《Terrane: Online》 Chapter 1 - Terrane Online Logging into Terrane: Online The words appeared in my visor, as the VR system booted up. Terrane: Online was the latest release of MMORPG games. It was a game that capitalized on the gaming community¡¯s desire for something new. Unlike it¡¯s predecessors, Terrane: Online decided to take a different path to its system. The developers had changed the way the world was created. Instead of being a manmade map, with pre-existing places and things, the developers decided to instead procedurally generate the world. By doing this, Terrane: Online became a game which prided itself on its random elements. Of course, the generation was guided by certain parameters so that functioning kingdoms would still occur, and that a powerful monster would not spawn near a starting zone. Classes, quests, events, items, all these were randomized to give each player a unique experience and a chance to discover something no one else has found. When something new was found by a player, a dungeon for example, it would be updated into the server¡¯s codex so that other players would be able to visit the same place. This is what drew me to this game, well that and the recommendation on the forums. Please enter a name ¡®Elli¡¯ I entered, I had already decided earlier today. I had to create a character before I was able to join the server. First, I had to decide race. I briefly looked through the available options: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Vampire, Celestial, the list went on and on. I chose to be a human, the others seemed complicated, and this was my first MMORPG game, so I decided to try and keep it simple. Gender, female. Now is when things got a little more complicated. I had to design the character. Height, I decided to keep it near my own and went with 5¡¯3. Long hair, brown colour. Eyes a similar brown. Age, 17. Character Creation successful. Spawning in starting zone Rhodrik Please enjoy your stay Elli The screen faded into a white light. As I blinked to clear my eyes, I found myself standing in the middle of a market. I took a few steps around, getting used to the feeling of moving. It was a really weird feeling, walking around in a body that¡¯s not your own. I looked around the market, other players were trading with NPCs at stalls, some were talking with each other, planning some grand adventure or other. I checked my inventory. I had a dagger, leather armour, and 5 silver pieces. Looking around, I didn¡¯t really know what to do. Everyone else seemed to have a goal in mind, they knew where they were going and what they were doing. This was overwhelming, maybe I should have read a beginner¡¯s guide before jumping head first into the game. I wanted to explore on my own and not have the experience ruined by someone else, I was starting to regret that though.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I decided to wander through the streets. Most of the other players were to busy to pay any attention to me, and the NPCs largely ignored me. After walking for a few minutes, I arrived at a gate. The gate was open, with NPC guards standing by. As I walked through the gate, one of the guards cheerfully called out to me, ¡°Hey you, you should be careful out there, don¡¯t go into the forest until you get a little stronger, there have been monster sightings recently¡± ¡°O-Oh okay¡± I called back. It was weird to talk to a computer like you would your next-door-neighbour, but at the same time, it was really cool. I walked out of the gate and into a field. Turning back to look at the city, I noted its massive size. The city of Rhodrik was huge, it must have been a square kilometre, and it was surrounded by stone walls. It was strange though, I had only seen a couple dozen players in my short time here, but there should be thousands. As I ponder this, I loud footsteps approaching the gate. I turn, and a large human man stands before me. He has at least a foot of height on me, covered in a full suit of silver armour with a giant sword, probably as tall as me, strapped to his back. Behind him, two others followed. One was a¡­ well endowed¡­ elven woman, she was wearing some kind of white cloth garment, with a pointed hat, almost as pointed as her ears. She carried a wand which was holstered at her waist. Next to her was a figure wearing black robes. I couldn¡¯t tell the figures gender, and its strange bearing made it hard to tell its height. I saw this in the forums, the figure must have been a type of rouge class. This was probably a party of players. I decided to ask them some questions. ¡°Uh, excuse me¡± I started. The tall leading man looked down at me for a moment before responding ¡°What is it young Lady?!¡± he loudly proclaimed ¡°I¡¯m sure that I, the great Paladin Roddy, can assist you!¡± The elf woman let out a little sigh at the man¡¯s personality. Ah, this must be what they call a ¡®role player¡¯. ¡°I¡¯m new to this game, I was wondering if you could help me out for a moment?¡± I asked ¡°Of course, Milady¡± he proudly responded ¡°Well, I just created my character and now I don¡¯t know what to do¡± ¡°Well, there are many things do to Milady. You could go fight monster, you could go play games in the tavern, you could go join a party at the Adventurers Guild. In Terrane: Online the choice is up to you¡± ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, what did you do?¡± ¡°Me? Well, the first thing I did was join the temple of the sun, from there I received a few quests and finally got my class: Paladin¡± Oh wow. That seems cool, doing quests, getting classes. I could do that. But a Paladin though, that seems like a powerful class. He must have played this game a lot considering the game only released last weekend. ¡°Also, where are all the players? Shouldn¡¯t there be a lot more people here?¡± I ask the question that has been bothering me ¡°Ah, well you see!¡± he starts but is quickly interrupted by the busty elven woman who seems very impatient with this conversation ¡°There are many starting areas, so the player population is spread all over the place. If you¡¯re looking to find a friend or whatever you can use the city¡¯s warp gate to teleport to another gate in another city. Now if you will excuse us, we have to go collect our reward.¡± With this, the elf, who was slightly taller than me, jumped into the air and grabbed Roddy the Paladin¡¯s ear dragging the yelping man off into the city. ¡°Uh, ok, thank you, I think I will go explore¡± ¡°Alright Milady, you enjoy your time out there¡± The paladin called out, his voice fading of into the distance leaving me standing alone. ¡°Ok. Onto the plains¡± I said, pumping myself up. Chapter 2 - Potion As I walked into the grassy field, the sun beat down on my neck. The grass was ankle deep, and was a dry yellowish colour. I could clearly see other players standing around in the field using their weapons to attack¡­ the ground? As I approach closer, something rapidly runs past my feet in a blur. I jump back in surprise, looking for the thing that had passed me. I hear a whooping cheer from a nearby player, and as I glance over, I see him holding up a spear. On the end of the spear, an impaled rabbit dangles. The players nearby pat the boy on the back as they all go back to hunting. So, the thing that ran past me was a rabbit? I pull out one of my daggers and loosely hold it in my hand. I watch the grass closely, looking for movement. I feel something brush past my ankles. I panic and jump away, falling to the ground. I hear some supressed, and some unsuppressed, laughs. I stand up and brush the dirt off. I try again, crouching down with a dagger in my hand. I see the grass moving several metres away. I patiently wait, trying to stay as still as possible like you see in those movies. As the movement nears, I jump at it, dagger pointed forward. I crash into the ground, and quickly look at the dagger. There¡¯s blood on it! I got it! I was about to shout out about my success when a message appears: You have taken 2 damage. I pause for a moment and glance at my hand. The dagger had sliced across my palm. The blood was mine. Then the pain hit. It wasn¡¯t actually real pain, as no VR games incorporated real sensations of pain, but the feeling was extremely uncomfortable. I only had 10 health to start with, now I¡¯m down to 8. Suddenly, I was covered in a giant¡¯s shadow, rolling off my stomach I see a large figure standing over me, ¡°Haha, did you cut yourself?!¡± he exclaims between deep laughs. He must have seen something on my face because he quickly apologizes, ¡°Sorry little missy, no offence meant, just don¡¯t see that every day. Haha¡± The man extends his left towards me. I grab onto it with my left hand, as my right was currently bleeding. He pulls me to my feet and I get a closer examination of him. This man, is not a human. He stands nearly eight feet tall. Close to three feet taller than me. His skin is a light grey, and he has a bush of black hair atop his head. The most notable of his already strange features, was the ivory tusks which extended out of his jaw. ¡°What?¡± he asks, ¡°Never seen an elephant beastman?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ no?¡± I lamely respond ¡°Haha¡± he laughs his bellowing laugh again ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, name¡¯s Jorven.¡± The giant elephant-man extends his hand out, and down. ¡°Elli¡± I say as I take his hand. ¡°Ahh, you¡¯re still bleeding. Don¡¯t worry ¡®bout that miss Elli, I got something good for that.¡± Jorven pulls a large pack off his back and fishes through it. After a moment, he pulls out a small vial of red fluid. ¡°This is a lesser healing potion, it¡¯ll fix your hand up real nice.¡± He hands me the vial. I look at it for a moment. It has a clear red liquid inside, it kinda reminds me of red wine. I pop off the top of the vial, and sniff at it. I can¡¯t smell anything coming off it. I once again look up at Jorven, he stands there smiling down at me. I think ¡®why not¡¯ and down the vial, it has a slightly bitter taste. You have regained 2 health. I smile for a moment as the pain fades. Then what happened finally hit me.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Wait! Did that just heal me? How does that work? Do you have a lot? How much can it heal? You said it was a lesser healing, does that mean there are greater healing?¡± I rapidly fire off multiple questions which plague my mind. This was amazing, I¡¯ve hurt myself in the real world before, and I always hated the recovery, the days of scabbing and bleeding. Once I even got a cut infected and that was just an awful experience. ¡°Woah woah woah, slow down, slow down¡± Jorven says, raising his arms in a pleading expression ¡°I don¡¯t know how it works, I just use it¡± I pause for a moment ¡°Wait, healing sounds powerful, was that expensive? What do I owe you?¡± ¡°What, nah don¡¯t worry about it, I got that potion in a trade a while back I got a couple more for myself anyways¡± ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡± after an awkward pause in the conversation I continue ¡°So, uh, what are you doing right now? You don¡¯t seem to be hunting rabbits¡± ¡°Well, I have the blacksmith class so I¡¯m out here right now looking for some ore to mine¡± Jorven proudly states ¡°Blacksmith? I thought classes were used to fight?¡± ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re new to RPGs aren¡¯t you?¡± once again he must have seen something on my face because he laughs ¡°ahh don¡¯t feel bad about it, we all gotta start somewhere. As to why I have the blacksmith class, its because I¡¯m a craftsman. While some players are out here to delve into some dungeon, or save some princess from a castle, I¡¯m here because of the crafting system¡± ¡°The crafting system?¡± ¡°Yup yup. Terrane: Online uses a procedural generator. What that means to crafting, is there is no schematics prepared. I¡¯ve personally created several sets of unique armour which I got to name myself, and I¡¯m the only one who knows how to make them!¡± he excitedly tells me ¡°But you wanna know the best part?¡± ¡°What?¡± I ask with anticipation. ¡°Most players don¡¯t even consider playing a craftsman class, they all want to be some kind of fighters or mages. In most other games, these players could do both, but in Terrane: Online, people who subclass in craftsmanship can only make things that are already discovered. Because of this, I have lots of business already making and repairing armour for the adventures even though I¡¯m only a level 7 blacksmith¡± ¡°That¡¯s so cool!¡± Wow, this game is cool, I never would have thought that a MMORPG game would have so many options. ¡®Well sorry to cut this short Elli, but I gotta go now, gotta find some ore, maybe level up my miner subclass.¡± Jorven, the elephant beastman, begins to walk off deeper into the field. ¡°Hey wait, before you go, where can I ask about the health potions?¡± I call out before he can get away from me. ¡°Oh, just go to the Adventurers Guild and ask the receptionist, other than that I¡¯m not really sure, anyways good luck!¡± ¡°Okay, thank you!¡± Jorven walks off out of my view before a little message appears: Player ¡®Jorven¡¯ has sent a friend request: Do you accept Y/N. After a moments hesitation, I think Yes, and smile in the direction he disappeared in. Jorven has successfully been added to your friends list I decide to follow Jorven¡¯s advice and head to the adventures guild. I don¡¯t think I could catch one of those rabbits no matter how hard I tried. As I make it back to the gate, I look back at the plains. I use my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. This is the most fun I¡¯ve had in years. I smile as I head inside. Chapter 3 - Adventurers Guild I walk back through the city of Rhodrik looking for the Adventurers Guild. Eventually I found my way back to the market where I started. I look at the stalls and people around me. I approach a group of nearby players and ask them, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m new here, can you point me towards the Adventurers Guild?¡± A twenty-something female player turns to look at me, she eyes me up and down before replying ¡°Well, I could, but it¡¯ll cost ya¡± ¡°Cost me what?¡± I respond with hesitant curiosity ¡°Well, I¡¯ll tell you for a SP¡± she slyly responds smiling ¡°A what?¡± She pauses for a moment, the wind effectively taken out of her sails, ¡°Uhhh, a silver piece?¡± she restates in confusion ¡°Oh, uh, yeah I have those sure¡± I have five, so giving away one probably isn¡¯t a problem, especially if its for information I want. Trade Request Received from player ¡®Roseline¡¯ Do you accept the request Y/N? Yes. Elli gives ''1sp'' ¨C Roseline gives ''nothing''. Do you accept the deal Y/N? I pause for a moment, she isn¡¯t promising to give me the information. ¡°Hey Roseline, how do I know you will give me the information?¡± ¡°Haaa, I really have no reason not to¡± she responds Well¡­ Yes. 1sp removed from inventory ¡°So, you wanted to know where the Adventurers Guild was right?¡± she asks ¡°Yeah¡± I confirm ¡°Its right behind me¡± She states pointing to a sign over the door to the building behind her. ¡®Adventurers Guild¡¯ the sign reads. Roseline walks off without another word, and I¡¯m left speechless standing outside the guild. Well, no use crying over spilt milk I think to myself as I enter the building. I enter the Adventurers Guild. Around the room are several tables, some empty, others with a group of people examining a map. I approach the desk at the front where a middle aged woman in formal attire stands. When I arrive, she looks up from the documents on her desk at me. ¡°Why hello sweetie¡± she starts ¡°what can I do for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m, uh, looking for information on healing potions¡± I reply uncomfortable with being called ¡®sweetie¡¯Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Oh, well, unfortunately I don¡¯t have that information¡± she responds in something near embarrassment ¡°Oh, okay¡± I turn to walk away when I hear something resembling a groan ¡°Well, you know, the Adventurers Guild has an alchemy table over there¡± she points to a corner with a strange table ¡°no one really uses it, so you can if you want¡± ¡°Really? Thank you so much!¡± as I walk away, I could almost swear I saw her blush. I enter the corner with the table. The table is covered in several apparatuses. A few vials, a couple of large flasks, a mixer, a mortar and pestle, and several other things I could not identify. Where to start I thought. I was never very good at chemistry in school, even though my parents forced me to take it this year, but even then ¨C where do I start? I hang my head in shame and return to the receptionist. ¡°How do you use the alchemy table?¡± I shyly ask ¡°Oh, you need to use ingredients, from there, well I don¡¯t know¡± ¡°Where do I get ingredients?¡± ¡°Well, you can buy them from the market place outside, or you can use the Guild¡¯s ingredients for free. Although, to use our¡¯s you need to be a registered Adventurer and of course the Guild gets royalties on your potions and stuff yada yada¡± ¡°How do I register?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked, all you have to do is sign here¡± she hands me a stack of paper with the title Become an Adventurer! As I pick up a pen to sign it, she adds ¡°It¡¯ll also cost 5sp¡± ¡°¡­¡± I check my inventory ¡°I only have 4sp¡­¡± There¡¯s a brief momentary pause before she retracts the paper. ¡°Well, never mind then¡± We stare at each other for a moment before another adventurer gets in line behind me. I step out of the way before considering my options. I could either try to find another SP to join the guild, or I could buy some ingredients from the market. I decide on the later and head out of the Guild. Out side I examine the stalls, looking for one with something resembling ingredients. After looking at several stalls, selling various products like armour, weapons, tools, etc, I come across a lonely stall. Behind the stall is a man with a scowling face. ¡°Whatda want¡± he spits out ¡°I was looking for some ingredients for potion making¡± I reply ¡°Well look at the counter then, my face ran out of stock¡± he grumpily replies I examine the table, looking for anywhere else to plant my gaze. On the table are several different kinds of roots. I really can¡¯t tell anything about them. One of them has a pink flower on the end. One is just a straight stick-like thing. The other one has a rock on the end. They don¡¯t make any sense. ¡°Uh¡± I start ¡°Well hurry up, I don¡¯t have all day¡± he angrily interrupts me ¡°I¡¯ll take, uh, one of each¡± The man behind the counter snatches one of each roots and places them one at a time in a bag, ¡°Root Willow¡± he states as he places the root with a pink flower on it into the bag ¡°6cp¡± ¡°Root Reed¡± he then states, placing the stick-like root into the bag ¡°4cp¡± ¡°Rock Root¡± he finally says, placing the root with a rock on it into the bag ¡°7cp¡± ¡°Your total is 17cp¡± he states Root Merchant Louke charges 17cp (1sp ¨C 83cp change) in exchange for his product. Do you accept Y/N? Oh, so CP is a breakdown from SP. I wonder what CP means. ¡®Wait!¡¯ I shout in my head ¡®doesn¡¯t that mean that Roseline charged me enough around 20 roots worth of money for directions!?¡¯ I must have appeared a little upset as the Louke the root merchant says ¡°Well, since you¡¯re my only customer in a while, I¡¯ll give ya a little discount, how about I only charge 10cp, and you promise to buy more roots from me later on? Well, how ¡®bout it?¡± Root Merchant Louke charges 10cp (1sp ¨C 90cp change) in exchange for his product. Do you accept Y/N? Yes. I quickly agree and watch as the SP is taken from my inventory, replaced with the CP and the roots. ¡°Thank you very much sir¡± I respectfully say, as I return to the Adventurers Guild. ¡®Wow, that guy was super nice¡¯ I think to myself as I walk. This game is amazing, I actually forgot that the root merchant and the receptionist were both NPCs, I thought they were real people. I glance at the sky; the sun is starting to fall. It must be approaching dusk soon then, I¡¯ll try to log off after I finish this. Chapter 4 - Crafting I return to the Guild with the ingredients in my inventory. I arrive at the alchemy table and look at the tools. I pull out the three roots and place them on the table. I glance around the Guild. It¡¯s emptier than before. Some of the previously occupied tables were vacant. The same receptionist was still behind the desk working. No one in the room was paying attention to me. Remembering some of my chemistry lessons, I started by taking the mortar and pestle and placing the root willow in the bowl. I began to grind the root. After a few moments, a message appeared Do you want to turn ¡®Willow Root¡¯ into power Y/N? Yes. Instantly, the root collapsed into a white powder. I took the bowl and poured the willow root powder into a flask. I repeated tis process with the root reed and the rock root. They too ground into a whitish powder form. I added all the powder into the flask. Now what? I asked myself. ¡°Tsk tsk¡± a voice says behind me. I quickly turn to find an old man with a long grey beard. He examines my work with a keen eye. ¡°No no no, you¡¯re doing it all wrong!¡± The old man takes the flask I had been using and poured the powder into an almost identical looking flask. ¡°You see!¡± he started ¡°you were trying to use a dry flask when you should¡¯ve been using a heat flask!¡± ¡°Um, who are you?¡± I ask ¡°Me? I¡¯m Fredrick Leasman, the worlds greatest traveling alchemist!¡± he proudly states as he pumps his chest out ¡°And you young lady, appear to have forgotten your solvent¡± Fredrick then pulls from his pocket a container of clear fluid. He extends the vial to me. I hesitantly accept it. As I examine the contents, Fredrick fills me in on what the container was holding. ¡°This is a vial of pure pig tears, personally harvested just this morning yes ma¡¯am¡± I almost drop the vial. Pig tears? What kind of sick thing is that? ¡°Oh-ho, I see you don¡¯t understand why I personally harvest the tears¡± he starts, wrongly assuming my confusion ¡°You see! Only one as great as I hand picks the ingredients he uses for his potions!¡± ¡°But¡­ why tears?¡± ¡°Pig tears are an excellent solvent! For one, you can harvest them without killing the pig, it¡¯s a renewable source. Secondly, since all things in this world naturally have some amount of magic, the tears will add a slightly magic property to this potion. And finally, it¡¯s cheap, and I¡¯m not giving a valuable solvent to some inexperienced child!¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Well, that made sense¡­ I guess. I open the vial and carefully pour the fluid into the flask. The root powder rapidly dissolves, leaving a clear mixture in the flask. ¡°And finally, you heat it!¡± Fredrick pulls out one of the apparatuses I didn¡¯t recognize. It was a round plate which rested flat on the table. Rising off the plate, was a pole. Attached to this pole was a ring. Fredrick placed the flask carefully onto the ring before saying, ¡°Okay, have you ever done this before?¡± ¡°Um, no I haven¡¯t¡± ¡°Okay, let me explain¡± Fredrick¡¯s previously obnoxious voice went softer, almost gentle as he spoke, ¡°This here is called the jouler, it is a finishing tool for alchemy. This is where your skill as an alchemist comes into play. Adding all those ingredients together is fine and all, but the finishing product is all on you¡± He continues, ¡°What you want to do here, is touch the plate and think ¡®Craft¡¯ doing this will activate the jouler and will finish the potion¡± I place my hands on the jouler - ¡®Craft¡¯. Immediately, I feel a slight strain on my body as a message appears, You have lost 1 Mana After the message appears, a red fire ignites on the plate. I flinch and try to move my hands away, but a force stops me. Fredrick holds my hands on the plate. I panic for a moment, but quickly realize that it doesn¡¯t burn. I watch fascinated as the flames dance around the bottom of the flask. The contents of the flask seemed to glow with a green hue. I was so entranced by the whole thing, that I was left speechless when the fire died down, Potion successfully crafted ¡°Go ahead, it¡¯s cold¡± Fredrick prompts me on. I gingerly touch the flask, testing to see if it¡¯s hot. It¡¯s cold to the touch. Fredrick hands me an empty vial. I take the vial and fill it with the newly crafted potion. ¡°The first potion crafting is always a magical moment¡± Fredrick chuckles behind me ¡°And your first one was a success. Even my first attempt failed, very impressive¡± Fredrick¡¯s words pull my attention away from the vial ¡°Oh uh, thanks¡± ¡°No problem kid, if you ever feel like becoming an alchemist, just visit me at my caravan. I¡¯ll be staying in Rhodrik for the next few days so make sure you don¡¯t miss me.¡± Fredrick turns to leave before saying, ¡°Oh and to find out what kind of potion you crafted, you just need to drink what¡¯s left in the flask, good luck kid¡± with that, Fredrick left the Guild. I looked at the flask, wondering what I made. I picked the flask up and placed it against my lips. Nothing ventured, nothing gained right? I drink the contents. At first nothing happens, but then my stomach started to hurt as a message appeared, You have been poisoned WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA --- I stand back at the market place where I began today. This was something new. I wasn¡¯t really expecting anything like what I got, but I enjoyed it none the less. I had met a friend in Jorven, I got cheated by Roseline, I had made a potion with Fredrick, and I poisoned myself. This was probably the most eventful day of my life. And as I opened the menu to log out, I already couldn¡¯t wait to return. Chapter 5 - Quest The next day I logged back into Terrane: Online. The events of the previous day were fresh on my mind as I booted up the visor. The white light flashed, and I found myself once again in the market place. I had no objectives today, so I decided to explore outside the city. I found my way back to the gate I had previously used. As I passed through the gate, a familiar voice greeted me, ¡°Hey you, you should be careful out there, don¡¯t go into the forest until you get a little stronger, there have been monster sightings recently¡± I turned towards the voice, and saw the same young guard as yesterday. I glanced around me before approaching the guard. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I ask ¡°Well, recently a skilled hunter had gone missing while in the forest. We hired a mercenary band to investigate, but none of them returned¡± Hmm, is this a quest? ¡°Is there anything I could do?¡± The young guard looks around before replying, ¡°well, if you were able to find out any information on what¡¯s going on out there, I¡¯m sure the city would be willing to pay¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°I would think a SP would be a reasonable price for the information. So, will you help me?¡± Quest: Find out what is happening in the forest. Rewards: 1sp. Do you accept Y/N? Yes. Quest added ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll look around for you¡± ¡°Oh thank you so much, you might want to buy some equipment before taking this on. It never hurts to be safe¡± ¡°Okay, thanks for the advice¡± I walk off thinking over that conversation. A quest from a guard in a starter zone sounds like something simple. Either way, I should probably buy some equipment. Suddenly, an idea pops into my head. I open my menu and check to make sure he¡¯s online. Nice, he is. I decide to call him. After a brief pause a voice speaks. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Hey this is Elli, I was wondering if you had some time to spare¡± ¡°Uhh, yeah I think I have a bit. Go to the east end of the city, I¡¯m at the smithy right now¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be there in a few¡± I hang up the call and begin to move. The gate I have been using was at the north end of the city, so finding my way to the east was pretty easy. As I neared my destination, I noticed the types of buildings changing. These building, unlike the ones I¡¯ve seen before are much more industrial. If I were to guess, this is probably the crafters district. I see a strange building. The building is without walls, instead it is an roofed hut, with several people working at different stations. I spot a familiar figure, who¡¯s massive stature dwarfs the other¡­ well¡­ dwarves. It was almost comical seeing the eight-foot tall beastman working next to four-feet tall dwarves. The elephant beastman was loudly smashing a hammer against a iron. With each resounding hit, I involuntarily flinched. Jeez that¡¯s loud. Jorven stops smashing the hammer as he lifts up a large sword from the iron. He hands it off to one dwarves, who takes the sword, which is taller than him, away. Jorven sees me and approaches.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Yo, what¡¯s up¡± ¡°Not too much you?¡± ¡°Just repairing a sword for a paladin¡± ¡°Cool¡± ¡°So, whadda ya need?¡± he moves onto the reason I¡¯m here ¡°I talked to a guard at the gate and I got a quest¡± ¡°Ohhh, was it to investigate the forest?¡± ¡°What. How did you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a starter quest, most players have done it already¡± ¡°Oh, so what is it?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s a secret. You¡¯ll have to do it yourself and find out¡± Interesting. I wonder why he isn¡¯t telling me anything. ¡°The guard at the gate said I should get some equipment¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I would recommend getting a class before trying to tackle that quest¡± ¡°A class?¡± ¡°Yeah, classes are great. When you play this game with a certain style, the system will offer a class. For example, if you sneak past enemies and steal items, the system might ask if you want to become a thief. And since Terrane: Online is a generated game, we don¡¯t even know how many classes there are¡± Jorven rattles off some reasons before getting to the important stuff, ¡°The game really starts after you get a class. The class will give you abilities and skills, and you will start being able to level up.¡± ¡°So what class are you?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m a metalsmith. It¡¯s an subclass of blacksmith¡± ¡°Subclass?¡± ¡°Yeah. After you get a class, you can advance that class to a form of subclass. For me, I started as a blacksmith, then after working almost exclusively with metal, the system offered me the class metalsmith¡± ¡°Wow, what does metalsmith do?¡± ¡°Well, as a blacksmith you can work with all the basic metals, and until you get a subclass. As a metalsmith, I can smith metal with more efficiency as well as working with high quality metal¡± ¡°Cool. I wonder what class I should get?¡± ¡°Well, just do what feels right. If you don¡¯t enjoy your character, you could always just make a new character¡± ¡°Alright. Thank you Jorven, you¡¯ve really helped me¡± ¡°No problem Elli, if you need some metal worked, just let me know¡± We wave goodbye as I walk off. What class to get. I was pretty useless against that rabbit, so probably not a combat class. Hmm what to do. As I walked through the craftsmen district, I spot a certain eccentric character by a caravan. ¡°Hey Fredrick!¡± I call out ¡°Hello miss¡­¡± ¡°Elli, I guess that neve came up yesterday¡± I pause for a moment before asking ¡°How would I go about becoming an alchemist¡± ¡°Oh ho ho, little miss Elli thinks she has what it takes to become an alchemist does she?!¡± Fredrick coyly asks ¡°Well I was just asking¡± ¡°If you want to become an alchemist as great as I you must preform a feat. A test so hard, so complicated that only the great I could accomplish it!¡± ¡°Well, what is it?!¡± his excitement was infectious ¡°Are you sure you want to know?¡± ¡°What? Yes! Tell me¡± ¡°Okay, okay. All you have to do is create a potion of level 5 or greater!¡± ¡°¡­that¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Well missy, look at the potion you made yesterday¡± I checked my inventory and looked at the vial of poison. Level 1 poison it said. ¡°What?!¡± level 1? ¡°Yes, level 1. To make a potion of level 5, you need level 5 ingredients. And I¡¯m the only one who has them¡± ¡°How much for them!¡± now that I have a goal, nothing can stop me! ¡°Nope, I only sell to full-fledged alchemists. If you want the ingredients, you have to find them yourself¡± ¡°Find them myself? Where would I even start with that?¡± I may have rushed myself with the whole ¡®nothing can stop me¡¯ thing. ¡°All you need to do, is find level 5 ingredients in the wild. You need at least two level 5 ingredients, and one level 5 solvent and then you just need to craft it. Doesn¡¯t seem as simple now does it?¡± Before he even finishes speaking I¡¯m off. I just have to find level 5 ingredients. Easy, maybe there¡¯s some in the field outside the city. ¡°Wait where are you going? I¡¯m not done talking!¡± I tune out what Fredrick saying so I missed it when he says, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know where the ingredients are?¡± It¡¯ll be hard to find these ingredients, but if I put my mind to it I will succeed! Chapter 6 - Swamp + Sorry THIS ISN¡¯T WORKING! I can¡¯t find any level 5 ingredients. I can¡¯t even find level 2 ingredients! I¡¯ve spent the last few hours in game searching through the fields, and all I could find was some root willow. My first few attempts at harvesting them were unsuccessful. I found that the trick was not to rip them out of the ground, but rather cut the ground around the root, and then take it out whole. No damage, perfect ingredient. Well, perfect for a level 1 ingredient. I managed to harvest 10 root willows before the supply ran dry. I couldn¡¯t find any more. I suspected it might have something to do with a limit on how many things can be harvested by a single player. The ground under my feet began to change from a grassy field into a wet marsh. I look up and notice I have gone far from the city. I¡¯ve probably gone an hour out. That¡¯s not a huge problem, Terrane: Online has a teleport system, where you can teleport back to a nearby city you have already visited. This system turns of in combat to avoid abuse though. As I attempt to walk into the marshland, a message appears, Warning, you are attempting to enter a level 5 zone. Are you sure you want to enter Y/N? I open my menu and look at my character. I was a level 1 rookie. I assume that rookie is the class that everyone starts with. Either that or I have made a mistake somewhere. But what to do here. This is a level 5 zone, so there are probably level 5 ingredients here. Well, since I haven¡¯t found any yet, I might as well look around right? Yes. The message fades away as I enter the swamp. Immediately after entering, the ground beneath my feet changes. Before it was wet marsh, now it was a full swamp. I felt my boots getting stuck in mud and I had to yank them out one at a time for each step. With every step I took, the mud made a squelching sound. The light was noticeably darker here, with clouds blocking off the sun. This swamp was east of Rhodrik, and there was a noticeable absence of players. As I trudged through the swamp, the resistance I faced from the ground was progressively becoming worse. ¡®Maybe it was because I was low level?¡¯ I thought to myself, but either way I had a job to do. Traveling deeper into the swamp, I started to become weary at the absence of monsters. A short distance ahead of me, I spot a patch of mushrooms growing from a mound of mud. These mushrooms were a dark brown and varied in size. I was about to approach the mushroom patch, when a splashing sound attracted my attention. In the swamp, a small deer appeared stuck in the mud. The deer was barely up to my waist. Near the deer, a giant stag stood, seemingly distressed over the stuck fawn. Before I could even consider helping, the mound of mushrooms rose from the ground. A pink object seemed to shoot out of the mound towards the fawn. As the object hit the fawn, I could clearly see what it was. A tongue. The tongue stuck to the fawn as it yelped in panic. The tongue retracted with lightning speed back towards the mound, as a huge from rose from the mud. The frog must¡¯ve been 10 feet tall, as it swallowed the fawn in one go. The giant horned stag, likely the fawn¡¯s parent, was very distressed. For a moment, it appeared like the stag would charge the frog. Instead, the stag retreated into the reeds, out of my sight. The frog¡ªhappy with its meal, begins to hop away¡ªeither not noticing me, or no longer hungry. On its back, the mushrooms grew. For a moment I was still. I had almost approached the giant frog and tried to pick mushrooms off its back. I almost died.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Haaa¡± I sighed in relief The frog appeared to be strong, so the mushrooms were probably strong as well. I had to have those mushrooms. But how to get them without¡­ well¡­ dying. I looked off in the direction the frog left in. The large frog prints in the mud were also a pretty clear indication of where it went. I decided to follow it for now, maybe an opportunity would arise to grab one. As I followed the tracks, the usual cover-plenty swampland died away to a muddy field. All over this field, were giant frogs. There must have been thirty of them hopping around. ¡®This must be a spawning area for giant frogs¡¯ I think As I examine the field, I move into a stack of reeds in an attempt to hide myself. Each of the frogs in this field had mushrooms growing on their back. I considered how to get one. I would have to be close, I don¡¯t have any way to remove one from far away. I would also need to be able to escape, which would be extremely hard if thirty frogs were all shooting their tongues at me. The best way to do this was probably to lure one of the frogs away from the others, then take a mushroom and escape. But still, how would I get the mushroom without getting eaten. An idea popped into my head. Not a great idea. But an idea. I had a plan, it would be risky, but it just might work. I pull out one of my daggers from my inventory and hold it in a throwing position. Phase one was a simpler job, I just had to pull a frog away from the others. I pulled back my arm and released it. The dagger flew towards one of giant frogs, before harmlessly splashing in the mud at its feet. The frog looked at the mud. Then it looked at me. It took a hop towards me. I started to run. With the frog hopping after me, I just had to get far enough away that the other frogs couldn¡¯t interfere. I hear something in the wind, and instinctively duck. A large pink mass passes over my head and hits a nearby tree. I keep running. The frog takes a moment to get its tongue off the tree before continuing hopping after me. Phase two. I had to climb a tree. I needed to have an elevated potion for this plan to work. The frog was probably only twenty metres away now and gaining fast. I look for a tree to climb. Luckily, a nearby tree has branches low enough for me to reach. As I grab onto the lowest branch, the force required for me to both lift my weight up, as well as get my feet out of the mud was much more than I expected. In a feat of strength, I was able to pull my feet out of the mud and onto the tree. Like a monkey, I quickly scramble up the tree. I manage to reach the top of the tree without the frog even attempting to hit me with its tongue again. Probably because of the branches in the way. By the time I stop climbing, I¡¯m about 15 feet above ground. So only 5 feet above the frog. The frog reaches the base of the tree and looks up at me. Its lifeless black eyes full of hunger. This is the most important part of the plan, either I succeed or die. I pull out the item I need and uncap it. As the frog¡¯s mouth starts to open, I can see its tongue begin to react. With quick reflexes, I drop the vial I¡¯m holding down the frog¡¯s throat. After the vial enters its throat, the frog closes its mouth. It had never been fed anything before? The frog was about to use its tongue to grab its prey, when a strange feeling started in its stomach. At first the frog ignored it, the meal was more important, but quickly it started to lose its focus, as its stomach began to painfully contract. I watched as the frog began to twitch in strange ways. ¡®I know the feeling¡¯ I think with as much empathy as one can for something trying to kill you The frog started to hop away from its prey, maybe it had tried to bite off more than it could chew. Soon, the contractions became to powerful to resist anymore, and it collapsed on the ground. ¡°That was surprisingly effective¡± I say to myself as I climb down the tree. When I had a sample of the poison, sure it was painful, but I didn¡¯t collapse or anything. Maybe it was because it had the entire vial. Although that poison was only level 1, maybe poison was really strong because of how difficult it was to use? Either way, enough thinking. I approach the collapsed frog, not really in the mood to be surprised if the frog wasn¡¯t as incapacitated as it seemed. I pulled out a dagger¡ªafter the one I threw earlier, I only had 4 left¡ªand began to cut away at one of the mushrooms. There was no blood from this, but I did manage to remove 3 large mushrooms. Obtained 3 ¡®Spore Frog Mushrooms¡¯. Level 5 ingredient. YES! I think, as the first step towards my class was completed. I decide to leave the swamp for now. The muddy ground was annoying to trek through, and I hated getting dirty. Although this trip was eventful, it appeared my day was not done. As I approached the exit from this swamp, life once again seemed to get in the way.