《No Respawn [Patch 2.0]》 Chapter 1: In the Beginning Once your HP drops to 0, you die. You may be revived or be brought back to life with methods that includes, but not limited to: defibrillation, healing magic or even dark magic as long as you do not suffer a physical and/or spiritual death. Although dark magic can make corpses move, it is not technically ¡®alive¡¯. There is no respawn. -Admin Anon, Surviving Earthland For Dummies, page 8.
Chapter 1: In the Beginning The whole room was covered with bookcases. Each bookcase contained stacks of hard copy of PC games in a neat order. The games in each shelf were grouped by genre ranging from Fantasy RPGs (Role Playing Games) to RTS (Real Time Strategy) games. All arranged alphabetically. Most of the PC games he had could be bought and downloaded online, but the owner was something like a gamer version of a bibliophile. He liked to collect hard copies of PC games. No console games can be found as the owner believed that consoles were only for peasants. Beside the PC game bookcases was another bookcase which contained actual books and they were also arranged alphabetically. Books about military strategy, finance, accounting, economics, and history that the owner inherited from his father. Most of his books, however, were downloaded online. Why pay for a book if you can download it for free? There were also magazines behind the bookcase that were carnal in nature and the owner made an effort to keep them hidden for emergency cases such as whenever there¡¯s no internet or whenever the power is out. The rest of the room was a mess. Similar to a garbage dumpsite, dirty clothes, used under wears, crumpled papers, cigarette ashes, cigarette butts and other kinds of trash were scattered all over the room. The floor was sticky because of a spilled soda. The room reeked of foul stench that anyone will think that there was a rotting corpse hidden somewhere in the room. Of course, that was not the case. This was the room of Miguel Arevalo. A twenty-year-old overweight teenager who was lazy to clean up his room, even though he was reminded endlessly by his sister. His nose had been already immune to the stench and his own body was starting to smell like his own bedroom. He had not taken a bath for almost a week now. His sister always reminded him to take a bath once in a while, but he kept making excuses. At that moment, he was sitting like a hunchback on his computer chair as the keyboard made a ratatat sound. xXxLordShadowxXx: pull the aggro u dumsht im fckin dying here CantTouchThis: its on cooldown U hav 2 much dps xXxLordShadowxXx: do sumting damit Like most typical MMO players, their naming sense are weird. xXxLordShadowxXx was Miguel¡¯s in game name in his favorite massively multiplayer online role playing game or MMORPG in short. Miguel was gritting his teeth as he concentrates on his character¡¯s hit points (HP). A mob of digital monsters was chipping away his HP faster than the cooldown of his healing potions. He pressed F1 button as fast as he can because if his HP drops to 0, his character will die. His character was a magic based class. A powerful ranged attacker who can deal high damage to multiple enemies. However, his class has a draw back. It has lower hit points and defense compared to melee based class. xXxLordShadowxXx: fcuk Of course, the inevitable happened. Normally, MMOs don¡¯t allow swearing in chat, but players can find loopholes in chat filter. Miguel repeatedly typed the word ¡®fcuk¡¯ on his keyboard to curse at his one and only party member. CantTouchThis was a melee based character who has high HP and defense but low damage. His job was to soak up the damage from the monster mob while Miguel deals damage. xXxLordShadowxXx was near to level up. He was only 1% away to maximum level and he lost a total of 10% experience points (EXP) as a penalty for dying. It was equivalent to a week straight of grinding on high level monster mobs. When his character died, his party member also followed him to the grave. ¡°Whooosa¡­¡± Miguel muttered, backing away from his computer. ¡°Whooosaaaah¡­¡± Miguel was trying the anger management technique that he learned from an action movie he watched. He inhaled and exhaled air with a force. As he managed to calm himself down, Miguel moved his computer chair forward and went back into the game. The first thing he saw on his computer screen was CantTouchThis¡¯ apology. He was tempted to type ¡°fuck you¡± in reply, but he managed to hold himself back. CantTouchThis: im sorry miguel CantTouchThis: howl was on cooldwon and i couldnt use my skill coz of silence Miguel let out a deep sigh as he typed on his keyboard. Exhaustion suddenly hit him and he felt too drained to argue. xXxLordShadowxXx: its ok xXxLordShadowxXx: im logging out xXxLordShadowxXx: gonna sleep now CantTouchThis: ok nyt Miguel clicked on the log out button at the top right of the screen and pressed Alt + F4 to switch off his computer. He and CantTouchThis were grinding for almost two months straight in order to reach the maximum level in the game before the summer break ends. But now, there was less than a week before the first day of the class. He wouldn¡¯t make it to maximum level before that. He decided to call it a day and get some rest. He was hoping to try to fix his sleeping cycle for the incoming class. Miguel stood at the front of his bed and stretched out his arms upwards. His bones were cracking from spending all day and night in gaming. He took out his cell phone to relieve himself of sexual urge before he goes to sleep. He almost didn¡¯t have time to watch pornography from level grinding for the past few weeks. Two shots and a roll of tissue paper later, Miguel had a look of satisfaction on his face and slept soundly on his soft bed.
The sound of sparrows chirping in the morning caused the rotting undead to awake from his long slumber. Miguel glanced at his alarm clock only to find out that it was only six o¡¯clock in the morning. He woke up an hour earlier than what he set the alarm. He was tempted to go back to sleep again, but he suddenly remembered that it was his first day of his class. He stood up from his bed, walking at a snail pace to the windows. ¡°Arrrghhh¡­¡± Miguel opened the curtains, groaning like a zombie as the sunlight hit his eyes. His laziness and exhaustion faded away as he basked in the gloriousness of the sun. ¡®Ugh! Is this sunlight?¡¯ Miguel almost forgot what the sun looked like. Miguel felt unusually energetic today. Perhaps it was the sunlight. Not only did he get long and peaceful sleep, but he was excited on the first day of school. He didn¡¯t know the reason why he was excited, but something deep inside his mind was telling him that his day would be great. Perhaps, it was because he was excited to meet her again, but he cringed at the idea. With a plan in mind, Miguel went to his bathroom to prepare. He took off his clothes and threw them away to the mountain of his mess. As he made his way to the shower, he stopped momentarily and looked at the mirror. He noticed something in the mirror that attracted his attention. Miguel always tells himself that he is never insecure with his looks. Dark brown eyes, oily cheeks, and a round shaped face. ¡®Nothing¡¯s changed,¡¯ He thought. ¡®I¡¯m still handsome.¡¯ On the contrary, Miguel was not a handsome guy. His beard was getting thicker and becoming closer to a full beard. His wavy black hair was down to his shoulders as he always forgets to go to a barber shop for two years. Miguel shaved his beard four months ago when he took a break from level grinding but his beard grows fast. He was fed up of shaving it again and again, so he let it grow. Besides, he would look like an overgrown baby with an oily face if he shaved his beard completely. Although he was only twenty years old, most people thought that he was already married and have kids of his own. He looked like a man in his early thirties. Miguel gained weight due to eating unhealthy junk food during the level grind. Actually, he was already fat even before he even went to college. He had a large tummy full of stretch marks and a man boobs to match it. He looked at the mirror and stared at himself. ¡®God, I¡¯m hideous. If only my reflection could scream,¡¯ Miguel thought, frowning at his hideous reflection. Miguel didn¡¯t want to admit the truth, but he had lots of insecurities. He hated himself for it sometimes. He tried to justify to himself that it¡¯s better to eat what he can before he dies and made a list in his mind of all the advantages of being fat. After a lengthy shower, he went downstairs to cook some breakfast. Due to his good mood, he made his favorite cheese omelette. He filled the scrambled eggs with loads of cheddar, cream cheese and parmesan on the top. He also cooked garlic fried rice and sweet pork sausages to complete his perfect breakfast. When Miguel was about to eat, he suddenly remembered that he wasn¡¯t alone in the house. He went upstairs and stood by the door with a pink carebears sticker and pink glittery letter stickers that spelled ¡®Jennifer¡¯. Miguel knocked on the door, ¡°Jen, wake up!¡± ¡°JEN!¡± He yelled, but there was no answer. As Miguel entered the room, his eyes squinted at the pinkness of his sister¡¯s stuff. From walls to lamp shades, even the floors were pink. He hated the color, but the smell of his sister¡¯s room had been always pleasurable to his nose. Miguel often wondered why girl¡¯s rooms always smell so good. He felt like his existence in a girl¡¯s room was blasphemy in itself. ¡°Jen. Wake up. It¡¯s already morning,¡± His sister still covered in blanket on her bed. He tried shaking her, but she didn¡¯t want to get away from her bed. ¡°You have a class this morning, right?¡± ¡°Um-hmm,¡± Jen groaned in response. ¡°I feel bad today. Let me sleep more.¡± ¡°Come on get up,¡± Miguel shook his sister even more. ¡°Get up before the food gets cold. I cooked breakfast.¡± Jen sat up from her bed and yawned. Her long black hair was a mess and her eyelids half closed. ¡°What¡¯s for breakfast?¡± ¡°Cheese omelette.¡± ¡°Is that a joke?¡± Jen frowned, rolling her eyes. ¡°You know I¡¯m allergic to eggs and I¡¯m lactose intolerant, right?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Miguel nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why I cooked sausages for you.¡± Her frowning lips curved into a smile when her brother mentioned sausage. Her full figure was revealed before his brother¡¯s eyes as she pulled away the blanket covering her. Even at a tender age of sixteen, Jen was already an attractive girl. Her sleeveless pink tops and shorts revealed her womanly figure; ample breasts, light brown and flawless skin. He was proud of how his sister was growing into a wonderful woman. As they began to eat their breakfast, Jen hogged all the sausages to her plate, leaving the cheese omelette to Miguel. ¡®She really loves sausages,¡¯ Miguel said to himself. The thought didn¡¯t have another meaning behind it, he was just making an obvious observation. ¡°Where¡¯s Mom?¡± Jen asked as she filled her mouth with food, her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel. ¡°She¡¯s still in the office. She called last night. She won¡¯t come home for a while because something came up,¡± Miguel replied. ¡°It¡¯s work. As usual¡± ¡°Is it because of monsters?¡± ¡°Monsters?¡± The question raised Miguel¡¯s eyebrows. Their mother, Monica Arevalo, was a cop. She worked as an agent for the National Bureau of Investigation. Ever since her mother was promoted to a head agent, she was barely home and most of the times, it was only Miguel and Jennifer in their house. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jen nodded, swallowing her food. ¡°Have you watched the T.V. lately? It¡¯s all over the news. There are monster sightings everywhere.¡± ¡°What kind of monsters?¡± ¡°Well, you know, big foot, giants, dragons. There are pictures on the internet. I¡¯ve seen the pictures and the videos, kuya. And let me tell you, I think they are real.¡± ¡°Not everything on the internet is real. Are you sure it¡¯s not edited?¡± ¡°It was confirmed real by an expert. The videos don¡¯t seem to be edited.¡± ¡°And who¡¯s the expert?¡± Miguel sniggered. ¡°Ghostbusters?¡± ¡°Ha-ha,¡± Jen responded with a deadpanned look. ¡°But seriously, I¡¯ve done my research. Everyone¡¯s saying it¡¯s a hoax, but I think- I think the government is trying to keep this as secret.¡± ¡°Of course they are,¡± Miguel rolled his eyes. ¡®They do it so it won¡¯t cause panic. God knows how stupid people can be!¡¯ Jen sighed in defeat, ¡°You¡¯re skeptical, I know. You don¡¯t believe in something without evidence, but you should listen to me at least.¡± Jen liked to play detective. At a young age, she has shown interest in police work and crime solving. It was clear that she was trying to follow her mother¡¯s footsteps. One thing that Miguel didn¡¯t like about Jen was that, she was a conspiracy theorist. She believed in ridiculous theories such as UFOs, Illuminati trying to take over the world and government hiding evil secrets to the public. Miguel was one of the few people who were willing to listen to her batshit crazy theories. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll listen,¡± Miguel sighed. ¡°Tell me what you know and I¡¯ll tell you my opinion on it.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Jen took off and rushed upstairs. Miguel could see her sister¡¯s passion for whatever she was trying to achieve and he knew that his sister was a loner because of her weird beliefs. He would always listen to his sister¡¯s ramblings and provide an opinion on the matter. Even though they always have a different conclusion at the end of the argument, it makes Jen happy that her brother was willing to listen to her. That is as long as she had proof to support her claims. Of course, passion does not always result to quality work. In Miguel¡¯s opinion, Jen was the shittiest detective ever. Jen came back with a folder containing the research she worked hard for almost her entire summer break. She stood beside Miguel and opened the folder to show him the pictures and reports of the monster sightings. She gave him a background of the case and it seemed that it was an internet sensation for the past few months. As expected, it was another nutcase conspiracy theory. Miguel mentally sighed, ¡®Time to wear my tinfoil hat.¡¯ ¡°A couple reported to the police that they saw a giant wolf in Mt. Makiling when they were on a hike,¡± Jen flipped the folder, showing a picture of a gray wolf figure that was obscured by branches. ¡®This one¡¯s too easy.¡¯ Miguel tried his best to stop sneering. ¡°But that could be just a regular wolf and not a monster. I mean, it¡¯s a mountain,¡± Miguel didn¡¯t know much about biology and animal¡¯s natural habitat, but he believed that there was always better explanation for things. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too, but there are no wolves in the archipelago at all. The only closest animals to wolves are aspins and dingoes. Dingoes are already extinct, by the way,¡± Jen explained. ¡°The witnesses said that this wolf was as big as a horse. They took a picture from their phone, but the moment the wolf noticed them, it disappeared.¡± ¡°Disappeared? You mean, it ran away?¡± ¡°Disappeared. That¡¯s their statement,¡± Jen nodded as she adjusted her eyeglasses. ¡°They said that the wolf faded and disappeared.¡± ¡®That¡¯s just ridiculous!¡¯ Miguel let out a sigh as he suddenly lost his interest in the case. ¡®Who believes that shit?¡¯ ¡°I know you¡¯re still not convinced, but this incident with a giant wolf monster?¡± Jen flipped another page and showed him a different picture of the same giant wolf. ¡°This picture was taken in Hokkaido, Japan and the one who took the picture said the same thing. The wolf faded and disappeared.¡± ¡°It could be that whoever took that picture was just following the trend,¡± Miguel gave a noncommittal shrug. ¡°Just like ice bucket challenge. Everybody¡¯s doing it.¡± ¡°These two incidents are unrelated. The first giant wolf sighting happened almost at the same time as the second one. It wasn¡¯t an internet trend at that time. The second picture was actually taken by a wildlife conservationist. He thought that he was seeing a Hokkaido wolf and guess what? Wolves are also extinct in Japan!¡± Jen gritted her teeth as she saw Miguel looking at his phone, ¡°Are you even listening? You promised you¡¯ll listen!¡± ¡°I¡¯m still listening. I¡¯m just browsing the net,¡± Miguel said, still looking at his phone. ¡°Go on.¡± Jen continued to tell him more about the monsters. She compiled reports and pictures for the past few months. It contained pictures of 12 foot giants with yellowish skin, small humanoid green creatures with sharp nose and pointed ears and other monsters that looked like they came straight from fantasy books. Miguel found that the photographs weren¡¯t obvious CGIs. He was convinced that the people behind the photos weren¡¯t amateur nerds. They¡¯re professional ¨C professional nerds. Very professional and very nerdy. He still wasn¡¯t convinced. Even so, he was impressed at how much Jen put effort on her research that she even dared to show it to him. ¡°Now tell me what you think,¡± Jen stared at him, eyes glimmering with hope. Unfortunately, nothing can prepare her for her brother¡¯s answer. ¡°It¡¯s not real,¡± Miguel sighed, shaking his head and massaging his temple. ¡°Is that denial I¡¯m hearing?¡± Jen scowled, furrowing her eyebrows. ¡°Care to explain why?¡± ¡°Four reasons,¡± Miguel put up three fingers. Yes, three fingers. ¡°First, these monsters appear out of nowhere always in a place where there¡¯s not much people around. Why not show up in a more public place? Like a mall, a park or a highway. Second, they disappear without physical trace. Is that even possible? That giant ape monster can leave footprints. Third, although there were also reports in other countries, I don¡¯t see any reports about monster actually attacking people or animals. Why just sightings? Are there any actual monster attacks?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s why I¡¯m telling you. It¡¯s because the government is covering it up,¡± Jen stammered as her theory began to fall apart. ¡°And the fourth reason?¡± Again, Miguel let out a sigh as he showed his sister what he was doing with his smart phone. He drove the final nail in the coffin for Jen¡¯s hard work. ¡°All of those pictures and videos were taken using a phone. I get it. It¡¯s convenient and it¡¯s the only thing they have on them at the time of the sighting,¡± Miguel showed Jen an app on his smart phone that can edit any picture and videos that can put a realistic monster on the background. ¡°It¡¯s all fake, Jen.¡± ¡°No way¡­ I never thought of that,¡± Jen stared at the floor and grumbled. She was tempted to throw the phone in rage when the same giant wolf monster was also one of the feature of the app. ¡°Nice try though,¡± Miguel smirked. ¡°B-but the government. They probably made this app¡­¡± ¡°Jen¡­¡± Miguel stood up and pat his sister¡¯s back to console her. ¡°If it¡¯s true, then the government is doing the right thing to keep it as a secret.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not right!¡± Jen bellowed. ¡°The people have a right to know. They¡¯re smart-¡° ¡°A person is smart,¡± Miguel corrected her, quoting the shittiest alien movie of all time, ¡°but people are dumb. Just imagine if this goes out of hand. There will be panic and chaos everywhere. The world will fall even before the monsters attack.¡± After they finished their breakfast, Miguel looked at his watch and it was already 7:57 a.m. His first class starts at 9 and he certainly didn¡¯t want to be late. Jen stared at him with a frown as if expecting something from him. ¡®What is it? Oh, that¡¯s right. The lunch money!¡¯ Monica set up a joint bank account with her son, so he can withdraw money from the ATM for their expenses. Miguel was the one who takes care of the payment of the bills, fixing their perpetually faulty sink, going to the market and cooking their food, while his sister, Jennifer, takes care of the other house chores. When Miguel handed her the money, Jen¡¯s lips curved into gorgeous smile, ¡°Thanks!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cook, okay?¡± Miguel said. ¡°Order a takeout. Please let me eat tonight. Don¡¯t cook anything poisonous.¡± ¡°Fun fact: You can eat coal,¡± Jen pouted her lips and folded her arms. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll order something that you can eat.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Miguel jested, clasping his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll be back at 5 p.m.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t come back at all,¡± Jen scowled, slamming the door. ¡°I¡¯m just joking.¡± The door opened again, ¡°I know. I¡¯ll tell you more about the monsters when you come back home. Bye!¡±
First impression lasts ¨C Claire believes. Claire Roque did her best to prepare and made sure to wake up early in the morning. She learned a painful lesson when her tardiness became a habit. She endured humiliation from her professors and sneering from her classmates. She vowed to change everything. In order to win against an insurmountable opponent, arriving early in the class would be her first step to victory. Of course, that wasn¡¯t her only reason why she arrived early. According to her credible source, Professor Davide, their world history professor, has a weak voice that makes him hard to hear during his lectures. It was only obvious that she should arrive early to get the seat in the front. Furthermore. Professor Davide was known to be cruel and he does not hesitate in giving failing marks to the undeserving. It was a norm in college that professors provide orientation to his students, but Professor Davide was known to skip these formalities and start his lectures on the first day. However, Claire was well-prepared for the Terror Professor. In order to defeat her opponent, Claire spent some time studying in advance to give her an edge against her academic competitors. Her credible source gave her a list of books that their professor uses as a reference. Claire was practically prancing on the hallway with a smile as she made her way to the classroom. Her preparedness for the incoming battle alleviated her mood significantly. That was until she saw the Devil. The real opponent was not Professor Davide, but the man who was casually sitting at the back she called the Devil. He was wearing his usual bored expression on his repulsive face while reading a book. As usual, he looked like a savage caveman due to his shoulder length hair and full beard. The man (or pig, she wasn¡¯t sure which) was her greatest rival; the student who stood on the top of their class already ruined her day before it even started. His mere presence made her blood boil. Devil was just one of his many names: Satan, The Great Enemy, Demon Spawn, Swine, Son of Perdition, You-Know-Who, and Miguel Arevalo. Even the sound of his true name was appalling to hear. What kind of parents would name their child Miguel? It¡¯s too archaic. Surely, Claire wouldn¡¯t even name her dog as Miguel if she ever had one. It¡¯s downright cruel to animals. Claire deeply exhaled and straightened her back as she composed herself before she presents herself to the enemy. As she walked towards a vacant chair, she pondered about why the Devil was sitting at the back. Perhaps he was well-prepared that he did not feel the need to listen to the professor¡¯s lectures or maybe he forgot about the professor. Claire knew that the former was highly probable as the Devil was an arrogant prick. After all, it was the Devil himself, who informed her about the professor and gave her a list of books for her to study. The Devil was certainly, without a doubt, a terrible person, but so far and ironically, he never told her a lie and his sources were accurate. She would be a fool not to trust the information that Devil provides. A terrible mistake that she made last year that caused her to fail a test in one of her subjects. The Devil himself was her only reliable source of information. Ask him a question and he will answer truthfully. He will even be brutally frank, if you ask him for an advice. If you ask him about his references on his study, he will go as far to give you a list of books that you must certainly read. If you requested it, he will gladly explain to you the topics that you failed to understand. As a bonus, he will give you pointers on what topics you should focus on for the exams. He will help you with your studies for free and he will even devote some of his precious time to teach you. The Devil was a kind person at first glance, but that was what made him dangerous. Even if you got all of his references and read the books he read, even if you¡¯re sure that you are equal or more than equal his level, somehow, he will always be one step ahead of you and win. The Devil does not cheat, Claire was certain about that. In fact, many professors suspected him of cheating and made him retake the test. Imagine the disappointment that the professors had when the Devil actually got higher marks even though the questions were made to be more difficult than the first exams. Claire¡¯s grades improved remarkably because of him. She should¡¯ve been grateful to the Devil for his advice, his patience and the time he gave away freely in order to teach her, but one does not earn many nicknames without a good reason. After all your efforts to study in order to beat him, the Devil¡¯s devious and arrogant smirk will make you realize how hopeless your struggle was. As a bonus, you will receive insults and he will make sure that you see how pathetic you are for even thinking that you can win against him.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Claire stopped in her tracks as she peered over at Miguel. She noticed that the book he was reading was not related to the subject and even though he advised that she should come early to get a good seat, he was not following his own advice. It was probably his arrogance. Claire shook her head. She knew him for a year now. Miguel was better than that. She was certain that Miguel¡¯s actions were just a ploy. She had to keep her enemy close. ¡°You¡¯re early, pipsqueak,¡± Claire sat beside her enemy as she abandoned her plans to sit on the front. She will make sure to see the end of his schemes. ¡°God, you do love to ruin everyone¡¯s day early in the morning, huh?¡± The other students in the classroom were shocked when they heard her insult the man at the back. They pretended to be busy as they secretly listen to the verbal fight. ¡°Why are they fighting?¡± One student whispered to another, but even at the back, Claire can hear their conversation clearly. ¡°Don¡¯t mind them,¡± Another student answered quietly. ¡°They¡¯re always like that. I love to watch that asshole getting wrecked.¡± ¡°And you keep on sitting next to me like you always want your day ruined,¡± Miguel said dryly. ¡°I¡¯m starting to think that you like me.¡± ¡°One can only dream,¡± drawled Claire. ¡°Seriously though, just seeing your face can already ruin somebody¡¯s day. I guess that¡¯s why you always have that dejected look whenever you go to school. I wouldn¡¯t be too happy if that¡¯s the face I see whenever I look in a mirror. Hah! If only your reflection could scream.¡± Miguel furrowed his brows, mouth agape in disbelief. Claire beamed as her pre-emptive strike was effective. Although successful, she focused on planning her next attack as the battle has only begun. ¡°It¡¯s the only face I got,¡± Miguel shrugged, finally turning his gaze towards her. ¡°And it¡¯s the face of the top student. Sorry, Miss Roque. Or should I say, Miss Second Place.¡± ¡°Miss Second Place, huh? That¡¯s your comeback? That¡¯s so lame!¡± Claire scoffed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter though. I¡¯ll beat you this semester.¡± ¡°One can only dream,¡± Miguel rolled his eyes as he used Claire¡¯s own insult. There was a pause. Animosity can be felt in the atmosphere as the two glared at each other. Unfortunately for Claire, nothing can prepare her for Miguel¡¯s decisive counter attack. ¡°I often wonder why I always get higher grades than you in every subject even though you constantly suck up to our professors. I guess that¡¯s the limit of how far you can go from being beautiful,¡± Miguel snapped his fingers. ¡°Ooh- how can I forget? You actually got a higher grade in P.E. than me last semester, right?¡± Claire cast her gaze away in embarrassment as Miguel brought one of her humiliating mistakes. ¡°And you even bragged about it. Ha-ha!¡± Miguel slowly clapped his hands, continuing his tirade of insults. He covered his mouth as if whispering to Claire, but his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°Congratulations, by the way. You successfully seduced a dirty old man. Not much of an achievement, but still commendable.¡± Claire suddenly stood from her seat, face reddened with rage. Sadly, Miguel was not yet finished. ¡°Wait. Is that why you¡¯re wearing that today?¡± Miguel sniggered as he pointed at Claire¡¯s outfit; a V neck blouse that showcased her assets and denim shorts. ¡°You¡¯re planning to seduce our professor? Again?¡± ¡°So what if I am?¡± Claire retorted as she couldn¡¯t think of any comebacks. The other students who were sniggering at her. ¡®Shit! I shouldn¡¯t have said that!¡¯ ¡°Professor Charito Davide,¡± Miguel shook his head and sighed. ¡°What makes you think your seduction will work on her?¡± Claire furrowed her eyebrows, ¡°Her?¡± ¡°Yes. Her,¡± Miguel said matter-of-factly. ¡°She¡¯s already married and I don¡¯t think she would want that kind of relationship with women.¡± Claire wished the earth would just swallow her up. Her anger dissipated and was replaced with feelings of extreme embarrassment. ¡°Oh, did you just assumed her gender based on her name?¡± He snorted as he turned away his head. ¡°Hilarious.¡± Miguel was cackling like the Devil he was while the rest of the class chuckled. Claire was at a total loss as she made herself looked and sounded desperate to win. Truly, he was evil incarnate. Claire deeply sighed as she went back to her seat in a calmed and defeated manner. She grabbed a book from her bag to distract herself while Miguel did the same. They pretended like nothing ever happened. The tension between them could still be felt in the air, but they had an agreement that they will never distract each other while studying, except when they want to ask important questions to each other. Thus the battle was concluded in favor of Miguel. The battle was over, but the war goes on.
Miguel couldn¡¯t insult Claire by pointing out a flaw in her looks as there were none to be found. Her beauty was truly a marvel to behold. Her creamy alabaster skin was smooth like that of an infant. Her almond-shaped eyes were alluring that one would wonder if her eyes belonged to a human. Even the rest of her body, chest, hands, feet, her hair radiated with elegance. She was also taller than him by at least two inches! He is a 5¡¯6¡± and that¡¯s why she calls him pipsqueak and many height-related insults. It was no secret that she was offered many times to join beauty pageants, but for some reason, she rejected them all. Miguel would admit that he fantasized her every now and then. She was wearing a denim shorts, revealing her slender, flawless legs. Unfortunately, Claire hated his guts and it went without saying that Miguel hated her as well. Her beautiful form was just a fa?ade which hid her rotten personality. She would make sure to insult him in every possible way, especially in the most uncomfortable times. Not to mention, she even played cruel pranks to him! Miguel thoroughly enjoyed seeing Claire¡¯s frustration and certain defeat. He was well aware that Claire hangs out with him because sticking with him meant higher grades. To make it more entertaining, he gives Claire every means to defeat him to give her hope. Like the clear skies in Bane¡¯s prison that gave a little hope of escape and the slow torture of the soul. Truly, it was amusing to see your opponents struggling to no avail. Miguel began to wonder if Claire was a closet masochist. Of course, Miguel did not believe that Claire was lacking in mental capacity. By all means, he considered her as his toughest enemy-to-date and a worthy opponent. There was no doubt in his mind that she was also smart and cunning. Claire was aware of her own beauty and the fact that she was not afraid to use her large assets to gain advantage only gave credence to her cunning. She knows that she¡¯s beautiful. Miguel held respect for her because of her determination to win even though some of her methods were often underhanded. Miguel was unaware that Claire was stealing glances at him as she twirled her long black hair with her fingers. She was wondering why Miguel was reading a fictional book instead of studying. Again, this was one of Miguel¡¯s never-ending ploy to irritate the fuck out of her. One that he was excited to unveil before her very eyes. ¡°Miguel!¡± A voice called his name. ¡°Long time no see!¡± ¡°Morning, Eric,¡± Miguel turned his head towards the voice¡¯s direction and bobbed his head. ¡°Morning,¡± Claire greeted in a bored tone. Miguel couldn¡¯t help but feel jealous about Eric. Standing for at least 5¡¯10¡± in height and had a muscular and fit body as a result of playing tennis. Eric¡¯s look reminded Miguel of a Hollywood actor, Ben Barnes. Coming from a rich family and with a drop dead handsome look, it was no surprise that Eric would attract many women. ¡°By the way, we watched a movie last night. Why didn¡¯t you two come?¡± Eric asked. ¡°I was planning to introduce you to my girlfriend and you guys ditched me!¡± Claire shrugged, ¡°I was busy studying all summer.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Eric¡¯s eyes squinted, smelling a lie in his friends¡¯ story. ¡°How about you, Miguel? You would¡¯ve met my new girlfriend if you came.¡± ¡°I had a fever last night,¡± Miguel lied. ¡°I would¡¯ve watched too, if I wasn¡¯t feeling too sick.¡± The truth was, Miguel was too lazy to move yesterday. He didn¡¯t feel like going because seeing Eric¡¯s hot new girlfriend would only make him more bitter. Because of his bad reputation with girls and his default axe murderer face, he never had a girlfriend, never been kissed and he was still a virgin. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot!¡± Eric snapped his fingers. ¡°You¡¯ll never believe what happened in the theatre last night!¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Miguel closed his book as he listened to Eric¡¯s story. Even Claire showed a little interest as she did the same. ¡°We saw it! We saw a monster in the theatre!¡± ¡®Not this again,¡¯ Miguel mentally sighed as his interest about Eric¡¯s story vanished in an instant. ¡°Oh,¡± Miguel flipped his book open. ¡°What kind of monster?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I think it¡¯s an ogre.¡± ¡°An ogre? Like Shrek?¡± Claire, judging from her bored tone, was also uninterested with the topic. ¡°No, not like Shrek! It¡¯s- um- It has yellow skin and-and it was huge!¡± Eric made a gesture with his hands. ¡°And like they said in the news, it disappeared. All of us in the theatre saw it! It was the ugliest and the coolest thing I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s a real monster?¡± Miguel asked, eyebrow raised. ¡°You were watching Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. Maybe you saw-¡° ¡°I know what I saw,¡± Eric shook his head. ¡°Dianne and my girlfriend were there too. They saw it too.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Claire and Miguel said in unison, sighing at the same time. ¡°You guys don¡¯t believe me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re my best friend. Of course, I believe you,¡± Miguel tried his best to make it sound convincing. ¡°Me too,¡± Claire gave him a slight nod. ¡°It was real, you know,¡± Miguel almost had a heart attack when a girl suddenly butted into their conversation. ¡°The police came and they closed the mall. Your mother was there too, and she asked us some questions about what we saw.¡± ¡°Dianne, when did you-¡° ¡°Just now,¡± Dianne replied before Miguel could finish his question. ¡°I thought I was going to be late., so I came here running. Whew!¡± As Dianne told her boring version of the incident, Miguel maintained his gaze while pretending to listen. The first thing he noticed about her was her new haircut. From what Miguel remembered, Dianne had a long and straight black hair but now, she had a short bob haircut that made her cuter. She was a petite girl with a small childlike face and stood only up to Miguel¡¯s chin. Dianne was one of the few girls that weren¡¯t hostile to Miguel. She and Eric were Miguel¡¯s only friends since high school. Sweet, caring and innocent as opposed to Claire¡¯s personality and almost as gullible as his sister, Jen. ¡°¡­ And that¡¯s what happened,¡± Dianne bobbed her head. ¡°So what do you think, Claire?¡± ¡°What surprised me is the fact this Devil had a mother,¡± Claire sneered. ¡°I¡¯m convinced that he¡¯s a spawn of Satan with a goat. Are you sure he wasn¡¯t born from the deepest circle of hell?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so rude to him,¡± Dianne folded her arms. ¡°You already saw Miguel¡¯s mom.¡± ¡°I did?¡± Claire¡¯s eyebrows rose up. She smirked as she turned to Miguel. ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t remember. I have a poor memory when it comes to ugly faces.¡± ¡°Hohoho!¡± Eric chuckled, rubbing his chin. ¡°Do remember when the three of us saw Miguel with a pretty woman? They were eating and laughing together in a restaurant. That was valentine¡¯s day and you were in a bad mood because of it.¡± There was a pause. ¡°That¡¯s Mrs. Arevalo,¡± said Dianne. ¡°That¡¯s Miguel¡¯s mom.¡± Claire furrowed her eyebrows as she turned to Miguel. ¡°That¡¯s your mom? Are you adopted?¡± ¡°I had that doubt too in the past, but she¡¯s my biological mother.¡± Miguel admitted as he shrugged, then he turned to Claire with a smirk of his own. ¡°What surprised me is the fact that Miss Roque would be angry if I date another woman.¡± ¡°Honestly, I didn¡¯t know she was your mom,¡± She shrugged, trying to sound not concerned. ¡°I was angry, not because I was jealous, but I just couldn¡¯t believe that a woman can be so stupid to date a man like you. I thought she already reported you to the women and children¡¯s desk for sexual harassment or something. Just looking at your face feels like I¡¯m already sexually harassed. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if other women feel the same.¡± ¡°You should be more honest with your feelings, Claire.¡± Eric teased, wearing the same smirk as Miguel. ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious you two have a thing for each other.¡± ¡°I¡¯m being honest with my feelings for him - I want him to die and go back to the dark abyss from where he came.¡± ¡°Maybe I should take you with me,¡± Miguel retorted. ¡°Or not. Hell will be more chaotic if you¡¯re there. Just leave hell alone, will you? They already have enough problems. Or so I¡¯m told.¡± Dianne turned her head to Miguel, lifting one finger to lecture him, ¡°Miguel, you should treat her like a lady. You won¡¯t snag a girlfriend if that¡¯s your attitude.¡± ¡°Right. You¡¯re telling me that even though you never had a boyfriend, Dianne,¡± Miguel rolled his eyes as Dianne flushed in embarrassment. ¡°If Miss Roque wants to be treated like a lady, she should act like one or maybe I will, if she¡¯s a lady in the first place.¡± ¡°Are you saying it¡¯s my fault that you¡¯re a misogynistic swine?¡± Claire ranted. ¡°First, dark abyss then swine? Wow! Where had you even learned those words? The dictionary? King James bible?¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t use fancy words too much,¡± Miguel raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯ll overwork your poor tiny brain if you keep doing that.¡± Eric covered his mouth, trying to suppress his laughter. ¡°How about we just settle things outside? Just so you know, I¡¯ve been taught by my brothers how to deal with men like you. I had a couple of fights with the boys in high school.¡± Claire glared, cracking her knuckles. ¡°Ooh - I¡¯m so scared.¡± Miguel raised his hands in defeat ¨C in a sarcastic way. He cleared his throat and tried to speak in a deep gentlemanly voice as best as he could. ¡°I do not wish to fight you, M¡¯lady. From this day forth, I shall treat thee with respect as befitting a well-mannered, polite and dignified lady.¡± He bowed ¨C also in a sarcastic way. ¡°Are you saying you can¡¯t hit a woman?¡± Claire snorted. ¡°Or are you just afraid of getting your ass kicked by one? It has to be the latter, right? Hah! You¡¯re a coward. Do you even have balls?¡± ¡°Cowardice has nothing to do with it.¡± Miguel dismissed her with a wave, then he raised two fingers. ¡°I assure you, M¡¯lady. I have testicles - Two of them, in fact. A word of advice: Asking a gentleman about his testicles is unladylike and unbecoming for a well-bred maiden such as thee.¡± A vein popped in Claire¡¯s temple as her face reddened with rage, ¡°Fuck. You.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Miguel chuckled. ¡°Truly, a paragon of modesty.¡±
The class ended, but the history professor was nowhere to be found. Claire left the classroom with disappointment clearly drawn on her face. She was too fired up to impress their professor on the first day of class. In the end, the professor never showed up nor did she gave the class a heads up that she will be absent in her first class. Miguel was snickering at Claire¡¯s downcast looks. Though he wasn¡¯t the one who caused Professor Davide¡¯s absence, he knew her personally and she texted Miguel to inform the class in advance that she¡¯ll be absent to take care of personal matters. It was time for lunch and the four of them rode Eric¡¯s car on the way to a new restaurant that Eric kept on blabbering about. Miguel noticed that Eric seemed to be excited about a restaurant which was unusual since he would only get excited with four things: A good loot in online games, an event in online games that only wallet warriors can participate, tennis and a hot chick. ¡®Suspicious. Very suspicious, indeed.¡¯ Miguel suspected that even though Eric had a newer girlfriend, he was already on his way to his next victim. He knew his best friend well enough that he lost count of how many ex-girlfriends Eric had. ¡®If only I was handsome like he was.¡¯ Miguel sighed. ¡°Why are you guys so obsessed with grades?¡± Eric asked with irritation in his tone. ¡°When you graduate, it doesn¡¯t matter if you have high grades. Companies hire people to perform and not for some imaginary points on paper.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Dianne nodded in agreement. ¡°Studying is good for you, but I don¡¯t think you should be obsessed with grades. It won¡¯t matter that much in the end.¡± Claire and Miguel cast a glance at each other. What Miguel and Claire hated the most were the people who looked down on those who love to study. There was no need for words for their next course of action. Even two enemies will join forces to destroy their common enemy. ¡°Is that so?¡± Miguel furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°If grades are just some imaginary points on paper, why do you bother with video games then? You spend lots of time and money on your character, CantTouchMe. Is it just for some imaginary points on the internet?¡± Eric¡¯s in-game name was CantTouchMe. Eric loves to play video games like Miguel. That was why the two of them get along well. However, Miguel detested Eric¡¯s online gaming habit. He spends too much money to get strong. These players are referred in online games as wallet warriors. Wallet warriors are generally hated by the gaming community because they gain unfair advantage over other players using real money. Eric¡¯s character, CantTouchMe can be a tank and a damage dealer at the same time. This power in the virtual world can only be possible through the use of real money. The companies owning the servers don¡¯t have a choice since wallet warriors are the life blood that keeps the game running. ¡°That¡¯s different,¡± Eric shook his head. ¡°Video games are my hobby and I can spend my time and my money wherever and whenever I want. Online games are my life.¡± ¡°Studying is my life too. Maybe it doesn¡¯t matter to you, but it matters to me.¡± Claire argued. ¡°Grades. Don¡¯t. Matter,¡± stated Dianne. ¡°It¡¯s not a measure of a student¡¯s intelligence.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Eric nodded in agreement. ¡°Each person is unique. You can¡¯t judge a fish for its ability to climb trees. That¡¯s why grades are stupid.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Dianne agreed. ¡°Oh?¡± Claire turned to Miguel. ¡°How about you Satan? Do you agree with that?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say I agree, M¡¯lady.¡± Miguel shook his head. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°People are always judged by a standard. That¡¯s a fact. No matter how good or bad a person is, he will always be judged based on a standard. If a person did a crime, the law acts as a standard that will judge that person. Good people are judged as criminals, not for what they are, but for what they did. Grades are the same. It¡¯s true that it doesn¡¯t measure intelligence, but it measures the effort that a student put on his studies. Just like the law, it¡¯s not a perfect standard, but it¡¯s the only standard that we have.¡± ¡°Well said,¡± Claire nodded. Miguel and Claire gave each other a sharp nod as they successfully put down the naysayers. What they didn¡¯t know was that it was just Eric and Dianne¡¯s scheme to get the two together. It was extremely rare for the two to agree on the same thing. In fact, they have devised a clever plan that failed miserably when the two didn¡¯t come to the movies last night. Eric and Dianne grinned and winked at each other for their success. ¡°Take Claire for example, she studies hard for her scholarship and to keep up with me.¡± Miguel added. ¡°But the truth is, she¡¯s an incurable idiot. It doesn¡¯t matter if she sucks up or seduce our professor because that¡¯s her effort. People judge her as a smart person because of her grades and not as a dumb bitch who uses massive tits to her advantage.¡± ¡°Oh fuck you,¡± Claire swore at him as they gave each other the finger. ¡°A-anyway,¡± Eric said as he tried to change the topic. He was mentally shaking his head as the two were irreconcilable like oil and water. Their plan failed again ¨C miserably. ¡°What do you guys think of the news about monsters appearing everywhere?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not true,¡± Claire clicked her tongue as soon as the topic was changed. ¡°It¡¯s another bullshit they call news these days.¡± ¡°Then what do you call what we saw last night? We saw that monster with our own eyes.¡± Dianne scowled with a high pitched tone. ¡°Do you call that bull ¨C crap?¡± ¡°No, I think that¡¯s called delusions, Dianne,¡± Claire retorted. ¡°Seriously though, you and Eric are sounding like you have schizophrenia or something. Maybe you two should check a doctor.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not crazy, Claire. We know what we saw,¡± Eric turned his gaze on the rear-view mirror, looking at Claire with a serious expression. ¡°We didn¡¯t even get to see the movie because the ogre appeared before the movie was started. Besides, we¡¯re not the only ones who saw that monster. There are hundreds of people in the cinema last night and all of us were witnesses. If what we saw wasn¡¯t serious enough, do you think the police would take us seriously? I mean, Miguel¡¯s mom was there and she¡¯s an NBI agent. That means something. Am I right, Miguel?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a head agent actually,¡± Miguel corrected, staring blankly at the car window. ¡°So what do you think, Miguel?¡± Dianne asked. ¡°What did your mom said about the monsters?¡± ¡°Mom didn¡¯t come home last night so I don¡¯t know,¡± Miguel shrugged. ¡°Mom doesn¡¯t talk much about her work,¡± he paused for a few seconds, ¡°Actually, now that I think about it, she never talked about work at all. You¡¯ll have more luck extracting water from a rock than getting her to talk about work.¡± ¡°Maybe your mom is a spy so that¡¯s why she doesn¡¯t tell you anything about her work,¡± Eric suggested. ¡°You mean to say, Tita Monica is secretly working for the CIA?!¡± Dianne jaw slacked. ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°A spy?¡± Claire snorted, looking at Miguel incredulous. ¡°Like James Bond?¡± ¡°No, Dianne. The CIA works for the United States and not the Philippines,¡± Eric corrected Dianne then turned his eyes to Claire. ¡°And no, Claire, there are no spies like James Bond. For real though, James Bond must be the worst spy ever. He doesn¡¯t hesitate to blow his cover by shooting guns at the enemy and making explosions everywhere. The point of espionage is intelligence gathering and infiltration. Not blowing things up.¡± ¡°My mom is not a spy. She¡¯s a cop,¡± Miguel shook his head at where the conversation was heading. ¡°I think the police came to the mall because of the number of witnesses about the incident. After all, you don¡¯t get hundreds of people seeing a monster at the same time.¡± ¡°What? Now you believe this monster bullshit too?¡± Claire shook her head in disappointment. ¡°I ¨C I don¡¯t know what to believe, Claire,¡± Miguel let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Just this morning, Jen showed me a bunch of pictures and news articles about these monster sightings. She¡¯s been researching these incidents for a few months now.¡± Then Miguel told them about the details of his sister¡¯s research. ¡°So it¡¯s true then,¡± Dianne bobbed her head. ¡°It¡¯s really happening everywhere.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. I mean I disproved her evidence by showing her this,¡± Miguel took out his smart phone and took Claire¡¯s picture with it. He showed everyone Claire with a yellow giant monster in the background. ¡°I don¡¯t think you guys should believe anything my sister said. She believes governments are hiding secrets. Even though I¡¯m her brother, I have to say she¡¯s nuts.¡± ¡°No way!¡± Dianne¡¯s eyes almost bulged as she saw the monster in the picture. She handed Miguel¡¯s phone to Eric to show him the picture. ¡°Look, Eric. This looks exactly like the monster we saw last night!¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Eric narrowed his eyes, glancing at the picture. ¡°Maybe your sister is right. Maybe the government is hiding secrets.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Dianne nodded in agreement. ¡°This app is made by the government to cover it up.¡± Miguel and Claire palmed their faces at the same time. When they finally arrived at the restaurant, Miguel noticed that there were no other cars parked in the parking lot except for Eric¡¯s. His suspicion grew when they entered as he found out that they were the only customers and a gorgeous woman was working as a waitress. ¡®I fucking knew it! You lucky bastard!¡¯ ¡°Mel!¡± Eric waved his hand at the pretty waitress. ¡°Eric!¡± The waitress smiled. ¡°You eating? I¡¯ll just get the menu. Why don¡¯t you take a seat?¡± ¡°Hi Mel!¡± Dianne greeted her. ¡°Hi Dianne!¡± The waitress also smiled and she seemed to know Dianne. ¡°Mel, these are the two I was talking about yesterday,¡± Eric said as he sat. ¡°This is Miguel, my best friend.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Miguel,¡± The waitress greeted as they shook hands. ¡°Nice to meet you too,¡± Miguel gave the best smile he could muster. His usual smile would look creepy as his sister already pointed out. He even practiced smiling in front of a mirror every morning. As soon as the waitress saw his ¡®well-practiced¡¯ smile, Miguel knew in an instant that he screwed it up again as the waitress showed a hint of disgust on her face. ¡°And this is Claire,¡± The two of them shook hands together. ¡°She¡¯s Miguel¡¯s girlfriend.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Mel said incredulously. ¡°T-that¡¯s nice¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Claire kept her composure, glaring at Eric. ¡°They¡¯re just teasing me, but I¡¯d rather die single than to be with this guy.¡± ¡°Hahaha. I see,¡± The waitress let out an awkward laugh as she scratched her head. Miguel, on the other hand, was crying a little bit inside his mind. He was trying his best not to look like a creep in front of a woman, but that failed miserably. Not only that, but the waitress seemed to agree with Claire. ¡°She¡¯s my girlfriend, Melissa.¡± Eric said. ¡°She was with me and Dianne on the movies.¡± ¡°Anyway, you must be hungry. What¡¯s your order?¡± The waitress took out a pen and a small notebook. ¡°I¡¯ll have spaghetti with meatballs,¡± Eric said. ¡°Me too,¡± Claire and Dianne said in unison. ¡°How about you Miguel? What will you have?¡± Melissa asked as Miguel stared at the menu. He noticed that there wasn¡¯t much to choose from on the menu and most of the items on the menu that he liked to eat were out-of-stock. ¡°I¡¯ll have chicken curry?¡± Miguel squinted his eyes, hesitating to order a chicken curry. ¡°No, wait. Let me think.¡± After a few minutes of waiting, Melissa was tapping her foot. Claire, Eric and Dianne were also running out of patience as they were already hungry. ¡°Fine. I decided,¡± Miguel said as he closed the menu. ¡°I¡¯ll have spaghetti with meatballs.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Melissa sighed, trying her best not to slap her forehead. She rolled her eyes as she wrote his order. As they handed back the menu to Melissa, Miguel gave her a blank stare. His first impression of Melissa wasn¡¯t good. Miguel hated women with no patience. He was certain that she was a pretty woman with a rotten personality like Claire. Melissa looked like a woman in her mid-twenties and she was as tall as Miguel. Probably taller than him. ¡®God, I swear all pretty women I meet are taller than me or as tall as me.¡¯ Melissa had everything that Eric was looking for a woman: hourglass body shape, smooth and light brown skin, long and straight black hair. ¡®Nice ass too,¡¯ Miguel said to himself as Melissa turned her back and went to the kitchen. The restaurant looked mediocre to say the least. Although the place was neat and clean, the gray color of the walls and the cheap knockoff Renaissance style paintings further added the restaurant¡¯s gloomy ambiance. The ugly antique-ish furniture felt like they were in a Spanish-Filipino Cuisine restaurant, but the restaurant offered a wide variety of menus from different cuisine. A terrible idea for a restaurant. No customers, gloomy atmosphere, poor and limited choice of food on the menu. It was no wonder why Miguel was already expecting a poor quality of food. ¡°When did this restaurant open?¡± Miguel asked as he looked around. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of this restaurant before.¡± ¡°I think it was opened two months ago,¡± Eric replied as he sipped water. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°You said this is a good restaurant, but I don¡¯t see other customers,¡± Miguel said, his eyes scanning the place. ¡°I¡¯m not saying this is a bad restaurant. It¡¯s just my observation.¡± ¡°Well, this restaurant isn¡¯t popular, but Melissa makes delicious food. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love it.¡± ¡°Does she own this restaurant?¡± Dianne asked. ¡°Yeah, her family owns the restaurant.¡± From what Miguel concluded, the restaurant may not be doing well financially. He sighed as Eric began to tell them how he and Melissa met. As two girls were listening to his story, Miguel found himself bored and out of place because he couldn¡¯t relate to his story. He stared at his glass of water and noticed something weird about it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Miguel?¡± Dianne asked. ¡°Why are you spacing out?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind him,¡± Claire shook her head. ¡°He¡¯s just jealous of Eric. He¡¯s hopeless. He-¡° ¡°Shh¡­¡± Miguel placed his finger on his lips, looking distressed. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Eric asked as the others turned their attention to Miguel. Miguel carefully stared at the glass of water. It was vibrating. After a while, the table began to shake. ¡°Earthquake.¡± He muttered. Without a warning, the ground¡¯s movement rapidly became violent. There was a loud crash outside the restaurant and the alarm on Eric¡¯s car went off. Being a quick thinker, Miguel ducked and covered his head under the table. His friends saw what he did and they followed. ¡°W-what do we do?¡± Claire trembled as Dianne held her arm tightly. ¡°Shit! Shit! Shit!¡± Eric cursed, biting his nails. The three of them were panicking, but Miguel seemed to be unusually calm in the situation, ¡°Just calm down. Stay down and you won¡¯t be hurt.¡± The girls nodded, but Eric hesitantly agreed. The reality was, Miguel was scared as much as they were. The reason he was calm was that if he panicked then his friends will panic too. He needed to remain calm, so all of them would survive. Miguel reached out to his pocket and grabbed his cell phone. He dialled 911, but he hasn¡¯t pressed ¡®enter¡¯ just yet. He was waiting for the earthquake to stop and he would only press enter if they really needed help. ¡®This is weird,¡¯ Miguel said to himself. ¡®This earthquake could be a magnitude six. No, I think it¡¯s a seven. This is taking too long.¡¯ He looked at the time and it¡¯s already been two minutes since the earthquake started. ¡®Shit! I hope this restaurant won¡¯t collapse.¡¯ Eric tried to stand up as he heard a loud thud on the kitchen¡¯s direction, but Miguel grabbed his wrist and yelled, ¡°Stay down!¡± ¡°I need to save her!¡± Eric said as he tried to remove Miguel¡¯s grip. However, Miguel suddenly pulled him down and locked his best friend¡¯s arm behind his back. He effectively pinned Eric down to the ground. The girls were shocked. In their eyes, Miguel was attacking Eric for no apparent reason. ¡°I said stay down! Goddammit!¡± Miguel tightened the arm lock as Eric yelped in pain. ¡°Hey, listen-¡° ¡°Let me go!¡± Eric was struggling to break out. ¡°Listen!¡± Miguel screamed in Eric¡¯s ears. ¡°I¡¯ll help you rescue your girlfriend, alright? But I want you to listen first. Don¡¯t struggle.¡± ¡°Just let me go,¡± Eric cried. ¡°Please¡­¡± ¡°I will,¡± Miguel loosened the arm lock, but not so much that Eric would try to escape. ¡°I want you to wait for it to stop. How can you save her if you die?¡± When Miguel felt that Eric wasn¡¯t struggling anymore, he loosened his grip and let him go. Eric stared daggers at him, but he couldn¡¯t get angry at Miguel because he was right. The restaurant¡¯s roof might collapse on him and he¡¯ll probably die before he can get to Melissa. After a few moments, the earth stopped shaking. Miguel held Eric¡¯s wrist again, ¡°There might be an aftershock. Stay down.¡± ¡°You said you¡¯ll help me!¡± Eric pulled his wrist away. ¡°Fine! Go to her!¡± Miguel said. ¡°I¡¯m calling 911. Just go!¡± Eric stood up and rushed towards the kitchen. As Miguel held his phone to his ear, Dianne and Claire tried to stand up and follow Eric, ¡°Stay the fuck down!¡± The two girls were terrified beyond belief. Dianne hasn¡¯t seen Miguel so angry before ever since they were high school students. She knew how terrifying Miguel can be when he¡¯s angry. There was a lot to process on her mind; the earthquake and Miguel attacking Eric. She couldn¡¯t understand why Miguel did that to Eric. Claire, on the other hand, managed to calm herself down. She understood that Miguel was trying his best to keep them safe. Miguel stared at her with his phone still on his ear. She gave him a nod and embraced Dianne as she tried to calm her down. ¡°Thank you for calling 911. Your call is very important to us. Please hold-¡° ¡°Help me¡­¡± Eric came back carrying an unconscious Melissa on his arms. ¡°Take the phone call.¡± Miguel handed his phone to Claire. ¡°Tell them to bring an ambulance. Can you do that?¡± ¡°Uhm-hmm.¡± Claire nodded her head profusely. Miguel turned to Eric and Melissa. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Eric¡¯s voice cracked as he desperately tried to wake his unconscious girlfriend. Miguel saw a cut and blood on her temple. ¡®Just calm down. You know what to do,¡¯ Miguel took a deep breath. ¡®You¡¯re prepared for this.¡¯ First, Miguel observed his surroundings. The restaurant¡¯s ceiling looked like it won¡¯t collapse on them. Of course, he didn¡¯t want to be a victim too. In order to be sure, he pulled Melissa¡¯s body under the table to protect their heads. He heard sirens in the distance and people were also screaming for help, but Miguel ignored them as he proceeded to the next step. Miguel observed Melissa¡¯s body. He saw the wound on Melissa¡¯s temple. A debris fell on her head and she might have suffered a serious head injury. She would need immediate medical attention. Miguel then touched her neck. He couldn¡¯t feel any pulse, so he leaned his head towards her chest. He couldn¡¯t hear her breathing nor a heartbeat. ¡°I need to do a CPR.¡± ¡°W-what do we do?¡± Eric asked. ¡°Claire!¡± Miguel yelled as he turned to Claire. ¡°Any progress?¡± ¡°T-the line¡¯s still busy¡­¡± ¡°Call for help,¡± Miguel said to Eric. ¡°Use your phone and help Claire call 911. You too, Dianne!¡± ¡°O-okay,¡± Eric¡¯s hands were shaking as he reached out for his phone. Miguel grabbed his school bag. Inside his bag was a small box containing his very own first aid kit. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have the necessary items to perform a better CPR. His first aid kit only contained shears, gloves, gauze and tape, a roll of bandage, agua oxigenada, alcohol, cotton swab, a small flashlight, a lighter, and antibiotic cream. It wasn¡¯t much, but that was all he could fit in his small box. ¡®First step for CPR¡­¡¯ Miguel said to himself. ¡®If possible, remove the clothing out of the way of the victim¡¯s chest.¡¯ Miguel picked up the shears and removed Melissa¡¯s long sleeve blouse out of the way. He leaned his head to check for breathing and pulse again. It was the first time that Miguel would ever perform a CPR. His mother taught him how to respond in emergencies and how to do a first aid. He even watched videos and read instructional e-books on how to deal with emergency situations. To call for help was the first and most crucial step, but Miguel was not going to wait for an ambulance. He had to do something. Most people would think that learning these survival skills are a waste of time, but Miguel believed that one should always assume that the worst will happen and this seemingly useless knowledge might save a life. ¡®30 compressions, 2 breaths. Repeat the cycle. Don¡¯t forget to count. The tempo is important.¡¯ Miguel drew a line from Melissa¡¯s armpit to the center of her chest. He placed his hands on her breastbone. He made sure that his position was correct as he prepared to do the compression. He didn¡¯t want to fuck this up because if it goes wrong, he might accidentally kill Melissa. ¡®Here it goes¡­¡¯ ¡°One... Two¡­ Three¡­¡± Miguel counted out loud as he pumped Melissa¡¯s chest. After the count of thirty, he tilted Melissa¡¯s forehead and chin to open her airway. Miguel placed his lips over her mouth. He pinched the nose close and blew air into her. All while focusing on her chest to see if it rose up. Luckily, it did, but Melissa was still not breathing. ¡®Shit,¡¯ Miguel cursed. ¡®I have to do it again.¡¯ ¡°One¡­ Two¡­ Three¡­¡± Miguel counted again as cold sweat broke out of his forehead. After thirty counts, he repeated the same cycle of 30 compressions and 2 breaths. He was already on the third cycle, but there was still no result. Eric, Claire and Dianne tried to do their best to call for help, but the line was busy. Eric was becoming more desperate by each second. Miguel finished the fourth cycle and he had to blew air on Melissa¡¯s mouth. As he delivered the second breath, Melissa suddenly gasped for air. ¡°Thank god!¡± Eric cried. Fuck, yes! Miguel sighed in relief. His heart was still beating fast. He lay down with his back on the floor. He was glad that his CPR worked. He always wanted to try it if it really works, but he couldn¡¯t find an opportunity. ¡°Thanks man,¡± Eric smiled as he curled up his fist. ¡°No problem.¡± Miguel bumped his fist into Eric¡¯s. Though Melissa was still unconscious, the fact that she was breathing was nothing short of a miracle. ¡°Just keep her head and shoulder elevated until the ambulance arrives.¡± ¡°I got it!¡± Claire said. ¡°Hello, we need help-¡° All of a sudden, Claire dropped the phone and she fell unconscious. Next was Eric, and then Dianne. They all fell to the floor unconscious. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Miguel began to panic as his friends around him suddenly fell. He shook them as hard as he could to wake them up. ¡°Guys? Guys!¡± His vision began to blur and lost any semblance of control over his body. The restaurant seemed to turn on its side, but it was just him with his face on the floor. The noise of sirens and the people screaming for help went silent. There were only loud crashes and explosions in the distance. He smelled something burning. ¡®Is this the end?¡¯ Miguel thought. ¡®Am I going to die?¡¯ As Miguel slowly closed his eyes, he heard a ding sound like the sound of a call bell. The last thing he saw was blue. A blue screen appeared on the front of his face. *DING!*
Notification Message Test. This is a test.
Chapter 2: Let There Be Blue Screens You will gain five (5) additional attribute points each time you level up. You can freely distribute these points to Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS) and Charisma (CHA). You must acquire enough experience points (EXP) in order to level up. You can gain EXP by completing quests, gaining achievements and titles, and killing monsters or other players. -Admin Anon, Surviving Earthland For Dummies, page 5.
Chapter 2: Let There Be Blue Screens As Miguel slowly regained consciousness, another blue screen appeared floating in the front of his face.
Greeting, Earthlings! Welcome to the SYSTEM!
¡°What the hell is this?¡± Miguel muttered to himself. His hand went through when he tried touching the blue screen. ¡®A hologram? Is this some kind of alien invasion? What¡¯s a SYSTEM? Why are all the letters in upper case?¡¯ A moment later, the blue screen disappeared. Miguel looked around him. He found his unconscious friends still lying on the ground under the tablewhen he woke them up one by one. ¡°Who tore up my blouse?¡± Melissa asked as she covered her naked top with her arms. ¡°Why am I topless?¡± Staring at Melissa, Miguelopened his mouth, then closed it again. His lips could not spit out the words to describe his surprise. Last time he remembered, Melissa has just suffered a serious traumatic head injury that required immediate medical attention. She seemed to be fine which was good, but the wound on her head was gone! ¡°Ugh. What happened?¡± Dianne groaned, rubbing her forehead. ¡°My head hurts.¡± Miguel touched the screen of his phone only to find that it wasn¡¯t working. He never forgets to bring his phone fully charge before he goes to school and the last thing he remembered, his phone had at least 85% battery, ¡°Dianne, can I use your phone?¡± ¡°Here,¡± Dianne handed him her phone. Miguel tried to use Dianne¡¯s phone, but it wasn¡¯t working too, ¡°Is your phone¡¯s battery dead too?¡± ¡°No,¡± Dianne shook her head. ¡°I had at least fifty-percent. I think.¡± Miguel gave back the phone to Dianne, ¡°Eric, can I borrow your phone?¡± ¡°Miguel, what¡¯s this blue thing?¡± Eric pointed his finger at the empty air, ¡°Can you see this?¡± ¡°What is it saying?¡± Miguel asked as he continued to stare at Melissa. ¡°Greetings earthlings and welcome to the system,¡± Eric scratched his head. ¡°Can you see it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m seeing it too,¡± Dianne said. Everyone, except for Miguel, was too distracted by the blue screens that they were oblivious about Melissa¡¯s ¡®magical¡¯ healing! Miguel shook his head as he let it slide for a moment. He needed to focus on a more urgent and important problem. ¡®What the hell is happening?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m seeing the same thing,¡± Claire said, turning her gaze to Miguel. ¡°Is this hologram? It said earthlings. Maybe an alien invasion or something? And why is system spelled in upper case?¡± Miguel wasn¡¯t a conspiracy theorist, but he was truly doubtful of Claire. She seemed to have an ability to read his mind. That or their minds work the same way. The latter was an impossibility. Miguel was certain of it. After the ¡®greetings¡¯ blue screen disappeared, one blue screen popped up after another. Only this time, they were showing different messages. *DING!*
Merging of Earth and Midland Renaming World: Earthland
Disable Electronic Technology: Earthland All electronic technology such as communication devices, computers, and other electronic machines and equipment will fail.
Disable Advanced Weaponry Technology: Earthland All advanced weaponry such as, but not limited to, guns, explosives and other similar propellants will fail.
Disable Combustion Engine Technology: Earthland All machines using combustion engine technology such as Jet engine and etc.
Disable Language Barriers: Earthland Everyone will now have a common language: Common Tongue.
Enable Gates to Spirit Realm: Earthland
Enable Gates to Nether Realm: Earthland
Enable Midland Magical Laws: Earthland
Enable Runic Magic Technology: Earthland
Enable Monster Spawn and Monster Evolution: Earthland Monsters will spawn and evolve.
Enable Loot System and Shop System: Earthland
Enable Restricted SYSTEM Access to all Sapient Races: Earthland
The SYSTEM can be activated through your mind. There¡¯s no need to use voice or hand gestures. For more info, seek ¡®Help¡¯.
¡°Can you believe this shit?¡± Eric¡¯s eyes were wide open, pointing at the empty air in front of him. ¡®If this is a hologram¡­¡¯ Miguel thought as he looked around. ¡®Where is it coming from? Why can¡¯t we see each other¡¯s blue screen?¡¯ ¡°My phone isn¡¯t working,¡± Melissa said, tapping on the screen of her phone. ¡°The lights don¡¯t work either,¡± Claire switched the light on and off, ¡°What the hell¡¯s going on?¡± Miguel was also confused. He didn¡¯t know what to do since their phones were dead. If only his phone was working, he would call his sister and his mom to check if they¡¯re okay. He was worried and he feared for the worst. ¡®No.¡¯ Miguel shook his head. ¡®They¡¯re probably alive. I should go home and check on them.¡¯ After the series of blue screens disappeared, another one appeared which caught everyone¡¯s interest. *DING!*
Hello world! This is God. I bid all of you welcome to Earthland. I based this world from the current game I¡¯m playing, so I thought it would be a good idea to see how pests like mortals would survive in this kind of environment. I do hope you entertain me and enjoy it while you can. You¡¯re all totally fucked up now¡­ Good luck! P.S.: Once you die, you die. There¡¯s no respawn.
¡°Did it just say he¡¯s God?¡± Eric¡¯s jaw dropped as he pointed at his blue screen. Even though Miguel looked extremely calm on the outside, he was actually panicking and his mind was in total chaos. What made him panicked wasn¡¯t the fact that Jen¡¯s conspiracy theory about monsters turned out to be true. What shocked him the most was the existence of God himself. ¡®A god? A REAL god exists?!¡¯ *DING!*
Surprised? That¡¯s right, Miguel. I exist.
Blood was drained from Miguel¡¯s face. He was known atheist in their university. In fact, he was elected as vice-president in an atheist organization. The Philippines¡¯ population were mostly Catholics and being an atheist means that you are an outcast. The reason why Claire called him Satan, demon spawn and other nicknames was because of his lack of faith in god. Or rather, the absence of it. If only Miguel was living in the middle ages, he¡¯ll probably be burned at the stake. ¡®If you¡¯re god, then why the fuck did you turn this world into a game?! Are you fucking nuts?¡¯ *DING!*
While I admire the size and hardness of your testicles for swearing at me, I¡¯m not fond of blasphemy, so please don¡¯t swear when talking to me. Use proper capitalization when you refer to me. It¡¯s God. Not god. I¡¯m obviously the strongest amongst the deities or spirits who claim their selves to be gods, so I deserve the title ¡®God¡¯ with a capital G.
The existence of a god, especially of a vengeful god, is an atheist¡¯s worst nightmare. Miguel gulped as he read the blue screen¡¯s message. It was a warning from God himself and it was clear that He wasn¡¯t happy with his tendency to mock God. Not only that, Miguel realized that God could read his mind. ¡®No way,¡¯ Miguel shook his head in denial. Although a huge chunk of his doubt was erased about God¡¯s existence, he was doubtful that God could really read his mind. Miguel had a clever idea to test this hypothesis. However, he also thought of a test that wasn¡¯t offensive either. ¡®Hey God,¡¯ Miguel called God¡¯s attention through his mind, ¡®I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m still doubtful that you are a ¡®real¡¯ God.¡¯ *DING!*
Oh? Why is that?
¡®It¡¯s not my intention to offend you, but¡­¡¯ Miguel scratched his head, looking flustered. ¡®A guy claiming that he is ¡®God¡¯ in the blue screen isn¡¯t that too convincing. I mean, if you are in my position, then suddenly, a guy claiming he is God, would you believe it? Do you mind a little test?¡¯ *DING!*
Fair point. I don¡¯t really care about what you believe. Just believe in whatever you want to believe, but regardless, I¡¯d like you to refer me as God. Believe me when I say, I am powerful. After all, it was I who placed the SYSTEM in your world. Lately, I¡¯ve been reading an interesting book and I think it said: ¡°Thou shalt not test thy Lord thy God.¡± Nevertheless, I¡¯m in a mood for this ¡®little test¡¯ of yours. Go ahead. Give your best shot.
Miguel have thought about what to ask. Since it will be hard to prove that God is indeed a god, he just wanted to confirm whether or not God of the blue screens can read his mind or access his memories. ¡®Who was my first kiss?¡¯ *DING!*
No one. You¡¯ve never been kissed by anyone before. Your mom and your sister did, but it doesn¡¯t really count. I won¡¯t consider that mouth-to-mouth moment with the pretty waitress because that wasn¡¯t even a kiss. You never had a girlfriend and you¡¯ll most likely be a virgin forever. In fact, you have the makings of a great wizard ¨C a twenty-year old virgin wizard.
¡°What¡¯s wrong, Miguel?¡± Dianne asked, waving her hand in Miguel¡¯s face. As Miguel collected his thoughts, he was thinking of not pushing it any further. Besides, he would be angry too if a person doesn¡¯t recognize his existence. However, Miguel decided not to worship God. He bet that God doesn¡¯t like ass kissers. ¡®I mean, who does? An insecure and impotent god. That¡¯s for sure.¡¯ *DING!*
That¡¯s right! I hate ass kissers! Speaking of which, there are millions of people kissing my ass at this very moment. It¡¯s very tempting to smite them, but that would ruin the fun. I don¡¯t need their praises or their prayers. Who do they think I am? A genie? An insecure divine being? Pffftt¡­ You are fun to talk with, you know. We should do this a lot. What do you say?
¡®I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s not like I have a choice, do I?¡¯
For being worthy of God¡¯s attention, the SYSTEM rewarded you with the following: Reward(s): Unique Perk: Quick Learner Your mind can process information and learn faster than normal. Effect: You earn Exp and Skill Exp as twice as fast.
Miguel stroke his beard as he read the message. Certainly, it won¡¯t be called a unique perk if someone other than him has it. ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡± Miguel suddenly erupted in laughter. Miguel had a feeling that he would be an overpowered character. For most of his life, he felt that he was a comic relief in someone else¡¯s story (Probably Eric¡¯s). This was the moment when the most inconspicuous character gains an overpowered ability that will certainly act like a plot armor and instantly promote him as the main protagonist of the story. Kicking bad guys¡¯ asses and women falling on his lap like there¡¯s no tomorrow. ¡®Does that mean I can get a harem too?¡¯ Miguel shook his head, shaking off his ridiculous delusions. He was back to his usual pessimistic self. He knew that the world doesn¡¯t work like that. The fact that he can think quickly through his newly gained ¡®perk¡¯ didn¡¯t erase the fact that he can still die. Most women, if not all, aren¡¯t that shallow to fall in love that easily. Sure, he has the potential to become a super bad ass with laser swords and magic or something, but who cares? Why would you want a woman who¡¯s in love with your power and not with your personality? A harem? Not impossible, but highly unlikely. Like most people (just like men), they don¡¯t like sharing. Hell, he won¡¯t even share a woman with another man, so why would a woman share him with another woman? That is if he can manage to snag a girlfriend. ¡®Did God just prophesized I¡¯ll be a virgin forever?¡¯ Miguel knew that whatever the hell¡¯s happening, he wasn¡¯t in some sort of a novel or something. This is real life. While Miguel was cackling like a madman, the others were staring at him with confused expressions. ¡°Err¡­¡± Eric scratched the back of his head. ¡°Is there a problem? What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°I think he lost it,¡± Claire commented. *DING!*
I wouldn¡¯t be laughing if I were you. Monsters are spawning in a few seconds¡­
Global Quest The Monster Hour! In celebration of a successful Merge, God has decided to reward those who will survive the first hours of the Merge. Main Objective: Survive for the first twelve (12) hours of the Merge. Reward(s): 5,000 Game Credits and a Skill Scroll of your choice. Requirement(s): None You cannot abandon or refuse the acceptance of a Global Quest.
¡°AH! HELP ME!¡± Miguel and the others were reading the details of the quest when they suddenly heard a loud shriek outside. They rushed towards the door to see what was happening outside. ¡°What the hell¡­¡± Destruction. Chaos. Even those words fell flat for describing the scenery. The air was heavy with the smell of burning flesh and a haze of black smoke obscured the sun. The usual noise of a busy, highly urbanized city was replaced by the screaming of plea for help. The once tall and proud structures were nothing more than ruins of rocks, dusts and scraps. The four of them stood frozen in fear, not because of the destruction that was already done, but because of the massacre unfolding before their eyes. ¡°No! No! Please!¡± A woman let out a blood curdling scream. She was curled up on the ground, desperately trying to protect her baby. Pale green skin, sharp and long nose and two small tusks on its jaw. The hairless creatures stood only up to three feet in height, but they weren¡¯t children at all. They clawed and chomped off the limbs of the poor woman. After the woman died, one of the creatures picked up her crying baby. The baby shrieked in agony as the creature feasted on him with its small but jagged teeth. The ground was painted with blood as more creatures came to feast on their corpses.
Goblin Lvl. 2
He yanked his friends¡¯ hands back to the restaurant as they stood frozen in fear. Some of the goblins turned their heads and growled at them like starving predators on their prey. As five goblins rushed towards them, Miguel¡¯s brain sent signals throughout his body to run. Closing the door in a hurry, Miguel and his friends ran back towards the restaurant.¡°Goblins,¡± Miguel¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief, slowly backing away from the door. ¡°Get me something to block the door!¡± Miguel locked the door and held it while the goblins continued to pound on the door. The others freaked out as they try to find something to keep the monsters outside. Eric saw a heavy cabinet and lifted it with his adrenaline packed strength. Melissa assisted him as they put down the cabinet in an effort to block the door. They grabbed the tables and the chairs hoping that it would be enough to keep them from entering. ¡°Behind you!¡± Melissa cried. Unfortunately, there was goblin that already made its way into the restaurant. Unlike the other goblins outside who were unarmed, the goblin had a rusty dagger in its hand.
Goblin Lvl. 2
The goblin seemed to be hesitating to attack them, seeing that it was outnumbered five to one. Miguel took the initiative and charged towards the goblin with a chair. Miguel found it strange that he can see a small blue screen floating on its head. Shaking his head, Miguel had to make a move as he had no time to ponder on such things. The goblin snarled as he grabbed anything that he could use as a weapon. The closest thing was a wooden chair. Though it didn¡¯t look sturdy, it was better than his fist. -29 HP! The impact was so strong that it sent goblin flying and crashed into the wall with a loud thud. Miguel was so focused on killing the goblin that he didn¡¯t pay attention to the blue number that appeared above the goblin¡¯s head. The goblin was dazed and whimpered at the giant figure that poured out a murderous intent. It had no choice but to cower in a corner as Miguel raised a wooden chair leg above his head to finish off the poor monster. -16 HP! -41 HP! Critical Hit! EXP Gained: 3.50% Warm blood splashed on Miguel¡¯s face as he repeatedly bashed the creature¡¯s head. He failed to notice that the goblin was already dead when he hit it full force on the head, but Miguel did not care. He wanted to make sure that it was really dead. Miguel felt his breath running short and had to stop. The goblin was almost unrecognizable and its brain matter splattered on the tiled floor. Catching his breath, Miguel turned his attention to his friends, ¡°Are you okay?¡± The shocked looks on their faces confirmed that the recent events have indeed traumatized them. Miguel was hoping that his friends do not develop PTSD. Seeing a woman and her baby and other humans being eaten alive by little green monsters would be enough for a sane person to break. Not to mention that they were almost killed by those monsters. When Miguel recovered his breath, he stood up to dust his shirt. The goblins who were trying to break their way through the blocked door have stopped as their attentions turned to other humans on the streets. Eric seemed to have regained his composure and breathed out a deep sigh. He picked up a chair leg with a sharp nail on its end as he calmly walked towards the goblin¡¯s disfigured remains. His hands were shaking and his face wrapped in disgust. Miguel was wondering what he was doing, but Eric vomited after he poked the corpse with the chair leg. He rubbed his best friend¡¯s back as he hurled whatever he had for breakfast. Miguel was wondering why it did not bother him for a bit. He just killed another living being. A human-eating monster, but still a living being. Miguel shrugged off any shred of remorse. In his reasoning, he had to kill in order to survive. ¡°Miguel!¡± Claire shouted, pointing at his back.
Goblin Lvl. 3
Goblin Lvl. 3
Miguel, on the other hand, was trained in Arnis, a Filipino martial art, by his mother and his grandfather. Though his reflexes were honed by the strict training in his childhood, his superior reflexes dulled over the years as a result of procrastination. Even so, Miguel will never be fast enough to dodge the arrow on the fly nor can he catch it with his bare hands like in the movies. The two goblins aimed their bows and fired off their arrows at the two humans who have killed their kin. Eric was quick enough to hit the ground and dodged the arrow by a narrow margin. He was quick to flip the table to protect him and the others against the arrows.When Miguel turned around, he cursed his luck as he saw two more goblins behind them. Though they looked the same as the goblin that he killed earlier, they seemed deadlier because of their levels. Worse, they have bows and arrows! -14 HP! Technically, Miguel caught the arrow - with his body. The arrow landed squarely on his right thigh. Falling to the floor, he desperately crawled to cover as he endured the pain of the arrow wound in his thigh. ¡°Shit!¡± Eric cursed as he saw the arrow on Miguel¡¯s thigh. ¡°Are you alright?!¡± Miguel ignored Eric¡¯s obvious question as he peeked over the flipped table. They flipped two more tables to protect their left and right flanks. The goblins weren¡¯t taking any risks to close in. They seemed to plan to wait and take them down in a safe distance with their bows. Miguel turned his head towards the three girls who were hiding underneath a table and with the terrified looks on their snotty bawling faces. Normally, he would¡¯ve yelled at them and criticize for being useless, but the pain kept him distracted. Miguel broke the arrow shaft into two, leaving a little broken shaft and the arrow head inside his flesh. He didn¡¯t pull out the arrow completely because it will just cause him to bleed and he needed what was left of his strength to deal with the two goblins. ¡°Just stay there,¡± said Miguel, then he turned to Eric. ¡°I¡¯ll take the one on the left. Can I rely on you to take the other one?¡± ¡°W-what are you planning?¡± Eric stammered. ¡°You want to take them on? They have bows for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice,¡± Miguel shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re coming from the door in the kitchen. We have to close that door or there¡¯ll be more goblins coming inside. We need to kill those goblins first. Help me lift this table¡­¡± Eric reluctantly lifted the table up as they made their move. Eric and Miguel rushed in towards the two goblins with the wooden table as their shield. However, the goblins were smart and they went separately in the opposite direction, aiming to attack their exposed right and left flanks. ¡°Now!¡± Miguel shouted as they dropped the table. Before the goblin could launch its arrow, Miguel threw his weapon at the goblin in a desperate attempt to make it miss. Luck seemed to be on his side at that very moment. The wooden leg landed on the goblin¡¯s face, causing its arrow to miss its mark. While it did not do any damage, it gave Miguel an opening to kick the goblin on its torso. -12 HP! Stunned! The goblin ducked to evade the attack, but the kick landed on its head instead on its original target. Blue sparks appeared above the goblin¡¯s head resembling the stereotypical cartoon ¡®stars above the head¡¯. Miguel knew that the stun debuff was only for a short time, so he looked around for anything that he could use as a weapon. The nearest thing that resembled a weapon was an arrow in a quiver strapped on the goblin¡¯s back. He picked it up and pinned the goblin¡¯s arms with his legs to keep it from escaping. Miguel stabbed the goblin in the eye. -32 HP! Critical Hit! Bleeding! -5 HP! Bleed Damage More blood splashed on Miguel¡¯s face as the goblin let out a piercing scream of agony. There was another marker that appeared above the goblin¡¯s head. A red ball dripping droplets of blood and each droplet was accompanied by a blue number which was the damage from the bleed debuff. The goblin flailed its arms and legs, hoping to escape. However, it was futile struggle. The blood on Miguel¡¯s face and its scream intensified his fury. It was the same goblin who shot an arrow at him. Miguel held the arrow above his head to stab the goblin again. This time, he aimed for the other eye. -28 HP! Critical Hit! Having lost both of its eyes, the goblin screamed in agony. Miguel was slightly amazed that the goblin was still alive after stabbing both of its eyes. The goblin¡¯s desperate whimpers sounded like it was begging him to stop, but Miguel wasn¡¯t feeling merciful. Not after he saw the goblins eating humans. -34 HP! Critical Hit! EXP Gained: 6.50% Miguel stopped stabbing the goblin after it stopped moving. He turned his head around to see how Eric¡¯s progress with his goblin. It seemed that he has already taken care of it and the goblin¡¯s head was turned into a red mush, but Eric didn¡¯t show a sign of stopping. His eyes were wide open as he kept on smashing the lifeless corpse, screaming like a mad man. ¡°Stop,¡± Miguel walked towards Eric and grabbed his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s already dead.¡± Eric nodded profusely as his hands trembled causing him to drop the bloody wooden leg that he used as a weapon. He checked on him if he was injured and the blood on Eric¡¯s shirt didn¡¯t come from him. Suddenly, Miguel felt all of his strength left his body as he fell on the ground. The girls then rushed towards them and the waterworks started again. ¡°Oh god!¡± Dianne bawled as he held Miguel¡¯s hands. Miguel began to wonder how much tears did Dianne have in store. Ever since the earthquake, she didn¡¯t do anything but to cry and hide in a corner. Also, Miguel found it surprising that Claire had a worried look when their gazes met. She didn¡¯t say anything, nor did she cry, but he can tell from Claire¡¯s wet eyes that she was nearly there. Even Melissa and Eric, who was a madman a moment ago, looked at him with concern, which was odd, because he was feeling fine and perhaps a bit tired. He felt like he wanted to take a short nap. Miguel had a sudden realization that the arrow was still lodged in his thigh and that was why they were looking at him like he was dying. He shook off unnecessary thoughts in his mind. He remembered that the door in the kitchen was probably open and they needed to make sure that the restaurant was safe. ¡°Lock all the doors and cover the windows. Do not make a sound. The monsters are still out there. Eric, go to the kitchen and make sure there are no more of those things in this place,¡± Miguel said. ¡°Okay,¡± Eric nodded as he picked up his club. As Eric went to the kitchen, the girls proceeded to close the curtains and Melissa lit up some candles to help them see in the dark. There were still lots of screaming outside, but Miguel told the girls not to mind them and focus on their own survival. After a few minutes, the others went back to Miguel. ¡°You were right,¡± Eric said as he crouched. ¡°The door in the kitchen was open.¡± ¡°What do we do now?¡± Melissa asked as she fidgeted. ¡°Just stay quiet,¡± Miguel panted, eyelids half-closed, ¡°and stay alert.¡± Miguel adjusted his back and leaned on the wall. He tried to reach for his first aid box. Without another word, Claire grabbed the box for him and opened it. Miguel was cursing himself for his stupidity, ¡®Of all the things, I fucking forgot the painkillers! Fuck!¡¯ At that moment, Miguel realized that his plot armor was as faulty as the perpetually faulty sink back in his house. This life will not just let him off that easily. Miguel turned to Melissa, ¡°Do you have any painkillers?¡± Melissa shook her head in reply, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Anything alcoholic? Like whiskey? Or rum?¡± ¡°I think we have a bottle of brandy somewhere.¡± ¡°Get me a bottle. Anything,¡± Miguel demanded. As Claire tore his bloodied denim pants with the shear, Melissa came back with a bottle of brandy. The possibility that hospitals and emergency services were no more as the result of the apocalypse led Miguel to a decision to pull the arrow by himself. A stupid decision, but he couldn¡¯t let the arrow stay on his wound either. Shrugging off the burning sensation in his throat, Miguel drank a fourth of the brandy bottle in three gulps with hopes that it would lessen the pain. He put his handkerchief to his mouth to guard his tongue from his teeth and also to prevent him from screaming. He tightly tied his belt on his thigh to prevent bleeding. Not minding the sight of blood, Claire disinfected her hands with rubbing alcohol from the kit and wore a pair of gloves. She rubbed another generous amount on her gloved hand as per Miguel¡¯s instructions. The others couldn¡¯t bear to watch as Claire inserted her finger inside the wound to enlarge the wound and to check if it was stuck. Miguel let out a muffled scream, biting hard on his handkerchief. -10 HP! Whimpering in pain, Miguel removed the handkerchief from his mouth and drank another round of brandy. Clenching his teeth on the handkerchief again, he gestured Claire to continue. Luckily, the arrow wasn¡¯t lodged in his bone. Claire easily pulled out the arrow from his enlarged wound. Even if it was just a ¡®flesh wound¡¯, pulling an arrow from your body was excruciating. He almost lost his consciousness from the pulling, but he felt a great relief after like a huge splinter was just removed from his body. Quite literally. ¡°Miguel!¡± His vision started to blur as he heard the others calling out to him. ¡°Miguel!¡±
Miguel was jolted awake when he felt a cold, wet sensation on his face. Dianne was wiping the dried blood on his face with a wet towel. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to wake you up,¡± Dianne apologized, lips forming a slight smile. ¡°What happened?¡± Miguel asked, rubbing his aching head. Probably from a hangover. The last thing he remembered was the pain of pulling the arrow out of his thigh. ¡°How long was I out?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Dianne frowned, shaking her head. ¡°Clocks don¡¯t work anymore, but I guess you were out for a few hours?¡± Miguel scanned his thigh and it seemed that the others did a good job of dressing his wound by using his first aid kit, ¡°Who did this?¡± ¡°I did,¡± Dianne said with a smile. ¡°Did I do it wrong?¡± ¡°No, you did a good job,¡± Miguel let out a chuckle as he ruffled her hair. He hoped that his wound wouldn¡¯t get infected or worse, he could tetanus because the goblin¡¯s arrow was filled with rust. It was strange that his wound didn¡¯t hurt as much even though he was only out for a few hours. Miguel carefully pressed his wound with two fingers as he clenched his jaw. Much to his surprise, the wound didn¡¯t hurt even though Miguel applied pressure into it. Miguel removed the bandage and inspected his thigh again. There was no wound to be found! Just patches of dried blood on the skin and a scar, but no wound at all! Miguel looked up to Dianne, hoping that she was also seeing the miraculous healing of his wound, but her gaze was distant and her eyes looked¡­ empty. Miguel let out a sigh as he had a lot to process in his mind. His wounds magically healed was far less important than the current dangerous situation they were in, which was being trapped inside a building with monsters just outside their doorstep. ¡°Did something happened while I was out?¡± asked Miguel. Dianne, still frowning, nodded, ¡°The goblins tried to get in through the back door of the kitchen. They almost got through.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t worry. Eric barricaded the doors and the windows. He found some hammer and nails,¡± Dianne waved her hands. ¡°And the goblins?¡± ¡°They¡¯re gone. I think,¡± Dianne replied, not sure of her answer. ¡°There were trumpets earlier. Eric said that it might be a signal for the goblins to retreat. They stopped pounding on the door and left as soon as they heard the sound.¡± ¡°Trumpets?¡± Miguel furrowed his brows. Dianne nodded. ¡°How about you? You aren¡¯t hurt, are you?¡± Miguel smiled as he ruffled her hair. ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± Dianne lunged herself to Miguel and wrapped her arms around him. ¡°I¡¯m so ¨C so scared. I-I don¡¯t know what to do! I¡¯m so scared!¡± ¡°Shh. We¡¯re gonna get through this, okay? Whatever happens, we¡¯ll stick together,¡± Miguel embraced Dianne, trying his best not to roll his eyes. Miguel could not blame Dianne though. It was normal to be afraid and rightfully so. Even Miguel was afraid, but he was good at not showing it. The thing they just witnessed was only the beginning of a massive clusterfuck of whatever was waiting for them outside. As Dianne cried over his shoulder, Miguel noticed that Eric, Claire and Melissa were not around, ¡°Where are the others?¡± Dianne wiped the tears with her wrist as she hiccupped, ¡°Eric and Claire are upstairs looking for anything we can use. Eric said he¡¯s trying to make weapons or something. Melissa¡¯s cooking in the kitchen.¡± Miguel stood up. He wanted to confirm if the goblins outside were gone. Miguel went to the window and slightly opened the window to peek only to see¡­ nothing. Of course, Miguel wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything because of the darkness. The candle lights were the only things illuminating the room and since there was no electricity, there were also no lights outside. Miguel prayed to all the imaginary gods in his mind that the nothingness that he was seeing was truly nothing. Miguel picked up the wooden chair leg that he used to kill the goblins then he took a chair to begin the so-called ¡®taking the watch¡¯ that he saw many times in zombie apocalypse movies and TV series. Though there were probably no such thing as zombies in this post-apocalyptic world, he was hoping that some of the useless and impractical things that the protagonists did in the zombie movies would actually turn out to be useful and practical. Miguel would need to think of a plan on how to survive, but he also needed the cooperation of his friends in the planning as he was no expert in survival. Sure, Miguel knew how to apply first-aids and he also knew how to respond to flood/tsunami situations, which was the most possible emergency situations in their archipelago country, but not this one. This monster ¡®apocalypse¡¯ was the untimeliest and the most impossible situation that one might get himself into. Miguel wished that he had his emergency backpack with him which contained everything that he would need in case of emergency situations. Spare clothes, fully charged mobile phone, battery operated torch and radio, spare batteries, canned food and can opener, utensils, blanket, a map and compass, and his important personal documents like birth certificate and I.D. Though most of it would be useless, Miguel wished he had his map and compass with him. Fortunately, Miguel always kept his trusty Swiss Army knife in his pocket. He did not think of using it against the goblins. In his excuse, the fight with the goblins was something of a no-time-to-think and a must-do-something situation. Miguel inspected the barricades that Eric installed throughout the restaurant. Though crude and seemingly unimpressive, the nailed wooden planks properly secured all the doors and windows and it would do well to prevent the goblins from breaking into the building. The windows were draped with black curtains. ¡®Where did they get these hideous black curtains? Who even uses black curtains?¡¯ As Miguel sat quietly in a corner, Dianne dragged a chair and sat beside him. She was still fidgeting from the happening. Miguel held her hand to ease her anxiety. There were no more words exchanged between the two, only the sound of their breathing. The silence was broken when Melissa came out of the kitchen with their meals. Although it was time for dinner, it was the food that they ordered earlier for lunch, spaghetti in red sauce with three huge meatballs. The smell of the freshly cooked meal jump-started Miguel¡¯s appetite. Melissa called the other two upstairs to come and eat. After a while, Eric and Claire went downstairs carrying metal tubes, a toolbox, more wooden planks and all sorts of things. They dropped everything to the floor when they saw the food and proceeded to eat with gusto. ¡°What did you do upstairs?¡± Miguel asked, holding a meatball with his fork. Eric swallowed and sipped some water before answering, ¡°Melissa and her family live upstairs. We looked for something we can use for - you know. To survive¡­ this.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Miguel nodded in approval. He was truly impressed with Eric¡¯s initiative. ¡°Anything I should know about while I was out?¡± Eric grabbed something out of his pocket and placed them on the table, ¡°We got these from the goblins.¡±
13x Game Credit(s)
2x Small Mana Stone(s)
¡®What the fuck?¡¯ Miguel swore internally in surprise as small blue screens appeared over the items. There were thirteen golden coins and two small black crystals. The golden coin was disc-shaped with a hole in the middle and with the word ¡®1 Game Credit¡¯ inscribed in it. The black crystals looked like onyx, but with a strange texture and ominous feeling when touched. Miguel looked around to see the goblins¡¯ corpses, but there were no traces of it. Not even blood stains can be found on the floors. ¡°Where did you put the corpses?¡± ¡°We looted it,¡± Said Eric as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°Okay,¡± Miguel raised a brow, ¡°so where are the corpses?¡± ¡°It disappeared,¡± Eric said while chewing his food. It sounded like, Itsh dishappeared. ¡°What do you mean disappeared?¡± Miguel squinted his eyes. Surely, corpses don¡¯t just disappear just like Jen¡¯s crazy theories. Though he had to hand it to Jen that she was right about the monsters, but it will be crazy if their corpses disappear with no trace. Don¡¯t tell me they just magically disappeared and left these items! ¡°It literally disappeared,¡± Claire said, pointing at the weapons they placed on the other table. ¡°When I touched the corpse while thinking of looting it, the corpse disappeared and left these. We don¡¯t know how, but it¡¯s amazing really. We got bows, a knife and some arrows.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± Miguel peered over the weapons. Although they looked crude and rusty, he was glad that they at least have something to protect themselves. ¡°A gun would be better though. Do we have one?¡± ¡°Mel¡¯s father has a gun upstairs, a Glock 9 mm,¡± Eric let out a sigh, ¡°but it doesn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. Trust me, I tried,¡± Eric nodded. ¡°The blue screen kept popping up and said, ¡®Error: Advanced Weaponry Disabled¡¯ every time I pull the trigger. I even tried hammering the damn bullet and guess what?¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t blow up!¡± Eric scratched his head in frustration. ¡°I tried many things like lighting up the gunpowder with a lighter, but nothing actually worked. This SYSTEM thing really screwed things up, man.¡± Miguel paused as he felt disappointed that guns really doesn¡¯t work anymore as advertised by the blue screens, ¡°By the way, where¡¯s your family, Melissa? Are they upstairs?¡± ¡°No,¡± Melissa shook her head. ¡°They¡¯re in Palawan to visit my grandparents. I wanted to call them, but my phone doesn¡¯t work. We have a landline and it doesn¡¯t work either.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Miguel felt his shoulder slumped in further disappointment. He was kind of hoping that landline phones would work even without electricity in the area. Landline phones always work even when there¡¯s a blackout because the phone companies have batteries and generators to keep the phone lines. ¡°So,¡± Eric cleared his throat, ¡°what¡¯s the plan?¡± There was a long pause. Miguel had thought about it earlier. He would admit that the first thought that came into his mind was to go out, kill monsters and seek out their families. Being a rational person, however, he decided against it. Right now, their priority should be their own lives. Miguel shrugged, ¡°We stay here and wait for the rescue.¡± There was an even longer pause. ¡°What?¡± Claire was the first one to react. ¡°I have a family in Cubao! Now come to think of it, Eric¡¯s family is in Cubao too! We should go out there and ¨C ¡° ¡°And do what exactly?¡± Miguel folded his arms. ¡°Just in case you¡¯re not aware of our situation, we¡¯re surrounded by monsters. Did you see how they eat humans? I nearly died today thanks to that monster.¡± ¡°Claire is right,¡± Eric said in a low voice. ¡°We should try to fight at least and level up as much as we can on the way.¡± ¡°Fight?¡± Miguel shook his head as he tried his best not to snort at the idea. He did let out a snort though. ¡°Do we look like soldiers to you? No, we stay here and wait.¡± ¡°Who will come? Police? Soldiers? Do you really expect someone will actually come and rescue us?¡± Eric argued. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, the world has ended!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s the end of the fucking world,¡± Miguel rolled his eyes, ¡°but does that mean it¡¯s also the end of everything?¡± ¡°Well, you saw what¡¯s outside ¨C ¡° ¡°I did,¡± Miguel bobbed his head. ¡°For all we know, that¡¯s just Quezon City. It¡¯s not an evidence that the whole country or even the whole world is like that.¡± ¡°Regardless,¡± Eric shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone will come for us.¡± ¡°Maybe. Maybe not,¡± Miguel sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the military. Or the police in that matter. Just because you watch movies or read fictional books about the apocalypse, doesn¡¯t mean that it would actually come true. Governments don¡¯t fall that fast. Civilizations don¡¯t fall overnight.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we try at least?¡± Eric said softly, staring at Miguel with a pleading look. ¡°Every hour we spend here doing nothing, the least likely our family has chance of survival.¡± ¡°All I¡¯m saying is we need to stay here. I don¡¯t want unnecessary risks, especially if the risk involves our lives. I didn¡¯t say we should do nothing,¡± Miguel said, ¡°but it¡¯s only fair that we should prepare for all contingencies. Gather every supplies we have and everything we can use. We make a list and make a budget. We should start rationing our food and water to make us last for weeks or months if possible. We should also prepare in case the monsters try to attack this building again. If in case they overrun this restaurant, we should be prepared to leave.¡± ¡°Why do you consider the risk of rescuing our families unnecessary risk? Don¡¯t you want to see your family too?¡± ¡°I do. I really do,¡± Miguel raised his chin, trying not to let his emotions take over as he imagined Jen being alone in their house. ¡°We all have families. Dianne has a family too, and I believe Melissa mentioned her family is in Palawan. Look Eric, I want us to survive. All of us. We need each other to survive, okay? Do you trust your family?¡± Eric nodded as he lowered his head. ¡°Then trust them that they will also do whatever¡¯s necessary to survive,¡± Miguel said. ¡°You live in Cubao¡­ Sixth Avenue?¡± ¡°Fifth Avenue,¡± Eric corrected. ¡°Don¡¯t hold your breath but,¡± Miguel¡¯s expression softened as he looked at Eric, ¡°if the government is still functioning, then your family will probably be evacuated in a safe zone. You live near Camp Aguinaldo and that¡¯s the headquarters of the Armed Forces.¡± Eric nodded as Melissa rubbed his back to give a bit comfort to her boyfriend. They continued to eat their meal and they did so with silence. None of them seemed to disagree with Miguel. Even though Eric did not like his plan, he could understand the reasoning behind his best friend¡¯s plan. After they finished their meal, Eric told Miguel to read and study the SYSTEM help menu by thinking of ¡®Help Menu¡¯ to appear. ¡°I¡¯m gonna rest for a bit upstairs.¡± Eric stood up and grabbed a candle. ¡°Wake me up when it¡¯s my turn to keep watch. Try to learn what you can from the SYSTEM. We¡¯ve already read them.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you sleep downstairs instead?¡± Miguel raised a brow. ¡°Grab a pillow and sleep here. It¡¯s probably for the best if we stay toge-¡° ¡°I don¡¯t think I can sleep well knowing there are hundreds of corpses just outside the door,¡± Eric scowled. ¡°Just cut me some slack, will you?¡± Eric¡¯s footsteps were heavy and he almost shut a door loud enough to hear downstairs. There were times when Eric and Miguel had serious disagreements, they fought each other with their fists until one of them has a busted lip. It happened twice during their three years of friendship. However, they would always reconcile on the same day of the fight and everything would be back to normal. Miguel expected that his fight with his best friend would turn the usual way, but he guessed that Eric was just too tired to argue with him. As Miguel casually picked his teeth with a toothpick, he noticed that the three girls were staring at him in silence. Miguel rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh, ¡°What?¡± ¡°I ¨C uh ¨C never had a chance to properly thank you for what you did earlier,¡± Melissa said without looking at his eyes. ¡°Thank you for saving my life.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Miguel said, nodding his head. ¡®At least one of them appreciates my hard work. How troublesome.¡¯ ¡°Um - so what do we do now?¡± ¡°Like I said earlier, gather every food, water and supplies we can use and make a list,¡± Miguel said. ¡°Just write everything on a piece of paper or something. I want to know how much we have, so we can make a budget and we can start rationing food and water.¡± ¡°You want me¡­ to do it?¡± Melissa asked, giving him an incredulous look. ¡°Like right now?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Miguel said, trying his best not to snap at her. ¡°You own this restaurant and you know this place better than any of us. It¡¯ll be faster.¡± Melissa paused for a few seconds and then sighed, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Dianne, go and help Melissa,¡± Miguel said. Unlike Melissa, Dianne didn¡¯t hesitate to follow his orders. ¡°You stay here with me, Claire. We¡¯ll take the first watch this evening,¡± Miguel said before Claire could go upstairs. ¡°We don¡¯t want to get caught unguarded when it¡¯s dark.¡± Clairesnapped her head towards him and glared. Miguelreplied her gesture with araised eyebrow. They exchanged glares with each other for a while, but in the end, Claire went back to her seat and grumbled. Claire¡¯s burning glare never left Miguel as he began to follow Eric¡¯s advice: Study. ¡®Open help menu.¡¯
Help
Getting Started
Rules and Regulations
Character Information and Customization
Skills, Titles and Perks
Inventory System
Party System
Faction System
Quests and Achievements
Other Useful Tips
Miguel read the list carefully as the glowing blue screen floated in front of him. He tried to use voice commands to navigate the blue screens, but the blue screen did not change. It took Miguel for a while to realize that he only needed his mind to navigate through the blue screen. Miguel¡¯s random babbling and hand gestures made Claire doubt his sanity and earned him more incredulous looks from her. In her perspective, Miguel was staring at the distance and pressing invisible buttons in the air. Claire rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You control the blue screens with your mind, idiot. Didn¡¯t you read the blue screens the last time? Even I figured that out on my own.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Miguel said as he selected ¡®Getting Started¡¯ option with his mind. ¡®She¡¯s right!¡¯
Getting Started
Unique and Somewhat-Realistic Game - The world is an immersive multiplayer role playing game that takes place in the merged world of Modern Earth and Fantasy Midlands. Players around the globe have the freedom to explore and experience a realm full of monsters, quests, magic, mysteries and of course, adventure.
Unlimited Adventures and Riches - Explore the world of Earthland full of monsters to slay and dungeons to conquer! Experience a range of rich and unique content and features that cannot be found in other MMOs.
Just Be Yourself and Shape your Character - You can become anything you want: hero, villain, wizard, warrior, schmuck or even as a strong independent woman! Players have the freedom to choose any abilities and adapt to any play style.
Players Shape the World - Players can die with no hope of respawn or resurrection. The consequences forever alter Earthland''s future.
¡®Typical MMO bullshit,¡¯ Miguel thought, shaking his head. ¡®Unique content? Really? As if there¡¯s anything unique in MMOs these days!¡¯ Miguel have noticed a pattern of MMORPGs; the same pattern that makes them boring and repetitive for most players. Whether you kill monsters or do quests repeatedly to level up your character or hunt for items, all MMORPGs have some form of grinding. Grinding is a term in video games to describe the process of engaging in repetitive tasks. This form of gameplay tends to make MMOs boring as hell. Miguel would admit that MMOs are boring. That was why Miguel often played other games like Real-Time Strategies. The only reason he played MMOs was mostly because it was fun to play with Eric around. Miguel went back into the main menu. Unlike most gamers who never read End-User Licensing Agreements (EULA) and the game¡¯s rules and regulations, Miguel never skipped reading them. One reason was because Miguel and Eric were ruthless and aggressive behavior in gaming. They need to be aware of the rules to create loopholes and prevent from being banned.
Rules and Regulations
1. Players must not use or attempt to use any cheats or errors which they may find in the game. Being caught will result to Permanent Ban.
2. Players are allowed to swear. An exception to this rule is when talking with God. Players who swear at Him will result to three (3) days Silence (Unable to use skills, attack, and communicate).
3. Any bugs, exploits or use of third-party programs a player finds must be immediately reported to the Administrators. You may contact the Administrators by praying.
Permanent Ban could mean anything in real life, but in Miguel¡¯s guess, it was death. It was probably the shortest list of rules and regulations that Miguel has ever seen in MMOs. It seemed that players have freedom to act whatever they want. Well, all except for cheating. But then, what counts as cheating? Miguel went back to main menu and selected ¡®Character Information and Customization¡¯.
Character Information and Customization
The Character Screen displays the player''s information such as name, race, level, titles, status, attributes and etc. You can access Character Screen by thinking ''Open Character Screen''.
Name- Displays the Player''s true birth name, regardless of the name the Player is currently using.
Race- Displays the Player''s racial group. The information displayed may change due to the Player''s circumstances - i.e., A human will change into a werewolf if bitten by one.
Level and EXP- Displays the Player''s current level and experience. Each time EXP reaches 100%, the Player will gain a level. Each level also adds 10 points in HP, SP and MP.
HP- Displays the Player''s current and maximum amount of HP (Hit Points). If current HP is reduced to 0, the Player will die.
SP- Displays the Player''s current and maximum amount of SP (Stamina Points). Physical attacks and all physical activities are powered by stamina. If current SP is reduced to 0, the Player will be unable to move until SP recovers to at least 5%.
MP- Displays the Player''s current and maximum amount of MP (Mana Points). Magic is powered by mana. If current MP is reduced to 0, the Player will be unable to use magic until MP recovers to at least 5%.
PATK- Physical Attack; It refers to how much the Player can deal physical damage.
MATK- Magical Attack; It refers to how much the Player can deal magical damage.
PDEF- Physical Defense; It refers to how much the Player can resist physical damage.
MDEF- Magical Defense; It refers to how much the Player can resist magical damage.
Will- It refers to the Player''s factor of success/resistance to control/sensory impairment effects.
Satiety- Indicates the Player''s level of hunger. Nourished (100%-75% Satiety) will let the Player earn 125% EXP whereas Fine (74%-50% Satiety), only 100% EXP will be earned. Hungry (49%-25%), you only earn 75% EXP and Starving (24% or less), 50% EXP. If the Player is starving for too long, he will lose 1% HP per hour.
Status- Indicates the Player''s general well-being, as well as the buffs and debuffs applied to the Player.
HP/min- It refers to how much hit points they can recover naturally per minute. Base HP regeneration is 0.20.
SP/min- It refers to how much stamina points they can recover naturally per minute. Base SP regeneration is 3.50.
MP/min- It refers to how much mana points they can recover naturally per minute. Base MP regeneration is 3.50.
STR- Strength; It represents the Player''s physical power, how strong they are and how hard they hit. Each point increases PATK by 1.
DEX- Dexterity; It represents the Player''s nimbleness, fine motor skills, reaction time and aiming. Each point increases movement speed by 1%.
CON- Constitution; It represents the Player''s physical toughness and endurance. Each point increases HP and SP by 10, PDEF by 1, HP regeneration by 0.002 and SP regeneration by 0.07.
INT- Intelligence; It represents the Player''s ability to reason, how much they can learn and remember and their magical power. Each point increases MATK (Magic Atk) by 1 and MP regeneration by 4/hr.
WIS- Wisdom; It represents the Player''s perceptiveness, common sense and understanding. Each point increases MP by 10 and MDEF by 1.
CHA- Charisma; It represents the Player''s ability to influence others and their force of personality. Each point increases Will by 1.
Free Points- Each time you level up, you gain 5 points that you can allocate to any attribute.
Miguel skimmed the details in the blue screen. Before he studies it thoroughly, he wanted to see his own character screen while reading the guide. Since he figured out that he can make the blue screens pop up only using his mind, he wondered that perhaps he can also open multiple screens at once just like World of Warcraft. Miguel willed the Character Screen to appear alongside with the current screen.
Name: Miguel Alfonso Asuncion Arevalo
Race: Human Level: 1
HP: 70/70 EXP: 10.00%
SP: 70/70 MP: 140/140
PATK: 11 Will: 12
MATK: 15 HP/min: 0.214
PDEF: 7 SP/min: 3.99
MDEF: 14 MP/min: 8.05
Satiety: Nourished
Status: Normal
STR: 11 INT: 15
DEX: 11 WIS: 14
CON: 7 CHA: 12
Free Point(s): 0
Miguel studied his character screen. Even his second name ¡®Alfonso¡¯ and his middle name ¡®Asuncion¡¯ were accurate. Assuming that 10 is the average stat, then his stat is considered decent. Miguel already expected that his CON would be low because of his obesity and smoking habit. It may have been not that low when he was still under his grandfather¡¯s and his mother¡¯s tutelage because of rigorous exercise in his training in Arnis. His DEX was at least above average because muscles can¡¯t just forget what they have learned in martial arts. You can get rusty in time, but it¡¯s nearly impossible to forget his old reflexes, especially when he was a kid and his grandfather was unforgiving in his strikes. He was a slow learner when it came to martial arts and he even admitted that he was talentless in that regard. Still, Miguel learned. Slowly and painfully. At the very least, his INT and WIS was way above average. Miguel wondered if he would be considered as a genius or just smart with his stat. Well, he didn¡¯t feel like he was a genius because if he was, he¡¯d probably be someone like Einstein by now. He would say that he was good in physics and mathematics, but not that good. Or maybe this INT stat referred to overall intelligence and not just in any particular field. That would be a reasonable assumption. What surprised him the most was his crazy amount of CHA. Miguel¡¯s nose wrinkled at the idea that he was actually charismatic. He was fully aware that he wasn¡¯t good looking and he hated most people around him. He wasn¡¯t exactly like Eric, who could grab a pussy whenever he wants. ¡®I¡¯m sure as hell I ain¡¯t George Clooney.¡¯ Miguel was curious about his friends¡¯ stats. Since Claire was the nearest, he turned his eyes on her and found her reading a pocket romance novel, Precious Hearts Romances, ¡°So what are your stats, Claire?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Claire looked at him with half-closed eyes, ¡°You first.¡± ¡°11 STR, 11 DEX, 7 CON, 15 INT, 14 WIS and 12 CHA,¡± Miguel answered quickly. ¡°You?¡± ¡°What was that again?¡± Claire grabbed a notebook and a pen out of the thin air as she began to write. Miguel narrowed his eyes, ¡°Why do you feel the need to write it?¡± ¡°Eric wrote everyone¡¯s stats for reference. Build ideas or something like that. I don¡¯t know what that means, but I¡¯m just doing the same thing because I¡¯m new to video games,¡± Claire quickly said in her defense then returned scribbling in her notebook. ¡°So that¡¯s 11 STR, 11 DEX, 7 CON and?¡± ¡°15 INT, 14 WIS and 12 CHA,¡± He slowly recited his stats again as Claire wrote it down, ¡°Can I see your notes?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Claire shrugged nonchalantly as she handed Miguel her notebook. ¡°You can borrow it for a while if that helps. Just return it to me when you¡¯re done.¡± As Miguel read Claire¡¯s notes, he let out a sigh as her writing left much to be desired. Barely readable. Claire ¨C 11 STR, 12 DEX, 12 CON, 12 INT, 11 WIS, 11 CHA. Eric - 14 STR, 13 DEX, 15 CON, 10 INT, 9 WIS, 8 CHA. Dianne ¨C 9 STR, 9 DEX, 10 CON, 11 INT, 14 WIS, 6 CHA. Melissa ¨C 9 STR, 14 DEX, 10 CON, 10 INT, 11 WIS, 10 CHA. Miguel ¨C 11 STR, 11 DEX, 7 CON, 15 INT, 14 WIS and 12 CHA. If you add all the stat, Miguel had the sum of base stats of them all because of his high INT, WIS and CHA. However, he could not believe his eyes that he and Claire were equal in strength. Not to mention that Claire had a higher constitution. Miguel had asked himself why his constitution was that low? ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± Miguel said with a smile. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Can I test you in an arm wrestling?¡± Miguel smirked as he stretched out his arms. Claire¡¯s lips slowly curved into a grin as she realized why Miguel suddenly asked her for that, ¡°Sure. Just don¡¯t cry if you lose.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll lose,¡± Miguel said with a tone of confidence. ¡°Especially not to a woman.¡± ¡°Then prepare for the biggest disappointment of your life,¡± Claire said as she gripped Miguel¡¯s hand. ¡°Start!¡± As the two of them began their arm wrestling match, Miguel was shocked that he could not easily move Claire¡¯s arm. He realized that he was certainly wrong to underestimate her strength even though she¡¯s a woman. ¡°Is that all you¡¯ve got?¡± Claire sneered as Miguel exerted more effort to pin her down. ¡°Gosh, I didn¡¯t know you¡¯re so weak.¡± Even though Claire continued to taunt him, he could see from her face that she was struggling as well. Miguel was sweating bullets when Claire slowly pushed his arm down on the table. Gritting his teeth, he was incredulous at the fact that she was actually winning. Miguel felt his arm tiring due to stress. Inevitably, Claire pushed more effort and finally pinned his arm down, ¡°Gotcha! I win! Haha!¡± Miguel was fuming as it was the first time he ever lost to her. He realized that Claire won¡¯t ever let this moment die down and she will continue to rub it in his face for the rest of his life. Before that could happen, Miguel tried to hide his disappointment as he wore a blank expression, ¡°Hmmm. The SYSTEM actually made you stronger. Interesting.¡± ¡°No, dumbass. If you read the ¡®Other Useful Tips¡¯ in the help menu, you¡¯ll read that the initial stats reflect your real stats before the SYSTEM started,¡± Claire gave him a lopsided grin. ¡°Besides, I lift dumbbells, jog and do sit-ups and push-ups every day. Just accept the fact that I¡¯m stronger than you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Miguel shook his head in denial. ¡°You still don¡¯t believe me?¡± Claire rolled her sleeves to show her biceps. ¡°That¡¯s right, shithead. You just got your miserable misogynistic ass kicked by a woman.¡± Claire was slim and physically fit and he would admit that she has muscular but lean arms, but he still refused to believe her. Miguel gritted his teeth as he hurled an insult to save his own face, ¡°I wonder if those breasts of yours made of muscles too.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Claire shot him an amused look. ¡°You¡¯re resorting to sexual harassment just because you couldn¡¯t accept that you lost to a woman in a physical contest? That¡¯s so lame, Miguel. Even for you.¡± ¡®Alright.¡¯ Miguel clicked his tongue in frustration. He hates losing and he couldn¡¯t even imagine that he would humiliatingly lose to Claire. ¡®Let her take the win this time. Just don¡¯t let it happen again.¡¯ As Miguel expected, Claire continued to rub his lost in his face. Insults about how his muscles were made of air and insults about his masculinity were thrown without mercy on him. He ignored her insults as it went from his ear and out of his other ear. Miguel opened his blue screen again.
Skills, Titles and Perks
Beside the Character Attributes (or Stats, in the gaming jargon), Skills, Titles and Perks are what defines the uniqueness of a character and greatly affects the gameplay and how to live your everyday life. Here is a table showing the difference and similarities of Skills, Titles and Perks:
Skills Titles Perks
1) How to get? You can learn a skill by having other people to teach you. You can also learn on your own through instructional materials such as books. Or you can try your luck by discovering skills on your own as long as you meet the SYSTEM''s criteria to recognize a skill. You can obtain titles through achievements or as a reward from quests. Some titles can be obtained by wielding unique weapons and equipment. Perks can be obtained from birth or though the circumstances and consequences of an action or a series of actions. For example, gaining too much unhealthy body weight can get you theObesityperk.
2) How to use? You can use an active skill with your mind and/or actions. You do not need to shout the name of the skill to activate a skill. An exception to this rule are when using spells which uses a chant to activate and some skills requires actual shouting. You are not required to do anything as bonus effects from titles lasts indefinitely. Same as titles.
3) Active/Passive? Some are Active, which requires action and have resource costs (HP/SP/MP) to use, while some are Passive, which do not require resource to use, but need certain actions to gain Skill EXP. Passive Passive
4) Can be bought in SYSTEM Shop? Yes, but only instructional materials. No No
5) Can be leveled up? Yes No Some perks are upgraded when certain conditions are met.
6) How long the effects last? Effects of active skills last temporarily while the passive skills last indefinitely. Lasts indefinitely with the exception of a few titles. Perks obtained from birth last indefinitely. Most action/circumstances gained perks last indefinitely with the exception of a some perks.
After studying the guide, Miguel then opened the Skill screen as he compared his skill with his friends.
Skills
Fighting Style: Arnis (Level 7- Advanced)
Back Stance (Lvl. 10/10)
Forward Stance (Lvl. 10/10)
Six Strikes (Lvl. 10/10)
One-Weapon Fighting (Lvl. 10/10)
Two-Weapon Fighting (Lvl. 4/10)
Unarmed Fighting (7/10)
Business and Finance: Accountancy (Level 2 - Beginner)
Bookkeeping (Lvl. 6/10)
Accounting (Lvl. 2/10)
Basic Finance (Lvl. 5/10)
Miscellaneous
Observe (Lvl. 1/10)
Basic Cooking (Lvl. 7/10)
Repair (Lvl. 6/10)
Basic Carpentry (Lvl. 6/10)
Cross-stitching (Lvl. 4/10)
Miguel was again in caught in yet another surprise. The blue screen was precise in evaluating his skill in Arnis. While he did not consider himself as an expert, he was indeed an advanced skill in the martial arts. The blue screen even got his signature technique, Six Strikes, which was originally Twelve Strikes. Miguel was simplistic in his approach in Arnis and he found that those six strikes were enough for his arsenal of moves. He also discovered that you can view the skill¡¯s details when you ask for it.
Fighting Style: Arnis
Skill Level: 7
Mastery: Advanced
Description: The national sport and martial art of the Philippines. A weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives, bladed weapons as well as techniques without weapons.
Skill Level Bonus: +5% Skill damage, +5% movement and attack speed and weapon proficiency per Skill Level
Mastery Bonus: Beginner:N/A Intermediate:Reduced SP consumption of the fighting style techniques by 30%. Advanced:More precise attacks and allows smoother flow of strikes. Expert:+20% Skill damage and movement and attack speed. Master:+30% Movement and attack speed, +10 DEX and AGI and unlocksArnis Maestrotitle.
Current Skill Level and Mastery Bonus: +35% Skill damage +35% Movement and attack speed Intermediate:Reduced SP consumption of the fighting style techniques by 30%. Advanced:More precise attacks and allows smoother flow of strikes.
Back Stance
Technique Type: Active (Toggle ability)
Description: A fighting stance that focuses on dodging, parrying and counter attacks.
Activation Requirement(s): Must be in the correct body position.
Technique Level: 10/10 (Max)
Effect(s): +2% PDEF and movement speed per Skill Level.
Current Effect(s): +20% PDEF and movement speed.
Forward Stance
Technique Type: Active (Toggle ability)
Description: A fighting stance that focuses on attacking and aggressive style of fighting.
Activation Requirement(s): Must be in the correct body position.
Technique Level: 10/10 (Max)
Effect(s): +2% PATK and movement speed per Skill Level.
Current Effect(s): +20% PATK and movement speed.
Six Strikes
Technique Type: Active
Description: A fighting technique (originally Twelve Strikes) improvised and simplified by Miguel Arevalo to fit his fighting style.
Activation Requirement(s): Must have a Stance active before use.
Technique Level: 10/10 (Max)
SP Consumption: 5 SP per Strike
Effect(s): +3% PATK per level
Current Effect(s): 1st Strike to the left shoulder/arm:+30% PATK and a chance to disarm weapon. 2nd Strike to the right shoulder/arm:+30% PATK and a chance to disarm weapon. 3rd Strike to the left thigh/leg:+30% PATK and a chance to slow enemy movement speed. 4th Strike to the right thigh/leg:+30% PATK and a chance to slow enemy movement speed. 5th Strike/Thrust to the torso:30% PATK and a chance to stun enemy and a small chance of fatal blow. 6th Strike to the head:30% PATK and a chance to stun enemy and a small chance of fatal blow.
Parrying
Technique Type: Active
Description: A fighting technique to parry attacks with a weapon.
Activation Requirement(s): Must have a Stance active before use.
Technique Level: 10/10 (Max)
SP Consumption: 2 SP per Parry
Effect(s): +3% Parrying speed per level.
Current Effect(s): +30% Parrying speed.
One-Weapon Fighting
Technique Type: Passive
Description: A fighting technique that uses one weapon on hand.
Activation Requirement(s): Must have a blade/blunt weapon in one hand.
Technique Level: 10/10 (Max)
Effect(s): +2% PATK per level when wielding a blade/blunt weapon.
Current Effect(s): +20% PATK when wielding a blade/blunt weapon.
Two-Weapon Fighting
Technique Type: Passive
Description: A fighting technique that uses two weapons on each hand.
Activation Requirement(s): Must have two blade/blunt weapons on each hand.
Technique Level: 4/10
Effect(s): -100% Swing speed of weapons at level 0. +2% PATK per level when wielding two blades/blunt weapons. +10% Swing speed of weapons per level.
Current Effect(s): +8% PATK per level when wielding two blades/blunt weapons. -60% Swing speed
Unarmed Fighting
Technique Type: Passive
Description: A fighting technique that uses the body as an effective weapon.
Activation Requirement(s): Must be unarmed or have knuckle-type weapons.
Technique Level: 7/10
Effect(s): +2% PATK per level when unarmed or when wielding knuckle-type weapons.
Current Effect(s): +14% PATK when unarmed or when wielding knuckle-type weapons.
His Two-Weapon Fighting was abysmal because he didn¡¯t bother to train when he was practicing so that would explain his low skill level in it. Hell, even his Repair and Basic Cooking were high because of his everyday experience in house chores. That thrice-damned leaky sink and faulty toilet flush valve was probably the main culprit of his high level in Repair. His skill in carpentry was only limited to repairing wood furniture in their house. At one point in high school, Miguel thought that cross-stitching was cool. He made a few cross-stitched pictures that he displayed on their walls. Not only his skill in Arnis was taken account by the blue screen, his skill in Accountancy, which was his course in college, was also included. Miguel had always thought that even as a college student, he was better than the average professional accountant. Instead, the reality that the blue screen showed hit Miguel like a brick in the face as his skill level in his soon-to-be profession was mediocre to say the least. ¡®Well, I¡¯m only in my second year in college,¡¯ Miguel thought as he tried to console himself. However, his pessimistic and hateful self spoke in his mind, ¡®Dumb ass. Books can only get you that far. You didn¡¯t have the same experience in the profession. You¡¯re not even a graduate. Hah! Did you really expect you¡¯re a hot shot?¡¯ Miguel looked at his academic rival¡¯s skills that were listed in the notebook. They had the same skill, Business and Finance: Accountancy, and same skill level. Claire had a skill in combat, Fighting Style: Street Brawling Lvl. 1 Beginner and only one skill under it which was Jab. He almost chuckled when he remembered that Claire wanted to have a fist fight with him. She also has more skills under Miscellaneous and he was surprised to learn that Claire was level 10 in Basic Cooking. He wondered if Claire was better than him in cooking. Eric also had Fighting Style: Street Brawling Lvl. 4 Intermediate. He had more skill under it such as Haymaker, Uppercut and Groin Attack. Since he was an engineering student, he had a skill called Engineering: Mechanical Engineering Lvl. 2 Beginner. He had no skill under Miscellaneous except for Observe Lvl. 1 and a crafting skill. It made sense since Eric was rich and had maids to do all of their house chores. He probably couldn¡¯t boil water or even fry an egg. Furthermore, Eric has a skill called Improvised Crafting under Miscellaneous. Dianne had no combat skills, but she had tons of Miscellaneous skill like Knitting, Basic Cooking, Singing, and Sewing. As for her professional skill, since she was taking the pharmacy course in college, she had Pharmacy Lvl. 2 Beginner. On the other hand, Melissa has Culinary Arts Lvl. 9 Advanced and a wide range of skills under it such as Baking and other culinary terms. Though Miguel wasn¡¯t a stranger to cooking, he was unfamiliar with some culinary terms mentioned under Melissa¡¯s skill ¡®What the hell does Julienning supposed to mean?¡¯ As Miguel read through Claire¡¯s notes, he learned what the word ¡®Advanced¡¯ meant in his skill. Apparently, Level 1-3 is Beginner, Level 4-6 Intermediate, Level 7-9 Advanced, Level 10-11 Expert and Level 12 Master. After he studied the Skill Screen, Miguel opened the Perk Screen next.
Perks
Fast Reflexes I +1 DEX
Manipulator II +2 CHA
Obesity II -2 CON, -10% Running Speed
Strong Arms I +1 STR
Smoker''s Lungs I -1 CON
Strategic Mind IV +4 WIS
Tactical Mind IV +4 INT
True-born Mage +1 INT, +100% Base MP/min
Quick Learner 2x EXP and Skill EXP rate
Seeing the list of his perks, Miguel had finally realized that he was correct in his assumption that he was not a genius at all. It seemed that the extra 4 INT and 4 WIS came from his tactical and strategic mind which he developed by playing real-time strategic game and reading military history books to win the game. Looking at Claire¡¯s notes, Miguel found out that everyone has a 10 stat in everything as a base. Perks are what made everyone unique in a way. For example, his extra 2 CHA came from being manipulative while Claire¡¯s extra 1 CHA came from her perk, Seductress I. She also had a perk called Female Body which reduces her STR by 1. Her extra 2 STR and 2 CON came from her perk, Strong Arms II and Lean Body II. However, those perks were gained throughout the life of a person. After all, no one is born with a tactical mind and Miguel didn¡¯t have a cigarette with him when he was born. Speaking of inborn perks, Miguel had a perk called True-Born Mage. He remembered his conversation with God earlier and joked that he had a making of a wizard. He thought that God was referring to a dank internet meme that referred adult male virgins as wizards. The older the virgin, the more powerful their magic. It seemed that Miguel was actually born with a talent to be a wizard. Miguel was curious as to what the perk really meant. With his mind, he willed the blue screen to explain this particular perk and another blue screen appeared.
True-born Mage
Description: Being born to a parent gifted with talent for magic, you are born with a natural affinity for magic.
Effect: +1 INT and +100% MP/min
Miguel had an incredulous look on his face as he read the description of the perk. How come his parents were gifted with magic? Magic didn¡¯t exist on Earth. Maybe after the blue screens and the monsters appeared, but before that? No. There was no such thing as magic. He tapped his lips with his finger. ¡®Perhaps Mom and Dad are real witches and wizards? If so, where was his acceptance letter to a magical school? Do I need to buy a wand from Olivander¡¯s to do magic? Do I need to buy a stupid owl too?¡¯ He shook his head as he found it utterly ridiculous and unlikely. Not impossible, just highly unlikely. With the recent ¡®impossible¡¯ event, there¡¯s nothing impossible now. He continued with his study as he tried to open his Title Screen. The blue screen told him that there was nothing to display as he doesn¡¯t have a title¡­ yet. Moving on, he closed the last three blue screens and focused on the ¡®Help Menu¡¯. Next was the Inventory System.
Inventory System
The Inventory is an in-game user interface feature where one can view all the items that have been collected thus far. You are given a fixed number of 15 inventory slots which you can use to deposit and withdraw items. Here are the general mechanics of the Inventory System:
1) To deposit an item, open the Inventory Screen and think ''Deposit'' on the item you wish to deposit. You need to touch the item that you wish to deposit.
2) To withdraw, simply think ''Withdraw'' and the item shall appear wherever you want it to appear. Again, you can make it appear everywhere and however you want as long as it is within a yard.
3) To loot corpses, simply think of ''Loot'' while touching the corpse you wish to loot. You need to make sure it is a corpse you are looting or else it won''t work.
4) Depositing Game Credits in the Inventory will not take up any inventory slot. The maximum amount of Game Credits you can have in your inventory is 1,000,000,000,000 GC.
Miguel opened the Inventory Screen and found it empty. He tested how the Inventory System works by using Claire¡¯s notebook and deposited it as written from the guide to test it. The notebook disintegrated into pixels of light and disappeared. Seeing the notebook disappear like magic ala Matrix, a smile tugged at the corner of Miguel¡¯s mouth. Miguel withdrew the notebook and grabbed a notebook of his own from his school bag. He deposited his notebook along with Claire¡¯s notebook to see if the notebooks will stack. Unfortunately, the notebooks did not stack. Not knowing how to stack the items into one inventory space, Miguel scratched his head in frustration. Miguel went to the dining table where Eric and Claire placed the loot from the goblins. There were two bows that looked like toy bows because of its small size, five rusty-tipped arrows, one small rusty knife, thirteen pieces of Game Credits and two small mana stones. Alongside the pile of items, were the toolbox that Eric and Claire brought down from the upstairs. It seemed that Eric intended to make the items into something better MacGyver style. However, because of his argument with Miguel, the MacGyver project was delayed for the night. Shaking his head and sighing, Miguel used his skill Observe to see the description of the items on the table.
Small Goblin Bow PATK: +10 Durability: 7/12 Required STR: 4
Small Goblin Bow PATK: +10 Durability: 7/12 Required STR: 4
Small Rusty Goblin Knife PATK: +6 Durability: 4/6 Weapon Type Bonus: Bladed I ¨C Causes Bleeding effect Required STR: 3
5x Rusty Arrow(s)
13x Game Credit(s)
2x Small Mana Stone(s)
Miguel¡¯s eyebrows creased as he learned that bows needed STR to wield. He opened ¡®Character Information and Customization¡¯ again to check if DEX or STR affects bow damage. Apparently, STR affects overall PATK or Physical Attack while DEX affects movement speed and if the guide was to be believed, then it also affects the attack accuracy. That means whether you go range or melee, you¡¯ll need STR to do more physical damage. When Miguel thought about it, archers do need significant physical strength to fully draw the strings of their bows. Though Miguel wasn¡¯t an expert in archery, he could see the logic that more strength equals more draw power. That was probably the reason why STR affects bow damage. Miguel then remembered that there was a quest, a Global Quest, before the monster spawned. From what he remembered earlier, the quest will reward anyone who survived the first twelve hours of the ¡®Merge¡¯. The reward included a Skill Scroll of his choice. Miguel wondered if he should get a Skill Scroll that would go with bows. ¡®Even better, maybe I should get a long range offensive magic! After all, I can¡¯t be a true mage if I don¡¯t know magic!¡¯ Miguel skipped the ¡®Party System¡¯ and ¡®Faction System¡¯ and opened the ¡®Quest and Achievements¡¯ on the Help menu.
Quests and Achievements
Quests
Quests are task and/or series of tasks that a Player or a group of Players (Party or Faction) may complete in order to gain a reward. Here are the general mechanics of quests:
1) There are two types of quests: SYSTEM-generated and Character-generated. SYSTEM-generated quests are quests that are automatically initiated by the SYSTEM. The rewards of these quests are generated by the SYSTEM. Character-generated quests are quests initiated by characters in a form of a contract/agreement to reward the other to perform a task. The monetary/item rewards of a Character-generated quests are dependent of the quest giver.
2) To check the progress of your quests, open ''Quest'' menu. You may have up to 5 quests at a time. You cannot accept more quests except for SYSTEM-generated quests like Daily Quests.
3) When completed, a notification will appear and the rewards will automatically go into your inventory. If you have no space in your inventory, the item reward(s) will appear in front of you.
4) You can abandon a quest, but you''ll have a 20% EXP penalty for doing so when it''s a SYSTEM-generated quest. When it''s a Character-generated, the EXP penalty is 10%. Be careful of the quests you accept.
5) Along with regular quests, you may also accept Daily Quests, which are repeatable and can only be done once per day. Daily quests range from killing quests to gathering quests. Once accepted, the player must complete the daily quest within the day, or else the progress will reset and cannot accept another daily quest until completed. To see the list of daily quests, see ''Daily Quests'' screen.
Achievements
An achievement, also known as trophy, badge, medal, milestone or challenge, is a bonus feature included in the game when a player completes a certain task. Here are the general mechanics of achievements:
1) Achievements range from simple tasks the Player would do anyway, such as completing a level or defeating a Boss monster, to more complicated challenges, such as killing a certain number of enemies in a specific way.
2) Completing an achievement will reward the player with bonuses such as experience points (EXP), Game Credits (GC) and Titles.
3) When a player is with a party, then the rewards coming from the achievement will be shared among the party. This is to encourage group play when completing achievements and also to allow players geared towards full-support to also earn achievements.
4) To see the list of earned and unearned achievements, see ''Achievements'' screen.
Miguel then opened Quest, Daily Quest and Achievements screen.
Quests
In Progress:
The Monster Hour! (Global Quest)
Completed:
N/A
Daily Quests
Monster Hunting
Goblin Extermination Kill 10 Goblins
Exorcism Kill 10 Undead monsters
Pest Control Kill 10 Plague Rats
Gathering
Herbs, Spices and Everything Nice Collect 10 Green Herbs
Slash and Burn Chop 3 Trees
Skin Deep Collect 5 animal skins
PVP
Cold Murder Kill 5 Players
To the Plunder Kill 1 Player and loot his corpse
Red Dinner Kill 1 Player and eat his corpse
Miscellaneous
Post-Apocalyptic Economy Trade with another Player
Junk Crafting Craft 1 item with junk
Achievements
Earned
N/A
Unearned
Baby Steps Kill 100 monsters (2/100)
Adventure Time Kill 1,000 monsters (2/1,000)
Elite Adventurer Kill 10,000 monsters (2/10,000)
Veteran Adventurer Kill 100,000 monsters (2/100,000)
Undead Exterminator Kill 1,000 undead type monsters (0/1,000)
First Boss Kill 1 Boss monster (0/1)
Elite Hunter Kill 10 Boss monsters (0/10)
Touched by Herne Kill 100 Boss monsters (0/100)
The Hunter of Everglades Kill 1000 Boss monsters (0/1,000)
Murderer Kill 1 Player (0/1)
Massacre Kill 10 Players (0/10)
Mass Murderer Kill 100 Players (0/100)
Conqueror Kill 1,000 Players (0/1,000)
Blood Throne Kill 10,000 Players (0/10,000)
More...
Reading the blue screens floating around him, Miguel tapped his chin with a finger in a trance-like thinking. He was hesitant about doing any daily quests since he wasn¡¯t planning on doing any kind of fighting or looting outside the safety of the restaurant. That would only be asking for trouble. It would be hypocritical of him to take the Goblin Extermination quest after he had the ¡®We Stay Here¡¯ speech earlier. Furthermore, Miguel wasn¡¯t quite sure if the list of daily quests changes every day. In his assumption, it probably does. In the end, he settled to accept Post-Apocalyptic Economy and Junk Crafting quests instead, which he found out that the others have already accepted. When he asked Claire about it, she told him that everyone, except himself, wasalready done with the two miscellaneous quests. Apparently, they just traded small things such as pens and pieces of paper with one another and helped Eric to craft items. The quests gave them a total of 20% EXP. Miguel could do nothing but sulk in his chair as he felt that he missed one chapter of the novel or two. ¡®I¡¯ll complete these quests later.¡¯ Thankfully, he managed to convince Claire to help him finish his quest, Post-Apocalyptic Economy, by trading blank notebooks. *DING!*
Quest Complete! Post-Apocalyptic Economy Main Objective: Trade with another player (1/1) Reward: EXP and 500 Game Credits
EXP Gained: 10.00% It was laughable at how easy it was to complete the quest. It was probably an unintended way to complete it because the quest never mentioned any conditions such as the required value of the items. The best part was Miguel had a profit for trading his notebook. His notebook only had 80 leaves while Claire¡¯s had 100 leaves which meant that Miguel had a profit of 20 leaves for the deal. Well, it was a tiny profit, but a profit nonetheless. ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± Claire yawned loudly, rubbing her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m grabbing a pillow and a bedding upstairs. Want one?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Miguel nodded, then he turned his attention to Claire. ¡°Are you sleeping upstairs?¡± ¡°That depends,¡± Claire gave a non-committal shrug. ¡°Are you going to stay here downstairs overnight or not?¡± ¡®Why would she care about whether I stay up all night or not?¡¯ Miguel said to himself. Slightly shaking his head, Miguel replied, ¡°I¡¯m staying here ¡®till morning. I can¡¯t sleep anyway.¡± Claire nodded and stood up from her seat. As Claire went upstairs, Dianne and Melissa followed her and told Miguel that they¡¯ve already finished counting the inventory of their supplies. When Miguel was about to call them out, Melissa scowled and told him that they¡¯ll give him the ¡®report¡¯ he wanted tomorrow morning as the two of them were exhausted. Miguel fumed silently and alone with his teeth grinding together while copying Claire¡¯s notes. A few moments later, Claire came back and slept downstairs to accompany Miguel for the night. She told him to wake her up when something¡¯s wrong. Miguel couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes as he heard Claire snore like a cat choking on a fish bone. ¡®Her snoring is probably enough to attract the goblins.¡¯ After Miguel was done writing, which felt like an hour have passed, he opened the last and final blue screen in the help menu, ¡®Other Useful Tips¡¯.
Other Useful Tips
1) Don''t try to provoke God''s anger intentionally. Use proper capitalization when referring to Him. Be respectful.
2) Be respectful when reporting a bug or suspicion of use of third-party program or whenever conversing with the Administrators. We have feelings too, you know!
3) You may opt to change the format of the SYSTEM such as font, font size, screen color, screen size. By default, SYSTEM screens will be blue.
4) You can still speak and write in your native tongue, but in order to make the game less frustrating, all players can now speak and understand the Common Tongue, the lingua franca after the Merge. Those who already know how to read and write in their native language will gain the ability to read and write in Common Tongue and those who don''t will not. Blind people and deaf-mutes who do not know how to read or write will still be able to use the SYSTEM as it will adapt to their needs. After all, the SYSTEM is user friendly and God believes in equal opportunity. Even if you''re an imbecile who do not deserve to reproduce.
5) Everyone will have a base stat value of 10 (With the exception of children). Any deviations from this is the result of Perks that you have gained or born with before the Merge. For example, if you had polio during your childhood, you''ll have penalties in your stat because of physical deformity.
6) One race may have advantages over the other and a person may be better than most. Don''t complain about this because no one is born equal. There is no such thing as equality. Only equal opportunity. Deal with it.
7) You can learn skills from another player or from instructional and educational materials such as books, magazines and the like. Keep an eye out for books as they may be vital for your survival. There''s no such thing as too many skills.
8) Skill Level 1-3 is Beginner, Level 4-6 Intermediate, Level 7-9 Advanced, Level 10-11 Expert and Level 12 Master. Sub-skills/Techniques/Spells can only be leveled up to 10.
9) You may want to visit the SYSTEM Shop, which can be found everywhere on Earthland, to buy essential things for your adventuring and survival. The area within 1 kilometer radius of a SYSTEM Shop is safe from monsters. We recommend everyone to use the SYSTEM Shop.
10) There are two kinds of death: Physical death and Spiritual death. One may be considered as physically dead when all brain functions and abilities have ceased. Spiritual death may occur when the body is without a soul for too long. As long as the brain is still functioning and one retains the soul, one may still be revived using methods such as healing magic. However, when the brain no longer functions or the body is without a soul, one is considered as dead and can no longer be revived.
11) You may also use the report system to write feedbacks, suggestions and recommendations to improve the game. We Administrators pride ourselves with excellent customer service as our goal is to maximize customer satisfaction. You may answer survey questionnaires for freebies (Courtesy of Admin Schmidt). Know that these surveys will reflect on the Administrators'' performance and salary.
Thank you for playing Earthland Online!
Stroking his beard, Miguel nodded in amusement as he read the tips displayed on the blue screen. As much as he wanted to answer survey questionnaires or to write feedbacks for freebies, he wanted to experience the Earthland Online to the fullest before that. Miguel could write something to patronize the Administrators, but he shook his head as he realized it was a silly idea. The Administrators, whoever they are, would probably not appreciate lies and sucking up just like God. Miguel wrote the important things he learned from the help menu to his notebook. After an hour or so, he made sure to memorize important details and grasped the general mechanics of this real-life RPG to heart. Before the twelfth hour of the first day, Miguel finished formulating a plan of action in his notebook. All he needed to do now was to discuss his plan with the rest of his friends. ¡®This is going to be a long night,¡¯ Miguel thought as he let out a deep sigh. Chapter 3: The Raid of Jollibee You can learn skills from another player or from instructional and educational materials such as books, magazines and the like. Keep an eye out for books as they may be vital for your survival. There''s no such thing as too many skills. - Other Useful Tips, Tip # 7.
Chapter 3: The Raid of Jollibee ¡°As to our food and water supplies,¡± Melissa cleared her throat as she handed Miguel an inventory list of their supplies. ¡°Given that we eat three meals a day, we¡¯ll have enough food and water to last for at least a week. We could stretch it for three to four more days if we only eat twice a day.¡± Reading the inventory list, Miguel nodded as he tapped his chin with a finger, ¡°This is good.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not. That¡¯s not enough,¡± Claire sighed, massaging her temple. ¡°We need more supplies than that.¡± ¡°I know right? We should loot more supplies outside,¡± Eric suggested. ¡°We can fight the goblins if needed.¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t really like fighting,¡± Dianne stuttered, looking nervous and unsure, ¡°but I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, Dianne,¡± Eric gently patted her back. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t let the monsters get close to you,¡± Claire nodded as she gave her a small smile. ¡°We¡¯ll make sure of that.¡± ¡°Idiots¡­¡± Miguel grumbled, then raised his voice slightly. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make do with these supplies. We will not fight any monsters, so don¡¯t listen to these two, Dianne. We stay here and we wait,¡± Claire and Eric rolled their eyes and grumbled while Dianne let out a sigh of relief. Miguel said to Melissa as he tapped on the piece of paper, ¡°The thing I¡¯m worried about is that most of our food are perishable. We don¡¯t have a working fridge anymore, so they¡¯ll spoil more quickly.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Melissa said with a lopsided grin. ¡°The food won¡¯t spoil when it¡¯s in the inventory.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Eric said, giving her an incredulous look. ¡°How did you know about that?¡± ¡°I found out about it this morning,¡± Melissa explained. ¡°Last night, when Dianne and I were counting our supplies, I put our left over pasta in my inventory. It was still warm, but I forgot about it when we went to sleep. When I checked my inventory, I took out the pasta, it¡¯s still warm and fresh. It should already have a bad smell given I didn¡¯t store it in the fridge.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s good news,¡± Miguel said with a satisfied look on his features. ¡°Although, we have to test it more that food doesn¡¯t really spoil in the inventory. Just to be sure.¡± ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I put in raw fish, meat and vegetables in my inventory. If those are still fresh and good, then I¡¯m correct. I also put in a tube ice to see if the inventory can prevent it from melting.¡± ¡®I¡¯m starting to like this girl!¡¯ Miguel thought as his lips broke into a grin. The woman was earning good points in his books. ¡°Good. How about rice? How much do we have? I think rice can last for a few months.¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t put it on the list, didn¡¯t I?¡± Melissa said, scratching her head. ¡°Well, we have one sack and a half.¡± ¡°So that would be at least two months¡¯ worth of food,¡± Miguel stated based on his experience in their home. He and his sister consumes a sack of rice for a few months. ¡°At least now we won¡¯t worry about starving now. We just have to make sure our water lasts though. We can¡¯t cook rice without water.¡± ¡°I expected this restaurant to have more food stored than this.¡± Claire furrowed her brows, looking at the inventory list. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we have so little.¡± ¡°My restaurant isn¡¯t doing well, you see. We only have like three to four customers a day,¡± Melissa said matter-of-factly. ¡°I can¡¯t just go buy ingredients in bulk and store it. That¡¯ll be costly and a waste of ingredients. I can go to the market every day to buy ingredients fresh.¡± ¡°Makes sense¡­¡± Eric shrugged. ¡°So do we eat twice a day or three times a day?¡± ¡°Three times a day,¡± Melissa replied. ¡°We¡¯ll have ulam for at least a week. Well, if you¡¯re okay with eating rice without ulam after a week, then our food will definitely last for two months.¡± [1] ¡°That or we can make rice gruel when we run out of ulam,¡± Claire shrugged, folding her arms. ¡°Rice gruels are a lot better than eating plain rice.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t have enough water to make rice gruels for two months,¡± Dianne said, shaking her head. ¡°Water faucets don¡¯t work anymore and we only have 10 five-gallon container of drinkable water. We do have some water stored in drums in the restroom, but it needs to be boiled.¡± [2] ¡°I keep telling you. This is a bad idea,¡± Eric shook his head as he sighed. ¡°Look, Miguel. I agree that we should stay here in the restaurant, but don¡¯t you think we should look for more supplies outside?¡± ¡°I have said this many times since yesterday, but we won¡¯t take any risks unless it¡¯s necessary,¡± Miguel shook his head. ¡°Fine,¡± Eric rolled his eyes. ¡°But we should have a battle plan at least. There¡¯s a high risk of those monsters getting in here, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°We just talked about that earlier, didn¡¯t we?¡± Miguel was starting to get pissed off at Eric¡¯s constant whining. ¡°If monsters get in here, we run. If we find a place to hide, then we hide. We don¡¯t fight at all.¡± ¡°What if we get cornered? What then?¡± Claire argued. ¡°I think it¡¯s wise to prepare just in case. Besides, we already have a bow and a bunch of arrows and we haven¡¯t picked our reward from the global quest yet.¡± Miguel paused for a moment to think while stroking his beard. It¡¯s true that it would be wise to prepare for a fight when they are left with no choice. After all, there is no such thing as being too prepared when it comes to life and death situations when it actually happens. Miguel remembered Murphy¡¯s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Though they have the bows that they¡¯ve got from the goblins, it won¡¯t be enough to survive a fight against the monsters. None of them knew how to use bows effectively was a problem. Not having proper weapons was a problem either. ¡°How about weapons?¡± ¡°Actually, that¡¯s one of the things I want to talk to you about¡­¡± Eric¡¯s mood suddenly brightened at the topic. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things here that we can use to make better weapons. I¡¯m going to need your help.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything I can do to help,¡± Miguel drawled. Truth be told, he wasn¡¯t sure if there was anything they could use in this place to make improvised weapons that were better than guns and explosives. Not that he knew how to make guns from a scratch, but he doubted that he could craft weapons from junk just like in some games. How can he possibly make a Sledge Saw from a sledge hammer and a cement saw if he was already having a hard time repairing their leaky sink even with proper tools? Miguel was smart, but he wasn¡¯t that delusional. He was only too aware of things he doesn¡¯t know. ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry about it. I just need a better assistant who doesn¡¯t talk too much,¡± His statement earned a glare from Claire, but he ignored her, ¡°Have you finished the miscellaneous quests?¡± Miguel shook his head, ¡°then help me make some weapons. We can¡¯t just use metal pipes to bash someone¡¯s head and call it a day. I have better ideas.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Miguel agreed. Maybe he could learn something from Eric. ¡°Now that Claire mentioned it, maybe we should talk about what skill scrolls we should take.¡± The quest that started a few minutes after the Merge was completed last night. They all received 5,000 GCs. A new blue screen also appeared that listed all the possible skill scroll reward. They only have a day to choose from the list or else the reward will be forfeited. When Miguel drifted off to sleep for a bit, Eric took up his shift in keeping watch. A blue screen appeared that notified them that the Monster Hour quest was finished. He tried to wake Miguel up to help him pick a Skill Scroll as a reward. Seeing that his best friend was exhausted, he let Miguel get some more sleep and decided to bug him tomorrow.
You may only choose one (1) Skill Scroll as a reward:
Fighting Style: Sword A fighting style using swords and other bladed weapons.
Fighting Style: Spear A fighting style using a weapon that was developed since the dawn of mankind.
Fighting Style: Archery A mixture of Earth and Midland techniques on using bows.
Fighting Style: Blunt A fighting style that uses blunt weapons such as clubs, maces and staves.
Mage Arts: Arcane A magic school that harnesses the power of the five elements to strike down foes.
Mage Arts: Healing A magic school that uses mana to heal and mend wounds.
Mage Arts: Illusion A magic school that uses mana to alter bodily sensation through the mind.
Looking at the list of rewards to choose, Miguel was slightly disappointed at the limited choices. All of them had the same list. He suspected that these skill scrolls contained only basic knowledge just enough for the SYSTEM to recognize it as a primary skill and not just a miscellaneous skill. Although there were skill scrolls about magic, Miguel already prepared himself for disappointment. Coming to a realization, Miguel had a brilliant idea, ¡°Now, the question is¡­ If we read a skill scroll, can we reuse it to let others read it too?¡± ¡°Hmm. Interesting,¡± Eric¡¯s lips curved into a grin at his best friend¡¯s idea. ¡°If that¡¯s true, then we only need one of each of these scrolls. That way we can share skills right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Miguel nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the idea.¡± ¡°But what if after we read the scroll, it disappears like how the goblin¡¯s corpse disappeared when we looted it?¡± Claire argued. ¡°What if we can only learn what we picked? What then?¡± ¡°We must choose carefully then,¡± Dianne suggested, which earned her surprised looks from Miguel and Eric. ¡°We should choose the skills that fit with our stats,¡± her statement, then caught Claire and Melissa¡¯s attention too, but Dianne ignored them and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it when I saw Claire¡¯s notes. Eric has a high STR so he should go for a melee build, Claire can either go for a melee build or go for Illusion magic since it will match with her Seductress perk. Melissa should take archery while Miguel should definitely go for arcane magic since he has the highest INT and WIS. I can go for magic too, but we need a healer. I¡¯ll take that role if that¡¯s okay.¡± Hearing what Dianne said, Miguel could not believe his ears. He looked at her with his mouth gaping like a goldfish, but Dianne waved him off, ¡°What? I¡¯m a gamer too. I play games with my phone.¡± Miguel continued staring at her with an incredulous look, ¡°Since when did mobile games have RPGs? No offense, Dianne, but what do you know about games exactly?¡± Eric nodded at the question as well. Dianne was offended at the reaction of her two friends. Sure, she wasn¡¯t a hardcore gamer like them, but that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t a gamer too! In fact, she played lots of mobile games! ¡°Since the invention of smart phones and WIFIs?¡± Dianne shrugged in reply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She then rolled her eyes in annoyance. ¡°Just because I play mobile games doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t know anything about RPGs and stuff like that. I¡¯m actually at max level in AdventureQuest 3D!¡± Admittedly, Claire and Melissa were not familiar with RPG-type games. Claire only played Tetris and Candy Crush on Facebook whenever she wasn¡¯t busy studying. Melissa, on the other hand, never played any video games, except for Super Mario Brothers back when she was a kid. That was why it came to surprise when Dianne was indeed knowledgeable with MMORPGs. Miguel and Eric were her friends for a long-time and it was the first time they learned about this fact. While Eric was glad that they have at least one more in their team who was familiar with RPGs and Miguel, while intrigued, was not amused. Miguel, being a follower of the glorious PC Master race, can barely tolerate Eric for owning the tools of the filthy console peasants, but to call the people who play mobile games as gamers? Preposterous! Dianne¡¯s statement was a blasphemy in his ears. Nevertheless, Miguel always had a soft spot for Dianne. He could never get angry with her, because she was special. He decided never to let his bigotry against non-PC scums get in the way with his relationship with her. Miguel let it slide for the moment and maybe when things go back to the way it was, he will convert Dianne and teach her the ways of Lord Gabe Newell the Almighty. ¡®Heil Gaben!¡¯ [3] ¡°I¡¯m glad to know you¡¯re a gamer too, Dianne,¡± Eric said with a huge grin, then turned to Miguel who was still gobsmacked. ¡°I agree with you Dianne. It is a good advice.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go with that,¡± Miguel closed his jaw as he composed himself. ¡®I was going to suggest the same thing anyway.¡¯ ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡± Claire narrowed her eyes as she voiced her objection. ¡°Why should I take Illusion magic? I want Arcane magic!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that you don¡¯t have the stats for it but,¡± Eric scratched his head, trying to find words to explain it to Claire carefully as to not offend her. ¡°I think it will benefit us as a team if Miguel has magic. He has a True-Born Mage perk that will make him effective as a mage. Dianne has a True-Born Mage perk too, so she¡¯ll do good as a healer, in my opinion.¡± Claire gritted her teeth as she stared daggers at Miguel, who was looking at her at the moment with an amused look in his face, ¡°So why do I get a useless skill like Illusion?¡± Claire was frustrated as she was always getting the short end of the stick whenever it was between Miguel and her. It was so unfair. ¡°I don¡¯t think Illusion magic would be useless,¡± said Dianne, slightly shaking her head. ¡°The reason why we wanted you to take that skill scroll is because we want someone in our team to be capable of a CC.¡± ¡°CC?¡± Melissa queried, raising a brow. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Crowd control,¡± This time it was Miguel who answered. He was getting more and more impressed as Dianne showed knowledge of gaming jargons. ¡°It means the skills that restricts or reduces an enemy¡¯s ability to fight.¡± ¡°That means if you use that skill, you can weaken an enemy to the point that it can be easily killed,¡± Dianne added. Thinking that Miguel was manipulating her again, Claire shook her head in refusal. After all, Miguel had a tongue slip when told her last night that he has Manipulator perk. That or Miguel was using this moment as an opportunity to somehow get his revenge for beating him in their arm wrestling match. Miguel was petty that way. ¡°I¡¯m not taking that shit. Miguel can take that garbage skill.¡± ¡°Look Claire,¡± Dianne put her hand on her best friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You have to trust me on this one. Besides, if in case that Miguel¡¯s idea of sharing skill scrolls is correct, then you can learn Arcane magic too.¡± Claire paused for a moment as she thought about Dianne¡¯s assurance. While she did not trust Miguel completely, Dianne had her full confidence. She just hoped that she was making the right decision of trusting Dianne and it wasn¡¯t just Miguel manipulating her or manipulating Dianne to manipulate her. ¡®Damn it! Now I¡¯m getting more paranoid to him than the monsters!¡¯ she thought. ¡°Fine,¡± Claire let out a deep sigh, deciding to give it a go. She snapped her head to Miguel with a glare while pointing a finger at him. ¡°If this turns out to be a petty revenge for losing to arm wrestling to me last night. I swear to god¡­ I¡¯m going to tear you a new one!¡± The others gave Miguel questioning looks. Eric asked in amusement, ¡°Hahaha! Really? You lost to her in arm wrestling?¡± Miguel gave them a dismissive wave while the three sniggered. He immediately spoke up to change the topic to save him from embarrassment, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get our skill scrolls.¡± The group then proceeded to claim their reward skill scrolls from the blue screen. As discussed earlier, Miguel took Mage Arts: Arcane, Claire took Mage Arts: Illusion and Dianne, Mage Arts: Healing. Eric took the Fighting Style: Spear because he wanted to have skills with weapons that have longer reach than swords and clubs. Lastly, Melissa took Fighting Style: Archery to supplement their long range attack capability as a team. The Skill Scroll was a yellowish parchment paper rolled into a scroll with a red ribbon tying it up. Just as Miguel suspected, it was small and it probably contained instructions for a basic combat skill intended for survival rather than a full combat skill. However, the promise that it contained knowledge on how to do magic was promising. The excitement that Miguel was feeling inside him was overwhelming. It felt like he was destined for something great and the scroll was the first step in his journey as a mage. Too bad it probably didn¡¯t have instructions how to Avada Kedavra everything that gets in his way to greatness, but he was hopeful. A classic fireball spell or maybe an A-rank Ninjutsu like Rasengan. ¡®Maybe I should¡¯ve taken Mage Arts: Illusiom,¡¯ Miguel thought, tapping his fingers against his chin. ¡®What if that scroll has Kage Bunshin no Jutsu? Or maybe a cool Genjutsu?¡¯ Before the five went on to their separate business to learn the content of their skill scrolls, Eric stopped them and told everybody that they forgot something important. ¡°What is it now?¡± Miguel scowled as he was interrupted. ¡°We have to form a party,¡± Eric replied. ¡°That way we can use party communication system to speak with each other rather than speak normally when the monsters could hear us.¡± ¡°Yeah, I totally forgot about that¡­¡± Dianne said as she scratched her head shyly. Miguel also forgot to check out the last two blue screens that he skipped last night from the help menu. While his INT definitely improved his memory, it didn¡¯t matter when he¡¯s exhausted. After all, everybody, even those with sharp memories, can still be a victim of carelessness and forgetfulness due to distractions. Miguel opened the help menu again and opened ¡®Party System¡¯ to look into it.
Party System
A party is a group of players adventuring together. While going solo on adventures are commendable and a player will not have any problems with loot sharing, adventuring with a party is more effective and efficient. Not only you''ll have someone to watch your back, you''ll have more chance of survival than being alone. Here are the general mechanics of the Party system:
1) To create a party, open ''Party Screen'' and make sure that you are not a member of an existing party. When the SYSTEM detects that you are not a member of any party, you''ll be asked if you want to create one. If you choose to create a party, you must first supply a party name and invite another player. Once the other player accepted the invite and the party name was established, the party will be created and you can invite more players.
2) By default, each member of the party will share EXP equally. To change the EXP sharing rate, there must be a unanimous decision among the party members for a change to occur.
3) You may have a minimum of 2 members and a maximum of 15 members in your party at a time. If there are only two of you in a party and one dies or leaves the party, then the party will be automatically disbanded.
4) There are two ways to disband a party, one is when there is only one member left or when there is a majority vote among the party members to disband.
5) To change the existing party name, one member must initiate a vote to change the party name and there must be a majority (80%) vote to approve the name change.
6) The party may also elect for the rules of automatic item sharing. Due to the nature of Earthland Online, only Game Credits may be subjected to the automatic item sharing. Again, the item sharing rates must be agreed upon unanimously by the members, or else, item sharing will be ''On Pick Up'' mode by default. This means that anyone who looted the GC will only go the the player who picked it up.
7) A significant advantage of joining a party is the use of the Party Communications System. It is a wireless communication system where members of the party can communicate using only their thoughts. This however is limited to two kilometer radius.
8) As a general rule, any issues or desired changes within the party can be decided by a majority vote. For example, if one has nominated to expel another from the party, then the members must come to a majority vote to kick the party member in question.
While his friends talked about party name, Miguel concentrated on reading the guide. He learned that the Party Communication System will be, indeed, a useful tool in this RPG apocalypse. They would avoid unnecessary noise that would attract nearby monsters. After Miguel finished reading the guide, he joined in with his friends on coming up with a party name, ¡°How about we name the party, Orgy Party?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good one!¡± Eric snorted, earning the two guys a glare from the girls. Well, with the exception of Dianne, who was confused. ¡°What does that mean?¡± asked Dianne innocently. ¡°What¡¯s an orgy?¡± Miguel and Eric both covered their mouths as they laughed, trying not to be too loud to be heard outside. Their antics only intensified Claire and Melissa¡¯s glare, which had little to no effect. ¡°What¡¯s an orgy?¡± Dianne repeated, raising a brow. Claire then whispered in Dianne¡¯s ear to lessen her friend¡¯s ignorance in sexual terms that a girl her age should¡¯ve already known. As Dianne have caught the meaning of the word, her whole face up to the tip of her ears reddened in embarrassment, ¡°N-no! That¡¯s disgusting!¡± Melissa rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she grumbled, ¡°Jeez, how old are you?¡± ¡°Anyway, I thought of a better name for our party,¡± Miguel stated, but Claire nudged her with an elbow to convince him to take the matter seriously. ¡°No, I¡¯m not joking this time. Why don¡¯t we name our party Boston Tea?¡± Eric, Dianne and Melissa furrowed their eyebrows as they paused, trying to decipher its meaning. Seeing Miguel rolled his eyes, they misunderstood his gesture and they concentrated on thinking about the sexual meaning of Boston Tea. In reality, Miguel rolled his eyes because in his opinion, party names didn¡¯t really matter and they were wasting time pondering on such a petty thing. Not that he wasn¡¯t aware that he was also petty at times, but this was a huge waste of time and his friends would not settle on a random party name. They wanted it to be meaningful. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Melissa asked as she gave up on thinking about it. ¡°Is this a green joke or am I missing something?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing green about his suggestion,¡± said Claire. ¡°He wants the name Boston Tea because the party will be called Boston Tea Party. It¡¯s an event in American history when America was a colony of Great Britain. It¡¯s a long and complicated story. Basically, the colonists destroyed shipments of tea by throwing it out on the sea in Boston because of some complications in taxation. The sea was like tea in color when that happened. One thing led to another and it blew up into a full revolutionary war.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Miguel raised his brows in amusement. He knew that piece of American history was because of Assassin¡¯s Creed 3. That game will make you love history ¨C and the bloody bits of it. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you knew that.¡± ¡°I just read a lot,¡± Claire shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a good name I¡¯d say. I get the feeling like we¡¯re the catalyst of change ¨C like revolutionaries in this stupid game.¡± ¡°Alright, I agree with the name,¡± said Eric. ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of a better name anyway.¡± As the rest of them agreed on the party name, Miguel opened his party screen and created the party with the proposed name. ¡°Invite Party: Eric Reyes, Claire Roque, Dianne Duria and¡­¡± Miguel stopped, then he turned to Melissa. ¡°What¡¯s your full name?¡± Melissa mumbled something under her breath, but they didn¡¯t catch it. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Panis.¡± Melissa lowered her head as the others laughed at her surname. [4] ¡°Invite Party: Melissa¡­¡± Miguel paused for a second for a more dramatic effect before bursting out in laughter. ¡°¡­Panis¡± Melissa shook her head at their childishness as she accepted the party invite. *DING!*
You created a party: Boston Tea Party
Eric Reyes joined the Boston Tea Party
Claire Roque joined the Boston Tea Party
Dianne Duria joined the Boston Tea Party
Melissa Panis joined the Boston Tea Party
When everybody was in the party, they quickly tested the Party Communications System like kids on Christmas day. Miguel: Can anyone hear me? Eric: Loud and clear. Claire: I can hear you. Melissa: Is that you, Eric? Eric: Yup, it¡¯s me. Dianne: This is weird. I can hear you and it¡¯s like I know who¡¯s talking like¡­ automatically. Weird. Miguel: Well, we don¡¯t know if we are actually hearing each other¡¯s thoughts or this is just a fragment of my imagination. Melissa: So¡­ wait. How would I know this isn¡¯t just my imagination too? Well, it was their first time trying to communicate telepathically. They didn¡¯t realize they were talking and looking at each other like in a normal conversation ¨C except, they were talking with their minds. Miguel: Simple. This situation calls for an experiment. Dianne: How? Miguel: Let me handle this. Claire, if you¡¯re hearing this, please show us your tits¡­ just for the sake experiment, of course. ¡°How about I show you my finger instead?¡± Claire flipped a finger with a wry smile curved on her lips. ¡°Then I shove this far up your asshole as an experiment?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Miguel showed her his signature smirk. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯re into kinky stuff. Maybe later?¡± The group burst out in laughter as if forgetting everything that has happened. Every problem and worries seemed to have vanished for a moment. It was said that in a middle of a crisis, laughter is the best medicine. While laughter did not do anything to change their hopeless situation, it did however help to start a bond among the Boston Tea Party. Suddenly, their laughter was interrupted by a noise. Hearing a strange noise outside the restaurant, they instantly fell into silence as they scrambled to find anything they could grab on as weapons. This time, though, Miguel grabbed his trusty Swiss knife from his pocket as he carefully lifted the curtain while the others hid in the corners. Eric, on the other hand, placed himself near the glass window beside Miguel, gripping the metal pipe so hard that his hands were turning white. Lifting the curtain, Miguel took a peek outside and found a pack of goblins heading their way. He immediately closed the curtain as he felt his fear realized. They were going to be attacked! Eric: What is it? Monsters? Miguel: Yeah, goblins. Claire: How many? Miguel: At least a dozen. Miguel found a little hole beneath the window sill and decided to take a peek. The goblin group was skulking about the streets when they heard a noise near the restaurant. Most of them had crude weapons like wooden clubs and metal pipes, while a few had bows and rusty daggers like the ones they looted yesterday. He realized that they have no chance of winning against these little green monsters. Miguel suspected that the goblins might have heard their laughter and that was why they were investigating the source of the noise. Though an atheist, Miguel found himself praying to every god he knew for a drop of miracle. As if the gods have heard his plea, the goblins shifted their attention towards the sound of a startled cat. As soon as the goblins went to chase the poor animal, Miguel breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°They¡¯re gone,¡± said Miguel as the others relaxed at the news. ¡°We should read the scrolls and learn whatever we can,¡± then he unrolled his scroll, skimming its contents, ¡°I want to know your progress this night.¡±
The scroll reward from the SYSTEM was actually better than Miguel expected. Mage Arts: Arcane is a school of magic that is focused on combat and utility which meant that he really hit the jackpot in choosing the scroll. The scroll gave Miguel a crash course about magic. Magic is the result of mana being used. Mana is a naturally occurring source of energy that can be found everywhere such as the air, water and living beings. However, the scroll did not provide much details on where mana came from and it formed a question in Miguel¡¯s mind: Did mana existed on Earth before? The scroll also provided instructions on how to sense and draw out the mana from one¡¯s body which was a requirement before learning how to do magic. With meditation and a breathing exercise, one can gather mana and guide its flow throughout the body. Learning this new information, Miguel relaxed himself as he closed his eyes and breathe deeply. The first thing he felt was a slight tingle throughout his body. While he couldn¡¯t see or point out where the mana is coming from, he could feel a strange energy flowing through his body. It was like a network of flowing river inside him. The scroll mentioned that with practice and additional points to INT, one can be better in control and sensing the mana inside their body. After familiarizing yourself with the mana inside the body, the next step was to draw out the mana by guiding the flow of energy. You can only guide the flow of mana rather than control it directly. This can be done by a basic exercise called pulsing. Pulsing involves expelling out small amounts of mana from the body. One must be careful not to expel too much mana as you can easily get exhausted from it. The scroll instruction was to pulse continuously in a constant interval for until you feel drained. After a few moments of rest to recover his lost mana points, Miguel moved on to the next exercise which involves another pulsing exercise, but this time, one must guide the flow of mana and expel it out only from a part of the body. This pulsing exercise can be done with any parts of the body, but the easiest was to do the pulsing with the extremities such as hands, feet and fingers. In order to cast a spell successfully, you must follow the sequence of spell casting: Step 1: Conception¨C In this step, you must clear your mind and focus on the desired result of the spell. Step 2: Creation¨C This is when you must say the chant while also directing the flow of mana throughout your body. You may opt not to chant if you already mastered the spell. However, you may not skip this stage entirely. You must still direct the flow of mana or else the spell will fail. Step 3: Release¨C In this step, you will feel warmer and feel an instinctive need for a release. This is the sign that the spell is ready and you must release the mana from your body by directing its flow outwards. The feeling comes from the build-up of mana inside the body. The final step is also the most dangerous because the caster may die or lose a limb if he fails to release the build-up of mana energy. Reading the spell casting sequence, Miguel finally understood the reason why pulsing exercise was important. He could lose a hand if the mana build-up stayed too long. He imagined his hand exploding in a nasty way. That was why he did more pulsing exercise before moving on to actual spell casting. ¡°Damn it!¡± Miguel¡¯s concentration was interrupted when he heard Claire¡¯s voice. When he opened his eyes, he found Claire and Dianne near him and sitting with crossed legs like him. Miguel watched in fascination as he watched his two friends who got the magic skill scrolls perform the mana exercise. He noticed that there were blueish gas radiating from Dianne. This must be what it looked like when doing the pulsing exercise. Clearly, Dianne was already on the second exercise. Miguel felt pride swell as he was already one step ahead of her. On the other hand, Claire was cursing repeatedly with her eyes closed. Her face looked like she was having a constipation. Miguel found it amusing as he once again found another thing that he had an advantage against Claire. He could not help but laugh at his rival¡¯s struggle. Thankfully, they were in Melissa¡¯s bedroom on the second floor and the monsters will not hear a thing. According to Melissa, the room was soundproofed because this was where she made her Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) videos that she posted on YouTube for extra income. She had her main account where she posted cooking videos and ironically, her ASMR videos earn her more money. Miguel scoffed that it was probably her good looks that earned her more views and subscribers. In any case, the group decided to move upstairs and stay in the soundproofed room during the day. ¡°This scroll is bullshit,¡± Miguel was shifted from his thoughts as he heard Claire said something other than fuck and damn for the last few hours. ¡°What the hell does this ¡®feel the flow of mana in your body¡¯ even mean? This is bullshit! I¡¯ve been doing this for hours, but I don¡¯t feel anything!¡± Miguel rolled his eyes, ¡°Have you tried concentrating? It says here you need to clear your mind before trying this exercise.¡± ¡°But my mind is clear! This doesn¡¯t make any sense at all!¡± Claire continued her rant. ¡°How the fuck did you do it?¡± ¡°You should try calming down first, Claire,¡± said Dianne, her eyes still closed. Claire whipped her head, ¡°But I am calm!¡± Miguel shook his head, ¡°That¡¯s not how a calmed person acts. Stop your whining and be patient. You¡¯re not exactly showing your calmness, you know.¡± Claire gritted her teeth, glaring at Miguel. She decided not to say anything, and continued meditating and do whatever the scroll instructed. Miguel went back to reading his scroll. It said that once you are capable of directing the flow of mana from any part of your body, you may now attempt to cast spells. It was also recommended to continue doing the meditation, pulsing and flow exercises so that your spells would not waste too much mana when you cast them. According to the scroll, you must chant the words to cast a spell. While chants are not necessarily required for casting spells, it helps the beginners for casting simple spells. It takes mastery and a lot of practice to cast spells non-verbally and without additional cost. The scroll elaborated that casting with no chants takes a lot of concentration. You need to level the spell to level 10 in order to cast non-verbally without much effort and additional MP cost. Furthermore, the scroll strongly recommended not to experiment with the chants without reading the book, Arcane Spells for Dummies and Magical Laws and Theories for Dummies which was sold in a SYSTEM shop. The scroll contained four basic spells: Conjure Water, Breeze, Ignite and ShockBolt. Conjure Water is a water type spell that summons water from an outside source, mostly from a nearby body of water or the vapors in the air. The mana cost depends on the volume of water and the quality summoned. If the quantity, quality or the source is not mentioned then by default, it will summon a liter of water from the nearby source as is. The chant was: ¡°[Unit] of [Quality] water from [Source], Conjure Water.¡± This spell was probably the most useful spell in Miguel¡¯s opinion as it will solve their problems with lack of water. With this spell, they can now afford the pre-apocalypse luxuries such as flushing the toilet, washing their clothes and taking baths. Having dried blood all over your body and clothes wasn¡¯t very enjoyable. Breeze is a wind type spell that conjures a blow of wind. The wind force can be improved at the cost of more mana. Its chant: ¡°Blow of wind, Breeze.¡± While the spell seemed useless, Miguel could think of many uses of this spell. It could improve the speed of a projectile such as an arrow and it can be used to deflect enemy¡¯s arrows and make it miss. It is also a synergy to Ignite spell. Ignite is a fire spell. It doesn¡¯t summon fire balls or a flame thrower as it isn¡¯t an offensive spell. It is more of a utility spell. It only summons a weak fire that was enough to light up a campfire or to light a cigarette. The scroll recommended not to use this spell in combat, but Miguel can see this spell¡¯s potential along with the Breeze spell. It also has a short chant which was ¡°Set aflame, Ignite.¡± ShockBolt was the only offensive spell in the scroll¡¯s repertoire. Its main use was to stun the opponents similar to a stun gun. Miguel has decided to try the spell alongside with Conjure Water to see if the damage would improve. Miguel closed his eyes in hard concentration. Clearing his mind, he focused on imagining electricity shooting out of his palm as he chanted slowly, ¡°Shock the target.¡± He directed the flow of mana towards his arm and into his palm. Afterwards, his hand felt warmer and felt the build-up of energy. He stretched his arm forward. He opened his eyes as the others watched him with curiosity, ¡°ShockBolt!¡± A strange power flowed throughout Miguel¡¯s body as a line of electricity shot forward from the palm of his right hand. The bolt of electricity hit the piece of cardboard that Miguel used as a target practice and left a scorch mark.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Hn,¡± Miguel grunted and smirked with pride as his first attempt of casting magic was successful. He felt smug when he saw his friends¡¯ jaws hanging. His grin grew wider when he saw the awed look from Claire¡¯s expression. It wasn¡¯t easy to impress his pretty face rival, so he winked at her, ¡°Awesome, huh?¡± When Claire saw him wink, she gritted her teeth in frustration and glared at him with intensity. She felt cheated and she regretted listening to him picking that damn illusion magic scroll. Suddenly, a great idea came to her. She stretched out her arm towards Miguel as she chanted, ¡°Seek your desire, show them a dream of their paradise. Charm!¡± Silence permeated the room as the spell failed to work. Claire looked at Miguel with confusion, who in turn, gave her smug expression. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Miguel snorted. ¡°Why isn¡¯t it working?!¡± Claire threw the scroll at him in frustration, which Miguel answered with a chuckle. She looked ready to explode, but Dianne calmed her down and told her to be quiet. ¡°Were you successful in drawing out mana?¡± asked Miguel and Claire shook her head in the negative. ¡°Then that¡¯s why your spell didn¡¯t work.¡± Miguel then saw Claire scrunching her nose and forcefully trying to calm herself down. As much as he loved to jab Claire¡¯s short temper, he needed her to learn faster as they would also depend on her on their group¡¯s survival. ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking too much,¡± Miguel said, looking at Claire with a serious expression. ¡°Try to focus your mind on your breathing, then it will come to you. That¡¯s what I did.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Claire nodded, taking a deep breath, then closing her eyes in concentration. Miguel looked around to see his teammates¡¯ progress in learning the skill from their scrolls. Dianne was making a steady progress with her pulsing exercises while Eric was practicing the spear fighting stances. Melissa took a thick cardboard and drew black circles on it as target practice for archery. All in all, their group was doing a good job. It may take a few weeks before they were even ready for the real combat, but it was better than being sitting ducks and doing nothing. Miguel brought his attention back into his arcane magic. One thing that Miguel could not understand in doing magic was the meaning and purpose of chants to invoke spells. Sure, even Harry Potter needs to say ¡®Wingardium Leviosa¡¯ to levitate objects, but as an avid reader of the series, Miguel could not remember why there was a need for ¡®foolish wand waving or silly incantations¡¯. Miguel had imagined himself in Harry Potter¡¯s shoes for a while. He remembered Hermoine saying that ¡®It¡¯s levi-O-sa. Not leviosar¡¯. Miguel already knew that the spell will fail if the incantation was pronounced wrong, but then the important thing about Harry Potter spells was the intent of the caster. If he were Harry, he would¡¯ve experimented with the spell using different languages, pronunciations and accents. The question was: ¡®Is the same true in this RPG world?¡¯ Even though the scroll warned him not to experiment with the chants of the spell, Miguel¡¯s curiosity and love for testing the unknown won him over and cast the Shock Bolt spell with a different word in the chant. Miguel took out his notebook with excitement as he listed his questions on his notebook: Problem 1. Can you cast spells with a language other than English? Problem 2. Can you cast spells with a different accent? Problem 3. What will happen if you change a word in the chant of Shock Bolt spell? These were the first three questions that formed in Miguel¡¯s mind regarding chants. After listing the problems, he formed a hypothesis on each question: Problem 1. Can you cast spells with a language other than English? Hypothesis: Probably. Since the chants were in English, I will be successful with Filipino because it¡¯s my mother tongue. Problem 2. Can you cast spells with a different accent? Hypothesis: Yes, as accents make no difference in the meaning of words. Problem 3. What will happen if you change a word in the chant of Shock Bolt spell? Hypothesis: Nothing will change as intent is more important than a simple change of wording. After that, he designed experiments to test the hypotheses. One thing that made it hard was the designing of the test for the Problem 1. It was extremely hard to translate one language to another while creating a meaningful translation. For example, the word ¡®shock¡¯ particularly, the one that refers to ¡®electric shock¡¯ didn¡¯t have a direct translation in Filipino language. He also couldn¡¯t think of a translation for the word ¡®target¡¯. The closest translation he could think of was the word ¡®kuryente¡¯ which meant ¡®electricity¡¯. He could translate the word into a verb, but it would sound really awkward. He could already feel the cringe, but for curiosity¡¯s sake, Miguel was willing to try it. Miguel cleared his throat as he chanted, ¡°Kuryentehin ang target, Shock Bolt.¡± His eyes widened, feeling the same strange power that flowed through his body. The electricity shot the cardboard and left another black scorch mark, ¡°Huh, that actually worked.¡± While the others were sniggering at the background, Miguel cast the Shock Bolt spell two more times using the translated chant to confirm his hypothesis. He found out that each cast of the spell cost around 20 MP. He also found out that whether the chant was in English or Filipino, the MP cost of Shock Bolt spell remained the same. While waiting for his MP to recover, Miguel went on to design the test for the second problem. For the second test, Miguel will cast the spell in three accents for each of the two languages he knew. After he recovered his MP, Miguel cast the Shock Bolt spell two times in English using the American and British accent. Although the spell was successful, the result was inconclusive. Miguel didn¡¯t actually have American nor the British accent even though he tried his best to make a good impression of the accent. On the third try, however, Miguel cast the spell, again in English, but in an impression of a Japanese accent. Miguel gulped and breathed deeply before casting the spell, ¡°Shoku the tageto, Shoku Boruto!¡± As cringe worthy as it was, surprisingly, the spell worked flawlessly. Miguel concluded that it was not the matter of how the chant was delivered, but the intent of the caster. Miguel cast the spell a few more times with the intention of increased output of the Shock Bolt and regardless of the accent or language, it really was the intent that influenced the spell. However, even though Miguel already has conclusions for the first two questions, everything will change depending on the results of the testing of the third hypothesis. ¡°Shock a target, Shock Bolt!¡± said Miguel, changing the article word ¡®the¡¯ into ¡®a¡¯. The line of electricity shot from his palm as the expected result. As the electricity was about to hit the cardboard, it curved to the left at the last second and hit Melissa¡¯s cardboard target practice bull¡¯s eye. ¡°What the hell!¡± Melissa snapped her head towards Miguel. ¡°Hey asshole, watch where you¡¯re aiming!¡± shouted Claire. Ignoring his friends¡¯ rants, Miguel cast the spell two more times while using the modified chant. The second one hit his cardboard while the third one hit Melissa¡¯s target practice again. Miguel stroke his beard as he analyzed the results. The article word ¡®the¡¯ is used when to define a noun specific while ¡®a¡¯ is used to define a noun indefinite or refers to a general idea rather than a particular thing. In changing the article, instead of hitting Miguel¡¯s cardboard practice, the Shock Bolt spell would hit either his or Melissa¡¯s cardboard as Miguel considered the two as ¡®Target¡¯. Miguel already had a prediction that this would happen and that was why, he already drilled into his mind that the target will only be limited between the two. If he didn¡¯t, that would be dangerous as the spell could hit anything or anyone. It was probably the reason why experimenting with chants was dangerous. After he cast Shock Bolt spell again and again on his target practice, he began to feel lightheaded and drained. He commanded the blue screen with his mind to show his current MP and his MP regeneration to check his suspicions. He suspected that the light-headedness and exhaustion might be a symptom of depletion of his MP bar.
MP: 2/140 MP/min.: 8.05
¡°Whew, that was exhausting than I thought,¡± Miguel muttered as wiped sweat from his brow. It would take roughly 17 minutes for his MP to regenerate. While it seemed to be slow, it was twice the normal person¡¯s MP regeneration. All because of his True-Born Mage perk. After resting for a few moments to recover, Miguel continued his experiments with the chants.
*DING!*
You have learned a skill! Mage Arts: Arcane
You have learned new spells under Mage Arts: Arcane: Shock Bolt Breeze
Miguel grinned from ear to ear as he successfully learned a new skill. After the notification screen faded, he checked the details of his new skill. Apparently, all it took was to cast and understand the nature of at least two arcane spells.
Mage Arts: Arcane
Skill Level: 1
Mastery: Beginner
Description: A magic school that harnesses the power of the five elements: Fire, Wind, Earth, Water and Lightning to strike down foes.
Skill Level Bonus: +5% Spell damage and effectiveness per Skill level.
Mastery Bonus: Beginner: N/A Intermediate: Reduced MP consumption of Arcane spells by 30%. Expert: +20% Spell damage and effectiveness. Master: Able to cast any Arcane spells without chants regardless of spell level, +10 INT and WIS and unlocks Archon title.
Current Skill Level and Mastery Bonus: +5% Spell damage and effectiveness.
Shock Bolt
Spell Type: Active
Description: An offensive lightning spell designed to stun an enemy with a jolt of electricity.
Chant: "Shock the target,Shock Bolt."
Requirement(s): Must finish the required chant before use.
Spell Level: 2/10
MP Cost: 20 MP per cast.
Effect(s): +5% MATK of Lightning Damage per level, fixed 50% chance to stun targets with a 3% increase in stun chance per level.
Current Effect(s): +10% MATK of Lightning Damage, 56% chance to stun targets.
Breeze
Spell Type: Active (Channelling)
Description: A wind type spell that conjures a blow of wind.
Chant: "Blow of wind, Breeze."
Requirement(s): Must finish the required chant before use.
Spell Level: 1/10
MP Cost: 0.20 MP per second.
Effect(s): -5% MP consumption per level.
Current Effect(s): -5% MP consumption.
Miguel was overjoyed that he finally learned the skill after only a few hours. Well, the skill level was still low and he needed to grind. But at least, he can now monitor its progress. Breeze, unlike the Shock Bolt spell, was relatively easy to learn. It was a wind spell that ¨C well, it summons wind, albeit a very weak one. It was also a channelling spell which means that once the spell was activated, it will continue to drain MP until the caster stops the spell. As Miguel looked at his notes, he noticed that he had more questions about magic than answers. He realized that he needed to do more tests with his newly gained skill, but he felt exhausted after studying the scroll and casting spells for seven hours straight. ¡°Miguel,¡± a voice called, coming from his back. Miguel turned around to see Eric carrying a bunch of PVC pipes and a tool box. ¡°Stop whatever you¡¯re doing and help me.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just do it by yourself?¡± Miguel grunted. He was too drained to do anything right now. It was very tempting to have a short nap. ¡°You promised to help me,¡± Eric frowned. ¡°Fine,¡± Miguel sighed. ¡°What are we making anyway?¡± ¡°Spears.¡± Miguel couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes. Of course, it has to be a weapon for Eric¡¯s own skills, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this.¡±
The next two days were uneventful as the group focused on two things, mainly: crafting weapons with whatever they had at the restaurant while accepting daily crafting quest to receive EXP and practicing the skills they¡¯ve got from the scrolls. Eric, with the help of Miguel, made two improvised spears using PVC pipes, kitchen knives, bolts and nuts. They¡¯ve removed the handle from the kitchen knives by forcefully removing the bolts. They attached the knives to the PVC pipes and secured it with bolts and nuts. The kitchen knives had +8 PATK and the PVC pipes had +4 PATK when used as a blunt weapon. Eric and Miguel expected that combining the two will result into a better weapon, but when they finished, the improvised spear only had +8 PATK.
Makeshift Spear PATK: +8 Durability: 20/20 Weapon Type Bonus: Bladed I ¨C Causes Mild Bleeding effect Required STR: 6
Though it had the same PATK bonus as the kitchen knives, it was certainly an improvement since the weapons have longer reach. Eric and Miguel agreed that they should focus more on the safe side rather than the attack power of a weapon. After all, they would rather not get wounded by the goblin¡¯s rusty weapons. That was if they were forced to fight. The two best friends gave the second spear to Claire as she expressed her desire to fight in the close range. Eric shared his scroll that contained spear fighting style to Claire. The two bows were given to Dianne and Melissa as the two girls decided to stay at the back of the formation. While Dianne will act as their healer, Melissa will be supporting the group from the back with her bow and arrow. As for Miguel, he opted to use a simple metal pipe. While a spear does indeed have the reach advantage, the weapon wasn¡¯t suited for his fighting style. Fighting Style: Arnis requires a blunt or a bladed weapon in order to use it. They didn¡¯t have a bolo which was a cutting tool similar to a machete, so Miguel didn¡¯t have a choice but to use a metal pipe.
Metal Pipe PATK: +8 Durability: 25/25 Weapon Type Bonus: Blunt I - Bypass 20% of PDEF Required STR: 6
After they finished making weapons, Miguel told his best friend in details how it felt having a foreign object, particularly an arrow, lodged in his thigh. Eric and Miguel decided to make improvised shields and armors. Using stacks of phone books and other thick hardcover books, Eric and Miguel attached them to the jackets with duct tapes to make their makeshift body armor. Filling the stack of books with duct tapes was surprisingly effective and secured the books in place. Thankfully, they had enough books to make five body armors for all of them. Surprisingly, the makeshift body armor was durable, according to the blue screen. It was a bit heavy, but it will keep their vital organs from being pierced by sharp objects.
Makeshift Body Armor PDEF: +15 Durability: 30/30 Required STR: 8
Next was the shields. While it was tempting to do stack another pile of books to make their shields, they didn¡¯t have enough books and it would be too cumbersome to wield. Using wood pieces from the chairs, Eric and Miguel nailed them together to make the shields. They also attached rubber strips for the straps.
Makeshift Wooden Shield PDEF: +12 Durability: 25/25 Required STR: 8
They made a total of five body armors, four wooden shields and a small shield for Melissa so she could still wield a shield without further hindering her aim with the bow. As to the progress of their skills, Dianne learned to cast Healing Hands spell on the third day of their stay in the restaurant. It was the only spell that was written on her scroll. According to Dianne¡¯s scroll, healing magic didn¡¯t have too many spells and it relied more on the knowledge of the anatomy rather than the knowledge of magic itself. That was why it included basic anatomy knowledge and instructions how to heal wounds such as cuts and bruises. Apparently, you do not need to wound yourself and heal it in order to level up the Healing Hands spell as Miguel originally thought. You also can gain skill EXP with the spell by studying anatomy. Melissa and Eric were also successful in learning their respective fighting styles. Fighting Style: Spear and Fighting Style: Archery skill scrolls included how to use and fight with the weapons properly and it included simple exercises to enhance their skills with the weapons. Eric and Claire practiced Spear Thrust technique by thrusting their improvised spear repeatedly to level the technique. The two also sparred for three hours every morning to improve their proficiency with the weapon. Meanwhile, Melissa practiced her shooting to improve her aim with the bow and arrow. She can hit the bullseye 3 out of 5 times. Not only that, she also increased her DEX by 1 by gaining a perk called Practiced Aim I. According to Miguel, Melissa¡¯s skill in marksmanship wasn¡¯t that impressive as the rest of the group thought. Miguel mentioned that the goblins won¡¯t wait for Melissa¡¯s arrow like sitting ducks. Furthermore, the goblins were small target and they were quick on their feet. He suggested to practice on moving targets instead and the smaller the target, the better. That was why Eric hanged a piece of plywood on the ceiling with a rope as a target practice. Melissa would try to hit the plywood while it swings. Claire was very frustrated as she already learned Fighting Style: Spear but she still couldn¡¯t cast the spells in her skill scroll Mage Arts: Illusion. That was why she practiced and sparred with Eric at days while learning magic at night. She can already feel the flow of her mana inside her body and Miguel continued to give instructions on how to do the pulsing exercises to be able to cast spells. As for Miguel, he was the first one to learn everything in the scroll and was now capable casting all four Arcane spells. It only took him only a day to learn everything in the scroll. Miguel suspected that it was the Quick Learner perk¡¯s overpowered effect. He learned the last two spells from the scrolls: Conjure Water and Ignite, making a total number of four spells in his spell repertoire.
Conjure Water
Spell Type: Active
Description: A basic water type spell that summons water from an external source, mostly from a nearby body of water or the vapors in the air. MP consumption depends on the volume of water and the quality summoned. If the quantity, quality or the source is not mentioned then by default, it will summon a gallon of pure water from the nearby source.
Chant: ¡°[Unit] of [Quality] water from [Source], Conjure Water.¡±
Requirement(s): Must finish the required chant before use and there must be a water source within 10 kilometer.
Spell Level: 3/10
MP Cost: 5 MP per gallon + 0-8 MP per water quality rating. 0 MP for ultrapure, 4 MP for drinkable, 6 MP for good and 8 MP for poor.
Effect(s): -5% MP consumption per level.
Current Effect(s): -15% MP consumption per level.
Ignite
Spell Type: Active
Description: A basic fire spell that conjures small fire designed to light objects such as lamps and campfires.
Chant: ¡°Set aflame, Ignite.¡±
Requirement(s): Must finish the required chant before use.
Spell Level: 1/10
MP Cost: 10 MP per cast.
Effect(s): -5% MP consumption per level.
Current Effect(s): -5% MP consumption per level.
Ignite would seem to be good to use in combat as it was a fire type spell, but when combined with Breeze, it only summons a tiny flame and Breeze would immediately extinguish the flame. It was designed as a utility spell rather than for combat. Well, that was why the scroll included Shock Bolt spell and it was a combat spell. At first glance, Conjure Water didn¡¯t make any sense as to its MP consumption. Why would conjuring ultrapure water would cost no MP while poor quality water would cost more. When Miguel thought about it, it did make sense. In his guess, Conjure Water spell only conjures water in its purest form. In order to conjure water with other particles such as sodium, microorganisms, dirt, etc., the spell will need to more mana to allow them to be conjured alongside with the water. Furthermore, water in its pure form isn¡¯t conductive. You¡¯ll need dissolved solids in the water to make it conductive to electricity, which gave Miguel an idea to make the Shock Bolt spell into an AOE (Area-of-effect) spell. Miguel had nothing more to learn from the scroll, so he focused on levelling all of his spells as much as possible by using them for the group¡¯s convenience, especially the Breeze spell to make Melissa¡¯s room feel less stuffy and Conjure Water spell for their everyday needs. Miguel didn¡¯t mention it to the group that he was conjuring their water, including their drinking water from the sewers, septic tanks from nearby buildings and the remaining water from the water pipes. In his reasoning, the spell automatically filters the impurities from the water, so those waters were viable source. One thing that Miguel noticed was that, levelling up skills and spells wasn¡¯t easy as learning them even with his overpowered perk. Even with continued use throughout the day, Conjure Water was still at level 1. At the moment, Miguel was filling up a plastic drum with ultrapure water by casting Conjure Water after he took a bath. He found out that ultrapure water was really, really good at cleaning things. They use it for washing dishes, clothes and of course, their bodies. It made the soap easier to form lather. It wasn¡¯t good for drinking though, because it tasted literally nothing at all. You have drinking water for that anyway, which tasted like ¨C water. ¡°Hey,¡± Miguel turned his head around as he heard Claire called him. ¡°What?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the water from your magic,¡± Claire stated as she leaned on the wall. ¡°It makes the soap hard to rinse and my skin feels... slimy after taking a bath. Can¡¯t you do something about it?¡± ¡°I can,¡± Miguel lazily replied as he finished filling the whole drum, ¡°but it cost more mana. You¡¯re just not used with soft water.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± Claire said with a frown. ¡°Unfortunately for you, I do,¡± Miguel gave her a deadpanned look as he faced her. Claire narrowed her eyes at him for a few seconds, but she let out an exasperated sigh as her expression softened, ¡°We need to talk.¡± ¡°Go on. Talk,¡± Miguel shrugged, staring at Claire with a lazy expression. ¡°Look, please listen what I¡¯m going to say before you react,¡± Claire said as she seemed to be hesitating. Miguel was expecting to hear a criticism from her or something, but he realized, why would she hesitate to criticize him? ¡°Alright,¡± Miguel nodded. ¡°I promise whatever you say, I¡¯ll listen before I react.¡± ¡°Good. That¡¯s good,¡± Claire licked her lips nervously. ¡°Listen ¨C um. You know I work part-time at Jollibee as a crew, right?¡± Jollibee is, or in this case after the apocalypse happened, was one of the largest fast food chain restaurants in the country. They served hamburgers, chicken, fries and other food that you¡¯ll also find on the menu of its rival, McDonald¡¯s. Miguel learned a year ago that Claire worked part-time in a fast food restaurant and at the same time, she was a student. That was actually why Miguel had a deep respect for his rival. Claire could still find the energy to study and compete with him even if she was exhausted at work. But why would Claire suddenly open it up? His nose scrunched as he asked, ¡°So? What¡¯s this about?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Jollibee just in front of this restaurant,¡± Claire simply answered. ¡°I already talked with Eric about this and though he agreed with me, he told me to talk to you.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Miguel raised his brow. ¡°Let me guess. You want to loot the place?¡± she nodded in the affirmative, ¡°like I said before, I don¡¯t like needlessly risking our lives.¡± ¡°Well, yes, it would seem like we¡¯re taking an unnecessary risk here, but think about it,¡± Claire argued. ¡°There a treasure trove of food stuffs right on our doorstep and we¡¯re just ignoring it. This is a good opportunity, you see. Besides, the food stuffs won¡¯t last very long in the freezer.¡± ¡°My answer is still the same,¡± Miguel deadpanned. ¡°And yet, you agreed with Eric to get the gasoline in his car last night?¡± Claire rolled her eyes, folding her arms. ¡°For what? To make molotovs? I never thought weapons were more important than food.¡± To be honest, Miguel only agreed to help Eric get the gasoline out of his car because his best friend parked his car right outside the restaurant. The car was literally right out of their doorstep while Jollibee was located across the road in front of Melissa¡¯s restaurant. Eric wouldn¡¯t stop bugging Miguel about it all throughout yesterday, so in the end, Miguel gave in to his best friend¡¯s request. Besides, he agreed only because crafting Molotov cocktails would complete the daily quest. ¡°Come on, Miguel,¡± Claire pleaded. ¡°It¡¯ll be like a walk in the park.¡± Miguel looked at Claire and he can already tell that she won¡¯t take ¡®no¡¯ for an answer, ¡°If it is a quest, then maybe¡­¡± *DING!*
The Raid of Jollibee One of the members of the Boston Tea Party suggested to loot the fast food restaurant for the foodstuffs as it won¡¯t last for long. Main Objective: Get the foodstuffs from Jollibee. Side Objective 1: Get all the foodstuffs. Side Objective 2: Finish the quest with no casualty. Reward(s): EXP and 1,000 Game Credits + 500 Game Credits per Side Objective completed. Requirement(s): None
¡°There you go,¡± Claire¡¯s lips curved into a smile. Before Miguel could reject the quest, Eric, Dianne and Melissa burst through the bathroom¡¯s door, making Miguel jump out in surprise. ¡°There¡¯s a quest!¡± Eric exclaimed with uncontained excitement. ¡°Are we going to do this?¡± ¡°We were just talking about looting the food in Jollibee a few moments ago,¡± Dianne said, tapping her chin with a finger. ¡°Weird.¡± ¡°We were talking about it too,¡± said Claire, pointing her finger at Miguel. ¡°He said he¡¯ll accept it if it¡¯s a quest.¡± ¡°So we¡¯ll really do it this time?¡± Eric shot his best friend with an incredulous look. ¡°You really said that?¡± ¡°No,¡± Miguel shook his head. ¡°I said I¡¯ll consider it, but¡­¡± ¡°Look, if you don¡¯t want to do this, you don¡¯t have to join us,¡± Melissa cut him off as she shrugged. ¡°You can just sit this one out.¡± ¡°Let me think for a second,¡± Miguel said as he sat on a chair. He paused for a moment to think about the risk involved in the quest. First, there were monsters hungry for human flesh outside. Well, he wasn¡¯t sure that there were goblins roaming the streets at night, but he believed that there were more dangerous monsters during the night as it was common in most MMOs he played. During the last two days, they have been observing the goblins¡¯ behavior. Miguel noticed that the goblin patrolled the streets in groups of three to twelve goblins with the exception of the largest group of at least a hundred goblins they saw yesterday. They assumed that it wasn¡¯t a normal patrol group, but rather, a horde just passing through. Horns would be sounded every sundown and the goblins would stop whatever they were doing and go in the direction of the sound. They would retreat to God-knows-somewhere. Although Miguel could hear multiple sounds of horns from every direction, he noticed that the closest to the restaurant was the same horn they hear every sundown. It meant that whoever was blowing that horn, it was close to the restaurant. Dangerously close. That was why Eric came up with the idea of making Molotov cocktails. Miguel agreed into it because he was also afraid of facing an entire horde of little green flesh eaters. If ever they were to face them, at least they could try to intimidate them with small boom-booms of flaming bottles and hope to scare them away. Besides, gasoline still burned even after the apocalypse. Also, due to this strange goblin behavior during sundown, the party was more active during the night than the day. Second, assuming that the goblins were really gone during night time, the certainty of encountering an unknown monster lurking in the dark was almost one-hundred percent in Miguel¡¯s overly paranoid mind. It wasn¡¯t that he was afraid of the dark. No, he was afraid of the unknown. It was the thing that you didn¡¯t see or know that will kill you. Of course, Miguel could just be overreacting and maybe the quest will go on without a hitch, but that was like saying that nothing can ever go wrong. Especially in this post-apocalyptic monster world, anything can go wrong. Murphy¡¯s Law was almost the same as the laws of physics. Third point was the cost-benefit analysis. Whenever Miguel had a difficult decision to make, he would always weigh the benefit over the cost. Is the benefit of having more food and supply outweighs the risk of going further out in the night? The answer was simple. The food that will make them last for months was definitely worth it. It was almost a dream where he could spend the rest of his numbered life, eating nothing but french fries, fried chicken, hotdogs, burgers and sodas. Miguel¡¯s only wish was that Jollibee also served pizza and his dream post-apocalyptic vacation would be complete. On a serious note, the benefits alone trumped all the risks the party will be taking. With that in mind, Miguel had made his decision. ¡°Alright,¡± Miguel said, folding his arms. ¡°Do we have a plan? We can¡¯t just go in there without some sort of a plan.¡± There was a pause. ¡°Actually, that¡¯s why we came to you,¡± Eric stated, scratching his head. ¡°I know you¡¯ll come up with something like a plan.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Miguel raised an eyebrow. As much as he wanted to let his friends do all the hard work, including the planning, Miguel was unofficially the leader of the group. ¡°Claire, since you worked in Jollibee, do you know the layout of the place? Particularly, the one outside? If we¡¯re going to loot the place, I want us to go in and out as fast as we can.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Claire¡¯s brows furrowed as she scratched her chin. ¡°As far as I know, all Jollibee outlets have standard layouts. They¡¯re more or less the same. I¡¯ve been inside of that particular outlet. Well, as a customer, but not as a crew.¡± ¡°Can you draw me the basic layout?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After Claire drew the store layout of Jollibee in a piece of paper, Miguel formulated a plan and discussed it with the rest of the group. The plan was simple. Miguel, Eric and Claire will go out while Melissa and Dianne wait in the restaurant as lookouts and to open the door when the three were finished with the quest. Claire will be the one to lead the quest as she was the most knowledgeable of the place. They emptied out their inventories to make space for the food. Miguel suggested that if they were going to loot the place, then why not loot everything one time? They also brought a number of large empty cardboard boxes in case that the foodstuffs won¡¯t stack in one inventory cell. Just last night, all the party members were busy crafting Molotov cocktails after Eric and Miguel looted all the gasoline from Eric¡¯s car. Apparently, Eric always made sure that his tank was full every week and he refuelled every Monday morning. Luckily, it was Monday when the apocalypse happened. They¡¯ve got at least forty-eight liters of gasoline. The only problem was the bottle containers for the Molotov cocktails. They only had twenty-four 500 ml. beer bottles and twelve 1,000 ml. soda bottles. After they¡¯ve filled all the bottles, they¡¯ve got less than twenty-four liters of gasoline left. Before they went out, Miguel did a final recap of the plan to the group. Eric passed on the Molotov cocktails to the group in case they encounter monsters. ¡°Ready?¡± Miguel asked as he turned to his friends. They silently nodded in reply. ¡°Remember to stick to the plan and use the Party Comms to warn us, okay?¡± Eric removed the nails from the door with a hammer, he signalled the group that it was ready. They wore their facemask to mask their nose with the putrid smell of rotting corpses. Miguel: Let¡¯s go. Eric and Claire whipped out their spears from their inventory while Miguel took out his metal pipe. They did a last minute check on their makeshift armor and took out their wooden shields in case they were ambushed by goblins with bows and arrows. Before setting out, Eric stuck out his head on the door, looking to his left and right. Luckily, it was the night of the full moon and they can see clearly in the night. After he confirmed that the streets were cleared of monsters, Eric gave the clear signal. Crossing the street, Miguel, Eric and Claire went out and moved quickly towards the Jollibee building. The streets were littered with rotting and leftover corpses. Even wearing facemasks weren¡¯t enough to block the smell. It almost made the three puke out their dinner, but Miguel reminded them to try not to look at the corpses and focus on the objective of the quest. The trio did not use the main entrance of the fast food restaurant. Instead, Claire led them to the back door the restaurant used for delivery shipments. The steel door seemed to have been locked from the inside as it wouldn¡¯t budge when Eric tried to open it. Eric: It¡¯s locked. Claire: I¡¯ll take care of it. Claire shoved Eric and Miguel out of the way as she put down her spear and shield. She pulled a hairpin from her hair and a small tool with a ¡®hook¡¯ on the end from her wallet. After a few seconds of tinkering with the door lock, Claire opened the door and gestured for the two to follow her. The two best friends stared blankly at each other as they watched their friend skilfully and successfully pick a lock. Miguel narrowed his eyes as he tried to process in his mind what he just witnessed. ¡®Why would Claire know how to pick locks?¡¯ Claire: What are you two waiting for? Come on, let¡¯s go. Eric and Miguel shrugged and followed her inside the building. Miguel: It¡¯s dark in here. I can¡¯t see a thing. Eric: Good thing I made torches. Eric, looking smug and proud, pulled out three torches from his inventory and handed out the two to Miguel and Claire. He checked his pockets for something to light the torches, but he seemed to forget to bring it. Eric: Damn it! I forgot to bring a lighter. Miguel: I¡¯ll take care of it. ¡°Set aflame,¡± Miguel muttered under his breath as he focused his mana on his torch. ¡°Ignite.¡± A small flame shot out from Miguel¡¯s fingertips, making the makeshift torch burn brightly throughout the darkness. Earlier, Eric made three makeshift torches by wrapping thick cloth in a wood, and soaking it in gasoline. Eric and Claire lit theirs by touching their torches with Miguel¡¯s. Eric: Ah, how can I forget magic? Have I told you how convenient you are to have in our party, Miguel? Miguel: You did. This will be the fourteenth time you said it. Claire: You can suck each other¡¯s cocks later. We don¡¯t have all night. Dianne: We can hear you from here, you know. Claire: Whatever. As the torch¡¯s light illuminated the kitchen, the trio gasped in horror at the sight. The whole room reeked of foul stench coming from the bloodied corpses of the fast food crews. The people were butchered like pigs. Just like the corpses they saw outside, there were signs that they were eaten by the goblins. Dried blood and rotting viscera littered the walls and the tiled floors making their shoes stick with every step. Even the putrid smell permeating the room was worse than outside. The trio quickly bolted out of the kitchen through the back door entrance and puked out their meal in their stomachs. ¡°God that was horrible,¡± Eric panted as his eyes watered. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can eat meat after seeing that shit.¡± ¡°Unfortunately,¡± drawled a sickly Claire. ¡°The foodstuffs we¡¯re going to loot are mostly meat products. Beef patties and chicken.¡± That statement made Eric vomit for the second time. ¡°Come on guys,¡± Miguel rubbed Eric¡¯s back as he helped him get up. He picked up Eric¡¯s torch from the ground and handed it to him. ¡°Focus on the objective. The faster we get this done, the sooner we get back.¡± The trio breathed deeply in unison as they braced their selves for the gruesome sight and entered the kitchen once again. Holding her breath, Claire led the group where the fast food restaurant kept their stock. There were lots of foodstuffs around the kitchen, but according to Claire, they were exposed outside for too long and probably not safe to eat. Besides, those foods were to be served to the customers before the apocalypse happened and they were probably contaminated. Claire and Eric moved as fast they could and took all the boxes containing foodstuffs while Miguel stood on guard. They inspected the foodstuffs first before they store it in their inventory and fortunately, they were still good. There were boxes and plastic bags of potato fries, ground beef patties, fried chickens, hamburger buns, uncooked pasta, tomato sauce, hotdogs and other foodstuffs such as tomatoes and lettuces. Eric found some sacks of rice, but he found it wet. At first, he thought it was water, but upon closer look and with the light from his torch, he found out that it was contaminated with blood. The blood came from the dismembered corpse beside the rice. It made him puke for the third time. As Eric and Claire swept the place, Miguel looted mayonnaise, ketchup, grated cheese and other non-food stuffs he found in the kitchen. ¡°Why do you need so many cooking oil?¡± Eric asked as he saw his best friend storing large containers of cooking oil in his inventory. ¡°It¡¯s for Melissa,¡± answered Miguel with a shrug. ¡°She can¡¯t cook everything we looted without cooking oil.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Claire raised an eyebrow. ¡°How about the gravy? What¡¯s it for?¡± ¡°You¡¯re seriously asking me what the gravy is for?¡± Miguel snorted. ¡°I prefer to eat my fried chicken with gravy, thank you very much.¡± Melissa: Guys! Come back here! Quick! The trio looked at each other when they received Melissa¡¯s message. Miguel¡¯s heart almost skipped a beat because he instructed Melissa and Dianne to call them when something was happening or coming into the restaurant. Something like monsters. Miguel: What¡¯s the problem? Dianne: Monsters! Their eyes widened in shock and froze for a moment. The trio rushed towards the main entrance of the fast food restaurant as it was faster than to go to the back door and circle back towards Melissa¡¯s restaurant. The restaurant¡¯s door was closed, but there was light coming from the windows. It meant that Melissa and Dianne probably saw the monster from the window. The trio froze when they saw a tall figure slowly walking towards the restaurant. The monster had a humanoid appearance and walked upright, but what made it a monster was its ghoulish appearance. Standing for at least seven feet tall, it had a thin skeletal body similar to an emaciated human. It had unnaturally elongated arms and legs and razor sharp nails. Its body was devoid of any hair and its grayish skin was similar to corpse in an advanced stage of decomposition.
Night Ghoul Lvl. 25
Fortunately, it was moving at an extremely slow speed. Slow as it may be, it was still a high level monster which made Miguel worry. Claire: What¡¯re we gonna do? Eric: I say we try to kill it. It¡¯s moving really, really slow. Miguel: No. We can¡¯t risk it. It¡¯s level 25 for a reason. We should divert its attention instead. Eric: So we make a noise or something? Miguel: Yes, that¡¯s the idea. Miguel picked up an empty can he saw on the ground and threw it in the opposite direction of the restaurant. As soon as the can hit the ground and made a clinking sound, the night ghoul ignored it and continued to move into the restaurant. Eric and Claire imitated him and threw rocks directly at the night ghoul and even dealt one point of damage, but the monster¡¯s aggro didn¡¯t budge a little. -1 HP! Claire: It didn¡¯t work. Now what? Miguel was cursing himself internally for agreeing with Claire on her plans to loot Jollibee for food. He gestured to the two to stop throwing things as it didn¡¯t do anything to divert the monster¡¯s attention. Hestopped for a moment to think while observing the monster. Clearly, the night ghoul didn¡¯t care for sounds and it seemed to be going to the window instead of the door. Though it literally moved at a snail pace, something was attracting the monster. Miguel: What did you two do to attract the monster? Dianne: Why? Miguel: Did you two do anything before you see the monster? Dianne: We didn¡¯t do anything! I swear! Miguel: How about the curtains? Were you aware that it can see the light coming from the windows? Melissa: Oh. Sorry about that. Melissa closed the curtains and made sure that no light was coming out of the windows. As soon as she did, the night ghoul stopped on its tracks and froze like a statue. Eric: It stopped! Nice one! Claire: But how? All we did was closed the curtains. We even threw rocks at it and ignored us completely! Eric: I don¡¯t know. Unfortunately for the party, a few seconds after the night ghoul stopped, it moved again, but this time, it was heading towards their direction. ¡°Shit!¡± Eric cursed loudly, forgetting the party¡¯s rule about using Party Comms. ¡°It¡¯s coming for us!¡± ¡°No shit, Sherlock,¡± Claire said nervously as she turned her head to Miguel. ¡°Any ideas?¡± Miguel looked around him and noticed that Eric was still carrying his torch while he and Claire already extinguished theirs. After seeing that the night ghoul didn¡¯t care about sounds or even the one who dealt damage on it, Miguel came up with a theory that the night ghoul was attracted to one thing. ¡°Eric, put out your¡­¡± Before Miguel could instruct his best friend to put out his torch, Eric suddenly rushed towards the ghoul with his makeshift spear in hand and torch and shield in the other. -9 HP! The spear pierced the ghoul¡¯s body from its back. Eric pulled out the spear quickly and the night ghoul¡¯s stab wound bled with black colored blood. The night ghoul was dazed at the surprise attack and let out a snarl at Eric. Seeing an opportunity, Claire followed Eric¡¯s attack with another stab on its torso. -8 HP! Eric and Claire backed off for a while when the ghoul let out a shrilling snarl. It was so loud that it can probably be heard from miles afar. Eric and Claire continued to stab the night ghoul with their spears while dodging its slow claw swipes. Thankfully, the night ghoul was also slow in its attack that it takes at least three seconds for the creature to swipe its clawed hand. Miguel cleared his mind as he willed his mana to move throughout his body, ¡°Shock the target, Shock Bolt!¡± The electricity shot out from his hand and hit the night ghoul squarely on its chest. Though the damage was a bit lacking and weaker compared to his friends¡¯ damage, the night ghoul shuddered as the electricity shocked its body. The night ghoul was left stunned at Miguel¡¯s magic. -5 HP! Stunned! When the word ¡®stunned¡¯ appeared over the night ghoul¡¯s head, the icon that appeared next wasn¡¯t like when he kicked the goblin on its head. The icon was a flashing yellow lightning symbol instead of stars circling above the head. The trio ganged on the helpless monster while Miguel peppered it with Shock Bolt. Little did they know, the night ghoul¡¯s ear-piercing scream was a call for help. ¡°Look!¡± Eric yelled as he pointed his finger. His eyes widened in fear. When Miguel and Claire turned their heads around, they saw dozens of night ghouls coming towards their direction. Even though Eric¡¯s torch was already gone, the night ghouls were still coming for them. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± -44 HP! [Makeshift Wooden Shield] is broken! Bleeding! Their attention was shifted to their teammate. Eric fell to the ground when the night ghoul swiped its clawed hand and broken through his shield like a hot knife on butter. Not only his shield was broken, Eric¡¯s arm also suffered from the devastating attack and it was bleeding. Miguel and Claire nodded at each other, seemingly reading each other¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Shock the target, Shock Bolt!¡± -5 HP! Stunned! Miguel cast Shock Bolt on the night ghoul to distract it while Claire lunged her spear. She pushed the spear with all her strength topush the monster back as far away as possible. Afterwards, Claire immediately stored her spear and shield to her inventory and dragged Eric away and back into the restaurant. ¡°Oh my god!¡± Melissa yelled as she helped Claire drag Eric. While Miguel was following Claire and Eric back to the restaurant, he took a bottle of Molotov Cocktail from his inventory and cast Ignite on the gasoline-soaked cloth, ¡°Set aflame, Ignite!¡± As soon as the cocktail was lit, Miguel threw the bottle with the full force of his arm to the night ghoul. Burning! A new icon appeared at the top of the monster: an orange flame icon. The foul creature shrieked in agony as the flames burned away its flesh. Though it seemed that the night ghoul wasn¡¯t going to die anytime soon, it wasn¡¯t Miguel¡¯s intention to kill the monster with Molotov. No. Miguel had another thing in his mind when he threw the flaming bottle. Earlier, when Melissa closed the curtain to block off the candle light coming out of the windows, Miguel came up with a conclusion that it was not sound nor damage that attracted the night ghoul. It was fire. [5] Due to the presence of other night ghouls, Miguel intended to use the Molotov to divert their attention to their burning kin. Miguel quickly went back into the restaurant. He and Claire closed the door and nailed the wooden planks back to barricade the door. While Dianne was using her magic to heal Eric, Miguel and Claire took a look outside to see what happened at the burning creature. The night ghoul was flailing throughout the streets far enough from the restaurant while its kin followed it like moths to the flame. ¡°It¡¯s working,¡± Claire muttered, poking her elbow to her rival¡¯s side. ¡°Good thinking.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± It took a while for the fire to go out, but the night ghoul fell to the ground weakened. It still wasn¡¯t dead even though it was badly burnt. The night ghouls eventually got near enough and did something that shocked Miguel and Claire. ¡°They¡¯re attacking it,¡± Claire stated with disbelief in her tone. Miguel did not say anything in reply and continued to watch the event unfold. After a few claw swipes, the night ghoul let out its final ear-piercing cry before finally dying. Afterwards, the group of night ghouls stood frozen like statues as they were again deprived of the light stimuli. Moving with urgency, Miguel closed the curtains while Claire secured the curtains with duct tapes to prevent it from opening accidentally. They were certain that they did not want another incident with night ghouls to happen again.
Level up!
¡°I levelled up,¡± said Claire. Miguel suddenly remembered Eric. Though he and the rest of the party levelled up, Miguel ignored the blue screen as he worried for his friend¡¯s condition. He snapped his head to his back and turned his attention to his injured friend. Eric was laid on the floor with his head resting on Melissa¡¯s lap while Dianne was in the process of healing his wounds with magic. ¡°Mend the wound; Stop the bleeding, Healing Hands,¡± Dianne said as she cast Healing Hands spell. Her hands glowed with warm green light as she touched Eric¡¯s wound. ¡°How is he?¡± Miguel asked, kneeling beside Eric. ¡°Whew,¡± Dianne deeply exhaled, wiping off the sweat from her brows. ¡°I¡¯m not done yet, but I already stopped the bleeding. See?¡± she removed the cloth covering Eric¡¯s wound. ¡°Good job,¡± Miguel gave her a small smile. He felt like a huge chunk of his worry was gone. ¡°Just continue whatever you¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Dianne replied with a tired smile. ¡°I¡¯m just resting for a bit to recover my mana.¡± Miguel didn¡¯t know shit about healing magic. He was seriously considering learning Mage Arts: Healing so they¡¯ll have a backup healer. He wished that there was a medical encyclopedia conveniently lying around, so he and Dianne can grind the skill and spell level. As he looked over his party members, he noticed the grim atmosphere and the signs of low morale. Of course, it was only natural since they were attacked by high level monsters and one of them was badly injured. Eric was still unconscious as he probably lost a lot of blood because of the incident. Miguel internally cursed as they were still badly prepared despite of everything they¡¯ve done. It was like the world itself was against them and it certainly felt like doing nothing was the safest option. Were they wrong when they took the risk in order to get more supplies? Whatever the answer, Miguel felt like he failed as a leader and his plan for the worst wasn¡¯t adequate. Just believing in Murphy¡¯s law wasn¡¯t enough. He realized that he needed to live by that code. That night, the party did not find any sleep. All of them come to a realization, that they could die at any given moment. That the world, though similar to a game, was not a game at all. That, and the danger was real.
[1] Cooked rice is the basis of almost every Filipino meal. The main dish that goes with rice is called Ulam. There is no direct one-word English translation for this word. Some would say that viand would be the closest translation, but it¡¯s not. [2] Tap water in the Philippines isn¡¯t potable. While some buy drinkable water, most Filipinos who live in poverty boil tap water to make it drinkable. We also have a habit of storing water in water drums because of the unreliability of water services (Especially in the capital region). Sometimes, a week goes by without a drop of water from the faucets. [3] Gabe Newell is the co-founder and president of Valve Corporation. [4] Panis means spoiled (food) which was kind of ironic since Melissa was a good cook and her restaurant wasn¡¯t doing well financially. [5] Some of you would notice that it was full moon when the Night Ghoul attacked. Yes, I¡¯m aware of that. We¡¯ll learn more about Night Ghouls in the later chapters. It¡¯ll be an important plot device.