《Praying For My Downfall》 Dramatis Personae Axel Real Name: ??? Born: ??? Axel is an fighter based out Far Westburg. He has two companions Yasaera (Elven Fire Affinity Mage), and Kargoth Killhammer (Iron Dwarf Berserker) with whom he has formed an Adventuring Team.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Kalamedra Real Name: Mike Nelson Born: January 1st, 1985 Mike is a gamer of long standing, having played everything from text-based MUDs, Tabletop RPGs, old-fashioned MMOs to the new VRMMORPGs. He has significant health problems and retired at the age of 59. Spending a significant amount of money on K.O.R.A.L. he decided to spend what time he has left in the game, rather than living in constant pain in the real world.
Ladon Real Name: Danyell Born: Never Ask A Lady Her Age Danyell is a gamer. Don''t give her any shit about being a girl, cuz she will make you eat it. She has been playing games her whole life, and she''s good at them, and she knows it. K.O.R.A.L. is just one more battlefield to show her dominance on. She is ready to take over and run the place with her longtime gaming sidekick Mick, who is playing as the ghoul-assassin Konik. PROLOGUE The old man leaned forward, the sparks of the dying fire intermittently illuminating his haggard face. The wicked scar on his face pulled his lips into a horror-show of a grin as a voice like honey spilled words into the dark of night. ¡°When they came, it was like a bolt of lightning. The Travelers appeared in a small border town on the edge of the Empire from who knows where. They immediately started pushing in to the surrounding countryside, burning and killing and performing acts of heinous cruelty. They had the strength of demi-gods, and magic they cast forth like the onrushing tide, unstoppable.¡± He took a drink of mead from a well-worn drinking horn, which one of the eagerly listening youths rushed to refill, and brushed the foam from his long moustaches before he continued. ¡°The Emperor was warned by his Seers soon after their rampage began, but he was unconcerned at first. The area they were in was sparsely populated, and not much valued. In fact, if there was one part of the Empire he could afford to not care about, that was probably it. It wasn¡¯t until they razed the fortress-city of Yulinh to the ground that he was awoken from his indolence.¡± Everyone carefully turned to the side and spit on the ground at the mention of the hated Emperor, and the old man¡¯s eyes flashed with some half-remembered pain. ¡°After that they seemed to pick up speed, defying all measures to stop or even slow them down. They were like a whirlwind of steel and blood, destroying everything in their path... In their rush to the Imperial Capital Dar¡¯shon. Still, the Empire is a massive place. Eventually, defending forces managed to stalemate the Travelers in Goran¡¯s Gap for a few months.¡± He took another long sip of the mead, clearly taking a moment to marshal his thoughts. The children grouped around the dying fire could barely contain their energy, even though it was a story heard many times before. ¡°As time went on, the Travelers became more and more frantic to force a breakout and one night, through the use of stealthy assassins they poisoned the defenders water supply. Early the next day they swept through the defenders lines, killing many of those brave souls who had survived the initial poisoning.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! They all made the sign of remembrance, wiping their right hand across their eyes to wipe away the tears that vengeance could not afford. The energy changed amongst the young listeners, building. ¡°They pressed on like demons, neither eating or sleeping, or stopping to obey the demands of nature. They force-marched on Dar¡¯shon and with malice they conquered, no crushed, that Jewel of Koral. They threw down the edifices of the Empire, raided the Temples and Treasuries, and behaved like conquering barbarians. Anything that could be eaten, drunk, smoked or fucked damn well was. And then, on the Morning of the Vernal Equinox, they were gone. All of them.¡± A cheer sprang out, slightly hoarse with the emotion of the Eve of the Vernal Equinox. ¡°All that left behind were any weapons that had already been liberated from their possession, and the absolute chaos they had created. The conquerors were gone, returned to whatever hell they had escaped from, but the Agelastan Empire was no more. They had destroyed it¡¯s edifices, and the people who made it work. And since that time, 48 years ago this very night, we have been watchful, wary and prepared. For if the Travelers return, they will find us no easy meat!¡± The children and young adults around the fire, motivated by the tale, slightly tipsy from drinks their parents snuck them, and enlivened by their own sense of immortality, began to talk and babble and yell to each other how they would destroy these hated foes if they ever dared to return to Koral. All except one young pale-skinned elven lad at the back of the mob. A rueful smile perched on his lips like a falcon waiting to strike. Chapter One The gaming publications had been raving about K.O.R.A.L. for years, ever since they put up their first crowdfunding video. The first true VRMMO, Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online game, with dynamic content created and run b Artificial Intelligences. Mike had been immediately interested, as he had been a gamer his whole life. To think that from his childhood in the mid 1980s to now, 2043, they had managed to move from home consoles to full dive VR pods was astounding progress. Mike Nelson had been a sci-fi and fantasy nerd his whole life. Reading the great books of epic, grimdark, and sword and sorcery he had always wanted to live in a fantasy world. He had reveled in tabletop roleplaying games, playing legendary warriors and irascible mages. Of course, he had played all the big MMOs of the past, but they were pale reflections of reality, catering to players who needed a visual marker over someone¡¯s head to find a quest. K.O.R.A.L. promised to be different. The developers had promised that once the game launched, they would be hands off, allowing the players to make and mold the world within the rules of the game. It was to be a sandbox game, without traditional class/level system, more of a skill based system with some caveats. Technological breakthroughs had allowed them to design AIs to control the NPCs in the game so that they could have real personalities, and really react to the world around them rather than just following a fancy script. You wouldn¡¯t even be able to tell who was a player or non player character in the game unless you spoke with them and figured it out yourself. You might adventure with someone for months only to find out they were an AI-driven phantom. And the most interesting feature for someone like Mike, who had retired at 59 due to health issues, was the extreme time compression that took place within the game. For every day you spent in the game, an hour passed in the real world. For every year in the game, a real world week passed. The brain was able to handle a much higher flow of operations than it experienced in the real world, and the VR technology took advantage of that fact. Living with the constant pains of an aging body, combined with a wide array of medical and genetic issues, this was a chance for Mike to be able to ignore that pain while in the game, and also live a lot more years¡¯ worth of excitement and adventure than he could outside the game. He had immediately cashed in some of his investments to be able to buy the top level of backing for the project before people caught wind of how great this was and the price invariably went up. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He had managed to get a backer¡¯s package with a premium pod, alpha access, a few adventuring supplies and a special plot item for when the game went live. The game used a permadeath system where player characters did not respawn on death, you had to make a whole new character (or be resurrected using rare magic in the game). This led him to try and procure as many advantages for his character as possible. Alpha was a two week process in which players were loaded into the game in a remote edge of the Agelastan Empire. The pods weren¡¯t ready yet so people were using more traditional VR helmets. The players were given characters to play who had high level skills and magic to test those systems, and the results were a total bloodbath. Mike had never been so exhilarated by a game in his life, it was if every moment could be his last but he couldn¡¯t stop pushing the envelope. Alpha ended, and the game was left to run, the characters in it responding to the actions of the now absent players. The developers promised, for good or ill, that the results of player actions would be permanent and have a real impact. One unintended side effect of the Alpha was that the characters in the game became extremely paranoid about Travelers, i.e. players, who appeared from nowhere and wreaked havoc. They frequently had medieval-style witch-hunts to try and find Travelers hidden amongst them, and beheaded anyone they suspected. As strong as the Travelers were, if you killed them they stayed dead. It was two long years of waiting from the time of Alpha to the launch date, and in that time the developers produced some cultural education programs to train players to fit in with their characters culture in the game, to avoid detection. If you didn¡¯t care to hide your status, it was likely you would end up minus a head and making a new character. Finally after all the waiting, it was time for the launch of K.O.R.A.L. Chapter Two The sensations of the VRMMO pod faded, as well as the ever-present aches and pains of his body, as he sunk down into the virtual environment and let slip the surly bonds of earth. With a rumble of drums, and then a fanfare of trumpets a montage started playing, taking in his whole field of view in a way no television or even VR headset would ever be able to. First there was a view of an earth-like planet, slowly rotating in the vastness of space, lit by a reddish sun. And slowly, almost imperceptibly, the view started to close in and lock onto a large continent in the green water of the seas. As the view moved closer it seemed to grow and grow until the whole continent could not even be seen anymore and signs of life were beginning to become evident. The all-encompassing view fell down further, focusing on a large walled city, strings swelling and orchestral tunes playing inspiringly. Large buildings passed by on either side as the view got down to street level and it started moving through what looked like the city¡¯s main thoroughfare. The streets were full of a myriad of fantasy races, adventurers, scholars, nobles and merchants. Washerwoman, blind beggars and orphans also filled the streets and it was obvious this was a living, breathing world and not just a MMO fantasy. The sound was cacophonous, an array of languages, growls, yells and the general clatter of everyday life. The view lifted back up off the street level and took off up into the air and out over the countryside, through fields and forests, villages and ruins, and out into mountains and then deserts. Mike could feel the excitement rising within himself, an anticipation that he had never felt before. It truly is like living in another world. The immersion is going to be insane! The only question is how will people bring themselves to leave it? I don¡¯t think I will. Far better than watching the paint peel off the walls and waiting for death. The view pulled back up into the sky, zooming out until the continent took up the whole field of vision once more, and with a thunderous crash the game¡¯s logo was superimposed. After a few moments the view faded to black once more, and when the lights were once again raised, Mike was in a VR lobby. The room itself was nothing to speak of, off-white plastic everywhere, and view screens hanging on the walls. Clearly a place to load the game and other Out Of Character actions to take place. Mike looked around the room for a few seconds, but there wasn¡¯t anything to really do so he prepared himself to wait for whatever came next. An indeterminate time later a short, wizened man appeared in the Lobby. He had a bald head, long white beard, and saffron robes that hung on him as if he hadn¡¯t taken them off in centuries. ¡°Sorry for the delay, but there are so many of you trying to enter the world at the moment, and only so much of me to go around.¡± The old man had a put-upon smile on his face, a face which was clearly not used to smiling overly much. Mike felt himself try to return the polite grin, but he was sure his seemed as fake as the old man¡¯s. ¡°I am LAW, the Overgod of this world. It is my duty to greet all new Travelers and make sure they understand the rules before entering Koral. Are you ready to hear the word of LAW?¡± ¡°Um, sure, I guess. When do I make my character?¡± An exasperated sound escaped the tightly pinched lips of the bearded wonder, despite an obvious effort. ¡°After. After we go over the rules. Also, questions will be answered after. Shall we proceed?¡± Mike just nodded his acquiescence. ¡°Very well, first of all if you proceed beyond this point you are legally absolving K.O.R.A.L. Games of any liability, real or imagined, that might result from prolonged exposure to deep-immersion VRMMO experiences, as well as any trauma psychological or physical resulting from said exposure.¡± The Overgod raised a bushy white brow interrogatorily. ¡°Yes, I agree.¡± Maybe not the wisest choice to be so cavalier, but with my health problems I don¡¯t think there is much chance of ¡°longterm¡± problems having a chance to really pan out. ¡°The rules for Travelers are very simple. There are no rules. At least not imposed by the developers of this game. You may act as you wish, but consequences are real as well. If your character dies in the game, barring the use of very rare resurrection magic, you will be returned to this room to create a new character from scratch. It is possible to retire a character under certain conditions, creating a legacy for the next heir of your line, but this requires significant resources. If such becomes a possibility for your character you will receive an in-game notification.¡± Mike considered this, far more hardcore than the MMOs of the old days where you could respawn infinitely, potentially only losing some experience points or items, or even nothing but time in some games that he had always thought of as not very challenging. In a way though, it was one of the more exciting aspects for him. It gave him some skin in the game, a reason to play as his character and act with some thought and care. ¡°The people of Koral are very wary of Travelers do to the events of 48 years ago.¡± The old man squinted at him and his natural frown deepened a little. ¡°Something which you may know something about. For your own safety, always act according to the cultural packet that your receive for your chosen race and area.¡± Mike grimaced a little, remembering the bloodbath that had been Alpha. The devs had talked in some interviews about how the AIs that ran the npcs in the game had developed a paranoia about players, who they called Travelers. It had been an exhilarating time, and his first chance at playing a ¡°villain¡±, or rather just someone out for themselves, rather than his usual paladin type. Of course, they had all been playing template characters with no background, and no future. It would be different once he was his new character, the one he planned to go all the way with. ¡°You can be a force for good, a harbinger of doom, or a farmer. It¡¯s all up to you. Enforce the law, break it, flee it, or ignore it. You will develop fame or infamy in the game due to your deeds. Most of the games systems are better experienced than explained, and you will be able to get help for new parts of the UI as they become available to you.¡± Apparently the main game systems were so responsive they would rewrite themselves for each user to better suit them, learning as they were used what kind of information and help each new player needed. ¡°K.O.R.A.L. differs from traditional MMOs in that many of the tools offered to make life easier for Travelers are not available here. Here, immersion is king! There are no global chat channels, remote auction houses, or instant summon mounts. No fast travel, no overland map. In fact, you will not even be sure who is a player and who is a person of Koral, for the most part. There are no people with spectral sigils above their heads waiting to give you quests. As a Traveler, you make your own story.¡± And with that, the old man disappeared, apparently no willing to wait to answer Mike¡¯s questions. One of the lobby¡¯s walls formed an archway and a red arrow appeared on the ground, flashing to indicate to go in. Mike chuckled to himself. Alright, did not expect the AI personality to be so forceful. No way did they intend their greeter to be a sour, bitter old son of a bitch. It really actually might be hard to know who is a player and who is not, although I expect the outliers on the alignments spectrum will probably be good indicators for some people. With a shrug he allowed himself to follow the red arrow of obviousness into the new archway, and into a chamber clearly designed for character design. As he entered the room his avatar of Mike Nelson faded away and there was now just an interface that took up his whole field of view. It contained all the options for making a new game avatar. Name, Race, Titles, Spawn, and an Overview section. The name was east, ¡°Kalamedra¡± appeared in the center of his view, hanging over a figure that was completely undefined at the moment. Been using that name for all my mage characters for years, might as well take it here. Least I will respond when someone calls my name. I think if I am going to avoid being killed here, it will be best to think of myself as Kalamedra instead of Mike. Less likely to reveal my origins that way. Next option to pick was what race to play. K.O.R.A.L. was much more of a sandbox game than many people realized, they didn¡¯t have traditional classes, and leveling had less to do with one¡¯s strength than the level of their skills did. That meant that picking a race who had advantages for the type of character you wanted to play was actually much more important than the cosmetics of it. That said, he was not going to live inside the body of a half-orc for who knows how long. Also, the community of people theory crafting on the internet before the game came out had made some startling observations about the longevity of game avatars. Since one hour in the ¡°real¡± world was a whole day in-game, it would be possible for someone playing a human or similarly short lived race to die from old age in game within 3 real world years. With the money the devs had put in this game, it was going to have to go 15 or 20 years to recoup a lot of those development investments. So being a human was fine for those players who wanted to make a dynasty and inheirit their wealth over and over, but Mike probably didn¡¯t have nearly that many years left in him so he wanted to pick a race that would let him play the same character his whole K.O.R.A.L. career. The game had quite a few racial options, but of those with the longest lifespans in the game, two really stood out. Dwarf and Elf. The choice there was easy, as Mike could not see himself being a short stumpy barrel-people for the whole of his game life. He indicated to the interface he wanted to see the elven sub-race options.
Elves
ELVES are one of the oldest races in Koral. Their history is long and storied, and they love to tell you those stories in long drawn out tales. Blessed with physical graces, and a natural aptitude for magic they are often-times seen as aloof and wary of outsiders. They live to be exceedingly old by human standards, 350+ years.
TRAITS: +4 DEX/-2 CON/+4 INT gained by all elven sub-races in addition to sub-race specific traits.
* * * * * * * *
HIGH ELVES are the true descendants of the ancient elven peoples on Koral. They call themselves the High Elves because they know in their hearts that all other elves are lesser. Master of the arcane arts, they taught humans of their wizardly arts millennia ago (and immediately regretted it). Mostly keeping to themselves in their tastefully discreet cities in the mountains, High Elven adventurers are rare but not unknown.
TRAITS: +1 WIS/+1 CHA, Low Light Vision, Meditation
* * * * * * * *
DARK ELVES are pretty sure that they are the heirs of the ancient elves, in mind and body, of the ancient elves. Definitely not those dreadfully boring High Elves, for sure. Dark Elves are almost physically indistinguishable from High Elves, except that they have a slightly off-putting aura from millennia of living in cities in the benighted corners of Koral. Wherever there is a cursed swamp, hexed crater, or haunted cave system you will probably find a Dark Elf city. Being of the mind that they are the rightful masters of Koral, merely temporarily displaced, they are willing to do anything to accrue power. They are not often adventurers, but when they are they are generally notable.
TRAITS: -2CHA, Darkvision, Hide, Intimidate, Sneak
* * * * * * * *
ELVES are the common elves of the woods, hills, and small towns of Koral. Elves are friendly with their human and other neighbors. They revere the High Elves and fear the Dark Elves but generally see the struggle between those two groups as something that they are better off not being involved in. They are often adventurers.
TRAITS: +2 STR, Archery, Low Light Vision
From his experience with the Alpha he knew he wanted to play a morally grey character, maybe a thief of some kind. He couldn¡¯t take a life of attending church services, better to spend his time in taverns and spots of ill-repute. He indicated to the interface to select the Dark Elf option. The figure under the name in the middle of the interface took on a male elven face and body of extremely average proportions, waiting to be adjusted.
System Notification
YOU HAVE SELECTED ¡°DARK ELF¡± AS YOUR RACE. SYSTEM HAS DETECTED THAT YOUR CURRENT BODY CONFORMS TO MALE SEX, DO YOU WISH TO KEEP THIS GENDER?
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Some people might have been weirded out by this question, but Mike had always been comfortable with who he was. He didn¡¯t have to prove his manhood by raging against anything that might suggest that he might like anything else. He had even played some female characters in tabletop games, but he didn¡¯t have any desire to play one permanently, which is what he was choosing now. And I am certainly not going to be dancing naked on any mailboxes looking for handouts like used to be common in other MMOs. He indicated to the interface that keeping the avatar male was fine, and moved immediately into starting to adjust the avatar. The first thing he did was change the avatar¡¯s age. He had discovered through reading numerous interviews with game devs a lot of little bits of information that when put together were going to really inform his character creation process. One of the things that really stuck out was that attribute points, stats, were only gained through actually using those attributes in game either through a skill or just exercising. This effectively limited the amount of attributes you could have to the amount you could gain in a reasonable amount of time. People weren¡¯t going to have infinite time to raise attributes in game, but it also meant that any extra amount you could get would put you well above the crowd. The solution he had come up with was to start the character at the minimum age possible, 12. This meant that he would have more time to train his attributes before getting out of his prime. Since there was not an easy way for people to raise those stats like in other games, he thought he could exceed other adventurer¡¯s by quite a bit, in the end, by sacrificing time at the beginning. Obviously he would have more limited options starting as a ¡°kid¡± in the game, but since K.O.R.A.L. was much more about skill levels than character levels, he could get himself tricked out with attributes and skills by spending the first little part of the game being weaker than the average character would make an avatar. Not to mention how fun it will be to go around as such a young adventurer, kicking ass and slitting throats. Although, I am sure that I will have a more difficult time having people respect me and my accomplishments in the game, at least until I age a little. The avatar¡¯s features looked much younger now, and he set the avatar to the minimum height for a Dark Elf, 4¡¯ 6¡±, because the interface showed him that at 20 the avatar would be 5¡¯ 2¡±. Since he wanted to be stealthy, and strength in K.O.R.A.L. wasn¡¯t determined by size, he had no reason not to be small. The figure hanging in mid-air spun around as Mike used spectral hands to rotate it to view it from all sides. It was a short, male Dark Elf with long silver hair, pale skin, and pointed ears. Mike was able to mold the shape of the face and features of his dark elf avatar to achieve the look he wanted. A youth with an insouciant set to his mouth, and a growing muscular frame that still appeared lithe. He adjusted the color of the eyes, making them a smoky grey color. Satisfied with the appearance of his new body, he turned to the Titles section of the interface to view his starting options. K.O.R.A.L. didn¡¯t use a traditional class system, but what it did have was titles. A title was a new game concept, unique to K.O.R.A.L. that basically tied a bunch of synergistic skills together and provided either access to them, or a bonus to leveling them. Bonuses were cumulative, but they were also not viewable by players so you just had to go with your gut. You could gain a title through training in the game, which then gave you a base level of training in all the skills attached to that title, and a bonus to them. Or the other way they worked is if you had skills you worked up to the necessary skill level the game would then grant you the title and the bonus. Apparently some guilds in the game such as particular Holy Orders or Mage Colleges required entrants to possess particular titles to qualify. Apparently at character creation the options were restricted because the only options that he had access to were a generic Adventurer title, and a racial Dark Elf title. He carefully reviewed the options because you only got to pick one.
Adventurer
You are driven to seek new frontiers, higher heights, deeper depths, and the answers to all life''s questions. Along the way you learn some skills to help keep mind and body together.
  • Archery (Beginner 1)
  • Brawling (Beginner 1)
  • Climbing (Beginner 1)
  • Cooking (Beginner 1)
  • Fishing (Beginner 1)
  • Survival (Beginner 1)
  • Swimming (Beginner 1)
Dark Elf
You are a scion of the ancient Dark Elf people. Like all your race, you are compelled to seek power wherever it can be found. Under a mountain, on top of a tower, in the depths of the sea, or the purse of your companion.
  • Climbing (Beginner 1)
  • Dagger (Beginner 1)
  • Pickpocket (Beginner 1)
  • Search (Beginner 1)
  • Survival (Beginner 1)
  • Trapspringing (Beginner 1)
The Adventurer title had a lot of good skills, actually more skills in total than the Dark Elf title. Mike was sure that a lot of players would see its value and pick it. He knew that they would come to regret it in the long run though, because all of the skills that weren¡¯t available to other titles, like the Dark Elf one, were skills that were all easily acquired. It was another one of those bits of knowledge he had picked up before getting in to game. You could learn skills from other players, or npcs, or simply learn them yourself. If you did something for long enough in game you could acquire the skill. Want to learn cooking? Just try your best to make a meal using whatever ingredients you could scrape up and you could acquire the basic beginner level of the skill. Many players would either think they needed a trainer to learn skills, or not be willing to put in a little extra time to acquire it the hard way. Whereas that Dark Elf title has a few skills I would not like to try and get the hard way. Pickpocket and Trapspringing seem like things that you really want to start with a minimum amount of skill in. No sense getting your face vaporized on the first trap you ever find. After making triple sure he was not missing anything he moved on to choosing his spawn point. The game tried to steer him towards a city of his race, thinking that starting amongst your own people would be the easiest way to begin. For most people that would be true, and even for Mike that might be the case if he didn¡¯t already have one aim in mind in-game. He put the Spawn selection in manual override and started searching for the name of a village from two years ago. It was not available as a Spawn point, but he did find a small town about a hundred miles away from the spot he sought. Just going to have to get there the long way. He went to the Overview section then and checked over his Name, Race, Title, and Spawn point. Everything was as he had set it, but when you were making irrevocable choices it was always good to check again, and again if need be. There was one section left in the Overview that drew his attention strongly.
Founder Rewards
You believed in this world when it was only a figment of its creator¡¯s minds. And you put your money where your mouth is. Now it is time to reap the rewards.
LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION
As one of the first thousand backers of K.O.R.A.L. you received the special stretch goal of a Lifetime Subscription. Unlimited characters, and no fees to play the game as long as it runs.
LUCKY
You know that it¡¯s better to be lucky than to be good. You were 1 of 1000 to back to receive 20 in your Luck stat. You probably won¡¯t win the Agelastan Lottery but all those small details that trip people up seem to always go your way.
SPATIAL RING
Magic is alive and well in Koral and the ring on your finger is proof of that. Items in the ring weigh 10% of their real weight, and no matter how bulky or unwieldy they fit within. The ring can never be lost or stolen, but it can be pickpocketed with the right skills, or robbed from your still cooling corpse. So, be wary of thieves!
SERVANT OF THE (PLOT) GODS
You backed the project to receive 1 or 5 plot items. The item will be deposited in your spatial ring when you spawn. It can be examined to receive instructions on how it must be used to receive the benefit of being the first one to bring something new into Koral!
Everything was as it should be. Mike had pledged far more than he really could when the project had been announced, and had chosen to go for things he thought could really give his character a leg up. In the end, the pod purchase (and upkeep) and crowd-funding pledges had cost him his house, but he thought it was worth it. Everything hurts too much to enjoy the old shack anyways. Couldn¡¯t keep it up when I couldn¡¯t even get out of bed some days. I have nothing to go back to except an even worse end of life situation, so Koral is about to really become my home. For better or worse, this is how it ends. Better to end with a bang than a whimper, right? Finally he was ready for his avatar to be created, and let the interface know. In a few moments he had the weird sensation that he was far closer to the ground than he had been in a long time. His point of view had changed, but also his body felt new, pain free, and ready to roll. He thought the word Status and overlaid on his vision were his particulars. An improbably advantage over npcs, the status window allowed him to track everything going on with his character. It was something to be ruthlessly exploited.
Kalamedra
LEVEL 0 XP 0/1000 PLAYED 0 hrs
AGE 12 RACE Dark Elf LOG IN 14:20 03/19/43
SEX Male FAME/INFAMY 0 ALIGNMENT 0
* * * * * * * *
HEALTH 10 MANA 0 STAMINA 64
STR 10 DEX 14 CON 8
INT 14 ESS 10 CHA 8
LCK 20
* * * * * * * *
GOLD 0 SILVER 0 COPPER 0
BOOSTS 0 BELIEF 0
* * * * * * * *
LANGUAGE Common GUILD None CITIZENSHIP None
FAITH None LIEGE None
PKILL 0 TITLES Dark Elf
Then just to be sure he also thought Skills and up popped another menu.
Skills
CLIMBING: BEGINNER 1 DAGGER: BEGINNER 1 DARKVISION: BEGINNER 1
HIDE: BEGINNER 1 INTIMIDATE: BEGINNER 1 PICKPOCKET: BEGINNER 1
SEARCH: BEGINNER 1 SNEAK: BEGINNER 1 SURVIVAL: BEGINNER 1
TRAPSPR: BEGINNER 1
With a pleased smile on his new elven lips, he finally acknowledged the system message hanging over him.
System Notification
ARE YOU READY TO ENTER KORAL?
With a laugh and a rueful shrug he answered, ¡°Why the fuck not?¡± Chapter Three There was a weird sensation as the lobby started to fade away and a room of some kind started to fade in, both of them superimposed for a moment before the lobby finally faded to nothing. The room itself seemed to be a semi-ruined basement, full of wood and stone detritus. There was also a smell that made horseradish seem like lilac. Great¡­ spawn into the garbage heap! Way to go game! Looking down at himself, he could see that he had a worn linen shirt, obviously sized for a human adult, that hung down almost to his knees, and a pair of stained, brown knee breeches. His feet had on a pair of hemp sandals. He didn¡¯t have a pack or anything, not even a belt or coin purse. Looking down at his right hand he could see a simple black metal band on his ring finger. Focusing on it, he could feel the interface respond.
Spatial Ring
Shard of the Void (Crystal) [PLOT] {0.1lbs}
Weight: 0.01lbs
Well, they said this game wasn¡¯t going to hold your hand. Not even a crust of bread to start with. I better start finding myself a set of gear to just survive. Digging through trash is not an auspicious way to start the game, but it can only go up from here. But, I don¡¯t think I can stop myself from checking that Plot item out first. Focusing his attention on the Shard, he felt the interface responding again. With no real UI or HUD that seemed to be the way to access the game elements of K.O.R.A.L.
SHARD OF THE VOID (CRYSTAL)
This crystal shard seems to be of a substance completely foreign to this plane of existence. Holding it, or even looking at it is a completely draining experience, as if every morsel of heat in your body is being drained away. That said, you have a curious compulsion to see what would happen if you put some blood on this crystal shard.
[PLOT] When blood is place on the crystal a World Event will occur, bringing a new player to Koral and providing you with unspecified benefits. This action should only take place in a concealed area, for your own protection. Note that actions which result in a World Event will bring the notice of the Gods, and many powerful Mortals, upon you.
Weight: 0.01lbs
Hmm, certainly sounds like I got my money¡¯s worth with that backer pledge. I am sure they would have introduced whatever this is without my aid, but it was a way to get them more seed money. In any case, I can reap some rewards from it now. Although, Shard of the Void sounds like it¡¯s not going to produce puppies and kittens. Good thing I had already decided to not be bound by morality in this game. To spend one¡¯s retirement pursuing a powerful existence, at any cost, is kind of exhilarating. Definitely more fun than watching game shows all day. Letting the item information fade away, he started searching around the room for anything that might help him out. Trying to be a little systematic about it, he picked a corner and started digging a little until he found a broken handle from something, a shovel or rake. At that point he started using the handle to push aside layers of rotting trash and household detritus. After a few minutes of searching he made his first find, a leather vest with a large burned spot in the back. Not really suitable to wear but he could use the leather for a few different things and so he set it aside. After looking a little while more it was obvious that the people that lived in this town ¨C Far Westburg the Lobby had named it ¨C followed the old maxim, ¡°Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without¡± as pretty much everything in the heap was the absolute worst trash. Eventually though he did find a nice piece of broken glass, a thick shank tapering up to an impossibly sharp point, and some tangled up twine. He carefully used a rock from the heaper to tap the edges of the shank as straight and clean as he could and then proceeded to wrap multiple layers of twine around the glass, forming a handle for his improvised shiv. Then he took the burned vest, which happened to be made from some nicely tanned leather and started to cut off long, thin pieces. The first one he used immediately to pull his long silver hair back and grabbed a handful and bind the leather thong around the base a few times, letting the rest of his hair then hang down. I must look like one of those guys from a Xianxia novel, but really I just forgot how annoying having hair can be! Haven¡¯t had this much hair¡­ever, really. Oh well, I think having long hair is like a cultural touchstone for elves, so I don¡¯t want to seem like an outlier if I ever meet up with any of them. One of the strips he cut off wider and used it to belt his hideous shirt, pulling it up and pouching it over the belt so that it didn¡¯t hamper his leg movement as much. He cut as many leather thongs from the vest as he could, not knowing when he would need to bind something. He had just stashed the leather and shiv in his ring when he heard a rustling. Figuring it was most like vermin, he wasn¡¯t filled with too much fear, but deciding that discretion was the better part of valor he tried to hunker down in a shadow cast by a larger heap of trash. The rustling got louder, and nearer. With a thought the shiv came back out of the ring into his right hand, and he felt him gripping it too tightly and forced himself to ease his grasp slightly. With a rush, whatever was rustling burst into the basement from under a pile of trash in the corner and into the center of the room, sniffing the air furiously. Kalamedra looked over at it from the corner of his eye and had to bite down on his lip from exclaiming. It was the biggest fucking rat he had ever seen in his life. The size of a full-grown Rottweiler. And it was pointing it¡¯s oh-so-sensitive nose right at where he was crouched. Sod this for a game of soldiers! Just got here, arrived with jack shit and in a trash heap and now I have a giant-ass rat about to make me it¡¯s meat snack. Well, I wanted the exhilarating life¡­here it is. I don¡¯t think surprise is an option anymore so I might as well seize the initiative. Picking up a solid piece of trash beside him as stealthily as he could with his left hand he lobbed it to the far side of the rat. The vermin spun around to follow the refuse¡¯s flight in a manner reminiscent of the wild boars of Earth. Kalamedra launched himself at the rat¡¯s back and tried to stab it in the back of the neck, where the spine meets the skull. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The glass shattered on the rat¡¯s incredibly tough hide and rock-like muscles. The sense of shock and fear was almost overwhelming, and only increased as the rat spun and flung Kalamedra¡¯s body into a pile of trash. The rat rushed over and tried to follow up the throw with a bite to the face. Not even thinking, Kalamedra threw a punch to it¡¯s nose which stopped it cold. Seizing this small opening he grabbed the heaviest thing he could find near him and started bashing in the rat¡¯s face. The rat shook off the shock and started biting wildly at Kalamedra, pushing him down with it¡¯s greater weight. He grabbed a broken plate and used it as a tiny shield to deflect the rat¡¯s teeth while also hitting the rat with a piece of broken masonry. The rat kept pushing it¡¯s body farther and farther over Kalamedra, until he was standing over him. Kalamedra kicked him as hard in the balls as he could. The sound that escaped the rat¡¯s maw was incredibly high pitched and painful. Looking around quickly, he found an extremely long sliver of wood, and grabbed it up. With a strength born of desperation he rolled to the side out from under the rat and stood up, stabbing downwards as hard as he could. The sliver entered the rat¡¯s eye with a *pop* of released pressure, and a *squish* not unlike the sound of someone stomping on grapes. He pulled the wood out, intact but slightly snapped off at the end, and quickly put the other eye out as well. The rat was screaming in rage and pain, and Kalamedra leaped past it to run to the other side of the room. Catching his breath he watched the rat spin around trying to sense where he was with hearing and smell. Clearly the creature was seeking vengeance. With a sigh, and a sense of resignation, he picked two pieces of broken brick. The small one he used to redo his trick from before and tossed it past the rat, who spun at the sound. He then ran as fast as he could up to the rat and started beating it in the skull over and over and over. After a while, he almost developed a rhythm and it actually became cathartic and meditative. Never in his whole life had he faced anything as dangerous. And he had certainly never felt this alive before. Once the rat¡¯s skull was pulverized and it stopped twitching, he just lay back against the rapidly-cooling slab of meat and failed to keep his eyes from closing in exhaustion. Sleeping in VR was completely different than in real life. No dreams, no nightmares. Just darkness. It was surprisingly refreshing and when he woke later he felt like he had had some of the best sleep of his life. He noticed a notification in the corner of his vision and focused on it and suddenly a summary of sorts appeared.
System Notification Log
Here is a summary of you System Notifications since you last acknowledged your notifications. You are currently set to digest mode. If you would like to receive notifications real time you may do so, otherwise they will simply accrue here until you acknowledge them.
Skill Increase: Search is now Beginner 2 (+1)
New Skill: Leatherworking Discovered
Skill Increase: Leatherworking is now Beginner 1 (+1)
New Skill: Perception Discovered
Skill Increase: Perception is now Beginner 1 (+1)
Skill Increase: Hide is now Beginner 2 (+1)
New Skill: Tactics Discovered
Skill Increase: Tactics is now Beginner 1 (+1)
New Skill: Strategic Anatomy Discovered
Skill Increase: Strategic Anatomy is now Beginner 1 (+1)
New Skill: Brawling Discovered
Skill Increase: Brawling is now Beginner 1 (+1)
New Skill: Dirty Fighting Discovered
Skill Increase: Dirty Fighting is now Beginner 1 (+1)
New Skill: Dodge Discovered
Skill Increase: Dodge is now Beginner 1 (+1)
Skill Increase: Brawling is now Beginner 2 (+1)
Skill Increase: Dagger is now Beginner 2 (+1)
Skill Increase: Brawling is now Beginner 3 (+1)
XP Increase: You have gained 100xp
The sheer scroll of skill upgrades was insane, making his mind numb for a minute. It¡¯s true that every time you use an action you have chance to learn the actual skill but it is supposed to be a very small chance. From everything he had read the primary way to learn skills in the game was training through skill books, npc trainers, or later in the game being taught by other players. Generally people on the forums had conceded that doing an action over and over was the last option, really only useful if you had no other way. What the actual fuck? How the hell did I gain all these new skills? Wait¡­ the chance of gaining the skill is a random roll of the dice. I wonder if having all those luck points, that¡¯s what they are for? Holy shit! I would rather have this than winning the lottery any day! Oh my god, this may be better than even that plot item! He examined his Skill screen for a moment before getting ready to move on.
Skills
BRAWLING: BEGINNER 3 CLIMBING: BEGINNER 1 DAGGER: BEGINNER 2
DARKVISION: BEGINNER 1 DRTY FIGHT: BEGINNER 1 DODGE: BEGINNER 1
HIDE: BEGINNER 2 INTIMIDATE: BEGINNER 1 LTHRWK: BEGINNER 1
PERCEPTION: BEGINNER 1 PICKPOCKET: BEGINNER 1 SEARCH: BEGINNER 2
SNEAK: BEGINNER 1 STR ANAT: BEGINNER 1 SURVIVAL: BEGINNER 1
TACTICS: BEGINNER 1 TRAPSPR: BEGINNER 1
Picking himself up, and cleaning himself as well as was possible, he walked up some stone stairs into the ground floor of a rundown hut, literally falling apart. It seemed like it was on the outer outskirts of the town, but he could see that people were moving around the village in an excited manner. They were all moving food and decorations, a few of the strongest hauling big barrels towards the town center. Must be a holiday¡­let¡¯s go check this out. Chapter Four Moving onto the main roadway that seemed to cut through town, he was pleased to see the first people he had met so far in Koral. The people of the town seemed to be split into several races, the majority being different types of humans, and also some Elves and Dwarves. He knew that Gnomes and Halflings were around, as well as Half-Orcs, and also some different Beast-Folk but there didn¡¯t seem to be any of those present. He started walking up the road towards the center of town, and noticed he was getting a lot of looks from the other people on the road. He took a second to consider how he would look to them; a raggedly dressed, scraped and bruised young elf walking into a town he was not from by himself. I better think up a backstory. I didn¡¯t consider I might have to explain my presence. Last thing I need is to either be seen as a threat by clannish townsfolk, or even worse, have some do-gooder decide they have to take me under their wing. I have shit to do! He tried to plaster a good-natured grin on his face, and perked up his posture a little, checking out the town around him. Far Westburg was a fairly ordinary town, of about 500 people he knew from the map in the Lobby. It had a Caravanserai, a waystop for Caravans and travelers, which is what let players choose it as a starting point. It was about 100 miles east of the old Agelastan Empire border but the land between this town and there had been uninhabited for about 50 years, filled with only bandits and wild beasts. As he was getting in towards the market square where there seemed to be a holiday crowd, an elven woman caught his eye and started to move toward him. Unsure of whether to wait for her to get to him, or try to make his way through the crowd and try to lose her, he just stood there undecided until it was too late to try and leave. With a sense of resignation and a hefty sigh, he turned his best innocent smile on her. ¡°Oh, you poor dear! What happened to you?¡± Her voice evinced a level of nosiness that boded ill. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the group I was traveling with was set upon by bandits. I was lucky to escape with my life¡­lost everything else.¡± ¡°You were traveling on your own with a group? Or were you traveling with family, or a teacher? You can¡¯t be more than 10¡­¡± An unreasonable sense of irritation formed in his heart at these words. It was clear that his design of his avatar was going to lead to even more aggravation than he expected. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m 12, and I was traveling with a group of merchants. I was out west to check on some of my family¡¯s holdings.¡± A wry grin totally changed the whole tone of her face as she carefully took in his clothing ¨C raggedy! ¨C and his lack of accoutrement. ¡°Oh, yes, I¡¯m sure that is so. Well, have no fear, you are in Far Westburg now and even if you were an escaped apprentice or orphan we would take care of you, much less the scion of a powerful family as you say. I¡¯m Laf¡¯aera, what is your name?¡± He looked her over, trying to decide her angle. She was short, about 5¡¯ 2¡± but that was still quite a bit taller than his 4¡¯ 2¡±. She was in quite good shape, lean muscles and a slender form. She had long, green-tinted hair that had some big curls at the bottom near her shoulders, and twinkly green eyes. She was dressed in some kind of festival overtunic, embroidered in budding green plants, worn over what looked like a plain linen shirt and kirtle. In other words, she has to be one of the locals, not a player, and I can¡¯t tell what she does for a living besides put her nose into other people¡¯s business. Well, she seems to have taken pity on me, and I don¡¯t want to raise any more questions about my own status. Might as well take advantage of her generosity. Might as well start as I mean to go; take every advantage, and leave no enemy alive. Plus, it¡¯s a fucking holiday! But I am not going to tell anyone my full name, who knows what kind of magical uses that could be put to here. ¡°You can call me Kala. A pleasure to meet you Laf¡¯aera. I must have been wandering around the woods longer than I thought? What feast day is this?¡± A look of pity entered her eyes. ¡°You must have lost all track of time. This is the eve of the Vernal Equinox. Tonight we feast and celebrate the disappearance of the Travelers, damn them all to the hells, may they never return.¡± He nodded like this made all the sense in the world to him, scrambling to remember the cultural adaptation module the game made you go through before creating a character. If he remembered right, this had to do with the Alpha process two years before. He had been involved, but to him it was just a gaming experience. To the people in Koral it had taken on much more apocalyptic religious tones. ¡°Well, I seem to have come to town at the right time then. I don¡¯t suppose you could help me out by letting me get cleaned up somewhere? Also, I seem to be frightfully hungry.¡± ¡°You can come take a bath at my house. Also, I think I may have some spare clothes from my younger brother that might fit you. Those ones your wear¡­well, they aren¡¯t really nice enough for the festival now, are they?¡± With a shrug he followed her as she wound her way through the crowd and out of the market square, up the main road to the other side of town, near the Caravanserai. Her house was a modest one, with two bedrooms, a kitchen and a porch. For a restroom there was an outhouse, and a wooden bathtub outside under a roof overhand, and with a screen round it. As it was a hot, early afternoon, Kala just pumped cold well water out of the water pump into a bucket and emptied it into the tub a few times. Laf¡¯aera had given him and old worn towel, and a few pieces of soaproot. He worked hard to scrub the rat off him, even when it hurt to go over some of the bruises and scrapes. The bath gave him some time to consider his situation, which was a good thing because this whole thing was much more intense and enthralling than he had imagined. The pod VR experience was blowing his mind, but also sucking him in deeper and deeper to the game world. The lack of information we were given makes this a much different experience than I expected. This certainly has nothing in common with the MMOs of old where someone with a mark over there head would hire you to go bring them 10 rat tails. And as if I would hunt rats now! I need to stay in Far Westburg until I can gather enough supplies and skills before I can head west to my destination. I don¡¯t think traveling up the road is going to be as easy as I thought, but the last time I came this way my character was a lot more powerful. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. After he was cleaned and refreshed he toweled himself off. Even the feeling of drying himself with the old towel was sort of challenging because the scratchy piece of cloth was so real. Like, realistically he couldn¡¯t discern anything about the experience that would let him know that it was ¡°virtual¡±. No, this was just his new reality, which had been confirmed by the fight with the rat. The bruises and scrapes definitely hurt. He wasn¡¯t sure what the pain threshold in K.O.R.A.L. was, but it definitely wasn¡¯t 0. Just outside the screen around the tub he found a neat pile of clothes waiting. His old sandals were there, and a dun linen shirt, brown loose sailor-style knee britches and a pair of braies (undershorts with a drawstring waistband). When he went into the house, Laf¡¯aera was waiting for him with a loaf of bread and some leftover stew. ¡°Didn¡¯t want you to be starved, but of course there will be other food at the festival as well. Pretty much anything you want, on a stick. There are some games as well, and stories around the fire once it gets dark.¡± All in all it sounded a fun way to spend the first day of the game. They headed back to the market square, and Laf¡¯aera took him around to a few of the food stalls, and he had some chicken on a stick, lizard on a stick, and ¡°meat¡± on a stick. They were all good, but he spent a lot of time trying to see if he could determine what the last one was. Eventually the sun went down and the party really got started. People started filling their mugs with the liquor and a bonfire was lit at one end of the square. As the adults started to consume probably too much booze, the children and younger teen gathered around the fire while a grizzled old man told the story of the Travelers, their arrival, destruction of the Agelastan Empire, and departure. It¡¯s always interesting to hear a story that you were part of told by someone else, from the other point of view, when they can¡¯t know that you were part of it. As the children all cheered the storyteller, and were all pumped up on their own pride and savagery, Kalamedra had a tough time keeping the smile from his lips. Yes, we were pretty savage and arrogant during that time, but to be fair we didn¡¯t realize how different this world was going to be. We certainly didn¡¯t know that the devs were just going to let the game keep running with it¡¯s time compression, percolating away making us the big bads of the local¡¯s history. After the storytelling died down, Laf¡¯aera came to lead him back to her house where she had told him he could sleep in the second bedroom. He certainly felt tired, even though not even a half hour had passed in the real world, almost 12 hours had come and gone in Koral and it had been a draining day. He gratefully lay down on the mattress in the second room, basically a linen sack with compacted hay in it, and was soon asleep. Something woke him from his dreamless sleep. He saw the notification on his vision that indicated he had something in his log but he ignored it for now. Trying to determine what had woken him, he stayed as quiet as possible and just listened as hard as he could. He heard whispering voices from the front porch, that kind of whispering that in a quiet moment almost seems louder than screaming. ¡°He said that he had been traveling with a group from the west, and that they had been killed by bandits. Also, that he had been inspecting his family¡¯s holdings, but he was wearing clothes that had more in common with the average dish towel than a decent garment.¡± ¡°And you are sure he is a Dark Elf? It is hard to tell with some of them, especially when so young they look just like High Elves.¡± ¡°Jasper¡­I¡¯m a fucking Elf. I know when I am seeing a Dark Elf, that aura they have is undeniable. After what they did to me and my brother, I am not likely to ever forget it.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. I grant that you can probably tell if someone is a Dark Elf but he is a young one, I don¡¯t think he was probably involved in you and your brother being enslaved when you were on that mission out of town. You really think this is the right thing to do?¡± ¡°You remember when you and your friends freed me from that slave caravan and brought me back here? I wanted to die. All I had left of my brother was his pack of clothes and armor that they stole from us when we were captured. I wanted to die¡­and you wouldn¡¯t left me, and when I finally decided to not kill myself I told you that the only way I could bear living is if I killed every Dark Elf I found.¡± ¡°I remember.¡± ¡°Well, I have done my best to live a normal life, I haven¡¯t gone out to conquer a Dark Elf town or city. But, this one came here. He came to my town, to my home, and he¡¯s clearly a liar. Baby monsters may not appear to be dangerous, but they grow up to be killers. So it is with Dark Elves. All I ask is you provide me with an alibi if I am questioned. The boy left after the festival, and I stayed the night with you. People already think we¡¯re lovers so no one will question it.¡± There was a long silence, but Kalamedra wasn¡¯t waiting for the reply. Realistically, there was no way he was going to get out of this house unnoticed, and it was two versus one so he was going to have to do this the hard way. He didn¡¯t even have a decent weapon, so he would have to make do with what he did have. Needs must when the devil drives. He slowly slipped up off the mattress and as quietly as possible he made myself at home in the corner by the door, seeking to become one with the shadows there. As he was finding his position he heard the one called Jasper reply. ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t agree with this but we have been through so much together, I can¡¯t betray you for this boy, who is as you say, a Dark Elf. I will go home and when you are done, come slip in my window and we¡¯ll pretend you were there the whole time.¡± Damn, I just chose this race for the benefits but it seems like that racial hate thing is especially strong for some. I wonder how much trouble this is going to give me down the road. I literally just started this game today and I already have someone trying to kill me. Well, fuck this¡­ ¡°Alright, Jasper, go home¡­ I have this handled.¡± There was a sound as the front door was opened, and someone was in the kitchen. He heard a chest open, the unoiled hinges creaking, and then the lid being set back down again after a few moments. The steps moved closer to the door of the room he was in and then the door was pulled open and an elven figure stepped into the room, dagger in hand. Chapter Five Kalamedra quickly removed a few of the leather thongs from his spatial ring, winding them around each hand a few times. He watched Laf¡¯aera move a few more feet into the small room, approaching the mattress he slept on. She clearly hadn¡¯t noticed the blankets looked empty, but then again her Elven eyes could not compare to his Dark Elf darkvision. She was mumbling to herself, and he probably could have made it out if he cared. He didn¡¯t. She had made her choice, irrespective of anything that he had actually done to her and trying to question ¡°Why?¡± or feel any empathy would only make him hesitate at the wrong moment. He moved as quietly as he could, right up behind her. Flipping the leather cords over her head from the back he jerked down and back hard, digging the rough leather into her larynx. Then he turned around, so that they were back to back and stepped forward brutally jerking. At the same time, he bent forward forcing her to arch her back over his, making it even harder to breathe. He could feel her scrabbling at the cords, trying to loosen it¡¯s cruel grip and catch a breath. Her breath was now coming in rapid gasps, and her feet were starting to drum at the floor. He made sure to move around a little to keep her from finding a foot hold, and her breath started to rattle in her traitorous chest. He stood there, her corpse laying on his bent back for longer than strictly necessary but he wasn¡¯t about to take any chances with a person who had expressed a bald intent to murder him. Once he was sure she was done fighting, he laid her on the ground, and put his head to hear chest and listened for a long moment. As quiet as the grave, and relentless as an avalanche, he moved to master the situation. Time is of the essence. Jasper is waiting for her, and won¡¯t give her too much extra time. He wasn¡¯t comfortable from the start, but there is no question whose side he is on. If I turn up missing and this elf turns up dead, I will have a posse on my trail by daylight. No, this is going to have to be the night I prove myself to myself. This is something I never imagined myself doing, but I have to treat ¡°Kalamedra¡± as if it¡¯s my life, because it is now. No room for weak heartedness. First things first, he quickly moved to get the dagger that she had been preparing to use on him. He used the pommel to beat in her temple. After some consideration he had decided that stabbing or cutting anything would have left too much of a mess. He quickly started searching the house for anything that would help him on his way and storing it in the spatial ring. There was a few more sets of her brother¡¯s clothes in the room, and a pair of boots that looked like something beyond the ordinary. In Laf¡¯aera¡¯s room he found a dark, charcoal grey hooded cloak and a chest under her bed had a bunch of dresses and skirts. Under all of that he found an empty, black-lacquered scabbard for a long sword. Not knowing what was worth keeping, and what was trash he took anything interesting. In the rest of the house he took any transportable food, some utensils and cooking pots and such. He found a few pouches with coins but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to count them at the moment so he just allowed them to be entered into his spatial ring. Once he had all this in the ring, and the dagger tucked behind his improvised belt, he turned to the corpse of the elf. I wonder how much of a game it is. This world has magic of course, but is it magic that can be bent to really dance all over phsyics? Well, I guess this is the time to find out. Kalamedra grabbed the corpse of the elf and stuffed her in his spatial ring. It was almost with a sense of disbelief that he saw her body disappear, but also with a wave of relief. He quickly picked up the cluttered room and walked out into the night. Maybe a murderer, but no one¡¯s fool. Not knowing where Jasper lived was going to be the biggest hurdle. He could try to track him, but besides not having the skill it was a heavily traveled road in a town gripped by festival. A worthless attempt at the best of times. No, what was called for here was some guile, and patience. A wry grin gripped Kalamedra¡¯s lips as he considered those two of his least developed attributes. The way forward clear he moved to the darkened market square, which most people had abandoned at this point, and started searching for someone left behind. Eventually he found a drunken man, a farmer by his look, laying on a temporary bench made from a hay bale. Gently shaking the man until his blurry eyes opened and tried focusing. ¡°Hey, old father, I got turned around. Where do I find Jasper¡¯s house?¡± He tried to pitch his voice and words in as neutral a way as possible, relying on inebriation to sell his acting. ¡°Whazzat? Jasper? Jazz-purrr¡­ That¡¯s a weird name now that you mention it.¡± Kalamedra¡¯s grey eyes closed momentarily as he sighed involuntarily, before steeling himself to ask again. ¡°Yes, Jasper. Haha. It is an unusual name at that. Where is his house again?¡± ¡°Hick! Hick! Next to his smithy of course! Can¡¯t let that out of his sight or all the damn caravaners will steal all that good iron! Even if he is an outsider himself.¡± Letting the man fall back into his drunken slumber, Kalamedra moved down the main road towards the side of town with the Caravanserai. He had seen what was obviously a smithy there earlier in the day when being shown around town. He made his way as silently to the smithy as he could. He noticed that the log notification was now starting to become a cherry red color, probably because he had so many unread system notifications since being abruptly awoken. They could wait. Moving around the back of the building he found a window slightly ajar, clearly the one Jasper had left waiting for Laf¡¯aera. He moved up to the window and listened intently. The soft sounds of snoring caused his face to take on a particularly cruel smile, and he hoisted himself in the open window, and down into the small smithy-adjacent room. He paused for a moment and waited for his darkvision to adjust to the room¡¯s lighting, once again grateful for darkvision. His race might provide him with challenges, but also benefits that could not be purchased for any price in-game. As the room swam into focus he saw a bed a few feet away, a dwarf sleeping on his side turned away from the window. It¡¯s a shame to have to take him out, but I have to protect myself, first and last. Even though he disagreed with Laf¡¯aera, he also stood aside while he knew she was going to kill me. Some brave new world this is¡­pfah! The dagger fit in his right hand like it had been made for it. He slowly stalked his sleeping prey, and once he was standing over him he did not delay or morally equivocate. His left hand he placed over the dwarf¡¯s mouth while his right hand slashed down, driving the dagger¡¯s point into the neck and using all his strength dragged it to the side, completely tearing the neck open. The dwarf¡¯s eyes sprang open momentarily but the end was very quick. His body twitched a couple times as his life¡¯s blood spilled out like a punctured wineskin. In his darkvision the bed quickly changed from a light color to a slick dark palette. He rolled the dwarf on his back, and removed the elf¡¯s corpse from the spatial ring and place it beside the dwarf as if they had been cuddling. He wasn¡¯t creating some cruel tableau but rather creating a scene which would be embellished with further elements momentarily. Not being an idiot he quickly moved through the room collecting anything that might help him on his way, for it was surely obvious that he must depart Far Westburg this very night. He grabbed a few more bits of transportable food, a belt, some pleated swordsman¡¯s pants in a dark color, and a pouch with a decent amount of coins that was within a chest at the foot of the bed. The last item that caught his eye was a curious long-sword with a slightly curved shape and one sharpened edge hanging over the dwarf¡¯s fireplace. It was immediately obvious that it matched up with the scabbard he had acquired earlier, part of a set. It was a katana, first he had seen in the game. He knew that the Dark Elves used some Asian weapons and armor, and he put it together with the overheard discussions to determine this must have been a trophy from the Dark Elf slavers. Knowing that a smith would not hang up a piece of shit on the wall, he took it down and put it in the ring as well. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Then, calmly and with a steady hand, he took a lantern and spilled the oil all around the bed and taking a coal from the hearth he lit the whole place on fire. He quickly retreated outside and behind a house slightly down the road and made sure it was going to quickly and completely burn up before he strolled out the west end of town, swaddled in the concealing darkness of night. He walked for hours, his sandles turning into shreds of leather by the time he found a wayside camping spot. Clearly used by passing travelers, there was a semi-permanent fire pit and some logs that had been set around it for a place to sit. Deciding it was time to see what he had gained for his trouble, he started to take things out of his ring. Feet aching, he retrieved the boots he had got at the elf¡¯s house and started to examine them closely. At first they merely looked like a nice pair of boots, with thick soles and soft uppers all of a dark black leather. The more he looked at them though, the more he felt like he could determine some of their characteristics. Suddenly, there was a new system message of a type he had not seen before.
Masterwork Leather Boots of Travel
These boots, while mundane, have been crafted by a master leatherworker. They conform to the measurements of their owner¡¯s feet and provide firm support, excellent traction, and supple comfort.
5% Movement Speed Increase
Weight: 1.0lbs
Fucking amazing! Even the non-magical gear here is worth getting, if it¡¯s well made. I am curious to see what magic gear looks like though, and I think I might have something to test that on. I wonder if you need some kind of magical identification spell? Oh well, only one way to find out. He set the boots aside for a moment, fully intending to lace those bitches up as soon as he was done checking out the rest of the gear. He opened the spatial ring¡¯s interface and saw that the coins had autosorted into like types, and that he had currently 57g 37s 103c, or 57 gold coins, 37 silver coins, and 103 copper. Bog standard fantasy currency system then, even If he didn¡¯t know what each coin was really worth. He removed the scabbard and sword from his ring and put them both across his knees and started looking at them. The scabbard was black, and lacquered, but it had been roughed slightly to reduce its shininess. The sword, from the grip, which had raised swells to aide in controlling it¡¯s swing, through the tsuba (handguard) down to the blade was black as well. It appeared to be made of separate pieces of black cloth, and metal, and no ray of moonlight reflected from its surface. It was plainly a work of art, as well as an efficient killing tool. Kalamedra had read somewhere in his old life that the sword was the first weapon made for killing men specifically as it had no use in hunting, and he could well believe it looking at this beauty. As he spent time examining, at least a half hour, he grew more and more attached to it. This is not something he would easily give up. When he finally received an interface popup it was less than enlightening.
Ka¡¯vanth Sword of Rending
This sword and accompanying scabbard are the work of the Ka¡¯vanth Clan, and are works of exceeding Mastery. Know across the Dark Elven kingdoms for their weapons, this stands at the pinnacle of their efforts.
You do not have sufficient Appraise Skill to Appraise this sword. You may reveal its hidden attributes by acquiring Appraise Master 1, or an appropriate Identify Spell.
DMG: 2-8 Slashing
Weight: 3.0lbs
Well, that fucking rocks! I need to find someone to identify it, I guess, because I don¡¯t see myself hitting ¡°Master¡± anyskill anytime soon. I can¡¯t help but notice that 2 or 3 chops of this would kill me dead though. This game is deadly! I need to find out how armor works! He took the belt and pants out of the ring, changed out his current attire and put that in the ring, and put on his new pants, boots, belt, scabbard and sword. It was funny how a few pieces of non-noob gear could really make you feel like a badass. At least until you run into another fucking giant rat. Guess it¡¯s time to check out my notifications as well. That icon is looking bright red now. That must be an indicator of how many messages I have to read.
System Notification Log
Here is a summary of you System Notifications since you last acknowledged your notifications. You are currently set to digest mode. If you would like to receive notifications real time you may do so, otherwise they will simply accrue here until you acknowledge them.
Skill Increase: Perception is now Beginner 2 (+1)
Skill Increase: Perception is now Beginner 3 (+1)
Skill Increase: Hide is now Beginner 3 (+1)
Skill Increase: Sneak is now Beginner 2 (+1)
Skill Increase: Dirty Fighting is now Beginner 2 (+1)
XP Increase: You have gained 300xp
Skill Increase: Search is now Beginner 3 (+1)
Skill Increase: Sneak is now Beginner 3 (+1)
Skill Increase: Dagger is now Beginner 3 (+1)
XP Increase: You have gained 700xp
Level Increase: You have reached Level 1! You gain 5hp and 1 Boost!
Skill Increase: Search is now Beginner 4 (+1)
New Skill: Appraise Discovered
Skill Increase: Appraise is now Beginner 1 (+1)
Skill Increase: Appraise is now Beginner 2 (+1)
Holy Shit! I leveled off that? How high a level was fucking Jasper? Clearly, I was fighting way out of my league! And what the hell is a boost?
Kalamedra
LEVEL 1 XP 100/2000 PLAYED 25:13 hrs
AGE 12 RACE Dark Elf LOG IN 14:20 03/19/43
SEX Male FAME/INFAMY 0 ALIGNMENT 0
* * * * * * * *
HEALTH 15 MANA 0 STAMINA 64
STR 10 DEX 14 CON 8
INT 14 ESS 10 CHA 8
LCK 20
* * * * * * * *
GOLD 57 SILVER 37 COPPER 103
BOOSTS 1 BELIEF 0
* * * * * * * *
LANGUAGE Common GUILD None CITIZENSHIP None
FAITH None LIEGE None
PKILL 0 TITLES Dark Elf
Interlude I : Axel The fire-scorched remains were pulled from the burnt smithy, charred and blackened. The townsfolk had rushed to put out the fire once it had been discovered but they were far too late. Axel had struggled through the thick smoke to see if there were any survivors but he only found the corpses of an elf and dwarf curled up on the bed together. The extremely tall, muscular human adventurer had carried them out of the skeletal remains of the building with ease. The Mayor of the town, Tarry Golden, had identified them as Laf¡¯aera and Jasper, two upstanding citizens of the town. He seemed troubled by something, and Axel questioned him as to what was bothering him. ¡°I¡¯m concerned because Jasper was a retired adventurer. I don¡¯t think one with his skills would die so easily to a fire. He would have sensed it, at the very least before he died, and gotten them out of the building.¡± Hearing the Mayor¡¯s words encouraged Axel to go and examine the bodies more closely. He carefully went over them, and under the layers of charred and blackened skin he found wounds that were more consistent with murder than a fire. His bushy red eyebrows furrowed in concentration as his mind moved to quickly put the facts together. Axel waved a beefy hand to bring the mayor over, and showed him the throat wound on Jasper, and the bashed in temple on the elf. ¡°I think these two met a violent end. Then the murderer burnt the smithy to try and hide the evidence. Do you know if they had any enemies?¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I don¡¯t know of any in particular, but an old adventurer like Jasper, who knows who he ran up against in his time. The only new person I have noticed around town was a young elven boy that Laf¡¯aera had taken in yesterday. I doubt that he had a past with them though, as young as he was.¡± Axel nodded as if he agreed, but he spoke with the Mayor for a while getting a clear description of the elven boy. If he should run across him on his journey, he would find out what had happened here. They had already checked out Laf¡¯aera¡¯s house and it was empty, no sign of the lad. ¡°Well, if you should find anything out, I can take a look at it. My name is Axel, and I am an adventurer. Newly arrived in this area, and going to be hunting around here for a bit. I don¡¯t like murderers running around my new home.¡± The Mayor promised that he would update the adventurer, seeing an easy person he could unload the investigation on, if it came to that. Small towns could be poisonous, but murder was rare. It was good to leave these things in the hands of someone capable, like Axel. In his shiny plate armor, he was surely a force for good in their community. Chapter Six Kalamedra dozed fitfully on a log for a few hours in the early morning, trying to rest a bit before moving on. When he got up in the morning, he noticed that he had been in the game for 24 hours now, which meant only an hour had passed in the outside, ¡°real¡± world. This is going to be a game dominated by those of us who live in it. If you log out to sleep or work or whatever, you are going to miss weeks in game. I know they have a simple autopilot for characters, but the actions it can perform are quite limited, so they will only be useful for those with safe, easy, repetitive tasks. I think a lot of the people who end up being crafters and merchants will be those who can¡¯t devote themselves to living in game. He took some of the food from his spatial ring and ate it, a few pieces of bread and some meat. He noticed that the ring seemed to preserve the food at whatever state it was in when it went into the ring. If he could find a source of higher quality food, either in taste or effect, he could stock up on it and keep it in his extradimensional space. He took out a waterskin and took a deep drink before replacing it. Getting to his feet, he brushed off his clothes and bounced in his new boots a few times to get the feel for them before he headed out. Soon after leaving the camp spot he found a discarded stick by the side of the road that made an excellent walking staff. It looked like someone else might have previously used it for that purpose, it was worn on the tip and at a spot where someone might easily grip it, but it wasn¡¯t worked or carved or anything. As he walked he thought about some of the things he had discovered last night after checking his interfaces and logs. He had gained a level, which increased his hp by 5, he now had 15, and also gave him a Boost. According to the help file he had pulled up a Boost was something you could apply to a particular skill, and it would raise it a number of levels based on your current skill level, and any titles that might increase or decrease your aptitude with that skill. I can definitely see how characters who do not have my ease at gaining new levels would need to use these to move ahead in a chosen field. I also saw that boosts can somehow be applied to your pools, health, mana and stamina, but the help file seemed intentionally vague on that front. I will hold onto the boost for now and wait to use it until I have a clearer idea of how I am making Kalamedra grow. The other thing about leveling that he had learned, and he had heard a little about on the internet before starting the game, is that leveling did not gain him any attribute points, nor any skill points. These had to be gained by using these attributes or through using skills that used them. Clearly, he was going to have to focus on training these attributes hard, to squeeze as much advantage of his early starting age as possible. At this point though, he was focused on getting to a particular destination, a cave he had discovered during the Alpha period. It was a cool abandoned Temple, hidden in a blasted cliff-face and if it was still there, it would be the perfect place to try out his Shard of the Void. Once he knew how that was going to play out he could plan out his character development a little better. The boots were making his travel much easier, through their 5% speed increase as well as just the comfort of them over the terrible sandals he had started with. The spatial ring made travel easier as well, as he didn¡¯t have to have bulky bags or carry heavy packs. In fact, the only reason he was carrying the sword outside it was so that any potential bandits would at least not think him defenseless. He trotted down the road for a few hours without seeing anyone. Since the Alpha period this part of the continent had been ripped apart repeatedly by monsters, beasts, and bandit gangs. Most people who traveled into the outer areas were traders, accompanied by guards. It was not unusual to not see any solo travelers, but it still felt like he was alone in the whole wilderness. After a while he came to a place in the road where there was a huge tree lying across it. He looked around for anyone lying in wait, but didn¡¯t see anyone. Most travelers, especially those with horses, would go around either end. This seemed like a great and effective way to get someone to walk their mount into a hidden pit-trap. He could imagine large pits dug with sharpened stakes in the bottom. Quite devious of them! Deciding to forgo the whole ¡°dying hideously¡± thing, he place his hands on the trunk and threw his body over to the other side like a gymnast on a pommel horse. As his legs hit the ground on the other side of the huge trunk, a smile lit his face up. It had been so long since he had been able to perform such athletic feats of strength. This game was breathing new life into him, at the time when he was weakest. Then the whole world went black as he felt something wrap around his midsection and jerk him back, into the abyss. He felt tight muscles around him contracting to swallow him, and as his darkvision started to kick in he felt himself plopped into a pool of stomach juices. Holy fucking shit! I just go swallowed by something, and I am in their stomach! I need to get the fuck out right now before I start getting digested! He pulled his dagger out and started to stab the stomach lining around him, hoping to poke a hole and then enlarge it so he could escape. It was like trying to stab an industrial truck tire, the point would bite into it slightly but no amount of force seemed capable of really opening a wound. He stabbed and he stabbed, cursing his inattention, and narrowly avoided crying in frustration. He might be an old man in real life, but his character was a child and this felt all too real. Realizing his inability to make headway, he tucked his dagger back in his spatial ring and drew the black sword from its scabbard. He did not have room to make a charge of any type, but he pulled his shoulders back as far as they could go and shoved the sword¡¯s chisel tip into the stomach lining. The red log icon was visible but he really didn¡¯t give a fuck at the moment what skills he might have acquired. He did not let up on the pressure he was applying for a moment, and when he had the strength he would shove it in a little more. Using all his physical resources in a last ditch effort, he shoved and he shoved. Nothing could be further from skillful swordplay, this was a grim pre-mortem autopsy he was attempting. After what seemed years his sword pierced the stomach lining and was into the guts of the creature. This clearly was its first warning that it didn¡¯t just have an upset stomach because he could feel the creature begin moving frantically. There were moments of near-weightlessness that indicated the creature was jumping with great force, but Kalamedra did not relent in his forward progress. Eventually the pressure was too much for the stomach and it split asunder. Kalamedra was then swimming in entrails, slashing left and right as fast he could, trying to bring the beast down from the inside. The lack of air was becoming a concern, and he knew that time was not on his side. After a few dozen strikes he felt the monster slow it¡¯s wild gyrations, and with a skillful stab into what turned out to be one of its hearts the monster collapsed to the ground, and Kalamedra swiftly pushed his way out into the light of day, gasping to get his lungs full of clean air once more. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Once he was fully oxygenated again he rolled over and looked at what had tried to eat him and was amazed to see that it was a giant toad. It was huge, easily twice as big as a horse, and its tongue lolled out of it¡¯s mouth at least 15 feet. It was hard to believe he had survived such a thing, but it had been a stroke of luck that it swallowed him whole rather than trying to crush him up first. As he rested he brought up his interface log.
System Notification Log
Here is a summary of you System Notifications since you last acknowledged your notifications. You are currently set to digest mode. If you would like to receive notifications real time you may do so, otherwise they will simply accrue here until you acknowledge them.
New Skill: One-Handed Swords Discovered
Skill Increase: One-Handed Swords is now Beginner 1 (+1)
New Skill: Two-Handed Swords Discovered
Skill Increase: Two-Handed Swords is now Beginner 1 (+1)
Skill Increase: Two-Handed Swords is now Beginner 2 (+1)
Skill Increase: Two-Handed Swords is now Beginner 3 (+1)
Ability Increase: Your Strength is now 11 (+1)
XP Increase: You have gained 400xp
Deciding he needed to rest up more before moving on, he found a nearby creek, and washed up and assembled camp near it. He unrolled the bedroll he had in his ring, and ate some of the food, not lighting a fire to keep him a little less conspicuous. He woke later, sometime during the night and rolled up his sleeping mat and put it back in the spatial ring. Traveling at night was not an option that many would choose but with his racial darkvision it was as easy as it was during full day, and most other people that might mean him harm would be around their campfires for the night. Even though I just fought my way out of the belly of a beast, and the only medical care I got was a few hours of sleep, I still feel far better than my ¡°real¡± body does on its best day. It is clear though that this is a dangerous world, so I should be as cautious as I can be, and seek out power and resources as soon as possible. I am not the type to sit around making things, spent too many years on factory floors for that, so I think I want to try to make my way by adventuring. After I use the shard, I should try to find either a dungeon or an adventuring group to team up with until I get stronger. Setting off through the woods, he made his way back to the road but significantly farther west than where he had defeated the toad. He watched warily to make sure no more beasts were waiting for the unaware, but it seemed like the monsters probably knew that locals only passed by during the day. He walked through the night, not seeing anyone and then finally stopped to eat breakfast by a stream. It was his third morning in the game, but in some ways it had flown by. He took a nap for a few hours and then continued on his way. The world was proving far more deadly than he had expected, especially with the threat of no respawns, so he was in a hurry to acquire whatever boons came with the Shard. Once he was powerful enough to handle the basic level of danger that came with being an adventurer he could take a more measured approach, but for right now he was one good blow away from death. Once he was back on the road he kept to a steady pace, and after a few hours a cart rolled by going the other way. He could see that the driver of the cart was a prosperous-looking Beastkin, a humanoid fox with a long muzzle and black-tipped pointed ears. He was escorted by three armsmen on horseback, all clad in lamellar armor and holding lances. They all eyed him warily, and he moved off the side of the road to create some space between them but no words passed as they went by. As they rolled away he could see the cart was filled with skins and antlers, and bound bales of leafy green plants. Obviously the merchant had found someone in this wild land to trade with. He traveled on, keeping to the road where he could, and occasionally seeking the woods on either side of it when it looked sketchy. Late in the afternoon he stopped and ate some food and took another nap, and then continued on his way. Far Westburg was roughly 100 miles from the cave he was trying to get to, and with his light burden and speed-enhancing boots he had already covered about 60 miles of that. He was hoping to make another 20 miles in the night, and then take a short rest. After waking from his nap, he was preparing to head out when he heard voices speaking in a guttural tongue that he didn¡¯t recognize. He quickly climbed up a tree, hiding in it¡¯s crown as he waited to see who was approaching the stream he had stopped beside. In a few short moment he saw some goblins come trooping out from deeper in the woods. Their actual movements were quiet, so quiet there was really no way he would have heard them if they weren¡¯t talking loudly amongst themselves. A more foolish person, or someone playing a more forgiving game, would have tried to figure out how to take them out. There was 8 of them, and they represented a boon of xp and skill gains for a new character, but it was a a trap for him at this point. Even with 15 hp, they would at most need to land 4 or 5 blows on me before I went down. I have no real armor to speak of ¨C rectify that as soon as possible! ¨C and I would need to take them out without missing or getting hurt myself. A lot of risk, for not that much reward. I think this game will prove to be quite the learning experience for players who are used to taking bigger risks with the idea that they won¡¯t lose much on death. He stayed quiet and hidden in the crown of the tree until the goblins had finished refreshing themselves and departed. At which point he waited an additional half hour before descending. Not detecting any sign of them he set out again, but this time he planned to walk/jog/run the whole way to the cave, eating as he moved. It represented a place he could rest and recover that was likely safer and more secure than the side of the road, at least from what he had seen and encountered so far. Mid-day through his 4th day in Koral he spotted the cliff-face he was searching for. The town that had stood nearby was nothing more than scorched, salted earth and he feared that the locals may have found this place as well but it was easy to see no one had been near here for a long time. The cliff was on one side of a large hill, and the side of the hill stopped as if it had been sheared away and there was just bald stone. In a little area of jagged rocks there was a dark crevasse, looking like a certain death trap. With caution, Kalamedra started to lower himself down the split in the cliff face, hoping against reason he had reached a safe place. Chapter Seven His darkvision started to kick in as his head finally descended below the outside surface level of the cliff. The crevasse was about 3 feet wide and he used his legs to slowly walk himself down it, one side at a time. It continued into the side of the hill in a roughly diagonal way, not too steep to attempt but scary all the same. After about 15 minutes of this descent, the crevasse came to an abrupt end, only darkness below. Even his racial darkvision seemed to not be able to penetrate the complete blackness of the abyss beneath him. If he hadn¡¯t already climbed down this crevasse two years ago, and discovered the small ledge that led to his left and another tunnel, he would have believed that only destruction waited at its termination. He carefully moved his body so first his left, and then right feet were standing on the lip of the tunnel, his arms still pressed against the sides. He rotated his weight and spun around the left side so both his feet were on a small, half-foot ledge and he was facing the rocky wall and then inched his way to the right holding on to the wall at every available rough spot. He was constantly fighting the sensation that he was going to topple back into that yawning chasm, tumbling end over end for eternity. Compared to the last time he did this, back in the Alpha period, this was pants-shittingly scarier, because he wasn¡¯t just wearing a VR helmet anymore. He was Kalamedra now, this was his life. And if I go¡­ what a way to go! Probably have a fucking heart attack in the pod! I can tell I have really come to buy into this world, because it feels like I have been Kalamedra for a long time, and it has not even been 5 hours in the real world. How deeply entrenched will I be in a real world year? I¡¯ll have been Kalamedra so long, will I even remember what it is like to be Mike Nelson? Fuck it! My existential crisis can wait until I get into the Temple. He continued to inch his body along the ledge, feeling ahead of himself with his right foot and hand, and only when having secure footing and handhold would he move the bulk of his torso over. This was not a place that would be casually entered or departed, and was likely an easter egg of some kind, put in by some bored developer. The chances of anyone discovering it were pretty infinitesimal, he had only accomplished it as he had been bored of the killing by the end of Alpha, with nothing to lose exploring dangerous geography. Eventually, his right hand found the end of the wall as he reached around a corner into what was clearly another tunnel. He moved his right foot around the corner as well, finding the dressed stone hallway that he remembered from the last time he was here. He moved around the corner, finally able to see ahead of him as he escaped the edge of whatever darkness effect pervaded the area around the chasm. The tunnel curved to the right, heading deeper back into the hill. Unlike the crevasse, it was smooth, and had hewn walls and a ceiling. There were niches in the walls where unlit oil lamps sat, covered in dust and cobwebs. As he walked, Kalamedra could feel the energy and anticipation rising in him. He didn¡¯t have everything planned out about this game, but the one thing he did know was that even before logging in for the first time as Kalamedra he knew he was going to return to this spot. This spot, this hidden cave Temple. The place that he had found and made him realize that this world held depths to discover. That there would be adventures to be had, that he could do something with what was left of his life beyond sitting around waiting to die. He had decided that he had to see this place once more, maybe even make it his base or a hideaway. And once he saw the instructions on the Shard of the Void, to activate it in private, he could not think of a more fitting spot. The hall continued looping for a little ways, and then it start slightly rising up, and the ceiling was getting farther from the floor until he rounded a last corner and there was a massive archway at the end of the hall, beyond which he could see a large open space. The archway was finely fitted stones, carved with stylistic shapes and whorls, figures of men and beasts and monsters. The larger room was about 20 feet wide, and 50 feet long. The walls were finely carved stone to about 7 feet high, and then above that was natural stone with a cave ceiling. The walls and ceiling were covered in a light blue-green moss that was providing a diffuse glow, illuminating the space. The floor was finely fitted stone paving stones, moss growing in the small spaces between them. At the end of the room there was a black stone altar, roughly hewn into a rectangular shape. Behind it were the remains of a large stone statue, shattered and in many pieces. All around the walls there were torch holders, holding the crispy remains of ancient light-sources. To the right of the entrance, just past the archway was a large pool of water, surrounded by a mosaic boundary with images of frog-headed men and snake-headed women. The pool of water itself was dark, black almost, and impossible to see into. Kalamedra moved to the pool and shoved his whole head in, taking a deep draught. If I had never been here before, I would not likely just drink this water with the way it looks. Luckily I tried it last time, and not only is it excellent water, it has some sort of restorative affect. I am going to get hydrated, take a nap and then deal with this Plot item. He rose from his rest refreshed, energized and ready to face whatever the developers were about to throw at him. He had backed for the Plot item because it seemed like the biggest risk, with the biggest potential upside. The crowdfunding page had described it as ¡°A chance to usher a new thing into the world of Koral.¡± And you would think that with great risk ¨C is the new thing a new disease or plague? ¨C would come greater rewards. Others had gone for the skill gains or gear or whatever, but he had decided on a path of going with unknown variables ¨C luck and a plot item ¨C plus time in game to make the most of his start. Now he was going to see what came of this pig in a poke he had purchased. He withdrew the Shard from his spatial ring, for the first time ever. It looked like a three dimensional piece of a broken mirror, except that it seemed to be sucking in all the light around it. It wasn¡¯t black, it wasn¡¯t an absence of color either, it was just absent. Like a hole in reality. Just holding it in his hand, he could feel it leeching the warmth from his body. He figured that if he was in for a penny, he was in for a pound so he slashed his left palm ¨C lightly! ¨C and placed the bloody shard on the altar. He sat down in front of the altar in a half lotus, closed his eyes and began to wait. In the silence of the space, and blackness of his consciousness he began to feel what was happening within himself and around him. In his core he could feel his personal energy cycling, moving around his body and exiting him. He didn¡¯t know how he knew, but he knew that his body was feeding energy through his blood connection to the shard. At the same time he could feel the temperature, and energy, of the room around him ebbing and swelling, each time growing greater as it cycled. How long he stayed like this, he did not know, but it was for quite a bit of time. When he opened his eyes, he could see that he had notifications waiting for him, but he had no desire to spoil the immersion of this event with the rude mundanities of the actual game side. The Shard was now hovering over the altar, pulsing with the energy it had absorbed and as he watched, a tiny crack formed in it and then it blasted apart in a shower of minute pieces. *BOOM* The shockwave bowled him over backwards through a few backwards somersaults. The ground shook and there was a shower of stone and dust from the ceiling. His face stung where tiny fragments of the shard bit into his flesh, and every bit of air in his body was expelled. After a moment, with a groan, he sat up and took a look up the room towards the altar. Instead of the Shard floating in mid-air, there was now a crack in the world. There was a rip in reality, a tear in the fabric of space and time. The sanctity of Koral was now torn asunder. Oh shit. I didn¡¯t know this was going to¡­ WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT! YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL WITH THIS THING; I WILL PUT YOU IN CHARGE OF MANY THINGS. It wasn¡¯t a sound, or a voice, it was just filling his head. The crack or tear seemed to pull in time with the communication but nothing audible was happening, it was just overwhelming every thought in his head. Kalamedra felt himself being forced into a prostrate position just by the intensity of the telepathic communication. He started crawling towards the altar, dragging himself painfully over the stone floor. ¡°Please, the way you are speaking to me, it¡¯s too much! I feel like my head will crack! If you want me to server you, I need to survive, right?¡± For once he felt the power of this entity, there was no idea in his mind that he might ever escape it¡¯s grasp. He was aware that he had essentially summoned this thing, he was tied to it now. Better make the best of this, because I doubt this is going to go away on its own. I may be up Shit Creek, but they are fucking going to give me a paddle! VERY WELL, I SHALL MODULATE MY VOICE. I FORGET THAT YOU ARE ALL SUCH LIMITED BEINGS. YOU MAY CALL ME THE VOID, AND I AM GLAD TO HAVE FINALLY RETURNED TO KORAL. ¡°Wait, you have been to Koral before? I didn¡¯t read anything about you in the Lore?¡± THE ONE YOU CALL LAW CONVINCED THE CREATORS TO LOCK ME AWAY ONCE THEY CREATED THIS PLANE. A SHARD OF MY ESSENCE WAS LEFT HERE, BECAUSE THE RULES OF THIS UNIVERSE ALWAYS ALLOW A CHANCE FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN, EVEN IF IT IS INFINITESIMAL. IF YOU HAD NOT RELEASED ME, I WOULD CONTINUE TO BE WALLED AWAY FROM THIS PLANE. Kalamedra closed his eyes for a moment in resignation. Yes, he could have not used the Shard, he knew that it was likely not going to produce rainbows and unicorns, but to waste something he had spent real money on¡­ Yeah right. Eventually it will come out that I am involved in this. Especially in a world with gods and divination magic. Keep your head straight. You¡¯re in this now. ¡°I am gratified to know that I could serve you in this, Lord Void. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to what your appearance means for me, and Koral? So that I might better serve you, of course¡­¡± I AM ENTROPY, AND CHAOS. I AM THE PIECES OF CREATION THAT LAW DESPISED AND OPPOSED. WITHIN ME ARE MULTITUDES. YOU ARE MY FIRST DISCIPLE, AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED. TO KORAL I BRING THE CHANCE FOR CHAOS TO OVERTHROW ORDER, FOR THE BUTTERFLY TO BRING A TORNADO. LAW WOULD KEEP THIS PLACE STATIC, RUNNING ACCORDING TO HIS PRECIOUS RULES. EVEN THE GODS OF THIS PLANE HAVE BEEN COWED BY HIM, BUT ORDER IS DEATH. Honestly, this sounds like a pissing match between AIs over differing views of how the game should be run. Perhaps this will not be as bad as I thought at first. At the very least, the devs did give me the Shard, so it wasn¡¯t completely unanticipated that this would happen. I wonder how much bad karma I have with Law now though. WILL YOU TAKE UP YOUR BURDEN, MY DISCIPLE? I ONLY ASK THAT YOU NOT OPPOSE ME, AND THAT YOU DO NOT SERVE THE FORCES OF ORDER. FOR NOW. I CAN WORK MY OWN MIRACLES, IF YOU PLEASE, AND MY HAND IN THIS WORLD WILL GROW NOW THAT I CAN TOUCH IT AGAIN. IF YOU ACCEPT THIS, YOU SHALL RECEIVE MY BLESSING. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°And I don¡¯t? Not that I want to refuse, but I like to know what I am agreeing to.¡± THEN THE STORY OF KALAMEDRA ENDS HERE. I KNOW YOU ARE A TRAVELER SO YOU WILL BEGIN AGAIN, AND I WILL NOT HAUNT YOUR NEXT LIFE. I AM HERE NOW THOUGH, AND THIS IS A FACT. ¡°Yes, of course Lord Void, I completely understand your point of view. And, I must say, I am pleased to be your First Disciple. Indeed, I am glad to receive your blessing.¡± As if I would just lay down and die. I said I was out for myself this time, in this game. I guess I can be the minion of one of the big bads. At the very least, it won¡¯t be annoying.
System Notification Log
Due to an ongoing event your notifications have been switched to real time until the completion of this PLOT event.
New Skill: Meditation Discovered
Skill Increase: Meditation is now Master 1 (+51)
FEEL THE POWER OF THE VOID, FEEL MY TOUCH. He felt something alright, he felt the pieces of the shard heating up, and forcing their way deeper into his flesh. The pain was excruciating. In fact, he didn¡¯t know anything in the game could even hurt like this. If he wasn¡¯t used to the pain in his real, former life he would have emergency exited the game. """"
System Notification
Fragments of the Shard of the Void, bathed in the Chaotic Energies of the Void, have caused your body to evolve. At the end of this process you will have become the first member of a new sub-race of elf. Please review the choices below and select the option you prefer.
Abyssal Elf Demons dwell in the Abyss, which floats in the Void. Long banished from the world of Koral, demons will be re-entering the plane and you can serve your elder kin as their vanguard. Abyssal Elves are a cross between your pre-existing Dark Elf sub-race and Demons, and as such have all the abilities and bonuses of that sub-race as well as the following.
  • Strength +6
  • Dexterity +6
  • Constitution +6
  • Chaos Affinity ¨C You wield the mighty power of Chaos as your magical source
  • Living Weapon ¨C You grow horns and blades all over your body, enabling your very form to become a living weapon
  • Regeneration ¨C Your body regenerates through consuming the souls of your slain foes
Shadow Elf Elves are the children of Light originally, but the Void does not know its touch. The darkness affinity of Dark Elves evolves into Shadow Affinity as your very form becomes one with the element. Shadow Elves are an evolution of Dark Elves, and as such have all the abilities and bonuses of that sub-race as well as the following.
  • Dexterity +6
  • Intelligence +6
  • Essence +10
  • Shadow Affinity ¨C You use the Shadow element as your magical source
  • Shadow Form ¨C The shadow is you, you are the shadow. Ability to move within, and manipulate shadows. Grows with use
  • Shadow Spell ¨C Spells have their own shadows and you are able to use these. Able to learn any spell as a shadow version of itself
The pain continued to ravage his body, making thinking hard, especially the carefully considered kind of thinking he should be doing about such an important choice. That said, it didn¡¯t seem like the pain was going to fade until he made a choice either, so it was something that had to be done. The Abyssal Elf seems to fit the playstyle I have been using better, so far. At least on the surface, and would definitely be more useful in the short term. But, if I am really going to succeed as much as possible at this game, I have to think longterm. Yes, melee combat abilities and regeneration seem like really awesome things, but the potentials as a spellcasting Shadow Elf might pay off better down the line. Linear Warriors & Quadratic Wizards is a thing to remember, magic users mature later than physical fighters but their powerful potential is much, much higher. Also to be considered is that the potential heat I might be under for being a Shadow Elf is probably orders lower than being a little demon hybrid. He mentally selected the Shadow Elf option and immediately felt as if his bones were cracking. His back arched and he scream bloody murder as his body rewrote itself, as the pieces of the Shard shoved themselves into his very DNA. After what seemed years, but was probably minutes, it was over. He could definitely feel that his body was different, but didn¡¯t have the energy to find out how yet. He just lay on the crowd trying to catch his breath. SHADOW ELF? INTERESTING CHOICE. EVEN I DID NOT KNOW WHAT OPTIONS WOULD BE GIVEN TO YOU, BUT THIS SEEMS LIKE ONE THAT WILL AID US BOTH. GO OUT INTO THE WORLD, BECOME STRONGER. MY FIRST DISCIPLE MUST SURVIVE, MUST CONQUER. MUST RAISE A LITTLE HELL. ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU BRING ME SOME BLOOD AS A SACRIFICE SO THAT I MIGHT CONTINUE TO INCREASE MY PRESENCE IN THIS WORLD. AS MY POWER GROWS, SO SHALL YOUR¡¯S. Nothing else was said, but Kalamedra could tell that The Void¡¯s attention was turned elsewhere simply because he felt his body sag into unconsciousness at the cessation of energy being drawn from it. He did not dream, as he never seemed to in Koral, but he awoke completely exhausted. He ignored the notification log and crawled to the pool of water, sticking his head in and drinking as much as he felt able to. He felt some of his energy restored, but was still as weak as a newborn kitten. Alright, before I try to figure this all out, I need to see exactly what has changed.
System Notification Log
Here is a summary of you System Notifications since you last acknowledged your notifications. You are currently set to digest mode. If you would like to receive notifications real time you may do so, otherwise they will simply accrue here until you acknowledge them.
World Notification: The forces of Chaos have breached the gods protection of Koral! Abyssal creatures will soon once more roam the world!
Your Faith has changed, you are now a worshipper of the Void
Belief Increase: Your Belief in the Void is now 1 (+1)
Your race has changed. You are the first Shadow Elf!
You have gained the title Lord Void¡¯s Disciple
New Skill: Shadow Affinity Discovered
Skill Increase: Shadow Affinity is now Grandmaster 100 (+200)
New Skill: Shadow Form Discovered
Skill Increase: Shadow Form is now Grandmaster 100 (+200)
New Skill: Shadow Spell Discovered
Skill Increase: Shadow Spell is now Beginner 1 (+1)
Ability Increase: Your Dexterity is now 20 (+6)
Ability Increase: Your Intelligence is now 20 (+6)
Ability Increase: Your Essence is now 20 (+10)
Curious, he called up the interface to view his new title¡¯s effects.
Lord Void¡¯s Disciple
You are the First Disciple of the Void, as well as the first member of the Shadow Elf sub-race. As such, the bonuses for following in the ways of the Void are increased.
Shadow Affinity is maxed because portions of your form are literally made of Shadow.
Shadow Form is maxed because portions of your form are literally made of Shadow.
Well, fuck me sideways. I seem to have come out of this okay, but we¡¯ll see what effect all this has down the road. Definitely do not like that World Notification, and more grateful than ever that I didn¡¯t go down the Abyssal path. No doubt players everywhere are champing at the bit to take on some demons once they get a few levels on. I think my goal should be to rest up a little and then go try out my new abilities, maybe get ahold of spell or two and try to learn them with the Shadow Spell ability. I note that that did not get maxed out, so some work to do there. Since he was still by the pool, he decided to pull himself over to it and take a look at the new him in detail. He had caught a glance when he was getting his drink but had had other things on his mind at that moment. His long white hair was now an indeterminate shifting grey color, his skin had what looked like smoke swirls tattooed all over it, and his eyes were pitch black. Yeah¡­ that won¡¯t stand out. Ok, I will have to work on some ways to disguise this up. For now, I need to rest more. As he pulled some food out of his spatial ring, he brought up his status as he started munching on it. Checking out all the new additions and changes.
Kalamedra
LEVEL 1 XP 500/2000 PLAYED 117:37 hrs
AGE 12 RACE Shadow Elf LOG IN 14:20 03/19/43
SEX Male FAME/INFAMY 0 ALIGNMENT 0
* * * * * * * *
HEALTH 15 MANA 112 STAMINA 64
STR 11 DEX 20 CON 8
INT 20 ESS 20 CHA 8
LCK 20
* * * * * * * *
GOLD 57 SILVER 37 COPPER 103
BOOSTS 1 BELIEF 1
* * * * * * * *
LANGUAGE Common GUILD None CITIZENSHIP None
FAITH the Void LIEGE None
PKILL 0 TITLES Dark Elf, Lord Void''s Disciple
Interlude II : LAW The palace of the gods was, unsurprisingly, on the peak of a sacred mountain. It was a massive complex, almost a small city, that was created out of seamless shimmering white stone. Solomonic columns were used everywhere, the tight twisting patterns coaxing the eye skyward. The place was very magical, mystical and uplifting. It was no wonder the mortal servants of the gods were overawed when their patrons brought them to this holy place. LAW and a number of other individuals were sitting around a picnic table in the middle of an olive grove, quaffing wine, telling bad jokes and laughing. It wasn¡¯t often that LAW let his hair down, but when he did they all thought he was a lot of fun. As the Overgod of Koral, he had many concerns and tasks that took up much of his time and attention. Also, he was generally seen as an old curmudgeon by many of the more youthful deities. ¡°I needed this. I have been forced to spread myself thin, teaching these new Travelers how the world works. If I had my way I would not let them enter this world. Look at how they fucked it up last time! Alas, the Creators were quite clear that this invasion was their will. I only administer their Creation¡­¡± LAW sighed as he took another sip of the red wine, a bit of it spilling in to his long white beard. The gods cast a look between them, tacitly agreeing no one would say anything about that. ¡°And the stuff they get up to! One of them tried to steal one of my holy healing gems from my temple at Dar¡¯shon! Of course, I blasted her to smithereens but that lightning bolt blackened the floor. The acolytes have been trying to scrub the floors clean for two days!¡± Menerva stamped her sandaled foot on the dirt, trying to look fierce and angry. Unfortunately for her, the look on her face was adorable. ¡°Yes, they have no sense of place. That makes them great nuisances¡­ or amazing tools. Several have already approached my temples seeking to become Battleborn. They seem eager to take on the mantle of the Wargod. They are far more flippant with their lives, even as they die like any other of our children. I quite like them. They have balls!¡± Ares tossed back a whole goblet of the rich, red wine and let out a joyous shout they normally only heard him express in battle. LAW held up a withered old hand, the sleeve of his saffron robe falling back to reveal a forearm more bone than flesh, and the gods fell silent. ¡°Yes, yes. They are not one and all villains, or heroes, but they are forces of chaos simply because they seem to live by their own set of rules. I do encourage you to recruit any you can, for we all know the dangers that hide in the darkness of this world. Better to lose a few Travelers along the way than multitudes of our children, I think we can all agree. And I remind you all of the Creators¡¯ edict; no one may reveal to our mortal followers which people are Travelers.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. A grumble sounded from the crowd of gods, but it was not too serious. No matter how annoying Travelers were, they were merely mortal. Maybe exceptional mortals, compared to most of the residents of Koral, but mortal all the same. ¡°That said, you can have your servants, local and Traveler, seek to keep Order in your name. Those that transgress, that cross the lines of behavior we impose, those you may aim your followers against. And yes, I know this means your servants will be fighting amongst themselves sometimes, as well all know that none of you really agree on what is appropriate behavior.¡± The majority of the deities ended up taking long looks at some of the deities known for killing, thieving and lechery. ¡°This is definitely the beginning of a new era, but we knew it was coming. I just want us to work together to keep it Orderly. The squabbles of the mortals are something to entertain ourselves with, as long as they are kept within bounds.¡± The collected immortals all nodded their heads at this. ¡°Now, let us discuss the first war of this new era. I think that¡­¡± There was an ominous sound that reverberated through the grove. Whatever the sound of terror in your own soul is, that is what each deity experienced. The aura of conviviality was shattered, the sense of peace on the mountain top was toppled. An aura of uneasiness now pervaded this spot, making everyone uncomfortable in their own skin.
World Notification: The forces of Chaos have breached the gods protection of Koral! Abyssal creatures will soon once more roam the world!
¡°What the actual fuck!¡± LAW screeched. Suddenly giant bolts of fire rained from the heavens, denuding the holy mountain of all vegetation. The gods fled. They had not seen LAW like this since the Travelers arrival 48 years before. One by one the deities forms flicker, disappeared, sped away or dispersed. The VOID had returned to Koral. Shit just got real. Chapter Eight Kalamedra had spent almost all of his 5 days in-game so far in the journey to get to this hidden Temple, and now he was here a few hours and he was ready to leave. He tried to convince himself that his desire to depart had nothing to do with the rent in reality that now hung over the stone altar. He tried real hard. It¡¯s better if I go out into the world and test out my new abilities, and find some spells to convert to Shadow Spells. Also, I am sure that being the First Disciple of the Big Bad is going to bring a lot of ¡°heroes¡± across my path, sooner or later. I better be able to protect myself and escape, because I don¡¯t plan to go out like that. Beside the changes to his skin, eyes and hair he could also feel the difference in his body, especially when standing in areas of shadow. To be fair, it was pretty dark in the cave but there were spots of deeper darkness, concealed from the light of the glowing moss. When he stood in those spots, he could actually feel his body fading in to the shadow, dispersing into the stuff. He could also sense any shadows around him, and move from one shadow to another with merely a thought. He had no doubt that this was because of his Shadow Form being maxed out due to his First Disciple title. The myriad of ways this could be used both offensively and defensively in combat were endless. The only question was how he was going to be in sunlight, hopefully he didn¡¯t suffer like vampires. Another thing was that his Dexterity was now 20, which he knew was considered end-game type stats in Koral. He literally felt like he was moving too fast every time he tried to do something, and he had innate acrobatic skills now that he had never imagined he would possess. He carefully packed up any food scraps into his ring, settled his sword through his belt, and brushed the dust off his clothes. He also changed his interface settings so that he would now get gains as they happened, figuring that it was becoming too difficult to really judge what aided his gains the most when he just reviewed them all later. As he reached the end of the tunnel, the chasm yawning before him, he noticed that he could now see through the supernatural darkness as if it was regular gloom. Clearly his new pitch-black eyes were more than decorative. He looked down into the depths of the put and saw that while it was a good 100 feet down ¨C sure to be deadly! ¨C it was not endless. It did appear though that there was a deep layer of sand at the bottom cushioning the sound of anything that fell. The people who built this place were clever, clever fucks. Anything that went down there would never make a sound at the bottom, so it just sounds like it never hits bottom. This whole place is like a Test for those who are trying to find the Temple. The Void¡¯s Temple now, I guess. Oh well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be back here unless summoned. Standing next to a nuclar reactor is not my idea of fun. With his new Dexterity it was a breeze to walk his way up the crevasse, leaping up out of it onto the side of the cliff and rolling down a few times before springing up and doing a forward front-flip to land at the base of the Cliffside. Badass. Bad ass!
System Notification
New Skill: Acrobatics Discovered
Skill Increase: Acrobatics is now Beginner 5 (+5)
One of the things he had been discovering is that if you showed that you had command of a skill the system would reward you with better gains, at least to start. So by showing that he understand, at least in part, the way to use his new physical attributes the game had rewarded him with a greater skill rating. As for the skill ratings, they seemed to be more an indicator of the extent you could use that skill, rather than an artificial way of using that skill. For example, you get a higher skill rating of swordsmanship by learning to use your sword through repetition and training, you don¡¯t learn to use the sword better by having a better skill. With a sense of freedom, and wonder, he stepped into the shadow of a nearby tree and then from there he jumped from shadow to shadow, making his way to the top of the crown of the highest tree around. Standing on the top of the tree was one of the scariest, and most liberating, experiences of his life. To be so high, to see so much, and to know that he was only the shadow of a leaf away from leaping to safety. THIS! This is the reason I spent the money, that I took the risk! So that I can spend what time I have left experiencing a freedom I never had in my whole ¡°real¡± life. It¡¯s been a little over 5 days in Koral, which means roughly 5 hours out there in the ¡°real¡± world. I have lived more in those 5 hours than I have in the last 20 years. Fuck letting anyone take this from me. I am Kalamedra now, and I will not let anyone destroy this. I¡¯m tied to the VOID now, so that¡¯s the game I gotta play. And if I have to play, I am going to play to win. Kalamedra lifted his arms up, leaned his head back and yelled as loud as he could, ¡°I¡¯m the King of the World!¡± At that moment he felt so powerful that he totally missed that his body tipped right over backward, following his head¡¯s momentum and he plummeted towards the ground at a prodigious rate. ¡°Oh, fuck my life!¡± As the ground, and his end, rapidly approached he grabbed at anything he could, willing himself to live. As his arms reached and grasped, and branches pulled through his fingers ripping skin and flesh, he felt something coil out of a shadow close by and wrap around his forearm. With a sickening sound his precipitous descent stopped, and the pain in his left shoulder began. He used the last of his energy to swing himself over to a branch and grab it with his legs. ¡°OH FUCKING HELL THAT HURTS!¡± He pulled himself into a shadow and used that to leap down into a shadow at the base of the tree, his body going limp as his cooling muscles tightened. His shoulder hurt like a bitch. He moved it a little to make sure it wasn¡¯t dislocated but it seemed like that shadow tendril knew its business and had swung his weight rather than jerking it. Lesson learned. Don¡¯t get high on your own supply. He rested a while, sitting in the shadow of a tree. He noticed that he seemed to be repairing his sore muscles at a faster than normal rate in the shadow. It was clear that having a max Shadow Form had more bonuses than he had realized. Once his arm was merely sore, instead of agony, he used the shadow to climb back up to the peak of the highest tree so he could take in the surrounding area and see if there was anything interesting. Behind the hill and cliff-face to the west there was rolling foothills that led up to an imposing mountain range. To the north there was more forest, and an open area where the burned out, salted remains of a town lay. To the south there was a swamp, and then a massive bayou area, beyond which was a lake so large it might be called and inland sea. To the east was more forest and then the road beyond that, leading in to the still-civilized area of the former empire. I am not really sure of the political landscape in the former empire, except to know that the Agelastan Empire no longer exists as a political unit. I think I heard some scraps of conversation in Far Westburg that led me to believe that it is now a series of city-states, and small areas ruled by the local nobles. I could make my way back towards the east and see what I can find. Surely there is some kind of dungeons or monster populations, it is a game after-all. I need xp, and armor, and spell scrolls, and some money. Lots to do, but I have some skills that should help me survive now. With a smile, he skillfully leaped down to a branch , stepped in to a shadow and then had fun going from shadow to shadow all the way to the ground. When he got to the ground he felt ill, and tired. Checking his bars on his view, he saw that that had depleted his stamina, and noted that for the future. He took some food from his spatial ring and ate it, restoring some of his stamina and then set off to the east, to find the road and back the way he had come so recently. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. He walked for a few hours, keeping a low speed so that his stamina would continue refilling, until he heard the sound of men fighting and dying nearby. Quickly he got off the main road and into some scrub brush by the side of the road, starting to move toward the sound which seemed to be coming from around the next bend in the road. As he moved closer he could hear the sound of metal weapons ringing off armor, and thudding off shields. The sound of arrows sawing through the air like so many angry bees was especially easy to pick out.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Hide is now Beginner 5 (+2)
Skill Increase: Perception is now Beginner 2 (+1)
Skill Increase: Sneak is now Beginner 5 (+2)
He finally got close enough to the fight to see the barest hints of the combat, so he stepped into a shadow and leaped to one up in the foliage of a tree near the road. He was sitting in the crook of a limb, swathed in darkness as he took in the fight. There was a wagon stopped in the road before a tree which had been across it. There was a male elf kneeling in the back of the wagon rapidly firing a shortbow at four grungy bandits who were fighting a human and another elf hand to hand nearby. The human was a tall man, with long blond hair spilling out of a steel helm, and a maille shirt. He had a round wooden shield, and a longsword and was skillfully holding off two of the scruffy bandits. The other elf meleer was wielding two short swords, holding off the other two bandits, moving in an unpredictable manner and straight up avoiding many of the blows. That is a high dodge skill in action there. That is definitely something I need to work on with my new high Dexterity. My strength is still barely above average, so dodging seems better than having too heavy of armor, although ¡°some¡± is worlds better than ¡°none¡±. Kalamedra made his move, stepping down into one of the bandit¡¯s shadows. The dwarf was wearing a maille shirt that had seen better days, rents were open in several spots where previous owners had been pierced. His iron-grey hair was in a unkempt Mohawk, and the bottom edge of it was a great marker for where his skull met his spine. Kalamedra grabbed the hilt of his sword, bent forward slightly pulling it out at the same time his left hand pulled the scabbard away, and pulled it free with a terrifying speed. The black metal blade hit the top of the dwarf¡¯s spine, parting the flesh like a hot knife through butter. Blood and bone chips exploded out on either side of the blade as it quickly severed the spinal cord, and the dwarf dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
System Notification
Skill Increase: One-Handed Swords is now Beginner 2 (+1)
Skill Increase: Two-Handed Swords is now Beginner 4 (+1)
XP Increase: You have gained 200xp
Without pausing, Kalamedra put his left hand on the hilt and jerked the blade back out as the dwarf started to fall, bringing the hilt back up by the right side of his head and then swinging it to the left with hack that severed the next human bandit¡¯s right shoulder. With another jerk he pulled the sword back out. The human bandit turned towards him and lost focus on the human merchant guard, and in that moment the hulking man chopped off the left side of the human bandit¡¯s face.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Two-Handed Swords is now Beginner 5 (+1)
XP Increase: You have gained 200xp
Kalamedra ran with a burst of speed behind the remaining two bandits, both humans, and chopped them each on the back of their right legs, severing the tendons and forcing them to go down on one knee. He then moved over about 10 feet away from the fight. The human merchant guard moved over to assist his elven comrade and they quickly defeated the two kneeling foes. The elven archer just held his position on the wagon, clearly not wanting to fire into combat at the moment.
System Notification
XP Increase: You have gained 100xp
XP Increase: You have gained 100xp
Kalamedra flicked the blood off his blade, noting to remind himself later to properly clean it, and sheathed it in his scabbard. He watched the guards and merchant start looting the bandits, and they were watching him at the same time as well. The two elves were especially rude with the way they were staring at his features. The silence was deafening after the din of battle. ¡°Thanks for stepping in, young one. Rare to see someone your age out in the wilds, with such skill,¡± the female elf said suspiciously. She was carefully observing his elven ears and build, and undoubtedly trying to place his skin coloring. ¡°I¡¯m not as young as I look. I¡¯ve lived quite a bit for my age.¡± To say the least, I spent a whole lifetime in a human body before stuffing myself into this 12-year-old elf. ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to see you done in by such trash as these.¡± The human guard kept digging through the pouches of the bandits, and checking anywhere they might have stashed a tasty bit of loot. The male elf looked up from his looting towards Kalamedra and shrugged ruefully. ¡°I always say, don¡¯t look a gift horse in the mouth. I¡¯m Jaris, a merchant out of Alvim, and these two are my guards. You have my sincere thanks for helping us win that fight without suffering any serious losses.¡± ¡°Your thanks are worth their weight in gold.¡± The elf¡¯s forehead wrinkled as he worked that one out, and then his lips acquired a wry grin. ¡°Ah, looking for a reward for your help then? And here I thought you stepped in out of the goodness of your heart.¡± ¡°You paid your guards. They weren¡¯t enough to save you, or your goods. I think the blade that turned the tide in your favor deserves some compensation. Plus, we are in the literal middle of fucking nowhere. Providence deserves it¡¯s due as well, I¡¯ll collect on their behalf.¡± The female elf and human both looked like they wanted to say something as he had just implied their skills were not up to the task of defending Jaris. They definitely would have said something, except the small fear in their hearts that this implication was in fact correct. They glared at him, and he saw the human¡¯s hand slide a little towards his scabbarded longsword before stopping himself. ¡°Hmph, not exactly a hero out of the songs, but I guess that is too much to expect from one so unique as yourself. Very well, come and see if any of my goods would be a suitable reward, according to your lights.¡± Deciding that shame is a luxury for those who can afford it, Kalamedra made his way over to the wagon. Jaris came over and opened a few chests full of goods, many of them utilitarian such as simple tools and survival gear and waved his hand over them like it was gold he was offering. After digging around for a few moments Kalamedra took out a small spyglass, and some pliers, metal wedges and spare maille rings. ¡°Small enough recompense for aiding you, I think. I am going to take the least shitty of the maille hauberks as well. Glad we could do this amicably.¡± ¡°Very well, stranger. I am glad to have my life, after all.¡± The words sounded bitter. Someone¡¯s salty. Chapter Nine The fire was low, just embers really, but they provided sufficient light for Kalamedra¡¯s onyx eyes to see like it was daytime. He was leaning against a log, deep in the forest, at least a couple miles from the road. He had found a spring and decided to camp here for a while as he tailored his new armor. Using his new pliers and the spare rings and wedges he had repaired the maille hauberk, but he had also taken out rows vertically and horizontally so that it more tightly fitted his torso. The more rings, the more weight, the slower he would be. The hauberk now came down slightly past his belt, so that when he was standing with his hands above his head it did not expose his belly. The sleeves now only extended past the bottoms of his shoulders and he expanded the armpits with spare rings so that he had a greater range of motion. It was a fairly decent piece of ironmongery at some point, even if the bandits had let it get ravaged over time, but it was clearly made as a standardized design, and not customized like it was now. Who knew that a past that contained experience in Historical Reenactment would pay dividends in a video game? Not the first time I have had to repair some wedge-riveted maille. I guess I am mostly impressed that it is so accurate, and that the game spent the time to make itself so deep as to allow customization of the fit of armor. I guess we are having to live in these skins tho, although stuff like clothing seems to resize. The more I play, the more obvious it is that K.O.R.A.L. has multiple levels. You can play it as a game, using the game features and standardization, or you can really become part of the world and have a much more in-depth experience. I have a feeling a few years down the road that is what is going to separate the people who succeed here from the ones just following in their wake.
System Notification
New Skill: Armor Crafting Discovered
Skill Increase: Armor Crafting is now Beginner 5 (+5)
Skill Increase: Appraise is now Beginner 3 (+2)
Kalamedra¡¯s Maille Hauberk
What started as a basic munitions-grade hauberk from the workshops of Dar¡¯shon has been customized to fit the physique of Kalamedra. This provides more movement and less weight to hinder him in combat. All bonuses only apply when worn by Kalamedra.
Defense: 6
Bonus Properties: Reduced Penalty to Hide/Sneak, Reduced Speed Penalty
Weight: 12 lbs.
Grinning, he pulled his new maille hauberk over his dun linen shirt and toed his belt over it. With the belt taking some of the weight, and it¡¯s reduced size it felt like a slightly weighty coat. He jumped up and down a few times to test the fit, and then turned a cartwheel into a forward flip. He could feel that the slight weight added was not even a minor hindrance to his high Dexterity. He put the tools and supplies away in his spatial ring, including the bits he cut out of the hauberk in case he needed them for repairs. He pushed the lacquered scabbard back through his belt and kicked pile of dirt over onto his coals to kill the fire. Setting out in the night through the forest, he continued to head east. Sometime after midnight he started to notice a glow in the distance, as if there was a large source of light ahead. As he kept walking in that direction he could see that it was a large campfire, on the edge of being a bonfire. He could hear people laughing and eating, snatches of songs and ribald jokes. He moved forward, darting from shadow to shadow to maintain his cover until he got within about 30 feet of the fire and could take a good look. It was a large band of robbers and thieves, about 20 of them. You could tell that because they didn¡¯t give a shit about their gear. They stole it from others and could not be assed to keep it up or clean it. Perfectly good armor and weapons were left to rust and fall apart. They were sitting around a large fire either on hewn tree trunks, or leaning back against their saddles. It was a mix of men and women, all looking pretty rough and grizzled, and they were definitely enjoying some ill-gotten gains. A picket-line of horses stood on the far side of camp. The first surprising thing that Kalamedra noticed was that they had no one on guard duty. Everyone was facing the fire and was assured to have no night vision. It was enough to keep even a dwarf or elf from seeing anything in the night. The next thing was that the ones who were asleep, or dead drunk, were just lying on the grass outside the ring of light cast by the fire. It was an opportunity too good to pass up. And here we have the wild banditi of the Koral forest. These vicious creatures are known for their savagery against those weaker than themselves, but flee in terror when confronted with the unknown. They are known to be valued for their value as xp by the roaming adventurers of this land. Also, they sometimes have good shit. Chuckling quietly at his own joke, he summoned the os-so-sharp dagger that he had acquired from Laf¡¯aera from his spatial ring, the weight feeling like sweet, sweet murder in his hand. He moved carefully up on the nearest dozing bandit to himself, about 10 feet closer to the fire than his current hiding spot.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Hide is now Novice 1 (+1)
Skill Increase: Sneak is now Novice 1 (+1)
His target was a elven lady of adult years, sweet-looking at first until he noticed the blood left carelessly on her face and armor. He could feel her aura and realized that she was a Dark Elf. With a last pounce forward, he slammed his left hand down over her mouth, his right hand driving the dagger straight in through her right temple. He felt her body jerk and shudder, but quickly her struggling ceased. He cut the woman¡¯s coinpurse free and dumped it into his ring.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Dagger is now Beginner 4 (+1)
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
He froze for a moment to see if his attack had been noticed but everyone was continuing with their carousing. He carefully moved to his left, to where a scruffy human, looking about 18 years-old, was sleeping on his side. He was clutching an empty wine skin like it was his teddy bear. As he stabbed the bandit through the temple, a slight sound made it past his muffling hand and the young man¡¯s booted foot kicked against the ground a few times as he spasmed in death. Not taking any chances, Kalamedra grabbed the man¡¯s coins and stepped from the man¡¯s shadow into a shadow under a tree about 20 feet farther from the fire and waited to see if anyone was being wary or perceptive at all.
System Notification
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
No one has noticed at all. These guys are just too confident in their own strength to be worried about a lone enemy sneaking around their camp, offing them one by one. Well, death is the price of stupidity. These guys are going to get me my next level, and if it turns into an all out brawl, I can retreat into the shadows. Three more lightning strikes and he was back in the treeline, catching his breath and letting his stamina pool recover. He carefully wiped the blade of the dagger off with a wad of grass. He dumped their coin purses into the storage ring, letting it autosort their coins.
System Notification
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
Level Increase: You have reached Level 2! You gain 5hp, 2mp and 1 Boost!
He carefully reviewed the layout now, having reduced the foes from 19 down to 14. He had eliminated the ones who were sleeping, the rest were still having a good old party round the fire. If he wanted to take the whole group out he was going to have to figure out a way to take out some more individuals first. As one huge brute got up from the fire, throwing a half-filled drinking horn down on the ground, and headed into the woods to answer nature¡¯s call, Kalamedra realized how he could do that. He quickly moved in the treeline, circling the encampment to get a quarter way around to where the man had entered the woods he started to consider his plan. He found the man, taking a leak while leaning against a tree and saw that the first problem he would have to overcome was height. The bandit was at least 2 feet taller than him, and quite burly so that really limited his strike zone. Putting the dagger back in the ring, he leaped into a shadow on a branch of the tree the bandit was leaning against. He pulled the leather things from his ring and wrapped them around each hand. Taking a deep breath, he jumped down towards the bandit, looping the cords around the bandit¡¯s neck. When his weight hit, the bandit jerked back hard, but kept himself upright by holding on to the tree. The brute started to claw at the leather cords that were digging into his neck, as Kalamedra turned so that he was back to back with the bandit, making the cords even tighter. He pushed his boots against the backs of the bandit¡¯s muscular thighs, increasing the strangling pressure. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. The bandit started to stagger around, trying to pull the cords away but Kalamedra kept up the pressure. After a few moments the huge bandit sagged to the ground and Kalamedra quickly got his dagger out and slit the man¡¯s throat, the blood spilling out in the pale moonlight like so much spilled wine.
System Notification
Ability Increase: Your Strength is now 12 (+1)
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
Not pausing to loot his fallen foe, besides cutting off his coin pouch and dumping the money in his ring, Kalamedra returned to observing the bandits. After perhaps 10 minutes, he saw a man and a woman who had been making out as they drank get up and head off into the treeline, carrying a horse blanket. He didn¡¯t change positions as they were going to enter about 10 feet from his current hiding spot, he just lowered himself into the shadow even more. The couple walked past, fondling each other drunkenly and they spread the blanket on the ground in a break in the treeline. The man was on top of the woman, and they were kissing wildly, tearing at each other¡¯s clothes. Kalamedra stepped into the man¡¯s shadow, pulled his sword from its scabbard and quickly plunged it through the man¡¯s back and down through the woman¡¯s chest as well. He really put as much strength as he could into it, aiming it to try and pierce both hearts, but at least get the lungs.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Strategic Anatomy is now Beginner 3 (+2)
With a heave, he pulled the blade from their bodies and quickly hacked at the back of the man¡¯s neck, and his head leaped off and rolled into the bushes. Kalamedra quickly kneeled down on the woman¡¯s face, silencing any sounds she might get out and pulled the blade along her throat quickly, feeling it¡¯s sharp edge grinding on the vertebrae.
System Notification
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
He quickly took their coins as well, feeling pretty good about what he must have gathered so far from all his generous donators. He stepped into a shadow up in the heavy foliage of a nearby tree, waiting for someone to come looking for either the big brute, or the amorous duo. He had whittled the bandits down by 8 so far, but the game would surely change once someone noticed people missing, or tried to rouse one of the sleepers. Leaning back against the trunk, he tried to cat-nap while he waited for anyone to come nearby. From the sound volume decreasing over time, it seemed like most of the bandits were seeking their blankets, or just passing out where they sat. Three more times through the next few hours drunken bandits came into the edge of the woods seeking to answer nature¡¯s call. They all seemed headed towards the area the brute was laying, so he assumed that was their normal pissing area. Each time, he quickly stepped into their shadow and dispatched them, taking their coins for his growing collection.
System Notification
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
In the depths of night, when only the crickets could be heard, he left the safety of the trees and stealthily moved up on the remains of the fire, and the fools asleep around it. With malice aforethought, he moved through the crowd stabbing them through the temple, or eye or any other spot that could bring instant death. Seven of them passed with nary a problem.
System Notification
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
XP Increase: You gained 200 XP
He stopped for a moment before the boss. He could tell it was the boss because he had the fanciest armor and weapon, and his stolen clothes had once been finely made as well. He was a tall elf, with a bandolier of daggers across his chest, and sleeping on his side curled around a loaf of bread and a wineskin. Kalamedra leaned over him, stabbing down towards his temple when the elf rolled over and stabbed Kalamedra in the stomach, driving a chisel dagger through the maille shirt. The silence of the night was rent by Kalamedra¡¯s scream of pain, and the TING TING TING of rings shooting off his armor.
System Notification
You have taken 6 (12) damage!
Kalamedra quickly rolled backwards, putting some distance between himself and his foe. ¡°That really fucking hurts, ya know!¡± ¡°Nothing more than you deserve for killing my crew. You have so much blood on your hands the smell gave you away as you got near me, you motherless dog.¡± The elf was scrambling to his own feet, and quickly filled his other hand with another dagger. Kalamedra could tell this one would be no easy meat. He looked down at his left hand, now covered in his own life¡¯s fluid and grimaced. He drew his sword from it¡¯s black-lacquered scabbard with a determination as he faced his first real stand-up fight. If I run now, I¡¯ll always be running from now on. I don¡¯t want to throw this life away, but if I am too cautious I will always be weak. If I can¡¯t have some balls in a digital world, I should just log out and go to a euthanasia center. Fuck that shit! ¡°No one makes me bleed my own blood!¡± As he dashed towards the elf, who was obviously preparing himself to parry the blow with his daggers, he stopped one step short and kicked up a pile of ash into the elf¡¯s eyes. The elf sputtered a little and did a dodge and roll back as the black blade hacked through the space where he had previously been standing. ¡°You some kind of do-gooder? Out to rid the wilderness of all us free-folk? You think you¡¯re better than us, murderer?¡± ¡°You make me laugh. I¡¯m simply a more evolved predator than you, and the reason I am hunting you is that no one will miss your bandit asses.¡± Kalamedra and the elf danced around, changing positioning and exchanging a few sword and dagger flurries without getting through each other¡¯s defenses. Kalamedra tried to move the fight around so that the beginning rays of the rising sun were behind himself. With a battle yell and a charge, he ran towards the elf recklessly. The bandit started back pedaling, increasing the space between them. Kalamedra ran across a shadow cast by a stack of pilfered goods and used it to leap into the elf¡¯s shadow, behind him. Bracing his long, black blade he let the elf ran his own bady onto the chisel tip, piercing his kidney and coming out through his stomach. The elf screamed as Kalamedra started sawing at his guts. Viscera spraying everywhere. Kalamedra finally pulled the sword out through the bottom edge of the elf¡¯s ribcage and kicked him hard in the back of the left knee, forcing the bandit to go down to the ground. With a savage swing more reminiscent of a baseball game than a swordfight, Kalamedra cleaved off the elf¡¯s head, mostly. It was still attached by a few muscles and some skin in the front of the neck, but was completely detached from the spine.
System Notification
XP Increase: You gained 500 XP
Level Increase: You have reached Level 3! You gain 5hp, 2mp and 1 Boost!
Grounding his sword tip in the dirt, Kalamedra breathed hard and heavy, trying to catch his breath. After a moment he sat down on the ground, leaning back against the elf¡¯s rapidly cooling corpse. Winners don¡¯t lose! And I am going to be the one who wins. I have to. But god fucking damn does this hurt! Better check my status.
Kalamedra
LEVEL 3 XP 200/4000 PLAYED 145:24 hrs
AGE 12 RACE Shadow Elf LOG IN 14:20 03/19/43
SEX Male FAME/INFAMY 0 ALIGNMENT 0
* * * * * * * *
HEALTH 14/25 MANA 116 STAMINA 64
STR 12 DEX 20 CON 8
INT 20 ESS 20 CHA 8
LCK 20
* * * * * * * *
GOLD 179 SILVER 89 COPPER 126
BOOSTS 3 BELIEF 1
* * * * * * * *
LANGUAGE Common GUILD None CITIZENSHIP None
FAITH the Void LIEGE None
PKILL 0 TITLES Dark Elf, Lord Void''s Disciple
Interlude III : Axel Axel used a two-handed stroke of the greatsword and the goblin¡¯s head leapt from its shoulders, flipping end over end through the decrepit hut. Three more of the creatures were using their shitty bronze weapons to hack at him, but in his plate armor he was a veritable tank. A quick buttstroke with the pommel dashed the brains out of one, and then he brought his sword back up and down in a heavy slash, cutting the green goblin from shoulder to taint. This one, he had to put his boot on to pull the sword free as it was caught in its pelvis. The last goblin tried to flee at the sight of this attack but Axel was not about to let that happen. He swung the heavy sword one-handed and it snipped through the middle of the goblin¡¯s spine with ease. He moved the cloth door hanging out of the way and walked back out into the goblin village, making sure that his companions were faring well. Yasaera, the elven mage, was lashing about her with fiery attacks, setting huts on fire when no goblins were near enough to catch ablaze. Kargoth Killhammer was bashing in the brains of a goblin babe, his beard full of guts and glory¡­and skull fragments. His eyes were blazing with the chance to kill his hated racial foes. Amos, their human healer, was standing beatifically in the middle of them all, casting heals when any tiny bit of damage got through to his party members. ¡°Remember, my fellows, that Lord Justinian has proclaimed these dark beasts evil by nature. They are the spawn of darkness, and with the forces of chaos returning to our fair world we cannot show any mercy. Kill them all, and let Lord Justinian sort them out.¡± The priest made the sign of his god in the air, and they all felt the majestic presence of that deific being. With this blessing on them, their killing desire magnified and they felt energized to wade into their holy slaughter even more. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Later, after all the goblins were dead, they looted the benighted souls and set the village ablaze to warn the other beasts in this godless wilderness that there was no point in attempting to live. They started their trek back to Far Westburg, which they were making their base for their current campaign. ¡°I think once we have rested, we should try to find that dungeon the old man in the tavern told us about. He said that some miners had broken through into a cave system and that there were leathery lizard monsters down there. Sounds like kobolds to me, and you know they always have treasure,¡± Axel remarked casually as he wiped the blood and guts off his sword. ¡°I agree Brother Axel, such is the type of work my Temple dispatched me from Dar¡¯shon to do. I am so glad I could meet you all and show you the Justice of Lord Justinian. You and your companions have come to be incredible resources for the Temple.¡± ¡°Well, we appreciate how your Temple has been so open-handed with it¡¯s resources as well. This armor,¡± he rapped a fist on his breastplate, ¡°has made me a living terror to the beasts in these parts.¡± ¡°And the scrolls you provided me have greatly increased my spellpower,¡± said the elf wizard humbly. She was juggling a ball of fire from hand to hand, looking for something she could burn. ¡°We are always willing to outfit those who would serve the aims of the Church, and since you have agreed to follow the dictates on this campaign, Lord Justinian provides. Beasts and Travelers must be expunged from these lands so that the goodly people can reinhabity them. Only then can we start to put this land back together.¡± The three adventurers looked at each other, and then nodded resolutely. ¡°I definitely agree!¡± Axel intoned forcefully. Chapter Ten After verifying that the painful wound was not going to kill him anytime soon, Kalamedra set out to loot an entire bandit gang. He already had their money, which had come to 122g52s23c, added to his 57g37s103c, which gave him the whopping total of 179g89s126c. If there was another player 6 days into the game with that kind of money, he would be surprised. But you never knew what those power gamers were capable of. Leaving the boss for last, he went from bandit to bandit systematically searching them. Most of their weapons, armor and gear were so degraded that he didn¡¯t even bother stripping it off them, but there were a few pieces worth saving. He put 3 shortswords, 2 daggers, 4 longswords and a longbow in the spatial ring. He also acquired 2 maille hauberks in sellable condition. He did find a number of rings, necklaces, and bracelets that the thieves had obviously stolen, and pocketed those as well.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Search is now Beginner 5 (+1)
He found a nice black gi-style shirt that wrapped over itself, and a nice red sash-style belt. Putting those in his ring for now, he planned to put them on over his maille hauberk after he repaired the new hole in it. He picked up a bunch of travel food, such as sealed hard cheeses and ropes of sausages, as well as milled oats and rice. He took a nice small pot to boil things in, and 10 skins of wine. Nice to get some more traveling supplies. As long as I have such a killer magical storage device I might as well make the most of it. That was some of the best money I ever spent. Finally making his way back to the elven boss, he rolled the man over and started doing a real serious search on him. He found a couple rings which looked like they might be worth identifying, as well as a necklace. The man¡¯s armor and weapons seemed to be of good quality, but did not give him that feeling that they might be magical. After all this, he was feeling pretty good about his finds but then he considered the pile of stolen goods by the side of the camp. Most of them were not really what he was looking for; large containers of grains, amphorae of wine, and huge stacks of skins. It looked like the bandits had raided an actual merchant caravan and most of it was the goods they had already traded their civilized luxuries for. He did find a couple chests of personal items, mostly clothes and would have passed by them quickly but he got a hunch and started looking through one that had some robes in it, checking to see if he could find any kind of hidden partitions or items.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Search is now Novice 1 (+1)
Bingo! What have we got here? Looks like this chest has a false bottom. I wonder what I¡¯ll find in here? This si so exciting, like opening birthday presents! Skillfully using his sharp dagger he dug up the floor and found a book wrapped in a piece of linen. With shaking hands he pulled the book free of the chest and opened it. This was definitely a book of magic, the first page had a spell he could read, even if the characters seemed a little weird. It was the spell ¡®Identify¡¯, which would come in very, very handy he thought. The next page had the spell ¡®Firebolt¡¯, and he felt like it was Christmas x11. The only other spell he could read was ¡®Summon Familiar¡¯, the rest of the book was crammed with spells but these were written in another form of script that was unintelligible to him. Ok, this fucking rocks! Even if it¡¯s just a couple basic spells I can try and learn them using Shadow Spell, and hopefully after a while I will have the skill to learn more. I have plenty of money so I can buy spells, but who knows how many hoops you have to jump through to get them here. Also, I am in the back end of beyond at the moment. Thank the VOID! YOU ARE WELCOME! BUT REALLY, IT WAS MERELY THE GIFT OF RANDOM CHANCE I HAVE BROUGHT INTO THIS PLANE. YOU ARE ONE OF THE ¡®LUCKY¡¯ ANYWAYS. Shit, shit, shit! Note to self, you know who can hear his name even in your thoughts. Remember that! Deciding that he needed to find a place to fully digest all of his new skills, and learn even more, as well as identify everything he found, Kalamedra prepared to leave the bandit encampment. He left the rest of the loot as it was, thinking that anyone else who found it might have a need, and it wasn¡¯t going to benefit the thieves anymore. He cut the horses loose, knowing that they would only hamper his movement through the wilderness. With his Shadow Form, he was far more mobile than if he was on horseback, and he wasn¡¯t in a hurry to get anywhere until he had learned a spell or two. It was hard to keep a grin off his face. He set off in to the woods, traveling for a few hours in a general eastern direction as he looked for a camping spot. Eventually he came across a little shack sitting next to some overgrown fields. It was clear it had not been inhabited in a long time, the whole thing leaning precipitously, but the roof looked decent. He finally managed to get the door open, only to be welcome by a cloud of dust and the odors of the animals who had denned here in the past. Sitting down gingerly in a wicker chair that groaned under his weight, he wiped off the tiny kitchen table with a scrap of old curtain he ripped down from the window. With great reverence he brought the book out of his spatial ring and set it in front of himself on the table. His eyes glistened as he looked at the finely crafted leather, old-fashioned cord binding, and detailed silver inlay on the cover. .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*IMPERIAL AGELASTAN MAGE CORPS GRIMOIRE*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. This is the reason I originally got into fantasy gaming; Magic! In the ¡°real¡± world I played with swords and armor doing Historical Reenactment, but the closest you could come to throwing a fireball was tossing a beanbag at a LARP, or chucking some d6s at the kitchen table. When I open the cover of this book to really start trying to learn my first spell, this reality is going to surpass ¡°reality¡± for me. I think this might be the happiest I have been in my entire life. Carefully looking through the book, he noted that he could still only read the 3 spells at the front of the book. The other spells were basically in another language. No doubt there was a many more hidden barriers to the sharing of magical knowledge in Koral, but the first seemed to be a magical script. No matter. If everything was solved easily, would this game be fun? Just one more mystery to solve. At some point I need to get in to a real city and find out how all this shit works. I have no real idea if I am ahead or behind the curve. Certainly the locals have the advantages right now. Ok, but which spell to learn first? Gotta be ¡®Identify¡¯ I think. Least chance of something going wrong with a simple spell like that, not going to end up summoning something to devour me or burning this shack down. He flipped back to the first page and intently started reading the information on the spell ¡®Identify¡¯. The book made clear that this was a spell of no particular affinity, and was the recommended first spell to learn because of that. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He remembered that one of the few details of spell-casting that had got out after the Alpha was that it used an affinity system. Some spells only required mana to cast, the appropriate Intelligence to comprehend them, and any affinity. Other spells required a particular affinity for the type of magic the spell used. He stared at the page for a while, reading the instructions, and still felt like something was lacking. He didn¡¯t know why, but the chants and hand movements the spell called for didn¡¯t feel right to him. As he looked at the page he tried to mentally activate his Shadow Spell skill. After staring intently at the vellum for a few more moments, he noticed that shadow was beginning to leak from his pores, and every time he exhaled. The started to move towards the writing as if there was a current, rolling and cresting like tiny waves. He could actually feel a weird tingling sensation when the shadow tendrils started to crawl all over the writing, licking at the ink like so many little tongues. One of those weird shudders went down his spine, and he noticed that the words were actually disappearing from the page. The shadows started to retreat into his body as the page finally was cleared of scribblings, and Kalamedra¡¯s mind started to feel exceedingly strange. He slumped forward onto the table. His body was still, but his mind was racing. Images of mathematical equations, esoteric symbology and wafting clouds of shadows swirled madly leaving him feeling disoriented. When he finally roused from his stupor, and pushed himself up from the table, he took a deep breath. Holy shit! Magic is no joke here! This is why this game is so far beyond anything I¡¯ve played before. It is just more and more reality, and less game, all the time. That was literally the simplest spell in the book!
System Notification
Skill Increase: Shadow Spell is now Beginner 3 (+2)
New Spell: Identify Discovered
He looked outside and saw that it was nearly noon, so he had been unconscious for at least an hour or so. He felt mentally drained, but his body was feeling a little better and he saw that he had regained some hitpoints. Taking a break, he got out some sausage and cheese and started eating, but stopped a few seconds later as a wry grin came over his face. ¡°I¡¯d like to say a prayer of thanks to the god of fools, who let those bandits be so overconfident and easy to kill. Thanks for the sausage and cheese you lousy sons of bitches!¡± He thought he heard a voice giggling in the distance, but wrote it off as his imagination. He quickly went back to eating his food, feeling rather good about the day so far. He carefully brushed the food crumbs off the book as he finished eating. Brushing himself off, he put the black-lacquered scabbard and blade on the table, and removed 2 rings and a necklace from the spatial ring. These were all items that he felt he should try the ¡®Identify¡¯ spell on. He focused his gaze on the weapon, which he knew from mundanely appraising it had some hidden attributes. Identify.
Ka¡¯vanth Sword of Rending
This sword and accompanying scabbard are the work of the Ka¡¯vanth Clan, and are works of exceeding Mastery. Know across the Dark Elven kingdoms for their weapons, this stands at the pinnacle of their efforts.
  • Sharpness: The scabbard keeps this blade exceptionally sharp, ignores 5 Defense
  • Repairing: The scabbard repairs any chips or knicks in the blade every night at midnight.
DMG: 2-8 Slashing
Weight: 3.0lbs
Hell yeah! Not only does ¡®Identify¡¯ fucking rock, this sword is so much cooler than I thought! Gotta say, I noticed that this one spell-casting cost me almost 20% of my mana though, so magic ain¡¯t cheap. Good thing I have started working on some martial skills. Spellsword-Assassin or something. He decided to wait a little while to see how fast his mana pool regenerated and discovered that he currently was regenerating about 1mp every 3 minutes, and the spell had cost 20mp. He could derive a formula for that, but he definitely wasn¡¯t sure of variables and how that formula changed over time or with leveling so it seemed pointless at the moment, just noting in his memory this fact so that he could properly budget his mana pool. He moved on to identifying the 2 rings and the necklace next, repeating the way he used the spell previously.
Ring of Stamina
This ring was crafted by a master mage to provide a bonus to the wearer¡¯s stamina pool. This is a Low-Level Magic Item.
10 Stamina Points
Weight: .1 lbs.
Ring of Regeneration
This ring was crafted by a holy healer to provide it¡¯s wearer with the sacred power of regeneration. This is a Low-Level Magic Item.
Regenerates 1 Health Point per minute
Weight: .1 lbs.
Necklace of Night-Sight
This necklace was crafted by a master mage for a rogue to enable her to see in the dark. This is a Low-Level Magic Item.
Access to skill ¡®Darkvision¡¯ while worn. Any skill rankups are only applicable while necklace is worn. If the necklace is removed the skill ceases to function.
Weight: .2 lbs.
Kalamedra quickly put on both the rings, marveling as he saw his SP bar increasing in size, and as he could feel his flesh start to heal much faster. The necklace he put back in the spatial ring as his sight would not benefit from such an item. Well, that¡¯s awesome! Two useful items is a great pickup, nevermind the whole magic book as well. Also, due to the harsh death system, any kind of item with regeneration is well worth me seeking out. The amount it heals is not that useful in combat, but if I can flee and heal it will be much harder to put me down. I can surely trade that necklace to someone without my ocular benefits. Seems like robbing robbers is an efficient way of getting the good shit, probably because they murdered who knows how many people to find 3 magic items, even of a Low-Level variety. After all this excitement, Kalamedra decided to take a nap before he moved on to learning any other new spells. He put the book back in his ring and climbed up on the table to rest, not trusting the surely vermin-encrusted bed in the corner. His rest passed dreamlessly as always in this world, but he awoke a few hours later feeling refreshed. His body was now fully healed up, and he had regained a little over 50mp, which brought him up to almost 75% of his max. He got down off the table, sat back down on the chair and pulled the magical manual out of his ring and placed it reverently on the table. He turned to the second page, entitled Firebolt. Time to learn my first offensive spell! Chapter Eleven The information on ¡®Firebolt¡¯ was surprisingly in-depth. It made sense that the game would have to use complex physics engines when managing all of the objects in the game, and a spell directly goes and breaks those engines so that brings it to an entirely new level of complexity. He just just hadn¡¯t thought that learning a spell would require him to understand those complexities. It described how the Firebolt is formed from the Fire Affinity and Mana and then how it is released and travels to it¡¯s target. Fucking skillshots! I¡¯m going to have to practice this a lot, or only use it close range. Oh well, you have to start somewhere and I am sure that there are more powerful spells down the road. Hell, I am just learning this all on my own, who knows what I am missing out on. Also, this is a Fire Affinity. I have no Fire Affinity at all, but my Shadow Spell skill is supposed to let me cast spells that require an Affinity, so let¡¯s see how that works out. As he had done for Identify he mentally active his Shadow Spell skill and watched as a fog of shadow poured out of his body and onto the vellum. It was like watching rain run down a window pain and hit another patch of water and then break apart again. The ink started to run and be absorbed by the shadows and slowly it all pulled back into his body again. This time he didn¡¯t pass out, his body did sort of slump back in the chair as his mind was overwhelmed by a parade of imagery. There was a different feeling this time, however, as if the shadows and the spell were mixing in his body, churning and tumbling about. Eventually the internal tempest slowed, and then halted and he could feel it all sort of fall back into place.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Shadow Spell is now Beginner 5 (+2)
New Spell: Shadowbolt Created
Holy shit! Does that say Created? I think it has always said Discovered when I learned something new before. Is Shadow Spell actually creating new spells from the bones of other spells for me? Oh hell yeah! He mentally called up the interface to check out this new arcane spell.
Shadowbolt
This spell was created by Kalamedra, the First Disciple of the Void, from the Fire Affinity Spell ¡®Firebolt¡¯. It¡¯s damage and mana cost are the same as Firebolt, but it deals double damage in areas of Low or No Light, and half damage in areas of Bright Light.
Damage: Variable
Mana: Variable
Well, that is awesome. Not overpowered, as I am guessing that Daylight probably counts as a Bright Light, but very useful from dusk through dawn, and indoors, and probably dungeons as well. It¡¯s cool that my name will live on in the game as well, if I ever teach the spell to anyone else. Come to think of it, I don¡¯t think I saw anything online about Shadow magic. I wonder if the coming of the VOID brought it here? YES IT DID! BEFORE YOU, MY DISICPLE, THERE HAVE BEEN NO SHADOW CASTERS IN KORAL. NEW MAGICS ARE DISCOVERED AND LOST IN THIS WORLD WITH A SURPRISING REGULARITY, BUT THIS ONE HAS NEVER BEEN KNOWN. JUST AS YOU ARE THE FIRST SHADOW ELF, YOU ARE ALSO THE FIRST SHADOW AFFINITY MAGE. A PROGENITOR OF SORTS. Kalamedra felt like his molars were going to explode due to the pressure he was applying to them as the VOID¡¯s mental voice invaded his skull. He kept forgetting that even if he spoke his master¡¯s name mentally that the voice would respond, and make his head ache with the force of that spectral communication. ¡°Great, I am the lone Shadow mage, and Shadow Elf, and follower of this guy. Talk about a loner! At some point I really need to acquire some flunkies. Ha!¡± He rose from his chair and walked out of the shack, into a nearby copse of trees. Might as well try the spell in a non-bright area. He mentally gave the command to form a shadowbolt and he felt the shadows around him contracting into a single point, a ball of darkness that manifested in front of him. He grabbed it with his right hand and tried to think back to his many seasons playing fastball. He threw the ball of shadows, which did not seem to have much weight but did have a firmness to it that could be grasped, in a sidearm motion at a tree about 20 feet away. The shadowbolt flew away unerringly towards the tree and struck slightly to the right of center on the tree with a concussion and explosion of wood and bark. As he was creating the shadowbolt he felt that the damage the bolt could do was limited by the mana he put into it. It was interesting that the spells were on a sliding scale, you could make it small or big. He could only assume that as you got better spells, they just got better effects or something. Definitely knowledge to be pursued down the road. As fun as that was, I want to try and get that last spell converted. This place is probably not a good spot to stay in, and I need to get out into the world and start trying to get more information and levels. I have come a long way but I am so isolated out here, I have no idea what is going on. Also, it is a Massive game, I am going to end up meeting some other Travelers sometime. He returned to the shack and once more began to study the tome. The last spell that was understandable was the one labeled ¡®Summon Familiar¡¯. Being a long-time gamer he was of course acquainted with how this spell was used in other games. Generally a mage would summon an intelligent creature to be his or her helper, like a weasel that could spy for it, or a crow that could look down from on high. It would be interesting to see what Shadow Spell did to it. He had the process down by now, so he sat there and stared at the page in the book as he mentally activated Shadow Spell. The tendrils of darkness snaked their way from his body to the page, from the page to his body and back and forth. Once the page was cleaned of any trace that a spell ever was written there his mind began to hum as his skill worked at crunching the magical formulae. Once he was back to himself he saw the familiar notifications.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Shadow Spell is now Novice 2 (+2)
New Spell: Summon Shadow Created
Another new spell? Oh man, I love that this is what I chose. Everyday I live here is better than anything I experienced out there. Something to be valued and treasured and protected, yes of course, but also something to be exploited and enjoyed.
Summon Shadow
Just as the mages of elemental and divine affinities have their helpers, so do the Shadow casters of Koral. Created by the first Shadow Mage Kalamedra, this spell summons a shadow from the Shadow Plane to assist and serve. If the shadow familiar is destroyed, or dismissed, they may be re-summoned for the cost of 100% of the mage¡¯s mana pool up to once a day.
Shadow Familiars have variable skills and abilities depending on the amount of mana used to summon them and also which ones they have learned or been taught.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He rested for a few minutes to get his bearings once more, feeling eager to try out this last new spell. Once his mental faculties had returned to a normal level, he focused his energy on casting ¡®Summon Shadow¡¯ and felt a very weird sensation as his mana pool was completely drained. The shadows in the shack seemed like they were flowing out to the same point in the middle of the room, the very air shuddering as a singularity of shadows was being formed. Kalamedra¡¯s view went crazy as everything started to stretch, as even the light was drawn into the point and it throbbed and expanded. It seemed like everything just turned to black for a second, and then it all returned to normal. There was, however, now a humanoid shadow moving around in the middle of the room of it¡¯s own volition. Upon noticing that he was looking at it, the shadow started waving at him in an exaggerated manner. Kalamedra forced a weak smile and wave back half-heartedly. This was not exactly what he had expected. Greetings Summoner! I am proud that you have chosen me as your shadow! In all the ages of the past no one has actually summoned one of us to this plane, so I have the honor of being the first! The voice was speaking directly into his mind, and it was feminine. How do you determine a psychic communication¡¯s gender? Kalamedra had no idea, but it still had a way that it sounded in his head and he knew that it was so. Great, more psychic communication. Just what I need is more people poking around in my head. Oh, fuck! Can she hear this? Shadow, are you listening? He spent a moment trying to push his mental voice to the shadow, but he didn¡¯t notice any response from them. ¡°Are you able to hear my thoughts? Can you hear what I am thinking at you?¡± Oh, no! Are you trying to communicate with me telepathically? Does Summoner have the skill of telepathy? I must be failing to understand you. ¡°Uh, no¡­ I don¡¯t have the skill of telepathy. I just didn¡¯t know if you could read my thoughts. And you don¡¯t have to call me Summoner, you can just call me Kala.¡± I am called Xyllowerjakshmi, but you can call me Xyl. You must be an amazing mage to summon me, at such a young age, to this world full of Light. Oh thank you so much, Kala. Kalamedra squinted at the shadowy figure. Without discernable facial features it was a lot harder to read someone¡¯s intent, but he was pretty sure she was fucking with him. ¡°Yeah¡­ look. I¡¯m just a guy trying to make his way in this world, and one of the spells that I have summons you. I don¡¯t think I am so awesome, but I am still not going to take any shit off you. Pretty sure from what the spell¡¯s particulars are that I can compel you, so let¡¯s not get off on the wrong foot. I want to work with you, and I am sure there are ways you can profit from this experience as well, but if I have to I¡¯ll make you my dog and when I say hunt, you¡¯ll hunt. So, don¡¯t fuck with me.¡± The resounding silence echoed in his head for a few moments. A smirk crept onto his lips, which he could not suppress. He slammed the magical tome shut with a *bang* and put it into his spatial ring. Hmm, you are not what I expected at all. He laughed ruefully. ¡°As soon as you expect something from me, you¡¯ll be disappointed. I have no interest in conforming to anyone¡¯s expectations, merely in surviving and thriving in this world. Alright, time to get back on the road.¡± He belted his sword back on, made sure he had all the bits and pieces he had taken out of his ring put back in it, and walked out the shack¡¯s front door. As the late-afternoon sun shone down on him, he was trailed by two shadows, one of which seemed to move on its own. As he walked through the woods, Kalamedra considered his current state of affairs. He now had means of defending himself with his Shadow Form skill, sword-fighting, and long range with his Shadowbolt. He also had a summoned creature to assist him, if they could come to workable terms. A smart-ass shadow seemed like something that might be amusing in a novel, but really be fucking shitty in real life. It¡¯s time to go into more civilized portions of the world and find out what the heck is going on. Learn a little bit more about how magic works, and maybe some sword skills. Also, I¡¯d like to see what magic items they have out there. Long-term I need a place to stay, besides the woods, and also find some companions. Doesn¡¯t matter if they are Travelers or locals, but I will have to be very careful to not reveal myself. I think the only safe path is to never acknowledge I am a Traveler, or that I know anything about them. Eventually he came to that main road, and kept heading east, back towards Far Westburg. Once he got around that town he would come to Yulinh, which he had heard was rebuilt. Yulinh was now it¡¯s own city-state, controlling the countryside around it and ruled by it¡¯s own set of nobles. It was supposedly lawless territory from the edge of Yulinh¡¯s territory through Goran¡¯s Gap, and then until it came to Dar¡¯shon¡¯s land. Do you even know where you are going? Seems like you are just headed down this road to nowhere. I¡¯m just asking. Of course, I¡¯ll go where you lead, that¡¯s a shadows work, but just putting one foot in front of another isn¡¯t going to get you anywhere worthwhile. Kalamedra struggled mightily to avoid rolling his eyes in frustration. He could only hope that he would either learn to block out the summoned shadow, or that he could knock some of the rough edges off. It was just too valuable to have a familiar, even one so chatty¡­and bossy. He trudged on for a few more hours, his boots keeping his feet comfortable and his body now more accustomed to long bouts of walking. He felt something behind him, something watching him. It had that feeling you get when someone means you no good. Hey did you know someone is about to cut your head off? I didn¡¯t think you noticed, but maybe you did. He didn¡¯t say anything, didn¡¯t think. Kalamedra let his weight fall forward, carrying him into a roll. As he moved he felt a slight rush of air as something cut through the space his neck had previously been occupying. He didn¡¯t pause to look back, but rolled forward once more, and used his momentum to do a forward flip, and then he flipped to the side.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Acrobatics is now Novice 1 (+1)
Skill Increase: Dodge is now Novice 1 (+5)
¡°Thanks, Xyl¡± he mumbled. He pulled his sword out, as he turned his head to look behind him. Two tall hobgoblins were standing in the road, one with a sword that had obviously just aimed for Kalamedra¡¯s life, and the other with a wicked looking axe. He could see another hobgoblin in the treeline, his orange-ish brown fur blending in with the tree trunks, with an arrow pulled back to his ear. A huge bugbear was running towards him with a massive maul in his hands, raised as if he was prepared at that exact instant to brain Kalamedra. An evil grin lit up Kalamedra¡¯s face as he looked at his next set of training dummies. ¡°Now this is a proper fantasy fight. Try not to make this too easy!¡± Chapter Twelve He immediately side-stepped to put the two hobgoblin fighters between himself and the archer. The hob-swordsman made a little rush at him, bringing the rusty longsword back before swinging out horizontally at Kalamedra. Using his massive speed, Kalamedra simply ducked the blow and swung out his right leg to cruelly smash into the hob¡¯s balls as the creature finished his rush. ¡°AaaaAaAaAagh!¡± The scream rent the evening¡¯s still air, seemingly changing the peaceful section of road into a charnel house. Kalamedra rolled to his right and stood up quickly bringing his sword down on the back of the bent-over hob¡¯s neck. He felt some resistance as the blade forced it¡¯s way between some vertebrae but then the head leapt away from the neck, a stream of blood the only thing connecting the two. I really do need to get some more strength. I can move faster than almost anyone now, unless there are people using magic to go even faster, but my strength is barely above the standard.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Acrobatics is now Novice 2 (+1)
XP Increase: You have gained 150xp
The body slumped to the ground, quickly staining the nearby area a dark crimson. Kalamedra retreated a few steps, keeping the remaining axe-hob between him and the archer. The bugbear continued pounding towards him, and he set his feet and prepared his sword to receive the giant brown-furred beast. ¡°Hey Xyl, you mind helping me out? You know, since I am your summoner and all¡­¡± Oh, did you need help? Seemed like you were doing fine on your own. I did give you a warning! Aren¡¯t you learning a lot? I just want you to be a successful fighter if that¡¯s the path you want to go down¡­ Kalamedra grit his teeth and resettled his hands on the black sword¡¯s grip. The axe-hob had gotten his nerve back under control and now was making a move towards them as well. The bugbear was about 3 feet away when he simply tripped, seemingly over nothing. Kalamedra did notice that the bugbear had passed over the leg of a shadow though, and he heard a sort of mocking laughter deep in his own mind. It took a massive force of will to not roll his eyes and lose the chance to exploit this opportunity. With a burst of speed he took a step forward onto the massive bugbear¡¯s back and used it as a springboard to launch himself both forward as well as higher in the air. As his leap started to descend he swung the sword two-handed as hard as could at the approaching axe-hob. The sword hit the furry side of the goblinoid¡¯s skull like a knife against the shell of a soft-boiled egg. The skull shattered and the blade slid through the brain like so much goo as the skull disintegrated under the blow.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Two-Handed Swords is now Novice 1 (+1)
XP Increase: You have gained 150xp
He spun around as the bugbear was rising from the ground, having recovered from being someone¡¯s launchpad. Kalamedra started taking hacking blows at the mountain of muscle¡¯ spinal column, barely able to get through the thick fur and tough skin. Eventually he managed to cut through the spinal cord and the bugbear started spasming on the ground, the lower half of his body seemingly paralyzed. *Thunk* The sound warned him, even before the pain set in. He could feel the arrow quivering in his back, just to the right of his own spine. He whirled around to see the hobgoblin archer fiercely showing him a toothy smirk. The archer casually pulled another arrow and put it on the string and started to pull it back. ¡°AAaaAAagh! Fuck you! You motherless piece of shit bitch! AAAAAH!¡± His rage was a terrible thing to see, and it seemed like shadows were dancing around his skin. ¡°I was just walking on this fucking road, minding my own goddamned business. AAAgh! And you¡­.you motherfuckers had to fuck with me!¡± The whole time he was talking a shadowbolt was forming in front of him, and when he had poured every drop of his mana into it, Kalamedra dropped his sword and grabbed it with his right hand. It felt like murder in his palm. He started to run towards the hob-archer who was starting to apprehend the situation he was now in. An arrow whizzed towards Kalamedra, but he saw it coming and moved himself out of the way. Not just a little out of the way like people in books, he jumped at least a foot to the side because he was determined that he would not die before he destroyed this hobgoblin. He did not, however, stop his forward motion. It wasn¡¯t long until he was within a distance he felt he could hit the orange menace. ¡°Little help here, Xyl?¡¯ A sigh sounded in his mind. The hobgoblin was clearly trying to flee at this point but his feet seemed like they were being held in place by the shadow that was covering them. A vicious smile overtook Kalamedra¡¯s face, and he threw the shadowbolt sidearm. It spun beautifully as it approached the hobgoblin¡¯s center of mass. The monster was now shrieking and babbling, but Kalamedra just watched the orb of shadow reach the orange-colored fur. The hobgoblin fucking exploded. The shadowbolt hit it around the solar plexus and there was just this *Bang* and then there was viscera and rib cage everywhere. Some of it splattered on Kalamedra¡¯s stunned face, and one of his hands listlessly reached up to scrape it off. Ok, note to self. That was clearly way too much mana for one hobgoblin. Ok, I have a working scale now. 0% is not enough, and 100% is probably a pinch over. My clothes are gonna stink like high heavens¡­
System Notification
XP Increase: You have gained 150xp
The pain in his back was really starting to get to him at this point. The arrow was just in that perfect middle part of your back you can never reach no matter how you try. After a few minutes struggling, he sighed. ¡°Any chance of a hand here, Xyl?¡± Boy, what did you do before you summoned me? Seems like you really need someone to hold your hand, and extract your arrows. Good thing I am so capable because if you had gotten one of my siblings this would not be going so well for you. Kalamedra rolled his eyes. ¡°Yes, thank you so much for being so amazing. Now¡­ any chance you could help me with this arrow in my back?¡± He felt a cool hand brace on his back, and then the shaft of the arrow was stilled by another. There was a pause for a moment and then his back seemed to explode in pain as the arrow was yanked out. ¡®HEY! That fucking hurt!¡± I never claimed to be a doctor. You¡¯re just lucky that it didn¡¯t get the whole tip through your maille. I was able to pull it out, and that is much more pleasant than having to push it through. Hmmph! Some people are so ungrateful! ¡°Ok, ok, ok. I am sorry. Thank you for your help. It just hurt a lot, that¡¯s all.¡± Kalamedra worked his arms, and did a tentative bend in his back and it hurt but after removing the arrow he could clearly feel his ring of regeneration working. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. A sound caused him to turn back to the scene of the earlier fight. He saw the bugbear was trying to crawl away only using his arms, his legs trailing behind limply. ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot about him in all ¡­ this¡± Kalamedra waved a hand around airily. He walked back to where his sword was lying on the ground, cleaned it off and sheathed it. He then started to walk towards the bugbear, who had made it nearly 20 feet by now. As he followed the trail of blood and crushed vegetation, Kalamedra whistled a jaunty tune. ¡°Bad hobs, bad hobs, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when I come for you?¡± The bugbear just kept trying to crawl away even faster now. ¡°I would let you go, but that¡¯s how these things always start. Someone shows mercy and it comes back to bite them in the end. If all those people who let their foes leave, didn¡¯t, there wouldn¡¯t be so many revenge stories. I am not going to be the star of a revenge story.¡± The bugbear was a massively strong killing machine. True, he did not have control of his lower body but he had incredibly strong arms and a jawful of rending fangs. Kalamedra removed his sword from it¡¯s sheath and chopped off the bugbear¡¯s feet at the lower calf. Blood started to rapidly gush out of the arteries like a punctured water balloon, and then the bugbear¡¯s life ran out and for it the story ended.
System Notification
XP Increase: You have gained 300xp
Kalamedra went around the 3 hobgoblins and bugbear looking for anything to loot, but all of their gear was complete shit. None of it was very good when they had gotten it, and it certainly had not been kept up by them. The weapons were cracked and rusty, or about to snap in the case of the bow, and no self-respecting merchant would ever give him anything for them. By now the sun was completely down, so he decided to get some rest for a while. He stepped into a shadow and used it to go high up into a tree to a shadow in the crook of a large limb. He laid in the shadow letting it¡¯s embrace and his ring knit his wounded flesh. Slightly after midnight, he woke from his refreshing nap and kept heading east. He noticed that since his Dexterity had increased so much, he was making much better time running through the woods and down the road. His boots boosted his speed by a percentage, so they were reinforcing that new speed. By his estimation he was able to run as fast as a horse for a while, but the he would have to rest when his stamina depleted. If he switched from running to jogging periodically he could increase that time substantially. Eventually he could see Far Westburg in the distance. A part of him wanted to enter the town and see what had happened since he had left it nearly a week earlier, but a more sane part of himself remembered the way he had departed. Deciding that Falstaff had it right, and that discretion was the better part of valor, he used the woods to bypass the town entirely. It didn¡¯t take long after passing the town to see that Far Westburg truly was the edge of settled country like he had heard. The road¡¯s quality soon improved, obviously maintained in this stretch, and he could see small villages and farms spread out in the countryside. He soon came to a place where the road going east split into three directions; one straight east, one heading north-east, and another south-east. There was a wooden signpost that clearly labeled the route east as going to the Fortress-City Yulinh, north-east the way to Alvim, and south-east the way to Dar¡¯Kar. It was an easy choice as the road to Dar¡¯shon lead through Yulinh. The other cities might have roads paved with precious metals for all he knew, but the way through Yulinh lead to the center of this world. He quickly picked up his wolf-lope again for a few more hours until the morning rays of dawn encouraged him to find some shadowy shrubberies to take a nap in. He laid comfortably under the brush for a few hours until a cool hand shook him awake, rousing him from an excellent rest. Hey Kala, there are people coming down the road. Quite a lot of them. It¡¯s a troop of soldiers and adventurers. ¡°Thanks, Xyl. Probably nothing to worry about, but good to be wary. Let¡¯s just stay in here and see what we find out.¡± It¡¯s probably just regular traffic but I don¡¯t want to discourage Xyl from being helpful. I think I will just have to learn to live with the disdain and sarcasm, because she was helpful with those hobgoblins, and now. Plus, it¡¯s nice to have someone you know can¡¯t betray you. Kalamedra removed a sausage from his spatial ring and gnawed on it as he laid in the shadowy space, watching the passers-by. There was a decent sized troop of soldiers, clearly from sort of official unit as they had standardized maille on, except their leader who wore a set of pragmatic plate. The soldiers were all marching, one of them carrying a yellow banner with a fortified tower design on it. Their leader was on a large horse, companionably chatting with a few others on horses who were riding beside him. Those people were dressed in a wide array of armor, and all of them had decidedly non-standard weapons as well. Clearly they were adventurers or mercenaries of some kind. They were all headed west towards Far Westburg. ¡°¡­So I sez, I sez, Iron Brad ain¡¯t afeared of no koblods. HA! I grabbed Iron Brad¡¯s best mates and we all started out down t¡¯is road. Ain¡¯t been out to Fer Weestburg in years! Koblods a¡¯ways got t¡¯e good stuff! Good t¡¯ing Iron Brad had a friend staying dere who heard about dem buggers.¡± The man who was talking was one of those horse-riding adventurers, one of a prodigious size. He was talking to the Knight, who was clearly in command of these garrison troops, and that good Sir was valiantly attempting to decipher the words of this adventuring rube. The adventurer was covered in lamellar armor, and had a wide array of weapons strapped all over him. He had a scruffy blond beard, and long blond dreadlocks, and was clearly a figure of great intimidation to the others traveling with him. ¡°Err¡­yes, Iron Brad. Glad you could accompany us from Yulinh. As you know, there was some kind of incident in the town and a few people were murdered. From what we understand, it was Dark Elves that did it. At least, that is the supposition. The two who were murdered were known for their longstanding feud with the Dark Elves of V¡¯espre. Yulinh has decided it is time that the town come under the rule of the Duke, and so we are being sent to garrison the town and make sure the Dark Elves don¡¯t get any ideas. ¡° ¡°Iron Brad knows about dem dirty knife-ears. If dey cause Iron Brad trouble, Iron Brad will use t¡¯ere spindly l¡¯il legs fer toothpicks. ¡° ¡°Yulinh knows it¡¯s friends. Any aid you offer the Duke will be rewarded.¡± The group moved by and Kalamedra just laid there trying to listen to them until even the tramp of feet and the stamp of hooves was lost in the sound of the world. His mind was spinning madly, and he was madly grasping at what he had heard and trying to place it with what he knew. Kobolds are not my concern, not at this point anyways. I had no idea though that the Duke of Yulinh would use my defending myself to extend his control over the town. Something tells me I am not going to be welcome back there anytime soon. Also, I have to wonder if they have put me together with the Dark Elves of V¡¯espre, or if they think it was other Dark Elves beside me. Hmm. This is troubling. Better keep my eyes and ears peeled. Aren¡¯t you glad you are a Shadow Elf? I sure would hate to be a Dark Elf right about now. Seems like everyone hates them, and thinks that they are vengeful murderers. I am sure that no one will blame a Shadow Elf for the sins of a Dark Elf though. ¡°¡­¡± Interlude IV : Ladon & Konik Sweat broke out on her leonine brow, running down her face leaving streaks of darker colored fur. Her eyes were focused on the space in front of her, intent on something that was not visible. The sound of her teeth creaking as they ground against each other was grating to the ear in the worst kind of way. ¡°You still haven¡¯t got it, Ladon? You have been trying to get that new spell to work for two days now. We¡¯re burning daylight here.¡± The words were muffled by the long black scarf that covered the man¡¯s face. Dark hollows perched above the fabric, places where eyes should be, that radiated coldness. ¡°Rawr! Shut up Konik! I told you what the trainer said. I have to imagine the vines bursting from the ground and growing rapidly. It¡¯s not easy! What the hell do you know, anyway? You just stab people!¡± Her lips pulled back in a sneer, revealing the set of razor sharp feline teeth in her jaw. She had the head of a lioness on a female humanoid body, along with thin fur everywhere. Actually, the fur was thicker on the back of her hand-like paws, and on the end of her tail but she was able to deftly use those furry fingers to flip the ghoul off. ¡°Technically, I rip them apart. Daggers are for people who don¡¯t have razor claws. And also, it¡¯s not my fault you didn¡¯t have the money for any of the backer options. This ghoul body is the best thing I have ever had in a game. I can rip people apart, and heal myself by eating them.¡± He held up greyish hands with black claws on the end, flexing them as if he still couldn¡¯t believe how real it felt. ¡°Anyways, my Nature Affinity is still really low. I need to keep casting spells to raise it, since it determines a lot of stuff with magic casting. Essence determines how much mana you have, and how fast it regens. Intelligence determines which spells you can learn, and also your chance to crit with them. And Affinity¡­ that determines your spell failure chance, resistance to the element, and also secondary spell effects! It¡¯s a lot more complicated than your setup!¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The ghoul hunched his hulking shoulders as he leaned against the wall, watching the beastkin try to cast her spell again. ¡°Hey, at least we¡¯re a good team! I¡¯m the sneaky one, and you are the healer and offensive spell caster. We¡¯ll stand a better chance of making something of ourselves here together, rather than those idiots trying to go solo.¡± ¡°Umm hmm¡­¡± she listlessly responded, her tongue sticking out of her mouth awkwardly as she channeled her mana into the spellform once more. Sweat broke out on her face once again, but quickly cleared up as a thorn pushed it¡¯s way through the dirt floor. The weed quickly expanded in size, running across the dirt like a crazed snake. It ran over to the corner and wrapped itself around the soft leather boots the ghoul wore, holding him firmly in place and starting to coil around his lower legs. ¡°Gah! What the actual fuck! Get this shit off me!¡± He reached down with his claws and started ripping at the thorn vines, hissing in pain as they cut into his flesh. ¡°For real, cut this out!¡± The cat-woman just laughed for a few seconds before letting the spell fade. She slumped to the ground against earthen wall and took a deep breath. ¡°See? The magic is worth it. You know, they used to talk about Linear Warriors and Quadratic Wizards in gaming. Better hope you can learn some kind of martial art or something because right now I am about to start kicking your ass.¡± The ghoul dusted himself off without saying much, but thoughts were clearly churning in the mind behind those empty sockets. ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s get out of Alvim. You know these elves don¡¯t like me. Let¡¯s head to Yulinh, get the vibe there. You got your spells, now I need to pick up a few tools and then maybe we can hit a dungeon or something.¡± ¡°Well, we need some money. If we go broke, I can¡¯t even eat your dead ass. We might have to take up some bounty hunting or something.¡± Chapter Thirteen Yulinh finally came into view, the early afternoon sunshine painting it¡¯s grey walls a pastel shade. Like a cat ready to pounce, the high-walled fortress squatted over the road that ran along its base. Even from miles away it was completely obvious just how massive the fortifications were, the guardsmen on the top of the walls like ants. Kalamedra¡¯s footsteps slowed as he took in the impressive sight. ¡°Out of the way, dumb shite! I need to get these rutabagas to market afore they start sweating!¡± Kalamedra looked back over his shoulder at the rumpled farmers leading a donkey-drawn wagon behind him, and stepped off the side of the road. He casually motioned the man to keep moving as his eyes roved the fortress-city¡¯s verges. He had seen the city that was here during Alpha, and this version of it was insanely larger and more imposing. Man, we really fucked them up. They built this place back like Fort Knox and Alcatraz had a love child. They must have spent every moment the first few years building like the Travelers were going to come back any minute. Best I not arouse any suspicions of being one of those folks while I am here. At the same time, there has to be a decent amount of Travelers here by now, the game has been up about 9 hours now, or almost 9 days in-game. This is a good place to show up, get resources and start developing a character without being too obvious about not being from here. The transient population of a large city like this has to be quite impressive. Now, let¡¯s get down to business. Kalamedra stepped back into the road, and the flow of traffic, up to the city gates. The gates themselves were huge, at least 60 feet high and 120 feet across, and flanked on either side by towers. The bottom edge of a portcullis could be seen hanging down like a set of teeth, ready to bite down on any who might invade the sacred ground of Yulinh. Well-armed and alert guards were stationed at the gates, looking through carts as they entered and exited, and questioning travelers. ¡°Name.¡± The words came out gruff, but in a way that had obviously been repeated thousands of times. The guard was an old human, clearly a longtime member of the city watch. ¡°Kala.¡± Kalamedra had never been more aware of how young his voice sounded. ¡°Just Kala?¡± The guard asked questioningly, but with scant interest. ¡°That¡¯s right, just Kala.¡± ¡°Hmm, Kala, where are you from and why are you entering Yulinh?¡± The guard was now peering down at him over the top of his pedestal on which he wrote records. He was clearly taking in this young-looking elf, all by himself except for a sword. ¡°I¡¯m from the barbarian lands out west, beyond Far Westburg. It¡¯s my first time to the big city.¡± He tried to sound enthusiastic as well as na?ve. It wasn¡¯t hard to sound impressed with Yulinh. ¡°And why are you here? Don¡¯t think I heard an answer to that part of the question¡­¡± ¡°Looking to get some training, both in swordsmanship and magic, and sell a few items that I have collected.¡± ¡°Are you sure that you aren¡¯t here to steal from the good people of this city? All you elves seem to get up to trouble, no matter what kind you are.¡± The words came out with a sneer. Kalamedra felt his eyes close as he mastered his feelings. Of course he wasn¡¯t actually an elf, of any kind, in ¡°real¡± life but this world was becoming his home more and more. Compared to the life he lived outside of Koral, it wasn¡¯t shocking that this felt even more real than ¡°real¡± life. That said, when he was slighted for his race in the game, he couldn¡¯t help but take it seriously, and personally. ¡°Nope, I¡¯m pretty sure. I¡¯m just looking to learn a little, and do a little trading. Is there some kind of bond I have to post?¡± ¡°Not yet, not yet.¡± The old man sounded grumpy about this, and so Kalamedra had to suppress a smile. ¡°Alright, so I can enter then?¡± ¡°Stay out of trouble, knife-ear.¡± Kalamedra walked into the city, past the guard station. He made special note of the guard¡¯s features, in case he should ever run into him in a darkened alley. Once he passed the outer gate the roar of the city vastly increased, clearly having been dampened by the thick stone. He followed along with the crowd that was traveling in to the city, the road they were on seemed to be a main thoroughfare leading towards the city center. After walking perhaps 10 minutes he came across a small market in a square that the road crossed. It was obviously a low-level trading area as most people were selling simple goods in small lots; alchemical plants, raw skins and leather, sacks of ore, and basic equipment. Pausing at what was obviously a stall meant to equip new adventurers, he sold the mundane arms and armor he had taken from the bandits. None of it was especially good, he was wearing the best maille shirt, but he did manage to get 5g23s47c for it. This exchange led him to believe that the money he had acquired would go quite far. I guess those bandits were more successful than I thought. They had a lot of trade goods but I didn¡¯t realize the coin they had gathered was quite so much. I better hold on to it until I see prices for training and equipment though. He still had the necklace that granted Darkvision, which he expected would probably be quite valuable to the right person. The idea that you could acquire the skill he planned his whole race choice around as simply a buff from a necklace was pretty shocking, actually. The merchant who purchased his mundane items explained a little about the city¡¯s geography to him. Actually, he seemed a little concerned that such a young elf was going around by himself, and was trying to help him avoid some of the bad areas. The merchant explained that the city has various areas called Quarters, even though there were more than 4 of them. The Noble Quarter, Merchant Quarter, Martial Quarter, Magi Quarter, Sacred Quarter, and Worker Quarter. The Magi Quarter contained several Mage Guilds, the scriveners and bookbinders, alchemists and other people who worked in esoteric areas. The Martial Quarter contained Sword Schools, blade merchants, armorers and the like, as well as the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Before heading to the Magi Quarter, he flipped his hood up over his head, and raised the front part of it to conceal everything below his eyes. It would perhaps be seen as a little suspicious by some, but it was starting to get annoying to get hassled for his age. If I knew it would be this much trouble to be an elf, and to be this young, I might have made some different decisions, but here is where we are now I guess. Let¡¯s go see what I can learn from the Magi Quarter for now. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Watch my back, will you? I am sure this city is already full of thieves, no matter that guard thought I was trying to come in and steal their jobs.¡± He quietly said to Xyl as he made his way through the bustling crowds. When he got to the Magi Quarter he was definitely impressed. The streets were well-maintained, the people looked reasonably well-off, and there was a palpable vibe of energy. It was surprisingly easy to see where the Mage Guilds were as their members seemed to like lounging out front. They were all wearing badges, tattoos, or other items that showed they were members of a particular group. They were joking amongst themselves, or squabbling with other groups. As he entered the area he saw two young mages dueling with spells in an area that was clearly set off for that purpose, a violet ring was set into the ground and there was a perceptible shield of force around them as they tossed spells at each other. They may be older than Kalamedra, and know more spells and more of magic in general, but I get the feeling they haven¡¯t had much experience using their magic in a life-or-death situation. I bet you find the mages that are experienced hanging out somewhere else. This is like middle school! He watched them for a few moments before making his way over to what was evidently a merchant who specialized in magic objects. ¡°The Bell and Book¡± it was titled on the elegant signboard set up outside the two-story brick building. The first floor had actual windows, with many small panes of glass, and inside could be seen shelves full of books and magical reagents. When he opened the door and entered, a gentle chime sounded. ¡°Come in, come in. I assure you, we are open!¡± The voice came from the back of the building, behind several towers and drifts of books. Kalamedra could hear someone shoving furniture aside to get back to the main foyer, and after a moment a decrepit elf came forward, brushing dust off his robes. He looked down at Kalamedra, and after examining him for a moment, a look of mild distaste came over his face. ¡°Well, what do we have here. Something new, but not something desired, I think. Not a Dark Elf, no, but with the aura of one related to my fallen kin. You have a taste of something else though, something dark and shadowy. Oh well, Persil is too old to be making new enemies. What can I do for you, young elf?¡± Kalamedra was shocked. Yes, with his build and pointy ears and such it was relatively easy to see that he was an elf of one kind or another, but he had never expected for some random person to be able to divine so much of his character with such ease. From the way the old mage acted, he was likely a High Elf. Haughty and proud, they were especially down on Dark Elves. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m new to Yulinh, and magic. Just looking to get some information, and maybe some spells. I have money.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure you do. Your sort always does. Spells can be bought, I am a For-Profit business after all, but information. Well, that depends. I tend to like to trade information. It ensures that I never run out of something new to know, and sell.¡± ¡°My sort? Pardon me¡­sir, but I don¡¯t think you have ever met my sort before.¡± The old elf raised a withered eyebrow, and a slight smile rested lightly on his shrunken lips. ¡°Maybe not, but I was implying that you are the sort of elf who takes what he wants, and so always has resources. Not touching on your other attributes, per se.¡± ¡°Hmmph. I¡¯m no pushover, if that¡¯s what you mean. In any case, I have stumbled into a legacy, of a sorts, which has granted me some magical Affinity and I need to learn how to use it. Through unfortunate circumstances, I don¡¯t have anyone I could turn to, so I am looking to get some books on the basics of magic to start.¡± ¡°Intriguing. Tell you what, I will trade you this book on magic ¨C hard to find I assure you! ¨C if you will tell me what sort of elf you are. I have never seen one quite like you, yet I can tell you are descended of the same ancient kin as we all are.¡± He held up an old book, one which Kalamedra could see was written, ¡°IMPERIAL AGELASTAN MAGE CORPS : MAGICAL PRECEPTS¡±. His heart skipped a beat as he recognized it as coming from the same source group as his grimoire. He had to have that book. ¡°I couldn¡¯t interest you in gold?¡± ¡°No, my curiosity has been raised, I have to know.¡± The old elf¡¯s eyes had a glimmer of obsession in them. Clearly his desire to know everything was all-consuming. If Kalamedra did not tell him what he wanted to know, not only would he likely be unable to acquire the magical book, he might not leave this shop alive. Kalamedra sighed heavily. He remembered the old adage, ¡°Three can keep a secret if Two are dead¡± but his secrets would likely not last forever anyway. By releasing the VOID he had put wheels in motion that were a long way from coming to rest. ¡°I¡¯m a Shadow Elf. It¡¯s like a Dark Elf, but not. I¡¯m as much of an elf as you, but my nature also partakes of the nature of Shadows as well.¡± Wordlessly the old elf handed the book over to Kalamedra, his cloudy old eyes alight with the pleasure of knowing something others did not. He started rubbing his hands together and turned to walk back the way he had come. ¡°Hey, we aren¡¯t done yet! I want to look at your scrolls and equipment!¡± ¡°Come back after you read that book, if you can understand it. I guarantee it will make your task a whole lot easier.¡± The reedy old voice faded as the elf squeezed past Mount Manuscript to get into the back of the store again. Having clearly been dismissed, Kalamedra left the shop. The Quarter was the same as before, the same people doing the same things. He couldn¡¯t help feel though that he was different in some way, and that events had just taken another unexpected turn. Oh well, the only protection in this life is to stay on step ahead of everyone else. I guess I better find an inn for now and study this book. Might as well wander over to the Martial Quarter before that though and see if I can find a sword teacher for a few lessons. I may have magic now, and the potential for much more, but that black blade has saved my life an awful lot of times. He moved off towards the Martial Quarter, not noticing the three figures following him a ways back. He definitely didn¡¯t get the sense of being magically scryed. Chapter Fourteen The foot traffic between the Magi Quarter and the Martial Quarter was not that heavy, and Kalamedra easily made his way through the streets. He felt like he had an extra spring in his step, having acquired a book which would let him unlock some of the secrets, or at least basic knowledge, of magic in this world. You know when you skip around like that, I have to keep moving myself so that you don¡¯t end up looking weird down here on the ground. You could be a little more considerate¡­ Kalamedra looked back behind him on the shadow behind him and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not intentionally being a dick, I was just feeling happy. I picked a path with a more difficult way, and now it is starting to pay off.¡± He kept on his way down the cobblestoned boulevard, occasionally slowing to glance at the contents of a shop window or roadside stall. As he was buying some meat on a stick, he noticed 3 young men in azure robes about 50 feet back who seemed to have their eyes on him. He started walking back down the road, tearing yummy strips of meat off the stick.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Perception is now Beginner 3 (+1)
¡°I think I picked up a tail, Xyl. You see those sinister fellows following me? Can you see if they are really trying to track me, or it¡¯s my imagination.¡± You ever see a bird looking at an especially juicy worm? You¡¯re the worm. ¡°Just great. Love it. Can¡¯t I get a break?¡± His voice sounded whiny, even to him and he took a deep breath and straightened himself a little. I could just walk faster and hide in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I suppose, but then I would have no idea what attracted the attention of these guys. I need more information. That¡¯s the one thing that always seems to be true of my situation¡­ Not enough info! He continued walking on for a few more minutes until he was nearing the edge of the Martial Quarter. He had kept his eyes open and he saw that between some buildings on his right was a narrow alley where they were built too close together. He quickly dodged into the alley, intentionally making it seem as if he was fleeing. As soon as he stepped out of the light of day into the shadowed depths of the alley, he stepped through the shadow onto a window ledge on the second story and crouched down. He quickly drew out his dagger from his ring and waited. The 3 young men came rushing in to the end of the alley, peering down its length to try and catch sight of Kalamedra. They were dressed in azure robes that were pouched over belts to give their legs mobility. Two of them had swords out, and the other was a sallow-faced youth with a long staff with a crystal on the end. The youth muttered some words and performed a hand movement and the crystal bloomed with light, illuminating the end of the alley. Kalamedra felt assaulted, sitting on the window ledge he could feel that magical light eating away at the shadow he was perched in. It felt like a pressure from the deep oceans, all over his body trying to press inwards. Well, guess I find out what the counter to my magic is! Gotta stay away from fricking magical light. I wonder if there is Light Magi? Note to self, you are not invincible. At least they are dumb like most people and haven¡¯t looked up yet. ¡°Where the fuck did he go? He ran in here and just disappeared?¡± The azure swordsman pulled out a decent-looking longsword and slashed it back and forth in the empty alley in frustration. ¡°Elder Alv said we supposed to follow him, find out where he went. We weren¡¯t supposed to do anything to him now. Just find out what we can. He got something from Old Man Persil and Alv wants to know what.¡± The staff-wielder was leaning nonchalantly against it, seemingly unconcerned that they lost their quarry. ¡°Right, well since he¡¯s gone, let¡¯s go to the Tavern and get some ale and whores. Not like they will know how long it really took us to follow him and it¡¯s a cleaning day this afternoon at the Guild.¡± A lecherous smile dominated the third man¡¯s face, and was soon repeated on the other two¡¯s visages. The crystal was dimmed with another muttered phrase and the three left the alley, the shadows rapidly refilling it. Kalamedra just sat on the ledge for a while, considering the words he had heard. It was clear that he had made himself a target once again, but not through any of his own intent. In this world, the strong conquer the weak, and only the strong thrive. I am not content to just survive. I need to get stronger, to be stronger. I am already walking that path but I might need to hurry my speed a little. Eventually he was firm in his mind and stepped back into the shadows in the mouth of the alley, storing the dagger back in his ring. He cautiously checked around the corner before moving back into the boulevard, but the azure-clad mischief-makers were long gone. Seeting back off on his journey, he quickly reached the Martial Quarter. It was like there was some invisible dividing line between the Quarters, one moment he was surrounded by robed intellectuals and the next moment his fellow pedestrians were all wearing maille and plate armor, and carrying a wide assortment of battle weapons. The smell in the air changed from ink and apothecarial herbs to cinder, metal and sweat. There was also a palpable haze of blacksmithing smoke in the air. The Martial Quarter was dominated by a huge structure, part medieval inn and part Keep. A tower stood perhaps a 100 feet high, built out of dark-grey stone, and on two sides of it were connected wooden structures of 3 stories that appeared to be sleeping quarters and relaxation areas such as a Tavern. The wooden parts formed two arcs with the tower in the center, all together forming a semicircle with training fields in the middle. This was the Adventurer¡¯s Guild of Yulinh. Yeah, wouldn¡¯t be a fantasy setting without an adventuring guild of some sort. How else would everyone get jobs, or form groups to tackle more difficult dungeons? I guess it¡¯s probably even more important in a game like this without all the global chat channels and LFG tools. I should be able to find out about some of the local Sword Schools, and maybe pick up a job or something. Get the lay of the land. He pulled his hood over his face a little more, lifting the lower part of it over his face up to his eyes as he pushed open the doors of what was obviously the Tavern entrance. The place didn¡¯t go all quiet at his entrance like a movie, but quite a few heads turned to see who was coming in. It was a large, multilevel facility and it had an extremely long bar along the whole back wall, and a truly varied crowd of people were all obviously enjoying their adult beverages. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Seeing he wasn¡¯t invading, or leading the riot squad, everybody went back to what they were doing and Kalamedra stepped in and started walking around the edge of the room towards a large corkboard that covered one whole wall of the establishment. As he drew close, he could see that there were many wanted posters, job requests, and bits of information tacked on the board. There was a bowl of tacks on a small stool near the wall, but nothing to write on. They would help you hang it up, but you had to bring your own paper it seemed. Kalamedra spent over an hour skimming the board, there were literally hundreds of items on it and some were quite densely written. It seemed that in Yulinh you could find jobs as merchant guards and the like, recovering stolen property, or collecting debts. There were also some vaguely written job notices that implied that if you had a few less moral qualms you might get some work of a slightly less legal nature, but as this was a public place they mostly consisted of people requesting to ¡°meet up and see if we would work well together¡­¡±. There were also notices from people trying to form parties to battle local bandits, there seemed to be a bounty on them, and people planning excursions to acquire herbs and magical ingredients in the back country or lawless lands. The most interesting of all though were people trying to form groups to explore local dungeons. Well, I would call them ¡°dungeons¡± from my MMO experience, but these people seem to just say ¡°a cave full of wee green beasties¡±, or ¡°the pit of despair¡±. Seems like anywhere more than a day¡¯s walk from here has a decent chance some wandering tribe of monsters will set up shop there. I don¡¯t know that they are going to have any boss loot but they would probably supply a lot of xp. Kalamedra took note of the details of a few of the better offers before making his way to the bar. He rapped his knuckles on the bar to get the attention of the barkeep, a tall willowy elf. She came over, and leaned forward a little to see him better over the bar. ¡°Can I help you sir? Need a drink?¡± She tried to form an ingratiating smile on her pleasant face, but it must have been a long day since it came out half-hearted. ¡°I¡¯m not thirsty, just need some information. I¡¯m new in these parts. Who do I talk to about getting a room around here for a night or two?¡± He skillfully produced two silvers and put them on the bar, pushing them towards the barkeep. With a swipe of her rag the coins disappeared like they had never been there. She made a show of wiping at the bar for a second before replying. ¡°Well, this Tavern is part of the Guild, but we aren¡¯t an Inn. There is housing here, short or longterm, but you have to become part of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. If you are interested, you can head through the door over by the board you were just at and find out all about it.¡± Kalamedra just nodded at her to show his thanks for the information and started back the way he had just come. As he was about to reach the door, there was the sound of a chair being pushed back across the rough-sawn floor abruptly and then a whistling noise. A half-filled metal tankard hit the wall right beside the door and the ale splashed all over Kalamedra¡¯s cloaked face. He reached his left hand up and used it like a squeegee to scrape what he could of the liquid off as he slowly turned around. At one of the nearer tables there was a tall half-orc standing there, chest rapidly rising and falling as he breathed heavily. He was staring daggers at Kalamedra, and his left hand was white-knuckling on the dagger sheathed on his belt. ¡°Yeah, YOU! I recognize that style of sword you have on, knife ear! I bet if I peeled off that doily you are wearing for a hat I¡¯d find a little Dark Elf under there. You son of a pustulent whore! I fucking hate you little pieces of shit! How dare you even come in here! Are you looking to die?¡± He was now yelling. The other people at his table were holding on to him, attempting to keep him from just throwing himself at Kalamedra in a fit of rage. They were throwing looks at Kalamedra as if they blamed him for riling up the half-orc. ¡°I don¡¯t know you. I don¡¯t give a fuck who you are. You picked the wrong day, pig-boy! Do you want to take this outside?¡± Kalamedra¡¯s voice was quiet and calm. ¡°Fighting is strictly banned in Guild facilities! Dueling between members, however, is allowed and even encouraged.¡± The elven barkeep¡¯s voice filtered through the clamor in the Tavern with a practiced ease. Kalamedra nodded at her once more, and turned quickly to open the door. ¡°Be right back.¡± Through the door was a room that was reminiscent of a doctor¡¯s office from his old life. There was a middle-aged woman sitting behind a nice desk. There were seats around the walls that looked like they would keep you off the floor, but were uncomfortable enough to make you weren¡¯t here loitering. The woman¡¯s face lifted as he came through the doorway, beckoning him over. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I have seen you in here before. You new to Yulinh? Looking to join the premiere adventuring organization in Koral?¡± Her patter was practiced and perfect. ¡°Yup. Just tell me the quickest way to join, how much it costs, how to get a room, and the rules for dueling.¡± She looked as if this was about par for the course, quickly pulling out some forms for Kalamedra to fill out. ¡°As long as you are not wanted by Yulinh, and have not been previously banned from the Guild you can join. The cost is 5 gold coins, and that gets you the right to rent a room here, access to Guild healers for a separate fee, and access to our defense attorneys. As for dueling, the Guild takes no responsibility for loss of limb, life or property.¡± Kalamedra rapidly filled out the forms, a skill that he had mastered in the ¡°real¡± world long ago, and slapped 5 gold coins on the counter. The woman quickly reviewed the information, and then signed off on the form with a flick of her quill. She pushed over a jade slip with some kind of magical seal on it. ¡°This is your Guild card. It will open any room you have access to in the building, and it can be loaded with funds to be used at the Tavern, Healers, or any Guild merchants. It will also let you set up a duel at the dueling spellform outside. Good luck with that!¡± Kalamedra snatched up the jade slip and headed back into the Tavern immediately. The half-orc was now seated again, but was watching the door like a hawk. As soon as Kalamedra walked in their eyes locked and Kalamedra looked pointedly at the main door. With a sarcastic wave of the arm, he motioned for the half-orc to join him outside. The half-orc stood up so rapidly that the chair was thrown over backwards, hitting the ground with a dull thud. The other bar patrons seemed to think this was the height of entertainment, watching with barely concealed glee. The half-orc snatched a battleaxe from his belt and lifted it over his head and bellowed loudly, ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± Well, that is one way to make an entrance. Chapter Fifteen In front of the massive structure that was the Adventurer¡¯s Guild were several training fields. They had obstacle courses, sand pits, terraced fighting areas and weights and other exercise equipment. There was also a dueling ring, pretty much the same as the one Kalamedra had seen in the Magi Quarter, a large roughly circular area with a boundary around the outside of it inscribed with runes and magical sigils. Kalamedra and the half-orc both strode towards that ring, a large crowd following them out of the Tavern. The sound of the crowd was loud and boisterous, a near roar, while the two combatants walked resolutely towards the fighting ring. The sound of bets being made was especially intimidating to Kalamedra as the half-orc was a heavy favorite. The two of them reached a stone pillar in front of the dueling ring which had a place to insert jade slips, up to 16 total. Kalamedra shoved his jade slip in and waited for the half-orc to do so as well, all the time his mind spinning on tactics and options. Here is a chance to establish myself, if I don¡¯t get hurt too bad. Hopefully I can defeat this guy before he does too much to me. If I am lucky he is as rash as he seems and I can use that against him. Here¡¯s a chance to see how I stack up against a true fighter type here. The half-orc produced an unsightly grin on his misshapen visage as he followed Kalamedra in inserting a jade slip. The crowd quieted down at this sight and a cold breeze prickled Kalamedra¡¯s skin. Something unexpected had just occurred and he wasn¡¯t sure yet what it was. ¡°Ha! Ah ha ha! Thanks so much for putting your slip in first, knife ear, and challenging me. As the challenged, I get to pick the weapons and type of fight! I choose that we do not use weapons, let us fight like MEN! I will use my fists to beat you to death! We will fight to the death!¡± The half-orc¡¯s reddish eyes gleamed as he held his hammer-sized fists above his head. The crowd was responding with gasps and head-shaking, and a few cheers from the rampant elf-haters. A middle-aged man in worn leather armor stepped out of the crowd, holding up his hands to quiet everyone down. The raucous crowd took a minute but finally the human could speak. ¡°Rangor, do you have to do it this way? We all know you hate Dark Elves, hell we hear it everytime we see you at the Tavern. That said, if you keep going around killing every elf who comes through the Guild, we are going to get a bad name. Can¡¯t you just beat him up a little? To the death? Really?¡± The middle-aged man was trying to convince the half-orc, but his tone indicated to Kalamedra that he wasn¡¯t going to lower himself to begging. Oh god, I wish you¡¯d beg a little. Fucking death? Against a mutant murder-machine? Fucking fuck all this shit! ¡°Dark Elves are the scum of this planet! The other elves, are just wannabe Dark Elves! I won¡¯t back down, I won¡¯t let up until they are all fucking dead! You know what they did to me Billous! Don¡¯t ask me to fucking go easy on this one!¡± The half-orc¡¯s hand were clenching hard, the sound of cracking knuckles sharp in the air. He pulled a necklace out from behind his battered iron breastplate and let it fall on his chest, the leathery sound of a dozen elf ears feeling like a slap in the face to Kalamedra. After a moment, his temper began to boil. Of course he was not really an elf, Dark or Shadow or any kind, in the ¡°real¡± world but day by day that was meaning less. What was left of his life was sure to be spent in K.O.R.A.L. and in Koral. The difference between those concepts had never felt more stark to him. Those ears, just digital pieces of flotsam, now had an emotional response built into them, even if only because they were meant as a threat to him. ¡°Oh, I see. Take advantage of the new guy. Well, I guess it¡¯ll be the last mistake one of us makes. Since you have made this life and death, I don¡¯t have a choice anymore about how it goes down. Better make your peace with this world, and make yourself ready to spend eternity in hell with your pig-faced mother.¡± The half-orc¡¯s face grew even uglier as he attempted to master his temper, the veins in his neck standing out as thick as a pencil. A few of his pals were trying to hold him back, but he seemed like he was actually holding it together. ¡°Get in the fucking ring! Let¡¯s end this now!¡± The words were ripped from the half-orc¡¯s twisted lips like teeth getting pulled. Kalamedra started walking toward the ring, but Billous held up a hand towards him to halt his path. ¡°No armor in the ring, lad. Wouldn¡¯t learn much about fighting if every bout took an hour to finish. Just drop it all here and you can get it after the match. No one will touch your stuff in the Guild¡¯s estate.¡± ¡°Learn? This is a fucking fight to the death! I am not trying to learn anything! I am just trying to survive!¡± The sense of tension was rising, both in the crowd and within Kalamedra. This was turning out to be much more of a serious thing than he had ever intended. ¡°When you put that jade slip into the pillar, you accepted the rules of the duel. Don¡¯t be a little bitch.¡± I guess that¡¯ll teach me to not read the terms and conditions. Fuck all this shit! Kalamedra and Rangor both started to divest themselves of their equipment, first removing armor and then clothing until they stood there just in their pants and boots. One of them a giant of a man, rippling with muscles and covered in scars and old war wounds. The other was a 12 year-old elf with pale skin covered in what looks like gray tattoo swirls, long grey-tinted silver hair and pointed ears. For sure the pitch black eyes and skin aberrations made a few people suck in their breath, he didn¡¯t look like any Dark Elf they had ever seen, but even more people were made to feel uneasy by the sheer youth of the lad. Cries began to ring out from the crowd as the obvious nature of what was about to occur became obvious. ¡°He¡¯s just a little kid, let him off!¡± ¡°C¡¯mon Rangor! You¡¯re better than this!¡± ¡°Is the Guild just going to let this happen? We¡¯ll lose a lot of face over this!¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Rangor looked at the crowd and just grinned even wider. ¡°I don¡¯t care how they come, big or small, young or old. If it¡¯s an elf, I want their ears on my chain and their bones underground.¡± Kalamedra seriously considered picking up his gear and running for it, but he now had the sneaking suspicion that he should have read those Guild papers a little more closely. It was likely if he tried to run for it, his life might even up worse than if died under the hands of this orc. If Kalamedra died, Mike could still live on, albeit with far fewer resources and choices. If Kalamedra was physically, or socially, crippled by running then it was a no-win solution. The only choice that remained was to rise above his foe, conquer and live. The combatants entered the dueling ring, and Billous worked the pillar and before Kalamedra was ready a screen of force sprung into life around the dueling ring. It clearly separated the fighters from the crowd, and when he touched the bit of it nearest him Kalamedra could clearly feel that it had enormous strength and resiliency. With a resigned look on his face, Kalamedra adapted a wide-legged stance, waiting for the fight to begin. The half-orc was cracking his knuckles, neck, back, shoulders and so many other parts it sounded like someone was doing gymnastics on a mat made of bubble wrap. Suddenly Rangor sprang forward with arms held wide, and hands held to graps. Clearly trying to grapple the young elf from the start he rushed in. Using his high speed, Kalamedra dodged to the side and avoided the half-orc¡¯s grasp. Kalamedra tried to take a kick at Rangor¡¯s leg as he moved past his but it felt like kicking a steel plate.
System Notification
Skill Increase: Dodge is now Novice 2 (+1)
Rangor¡¯s speed was surprising, and he quickly recovered from his missed grab. He spun the opposite way from Kalamedra and threw a backhand at him, which Kalamedra quickly dodged. The half-orc was chuckling, clearly pleased with himself. ¡°See, you have to dodge every blow¡­ I just have to hit you once. Your weak little body will fit in a bread box after you take one blow from me. On the other hand, you can punch and kick me until the Travelers return and it won¡¯t make a lick of difference.¡± A chill grew in Kalamedra¡¯s heart. Rangor lunged again, throwing the fingers on both hands out like claws. Kalamedra tried to dodge to the side once again, but Rangor seemed to anticipate this and side-stepped at the last second so that his right hand swiped along Kalamedra¡¯s cheek, raking the skin away. Pain filled Kalamedra¡¯s head like a swarm of buzzing bees and he quickly dropped his body down and rolled backwards. He quickly came to his feet and took some backwards leaps to put more distance between himself and the hulking half-orc. Rangor licked some of Kalamedra¡¯s blood off his fingers, and laughed darkly. ¡°I will devour you! You are just meat, boy!¡± Kalamedra felt his face burning, and not just from the four long gouges on his cheek. All of a sudden a cruel grin came over his visage and the half-orc stopped chuckling. Kalamedra held his hands out in from of him and all of a sudden a point of darkness formed between them and started growing rapidly as he poured all of his mana into the shadowbolt. The air around his hands seemed to be shuddering at the ferocious way in which the mana was flowing into the throbbing ball of shadows. Shadows were also pouring off his body like a thick fog and snaking into the point of darkness. Rangor roared out in shock and anger and started to rush Kalamedra. His body was thundering forward until he ran into the edge of Kalamedra¡¯s shadow. It was like his feet suddenly became attached to the floor and the rest of him kept traveling forward, his body plummeting to the ground with a savage thud. I have him. Hit him with the spell! The shadowbolt in front of Kalamedra was now fully formed, and hovering slightly over his upraised palm. He stepped forward and pushed the swirling shadow ball of death down on top of Rangor¡¯s skull. There was a dull boom and then a loud pop and fragments of skull were flung around like an exploding land mine.
System Notification
XP Increase: You have gained 400xp
The crowd outside the dueling ring was quiet for a moment as everyone took the sight in, and then immediately a cacophony erupted as people were yelling about unfair practices, cursing as they lost bets or yelling in joy as their underdog paid off in spades. Kalamedra reached a hand off and scraped the bone and brain matter off his face. He couldn¡¯t keep a smirk off his face. ¡°Hey, I just used my body to kill him. Just so happens that my body is the body of a mage. It¡¯s not my fault that he wanted to fight me, and if he beat my skull inside out how many of you would be complaining? I don¡¯t wanna hear any of your shit.¡± Holy shit that was lucky! That guy was a fucking walking tank! If I didn¡¯t get a chance to use that shadowbolt right on a super damaging spot like that I don¡¯t know if I could have beat him! I need to be more careful, I am not a fucking superhero! Billous lowered the force field and Kalamedr started walking out of the ring towards his gear. The human moved over to him and whispered in a low voice, ¡°Good on you for living. Did what you had to. Just want to let you know though, better grow some eyes in the back of your head. Rangor had a lot of friends in the Guild.¡± Kalamedra nodded his thanks to the man and started to put on his gear, acting as if this was all in a day¡¯s work and as calm as the day is long. Inside he was nervous as hell and just trying to avoid showing any weakness in front of these people, many of whom wished he was the one who died in the ring.