《Dragonscale Online Book One: Gilded Dragon Slayer #6》 Progress Updates Hello everyone! This will just be a quick blurb about what''s going on with this piece. I"m assuming I''ll go back and put in edits instead of crowding the piece with updates. I love writing but have never really finished an entire book for and I''d like to, which is part of the reason why I decided to post to this site. Most recently, I worked on two would be novels, both having video game elements, but only made it to about 10-15 thousand words each. I have been scratching my head the last week, truly trying to come up with something I''d want to read, I could see myself playing, and in general something that I could be proud of. I went through three different outlines and kept ruining it for myself. I sat down a couple days and ago and just started writing and it''s actually been pretty great. Anyways, this is going to be a learning experience for me, so I''d appreciate any feedback. I intend to finish the book and look forward to being able to fix it in any way I can. That being said, it is a work in progress and subjected to, no required to, change. So thank you! 1/9 at 2:05 AM: Hi guys! I completed a writing prompt for fun and ended up deciding to use it as the new first chapter. I topped it off and moved a bit from what will now be the second chapter. That puts us at 7k words and three chapters. Thanks! Tomorrow, all the three chapters should be posted while I work on the next couple chapters. I''m shooting for one-two a day. Some days will be more and some will be less, but I will keep posting regularly and updating this post to showcase my progress. Thanks! 1/9 at 6:22 PM: Hey! I realized you can add author''s comments to the actual chapters so I''ll be doing that, but I''ll still add in some updates here! I wrote a new chapter one and moved what was chapter one to chapter two. Chapter three is done but I haven''t thoroughly edited it yet. Chapter four only has about 1,500 words, but I''ll be finishing that soon. Oh! I almost forgot. The name was changed from Dragonscape to Dragonscale and the sword Golden Dragon Slayer # 9 was changed to Gilded Dragon Slayer #6. Lastly, I removed litrpg as a category and added in adventure, though I did add VR as a subcategory. I figured "online" is a good hint it is litrpg. Thanks! If you like or don''t like those changes please let me know! I will appreciate any feedback. If you rate me, and end up rating me poorly, please let me know why so I can improve. I''d also appreciate to know why you gave me a good rating if you have the time. Thanks!Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. 1/10 at 12:19 AM: What''s up guys! I finished chapter four and spent a great deal of time writing down background information about the setting, characters and all that other good stuff. We are sitting at 9,000 words now which is a start. I know it isn''t exactly about the word count. but I do well like it is at least a way of measuring progress. Thanks guys! Have a good night. Tomorrow there''s gonna be a scandal in the town, I''ll tell you that. 1/12 at 11:30 AM: Hey guys! sorry it has been a couple days. I''m currently on chapter six, putting us at about 13k words. I originally planned on trying to make this a long one, but now I''m currently thinking it will be anout 70-80k words, we will see as the story continues to unfold. The plan is to shoot for two and a half chapters today and then tomorrow to do soe serious editing so I can post more for you. 1/30 at 12:53 PM. I''m so sorry for dissapearing guys! I kept going and without an outline I realized how insecure I felt about posting my chapters. It is shorter than I imagined, sitting around 60k words, but I plan to edit it until I feel comfortable to post it here. Thank you! 2/26 at 4:45 PM. Hey guys! Sorry again for how long it took me. I''ve been back to school and yadda, yadda, other excuses. I just put up a temporary cover and the first half of the book. Any constructive criticism and other feedback would be great seeing how this is the furthest I''ve ever gone with a project. I don''t have any actual plans for publishing, but if I do I will be hiring an editor. I''m mostly just curious what you think and all that because I want to keep writing and get better and better! Enjoy! 2/27: Hey guys. If you are gonna leave a two star rating or lower without continuing with the story can you at least give me some helpful feedback? For someone who is just starting out this kind of stuff is rather detering. If that''s what you aim to do then I guess that''s alright, but helpful criticism would be cool instead of empty downvotes. Thanks! I plan to kepe writing! DragonScale Online Lore By GM Thalminous Stout Humans were very scarce on what was simply called "The Rock." The lands were ruled by trolls, goblins, and other magnificent creatures. Then a man and his family came through a mystic portal. He walked through, and went to live in, the only human town in existence. It was known as Landalof He brought with him many things from his world: sticks that shot out light, small weapons that spat out projectiles, and more importantly, a large collection of bones. You see the man and his family were actually archaeologists from another world. The man and his family soon found out that humans didn¡¯t have the best life on The Rock. It is said that he found a creature, known as the ancient one, that told him about a source of power located on The Rock that could change the tides of war. The man found the stone, which was actually a collection of dozen other stones, and took it back to the ancient one. The ancient one told him that he should fill a cauldron up with water, boil it, and then drop any ingredients of power he wanted into it. Afterwards, anyone that the man wanted to share his power with would have to take one of the stones and thrust their fist deep into the burning cauldron. At first the man was shocked and refused to proceed, but he assembled the supplies and got ready following a brutal attack on the town. He added the bones of a large dinosaur, wings from a pterodactyl, the strongest steel he could find, and lastly, the darkest stone of the collection. He threw it all in, let it boil, and then thrust his hand into the boiling cauldron. He ripped his hand from the vat and gooey black plasma resumed the life his hand had been living. He screamed in agony and fell to the ground. The darkness creeped over his entire body until it was done.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The first dragon was born. Then more came. The man¡¯s wife, daughter, and three brothers. They each took a stone and plunged their fists into the cauldron, They established a magical border that would protect the people from unwanted violence. Things were great. Dragons rocketed into the world in abundance The original dragons were each able to take on a human form, so they became the kings and queens of their new settlements. The mother and father spent some time as royalty of Landalof, but arguments ensued, causing them to split apart and start their own towns as their children did. The mother went north and the father went south. From then on, all royals were to be given a dragon companion at birth. Monsters no longer stood a chance against the humans. It really was great, but then what was known as the Dragon Wars began. All non gifted humans were put in harm¡¯s way, for dragons could break the rules of the border due to the fact that their magic and blood established it. That was when a great knight went through the laborious task of constructing and empowering a weapon in order to take on the original dragons. He then overcame the six dragons, trapping their souls within the blade. Since then, everything has been great. The lands are now called Dragaria and other humans from another world known as adventurers come to prove themselves and live a new life. The monsters pose a bigger threat now that the original dragons are gone, but the powers the scales of their descendants allow the adventures to push back the monsters with ease. Now, you know the history of the land. Go forth, discover yourself, and most importantly, defend the innocent people of Dragaria. Go on! I believe in you! Chapter One: Another Friday Night It was a typical Friday night. I had gotten a C- on yet another paper, my mom wasn¡¯t answering my calls and in general, I was just having a bad day. I logged onto DSO, equipped my gear and set out for the northern border. The border sat around the perimeter of a large invisible square. Everyone was relatively safe in the border. Outside the border? Anyone can kill anyone. A lot of people hunt other players in the obvious way. They chase after them, stab them, shoot them, throw giant fireballs at them and that¡¯s cool. It¡¯s only when players lure others into traps or scam them that I had an issue. I activated Invisibility on my Specter Cape and poof, no one could see me. I sat around for awhile until I read a conversation between two players that caught my interest. The_G0liath: Yeah, it really shouldn¡¯t be that bad. Almost no one goes over there, so we can just cut through past the old redwood and then the cave will be right there. Since both of us are high level and have good gear, we¡¯ll be completely fine. Deltrax33: Yeah. Sounds good. Thanks! It¡¯s way better than going alone. I never understood how people still fell for that kind of bull crap. The two crossed the border and made their way to the destination they had agreed on. I went up ahead of them and waited by the tree and what I saw there didn¡¯t surprise me at all. One player named Shogunxx had a blow dart gun and another named Spicearito17 had an ice staff. I looked closely and identified the weapons as Junglewood Blowgun of the Gumblegum Forest and the staff was a Sturdy Ice Dragon Staff. They were going to slow and poison the poor guy while his ¡°friend¡± slashed him to pieces and then stole all his gear. It was pathetic. I waited unseen for the two to get closer to us. Though the attackers were all close to my level, there was a big difference. My set of Skycane¡¯s Plate armor and Gilded Dragon Slayer #6 greatsword were the best in the game. Knowing I could kill them all in a matter of seconds gave me great satisfaction, but not as much as what I was about to do. I stepped forward so I was in between the two attackers and the approaching two players. The lurer, as they were called, said that it looked safe and that they should be fine. The other player agreed and stepped ahead of the guy that was about to kill him. It was then that I lifted my invisibility, allowing the four of them to see me. The chat log lit up. Shogunxx:Oh shit is that him? Spicearito7:Yeah, that¡¯s that guy from last week. Freaking out at my form and the chat of the two players behind me, the victim took off in the direction he came from. The Goliath sprinted away in the same direction as the victim. Sorry, not gonna happen today punk, I thought. I ran straight up to the lurer, put away my sword, grabbed him by the shoulder with my left hand, and punched him in the face. His health dropped forty percent. He started to run, but it was too late. I pulled out a rope and lassoed him. I then reeled in the rope slowly. The other two players took off after the victim, hoping I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle all of them. They were wrong. I channeled the dragon energy of frost from my blade, activating Freezing Touch, and threw it so it landed in the middle of the two attackers. The ground froze, instantly encapsulating the bastards. They wouldn¡¯t be able to move while I still had mana and my sword was in the ground. I admit it, that sword was just a little OP. Either way, they were screwed. They were frozen because of my sword and they couldn¡¯t even log out because they were beyond the border. Even if they shut off their computers, they would still be logged on they would just not be able to control their characters. . I finally dragged the lurer all the way to me until we collided. The Protection Charms on my armor activated, ripping him into shreds, instantly killing him. Blood, guts, and bones flew in various directions. God, did I like getting angry sometimes. It was the only time I could stand turning off the gore filter.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I reached down into the pile of what was once The_G0liath and pulled out what looked like a full set of Enchanted Fire Dragon Plate Armor, but then it all faded away. The bloody jerk was using illusion magic. Figures. No wonder I hurt him so badly with a single punch. I made a note to find him again if he wasn¡¯t a hardcore player. Then again, if he was I could still find him and to be honest, it would probably be more fun that way. I looked and saw that the victim was still fleeing. I don¡¯t think so, I thought. I turned my cloak back on, quickened my pace, activated my sword¡¯s ability Weightless Steps, and cut in front of the victim named ¡°Deltrax33.¡± I picked him up and put him down in front of his would-be attackers. I withdrew my sword from the ground and released the scoundrels from their icy prison. They immediately began running again because I had dealt with them the week prior. I put my blade away and chased after them. I reactivated my defensive charms and dove towards them headfirst, tackling them to the ground. Kaboom. They both immediately died, dropping the weapons they planned to attack with. The blowgun was trash but the ice staff would pay a good amount. I gathered up the items and handed them to the victim. He had been typing in the chat, but I didn¡¯t care. I activated my cloak and took off to find more prey. *** I looked down at the clock and it was four am; I had spent most of the night hunting down punks like the three I took care of when I first logged on. For the last hour, I had been sitting by my pond catching some fish. I had exchanged my shiny golden armor and Gilded Dragon Slayer #6 for a pair of overalls, a straw hat, and a fishing pole. After a while, I got up and started working on something to add to my house. I eventually finished up and turned to logout. I really do love this game¡­ I thought. *** I opened my eyes and it was already ten o¡¯clock. I hadn¡¯t gone to bed until around maybe six am. I got out of bed, pounded down an energy drink, and hopped onto DSO. There was a quest I had started two days before that was time sensitive. If I didn¡¯t finish it by the end of the day, I was going to fail it. That¡¯s not going to happen. Considering that Princess Alana from Landalof Castle was a longterm helpful NPC and strikingly beautiful, I knew that I¡¯d be foolish to fail her. I gathered the materials I needed and set out for the cave behind the redwood. Though it was known as a popular spot to lure gullible players, it did have something more important to offer if the right player knew where to look. I made my way through the cave invisibly, protected from the eyes of seemingly weak ghouls, demons, and other vile creatures. The entire cavern was mostly one long corridor. Every little bit or so there would be a small to medium-sized room on the left or the right filled with various beings. Despite that the walls were made of bones and the floors were covered in blood, the place was unremarkable when it came to creatures. They were gruesome enough and all but the highest one was maybe level twenty. Most people liked luring people to the caves because they are ominous and add to the scare factor without knowing the true potential of the cave. I walked to the very end until I was in a large circular room with various creatures running about. A large flow of white, milky-looking water poured out of the back wall, flooding most of the room. There is something they didn¡¯t know for sure, I thought as I withdrew a vial from my inventory, uncapped it and poured its golden contents into the water. It was then that the handle of my dorm room¡¯s door turned and someone tried to open it. ¡°Kyle, it¡¯s me. Come on, Time to go.¡± My mother was a very busy woman who didn¡¯t like to be kept waiting. I pulled off my headset and checked my phone. Nope, she hadn¡¯t called or texted once. I grabbed some clothes, threw them in a bag, and made my way to the car with my laptop in hand. My mom walked briskly in front of me. I wasn¡¯t going to let a car ride ruin such an important quest. I hopped in the passenger¡¯s side. I then turned my phone into a hotspot and reconnected to the game. Unsurprisingly, my mom didn¡¯t say more than an obligatory greeting and proceeded to talk to someone from work on her Bluetooth headset. I threw my headset on and focused my attention back on the quest at hand. Though there were ¡°standard¡± quests in DSO, some time before they had implemented dynamic ¡°unrepeatable¡± quests that were actually quite genius. I walked behind a stalagmite and made sure it was safe. It was a quest that was going to help the princess, while also allowing me to deal with a group of lurers and scammers in the future. I stayed invisible and waited for the second part of my quest. A few people stepped in the came and I got worried. I looked up and noticed that we had turned onto the highway. I almost immediately recognized The_G0liath. Good, this should be perfect. They even came to me this time. A few more people arrived. Once it seemed nobody else was going to arrive, I took a few steps closer to the group and then turned off my invisibility. It wasn¡¯t my main directive, but killing them seemed like a fun time killer. I was ready to just use my sword that time around instead of resorting to more ¡°fun¡± tactics. It was then that a cherry red truck crossed over the double yellow lines and hit our comparably small silver sedan, throwing my body through the air like a magic bullet. The thought of how I should have had a seatbelt on presented itself as a piece of bittersweet hindsight. If only I hadn¡¯t waited so long to do the quest¡­ Chapter Two: Purgatory When people talk about near death experiences they speak a lot about bright lights, dark tunnels, and ghostly figures. People also mention your life flashing before your eyes right before you either die or believe you are in danger of dying. I guess that¡¯s all sort of true. I envisioned the quest I had been moments away from finishing. I should have been thinking about whether or not my mom was okay, how great growing up was, how much I would miss my friends, and other cliche dying crap, but let¡¯s be real. I didn¡¯t have many friends or much else to look forward to anyways. All I could think about in my brief moments as a bird was that damn quest. Well, it was at least until I finally fell from the sky and flew head first into a guardrail, breaking nearly every bone in my body. Then everything was just gone. There weren¡¯t any doors, bright lights, or reassuring dead grandmothers. Nope. It was just kind of black. At first it felt like I was sitting in a large dark room but then I realized I was the room. I felt infinitely vast, impossibly silent, and completely alone. Where were my damn visions, my god-like experiences? I felt jipped. Hey, at least I had my memories and a seemingly conscious mind. I thought about Dragonscape Online. Man, how I had loved that game. It¡¯s funny because, well, it was really my only accomplishment. Even though I enjoyed being strong and knowing a lot about the game, it wasn¡¯t what first drew me to the game. For the most part, I just loved being someone different. It didn¡¯t matter if I just sat in Landalof castle, or wasted time talking to players who were actually leveling up their character, I loved playing. Something about the game made me feel content in a way that a life as a depressed Philosophy major at a crappy college couldn¡¯t. I had no idea what I was doing with my real life, but in the game I knew my place. I used to have a lot of friends, we even all played DSO together at one point, but eventually they grew up and I, well, I didn¡¯t I guess. But anyways, darkness, silence, solitary, you get the point. I sat there and I thought about how important the game was to me and how I really just wanted to wake up and finish the quest. Maybe the game wasn¡¯t as good as life was supposed to be, but for me it was as close as I felt I would ever get. The thought of playing again helped me hold on. Time really slowed down after a while. At first it felt like hours, and then days, weeks, months, and eventually years. The whole time I kind of just existed in the darkness. The only thing that managed to fill it up were my constant thoughts about DSO. First, I thought about my house, or rather my dominion. I had the best house anyone could ask for. I often thought about how much better it would be if I was there instead of the weird dark place that had become my home. More thoughts broke in. Was my character okay? Those players were high enough level to kill me; would everything be okay when I got back? Wait, what about the princess? That quest was time sensitive. The thoughts both comforted and tortured me. Was I in hell? What felt like an eternity passed and then I felt like¡­ Like I was shrinking? It¡¯s hard to explain. It was like the vast darkness was still there but that I was no longer the force behind it. Then legs began to form, naked legs. Following them a torso, arms, and eventually a head. My head. It was then that I realized I had an actual form to call my own for the first time since my original body was nearly destroyed. I really hadn¡¯t thought about my body much. Kind of weird once I thought about it though. It was then that I realized that something was wrong and I shouldn¡¯t have been sitting in a weird purgatory where my only thoughts centered around my sweet one of a kind house in DSO and the the beautifully sexy princess I had let down. I looked down at myself and realized my entire body was naked. I wondered what I looked like and a mirror appeared right in front of me. I almost fell backwards in shock. I looked like a fricken Ken doll, well if Ken had no eyes, lips, or other features normal human beings typically possess. I didn¡¯t know how I was able to see, but it was kind of freaking me out. I thought back to what I looked like as a human and instantly a slightly bulging belly, shaggy brown hair, blue eyes, and other lifelike features appeared in the mirror. I reached up to my face and my hand moved in the mirror. Okay, it was then clear. I was in some sort of dreamlike state. I thought about having a six pack and hero hair, poof, wham, wow, I had spiky stylish hair and my beer belly, or rather soda and chips belly, disappeared. A smile cracked across my face as I thought, Wow, maybe this weird purgatory won¡¯t be so bad after all. ¡°Don¡¯t get used to it,¡± came a voice from right behind me. I jumped, completely unprepared. I promptly turned around to face the invader of my safe place, imagining my large two-handed Gilded Dragon Slayer #6 from DSO and unsurprisingly it appeared in my hands. ¡°I spent most of my teenage and college years searching for, and then learning to use, this thing so I¡¯m not afraid to slay you where you stand,¡± I yelled at the intruder. He was a man of average height with short but curly black hair, glasses, khakis, and a blueish polo with the name Steven written on it. ¡°Hi I¡¯m Steve,¡± The man said, needlessly introducing himself. ¡°You must really be wondering what¡¯s going on huh?¡± Oh, you think? I thought, feeling anger and annoyance for the first time since before the car crash. I lowered my sword, still wishing I could slice the dude in half, and got ready to listen to whatever ludicrous story an obvious apparition of my brain was going to come up with. *** ¡°So, you are telling me I¡¯m in a coma and Dreamtech Industries wants to load my consciousness into the game¡­¡± I said, raising my eyebrows skeptically. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about it,¡± sighed Steve. ¡°Back a few patches ago we changed the game engine to get ready to transfer DSO over to full immersion VR. Your case is slightly different, but we think that we can help you and do some research along the way. It won¡¯t be the same as not being in a coma but it would be better than the alternative.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ So, I¡¯m just a cash cow, a means to an end?¡± I replied, only half joking. Steve smirked and answered with, ¡°I mean, if that¡¯s the way you want to look at it. But come on man, you are one of our most senior players. You¡¯ve held rank one for years now and almost everyone knows your name. Kyogos the Great, Kyogos the Extreme. Don¡¯t you want that again?¡± I nodded knowing he was right. I was obviously devastated by the fact that I was in a coma, but being in the weird black hole like place after a car accident had been a good indicator that something was wrong. A smirk appeared at the corners of Steve¡¯s lips. ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here, to make sure that happens.¡± His smile faded and his voice became more serious. ¡°Are you even going to ask about your mom?¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. I totally forgot to ask about my mom¡­ I was being such an inconsiderate little... ¡°Oh crap, of course. How is she? I got distracted with the weird black hole prison, Ken doll-like appearance, and Dragonslayer #9 getting ready to destroy you. Is she okay?¡± Steve seemed to lighten up a little. ¡°Your mom is completely fine. She, unlike you, Mr. Playing-Computer-Games-In-The-Car, was wearing her seatbelt. She is worried sick about you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good then. It¡¯s not like it was my fault that some guy drove into us because he was probably drunk. but I really should have had my seatbelt on. Then again, maybe you guys shouldn¡¯t have such an addictive game.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ It¡¯s our fault you were playing our COMPUTER game in the car and forgot to put your seatbelt on.¡± ¡°I mean that¡¯s really honest of you to admit that,¡± I answered. ¡°So, when should I be receiving my one hundred billion dollar settlement?¡± I couldn¡¯t seem to stop joking around. ¡°Hey, assuming you cooperate, we will also be footing the majority of your bills so your family doesn¡¯t have to worry. We have deep connections in the technology field. I don¡¯t know the details, but you should be able to come out of this completely healed.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say. This is a lot to take in,¡± I replied as I jokingly scratched my chin. Not getting it, Steve gave me a look of misguided understanding with a hint of pity. ¡°It¡¯s okay. This has never happened to like anyone, so we completely understand if-¡± ¡°Now, when can I get back to using this thing and killing some scrubs?¡± I answered, cutting him off. ¡°It feels like it has been years since I¡¯ve played.¡± ¡°You really are something else man. Well¡­ It has been quite a while, but not quite years. It¡¯s been two months since your accident.¡± ¡°TWO MONTHS!¡± I screamed. ¡°I¡¯ve been in a coma this whole time?¡± ¡°Yes, it was only twenty-four hours until the board joked that you had been offline for the most time since the year your account was created, but we weren¡¯t worried until a week passed by. Then we went looking and found a car crash that made the news near your registered zip code. Also, It wasn¡¯t until yesterday that your mom¡¯s lawyer signed the contract and we were able to finalize any preparations we had to make. I know it probably seems creepy that we came looking for you, but your sudden disappearance and loss in the rankings were strange.¡± ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m actually quite flattered. I always knew I had put a ton of work into the game, but I didn¡¯t think I had that much of an impact. I don¡¯t exactly talk to people very well.¡± ¡°Huh, well I mean, numbers don¡¯t lie. Plus, we¡¯ve heard the stories. You tracked down GDS#6, defeating the owner of it with only a basic greatsword. That stuff is what legends are made of kid.¡± ¡°You know it,¡± I answered while doing a few awkward sword flourishes. ¡°Speaking of this beauty, when can I go use it?¡± Steve¡¯s face got even more serious than when I forgot to ask about my mom. ¡°About that¡­¡± Steve said as he started to fill me in on what happened to my character. *** ¡°So, I died?¡± ¡°Yup¡­ I¡¯m sorry bud. We checked the forums and I guess a bounty hunter group saw you chilling there AFK with the GDS#6 and killed you for it. But you won¡¯t believe it, apparently, you had protection charms woven into your armor or something because you took out a handful of their men before they could kill you.¡± ¡°Yeah, you can¡¯t survive for years on hardcore mode without some insurance. That is actually hilarious. Though¡­ That greatsword is one of a kind, opposite to what the name would suggest I guess.¡± ¡°Yeah, at least there are at least eight others, right?¡± Steve asked seriously, glazing over the last part of my comment. My jaw flopped open and I just sat there and stared. He looked back at me, obviously confused. ¡°What?¡± ¡°What... What? What! The Great Knight Sir Alfred Skycane sought to destroy the nine original dragons. The blacksmiths of Highgale crafted a weapon out of the corpse of a dragon, dipped it in gold and then it was blessed by the god Zarnack to absorb the essence of any dragon it killed. After killing all nine original dragons, the sword became the strongest weapon to ever exist. Wait¡­ how do you not know this?¡± ¡°Sorry dude¡­ I¡¯m more of a public relations kind of guy and I really haven¡¯t worked there that long. You really know your stuff. So, I guess that sword meant a lot to you huh?¡± ¡°Of course, it did! But there¡¯s always a small chance I dropped it. Even hardcore mode has its perks. Upon death, I get to keep one item and the level of either one combat skill or one profession.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the positive outlook you should be having. You could start out with your previous ridiculously high strength or something and a piece of your super good gear. Plus, there¡¯s an eighty percent chance you will come back with a combat skill, which in your case is higher than most players no matter what it is.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Yeah, plus it¡¯s actually ninety-nine-point nine percent.¡± ¡°What? How?¡± ¡°Wow you really don¡¯t know much,¡± I joked. ¡°Even though anyone can learn any and every profession based skill, you can only declare one true profession. As a fricken builder I wasn¡¯t going to let years of tediously leveling up my combat levels to come back only able to build a stupid chair or something. I mean, my house was great and all, but you can¡¯t really make much money with it or protect the princess with a perfectly handcrafted chair. I paid top gold for that. It was actually one billion coins¡­¡± ¡°That much! That must be why I¡¯ve never heard of it. Who would even do that?¡± ¡°Again, when you spend years leveling up a character you don¡¯t want to lose all your progress just because you lagged out or something. I guess I never really planned for getting into a car crash and landing in a coma though.¡± ¡°That makes sense, but why didn¡¯t you just play on normal mode?¡± I was unsure if I should answer. He already thought I was a psychopath. ¡°Do you¡­ do you really want to know the answer?¡± ¡°Yes of course I do. Every legend has to have a reason behind his greatness, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Yes, yes he does. But I wouldn¡¯t call myself a legend. My first account wasn¡¯t hardcore, because, honestly, I was afraid of losing everything. One day I logged on and everything I had worked for was gone. After freaking out, I had a friend of mine ping the IP address of the hacker. I got his account information, created a hardcore player and then hunted down his character and every character he ever made after that. He sent friends after periodically for a while but eventually they stopped coming because I had killed them all countless times.¡± ¡°Wow, I take back any hesitations I had man. You are a psychopath. If anything, I would have just blocked his IP, stole my stuff back, or something like that. You just had to prove a point, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, yes I did. I was pissed off, but to be honest I didn¡¯t start taking the game seriously until I made my hardcore account and started hunting down that punk. It was during my quest for power that I gradually developed the drive to go after the GDS#6 anyways.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ you really are something man. I hope you get some good stats and your sword. You ready to jump back in or do you want to sit around in creepy purgatory some more?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready, of course I¡¯m ready. But two quick questions. How are you even in my head right now and what¡¯s the status of my body.?¡± ¡°Good questions, I¡¯m surprised it took you this long. You really are obsessed with DSO. I uploaded both of our consciousnesses onto a hard drive, which was why you suddenly had access to a corporeal form and the ability to make changes. We are running on what was the first version of the new Dreamscape Engine. I mean, if you really wanted you could create your own game here and have total control. The board talked about it and that is an option for you.¡± I walked a few steps away from Steve and then turned around as I threw off a few more sword flourishes, unskillfully dancing around Steve. ¡°What would be the fun in that. I¡¯ve got a sword to retrieve.¡± I stopped, cocked the GDS#6 back and launched it through the air. I watched it soar through the sky and then imagined a giant boulder made of dragon steel. The boulder appeared just in time for the sword to fly right into it, causing it to slide into the boulder down to the hilt. ¡°I¡¯d have an easier time trying to pull it out of that rock than going after it again if the GDS#6 wasn¡¯t the item that got saved.¡± Chapter Three: Rebirth Steve spent some time reading me the details of the contract. It basically said they will pay for my expenses, will do everything in their power to make sure I don¡¯t have any issues, yadda, yadda. The only real thing I had to agree to was not telling anyone that I wasn¡¯t a normal player. ¡°Alright, dude. We should be all set. Give me the word and you will be good to go.¡± Steve gave me a smile and I felt ready to get back into the game. ¡°Thanks Steve. I don¡¯t really know what to expect, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s going to be better than what has apparently been my last two months. Thank you. Oh, and hey, Steve?¡± ¡°Yeah, buddy? What¡¯s up?¡± Steve answered looking slightly concerned. ¡°Just tell my mom I love her alright. I¡¯m obviously excited and all, but we both almost died and, well, I just¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry dude. I will tell your mom. You just do your best in the game and everyone else will do their best in making sure you have a body to come back to. Good luck man!¡± I started to answer but then everything vanished into darkness. When my vision returned, I was sitting on a bench at the Adventure¡¯s Center in Landalof.. I tried to move but couldn¡¯t. A big familiar screen popped up, showing a normal stock character. There were different categories of buttons ranging from hair to shoes. Arrows were present to navigate through different options. I was able to just load my last character¡¯s appearance, saving me a lot of time. It basically looked like me: long, dark brown hair, tall, and a slightly round face. The only thing missing from my head were the glasses I wore in real life. The only change I made was to add a few more muscles. Having played a maxed level character for so long, I got pretty used to the extra muscles. After making my hair a little lighter and shorter I was done. I hit accept. I looked around; not much had changed. The building had two floors, one for the main creation services like a bank and adventurer guide and a second that just housed desks, books, and other objects that any old bank would have. The floors were checkered grey and white, the walls were made of oak, and the countertops were made of the same wood as the walls with glass windows between the tellers and would be adventurers. There were a total of three bankers, two females and one male. The male wore a long dark suit and had short cropped blonde hair. The women looked exactly alike with blonde hair put up in a bun, grey suit jackets, and an equally grey skirt. In the middle of the room sat the Adventurer''s guide. The man was middle-aged and bald with a short grey beard and an ensemble consisting of tight leather that had brightly color fabrics consisting of various colors sewn into parts of the outfit seemingly at random. The man helped new players, or players that hadn¡¯t been on the bottom for a while, make money and get started on their quests for fame, fortune, and power. ¡°Wow¡­¡± I looked around the room. Where I would normally see in somewhat realistic graphics, everything seemed more realistic and in depth. I had no idea how they were doing it, but I knew that what I was seeing was way different from what most players were seeing on their headsets. ¡°Hello adventurer. How can I help you today?¡± spoke the kind man programmed to help me. Just like every other NPC in the game, the Adventurer''s guide had scripted lines that appeared on a menu, except it obstructed my view because I wasn¡¯t looking over the shoulder anymore. Because most lines had a voice over, I went through the menus to turn off the dialogue window. It was then that I remembered that usually my character¡¯s lines were scripted as well, so I wasn¡¯t sure what to say. ¡°Hello Adventurer¡¯s Guide! Uh, I died and had to be reborn. I guess I just need to pick up my dropped item and ability rune so I can be on my way.¡± I didn¡¯t really know what to expect, so I just stood there stupidly for about ten seconds. The man stood up from his chair, and whipped around. ¡°Oh, boy! A hardcore adventurer, eh? What¡¯s your name and how¡¯d ya die boy?¡± The kooky old man gave me a wide toothless grin. A piece of parchment appeared in my hands. I wrote down my username, password, and security pin. I handed it to the man. ¡°Well my character¡¯s name was Kyogos. I got into a car accident and... ¡° The man looked at me like I had seven heads. ¡°Nevermind. Basically, someone killed me while I was unconscious.¡± The man smiled wide, seemingly preferring my reframed answer. ¡°Wow, weren¡¯t you the adventurer in possession of Sir Alfred Sky Cane''s powerful sword?¡± asked the man, with more than a hint of curiosity. I blinked a few times, realizing that our conversation was starting to completely get away from any scripts the game had ever made. What is going on? I thought. ¡°Yes, yes that was me. Hopefully, though, it will be the one item I got to keep following my death.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Yes, yes hopefully so.¡± The man reached under the chair and pulled out a big red sack. He kind of reminded me of a demented, overly colorful Santa Claus from hell. He continued to rummage through his bag. Then he started tossing object after object out of the sack. Bags of coins, short swords, bows, all kinds of things emptied out onto the floor. ¡°Sorry lad, this thing is so full of random crap that sometimes it¡¯s hard to find what you Adventurer¡¯s need.¡± The man continued to pull objects out of the bag, but then he must have found what he needed because he then began to put objects back into the bag. Among the obvious objects were wooden, stone, and even metal boxes that could have held anything really. In DSO bags and containers could be spelled to hold a nearly endless amount of objects. So, I wasn¡¯t disheartened even though I hadn¡¯t spotted GDS#9. Whether or not your objects were put into a container, or what the container looked like, was based off of both luck and your position in DSO. After the man put everything away, all that remained was a thick box, seemingly made of dragonsteel due to its base coloring being dark grey, with red scales scattered periodically throughout the design. ¡°Wow, kid. You really were something, huh? This is one high quality box. There¡¯s gotta be something inside that will help you or my name isn¡¯t Sally Jones.¡± ¡°Is your name Sally Jones?¡± I asked, slightly amused. He shook his head and said, ¡°No, but that¡¯s one sweet box. Just like the two Bensley twins over there. Ya get what I mean?¡± The man said, gesturing towards the twin bankers. ¡°Man I¡¯d really like to make a deposit in one of their bank slots if you get what I-¡± Wow, I get why the game sticks to scripted lines,¡± I thought. ¡°Uh yeah, whatever. Can I have my box now?¡± I asked impatiently as I reached over to take my box out of his hands. ¡°Hey, not so fast!¡± He yelled, moving the box away from my reach. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should give this to you. You haven¡¯t done a single thing for me, why should I help you?¡± You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. ¡°Well¡­ You are the Adventurer¡¯s Guide and, well, I happen to be an adventurer. So it¡¯s kind of your job,¡± I shot back, frustrated at my first interaction with an NPC. Looking annoyed, and yet somehow content at the same time, the man smiled menacingly. ¡°If you can tell me my name, maybe, just maybe, I¡¯ll give you your box. The man then sat the box under his chair. ¡°So, do you know it or not?¡± His eyebrows raised at me expectantly, but his lips curled, forming a deadly smirk. ¡°Please tell me you are joking. Is this some sort of Rumpelstiltskin bullcrap?¡± I yelled, my fists shaking a little. The bankers seemed to glance over in annoyed curiosity. I focused on him and the title Adventurer¡¯s Guide popped up over his head. Well, that¡¯s not going to help me at all, I thought. The man chuckled maniacally, clutching his stomach as he went through a rather rough coughing fit. ¡°Man, was that hilarious. You actually believed me. The name¡¯s Billy by the way. Wow, I have never had this much fun messing with an Adventurer before. Usually you guys are all, ¡®Give me the box,¡¯ and I¡¯m all like, ¡®Here¡¯s the box.¡¯ I only ever get to talk like this to other natives of Dragaria. Wait¡­ Are you a native?¡± ¡°Because if so, you aren¡¯t really Kyogos and this box isn¡¯t yours. Did that snot-nosed guard Sal put you up to this? He loves sending adventurers my way once they find their base class.¡± The laughter and coughing fit disappeared and a serious look resided on the man¡¯s face. Then seriousness faded as quickly as it arrived and the man I then knew was called Billy started chuckling again. ¡°It¡¯s kind of a secret that I can¡¯t share, but I am an Adventurer. I think things are just going to be a bit different for me from here on out. I¡¯ve never had a conversation with natives before either. Sorry, I¡¯m kind of taken aback.¡± The man looked me up and down. ¡°A secret huh. I¡¯ll tell you what. If you ask the twins on a double date I¡¯ll give you your box.¡± The man¡¯s eyes seemingly lit up bringing attention to the fact that he not only acted crazy but also had weirdly colored eyes to match his weirdly colored outfit. The left one had a ring of red at the base of the pupil, then a ring of blue, and then gold, green, and what appeared to be an endless amount of colors. I looked to the other eye and it looked similar but the order of the colors were different. What is up with this guy? I then looked back and his left eye looked different than before, blue with a whitish lightning bolt slicing through the pupil diagonally. I was taken aback by the change, causing me to stumble backwards a bit. Looking back to the right eye, I saw what was clearly the moon, the pupil wasn¡¯t even there. I wiped my eyes and looked again, his eyes were plain old brown. Is this game messing with my head or something? I thought, completely unsure of what to think. Billy sat there watching me, obviously amused. ¡°So what do you say, do we have a deal?¡± he asked. ¡°Get the twins to go on a date with us and you get your box. Easy, right?¡± I reluctantly accepted the deal and shook the man¡¯s hand. A quiet beep went off, alerting me that I had a notification. I pulled it up and saw that it was in fact a quest. Billy¡¯s Bargain The Adventurer''s Guide revealed himself to you as Billy. He is holding your possessions hostage until you score a double date with the Bensley twins. You will complete this quest when a date is secured. You will fail the quest if you are unable to score a date, though it isn¡¯t time sensitive. Difficulty: Hard. Reward: Dragonsteel Box (contents unknown). Good luck hero! I didn¡¯t know who or what was messing with me, but the game definitely was revealing itself to be a whole lot different from the one I grew up playing. I shook his hand and approached the twins to try to get a date. Before I could speak a word, the first sister opened with, ¡°Welcome to the Bensley¡¯s Bank, how can we be of service to you?¡± Chapter Four: An Old Friend Smack! The bank teller¡¯s hand connected so forcefully with my left cheek that I could have sworn a thousand demons put their pointy weapons together into one forceful, soul-crushing jab. ¡°What!¡± I yelled defensively. ¡°I just asked for you to go on a date with me and the strapping Adventurer¡¯s Guide. You don¡¯t have to kiss him or anything.¡± I rubbed my red cheek, unsure of how I was actually feeling pain. I pulled up my health and realized that it had only done one damage out of my one hundred health points. Man, I¡¯m going to have to make sure I don¡¯t actually get hit by a thousand demon spears. ¡°Well...¡± started the other sister, ¡°she¡¯s married to a prince and I don¡¯t think he would like her going on a date with a freaky old man. Sorry hun, you are pretty cute and all, there¡¯s just no way that she would agree to it. But I think that red mark on your face was probably enough for you to realize that.¡± She gave me an evil smile, clearly looking me up and down. The third sibling didn¡¯t say anything, but had an obvious frown on his face. I turned around and walked away from the bankers. ¡°Hold on to that for me won¡¯t you?¡± I asked Billy on my way out. ¡°Of course, of course lad. If you get stuck just remember who you are and how you got that sword in the first place,¡± Billy answered cryptically. ¡°Uh.. Yeah of course.¡± I said reluctantly. What does that even mean? I stepped out onto the road and took a look around. I was just outside of Landalof Castle. Landalof was a neutral city and home to no other than Princess Alana. With no weapons or skills of any kind I knew that it was going to be rough. Hardcore characters had no access to training, trading, or other luxuries that other players did. It was actually pretty cool, it had just been awhile since I had been on rock bottom. I continued to walk down the street and looked around. The town of Landalof was mostly inhabited by new players who were still figuring their lives out. It had a general store, a church, and a few other unimportant buildings. The most important part about Landalof was that they had NPC trainers that could teach new players skills. You see, without a trainer, it takes a lot longer to learn basic skills in swordsmanship, magic, and archery. There were even craftsmen and gatherers for players to get a jump start on earning their profession. I had only ever used them on my first account that wasn¡¯t hardcore, but I had a feeling that with my unique situation I could convince them to help me. I walked up to trainers¡¯ area and saw that it was busy indeed. There were countless trainers, and even more players, running about hitting dummies with wooden swords, smithing daggers, and shooting off basic magic attacks. I walked up to a swords trainer, but before I could, something grabbed me from behind and dragged me out the door. ¡°Your kind ain¡¯t welcome around these parts,¡± growled a behemoth of man. Pulling up his name it said he was Brutus the axe trainer. ¡°Or do I?¡± I asked, nervously spewing off the first stupid comeback that came to mind. The man looked me up and down. A confused expression washed over his face. ¡°Do you?¡± he asked, almost more to himself. It was as if moving out of pre scripted lines made him realize that in reality it would make no sense that I couldn¡¯t receive training. He then decided to go back to his original instincts and tossed me out the door. My body hit the ground and I lost ten life points. Quite some time ago they made actions you could take more complex, but I didn¡¯t remember ever taking damage from slaps or from being thrown to the ground. I hopped up and dusted myself off, ready to start my dreaded climb back to the top of the leaderboards. If I wasn¡¯t one of the best, I wouldn¡¯t be able to scare the scammers and lurers enough. Then again, it didn¡¯t really seem to matter. I had killed what felt like millions of them and they always seemed to come back. I made my way west towards the beginning training grounds, which was a small squarish pen with low level training dummies on three sides and a guard in the middle. The guard actually was ¡°skilled¡± with every kind of combat, so he allowed players to learn to adapt to various situations.I thought back to my first month, getting lost in a wave of nostalgia. *** I pictured myself swinging a large wooden sword against the dummies over and over. You see, base classes can be discovered by practicing various skills, but when and if they arise is actually quite random, even more so for hardcore players. After giving up on the dummies, I spent a great deal of time trying to procure a certain spell. One of the guard¡¯s ¡°modes¡± was that he would cast Protect on himself, allowing him to to reduce the amount of damage he took from any attack. I eventually earned enough affinity with him for being there and he taught it to me. An idea had begun to worm itself into my head. Every day for a few weeks were more or less the same. I¡¯d take out my Basic Wooden Shield and then skirmish with the guard over and over, letting him beat on me until my health fell into the red. I casted Protect over and over as well, but it didn¡¯t do much really at how low of a level i was in it. I¡¯d then make my way over to the river, catch some fish, cook it on a random fire, restore my health, and start all over. Eventually, after taking what had to have been my billionth attack from the guard, a notification appeared. I pulled it up and was relieved my hard work finally paid off. You have discovered a rare base class called: Protector: You are semi skilled with a shield and have a knack for casting protective charms on yourself. Note: Following this path could lead to the classes: Bulwarker, Defensive Witch, and Spell-Shield. As usual, other classes could also be discovered. Good luck!Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. *** My thoughts shot back to the present as I reached the pens. I took a deep breath in, taking note of the smell. It was earthy with a hint of hay, most likely from the training dummies. Wow, I thought, I¡¯m really going to have to ask Steve how I can smell and feel pain. I knew he said the game was prepped to switch over to fully immersive VR, but no other companies had produced technology that advanced. I wondered if I was a special case or if they were really that far along. I stepped into the center and greeted the guard. Quickly pulling up a status window, I noted that I had 0 affinity with the guard, or in other words I was neutral with him. ¡°Greetings Salford!¡± I yelled, already getting used to being able to speak freely. ¡°How are you doing today?¡± The man jumped back, obviously startled because no other players were in the training area. Most people didn¡¯t play hardcore anymore because regular mode had become easier and easier. Most people could learn a few skills form the trainers and have a class in only a couple of hours. I liked the challenge of hardcore mode and it usually meant that you could get your hands on better classes. ¡°Uh, hello Adventurer. Sorry, you caught me off guard. What can I do for you today?¡± ¡°Ah, you might not remember me, but years back I spent a great deal of time here in a past life.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the name?¡± He asked as his shoulders relaxed and his sword lowered. He wore steel armor from head to toe and the only uncovered spot was his face. He had tufts of hair peeking out of his helmet and bold blue eyes. ¡°Kyogos. Does it ring a bell?¡± ¡°Ah yes of course! I have heard your name come up many times since we first met. Not a lot of the Adventure¡¯s seem to like you though. Any idea why that is?¡± The NPC seemed to retain a lot more information than I would have expected. I began to question how limiting my years of playing on the computer were. ¡°Well, that might have had to do with me hunting down the worst of them in the most degrading ways I could imagine,¡± I answered and then shot him a twisted smirk. ¡°Well, uh, yeah that explains it. I never had a problem with you though. A notification went off so I pulled it up. Having remembered you, Salford will now trust you and is more likely to offer you greater assistance than other adventurers. Affinity with Salford: Friendly 4,500/6,000. Ah, so the bastard did like me, huh? I thought. Then again, he did get to beat on me for free, so I was glad that it meant something. ¡°To be honest, it was quite fun beating you up over and over again.¡± the guard said cheerfully. ¡°You ready to go again? I just found out my wife has been cheating with a prince.¡± Salford stepped back, raised his sword and feinted slashing at me. I attempted to avoid the blow out of habit and he stopped right before the blade would have split my neck in half. Not having thought about it, I focused on the guard and information appeared over his head. Salford The Training Grounds Guard Level 100 Item Quality: Average. ¡°No wonder you were able to beat the snot out of me old Sal!¡± As I said Sal¡¯s name, I realized that he was the one that Billy was talking about. ¡°Oh, hey. Sal?¡± The guard looked up, still laughing. ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s up?¡± Honest curiosity washed over his face. ¡°You know Billy the Adventurer''s guide, right?¡± Sal¡¯s eyebrows raised and his eyes grew wide. ¡°Uh¡­ Yeah, why? Do you?¡± He seemed more afraid than I¡¯d thought anyone would be of an old man who dressed like he was going to an underground disco party. ¡°Oh, well, he thought you were trying to prank him by using me in some way. For a second he didn¡¯t believe it was me.¡± ¡°Oh, no, no I wouldn¡¯t do that, definitely not.¡± he said, calming down a bit, but still on edge. ¡°Why, does he still think that?¡± ¡°No, not at all. I''m living proof that you didn¡¯t. There¡¯s a signed document with my name, password, and pin that guarantees that. I just want my stuff back and he made me broker a deal with him that I can¡¯t exactly fulfill.¡± Sal nodded, which I took to mean to continue on. ¡°The problem is that he wants me to get a date with the Bensley twins, but when I asked I got smacked harder than an angry momma demon and then found out that she is engaged to Prince Luke.¡± Sal¡¯s eyes popped open even wider as I finished speaking; his jaw even flopped open wide enough that a fish could have fit right in it. ¡°That¡¯s the bloody fricken prince my wife is sleeping with!¡± yelled the enraged guard. ¡°Let me tell you all about it. *** ¡°So he wrote her a letter and left it under her pillow and you somehow happened to find it because you were fluffing the pillows?¡± ¡°Yes, exactly!¡± Sal yelled back, clearly happy I was on the same page. ¡°Okay, okay. What I don¡¯t get is why he wrote a letter in the first place. Like, he was going to get away scot-free and yet he left behind evidence with his signature on it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know lad. What can I say? The damn guy is next in line to be king and he thinks he can do whatever he wants without suffering any consequences.¡± I got notified by the usual beep that I had a new notification. I pulled up the window and saw that my quest was updated. Billy¡¯s Bargain Salford the training guard has informed you that his wife is sleeping with Prince Luke, Princess Alana¡¯s brother!. This information might be useful in securing a date with Tylia and her sister Beth. Good luck! Sweet, at least there seems to be a way to get my stuff after all, I thought. I had almost forgotten it was a game; obviously there was going to be a solution, most quests did and if they didn¡¯t they were time definitely dynamic quests. I pulled up the next notification. Saving Sal Your old time friend Sal found out that his wife is cheating on him with Prince Luke. Seeing as you are good friends and you would benefit as well, you could help him be free of his wife, potentially allowing you to gain a traveling ally and other unknown rewards. Difficulty: medium. Good luck adventurer! I envisioned accepting the quest and it was instantly added to my quest book. I closed the menus and grinned in excitement. Sal just sat there looking at me like I was mad or something. ¡°It looks like we are on the same page buddy. We need to let off some steam and then brainstorm a way to solve both of our issues. Sound like a deal?¡± Sal didn¡¯t bother answering. He pulled a shield out of his sack, tossed it to me, and then charged. I didn¡¯t even have time to re-learn the protect spell¡­ Chapter Five: The First Step ¡°Gayah!¡± Sal screamed as he heaved his sword up high and struck down at me with the force of, well, of a high level guard I guess. The sword hit my shield for what was probably the hundredth time, splitting it completely in two. What the hell? Dreamtech Industries had made many innovations and the previous years, but some of the stuff that had been happening since I arrived in the game just weren¡¯t right. They made sense, but only if the game was actually real. ¡°Wooo!¡± Boomed Sal as he ran around the pen thrusting his free fist into the air. ¡°Damn, that felt good!¡± The guard had hit only the shield for the most part, but there was still the phantom pain of a big gash he took out of my leg when he went for a low blow. I rested my hands above my head to conserve oxygen as I fought back the urge to sit down. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad it went so well for you haha. How did you not kill me anyways?¡± ¡°Oh, I pulled the blow is all. I don¡¯t need my old friend who is now my partner in crime dying by my hand.¡± He walked over and pat me on the back. I stepped back and raised my eyebrows, but didn¡¯t say anything. Pulled the blow?? After a second I decided that I was going to stop second guessing everything and would just have fun. It was clear that the game I was playing wasn¡¯t exactly the same as before. It felt like I was in a whole separate world from the other players. A world where scripted lines weren¡¯t a thing, shields can physically break in half, and guards can pull back their blows so they don¡¯t ruin their chances at outing their cheating wife. I gave the man a smile and said, ¡°Yeah, that makes sense. Hey it¡¯s getting late, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, yes it is. I think my shift is done for the day, wanna go grab a beer and make a plan for tomorrow? It¡¯s best to do it soon, the prince is set to be married this weekend.¡± ¡°Yes, that sounds good. I could use a drink.¡± I put away the broken shield and followed Sal down to the tavern. ¡° The guard had downed three pints and was beginning to get out of hand. ¡°You know, if that plunk wasn¡¯t such a snooty snot little brat, I¡¯d put my sword straight through his skull. Actually. That¡¯s just what am I to do.¡± Sal stood up, whipped out his sword and stumbled towards the door. ¡°Hey, hey buddy, wait,¡± I yelled after him. I caught up and then put an arm around him so he wouldn¡¯t fall. ¡°Where do you sleep? I¡¯ll help you get there.¡± ¡°No, no, no!¡± I need to go kill that little twat and then go throw that hag into the road.¡± ¡°Shhh, shh buddy, it¡¯s gonna be okay. Let¡¯s get you home.¡± ¡°Gah! You are so annoying adventurer. I can¡¯t go home. Let¡¯s get a room.¡± The guard took out a sack of coins and threw it at the innkeeper before I could stop him. ¡°One room, two beds please sir.¡± He then dropped out of my hold to his knees and then flopped down, face first into the ground. Well, there¡¯s a first time for everything¡­ I thought as I got ready to lift the guard up. After about ten minutes of watching me struggle, the innkeeper reluctantly helped me carry the drunken brute up the wooden stairs, all the way down the hallway, and into a medium sized room on the left. The room was sparsely furnished with two wooden beds covered by red torn sheets, a medium sized oak table, and a painting of a sword on the wall. No, it wasn¡¯t a sword. That¡¯s Gilded Dragon Slayer #6!! I thought as my heart grew heavy. I really hoped that I¡¯d be able to get it back. We threw Sal on the bed that lay vertically up against the back wall. I took the one that was in a similar position up against the back wall. The innkeeper silently ducked out before I could ask him about the painting; he was obviously happy to get away from us. I plopped down on the second bed and tried to drown out Sal¡¯s house-shaking snores. My mind drifted to my first day in what was obviously a much more real DSO. I didn¡¯t know what to expect to come out of my adventures, but I knew it was going to be good. My eyes eventually grew heavy, sending me into a deep sleep. *** The next thing I knew, I was making my way through a wooded path. I wore a long neon orange jumpsuit, my hands were tied behind my back, and a armor clad man rested his free hand on my shoulder, occasionally pushing me to go faster. I looked over at the man and gasped. He didn¡¯t have a single hair on his body besides eyelashes. He held a club in his right hand, which he used on me after I looked over. ¡°Get moving prisoner 44567,¡± he growled at me. My chest tightened. The pain in my upper right arm made sure that I didn¡¯t try to do anything dumb. We made our way through the forest for what felt like forever. Eventually we stopped as the guard pulled on my shoulder wrenching me backwards. The guard pulled an axe out of his bag, turned to a large redwood and then threw the axe at it, completely embedding it in the tree. The man then walked over to me, removed my bindings, and then began walking in the direction that we had come from. After a few steps he looked over his shoulder and with no emotion said, ¡°You know what will happen if you don¡¯t cut down enough trees.¡± *** My eyes shot open; I was in the worn down bed at the inn. It was a dream¡­ I thought. I looked around and Sal was gone. All that he left behind was an unmade bed and a pool of vomit on the floor. The stench of beer and beef clogged my nose, sending me running out the door. I made my way down the stairs and noticed that it was basically dead. The room had six rows of long tables with equally long benches on either side of each table. To my far right the innkeeper stood behind the bar pouring sal a drink. I walked over and had expected the man to be sad, but Sal sat up and enthusiastically greeted me. ¡°Look who it is Toly! It¡¯s the adventurer that¡¯s gonna deal with my pig of a wife.¡± The guard instantly looked dissatisfied with his own words and the innkeeper who was actually named Tony just ignored him. ¡°Hey. Look Tony, it¡¯s the man that¡¯s gonna help me get my shit back today,¡± I said as I sat down on a stool next to Sal. We both chuckled at the idea. ¡°You know Sal, I think that getting on the Prince¡¯s bad side might not be good for your job as one of his guardsman.¡± The man looked at me and a weird playful expression crossed his face. ¡°You don¡¯t worry about that! You worry about how we are going to get the job done.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I smiled, glad that my new friend had options and wasn¡¯t just going to throw everything away for revenge. ¡°Then let¡¯s get out of here and figure out how to screw over the prince and your soon to be ex wife.¡± Sal nodded, stood up and we said our goodbyes to a not phased Tony. ¡°So Sal, how are we gonna do this?¡± I asked on the way out. ¡°Oh you know, learn an often overlooked spell, create a spectacle, and ruin some lives. That¡¯s all,¡± The man sad, smiling devilishly. ¡°What are you planning you crazy bastard? It¡¯¡¯s not gonna get us killed is it?¡± ¡°Only if we get caught. Let¡¯s go and you¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± I nodded and followed him west through Landalof, but thoughts about how I had always hated riddles and surprises plagued me the entire way. We continued west as we passed the training grounds, the farm behind it, a shop on the other side of the road, and a few houses. The road continued and after a few minutes we were outside what I knew was the magic shop. ¡°What are we¡­?¡± ¡°YOU¡¯LL SEE!¡± screamed Sal as he rushed through the door without knocking. It was at that moment that it was the first time I had ever thought about knocking before going in an NPC¡¯s house. ¡°Greetings Barbara you old hag. I¡¯ve come to bargain.¡± Hey¡­ wait. ¡°Where did you hear that saying?¡± ¡°What saying?¡± Sal answered. I was just telling her that I¡¯ve come to bargain.¡± Feeling relieved, I looked up at the witch. Sal looked at me curiously for a moment but then turned to the witch. She stood at an impressive four feet tall, wore greenish rags, and spotted a crooked nose. Sadly enough she didn¡¯t have the typical hat of a witch. ¡°Hey wait... Wheres Mordamir? Doesn¡¯t he run the magic shop?¡± Both Sal and Barbara, or Barbarina according to her name plate, grew uncomfortable looks on their faces. ¡°Oh yes, he is at one of the other magic shops.¡± Barbara answered boldly. ¡°But I thought¡­¡± ¡°Hey buddy, don¡¯t get all frazzled you forgot what shop has what powerful being. Let¡¯s just bargain with this wonderful lady that I definitely didn¡¯t call a hag and get out of here.¡± I didn¡¯t know why, but something was starting to seem really off with Sal that day. ¡°Okay boys, now that that¡¯s over, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°My friend and I have a problem and we think that a good spell might help us out.¡± The witch smiled wide as any discomfort she previously wore washed off her face. ¡°Oh, of course! I¡¯d love to make some money off of a new adventurer! You pesky adventurer¡¯s always want more power, which means I can usually make a pretty penny.¡± ¡°Well, Barb, I think you are gonna do this man a favor today and let him browse your spells and choose one for free.¡± ¡°For free?¡± The witch asked, obviously opposed to the idea. ¡°But¡­¡± It was then that the witch nodded her head, looked down at the ground away from us and started going through her bookcase. ¡°Here you go, uhm adventurer.¡± A screen translucent screen appeared before me and at the top of it where the categories beginner, intermediate, advanced, sacred, and untouchable. I scrolled through each menu and saw a wide variety of spells, which included ones I knew beginning players didn¡¯t typically have access to. I expected to not be able to see the sacred and untouchable spells, but there wasn¡¯t an issue when I clicked on the tabs. ¡°So I can learn anything I want?¡± I asked nervously. Something did feel quite off. ¡°Uh, yes, but only one please,¡± the witch reluctantly pleaded. I looked over to gauge Sal¡¯s reaction, but he seemed back to his old self. ¡°One¡¯s fine, just make sure that you know how it¡¯s gonna solve our issue Ky.¡± I nodded and then continued to look over my options. There were three that I thought could help us. Clairvoyance This spell allows you to gain pertinent information. At lower levels it can be rather uncontrollable, but at higher levels you could learn a great deal without the need of seeing, hearing, tasting, or smelling. I really don¡¯t know what information you could gain by tasting, but then again I guess I¡¯m not the adventurer. Note: gaining proficiency in this skill may allow you to transfer knowledge you learn to others. The skill seemed promising, but I just wasn¡¯t sure how much it would help without me leveling it up. I turned to the next skill and chuckled to myself. Explode Humanoid You can cause humanoids that are below your level to explode. Beware, area of effect damage may harm you or others if you aren¡¯t careful. I stifled my chuckle and turned to Sal seriously, mustering the most wicked grin I could. ¡°Well, Sal, I¡¯ve got it. I¡¯ll learn explode humanoid and we¡¯ll blow the two up while they are banging and then we¡¯ll be through with our issue.¡± The witch looked at me like I was insane and yet sal looked perfectly fine with what I had suggested. ¡°Sounds good to me, let¡¯s go.¡± There didn¡¯t seem to be a hint of remorse in his voice. Wasn¡¯t the woman his wife? He had seemed weird all day, but that was a bit much. I shook it off and made an excuse as to why it wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want to damage the castle or anything, and plus I think that being shamed to the entire town for eternity would hurt more than a quick explosive death. Don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true,¡± The man claimed, even though his eyes told a different story. I looked down at the last spell I thought could be rather useful. Telekinesis This spell allows you to manipulate the forces of nature with your mind. The more proficient you become with this skill, the more objects you can move and the effectiveness in which you do so will improve. Just try not to get caught lifting girls¡¯ skirts. I blushed and for some reason Sal let out a torrent of laughter. I decided that the spell could be used to my advantage and would also benefit me in some other ways. To be honest, it was a common spell lurers used, but I thought it was the most useful at that point in time. I selected the spell and then something strange happened. I fell to my knees as every nerve in my body lit up. I clenched my head in pain as what felt like a billion votes of electricity caused my head to explode in a wave of hot corrosive plasma. Then everything went black. When I woke up I was still on the floor, but both Barbara and Sal were gone. I sat up and realized that most of the pain was gone. I didn¡¯t know what had happened, but I sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to try and provoke it again. As I sat up, I realized I could hear a muffled noise from the door in the back that led to the witch¡¯s private bedroom. I wasn¡¯t sure if I should knock or what, but then I realized something. I know telekinesis now. I could feel something new floating through me. I raised my hand and focused on the door knob. At first nothing happened. I looked at it more and more. My hand shaked shook, but nothing happened. I focused more and more. The noise was generic and muffled, almost as if a spell was cast over the room. Then it began to happen. The doorknob began to turn. I envisioned it turning over in my mind, but it stopped halfway with a hard click. It¡¯s locked. I then focused my attention on the keyhole and a new feeling came over me. I could feel my brain''s connection to the keyhole. It was like my thoughts were wrapped around it, like they tried to make their way in. A notification presented itself with the usual ding. Skill Update You have felt your skill Telekinesis for the first time. You are currently skilled enough to break the lock you are focusing on, but are not proficient enough to pick the lock. Focusing on the lock more and willing it to break will allow you to open the door, but be aware that the consequences are unknown. I ignored the prompt and focused on breaking the lock. WIth a sharp snap, the door lock broke, allowing me to open it. The door slowly creaked open and the muffled noise was replaced with something else altogether as if a spell was losing its effectiveness. Grisly groans erupted through the cracked door and assaulted my eaerdrums. An eerie moan pierced my very core. ¡°Harder, harder,¡± squealed the witch. ¡°Gaaaah! Take this you old hag!¡± the grisly voice I then knew belonged to Sal. Every weird thing he had done all day stacked on top of what I was being forced to hear and I snapped. I pictured the door slamming and my mind grasped the handle, slamming the door shut. I got up and walked out the door. I¡¯m still gonna do the quest, but I¡¯m doing it for myself from now on. I walked out, reassured by the fact that I couldn¡¯t trust a single human soul, digital or not. Chapter Six: Recruitment I got ready to leave, but something made me stop. The witch¡¯s spellbook was still on the counter. I imagined bringing it up and the familiar menu appeared. I heard the noise increase from the other room, but no one came out. I quickly tore through the book and clicked on the two other spells I considered using. I decided Explode Humanoid wasn¡¯t a great option for my playstyle and chose another random spell I hadn¡¯t even looked at. With Clairvoyance and Animate Object, I left the witch¡¯s hut with a quickened pace. The memory of being brought to my knees when I learned the spell began to fade, gradually replaced by a new sense of drive. I stormed off in the direction of the castle. I made my way back to where I started, the training grounds. I looked over and saw what looked like Sal, standing there and helping an adventurer train. I looked more closely and realized, it wasn¡¯t him. I walked over to them and just stared. I looked at the player fighting him and his name appeared as ¡°TheG0Truthith. I was immediately taken aback. Was he a hardcore player and died? Is he just a friend of the man I killed? I stepped to the left and ducked behind a few barrels. I always assumed they were a decoration, but I could hear water sloshing against the sides of one of the barrels as I bumped into it slightly. ¡°Gah!¡± the player yelled as his sword clanged against the shield of Sal¡¯s replacement.¡± I sat and listened for a bit and then the player started talking to himself. ¡°Thank you stupid guard. It didn¡¯t take long at all and now I¡¯ve acquired the warrior class. My brother is going to be so proud. Now I can train up and hunt down that Kyogos guy. Hahahaha.¡± I immediately thought that the kid was having an aneurism or something, but then he said something even more disturbing. ¡°Training Grounds Guard: Haha yeah! I heard that guy is twisted and stupid hahaha. He hunted down other players and then began an attack on a group of PKrs but then he just sat there and let them kill him. I can¡¯t wait till I¡¯ve trained you enough so you can kill him over and over again. You are so great!¡± the player said in as low of a tone as he could. I instantly wanted to go back to the witches hut and listen to whatever freaky voodoo was going on over there. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I didn¡¯t want that at all, I just couldn¡¯t stand how humiliating the guy was being. He was pretending the guard was dissing me, and he well, he was just being ridiculous. What kind of kid talks to himself? I finished my condescending thought and I feel to my knees for what felt like the billionth time. *** Everything had gone black again, like I was back in what was my hell for two months. Then slowly, my vision drifted from foggy to focused and I realized that I was looking down at a scene unfolding before me. A player named ThatGuyKy was killing camp of goblins. He wasn¡¯t equipped with much, a steel sword, a leather top and bottom, and a single gold ring. Following him though, was a golden retriever with a faint hint of red in its coloring. I looked at the dog and I felt what would have been a teardrop begin to form. . Ginger, or TheGingo as I had named her in the game, was my IRL companion growing up. In the vision she was pixely and didn¡¯t look much like what she did in real life at the time, but having her in the game had meant a lot. I looked down and words appeared above the player¡¯s head, ¡°Oh? Yeah? Okay, GIngo! You can have the bone. *Tossed bone. Oh thanks Ky! You are the best. Let''s kill more of these goblins so I can chew on all of their bones. But, hey, please leave more meat on them for me next time! The labrador pet that was my only friend in the game caused my emotional floodgates to overflow, causing a spasmodic release of anguish and regret. Why did Ginger have to die right before I went to college? Why did I have to have no one? I could have got an off campus apartment that allowed dogs. If she just¡­ I knew the thoughts weren¡¯t going to help me, but the vision brought back a wave of feelings I had been pushing back. It wasn¡¯t until the vision faded and I was staring up at Sal that I questioned what the hell was going on. ¡°Hey Ky! Where have you been all day man?¡± asked Sal innocently as he pulled me to my feet.¡± Both my heart and head continued to pound, but I decided that answering him was better than running off and being alone. ¡°Oh, I think you know where I''ve been," I said angrily. "Huh?" Sal questioned, looking genuinely confused. "I just strolled down from the bar; I''ve been there all morning. What are you talking about?" "What am I talking about?!" I shouted. Oh, let me tell you what I''m talking about." *** ¡°So, I banged a weird witch after demanding she give you free, high quality spells and then you had a vision of the virtual version of your now deceased dog?¡± Sal asked skeptically with his eyebrows raised. He began to laugh a little as he finished the question, but then he looked over at my blank as stone face and stifled a few more chortles. ¡°Yes, yes indeed Sal. "I have no memory of that man... I was waiting for you at the bar and then I must have gotten really drunk or something because hours went by before I decided to go and get you. You weren''t upstairs so I wondered around down to the training grounds where I found you on the ground." "You serioiusly don''t remember anything?" I asked skeptically, wanting to believe what appeared to be my only friend in all of Dragaria. "No, I really don''t.... Wait... I need to tell you something." Sal then ushered me closer and whispered in my ear. What he told me sounded almost like a cover, but will everything else that was going on it made more sense than the way he had acted with the wtich. Someone was playing mind games with us.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. We both stayed relatively quiet until Sal looked over straight faced.¡°Wait..." "Yeah?" I asked, hoping he came to some brilliant revelation. "as she at least a hot witch?¡±Sal lost all control and let it go in waves of abhorrent laughter. ¡°No, not really." i said plainly. "But, We need to figure what¡¯s going on fast because none of it makes any sense.¡± Sal nodded and then began to walk towards the inn again. I called after him but he didn¡¯t answer. It was only when I completely caught up to him that he answered. ¡°WE have some drinking to do. I may or may not havet actually been with a disgusting witch, meaning this is a perfect time to drink regardless.¡± ¡°You can drink your liver dead, see if I care, but don¡¯t you want to deal with your wife and the prince?¡± The man turned around and gave me a wide grin. ¡°All you had do was ask. Let¡¯s go.¡± We made our way towards the castle. We passed Billy¡¯s house, the bank, and the other stores housed in downtown Landalof. We took a right and looked up at the castle. It was the first time I had looked at it since arriving. In person, the castle looked old and ominous, like the old man you see out in public that could be your best friend or your worst nightmare. Light lit up a window on the top floor and then it immediately went out, almost as if the castle was greeting me. The base was the most crude and had the greatest variance in the types of stone used in its creation. Then long highways connected from the base to two large watchtowers. I knew from my experience that the castle had four main floors and a basement. The first floor was made up of a kitchen, dining room, and the guard¡¯s room. The second floor housed the guards, the third the castle¡¯s workers, and the fourth housed the royalty. Landalof was old in both age and tradition, which was why guards and work staff lived in the castle. According to sal, there was a small room on the roof that could be reached from the fourth floor. A few guards at a time are assigned to take watch. Sal noted that the guards often checked on the royal siblings when necessary.. We made our way down up the steps and down the hall to the right until the meeting hall was on our left. Looking in, the hall was pretty crowded. A few players were turning in quests and some stock guards sat around. Sal walked up to the guard with the most distinct armor of the bunch. It wasn¡¯t the usual steel, it had to have been dragonsteel. Dragonsteel was a type of metal that was harvested from the corpses of dragons. Though modern dragons were less intelligent and made for an easier kill, they provided less power materials than more ancient ones like the six original dragons. ¡°Heeeey, John! How are you doing today?¡± Sal yelled loudly, breaking my focus. The man turned towards us. He looked like he had just been greeted by a lost friend. ¡°There he is! How were the training grounds today, you sick of that yet? I know you miss the old days, but maybe watching the castle sometime would give you a break. Eh? How about it?¡± ¡°Oh, well, maybe, but I actually have something to talk to you about. I was kind of just avoiding it, but I think that as one of two remaining brothers of the late Gillian Landalof you would want to hear what evil has been plaguing this great castle. The men embraced tenderly, pausing a moment at the end before John began to answer. ¡°I¡¯m listening Salford, but don¡¯t let this be some sort of prank, because I have dealt with enough of that to last me a lifetime.¡± The man chuckled but his eyes looked serious. Sal stepped in closer to John and whispered something inaudible. The more Sal told John, the more questions John seemed to throw back at him. I began to look at the table, which was a long rectangular rendition of the lands of Dragaria. Having become bored, I focused on a few pieces that seemed to resemble pawns and activated my Telekinesis spell. I focused on moving pieces into new formations, but didn¡¯t do too much or else I might have messed up more than I could fix. The men finally stopped after what had felt like more than an uncomfortable amount of time. The two walked towards me looking as though they had solved the dragonscale crisis or food shortage in some of the lesser kingdoms. ¡°So this is that adventurer, erm, what did you call him? Ky?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s Ky alright, though I don¡¯t believe he¡¯s gone with name here yet,¡± Sal answered. ¡°And Ky, this is my brother Sir Jonathan Landalof, younger only to our deceased king.¡± I didn¡¯t really know what to do, because I was essentially in a whole new world. It was then that I thought of how I had spent a large portion of my life in the lands of Dragaria, yet I knew very little about the actual customs of the people. I went to bow down but the two men shook their heads and got a chuckle out of it. ¡°There might have been a time back when our brother was at the height of his power that we would have accepted such honors, but times are dark and we have much to prove.¡± Sal listened silently and then called for my attention. ¡°Ky, I think we are gonna start fixing some things around here.¡± It was then that a noise alerted my of a quest update. I pulled it up to see what silly message the game was going to give me next. Billy¡¯s Bargain You spent a greater part of your morning getting spells, passing out from pain, and witnessing something both disturbing and confusing. You have been offered assistance by the late king¡¯s two brothers. How you choose to handle the situation is up to you, but don¡¯t forget the two spells you gained. I quickly read the notification and started assembling possible pieces of a plan. ¡°Good! I think this is going to work out.¡± John nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay, now how do you two plan on doing all this without giving that snot nosed.. Uh, goblin, anymore power around here?¡± ¡°well , I¡¯ve got an idea¡­ Follow me.¡± The brothers looked at me with eyebrows raised, but decided to follow me upstairs regardless. They shot me with an endless torrent of shushed questions, but I didn¡¯t say a peep. I only stopped as we approached the last staircase. I thought about activating my newly acquired skill, but nothing. John and Sal stared at me, but I was shutting them out. I focused on the name of the spell Clairvoyance and thought about the prince. Nothing. I then cleared my mind and thought back to the nothingness that was my home for two months. The utter solitude of it all. Then, after maybe two minutes of nerve wracking silence, it began to work. I looked through the eyes, of whom I assumed to be the prince. He was riding a deep red stallion in the wild. I thought it was strange because horses weren¡¯t common among players, but it still seemed useful; it meant he wasn¡¯t upstairs. I then let myself drift again and my vision changed to the Bensley twins down at the adventurer¡¯s center. They sat helping some adventurers with random tasks like storing items and filing for a housing portal permit. My vision tore away from the center and back to the two guards that were waiting for an answer. ¡°We are all set, let¡¯s go.¡± I said immediately, ushering them to follow me upstairs. At the very top were four large rooms on each side. ¡°What one belongs to the prince?¡± I asked as my brain finished its transformation into detective mode. ¡°The second one on the right,¡± John gruffed, ¡°and the one across from it, and the one on the left of it, almost all of them really.¡± I looked over to gauge a reaction from sal, but he just nodded in agreement. ¡°I¡¯m starting to think that we aren¡¯t harming anyone by doing this¡­¡± I said, having had previous doubts about whether the quest was the right way to go about getting my stuff back, or if I should have even bothered going after it. Both men seemed to be listening, but John looked like he had better places to be. ¡°Well, that¡¯s all fine and good, but let¡¯s get to work. What do you have to show us?¡± I pulled open my spellbook to get some more information on the spell and then said, ¡°Well, seeing how you asked¡­¡± Chapter Seven: Disappointment and Betrayal ¡°So what are you expecting it to do?¡± John asked as three of us kneeled before the prince¡¯s bed. I had been resting my head in my hands and focused on the spell Animate Object, but nothing happened. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what I''m doing,¡± I admitted as I raised my hands and got up, stepping away from the bed. ¡°I¡¯ve tried everything I did with the other spell and just¡­ Nothing.¡± At that point, John got up and feverishly scratched at his chin like he was going to find an answer in the follicles of hair. Sal seemed to have gotten even closer to the bed, if that was possible. ¡°Hmmm. Why don¡¯t you¡­¡± Sal suggested, pausing for dramatic effect. ¡°Talk to it.¡± ¡°Talk to it!¡± John yelled after he was pulled out of his questioning daze. ¡°What do you think this is? Our childhood or something?¡± A reverent yet saddened expression appeared across Sal¡¯s face as he defensively whispered something under his breath. ¡°What was that Sal? Did Mrs. Samone forget to get the salt again?¡± John brutally replied. Sal didn¡¯t say a word and ended up just idly standing in the corner by the prince¡¯s dresser. John walked over to continue his attack on his brother and I sat there processing the conversation. Talk to it. The words bored their way into my head like a sweet whisper from an unknown angel. I got back down, stared right at the bed and said, ¡°Do you come here often?¡± while focusing on the Animate Object spell. Nothing happened for a second, so I got up ready to announce my defeat when a quirky high pitched voice answered back. ¡°Me? Well, no, but someone sure does.¡± John and sal rushed over in excitement. ¡°It¡¯s a damn peeping mattress!¡± Yelled Sal. ¡°Yes and I shall vanquish the demon!¡± John screamed as he withdrew his longsword from its sheathe and approached the mattress. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was serious or not because his voice said one thing and his crazy lunge at the innocent little mattress said another. ¡°Hey wait, I need to ask it about my wife!¡± Sal said as he put himself between the man and the mattress.¡± I looked down at the mattress and realized that holes for a mouth and eyes had opened up, only to be filled with a bright green glow. A warning popped up. Skill Warning You have summoned a [Magic Mattress]. At your skill level, it runs off of your mana and will only be conscious for as long as you have the resources to do so. John and Sal had been asking the mattress all kinds of questions while I read the warning. ¡°So you are telling me that this woman¡­¡± Sal started as he pointed to a drawn portrait of his wife, has never been in here?¡± ¡°Well, I mean, I wasn¡¯t aware that I had ever been able to see until that little mattress whisperer over there summoned me, but now that I¡¯m awake I can see back for as far as I¡¯ve ever existed. Let me see¡­ Hmm. Yes, yes, I¡¯ve seen her. I wouldn¡¯t forget those eyes.¡± ¡±I¡¯m going to kill him!¡± Sal yelled loudly as he withdrew his sword from its sheathe and pranced around the room, slashing out wildly.¡± ¡°Hey brother, let''s relax and not scare the little bed thing. It has suffered enough having to support the spoiled ass of our beloved, uh¡­¡± the head guard said, pausing to look around half joking and half out of covering his own ass, ¡°goblin.¡± ¡°You know, maybe we¡¯ve been going about it all wrong¡­¡± I warned. I looked over at the mattress and said, ¡°Who have you seen in here with the prince?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Ummmm¡­ Let¡¯s see¡± said the Magic Mattress with a hint of menace in its voice. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I can remember well enough I feel so restricted and maybe some fresh air could do me some good.¡± A notification warned me that my mana was down twenty five percent. ¡°Okay, you magic mattress, stop messing with us and tell us what you want before I slice you open,¡± John said angrily. ¡°Yes please. Slice me, slice me.¡± The mattresses eyes and mouth glowed ever brighter as it got more excited. ¡°You heard the thing¡± said Sal as he jumped up on top of the bed, readied his sword, and plunged it into the mattress.¡± A quest notification popped up and I half expected it to tell me I failed because we killed the weird magic mattress with a death wish. Billy¡¯s Bargain: The mattress has informed you that Salford¡¯s wife is indeed sleeping with Beth. The mattress withheld information, which could have hindered your plan, but don¡¯t fret. Your traveling companion followed his instincts without thinking and has now released the [Magic Mattress] from its constricted form. It is now free to move around as it likes. WARNING: You must imbue objects you plan on setting free with enough mana to carry out there task, otherwise they will fail you. Good luck! It was at that moment that a glowing army from hell burst out of the mattress, filling the air like the million feathered fireflies that they really were. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°What in Dragaria am I going to do with all these pests in the castle? I was just joking, darnit brother. There you go making a mess of things. This is why I became head guard and you train new adventurers for a living.¡± The brothers began to bicker back and forth. Sal shot back that the real reason John was head guard was because he was older and Sal was off learning to slay dragons with the great Knight Sir Alfred Skycane. I blocked them out in order to chase after the feathers. I followed the [Magic Featherstorm] down four flights of stairs, barely managing to stop and channel half of my remaining mana into them. I checked the chat and saw players were freaking out. Spot456: What¡¯s going on? Is this some sort of event? Gazelet: I don¡¯t know, but it seems too big for a single quest. G0truthith: Hey! Someone catch them! Maybe they are worth something. I read the chat, but then closed it and continued to chase after the feathers. They took off in all directions. What I saw and heard next blew my mind and gave the players a real laugh. ¡°Prince Luke is sleeping with Andrew Bensley! Prince Luke visits miss Tylia but he sleeps in his bed with the banker boy Andrew Bensley!¡± The feathers continued to fly around the town. I looked around and could see similar messages spelt out in glowing feathers. The chat started to blow up with controversy and many yelled in outrage at the feathers. Both players and NPCs alike ran around trying to silence the feathers. Well, to be honest, the NPCS were trying to save themselves and the players were hoping for some sweet loot. The feathers eventually changed its message. ¡°LUKE AND ANDREW ARE TOGETHER, BUT THAT¡¯S NOT WRONG BECAUSE THEY ARE BOTH MEN, IT¡¯S WRONG BECAUSE THE PRINCE IS ENGAGED TO Tylia. HE IS THE CLOSEST THING YOU HAVE TO A LEADER, SO YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT THIS. Gooooood Byeeee!¡± The feathers wheezed out its farewell as they began to float aimlessly through the wind with all signs of magic gone. My mouth hung open. I had no idea what to do next. I pulled up the quest notification that came with the [Magic Featherstorm]¡¯s announcement. Billy¡¯s Bargain You found a rather interesting way to get the word around about the dishonest prince. It¡¯s unsure what this will come to, but you should probably swing by the AC and see if you can get Billy that date. I sat down against the castle wall as I tried to muster up the courage to go in search of completing my quest. I got up after a few moments and walked quickly to the building. I got close to the building and slowed down at the sound of Sal¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry sweetheart. I sort of caused this. I thought¡­ I thought you might have been seeing the prince, so I helped an adventurer find the truth. I had no idea¡­ ¡°You know, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that my brother hadn¡¯t told anyone, I might just not be upset with you. Maybe I would be able to overlook it because this is just the kind of thing you do. But I just can¡¯t do this right now with that fact that you didn¡¯t trust me and revealed my brother¡¯s biggest secret. Who is this adventurer anyway? I¡¯m going to have to smack him. I sat scared to enter. So¡­ Luke wasn¡¯t her fiance, Sal was? But he said his wife was cheating¡­ I had no idea what to think. I turned around to get as far away as I could, but then I saw him. Billy sat on the other side of the road leaned up against a sturdy looking oak. He wore his usual outfit and was feverishly mowing down on an ear of uncooked corn. What was more disturbing though, was the ferocity in which he was chortling while eating the corn. It even began to shoot out of his nose all over the place. I walked over and another quest notification went off, this time it was shorter and lower pitched, sounding more absolute. Billy¡¯s Bargain WARNING: Usually quest updates don¡¯t give away information early, but it looks like you need it. Billy The Adventures Guide set you up, meaning that he breached the rules of the contract. You might not have done what you planned to, but you definitely helped start a great change in the town of Landalof. Plus, Billy, Beth, Tylia, and yourself are all outside together; someone might consider that a date. Enjoy your [Dragonsteel Scalebound Box]. It was the first time that I really wanted to just log out. Things had gotten so out of hand. Talking to Sal, Billy, or anyone really, was the last thing I wanted to do. I glanced through the options fully aware there wouldn¡¯t be a way to logout, but it wasn¡¯t until everyone had make there way out side that I truly gave up. Words flew around me like a swirling fog of drama ridden doom. I had avoided this exact type of situation countless times in both high school and college, yet somehow I couldn¡¯t escape it in what was supposed to be my one safe place. I stood up, looked at Sal, John, Andrew, and the twins. They were all arguing over whose fault it was and what the implications were going to be. I thought about what a hero would do. I envisioned myself telling everyone that it was my fault and that I would bear the high school consequences and fix all of their problems, but I just¡­ I couldn¡¯t do it. All I wanted was my Gilded Dragon Slayer #6¡­ I started walking away, but then turned around to glance at Billy again. He was still laughing his ass off like hadn¡¯t a care in the world. It was then that my sadness turned to anger and I took off. Quests aren¡¯t supposed to be like this. I passed the HC, a few stores, the training grounds and eventually even the magic shop. I kept going until I was far out of town. I needed to do something different, to just begin my way back to the top. I knew I still wanted the GDS, but I was sick of the games. I made my way west for awhile and then dropped down south until I stumbled upon the gates of Spardonia City.. It was originally founded by Draconamir, the fire dragon. Just like man creature himself, the city was flashy and known for violence. A long fiery boarder sat around the perimeter of the City. Only those with fire in their hearts were known to be able to enter. If I was going to learn some skills and fast, that was the place to do it. I recognized that it was a place of violence and I was only armed with the ability to see visions, create talking objects, and move small objects with my mind, but that didn¡¯t stop me from entering. I made my way down a street full off shops of every shape and size. Spardonia wasn¡¯t really a great place to live until you were eternally pissed off, but they had a lot of good wares and were often a big part of quests. I took a left once I got to the town square and then turned right and walked into the Salty Saloon, one of the dirtiest bars in all of Dragaria. The room was full of NPCs rough housing and a few players striking up the bartender for quests. I made my way to the bar, sat right on up, waited until the bartender wasn¡¯t looking and then used my Telekinesis spell to grab myself a bottle of RIckey¡¯s Firespice Rum.I had thought about paying for it, but then I realized I didn¡¯t have anything because I had wasted a day and a half on that pointless quest. I didn¡¯t drink much, but it felt like one of those days. You know when an NPC called Billy the Adventurer''s Guide screws you over and then just has an endless laughing fit about at your expense? Yes, it was exactly one of those days. I sat, feeling sorry for myself, and just drank the bottle away. I knew I had to make a plan at some point, but I sure as hell wasn¡¯t doing it right then. Chapter Eight: A Destiny Discovered ¡°You gonna move or am I gonna have to move you punk?¡± Warned a mountain of a man covered in what looked to be high level leather gear with streaks of red dragon scales sewn into the fabric along the arms and legs. It was a common practice to enhance one¡¯s own armor with dragon scales. They could add magical properties and also represented who someone is affiliated with based on the color and placement. I had been drunkenly staring at a beer mug, trying desperately to move it, even half an inch. For some reason the door knob had been a lot easier, but the damn mug? I would have had an easier time moving the big guy that easily could and would end my life if I didn¡¯t do as he said. But then again, I was pissed off and drank the entire bottle of rum. The one thing that the game menus don¡¯t tell you about drinks in the game world is how strong they are. That one bottle would have been enough for a few nights back in the real world, even if I was drinking a lot. I stood up and¡­ Okay, you got me. I really don¡¯t know what happened. All I know is that the next day I woke up outside of bar in a pile of trash with about a dozen notifications and of course, Billy. ¡°Hello there Ky. You feeling alright?¡± He was perched weirdly on a barrel with both hands holding his sack of endless junk. I sat up and then wretched all over my legs and shoes. The old man took one hand and plugged his nose, sending off one of his kookie smiles. ¡°Well that doesn¡¯t seem too good. Maybe you¡¯ll feel a bit better after I give you a cure for what I assume is a nasty hangover and then hand you your stuff.¡± I looked up at the man as my entire body wanted to give up and fall back to the ground and continue on as just another bag of trash. I groaned and then tried to let out some words but they came out muffled and quiet. ¡°What was that sunny? I couldn¡¯t quite hear yah.¡± The man seemed to get even happier at my misery. ¡°Go away. I don¡¯t need your handouts,¡± I managed to spit out. ¡°Oh, no, you do for sure my young friend; look at you.I know I might have messed with you a little bit too much, I just couldn¡¯t help myself, here get up. The man put down his bag, and grabbed my wrists with his hands so I could stand up. I staggered a bit, but then I was up. The man grabbed his bag with one hand and helped me to a bench with the other. He seemed rather strong for an old man with how forcefully he was pushing me along, but I didn¡¯t question it with the thunder and lightning living in my head and a piercing dagger stuck in my stomach. We sat down on the bench and then Billy pulled a small tin cup, a jug of water, and a vial of white powder out of his bag. He filled the cup with water, dropped in the powder, and then mixed it all up. Afterwards, he handed it to me and simply said, ¡°Drink up. You need it.¡± I began to drink it and half expected him to tell me it was something disgusting and that he was messing with me again, but he didn¡¯t say a word. We sat like that for about ten minutes as I slowly drank the tasteless concoction. ¡°Feeling any better yet?¡± Billy asked me in a seemingly innocent tone. I gave him back the empty cup and realized that I was actually feeling a bit better. My head no longer blocked all incoming thoughts and every muscle and bone in my body didn¡¯t feel like they were made of leftover chicken wings anymore. ¡°Thank you a lot. I appreciate it. But why are you helping me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s actually why I came to talk to you laddie. I know that I was really hard on you, but I had to see a few things about you, while also teaching you a lesson.¡± I looked up at the man, completely confused. ¡°What could you have possibly been trying to see and or teach me?¡± I questioned doubtfully. ¡°You gave me an impossible quest and then laughed as everything got screwed up because of me. I thought about getting up and running away again, but I knew I had to at least listen. ¡°The world you are used to friend, it isn¡¯t exactly the world you see here now is it?¡± The Adventures Guide¡¯s words seemed serious and all-knowing for the first time since I had met him. ¡°No, no it isn¡¯t. But what does that have to do with-¡± ¡°Listen,¡± Billy said as he raised a finger to his lips. ¡°The point of the quest was to show you that not all things here are going to be as straight forward as you are used to. It was better that I show you that than someone else who might¡¯ve tried to cause you great harm.¡± I sat, silently absorbing the man''s words. My nerves began to calm and my hangover resided even more. If only we had this damn stuff in the real world, I thought. Everyone would probably be less grumpy. I then nodded for him to continue. ¡°You see Kyle,¡± Billy said, emphasizing my name. Wait, how does he know my name? ¡°There¡¯s a lot going on that you don¡¯t know and I think it¡¯s about time I at least open your eyes to some of it. The man put his hands up to my head and instantly everything went black. I was really getting used to the feeling to be honest. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. When my vision came to, I was watching over what appeared to be a battle scene. A man clad in DragonSlayer Plate Armour and wielding GDS #6 was fighting a large black dragon. The man had every piece of armor on besides a helmet. No way¡­ I thought as I looked closer at the man. I had to squint a bit, but that was Billy. It wasn¡¯t just Billy, but Sir Alfred Skycane. This can¡¯t be, I thought. I watched as the man activated various abilities from the GDS. Puddles of water fell to the dragon''s feet and then turned to ice, balls of fire erupted out of the sword and splashed against the platemail. Walls of earth sprang from the ground and smashed into the mighty beast. The beast shot beams of darkness at the man, but the sword seemed to simply absorb them. The man shot of a few more attacks and then the vision jumped to the man unleashing a powerful, large beam of light towards the dragon. The darkness that was the creature got sucked into the beam of light and sank all the way into the sword. Skycane turned around and then focused his vision on me, like he knew I was watching. The vision cut out again and this time it was of the sword and armor. They sat in a locked display case in what seemed like the basement of an old building based on the dirt floors and crumbling walls. A man in long, dark robes made his way to the case, raised his hand up to it and then poof, it sprung open. The man grabbed the armour and sword, shoved it into a bag similar to the one that Billy carried. He then turned around and I could see his face. Something was familiar about the broad shoulders, angular face, and laugh lines. It was¡­ Sal? I was confused at first, but then I remembered the weird instance at the magic shop and how he didn¡¯t seem like himself at all? Was he being controlled? Or, Was he a villain all alongl? The vision subsided and I was again sitting besides the old man, only this time I had a much deepened respect for the man, as well as about a million questions. Billy, or I mean Skycane looked at me expectantly but the words just wouldn¡¯t come out of my mouth. I sat for another minute and then finally got out a single word. ¡°You?¡± *** The man corroborated that he was the man who stopped the dragons. He also told me how he had received an extended life for his accomplishments and everything that came with it: the friends dying out, protecting the sword, losing it, the whole nine yards. He told me how the sword was stolen and then given to an adventurer. He said he had feared the end of the world, but that adventurer hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to finish the quest that would bring about the end of Dragaria. ¡°Wait¡­ So you''re telling me that an adventure was unable to complete a quest, which required a sword, your sword, that would have caused the end of the world?¡± The man nodded and I didn¡¯t hesitate to continue. ¡°So¡­ He needed the sword and then lost it?¡± The man I then knew was the most powerful knight to ever walk the planet nodded. ¡°What happened to the sword then?¡± I asked without a second thought. Billy looked at me and just said, ¡°I think you know the answer to that yourself.¡± It then clicked and I remembered Billy telling me to remember how I had gotten the sword in the first place. At the time, I thought that he must have heard the usual story from the other players that I took out the owner with nothing but a bronze shortsword and some salty words. I hadn¡¯t thought much about it because the story was false, but when considering how I actually managed to get the sword, the rest of the story made sense. It was still pretty early on in my hardcore career actually and I was trying to find a serious way to come up in the ranks. I sat and recalled what had actually happened as Billy just watched with a smile on his face. *** I was a Spell-Shield, so I was great at not taking damage and exploding on my enemies, but I really didn¡¯t do that much damage when it came down to a fair fight. I had heard of a player with the first one of a kind weapon and set of armor, so my interests were peaked. I spent a week planning a way to get that sword and did everything in my power to make it work. I spent the last of my gold, and quite a few days training, to make it work. I had extended the number of pieces I could charm as well as how long those charms would last. I then spent a few days browsing the black market. You see, the developers of the game wanted it to be as realistic and fun as possible, so various professions and options were included that you wouldn¡¯t see in most games. Players had the capability to either find or craft almost exact replicas of high level gear. They would look and even read as the original, but their value and stats weren¡¯t usually even close to the original. I managed to get my hands on some and then charmed all of them. I tracked down a certain player and set up a trap with the armor. The guy had become the most powerful player ever and soared to the top of the leaderboards, so I wasn¡¯t scared of much. He saw the trove of armor and walked straight into my trap. Every single piece of armor exploded, sending his health points almost to zero; his overpowered gear didn¡¯t matter in that instant. You see, the great deal of money I spent also had to do with a new effect, Chain Reaction. The ability read: When one of your charm explodes, there is a 25% chance that it will attach to another piece of nearby gear. He really was screwed. Considering there were maybe ten sets of gear in the pile, Chain Reaction made sure that not only every piece of gear lit up, but that the player¡¯s entire set of armor and even the GDS #6 exploded as well. When I made my way out from behind a wall and stood before him, the player was almost completely dead; a short blinking health bar told me that he had some sort of safety net in place. That was when I took out my bronze shortsword, did one last enchantment and stabbed it into his chest, causing his heart to explode into a million little pieces. Then a message appeared on the chatboard. The_G0liath rank one has fallen due to a final blow from Kyogos¡¯s bronze shortsword. *** I sat in shock as I realized who I defeated and how I fit into everything. I looked up at Sir and realized he was waiting for me to say something. ¡°I saved the world?¡± I asked reluctantly even though the truth sat in my brain and in front of my eyes. Sir gave a long deep sigh as if molecules of laughing gas were finally pouring out of his very being. He then looked up at the sky and said, ¡°Yup and hopefully you¡¯re gonna do it again.¡± Chapter Nine: Adventure鈥檚 Lootbox ¡°So how do you know I didn¡¯t drop the sword when I died?¡± I eventually asked Sir after what feel like years of silence. The old yet powerful man looked at me in a way that suggested he was about to spill the beans. ¡°I really don¡¯t to be honest.¡± He tried to hide that he found it amusing, but his eyes looked alive and the corners of his lips looked like they were forcefully being dragged upwards. ¡°What! Then what are we doing. We should be checking that right now. Why haven¡¯t you done so?¡± Hot rage poured out of me more than I imagined it would have out of the Fire Dragon Draconamir. I immediately felt shame as Billy¡¯s playful expression went from happy and joking to scared and saddened. ¡°I really am sorry Kyle. I just¡­ I don¡¯t know. Maybe I thought that if I put off opening the box we would find out the sword was in their the whole time and we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about all this.¡± He looked up at me with wide eyes and a frown that held no sign of a smile ever existing on his crinkly old lips. I gradually switched my disposition from angry to enthusiastic so I could make up for what I had seemingly done to Billy. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s open it now then. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s in there and then everything can just go back to normal. I can go back to doing normal quests with normal endings and you can go back to being an Adventurer''s guide. Billy nodded and smiled as he pulled the box out of his bag and handed it to me. It seemed even more beautiful than the first time I saw it. After further examination, I realized that the box itself was made from sanded redwood planks and then that was carved in designs representing the six original dragons. The designs were then filled interchangeably with gold and dragon steel. Small gems and strips of dragon scales decorated the box in interesting patterns. My hands grabbed the clasp that held box shut and attempted to open it. Nothing. I looked down at it and tried in every which way, but it just wouldn¡¯t budge. ¡°Any idea Billy?¡± The man nodded and motioned for me to hand the box over so I did. He grabbed it and sat it on his lap and then he put both hands on it and closed his eyes. ¡°Hmmm, yes, I can feel it.¡± It was then that hit eyes shot open and he sat the box down. ¡°Well, this isn¡¯t going to be that fun, but I guess I should have expected it.¡± ¡°You see, Ky, your box is a rank Z which means it had a chance to have an additional task added to the requirements for opening it.¡± I nodded and let him continue. He silently laughed a little like there was a joke between him and some invisible person behind me, but then he continue anyways. ¡°you have to talk to it¡­¡± ¡°what?¡± I asked. ¡°And do what?¡± He looked at me like the joke had gotten even funnier. ¡°And¡­ ask it its name!¡± The man started cracking up again. It didn¡¯t seem like he could go long without messing around and laughing at my misfortune. ¡°So that¡¯s where your joke was inspired from. The boxes? Hopefully the solution is as simple as you telling me your name was Billy.¡± Billy looked at me with hope in his eyes, but he didn¡¯t say much. I looked over at Billy, he smiled as if knowing what I was about to do. ¡°Animate Object!¡± I yelled powerfully as I held the box up in the air towards the setting sun like it was heir to throne of the kingdom of boxes or something. A message appeared. WARNING: [Adventurer¡¯s Lootbox] is spelled with power anti magic properties. Casting Animate Object on it could have unforeseen effects and or consequences. Would you like to continue? Y/N I thought about just ignoring the warning, but then I thought about everything that could go wrong.The two of us spent the rest of the day trying to release the box, but nothing happened. I tried using Clairvoyance, but nothing. All I got when I held the box and focused on the spell was a blank image. I then figured maybe if I could see what was in the box, I¡¯d know how time sensitive opening it was. ¡°Do you think I could try and instead of thinking of its name, try to picture what¡¯s inside it?¡± The man¡¯s eyes perked up and he seemed to stir out of boredom. ¡°You could give it a try. I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯m not much help, only adventurers use these boxes and I¡¯ve never met one like you before, so this is new to me as well.¡± I nodded and then went back to work. I pictured the box in my mind and activated the spell again. This time I saw as my mind¡¯s eye poured over the entire outside of the box, flipped it around and looked at its every detail. But it didn¡¯t matter how much I looked at, or how much I willed it to open, nothing happened. ¡°Well, Billy, there¡¯s one more thing we can try but I¡¯m not really sure if it will work.¡± I quickly reviewed my options and the possible consequences, but I decide to select ignore the warning and animate the object anyways. I thought the spell¡¯s name and a rich azure goo flowed out of my hands and into the box.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The bejeweled masterpiece groaned loudly as an unseen change began to take place deep within it. Red hot steam poured out of the sides and the top as the groans turned to screams and the screams turned to sharp blades that flew inside our ears, sliced through brains, and then shot out of our mouths in crimson waves of agony. The two of us succumbed to the pain and dropped to our knees with our hands over our ears, but the pain continued. Pools of unknown plasmatic origins started dripping down the sides, first slowly, but then as the seconds turned to minutes a decent sized pool flooded the feet of the box. Wait, what? Yes, the box had feet, and knees, a torso, and¡­ nope, no head. A mix of woods, metal, jewels, and scales littered the ground, but soon began to move together like something out of a horror movie. The once lifeless globby pile formed a big ball like shape. Then two small, but detailed hands grabbed onto the ball and placed it on it¡¯s head. The thing looked so ridiculous I couldn¡¯t help but think that it was if Dr. Frankenstein stole my mom¡¯s jewelry box in order to animate it,, only I guess it was my monster. The box poked two decent sized holes in the center of what was becoming its face, two small ones in the middle of, and below, the eyes, and lastly it cut a horizontal line below the smaller holes, that spread horizontally from one side to the other. At that point the pain had greatly subsided and we were standing wide eyed at the weird creature that was once the box. A notification appeared as the box seemed to be almost finished with its transformation. A small pile of the goo sat at its feet still, almost as if it was waiting. I checked the notification and it read, WARNING: You have turned [Adventurer¡¯s Loot box] into [Wooden Dragon Imp], but due to the nature of the change you will need to expend the rest of your mana to permanently animate it. If you don¡¯t, the complexity of the result will cause the creature, and therefore its contents, to be destroyed. Proceed? Y/N. I stood unsure of what to do next. I turned to Billy for answers, but he didn¡¯t see to have anything to offer. All he managed to muster was a quiet, ¡°It¡¯s up to you friend.¡± I thought over my options and decided to give Clairvoyance another shot. I wasn¡¯t about to rush into a situation without at least trying to find some answers. I focused on the WDIP and visions started floating through my mind. The contents of the box were still protected from my peering mind, but some images did float through. I was seemingly inside a dark cave. The only sources of light were dim and came from small glowing creatures with wings. They were all tied down but heavy looking chains. My heart grew heavy as I witnessed was clearly torture of some sort. A small red ghoulish creature with blue eyes and small white horns entered the room. He wore a flowing cloak and spotted a devilish grin. He walked around the room and smacked around the fairies as he shot off arrows of profanity at them and threatened their lives. After he managed to make his way around the whole room, the imp turned to leave and then yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t you ever forget it was Magnolias that you wronged and it will be Magnolias that makes you pay.¡± My vision faded and I stared back at the imp-like object, then aware of the soul that would possess the body if I accepted the transfer of mana. I informed Billy of what I witnessed and then his expression grew even more afraid. ¡°I just don¡¯t know Ky¡­ We really need to know if the sword is in there. There haven¡¯t been any reports about it, but you never know. But, to be honest? That vision you saw is of a powerful imp that was caught and killed three months ago.¡± I looked at the man and nodded, eagerly waiting for more information. Billy noticed this and continued. ¡°Yes, well the imp Magnolias was actually a fairy prince. He was well-liked and known by all. But then rumors spread of a wrongdoing he committed.¡± Billy took a deep, solemn breath and then continued as dread completely took over his face.¡°Instead of a trial, the prince got dragged to the caves of transition, as they are often called, and was then forced into the life of an imp. He spent the rest of his life torturing fairies and turning them into imps. I really don¡¯t know what will come out of this, but I have a feeling it can¡¯t be good.¡± I stood for another moment to absorb the information and the notification popped up again, only this time it told me I had another sixty seconds to decide. I panicked as I would have to make a hard decision. Do I say yes and open the box, unleashing an evil being with unknown powers in its current form, or do I just say no and destroy everything? I watched the seconds tick down on my warning and then I had a thought. I put my hands on the box creature and said, ¡°Open Magnolias¡± but all I was rewarded with was another notification. WARNING: Sorry adventurer, that¡¯s not going to work. The soul of Magnolias isn¡¯t present yet, so the name of the box is still unknown. To open the box with that name, you must transfer over your mana. You have fifteen seconds adventurer, make a decision. Billy and I panicked, this was it. There was no going back. ¡°Billy do you have any weapons? We are going to need it.¡± Billy dug through his bag as I checked the timer. 8, 7, 6¡­ Billy pulled out two iron longswords and threw me one. I didn¡¯t how to use it, but the imp wouldn¡¯t know that. 3..., 2..., 1¡­ I accepted the prompt and immediately received a pang of regret that began to twist a knot deep in my stomach. I looked upon the creature and the puddle began to swirl and vibrate as it climbed up the short wooden legs and up to the face of the creature. The goo glowed, changing from its plain green opacity to a more resolute, sky blue. The goo then split into several pieces, entering the creature¡¯s eyes, nose, and mouth/ The creature then fell to its still newly-formed knees. Billy and I backed away from the creature and raised our swords. It looked up at us and a wicked green flashed on its crooked smile, but then it washed away and was replaced with a blank expression. ¡°I¡¯m here to do your bidding master.¡± The creature then bowed and put its right hand up to its forehead in a salute. ¡°Really?¡± I asked skeptically. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Billy said as he got right up in the creature''s face. ¡°Boo!¡± He yelled, but the creature didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°Magnolias¡­?¡± I asked as I placed my free hand on the creature¡¯s shoulder, unsure of how to proceed. It was at that moment that a surprised expression appeared on the creature¡¯s face as he dropped to his knees again and began to wretch in agony. White foam poured out of the creature¡¯s mouth in impossibly large volumes. It felt like forever, but two items eventually flew out of the creature''s mouth and came clashing to the ground in front of my feet.I reached down and picked up the two muck covered items, wiped them off and stared upon my fate. Chapter Ten: Enlightenment Everything ran through my head as I reached down and picked up what looked to be an overly large sword. I thought about what had been on my inventory when I died:the full set of plate armor, the GDS #6, a few rings, an amulet, and the Specter Cape. Other than that I had some potions, food, and the rope. God, please don¡¯t be a rope, I thought. I lifted the sword up and a familiar feeling washed over me, though it wasn¡¯t just the usual sense of accomplishment, or power that I felt. No, my hands grabbed the sword and every feeling that I had ever been felt mixed with every physical sensation that I had ever come across washed over me a hundred times, no a thousand, a million. It hit me harder and harder. Lightning ripped through every cell in my body, thunder rocked my bones, light seared my skin, and darkness clogged my insides. I fell back, unable to handle the sensations. My hand hit the ground and the sword clanged loudly, but it wouldn¡¯t release from my hands. A deep, burning sensation overwhelmed me and my stomach burned like it was being roasted like a pig over a fire as a warrior¡¯s latest, though meager, conquest. Then the water came. Waterfalls arose where the fire ended and gallons upon gallons shot profusely out of my mouth and nose. I tried to breathe through the attack on my very being, but all I could do was suffer through it. I got used to the physical aspects of the pain and then the emotions hit me one by one. Fear. I feared the fact that I was a nobody in real life. I feared that I had lost everything I ever worked for and that no matter what I did I would just be a loser forever. Then I got sad, the thoughts dragged me down and the water that was coursing through my esophagus felt like it was part of my very being. I felt like I was in that water, no I was that water. I wanted to stay there, it hurt, but it felt somewhat calming to just live inside of it for awhile. Then hate burned through me like a pot of hot coals. Every bit of the flames that had whelmed up in my body blew through the rest of me and I felt it. I want to kill the person that caused this all, I wanted to end The_G0liath and fix everything. Then the flames burned even hotter and I began to want to harm Billy, the twins and even Sal. They had all hurt me in one way or another and I wanted to destroy them, viciously removing them from the planet as I had attempted to do to other players I deemed damned for years. Then I felt disgust. How could I feel that way? There had been hiccups along the way, but Sal, Billy, and even the twins never did me any real wrong. My path wasn¡¯t straight, but it worked out in the end, didn¡¯t it? I felt the pain of my past words. How could I think that way? I didn¡¯t get along that well with people, but do I really want to kill them for past minor indiscretions? Wouldn¡¯t that just make me as bad as the scammers, lurers, and other bad guys I praised myself on hunting? I then felt surprise. Surprise that the pain was forever present, yet I felt like the pain was what I needed. It all coursed through me in an unseen pattern. Sometimes the fire ruled and then it would be the water, but then the air would lift me higher and the pain would lessen. Then the earthly booms of thunder would take over and I¡¯d realize again that the sound was more like boulders smashing together than the sound of thunder. It all surprised me, but what surprised me more was that I had put myself in the same boat as the evil ¡°adventurers¡± that ruined my early years as a gamer and sent me on a self righteous path to what had been hell. But then, it all washed away. I was happy. Happy for the fact that I had a purpose. I had saved the lands of Dragaria from possible devastation and had reacquired my weapon of choice, the most power weapon in existence, Gilded Dragon Slayer #6. I was somebody, no, I was a hero, the hero. Then my body, which had been spasming intensely through the entire process, received a large gust of air, sending me soaring upwards. Then the light that had been burning my eyes and skin tore through my very being. Every feeling, every sensation, that I had felt during the daunting yet satisfying experience left me and all that remained was the light.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. My eyes burned stronger than it would have if I spent the rest of my life, or even lives, staring at the sun. I felt the light, the brightness, in every molecule, bone, and crevice of human existence, but it wasn¡¯t a painful light anymore. My body bathed in a sea of energy. Some might have thought to call it holy energy, but I had never believed in or experienced such things, well, until that moment. For once in my life I was at peace. There I sat flowing through the air, weightless, alive, and happy. Yes, for happiness flowed back through my veins and reawakened my shaken heart. The air lifted slightly and my feet began to slowly drift towards the ground like a fawn gracefully touching the ground after a season of practice. The light began to fade, first from my extremities and then from deeper within my core. They left and a slight twinge of sadness remained, but something inside of me, light or not, kept me from relapsing into my previously experienced whirlpool of painful enlightenment. My body became more upright as both the air and light faded even more. Once the light had almost lifted and only existed as a single candle flame in the center of my very intellect, a single phrase, no a single title, remained. Alduin Landalof: The Dracorex Hogwartsia Pterodactylus. I fell to a squat as globs of purple wrapped around me. I felt my arms stabilize me from my decent. The name then resided in my skull and I had a feeling it always would. I didn¡¯t know much about what happened or why, but I did know one thing. My sword had chosen me. It revealed its name to me and as the game world liked to remind me, names were a big deal. I stood up and valiantly thrusted my sword into the sky. I even let out a loud roar and booming waves ripped through the then night¡¯s sky. A pack of nearby wolves howled in return. I took a deep breath in, appreciating air more than ever and then I realized it. I am alive. I looked around and Billy looked at me with worry plastered across his face. The imp seemed to have dropped his act and stared at me with his uneven mouth hung open. ¡°What kind of bonking master did I get sworn into?¡± The Imp cringed and his small, thin legs trembled like a kite flying forward into an approaching storm. Billy stepped towards me, looked straight into my eyes and saw my relaxed yet confident disposition. His own fears seemed to dissipate as he looked deep into my soul. ¡°You have returned and even more whole this time. I know it was rough, but from now on you have the power of the world¡¯s strongest sword by your side. There will still be trials and tribulations as long as you are alive and the sword exists, but this is a great step indeed. I am sorry for any physical or emotional harms that have and will come of you, but know that it comes from a pure heart.¡± It was then that something clicked and I knew. He¡¯s one of us. He approached me with an open hand I grasped it firmly. The handshake turned into a hug and the man whispered into my ear, ¡°Welcome brother.¡± I came out of the embrace prepared for the adventures ahead of me. I looked towards the imp and saw that he had relaxed. With my returned attention he bowed before me and said, ¡°I formally introduce myself as Magnloias The Great. I lived a life of overly violent revenge, but I have been given a second chance. I want nothing else than to join you in your quest and to prove myself as someone new.¡± The awfully looking creature put his hands on his hips and pushed his chest out at an attempt to see valliant and all powerful. I chuckled and greeted the creature, tabling my worries about him for another time. I had bigger worries than a reincarnated imp that wanted nothing more than to be alive. I began walking Northeast and my two new companions stumbled after me. Billy was silent, but the Imp pelted me with questions about our destination. I turned around but continued walking and said, ¡°To grind to max level of course.¡± The two gave me a strange but accepting look as I strode towards my destination. We only made it about a hundred feet before my hands began to burn intensely. I looked at the sword and it glowed orange, yellow, and red as if mimicking the heat it put off. I dropped it from my hands, causing it to fall to the ground. The Gilded Dragon Slayer #6 Shattered into a million pieces in front of my eyes. All I was left with was a quest update... Quest Updat You have come a long way from your rebirth. It wasn¡¯t all fun and easy, but you accomplished what you went after and were seemingly rewarded for it. You now have a bond with the sword commonly known as GDS#6. Its very core shared its name with you, putting you on a very short list of those whom it has done so with. Sadly, the sword you connected with was a phantom left behind by the actual weapon. It has communed with you--opened up to you. The weapon could mean the end of mankind on The Rock if you don¡¯t retrieve it. Continue on the road to retrieve it? Y/N. I selected yes and turned to Billy and Mangallius, they both looked at me with shocked and scared expressions. I just turned to them and said, ¡°Well, I guess I should have known with this damn game.¡± Chapter Eleven: Trouble In Landalof The three of us had made our way southeast back to Landalof with tight frowns. The imp threw around some jokes about how much faster we could walk because of our long legs. We chuckled a bit, but the frowns remained. We crossed over the bridge and noticed Sal talking with his fiance out in front of the Adventure¡¯s Center. I had been going to call to him but then I saw a deep expression on his face. As I got closer, I could hear a few snippets of information. ¡°We have another fifty civilians to move to the otherlands before something worse happens. They are scared, , really scared,¡± Sal said with a series, yet worried, face. ¡°I know, I know love. We are pushing the paperwork through and making some magic, but you know how the system works; we can only do so much,¡± Beth replied, looking even more worried than her lover did. The two turned and saw us approaching. Sal tried to hide his emotions behind a fake smile as he waved to me. ¡°Hey Ky! Where have you been?¡± I expected them to all still be furious with my involvement in the whole situation but even Beth seemed a little happy to see us. ¡°Hey Sal. How, uh, how has it been around here?¡± I asked nervously. ¡°Oh I mean, been better, been worse. The prince is gone, that¡¯s always good I guess.¡± Billy stepped in front of me in response to the news. ¡°He¡¯s gone? Why? Who¡¯s technically next in line then?¡± The old man seemed more worked up than usual, almost as if someone was giving him his own medicine by playing a prank on him and he didn¡¯t like it. ¡°Oh, well the news kind of got around, like everywhere, and he was going to be shunned from Landalof but then he just went up and left. No one was really worried about it, but then some weird things have been happening around here.¡± We all nodded and then Billy continued probing Sal for unanswered questions. Sall stepped back as Billy almost climbed on top of him due to his anxiety and relentless questioning. ¡°Okay, okay. Well, John is still technically in charge of defence and guidance, but final say has now moved to princess Alana, the second eldest, yet she has not come yet.¡± Seemingly relieved, Billy stepped back and apologized for his behavior. ¡°You know how I get Sally, I just really care about this place.¡± ¡°I know you old Kook. I know.¡± They both just laughed. I went to chime in but something was pulling on my leg. ¡°Oh, of course, I almost forgot, shame on me.¡± I said to the group as I lifted my new companion up to show the group. ¡°This is Magnolias. I animated my loot box in order to get what was inside and his spirit went into it. He¡¯s an imp¡­¡± ¡°Hey, hey now. No need telling them that stuff. I¡¯m a good guy alright,¡± Magnolias said having jokingly, half defensively. ¡°I¡¯m on team adventurer now and I¡¯m ready to go. Back you oaf! Get away from my master!¡± The imp squealed at Sal as he jumped from my grip into a front flip and kicked at Sal midair. ¡°Gah! The damn wretched thing is trying to kill me¡± Sal boomed as he raised his sword defensively at the imp. Magnolias then dropped to the ground and pleaded for his safety. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! I was just trying to be funny! I swear!¡± Sal looked furious, but his eyes darted to me and a very small smirk briefly flashed across his face. He thrusted the sword down with what looked like maximum force and then he went to stop it, but something happened before he could. A blinding beam of various colors shot out of Magnolias and blasted Sal up and back twenty feet into the stone wall of the Adventurer¡¯s Center. The metal banged loudly against the wall and then made a horrible screeching noise as he fell down. Sal landed with a quick thud and surprise made up the entirety of his face. Magnolias jumped up and ran behind me, clutching onto my leg. I didn¡¯t really know what to do. Billy, Magnolias, and I made our way over to see if he was okay, but Magnolias still seemed frightened. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry sir! I didn¡¯t mean to do that. I have no clue how it happened,¡± Magnolias pleaded. ¡°I don¡¯t know how that happened¡­¡± I started as I looked to the imp. The scales along his body glowed powerfully for another moment before fading completely. ¡°Oh! He must have some sort of power due to the scales that are all over him. We should have thought of that before.¡± Everyone nodded, even Sal, but the soldier looked like he had seen better days. ¡°Hey guys, it was fun and all but I¡¯m gonna go back to doing what hopefully won¡¯t get me killed.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Beth agreed, ¡°I need to help as well, so I should be going back inside.¡± The two turned to leave, but I got a quest notification. Trouble In Landalof Difficulty: Hard As you know, a player and a few natives, or NPCs as you call them, died under mysterious circumstances.. Due to this and other strange happenings, there is a movement to help alleviate issues and to protect those in danger. Your assistance would mean the world to the people of Landalof and in their changing times would probably reward you greatly with either payment or admiration. Would you like to proceed? Y/NUnauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I thought yes and proceeded without giving it another thought. ¡°Hey there, is there something I could assist you with?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but notice something seems rather off. Plus, Billy told me about the deaths; I''m so sorry for their deaths. It isn¡¯t fair that players, I mean adventurers, can come here and cause you harm, that¡¯s why there are protection charms up.¡± Sal and Beth turned around and smiled. ¡°Yes of course adventurer. We could use the help. Actually, you know what, you might be able to speed up the process for us. That little fiasco with the feathers there might actually show the solution to our troubles.¡± ¡°Oyah?¡± I asked/ ¡°Yeah, oyah?¡± Magnolias parroted back in a sad attempt to seem like my back up goon. ¡°The two laughed again, but then grew serious. ¡°Come inside, come inside,¡± Beth said, ushering me along. I followed her through the door and then she turned around, ¡°Billy can come, but the imp should wait out here.¡± I could immediately tell that Beth¡¯s words stung my new companion. ¡°So I have to wait outside like a dog because I''m an imp uh?¡± Magnolias left all joking aside and his eyes glowed a darker blue, almost accentuating his anger. I wanted to defend him, but I understood the mistrust. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry buddy, but we¡¯ve just got some minor stuff to attend to. It¡¯s not even really important. I promise you¡¯ll play a big role in all of this.¡° I couldn¡¯t tell whether or not he bought my words, but the little guy seemed to warm up at hearing them. ¡°Oh, yeah? Because I¡¯m made of dragonsteel, dragon scales, magical gems, gold, and I have the most powerfully sword alive inside of me, huh?¡± Magnolias¡¯ words changed tone so we all just looked at him confused about whether or not he believed what we were saying. His eyes flashed back to normal and his shoulders lowered. ¡°No really, I get it. I¡¯m probably the most powerful one here by far. You guys go have your secret meeting and I¡¯ll repel any nasties that try to go inside.¡± We all smiled and I said, ¡°Good, good buddy. See, you are very useful and we won¡¯t be long.¡± Sal chuckled and Beth quickly spoke up, ¡°But make sure you let adventurers in; they still have business to do you know. The imp nodded and then waved us off into the building.¡± We entered the familiar building and then I realized how it felt like ages since I first stepped into the building and met Billy, though in reality it was only a couple of days. We turned left and Beth jingled a set of keys as she unlocked the door. It took her an extra minute because she couldn¡¯t get the right key. No wonder they need my help, I thought, smirking at my own thoughts like a loser. Beth unlocked the door and the four of us rushed inside. The room¡¯s walls were stuffed with bookshelves full of records and other books I didn¡¯t really know the use of. At the back of the room was a large stone circle with a bubbly purple portal inside of it. ¡°A land portal?¡± I questioned out of surprise. I looked to Billy but he didn¡¯t look shocked. ¡°Yes,¡± Beth replied. ¡° we use this for emergencies like the one we are in. When accounts go inactive, or an adventurer decides to sell of their land, we use this portal to either clean out the land to resell it, or to auction the whole property off to high paying natives. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s about it,¡± Sal said. ¡°But in times of need the land is also used for fleeing natives that don¡¯t have a place to live normally. They are people like the ones that died most recently.¡± ¡°Ah, that makes sense,¡± I said and billy just stood there nodding and scratching his chin. ¡°How can I help you then?¡± The couple looked at me closely and then Sal stopped in until he was rather close. ¡°Well, you know how you like to talk to things right¡­¡±¡± *** The four of us had been at it for about three hours. The process more or less stayed the same the entire time. Beth would walk up to the portal, close her eyes and whisper a name or something and the portal would change to a picture of someone¡¯s property. Sometimes they were just pieces of land and other times they were marvelous domiciles. The problem was that some properties used to belong to hardcore players who had then since died. They had the passcodes for all the normal players but something about the system kept them from getting passwords for the homes owned by hardcore players. Beth apparently exhausted all of her land by filling it with civilians and so that¡¯s why I was standing there and making bubbly portals grow facial features. Sometimes they would be happy to tell me what I needed to know but other times they liked to play games. I had found the passwords for most of them, but we were stuck on one rather mouthy portal. ¡°So, why should I let you inside, huh? You wanna strip me apart, sell everything, and pass me on to the next loser adventurer who won¡¯t treat me right?¡± the womanly voice of what looked like a standard housing setup blasted at us. ¡°No, no,¡¯ i defended, ¡°people are in need; players are killing other players and native civilians within the border. There¡¯s nowhere else for them to go,¡± I countered. ¡°Ohh and that¡¯s better, isn¡¯t it? Some smelly old homeless natives running amuck inside of me. Yeah, because that¡¯s what I need.¡± My temper steadily raised and I stepped forward to yell at her, but then I stopped and thought. I thought about how it was very much like the very few times I actually got to talk to my mom and she wouldn¡¯t let me have my way. I would just find out something she wanted, do it, and then ask again. It usually worked. ¡°Well then. I guess we¡¯ll just have to pass then. I¡¯m really sorry for the inconvenience.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Sal and Beth both yelled. ¡°But we need every place we can,¡± Sal yelled. ¡°Yes, please¡­¡± Beth begged. ¡°No!¡± I yelled, whipping around dramatically towards the group. ¡°I will not stand for this injustice.¡± I waived my arms to showcase my ¡°anger.¡± ¡°This poor woman¡­ Excuse me what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Margret,¡± The portal quickly answered, obviously taken aback by my display. Her ¡°eyebrows¡± were raised and her ¡°eyes¡± were wider than they had been, but her ¡°lips¡± curled up ever so slightly. ¡°Margaret has had a rough life; she deserves better.¡± The three looked back at me, sort of catching on but still completely confused. ¡°Now, you three go get people for the places we uncovered.¡± The three looked at me again, unsure exactly what was going on. ¡°NOW GO!¡± I boomed, mustering every ounce of conviction I could. The group rushed out the door and I heard the door snap shut behind them and the jingling of keys to suggest the door was being locked. I then turned back around to the portal, bowed, and said, ¡°Now, madam Margaret, how can I be of assistance?¡± Chapter Twelve: Just A Bit Of Maintenance ¡°Oh yes, that feels so nice,¡± Margaret screamed as I banged on her walls. The wood was old and of low quality. It was actually quite great having a hammer in my hands again. It was weird though, because I somehow had access to every bit of information required to work on the house, but all I did was smack into the wall and the wood I had collected from some nearby trees. and then sawed into planks, vanished from my inventory and replaced the old pieces of wood. It was then a thought occurred to me, why were there ¡°old¡± pieces? I had never witnessed my house becoming under disrepair or anything; it actually always looked quite immaculate. I shook the thought off and got back to work. The house was rather small, to be honest, so I knew I knew I could give it a good overhaul. It seemed like the last owner had focused on planting high level herbs and trees. Most players liked to just level building and paid for most of their materials, but in hardcore mode you kind of had to do everything yourself, which was why a lot of players avoided construction all together. It was nice, but most felt it was a waste of time when you could die at any moment. I disagreed. *** Whack, whack, whack, wham. Whack, whack, bang, wham. My hammer banged away as I turned some normal planks into various furnishings. Chairs, dressers, and beds were my main priority. I had already replaced Margaret¡¯s walls with higher quality wood and then chopped down a bunch of trees in order to make more rooms for the people to stay in. ¡°Wow, you must be really good at this whole building stuff,¡± Meredith exclaimed as her voice continued to pool in from all around me. The spell seemed to carry over the whole estate. I checked my mana and it was dipping low, down to about ten percent. I didn¡¯t know how it didn¡¯t cost more, but I wasn¡¯t complaining. ¡°Thanks meredith, I did put a fair amount of time into it in a past life. I¡¯m glad it paid off by allowing me to help you. Meredith chuckled and the ground below me trembled, which made my work station shake. ¡°Well darling, YOU can come back any time.¡± I silently thanked her and continued to work. I looked at my pile and realized I was about done. I went through a nearby storage closet and rummaged through it for some cloth. They might have been homeless people, but they still deserved a nice home to claim as their refuge. I found some material that I could work with. I then looked around for a needle and thread and began to work. What came out of it was six fine red carpets. I usually liked to add gold trim and other materials to make it look fancy, but sadly the materials just weren¡¯t there. It was at that moment that I missed my own house. I frowned and wished that we had come across it. ¡°What''s wrong sweetheart?¡± Margret cooed motherly. Something inside me welled up and then overflowed. ¡°Nothing; I¡¯m fine,¡± I said as a teardrop flowed out of each of my eyes and fell down onto Margret¡¯s newly done floor. ¡°Oh hunny, I¡¯m so sorry. You can tell me about it. I¡¯m here for you.¡± Margaret was little more than a voice, but something about her made me feel like opening up.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I just really did love my old house. When I died I wished that I got to keep a combat skill, I even paid to almost insure it, but¡­ I just love building up and maintaining a property. I put so much time and so many resources into my house that it¡¯s a shame it¡¯s going to waste.¡± I sat down on one of the chairs I had made, disheartened and void of motivation. ¡°Oh, is that all?¡± The house beamed. ¡°What was your house¡¯s name?¡± ¡°What??¡± I asked. ¡°I have no idea; I didn¡¯t have animate object in my last life. ¡°Hmmm,¡± she hummed. ¡°What did it look like?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± I began even though I didn¡¯t get the point of answering the question. ¡°It was a large property, what felt like hundreds of acres actually. I had a large main structure that housed four bedrooms, a glorious kitchen and dining room, two living rooms, my workshop, and a few other rooms, all on the main floor.¡± ¡°Mhm, okay, what else can you tell me?¡± Margaret asked curiously. ¡°Hmm well the majority of the walls are made with rosewood and my furniture is all made with redwood. Also, almost EVERYTHING is gilded. I kind of just liked it that way¡­¡± ¡°Are you kidding me!?¡± Margaret screamed cheerfully. ¡°You really do take care of your estates.¡± ¡°I guess, it¡¯s just what I like to do,¡± I said, shrugging. ¡°Anyways, so the main house has to be about eight rooms by eight, and then I have some trees, herbs, and other plant life. I have a workshop to the southeast, which connects to some halls I have for showing off my treasures and accomplishments. Below the shop is an area I use for training, though I haven¡¯t shown it to anyone before, so I¡¯d rather keep it a secret.¡± A smile worked itself onto my face even though I tried to resist it. ¡°Okay, okay let me see.¡± Margaret started. ¡° Rosewood, redwood, gilded, 8x8, good amount of vegetation, multiple other buildings, hmmm¡­.¡± Margaret paused for a minute while she thought. I turned to pick up some materials. The previous owner surprisingly had a forge sitting around, so I took to it and made myself my own hammer. The perks of being a Builder meant I had a high proficiency in most, if not all, skills that went into making the perfect house. I had just finished making myself a hammer out of oak and iron when Margaret finally spoke up. ¡°Bradford! Yes, Bradford! He is a rather snooty bloke, but he is nice enough. He always used to speak of how well his current owner treated him, but as of late he has been quite upset with his vacancy.¡± ¡°Great I yelled! Thanks Margaret. I don¡¯t know why he wasn''t in with the others, but I guess I can at least call him up now. Does he have a last name? Most of you did? ¡°Oh, yes. It¡¯s just Sogoyk.¡± ¡°Sogoyk¡­ Isn¡¯t that my username backwards?¡± ¡°Haha, yes good observation. It¡¯s a simple yet effective trick actually. Every house does it differently¡± ¡°Oh, okay, thank you Margaret. I really appreciate it,¡± I said as I began to put everything back to normal. ¡°No problem! Anything for someone so willing to help out as yourself.¡± ¡°Haha, I guess that¡¯s what I do,¡± I said smugly. ¡°Oh wait, hey Margaret?¡± ¡°Yes sweetie?¡± She asked as a notification went off alerting me I had two percent mana left.¡± ¡°How did you know about another property portal? Like if you weren¡¯t animated before, how do you communicate?¡± ¡°Oh well that¡¯s easy silly¡­¡± Margaret started. ¡°Yeah? Then what is it?¡± I sat and waited, but nothing. I checked my mana and yup, it completely died. I checked my bag but didn¡¯t have any mana pots or anything. I walked back to the portal figuring I wouldn¡¯t find out. At least I got my portals ¡°name¡± out of it.¡± I walked to the end of Margaret¡¯s property and jumped through the portal back to my friends on the other side. I stepped out of the portal and standing before me was Goliath. The hilt of the GDS #6 flashed through the air, cracking me on the skull. Everything went dark as I fell to the ground.