《ForeverQuest Online》 Chapter 1: New Game Gary Swamps walked out of school and sighed in relief. On his face was a slight smile. He could hear birds chirping nearby. Gary loved the sound of bird song. It always put him on ease. Not only was it a nice day outside, but the weekend was finally here! Even better, in Gary¡¯s mind, was the upcoming release for the next big virtual reality game, ForeverQuest Online! The game would be out tomorrow, April 12, 2036. ¡°It¡¯s Friday! Most righteous!¡± Dom hooted with his usual enthusiasm. The pale boy stood to the left of Gary, his shaggy black haircut barely coming to Gary¡¯s shoulder. The boy was dressed in a black t-shirt and skinny gray jeans. ¡°I thought school would never end!¡± cried Cedric. While Dom was short and pale, Cedric was tall and dark. His well muscled arms bulged at the straps of his backpack, and he sported a fresh afro. Gary yawned while the gentle breeze shifted his dirty brown hair in front of his eyes. The soft chatter of birds filled the ears of the relieved boy, who had spent the last couple days stressed out over a math test. ¡°Glad we made it, guys. That Trigonometry test was stupid,¡± Gary mumbled. ¡°Heard that!¡± Cedric agreed. ¡°We going to hit up the gas station?¡± Gary shrugged, his backpack flopping up and down on his skinny frame. ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Dom grinned, showing unusually sharp teeth. ¡°You know it!¡± The three boys walked toward their favorite station. It was about a half mile away from school, and on the way to Gary¡¯s house. The convenient location made the station the boys¡¯ favorite place to grab snacks. Dom ripped out a his skateboard from his backpack, and soon he was popping effortless kickflips. The faded deck-art of his board featured an ice-blue dragon with ragged wings and fangs like icicles. Gary and Cedric casually watched Dom while they continued their afternoon stroll. Cedric looked up at the sky and smiled. A gentle breeze wafted through his afro. The temperature was perfect, the sky big and open, clouds drifting slowly in midwestern glory. Around the three boys, the grass was green and complacent. Dom skated past wheatgrass whipping in the wind. They were in southern Illinois--farm country. Soon, the boys arrived at their go to 7-11. The sign had rusted into a decrepit off-white, but that did not bother the boys in the least. They loved this station, after all, they came there almost every day after school. Gary went straight for his drink of choice. A Red Bull, the aluminum can cool in his hands. Cedric and Dom also grabbed Red Bulls. When it came to energy drinks, the three friends were of one mind. Spencer, an older man with short gray hair and a winsome grin, was working the register as usual. ¡°Hey boys! Are you excited for Forever Quest Online? I¡¯ve already preordered my copy.¡± The old man had a gleam in his eye, as only a veteran gamer could. Spencer was alive for the birth of MMORPG¡¯s; he had played the classics like Runescape and World of Warcraft back when they were still popular. Gary couldn¡¯t imagine being around to witness the rise of video games. To him, they were such a common part of life. Those classic games still had a small player base, but they had changed so much since initial release at the turn of the twentieth century. ¡°Of course we are excited to play! It¡¯s only going to be the best game ever,¡± said Cedric as he paid 10$ for his Red Bull. Another great thing about the 7/11 was the fair prices. Gary hated paying over 10$ for a can of Red Bull, but some stations would charge as much as 15$, which was a total rip-off, as far as he was concerned! Spencer winked at the boys as Gary payed for his drink. ¡°Nothing like the release of a new MMORPG to make me feel like a kid again,¡± the old man joked as he scanned the Red Bull. ¡°You think it¡¯s going to be a good one?¡± Gary asked. Spencer took a moment to think. ¡°Yes, I very much so. The leveling mechanics are innovative, graphics completely immerse, indistinguishable from real life, if the trailer is at all accurate. I think this is going to be the virtual reality game that people have been talking about for years.¡± ¡°It has to be better than Full World Universe,¡± Dom says with a groan. Full World Universe was the disappointment of the decade for gamers. Millions of dollars spent on a VRMMORPG game that promised to be ¡°Like real life, but better.¡± Instead, the game caused intense nausea in some, and bitter disappointment in others. It was simply a poorly built game. Sure, the graphics were impressive, but there was little thought put into the rest of the game. Full World Universe was riddled with bugs, the servers crashed constantly, and even when the game worked, it just wasn¡¯t fun. After the failure of Full World Universe, no developer wanted to invest time and money into another virtual reality game. That was before Dragon Mastery Studios, of course. Spencer smiled. ¡°Dragon Mastery Studious will do us right, I almost guarantee it. I¡¯ve been around long enough to know a good company when I see one.¡± The man handed over the Red Bulls. ¡°See you kids in the game!¡± The boys headed out of the store, Red Bulls in hand. Gary opened his can with a satisfying fizz. Cedric and Dom followed suit. It was their ritual, of sorts. Gary took a sip of the sweet drink, and let out a relieved sigh. Gary loved the taste of Red Bull. It made him feel both excited and oddly peaceful. Dom took a long sip from his can. ¡°Yo, so we got enough money to get the game, right? It¡¯s 600$.¡± Gary nodded. ¡°Got it! Took me awhile to save up, but I¡¯m good.¡± Cedric sighed. ¡°I¡¯m a few bucks short, unfortunately.¡± The boy chewed on the side of his lip, as he often did while nervous. Dom took a long sip of Red Bull. ¡°Really? Most unfortunate, Cedric! You have to get it right away, so we can all start at the same time!¡± Gary dug a wallet out of his pocket. ¡°Hey, Cedric, I think I got you. Let me count here real quick¡­.¡± Gary pulled an 150$ bill from his wallet and handed it to Cedric. ¡°Think that will be enough?¡± Gary asked with a cocked eyebrow.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Cedric stared at the bill. ¡°Gary, I don¡¯t know if I can accept this--¡± ¡°Of course you can,¡± said Gary, a quiet smile on his face. ¡°That¡¯s what friends are for, right?¡± Cedric took a moment to think, his usually airy confidence gone, if just for a moment. He then jammed the money in his pocket with a big smile. ¡°Alright Swamps! I owe you one!¡± Cedric playfully punched Gary in the shoulder, and the three boys laughed. They continue on their way to Gary¡¯s house. Dom hops on his skateboard again, while Cedric and Gary chat about Forever Quest Online. ¡°You really think it¡¯s true? What they said about the leveling system?¡± Gary asked. Cedric shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d say so. The thing is, I¡¯m not sure how it will work. How are they going to know your real life skills?¡± ¡°Dunno,¡± said Gary. ¡°Some technical magic with the haptic suits, maybe? They can do anything these days.¡± Dom, who was performing a very long manual, suddenly slipped on his skateboard, sprawling back onto the concrete with a groan. His board skidded towards Cedric, who grabbed it. Dom writhed on the ground, holding his ankle in evident pain. ¡°Dom, are you okay?¡± Gary asked. Gary had seen Dominick wipe out countless times, but he still worried about Dom getting hurt. Dom hopped to his feet, slightly limping, and laughed if off. ¡°Gary, I¡¯m fine! Falling is just part of skating, for real.¡± Cedric handed the board back to Dom, who hopped right back on, and started skating again. The three boys reached Gary¡¯s house while the sun was still high in the sky. His home was an unassuming, medium sized brick structure. Thankfully, the house was big enough to accommodate all three boys, and in a fairly nice part of town. Dom¡¯s house was too far away from school to be a meeting point, and Cedric''s parents were very strict and didn¡¯t like him playing games all the time, so Gary¡¯s place had become the meeting point for the boys. Mrs. Swamps met the boys at the door. ¡°Gary, Dom, Cedric!¡± She cried, happy to see them all. ¡°How was your day at school!¡± The small woman was nearly bouncing up and down in excitement. ¡°Great mom, thanks,¡± said Gary. ¡°We are just going into the basement to research this new game, alright?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Mrs. Swamps replied brightly. ¡°Just tell me if you need anything!¡± Gary yawned. ¡°Sounds great.¡± ¡°Thank you Mrs. Swamps!¡± Cedric and Dom said in unison as the three boys jogged downstairs. The basement was completely covered with video game posters, most of them from classic titles of the late 90¡¯s and early 2000¡¯s. A giant Super Mario 64 Poster covered the far wall, while multiple Runescape Logos were plastered everywhere. A life sized sticker of Banjo and Kazooie was prominent amongst the mass of posters, and there must have been nine or ten tributes to the Legend of Zelda franchise amongst the clammer. Not only was the basement completely decked out with old school video-game posters, but it was also littered with older systems and video game paraphernalia. Broken PS2 consoles, a Super Meat Boy pillow, Pokemon cards, Old SNES and NES cartridges, GBA¡¯s, Nintendo DS¡¯s, practically every system ever created was there, most of them broken. The three boys had taken two fulls weeks to repair an old Nintendo 64 to get it working again. Although Nintendo currently manufactured systems to play old games, the boys wanted the experience of fixing up a retro system. They had a blast finding old parts and throwing it back together. Gary, Cedric, and Dom had become fascinated with older video games thanks to their Video Game History class at school. Truth be told, that was just about the only class Gary enjoyed at all. Gary thought that the other classes, like World History, were dull, and taught with little enthusiasm. Although, it wasn¡¯t much of a surprise that Video Game History is more fun than World History, Gary thought. Also, Gary¡¯s game history teacher, Mr. Tonks, was pretty cool. Dom fired up Mario Kart 64 on the antique console, while Gary and Cedric researched all the information available about ForeverQuest Online. There were several trailers released. The most popular one featured a medieval castle placed in a verdant meadow, the sun lighting the scene like a movie. Like Spencer had said, the graphics looked incredible! Pasty green goblins prowled in nearby woods, while the camera followed a knight in steel armor as he rode a mechanical tiger through the fields. The tiger itself was breathtaking, a whirring contraption of gears, smoke, and steampunk-themed steel. The knight then leapt off his mount in epic fashion, performing a front flip to land at the feet of a massive red dragon. In some games, dragons simply looked like big red lizards with silly forked tongues. ForeverQuest Online had different standards. The beast was complete with bone-like spikes protruding from its spine, a tail like a muscled whip, and serpentine wings that made even an eagle envious. The ancient lizard looked as battle worn and proud as a dragon should. The knight and dragon then engaged in glorious combat, the dragon stomping at the knight and lashing out its tail, while the knight absorbed blows with a kite shield, and retaliated with quick strokes of his sword. Suddenly, the dragon lowered its head and bathed the knight in a torrent of flame. The screen darkened, and the logo of ¡°ForeverQuest Online¡± flared with intense symphonic music playing in the background. Gary had seen this trailer many times, but he never grew tired of watching it. ¡°Dude, it just looks so fun¡­¡± Gary said softly. ¡°I wish I knew more about the skills. There¡¯s gotta be magic, right?¡± Cedric scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯d hope so. None of the trailers show very many magic attacks, but I agree. There should definitely be some magic. Personally, I want to focus on melee combat, so it¡¯s not a big deal to me.¡± ¡°Broski!¡± Dom shouted as he swerved his Yoshi driver through a tight corner on Banshee Boardwalk. ¡°I always roll mage. There¡¯s gotta be magic! This is ForeverQuest online, the next big game.¡± Suddenly, a red shell slammed Yoshi, and the poor creature went tumbling off the bridge. ¡°Lame!¡± shouted Dom as the Lakitu came to fish him out of the water. ¡°Hey Dom, I don¡¯t think you can roll any spec in ForeverQuest.¡± Gary said. ¡°From all the pre-release material, it looks like there are no classes.¡± Dom was back on the course, and driving like a madman to catch up. ¡°Yeah, whatever. You get what I mean.¡± Of course Gary did. He knew that Dom always focused on magic skills. Cedric, typically, was more of a brute. Gary, on the other hand, would try to be an all-rounder. Sometimes, it worked great. Other times, it kind of failed, depending on the in-game mechanics. However, Gary was confident that ForeverQuest would be well balanced, and it might really benefit him to be a jack of all trades in the beginning. Especially if he was questing with Dom and Cedric, Gary always felt like he needed to be more balanced, if not slightly stealth based, as neither Cedric nor Dom typically had any interest in stealth combat. Tired of reading content that he had already read many times, Gary said, ¡°You guys want to play Super Smash?¡± Dom, who had just won the race, flipped off the console and switched cartridges. Although they had repaired an old system, they had decided to purchase a new Super Smash game, because it was almost impossible to find any of the original games at this point. Additionally, it was possible to run any of these old games through an emulator either on a computer or through a VR headset, but the boys preferred the old-school approach. It just worked best. Super Smash was a classic, and the friends constantly played. Gary chose Link, his favorite. Dom selected DK, and Cedric picked Luigi. Hyrule Castle was the first level of many that the boys played that night. They were all almost equally skilled, with Dom being a slight edge over Gary and Cedric. That night, Dom won seven games, while Gary won five, and Cedric won four. Gary let out a big yawn. ¡°Yo guys, I think I¡¯m going to hit the sack! We gotta get up early tomorrow to grab ForeverQuest! I¡¯m setting my alarm for six!¡± ¡°Most definitely,¡± Dom said as he started fiddling with a old pull-out couch. He opened the bed, and flopped down on it. Cedric walked to the closet, and retrieved a few sleeping bags, throwing one to Dom and another to Gary. Although Gary had his own room, he usually preferred to sleep down here, in the ¡°gamer den.¡± It just felt like home. Gary slipped into his sleeping bag, thoughts lingering on what ForeverQuest would be like. He hoped it was going to live up to all the hype. Chapter 2: Game On The next morning, Gary was already awake before the alarm rang. He didn¡¯t sleep well, mainly because he was so excited about the game. Cedric was already up, while Dom was still snoozing. Cedric saw that Gary was awake, and shook Dom by the shoulders. ¡°Broooooo,¡± Dom moaned as he rolled back onto his face. ¡°I¡¯m too zonked to go.¡± Dom fished his wallet from his pocket. ¡°Can you just buy it for me?¡± Gary grabbed the wallet. ¡°Sure, whatever Dom.¡± ¡°Gnarly,¡± Dom slipped back into sleep. Gary¡¯s mom was already up and trying to force him to eat a full breakfast, but Gary wanted to head to Walmart right away. They settled on a compromise: Gary and Cedric each grabbing a piece of buttered toast on their way out. In many ways, both Cedric and Dom had become like sons to Mrs. Swamps. Gary didn¡¯t have any siblings, and Mrs. Swamps had always wanted more kids, truth be told. Gary couldn¡¯t think of anything other than ForeverQuest Online while on his ride to Walmart. It was a short bike--only two miles. In his pocket was 800$, a lot of money for a kid like Gary. His mother gave him money when he needed it, but for something like a game, Gary had to raise his own funds. Gary was a high-level player for a game called Four-Ruins online, and from his success he had been able to earn real-world money from in game cash. The transfer rate was 1,000 in game gold for 1 dollar, and he was able to average 42,000 gold per hour. Sure, he earned about 42$ an hour, which was just under minimum wage, but he had found a way to get money while playing video games. Using these funds, he had been able to spend more money on games. Cedric worked a gym to get money, and Dom ran a semi-successful online stream to grab cash. None of them had much, but it always worked out. Of course, Gary still got his living expenses paid by his mom, like most boys his age. Just for extra stuff, like video games or movies, Gary had to earn his own cash. They found a big line at Walmart, but it wasn¡¯t packed. Many people had gotten the game the night before, so the 6 A.M. crowd wasn¡¯t that large, luckily for Gary and Cedric. Of course, there were specialty game stores too, but Walmart¡¯s prices were just the same, and it was a more manageable distance. It might seem odd that in 2036 that games were still sold in physical copies, but some years ago developers stopped online downloads. They were too easy to bootleg once data was being thrown around all across the internet. Hence, except for the small-time indie developers, games returned to almost exclusively physical copies. A couple hours later and Gary was holding two brand new copies of ForeverQuest online. The boy¡¯s heart was thumping at a fast rate, blood pounding in his ears as he looked at the cover of the holochip-case, which featured a knight in shining armor standing in front of a perfect green valley littered with goblins, dragons, and trolls. Cedric was in equal awe, holding the case as if it was a baby. ¡°Gary¡­¡± he said in a quiet voice. ¡°Is this real life? It doesn¡¯t feel like it...¡± Cedric shot Gary a sneaky grin. ¡°I don¡¯t know, dude.¡± Gary said. ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± Not paying a bit of attention as to where he was headed, Gary ran face first into a heavy set boy with flaming red hair. Gary, who was quite skinny, fell to the ground like a sack of flour. His ankle shot with pain as he twisted it on the concrete. ¡°Whoops,¡± said Gary with a frightened smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t see you there, Tommy.¡± ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going, nerd!¡± said Tommy with a scowl. ¡°I almost lost my place in line!¡± the boy cried, although in all honesty, he hadn¡¯t budged an inch. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Tommy. I really didn¡¯t mean to run into you,¡± said Gary earnestly as he got to his feet. Tommy grunted. ¡°Yeah, whatever. Watch where you''re going next time, chump.¡± Gary looked down in shame, but didn¡¯t say anything. Cedric¡¯s facial expression hardened, the muscles in his arm tensing up. Gary left the store with Cedric, his spirits slightly broken. ¡°Why is Tommy always such a jerk?¡± Gary said softly. ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything mean to him or anything like that¡­¡± Cedric sighed and took a moment to think. ¡°Some people just have a chip on their shoulder. They just want to bring you down. You know what I¡¯m sayin¡¯?¡± Gary¡¯s stomach was a bit upset, as often happened to him when he was anxious, but he slowly nodded. ¡°Yeah, I guess so. But I wish he wasn¡¯t like that.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Agreed,¡± said Cedric. ¡°Don¡¯t worry though, If he ever lays a finger on you, I¡¯ll teach him a lesson.¡± Cedric¡¯s tone was serious. For a moment, they just walked, but then Cedric playfully boxed Gary on the shoulder. ¡°Lighten up. We are about to dive into the VR game of the century!¡± Gary laughed, and the mood lightened dramatically. ¡°I can¡¯t wait,¡± he admitted. When Gary and Cedric arrived back at the house, Dom was sitting on the kitchen counter, gripping a piece of bacon with greasy hands, while Mrs. Swamps was sizzling bacon and eggs. ¡°Most radical, Mrs. Swamps. This bacon is totally well prepared,¡± Dom said through a full mouth. ¡°I¡¯m so happy you like it!¡± Mrs. Swamps cried. ¡°Do you want more?¡± ¡°Indeed, that would be much appreciated!¡± Dom hooted as he dug his fork into a sunny-side egg, the yolk spilling all over the plate sloppily. ¡°Dom!¡± Gary said. ¡°It¡¯s gaming time! What are you doing?¡± ¡°Brofessor Gary,¡± Dom replied. ¡°I am merely enjoying a well-prepared breakfast. Would you like to join? Just like we learned in health class, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.¡± ¡°You know that is pretty debatable¡­¡± Gary said as he rolled his eyes. Cedric emitted a short burst of laughter. ¡°Come on Gary, have breakfast with us!¡± Mrs. Swamps said as she plopped a perfectly cooked egg on a plate and handed it to Dom. Although Gary couldn¡¯t wait to start playing, he was still quite hungry, and he didn¡¯t much like to disappointed his mother, so he sat down and started tearing through a plate of eggs and bacon. Cedric joined them, and soon, all three boys had devoured piles of bacon and dozens of eggs. After they were thoroughly full, they ran down the stairs, Dom gasping at the cover art. ¡°Woooooah. This is so cool,¡± he hooted. Gary took his usual position in the far corner of the room, while Dom stood in the middle, and Cedric set up behind the couch. Because they had to move frequently to play, the boys stood a few feet apart. Without further ado, Gary strapped on his haptic suit and VR headset, and threw the holochip into the system. ¡°Time to play ForeverQuest,¡± Gary said, his voice filled with wonder. ¡°Most definitely,¡± Dom said as he strapped on his VR headset. ¡°See you guys in game!¡± Cedric added while he slipped his legs into the haptic suit. Gary was now in some kind of waiting room. A red laser shot out of the wall, and bathed him in red light. ¡°Scanning¡­.Scanning¡­.¡± Gary shivered while he was bathed in a red glow. He looked down, and his body looked that same as in real life! What? He was used to some sort of character select and/or customization screen. Was he going to have to be just himself? The light stopped. ¡°Scan complete. Your Real Life stats are shown below.¡± A stats screen popped up in Gary¡¯s headset. Your Real Life Stats
Strength 26
Intelligence 42
Dexterity 60
Charisma 33
Endurance 54
Gary¡¯s eyes noticeably dilated. Real life stats? the boy thought. He looked at the screen again. Only 26 strength? Really? Gary thought in dismay. Lame. He then heard an automated female voice in his headset. ¡°Hello,¡± the voice said. ¡°I am Britney, the AI of ForeverQuest Online. You have just been given your real world stats. These are calculated based off a full-body scan. Do you have any questions? ¡°Yeah!¡± said Gary. ¡°Why is my strength so low?¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because you are a shrimpy little boy.¡± Shocked, Gary took a step back. ¡°What did you say to me?¡± The voice started laughing in a robotic manner. ¡°Just kidding. Relax, Gary Swamps. For a boy your age, 26 is quite average, actually. In ForeverQuest, Real World Stats are calculated based off your aptitude on Real World skills. Because your muscle mass is a total of 52.35lbs, you have been given 26 Strength.¡± ¡°But¡­. How did you calculate my Intelligence?¡± ¡°Simple.¡± The voice said. ¡°We just evaluated your brain activity over twelve seconds.¡± Gary took a moment to think. He supposed that made sense, although he was still unsure if that would lead to an accurate evaluation of intelligence. ¡°In ForeverQuest, your appearance is the exact same as real life. You may be recognized by those who know you. However, to promote some degree of anonymity, you will be asked to create a username. What would you like to be called?¡± A prompt appeared in Gary¡¯s vision, asking him for a username. Gary typed in his standard name: Neoswordsman. Are you ready to enter ForeverQuest?¡± Gary nodded quickly. ¡°Very well. Entering Lomberg in 3¡­2...1¡­¡± Gary saw a bright flash, then a swirling vortex of colors that eventually faded into darkness. When he opened his eyes again, he was in the courtyard of a castle. Gary marveled at the intricate stonework of the castle walls. The boy took a few steps back in wonder. He then looked up at the sky, which was clear blue, like a sapphire. A few swallows flitted through the air gracefully. Gary¡¯s breath almost stopped as he looked around the courtyard. It was filled with peasants in ragged clothing dragging dead animals, merchants dressed in silk, selling armor on wooden stands, blacksmiths hammering away in the forge. A gentle fog rolled over the ground, creating a mystical scene. A carved maple sign stood in the center of the castle courtyard. It read: Lomberg; the Lumber Town. Chapter 3: Forever Questing ¡°This is...this is awesome!¡± Gary said, his voice brimming with childlike enthusiasm. ¡°Most definitely,¡± said a voice behind Gary. Gary heel-pivoted to find Dom. Dom was dressed in a plain gray t-shirt, and simple khaki slacks. When Gary focused on Dom, he saw his username: ElDominator. Gary looked down to see that he was dressed in the same clothing. He had been so excited about the castle that he didn¡¯t even notice what he was wearing! After a few minutes of fumbling around the user interface, Gary found an equipment button and opened it. He examined all his equipped gear, which was just the T-shirt and shorts. Gray T-Shirt: Defense + 1 Impress your friends with the completely generic piece of clothing. Simple Khaki shorts Defense + 1 These exist so you don¡¯t start the game in your underwear. Gary chuckled at the description of the second item. It looked like the game developers had a dry, if somewhat forced, sense of humor. Other players, dressed in similar garb, were popping up all over the courtyard. Some headed straight out toward the nearby wilderness, probably looking for monsters. Gary watched a few players wander toward thatched roofs and shambling cobblestone of the castle village. Unlike some games where most of the players were noble, broad-chested humans or sleek, graceful elves: everybody just looks normal. Most of the players were young, but every now and then an old man or woman would hobble on by. Children flocked amongst the older players, zipping in and out of the crowd. One little boy bumped into a peasant carrying a large sack of grain. The peasant grunted in disapproval, but continued on his way, unphased. Next moment, Cedric appeared in a little pop. Cedric laughed when he looked at Dom and Gary. ¡°Wow, you guys look the exact same as in real life¡­. Crazy,¡± he said. Cedric had chosen the name: Badg3rKnight. Gary just started to think about the tutorial when the automated voice started talking again, ¡°In ForeverQuest, there is no tutorial. Your adventure begins right away. However, if you are confused, you may ask me for advice.¡± ¡°Great! Thanks Brittany!¡± Gary said with a smile. Dom gave Gary an odd look. ¡°Yo, Gary, who are you talking to?¡± ¡°The robot lady,¡± Gary said quickly. ¡°You know, the AI.¡± Dom moaned. ¡°Oh, sweet. Yours is named Brittney? Mine¡¯s named Alice, and she has a weird british accent.¡± Dom then pauses. ¡°Oh, whoops, sorry Alice, I didn¡¯t know you could hear me.¡± He looked horrified. ¡°No, seriously, I think your accent is great, I was just messin¡¯ around.¡± Cedric nodded. ¡°Yeah, I got a Jerry.¡± Dom flipped his hair. ¡°What? Really? You got a dude?¡± Cedric shrugged. ¡°Yup. He¡¯s cool though.¡± Gary continued to watch as players flocked out of the castle in swarms. ¡°Hey guys, do you think we should follow those guys? Maybe we can find some monsters. By the way, what RL stats did you guys get. Do you know how that works with in-game stats? I¡¯m kind of confused.¡± At the word confused, Brittney springs into action, ¡°You¡¯re RL stats will be balanced with your in game stats. Just ask and either will be displayed. Here, I will show you.¡± A table popped up in Gary¡¯s vision. Your Stats
RL GAME Actual
Strength 26 1 13.5
Intelligence 42 1 21.5
Dexterity 60 1 30.5
Charisma 33 1 17
Endurance 54 1 27.5
Total Level 43 1 22
¡°Oh¡­Neat.¡± Gary said. ¡°I figured it out. We have Real Life, or RL stats, that are balanced right next to our in-game stats.¡± ¡°Totally.¡± Dom says, ¡°Alice just filled me in.¡± ¡°Really?¡± said Cedric. ¡°Jerry is a bit off topic. He¡¯s talking about different types of birds in ForeverQuest. No, Jerry, I don¡¯t know what a Ice Pigeon is, and to be completely honest, I don¡¯t really care--¡± ¡°Hey guys, what are your stats? I got 26 strength, and I¡¯m a bit miffed.¡± Dom started, ¡°Err, how do I show you my table?¡± Gary shrugs. ¡°I dunno. Try asking Alice?¡± Dom asked Alice. After a few moments in silence, he sends me his table. ElDomintor¡¯s StatsEnsure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
RL GAME Actual
Strength 19 1 10
Intelligence 65 1 33
Dexterity 32 1 16.5
Charisma 58 1 29.5
Endurance 25 1 13
Total Level 40 1 20.5
Dom sends the table to Cedric as well. Gary carefully reads the stats. ¡°Wow. 65 Intelligence? That¡¯s impressive Dom.¡± Although Gary didn¡¯t say anything, he was personally relieved that Dom¡¯s strength was even lower than his. Cedric scratches his head. ¡°This game must be broken, because last time I checked you had a C+ average.¡± Dominick playfully shoved Cedric, though Cedric hardly budged. ¡°Silly Cedric. If school wasn¡¯t so lame, than maybe I would actually try.¡± ¡°What about you, Cedric?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Could I see your stats?¡± Cedric struggled to get the instruction from Jerry. ¡°No, Jerry, I don¡¯t play baseball. Look, could you just show me how to send a stats table? Please?¡± A few moments later, Cedric sent us the tables. Bad3rKnight¡¯s Stats
RL GAME Average
Strength 58 1 29
Intelligence 39 1 20
Dexterity 33 1 17
Charisma 41 1 21
Endurance 28 1 15
Total Levels 40 1 20
¡°What do all these stats really mean, though?¡± asked Gary. ¡°Beats me,¡± said Cedric, his eyes following a swarm of players who just ran out of the courtyard. Brittney started, ¡°Would you like me to explain exactly how the stats work?¡± Gary was about to say yes, when Dom howled. ¡°Come on already! Let¡¯s go fight some monsters!¡± Cedric showcased his best boxing moves. A grin crept across Gary face. ¡°You can explain later, Brittney.¡± The three teens ran outside the field, their excitement evident in every step. Most of the field was open grass, but an occasional maple or pine tree would populate the landscape. In the distance, the trees thickened into an ominous looking forest. As Gary sprinted into the plain, gold lettering appeared in his vision: Verdant Plains. ¡°Verdant Plains?¡± Cedric asked. ¡°It¡¯s probably what this region is called, duh,¡± Dom said sarcastically. ¡°I knew that, I was just, you know, checking,¡± Cedric said, unamused. ¡°How about we attack that slug over there!¡± Gary was pointing at nearby slug-like monster. The creature was acid green and about three feet long, as tall as a large dog. Its whole body was coated in thick, pasty slime that stuck to the ground like glue. There was a health bar over the monster''s head, along with a nametag, so the boys knew they were facing a: Level 12 Giant Slug. Gary was first to comment. ¡°So, uhh, we just kick it or something? I¡¯m not sure how to fight in this game.¡± Cedric picked up a stick and twirled it like a sword. ¡°Maybe we should bang it with sticks?¡± Gary leaned down to pick up a stick. As soon as he did, he received a notification. You got an item: Light Stick! Damage Bonus + 1 Type: Blunt Weight: Light Speed: Fast Damage calculated: 0.8 X Strength ¡°Woah. Did you guys also get that notification?¡± Cedric nodded. ¡°Yup. Guess this bad boy has plus 1 attack. I suppose it''s better than nothing!¡± ¡°Interesting how they calculate the damage¡­.¡± Gary said, lost in thought. Dom grabbed a stick and charged at the slug. ¡°Die, foul creature!¡± he yells as he slapped the thing with his stick. A red number ¡°1.8¡± appeared above the monster. The blow glanced off the slimy body, and the slug pivoted, quicker than a slug should be able to move, and faced the three boys. Steam poured out of its nose-holes. Dom quivered. ¡°Woah, it looks pretty angry.¡± The slug glared at Dom with bloodshot eyes. ¡°Great Dom, you just totally pissed him off.¡± Cedric added sarcastically. ¡°Did not!¡± yelled Dom. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m pretty sure you did,¡± agreed Dom. Suddenly, the slug leaped at Dom and latched on, sticking. Dom started running, but the slug doesn¡¯t fall off. ¡°Bro! Get it off of me! Get it off!¡± Numbers were ticking above Dom¡¯s head as the snail sucked on him like a slimy vampire, 1.2, 0.8, 1.3¡­.. Cedric slammed the slug with a well placed blow, and the creature flopped off of Dom. Next moment, Gary stabbed at the slug, his stick sliding into the slimy body. Gary noticed a slight drop in the health bar, which was now around 60%. He saw a red number on top of the slug, 2. Dom then kicked the slug in the torso, the blow again slipping off the slime, a red 1.2 flashing over the slimy beast. ¡°Stupid thing,¡± Dom huffs. ¡°It¡¯s hard to hit.¡± The slug then lashed out with its tail, slicing Dom across the cheek, a 3 appearing above Dom¡¯s head. ¡°Ow!¡± Dom cried as he takes a few steps back. ¡°That actually hurt!¡± Gary slapped the slug again with his stick, while Cedric stomped on the slug¡¯s tail. The creature cried in anguish, and disintegrated into a few bronze coins. Gary received the following notification. Strength exp gained: 7. Loot: 9 Bronze coins. You discovered a new skill: Blunt Weapons! Real World Level: 2. ¡°Hey, guys! Did you just get the blunt weapons skill?¡± ¡°Yeah, I got it,¡± said Dom. ¡°Nice.¡± ¡°Great!¡± howled Cedric. ¡°My Real World skill is already 16!¡± That surprised Gary. ¡°Really?¡± he said. ¡°Mines only level 2.¡± Dom patted Gary on the back. ¡°Same here.¡± They split the loot evenly. Once Gary figured out how to open his inventory, the solid bronze coins disappeared from his hands, going into the slot. ¡°Good job guys,¡± Gary said. ¡°We did it!¡± Dom rubbed his cheek where the slug had slapped him. ¡°Dude¡­ This game rocks!¡± There was a glow in Cedric¡¯s eyes. ¡°Wow. The combat feels great, doesn¡¯t it? Did you see the way our blows slid right off the slug¡¯s body, like it was actually real? This is...incredible!¡± Dom stopped rubbing his cheek. ¡°Yeah, I mean, it hurts, but¡­. Agreed, this is totally sweet.¡± Meanwhile, Gary was watching other players fight a level 16 Goblin Welp. The players dodged blows in real time, and struck the goblin with sloppy attacks. It did not appear as the players were in some sort of virtual combat, rather, it looked like a real life fight. All over the field, players were swarming, most engaged in some kind of combat, some just exploring the terrain. In general, the players still had sticks as weapons, and little to no armour, but Gary saw a few with flimsy metal swords. As Gary watched more players run out the castle courtyard, he couldn''t help thinking, how many players until it gets too full? Suddenly, he heard Britney''s voice. ¡°There are no servers in ForeverQuest. Instead, each city in the game is linked to your real life location. Lomberg is the starting zone for all the players within Montgomery county. It will act as your home city. If you are good to your city, it will grow and prosper. Otherwise, it will fall into shambles. Lomberg is also susceptible to raiders. At any moment, it can become captured, and then you will become members of another district.¡± Dom raised an eyebrow. ¡°Lame! I don¡¯t want to see anybody from school, or get captured! Gah, total buzzkill.¡± Cedric shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dom. Nobody will bother us. Actually, I think this mechanic is awesome! Imagine us defending the city from rivals! Wouldn¡¯t that be sweet?¡± ¡°Yeah, it might be pretty cool,¡± admitted Dom. Gary hoped that he would never find Tommy in game, but other than that, the location based servers didn¡¯t bother him. He actually thought they sounded pretty cool. He could imagine his small town, Lomberg, going to war with surrounding cities. Gary raised his fists with a smile. ¡°Alrighty then. Want to go beat up some more monsters?¡± Chapter 4: Zombies in the Woods A few hours later, the boys had slayed a few more Giant Slugs, and even a couple Goblin Welps. All three friends had unlocked the Unarmed Combat skill. However, they were low on health points, and needed to retreat back into the castle. Gary could see his red health bar in the top left corner of his vision. If he focused on it, he could see the exact numbers, 12/100. Underneath the red bar was a blue bar, which he assumed were his magic points. During the combat, all three of them had grown to level 2 Strength. The first level only took 50 exp points, but to grow to the next took a whole 172! It looked like each level was exponentially harder to grow, which wasn¡¯t a surprise to Gary, as most games worked as such. The boys retreated back into the safety of the castle walls, and took a moment to breath and regain Stamina. Because Gary had the highest Endurance level, his Stamina refilled the fastest. Soon, the three boys were exploring the city in awe. There was so much to see, an alchemy shop, a bow store, weapon stands, even a grand arena. Outside the arena, a sign read, Opening in a few weeks! Prepare your 5v5 or 3v3 team for great prizes in the Lomberg Arena! Gary couldn¡¯t help but feel excited as he read the sign. ¡°Hey guys!¡± he said. ¡°We can make a 3v3 team! Perfect!¡± Cedric read the sign and pumped his fist happily. ¡°Sweet! Looks great. We just first need to learn how to fight, right?¡± ¡°Bro, we already know how to fight,¡± Dom chips in happily. ¡°Haha, not well enough,¡± said Gary. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯d get whipped if we tried now,¡± admitted Cedric. The boys continued exploring the city, while they waited for their health to slowly regenerate. ForeverQuest had a fairly slow health regen, with 1% of the total health regained every minute while out of combat. In combat, health did not regenerate. Instead of fighting, the boys browsed the wares of local stores. Herbs hung in racks outside of the Alchemy store. A quick visit inside rewarded Gary with the pungent odor of zesty herbs, but also with an impressive selection of potions. During combat, Gary had earned 1 Silver and 12 Copper, which was enough to buy two [Beginner Health Potion]s, they sold for 50 Copper each. However, Gary decided to see if he could afford a weapon before splurging some potions. The boys next visited a weapon store. The merchant in charge of the store looked incredibly strong, his forearms thick, presumably trained from years of blacksmithing. There was a wide variety of weaponry, from Warhammers to giant battleaxes. Additional, armour crafted from leather, iron, steel, and additional metals Gary couldn''t recognize plastered the shop walls. However, Gary suspected that this gear was only for early to mid levels, it didn¡¯t look like advanced gear--not to his eye, anyway. Fortunately, a [Bronze Dagger] sold for 1 Silver. That was affordable! Gary focused on the dagger and received the following notification, Bronze Dagger: Strength Req 2, Dex Req 4 Damage Bonus + 2 Type: Sword Weight: Light Speed: Fast Damage calculated: 0.4 X Strength, 0.5 X Dex Before buying the dagger however, they had to check out the more expensive gear first, naturally. Dom struggled to pick up a [Ruby War-axe]. The axe was crafted from glowing gemstones, wicked chunks of ruby forming an elegant weapon. ¡°Woah, dude. I can¡¯t budge this thing,¡± he said as his skinny arms strained to move the weapon. He suddenly stopped. ¡°What¡¯s that Alice? I need 45 strength to use this weapon? Lame.¡± Dom suddenly became disinterested. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m going to be a mage anyway.¡± A mage? Gary thought. I wonder how magic even works in ForeverQuest. I haven¡¯t seen it used yet. Of course, I can see our mana bar, so it¡¯s has to be available. Cedric must have been thinking similar thoughts, because he said, ¡°I¡¯ll agree with you, that¡¯s probably the best call. However, I haven¡¯t heard anything about magic.¡± Brittney started talking, ¡°Magic is a rare occurrence in ForeverQuest. It is possible to do, but you must discover the ability within yourself.¡± This surprised Gary. ¡°Really?¡± Gary asked. ¡°That seems pretty vague. Are you sure that there are no trainers to teach us magic?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m sure,¡± said Brittney. ¡°I¡¯m an AI. I know these things.¡± Dom scowled. ¡°According to Alice, Magic is really hard to learn! I suppose I¡¯ll just have to start with this dagger,¡± he said with a huff. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dom. Maybe because your Intelligence is so high, it will be easier for you!¡± Cedric suggested. ¡°Intelligence,¡± Brittany said. ¡°Increases the damage of magical abilities. It does not make magic easier to learn, however.¡± ¡°Uhh, my AI says you''re wrong, Cedric,¡± Gary admits. ¡°Really?¡± Cedric says with a high eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s strange. We¡¯ll figure it out though, we always do.¡± They purchased the daggers from a bulky merchant before heading out of the door. ¡°Man, I¡¯m going to mega-suck at this game if I never learn magic!¡± Dom groans. ¡°Intelligence is my best stat!¡± ¡°Oh, cheer up Dom,¡± said Gary. ¡°You¡¯ll learn magic, I just know it!¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Cedric agreed. ¡°It might take awhile, but we¡¯ll figure it out! We always do, right?¡± Dom weaved past a few playing children. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right!¡± He twirls his new dagger confidently. ¡°I¡¯ll be slingin¡¯ spells is no time!¡± ¡°You got that right!¡± said Gary. Out of the crowd, Gary spotted red hair that had to belong to Tommy. He thought about speaking up, but decided against it. It wasn¡¯t that big of a deal, there were many players in the game, and Tommy was just one of them. Gary¡¯s stomach rumbled. ¡°You know what guys? I¡¯m kind of hungry. You want to logout to have lunch?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Dom and Cedric said in unison.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Gary logged out. It was always on odd sensation to hop from a fantasy universe back to the normal world. Dom was shaking his head like a dog. The three boys moved upstairs. Mrs. Swamps had gone to work, she worked as a computer programmer at a big consulting firm and usually worked weekends. Gary was used to his mom being gone, she had always worked a lot. Dom started making grilled cheese sandwiches for everybody, while Cedric fired up the coffee machine. Dom and Cedric drank coffee every now and then, especially while gaming, but Gary didn¡¯t like the taste much. To him, coffee tasted like dirt. While the sandwiches were cooking, the boys could talk of nothing but the game. ¡°Dude, the map is soooo big,¡± Dom groaned as he looked at his phone. ¡°Check it out!¡± Dom showed his phone to Gary, who gasped. Gary had never seen a game map so huge. There were countless mountain ranges, thousands upon thousands of dungeons, massive lakes, hundreds of miles of shoreline. It literally looked like the map of the world, but even bigger! Dom¡¯s eyes glinted with enthusiasm. ¡°Most bodacious¡­.¡± After a few minutes of looking around the map, Gary asked, ¡°Where even is Lomberg? I can¡¯t see it!¡± Dom looked back down at his phone. ¡°Dunno. I can¡¯t find it either! So weird that we are just one tiny spec on this massive planet.¡± ¡°Found us!¡± Cedric cried. ¡°We are near the center.¡± Cedric showed the location to both Dom and Gary. Gary looked a little dot marked ¡°Lomberg¡± on the map. They were close to a thick forest labeled as Terrid Woods, as well as a few dungeons and caves. If they went straight north for awhile, they would run into a mountain range called Grizzly Mountains. The boys studied the map until a burning smell reached Gary¡¯s nose. ¡°Uhh, guys, I think the grilled cheese are done.¡± Dom shot up like a rocket. ¡°Aww, most uncool! I burnt the sandwiches!¡± The sandwiches still tasted fine, and none of the boys were especially picky, so they slammed down the food. Cedric and Dom drained the coffee, before running back downstairs to play ForeverQuest. The boys logged into the game to find that their characters had full health. ¡°Great!¡± cried Gary. ¡°Got all my health back!¡± The three friends walked around for awhile, then suddenly a man in a black cloak ran up to them. ¡°Young adventurers! May you lend me your ear?¡± Just from the way the guy talked, Gary assumed he was an NPC. ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± said Gary. ¡°Go right ahead.¡± ¡°My family treasure, a magic orb, has been stolen by an Earth Zombie. The thing fled to Terrid Wood. Would you retrieve it for me?¡± You have been offered the Quest: Retrieve the Zorin Family Orb. Difficulty: Very Easy Rewards: 300 exp in skill of choice, 5 silver The boys looked at each other, Dom with a wicked smile, before they said, ¡°We accept!¡± in unison. They would never turn down a quest, especially if they were close to the recommended level. ¡°Thank you, kind sirs,¡± said the man. ¡°I wish you luck on your quest!¡± Gary received a prompt, Quest Accepted: Retrieve the Zorin Family Orb. ¡°Are you guys ready to go to Terrid Woods?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do it!¡± Cedric said as he unsheathed his dagger. The journey took them nearly half an hour. On the way, they past many players, some were gathering herbs, others mining rocks, some just wandering around aimlessly with their friends and chatting. Mining¡­. All this excitement with combat, and Gary had hardly even had time to think about trade skills. Sure, it never hurt to powerlevel combat, but when he had some spare time, Gary would make sure to level at least one tradeskill. The first sight of the forest sent chills shooting down Gary¡¯s spine. There was nothing particularly inviting about the clustered trees and rough terrain of Terrid Woods. Spider webs clung to thin branches like cotton candy, and Gary could see hairy spiders the size of mice crawling along the leaves. ¡°Yo guys,¡± said Dom. ¡°Are we going the right way?¡± Cedric¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Uhh, yeah. Think so.¡± Gary¡¯s stomach hurt, but he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Should we go in?¡± Dom slipped into the woods like a wraith and yelled, ¡°Come on dudes! That orb isn¡¯t saving itself!¡± Cedric charged after Dom, also disappearing into the woods. ¡°Dom, get back here!¡± They eventually found each other, but it took a few moments of wandering around in the thick brush. Within the cluster of the trees, Gary was having a hard time seeing anything. He was worried that they would get ambushed by some high level monster. Even the chattering of a small bluebird was enough to set him on edge. Gary weaved his way past a thick oak, and then was suddenly face to face with a level 26 White Wolf. The wolf pounced on him, knocking him to the ground. Gary struggled to shove the wolf off, but it looked as if his Strength level was inadequate. Frantically, Gary stabbed the wolf with his dagger, but the blow inflicted little damage, only 1.4. The beast struck twice with powerful claws before it was sent sprawling off of Gary. Gary saw a red 14.3 and 15.7 flash across his screen. Gary looked up to see Cedric, who had thrown the wolf off with a mighty shove. Dom arrived to the scene, a bit late, but with a usual flip of the hair and a thundering, ¡°Woooooaaaaahhh!¡± Soon, Gary was on his feet and brandishing his dagger, although the blade felt a bit awkward in his trembling hands. It was 3 v 1. Gary¡¯s health was at around 70%, while the wolf was nearly full hp. Cedric charged first. He met the wolf with a quick slice of his dagger, catching it off guard. There was a flash, and a number 2.4 appeared in red. The wolf counterattacked with a bite, but Dom was already behind it. Instead of lashing out with his dagger, Dom delivered a sharp kick to the side of the wolf, sending it hurling at Gary. Gary, prepared this time, stabbed the wolf in the side. The attack was aimed perfectly, and on impact, the three boys saw flashing Critical Strike text above the wolf, along with a purple 5.2. The wolf howled in agony, and Cedric finished it off with a flurry of strikes. All that remained was a pile of coins and a ragged pelt. Strength exp gained: 6 Dexterity exp gained: 12 Loot: 14 Bronze coins, Wolf Pelt Gary thought he probably gained the Dexterity experience because he was using a dagger. The boys split the loot, and then they suddenly heard a nasty moan behind them. Whirling around, they found themselves face to face with a small swarm of [Earth Zombies]. There must have been at least six of them, all ranging from level 27-35. ¡°Run!¡± Dom yelled as he started sprinting out of the forest. Cedric and Gary needed no further help, they barrelled out of the forest behind Dom. Gary could hear heavy footfalls thudding behind them, but he did his best to ignore them and focus on running. Suddenly, Cedric started walking. Gary whirled around. ¡°Cedric!¡± he screamed. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Cedric was gasping in air heavily, his breaths ragged. ¡°I¡¯m¡­. I¡¯m out of Stamina!¡± ¡°Shoot!¡± yelled Gary. Dom had heard the commotion and stopped as well. The zombies were now swarming in on Cedric. ¡°Uhh, what do we do?¡± said Dom, his face chalk-white. ¡°This is not cool.¡± Cedric looked at us with a brave smile. ¡°We can¡¯t beat them. Just let me die. I read that there is a 12 hour lockout after a death, but it will be alright.¡± Cedric turned around and drew his dagger. He won¡¯t have the Stamina to run for a long period of time, but he will have enough to use his dagger. Dom took off running, but Gary grabbed him by the back of the collar. ¡°Dom, where are you going? We¡¯re in this together. Get back here and help Cedric fight!¡± Gary said with a sudden vigor. Dom scowled, but he turned around. ¡°Oh, alright. Let¡¯s rock these clowns!¡± Gary and Dom walk back to Cedric, a determined look on each of their faces as the zombies swarmed in like rabid dogs. Soon, an all out melee was raging. Dom grinned wickedly as he cut up a zombie. A mangled arm sliced open Gary¡¯s cheek, and he was met by a surprisingly realistic sting of pain and a flashing red 8.2. The pain was drastically less than real life, but it still hurt. Cedric was down a great job at fending off the beasts, but it wasn¡¯t enough. Dom was the first to go down, overwhelmed by the swarming beasts. ¡°Not cool¡­.¡± moaned Dom as he was reduced into pixels. With a powerful blow, Cedric struck one zombie in the temple, and the creature disintegrated. That¡¯s one down. Gary took a step back, but twisted his ankle on a fallen stick. ¡°Gah! Shoot!¡± Pain shot up his ankle as he fell onto his back with a thump. Gary yelled, and then he was suddenly overtaken by a flailing pair of zombies. He gritted his teeth as he did his best to fend off the undead with his dagger. Red flashed in his monitor as he was finished off by zombie bite to the neck. Everything faded to black, and a prompt shot up on the screen. You have died! You will be locked out for 12:00 hours. You gained combat experience: + 12 Strength exp, + 24 Dexterity exp. Congratulations, you grewto level 2 Dexterity! Gary sighed as he took off his headset. Chapter 5: Locked Out Dom had already removed his, and he was watching Cedric fight. ¡°Come on Cedric!¡± Dom yelled, although there was no way Cedric could actually hear him. The VR headsets came with sound-proof audio. Suddenly, Cedric flinched, and both Gary and Dom could tell it was over. The big guy removed his headset and grimaced. ¡°Dang. Sorry guys, I need to work on my Endurance!¡± Dom yawned. ¡°Yeah, no big. Hey, at least I grew a Strength level in that fight. I take it you guys leveled as well?¡± ¡°Yup!¡± Gary said with a grin. ¡°We¡¯ll get them next time.¡± ¡°For sure,¡± said Cedric. ¡°There¡¯s so much to figure out, though. We need real armour, for starters. It would be nice to use some magic, too. Especially for Dom, because he¡¯s going to be our mage.¡± Dom flipped open his phone. ¡°Yeah, I guess we can look up game stuff for 12 hours. That¡¯s going to be a long time. Dangit!¡± Dom yelled. ¡°Locked out already¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, it will. You know what though? Maybe after we try to figure out some magic details, we can train some real world stats!¡± Cedric looked up at Gary, his dark eyes brewing with intense thoughts. ¡°You know what Gary? That¡¯s a fantastic idea!¡± A couple hours later, they have found nothing about the magic system, other than that no player had captured any magic on any live stream. Considering that there were over 2 million people streaming the game currently, that probably meant that it was extremely rare, at least at this point in the game. ¡°Shoot,¡± Dom moaned. ¡°Is it bugged or something?¡± he asked. ¡°Beats me,¡± said Gary as he sits down. ¡°Maybe you unlock magic with a special quest?¡± Cedric impatiently jumped off the couch. ¡°For now, we just don¡¯t know. How about we train some real life skills instead?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± said Dom as he put his phone away. First, they had to decide what skill to focus on. Intelligence went out the window first, because nobody could really decide what the best way what the best way to train that, and besides, they already had to study at school. Charisma training was also an enigma. How would they train their social skills? Try to find some girls and practice their best moves? That sounded horrible to Gary. Take a trip to Walmart and try to barter down the price of food? That wasn¡¯t going to work either, with Walmart having fixed prices and everything. It came down to between Strength and Endurance. Both would be simple enough to train: either hit the gym or go on a run would solve either problems. ¡°How about we try both?¡± Gary suggested. ¡°We still have around ten hours to kill before we hop back in game. Honestly, we could get a good run in about half an hour. A gym session lasts what, an hour?¡± Cedric nodded. ¡°Sounds about right. Want to run first?¡± Dom moaned. ¡°Bro. Running sucks. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m down.¡± ¡°Come on Dom, running can be fun!¡± Gary pleaded. Cedric patted Dom on the shoulder. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll run together Dom. Come on, both of us need higher Endurance.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Dom agreed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to run fast, though.¡± Gary laughed. ¡°Yeah, sure Dom. Just run at your own pace.¡± The boys then changed into shorts and tennis shoes. Dom and Cedric spent so much time at Gary¡¯s house, that they even kept some old clothes there. The three took off from the house. Gary ran with Dom and Cedric for the first few minutes, but then took off ahead of them. It wasn¡¯t anything personal, but Gary ran track for their high school, and he wanted to push himself a bit more. It was a great day for a run, the air bright and crisp, the sun shining down on them with soft light. Southern Illinois was a nice, if not a bit boring, place to run. Gary was used to streaming past houses for the first mile or so, and then nothing but fields full of wheatgrass afterwards. He liked being out in the middle of nowhere, with only the wind in his ears, and only his own thoughts buzzing in his head. It wasn¡¯t that he hated being around other people all the time, but it was just tiring. At school, Gary never felt at ease, partly because he was always surrounded by so many people, partly because it was high school and everyone was trying to hard to ¡°fit in¡± or whatever. But out in the open fields, Gary always felt at peace. Perhaps that was why he enjoyed running so much. Time slipped by, and soon Gary had been running for well over half an hour. Shoot! He thought. Dom and Cedric certainly have already turned around. Oh, whatever. They¡¯ll just have to wait, Gary decided as he turned around on a deserted road.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. When Gary returned to the house, Dom jokingly complained that he was slowing them down, but Cedric just winked at him and said, ¡°Having too much fun there? Just you wait until we hit the gym!¡± ¡°Bro, we just got done running,¡± Dom chimed in. ¡°Can¡¯t we take a break or something?¡± Cedric shrugged. ¡°Err, I suppose.¡± The boys took a break, Dom played through the earth temple in Windwaker, a classic Zelda game. They had been introduced to the Legend of Zelda games during Video Game history class, and had been playing through them sequentially. Windwaker was probably Gary¡¯s favorite game, he liked the bright graphics. Of course, practically every Legend of Zelda title was fantastic in its own right, but something about the happy atmosphere of Windwaker particularly spoke to Gary. Even when the bombs blew up, they exploded in a cheerful looking burst of clouds. After Dom had beat the boss, a goofy-looking ghost, they decided it was time to hit the gym, which was a 2 mile bike ride away. Gary sometimes wished he had a car, but all he could afford was a mid-tier mountain bike. Thankfully, Litchfield was a small town, and it was easy to get around with just a bike. Dom had one of those old looking road bikes, and Cedric had an old mountain bike that he had rigged up with a small motor. The thing looked hilarious, but could go up the twenty-five miles per hour without pedaling. Some gyms in bigger cities had advanced, VR type equipment. The gym in Litchfield, however, had very basic weights. A few squat racks, a bunch of free weights, and a line of pull-up bars was really the only equipment available. Cedric always said this simplicity was ideal. The gyms also played soft electronic music in the background--Gary secretly wished they could pump up the volume, just so they could work out in a more hype environment. Gary had never loved going to the gym, that was more Cedric¡¯s territory. However, when they went as friends, Gary enjoyed it. Cedric showed him some basic lifts: dumbbell curls, the bench-press, pull-ups. They had a fun time, and even Dom seemed to get into it. Gary only did bench reps at 95 pounds, 25s on each side, which was fine with him, since Dom could barely do any reps at 80. Cedric was pretty solid at repping 150 pounds--which was pretty much expected since he was the biggest and also he used to play football. Gary was surprisingly good at pull ups, he could do almost 10 his first rep. After his first two sets, however, he could only do three without falling to pieces. Squats were Gary¡¯s arch nemesis. Although he was good at distance running, lifting with his legs never made any sense to him. It was just awkward--uncomfortable. He could never seem to get the right form, it just always felt a bit off. Thus, he decided to only do one set at 95. Each rep felt hard, but he got through eight without failing. After the gym, they went to McDonalds to buy some food. They were not carrying bike locks, so Cedric agreed to wait outside and guard the bikes. Litchfield was not a crime heavy city, but it always paid to be cautious. As soon as Gary walked through the doors, he saw Sally Goldberg waiting in line. Gary tried not to stare. Sally Goldberg was tall, pretty, and just a little bit popular. Gary never liked the really popular girls, they were usually too cool to hang out with the likes of him. Sally, however, was always nice to Gary. Unfortunately, Gary tended to lose his ability to formulate thoughts or words around her, so they had never really connected. Dom nudged Gary, and Gary shot him a nasty glance. Sally saw Gary and Dom, and said, ¡°Hey guys! What¡¯s up. Thought you would be playing ForeverQuest?¡± Gary¡¯s stomach started hurting, he was feeling sick again. He tried to say something, but he just couldn¡¯t. Instead, Dom replied, ¡°Yeah, we were, but we died! Totally lame, right?¡± Sally laughed. She had a nice laugh, not too forced, but not too soft either. ¡°Really? Same here. I died to some Goblin Welp right outside of the city. That¡¯s just embarrassing!¡± Gary tried to think of something to say, but he just couldn¡¯t. There was a moment of awkward silence, and then Dom started again. ¡°Nah, I guess the games pretty hard, if we are all dying and everything.¡± ¡°I suppose you are right!¡± She said brightly. ¡°Hey, my food is here, but I¡¯ll see you guys later! My username is Spartapriest5, if you want to add me.¡± ¡°Yeah, see ya¡¯ around!¡± Dom said cheerfully. Gary awkwardly waved goodbye. Sally left carrying a burger, and Gary sighed heavily. ¡°Why can¡¯t I speak at all when she¡¯s around! What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Dom shrugged. ¡°There is a lot of things wrong with you, where do I even start.¡± Gary hung his head low. ¡°Oh, just shut up already.¡± They bought a bag filled to the brim with cheeseburgers. Instead of eating there, they pedaled to their favorite empty parking lot to eat. A Taco Bell had gone out of business years ago, and just the lot remained, unused except for a hang out spot. Graffiti littered the nearby walls, bright depictions of video game characters, tags from nearby wanna-be gangs, names plastered in neon colors. Litchfield didn¡¯t have any real gang activity, but there were a few poser groups that really wanted to be gangs. They most they ever got around to was relatively harmless stuff like graffiti. Dom unwrapped a burger and chomped down. He took a few moments to chew. Cedric started pounding down burgers like a machine. Gary, however, was looking up at the clear blue sky, lost in thought. ¡°Hey guys¡­¡± he said. ¡°Why do girls hate us? Are we losers or something?¡± Cedric chewed on his food thoughtfully. ¡°Nah, we definitely aren''t losers. Personally, I just don¡¯t understand them, and they don¡¯t understand me. Ya¡¯ know?¡± Dom laughed, his mouth full of cheeseburger. ¡°Speak for yourself bro. I spit mad game.¡± Gary shoved Dom, almost making him drop his steaming-hot burger. ¡°No you don¡¯t. I don¡¯t think dating a girl for two weeks counts as mad game.¡± Dom grimaced. ¡°Not cool, Gary. Not cool.¡± It was true, Dom had dated a girl, Lindsey, for about two weeks their freshman year in high school. It was overall a terrifying experience for both parties involved, unfortunately. It had been over a year since they broke up, so Gary knew that Dom was generally over it. ¡°It¡¯s good we got each other,¡± said Gary. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I would do without you guys.¡± Dom shrugged, ¡°You would probably be a total loser.¡± Cedric punched Dom in the shoulder. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m glad I have you guys to hang out with too,¡± Dom admits. ¡°School is a drag, and even video games get boring if you''re playing solo.¡± Cedric grinned. ¡°That¡¯s better, Dom. Speaking of school, I have to get back home and do those Chemistry problems. Have you guys finished them yet?¡± Dom moaned. ¡°Oh, shoot! I haven¡¯t even started them! Guess I¡¯m going to split as well.¡± ¡°Sounds good. How bout we play again after school?¡± ¡°Definitely,¡± said Cedric. Gary biked home, crammed the Chem problems, and then slipped off to sleep. Chapter 6: School Days By the time his alarm clock had rang, Gary was already dressed, wearing jeans and a faded, black t-shirt. Gary liked wearing dark colors; he always felt self conscious when wearing bright clothing. Because of his strict sleep schedule, his alarm clock hardly ever woke him. He stumbled down the stairs to find that his mom had already left for work. Gary made his usual breakfast; a couple pieces of toast with peanut butter. He ate quickly, only taking breaks to wash down the food with a mouthful of milk. As soon as his breakfast was done, he quickly stuffed his books in his backpack, and headed out the door without another thought. It was warm and rainy as Gary pedaled his bike towards school, his head buzzing with pump-up electronic tunes. School was even more boring than usual, that is, until he got to Videogame history class. Mr. Flores wasn¡¯t like the other teachers at Thomas Jefferson. He was younger, cooler, and had a better sense of humor. If Gary finished his work for the day, Mr. Flores wouldn¡¯t yell at him for talking or playing video games, not that Gary ever really talked much in class though, anyway. Also, he had cool retro video game posters decorating his classroom, which was always a plus. Mr. Flores was wearing an oversized dress-shirt, he looked even skinnier than normal. However, from one look at his warm brown eyes, Gary could tell the lesson today was going to be interesting. ¡°I¡¯m sure many of you have already heard, yesterday was the release day for ForeverQuest online! This marks a very important day in electronic entertainment.¡± Mr. Flores paced in front of the class like a caged animal. ¡°Metacritic score of 96%, IGN gave it a perfect 10, and the playerbase is already massive, over 42 million logged in on launch day! The reception far surpasses any game ever invented.¡± Mr. Flores showed the gameplay map on the board. Even though Gary had already seen it many times, the sheer size of the game still shocked him. ¡°Critics are floored by the in-game vs real life leveling system. Nutrition experts have praised it for encouraging physical fitness out of game. What stands out so far is the vast player economy, and the deceptively real-life gameplay. Truly, Foreverquest online is a groundbreaking game, to say the least.¡± They spent the rest of class watching game footage and talking about how Foreverquest had taken elements from classic MMOs like World of Warcraft and Runescape and built off of them. Even this early on, many players were already making good progression. The highest level player was already level 32! Gary silently cursed himself for dying. In retrospect, that had been a huge setback. Mr. Flores walked back to the board. ¡°As the game progresses, the challenge is going to be balancing in-game and real world stats. Right now, it¡¯s clearly better to focus on in-game skills, because they are currently still easy to level. But once you reach, say level 50 in game Strength, it¡¯s going to be much slower to level. For the first time ever, I think we are going to see players working outside the game to grow levels, something I for one am very excited to see,¡± said the young teacher with a slight smile. Gary, Cedric, and Dom left school with a fierce desire to get back in game. They knew that they were already way behind the leading players, but they at least wanted to be the best three in school! Gary had heard unsubstantiated rumors that there were some kids who were already level 24! ¡°So we grind combat first,¡± Gary stated. ¡°Then when we run low on hp, we hit the trade skills,¡± Dom chipped in. ¡°Only when we are completely ready will we take on that quest,¡± Cedric finished. With that, they ran by their favorite station to pick up Red Bulls. Instead of Spencer, a surly looking woman was working the register. Dom gave Gary a sly grin, ¡°I bet Spencer got off work so he could play.¡± Gary returned the smile. ¡°I would believe it. That old dude knows what¡¯s up.¡± Dom nudged Gary in the ribs, ¡°Say we take that woman home? She looks like she needs a man.¡± Although the woman didn¡¯t hear them, she scowled at them anyway. Gary tried to control himself, but he burst into laughter. Next, all three teens were walking home, sipping the energy drinks, giddy between the excitement of going back in game, on top of the caffeine and sugar rush. Soon enough, Mrs. Swamps had made them all pizza rolls, and Gary was logging into the game, his mouth stuffed with cheese and tomato sauce. The first thing Gary did was check his stats table.
RL GAME Actual
Strength 26 2 13.5
Intelligence 42 1 21.5
Dexterity 60 2 31
Charisma 34 1 17.5
Endurance 54 1 27.5
Total Level 43 1 22
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. No increase in RL skills? Gary thought. I suppose that makes sense. I only went on one run, and lifted once. That¡¯s probably not enough to give me a complete level. Gary asked Dom and Cedric, and they hadn¡¯t grown any RL levels either. Soon enough, the trio was back out in the fields, taking down Goblin Welps and Giant Slugs. After a few fights, the crew regrouped back in Lomberg Castle. Unfortunately, they had not leveled up during the encounters. ¡°Yo, I think we can buy some armor now!¡± said Dom. ¡°I almost have 2 silver!¡± Gary counted his money. 1 Silver and 87 Copper. They might be able to buy one piece of armour, but Gary doubted they could get a whole set. They went into an armoury. The first thing that stood out to him was a set of solid steel armour. He focused on a chestplate and received the following prompt, Steel Chestplate: Strength Req 40, Dex Req 10 Physical Defense: +25 Magic Defense: +6 Type: Metal Weight: 20kg Gary¡¯s jaw dropped as he read the Strength requirement. 40! It was going to be awhile until he could wear that chestplate. Additionally, the price tag read 80 silver, which was way over his budget, anyway. He looked at a [Topaz Helmet], a headpiece crafted completely out of yellow gemstone, and to his dismay the Strength requirement was an even higher 60! After looking more around the store, he discovered a set of [Ragged Leather] armour. The strength requirement was only five, so it could work for him. The chestplate was 1 Silver and 50 copper. ¡°Hey guys,¡± Gary said. ¡°We can afford this chestplate. It¡¯s probably our best bet.¡± Ragged Leather Chestplate: Strength Req 5, Dex Req 10 Physical Defense: +5 Magic Defense: +1 Type: Leather Weight: 5kg Description: Old leather scraps sewn together to create a workable chestplate. Dom wandered over and tried on the plate. ¡°Right on!¡± said Dom. ¡°Do I look super rad?¡± Cedric stifled a laugh. ¡°Yeah, you look awesome.¡± Dom approached the shopkeeper, a heavy man with a frown on his face. ¡°Hey, what up?¡± Dom asks. ¡°Greetings,¡± the man said thickly. ¡°Could I get a discount on this plate?¡± ¡°No.¡± The man looked less than amused. ¡°Come on. Help a bro out.¡± ¡°No. You must pay full price.¡± ¡°Just drop the price by five copper,¡± Dom asked smoothly. ¡°No. You must pay full price.¡± Dom scowled, but paid up. Looked like he lost that one. Gary and Cedric didn¡¯t even try to barter after Dom¡¯s attempt. They simply paid for the plates and walked out the door. Dom equipped his [Leather Plate]. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll need more Charisma if I¡¯m even going to get good deals on stuff. That¡¯s pretty lame, but whatever.¡± As they left the shop, Gary asked, ¡°hey, should we look into trade skills or something?¡± Cedric shrugged, and then Gary overheard Dom moan loudly. ¡°Duuuuuuuuude,¡± Dom groaned. ¡°Look at that.¡± Dom was pointing at a hoverboard sitting outside of a shop. A small crowd of players were gathered around the board, mumbling softly in wonder. ¡°Is that?¡± Gary said. ¡°A hoverboard? Wow.¡± Gary walked forward and examined it. Iron Hoverboard: Dex Req 20 Speed Increased to 130% while riding Weight: 5kg Cedric grinned. ¡°That¡¯s sweet! It¡¯s probably pretty expensive though.¡± ¡°You got that right,¡± said a player in the crowd. ¡°3 whole gold pieces, just for this iron one. The better metals are even more expensive.¡± ¡°Ahh, lame!¡± Dom said. ¡°That¡¯s way more than I can afford.¡± Cedric had to drag Dom away from the board as they continued to explore the city. ¡°Hey guys, I¡¯ve been thinking¡­.¡± Gary said. ¡°How about we each focus on one or two trade skills? That way, we each have unique skills, and we can help each other out.¡± ¡°Smart plan,¡± said Cedric. ¡°How about I take mining and blacksmithing? I think it increases strength a bit too, and I¡¯d like that!¡± ¡°I¡¯m a wannabe mage, so let me do Herblore and Alchemy!¡± Dom said with a grin. ¡°So, uhh, I guess I¡¯ll do Lumberjack and Woodcraft? That way, I can make us some useful tools and stuff.¡± Gary had looked into trade skills last night, and he was certain that he wanted to do Woodcraft. ¡°What, you want to make arrows? Are you trying to be an archer or something?¡± Cedric asked. ¡°Yup,¡± said Gary. ¡°It would make sense with my high natural dexterity. Plus, that would give us a nice warrior, mage, and archer combo.¡± Dom looked at the ground. ¡°That is, if I ever figure out how to cast a stupid spell.¡± ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t even shot a bow, so we are kind of in the same boat here.¡± Gary admitted. Next moment, Gary heard a whizz of a hoverboard, and suddenly Tommy was in front of them, looking shaky on top of a [Silver Hoverboard]. Dom¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. ¡°What? How did you afford that!¡± Tommy almost tripped when he stepped off his board, but he tried to save face when he twirled the hoverboard in his chubby hands. ¡°Ha! Like I¡¯d tell you, dorkface.¡± Dom yawned, unphased. ¡°Whatever.¡± Tommy grinned as his two goonish friends approached, Fred and Barcel. Fred was as thick as a door frame and dwarfed even Cedric in size. As he approach, he waved at Gary with a broad smile. Gary couldn¡¯t help it, he waved back. ¡°Hey!¡± Tommy yelled at Fred. ¡°Don¡¯t wave at him, you idiot!¡± Fred slumped his shoulders and mumbled sorry. Gary always felt a bit sorry for Fred. Next Barcel approached. Barcel was unnaturally tall and skinny, with a pale face and watery, black eyes. Gary always thought Barcel moved almost like a snake. When Barcel saw Cedric, he scowled. ¡°Cedric. Nice to see you here. You quit to football team just to play video games, I see.¡± Cedric didn¡¯t look him in the eye. ¡°Shut it, Barcel. You know I quit because of the concussions.¡± Last year, Cedric had a string of concussions that forced him to quit playing football. He had loved to sport, and was bitter about having to quit. ¡°What do you want Tommy, did you come here just to gloat?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Hardly,¡± Tommy gloated. ¡°Rather, to show you this!¡± The boy retrieved a scroll from his backpack that read: ¡°Registered 3v3 team: Pike Squad.¡± Dom raised an eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? You guys made a team, so what?¡± Gary was wondering the same thing. Tommy smirked. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll see what the big deal is when we win the tournament!¡± ¡°We entered a tournament?¡± Fred says with a dumb grin. Barcel scowls. ¡°Of course we did!¡± Tommy sighed. ¡°Fred, how many times have I told you not to ask stupid questions!¡± Fred visibly deflated. ¡°I¡¯m...sorry. I just forgot, that¡¯s all.¡± Fred screwed his face into intense concentration. ¡°We¡¯se gonna¡­. We¡¯se gonna win money¡­. A lotta money. Right Tommy?¡± A smug grin crept across Tommy¡¯s lips. ¡°That¡¯s right Fred. A lotta money.¡± Tommy turned away. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get out of here. We don¡¯t want to give these chumps any bright ideas,¡± he says as he gestured towards Gary. Tommy and his crew left towards the alchemy shop. Gary felt a sharp pang of anger, but he kept his lips shut. Dom¡¯s left eye was twitching. Cedric¡¯s jaw was clamped shut. Finally, Dom spoke. ¡°Man, those guys are the worst.¡± Gary didn¡¯t say anything, but Cedric shrugged cooly. ¡°Ehh, don¡¯t worry about them,¡± Cedric said. Dom gave him a funny look. ¡°What do you mean, don¡¯t worry about them? They are all up in everybody¡¯s business! I swear, we oughtta¡­¡± ¡°Enter the tournament?¡± Gary suggested. ¡°Nah,¡± Cedric said. ¡°It¡¯s not worth it. We just don¡¯t play their little games, and they¡¯ll stay out of our way.¡± Dom thought for a moment, and then he visibly loosened up. ¡°Cool. That sounds good. Man, Cedric, you always know how to play it cool.¡± Cedric winked at Dom, and Gary started to laugh. ¡°Hey, want to try that quest again?¡± Gary asked. Cedric took a second to think. ¡°Nah, we shouldn¡¯t risk it.¡± Dom checked the in-game clock. ¡°Yo, guys, it¡¯s getting pretty late. To be honest, I have to get back home.¡± Gary looked at the time. 10:42 already! Wow, time really did fly in-game. ¡°Oh, gosh, I didn¡¯t realize it was that late. Okay guys, play again tomorrow.¡± ¡°You know it!¡± Dom yelled before dissolving--he was logged out. ¡°For sure,¡± Cedric agrees, then he vanished as well. For a moment, Gary stayed in game. He marveled at the universe, players bustling about busily, marble castle walls towering above him. The sky was now dark, stars much brighter than they were in real life. Instead of a one moon, he could see a few planets in the sky, one green and huge, a few others small and of reddish hue. Echoes of talking and laughter rang in his ears. It looks, sounds, and feels so real, he thought as he logged out. Chapter 7: Start Grinding When Gary woke next morning, he wasn¡¯t hungry, so he just drank a glass of whole milk for breakfast. As usual, his mom was gone, but she had left a note. I have a big project to finish today, going to be home late! Have a great day. --Mom Gary was used to his Mom having to stay late for work, it was nothing unusual. To kill the silence, Gary put in earbuds and turned on a Spotify punk-rock playlist. He slung his backpack on and left for school, humming softly along to the music. He mindlessly biked to school under a rising sun that lit up the cornfields with a soft light. The cornfields always looked best under the glow of a morning sun, and today was no different. Gary arrived to the usual hustle and bustle of school. He high school was around average size, give or take 3000 students. That was enough to create a mayhem of cars every morning. Luckily, Gary usually biked or walked to school, so he never had to deal with any car problems. The teen anonymously entered school. Like most kids, nobody paid much attention to Gary. He wasn¡¯t particularly loud, or funny, or popular. He was just kind of there. Gary approached his locker and took out his Chemistry book. With a yawn, the boy turned around, and spotted Sally at the end of the hall, talking to a few of her friends. The only thing scarier than approaching a girl was approaching a group of them, Gary thought, so he quickly wrote off talking to her. One thing that bothered Gary about Thomas Jefferson, his high school, was the appalling lack of decoration. There were no murals in the hallways, no poorly drawn pictures of the school mascot, a patriot. Nobody even tried to make the place colorful or interesting or unique. It was not only boring, but it had embraced being boring. Instead, the walls were just plain gray. Every now and then, the principal, Mr. Frawd, would tape notes and notices up on the walls, but they were usually in plain black lettering. Mr. Frawd was a short, plump man with a constantly red face. He looked as if you made him angry enough, he would internally explode. Needless to say, the most kids tried to stay away from Mr. Frawd if at all possible. Every now and then Dom stick a picture of an anime character or a vulture or something on the wall as a prank, but they would never last. Either Mr. Frawd or some other teacher would grumpily remove them, swearing to find the culprit and put him in detention. Dom has never been caught, however, except once by Mr. Flores. Instead of punishing him, Mr. Flores just smiled and looked the other way. Gary walked to Chemistry class with a yawn. If he got lucky, maybe he could get a worksheet or something, rather than have to sit through another boring lecture. No such luck, Mrs. France, their Chemistry teacher, had prepared a lecture on ionic and covalent bonds. Gary had trouble staying awake, but he did laugh when Mrs. France told a story about her dog eating her pizza. After Spanish class, Gary had lunch, where he sat with Cedric and Dom in a basic cafeteria, comprised of tile floor and round, gray tables. For lunch, they had suspiciously soft round blobs of meat, beef nuggets, and a yellowish lump of mash potatoes. Of course, they all got a carton of milk too. Dom chugged the milk, but didn¡¯t touch his food. ¡°Eh, wish they made chili or something, their beef nuggets taste like pee.¡± Cedric, his mouthful of nuggets, almost choked. With a painful gulp, he took a breath of air and said, ¡°Ah, come on Dom. Don¡¯t ruin them for me, they¡¯re my second favorite school food!¡± ¡°Yeah, we know Cedric,¡± said Gary. ¡°And your favorite is¡­¡± ¡°Calzones,¡± Cedric said in a dreamy voice. Dom adds, ¡°I¡¯m a calzone fan myself, to be honest.¡± ¡°I like them pretty well, but I don¡¯t think they are that amazing,¡± said Gary, who had just started to nibble on the nuggets. They tasted slightly better than they looked, but that didn¡¯t really mean much. ¡°Speak for yourself, school calzones are da bomb,¡± said Cedric. Gary looked around the room and saw the usual, a jock table, a table full of popular girls, a few nerd tables, all the classic high school cliques. Gary never really knew where he fit in. He wasn¡¯t cool enough to be popular, and he was athletic, but he didn¡¯t play football or basketball, so he wasn¡¯t a jock either. Gary, Dom, and Cedric didn¡¯t fit into any categories, so they just did their own thing. At first, this bothered Gary, because he felt like he didn¡¯t belong. However, after a few months, he just got used to it, and it didn¡¯t seem very important anymore. He always thought it was pretty silly to try to categorize people anyway. People usually don¡¯t fit into three or four categories, he thought.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. After school, the three headed straight to their favorite station. It was a hot day, the sun bearing down on them, an optimistic glimpse at the approaching summer. After all, summer was little more than a month away. ¡°Man, I can¡¯t wait till summer. Sophomore year has been even dumber, and more boring, than freshman year.¡± ¡°Heard that,¡± Cedric agreed. ¡°I wish our teachers cared more,¡± said Gary thoughtfully. ¡°Except for Mr. Flores, they all look like they don¡¯t actually want to be there, ya¡¯know?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blame them,¡± said Cedric. ¡°Having to deal with kids like Dom for a living can¡¯t be easy.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± cried Dom. ¡°I don¡¯t really act up in class. Only every now and then I¡¯ll say something just to be funny.¡± ¡°I think I might want to be a teacher,¡± said Gary. ¡°What?¡± Dom croaked. ¡°Really dude? You sure about that?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think so. I mean, I¡¯d like to be one of the cool ones, like Mr. Flores. One of the teachers that make class fun and interesting and all.¡± ¡°I can see that,¡± said Cedric. ¡°Teaching ain¡¯t easy though. One of my aunts is a teacher, and she¡¯s always complaining about grading papers.¡± Gary shrugged. ¡°So? Isn¡¯t working supposed to be hard? I mean, otherwise it would just be boring. I don¡¯t mind a challenge, really, not at all. In fact, I think I actually want a challenging career.¡± Dom grinned. ¡°My older brother works for the government. He makes a ton of money, and he hardly does anything! That¡¯s what I want to do!¡± Gary and Cedric laugh. Sounds like something Dom would enjoy. ¡°Maybe my mom should work for the government,¡± Gary said softly. ¡°She¡¯s always busy.¡± The three boys were quiet for a few moments. ¡°What do you want to do Cedric?¡± Gary asked. ¡°I don¡¯t really know,¡± he said honestly. ¡°Seems like every week I want to do something else. Last week, I felt like I want to be in the Navy. Now I think I want to go to college and just figure it out. I think I can get a scholarship, maybe. I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s too hard to decide.¡± Finally, they had made it to the station. Instead of the surly looking woman, Spencer was there. ¡°Hey boys!¡± he said with a worn smile. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°Pretty good, Mr. Spencer,¡± said Dom. ¡°Say, how¡¯s the gaming progress?¡± ¡°You know, I¡¯m coming right along,¡± said Spencer casually. ¡°It¡¯s a sweet game, don¡¯t you guys think?¡± ¡°Definitely,¡± Cedric agreed. ¡°Tell you what, Red Bulls on me today,¡± said Spencer. ¡°Really?¡± Gary said. ¡°Sounds great!¡± Spencer opened a mini-fridge under the counter, and handed a Red Bull to each teen. ¡°Don¡¯t drink them too fast!¡± the old man said cheerfully. ¡°Thanks!¡± Gary said as the three boys started to leave the store. ¡°Wow, Spencer is a total bro,¡± said Dom as he cracked open his can with a satisfying hiss. The sun was really blazing now, the hot, humid weather was making Gary feel sluggish. ¡°Agreed,¡± said Cedric, who was already halfway done with his can. Gary had just opened it when he mused, ¡°You know, isn¡¯t it kind of weird that a smart, cool guy like Spencer would be stuck working at a gas station? Don¡¯t you think he could have done something more with his life?¡± Dom shrugs, ¡°Yeah, you got a point. Maybe he really likes gas stations or something?¡± ¡°Gary, I think you''re right.¡± Cedric added. ¡°It does seems kinda odd. I bet there is some cool story that would explain it. What do you say we ask him next time?¡± Gary took a moment to think. ¡°He might appreciate that. Instead of phrasing it like, why do you work at a gas station, let¡¯s just ask him what he did before this.¡± Dom yawned. ¡°Nah, I think we should go in, guns blazing. Just say it, why are you working such a boring job, couldn¡¯t you have done something else with your life? Just like that.¡± Cedric shoved Dom, and he stumbled, laughing. ¡°Sheesh, I¡¯m just messin¡¯.¡± The three arrived at Gary¡¯s house in high spirits. After all, ForeverQuest online was right around the corner. When they logged in, they decided to go explore the outskirts of Verdant Plains. So far, they had yet to explore much of the field, just the shallow part with a bunch of weak monsters. They ran past a couple Giant Slugs, which wasn¡¯t a problem at all because Giant Slugs are, well, pretty slow. (Unless you aggro them, in which case they can be fast.) At first, it seemed like there wasn¡¯t much to be found. Just more stretches of land spilling out into the distance, populated with the occasional thin pine tree or wispy shrub. However, some giant landmark started to appear in the distance. Dom was the first one to notice it. ¡°Dude¡­.. Is that? Really a floating mountain?¡± To Gary, it just looked like a giant blob in the air. ¡°Not sure,¡± he said honestly. ¡°Just looks like a blob to me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s definitely not a floating mountain,¡± said Cedric. ¡°I think it¡¯s just a normal mountain! I mean, why would a mountain have to float? That¡¯s pointless.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one way to find out!¡± cried Dom, and he sprinted toward the blurred figure. ¡°Wait up!¡± yelled Cedric as he took off after him. ¡°Come, on, don¡¯t leave me behind!¡± Gary scampered towards his two friends. Chapter 8: RL problems Soon enough, it became clear that it was, in fact, a floating mountain. The base of the mountain was green, but as the structure crept toward the sky, the terrain become more and more rocky. Goats with neon-blue hair and curled horns prowled the mountain like guardians. Waterfalls poured off the hovering landmass, falling down to the ground to form small rivers that cut through the land. There was a thick rope hanging off the structure, slowly swinging back and forth like a pendulum. ¡°Told you so!¡± Dom snipped. ¡°Yeah, whatever,¡± Cedric said. ¡°Still doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± ¡°So¡­. What now?¡± Gary said. You have discovered the Quest: Climb the Floating Mountain Difficulty: Easy Rewards: Random Rare item Wow! Gary thought. He didn¡¯t even think it was possible to discover a quest like that! There was much to ForeverQuest that Gary didn¡¯t know, it seemed. ¡°Did you guys just discover a quest?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Yeah, I got one,¡± said Cedric. ¡°So, uhh, should we climb it?¡± said Dom, who was gaping up at the mountain, his mouth hanging wide open. ¡°Guess so,¡± said Gary. ¡°We get a rare item, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°What about those goat monsters?¡± said Cedric, pointing towards the goats. ¡°You think they are tough?¡± From the distance, they heard a dull behehehehe. Gary squinted at them, trying to see their level, but couldn¡¯t make it out from the distance. ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Gary admitted. Cedric took a few steps forward and grabbed the rope. He gave the rope a firm tug. ¡°Seems sturdy enough,¡± he said in a low voice. ¡°Let¡¯s go for it!¡± Dom suggested. Nobody tried to climb up the rope. ¡°Okay, fine, I¡¯ll go first,¡± Gary said as he approached the rope. He tried his hardest, but quickly slipped off, his hands burning as he tried to hold on. Eventually, he hit the ground and his knees buckled. ¡°Your strength is too low!¡± said Brittney. ¡°Your strength must be at least 35 for you to climb the rope! In order to get that strong, you must make some significant gains.¡± ¡°Shoot guys,¡± said Gary. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can make it up. Nobody has over 35 strength, right?¡± ¡°Nope. I got the highest,¡± said Cedric. ¡°And I only have level 30.¡± Dom was already trying to climb the rope. For a short moment it looked as if he was making progress, before he tumbled off the rope, falling onto the grass with a thump! He looked dizzy, his black hair even more messy than usual.. ¡°Ahh, dude! We have to get level 35 strength!¡± Dom said. ¡°Bro, I just said that,¡± Gary repeated. ¡°Oh,¡± Dom looked a bit crestfallen. ¡°Wasn¡¯t listening.¡± The three boys stared at the floating mountain wistfully. It was moving away from them at a slow pace. ¡°Man, do you think we¡¯ll ever find this mountain again?¡± said Dom. Gary shrugged, ¡°Dunno. I hope so, I want to climb to the top!¡± The three spent the rest of the day training. After enough Goblin kills, they had all progressed to level 3 strength. Gary had also cut down a couple Pine trees, to grow to level 2 Lumberjacking and collect some Pine Logs. Cedric found a Copper Vein and mined his first Copper Ore. Dom didn¡¯t find any herbs, but the friends swore to keep their eyes out for some. They all wanted to stay up with the trade skills, because there were so many valuable faucets to having good non-combat skills.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. When the in-game sun had crept beneath the mountains in the distance, the three decided it was best to log off. When Gary took his headset off, Dom was yawning wide. ¡°Man, I wish we didn¡¯t have to go to school. It makes it so hard to get consistent game time.¡± ¡°We should skip sometime,¡± suggested Gary. Cedric shot him a worried glance. ¡°I mean, just once or twice,¡± reassured Gary. ¡°Tomorrow?¡± asked Dom. ¡°Nah, I got a Trig quiz tomorrow. But, soon, ok?¡± ¡°Sure, soon,¡± Dom agreed. Cedric was slowly shaking his head, but he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Alright, see you guys later,¡± he said as he walked up the stairs. ¡°Yeah, later,¡± Dom agreed as he left with Cedric. Gary took a few moments just to be alone. As much as he enjoyed hanging out with Dom and Cedric, sometimes, he just liked being on his own. It gave him a sense of control that he never had when he was with other people. He stretched out on the couch and stared at the ceiling, which was plastered with video-game posters, just like the rest of his little den. He felt good, just happy to be at home. He heard a door slam upstairs, his mom had just come home. A bit sleepy, Gary stood up. ¡°Gary?¡± his mother asked, her voice tight. ¡°Hey mom, how was work?¡± Gary was upstairs now. His mom was lying on the couch in the fetal position. ¡°I have to tell you something, Gary,¡± she sounded worried. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Gary asked. It was odd for his mom to be acting this way, he thought. ¡°It¡¯s about work¡­.¡± she said quietly. ¡°Gary, I¡¯m going to have to get a new job.¡± What? Gary thought, annoyed. ¡°Why?¡± he asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t your job good?¡± ¡°Everest Capital is done. We lost our biggest investor. They just laid off every programmer in the whole company. Which, obviously, includes me.¡± Gary didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Come here,¡± his mom said, as she sniffed her nose, ¡°give me a hug, I need it.¡± Gary hugged his mom, thinking about what this could possibly mean. ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal though, is it? You can just get another job, right?¡± Gary mom was quiet for a few moments. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she admitted. ¡°The economy is bad, and it won¡¯t look good that I just got let go from my last job. Additionally, computer programming jobs have been shrinking, with machine learning replacing a lot of the entry level jobs.¡± His mom was right, of course. Gary had learned in class that ironically, many computer coding jobs were being replaced by computers themselves. One clever programmer could figure out how to automate tech jobs, saving millions of dollars in labor, but also putting many out of work. ¡°It¡¯s alright, mom. We¡¯ll figure it out.¡± ¡°I hope so Gary. I really do.¡± His mom laid her head down on the couch. ¡°It¡¯s just with the mortgage, and car insurance, and everything. I don¡¯t know how long we can stay here before we have to move¡­.¡± ¡°Move?¡± said Gary. ¡°Who said we have to move? Move where? When?¡± His mom sighed. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have said anything. It¡¯s just, if I can¡¯t get a job again soon, we¡¯re going to have to move, somewhere.¡± ¡°Out of Litchfield? Like, to another city?¡± Gary asked, frightened. He didn¡¯t want to leave! He had lived here his whole life, and Gary didn¡¯t like the idea of being separated from Dom and Cedric, not at all. ¡°I don¡¯t know Gary. I just don¡¯t know.¡± Gary clenched his fists. ¡°I won¡¯t let that happen,¡± he said, his voice firm. ¡°Gary,¡± his mom said. ¡°It might not be up to you. It¡¯s...it¡¯s out of your control.¡± ¡°No!¡± Gary yelled, standing up. ¡°I¡¯ll find a way to keep us here!¡± Gary clenched his fists tightly, thin veins popping up at his wrists. ¡°How?¡± his mom asked, her voice rising. ¡°You¡¯re only a kid Gary! You can¡¯t go to school and make enough money to keep us here. No,¡± she was shaking her head. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to do that. You focus on school, on being a kid. I¡¯ll figure out everything else. Just¡­¡± she lowered her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll take care if it.¡± ¡°I can do it Mom! I¡¯m good at figuring things out! I can figure this out, I swear!¡± Gary yelled again. ¡°Just give it a rest Gary,¡± his Mom sighed again. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed.¡± She got up slowly, and limped towards her bedroom like a wounded animal. Gary collapsed on the couch, the reality of the situation slamming him like a school bus. If he moved¡­. No more hanging out with Cedric and Dom. And yeah, he hated his high school, but still, from what he had read online about other high schools, his was fairly typical. Suddenly, Gary felt an energy like none he had ever experienced. He sat up, his head buzzing brain racing quickly. ForvereQuest had a raging game economy. If he could just figure out how to use it to his advantage. He was angry that his mom still thought of him as a child. I¡¯m not a kid anymore, Gary thought. Suddenly, he realized something. Tommy¡¯s arrogant face entered his mind, and he heard the words, ¡°We are going to win tons of money¡­.¡± Chapter 9: Tournament Time ¡°So that¡¯s your plan? Win the tournament? Isn¡¯t that going to be hard?¡± Dom asked as he dug into a pork taco. They were in the cafeteria at school. Cedric leaned back in his chair. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty good idea, Gary. But, you have to remember, it¡¯s not just going to be Tommy and his goons in the tournament. We are talking about hundreds, if not thousands of players who are going to try to get their hands on this loot. I mean, they are giving out 100,000 gold, which is right now evaluated at 1,720,000 dollars.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know Cedric. Everybody and their mother wants a shot at that type of cash, obviously. We just have to train harder than anybody.¡± Dom shivered. ¡°Ugh. Training hard sounds so not chill.¡± Cedric shot Dom a warning glance. ¡°I know Gary, but first of all, we are still in school! You know there are some pros out there who are gaming 10 hours a day! We are already way behind the top level players.¡± Gary visibly deflated. ¡°But, this arena is in our city. That means most of the players entered will be from Litchfield, right? We¡¯re a pretty small city, that¡¯s got to make things easier.¡± Cedric twiddled his thumbs for a few moment. ¡°Umm, you''re not wrong, but the tournament is in three months. Word travels fast, especially in a video game. I¡¯d say we are going to have at least one, if not a few pro teams showing up.¡± They were all silent for a few moment. ¡°Shoot,¡± said Gary. Dom slapped Gary on the shoulder. ¡°Bro, we gotta try. They may be higher levels than us or whatever, but fighting in Foreverquest seems to have tons of strategy! I say, we level up the best we can, and then we out think ¡®em!¡± Gary smiled. ¡°You think so Dom?¡± Domchipped in, ¡°And yeah! I forgot about the physical component, duh! That throws a huge curveball at conventional gameplay. Pro gamers may know everything there is about leveling in a traditional MMO, but I bet some of them have terrible real-life levels. That will definitely give us a leg up in the competition. Plus,¡± he playfully punched Cedric in the shoulder. ¡°Cedric is strong, I¡¯m smart, and your fast! We are the perfect trio, right?¡± ¡°So, uhh, you guys are down?¡± ¡°Of course we are down!¡± said Cedric. ¡°Most definitely,¡± added Dom. Gary felt fifty pounds lighter. He was glad that Dom and Cedric were excited about this. A few moments passed, and then Gary asked the inevitable question, ¡°So¡­ uhh, what now?¡± Dom shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t care. I might get my right ear pierced.¡± ¡°Dude,¡± Cedric said. ¡°You know the right ear is the gay one.¡± ¡°For real?¡± Dom said with wide eyes. ¡°My cousin said the left ear was the gay ear!¡± ¡°Quit it guys!¡± Gary said. ¡°Come on, it doesn¡¯t matter, let¡¯s make some progress.¡± ¡°I guess we just finish class and get home to train?¡± Cedric suggested. ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± Gary agreed. ¡°But, how bout this. We actually start studying for class and stuff. We need more intelligence.¡± ¡°For real?¡± Dom said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Come on, mage.¡± Cedric said. ¡°We need you to get your intelligence as high as possible.¡± Dom huffed. ¡°Fine, whatever.¡± The three went home after school and immediately logged in. Suddenly, Gary remembered the Retrieve the Zorin Family Orb quest. He messaged Cedric and Dom.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Gary: Yo guys, where are you? Want to do the Retrieve the Zorin Family Orb quest? The faster we quest, the more exp, obviously. Cedric: Maybe? It¡¯s a bit dangerous, don¡¯t you think? Dom: Yeah dude, we got wrecked last time. I¡¯m not so sure about it. Gary took a moment to think. They couldn¡¯t afford to lose another 12 hours, sure. But, no risk no reward. Gary: Let¡¯s just go for it. Meet me in Terrid Woods? Dom: Sure. Let¡¯s do it. Cedric: See you soon. The three shortly found each other at the perimeter of the forest. There were a few clouds in the sky, but other than that it was pretty clear day. Terrid Wood seemed even creepier than the last time they visited, the trees were twisted and menacing, bark colored black and ragged. Several large ravens populated the otherwise vacant trees clustered in the forest. Even though he knew it was ¡°just a game¡±, Gary was starting to get nervous. Gary hadn¡¯t seen it rain in ForeverQuest yet, but he was sure it was possible, given some of the footage he had seen of other parts of the map. ¡°Ready?¡± asked Dom. ¡°Sure,¡± said Gary as he drew his [Bronze Dagger]. Cedric yawned as he tightly gripped his dagger. ¡°Dude, for real? Yawning at a time like this?¡± Dom asked. Cedric shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not tired. I just...I yawn when I¡¯m nervous.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. Guess that makes sense.¡± Dom reasoned. Cedric bravely trudged into the thick brush, his hand gripped tightly on the handle of his dagger. Gary followed closely, wanting this to engage the any monster as a group. Dom was only a few steps behind. Suddenly, Gary heard a moan, and Dom screamed. Sure enough, he turned around to find a Zombie already attached to Dom¡¯s arm. With a few quick strokes, Gary chopped at the Zombie, severing its hand off completely. The beast lets go of Dom with a terrible growl. It then rushed toward Gary. Suddenly, Cedric burst forward and tackles the creature. ¡°Die you filthy animal!¡± Cedric yelled as dropped his dagger and started to beat the creature with his bare hands. Zombie blood pools around the creature as red damage indicators shoot above the fallen monster. Soon, the Zombie gave a final groan and disintegrate into dust and a green orb. Cedric rolled to his back, panting heavily. ¡°Woah, the orb!¡± Dom yelped as he grabbed the loot. They were silent for a moment. Cedric had 64% health, Dom had 80%, and Gary was still at 100%. ¡°You think that¡¯s it?¡± asked Dom. ¡°I dunno, there were way more last time,¡± said Gary. Cedric picked up his dagger. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I even use this, if it just gets in the way¡­¡± he muttered. Suddenly, they heard a stampede of footfalls and groans. Horrified, Gary released there must be a swarm of them coming. ¡°RUN!¡± he screaming as he tore away. Not only was he running for his life, but he was doing so through heavy forest. Cutting through trees and hurdling fallen logs, Gary was really putting his dexterity to the test. Additionally, he kept an eye on his rapidly diminishing stamina. Right now he was fine, it was still at 76%. Suddenly, a spider leapt at his face. Gary¡¯s heart nearly spasmed as he swatted at the flailing creature. He manages to knock the spider off, but it shot a web at his ankle, tripping him. Gary tumbled forward, slamming his head against the hard ground. Cedric dragged him to his feet but everything now looked hazy. ¡°You have received a mild concussion. Your dexterity is reduced by 20% and your vision is now blurred.¡± ¡°Dang!¡± Gary yelled as he continued to dash out of the woods. ¡°Come on bro, we are almost there!¡± yelled Dom. Dom was right, Gary could see the trees thinning up ahead. Only a few more steps and he would be free¡­. Suddenly, Dom screamed and Gary saw a flash of Zombie. Dom had just gotten tackled. Gary slid to a stop and kicked the undead in the head. It groaned but didn¡¯t loosen its grip on Dom. Dom stabbed it in the chest, not killing it, but its grip loosened--just for a second. Dom did a backwards somersault to get away, barely escaping the Zombie¡¯s clawed hands. Another Zombie had closed in on Gary, but Cedric slammed it in the chest with his foot. The Zombie stumbled backwards, and the boys took the moment to flee. When Gary hit the treeline, it felt like he had just escaped prison. Gary came out tumbling on his left, and Cedric literally tripped over the last root in the forest, slipping on his belly, laughing as he sprawled out into the soft grass. Gary quickly pivoted, running backwards, looking at the woods cautiously. ¡°They can¡¯t chase us out of there territory, right?¡± Gary asked. Dom stopped running. ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Cedric, still lounging on the grass, laughed. ¡°Nah, we are safe. They can¡¯t find us here, according to my AI.¡± Gary stopped, almost at the same time he got the exp notification. You gained combat experience: + 8 Strength exp, + 26 Dexterity exp, + 15 Endurance. Congratulations, you grew to level 2 Endurance. ¡°What a relief,¡± said Gary. ¡°That was close.¡± ¡°But we got the orb!¡± Dom said, his voice brimming with excitement. ¡°Oooh, look at it.¡± Cedric said. ¡°Shiny.¡± Cedric poked it with an outstretched finger. ¡°Let¡¯s bring it back to the robe guy and get our reward!¡± Gary said with a grin. Chapter 10: Archery They uneventfully returned to Lomberg, and after a few minutes of searching aimlessly, found the quest giver. ¡°Ahh, you have retrieved the Orb? Excellent work! Here are your rewards!¡± Gary saw the notification for a gain of 5 silver, and a screen appeared in his monitor. Pick a skill to gain 300 exp was written on top of a massive menu of potential skills. The only ones that Gary had any experience in were Lumberjack, Unarmed, and Blunt weapons. Wow, Gary thought as he poured over the menu of thousands of skills. Cooking, Hunting, Crafting, Engineering, Speech, Blacksmith, Enchanting, Alchemy were just some of the many listed. Gary was just starting to realize the depth of this game--one in which he had barely even started scratching the surface. ¡°Dude... What should we choose?¡± Dom asked, his eyes wide. ¡°Wait, look, there are a bunch of magic skills! Ahh, sweet! Wind, Fire, Psychic, Conjuration¡­. Wow, this is crazy.¡± ¡°So many skills.¡± Cedric agreed. ¡°Where do I even start?¡± Gary agreed with Cedric, it was hard to even fathom the breadth of skills available to them. In the end, he tried to add points to archery, but he received the following prompt: You can only add points to skills you have unlocked. If you wish, you can save your points for later. Gary decided to save them until he unlocked archery, given he was still interesting in becoming an archer. Dom did the same, but Cedric added points to Unarmed, which grew him to level 5. ¡°You sure you want to do that Ced?¡± Dom asked. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to get good with a weapon?¡± Cedric shrugged. ¡°Maybe. It might be easier to train unarmed in real life though, so I¡¯m considering just going unarmed main. Plus, there has to be knuckle weapons down the line.¡± Dom nodded. ¡°Smart, you¡¯re probably right.¡± Dom then clenched his fist and scowled, ¡°Man, I wish I could just figure out magic already! This is so frustrating!¡± Gary patted Dom on the shoulder. ¡°Dude, don¡¯t worry about it. I haven¡¯t seen anybody slinging spells yet, it¡¯s just a rare unlock.¡± Gary then thought of the arena team composition. Cedric could essentially act as the tank, he was the biggest in real life and was focusing on combat. If Dom could heal, that would be great, though obviously that was kind of up in the air. Gary thought the faster he got good at archery, the better he might be able to provide some ranged support. ¡°Hey guys, I¡¯m going to go buy a bow with this new silver.¡± It only took Gary a few minutes to find the archery shop. The store was the standard fair, what Gary had really expected at this point. Behind a solid oak counter was a tall elf with brown hair and a scar across his cheek. Although most NPCs seemed to be human, atleast around Lomberg, every now and then Gary would see some other race. ¡°What is it that you desire, human?¡± the elf said softly as Gary approached. ¡°I¡¯m just looking for the best bow I can get for around 7 silver.¡± The elf sighed, looking slightly bored. ¡°The Oak Shortbow is your best bet. It costs 6 Silver and 20 Copper. Additionally, it comes with 10 Standard Arrows and a Standard Quiver.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Not bad, Gary thought. He didn¡¯t realize until just now that Quivers were a piece of gear. ¡°How much does a standard arrow cost?¡± ¡°Just 2 copper.¡± ¡°And can you reuse them?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the elf said flatly. ¡°Around thirty percent of wooden arrows will shatter on impact, but the others will survive.¡± Gary took a deep breath. That made a pretty big difference. ¡°Okay!¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll buy 30 more Standard Arrows then.¡± The elf gave a curt nod, and then entered the back of the shop to retrieve the goods. Gary started to feel excited. Finally, he would be able to train Archery! The elf came forward with a bow that was about a foot and a half long, carved from soft oak, and complete with a supple bowstring. The arrows that came with were very average, with a chicken feather in the back and a sharpened stick for the head. Oak Shortbow Damage Bonus: + 1.5 + Arrow Damage Type: Bow Weight: Light Speed: Fast Damage calculated: 0.8 X Dexterity + 0.2 x Strength The bow made for the common newb. You won¡¯t impress anybody with this, but you can at least start practicing! Huh, Gary thought. He was surprised to find that even a bow had increased damage from higher strength. Still, Dexterity was the most important stat here, clearly. Standard Quiver Ranged Attack speed + 0.5% This is the worst quiver in the game. Practically useless. Standard Arrow Damage Bonus: + 0.5 Just a chicken feather and a sharpened stick! Not fancy, but gets the job done. ¡°We have a target dummy out back if you wish to get started training,¡± the elf said quietly. He gestured towards a back door. ¡°Sounds good,¡± said Gary, heading for the door. He appeared in a small wooded target range. Soft padded targets, adorned with the typical red bulls-eye, appeared at the other end of the range. They appeared at different distances: 10, 25, 50, and 100 meters. Gary equipped the Oak Shortbow, his Bronze Dagger returning to his inventory. Also, he equipped his Standard Quiver and Standard Arrows. His grip on the bow felt entirely awkward, his hands tight on the wooden handle, fumbling on the arrow with his other hand. He would start with the 10 meter target, for obvious reasons. He nocked the arrow, held his breath, and did his best to keep his arms from shaking. Twang! He simultaneously saw the arrow stick into the mud and felt a stinging slap on his forearm. Crying out in pain, he dropped the bow and clenched his arm. According to a pop-up, he had taken 4 points of damage, but it hurt a lot more than that. Even worse, he didn¡¯t even discover the archery skill. Grumbling, he picked up the bow and nocked another arrow. This time, he tried to hold the bow so the string wouldn¡¯t slap his forearm, though he still wasn¡¯t sure if he was doing it right. Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him. ¡°Wait, human. Your form is¡­.off. Allow me to help.¡± Gary froze, and then out of his peripheral saw the elf that worked in the shop. He relaxed, and dropped the bow. ¡°Great, thanks. I guess I needed some help, to be honest,¡± Gary said. The elf gently took the bow, and showed Gary a better way to grip, and also how to bend his elbow at just the right angle. Gary listened eagerly, knowing that this was perhaps the only chance he would get at real instruction. The elf returned the bow to Gary, and he carefully practiced the new position. After a quick glance, the elf nodded, apparently satisfied. Holding his breath, Gary shot at the target. This time, the arrow hit the outer ring of the bullseye with a satisfying thump! Congratulations! You just unlocked Archery! In game skill 1. Real life skill 1. Gary was not surprised in any way that he had no real life archery skills. The only redeeming factor was that very few people would have any skills either. Gary nodded, pleased at his progress. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m sorry, but I haven¡¯t even asked your name.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Ruing¡¯ard. Pleased to meet you, neoswordsman,¡± he said after a short bow. ¡°You can return to me once you reach Archery level 25 and I can give you a quest.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Gary said. ¡°Thank you, Ruing¡¯ard. I really appreciate the help. Ruing¡¯ard didn¡¯t smile, but his eyes lit up. ¡°Of course.¡± Chapter 11: Chicken Nuggets Dom returned to find Cedric punching a tree with brass knuckles, and Dom trying to perform a cartwheel. Dom was getting a few weird glances from passing players, but it didn¡¯t seem to bother him much. Dom huffed as he landed on his butt. ¡°Dude, what are you doing,¡± Gary asked sarcastically. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Dom retorted. ¡°Trying to get the Acrobatics skill, duh.¡± Cedric wiped some bark off his brass knuckles. ¡°Yeah, as far as Dom goes, it¡¯s actually a good idea. Dom stood up again, and tried to cartwheel in vain. He slipped, and ended up on his back, taking in air with big gulps. ¡°Uhhhh, out of Stamina.¡± Dom moaned. Despite himself, Gary started laughing, and tried his best cartwheel. Like Dom, it didn¡¯t work out so well, and he ended up on the ground. It also took 24% of his Stamina just to attempt. After a good twenty minutes, Dom finally landed one, and gained the Acrobatics skill. A few minutes later, Gary got it as well. Acrobatics level 1: Real life level 5. ¡°Cool,¡± said Gary. ¡°I already have 5 level in real life.¡± ¡°That it?¡± said Dom. ¡°I have like 23 dude,¡± ¡°Woah,¡± Gary mused. ¡°That¡¯s pretty good.¡± Suddenly, Gary realized that it was 11:23. That was late for a school night. ¡°Ah, shoot guys, it¡¯s late. I think I¡¯m going to log. I¡¯ll see you guys in class tomorrow. ¡°Later,¡± said Dom, this time landing a cartwheel. Gary logged out and removed his visor. He just now realized how tired he was. ForeverQuest certainly had that effect--when he was playing he never got as tired, or even as hungry, as he normally did. He hardly had enough energy to brush his teeth before setting his alarm and collapsing on his bed. The next morning he was pretty tired, he didn¡¯t really sleep well the night before. He got dressed and ate a quick breakfast before heading out the door on his bicycle. Thankfully, it was a nice morning, no rain or anything, instead the sun was bright and the traffic wasn¡¯t bad. Not that the traffic really ever got too bad in Litchfield. When he arrived at school, he locked his bike, and went to his first class--gym. He never really did much in gym, the teacher always just told them to play kickball--it just wasn¡¯t fun for him. However, with ForeverQuest and all, Gary realized he couldn¡¯t waste any time playing kickball. After all, kickball hardly even counted as exercise, most of it was just standing around. On that note, one reason Gary didn¡¯t like school too much is that so much time was wasting. Sure, some classes they actually learned stuff, but others were completely boring. Anyhow, Gary thought he could sneak into the weightroom without anybody noticing. The gym teacher, Mr. Anderson, was just looking at his computer. He looked like he could care less about the kickball game, or anything else, really. Probably watching Netflix, thought Gary with a snicker. First period ended at 8:46, so as long as Gary could get back to the gym a couple minutes before the bell rang, he should be fine. So Gary simply left the gym and entered the weightroom. It was surprisingly easy to just leave, he literally just walked out unnoticed. The weight room was empty, and Gary went straight to work. Bench Press, pull ups, dumbbell curls, push-ups, and to finish up, squats. Gary was still benching 95 pounds, but it had started to feel a bit easier. He felt like he could maybe move up weight, but wanted to be sure before he added another 5 or 10 pounds. After a tough set of pullups, Gary collapsed on the floor, and suddenly started laughing at the irony of the situation. He was risking getting a detention for bailing out on class, because he was skipping gym class to actually exercise. He couldn¡¯t help himself, he started dying laughing, even though he was the only person in the room. Gary shook it off and finished his routine, heading out of the weightroom and slipping back into gym class at 8:44. It was like he never left. The entire operation was so easy, he could hardly believe it. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The rest of the day, Gary daydreamed about leveling real life skills while at school. He would take classes like Chemistry and Trigonometry seriously--because he had to actually try to get an A in those and because studying that stuff might raise his intelligence, he thought. But in classes like Gym and Art, he would try to find a way to either train something in class, or slip out like he just did in gym class. It wasn¡¯t that Gary was a rebel or anything, or he at least didn¡¯t think of himself that way. He just wanted to use every second--in-game and in real life--to train for ForeverQuest so he could get better. For Gary, it was all about progress, leveling, and being the best player he could be. At lunch, Gary described his plan to Dom and Cedric. Cedric was skeptical at first, but Dom liked it right away. ¡°Dude, that makes total sense,¡± he said as he dug into a chicken nugget. He took a few seconds to chew, and then made a grimace as he swallowed the food. ¡°Ewww, tastes slimy.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t waste time, but we also can¡¯t play in school,¡± Gary reasoned. Dom huffed. ¡°Wish we could.¡± They all knew that school had already blocked ForeverQuest--like most games, it was impossible to play on school internet. ¡°That¡¯s a good plan¡± Cedric said. ¡°We spend school training. That makes sense to me.¡± ¡°For sure,¡± Dom agreed. From another table, Gary could see Tommy and his goons chucking the chicken nuggets at unsuspecting victims. Every time a victim was pelted, the table erupted in laughter. Gary smoldered. ¡°Man, he¡¯s such a punk. I can¡¯t wait to crush him in arena.¡± ¡°Chill out Gar-bear,¡± Dom said with a half-smile. ¡°We still have a couple months until the competition.¡± ¡°Yeah, Dom is right,¡± Cedric agreed. ¡°He¡¯s a punk, but there is no reason to get mad about anything.¡± ¡°Hey, speaking of that, you want to do some practice after school today?¡± Gary asked. Despite all their plans, the three haven¡¯t even done any skirmishes yet. Dom ate his last chicken nugget. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m happy that they¡¯re all gone, or sad that I don¡¯t have any left,¡± Dom said thoughtfully. ¡°What?¡± said Cedric flatly. ¡°The nuggets. I mean, they are total crap, but they still satisfy my hunger. I¡¯m not really sure if I want more, if you know what I mean. But if I had more, I would probably eat them.¡± Cedric sighed. ¡°Yeah Gary, we will be on.¡± ¡°Sweet.¡± After school, Gary put on his headset and slipped into ForeverQuest. In game, he was on the outskirts of Lomberg. In the distance, he could see a Giant Snail in the green plains. The slimy beast was crawling around aimlessly. Dom and Cedric weren¡¯t on yet, so he decided to see if he could take it out by himself. First, he dumped his quest-reward points into Archery and grew to level 4. Oak Shortbow in hand, he moved into what he thought was striking distance--maybe 20 or 30 meters away. His grip on the bow was shaking as he nocked the arrow. He held his breath and lined up the shot the best he could. Twang! The arrow missed, flying left of the target. Instantly, the Slug locked into him and started its slimy charge. Shoot, Gary mumbled under his breath as he took a few steps back. His second shot was a little better, hitting the slug right in the neck. A little red 3.4 appeared on impact. The slime moaned, and started pouring out a viscous green liquid. Over the slime¡¯s head, a bleeding indicator appeared. However, the slime was upon Gary. With a spinning attack, it took out Gary by the shins. The boy hit the ground hard, groaning as his back slammed against the ground. For a second, he was almost smothered by the snail, but Gary performed a quick backwards somersault, landing on his feet in a crouched position with another arrow nocked and ready to go. Gary gracelessly let the arrow fly, and as embarrassing as missing a five foot shot, that¡¯s exactly what happened. Before Gary could even think, a raging slug was now on top of him, smothing him and draining health points quickly. Gary tried to shove it off, but it was too big. He was being crushed by the snail. This totally sucks! Gary thought as he saw his oxygen meter start to drain. It was now at 52%. I can¡¯t take much more of this! In a desperate move, the boy equipped his dagger and started stabbing frantically. He can¡¯t knock the slug off, but he might be able to kill it. Suddenly, the slug wailed and started to dissolve. Gratefully, Gary got to his feet, and wiped some ooze off his armor. It was close, but Gary Swamps just soloed his first Giant Slug. I guess I can go pro now, Gary though jokingly as the slug dropped a few copper, a couple Standard Arrows, and a pair of Worn Leather Shoes. Gary picked up the loot, equipped the shoes, as they were 2+ defense better than his current Beginner Sandals, and entered the Lomberg gates again. Dom and Cedric should be on soon, he thought. He took a few second to look over his gear. His Oak Shortbow, Bronze Dagger, Worn Leather Tunic, and these new shoes were the only thing of note. Compared to other games he had played, it was much more difficult to get good gear in ForeverQuest. At first, that had kind of annoyed Gary, but he was just starting to appreciate it a little bit. After all, if it was too easy, then everybody would be walking around in legendary armour already. The most impressive thing Gary had seen on other players so far was iron. The game notified him that Dom had logged online. It didn¡¯t take him long to find Dom, he was just in the same spot he logged out the day prior. ¡°Cedric said he¡¯s going to be on soon. Let¡¯s go the the arena!¡± ¡°Alright, good thinking,¡± Gary agreed. Chapter 12: Enter the Arena! The arena was easy to find--it¡¯s a massive marble colosseum in the center of Lomberg. At first glance, it looked much like the ancient ones in Rome. Of course, Gary had never seen the Roman colosseum in person, but he had read a lot about them, and seen pictures online. A man dressed in a simple tunic stood by the entrance of the arena. ¡°Greetings travelers!¡± he said brightly. ¡°Do you want to skirmish? The first season has not officially started, but there is an extra award for winning your first skirmish!¡± Quest obtained! Win arena Skirmish. 300+exp in skill of choice. 10 Silver Difficulty: Easy. Cedric just logged in. Gary messaged him to get to the arena so they could start a battle. Soon, the three were there, and ready to form a team. Gary sent in the request, and a screen popped up asking for a team name. ¡°Uhh, what do you want to be called?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Something cool,¡± said Cedric. ¡°Something really cool,¡± agreed Dom. ¡°How about¡­¡± Gary took a second to think. ¡°Mob Squad.¡± ¡°Stupid,¡± Gary said. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s dumb,¡± Cedric agreed. ¡°Ok, whatever, you guys suggest something then,¡± said Gary. ¡°How about¡­. Death¡¯s Requiem?¡± said Dom. The three were silent for a moment. ¡°What¡¯s a requiem?¡± asked Cedric. ¡°No clue,¡± said Dom. ¡°It¡¯s just one of those words that pop up every now and then.¡± ¡°Hey Brittney, what¡¯s a requiem?¡± asked Gary. ¡°A requiem is a mass for the repose of the souls of the dead, used especially by the Catholic church,¡± said Brittney. ¡°I¡¯m still confused,¡± admitted Gary. ¡°But whatever, let¡¯s just go with that, it makes us sound kind of smart.¡± The three entered the queue. The wait time was only a few seconds. Before he could even think about it, Gary was looking at the loading screen for the arena. Suddenly, Gary materialized next to Dom and Cedric. He was in a stone room, empty except for a heavy iron table. A thick granite gate was clearly the entrance to the arena. In his visor, he could see a timer, currently at 0:58 seconds. Clearly, the gate would open at 0. ¡°Looks like we have just under a minute to plan,¡± said Gary. Dom drew out his dagger. ¡°Dunno dude, me and Ced will fight melee and you just shoot your bow. That¡¯s about all we got.¡± ¡°Shoot, I wish you could use magic,¡± said Cedric, eyeing his brass knuckles. Dom rolled his eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t we all?¡± ¡°Sure, you guys stand ahead of me, I¡¯ll do my best to drop back and get some shots in.¡± The timer was down to 6, and Gary readied and arrow and dropped behind Dom and Cedric. 5¡­4...3...2...1¡­ Dom gulped. Horns blared as the doors opened. The arena was solid marble and bare except for four massive pillars and some blood stains in the center. Gary couldn¡¯t see the enemies. ¡°Uhh, you guys see anything?¡± he asked. ¡°Nope,¡± said Dom. Cedric motioned them to move forward, so they crept forward slowly. Shadows loomed behind the pillars as the three made there timid advancement. Something about this fell a bit off to Gary¡­ A figure leapt out of seemingly nowhere and struck Cedric in the forehead. Sent sprawling backward, Cedric yelped and punched at the figure. For a moment, time stood still and Gary saw one of his opponents. The man was covered head to toe in a black cloak. Even his face was obscured by dark bandages. Only a bright Steel Dagger was visible protruding from his cloak. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Gary shot an arrow, but it went wide right. The man was moving too fast to hit. Suddenly, an arrow was sprouting from Gary¡¯s chest. He gasped as a red 22 appeared in his visor. Dom was also struck by an arrow in the shoulder. ¡°Come on Gary, shoot that archerer!¡± Cedric, meanwhile, was deep in combat with the masked fighter. The man slashed at Cedric, while he fired back a quick punch. Dom moved in to 2v1 the fighter, but the masked man didn¡¯t even flinch, but pressed his attack even harder. Gary bit his lip in frustration. He couldn¡¯t even see where the arrows were coming from, never mind getting a clear shot. A green figure flashed in the distance at the same time an arrow struck Cedric in the thigh. Cedric howled in pain, but kept trying to kill the masked man. The figure disappeared behind a pillar in the back. Finally with a target in mind, Gary sprinted toward the pillar, running clear passed Dom and Cedric. There! Gary saw the archer clearly. It was a tall girl with a crossbow and a scowl on her face. She quickly fired an arrow, Gary just managed to duck and not get killed. Hands trembling, Gary fired an arrow back, the arrow sinking into her forearm. A red 6.2 appeared above her head. Gary felt a massive weight slam into his head, and suddenly he couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Minor Head Trauma! Stunned for 1 Second,¡± said Brittney. He was seeing little specks of light, but he couldn''t move anything but his eyes. An extremely ripped guy with a Iron Sledgehammer had struck him from the side. The man howled and slammed him again with the hammer. Numbers popped up in Gary¡¯s visor, but he didn¡¯t even look. He knew he was done for. An arrow to the side finished him off. An announcement rung through the arena, Neoswordsman of Death¡¯s Requiem has been slain! Gary was then sent into spectator mode. He looked down, and saw his body was transparent. He drifted towards Cedric and Dom, who were still distracted by the masked man. Between the two of them, they had managed to get some hits on him, but the masked man still had 72% health. Gary could see the flank coming from a mile away. Unfortunately, Dom and Cedric were too busy with the masked man and the archerer to do anything about it. Frustrated, Gary tried to face-palm, but his hand just went straight through his face. They are totally punking us¡­he thought miserably. Of course, he didn¡¯t blame Cedric or Dom at all, he had fallen for the exact same trick. It was just frustrating watching it as a ghost and not being able to do anything about it! Like clockwork, the big guy smashed into Dom from behind. Caught off guard, Dom crumpled like a ragdoll. A swirling yellow circle indicated that Dom was stunned. Cedric, unfortunately, was so caught up dueling that masked man he didn¡¯t even notice. Within a couple of other hits, Dom was downed, and the man made a final move vs Cedric. Between Cedric getting caught off guard, and the match now being 3v1, it was obvious that the match was over. A screen popped in Gary¡¯s visor that read: Knight Squad won the match! Underneath the heading, there were detailed damage dealt and taken by each player. Death¡¯s Requiem
Bagerknight ElDominator Neoswordsman
Damage Dealt 9.3 0 6
Damage Taken 100 100 100
Shots Landed 3 0 1
Killing Blows 0 0 0
Knight Squad
Rock Sparrow Jade
Damage Dealt 82 112 106
Damage Taken 0 9.3 6
Shots Landed 5 14 11
Killing Blows 3 0 0
You gained +2 experience in archery! Soon, the three were again at the entrance of the arena. Dom was hanging his head in shame. ¡°Dude, we got destroyed.¡± Cedric looked a bit annoyed, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Gary took a deep breath. ¡°Yeah, that was rough. Did you guy realize their strategy?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± said Dom. ¡°I was too busy getting wrecked.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok. The only reason I saw it was because I died first,¡± said Gary with a snicker. Cedric laughed, and the previous tension was gone. ¡°Pretty much, the masked guy and archerer distracted us, while the big guy with the club snuck up on us. When he hit us in the head, it stunned us, for some reason or another. Then, it was easy picking.¡± Cedric nodded, ¡°Makes sense. In all honesty, they would have probably won it anyway if they just fought us head to head. But, the way they did it made it even more 1 sided.¡± Dom tapped his foot impatiently. ¡°So, uhh, you want to try again?¡± Gary nodded. ¡°Yes. We do get exp for fighting, although not very much if we keep getting steamrolled. Chapter 13: Kind of Normal Kids The three continued to get steamrolled. Whether they just got beat in a head to head fight, or fell prey to a trick of somesort, they continued to lose. The low was when the three were fighting a group of three girls, who destroyed them with ease. One even shot Dom in the head with a Fireball, the first magic spell they had witnessed in ForverQuest. The three sat outside the arena, utterly defeated. Dom was still smoking from getting burnt alive. Gary was lying on his back, thinking of possible ways to accelerate their combat skills. Cedric was simply sulking. ¡°Man, we totally suck,¡± he said. ¡°True,¡± said Dom. ¡°That is very true.¡± Gary didn¡¯t say anything. Of course, he agreed. At the moment, they really sucked. Only one of there six matches had been close, but they ended up losing when Cedric took a critical hit from an arrow and died. ¡°How are we ever going to win the tournament? We can¡¯t beat anybody,¡± Dom complained. ¡°We can win,¡± said Cedric halfheartedly, ¡°Somehow¡­.¡± ¡°I think¡­.¡± Gary said softly. ¡°I think we can win. We just need to grind hard. Dom, you need to figure out magic, the sooner the better. Cedric, we need you tanking. Get big, hit the gains, hard. I¡¯m not just talking strength though, we need you to pull aggro, and block attacks. Get a shield.¡± Cedric nodded. ¡°Makes sense.¡± ¡°And I need to make big progress in dexterity, acrobatics, archery, and sneak. I need to be able to dodge attacks, and hit my target. I¡¯m failing hard at both of those at the moment.¡± Dom looked at Gary, not convinced. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious though? Everybody is going to do what we¡¯re doing. Just get better or whatever. What makes us any different? What makes us special?¡± Gary took a moment to think. ¡°Nothing. We aren''t special. Not at all, really. But I guess that¡¯s the point. Because we are just three sort of normal kids, we are going to have to work way harder to than anybody to win. I guess the question is are you guys down to give it your all. If you aren''t, than we probably should just quit now. There is no way we can win unless we are willing to commit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m down,¡± said Dom without hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s what friends are for, I guess,¡± he added nonchalantly. ¡°You know we got your back Gary,¡± Cedric said with a quick smile. ¡°Death¡¯s Requiem may be a stupid name, but we¡¯ll make it cool.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Dom said, his face slightly red. ¡°It¡¯s not stupid!¡± Gary shrugged. ¡°Ehh, it¡¯s kinda dumb, to be honest.¡± Dom flipped his hair, ¡°Whatever. Like I care.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°You know you care,¡± Gary said. ¡°A little, maybe,¡± Dom admitted. Gary started laughing, Dom joined in, then Cedric, and soon the sound of their laughter was booming across the marble walls of the arena. The three split and went to train seperate skills. Gary kept of practicing with his bow, shooting enemies, doing his best to dodge blows when the moment came. Cedric, meanwhile, bought a cheap shield and started training block. Dom went on a personal quest to see if he could somehow discover magic. It was somewhat of a longshot, but he could at least explore and maybe find some herbs or train various skills. It was late in real life by the time the three reconvened. Gary had almost grown to level 6 archery, Cedric had discovered block and had it at level 2, and Dom had found a few herbs, but hadn¡¯t made any magic progress. ¡°Alright guys, that¡¯s probably good for now. It¡¯s late, I got to go. See ya at school tomorrow,¡± Gary said. ¡°Alright, later,¡± said Dom. Gary took off his headset and sighed in exhaustion. It had been a long day. Although he loved playing ForeverQuest online, it could sometimes feel like work if he was just grinding. To unwind he made himself a grilled cheese sandwich. His mom was already asleep. She hadn¡¯t been her usual self the past few days, but Gary could understand that. She was, after all, going through some tough times. Finishing the sandwich, he took a well-needed moment to just think. He worried for a few moments about the arena matches today. Could they really ever win a tournament? They got pounded in every scrimmage. However, he was confident that if they trained well, they could at least improve. That, he was sure of. Almost guilty, Gary went back downstairs and switched on the N64. He just wanted to play an old game for a minute or two. He put in Paper Mario, an old Mario RPG that he was quite fond of. It was one of the first Mario RPGS, in Gary¡¯s opinion, one of the most underrated games ever. While playing through the desert level, Dry Dry Desert, Gary thought of the nature of video games. There was probably a point in time, around 30 years ago when the game was released, when Paper Mario was the game everybody was playing. Although to today''s standards the graphics were antiquated, at release he was sure that they were state of the art. After a few years, the sequel would be released, and Paper Mario would become old. Some would still cling to the old game, but most would move on to the next-gen console. Gary thought of ForeverQuest. Although ForeverQuest was much different than Paper Mario in terms of scale and playerbase, he was pretty sure that one day, ForeverQuest would become antiquated as well. Although, Gary thought, Modern day MMOs were a little different than old school games, because the developers kept working on the game even after release. In some ways, this made Gary sad. But, on the other hand, he realized that all good things come to pass, eventually. Additionally, he always had fun discovering old games. Perhaps the fact that games tend to become obscure was appealing to him. It made Gary feel a sense of discover when finding an old game that nobody was really playing. After only a few minutes of playing Paper Mario, Gary hit a save block, and started to feel very tired. Too tired to even get to bed, Gary curled over on the floor and fell asleep, the light glow from the television bathing him in soft light. Chapter 14: Late When he woke up, Gary was at first confused. Then, upon seeing Mario and Kooper, Gary realized he must have fallen asleep playing Paper Mario. Gary looked at his phone as was dismayed to see it was 10:12! He had slept in and missed his first few classes. Fuming, Gary threw his school supplies in his backpack and was on his bike in an instant. Pedaling down the road, he didn¡¯t even see the pothole coming. He flew, head over handlebars, and tumbled over the blacktop, scraping his arms and legs, but thankfully avoiding a blow to the head. His bike awkwardly came down on his back, adding insult to injury. For a second, Gary just sat there, assessing the damage. After a few moments, he realized he was fine and got up. He was scratched up and a bit bloody, but nothing was broken or anything. A car swerved out of the way, and Gary stood up and dragged his bike off the road. Gary took a few deep breaths, and then started laughing. He had totally forgot about even being late! Today is just not my day, he thought as he got back on his bike. Showing up late to school, Gary got slapped with a Saturday detention. Some kids would get super mad about it, but Gary just knew it was protocol. He showed up late with no excuse, so that¡¯s the standard punishment. Gary went to Trig class, just trying to settle in to a normal day. He sat in his assigned seat, trying not to draw any attention to himself. Flick. A paper ball whizzed past Gary¡¯s head. He heard somebody snicker from behind him. Tommy, Gary thought with a groan. I¡¯ll just ignore him. A paper ball smacked him in the cheek, stinging. He heard a few more kids laugh, and he felt his face glow red. Practicing his uttermost self control, Gary did his best not to turn around. He looked helplessly at the teacher, Mrs. Quill. She was looking at her computer, probably grading or something. Completely out of it. Smack! This one hit him right in the ear, right before a few kids chortled with laughter. Gary couldn¡¯t help himself, he turned around and glared. Sure enough, Tommy was choking back laughter and crumpling up another paper ball. Next to Tommy was Barcel, who was leaning back in his chair like he was the king of the classroom. Gary was angry, really angry. He felt like storming out of his desk and punching Tommy right in the face. In fact, he almost did. But he thought about the detention he already had, and the fact that 2v1 Tommy and Barcel would probably destroy him. Instead, Gary glared at him for a couple seconds, then pulled on his hoodie and put his head on the desk. To just completely ignore them is probably the best solution, Gary reasoned. Twenty minutes and countless paper balls later, and the class was over. Mrs. Quill finally looked up and said, ¡°Who threw all these paper balls! Clean it up, this instant!¡± But nobody said anything, and the bell had already rang, so everybody just left.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Gary cooled down over the next few class periods, and everything went back to semi-normal. Instead of fuming over stupid stuff like paper ball throwing, Gary decided to take this as fuel he could use to take ForeverQuest more seriously. He had to beat Tommy in the arena, he decided. After school, Gary biked home, listening to electronic music mix as he biked. As soon as he got home, he made himself a quick grilled cheese, and entered ForeverQuest. Last time he was on, he had been grinding Archery on Goblin Welps. Gary picked out a target, a goblin prowling about 20 meters away. The creature was pasty green, had mossy yellow teeth, and a nasty, permanent scowl. If Gary got too close, he would pull aggro. Careful to line up his shot, Gary fired an arrow. The wooden shaft ripped through the air and embedded itself in the Goblin¡¯s upper thigh. A satisfying number 7.2 appeared above the creature. Squelching in pain, the Goblin rushed at Gary, but not before he had fired off another arrow. Again, Gary scored a hit. As soon as the Goblin was in melee range, Gary rolled backward. This was an Acrobatics trick that he was working on--the classic dodge roll. Another arrow landed, and Gary now changed weapons to his dagger. He didn¡¯t have the Stamina to keep rolling away, unfortunately. They traded a few blows, Gary taking 24 points of damage, but Gary soon won the fight. Picking up a few copper coins as loot, Gary prepared for the next battle. A few fights later, Gary was low on health points and had to retreat to Lomberg castle. Gary realized his health was low and it was going to take an hour or so to regenerate. He checked his Archery skill: ¡°In Game: 7, Real Life: 1: AVG 4¡±. Of course, Gary though. I need to get my real life archery skill up. He logged out, grabbed his wallet, and headed out to Walmart. A half an hour later, he came back with a cheap bow and a few fiberglass arrows with dull heads. His yard was really small, way to small to practice archery, but there was a field a few blocks away with a bunch of hay bales that he was sure would be a good place to practice. He had never shot a bow before in real life. However, he somewhat knew how to hold the bow from using one in ForeverQuest. Standing about 10 meters away from the bale, he lined up his shot. Twang! The string slapped his forearm, but not directly, more like slid off it. The arrow, however, hit the bale, though not really where Gary was aiming. He shrugged. That was a start. The sun had already started to slip down over the flat horizon after Gary had gotten a few shots in. Meaning, he didn¡¯t have too much time to practice, but he still had enough time to get some legitimate practice in. His next shot hit, almost exactly where he intended it too. He blinked in surprise--wow, maybe he was actually good at this. His next shot, however, was a complete miss, confirming the fact that he was still not that good. He wandered down the field to retrieve his arrow. In the dull light of the setting sun, everything glowed pink and soft-red. If he had stopped to think about it, it would probably seem magical, but Gary was too busy searching for his stray arrow to really appreciate the scenery. Gary found his arrow sprouting out of crusted lump of cow poop. He almost laughed, there was something funny about this. Only, he actually had to remove the arrow manually which he was less than pleased about. After thoroughly cleaning the arrow, Gary wandered home, getting back just as it got dark. His mom was home. She was quietly drinking a glass of wine and watching some old sitcom that Gary didn¡¯t recognize on the television. As he came in, she seemed surprised, ¡°Gary!¡± she almost shouted. ¡°What are you doing back so late?¡± ¡°Relax mom, I was just practicing archery.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she said. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s fine. Want me to make you dinner?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Gary said. Chapter 15: Dragon Slayer She made him a bacon avocado grilled cheese sandwich, which he enjoyed very much, before he headed back down into his den to get back on ForeverQuest. He logged back in, pleased to find that his real-life archery level had increased to 2. Cedric and Dom were also on. The three decided to see if they could find any quest worthy of their time. Of course, they were also still pretty low level, so in reality they would really settle with anything with a halfway decent reward. After enough exploration of the general Lomberg Area, they found an old hermit living a nearby swamp who gave them a new Quest, Dragon Slayer. They were told to find a small Purple Dragon named Claymore. Apparently, he was level 62 and lived in the Grizzley Mountains to the north. Gary checked his map as the three started the trek to mountains up north. ¡°So, level 62? That¡¯s a bit high for us, right? I mean, the highest level thing we¡¯ve killed is that level 34 Earth Zombie. Think we¡¯ll be alright?¡± ¡°StankRoot!¡± Dom yelled in joy as he spotted an herb he could gather. Dom rushed forward joyously, scrambling on his hands and knees to collect the Stankroot. He dug it up frantically, like a kid digging for a candy bar. Little fireworks exploded around him as he finished harvesting the root. ¡°Yessss! Level 3 Herblore! What up dudes, I¡¯m killin¡¯ it!¡± Cedric rolled his eyes, but Gary nodded in approval. ¡°Nice Dom. Keep it up. We¡¯ll need your potions soon, I¡¯m sure.¡± Cedric quietly examined his brass knuckles, which were dented from beating up a few too many Goblin Whelps. They would need a repair soon. Also, Cedric had informed Dom and Gary that he had started taking boxing lessons, which was a great idea, or atleast Gary thought so. Although neither fencing nor boxing were easy to learn skills at all, there were at least boxing gyms in Litchfield. The three continued the trek to the Grizzly Mountains. Soon, the three could see mountains shooting up in the distance. Truth be told, Gary had never seen real mountains before, given that he had never left Illinois and everything. The mountains he encountered in video games were as close as it got to the real deal. The range stretched on for miles, peaks jagged, shaped like rocky claws. Even from here, Gary could see the road start to ascend. The path was chipped gravel, surrounded by tall pine trees. When the wind blew through the trees, they made a soft whistling noise. ¡°Woah,¡± Dom said, his mouth gaping. ¡°Mountains.¡± ¡°Wish we had those in Illinois,¡± said Cedric, a little bit in awe. Soon, Gary¡¯s legs were burning a bit from going straight uphill. The trees slowly became more evergreen. Although they were ¡°just in a game¡±, he could also sense a difference in air pressure as he climbed. The air was thinner, cleaner, and a bit colder. At first, they didn¡¯t see any monsters, but soon they could spot level 41 Mountain Wolves prowling around. The wolves were the size of a great dane, with heavy paws and ragged brown fur. Their off-brown color gave them natural camouflage to the terrain, making them difficult to spot unless they were moving. They were far away enough not to pull aggro, but Gary was starting to get a bit nervous. The monsters were higher level around these parts, it seemed. Lucky for them, they didn¡¯t get ambushed while they hiked. However, it took them forever to find the right cave. Unlike some games, ForeverQuest didn¡¯t really tell you where your quest locations were. Games had started to baby players by leading them directly to quest rewards. The developers at Dragon Mastery Studios had obviously decided against this. Cedric, Dom, and Gary wandered the mountain range for hours, dipping in and out of random caves, looking for a purple dragon insignia on the wall. They were told that the right cave would be marked by this sign by the quest log. That was their only hint. After what seemed like hours of looking, they found the right mark. By the time they made it, the three were pretty low on Stamina, so they took a short break to rest. They were just discussing a fight plan when Tommy came bursting through the entrance, shortly followed by Barcel and Fred. Barcel was holding a [Oak Longbow]. It looked as if they made him the archer of the group. Fred was equipped with rusted looking bronze armor and a giant [Bronze Warhammer]. Tommy, on the other hand, was wearing light armor and brandishing a [Iron Rapier]. All his gear was pristine for his level, a light iron helmet, fitted leather grieves, a leather and chainmail piece of body armor. Gary wasn¡¯t sure the stats of the gear just by looking at it, but he knew it was better than his ragged leather stuff. As soon as Tommy saw them, he sneered. ¡°Hey nerds,¡± he said. ¡°What are you up to?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Dom said sarcastically. ¡°We just like sitting in random caves. That¡¯s all.¡± Fred smiled. ¡°Fred likes caves! They make Fred feel safe.¡± Barcel growled at Fred, almost at the same time that Tommy saw the purple insignia. He pointed and grinned. ¡°Aww. I see you are on the same quest as us.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Dom shrugged. ¡°Yeah? So what.¡± A malicious glint entered Tommy¡¯s eyes. ¡°We¡¯re killing it first!¡± His crew quickly sprinted into the next chamber. It happened fast. Gary tried to rush in right after them, but he received a notification: Only one group may fight Claymore at a time. An invisible wall bounced him backward, causing him to slide on his back for a few feet. ¡°Dang It!¡± Gary said as he slammed his fist against the ground. ¡°They locked us out! Those jerks!¡± ¡°It¡¯s no big,¡± said Dom. ¡°Hopefully they lose.¡± Cedric nodded, ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about it Gary. We¡¯ll get our chance.¡± Gary calmed down a bit, taking a moment to breath. ¡°Of course. Really, I guess I just let them get to me.¡± Gary rested his back against the cave wall. ¡°Maan, I sure hope they lose,¡± he said wistfully. The next few minutes were tense. Gary could hear the sound of battle nearby--a roar of a dragon, Fred laughing maniacally, Tommy shriek as he got hit, the sound of dragon claws on metal armor. He could only hope that they would wipe. Several minutes later, Tommy and his crew emerged from the cave. From the glib smile on their faces, Gary had a feeling they had won. ¡°That purple creep was easy,¡± Tommy said. ¡°But I bet he destroys you noobs.¡± Gary fumed, trying desperately to think of a good comeback. Nothing came to him. Suddenly, ¡°Quest Complete!¡± flashed over Tommy¡¯s head in giant flashing letters. Clearly, Tommy had defeated Claymore. Gary¡¯s resolve strengthened. He had to win, he couldn¡¯t let Tommy keep one upping him. Cedric motioned them to go fight. ¡°Come on guys,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s kill this thing.¡± Dom sprang to his feet and shook his hair like a wet dog. ¡°Yeah, c¡¯mon Gary, let¡¯s just kill it.¡± The three entered the battle chamber located deeper in the cave. The scenery remained the same, save for a few heavy wooden torches that lit the battle arena. As the got closer, Gary spotted Claymore. For a dragon, he didn¡¯t look that scary, but he was still the most impressive monsters Gary had seen in ForeverQuest. Claymore wasn¡¯t massive, he was around the same size as a large horse. He was, in fact, purple, but more of a grimy purple than anything. His claws were off-yellow, but still looked as sharp as the edge of any blade. Ragged wings rested on his back, nestled on either side of a line of purple spikes that sprounded from his head to tail. Currently, Claymore was sleeping, his heavy body heaving in gentle rhythm. The three crept up on him, generally unsure of what to do. A sneak attack would likely be the best bet, but it almost felt unsportsmanlike to stab a sleeping dragon. Suddenly, Cedric stumbled on the uneven cave floor, releasing an involuntary gasp. Claymore snorted, shifted his wings, and then gently groaned. ¡°Cedric, you idiot!¡± Dom whispered angrily. ¡°Shut up, you''re going to wake him!¡± Cedric mouthed back. Gary looked Claymore in horror, hoping that he wouldn¡¯t wake. The dragon snorted again, and opened one bloodshot eye. With a sudden screech, Claymore got to his feet and displayed his crooked, but still lethal teeth. The dragon slammed his tail against the ground, shaking the cave with a low-tier earthquake. Gary was almost knocked off his feet in the tremor. Cedric slipped again, sprawling onto his back. Dom screamed at him again to get up. Gary fired an arrow at the dragon¡¯s face, but the beast was quick. It lurched, dodging the arrow, and drove straight forward into Dom, slamming his head into Dom¡¯s stomach. The blow sent Dom flying like a ragdoll. Cedric landed a solid punch in Claymore¡¯s side, but the blow only did 3.1 damage. Shoot, Gary thought. He¡¯s not only fast and powerful, but his scales act as a natural armor. Gary¡¯s thought was confirmed as he landed a shot that only dealt 1.8 damage. He had been hitting over 5 on Golbin Welps! A tail came out of seemingly nowhere and caught Gary in the midsection. A red 18 flashed in his monitor, and he experienced the wind being knocked out of him. ¡°You lost your wind, 1 second stun,¡± said Brittney. Gary rolled around on the ground helplessly, and when he got up he saw Dom was also floored. Cedric, meanwhile, was blocking a claw slash with his shield. Apparently, Cedric wasn¡¯t good enough at blocking, because the blow still made him lose his balance. Claymore followed with another bruthal headbutt, this one crunching Cedric in the chest, sending him slamming into the cave wall like a bag of bricks. Claymore was currently at 85% health, Dom was at 62%, Cedric 71%, Gary 82%. Gary fired another arrow, this one sinking into Claymores thick thigh. The dragon screeched and bit at Gary. Just in time, Gary managed to backwards-somersault out of the way. Feeling somewhat proud of himself, he got to his feet and fired another arrow. This shot was, however, fired too quickly and off target. The arrow hit the cave wall and shattered. Cedric quickly entered melee range again and fired a stiff left jab, connecting but only causing 1.2 points of damage. Dom, finally, cut the beast in the tail, releasing a small gush of black blood and scoring 2.5. Enraged, Claymore swooped around and chomped at Dom. With a sick crunch, the dragon bit Dom on the arm, ivory teeth tearing through Dom¡¯s leather armor like it was paper. Dom screamed and tore his arm loose from the dragon¡¯s mouth, but Gary noticed his health dip below 20%, and the health bar turned dark red--a clear sign that he was losing health from blood loss. Gary looked up to see Cedric getting whipped across the face with a ropey tail. Claymore smiled wickedly as Cedric stumbled backward and spit. Claymore still had 68% health. With Dom at 20% health, Cedric now at 43, and Gary still at 82%, Gary decided to call it. ¡°Run!¡± he screamed as he started to scramble toward the exit. Dom didn¡¯t need to be told twice, he darted out in front of Gary. For a brief moment, Cedric winced, but then he realized his friends were gone so he took off as well. Just as they were leaving, Claymore released a spurt of toxic smog breath, a low green wave that billowed over the cavern floor like smoke. Fortunately, the attack was slow moving, and the three had a head start. Gary flew out of the cave into a bright sunny day. Dom and Cedric tumbled out with him, both breathing heavily, Dom laughing out of fear and adrenaline. Panting, he turned around to make sure Claymore hadn¡¯t followed them. They were good, it looked like Claymore hadn¡¯t left the cave. You gained 7 archery experience!