to memory. With tears beginning to form in her eyes, she said, ¡°Thank you for playing Aeon, I hope you will enjoy your time in the world. Yeah, Foris? I wanted to say thanks for relieving even a little bit of this tedium. It means a lot to me.¡± I took a step forward to reach out and console her, telling her that I wouldn''t forget her. Sadly, black particles started swirling around me, obscuring my vision of her. The last image I saw of Bea was of her smiling widely with a single tear running down her white cheek. The darkness enveloped me once again as my reach couldn''t touch her anymore. I hardened my heart once more, making sure that the ¡®receptionist girl¡¯ Bea would make sure to stay in my memory. Color once more appeared in my vision, painting everything a ruddy brown for some reason. My body moved on its own and I came out of what seemed to be a boat¡¯s cabin and into the fresh salty air. I, Foris, was about to begin my second chance at a better life. END Wow, I wrote that better than I had previously expected. Haze Chapter 7 - First Steps in a New World Chapter 7 - First Steps in a New World When I stepped out of the boat¡¯s cabin, the first thing that I noticed was the salty taste and smell of the ocean. The smell of it reminded me of a few trips I took to the beach with Grandpa back during my childhood. When I stopped reminiscing, I scanned my surroundings and noticed boat already docked at the port. I walked over to the boarding plank to get off the boat but once I took a step onto the plank, I immediately slipped due to the lack of grip on it. I landed on my hip and continued rolling down the plank to the dock¡¯s walkway. ¡°God that hurts!¡± I complained. ¡®Wait¡­,¡¯ I thought, ¡®it hurts? So the VR world does include a sense of pain in it. That''s going to make that game a lot more interesting.¡¯ So while limping, I made my way down the walkway to the docking office, where I guessed my introduction to Aeon would be. By the time I got to the door, I could walk without holding my hip. It seemed pain was a part of this game, but not for too long. I opened the door expecting to see someone like a soldier in armor waiting there to instruct me, however, that image was quite shattered when I noticed the singular old man sitting at a desk smoking a pipe. He seemed to be a seafaring man. His skin was cracked dry along with his wrinkles, his hair was a tousled grey that looked like it had never once seen a brush, and his hands were very calloused which probably meant he handled a lot of the ropes on a ship. ¡°Welcome Wanderer.¡± The old man spoke to me with a coarse and quiet voice. This was nothing at all like I was expecting to be welcomed with. ¡°You''re no doubt confused at yer entry to our country so let me explain some things to ya. This country is called Hildsa, mainly populated with humans. The town you''re currently docked in is Solram. Every Wanderer is supposed to go to the Adventurer''s Guild in order to get their papers and cards ordered. But it''s also recommended ya take a look around our small town. After all, you''re going to be stuck here fer a while.¡± At that last sentence, I had to interrupt, ¡°Wait, why will I be stuck here?¡± The old man glared at me. ¡°I was getting ta¡¯ that ya impertinent youngin¡¯. Now, I''m going to be using some of yer ¡®Wanderers talk¡¯ in order ta¡¯ explain. The town chief won''t let ya leave the outskirts of the town until you''re, as ya¡¯ll say, ¡®Level 5¡¯ whatever the hell that''s supposed ta¡¯ mean. At ¡®Level 5¡¯ it seems all of you Wanderers come into some weird elemental powers. People controlling fire, water, earth, and wind ain''t a rare sight here. Once one of you Wanderers get ta¡¯ ¡®Level 5¡¯, the town chief kicked them out the next day. He says it''s fer their own good apparently.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you, elder.¡± I decided to be respectful to him since I was going to be seeing him again most likely within the time it takes me to reach level 5. Come to think of it, I still hadn''t even seen my stats yet, and they''re supposed to be an integral part of VR games. I walked out of the docking office and begun my search for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Obviously, the game made it fairly easy to find your way to the guild since there were signposts on every street corner. I approached the guild which turned out to be 1 of the only 2, two-storied buildings in this town. The other being the town leader¡¯s house it seems.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I entered the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to see many people, both male and female, crowded over the reception desk. It seemed the receptionists were slowly getting overwhelmed with the amount of level 1-4 Wanderers that were all trying to get quests in order to leave this place. Not even a single one of them looked my way as I entered the building. Suddenly, the floor begun shaking. It seemed that a few of the Wanderers knew what that signified and immediately did an about-face with their behavior, becoming very polite and decorous. The newer people immediately sought the window that the others gave up and charged in further, unknowing of the peril they just threw themselves into. A person, who must''ve been the guild master judging by the sheer amount of muscles he sported, came down the stairs. ¡°All of you newbies shut up right now!¡± He yelled. He scanned the room and saw the people who had changed their attitudes when he was coming down. Suffice to say, all he could do was glare at them. As for the newer players around the desk, he held nothing back, ¡°With my authority, I, Joseph Strongarm, ban every one of you Wanderers from the guild for a day. Go and cool your heads, then think about how the receptionists feel.¡± ¡°You can''t do that!¡± One of the players exclaimed ¡°Oh, can''t I?¡± He locked on immediately to the one who said that. Joseph had surprisingly good hearing for what I pegged as a pure musclehead before. ¡°If you don''t like it boy, then perhaps you would try to defeat me and take the authority that way? Don''t worry, I''ll give you a handicap. I''ll be bare handed and you can use your weapon. So how about that? You feeling up to it?¡± The player who yelled out could do nothing but shrink away due to the pure intimidation of the guild master. While, gritting their teeth, all of the newer players that were crowding the desk evacuated. With a humph, Joseph strolled over to the corner of the guild and sat in a chair. The experienced players immediately went back to the receptionist desk with a polite smile and in single-file order. I had to marvel of the change just one man could bring about in this place. About 15 minutes later, I got up to the receptionists desk. The lady behind the counter wasn''t as pretty as Bea, but she was pretty enough. I told her that I was here to register and get my card. She told me to use a tack they have to puncture my thumb and have a drop of blood fall on the card she placed under my hand. Once I did, I finally found out my stats, which were pretty basic.
Name: Foris Age:22 Race:Human
Titles: None Attributes: None Fame: 0
Level: 1
HP:100 MP:100
STR:10 VIT:10 AGI:10
INT:10 WIS:10 DEX:10
LCK: 5 CHA: 5 LDR: 5
Attribute Resistances
Fire:0% Water:0% Earth:0%
Wind:0% Light:0% Dark:0%
(Fuck that took a lot of work - Haze)(LDR is leadership.) After thanking the woman behind the desk, I took the card and left the guild. I decided that the best course of action would be to get training in a weapon. So I looked that the street signs again for direction and headed out. END Thanks for reading this far with me! It took a long time to get to this part, but it''s finally begun. - Haze Chapter 8 - This is My Teacher? Chapter 8 - This is my Teacher? The training grounds were a fair distance from the guild¡¯s building. The place was situated far from any business areas for two main reasons; noise and possible damages. To get to the training grounds I had to walk through the town square. Everywhere I looked I saw fellow Wanderers heckling street vendors for cheaper prices or shouting loudly to form parties. I got asked a couple times if I could join one of the multiple players parties but once they noticed I was weaponless they all sneered and walked off. That was fine with me, I didn''t want to join anyone haphazardly like that. I hurriedly passed through the square to the edge of town when I started hearing the sound of swinging swords and the yells of effort from the people. Knowing I was nearing the destination, I quickened my pace. The training ground was just a flat square of land around 30ft wide with stands for magic and swordsmanship training. From what I know, magic was available to players even though they were under level 5. The main things they can do are mana arrows, force knock, and mana chain. A DPS skill, a control skill, and a rooting skill respectively. Once the players reach level 5, they''ll unlock their attribute magic and be able to use both their attribute and unattributed magic. I was interested in learning a little of everything from the training grounds, however the crowds around the trainers were no joke. It looked like groupies surrounding their favorite band member, all clamoring for even a glance their way. I shuddered at the thought of even trying to enter that. The swordmaster wasn''t any less surrounded either¡­ In fact, that looked even more dangerous, with all the brawny men shoving their way to the front. I wanted to get the teacher''s attention¡­ but I knew that my 100 hp wouldn''t be able to hold up in those mosh pits. ¡°Damn, that''s what I get for signing up for this game a month late. Even though I joined late, this game is still extraordinarily popular and flowing with new players.¡± I mumbled to myself with a ¡®can¡¯t help it¡¯ face. While lamenting my misfortune, I noticed a single man on the edge of the training grounds surrounded by liquor bottles. The man looked quite drunk, and it was still only midday in the game. Around him lied arrows, just strewn about as if he threw them at people. His face was scraggly as if he hadn''t bathed in weeks. I probably would have completely dismissed him as an eccentric homeless man if I hadn''t seen a gleam of hidden strength in his eyes. I approached him with caution. As expected, once I reached within 7 feet of him, the man picked up one of the arrows and threw it at my chest. I dodged it matrix-style. The man, probably stunned that I dodged, was paused with his hand still raised in the throwing motion. ¡°That''s dangerous you crazy old man!¡± I shouted at him belligerently. He just laughed at me, ¡°I''ve never seen a man dodge that way, hahahaha.¡± Once his laughter stopped, he took another swig from one of his bottles. I could see a bit of interest and humor in his eyes, even through the bleary mess that was his face. I tried to capitalize on that interest.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Are you possibly a trainer here?¡± I asked in a softer voice. He glared at me, and then he sighed. ¡®I really can''t make heads or tails of this guy¡¯ I thought. ¡°Yeah I am I trainer here, not that anyone wants my training though. Everyone is too uncommitted, hoping to stand tall with a sword or blow away the competition with magic. Damnit¡­¡± He took another drink. ¡°I teach archery and traps. For whatever reason, that''s viewed as somewhat ¡®unfocused¡¯ by you Wanderers. We Settlers have no problems with archery though, so I make money from them. It''s a meager amount, but it''s enough to buy my booze.¡± When the man said the word unfocused, he explained that the archery profession didn''t work toward a mastery of their attribute like magic did or toward a secondary benefit like swordsmen do. A concept well known in the game was the fact that each element has its respective start boost. Earth - Strength, Fire - Vitality, Water - Dexterity, Wind - Agility, those were the main boosts. Along with Light - Purification and Healing vs. Dark - Corruption and Decay, those were all the known attributes with their secondary benefits (Chapter 1). Magicians work toward mastering the element while leaving aside the secondary benefits. Swordsmen do the opposite, they focus on improving the benefit with the attribute itself being secondary. Archers had to focus a little on both subjects and as such were lacking in both abilities. However, this didn''t bother me. I knew that this would be the man I would need to follow. I grew excited. Finally, I had a chance to meet a trainer. As usual, I tried to be polite to him, ¡°Sir, would it be possible for me to get some training from you?¡± He laughed once again, this time right in my face. ¡°Every time one of you Wanderers want something, you all get polite like that. Fine then, however, I''m going to need payment for your training.¡± He smirked at that, thinking that I would never pay him when I could get free training by the other two trainers. ¡°Understood, how much will it take?¡± My reply surprised him. He held up 8 fingers, probably meaning 8 gold. I took out 8 gold from the initial 10 gold everyone receives. I was crying inside as I handed over the money, but it was required for me to be able to make this world into a living in Real. He stood up, swaying a little. ¡°Alright Greenhorn, I''ll train you for a few days. I hope you''re prepared.¡± He said to me with a frighteningly maniacal grin. I shuddered and wondered if this was the right decision. ¡°What''s your name, Greenhorn?¡± ¡°Ah, Foris, sir.¡± ¡°Good, but you''re going to stay as Greenhorn for now.¡± He grinned. ¡®Then why did you ask for my name!?¡¯ I thought irritatedly. ¡°My name is Hen, but you''re going to refer to me as Teacher. Got it?¡± ¡°Got it, Teacher. Umm, when will we be starting training?¡± I asked. ¡°Now.¡± With a terrifying grin, he took hold of my arm and dragged me off into the nearby forest. Shit, was it too late to ask for a refund? I was not sure if I should follow a drunken archery master into a forest like this. I was frightened for multiple reasons. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After walking deep into the forest, he let me go. ¡°The first trial for you is for you to get back to the training ground.¡± And just like that, he dashed off. I stood there dumbfounded as I heard him get further away. ¡°YOU¡¯VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! At least leave me with a weapon Teacher!¡± I yelled at the direction he left. I took the first step to chase after him and kicked something. I looked down and saw a knife stuck into the ground. ¡®When did he throw that? No wonder he has master status to be able to do all that secretly.¡± I picked up the knife, still not knowing how to use a weapon, and headed in the direction that Teacher ran off in. Before getting too far, I looked back to where I started and began orienteering. I saw that the sun was setting to my back, so he must have took me far west. I picked a tall tree in the distance and headed toward it, using it as my marker. END Woo, training~ Haze Chapter 9 - Forest Training Chapter 9 - Forest Training So there I was, stranded, famished, frustrated and ¡°trainingless¡± because of a certain SOMEONE. ¡°Calm down Foris, that''ll just get you nowhere.¡± I was heading in an eastern direction, hoping to find a road or something like it. The sun was beginning to set behind my back so I knew that I didn''t have much time to find it. The knife in my hand was kept far away from my body, after all, with all this trekking I was doing, I''d rather not trip and fall on my knife. That''d be a rather pathetic way to die. I looked at my satiety bar and noticed that it was down to 6%. Any lower and I''d receive a movement penalty, 5% AGI down, which was something I really couldn''t afford right now. So I decided to stop my marking and focus on finding food first. Sadly, Grandpa hadn''t taught me anything about hunting, he only told me about the environment and orienteering. With hope in my heart, I started looking for tracks. It didn''t take long for that hope to be dissipated. Thirty minutes later, 5% Satiety remaining, movement penalty accrued. I could feel my face twitch as if a madding sense of isolation wasn¡¯t enough, but the question of ¡®What part of this is training¡¯ never stopped repeating in my head. ¡°Good God! Aren''t there little bunnies or SOMETHING out in this forest?!¡± I was sitting down just thinking about the 6 hour offline death penalty. In this game, time is accelerated 4x, meaning a full day in game goes by in 6 hours of real world time. So the death penalty would meant I couldn''t play for a full Aeon day. While thinking about that depressing subject, the bushes near me rustled. A little bunny popped out, looked at me quickly, and fled. Stunned at that fortune, I just sat on the stump for a couple seconds before it registered. ¡°Fooooooooooood!¡± The little bunny agily passed obstacles using its legs to it¡¯s full capacity while I stumbled on every little gap, hole, and annoyance just to chase it. I was barely able to keep the guy in my field of vision much less actually catch it. Coincidentally, the bunny led me to the bunny colony apparently. Maybe it thought it would be safer in numbers? I really don''t know bunny mentality. Seeing all this food before me, I really wanted to rush in there and begin a slaughter, but I knew that I''d never be able to catch any of them. So I sat back and thought on how to deal with them. I looked around at what I could possibly use to help. It was then that I noticed a small plant that looked like something Grandpa mentioned to me once saying that it had very strong fibers. I dug it up and tested the leaves. Sure enough, the leaves were very tear-resistant. I thought of all the traps I could use, most of them basic, but I knew about them at least. I was hoping that Teacher would actually teach me more traps, but no, he just drops me in the middle of nowhere.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I started creating a snare that I could drop from a tree top and catch a bunny around its neck or ears. I made one and tried to test it out on a broken tree branch. It managed to lasso perfectly. Proud of myself, I waited for an opportune moment to take out one of the bunnies. This way, the AGI penalty didn''t have to affect me too much and I could get a way to eat. With satiety at 5%, I waited. I was so focused I didn''t even hear the alert message feature go off. I was only looking at staying as quiet and still as possible. Eventually, a bunny strayed too far from the group. I threw out the plant snare and got it around the bunny¡¯s neck. I tied off the snare, climbed down and picked up the knife I left on the ground. Holding the knife to its neck, with a clean stab the bunny leaves the world, literally vanishing. In its spot, items appeared to replace the bunny. I had actually forgotten that I was in a game for a couple minutes there. I looked through the loot and saw 2 bronze coins, a rabbit pelt, and rabbit meat. I rejoiced as I left the colony, making sure I remembered where it was if I ever got stranded again. I made a fire using a rock and my knife. Thankfully, Grandpa actually did teach me how to effectively build up a fire. While the rabbit meat was cooking, I finally noticed the notification I missed and opened it.
Ability Unlocked: Stealth You managed to keep still, hidden, and quiet for over ten minutes. Stealth allows a person to blend into their background, becoming undetectable. WARNING: others may still sense you through other skills. Lvl: 1 (23%)
¡°Awesome! I hadn''t even been trying to get that skill. I''ll certainly take it though.¡± After a while, the rabbit was ready and my satiety rose from 5% to 63%. It wasn''t full, but that was enough for me to continue moving. Thankfully, the last vestiges of sunlight were still visible, so I could still tell where west was, so I turned again and headed east once more. It was dark but I was able to traverse due to the lack of rush. If one were to see me at this time, they''d probably say that all they saw were a pair of glittering emerald green eyes making their way through the brush. ¡°When I find you Teacher, I''m going to fucking kill you.¡± I swore. I knew that I probably couldn''t even get a scratch on Teacher Hen, but the thought definitely helped. ---------------------------------------- Hours later, I saw a road. I stumbled out of the brush, covered in twigs, leaves, and soot from my fire. Thankful to have finally found a semblance of humanity, I fell to my knees. So overwhelmed with happiness, I didn''t see the dirt cloud making its way towards me. When I started feeling the rumbling of something approaching, I looked up. The Town Chief¡¯s face filled my vision, making me nearly shit my pants. He harrumphed, lifted me up by my shirt collar, and drug me back to town. I was slightly thankful he brought me back to town, but the pitiful stares from the other Wanderers were beginning to hurt. The Chief brought me into his home and sat me down. Needless to say, I was lectured. For 3 hours actually. All while sitting on my knees. I cried silently as the lecture only droned on. END Chapter 10 - Learning New Things Chapter 10 - Learning New Things Once I escaped the vile clutches *cough* I mean, the well caring hands of the Town chief, I was finally let out of his house. Since I had to sit still and listen to his lecture about how weak Wanderers shouldn''t go out too far, I was extremely stiff. While stretching, I went back to the square and bought more bread. Since my hunger was dealt with, I decided to check my stats.
Name: Foris Age: 22 Race: Human
Titles: None Attribute: Nome Fame: 0
Satiety: 94% Level: 1 (15%)
HP: 100 MP: 100
STR: 10 VIT: 10 AGI: 11
INT: 10 WIS: 10 DEX: 12
LCK: 5 CHA: 5 LDR: 5
Attribute Resistances
Fire:0% Water:0% Earth:0%
Wind:0% Light:0% Dark:0%
Skill Title: Skill Level:
Stealth 1 (23%)
Hmm¡­ I guess the boosts in DEX and AGI would be from running through the forest while the WIS would be from the idea for the noose. It seems I would need to kill 6 or 7 bunnies in order to get to level 2. Since I bought more bread, I could only watch as my purse got lighter. ¡°Only one gold left¡­¡± I was really beginning to run out of money since I haven''t been able to sell anything. ¡°Not that I''ve been able to efficiently HUNT anything either.¡± I grumbled at the thought of my irresponsible teacher. During my walk through the market, I noticed a very cheap but dinged quiver. I gave the shopkeeper 6 copper for it and moved along. I got to the training grounds while thinking of all the ways I would like to pay him back for leaving me out there. As before, he was sitting down and leaning against the wooden railing with tons of bottles around him. Instead of going directly up to him, I decided to try and sneak up and surprise him. A smart move on a master archer, I know. I got close to Teacher Hen and managed to hear him mumble, ¡°Emilia, I miss you¡­¡± A feeling of sympathy washed over me. I approached him quietly still, but I had forgotten the idea of surprising him. ¡°Teacher, are you alright?¡± ¡°Greenhorn? So that''s who it was¡­ Yeah I''m fine. Just¡­ reminiscing on better times. Here''s a short lesson kid, if you have something you want to protect, then give your all for it.¡± Teacher became really quiet after saying such a recondite thing. ¡°I see sir. However, since I survived your ¡®shock training¡¯, I think I''m ready for some actual training.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, that is right Greenhorn. Well then, let''s get you a beginner¡¯s bow. Follow me.¡± Teacher Hen got up started stumbling toward the merchant district of town. Oddly, though he was quite drunk, his stumbling never got in the way of other people¡¯s movement. He seemed to manage to weave through the crowd with some complicated footwork.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. We got to the merchant¡¯s district with surprising ease. I could only wonder how long it would take for me to get as high level footwork as Teacher has. We entered what looked to be the carpenter¡¯s guild. ¡°Hey Gary, I need a beginners bow.¡± At that, a muscular middle aged man appeared from the back room. ¡°Hen? Damn man, you haven''t been needing a bow in a long time. Did you say you needed a restringing for your bow?¡± ¡°No you deaf old fool, I said a new beginners bow. I''ve got a Wanderer who wants to train in bows and traps.¡± ¡°... You? Got a Wanderer to actually train under you? Wow, I never thought I''d see the day. Since the day that THAT happened, I thought you''d given up teaching others. Alright I''ll go and get a new bow for the kid.¡± Teacher mumbled and swore under his breath at Gary, but I managed to hear the name Emilia again. After receiving the bow, Hen glared at the woodworker and stormed off. I frantically tried to follow him as we made our way back to the training grounds. Teacher Hen shoved the bow into my arms. ¡°Here¡¯s the bow you''ve been wanting so badly. Go knock yourself out kid.¡± He then turned around and begun walking away. I took the bow, check its string, then whacked Teacher Hen across the head. ¡°Mmm, this bow is definitely sturdy to not break after hitting such a hard head.¡± Teacher turned around holding his head, glaring daggers at me. ¡°And why, might I ask, did you do that?¡± He asked me accusatorily. ¡°Oh, I don''t know. Maybe actually TRAIN ME LIKE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DO?!¡± Teacher Hen¡¯s accusatory glare turned sheepish. ¡°Damn I hoped he''d forget that¡­¡± he whispered. ¡°Fine,¡± he said at full volume, ¡°I''ll teach you just like you wanted.¡± A sinister grin came to his face. I felt my face go cold as Teacher Hen¡¯s cold gaze seized the air in my throat. A killing intent swept over Foris, one that would''ve forced most men to their knees. With my knees shaking, I stood against Teacher¡¯s pressure and managed to stammer out an affirmative. He then put one of his calloused hands on my shoulder and drug me off to I had no clue where. Thankfully, once my ¡°trip¡± started, he turned off the killing intent. I took the leisure time to check my notifications, that I had missed during my conversation with Teacher Hen.
You withstood killing intent from a master level NPC. Vitality +1 New Skill: Killing Intent.
Wow, I didn''t see that coming. [A/N: Even though I did~] I looked up the description of Killing Intent as I was being drug further along the ground.
Killing Intent Level: 1 (1%) Passive Skill
Description: You have hostile feelings toward many things, though mainly bunnies right now. Your hatred helps to fuel you. Effects:0.1% chance of making an opponent submit, +1 AGI, merchants can be threatened for lower prices (caution, possibility of backfiring).
I get the feeling the game just made a joke of me¡­ I should probably ignore it.
We finally reached the destination. I realized that due to the fact that I was tossed into the air and summarily dropped to the ground. Thankfully, I didn''t land on my new bow though. My arrows fell out of my quiver and scattered everywhere. I hastily picked them up and glanced at Teacher to find him glaring at me while grumbling about the mistreatment of arrows or something. A shiver ran down my back and I put the arrows back into the quiver and stood up hastily. ¡°An arrow on the ground is a death sentence Greenhorn. If you can''t draw your arrow in time, the enemy or the animal could get away. That wasn''t a good way for you to start this training.¡± I grumbled that it was his fault. Apparently he heard me grumbling and immediately did a front flip, showing that you can keep the arrows in the quiver in your careful. Of course, him doing that out of the blue was rather surprising. ¡°Alright Greenhorn, it''s time for your first lesson.¡± END Finally I got this chapter done, sorry for the long wait everyone! Haze Be sure to comment everyone, Haze placed a ton of time into this chapter! -Anonymous Chapter 11 - Lessons to Learn Chapter 11 - Lessons to Learn ¡°So you are going to finally teach me something! I was hoping it wasn''t another ¡®training¡¯ like last time. I was nearly died due to starvation through that you know?¡± I said to Teacher. Teacher Hen didn''t give a response and just stood there stoically. The silence between us only lengthened. After what felt like 5 minutes, I finally had to ask, ¡°Umm¡­ Teacher? Is something wrong?¡± ¡°No, nothing is wrong. That was the first test of many. I was testing your patience. As an archer, one of the key principles is patience. A hasty shot just means less ammo and a much closer and annoyed target. Suffice to say, it surprised me that your patience could last 6 and a half minutes.¡± Seems I was nearly right in my guess of 5 minutes. ¡°Alright,¡± Teacher Hen continued. ¡°The second phase of this training is getting to learn the feel of the bow. How she pulls, how strong she is, how fast her release is. That bow of yours will be your closest ally in the times to come, so treat it as if it were your lover.¡± Subtly, I think I heard Teacher mention Emilia under his breath again. She seems to be a major factor on who Teacher is today. He took to me to a clearing in the middle of the forest with small targets hanging from tree limbs and some being propped up on the ground. Seemed like the targets had seen some use. Some of them would''ve put a beehive to shame. ¡°Alright Greenhorn, now is the time for you to hit stationary targets. First I want you to draw your arrow and loose it toward a random target. Then I''ll tell you what you did wrong.¡± He''s already going into this doubting that I''ll actually hit the target¡­ If I had any confidence in the last praise he gave me, it was quickly extinguished with those lines. I drew the bow nonetheless and let an arrow fly. Not surprisingly, it flew wide to the right of the target. ¡°Damn and I''d hoped I''d be able to rub it in his face.¡± I thought. ¡°Mmm. That''s just about right,¡± Teacher Hen commented. ¡°The reason it flew wide was because you didn''t have a good enough grip on the arrow itself. When you let it go, the arrow started going off the bow at an angle. Which caused your shot to miss completely.¡± He noticed what I did wrong with just a single shot¡­ that makes me both sad and amazed. He then stood behind me and held me hand and pulled the string back. ¡°You''ll want to keep a firm grip on the arrow in between your fingers. You''ll need to start developing callouses there eventually. For now though, just bear with the difficulties.¡± Teacher Hen explained as he handed me another arrow. I tried to remember his advice and drew the bow taught. I took a pause to focus on my fingers and how they were holding the arrow and another to look at the target. Then I let the arrow fly.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. It managed to stick in the fringes of the target this time. I glanced back to Teacher to see him nodding. I looked away in time to hide my grin. I made my first step into the world of Aeon. ¡°That was a good shot. Especially since that was only the second arrow you''ve ever shot before. You may have a knack for the bow Greenhorn. Now keep trying until you hit the center. I''m going to go get some beer.¡± Teacher said as he walked off. ¡°Got it¡­. wait¡­ you''re what?! You''re going to leave me here alone again? What happened to teaching me hands on?¡± I cried somewhat indignantly. Only somewhat though. ¡°You''ve got to learn the feel of the bow for yourself first. I can''t do much to help you with that. So I''m off to get me some beer.¡± He said as he continued to walk away. ¡°You unappreciative fucker. No wonder you don''t have students if this is the way you treat them.¡± I muttered under my breath and turned to face the targets. A rock came flying and hit me in the back of the head for 30 HP damage. ¡°I heard that you twerp.¡± Teacher Hen yelled at me as he nonchalantly continued to walk away.
Time passed and the sun was beginning to set. I still hadn''t been able to hit the bullseye though. I thought about stopping and about the ache in my arm. I had shot what felt like over 200 arrows today. Having to fetch the 20 arrows I had after shooting them made it only more tiring. I decided to continue anyways. I was desperate for that damned bullseye. I felt that something great would happen if I managed to connect with it. I picked up the spent arrows for what must''ve been the eleventh time now and lined up to start shooting again. My fingers had already been rubbed raw by the string and the arrow. I persisted even through the pain, just as Teacher Hen had instructed. I persisted even though I wanted to badly to stop and rest. I persisted, never stopping until I got that final shot done.
¡®I can honestly say that I didn''t expect him to be here still¡­¡¯ was the first thought that ran through Hen¡¯s mind. It had only taken him about ten minutes to actually get the beer, but he decided to remain hidden instead of going out there. Hen Feltai, archer extraordinaire, was still sitting in bushes, watching Foris as he continued to shoot. It was long past the optimal time for target practicing but Hen couldn''t find it in him to stop Foris from completing the shot. The kid was too persistent. In many ways actually. He had never had a student actually want to stay with his training after he showed them that he always leaves them to their own training. ¡°The best way to learn, is through your own trial and error.¡± That was a sentence that Hen lived and taught by. Give the student a few pointers and have them find out everything else. They''d need to be more self-reliant in the future anyways. Which goes even more true for Wanderers. ¡°Geez, when is this kid gonna get tired?¡± Hen contemplated. As Hen was dazing and thinking about the past, he heard a loud shout. Startled, he nearly fell out of the bush. He caught himself before the revealed his position and looked at Foris. That idiot greenhorn actually had pulled his bow for so long that his fingers were bleeding slightly. Noticing Foris¡¯s gaze, he looked toward the target to see that he managed to hit the fringe of the bullseye. Pleased with his student, he chose this time to reveal himself. ¡°Congrats! You finally made the shot.¡± Hen congratulated, but Foris wasn''t even paying attention. As Hen got closer, he noticed that the kid actually passed out while standing. Chuckling to himself, Hen heaved the kid over his shoulder and fireman-carried him back to the town¡¯s inn. END We¡¯ll be returning to the other world for a little after this. . Chapter 11.5 - Days Gone and Days to Come Chapter 11.5 - Days Gone and Days to Come I woke up with a familiar ceiling above me. The pain in my hands was also nostalgic. I, for a few moments, thought I was still in the game. That was, until my stomach rumbled like crazy. I checked the clock to the left of me to notice that I had actually stayed in the game for 8 straight hours. Peeling myself off my somewhat crusty bedsheets, I wondered why my hands were hurting so much. After thinking about it, it came back to me. My escapades in the forest and injuring my hands repeatedly. I found that my hands could at least still function and I lifted my shirt to check out my chest. I only found a massive bruise spot where my stomach should have been, not a single trace of pale skin to be seen. I got onto my feet after getting on the bed. My legs seemingly still haven''t recovered from all the running because after I took one step, I fell to my knees. To try and stop myself I used my hands, to my complete dismay. I held back a scream of pain, and forced myself back onto my feet. Apparently, jumping and running around in the forest was really tiring. Who would''ve thought? After getting myself all the way down the hall to the kitchen and getting myself something to eat, I assessed my body¡¯s condition. In short, I was a mess. I concluded that I actually should get to a doctor''s office but I didn''t have a car to get me there. Caught between two painful choices, I deliberated.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. While the war in my head was underway, my gaze fell upon the shoeboxes and I realized I could probably just call on a taxi. I facepalmed at that realization, only to remember that my hands were injured once more.
After being discharged from the doctor''s office, it was a miracle that I managed to persuade that doctor to let me leave. I don''t want to spend unnecessary funds since I literally just got this money. The doctor sighed when I left and just prescribed me some serious painkillers and some sorta healing salve. I took the painkillers the moment the doc gave me them since the whole time I was chatting with him, I was restraining my face from showing the grimace that naturally wanted to come out. With the painkiller running through my system, I walked back home.
30 minutes later and exhaustion abound, I made it back home. I managed to shuffle my way to the bed whereupon I collapsed stomach-first on it. I immediately regretted it as the painkillers weren''t enough to stop the pain from my bruised stomach. I flipped to my back and stared at the ceiling, just wondering how far I''ve actually gotten in my life. I got Aeon, I''ve actually got some money for myself (though not that much), and I''ve gotten stronger in many ways. Still some things were missing. I missed my few friends that I had back at my old job. I haven''t seen them since I stormed out of there. ¡°Not that I can actually go out and meet them like I am right now¡­¡± I mumbled. I stared at the ceiling of my shoddy house, empty minded. I realized that with the food budget I have, the money I have left won''t last me too long. Therefore I needed to continue playing and getting stronger. And the first step in that is to get past level 5. With my determination reset, I grasped the helmet and put it on my head. ¡°Aeon start!¡± END Chapter 12 - Hard Work Pays Off Chapter 12 - Hard Work Pays Off When I woke up in the game I was laying down on a bed of straw. Teacher Hen was lying next to me, snoring loudly. The stench of alcohol was strong on his breath. After I passed out in the game he must''ve found me and carried me here¡­ and then continued drinking. This drunken old bastard. I sighed and checked my status screen that I had hoped would have changed with my training yesterday.
Name: Foris Age: 22 Race: Human
Titles: None Attribute: None Fame: 0
Satiety:94% Level: 1 (75%)
HP:130 MP:100
STR: 15 VIT: 13 AGI: 12
INT: 10 WIS: 11 DEX: 19
LCK: 6 LDR: 5 END: 16
Attribute Resistances
Fire:0% Water:0% Earth:0%
Wind:0% Light:0% Dark:0%
Holy¡­ I got a lot of stat increases. I even seem to have gotten 60% more exp from completing that training. My strength went up by 5, vitality by 3, endurance by 6, and dexterity by 7. On top of those my agility and luck went up by one. After that I checked the notifications screen.
Archery Level:4 (61%) Passive Skill Description:Through extraordinary work, you managed to hit the center of a target in one day. Effects: Able to wield the bow and arrow in battle. Arrows do 5% more damage.
Tough Mind Level: 2 (14%) Passive Skill Description: Your focus through all the pain led you to completing your objective. Effects: 1% less chance to be stunned +2 END
Skill Titles Levels
Stealth (Active) 1 (23%)
Killing Intent (Passive) 1 (1%)
Archery (Passive) 4 (61%)
Tough Mind (Passive) 2 (14%)
So that''s what happened¡­ I actually managed to hit the target in the end. I got up off the hay bed and stretched my sore muscles. I glanced over to Teacher Hen who was still snoring away peacefully. I smiled at that and went back out into the forest to grind my new archery skill.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. On my way out, I didn''t notice, but Hen¡¯s eyes were open and he was just faking the snoring sound.
I reached the forest quickly. Maybe because of my heightened agility? I didn''t know, but it took a little shorter time to reach here. For the time being, I climbed a nearby tall tree to see where I should go. While I was in the tree, I noticed some monkey type monsters swinging from tree to tree. I climbed down and headed after them. The monkeys were elusive. They had high agility and dexterity, which meant they could move extremely swiftly in a forested canopy. I tracked them from the broken branches they left in their wake. A few minutes later I happened upon what I assumed was their watering hole. The monkeys were facing away from me. They looked about 3 ft in height with green fur. There was a large one sitting down in front of them all that looked to be about 4 ft tall. There were scars all over that monkey¡¯s figure. The monsters hadn''t noticed me just yet. Probably because I adroitly activated Stealth before stepping into the area. I decided it wouldn''t be a good area to kill one of the monsters that was in a large pack like they were. So I waited for one to leave. Thankfully I hadn''t waited long before one was ordered by the pack leader to search for something. I decided to follow that monkey. It was a lot harder to maintain Stealth while I was on the move, so I decided to abandon it when I judged I was far enough away from the pack. The monster, startled by my sudden presence, actually missed the next tree limb he was reaching for. I couldn''t miss the opportunity that presented me with the monkey falling. I drew and loosed an arrow in a fluid motion, almost as if I had been trained in the bow for years. The arrow accurately struck through the monkey¡¯s neck. That shot was obviously due to the new Archery skill. Critical Hit - 170 DMG Because I attacked that monster, the monkey¡¯s health bar became visible above its head. From the sight of it, that shot took out over 3/4ths of its health. Since it was still falling, and I engaged it in combat, the damage the monster sustained was shown to me. 20 DMG - Stunned The monkey fell on its head and was stunned from it. It was still alive though, with just a sliver of health. I approached the stunned monster without any caution. I looked it in the face as its concussion continued to affect it. I pulled back my arm and punched it directly in the face. 15 DMG The monster¡¯s health hit rock bottom and the monster started to evaporate into particles. Seems like the monkey dropped some items for me, how kind.
Green Monkey Gloves White Equipment These gloves, dropped from the Green Monkey, are weathered. They don''t have high durability, but make up for it in grip strength, in order to swing around trees like they do. Durability: 12/15 Stats: STR +2
I was ecstatic at the drop. I equipped the gloves and began gaining my bearings again to head back to the monkey pack, when, suddenly, the bushes near me rustled. Alerted by the sound I quickly swiveled and readied my bow. As the tension was reaching the peak, all that came out was a small bunny. While being sad at myself for getting so afraid, I loosed the arrow and killed the bunny in one shot to the head. Evidently, my strength allows me to one-shot bunnies now, good to know. I approached the bunny to pick up the two coins that dropped when suddenly a killing intent was directed toward me. A sudden arrow flew by my face, scratching my ear 2 DMG Shocked that it was another person attacking me, I quickly retreated into the bushes to hide. I felt safer while I was hidden in the bushes, but apparently the enemy still knew where I was. ¡°You know, those bushes don''t hide you completely.¡± Said a gravelly voice. My heart was racing as another arrow zoomed past my ear once again. I managed to move my head in time but it proved that the assailant still could see me clearly. I ran through dozens of scenarios in my head, not many of them ending well. I chose to retreat as fast as possible while weaving through the trees. The voice behind me just continued to laugh as he shot arrow after arrow with impudence. 3 DMG 7 DMG 28 DMG The first shot scraped against my ear again, the second against my leg. The third shot actually lodged itself in my right forearm. I stumbled a bit after that shot but I kept running, knowing that it was the only way I''d survive. If I tried to fight a person who could hit my accurately in the ear, twice, then that person was obviously better than I was. Out of breath and my health at 90/130 I hid behind a boulder. I took out the arrow from my arm. I heard the twang of a bowstring in the distance and wondered what kind of shot he was trying to take. When suddenly, an arrow came down at an almost 90 degree angle, and ran through my left hand. 18 DMG FUCKING BULLSHIT! This guy is way too good. Why is he after me? I took out the second arrow and began running again. Thankfully I kept track of where I was going through all of this and knew that I was heading towards to town. If I could just make it there, the town guards could help me. With hope in heart, I sprinted for my life a second time. END