《Dawn of Antiquity》 Chapter 0: Breaking News Breaking news we have just a received video from the sole creator and developer Hugh Morgan of Digital Designs. This video has been delivered to major media networks worldwide simultaneously. In the video, Mr. Morgan claims that his highly anticipated release of the renowned Virtual Reality capsule the [Virtual Pod] with the help of AI software and nanorobotics that he personally created has digitally downloaded the consciousness of hundreds of thousands of players who were currently online for [Dawn of Antiquity] official opening ceremony. We have been informed by authorities assigned to this investigation that they are currently assembling a panel of experts in technology, nanorobotics, and neurology. This panel''s goal is to attempt in reverse engineering the [Virtual Pod] in hopes to learn how it works and hopefully reverse the mental download and save the trapped players. We will now play the video for you in its entirety. If you have friends or loved ones who have presently fallen victim to this cruel procedure it may be best to refrain from viewing this video. The TV screen faded to black and a close up of a middle aged man appeared sitting at a desk. ¡°Hello, I am the Hugh Morgan the creator and developer of the virtual reality [Virtual Pod] and game [Dawn of Antiquity]. Over the past twenty years, I have combined an Artificial Intelligence with nanotechnology that works in sympathy with the [Virtual Pod] software to digitally download the consciousness of every player into the game world of [Dawn of Antiquity]. I myself, by now have gone into hiding and also entered my virtual world in the same manner. Ten years ago while I was in the process of creating the [Virtual Pod] I was diagnosed with a terminal disease. This is when I decided to take my life¡¯s work in a new direction. I began the development of transferring a human consciousness, or as some may say their soul into a digital world where they could live free from disease and death.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Over the years I grew weaker, but I fought through it to have finally accomplished what I set out to do. Then as I celebrated my accomplishments and looked back at how I sacrificed my personal life to get there.I was now all alone and ready to soon enter a new virtual world where I would find myself also forever alone. This was when an idea took form. I would release my modified [Virtual Pod] and [Dawn of Antiquity] that I had redesigned to save me from death to the entire world. All of those with the foresight and expectations of being present at the Game World¡¯s opening ceremony has been digitized with me to live in a new world that will continue to evolve over time along with us by always providing new lands, content, and adventures out beyond the ever expanding horizon. If you are watching this video and are one of the people who had bought a [Virtual Pod] you now have a choice to make. You can turn your [Virtual Pod] over to local law enforcement or come and join us in our adventures across an ever growing world where it is possible for you to become anyone you wish to be.¡± The video was then cut short as Hugh Morgan was still talking and the shot went back to the newscaster with her hand placed on her ear and obviously listening to instructions from an in-ear receiver. ¡°I am sorry we currently stated we would show the video in its entirety, but we have been contacted by the investigators to stop the video in hopes of discouraging any who may decide to also join [Dawn of Antiquity] who are currently in possession of a [Virtual Pod]. If you do own one of these VR capsules please contact y-¡± Nathan reached for the remote and turned off the television to become completely lost in his reflections, feeling both fear and excitement from the video he had just seen. Chapter 1: Meeting Hugh Nathan reached for the remote and turned off the news report that was currently playing on all the major news channels. He sat quietly thinking over the shocking video he just watched. Downloading a consciousness into a virtual world that allows you to live free of disease, abnormalities, handicaps, and even death? Could it really even be possible to do something so advanced in this day and age? He contemplated before reaching down to move the chair. Nathan maneuvered his wheelchair down the hallway and into his bedroom to look at the shiny new chrome plated[Virtual Pod] next to his bed. ¡°Can this really offer me a new chance at life away from this damn chair?¡± He softly whispered to himself Nathan Bryant once lived a normal happy life despite the fact that he was alone for the most part. He enjoyed the outdoors often camping, hiking and hunting with his friends in remote wilderness locations for days or sometimes even weeks at a time. He had even enrolled in a local Colorado college that specialized in natural resource management to become a Park Ranger so that he could help preserve his outdoor passion. Unfortunately, this dream came to an end on a rainy night on his way home when a drunk driver ran a red light and smashed into the side of his car. When he came to days later in a hospital room the doctors broke the news to him that his legs were paralyzed and he would never walk again. The person who had hit him was a wealthy and influentialbusinessman who bought his way out of it. Nathan received an enormous settlement that was enough to live off the remainder of his life. This is when he found a new passion in PC gaming. Nathan enjoyed games he could immerse himself in taking him out of his chair to some far off world where he could become anyone or do anything. This was the reason he had purchased this new virtual reality capsule in front of him. It would allow him to be able to walk and run again through an endless wilderness. He could travel through a new undiscovered world full of conflict and adventures. Originally Nathan was upset that he had his physical therapy session scheduled for the time of the new game Dawn of Antiquity¡¯s opening ceremony that was to have the creator Hugh Morgan attend and speak to the players at the starting city in the game. While being driven home in the hospital¡¯s van from his physical therapy session he was growing excited to get home and finally play his new game. The radio then caught his attention when he heard the game mentioned on the local news station the driver was listening to. He just caught part of the news castor explaining that people who joined to attend the opening ceremonies were now downloaded into the game via their VR capsules. When he got home Nathan couldn¡¯t believe it as he turned his TV on just in time to catch the video that Hugh Morgan recorded and had delivered to the major news stations. Like Mr. Morgan said in his video I have a choice to make now stay in this chair and try to make the most out of life or climb into that capsule and leave this world for a new one. A new world where I can continue to grow strong if I work at it. While here in this world I work at trying to get strong and I find myself actually growing weaker over time. I was once strong and in shape, I could climb mountains and cross forests now I get out of breath just putting my pants on in the morning. Today I am currently 135 pounds compared to the fit 185 pounds I once was, and I am forced to eat muscle relaxants like jelly beans every day. When I think about it I start to believe this may actually be a blessing. It''s not like I am leaving anyone behind my parents both passed away and I have distanced myself from my friends because it is too painful to hear them living the life I use to love. What is the difference between this world and a virtual world? You have all your same five senses, but you are free from lasting injuries and permanent death. Rick moved his chair over to the [Virtual Pod] and pushed the power button. He was already familiar with all the features on it having studied the manual in his excitement to play as soon as he got home today. It had been torture having it all installed in his room the past couple days and waiting on the game''s official opening to finally be able to log in. When the blue light on the power button turned green the lid on the capsule slowly opened revealing acomfortable looking mattress inside. Rick sat there for a few minutes nervously contemplating what he was about to do. He felt in a way that he was killing himself, but also at the same time about to start a new life. Ahhh, screw it! He thought working up the courage to proceed. Nathan anxiously gripped the armrests on his chair with his palms sweating and arms shaking. He heaved himself up onto the capsule¡¯s mattress and brought his legs to the side of the pod. He grabbed a hold of each of his legs individually and hauled them up into the capsule and laid down slightly winded from the exertion. Nathan reached up and pushed the close button and the lid came down to seal him in darkness momentarily. After laying in the darkness for a couple of seconds, Nathan heard a female voice speak to him. ¡°Please remain still your Virtual Pod will now scan your body you may still make alterations in the game this is only used as a reference before your character creation.¡± ¡°Are you ready to proceed with your scan now?¡± The voice asked him. ¡°Yes!¡± A light bar lit up at his feet and gradually scanned him from his toes to the top of his head and then stopped. Once again he heard the same voice. ¡°Your scan is now complete do you wish to connect to Dawn of Antiquity now?¡± Rick let out a long shaky sigh and answered. ¡°Yes!¡± Please don¡¯t die. Please don¡¯t die. Please don¡¯t die. Please don¡¯t die. Please don¡¯t die. As he chanted to himself his eyes sluggishly closed and it felt like he was falling asleep. Nathan¡¯s eyes suddenly flashed wide open to find himself in what appeared to be a brightly lit white room, but he couldn¡¯t make out any surrounding walls, or a ceiling above him. Even the floor he stood upon was solid white with no discerning features. As Nathan recalled everything that just happened, it was then that he realized something important Nathan had missed up until finally recovering from this shocking event. ¡°Wait a minute I''m standing!¡± He yelled out in excitement as he began lifting his feet up and down feeling his weight shifting from one to the other. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it I must be in the game, or maybe I really did die?¡± Then a smile appeared on his face and he broke into a run for what felt like about 20-30 yards and turned to run back laughing out loud the whole time. A voice that sounded like it was right next to him stopped him in his tracks. ¡°You are in the game and you did not die. Your body is in a sleeplike state in you virtual reality capsule right now but your consciousness, or... yoursoul is here in the game¡±. Rick began craning his head around looking for whoever was speaking to him. ¡°Who are you? I can¡¯t see you.¡± Rick called out to the disembodied voice of the hidden man. Right before him, a middle aged man shimmered into existence with a slight smile on his face. Nathan knew instantly who this man was he had seen interviews and photos everywhere online of him for months before this meeting. ¡°Hugh Morgan the Virtual Pod and Dawn of Antiquity creator and developer, I can¡¯t believe it!¡± Rick said in shocked awe. ¡°Haha, Yes I am Hugh Morgan, and you are Nathan Bryant, age 26, attended college to become a Park Ranger, outdoor enthusiast turned gamer, no siblings, both parents deceased, and left a paraplegic from a drunk driver, and also the first person to willing download themselves into my virtual world. Well besides myself that is.¡± Hugh answered Nathan with a laundry list of his personal information. Nathan stood there silently with his mouth agape while the man before him listed off all his personal details. Hugh started to laugh at Nathan''s reaction and explained. ¡°I may be in this world but I still have access to the internet with my developer tools and my AI was able to retrieve your information as you were being integrated into the game world. I was quite curious to meet you since you made a conscious decision to enter the game knowing full well the consequences.¡± Hugh told Nathan as he looked him over. Nathan silently listened as Hugh continued to speak. ¡°It seems we have a few things in common Mr. Bryant we were both alone in the real world and looking for a new life free of our enduring destinies.¡± Nathan then spoke up after Hugh paused with his comparison. ¡°It was a nerve wracking choice to make, but as I thought it through I could only come up with all pros and not a single con. Even so, right before I hauled myself out of that chair into the [Virtual Pod] I almost lost my nerve to go through with it. I just couldn¡¯t continue to live my life trapped in that chair anymore when a new world was waiting for me to explore on my own two feet.¡± Nathan explained his thoughts to Hugh. Hugh gave him a sad smile and responded. ¡°I know the feeling even though I had maybe a year or two left it was still a difficult decision to make, but like you, in the end, I was also ready to be strong again and free of that cursed disease,¡± Hugh said dolefully. Nathan momentarily shook his head with a grave expression at the similarities before replying. ¡°Well, I guess then this makes you like...my second father then. We have so much in common and you are the one who brought me into your world and have given me a new life, haha. That is no less than I ever received from my real father¡± Nathan a little embarrassed explained with a downcast look to Hugh also feeling a connection after only just meeting him. Hugh was shocked at Nathan¡¯s words, he never had a chance to have a child of his own, and even though he didn¡¯t show it Nathan¡¯s comment made him happy. ¡°Well, I have delayed you long enough, are you ready to start that new life now then?¡± Hugh asked Nathan. With a roguish smile, Nathan replied. ¡°Hell yeah! I can¡¯t wait to get out there and explore your world!¡± Nathan exclaimed excitedly. ¡°Excellent, then let me explain, normally my AI takes care of all this, but I wanted to meet you so I took over her job this one time, haha,¡± Hugh said with a mischievous look as he continued. ¡°This world is setup somewhat different than most RPG games. For starters, In this game classes are called "Jobs". Jobs are very similar to an RPG class, but we have a little more flexibility with them. ¡± Nathan flashed Hugh a questioning look. Hugh smiled and held up his hand. ¡°Let me explain if you wanted to become let¡¯s say a Blacksmith you would go to the employment bureau that is located in Terminus City,¡± Hugh explained to the attentive young man while continuing.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°At the employment bureau, you can choose from a list of jobs that can be assigned to your status similar to classes that give you extra abilities like forging blades or smelting iron that you can improve as you use them. Now if later you changed to a new job and didn¡¯t like it, or for some reason decided you wanted to go back to being a blacksmith again all your blacksmith abilities you had improved before your switch will have not of changed and will be exactly the same as before your switch.¡± Nathan then spoke up. ¡°Then that means I could switch from one job to another and always keep my gains I made in those professions?¡± He asked Hugh. ¡°Exactly there is no penalty for switching jobs as much as you wish. Then at level 20, you are allowed to hold two jobs at once. This will continue for every ten levels you gain, for level 30, 40, and 50. In the end at level fifty you can hold five total jobs even though you can still level up higher,¡± Hugh continued to educate Nathan on his game¡¯s mechanics. ¡°Next the attributes will seem similar to what is used in most RPG games with Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, Perception, Agility, and Charisma. Now, even though there is an intelligence attribute, Dawn of Antiquity does not have mana or magic. The intelligence attribute is used in conjunction with your skills and also determines how quickly your virtual brain can process information and situations.¡± Hugh thoughtfully paused a moment to make sure Nathan didn¡¯t have any questions and then continued. ¡°I will now show you an example status menu to familiarize yourself with. This has the standard skills, weapon proficiencies, attributes, status, currency, and any jobs, or titles you may earn listed here.¡± A menu then appeared just below Nathan¡¯s line of sight with all the information Hugh just explained was displayed and neatly listed out in an interactive menu.
YOUR NAME HERE
Skills Skill Level Weapon Class Proficiency
Acrobatics: 0/25 One Handed: 0%
Athletics: 0/25 Two Handed: 0%
Blocking: 0/25 Polearm: 0%
Equestrian: 0/25 Ranged: 0%
First Aid: 0/25 Thrown: 0%
Foraging: 0/25 Custom: 0%
Pitch Force: 0/25
Pull Force: 0/25
Stealth: 0/25 Strength: 0
Swing Force: 0/25 Constitution: 0
Defence: 0/0 Intelligence: 0
Health Points: 0/0 Perception: 0
Satiety: 0/0 Agility: 0
Level: 0 (0%) Charisma: 0
Skill Points 0 Attribute Points 0
Currency: Gold: 0 Silver: 0 Copper: 0
Jobs: (none) (none) (none) (none) (none)
Title: (none)
After allowing Nathan a moment to look over the menu Hugh carried on with his demonstration. ¡°As you can see I have designed a streamlined menu that has all your important stats listed without needing to dig through countless menus to view them. If you wish to view more details to touch for example the jobs buttons and the system will bring up a description of that job and the skills related to it, and your progression in each of those skills.¡± Hugh finished his breakdown on themenu and continued on. "Another thing that you should be aware of is that every player has a Fast Travel option. These options are used with [Mark Location] and [Return]. These options were added to allow players to easily return to their home without having to cross vast distances. If you were to find a place you wanted to live you would use the [Mark Location] to set a waypoint on your map. Then later when you wanted to go back home you would open your map click on the waypoint and choose [Return]. The only time you can not access this option is when you are currently in combat. If you have attacked or been attacked this option is deactivated for two minutes. If you continue to attack or are attacked the two-minute timer will continue to reset itself." Hugh explained. "So, I need to either defeat the attacker, die, or escape combat for two minutes for it be reactivated once again?" Nathan asked. "Exactly, this is so that players can not escape PVP or dangerous situations. If everyone could just teleport away just before death it would defeat the whole purpose of fighting to become stronger." Hugh said. Nathan quietly nodded in agreement. It would be quite annoying if you tracked your enemy down after days for him to just zip off on you or see if youPK decided to jump you and could also teleport off if things were not going the way he thought they might. You would have the world full of PKs then because no one would have any consequences for their actions. Nathan pondered over reasoning. "Now for the last part about the [Mark Location] option I need to demonstrate. Open up you menu option and try to use [Mark Location] in this room." Nathan did as Hugh asked and when he attempted to set his waypoint for the room on the map they were currently in a window popped.
Access Denied! You are not permitted to save your location inside of restricted zones!
"It says that I can not save my location inside of restricted zones," Nathan said. "This is to stop players from using their [Mark Location] inside of businesses, restricted buildings, or player homes that have been set as a restricted area. I knew that someone at some point in time would begin to use [Mark Location] option to teleport into places after hours and rob them blind without anyone ever knowing they were there. This way it stops them from walking into a bank to make a deposit and covertly setting a waypoint to come back at night and empty the safe out." Hugh explained. ¡°That should about cover most of the basics that you will need to know when getting started. Now we can move onto your Character creation and name.¡± Hugh pressed a few buttons on a large menu he was reading, but was invisible to Nathan. After swiftlysurfing through the menus, he was able to prepare the character creation process for Nathan. Hugh looked up from his menus when he was finished as a perfect copy of Nathan then flashed into view next to both of them. Hugh then gestured to Nathan¡¯s immobile clone and proceeded to acquaint him with the creation process. ¡°This is clone is part of the character creation the menu that I will now open will allow you to alter your clone¡¯s appearance and body shape and also change your name.¡± I designed this so that a player could see what they will look like as they alter their appearance.¡± Hugh said as he then opened the character creation menu for Nathan to make his alterations. Nathan then asked Hugh. ¡°There is one thing I am curious about I remember reading that there are other races in the world, but Players do not have a race choice option. Not that I would want to change my race, but I would think a lot of people would have liked the option.¡± Nathan asked Hugh having been always curious why players could not change their race. ¡°That...The thing is I had always planned on keeping everyone who joined this world here permanently against their will for my own selfish reasons. I thought that was bad enough without telling them, let alone trapping them in the body of some fantasy race until the day that this world might somehow meet its end. Even though I have taken precautions for that not to happen.¡± Hugh explained and he seemed to not want to talk about the subject any further. Nathan let it drop at that and focused on the character menu. ¡°I really don¡¯t need to make that many changes. I do want to make my appearance resemble what I looked like before that jackass crippled me.¡± Nathan revealed with a scowl and began to test out the different slide bars and numerical adjustments. First, he added the weight and muscle mass he lost giving himself the athletic build he once had at around 180 pounds. Then he lightened his hair for fun making it look more blondish Brown then brown and liked how it looked on the clone so he left it like that. Then he adjusted his height by two inches making his clone six foot, one inch tall. That should be good enough, now what name should I use? He thought about it for a minute then began to type with the virtual keyboard combined into the creation menu. ¡°If I am starting a new life I should start it with a new name. From now on I will be known asAlaric Brightblade. A fantasy name for a fantasy world.¡± Nathan said as he finished entering his name and closed out the character creation menu. Nathan suddenly felt himself shift into the clone body he just altered and a slight wave of dizziness was felt for a couple seconds before it completely faded. ¡°Now you are all set Alaric Brightblade I will now send you off to Terminus City. If you ever have any problems or just want to talk you can look in your friend list I have added my name there. We may even bump into each other in the world but I will look much different than I do now for obvious reasons. After I informed everyone of their circumstances at the opening ceremony I became the most hated person in this virtual world.¡± Hugh said with a sad smile. Alaric hadn¡¯t really thought about that until now he was the one whomade the choice to join, so he didn''t have a problem with Hugh, but if he had a life like he once had it would be a different situation entirely. Alaric knew now why Hugh wanted to meet him and gave him his contact name. He was probably the only person that Hugh could be himself around and not be despised. This made him feel sad for Hugh, so he made a mental note to keep in touch with him from time to time. ¡°Thank you, Hugh I really appreciate that you created this world and allowed me to be a part of it.¡± Alaric reached out and shook Hugh''s hand with an excited smile then he shimmered away in front of Hugh to be teleported to Terminus to begin his new life. Hugh stood in place for a minute after Alaric had left. ¡°Good luck...son¡± Hugh whispered as he also shimmered away leaving the bright white room empty once again. Chapter 2: Terminus City Alaric had read that when players spawned into this virtual world for the first time a light would descend from the sky to fall upon the [World Gate] a large platform in the center of town. The new Player would shimmer into the world on top of this platform for all the surrounding players and the city citizens to see their grand entrance. For some reason, Alaric did not receive this grandiose entrance like the other players had. He found himself in a narrow alley between two long buildings with yellow roofs somewhere in Terminus City. At first, he nervously thought that something must of went wrong with him being teleported into the world. Then as he stood silently thinking about he began to realize that Hugh was actually helping him out. If he had made a normal entrance all of the people trapped in this world would wonder why someone had suddenly joined knowing the consequences, and more than likely suspect him of being someone possibly associated with the game or that he had even come to save them. Alaric smiled thankfully for what Hugh did for him. He just wanted to blend in with the current players and enjoy this new world and life without being suspected or mobbed for information about what was happening in the outside world and if anyone was going to save them. He pulled himself together and took a deep breath and walked out of the side alley into the street. Standing off to the side Alaric opened his inventory before getting started to see what all he had to start with in this world.
Inventory
Item Description Amount
Bedroll 1
Starter Iron Shortsword 1
All Purpose Knife 1
Cloth Bandage 50
Loaf of White Bread 10
Piece of Flint 2
Kindling Stick 10
Well, it isn¡¯t much to start with, but at least I have food and a bedroll to curl up in at night. That should help me save some of my starting money until I am strong enough to start making enough to comfortably support myself. When he had clicked on a few items in his inventory he was surprised to see an option to directly sell items to the system for a set price. He figured that it must be a convenient option for Players to sell items at a lesser price than normal. This would save them a long journey back to the starter city from the wilderness. After he had gone through the short list of items in his inventory, he then opened his status menu to familiarize himself with his stats and skills.
Alaric Brightblade
Skills Skill Level Weapon Class Proficiency
Acrobatics: 1/25 One Handed: 5%
Athletics: 1/25 Two Handed: 0%
Blocking: 1/25 Polearm: 0%
Equestrian: 1/25 Ranged: 0%
First Aid: 1/25 Thrown: 0%
Foraging: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pitch Force: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pull Force: 1/25
Stealth: 1/25 Strength: 12
Swing Force: 1/25 Constitution: 12
Defence: 7/7 Intelligence: 3
Health Points: 120/120 Perception: 2
Satiety: 100/100 Agility: 5
Level: One (0%) Charisma: 10
Skill Points: 0 Attribute Points: 0
Currency: Gold: 50 Silver: 50 Copper: 50
Jobs: (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE)
Title: (NONE)
Hmm, I wonder what Pitch Force is? I believe that I just have to click on it like this and a description box should pop up.
Pitch Force
This skill determines how far and accurately you can throw a weapon or object. Strength works together with this skills level to determine damage bonuses of thrown weapons and distance of travel when you release the weapon.
I see this skill affects how far, hard, and accurately I can throw a weapon or even an object like a rock and it seems that my strength will also help determine these factors. Then Pull Force should be similar.
Pull Force
This skill determines your pulling strength applied to objects and your abilities with ranged weapons. Strength works together with this skill to determine damage bonuses added to Ranged weapons. It also determines how much weight you can actually pull.
This skill seems to work along with bows, or if I were to pull on something like a rope. If I were to increase my strength it would affect the bow¡¯s distance and damage. He speculated.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Now, this is strange, I distinctly remember reading that players start off with only ten gold, but this says I have fifty gold, fifty silver, and fifty copper on my status menu. Did Hugh change the starting amounts, because everyone was now trapped here? Alaric reflected as he closed his status menu. Looking at the mini map in the outer corner of his vision Alaric couldn¡¯t make out his current location in the city so he opened up the local map to figure out where he had been teleported. Ok, so I am down in the south-east part of the city among these yellow roofed buildings. He thought while examining the map. When he had his bearings, Alaric decided to head north from his position towards the main street. As he traversed the current housing district he examined everything from the houses to the citizens.The people who went in and out of the yellow roofed buildings appeared to be people of lower class from the way they dressed and acted towards one another. He found that most wore clothing of laborers, peasants, and a few were dressed in black with light armor that resembled stereotypical RPG thief class ruffians. This area of the city must be considered the slums where people will little money or those who wish to avoid attention live. The buildings and streets look well maintained and the streets are clean. I wonder if it is because the game is still new? Most games would make the slums look run down and dirty. If it weren''t for the people around me I would never have assumed this was the medieval version of a ghetto. He thought as he continued to walk north while observing his surroundings. Alaric soon found the main street that ran east and west across the length of the city. The red roofed buildings he spied earlier on his map appeared to be popular shops that lined the main street. Alaric decided to follow the main street east with no real goal but to explore the city. As he excitedly strolled the streets he found that it was easy to spot the other players around him. For one it appeared all the male players wore the same starting outfit that he currently had on. The outfit they wore had knee high brown soft leather boots with leather string laces, light brown pants that felt like they were designed to be snag and rip resistant, a white long sleeve shirt that laced up half way, and a short sleeve dark brown leather jacket with pockets on the chest and waist. The females wore the same exact outfit but it was tailored to fit a woman¡¯s body providing a more visible display of their assets. One other thing that made players stand out was the fact that they were all in a state of shock. He found them randomly sprawled out around the city, sitting in the middle of the streets, leaning against buildings, or sleeping wherever they happened to find themselves. Some had blank stares looking off into the distance, while others were in a state of depression or hysterics. They had all just received the devastating news a few hours ago that they were now trapped inside this virtual world and could no longer return to their lives and loved ones. Alaric felt sorry for many of them when he discovered the state of despair they all openly displayed. With a long sad sigh, Alaric made up his mind to upgrade his gear and buy some supplies from the surrounding stores. It seems I can¡¯t stay in this city. I can truly understand why all of these players are so devastated, but it is quite depressing to observe everywhere I go. I want to enjoy myself and start a new life like I planned. I know that it may be a bit selfish, but there is nothing I can do to heal their hearts. Alaric deliberated as he searched out stores. When he found an armor and weapons shop right next to each other he stopped and entered. The weapons shop had many different types of weapons for sale in varying levels of quality. Even though Alaric had browsed the entire display of weapons and armor it seemed that all of the metal weapons were made of iron. He found the same true for the purchasable armor which was available in cloth, leather, and iron plate at best. It may have been because the world was so new that steel had not been invented yet and any other special type of metals had yet to be discovered. I know from what I read on the website that the world has some metals and resources that will provide bonuses to weapons, armor, and certain creations, but it seems they have not been made available to the city''s craftsmen. Alaric thought while making his selections. After some browsing, he purchased a low-end set of leather armor, a cheap iron longsword, a wooden short bow, and a quiver filled with arrows. Alaric had sold off his starter short sword to help cover the costs of his new gear to the weapons merchant and stored it all away before leaving the counter. When he stepped out into the streets he opened his inventory and equipped his new leather armor and the iron longsword and his new quiver of arrows. Now that I have some basic armor and weapons I should find some cookware and food supplies. He whispered to himself as he strode down the street. Halfway down the block, he came across a store with a sign that read ¡°Trading Post¡±. He went inside the Trading Post and found that the store was similar to the old general stores that sold a little bit of everything and bought a length of rope, an outdoor iron cookware set, utensils, a metal cup a few assorted containers, a small kit of varied spices, a cheap cooking knife, a pickaxe, a shovel, a pillow, a couple blankets and a wood handled axe.Alaric paid the merchant and stored his purchases into his inventory and left the trading post to continue his shopping. Spoiler:Updated Inventory.
Inventory
Item Description Amount
Bedroll 1
Starter Iron Shortsword 1
All Purpose Knife 1
Cloth Bandage 50
Loaf of White Bread 10
Piece of Flint 2
Kindling Stick 10
Rope 1
Cast Iron Cookware Set 1
Assorted Container Set 1
Cookware and Silverware Utensils Set 1
Cast Iron Cup 1
Small Spice Kit 1
Cooking Knife 1
Pickaxe 1
Shovel 1
Axe 1
Pillow 1
Blanket 2
When he came across a blacksmith shop after leaving the trading post, he went inside to look around. Alaric discovered that not only did they sell items they crafted but offered lessons for a fee to advance blacksmithing skills. He would need to wait until level ten when he could then chose a job before he could attend lessons, though it was a nice discovery to find for later. The blacksmith shop seemed to also have a side room that catered to the needs of those with the blacksmithing job. In this room, they sold anvils, hammers, smelting pots, bellows, and a diverse selection of tools. Alaric left the blacksmith making sure to remember the location. He had planned to take up the blacksmithing job at level ten so he could repair and upgrade his weapons and armor. Now that he found a store where he could purchase everything he may need he would now have to finish his shopping and get out there and level up. A few stores down from the blacksmith on the opposite side of the street he found a store sign that read ¡°Apothecary medicines and potions¡± written on it hung above the entrance. Alaric curiously crossed the street and entered the store. Inside the store, he saw shelves lining the walls with containers filled with various herbs, flowers, and dried animal parts. He somehow felt as if he had just entered a witch¡¯s brewing room. The store displayed medicines, balms, salves, and potions for many ailments. Since he had a good amount of money left he purchased some healing salves and a few decent healing potions. This world did not have any magic so if he were to become injured he would need to use his bandages along with his first aid skill or find other means to quickly heal himself. Alaric decided to buy a few salves and potions to test out on his injuries. Alaric knew that using bandages with the first aid skill at a low level would take a good amount of time to heal his wounds. He was hoping to find a way to quickly heal his injuries until he was able to level up his First Aid skill with these salves and potions. When Alaric had finally reached the center of town he found an enormous open decoratively paved plaza. In the center of the city plaza was a market with rows of vendor stalls selling just about anything you could want. In among all of these vendors, Alaric saw a platform that stood roughly fifteen feet off the ground that was flanked on either side by a staircase. So that must be the [World Gate] I read about that everyone spawns into the world from. Alaric thought. Alaric walked through the plaza market and found a farmer selling vegetables, eggs, and milk amongst the stalls. He stopped and purchased a few vegetables, a small container of milk, and a couple dozen eggs from the farmer and bought cooking oil and a couple pounds of beef cuts from a butcher. A vendor in the stall next to the butcher had bags of flour that he stopped at to buy a couple bags from for cooking with. This should be enough to keep me going out in the wilderness. I can always return to restock if I run low or forget anything. That reminds me, I should use that Mark Location option while I am in the city. Then I can always fast travel back here to shop or sell. He pondered. Alaric walked south toward a row of large teal color roofed buildings and used [Mark Location] marking his location next to the building. As he went through the options he found that it was possible to set more than just one Mark by changing the name of the each Marked Location way point on his map, he could mark up to five different locations. This is different from what I read online, just like my increased funds. I remember it stating players would have a [Mark Location] and [Return] option, but it never said anything about setting multiple locations. Even when Hugh has shown me this option earlier, I don''t remember him saying anything about being able to set this many marked way points.Alaric contemplated these changes as he closed out his menus. When he reviewed his local map once again he noticed that the city was located on a peninsula. The city was surrounded by water and only the southern route seemed to lead out to the mainland. Alaric closed the local map and walked down the main street that ran from north to south until he entered a gate house with a portcullis and drawbridge that extended out across a moat that encompassed the city walls. Alaric double checked his armor and weapons and then began his trek along the southern route in search of decent hunting grounds. Chapter 3: First Fight Alaric continued to follow the southern route out of the city to find where the paved road ended at the head of a vast grassland there with scattered woods bordering its fringes. Upon this location where the cobbled course terminated amidst the sea of swaying emerald grass of the immense prairie, Alaric observed a fortified circular stone block tower. He surmised that this isolated tower with its flat roof and numerous arrow slits must be used by travelers as a refuge to hold up for the night or by the sentinels of the northern municipality as a watchtower to guard against any trouble that would encroach into the southern frontier.After the conclusion of a brisk investigation of the tower¡¯s two unoccupied floors, Alaric resumed his southerly exploration over the enveloped lush plain. He soon encountered an abundant population of rabbits who were out of their burrows enjoying the pleasant summery weather or grazing on the sprawling lawns.Alaric pulled out his bow and began taking amateurish archery shots that fell in random places. Considering he hadn¡¯t trained his ranged ability, this was to be expected from him. He may not have bagged his prey as of yet, but his ranged proficiency continued to consistently increase with every released arrow. Approximately twenty minutes thereafter of missed shots his accuracy improved adequately to at last skewer his prey with the wooden arrow. -18 (0/15) Alaric utilized his knife to field dress, skin the fur, and quarter the meat of the shot rabbit. He stored the rabbit meat and fur into his inventory and continued to stalk rabbits.
Increased Ranged Proficiency: 8%
Now having hunted for a few hours now managed to raise ranged proficiency to 8% allowing him to hit his target maybe once out of every ten or more shots. He had now hunted twelve rabbits from start of his hunt till now. Having just finished cleaning his twelfth kill, he stood up to observe the growing shadows as the sun slowly dropped on the western horizon. He started walking over toward the trees east of his present location in order to scout out dry firewood. He had decided against returning to the city and renting a room in an Inn. Instead, he would collect some firewood and spend the night at the stone tower. As Alaric approached the eastern wood line he turned to look behind him to judge how much time he had before the sun set behind the distant mountains. Just when he turned it felt as if something had struck his left upper arm and spun him around toward the direction he was looking. -10 (110/120) He looked down to see a large gash that cut across the outside flesh of his arm. The pain from the wound then began to creep up on him making Alaric hiss through his clenched teeth as the burning sensation intensified. He clamped his hand over the wound out of reflex and whilst inspecting his surrounding. Alaric could not understand what may have injured him because it appeared he was standing alone out in the open. A sudden movement in the treeline some twenty yards away then caught his eye. He happened to spot what looked to be a goblin who had just released an arrow that a fraction of a second later zipped past him close enough to hear the feathered arrow cut through the air. Alaric quickly realized now that the goblin tried to stealthily snipe him and when he turned to observe the sun the arrow instead of hitting him square caught the outside of his bicep area. With his bow in hand he quickly notched an arrow and sent a returning shot whistling toward the goblin, but the lack of skill and pain from the wound sent his arrow slightly off course thus missing its intended target. The missed shot was enough to put the startled goblin on the defense momentarily ducking behind a wide tree trunk in fear of another arrow being sent his way. Alaric slung his bow string around his neck and took the opportunity to draw his sword and charged the treeline. He had covered half the distance when the goblin peeked out to find he was being quickly rushed. Alaric¡¯s attacker fumbled for an arrow and nervously began to notch it. Finally fitting the arrow to the string the goblin looked up to draw back and aim and found that Alaric was just a few steps away bearing down on him. Alaric raised his sword over his head and swung down with all his might at the goblin. The green attacker raised his bow to try and ward off the inevitable blow from Alaric¡¯s longsword. Gripping the sword handle with two hands he drove it down with all his might. The iron blade diced through the goblins bow and bit down deep into the upper shoulder near the neck. -35 (40/75) [bleeding effect] Tunnel visioned on the little green foe before him Alaric never seen the blow that caught him on the side of his ribs. A second goblin had come around on him and slashed at him with a crude short sword. He lucked out that the slash fell on his leather armor and didn¡¯t cut through, but the felt pain was like having a hammer bash his ribcage. Alaric turned his sword blade still embedded in the goblin¡¯s shoulder and ripped it free causing, even more, damage to his foe. -15 (15/75) [bleeding effect] The severely injured goblin dropped to the ground.as he spun with the extended sword blade held horizontal to the ground. As the blade came around it caught the goblin behind him across the arm nearly severing it below the shoulder.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. -32 (43/75) The force of Alaric¡¯s strike spun the small goblin attacker around knocking it off balance. Alaric sword slash had destroyed the stumbling goblins arm so much that it could no longer wield the short sword that fell into the leaves and pine needles covering the ground around them. Alaric showed no mercy and quickly swung at the exposed neck of the goblin after it regained its footing and bent over to recover the dropped weapon with its good arm. -49 (0/75) The downward slash sliced cleanly through the vertebrae in the neck instantly killing the goblin who crumpled to the ground. When he spun back around to examine his first attacker he found that it had bled out it''s few remaining hit points. Alaric quickly pulled himself together and scanned his surroundings for more hidden enemies. Then he caught sight of some type of crude wood structure through the trees about fifty feet from him. Sheathing his longsword, He nocked an arrow and stealthily stalked towards the structures. When he was near twenty feet from the wood huts he quietly barked twice like a dog with his arrow drawn pointing at the hut entrance. Almost instantly a goblin came out the door to investigate the noise it just heard to be greeted by an arrow shaft sprouting from its chest. -65 (10/75) Critical Sneak attack! Alaric dropped his bow beside the tree next to him, drew his longsword, and charged the stunned goblin who was clutching at the arrow shaft. The goblin was in a state of shock and oblivious to the human bearing down on it. When Alaric was in range he drove his blade into the goblin running it through its abdomen. -33 (0/75) He pulled his blade free from the now dead goblin and entered the shabby wood hut to find another goblin who soundly slept through the attack. Alaric quietly sheathed his sword and took out his wood handle axe and swung it over his shoulder and straight down into the sleeping goblin¡¯s neck as if he were splitting a log. -80 (0/75) (Critical Sneak Attack!) The blow decapitated the goblin in one fell swoop while the system displayed massive dealt damage numbers. Alaric slowly came out of the hut checking his corners before walking out to avoid any more surprise attacks from these sneaky little green bastards. He crossed over to the second hut and peaked the corner to find it was empty. This may be the hut of those two that ambushed me from the start. He thought while walking inside. Alaric searched the hut but did not find anything of interest in there. The floor was littered with animal bones, a couple ragged blankets and two crude iron tipped spears that leaned against the back wall. He decided to take the spears to deprive any returning goblins of weapons and went over to search the first hut he had entered. When he entered through the open doorway the goblin bodies began to shimmer and vanished into specks of dancing light. Where the goblin he killed with the arrow had fallen was a small leather pouch with a couple silver and copper coins and his arrow remained behind. The sleeping goblin did not leave any drops of any kind when its body dispersed. Now that he could relax after clearing the small camp area of enemies, Alaric brought out his healing salve and bandages. He stripped off his armor, jacket, and shirt for better access to his injuries and packed the gash on his upper arm with the salve and wrapped it with the clean cloth bandages. He examined his side and found it free of punctures or cuts, but a large black bruise had already begun developing. Alaric massaged some of the salves into the bruised skin and gulped down a couple bitter mouthfuls from one of the liquid healing concoctions. Alaric then redressed after tending to his wounds and grabbed his arrow and the coin pouch drops off the floor on his way out of the dirty hut to collect his discarded bow. He found the bow next to the tree where he had dropped it and stored it away as he made his way back to where the first two goblins ambushed him. He found another bag of coins and an iron shield reflecting the orange rays of the setting sun off of its surface nearby in the ankle high grass. Alaric collected his first missed arrow and took out his axe to once again return to gathering up firewood. He found a dry log that fell not far from the goblin camp and he proceeded to gingerly chop off a few good sized branches while the pain in his arm and ribs complained about every swing he struck into the dead tree. Once he gathered up his chopped wood he made his way over to the tower and shut the heavy wooden door behind him. He found a wooden draw bar behind the door after closing it and he decided to slide it in place to barricade the door shut. Alaric ascended the staircase to the tower roof that was protectively encircled with stone battlements for archers to use as cover while reloading during attacks. Removing some of his wood Alaric made a small fire with kindling and flint. While the small fire slowly grew he prepared to make dinner for himself. He took out his cooking oil, flour, rabbit meat, an egg, and some vegetables. Inside of a bowl, he scrambled an egg and in another bowl, he poured out a little flour from the bag. When the fire had died down leaving behind a nice bed of coals, Alaric propped up an iron skillet on two pieces of wood just above them. He covered the bottom of the skillet with cooking oil and began to cut up chunks of rabbit meat while the oil heated up. When the oil was hot he dipped the pieces of rabbit meat into the scrambled egg and then coated them with flour from the other small bowl. After coating all the rabbit meat in flour, he gently dropped them into the hot oil and cooked the rabbit cutlets to a golden brown color. Alaric scooped the meat out of the oil to a plate and diced up some carrots and mushrooms that he also cooked in the flavored oil. When it was all done he leaned back against the tower battlements and enjoyed his first dinner in a new world while looking up at the stars that shared the heavens with two moons. One moon was white and resembled Earth¡¯s moon, while the other looked to be twice the size and was a light purple color. ¡°Yup, definitely not in Kansas anymore¡± He chuckled to himself while enjoying his meal. ¡°I need to find some water tomorrow so I have something to drink and clean up with,¡± he said aloud while opening the local map. It looks like there is a river just south of this tower. I can make my way there and check it out. If it is flowing and looks clean I can scoop some up in my containers. Alaric thought as he made plans for tomorrow. He closed his map and brought out his bedroll that looked like a heavy duty sleeping bag and spread it out right there on the roof. He opened it up and climbed inside feeling quite comfortable as he lay there and thought about all that had happened today. As he lay there reflecting on everything and gazing at the stars above the cool nighttime breeze blew across his face sending him off into a peaceful sleep. Chapter 4: Troublesome Visitors Alaric had awakened a few hours later before the sun had risen above the horizon. The tower was presently enveloped in darkness even though the eastern skyline was diluted with faint pinkish-orange hues.He curiously wondered why he felt completely rested while still laying in his bedroll. Alaric opened the information menu to check the time and found he only slept for about three hours at best. Why do I feel like I slept for over eight hours right now? Is it because I don¡¯t have a physical body anymore? Maybe all that needs rest is my subconscious now?Wait a minute here, if I only slept for three hours why does it look like the sun is about to rise? Does this virtual world run on four to five-hour night cycles? If so, then this world must have nineteen to twenty-hour daytime cycles.Alaric had a lot of questions that he would have to ask Hugh about when he had seen him once again. While enjoying his warm comfortable bedroll he opened the flashing notification icon in the lower corner of his vision to review his new notices. Spoiler:New Notices!.
New Level Notice!
You Leveled Up! Level 2 You have unused 3 skill points and 5 attribute points to distribute!
New Level Notice!
You Leveled Up! Level3 You have unused 3 skill points and 5 attribute points to distribute!
Nice, I gained a couple levels from that goblin battle. At least I was rewarded for the pain I had to endure. The iron shield drop should come in handy as well. Alaric thought as he opened his status menu.
Alaric Brightblade
Skills Skill Level Weapon Class Proficiency
Acrobatics: 1/25 One Handed: 7%
Athletics: 1/25 Two Handed: 0%
Blocking: 1/25 Polearm: 0%
Equestrian: 1/25 Ranged: 20%
First Aid: 1/25 Thrown: 0%
Foraging: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pitch Force: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pull Force: 1/25
Stealth: 1/25 Strength: 12
Swing Force: 1/25 Constitution: 12
Defence: 57/57 Intelligence: 3
Health Points: 120/120 Perception: 2
Satiety: 97/100 Agility: 5
Level: 3 (27%) Charisma: 10
Skill Points: 6 Attribute Points: 10
Currency: Gold: 46 Silver: 37 Copper: 76
Jobs: (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE)
Title: (NONE)
Hmm since I have some time to kill before sunrise maybe I should think this through before spending my points.It seems that I receive three skill points and five attribute points per level.First I think I will review the attributes. Alaric pondered while clicking on strength.
Strength Attribute- (STR)
Strength determines how physically strong you are. Strength works together with melee weapon proficiencies to determine damage dealt.
Constitution Attribute- (CON)
Constitution determines your mental and physical resistance against pain, poisons, illness, heat, and fatigue. Constitution determines overall health points. Every one point of Constitution is equivalent to ten health points.
Intelligence Attribute- (INT)
Intelligence influences how quickly your virtual brain can process information and situations. Intelligence works together with skills by heightening their overall effectiveness.
Perception Attribute- (PER)
Perception governs your ability to detect vital clues, traps, or hidden enemies. Perception will also enhance your touch, hearing, sight, sound, and smell senses.
Agility Attribute- (AGI)
Agility dictates attack and movement speed. Agility controls accuracy of melee and ranged weapons. Agility affects how well you can evade an opponent''s attack.
Charisma Attribute- (CHA)
Charisma generally influences prices while trading and NPCs. Charisma influences how NPCs view you.The higher your Charisma the more they will like you. Charisma also influences your physical appearance.
Damn, there really aren''t any throwaway attributes are there. Every one of them is useful in one way or another.I should probably focus on STR/CON for the next few levels. This will improve my attack power and raise my health points. If I also get hit it seems that CON will lessen the pain I feel.PER/AGI are also nice looking as well. I could have detected that half assed ambush before hand, and agility would make my bow more accurate while helping me to dodge incoming attacks. Spoiler:Show Status!.
Alaric Brightblade
Skills Skill Level Weapon Class Proficiency
Acrobatics: 1/25 One Handed: 7%
Athletics: 1/25 Two Handed: 0%
Blocking: 1/25 Polearm: 0%
Equestrian: 1/25 Ranged: 8%
First Aid: 1/25 Thrown: 0%
Foraging: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pitch Force: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pull Force: 1/25
Stealth: 1/25 Strength: 16
Swing Force: 1/25 Constitution: 15
Defence: 56/57 Intelligence: 3
Health Points: 150/150 Perception: 5
Satiety: 97/100 Agility: 5
Level: 3 (27%) Charisma: 10
Skill Points: 6 Attribute Points: 0
Currency: Gold: 46 Silver: 37 Copper: 76
Jobs: (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE)
Title: (NONE)
I now have 16 in STR, 15 in CON, and 5in PER. after distributing all my attribute points. I need to investigate myskills now. What exactly does First Aid do, hmm.
First Aid Skill
First Aid determines your Health Points regeneration rate. Even if your HP is fully restored some of the more severe injuries will need time to completely heal. First Aid will aid in healing wounds and regenerate limbs.
Alaric touched the wound on his arm and felt a small amount of tenderness still. ¡°I see even if my health points are at max troublesome wounds can still linger,¡± Alaric said after confirming what he had just read.
Acrobatics Skill
Acrobatics increases how high you can jump and softens your fall. Improves your balance in every situation from running on a sheet of ice to balancing on a tightrope. When mastered you can perform acrobatic stunts, including dives, rolls, somersaults, and flips.
Interesting an Agility/Acrobatics build would be pretty insane I bet. Imagine trying to fight someone who was using dives, flips, and somersaults while jumping in and out of striking range to slash and stab at you.
Stealth Skill
When activatedYour skin and gear take on the color and texture of nearby objects, structures, or vegetation. Stealth allows you to sneak up on or past someone without being seen or heard. When mastered you will be almost invisible revealing only a faintoutline and make no sound as you move around.
Holy crap with an Agility/Acrobatics/Stealth combo you could become a frickin ninja!Without a level cap in this game one day I will be able to max out all these skills. I¡¯m getting excited just wondering how strong I can become! Alright, I need to figure this out. For now, I will add skill points toward Swing and Pull Force to improve my dealt damage and toss a couple points toward First Aid occasionally. Spoiler:Status Menu.
Alaric Brightblade
Skills Skill Level Weapon Class Proficiency
Acrobatics: 1/25 One Handed: 7%
Athletics: 1/25 Two Handed: 0%
Blocking: 1/25 Polearm: 0%
Equestrian: 1/25 Ranged: 8%
First Aid: 2/25 Thrown: 0%
Foraging: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pitch Force: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pull Force: 3/25
Stealth: 1/25 Strength: 16
Swing Force: 4/25 Constitution: 15
Defence: 56/57 Intelligence: 3
Health Points: 150/150 Perception: 5
Satiety: 97/100 Agility: 5
Level: 3 (27%) Charisma: 10
This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Skill Points: 0 Attribute Points: 0
Currency: Gold: 46 Silver: 37 Copper: 76
Jobs: (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE)
Title: (NONE)
¡°That is all I can do for now,¡± Alaric said as he closed his status menu and climbed out of his bedroll. He packed his bedroll and cookware into his inventory after eating the last couple pieces of rabbit cutlets and made his way downstairs. He was about to unbar the door when he thought he heard what sounded like metal slightly scraping against stone. Alaric leaned forward and placed his ear against the door and held his breath. It was difficult to hear anything through the thick wooden door, but he was sure that something was moving around outside. Maybe an animal was attracted to the smell of the food from last night or someone from the city arrived wanting to get inside? Alaric pondered. He decided to be safe and went back up to the roof and walked over to where the door was below him and peered over the edge. What he saw chilled his blood. Gathered around the door were four armed orcs holding swords and spears and wearing piecemeal tattered leather armor. Holy Shit! If I would have opened that door they would have been right in here on top of me! Alaric quickly leaned back and opened his inventory to equip his quiver and bow.I guess it is time to see what those two points in pull force can add to my damage. He thought while nocking an arrow. He took a couple deep breaths drew the bow back and leaned out over the tower battlements straight down at the head of an orc right below him. In the dim dawn light, Alaric took a couple seconds to steady his aim and slowly released his breath while letting the arrow loose on the unsuspecting orc roughly twenty feet below him. -135 (0/125) (Critical Sneak Attack!) (Head Shot!) From the close distance and the downward shot, the arrow pierced through the skull of the targeted orc killing it where it stood. Alaric reached back and slipped out another arrow while the other three orcs searched around them trying to find their attacker. As Alaric aimed down on the next orc one of them happened to look up and called out to the others. Without hesitation, he shot out a second arrow that buried itself deep straight down through the shoulder of the orc thatwas pointing him out to the others. - 45 ( 80/125) The pain and force from the arrow drove the second targeted orc to his knees. The other two uninjured orcs with no way to reach their attacker decided the best course of action was to run away.Alaric did not let up on them, he sent the third shot down at the injured orc who was struggling to his feet to possibly run off as well. Alaric¡¯s arrow screamed down and sunk deep into the wounded orc¡¯s back up to the feathers. -65 (15/125) When the twice struck orc pitched forward with it face in the grass, Alaric drew back again and took aim at the trailing orc who was running southwest. He aimed the bow just above the orcs head and let the string snap forward.He watched his arrow arc out across the distance and drill the running orc in the hamstring. The escaping orc at a full sprint took a nasty tumble, its arms and legs flung out in every direction as it rolled over the grass. -35(115/125) The orc reached back out of panic and ripped the barbed arrow out injuring the leg even more. Alaric could hear the orc let out a howl of pain as it jumped up to continue running with animpending limp.Alaric glanced down at the dead and motionless two orcs near the tower door before launching a long distance shot at the limping orc. The arrow fell short as he watched them run off continuing southwest now far out of his range. He sent one more arrow down at the motionless orc just in case he was playing possum, but there was no response when the arrow pierced the lifeless body. Before heading down he watched the escaping orcs to be sure they kept on running and didn¡¯t think about turning around and heading back his way. After a minute of this, he put his bow into his inventory and took out his shield and went downstairs to unbolt the door. Alaric pulled the wood bar free, drew his longsword, and opened the door with his shield held high. He made a quick circle around the tower to make sure the area was clear and when he returned to the doorway he watched as the orc bodies evaporated into small dots of rising light. The first dead orc left a pouch filled with copper and some silver coins along with his arrow. He picked up the pouch of money and deposited the coins into his funds and placed the arrow back in his quiver. As he approached the second dead orcs last location and spotted what appeared to be a brown shirt in the grass. When he reached down to pick it up he realized it was a chain mail tunic. When he put it in his inventory he clicked on the slot it was in.
A Rusty Chain Mail Tunic
Defence: 25
Durability: 80/150
Bonuses: NONE
Haha a rusty chain mail tunic, now that sure sounds like a beginner loot drop. I wonder if that blacksmith in the city can do anything with this. I will have to check it out next time I visit. Alaric closed the item window and collected his three arrows and set off to find the arrow that was ripped out and his missed shot. He found the arrow that hit the orc in the back of the leg and a decent blood trail left from the leaking leg. Hesheathed his sword and exchanged his shield for his bow and followed the blood trail in the grass. He never found the arrow that missed its mark and continued on the trail hoping to maybe find the wounded orc dead from blood loss or crippled and unable to continue on. After following the trail for some time he reached the river he saw on his map last night. The blood trail and two sets of prints went straight out into the river never losing their stride length. It looks like those two never slowed down even for the river. Alaric thought while inspecting the footprints in the sand and pebbles along the riverbank. Alaric put off his hunt long enough to take out a few large jugs and fill them with water. He replaced the jug lids and returned them to his inventory along with his armor, weapons, and clothes. Now stripped down he walked out into the flowing river and swam to the opposite bank and redressed. It took some time, but after a thorough search of the riverbank, he found where the two orcs had come out of the water. The water seemed to have diluted the blood from the wounded orc making it hard to follow at first, but it soon began to flow freely once again. Leaving the river behind him after walking some fifteen minutes he found what he had been searching for. Up ahead the crippled orc was dragging its leg behind it having trouble even moving forward anymore. Alaric activated his stealth skill for the first time and noticed his skin took on a slight greenish hue matching the grass around him and the swishing sound of his feet parting the grass was almost silenced. This isn¡¯t much of a change, but with only one point in stealth, I can¡¯t expect too much. Alaric thought as he nocked an arrow on the bow string and increased his pace. Alaric came right up behind the orc without being noticed not more than ten yards behind him. He prepared to draw back his bow, but then he thought to use this orc for training instead of killing it outright. He exchanged his bow for his shield and drew his sword from the scabbard on his waist. Alaric with a mischievous smile nonchalantly marched up on the orc and spoke up. ¡°Hello there! And just where do you think that you are going?¡± He called out. He doubted the orc understood what he had said, Alaric just wanted him to stop and turn around. The orc spun around after hearing him and held its sword up threateningly in an attempt to make Alaric back off. Alaric unfazed held his shield up at eye level and continued to advance into striking range. The orc took a clumsy swing at him finding it difficult to fight back with one good leg. Alaric redirected the blow with his shield opening up the orcs guard and began to take light snapping slashes at the orc''s torso. swish, swoosh, whoosh! -5 -8 -4 (90/125) Every two or three slashes he would gain a percentage in one handed weapon proficiency. Happy that his idea worked he went on to dodge or block the orc¡¯s blade while lightly slashing it all over. -6 -9 -3 (72/125) The orc began to panic and then slowly weaken to the point it could no longer hold its sword and tried to turn and run again. Alaric continued to train with the orc slashing with light strikes up and down its back until it finally collapsed and died.When the body vanished it left a heavy black metal ingot behind. Alaric picked up the ingot and was surprised at how much it weighed. This metal ingot must weigh thirty to forty pounds! He thought as he placed it in his inventory and clicked on its stored slot.
Castrillium Ingot
Castrillium is a dense hard metal. Castrillium is black in color and has twice the density of gold. This metal is known to be extremely hard with a high melting point.
Ooh, this is a neat drop item. Too bad there is only one this Castrillium sounds like it would great for armor I guess it could also make a great melee weapon with the weight and density it would strike hard and smash through iron weapons. Alaric thought as he contemplated the ways he could use the new ingot. Alaric closed the item menu and opened his notices.
Increased One Handed Proficiency: 4%
Four percent isn¡¯t much, but I now have eleven percent one handed proficiency. Even if I keep making little gains like this it won¡¯t be long until I reach one hundred percent. Alaric thought while trying to remain positive. Spoiler:Show Notices!.
New Level Notice!
You Leveled Up! Level 4 You have unused 3 skill points and 5 attribute points to distribute!
New Level Notice!
You Leveled Up! Level5 You have unused 3 skill points and 5 attribute points to distribute!
One fun thing about being a low-level newbie is how easy it is to level up. Once I get into the higher levels I will need to kill a hundred orcs to gain a level. He thought as he opened his status menu. I will put three skill points here into Swing Force and three points over here into Pull Force. I take a chance and spend most of my points on PER this time. With these surprise encounters, I keep getting it is only a matter of time I come out one severely injured or dead. Alaric speculated. With these attribute points, I will put fourpoints into STR and the other six points I will spend on PER. This is a bit of a risk, I should be spending points on making myself stronger. Spoiler:Show Status!.
Alaric Brightblade
Skills Skill Level Weapon Class Proficiency
Acrobatics: 1/25 One Handed: 7%
Athletics: 1/25 Two Handed: 0%
Blocking: 1/25 Polearm: 0%
Equestrian: 1/25 Ranged: 8%
First Aid: 2/25 Thrown: 0%
Foraging: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pitch Force: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pull Force: 6/25
Stealth: 1/25 Strength: 20
Swing Force: 7/25 Constitution: 15
Defence: 56/57 Intelligence: 3
Health Points: 150/150 Perception: 11
Satiety: 97/100 Agility: 5
Level: 3 (27%) Charisma: 10
Skill Points: 0 Attribute Points: 0
Currency: Gold: 46 Silver: 37 Copper: 76
Jobs: (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE)
Title: (NONE)
When he finished reviewing the notices and distributing his points, Alaric looked up to examine his surrounding. Now that his perception was over doublefrom what it had been he could definitely see a change. He could now hear insects buzzing around a few yards away from him and the grass and flowers gave off a deeper fragrance. Then as he scanned the woodline ahead of him he could now see what appeared to be a structure of some kind set back in the woods. Alaric turned around and looked to where he had come from as he tracked the injured orc and back to where he saw the structure and realized the wounded orc was headed in that direction. First I come across a small Goblin camp and now I find an Orc camp right across the plain? The wilderness is a dangerous place I need to keep on my toes. Now the question is do I investigate the camp or head off somewhere else? Alaric thought as he weighed his options. If I leave I can go off and hunt small critters safely, but if I investigate the camp I might be able to gain another level and get a couple good drops.What to do. What to do. Decisions, Decisions. Aaah screw it, if I die it will hurt like hell then I will respawn in town and just come back here. I should mark a location so if I do die, I can just fast travel back here and save myself the long walk. Alaric opened his local map and decided to head toward a bridge that spanned the river east of him. When he arrived at the bridge he walked underneath it and used [Mark Location]. ¡°Alright I am all set now, and later I can always delete this mark if I run out of [Mark Location] slots.¡± Alaric quietly said aloud. With his bow in hand he double checked his armor and tighten any loose straps and when he was satisfied everything was in place and secured he followed the river west to spy out the Orc camp. Chapter 5: Orc Camp Alaric continued westward along the riverbank of the river he had crossed earlier. He thought to use it as cover and gain access to the scattered woodlands that he now traveled towards.His plan was to slip into the woods unseen and make his way north to recon the Orc camp. Alaric had no idea if there were one or one hundred Orcs in that camp and wanted to investigate before charging in blind. When he had reached the trees, Alaric looked over the slope that ran parallel with the river to judge his location with that of the camp. Judging from where he found himself if he traveled north he would soon come across structures he had sighted after upgrading his perception skill. Alaric climbed over the sloped bank to begin his infiltration. He used the sparse amount of trees as cover to conceal his northern directional movements. Having traversed the woodland undiscovered, he soon located the camp approximately a hundred feet ahead of him. The closer that Alaric moved toward his destination the thicker the forest got. This was a good thing for him since there were more trees now he had more options on his approach Soon he found himself some forty or so yards out from the wood structures when he then noticed movement around them. Alaric looked around him and found a tall tree near him and with his stealth active snuck over underneath it and lept up and grabbed one of its lower hanging branches and hauled himself up. Alaric climbed slowly from branch to branch trying to avoid a lot of movement that may draw attention to him. Now up in the tree branches high off the ground he could look down into the clearing where six wood structures had been haphazardly built. As he tucked in among the surrounding tree leaves, Alaric sat motionless as he observed the camp. He was looking at the armor and weapons of each Orc in an attempt to distinguish them from one another and also get an idea of what to expect from their attacks. He watched the camp and its occupants for roughly thirty or more minutes and was soon familiar with those that were actively moving about. From what he could tell the camp held about ten orcs that were out moving around. It was possible that more were in the wooden huts, but there was no way to know without entering them. Then he noticed a change a two Orcs that had just exited a hut began walking at a slight angle in his general direction. When Alaric looked over his shoulder at the route they were on it seemed to be similar to the blood trail he had followed here. I doubt these two are going back to the tower after four of them had their asses handed to them, but then again they are Orcs who knows how smart they really are. It could be that they are going out to look for the wounded straggler that never returned. Aleric shifted to the other side of the tree and watched as the two orcs passed by close enough to hear their footsteps crunching through the dry leaves covering the forest floor. This seems like a good opportunity to thin out the camp residents. With these two split off, I might be able to take them down without the others knowing. He thought as he brought out his bow and strung an arrow. Alaric drew back the bow and aimed down at the passing orcs. He softly whistled while tracking the closest orc and when they both stopped wondering what it was they had just heard, Alaric released the bowstring sending his shot down into the back of the orc¡¯s neck. -85 (40/125) (Critical Sneak Attack!) Even though he had aimed at the orcs head to kill it with one hit the results were almost just as good. The arrow had pierced through the back of the neck and tore through the targets throat. Alaric quickly sent down another arrow on the second orc while it stood watching its injured friend gasping for breath. -63 (62/125) His arrow pierced the upper center chest of the second orc making it crumble to its knees. Aleric rushed his follow-up shot and missed the target. He took a deep breath and slowed his attack while aiming down on the orc with the arrow in its chest. -51 (11/125) The arrow hit near the first one piercing the chest in the lung area. Alaric put away his bow and scanned the camp. The group of orcs around the huts carried on all unaware of his attack so he climbed down the tree and dispatched the two with his sword.When the bodies vanished he found a torch, machete, a gold ring, and his arrows. Alaric deposited the items into his inventory and scrolled down to the gold ring and clicked on it. Spoiler:Inventory.
Inventory
Item Description Amount
Bed Roll 1
Starter Short Sword 1
All Purpose Knife 1
Cloth Bandage 50
Loaf of White Bread 10
Piece of Flint 2
Kindling Stick 34
Firewood 216
Iron Shield 1
Rabbit meat 11
Crude Iron Spear 2
Rusty Chain Mail Armor 1
Castrillium Ingot 1
Rope 1
Shovel 1
Healing Salve 4
Healing Potion 4
Iron Cookware set 1
Container of Water 5
Empty containers 10
Cooking Utensils Set 1
Cooking Oil 1
Cooking Spices Set 1
Basket of Assorted Vegetables 6
Egg 13
Bag of Flour 5
Torch 1
Gold Ring 1
Axe 1
Pickaxe 1
Metal Cup 1
Cooking Knife 1
Machete 1
A Gold Healer¡¯s Ring
A Gold Ring. This ring provides the wearer with +2 First Aid. This ring¡¯s bonuses stack with other bonuses.
I didn¡¯t even know the game had skill bonus rings. This is a nice surprise. Alaric equipped his new ring and moved closer to the camp and toward another tree that looked good for climbing. He found a nice spot near the top where he could stand up and lean against the tree trunk and hung his quiver right next to him from a branch where he could easily reach his arrows without too much movement. With his new location, he could see more of the clearing that the huts were in now. Alaric nocked an arrow and took aim at an orc sitting beside a cooking fire in the center of clearing he aimed just above his head and released the bowstring. -92 (33/125) (Critical Sneak Attack!) His arrow zipped across the clearing and pierced right through the upper back and chest of his target. Alaric loaded another arrow and hit his next target in the lower abdomen. -89 (36/125) (Critical Sneak Attack) When two orcs toppled over almost in sequence the others around began to look over wondering what they were doing. Just then an orc came out of a hut to check on the noise from the falling orc and Alaric sent an arrow at him. -45 (80/125) He hit the orc in the upper thigh and it started screaming from the pain. This alerted the entire camp and every orc down there drew their weapons and began looking around them. Alaric slowly drew back his bow sent an arrow out across the clearing at a new target. -54 (71/80) It found the targets shoulder and bored right through it and stuck into the ground. This hit triggered a new set of wounded howls across the camp. There were still at least six uninjured orcs down there that had different ideas on how to handle the situation. Two of them dove into the huts to hide from the arrows and the other four spread out and began walking in Alaric''s direction. Shit! They must have figured out my general direction from where the arrows are hitting them. Alaric sat down using the tree leaves to hide him and wait to see if things would settle down. He let the group of four pass his tree and search the woods back behind him. When they couldn¡¯t find anyone and the attacks had ceased they started back toward the camp. Right when one had passed directly under his tree, Alaric drew down on him sending an arrow through the top of his skull. -135 (0/125) (Critical Sneak Attack!) (Head Shot!) One of the search party members spun around and spotted him standing on the branch above them. The Orc heaved its spear up at him with frightening speed. The spear was headed right for Alaric when just before reaching him it was slightly deflected by a branch. -33 (117/150) The orc spear cut through his leather leg armor enough to puncture his outer thigh. The sudden sharp pain buckled his knees and he nearly fell from the tree barely grabbing his hanging quiver next to him and saving himself a nasty fall. Alaric ground his teeth against the pain and pulled the spear out and stored it into his inventory.Like hell I¡¯m going to drop this damn thing back down there so he can have another go at me. While the orc who speared him shouted out his location in some kind of guttural language, Alaric took out a healing potion and chugged down every bitter drop from the bottle. He felt the pain in his leg begin to fade enough that he could stand up again. Alright, bastard now it''s my turn! Alaric drew back his bow and sent the Orc below his tree a little present. -57 (68/125) The arrow struck just above the rib cage in the trachea area. His two friends who were running over to Rick''s location saw the orc buckle over and had second thoughts. They changed direction and ran back toward the camp. Alaric even though he was still shaken and in pain sent out a couple rushed shots that missed their targets. Now that he wasn¡¯t being pressured he unequipped his pants and leather leg armor. Using his healing salve he squeezed the paste into his leg wound and wrapped it with cloth bandages. I¡¯m turning into a friggin pincushion first my arm now my leg. I already need new clothes now that these are shredded and blood-soaked.Once he was redressed he sat on a branch and let the healing potion, salve, and ring work on his wounded leg. If a spear in the leg hurts this much what does it feel like when these guys take an arrow to the chest? It must just shut you down with so much pain that you can¡¯t or don¡¯t want to even move. Some ten or more minutes later, Alaric¡¯s health points had fully recovered and he could stand with a small amount of pain. He stored his bow and put his quiver on his back and climbed down to the forest floor. Next time I shoot out of a tree I need to use my rope to tie my waist to a thick branch. If I would have just fallen it would have been a one-way ticket back to the city for me. Alaric thought as he took out his bow and stealthily flanked the camp toward the west. He made his way up toward the edge of the camp clearing and worked around the perimeter. He kept his stealth activated while scanning the hut entrances for targets. It didn¡¯t take long for the jumpy defenders became a little braver by peaking out of the entrances. These shabby huts did not have any doors so Alaric had no trouble seeing them moving around and poking their heads out like gray skinned gophers. Alaric set up between two bushes with a twenty-yard distance from him and a hut entrance that he spotted activity around. He clipped an arrow tip to the string and sat ready to draw the bow. Over the next five minutes, the impatient orcs began looking out of the doorway for longer periods each time to scan the camp. Alaric drew his bow when he saw another one lean halfway out. He released a long breath and slowly let the string slide off his fingertips. -72 (53/125) Alaric¡¯s arrow stuck through the orc and pinned him to the doorframe he was leaning against. When he began to slide to the ground the arrow broke off in him. Enough of this hide and seek shit. There shouldn¡¯t be that many Orcsleft in there now. He opened his inventory and equipped the rusty chain mail tunic over his leather armor and grabbed his shield. Walking out of the bushes he drew his longsword and went up to the closest hut and peeked inside. The hut was unoccupied so he moved to the one he just pinned the orc to the wall of. Right before he looked in the door he had a weird sinking feeling that put him on alert. Alaric cautiously looked inside the door and a sword blade came flashing out almost catching him across the face. He raised his shield up and charged the orc inside. The orc quickly recovered and swung at him again. Alaric partially blocked it and the blow slid off his shield caught him across the stomach. Not stopping to look he drove his sword tip straight into the orcs unguarded chest. -67 (58/125) Alaric twisted his blade inside the orc and ripped it out at a sideways angle in an attempt to open up the wound he inflicted even more. As he was pulling on the blade he drove his shield into the orc¡¯s face like a steel-cladpunch.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. -26 (32/125) -13 (19/125) (Shield Bash!) The orc fell to the ground without any fight left in him so he was put out of his misery by the downward chop to the neck. -58 (0/125) That feeling I had before looking in saved me from having my head split open. I wonder if that is from raising my perception? Not only does it improve your senses, but it warns you of danger. I think it said it helps detect traps and hidden enemies. I will need to start paying attention and use that warning to my advantage. Alaric then glanced down at his stomach where the sword blow had deflected into him. His rusty chain mail tunic had a blade mark that cut away the rust leaving a clean metallic line. It looks like this chain mail armor saved me from a heavy slash. He didn¡¯t stick around and continued through the huts finding one more hidden orc without being seen this time thanks to the perception warning. Alaric took his bow out and strung an arrow. He drew the bow back and sidestepped around the corner to stand in the center of the doorway. Before the orc had a chance to even so much as twitch he blasted the arrow right through him from ten feet away. -104 ( 21/125) The orc tottered backward trying to stay on its feet and crashed over a table just behind him. Alaric cooly put his bow away and drew his sword as the orc tried to drag itself away from the human attacker. Alaric straddled his feet around the fallen orc and plunged his sword straight down to where he guessed its heart might be. -56 (0/125) After clearing the last hut that was empty he circled the camp looking for item drops. He collected a book, a gem, a roll of cloth, a bundle of spider silk, and a few bags of silver and copper coins. He had even found bread, ham, and a fish with the drops, but left them alone. Even though this was a virtual world and food did not get dirty by laying in the dirt, he still was not used to the idea yet. If I am ever low on money or find someone who could use it, then I will start picking up the food drops. Alaric deposited all the drops and coins into his inventory and began investigating them.
A Ruby
A small sized ruby gemstone. Gemstones can be used for jewelry and decorations. Most gemstones have a decent to high value and can be sold or traded.
A Roll of Silk Cloth
A fine cloth made from silk. A sought-after cloth that is used for many purposes.
A Bundle of Spider SIlk
Spider silk is a fiber spun by giant spiders. When it is weaved into a cloth it is semi-resistant to slashing and stabbing. t is used at times to line armor or layered to make light armor by those fortunate enough to find it.
Shadow Dancer
A tale about a woman that grew up in a war-torn land to become an assassin. Follow her through mystery and intrigue as she stalks her targets from the shadows. (Skill Book +1 Stealth)
I ended up with a few nice drops from all these orcs and another surprise a skill book! Alaric brought out the book and opened it up to the first page. He read the first sentence and then the book started to glow. The book remained and so did the text allowing the player to keep the book and finish reading it. He placed it back in his inventory to enjoy later and was surprised when a notice popped up for a second and then closed on its own.
Permanent Skill Increase: Stealth +1
When the brief notice close Alaric clicked on the flashing notice icon to review the rest of them.
New Level Notice!
You Leveled Up! Level 6 You have unused 3 skill points and 5 attribute points to distribute!
New Level Notice!
You Leveled Up! Level 7 You have unused 3 skill points and 5 attribute points to distribute!
Increased One Handed Proficiency: 2%
Increased Ranged Proficiency: 4%
Spoiler:Show Status!.
Alaric Brightblade
Skills Skill Level Weapon Class Proficiency
Acrobatics: 1/25 One Handed: 13%
Athletics: 1/25 Two Handed: 0%
Blocking: 1/25 Polearm: 0%
Equestrian: 1/25 Ranged: 12%
First Aid: 4/25 +2 Thrown: 0%
Foraging: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pitch Force: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pull Force: 6/25
Stealth: 1/25 Strength: 20
Swing Force: 7/25 Constitution: 15
Defence: 90/92 Intelligence: 3
Health Points: 150/150 Perception: 12
Satiety: 94/100 Agility: 5
Level: 7 (3%) Charisma: 10
Skill Points: 5 Attribute Points: 10
Currency: Gold: 46 Silver: 37 Copper: 76
Jobs: (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE)
Title: (NONE)
Level seven with three percent toward the next level. It looks like I just barely gained two levels. That means it will start getting harder to level from now on. This time I should put three points into Pull Force and two points into Swing Force. Then for my attributes, I will put seven points towards strength and three points into Perception. I am starting to like Perception since it saved my butt twice already. It makes me curious to know what it would be like if I had 50 or 100 in perception. Spoiler:Updated Status.
Alaric Brightblade
Skills Skill Level Weapon Class Proficiency
Acrobatics: 1/25 One Handed: 13%
Athletics: 1/25 Two Handed: 0%
Blocking: 1/25 Polearm: 0%
Equestrian: 1/25 Ranged: 12%
First Aid: 4/25+2 Thrown: 0%
Foraging: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pitch Force: 1/25 Custom: 0%
Pull Force: 9/25
Stealth: 1/25 Strength: 27
Swing Force: 9/25 Constitution: 15
Defence: 90/92 Intelligence: 3
Health Points: 150/150 Perception: 15
Satiety: 94/100 Agility: 5
Level: 7 (3%) Charisma: 10
Skill Points: 0 Attribute Points: 0
Currency: Gold: 46 Silver: 37 Copper: 76
Jobs: (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE) (NONE)
Title: (NONE)
Not too bad my stats are gradually improving. I might have to do something about INT and AGI soon. If I can get them up around ten points in each one then I can relax and go back to focusing on STR/CON. Once he had distributed all his points, Alaric began searching the camp. He found some old and battered pieces of leather armor and a few crappy weapons that he took to try and sell. Alaric gazed out to the east and set off in that direction out onto the open grassland to continue traveling south. He decided to leave the Marked Location near the bridge so that he could return again. He was unsure if the goblins and orcs he killed would respawn again and wanted to investigate it. When Alaric had reached the center of the open plain he found old cart tracks that lead from the bridge to the south. He turned south and followed the tracks until they vanished leaving him to continue along in a vast untouched wilderness.